Zoey Trope

Conclusion of Showtime’s Submission, Episodes 5 & 6

June 20, 2016 By Zoey Trope 1 Comment

Submission goes full on erotic thriller and sets us up for a possible season 2.

A real life submissive reviews the final two episodes of Showtime’s Submission.

After 6 episodes of Submission, I’ve pretty much exceeded my lifetime quota for soft porn. The show was hyped as a series that dared to go where 50 Shades of Grey didn’t. But where is that exactly?

The first two episodes piqued our interest, giving us the vanilla-turned-kink take on BDSM discovery. The next two episodes provided an exhilarating look into a D/s courtship complete with spanking assignments and orgasm denial. And the series wraps with a full on erotic thriller. I’ll admit, each layer does make the show more entertaining and it would be interesting to see the stories unfold in a format that isn’t premium cable. Luckily if you need more of a taste, Jacky St. James has two films that dive into more sensual BDSM that I highly recommend.

The penultimate episode of Submission takes us on a tour of Elliot, the Dom-equin’s dungeon. He and his new submissive finally discuss limits and safewords, and you can hear a collective sigh of relief from the entire kink community. Cactus is her safeword. I think it’s adorable when people pick their own safewords in lieu of the more technical color-coded red, yellow, green. The safeword discussion foreshadows what’s to come in the finale, but before that happens we see an exquisite scene with a Violet Wand… something on every sensualist’s wishlist. It sizzles and zaps, creating sensations unlike anything. It’s more erotic than painful and highly visual which makes it so beautiful to watch.

We see them take the sensations further with a mummification scene where he wraps his submissive in saran wrap (or marked up bondage wrap), depriving her of any movement. The ultimate device to restrain someone head to toe. I never thought I’d be into mummification but I could almost feel the cling of the plastic on my skin and the erotic exhale when he finally exposed her tits. This was worth watching a few times.

As the storylines wrap up, we finally get an explanation as to why Dylan is such a nut case. She’s hired as a cock-cierge who recruits women for him and has access to video evidence of Elliot lying to women about his identity. None of this makes sense but it continues to escalate as we find out the true intentions of the Dom-equin. I’m already bored by the plot device and am not invested enough in these characters to care about their betrayals. By the final scene of the series, they want us to wonder who is the real Nolan Keates, but really we’re just wondering why can’t there be more BDSM scenes?

Subby observations
-It’s cute that the show brings up polyamory out of nowhere, although entering into a triad relationship with your employer is never a wise choice.
-On being loaned out: One of the best feelings as a submissive is making your Dominant so proud of you that he wants to parade you, share you, and loan you out. It’s such an amazing exercise in trust and power. Being a submissive is like being a toy. And toys absolutely love being played with.

Zoey Trope is an LA-based kinkster and writer perving on the internet since AOL chat room days and has been drifting down the rabbit hole since. You can find more personal stories about sex, love, and BDSM here. Follow Zoey on Twitter for her most intimate current thoughts.

Review of Showtime’s Submission, Episodes 3 & 4

June 13, 2016 By Zoey Trope 2 Comments

Showtime’s Submission steals our panties and melts our submissive hearts. A real-life submissive reviews Episode 3 and Episode 4 of Submission which airs Thursdays on Showtime.

We are halfway through the series and thus far, we’ve only had an amuse-bouche of BDSM. Now we kick off “Smut” (Episode 3) with a scene in progress involving blindfolds, restraints, floggers, nipple clamps, and the inimitable Wartenberg wheel. Those exciting ingredients make for a well-rounded session in which a variety of sensations can be experienced. The close-up shots are extremely erotic and voyeuristic. Most sensual play can tantalize for several hours without penetration. When you’re bound and blindfolded, your concept of time is warped. Light touches are fleeting, hard impacts sting and drag on. And then there’s the unbearable emptiness when you’re untouched and unaware of what’s to come. Unfortunately, the scene falls flat when it quickly devolves into a sex scene.

Let’s take a moment to discuss this mannequin of a Dom (Dom-equin?). Elliot who goes by Nolan Keates. He’s the 50 shades of spray tan version of Christian Grey. He becomes enamored by Vanilla Ashley and steals her panties. That’s pretty insane, not to mention, desperate. Sure, you’ve all heard stories (mine especially) of Doms being presented panties as a symbol of submission. This is so not the case.

