Thogek

VIP

8

It's fun! It's a little undercooked at points, for sure, but as a unique take on the mythos it's actually really interesting and visually stunning to boot. That seems to be the main defining goal here - unique "visions" on the universe that take risks and do something new, and on that end a rock opera on Tatooine is the last thing I expected a Star Wars thing to be about but here we are. It helps that the characters are really likable here and they do a good job in the limited time that you have making you believe this band has a real comraderie to them. Studio Colorido does great work animation wise, particularly in the character animation and colour design, which just look fantastic.

It's all building to the song though, which is fine in English but in Japanese? It's stellar - definitely a case of "sub over dub" for this short at the risk of sounding like an anime purist (in reality I watch both so I'm not too snobbish on that front) but here you can tell the song was written for Japanese lyrics and singing. Not the best thing they've done but fun and cute!

Who knew that all it would take to make me truly love Star Wars again would be a short, 14 minute experimental samurai story? The Duel is phenomenal on pretty much every front, particularly from a visual stand point. The franchise has always owed a lot to Kurosawa films and old school samurai dramas, and this takes it to the literal apex of that degree. It's a simple a story you can get with these things - a Ronin walks into a village and must defend it from bandits - but it's told so effortlessly and confidently, and with it's black and white animation and cinematography just simply popping. Kamikaze Douga, whose work is mainly in that of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure openings, showcase their chops here for striking cuts, incredible single shot work, and some insanely choreography.

And yes, as a hardcore anime fan who also happens to be a massive Star Wars nerd, it's just fantastic to see this universe rendered this way and with such love and care. If anything, this shows that Star Wars Visions is likely the best thing to happen to Star Wars since The Last Jedi back in 2017, which is saying something. Just incredible.

[9.3/10] A few years ago, for some strange reason, I decided to watch every Spider-Man animated series from the 1990s. The different shows had different takes on the wall-crawler, plopping him into very distinct settings and scenarios. But I realized there were two main things about Peter Parker that united the various versions of the character across years and franchises: (1.) he chooses to do good, even when it’s difficult, because it’s the right thing to do, and (2.) he suffers for his art.

Spider-Man: No Way Home strives to encompass a lot. It is the culmination of the Jon Watts/Tom Holland version of Peter Parker and the journey through his high school years that began in Homecoming. It has to service broader MCU connections to Doctor Strange and Captain America. It finds grace notes and meaningful moments for M.J., Ned, Happy, Flash, Aunt May, and a host of other characters who’ve been major parts of the series. And if that weren’t enough, it brings back five villains, two heroes, one conspiratorial agitator, and scads of loose threads from the five movies that preceded this Peter’s arrival.

And yet, what makes it work, what gives No Way Home a clarity and a balance other mondo Spider-Man movies missed, is the way it’s built around those twin ideas, those dual core facets of the character. Despite the multiversal stakes, Spider-Man strives to live up to the values instilled in him by the people he loves, even when it’s the absolute hardest thing to do so. And endures tremendous losses, makes grand personal sacrifices, in the name of looking out for everyone but himself. It’s what bolsters this Spider-Man, and all Spider-Men, and elevates this film into one of Spidey’s very best.

It helps that what starts these multiversal problems is something smaller and personal. So much of the MCU’s Spider-Man is about this overwhelmed, undermanned kid standing in the face of grandiose events. Spider-Man trips the time-space continuum not from battling interdimensional beings or from going up against titans with reality-warping powers. Instead, he’s upset that being associated with him kept his best friends from getting into college, that they were taken in and interrogated by law enforcement, that it blew up his aunt’s life. His exposure poisoned the well for everyone around him, and he effectively asks for a wish to undo it, not for himself, but for those he cares about.

It’s a strong setup. No Way Home takes seriously the unmasking from the last movie, and the impact it would have on Peter’s life and those of friends. It puts this comparatively charmed version of Spider-Man into the familiar guises of his counterparts. He is broke. He is embattled. He is concerned he’s a burden and a threat to those he loves. He no longer has Iron Man, or S.H.I.E.L.D., or the other tech resources to fall back on. Half the world believes in him, but the other half, spurred by J. Jonah Jameson, thinks he’s the traditional “menace.” Exposure has ruined his life and forced him to grapple with the sort of problems so many other Spider-Men (Spiders-Man? Spider-Mans? Homines Aranearum?) have faced over the years.

So he goes to Doctor Strange for help. The dynamic between Peter and Stephen/Sir is a low-key strength of the film. It completes Sony’s presumably bargained-for requirement that at least one major MCU star have a substantial supporting role in each Web-Head film. (See also: Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Martin Starr.) It provides a reasonable in-universe excuse for a non-magical, mostly street level hero to play around with parallel dimensions. And it builds on the shared experiences Spidey and Strange had in Infinity War. There’s antagonism between them, but also a budding mutual appreciation which pays off in unexpected ways.

When Doctor Strange tries to help Peter, though, things go awry. Peter asks that the world forget he’s Spider-Man, only he keeps trying to add exceptions for the people he wants to stay in the know. The complications disrupt the magicks involved, and while Strange is able to contain the botched spell, it manages to accidentally draw in Spidey’s foes from other corners of the multiverse, a tantalizing setup for fans who’ve been watching the wall-crawler in action since 2002.

That’s right! Dr. Octopus, The Green Goblin, The Lizard, Sandman, and Electro all pop into the MCU after the events of the original Sam Raimi trilogy and Marc Webb’s Amazing Spider-Man duology. It is an absolute treat for fans who’ve followed the Web-Head’s cinematic trials and travails over the years. None of the performers has lost a step (and many manage to improve on their original outings). And watching them interact with each other, not to mention a different hero than “their” Peter, has all the crossover glee that comic book stories can deliver. Peter, for his part, is tasked by Strange with rounding them up so they can be returned to their proper universes.

Their interactions are hilarious. The baddies poke fun at one another and the eccentricities of their different stories and universes. At one point the film turns them into the world’s wildest sitcom, with four supervillains and a host of their helpers playing temporary roommates in a bachelor pad. As in all of the Watts films, the banter here is consistently on point. And even as the film loses a bit of its momentum in its “Four Men and a Spidey” section, watching Peter go back and forth with this collection of villains, while they spark off one another, is still a consistent treat.

There’s a catch though. Peter soon discovers that each of these baddies was pulled from their timelines right before they were about to perish, so sending them back is a death sentence. Dr. Strange is unmoved, but Aunt May pushes her nephew and surrogate son to give them the help they need. When push comes to shove, Peter can’t sit idly by and send these men to their dooms, even if it means another cool psychedelic, fractal-based fight with “Stephen” to get the time and space to try to heal them.

I love that twist so much. The only thing cooler than Spider-Man fighting a multi-dimensional version of the Sinister SIx is Spider-Man trying to save each of these villains who came to bad ends in each of the films that spawned it. It’s true to the spirit of the character, understanding his responsibility not just to protect the city or stop evil, but to try to show compassion and decency to those who need it. It’s a wonderful affirmation of the values that have undergirded Spider-Man from the beginning, with a challenge that cannot be encompassed by a simple smash-fest, but requires more altruistic motives, unique strategies, and psychological challenges for Peter.

It’s just as wonderful that the push toward kindness, the warning against “not my responsibility” thinking from Peter, comes from his Aunt May. Peter tries so hard to help these people, even though there’s an easy way out, because of her encouragement. And it comes at the cost of her life.

The most brutal gut punch in the film comes when the avuncular, seemingly reformed Norman Osborn turns out to have been plotting and scheming the whole time. At the moment of truth, he reveals his true intentions, powers up, and goes on the attack. It’s a hell of a turn, sold by Willem Dafoe’s convincing performance as a penitent Norman to that point. Even though the ensuing super-fight between him and Spider-Man is a fairly generic building-buster, the threat to Aunt May, and her eventual death at the Goblin’s hands, gives it a greater force.

In that, the sharpest choice in all of No Way Home turns out to be making Aunt May into Uncle Ben. The MCU spider-flicks have conspicuously avoided Peter’s overplayed origin story to this point. No scenes of spider bites. No uncle’s dying words. Nothing more than initials on a suitcase to suggest that traditional part of the character’s mythos is even a factor in this universe.

In one fell swoop, No Way Home fills in that gap with flying colors. We know Marissa Tomei’s Aunt May. We’ve watched her guide and care for Peter through two films. So when she’s the one who urges him to do good even when you’re inclined to look the other way, when she’s the one who tells him that with great power comes responsibility, when she’s the one who dies because of her nephew’s choices, it has more meaning and wounding force than any other cinematic depiction of Peter losing his mentor and inspiration. A smart, almost clockwork choice, brings this Spider-Man in line with his predecessors in devastating fashion.

It also speaks to the smart construction of No Way Home’s script, penned by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. Spider-Man reaches his lowest point, as all heroes seemingly must at the two-thirds mark of their movies. He’s tried his best, to help his friends, to save the bad guys, to put everything on the line for the greater good. And he not only failed but lost the most important person in the world to him in the process.

So who can lift from this funk, who can give him the wisdom and insight to go on? Two other Spider-Men, of course! McKenna and Sommers smartly make most of No Way Home a story that belongs to the MCU’s Peter. Sure, we get the dimension-crossing villains in play, and references to past adventures, but they’re all this Peter’s responsibility and cross to bear for most of the runtime. Only when he needs them most do the Web-Heads played by Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire show up.

