"Lead them to paradise."
So epic! A proper sequel to the masterpiece that is the first one, Dune: Part Two is everything I wanted and more. The scale and the stakes are much bigger. It really benefits from the world-building and character roots previously established in the first and makes everything bloom. The themes (and at times criticisms) on religion and politics felt so refreshing for a sci-fi movie. It's pretty thought-provoking in that sense. The story had me captivated and invested. It still has it's slow moments but the action sequences are perfectly placed and the payoff in the third act is so worth it.
The biggest praise I could give it is the character arcs and evolution. Paul's evolution here is so fascinating, we basically watch a boy become a man. At the beginning of the movie you fear for his life but by the second half he's the one to fear, emanating confidence. Timothée Chalamet absolutely owned it. Austin Butler is the perfect villain, so unpredictable and violent. I love Jessica's character arc but it felt rushed at times, like she changed too much in between some scenes. The Reverend Mother is so badass, i'm always secretly rooting for her for some reason (the "silence" moment was perfection).
I wasn't expecting the amount of action we got, compared to the first there's a lot. The action and set pieces are so memorable. The worm riding scene was the best moment of the entire movie, I felt so alive with all the special effects and the sound design and the vibrations it's like I was riding it myself. Epic third act battle and hand-to-hand knife scene (although it isn't top tier combat compared to a lot of action movies but the editing and camerawork made it look flawless). They did skip some action in the third act that I wanted to see more of though.
God tier cinematography. I thought there was no way it could look better than the first but they somehow managed to make it look even better in this one. Loved the color grading and the way the sand moves, flawless. The most visually stunning sequence was the black and white one introducing Austin Butler's character. Epic sound design.
I keep trying to pick a favorite between Part One and Part Two and I don't think it's going to happen... they're equal. Overall an excellent sequel. Can't wait to see what's in store for Part Three.
Yay, Dean Fogg is back! Oh no, that's not actually the right Dean Fogg! Multiverses are just like time travel, they can really mess up a story. Luckily, on The Magicians, it's all been good fun on both accounts, so far.
I hope they won't be trying to set things up between Alice and the new botanist guy. Though the dude seems alright, I didn't feel any chemistry between them and it's too soon for a hardcore self-hatred person like Alice to let go of Q this soon.
Fen seems to have got along nicely with the fairies, which was disappointing... I was expecting some clumsy "Maid on the Outside" comedy time to have come of that. But at least Margo bumped heads with them, as it's typical of her character. Anyway, I liked it better when the fairies were evil.
Eliot and Seb are so cute together! Too bad Seb is, unsurprisingly, mass producing Takers (of course Seb is a villain, his charm can't fool me!). There's always a catch when our crush seems too good to be true, right?
The downside of the whole Dark King thing is that, because of the actor, the forest scenery, the actual Dark King denomination and magic, it's all a wee bit too reminiscent of Once Upon a Time. Still unsure if that's a good or a bad thing.
Wassup with the Visigoths? Did they drop that plot line? Since there's a sort of bigger actor leading that pack, I'm sure we'll get to seem them again. And I hope they'll be fun! I suspect this season will end in a cliffhanger (shocking, I know) and they'll be directly involved... Let's wait and see.
Todd should have had a solo part in one of the previous musical episodes... What a voice!
Season 5. Just wow! Very promising premiere. I quite enjoyed the episode. I don't know if it was because I've missed the show so damn much, but something in this episode reminded me of seasons 1 and 2, and that's always a good thing.
Nora is way too cute. She's like the nicest, cutest thing ever. The way she hugged Barry warmed my heart in so many ways. At the end of the episode, when she turned to Iris with the puppy eyes to see if she agreed to go for an ice cream was priceless! Her acting was so childlike that it was beautiful. Really showing how bad she wants to spend time with her dad.
After watching her acting for a couple of minutes and seeing her screwing things up I can safely say "yes, she's definitely Barry's daughter". In fact, she's got Barry's awkwardness and Iris' thoughtfulness. There's one thing that I don't get though. Where's that bad blood from Nora to Iris coming from? I can't imagine Iris not being a loving mother to her child, specially if Barry is gone. I hope they explain it better in next episodes because that part in completely unbelievable to me. My other complain with the whole Nora situation is that it was way too obvious since the beginning that she had never met her dad. I mean, Nora is basically Barry if he were a girl.
The callbacks to season 1 were great, especially Barry teaching Nora hoe to face the way Wellsobard taught him. I love when they acknowledge Eobard as Barry's mentor and show that fatherly role he played. I really loved seeing Barry chanelling Eobard while being a father figure.
That scene and the one in which Barry was talking about missing all Nora's Firsts were so powerful. I ended to rewatch that scene again because it was so real and well-acted. I loved how Barry was worried about being robbed of Nora's firsts, only to be the one who witnessed one of her biggest firsts. Simply lovely!
Seriously, the Flash family warms my heart. Papa Joe, although he wasn't present in almost the whole episode he was the absolute best. I'm sad they found out his lounge room.
Caitlin: "Breacher? Gipsy? Harry? What do you think we meant when we said Harry was from Earth-2?"
Ralph: "That he was from Earth also"
Ralph Dibny, please, never change.
I love how Ralph questioned what everyone did after the season 1 finale: "I mean, if Eddie wanted to erase Thawne from existence, why didn't he just have a vasectomy?" Being bold and asking the important questions here.
Ralph explaining the manyverse goes under the file 'favourite scenes ever'. Poor guy, he looked so happy when he discovered the concept only to have his hopes blown up a couple of seconds later.
I also loved the little callback to season 1 when Ralph mentioned that if Barry had saved him from the Thinker, he could've died during the particle accelerator explosion. It was lovely if you realized that Wellsobard mentioned his name as someone who died during the explosion back in season 1.
The Cicada guy at the end looked cool. I actually got Prometheus vibes when he killed all those cops.
Now, about the suit. It looks so weird without the chinstrap. In fact, it looks as if Barry were CGI instead of a real person. But I'm not gonna bitch about it because it looks badass. I do love how red it is, though. And don't get me started on the Flash ring. I swear I've been waiting for Barry to have it since season 1. It's only taken them 4 years. Btw, the CGI scene with the ring looked amazing.
I'm really interested in Caitlin's storyline. I really want Killer Frost back. And I love to see Caitlin, Cisco and Ralph working together. They have great dynamic.
Also, "Don't drink and vibe". That needs to be in a t-shirt asap.
It was good. earnest still which is great. Gail Simone said she cried three times and I can see it. It has some very successful emotional scenes that don't feel manipulative. The soundtrack was missing TIna Guo's electrio cello which were so distinctive in the last movie. I don't like Kristen Wiig and yet I enjoy everything she's in. It's a weird dichotomy and while I think they went a little hard on the "oh she's unsexy because she's wearing baggy clothes" I think Wiig does an admirable job of being the schlubby Dr. Minerva and being the empowered Cheetah.
