[7.6/10] Hey! An actually good first season episode of the show! Full disclosure, I’m probably overrating this one a bit because it’s the first episode of the series that really felt like even a nascent version of what Parks and Rec would become.
You have Leslie being well-meaning and sympathetic. Her desire to break into the “boys club,” the outsized importance she places on this, and her endearing awkwardness trying to make it work is all quite sweet and well done. (Heck, even Mark seems kind of charming here with the way he’s nice to her.) On the other end of the spectrum, Leslie being so repentant and scrupulous about breaking into that gift basket is pure Knope, especially in her series of videotaped apologies to the people she let down. Classic stuff.
Plus, we get our first great Ron-Leslie moment. Ron standing up for Leslie in her hearing with the City Manager is a great moment, that fits Ron’s libertarian sensibilities and shows the first bit of recognition for Leslie’s better qualities. And her stressing over a letter in her file, with Mark telling her it’s the thing that makes her a member of the “club,” is the perfect button.
We even get a B-plot of Andy trying to clean the house (and himself) for Ann, where he seems like the well-meaning goofball P&R fans know and love rather than the more jerky layabout he started off as.
Overall, it’s nice to dive back into the first season and actually come up with an episode like this where you see the seeds for what Parks and Rec would grow into rather than something that feels like an alien adaptation of a show you really like.
I finally managed to return to these great characters after a couple of years, I watched the first two seasons when it was still on Netflix and after that I had no access to the new seasons as Amazon was not available in Poland back then. In the meantime, I read all but the last Expanse novels and loved them, both the "old" characters as well as the new introduced in the saga, so I wonder how it would play out in the show and whether they introduced profund changes from the books. Though I must say I really enjoyed this episode, it is visually stunning with the spaceship and all, and I missed all the main characters though I couldn't recall some of the background ones.
The situation at Roci is really tense after Naomi sent the protomolecule to Fred Johnson (though I am not sure whether Naomi really does it in the novels?) and it is a bit of a sad start to the season, but on the other hand the message Alex records for his family is quite moving, from what I recall from the novels, Alex does return to his wife and child in the later novels but as he confesses here in this scene, he cannot really live without piloting ships and isn't happy staying too long in one place, this is something he cannot change in himself. The scenes with Avasarala and Bobbie are also very emotional, and both of them are among my favourite characters both in th novels and the show.
I guess it is much easier to write a critical review but rather difficult if you really enjoyed everything about the episode, I can't wait to watch more :)
[8.0/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] As a devotee of so-called prestige television, this was right up my alley. I loved the homages here, from Fargo, to Breaking Bad, all the way to Dexter’s famous grapefruit (I agree, it’s not subtle). And while I admire both the tributes and the guest stars (Brian Cox!Timothy Olyphant! Cristin Miloti!), I actually love the way The Simpsons apes these shows in this one.
It’s not just a Simpsons episodes with a few call-outs to prestige T.V. The episode actually goes pretty big in terms of its formal audaciousness, using flashy HBO/AMC/FX trademarks like split screens, match cuts, and unique framings for various scenes. It’s more of a prestige drama starring Simpsons characters than an episode of The Simpsons that happens to be about those sorts of dramas. I appreciate Matt Selman and company being willing to really go for it in terms of the look and feel of the episode.
And it’s a good melding of the two sensibilities as well. I like the raw story here. Ned Flanders finding a bag of money that accidentally gets him wrapped up in the world of crime is right out of Fargo (which makes me chuckle a little since for years, fans joked about how Fargo film star William H. Macy would make a good live action Flanders). There’s some real meat to his story, from wanting to honor his grandfather, ginning up some jealousy from Homer, and wondering if he’s being karmically punished for taking some pride in his good deed when he donates the purloined cash to a local orphanage.
It pushes Ned out of his comfort zone, not only having to deal with gangsters, but also feeling like he has to lie to Marge (albeit to protect Homer and reckon with his motivations for putting his name on the donation (even if it’s technically his grandfather’s name). It’s a character study for Ned, in a way not unlike legitimate award-winning dramas, and I dig that.
At the same time, Brian Cox’s debt collector character is the perfect spoof of a premium crime drama heavy. (My prediction: He’s actually the young hippie to whom Flanders’ grandfather loaned money for bread, hence his start with “debts”.) Cox’s delivery is fantastic, and his goons roughing up folks in unique ways, especially Comic Book Guy, is a lot of fun,
Of course, it’s pretty clear that this is a What If? or Treehouse of Horror-style non-canon story once Disco Stu and Mr. Burns bit the dust. But even there, the show does well at mimicking Sopranos-style violence, with a humorous twist. (I loved how aghast Snake was when he finds the scene at the donut shop.)
The romance angle with Barbara, the manager of the orphanage, is a little odd in the finish, but still amusing. She seems perfect for Ned, and the pair having a lovely, quaint time, only for Ned to find out she’s Sideshow Mel’s wife who has an “arrangement” with her husband. Their scenes together are amusing in the squareness, and I guess the reveal works in a “this would freak Ned out and make him wonder if he’s being punished” sort of way, but it’s a little out there.
Still, I appreciate the continuity of it, since Mel has mentioned his wife Barbara before! In the same vein, I love that the mix-up with the goons kidnapping Homer instead of Ned comes from Homer’s well-established trait of “borrowing” all of the Flanderses’ stuff. These are some nice touches, pulled from past episodes and used for good purposes in the new one.
On the whole, this is a big swing for The Simpsons, which I always admire, but this one connects much better and much cleaner than the average post-classic episode. You love to see it.
[7.5/10 on a Selman era Simpsons scale] Another good year! Some wild swings with all three of the stories this year, and some measured successes as well.
The first segment, riffing on NFTs, is probably the weakest, which is a good sign for the episode because even it was fun. I wouldn’t say there’s a ton of trenchant observations about the NFT market, just the usual “crypto bros stink”, “these dumb things used to be valuable” type shtick. But I actually love the conceit of Marge going into the virtual world to rescue Bart after he’s become an NFT. There’s a real Tron/Matrix/Snowpiecer vibe to the whole thing, which is a neat mash-up for a Treehouse of Horror segment.
Plus, the animation here was surprisingly good. The NFTs Marge runs into aren’t the cleverest takes on the genre, but there’s some extra expressiveness and fidelity when she fights them. Little details like Mihouse and Ralph getting mixed together when Kirk and Clancy try to push their kids into the digitizer at the same time makes it feel appropriately horror-esque. And I like the sort of Twilight Zone twist of Homer selling himself as an NFT to Mr. Burns for a hundred million dollars. The closest thing to an incisive observation here is the whole idea that the train runs on FOMO, but as a pure romp, this one is quite entertaining.
My favorite segment was probably the middle one. As someone who enjoys Fincher-esque flicks, a combination of Seven, Silence of the Lambs, and another film for an omnibus gritty killer movie parody is a winning idea. Putting Lisa at the center of it in an alternate timeline follow-up to “Cape Feare” only ups the ante, especially when she has to partner with Sideshow Bob in the future.
MMy only gripe is that this one isn’t especially funny. (Though I got a kick out of the fact that Homer choked on a tennis ball.) But I’ll take interesting, scary, and even clever in a Treehouse of Horror segment, even if the laughs don’t flow freely. Lisa as a grown-up profiler, tracking down a series of murders of grown-up Springfield Elementary students, and enlisting Bob for help, is a premise that sets up a nice riff on the investigatory thriller genre.