And they are utterly fantastic! The script smartly introduces them apart from our Peter, giving the audiences a chance to reorient themselves to the characters and have a few laughs. There’s such cheer-worthy moments when each arrives, and such hilarious interactions when M.J. and Ned try to figure out what’s happening and each Spider-Man tries to prove they are who they say they are, to Peter’s friends.

But when push comes to shove, they find this universe’s Spidey lost and ready to give up on the roof of his school. His friends give him comfort, but his alternate universe counterparts give him perspective. Tobey and Andrew (you’ll have to forgive the naming convention in the spirit of clarity) speak of their losses, of Uncle Ben and Gwen Stacey. They tell Tom how those deaths led them down the wrong path, to things they ended up regretting, and how they want better for him. It’s the sort of comfort only a fellow Spider-Man could provide, with resonant words that speak to truths that stretch across their experiences and lift each of them up out of darkness.

Herein lies No Way Home’s arguably greatest achievement. It would be so easy to do less than this. It would be so easy to have Maguire and Garfield simply swing in for a cameo, or just jump into the fray for the usual “save the world” reasons, and expect audiences to cheer based on recognition alone. But this film not only builds on the stories and character growth these figures have already experienced, but uses their histories to inspire, caution, and comfort the latest Spider-Man in his darkest hour.

It works! The pep-talk gives MCU Spidey the motivation he needs to keep trying. He, his friends, and his new arachnid allies all work together to cure the remaining villains, and it is absolutely delightful. The multi-Peter team-up provides something I didn’t know I needed. At one point, Garfield’s character says he always wanted brothers, and it’s the perfect way to describe the dynamic between the different Spider-Men. There’s a sweetness, an easy familiarity, a source of mutual support among that simply snaps into place. A Spider-Verse team-up could thrive on novelty alone, but these three Peter Parkers make sense together in a way I wasn’t expecting, but ends up being the most endearing part of the film.

It’s also the most hilarious. The rapport among the various Spidies is outstanding on its own, leading to a host of great lines. But the film also pokes fun at the differences and eccentricities of the different movies cross-pollinating. Holland and Garfield marvel at Maguire’s organic web-shooters. Ned blanches when he finds out the fate of another Peter’s best friend. A call to “Peter Parker” elicits three simultaneous responses. There’s even some delightful meta-gags, like when Garfield laments feeling like a lesser Spider-Man only to be reassured that he’s amazing, or Maguire once again complaining about his wall-crawling back pain. There’s all sorts of little touches and great jokes that play on the unique scenario of continuities colliding and popular commentary on this uber-series of films.

Of course, it can’t all be fun and games. The group has to collaborate to lure in, battle, and ultimately cure the quartet of remaining baddies, each of whom gets a moment in the sun. The Statue of Liberty (remodeled to include Captain America’s shield) makes for a good home base of the climactic final set piece. And the ensuing multiball battle among Spider-Men and super villains finds a way to give the MCU Peter an edge and a reason to lead despite his comparative youth -- unlike the other Spideys, he knows how to work as part of a team.

The ensuing battle is fun, if occasionally confounding given the number of similarly-dressed heroes and a blur of villains smattered across indistinct scaffolding. It mainly works thanks to the continually entertaining dynamic of the different Peter Parkers working together, and the villains receiving their grace notes. The CGI lizard is still an ugly design, but this Dr. Connors gets to make a personal history-backed point about trying to fix people, and have a moment of recognition with his Peter. Sandman doesn’t have much in the way of a character arc, but still gets to swirl and impress with particle effects more than a decade since his last outing.

Electro comes out the best for his transition from one film series to another, as this universe’s “different energy” magically makes him into a much better (and better-looking) character, something the script wryly comments on. Sporting a modern, but more traditional design, Jamie Foxx finally gets to have real fun in the role, as basically an entirely new character. And he’s stopped by none other than Doc Ock, the only villain MCU Spidey managed to fix earlier, in a wonderful mini-twist. Alfred Molina, who fared the best of any of his counterparts in his original movie, continues to soar in the role here. And his arriving to help save the day is an excellent, minor tribute to the idea that not all of Peter’s good deeds go unpunished; some of them come back to him right when he needs them.

It speaks to how this movie gets both the big and the little things right here. So many of its choices not only delight you, they feel right. The energy-focused Electro is drawn to one of Iron Man’s arc reactors. Dr. Octavius grasps it and declares, “the power of the sun, in the palm of your hand,” the thing he was hoping to achieve in Spider-Man 2. He and Maguire’s wall-crawler share a moment of recognition, where Otto’s touched to see how this “dear boy” is all grown up. Ned discovers that his grandmother is right, he is, in fact, magic. M.J. goes from the eternal pessimist, preferring to expect disappointment rather than be blindsided by it, to reassuring her friends that they’ll go forth and kick ass here. There’s something worthwhile for anyone and everyone here.

There’s even brilliant visual echoes to prior movies. Garfield’s Spider-Man, who nearly steals the show both comedically and dramatically, manages to save this universe’s M.J. in the exact way he couldn’t save his universe’s Gwen. It’s an emotional payoff to a seven year old movie that still lands like gangbusters. It’s emblematic of No Way Home’s remarkable ability to not only invoke past events and characters from the Raimi and Webb films, but to pay them off, round them out, and in some cases even fix them. It extends Peter’s desire to save all of these lost souls and see the best in them to a meta level, evincing a similar wish in the heart of Watts and his collaborators with regards to the films that paved their way.

The ultimate challenge, though, comes in the form of the Green Goblin, the original Spider-Man villain, and the one who’s taken the most from Holland’s Peter Parker. The fight here is not a physical one, even as Spidey and Gobby do go toe-to-toe once more with our hero coming out on top. It’s a personal one, as the MCU Spider-Man must decide whether to exact vengeance upon this dastard who killed his surrogate mother, or to relent and try to fix him too.

It must be said that Dafoe gives a tour de force performance here, rivaling Molina himself and Michael Keaton among Spidey’s cinematic antagonists. He’s entirely plausible as an apologetic Norman desperate to be reformed, warming to this Peter as another surrogate son. And he’s an equal and opposite terror as the Green Goblin, menacing and insidious in ways that go beyond frightening, instead cutting to the bone. He growls at Holland’s Spider-Man that the altruism his aunt preached and which Peter himself has taken up, is a weakness, a pathology. He blames Peter for May’s death, arguing that it was Peter’s compassion, his willingness to try to help rather than just solve the problem by the simplest means necessary, that led to his aunt’s demise. These words carry extra sting in the shadow of Peter’s lingering sense of guilt for how his “controversies” have ruined the lives of those close to him.

As a lego figure in the film’s aftermath hints, Osborn is basically demanding that Peter turn to the dark side. And like the other fresh-faced heroes before him, he stays strong in the light. Only he’s not alone. The other Spideys figure into the finish in ways that are meaningful without stealing the spotlight. Maguire’s Spider-Man holds back a vengeful Peter from stabbing his foe with the Goblin’s glider, a weapon whose deepest cuts he knows all too well, and Garfield’s wall-crawler delivers him the cure. Despite everything, despite his justified anger and the ease with which he could give into it, Peter instead decides to save and forgive even his aunt’s killer, a man who can then only sit and wonder “What have I done?”

I can think of no greater tribute to the spirit of Spider-Man and the character’s legacy across a multi-media empire. The choice to save someone when you have every reason not to, when you’d rather vindicate the values of your lost mentor rather than merely avenge them, is a triumph of the character’s abounding heart and compassionate ethos. Peter chooses to do good, when his powers make it physically easy, but his life makes it emotionally impossible. That, more than anything, is Spider-Man.

Only he’s not done. The ongoing wrinkles of Doctor Strange’s original spell are tearing reality apart, and the only way to stop it is a counter-spell with a tremendous cost: everyone must forget Peter Parker entirely. His best friend, his young love, his allies from across the universe, will no longer know him. And he suggests it, chooses it, because he’ll willingly lose everything to save everyone.

I’m always hesitant about uber-magic as the solution to problems, but there’s an emotional logic here that lets this tack succeed. What matters here isn’t Strange’s spell, which runs into all sorts of logical problems if you start to try to untangle what it means in practice. What matters is Peter’s willingness to give up his life, the friendships that have sustained him, the resources that have helped him, in the name of the greater good.

There’s something profoundly heartening-yet-melancholy in that. In a small way, the Goblin wins, convincing Peter that he is, in fact, a source of hardship to those close to him. Even when he walks into the donut shop where M.J. works, a speech in hand to try to find his way back into her good graces despite the erasure of their shared history, he relents when he sees how happy she and Ned are. He is, like so many Spider-Men before him, unwilling to make even people he cares deeply about a part of his life if it means disrupting their joy and putting them at risk. There as well rests the heart of what Spider-Man is about: great sacrifice, immense suffering, enduring karmic unfairness, in the name of doing the most good.

With that, No Way Home is one of those miraculous films that takes on so much and yet somehow achieves everything it sets out to do. It tells a compelling story of the MCU Spidey losing everything and still striving to uphold his Aunt’s values. It takes on the chief criticisms of this version of the character, bringing him more in line with traditional depictions. It honors eight films’ and three continuities' worth of stories and characters, integrating them into a seamless whole. It pays off and even fixes dangling threads and broken character arcs from prior movies, providing rousing, cathartic endings for familiar heroes and villains alike. And despite feeling like the culmination of so much, it forges a new origin story for Spider-Man, one that clears the board for more adventures while still offering a heartening conclusion to the ones of old.

