Oof. Now that the episode's over I can finally breath and relax. That was tense. More than tense. More tense that I initially expected. It was a roller-coaster of emotions. I probably didn't realize how tense I was until the credits kicked in and I felt somewhat of a relief.
What an amazing episode! Stellar performances. Damn, Oliver Stark was unbelievably good. I feel sad for the gas station guy. I knew he was gonna die, but it was still sad to watch.
I want to point something out. Someone give Jennifer Love Hewitt an award! She deserves anything good that happens to her. What a brilliant performance! I'm gonna rematch the episode again just for her stellar performance. I wasn't sure about her coming this season to replace Abby, but I wasn't expecting to love her as much. She and Chimney deserve some happiness together. I'm sure Maddie's Doug PTSD is gonna kick in when she's with Chimney. I just hope it doesn't interfere itheir relationship.
I know they're all actors and that what happens on a show is not real and all that stuff, but the fact that it was Jennifer Love Hewitt's real husband who played Doug makes me somehow awkward. I know it's all role-play and that they're professionals but if that were me, I'd need a stranger and not someone who I live with. Just a thought. But either way, kudos for them for playing it that way. It was a really stellar performance, probably the best one we've seen in the show so far.
I've just finished watching the show and I can't believe how good it was. I actually didn't expect it to be this good. The pilot got me hooked like no other show has and as I continued watching the characters grew on me. Abby and Buck are so damn cute together and I'm so deeply sorry for Abby's loss. I loved how, despite saving lives day in day out, they still got problems at home and how the characters were developed. Everyone has their story, and despite what they have seen, they go home and be another person. Angela Basset is just the best thing that there is. She's great and I love Athena. However, I don't feel comfortable with her date with Bobby. I rather watch them with another people, or Athena with the handcuffed guy (can't remember his name).
At the beginning of the show, the emergencies seemed a bit disconnected, but now they've found their pace and they're related, thus making it easier and believable for the viewer. I'm so glad this show got renewed 'cause it's damn fine.
The scene with the guy talking on the phone with his son after getting split in half was really hard to watch. It was really emotional and heartbreaking.
So glad I gave this show a go. otherwise, I would've regretted it
Another wickedly weird day in Riverdale. So this episode raised new questions for me... Is Chic alive? I mean, Betty threw a kitchen knife at him but all we hear is that Charles and Glen are going to be okay. I can't even begin to explain how I watched the whole 'pincushion Man scene... it was a whole new level of crazy even by Riverdale standards. It went from wedding to extending the family trauma in 0,3 seconds. Next question: Why would Tabitha leave Jughead chained to a desk in a bunker full of candles ALONE? Next up: Did Veronica actually think Chad was going to let her go just like that? The guy is a literal copy of her father in terms of shadiness, hello daddy issues. And lastly, did Penelope, Cheryl and Nana really want to sacrifice Minerva and did they actually just pray for WIND?
I can't wait to see what kind of craziness comes next. I solely watch this show as an escape to reality nowadays... thinking 'well, we might have a global pandemic but at least we don't have a massive prison escape orchestrated by the town mobster/ex-mayor that causes my serial killer brother plus his fiancé to come to my doorstep to get wed and lowkey also play a very murderous game in front of children'.
WHYYYYY why why why why did they have to bring Archie and Veronica back together. Most bland, chemistry-devoid, toxic relationship on this show. Archie's relationship with Betty felt so much more natural. Archie and Veronica could both date outside the friend group, could they not? Can Veronica not have a spicy relationship with a new character? Someone she has actual chemistry with? Can Archie and Betty find people outside their circle? Can the writers not let Betty and Archie's exciting romance last because they're too uncreative to write Archie with anyone but Veronica? Why does everything always have to be between these four? And why does it always have to return to Archie and Veronica? Why can't they let the old boring relationships die? Shoot me. These writers suck
Anyway besides that, Jughead going crazy is a hilariously bad storyline. Kevin and Fangs' relationship has no stakes in it, because they barely get any screen time, so anything dramatic that happens between them isn't really impactful or affecting. Cheryl continues to be awful and vindictive and entitled and manipulative and she reeks of "peaked in high school and can't get over it". And she's so weird man. The party shit was so contrived and so strange and so obviously driven by some ulterior motive and everyone was just okay with it?
Really didn't enjoy this one.
This was, without a doubt, the best episode of season four and one of Riverdale's best of all time. It was incredibly coherent, well-written, and gripping, and all of the pieces from previous episodes came together to form a perfect puzzle.
I am very impressed that the writers managed to keep track of all of their flash-forwards and clues, and deliver such a coherent and satisfying endgame. The writers clearly planned this all far ahead, giving us clues about the Stonewall Four, the Baxter Brothers franchise being stolen from Forsythe, Chipping's murder, and the terrifying Halloween night prank, right from the very beginning.
So many jaw-dropping moments and so many unexpected twists here. There was not a single dull moment in this packed episode. It also played like a season finale, complete with full-circle resolution-- ending the episode back in Pop's, toasting to a normal rest of senior year, bringing us right back to when the madness began.
This was truly phenomenal. Though season four suffered from a tonal rut in the first half, it quickly got itself together in the second half to deliver one of its best plots. It was clear from the beginning that the writers had something great up their sleeve with the Stonewall Prep storyline, even when the other plots were starting to flounder.
This, though, exceeded all expectations.
This episode is just 45 minutes of people doing shitty things and avoiding consequences and not learning anything. Is Cheryl taking back the Vixens supposed to be a sassy slay queen girlboss moment? Because she really doesn't deserve them back. Her place was taken by an appointed coach after she missed a billion school days/practices without informing her cheerleaders because she was busy talking to the dead corpse of her brother and thinking her house was haunted. And being made to seem like a lovable little vulnerable sweetheart because of it. And vilifying the family members who wanted to get psychiatric help for the woman who was TALKING TO A CORPSE. She can't fathom that her absence necessitated a replacement, that's so unfair to her. So she locks her replacement in a room and takes over. Most infuriating thing I've ever watched. No consequences will ever fall on Cheryl, she can just do whatever shitty thing she wants and the story will treat it as some kind of empowering moment.
Archie's uncle is the same god damn way. He gives Mad Dog the drugs, and Mad Dog takes them, and Archie is rightfully angry. But then Archie's uncle gives some bullshit speech about "Mad Dog can make his own decisions" and Archie goes oh my god he's my uncle he's family what was I thinking I miss my dad and he forgives him for selling his friend drugs that put his health at risk. Jesus Christ every time Archie is poised to take a step forward he just cries about his dad and reverts to forgiving everyone and clinging to literally everything that has his dad's name on it, no matter how bad it is for him. His uncle has been a consistently shitty person so far, and Archie's mom has told him that Frank is a shitty person, and Archie forgives literally everything he does, and the story acts like that's the right thing for him to do.
Really frustrating episode to watch. Fuck all these characters I hate them.
[8.5/10] Well hell, they got me good on the twists here. I suspected that the ostensibly helpful orderly had his own agenda, and that when he talked about Number One he might have been talking about himself. But there’s a whole mess of things that I did not guess, including:
That's a lot! It’s effectively making One the show’s Big Bad, give or take Brenner himself. And I gotta say, kudos to the casting directors and Jamie Campbell Bower. He leans into the utter creepiness of One a la Cillian Murphy or Daniel DeHaan. You by him as a sympathetic and troubled yet evil and menacing figure, which is a hard line to walk, and it sells some of the mishmash of cliches that the character represents and succeeds despite.
