"M.O.D.O.K." Season One Reviews (Spoilers)
Also reviews for the latest episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, the season finale of The Nevers, and the latest episodes of DC's Legends Of Tomorrow, Batwoman, Black Lightning, The Flash, Superman & Lois, Bless The Harts, The Simpsons, the season finale of The Great North, the latest episode of Bob's Burgers, the season finale of Family Guy, and the latest episodes of American Dad!, Final Space, The Barbarian And The Troll, and The Blacklist.
M.O.D.O.K. "If This Be... M.O.D.O.K.!"
"You dare divorce M.O.D.O.K.?" Good closing line.
Only two other things to note about the premiere, both huge, and one good and one bad.
The good thing is that there is no way this show, or at least this episode, earned a TV-MA rating. That's just "hoopla" Hulu is using to get us to check it out. There is nothing in the episode worse than American Dad! on TBS which is rated TV-14. Ratings are and continue to be totally bogus.
The bad thing is I didn't laugh once. Maybe that shouldn't be a surprise after learning in the credits that Seth Green is a producer, but it's very notable how little I cared for the comedy.
Eh. **1/2.
M.O.D.O.K. "The M.O.D.O.K. That Time Forgot!"
I didn't find anything funny but I was weirdly drawn to some of the surprisingly sweeter moments. I thought I could learn to like the show as M.O.D.O.K. and Jodie were dancing at the concert. Them growing old together while they watch the formation of their family was an incredibly bittersweet notion.
I liked this one. ***1/2.
M.O.D.O.K. "Beware What From Portal Comes!"
Intriguing cliffhanger.
I actually laughed at M.O.D.O.K.'s "Oh, s-word!"
I like Fing Fang Foom as the Luck Dragon from The Neverending Story at the beginning.
If you ask me Mellie is far more sinister than her father.
Lou continues to be annoying.
Not bad. ***.
M.O.D.O.K. "If Saturday Be.. For The Boys!"
The puppets for the crew were really cute.
Melter dying at the end was surprisingly sad to me.
Lou continues to drive me crazy. What an annoying character.
I like the Adaptoid on the car radio.
Not great but not terrible either. **1/2.
M.O.D.O.K. "If Bureaucracy Be... Thy Death!"
I like Iron Man asking what M.O.D.O.K. meant when he called him a wet b-word, M.O.D.O.K sprays him with a hose, and Tony's like, "Oh, you're a clown." This was pretty much the first funny episode.
The stuff with the delay on the intercom was great observational comedy, because it WAS properly confusing, so I got how frustrated the characters were.
The fight scene between M.O.D.O.K. and Monica had many creative moves and gimmicks in it.
Who is the mystery dead Avenger? Better question: Who cares? And does it even matter?
Solid humor in this one. ****1/2.
M.O.D.O.K. "Tales From The Great Bar Mitzvah War!"
I like Jodie saying Lou's foreskin was in Hell.
The bit with the guy puking into M.O.D.O.K.'s "stomach" was funny.
I like that M.O.D.O.K. doesn't want Lou to be more like him. He wants him to be more like Tony Stark. I find that very interesting.
Cool episode. ***1/2.
M.O.D.O.K. "This Man... This Makeover!"
Gross sex scene at the end is gross.
Jodie is a bad person. I was going to point out in this review that's probably why she married M.O.D.O.K. but Wonder Man already did.
Arcade has always been the lamest of villains.
I like the stylist saying he loves how tedious M.O.D.O.K. is.
Pretty good but I've decided I don't like Jodie. ***1/2.
M.O.D.O.K. "O, Were Blood Thicker Than Robot Juice!"
I like the idea that nobody wanted to kill the extra Lou. Personally, I wanted to kill both of them.
M.O.D.O.K. being real because he got the date wrong was great. I also love Jodie being mad that everyone was actually surprised the real her wouldn't commit suicide for them. Frankly? That IS an unreasonable ask.
If Past M.O.D.O.K. is dead, why hasn't Present M.O.D.O.K. been erased from existence? Unless he's from an alternate timeline. Does the Marvel Universe follow Block Universe rules or Parallel Timeline rules? Or is it one of those annoying franchises that mix and matches both whenever it suits its purposes? Guessing it's the third option, simply because Superhero comics are annoying.
Pretty funny. ****.
M.O.D.O.K. "What Menace Doth The Mailman Deliver!"
It's sort of amusing and weird how well friendly, well-adjusted M.O.D.O.K. fits the sensibility of the show.
I like Monica calling Manica a bad parent and proceeding to snort their Pym-Particled daughter through her nose.
Austin's end was brutal, and his multiple humiliations more than I wanted. What's ironic is that I previously wanted nothing but bad things for the character. But I think they may have taken things a little too far there.
Good penultimate episode. ****.
M.O.D.O.K. "Days Of Future M.O.D.O.K.s!"
Yeah, no. That was a bummer of a place to leave things, especially because there is no way in hell the show is getting renewed.
The Puppet face being Patton Oswalt somehow made it even creepier. They should probably cast him as live-action M.O.D.O.K. too.
Not down with that. **1/2.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch "Cornered"
Apparently Fennec used to be on the wrong side of child abductions before Grogu.
Wrecker sucks at cottoning on to bribes. Not gonna make a great civilian.
I like that the biggest objection to the Droid slavery plan Echo has is that the price for him is too low!
I like the cute Droid that waddles like a toddler.
Omega is naive but she HAS led a sheltered life.
Good week. ****.
The Nevers "True"
This finale was giving me strong Dollhouse vibes. Now Dollhouse was a terrible series which gave off seriously bad vibes itself during its entire run. But I don't necessarily think the comparisons I make between that show and this episode will turn out so negative. I have higher hopes for this show, and I hope it can last longer than Dollhouse. But like Dollhouse, this episode is very much a bait and switch for the audience. We were not sold the series as a futuristic science fiction outing, and the first season of Dollhouse similarly turned into that too with a flashforward (rather than a flashback) set in the near future, rather than an indeterminate future (or possible alternate present). This show I believe was built for this, and I suspect if and when I rewatch the season it will play accordingly. The messages, the tiny hints of Amalia's backstory, I feel it will probably hold up. For Dollhouse, I always got the feeling that "Epitaph One" was a last minute inspiration, and a desperate attempt to get a failing show a second season. The major irony of "Epitaph One" is that Fox refused to air the episode (because Fox is Fox and doesn't allow nice things) and gave them a second and final season anyways! I am 100% positive "Epitaph One" was come up with late in the game, and that none of the rest of season 1 would exactly fit it. While that's true, the interesting thing is the show went out of its way to make sure Season 2 DID. I think Dollhouse is a terrible series, and probably the worst writing / creating credit to Joss Whedon's name. But the one good thing about it was the two future finales.
Honestly, even though it's clear this is obviously been the subtext to The Nevers the entire time, I don't feel like the future stuff is gonna be the thing that saves or merely redeems the series. Mostly because for all my problems with The Nevers, I was never routinely disgusted with it the way I was Dollhouse (and face it, Firefly). There HBO porn stuff sucks but that's probably a network mandate rather than a real problem with the writing or acting. There is no such thing as a drama series that HBO allows to be rated anything but NC-17. It's set in Victorian England, but because it's HBO a large part of it takes place in a brothel, which is ridiculous for both the setting and the premise. But It's Not TV, It's Porn. HBO is why we are not allowed any actual adult-oriented series. Some of its recent stuff has been good, but that was not due to the stuff the network forced any good show to work in for the perverts who pay for the channel. I feel exploited by the network, rather than the creators, which was the opposite problem for both Dollhouse and Firefly. But I found the future sci-fi Dollhouse's one redeeming virtue. The future sci-fi in this episode is something I would have preferred not existed. But we're here and we'll move forward. Jane Espensen (one of TV's most overpraised writers) wrote the episode, and seems to be showrunner going forward, so I can't say I trust the creators, but we are where are, and I AM curious to see what happens next.
The whole thing with the real Molly's husband making fun of her multiple miscarriages is why I don't like Espensen's writing. Espensen never fails to add a moment that makes the audience feel like crap due to a woman character being either sexually humiliated, demeaned professionally, or both. I will grudgingly accept the argument that this sort of mistreatment for women is entirely appropriate for this show, and its setting and time period. I will not argue that. But the truth is she put rapist characters and women abusers in freaking Disney's Once Upon A Time (of all shows) too, so I'm not about to be giving her the benefit of the doubt here. She literally turned The Enchanted Forest into a pit when she joined the writing staff. I'm not inclined to call her degradations "realistic" and "powerful" here either.
Claudia Black. She doesn't look good in the episode, but the interview in the accompanying featurette says she still does in real life. Which show a lack of vanity and bravery on her part in accepting the role of Stripe. I would accept no less from Aeryn Sun.
I liked that. I'm cautiously optimistic going forward. And yet part of me is slightly regretful than the show couldn't stick to its unique setting and premise and is instead going in a more conventional (if admittedly surprising) direction. We'll see what happens. ****.
DC's Legends Of Tomorrow "The Ex-Factor"
That was super dumb. Sometimes the show can make that work for itself but not this week.
Annoyed when Rory stepped on the alien. However I liked the alien bowing to Zari and calling himself her servant when she won the competition.
Sara's stuff was confusing but I am interested to see where it's going.
Ava's stuff with Rory on the ship was really the only thing I liked. I like the idea that he's taking Sara's absence hard.
That was a below-average episode. **1/2.
Batwoman "And Justice For All"
Last year it seemed that nobody but me liked this show. In the meantime, it's become the best Arrowverse show in its second season, despite making the surface mistake of replacing Kate Kane with a different character instead of recasting her, when her arc was so messy and unfinished. And I DO believe that was a mistake at the time.
