QUICK REVIEW: Blood and Water Season 1

Howdy ladies and gents, I’m back with my first TV for a while in the form of Blood and Water. Now I can’t recall how I found out about this show, I think it may have been due to Simu Liu’s involvement. Whatever the case is, I added to my watch list on Amazon Video recently due to the intriguing premise and as someone who has been residing in Canada over the past year, I wanted to check out more of their original material. So I finished the first season yesterday morning and felt compelled to talk about it as there doesn’t seem to be many reviews about it online.

The plot can be summed up as the following:

“When Charlie Xie, son of billionaire real estate developer Li-Rong Xie, is found murdered, Police Detective Josephine Bradley is brought in to investigate, despite having just been diagnosed with cancer.”

So the story was pretty good and more engaging than I expected. Now I have seen a fair amount of crime dramas and at first, this show was hitting a lot of familiar beats, but after a while, it finds its groove and I was compelled to see how the story progressed especially in the latter half of the season. The major themes revolve around family, legacy, secrets and lies, and uncovering the truth. At first, things play out in a usual fashion, but as we dive deeper into the Xie family drama and secrets and the personal issues that Det. Bradley, my interest kept rising with each episode leaving me wanting more. I think part of that was due to the runtime. Each episode clocks in at around 23 minutes which is 20 minutes less than your standard American show, and with this season being 8 episodes long, it moves at a swift pace, yet feels like it has the appropriate amount of time to tell its story. Also due to the majority of the characters being Chinese, there are more where the characters flow between talking English and their native languages of Cantonese and Mandarin. It is very rare for shows that involve other races to highlight their culture beyond just surface-level material, but this felt like it went deeper by incorporating family relationships, mythology and especially the language into the story in a way that felt realistic and respectable. The presentation is also solid. Visually the show is shot well and has a moody atmosphere highlighted by low lighting and a muted colour palette. And since the show is set in Vancouver it was fun recognising certain exterior locations as well. The music was fine, but one thing I didn’t like was the opening music, it’s just a complete downer and doesn’t have a unique or memorable sound to it.

Moving onto the cast, they were all really good in their roles and only got better as the season continues. Firstly there’s police detective Josephine Bradley played by Steph Song who handles her role very well with subtly. Bradley’s tough, stubborn and doesn’t always play by the rules, but she’s passionate about her job and only wants to help. Charlie Xie played by Osric Chau mainly shows up in flashbacks, but I enjoyed Chau’s performance and his screen time with his family. Loretta Yu also does a good job as Charlie’s widow, Teresa. She had a troubled history with drugs and due to her relationship with Charlie, it puts her at odds with his family. Charlie’s father, Li-Rong ‘Ron’ Xie is played very well by Oscar Hsu. Ron is a man who is prideful and while he cares for his family, he’s a tough and cold businessman who is concerned with his public image. Fiona Fu as Weiran Xie, the matriarch of the Xie family, she carries herself with dignity and while she’s reserved, she can also be ardent and not afraid to speak her mind. Elfina Luk is also quite good as Anna, Charlie’s sister who is the most level-headed of the family and the closest to her deceased brother. And then there’s Simu Liu as Charlie’s brother Paul. He was my favourite. Paul, like his sister, is pretty well-headed and calm, but he holds a lot of pain and secrets which comes to light as the story progresses. By the end of the season, his character was the most captivating character and Liu’s performance was fantastic. I can see why Marvel picked him up for Shang Chi. And finally, Peter Outerbridge was decent as detective Al Gorski, Bradley’s seasoned partner who doesn’t always agree with her but also offers advice.

 In conclusion, Blood and Water season 1 was different than I expected and took a little while to get going, but when it worked it was pretty engaging and overall I enjoyed it. I would recommend it.

 

Looking Back On Lucifer Seasons 1-3

Howdy ladies and gents, how’s it going? With Lucifer returning via the power of Netflix on May 8th last week, I decided to rewatch the whole show again from season 1 in anticipation for season 4. In addition to that, I have also thought this would be a good opportunity to talk about the show as a whole over the last few years, going through it season by season talking about the pros and cons, best episodes and how it has evolved to where we are now. Alas, I couldn’t get this post out on time because of a busy week, but hey, better late than never right? Also mild spoilers ahead!

Ah Lucifer, what a great TV show. If you had told me back in 2016 when I reviewed the pilot episode that this show would become one of my favourites, I would have said “Really? That’s unlikely.” However, the show has only improved from season to season with a great sense of momentum, interesting stories, great humour and drama and a cast of characters with really great dynamics and engaging scenarios. So now I will attempt to condense my thoughts on each season and try to tell you why this show is worth watching.

But firstly what is Lucifer about? Well Lucifer Morningstar is essentially the devil, he used to be in hell but besides to go to Earth to hang around with humans to have some fun which involves normally involves parties, women, sex and using his powers of persuasion/revealing people’s hidden desires to get his way. Along the way, he gets involved with detective Chloe Decker and after they solve their first crime together, Lucifer decides to tag along with Decker to experience new and exciting adventures. And what follows is a police procedural drama with some supernational elements on the side, and we have your standard “case of the week” in each episode, there are character-focused story elements that continue throughout each season.

Season 1

The great thing about Lucifer is that it starts out fairly strong and lays down the foundation for some really intriguing material to come down the line. The pilot establishes all of the core elements that the show would be loved by fans in the future. This first season is not only about Lucifer’s experiencing change not only his personality but also his mortality, but it is also about Decker trying to understand who/what Lucifer is and coming to terms with him becoming a part of her life. Each episode presents something new, fun and exciting to watch mainly thanks to Lucifer’s crazy antics and the scenarios he and Decker get into which helps elevate the standard police drama material.

