InvioLing

This is certainly not The Boys' strongest season finale. The plots feel awkwardly resolved and the key plot points they've been developing just ended up as nothing. It feels really underwhelming. Of course there are some positive notes about this finale as well but bear with me, let's go through three most crucial problems for me.

First, Black Noir. What a disappointment. They've been building up Black Noir for at least four out of eight episodes in this season. They even showed him as a person, a real individual with emotion and vivid imagination this season after the previous two he had only been a mute killing machine. And he went down just like that. Sure the conversation between him and Homelander was tense - but that was it. Unfortunately, Black Noir's imaginative flashback, as I've suspected in the previous episodes, serve as nothing more than plot device to move the story forward.

Second, Soldier Boy. The hunt for the ultimate weapon to destroy Homelander ultimately just ended up in vain. Where did it go, the riled up spirit of The Boys in bringing Homelander down? They have the weakest excuses to portray this change of heart. With M.M.'s plot, well, I guess, okay, as he has his own personal vendetta against Soldier Boy, it's still understandable. This is to put aside that they went with the "Soldier Boy kills my family" plot too easily (we didn't get to ever see what actually happened and it's brushed off as nothing more than "racism", which is quite disappointing since there were plenty of rooms for flashback this season).

But then there's Butcher. He ended up beating down Soldier Boy because Soldier Boy hit his kid? I mean, sure it's his kid, but where's the man-with-a-mission-to-kill-Homelander-no-matter-what-it-takes that we've seen for all these three seasons? If Butcher was a little smarter - and he actually is with his cunning tactics and all! - he could've stopped Soldier Boy for a while, let Homelander pats Ryan's back, then when Ryan is out of sight just finish off Homelander by then. Soldier Boy doesn't even seem to hold anything against Ryan (especially after he knows Ryan is Butcher's son). The whole charade about beating up Soldier Boy is a really weak plot point just to let Homelander alive to be the ultimate big bad in next seasons.

Still here? We'll get to Homelander but let's talk about Maeve briefly. What's her end goal? At first she seems to be an ally ready to take down Homelander, but when it comes to actually facing Homelander she can't see the forest for the trees. Rather than staying true to her goal to kill Homelander, she was just absorbed with herself, punching Homelander around only to get herself beaten. Sure, Maeve isn't the most tactical ones, but she's been supplying Butcher with everything so far.

Last, Homelander. As soon as the fight ends, my biggest question is: what would be Homelander's yet another reason to NOT kill Butcher, Hughie, and co? Our Boys have been picking a fight with him since Season 1. It's clear our protagonists are pests to him, but he keeps giving them leeway. At this point isn't it easier to just get rid of them all when Ryan's not looking to prevent our Boys messing up with him again? There's a fan speculation that predicted Homelander is going to be depowered, then he's going to live the whole Season 4 under Vought's protection while our Boys track down the biggest big bad: Compound V. I think I like that better since it's going to show how Homelander will struggle with his weakness and humanity. But I guess the showrunners wanted to keep on getting Homelander more unhinged and even more unhinged and violent, as shown when he lasered a guy in a parade. With this direction, I'm expecting the show to end in a high note with chaos everywhere like perhaps in the comics. I just hope they don't prolong this much further - maybe Season 5 at most.

Then there's some plot devices like Tempo V, powering the army with V, etc that are left unexplored, which feels a bit like nothing more than filler to get the plot moves forward. And the fact that they kind of go with cliffhanger in this finale reminds me of Season 1's rather weak, cliffhanger-ish finale as well (perhaps that's their pattern: the real season finale is in the even-numbered seasons).

That said, this episode is still quite entertaining as it kept me guessing where the plot would go. It's not as frantic and riled up as Herogasm (Eps 6) and the direction is not quite satisfying, but it's fine. The theme of this season is "family", they stay true to that up to the finale. Soldier Boy's dialogue with Homelander is good. Talk about how toxic upbringing would make you become toxic as well, while thinking you can do better than your parents.

I like that they are planning to use the political plot with Neuman in Season 4 (I thought it was going to be wasted after the nice development in Season 2) as The Boys' forte is taking a jab at politics and corporatism. I do hope we will see what Stan Edgar envisioned as Vought "getting out of the supe business in the next five years."

I also like what they did with Ryan, coming together with Homelander, and the way Homelander is normalizing Ryan to violence. This is the consequence of Butcher's acting asshole-ish to everyone and sure hope our Boys will see the consequences of his action, especially with the sweet reunion with everyone at the table in the end (feels like the calm before the storm).

All in all, not a bad finale, but a bit too disappointing in the way they resolve the plots that have been built up all this season.

Others might say that this is not as intense as previous episode, which might be true in terms of action and moving the plot forward. But I find this episode is still intense in a different way: more emotional investment.

"Family" and its unfortunately related cousin "abuse" seem to be the the theme that knits together different story arcs of the episode: the obvious Butcher flashback, Kimiko and Frenchie, MM with his family, Soldier Boy, and Homelander.

The episode kind of speeds up the pace in showing Soldier Boy's villainy through a recreation/imagination of Black Noir's flashback; although I'm not too comfortable that they present Noir's flashback at face value (instead of being an unreliable narrator), I think it still kinda works.

It is shown that Soldier Boy is an abusive, selfish bully with anger issues you would typically see among band leads or celebrity groups. While some have defended Soldier Boy's action by comparing him to Homelander ("at least Soldier Boy is not psychotic, emotionally unstable narcissist! He is a normal person not grown in lab!"), I think they missed the point of the show: the biggest issue here is exactly what would happen if people with power (influence) have additional power (literal superpower) while being protected by multi-billion dollar company. They possess all the impunity to wreak havoc. Like MM said, "no one should have the right to wield such power."

This theme of abuse is explicated with Butcher's flashback. No one is inherently "good" or "evil" - you are shaped by your upbringing. As the scenes between his memories, his reflection, and his projection in current time are cut seamlessly back and forth, Butcher slowly realizes that he mirrors the man he hated the most. Yet he fully accepts his succumbing to that darkness while bringing Hughie with him through his personal vendetta against the supes - not caring about the risk towards others who he claimed he loved. Even with parents, one may grow to be a contemptuous person if they live in an abusive family, and it's a cycle that is very difficult to break. Butcher's flashback is certainly the spotlight of the episode for me.

Even with Kimiko's story in the background (her saying that V only explicates what kind of person you are), considering that we've been shown how the character's social lives shaped them into what they are now - Kimiko with her abducted kid background, Hughie's insecurity with his zero to hero job, etc - the message stays strong, countering the superhero cliche of inherently morally good and evil person.

I'm hoping this dynamic could be further explored in the next episode (or season) with the Soldier Boy and Homelander encounter when it's revealed that Soldier Boy is Homelander's father, at least he feels so. An abusive father meets a narcissist kid-who'd-wanna-be-a-father. The ending of this episode becomes revealing when tied up to the earlier convesation between Homelander and Maeve: with Homelander echoing Soldier Boy's words that he "used to dream of having kids" with Maeve, it becomes apparent in this episode that the relationship between Homelander and Maeve (and Soldier Boy and Crimson Countess) it is not something exactly out of pure love.

"Having kids" is not a romantic statement: it's a purely masculine, self-centered ego of having someone of your blood - of your similarity - that you can be proud of. Who the partner is doesn't matter; they are only means to that end. And in that Soldier Boy shares something in common with Homelander as shown through his delight of accepting Homelander readily as his son, albeit lab-grown. He only wants to see a better version of him.

Last but not least, I love the jab at corporate this episode still throws. Ashley spinning breaking news about Starlight in a similar way Disney would spin stories about their abuse and mismanagement; and that A-Train being zombified, again, with the heart of Blue Hawk embedded in his body, serving only as Vought's puppet. I'm not sure if that's the most satisfying end to A-Train's arc, but seeing his disappointed, grim look, his lack of agency, I guess the character suffers a lot. I just hope this will be the last of his arc and the show doesn't squeeze him further.

That said, with the reveal at the ending, I am not sure I am 100% satisfied as I was expecting Soldier Boy bringing down Homelander, or rendering him powerless by the end of the season. Looks like Homelander will continue to be the main villain. I just hope they don't prolong the "mentally unstable" trope too much and find ways to keep the show interesting. Looking forward to the finale.

"They're just people. But they snap their fingers and we jump."

Interesting episode showing the clutch of corporation in the lives of the superheroes. Heroes have to obey metrics--viewership, social media likes--they have to perform, to play the role of heroes to satisfy the demands of the markets.

The life threatening crime of robberies are made mundane, as shown when Homelander and Maeve have a casual chit-chat about their employers while performing cool action stunts of "saving the world". Which, in actuality, is a no-mercy beatdown of a guy who surrendered as soon as they appear. But they have to play their part: "the bad guy shot first", that's why it's legal to murder him. In the same vein, Starlight has to upgrade her costume, to show a "transformation" from a country girl to a metropolis supe. She doesn't like showing off her body, but once she signed the contract, her body is no longer hers--it's of the corporation. The supes may have physical power, but the billionaires have political and cultural power.

We have watched this mundanity before in the form of other entertainment--Marvel Cinematic Universe. Life-threatening actions were played out as jokes and mundane routines. And us the viewers enjoyed it, because it gives us "cozy feelings". But, like most performers, heroes hide secrets. And that's where the Compound V plot kicks in.

This episode attempts to show what sci-fi usually does: a commentary not of the future, but of the present. The subplots are knitted neatly to each other, marking a distinct theme. We tread carefully as plans and ploys unfold--and failed--but as they go, more possibilities were opened up. We watch our Hughie becoming more convinced of his place in The Boys. We see his conscience in opposition to the other veteran members of professional killers.

The great thing about this show so far is how everything is not portrayed as merely black and white. Superheroes may do bad, but they are all still humans who submit to corporate governance. While our boys may seem to have clear motives of taking down corrupt heroes, but they too are vested with their own interest. Hughie acts as our moral compass--the only ordinary guy, who happens to be trapped inside this clusterfuck.

Most solid episode of the season so far. Nothing extraordinarily amazing, but it's just The Boys at its best like in the first half of Season 1.

What I like the most is that everything that happens leading to the climax in the Herogasm is just frantic, chaotic, a lot of stuff happening at once, unplanned, unpredictable, and consequently, tragic. Just a lot of things coming out together at the same time, including the tying up of loose ends of plot points (e.g. with A-Train's demise and his conflict with Hughie).

