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Fear the Walking Dead: The Door (2021)
The most depressing episode of TWDU?
I don't think any other show in history has as big of a turnaround in quality seemingly out of nowhere as Season 6 of Fear. Even The Walking Dead proper never sunk to the lows of Fear Season 5, and while for the most part the main show has also experienced a return to form in it's 9th and 10th seasons, there is something about this season of Fear that makes it extra special. Not only has virtually every aspect of the show improved - story, dialogue, cinematography, visuals, character development, pacing, etc - but it's also managed to recapture the spirit of what made TWD so special in the first place, that key ingredient that's so hard to pinpoint and hasn't been felt in the franchise to this degree in a few years, at least.
But there were still some aspects of the show that weren't immediately remedied. Coming into this episode, it'd been 32 episodes (or two full seasons) since the show last killed a major character, with Madison. That's the longest any TWD show has gone without offing an MC, which is especially jarring considering the insane body count of the third and initially fourth seasons of Fear. This helped contribute to a major loss in of stakes and consequences within the show. Throughout Season 5 especially, it felt like nothing really mattered because everyone made it out of whatever dangerous situation they were in, all the while adding more and more members to the main group.
That was one thing that made Fear stand out from the main show: because there's no source material or comic to reference, we have no idea what direction the story is ultimately going in, or how long characters will be around for. This helped bring the fear to Fear, as with the third season especially characters would be suddenly killed in brutal, realistic ways often with little foreshadowing or preparation.
Then comes "The Door." The episode that changes everything - more specifically, it cements Fear's return to the roots of what made this franchise so intoxicatingly investing to begin with. We start off with John Dorie, the friendly, optimistic, candy-loving cowboy whose decision long ago not to leave a strange stick-wielding traveler alone was what introduced us to his story, having returned to his cabin with plans of ending his life. In an extremely short period of time, he has both seemingly lost everything, and has finally realized that he simply does not belong in this world. He is too good, too light; while his skills with guns have kept him alive this long, there is nothing within himself that can allow him to adapt to this world the way most of his friends have. More specifically, he's seen what Virginia's rule does to people, and doesn't want any part of it. His readiness to hold a loaded gun to his chin at the start of the episode may seem jarring at first, but he's driven to something as drastic as suicide a lot easier than many other characters because he is not built to be as strong as the other characters we know.
One such character is Morgan, who sees how low his friend has gotten and several times in the episode tries to appeal to John to keep fighting. June is still alive, and in fact John has lost very little in the post-apocalypse compared to many others. We've never seen him have to deal with losing someone close to him, aside from Janis earlier this season. This is when one of the most depressing revelations of TWDU is uncovered: John had already lost everything before the world ended, not after. His father left him, his mother is gone, and in the last days before the fall he secluded himself after he felt he'd failed his community by killing someone who did not deserve it. He used wholesome childishness, optimism and a hokey cowboy gimmick to keep himself going, and when June washed up unconscious on his shoreline, he thought he knew why he'd chosen not to give up - why he'd chosen to live as an active contradiction to the world around him, despite having already been torn down so badly by even the old one, let alone this terrifying new one.
At the start of the episode, the only thing stopping John from pulling the trigger on his own life is the dead who keep stumbling up to his property. He can't keep them out because his home has no door. Perhaps, though, there's more to it; perhaps he uses the dead wandering up to his property as an excuse to hold off just a little while longer. The last time he was at his cabin, the love of his life washed up on shore. Perhaps subconsciously John is hoping beyond hope that he will find another reason to keep going. Near the end of this episode, John makes a discovery: it was Dakota who killed Cameron, leading to the death of Janis. Both he and the audience discover that, if John was a living contradiction to the world around him, Dakota is a direct product. We haven't had the chance to dive too deep into her psyche just yet, but based on this episode, she does not believe in the sanctity of human life; she is similar to Lizzie from TWD in some ways, in that due to the world falling apart during her formative years she has extremely warped ways of viewing things compared to most people in our world. She views people as tools; she believes people only use each other to get what they want, for pleasure or to achieve whatever goal they're after. She doesn't appear to be a traditional psychopath; but when John discovers what she has done, she hardly hesitates to pull the trigger and end his life for her own preservation.
