I read the first two books but not the third. I think watching this show may be better if you don't know how things pan out. Normally an episode where people don't have their powers would bother me, and if they didn't know who they were it would bother me even more, but this was done very well, with plenty of traction on all fronts. Plus their chosen identities were fascinating.
I like Marina's makeup. Purple lipstick, flashy eyeshadow, dangling hexagon earrings. All a good look on her.
Fog is trying to redeem himself and is letting Julia be part of magic. That scene with her in his office was touching. I like Dean Fog.
The only thing I wish I knew is the books description of the animals current plaything scenes with Quentin. Maybe I'll read those. In the past, the show has found ways to stay true to the multi-layered lathered-up descriptions in the books.
Loved how the horned God talked to Margot, calling her the "little boy high king."
May have graded a bit high on this one, but I missed the show.
Also: Dear person who went thru the first five eps here and gave them fake synopses: Alice and Quentin confront a dog? Dean Fog gets a new suit? Margot eats a muffin from Josh? I think you can do better. I did like Julia drinks schnapps, tho.
[7.8/10] My favorite episode of the show so far. “Partners, Am I Right?” finally delivers the lived-in, layered dynamic between Clint and Kate that I’ve been wanting, while also delivering some top flight action, and making Kate’s family situation compelling for the first time in the series.
I’ll confess, I abhor the schmuck bait from the end of the last episode. If you’re going to have Jack hold a sword to Clint’s neck, it’s pretty cheap to immediately deflect into one big misunderstanding when you start this one.
Still, I’m willing to forgive it because the interactions between the assmeled are legitimately good here. I don’t know what the cinch is exactly, but Tony Dalton’s Jack is more recognizable as someone wearing the masque of the genteel bumbler while hiding a sinister side beneath. Likewise, I initially thought Eleanor took her daughter teaming up with an Avenger a little too much in stride (maybe it was just being starstruck.) And yet, the show assuaged my fears, having her take Clint aside and basically tell him “Don’t get my daughter mixed up i this dangerous shit.” There’s a patina of realism in this heightened reality in that. I’m increasingly suspicious that Eleanor herself may be involved in some malfeasance, rather than being hoodwinked by Jack, but it’s still nice to see her responding to all of this the way a mother might.
If that weren’t enough, II love love love the scene of Kate showing up to Clint’s place to spend the holiday together. It gives us a reason to like Kate a little more -- she has empathy for her would-be partner, knowing he’s been through a lot and wanting to make sure he’s not alone at a difficult time. In the same way, it makes us like the two of them together more too. The way they banter about trick shots and trick arrows, shuffle through holidays movies, and come up with plans using what turn out to not be dry erase markers is funny and endearing.
Things get serious too though. I’ll admit I forgot that, in the right hands, Jeremy Renner can be a damn good actor. As much as I enjoy the MCU, he hasn’t always had the chance to show that. But hearing him talk about sparing Natasha when he found her, processing what he’s lost and the depths he fell into when he became Ronin is powerful. Some of that’s thanks to the writing, which is better across the board here. But a lot of it comes down to Renner’s performance, which makes Clint an open wound who’s still living with his pain and trying to warn Kate off from it. Seeing him confide in her a bit, open up to her a little, helps cement the partnership in the episode’s title.
After indulging in some of the slack tide hangout vibe that, vitally, let’s us get to know these characters and see them together when they’re not adventuring, the episode also provides them each with solid missions and objectives. Clint strongarms Echo’s lieutenant, Kazi, with a persuasive argument that Maya’s personal vendetta against Ronin is a losing battle that’s going to lose both her and Kazi standing in the eyes of “the Boss.” For her part, Kate gets her own amusing set of interactions with the Larpers, using the connection to retrieve the trick arrows and secure themselves the studio/merchandise-mandated new costumes. One is dramatic and convincing, the other is fun and light, and it’s a good balance. (Hello Thanos fans!)
But the climax of the episode pays things off in a big way. Snooping through Maya’s apartment and discovering that she’s after Clint’s family ups the stakes here. There’s a threat here that goes beyond Clint himself putting his life on the line. The set piece itself is strong, with too many quick cuts for my taste, as usual, but a lot of hard-hitting action and neat wrinkles like Kate's ziplining adventure to liven things up.
There’s the added benefit of making this a four-way fight where who’s on whose side isn’t necessarily clear. Clint and Kate are a team, of course, but Echo has her own agenda, as does the Widow sent after our hero. The shifting alliances, coupled with Clint’s efforts to keep Kate out of harm’s way, makes for a unique dynamic to the fight.
Plus hey! Yelena! It’s nice to see Hawkeye paying off the tag from Black Widow. The debut is well-handled, with the masked assassin fighting like a widow and giving hints of who she is before the reveal happens. At the same, Yelena’s presence is a complicating factor, in a good way. She’s the sister of someone Clint is still mourning, and as he tells Kate, her mere presence means business has picked up. If Clint’s going to keep his word to Eleanor and stop Kate from falling into serious danger, then he has to dissolve their partnership almost as soon as it truly begins. That’s good stuff, which serves both the plot and the characters.
Overall, this is a winner of an outing which kicks things into gear. The dynamic between Kate and clint has never been clearer or more compelling or more endearing, and with connections to other events across the MCU, we’re getting meaningful developments for Clint as he processes the events of Endgame, while orienting Kate within a wider world.
[7.5/10[ In hindsight, it was probably inevitable that Rafa and Trace would intersect with the Bad Batch. They’re both a set of characters introduced in season 7 of The Clone Wars, and so since this crop of Bad Batch episodes feel as much like a sequel to those TCW episodes as anything, it makes sense that we’d see the Martez sister make an appearance here. While they aren’t my favorite characters in the franchise, I like positioning them as helping out the burgeoning rebellion (I assume?) and running into conflict with the Bad Batch who’s on the same mission for purely mercenary reasons.
There’s also some good setups and payoffs. The show isn’t exactly shy about Omega working on her bow-firing prowess. But there’s a tidy little arc to here inability to consistently hit a target, to her stand-off with Rafa leading to the dangerous situation at the Corellian droid disposal facility, to her good aim and ability to block out distractions to save Rafa’s Gammorrean bacon.
I'll admit that the action didn’t wow me here. The direction was largely indifferent and, while appropriate to the situation, most of the goings on at the droid disposal looked like one big gray mess. But there were some nicely staged set pieces even if I didn’t love the framing and editing of them. Omega getting trapped on a conveyor belt of doom is an old trick to build tension, but it still works. Wrecker’s big damn heroes moment while Tech is tinkering offers some minor excitement. And the combination of the Bad BAtchers and the Martez sisters figuring out how to use the vaunted strategy droid head to turn their old enemies against their immediate threat is a clever way to extricate everyone from the situation.
The game of hot potato between our heroes and the Martez sisters is a little rote, but it gives the two groups something to fight over and chase after, which serves the narrative’s purposes. We don’t get much in the way of ideological differences between the two sides, just ction, but it at least provides a means to show them working against one another when their interests in possessing the head conflict, and then the two groups working together when it’s a necessity to escape eh facility’s security droids.
