I think I should start by saying that I loved the books as a kid. I first got my hands on them when I was like 9 years old and they were unlike anything I'd read before: dark, a little creepy, sometimes hilarious in the most absurd way and wonderfully, deliciously weird. I haven't read them for years, but they still hold a very special place in my heart, so I was extremely excited for this show. And boy, the first episode definitely didn't disappoint.
The visuals are great. They look obviously fake, but they capture the atmosphere of the books really well. I loved the juxtaposition of the grey, gloomy beach and the children's brightly-colored clothes, as well as the obvious contrast between Justice Strauss and Count Olaf's houses.
The opening theme is fantastic. And the fact that Neil Patrick Harris is the one singing it just makes it better.
The cast is a big plus too. I was a little worried how the child actors would handle such big roles, but Malina Weissman and Louis Hynes are very talented. And Neil Patrick Harris is the perfect choice for Count Olaf. I enjoyed Patrick Warburton's narration as well.
Overall, this was an amazing first episode. And I expect the show to only get better from here, since The Bad Beginning is actually my least favorite book of all.
Holy mother of plot twists. It's a Christmas miracle! Laurel is back... right? Please, tell me that she is really back. I can't lose her again. I just can't.
"In our town, people who are dead turn out to be secretly alive almost every Wednesday."
Yeah, that pretty much sums up the show. Honestly, they could bring back anyone at this point and I wouldn't bat an eye.
So, why did Evelyn join Prometheus? She decided to stop the guy who killed some greedy rich assholes four years ago by teaming up with a dude who kills cops? In what world does that make sense?
I didn't really care about Felicity's boyfriend, and the fact that they decided to give him some character development in this episode made it pretty obvious that they were going to kill him. The one good thing that came out of it was the scene where Oliver confessed to Felicity that he had accidentally killed Billy. That was some top-notch acting right there.
I'm kind of bitter that Prometheus turned out to be some random asshole that we'd never even heard of before this episode. Talk about wasted potential.
Well, John is screwed. But we've already had a prison break episode this season, so I don't think they will put him in jail again.
I lost my faith in Arrow last season so much that I actually stopped watching it for a while, but I'm glad I came back. Season 5 has been pretty amazing so far. If they bring Laurel back, I will officially forgive the showrunners for all the bullshit they put us through. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
And here it is. The epic conclusion.
This was probably my favorite part of the crossover. The Flash part was a bit too rushed for my liking, and the Arrow part focused more on celebrating the 100th episode than the alien invasion. But this one? This one had it all. We got plenty of fight scenes and ass-kicking, but there were also some wonderful emotional moments.
I liked Stein's daughter drama. There was a lot of it in this episode, maybe a little too much, but it's an interesting storyline, even though I saw it coming a mile away as soon as Stein started having those visions of Lily. It's still good, though, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it's going to affect the future episodes of Legends.
Oliver's reasons for benching Kara were dumb as fuck. I firmly believe that that scene exists only because they couldn't include Melissa in most of the episode because of a scheduling conflict or some shit.
The Dominators really didn't put up much of a fight, did they? They just ran right back to their ships as soon as that bomb was destroyed. By the way, I totally forgot that Firestorm could transform things. I'm not entirely sure why they couldn't just have Kara throw the bomb back into space (come on, we all know she could easily have done that), but I guess it's because they wanted every hero to have their moment in the spotlight.
Holy shit, Kara and Felicity are similar. I can't believe I've never thought about it before. And Ray's comment about Kara looking like his cousin was a fun little reference for all the Superman fans out there.
I'm glad that Barry and Cisco are on good terms again. And Cisco and Felicity geeking out aboard the Waverider were adorable.
It's so cool that Kara can travel between dimensions now. It's sure as hell going to come in handy next year when the CW needs another bump in the ratings!
I love group hugs! Especially when it's between grumpy Oliver and two precious rays of sunshine Kara and Barry.
Kara is freaking scary when she wants to be. Damn. Never mess with this alien puppy. She'll drag you so hard you'll never get back up, and she'll do it with a smile on her face.
That little conversation between Sara and Oliver at the end of the episode was such a lovely, underrated moment. It really did start with the two of them. I've never looked at it like that.
Overall, this was an insanely satisfying crossover. I enjoyed it a lot, even though it made me feel dizzy at times, with all these characters running around, forcing me to pause the episode and do a mental count of who's who and which show they're on. I'm still bitter that Kara was the only Supergirl character to appear - Winn would've fit right in with the Geek Squad, and I wanted to see Alex and Sara kick some ass together. Maybe Digg losing his shit over J'onn being a Green Martian. Whatever. This was still fun, and who knows? Maybe next year's crossover will take place on Earth-38?
You know what the sad thing is? I didn't appreciate Laurel enough when she was on the show. This episode only reminded me what a big hole she left when she died. And damn, it made me emotional.
I actually love the "characters are in a simulation and start to realize that something's not right" storyline. This was really well-done.