The episode keeps the comedy and jab at corporate speak intact, but does not overdo it so we get straight to the crux of the matter. From Homelander, Starlight, Kimiko/Frenchie, Hughie, A-Train, even Ashley - the plot revolving around those characters are about what makes them really them. They all have struggled with the question whether power (be it through V or executive position) made them into a terrible person they do not like, but it is all actually on them. Power only explicate their attitude. Like Butcher in the previous episode said, "With great power comes the absolute certainty, that you will turn into a right cunt."

It was interesting to see how each characters react: Hughie portrayed as an insecure man, A-Train tasting his own bitter medicine, Starlight getting tired of the play-pretend and politicking she has played all over the years, and of course, Homelander being Homelander. I find it especially best with Hughie and A-Train. Hughie, when in S1 he acted as our moral compass, here we see him as someone fragile, a man unable to keep up with the pace of the world he's living in and feeling defeated by his girlfriend for not being a breadwinner. A-Train, a great end to his arc, as he realizes that he has caused so many harms to others due to his toxicity, he realizes that he can only bring a little bit of justice for his own brother. He can't run away from his past like Frenchie said, I think it's very poetic.

Also it's refreshing to get a brief character development with Soldier Boy. Hoping that there is more to this character in the next seasons to come.

Last but not least, the fight with Homelander was intense. The unexpected Butcher x Hughie x Soldier Boy tag-team is great, especially with the confused, defeated look Homelander gave to them. I'm expecting this will drive Homelander even uncontrollable, especially now with his inner monologue and everyone either against him (Starlight, Maeve, if she is still there) or leaving him (Noir and possibly A-Train). The show seems to be planting the seed of conflict between our Boys in the future to come. Hopefully this will pay off.

When you have a political system and society built on the absolute control of information, and the projection of being all powerful and always infallible, then, when something disastrous happens, the first inclination is denial, then a cover-up, and finally finger pointing, deflection and blame storming with the various people having any sort of authority or power trying to save their own asses. The fact that the party bosses and ministers were "Apparatchik's", the Soviet equivalent of bureaucratic hacks, who had been gifted their appointments with minimal or even no knowledge of the actual workings of the bureaucracies they oversaw, poured gasoline and threw a match on an already untenable situation. It's easy to strut around in a cheap suit and impress the peasantry, especially when you can have anyone who calls you out on your BS sent to the Gulag's or even worse. It gets a bit trickier when peoples hands and faces start melting off, and they're detecting abnormally high radiation 1000 miles away.

I feel worse for the civvies, whose naive faith and trust caused them to believe the lies and half truth's they were being fed, and kept them from not only questioning the official story, but, willingly living and working in such close proximity to a disaster waiting to happen, and, thinking it was a privilege to do so. They had no idea of the dangers lurking near them, and, like Lyudmilla, who even when warned not to get too close or stay too long, hugs, caresses, and even places her irradiated husbands hand on her growing womb, thinking he just has some severe burns, because no one has the courage to speak the truth, even at the cost of thousands of lives.

Granted, it really didn't matter after the fact, because the battle now was to keep from decimating the ENTIRE Soviet Union and most of eastern Europe, so, what's 10 or 20 thousand dead if it means saving the country? So, if the neighborhood cheap suit pulls your name from a hat at the point of an AK-47, you tend to cooperate and not ask too many questions. Unless you're a coal miner extra enough to work butt nekkid in a radioactive hole with no hope of survival, and no thanks or glory. I tip my hat to them. Hero's all, even if Moscow never acknowledged them.

If The Boys is usually chock full of superhero films parody, then this episode feels like a love letter to Logan (2017) and (the trailer version of) The New Mutants (2020). This is even more so with the casting of Shawn Ashmore, who played Iceman on X-Men, as Lamplighter.

It opens up with Homelander being sexually aroused by Stormfront while crushing the head of a thief in an alley. It recalls the scene back in Season 1 when Homelander casually rips through a gunman's chest for a show, but this time it's even more vulgar. As Homelander gets more aroused, his grip on the thief's head gets firmer, until it eventually crushes him into pieces. Then, fast forward to the end of the episode, we see Homelander confronting Stormfront, and her opening up to Homelander about her past, while she preaches of the importance of purity of their "race". They then continued to make out. There is something to be said here about indulgence in sexual and power fantasy.

This episode also starts to recenter the orientation. If in the first season we get to see the story progresses from the eyes of Hughie - the only seemingly sane person among the ragtag group of rebels - this episode shows how others see Hughie. Butcher, always an efficient, ruthless killer he is, is contrasted to Annie/Starlight who believes she retains her compassion even though she's a supe. Annie relentlessly tries to stop Butcher from senseless killing; though for Butcher she still inhibits the one thing he hate the most. "What you can't stand is in my blood, I'm a subhuman to you," Annie confronts Butcher. Yet when situation forced her to take extra measures, Annie sees herself doing something that only Butcher would do. "I'm not like you," she insists. However they then find what really makes them similar, but different at the same time: their attraction to Hughie.

Last, The Boys never stops to take a jab to corporatization of superhero. '"'A-Train' is a trademark. You're just another nobody from the South Side of Chicago" reminds me of the very early episodes in S1, when Homelander thought they were still bound by corporate rules (something that he seems to try to break free in this season).

Yep, this episode was incredible. Best episode of the season by far. Loved almost every minute in it. Firstly, Becca is one of my favourite characters show, she is just incredible and this episode further propelled that. Erica Cerra is absolutely incredible as Becca and as A.L.L.I.E, she steals the show whenever she is on screen, she stole the show in 3x7(Thirteen) and she stole the show in 3x16 (Preserve instantiation part 2). Becca, Bill and Callie really made this backdoor pilot incredible. I was not too sure about Callie at first, but she is starting to grow on me and may be a great protagonist and I knew she was going to be the first Heir to Becca Pramheda, the second commander. I loved the Easter eggs we got around the show, The Trikru shirt that Callie's friend was wearing, the from the ashes poster, which is a common phrase used, the Your fight is over phrase, very very interesting stuff. I am also very interested by what Becca saw and why she needed to destroy the anomaly stone. Very curious. As mentioned very great episode, I wonder how long Bill was telling the story cause Octavia and echo look very brainwashed. Also, I want to know what happened to the Eligius mission to Bardo, did they settle on earth, did they join the mountain men, maybe I missed something, but I am curious.

Thank you, Dean Winchester.
Thank you, Supernatural.

Obviously I also want to thank everyone else involved, specifically Jared Padalecki, the other half of the show. I'm not going to lie to you, I was nervous for all the wrong reasons before watching this. The past couple of seasons has not been anything like the show I once fell in love with, but when I joined the "family" 10 years ago, it was done. I would never abandon this show. It has been something so unique, so comforting, so familiar - such a safe space. Good or bad, I always knew I could come back here and meet the characters I loved more than anything.

Dean Winchester has changed my life an unmeasurable amount. I identify a lot with him, and is the character I have, undoubtedly, loved the most out of any and all fictional characters I've ever encountered.

Guess I should actually review this, then, huh?

First of all - MIRACLE :hearts:︎ I was so happy they kept her around. The first few minutes are so jam-packed with feel-good TV you just know shit's gonna hit the fan sooner rather than later. It's a monster-of-the-week type thing, a nest of vamps kidnapping kids.

Then the big fight happens, and Dean gets impaled on a rebar that goes through his back.

The speech that happens next is so painful to me I can barely breathe as I watch. The "stay with me", the "I love you so much, my baby brother," the "tell me it's okay," 'cause of course Dean will fight tooth and nail for his last breath until his little brother says he can let go. That Dean's job is done. He has protected his little brother, as he promised, and now he can rest.

Shit man, just yank my heart out, will you?

I've personally always wanted the brothers to die together or not at all in the finale. That doesn't happen. And surprisingly, I'm at peace with that.

Dean goes to Heaven, which is "nearly perfect". There's one puzzle piece missing, because Sam isn't there - but he will be. Time passes differently in Heaven, Bobby says (oh yeah, Bobby's back. For once I don't mind them bringing him back for the millionth time). Bobby asks Dean what he'll be doing now, to which Dean answers that he's gonna go for a drive, as he finally spots Baby. The speakers blasts Carry on My Wayward Son, and you thought you were done crying but nah.

We see Sam's life and Dean on the road, back and forth. Sam has a son now, named after Dean, and we see him raise him throughout the years, aging, going grey (the wig is atrocious but fine), while Dean is still driving down the same, long-stretching dirt roads, still as "young" as always, time seemingly standing still.

Then, as they move to a cover of CoMWS (which is beautiful by the way, my GOD), we see Sam die of old age in his home, surrounded by photos of Dean, their family... They cut to Dean, who's slowing the car down to park on a bridge, and as he gets out to look out over the river below, you can see him sense a presence, before he grins and goes "Hey Sammy" (that's my cue to cry again by the way). Sam responds with Dean's name, they hug, and that's that. It fades to black as they stand together on the bridge, looking out over the river.

Their final words in the show are each other's names. And if you remember from "Dark Side of the Moon" back in season 5, when Castiel says to Dean that he needs to follow the road in Heaven, which will lead him to Sam... The fact that they implemented that here as well, with Dean driving seemingly forever, until Sam dies and his trip ends as they reunite. It's just so achingly beautiful.

I know this review is a mess. I don't expect anyone to read it honestly. But this show has been my life for so long I felt like I owed them this.

We've had our ups and downs, dear show, but you'll always be home to me. Thank you.

If Michael Bay made Invasion, it would be filled with paper thin caricatures. Invasion is more in the vein of Cloverfield, both of which invest heavily into developing characters. In both, alien invasion is a backdrop that accelerates unfolding human drama.

1. Aneesha (United States): Arguably the main principle character, I find her struggle to protect her kids while letting her cheating husband Ahmed "help" for the time being interesting. Ahmed has been a one-dimensional villain, but their dynamic is complex and boiling up into a spectacular burn.

2. Caspar (United Kingdom): By far the most sympathetic character and his relationship with a school bully Monty is realistic. Billy Barratt delivers very nuanced performance.

3. Mitsuki (Japan): Her lesbian angle reminds me of Hilary Swank's cliched sci-fi Away, but her role is thankfully pivoting into a scientist in charge of solving the mystery.