I appreciate how the twist has its cake and eats it too. On the one hand, it’s implausible that Lisa would have a second personality doing all the killing and eluding her notice and the whole scheme is pretty baroque. But it’s also a spoof of those kinds of neat but implausible twists, and so can be credited for lightly spoofing that sort of crazy twist. And god help me, something about her getting revenge on Bob with the help of a grown-up Maggie. Plus, the tableau the killer leaves make this one impressively (and artistically) gory.
The final segment is the most high concept, but it wins on that concept alone. The whole notion of the entire town turning into Homer-esque versions of themselves becomes more of a gimmick than a story, but I don’t really mind. It’s fun to see the designers and animators going off and Homerifying everyone in Springfield. The twist of Homer being enchanted, rather than repulsed, by the Homer-y version of Marge is amusing. And there’s even a touch of social commentary on how doomed the world would be with a population that’s anti-expert and against intellectualism of any sort. Honestly, it feels like more of a commentary on the pandemic than last season’s lockdown episode.
Overall, a good batch of spooky stories this year, with each one having a creative idea at its core, and each having plenty of fun and inventiveness with the execution.
[9.5/10 on a Selman Era scale] Remember when the Simpsons felt like human beings? It seems like such a long time ago now. The show’s still had its emotional high points over the years (largely while Matt Selman was serving as substitute showrunner for Al Jean), but in large part, Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa stopped feeling like real people and started feeling like joke machines who existed to be bumped from zany scene to zany scene.
Despite its fantastical dreamworld setting, “A Mid-Childhood’s Night Dream” is achingly real. It is founded on real emotions: of parent worried about losing the sweet children she knows to the inexorable march of years and growing up, of kids maturing and wanting to be seen for what they are and not what they were, of the way that relationships evolve over time but in a way that doesn’t have to diminish them, of the fact that fifth grade boys definitely need to learn about deodorant.
It is beautiful. I’m a firm believer in the idea that oftentimes the abstract and the impressionsitic can do a better job of getting at truth than the literal. So I love using the dream imagery of bubbles, representing both a touching memory of domestic bliss and the sense of something precious about to pop. I love the visceral panic of Marge losing Bart’s hand in a department store, frantically trying to find him, and encountering a dismissive teenager instead. I love the use of size here, with Ms. Peyton growing immensely when warning about the end of Bart’s childhood and Marge feeling tiny as she imagines walking through her home as an empty nester.
All of these big choices communicate the feeling of what Marge is confronting in the way that's accentuated by the exaggerated and surreal imagery. It’s disorienting and in some cases distressing to see, which puts is in Marge’s shoes.
Frankly, it felt like one of the dream episodes of The Sopranos, which is high compliment! (Maybe it’s just the mutual premise of food poisoning prompting emotional epiphany and psychological hardship with your kids growing up.)
Not for nothing, it’s still funny! There is a lot of heavy stuff here, with Marge reckoning with the fact that Bart may not be her “special little guy” anymore. But there’s also a lot of cute, clever, and downright hilarious choices here. For whatever reason, my favorite jokes in the whole thing were the freeze frame gags in Marge’s file folder of yesterday’s thoughts. Absurd bits like “I have manly thumbs” and “Do I have to watch The Wire?” really tickled my funny bone for whatever reason.
But honestly, every comic element of this one clicked. Ms. Peyton’s grave seriousness about preteen B.O. hit home in an amusing way; the inner Lisa half-translating our favorite eight-year-old’s insights in Marge’s “Lucy dream” was a clever device; Homer’s various transformations were creative and fun; and all they kept finding new layers to the gags about food making Marge nauseous in a way that surprised me. The advent of a “summer sushi” stand, and the radio ad involving “warm mayonnaise” got especially absurd laughs out of me.
With all the humor, the episode never loses the heart or the truth behind what it’s doing. I love the little insights here that feel very human. The fact that Marge remembers a time when Bart was the sweet one and Lisa was a handful is a particularly nice touch, dovetailing with the theme of how kids are constantly evolving, and that's okay.
There’s some clever writing in how “bounce-a-thon” becomes the inflection point for Marge’s anxiety about those changes. Her realization that Lisa is still a mommy’s girl and so she’s desperate to be there to capture a photo of Lisa for her scrapbook smartly dramatizes the immense pressure Marge is feeling to hold onto her kids’ childhoods by any means necessary. The fact that Bart won’t do the thumbs up photo to add to her scrapbook is an equally canny choice to turn their conflict into something tangible.
It too feels real. Again, the lived in touches help drive this one home. Bart being able to express himself so maturely about why he doesn’t want to do the pose leaves Marge taken aback. Her removing a splinter from his palm makes her realize how much his hand has grown. These small signs that your son is not a little kid anymore pile up, in a way that would make any parent wistful.
And yet, what I admire most about the episode is it doesn’t resolve all of this anxiety in a place of hopelessness, or cheap gags, or even a saccharine “their childhoods will always be there” message. Instead, Marge embraces Bart doing comic picture poses over sweet ones. She laughs at the cleverness of his faux-mooning tableau. She may still mourn the little boy he isn’t, but she comes to love the young man he’s become, and there is great beauty in that, to love the evolution and change you see as someone grows into the person they’re going to be. Bart may not be her sweet and “special little guy” in the same way, but now he’s her “funny little guy”. Being validated like that means as much to Bart as it does to Marge.
In a strange way, it gives Marge what she wanted. The episode returns to hand-holding again and again as a motif. Marge remembers her little boy grasping her fingers as a sign of maternal bond. She remembers the bittersweetness of convincing him to let go to go to kindergarten. She senses his disinterest when she removes a splinter from his hand now.
It’s a potent image.You don’t have to dig too deep to understand the meaning and impact of letting go, of feeling a loss of connection, that's represented by your child not reaching for you anymore.
That's why there’s such catharsis in the final moments, when Marge earnestly likes Bart’s little gag, and he’s plainly touched by being affirmed in that way. So he does what he always did. He takes his mother’s hand and invites her into his world, into the life he has now and the person he’s becoming. I get misty-eyed just thinking about it.
That's not typical for The Simpsons in its post-classic years. And yet, under the new regime, the door has opened wider and wider to this kind of earned emotion and earnest character exploration once again. (See also: last season’s superlative “Pixelated and Afraid”.) The show had leveled out after the insanity of the Scully years, but largely stagnated, in ways that sanded down the characters. Now, they’re allowed to consistently be people again. And like Marge with her son, it is once again exciting, and heartening, to see what the show might grow into next.
I lost count of how many times groups of people with guns happened upon other groups of people with guns in this episode. The episode did feature the return of Daniel, which is a plus, except that a major plot point last season was that he was suffering from dementia, and now in this episode, he's just back as the leader of a group of parents, fresh as a daisy? The writers seemingly tried to explain away his miraculous recover from dementia by having him drink yerba mate for "focus." Seriously?? Call every neurologist in the the country! Fear the Walking Dead has come up with a simple cure for Alzheimer's! :facepalm: The big reveal about PADRE was super lame and underwhelming. Otherwise, the writing in this episode is dreadful and often nonsensical, and the acting is uninspired. At one point, Crane is really worried when his father leaves some binoculars behind. I mean, he's way more worried than anyone on planet earth should ever be about binoculars. So he runs off to find his father and give him the binoculars. His sister asks why he has to take the binoculars to his father, and he says, "Because how will he see what's coming without them?" Dreadful.