Character-wise, Lucifer (Tom Ellis) is impulsive, tactical and manipulative, suave and hilarious, but he is also a bit of an idiot and sometimes he can cause trouble without being aware of it. Decker (Lauren German) is a by-the-book detective is cares a lot about her job and family, and while she can be a little too serious, she’s tenacious and good at her job. Dan (Kevin Alejandro) is Decker’s ex-husband and while he’s not always got his priorities in the right place, he’s a good guy, cares for his family and is also a source of humour on occasion. Amenadiel  (D. B. Woodside), Lucifer’s brother is confident, self-righteous and very serious about his commitment to god and following his father’s wishes especially when it comes to Lucifer’s behaviour on earth. Dr. Linda Martin (Rachael Harris) is Lucifer’s therapist who helps to understand his emotions and she has some great interactions with Lucifer over the season. Also, there’s Maze (Lesley-Ann Brandt), Lucifer’s long-term ally and follower from Hell who enjoys certain aspects of human life but longs to return to hell and has her concerns about Lucifer’s behaviour. And finally, there’s Trixie, Decker and Dan’s child who is super cute and has some fun moments in the show.

Favourite Episodes:

• Pilot
• Lucifer Stay. Good Devil
• Sweet Kicks
• Favourite Son
• Wingman
• A Priest Walks Into a Bar (favourite)
• Pops
• St. Lucifer

Season 2

Season 2 takes what worked in the last and magnifies it by 10. I enjoyed how this season was consistent with the last, but created new and interesting scenarios for our established characters. Relationships are tested, new dynamics are formed and struggle is real on an individual level especially for Lucifer, Chloe, Amenadiel, Maze and Linda. This season deals with the introduction of Lucifer’s mother, the ongoing issues related to Lucifer and his relationship with God and more complicated supernatural elements that present new levels of danger for everyone involved. A lot transpires during the season with short and long-term plot points, but for the most part, I found it incredibly fun, hilarious, engaging and helps enhance all of the characters.

I also really enjoyed the new storyline involving Lucifer’s mother, learning about her and the relationship she has with Lucifer and Amendadiel, and the extra background details we learn about Lucifer’s family history. Lucifer grows in this season and though he can still brash and thoughtless, he certainly learns a lot. I also loved seeing the Lucifer and Decker’s relationship develop beyond just being friends to being romantic, seeing Maze and Decker become roommates was a great new change and Linda had a lot of really great moments having great interactions with all of the main cast too. This season also introduced two new characters who would become series staples; Ella (Aimee Garcia) and Charlotte/Lucifer’s mother (Tricia Helfer). Ella is delightful, bubbly, cute, sometimes strange and surprising with her extra skills and history outside of forensic scientist. As for Charlotte/Lucifer’s mother, she’s an intriguing one. On the one hand, her lack of awareness when it comes to human rules leads to some hilarious situations, on the other, she is crafty, deceptive, manipulative and determined. And while she has a twisted sense of logic, she is a caring mother who will do whatever it takes for her children.

There are so much more character and story elements I could mention, but to summarize this is my favourite season just because almost all of the episodes I love because they’re fun, they all have a purpose (for the most part) and engage me on a new level.

Favourite Episodes:

• Lady Parts (favourite)
• Weaponizer
• Monster
• Homewrecker
• Quid Pro Ho
• Stewardess Interruptus
• Love Handles
• A Good Day to Die (favourite)
• Candy Morningstar
• God Johnson
• Sympathy for the Goddess
• The Good, the Bad, and the Crispy

Season 3

This new season introduces Lieutenant Marcus Pierce/Cain (Tom Welling) into the mix with his own demons to take care, but also introduced is the most controversial element of the show so far in the form of the awkward love triangle between Lucifer, Decker and Cain. As much as I and other fans want to see Lucifer and Decker be together, the show seems content with the tiresome trope, “will they or won’t they?’ It’s like the show teases their potential relationship far too frequently that it gets tedious. And that compounded by the Decker and Pierce situation. The two of them have no natural chemistry and besides Ella’s initial speculation, we’re given no reason to believe they’re going to hook up. But because of some arbitrary story purposes, Decker and Lucifer’s relationship deteriorates after so much progress and Pierce and Decker are forced upon us instead. And I wouldn’t mind if they were friends who built to something romantic, but it goes from nothing to something in a few episodes. And watching Lucifer strut and stumble through this season was equally entertaining and frustrating. I know Lucifer is Lucifer and he’s supposed to learn lessons in each episode, however, to see him continuously oblivious to his stupid and obvious mistakes, it was painful and showed how little he’d learnt.

Beyond that, this show still has a lot of great elements. It’s still super fun, hilarious and the dramatic material works well too. Like last season we see the exploration of our characters and some changes to the regular dynamics we’re used to seeing. The return of Charlotte Richards in her original form leads to some interesting material when it comes to her interactions with the cast and the past that she can’t remember. There’s also some good stuff for Dan to get into and this season sees a lot of great development and depth for Maze. Linda and Amenadiel had some interesting stuff to go through together and individually, and seeing more of Ella always makes me happy as well.

In the end, despite a lot of frustration and some stories that didn’t feel as essential as the previous season, when this season works, it works well and officially ended in a really intriguing. Plus the final two episodes had some fun and unique aspects that made them worth watching for sure.

Favourite Episodes:

• Mr. and Mrs. Mazikeen Smith (favourite)
• What Would Lucifer Do?
• Welcome Back, Charlotte Richards
• Vegas With Some Radish (favourite)
• Off The Record (favourite)
• The Sinnerman
• Let Pinhead Sing!
• Anything Pierce Can Do I Can Do Better
• All Hands on Decker
• Quintessential Deckerstar
• A Devil of My Word (favourite)
• Boo Normal

In conclusion, Lucifer has secretly come along and become one of my favourite shows to watch in the last few years thanks to its amazing cast of memorable and engaging characters, the interesting stories and world building and cool balance between humour and drama. While rewatching this show it has certainly become apparent to me how similar this show is to Castle with the story and character dynamic between Lucifer and Decker quite similar to Castle and Beckett, but I guess that’s why I like it, and despite the similarities, I still enjoy this show for its unique elements. And while the show has some issues when it comes to a bit of repetition and some story shortcomings in season 3, it is a show I love a lot and I can’t wait to see what’s going on with season 4! 😀

Thank you for reading and if you’ve seen Lucifer share your thoughts on it in the comments section below, and I’ll see you soon with my review for season 4, laters! 😀

 

QUICK REVIEW: Love, Death & Robots

Good day to you ladies and gents, and welcome to the first TV review I’ve done for ages in the form of Love, Death & Robots. I knew after I saw the first trailers for it last month that I’d have to give a watch, and after finishing it yesterday I felt compelled to share my thoughts online. So today I will be sharing my spoiler-free thoughts about this experimental show.