I wondered where the newbies were during last night's episode. I'm not that fond of them, but I'm glad they included them here, if only for the sake of continuity.
Kara and Barry's high five in the middle of a fight was just the cutest thing ever. This is one of my favorite relationships in the Arrowverse. They are absolutely adorable together.
Holy cow, that spaceship looked freaking amazing. And I'm happy that the Waverider and Nate made an appearance. I guess we'll see everyone in the Legends part of the crossover. Maybe we'll finally get some actual alien ass-kicking.
Oh, and how could I forget? This is the 100th episode of Arrow! Congrats! It hasn't always been smooth sailing, but I'm still happy for the show. It was great to see all the characters we've lost along the way and remember how much Arrow has changed since the pilot. Some of the changes have been for the better. Some for the worse. But all in all, I still enjoy the show and episodes like this remind me why I fell in love with it in the first place.
Holy cow. Where do I start?
Guardian's storyline was pretty good. I'm glad that James finally has something to do, and his team-up with Winn is fun to watch. I absolutely loved Alex's scenes with Winn. The way she threatened him and smacked his head was hilarious. They have a wonderful brother/sister relationship.
If only I could get my hands on Lillian Luthor right now. I would cut the bitch. Nobody hits my girl!
Can Whiteboy McDullFace and Kara please not get together? Just don't do it. Come on.
Kara's message to Alex destroyed me. If I ever stop crying over the Danvers sisters, just assume I'm dead. I love them so much.
Jeremiah is alive! I mean, I guess we knew that, but it was nice to see him. I don't believe that they didn't do anything to him at Cadmus, though. They probably want us to think he's okay and then punch us in the face when we least expect it.
Some people speculated that Jeremiah would turn out to be Cyborg Superman, but I'm glad it was Hank. My sweet Alex doesn't need yet another heartbreak.
J'onn is turning into a White Martian! Oh, Space Dad. It's gonna be okay.
What the fuck is Medusa?
Alex and Maggie's storyline was, to absolutely no one's surprise, my favorite part of the episode. I totally get where Alex was coming from and Chyler Leigh did an outstanding job of channeling that mix of pain, anger and sadness. It was a very difficult situation for both characters, but I'm so happy that they were able to work it out.
Alex, my darling baby girl, my beautiful badass, love of my life. Don't worry. You will get the girl. You don't know it yet, but we do. You and Maggie are endgame.
Maggie is so obviously into Alex ("I don't want to imagine my life without you in it"? I swear, these two idiots will be the death of me). The only problem here is their bad timing, but sooner or later, they're bound to get together. And in the meantime, bring on the mutual pining, the jealousy, the lingering looks and all the cute moments that make you want to scream "Just get married already!" at your TV screen. I freaking love slowburn.
Oh, and can Maggie get her own scenes, please? You know, since she's a main character?
I'm always a sucker for Superfriends hanging out together at Kara's apartment. It brings me so much joy. More of that, please!
I loved Thea and Quentin's interactions in this episode. They have a really great father/daughter dynamic.
I'm actually starting to like Susan. Her relationship with Oliver is nice. But that drink she handed him when they met at the bar? Honey, that was not a drink. That wasn't even half a drink. I know that expensive alcohol is served in absurdly small amounts, but that was like one last sad tiny sip left at the bottom of the glass.
One thing that bothered me was that the team was in the middle of a workout when the bank robbery happened. They were all sweaty as fuck and probably didn't have time to shower, so how did they manage to get into their skintight leather outfits? That must have hurt.
That guy in the interrogation room (the DA, I think? I have terrible memory when it comes to recurring characters, so I'm not sure) was freaking scary. I'm assuming that when he said he'd been to hell, he meant that literally?
Little J.J. is adorable. That scene with the whole Diggle family was super cute.
And Evelyn is a double agent. Because of course she is. Girl, this is going to blow up in your face. I wish I could smack some sense into her right now. Who is even taking care of her? Where does she live? She's like 17. She should be doing homework, not standing broodily on rooftops and planning something shady with masked psychopaths.
This might actually be my favorite episode of the season so far. I loved everything about it.
Mon-El's storyline provided some pretty hilarious moments, but there was also an important lesson for Kara in there. Just please, don't let anything romantic happen between these two. I'm starting to like their weird brother/sister dynamic.
James is finally getting his own storyline! It's about damn time. I'm glad that he has Winn helping him.
The villains were fine. Whatever. It's not like we're ever going to see them again.
Lena Luthor had some good scenes in this episode. She was totally flirting with Kara. Fight me on this. Showing up at CatCo? Biting her lip while talking to Kara? Coming to Kara's apartment? (How did she even get her address?) It was amazing. I also liked Lena and Winn working together to stop the bad guys. Lena being a casual badass is what I'm here for.
Of course Project Cadmus lady is Lena's mom. Because if someone out there hates aliens, it just has to be a Luthor. I know I said I'd be fine with Lena turning out to be evil, but now I really want her to be better than her shitty family and choose a different path.
We got some nice bonding between Kara and Alex! I adore these two. They're so wonderful together. And Alex had a punk rock phase! It's canon!