The thing is, the show used that mistake and turned it into an asset by making Ryan a black woman. Now they can tell stories they wouldn't have dared to before even though there are already two other black cast members. And the stories this year are relevant, and important, and need to be told. And if I think they botched Kate's arc completely (and I still do think that) I take comfort knowing that doing so was traded off for the fact that the show is now better than it has ever been, or would have ever been if Kate was simply recast. I don't like the idea of the new Batwoman inserted right when she was. But the truth the show is better off.
I post these reviews on different websites and some of them have made talking politics forbidden. So I'll try to talk about the politics of this episode without getting on a soapbox myself. But it's interesting that with each small step forward the heroes make fighting racism, they get forced two steps backwards.
We'll talk about the zombies for a bit first, not only because it's a bit lighter fair, but because of Ryan's wise reason for wanting to take the night off: Black folks don't do well in horror movies. Well, they don't do well in real-life cop shows either, but one problem at the time. Ryan's job at the end is channeling her inner Jordan Peele, and she pulls off surviving, but not saving the people she intended to save. This is unlike the ending to Night Of The Living Dead, but the racist subtext is exactly the same for why the hero dies there and why the hero fails here. Cops, man. George Romero nailed them in the freaking 1960's! And he was white dude!
Speaking of which, Eli's behavior is all over the map until he shows his true colors at the end. When he's happy the heroes are getting out and suing the police, I felt perhaps his ignorance and cluelessness was genuine, which meant it was benign. The end says it was entirely artificial which in this specific episode is the right message. I am a white male liberal, but one thing I have tended to notice about other white male liberals is that they talk a good game in the moment to prove their bonafides to oppressed allies, but when the moment comes to step up, they are absent, or even working against the group they claimed to previously support. And I'm guessing this is probably true of me too about something I'm not aware of. It's nice to raise the fist in solidarity. But the truth is none of us have skin in that game, and can't remotely comprehend the stakes. My hope is that by realizing this about myself, I can hopefully listen to people when I fail, and do better in the future. If I get it out of my head that "I'm a liberal so I never suffer from racism, sexism, homophobia, prejudice, or bias," it helps me understand other people a bit better. But I know I must be failing some people somewhere. If I ever do that, feel free to call me on it.
The preview for the next episode leaves it ambiguous as to whether Luke lives or dies. My gut, based on what I know about TV casting, is that he survives. Luke Fox is a character with a definite future in the DC Universe, and exploring him as Batwing in The Arrowverse is not something the writers would want to get rid of just to prove a shocking point. They could have used Sophie for the same message, even if it might resonate less because she's a woman. I think the only way Luke gets killed off for real is if Camrus Johnson has had enough of the show, and asked to be written out for good, and given a memorable exit. Just based on the issues the show has been exploring this season, and how high the quality has gotten, I don't think Johnson wanting out is very likely. So my prediction is Luke lives. The producers would not kill him off at this stage of the game unless Johnson gave them no other choice.
It is not lost on me that the cops give deference to the white zombies (with disastrous consequences).
Irony alert: A couple of episode ago, Black Lightning showed Lynn being mistreated by corrupt cops too via a nude cavity search. But I felt that specific violation was degrading and out of bounds for any superhero TV show to show the audience. What happens here is JUST as powerful and stirs outrage in me too, but for the right reasons. I'm disgusted at the situation, not the show itself. It's very ironic this season is eating Black Lightning's lunch as far as exploring civil rights issues goes. VERY ironic.
I like Luke telling Ryan to not mistake his keeping his head down and trying to defuse tensions with seeking white approval. It's a complex issue for black people, and I like that Ryan's blunt approach is not the only one talked up. It's very ironic Luke wound up the one shot for this reason, and also sadly unsurprising.
Once Sophie declared she's leaving the Crows I decided I liked her because she redeemed herself with that one action. When I spoke of the characters being pushed two steps back, it's her underling making jokes about her prison stench to appreciative laughter from the other Crows which is why I think that. It's that Sophie gives a direct order that is roundly ignored by the very person below her being insubordinate resulting in the death of a lot of innocent people Ryan would have been able to save otherwise. It's the fact that Jacob's stint as a drug addict is a matter of personal choice instead of a life or death firefight with the police.
We're going to talk briefly about Jacob and then briefly about Alice's stuff. (You'd think the Kate stuff would be the crux of the episode following that reveal and you'd be dead wrong. Another thing to say that mistake actually wasn't one at all). But I very much like Mary being offended by Jacob's drug use. To be blunt, she's being majorly unfair to an addict, which is not cool or a supportive thing for a family member to do. But the truth is the reason he's using is almost a direct slam on her, especially considering he's spent the season damaging their relationship further and further. I'll forgive this specific character in this specific scenario for not saying "I love you Dad and we'll get through this together." Especially because knowing Mary, she'll probably say that next week anyways.
Ocean said some interesting stuff about Kate. Part of it was untrue or unfair, and the other part was spot-on. What was the untrue stuff? I think because Ocean is 100% on Alice's side he would refuse to see or understand that both Kate and her father made every effort to reach out to Alice and make peace in the first part of last season. It wasn't until Alice killed Kate's stepmom that they essentially gave up on her. And you know what, Ocean? That is a legitimate reason to turn your back on a person. You do not get to declare Alice morally superior to Kate for Kate understandably wanting to see justice for Catherine. You are a fool for that.
On the other hand, he noted a true thing, that wasn't true until last episode, but once it became true, he had a great point. Kate did NOT instantly recognize Alice last year, despite not having a mask or plastic surgery done. And Alice instantly groks Wallis Day is Kate upon seeing her eyes, even though she was led to believe Kate was dead. You can argue it's more understandable for Kate because it was literally decades ago, but the truth is that moment says that Alice has a real connection to her twin that Kate does not share with her. Logically, you can rationalize it. Truth is, it still speaks volumes that Alice recognized Kate when she did, and Kate was unable to do the same first.
I truthfully love Superman & Lois so far, but that's only given us five episodes. As of now, Batwoman is the current best Arrowverse show. *****.
Black Lightning "The Book Of Resurrection: Chapter One: Crossroads"
As unstoppable as Tobias seems at the end of that episode, I think his hand is much worse than the show is saying it is.
It's because Tobias offers no loyalty to people who serve him, even if it would be in his best interest to do so. I think sending Ishmael to kill Painkiller was a fool's errand (because Painkiller's skills and powers aren't Meta-based and he still has them), but what Tobias could have done instead is made it so Ishmael attempted to save Looker at the same time. Even if he had failed, that would still help Tobias, and possibly earn her loyalty to him. She's already on the fence about actually testifying and he's making it a necessity for protection from him instead. Similarly short-sighted is the way he forced himself into the position of head of the Shadow Council. If he had just killed the dude to make a point about how valuable he could be to the Council, that would be one thing. But him humiliating everybody else there means they are not going to give him extra help when he needs it. Tobias is all sticks all the time, which is why he is one of the stupidest and most ineffective villains currently on television. Every single person who works with or for him is screwed over. Which will be his ultimate undoing.
I do not take the ending at face value, but the preview suggests they are also not going to immediately buy it back through a fake-out. If Jefferson lives to take on Tobias one final time, it will be because something good happened in the meantime.
Speaking of which, I'm relieved the show FINALLY gave the show a "Next Episode" preview after dropping the ball on promotion all season, but really pimping a series finale should be the LEAST promotion The CW did for the show this final season. And the fact that that was actually in doubt says The CW gave the last season no support and is almost certainly going to pass on Painkiller.
"Hand me the explosives, babe." Anissa and Grace's marriage is not like other marriages.
However, I mentioned in my Batwoman review earlier this week that that show has been kicking Black Lightning's butt about civil rights issues this season. The fact that Grace is allowed to call Anissa privileged and advantaged, and somebody not beaten down by the unfair system without Anissa saying back, "I am a black woman in 2021 America. What the eff are you talking about? How dare you?" says I'm right.
It felt extremely good to learn that Jen recorded that ugly thing Lopez said about Metas on camera, and posted it live on the internet. She is literally calling them filthy, and promising genocide against them. From a woman of color especially, it's an ugly look. I mean, she can hate Metas all she wants. But you don't freaking get to say that to somebody without there being consequences if you are dumb enough to say it in front of other people. Tact does exist. I really have no sympathy over her rage that Jen "unfairly" recorded her words, when they were things she never should have said to begin with.
Tobias NEVER guessed Jefferson was there? I think that makes Tobias super dumb. He's boasting about the murder like it's the most devastating thing in the world, but he's been ten steps behind an actual child for literally decades. It was another of of those moments for which I reminded myself that Tobias is utterly underwhelming and ineffective.
I'll give a cautiously positive review for that. It definitely had some problems, and next week could go either way, but I liked the first part of the finale well enough. ****.
The Flash "Family Matters, Part 1"
I am concerned. By myself and my reactions to the episode. Once the episode ended I took an huge exhale and said, "Thank God that's over." That is a bad sign. That is the WORST sign. That is what I consistently said and did after Riverdale and Blindspot ended their episodes, and it's what I do for The Blacklist too. Basically, my reaction to that episode was the same as it was when I watch shows I absolutely hate. And the episode was annoying and too much, and I didn't enjoy any part of it. I don't like thinking of The Flash as this season's Riverdale, but that sigh of relief says I already do. It disturbed me greatly that I was happy when the episode ended, not because it satisfied me, but because it was painful to watch.
The reasons it was painful were many and varied. Some of it was the ultra dark storytelling. Some of it was the absolute incompetent writing. I could spend paragraphs ranting about why Joe turning in his badge is the dumbest move ever, or why Psych is the worst choice ever for a character to attempt to redeem, but that would just make me tired. Riverdale made me tired. Blindspot made me tired. It's a little too late in the run to actually stop watching this show with the amount of time I've already invested in it. But I can safely say that whenever the show ends I will not miss it or look back fondly on it. Because it was one of those shows that made me sigh in relief when an episode ended. I cannot offer a more damning critique than that. *.
Superman & Lois "Broken Trust"
I missed this show.
