Just let me get two things out of the way I think were weak storytelling.
First, putting the drive on the hub was the stupidest thing to do as it could only lead to her getting caught. It also was illogical as it was clear that they would just override it and/or claim it as false. Granted she didn't know about the Janitor room but she knew there was surveilance everywhere and because of that might reach the conclusion that all those feeds had to be watched somewhere. But the story needs to go on so I'll take it.
Second, its hard to believe that they didn't inspect the stuff they brought to Juliette or they would have found the note. Even not knowing what it meant they would not have let it through. Plus, from a storyelling point of view it was giving too much away. Would have been better to not show it. Instead they could insert a scene when Juliette is about to break down to explain that she didn't die. And speaking of dying, Where are all the others that went out? Does someone actually go out to collect the bodies ?
Now, for the big reveal at the end I have to say I didn't see that coming. After making us believe (and I did) that it is safe outside, not only do we learn it is not, but there are literally dozens of silos out there. Does that mean the whole of mankind lives underground ? My guess is that each one thinks they are the only one and each one does have someone taking care that it stays like that. But we still don't have an idea about why ?
There is one thing I noticed that I want to point out. When Juliette told Holland about the door below he seem genuinely surprised. As if he didn't knew. That was the moment he ended the conversation. Just saying.
So, I don't know the books but from reading elsewhere I understand we barely scratched the surface of the story. I wonder how slow they will go with this one. The second season is already confirmed but thre is always the chance of not getting a third, or forth, or however many they need to play this out.
I sure hope we're not getting left hanging in the air atsome point.
Shit. That ending took me completely by surprise. I can't believe Yo-Yo did what she did. Okay, Ruby was a total psychopath with a knack for violence, but in her final moments, she really was just a scared kid who was in way over her head. In some way, I felt bad for her. She had no chance from the beginning, spent her whole life getting indoctrinated by HYDRA and being pushed beyond her limits. If she wasn't crazy before, fusing with Gravitonium definitely would've driven her insane. I get that Yo-Yo truly thought she was saving the world and there was no other choice, but I have a feeling that she's only made things worse.
I was 100% convinced that Talbot would really shoot himself. Smart move on Coulson's part to use HYDRA's programming to stop him.
Deke's crush on Daisy is annoying, but the lemon thing made me laugh. We should totally start confessing our feelings like this.
I'm seeing Infinity War in 3 days. I can't tell you how terrified I am. It's going to be a total game changer for the entire MCU, and I'm sure that it will impact the show in some way. And I'm even more scared because this episode had the lowest ratings in the show's history, plus the show has already crossed the 100-episode mark, so Marvel might decide to end it here. I want to cry just thinking about it. All I want is one more season, even a shorter one. I want a proper ending and closure. We deserve that.
Me: Agents of SHIELD is one of my favorite shows ever!
Also me: * falls practically an entire season behind and frantically scrambles to catch up before the finale *
Ah, the duality of man.
I do have to say though, binge watching 10 episodes in the last one and a half days has made one thing quite clear: this season truly had everything and the kitchen sink, didn't it? Space travel! Daisy and Jemma high on alien LSD! FitzSimmons trapped in a mind prison (yes, best episode ever)! Fake Coulson! LMD Coulson! Space bats turning people into zombies! An ancient alien deity kinda thing in a terrible wig! Deke's influencer girlfriend! The Monoliths! Time travel! I could go on! And I loved every second of it!
Good season finale overall. It went by so fast, there was so much action and thrills. It set up season 7 really nicely and I personally cannot wait for the next adventure. To be honest, halfway through the episode I expected them to kill most of the team so that the rest could pull an Avengers: Endgame and go back in time to try and fix things, but I like this outcome too. Sure, I could complain about a thing or two (like the fact that the writers apparently forgot about Snow or that making us think May might be dead just to turn it around 2 minutes later kinda takes the emotional impact out of the whole thing), but if y'all know me, you know I'm not really the type to focus on the negatives. And I don't mind the fact that they cannot seem to stop bringing Clark Gregg back. I didn't expect anything else. He is who the show was created for in the first place, after all.
Now, recently it's been announced that season 7 will be the final season. And I'm not even gonna pretend that I'm not devastated about it. Yeah, yeah, I expected this show to get canceled last year, so the fact that we know it's coming to an end a year ahead of time and that they're getting to end it on their own terms is a blessing. That's the best any of us TV watchers can hope for. Plus, 7 seasons is a terrific run for any show, much less one as criminally underrated as this one.