I've heard there are negative feeling about the movie but I can't imagine where. The final fight between Wonder Woman and Cheetah looks good CGI wise (RIP Black Panther) though it lacks in choreography. It's directed well enough I never lose track of where WW and Cheetah are in the space but I have no idea why if WW is trying to get into a facility she's spending so much time going in essentially big circles dangled on her lasso. There's a hilarious scene in the white house fight between them where Pine's Steve Trevor is fighting some guards in the background and you can see them essentially dancing as the camera focuses on the main combatants.
I liked the final fight with Max Lord they clearly didn't have the studio force a CGI fight on the movie like with the original movie with Aries. But this was a fight of earnestness and sincerity which is what Wonder Woman is all about. The fact that a TV transmission doesn't count as touching to the point where even the President says "it's just a phrase" made me laugh. I'm willing to buy that he can take your wishes over the TV. I'm not wiling to buy that he's limited to physical contact and this special TV signal counts. I feel like the movie was leaning in the right direction when Max took the TV slot from the faith leader. I figured this would be the start of his I can take your wishes over the TV and it would have snowballed easily.
I think the homage to the invisible Jet was fun and when she learned to fly that was as I already hinted earlier super emotional. The stinger nod to Lynda Carter was excellent.
How does it make you feel when I say the word... "moist"?
This was hands down the funnest episode of SHIELD we've had in a long while. Just pure unadulterated entertainment. Everything about it was brilliant. Jemma posing as Peggy was inspired (and she definitely enjoyed it too much lol). Daisy as a CIA agent was super badass. What May said about female pilots in the 40s and 50s was really interesting. I love it when I can actually come away from an episode having learned something. It was great to see Agent Sousa again too. And you know what? A big fat fuck you to Endgame for messing up him and Peggy. The Russos have such a weird obsession with Steve/Peggy that they completely ruined not just Peggy's arc from Agent Carter and her letting go of Steve and going on to find happiness again, but also Sharon Carter's character, who was treated like dirt and completely wasted in the movies. What a fucking shame. But back to the episode: I absolutely loved it and I actually think it might be a contender for my Top 10. I have 9 episodes picked out so far and still deciding on the 10th, so we'll see what the rest of the season has in store. Honestly, SHIELD has gotten so dark over the years, which isn't a negative thing because it's obviously given us so many great stories, but I have to say, I'm loving this return to super spy shenanigans. The season 1 vibes are strong in this one. Oh, and the title cards changing to reflect every new time period! I love that so much.
Now, for the next installment in the 10 Episodes I Vibed With The Most Over The Years series:
1x17 "Turn, Turn, Turn"
I'm not gonna lie, I don't remember what happens in most of this episode for shit except for the last two minutes, but those two minutes alone deserve a spot on this list because of how utterly game-changing they were for the show. You know what I'm talking about. Don't pretend you didn't gasp when Grant Ward, that smug motherfucker, shot Victoria Hand point blank and it was revealed that yes, he was Hydra all along! That was Top 10 Anime Betrayals at its finest, my dudes. I still remember the pure shock and horror of that moment. That changed the very fabric of what Agents of SHIELD was. It was also the one and only time when the connection to the movies actually benefited the show. I had to include it because it was truly iconic and a major turning point. Its repecussions carried well into later seasons and gave us so many great storylines.
Another great episode... seemed like it only ran for 15min.
Loved the fake out of the silencer... classic! People who haven't got firearms knowledge would get sucked in to that, just like in reality those unknowledgeable in firearms think that AR-15's sold in the US are military grade 'Auto Rifles', they are not... they only have similar cosmetic styling as an auto firearm.
Similarly why did Russo do what he did? In situations like that there would be an unknown time frame when he and the girl would be flanked. If there was only one or two shooters you could stay in the one place. I'm not sure if he is, or is not,... we shall see.
And why did Reacher stand in the middle calling out the boss? Because he'd already got rid of the shooters and now he was calling out the desk bound dumbass boss who is Not a shooter. And he had some idea where he was.
If you have situational awareness and some understanding of tactical, it would all make sense. Some may nit-pik otherwise but Reacher is a show that shows off the expertise in the writing of the show and that's why it's such a great show, and Season 3 is already in pre-production.
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.
Once again, the animators taking Every. Single. Live-action. Producer. To. School.
Real blackout darkness without making the show difficult to watch. Every light source and shadow in this episode was premeditated. Even when characters were completely hidden by shadows, I could still see what was going on on a nine-year-old LCD. The entire episode took place on an island experiencing total overcast and yet everything still looked beautiful and colorful.
If a genie suddenly told me I had three wishes, my first wish might actually be that every human values and respects the ability to competently frame and light a scene!
As for the actual story... Asajj Ventress, Kraken Whisperer.
The way Ventress was so casually (re)introduced, and the way she relates to the Batchers was a real left-field play and I really liked it. And they finally said "Midi-chlorians" after being so cheeky for so long with M-count this, M-count that. Just say the word. It's not cursed or anything.
Another thing I really liked is how Crosshair gave Ventress his hand. Good Crosshair, you're LEARNING!
Omega's journey is about to get very heavy, and we are now at the half-way point for the final season. This whole series has been one bar higher than the animated Star Wars that came before, and this season has been so focused and devoid of any distractions. I'm so conflicted that this is the end, but I'm so pleased that this isn't the end for Filoni's animated Star Wars.
(I'm still holding my breath for a complete remaster of the original Clone Wars series using the current version of their animation engine.)
[7.8/10] This is some bigtime business! The meeting among the Empire’s big luminaries (hello Aftermath fans!), and our heroes trying to infiltrate the titular summit in order to get a bead on Crosshair’s location, feels appropriately momentous for the penultimate episode of the season.
I was particularly impressed by the action set pieces here. If you’ve been watching Star Wars as long as I have, you become a bit inured to the big blockbuster sequences. For the animated shows in particular, they encounter a dose of fireworks every week given the comparative ease of conveying action in the medium, so it’s hard to get too excited.
But the show did a good job of laying out the stakes for the big tram ride to Tarkin’s fortress. The narrow window, the dangers below, and the chances that Wrecker freaks out a bit all make it feel like a big deal when they’re able to hang their way into the facility.
Likewise, Omega sneaking around the Imperial base to try to tag Dr. Hemlock’s ship with stormtroopers all around is shot and composed in a way where it’s easy to feel her panic at being penned in by the bad guys. Echo working to create a good distraction, and Wrecker coming in to save her at last minute shows good creativity in setting up the risks and solutions here. One of the best parts of this one is that it gives us a sense of the Bad Batch that started the series (minus Crosshair) all working together in perfect harmony, which is always nice to see.
And hey, a bad guy summit comes with a certain inherent thrill. Getting Stephen Stanton back as Tarkin is great, and having Ben Mendolson reprise his role as Krennic is a pleasant surprise, even if he doesn’t get much to do here. The group debating what to do with the clones ties into the season’s themes, features a callback to the events of The Clone Wars, and shows that at least one Imperial bigwig cares about the fate of the clones. (Though he sounded suspiciously like Rex? Who knows.)
But the big deal here, of course, is our heroes running into Saw Gerrera. Once more, I’m convinced that this could be the endgame for The Bad Batch given the bookend quality of him returning for the first time since the series premiere and talking about Clone Force 99 having taken his advice.