Clark is the best Dad ever. I love him not only telling Jordan he is also tempted to misuse his powers the way he did, but he made it seem like the most normal thing in the world! Jordan is NOT crazy for it. He just needs to learn better.
I also love that John just cannot forgive Jordan at the end. And I love him for that. Honestly, John has been nothing but supportive to Jordan and on his side when he really shouldn't have been, and apparently no good deed goes unpunished. I really hope these two talk it out, and explore every inch of why John is angry, because out of all the people to hurt, it especially sucks Jordan hurt his only real advocate for his powers. It sucks a LOT.
Speaking of which Kyle is all of the worst parts of a terrible person. I dislike him because I recognize his level of spite, hatefulness, cruelty, ignorance, and outright stupidity from real-world people. You could argue the same about Sam Lane, but the thing I admire about Sam is that it is very clear who and what he stands for. I think he sucks, but nothing he does disappoints or surprises me because he's upfront about it. Kyle threatening a restraining order against Lois while she is in their house because he doesn't like what she has to says is a weaselly move done by a weak person who can't articulate his own ideas clearly, and needs to make threats to compensate for his intellectual inferiority. Yeah, it's not a threat of violence (yet) but I found him walking up and down the hall with the drink in his hand quite menacing myself. The last time I hated a Superman show civilian that much was Whitney on Smallville. It's been that long. The messed up thing is Kyle is ten times worse than Whitney. Whitney was a dumb kid who in the end died for his country. What's Kyle's excuse and what is HE willing to put himself on the line for?
I find it hard to sympathize with Jordan's pain at the end. Why? He turned down Rocky Road. What the hell is the matter with this broken person? That is no-one whose journey I am invested in. Lois is a far better mom than that kid deserves.
For the record, I'm joking. I actually DID find his breakdown at the end quite moving. And he IS broken. And his Mom can't fix it. Sniff!
Man, I missed this. Looks like things are gonna heat up next week with Alex/Marcus/The Stranger. ****.
Bless The Harts "Haul Force One"
I liked both of the subplots (a rarity for this show) but the main plot was flawed from the ground up. Frankly, it shared a story problem that effects many GOOD shows too. The fact that this isn't usually a good show doesn't stop it from being a problem though.
The problem is that the "mistake" Jenny is trying to "fix" would be better off unfixed.
The moral of the episode is that Brenda cannot function in society without Jenny. So? Let her fail. Who cares? She causes nothing but grief, and just takes and takes and takes. Louise was right to fire her too. I don't want to see their friendship repaired, because while it is definitely in Brenda's best interest, it's not in Jenny's. And considering I (usually) like Jenny and (ALWAYS) hate Brenda, it's not a resolution the episode is building towards that am rooting for or want to see.
Jesus has been MIA for much of the season. I liked his bit with the Play-Doh hair, but the truth is I don't like the character on the show. Whenever Jenny talks to him it makes her seem outright crazy, which is why I liked them limiting his appearances this season. Absence has also not made my heart grow fonder in this way.
Let's talk about the two subplots I liked:
I liked Wayne's conundrum as a new truck owner. I don't own a truck, and yet I was completely able to relate to it anyways, which is good on the show. The bad thing about new trucks is that trucks are designed to be messy and beaten, and if you've got a brand new truck, that doesn't matter. You are STILL going to be VERY resistant to getting that first splotch of mud on it, or first ding in it. That's human nature. And it's totally incongruous to truck ownership, especially one of that size.
The spoiled rich kid I can't stand, but I'm slowly starting to dig him for the reasons Violet is (and doesn't want to). He know Les Miserables. Even better, he not only loves Harold And Maude, he loves it for the right reasons. Violet could fall for this brat hard if she isn't careful. On the one hand she definitely deserves better than this turd. On the other hand, I totally see the appeal. He's not a stupid, spoiled, rich kid. He's a SMART spoiled, rich kid. I find that majorly unusual myself, and could see a smart cookie like Violet finding it enticing.
Violet has very many creative ways to say "I told you so," to Wayne while claiming that's not what she's doing. I love that kid.
I liked about half of the episode, but unfortunately the half I didn't like is was the episode was actually about. ***.
The Simpsons "The Man From G.R.A.M.P.A."
I don't think it ended satisfactorily, but that's The Simpsons. It almost never does. It was great otherwise.
This reminded me of something very weird that never registered with me until I saw this: The Queen is REALLY hanging in there. She's been the Queen for 69 years (I looked it up) which has got to be majorly unusual. I am 45 years old and she has been the Queen my entire life. It's her face on the cake in The Naked Gun, and her lookalike in that movie. Isn't that weird? Pope John Paul was the Pope for a large portion of my life, but there have still been two Popes since. It's weird Elizabeth II has lived as long as she has.
Everyone loves Tom Jones. And in 2021, apparently Grampa does now too. For the record, he's not as ancient as the gag is making him out to be. He's only 80.
Homer listing Grampa's America-hating reasons being proof Abe is 100% American is the reason I don't like living in this country in 2021. If the show had made that joke in 1996 it would be funny, because it would be ridiculous with only a HINT of truth to it. Now it's ENTIRELY true, which is depressing instead. We are so broken.
I liked it. Bonus points for casting Stephen Fry instead of Michael York. Fry is not only a funnier performer, but York's voice has weakened so much over the years I am always saddened when I hear his voice on the show. Dude used to be Kanto for crying out loud! Stop making me sad, Simpsons! Casting Fry does the trick. Best of all he can do impressions and accents. The Simpsons has hired a ton of British guest voices. It's very rare they hired comedically talented ones. Just Fry, Ricky Gervais, and Eric Idle (and arguably Hugh Laurie). Have I missed any? Was Joanna Lumley ever cast or am I making that up? I must be missing some. The last 31 years have been kind of a blur.
Great episode this week. ****1/2.
The Great North "My Fart Will Go On Adventure"
That was excellent. I have decided Honeybee is now my favorite character. Judy thinks she's perfect, and she's right. Wolf thinks her family is perfect but he's wrong, but I get why he thought that. It's because she actually is. Easy mistake.
I cannot overstate how great a moment this was. A lot of it was due to Dulce Sloan's performance. But I love the fact that when she gets off the phone with the little boy Victor she mistakenly called, she says she's loves him too. Any character who did that would be great already. What Sloan did to make the character absolutely amazing is made her saying that feel completely natural AND as if she meant it at the same time. It was funny, it was sweet, it was endearing. It was a perfect moment, and frankly the kind of funny thing comedy needs to do more of, particularly animated comedies. Even kids shows like DuckTales have the characters act jaded, and when a character like Webby acts earnest and well-meaning the other characters act like she's weird. Honeybee being kind enough to deal appropriately with a strange child she'll never talk to again is great enough. The fact that she means it means she's amazing.
Do you know the irony? If Honeybee had said that in real life, it WOULD be inappropriate. But saying it over the phone to a small child with limited phone experience is perfectly all right, and I love her not making the kid feel bad about it, which would be the inclination of a more "responsible" adult. It's okay to be extra nice to a kid you are never going to meet or talk to again. Bonus points if you actually mean the nice things you say.
That was a small part of the episode, but it was such an amazing part the episode gets five stars. *****.
Bob's Burgers "Tell Me Dumb Thing Good"
The idea that the stunt at the end worked is actually pretty unlikely. But I appreciate the episode was smart enough to show that Louise showing up at the country club as a think tank for children was utterly stupid. Louise thinks she's a criminal mastermind. While she is believing people will fall for stuff like that, she's merely an idiot nuisance.
I like that Bob and Teddy are thrilled to be excited to go to the cucumber basement. And while the episode IS about enjoying dumb things, it's the fact that those dumb things seem to be achievable goals for the Belchers which is why they are usually so content. And they never needed to be cannibals for that to be true. What were the producers initially thinking?
I forgot Cynthia was actually Logan's mom. That actually explains a lot.
I love that when Tina says about socks that she's a baller, Gene says, "Yeah, you are." The inflection of the line is exactly the same as "That's what she said," but because the line isn't as overplayed, it's actually funny instead of annoying.
Good episode. Lets hear it for happy dumb people! ****.
Family Guy "Tales Of Former Sports Glory"
Family Guy sucks at Trilogy episodes (except for Viewer Mail. They need to get back to that by the way.) The Simpsons ALSO sucks at trilogy episodes outside of the Halloween Specials. They need to stop doing non-Treehouse ones. The only good Futurama trilogies were the Anthologies of Interest. And Bob's Burgers has NEVER done a good trilogy episode, not even once. What is with this lousy format that has all these otherwise good shows returning to it time and time again? It can't be cheap to hire different episode writers for a single episode, and come up with different designs and sets for three different segments. Why keep doing something that mostly sucks that's got to be expensive to produce?
Cleveland's story was the worst, and was God willing, Mike Henry's last performance. Henry was starting to feel it was racially insensitive for a white man to voice a black man. After that? Yeah. It's really bad. The weird thing is it always was and fans sort of looked the other way for the longest time. But there is probably a larger reason why neither Family Guy fans or black audiences responded to The Cleveland Show. It might simply been because it "felt" wrong with Henry doing those voices, even more-so with him using Kevin Michael Richardson as cover by having him voice a redneck.
Oh, look Freight Train! I have not missed that show or it's non-Brown family characters at all. (And yes, I know Freight Train was technically Brown Family. He still sucked).
The Quagmire segment pointed out something interesting. I think it's the most interesting observation Family Guy has made since it correctly noted the idea behind Romeo and Juliet is utterly skeevy and yet people pretend it's classy. But I think the reason Tatum O'Neal became a sex symbol in the 1970's is entirely fudged up. We look down on John Hinkley for having the hots for Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver, but are the adults who lusted after O'Neal from The Bad New Bears any less creepy? This accurate negative critique of society's previous gross sexualization of young girls also goes for Brooke Shields' Playboy spread, by the way.