It's almost as if everyone involved knows this shit sucks, and they're just trying to get to the finish line at this point.
[8.1/10] I’m so glad that they’re making Rita into a real character with this one. There’s a certain clichedness when we met her in the first episode, seemingly ignoring her son in favor of going out to land a “doctor dad.” But this episode puts that into context, from the abject shittiness of Bear’s biological father, to the sense in which Rita’s trying to provide for her family in multiple ways, to simply getting to hear her inner monologue (with a fun illustration of it) that makes her a richer and more sympathetic character. It’s a great way to evolve the audience’s understanding of her.
Bear’s sympathetic here too. The savvy viewer knows that his dad isn’t going to come, but also understands why hope springs eternal for a sixteen-year-old boy who can’t help but idolize his dad and wishes he’d come home. Seeing Bear go all out trying to get food his dad likes, movies they used to watch together, and even a gift for the deadbeat is heartbreaking even before Punkin flakes yet again. The actor who plays Bear does an excellent job of selling both the character’s joy at the prospect of his dad’s visit, and the crestfallen low when he fails to show up with another lame excuse.
I’m also a big fan of Elora’s storyline here. The invitation to join the rival gang comes a bit out of nowhere (or, more specifically, the grocery store). But Jackie puts a bug in her ear about the thing that so often divides people -- money. The simple idea that Elora’s more serious about earning and saving to get to California, while she watches Bear spend the group’s savings in a comparatively lavish fashion, communicates the way a simple comment can drive a wedge. We understand both Bear’s reason for spending and Elora’s reason for being put out by it, which makes for the best sorts of character conflicts.
I especially like the line this one draws between Rita and Elora. The notion that they have to make it work on the ground when the men in their lives are chasing dreams resonates through both of their stories. Both have to try to manage Bear’s foolish yet understandable expectations, with the implication that Rita’s already been through this sort of nonsense with his father.
Not for nothing, this is also a really funny episode of the show! RIta’s inner monologue isn’t just revealing, but has some good wry humor about the different sides of her, both equally valid and witty parts of her identity. Punkin’s scumbag qualities are frustrating but also ridiculous. The irony of the anti-diabetes festival hosting a rapper who sings about greasy fry bread is a laugh. The interlude where Rita spends the night with a guy who she thinks might be the ticket she’s been looking for, only to realize he’s got a confederate flag tattoo and a bevy of other problematic traits is well-observed. And the imagine spot of his plantation-esque days is darkly funny.
But the piece de resistance is her and Bear in the car after getting the news that Punkin isn’t coming. She reassures Bear but speaks plainly with him, telling her son that he can’t rely on hsi father, and that she’ll cut Punkin out of their lives if it’s what Bear wants. You can see in the way she wrinkles her nose at the suitor’s suggestion that Bear “needs a dad” that for all her desire to get Bear the resources a new father figure might bring, she’s strong enough to be all the parent he needs, and lives that every day.
Overall, I know I said this last time, but this is my favorite episode yet, and features a rich character story about an important part of Bear’s world who’s been otherwise underdeveloped until now.
[7.5/10] Bobby Lee! He steals the show a little bit here as the cynical doctor looking after the various Rez Dogs. He has comic reactions down pat, and a good rapport with the young actors. I hope we see him back on the show.
The kids do well too. Bear getting jumped, trying to play like he got some good shots in, is a good character note. And him coming this close to getting into another one, only to have his mom break it up, is a funny way to resolve things. Bear’s bit feels mostly like an excuse to get the gang to the clinic, but it succeeds in what it sets out to do. More than that, I like Bear being clearly touched by the picture of his friend Daniel, another sign that for as hard and tough as Bear tries to be, he’s still vulnerable and emotional when it comes to certain things.
In terms of comedy, and hints of something more, I like the reveal that Elora has a stomach ache from eating 10+ bags of chips each day. I’m not sure whether it’s just supposed to be a funny “kids eat junk food” gag, or a hint of poverty to where she relies on stolen snacks for sustenance, or both, but it works too. There’s also some solid gags with the sarcastic receptionist at the clinic and Big complaining about sugar as “the white man’s bullets” while getting an energy drink. This show isn’t big on belly laughs so far, but it does a good job of making you smile throughout.
Oddly enough, I think Cheese’s story was my favorite here. Him getting halfway tricked into looking after his eye health, and then paying it forward by spending time with a random older woman who thinks she’s his grandmother is surprisingly wholesome for what seems like a fairly cynical show. I love closing on him taking her outside to look at the world beyond her doorway as a note to go out on.
Overall, this was more of a slice of life cul de sac than a complete story or episode, but the laughs were there, and the look at kids being kids feels well-observed. Another good episode.
[7.4/10] A nice little intro to the show. The dynamic between Bear and Elora is strong out of the gate, and I especially like Bear’s spiritual struggle between trying to get out of a bad situation by any means necessary and wanting to stay and help his people the right way.
I can’t speak to verisimilitude, but the world Bear and his compatriots inhabit feels very lived in and real. The ecosystem of his reservation already has its contours, with the meth head contingent, the seemingly inept ocal policeman, the kind catfish restaurant folks, and other allies and antagonists out in the world.
The magical realism is interesting too. Bear having a vision after his Platoon-like paintball beat down, with a comic twist but moral push, is a compelling wrinkle. And the hints that he’s seeing his dead friend at the corner of his vision lays the seeds for something interesting.
I’ll confess, I didn’t laugh all that much here, but I don’t know that it’s that sort of comedy. It feels more like a slice of life kind of show, where the humor comes more from a wry appreciation of the situation, mixed with the realness of kids being kids, and I can dig that, as well as the sideways Tarantino references.
Overall, a promising start, with some of the necessary table-setting that comes with a series debut, but also a number of interesting threads and character beats for the show to follow from here.
[4.2/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] I very much want to give The Simpsons credit for this one. Its heart is ostensibly in the right place. At the core of “Hostile Kirk Place” are some good observations about people wanting to erase historical truths that make them uncomfortable, and the ego boost they get from feeling aggrieved and listened to. That sort of sentiment has fueled more than one hateful political and social movement, and taking aim at that perspective is a righteous cause, in line with the show’s past critiques. I even like the core observation of the B-story -- that you have people who don’t really care about the issue du jour, except to make money off of it.
But there’s a few big problems. First of all, there’s a big false equivalence here. The show rightfully wants to poke some fun at both sides of the debate, but ends up creating a false equivalence, where the parents who want to acknowledge the hard truths of history are treated as just another comical alternative viewpoint to those who want to erase it. It’s a tricky balance to strike for any show, but “Hostile Kirk Place” botches it here, which undercuts the message.
The bigger problem, though, is that this is a really ridiculous and unsatisfying way to dramatize the crazies railing against “Critical Race Theory” as a boogeyman for everything they don’t like. Milhouse’s great great grandfather building a gazebo that fell down, making his family feel bad, is a weak stalking horse for the point. The ensuing debate and jokes about “critical brace theory” are full of tepid-at-best barbs.
