What a tragic story Davey Sacatino's is. And in a way, Tony's story is tragic here too. Hell, so is Meadow's and Davey's son Eric's. Davey's a guy who clearly has a problem, and while Tony's right -- he makes his own choices and they're dumb ones and he has no one to blame but himself, but Tony lets him pursue those urges. Even though Tony wants to keep Davey's iron out of the fire, even though he tries to dissuade him, once the die is cast, he reluctantly does his job. And he realizes how it affects his daughter just a little, even if it angers him.
And he's right when he yells at her. Not to yell, but the point that he makes. Everything Meadow has comes from her father's business. It may not be as unmediated or clear as her friend's car, but everything she has is tainted in the same way. It's no fault of hers, but she seems hurt by the realization in the same way that Eric is frustrated by it. Tony seems frustrated by it too. A lot of the first season seemed to deal with Tony having to harmonize his family life and his work life, and against his almost best efforts, here they are colliding again.
When Tony is reflecting with his crew that he remembers his dad and Uncle Junior running the game when they were kids, there's a sense that it was supposed to be something more than this. This is supposed to be an achievement for Tony, and instead it just causes another headache and makes him have to do something he didn't want to do. Like the Happy Wanderer, Tony should be carefree now that he's at the top of the game. But the Executive Game is a microcasm - it's the trophy he wanted, but it doesn't make him happy.
Oh my! It's Lagertha :D
The last 10 minutes of this episode is probably one of the most powerful endings I've ever seen! Gave me goosebumps!
Money money money. The title says it all, this is an episode about repaying debts, whether it's Junior's debts to his lawyers, the capos' debts to their boss, Tony's debt to his family, or even Chris's different kind of debt to his mother and father.
It's also about the downturn. Carmella says this all has to come to an end, and there's the pall from that sentiment hanging over the episode. Things aren't looking so good for once, and there's a sense that the grasshoppers and ladybugs should start storing food for winter.
I'll admit I didn't love the episode. There was a lot of set up for things that I expect will come later. But it was an interesting salvo for the fourth season.
Didn't laugh a single time. What has this show become? :/
Hurr Hurr girls talking about geeky things. How weird. Oh they talked about rom coms, it's back to 'normal' now.
Really not sure why I'm still watching this show. It's just insulting, the jokes stopped being funny long ago and the only likable characters are usually the butt of the jokes. I'll be surprised if I finish the season coz I'm done with this show.
i'm not up to date on Game of thrones (yea I said it lol) and there was a few spoilers that ruined the fun for me.
this episode was the most annoying piece of sh*t i ever had to endure.
WOW!! This episode was so intense!! I wanna see John meeting his daughter again now that she know who he is. And Morgan being supportive and saying those nice things to her about John was also really sweet.
And now to think that the A team is taken and they need help.
I so need to see Morgan, Devon and Ellie saving Team Bartowski!! It's going to be awesome!
Felt really sorry about Chuck's dad! :( And poor Ellie and Chuck had to watch it
Claire finally broke the 4th wall .Probably the best season so far.
we don't submit to the terror. we make the terror.
Quite a weak story here I thought. Even in the 24th century women seem to be all too easily swept off their feet by a guy with a nice smile
I'm sure many would disagree, but this is the first episode of TNG which I would describe as good, or indeed watchable at all. Up to this point it's a confused mess of cheesy storytelling and awkward dialogue. The Klingon stories are always fun, and while this isn't the first Klingon focused episode of the series, it's certainly setting the template for what was to come. It looks great and benefits from the excellent Klingon ship set built for the feature films.
I actually remember the first time I saw this episode, late night on Sky One. I was a kid and should have been in bed but I was captivated by it, and recognised it as being of higher quality.
Riker is totally on form, showing his ability to adapt and even have fun with whatever situation is thrown at him. Great to see Brian Thompson in his first of several Trek roles, too.
That was really cool! I loved seeing more of the Klingon culture.
Really interesting episode. It seems like the first time the very clearly had a choice to violate the prime directive with emotion. I can't see HQ overlooking what was a clear violation but at the same time the Enterprise ships have always had some extra leeway.
I'm really starting to like Dr. Katherine Pulaski. Wasn't too sure about her at first, but I've really enjoyed her character and liked her storylines during the last 5 episodes or so.
An amazingly well constructed episode that deals with alternate timelines but manages to be a wonderful character piece. The return of Denise Crosby as Tasha is central to this, and I wish I could experience the original shock of seeing her that must have occurred back in 1990.
The episode manages to bring meaning to her senseless season 1 death, and her scenes with both Guinan and Picard are very layered and powerful. Additionally, the episode has a vividly different look from standard TNG; dramatic lighting and longer focal depth really stand out, giving the episode its own identity. I get a small thrill with the return of the original-era movie uniforms and even set design.
It's also nice the way that the main cast change their performances in only subtle ways. Mainly we see that Picard and Riker have a harder edge, they seem more battle weary and forceful in their decisions. But the old captain is still in there as we see in his discussions with Guinan. This is yet another demonstration of what an important addition Whoopi Goldberg was to the cast.
As for minor criticism, I find the last 5 minutes of the episode a little dull. The battle with the Klingons just isn't particularly exciting. It's also convenient that the Enterprise-C crew were so willing to go back to their time without much argument.
I found it unbelievably irritating that the older brother was blamed for something the younger one did by himself. Older brother pranking his younger brother by playing dead is in no logical way related to younger brother being an idiot and eating the fruit. Younger brother could've eaten the fruit at any time. The person who made it so easily reachable for uneducated kids is to blame, and I'm willing to bet it wasn't his older brother...