More than that, though, I like the philosophical clash, where the Bad Batch wants to use this summit to help track down Crosshair and maybe get a bunch of vital info to help the greater cause of freedom, while Saw just wants to take out the Imperials and damn the missed opportunities or the fact that they’ll just be replaced. It’s in keeping with what we’ve seen of the Partisans in other media, and I like the impact here.
I’ll confess, I’m not too worried about the good guys being stranded on a tram in the middle of the gorge. Surely they’ll get out of it. But I’m excited to see how! And that's the sign of a well done prelude to a season finale, with some action and substance in good measure.
This is THE DEFINITIVE Superman movie. With truly spectacular cinematography, a heartwarming coming of age story, enthralling action and perhaps the best superhero movie soundtrack ever from Hans Zimmer, this movie hits every beat for Superman fans new and old.
As a DC comics fan growing up, the critical response to this movie prevented me going to watch it at the theatre. I mean who wants one of their favourite superheroes being "humourless", "too violent", and "not epic enough"??? Well, I can truly sit here now having said "lesson learned". Never again will I allow critical response to prevent me from experiencing something I had waited a lifetime for. I will never get to see Man of Steel in the theatre, and this movie was shot for the big screen. Some of the shots are truly beautiful, especially when he wakes up in the ocean with whales, and when he learns to fly in the snowy mountains.
The story is often criticised for not having the kookiness of the original four movies with Christopher Reeve - and don't misunderstand this for hating on the first few iterations, I have nothing but fond memories of growing up with those films - but I challenge anyone to watch those movies now and claim that they still hold up. A truly great movie as well as standing the test of time, has rewatch value, and Man of Steel is one of the few superhero movies that I have watched time and time again. This requires a great story.
The story of this movie focuses on a boys relationship with his fathers, and his coming of age through those guises. His cautious and protective Earth father who tought him the morality and goodness we expect from our Superman, who sacrificed himself in order to keep his sons secret; and his Kryptonian father who encouraged him to embrace his difference and be the man Earth needs him to be.
A bonus is that the relationship between Lois and Clark doesn't seem forced. You get to see how she is a great investigative reporter and through her reporting she discovers Superman's true identity. By protecting it, you can see Clark's appreciation and the weight of not being able to talk about it to anyone - something that bothers him throughout the great flashback scenes as wonderfully portrayed by Dylan Sprayberry and Cooper Timberline - being lifted.
The character development of the antagonist, General Zod is done in a way other superhero movies can only be envious of. The message that this character, like all other Kryptonians are born with a specific purpose, in this case to protect Krypton at all costs, comes across well. From his perspective he is the superhero of his own story, trying to save his planet and his people, and that is the truest of tests for supervillain development.
And this brings me to the epic and controversial (for some reason) third act. As mentioned earlier, Superman has a strong moral code instilled in him by Jonathan Kent, which is shown throughout the flashbacks. Any observer who doesn't see that Snyders portrayal of Superman has the most morality of any Superman in cinematic history is simply not paying attention. He doesn't spin the Earth backwards to rewind time just to save his girlfriend like in the original, and he doesnt go back to Smallville and hook up with Lana because the love of his life Lois is ignoring him a little bit like in Superman III. That Superman, despite all of his displayed morality (e.g. where he refrains from fighting the bullies) feels he must kill General Zod is one of the most powerful moments in superhero movie history. He repeatedly begs Zod to give up his quest to destroy Earth and humans now that his quest to return Krypton has failed. Zod makes it clear as day that he will NEVER give up, and that he will destroy humanity at all costs as an act of revenge. What was Clark supposed to do? He was left with no choice! Add to this the fact that Zod's laser beams were inches away from killing a whole family, Superman reluctantly had to break his neck. Yet unlike other superheroes he did not gloat in victory, the pain and anguish in that scream that follows is filled with the heartbreak of breaking both his moral code and killing one of the few other fellow Kryptonians in the universe.
Overall, this movie gets better every single time I watch it. If you haven't watched it since it came out and had mixed feelings the first time, please give this movie another try without the immediate negative reviews that were extensively covered in the media at the time of release. It truly deserves it. Man of Steel is THE DEFINITIVE Superman movie.
Director Denis Villeneuve has actually managed to maintain the quality of what I consider to be the almost perfect "Dune" (2021) in this sequel. And I don't even want to start ranking both films; they are clearly on par for me and belong together. While the 2021 film has a stronger beginning, the finale of "Part 2" is much more satisfying. Ultimately, a double feature is worthwhile.
Looking at the second part on its own, my only major criticism is that the opening is a little clunky. In fact, it feels a bit like you're entering the middle of a story (which you are). However, it doesn't take long before you're fully immersed in the world again. This is primarily due to Villeneuve's impeccable sense of style. Whether it's the production design, score, visual effects, costumes, or sound, everything fits together perfectly. I would be very surprised if the film didn't play a major role at the Oscars in 2025.
But the acting is also another highlight. Timothée Chalamet shows once again that he is already a master of his craft. And Zendaya and Javier Bardem are also great in extended roles this time. But the MVP for me is actually Austin Butler, whose Feyd-Rautha is incredibly unsettling.
All in all, "Dune: Part Two" is a complete success. Only viewers who were hoping for a definitive conclusion to the story might be a little disappointed. After all, Frank Herbert's story is far from over. But if the film is successful, which it looks like it will be, then we shouldn't have to wait too long for an adaptation of "Dune Messiah."
Ouch, that average rating! I'm not going to lie though, I genuinely had a fun time watching 'Madame Web'... perhaps I should be keeping that fact quiet?
I don't know what to say, I found it to be suitably entertaining. I'm sure there are plot holes aplenty (I noticed a few) and it probably makes zero sense/isn't a good adaptation compared to its source material or whatever but honesty... I don't care, it gave me enough enjoyment that I wasn't questioning anything about what I was watching.
The cast are probably the key factors as to why I did enjoy this. I previously knew of Dakota Johnson but hadn't actually seen her in anything properly, I found her performance to be more than noteworthy and she spearheads the film strongly. The trio of Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced and Celeste O'Connor are positives too.
Tahar Rahim's antagonist, meanwhile, is poorly written and portrayed, though I personally thought the actor did a good job. I have no complaints with anyone who appears onscreen to be honest. Away from them, the pacing and score are also standouts.
In my recollection of viewing this, I truthfully haven't got any issues with it. If it wasn't for the slight bad murmurs that I did hear about pre-watch (though not much of it as I avoid as much as I can with movies) and the reaction on sites like this post-watch, I'd not be questioning my thoughts about this whatsoever.
As I always say, to each their own. For me, gimme a sequel (as long as the cast remain, mind). Not even sorry.