And good lord, the third act where Kirk turns into a fascist dictator leaves reality so far behind that it becomes hard to take any of these points seriously. The show severs its connection with the real world, to where its argument from consequences seems so overexaggerated and ridiculous that it almost plays like unintentional satire. The Simpsons has long taken real ideas to absurd lengths to highlight their essential absurdity, but this goes too far, divorcing Kirk’s status as a concerned parent so far from any real life outcome that it’s hard to care where they’re going with it.
More than anything, it’s just not funny. The best Simpsons political episodes, like “Much Apu About Nothing” and its take on immigration, do use the show’s satirical edge to poke fun at the facially goofy or hypocritical parts of the opposing view. But they manage to wring much more humor out of it. All “Hostile Kirk Place” has is a few stock observations about the discourse without much in the way of chuckles, let alone guffaws.
There’s some mild cleverness to the finish, with Kirk not wanting to recall history and thereby repeating it with another big gazebo crash. And I guess there’s setup and payoff with Homer’s big copper-based late night crap empire being the thing that sparks it, leaving him ruined too. But it’s all just so cartoony and tough to take seriously.
There’s so much hay to be made from this topic! Anti-CRT trolls are rife for satire, and you could do a lot with people trying to get rid of history they don’t like. But “Hostile Kirk Place” goes in some bizarre, not especially amusing directions when trying to do so, and it results in the rare low light under Matt Selman’s watch.
"What kind of person hugs and tells?"
Jimmy and Alice's conclusion was fantastic.
Jimmy’s wedding speech was terrible. He made it all about himself and barely mentioned the couple getting married. Another huge example of Jimmy being selfish: packing up all of his wife’s stuff without asking their daughter if she wanted to keep any of it. I know he ‘fixed’ this problem later by putting all the boxes in her room but he wouldn’t have had to correct that mistake if he had remembered that his daughter might have feelings.
All in all, the show is fine but not funny, it definitely is more drama to me.
“I’m fucked!”
“Without a drop of lube.”
The best comedic acting on Shrinking: Gaby when she catches Harrison Ford's getting laid by his doctor - GOLD. Comedic gold! Jessica Williams and Harrison Ford screen comedic chemistry is :100:.
Liz incorrectly correcting Jimmy’s grammar.
“That's all we get, but it was so fun.” - This line and Jimmy getting to the end of the scrapbook and realizes there will be no more pages added to him and his wife’s memories together and accepts it, crying. Growth is devastating and necessary. That was the saddest thing this entire season.
Each new episode of Shrinking reminds me just how much we need to see healthy depictions of grief on the screen.
“Academia is the fifth circle of hell. It goes babies, musicals, magic, kale, academia.”
While it was sweet that Paul canceling his award to go see his grandson and I understand her point and all but I think Paul’s daughter is so aggravating, it’s kind of silly how she reacted on hearing about him getting the award. She can be mad at him for calling her about work thing but it is also a big thing that she could've been bit happy about or understood that he wants his family to be there on his special moment.
OK I GET it. A "slow burn" show like this isn't everyone's cup o' tea. However, IMO, in the case of "Invasion", it worked well, in that it made you "feel" for the characters, (love OR hate them), while intercutting between stories, all the while avoiding hitting you over the head with monster jump scares, but still teasing you enough to keep you intrigued. A fine line to walk, and, they didn't always do it well. But all in all, a pretty good series, which, especially after the seemingly "easy, tied with a ribbon" NOT ending, and the "we ALL saw that coming" reveal at the NOT end, I am glad is getting a second chance "at bat".
Yes, some of the characters were predictable and annoying, and yet, the one person I wanted dead murked at the start, actually partially redeemed himself, and a couple of the others may, or may not have shed their mortal coils, at least on THIS plane. It will be interesting to see if they can take this beyond the "they came here for our resources" (or our brains) trope, and actually come up with something new(ish). Especially intriguing is the thought that Caspar (and his epileptic visions) could somehow partly be the CAUSE ("they came here for ME") as well as the effect of the arrival, especially with the astronauts Father making an appearance in his dream(?) after (brain) death(?). (Vdub Fringe's "digital back ups?") (but why was the father there?) Trevante Coles BEARD gets an honorable mention as an additional character, as well as Aneesha Malik for actually being a good Mom and not pitting her kids against the Dad by withholding a critical piece of information from them, even (or especially) after his possibly assuming room temperature. (no body, then, perhaps, perhaps, perhaps?)
Yeah, OK, maybe they spent too much time on these character development parts of the plot, but, as I stated earlier, they got me invested in the characters, for better or for worse, and, I look forward to seeing how the "rest of the story" plays out.
I don't know how to feel. Mixed feelings on the finale for me. Not great, not terrible. Was it perfect? No. Am I completely satisfied? No. Are there many loose ends that I will never understand? Absolutely. Can you ever please your whole audience? No.
Dorothy got her closure and was finally able to grieve. Her knowing that Leanne brought Jericho back for almost a year helped the sting of finally waking up. So yes, the “reborn” doll technically helped. Leanne got her closure as well. She got the mother figure that she had long yearned for. Dorothy and Sean get a fresh start. They no longer have to live in the house where they experienced so much trauma. Also, Dorothy seems to have fully recovered from her broken back, she was barely able to walk 2 episodes ago, now she's running up and down stairs.
Kind of felt the Leanne and Dorothy changes of heart were too quick from previous episodes. Leeanne's "redemption" wasn't earned - her character development was all over the place this season. She went from being lowkey evil to straight up psycho in the span of one episode. Then after a single stiff conversation with Dorothy she’s willing to sacrifice herself.
I’m glad that they didn’t kill Julien and acknowledged that Leanne brought him back to life. Julian honestly getting the biggest twist? Julian getting the final frame of the show. Julian getting the final line of the show. I didn't see the twist with the cop and Julian coming though, and it definitely leaves a spinoff open.
That being said, I am disappointed that there were no answers to any of the lingering questions throughout the series such as time inconsistencies, the green window, the history of the house, how Dorothy's mother died, etc. Some of these details set the tone for the show but I was hoping that they would play a more essential role in the final episode.
All in all, I was never expecting a huge twist and always thought what we saw was what we were getting at the end. Also, I didn’t need to dig deep and analyze windows. Is the ending really good? It was fine. And honestly I didn’t expect much. Some have over-analyzed every scene thinking everything has a special meaning. And when it doesn’t fit their expectations they get upset and sat it wasn’t worth it, went on too long, etc. But one thing is for sure though - the show went on for too long. Servant really needed to be a limited series
If Michael Bay made Invasion, it would be filled with paper thin caricatures. Invasion is more in the vein of Cloverfield, both of which invest heavily into developing characters. In both, alien invasion is a backdrop that accelerates unfolding human drama.
Aneesha (United States): Arguably the main principle character, I find her struggle to protect her kids while letting her cheating husband Ahmed "help" for the time being interesting. Ahmed has been a one-dimensional villain, but their dynamic is complex and boiling up into a spectacular burn.
Caspar (United Kingdom): By far the most sympathetic character and his relationship with a school bully Monty is realistic. Billy Barratt delivers very nuanced performance.
Mitsuki (Japan): Her lesbian angle reminds me of Hilary Swank's cliched sci-fi Away, but her role is thankfully pivoting into a scientist in charge of solving the mystery.
Trevante (Afghanistan): Estranged boyfriend-PTSD soldier angle creates a surprisingly poignant backdrop for his newly developing relationship with an Afghan migrant Kuchi (fantastically played by Aziz Capkurt).
