"No, no, no. No God. The only man in the sky is me."
I thought this episode was slightly better than the premiere. Rather than relying on shock value scenes (although the scene with Butcher and Gunpowder close to the ending could fall into that category: but to a much lesser extent), it focused more on story-building and moving things along, which I appreciate; the premiere should've been more like that as it was the premiere, but whatever.
The pacing and writing allow characters to breathe and marinate while making things enticing enough instead of going head-first into the action. But I still think, in that vein of what's, more or less, "slow" pacing, what's happening could be more captivating. That's a minor inconvenience, though: I'm not 100% bored; however, let's get the facts straight, a huge chunk of that is thanks to Butcher (and Karl Urban's performance) and Homelander (and Antony Starr's performance). Especially in this episode.
The scene of Butcher watching the video Ryan sent to him, and Butcher's subsequent call to Hughie, was compelling: both the emotional/acting aspect of the first part, and the chilling and decisive aspect of the last part, how Butcher was "brought back to life" by Hughie, and Hughie, coming back to his senses/the fold.
And the ending of this episode with Homelander was quite impactful: and a little surprising, given the public/live context. In the second episode of the season, no less. The world seems to be working overtime at getting under his skin and tearing him down to nothing. He said in the premiere that he doesn't know how much more he can take, and quite frankly, I don't think we know. The Stormfront thing seemed like the last straw, and the episode's ending is right there, yet it still seems like even that wasn't enough. It's almost like a running gag at this point. More and more moments where he's "had enough," yet still "holding it together."
This episode also presented some new plot points to expand and develop, like the one with M.M. and his connection to Soldier Boy: and Victoria's (surprising) connection to Stan; I wasn't expecting their association in that way. And the plot point with M.M. makes things personal and gives him a basis for a vendetta, so it'll be interesting to see how that plays out once Soldier Boy is on the screen.
There was also the tidbit said by Gunpowder to Butcher about Grace. I feel like she either helped with an off-grid aspect or helped with a containment aspect. Depending on what that means regarding her involvement and "stance," it could create significant conflict, especially with Butcher. I don't think it means she'll become an antagonist (although maybe whatever she did would suggest that, and she feels/thinks differently about it now), but I could be wrong. So, that's another point of interest.
Two other aspects of this episode stood out to me. One: the trailer for the most certain, Oscar-winning, Not Without My Dolphin. It took me by surprise. But it was a fantastic (and hilarious) surprise. And two: the acting by Nia Roam, who played Chelsea. She gave an impactful performance, even with the short screen time for her character, and she resembles Kristen Scott a little. That scene was also impactful.
But I'm not on board with what Hughie is feeling/going through. Because of finding out the truth. I'm not on board with the writers' attempt at conveying that to us. Dialogue by Hughie regarding knowing her daughter, and being surprised by her on his birthday, both of them having this splendid friendship, falls flat because knowing it's been a year of that doesn't change the fact that we haven't seen any of it. It's a bit ridiculous. Did the writers intend for us to care and empathize: because there's a big disconnect there.
This episode was a decent one, one I thought was a bit better than the premiere. Yes, there's a 'but' coming. These first two episodes were entertaining, but I'm not fully captured yet: an element of proper excitement has yet to engulf this season. I know that's premature to say, considering I'm only two episodes into this season; I'm sure in the next episode, or after the next episode, it'll be more likely that I'll be "captured." The next episode should be a good one. I feel it will be a turning point, especially considering the third episode is the last of the first-three-at-once released model.
Review by LineageBlockedParent2022-08-13T18:43:29Z
"No, no, no. No God. The only man in the sky is me."
I thought this episode was slightly better than the premiere. Rather than relying on shock value scenes (although the scene with Butcher and Gunpowder close to the ending could fall into that category: but to a much lesser extent), it focused more on story-building and moving things along, which I appreciate; the premiere should've been more like that as it was the premiere, but whatever.
The pacing and writing allow characters to breathe and marinate while making things enticing enough instead of going head-first into the action. But I still think, in that vein of what's, more or less, "slow" pacing, what's happening could be more captivating. That's a minor inconvenience, though: I'm not 100% bored; however, let's get the facts straight, a huge chunk of that is thanks to Butcher (and Karl Urban's performance) and Homelander (and Antony Starr's performance). Especially in this episode.
The scene of Butcher watching the video Ryan sent to him, and Butcher's subsequent call to Hughie, was compelling: both the emotional/acting aspect of the first part, and the chilling and decisive aspect of the last part, how Butcher was "brought back to life" by Hughie, and Hughie, coming back to his senses/the fold.
And the ending of this episode with Homelander was quite impactful: and a little surprising, given the public/live context. In the second episode of the season, no less. The world seems to be working overtime at getting under his skin and tearing him down to nothing. He said in the premiere that he doesn't know how much more he can take, and quite frankly, I don't think we know. The Stormfront thing seemed like the last straw, and the episode's ending is right there, yet it still seems like even that wasn't enough. It's almost like a running gag at this point. More and more moments where he's "had enough," yet still "holding it together."
This episode also presented some new plot points to expand and develop, like the one with M.M. and his connection to Soldier Boy: and Victoria's (surprising) connection to Stan; I wasn't expecting their association in that way. And the plot point with M.M. makes things personal and gives him a basis for a vendetta, so it'll be interesting to see how that plays out once Soldier Boy is on the screen.
There was also the tidbit said by Gunpowder to Butcher about Grace. I feel like she either helped with an off-grid aspect or helped with a containment aspect. Depending on what that means regarding her involvement and "stance," it could create significant conflict, especially with Butcher. I don't think it means she'll become an antagonist (although maybe whatever she did would suggest that, and she feels/thinks differently about it now), but I could be wrong. So, that's another point of interest.
Two other aspects of this episode stood out to me. One: the trailer for the most certain, Oscar-winning, Not Without My Dolphin. It took me by surprise. But it was a fantastic (and hilarious) surprise. And two: the acting by Nia Roam, who played Chelsea. She gave an impactful performance, even with the short screen time for her character, and she resembles Kristen Scott a little. That scene was also impactful.
But I'm not on board with what Hughie is feeling/going through. Because of finding out the truth. I'm not on board with the writers' attempt at conveying that to us. Dialogue by Hughie regarding knowing her daughter, and being surprised by her on his birthday, both of them having this splendid friendship, falls flat because knowing it's been a year of that doesn't change the fact that we haven't seen any of it. It's a bit ridiculous. Did the writers intend for us to care and empathize: because there's a big disconnect there.
This episode was a decent one, one I thought was a bit better than the premiere. Yes, there's a 'but' coming. These first two episodes were entertaining, but I'm not fully captured yet: an element of proper excitement has yet to engulf this season. I know that's premature to say, considering I'm only two episodes into this season; I'm sure in the next episode, or after the next episode, it'll be more likely that I'll be "captured." The next episode should be a good one. I feel it will be a turning point, especially considering the third episode is the last of the first-three-at-once released model.