In terms of little mmets, it’s troubling to see Wrecker’s headaches continue, to the point ath now he’s even briefly using the “good soldiers follow order” line. The poor lummox is a ticking time bomb, and I hope the Bad Batch (or somebody) figures out how to neutralize the chip (thereby giving them the knowledge and motivation to do the same for Crosshair) before it’s too late. On a different note, it’s a cheap gag, but I got a kick out of Rafa stealing Trace’s distraction idea, Rafa saying “Is there an echo here?”, only for Echo to respond, “Yes, I’m Echo.” Dumb, but funny.
Otherwise, the peak of this one is the end. I like picking back up the theme that Hnter and his comrades aren’t exactly sure what to do now that the war is over. Fighting for the Empire doesn’t seem right to them, and the notoriously transactional Rafa even admits that sooner or later you have to take sides, a late-breaking sign of character growth from her arc in TCW, and a hint that Hunter and company may eventually make the same choice. The conflict between protecting themselves and staying out of sight versus fighting against the successor organization to the one that trained and deployed them is an intriguing one. Hunter taking the head for himself, but giving the data download to Rafa is a nice middle ground on Hunter’s And I’m also curious as to who Rafa and Trace are working for. (My money’s on Bail Organa, but I’d like to be surprised!)
Overall, another good outing of The Bad Batch that once again connects the series to other Star Wars projects, but feeds back into the clones’ central story of finding their place in a post-Empire galaxy.
Me? Crying about Avalance? It's more likely than you think. I wish they would stop toying with my emotions. Yes, Sara's done some bad things in the past, but she's working so hard to redeem herself. She's been through so much, she's overcome so much pain and darkness. She deserves to be happy. I love her. And Ava is amazing as well. Her jealousy was fantastic. And she was so heartbroken at the end! I want to die.
This was such an intense episode, but they still managed to put some of LoT's trademark humor in there. It's really impressive how they manage to balance all the serious, intense moments with bits of levity and it never feels forced or overdone (which is my problem with a lot of Marvel movies, for example). Good job, writers.
It's always great to see John Consantine. Sara's right, they should just get him a bed on the Waverider. And how happy was Gary when John kissed him? Nobody on this show is straight, I'm telling you.
Rory has the Fire Totem, Zari has Air, Amaya's going to get her Spirit Totem back eventually, Kuasa has Water, Sara's got Death (I wonder if they'll ever let her use it, though). I'm curious as to who's going to wield Earth. It didn't seem to work for Nate.
Okay. So here's the short recap for everyone confused:
Geralt saved Duny, father of Ciri (the hedgehog), by calming Calanthe down. As the price for saving his life he got the Law of Surprise as payment: Whatever's already in Duny's possision without him knowing it, is now Geralt's. Paveta, Ciri's mother, was pregnant at that moment and Duny didn't know about it. Therefore Geralt is destined to be Ciri's foster father. But both Calanthe and Geralt weren't fans and didn't honour the deal. So Destiny got angry and fucked things up for Calanthe and her kingdom by letting Nilfgaard invade Cintra successfully. Geralt knew about Nilfgaard's advances and wanted to save Ciri from it - by doing that he fulfilled the Law of Surprise and took his role as Ciri's foster father seriously. But he was too late. Cintra has fallen, Calanthe killed herself, and Ciri is on the run. There she meet elf kid, wandering into the Brokilon, trusting and following fake Mousesack for some time, before realizing her mistake and running away from Nilfgaard again. They are searching for her, because she has a power that seems to fulfill a prophecy about something End of the World-ish.
As I said again and again before: The books are not really that much more straightforward, maybe even less than the Netflix series. And they are intertwining lore and background only explained in the saga with the short stories of the prequel books, while also fleshing out Yennefer's and Ciri's story. And all of that within 7 episodes.
I have to admit it, I really liked the episode. At first I thought it was all going to be about James and his Guardian alter ego, but they did great connecting both storylines.
That's what I call an invasion! But really, Mom-El is a crazy ass bitch. She just made Lena open a portal to bring a freaking army of Daxamites to create the new Daxam on Earth to bring with her son. And all of this thanks to a pep talk. I love Lena. Her character is just amazing and the writers have been playing with her evil side overcoming her good side but at least we know where she stands. However, there's one thing that gets me. Lena is so smart but in the last couple of episodes she's been just too naive. I would've thought her mobile phone was password protected. That's when Lena should have noticed Rhea is pure evil incarnate. She just took one of her calls! Damn you, Rhea, you're the evident evil that ever eviled. I really love her thought process: So my son won't leave Earth with me. Ok, don't worry, if he doesn't come home with me, I'll being home to him. I guess that's right: home is where the heart is.
I'm not a fan of James. Never have been and I guess never will. Buttons episode did a lot of good to his character. Mechad Brooks did a good job at showing a deeper side of James. Also thanks to that beautiful boy who was nothing but perfect during the whole episode. He was just so sweet. Besides, for once James was extreme useful. He actually was a hero without suit. But seriously how does he do it? He's running CatCo,which is not an easy job but he's also Guardian, which is also a demanding job. Juggling like this is not even normal.
Idk why but Mon-El's acting the minute he saw his mother went down. He looks so tense while talking to her. It's just unnatural and too awkward. I guess it should be like it but you know, I find it stiff.
And Lena being knocked out, I guess it's just plot wise. She can't know Kara's Supergirl, unless she already does.
Well, they actually managed to make a decent The Flash movie, and without Grant Gustin too. Ezra Miller is back again as Barry Allen despite the controversies that surround them, but I hope you can forget or ignore that fact for about 2,5 hours (it's hard), because this movie is super fun. Now for the pluses and minuses:
2.5 hours is pretty long, but while watching it, I forgot that. The story unfolds with good pace and (almost) never a dull moment.
I love both Affleck and Keaton's performance as the caped crusader. Especially Keaton, he still got it! I felt the same joy as back then when I was a kid watching Tim Burton's Batman.
Sasha Calle rocks! While she only appeared in the last half of the movie, her Supergirl is much, much better than I expected.
Cameos. and a lot of them. Yes this can be seen as fan service as their appearance don't really affect the story much, but boy I was super excited and screaming internally watching that one particular scene. Good thing I avoided all the spoilers in the internet.
Still a better multiverse movie than the latest Dr.Strange
Billy Crudup doesn't return as Henry Allen. It's a shame since he did a good job back in JL movie.
There're some "wut" and "aw come on!" scenes, still fun and interesting though.
The soundtrack is just okay. I still love Zack Snyder's JL more. So many epic moments elevated by the majestic score, but I don't feel the same when watching The Flash.