In his final moments, John's optimism shines through one last time. He knows Dakota is not alright, but after a brief moment of anger he appeals to hope. He promises to keep the secret to himself, and quickly realizes that Dakota might be his new reason to keep going. Very suddenly he sees a broken child - like himself, in some ways. He finally understands that if he was lucky enough to find his reason to live in June, then she might be lucky enough to find the same, even after the world has broken her down so much. And maybe, in turn, he would also discover his reason to live.
But Dakota shoots him. Point blank in the chest, in the middle of his pleas to a perceived sense of humanity, one that the world has made sure to does not possess, at least not consciously. John's optimism may believe they are similar, but the world they live in promises they are not. "It doesn't all have to mean something," she says, before pushing him into the water.
Upon seeing the photo of him and his father from years ago, and against all odds, John swims to the surface and pulls himself onto a floating piece of debris. He utters one of his father's mantras - "It's not too late" - and floats down the river. He continues to float until he, too, washes up on the shore of his own cabin, only this time, it's June who finds him, and he is not alive.
John's death was the first in TWDU in years to truly shock me. Once he was shot, I started to physically sweat, and for a moment when he resurfaced I nearly believed the impossible: that he would survive. I never imagined losing John, especially so soon. He was one of my favorite characters on the show. I didn't cry during the episode, like I did during TWD's Season 7 premiere, or during a certain "final" episode in Season 9. But I was left feeling something I hadn't felt in a very long time from a TWDU show, not since I first binged the first 5 seasons of TWD in 2015. I'm not sure I can quite put it into words, but I'm unbelievably glad to be feeling it again. This episode, to me, solidified Fear's return to form, and it (alongside last week's "Here's Negan") reaffirmed my love for this franchise. There aren't many people that care about this world or these stories anymore, at least not nearly as many as there once were, but I truly believe they are missing out on some of the best TV out there, even if it sometimes takes a bad season or two to get back to the good stuff.
In the end, John was a broken child, needlessly murdered by another broken child. Rest in peace John; you'll be sorely missed. Welcome back Fear; you've been sorely missed.
8.75/10.
Fear the Walking Dead: The End Is the Beginning (2020)
A return to form?
It's no secret that what has happened to Fear the Walking Dead over the past couple seasons is almost universally considered to be an absolute travesty. Just as the series hit its stride in the still fantastic third season, virtually the entire crew and a huge chunk of the cast was replaced with by far less interesting characters with terrible writing. The first half of Season 4, while frustrating, was at least watchable: Morgan is one of my favorite characters from the original series, and Lennie James is one of the best actors in the franchise. Unfortunately, with the deaths of Nick and Madison the series lost its original purpose. In the second half of Season 4 and the entirety of Season 5, it devolved into a complete parody of itself, plagued by bad dialogue, stiff cinematography, characters behaving completely unlike themselves, a terrible bare-bones plot about helping people and an insufferable gray filter over every episode.
Fortunately, almost every major gripe I had with the last season and a half or so has been done away with in this episode. The trailers for this season already looked promising, similar to TWD Season 9's exciting trailers after the disappointing Season 8. As of this premiere, color has returned to the show, gone is the empty plot from last season, and the grounded realism that made TWD's universe so compelling to begin with has (mostly) returned.
There is very little to complain about here. Morgan is once again acting in line with the direction his character arc was heading until Fear Season 5, and now seems to have finally settled into the most likeable version of himself. The dialogue, for the most part, is fine, and occasionally compelling. The cinematography, while still far different from the dirty handheld of the first three seasons, is more dynamic and loose, but again it's mostly the sharp return of vibrant color that makes it interesting to look at. The story of the first episode itself is simple, but somewhat unique in TWD universe. A character like Emile the bounty hunter could feel out-of-place and corny like much of the last couple seasons, but fortunately they smartly decided to have him be a one-off character that was dispatched of once he'd served his purpose. I even found myself getting a bit choked up at Isaac's bite reveal/death and Morgan seemingly going for good after killing Emile.
