Nick

VIP

EP

10

Watching order

Because there are some issues with watching this, here is the order.

Copying from the site in case it ever goes down, but this info came from here: http://thunderpeel2001.blogspot.com/2010/02/battlestar-galactica-viewing-order.html

It's probably more confusing here on trakt, so go to the above linked site for a better layout.

The Miniseries
Night 1
Night 2

Season 1
1.01 33
1.02 Water
1.03 Bastille Day
1.04 Act of Contrition
1.05 You Can't Go Home Again
1.06 Litmus
1.07 Six Degrees of Separation
1.08 Flesh and Bone
1.09 Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down
1.10 The Hand of God
1.11 Colonial Day
1.12 Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I
1.13 Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II

Season 2
2.01 Scattered
2.02 Valley of Darkness
2.03 Fragged
2.04 Resistance
2.05 The Farm
2.06 Home, Part I
2.07 Home, Part II
2.08 Final Cut
2.09 Flight of the Phoenix
2.10 Pegasus (56 minute extended version)
2.11 Resurrection Ship, Part I
2.12 Resurrection Ship, Part II
2.13 Epiphanies
2.14 Black Market
2.15 Scar
2.16 Sacrifice
2.17 The Captain's Hand

Razor (101 minute extended version - not the 81 minute broadcast version)

Important note: This was originally broadcast just before Season 4, but chronologically it fits here, telling more of the Pegasus's story. Some people argue it's better to watch after Season 3, as originally broadcast, but it makes most sense to watch it here.

The reason that the placement of Razor is a hotly contested issue among BSG fans is because of a bit of dialogue at the very end (in the last 10 minutes) which sets the tone for Season 4 (barely even a spoiler). Everything else in this TV movie is not a spoiler.

So why place it here, and not where it was originally broadcast, if there's any sort of issue? Because, chronologically, the story is set here, and by the time you reach the end of Season 3, the story of Pegasus will feel like ancient history. Indeed, that was the complaint echoed around the internet from fans after Razor originally aired -- it had nothing to do with what was going on in the story at that time.

As a result of this, most fans agree it's better to watch Razor here. In doing so, you'll appreciate the story more and it will have greater emotionally resonance. In short: I highly recommend that you follow my advice and watch it here.

There is one small caveat, however: In order to deal with the above dialogue issue, and so not to unintentionally alter the tone of Season 3, I have two, very specific instructions that I recommend that you follow for your absolute optimum enjoyment.

I will try not to spoil anything with these instructions, so pay attention. You need to press MUTE on your TV (and/or turn off any subtitles) in the following two moments. Both of these moments occur in the last 10 minutes of the story, so you can relax and enjoy the first 90 mins before you need to worry.

Press MUTE when:

1. The hybrid touches Shaw. (You can unmute as soon as the hybrid lets go.)

and shortly afterwards:

1. When Red One contacts Pegasus. (You will literally hear the dialogue, "This is Red One come in" and see Pegasus respond -- mute before Red One can give their message to Pegasus.) You can unmute when you see Red One on your screen -- actually before that, but there's no other visual clue I can give you.

That's it! That's all you have to worry about. Two very small moments, and even if you don't unmute it, it's not a huge spoiler, it just unintentionally alters the tone of Season 3 if you don't, so do try your best to follow my instructions.

2.18 Downloaded
2.19 Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I
2.20 Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II

The Resistance
A 10 episode web-based series bridging seasons 2 and 3. (25 mins.)

Season 3
3.01 Occupation
3.02 Precipice
3.03 Exodus, Part I
3.04 Exodus, Part II
3.05 Collaborators
3.06 Torn
3.07 A Measure of Salvation
3.08 Hero
3.09 Unfinished Business (70 minute extended version - Note: Not included on Region 2 DVDs, but is included on ALL Bluray releases.)
3.10 The Passage
3.11 The Eye of Jupiter
3.12 Rapture
3.13 Taking a Break From All Your Worries
3.14 The Woman King
3.15 A Day in the Life
3.16 Dirty Hands
3.17 Maelstrom
3.18 The Son Also Rises
3.19 Crossroads, Part I
3.20 Crossroads, Part II

Razor: Yes, this again. (Well this is where Razor was originally broadcast, after all.) Remember the last 10 minutes where I told you to MUTE two small moments? Well, guess what, now is when you get to go back and hear what was said. Watch the last 10 minutes of Razor here.

Season 4
4.01 He That Believeth In Me
4.02 Six of One
4.03 The Ties That Bind
4.04 Escape Velocity
4.05 The Road Less Traveled
4.06 Faith
4.07 Guess What's Coming to Dinner?
4.08 Sine Qua Non
4.09 The Hub
4.10 Revelations

Season 4 Continued (aka "Season 4.5" or "The Final Season")
4.11 Sometimes a Great Notion

The Face of the Enemy
A 10 episode web-based series (although it plays together like an intense mini-episode). (36 mins.)

4.12 A Disquiet Follows My Soul (53 minute extended version - only on Bluray releases)
4.13 The Oath
4.14 Blood on the Scales
4.15 No Exit

The Plan (DVD/Bluray movie)
A stand-alone movie that shows (approximately) the first two seasons from the Cylons' perspective. (You finally get to see "The Plan", mentioned all those times in the opening sequence!) Although The Plan was originally released after the show had finished, it is generally agreed that it should be watched here, so that everything is all tied up when you do reach the end.

4.16 Deadlock
4.17 Someone to Watch Over Me
4.18 Islanded In a Stream of Stars (62 minute extended version - only on BluRay releases and Region 1 DVDs)
4.19 Daybreak (150 minute extended version - only on BluRay releases and Region 1 DVDs)

The Plan : This is where this DVD/Bluray movie was originally released (after the show had finished). It seems universally agreed that it's preferable to watch this after No Exit, instead of after you've finished the entire series, but there's no harm in waiting until now.

Then Caprica the series: http://trakt.tv/show/caprica

[9.5/10] They got me. They really did. I believed that Saul would do it, that he would find a way to lie, cheat, and steal out of suffering any real consequences for all the pain and losses he is responsible for. I believed that he would trade in Kim's freedom and chance to make a clean break after baring her soul in exchange for a damn pint of ice cream. I have long clocked Better Call Saul as a tragedy, about a man who could have been good, and yet, through both circumstance and choice, lists inexorably toward becoming a terrible, arguably evil person. I thought this would be the final thud of his descent, selling out the one person on this Earth who loved him to feather his own nest.

Maybe Walt was right when he said that Jimmy was "always like this." Maybe Chuck was right that there something inherently corrupt and untrustworthy in the heart of his little brother. This post-Breaking Bad epilogue has been an object lesson in the depths to which Gene Takovic will stoop in order to feed his addiction and get what he wants. There would be no greater affirmation of the completeness of his craven selfishness and cruelty than throwing Kim under the bus to save himself.

Only, in the end, that's the feint, that's the trick, that's the con, on the feds and the audience. When Saul hears that Kim took his words to heart and turned herself in, facing the punishments that come with it, he can't sit idly by and profit from his own lies and bullshit. He doesn't want to sell her out; he wants to fall on the sword in front of her, make sure she knows that he knows what he did wrong.Despite his earlier protestations that his only regret was not making more money or avoiding knee damage, he wants to confess in a court of law that he regrets the choices that led him here and the pain he caused, and most of all he regrets that they led to losing her.

In that final act of showmanship and grace, he lives up to the advice Chuck gives him in the flashback scene here, that if he doesn't like the road that his bad choices have led him, there's no shame in taking a different path. Much as Walt did, at the end of the line, Saul admits his genuine motives, he accepts responsibility for his choices after years of blame and evasion. Most of all, he takes his name back, a conscious return to being the person that Kim once knew, in form and substance. It is late, very late, when it happens, but after so much, Jimmy uses his incredible skills to accept his consequences, rather than sidestep them, and he finds the better path that Kim always believed he could walk, one that she motivates him to tread.

It is a wonderful finale to this all-time great show. I had long believed that this series was a tragedy. It had to be, given where Jimmy started and where the audience knew Saul ended. But as it was always so good at doing, Better Call Saul surprised me, with a measured bit of earned redemption for its protagonist, and moving suggestion that with someone we care for and who cares of us, even the worst of us can become someone and something better. In its final episode, the series offered one more transformation -- from a tale of tragedy, to a story of hope.