So Alex didn't realize she was gay. Huh. I thought she knew and she simply decided not to tell anyone, but the way the writers chose to deal with it on the show is actually a lot better. I feel like they handled her coming out storyline exceptionally well. That scene at the end was freaking spectacular: so real, raw and powerful. I'm losing my mind over it. I can't believe it's real. I would like to thank not only God but also Jesus for blessing me with this beautiful character arc. Chyler Leigh is a goddamn revelation. Her acting is so nuanced. And I'm obsessed with "Way down we go" by Kaleo. Any scene is better with this song in the background. That's just science. I don't make the rules.
Oh, and I knew Maggie's girlfriend wouldn't stick around for long, but I didn't expect them to get rid of her this fast. It has to be some kind of a record.
What the hell just happened? Where's Coulson and Fitz? Don't leave me hanging!
We finally got Ghost Rider's backstory. I've been waiting for it since the beginning of the season and it didn't disappoint.
I didn't expect Uncle Eli to be a bad guy. The flashbacks were pretty great in this episode. I enjoyed them a lot.
Where did Mace send Jemma? I guess we'll find out in the next episode. I'm curious what her special mission could possibly be.
I love that Isodyne and Roxxon Corporation played a big part in this episode. All those references to Agent Carter as well as other TV shows and movies in the MCU feel almost like a reward for all of us for keeping up with this amazing, crazy universe.
This was one of the best episodes this season so far, but since it mostly focused on one storyline, there isn't much to talk about. It's kind of sad that we have to wait almost a month for the next episode. But hey, at least the ratings were pretty decent for this one! I've heard that 10 PM is generally considered the "death slot", but SHIELD is doing rather well, especially for a show that has always struggled with the ratings and had to face so much backlash from hardcore comic book fans in season 1.
Hot damn, this season is so good. Everything about it is just absolutely awesome.
That opening scene was great. It was super cool to see how differently Barry experiences things.
Harry and Jesse are back! I'm so happy! Let's hope they stick around for a while.
Magenta was a pretty fantastic villain. I'm always a sucker for the whole Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde thing. I can't even really blame her for her actions. There aren't many things in the world that I hate more than abusive parents. Sure, trying to destroy a hospital full of innocent people was way too extreme, but I can't say that I don't understand her motivations. Oh, and her hair was dope.
"Dad cop" is wonderful. And Barry being a "second daughter" made me giggle.
I can't wait for Team Flash to find out about Caitlin's powers.
Julian is a freaking asshole. Everything about him, from his stupid vest to his stupid messy hair, screams bad guy to me. How can you hate Barry Allen? That's just not physically possible. Look at him. He's the sweetest person in the world.
That last scene with Harry and Jesse was so good and pure. It made me really happy.
I've talked about Barry and Iris before, but god damn it, that is some tooth-rotting fluff right there. It should be illegal to be this cute. I can't stop grinning like an idiot.
You know who I love? Alex Danvers. Any episode where she gets her own scenes is a good episode in my book. Which is kind of sad, actually - she's a main character after all, arguably the most important one after Kara, and yet practically all of her storylines revolve around her sister. The showrunners promised that we would get to know Alex more this season and see more of her personal life, so I'm waiting for that. And I'm really happy that they acknowledged Alex's problems with Clark because she's right. 12-year-old Kara was willing to take care of baby Kal, but Clark, who was a grown-ass man when her pod landed, immediately dropped his cousin off at the Danvers family's doorstep like a stray puppy. Alex has dedicated her whole life to Kara while Clark has been flying around, showing up once in a blue moon. What's up with that, by the way? It took him like 5 seconds to get from National City to Metropolis. Can't they hang out for dinner every Saturday or something? Why do they see each other so rarely?
It was fun to have Superman on the show. I really liked the way Tyler Hoechlin portrayed him.
Clark and Kara are adorable dorky dorks and I love them.
My favorite scene in this episode was the one where Cat told Kara she was leaving. I genuinely cried. I love Cat Grant and the show won't be the same without her. She'll return at some point, of course, but she'll probably never be a main character again, which sucks. Just like Kara, I don't like change, and I will miss Queen of All Media deeply.
Winn is absolutely hilarious. His reaction to Clark and J'onn arguing was the same as mine. And Star Wars references are always great.
Project Cadmus is super shady. I mean, I already knew that, but damn. They're much better villains than Non.
James is the boss, which is... actually good in my opinion? And it makes sense? Give him his own storylines outside of being Kara's (former) love interest. It'll be good for both of them.
What a fun episode. Last season this show was a mess - vibrant, fast-paced, thoroughly entertaining mess, but a mess nonetheless. Now it seems a lot better for some reason. Maybe it's because they got rid of Carter and Kendra, who were by far the dullest characters on the show.
The story was actually really good. We got everything in this episode, from dinosaurs to Nazis. The writing was okay, the special effects were cool, I don't really have any complaints.
Stein's excitement over meeting Einstein was adorable.
