Holy shit that ending! Did Alice Cooper lose control or did Chic?!
And you know, I wasn't really feeling the whole FBI side plot at the beginning, but I really liked how they intertwined Veronica's and Archie's storylines together in this episode. The Poppa Poutine murder is gonna be a fun conversation topic next episode.
Also, are the writers finally learning how to wrap up loose ends and not write so episodic?! Because if so, about time!
I support Archie/Betty, so I loved the final sequence, but damn, my favourite scene of this episode has got to be Alice confronting F.P. at Pop's. My god, the sexual tension between those two is hot! I mean, was that F.P. suggesting Alice to leave Hal, her husband?! There's history between those two, and I can't wait until it's finally revealed.
OK, real talk. What is up with Cole Sprouse's acting this season? That scene between him and the mayor was awkward af. As was his line delivery of "How many damn years?" - ugh.
I can finally see why some fans rate Cole Sprouse's acting so poorly. He definitely needs to be more subtle with his angsty sequences.
Cried like a motherfucker during this episode. My god, the show producers have exceptional talent in organzing story lines. Also, mad kudos to the scriptwriters.
I have waited so long for that scene between the two brothers. Kimi Qiao's line delivery was absolutely perfect when his character confronts Gong Ming. That scene and its follow-up show how strong the chemistry is between the three actors (e.g. Ivy Chen, Kimi Qiao, and Peter Ho). They honestly have the best chemistry among all the male-female relationships on this show. Their scenes always seem organic, and never forced. I mean, compared to the male-female relationships for Gu Li, Nan Xiang, and Wanru, the relationships Lin Xiao has with the two brothers always seem much more natural.
Nan Xiang's ex-boyfriend is a monster. Why didn't the girls go to the police? Instead, the audience is forced to watch the aftermath of a rape scene. WTF. That is utterly disgusting. I hope this psycho goes to jail. Gu Li does not deserve this; getting raped and getting shamed in front of all her friends for getting raped. What the fuck. What the fuck is this plot device. This is absolutely disgusting. So much for friendship, eh. Instead of standing up for your friends, like Gu Li did, they all embarrass her for cheating on her relationships. We spent so much time in this series discovering that Nan Xiang doesn't care for Xi Cheng anymore, so why on Earth was she angry that Gu Li "slept" with Xi Cheng? Chicks before dicks, man! WTF.
What in the world were the scriptwriters thinking? "Let's take the strongest character out of the four girls, and throw some shitty plotlines at her." This episode completely contradicts the entire goal of this drama series; this episode is completely and utterly misogynistic. Gross.
This is a trashy show. You don't start episode 1 of a TV show on The CW network expecting something from HBO or AMC. I'm not sure what all these negative reviewers were expecting when they started this show. If you take this show seriously, then you're watching it wrong. If you're watching it for fun, just to tap out at the end of the day, maybe to shut your brain off so you can watch an overdramatic storyline that will have no effect on your being, then do give this a try. The overall storyline is ridiculous and completely unbelievable, but this is a teen soap drama. For a teen soap drama, I think it's very well-produced.
Script & Story: 6/10 – Like I said, the storyline is ridiculous, but the story does get better.
Acting: 8/10 – The four main actors are still fairly early in their careers, and you can tell which ones are less experienced, but they do get better in the second half of the first season, when they become more familiar with their own characters. Plus, the acting from the parent figures (e.g. Madchen Amick, Skeet Ulrich) helps provide more emotional realism to make certain scenes more convincing.
Set Production & Costume: 8/10 – I love how they designed the "small town feel" to their filming locations. The natural wilderness of Vancouver, British Columbia helps a lot in some of their scenes.
Characters: 9/10 – I'm not crazy for the lack of development for Archie, but they did really well in developing both Betty and Jughead. The introduction of Veronica's father in the second season will definitely help Veronica's character development, and I'm very confident Archie's character will undergo some changes in the second season too.
Cinematography: 10/10 – Some of the shots in this show are truly beautiful, especially for a teen soap drama.
So happy we finally got an episode on Jughead! And so happy we got to see a tiny sliver of happiness from him - aka that scene where he smiles after he walks Betty home.
First of all, Veil's death at the end of this episode was completely unwarranted. After suffering for so long in Quinn's underground prison, she deserves some sort of redemption, and not a supporting role in Sunny's battle against Quinn. She was a major reason as to why Sunny did everything to stay alive, and why he fought his way through to return to her. Why didn't Sunny double check that Quinn was actually dead?! The characters in this season have a notorious pattern of not double checking that their opponents are actually dead. You can't just walk away. You need to make sure the guy is friggin' sawed in half, ok. So upsetting that Veil just flat out died. I mean, Sunny stabbed a sword right through Quinn's body twice, yet it was a meagre little dagger that actually kills him. We spent so much time this season developing Veil's inner strength and her role in Sunny's drive to live, but poof, one mistake and one little dagger later, she's offed. The showrunners need to check themselves.
Second of all, I still don't like Bajie. He's only out there for his own objectives. He seems like a good guy with good intentions, but when it comes down to it, he's only there for himself. I can't wait to find out what happens to him. I assume he will die there in that radio signal tower from his injury... Although he has Sunny's bike, and this is Into The Badlands where characters who you thought were dead will pop back into the story, so. Also, how did Bajie find that tower anyway? Was it in the book?
Third of all, the producers better hire better scriptwriters for next season. They have a ton of story to write about now - Tilda running away, Widow's offer to Waldo, Widow's deal with M.K., Bajie's radio signal to Azra, Sunny becoming a father... I'm going to assume the antagonists for next season will be the Widow and Waldo - both of whom don't have strong morals. We can't trust any barons or wannabe barons in this show.
All in all, a decent season. I'm looking forward to seeing what will be the repurcussions of Bajie reactivating the Azra radio tower.