4. Trevante (Afghanistan): Estranged boyfriend-PTSD soldier angle creates a surprisingly poignant backdrop for his newly developing relationship with an Afghan migrant Kuchi (fantastically played by Aziz Capkurt).

The first 3 episode devotes well over 90% of the screen time developing these 4 characters, with "cameo" appearances by veteran actors Sam Neill and Rinko Kikuchi. Like Cloverfield, their conflicts are brought to front and center as their survival instincts kick into higher gear.

For the most part, I think these storylines work because the performances are so strong across the board. But I hope something bigger happens soon.

[7.0/10] Another episode that isn’t bad, but isn’t especially great either. It’s just square in the middle.

I’ll say this, I loved the interlude where Clint goes to play with the Larpers to get his Ronin suit back. There’s something so fun about him carrying a fake sword and just casually “slaying” his opponents in slow-motion while they overact in response. His fake “trial by combat” was a blast, and I like the idea that having suffered through so much over the years (including a wicked case of tinnitus, apparently), part of his journey here is learning to have fun and enjoy himself again.

Likewise, I’m not sure how I feel about the meta-commentary on how Hawkeye is the most low-key, least marketable Avenger. It’s a little too cute by half. But I do appreciate the continuing focus on the nature of celebrity and how Clint is uncomfortable with it, doesn’t care about selling things, and is a little over it all. There’s meat there, and I don’t know if the show is going to sink its teeth into it, like so many one-eyed pups chowing down on some pizza, but it’s intriguing nonetheless.

That said, I’m at least warming to Kate Barton a little. I continue to find her oblivious “straighten up and fly right” mom + probably evil stepdad situation to be too stock and unengaging. But she’s got a sly, deadpan sort of snark vibe that I appreciate. She and Clint don’t have the fun dynamic that, say, Sam and Bucky do. But him as the no-nonsense dad, and her as the wry rebel has some juice to it. I’m not totally sold, but there’s room to grow there.

Still, her stepdad is so cheesily evil to me that I’m desperately hoping it’s a swerve, even though all of my comics knowledge suggests it isn’t. Tony Dalton is a good actor! He’s great in Better Call Saul. But Jack is just such a nigh-literally mustache-twirling bad guy so far that he’s almost wholly uninteresting.

The same goes for the “track suit mafia.” There’s not much of an animating problem in this one. Jack is an obvious baddie, and the Eastern Bloc Bro Brigade has little going for them either. So what obstacles are we supposed to care about here? There’s something to be said for Clint’s “catch and release” ploy to get inside the bad guys’ compound, but it’s thin gruel.

I guess we have Clint’s promise to his daughter to make it home for Xmas, but again, very generic as these things go.

Overall, this feels more like a piece moving episode than anything that really deepens the characters or their situation. Clint playing temporary mentor to Kate has something to it, but the show can’t yet find a worthy challenge to throw at them. Kate’s story especially feels very rote and facile. Hoping that with more throat clearing out of the way, this one improves.

I liked the ending tbh. It was time that Sabrina stopped getting it with her way. From S1, there was a constant "don't do that, this is impossible to do, if you do this we all gonna die" and she did it anyway; and at the point of "solving" it, it wasn't as impossible as they all said. Didn't mind that she died, although i think that Nick commiting suicide to be with her, was a little too much.

Still, a couple of things weren't quite clear, as for example, why exactly did Morningstar died at the beggining of the episode, if she managed to escape The Void in the previous chapter. Also, there wasn't even a recognition or metion that she came back from that cosmos with the "fake" salem/Endless; it was dropped right next to her, but nobody said, asked or even mention him. . Also, if i'm not mistaken, wasn't one of the graves in Spellman's graveyard like "magically" modified so when you put a dead person in there, it would ressurrect (what Zelda did with Hilda at the beggining)?? Maybe i'm forgetting something but the ending could have be changed easly with that in mind.

Anyway, i think it was an ok ending. The overall season was good in my opinion

[7.2/10] This was fine. I’m not very versed in Matt Fraction’s run on the Hawkeye comic, which this show is supposed to be at least partly based on, so some of the nods and bits of foreshadowing are lost on me. But it does what it needs to do as a first episode, even if it’s closer to a single than a homerun.

This is mostly an introduction to Kate Bishop who, spoiler alert I guess, will almost certainly become the new Hawkeye. Her backstory here is fine. I like the idea that she lost her father in the Battle of New York, but inherited his sense of protectiveness in general, and for her mother in particular. Her seeing Clint Barton’s heroism during the fight with the Chituri is some nice clockwork plotting amid the cinematic universe to explain why she’d choose to take up archery along the way. It’s all a bit tidy, as such character introductions tend to be, but it’s all sound enough.

I also appreciate her as a bit of a troublemaker, and a resourceful one at that. Her bell-ringing/tower-destroying stunt is amusing enough as to how she’s clever but can still get in trouble. And the way she manages to infiltrate a secret rich guy auction for illicit goods shows some of her chops as a budding hero.

I’m not enamored with the actual character work, though. Her relationship with her mom and putative stepdad starts out as boilerplate. There’s some class issues at play, which I can appreciate, but the show only gestures toward them here in the beginning. Maybe we’ll get more on why she feels out of place in the world of the wealthy (and why her mom feels so comfortable there despite seemingly putting up some resistance to it in the cold open flashback). But it’s hard to invest in any of these generic relationships and tensions in the early going.

All that said, I found myself surprisingly compelled by Clint Barton here, who’s never the Avenger I’m most invested in. I appreciate the way he’s still grieving Black Widow, not skimping on the emotional impact of the human costs of Endgame. By the same token, I appreciate his discomfort at the way he and his colleagues have been valorized by the world. The idea that after you’ve been through something hellish and at times life-destroying -- seeing the way it’s been gussied up and turned into a Broadway musical, or how people want selfies, or how well-meaning restaurateurs treat you more like a paragon of virtue than a person -- would be a lot for you to take. The distance between the popular image and the reality would be mentally taxing, and I like the show exploring that idea.

I also like the setup that Kate might be, if not a replacement for Natasha, then someone who fills the same space in Clint’s eyes (and the audience’s). She’s another badass normal, one who uses conman schemes to get past surly wait staff managers and sneaky parkour to get into places she’s not supposed to be. There’s a setup that Clint training her is as much about him processing Natasha’s death and seeing her legacy carried on as it is Clint possibly filling in the role of a father figure that Kate does not want filled with her cruddy-seeming soon-to-be stepdad.

THere’s potential in all of this, the execution is just a little off-the-shelf. Visually, the episode is surprisingly bland despite the “Xmas in NYC” setting. The fight scenes are indifferent and over-edited, leaving Kate’s coming out party as an ass-kicker seeming murky and dull. The only real excitement despite a heists, showdown, and wine bottle skirmish, comes from what we don’t see. Clint kicking some random thieves’ behinds on top of a car, where we just see the aftermath, sells the butt-whupping prowess better than any of the actual fight scenes we get to see, which isn’t ideal.

I’m likewise not especially invested in the murder mystery, even if Armond Duquesne was the most entertaining performance in this episode. So much of these initial episodes has to be setup, and the plot machinery being moved around didn’t do much for me.

Still, again, this was fine. It doesn’t set the world on fire, but it does what it needs to do in terms of introducing the characters, the character conflicts, and something plotty for our heroes to concern themselves with over the course of the show. Hopefully with that throat-clearing out of the way, there’ll be better things to come, but this is a series premiere that gets on the board more than it hits right on target.

This was an absolutely phenomenal episode, undoubtedly the best of the season. From start to finish I was hooked and invested in every single story line. I really adored Octavia's story and I am glad that the show explained everything that happened to Octavia as soon as she went into the anomaly in season 6; all the way to the season finale of season 6, bringing a wrap to the prequel story for Octavia, Hope and Diyoza. We got Countless answers to many questions from the reasons Octavia forgot her memory, to how Hope was able to get the message (trust bellamy) in her arm. Really strong storytelling in this episode. I also really loved Levitt's character, especially his reaction to all the things Octavia has done, it is interesting how Levitt, an outsider, could see the good in Octavia when others see the bad, a very interesting parallel on perceived morality. I was laughing to his reaction to Pike dying. I also enjoyed the present day workings in Bardo, however I dont agree with Echo's choice to kill the guy in the white room, I know she was angry about the purported death of Bellamy( I am about 99 percent sure he is not dead), however she needed to act rationally in that situation. The sanctum story was really interesting, I know others will dislike, but I dont care this is my view. I loved Indra and Murphy working together and I really liked the leadership role both characters took. Indra finally finding out that Sheidheda was alive, was the strongest part of the sanctum storyline, Indra still continues to be one of my all time favourite the 100 characters. Overall, The best episode of the season. At this point, I just want to know why Clarke is the key to everything, I dont know if it has to do with Cadogan's twelve levels, but I am intrigued.

[8.5/10] Somewhere along the line, Crosshair became one of the most interesting characters not just in The Bad Batch, but in Star Wars as a whole. He’s a clone, which is always a good start. But he’s one who’s genuinely loyal to the Empire. Republic? Empire? Either way, they’re taking orders from the bosses. That's what they’ve been trained for. Bred for. In his mind, the rest of the Bad Batch are the traitors, for deciding to walk away from something they’ve been loyal to since they were born and leaving him behind. He’s the hero in his own mind, staying a steadfast part of the organization and institutions they’ve sacrificed so much to protect.

Only now, he’s realizing that the Empire doesn’t return that loyalty. Lieutenant Nolan is a good avatar for that. He’s plainly racist against clones, using the term itself with a sneer. More to the point, he clearly views them as chattel. When pressed on his reluctance to work with clone troopers, he gripes about not wanting to employ “used equipment.” One of the thematic throughlines this season is how the powers-that-be within the Empire don’t see the clone troopers as people, just tools to be discarded once they’re no longer useful.

Crosshair clearly dislikes Nolan, and even in his stoicism, seems a bit put out by his brothers being forcibly retired. But he’s a good soldier. He follows orders.