The 9/11 joke was awful and not funny. Seth MacFarlane just needs to go away. He keeps trying to make that day funny and he never does. There is something wrong with him. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. But MacFarlane's jokes about 9/11 are never funny. For the record, this also describes his jokes at the expense of rape and child molestation victims.
This was a new episode, right? Then why does the Rocky parody feel like a rerun that every previous comedy cartoon has already done?
The line about the entire front row getting pink-eye was good though, I'll give them that.
Lousy episode. The Simpsons had a really good week, and Bob's Burgers was nice too, but I'm declaring The Great North the runaway winner of Fox Toons. **.
American Dad! "Klaus And Rogu In 'Thank God For Loose Rocks:' An American Dad! Adventure"
That was awful. This proved once and for all that Rogu cannot carry an episode.
Frankly, that was SO bad, they would have been better off killing the character off after all. He's entirely lost his appeal.
In fairness to the episode, at least the beginning understands both Rogu's major selling point and major fault. The major selling point is that he's cute and funny. The major flaw is that he's essentially Cousin Oliver. A cute, never-before-seen relative that comes out of the woodwork in a sagging series' later years to prop up its visible decline. And when Rogu was in the background, that was okay. Now that they decided to give him a big role and personality, it no longer is.
For the record, the Cousin Oliver thing is something I believe the writers must be aware of. Why else would they have Rogu be the muse for Billy, who served Rogu's latter-years series propper-upper purpose before he did? The characters are not only peas-in-a-pod, they weirdly sound alike too. I'm thinking the series realized that and is using the episode as a bit of a mea culpa about that. But true repentance and forgiveness would have required writing Rogu out of the show at the end.
Jeff is not allowed on the ranch which is good, because Jeff is the one Smith I like. I'm glad he didn't have to be a part of this nonsense.
Roger telling Klaus that he was happy his son was alive, but that Klaus should have killed him, was a VERY interesting character moment for Roger, that I felt the episode could have more fully explored if they weren't so invested in nonsense. The potential good things in the episode are ignored while the bad things are made much worse than they ever need to be.
I did like all of the Smiths standing behind Klaus in defiance of Rogu wanting to kill him. I'm just bummed it came during such a lousy episode. They could have nailed that moment in a great one.
I have not seen all of Season 16 yet, but if this doesn't wind up this season's worst episode, I'll be shocked. 1/2.
'
Final Space "All The Moments Lost"
This is not just legit sci-fi, it's legit drama.
Even BoJack Horseman at its most dramatic never lost the trappings of the fact that it was a comedy. It was a dark comedy, and it was one that moved me greatly at times. But it never fully descended into the dark place where no laughter really exists, and the only jokes in this episode seem to come from Kevin, the show's least funny character.
I'll tell you what I liked. Gary telling Quinn Avery was still alive as long as she was able to remember her, and that if she died, so did Avery. He tells her he wants to hear about her, which is amazing. I think a lot of people suicidal over a loss might think twice about it if they realized that by killing themselves, they are killing the previous memories of that person, and very much erasing a large part of their presence from the world. It's a stark, unflinching notion that probably should be brought up more for people who simply think their deaths would only mean the ends of themselves. It's a surprisingly adult thing to explore about guilt and grief and what the people left behind are responsible for.
Littlecato's rage at Ash being left behind was shared by me. There HAS to be a better solution than to keep doing this. They HAVE to figure this out. Or Fox and Ash will only be the beginning. Quinn looks to be next, and if Gary wants to prevent that, some changes in thinking and tactics are going to have to be made. Hard decisions are ahead, and perhaps the hardest decision Gary should be making is being able to risk all of his friends to save one of them when they need them. Maybe the Vulcan proverb actually has the "needs of the many" thing wrong and has the entire time.
Do you know what I've noticed about the Lord Commander? Whether it's The Tenth Doctor, Kilgrave, or Scrooge McDuck, David Tennant's voice performances and even his demeanor during those performances are eerily similar. It disturbs me very much that Kilgrave acts almost exactly like the Tenth Doctor. The Lord Commander is the one performance Tennant does where he isn't doing his outwardly sunny personality, often masking darker intentions. He's actually putting in a legitimately dark performance, which is something the guy must have done before at some point, but not something I've actually seen. It's very interesting.
I am very impressed by this show, and I'm very impressed Olan Rogers finally seems to have gotten TBS fully on-board his vision. That's step one. The second step might be harder: Having TBS support and renew the show despite it not going in the direction the network envisioned when it picked it up. TBS is awesome for finally taking the risk to make the show Rogers wanted. Will it take the risk to let him go the distance with his clearly epic story? That is to be determined.
This is no longer the show with characters getting into piss fights. And it's all the better for it. ****1/2.
The Barbarian And The Troll "Mapmaker, Mapmaker, Make Me A Map"
That was great.
I like the puppet designs of Kristoff and the pudding monster. Kristoff reminds me of Sam the Eagle.
I laughed at Stacy's "That is one deceased squid."
I also loved it when Horace said the most important of job of all is motherhood. That's SO great, especially for a kids show.
Wonderful episode. *****.
The Blacklist "The Protean"
Good news and bad news situation:
The bad news is that it sucked. The good news is that it was interesting enough for me to itemize the reasons it sucked instead of just throwing up my hands in disgust and say "This isn't worth my time." I feel like me destroying this episode will be time well spent. Hopefully the review isn't TOO long, but if it is, I'll be cool with it. I have things to say.
Liz Keene is the worst fictional character on television. Cheryl Blossom on Riverdale could give her a contest but the truth is Cheryl is crazy. The worst thing about Cheryl is the fact that the other characters don't treat her as if she is. Liz might be crazy in the sense that she always does the same thing over and over again expecting different results. But the truth is I hate Cheryl's enablers more than I do Cheryl herself. My hatred for Liz has been entirely earned by this pathetic character herself.
I think it would be wise at this point to also point out that she isn't merely a terrible person. Brian Griffin on Family Guy is also a terrible person, but his character works for that show by making him the cautionary tale. Every episode he's punished for how much he sucks. The fact that Liz repeatedly does destructive and disgusting things and the other characters blame Red for them means the character isn't being treated right by the writers. If the writers actually punished her, or God forbid, gave her character growth, that would be one thing. But they refuse to do that, not because the character wouldn't be built for that. But because they are bad at their jobs and failing the show and the viewer. There were two moments in the episode that made me say, "There is no hope for either this character or this show." We'll get to those in a minute. But I first want to point out the obvious before we go any further.
Liz is a stupid person. Liz got her sister killed. Liz got her team killed. She will blame Reddington for it but she was the one who got in bed with Townsend on a foolish information finding mission without having the slightest inkling of what the information might actually be. As long as it hurt Reddington, she didn't care enough to worry about the people she could wind up getting killed for those answers. She is an incredibly self-involved and despicable character, made all the more appalling that none of the other characters treat her way. I complain about Cheryl's enablers, and while they are worse on Riverdale, Liz's "friends" aren't very impressive either. Let me talk about the two moments that I said "There is no hope left," afterwards. And I have probably said that about this show in a previous review or three. These two moments were so far beyond what I previously worried about I'm gonna call them new concerns.
The first eye-opening moment to me was near the end when she was praying to God. For the record, I think only sucky people pray to God solely in their own time of need, but that is perhaps neither here nor there. The prayer is despicable because Liz says she no long believes in Salvation. That the good are rewarded and that evil is punished. If Liz had an ounce of common sense, or self-awareness, or even raw intelligence, she would instantly know that's exactly what happened. Her problem is that she thinks after murdering a woman in cold blood and getting her sister and her entire team killed that she is working for the side of good. The fact that God didn't strike her down in an ironic lightning bolt right then at least says that Liz is right that He doesn't exist in this continuity.
The second thing really alarmed me because it's near the end of the season, and this is the point in most shows where a character who has lost their way like Liz will start to understand the stakes and what they have been doing wrong. Instead after Ressler is forced to shoot the Protean, she shakes him as he's dying and screams he is not allowed to die without telling her where Townsend is. After all of the messages The Universe has been sending her about how her disastrous actions have consequences, she still believes she's in control of the situation. She still believes she's entitled to be in control of the situation. Harold tells Red that he hopes he's wrong when Red says she's now a criminal. But the hairy eyeball she gives Harold tells me that isn't even her problem. Her problem is that she doesn't care about other people. At least not enough to not risk their lives to get what she believes she is entitled to. And I will point out for the umpteenth time that answers about your past are not something ANY person is ever entitled to. Plenty of people have pasts they have no awareness of or where their parents came from. We aren't entitled to that. We never were.
I also want to point out perhaps the most disgusting aspect of Liz going into this enterprise with a criminal who now wants to kill her utterly blind: She brought her little daughter with her. She's risking Agnes' life, even if she would be better off with Aram and the FBI. And again, this is another failing of the show and why the show sucks, but everyone acts like that's noble, and as if Liz is fixing the wrong Katarina Rostova did to her. The fact that Katarina left Liz behind rather than risk her life shows Katarina is the good mother Liz will never be.
Couple of other notes, and they were things I liked. I liked Dembe saying that this was a waste of time. It's Dembe. If even HE is starting to get tired of the FBI's b.s. maybe Harold Cooper needs to take a step back and wonder if he's fighting for the right thing, or even for the right reasons.
The other thing I liked was Red at the telephone Bingo. I think Paula's idea was goofy, and a bit stupid, and the fact that she was able to make it work means she's a thousand times more helpful and useful than her dirtbag son ever was. Bonus points: Unlike Glen, Red actually likes her. The whole thing was a fun moment in an episode I was getting more and more disgusted with, and the more they decide to isolate Red from the other characters, the more I wish he was on a different show with characters who actually like and appreciate him. A different show could use that specific character to great effect. The sad thing is it's arguable the show DID do exactly that in the first few seasons. I don't think the show was ever great or anything. But it used to be watchable and compelling instead of appalling. It's amazing how far things and have fallen, and how most of those horrible things happened in this specific season. It's just terrible.