My final rating : 7.5/10
Finally we reached the end of the Arrowverse. Something that true fans who kept watching from S1 on all shows, have been asking for years. It seems kind of a contradiction, but the truth is that seeing how bad the writing kept becoming from season to season, we just wanted to give a decent ending. And tbh, i don't even know if Flash got it. The whole battle against the evil speedsters seemed not only random; but taking count that in the past it took "the team" a whole season to "defeat" them, seeing here that they were owned in about two second by SIDEKICKS that aren't even speedsters, felt as the overall shit we have been getting for the past few years. Also, sidenote, Cecile can fly now, because why not. The writers already gave her like 200 powers, why not flying. If they have kept making seasons, in the next one she probably would have replaced Clark Kent as Superman. The only good thing this episode did, was returning Caitlin to the team, after just "accepting" that Caitlin was dead and just seemed like nobody gave a flying fuck. The rest of the episode was as bad the rest; again defeating the big bad by shaking hands and "reaching to an agreement". Anyway, I'm glad that at least they gave an ending, even if it was a bad one. By far, the best ending was Arrow's; and it's a shame since Flash was my favourite. Goodbye Arrowverse, we will miss the good crossovers and the good first couple of seasons that made us love you; and we will try to forget the rest.
Tommy Merlyn! I'll be damned. We haven't seen him in forever. Shame he had so little screentime.
If Hitler died in 1994, it means he was 105 years old at the time of his death. Geez. I guess it's true, only good die young.
Lots of funny moments in this one, like Barry's "Good thing we have a metric ton of smart people in this building... and Rory", Kara being grossed out that Overgirl and Dark Arrow are married (seriously though, eww), Supergirl and Flash waiting for Arrow to arrive (probably my favorite moment of the entire episode to be honest, especially Oliver's little grumpy "Just a quick reminder. Super speed? I don't have it."). And on the other end of the spectrum, we got plenty of nice emotional scenes too, especially the one between Jax and Stein (who's chopping onions in here?) and the one between Kara and Alex.
That fucker Eobard just won't die, will he? Where's he popping up next, National City?
Okay, who wants to bet that Felicity will change her mind by the end of the crossover? At this point i'm starting to think they'll do a double wedding kind of thing with Barry and Iris. Oh, and I appreciate that Felicity was wearing a green jacket and Iris was in a red sweater, reflecting their respective love interests' signature colors.
It was kind of hilarious and sad at the same time that the Arrow team appeared for 5 seconds and immediately got their asses kicked.
This crossover has been pretty awesome so far. I'm excited for tomorrow. Let's hope Kara flings her evil doppelganger into the Sun.
I love kickass ladies more than anything, so I liked this episode. I do think the "#feminism" thing was kind of cringeworthy though. Like, girls teaming up and kicking ass was literally the focus of this episode, you don't have to tell us that it's feminist. We know. I'm a feminist myself and I'm 100% here for female empowerment, but the way they tried to bring attention to it every 5 seconds was grating. If you keep making a big deal out of powerful and capable women, it will never be seen as something normal and common (which, you know, it is). Instead, it will feel gimmick-y. Fortunately, this was probably a one-time thing and Caitlin and Iris will go back to being casual badasses in the next episode.
My favorite part was that Caitlin and Iris had so many scenes together. Seriously, I've been waiting for so long for their friendship to develop into something more than just work colleagues. This is the brOTP that we deserve.
Drunk Barry was so hilarious. My sweet boy, crying over Jack and Rose. But he's a scientist, he should know that just because the door was big enough for the two of them, it doesn't mean that it could hold both of them. There's this thing called buoyancy, you know. They totally could've taken turns though.
Also, did Felicity really say "The Incredible Hulk"? Are they allowed to name-drop Marvel heroes?
Me, circa a week ago: Okay, I have to prepare myself. This episode is titled "The End", the ratings are low, there's no way we're getting another season. This show's had a good run. I'll always love it, but it's 100% getting canceled.
Agents of SHIELD, crashing through the window and punching me in the face: YOU FOOL. YOU ABSOLUTE BUFFOON. YOU GODDAMN COWARD.
Whoever in Marvel fought so hard to get us season 6, I am forever in your debt (even though we won't see those guys again until summer 2019, but that's still better than nothing) because WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK WAS THAT?
I don't remember the last time I cried during an episode of any show. But what happened with Fitz was so completely unexpected that I froze in shock, and then, when I saw Jemma's smile slowly fade as the realization set in, I broke down in tears. Sure, one could argue that his struggle with the darkness inside of him this season was a bit of a foreshadowing, but I didn't see his death coming at all. I could barely watch the rest of the episode because everything was blurry. I couldn't believe it. FitzSimmons have spent 5 seasons getting ripped apart over and over again, and now that they've finally gotten married, Fitz dies. I had the most horrible, nauseating feeling in my stomach. The only thing I could think about was "They better bring him back or so help me God, I will burn Marvel Television to the ground". When they mentioned the other version of Fitz floating in space, I felt like the biggest weight was lifted off my shoulders. It's going to be fine. My babies are going to be fine.
Coulson going to Tahiti is a nice full circle kind of thing for him. I know they'll probably find a way to keep him alive anyway, but I enjoyed that moment.
Daisy and Talbot's fight was so damn good. When she launched herself at him, I felt like I was watching a proper Marvel movie. I'll never understand why this show doesn't get the respect and the recognition it deserves. It's a goddamn gem in every way and every Marvel fan should watch it.
Oh, and I saw some people getting upset about the fact that half of the team didn't vanish at the end there, but personally I think it makes sense not to do that. Season 6 is going to air in the summer of 2019, after the release of the next Avengers movie, in which, let's face it, they're going to use the Time Stone or whatever to bring everyone back. So on the show we'd have half our characters vanish and then next year they'd just be there again as if nothing happened, without explanation. I'm glad they didn't do it.
So, I guess see y'all in a year when season 6 starts! Even though I have no idea how I'm supposed to wait that long!
If you ever needed a lesson in not listening to reviewers and making your own mind up about a movie, this is it. The Suicide Squad is brought to life by David Ayer in this summer blockbuster. It is 2+ hours of hard hitting FUN, with incredible portrayals of comic book favourites. Will Smith IS Deadshot, Margot Robbie IS Harley Quinn, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje IS Killer Croc, Jai Courtney IS Captain Boomerang... and The Joker??? I WANTED MORE!!! Well the biggest compliment I can pay to Jared Leto is that I didn't think about Heath Ledger once, it was a completely different yet interesting portrayal.
In this fun action flick, the bad guys are sent to take down a greater evil. Critics of the big bad in this movie seem to have completely missed the point. The big bad in this movie is merely a plot device, to help us get to see our protagonists form as a team. If anything the real villain of the piece is the one who forms this team of misfits. Amanda Waller is portrayed DIABOLICALLY by the incredible Viola Davis and the part where she turns on and guns down her own employees is SHOCKING . Complaining about the villain in a movie where the protagonists are bad guys is akin to complaining about the villain in Deadpool... THAT'S NOT THE POINT OF THE MOVIE!
This movie leaves you with a thirst for more of these characters, and some shots such as when Will Smith is stood on top of a car and gunning down henchman after henchman after henchman look like they have just been ripped out of a comic book and put on screen by the wonderfully talented David Ayer.
