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.
This is easily the best episode of the entire series – all the subplots finally converge to one. The protagonists, the antagonists, the detectives, and the supporting characters all react to one single event where they are all connected to in some way.
Honestly, I feel like Justin is just misunderstood. You can tell from the 'present' scenes of him and his home situation that the stuff at home affects him deeply. That he's been acting stressed the past few episodes because he feels powerless to protect the women in his life (e.g. his mom, and now Jessica). This is probably why he just sat there on the couch at the party, because this has happened before, where other men have harmed the women he loves, but psychologically, I guess, out of habit, he didn't feel like he had the power to stop it. Then, maybe coincidentally, but after he visits the home of a "regular family" - that interaction between Alex's dad and Justin broke my heart; the way Justin's eyes literally warmed up and gave Alex's dad a big smile when he got offered leftovers from their dinner - it sort of becomes the tipping point of when he realizes that he does have power to change things.
I really love the entire character arc of Justin, to be honest. The writers did a fantastic job in crafting his story, and the actor did an equally fantastic job in portraying all of Justin's character nuances.
This was a great episode overall. I love the fact that we got glimpses of what the families are like for a couple of the minor characters: Alex, whose dad is strict/firm because he works as a cop, but loving too, as we can see by Alex describing how both his parents cook (e.g. his mom cooks, his dad grills); Zach, whose mother is the atypical overbearing Asian mother, but he has an adorable relationship with his sister (e.g. eating his sister's veggies for her when their mom isn't looking); Mr. Porter, who we slowly begin to find out that everything, at both work and at home, is taking a toll on him; and of course, we get more of the families behind Clay and Hannah.
10/10 to the writers, director, and actors. Stellar job all around.
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.
I don't like Sansa - of course she would betray her brother's (ok, cousin's) trust and blab his secret to everyone - but now I don't like Daenerys either. Damn, would she sit down and wait for her army to heal and recuperate? She's gotten increasingly ruthless in the past couple of seasons. It would indeed be a decent strategy if Jon and Daenerys would marry and just rule together, but I don't think that's going to happen now. They killed off Rhaegal, so that's gotta foreshadow something - that there will only be one Targaryen left standing at the end of the series.
Also, poor Ghost. Leaving him to the North definitely signalled Jon's gradual departure from the Stark family and gradual acceptance of his Targaryen heritage. So sad to see him react to Jon like that.
The "Hot Riverdale Dads" walking into Pop's together is easily the highlight of this episode.
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.
Well then. That Cleganebowl was anti-climatic. Sandor Clegane would never speak to Arya that kindly/tenderly and tell her to save herself. What the fuck.
Also, Jaimie Lannister didn't get to kill Cersei, so that was a huge letdown. That soft romantic music that started playing when they were down in the Red Keep's basement was so jarring. What the fuck.
What was Arya's point in this episode besides run around King's Landing and be scared? What the fuck.
I mean, so many what-the-fuck's in this episode, I don't even. I guess I should have expected all this when I saw in the opening credits that D&D were the writers for this episode. Even good directing couldn't save it from being a complete letdown. Christ.
Seeing the hot Riverdale dads again and getting screen time for the two pet dogs, Hot Dog and Vegas, are easily, easily the top highlights of this season premiere.
The first season is still the best season. Now, everything is far too complicated, with way too many characters to keep track of. I hope they don't add more clones, and just continue to kill people off instead.
In terms of chemistry between Daphne and Simon, I feel like the actress gives a lot to it, but the actor gives too little. The episodes are getting better though, after the awkwardly paced first two episodes.
Zach publicly confronting Bryce is the scene I've been waiting for.
Allison and Donnie are my favourite TV couple.
"Donnie, my sister has a robot maggot in her face. You tell me what a solid plan is." "Exactly. Now go rent a jackhammer."
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not gonna let it slide."
Jonathan Bailey's Anthony Bridgerton gets better and better each episode. I can't wait for season two. He's utterly ferocious.
Didn't like the fact that they revealed Whistledon ahead of time either. Unless that was a throwaway to lure us audience members to speculate in a completely direction...
How does a body examiner miss the fact that a dead woman was six-weeks pregnant during an autopsy? That sounds unrealistic.
Brandon Flynn showing off his acting chops as Justin again. My gosh, that kid has a natural talent. The emotional nuances in his acting are always so utterly on point in the character he built and the story he's in. Amazing.
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.
So happy to see the Stark family coming to their power now, each in their own individual way: Sansa with Brienne, Arya with her new skills, Jon with his new freedom, Bran with his knowledge, and well, hopefully Rickon gets a lesson of his own too.
I really hope Rickon Stark won't get murdered or tortured by Ramsay Bolton now that he's back in Castle Black, or Osha will protect him until otherwise. Maybe Jon Snow will return and murder people. Also, so happy to see Olenna Tyrell back. I miss that wise old lady.
I can't believe any scriptwriter would have the gall to write poor Lady Edith such a devastating plot twist. I mean, you'd think she has suffered enough.
This episode was way too rushed. They should have made the previous episode, 2x21, the season finale instead. I hope the showrunners does a better job at planning the next season.
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.
Don't feel the chemistry just yet; there's some pacing issues; and there's some backstory missing between some characters, but it's a good start. Hope to see more of Eloise! She's so charming.
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.
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.
Some thoughts:
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 admit, I'm kinda annoyed that the return of Tom and Sybbie ended up overshadowing the marriage of Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes.