(On a personal note, I just want to say thank you to everyone who read and commented on my reviews here over the years. There is truly no show that's been as rewarding for me to write about than Better Call Saul, and so much of that owes to the community of people who offered me the time and consideration to share my thoughts, offered their kind words, and helped me look at the series in new ways with their thoughtful comments. I don't know what the future holds, but I am so grateful to have been so fortunate as to share this time and these words with you.)

EDIT: One last time, here is my usual, extended review of the finale in case anyone's interested -- https://thespool.net/reviews/better-call-saul-series-finale-recap-saul-gone/

Barbenheimer: Part 1 of 2

This is the kind of film I really don’t want to criticize, because we don’t get nearly enough other stuff like it. However, mr. Nolan has been in need of an intervention for a while now, and unfortunately all of the issues that have been plaguing his films since The Dark Knight Rises show up to some degree here. Visually it might just be his best film, and there’s some tremendous acting in here, particularly by Murphy and RDJ. However, it makes the common biopic mistake of treating its subject matter like a Wikipedia entry, thereby not focussing enough on character and perspective. As a whole, the film feels more like a long extended montage, I don’t think there are many scenes that go on for longer than 60 seconds. There’s a strong ‘and then this happened, and then this happened’ feel to it, which definitely keeps up the pace, but it refuses to stop and let an emotion or idea simmer for a while. There are moments where you get a look into Oppenheimer’s mind, but because the film wants to cover too much ground, it’s (like everything else) reduced to quick snippets. It’s the kind of approach that’d work for a 6 hour long miniseries where you can spend more time with the characters, not for a 3 hour film. I can already tell that I won’t retain much from this, in fact a lot of it is starting to blur together in my mind. There are also issues with some of the dialogue and exposition, such as moments where characters who are experts in their field talk in a way that feels dumbed down for the audience, or just straight up inauthentic. Einstein is given a couple of cheesy lines, college professors and students interact in a way that would never happen, Oppenheimer gives a lecture in what’s (according to the movie) supposed to be Dutch when it’s really German; you have to be way more careful with that when you’re making a serious drama. Finally, there are once again major issues with the sound mixing. I actually really loved the score, but occasionally it’s blaring at such a volume where it drowns out important dialogue in the mix. I’m lucky enough to have subtitles, but Nolan desperately needs to get his ears checked, or maybe he should’ve asked some advice from Benny Safdie since he’s pretty great with experimental sound mixing. My overall feelings are almost identical to the ones I had regarding Tenet; Nolan needs to rethink his approach to writing, editing and mixing. This film as a whole doesn’t work, but there are still more than a few admirable qualities to it.

Edit: I rewatched this at home to see whether my feeling would change. I still stand by what I wrote in July, though the sound mix seems to have been improved for the home media release. It sounds more balanced and I didn’t miss one line of dialogue this time around. I’m slightly raising my score because of that, but besides that I still think it’s unfocused, overedited, awkwardly staged and scripted etc.

5.5/10

This is the Unforgiven of superhero movies, a brutal yet tender portrayal of former heroes growing old. Logan is tired and world weary, waiting for death to take away his pain. Charles is 90, riddled with drugs to mute his mind, his "super weapon." Despite their friendship their relationship is fractured. Into their lives comes a new mutant and a road trip begins.

I don't want to say much more, having given away a little of the premise already explored in the films trailers. This is a tough, violent and sad film with few moments of humour. There is action but not of the blockbuster kind, one key car chase is like something from a 70's thriller.

This is the swan song of Logan and Charles, both actors giving it their all in their final performances as these characters. To bring them back after this film would undermine their work and the story here.

The film is brilliant and I can't recommend it enough - don't expect a traditional X-Men movie and you will be blown away. If the film itself were a mutant I would say its genes had been spliced with Mad Max and Shane, with a little bit of Children of the Corn (and I mean that in a good way). Excelsior!

Welp, like Tryion said, We're fucked. Living vs. The Dead. Season 8 A fight that only comes once.

The dragon pit scene was awesome. Getting so many characters all in one place at the same time was great to see. So many quick “oh, hey you’re still alive” moments. One of the best was Brienne and the Hound. Speaking of the Hound, we did not get the Cleganebowl we have been wanting for so long but at least he was able to tell his brother off. Maybe next season…

Cersei, as the hound would say, is a real cunt. She truly is the biggest villain this show has seen. She is lying to everyone about sending her armies north and bringing in more mercenaries to help fight while Dany is a little occupied. She not only threatened to kill not one of her brothers but both of them is the same episode. Jamie is finally getting smart and getting away from her, even if he is leaving to go fight an army of undead. I honestly think she might stick around to the end and keep the iron throne. She has no problem doing whatever it takes. She has a kid on the way and that is all she is worried about now (I still don’t think she will have the child because of the prophecy said she would only have three). Oh and the shot of snow falling on King's Landing was a beautiful reminder that winter is here.

The winterfell storyline finally did something amazing. Sansa’s “trial” of Littlefinger was a long time coming and with Bran there was no denying. I’m so glad Arya got to kill him with his own dagger. The sisters finally started acting like family.

Nice to see Theon having another chance at redemption. He had a nice moment with Jon about their dad, well technically Ned was neither of their father. I hope he gets to save Yara next season. I wonder where she is if Euron is going to Essos or could she already be dead?

The show finally says what all the fans have know for years, Jon is a true Targaryen and the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. And they say it just as the two have sex for the first time, nothing new for this show. I’m sure this won’t be a problem. Dany will be cool with it, right? I mean the old Targaryens were into incest too. Maybe not we'll just have to wait and find out.

That last scene really was a little frightening, to see something that has been keeping the white walkers out for 8000 years to just go down like that. Now that the Night King has a dragon they are really going to cause some havoc. RIP Tormund and Beric? I don't think there were able to get off the wall in time but were they on the part still standing?

Great season, moved a little too fast and missed some of the slower character moments from old season. They definitely had some of the largest battle scenes TV has ever seen and I’m sure we are not done yet. Let the wait for season 8 begin…

Far and away the best episode Agents of Shield has ever produced. The only episode that can give it a run for its money is last season's spotlight episode on how May earned her nickname. There's a lesson there -- centering an episode on an individual story, particularly one that centers around one of the better actors in the cast, gives the show a focus that is often lacking when trying to juggle multiple intersecting plotlines at once.

This was a hell of a showcase for Elizabeth Henstridge. The production design team helped. (Production design as a plus in 'Agents of Shield"? I"m as surprised as you are.) The blue tint was a cheap way to sell the alienness of the world, but it totally worked, and the dessert topography really sold the desolateness of the environment and contributed to the sense of hopelessness in that world.

But Henstridge is what made the episode work. She sold the isolation, the small moments of crestfallen loneliness and discouragement, the little joys of success and friendship, the simple humanity of a survival story. Her burp, her wistfulness when she says "My dad would like you," and her conversations with an imaginary Fitz (a nice nod toward Fitz doing the same routine last season) all made her feel like a three-dimensional person in an extreme situation. There's a sense that this is Marvel's take on 'Castaway' or even 'Last Man on Earth', and doing this kind of laser-focused narrative requires a lot of the actors involved. These types of stories are, by necessity, character pieces; Henstridge was more than up to the challenge, and it deepened my appreciation for Simmons.

The actor who played Will was pretty good as well, and while his story could have felt too cliche, it worked in the context of the episode as a whole. Really, this felt like a well-structured science fiction short story as much as it did an episode of an ongoing series, and that's not a knock. Knowing Fitz and Simmons's relationship helped give certain moments more weight and significance, but it could almost work as a standalone piece. That's how strong and self-contained this was.

There was also a legitimate sense of menace from the planet. The zomibe-like astronaut, the tentacle creature, and the dust storms all suggested something frightening and alien about this world. It prompted so many great emotional moments from the two characters stuck on it. Doing an episode like this, so unlike AoS's usual M.O., was something of a gamble, but it paid off like gangbusters here.

This show is incredibly stupid and bad. But somehow it became a guilty pleasure for me.
It's so bad but at the same time in a way that it is entertaining to watch, just not how it was intended to be.
This show must have the most plotholes I have ever seen in a TV series.
If this wouldn't air on a major network like CBS it'd be cancelled after 3 episodes max despite the really, really low production costs that it must have, I suppose.
But since it's on CBS it got a full first season order of BS technobabble making no sense and characters so unlikable and sterile that I don't care for a single person and wonder how they made it through life so far. Not to speak of the positions they literally fell in.
Katharine McPhee (Paige, the waitress) is the only exception and good "feature" of this series.
Not because she is such a great actress, haven't seen enough of her to judge on that, but being the only halfway reasonable person on this awful cast of awful actors makes her the only likable person, in a way.
It's helping that she is cute, too.