So what’s the show about? Well, it is essentially an 18 episode anthology series full of short stories that vary in tone, length, structure and presentation and relate to love, death and of course robots. The first great thing about the show is its length, these days with so many shows trying to compete for your time and some us (especially adults), don’t have the time to invest in a lot of them not only because of the episode duration but also the number of episodes/seasons as well. Love, Death & Robots is not only 18 episodes, but their duration varies from only 7 to 17 minutes, so getting through the whole thing isn’t too difficult. The issue with that comes with certain episodes feeling like they needed more time to flesh certain elements out or that they end abruptly.

As for the stories themselves, they all vary in quality. Some can be very intense, thought-provoking, disturbing, visceral and magical, other times it can be quite silly, strange, funny, casual and/or pointless. I found my engagement fluctuating from being super invested to disinterested. Some of the episodes felt like they established a whole with rules, mythology and characters you could invest in and wanted to see more of, while others felt like good ideas that needed more fleshing out. Your investment will depend on personal preference and while each episode is worth working, only around half of the 18 episodes left a major impression on me which I shall highlight below.

Favourite episodes:

• Sonnie’s Edge
• The Witness
• Suits
• Beyond the Aquila (really good)
• Good Hunting (really good)
• Shape-Shifters (really good)
• Helping Hand (really good)
• Fish Night
• Zima Blue (best episode)

The performances from the various cast members including Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Topher Grace, Gary Cole, Samira Wiley and Stefan Kapičić, are mostly good with some standing out more so than others, however, some voice performances were a little questionable when it came to doing certain accents.

The main draw for this show is its visual presentation which is all sorts of delicious! Now that may be a bit of an overstatement considering that I’m an illustrator and aspiring animator, so naturally, I gravitate towards those elements. But seriously this is some of the most visually striking and impressive material I have seen put into a TV format. The various studios that worked on the show have crafted visuals that utilise live-action footage, CGI, 2D and 3D animation and rotoscoping, and the way some of these styles are used individually or together is nothing short of amazing. I love the level of realism implemented in the 3D material, while some of the unique art direction for the 2D material was beautiful, some episodes had very vivid and beautiful colour schemes and others had incredible camera work with cinematography equal to a really high-quality video game or Hollywood film.

So to conclude, Love, Death & Robots is a fascinating, intriguing and unique TV experience that needs to be seen. While not all of the stories are compelling and some of the stories, subject matter and violence will turn certain audiences off, I feel like I had a good time with the show I would recommend it purely for the visuals alone as that is the show’s strongest element.

So have Love, Death & Robots and if so what do you think of it? I’m very curious to hear your thoughts, especially from any female viewers considering some of the online articles that have been brought up the way some of the women have been treated in the show. Leave your thoughts in the comment below and until next time, laters! 😀

 

What I’m Currently Watching #41

Howdy ladies and gents, and welcome to What I’m Currently Watching, a blog series where I give you an update on what TV-based stuff I’m watching and give mini reviews/impressions on them. It is week 41, and after watching a few shows recently I have felt inspired to once again share my thoughts on them online. So today I once again be talking about Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, but I will also be talking about Disenchantment, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and Bojack Horseman. With that out of the way let’s talk about some TV! 😀

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (Eps 13-25)

Ah, Gundam Wing, after watching those first 12 episodes I was all in on this show, but as the show went on it changed, evolved and then became something more complex than I expect. Seeing the 5 main Gundam pilots go on their own adventures on Earth, unfortunately lose their robots and eventually travel into space to the colonies and continue their mission was fascinating because of how it affects them mentally and emotionally. I thought it was pretty intriguing and surprising to see how the Gundams were this unstoppable force, but as OZ made their advancements in mobile suits technology and had the larger numbers in the army, they were able to take out the heroes and so it really looked like the bad take over especially with how they convinced the colonies that the Gundams were bad and that OZ’s military force was for security purposes. I loved seeing more of the designers behind the Gundams, those dudes were cool, and Lady Une, someone I absolutely hated at first, she ended up being one of the most engaging characters because of her split personality and seeing more of Relena and Zechs was cool especially after Relena learns of her relation to her brother. And though I love Heero, it was really cool to see more of Trowa, his journey was probably the more interesting a varied of the pilots, but Quarte, that dude had one hell of a journey, losing the plot and becoming disillusioned to the mission and going on this crazy hunt to destroy the colonies, that was intense. After finishing episode 25 it definitely felt like the end of an era within this show and it was transitioning into something different with the state of the government, OZ and their military powers, the new Gundams and the state of the original Gundam pilots. I’m still very much invested in this show even if some of the storylines aren’t as consistently interesting as others.

Disenchantment (Season 1)

I remember hearing about this show for the first time back in the summer and then seeing the first trailer just after Comic-Con at thought it was a strange and new direction for Matt Groening considering the setting and characters, but I was curious to see how it turned out. And the initial reactions after the show dropped were mixed to lukewarm to what I’d seen briefly online so I expected the worst, but after the first episode, I was totally on board. I watched the first few episodes in random patches and on finished the last 3 episodes in the last week. So after watching all 10 episodes, I can say that I enjoyed Disenchantment, it certainly has its flaws, but I when it worked I was entertained, I laughed and it was mainly engaged thanks to the characters. I really liked the world, its strange and interesting rules and law, and the humourous approach to most things that shouldn’t be funny like death. The humour doesn’t always land, but when it did I laughed mainly due to the stupidity or absurdity of what happens to characters with well-timed physical or verbal jokes. I love the theme song, I hummed it every time it came on after the first episode haha. But it is the characters that really make the show work, Bean, Luci and Elfo are an interesting bunch of individuals who work really well as a group with their banter and chemistry, I cared about them not only because they made me laugh, but because I liked what they did and how they grew as people especially towards the end of the show (well not so much Luci). I liked how the show felt episode but had continuity over the course of the season, it was surprising to learn where the story was ultimately going, learning of certain mysteries and revelations and having certain plot points from the start of the season finally have pay-off towards the end. And while I appreciated the more heartfelt approach to the show towards the end, at the same time I didn’t feel as emotionally invested as I think show wanted me to be and was surprised that story ended the way it, not in a bad way but just not in an overly satisfying way. But in the end, I enjoyed the show and will watch another season. 🙂