That makes it meaningful when he meets someone who doesn’t. Commander Mayday is a fascinating person, a clone trooper who’s been practically exiled to a remote outpost to protect cargo he’s not even allowed to know about. He’s the poster child for Imperial neglect. He’s an experienced soldier reduced to guard dog duty. All of his men have died, and nobody seems to care. All of his equipment is outdated and not up to the job, but the Empire ignores his requests for replacements. His request for reinforcements was met thirty-six days late. And Lt. Nolan in particular treats him like scum, disdaining the clone for simply existing, demanding a deference he hasn’t earned despite his rank, and ordering him on unreasonable missions.

The dynamic is clear, and interesting. Nolan represents the worst of the Empire: prejudice, cruelty, sneering injustice at every turn. And Mayday represents the tragedy of the clones following the war, someone discarded and treated as disposable, useful only for ferrying along the toys for the next wave of soldiers. This the institution Crosshair is loyal to, the thing he fights for unquestioningly.

Until he spends time with Mayday in a frozen wasteland. Separate and apart from all the stellar thematic and character work going on here, the work of the directors and animators soars in this one. The ice-ridden outpost comes with a real sense of place. You understand the desolation of where Mayday has been stranded all this time, the inherent threat that comes from traversing the freezing temperatures and harsh environment, and the lack of care it evinces to subject anyone to this. The low lights, sparse score, and gray landscape convey in a visceral way how grim the conditions that people like Nolan have uncaringly subjected the clone troopers to are.

The expedition to recover some crates from the local rebels gives Crosshair and Mayday a chance to bond. Crosshair is steady as ever, while Mayday stops just short of being openly insubordinate. Mayday’s sarcasm and cynicism make for a good contrast with Crosshair’s dry wit, and their adventure to retrieve the boxes brings them closer together through the bond that forms from braving adversity together. The mission is a harsh one, full of traps and threats and environmental dangers. It’s one they’re undermanned for too, something Nolan doesn’t care about, but which pushes them to rely on one another even more.

There’s a nice throughline for how they treat one another. Crosshair has internalized Imperial principles, and so decries fallen soldiers as dead weight. And yet, when he inadvertently steps on a pressure mine, Mayday is a bit snarky, but goes to some trouble and risk to defuse it and help save Crosshair’s life (using improvised tools, since the Empire hasn’t given him what he needs, of course). It shows the esprit de corps of the clone troopers, even among those who don’t see eye to eye, with the sort of loyalty the Imperials don't share, the kind of loyalty Crosshair once shared with the rest of Clone Force 99.

And in the end, he returns the favor. There’s some nice setup and payoff as what starts as a low rumble, builds to a large crack, and finally into an avalanche that threatens to bury both of them. Despite Mayday being injured in the mission, and Crosshair being better-positioned to make it himself if he left Mayday behind, Crosshair has internalized Mayday’s perspective. There’s power in his choice to rescue Mayday when he doesn’t have to, to put his own life on the line to save one of his brothers. It’s a sign of his viewpoint starting to change, of his recognition of the need of the clones to look out for one another since their superiors certainly won’t be doing it.

It’s a sharp contrast with Lt. Nolan. When the clones make it back by the skin of their teeth, clearly injured from the attempt, there’s zero concern from their commanding officer. All he does is excoriate them for failing to recover the cargo, armor for the stormtroopers who will replace them, in an ironic twist. And he refuses to call a medic for Mayday, calling it a waste of resources. Mayday and Crosshair will risk their lives for one another. Nolan won’t even offer basic treatment. The disparity in the views on the value of clone life couldn't be more stark, and makes for a thematic throughline that presents the angel and the devil on Crosshair’s shoulders.

Finally, he’s had enough. Even obedient, loyal Crosshair can't stand this. He recognizes the Empire’s misdeeds, if not in their tactics across the galaxy, then certainly in the way they treat him and those he’s fought with. After all they’ve done, all they’ve lost and sacrificed in the name of protecting this institution, they don’t get so much as a thank you, and worse yet, are treated as the expendable afterbirth of the Empire’s emergence.

So he kills the shitheel then and there. It’s a powerful move, one that seals Crosshair’s fate to some degree, but also affirms a change of heart. What do you do when you realize the thing you’ve been loyal to your whole life isn’t worth that loyalty? When it treats you like chewed up gum stuck to the side of a star destroyer’s hull? If you’re a soldier like Crosshair, you fight back. You return the harsh consequences doled out by racist cowards in stuffed uniforms. And maybe, just maybe, you accept that your friends were right all along.

Brilliant! Thanks for this mini-series! I wasn't an expert on how the Hernobyl disaster went down, only by what I read or saw in documentaries. This series has shed light into my knowledge of it. I can't believe how incompetence lead to so many deaths. After every episode, I always felt a little drizzled, but this one just made me cry. I swear, 93,000 lives were lost because, among other factors, one man wanted to get promoted. I can't even begin to fathom what all these people went through.
I've watched the series twice already before writing this comment. Some of the quotes in this show just gave me the goosebumps. Starting with "were asking for your permission to kill 3 men", "You were the one who mattered most", through the concrete Graves scene, the puppy scene, and the official recordings at the end.

This show really felt like a horror movie, only because it really happened, which proves that reality is scarier than fiction. It was beautifully shot and acted. Some scenes will be forever in my memory. It's amazing to think that such a brief show can be so educational, terrifying and yet beautifully narrated at the same time. This is not only a show, it's, from my humble point of view, a masterpiece. Bone-chilling scene sequences, the sound of Geiger's counter to add anxiety and fear to the spectator. All of it has to make this one of the best series I've ever watched. It deserves all the awards it can get. Hands down to the actors, especially Jared Harris and Stellan Skarsgård, the whole crew and everyone involved for giving us one of the most invaluable, terrifying, evocative and educative documents of all times through wonderful filmmaking.

[8.0/10] “The Solitary Clone” plays like a throwback to the days of The Clone Wars series. I used to accuse TCW of “video game plotting.” On a regular basis, some combination of Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ashoka would fight some goons, then probably some bigger goons, then a few genuinely challenging enemies, before going toe-to-toe with the final boss of the episode. As much as I enjoyed the show, I got tired of that formula in its early seasons.

In a sense “The Solitary Clone” is just that. When infiltrating a planet to rescue a kidnapped superior, Crosshair and none other than the long missing Commander Cody lead the mission. They mow down a series of nigh-useless B1 battle droids, before having to contend with some mildly more challenging droidekas, then they have a legitimately harrowing fight with a few droid commandos of the sort that gave Ahsoka fits at the beginning of The Clone Wars, before taking out a strategy droid and facing down their target’s captor.

The action is exciting, with losses (albeit of barely-named “regs”) that show the costs of the assault, and some genuinely clever tactics at play. In particular, Crosshair’s use of reflective pucks, and the ensuing struggle within a spiral staircase, is some of the most claustrophobic, well-directed action The Bad Batch has offered this season. But the general shape of the way the battle escalates would be familiar to anyone who’s been watching Commander Cody since he appeared in The Clone Wars pilot movie.

But I take that to be the point here. Because even though the rhythms are the same, the context is very different, and I think The Bad Batch wants its viewers, especially the longtime fans, to contemplate that. Watching clone troopers fight through a bunch of battle droids on a Separatist planet where they’ve taken an opposing leader hostage is meat and potatoes, rah-rah stuff. But now the situation is different.

The government the soldiers are fighting for isn’t the Republic; it’s the Empire. The Separatists aren’t aggressors attacking our heroes; they’re an independent system that just wants to remain independent and avoid being gobbled up by the Empire. Many of the faces are the same. The overall progression of the fight is the same. But everything here feels off, to where who to root for, versus who the perspective characters are, isn’t as clear as it once was.

That's a feature, not a bug. Cody is doing what he’s always done. He listens to the orders of his generals. He battles his way through wave after wave of battle droids. He reaches the enemy target and gets them at a disadvantage.

Yet, that's where things are different. Governor Tawni Ames is a reasonable person. Her motives to protect her people from Imperial overreach are sympathetic. She is not a warmonger. In fact, she joined Mina Bonteri, a Separatist Senator, and a group of Republic Senators, in proposing a peace accord that was rejected by Palpatine. Bonteri was part of an episode called “Heroes on Both Sides”, crossing paths with the heroes of The Clone Wars and teaching Ahsoka in particular that the war wasn’t as cut and dry as “good vs. evil”, but that there were well-intentioned Separatists who had their own fair points and legitimate grievances to bear.

Now, Cody gets the same lesson. He recognizes her as someone else who lived through the horrors of that war, and persuades her to let the hostage go without a fight lest their actions this day result in more bloody conflict. In effect, he recognizes that despite his orders, Governor Ames is not a bad guy. He wants a peaceful, diplomatic solution to this, and manages to achieve it by laying down his arms and promising her that if she works with him on this, this can all stop without anyone else having to die for it. With the word of a fellow traveler as a bond, she agrees.

And Crosshair kills her.

You know it’s coming, and it still hurts a little. We know from last season’s finale that Crosshair is a true believer, not even needing the control ship to continue the path that he was set on during the Clone Wars. He has his orders. He follows them. It’s not his to question why. The Empire is the inheritor of the Republic, and thus the institution he owes fealty to. That's it. That's all it ever was. He does what’s asked of him.

But Cody can’t. There’s a grim tone that spills over Dessex as the Empire descends on the once-independent world. The skittering residents seem even more concerned as the stormtroopers show up to take their world by force and make an example out of them. Cody can’t abide it. He can’t abide the Imperial general breaking the promise Cody made to Governor Ames. He can’t abide Crosshair’s cold willingness to execute those orders, and the Governor, without a second thought. He is the latest trooper to cross paths with Crosshair and decide to go AWOL.

The reasons are clear. He tells Crosshair that there’s a difference between clones and droids, and it rings true, despite the comparisons Star Wars animation has drawn between the two over the years. Clones do make real choices, and they have to live with them. Cody still thought he was fighting for the good guys. But the game has changed, and after such a craven display, the familiar becomes foreign, and what you used to do unquestioningly suddenly becomes a moral compromise you can no longer stand. Cody’s the same, but the world’s different, and he has to act on that difference.

So true to the title, Crosshair is once again left alone. Even the other regs won’t sit with him. Anyone he has a bond with, even a passing acquaintance with, seems to have taken a different path. The world is the same to him, and maybe it is. Maybe we were just as wrong for rooting for one side over the other rather than recognizing the abiding message of The Clone Wars and, to some extent, the whole Prequel Trilogy. To the extent there’s anything but, this was a senseless war, and it didn’t matter whom you were cheering for, because the same forces were pulling the strings on both sides, they served to benefit from it, and everyone else, even those fighting for the right reasons, were sullied by it.