I could go on and rip the premise and every episode apart and make fun of its absurd plots, terrible reasoning, repetitive and dumb dialogues but others did that already well enough.
Although being very nit-picky when it is about technology and terminology, that is basically raped on this show on a regular basis, my biggest pet peeve isn't within the above-mentioned.
Surprisingly it is with the blatantly wrong use of HTML syntax in the opening.
You have the maincharacter narrating that he has a higher IQ than Einstein and is one of the four people with the highest IQ on earth but it is subtitled with stuff like </starring> following the "stars". Ugh.
This contradiction is seriously annoying me and shows the technical and intellectual precision that this show has to offer throughout.

Danys back! That last scene was amazing. It was a long time coming and it was worth it, now lets see what she does next.

The scene between Cersei and Jamie with Euron was great. I wonder what the gift could be? Maybe he is bringing Robert's last bastard, Gendry? Jamie's look on his face when Euron said you should try killing you brother made me laugh. It’s like it just crossed his mind that she is actually capable of doing that.

Arya is not content with just killing Walder Frey, she had to kill them all. I realized about halfway through that scene and it was awesome to see her be a badass. The North Remembers! Oh and there is Ed Sheeran I wonder if we will see him again?

I loved that The Hound basically made fun of Thoros for having a man bun. Its crazy to see the way he has changed as a person and burying the people he left for dead a few seasons ago.

Sansa questioning Jon in front of everyone makes me think she wants to be in charge. I wonder if Littlefinger is rubbing off on her? Jon is concerned with the North but I think Sansa has more knowledge of everyone else and she is going to be important going forward.

I can’t get enough of Tormund hitting on Brienne. "You're a lucky man."

Sam's poop/soup montage was disgusting. He might be the most important part of this epsiode though. Finding the Dragon glass "mountain" might give the living folk an actual chance. Jon will probably be going to Dragonstone next week and we will finally get Jon and Daenerys face to face. And we get a glimpse at poor Jorah which seems the grey scale has gone into full effect.

Great episode to kick off the new season. We don't have a full 10 episodes so hopefully some big things happen next week.

And here I thought the last episode was terrific. This was a near-flawless ribbon on the top of so many different arcs. And it's only the season's midway point.

Cotyar goes down a hero by destroying an infected Agatha King (taking "that asshole" Nguyen with him), Errinwright gets double-teamed by Sorrento and Anna and finally locked away, Mao is captured by Jim and forcibly knelt before Avasarala, Prax finally finds his daughter Mei, safe and sound, and Bobbie confronts a hybrid and finally gets over her PTSD of being defeated by one on Ganymede. Even Jim and Naomi made up and got back together after a risky tip of their hand to Fred Johnson paid off. And then a fucking jellyfish swam out of Venus' atmosphere... It's almost too much to process right away.

• I've seen the future, and it is brightly-colored children's backpacks
• Errinwright made the most punchable face I've ever seen as he was being frog-marched out of Sorrento's office
• The Rocinante once again has no ammo... I'm sure that won't be a problem later on
• Anna really needs to stop believing in corrupted people, especially ones that have already let her down in the past
• I was feeling waves of relief right alongside Prax when he finally got to touch his daughter again for the first time since the dome on Ganymede was destroyed, that is a dad who has earned his stripes
• I could not stop laughing when Amos locked himself in the airlock with Strickland. 'It's just you and me now, pretty boy.'
• Speaking of Amos, worst babysitter or best babysitter? He went from murdering Strickland in cold blood within eyesight and earshot of a bunch of kids to feeding them cereal in the mess hall... then dropping the F-bomb right in front of them (and probably drowning that one boy in milk).

So much got packed into this hour yet it all flowed perfectly from one plot line to the other, interweaving where it made sense, and pushing the whole narrative forward in a believable way. This is how you make hard scifi.

The SyFy Channel is positively stupid for giving up on this exceptional piece of television. They really should be forced to change their network's name on account of it deliberately creating confusion for viewers.

I went into this expecting a stupid movie with hopefully a few laughs. I was blown away by not only how funny the movie was, but how well it deconstructed religion, faith, and reason, and how those all need to work together to make our lives better.

For people who thought this movie was stupid - sorry, but you're stupid. If you couldn't appreciate how well this movie showed the uncaring, awful universe - and why we need to tell ourselves stories that make us enjoy it for as long as possible - then you're just stupid. If you didn't see how this movie talked to atheists, how it presented a convincing argument for faith and religion, alongside the perils of both, then you're the one who missed something. If you couldn't see how this movie demonstrated science, reason, and skepticism, and why those are still not enough, then you're just stupid. It showed, beautifully, the power of mind altering drugs, and how some folks are just going to go ahead and do the worst of them, with no regard as to what others have to say about it. That's a reality that we need to accept, and need to stop pretending that we can make go away just by wishing it so.

Within this cartoon universe, the creators of this movie explore themes in a way that I've not seen done before, demonstrating the power of animated story telling applied to adult themes. Yes, the movie has crass humour, some of which falls flat but some of it is tear inducing funny. But if this movie doesn't make you think, it's because you're stupid.

Go see this movie.

Three words: I. LOVED. IT.

Listen, I'm a simple bitch, okay? Let's establish that right out of the gate. I can make fun of tropes all day long (especially the romantic ones) but in the end, I will eat that shit right up and walk out of the theater with the biggest grin on my face. Arthur and Mera accidentally hold hands and suddenly I turn into your 80-year-old grandma Gladys clutching her pearls and going "oh my". Jason Momoa and Amber Heard are DCEU's new dynamite duo (as much as I love Gal Gadot and Chris Pine, they've been knocked off the top spot for me). Their chemistry makes my skin tingle. Was the romance cliche? Hell yeah it was! And I adored every second of it!

Of course some stuff besides the romance also happens (but who cares about that? Not Gladys, that's for sure). The main plotline of finding the Trident does feel kinda like a treasure hunt with Arthur and Mera hopping from place to place, but because their chemistry and dynamic is just THAT good, it's all very fun and watchable. The villain is... well, he certainly is, eh? Actually there's two of them, but neither really made me feel anything. Still better than Steppenwolf, I guess? Although that's not saying much. The jokes hit more often than they miss and the movie did get a few good laughs out of me. But the more serious moments hit home for me as well, whether it's Arthur's reunion with his mother or his admission that he knows he doesn't deserve the Trident but it's his only hope of saving the people he loves. The tone feels pretty consistent and the transitions between the dramatic and comedic moments don't seem as jarring as in some other DCEU installments. The fight scenes are awesome. Especially the one in Sicily really made me feel pumped.

My favorite scene was by far Mera really experiencing the life on land for the first time. Her wide-eyed wonder (no pun intended, I guess) not only reminded me of Diana arriving in London, but it also had something wonderfully Little Mermaid-like (and not just because of the hair) about it. It was soft. It was pure. It made me feel warm inside. Mera eating the roses and Arthur immediately doing the same? Nobody's ever gonna ride for me this hard. Those are the kind of scenes that ground these huge superhero movies, that make them feel relatable to me and allow me to take a breath and really connect with the characters. And when 20 minutes later Mera goes full Bad Bitch In Charge on those soldiers and kills them with deadly wine spikes? Oh, I just about lost my mind. I want her to murder me. But aside from that entire sequence, there were plenty of other moments that really got my attention: little Arthur at the aquarium, Arthur and Mera's escape from Atlantis (such a fun chase!), our favorite power couple emerging from the ocean looking like they're on Baywatch (it was great, don't @ me), every time Mera used her powers (the glowing eyes!), the list goes on.