If you are a comic book fan, or a DC movies fan, heck even if you are just an average movie watcher... watch this movie! It is SO MUCH FUN!!!
UPDATE: Just seen the Extended Edition and I really enjoyed the new scenes. This extended version doesn't change the nature of the movie in the way the Ultimate Cut did for BvS but I found it let's the movie breathe a little and solves some of the editing problems people complained about. I still love the theatrical release but my recommendation is to watch the extended version of this movie!
And that's it! One of most intelligent, well written and delightfully acted series of the last few years has met its (probable) demise. For me, this was a fitting end that did not leave any stone left unturned, an end that brought peace to some characters and left a bitter taste in the mouth of others.
Oh man, how I've missed having both Howards in the same scene, bickering at one another... That's always been one of the most fun moments of the show!
That dialogue between Emily and Ethel was crushing me, not only because of the delicate and time sensitive issue that was at stake at the time, but also because I knew something bad was about to happen, I just did not know when. And then the first big loss of the show hit us... Poor Howard.
Howard Prime going all Hitman (so, doing what he does best) on those guys from the other side carrying the virus at the train station, surgically killing one by one and letting no single one of them escape was a very, very satisfying scene.
The ending for Quayle and Clare had a certain relief to it, their last scene was very sweet and I hope they'll manage to deal with their issues and raise Sara(h) as a genuinely happy and loving family.
In the end, Karma bit Mira in the ass, and that was also a very satisfying scene, watching Emily Prime savouring her final moment of victory in the guise of revenge (or is it the other way around?).
Fuck you, Starz, for pulling the plug on the most precious thing you had in your catalogue! Fingers crossed for another network to pick this one up, since the show's producers are currently shopping Counterpart around. There has got to be a network with good taste, out there!
Let's reopen the Crossing one more time, see you all in season 3 (make it happen, damn it!)!
This show is incredibly stupid and bad. But somehow it became a guilty pleasure for me.
It's so bad but at the same time in a way that it is entertaining to watch, just not how it was intended to be.
This show must have the most plotholes I have ever seen in a TV series.
If this wouldn't air on a major network like CBS it'd be cancelled after 3 episodes max despite the really, really low production costs that it must have, I suppose.
But since it's on CBS it got a full first season order of BS technobabble making no sense and characters so unlikable and sterile that I don't care for a single person and wonder how they made it through life so far. Not to speak of the positions they literally fell in.
Katharine McPhee (Paige, the waitress) is the only exception and good "feature" of this series.
Not because she is such a great actress, haven't seen enough of her to judge on that, but being the only halfway reasonable person on this awful cast of awful actors makes her the only likable person, in a way.
It's helping that she is cute, too.
I could go on and rip the premise and every episode apart and make fun of its absurd plots, terrible reasoning, repetitive and dumb dialogues but others did that already well enough.
Although being very nit-picky when it is about technology and terminology, that is basically raped on this show on a regular basis, my biggest pet peeve isn't within the above-mentioned.
Surprisingly it is with the blatantly wrong use of HTML syntax in the opening.
You have the maincharacter narrating that he has a higher IQ than Einstein and is one of the four people with the highest IQ on earth but it is subtitled with stuff like </starring> following the "stars". Ugh.
This contradiction is seriously annoying me and shows the technical and intellectual precision that this show has to offer throughout.
I don't get nearly as excited about the MCU as I used to (mostly because they're churning out movies and TV shows at a rate that I just can't keep up with), but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Definitely worth watching.
Some loose thoughts/things I enjoyed below (spoilers are marked):
- the story is good, the 2nd act is kind of slow, but it picks up towards the end
- the fight scenes are super cool and creative (especially the one on the bus and the one on the scaffolding)
- I liked the way they utilized the rings in fights, it felt really fresh and like something we haven't seen before
- the final battle is actually awesome (monkey brain loves big monsters and explosions)
- the cast is excellent (I'm particularly thrilled to see Awkwafina getting more recognition)
- the soundtrack is beautiful and I love the way they used traditional Chinese melodies
- badass women all around (Michelle Yeoh my beloved)
- impeccable CGI
- some gorgeous scenery
- MORRIS
- loved the callback to the Mandarin mess from Iron Man 3
- Brie Larson cameo (I know the fandom has collectively decided to hate her, but I don't care, that was a treat for me and me only)
- Xialing effectively utilizing girl power by taking over her father's crime empire (I feel like there was definitely some comic book reference flying over my head there but who cares). My friend and I joked that she'll be getting a Disney+ series shortly
Overall, it was a treat. Strongly recommend.
This show need to stop trying so hard. I don't know how it gets so many things wrong so often. This kid talking about his podcast like it matters is just off.
Finally having a group meeting is one of the smartest things they've done. I really don't think they needed a traitor element in the first place but we'll see.
Also in pro news the kids are apparently transferring houses. Between mom and dad. Which does respect his fatherhood status even if it might mean complications for the kids.
Honestly this episode is much smarter than the last episode. Even with the cheesy podcast stuff.
Like this "Holy Grail" thing where everyone is like "yeaaahhh right". As if no one has ever used the "holy grail" to mean something important before.
and then just like that an episode that started off rocky, was going smoothly then nosedives ruining a 6/10 episode to 3-4/10 territory. Lady Cop blames an amnesiac for beating his wife when the guy can't even remember his name. As if that makes any sense. At the family house young Olive invites her new-Daddy home to eat dinner to cheer up her mom because children understand complex adult dynamics either 100% or 0% depending on the episode and when real daddy summoned by his son via text shows up real-Daddy and new-Daddy get into a fight over the dumbest thing ever. You're ADULTS. act like it. Even if you wanted to yell who gets into a fist fight? No wonder Jordan Peterson thinks he's a genius he's learning everything about manhood not from historical cultural myth but television. But just everything about that scene is stupid.
"It doesn't look like a happy reunion" - what? You literally just walked into the house mr "Who is this man and why is he in my house that I'm exiled from"
"You are the whole reason this family is messed up" - WHAT??!? The dude disappeared in an airplane. He didn't mess up his family. Someone else messed up his family. He's literally innocent in all of this.
Olive sucks. Olive sucks worst than her mother and her mother SUUUUUCKS. Everyone on this show sucks to a little degree. But good grief.
And we have the second episode with a couple cheating to get back together (You 1x07-08)
This episode like so many of this series had the potential to be solid. Ending it by having white guy do the podcast is silly. Except plot twist.. good plot twist it's an insurance policy something the podcast host is too dumb to understand. Then finally having other people's callings show up is brilliant. Everything about this ending is compelling enough to make me want to see what happens next. If only the middle didn't just suck donkey balls so frequently.
Important note: If I sound joking, ironic, or condescending, I apologise in advance if my words hit you. I have a sharp tongue and usually joke about things, including myself. For example, I came up with the nude girl example in the last paragraph, because some part of me like the book's version with one girl better, so I was joking about myself more than any of you readers :sweat_smile: Thanks for reading!
I've recently re-read the short stories for the forth (or so) time and played two out of the three main games, so I cannot not compare the different interpretations of The Witcher. But I won't spoil anything beyond the first episode and it's all tagged.