Leave it to Sara Lance to flirt with a woman while she's being sentenced to death for "corrupting" women. Oh, Sara. Never change. I'm still hoping for a happy ending for you and Nyssa someday, but your shenanigans are hilarious.
I wish Sara had killed Damien Darhk. Then we could pretend that season 4 of Arrow never happened.
"- I'm here, Captain.
- You always are."
Damn it, Legends of Tomorrow. Ever since Person of Interest ended, I've thought I'd never care about an AI again, but here I am.
And Rip's speech at the end of the episode? Excuse me while I go throw myself off a cliff. I can't handle the feels.
The golden rule of the Arrowverse: if someone is fucking with the timeline, you can bet that it's a speedster. Wonderful. As if I didn't have enough reasons to hate Eobard Thawne.
Okay, this was actually... pretty good? My expectations for this show have been so low for such a long time, but this episode, as well as the previous one, pleasantly surprised me. Maybe there is hope for Arrow after all.
I don't really care about the new team, at least not yet, and I would sell my soul to get Laurel back, but Ragman was very cool. The Bratva flashbacks are a lot better than last season's crap, and Diggle's storyline is interesting too. The fight scenes were pretty great.
The scene in which Thea offers Quentin a job was heartfelt and emotional.
I don't hate Felicity as a character, and I don't really dislike Olicity either. The only thing I truly despise is the unnecessary drama that the writers kept throwing their way in seasons 3 and 4 instead of focusing on the actual superhero stuff. Seeing Felicity's new boyfriend - who is just painfully bland, by the way - made me want to roll my eyes. You can just feel Oliver's manpain and all the angst that we'll have to suffer through when he finds out about Detective Boring Dude. I mean, you can say what you want about Olicity, but the truth is, if they had just gotten married last season, we would've been spared a lot of nonsensical bullshit and maybe season 4 would've been more bearable. Let's hope the showrunners don't lose their way again and stop turning this show into some crappy rom-com. I really want this season to be good.
I love October. You can practically hear all of my favorite shows coming back from hiatus.
This was a really good episode. Like, really good. Thankfully, Superman didn't overshadow Supergirl at all. I'd been worried that that might happen - the media had been massively overhyping his appearance on the show before the season started, but he didn't steal Kara's spotlight, for which I'm grateful. Tyler and Melissa work so well together. It was a pleasure to watch their characters interact.
Lena Luthor seems pretty cool. I hope to see more of her soon.
Cat Grant is absolutely fantastic. I love her. What a shame that Calista is no longer a series regular. Kara and Cat's relationship is a delight to watch.
Kara and James didn't even last one episode, which is hilarious. Honestly, I'm glad. Let Kara focus on herself before you put her in a relationship.
We also got yet another British villain, the first glimpse of Project Cadmus and Alex Danvers kicking some bad guy ass (hell yeah!).
After a pretty shaky start and some serious improvement in season 1, Supergirl is now a well-balanced superhero show and also one of my personal favorites. And boy, am I glad that they moved it to the CW. To be honest, I didn't know what to think when I heard the news back in May, but it worked out extremely well. The pacing and the flow of the episode were significantly better than what we'd got used to in season 1. The dialogues were better. The editing was better. The atmosphere was better. Supergirl has always been charming, colorful and fun, and now all these qualities seem to have been amplified somehow. If this episode was any indication of how the rest of the season is going to look like, we're in for a treat. And I couldn't be more excited.
Wow. This episode was insane. Let's hope the finale is even better.
Harold casually strolling into an NSA facility to upload a super virus. I've never thought he was capable of pulling something like that off, but I love this darker version of him.
The simulations were my favorite part of the episode. It was interesting to see what the characters' lives would look like without The Machine. I'm thrilled that we got to see evil Root again. It made me realize (not for the first time) just how phenomenal Root's character development had been.
To quote Harold himself: "Anyone who looks on the world as if it were a game of chess deserves to lose". Samaritan's going down! But I hate the way they handled Greer's death, to be honest. He didn't deserve to die on his own terms. I wanted Shaw to kill him, preferably in a very painful, very creative way that would've made Game of Thrones look family-friendly in comparison. I wanted him to watch Samaritan burn. Why can't we have nice things?
I need to start preparing myself for next week. Don't get me wrong, I love all the main characters, but if Root's the only one to die this season, I will be bitter forever. I'm expecting a bloodbath, and I hope the writers don't disappoint me.
I'm actually glad that we're back to one episode a week. It means that I can enjoy the show for a bit longer.
Harold was the most interesting part of the episode. He's really willing to do anything at this point, which is a completely new side of his character.
It's been a week since I had to say goodbye to the love of my life. I miss the real Root like hell, but The Machine with her voice is great. When She said She'd loved Root, I couldn't help but smile. And the way She experiences love is fascinating.
I know a lot of people weren't satisfied with Shaw's reaction to Root's death, but to me, it was all perfectly in character for her. Shaw wouldn't cry, she'd go out there and shoot people, which is exactly what she did in this episode. But it killed me to see her spinning on the roundabout. Why is this show constantly making me suffer?