I'm not convinced this season will be amazing or as good as this episode hints it will be. The bottle episode format they're utilizing could easily get old fast, especially on episodes focusing on less compelling characters like June or Althea. But, for at least this premiere, I'm happy to say that the world of Fear feels alive again, thanks to improved writing, reasonable dialogue, a simple yet compelling storyline and visuals that don't induce headaches.
We may never be getting the original Fear of the first three seasons back, but if this level of quality is kept up, then it'll definitely be a show worth watching again regardless.
The Walking Dead: What We Become (2020)
Satisfying sendoff for Michonne with some spectacular scenes
This was another great episode in Season 10. There were some slow moments, especially at the beginning and a little in the middle, but the high points of the episode were very, very high. Michonne discovering the drawing of her and Judith was well done and her conversation with Judith later was insanely emotional. Hadn't gotten choked up like that for the show in a while, probably since the pike deaths last season.
The best part of the episode, though, was undoubtedly Michonne's 10-minute drug trip in the middle. The music was great and the recreated scenes were phenomenally done, but I especially loved seeing so many familiar faces again. Even if most of the returns were just through archive footage, they were given new context that felt like we were really seeing them again. Glenn in particular was awesome to see.
The ending was intriguing and I'm excited to see how Michonne's story continues in TWD universe. I'm glad they didn't do a repeat of Rick's sendoff by having her captured while everyone thinks she's dead; it was far more satisfying this way.
8.5/10
Vikings: Death and the Serpent (2020)
Great episode & strong, satisfying sendoff.
This episode was fast-paced and tense the whole way through. The action was well-directed, the performances were strong, and the story kept me guessing. Definitely the best episode of the season so far (though the whole season has been a marked improvement over Season 5B).
I think we all knew that - spoiler - Lagertha was on her way out this season. I was surprised when it didn't happen in 5B. Lagertha has been a character with lots of ups and downs in regards to her writing. She was a top-tier character in Seasons 1-3, felt shoved to the side in 4A, and was downright frustrating and poorly written in 4B and 5A. The last few episodes of 5B, though, offered a glimpse of hope. It finally felt like she was realizing she had gone way too far in her vain quest for power and revenge, costing her the lives of people close to her, specifically Astrid and Heahmund. She chose to pass on that power to Bjorn at the end of 5B, and leaves it all behind for good at the start of this season, returning to the simple farmlife she and Ragnar had in Season 1. It was a beautiful turn around, and put her frustrating development in 4B and 5A in a much better, more tolerable context. In the end, she dies for the dream of returning to that life - the wound inflicted on her was surely killing her before the big twist at the end even happened.
This may be somewhat of a stretch, but in a way, the Seer's prophecy came true in more ways than one. In a way, *every* living son of Ragnar was at least partially responsible for Lagertha's death:
- Bjorn sent those guys away, resulting in White Hair inflicting a wound that she was surely dying from before the Hvitserk stuff even happened.
- Ivar killing Thora and tormenting Hvitserk led to Hvitserk's drug addiction.
- Ubbe chose not to aid Lagertha and stay in Kattegat; if he had come to her aid, she never would've been in Kattegat for Hvitserk to kill her, and she may not have been wounded as badly if they had more forces.
- Hvitserk, obviously, did the actual killing.
I also love that Lagertha forgave Hvitserk right away; I definitely don't blame him for what happened. And the last shot was perfect. Gave me strong Jon Snow "For the Watch" vibes.
Overall, this was a great episode that leaves me excited for the rest of the season. It was nowhere near the heights of "All His Angels," but I was satisfied by Lagertha's ending (and appreciated not being left in a puddle of tears like I was after Ragnar died).