First of all: It was obvious there was and is and never will be a way to cater to all fans. It is impossible if there are only two fans in the whole wide world which have only read the books. Or if there a many of them, all with different first contacts with Geralt and his story, and different backgrounds. A German fan has a different approach to many of the stories compared to for example an American one, because he had heard the fairy tales, which Sapkowski wove into his stories, reinterpreted. Just an example.
So obviously that was something Netflix had in mind and it seemed they cared about it. I would have preferred a different decision (sticking closer to the books), but I see why they did what they did and I think it's the right decision.
So what did they do? They chose to use different timelines to introduce Geralt and Ciri with their defining moments: "The Lesser Evil" for Geralt, which marks him as the Butcher of Blaviken, and Cintra's fall for Cirilla (Ciri), which introduces us to her possibilities and sets her on her path. It also hints at the connection between the two stories, but that's for another time.
They also decided to sway in the minor and sometimes bigger details, sticking to the red line of each story and weaving a new telling around it. It reminds me a little of Neil Gaiman's "Norse Mythology", where he admits that his retelling is deviating from the source in some points, because he is re-telling the stories, not copying them. And that's a good thing. Yes, we might not see some moments of dialogues in Netflix's version, but imagine them as someone telling you Geralt's story as you sit around a camp fire. You don't care about the details, if Stregobor did know Geralt beforehand or not, or if Geralt met the Alderman or his daughter. You want to hear the story of the Butcher of Blaviken, how he had to face this dilemma. It doesn't matter if Renfri and the witcher f*cked (Do I need to censor this word here?) in a room or a forest. You want a good time and you'll have it.
And we had it. It was a great first episode, telling two very interesting stories, defining characters, setting up the story. Compared to so many other first episodes of shows, this was a great one. And comparing it to other great first episodes, it doesn't loose either.
Yes, some people may be hurt that they experienced a story that wasn't exactly what they expected. Maybe they are not sold on the cast, maybe they hate that there were more than one nude illusion girl in Stregobor's tower or that Geralt didn't cut someone in two. And that's okay. The Witcher fans are a passionate bunch coming from many different directions. Let's give this retelling of our favorite story a chance. It deserves one.
Great episode once again! Besides te whole 'aliens are bad, people are good' stuff, which has been with us since the fish season, the whole episode was quite good. Those hate crimes they were commenting on the show need to be talked about, but to me, it's getting a little bit repetitive. It's as if they just picked up one topic only to drop it at the next minute but keep on talking about it.
The whole Kara trying to use her powers without actually showing that she's Supergirl was actually quite good and pretty funny. Lena's gotta be suspicious now. So Kara leaves the room and 5 seconds later Supergirl appears. Coincidence? I think not!
Silly me for thinking that this would finally be the episode when Lena found out Kara is actually Supergirl. They're seriously dragging it way too much. Now I'm not buying the whole Lena already knew. If she knows she wouldn't be all buddy buddy with Kara. But writers, please, just let her know. It's seriously dragging Lena. She's one of the most intelligent people in the world, yet she's still clueless about her identity.
I love Nia. I seriously love her talks. So passionate and warming. I love that she waited until it was necessary to mention that she's transgender. That's actually how people talk and I'm glad the writers went that route.
Also, something tells me that Nia went to that pizzeria for a reason and not just to get an expresso. Who goes to an Italian pizza place to get a coffee when there are dozens of coffee places near your office? Her scene with Brainy was totally worth it, though.
I'm disappointed. If I'm not mistaken, Brainy ordered 12 pizzas, but he left with just 5?!?! Come on! I'm disappointed.
His relationship with Alex is starting to warm my heart. It's great to see both if the bonding. I'm really happy to see them growing up.
I wonder what Russian Kara is up about. I thought they might talk about it a little, but nothing. Guess we'll have to wait to see what happens.
For episode 21 I expected a lot more. However, it had some good moments like the Caitlin and Joe stuff.
"DeVoe can't hide from us anymore". Ok, are you seriously telling me that random guys have seen DeVoe casually walking down the street and you, guys who work at STAR Labs where you've got a freaking satellite to look for him, haven't? Besides, why is none of the citizens surprised to see DeVoe walking? And also, can't DeVoe shapeshift into whoever he wants, so that if he wants he can technically still hide from you? I guess that last question can be easily answered. DeVoe has become a kind of god and his hubris is probably making him be himself and not others. On a low keynote, I can't believe that the citizens of Central City are so naive. You tell me that a super intelligent professor who travels on a flying chair is planning to build satellites to remove everyone's intelligence and I'd laugh at your face. I'm still included to believe that some of the people answering go Iris' article are trolls.
Amunet being back was great. I sort of like her and she makes me laugh so I'll give her a pass. However, the fact that they let escape someone who's been dealing with human trafficking gets on my nerves. And that little ball of metal she made is supposed to stop the satellites? Well, if you only have one shot, why don't you, I don't know, make more? And why is no one wondering "hey, what if DeVoe already knows what we're doing and has a backup plan for it? I always found myself thinking," he already knows, guys!"
The Caitlin and Joe interactions were probably my favourite part of the episode. They barely interact and so it surprised me that it was so natural. I'd love to see more scenes of them. Every episode since Killer Frost was gone we've had Caitlin trying to bring her back somehow and this storyline is going nowhere. She'll eventually get her back, but still. By the end of the season Caitlin will have found (insert a random number) ways of how to not bring Killer Frost back. I get the feeling that she'll be back in the most absurd way. That or Caitlin gets seriously hurt and then the ice queen appears.
Tom Cavanagh keeps on impressing me with his acting skills episode after episode. How many different versions of Wells have we seen? French Wells was so fun to watch, but Herr Wells cracked me.
"Am I speaking to you? I cannot remember. Oh, wait. I'm not. The little guy that must be Cisco, put you in the box. Put the box in the pocket".
a few moments later
"Ja, remember I put you in the box. Pit the box in the pocket. Crush the box! In the pocket".
Also, the math in this show is blowing my mind. Happy face + sad face = neutral face. That's probably the only formula I've understood, lol. That was intense. No wonder Harry needed to take a nap.
I hope next episode is better than this one, cause were reaching the season finale and I hope it's intense. Also, I need to see what Marlize is up to.
And I think I missed something, since when is Wally competent enough to be the Flash? Then again, I realize that Barry wasn't too much competent and it stays the same. So next year Barry has to come back. I guess he'll be out for a couple of episodes while Wally takes on the mantel and his red suit. Now the show's gonna be called "Kid Flash", right? That is, until someone frees Barry. But he going into the Speedforce could potentially create another Savitar. Like I said, messed up.
And when Barry is saying his farewell, I'm sorry but I found it hilarious that they take their time to say goodbye when there are people on the background yelling and dying while the city is being destroyed.
The same when Savitar was about to use the quantum splicer and literally said "We have to hurry" he walks slowly. And immediately before the philosopher's stone exploded and Barry told Wally to get everybody out and he leaves his sister behind. I just found it hilarious. And did Cisco literally call Savitar "Two-face"? No wonders he's angry, sad and needs a hug.