Since Harold went rogue in the previous episode, they had to give the rest of the team something to do, leaving us with pretty much another case-of-the-week episode. The storyline was interesting, but I'm kind of disappointed, to be honest. I can't explain it. Maybe my standards were impossibly high after last week, or maybe I'd thought that the last three episodes of the series would focus entirely on kicking Samaritan's ass. But overall, it was a great episode, as always, and I'm excited for next week.
That feeling when you have to go to school, and you can't watch the episode until you get home in the afternoon... Well, dear teachers, if you really expect me to put Maths or History ahead of one of my favorite shows' final season, you're seriously underestimating my obsession with fictional characters. I swear, tomorrow I'm getting up at 5 AM just to catch the next episode before classes.
The beginning of the episode was amazing. My multilingual baby Shaw in a cowboy hat? This is the stuff that dreams are made of.
Root with a big-ass gun is my new OTP.
ROOT AND SHAW! I'm screeching like a dying pterodactyl right now! Both actresses absolutely nailed that scene. Amy Acker's eyes are just inhumanly expressive. It's hypnotizing to watch. They should have their own award category. I wish that Person of Interest and its exquisite cast got more recognition because they absolutely deserve it. It's sad that even the show's own station doesn't appreciate it.
"The one person I couldn't kill... was you."
Everything hurts, and I'm crying. It's a good pain, though. The kind of pain that makes you feel alive.
The Voice was a compelling villain, and the plot twist was as unexpected as it was incredible.
The shootout at the precinct was an awesome scene.
Elias and Harold had a lot of good scenes too. Elias blowing up The Voice's car was great. I totally thought they'd really let him go, which would have been stupid, but that's how Harold rolls, so I would've understood it. Still, I was pleasantly surprised that they didn't just let the bad guy get away.
Fusco knows! Finally!
The whole team at the end made me cry even harder. Is this show trying to kill me?
4 episodes to go. I can't deal with this.
The hospital storyline was thrilling, but it got overshadowed by Shaw's escape. That was a wild ride.
I legitimately laughed when Shaw shot Lambert. He really had it coming. Confronting Shaw without a bulletproof vest or backup was one of the stupidest things I've ever seen on this show. Maybe even the stupidest since the list of dumb stuff on Person of Interest isn't very long. It's one of the best TV shows I've ever had the pleasure of watching, after all.
Root only had a handful of scenes in this episode, which was kind of a disappointment after the previous one. On the other hand, we got Root in glasses and a lab coat, so I won't complain. Can Amy Acker please stop doing that thing with her face? You know, the thing where she's so goddamn stunning and perfect? I can't handle it.
It seems that I've developed trust issues, and even though I'm 99.9% sure that this time Shaw really got away from Samaritan, a part of me is still afraid that there'll be some cruel plot twist. I can't wait for next week. Hopefully we'll finally get a Shaw/Root reunion. It's about damn time.
Do you guys realize that there are only 5 episodes left? How am I supposed to live after this show ends?
A Root-centric episode? Amy Acker dressed as a ballerina and in period clothes? Is this a dream? By the way, Root must be one amazing dancer. I'd pay a lot of money to see that.
I'm still crying because Shaw got Root's message! I'm so happy! But Shaw's going to be a mess when she gets back to the team. They'll probably have to develop some kind of a system to help her tell the difference between simulations and reality ("The Hunger Games" much?)
I wish they'd just tell Fusco the truth already. It's getting annoying. He's only going to get himself in more danger trying to get information.
A solid, case-of-the-week episode.
Elias is back! He's my favorite crime boss ever. It's good to see him.
I just love Root and Finch working together. Their relationship is a delight to watch, and I can't get enough of it.
Root, you can pretend that you don't care about John, you can call him "helper monkey", but you're not fooling anyone. As soon as you heard he was missing, you basically ran out of the subway to find him. That scene reminded me of Sameen "I can't stand Root" Shaw biking to another state in the middle of a city-wide blackout to help our favorite perky psycho. This whole team, man. They're going to be the death of me.
Baby Samaritan vs baby Machine! I can't wait for her to finally find a way to kick its ass.
Honestly, can Harold please stop calling Root "Ms Groves"? She's made it pretty clear that she doesn't like that name because it ties her to her past. Just respect her choice, Finch, it's not like it's hard.
Evil Katie Cassidy with black lipstick, dressed in leather? Sign me the hell up! I loved her!
My poor baby Caitlin. I'm glad she's back with the team. She, Barry and Cisco had a really nice moment with the group hug. The original trio of nerds back together, as it should be.
"This is the part where I play stupid and you explain the science."
That's it. That's the show in a nutshell.
A lot of good lines in this episode. Very quotable.
"- I didn't know you cared, Detective.
- Yes, you did."
That was a nice spin on the clichéd "I don't" response. Joe is a gift to this world.
I love how Cisco and Harry are BFFs now. Their relationship is super fun to watch.