This was an odd episode. Specifically the main storyline. From a first-time viewing perspective, it didn't stick out that much. But in hindsight, the purpose of it was clear. And while it wasn't as ridiculous, on the surface, as, say, the episode that had to do with abortion AND men giving birth, it still felt extremely out of place. Yes, even for this show. The in-show reasoning behind the storyline was fine, and I mean how it started. A girl having an eventful life ahead of her who got the short end of the stick and got shot, Raymond was present, he took it pretty hard, and killed the person who killed her. The further dive into that whole situation was dumb and unneeded. And the real-life reasoning for it shouldn't have been brought into the show, period. As far as the subplot of this episode with Ilya is concerned, it also felt out of place but that could've been because of the main storyline. Regardless, I think it could've been included, in this episode or in general, a whole lot better. Yet somehow, despite all of that, this episode managed to entertain. It had good moments, and the final scene was good. I guess all of that triumphed over the obvious issue from an entertainment perspective.
First of, really impressed that this was Danielle Panabaker's directorial debut. Congrats to her! She did an excellent job. The building of tension was outstanding, especially in that scene when Nora confronted Iris about using the chip. It was perfect, especially when Nora zoomed towards her. Brilliantly threatening!
The episode was great. Like some others posted on the comment section, it has been a while since I have been that invested in an episode of The Flash. I was on the edge of my seat the whole episode, waiting for the Eobard scenes and for Barry facing him. However, there were a couple of things that I didn't quite understand.
I assumed that Nora already knew his dad was The Flash. However, we just learnt that it was Gideon who told her the truth, then, why did she idiolized him so much before even knowing it? Was it just because she loved the Flash? Or are the writers trying to mirror Iris' actions when she was obsessed with The Flash even before she knew it was Barry? I got quite confussed by that.
Even though I thoroughly enjoyed the episode, I expected so much more from Godspeed. He didn't seem that intimidating and I hated that they write him as the typical villain of the week, which was no other than Trajectory 2.0. Besides, I expected the suit to be more...I don't know, more of a suit, if that makes any sense. Now I'm mistaken. They named the episode after him. So, was it just to miskead us and to hook us in or are they implying that he's not really gone gone?
Now, let's get into the Sherloque stuff. 2 minutes into the episode and I was already pissed off. I hope I'm not the only one mad at how they acted towards him. Iris was mad at him for, in her words "shed light". Then she realized that he was suspicious of Nora since she first appeared, and she was even angried because he didn't say a word. And my question is, if Sherloque had tolf them without proof, would anyone have believed him? No way. In fact, they would've told him to leave at once and to never come back. Sherloque was great overall when he said "your anger in misplaced". He's definitely growing on me. And besides, didn't Iris actually know he was investigating Nora? I seem to recall a scene in which she told him to back off.
I fully understand Barry's behaviour. His daughter lied to him, but the worst thing about it is that she kept on lying to him once she knew Thawne killed her grandmother. That's the sad thing about it. Not the lying, not the conspiring with the enemy, but the fact that she knew and she kept on doing the same instead of coming clean. However, he straight outta left his kid in the future and literally threatened her not to go back in time, which translates as "get the fuck out of my life". I mean, not that I can shed much light into the matter of my own kids coming from the future and all that stuff, but it is actually pretty hard not to look at Barry differently after this episode.
If there's one scene that I love with a passion in the show was the one when Barry learns how to phase. The "breath. Feel the ground beneath your feet" scene back in season 1. So words can't describe how much I loved the scene when he's teaching Nora how to do it. Eobard mentoring his enemies will always be a plus for me on the show.
Since I learnt Eobard was being kept in a glass cell, I've wanted Barry to go to the future and face him in there, as a callback to the season finale of season 1. I just hope it doesn't end there and that we get a couple more of scenes between them.
I get the feeling that next episode, Iris is gonna face Barry and tell him that he shouldn't have returned Nora to her current timeline because she couldn't even say goodbye becasue she's so attached to Nora now. Also, wouldn't that future Nora and her whole timeline be actually different now that she's met her parents and that she finally knows who Cicada is? Can't wait for the next episode.
Man, Manchester Black is just so much fun to watch. And finally, a twist that I didn't see coming! I was expecting him to do everything he could to avenge Fiona, but not to actually send Supergirl to her death.
Tonight's MVP goes to David Harewood. That scene at the end was hard to watch. Amazing acting from a terrific actor.
I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm loving James' involvement in the plot. I love that they're making him go inside the plot rather than just having him there. Yeah, it's stupid that he got himself involved with the Children of Liberty, but that storyline is shaping up to be great. That Tom guy (I think it's Tom) can't be trusted. Something is off about him. Also, I'm guessing it's that way, but Ben Lockwood is clearly going to be killed by Manchester Black, although Supergirl will come to save his life. Oh, the irony!
The whole subplot with Lena and Adam was weird. She reminds me so much of Lex. I'm sorry for poor Adam. He didn't deserve that and I'm sure that can be accounted as murder, even if he gave his consent. For what I know, if there's a 13% risk of death, humans can't be experimented with. But either way, I hope this whole situation just makes Lena rethink what she's doing.
Also, is it just me or does Supergirl seem a secondary character in her own show? Manchester Black and even James got to shine even more that she did. And not only in this episode, but in the whole season in general. Also, I want to see more if Brainy and Nia.
I was glad to see that Supergirl handled everything without any help from the DEO. Wasn't the DEO actually tracking her? Anyway, I hope next episodes are even better. I'm digging the whole Agent of Liberty stuff and the actor playing him is great. Can't wait for next week's!
I actually wanted to give this episode a 9/10 but the kissing scene just made it lower. I think that scene was made solely for fans and also for making a GIF out of it.
Here's the thing: The scene wasn't realistic and logical. I mean, in the middle of the fight they kiss with just a protection from a little small shield? That's dumb and it makes you killed in real life. What's dumber was though, was the Remorath's aim. Even though they had a little shield, he only shooted the shield like he was blindfolded. I mean, where do these guys get training? He could've easily shot Coulson's or May's leg. But yeah, he didn't. Why? Because this wouldn't be an epic kissing then.
Also, I happen to think that they made this 'kissing scene' so that the finale of this episode would be much more dramatic than it would've been otherwise. But of course there's nothing wrong with making it a little bit more dramatic as long as you don't make it too obvious. Unfortunately, in here, they made it way too obvious.
Other from that scene, we've seen a lot of personal development in this episode which suprised me. And they managed to do it just fine with very well-written dialogues even though we had a lot action in this episode. I think this is very hard to do and the writers and the rest of the crew should be praised for this.
Also, the action. Boy oh boy was it great. Especially the fight between May and Qavas. The camera was very natural and well-directed. It didn't look like just bunch of random fighting collaged together. The only thing I didn't like about the fight was the moment when Deke finished deciphering the coordinates. Up until that moment, the fight was constant and none had the upper hand. It was balanced.
But the moment Deke finishes his job May immediately gains the upper hand kicks Qavas' ass. Yeah, she didn't actually win the fight but she was struggling a lot up until that moment. The fact that she suddenly become better just made me think that they wanted to finish the fight but didn't have much time, so they decided it that way.
Overall great episode though!
I don't really know how to put in words my love for this show. This was a very satisfying finale and the description could not be more perfect.