I liked the fact that Caitlin kept her powers. I don't want them gone. I like Killer Frost but I wanted good old Caitlin back so I'm settled for Chilling Frost. Btw, I'm waiting for memes of Caitlin saying "I'm something else".
Classic Chase. Smirking even while committing suicide.
RIP Lian Yu. You will surely be missed.
"William's younger than you were, so he's gonna be fine, you know. And you have each other, which is good. Oliver, that's because it's gonna be lonely without mom and Felicity". HOLY SHIT. That was savage.
Can we just give a round of applause to Josh Segarra? That guy is the MVP of this season. Fucking brilliant acting. He and Stephen Amell blew me with their performances.
Oh Moira, the feels. The onions. That scene was bringing me to tears. That call was beautiful. "My beautiful boy". It hit me right in the feels. They made me tear up. That was just beautiful. I need to rewatch season 1 again. I need it. Both of them are incredible actors and their performances just wow. They blew me up. Moira will always have that motherly bond that breaks me and shatters me to pieces. I cried like a little baby. That's why I would always say Moira is one of the best characters of the show and the actress is just amazing. 60 seconds of phonecall. 60 bloody seconds and it took my heart out. "I'm on a boat", lol. That just cracked me up. My God, I'm a freaking mess right now.
I wish they could have done more with Merlyn this episode, but besides that awesome finale. I don't buy he's dead. The guy took a freaking arrow to the heart and yet he didn't die. No freaking way Malcolm "still no title" Merlyn is dead. I refuse to believe it. If I don't see his body I won't buy it. Who am I kidding? Even if I see it.
Man, poor William aka The most traumatized boy alive. That kid is gonna be in therapy for the rest of his life. I don't want anyone to confirm which characters are going to be back for next season. I want to be surprised. no freaking way they've killed the whole supporting cast but someone's dead. I bet it's Samantha.
And that fucking traitor bitch Evelyn is still locked in that cage. I couldn't laugh any harder when I saw Slade locking her up. Man, I was so, so happy.
Ahhhhhh i’m so happy they are not shying away from the tough conversations on what it means to be Captain America in this decade. I love symbolism in storytelling and there’s no stronger symbol than that shield, and the way they have used it as a vehicle and representative of the different American identities (good and (really) bad) has been incredible.
Steve Rogers, John Walker, Sam Wilson and Isaiah Bradley all represent sides of the US that co-exist, and John Walker being the effective Captain America for most of this show isn’t accidental - he’s the side of America that’s most present and salient right now (in the world off the screen), but ending the show with Sam Wilson carrying that shield - and going through all the issues that that might bring up - is as powerful a message as any - one of hope and of what the US should aspire to be. Steve Rogers is no longer enough, Steve Rogers is the American Dream - Isaiah Bradley the American Reality - and Sam Wilson is both. This show, and all of Captain America’s storyline, is about so much more than just men in spandex and they’ve done a fantastic job taking it even further here. Glad Marvel is still delivering after so many years, makes me proud to be a fan!
The more answers we get, the more questions they open. I hate that and I love that at the same time.
I haven't read the books so this is pure speculation.
It seems they're going down the "ancient civilization gone extinct" road, with the sphere being some kind of "hub", numerous gates (we see a dozen of them in the first shot, then dozens more) being seen collapsing / going dark except for one at which the Nucleus fires a beam : what appears to be the Sol star goes boom. It'd be a bit weird to show the Sol system being seeminlgy destroyed as the vision is kind of a "rewind and play", maybe it's a warning to Humanity (like the speed limit inside the sphere being lowered after the grenade was used) ? The synopsis stating Holden sees past, present, and future. It's unclear if the gates closing down / going dark are a direct action of the proto-molecule or some kind of defense against a yet unnamed third-party (intergalactic war between two alien factions ?).
The reoccurence of the bird also seems to indicate that the one Miller saw on Ceres was already a protomolecule hallucination, maybe to guide him to Julie ?
To think there are three more episodes in the season... good thing it was picked up after SyFy dropped it. Maybe I should start reading the books ?
PS: the protomolecule really loves recycling humans.
I loved it! Each episode keeps getting better. I'm loving the banter and humour this season without being slapstick comedy. This is the Flash that I know and love.
Poor Becky. I relate way too much to her. I like her powers and I love that the villains Barry has fought so far are giving him a hard time. I loved the Thinkers's introduction. Why do I find his voice so soothing?
Humour was on point, especially that scene in the casino. Barry cuffs himself "How's that even possible?" lol. The acting was great and the team dynamic was perfect. I enjoyed Hazard a lot "Cherry pop cherry". Plus, Original Team Flash is back in the game. Iris should go back to being a reporter. All I need is Barry, Cisco, Caitlin and Wells in Team Flash.
Harry is back! YES. Tom Cavanagh is a pleasure to watch. He and Carlos Valdes have the best chemistry. I would watch the hell out of a spinoff with them just rambling around. Wells mocking Cisco's voice was gold. That break-up cube scene gotta be one of the most awkward scenes I've ever seen. Harry is fucking awesome. "You should be cursed at" was a fantastic line and his facial expression. Gold.
"You have failed this city". Dead. And Jesse and the Quicksters, lol. That "wedding", though. That kid's smirk, lol. And Iris like "please, die later, marry us now".
That one goose. And that co-pilot. Plane is about to crash but it miraculously doesn't "Good". I totally lost it. Joe saying "This house is bitchin'" was perfect. Barry predicted the future! Lol. Joe at the end. "I'm pregnant" Joe.exe has stopped working. Hilarious. Man, his eyes. I felt his should leaving his body. Jesse L. Martin is such a good actor. Still laughing.
Wally's out. I understand. They even don't notice he's gone. So much potential, yet he's used as a punching bag. I hope that when he comes back he's given an interesting storyline.
"Haikus are easy
But sometimes they don't make sense
Refrigerator"
Beautiful. That shirt. I must own it. that's my best haiku ever.
Am I crying? Yes. Yes, I am. Damn it, Flash. You did it again. You managed to turn me into a sobbing mess.
First of all, what was Mark fucking Hamill doing there? I've never seen him in anything other than Star Wars, so my first thought was a horrified "L-Luke?". Amazing. It takes some serious balls to cast such an iconic actor and then have him appear in just one scene. I applaud the showrunners.
Yay, Wally got his suit. Maybe he will finally stop whining.
I can't decide if I like Julian or not. Sure, he's not a bad guy, but he can still be an asshole when he wants to be.
"One shall betray you. One shall fall. One will suffer fate far worse than death."
Fuck off, Savitar. Nobody messes with Team Flash. And stay away from Iris. We've already lost Laurel, I won't let another plant-named love interest/moral compass/badass die on my watch.
So, Caitlin can control her powers now? It would be so cool (no pun intended) if she could use them without fear of turning into Killer Frost.
Drunk H.R. is hilarious. And his little happy dance with Wally in the park was absolutely adorable.