So that review turned out to be a little wordy after all. I also don't feel writing it was a waste of my time. *.
M.O.D.O.K. "If This Be... M.O.D.O.K.!"
"You dare divorce M.O.D.O.K.?" Good closing line.
Only two other things to note about the premiere, both huge, and one good and one bad.
The good thing is that there is no way this show, or at least this episode, earned a TV-MA rating. That's just "hoopla" Hulu is using to get us to check it out. There is nothing in the episode worse than American Dad! on TBS which is rated TV-14. Ratings are and continue to be totally bogus.
The bad thing is I didn't laugh once. Maybe that shouldn't be a surprise after learning in the credits that Seth Green is a producer, but it's very notable how little I cared for the comedy.
Eh. **1/2.
M.O.D.O.K. "The M.O.D.O.K. That Time Forgot!"
I didn't find anything funny but I was weirdly drawn to some of the surprisingly sweeter moments. I thought I could learn to like the show as M.O.D.O.K. and Jodie were dancing at the concert. Them growing old together while they watch the formation of their family was an incredibly bittersweet notion.
I liked this one. ***1/2.
M.O.D.O.K. "Beware What From Portal Comes!"
Intriguing cliffhanger.
I actually laughed at M.O.D.O.K.'s "Oh, s-word!"
I like Fing Fang Foom as the Luck Dragon from The Neverending Story at the beginning.
If you ask me Mellie is far more sinister than her father.
Lou continues to be annoying.
Not bad. ***.
M.O.D.O.K. "If Saturday Be.. For The Boys!"
The puppets for the crew were really cute.
Melter dying at the end was surprisingly sad to me.
Lou continues to drive me crazy. What an annoying character.
I like the Adaptoid on the car radio.
Not great but not terrible either. **1/2.
M.O.D.O.K. "If Bureaucracy Be... Thy Death!"
I like Iron Man asking what M.O.D.O.K. meant when he called him a wet b-word, M.O.D.O.K sprays him with a hose, and Tony's like, "Oh, you're a clown." This was pretty much the first funny episode.
The stuff with the delay on the intercom was great observational comedy, because it WAS properly confusing, so I got how frustrated the characters were.
The fight scene between M.O.D.O.K. and Monica had many creative moves and gimmicks in it.
Who is the mystery dead Avenger? Better question: Who cares? And does it even matter?
Solid humor in this one. ****1/2.
M.O.D.O.K. "Tales From The Great Bar Mitzvah War!"
I like Jodie saying Lou's foreskin was in Hell.
The bit with the guy puking into M.O.D.O.K.'s "stomach" was funny.
I like that M.O.D.O.K. doesn't want Lou to be more like him. He wants him to be more like Tony Stark. I find that very interesting.
Cool episode. ***1/2.
M.O.D.O.K. "This Man... This Makeover!"
Gross sex scene at the end is gross.
Jodie is a bad person. I was going to point out in this review that's probably why she married M.O.D.O.K. but Wonder Man already did.
Arcade has always been the lamest of villains.
I like the stylist saying he loves how tedious M.O.D.O.K. is.
Pretty good but I've decided I don't like Jodie. ***1/2.
M.O.D.O.K. "O, Were Blood Thicker Than Robot Juice!"
I like the idea that nobody wanted to kill the extra Lou. Personally, I wanted to kill both of them.
M.O.D.O.K. being real because he got the date wrong was great. I also love Jodie being mad that everyone was actually surprised the real her wouldn't commit suicide for them. Frankly? That IS an unreasonable ask.
If Past M.O.D.O.K. is dead, why hasn't Present M.O.D.O.K. been erased from existence? Unless he's from an alternate timeline. Does the Marvel Universe follow Block Universe rules or Parallel Timeline rules? Or is it one of those annoying franchises that mix and matches both whenever it suits its purposes? Guessing it's the third option, simply because Superhero comics are annoying.
Pretty funny. ****.
M.O.D.O.K. "What Menace Doth The Mailman Deliver!"
It's sort of amusing and weird how well friendly, well-adjusted M.O.D.O.K. fits the sensibility of the show.
I like Monica calling Manica a bad parent and proceeding to snort their Pym-Particled daughter through her nose.
Austin's end was brutal, and his multiple humiliations more than I wanted. What's ironic is that I previously wanted nothing but bad things for the character. But I think they may have taken things a little too far there.
Good penultimate episode. ****.
M.O.D.O.K. "Days Of Future M.O.D.O.K.s!"
Yeah, no. That was a bummer of a place to leave things, especially because there is no way in hell the show is getting renewed.
The Puppet face being Patton Oswalt somehow made it even creepier. They should probably cast him as live-action M.O.D.O.K. too.
Not down with that. **1/2.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch "Cornered"
Apparently Fennec used to be on the wrong side of child abductions before Grogu.
Wrecker sucks at cottoning on to bribes. Not gonna make a great civilian.
I like that the biggest objection to the Droid slavery plan Echo has is that the price for him is too low!
I like the cute Droid that waddles like a toddler.
Omega is naive but she HAS led a sheltered life.
Good week. ****.
The Nevers "True"
This finale was giving me strong Dollhouse vibes. Now Dollhouse was a terrible series which gave off seriously bad vibes itself during its entire run. But I don't necessarily think the comparisons I make between that show and this episode will turn out so negative. I have higher hopes for this show, and I hope it can last longer than Dollhouse. But like Dollhouse, this episode is very much a bait and switch for the audience. We were not sold the series as a futuristic science fiction outing, and the first season of Dollhouse similarly turned into that too with a flashforward (rather than a flashback) set in the near future, rather than an indeterminate future (or possible alternate present). This show I believe was built for this, and I suspect if and when I rewatch the season it will play accordingly. The messages, the tiny hints of Amalia's backstory, I feel it will probably hold up. For Dollhouse, I always got the feeling that "Epitaph One" was a last minute inspiration, and a desperate attempt to get a failing show a second season. The major irony of "Epitaph One" is that Fox refused to air the episode (because Fox is Fox and doesn't allow nice things) and gave them a second and final season anyways! I am 100% positive "Epitaph One" was come up with late in the game, and that none of the rest of season 1 would exactly fit it. While that's true, the interesting thing is the show went out of its way to make sure Season 2 DID. I think Dollhouse is a terrible series, and probably the worst writing / creating credit to Joss Whedon's name. But the one good thing about it was the two future finales.
Honestly, even though it's clear this is obviously been the subtext to The Nevers the entire time, I don't feel like the future stuff is gonna be the thing that saves or merely redeems the series. Mostly because for all my problems with The Nevers, I was never routinely disgusted with it the way I was Dollhouse (and face it, Firefly). There HBO porn stuff sucks but that's probably a network mandate rather than a real problem with the writing or acting. There is no such thing as a drama series that HBO allows to be rated anything but NC-17. It's set in Victorian England, but because it's HBO a large part of it takes place in a brothel, which is ridiculous for both the setting and the premise. But It's Not TV, It's Porn. HBO is why we are not allowed any actual adult-oriented series. Some of its recent stuff has been good, but that was not due to the stuff the network forced any good show to work in for the perverts who pay for the channel. I feel exploited by the network, rather than the creators, which was the opposite problem for both Dollhouse and Firefly. But I found the future sci-fi Dollhouse's one redeeming virtue. The future sci-fi in this episode is something I would have preferred not existed. But we're here and we'll move forward. Jane Espensen (one of TV's most overpraised writers) wrote the episode, and seems to be showrunner going forward, so I can't say I trust the creators, but we are where are, and I AM curious to see what happens next.
The whole thing with the real Molly's husband making fun of her multiple miscarriages is why I don't like Espensen's writing. Espensen never fails to add a moment that makes the audience feel like crap due to a woman character being either sexually humiliated, demeaned professionally, or both. I will grudgingly accept the argument that this sort of mistreatment for women is entirely appropriate for this show, and its setting and time period. I will not argue that. But the truth is she put rapist characters and women abusers in freaking Disney's Once Upon A Time (of all shows) too, so I'm not about to be giving her the benefit of the doubt here. She literally turned The Enchanted Forest into a pit when she joined the writing staff. I'm not inclined to call her degradations "realistic" and "powerful" here either.
Claudia Black. She doesn't look good in the episode, but the interview in the accompanying featurette says she still does in real life. Which show a lack of vanity and bravery on her part in accepting the role of Stripe. I would accept no less from Aeryn Sun.
I liked that. I'm cautiously optimistic going forward. And yet part of me is slightly regretful than the show couldn't stick to its unique setting and premise and is instead going in a more conventional (if admittedly surprising) direction. We'll see what happens. ****.
DC's Legends Of Tomorrow "The Ex-Factor"
That was super dumb. Sometimes the show can make that work for itself but not this week.
Annoyed when Rory stepped on the alien. However I liked the alien bowing to Zari and calling himself her servant when she won the competition.
Sara's stuff was confusing but I am interested to see where it's going.
Ava's stuff with Rory on the ship was really the only thing I liked. I like the idea that he's taking Sara's absence hard.
That was a below-average episode. **1/2.
Batwoman "And Justice For All"
Last year it seemed that nobody but me liked this show. In the meantime, it's become the best Arrowverse show in its second season, despite making the surface mistake of replacing Kate Kane with a different character instead of recasting her, when her arc was so messy and unfinished. And I DO believe that was a mistake at the time.
The thing is, the show used that mistake and turned it into an asset by making Ryan a black woman. Now they can tell stories they wouldn't have dared to before even though there are already two other black cast members. And the stories this year are relevant, and important, and need to be told. And if I think they botched Kate's arc completely (and I still do think that) I take comfort knowing that doing so was traded off for the fact that the show is now better than it has ever been, or would have ever been if Kate was simply recast. I don't like the idea of the new Batwoman inserted right when she was. But the truth the show is better off.