8.75/10
The Walking Dead: Silence the Whisperers (2019)
One of the most beautiful episodes in a long time
I went into this episode not expecting much. I've enjoyed the previous three episodes - especially last week's trip-tacular Carol spotlight - but the trailers made it out like this would be a building episode that did little to advance the season's story. Maybe that's a part of the reason why I loved it as much as I did.
This episode has the same feeling that the early seasons did - a raw emotion and a 'human' feel that was a large reason I and so many fell in love with the show in the first place. I think it was in the direction. Michael Cudlitz (Abraham himself) knocked this episode out of the park. I wasn't sure what to think of his episode last season (9x07), mainly because it was one of the more uneventful, slower episodes which seemed to give him little to work with. It was also his directorial debut so of course he would have needed some time to feel things out. With this episode, though, it's clear that he has a natural talent for this sort of thing, so much so that I'd call him one of the best directors to ever work on the show. The cinematography has been great this season, but here it was even better, even fresher. "Fresh" is the term I would use to describe Cudlitz's direction here - it felt like the kind of kinetic, dynamic episodes of Seasons 1-6 but with all the greatness of the Angela Kang era to complement it.
Aside from the direction, this episode was just a very moving, emotional one in general. From Lydia's struggle to fit into Alexandria, to Negan's attempt to do the right thing backfiring more than anyone could have guessed, to Ezekiel dealing with the loss of his identity and his family. The way all these storylines were handled and every character reacted to their own unique situations felt very raw and very real. It was all bookended by the amazing cold open and closing scene, with great use of the song "Heaven I Know" by Gordi - great use of music is another huge thing that was brought back to the show by Angela Kang. Seeing all the characters deal with their individual issues this episode - Carol's trauma, Siddiq's PTSD, Daryl's struggle to remain connected to those he loves, and more - make everyone feel more connected to each other than they have since we were following Rick's family on the road in Seasons 4-5.
So far, this season has been strong, and this is the first truly great episode to come out of it, in my opinion. For me, it's given the season a renewed sense of focus, leaving me extremely excited for what's to come - and delivering one of the best episodes of the post-Rick era.
9.25/10
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: New Life (2019)
Disappointingly predictable.
Season 6 seems to be pretty polarizing for a lot of people, but I've actually really enjoyed the season. I really enjoyed the faster pace, and felt like the production of the show was pretty fantastic and the tension was maintained throughout the whole thing. Episode 10, "Leap," is easily a top 5 episode of the show for me. It's right up there with Season 4 as far as SHIELD's best seasons go - at least, it was before this episode.
Episode 12 ended with the death of May. Now, I never really thought she was gone for good, but I did like that it happened and thought it was a "bold action" (to quote Enoch) to take going into the finale. Unfortunately this episode doesn't follow through at all with not only that cliffhanger but a lot of the promises this season seemed to make.
Essentially every season of SHIELD has ended the same way. A big explosive finale, the bad guy dies, maybe there's a death of a reasonably important character, and the episode ends with a "shocking" cliffhanger leading into next season. Season 5 is the only exception to this rule, as while it did have an explosive conclusion and featured the death of both Fitz and Coulson (albeit off-screen), it didn't end with a stinger, aside from the goal of finding Fitz stuck out in space.
We're in the show's sixth season, and by that point, you really have to shake up the formula if you want to keep things interesting. As this episode progressed, I got really excited, as it looked like that was what was going to happen. Here's what I mean: May was stabbed and presumed dead at the end of the last episode. Yo-Yo is infected with one of those bat creatures of Izel's and those are supposed to be a death sentence, and a horrific one at that. Deke is trying to prove himself and it feels like the writers are setting up a potential sacrifice for him. Fitz and Simmons come up with a plan involving a frag grenade that would surely end in their deaths. As I watched the episode, I started to think - they're going to kill everybody. Fitz and Simmons are going to blow themselves up, Deke will sacrifice himself, Mack will be killed by Yo-Yo's transformation, Daisy will be crushed under the weight of the collapsing pyramid. Izel will win, Sarge joins her, and everyone will be dead. The planet is ravaged by Izel's forces. Then, for the inevitable stinger, we cut to Enoch in outer space, watching the planet be engulfed. We find out he's been planning for this for the last few episodes, and every time we've cut to him doing his thing he's really been preparing for something else. He says something like "We must take bold action" and the big reveal is that he built a chronocom of a long-lost character to help him out - maybe Coulson, but I would have preferred Ward. Or maybe some other reveal, but either way, it should've ended with everyone dead, because that would have truly been unexpected and new for the show, and set up an exciting seventh season.