To the point, One is an odd mix of Agent Smith from The Matrix (“Humanity is a strange kind of pest”), Magneto from X-Men (“We’re superior to them”), Darth Vader from The Empire Strikes Back (“Join me and think of what we could accomplish”), and even Emperor Palpatine from Revenge of the Sith (“Oh no, right after my villainous invitation to powerful young soul, lightning turned me into a scarred ghoulish figure!”). HIs monologue is a touch hammy, and feels pulled from a mix of these other sources, but the superb performance and intensity of the scenes makes it work.
Say what you will about Stranger Things as it reaches its mid-season break, but they can still put together a damn good set piece when they want to. The stand-off between Eleven and One is terrifying. The raw intensity of the two having a force battle a la the one she had with one of her telekinetic bullies in the prior episode, the sheer horror of the way One drags her around as she claws at the floor and hangs in the air, and the rousing but still unnerving way she turns the power back on him and disintegrates him into another dimension is jaw-dropping and riveting.
At a thematic level, I like One as the antithesis of Eleven, her dark reflection and ultimate nemesis. The show implies that he’s been repeatedly abused by his parents, which lends to his dim view of humanity and the way he powers his abilities with sadness and anger. He was not born a monster, but made that way, and it tainted his perspective and his approach to generating his unique talents.
Eleven is the opposite. Time and again, we’ve seen her power through difficult situations not by resorting to pain, but instead, like Max, by reflecting on the people she loves and who care deeply for her as well. It’s telling that when Eleven tries to summon strength from recalling her mother being ripped away from her, or the death and destruction she witnesses as a consequence of her removing One’s inhibitor, it’s not enough to defeat him. But when she recalls her mother’s love, the act of creation and instant bond and affection, it summons a power that One has no ability to withstand.
For all this season has been teasing that Eleven needs to return to negative emotions to regain her powers, I love the subversion that, at the end of the day, it’s the remembrance of that love which not only spurred her to victory on that fateful day many years earlier, but which restores her power now. I still find Brenner to be a morally questionable figure. The show’s treatment of him still makes me a little queasy. And I still feel uncomfortable about Owens’ willingness to throw in with him, even if he thinks it’s necessary to save the world. But all of this ethically dubious “training” lands in a strong place thematically, vindicating Eleven’s bonds with the people who love her as the source of her power, and pointing to the lack of such care and affection as the thing that unfortunately doomed poor Henry Creel.
I don’t know that every part of it adds up logistically. It feels like it conflicts with some other things we knew about the Upside Down, and the attempt to bring together the cosmology of the Demogorgon, the Mindflayer, and Vecna into one consistent effort plays more than a little clunky. But ultimately, it works at an intuitive level, which is good enough for me.
Plus hey, there’s a lot of Star Wars and Harry Potter here, which isn’t terribly surprising given some of the references in the show to this point. (The former, not the latter, obviously.) One is basically tempting Eleven to turn to the darkside, to use negative emotions to spur her use of The Force. The offer to join together is very Vader and Luke, or even Kylo Ren and Rey. And the contrast between a child born of love and one born without it is very Harry and Voldemort. On balance, it makes me think that Eleven will ultimately try to save One in some way, to redeem him, but I suppose we’ll have to wait and see in July when the last two episodes of the season come out.
All-in-all, I haven’t loved the Eleven storyline thus far, but this takes into a pretty shocking yet compelling place, about where her flashback adventures fit into the larger story of Stranger Things, and about how who she is informs what she can do in a way her foe absolutely cannot despite all his own malevolence and power.
Oh yeah, and other stuff happens in the episode too! Who knew?
I still don’t like the Russian rescue business, but at least they went somewhere with it. It remains insane that they were able to bluff their way into a secret Russian prison, bring a weapon inside without getting frisked or bothered over it, and hold a warden hostage to get most, if not all, of what they want. This plan makes no sense, but hey, Murray’s Yuri impression is gold, so it’s got that going for it.
And yet, Hopper and the crooked guard’s fight with the demogorgon is reasonably cool. The CGI for the demogorgon was off here, as it didn’t move or react properly. The design remains terrifying though, which does a lot of the work. Plus the Duffer Bros. and the fight choreographers do a good job of adding tension to the scene by having Hopper struggle to light his spear torch at first, and then force them to improvise when getting behind the super-thick doors before the flame runs out. It’s a well-constructed set piece, even if I’m pretty much done with this storyline.
To the point, Hopper and Joyce embracing after so long apart and so much each has been through in the interim should be a moving moment. I felt nothing. I can’t say that Stranger Things didn’t earn the moment. It showed each character going through a hell of a lot to reach it and reflecting on what each means to the other. But the whole thing has been so wildly implausible and tonally different from the rest of the show, coupled with a bit of character assassination last season, that it ultimately holds no emotional weight for me. At least we’re hopefully done with it for a while, though they still have to figure out how to get back to America, which is another layer of implausibility to overcome.
The two teams of junior detectives working back in Hawkins/the Upside Down is a treat as well. There’s parts that I still don’t like. I continue to not understand why they’re leaning so hard back into Steve/Nancy as a couple, but I’ve said my piece on that. The Upside Down looks pretty bad here much of the time, with the actors conspicuously pasted onto green screen backgrounds that breaks immersion. Dustin turns into an exposition machine at one point, which serves to set up the Vecna reveal more than anything happening in his corner of the story. And as clever as some of the solutions are, there’s occasionally some shortcuts taken to avoid the inevitable trial and error of communicating across dimensions that feel convenient, albeit within the realm of acceptable willing suspension of disbelief.
But there’s a lot I really like here. The dynamic of both quartets works really clicks. As lukewarm as I am on Nancy and Steve as a couple, Eddie having a heart-to-heart with Steve about how he’s an unexpectedly decent guy and that Nancy would clearly go to hell for him is the best sales pitch for it so far. Robin’s hyperfixation on the risk of rabies after Steve’s bite is also an on-point bit of fun characterization. On the other side, I’m glad they added Erica back into the mix as the younger kids try to bridge the gap between worlds and keep their stories straight.
I most appreciate the crew figuring out to go to Eddie’s trailer in order to rescue their friends. It pays off the crack in the ceiling the show’s been teasing for a while now, and there’s a crude logic to the sense that every kill from Vecna creates a breach between their worlds. The rope climbing escapade makes for a neat visual to boot.
God help me, I also enjoy the twist of Vecna going after Nancy given her guilt over what happened to Barb. We don’t really have much setup for it -- no headaches or other visions -- but maybe Vecna’s powers are stronger within the Upside Down. More than anything, I dig how it plays on the character’s history in a meaningful way. Much as Max felt guilt over what happened with Billy, Nancy feels the same about the best friend who died while she was too busy having fun to notice. Bringing the two together like that, in a way that plays on Vecna’s M.O. and a prior psychological hang-up for Nancy, is a surprise, but in a good way, finding points of harmony between past storylines and current ones in a way that works.
Overall, “volume 1” of Stranger Things’ fourth season has been a disappointment. So many of the plot threads this year have come off like wheel-spinning, table-setting, and throat-clearing. Some of the core strengths of the show remain, mostly in its characters, but you can feel the show’s creative team spinning out at times. And yet, the high points, when they pay all of that build off, are quite high. Between Max overcoming vecna at the midpoint, and the triumphs and revelations in this mid-season finale, the show can still soar when it brings everything to a climax and puts its cards on the table. I hope we see more of that in the last two episodes of the season.
(249-word review) Despite being different from the usual: this time, it was about piecing together foggy events from far in the past and the one who supposedly did it being front and center from the beginning, this episode was more about depicting the sadness, loneliness, and emotional reality of the impact of which war can do to a man/person; while that has almost certainly been portrayed many times throughout the medium of television and film, that doesn't lessen this instance's impact, and unless you fail borderline unhumanly-miserably, that never will. Charles Durning gave a commendable performance.