I post these reviews on different websites and some of them have made talking politics forbidden. So I'll try to talk about the politics of this episode without getting on a soapbox myself. But it's interesting that with each small step forward the heroes make fighting racism, they get forced two steps backwards.
We'll talk about the zombies for a bit first, not only because it's a bit lighter fair, but because of Ryan's wise reason for wanting to take the night off: Black folks don't do well in horror movies. Well, they don't do well in real-life cop shows either, but one problem at the time. Ryan's job at the end is channeling her inner Jordan Peele, and she pulls off surviving, but not saving the people she intended to save. This is unlike the ending to Night Of The Living Dead, but the racist subtext is exactly the same for why the hero dies there and why the hero fails here. Cops, man. George Romero nailed them in the freaking 1960's! And he was white dude!
Speaking of which, Eli's behavior is all over the map until he shows his true colors at the end. When he's happy the heroes are getting out and suing the police, I felt perhaps his ignorance and cluelessness was genuine, which meant it was benign. The end says it was entirely artificial which in this specific episode is the right message. I am a white male liberal, but one thing I have tended to notice about other white male liberals is that they talk a good game in the moment to prove their bonafides to oppressed allies, but when the moment comes to step up, they are absent, or even working against the group they claimed to previously support. And I'm guessing this is probably true of me too about something I'm not aware of. It's nice to raise the fist in solidarity. But the truth is none of us have skin in that game, and can't remotely comprehend the stakes. My hope is that by realizing this about myself, I can hopefully listen to people when I fail, and do better in the future. If I get it out of my head that "I'm a liberal so I never suffer from racism, sexism, homophobia, prejudice, or bias," it helps me understand other people a bit better. But I know I must be failing some people somewhere. If I ever do that, feel free to call me on it.
The preview for the next episode leaves it ambiguous as to whether Luke lives or dies. My gut, based on what I know about TV casting, is that he survives. Luke Fox is a character with a definite future in the DC Universe, and exploring him as Batwing in The Arrowverse is not something the writers would want to get rid of just to prove a shocking point. They could have used Sophie for the same message, even if it might resonate less because she's a woman. I think the only way Luke gets killed off for real is if Camrus Johnson has had enough of the show, and asked to be written out for good, and given a memorable exit. Just based on the issues the show has been exploring this season, and how high the quality has gotten, I don't think Johnson wanting out is very likely. So my prediction is Luke lives. The producers would not kill him off at this stage of the game unless Johnson gave them no other choice.
It is not lost on me that the cops give deference to the white zombies (with disastrous consequences).
Irony alert: A couple of episode ago, Black Lightning showed Lynn being mistreated by corrupt cops too via a nude cavity search. But I felt that specific violation was degrading and out of bounds for any superhero TV show to show the audience. What happens here is JUST as powerful and stirs outrage in me too, but for the right reasons. I'm disgusted at the situation, not the show itself. It's very ironic this season is eating Black Lightning's lunch as far as exploring civil rights issues goes. VERY ironic.
I like Luke telling Ryan to not mistake his keeping his head down and trying to defuse tensions with seeking white approval. It's a complex issue for black people, and I like that Ryan's blunt approach is not the only one talked up. It's very ironic Luke wound up the one shot for this reason, and also sadly unsurprising.
Once Sophie declared she's leaving the Crows I decided I liked her because she redeemed herself with that one action. When I spoke of the characters being pushed two steps back, it's her underling making jokes about her prison stench to appreciative laughter from the other Crows which is why I think that. It's that Sophie gives a direct order that is roundly ignored by the very person below her being insubordinate resulting in the death of a lot of innocent people Ryan would have been able to save otherwise. It's the fact that Jacob's stint as a drug addict is a matter of personal choice instead of a life or death firefight with the police.
We're going to talk briefly about Jacob and then briefly about Alice's stuff. (You'd think the Kate stuff would be the crux of the episode following that reveal and you'd be dead wrong. Another thing to say that mistake actually wasn't one at all). But I very much like Mary being offended by Jacob's drug use. To be blunt, she's being majorly unfair to an addict, which is not cool or a supportive thing for a family member to do. But the truth is the reason he's using is almost a direct slam on her, especially considering he's spent the season damaging their relationship further and further. I'll forgive this specific character in this specific scenario for not saying "I love you Dad and we'll get through this together." Especially because knowing Mary, she'll probably say that next week anyways.
Ocean said some interesting stuff about Kate. Part of it was untrue or unfair, and the other part was spot-on. What was the untrue stuff? I think because Ocean is 100% on Alice's side he would refuse to see or understand that both Kate and her father made every effort to reach out to Alice and make peace in the first part of last season. It wasn't until Alice killed Kate's stepmom that they essentially gave up on her. And you know what, Ocean? That is a legitimate reason to turn your back on a person. You do not get to declare Alice morally superior to Kate for Kate understandably wanting to see justice for Catherine. You are a fool for that.
On the other hand, he noted a true thing, that wasn't true until last episode, but once it became true, he had a great point. Kate did NOT instantly recognize Alice last year, despite not having a mask or plastic surgery done. And Alice instantly groks Wallis Day is Kate upon seeing her eyes, even though she was led to believe Kate was dead. You can argue it's more understandable for Kate because it was literally decades ago, but the truth is that moment says that Alice has a real connection to her twin that Kate does not share with her. Logically, you can rationalize it. Truth is, it still speaks volumes that Alice recognized Kate when she did, and Kate was unable to do the same first.
I truthfully love Superman & Lois so far, but that's only given us five episodes. As of now, Batwoman is the current best Arrowverse show. *****.
Black Lightning "The Book Of Resurrection: Chapter One: Crossroads"
As unstoppable as Tobias seems at the end of that episode, I think his hand is much worse than the show is saying it is.
It's because Tobias offers no loyalty to people who serve him, even if it would be in his best interest to do so. I think sending Ishmael to kill Painkiller was a fool's errand (because Painkiller's skills and powers aren't Meta-based and he still has them), but what Tobias could have done instead is made it so Ishmael attempted to save Looker at the same time. Even if he had failed, that would still help Tobias, and possibly earn her loyalty to him. She's already on the fence about actually testifying and he's making it a necessity for protection from him instead. Similarly short-sighted is the way he forced himself into the position of head of the Shadow Council. If he had just killed the dude to make a point about how valuable he could be to the Council, that would be one thing. But him humiliating everybody else there means they are not going to give him extra help when he needs it. Tobias is all sticks all the time, which is why he is one of the stupidest and most ineffective villains currently on television. Every single person who works with or for him is screwed over. Which will be his ultimate undoing.
I do not take the ending at face value, but the preview suggests they are also not going to immediately buy it back through a fake-out. If Jefferson lives to take on Tobias one final time, it will be because something good happened in the meantime.
Speaking of which, I'm relieved the show FINALLY gave the show a "Next Episode" preview after dropping the ball on promotion all season, but really pimping a series finale should be the LEAST promotion The CW did for the show this final season. And the fact that that was actually in doubt says The CW gave the last season no support and is almost certainly going to pass on Painkiller.
"Hand me the explosives, babe." Anissa and Grace's marriage is not like other marriages.
However, I mentioned in my Batwoman review earlier this week that that show has been kicking Black Lightning's butt about civil rights issues this season. The fact that Grace is allowed to call Anissa privileged and advantaged, and somebody not beaten down by the unfair system without Anissa saying back, "I am a black woman in 2021 America. What the eff are you talking about? How dare you?" says I'm right.
It felt extremely good to learn that Jen recorded that ugly thing Lopez said about Metas on camera, and posted it live on the internet. She is literally calling them filthy, and promising genocide against them. From a woman of color especially, it's an ugly look. I mean, she can hate Metas all she wants. But you don't freaking get to say that to somebody without there being consequences if you are dumb enough to say it in front of other people. Tact does exist. I really have no sympathy over her rage that Jen "unfairly" recorded her words, when they were things she never should have said to begin with.
Tobias NEVER guessed Jefferson was there? I think that makes Tobias super dumb. He's boasting about the murder like it's the most devastating thing in the world, but he's been ten steps behind an actual child for literally decades. It was another of of those moments for which I reminded myself that Tobias is utterly underwhelming and ineffective.
I'll give a cautiously positive review for that. It definitely had some problems, and next week could go either way, but I liked the first part of the finale well enough. ****.
The Flash "Family Matters, Part 1"
I am concerned. By myself and my reactions to the episode. Once the episode ended I took an huge exhale and said, "Thank God that's over." That is a bad sign. That is the WORST sign. That is what I consistently said and did after Riverdale and Blindspot ended their episodes, and it's what I do for The Blacklist too. Basically, my reaction to that episode was the same as it was when I watch shows I absolutely hate. And the episode was annoying and too much, and I didn't enjoy any part of it. I don't like thinking of The Flash as this season's Riverdale, but that sigh of relief says I already do. It disturbed me greatly that I was happy when the episode ended, not because it satisfied me, but because it was painful to watch.
The reasons it was painful were many and varied. Some of it was the ultra dark storytelling. Some of it was the absolute incompetent writing. I could spend paragraphs ranting about why Joe turning in his badge is the dumbest move ever, or why Psych is the worst choice ever for a character to attempt to redeem, but that would just make me tired. Riverdale made me tired. Blindspot made me tired. It's a little too late in the run to actually stop watching this show with the amount of time I've already invested in it. But I can safely say that whenever the show ends I will not miss it or look back fondly on it. Because it was one of those shows that made me sigh in relief when an episode ended. I cannot offer a more damning critique than that. *.
Superman & Lois "Broken Trust"
I missed this show.
Clark is the best Dad ever. I love him not only telling Jordan he is also tempted to misuse his powers the way he did, but he made it seem like the most normal thing in the world! Jordan is NOT crazy for it. He just needs to learn better.