The first 3 episode devotes well over 90% of the screen time developing these 4 characters, with "cameo" appearances by veteran actors Sam Neill and Rinko Kikuchi. Like Cloverfield, their conflicts are brought to front and center as their survival instincts kick into higher gear.
For the most part, I think these storylines work because the performances are so strong across the board. But I hope something bigger happens soon.
The first two episodes have not been very compelling like the previous seasons. There’s eight episodes left and I have no faith anything will wrap up by then. The story has hardly moved an inch, we know that Dorothy had so much problem with Leanne, but I'm getting tired about what's going on there. Leanne’s physic abilities remain the most intriguing narrative element.
Episode 2 is focused on the Doty/Leanne relationship, it seems like that’s the main storyline for the season. I was annoyed by both of them this episode. Leanne feels unappreciated but she needs to realize she’s doing a lot of things nobody asked for. And all because she thought she knew them based on meeting Dorothy 10 years ago for 2 minutes. To think Dorothy would still be walking around with her own two feet if they hadn’t gotten her that doll.
There was no clear antagonist in the first two seasons. Middle-end of season 3 Leanne really started to act like a spawn of Satan. There is nothing they can do to redeem her in my eyes. She is too possessive of Dorothy and her family.
I cannot believe Dorothy threw her pee at Leanne! But the 3 men that are supposed to protect her are completely useless.
Those nurses are going to end very badly. I think they are cult members.
[7.4/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] If you’d pitched to me, “The Simpsons tackles a black man questioning his racial identity” as the premise for an episode, I’d expect it to be a car crash. The show hasn’t shown the dexterity to handle a topic that sensitive with grace and humor in years, maybe decades.
But damn if this isn’t a solid outing for the show. Focusing on Carl’s insecurities on whether or not he’s “convincingly” Black enough, and it leading to him exploring his roots, works surprisingly well as a trenchant and even funny story for the show to tell.
One of the things I like about the episodes showrun by Matt Selman is that he picks up on something from the years when Bill Oakley and Josh Weisntein ran the show. He takes time to develop the secondary and even tertiary characters to give them more life and personality. I’ve watched this show for thirty years, and I couldn't tell you much about Carl. But that's an opportunity for The Simpsons. This episode takes the chance to develop and treats him like a full-fledged, well-rounded character.
His journey is a sympathetic one. The show explores how he’s in a somewhat delicate position as a Black man who was raised by Icelanders. His desire to impress a date, contrasted with how he feels out of touch with Black culture, is a nice inner conflict to drive the action.
The sort of B-story about Homer and the rest of the barflies being uncomfortable with discussions of race but trying their best to support Carl and give him the help he needs is a nice one. There’s some good laughs here, particularly in the discussion of Marge’s book club book. And this isn’t jerkass Homer. It’s supportive friend Homer, who is much preferred.
Bringing in Skip Gates to do Finding Your Roots with Carl is a nice way to address his struggles with his identity. Gates is surprisingly game, and the show finds some good gags for him, especially the running bit about people thinking they have the same skills their ancestors do.
The third act reveal of Carl’s rodeo dad does two things. One, it helps disabuse the audience of the notion of a whitewashed wild west, which is a public good. But two, it helps give Carl a connection to his parents and a culture he can be proud of, even if it’s not the one he thought. The conclusion is a little rushed and silly, but Carl becoming comfortable with who he is, and thus comfortable with his crush, is a nice place to land.
Overall, this is the sort of topic that I would have zero faith in the show to be able to pull off in 2023. And yet here we are. It makes me appreciative of the big swings the show’s been willing to take in Selman’s episodes, both in terms of the characters put into focus and the topics they’re willing to tackle.
It was clear from the beginning of the show that Shiv felt that being a woman regardless of how capable she was meant that she would never be taken seriously as the successor both with her father and her brothers.
You see her mentions this in passing plenty of times including her fathers funeral when she spoke, I believe this caused great resentment from her towards her brothers and in particular Kendall.
This was likely the reason she decided to screw them over and team with Mattson as she saw this as the only way to get what she believed was deservedly hers.
A few episodes back when the siblings were planning to go into business themselves and all 3 would be equals appeared to the be a turning point for Shiv where she finally felt she was no longer being taken for granted and would be treated fairly based on merit however this didn't last long, when Ken and Roman decided to become Co-CEO's while they tried to land the Mattson deal, this likely was the final nail in the coffin as she then knew she would never be seen as an equal.
As mentioned she teamed with Mattson and as we saw then got screwed over, her decision at this point to side with her brothers despite knowing she would once again be taking the third seat was understandable because at this exact point Mattson's betrayal again pointed towards one of two things... he didn't want a Roy as CEO and would not be easily controlled ( most likely) or again it was another man that didn't believe a woman could do the job.. we don't get her take on it other than her acknowledging she got screwed.
I believe at this point her choice to side with her brothers and put kendall in the top spot made sense as at this point her hate for Mattsons betrayal was greater than her hate of the idea of one of her brothers succeeding.... only just.
Roll forward to the next day, her hate for Mattson has began to cool down... and just like a see-saw her hate for the idea of one of her brothers undeservedly getting the top spot began to rise back up but wasn't strong enough to not go through with it at the start of the day.
But watching Kendall at her fathers desk, feet up on the table.. and a whole load of other tells brought out the contempt once again at the idea of her being passed over just for being female despite in her opinion being the better fit for the job... and she then decided she'd rather see her husband in the position.
With Tom as CEO there is a possibility for her to manipulate him and in a roundabout way be able to claim she is CEO or closer to being CEO than her 2 brothers... something I'm sure she will lord over at any opportunity... and also don't forget their child could potentially be the next successor... s
That was such an incredibly sad but perfect and correct ending.
I don't understand people who didn't like the ending because their favorite character didn't win. After 4 seasons with these despicable characters did anyone expect the Roy kids to unite and defeat the bad guy with the power of love and friendship? It was never going to end that way.
The three siblings just could never get over their egos. They all proved, through the 4 seasons, that they’re basically useless and the only reason they were ever in the discussion to be CEO is because Logan was their father. They'd rather destroy everything than have only one of the trio take the upper hand. Shiv just could not let her brother have a win, even if it meant her losing as well. Perfectly summed up their whole family dynamic and the show as a whole.
The siblings are so entitled and self-absorbed they never saw Tom coming. They’ve never had to work for a damn thing. I don't like Tom, but it makes sense for someone like Tom, who worked his way from the ground up and earned himself the position he was in.
The scene with the siblings making that awful smoothie and them watching their dad reveal yet another side of himself was so nice among the insanity that came in between.
That penultimate shot with Shiv and Tom in the car was phenomenal. Complete shift in the power dynamic. After marrying him specifically because she thought he was weak enough to keep holding power over.
Kendall not winning every season. That’s rough.
Willa revamping Logan's apartment with a cow print couch.
In the end Conor was the only one to have any kind of a relationship with Logan, the other kids are never shown having moments with him like he did at the recorded dinner.
Greg translating the Swedish in real time is the smartest thing he’s ever done. Four seasons and I cannot for the life of me understand why he would put up with that. His uncle offered him $250mil to get away from the firm.
But the biggest thing for me coming out of this episode is Kendall’s son isn’t really his. It really came out of nowhere and seemed more like a fact than a rumor the way everyone reacted to it.