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan (Season 1)

So this show wasn’t really on my radar, I mean I was certainly curious about it from a distance because it was another Jack Ryan adaptation and I was curious to see if it would fair better than the 2012 film Shadow Recruit with Chris Pine. But last week I had some free time and my mum and I just binged the show over two sessions, and you know what it was some good tv. I’m not overly into political thrillers just because sometimes they can be complex, layered and hard to follow and politics just never holds my interest in films (with a handful of exceptions to the rule). But this show was pretty clear in terms of what it was, how it progressed and concluded. I also enjoyed the cast especially John Krasinski as Jack Ryan, he was heroic, but also impulsive and didn’t always have the right solution for every situation and Wendell Pierce as James Greer was awesome as Ryan’s boss, he’s a bit of a hard-ass, but as the show progresses we learn more about him and he eventually chills out a little bit. I also loved the relationship between Ryan and Greer, they’re normally at odds with each other because of their different tactics but I liked seeing their relationship evolve. Abbie Cornish was also good as Cathy Mueller, and Dina Shihabi was very impressive as Hanin Ali, Suleiman’s wife. And finally, there’s Ali Suliman as Mousa Bin Suleiman, he was really intimidating and quietly intense as an Islamic terrorist and because we learn of his backstory and attachment he is to his family, he ended up being a captivating villain. I also enjoyed how the show didn’t just focus on the Jack Ryan’s perspective, but also on the main villain Suleiman and his motivations so you could understand why he does what he does. One of the best aspects of the show beyond the performances was the rising tension and escalation of danger and chaos, once certain situations start to play out the show just ramps up and never stops moving and that sense of urgency was very engaging and addictive. In a way I thought the overall plot could/would have carried over into season 2, but it was nicely wrapped up over the 8 episodes.

Bojack Horseman (Season 5)

Last year Bojack Horseman became one of my favourite TV shows in recent years because of its dramatic, uncomfortable, yet engaging and humourous content, and after the emotional rollercoaster that was season 4, I was totally ready for the next season. And season 5 has been one hell of a journey, building upon the foundations of previous seasons and presenting new and familiar characters and scenarios resulting in very engaging TV which was very hard to watch at times. While this season didn’t have the same emotional gut punch of season 4, it did have plenty of really insightful, poignant and agonizing moments that remind me of not only how incredible the show is thanks to all the writers, but also how much these stories and flawed characters remind me of real life. It was interesting to see Bojack and the rest of the cast end up making this TV show, and how their stories progressed on and off of the film set through non-linear storytelling, trips out of town, flashbacks and episodes that blurred the lines between fiction and reality. All of it was handled in creative, raw and hilarious ways. I found myself shouting at my laptop in disbelief at some of the stuff that happened on-screen and at several points I just had to stop and take in what happened because some of the issues the show tackles is deep and thought-provoking. .Also, the show’s funny, I’ve never found the show to be super hilarious, but this season may have some of my favourite laughs of the show so far with some of the one-liners and physical humour.

As for the cast is incredible, Will Arnett (Bojack), Amy Sedaris (Princess Carolyn), Alison Brie (Diane), Paul F. Tompkins (Mr. Peanutbutter) and Aaron Paul (Todd) deliver some of their best material to date alongside some great supporting and new cast members. I love learning more about Princess Carolyn’s past, seeing what Diane was up to and how she’s dealing with her own drama and the ever surprising and crazy life of Todd has never been funnier. Also shout outs to Rami Malek as Flip McVicker, Stephanie Beatriz as Gina, Issa Rae as Dr. Indira and Wanda Sykes as Mary BethBut. But now I wanted to focus Bojack specifically, he’s someone I really disliked in season 1, but later on I grew to cheer for him, for as shitty as he was and all the horrible things he’d gotten up to over the seasons, I could relate to his emotional state on several occasions and as he started to learn about himself and grow, I just wanted to see him change for the better. And while he does learn and grow, he also has to face up to all of his transgressions, and this season was the first time where I just couldn’t support him, he went to some dark and troubled places that were almost unbearable to watch and I’m not sure he’ll recover from it, but damn Will Arnett did damn good work with is voice acting. And after all of the drama and chaos the season ends in the place that I thought it would, not to give any spoilers, but after everything that happened with Bojack, the final moments of the show felt like the only logical conclusion and it was handled very well. I don’t know if I can handle any more of this show’s crazy and intense drama, but it’s so good that I can’t help but want to see what happens if and when season 6 rolls around.

Well, that’s what I’ve been watching. So have you seen any of these shows and if so what do you think of them? If you have any thoughts be sure to drop a comment below and let me know what TV shows you’re currently watching too. Until next time, laters! 😀

 

What I’m Currently Watching #40: Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (Eps 1-12)

Howdy ladies and gents, and after AGES I’ve decided to resurrect What I’m Currently Watching, a blog series where I give you an update on what TV-based stuff I’m watching and give mini reviews/impressions on them. It is week 40, and like I said before, it has been AGES since the last time I talked about any TV-related material on here. I have watched a handful of shows here and there over the course of 2018, but recently I’ve been revisiting Mobile Suit Gundam Wing and I’ve been enjoying it so much that I just had to write about it. Be careful of mild spoilers! With that out of the way let’s talk about some TV! 😀

Ah, Gundam Wing, I have fond memories of this show and yet, upon rewatching the show recently I realised how little of it I actually saw. Before getting into this review let me give you a little history, Gundam Wing was the first mecha anime I’d ever seen back on Toonami in 2000 or 2001 and while I didn’t really understand what was going on and it was a lot slower in pace to the anime I’d seen before that Pokemon, Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z, but I was enamoured by it because of the difference in serious tone, art style and of course the awesome robot suits and music. I had at least 2 episodes recorded on VHS which I watched many times as a teenager and over the years since becoming a big film fan and becoming well-versed in anime in many genres, I had been meaning to go back to this and watch it properly ,but because I was binging so much live-action TV at uni from late 2011 onwards I just never got around to it until now.