We got the answers we needed but its up to us whether we want to believe them. I believe Nora but it doesn't matter. This has always been a love story between two very broken people. Kevin realizing he has been just running from his life and just keeps coming back (see the end of every season). He becomes obsessed about finding Nora and him coming up short for all those years is truly heartbreaking. Nora finding her children and realizing that she is not needed. Spending all that time to just look at them from a distance and see them one last time. They fixed their problems the best the could. In the end, when they finally get back together, they are honest with each other and can be happy together, no more bullet proof vests and bags over the head. The last shot was beautiful with the two of them in a house and the messages of love coming back home. This was a surprisingly happy ending to an overall very depressing show and I'm ok with that.
This is one of, if not, the greatest TV shows ever.
While I definitely liked the episode, it felt more like a Mandalorian episode rather than a Book of Boba Fett one. That's really my biggest complaint. The show is literally meant to be about Boba Fett, but we don't see him once this episode. Kinda weird and it disrupts the entire tone of the show.
Approaching this as more of a Mandalorian episode rather then a Boba Fett one, I really liked how Din doesn't seem to really fit in with the strict ideals and traditions of the Children of the Watch anymore. He's growing as a person and now that he's been cast out of the covert, he is free to live his life without feeling the constant fear of others seeing his face.
Seeing a Naboo Royal Starfighter was cool. Also Din training with the Darksaber gives me Rebels vibes.
Overall a very entertaining episode with some added bits of lore, like what happened on the Night of a Thousand Tears. It seemed to be hinting that Din will visit Grogu and Luke before he teams up with Boba and Fennec, but I don't want Din to become the main focus for the rest of the show, considering he'll have all the focus in season 3 of The Mandalorian.
Wow, quite a lot happened on this one. I guess that on all storylines, the main message is the same: Whiterose fooled everyone: Elliot, Mr. Robot, Angela, Tyrell, Price, the FBI, the world, and most of all, us - the fricking viewers.
Tyrell finally finds out what happened with his wife and son from that piece-of-shit of a FBI boss. I swear I'm more pissed off at that guy than anyone involved in the Dark Army, despite the mom issues that are displayed to us at some points. I was not a fan of how they got rid of Joanna early in the season, but seeing the effect it takes on Tyrell and how it might affect his approach to the Dark Army, it makes me think it's for a good cause. And he was lied to as much as the others, including Mr. Robot himself, which means there could be an anti-Dark-Army revolution soon enough. That shot with Tyrell and the brown-ish background before he was told the truth had an eerie, fitting look.
When the "previously on" montage before the episode showed Trenton and Mobley, I got very excited - we finally get to see what happens on that side of things! (and by the way, I loved the editing done on the "previously on" in pretty much all of the season so far) Then... I continued watching, and got very sad. FBI learns from Tyrell the identity of those responsible for the attacks... and of course they are Trenton and Mobley. The way they set it up during the whole episode was so unpredictable, because they made things to look predictable. Not just showing that couple after all this time, but the attempted escape and all those scenes, it makes it seem like there is something these characters will do - the scenes and those great TV discussions with Leon make it seem like we shouldn't worry (I'd love to have a conversation with that guy, quite honestly, as long as the Dark Army isn't involved).
And even at the end, when the agents are approaching, even when it's clear they are staging this, I'm still thinking "this is typical TV, I'm sure they are suddenly in some other basement, and they are deceiving me"... but they were not. Trenton and Mobley are dead and Mr. Robot is fucking far to being typical TV.
Dom, a character who I didn't really pay attention to (compared to others) until this season, immediately knows something is off and, without skipping the beat, goes to the wall with all the persons of interest and knows Whiterose is responsible. I think she is also aware that something stinks regarding her boss, shown when she almost confronted him - I'm hoping she starts realising this and calculates her moves towards not getting kicked out of the FBI. If that Tyrell-Mr. Robot alliance ever happens, it would be interesting to have an FBI source...
The episode had almost no Elliot this week and small amounts of Mr. Robot, who went looking for Irving. But before he did that, he made Krista - a character I'm always glad to see appearing again - realise that Elliot/Mr. Robot could be involved in Five Nine and the attacks, which is an interesting wrinkle. I'm shocked to see that Mr. Robot has also been deceived and was unaware of the plan regarding the attacks - and pleasantly surprised at his disapproving reaction. I imagined he might excuse the attacks for other purposes, but he didn't. Perhaps the low point of the episode was Irving taking Mr. Robot to that place, showing him that odd party only to waltz in and leave him there, it feels like a careless loose end to spark Mr. Robot's anger. I wonder what follows from that.
The work Portia Doubleday has done as Angela Moss has been wonderful, but this season in particular her scenes leave me in awe. This actress has portrayed every emotion in the wide range of emotions Sam Esmail required in a way that feels demanding of admiration. I keep thinking that I cannot imagine Elliot's story would have been possible with another actor, but now I've added Angela to that train of thought and I really hope Doubleday gets the deserved recognition for this season. I feel like a fool for still being confused at the "back to the future" hints, but at the moment it feels like Whiterose blinded Angela with science and she was the most tricked of them all. Can she bounce back after being one of the main instruments of thousands of deaths?
Perhaps the best scene overall was the conversation between Price and the big culprit, Whiterose, with the revelation that Whiterose's motives are a grudge against Price because he had to ask for something twice. The intensity of the conversation, the little glimpses to blurred figures in the background looking at them as Price's tone was being raised - until everyone looked - and that stupid pink color, how memorable can a scene be?
Also, for those who watch the show on Amazon Prime (I do in the UK), I just noticed the description for the episode and it's hilarious, just had to share it, it says exactly:
"mr. robot wants answers. price whiterose. fbi closes in. knight time in the desert. angela hits the rewind button. a lot."
[8.7/10] The natural inclination in an episode like this is to go big, to make it loud and exciting and epic. It is the Original Trilogy meeting the Prequel Trilogy meeting Rebels, and so the powers that be could be forgiven for turning that encounter into an epic confrontation, full of fireworks and piss and vinegar.
Instead, “Twin Suns” is a quiet, deliberate, almost melancholy episode. That is a bold choice, one that pays off for Rebels and delivers one of its most meditative, understated episodes in a way that does justice to the various major figures it invokes in the effort.
It opens on the holy site of Star Wars, the deserts of Tatooine. There in the swirling sands, Darth Maul wanders the arid wasteland, searching in vain for his mortal enemy. “Twin Suns” commits to the desolation of the planet. Many times, it frames its character in wide shots, often at a distance, showing how small and insignificant they are on that vast landscape between those dual radiating stars. While there are moments of action, most of the time is spent with the characters wandering through those miles of nothing, contemplating what’s calling them there.
Of course, it’s not enough to just have Maul stalking the specter of Obi Wan, so Ezra Bridger feels the call to Tatooine as well. The reasons for his being there are thin, but adequate. He is, essentially, bait. Maul uses the same visions and hallucinations to draw Ezra to the desert planet so as to put him in danger. If Obi Wan is there, Maul reasons, he’ll be unable to stop himself from emerging to save the day.
So foolhardy Ezra heeds the call, follows the visions, and gets both Chopper and himself lost and desperate amid the sands of Tatooine. Despite the half-plausible excuse, Ezra doesn’t have much of a place in this story. It gives the character a bit of nice material, with deliberately disorienting edits creating his sense of being at a loss and in peril as the amount of time he spends out there remains unclear. But on the whole, his arc, to the extent it exists, is merely a familiar epiphany that he’s turned his back on his newfound family and should return to them rather than taking things on his own.
