With a number of strong episodes throughout, the first season of the show is powerful and gripping - and yet, I never found myself all that wrapped up in it. It felt like it meandered a little too often, I'm never quite sure where it's all leading. Elisabeth Moss is astoundingly good in the lead role, but she stands head and shoulders above most of the other cast. Any episodes, or indeed moments, that weren't focused on her cause the show to fumble. Yvonne Strahovski and Alexis Bledel do stand out as particularly strong performances, and I can't help but feel heartbreak whenever Madeline Brewer (Janine) is on screen.
In fact, somewhat ironically, it's the male cast which really let things down. Joseph Fiennes becomes a caricature by the latter half of the season and the character of Nick is an absolute stain on the show's otherwise decent offerings (it was a struggle not to fast forward any scenes he's in). Moira was also difficult, the writing for her struck me as completely unnatural (her only interactions with people seemed to be to insult them and tell them how wrong they are) and it was only in the later episodes that that got turned around.
It's the story and setting here which are the reason I kept coming back each week. It's a brutal show with shocking moments each episode. Part of you scoffs at how far-fetched it is, another part of you becomes fearful of the path our current world is going down.
My only other feelings is that the desaturated look of the show actually makes it feel a bit cheap. There's very little sense of a large world when watching this, but that's okay. We're focused on Offred's world and that's the important story.
Part 1
I wasn't sure if I should only write one review for this season, or two. If you didn't know, this season basically aired as 2 seasons. Here is when we get into television stations' way to get more show than they have to deal with contract wise.
But yea, I love this first half of the finale season. Shocking, I know. One great part of the show at this point is that they don't have a crap load of episodes anymore, so the pacing gets really fast. While normally I'm just fine with taking some time, seeing the show plow through so much plot in such a short time is awesome. Each episode has like, 3 or 4 amazing twists.
Is this the greatest show of all time? You're goddamn right.
Part 2
This is the best television show ever made. I'm going to just pull the trigger on this, cause for a long time I wasn't sure what I'd put at the top. Going through the whole show continuously like this was just a lot of entertainment.
All of this season is super tense. There is not a single moment of down time, because shit has hit the fan for the entire cast. The one that stands out, to everyone I think, is Ozymandias. That is what I'd call the climax to the story, with the next two episodes being the epilogue. I love that you turn sides (or at least moral people do). Walter White has gone from a slanted protagonist to a villain, and we've seen every step in that direction for 5 seasons. What he gets is actually less than what he deserves.
You know, I've heard a lot of people nitpick the finale, but frankly I love it. I think I might have been thrown off a bit the first time watching, but going back to view it with a bit of foreknowledge helps. Suddenly you don't have your own idea of what should happen and get slightly bummed when they didn't take your advise during production. This is basically a curse every great show will have when they get to a pumped up end.
Finale message to all of you: if you've never seen Breaking Bad, your life is not complete.
The second season didn´t provide much progress compared to the first. They were still doing what worked best before. I saw little in terms of character developement.
The whole idea of the show was to put a ship literally "where no one has gone before" but we only see glimpses of other cultures. Instead they keep dragging the Kazon along and it became more and more aparent with every Kazon episode that they didn´t work. As the writers and producers agreed later it was unfathomable that you travel a year and a half at high warp and still haven´t left them/their space behind. After all they were a sub-culture that overthrow their supressors just 30 years ago.
I still couldn´t pick a favorite character. Althought I don´t really hate one each of them had a minor flaw or two as far as I saw it. K. Mulgrew does a great job but I never could bring myself to like Janeway. Chakotay is kind of the dog that wants to please his master. The Doctor was still to arrogant but showed promise. Neelix is symply irritating. I can´t really say why I never liked Tuvok. Kes is a non-factor - they just didn´t found a way with her. B´Elana, Tom and poor Harry Kim all had there moments in the show but nothing that got to me. This was unusual because with every other Trek incarnation I had a favorite right from the get-go no later than the end of the premiere season.
But overall it still was on a level back at the time that few shows had so there was reason to go on.
Fantastic characters, fantastic acting, beautiful cinematography and writing. This show is good. More than good.
At first I was hesitant about a vikings spinoff. The original was a great show and I couldn't see anyone doing it justice, but although this show is set in the same time period (100 years post) it's vastly different in terms of what is going on in the world. With increased travel and trade comes the challenge of religion and Christianity spreading through the north, existing tension with England require a delicate balance of political wit and acuity in battle, all of which make this an entirely different show from the original vikings.
This is of course not 100% factually accurate and they've taken some creative liberties with some of the content of the show but it's pure action-packed, thrilling entertainment. And I'm especially taken by Freydis being played by a Swedish actress. Hearing the accent in her voice lends an authenticity to her character that I didn't realize I missed in some of the other characters, especially when they're speaking Old Norse. Love to see someone who speaks a Scandinavian/North Germanic language in that role.
And anytime I get to see badass women kicking ass on screen you know I'm going to like it.