The visuals are absolutely stunning. Gone are the dreary grays of some lesser DCEU movies. Instead we get beautiful colors (Atlantis is beyond gorgeous), some great shots (Arthur and Mera swimming with the flare while surrounded by thousands of Trench people is breathtaking) and of course incredible CGI. It's a very aesthetically pleasing movie. And the music! I loved the music. This is one of the soundtracks I'm definitely gonna need to listen to at some point. And it takes some big balls to put a cover of Toto's Africa in your movie. I appreciate that. Some people are definitely gonna cringe when they hear it, but I had the biggest grin on my face.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable ride. It's quite long, but it didn't drag. I was invested in Arthur's journey. I thought the casting was perfect (and gosh darn do Jason Momoa and Amber Heard look good together! That has to be one of the most visually stunning pairings to have ever graced the big screen). And I just... felt super happy afterwards. I still can't stop smiling. It's a good movie not just by DCEU standards, but in general. I'd love to see it again and I'll definitely try to do so over the holidays. I honestly didn't expect to like it as much as I did. What a great surprise.

Kevin Spacey is so great in this show, and his wife Claire (Robin Wright) too. They play their roles so realistic, I believe them every word!

Barack Obama wrote a book as he's got into "higher" politics. I see some parallels from the book and this tv show. Everything is very realistic. The show reminds me a little bit of "Damages" with Glenn Close, where intrigue play a big role too, but in House of Cards it is much more sophisticated. You can't really miss one episode, because you gonna miss so much. And I also do not want to miss an episode , because you never get bored here. That is how a tv show concept should be!

The big thing about the show is also the first season's ending. I don't want to put a spoiler here, but I couldn't imagine that all those different story lines got put together to a big picture in the ending.
That was amazing. Really great written.

I give the first season 9 out of 10 points because it is so amazing well written, the acting is simply awesome and the only annoying thing which comes to my mind is the long intro.

So if you want to see a realistic politics & life tv show: Give it a try.

so sherlock is over, and these are my thoughts on the finale in order of appearance:

since when the show is a horror movie and why was there a fucking clown.

the motion sensor was activated after the drone had landed and mycroft obviously knew enough about those explosives to realise that’s how they work, so why the hell did they wait for that to happen instead of immediately running away? oh wait. the drama.

they actually put that horrible cgi explosion from the trailer into the episode… why. later, in the very end, i will be reminded of it while watching sherlock and john run in slow mo.

why couldn’t mycroft, an important government figure and a relative of eurus, officially check up on her instead of the whole dress up game? and then he obviously shows us that he can fire or order around anyone in that prison which makes their shenanigans even less relevant. it’s really sad to see non-existent problems beings “solved” just to use screen time and mindlessly entertain the viewers. detective stories are supposed to be reasonable.

okay, i’m sorry but i’m not buying that “enslaving” bullshit. i want to know how she does it, because all we were given is some pieces of weird bullshit that wouldn’t faze anyone in their right mind. it reminds me of the cabbie from the pilot episode that supposedly talked his victims into killing themselves. but in the end we learned that he just threatened them with a fake gun. ah those good old times when the show had its wits and integrity still intact…

they sure like to deliberately make sherlock obtuse. i just don’t buy him missing that there’s no glass when he’s close to it and there’s still no reflexion. and shouldn’t the music sound muffled too or did the fiddle had its own voice modulator installed? interesting.

i know moriarty being alive would make no sense, but the show is guilty of occasionally doing that already, and he’s such a believably smart and psychotic character that’s interesting to watch that i would have gladly used my suspension of disbelief card.

i thought the girl on the plane was an idiot because she kept giving useless answers to important questions, but the reveal in the end explained it. 1-0, touche. then again, surely eurus would be imagining herself as the young version of herself and the sole reason they used another child actor is to keep the mystery up, which is a pretty cheap trick. 1-1.

now the real idiot (or more like a dumb plot device) here is undoubtedly molly. she fucking knows what sherlock does and in what kind of situations he sometime ends up being, and he obviously sounded nervous and agitated from the get go and eventually resorted to fucking begging, so why the hell couldn’t she trust him and just say what he asked her to? oh i know why. the drama. again. also her making sherlock “confess” his love for her she knows he doesn’t have literally came out of nowhere and had fanservice written all over it. and that conversation was so unrealistic and forced for the sake of plot progression it honestly made me cringe. god i wish they were more subtle with molly and her sad love for sherlock and all the irene adler mentions before it instead of jamming them into the storyline and reinforcing their awkward attempts to bring to life sherlock’s absent libido. they even made him destroy that coffin in a melodramatic fit, which was ridiculous because compared to the other experiments the molly incident surely warranted that kind of emotional outburst the least, no one had died after all. but wait, some fans are gonna love using that as proof for sherlock’s romantic feelings for molly, so that’s why it happened.

mycroft goading sherlock into killing him was painfully obvious, considering he’s the one who has been quite vocal about his brother not being a pragmatic automaton but a quite emotionally driven creature, and that he would never kill john, regardless of his intellectual capabilities.

so the lesson here is that you should pay more attention to your little sisters?..

you can’t just switch psychopathy on and off. but of course eurus was able to. in once instance she’s a cold blooded murderer that doesn’t understand the difference between killing someone innocent and someone guilty, in general she has a spontaneous child murder on her record, but oh no, the episode is almost over and we can’t possibly kill john watson (like we couldn't blow up molly or shoot mycroft, but had no problem axing mary, a character that no one gave two shits about, dead or alive, or moriarty, who had basically been the best character; good job on fucking up twice), the fans would rage, so let’s make our villain a crying scared little girl that longs for brotherly love and make her suddenly change her evil ways, so we could wrap this shit up and move on.

and why did they put her back in the place she can easily break out from? what even has changed? can’t she make the staff into her bitches again just by talking to them (eternal eyeroll) like she did before? yeah she’s not mad at sherlock anymore (because he gives her attention now! how cute), but she’s still a mentally disturbed person and the cage must get boring when you have a fiddle as your only source of entertainment.

so yeah, i basically wrote a fucking essay or more like a hateful ode to the show, but i don’t actually hate it, i still adore first two seasons, tolerate the third and i have been relatively entertained by the last one, this episode included, even if i undoubtedly think the show hasn't been clever for a long time and it's finale was less a detective and more a weird left-field saw tribute without everything that actually makes saw enjoyable. i'm writing this as a former fan that for the last few years has been mostly disappointed by the show they once loved, that’s all. i’m also bored and writing this kept my mind busy. that makes this otherwise useless “review” worth it, i guess.

That scene with the mages all bound and then Tissaia freeing them was utterly awful. One of the worst fight/battle sequences this show has done. Episode 5 had built up some great momentum leading into this episode, but the opening sequences utterly botched the landing and killed the momentum episode 5 had built.

The fight between the mages and the Scoia'tael was pretty bad too.

Geralt killed Rience? What the actual fuck. This ruins what is arguably Ciri's most badass moment in the entire series from the final book. Great job, Netflix! The setup of the moment where Geralt killed him was awful too. The action is honestly so bad, and the writing is so chaotic and weak. Total botched landing of any setup from the first 5 episodes of the season.

Ciri telling Yen to go to Tissaia is an awful writing choice. This is not a conversation Ciri would be having with Yennefer. They are literally like weird sisters in this show, yet they are still trying to push Yen as a mother figure. "I love you, my daughter." Like what? There is no way that anyone watching this show can actually see this version of Yennefer as a mother to Ciri. Their dynamic is all wrong.

The way they set up Ciri vs Cahir was bad too. It felt way too forced. Geralt would literally never let Ciri put herself in danger fighting Cahir alone like that. And what the hell? He just runs off to go fight the Scoia'tael after everything that happened in this episode up until that point? The writing here is next-level dumb. I'm 30 minutes in as I write this, and this honestly might be the worst episode the show has done so far.

Dear Netflix, I will never forgive you for giving us such a lacklustre Geralt vs Vilgefortz fight. It wasn't bad like the rest of the action in this episode, but it could have been so much more.

This episode aggravated me to no end. Easily one of the worst the show has put out.

-- DISCLAIMER: THIS BELOW IS ENTIRELY MY PERSONAL OPINION, YOU MIGHT NOT AGREE WITH IT --

• This comes from a Marvel die-hard fan that read comics since he was able to read at all. I follow most current comics Marvel is releasing, I obviously have read and reread all the most famous one and I am watching the entire MCU in the exact timeline events ordered. All these opinions you will read weren't taken lightly and without thought. -

• REVIEW

So "The Defenders" is out, or how I like to call them "Heroes for Hire" (Whatever happened to that anyways?)

The Defenders, is the endpoint of each and every single one of the stories we've seen so far in the Netflix MCU.
It puts closure on all of the characters, not indefinite, but closure of what we've seen of them so far.

Because of this, I was not going in with high expectations, and thankfully in doing so, I didn't leave entirely disappointed.