In an ambitiously titled fourth episode, “Master” shows the redemption of Elliot the Dom-equin, . This is the episode to melt your submissive hearts because it’s BDSM Seduction 101. After meeting Ashley and obsessing over her stolen panties, he showers his hopeful submissive with a gift, a manuscript of his novel. Something that only he could give her that attaches something tangible to an abstract feeling. It’s brilliant, really. He challenges her, “If you think my books excite you, imagine what the real thing could be.” and we know how taunting can send you into a tailspin. He plants that idea in her head and orders her not to cum until he says so. There’s no follow-through of course, so we have to assume she followed his instructions.

The courtship continues and I get serious heart eyes when he tests her obedience with her first task. Every submissive remembers his/her first task. I can almost hear the words echoing from my own adored Dom. She passes, but when she neglects to answer her phone, he disciplines her with 5 spanks. She completes with the help of her friend but confesses that she actually got spanked a total of 10 times. Logically, she must be punished. The banter was quite endearing. He warns her of how easy it is for him to deny her his attention. That fear looms and we see an example of what he means when he is with his other submissive, Dylan who is pining for his attention. When she pouts, he reads her mind, “You wished you hated me.” While my submissive heart melts for the courtship, this scene breaks my heart. Being neglected and deprived while reminded that even if a Dominant were to release you, you’ll always love him… LIke I said, heartbreaking.

The power exchange that occurs within a D/s relationship only exists because the submissive gives up control and entrusts it to the Dominant. It’s a gift. I remember handing my panties to my Dom, hearing and seeing how he carried them with him while I was under his consideration, and how it felt to finally be collared. This is unlike any courtship, which makes it special for any submissive to see this portrayed on a show like this.

Subby Observations:
● As a cuckquean (one who gets off on one’s partner fucking someone else, more specifically fetishizing infidelity), I enjoyed the hell out of the scene where Vanilla Ashley is on the phone with her ex-boyfriend while he’s faux-humping a much hotter and I’m assuming, better in the sack, new conquest. Good for him. And good for the girl he’s fucking who is obviously getting off on knowing his ex is on the other line. I tip my whore fedora (whor-dora?) to her.
● I love that Not-so-Vanilla-anymore Ashley counts out her spanks. When you’re getting a real hard spanking, counting is impossibly difficult.
● Here’s a move that I think all bratty submissives should learn. Doms, look away! Ultimate brat move is handcuffing your Dom and hiding the key inside your pussy. I had to watch this scene several times with a sinister grin. If only I could get away with it…

Review of Showtime’s Submission from a real life sub

June 6, 2016 By Zoey Trope 1 Comment

Zoe Trope reviews episodes 1 & 2 of Showtime’s new series “Submission”.

The general consensus from the kink community is that the 50 Shades series and its ripple effect on mainstream media is a very very bad thing. As a lifelong kinkster, I don’t share the same pitchfork mentality. After all, if anything makes it okay to discuss spreader bars and nipple clamps at brunch with my vanilla girlfriends, I’m all for it.

When Showtime announced a new BDSM series, I was excited to see that Jacky St. James was the writer and director behind it. Scenes from her two Emma Marx films contribute to my classier kinky fantasies. Plus, the teaser trailer that debuted a few weeks ago showed a glimpse of a similar aesthetic that really struck my fancy.

The way the series is marketed made me think that this was going to be an erotic thriller series in the same vein as The Affair which I have to admit I’ve masturbated to on several occasions. But it’s not. Once I realized that Submission was going to be an after-hours erotica series, I reset my expectations and enjoyed the show.

Episode 1 is titled “Slave” and it starts off with close-ups of sensation play and orgasm control. Just as it’s getting really hot, we cut to the blank stare of vanilla sex. We meet the main character Ashley (Ashlynn Yennie) whose sex life has obviously plateaued. And that’s how the origin story begins. Her story will be relevant to those who are motivated to explore kink as an fun detour from vanilla. For the rest of us, we never sought out kink, it found us.