But then I think about the fact that the cast has already wrapped up filming the final season. I think about this SHIELD family going their separate ways. And my heart grows heavy with sadness.
I'm not ready to say goodbye.
Still, we as viewers have that last hurrah to look forward to. Bring it on.
What the hell did I just watch? What? So in the end the last surviving Original is Kol? Seriously? WTF?
I hate everything about this series finale. Well, not everything. There's one tiny upside, and that's Rebekah finally getting to be human. Girl's wanted to have a baby since the days of The Vampire Diaries. So I'm really happy she'll get her happily ever after. Really, she deserves it.
Everything else? No.
It would've been so much better for Elijah to sacrifice himself, after all the crap he put everyone through this season. He should've redeemed himself from his selfish actions from the beginning of the season by being selfless in the end. Klaus dying and leaving Hope an orphan is bullshit. And unnecessary. He could have lived happily ever after with Caroline keeping him on a well behaved leash. Or at least, he could've become a human, too.
To me, this feels like a cop out. The writers didn't know how to deal with him being alive in the Legacies time-line, and so they went the easy route and got rid of Klaus, one of the best, most complex characters I've ever seen on a TV show.
I'm upset and disappointed. I mean, c'mon. Since when is killing off practically all of your main characters considered to be a good ending?
I'd say that in general this season had some of the best Jodie episodes for me, and Dan quickly became my favorite of her companions... but nothing changes the fact that there was just too much going on. Too many characters, too many plots to tie together. I shouldn't be very surprised by my disappointment... but I was surprised anyway, there was so much wasted potential.
In the end, there was zero pay-off with Swarm, Azure, and Passenger, they were gone in seconds and there was never any big revelation. Swarm loved to talk as if he was secretly someone tied to the Doctor's past (in the same vein as The Master or another past Time Lord), but was just someone going up against "Division" I guess? (I'm starting to think they're overestimating how interesting the "Division" plotline is.)
The Grand Serpent was absolutely of no consequence other than to bring back Kate Stewart I suppose, yet her interactions with the Doctor were small, and not really as fun as they could've been? And also... so... many... Sontarans. Why so much focus on the Sontarans and their plans, when they already had an entire episode about their conquest, and were defeated before? I don't know if it's because COVID affected the amount of episodes, but everything just fell flat as hell.
I hate being so negative - I really did enjoy these episodes more than the past couple of seasons and there were plenty of memorable moments, including great supporting characters. But it feels so frustrating that they didn't capitalize on all the buildup. I'm definitely looking to the Thirteenth Doctor's specials though - maybe we will see some of it come back and get a better resolution. All I hope is Jodie gets the sendoff she deserves, because even though I had plenty of issues with this era of Doctor Who, she's a great performer and wonderful Doctor.
This show can be either fantastic, a complete boredom, or unbearable. This episode had a bit of the three of them. The prison scenes are completely badass and although I'd like Ollie to suit up real quick, I want to see that badass Oliver again. Btw, Ollie's prison buddy is totally gonna be bad at the end of the season. The dude was way to happy and thrilled to use the guard's family to threaten him. Also, "What's the plan? Beat him up? Torture him for info?" "No, we do it my way". Question here, since when is that not Oliver's way?
The flashforwards are on their own interesting enough. I'm dying to know what the help has happened with Oliver and Felicity anyway the hell is Roy doing there all alone.
I'd watch 42 minutes of Dinah and Laurel teaming up and being absolute badasses. Their scenes together were gold and they have great chemistry together. I loved how Laurel came back at the end to apologize for killing Vince (justice for him, lol) and how she wants to be good despite all the evil she's done. Also, trying to kill the DA is nothing new. I'm amazed as to how Star City manages to find new police officers and new DA who either end up getting killed or are inherently evil.
I started the season liking Felicity. Itlasted only 1 episode. How exactly does seething she's get Diaz? By whining at him u til he surrenders? I'm starting to count Felicity's fuck up from now on.Id hate if Diggle or anyone elsestarts making excuses for her, like-new always do. I mean, she almost got John killed and he apologized to her. Seriously, wtf?
Is it me order anyone else disconnect when Felicity and Curtis aretrying to magically hack something? I feel like if I paid attention, I'd just go crazy. Did they just hack a trip to separate the wagons?
And how did Diaz get that flamethrower? Did he summon it or what? because it just appeared in his hands.