All in all, Succession stuck to the show’s core till the end. In a way it’s a predictable ending but because it’s television and we expect some twist where a cool character comes out on top we don’t expect the expected. The outcome is pretty much what you’d expect from all the characters knowing their faults
The siblings are back at their bullshits. Logan was right. They are not serious person. Everything about this episode felt so manic, really drove home how incompetent the kids are at running the company.
Was anyone else convinced that the clip of Logan calling his children idiots would somehow find itself playing in front of the entire investors meeting?
Kendall gave me major We Work Adam Neumann CEO vibes. Overpriced real estate trying to pass off as tech.
Playing 'bitey' in the middle of a party is insane. Interactions between Tom and Shiv this season is so well written. The chemistry is :fire:. I like how they both are being totally, brutally honest about who they are with each other. Tom admitting his love for money and power was so fascinating to finally see. Getting divorced is exactly what that couple needed.
-“I need you to believe that I am as good as my dad. Can you do that?” - “Say it or believe it?” - Ouch. The interaction with Gerri and the director both really showed Roman can't handle pressure at all. And the moment where Roman just wants to hear his dad insult him again is sad.
Does Mattsson really respect Shiv as an ally or is he fucking around with the siblings the way Logan did?
Karl’s moment with Kendall right before he went out on stage was jaw dropping.
Best quote of the episode, “How am I supposed to follow this? He just promised them eternal life.”
Another Ted Lasso banger. The emotions, humor, and writing seem to be as good as ever right now and I'm absolutely loving the places they're taking the characters this season. One thing I loved here was seeing just how far the team has come and how much they've changed from where we find them in season 1. They care so much about the Ted Lasso way, which was demonstrated by how much they love the "Believe" mantra and sign, and how mad they got when they saw the video of Nate ripping it. Another thing I loved was how playing angry made them so much worse. Angry is very much not the Lasso way, and you see how awful they play when they abandon it. It shows that despite his lack of tactical strategy or knowledge of the game, Ted's way of coaching does help the team in other ways. Loved getting more of Nate again and seeing the cracks in his facade. He wanted to apologize to Ted a number of times this episode but either chose not to or couldn't, and Ted's kind-hearted spirit shining through even with Nate is perfect. I think Nate is starting to notice how bad of a role model Rupert is, but it's up to him to not allow himself to follow in those footsteps. If and when Nate and Ted make up, it's going to hit hard emotionally because of this build up.
My love towards Succession has been an on-and-off thing, and I haven't been a fan of this season either, until now. 'Connor's Wedding" might be the very best episode of the whole series, and certainly one to remember.
All the performances were award-worthy; the tension, suspense, uncertainty, everything translated really well as we found out the details in parallel with the characters. Up until a point, it could had very well been a ruse orchestrated by Logan, and that feeling lingered until the very end - after all, that is how Logan rolls or used to roll, fooling even his closest and turning everything around at the very last second.
And oh boy, how perfectly they capture that feeling when every hatred and issue you have with someone turns into care and worry if something dire happens. The kids here think they are rebels and felt like they had won and are kings of the world, free from their daddy issues, and just then, everything falls apart and they realize that they care, after all, and that's all that they did. And the love is still there, and they don't want him to die - they wanted him to suffer, but not like this, just without real consequences. Succession breathtakingly captures those feelings, I am not sure I have seen such candid moments anywhere else. And the viewer can completely flow with it all. Kudos to the writers, to the actors, to everybody.
Played the game couple of times and before playing the game I never thought a story could be so well told like it was in this game. The story was never about the virus, infected etc. For me that was just a backdrop for the character study that was happening in this story. Father dealing with the grief of losing a daughter, being shell of a human being and just surviving for 20 years, not allowing anyone close to his heart until Ellie comes along.
This adaptation, even though spot on the environment, sound design, character clothing etc, is completely missing in that emotional character study department. I don't mind if the show runners along with Neil are changing the story, adding the backstory, moving in different directions etc as long as they give us that same emotional expressions of characters and bring that connection between characters and the audience to the small screens in form of this TV show. These first two episodes completely missed the mark in that department. Ellie, despite being a scared, smart and respectful 14 year old girl in the game, turned into a "always answering questions with smart ass comments", completely disrespectful 14 year old girl in the show. There are tons of other examples about Ellie, Joel and Tess I could write and mention here but I really don't have the energy.
Even though very well done first two episodes from the production point, it completely missed the mark in my view to present these characters and their struggles from the game to TV screens and get the new comers to the story to feel what players felt when playing the game.
[6.7/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] I don’t know how to feel about the childhood self-image and mother-daughter relationship material here, so let’s start with the easy stuff.
The opening shtick at the water park is pretty abysmal. Homer is a jerk to the rest of his family and puts his kids at risk by taking them on a dangerous, derelict waterslide that eventually gets them sick (although thankfully not injured). Having recently watched Defunctland, I can appreciate the reference to Action Park, but there were no good jokes here (spare me Milhouse’s swim diaper interlude), and it featured my least favorite version of Homer.
Likewise, the B-story about Bart lifting weights with the bullies was dead on arrival. It seemed like complete filler. If you squint, you can see the faint outline of an idea about Bart trying to be a big kid only to find that he’s not ready for the reality of it. But all we get is a heap of tepid gags about kids getting “swole” and the bullies getting girlfriends. Feh.
With that underbrush cleared out, I’m far less sure how to rate the story of Marge calling Lisa “chunky”, thereby destabilizing her daughter’s sense of self-worth and causing a rift between them. For starters, the comment is especially jarring for longtime Simpsons fans, considering the show already did an episode where Lisa develops an eating disorder where Marge was desperate to get her daughter to eat something. But the show’s long had a “Each episode begins the Simpsons universe anew; continuity be damned” attitude, so I’m hesitant to slate the show too much for that.
It does, however, feel shockingly insensitive from Marge. But I’m also hesitant to slate the show too much for that because Homer, Patti, and Selma all acknowledge it as insensitive, and Marge’s arc is to learn how her words were hurtful. It feels out of character, but also real in its parental oblivious, so I’m conflicted.
That extends to my feelings on the entire storyline. It touches on something real, even a little uncomfortable, about growing up and family relationships, which harkens back to the earliest days of The Simpsons. It humanizes both Lisa in her insecurities and resentments, and Marge in her desire to repair her relationship with her daughter despite not understanding the hurt she caused. The ultimate message -- about how we’ve all internalized some unwittingly harmful words from the people who’ve raised us, and mutual understanding of our shared humanity and flaws is the only way to “shrink them”, even if we can’t make them go away -- is a good one. It’s clear that, despite an unfortunate title, “Lisa’s Belly” has its heart in the right place.
But it’s also painfully unfunny most of the time, and clumsy in its exploration of these issues. It’s nice to have Homer realizing how serious Lisa’s issues are, and even enlisting his hated sisters-in-law to help. But the “Age of Not Give a Crap” song is the pits and undermines a lot of the self-acceptance points it tries to make with how it treats Marge’s sisters. The magical hypnotherapist journey into Marge and Lisa’s subconsciousness feels like a cheat. And Marge and Lisa’s antagonism goes too far in places.