Instead, what do we get? May's not dead after all. Yo-Yo is saved at the last minute. Deke doesn't really do much. Fitz and Simmons are saved by Enoch. All of the hints to Sarge's development and arc were for nothing, as he is just sliced in half by Mack in a really jarring moment. Sarge gets no resolution with May, Daisy, Izel, or even Snowflake for that matter, who was nowhere to be found in these last few episodes. I'm not saying he should've gotten a full-blown redemption arc, but at least give us something to justify all the focus on him this season, instead of turning him into another cartoon villain that's easily dispatched of. And by Mack, of all people? Not May, Daisy, or Izel?
After all that, it looked like we might have gotten a death after all - May has a quick but admittedly emotional scene with Daisy and appears to die in her arms. But nope, (a futuristic?) Simmons walks in, extracts them, and says "she'll be fine." No explanation of what happened to her or Fitz. Stuff like this has happened before but here it was just frustrating. To top it off, it ends with Coulson returning. Yes, I know it's not literally Coulson, but Simmons makes a point of saying that it is an exact copy of him, complete with his memories, thoughts, emotions, everything, so it's him. I was liking the work-around they were doing with Sarge, but this is a full-blown retcon. Could you potentially do the same thing with Lincoln? Davis? Triplett? Tony Stark, even? And you're really going to tell me that Fitz is "missing in action" yet AGAIN? We've done this before, haven't we?
So yeah, all the build-up this season was for nothing. It ends exactly how you'd expect it to, with absolutely no surprises, and a seriously frustrating last few minutes. I'd say this is probably my least favorite episode of SHIELD in general. Not terrible, just really, really disappointing.
Game of Thrones: The Iron Throne (2019)
Get the ramp!
What an embarrassment. Best part was Jon finally giving Ghost the pets he deserves. Aside from that, it was 80 minutes of essentially nothing. Now somebody fetch the ramp so King Three-Eyed Raisin Bran can get around the castle which was magically fully restored by the end of the episode. The fans did not deserve this. The crew did not deserve this. The actors did not deserve this. At least there's the books....
Game of Thrones: The Long Night (2019)
Single-handedly ruined the entire series
This episode started off rather strangely. Maybe it was just me, but it took a while for me to really get into what was happening. But at about the halfway point, with scenes of Arya, the Hound and Beric sneaking around the Winterfell castle, things really started to pick up, leading up to Theon's death which was very well-done and emotional. And then... it happened.
Arya killed the Night King. Unless the writers have something up their sleeves and the Night King comes back in some form, then I'm just gonna say it how it is: Arya is literally the worst candidate and the least satisfying killer of the Night King. First off, it makes absolutely no sense that she managed to sneak passed hundreds of Wights and dozens of White Walkers in order to get to the Night King, the most important player on the field. Second, this means that the prophecy of Azor Ahai was absolutely pointless and wasn't fulfilled at all. For seasons we've been lead to believe that it was Jon, and the twist would be that he would have to sacrifice Daenerys in order to defeat the Night King, just as Azor Ahai had to sacrifice Nissa Nissa to end the Long Night in the prophecy. Others thought maybe it could be Jorah and Daenerys; maybe Jaime and Cersei; even Jaime and Brienne, and Theon and Sansa. Some even said that if the Littlefinger theory is correct and he is the Prince Who Was Promised, then it could be him and Sansa. But anyone... and I mean anyone... would have made more sense than Arya.