2022 Ranked --> https://trakt.tv/users/justinnumerick/lists/2022-tv-shows-ranked?sort=rank,asc
As a big fan of Vikings, I was hesitant to check this out because I just didn't think it could ever live up to how great the original show was. However, I'm happy to say that while I still prefer Vikings, the first season of Vikings: Valhalla did not disappoint. As soon as I realized that Michael Hirst was back for this show, I was on board. And he brings a lot of what made Vikings great and applies it to Valhalla. Great action and cinematography, very strong writing and dialogue, and a very interesting story/dynamic fueled by the time period and the great characters. I love how we are going to familiar places but we now get to explore a very different time in viking history. Focusing on internal conflict between pagan and Christian vikings was such a smart idea, and it allows for really interesting dynamics. And the three main characters of Leif Erikson, Freydis, and Harald are all very compelling in their own unique ways. I also really enjoyed a lot of the side characters. The biggest thing holding this first season back for me was the pace. It was so incredibly fast and there were so many things going on. We get at least two entire seasons worth of plot crammed into one season here, so we don't ever get a ton of time to dive deep into what is going on before something else happens and the show has moved on. I think they could have slowed things down a bit, but overall this was really entertaining and engaging, and a really strong first season.
8.0 // Great
I really like the setting of this show. The visuals are beautiful to look at and they really put you in the Montana countryside. I also enjoy the main conflict this season of three corrupt people from three different factions all vying for control of precious land. They all have their own reasons for doing so, all of which are understandable at times. However I thought that the pacing of this season was inconsistent and it made it a little confusing as to what the show was trying to be. Is it trying to be a melodramatic soap opera or a serious Western crime drama? It was hard to tell at times and I think the season suffered from not knowing exactly what it wants to be. It would fair better if it committed to one of these genres and went with it. This season also got wrapped up in subplots at times that didn't contribute to the main story or that ended up abandoned, and I felt myself craving more of the main story/conflict. I'm also not in love with some of the character decisions they've made with some characters, but other characters were handled very well. Overall this season was good and entertaining but could have been better. This show has a lot of potential and I'm excited to keep watching.
Overall I think this season is a step up from season 1. One of my major issues from season 1 was that the show didn't seem to know whether it wanted to be a melodramatic soap opera or a more serious Western crime drama. In season 2, however, the show embodied and committed to the melodramatic tone. I think this season is better off because of this and that it feels much more cohesive than season 1. This season also made it clear that this is very much a show that is much more centered around its characters than the overall story. The focus of this season was the character arcs and dynamics, and relationships between characters. The overall story/conflict took a bit of a backseat to make more room for more in depth character exploration, and I think that suits the melodramatic soap opera-ish feel of the show. You don't have to care as much about a realistic and well-developed overarching story because the season uses its melodramatic tone to provide enough entertainment value and instead you can focus on the characters. With all of this being said, I still don't think it's the most impressive season of TV ever, and there are some issues I had. Despite a lot of interesting character dynamics, I don't think this season balanced its characters very well and some characters were left without much time to develop in interesting ways. The main antagonists of the Beck brothers in particular were very underdeveloped which made for a pretty underwhelming finale when they were killed. I just wasn't invested in them enough as antagonists to really care. Another big issue for me this season was Beth and Jamie's relationship. Beth is incredibly emotionally and verbally abusive towards Jamie and for what? The show has not provided us with a reason as to why Beth would have some much hatred for Jamie. I am sure that later on in the series will be an explanation for why she treats him the way she does, and it feels like the show is trying to make the audience curious and intrigued about what this could be. But until we get that explanation, Beth just feels annoying and immature. I think they went too overboard too early with her character without giving us the explanation as to why she hates Jamie so much, so that by the time they finally do tell us I'm not sure I'll really care since I'll have had all of this time to build up my dislike for Beth and my sympathy for Jamie. Despite these issues I had with the season, the commitment to the melodramatic tone makes it so I don't really care as much about this season's flaws and instead can embrace them more easily because I know I don't have to take the show too seriously and can just be entertained by it. Overall, it's not a perfect season of TV but it's very entertaining and significantly better than the first season.
By the end of the final episode this season just felt like a lot of build up for next season, which is a little frustrating. Season 3 has some of the same issues that season 1 had, such as an inconsistent tone. The first half of this season was very tame, slow moving, and more of a deeper study of the characters with some melodramatic moments sprinkled here and there. The second half the season, or rather the final few episodes, turned up the drama and pacing and became much more energetic and melodramatic, like what we saw from season 2. This shift in tone felt like the show didn't really know what to do with this season. I thought season 2 was better than season 1 because it committed to the melodramatic soap opera feel throughout, so that's what I was expecting going into season 3. I was surprised when they slowed things down a bit at the start of this season, but I saw the potential in a season that was more of a slow burn and focused on rich dialogue and character depth. However, I don't think the story was compelling enough to keep me entertained throughout, and by the end they had gone back to a quicker pace anyways but still without much happening with the main story. Overall I didn't think it was as troubled as season 1 but also wasn't as cohesive as season 2 so I would place this season somewhere in the middle. One highlight this season was Jamie's arc of becoming an antagonist. I think he is easily the character with the most depth which should make for a great antagonist in season 4, which will be good for the show since generally speaking the antagonists have been pretty weak characters. I did have some issues with two of the main reveals this season. First of all, learning what Jamie did to Beth was effective at building some sympathy for Beth, however the whole thing doesn't make much sense in that there's no way the clinic would perform a hysterectomy without telling the patient that they were doing it first. And secondly, learning that Jamie was adopted explains a lot and builds more sympathy for his character as well, but there's just no way he went his entire life up to this point without looking at his own birth certificate and figuring this out sooner. Some of these unrealistic plot points could be overlooked if the season committed to its sop opera feel (like season 2), but since they tried to slow things down and make this season more serious the unrealistic plot points really stood out. Overall this season was fine and good, it just felt a little like an entire season of filler in order to help explain some of the characters more and events from the first two seasons, and the tone felt inconsistent at times. I still get a lot of enjoyment out of these characters and this show and I'm curious to see the type of show they make next season.