I just don’t know what to do with this one. The intentions are good, but I’d still hesitate to show this to anyone wrestling with the kind of problems Lisa and Marge are. The treatment of them isn’t as sensitive or raw as the material deserves, and the laughs aren’t good enough to take the sting out. I admire The Simpsons for trying to tell this sort of story, but I wish they’d told it better.
[7.0/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] Sometimes I don’t know what to do when it comes to The Simpsons and continuity. I don’t mind the shifting timeline, and minor snarls like Marge making Bart butterscotch chicken in one episode despite declaring that he’s allergic to butterscotch and imitation butterscotch in another. The show’s always had a “waistband” reality, and I don’t mind that.
But when the show does a direct sequel to another episode, it feels like continuity should be more of a factor. I was enthused at the prospect of Moe reuniting with Maya, the woman he dated and lost in “Eeny Teeny Maya Moe” all the way back in (gulp) season 20. But “The Wayz We Were” never really addresses the reasons they broke up in the first place.
In short, Maya bailed because Moe couldn’t see past the fact that she was a little person, even if he cared for her. This episode does nothing to show that Moe’s grown or changed or otherwise learned from the experience and truly sees Maya for who she is now. At best, there’s some subtext that in the time apart, the two realized they missed one another and so have a new impulse to make it work. Moe doesn’t make any jokes or comments about Maya’s size, which is good, but it feels like a cheat for the show to basically just skip over the major issues that broke the two characters up in the first place.
Still, if you can forgive that, there’s a decent emotional throughline here, namely Moe’s fear of abandonment or loss whenever something good happens. It’s the relatable sort of anxiety a lot of people grapple with, so it works as the main arc here, especially for someone unlucky in love like Moe (even if that lack of luck is often his own fault, see also: Renee).
I like the songs here. Dramatizing Moe’s insecurities through visions of him as various villains, reworking “Walkin’ on Sunshine” for his joys, and capturing some sweetness from “The Way We Were” all make for entertaining, albeit not especially deep sequences. My problem, though, is the resolution to it all. Moe’s answer to a fear of abandonment isn’t to talk through his worries with Maya or otherwise come to some personal epiphany about why he fears this and why this time is different. He just...proposes, and it basically solves everything. As Marge herself once put it, “that’s a pretty crappy lesson,” and more to the point, shabby storytelling.
The B-story is a little better. I appreciate the well-observed humor of routing apps like Waze creating trouble for neighborhoods that turn into detours. There’s some good gags about the vicissitudes of trying to get assistance through byzantine tech company apps and phone trees. There’s also a nice throughline about the Simpsons in general, and Homer in particular, being reviled by their neighbors (the Laura Powers cameo got a particular laugh out of me), only to get back in their good graces once he solves the traffic problem. People getting too appreciative of Homer’s efforts is a little silly, but enjoyable, with the only catch being that there’s no real resolution to the subplot.
Overall, I wanted to like this one more than I actually did. There’s some good laughs and gags in the B-plot, and Moe’s reunion with Maya is sweet. But I’m still a little miffed at the way this one glosses over the good work the show did in the previous Maya episode, and how unsatisfying its resolution to Moe’s romantic insecurities is here.
Decent over all. Part 1 was too much build-up for what Part 2 delivers.
The things I thought were good:
The new settings, and a creative plot. I liked the dissociative plot twist. I think it was well executed.
I liked how in the end Joe was chasing himself rather than a girl. I loved how unhinged it got.
The things I thought were not good:
I think part of the reason this season fell flat is because we didn’t have any truly great side characters. They were not written well. Most of the side characters did not add much to the plot at all. Take them out the show completely and we haven’t lost much in my opinion. They all seem like cartoon characters. There is not even the slightest depth to them and I have no interest in the relationships they form with Joe.
I can't really connect to Nadias storyline. Everything she did in P2 was SUCH a horrible decision. What was up with Maryanne not letting Nadia call the cops? It makes no since at all, their reasoning was beyond dumb, it’s just lazy writing.
Another disappointing character arc was the lady with the camera. She was just Phoebe's stalker? I was hyped to see if she was the one who was finally going to expose him. Or if she was connected to Beck somehow.
Kate is my least favorite love interest of Joe. There is zero chemistry between her and Jo. Zero.
I just don't understand why Joe becomes obsessed with Rhys in the first place. It seems so unlike his past obsessions. Had they written this season more tightly, we wouldn't have to wan explanation.
My suspension of disbelief has been broken many times this season, especially things leading to the ending. Joe just murdered Nadia’s boyfriend in broad daylight in London and they're just chatting next to a dead body for how long.
It feels like this season the plot armor is even more noticeable than in the last ones - reasoning of Nadia and Marienne for not calling the cops was really weird, all because they wanted Joe to get away with it without facing the police. The PI just handing Joe a new life wasn't explained. He killed Kate's dad incredibly easily for how rich and smart he's supposed to be. He even survived jumping from the bridge.
Joe has really managed to find not one, but two women who wholly accept him for all his stalking and murdering. And conveniently they both came from very wealthy families who are happy to cover up all of his crimes.
I have a feeling season 5 is gonna be the last. The fact that Joe it now at his absolute worst makes me think they’re preparing for his downfall. Plus it would be fitting for the last season to take place in NYC since that’s where it all started.
[6.4/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] I’m pretty conflicted about this one. On the one hand, I appreciate the ingenuity of this episode as a format-bender. Presenting all of these events through a series of YouTube videos deconstructing the rise and fall of OUr Favorite Family as viral celebrities is a creative spin on the usual storytelling. The show manages to replicate the feeling of falling into one of these wormholes, where you’re digging deep into some esoteric subject and maybe even watching the drama unfold in real time. I want to see more bold shots like this, with the creative team stretching and even breaking the usual form for an episode or two.
But I also don’t love the story. This never feels like the Simpsons in action. I take that to be somewhat the point. The idea is that they’ve been so transformed by the viral influencer lifestyle that they’ve lost themselves. But even then, these never feel like twisted extensions of Homer, Marge, Bart, or Lisa. Instead, they feel like entirely different characters who get scrunched into the Instragram-ready family mold because that’s what the story needs them to be this week.
You could do a good Simpsons episode about the family losing its way in the face of viral fame, but “My Life as a Vlog” never comes off rooted in the characters as we know them, or even an exaggeration thereof. Even “Behind the Laughter”, which at least had the good sense to take things non-canon, felt more attuned to who the characters are.
I do appreciate the thematic point of this one -- that despite an air of authenticity and the appeal that comes with the promise of candid moments, YouTube personalities and their adventures are as manufactured and phony as anything on scripted television. But there’s not much of a compelling tale to support it.
Though hey, maybe it’s because I only have half a foot in the world of vloggers and similar content. A lot of the humor didn’t land with particular force for me, because I'm half-familiar with the things the episode is parodying, but not well-versed in the material like when, say, co-showrunner Matt Selman is spoofing prestige television. I chuckled at Patty and Selma’s ASMR vid, and Frink’s crazy conspiracy videos. On the whole, though, this episode is a genre parody where I only have passing familiarity with the genre -- enough to get the joke but not enough to really tickle my funny bone.
The one part of this I did appreciate is the throughline of Homer’s relationship with Maggie. It’s very simple, and not enough of a focus for the episode. But I like that what got this all started in the first place was a traditional viral clip of Homer being a good dad. What demonstrated how far things had gone off the rails was him disregarding her wellbeing for a marketing tie-in. (And hey, Maggie’s right to be terrified of those Minion knock-offs.) And what sets things back together is Homer worrying that she’s lost and promising he won’t make her do any videos anymore, with the implicit promise of a return to the actual, legitimate cute interactions that ginned this whole thing up. It’s not much, but the sweetness of that makes their arc the most substantive thing in the episode.