Besides that, the acting, across the board, was the second-biggest draw; Alicia Coppola stood out, with a more subtle induction by Sasha Alexander and Mark Harmon (and more subtly, the score had its perks, too, with the most distinction and variety in the show it's been): right behind the effective attempt at putting a needed, appreciated light on the horrific reality that, unfortunately, plagued so many people that were lucky enough (or unlucky) to live another day, even to this day with more recent sufferers unrelated to the arguably worst war/battlefield occurrences in the past, like with Ernest/Ernie Yost, which is even more unfortunate.
Even though this episode didn't seem good enough to warrant a higher rating, at least in my eyes, it was still sufficiently engaging, on top of its importance, for obvious reasons. It certainly didn't fall into the threshold of giving it a rating lower than I gave it.
"Rule Number 9, never go anywhere without a knife."
Based on the episode title, I went into this expecting an exciting episode. I wasn't disappointed. I wouldn't say I was expecting it to be better than it was, but it was a step-up from the previous two episodes: that's for sure. The comedic bits were good; the ones between Tony and Caitlin stood out the most. The moments between Gibbs and Tony stood out, too. In general, the comedic bits were all good.
I liked the somewhat comedic undertone of yet another jurisdiction battle between the FBI and NCIS. I like that Agent Freedman said that he was warned by Agent Fornell about Gibbs, only for him to get outsmarted, too. The callback was nice. Mark Harmon and Sasha Alexander looked pretty good in those uniforms, especially him. And I wonder if Sasha ad-libbed the last bit of dialogue at the end or improvised the little dance that Caitlin did. Something about the end gave me that impression.
Speaking of Agent Freedman, the actor played Malcolm Carruthers in L.A. Noire. What almost seems like a tradition of actors showing up in this show, who later on voice-acted a significant video game character, continues. I wasn't sure it was him at first. He looked different, and his voice wasn't as pronounced as in L.A. Noire, which makes sense. This episode premiered years before L.A. Noire was released.
There was yet another actor that caught my eye, not in terms of acting but rather familiarity. As in me: recognizing him. The actor was Michael Gaston. There's just something about him, man. His voice, the way he delivers his performances; I don't know. But something about him seems to immediately give you an impression, regardless of whether the character he's playing is a "bad guy." Do you know what I mean?
Maybe it's because the only two roles of his that I'm familiar with, he played a bad guy. Thomas Carter in Blindspot and Gale Bertram in The Mentalist; I'm less familiarized with the latter. Was his character in that show even a bad guy? It's been much longer since I've watched whatever episodes of The Mentalist he was in; his role in Blindspot is in recent memory.
Anyways, he caught my eye, and it was nice seeing him show up in this episode. Also, for some reason, he reminds me of Noah Emmerich a little bit: specifically, Stan Beeman from The Americans. Well, from the little bits I've seen of that character: I haven't watched The Americans yet. Something about Michael's general acting performances gives off a similar vibe. That's a little something else that came to mind. I wonder if anyone else has gotten that feeling of similarity between the two actors.
Yeah, this episode was better than the previous two. It was pretty simple. With this case, the storytelling unfolded to where all you could do was watch it happen. There was no room for theorizing about who the culprit was. You had to wait for the episode to reveal it, although once the final act was at hand, it was predictable and easy to tell who it was before the characters came to that conclusion. But even though that may pose a problem for some people, I thought this episode was enjoyable, as was watching everything unfold. It was a nice and refreshing change from the somewhat lackluster previous episodes.
I liked this first episode. I am a huge fan of the original and have watched every episode thanks to my parents' DVD collection.
The character of Ben seems interesting. He doesn't feel like an exact copy of Sam except for knowing multiple languages. I'll be interested to see how much more is done with his character. I like the change of his hologram being his fiancé. I kept seeing people complain about it but I'd rather something different than just having a repeat of the Al & Sam dynamic.
Setting some scenes with Project Quantum Leap themselves was pretty cool. In the original series, we would get maybe one or two looks at what was going on from that perspective. That being said, there was one scene in that space that felt off to me. Maybe it was just the ways the lines were being read but I found it awkward.
The actual time travel was a simple one this time around but I find that completely fine. There were plenty of episodes of the original that had even lower stakes than this. From the preview shown at the end, it seems like they have a lot of more interesting leaps planned ahead which I'm excited to see.
Overall, this was a decent start to the series. I can't wait to see where it goes from here.
The one 16 year old girl says she's supposed to be "this great detective", the other 16 year old girl buys a bar and trades it for a diner and the third 16 year old gets crowned king of the Serpents. I don't think the writers even remember their ages at this point.
I'm not happy with the way this whole Black Hood season ended. It really feels like the writers had no idea who they wanted to put under the hood and halfway through the season they heard the theory of Hal being the Black Hood and they decided to roll with it like two episodes before the finale. For once there are no subtle hints for it to be him before episode 20 and on the other hand the whole reasoning and execution at the end felt hollow and cheap, especially the part about THE DARKNESS™. I thought at least one of the adults would finally address this as mental illness, but nope. Don't think we'll ever get to see any of them in therapy either.
Three things that I'm curious about - Chic, Alice's dead son and Polly.
Chic just disappeared and we still don't know anything. Was there even a point to begin with? I thought his creepiness would be relevant somehow, but nothing happened. I'm wondering if he'll come back next season.
Then there's Alice's dead son. I was actually thinking he's not dead because we really didn't get to see anything about him. It felt really tragic to know that Alice saw him and closed the door in his face, but I thought it would connect more with the overall story or with Chic.
And then there's Polly who definitely had something going on. I wonder if we know this mysterious guy who helped her or if her mother will get dragged into a weird cult. And I actually find this much more interesting than the cliffhanger that Archie is arrested (I was sure there would be some bloodshed after Jug's weird announcement) and Hiram is still planning to deal drugs on the New Southside. I was actually hoping for him to leave Riverdale or go to prison at the end of the season, but apparently his cheap mobster story will continue.
And even after all these complaints every week I'm still excited to watch new episodes and do enjoy it. It's over the top and crazy but at the same time I find it so entertaining :D
The Rookie as a cop show has been interesting on a number of levels. Like all cop shows it's steeped in copaganda so hard you really can't divorce it from the very premises it sustains. That said when you look past that there's something there. It's been amusing, disappointing and confusing trying to watch it, as a show, react. I wouldn't dare suggest it's one of the best procedurals or even one of the most popular or most expensive but it's compelling. Even when it does make everything about Detective Nolan. ONe of the biggest questions about a show with a premise that breaks with graduation is where does it go from here.
They've teased it before, they've tried and failed before but they're introducing a new rookie. This rookie like Nolan sticks out. And like Nolan, they're going to treat this rookie like a robot expecting them to get over all their issues "OR ELSE". It's weirdly performative insisting that the LAPD are trained with a soldier's discipline. I'm resisting the urge to go into how different that is from reality and why it matters that these shows insist that police both need compmassion and are super human, again. But i'm very invested in seeing how this rookie will affect the dynamic.
Gone campy
If I didn't have such fond memories of this show from my childhood, I probably would have jumped off here. This episode was way too campy. The show looked like it started taking some cues from the American Batman TV series that would have been on at the same time. There were screen pop-ups and even Spider had a lame scene where he coughed smoke after the briefcase had exploded.
