Reviews

Seeing Dexter in the throes of a divorce and his accompanying speech in the diner about his daughter was heartbreaking. A wonderfully delivered performance from Leo Woodall. Full of the maturity we haven't seen in Dexter till this episode (in my own opinion)

Poor Jean Pierre must've known he's out on his ear after Emma suddenly developed a throaty ache when her best male mate was in town.

The series is excellent, it's exceeded my expectations. This episode really brings you back to Dexter & Emma's own relationship, making it the true core of the story again. In doing so setting the scene for the remaining episodes.

I know my score will be unpopular. The show has been brilliant.

I used to work at a game developer where a story editor gave a brown bag lunch on characters & story development. She said that great stories change the characters as you go through. It resonated at the time & still holds true to many shows I like watching.

Virtually every other main character in The Bear has seen an element of personal growth. Ritchie in particular going from train wreck to calm(er!) & helpful has been very satisfying. Also the way that all the team pulled together to sort the restaurant getting open: confronting a combination of their inadequacies & challenging themselves to be better. Even though these people aren't real I was pulling so hard for them to do it!

At the start of season 1 Carm was by far the most complex & interesting character. Fast forward to the end of the fridge scene & Claire's departure, I realised Carm is now the shows most 1 dimensional character. It isn't fun or interesting to follow him at this point. He was so so much more interesting when Claire was inducing lots of introspection on Carm's fears & ambitions. Carm's personal growth was giving space for other people's professional growth. More responsibility for the wider team of The Bear.

I felt like the fridge sequence rowed back on all the investment in Carm. And for that reason I didn't enjoy it.

I went from thinking the show is 10/10 tremendous to thinking - oh man if there's a season 3 is it really worth the investment. Not sure.

Endeavour has been an excellent show for many years. Complex plots, winding stories & characters you really care about.

This episode did brilliantly at the Blenheim Vale story. Uncovering it again, Bright & Thursday in their twilight career wise & refusing to take a backward step. Determined to uncover the deep dark truth. The episode had a high body count. The danger is increasing.

Why then the 7/10 score. The Morse/Joan story at this point is old ground. I'd mentally put to rest any romance there. To dredge it up with another sliding doors moment at the pub felt like such lazy writing. Stop freaking teasing it. It's seriously annoying. Either make it happen or leave alone. It's detracting from the main police drama.

I predict Joan is killed in next week's episode.

I need to say first up that Happy Valley is a tremendous show. A masterclass in how to write, direct and act a drama. Its brilliant.

Clare is seriously overdue a proper, plain and honest chat with Ryan about Tommy. Stringing this element out has become immensely tiresome.

Here you go: Ryan, the reason I don't like Tommy is that 1. Your mum said he raped her, Tommy of course may say differently but that's what she told me. She was in such a low place she hung herself 2. He kidnapped and raped your aunt 3. He murdered a colleague of mine repeatedly running her over 4. He threatened to kill you by setting you on fire 5. He nearly killed me whilst I was saving your now aunt 6. He's murdered at least 2 other people.

I didn't tell you till now because these are very heavy subjects. I hope that once you've processed all this you can understand why I'm not ok with you seeing him. He isn't a good role model. He's damaged many people who love you.

Now if Ryan still sees his dad despite all that then blimey!

I've hugely enjoyed the show so far but this episode has elevated it further.

The death of Shakey was genuinely surprising and showed that this is a programme willing to take risks.

It showed that whilst at its heart the show is a comedy, Catherine's actions are not in a vacuum, they have consequences.

Peter showing more depth to his character in the state room with Catherine also indicates the writers truly get you need to switch up the tone occasionally - showing characters grow & change.

The actress who plays Aunt Elizabeth, Belinda Bromilow, is doing a superb job this season. The perfect balance of comedic oddities plus advice to Catherine that's sound & caring.

Great episode.

I'm a big fan of the show & overall really enjoyed season 4. The reveal of Vecna in chapter 7 & the ties into Els backstory - fantastic TV.

Final episode of season 4 was great viewing bar these issues

1. Are our set of hero characters ever really in danger? It doesn't feel like it. Bringing back Max from the dead feels like an odd writing choice. It means El can do this for nearly any character right? It lessens the tension from threatening situations. Game of Thrones truly put main characters in harms way and killed more than a few off. It made for some incredible moments. Stranger Things is an epic show, but it also is moving towards fake danger. It should be bolder and have killed off at least Max.

2. It felt like every character had to have their "moment". Eddies drawn out battle and death scene felt superfluous. Max's memory section where El was walking through them could've been sped up. Cutting between so many "moments" made the pace drag at points.

I've watched the entire show till now on the whole enjoying it. But my goodness this episode pushed me over the edge

I no longer understand Lenu's motivations. The people you let into your house - why on earth would you not tell them to do one because they are so unbelievably rude. Lila treats you like a mug but you still go back. The scene where Gennarino has coaxed your daughter over to a quiet spot to show her his knob - send him packing immediately!!!!

Lenu no longer acts like a real person. It's becoming incredibly hard to cheer her on. I am starting to freakin hate this show.