Barry and Iris are adorable. I didn't really like the idea of those two together in season 1. I thought that their childhood-friends dynamic with the boy inevitably falling in love with the girl was kind of unoriginal and boring. Now I'm starting to like them. I still wouldn't mind Barry and Caitlin together, though. Grant Gustin is a magical actor who has chemistry with everyone.
I wish I could get my hands on Zoom right now. Damn, leave Barry alone! That puppy of a person has been through enough. He deserves some happiness for once.
If all doppelgangers are mirror reflections of each other, does this mean that 90% of the population on Earth 2 are left-handed?
Getting through this episode took me forever. There weren't any subtitles available for it when I started watching, but I just couldn't wait. You think you're so fluent in English, and then a Scottish scientist starts mumbling, and you have to pause and watch a scene again just to understand what the hell he's saying. It's kind of exhausting, but I did it!
Season finales of Agents of SHIELD are always incredible. This one was no exception.
I'd suspected Lincoln would die. I hadn't expected to cry when it happened. His last conversation with Daisy was absolutely heartbreaking. Sorry I was so mean to you in some of my reviews, Lincoln. You saved the world in the end. Not a bad way to go.
A round of applause for Brett Dalton and Luke Mitchell. Best wishes, boys. It's been a pleasure watching you.
Phil Coulson and his Star Wars references. I couldn't stop laughing.
Mack and Elena are a new OTP in the making. I'm so glad she survived!
Fitz and Simmons are alive, healthy and on the same planet. That's an improvement from the two previous season finales. But did they go to the Seychelles? I want to know!
I have so many questions. Is there a new director of SHIELD or did I misunderstand something? Is SHIELD legit now or do they still operate in the shadows? When did Daisy go full emo? Why is Fitz working with Radcliffe now? I hate flash-forwards so much!
Oh, and Daisy using her powers to jump on a rooftop of a building? Awesome.
Great season. 4 months until the next one.
See you all in September!
Story time:
Once upon a time, Castle was my favorite show. I discovered it two years ago, and I loved everything about it. The writing. The characters. Castle and Beckett's dynamic. The way they balanced comedy and drama. It was perfect: well-acted, surprising, charming, funny, but also dark and intense when it needed to be. It was everything you could possibly want from a TV series. People say that when two main characters get together, it ruins the show because apparently established relationships are not interesting to the viewers. But in Castle and Beckett's case, it worked. It really did.
Until they decided to make Castle disappear on his wedding day in season 6 finale. That was the first time I was genuinely disappointed with the show, but I kept watching because I still loved it.
Season 7 was noticeably more forgettable than the previous ones, but it had enough good moments for me to feel somewhat satisfied. We got the wedding, they tied up the 3XK storyline (which, in hindsight, were the last two truly good episodes of Castle ever). Although Andrew Marlowe wasn't the showrunner anymore, he stuck around as a writer, and it was obvious that as long as he was there, he kept the show from going completely downhill.
And then the new showrunners took over in season 8 and destroyed everything that Castle had once been.
Season 8 was an insult to the audience. There's no other way to put it. The writing was mediocre at best and straight-up awful most of the time. Separating Castle and Beckett was unbelievably stupid. None of the new characters were likeable. Stana Katic had too little screen time, and Castle's PI business became the focus of the show. I wish I had something nice to say about this season, but there's nothing. All I feel is bitterness, and I can't imagine how people who have been watching the show since 2009 must feel. I stopped watching this trainwreck when I heard that they'd fired Stana, but I came back for the finale after they announced the cancellation. I was relieved. I hoped the show would end with some dignity. Which it didn't, but at least Beckett's alive, so I'll take it. If they'd got rid of the last shooting and made the epilogue longer, it would've been fine. But they very clearly wanted to show that they intended to kill Beckett before the series got cancelled. It was like one last slap from the writers to the audience.
I don't know if the rumors about Stana and Nathan hating each other are true. All I know is that those two seem like really nice people if their interviews and panels are anything to go by. Especially Stana has always struck me as a classy, lovely person. They appeared to be thick as thieves during their PaleyFest panel in 2012, and then, at the same event in 2013, they weren't even sitting next to each other. I can't imagine what happened between them, and we'll probably never know. But one way or another, their relationship off-screen didn't have anything to do with Castle's long-overdue cancellation. Low ratings and backlash from fans after the showrunners tried to make Beckett-less season 9 happen did.
If I decide to rewatch the show in the future (and I probably will because seasons 1-6 really were excellent, and season 7 still had some of that flair left), I'll be sure to skip the abomination that was season 8 entirely. The ending of season 7 was a better and more satisfying series finale anyway.
Goodbye, Castle. I won't miss you in the fall, and I'm sad that it had to end like this, but you were incredible once. And that's how I want to remember you.
I like how the opening credits keep changing. You can see the struggle between Samaritan and The Machine, both trying to beat the other.
Root as a postal worker is my new aesthetic.
What was the point of getting John and Iris together and breaking them up 5 minutes later? They wasted a perfectly good actress on that storyline.