The Gigantic Claw...hmmm...well it wasn't the worst we've seen until this point. It did have a few special attacks when it shot missiles and also launched some kind of rope that ensnared giant robot. Started to get a bit confused about giant robot's link to Johnny Sokko. Sometimes giant robot fights perfectly normally without Johnny there. At others, he can only perform basic moves. In another case, he went to a complete standstill. Just saying.
The special effects here were terrible. Pay attention to the spinout of the Gargoyle car. The claw was not as bad as the normal miniaturization effects. Finally they seem to be getting the monster right. It was really good to see U5 have a part in the story and get some decent screen time.
Far from the worst...
This installment had a lot of firsts for the series but the monster / storyline seemed pretty formulaic. We have now learned the female agent's name is Mitsuko. Someone must have told the writers to get her more involved because for three episodes, she barely existed and now we have a story that revolves around her since it is her brother who is in peril in Arabia that they must save. We also learn the secret Unicorn ID process and that all Gargoyle agents have a bomb in their chests that explodes when they begin to give information. Giant robot uses the radion eye ray attack for the first time. It was strange how he struggled with the neck chain from Ligon-Tyrox and then had no effects from the forehead drill penetrating his outer shell. The plot to destroy the oil fields seems very prophetic in retrospect as the world has been held hostage by oil since the early 1970's. Where did Johnny get the genie clothes and bomb from? Same level of cheese as usual from the squad but with the change in venue to the Middle East and a somewhat tight plot line this episode isn't too bad.
So much going on...
Where to start? Of course everyone knew Raj and Divya were not going through with their wedding plans. I felt like it was kind of a copout for her to use the fates and the plague as the reason for her decision but it was there all along. Their nitpicky fighting while learning the tango would have been how their marriage was.
Jill leaving for six months just when she and Hank seemed like they were rekindling their relationship was fairly unexpected. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I like Jill very much but not necessarily with Hank. This tied to the medical part of the show with Hank catching a misdiagnosis of Ben with Lyme disease which had been confused with MS. That guy did not seem very appreciative almost like he was reluctant to give up the MS and his slogan, "I am not my disease".
What about Eddy? His difficult decision to do the time or accept Boris' offer of a life of freedom without his family. We'll have to wait and see... This show has become one of the best on TV. Too bad it is buried in the summer slump.
Watching through Buffy for the first time recently. I missed it the first go-round as i would've been too hardcore goth for such bubblegummy fare when it was first coming out. It's good timing, actually, i feel like the ensuing 2 decades have put me in a place to appreciate Joss Whedon's campy vision.
I feel like Teacher's Pet is the episode where the series starts to hit its stride. The main characters seem to be establishing their chemistry, which is excellent and worth watching for that alone. Secondarily, it's good, goofy late 90s fun. While this show could easily veer towards the obnoxious, somehow it toes the line and is charming instead. I feel like if this came out even 3 years later, it wouldn't have worked, as i imagine they'd have been tempted to use CGI instead of practical effects and the whole thing would've been rendered dated and cheap. Instead, Buffy has kind of a timeless quality, in lines with weird, goofy teen horror romps, from Eerie, Indiana to The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina.
I also like to imagine a world where teenagers go out and watch live music almost every day. Makes me miss going to shows.
The beginning of the episode left me wishing we could've seen more of this side of Star Wars: regular stormtroopers doing their job, getting into action, and all the unseen dynamics rarely mentioned in the mainstream film trilogies. We did have something in that vein: Republic Commando explored the lives of elite Republic clone troopers; Jedi Academy had us follow the lives of youngling under tutelage of Luke's academy; the original Battlefront showed us the transitioning of a republic to an empire through the eyes of the soldiers.
It's the lives of the mundane, the less than extraordinary, yet still gripping and intriguing. They let us dive deeper to the world of Star Wars beyond the flashy buzzing of lightsabers and spectacles of the magical force.
The Mandalorian wished it could be one of those. Unfortunately, it failed terribly.
In episode 5, @ShrimpBoatSteve has said that the series has became too predictable, and I agree - the finale shows how predictable the whole season is. https://trakt.tv/comments/264475
After the long flashback which most parts we've already seen in previous episodes - seemingly making the scenes feels almost like a filler - The Mandalorian episode 8 seems reluctant to set their foot to the ground with its notable world-building as previously seen in Eps 7 and Eps 1 to 3. As I have previously said, after everyone gangs on The Mando (Eps 7), Baby Yoda/Little One's background (who Baby Yoda is, why is he wanted, what the Imperial remnants wanted to do with him, etc) remains unresolved. As the episode shows us Moff Gideon rising with a darksaber in hand, yet another reference moment: every substance the show can possibly offer will be dealt only in Season 2 (or, worse, more).
Stormtroopers in Star Wars have been infamous for their terribly inaccurate shots, but in this episode it feels like their incompetency is amplified to the point of parody and, of course, plot armors. Scout troopers - which is supposed to be snipers - can't shoot droid right in front of their eyes. Instead of coming in squads, troopers only come individually (incinerators burning the building, a few troopers slaughtered by the blacksmith, a few others guarding the tunnel, and the most stupid of all, Moff Gideon waiting for nightfall just for no reason) which makes for a convenient plot armors for our heroes to trek on their way.
Of course, there are casualties - what is a story without something seemingly at a stake? - but it is nothing more than devices to delay the heroes from their trek. Taking cues from Eowyn's "I am no man" of Lord of the Rings fame, in less than moment-defining fashion IG-11, which himself came as a sort of droid ex machina, said that it is no "living being" while resurrecting The Mando from fatal injuries, remedied every possible threat with its healing devices.
Antagonists can be dumb, but there is a limit to dumbness that can suspend audience's disbelief. This episode has antagonist almost feels like they are intentionally dumb and there is nothing really at a stake when everything can be easily remedied.
This episode is not the worst, certainly, as the action sequence is flashy and satisfying. The one near ending where The Mando utilizes a neat jet jump is clever and actually can show the extent Star Wars can be when the director wanted to think creatively beyond the force. Knights of the Old Republic and the aptly named Star Wars Bounty Hunter played with clever tricks similar to this once a while, and the trick doesn't feel cheap as they stand on a very good storytelling.
The Mandalorian's flashy action, regardless, seems to serve only as explicit fanservice - a style over substance.
There are plenty of action, which, by itself, is quite well-done. The consistently hardly imposing threats, unfortunately, dull down the possible thrill those scenes can offer - in a typical corny action heroes such as Gerard Butler's character in Has Fallen trilogy. The scene, for example, with The Blacksmith let us peek into the martial arts capability a Mandalorian can exhibit. But the rather plot armor of incompetent stormtroopers leave no stake at hand; the martial arts dexterity looks more like a cheap imitation of main trilogies of Jedi's acrobatic feats.
Redemption ultimately ends with nothing to be redeemed about, as the people in this show seems to be forever clumsy. From start to finish, everyone made questionable decisions. Nobody blasted the Mando's group with that large amount of stormtroopers. Nobody checked whether Moff Gideon is dead when the fighter was down (Gideon also miraculously survive the crash), with Carga, a supposedly veteran bounty hunter, lightheartedly saying they are already free of the Empire's grasp.
Everything people said in this episode, just like many episodes prior, are not crafted as if the actors were having human conversation. They were rushed by time - they seemingly appear to be set in motion by the plot's demands, to say X so Y happens; to say A when B moment happened.
This episode almost feels like a filler to conclude the dragging episodes this season has been. Screenwriting-wise, this whole season is nothing but bait-and-switch to justify next season(s).