So with that mini history lesson out of the way, what do I think of Gundam Wing? Honestly? I love it. No word of a lie, this show had me intrigued from the beginning from a nostalgic point of view but as the episodes progressed I found myself being more and more captivated by the story and characters. And let me just say this, the first 8 episodes are some of the most engaging TV I have seen in years, for real. This may seem like a bit of an exaggerated statement, but I’m serious, this show has a great sense of intrigue, mystery and style that just gets better as it progresses.

So whats the show about? Well, I’m going to borrow a wonderfully written summary from redcommander27 on IMDB: “In the future, humanity has constructed several space colonies. But the corrupt Treize and his organization Oz have manipulated the United Earth Sphere Alliance into controlling earth and its colonies with an iron fist. To counteract this extreme measure, rebel colonies launch Operation: Meteor; an attempt to smuggle Mobile Suits made of Gundanium alloy to earth to combat the corruption and free earth and the colonies from Oz’s control. One of these “Gundams” is piloted by Heero Yuy, who is shot down and is forced to blend into enemy society. Now up against social issues with a girl named Relena and Oz and its puppets, Heero must unite with other rebels and save his people.“

What I love about this show is the way it drops you into the middle of the action and keeps things moving, and while you don’t have all the pieces of the puzzle, as the show goes on, it fills in the blanks about how we got the present point of the show, why there is so much conflict and the motivations of all the main characters involved. The show also throws a fair amount of information at you when it comes to organisations, certain notable characters and key past events, and while it can be a little hard to follow (especially if you’re not a fast reader of subtitles like me), it can still be understood as some of it gets repeated in the following episodes allowing to connect the dots. I loved learning about the motivations behind those who were for and against war, seeing those in power trying to keep hold of it while others lurked in the shadows waiting for their moment to rise up and seeing people who are committed to their cause and those who have doubt or may wish to defect to the other side. And as I mentioned before I love how engaging the show is, each episode brings up new and interesting scenarios involving the heroes and villains that have short-term and long-term ramifications, and the amount of showing twists and turns that happened in the first 10 episodes was just crazy to me.

And when it comes to the characters I love them all… For the most part. Firstly there are Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei; the 5 Gundam pilots who are part of the space colonies plan to take down Oz. Each of them has different personalities, talents and means of accomplishing their missions, and seeing how they operate individually and then eventually come together in pairs and then as a group is fascinating and fun. Quatre is a calm and interesting pacifist, Wufei is very honourable and values strength, Duo is crafty and hilarious, and Trowa is fairly quiet and emotionally closed off. But it is Heero who is the most notable character, he has the most amount of screen time and he’s quite incredible, he’s very smart, strategic, efficient and committed to his mission. And then there are the bad guys, firstly there’s Zechs, he is OZ’s ace mobile suit pilot, and while he’s bad, he has an interesting backstory, a cool presence and a moral code that makes him someone to root for. Treize is the main villain of the show and is the leader of the OZ, he’s calculated, always calm and plots ahead so when he makes a move it has a massive impact. I also really like Noin, another character who is part of OZ but has her own interesting part to play and Lady Une, Treize’s right-hand woman… Man I hate her, she is such a mean, self-righteous bitch who causes so much trouble for the heroes and you just want to see her get her comeuppance. And finally, there’s Relena Darlian, she happens to be the daughter of someone quite important and because of her unexpected interactions with Heero, she becomes quite important as the story goes on.

And then there’s the presentation. Visually the show is very nice, I enjoy the various designs of the mobile suits from the Gundams to the OZ suits like Leo, Cancer, Pieces and Taurus and how they transform and fight. For a show in the 90’s I think it still holds up pretty well, the action is dynamic, explosive and well-done for the most part, sure there is a fair amount of reused animation for fight scenes, transformations and explosions but I can look past it because it never feels too offensive to my eyes. But what is even better than the visuals is the music, the soundtrack from Kow Otani is frigging fantastic! The music really helps elevate what’s happening on-screen, it covers an emotional spectrum whether it is soft and uplifting or cold and ominous or bombastic and intense. I absolutely love the music during the action scenes whether it is scenes of chaos, heroism or terror, there are some absolutely killer tracks that have a jazzy kind of sound that sounds so gorgeous to the hear that it makes you want to go and buy the soundtrack. Yeah, it is that good.

So yeah if it wasn’t clear already I really have enjoyed my time with Gundam Wing over the last few days, it has been far more enjoyable than I could have imagined and though I am far from the end I am very hyped to see where the story and character go. I would recommend this if you’re interested in some classic mecha anime. 🙂

Well, that’s what I’ve been watching. So have you seen Gundam Wing? If you have any thoughts be sure to drop a comment below and let me know what TV shows you’re currently watching too. Until next time, laters! 😀

 

Marvel’s Jessica Jones Season 2 Review

Howdy people of the internet, time for my first TV review in ages and today I get to talk about the second season of Marvel’s Jessica Jones. I’m not gonna lie, my interest in this season hasn’t been nearly as high as the Netflix Marvel shows that came out beforehand even though I really enjoyed season 1, but after watching the first new trailer and rewatching season 1, I got really hyped to revisit these characters and see how they develop. 😛 So after seeing the second season, I’m ready to pass judgement in this spoiler-free review.

“New York City private investigator Jessica Jones is beginning to put her life back together after murdering her tormentor, Kilgrave. Now known throughout the city as a super-powered killer, a new case makes her reluctantly confront who she really is while digging deeper into her past to explore the reasons why.”