Overall, I admire the creative swing of trying to tell a Simpsons story in this way, and the attempt to be timely with an episode centered on YouTube culture which is a growing part of how Gen Z and below consume media. But the substance, character, and comedy of this one was below par in a way that even a format-bending change of pace couldn't make up for.
Tom: "Do you want a deal with the devil?"
Greg: "Well...what am I gonna do with a soul anyways?"
Succession season 3 finale proved once again the importance of a satisfying ending because a reader/viewer's most long-lasting memory of your story will be its ending, thus making them to forget how the rest was bland. Succession's Red Wedding episode was amazing. It's obvious in hindsight that everything that happened this episode was going to happen, they have been setting Tom up for this since the beginning of the series, so I don't think it was shocking at all. It's brilliant but not shocking.
The devil works hard, but Logan Roy works harder. The man doesn't give a crap about anyone but himself. What's so ironic is Logan claimed he wants to see killer instinct in his children but the second they try to make boss moves he cuts them off at the legs. This should have been the moment he was waiting for - his kids finally realizing they're stronger together. But at the end of the day Logan doesn't want anyone to succeed him. He is also such a big hypocrite – while, yes his kids should've tried to succeed and made their own money, they can't because all of their lives Logan keeps them emotionally dependent on him. For all three seasons, he had them thinking they could finally win his approval, as long as they did everything he said, only to learn that it will never be enough. He was using his own children, only to throw them away once he saw the best deal for himself.
Can you really change the terms of the divorce that happened twenty years ago?
The scene with Kendall coming clean to his siblings was the catharsis he desperately needed. And the way it took all of Roman's strength to stand up to his dad, but then boom, Logan fucks them all as usual.
Connor repeating that he's the eldest son was funny. I sometimes forget there's a fourth Roy kid.
Tom stabbing Shiv in the back makes perfect sense after all the shit he put up with her. She was all shocked pikachu face because she is so unbelievably unaware and lacks any self-awareness. She kept underestimating how awful her relationship with Tom has become. The look in Shiv's eyes at the end was brutal - the anger and hatred of it all. I hope we are getting Gone Girl next year! Tom is probably the worst character on the show - the Roys were brought up by their terrible father and mother to be cruel and horrible, they don't know any better. But Tom worked to get here. Yes, he loves Shiv, but I do not think he would've kept swallowing her treatment of him if it wasn't for her rich family that gave him job, money, and status.
Roman looked so broken, practically in tears, when he asked Gerri for help but she betrayed him as well. I'm glad the writers didn't play into the shippers with them (they still went a little over the board this season) and actually gave us an interesting story there.
Season 3 was rather drowsy in comparison to previous ones, especially season 2, which is basically flawless. Not a lot really happened outside of the demise of Kendall (again). Season 3 never quite lived up to the plot it promised and the hype from the previous seasons. Season 2 ended so strong, set the expectation Kendall would become a 'killer', only to make him seem extremely incompetent and far from being ready to take down his dad. The whole thing has been as anticlimactic as they come. Jeremy Strong plays it well but at some point it's becoming tedious.
Season 3 has become so redundant. Every episode started to mirror the previous, and it was very obvious that the writers kept dragging the story, wanting to make the little progress in the final episode. All this build up and no execution. The senate hearing and Tom going to jail becomes ... nothing. The fed investigation - nothing. The search for new CEO - nothing. Search for the next president becomes...? Nothing there as well. During the whole season, they tee up these huge points constantly and then get cold feet approaching anything momentous.
I hope we see a more fast paced Season 4. This one was too much of a slow burn. I hope the creators do something with the plotlines they create next season, not just writing them off at the start of episodes in 10 minutes scenes. And most importantly, I hope they force the characters into highly unfamiliar territory.
This episode was insane, so much happened! I can't believe it's the 8th episode, and finally something happened this season. The focus of season 3 being more on the company, not on the family is a minus for me because we know the Roys can’t lose the company, otherwise the show would be over.
Best episode of this season. I don't even know where to begin:
"Happiest Man/Bullet Proof Candidate" - How Connor proposed to Willa at his siblings' mother's wedding, and then pretending Willa accepted the marriage proposal. So much cringe.
"I may not love you, but I do love you" - The real tea is that Shiv meant every single word she said to Tom during their ‘dirty talking'.
"Your father never saw anything he loved that he didn’t wanna kick it just to see if it would still come back." - Shiv and her mom scene was amazing. So much hatred and hurt being shown.
The Kendall/Logan dinner scene! Logan used his grandson as a royal taste tester, he's truly a monster.
Shiv trying to get both Roman and Geri out the way by weaponizing the harassment against Gerri is a next level snake move. She is the most awful girlboss feminist ever.
I'm not interested in any Greg storyline. It seems to me the writers don't know what to do with him so they just put him in this random dull side plot that nobody cares about.
Why do people think Kendall died? As if the show would go there and lose one of their stars. That's actually my biggest problem with season 3 - the show just seems afraid to walk through any of the doors it opens. It doesn't want to disappoint fans with the direction it takes, do anything interesting, or follow through.
I can't believe we only have 1 episodes left and everyone is basically still on the sides we started out at. This season was promoted like there would be a split in the group, a war, like characters would be stabbing each other in the back, but nobody ended up joining Kendall, they're really turning him into a caricature this season, he has been taking Ls for the past like 7 episodes. Season 3 is definitely not nearly as good as season 2, what is basically a perfect season of television.
I don’t know how to feel about this season. Something is off with it, I’m a little underwhelmed. Just didn’t have me as hooked as the other seasons did. I just don’t feel like there was anything particularly gripping. It was an enjoyable watch but Love being gone is very heavy in the air, I don’t understand why they killed her off, there were so many interesting roots to take with her character.
What I liked:
The change in plot style is a real breath of fresh air. Joe feeling/being watched rather than being the watcher and his frustration with it. This was an inventive approach to shaking things up. Joe having a new woman to obsess over the entire season could not have worked again. The changes were done nicely and the season is not like the previous ones.
Glad that we didn’t have to wait till the next part to find out who the killer is.
What I didn't like:
I didn’t think that a character can be worse and boring than Marianne, but Kate is definitely annoying and boring. The show is relying on her British spunk to make her fun. I just can’t seem to like her no matter how hard I try to, I think Love really set the bar high and I can’t accept anyone else now. I think I would have liked Kate better if she actually was the killer because then this irritating personality would be a facade. On top of that I'm not really feeling the Kate and Joe relationship.
I’m getting a little sick of the whole ‘rich people bad’ thing in every single season. I still don't buy that Rhys is the killer, his motive to me? All I seemed to get was, ‘ugh, rich people', which honestly just seeks pretty meh, so I hope there's going to be quite a bit more nuance to both Rhys and Kate.
This round of new characters are extremely bland and one-dimensional, that they felt a bit cartoony at times, and that wouldn't be that bad if we didn't spend as much time with them as we do.
It’s decent mid-season finale, however, the season is a genre shift so not everyone is going to like it. I just hope that the season picks up in the second half.