I also love that John just cannot forgive Jordan at the end. And I love him for that. Honestly, John has been nothing but supportive to Jordan and on his side when he really shouldn't have been, and apparently no good deed goes unpunished. I really hope these two talk it out, and explore every inch of why John is angry, because out of all the people to hurt, it especially sucks Jordan hurt his only real advocate for his powers. It sucks a LOT.
Speaking of which Kyle is all of the worst parts of a terrible person. I dislike him because I recognize his level of spite, hatefulness, cruelty, ignorance, and outright stupidity from real-world people. You could argue the same about Sam Lane, but the thing I admire about Sam is that it is very clear who and what he stands for. I think he sucks, but nothing he does disappoints or surprises me because he's upfront about it. Kyle threatening a restraining order against Lois while she is in their house because he doesn't like what she has to says is a weaselly move done by a weak person who can't articulate his own ideas clearly, and needs to make threats to compensate for his intellectual inferiority. Yeah, it's not a threat of violence (yet) but I found him walking up and down the hall with the drink in his hand quite menacing myself. The last time I hated a Superman show civilian that much was Whitney on Smallville. It's been that long. The messed up thing is Kyle is ten times worse than Whitney. Whitney was a dumb kid who in the end died for his country. What's Kyle's excuse and what is HE willing to put himself on the line for?
I find it hard to sympathize with Jordan's pain at the end. Why? He turned down Rocky Road. What the hell is the matter with this broken person? That is no-one whose journey I am invested in. Lois is a far better mom than that kid deserves.
For the record, I'm joking. I actually DID find his breakdown at the end quite moving. And he IS broken. And his Mom can't fix it. Sniff!
Man, I missed this. Looks like things are gonna heat up next week with Alex/Marcus/The Stranger. ****.
Bless The Harts "Haul Force One"
I liked both of the subplots (a rarity for this show) but the main plot was flawed from the ground up. Frankly, it shared a story problem that effects many GOOD shows too. The fact that this isn't usually a good show doesn't stop it from being a problem though.
The problem is that the "mistake" Jenny is trying to "fix" would be better off unfixed.
The moral of the episode is that Brenda cannot function in society without Jenny. So? Let her fail. Who cares? She causes nothing but grief, and just takes and takes and takes. Louise was right to fire her too. I don't want to see their friendship repaired, because while it is definitely in Brenda's best interest, it's not in Jenny's. And considering I (usually) like Jenny and (ALWAYS) hate Brenda, it's not a resolution the episode is building towards that am rooting for or want to see.
Jesus has been MIA for much of the season. I liked his bit with the Play-Doh hair, but the truth is I don't like the character on the show. Whenever Jenny talks to him it makes her seem outright crazy, which is why I liked them limiting his appearances this season. Absence has also not made my heart grow fonder in this way.
Let's talk about the two subplots I liked:
I liked Wayne's conundrum as a new truck owner. I don't own a truck, and yet I was completely able to relate to it anyways, which is good on the show. The bad thing about new trucks is that trucks are designed to be messy and beaten, and if you've got a brand new truck, that doesn't matter. You are STILL going to be VERY resistant to getting that first splotch of mud on it, or first ding in it. That's human nature. And it's totally incongruous to truck ownership, especially one of that size.
The spoiled rich kid I can't stand, but I'm slowly starting to dig him for the reasons Violet is (and doesn't want to). He know Les Miserables. Even better, he not only loves Harold And Maude, he loves it for the right reasons. Violet could fall for this brat hard if she isn't careful. On the one hand she definitely deserves better than this turd. On the other hand, I totally see the appeal. He's not a stupid, spoiled, rich kid. He's a SMART spoiled, rich kid. I find that majorly unusual myself, and could see a smart cookie like Violet finding it enticing.
Violet has very many creative ways to say "I told you so," to Wayne while claiming that's not what she's doing. I love that kid.
I liked about half of the episode, but unfortunately the half I didn't like is was the episode was actually about. ***.
The Simpsons "The Man From G.R.A.M.P.A."
I don't think it ended satisfactorily, but that's The Simpsons. It almost never does. It was great otherwise.
This reminded me of something very weird that never registered with me until I saw this: The Queen is REALLY hanging in there. She's been the Queen for 69 years (I looked it up) which has got to be majorly unusual. I am 45 years old and she has been the Queen my entire life. It's her face on the cake in The Naked Gun, and her lookalike in that movie. Isn't that weird? Pope John Paul was the Pope for a large portion of my life, but there have still been two Popes since. It's weird Elizabeth II has lived as long as she has.
Everyone loves Tom Jones. And in 2021, apparently Grampa does now too. For the record, he's not as ancient as the gag is making him out to be. He's only 80.
Homer listing Grampa's America-hating reasons being proof Abe is 100% American is the reason I don't like living in this country in 2021. If the show had made that joke in 1996 it would be funny, because it would be ridiculous with only a HINT of truth to it. Now it's ENTIRELY true, which is depressing instead. We are so broken.
I liked it. Bonus points for casting Stephen Fry instead of Michael York. Fry is not only a funnier performer, but York's voice has weakened so much over the years I am always saddened when I hear his voice on the show. Dude used to be Kanto for crying out loud! Stop making me sad, Simpsons! Casting Fry does the trick. Best of all he can do impressions and accents. The Simpsons has hired a ton of British guest voices. It's very rare they hired comedically talented ones. Just Fry, Ricky Gervais, and Eric Idle (and arguably Hugh Laurie). Have I missed any? Was Joanna Lumley ever cast or am I making that up? I must be missing some. The last 31 years have been kind of a blur.
Great episode this week. ****1/2.
The Great North "My Fart Will Go On Adventure"
That was excellent. I have decided Honeybee is now my favorite character. Judy thinks she's perfect, and she's right. Wolf thinks her family is perfect but he's wrong, but I get why he thought that. It's because she actually is. Easy mistake.
I cannot overstate how great a moment this was. A lot of it was due to Dulce Sloan's performance. But I love the fact that when she gets off the phone with the little boy Victor she mistakenly called, she says she's loves him too. Any character who did that would be great already. What Sloan did to make the character absolutely amazing is made her saying that feel completely natural AND as if she meant it at the same time. It was funny, it was sweet, it was endearing. It was a perfect moment, and frankly the kind of funny thing comedy needs to do more of, particularly animated comedies. Even kids shows like DuckTales have the characters act jaded, and when a character like Webby acts earnest and well-meaning the other characters act like she's weird. Honeybee being kind enough to deal appropriately with a strange child she'll never talk to again is great enough. The fact that she means it means she's amazing.
Do you know the irony? If Honeybee had said that in real life, it WOULD be inappropriate. But saying it over the phone to a small child with limited phone experience is perfectly all right, and I love her not making the kid feel bad about it, which would be the inclination of a more "responsible" adult. It's okay to be extra nice to a kid you are never going to meet or talk to again. Bonus points if you actually mean the nice things you say.
That was a small part of the episode, but it was such an amazing part the episode gets five stars. *****.
Bob's Burgers "Tell Me Dumb Thing Good"
The idea that the stunt at the end worked is actually pretty unlikely. But I appreciate the episode was smart enough to show that Louise showing up at the country club as a think tank for children was utterly stupid. Louise thinks she's a criminal mastermind. While she is believing people will fall for stuff like that, she's merely an idiot nuisance.
I like that Bob and Teddy are thrilled to be excited to go to the cucumber basement. And while the episode IS about enjoying dumb things, it's the fact that those dumb things seem to be achievable goals for the Belchers which is why they are usually so content. And they never needed to be cannibals for that to be true. What were the producers initially thinking?
I forgot Cynthia was actually Logan's mom. That actually explains a lot.
I love that when Tina says about socks that she's a baller, Gene says, "Yeah, you are." The inflection of the line is exactly the same as "That's what she said," but because the line isn't as overplayed, it's actually funny instead of annoying.
Good episode. Lets hear it for happy dumb people! ****.
Family Guy "Tales Of Former Sports Glory"
Family Guy sucks at Trilogy episodes (except for Viewer Mail. They need to get back to that by the way.) The Simpsons ALSO sucks at trilogy episodes outside of the Halloween Specials. They need to stop doing non-Treehouse ones. The only good Futurama trilogies were the Anthologies of Interest. And Bob's Burgers has NEVER done a good trilogy episode, not even once. What is with this lousy format that has all these otherwise good shows returning to it time and time again? It can't be cheap to hire different episode writers for a single episode, and come up with different designs and sets for three different segments. Why keep doing something that mostly sucks that's got to be expensive to produce?
Cleveland's story was the worst, and was God willing, Mike Henry's last performance. Henry was starting to feel it was racially insensitive for a white man to voice a black man. After that? Yeah. It's really bad. The weird thing is it always was and fans sort of looked the other way for the longest time. But there is probably a larger reason why neither Family Guy fans or black audiences responded to The Cleveland Show. It might simply been because it "felt" wrong with Henry doing those voices, even more-so with him using Kevin Michael Richardson as cover by having him voice a redneck.
Oh, look Freight Train! I have not missed that show or it's non-Brown family characters at all. (And yes, I know Freight Train was technically Brown Family. He still sucked).
The Quagmire segment pointed out something interesting. I think it's the most interesting observation Family Guy has made since it correctly noted the idea behind Romeo and Juliet is utterly skeevy and yet people pretend it's classy. But I think the reason Tatum O'Neal became a sex symbol in the 1970's is entirely fudged up. We look down on John Hinkley for having the hots for Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver, but are the adults who lusted after O'Neal from The Bad New Bears any less creepy? This accurate negative critique of society's previous gross sexualization of young girls also goes for Brooke Shields' Playboy spread, by the way.
The 9/11 joke was awful and not funny. Seth MacFarlane just needs to go away. He keeps trying to make that day funny and he never does. There is something wrong with him. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. But MacFarlane's jokes about 9/11 are never funny. For the record, this also describes his jokes at the expense of rape and child molestation victims.