The second season of Jessica Jones presents a lot of new an interesting scenarios for Jessica in dealing with. Seeing Jessica trying to live in a world after the events of the last season was interesting because of the way it affected her, the people around her and the people of New York City. Like Daredevil season 2, this season of JJ also features flashbacks that help flesh out Jessica’s backstory and it features some of the strongest material of the season with the character development of Jessica and Trish and the emotional history they’ve had individually and together. Unfortunately, the show doesn’t have a central focus until I think around episode 3 or 4 there are a good few things happening here and there, but nothing to tie it all together. And once the story and characters finally start to come into focus, my level of engagement and interest fluctuated a lot. There were plenty of points where I loved what I was watching, where the drama and emotion were on-point and I was captivated in Jessica and some of the other main characters’ stories… However, there are several points where certain storylines felt unnecessary or random and took away screen time from more important ones, also I feel like a great deal of the conflicts, danger and general issues felt fabricated rather than progressing in a natural manner. And this leads to scenarios that were a little silly, unrealistic or frustrating, and sometimes because of the way there are picked up and dropped from time to time. By the end of the season, I felt like a lot had happened, but I was in two minds about how I liked it, I feel like the ideas were there, but the execution could have been better.

Favourite episodes:

• AKA Start at the Beginning
• AKA Freak Accident
• AKA Sole Survivor
• AKA God Help the Hobo
• AKA I Want Your Cray Cray (personal favourite)
• AKA Three Lives and Counting

The cast was really good with the returning cast being pretty good and some of the newcomers settling in with the old ones pretty well, however, it is the way that some of these characters were handled which lead to a mixed bag of people you may like or dislike. Firstly Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones was great, she carried the show with her tough, sassy and witty persona, she has a lot of stuff to deal with and at times I just wanted to shake her and tell her to get her shit together, but even when she annoyed me, she ends still works as a damaged character who had to confront the issues of her past and present. Rachael Taylor as Trish Walker was good, Trish was one of my favourite characters from last season despite her bad decision-making and in this season we learn more about her his backstory, insecurities and weaknesses and interesting relationships with Jessica, her mother and some other people. At certain points I really liked her, but then she made some absolutely terrible choices which made her insufferable. Eka Darville was really good as Malcolm, his character had a good sense of progression from season 1 and I liked how active he was in the plot helping Jessica and doing things for himself, and while he ends up doing certain things I didn’t like, he was still really engaging. And of the returning cast I ended up really liking Carrie-Anne Moss as Jeri Hogarth more than I expected, in the last season she was very cold, calculated and self-serving and that was still the case for this season, however, they took her character in an interesting direction that made me feel for her in ways I didn’t think possible and maybe that was purely due to Moss as an actress, but I found Hogarth’s story to be quite compelling.

I’m only going to talk about a few of the new cast members. Firstly J.R. Ramirez as Oscar Arocho was fine, as soon as I saw him I knew exactly what his purpose would be and sure enough things played out as I expected, that being said he did have a lot more going on in his personal life that made me like him more. Terry Chen as Pryce Cheng was someone who had my interest at first but then became irrelevant and annoying as the season progressed, and the same sort of applied to Leah Gibson as Inez Green, she had an interesting part to play and while she wasn’t all that likeable, she had a more significant role to play than Cheng. And finally Janet McTeer as Alisa was an interesting character, I can’t say how she ties into the main story but she does play a pivotal role which at times was very intriguing and scary and on other occasions quite frustrating too. When it came to the presentation it is pretty good. Visually the show is shot well, and the fight scenes and visual effects look better than before and the use of colour was still pretty good. Also, the soundtrack by Sean Callery was still pretty good with some of the themes being and general sound being carried over from last season in a wonderful way, and season two has some nice new material, but it is not nearly as great as what’s come before.

In conclusion, Jessica Jones season 2 was a decent season to watch, that being said after finishing the show I felt disappointed. There were some compelling story elements, great character development and wonderfully deep and emotional material throughout the season. However, the lack of Kilgrave, the different storylines that had varying levels of interest and frustrating character arcs and choices left this season feeling far less captivating.

So have you seen Jessica Jones season 2 and if so so what do you think of it? And how do you think it compares to season 1 and the other Netflix shows? Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below and I’ll see ya in the next review, laters. 🙂

 

What I’m Currently Watching #39

Howdy ladies and gents, and welcome to What I’m Currently Watching where I give you a tiny update on what TV-based stuff I’m watching and give mini reviews/impressions on them. It is week 39, and I’m gonna keep it brief since I don’t have much time this week so I have seen a lot of TV over the last few months that haven’t reviewed from The Punisher to Bojack Horseman season 4, so today I’ll be giving you my thoughts on Lucifer and Crisis on Earth X. Be careful of spoilers! With that out of the way let’s talk about some TV! 😀

Lucifer (Season 3) “The Sinnerman”

This week’s episode of Lucifer was great, it explored a lot of great stuff when it comes to the relationship of many of the main characters, but also with this Sinnerman character that was spoken of towards the start of the season. Firstly I like how the Sinnerman’s affected both Lucifer and Pierce, with the victims of this week’s episode tied to Lucifer and the favours he did for said people and Pierce because of the death of his brother. It made the episode feel personal and had a sense of urgency. As fun as it is to see Lucifer running around being the fun, witty and charismatic man who I like, it is more interesting when he’s put in a situation he doesn’t have a way out and in this episode he’s not only trapped by the Sinnerman, but then towards the end of the episode he tried to interrogate him with his powers but can’t because Sinnerman’s gone and cut his eyes out! Like fucking hell, what a crazy yet smart thing to do. This Sinnerman ain’t no joke. Also, let’s talk about Decker and Pierce, I know this show’s really trying to push for this new relationship but it doesn’t feel natural, their relationship feels very hot and cold, sometimes you can see some normal hints toward something, other times it feels like it’s coming out of nowhere. I like that these two have opened up about the family loss that they’ve suffered and had a sense of teamwork developing. And speaking of couples,  Linda and Amenadiel have finally hooked up, I mean they’ve been getting too cosy recently for things not to end up this way. Too bad Maze is back and she doesn’t like that relationship because of her friendship and previous relationship with these two, I liked how Lucifer forced her to confront her feelings about them and how she ultimately told Linda to stop seeing Amenadiel… The only problem is that Linda looked pretty worried, I mean she took a little too long her office door and while we don’t see anyone else in that room I don’t think she was alone. I sense complicated times ahead for Maze, Linda and Amenadiel. And finally there’s Charlotte, I’ve liked where her character’s gone, from being possessed by Lucifer’s mother to a woman trying to right the wrongs of her past by assisting the police. I appreciate how she’s finding the transition hard and that she’s not quite good at doing the right thing, but she’s got her heart in the right place and seeing her and Dan have that heart-to-heart in the men’s room was sweet, if a little strange and awkward haha.