That's a hard lesson, especially for what is ostensibly an all-ages program. But it seems to be increasingly the purview of The Bad Batch. This series carries on the legacy of the show that spawned it, through the eyes of one of the heroes turned villains, ordered to kill the heroes turned villains, and finds himself ostracized and isolated for it.

At first, I thought it was gonna be an "And Then There Were None" situation. Because I thought it was deliberate that each guest's stay was unsatisfactory; Tanya not being able to book a massage, the newlyweds not getting their suite in addition to Armond's persistent avoidance and incompetence which felt malignant and deliberate. Mark and Quinn Mossbacher trying to find an activity to do on the island and finding out they're all booked or unavailable at the moment or something else. I don't know much but it all felt deliberate to me like someone was set on ruining the guests' vacations.
Honestly a bit disappointed it wasn't lol. That would've been interesting and fun to watch.

On the other hand,
Armond was a scumbag and he got what he deserved.
I'm not trying to justify Shane's actions; HE IS an entitled, pampered mama's boy after all. But if Armond had been honest and upfront from the beginning and admitted to him that he double-booked the suite, refunded the money, and tried to make it up for the couple, things definitely could've been different.
Not to mention that he STOLE from one of the guests. Doesn't matter what he stole, it matters that he did. Untrustworthy.

Tanya was definitely in the wrong getting Belinda's hopes up, but to be fair, she's been a wreck, and eventually ended up doing what she thought was best for her mental health, to break the cycle of destructive habits.

Belinda was honestly an ass when she rudely refused to help Rachel. I mean, you didn't have to offer to help her in the first place! Plus, Rachel has also been struggling her whole life and she was trying to fix her mistake. Just because she married into a rich family, that doesn't make her a bad person who couldn't use some help??
I know Belinda was devastated during the time Rachel reached out to her, BUT SHE FUCKING OFFERED TO HELP? Just because someone hurt you doesn't mean you get to take it out on others.

Not to mention that Belinda was obviously taking advantage of Tanya, seeing how she was mentally unstable. Belinda wasn't interested in her at all but as soon as Tanya mentioned the business thing she started ass-kissing her.

Proud of Quinn though! Good for him.
I'm happy for Nicole and Mark, I hope things stay good between them.
On another note, Paula was fucking stupid to pull that stunt and ended up fucking Kai's life instead of helping him. I mean yeah white people did steal his land and all but that doesn't mean it's alright for him to steal from anyone JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE WHITE AND RICH? Enough with the stupid generalization

• Anthony’s face when Prudence was singing :joy::joy:
• I get teary eyed whenever Penelope cries :cry: I love her character so much from the books however I can’t help but think whether some people would be annoyed with her in this episode
• What Daphne did was bad! Simon assumed her mother had told her about how babies are made and he assumed that she understood what was happening and she was satisfied with not having children. That does not mean that he wasn’t wrong in withholding information about his reasons, he should have been honest. However, with all that in mind, Daphne’s actions were wrong! She should have come to him and confronted him instead of using sex as a sort of power over him to get what she wants. The whole thing was a result of miscommunication which turned into anger and resentment.
  

SPOILERS ahead for non-book readers:

- I know Penelope wants to protect Colin but she will never resort to shaming anyone. So Marina’s pregnancy reveal kind of disappoints me. I feel the whole idea behind Lady Whistledown is taking a different turn. Penelope should have gone to Eloise or Lady Bridgerton with the truth, I just think this will have major repercussions once we get to the reveal in the future
- Now to the problematic scene. It is not as awful as it was in the book, however, that is not say it was not wrong. Simon was not drunk here and even his reaction and the stuttering was a bit tamer, I thought there would be more emphasis on it. At this point, Daphne doesn’t even know about his stutter! Also, being in Daphne’s mind in the book, knowing her thoughts, and the fact that this happens after she learns all the truth about his father and his stutter makes it even worse. God, I hated this scene in the book, and what made me resent it even more was how the aftermath was handled. Daphne didn't really regret what happened, she thought it was good that she took advantage of the situation as this might be her only chance to get pregnant. For me, Daphne's character never redeemed herself and Simon forgave her (without her even apologizing) and went along with it too easily. So I want to see how the aftermath will be handled in the show because even if this scene wasn’t as messy, it was still very uncomfortable.

[8.5/10] I’m tempted to call Poker Face a show for actors. So much of glossy television today is plot-driven, prompting fans to think through twists and speculate about what game-changing development will shock them yet. Poker Face, by contrast, mostly gives away the game at the top. There’s still twists, but you generally get a sense for who dies, how they bit it, and who killed them in the first act.

And yet, you could defensibly call this a writer’s show. Despite Poker Face being a bit of a procedural, it is, true to creator Rian Johnson’s ethos, one with clever clockwork spins on the formula, with ways to surprise and delight the audience through narrative alone. There’s poetry in these scripts, and it jumps off the screen.

But at the same time, you could also fairly call this a cinematographer’s show. The camera moves aren’t always showy, but there’s a classical elegance to the framings, and smart use of lighting to help heighten the mood and show off these worn corners of the world that Charlie inhabits. And sometimes, you even get flashier, bravura sequences like Laura’s descent into madness here. It’s an impressionistic set piece, where Arthur’s creations come to life to haunt her into madness, and demonstrate that, despite her proclamations, the past can hurt you. The stop motion phantasmagoria, red tint, fisheye lens, and other showier moves are the kind of thing a less stylistically sharp series couldn't pull off so well.

But at the end of the day, I still think this is an actor's show, because ultimately Poker Face is about the characters. That benefits the writers, and in a way even the cinematographers. But it thrives on creating these single serving protagonists and antagonists, and making these stories matter with so little time to get them off the ground and into our hearts requires performers who can bring them to life with layers and authenticity.

On that measure, “The Orpheus Syndrome” may be Poker Face’s greatest outing yet, because it’s just virtuoso performance after virtuoso performance.

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Cherry Jones in anything before, but holy hell is she good here! One of the trickiest things to pull off as an actor is someone who’s presenting one emotion but feeling another, and even blending the truth and the lie together in real time. Her rendition of Laura, the head of a famous film company who’s offed her two collaborators, is incredible in the way she’s able to to present someone who’s genuinely regretful about this and wants her former partners to understand, but who is also gleeful in being able to get away with it.

What’s interesting is that you can believe both parts of it. You can buy that she’s genuinely sad it’s come to this, that she has to kill to preserve her life, that she has to hurt people she oves in the process. But you can also see the scheming side of her, the one that's ready to put on the performance of the grieving widow, of the person glad to give an old friend some peace, when in reality she was the cause of their demise with mercenary uses for their leftovers. There’s so many layers to it. Particularly when she has her breakdown, and all the emotions she’s been suppressing in the act come back to haunt her, she is downright remarkable. If she doesn’t get a guest actress Emmy, then something is seriously wrong.

But Nick Nolte is fantastic too. He’s developed a cottage industry of playing this softly broken men in everything from this to The Mandalorian to the American remake of Broadchurch. His take on Arthur, a special effects visionary and a man haunted by the sense that he killed a young actress by pushing her too hard on a challenging scene, is vivid and affecting. He has that wry old m an energy, bolstered by the gravel in Nolte’s voice, of someone who’s tired to make peace with what happened, but finds it still eating away at him despite the facade.

Of course, Charlie can see past the facade. By this point, I take Natasha Lyonne’s superb acting for granted, but the way Charlie’s able to ingratiate herself into the life of someone like Arthur, or the basement-dwelling employee at the film company, without it ever feeling contrived or forced, is a tribute to Lyonne’s talents. Her easy rapport with Arthur, and commiserating over having lost someone and wondering if you could have done something different, makes for a winning dynamic between the two.

Along the way you have Luis Guzman playing a good-natured but kind of bumbling member of the old crew, who’s another one of those below-the-line good people that Charlie finds herself gravitating toward. Guzman is charming, unassuming, and funny. And none other than Tim Russ (Voyager’s Tuvok) has a small but significant role as Laura’s husband Max, whose final look damns her with disgust over what she did, with his lived-in performance making a lot out of a little.

What she did was turn off the red light that allowed the young starlet to signal that something was wrong on the shoot. This whole ploy turns out to be a means to cover that up, burn the footage that Max and eventually Arthur discovered implicating her in the death that Arhtur had blamed himself for all these years. It is an appropriately cinematic reveal, with an appropriate bit of comeuppance as the incriminating footage is projected onto the screen showing off the forty years of work the trio did together at an anniversary celebration.

The weight of it all slowly unravels Laura. I love her crumbling on the stage of what’s supposed to be her triumph, something that Jones sells like gangbusters. Every villain has their reasons, and there’s something comprehensible and compelling, if not forgivable, of the sense that she was left to do the dirty work to make these men able to live their dreams as boy geniuses. It steeps her motivations in something recognizable and relatable, even as her actions are extreme, grounding an operatic story in real emotion and resentments.

That’s what makes her literal and figurative fall so nightmarish yet invigorating. Laura is the queen of rationalization and compartmentalization, the one who did what needed to be done while her collaborators captured their dreams on celluloid. Only now, with them gone, those dreams have come back to life, curdled into phantasms from her past that can no longer be contained, and eventually drive her to madness and death.

That final, cinematic end wouldn’t have so much power without the performers who sell that dynamic, the remorse, the facade, the cracks in the foundation that amass until emotion and terror come spilling out together as Arthur’s symbolic penitence works its magic on Laura. Poker Face belongs to the entire creative team, who like the episode’s characters, work together to bring this all to life. But in an episode like “The Orpheus Syndrome” the tremendous acting that sells the layers upon layers of guilt and self-justification and recrimination that swirl among these individuals, is what brings the series to a high water mark.

Well, the fuse is lit and I expect there will be an explosion of sorts next week.

The tension and build up is again what keeps the ball rolling. You are given just enough to be on the edge yet don't get bored. The acting was really great. You could see the doubt rising in Kino about what will happen once you reach the end of your sentence. We saw a very dark side of Dedra interrogating Bix. And Syril is about to break (with that mother, who could blame him ?). He will be a major player in the story I think. And the result could be devastating.