This was a new episode, right? Then why does the Rocky parody feel like a rerun that every previous comedy cartoon has already done?
The line about the entire front row getting pink-eye was good though, I'll give them that.
Lousy episode. The Simpsons had a really good week, and Bob's Burgers was nice too, but I'm declaring The Great North the runaway winner of Fox Toons. **.
American Dad! "Klaus And Rogu In 'Thank God For Loose Rocks:' An American Dad! Adventure"
That was awful. This proved once and for all that Rogu cannot carry an episode.
Frankly, that was SO bad, they would have been better off killing the character off after all. He's entirely lost his appeal.
In fairness to the episode, at least the beginning understands both Rogu's major selling point and major fault. The major selling point is that he's cute and funny. The major flaw is that he's essentially Cousin Oliver. A cute, never-before-seen relative that comes out of the woodwork in a sagging series' later years to prop up its visible decline. And when Rogu was in the background, that was okay. Now that they decided to give him a big role and personality, it no longer is.
For the record, the Cousin Oliver thing is something I believe the writers must be aware of. Why else would they have Rogu be the muse for Billy, who served Rogu's latter-years series propper-upper purpose before he did? The characters are not only peas-in-a-pod, they weirdly sound alike too. I'm thinking the series realized that and is using the episode as a bit of a mea culpa about that. But true repentance and forgiveness would have required writing Rogu out of the show at the end.
Jeff is not allowed on the ranch which is good, because Jeff is the one Smith I like. I'm glad he didn't have to be a part of this nonsense.
Roger telling Klaus that he was happy his son was alive, but that Klaus should have killed him, was a VERY interesting character moment for Roger, that I felt the episode could have more fully explored if they weren't so invested in nonsense. The potential good things in the episode are ignored while the bad things are made much worse than they ever need to be.
I did like all of the Smiths standing behind Klaus in defiance of Rogu wanting to kill him. I'm just bummed it came during such a lousy episode. They could have nailed that moment in a great one.
I have not seen all of Season 16 yet, but if this doesn't wind up this season's worst episode, I'll be shocked. 1/2.
'
Final Space "All The Moments Lost"
This is not just legit sci-fi, it's legit drama.
Even BoJack Horseman at its most dramatic never lost the trappings of the fact that it was a comedy. It was a dark comedy, and it was one that moved me greatly at times. But it never fully descended into the dark place where no laughter really exists, and the only jokes in this episode seem to come from Kevin, the show's least funny character.
I'll tell you what I liked. Gary telling Quinn Avery was still alive as long as she was able to remember her, and that if she died, so did Avery. He tells her he wants to hear about her, which is amazing. I think a lot of people suicidal over a loss might think twice about it if they realized that by killing themselves, they are killing the previous memories of that person, and very much erasing a large part of their presence from the world. It's a stark, unflinching notion that probably should be brought up more for people who simply think their deaths would only mean the ends of themselves. It's a surprisingly adult thing to explore about guilt and grief and what the people left behind are responsible for.
Littlecato's rage at Ash being left behind was shared by me. There HAS to be a better solution than to keep doing this. They HAVE to figure this out. Or Fox and Ash will only be the beginning. Quinn looks to be next, and if Gary wants to prevent that, some changes in thinking and tactics are going to have to be made. Hard decisions are ahead, and perhaps the hardest decision Gary should be making is being able to risk all of his friends to save one of them when they need them. Maybe the Vulcan proverb actually has the "needs of the many" thing wrong and has the entire time.
Do you know what I've noticed about the Lord Commander? Whether it's The Tenth Doctor, Kilgrave, or Scrooge McDuck, David Tennant's voice performances and even his demeanor during those performances are eerily similar. It disturbs me very much that Kilgrave acts almost exactly like the Tenth Doctor. The Lord Commander is the one performance Tennant does where he isn't doing his outwardly sunny personality, often masking darker intentions. He's actually putting in a legitimately dark performance, which is something the guy must have done before at some point, but not something I've actually seen. It's very interesting.
I am very impressed by this show, and I'm very impressed Olan Rogers finally seems to have gotten TBS fully on-board his vision. That's step one. The second step might be harder: Having TBS support and renew the show despite it not going in the direction the network envisioned when it picked it up. TBS is awesome for finally taking the risk to make the show Rogers wanted. Will it take the risk to let him go the distance with his clearly epic story? That is to be determined.
This is no longer the show with characters getting into piss fights. And it's all the better for it. ****1/2.
The Barbarian And The Troll "Mapmaker, Mapmaker, Make Me A Map"
That was great.
I like the puppet designs of Kristoff and the pudding monster. Kristoff reminds me of Sam the Eagle.
I laughed at Stacy's "That is one deceased squid."
I also loved it when Horace said the most important of job of all is motherhood. That's SO great, especially for a kids show.
Wonderful episode. *****.
The Blacklist "The Protean"
Good news and bad news situation:
The bad news is that it sucked. The good news is that it was interesting enough for me to itemize the reasons it sucked instead of just throwing up my hands in disgust and say "This isn't worth my time." I feel like me destroying this episode will be time well spent. Hopefully the review isn't TOO long, but if it is, I'll be cool with it. I have things to say.
Liz Keene is the worst fictional character on television. Cheryl Blossom on Riverdale could give her a contest but the truth is Cheryl is crazy. The worst thing about Cheryl is the fact that the other characters don't treat her as if she is. Liz might be crazy in the sense that she always does the same thing over and over again expecting different results. But the truth is I hate Cheryl's enablers more than I do Cheryl herself. My hatred for Liz has been entirely earned by this pathetic character herself.
I think it would be wise at this point to also point out that she isn't merely a terrible person. Brian Griffin on Family Guy is also a terrible person, but his character works for that show by making him the cautionary tale. Every episode he's punished for how much he sucks. The fact that Liz repeatedly does destructive and disgusting things and the other characters blame Red for them means the character isn't being treated right by the writers. If the writers actually punished her, or God forbid, gave her character growth, that would be one thing. But they refuse to do that, not because the character wouldn't be built for that. But because they are bad at their jobs and failing the show and the viewer. There were two moments in the episode that made me say, "There is no hope for either this character or this show." We'll get to those in a minute. But I first want to point out the obvious before we go any further.
Liz is a stupid person. Liz got her sister killed. Liz got her team killed. She will blame Reddington for it but she was the one who got in bed with Townsend on a foolish information finding mission without having the slightest inkling of what the information might actually be. As long as it hurt Reddington, she didn't care enough to worry about the people she could wind up getting killed for those answers. She is an incredibly self-involved and despicable character, made all the more appalling that none of the other characters treat her way. I complain about Cheryl's enablers, and while they are worse on Riverdale, Liz's "friends" aren't very impressive either. Let me talk about the two moments that I said "There is no hope left," afterwards. And I have probably said that about this show in a previous review or three. These two moments were so far beyond what I previously worried about I'm gonna call them new concerns.
The first eye-opening moment to me was near the end when she was praying to God. For the record, I think only sucky people pray to God solely in their own time of need, but that is perhaps neither here nor there. The prayer is despicable because Liz says she no long believes in Salvation. That the good are rewarded and that evil is punished. If Liz had an ounce of common sense, or self-awareness, or even raw intelligence, she would instantly know that's exactly what happened. Her problem is that she thinks after murdering a woman in cold blood and getting her sister and her entire team killed that she is working for the side of good. The fact that God didn't strike her down in an ironic lightning bolt right then at least says that Liz is right that He doesn't exist in this continuity.
The second thing really alarmed me because it's near the end of the season, and this is the point in most shows where a character who has lost their way like Liz will start to understand the stakes and what they have been doing wrong. Instead after Ressler is forced to shoot the Protean, she shakes him as he's dying and screams he is not allowed to die without telling her where Townsend is. After all of the messages The Universe has been sending her about how her disastrous actions have consequences, she still believes she's in control of the situation. She still believes she's entitled to be in control of the situation. Harold tells Red that he hopes he's wrong when Red says she's now a criminal. But the hairy eyeball she gives Harold tells me that isn't even her problem. Her problem is that she doesn't care about other people. At least not enough to not risk their lives to get what she believes she is entitled to. And I will point out for the umpteenth time that answers about your past are not something ANY person is ever entitled to. Plenty of people have pasts they have no awareness of or where their parents came from. We aren't entitled to that. We never were.
I also want to point out perhaps the most disgusting aspect of Liz going into this enterprise with a criminal who now wants to kill her utterly blind: She brought her little daughter with her. She's risking Agnes' life, even if she would be better off with Aram and the FBI. And again, this is another failing of the show and why the show sucks, but everyone acts like that's noble, and as if Liz is fixing the wrong Katarina Rostova did to her. The fact that Katarina left Liz behind rather than risk her life shows Katarina is the good mother Liz will never be.
Couple of other notes, and they were things I liked. I liked Dembe saying that this was a waste of time. It's Dembe. If even HE is starting to get tired of the FBI's b.s. maybe Harold Cooper needs to take a step back and wonder if he's fighting for the right thing, or even for the right reasons.
The other thing I liked was Red at the telephone Bingo. I think Paula's idea was goofy, and a bit stupid, and the fact that she was able to make it work means she's a thousand times more helpful and useful than her dirtbag son ever was. Bonus points: Unlike Glen, Red actually likes her. The whole thing was a fun moment in an episode I was getting more and more disgusted with, and the more they decide to isolate Red from the other characters, the more I wish he was on a different show with characters who actually like and appreciate him. A different show could use that specific character to great effect. The sad thing is it's arguable the show DID do exactly that in the first few seasons. I don't think the show was ever great or anything. But it used to be watchable and compelling instead of appalling. It's amazing how far things and have fallen, and how most of those horrible things happened in this specific season. It's just terrible.
So that review turned out to be a little wordy after all. I also don't feel writing it was a waste of my time. *.