The Flash sure knows how to do a Christmas episode. I don't get nearly as excited about Christmas as I used to, but even my cold, dead heart warmed up a little when I saw all those decorations and all the characters together and happy for once. I was afraid something would happen and the episode would end on a cliffhanger, but no. Instead we got Barry and Iris being cute and in love. Someone punch me in the face, I can't handle the feels.
So, I guess this is the mid-season finale? In that case, see you all in 2017! And early Merry Christmas wishes to all of you!
Not gonna lie. Last week’s episode ending left a very weird taste in my mouth. I really thought this show, which up until now was pretty fucking good, was about to shot itself in the foot, not with a simple hand gun but with a .50 caliber (just so you understand the damage).
However, this episode turned out to be an incredible achievement for the cinematic industry. It is astonishing that the writers were able to pull this off and that the director who was able to bring it to life.
Every character got the depth they needed for an epic conclusion and the not linear storytelling fit so well with the cinematography of the show but the clear winners of the episode were Jon and the Causal Loop (which I’m a big fan of in fiction).
Jon is supposed to be this ultimate god who lives throughout the entirety of the universe and that just happens to have lost the touch with human emotions. Yet, he seemed so easy to empathize with. Not relatable, that definitely not but I really did empathize with is non-existential crisis and the lengths he went to be someone again. To matter again even if that means dying stop existing.
The way this episode changed Jon and Angela was already more than enough to satisfy me. However, I honestly didn’t saw that the Casual Loop coming.
This kind of loop is (probably) the most famous in fiction but also the harder to pull off in order to leave a long last impression in the viewer. Why it works here is the because 1) the episode is told in a non-linear way, creating a sense of disorder and order in your brain and 2) because Jon just keeps mention the future, present and past as one single point (including the “tunnel”). If he never used is powers (or at least not to the necessary extent) the reveal that a Causal Loop exists would’ve crumbled right when it was created.
Thanks to the way this episode was structure everything I saw hit me in the perfect tone and the Angela-Grandad Causal Loop is like my 2nd favorite now. I don’t know, I also love the one from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (which is 3rd; the 1st one is unbeatable btw).
The only things I didn’t like: Jon’s blue CGI (kind of :/) and probably the acknowledgment of the Causal Loop so suddenly but either way, that was nothing compared to the great things it did.
[7.5/10] Ahsoka feels right. The vistas of Lothal feel of a piece with their animated rendition. The characters seem like themselves despite shifts in the performer and the medium. Their relationships feel genuine even though much has changed in the five years since we’ve seen them together.
Maybe that shouldn’t be a big surprise with Dave Filoni, impresario of the animated corner of Star Wars, both writing and directing “Master and Apprentice”, the series premiere. He is the title character’s co-creator and caretaker. He is the creator of Star Wars: Rebels, the show that Ahsoka is most clearly indebted to. And he is, for many, the keeper of the flame when it comes to the Galaxy Far Far Away.
But it was my biggest fear for this show. More than the plot, more than the lore, more than the latest chapter in the life of my favorite character in all of Star Wars, my concern was that translating all these characters, and their little corner of the universe, to live action and a different cast and a different era of the franchise would make everything feel wrong. Instead, we’re right at home. The rest is gravy.
And the gravy is good. Because these are not the colorful, if intense, adventures of the Ghost crew fans saw before. This is, or should be, a period of triumph for the onetime Rebels. They won! The Empire is torn asunder! Lothal is led with grace and a touch of wry sarcasm by Governor Azadi, with none other than Clancy Brown reprising the role! Huyang the lightsaber-crafting droid is still around and has most of his original parts!
Nonetheless, our heroes are hung up on old battles and older wounds. Ahsoka Tano is on a quest to track down Grand Admiral Thrawn, who hunted the Spectres in Rebels. Sabine Wren can’t bask in the afterglow of victory as a hero when she’s still mourning Ezra Bridger. And the two warriors have some lingering bad blood with one another after an attempt to become master and apprentice, true to the title, went wrong somewhere along the way.
With that, the first installment of Ahsoka is a surprisingly moody and meditative affair, one that works well for Star Wars. Sure, there's still a couple of crackerjack lightsaber fights to keep the casual fans engaged. But much of this one is focused on familiar characters reflecting on what’s been lost, what’s been broken, and what’s hard to fix. The end of Rebels was triumphant, but came with costs. To linger on those costs, and the new damage that's accumulated in their wake, is a bold choice from Filoni and company.
So is the decision to focus on Sabine here. Don’t get me wrong, Ahsoka has the chance to shine in the first installment of the show that bears her name. Her steady reclamation of a map to Thrawn, badass hack-and-slash on some interfering bounty droids, and freighted reunions with Hera and her former protege all vindicate why fans have latched onto the character. For her part, Rosario Dawson has settled into the role, bringing a certain solemnity that befits a more wizened and confident master, but also that subtle twinkle that Ashley Eckstei brings to the role.
And yet, the first outing for Ahsoka spends more time with Sabine’s perspective. It establishes her as a badass who’d rather rock her speeder with anti-authoritarian style than be honored for her heroics. It shows her grieving a lost comrade whose sacrifice still haunts her. It teases out an emotional distance and rebelliousness between her and her former mentor. And it closes with her using her artist’s eye to solve the puzzle du jour, and defend herself against a fearsome new enemy.
This is her hour, and while Sabine is older, more introverted, all the more wounded than the Mandalorian tagger fans met almost a decade ago, this opening salvo for the series is better for it.
My only qualms are with the threat du jour. Yet another Jedi not only survived the initial Jedi Purge, but has made it to the post-Return of the Jedi era without arousing the suspicions of Palpatine, Vader, Yoda, or Obi-Wan. Ray Stevenson brings a steady and quietly menacing air to Baylan Skoll, the former Jedi turned apparent mercenary, but there's enough rogue force-wielders running around already, thank you very much.
His apprentice holds her own against New Republic forces and Ahsoka’s own former apprentice, but is shrouded in mystery. She goes unidentified, which, in Star Wars land, means she’s secretly someone important (a version of Mara Jade from the “Legends” continuity?) or related to someone important (the child of, oh, let’s say Ventress). And I’m tired of such mystery boxes.
Throw in the fact that Morgan Elsbet, Ahsoka’s source and prisoner, turns out to be a Nightsister, and you have worrying signs that the series’ antagonists will be rehashing old material rather than moving the ball forward. The obvious “We just killed a major character! No for real you guys!” fakeout cliffhanger ending doesn’t inspire much confidence on that front either.
Nonetheless, what kept me invested in Rebels, and frankly all of Star Wars, despite plenty of questionable narrative choices, is the characters. The prospect of Ahsoka trying to train a non force-sensitive Mandalorian in the ways of the Jedi, or at least her brand of them, is a bold and fascinating choice.
But even more fascinating is two people who once believed in one another, having fallen apart, drifting back together over the chance to save someone they both care about. “Master and Apprentice” embraces, rather than shying away from, the sort of lived-in relationships that made the prior series so impactful in the past, and the broken bonds that make these reunions feel fragile, painful, and more than a little bitter in the present.
