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Reviews
Succession: This Is Not for Tears (2019)
'You're not a killer.'
That's the line that turned everything. This episode was relatively slow but kept the tension in an incredible way. It makes you worry about every character at some point and I think most viewers were as disturbed as me by the idea that Ken would take the fall.
This ending is perfect in many ways: compared to earlier episodes there's more symbolism with the Judas' kiss as a highlight. The episode also comes full circle as Logan suggested he step down in the beginning. Now he is forced to as Kendall proves him wrong and makes Logan proud while doing so. And where we saw Kendall make a fall in last season's finale while attempting a takeover, here we see him rise back to the top after almost losing everything.
The Blacklist: The Troll Farmer (No. 38): Pt. 3 (2023)
Back to strength
I have barely written any reviews for a long time, but this episode is easily the best we had in the last 4 seasons. First, it starts with a great buildup in different acts: the Troll Farmer's transport and escape, the explanation of the first twist, the planning process from both parties and then the climax that is the final twist.
With a minimum budget (there's barely real action, various flashbacks and almost everything is set in the same decor - although we're made to believe they're two identical but different locations), the creators have made one of the most mindblowing episodes of the show that contains intriguing dialogue, great tension and unexpected yet believable twists.
It ends the Wujing arc which was mildly interesting but never able to keep going for the entire season. In doing so, this episode introduces a new conflict between Red and law enforcement that may mean the end of the show and it's gonna be interesting to see it all unfold.
I would not say the episode is perfect. In the end things are all explained a bit too much as if we, the audience, are stupid, and it all requires some suspension of disbelief. However, it's one of the best episodes this show has produced in a long time and gives me some hope that we're in for a good ride to the end of this season (and the series in general).
9.5/10.
Westworld: Parce Domine (2020)
Genuine disappointment
Before I start explaining why this is one of my least favourite episodes of any show I watched, let me make clear that I've been a huge fan of Westworld since the beginning and before that of Person of Interest, another show from the same creators.
Last season's ending was the first time they actually disappointed me and I went into this season with little expectations. Still I was disappointed because the things that made Westworld so good in the beginning are all gone.
First of all, I felt like the acting was off in this episode, although that could just be because I wasn't entirely caught by the plot anyway. This brings me to my second point, which is the plot itself. I see that they're setting up multiple lines for this season and it could actually go somewhere, but nothing in this episode has been gripping. Dolores' quest comes with little challenges as she's overpowered, Bernard might be going somewhere but he wasn't relevant here at all and the meeting with the board just didn't come across. In addition we waste about 15-20 minutes of this episode on the introduction of a character that so far isn't too compelling or relevant. This is all especially bad since some of the most interesting characters of the show are given no screen time at all (MIB doesn't show up and Maeve is only seen post-credit). I know things will make more sense later but for a season opener two years after a disappointing season finale you'd expect more.
Then there is another issue which has to do with culture. Westworld has always shown a great interest in foreign cultures, especially by including the new parks in season 2. However, this episode seemed like classic US/western propaganda as it presents a world some decades in the future in which American cities are supermodern but a harbour in Palawan still looks the same as it does now. Meanwhile, it's unrealistic and slightly ignorant to hear a character say "is this the girl you met in Burma" when said country has been renamed to Myanmar decades ago when these characters were definitely below high school age.
I know this season might actually go somewhere interesting and I get that some episodes are needed to set up the rest of the plot, but for a show that was great for its complex storylines, acting and focus on even minor details this episode was just sloppy and underwhelming.
The Blacklist: Guillermo Rizal (No. 128) (2019)
The Blacklists Inferno
The Blacklist has been one of my favourite shows for the longest time. Yet the writers appeared to be out of creativity since the end of the Cabal plot. This season, however, is the strongest one in the show so far, with more storylines going on than in any other season, and more interesting Blacklisters too.
This episode in particular shows one of the greatest case-of-the-weeks with a morally ambiguous criminal, great acting from everyone involved, a good buildup of tension and lots of action. On top of that, the ideas of this blacklister kept me thinking for days afterwards, something no other episode has done so far. It's a story that raises an interesting question about modern day problems in a way similar to Dan Brown's Inferno. I might have rated this episode a 10 if it weren't for the already high quality of this season.