We discover that Val is Mon's cousin. Not a huge surprise but I still found it interesting how the connections are revealed. I found the scene in the Senat Chamber with Mon especially depressing as it shows again a connection to our time. I'm not used seeing that from Star Wars but they are doing it right and I like that. And althought it was different in a way, it reminded me of Padmé speaking in that same Chambers:

"So this is how liberty dies...with thunderous applause."

which I think is one of the best quotes out of Star Wars. And the scene now seems to be picking up on that liberty is now really dead.

I wonder when they will discover that they already have Andor in custody. Probably after the break. But it makes sense that in a system like the Empire such details get lost in the amount of information at hand. Althought I found the reference "he was shaven and had money and the rebels on Adhani were shaven, too" a bit ridiculous.

[8.2/10] Politics and intrigue -- what more can you ask for?

It’s funny liking Prequel era politics. When The Phantom Menace came out, most fans dozed our way through the Senate scenes. But the member of the Galactic Senate debating the fate of the clones seems more personal and real. We know how this turns out, of course. We know that Clone Troopers are (seemingly) not in use by the Empire around the time of the Original Trilogy, with strong indications there’s a conscript army instead. So we know Vice Admiral Rampart’s bill goes through at some point.

Still, the debate here comes with a certain charge given the subject matter. And the fact that, as one of the clones proclaims, they just want to keep fighting rather than be rendered obsolete, makes the tragedy of that fate all the more potent.

I’ll confess, I don’t necessarily understand why a conscript army is better for the Emperor than a clone army. Maybe the idea is that too many clones have been going AWOL or questioning orders, to where Palpatine and Vader are worried about unleashing wave after wave of highly trained soldiers who might choose to turn against them and join that rash of insurgencies. The pretextual arguments made on the floor of the Senate have the patina of plausibility and respectability. Either way, though, the bad guys pushing through the bill in the Senate, while saying all the right things but stalling on actually taking care of the clones after the end of their service is downright despicable.

I think that's the thing I appreciate most about “Clone Conspiracy”. The political angles here are interesting, and the intrigue of hidden assassins and none other than Captain Rex rescuing rogue clones is very cool. But I’m most compelled by the idea of how the Empire treats the clone troopers now that they ‘ve served their purpose.

On an in-universe level, it pays off the many times in The Clone Wars various clone troopers wondered what they would do after the war. The question of what rapidly-aging men bred for battle will do with themselves when the conflict ends in an undeniably fascinating and pathos-ridden one. Seeing the animated corner of Star Wars confront the question head on, with clones wanting to keep fulfilling their purpose, or struggling to imagine a life with a pension and the freedom to do whatever they want, feels like a moving continuation of themes the franchise has been batting around for a while now.

Out-of-universe though, it reflects how we treat veterans in the real world, with genuine, even more potent questions of how we put fellow human beings through war zones and then expect them to come home and go back to normal life. Debates over funding, questions of who represents the troopers, the political cudgel the issue becomes all have resonance for real life issues.

“Clone Conspiracy” is smart to focus its story on one clone, named Slip, as our perspective character. He represents someone willing to just go along with the way of things, until his pal is killed for threatening to speak out. His desire to get out, willingness to challenge the status quo and the treatment of his brothers, and inevitable but tragic death, make him a good fulcrum for the tale (no pun intended).

This is also a good time to bring back Senator Chuchi. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to see Bail Organa, and even Senator Pamlo again. But returning more political allies who have roots in the series’ predecessor, fighting for the rights of the clones within the system, starting to realize the rot that's set in within the political apparatus, and suddenly discovering the web of murder and malfeasance afoot builds on what we know about her and resets it for the Imperial era. She’s a little naive, but noble and brave, which are good character traits for someone in her role in the story.

The mysteries and reveals “Clone Conspiracy” has to offer are tops as well. I appreciate seeing Rex again, and the turn that he’s helping rogue clones escape unscathed, which is on brand. (And him presumably hanging at the Martez sisters’ garage is a nice touch.) The mystery of the sniper taking out clone agitators is a good one. For the record, my money was on Fennec Shand, but I like the idea that Rampart is employing a new line of off-the-books clones to do his dirty work, which opens up more mysteries to come. The cloak and dagger elements of this one are just as good.

Overall, this is The Bad Batch at its narrative peak, weaving together the personal, the political, and the paranoid thriller elements into one thematically potent and narratively exciting installment. I enjoy the episodic adventures of the series, and the parts that center squarely on the titular crew of unique clone troopers. But it’s also nice when the show gets broader in scope, touching on the highest of political rungs, the first wisps of the rebellion, the backroom misdealings and terrible murders that fuel the Empire, and at the center of all of it, the living souls, treated as obsolete technology, who suffer the most after giving so much.

I think this was a good finale even though the ending was meant to be a cliffhanger and surprising but to me, it wasn't. I think this finale set up for a second season very well. We don't know what happens to A-Train, whether he survives or not. We'll find out in the second season. The Deep finally had a genuinely emotional moment. Cool. Hughie, Frenchie, The Female/Kimiko, and Mother's Milk successfully escaped and are on the run. We'll see how that plays out in the second season. Homelander is now on the loose, no longer kept in control by Madelyn. We'll finally see what he's capable of when Madelyn is no longer apart of the picture in the second season. Billy was more of a villain at the end of the episode than Homelander because he let the bomb go off even though the kid was right there though you could put some of the blame on Homelander as well for bringing the kid downstairs. That's what I really like about the show. The "good guy" and the "bad guy" are essentially both the "bad guys." Good stuff.

[7.5/10] I have to give Castle Rock credit for its concept. While I find much of the nuts and bolts storytelling of the show pretty lacking, I like the essential reveal here, strongly hinted at in prior episodes.

Castle Rock is built on a hellmouth -- that much is not all that shocking. What’s interesting is that the central mystery of the series, and also the reason behind (our) Henry Deaver’s disappearance in 1991, and the appearance of The Kid is that the town exists as a vergence point among different times and places and perhaps even dimensions. It’s a little out there, but I appreciate the sci-fi neatness of that idea.

I also like the idea that neither The Kid, nor young Henry, are evil. They’re just from the “wrong” universe for where they are, and that causes problems, some kind of negative energy, for everyone and everything they come near. The concept is applied pretty inconsistently in the series, but it’s an interesting one. I also like it as an explanation for why neither “Henry” ages in the other’s universe.

And hey, I also appreciate the cinematography. Using different times of day, and vague fuzz on the edges of the frame while shooting from different perspectives to signify how different people are experiencing that vergence point is a nice stylistic choice.

I also approve of the fact that this episode was fairly focused. We basically get things from The Kid’s perspective the whole way through, which, while not hitting the heights of the Molly- or Ruth-focused episodes, makes “Henry Deaver” a more propulsive outing. Some of that is the show getting by on the inherent coolness of alternate universes, and the sort of intrinsic charge from seeing familiar characters in different guises (see also: Agents of Shield, of all things), but the episode does enough to shift The Kid’s home universe just enough to be different, while keeping it familiar enough to make those differences notable.

Granted, it’s not perfect. For one thing, the scene-by-scene pacing still drags mightily at times. Bill Skaarsgard is way more effective as a creepy, nigh-silent presence than he is as a down-to-earth regular guy in terms of performance. And once again, the episode delivers its reveals, but then belabors them to make sure the audience is following along.

Still, while I wasn’t necessarily impressed or emotionally compelled by the big opening of the mystery box here, it was enough to make me go “that’s neat”, which is more than a lot of shows trying to do big reveals can muster.

Overall, this is an interesting sideways method to reveal a reasonably satisfying solution to the show’s mysteries, with some fun (and occasionally creepy) alternate universe stuff to go with.

[7.7/10] Toward the end of “One World, One People”, Sam gives a big televised speech to the assembled bigwigs of the GRC. It is a vacuous assortment of reheated Sorkin leftovers, making trite tired points about understanding how the other side feels and trying to unite people under a common struggle. It’s the clinching speech for Sam’s ascension as Captain America, something to show that he is the true successor to the role, not just because he holds up in a fight against super soldiers, but because he carries on the ideals that Captain America stands for. He doesn’t just punch; he speaks out. And it’s terrible.

But even later in the episode, Sam goes to talk to Isaiah Bradley. The first Black Captain America is still skeptical of this idealistic newcomer. He still refuses to buy what Sam is selling, even if he acknowledges that Sam is special. But Sam gives him a speech too, one about how people from their community built this country, bled for it, and so it’s their right to choose to fight for it too. It’s a stirring counter to Bradley’s cynicism, and the connective tissue between the old timer’s devastating rebuke of the shield and Sam’s steadfast choice to pick it up again that was missing in the prior episode. And it’s fantastic.

A little later still, Sam takes his predecessor to the Smithsonian, guiding him to the exhibit that Steve Rogers walked through back in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Only now, there’s a section on Bradley, one that tells his story, that restores their history, that acknowledges the sacrifices this unknown Cap made and duly venerates him for them. Bradley is visibly moved (and holy hell does Carl Lumbly do an amazing job) and embraces his successor, showing that Sam isn’t just stepping into the role; he’s making things right. And it’s beautiful.

Those three moments more or less cement where I come down on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and its finale. When the show tries to deal with global politics, it’s about as deep as a thimble, instead offering hollow truisms and nods to complexity without really engaging with it. But when it deals with the legacy of race in the United States, and channels it through the well-formed, deeply-understood characters, it soars as high as its protagonist.

To the point, “One World, One People” has the things we expect from superhero movies. The opening half hour or more is basically one big third act action sequence. (Again, one that seems to be taking its cues from Captain America: The Winter Soldier.) There’s fights with the assortment of brutes, rescues of imperiled civilians (or at least non-combatants), and stand-offs with the main villains. All of this is fine, albeit not quite outstanding. The more thrilling moments depend less on the construction of the action and more on the character choices involved, like Falcon working with a world leader to take back a chopper, or to lift a police transport vehicle after it teeters on the edge of a construction device. The glory of these moments comes from the story involved, rather than from the way the fireworks were crafted.