In the end, Peter chooses mercy over vengeance. He chooses tremendous self-sacrifice over personal gain. He finds strength in his closest friends and likeminded counterparts. He saves those even his would-be teacher thinks unsalvageable. He gives up everything, loses everything, and despite it all, chooses to start again and help people, to carry on the spirit of the lost parent who molded him into the extraordinary person he became. If that’s not Spider-Man, I don’t know what is.

I wasn't sure whether I was watching an episode of Supergirl or Captain Planet... But seriously, there was zero plot development, no meaningful character development, no subtle metaphorical lessons (the whole point of scifi, which Star Trek, BSG, Stargate, and X-Men did superbly), and only ideological moralizing, empty rhetoric, and dogma. Most plot points didn't even make logical sense, as everything in the episode was in service of making a point about environmentalism.

The issue of pollution and its effects is very serious and requires sober, thoughtful analysis, not casual philosophic drive-bys. Such a topic is unlikely to be able to be treated with the care it deserves in an episode of a TV show, and the effect of trying to be so blunt and explicit about it in such a superficial way is that (1) people who already agree are unaffected (or else, taught to engage in similarly superficial rhetoric), (2) people who disagree are not convinced and dig their heels in more, and (3) children are indoctrinated with often-repeated dogma instead of learning how to think carefully about these (and other) complex issues.

Unfortunately, I see the whole Arrowverse devolving in a similar fashion, especially Batwoman. It's really disappointing to see viewpoints (many of which I agree with) to be conveyed in such an unintellectual, ineffective, disrespectful way. There's nothing worse for the success of the right ideas in a culture than their poor or false defense.

This is an honest, spoiler-free review coming from your average fan (not a critic):

I just saw this new marvel film, and I have to say... it's no where near as bad as the critics make it out to be.

Yes there is a lot of dialogue. But it gives the characters a chance to shine and for scenes to breathe.
People call this film dense. I would disagree. Yes there is a fair bit of plot and history told, however I would say that other mcu films have simply much simpler plotlines most of the time.

There are moments when things are just about to become exciting, and then it is interrupted with more dialogue which instantly kills the suspension.

There are a number of plot twists in this film, and some unexpected things happen that I wouldn't have seen coming.

This film has a slow burn, but sometimes that's a good thing. Would I have liked more action? Yes. Was I unhappy with the action we do get? No.

I will admit, going into this film I was expecting a masterpiece, and while I wouldn't quite call it that, its definitely a well-made film, marvel or not.

Oh. And expect to have to do some reading at the very beginning. Kinda reminds me of a classic Star Wars opening crawl.

My impression after just finally watching this...

First 40-45%: 4/10.
So many scenes felt clipped, rushed into the next, with not nearly enough connection to follow what was going on or why. Visually impressive, and I had the distinct impression that something big and interesting was going on, but I was very confused about what it was.

Last 55-60%: 7/10.
A little after we meet Sator, events started flowing somewhat more understandably. Still a bit confused here and there, but not as much. And the big ambitious sequences closer to the end were mostly well-executed (and in stunning detail), including some loopbacks that belatedly filled in some of the earlier-on confusion while completing the story well. Still not quite up to the greatness level the ads promised, IMO, but better.

I have the impression that a second watch would make more sense, in part due to some of the revelations near the end. My issue is that a second watch shouldn't be this necessary to get the story enough to appreciate it.

While I appreciate some degree of mystery and confusion up front that gets explained later on, that doesn't quite work any more when the confusion reaches a level that I don't understand why people are doing what they're doing.

I suspect that this would have been much better if given the additional time to flesh things out, especially the first half. Maybe as a limited series over four to six hours.

It still feels like it's going a little bit slow with only four episodes left but it was great nonetheless.

The best thing was of course Bobbie rejoining the crew of the Roccinante :) I was hoping that this would eventually happen but I thought it would take at least one more episode for Bobbie to get to them. Glad I was wrong. With Bobbie and her Martian armor suit this brought quite some interesting action (even if her jump to the other ship felt like a huge stretch... :D). Anyway, some great/fun dialogues between the crew members as well. I also really liked the conversation between Avasarala and Monica at the end. Avasarala knows how to get things done :D

PS: Holden calling Clarissa Peaches was awkward. And her becoming part of the crew was a little bit unexpected but she did a really good jobs so far - it's just that her past actions are hard to forgive.

And I wonder if/how those stories with Cara at the beginning will become relevant. IMO they have a lot of potential but it feels like there's too little time. I also wonder how much they know about this planet. That little girl doesn't seem to be afraid of the animals at all... And this rockhopper(?) isn't small. And I wonder if he's really eating the bird (which seems the most likely) of if there's more to it.

[7.4/10] Blaise Pascal came up with a philosophical concept known as “Pascal’s Wager.” It’s an argument to believe in God. Pascal maintained that if you believe in God, and He turns out not to exist, you’ve lost nothing, or comparatively little. If He turns out to be real, you gain the infinite rewards of Heaven. Whereas if you don’t believe, and God is real, you risk the infinite pain of Hell, the chance of which would outweigh any meager reward disbelief might grant you on this mortal coil.

Now there’s four centuries’ worth of counterarguments to this famous wager, so if you’ll pardon the expression, don’t take it as gospel. But it seems like the same argument He Who Remains makes to Loki and Sylvie: believe me and gain the power and glory you’ve always wanted, or don’t and face a terrible calamity. Our heroes (or anti-heroes) have to weigh that proposition, whether two beings innately prone to betrayal and mistrust should take this odd man’s pronouncements at face value, or instead assume he’s lying and risk multiversal catastrophe to bring free will back to the masses.

I don’t know what I would choose. There’s been enough lies and, frankly, weird shit in the last six episodes that I’d be ready to believe both that this mysterious, calm-but-deranged figure’s tale of inter-dimensional battle quelled into harmony and that he’s yet another huckster trying to preserve the status quo because it suits him and because agitators like our protagonist soon become flies in his ointment.

It’s enough to divide the Lokis. Sylvie is ready to kill him, tired of other people controlling her destiny, willing to believe that her counterpart has succumbed to the lures of glory and a throne. Loki is ready to buy his story, willing to leave a system he’s risked everything to overthrow in place and offer his trust to someone for a simple reason -- because he wants to keep this woman he loves safe. Do you unravel a lie that keeps the world stable and relatively peaceful, or do you slay the liar, discard his stories, and let the chips fall where they may?

The announcement of future films with subtitles like “Multiverse of Madness” and “Quantumania” tips the MCU’s hand here. But the ultimate choice, the debate, and the willingness to sacrifice oneself rather than betray another, have meaning despite that. The finale of Loki’s first season is essentially one big conversation with God, the Devil, or maybe just the showrunner personified in their own work, and it’s a compelling conversation.

It should be said, after fireworks-filled swan songs for the likes of WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, it’s nice to have a season finale to an MCU show that is, outside of little swordplay, all talk. The rollicking action came last week, giving us a climactic and cinematic battle which cleared the decks for the major characters to mainly consider their actions here, and listen to the pitch, rather than blow things up before reflecting on them.

Perhaps that’s more possible since, as our mid-credits surprise indicates, Loki is the first MCU show to announce a second season. This is, then, a major mile marker along the series’s journey, not the end of it. More ground to cover gives the show room to hinge its finale on a choice and a discussion, rather than on fist-fights and explosions.
That discussion is led by Kang (Can we call him Kang? They don’t call him Kang, but it’s definitely Kang), a scientist and conqueror who spins the tale of forging multiversal peace from his own warring variants. I don’t know quite what to make of the character’s debut. Jonathan Majors (of Lovecraft Country fame) makes big choices as an actor, which I’m always inclined to admire, but there’s something off about him here.

Then again, maybe that works. Taken generously, this variant of Kang has “lived a million lifetimes.” He’s tired. He’s at peace with either two gods of mischief running the show or the throes of inter-dimensional combat beginning anew. He should be weird! Too often these godlike beings fall into the same tropes of stentorian-voiced automatons (something the Time Keepers’ presence low-key spoofs).

It’s refreshing, in its way, to have the man behind the curtain turn out to be some unpinnable weirdo, sitting in a big empty castle, shuffling papers and reacting with awkward bemusement to each new development. I’ll confess to having trouble connecting to the performance in the moment -- a little too much “Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor” quirkiness for my tastes -- but the acting choices align with the strangeness of the character, and the more I think about that, the more I can appreciate it.

We also see confrontations and teases from the rest of the cast. Hunter B-15 is spreading the word to her comrades, using proof in front of their faces that Renslayer is a variant, and by extension, so’s everyone at the TVA. It’s a smart, succinct way to show the fire spreading.

Better yet is the confrontation between Mobius and Renslayer. Just as Sylvie and Loki take differing approaches to the choice laid out in front of them, so do their TVA counterparts when deciding what to do with the knowledge that the TIme Keepers were a lie. Mobius announced last week that he was ready to burn it all down. But Renslayer stays firm, reasoning that even if there’s more to the story than they thought, there must be a reason for how things are, a justification to maintain the status quo, even if it’s not the one they thought.

It speaks to the essential question Loki has been asking from the beginning. What do you do when what you thought was your purpose is taken away from you, when the person you thought you were is upended? Renslayer clings to the wreckage, hoping the tides will push her where she needs to be. Mobius aims to bring the truth to the people, to stop what he once supported, as the best way forward. Sylvie breaks in the same direction, championing free will and a life unbound to a dictator, benevolent or not, no matter what transdimensional boogiemen he conjures up in warning.