Vanilla Ashley’s origin story is centered around an erotic novel. Sound vaguely familiar? The book also shares its title with the episode. “Slave” is ultimately what’s going to introduce Vanilla Ashley to kink. That and her foil on the show, Dylan the promiscuous roommate played by porn star / Spiegler girl, Skin Diamond. Don’t get excited, her talent is wasted here. The only redeeming part of this episode is the end when we finally get a glimpse of the dungeon from the first shots of the episode. This time, it’s nothing sensual. Dylan is standing with arms bound to a chain hanging from the ceiling. The paddle is her punishment and she counts off each smack of the paddle. Counting is something every submissive needs to be used to. The numbers are soothing and they take my breath away.

We know little of the dynamic between Dylan and her nameless Dom. What are their protocols? How is he addressed? We can speculate that her assignment was to bring a girl to his dungeon. How was this negotiated? Does he know how hard it is to find a kinky unicorn? But we have to sit through another episode or more to get our answers. Why isn’t this series on Netflix so I can binge and review all the BDSM scenes at once?

Subby Observations:

-Vanilla Ashley is going to have a terrible time with BDSM if she can’t even communicate to her partner that she can’t come from just penetration.

-Is Dylan supposed to be in a “wait” or “attention” position in the scene right before her punishment? Seems like a lazy attempt to portray submissive poses and positions.

-Also, when did submissives start wearing protective gloves while being bound to the ceiling?

-Obvi, submission isn’t limited to female subs and male Doms. I have a feeling the inverse will not be explored in this series.

Episode 2 is titled “Control” which is the ultimate common denominator in BDSM. You can’t have bondage without control, discipline without control, Dominance/submission without control, sadomasochism without control…you get the idea.
We see the characters from the erotic novel again. Slave Maura is ordered by her Master to turn away from him and lay down face up. His movements, exhale, and words are slow and calculated.

“Turn around. Don’t look at me.”

It’s always the first set of instructions that create such a sense of relief. He proceeds to tie her wrists to the table leg. There’s an innate predicament with being restrained. Your instinct is to break free, but it’s really the moment when you finally relax that you feel the most free. Whether it’s velcro, rope, or even chains for the ambitious, they all disintegrate and you realize there’s nothing holding you back except pure submissive willpower. The voiceover explains it beautifully…

“Should the ropes he used to tie me down suddenly break, I would not have moved. I was enslaved to him and it was neither rope or cuff or belt that kept me there. It was my unwavering need to feel his breath against my bare skin.”

The rest of the episode dives into a very interesting discussion of vanilla POVs on the kink world which is sandwiched in between a few skippable soft genre sex scenes. We meet the book club participants including our kink connoisseur Dylan, who is rocking her steel collar, and Vanilla Ashley. Naturally, the vocal ones of the group immediately associate BDSM with abuse and nobody corrects the misinformed with what it means to consent. In fact the entire series has avoided any discussion related to consent.

The book club discussion takes a turn towards misogyny when one woman boldly claims that women cannot desire submission to a man. Statements like that are deeply misogynistic whether it comes from a man or a woman. It’s contempt and it creates shame. When another woman shares her threesome fantasy involving two men, she is called delusional. Well I’d rather be delusional than suppress my true desires.

By the end of the episode, we return to the dungeon. This time, our kink connoisseur Dylan has brought another girl to the dungeon. She is blindfolded and restrained with a leather sleeve that hooks into the spreader chair. There are a few shots of her struggling alone. The way the camera moves turns the viewer into a voyeur, witnessing her loss of control. She’s like a prey that Dylan has captured for her Dom. He could look a little more pleased. Doms are capable of smiling. But we have to wait until next episode to see if he is pleased.

Subby Observations:
-A comment on rope safety aka don’t do this at home! I watched the first scene several times and still couldn’t tell how the tie was done or if it was done at all. I get nervous when wrists are tied in a way that looks like damage could potentially be done, namely putting pressure on the nerves around the wrists. It’s important to be aware of basic rope safety both as a top and as a bottom. Crash Restraint has an excellent guide on this.

-We get a quick reference to a scene in the novel that involves a slave being hit with a riding crop while wearing a gag bit. These props are obviously borrowed from equestrianism. After all, crops and horse bits are used for control in a sport where one handler is literally taming an animal. So yes, it’s animalistic but that’s also why it makes it so hot.

-We also see a quick glimpse of a collared slave on a leash. The collar and lead is perhaps the most symbolic of D/s and M/s relationships and I really wish they’ll dive into this more.

Zoey Trope

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