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Reviews
Shôgun (2024)
One Woman Army
Such a brilliant, focused yet pivotal episode to the overall story of Shõgun. Give Anna Sawai all the Awards right away. Her performances have stood out every episode she has been in - no easy feat when playing alongside Sanada, Jarvis & many other greats. It's been such a delight to see how the showrunners made this adaptation Mariko's story throughout - even more so than Blackthorne or Toranaga - & even with possibly bringing it to a conclusion in this episode, they still work in important details that give further insight to her state of mind and motivations, through intriguing scenes with Ochiba, Fr Martin & her son. Bravo. Even if Mariko's story is likely over for now, I'm eager to see the ramifications of it end and what it means now for everyone else. Bring on the finale.
Echo: Maya (2024)
A beautiful ending to a terrific show
Kudos to the cast, producers and everyone involved - especially the Chocktaw Nation who collaborated on the show. Maya is a different Marvel hero - but all the more relatable for her differences. The whole series wasn't your classic Marvel show and was all the better for it. Each episode had heart, emotion, the interesting historical vignettes that came together so nicely in the finale, humor, drama, tense action sequences & tied in the Defenders mythology nicely, whilst also leaving me with a renewed appreciation for Hawkeye - which had a lot going on such that, for me, at the time Maya's story got a bit lost in it all. I'm so glad Marvel gave her this opportunity & I really thought Alaqua Cox did an amazing job. Vincent D'Onofrio of course brings it as Fisk/Bullseye. This was a lovely finale and I'm glad Maya got a somewhat happy ending for now. I hope we get to see her continue to grow in future projects. Bravo.
Fellow Travelers: Make It Easy (2023)
A post-modern masterpiece
Everything about this show was so elegant and poignant. Chiefly, the relationship between Hawk & Tim was so real and relatable - it had passion, drama, humor, disappointment and heartache & in the end, love!!! But equally the world in which they interacted & as they went from existellienral crisis actively suppressing who these people really were, was both dramatic, true to life and for a gay man who grew up in rural Ireland in the 80's/90's, was deeply educational.
Everyone involved should be so proud of how sensitively they adapted this source material by Thomas Mallon - which I will definitely be checking out in the new year - from the actors, Bomer & Bailey, Alladin & Williams as leads, but so too all the supporting cast, the writers & producers & showrunner Nyswaner, and all the directors & crew involved in bringing to life a difficult but important few chapters of LGBT+ history in America.
Although I'm reviewing the final episode here, my highlight (10 ex 10) episode was ep7; White Nights, a total emotional gut-punch, where Hawk finds some liberation but under dubious circumstances, made even sadder by the realization that this freedom was beginning to be enjoyed just before the emergence of HIV & AIDS in the 80's. I ranked this episode (ep8; Make It Easy, the finale) 9 ex 10, & am only docking a mark because the romantic in me wanted to see a happy-ish ending where Hawk doesn't leave Tim's side - & although this is open to interpretation - despite this disappointment for me, Hawk's final scene & admission was so perfect & earned. Special praise must also go to Allison Williams for faithfully portraying her characters arc in the final episode. Personally, I'd love to know more about Tim & Marcus & Frankie's fates after our last San Francisco scene - & for this reason I'll definitely source the novel.
All in all, in addition to being extremely well-made & moving, this show made me feel so fortunate to grow up as gay man in a time where attitudes shifted to overwhelmingly supportive & encouraging - to the point where later this year I will marry the amazing man that I have been lucky enough to find, in front of my family and life-long friends. But this piece of work - based on the lived experience of others - will ensure I will never take for granted or forget the heartache and pain (& at times, outright horror) they had to endure simply in being (& so people nowadays could be) themselves.