I love Arya, I do. But she is not the Prince Who Was Promised. She didn't directly sacrifice anyone to kill the Night King, unless you count Beric, but he doesn't really qualify. Not to mention none of the rest of the prophecy lines up with her: she isn't from the line of Aerys and Rhaella, for one, and the specifics don't match up either.
Finally, what's supposed to happen in these next 3 episodes? Just dealing with Cersei, with absolutely no other threat to worry about? Really? If they defeated the Army of the Dead, they should be able to defeat her no problem, even with her having a home advantage. Also, what's to happen to the throne? Thematically it makes the most sense for it to be destroyed at the end of the show. In order for that to happen, the two people who want it the most would have to die: those being Cersei and Daenerys. Cersei is still likely to die, but what about Daenerys? Her entire arc has been going from a young girl with a strong claim and a good heart to a ruthless dictator with a God Complex who becomes more like her father by the day. Is she just going to end up on the throne and get exactly what she wants? Even if you're a big Dany fan, in what world does that thematically make sense? In what world is that not anticlimactic? In what world is that a fitting, "bittersweet" (as GRRM put it) conclusion to what was once the greatest fantasy story to ever grace our screens?
I say, "what was once" because it clearly lost that title a long time ago. I, for one, mostly love the first six seasons but was sorely disappointed by the sloppy writing of Season 7. But the first two episodes of S8 gave me hope. This episode squandered it. The only... and I mean ONLY way this show could be saved, is if the Night King returns somehow. A theory that has been popular for a while is that, somehow, Bran is the Night King. I could actually see this happening, as why else would the NK wait so damn long to strike him down at the Godswood? Why not do it instantly? Perhaps the NK knew that Bran was his future. Perhaps he knew that he had to let Arya kill him in order for him to win in the end? That makes a bit of sense. I really hope it's true.
I really, really, really hope so.
The Walking Dead: What Comes After (2018)
Long live Rick Grimes!
This episode was absolutely amazing and is basically everything I hoped it would be. Rick Grimes is not just my favorite TV character ever, but my favorite fictional character of all time, and I can't describe how happy I am that he lives on. That being said, this was an absolutely wonderful send off for him, with plenty of callbacks to the first episode and past seasons, the return of some dead characters, and a beautiful "death" scene. Really my only complaint was that I wish some more characters had returned, and I wish the scenes we did have with deceased characters were longer. While I'm not sure about the idea of the whole movies thing, I'm overjoyed that Rick is alive and am hyped as hell for the rest of the season. Seasons 7 & 8 may have been really awful but Angela Kang managed to bring the show back from the brink and return it to it's former glory. Long live Rick Grimes! 9.5/10
Doctor Who: The Ghost Monument (2018)
One of the worst episodes of Doctor Who ever produced
This episode is coming off an already sub-par season/Doctor opener but this episode is somehow far, far worse than the premiere. All of the bad things about the first episode are equally as prevalent here if not more so, but almost none of the good things from the first episode are present.
Pros:
- The look of the new opening as well as the music is really awesome.
- The music in general is good, just like in last episode.
- Bradley Walsh is pretty good, for the most part.
- The one-shot near the beginning was nice.
Cons:
- The dialogue is awful, far worse than in the premiere.
- Tosin Cole as Ryan was one of my favorite parts of the opener but here he comes off as boring.
- Jodie Whitaker continues to be just terrible as the Doctor. Her overacting is equally as present here as it was in the first episode.
- There is barely a story, and what little story doesn't make much sense. A story is set up at the beginning but there is no follow-through. It's just weird.
- The whole episode feels incredibly cheap. It's like they pooled all of their money into the first episode and just had to scrape what little they had left into this episode, and it shows. It's especially strange considering the effects in the first episode were quite good. In particular the scene near the beginning when the ship the Doctor and Yaz are on, whenever we cut inside it is so unbelievable it's funny. You can clearly tell they're just shaking the camera a bit and the actors are pretending like they're crashing. It's embarrassing.