Here's the catch tho,

I believe we can all agree that - this - is Marvel trying a more "serious", a more "adult" way for their MCU.
We can all agree that we cannot expect a Netflix series on Daredevil, JJ or even the others to be action-packed, mindless punching, d!ck hard-straightfoward-nofucksgiven-whatdoesthepoliceevendoanyways as much as we're accustomed to see on the big screen with The Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy.

But let me tell you this:

There is a point - in time - where a man (or a woman) has this "we're the police let us do our job" - "you gonna end up in jail" - "You shouldn't do this, that" kind of bullshit talk so far up his butt, that it is impossible not to hate it.

The extent of milking out minutes and minutes, adding absolutely nothing valuable to the story is REALLY starting to annoy me very much. It was very light in Daredevil, it started showing in Jessica Jones and from Luke Cage it really went downhill. There's a whole new way of talking around, and around, and around pointlessly in these last shows that is really tiresome.

I'm talking about the side characters pointing out the same things, over and over and over and over, one time after one time after one time after one time.

"We are the police we can help you"
"Let us help you, you can't do it alone"
"You're gonna get in trouble"
"You're gonna go to jail"

Listen, screenwriters: shut the fuck up! They gonna do whatever the fuck they want anyways. We know it, you know it. And it showed.

I believe we can all agree (or at least try to) that Marvel won't ever (hopefully not) come up with something so profound, so intense, so serious (Maybe like we've partially witnessed with Logan) because they are too focussed on cliches, too focussed on this bullshit way of having to show how rebelious their characters are, and never focussed on the actual emotions and portraying them or conveying them to the people. I don't necessarily believe they should, that they are trying to do this, but at least... cut the bullshit a little, huh?

And I'm not adding more to that statement.

Alright, since that's out of my system, let's talk everything else.

The baseline of the show and the story aren't that bad. I like that finally we get to see the Hand entirely, for what they are and who they are without the mist of bullshit that we ingested the past shows. The action "side" of "things" isn't quite as horrible as we witnessed in Iron Fist, so that's a huge pro.

The fighting coreographies weren't really that stale, let's be honest: who doesn't enjoy watching JJ or Luke simply lifting goons, or watching Daredevil jump around and that fucking metal batoon hit sound, ohhh so good...

But then... here comes THE LIVING WEAPON. HURRAAAY!

No. Definitely no hurrays for him.

Let me tell you this, chaps, and I won't put spoiler marks on this part because there's nothing new to this:

Danny Rand - did not - evolve from his standalone show, his character depth and importance is just words in the wind, his appeal is just as strong as watching a golden retriever with his face out the car window and his dribble splattered all over.
He's A FUCKING NOOB, and yes, I did scream that out loud, a few times. (Same goes for his girlfriend).

Someone needs to explain to me why Danny got a scar on his chest tattoo in the first episode and then it disappears for the rest of the season.

Plus, someone needs to explain to me if elektra can punch JJ and Luke so hard that it makes them shake a little bit, why doesn't she destroy Daredevil or Iron Fist with the same punch? How can they sustain a damage that can make Luke Cage feel pain?

And that's really most of what's wrong with this show.
Believe me tho, once you see it, you'll understand why I can get so upset.

What more could be said?
Music was good, I enojyed the few pieces, they were well placed.
The colors are always fucking cold and stale, the light almost always dark.
Sigourney Weaver is a great actress portraying a terrible, empty character, but ehhh, whatever.

It is definitely worth watching if you liked Daredevil and Jessica Jones. I could bare Luke Cage more here, he was kind of different, in a good way.

You know what's missing from this show?

A FUCKING GOOD ASS VILLAIN. BRING ME FUCKING KINGPIN.

Jesus christ I fucking hate Danny Rand and his stupid fisting duracell fetish.

[7.0/10] Eight years. Five seasons. Four captains. One ship. One infamous mutineer turned galactic hero. And I still don’t quite know what Star Trek: Discovery means.

That's alright! The show has had multiple showrunners and multiple creative voices at play. The series reset its premise at least once, with the jump to the far future, and arguably multiple times. Characters have come and gone. Ships have been retrofitted and become sentient. Species new and old have phased in and receded.

It’s okay if, after all that, even the overthinking viewer can't boil the robust (if not quite infinite) diversity of Discovery into a single idea or meaning. At the beginning of the show’s final season, Michael Burnham herself wondered what it all means, and I’ll admit, I’m not more equipped to answer that after the end of the show’s five year mission than she was when it started.

What it means, in immediate terms, is that the Progenitor mystery is finished. Michael and Moll’s twin journeys into the portal (alongside some disposable Breen mooks) leads them to a liminal space, fit for slow-motion special effects, gravity-defying fisticuffs, and cheap puzzle-solving.

Much of that feels a little gratuitous. You can practically feel the episode showing off instead of advancing the story. Why Burnham and Moll need to have a Matrix-esque anti-gravity brawl before the mandated alliance and sudden but inevitable betrayal is beyond me. But I like the setting and the slower pace the show adopts at times within it. Despite the questionable “movie every week” promise of the series, this is the rare instance where Discovery genuinely feels cinematic, and the pace and cinematography have a lot to do with that.

One of the big problems with Discovery’s aesthetic overall is that the sterile sheen on everything often gives the show’s backdrops a semi-unreal quality that detracts from the convincingness of the presentation. Thankfully, that totally works in a quasi-magical portal realm created by billion-year-old aliens!

The endless stretch of a fantastical environment, the way it’s punctuated by extravagant quasi-baroque architecture, the hidden path to central setting, the puzzle that leads you to some mystical parental figure spouting purple prose -- they all give “Life, Itself” an unexpected Kingdom Hearts vibe of all things. But for something meant to be elevated above even the everyday wonders the average Starfleet captain experiences, that approach works.

Granted, some of the path toward the Progenitor tech feels rote. All of the cryptic clues and vital totems come down to...arranging a bunch of glass triangles? You can derive some thematic meaning from that (“The in-between times matter as much!”) but it’s an oddly mechanical answer to the latest riddle. Moll giving Michael the ol’ el kabong and getting punished by the alien alarm is a bit too predictable. And the all-knowing ethereal being from beyond, come to dispense the great wisdom, is a big cliche.

But I like where they land. The rap on Michael Burnham in the fandom is that Discovery is too hidebound in its need to make her the greatest and special-est captain to ever captain anything. (Nevermind that the franchise has done the same with Kirk, Archer, and if I’m honest with myself, sometimes even Picard.) Here, though, when the Progenitor representative tells Burnham that she is the only one worthy to wield such incredible technology, Michael demurs.

She acknowledges her own flaws. She points out her own limitations. True to Federation principles, she disclaims the idea that any one person should have this power. And given the freedom to create life, or annihilate it, or use this amazing tool however she might wish, Burnham chooses to destroy it.

There is poetry in that. It’s a strange obverse of Groucho Marx’s famous quip, 'I wouldn't want to belong to a club that would have me as a member.” The trails of clues left by the consortium of scientists was meant to test the mettle and the heart of the person chasing them, ensuring that they had the right disposition and perspective before they were granted access to this awesome power.

I can appreciate the poetic irony that the only soul worthy of wielding that technology is the one who would see its potential for death and destruction and choose to destroy it instead. It’s a conclusion to this story that, if a bit anticlimactic, feels lyrical, philosophical, and most importantly, Trek-y enough for a finale.

Unfortunately, it squeezes out just about everything else. Dr. Culber’s peculiar spiritual connection? Well, he magically knows the frequency for the portal box, and is just content with the unknown now. The end. Stamets’ desire to leave a great scientific legacy? All it takes is a twenty-second speech from Burnham and a quick (albeit admittedly sweet) bit of solace from Adira, and he’s good. As for Adira themself? They get another attaboy and a few hugs, but I guess they mostly completed their arc in the last episode.

What about Rayner? Well, he offers a bold solution to the stand-off with the Breen and remains steady in the face of danger, but doesn’t get to confront his onetime tormentor really, and again, pretty much wrapped up his character journey earlier. Tilly? She comes up with a cool science-y thing, which is on-brand I guess. But her soul-searching over the Academy leads to...a mentorship program? Really? That bog standard thing is her big epiphany? Sure. Why not? Even Moll goes from murderous and duplicitous to being amenable to Michael and cool with Book without much compunction, another major character arc that feels terribly compressed.

