This borders on a reaction post
I thought since we’re going into the season finales this week, I might post my thoughts from the penultimate episodes (of the only two shows I’m still watching each week) to get them out there before the ending.
Arrow 6x22
There was nothing exactly wrong with that episode, but I can’t say I liked it. I finally put my finger on the fact that Diaz is what Malcolm might have been if the show hadn’t gone the way they did with him, and he’s so much less interesting than Malcolm would have been. He’s slightly less annoying than Prometheus last season, but so very boring.
I’ve got a bad feeling that either John or (possibly and) Lyla aren’t making it out of the finale, but I don’t think it’s the first time I’ve gotten worried when the show actually remembers that Lyla exists. I continue to give Anatoli low survival odds (though I’m impressed he managed to survive this week). And I’m pretty sure whatever the second stipulation is isn’t going to be great news, which I’m pretty sure Oliver is going to keep to himself until the end of the next episode and then twist the knife once it’s over.
I know the show has been renewed for another season, and I’m sure there will be some hook in the finale that will make me anxious for where the story goes next, but in the grand scheme of things, I kind of wish it would just end. The characters, especially the long term ones who are the ones I care about, just seem tired of all this and I’m perfectly willing to just watch them walk off into the sunset.
BTW, William, you’re probably just going to have to get used to this every year or so; it’s a thing that happens. Also, apparently every three years we have to get a new base of operations. And I want to know where Oliver was keeping his costume and quiver, including all his fancy arrows.
Agents of SHIELD 5x21
I think the biggest problem with this episode is having Infinity War hanging over its head. It makes all of this feel...not exactly pointless, but doomed; because while it does matter, trying to prevent the Lighthouse future matters either way, but it doesn’t do anything for the Thanos snap. About half of these people are going to be wiped from existence whatever choices they make, and the show keeps reminding us of that fact.
I wonder if the gravatonium could be used to justify the team not being subject to the great snap, like somehow they’re outside of reality when it happens so aren’t counted when the time comes for bisecting the population (also, anyone reviewing Infinity War who says the universe is decimated, I keep wanting to go Inigo Montoya on you and say that that doesn’t mean what you think it means; because in this case that feels like a terrible choice of word. That would literally mean wiping out 10% of the universe, not 50%, other times you can get away with using less literal definitions, but here I need you to stop). Or maybe whatever crazy stuff happened in Davis’ story that we’re not being given could protect them. I guess we’ll see how the show wants to deal with it. I know they haven’t technically been renewed for another season, and I’m not sure how likely it is rating-wise, but ending this show on the snap feels like a terrible choice. Of course, not knowing how the IW issue is going to be resolved next year means I don’t know if running the show next season is a good idea either; if time is going to be reset, then having a season that doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things is a terrible idea too.
I tend to think there’s some validity to the theory I’ve seen brought up that part of the reason Coulson is dying on the show is so he can be brought back by whatever happens in Avengers 4, and the movie side of things can pretend he was dead all this time. And since they wrote all this not knowing if they would get a season 6 they’re going to have to pull the trigger on that this season. But I can’t really imagine them doing almost a whole season without Coulson next year, half a season, sure, but not a whole one.
So this is a lot of ways of saying, this episode has a lot of doom hanging over it for me, and most it meta-textual. Which puts me very with the characters at the end; even if what I’m thinking about is how this group of emotionally compromised people has to make a choice that either way none of them can probably live with.
Also, I didn’t dislike Deke much at all this episode. I even disliked Daisy less than the last few eps (even if in 10 seconds I’m convinced Jemma would make a better leader of SHIELD than Daisy, and that’s after Jemma’s terrible decision making this season). I wish this final Talbot arc had a bit more room to breathe, even though it feels like everything is moving too slow in most of the moments. Plus I wish he looked less obviously evil, he couldn’t look more like a supervillain if he tried.
And...there was something else...oh yeah...MY PHILINDA HEART IS ALL OVER THIS. I’m half convinced Talbot locked them in a room together so that they would figure things out, before he had to kill them (to bring up Princess Bide again, “I need us all to finally figure out if you two are actually married, Phil, and I’ll most likely kill you in the morning.” And while I’m on the subject, what might Phil decide he has to live for, true love). Phil puts that shield to a use Cap never has, and for a good long while (even if I have to point out it’s good luck no one shoots at their legs in that time). At the absolute outside I’ve been waiting for this since ep 1x13, and I’m pretty sure it was actually by or before episode 1x06, so I feel like we deserved a good long fireworks looking payoff (plus it’s been like 30 years for them, so they deserved it even more); and for a moment in there, I didn’t feel so doomed because I was just happy it was happening.
I’m not ready for the finale (season or series), I can feel it; even best case scenario I can’t imagine Talbot survives this, and he deserves better that seeing himself die the villain. And I don’t think we’ll get a best case scenario, so I’ll just rewatch the Philinda scene a few times and try and pretend this can end anything like happily.