There is much to be said about this kind of terrible business model, where series is written with nothing exactly in mind but to find reasons to continue producing the franchise - the same business model Disney has been using on their MCU franchise and Star Wars films/spinoffs - but the crowds of gladly willing moms awing for Baby Yoda and nerd dads geeking over Star Wars reference doesn't leave enough rooms for those commentaries.
Things fall apart in the very next episode - which didn't take long at all - finding the treasure was always going to be the easy part if this show wanted to have any sense of a longer lifespan about it - there's a lot of scenes between John B. and Sarah's father Ward here that really work - of course Sarah's dad was always going to know more about the treasure than he was letting on, and that final shot of him climbing up the boat to - do something bad - to John B opens up a whole can of questions for the next episode. He has a dark past - that's clear - a past that he's willing to take drastic actions to stop his newly adopted son from talking.
JJ fell down pretty hard this episode and his stuff was pretty emotional and effective. I really like that the show doesn't use this as an excuse to force him apart from the rest of his friends, and that Kiara and Pope sympathise with him for his actions rather than cast him off - which would have been a bad move. It's the highlight of the episode for me, even considering the ending. Rudy Pankow was the MVP of this episode.
Maybe it's not the best idea to question a man who may have had something to do with your father's disappearance on a boat in the middle of nowhere, John B? Maybe wait until you're back on dry land? Either way - whatever happens next - most likely leaning in the direction that John B's going to either kill or heavily injure Ward out of self-defence - we've just found our hook for the rest of the episodes.
Okay, so the Sarah/Kiara split was finally resolved this episode. We learnt more about why Kiara and Sarah don't get along at all - and the two resolving their differences was cliche as hell but fun, and Kiara admitting that she called the cops on Sarah's party was a fun moment. This was very much an episode of two halves that almost felt like two different shows, the first half felt very standard teen drama-y and then the thing quickly turns into a remake of Don't Breathe in the second act as things veered quickly into horror territory that the show was hinting at beforehand.
The scenes where the group were avoiding the blind woman were as tense as hell, and Outer Banks did a good job with changing the atmosphere completely; when it wants to go tense - it can really go tense - I wasn't expecting it to turn into a Don't Breathe remake as quickly as it did, and I felt the group's jubilation and sense of victory about getting the gold and escaping from the house. I wasn't expecting them to find gold so early on in the series - which begs the question - what's going to happen in the next four episodes? How is this not a mini-series? How are we supposed to get a second season out of this?
I'm not really satisfied by that make-up between Sarah and Kiara. Or the way they worked up to it and then had a pretty weak resolve. Kie was so adamant about Sarah "ditching everyone" and "taking everything for herself". We got the resolve for her "ditching", which she explained herself she does with everyone who gets too close, but for Kie to be so specific about having everything taken, or Sarah taking what is yours for herself just because she can, that wasn't touched upon at all. If there really had been something between them in the past, it would have to be resolved in this episode, instead they just dropped it like that was never a thing, or Kie just over-dramatising things.
These kids are also pretty cough dumb with their flashlights in this show, like way back when they were running from attackers with their lights on, like, come on. But I forgive that, cause I like the show in itself.
Just like I forgive the terrible rope-game. Do you not know how to let someone safely down a cliff/other surface?
I'm wondering about Sarah's dad. Other the fact how they alluded to that he might be the mysterious killer? And him "knowing more than he lets on", I'm just talking about his personality here. So the kids both know he has a tendency to explode, while otherwise seeming like a rather benign and gentle father (especially to Sarah). But after the whole scene with Rafe and Billy, somehow I don't really trust him anymore with being so cool about Sarah and her "mystery boys", where all he said was basically "choose well", like he trusts her and her decisions entirely. Maybe he does, but... I'm just not sure he'd be so chill if he found out Sarah were slipping up.
Other than that, I feel little pity when it's about Rafe. Although his father has definite anger-management issues (although him not really noticably getting angry, just suddenly jumping at your throat or starting to kick the life out of you rings more socio/psychopath bells than "anger issues" lmao), I find his words/"actions" justified – not when it comes to Billy, but the whole "You're a thief and a liar, don't come back home", I get that, somehow. Rafe is a spoiled brat and needs to learn that life is a bit different when you don't get dollar bills stuffed up your ass by daddy, or when you can't steal his cash.
As for character creation, I'm just not entirely sure whether you can justify a) dad's borderline-split personality in general b) for it to only affect one kid c) how Sarah seems so balanced apart from the issues with closeness and her brother being a thief/liar/violent person/drug addict hmmmmmmm.
Also, how is a bunch of kids realistically going to turn marked gold into actual money? So many people are looking for it. A lot will know what the markings mean. It's unlikely the kids can go heist the entirety of it by themselves without anyone noticing. And then what, do they know people on the black market? :upside_down:
This season of Arrow was pretty fucking awesome overall. I enjoyed it more than Season 5, almost reaching Season 2 levels of excitement. I loved it!
I only had ONE problem with it, and that is the way the separation of the group was handled. I liked the separation itself, I think it shakes things up and changes the relationship dynamic, which makes it interesting... but I don't like the reasons they came up with to justify such changes. It's ridiculous that Oliver is made out to be this terrible leader and the whole argument with Diggle was terrible, even him doesn't seem to know why he is upset.
Honestly though, that doesn't really affect the season in my mind, especially seeing the payoff on these last episodes, with everybody worried about Oliver getting caught. Oliver's "farewell tour" made it pretty clear that he turned himself in to clear the others - and the public reveal finally came (but unlike Iron Man, Oliver was taken straight to jail). Really curious about how they will deal with this next season, especially seeing as every time a season starts with Oliver not being an active vigilante, it doesn't take long until he suits up again. Going to be trickier this time.
I enjoyed watching the relationship of Earth-2 Laurel and Quentin all season. These actors work so well together, and Katie Cassidy is extremely good in the doppleganger business. Quentin's death sucks, but it didn't really hit me that hard, I guess because I half expected it due to the spoilery news that came up some time ago about Paul Blackthorne leaving the show. Plus, let's face it, things happen in that hospital - I think Sara has grounds to sue.
Last but not least, while Laurel screaming at Diaz and essentially "saving him" sucks... it creates a situation where even though this guy lost his empire and the heroes basically "won", he is not dead or incarcerated and very likely will return with a vengeance. I like this and would love it if he was the big bad again next season, making his arc huge. Diaz was a very cool, intimidating villain despite only being a crime boss - I find this fits Arrow quite well. It does seem weird that he can hold his own against Oliver - I was thinking that maybe there's more to him we don't know (like those mythical assassins he mentioned?) but they made a deal of showing that his thing is boxing. There's certainly more to expand on that character with the writers leaving that door open.
A lot of focus on Alma and Bullock here, neither of whom are my favorite characters on the show. This one also had some of the corniest lines, like the whole "you've changed" exchange between the two of them. I could do without their romance, just because they're two of the more stilted characters on the show, so I don't get a lot of sparks from them when they're together. (Sol and Trixie, on the other hand, are pretty adorable, and them I'm rooting for!)
But then again it also has Charlie being circumspect but still clearly shaken about why Bill let himself get killed like that. And to boot, it has the tremendous scene with him and Calamity Jane standing in front of Bill's grave, both uniting in their grief and finding a way to get their moorings without their friend and leader there to give them guidance.
And we're also introduce to a brother and sister (Kristen Bell!) who initially look like they're being primed and manipulated by the folks in charge of both saloons, but it turns out that they're running their own con and are not quite the babes in the woods they present themselves as. I'm sure there's something thematic there, but I can't quite figure it out. There's something very creepy about how Dan starts to fixate on Flora, and something just as creepy about Cy trying to turn her out. But the reveal that the whole thing is an act suggests something about city fathers who try to take advantage of the innocent, not prepared for the innocent being ready to bite back.