Look, it’s admirable that Discovery wants to give all the members of its crew something to do in the finale. But unfortunately it means that almost nobody besides Burnham gets a chance to really put a capstone on their journeys across the course of the series. That may be fine for well-liked but sporadic recurring characters like Admiral Vance, President Rilak, and Commander Nhan,and President T’Rina. (We even get to learn that Kovich is freakin’ Agent Daniels from Star Trek: Enterprise, among others.) But ironically, in an episode about how Burnham has the humility to step aside on the brink of extra-dimensional anointing, her story crowds out everyone else’s.

Thankfully, the exception to the rule is Saru. One of the iconic moments in the lead-up to Discovery’s premiere was his trailer-worthy line that his people were “biologically determined for one purpose and one purpose alone: to sense the coming of death. I sense it coming now.” When the series started, there was a timidity, even a rigidity to Saru. Despite absconding to the stars, he had that fear-based social conditioning within him.

And yet, over the course of the series, he’s arguably changed more than anyone else. He lost his ganglia and lived to tell the tale. He shared the truth of his homeland and rekindled his people’s culture. He’s been through an array of harrowing, potentially lethal events and come out on the other side. He’s even found courage in matters of the heart.

So it is rousing, then, when he stands off with a cruel Breen warlord and doesn’t blink once. Where there was fear, there is now force. Where there was reticence, there is now courage. Where there was timidity, there is now daring. Doug Jones kills it, as usual, and if there’s one thing this finale deserves credit for, it’s showing how far Saru has come: from the anxious officer preaching caution to the confident ambassador making bold bluffs to save his friends on the strength of his mettle alone. He’ll go down as the show’s best character in my book, and I’m glad “Life, Itself” gave him his moment in the spotlight.

The episode at least has a solid structure to keep things manageable. We have Burnham and Moll going through the Door to Darkness on the one hand. We have Rayner and most of the usual Discovery crew working to hold off Moll’s goons from the Progenitor device on the other. We have Saru and Nhan holding off another Breen faction with trademark Federation diplomacy. And we have Book and Dr. Culber sneaking through battle lines in a shuttle to keep the “portal in a can” from drifting into a pair of twin black holes. The balance among and derring-do within each thread is satisfactory at worst.

That last part is a big part of the episode’s mission, not because of the practical mechanics of destruction avoidance that have become old aht for Discovery, but because it’s a sign of Book’s love for Michael. And sure. I buy it. But I don’t feel it.

I don’t mind Book and Burnham together. It’s not a detriment to the show in any sense. But from the second Book popped up in season 3 as an obvious love interest, everything about them has felt pat and inevitable. So while I think they’re perfectly fine and perfectly plausible together, it never felt like the epic, essential love story that the show seemed to want it to be, especially in this finale.

I won’t deny the aesthetic power of the two of them reuniting at Saru’s wedding (which looks incredible, by the way), all gussied up. I’m not made of stone. You put two attractive people gazing deeply into one another’s eyes on a luminous beach with the music swelling, and you can get something in the moment. But they mostly spout the usual romantic cliches, made all the more stilted with oddly artless dialogue, before the romantic rekindling that was never really in doubt takes place.

Which means our epilogue, showing their shared future in the world’s coziest cabin, is pleasant but not quite moving. It’s nice that Burnham gets a little peace, that she and Book have a son on the cusp of his first Starfleet command, that she gets one last dance with Discovery. But that's about where it tops out. “Nice.” Not the touching goodbye to a long run the episode seems all but desperate to convey. We even get an impressionistic sequence on the bridge that feels more like the cast bidding farewell to one another in costume than the characters saying their goodbyes.

You can appreciate the attempts here. From another explosion-filled conclusion to a Tree of Life-esque sequence of creation to an artsy, golden-hued effort to gin up the emotion from putting a capstone on five seasons’ worth of adventures. There are some big swings here, which I admire, and you cannot fault the show for a lack of effort in this finale.

But in the final tally, it still leaves me a bit cold, and I’m still not quite sure what it all means. In the Progenitor’s big sermon, she suggests a positively existentialist reading on that question on a cosmic scale. We supply our own meaning, whether it be through exploration or scientific advancement or familial bonds. Discovery makes a few vague suggestions as to the possible takeaways, but affirms that the franchise’s values of infinite diversity in infinite combinations applies just as well to one of the essential questions of life. There are a multitude of meanings and possibilities out there, in the wide scope of people out in the world (or the galaxy), and in what drives us within our hearts and souls. I can appreciate that answer.

But the closest thing the show offers to an explicit answer comes from Bunrham herself, naturally, and the episode’s title. The meaning of life is “Life, Itself”, with the idea that our experiences can't be reduced beyond that, necessarily. The purpose is simply to be, to form bonds, to have those experiences, and share them with others. It’s a bit of a tautology, and more than a little trite, but there’s something to the idea that the meaning of life is to live.

That meaning extends to Discovery itself. I can't tell you what the show means, or how it coalesces into a greater whole, because quite frankly, I’m not sure that it does.. Instead, it simply is. These adventures happened: some good, some bad, some rousing, some dull, some memorable, some easily forgotten.

It’s a fool’s errand to predict a show’s legacy. From aspiring franchise flagship, to fandom punching bag, to something that was simply there, Discovery’s risen and fallen in esteem over the course of its run. It could earn a critical reevaluation down the line or sink down into the dregs like some of its predecessors. But through it all Star Trek: Discovery was there. It delivered five seasons’ worth of adventures, expanded the canon, and took the franchise further into the future than it had ever been before. Its whole may not amount to more than the sum of its parts, but those parts, those individual adventures and stories, will remain. I’m not sure that Discovery has a deeper meaning than that, or if it needs one.

Weird season finale. After all the build up, everything feels anticlimactic. Right down from A-Train--the reason all this mess started--to Homelander.

Before we get to that, let's talk a bit about how weird the whole prison sequences play out. The joke, the attempted rescue, the shootout, all feel really weak especially compared to well-directed sequences in prior episodes. First of all there is really no need for some jocular banter that went for about two minutes or more. Not to mention the pauses. It feels dragging. This includes the attempted rescue which continues the joke.

Second, the shootout looks really weird. We've seen Frenchie did his weird stuff when it comes to the Female/Kimiko, but this doesn't seem logical. He is a professional killer, why the hell he keeps on showing up his head to look at Kimiko when getting shot at? Is he looking to die? Not to mention he got shot prior, on the stomach, how the hell he can walk and help Kimiko walk that easily? Hughie getting to shoot randomly while saying "I'm sorry! I'm sorry" and miraculously hit trained soldiers is even worse. Even the Starlight rescue looks like a cheap deus ex machina for the plot to goes forward.

The Boys had been attempting to mock the quip-ridden superhero genre--that is, the Marvel Cinematic Universe--but the whole prison sequences makes The Boys looks exactly like an MCU episode.

Now we get to the supes.

The Deep. His subplot has been standing on its for quite a while now. There seems to be no direct connection with the bigger plot that has been going on. And this episode his subplot stays that way, while still giving him enough screen time to focus on his emotion. I'm not sure if that is something we wanted to see for a finale. It feels like something to be saved for future seasons. Even if that doesn't mean it's bad, they could have cut it way shorter than what they did.

Then the thing with A-Train feels very anticlimactic. He just popped up there out of nowhere. We were previously shown his desire, his post-power syndrome, his attempt to be relevant. Then in the supposedly final showdown, we finally see Hughie vs A-Train head on. But we don't see A-Train. We see an injured A-Train, a traumatic supe in his mental and physical breakdown. Now this still could be an interesting, emotional confrontation between our protagonist with the one who murdered his sweetheart. Not to mention, the presence of Starlight could make this dynamic interesting--is Hughie done for, how would he cope between his past and present emotion? What we get instead, however, is a slow motion capture with very minuscule combat and almost none of emotional engagement. Then A-Train just went, just like that.

I feel like they are saving him for future episodes, but this being the finale--the culmination of all emotion that has been built up so far--makes this confrontation very lacking. It feels like we are still on Eps 5 or 6, but with worse pacing.

Now Homelander. He is our another main driver of the plot. Everything that has happened so far always leads us back to him. His dynamics with Madelyn the CEO has been a bizarre Oedipus complex-like situation, What happened between them in this episode is actually very unexpected, though one may sense that it would eventually came to this point through the clues scattered so far. This result should have provided a surprising reveal. However, as it turns out, there seems to be something hollow in the encounter. Given the interesting portrayal of their faux-mother-son-sexual-relationship in the first half of the episode, the second half seems to speed up the climax. As if they were being chased by some deadline, that they have to cut it short, while at the same time giving enough spaces for Homelander to give his, in Maeve's words in previous episodes, "boring speeches."