But it’s the man who offers him that advice who matters. Rebels realizes the Ep. IV-era Obi Wan Kenobi well. The franchise has yet to address the awkward business of bridging the gap between the Ewan McGregor/James Arnold Taylor incarnation of the character, and the version that started it all. But Stephen Stanton (who also voices Tarkin and AP-5), does his best Alec Guiness and it scans as true to one of Star Wars’s founding performances.
The Obi Wan Ezra meets in the desert is of a piece with one Luke meets in A New Hope. The years have blunted the edges of the reserved but adventurous man who fought in the clone wars. In his place is this wise old monk, one who has the zen and worldly perspective that Guiness and George Lucas imbued in the role. Rebels attempts to revive characters who’ve gone unseen since Return of the Jedi have been hit or miss, but kudos belong to Stanton and writers Dave Filoni and Henry Gilroy for capturing the spirit and demeanor of the character we know from Star Wars’s first act.
It’s not, however, inter-generational crossovers and desert-worn wisdom. Obi Wan’s time with Ezra is mercifully short, just enough to give him the lesson he needs and send him on his way before Maul arrives. Maul explains his manipulation in a suitably villainous fashion, and trades insults with Obi Wan as he gears up for a confrontation greatly hyped and long in the making.
When Obi Wan faces Maul, the scene is tense. Maul is inquisitive, probing, challenging his wizened adversary. He sniffs out why Kenobi is on this backwater planet, and the Jedi Master’s eyes subtly react with concern and awareness of what he’s revealed. Only then does Obi Wan ready himself to fight. The two men hold the tension, stand their ground, letting the potential of this grand clash linger in the air before the first, tremendous blow is struck.
Instead, it simply ends before it barely began. A few swift moves is all Obi Wan needs to fell his opponent. He moves slowly but decisively. Anything more would be a betrayal of the warrior we saw in Episode IV. There is mercy in his blade and in the way he cradles Maul in his arms after the deed is done.
But the purpose of that anticlimax is not simply fidelity to the source that began it all. It is a reveal, a demonstration, that these are not the fiery young men who clashed on Naboo. They are not the hardened warriors who met in battle on Mandalore. They are broken down old men, the last of a generation, finishing the last vestiges of conflicts that were already lost before they’d even started.
These are the last gunfighters, drawing one last time, because what else is there to do? As Maul seemingly dies in Obi Wan’s arms, he asks Kenobi if his task is to protect the chosen one. Obi Wan admits it, and Maul says the most curious, revealing words as he leaves the living force – “He will avenge us.”
Maul and Kenobi have stood on opposite sides of the battle lines for decades. They have seen the fall of republics and the rise of empires. They have done this dance across the ages, each taking pounds of flesh from the other. And yet, when the final blow is struck, the clarity of the last light reveals a simple truth. They are both victims of the same tormentor, the same individual who took away all that they had and believed in.
As Star Wars has gone on, it has evolved, showing more shades of gray within the hero’s journey that started with A New Hope. Before that little boy running across the horizon could rise up and strike down the evil that took so much from so many, too many had to suffer, both the good and the bad. The distance between the two seems as small as the distance between Maul and Kenobi. They are the twin suns, intertwined, eternally circling ‘round these same events, pulled by the same force, until they are snuffed out, ready for a new light, a new beacon, to sweep the galaxy, and wipe away their shared regrets, mistakes, and pain.
A perfectly placed flashback.
An episode entirely dedicated to Karen was something I didn't know was needed until now. The episode begins with a 30 minute flashback, and it's just so damn good. It had my full attention from the opening scene. I had no idea she used to be a drug addict, and had no idea about her relationship with her family...and this was the perfect time to finally inform me. Then, when it flicks back to present day, Karen is receiving inspiring and wise words from father Lantom regarding her "troubled soul". Then that church scene happens, and even though it's all action and violence, the scene still feels very much about Karen rather than the action.
In so many TV shows, flashback episodes always feel like an outlier; like you could almost forget about the episode and the season would feel the same, but the polar opposite can be said with "Karen". She's a great character who gets a lot of undeserved hate, and Deborah Ann Woll absolutely gives us her best work on this show yet in this episode, and rightfully so.
The people giving this episode hate have very short attention span and have to see Daredevil fighting the villain over and over again, much like a children's superhero movie. This brilliant show is an 18 age certificate for a reason. It's a patient and dark programme that explores adult themes, and it's starting to feel more and more mature now, with season 3 being its most adult season yet.
R.I.P Father Lantom. So much wisdom and a kind heart. Such a good character.
[7.7/10] I was so pleasantly surprised by this! I didn’t really know what to expect, with this being Marvel Studios’ first foray into animation and the high concept premise of the show. But I really enjoyed what we got.
For a while, I expected that this was really just going to be the plot of Captain America: The First Avenger except with Peggy slotted in rather than Steve. And that would still have been perfectly fun! Watching this show hit the same beats of that film, except with small but significant difference thanks to Captain Carter being in the role rather than Steve Rogers would have been worthwhile on its own.
For one thing, I like how this episode, as Agent Carter did, focuses on how even with her accomplsuhments, Peggy faces discrimination because of her gender. Of all the people for the MCU to bring back, it’s funny that it’s Bradley Whitford’s returning from the all-but forgotten Agent Carter one-shot. But he makes sense as someone who always thought too little of Peggy, stepping into a leadership role after Col. Phillips is shot, and creating an internal impediment.
To the same end, I like how the episode flips the dynamic with Peggy and Steve, but tshowing how they still understood one another and would bond with one another, even if their situations were changed. The two still falling in love, only to have Peggy making the heroic civilization-saving sacrifice play instead, is still heart-rending, and a nice sign that even as major things change, some things stay the same.
But I also liked the places where this episode goes off the reservation! Howard Stark building a proto-Iron Man suit for Steve Rogers called “The Hydra Stomper”? Yes please! Captain Carter saving Bucky, thereby avoiding the Winter Soldier situation (at least with him)? Hell yes. Her finding the tesseract and bringing it back to the good guys on an early mission? Awesome!
The further along the plot of First Avenger that this episode gets, the more it diverges and makes its own rules and own story, and I really appreciated that. Her team’s attack on Red Skull’s stronghold made for a rolokcing conclusion. I don’t know who Red Skull’s “champion” was. (Hive? A Chithuri?) But watching Peggy fight a giant squid monster while the Howling Commandos rescue Steve made for a killer conclusion.
I was especially impressed by the fight sequences here. I have to admit that I had some reticence about the cell-shaded graphics. In truth, the vocal tracks didn’t always sink perfectly. But the action was surprisingly fluid and well-staged. The show uses the freedom of animation to add greater flow to Captain Carter’s badassery, and some of the combat has a more impressionsitic style that makes it top tier MCU fisticuffs. Even the use of lighting and color in these fights stand out. Going into What If...? my biggest concern was the visuals, but they came through like gangbusters.
Overall, this was an exciting start to this new show and raised my expectations for What If...? to be more than a shiny lark, and instead be a meaningful exploration of what these changes in the path might look like.