There's a decent amount to that as a larger theme. Al seems to underestimate or at least resent Bullock and considers him naive, but Bullock's also smart enough to see through the con. Alma talks down to Trixie a bit, and Trixie pushes back at her for it. There's a sense that the disregarded or underestimated in Deadwood have more force than those in power or social status might realize.
That extends to Andy, who Cy underestimated through the simple act of survival. His resentment for Cy when he comes to collect his things is palpable and understandable. But the fact that he's there to rub Cy's nose his living breathing status at all is a tribute to how the folks in charge didn't quite see all the angles, and didn't predict how the folks weaker than them might stick around to be a thorn in their sides.
Another look at a divide within the soul of this community -- specifically in how it treats the sick. On the one hand you have guys like Al and Cy and the other businessmen of the town, who are mostly concerned with quelling any panic so as not to hurt any business. There's no really empathy or sympathy from them, or if there is, it's buried down deep. They have interests, and those interests would be hurt by a smallpox outbreak running through Deadwood. So they pool their money, send folks out to get a vaccine, and work with the local media to downplay the severity of the threat.
And on the other hand you have the Doctor Cochran, Calamity Jane, and the reverend who actually want to see these people treated. The doctor is content to play the game as much as he needs to in order to keep himself solvent and allowed to do his job in the midst of all this muck, but at the end of the day, he's committed to treating the sick, and all his dealings with Al, Cy, and other, are a means to that end. Jane is in mourning, back on the bottle, and yet you see in the way she looks at that little girl, and in the way she dives on board to helping in the pest tent, that she too cares about these people, and isn't going to let her grief rob her of her spirit. And the reverend, odd duck though he may seem, is equally committed to caring for the sick, regardless of the risks or even of his own afflictions, which may have been spurred by spending time in the graveyard with coughing newspapermen and god knows what else. These folks get little or nothing out of treating the ill--their interests aren't aligned toward it the way the businessmen of the town are--but they're still there to take care of it.
The episode trots out a few more of this little dichotomies. Al and E.B. want to incapacitate Alma so that they can pursue their business interest, namely getting her to sell her gold claim back to them. They don't care what subtrefuge they have to use to do it; it's all in the game. But Trixie has been where Alma is, clouded by a laudanum stupor and (presumably) having some major lapse that made her want to climb out of it, and even though it goes directly against her interest, particularly with the cruel hand of Swearingen waiting for, she wants to help this ill woman get better, nursing her through the withdrawal and coaching her through Al's deceptions.
And last but not least, we have Bullock wanting to give his native american attacker a proper burial, whereas Charlie scoffs at it as more kindness than the fallen warrior would have shown them, but eventually cooperates and helps Seth to send him out the way he'd want to go. "Plague" draws a sharp line between what people are inclined or required to do and what they choose to do even when they don't have to. The smallpox outbreak itself is the biggest example, and the one that reaches the furthest through the community, but in actions big and small, the episode teases out how different people in this town have moral compasses and principles that may lead them to similar places, but for very different reasons.
(Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that this was the funniest episode of Deadwood so far. There were so many great one-liners, from Jane especially.)
What in the actual f*ck.
I'm a reasonable man, I realize I've been crapping on D&D even more than usual this season but I really do have to give them props for doing exactly what they set out to do. They hoped to subvert our expectations and they did just wonderfully in that regards.
We expected all of that buildup over the years to actually amount to something that at the very least passes for a presentable series finale but instead, we got an incoherent, steaming pile of shit. Expectations subverted!
We expected all of that character development to actually result in a beautiful pay-off that respects the journey of self-discovery each and every one of our beloved characters went through to get to where they are now but instead, we got a painful, disrespectful cycle of character regression. Expectations subverted!
We expected the final season of this show to keep us at the edge of our seats with thrilling writing that didn't subvert our expectations for the sake of subverting our expectations via low-quality shock value-seeking writing, but to introduce plot twists that make sense within the overall narrative of the story but instead, we got CW-level predictable, cringe material. Expectations subverted!
I get it. I really do. GRRM let them down by not getting the books ready in time and so they had to improvise away from his influence, but this? This? For a long while, Game of Thrones lived up to the slogan of its parent network, it wasn't just TV, it was something different, something unique and now to have to see it come to this... it's nothing short of disappointing.
On the bright side though, at least this episode didn't suck completely. The acting, score and cinematography were all on point, so I guess it's nice that I didn't walk out of it having appreciated absolutely nothing about it.
So why do I even bother anymore? I honestly could not tell you, though it's probably a mixture of masochism and a faint sliver of hope that they won't flush our collective investment into this series down the drain by the end of it, just one more episode dammit.
Pros
+Fight scenes were pretty intense and not as hammy as they have been in other episodes with The Others and Wights
+Melisandre returning was good
+Dragon fighting was great and properly brutal
+The Night's King's assassination was pretty great, I liked how they led us on twice with Dany trying to kill him with dragonfire and Jon trying to duel him fairly and both failing before Arya got him
+Theon's redemption was godly and I can already tell people are going to be overlooking it in favor of other scenes unfortunately
+Beric Dondarrion getting brutally stabbed in the hallway was pure cinema, great cinematography
+Brienne and Jaime's unbeatable tag team fighting was great
+Acting was noticeably solid this episode, even actors I don't exactly like did well here, the writing being more competent than most episodes definitely helped
Neutral
* the Dothraki getting all hyped only to do literally fucking nothing was actually hilarious
*Lyanna Mormont bit was the only really cheesy part but it was kind of fun
*Arya chase bit was a lot longer than it needed to be
*Sam just lying down on a pile of bodies doing nothing for the last half of the battle was kind of hilarious too
*Crypt parts broke up the action a bit and served their purpose but also didn't bring that much to the table
Cons
-There were a number of scenes that tried to create tension by prolonging whatever action was happening (like the absurdly long wait at the start, or when Melisandre set the fire to the moat, etc.) and I don't feel like most of it was necessary or added anything but time to the scene
-Not enough important people died for a show that made it's name for not giving plot armor to main characters, there were a few too many scenes where one should've died and was saved at the last second by another character that had no business being at that part of the battlefield (I'm looking at you Jorah! fucking teleporting outside of the castle to save Dany. I'm onto your sorcery)
-Too Dark, hahaha I know dumb complaint but it was noticeably annoying at points
-Didn't really explain why Bran just decided to control the ravens for a bit (I'm also secretly disappointed he didn't steal the Night's King's dragon)
-No giant ice spiders
-Tactics made no sense as usual but magic zombie fighting wouldn't anyway so that's not completely unforgivable.
yeah I know I put a lot of critical points here but the critical parts were all minor to me and the good parts wayyyyy outweigh them. It was a great episode, it sets up an interesting ending to the series. Never thought Cersei would actually be the big baddie at the very end when they could have the Night's King but I'm not against it either. Can't wait to see Jaime stab her and pull out a flaming sword :smirk:. also the Cleganebowl/Trial of the Seven/whatever shit they set up for the final encounter will be wonderful
Thanks to Melisandre we could actually see what the fuck was going on!
This episode was so dark, even the Night king's guard didn't see Arya coming...
My therapist will hear about this episode.
They didn't even need the Dothraki. Greyworm, Gendry, Tormund, Brienne, and Jaime killed like 2,000 wights each
The Night King was reduced to Tyrion level of Stupidity.
Confirmed death count: R.I.P
Edd
Beric Dondarrion (aka. Barricade Dondarrion)
Lyanna Mormont (Lyanna 'Giantsbane' Mormont. Killed a giant at the age of thirteen in the Battle of Winterfell. Her greatest and final act. And now her watch has ended.)