And Loki too finds his purpose -- to save himself, only for once, that means saving someone else. There’s a meta quality to Loki’s season finale, with plenty of comments on this all being a game, or an effort to rewrite the story. You can even read it as a commentary on Marvel Studios’ quality control, maintaining this cinematic universe with consistency so that dozens of hours of entertainment can feel reasonably cohesive and connected. In a post-Endgame world, with gutsier and more out there concepts at play, this could be the MCU’s declaration that things are about to get wilder and woolier.

But for Loki, who tries to stave off that all-but inevitable unraveling of the multiverse, it’s about holding onto something, a bond to someone outside of himself that’s worth holding the rest of existence in thrall for, if it means keeping her near. Since his abduction and deconstruction by the TVA, Loki has found his new glorious purpose, and it’s Sylvie. Whatever infinite pleasures and punishments this would-be god presents to him, they can’t outweigh the presence of this person who changed his life. He bets on her. Let’s hope he doesn’t lose anyway.

Wow wow WOW. The first 2 episodes i didn't have much to say other than being excited for more. Episode 3 was something, but this one. Nexus Event.

ok, so i would like to say that i feel sorry that i don't think Sylvie is perfect. honestly i think it's mostly her appearance, the short wavy blonde hair, maybe the way she holds herself, maybe it's even the accent... but i really try to just focus on the aspects of her than make her a Loki. so in episode 3, yes we do get real connection between Loki and Sylvie, and yes it could have been partially romantic, but i was sure it was just connecting due to being one in the same. so the scene here where the hold hands before the apocalypse is just confusing? maybe just strange, since Mobius does a good job of explaining how of course Loki is so narcissistic he falls for himself. i guess giving Loki vulnerability is the intention here, but somehow it felt out of character for Loki to be so caught up about someone who isn't him, even if it kind of is him in a way?

ugh. one thing i could talk about from the first 2 episodes is how much I love the Loki/Mobius dynamic. (no I'm not a shipper). the conversations and jabs were glorious. so i really had to take a step back during the conversation they have where Mobius realizes Loki is attached to Sylvie and Mobius is done with him... and then later on in the episode they step back together as friends... just felt like being thrown around.

i gasped when they pruned Mobius and cried at Loki's reaction. the time lizards were so rediculous and obviously fake, especially with all the haze. loved a fight sequence with Loki and Sylvie back to back. and even though I wasn't really on board with the romantic relationship part, i really wanted that kiss to happen with that build up Loki had...

when i tell you i was so excited to see a snake with a crown and more Lokis! ugh I'm hyped!

Some more characters and elements from the book are introduced, as Istredd is doing his research and visits Codringher and Fenn (Fenn is a woman in contrast to the books but it does not seem such a big problem), they are both shown in a bit more positive light than in the novels rather as researchers and collectors of old literature (pity it's going to go down in flames together with Codringher & Fenn) and they tell Istredd about Lara Dorren and Ciri's ancestry. Mother Nenneke and the temple of Melitele are also introduced. Nenneke shows a lot of empathy and support towards Ciri, and the temple is atmospheric with its addition of the candle burning custom. It is really a nice touch that they included the historian apprentice Jarre, who was not a crucial character so it is great to see him included as well. I wonder if Shani and Yola would make their appearances later on? They become important in further volumes of the saga. Jarre also tells Ciri about oneiromancers and the tower that can be a portal, which suggests that the events with Tor Lara and the character of Condwiramurs Tilly would be introduced in further seasons? I hope so.

I do not really care about the Cintrean storyline, it is nice that Francesca finally has her baby (Fringilla seems genuinely happy about having helped the child to survive) though that does not have much to do with the novels. Cahir seems bent on following Emhyr's orders and finding Ciri, he seems rather a cold-blooded person who does not have any feelings for the girl, whereas in the novels he was secretly in love with Ciri and wanted to find her only to protect her. His character seems to be permanently changed for the worse. Just like with Lydia, who works with Rience rather than being an innocent mage blinded by her love to Vilgefortz, here she seems to be a conniving and calculating person. Rience attacks Kaer Morhen and almost kills Vesemir, but manages to steal the vial with Ciri's blood (this resembles a bit the story from the game Witcher 1, where the gang of Salamandra steals the witcher mutagens). Triss helps the wounded Vesemir but finally decides to teleport to Tissaia and inform on Ciri.

Yennefer and Geralt reunite in the temple of Melitele, they kiss but from their conversations later it does not seem like they are fully reconciled. And anyway, Yennefer is yet another person who wants to use Ciri for her own purposes, this time to regain her magic, Geralt senses that she is nervous but cannot really detect the reason behind this, but Yennefer is here to kidnap Ciri. It seems that only Geralt cares about Ciri herself and not for the purpose she can be used to gain, he is the one who protects her rather than use her. He doesn't think what Ciri can do for him but rather how he can save her. It turns out that Ciri is not treated fairly by any other characters, even the positive ones, who perceive her as a means to their end rather than as a person with her own feelings and dreams, even Vesemir, Yennefer, Triss and others do it.

I'm not sure about this episode. The premiere seemed better. Even though it was a slow start: and had only a tiny bit of story progression. This episode had more progression, involving Geralt and Cirilla arriving at Kaer Morhen; and whatever the sections with Yennefer, Fringilla, and Francesca were about. Yet, it felt tedious. Almost. Something to do with that. Regardless of that, this episode was still entertaining to watch.

Here are some of my minor beginning thoughts:

• At the start of the episode, I noticed that, in her dream, the room Yennefer was in looked like Cirilla's room in Kaer Morhen. They could merely look similar, but I'm guessing that they were both the same set-piece (?) or actual castle-type room. I found that interesting.

• I had a feeling that it was elves at the end of the premiere, but I'm a little mad that I didn't bring that up in my review. Elves are always depicted alongside archery, and I found it doubtful that Tissaia/the Aretuza mages would be using harpoon-like weapons to shoot. Two plus two equals four.

• Even though I haven't read the books, the casting choice for Francesca is a bit dubious, appearance-wise. I think she was said to be the most beautiful woman in the world. Yet Mecia Simson doesn't seem to reflect that. Considering she's part Jamaican, her looks emanate somewhat of an "other-worldly vibe."

• cont.) But Anya Chalotra, MyAnna Buring, Jodhi May, Emma Appleton, and Anna Shaffer all look "more attractive" to me. It's all relative, though: isn't it? And she does look somewhat otherworldly; I feel like everyone else doesn't have that factor. At least to the extent that she does, so I guess the casting choice for the character was, in actuality, pretty decent.

Here are things that I liked:

• It was nice to see Kaer Morhen in live-action. Everyone involved in bringing it to life did a great job. The first shot of it from the inside, as Geralt and Cirilla were coming in, looked very much like in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Since Cirilla will probably begin training more seriously in the next episode, I wonder if something big will happen at the end, like in the game. Or maybe the equivalent of that was leshy-infected Eskel.

• I liked Eskel's character, despite the very little of him there was. Basil Eidenbenz did a good job with the tiny bit of material he had to work off of. His death was disappointing, even though I haven't read the novels. That should be a testament to how killing him off wasn't a good decision.

• The fight sequence against leshy-infected Eskel was much better than the one against the Bruxa in the premiere. Henry Cavill's movements were pretty smooth; although, I wish more was done by Eskel. But maybe that would've cost a lot more to do, as well as being harder to film/coordinate.

• The score during the end credits was super good. I liked it a lot. The beginning of it was reminiscent of scores in Assassin's Creed games, specifically the ones with Ezio Auditore da Firenze: and then it started sounding reminiscent of scores in the Modern Warfare trilogy. Very nice.

Here are things that seemed iffy to me:

• Having prostitutes at Kaer Morhen was weird, given how Cirilla never heard of Kaer Morhen in the premiere and how Geralt told her it's because they like it that way. Bringing any outsiders to there would be risky, given that what almost wiped them all out was because the attackers knew where it was. The writers seemed self-aware regarding that based on the dialogue by Vesemir to Geralt after the latter asked him about the party. But that doesn't make it any better.

• cont.) Maybe it was only fanservice for those who've played the games. In the games, I think some moments considered iconic involve parties. But they may not have taken place in Kaer Morhen. This series is based on the book series. There probably were parties in the books and probably in Kaer Morhen, too. But something about how it happened in this episode is iffy.

• How did Danica, the prostitute from the first season, know about Cirilla? Geralt seemed taken aback, so I was expecting him to ask her. But he didn't. I guess one of the other Witchers brought it up to her. Pretty stupid if you ask me. I can't think of how else she would've known that Geralt "has a daughter now."

• I remember the leak/rumor a while back that Eskel was killed; people were pissed. I wonder if they're more pissed now: because it was correct. Seemingly, there was no point in doing that. His death didn't seem to serve a purpose. Supposedly, it was never said in the novels or even the games that someone can be infected/turned into a leshy. And even Vesemir said that's not possible to Geralt when the latter told him that the leshy infected Eskel.

• cont.) In the premiere, Nivellen did say that the world is acting of its (own) strange accord these days. He also mentioned the Wild Hunt. Maybe Eskel getting infected was done to coincide with that. If so, that counts as a purpose behind killing him, I guess. Still, his death could've been done better. Or better yet, no need for that if he wasn't off-ed.

In short, the premiere was better. But this episode was still somewhat entertaining. The first ten minutes up to the title sequence was good, so was the second half and everything in Kaer Morhen; that had the best parts. The plot with Yennefer and Fringilla, while necessary: to introduce Francesca and bring the elves back into play; as well as revealing that Yennefer is having a magic problem; was the weakest. The ending with Cirilla's training starting was nice, too.