Wow. Well that sucked even more than I was expecting for a season finale, and I had low expectations in the first place with how disappointing this entire second season has been. I can maybe guess it was probably better in the LN, but all the arcs in this second season were pretty bland to begin with story-wise. I don't see how they would be that much better in the novels. I love isekai light novels but Overlord is definitely one series that I never really liked too much (even the first anime season), and I will definitely not be reading the LN any time soon.
As for the third season, I'll probably still watch it when it airs in the summer as 20 minutes a week for 13 episodes isn't that much time. Still, I'm definitely not going to invest any more time in this series than that though.
A classic episode, doing something very different from what we usually get. Data is such a great creation both on the page and as brought to life by Brent Spiner, that it's almost impossible to not be fascinated whenever he's on screen. This episode is funny and light hearted while also engaging from start to finish.
Several things are introduced to the franchise here, including the hairdresser on board the Enterprise and Data's cat Spot. We also meet Keiko for the first time; I've been surprised to read that many fans didn't really like her, as I always found her an enjoyable character. O'Brien is getting more and more to do as the show goes on, establishing him as a strong character in himself.
Gates McFadden gets to show off her skills in the wonderful dancing scenes which are fun to watch. The subplot concerning the Vulcan ambassador and the Romulans is a bit weird, especially its surprise ending. I'm not sure it was integrated into the episode all that well.
The daywatch/nightwatch schedule on the bridge is a new one. It seems a bit odd because it suggests that the senior staff would rarely all be on the bridge at the same time, but every episode up until this point tells us otherwise. It's also convenient that all matters of importance happen during the ships "day time".
Another episode I seem to have no memory of! But again, not too surprising because it's nothing special. Geordi episodes just seem to fall so flat for me, and I can't help but think that it's because LeVar Burton's performance is crippled by that damn visor on his eyes. The most interesting parts of the episode involve the Klingons, and there are two pretty great actors playing the guest roles here.
We also get our first glimpse of a shadowy Romulan female who will emerge soon. The ending highlights the limitations of episodic television as Deanna emphasises to Geordi that it will take him a "very long time" to resolve and accept what has happened to him; nope, he's fine by the next episode.
That whole thing between Raj and Anu is not working. It feels forced and unnatural and they have no chemistry. But the writers seem determined to have everyone married by the end of the show.
Very intriguing episode! I'm excited to see the conclusion.
Is it just me or does the cave that Picard and Data are lead to by the Romulan guards look at lot like the cave from 3 episodes ago (Silicon Avatar), where Riker and co. where hiding from the Crystalline Entity?
I was prepared to be irritated after watching yet another episode about Riker finding a playmate, but this was a very good, very intense episode.
The success of this episode relies almost entirely on the perfect casting of Famke Janssen as Kamala. Star Trek doesn't have a great history of guest stars, but it's so clear from this episode that she's above the usual guest talent and was destined for a big acting career. True to her character, she manages to create excellent chemistry with everyone she interacts with.
It's also a strong episode due to how much it exposes of Captain Picard. It's clear that he always keeps a tight reign on his own personal feelings and those walls come down here. I particularly loved the casual scenes with Beverley, and I'd wish we'd seen more like that through the series.
For all that, there's no denying it's a fairly offensive story in regards to women. It also assumes that all men are attracted to Kamala, forgetting that some people have different sexuality, and doesn't even attempt to show how she interacts with other women.
The Ferengi are both fun (another Max Grodenchik performance) and it's amusing to see a pre-X-Men Stewart and Janssen together, especially as she introduces herself as a "mutant".
I had to laugh at Riker resisting the come-on from Kamala. As he leaves he says, "I'll be on the holodeck" ... is that the Star Trek equivalent of, "I'll be in my bunk?"
Ivar is an idiot. lol
All hail Ivar the brainless
One of the best performances from Patrick Stewart. Great Star Trek
Quite possibly the only time TNG managed successfully to pull of a romantic episode. This is a gorgeous and emotional exploration of Picard's spirit, helped all the more by the focus on music as a way to another person's heart. The biggest issue for me is just how much Nella Daren resembles Beverley Crusher; she's literally like a body double or stand in for her, and given Picard's series-long attraction to the doctor this comes across a a bit amusing.
It's great that the story references events of 'The Inner Light' (an episode I criticised for never having any impact on the episodes that follow; this one proves me at least somewhat wrong), but it's also worth noting that something very similar happens here. Picard finds love and seemingly a new way of feeling comfortable with himself, but it's all over by the end of the episode and any effect it may have had on his character is forgotten from here on. It's such a shame that TNG couldn't have plot threads running through episodes.
It's also one of the very few episodes in which music was allowed to be more than bland background noise (I'll never understand why Trek was only ever allowed to use the musical equivalent of a beige carpet). There's some really beautiful pieces here, both played by characters and as a part of the soundtrack. The background story involving the storm and the rescue attempts don't feel very compelling for much of the running time, but it does enable the episode to build up to a tense ending. The good chemistry between the actors was also essential in this working (see the many Troi romance episodes in which there never is any).
What I have to commend this episode for is the depiction of real emotion. It captures the joy of playing music with another person (I know this, I do it for a living) and also heartbreak. The shot of Picard sitting alone in his quarters, coming to terms with the fact that Nella may be gone is really, really upsetting.
