An amazingly well constructed episode that deals with alternate timelines but manages to be a wonderful character piece. The return of Denise Crosby as Tasha is central to this, and I wish I could experience the original shock of seeing her that must have occurred back in 1990.
The episode manages to bring meaning to her senseless season 1 death, and her scenes with both Guinan and Picard are very layered and powerful. Additionally, the episode has a vividly different look from standard TNG; dramatic lighting and longer focal depth really stand out, giving the episode its own identity. I get a small thrill with the return of the original-era movie uniforms and even set design.
It's also nice the way that the main cast change their performances in only subtle ways. Mainly we see that Picard and Riker have a harder edge, they seem more battle weary and forceful in their decisions. But the old captain is still in there as we see in his discussions with Guinan. This is yet another demonstration of what an important addition Whoopi Goldberg was to the cast.
As for minor criticism, I find the last 5 minutes of the episode a little dull. The battle with the Klingons just isn't particularly exciting. It's also convenient that the Enterprise-C crew were so willing to go back to their time without much argument.
I don't know why some people are shocked at the ending. It’s basically the plot line of Crime and Punishment (the allusions to the book were given frequently). Joe isn’t punished in the sense of being in prison, and even though he’s technically free, now he is stuck with a girl just like him and a baby on the way when he would rather be with a “normal” girl he can manipulate and control. He is trapped and it’s a Gone Girl-esque ending. He even compared his new home with Love to a Siberian prison.
It was so funny watching Joe judge Love for all the shitty things she’s done. Like she was somehow worse. His murder sprees are not repulsive to him because he did them and he felt justified. That logic does not extend to others, just him. It’s a perfect mirror for showing just how delusional Joe is. The series isn’t about how he finds love. It’s about how Joe is a predator, using love as a way to convince himself he’s doing things for the right reasons. The whole point of Joe's character is that he will never be satisfied. It’s in his nature to crave what he can’t have. That’s why I thought the ending was perfect. Of course he is already interested in his “normal” neighbor. He is going to start fantasizing about her to escape his “tortured existence”.
Totally saw the Love twist coming from a thousand miles away. She was always coming on strong. Her killing Delilah was super predictable too. I actually liked that they made her psycho because Joe somewhat got a taste of his own medicine.
Overall, I enjoyed this season, but:
I’m a little disappointed in the lack of creativity. Season 2 had a lot of similar storylines to the first one: Love is the new Beck, Ellie - the new Paco.
Realism isn't necessary in fiction but some of the plot holes were annoying. How did Candace know exactly which storage unit was Joe’s? How could Forty turn on Joe so fast? Officer Fincher thought Joe could have been the murderer because of some expensive headphones but has done absolutely nothing about it. Joe reconstructing the glass box in the storage container was a bit of a stretch for me. This whole season, while entertaining, is completely unrealistic. It requires all characters to be morons and the hugest of coincidences to happen at every turn.
I was incredibly disappointed absolutely nothing from Joe's old life came back (other than Candace). He moved to a new city and changed his name - poof all his problems are solved? What happened to the PI the Salingers hired?
Candace's character had potential. They hyped her up in the first season so I thought she would do something but no, she didn't have an actual plan and was outmatched at every turn.
Was it the writers intention to insert cringy millenial jargon into every possible piece of dialogue? Really went too far compared to last season. And all the "woke" dialogue was so cringe, boring and trite.
For me, personally, this couldn't have been written any better. I loved it! I know not everyone will but for me it did the show justice. It was bittersweet and in line with how the show did things in all its seasons. When Hvitserk is given his new name 'Athelstan' I had to push back some tears. It's like the story has come full circle in a way. Ragnar took Athelstan with him on his first quest and now a son of Ragnar has taken place in Wessex as Athelstan, a name given to him by none other than his son.
Ivar's death was more heartbreaking than I could've imagined. I never thought I'd be shedding tears over him. He changed a lot during his time with the Rus and it is beautiful that he essentially gave his life to ensure that of Hvitserk. These two had such a deep bond and I wondered how it would conclude. I always thought one would kill the other but this was beautiful and tragic all at once.
The last scene of Floki and Ubbe on that beach was so well written too. When Floki tells Ubbe he looks like Ragnar, beautiful. Such a pure scene of two men with deep respect and love for each other. Ragnar would be proud of that.
Now if there is one thing I would like to have seen different it would be Ingrid, living her best life as Queen. I never cared for her though I can admit she is a force. She stood her ground against Harald and Erik but I think I never really warmed up to her because she got with Bjorn while he was already married to Gunnhild and I loved Gunnhild like I loved Lagertha.
I'll say goodbye to this epic adventure for now... probably going to re-watch it in the future and appreciate it all over again.
Great episode! Took a while to get there, but the show really found itself with Episode 6 and 7.
My theory is that Laurie did it, or is at least complicit in covering for Jacob.
They made a point out of her 6am run far too many times, maybe she was on the way back from her run when she came across Ben and Jacob getting into a fight which she intervened with, fending Ben off with his own knife.
This links with the flashback of Laurie stepping in with the bowling ball, but this time she steps in with the knife.
I think she went to JK Simmons and was able to get the DNA sample after confessing to him that she was complicit in the murder of Ben, and now JK Simmons is using his outside muscle (guy in the Lincoln, guy forcing Patz to write the confession) to cover for the family.
They also made a big point about the Catcher in the Rye about people being one thing on the outside, but thinking something very differently. Laurie is the distillation of this. She has manufactured the persona of perfect wife, great career woman while she hides the secret that she's willing to do violent acts to protect her son and family. She physically manifests this metaphor by literally painting over the vandalism on her garage, covering it. Andy on the other hand was willing to just attempt to wash it away, which only faded it.
Can't wait for Friday!
67 | Season 2 is confirmed. This is a very good show, especially its cast performances. Almost all characters in Slough House are loveable. But their opponent or we could say their bosses are very bad people. One of them is Diana, her decision showed us how dirty MI5 has done its job. They fake all things to get leverage and when things or people harm their goals they will get rid of it. MI5 people who have much power from top to bottom are very professional in doing their job. If you think James Bond is a good guy who has done anything for Great Britain's interest, well you would think differently after watching Slow Horses. The people who maintain national interest would guarantee to get their hands dirty to do their job. Enough of that, let's talked about how right-wing nationalist radicals could become terrorists. Almost all kinds of people who have fanaticism with their beliefs, nationality, organization/community, or ideology could easily become irrational and harm other people who have a different perspective from them. Slow Horses tried to show us that. How they become a tool for the government to fulfilled their agenda. To makes things more complicated, even within the government organization or in this case MI5, there is a lot of backstabbing in there. People who have less power should clean up the shit that their bosses make. And sometimes they should pretend to become the shit.
My Instagram: @moviemanner
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Rating: 66.04
Plot
P1: 1.5
P2: 1.2
P3: 0.6
P4: 1.2
Director: James Hawes
Favorite Characters
1.6: Min Harper
1.5: Diana Taverner
1.4: Louisa Guy
1.3: Jackson Lamb
1.2: Hassan Ahmed
1.0: River Cartwright
Character Score Meaning
0.0 - 0.1 - 0.2 - 0.3 - 0.4 : Terrible
0.5 - 0.6 - 0.7 - 0.8 : Bad
0.9 - 1.0 - 1.1 - 1.2 : Average
1.3 - 1.4 - 1.5 - 1.6 : Good
1.7 - 1.8 - 1.9 - 2.0 : Great