It feels climactic and inconclusive at the same time. And I guess the same can be said with many encounters in this episode. Starlight with Meave. Billy with the CIA. Hughie with Starlight at the church. It feels like they have to speed it up--to shove in the dialogues--for the sake of putting the plot forward. It's shaky and unreliable.

Now, the end of the episode leads us to a quite intriguing reveal. It's not the direction we--or at least, I--expected to take in the season. However, with such really weak build up throughout the episode, the ending feels like forced. As if they have prepared them to be this way, but still unsure how they would bring it up to this moment. As such, while the scene itself is (should be?) surprising, there is not much surprise when I watch the event unfolds. It's less of a "wow, so this is it?" than a "oh okay, so this happens, and then?"

Credits where it's due: Anthony Starr as Homelander and Karl Urban as Billy Butcher display terrific performances in this episode. Especially Homelander with his extremely erratic, unpredictable behavior. But that alone is not enough to pardon the sloppiness of this episode.

Perhaps because they, like MCU and other superhero movies, seem to busy themselves to prepare for the upcoming season instead of trying to give audience a closure of the plot. And that exact reason is what makes superhero movies went boring for these past years. They are focusing to build an universe, instead of writing a good narrative. Unfortunately, this episode robs the fresh air that The Boys has breathe for quite some time. While I hope for the continuation of the series, I am less excited.

Walking out of Warcraft, the overriding feeling is one of a missed opportunity - this is by no means a disaster and there is plenty of potential here. The scope of the film is impressive and it's clear there is a lot of world-building going on here for future sequels. Part of the problem, however, is there is simply too much plot going on with not enough time devoted to a central thread - the director's admission that some 40 minutes have been cut is not surprising. This is a film that has ambition to be an epic, with many threads introduced to carry over to potential future films and glimpses of many different settings in this new world, but consequently there is a rushed feel to the central plot of this film with not enough time devoted to developing the relationships and motivations of the central characters, Thus plot developments and twists whilst potentially interesting do not have the emotional impact desired making it difficult to really care about what happens. It is a shame because what there is here works surprisingly well - Jones' ambition is to ensure the audience is invested in both sides of the conflict rather than the obvious human side. Perhaps there may well be a future director's cut that restores some much needed character work and slows down the pace a little.

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.

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

Ridley Scot is back! After some less interesting movies he succeed to make an great one again! It isn't the greatest movie I have ever seen but I couldn't recall one fault or issues with this film. The acting was great especially with his carry Matt Damon! The rest of the cast did fairly good. Matt Damons character stranded on Mars and wants to find a way to survive until he is rescued. This is the main part of the film which was surprisingly funny. Mainly due to the optimistic attitude that Matt Damons character had. It was even funnier than some comedies I have seen this year. Besides that there are some really suspenseful scene with are handled very well by Ridley Scott. He build the suspense fairly slow but great. They also created a great setting of Mars, it really felt like a place which was gorgeously filmed.

Overall I would gave the film a 8,5 but unfortunately Trakt would allow me to give that many hearts so I rated it a 8. Simply because I liked my 9 rated films more than this one. Nevertheless I had a really good time with this entertaining, greatly directed and interesting film.

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.

I feel like a miserable person because everyone seems to enjoy this episode but me. And when I think about how the Original Trilogy, The Mandalorian and The Clone are probably my top 3 of the Star Wars shows and movies I should normally love this, right?

Of course I was excited when all these iconic characters showed up but maybe it's because of how many of them were introduced in just a single episode, but it felt a little cheap. Not to mention, I think this show is extremely predictable; for example the Cad Bane scene went just as I thought it would, him shooting the other guy while only wounding Vanth. And it's not just the scenes that are predicable - the dialogue in this whole show feels cliche and uninspring.

I'm always here for more Luke and the cgi for him is very impressing, though I'm a bit disappointed that he is so harsh with the attachment rule, I don't think it fits his character very well considering his arc and own attachements in the OT. But this may as well be a test he puts Grogu through so we shall see.
And even though I adore Ahsoka, I'm also personally not the biggest fan of Rosario Dawson's potrayal of Ahsoka, not sure why. On a sidenote, I know they can't really make her lekkus longer in live action because of the stuntwork but I wish they could at least somehow make her "horns" (montrals, right?) bigger. It just doesn't look good the way it is now.

But hey I'm nitpicking now, my biggest problem with this show is the dialogue and overall writing; With the exception of the 5th episode (I loved that one) I just don't think it's very good. And of course the lack of Boba Fett in his own show is jarring but then again whenever the focus is on him it's not very interesting either. The story is lacking and it's a shame.

I'm gonna have to go against the grain here and say this was a poor episode for Game of Thrones standards and not even in my opinion on how the story line will play but the actual episode in it of it's self and in comparison to the rest of the series

The whole season like many have pointed out has been way to hectic without getting any real satisfaction or grasp of the scenes because they're so rushed to advance the plot, as Sansa said this episode Jon has be gone for weeks yet the pacing is so off that nothing can be placed or timed easily and there's just numerous major jumps that seem right to.

So many decisions that just seem absurd and are just for convenience so the guys make it out (the whole expedition/plan was a farce anyways regardless and made up on the spot without any consideration or thought into Cersei's response to it but even ignoring that), that 1st ambush on the tiny group and being able to take down a Walker with such ease so simply to leave one undead remaining (WHY DID ONE REMAIN?!?) for them to bring home was too outlandish and unbelievable. Then only for them to have Gendry be the only one to return(?) to send a raven in time and have Dany save the day all in ONE EPISODE as they sit in a LOTR circle of undead and obviously evacuate unscathed. With the exception of Night King hitting the flying moving dragon at a further distance than the obvious one sitting stationary with the gang!?! Damn, took me way out of the whole episode, no immersion and I thought it was mess compared to say the pit scenes with the dragons or even any other really. Granted this is unprecedentedly more epic and huge in stature but I don't think they did it justice whatsoever

I get the direction they've decided to take the show and I can't blame them, what with not having the books to lean on but I can't help but think how if they (final books) were out by now this whole expedition would've been a whole season with a lot more too it than feeling nothing as I watch a beautiful scene as a dragon comes crashing down black hawk style, and finally what an injustice Benjen going out was... Just sums my critique of convenience and lack of depth especially with the fact that he could have made it out together on that horse but he gets the standard cliched heroic deus ex machina death to "slow down" the dead which is a dumb excuse to sacrifice himself

I'm literally shaking right now. These Framework episodes are really freaking stressful.

Aida/Fitz is such a disturbing relationship. It's so creepy that Aida manipulated the Framework to make Fitz love her. She brainwashed him not only into having feelings for her, but probably into having sex with her too, which basically means that she rapes him. She's doing to him exactly what she resents Radcliffe for doing to her: turning him into a thing to be used however she pleases. That makes me nauseous and I can't imagine what Fitz will feel when he wakes up.

Jemma "I'm tiny but I have more than enough rage to go around" Anne Simmons is so going to fight Aida when she gets the chance. At least I hope so. It would be amazing to see her cut the bitch.

Elizabeth has no fucking chill, does she? She just goes and gives us these incredible, deep, powerful performances every week, never failing to bring tears to my eyes and turning me into a distracted, weepy mess for days. Jemma pouring out her heart talking about Fitz was too emotional for me to deal with this early in the morning. And that moment when she screamed his name and their eyes locked? I'm still in shock. The raw intensity of that entire scene killed me.

I never thought I'd be scared of Iain, but I am now. That smile at the end made me want to crawl under my bed and stay there for the rest of the season. How are FitzSimmons going to recover from this?

Stop hurting my baby Daisy! She's already in emotional and psychological pain 99% of the time and now she's going to be tortured? Just fucking rip my heart out while you're at it. I hate that they keep making her suffer. Daisy Johnson deserves the world. And yes, I will fight anyone who thinks otherwise. I love my emo daughter.

Mack joined SHIELD! Also, Hope is adorable and now I feel bad that Mack will have to live without her in the real world. The hits just keep coming, I guess.