- The Doctor has a bad dynamic with her companions. It would be complete travesty if it wasn't for Bradley Walsh doing everything he can to hold it together.
- The new TARDIS was clearly designed just to sell toys. The crystal-like things inside already look like they're made of plastic as is. It feels incredibly busy and claustrophobic. Not to mention there's a little area right where you step into the TARDIS doors where it's still the inside of the small police box before it opens up to the proper TARDIS, which literally goes against everything we've ever learned about the TARDIS. It makes it come off as if the police box is some kind of portal and the actual interior is some room on the other side of the universe rather than actually, physically inside the small police box (which the Fourth Doctor explained very clearly).
- The camera is so shaky to the point of nausea, and I'm not someone who gets easily nauseous from that kind of thing.
- The Doctor gives up WAY too easily when she believes that they are trapped on the planet. The other people disappear in their holographic tent and immediately to gives up and starts crying about how she let her friends down. It isn't believable for a second - The Doctor never gives up that easily, and that quickly. I had a similar problem in the Series 9 episode "Face the Raven" when Twelve quickly gave up on Clara after he found out she was doomed to be killed by the Raven, not even making some kind of attempt to get her to the TARDIS or perhaps another universe, but I won't get too into that.
- So the tooth-creatures are going to be the big bad of the season? What a terrible idea. They feel like a parody of a Doctor Who big-bad rather than an actual Doctor Who big-bad.
To sum up, this episode was utter garbage - lazy, boring, and bad. Badly written, acted, and directed. It's a real shame. Hopefully the next episode is better, especially considering its subject matter. 3/10. (Maybe 2/10, I'm still thinking about it.)
Doctor Who: The Woman Who Fell to Earth (2018)
A rough start
I'm going to avoid talking too much about the decision of going with a female Doctor, so I'll just say this - I'm not totally against the idea, but only if it was done the right way. Unfortunately, based on this episode, it wasn't. Not only is Whittaker horifically miscast, the episode is just bad in general.
Pros:
- Visuals are great. The SFX and the cinematography are both good.
- Tosin Cole is really good as Ryan and easily my favorite of the three new companions. He also seems to be the "main" companion going forward, as the episode developed and focused on him the most out of three.
- Bradley Walsh is decent as Graham. He has some really good scenes towards the end, but some really rough ones towards the beginning. Haven't fully formed my opinion on him just yet.
- The new sonic screwdriver - specifically, how it was made - was neat.
- Ending on a cliffhanger/lead-in for the next episode felt like something out of the Hartnell era. I loved that.
Cons:
- Whittaker isn't good in this episode. Every scene, she is overracting so much that it completely pulls you out of the episode. She's feels like a light flashing in your face constantly reminding you "I'm the Doctor! Look at me, I'm the Doctor! Look at how Doctor-y I am!" Because of this, she feels more like someone pretending to be the Doctor rather than the actual Doctor.
- The direction is lazy and bad. The whole episode feels like it was made by a high school student. Some scenes (like the one on the train near the beginning) feel extremely awkward. It's like all of the actors pause just a split-second too long between every line of dialogue.
- The villain is your basic run-of-the-mill alien baddie. Top soldier of some warrior race goes around killing people... for some reason. It's laughable at this point. It can be forgiven every now and then but for a Doctor's first story, it's just sad.
- The episode is way too long, clocking it at almost an hour. Apparently every episode is going to be about that length this season, and while the extended runtime initially had me excited - it would allow for stories to be properly fleshed out and not rush their endings - if we get more stories like this, I'm worried.
- Most of the dialogue was fine, but their were some that had me wincing.
The episode was a 5/10 for me, much worse than 95% of the Moffat era. Chibnall is yet to write a single Doctor Who story I've actually really liked. Whittaker has got to stop overracting. I want this season to be good, and I want Whittaker to be good, I really do, but so far, they haven't convinced me.
Vikings: Treachery (2014)
Intense action sprinkled with great character moments make this episode the best yet.