Crisis on Earth-X

This Now I’ve not been keeping up with all of the CW superhero shows, I dropped off of Legends of Tomorrow a while ago and I got aways into season 2 of Supergirl I forgot to keep watching haha. The Flash and Arrow I’ve kept up with and I’m enjoying them so far, especially Arrow that’s really good at the moment. So when I heard about this Crisis on Earth-X I was always going to watch it, I just wasn’t super compelled to see it. But after I heard a lot of hype around to first two episodes I decided to watch it and damn it was a lot of fun. The people behind these shows understand what their fans want but also throws some curveballs too. I also appreciated how the show quickly caught you up on what’s happening in the world of each TV show, so in case you weren’t up to date or just weren’t watching any of them, you never felt lost as the story was its own adventure, though if you were up to date it did give you a greater level of appreciation for the characters. What I really liked about this four-part event was the story and characters. I liked the idea of a secret Earth where Nazis won the war and you had these dangerous versions of the heroes plotting to rule over Earth in different realities. There was a lot of drama and surprises especially in regards to the death of Martin Stein, he was one of my favourite characters on Legends and to see him get shot, have that heart to heart with Jefferson before he died, I got way more emotional than I expected and Steins’s funeral, that was frigging beautiful. On top of that it was fun to see all of the different characters interacting and there’s too many to highlight, let me just say that seeing Wentworth Miller again as Captain Cold was delightful, the evil versions of Oliver and Kara were really cool, seeing Reverse Flash was fun and the action scenes were pretty well done.

Well, that’s what I’ve been watching. So have you seen or plan to watch any of this show? If you have any thoughts be sure to drop a comment below and let me know what TV shows you’re currently watching too. Until next time, laters! 😀

 

SUPER LATE REVIEW: Marvel’s The Defenders

Howdy ladies and gents, it is time for a review and this is a review I should have done at the end of August. But it’s been chilling in my draft section for ages so I thought I’d finally finish it. I am of course talking about Marvel’s The Defenders. Now this was a show I was eagerly anticipating for ages up until Iron Fist came out and that brought down my hype by a considerable amount (review available here). But with some solid trailers I was ready to love the show. But now the show’s been out since August and before I review The Punisher (which I’ve already seen but will give another watch), I wanted to share my thoughts on this show. So if you’re still interested in my thoughts on this show read on and find out. 🙂

So the story can be described as the following: “Set a few months after the events of the second season of Daredevil, and a month after the events of the first season of Iron Fist, the vigilantes Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist team up in New York City to fight a common enemy: the Hand.”

The Defenders primarily furthers the plot and characters of the Daredevil and Iron Fist shows, however you don’t have to have seen the previous shows in order to understand whats going on here as it is a self-contained like The Avengers, that being said watching the previous shows helps you care about the characters and the significance of the stakes involved. The story starts off a big slow re-establishing the characters and storylines from the previous shows, but by the latter half of episode 3 things really pick up and start to become fun and from there you feel like you’re getting the show you were promised with fun crossover character interactions and cool fight scenes. There’s also some good action, drama, mystery and revelations. However, by the time the show ends, I feel like things could have played out in a far more captivating manner. The plot takes time to set up certain elements that will have pay off later on, the only issue is that once everything is laid out on the table it feels rather lacklustre and unsurprising.

Episode highlights include:

• The H Word
• Worst Behavior
• Royal Dragon
• Take Shelter

When it comes to the cast, I think they did their best considering the material they were given and some actors/actresses were good while others didn’t fare as well. The Defenders themselves were quite good. Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock/Daredevil was one of the most effective characters besides Jessica Jones. He probably had most character development and it was cool to see how he evolved from the end of DD season 2 to this show and see how he interacted with the team. Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones was great, all of her wonderfully bad and good character traits were on display, she didn’t like to play with others and was very rude, but did do some investing and showed up when it counted. Mike Colter as Luke Cage was good, still the strong and smooth dude from his own show, he was good though I wasn’t keen on what they did with him and Claire’s relationship. Finn Jones as Danny Rand/Iron Fist was weird, it was almost like they did a bit of a course correction for the character as he comes across smarter and more confident not only in his personality but his fighting skills too. Alas, it doesn’t take long for the character to fall back into his childish and foolish ways, he’s such a weak link it is painful. The Defenders have the same sort of group dynamic that makes team formations so much fun to watch like the Avengers of Guardians of the Galaxy, they have that different personalities and ideologies and seeing them but heads and team up was great especially with Matt and Jessica. Oh and Elodie Yung as Elektra, part of me likes her, but at the same time considering how her character was handled it was just messy, a tad confusing and annoying.

Sigourney Weaver as Alexandra Reid has some moments of interest but ultimately adds up to a forgettable/boring villain. She makes a lot of sinister speeches but rarely does anything that directly impacts the heroes and the way her story arc concludes is one I not only saw coming but also felt like a slap in the face to anyone who had invested time her character. As for Scott Glenn as Stick, e was one of the best parts of Daredevil, but here he was less compelling and a little more annoying, just talking about how bad the enemy was. Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple is still the same likeable character from before, she’s good. Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing was good too, she had some decent action scenes, nice interactions with some other characters and some story stuff that carried over from Iron Fist. Simone Missick as Misty Knight was cool, sassy and proactive and while she wasn’t always on the right side of the heroes, she had some solid moments in the show, though I wish she was utilized a little better. Seeing Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson, Eka Darville as Malcolm Ducasse, Rachael Taylor as Trish Walker and Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page was nice as they brought a nice bit of flavour from their respective shows

As for the presentation, it was good for the most part. Visually the show was solid. One of the things the show did well was the action, I feel like the fight choreographers brought back the flair and intensity that was sorely lacking from not only Iron Fist but also Luke Cage and Jessica Jones to a degree as well.The fight scenes here were faster, better in choreography, sometimes reaching that Daredevil quality. Alas, the action isn’t always consistently good with some fight scenes looking unrealistic, slow and silly, and it also doesn’t help that some of the sequences are shot and edited in a strange way to be stylised when in fact they’re less interesting than they should be. As for the soundtrack by John Paesano, it was good. I think it was a smart choice to bring him back considering the solid work he brought to Daredevil. In this show, Paesano brings a more bombastic, intense and dramatic sound that I think the show needed especially when it comes to the opening theme. There were points where it felt a little overly dramatic but for the most part, it was really nice.

