Hit like if you taped your laptop's camera (or considered it) after watching this episode lol
The moment you rewatch this episode in 2016 and you suddenly realize: Donald Trump is Waldo.
"How does it feel to be in a womans body?" Idk dude, just pick her yourself next round
Thank you for this miniseries. What a ride. Quality in every single aspect of this production, it made me emotional in the end tbh
The newly introduced character of Ulana Khomyuk is an amalgamation of several actual characters who worked with Legasov to prevent the second explosion. Even though she is fictional, she provides invaluable insight into the even greater danger of a potential second explosion. The possibility of that second explosion is fact. It would have happened if not for the bravery of the three men who volunteered to drain the water tanks.
The conflict between Legasov and Shcherbina was remarkable. This series continues to amaze with its recreation of the event, but adds just the right amount of dramatization without being offensive to those of us who find the facts as, if not more important, than just being entertained.
OMG OMG OMG that was some of the best star wars since return of the jedi. PURE AMAZING. PERIOD.
The end scene is a genuine rush of adrenaline, and those 3 men are true heroes!
Top 3 best cold opens EVER!
you are.... my fire
the one... desire
believe.... when I say
I want it that way!
"50% Off."
"Dude, that's almost half."
The first 10 minutes was spectacular! No dialogue, just pure visual storytelling at it's finest. Also, Baby Yoda is too freaking cute.
This is, perhaps, the best tv series episode ever created! The acting is extraordinary, the filmography is tremendous, the soundtrack is terrific! And that end, that end is majestic! This concludes the most and smallest epic TV series I have ever seen!
And this, dear writers of contemporary Star Trek, is how you handle a topic like that.
I'm, sadly, not surprised about the rating (68 % at the time of writing) and some comments in regards to this episode. To each his own but I thouroghly enjoyed it.
It was past overdue that Klyden left the ship. I never liked him but there was no way after this he could have stayed. Don't think we've seen the last of him.
Bortus still hasn't performed "My Heart Will Go On"
I've been thinking for 30 minutes how to review this without spoilers but I'm as giddy as a 10 year old right now. Simply shell shocked. This was pure pleasure for any Star Wars fan, just go watch it (again)
And just like that, it's over. The final montage is one of the most emotional moments I've seen on TV, not because it wraps anything up in a nice bow (or ribbon) but because it restates its general thesis: life is cyclical, and life just goes on. It's the kind of show you never want to see end, really.
Season 5 has some issues with how far off the deep end characters go in making up bullshit but I'll be damned if it isn't close to the best season. It's not a perfect season of TV (unlike, say, Season 2), but it is a perfect season of The Wire.
Final thoughts;
Fuck Cheese.
Fuck Scott.
Fuck Herc right up his ass.
Poor Dukie.
Go Bubs.
"That was for Joe." ~ I love you, Slim Charles. Right up there with Daniels, Bunny, Omar, Kima, Cutty and Bunk as one of the most respectable characters in the show (damn, the list could go on, for a show about moral grey areas there were a lot of shining stars).
Sydnor as the new McNulty and Michael as the new Omar are both threads I wish could get explored more. Sydnor was an underdeveloped character but he had potential and showed signs of being good po-lice. Michael's arc is one of the most complete runs in the show, and carrying on the torch of Omar is drama I desperately want to see. Oh well, The Wire: the Movie dies in my dreams, I guess.
I am still thoroughly enjoying the subtitles.
Wet squelch.
Ominous music.
Wet popping.
Discomforting audio distortion.
Intense synth music continues.
I don't do drugs, but after watching this episode, I'm not so sure anymore.
Amazing,scarier than any horror because this happened and could happen again to any of us!
The thing I'm gonna miss most about this show is watching Julia Garner as Ruth. One of the most phenomenal performances ever.
WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED
Very awesome and true...It's Watchdogs meets Dexter
Ralphie is dead. Can't say I saw that one coming. I also can't say that I saw how he would be humanized. Few characters on The Sopranos are one-dimensional, but few seem as straightforward as Ralphie. He's a shit. That's kind of his character. He's a guy who gets away with all his bad behavior because he's good at his job. We all know the type. But little-by-little, the show peeled layers away from him that made him more vulnerable, less of a monster, and it culminated here right before he dies.
He has quirks in the bedroom. Like so many others on this show, he has mommy issues. He has a son whom he loves enough to be clearly devastated after an accident leaves the son severely injured on Ralphie's watch. He apologizes to Rosalee for how he acted now that he knows what it's like to have something terrible happen to a child. He donates money in Jackie Jr.'s honor. He proposes. He breaks down in tears. Maybe this isn't the monster we thought.
Or maybe it is. Paulie is clearly jealous of the place Ralphie holds in Tony's inner circle as an earner, even if Tony himself isn't terribly fond of the guy. Ralphie is the man who sends Paulie's mom into hysterics when trying to take out his revenge on Paulie himself. He's a man who beats a young stripper to death. He's a man who, maybe, kills any number of innocent, majestic creatures because it makes financial sense.
I don't know if Ralphie or one of his soldiers set the fire that killed Pie-Oh-My. The scene gives hints that point in either direction. Ralphie denies it, convincingly, but we've seen him lie straightfaced before. He has the motive to do it though, and his comments to Tony could confirm that he did the deed. But in the end, it doesn't really matter. What matters is that Tony believes Ralphie did it. Tony felt a connection to a simple, beautiful animal in a way he struggles to do with his fellow man. He's seen Ralphie murder innocent creatures before, and this time, his anger boils over in private, without his colleagues to calm him down or hold him back.