I was going to give this episode a seven out of ten. I did, initially. But after getting to this point of writing all of this, I decided to change it to a six. It's still close to a seven, but I think a seven would be an overstatement. It had its perks, though.

I have mixed feelings about this episode, there are some things which are quite good but also a lot of totally stupid ideas.
Let's start with the positive things. Kaer Morhen looks beautiful, it is quite similar to its depiction in the games which is a plus as I feel it was very well presented there. It is definitely atmospheric, and it is always rather dark inside the fortress even during the day, the same as it was in the game. The castle has a feel of mystery as well as long history. I liked the addition of the tree with the medallions of dead witchers, it was quite a nice touch. I wasn't sure about the actor who plays Vesemir when I first saw the promotional images, but it turns out that he plays his role well and fits the personality of Vesemir, he is very convincing as Geralt's father figure and his mentor relationship with Ciri is also well-presented, as he tells her the history of Kaer Morhen and its witchers. The conversation between Vesemir and Geralt, when Geralt tries to get advice about Ciri was also well done. The last scene with Ciri learning sword-fighting with Geralt and the bird-eye view of Kaer Morhen is quite impressive, too. Here we can see the symbolic transition in Ciri's character as she puts away the fox fur mantle to become a fighter, earlier in the episode she behaved with a lot of dignity, a princess every inch, and she could stand up to the witchers. Now as she takes off the mantle, she leaves her life as a princess behind to start a new period in her life.

The story of Yennefer and Fringilla had nothing to do with the books, but turned out to be rather interesting, maybe because I had no idea where they were going to due to the fact it was not taken from the novels. Yennefer and Fringilla cease to be enemies as they are forced to cooperate after being taken prisoner by the elves. There is also a contrast between Fringilla's faith in the empire of Nilfgard and Yennnefer's more cynical worldview. The elven mage Francesca is introduced, though she is a bit disappointing since in the book she was said to be the most beautiful woman in the world, she is not ugly but Yennefer and Ciri are better looking than she is. I wonder why the elves from Sapkowski's novels are depicted as rather ugly in all of the adaptations? It is also the case with the games and the Polish TV show. The dreams Yennefer, Fringilla and Francesca have are quite interesting, though they end with the revelation that Yennefer lost all her magical ability during the battle of Sodden, which I don't think was the case in the novels. She is really devastated when she discovers that she cannot perform magic anymore. I wonder why she didn't join Francesca's train as she would be in danger travelling alone without magic to protect her.

The worst thing about the episode was the plot with Eskel turning into a leshen, and the party with prostitutes that the witchers organised in Kaer Morhen, a totally unnecessary addition and without any sense, as Kaer Morhen was in an isolated place and there were no brothels nearby. It had no function in the plot and served only to add some gratuitous sex scenes, I hated that. The idea of Eskel turned into a leshen was totally stupid as nowhere in the books or even games there is said that a person can be turned into a leshen, it seems it was only added to show Geralt fighting and to highlight his father-son bond with Vesemir, as when he is faced with the choice whether to kill the Eskel-leshen hybrid or let it murder Vesemir, Geralt decides to protect Vesemir. But it was completely pointless to kill off Eskel so early as according to the novels he outlives Geralt together with Lambert and Vesemir. It was definitely an unnecessary addition and deviation from the books. Also his character was changed to more aggressive and unlikable one, though it may be said it was the effect of the leshen on Eskel.

[7.7/10] Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson are fun together. That might be enough to power this show alone. Both are talky, smart aleks as Loki and Mobius respectively, but they have different energies. Loki is theatrical, comical, smirking, and sarcastic. Mobius, by is wry and sardonic with a workaday wisdom vibe to him. The pairing clicks in the contrast. They’re close enough to mesh but different enough to compliment one another, and it’s the best part of the show.

But I like the plotting in this episode! If the first outing for the series set the table, this one finally starts serving up dishes, as Loki and Mobius actually get a break in the case. Loki realizes that his counterpart, the Superior Loki, is hiding out from the TVA in pre-apocalyptic zones, because her mucking about won’t leave any “time variances” since they’ll all be washed away by the impending disaster. Mobius cross-references that with a candy bar found at the scene of the crime in the last episode, and it leads them to actually locating their target.

Look, it’s not much, but it shows how Loki could be useful and clever when pointed in the right. It shows how Mobius is good at his job and right, however fleetingly, that this God of Mischief could be an asset to their investigation if used properly. And it plays by the rules established by the show of how time travel and detection work, while preserving the timeline. In a way, this is all a basic cop show plot, but dressed up in temporal finery and 1960s drudgery, the results are tons of fun.

I’m also a fan of Loki and Mobius’s conversation in the lunchroom about life, the universe, and everything. I’m a sucker for those sorts of navel-gazing conversations on the nature of existence, but I genuinely enjoy the two of them bouncing off one another in these grand matters of creation and philosophy. Mobius is intriguingly zen, chalking up anyone’s existence to a certain weirdness, resolving that existence is chaos, and being grateful this slice of chaos gave him the TVA. Loki, on the other hand, is not content to just ride the wave. He wants to know how things began and how they’ll end and seem to reject the notion of the Time Keepers forging order from chaos and allowing all souls to meet at the end in peace. These cosmological conversations are well-written, both in terms of getting at the big questions of existence in a compelling way and rooting them in differences between characters.

There’s also a lot of pure fun to be had here! The show opens with a good gag when we see a medieval scene and expect the heroes or villains have leapt far into the past, only to reveal that we’re seeing a Renaissance fair in 1980s Wisconsin. The droll librarian retorting to Loki’s every file request with “That’s classified” is a hoot. And Loki himself, making goofy mischief in pre-volcano Pompeii is utter delight.

The one catch is that the show is less interesting every time Loki and Mobius are separated, more or less. I’m not wild about Mobius’s interactions with his boss, Renslayer, which has a very generic, “I get results, chief!” vibe with a 1940s screwball twist. I’m not averse to the vibe, but the execution is generic.

Likewise, the final setpiece in a futuristic ersatz Wal-Mart didn’t do much for me either. Superior Loki using her abilities to hop bodies is a trick, but none of her hosts are as good at spouting smug, knowing dialogue as Tom Hiddleston is. Her motivations are opaque, which is fine at this juncture, but still a hindrance for a series’s villain. And the action is choppy and mild, with none of the flair of the time-dilated dust-ups from the last episode. The one saving grace is that Superior Loki’s immediate ploy to massively disrupt the timeline is a promising hook. Setting up the TVA to work like clockwork, only to have a variant of our favorite Trickster God throw a cosmic monkey wrench into the proceedings promises entertaining disarray to come.

Overall, though, I’m still most compelled by just watching two superb actors and two stellar characters bounce off one another in a high concept scenario. The plot remains a little convoluted if you stop to unravel it, but works well enough on a scene-to-scene basis that it’s easy to get the gist even if the details are fuzzy. I do appreciate the “It’s not about you” kiss-off at the end, which may be a metonym for the series’s main theme, and there’s zing in what the narrative promises will come next, but after two episodes, I’m still mostly here to watch a pair of quality scene partners have fun together.

(Spoilers for Star Wars: The Bad Batch: I find it funny that in two months, Disney+ has released two shows with a setup of “Here’s a scenario featuring lots of different versions of a popular character only -- wait for it -- one of them’s a girl!”)

I liked the episode well enough, but story-wise, I honestly don't get it.

Barry goes to the future to figure out why he causes Armageddon. Fine, I get that.

Barry finds out that Thawne is liked, and his friends hate him there. I get that too.

Thawne explains that he went back in time and took the lightning bolt that was supposed to make Barry the Flash. He even adds that he was the one that Iris wrote about back when he was called "the Streak", not Barry. But here's the thing. All of that happened in Barry's past, so it should have been impacting stuff in Barry's present too, but it didn't. So clearly, Barry's timeline is separate from the timeline that Thawne went back to and manipulated. I can still follow this. But then all logic went out the window.

Thawne then explains that it was he who sabotaged STAR Labs, and he who pushed Joe in front of the train, and that it was he who impersonated Barry as the Flash to attack innocent people, all in Barry's present. Why, though? It's a separate timeline, because, again, no impact there from Thawne becoming the Flash, so messing with Barry there didn't have any purpose at all.µ

More so, if we've established that Thawne-Flash is a separate timeline, then logically, so should its future be separate. So why did Barry travel there, and why did Despero travel back to a past from a different timeline?

Even the way they "fixed things", made no sense to me. I admit, it was a nice little turnaround to find out Barry actually causes Armageddon because he's trying to save the world, not destroy it, but again, it made no sense. Aside from magical Iris-powers (again) that make Barry succeed in traveling back to his time, why did that fix anything? Thawne wasn't stopped, the future hasn't been changed (except for future Iris suddenly loving Barry again despite not knowing who he is in that timeline), and even if it had, the future happens after Barry's present, so it shouldn't have had any impact on his present. Why did that suddenly make Joe come back to life, and why did that even erase everyone's memory of the whole Armageddon event? Because it's clearly shown that Despero's still around.

Also, how come Barry succeeds in his Armageddon-time-travel-run this time when he clearly never had before (Despero confirms "an alteration in the timeline")? I mean, if Barry goes on his Armageddon run to save the world, that means future Barry has always been the good guy, and has always tried to use that run to go back in time, meaning - because it's Barry - he always goes to Iris first. Nothing in that changed, yet somehow now he succeeds without any rhyme or reason?