The Wheel of Time: What Was Meant to Be (2023)
A case study on how to do a finale
Kudos to all involved. Season2 has reinvented the show by focusing on everything good in the story,while at the same time allowing for growth & development of characters we have come to love & root for, this hour+ episode reunited our core team in a meaningful way, &along with the not-to-complicated machinations of bad guys,allowed for an epic conclusion to a year-long story,while allowing for lots of callbacks to last years finale. The returning & new cast have flourished this year & by allowing us more time with these ppl we have grown to love & support them & I can't wait to reconnect in s3.
The Walking Dead: Hunted (2021)
Welcome back Maggie, welcome back Walking Dead
An insanely good episode - tense, scary, moving, affecting, beautiful cinematography, great acting, scenes that felt real & not contrived for plot sake.
Maggie really is the star of the show & I think the show suffered more from her loss than from Rick's - truth be told, & while I thought the plot between her & Negan was dragging on a bit for a while, Lauren Cohan really sold it this episode & portrayed the anger, fury & regret of The Widow perfectly. JDM was great as always & again, is showing a new side to Negan.
The rest of the cast was amazing too, from Melissa to the kids, but kudos to Nadia Hilker for conveying a real pathos to Magna that hasn't always been allowed to be seen in the past.
The cinematography was amazing, it looks & feels like a whole new show, yet a natural evolution of what has come before & I also really enjoyed the nods to the past in reference to Abraham & Alden's past.
The showrunners should be very proud, the crew have put together an excellent show & the actors are killing it. All of a sudden I don't want this show to end!!!
The Last Kingdom: Episode #4.4 (2020)
Can I give it 11 out of 10
What an episode of tv!!
I thought episodes 2 & 3 were excellent, but this episode had so much intrigue, drama, action & heart break. I felt so bad for Brida. So delighted for Aethelflaed. So shocked by Steapa. And so enamored by Uhtred & his men!!! Really really excellent tv!! I don't know how the show can maintain this pace - these passed 4 episodes would be a normal season on other shows. But I know there is lots more story to get through & I'm excited to do it!! Thank you to everyone involved for an excellent season thus far
The Walking Dead: Walk with Us (2020)
All Hail Our Savior Negan
Great episode - almost too much going on to process and I definitely thought they could have milked the battle & the aftermath more - but perhaps this was for maximal dramatic effect.
Can I just say - forget Sid & Nancy, Cersei & Jaime, Frank & Claire, our new deliciously dark power couple is Carol & Negan. Hard to believe they never shared a scene til now - but Carols absence at the beginning of season 7 was one of the reasons the plot dropped around then. This was a great way to link these 2 power-houses of the show & with Michonne & Izikiel's imminent departures about to cause a power shift in Alexandria, Negan's actions here & the love of the fans for JDM, will place him in a powerful position going forward, which is sure to piss off Daryl.
Although maybe the shows biggest bad ass could step in - the shows secret weapon - truly since Andrew Lincoln's departure, has been Cailey Fleming. She portrays Judith to perfection. The perfect blend of confusion and acceptance of this strange new world - it always seemed strange to me that Walking Dead feel they need to develop a separate spin off about the first generation of post-apocalyptic youngsters when this is essentially what they have with Judith. Cailey has really gone beyond with the material she's been given, she's well able for more and she's a Grimes, she can inherit this show!!! (Don't even get me started with his Fear was meant to be a show about a young family growing up in the Apocalypse & since has completely crashed off course!).
I'm really gonna miss Thora Birch. I thought her character had more to give. But they dispatched her nicely here. Goodbye Gamma. You didn't walk with them...
Earls passing was suitably disturbing and somewhat disturbing too. But the big one here was Alpha. Samantha Morton has been so good in the role. Omega & We Are The End of the World are some of my fave episodes of the last 2 seasons - in no small part to her stand out performances. I've been a bit confused about her motivations since the mid season finale, & thought her turn on Lydia came a bit of out nowhere, but she has always been creepy. Her death simultaneously shocked and felt satisfactory. And the Carol reveal was the icing on the cake (head on a pike!).