The Framework is an absolute nightmare for a lot of reasons. And now it looks like regular people don't have access to the Internet. No smartphones, a woman getting arrested for having a laptop... We've officially crossed into the hell territory in my book.

A part of me wishes I hadn't discovered this show until season 4 ended. That way, I could just binge watch the remaining episodes instead of having to wait a week or longer for each new chapter and spending my days doing the mental equivalent of pacing nervously around a room. I just want to know what will happen next and it's killing me.

I liked it better when the four DC shows aired on four different nights, but whatever. I guess the people at the CW wanted to boost the ratings by airing Legends after The Flash.

I can't believe that they made an episode about the Legends trying to convince George Lucas to become a movie director. That is so wild. I love it. And there were so many awesome references to Star Wars, like "You're our only hope" and the trash compactor.

Rip forgot who he is and to be honest, I hope he won't remember anytime soon. I like the team as it is.

Every now and again I randomly remember that Arthur Darvill played Rory Williams on Doctor Who. Apparently, he was destined to play characters travelling through time and space on a ship.

It was such a small moment, but I love the trope of a super intense scene with people running or fighting cutting to a shot of someone riding in an elevator with soft music in the background. It always makes me laugh, no matter how many times I've seen it.

"- I have an idea.
- So this would be a new milestone for you then."

Professor Stein went in and took no prisoners, huh? How did Mick manage to recover from such a savage burn?

Just got back from seeing this. Here is what I'll say right off the bat: It's not nearly as bad as I anticipated based on the reviews going in. If the entire film was exactly like the first 30 minutes, I would LOVE this movie. Sure it would have been 2 hours of set up, but how much fun was that first 30 minutes?!

THE GOOD
Harley Quinn. Robbie lives up to the hype on this. Seeing the ads I wasn't head over heels. I just wasn't seeing the charm of it in short bursts. But seeing the movie totally reminds me of watching the animated series, which I haven't revisited in awhile. Makes me want to go back. She was the best part of this movie.

Will Smith. I imagine fans of Deadshot will have plenty to say about what he got wrong about the character. I didn't know Deadshot existed until this movie. I'm not a huge comic book guy anymore, so I was going in blind on this. I loved him. I thought he was great. Still not 100% the Will Smith I want to see up there, having a blast, but this was pretty damn close.

The music. They went the Guardians route with the soundtrack and it works. I'm a sucker for a recognizable old jam in a movie and there are plenty in this.

Ike Barinholtz. Big fan of this guy and he's friggin' hysterical here. He was a big part of that first 30 that I loved so much. Seeing him interact with Harley, etc, was great.

THE BAD
Everything after the 30 minutes of "We're putting together a team." Once they're assembled and the completely ridiculous plot begins, and the long stretches of boring make you even more aware of how many leaps you have to take to believe the plot, the more checked out I became. I know you have to allow some suspension of disbelief in these kinds of movies, but this one asked a lot.

Insanely subpar CG. What the hell was going on with the look of the villain? These were Mummy-level "The Rock's face pinned to a blurry CG body" effects. Just baffling.

The end was the same as every single one of these movies, whether they're good or bad, it's just a group of characters who have to use their skills to battle a CG monster, each of them fail until for some reason the last big thing they do works. Whatever. Also the end look of how the power was shooting out of the building looked very Ghostbusters (any of them really).

The Joker. Look. His Joker was just fine. I liked his look, he was even being kind of crazy sometimes. But for the amount of screen time he actually gets DOES NOT equal the amount of articles I had to see about this dude pranking people on set and being disgusting and sending gross gifts to Viola Davis blah blah blah. Seriously, the PR train on this has been going strong for what feels like a year and a half and it all amounts to....15 minutes, all together? Sure sure this will set him up for other stuff but come on. So many articles about him being in character and pranking. So many. The other actors had to hate it. Especially considering the fact that they BARELY share the screen with him! It'd be like Jeremy Irons pranking the shit out every single cast member in BvS "for his character." Lawrence Fishburn would not stand for that shit.

Anyway, I didn't completely hate it. I had fun sometimes. I laughed at things they didn't want me to laugh at sometimes (so did the rest of the theater). But it wasn't the worst.

This is going to be as spoiler free as possible. This was written following Ep 3 - And the Horns of a Dilemma. And this will hopefully help you make up your minds about whether to watch the show or not.

Now, the general plot is this; There is a building called the Library which houses magical items which the Librarian - Flynn Carsen - retrieves and protects. After Flynn and Eve have a chance encounter in Berlin, the Library - which sends out magical invites to potential employees - invites her to work for it as a Guardian. Flynn's guardian, to be more precise. Together the two of them discover that someone is killing off all the potential replacement Librarians, and they find and rescue the only three that are still alive; Ezekiel Jones, Jake Stone, and Cassandra Cillian.

So, what can you expect from this show?
*Firstly, a reminder that it's a TV show, so every episode has a set budget - this means that the special effects aren't always fantastic. Just try to look past that.
*Sometimes the acting is a little clunky, and the writing is too. Writing-wise they need to find their groove, sometimes they use humor and it falls flat, sometimes they use humor and it's actually kinda funny. They just need to find what works. Acting-wise - some of these guys are somewhat new to the game, give them some time they'll get better. Everyone has to start somewhere, right?
*Action, fighting, mystery, and adventure. Saving the world every week. Or at least, every week the show is on. Almost like a short Indiana Jones, Lara Croft, and Nate Drake team up every week... except without Indy, Lara, or Nate actually being present.
*Sweet character interaction - developing future 'found family' dynamic - characters who care about each other, fight for each other, and would never bail on each other. Or at least, that's what I'm hoping for - it's looking that way.
*Possible romance subplots, and you'll probably get a few new ships out of it if you're into that sort of thing!
*The bad guy is played by Dr. Leekie from Orphan Black - Matt Frewer!
*Random appearances from Flynn Carsen - other than being in the first two episodes, I've heard he's in an episode later in the season.

I suggest you try watching it. If you don't like the first episode, and I know this is hard - give it a few more episodes, sometimes shows take a little while to get into the groove of things. Maybe it'll improve in your eyes during those few episodes, maybe not, but it's worth checking, that way you don't miss a show you will later love. Maybe check out the Librarian movies if you aren't sure, or if you like the show and want to get some back story on Flynn. (There are three movies.)

This show is far from perfect, but it has potential. Hopefully over the season it will continue to improve.

If you’re just interested in well choreographed and edited action sequences: see it. Also, kudos to convicingly pulling off the Will Smith clone (minus his final scene), something which must’ve been extremely hard to do given that he’s constantly moving around during the action sequences. However, the story of this film feels very paint-by-numbers and uses way too much exposition on top of that. The set-up takes a lot from The Bourne Identity, minus the memory loss. That’s not inherently a bad thing, but this has none of the interesting characterization, pace or grit from a Bourne film on top of that. Stylistically, there’s a glossiness and fakeness to it all. Everything is overlit, it ocassonially looks like characters are standing in front of green screen (which I’m pretty sure they aren’t), and there’s a fluidity to the movement during the action scenes which makes it look like animation. I don’t know how much of that is a result of the special cameras they used, and how much comes from bad CGI/cinematography/lighting, but I do know that not all of the innovation here is also an improvement.

4/10

Ps:
If you’re someone who loves motion smoothing and oversaturated colours on your tv system—> watch it in HFR
If you have taste —> don’t watch it in HFR.

Well its done... it turned out the best way it could with the time we had.... It was not a train wreck, but it was certainly rushed. The writing never waivered and that made it much more palatable. The characters were strong till the end as well. It was emotional and charming as always. Overall it didn't ruin the series, and I'm overall happy with it.

--BUT--
My main issue is the narrative feels SEVERELY incomplete, and I'm beginning to wonder if that was done on purpose.
I might just be an optimist as much as Holden here, but it truly does not feel like its done. ESPICALLY with the protomolecule ship coming thru the ring at the VERY END. IDK they'd include that if there was not something up their sleeve. I really hope and pray there is more story to be told from the roci and this amazing universe.

The one thing I am disappointed in is Marco. His end was just so unsatisfying and overall he was severely underwritten and ended up being one of the most underwhelming villains ever. He had no characterization and they never really fleshed him out, nor really did anything with his and Phillips relationship. Their whole arc was just a nothingburger and that is really a shame

If this is truly the end though, I thank everyone in this show involved for the joy its brought me. It was truly something special we had here and I am so happy I got to experience it.

Till next time folks.