Theon Greyjoy
Jorah Mormont
Night King
Melisandre (Melisandre: "I will be dead before the dawn.")
99.8% of the Unsullied
99.9% of the Dothraki (Dothraki's flaming weapons slowly disappearing in the dark was the most terrifying scene EVER)
Confirmed living:
Ghost
Drogon
Rhaegal
Jon yelling at a fucking Dead Dragon!
Jon: We did it. We defeated the dead.
Bran: We don’t have time for any of this. Cersei has 4 elephants.
One of the Best part was the slow piano montage of everyone dramatically fighting to the last breath with a shot in the middle of Sam lying on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
RIP Azor Ahai Theories
RIP Night King
RIP Logic
RIP Lighting in the Episode
RIP Lyanna Mormont True King in the North
RIP Arya as a good character
RIP Melisandre the confused woman
RIP Theon protecting Useless Boy
RIP Jorah and Beric Defending Strong woman
RIP Good storytelling and 9 years of Hype
RIP Winter and the Long Night
RIP Me
None of the prophecies mattered, nothing was resolved between Bran and Night King, all eight seasons of build up and the NK dies from one quick stab. No surprising twists, no intelligent storytelling, the storyline ends like this. The whole long night ends in one battle.
The war council preparing for a siege, they send out their cavalry to die in the first 10 seconds, 20 or more wights surrounded every character, and yet every main character manages to retreat. Theon with around 20 archers managed to defend against a horde of wrights. We see Jon surrounded by a crowd of wights, and next scene there's no more wights left.
I think this time it's a bit of a stretch to say DB Weiss and David Benioff planned this well. By their own admission they've only known Arya was going to land the finishing blow for 3 years and when you account for the 2 year hiatus, that's just season 7. Even then, Arya got the job because she's a fan favorite, not because this is what she's been building up to. Her story never even had a hint of "White Walker" plot. I think Mel talking about shutting eyes forever back in season 3 was purely about her faceless man training. Mel said the "Blue Eyes" comment second in season 3 but they retro actively made it the last color while reiterating it this episode to force prophetic weight onto it.
From a story writing perspective this was not Arya's fight to win anymore than it would've been Oberyn Martell's. Her experiences made her a highly skilled fighter but her plot didn't set her up to be the savior of the realms of the living.
[8.4/10] I feel like this episode isn't going to please most people. The critical crowd is going to be annoyed at it for indulging in fan service at times and wrapping a lot of character relationships too quickly. The more casual fan crowd is going to be upset that this episode was full of yakking and sparse on action or narrative momentum. But honestly, I really liked this one. I have to imagine that the next four super-sized episodes are going to be filled to the gils with action and high drama and excitement. In the prelude to that, it's really nice to get a series of quiet moments to reflect on where everyone has been to get to this point, and the uncertainty of the future, amid the other grace notes that "The Rightful Queen" provides.
Those are the two big ideas at the center of the episode. On the one hand, you have this sense of everyone both assuming that they're doomed but worrying about what the future holds. More than one character declares that they're all dead. And yet at the same time, you have Dany and others worrying about who might have a claim to the Iron Throne or some slice of the Seven Kingdoms. You have Tyrion and others worrying about who might become (or remain) Hand to the Queen. And you have everyone from Misandei to Sansa thinking about what the world looks like when this battle is over. There's the sense of an inevitable, mortal threat, but also of concern for where things stand after they've picked up the pieces.
But there's also a sense of marking how long the journey has been to reach this point and how much everyone has changed along it. Arya is grown, with her own skills, directness, and desires that mark a sharp contrast from the aspirational little girl who went with her father to King's Landing. Jaime and Tyrion are both much different men since they were "The Golden Lion" and "The Imp" who previously set foot in Winterfell ("the perils of self-betterment"). Hell, even the likes of Podrick has become a capable warrior (and classy singer to boot.) There's a boatload of taking stock in this episode, of remembering where everyone's been and the distance between here and there.
What's more, there's tons of nice little moments. Lyanna Mormont gets a nice scene with Jorah, Gilly gets a little time to shine, and Edd gets a chance to reunite with his Night's Watch brethren. That's all on top of Tyrion's little gathering by the fire, which makes the most of the hang out vibe this episode summons when the time is right.
All-in-all, this feels like one of those Game of Thrones episodes we'll remember beyond the bigger clashes and contretemps the series usually has in store. It's a slower episode, but one that deepens our understanding of where these characters at psychologically and developmentally after nearly eight seasons, and lets us wonder about what the future holds right alongside them.
Just wow! What an amazing episode! Unleash the Dragon!
Since it's mid-season finale, this show has greatly improved. A lot of stuff going on: the Dragon reveal, the Arclight namedrop, Dinah going all ruthless on Black Siren, the bomb plot finally ending (thank God), heartbreaking Cayden James backstory and Quentin full on Black Siren redemption.
But first things first. I'm seriously in love with that final scene. It was just brilliant. The acting, the cinematography, that low-angle shot, the final execution, everything was just perfect. Richard Dragon's final line was the cherry on the top.
"Well, you were always talking about how much you miss your son. In case you didn't know, I'm the one who had him killed. Tell your boy I said hello". That was not only savage but also ruthless as hell. I just love him. That right there is the darkness this show needs. That Richard Dragon reveal was just fantastic. That final scene Gabe me the goosebumps. The freaking chills. That last shot, that's how you reveal a villain.
However, one of my favourite lined was "And this city.. oh, this city... it's primed for a takeover. You see, guys like you never understand these things. Why destroy a city when you could take it over?" that was so well-acted and executed. I loved how Kirk played it.
I'm at the verge of seeing a flashback and automatically knowing it means death's ahead. However, this might be the only time I genuinely cared about Cayden James. Michael Emerson really boosted the character with his acting in this episode. He was beyond amazing. The scene where the ARGUS's minions took Cayden and he couldn't watch his son playing was heartbreaking. I felt sorry for him. Not to mention when they told him he died. I loved the change in his attitude towards his family. He really wanted to make things right with his son and when he was about to do it, his son died. Man, that's just sad.
I'm so happy with the bomb plotline finally coming to an end. It was really tiresome for that storyline to come back and forth during the last couple of episodes.
The whole Dinah stuff was great. She was totally ruthless and vengeance-driven. I liked that she didn't even hesitate and if someone gets in her way that's just collateral damage. I loved seeing her going the dark road. She's kinda be owing everything she hated out of anger and pain. Love that. At first I loved team Newbies but now I'm sort of hating it. I love Rene but the past few episodes his character has lost that spark that I loved so much. And if I hear him saying "This doesn't change anything, hoss", I swear I'm gonna explode.
There was just something that I didn't particularly enjoy, and that was the whole "let's force William into the storyline". I know that this season is all about family, bla, bla, bla, but I hate this kid drama and I thought we left it behind when William accepted that Oliver needs to be the Green Arrow. Apparently not! I have no freaking idea how a kid would think that going directly to where the guy who wants to blow up the city was a good idea. I get that he'd be with his dad and all, but you're kinda just getting on his way.
I'm on board on the Black Siren's redemption train. I just hope that when it happens she doesn't lose the snark that characterizes her. Her snark just gives me life so I just hope they don't get rid of her and bring just Laurel back, but a mixture of them. She was amazing in this episode, really showing that she's fed up with everything and doesn't give a fuck. I loved that scene when she "confessed" because she was just tired. Katie Cassidy played it so well. I just love her sarcastic attitude and I really think she hates herself little bit and she doesn't want to show mercy because she knows she's weak inside and if she shows how afraid she really is, she wont be able to face life itself. I loved how calm she was when she blew everyone and then walked off like nothing happened.