Arrow 6x22
There was nothing exactly wrong with that episode, but I can’t say I liked it. I finally put my finger on the fact that Diaz is what Malcolm might have been if the show hadn’t gone the way they did with him, and he’s so much less interesting than Malcolm would have been. He’s slightly less annoying than Prometheus last season, but so very boring.
I’ve got a bad feeling that either John or (possibly and) Lyla aren’t making it out of the finale, but I don’t think it’s the first time I’ve gotten worried when the show actually remembers that Lyla exists. I continue to give Anatoli low survival odds (though I’m impressed he managed to survive this week). And I’m pretty sure whatever the second stipulation is isn’t going to be great news, which I’m pretty sure Oliver is going to keep to himself until the end of the next episode and then twist the knife once it’s over.
I know the show has been renewed for another season, and I’m sure there will be some hook in the finale that will make me anxious for where the story goes next, but in the grand scheme of things, I kind of wish it would just end. The characters, especially the long term ones who are the ones I care about, just seem tired of all this and I’m perfectly willing to just watch them walk off into the sunset.
BTW, William, you’re probably just going to have to get used to this every year or so; it’s a thing that happens. Also, apparently every three years we have to get a new base of operations. And I want to know where Oliver was keeping his costume and quiver, including all his fancy arrows.
Agents of SHIELD 5x21
I think the biggest problem with this episode is having Infinity War hanging over its head. It makes all of this feel...not exactly pointless, but doomed; because while it does matter, trying to prevent the Lighthouse future matters either way, but it doesn’t do anything for the Thanos snap. About half of these people are going to be wiped from existence whatever choices they make, and the show keeps reminding us of that fact.
I wonder if the gravatonium could be used to justify the team not being subject to the great snap, like somehow they’re outside of reality when it happens so aren’t counted when the time comes for bisecting the population (also, anyone reviewing Infinity War who says the universe is decimated, I keep wanting to go Inigo Montoya on you and say that that doesn’t mean what you think it means; because in this case that feels like a terrible choice of word. That would literally mean wiping out 10% of the universe, not 50%, other times you can get away with using less literal definitions, but here I need you to stop). Or maybe whatever crazy stuff happened in Davis’ story that we’re not being given could protect them. I guess we’ll see how the show wants to deal with it. I know they haven’t technically been renewed for another season, and I’m not sure how likely it is rating-wise, but ending this show on the snap feels like a terrible choice. Of course, not knowing how the IW issue is going to be resolved next year means I don’t know if running the show next season is a good idea either; if time is going to be reset, then having a season that doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things is a terrible idea too.
I tend to think there’s some validity to the theory I’ve seen brought up that part of the reason Coulson is dying on the show is so he can be brought back by whatever happens in Avengers 4, and the movie side of things can pretend he was dead all this time. And since they wrote all this not knowing if they would get a season 6 they’re going to have to pull the trigger on that this season. But I can’t really imagine them doing almost a whole season without Coulson next year, half a season, sure, but not a whole one.
So this is a lot of ways of saying, this episode has a lot of doom hanging over it for me, and most it meta-textual. Which puts me very with the characters at the end; even if what I’m thinking about is how this group of emotionally compromised people has to make a choice that either way none of them can probably live with.
Also, I didn’t dislike Deke much at all this episode. I even disliked Daisy less than the last few eps (even if in 10 seconds I’m convinced Jemma would make a better leader of SHIELD than Daisy, and that’s after Jemma’s terrible decision making this season). I wish this final Talbot arc had a bit more room to breathe, even though it feels like everything is moving too slow in most of the moments. Plus I wish he looked less obviously evil, he couldn’t look more like a supervillain if he tried.
And...there was something else...oh yeah...MY PHILINDA HEART IS ALL OVER THIS. I’m half convinced Talbot locked them in a room together so that they would figure things out, before he had to kill them (to bring up Princess Bide again, “I need us all to finally figure out if you two are actually married, Phil, and I’ll most likely kill you in the morning.” And while I’m on the subject, what might Phil decide he has to live for, true love). Phil puts that shield to a use Cap never has, and for a good long while (even if I have to point out it’s good luck no one shoots at their legs in that time). At the absolute outside I’ve been waiting for this since ep 1x13, and I’m pretty sure it was actually by or before episode 1x06, so I feel like we deserved a good long fireworks looking payoff (plus it’s been like 30 years for them, so they deserved it even more); and for a moment in there, I didn’t feel so doomed because I was just happy it was happening.
I’m not ready for the finale (season or series), I can feel it; even best case scenario I can’t imagine Talbot survives this, and he deserves better that seeing himself die the villain. And I don’t think we’ll get a best case scenario, so I’ll just rewatch the Philinda scene a few times and try and pretend this can end anything like happily.