Hard to believe there is 4 more episodes yet - but I'm really looking forward to Michonne's heroic departure, Judith continuing to step up & the return of Negan to the fold, & of course the inevitable Daryl-Beta Smackdown!!! Bring it on!!
Star Trek: Picard: Nepenthe (2020)
Emmy already
One of the most powerful hours of sci-fi tv since well, Family in TNG season 4.
Kudos to all involved - writing, direction, acting, cinematography, music!!!
I was fighting (& lost to) tears throughout the episode.
Bravo
Ps - Kestra for her own spin off!!
The Walking Dead (2010)
What a Flip Flop
From one of the seasons lamest cliffhangers to an amazing atmospheric comeback episode!!!
Walking Dead often has either amazing finales with lack luster returns (s6/7, fear s3/4) or a lame cliffhanger with an amazing comeback episode (s4/s5, mid s6) and this was definitely the latter.
Totally unexpected and amazing episode.
Brilliant direction, writing, cinematography and acting. Poor Carol, she's so messed up. Daryl gave her a serious talking to. And Negan/Alpha - eeew but great development.
I'm assuming Connie & Magna are protected but plot armour, which does lessen the emotional impact - but let's reserve judgement for now!!
A great return to form!!!
Fear the Walking Dead: End of the Line (2019)
Can Madison walk out of the shower in season6
I didn't mind the cliff-hanger scene as much as many. I think it's obvious Morgan is gonna find a dumpster aka plot armour, otherwise we would have seen his death & this lame assassination attempt by Ginny is not worthy of a character so obviously beloved by Gimple
But seriously - the reasons for getting to it. The whole season they made us buy into We are Good People Crap - which was so unbefitting of true FEAR characters anyway and was overdone to death. But to just change their minds so easily was just stupid writing. To not think that these characters could clear The Gulch. To think they couldn't have got Luciana out of a trap. To think even after they got rid of the zombies they couldn't have resisted Ginny. To think that Morgan who fought The Saviours would so easily submit. Daniel. Alicia. Even Dwight. I appreciate the situation the writers were trying to create - but not the logic that created the situation.
Let's not even get into how dumb Ginny is as a villain. The only mildly interesting this group had going for them was that they might be linked to The Commonwealth/CRM, but now Ginny comes off as an underdeveloped caricature of Negan & a worse villain than Martha.
It's not even worth mentioning how they have sidelined Alicia, neutered Daniel & wastes Victor. I really don't mind Morgan as a character, Lennie James is an excellent leading man, but the flip flops Morgan has done across both shows is too much. Anyway I think it's obvious he will survive - but I just hope FEAR as a show does - that next season can be more cutting, more tight, less about an expanding band of do-gooders & more about a gang or family surviving in a harsh environment - & please no more videotapes!!! Who even owns a VCR!!
I have to admit I echoed Dwight's sentiment midway during the episode as he's herding the zombies, "We're not gonna be able to keep this up much longer"... I hear ya buddy. I see what the writers are going for with this story, it's just so terribly executed in a way that's so contrived & unfaithful to characters we have come to know & love over the years, & this common vision for all the shows is diluting each shows unique identity too much that it's really in danger of super-saturating the WD universe!!! I never imagined 2 years ago after the amazing season 3 of Fear, we would be at this place but here we are - please can season 6 open with Madison walking out of the shower & asking Nick about his bad dreams!!!
Fear the Walking Dead: Still Standing (2019)
Best episode this season
Really enjoyed this installment but please we can't lose the last remaining Clark Still Standing!!!!
This episode had great warm character moments & actually showed the characters living "their mission" instead of talking about it. Some great performances from all the cast - John/Dwight, June/Al, Morgan/Grace, but stand out for me was Alicia. Debynam Carey is now the heart of the show & I really do hope we're not heading for another mid season finale where a Clark sacrifices herself for the greater good!!! Please don't do it to us - I really couldn't take it.