P.S. What on Earth happened to Jade? She was one of the better actresses in this show, and she just disappeared after that one episode.
Tilda's fight at the end was kind of weird. It was unexpected in a way that it didn't feel characteristic of her to rebel against the Widow. Yes, she's been doubting the Widow's actions for the entire season, but the lines she delivered before the big fight don't really depict her true frustrations or emotions towards the Widow. Again, the show really needs better scriptwriters. Ally Ioannides, Tilda's actress, finally shows off her acting chops though, so at least we get that.
Sunny is back! And by "back", I mean that he's back in the Badlands and as the proper protagonist again! YAY. The whole civil war thing was getting boring. Also, I would not mind an alliance between Sunny and The Widow. They would make a good team!
I'm so confused, what's the difference between the purple Abbotts and the regular Abbotts? I must have missed this detail... Glad to see Sunny back alive though. They could have fleshed out Sunny's memory/flashback a bit more, imho. It felt a little rushed, especially when there were so many other side stories to tell (e.g. Jade's capture).
EDIT: OK, found out the difference. Purple are apprentices, while orange ones are trained, which makes sense, since cutting the purple ones would make them go out of control and attack.
That kiss between Tilda and the other Butterfly came out of nowhere. WTF. I'm all for showing diversity in TV shows and movies, but it's gotta be weaved into the story line better; this one just plopped in without any lead-up. The show has some killer choreography, but damn, the overall story needs some drastic improvement. Ditto with line delivery. The inexperience of actors like Ally Ioannides (Tilda), Aramis Knight (M.K.), and Eve Connolly (Ava) really shows whenever they have a long scene.
Marton Csokas' acting is driving me nuts. His weird accent is so gimmicky. His accent, more than anything, makes me dislike his character. Also, can't wait for more scenes from Sarah Bolger. She's one of the better actors on the show.
The actors in this show really need to work on their line delivery. Neither Aramis Knight (M.K.) or Eve Connolly (Ava) make their scenes believable, which makes the entire 'hidden gift' Abbotts temple seem super tacky.
That plot twist with Mary was wild! Totally didn't expect that. But it was incredibly clever for the show writers to lay out mini-clues about her history throughout this season. I mean, you always thought she was kinda suspicious, but it's never done to a point where you're like, "Oh she's not who she says she is." 10/10. Simply excellent writing. Plus, the one-liners are hilarious.
I think this mini-series would have been miles better if another actress was cast as Elizabeth Bennett. There's just no charm to Anna Maxwell Martin's portrayal.
This is one of those Korean dramas that has so much potential at the start, but about five or six episodes in, it just dies out because producers restructure everything for ratings and not for story. ~Throw in all the Korean drama clichés! All of them!~ Ugh. You can pretty much go down a check list of typical Korean drama scenes, and this drama will have them all.
The best (read: only) way to watch this show is to fast forward through all the unnecessary/terrible scenes. First, all the chaebol family scenes, starting from about four or five episodes in. Second, all the Yewon or mistress scenes; they add absolutely nothing to the main plot. Third, all the Yoonha & Joongi scenes, starting from when Yoonha finally figures out Joongi's real intention. What you'll have left are all the scenes with Changsoo and Jiyi. That couple is the only reason why you should even bother with this show.
So in the end:
• Yoonha's older brother stages his own disappearance with barely any consequences, because his father still welcomes him back.
• Changsoo is suddenly able to control both Jiyi and his mother, even though in 60% of the drama, he couldn't.
• Yoonha suddenly becomes VP in one year, and takes her sister's place somehow.
• Changsoo is still a flop in his own company.
• The mistress has no influence over the story line at all.
You can essentially fast forward all the scenes that don't feature the four main leads, and you'll still be able to understand the ending.
Mandatory must-have scenes in every Korean idol romance drama: The leading men grabbing hands with the leading ladies and running down a sidewalk or pathway. (Optional: In the pouring rain.)
Park Hyungsik is so handsome. Like in a way where he can both be handsome yet adorable at the same time. Korean casting directors are real good at finding those kinda talent, eh.
Oh god, this is one of those terribly clichéd Korean dramas where rich people fall in love with poor people, and vice versa. Cue lots of longing stares, hands slamming on tables, overdramatic rants etc. Even Uee can't save this, the script is just that bad.
Oh god, this show is just blowing me away. From Randall prompting the "Big Three" cheer between his siblings, to his father telling them the cat story, to Kate being an absolute darling at a Hollywood party was just so endearing. BUT THAT PLOT TWIST AT THE END THOUGH. WTF. NOOOOO, WHO ARE YOU EVEN, MIGUEL.
"Are you mad? If you're trying to get rid of me, I'm going to try to make it as hard and as horrible as I can." - Matthew Goode's portrayal of Henry Talbot made him a perfect match for Lady Mary. His smouldering eyes were just so on point during that line delivery!
Violet Crawley honestly has the best one-liners in this show. She's hilarious! Also, Matthew Goode is just so handsome. Totally swoon-worthy.
I admit, I'm kinda annoyed that the return of Tom and Sybbie ended up overshadowing the marriage of Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes.
Matthew Goode is the best part of this Christmas special episode. Also, I'm getting real tired of the Spratt/Denker conflict. Does anyone actually care about those two? The Carson and Mrs. Hughes romance is kinda boring too.
Yara Greyjoy's plan to ally with Dany Targaryen was really predictable. How did she hear about the Queen of Dragons anyway? I don't remember anyone telling her that Dany was in Meereen.
Also, I wonder who Sansa wrote to.
My God, that ending was bittersweet. It sucks that Pierre and Natasha had to go through all that just to be happy. But I suppose that's reflective of life in general - one needs to suffer to appreciate happiness that much more.