The Boys does its job best when they jab at mockery of how the show biz operates. The first thing Vought does then they know that Queen Maeve is bi is to capitalize it: make her sexuality as a performance in their newest movie. But not only that; they need to make Maeve not just a bi, but a lesbian, and her partner - Elena - has to be made to wear men's fashion. Because "lesbian is a bit more easy to sell" and "Americans are more accepting of gay when they are in clear-cut gender role relationship". Companies like Vought, like its real-life counterpart (Disney), cares much more about how something sells than the nuance behind it. This parody is even funnier considering that they have a Jon Favreau look-a-like and a guy named Joss (Whedon?) who handle the Dawn of Seven movie production.
Aside from that, the episode continues the tense relationship between Starlight and Stormfront, and we start to see how Stormfront attempts to pull strings to maintain her position in The Seven.
Two things I notice though: the part where Homelander murdered a bunch of civilian in the public, that turns out to be an imagination feels a bit like cop-out, however it is interesting that it parallels Hughie's frustration when he lost Robin back in the first eps. of Season 1. The way Noir and Butcher confrontation is handled also feels a bit too easy, especially after the big build up about them being Vought most wanted in earlier episode.
We're finally out of the Framework! It was a very well-written alternate reality, but the whole thing where you try to convince people that it's all fake and they don't believe you gets tiring after a while. I'm glad it's over. Now we can focus on fixing things in the real world.
Just to kick things off, May calling Jemma "little pop tart" is the most adorable thing in the history of everything and I want to get it tattoed.
I loved Daisy and Trip's interactions so much! They are so cute together. But I feel sad, too. When Trip asked Daisy if they dated in the real world... They almost did. You could see just a hint of longing in Daisy's eyes. For a second she imagined all the things that could've happened between them, but never did, all the possibilities that are now lost. And then she had to say goodbye to him for the second time. I may have teared up little bit.
(Who am I kidding? I definitely teared up. And that was only the beginning of the heartbreak.)
I knew Mack would decide to stay with Hope. I freaking knew it. To be honest, I'd probably do the same if I were ever in that position, but it was devastating nonetheless. Yo-Yo looked absolutely crushed. And Daisy crying and telling Mack that she doesn't want to lose him... I just want to hug her so badly! Chloe was so good in this episode. She channeled all the emotions perfectly.
Coulson and May had some nice moments too. Framework May saving Coulson and then trusting him and taking the leap of faith was great. And her little smile when she woke up and he was there! Try to watch that scene and not go "Awww", I dare you.
Poor Fitz! Iain de Caestecker strikes again and blows me away with his performance. He was so horrified by what he had done. And he genuinely thinks that he's a bad person now. I felt like screaming when he called Aida "Ophelia". I can't really blame him though, anyone would be confused after being brainwashed and manipulated by a batshit crazy android. I know he can fight it. I believe in him.
Apparently Aida has some weird teleportation powers? Where the hell did she take Fitz? Bitch, Simmons is coming for you. If we don't get a fight between the two of them, I'll be so bitter.
And Jemma, baby! The look on her face when Fitz put the gun to her head destroyed me. It was like she had accepted her fate and was ready to die at the hands of the love of her life. I can't believe I'm saying this, but thank the heavens for Radcliffe. He did the right thing in the end.
Thank whatever higher power is up there that this show is finally back. Had I had to wait one more week, I swear I would've exploded from anticipation.
Unfortunately, every once in a while real life gets in the way of my watching TV shows, which is why I was unable to review 4x15 when it first aired. So, if you don't mind, I'd like to very quickly say a few things about "Self Control":
That was the best fucking episode this show has ever done and I still haven't fully recovered from it.
I CAN'T BELIEVE ELIZABETH HENSTRIDGE AND IAIN DE CAESTECKER INVENTED ACTING. These two smol humans are so incredibly talented and their performances in that episode were earth-shattering.
I love FitzSimmons. I really do. But I ship Jemma and Daisy so hard that it actually hurts a little bit. The sweaty hug, the lingering looks, the hand-holding, it was all so gay that my brain short-circuited. I've spent the last month binge-reading BioQuake fanfiction. Send help.
Robot May made me cry like a baby. Yup. That's another sentence I never thought I'd write, but here we are!
And now, moving on to 4x16:
I can't believe they just went and changed the logo to Agents of HYDRA. I'm internally screaming. That is so extra.
So, the Framework is a bleak, nightmare-inducing reality. I don't get it. If you had the power to create a whole new world, why would you make it like this? It's awful.
I love Brett Dalton and it's good to see him again, but damn, I hate Ward's bitch ass. Watching that slimy motherfucker put his hands on Daisy made me want to throw up. And then he turned out to be a good guy? That's a twist I didn't see coming. I think it's very cool. It doesn't redeem real-life Ward's actions, of course, but it's interesting to see a different version of the character, one that isn't a homicidal lunatic.
Evil Fitz is terrifying. His dad must've been one messed up dude. Also, I sincerely hope that Jemma will punch Aida in the face for seducing him. I was so grossed out when they kissed. It's just wrong.
I appreciated all the little things that Coulson had in his file. The references to Tahiti, the Cellist, LA Quake (good one, writers) and Lola made me smile.
Jemma, my baby! My tiny badass! I love her so much. She just doesn't give a fuck. She'd fight all of HYDRA by herself armed with nothing but a plastic fork and a lot of determination if she had the chance. And yet another wonderful performance from Elizabeth. I shouldn't even be surprised anymore, but she still blows my mind.
"- Are HYDRA all Nazis?
- Every last one of them."
Cue the "My longest yeah boy ever" video.
"Daisy, they're coming! You need to do something before Psycho Stalker shoots us!"
I've never wanted to marry anyone more in my life. Your fave could never.
To be honest, the thing I would like to see the most in the Framework is FitzSimmons meeting. It could be such a fantastic scene. Just imagine, Fitz interrogating Jemma or something and feeling oddly drawn to her despite the fact that she's an enemy of HYDRA, Jemma desperately trying to get him to remember, emotions all around... I really want this to happen.
Seeing Daisy with long hair and hearing people call her Skye made me reflect on how much she's changed since the show started. I definitely prefer season 4 Daisy to season 1 Skye. I mean, I've loved her since day one, but her character arc has been phenomenal and I adore the person she's become.
Coulson remembers Daisy! Agents, assemble! Aida's electrical ass won't kick itself!
I can't wait for the next episode. I'm so excited that I can't breathe.
If The Boys is usually chock full of superhero films parody, then this episode feels like a love letter to Logan (2017) and (the trailer version of) The New Mutants (2020). This is even more so with the casting of Shawn Ashmore, who played Iceman on X-Men, as Lamplighter.
It opens up with Homelander being sexually aroused by Stormfront while crushing the head of a thief in an alley. It recalls the scene back in Season 1 when Homelander casually rips through a gunman's chest for a show, but this time it's even more vulgar. As Homelander gets more aroused, his grip on the thief's head gets firmer, until it eventually crushes him into pieces. Then, fast forward to the end of the episode, we see Homelander confronting Stormfront, and her opening up to Homelander about her past, while she preaches of the importance of purity of their "race". They then continued to make out. There is something to be said here about indulgence in sexual and power fantasy.