I'm secretly hoping Daniel is gone to find the still living Madison & her & Alicia will be reunited - but at this rate I will just accept not losing Alicia!!!
If Alicia dies, we MELT-DOWN!!!
The Walking Dead: What Comes After (2018)
JDM steals the show
Wow - just wow
I remember being a tad underwhelmed by this episode when it originally aired - it's well acted, well put together, plenty twists, but I just remember expecting more from Rick's departure, but I just rewatched now & decided my original viewing was severely disturbed (there had been stuff going on in background) - now I truly get this episode & what sold it completely for me was Maggie's storyline (which also wraps up here) & in particular the scene with Negan. In 5 min I went from hating him to crying for him. My God - what a feat. And no disrespect to Andrew Lincoln, Lauren Cohan & the great guest stars who returned, but Jeffrey Dean Morgan sold it. What an asset to the show & here's hoping for more use of him in the future.
An unusual end for Ricks storyline for sure (I for one was delighted with the open door ending & promise of further intrigue & the scenarios set up by it) but also a gut punching conclusion to Negan-Maggie revenge plot. Kudos
The Walking Dead: The Calm Before (2019)
A Masterclass in suspense, tension, drama & horror
What a perfect and unexpected episode.
Kudos to all involved for the reinvention of the show post Rick's departure, yet still keeping his vision for the future alive, for the slow introduction of The Whisperer storyline, for the Henry-Lydia-Daryl-Carol plot, the unexpected loss of some OG's - so long Tara & Enid - ye will be missed. But the real heartbreak moment lies in the call backs to earlier tragedies - namely Daryl telling Carol not to look at the reveal of Henry, who we all assumed would be safe!!! It was worse than if it had been Ezekiel!! And the departures here worked so much more effectively than those of Glenn, Abraham or Karl because they were so unexpected. Bravo. Kudos to cast & crew for making a beautiful episode but also a strong season & I really hope the tension but also the journey towards hope for our core characters continues in s10...
The Walking Dead: Guardians (2019)
Alpha is Top Dawg
Just a quick one to note the addition and gradual unmasking of ALPHA is working so great this half season!!! Samantha Morton is killing it, but also the writers are letting the storyline unfold gradually as we spend more & more time with her, the Whisperers or with Lydia's memories of her.
Not to detract from Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who is still criminally underused, but a much more effective introduction of a new nemesis than slamming us over the head with The Negan Show!!!
Also JUDITH deserves to be the new lead of the show (since the show can't decide if it's Michonne, Darryl or Carol) - Callie lights up every scene for me! She really is LITTLE ASSKICKER. And I'm so glad she brought Michonne to her senses. I've not been a fan of her 'tude since the timejump, which is too bad because she should be the heart of the show and embodying what Rick seemingly died for. Also Danai is brilliant & hopefully not leaving.
Really excited for the next 4... KUDOS to all
Fear the Walking Dead: The Code (2018)
Did that just happen?
Like really? Did Morgan just go to sleep in 1 state and wake up half way across the country? Did he honestly journey back in a 10 sec montage, hook up with a guy who was brewing beer for the last 3 years of a XOMBIE APOCALYPSE, transit across country again to be set up by the Hicks twins and ultimately get them to head back to Texas - like WTF!! And this crazy woman on the other end of the line decides to follow so easily!!! Like really!! Did all this just happen in 1 episode. All in the same universe where it can take episodes to hike from Alexandria to Hilltop!!!
I was so disgusted by the hikacking of Fear & The Clarke family story in the first half of season 4 and especially episode 8, despite the introduction of new interesting characters, but the first 2 episodes of 4b instilled a new confidence in me, despite flying zombies, but this episode just pulled too many tricks and messed about Morgan - our supposed new lead - way too much!! How often and on how many shows can we watch him him flip back & forth!! He is meant to be our brave lead now - taking Madison's place & Alicia's birthright, but for this? And for conversations about how beer will save civilization.