I really liked the flashbacks. Reese's past once again came to haunt him. It was nice to see Kara back. I love to hate her.
This episode felt a bit more like the show I first fell in love with, with the team working together to help someone. We've been getting less of that because of the Samaritan storyline, which is incredible too, but Person of Interest started off as a story of two men saving people. I'm glad we got some of that back in this episode.
This may be my favourite episode of the show. Simply excellent. An emotional rollercoaster mixed with some really good humor. I actually teared up because of how adorable that book was, but I also laughed at some of Cisco's lines. That's why I love The Flash: it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It's such a sweet, charming show, and even when it gets serious, it somehow manages to stay hopeful instead of becoming depressing and joyless.
Man, as much as I love the show, I really don't like that the writers seem to keep coming up with new ways to make the characters miserable. I know that season 1 is generally considered the weakest, and story-wise season 3 is a lot better, but I'm one of those people who care more about the characters than the plot. Remember when those guys used to laugh and prank each other? Good times. I just want them to be happy for 5 minutes, without some big threat of someone dying and the world ending constantly hanging over their heads. Couldn't they at least brighten things up a bit? Why are the lights in the base so dim? Why do the characters only own black, dark blue or grey clothes?
Let's start with the good stuff: Lincoln's not as stupid as I thought he was. The plan was awesome, I didn't see it coming (mostly because I was sure that Lincoln was really that naive). Daisy's back, which is great, but let's face it, this is AoS, she'll probably suffer and feel guilty. I just want to wrap her in cozy blankets and keep her safe. Fitzsimmons working together is always nice. I can't wait for the rest of the team to find out that they are a couple. Lash vs. Hive was epic. I expected it to happen at some point (why else would the showrunners keep Lash around?). I'm kind of disappointed they didn't save it for the finale, though. Mack and Elena are adorable. I really like her character.
Now the slightly less good stuff: stop foreshadowing with that goddamn cross! And you let James kill Lash? Really? You have a super powerful Inhuman who's immune to Hive, and he gets killed by some dude with a chain? Are you kidding me?
The stakes on this show are ridiculously high. An evil, ancient being is about to turn half of the population into zombies whose only purpose is to serve him, and he's planning to use a warhead to do it, and yet the only people fighting to stop him are about a dozen Shield agents. I know they can't get all the movie stars to appear on the show, but that's some Avengers-level crap. Their little feud in Civil War seems a little irrelevant in comparison. Then again, the movies seem to pretend that this show doesn't exist, so I don't know why I even expect some acknowledgment from them anymore.
2 more episodes to go. I'm not ready for the finale. I should probably start meditating or something, because this show stresses me out more than school, and that's saying something.
Wow, they couldn't possibly have squeezed more Civil War references in there, could they?
Lincoln is so useless, oh my God. Watching him mope around and disobey orders is so annoying. I get that he wants to help, and he's desperate to get Daisy back, but he only causes more trouble and screws things up in the process. The actor also seems to be the weak link among otherwise talented cast. I find his performance really unconvincing.
The Kree looked underwhelming. I guess even a high-budget show like Agents of SHIELD has to cut the expenses somewhere, with SHIELD's tech and Inhuman powers being as visually cool as they are.
Oh, and disposable background SHIELD agents finally had a bigger role to play. They even had lines! What a surprise!
Undercover May was hilarious. Mack and Coulson's commentary as she was charming James made me cackle.
Daisy and Mack, holy shit. Chloe Bennet and Henry Simmons really brought their A game in those scenes. I'm so sad for both characters. Daisy is going to feel so guilty when she's not controlled by Hive anymore.
Alisha's dead. Or is she? Who the hell knows? Assuming she is, I feel like they could've done so much more with her character. What a waste of potential.
For a second there I thought we were going to get unnecessary FitzSimmons drama, but no. What a relief. Salty Fitz was great. Poor Milton and his cabbage/brussel sprout head.
The big reveal at the end of the episode actually surprised me. It really shouldn't have, since it was such a big deal in season 1. I need to rewatch seasons 1 and 2 ASAP. Looking back on them, I realise that I've forgotten a lot of important storylines and characters.
Anyway, two weeks to go. I'm getting nervous. An obligatory season finale death is coming. I swear to God, if they touch FitzSimmons, I'm going to lose my mind. They've been through enough already. Fitz almost drowned at the end of season 1, and Jemma was swallowed by the Monolith at the end of season 2. Just give these two a break and kill someone else. Or don't kill anyone at all because guess what? Character deaths are such an overused plot device. I get it. They're spies. No one's safe. But killing people off just for the sake of killing them off is not innovative, and it's not shocking. It doesn't make your show better, it just pisses off the audience. It would be nice not to suffer after the season finale for once.
Agents of Shield is a weirdly uneven show - you get a few episodes that aren't that great (enjoyable, sure, but nothing special) and then, when you least expect it, they hit you with something excellent, thrilling, action-packed and intense. Something that leaves you with goosebumps and your jaw on the floor. This was one of those episodes.