It's one of the most breathtaking, nervewracking sequences of the show. The way these two oxes struggle with one another, the way two seasons' worth of frustrations and tension finally come to a head. And then, just as quickly, it's all over.
Nearly any other show would have ended the episode there. Instead, the second half of the episode is quiet, meditative, almost boring, but in a good way. When Tony calls Chris to come help him get rid of the body, it's not shocking, or dramatic, it's mundane. It's almost as though the "regularness of life" that Chris once spoke of extends even to the covering up of a brutal murder. Tony and Christopher prepare the body, they watch T.V., they obliquely talk about what happened and what it means. They bond, slowly and without fireworks.
This is an episode where the question of "whoever did this" matters less than the fact that it was done. There's undercurrents of blame when Ralphie's son Justin is injured, from Ralphie to the friend who shot the bow and arrow, from Ralphie's ex-wife who blames Ralphie for the lack of supervision, from Ralphie to the ex-wife for buying Justin the bow and arrow. But at the end of the day, Justin's injured and who did it doesn't really matter. When Junior is hit on the head by a boom mic, it has little to do with the Justice Department (negligence, maybe?) but Tony declares he'll sue them and they use it to get Junior's charges dropped or at least his trial postponed. Ralphie may have had his horse killed, or it may have been an accident, but the possibility is enough for him to take out his anger on Ralphie. And as far as the rest of the mobsters know, Tony may have taken out Ralphie (which, as Chris suggests, could send the wrong message) or it could have been any number of other people who Ralphie has pissed off over the years. (Again as Chris notes, Paulie is a likely suspect.)
"Whoever did this" is ambiguous. It prevents you from laying blame. It's a vague sense of a wrong being committed, and a futile pointing of fingers, when real justice, or real comeuppance, is hard to come by, or at least to understand, in the world of The Sopranos. But one thing is true, at the end of all of this, Tony is alone, in the dark, before he steps into a blinding light and the whole thing ends. Who knows what else is in store for him. Tony is complicated, angry, damaged, and often lonely individual, whoever did that to him.
The Mandalorian: "Fett?"
Boba Fett: "Let's just say they might recognise my face."
I burst out laughing. Now that's a reference I can get behind!
It was nice to see Mayfeld again; he's such a charming character. And I was surprised to see Mando go through another character arc. In Season One, he had to get over his prejudice/hate of droids but that all changed when IG-11 proved to him that droids aren't all that bad. In this episode, it took Mayfeld to convince Mando (as well as quite a few others throughout both seasons) to finally let others see his face. I think it really sunk in when he met Bo Katan and her crew, but after losing the kid, he really was desperate. And it was as he said:
The Mandalorian: "He means more to me than you will ever know."
Again, fantastic writing. The twisting of these words, thrown back at Gideon is so menacing and satisfying.
TECHNICAL SCORE: 7/10
ENJOYMENT SCORE: 8/10
"This is all I had to do. This is all he ever wanted. Maybe, if I'm being honest, maybe this is all I ever wanted, too."
Finally!!! I've been waiting for this moment since the beginning. Best episode so far.
As my wife aptly said after the conclusion of the episode, "there's plenty of action but not a lot of story here." There are certainly a lot of great moments and a good bit of mystery, but it feels more like a trailer for whats coming then a its own story.
Full disclosure, I knew what happened in this episode before I went in. Sometimes you just pick things up through cultural osmosis. But it took some of the oomph out of this one for me. It was still tragic to see what Adrianna went through, to see her tentative hopefulness and dreams of getting away from all this dashed completely. But I can only imagine what the impact would be if you didn't know it was coming.
One of the things I find interesting about The Sopranos is that, contrary to a lot of movies and shows about the mob, it's never really on the mobsters' side. Sure, the show invites you to be allured by Tony Soprano and his brood, but at the same time wants to chastise you for being allured by him. The beleaguered gardener throughout the season is a persistent reminder that these are not good men, and most of what they do involves stepping on the little guy.
But at the same time, it doesn't make the FBI agents who are plotting against the mob looking any more righteous by comparison. They gossip casually about why Adriana hooking up with Tony would be good for business. They casually discuss how a woman marrying her abuser could be good for them. They treat Adriana, a woman who is clearly out of her depth with this stuff, like a tool, almost like cattle, rather than a person. Sure, the FBI are on the side of good, to the extent it exists in a show like this, but they're just as dehumanizing and dismissive of anyone who doesn't help them achieve their goals as the mobsters are.
And that's the tragedy. Chris claims to have loved Adriana. His recurring beatings of her don't seem to lend credence to that, but he does seem broken up by it at the end of the episode. And Tony too, though he is allegedly supposed to be an unrepentant monster, has at least a moment's pause there on the lot at the end of the episode, which is more than can be said for the frosty FBI agent who's been Adriana's contact over these years.
At base, Adriana was someone reaching out for a person who cared about her, a real friend. Danielle halfway promised and provided that and then betrayed Adriana's trust. Chris seems entirely dismissive about Adriana's feelings and her stress. Her newer FBI contact bristles at any of Adriana's moments of reaching out for kinship. And Tony Soprano, the only one on the show who seems to actually connect with her, is the one who orders her killed. Adriana is, to the extent anyone on this show is, an innocent. She's dumb and naive and while she knows what's up to some degree, it's easy to see her swept up it at a level over her head. When people like that suffer or get killed, through the actions of both sides of the good guy/bad guy divide, it shows that this "war" has civilian casualties like any other.
they're right... blip is a funny word