I still love the show - but this episode took too many liberties with established canon, characters & setting & has me FEARing for its fate. I'm hoping the next few episodes focus on what the show still has that is good (Alicia, Strand) & on the other things it's been doing good lately - John, June, Al, good cinematography & at times good writing!!!
Fear the Walking Dead: No One's Gone (2018)
The Assasination of Madison Clark (& the whole Clark family!)
...and the heart of Fear, essentially
I am so angry hurt & disapponted by this episode - it's the lowest rating I've given an episode of any tv ever.
Not because it was madly made or didn't have thrills excitement and twists - which always makes for good tv for sure, but because it's the latest example of what many networks/show runners etc (particularly in the WD universe) completely disregard - respect for both the audiences intelligence & loyalty!!!
We stuck with this show trough plodding episodes and silly twists because we believed in Madison & the Clarke family. We rooted for them to make it work. And here, to write Madison out for shocks and some chauvinistic sideline that a female lead should be replaced with at best supporting character from the parent show, insults both our loyalty and intelligence
And the way it happens, although somewhat heart breaking, is so lame. The execution of the siege was terrible - the Vultures motives were unclear, poorly drawn characters and of course the whole fall in Madison's plan came down to stupid actions by her kids which makes the whole thing more dumbfounded. The fact that she couldn't scale the wall or something (pretty sure there was chicken wire behind her that would have given her grip) was so out of character for all WD characters - Glenn could survive under a dumpster or on a watch tower.
Admittiidely, Madison's encounter wirh Althea gave the episode a nice touch (hence my 2 stars) but not enough to explain Alicia's terrible actions - ok she is grieving for both her mom & Nick, but why was this directed so much at Althea & Laura. So unlike Alicia. And not what Madison would have wanted. Not only have they killed off Madison here (along with presumably Nicks final appearance) but they executed Alicia's character, almost beyond repair...
And they also executed the possibility of ever seeing what actually happened after the Damn fell. This stinks of disrespect for the loyal audience. Tv is meant to show not tell. And all we get is the impression that in the lag between season 3 & 4, not only did Madison rescue everyone and sink to her lowest, but that lowest wasn't even after the Damn fell, there was a lot more going on after that - San Antonio, etc. it seems like the most exciting period in Fear history was just skipped over. Which the fans were poised to enjoy after the excellent season 3 ending. It's almost akin to Star Trek The Next Generation ending season 3 with Picard as Locutus of Borg with Riker ready to fire & coming back in season 4 with the completely connected season 6 opener Time's Arrow & one throw away line, "oh ya that little skirmish with the Borg where half the Federation fell and Jean Luc was psychologically scarred beyond belief, thank god that's over and we're all happy again"
There are definitely enjoyable aspects of the new seaso 4, the new characters are good, even Morgan fits in here, but it would have been nice to see him interact wirh and not replace the characters we have grown to love and root for the last 3 years. Also The Proctors & the 1st Peoples, the Tijuana's & all the other aspects of the world building in s3, just vanished without a trace. Such a waste, not just of potential, but of the time and energy we invested in these up to now.
But all this would have been ok if they preserved the main thing we invest in a show for - the lead we root for. Killing Madison off at all (& in this way) was the wrong decision for FEAR THE WALKING DEAD. It's now just another WD Spin-off, a completely new show that along with the new title cards should probably be retitled itself completely; Walking Dead: Texas, Walking Texas Danger or something. For me, I'll keep watching but I'm my head I'm going to let the story of The Clark Family finish at the Diamond. I'm going to believe they are still there, still happy, enjoying Madison's Christmas fantasy made real and that what we've witnessed in season 4 is a badly edited and sourced piece of journalism by Althea, Fake News almost, and Fear ended with a heroic rescue by Madison of our gang from The Damn, who fought all the odds to establish a new thriving community.
Farewell Madison Clark - you saved your kids, a lot