Where do I begin this mess of a review? Let's start with less exciting stuff so I can pull myself back together a little.
May calling Coulson out on his bullshit was nice. Phil's a problematic character for me in general, so I'm glad they addressed the fact that his methods can be controversial at times. The murder vest as a precaution actually made sense, but seemed unnecessarily elaborate. What happened to a good, old-fashioned bullet to the head?
Kudos to Brett Dalton for making my skin crawl with disgust. That rarely happens with villains, I usually just straight-up hate them, but he's something else entirely. He reminds me of Kilgrave on Jessica Jones. They're on a similar level of creepiness.
James' powers are pretty cool, Lincoln's a whiny baby and Daisy breaks my heart. Just give her a lot of hugs and puppies, please, and get her the hell away from Hive.
Now, let me take some mild sedatives and let's talk about FitzSimmons.
Jemma was amazing in this episode. Not getting fooled by Hive, no matter how much she wanted to believe him? Shooting this almighty ancient being and living to tell the tale? Stabbing someone in the eye with a syringe? Fitz also got to kick some ass. When did this happen? When did these two sweet kids turn into badasses? It's impressive and so sad at the same time. They've only learned to fight because they've suffered and lost so much. They started off as two scientists who wanted to get out of the lab and have adventures. Innocent. Inexperienced. Naive. And then the real world and Hydra and a bunch of other shit happened and now here they are. More mature, stronger, changed, scarred. That's some damn good character development right there.
Also, 2 episodes of happiness. That. Never. Happens. Dear God, one of them's gonna die, aren't they?
This episode was filled with Inhumans and transhumanism (which reminds me a lot of Neolution on Orphan Black, by the way) and yet the strangest, most surprising thing of all was that these two got to finish their conversation for once.
Oh, and then they banged.
What a glorious day to be alive!
Okay, those worm implant things are gross as hell. My whole face is itching right now. But how come Sarah didn't feel it earlier? In the previous episode the guy could feel it moving in his cheek and the one in Sarah's jaw looks pretty big.
My poor baby Cosima missing Delphine. I'm so sad for her, she's such a sweet ray of sunshine but she's been through so much. I just want her to be happy...
Helena's having twins! Finally we're getting something nice and positive instead of constant suffering! She was so excited when she found out. And Donny's a real treasure. So kind and supportive and genuinely happy for Helena. I feel a little sorry for Alison, though. This whole situation must be difficult for her, especially since she's the one who wanted to have a family and struggled with her inability to get pregnant.
Felix looking for his biological parents will be an interesting storyline. It's nice that they adressed the fact that S and Sarah are basically related and that Felix might feel left out because of that.
The scenes where the story switched between Sarah and Beth were the highlight of the episode for me. They were very cool visually and I like that we finally got to learn more about Beth, since Sarah witnessing her suicide was what set the events in motion in the first place.
Holy shit. This is officially one of my favorite episodes of the show ever.
That whole thing with one of the Inhumans being infected was exceptionally well played. Elena seemed to be an obvious choice because of her injury, then Lincoln totally made sense too because of his previous encounter with Hive. I think my heart stopped for a second when it turned out to be Daisy. I really, really did not see that coming, which I suppose was the whole point. Next week we'll see her working with Hive and you can practically hear the SkyeWard shippers rising from the shadows. They don't even care that he's a creepy ancient parasite occupying a dead body and she's possessed by him. It freaks me out that there are people out there who still root for these two.
Fitzsimmons were in the same room together! And they didn't argue! And neither one of them cried! They were actually, genuinely happy for a few minutes before everything went to hell again! When was the last time we heard Jemma laugh? When did Fitz last make a joke? That entire scene was perfect and I'm pretty sure that it extended my life expectancy by several years.
Wow, they can't have 5 minutes of peace and quiet, can they?
Kara's speech gave me chills. This is the kind of thing that I watch Supergirl for. Messages of hope, positvity, courage, kindness and love. I often think that I would've loved Supergirl if it had been on TV when I was a kid. Sure, I love it now too, but 10-year-old me would have been thrilled with a role model like Kara or Alex.
Kara and Winn are adorable, my God. I don't ship them, but I kind of understand people who do.
KARA AND CAT! * screams for 1000 years * I love them! And Kara's got her own office now! I feel strangely proud. It's like watching a baby bird fly for the first time.
Kara and Alex break my heart. Familial relationships are often neglected in favor of romantic ones, but these two are, thankfully, not the case. They had some great scenes in this episode and I could just watch them forever. There's so much love between them.
Kara and J'onn, a.k.a. Alien Puppy and Space Dad kicking ass together was great to watch. J'onn literally ripping Indigo in half was freaking hardcore. The scene with Kara and Non shooting heat vision at each other must have been awkward to film: two people staring very intensely at each other and screaming.
I just want them to announce season 2. I can't handle not knowing. I need more Supergirl in my life! I had no idea how attached I'd get to the characters when I started watching the show, but here we are.