This episode made absolutely zero sense.

Oh, and I laughed out loud when he wanted to "prove" he was the Flash by putting on his suit, and not realizing he's wearing the wrong suit until after he put it on and after he ran back to Thawne. Good thing he didn't run into Iris' wardrobe by mistake.

Kara have a pretty "meh" ending, they tried to do something fantastic but it ended up being... boring(?)
Alex and Kelly are just corny, thank god they are gone. (Sarah and Ava are the superior lesbian couple of CW)
The last relevant season for John was the 3rd one (with his father plot), since there he is just a functional character and his ending is no different.
They started a great plot with Lena (Magic) but ended just ended like: "It's just It?"
Nia was amazing, my favourite since she got into the show, but they just warp her story so fast in the end.
Brainy was really annoying I don't care for him (since he was just there to try to replace Winn).
Lilian had a beautiful ending at all.
Andrea, Nyxly, Lex, Mitch and Willian. Their story was so bad I can't even talk about it, I just can't.
⠀
Also, they completely forgot and M'gann M'orzz (who disappear in the final of S7a 'n never come back god knows why) and Mxyzptlk (who was kept inside Nyxly ball) in the end.
⠀
They put on almost every character in the last ep. It's good to see Jeremy Jordan's Winn and Calista Flockhart's Cat (James I just don't care). But I miss Kara parents (who are alive 'n well Astro), maybe a Superman&Lois cameo makes sense too but you know, covid.
⠀
The last chapter is not exactly bad, but isn't good either (represents pretty much the series average). Seriously, everything that I can say is I'm happy it's finally over.

When Jax appeared and the names started rolling at the beginning I was just simply happy and didn't realize this is the 100th episode (I thought that's gonna be later in the season), but when I did, started to feel worry that it might be just a giant trip down memory lane, and it kinda did in a sometimes cheesy sometimes loveable way, but seeing Gideon officially announced as a legend and finally cementing her as one of the heart of the show was great, and a looong time coming. Revealing that Rip made her the way she is now was a nice touch and it fits the legends core value as well. In a sense Rip was the original legend who held the importance of the mission above everything else but who also had a nick to break the rules and could go from melodramatic to full sentimental in order to achieve more than just the mission. He could have listened to Gideon and get a better team to get the job done, but he, as stubborn and logical as he thought he was, stick with them and gave Gideon a chance to improve herself as well. I like however that Gideon has two sides now, because if breaking the rules has a cost, that might come back to haunt them in form of things like, you know, as evidence shows, getting the ship blow up so someone might prevent them from doing and even bigger mess than they ususally do. Good season!
P.S.: The missing characters were way too noticeable.

I was worried going in that it would feel too packed or have too much going on considering the circumstances and what the show was building to, but thankfully "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" (or it's other name that is revealed here in a great final image) ties up it's loose ends in a way that feels impactful and relevant. Seeing Sam truly take up the mantle was something we had been waiting for the whole time and it does not disappoint - this man is indeed Captain America and nothing was ever gonna change that. I especially love his final showdown with Karli despite the obvious changes made her storyline due to COVID, but it's thematically relevant and actually leads to the best scene in the episode with his speech.

As for the other side of the equation, Bucky's wrap up is just as meaningful as he finally finds some kind of peace. He is no longer The Winter Soldier, but Bucky Barnes the White Wolf, and making amends for everything he's done. And everything with Sharon, while clearly meant to add on to future installments, does provide for a great direction for the character to go. Combine that with predictably stellar action scenes and you have some amazing stuff.

Recently I've been reading all of these articles saying "we're [x] many episodes into The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and I still don't know who the villain is". And I think that's kind of what is great, but also seems a bit thick for anyone to think.

Villainy has easily been Marvel's biggest issue in the MCU. You need to look no further than when they pull it off correctly: Killmonger and (to a much, much lesser extent) Thanos. What is great about how the series works is that it's clearly taking more of a Killmonger approach to antagonism. It goes through the motions of how radicalization can be rooted in a desire for positive change through questionable methods. In Black Panther, this was the MO. It was the arc of T'Challa to understand that his monarchy need not be defined by forsaking others. Here, it's using a similar technique to create another sense of tragedy. For as much as Karli's methods are straight up wrong, her ideals aren't.

All of this has been used as a bait and switch--one that a lot of us probably saw coming. Because antagonism really isn't that simple here. Karli is definitely one antagonist, but I think thematically Walker has been the villain the entire time because he actually opposes the protagonists on a thematic and moral level. It's villainy of his own making. I love this classification: there's radicalization from external factors (Karli, nearly backed into terrorism) and there's self-made villainy. A golden-boy suddenly faced with his own failures, entirely of his own doing, unable to accept that he could be wrong because he's always been put on a pedestal. It's Rittenhouse, it's Chauvin, it's Zimmerman. The antagonism here takes abstract forms because the fight isn't always external. To back up real threats it's better to have some meat on the bones. Sure, Thanos was terrifying because we saw him succeed and commit genocide, but here the evil is abstract. I'll contradict myself here: yes Walker is making himself into a villain, but it's based on morality supported by American culture. It's terrifying here because it's real. And we see it all the time. Hell, it's on trial at this moment.

Edit after finishing the season: oof I whiffed some of my predictions here.

"They will never let a black man be Captain America".

The scene between Isaiah Bradley and Sam Wilson is quite possibly one of the MCU's best scenes they've ever done, and an easy contender for one of the best scenes in any superhero property. It hits hard in a way that's timely considering events over the past couple of years, and even then the words he says ring uncomfortably true. Things HAVEN'T changed and that's the saddening thing about it all. So it's all the more inspiring when Sam does go to take up the mantle once and for all, albeit probably under different circumstances.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg here in terms of the good stuff. John Walker is a hell of a villain, and the opening fight is brutal, bloody, and one of Marvel's most raw fistfights in terms of pure visceral action, and it's fantastic. Bucky's development reaches a new direction with the idea that he is more then simply a vessel for killing, and his talk with Sam showcases Stan and Mackie's great chemistry. And of course, in a surprise role, Julia Louis-Dreyfus steals her scene with ease - though considering her talents that was to be expected. The best episode of the show yet, and with one more left to go I'm excited to see how they stick the landing here.

"Such a poser."</b

Every time I will be watching another Marvel film with Natasha Romanoff I can not think of her other than a poser. Thanks Yelena!

Anyway, Florence Pugh rocked this one. Hopefully she will be heard of again soon in the MCU! I enjoyed what they were going for and loved all of the banter. Scarlett Johansson again did a great job as Natasha and I'm said this will be our last showing of her but her story-line is complete and Florence Pugh showed us she's more than capable to take over the Black Widow mantel. The action was solid and I liked the car/motor-chase. Cate Shortland really did a solid job because for the entire runtime I was never bored for a second.

But! I do not like what they did with Taskmaster. There was so much for to get out of this. Which for me, took the movie down a notch. It's not that I hated it but it didn't feel right. And before I forgot damn, what did they try to do with that Nirvana cover? DAAAAMN.

Anyway, if you are into the Marvel Cinematic Universe you will not be bored. Really interested how they'll build up Phase 4.

The plot of this espisode was a bit predictable, in a way that I couldn't say it would happen during this one, but I could say it would happen at some point in the story
- Sam tries to talk with Karli, that despite her ways seems mostly in the right
- They get interrupted my Walker who cannot mind his business
- She incredibly gives him another chance
- Walker admits he had at some point the desire to do good things
- His inability to see that his failures aren't due to his physical strenght makes him believe that some super soldier serum can fix it
- He attacks again with his wounded pride and the new super-strength
- Lemar pays the price (and how terribly predictable and sad was this?)
- He goes completely on the dark side

Now I know that Steve was another matter completely, but doesn't John Walker seem more captain AMERICA than Cap? Am I just biased?

Anyway, great Sam, I love him and I can't wait to see how this story will end for him, because he seems farther from the shield than ever before. I am not sure he'll want to stand for this even if they take it from Walker.

Also, could Sharon be at least connected to the Power Broker or be the Power Broker herself? (question for my future self, because if they were more references to this character I obviously missed them)

Bucky: "The serum never corrupted Steve."
Zemo: "Touche. But there has never been another Steve Rogers, has there?"

Indeed.

After episode three, this series had lost faith. But it looks like I'm returning on Friday nights! This episode is the best yet! We got action, plot and character developments and some exciting conflicts coming to the forefront! This episode does so much with such little time, but I'm thrilled it accomplished what it did.

Zemo is at his most fun here as the group's wildcard. He's one that everyone's after but can never get because they keep bickering amongst themselves. His personality is such a treat, and his resourcefulness is terrific, too, after seeing his work at the GRC refugee camp. He's straight savage for crushing those vials, and I love how he's just vibing while Walker, Sam and co engage the Wakandans.

Karli sounds like an actual reasonable person in this episode, even though her means still don't justify her ends. I feel like I've learnt more about her, but she's still an enigma.

"If he can talk her down, it might be worth a try." — Battlestar

Let's go!

Sam's dedication to diplomacy is a great character moment. I like how he faces conflict on both sides, reasoning with Karthi vs. killing her and whether super-soldiers equal supremacy. Also, his sister finally returns, if a little late, but I'm glad she's got some stake in the show. His empathy and counselling are his strengths, and I'm happy they got the spotlight here. When he uses his jetpack to distract during a fight, I appreciate the creativity in these scenes.