I can't believe the writers gave us Prometheus, a badass villain, for just one season and that we're stuck with Diaz for two.
Mixed feelings as a book reader.
I like how they stuck to source material for the Wallfacers bit, even quoting lines from the book verbatim. It was kind of like an apology for episodes 6 and 7 being 100% original material, not in the books, and both episodes sucked...
Spoilers from this episode below - - - - - - - -
Ok, I'm really confused what the writers were thinking. They made up the entire brain rocket plot, only to have it fail. Why make up a bunch of dumb shit up only for it to be entirely inconsequential? Were they trying to make it more emotional? The book was plenty emotional if they didn't strip away all the depth and nuance in their adaptation. Also, the author goes into detail about how nukes don't work in space, so they can't just nuke the alien fleet. Then these moron writers make an entire plot line around nukes in space. While writing adapting the very book that says that's impossible.
I'm glad they at least included the bug scene at the end as a nice way to wrap up until next season. Like, ok, maybe we are bugs, but we still have hope for survival.
I think this was a reasonably good episode overall, it somewhat brought the spark back after extinguishing it in episodes 6 and 7.
Now I'd like to see the show directors forced to write "Stick to the source material" on a chalkboard 900 times before they work on Season 2.
That season ending though.
This series was a delight binge watch, it's not an earth shattering artistic masterwork light but it's sweet, cute, touching, a bit crude and lewd, and sometimes, heartwarming. A bit predictable, but not enough to put me off it. It's Misfits but with a more lighthearted tone. I feel like it was very good, but also missing some thing. It could have been done better.
What I didn't like:
For me, the whole Kash vigilante side story was forced, something just didn't click and was neither funny nor interesting. I'm glad Carrie broke it off with Kash, he was way to childish and had no ambition. I also cringed hard at the Jizzlord nickname. The rest of show is decent/watchable.
My other issue is that the whole premise of the show isn't addressed in the final. I know it's so they can have a Season 2, but I felt a little disappointed by the final episode.
There are some production issues with the show. The special effects are really bad. It’s not a huge issue, especially because the show has a goofy tone to begin with, but you'll be very aware you’re watching a low-budget show.
The sound mixing is also really bad; as much as I liked the soundtrack, I felt it was poorly balanced for volume. The music is way louder than the dialog, so you end up having to constantly fiddle with the volume unless you want extremely loud music blasting you every five minutes.
It’s very watchable and I do recommend that you at least check out the first episode.
Netflix loves to cancel its shows without warning, and it especially loves canceling them after 3 seasons, so I'm about 60% sure this is goodbye. But then again, Sex Education has been a huge hit for them, so I guess we might get a renewal.
If this is the series finale, it's pretty good. Unlike last season, there aren't any major loose ends left. The only storyline that hasn't been resolved is the paternity of baby Joy. Judging by Jean's reaction, it's not good news for Jakob.
As much as I disliked Hope all season, I enjoyed her conversation with Otis. It made her feel a bit more human, even if she is still deeply terrible.
The Groffs had a great storyline. I loved seeing Adam and Michael grow in their own ways. If we do get another season, I hope they explore their relationship a bit more. It's sad that things didn't work out for Adam and Eric, but maybe it's for the best. Eric clearly has some things to work through before he's ready to commit to one person. And seeing Adam discover his talent and passion was lovely. He didn't win, but he still achieved something really impressive all on his own.
I'm glad Aimee knocked some sense into Maeve. Their friendship is genuinely one of the best parts of the show. We didn't get a lot of Otis and Maeve in this episode, but if this is the end of the road, Maeve got a very fitting and satisfying ending. She finally has a family and she's off to do her thing in America. She deserves the world and finally she's getting it. And things with her and Otis are left open ended and hopeful. Even though they can't know if they'll still be right for each other when she returns, they're both willing to give it a shot. That's good enough for me.
I do hope this show comes back. I really do. There's something so quirky and unique about it, the storylines are great and the cast is excellent. It's truly a gem. But I'm keeping my expectations low just in case. Netflix has disappointed me many times before.
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."
Are you kidding? What the hell? I mean sure I was pissed at the conclusion of season 2, but really that was about the half-arsed setup for season 3 considering they'd tied everything off & needed an excuse for more episodes, & the actual story arc was properly concluded. Here, we didn't even get that much. I get that sometimes an arc needs space to play out & sometimes that means spreading it across more than one season but that's not the case here. There was so much going on, but at the same time it felt like nothing was happening.