This episode also starts to recenter the orientation. If in the first season we get to see the story progresses from the eyes of Hughie - the only seemingly sane person among the ragtag group of rebels - this episode shows how others see Hughie. Butcher, always an efficient, ruthless killer he is, is contrasted to Annie/Starlight who believes she retains her compassion even though she's a supe. Annie relentlessly tries to stop Butcher from senseless killing; though for Butcher she still inhibits the one thing he hate the most. "What you can't stand is in my blood, I'm a subhuman to you," Annie confronts Butcher. Yet when situation forced her to take extra measures, Annie sees herself doing something that only Butcher would do. "I'm not like you," she insists. However they then find what really makes them similar, but different at the same time: their attraction to Hughie.
Last, The Boys never stops to take a jab to corporatization of superhero. '"'A-Train' is a trademark. You're just another nobody from the South Side of Chicago" reminds me of the very early episodes in S1, when Homelander thought they were still bound by corporate rules (something that he seems to try to break free in this season).
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.
The show is back on our screens and our heroes are back on Earth! That scene where the team stopped for a second to just enjoy the sun and the fresh air was so beautiful to me. They spent so much time trapped inside a crowded, grim space, so getting to go outside (and more importantly, actually having an outside to go to) must have felt so good. It left the biggest smile on my face.
Deke is alive! It caught me by surprise. His reactions to everything around him were so precious and hilarious. If I were in his shoes, I think I'd hug trees too.
Daisy Johnson in a suit is a sight that I was not prepared for and I pretty much flatlined as soon as I saw her. Damn, girl. How is it even possible for one person to be so attractive? Like, we get it. Tone it down, please. It's bad for my heart.
Piper, you traitorous bastard. You should know better than to trust the military. Did she really expect them to treat Coulson's team fairly? Come on. They want Coulson's head on a stick. They won't be satisfied with anything less.
YoYo getting her arms cut off was traumatic. I did not expect it to happen, I thought Kasius was the one who did that. What a plot twist. I hope Fitz designs some sick prosthetics for her like he did with Coulson.
Ruby seemed so out of place at the beginning of the episode, I couldn't imagine how a moody teen was supposed to fit into the storyline. Now that I know, I'm emotionally scarred for life. Thanks, I hate it. General Hale is just a fucking delight, isn't she? I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss Talbot. At least he didn't keep his kid locked up in a cell.
Carl Creel? They're really bringing back a lot of old storylines, aren't they? We've already had Gravitonium and T.A.H.I.T.I. this season, and now this. And we also got the team recounting all the horrible things that happened to them, including Simmons jumping out of the Bus in "FZZT" to save the team, FitzSimmons getting dropped to the bottom of the ocean by Ward at the end of season 1, and May being forced to dance in that sparkly, silver dress in season 2 (that made me snicker).
Did anyone else caught Noah saying something about an Asgardian spotted on Earth? That's gotta be Thor when he came looking for Odin at the beginning of Ragnarok, right? I kind of like the fact that they're only making very small references to the movies now, since the movies don't acknowledge this show's existence in any way, why should it be the other way around?
Good episode overall, I'm pumped to see where we're gonna go from here. See you next week!
Ophelia: stands on the beach, water rushing over her feet, sunlight on her face, feeling joy and wonder for the first time, generally having a deep and aesthetically pleasing moment
Fitz: "I feel like I'm gonna throw up."
Honestly? Same.
I'll admit, for about 2 seconds I did feel bad for Ophelia. Mallory Jansen did such a great job of portraying someone who is experiencing real human emotions for the first time. But I still got creeped out during her scenes with Fitz and I'm upset that they made his relationships with Jemma and Ophelia seem like two equally valid options. They're not. Aida inserted herself into Fitz's life and manipulated him into doing what she wanted him to do. Fortunately, she went batshit crazy when he rejected her and used her weird grab bag of powers to fuck shit up. Good. All my empathy for her is officially gone. I hope they lock her up so deep underground no one will ever see or hear her again.
Jemma and Fitz's reunion was so beautiful. They didn't even need any words. Just two people, holding each other after a traumatic experience, letting their tears flow. Such a perfect little moment.
Coulson awkwardly tip-toeing around what happened with LMD May was hilarious. And May on adrenaline was awesome and terrifying. I just love these two so much.
"- I drank the bottle of Haig.
- WHAT? You piece of..."
Best. Moment. Ever.
Yo-Yo has no idea what she's getting into. She needs to find Mack and convince him to go with her. I wanted the team to use Aida's machine to bring Hope to the real world (how cute would that be?), but I guess it blew up, so Mack will have to say goodbye to his daughter and we'll all get our hearts broken. I can already feel the pain.
Ghost Rider is back! Maybe he'll drag Aida to hell. That would be so satisfying. And I really want him to absolve Fitz and tell him that he's not a bad person. Chances are, if a dude with a flaming skull for a head tells him that, he'll believe it. Oh, and Robbie's return also means that Daisy can finally get some. I wasn't the only one who noticed some weird sexual tension between them in the first part of the season, right?
Now, where is my season 5? Come on, ABC!
New favorite episode this season. Hands down.
Alex going rogue and just beating the shit out of Cadmus people was so good to watch. I loved every second of it. And don't you dare tell me that she did it for the wrong reasons. Alex Danvers is the biggest Slytherin to ever Slytherin. At the end of the day, family comes first. That's just who she is. And it doesn't make her a bad person or a bad agent.
Maggie was on my screen for more than 20 seconds! Merry fucking Christmas to me! She's apparently gotten much better at pool, too. And she wanted an actual flash grenade for winning? What a dorky badass. I'd die for her.
"- I wish I had what you two have.
- Go away, Brian."
Am I still laughing? Yes. Yes, I am.
Also, Alex is Maggie's "ride or die". They are such a good team, working together seamlessly, kicking ass and supporting each other through everything. My little gay heart can't handle Sanvers. And Alex would definitely make an excellent arm candy.
Look at that, Kara had her own storyline! And a moral dilemma! And it was about journalism! So much yes. I'm super mad about her getting fired, though. Snapper had better hire her back soon. Remember when working at CatCo was an integral part of Kara's storyline and she said she couldn't be Supergirl without her job keeping her grounded? Good times.
Kara biting her lip while talking to Lena? Supergirl saving Lena and carrying her in her arms? I'm not saying it's gay, but it's so gay. And it's also an interesting, healthy, respectful relationship. Do the writers really think we'd rather see Karamel happen than Supercorp?
"Maybe being Supergirl and having you is enough."
Okay, here's the plan: we go home, we vomit. Then we book the next flight to Vancouver, get into the writers' room and ask them what the fuck they're doing. They should ask themselves "What would Cat Grant say about this?". Because she would definitely disapprove.
But yeah, aside from that one garbage moment this episode was awesome. And that scene between Kara and Alex when they were trying to stop the alien ship was raw and epic, and absolutely, utterly spectacular. This is the kind of content that we should get every week.