I get that Quentin is kinds traumatized after watching her two daughters die (more than once), and I wouldn't blame him. After all he's gone through quite a lot, so I get his attitude. But he really weirded me out in that scene when he cuffed Black Siren to his car and just drove away. He went full on Misery. He's like, "you're gonna be like my Laurel whether you want it or not, so you'd better want because if you don't, I'll make you".
There was another thing that felt weird. Alena's presence ft weird somehow. At first I thought she was in the episodes an excuse because of the flashbacks, but it seems like she's staying. I watched the episode when it first aired and I might not be recalling it perfectly, but to me, she was just wandering around doing just nothing. She didn't quite help advancing the plot. It might be that the writers are just bringing her slowly into the story but I just don't like her, at least not yet. Let's see how it all evolves.
This is awesomeness. I had the goofiest of the smiles. Such a joy to watch. It felt like an Arrowverse movie rather than a TV show. I loved that they just created a big story arc, spliced it into four episodes and didn't focus that much on which show the episode belongs to.
The episode felt a little bit longer than the previous one because the Felicity drama slowed it a bit.
They could've gone a little easier on the forced relationship drama as a counterpoint to Barry and Iris' happiness. So far, it didn't make so much sense with what's going on, so it felt a little bit off, but it was still great.
The action scenes were so badass. Those long wide shots with everyone fighting were so good that I wasn't even bothered by the slo-mo scenes. I'm really in love with the shot of Oliver's eye while he was lying on the floor. That was a great cinematography there.
One thing that this episode emphasized was character interaction. It was so well-done and a pleasure to watch. I especially loved Oliver. Stephen Amell is just too good to be true. I'm in love with the guy. He's always great in crossovers but he standed out in this one. I don't know if it was because he got to put on the Green Arrow suit again and got to kick ass or because he was much more funny than in Arrow. He doesn't get those funny remarks on Arrow due to its darkness, but he was incredibly funny and his one-liners were the absolute best.
"Just a quick reminder, super speed - I don't have it". One of the best parts for me, rotf. Delivery was on point. Plus, Kara just started whistling waiting for him. What a funny scene!
Kara: "Is that a kryptonite arrow? Why do you have a kryptonite arrow?"
Oliver: "In case an evil you ever showed up".
That made me laugh so hard but hey, how the hell did Oliver know about kryptonite? How did he get it? If it's from Earth-1, does it mean there's a version of Superman or Supergirl on this earth too?
Dark Arrow: "My allegiance is to the Fatherland and to my wife" looks at Overgirl
Kara: "His wife? Gross! No offense".
I loved how disgusted Kara looked when she knew. Btw, the scene when they kissed was pretty much a big wtf.
Tommy freaking Merlyn! The noise I made wasn't human. Words can't describe what I felt when I saw him and Ollie's pain in his eyes. We finally got Tommytheus! I couldn't believe it aaaand, he's gone. Killing him after a 5 minute talk. I guess they couldn't get Colin Donnell for much longer. But I'm not mad. It was a wtf moment but it was worth just to see Oliver and Tommy interact again. They punched me right in the feels. I could've been watching that for a whole hour. I kinda wished Tommy would've been a good guy after all but being raised in that world without a choice, I don't blame him.
So Eaobard Thawne from Earth-1 is alive after all. But how? I missed Wellsobard so damn much and seeing Reverse Flash again was just perfect. I love you Tom Cavanagh. He's always a pleasure to watch but his version of Thawne is just a standout for me. Overgirl and her interactions with Kara were amazing. I loved how Melissa played an evil version of herself.
Eobard's still somehow alive and I'm grateful but holy molly, killing Barry's mother, killing the original Wells and taking his place, creating a whole bunch of metas, trying to create his brave new world with the Spear of Destiny, all of that I get, but going to Earth-X and getting involved with Nazism, that right there is evil. That crossed the line. I'm looking forward to some further Eobard-Barry interactions, a la season 1 finale.
I loved Harry's remark when Barry was talking about the Reverse Flash. "That guy's an idiot", lmao. That was brilliant.
And the "a lot of smart people...and Rory" line seems to be sticking, lol.
I loved to see Rene, Dinah and Curtis fighting Dark Arrow just to see them wasted one minute later. Dinah could've used her canary cry to stop him, though. Correct me if I'm wrong but that must be the only episode of Arrow without Diggle, not even for a tiny bit. I get why, but still, it was bizarre to see an Arrow episode without him.
I loved how them all got to defend Earth, even Kara and Alex even though this isn't even their earth and yet there they were, kicking Nazis ass. I'm glad Alex could join Kara in this year's crossover unlike last year where she got a left alone as the only member of Supergirl.
And I thought the Jax-Stein scenes in the Supergirl episode were hard. Little did I know! "I never knew my father, but I got to know you. You're the closest thing I've ever had to a dad, and now you're leaving". Right where it hurts: in the feels. It feels like my heart needs a vacation. Man, that hit me pretty hard. Damn ninjas!
Mick Rory is always a plus. I love his random way of doing things. Everyone's about to fight a bunch of Nazis and he bemoans because there's no mustard. He's the absolute best. And he tried to scare Caitlin into Killer Frost, lol. I lost shit in that scene.
That ending scene left me dizzy. Seeing them in a concentration camp made me feel so uncomfortable. That felt straight out wrong. That evil being portrayed on scene turned my stomach.
One thing that I loved was theittle winks to the plot. Iris and Felicity wearing a red and green jacket, respectively as a nod to their love interests was a nice touch. Iris has already done it before, even wearing yellow. And while in the parking lot with the Nazi versions of Ollie and Kara, in the column where Ollie pushed Eobard "E1" was written, as meaning Earth-1 right before they told us that he's the original Eobard. Those little details are fantastic.
I really love the way they structured the crossover. Crisis on Earth-X seems like a standalone show with wee bits from the four Arrowverse shows without an extreme focus on the one that's airing. Even the font was different, which was fantastic. And the intro was absolutely amazing. It reminded me to the iconic Marvel intro.
So far, this has been a fantastic and amazing crossover. Can't wait until tomorrow. The hype is real!
Tommy Merlyn! I'll be damned. We haven't seen him in forever. Shame he had so little screentime.
If Hitler died in 1994, it means he was 105 years old at the time of his death. Geez. I guess it's true, only good die young.
Lots of funny moments in this one, like Barry's "Good thing we have a metric ton of smart people in this building... and Rory", Kara being grossed out that Overgirl and Dark Arrow are married (seriously though, eww), Supergirl and Flash waiting for Arrow to arrive (probably my favorite moment of the entire episode to be honest, especially Oliver's little grumpy "Just a quick reminder. Super speed? I don't have it."). And on the other end of the spectrum, we got plenty of nice emotional scenes too, especially the one between Jax and Stein (who's chopping onions in here?) and the one between Kara and Alex.
That fucker Eobard just won't die, will he? Where's he popping up next, National City?
Okay, who wants to bet that Felicity will change her mind by the end of the crossover? At this point i'm starting to think they'll do a double wedding kind of thing with Barry and Iris. Oh, and I appreciate that Felicity was wearing a green jacket and Iris was in a red sweater, reflecting their respective love interests' signature colors.
It was kind of hilarious and sad at the same time that the Arrow team appeared for 5 seconds and immediately got their asses kicked.
This crossover has been pretty awesome so far. I'm excited for tomorrow. Let's hope Kara flings her evil doppelganger into the Sun.