Likewise, there’s connections to other corners of the MCU and various twists and teases. John Walker is officially dubbed U.S. Agent by Val. Zemo arranges for his butler to kill the remaining super soldiers. Sharon Carter is unveiled as the Power Broker and set up as a threat coming from inside the intelligence apparatus (not unlike Hydra, honestly). Again, there’s nothing wrong with any of this. But it plays as a check-the-box cinematic universe wrap-up, more than particularly moving or important details at play.

But each of these characters gets a moment in the spotlight and a chance to complete their arcs, more or less. Initially Walker with his homemade shield chooses to go after Karli rather than save the innocent, but when he sees the fruitlessness of it, makes the opposite choice, finally gaining some measure of understanding for what following in Steve Rogers’s footsteps requires. Beyond just unmasking as the Power Broker (at least to the audience), Sharon shows her brutal efficiency and mercenary harshness, killing both Karli and Batroc when the moments are right. Neither of them is the focus of the action, but they’re a part of it, and make meaningful choices, which is all you can really ask for when it comes to secondary characters.

Bucky, thankfully, gets a little more. He is, as expected, a bigger piece of the action, going toe-to-toe with a few of the Flag Smashers and using his abilities for good. More to the point, he makes the opposite choice of Walker, letting a few of the bad guys go in order to rescue folks instead. They thank him for saving them, a simple utterance of gratitude that plainly has a profound effect on Buck.

It’s enough for him to stop avenging and do what Sam told him to do (and, once again, what he told other returning military men and women to do back in Captain America: The Winter Soldier) -- do the work. He confesses his sins to his elderly neighbor and admits his role in the death of the man’s son. He crosses off the names in his book, Steve’s book, finding peace with making amends to the people he’s hurt rather than hurting the people who used him as a weapon. He’s welcomed into a community by Sam, finding a place where he can smile and belong. In short, he heals. It’s a nice thing to explore and a nice place to take it for the one time, titular Winter Soldier.

That just leaves Sam. All that stuff I started off with shows why he’s worthy of holding that shield and claiming the title of Captain America. He was always worthy. But the show also has to establish that he’s up for the task from a combat/glory standpoint. So he gets one hell of an entrance in his spiffy new Wakanda-built suit. He holds his own against Batroc. He saves innocents in a helicopter with derring do. He shows grit and determination in righting a tipping vehicle full of civilians. He goes up against Karli but tries to talk her down rather than going for the kill.

It’s all good stuff. Not great stuff, but more explosive material that offers all the fist-pump moments you want and arguably need for Sam making his debut as the new Cap, while showing the integrity he carries behind the shield that accounts for why he brings those ineffable ideals and principles that are just as necessary to justify accepting this role as prowess in battle.

Over six episodes, Sam doesn’t suddenly earn the right to be Captain America. He already had. Instead he reckons with the contradictions of the shield, with his memories of his friend, with the responsibility to make it all stand for something new for a new world, until he’s ready to accept that. The political aims of that journey are variable at best, but the way the show that bears his name and affirms his new title roots it in this country’s racial history, and channels it through these wonderfully-crafted characters, is as worth celebrating as Sam is, and the forgotten people who came before him are, and always were.

Y'know, I was kind of generally annoyed at this episode for existing, but then the dog jumped onto Dean's bed, and I couldn't help but smile.

What.
The.
FUCK.
What the actual f*ck?!

Throughout this episode, I started off mad, then I was disappointed, then I didn't have the energy to be anything, and now I'm mad again. I couldn't even feel anything but annoyed at Dean's death because it was so unnecessary, and we didn't even SEE what killed him, and it was just an obvious way for the writers to force an emotional reaction from the viewers. Why the hell did they think we wanted to tune in for an extra week just to watch our characters die?

Y'know, if they had bothered to ask Jack to bring back Eileen and the other hunters, maybe Sam wouldn't be so alone.

So... Wait, what? Cas is around? And he never stopped by or...? WTF?

I'm just. I don't even know what to say about this. I... This was not a good final season, and this finale episode was just made to tug at the audience's emotions and nothing more. Sam got kind of a happy ending, though he clearly suffered over the loss of his brother and EVERYONE else he'd ever known. We didn't even get a cameo of Jack or Cas. It makes no sense why the other hunters weren't brought back. I don't know, maybe Chuck had returned them to a world that didn't exist anymore, so it wasn't possible to bring them back? I'm just...deeply disappointed but not even as much as I should be because Supernatural has been declining in quality for years. With each passing episode of this season, it became clearer and clearer that the ending wouldn't be well-paced and well-written like we deserved. It's not the worst season of this show or even the second or third worst. But it is one of the worst final seasons I've seen of a show that has lasted so long. Really, they should have just dropped the idea of Chuck as the big bad this season and just made this a collection of monster-of-the-weeks with a familiar face starring in each episode, building up to a final farewell to the Winchester brothers who happily and without regret sacrifice themselves for the greater good. And then Jack and Cas visit them in heaven, and maybe Jack (and perhaps Cas) continues hunting with the possibility of teaching the next generation of hunters. Or they rebuild heaven, creating more angels who will encourage free will and peace.
I'm honestly not even sad Supernatural is over. With writing like we've had for the past few seasons, it was only a matter of time. I just think we deserved better than what we got. The characters deserved better than what they got. I give this episode a 4/10 because the emotional ploys didn't work on me, leaving me bored and annoyed at this episode that served as a poor finale (I'm especially bitter that last episode gave us a rushed conclusion to the biggest plot of the entire show, but we got a full episode of two guys dying this episode). The season overall, I give a 5/10. Maybe a 6 if I'm feeling generous, but right now, I'm not...

Signed:
~SophieFilo16~

So I have my theories, others have theirs, and the writers/producers have theirs.

(Spoilers)

I felt like this episode was a cheap ending. I have thoughts about why Henry did what he did but the ambiguity is crap.

I should have known a series with JJ Abrams paired with some Terry O’Quinn would have the same answers as ‘Lost’ did.

As in, 2 questions answered and 200 new questions arise.

Seeing how the previous episode was, this ambiguity was out of place. Not to mention it made me hate Henry’s character a little.

He is upset that the inmates killed each other? Okay he probably doesn’t want anyone to get hurt but they were tossing rape threats at The Kid!
Also, he’s so high and mighty but after a hallucination in the woods he thinks it’s okay to cage a person in the dark, without sunlight, proper nourishment etc ?

And even if The Kid was an evil magnate the problem would have been solved if he went home. So let the man go home and problem solved!

There was a lot that I liked about this episode but more that I disliked. Mainly, it feels like a cheap ending. Also, it feels a bit like seeing an innocent person tortured. I know it’s a horror show but there were other options I felt would have been a better ending.

[7.5/10] Could The Bad Batch be headed for its endgame? It seems unlikely. There’s a ton of irons left in the fire, from the bad blood with Cid, to the newly-introduced Dr. Hemlock and his experiments at an Imperial cloning facility, to the Empire hunting Omega, and so on and so on. Could you tie all of those things up in three episodes? Sure, but it would take a lot, and feel like tamping something down when it’s just getting started.

Still, the disappointing Star Wars Resistance shut down after only two seasons, despite having some loose threads still waving in the wind. And more to the point, Phee taking Clone Force 99 to Pabu, an island paradise far away from the Empire’s notice, seems like a legitimate possible endpoint for our heroes. The planet purportedly has no resources that would lead outsiders to bother them, and welcomes refugees to its shores who want to live a different sort of life. With questions from Phee about whether Omega might need a more stable environment, and such a welcoming environment from the jump, this could be where the Bad Batch chooses to settle down permanently, ending their adventures with a certain happy ever after as recompense for years and years of war.

Granted, it seems pretty clear that Omega’s presence is going to bring the Empire to Pabu’s shores eventually. But in the meantime, I like the fact that the first half of this episode is as much about atmosphere as anything. It’s about painting Pabu as a wonderful place apart. Omega finds a friend her own age, something Phee underlines as important. Hunter contemplates whether this is a place he could be a father to her, give her the kind of peace away from dangerous missions with duplicitous lowlifes like Cid that she deserves. Wrecker seems to get on with the town Mayor, suggesting a friendly partnership (and full stomach) that he could get used to. And Tech and Phee seem to be melting a little bit beyond their cordial relationship, with Phee emphasizing how much she must like them to bring them here. There’s a communal, peaceful air to all of this.

Much of that owes to the sheer atmosphere crafted by the animators, directors, and other craftspeople at play here. Pabu feels like a warm paradise, with gorgeous vistas, sunlight landscapes, and attention to detail in the homes and implements of the people of Pabu. You get, on an instinctual level, why someone would want to stay here, beyond the explicit warm welcome and other thematic beats here. It’s a real tribute to the slow pace and soothing rhythms the show adopts to underscore that fact.

Of course, it can’t all be peaceful in Star Wars. So naturally, there’s a tidal wave coming. I’ll admit to finding it super convenient that there just so happens to be a tidal wave right when The Bad Batch shows up, but I’m willing to forgive the contrivance of it. The ensuing set piece is good. Omega is in danger when sailing on her friend’s boat, which creates some peril for them to escape and race to shore, while Hunter springs into action to rescue them. Tech and Phee helping the villagers from below the retaining wall requires some ingenuity and teamwork, which is always good. And Wrecker carrying the town’s resident old man up before it’s too late, and rescuing the mayor, is a nice beat for him too.

Again, much of this plays as a touch too convenient, but you can see why the Bad Batch would be valuable to the community, to help rescue and rebuild, and you can see why they might want to settle down in such a supportive community, which promises the possibility of freedom from the fight they’ve been having for so long. I don’t know if it’ll last. The lucrative prospect of more adventures, more dramatics, more episodes, and more subscribers seems to augur in favor of the contrary. But with all the time spent on making this a potential destination for Omega, Hunter, Wrecker, and Tech, you could be forgiven for thinking The Bad Batch might be listing toward The End.

[7.6/10] It’s nice to see the Zillo Beast back! More and more of season 2 feels like a sequel to The Clone Wars (more so than even Rebels did). The exact results of Palpatine’s instructions to have the Zillo Beast cloned were one of the loose ends from the prior series, so it’s nice to see some answers here. The Emperor did, in fact, manage to clone the Beast with the help of Kaminoan technology and other amoral mad scientists. Given the size of the operation and the number of ships, it looks like they succeeded in cloning it more than once, and there’s a secret project to try to use its blaster-resistant skin for armor plating. Very cool to get some payoff to something that started back in 2010.