I am here for Hera the general trying to patch things up between old friends. I am here for Sabine holding onto her rebellious streak but carrying scars from what went wrong, in the Battle of Lothal and in her attempts to learn the ways of the Jedi. And I am here for Ahsoka, once the apprentice without a master, now the master without an apprentice, here to snuff out the embers of the last war and reclaim what was lost within it.
They all feel right. The rest can figure itself out.
Another good episode, but I must admit that I was kinda disappointed by it as a season finale. It ended well, but the episode felt a bit off. It felt as though every single character just had a sudden change of heart, as though we had missed an entire episode of development. Obviously we knew certain characters were headed a certain way, but they just seemed to suddenly jump from say 60% of the way that they progressed through the last 7 episodes, to 100% just in this one. It felt kinda weird how Homelander just suddenly showed up and got Ryan too - it came out of nowhere. It was still a good episode, but I thought it felt a bit rushed.
Also kinda disappointed that we're kinda just back where we started at the beginning of the season, with no real way to take down Homelander. I was expecting Soldier Boy to take Homelander's powers and then we'd get to see a new side to Homelander next season since he'd be weak and dealing with having no powers. Instead, it seems we're going to get a lot of focus on Ryan and Homelander together - which I do like. I had also thought that maybe all of The Boys would end up with powers by the end of the season, but that didn't happen either (not that that's a bad thing).
Anyway, I thought this was a good episode, but an ever so slightly disappointing end to a fantastic season of TV. Can't wait for season 4.
Weird season finale. After all the build up, everything feels anticlimactic. Right down from A-Train--the reason all this mess started--to Homelander.
Before we get to that, let's talk a bit about how weird the whole prison sequences play out. The joke, the attempted rescue, the shootout, all feel really weak especially compared to well-directed sequences in prior episodes. First of all there is really no need for some jocular banter that went for about two minutes or more. Not to mention the pauses. It feels dragging. This includes the attempted rescue which continues the joke.
Second, the shootout looks really weird. We've seen Frenchie did his weird stuff when it comes to the Female/Kimiko, but this doesn't seem logical. He is a professional killer, why the hell he keeps on showing up his head to look at Kimiko when getting shot at? Is he looking to die? Not to mention he got shot prior, on the stomach, how the hell he can walk and help Kimiko walk that easily? Hughie getting to shoot randomly while saying "I'm sorry! I'm sorry" and miraculously hit trained soldiers is even worse. Even the Starlight rescue looks like a cheap deus ex machina for the plot to goes forward.
The Boys had been attempting to mock the quip-ridden superhero genre--that is, the Marvel Cinematic Universe--but the whole prison sequences makes The Boys looks exactly like an MCU episode.
Now we get to the supes.
The Deep. His subplot has been standing on its for quite a while now. There seems to be no direct connection with the bigger plot that has been going on. And this episode his subplot stays that way, while still giving him enough screen time to focus on his emotion. I'm not sure if that is something we wanted to see for a finale. It feels like something to be saved for future seasons. Even if that doesn't mean it's bad, they could have cut it way shorter than what they did.
Then the thing with A-Train feels very anticlimactic. He just popped up there out of nowhere. We were previously shown his desire, his post-power syndrome, his attempt to be relevant. Then in the supposedly final showdown, we finally see Hughie vs A-Train head on. But we don't see A-Train. We see an injured A-Train, a traumatic supe in his mental and physical breakdown. Now this still could be an interesting, emotional confrontation between our protagonist with the one who murdered his sweetheart. Not to mention, the presence of Starlight could make this dynamic interesting--is Hughie done for, how would he cope between his past and present emotion? What we get instead, however, is a slow motion capture with very minuscule combat and almost none of emotional engagement. Then A-Train just went, just like that.
I feel like they are saving him for future episodes, but this being the finale--the culmination of all emotion that has been built up so far--makes this confrontation very lacking. It feels like we are still on Eps 5 or 6, but with worse pacing.
Now Homelander. He is our another main driver of the plot. Everything that has happened so far always leads us back to him. His dynamics with Madelyn the CEO has been a bizarre Oedipus complex-like situation, What happened between them in this episode is actually very unexpected, though one may sense that it would eventually came to this point through the clues scattered so far. This result should have provided a surprising reveal. However, as it turns out, there seems to be something hollow in the encounter. Given the interesting portrayal of their faux-mother-son-sexual-relationship in the first half of the episode, the second half seems to speed up the climax. As if they were being chased by some deadline, that they have to cut it short, while at the same time giving enough spaces for Homelander to give his, in Maeve's words in previous episodes, "boring speeches."
It feels climactic and inconclusive at the same time. And I guess the same can be said with many encounters in this episode. Starlight with Meave. Billy with the CIA. Hughie with Starlight at the church. It feels like they have to speed it up--to shove in the dialogues--for the sake of putting the plot forward. It's shaky and unreliable.
Now, the end of the episode leads us to a quite intriguing reveal. It's not the direction we--or at least, I--expected to take in the season. However, with such really weak build up throughout the episode, the ending feels like forced. As if they have prepared them to be this way, but still unsure how they would bring it up to this moment. As such, while the scene itself is (should be?) surprising, there is not much surprise when I watch the event unfolds. It's less of a "wow, so this is it?" than a "oh okay, so this happens, and then?"
Credits where it's due: Anthony Starr as Homelander and Karl Urban as Billy Butcher display terrific performances in this episode. Especially Homelander with his extremely erratic, unpredictable behavior. But that alone is not enough to pardon the sloppiness of this episode.
Perhaps because they, like MCU and other superhero movies, seem to busy themselves to prepare for the upcoming season instead of trying to give audience a closure of the plot. And that exact reason is what makes superhero movies went boring for these past years. They are focusing to build an universe, instead of writing a good narrative. Unfortunately, this episode robs the fresh air that The Boys has breathe for quite some time. While I hope for the continuation of the series, I am less excited.
Emily x Emily? Now that was an unexpected surprised! And an emotional one, too. Emily had the husband Emily Prime wanted, and Emily Prime had the daughter Emily wanted. I was expecting some sparks with those two together in the same room, but I'm glad they came to an understanding.
I was sad for Howard when he stopped right in the middle of the Crossing, looking at both Emilies from each side... It really seemed he did not want to go back home. I still hope he'll find peace and comfort with his own Emily. But things are different, now, so let's see how that goes for our Howard.
Seeing Nadia and Howard Prime team up provided a last minute fun —albeit short — moment that Clare should be thankful for. It's a pity that Nadia doesn't seem keen on murdering people, these days. She was really good at it and I do miss her character from season 1.
After that origin story episode a couple of episodes ago, I truly enjoyed seeing together again the original members who found and studied the Crossing (and then became the austere and distant, but always watching, Management). Aaaaaand they're gone. Damn it! Mira had everything carefully planned, so she did get her way in the end. Will the Crossing be closed forever, now? Does this mean no season 3 for Counterpart? Only one episode left to find out!