This episode just narrowly edges out 'A King's Ransom' and 'Brother's War' to make for the best episode of the show I've yet seen. The action is extremely well-executed and just seems to get better and better with each episode. There are plenty of great character moments particularly with Athelstan, who finally becomes a character I somewhat care about in this episode. I'm loving King Ecbert so far. Rollo makes an attempt to redeem himself, and he's on the right path so far.
My only complaint would be that this episode is very reminiscent of 'A King's Ransom,' just executed slightly better.
8.5/10.
Vikings: Sacrifice (2013)
Unnecessary
"Sacrifice" is the eighth episode of the first season of Vikings and narrowly beats the pilot for being the worst so far. It's not terrible by any means, but other than the development of Athelstan and the introduction of King Hokir, the episode has nothing to offer in the way of the season's story.
It's always interesting to see the Vikings' culture and rituals play out on screen, but we certainly didn't need an entire episode dedicated to it. Again, other then some development for Athelstan, a character I do not particularly care for, and the introduction of Hokir, this episode has nothing to offer and could almost be skipped if it wasn't for the scene between Ragnar and Hokir that sets up the next episode. Rollo and Siggy reaffirm their goals and we don't learn much from them, other than that Siggy doesn't like Rollo sleeping around, for some reason.
The scene where Athelstan drunkenly wanders through the camp is bizarre and poorly executed, which is made worse by the fact that it goes on for a while. The actual sacrifice at the end of the episode goes on for nearly five minutes and pretty much displays the exact same footage over and over again, just in a slightly different context each time.
On the bright side, this episode introduced us to Donal Logue as Hokir, who does a good job with his performance and fits into the cast nicely. I'm unsure how long he'll be around for but I certainly wouldn't mind seeing more of him in the future.
7.5/10.
Gotham: Rise of the Villains: The Last Laugh (2015)
Very good episode with a shocking ending **SPOILERS**
Although not as good as last week's episode, 'Knock Knock,' 'The Last Laugh' is still a very good episode that satisfyingly ends off the three-part story that kicked off the very promising-looking season 2.
After Commissioner Sarah Essen, a friend of Gordon and Bullock's, was killed by Jerome at the end of the last episode, Gordon and Bullock are out for revenge and looking for Jerome. Meanwhile, Theo is planning something big that will make Jerome a 'star.' Jerome must first cover up any tracks that might lead to Theo being revealed as the person who broke him, Barbara, and the others out of Arkham Asylum, and in doing so frames his blind father and kills him. Later, Jerome and Barbara disguise themselves as a magician and his assistant, and they perform at a fund raiser for children in need that Bruce, Alfred, Selina, Leslie, and Barbara happen to be attending. There he kills the temporary Mayor and takes everyone hostage.
Of course, the episode ends with **SPOILER** Jerome getting betrayed and seemingly killed by Theo. However, I personally do not believe he is dead - or at least, I really, REALLY don't want him to be. Here are my reasons for thinking he might still be alive:
- The blood from the stab wound on his neck formed a smile around his mouth.
- When Theo said at the end that he 'knew Jerome wouldn't last long,' Barbara says 'I don't know... the kid had a way about him.'
- It would make sense story-wise: he could suddenly reappear at the end of the season as the full-fledged Joker and reveal that he played a joke on them, and then disappear for the rest of the show.
- It would be really stupid for the writers to kill him off this soon, especially because Cameron Monaghan was the best thing about the show for these past three episodes.
Of course, there is evidence to support that he is dead, like seeing Jerome in the morgue. One might also say that seeing all those people at the end go insane and start laughing in a Joker-like style is evidence to support that someone will copy him and become the real Joker, but I think that idea is stupid and doesn't really make sense story-wise.
Overall, I really liked this episode. My only complaint was that the pacing seemed off - Jerome and Barbara's 'magic show' took up over half the episode. However, that was basically finishing off a three- part story, so it makes sense that it would be longer than if it was a one-off episode.