They've woven disparate elements in before, & the action has always taken weird twists & turns, but everything always still felt like it was part of the same mystery. Here everything just seemed hastily cobbled together into a poorly paced mess as they desperately tried random stuff to see what would work.
Let's spend the first chunk of the season with Jane working against the team - cool idea! Oh wait now she's been found out! Now she's sick & needs a cure! Zapata is a traitor! Only not really, but she can't prove it! Oh no wait Keaton woke up so he can vouch for her! Madeleine is a threat! Only she got caught easily! But there's still Dominic who is out there just kinda being an annoying loose end I guess? Oh hey Psycho Hacker Girl is here too because why not everyone else is! Here's Boden, & Hirst! Oh & that lab tech who got murdered it just terrible at trusting people. Oh hey Shepard left Jane something must be a big deal... Oh no it's just a random collection of stuff! Oh, but who is this mysterious figure??! Oh wait it's Kurt's mother, who has never been mentioned before (& for some reason has no contact with anyone in the family, even Kurt's sister, who was willing to stick up for & spend time with their accused-of-child-murder dad but apparently a few drugs are a step too far) & this is a pretty big deal... for like one episode. Oh, look, the team are fighting over secrets. Again. Aaaaand it turns out that this was all Madeleine's plan all along & all the murder & terrorism & power-grabbing was just to screw with the team so she'd have an excuse to take over the FBI because she's mad about her father or something.
And that's just the shit I can remember.
Oh & don't get me started on them pairing off Reade & Zapata. They had an awesome ride or die friendship, & then the show randomly throws in romance there, because OF COURSE a man & a woman can't be just bros. And they make it worse still by milking this shit for maximum drama.
I was gritting my teeth & pushing through hoping it would be worth it in the end. The finale was never gonna make up for this shitshow of a season, but I'd hoped for some payoff. And what's gonna happen next season? There surely can't be a whole season worth of material in the team clearing their names? So it's just gonna be a few episodes at best... & then what?
Words cannot express how excited I was for this show to finally return. Remember that agonizing month last year when we thought we'd never see the resolution of THAT cliffhanger? Thank you, Netflix. I wasn't remotely ready to say goodbye to these characters. Even though season 3 was a bit hit-and-miss in terms of storylines, I knew this show still had so much potential left and I'm so looking forward to seeing what this season has in store.
As far as season premieres go, this one definitely delivered. I loved how they handled Chloe seemingly accepting Lucifer, then revealing she's not as fine with it as she claims, then seemingly accepting him again, only to hit us in the face with that ending! I actually wasn't expecting it at all and I'm genuinely shook. I assume she and the priest are working to possibly banish Lucifer from Earth? That was my first thought at least, but who knows. I already feel gutted for Lucifer, imagine what will happen when he inevitably finds out. But at the same time, I kind of love the fact that we're getting a meatier storyline out of this. Bring on the angst!
We also had some nice moments like Trixie reuniting with Maze, who obviously now knows that Chloe simply didn't want an actual demon around her child, and Dan being comforted by Amenadiel. Those were very sweet moments. It's also nice that Amenadiel has accepted that he wants to stay on Earth. Character growth, baby!
I thought I would try to pace myself and not swallow the whole season in one day, but now my resolve is fading fast. I guess I'll have to ignore my responsibilities for one more day (it's not like I haven't done it for the past two months, at least today I have an excuse).
[7.4/10] Good example of this show satirizing all sides of an argument by having this group take seemingly reasonable positions only to argue in the most self-serving, bad faith manner possible. This one started a little slow, with the episode going through the usual “we’re all bad people discussing something topical” notes, but gained steamed as it went. The third act in particular was really strong, with Dennis trying to shrug off Frank’s racist support, everyone twisting the basic principles to suit their needs, and Charlie being swung by hats and shiny shirts.
I also got a big kick out of the humor at the margins. Again, Charlie’s failure to understand what’s going on is always a funny note. The Gang mixing up what songs were actually written/performed by Jimmy Buffet (replete with amusing Pina Colada stingers) got a consistent laugh out of me. And everyone admitting that they would just violate the rules to suit their own needs anyway was amusing in the group’s typically awful way.
I don’t know if there was all that much effective commentary here, though there was something a little potent about Mac and Dee not wanting to go to the concert that speaks to people being left out in one area not feeling enough a part of their community to participate in others. But on the whole, this was more a commentary on the gang’s ability to twist anything to fit what they want than any real position, which just makes it something of a rorschach test. Still, the solution is random but kind of sweet in a solid late era IASIP way.