Then we have Walker, and oh man, he's lost the plot. His habit towards violence is a notable trait and proves to be a disastrous one. Rest in peace, his self-esteem; those Wakandans kicked his ass. When he finds the serum, his head tilt is creepy! Also, I'm surprised he didn't jab the vial straight away, but his conversation with Battlestar is revealing. He's asking the big questions, and it appears he has a conscience, which makes him such a tragic figure. He wants to do good, but everything he tries never does it. His medals of honour? They're only a reminder of the atrocities he's committed—wow.

"Where is she?!" — Walker

After Battlestar convinced Walker to try diplomacy, it's clear that Battlestar was the anchor keeping Walker sane. Well, the worst just happened; Karli killed him! That ending scene is powerful—hot damn! I will embed the last image in my mind forever.

This episode is solid and kept my attention all the way through. I can't wait for next week!

SCORE: 8/10

[7.6/10] I like that in some ways, this was a Karli Morgenthau episode. She’s been our antagonist, if not quite our villain, for a while now, so it’s nice to get an episode that delves deeply into both her motives and methods. While her conversation with Sam is a little on the nose, it also does a good job of illustrating why the Flag Smashers want to go back to how things were during The Blip: a sense of displacement, not just of people but of the border-crossing communities that formed in the wake of a world rent in twain. Sam doesn’t agree with those aims, just how she goes about achieving them, and it makes us understand her position better too.

It’s also a good episode for super soldier serum fans. We see meditations on the reason why folks would and wouldn’t want to take it. Karli and her crew take it to empower people otherwise lacking in it. Zemo smashes vials of the serum on sight on the principle that wanting to make more super powered individuals is inherently supremacist. Sam professes, without hesitation, that he wouldn’t take it if offered, even if we don’t get to hear his reasons. And John feels his limitations as a simple physically gifted mortal, and decides he needs to have those extra abilities to be able to measure up.

It’s a telling development for Walker, and a good episode for him too. It’s not exactly flattering for the character, but we see more of his presumptuousness (this time with the Dora Milaje -- it goes about as well as you’d think), but also his insecurity. He wants to do this right, and doesn’t understand why it doesn’t come easy to him like so much else has. We see his temper and impatience, not to mention his propensity to default to violence, which makes it scary if the dearly departed Battlestar is right and the serum magnifies who you already are, then the blood-stained shield he holds in vengeance as the episode’s cuts to the credits is a bad portent.

We also get some good Bucky material here. There’s some great non-verbal acting from Sebastian Stan in the opening sequence, where we see glimpses of his slow but meaningful recovery in Wakanda from his horrible brainwashing. His back and forth with the Dora Milaje is powerful in its intensity and his standing up to John Walker is potent, especially when Walker lays on the guilt trip. Hell, even the simple facial expression he takes on when a member of the Dora Milaje detaches his arm is pretty damn impressive.

Zemo is also a blast here. I love him as an agent of chaos, one who isn’t afraid to slip out unnoticed whenever possible and has a blasé attitude to various parties trying to arrest and re-imprison him. There’s a droll-yet-principled quality to him which, backed by Daniel Bruhl’s performance, makes him a real treat of a presence.

And not for nothing, it’s a good Sam episode too. As I said, his conversation with Karli is a potent one, and it’s particularly telling that his default is to at least try to get through to his foe, to understand where they’re coming from and aim to deescalate the situation, whereas Walker just wants to come in and punch things. Even when Karli threatens his sister, he’s angry and tense, and even shows up in his battlesuit, but doesn’t take violence as a first option. Another sign of his worthiness to succeed Steve, in spirit, if not in the mantle.

Overall, there’s some big time plot developments here, but the big thing that stood out to me was the character work. I’m willing to forgive a lot of janky plot material (which this episode definitely had some of), if I buy the characters and their relationships, and The Falcon and the WInter Soldier is delivering on that front.

"The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" continues to take it's time in regards to setting the stage. Here most of the pieces are in play outside of a couple of outliers, so going forward I suspect we'll really get into the meat of things. For now though, the show's slow pace is my favourite part of it - letting these characters breathe and interact has been the highlight of the MCU since the beginning and now that Bucky and Sam are officially together the banter can start. And it's good banter! Both revealing in character while being amusingly witty, it's a balancing act the show pulls off extremely well.

But really, the social commentary is what I'm here for. The MCU has struggled in some of it's other entries in that regard (though when it nails it, it really nails it i.e. Black Panther), but this is definitely one of the more reflective and introspective ones in that regard. The scene with Isaiah Bradley in particular deserves notice in that regard, not only for bringing in some great elements from the comics but also showcasing the lengths the government has gone to downplay the role that black people had in many of their conquests. The Flag-Smashers as well are coming into their own as compelling antagonists, helped by a wonderfully casted Erin Kellyman. Great stuff.

This series looks promising!

Despite my hesitation, I found New World Order to be a fun way to kick-off the new series. After the deprivation of action in WandaVision, I appreciate the episode's opening with fast-paced action before exploring the series' possible key themes and its characters.

Finally, Bucky is a character! Since his first appearance, I haven't cared about him, and his development here is captivating. I won't spoil it, but they take the logical step towards developing his character, and it's justified. Not only this, but it's imbued with themes that resonate. The writers define his personality substantially, and discovering that his jokey self is more of a facade to hide his issues is quite relatable. I'm gonna stop here, though, so go see it for yourself!

With Sam, his whole deal with trying to help his sister and his views on Captain America's legacy isn't as interesting as Bucky's segments. Through his dedication to his parents' old boat, it makes his views on Captain America's legacy connect logically. His worldview is well-defined, and I hope they continue with these ideas. Oh, and that ending is quite the cliffhanger!

It's a solid entry with the strongest 7/10 I've given to any episode I've seen. It's a promising start, developing its characters from the ground up, not assuming our empathy towards them, and ties into the films very well. I hope they can maintain or improve upon this quality from here on out!

TECHNICAL SCORE: 7/10
ENJOYMENT SCORE: 8/10

I can see why Marvel wanted to start with this show rather then WandaVision. I liked Wandavision, but this show felt more like the movies and had more of a direct relationship with them. It dealt more with "the blip" and seems like a more natural beginning of phase 4. Episodes of this length and substance are also more rewarding to watch week to week then the short run time of the wandavision episodes, especially given you had no clue what was going on until a few weeks in.

The opening action sequence was great, they made a good choice starting this story with Falcon and moving to Buckie mid way in. It was great learning a little more about Falcon being that they've really shed very little light on his story at all in the movies other than his loyalty to Steve. We know more about Bucky, so the focus here was correct. I like that these shows add more substance to the characters then the movies can fit in, it was sad watching Bucky come to terms with the damage he caused, but something his character needed since he was really only used for action scenes since the winter soldier all those years ago.

Very solid start for this show, I can't wait to see more but also felt satisfied with what I got which is something I struggled to feel with the short and mostly irrelevant WandaVision episodes.

And then the ending comes where everyone let out a collective "oh hell nah."

Before anything, guys, I know petitions to save shows are sometimes long shots, but it's worth a try: https://www.change.org/p/freeform-save-motherland-fort-salem. There's so much they could do with motherf*ing Witch Soldiers! This definitely deserves more seasons (and a better network than unfreeform).

So many thoughts about this episode! Some highlights:
• I loved the Doctor dude telling Batan that she was responsible for helping turn the public opinion against witches because, regardless of their intentions and the message they really wanted to convey, their means was horrible. It's not up for debate. And she needs to acknowledge that. Especially because I think I'm going to enjoy her character a lot more than I was expecting.
• Sometimes when I start to see Petra show some vulnerability and actual care for her daughter, there's always just something... lacking, and she quickly turns to caring more about her potential. Sure hope this changes in the future because damn it, Abigail just needs to be loved, come on.
• "The union of Earth and Sky must be prevented at all costs." Hmm, this season highlighted Raelle's power a lot with the mycelium (with some hints of what Abs could be capable of on her own), but looks like with this little comment, Abi's power season is coming!
• Oh god, Penelope... that was too bad, I definitely joined a bit of the hype train and thought she would play a bigger role as a potentially strong "lost lineage" witch in later seasons. ... But ugh, yeah, I just knew that the VP was sketchy. The thought of anyone willing to kill their own child for a fucked up mindset becoming President? Uh-uh. shivers
• "You two can move the earth, right?" - UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE YEAR
• The rescue scene, yasss! Tarim, Spree, Unit power! And wow I love that Raelle immediately got "shit's about to rain down and through your windows babe" from the S on her hand? LOL
• I was honestly scared for this finale, what with the title ominously being a Part 1 (and the idea that the season would end in a cliffhanger, with Part 2 months away), and with the horrifying ending to the penultimate episode (I honestly thought the Fort battle was gonna be much longer), but how it turned out is pretty exciting! Oh, the fun road trip potential for this ragtag group of fugitives, it almost sounds like the beginnings of a joke: 3 War College cadets, 2 members of the Spree, and a Dodger (?) walk into a Camarilla cell...
• The rest of my review and ramblings for this episode, because this got way too long and if anyone cares, are here: https://addictedtothese.wordpress.com/2021/08/27/motherland-fort-salem-revolution-part-1-s2s-bewitching-finale/

Side note that I would love perhaps a book spin-off series, I've wanted it ever since and even more when I saw Eliot's interview about his original plan for the series being books. I would prefer that these characters be continued on the show and maybe a different set of characters (maybe even from a different time period) be explored in a potential book series, so I hope to god that this gets renewed beyond Season 3... and soon, because if they finish drafting Season 3 without a confirmed Season 4, they might end up rushing through Eliot's vision for the rest of the show. :(

This is a very solid opener. It doesn't blow your mind but for an opener it really does a great job of keeping everyone in their characters while still progressing the lives of our new JSA. The finale last year had affected our teens and this is an episode about the ripples from those effects. Courtney is too hero focused and pays the price a cost that's shared with her family. Rick is dealing with the bond he felt with Grundy. Beth is still Beth. Kind of annoying in some ways (as a character) thought she isn't given much room to be so here. Here we focus on what's behind her personality and some of that is loneliness, her parents were her entire world of friends and when she finally made a friend in Chuck that was lost to her. Even with the JSA Beth suffers from that. She goes into Job mode as she is getting yet another hit. Yolanda has to deal with what is likely the biggest issue, she killed someone. It was necessary but as a teenager this is going to ripple her character for a while.