This was a frustrating season for me. The first episode was my favorite episode of the entire series and provided the fast paced melodrama that I had come to enjoy from the show, adding in a lot of action-packed moments and giving good payoff to the cliffhanger of season 3. However, after the opening episode the season came to a screeching halt and I have a hard time even remembering what significant things happened this season aside from the last episode. The show got caught up in trying to take itself very seriously again, and in order to make this work you need a well written and engaging main story. I just didn't find the main story that engaging and the show seemed to focus on a lot of smaller side plots that carried little significance to the overall story. This show has shown us in previous seasons that it is more character driven than plot driven, which is completely fine, but at some point you need to focus on some level of plot development and in this season it was barely there. I think there were more scenes of horses just running around than there were scenes of actual plot development. I wouldn't mind focusing more on side plots and characters if the entertainment value was high and the character dynamics were interesting, but I thought the side plots were mostly boring and the character dynamics were repetitive and old. For example, they focused a lot on Beth vs Jamie this season and this relationship hasn't changed at all in 4 seasons and is getting repetitive. I wish they would evolve this relationship or focus on it less and give us more meaningful time with other characters. For example, Rainwater has so much potential to be a great character but we barely see him anymore. I had a bunch of little frustrations with character arcs and plot points that wouldn't bother me as much if the show played into the melodramatic soap opera tone (like season 2). But because they tried to take themselves more seriously this season the little things stood out more. Overall the whole season just felt somewhat uninspired and repetitive. I still really enjoy the overall themes/characters and the show continues to transport you into its setting with its amazing scenery and setting, so I am still a fan of this show and will continue to watch it with excitement. But overall I am left a little disappointed in this season after I thought it had so much potential to be great.
Yellowstone Seasons Ranked --> https://trakt.tv/users/justinnumerick/lists/yellowstone-seasons-ranked?sort=rank,asc
Season 4 improves on the series but takes the lessons learned from S3 really well. My main issues with S3 were the multitude of characters all getting prominent screen time and their stories taking center stage too much that ended up making the time for Maeve, Otis, and Eric shortened. There were also some silly plot points that didn't amount to much. S4 improves by taking just the (dare I say) interesting characters from Moorsdale to the new school that's way more open and accessible about sex, gender and identity. I appreciated that the new characters felt more like additions to existing characters' stories rather than making new stories that would crowd up the season. Plus, I feel like I've seen these character evolve. They already addressed certain issues for each character earlier, now this season allows each character to serve as an example for other issues one might face in their adolescence or young adulthood. I really appreciated Jackson's new role dealing with anxiety and health, Eric dealing with merging faith and family with his sexuality, and Cal's continued exploration of gender and body dysmorphia with people like Aisha and Romeo assisting. The season is the last, and so we know it has to close up the main story and can't leave anything loose. I feel like episode 7 did the heavy lifting for most of the storylines so that episode 8 could focus on cleaning up and ending the new storylines presented in this season. Overall, S4 did a good job of keeping up the qualities that make this series heartfelt, eye-opening, and educational. Definitely a good watch.
If you are going to complain about how it's too inclusive and too many "lgbthdtv" characters then 1. this show has been gay from the beginning 2. this inclusion wasn't meant for you, it was meant for others.
while it was a bold step to include a lot of diversity (like beyond what already existed), it was handled in such a great way and I believe that the directors were able to use the big platform of the show to show marginalized groups (disabled, POC, queer) that they do matter and their opinions matter. while Cavendish college is very very fake the problems that the students face are real and handled in a fantastic manner.
on the ending, people who think Maeve and Otis should have ended up together dont understand the maturity required for relationships, Otis has shown over the course of the show that he is immature and Maeve isn't someone who is going to be able to fix that for him. Maeve has grown so so much over the show and is an inspiration and it's great to see her moving forward to achieving her dreams, as all young people should strive to do.
this show has grown up with me, from watching on my phone so that my parents wouldn't see when I was 15 to now watching it as a university student, the characters have changed for better and for worse and so have I and I couldn't think of any better way to end it <3