(As an aside, I could have sworn we’ve seen the Zillo Beast brought back before “Metamorphosis”, but it turns out I was just remembering an episode of Lego Star Wars All Stars! A lot of the non-canon T.V. series are fun, but they can jumble your memory of what happened in the main timeline. The same thing happened when I was sure that Andor and K2-S0 had crossed over into one of the animated shows, and was again, accidentally recalling one of the Lego series.)

This episode had a very Alien vibe, with our heroes trapped in an enclosed space with a lurking monster, with a lot of gradual escalation in tension and a spooky atmosphere. The atmosphere was actually my favorite part of this one. I’d half-guessed it might be the Zillo Beast after a bit, so its appearance wasn’t a big shock. But the director, writer, and composer all do a good job presenting an air of eeriness about the derelict imperial transport where the beast ate everyone. The show captures the horror vibes of the encounter, and follows the JAWS principle of heightening the anticipation, and the terror, by only showing you glimpses of the creature and signs of the damage it can do long before you see the full thing in action.

The ensuing confrontation loses a little steam once the beast breaks out of the ship. Longtime fans have seen the creature rampage on skyscrapers before, and it seems comparatively easy for the Imperials to recapture it this time. (Though maybe the coning process made it mildly more docile? Who knows.) But there’s still plenty of good fireworks in the efforts to escape both the beast’s maw and the Empire attacking.

I’m most intrigued by the developments for the bigger story arcs wending their way through the series. For one thing, it’s nice to see the tension between Cid and the Bad Batch escalate after she didn’t help rescue them. Between that and the warning from the shady racing guy, I’ll bet she comes through in the clutch for the team in a big moment to prove that there’s some loyalty there, but it provides good reason for conflict between Clone Force 99 and their own shady benefactor, so I dig it.

On a broader scale, we get some new wrinkles in the cloning conspiracy and a new antagonist. I’m a fan of Jimmi Simpson, so it’s nice to see him aboard as Dr. Hemlock, the malevolent scientist who seems to be behind the secret cloning projects.. The fact that these projects exist leads to plenty of intriguing questions like what exactly they’re doing beyond the markless Clone Troopers we met in “Clone Conspiracy” and the Zillo beast. (The tall, glowy-helmeted troopers suggest something further.) The desire to hide the cloning project to exert greater control over it is interesting and on brand, and even (sigh) sets up Palpatine trying to clone himself. And the fact that the former Kaminoan Prime Minister tells Dr. Hemlock that the way to get Nala Se to cooperate is by using Omega sets up a future confrontation between the Empire and the Bad Batch, which I appreciate.

All-in-all, this one does a nice job of picking up one of the loose threads from The Clone Wars in a nicely scary sort of way, while also successfully introducing some new characters and machinations that will no doubt be a major part of our protagonists’ future.

[7.8/10] I really liked this one. I’ll admit, I wasn't relishing our first Phee episode. And in truth, while Wanda Sykes is fine here, she hasn’t fully adjusted to the different demands of voice acting. But I’m increasingly on board with Phee. The idea of a treasure hunter/pirate, one focused on old legends and interested in taking jaunts to uncharted worlds, is a good ingredient to toss in the stew of The Bad Batch. Her cocksure attitude, Hondo-like pirate’s pride in plunder, and voice of experience and confidence makes her a good match for the comparatively straight and narrow Clone Force 99. (There’s a few shades of Mika Grey from Star Wars Resistance there too.)

The setup is also just plain cool here. Omega finding a random compass on a dump world that leads them to a set of coordinates and what seems to be an ancient dungeon holding a legendary treasure is a thrilling plot. Appropriate for a Lucasfilm production, there’s an Indiana Jones quality to this here, with our heroes spelunking through a cave with puzzles and booby traps with the chance to pluck some ballyhooed artifact in the process. Likewise, it also recalls Jedi: Fallen Order, with the creative puzzle-solving in an ancient underground cave, to the point that I started to wonder if this would turn out to be some sort of Zeffo enclave.

I actually appreciate the fact that, to my knowledge at least, the cave they found isn’t from the Zeffo or the old republic or anything like that, but is instead an original planet, maze, and treasure. While the pacing here can be a little slow in places, that lets the tension build as our heroes get separated and have to make their way through plenty of tricky and potentially deadly challenges.

I love the twist, though! The fact that the mysterious “heart of the mountain” isn’t just some bauble, but a lock keeping in place a deadly colossus is weird and unexpected in the best way. The way it rises from the ground and starts destroying the countryside like some malevolent quadruped is jaw-dropping. Nothing sells the sense of, “Despite seeming sure of herself, Phee and everyone who follows her is in over their head right now” than such a wild development that throws everyone out of whack. The imagery and stakes are huge, and augmented by the cave-dwelling creature who chooses that moment to attack them as well.

Everything, of course, turns out alright. The air of intrigue is great, but also comes with the emotional undercurrent of Hunter’s skepticism of Phee, while Omega seems increasingly admiring of the pirate professional. That makes it meaningful when Phee is in danger trying to retrieve the heart of the mountain, only for Hunter to reach out the hand to save her. And Omega’s shine and Hunter’s doubts about her are at least partly quelled and vindicated by her giving up the jewel, no matter how lucrative it is, so that the lock can be put in place again.

Overall, this episode has some of the best atmosphere, and also the most awe-inspiring imagery of The Bad Batch so far. I can’t deny that I, like Hunter, was skeptical about Phee walking in, but after an adventure like this one, I’m much more optimistic about her presence on the show.

Thank you, Supernatural.
Thank you, Jared Padalecki. Thank you, Jensen Ackles. Thank you, Misha Collins.
Thank you cast and crew.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, a hundred million thank you for this. For creating this show. For showing me what family really is. For teaching me lessons in every episode. For the laughs, the tears, the heartbreak, the family. This show will live forever in my heart.

15 years. More than half of my life I've been watching this show. I still remember the first day I watched it. I was barely 12 years old and I got hooked instantly. This show has shaped my personality and has become part of me for 25 years. 15 freaking years that, no matter what shitty thing happened, I could always find my way back watching an episode. 42 minutes when the world felt better. 42 minutes when I could forget of all my problems and was carried into this safe bubble where everything would be ok. This show is my home and it's really sad to see it end. But it will carry on forever.

I'm truly grateful to the cast and the crew, past and present for giving us this magnificent show. A show to laugh, cry, enjoy, suffer and, above all, a show that I felt at home with. To me, Supernatural is not just a show. It's a lifestyle. I breath Supernatural everyday. Not a day goes by without me quoting the show, watching an episode or just thinking about it. I'm truly honored to have given the opportunity to witness it grow. Sure it had its ups and downs. Not everything was what it should've been, but it was a constant reminder that, for 42 minutes, life was gonna be OK. To me, SPN is a window into the normal. A window that I'll never, in a thousand lives, will close.

This show has changed my life in so many ways that I can't express. The music, the scenery, the writing, and a ove all, the characters. Two of the best fictional characters I've ever seen. I will forever carry Sam and Dean in my heart. Especially Dean. He's always been my favorite. I identify with almost everything and it's so damn sad to see him go.

But I guess I should actually review the episode a little, cause otherwise, I'll just start crying.

I was scared to watch the episode. I really was, maybe for all the wrong reasons, who knows. I was terrified. Like I knew anything was going to make me cry and I wouldn't handle it. Well, I did good through the first 15-20 minutes. Then, I feel as if my heart just stopped, my eyes knew what to do and there the tears came. I don't cry easily. My family even checked up on me because they were worried about me.

So, the first few minutes were great. A look at the boys' lives living free and that damn dog. Jesus, seeing Dean with him brought a smile to my face I couldn't get rid off for a few minutes. Also, the pie fest and Sam putting it in Dean's face, I'm pretty sure that was more Jared than Sam.

Then some creepy vamps appeared and everything turns to shit. A freaking nail. I'm was as mad as everyone when I first saw it. But giving it time, and watching it more than just once, I started to interpret it as freedom. Chuck's no longer around to lend them a hand and to write their stories so it was a matter of time. Then the barn scene happened. It's not like I was using my heart anyway. Freaking Dean Winchester, I swear. That scene must have been the best and worst 5 minutes I've experienced in a long time.

I always imagined the boys having a life, but let's be honest, that wasn't gonna happen. I figured Dean would die first and Sam would get the life he always wanted and deserved. Dean couldn't have done the same without Sam.

Then Dean went to Heaven. To Bobby. To the Roadhouse. To the Heaven he deserves. He had everything: Baby, the original license plates (I can't believe I cried for some damn license plates) and even the green cooler. Then, "Carry on my wayward son" started plating and I lost it. I seriously lost control of everything.

We saw Sam living a life he deserves with Dean Jr (again, why do I have feelings?) and married to, who I'm gonna say was Eileen (I'm sure they wanted to get her to Vancouver but because of Covid they couldn't so they just blurred another woman). Also, we saw that his kid had the tattoo, but I don't think Sam raised his kid to be a hunter, only that he made sure he was protected.

I didn't need a second rendition of Carry on, but the cover, the moment, the shifting was so fitting I started crying again. Seriously!

And then, as soon as Dean's ride in Heaven ends, Sam appears. In "Dark Side of the Moon" Cas said that Dean's ride will always lead him to his baby brother. And there he is, in the bridge. With the same clothes they both were wearing in the pilot. And their final words on the show are their names. Excuse me while I go cry some more.

Those parallels killed me. The same as when Dean told Sam "Look at me" when Sam was dying at the end of season 2. And then, the cherry on the top was having Jared and Jensen thanking us for these 15 years. It was such a heartwarming moment. And the pan out with all the crew standing in the bridge. That scene brought warmth to my heart and tears to my eyes.

I'm sorry for anyone who reads this. I'm not expecting anyone to mae¡ke it through to paragraph 2, but I needed to write this. It's become therapeutical.

I know I've said it way too much but thank you forever. I will always cherish this. This show has been my al time favorite and it feels like I'm saying "see you soon" to a part of me. Thank you Dean. Thank you Sam. 15 amazing years, a heart full of love, and a room full of SPN merchandising. Thank you to everyone involved for giving me a home and a family where I could feel loved.

From the bottom of my heart: GRACIAS!!!

SPN may have ended, but the family remains and...endings are hard but, nothing ever really ends, does it?