So yeah it was a pretty good episode, it keeps the wheels spinning.

[8.3/10] I’ve played a couple of Star Wars games recently where high ranking Imperials defect to join the good guys. And to be honest, it feels cheap. There’s a real opportunity when exploring a villain’s perspective. Why someone chooses to do evil, or at least do harm, is a rich vein to examine. These games squander that opportunity, with the (theoretically) bad guys simply seeing the Empire do one more bad thing and declaring, as Britta from Community once put it, “I don’t know why, but this is the last straw.”

But that’s why I love what The Bad Batch does with Crosshair here. He’s not just a generic amoral villain who fights for his love of evil. He has complex, believable motivations behind the choices that he makes, choices he hashes out with Hunter. I’ll cop to being a sucker for those kinds of philosophical conversations between old friends (hello fellow Star Trek crossover fans!), but they give depth to the major antagonist of this show’s stellar first season.

The rest of the Bad Batch is grappling with what to do now that there’s no more missions. Crosshair has found his, or at least, a new institution that gives him the clarity that comes with orders. The rest of the Bad Batch struggled with the fact that one of their own turned on them, trying to take their lives. But Crosshair is the one who feels abandoned and betrayed, as though his brothers turned their back not only on what they fought and stood for, but on him. And while the Bad Batch had loyalty to the Republic and remains wary of what the Empire is up to, Crosshair sees the power and potential in this new galactic force that could allow him and his brothers to do more in this new age.

In short, he has comprehensible reasons for how he feels about the Empire, his former comrades, and most importantly himself. He’s granted a believable inner life in all of this. More than anything, The Bad Batch makes him into a tragic figure, one who still has loyalty to his brothers, who wants to fight alongside them, but who’s been too enmeshed in all of this for too long to see things with the moral lens Hunter and the rest of the team do.

And then “Return to Kamino” drops the bomb. Crosshair had his inhibitor chip removed. Questions of how and when abound. But regardless, it makes his position and his thoughts that much stronger and more complicated, because they’re his own. Most of Crosshair’s actions to this point could be written off as a product of a control mechanism cranked up to eleven. But now he’s ostensibly free, and still wants to fight for the bad guys, albeit with his brothers at his side rather than at the other end of his blaster.

Oh yeah, and they also have to stave off a base full of stormtroopers, survive an assault from a bunch of battle droids, and find shelter as Admiral Rampart destroys the Kaminoan cloning facility. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy, right?

There’s a sense of things coming fully circle to all of this. Not only is it a reunion for the Bad Batch as originally constituted (or at least after Echo joined the team), but it takes place in the same battle arena where Admiral Rampart tested their abilities in the first episode. The danger is enough for Crosshair and Hunter to stop targeting one another and take on the common threat, a sign that their camaraderie isn’t dead.
It’s strangely heartening (albeit a little puzzling) when Crosshair chooses to kill his stormtrooper team in order to give the rest of the Bad Batch a second chance to join him. It’s rousing when the group sets aside their differences to show a united front in this battle, much as they did in the series’s first episode. And its bittersweet when Hunter and Crosshair have a post-skirmish showdown, and Hunter shoots his friend, but on stun rather than kill.

Omega is sidelined for most of this. I imagine she’ll get more focus in the season finale. She proves useful not only in navigating the cloning facility, but in creating distractions and teaming up with good old AZI-3 to neutralize some stormtroopers on her own. In particular, we get another hint at her suffering some trauma in a cloning lab (much like the one in “Battle Scars”). She’s clearly upset when having to go back to Nala Se’s lab, even as she pushes through for the good of her team. The episode sets up things for her here, even if she isn’t as big a presence as in other installments.

But her influence is still felt, particularly in how she’s moved Hunter over the course of the season. Despite the better part of valor being to just run, despite the safest thing to do being to eliminate Crosshair after all the trouble he’s caused them, Hunter decides to save his villainous brother-in-arms instead. It’s a choice of understanding. Hunter plainly disagrees with Crosshair’s ideas, but he thinks the fellow clone can be saved, and deserves to be given the chance that he tried to give them. It’s a sense of altruism and understanding toward those who need help, even when it creates more danger, that Omega’s represented from the beginning, when she told Crosshair it wasn’t his fault.

Much of The Bad Batch has felt like a postscript to Star Wars: The Clone Wars so far. The show’s examined what someone bred for war does when the war is over. What side do you choose, what orders do you follow, when the body giving those orders has dramatically changed? There’s a desire among some of our heroes to go back to the way things were, or at least a wistfulness about the certainty of their role in the war ending.

The destruction of the Kamino cloning facility is a dramatic ending, creating a series of explosions and mortal threats for our heroes to survive. (Which they will -- my bet is on Omega leading them to safety via more tubes.) It’s a practical ending, as the industrial clone production has ended in favor of stormtroopers, and the Empire is holding the cloning technology. (Pickled Snokes, anyone?) But it’s also a symbolic ending, for the legions of clones birthed there, a last bastion of how things used to be rended to rubble. From here, there is no going back.

We’ve seen Hunter, Omega, and the rest decide that the way forward means helping people, even when it’s not easy. We’ve seen other clones like Rex, Cut, and Gregor struggle to make their way in the new world. And now we’ve seen Crosshair, fully liberated, choosing to side with the Empire. Showing that spectrum, making each clones choice understandable, makes for a deeper conflict, and a sort of evil more tragic and insidious than any run of the mill Imperial bad guy can muster.

[8.0/10] Wrecker is such a big teddy bear most of the time. Sure, he likes whomping folks and blowing things up, but he mainly scans as an overgrown toddler. It never seems odd when he bonds with Omega, or has a playful big brother vibe with Tech. There’s a kid-like quality to him that belies his build and his power. Those attributes make him seem friendly and even sweet.

That makes it extra scary and extra impactful when his inhibitor chip goes off and suddenly he’s a slasher villain. You see the same power, the same strength, deployed against the people Wrecker cares about, his comrades and his surrogate little sis, without any hesitation or remorse. It’s the most frightening thing The Bad Batch has shown so far, and also one of the most heartbreaking for the same reason -- because the Wrecker we know has no control over this situation.

It’s an appropriately big event to coincide with the appearance of none other than Rex, one of the most important and well-loved characters to emerge from Star Wars: The Clone Wars. There’s lots of connections to other Star Wars properties in “Battle Scars”. Wrecker and Omega dine on popcorn you can find at Galaxy’s Edge. The Venator-class destroyer our heroes sneak aboard on Bracca is very much at issue in Fallen Order. It’s hard to find an episode of The Bad Batch that hasn’t had these sorts of tie-ins to elsewhere in the galaxy far far away.

But Rex is the biggest and most momentous because he comes laden with as deep an understanding as anyone of what damage those inhibitor chips can do. His desire to free his brothers from their hold, and his fear about what they’re capable of if the chips aren’t neutralized, is more than justified, as anyone who’s seen The Clone Wars knows.

So he makes for a natural guide when it comes time to pay off Wrecker’s recurring headaches. The show does some of its best work in terms of design and direction, as our heroes spelunk through the Venator ship, fight off squid monsters, and eventually have to defend against one of their own. Rex’s presence adds urgency and gravitas to what’s been an exciting but lighter adventure so far.

The height of this one, though, comes when Wrecker turns on Omega. The show’s right to spend much of the early going on the two of them having fun together, chowing down on popcorn and having their own post-mission tradition. It reinforces the sweetness between them we’ve seen as early as Wrecker making Omega her very own bunk.

So it twists the knife even harder when Wrecker accuses her of treason and comes close to destroying her. Their size disparity becomes real and menacing for the first time. The stand-off intensifies the double-edged tragedy of Order 66, with good people killed by those they trust and people who are just as good forced to become butchers of those close to them against their will.

As scary as Wrecker advancing on young Omega is, there’s an equal and opposite sweetness to her refusing to leave his side when recovering from the inhibitor chip extraction. It comes with a certain sorrow when Wrecker tries to apologize for his actions, feeling as though he’s done something unforgivable, only to be wiped away by a heartwarming gesture from Omega, reinstating their popcorn tradition, a sign that she understands that heartless beast was not the same person who made her a bunk.

In the end, Rex doesn't exactly pass the torch to Hunter, but he does give our new leader figure a benediction. Rex is still fighting the good fight, but Hunter isn’t sure what that means just yet, or if it’s right for his squad. The closing conversation does right by both clones, acknowledging their different ages and experiences, and pointing toward things both certain and unsure for both of them. The combination of their understanding, and the journey of Wrecker from lovable lug to terrifying brute and back, makes “Battle Scars” The Bad Batch’s best outing yet.