Overall, not as strong a topical episode as some others this season, but still solid work.
[8.4/10] My first (semi) live IASIP premiere! Huzzah!
Like everyone, I wondered how the show was going to deal with Dennis’ absence, but I probably should have expected what we got, a delightfully meta riff on what the absence of an essential character means, replete with boatloads of raunch and comedic takes on co-dependence and remaining static.
Maybe that’s a little high-falutin for a show as juvenile as IASIP, but I don’t think so. Especially as this show has gotten older, it’s gotten more ambitious, and dare I say deeper, even as it slings episodes where people play a sex doll like a tuba.
I think my favorite thing in the episode is how it explores the ways in which The Gang is fixated and dependent on Dennis as an ingredient in their group, while being blind to the ways in which he holds them all back. It’s striking how better situated and successful everyone seems to be with Dennis gone and with Cindy (Mindy Kalig, ably taking part in the show’s particular banter) calling the shots. The plans are better formulated, there’s more positivity, and everyone seems do be doing well overall.
Everyone except Mac, that is. I appreciated the tack where Mac, most of all, is still fixated on Dennis, and without his sexuality to repress, he’s now just repressing his crush on Dennis, replete with a lifelike and disturbing sex doll. The meta humor of Charlie and Dee assuring Cindy that no one knows why Mac does what he does (probably just a cry for help or attention) and to ignore it and move on was well done in that vein.
But Mac gets The Gang stuck on the “Dennis-shaped hole” in their lives in the same way that Mac does. The bell tolling as the camera zooms in on the unnerving face of the Dennis-esque sex doll is a great running gag, and I like how the episode uses it. Dee is feeling self-confident, Mac is proud of his body, and Frank and Charlie are competently executing (and appreciating) the plan for once, only for them to hear Dennis’s negging and have it still bring them down.
It’s a frickin’ neurosis, and the show uses it both for humor and for its dark character explorations. The way everyone instantly regresses, and falls back into old habits is well done. I even like how they tie things in with The Waitress, using the whole “absence” thing to tie into Charlie never wanting to talk to her and then tying that into her hearing the Dennis doll too, showing that he’s burrowed into everyone’s brains. Community’s pulled the same trick (and with a similar, albeit more network-friendly version of the same archetype), but it still works in IASIP’s more sophomoric setting.
And I like how the show turns that into a miniature referendum on whether the show itself will evolve (which it has, despite maintaining much of the same style and humor) or whether it will remain the same, reuse the same ryhthms, and so on. It’s not the first time the show’s tackled this sort of thing, but it does it well here, with Cindy representing change and something new, and a surprise return from Dennis himself representing the comforting but sclerotic business as usual.
Of course, this is The Gang, so they go with the easy and familiar. Dennis returns, the status quo is maintained, and with it, the rest of the group are doomed to confidence-shattering insults and failure once more. There’s something implicit in that -- the show kind of admitting that it’s not inclined to evolve or get better in a self-aware but kind of cynical way -- but then again, maybe they know that those familiar rhythms are part of what we love about the show, even if tired bird jokes start to grow thin for both writer and audience. Either way, it’s good to have IASIP back.
OK, this is a pilot and they already judged sororities and men in general.
The lesbian one checks all the preconceptions there are about lesbians (for example: they hate men). Well, at least thats my take on her character.
Who goes around telling everyone what consent is and that it can be revoked at any time.
And then using the phrase while advertising for pilates?
using one or the other would have been kind of cool.
Using both in the same scene is just desperate.
Besides the SJW-Stuff: The speech about winning prices for deciphering magic scientifically was way too much.
Also: "Baking-Powder works too"? It exists for quite some time now, if witches are powerful and intelligent women you should think someone would have thought of it already or at least it would have happened by accident...
Also: Way too extreme special effects.
The Original Charmed worked as a mirror for boys/men who watched it (Can't speak to what it did for girls...), while still being fun.
This Pilot felt more like being judged for things you haven't even done.
edit:
To make it clear: Consent can be revoked at any time. I just have a problem with people, who feel the need to tell it to everyone every chance they get and kill the mood for people who are clearly both consenting.
And I also hate it, when people assume that a man won't respect a no. The ones that don't are an absolute minority.
Scenes like this strengthen that preconception...