In conclusion season 1 of Marvel’s The Defenders is a decent show that has some great moments but didn’t live up to its potential. I really did enjoy the character crossover not only from the main heroes but also the secondary cast, and when the action, dialogue and soundtrack were on-point it was a fun show to watch. However, this team up series didn’t give me the compelling story that I wanted, there were some bad decisions made with the use of the villains and Iron Fist, the action scenes weren’t consistently good and there was a lack of payoff/satisfaction that I felt once the show was over. The Defenders wasn’t terrible and was easily the best material Marvel and Netflix have done since the first half of Luke Cage, but as it stands, Marvel and Netflix are really gonna have to step up their game if they want to keep the fans coming back for more.

So have you seen Marvel’s The Defenders and is so what do you think of it? Did it live up to your expectations or were you disappointed? Also, how would you compare it to Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist? Please leave your comments below and I’ll see ya in the next review, laters. 🙂

 

What I’m Currently Watching #38

Howdy ladies and gents, and welcome to What I’m Currently Watching where I give you a tiny update on what TV-based stuff I’m watching and give mini reviews/impressions on them. It is week 38, and today I’ll be giving you my thoughts on Big Mouth, Inhumans, Lucifer, and Star Wars Rebels. Be careful for spoilers! With that out of the way let’s talk about some TV! 😀

Big Mouth (Season 1)

So at the request of a mate from work, I decided to give this show a chance and its been an interesting watch. Big Mouth’s very bizarre, crass and overtly sexual, and sometimes you’ll be surprised by what the creators of this show were able to put into this cartoon. The style of humour which focuses on sex-related material has never been my cup of tea as it can sometimes feel juvenile, crude and over-the-top just for the sake of shock value, and while not every joke this show threw at me worked, there was something oddly captivating about this world, cast of characters, storylines and humour that kept me coming back, Big Mouth is surprisingly fun, creative and relatable in a strange and stupid kind of way. What I really liked about this show is the core concept of these main children hitting puberty and transitioning into teenagehood and having these physical manifestations of their hormones contribute to their real-life decisions. While episodes could be treated as singular episodic adventures, the plot points started in certain episodes continue throughout the season with some interesting and hilarious outcomes. It is a simple, smart and creative way of providing a fictional yet realistic way to why teenagers at that age would act in such an erratic, impulsive and bizarre manner. While some of these scenarios could only exist in the realm of fiction, the show presents os many real-life issues when it comes to relationships, friendship, being affected by physical body changes or problematic parent relationships. I could see some of the same anxiety and issues I experienced back in school in some of these situations. Visually the show’s solid, the animation is good, but it is the art that starts out the most. Like the show’s humour and the concept it is a bit odd, most characters have exaggerated body features especially when it comes the big heads and lips. The character designs are a tad simple not that appealing to the eye, however, they certainly are distinctive and if you don’t like it at first you’ll eventually adjust to it after a few episodes. Oh and the cast and characters are all good, but my favourites would be Nick Kroll as the creepy yet entertaining Maurice the Hormone Monster, Jordan Peele as The Ghost of Duke Ellington (he’s so weird and funny) and Maya Rudolph who kills it as the sassy and crazy Connie the Hormone Monstress.

Inhumans (Season 1) “… And Finally: Black Bolt”

And so after 8 weeks, Inhumans has ended its first season with episode 8, and all I can say is wow, what a waste. To talk about the recent episode briefly it ranged from okay to terrible, there were some decent parts here an there, but as a final episode, it left me wanting more. The fact that Gorgon was able to be “cured” of his madness from his resurrection via terrigenesis from having Karnak and Black Bolt talk to him was horrible, I wish it had been an issue that had taken longer to cure. I did enjoy seeing Triton fight some dudes and the final scenes with Black Bolt and Maximus was good, thanks mainly to Anson Mount’s body language and facial expressions, and while Black Bolt sealing his brother away on the moon alone instead of killing him is a plot element I have seen done before, it was one of the better moments in the series. Clearly, those markings on the chair in the throne room means something, but I doubt we’ll see a follow-up to that anytime soon. As for the Inhumans little triumphant moment on Earth where Medusa makes her speak about changing the status quo and making a new life, it felt so unearned and cheap.

As for the show on a whole. Everyone knew it’d be bad especially from the trailers, but it is sad that there weren’t any hidden redeeming qualities for the show beyond what the marketing shared. I thought that the first 3-4 episodes were underwhelming, but had some decent elements and showed promise for something decent. But annoyingly the issues that the show had from the beginning when it comes to bad dialogue, okay to weak action scenes, dull cinematography, basic visual effects and set design, unlikable characters and a painfully basic and unsatisfying story continued right into the end of the season. From the beginning, things are spelt out pretty clearly, the royal family are unlikable protagonists and Maximus is the antagonist who will rise up and overthrow them, and because of the bad writing, you’re on the side of the bad guy. Until later you see he’s a selfish asshole with an inferiority complex who will dispose of anyone who isn’t on his good side, so you want to see the heroes take him down even though seeing them in power wouldn’t rectify the issues that existed when the show started. However, because of their experiences on Earth, they’re changed people which means they’ll be better rulers. And by the end of the show it feels like they’ve learnt some life lessons, however, I don’t feel like these characters should have been like this in the first place. Most of the characters are boring, generic, selfish and cliché, lots of supporting cast members come and go whether they are human sidekicks or Maximus henchmen, none of them stand out in a significant or memorable way, at least not in a good way. The only good characters were Black Bolt and Karnak, the latter I liked because of his ability and character arc, but it was mainly Black Bolt I enjoyed. While his character doesn’t change much from episode 1-8, he has the best scenes, interactions and screen presence, and that’s thanks to Anson Mount who basically carries this show on his shoulders, without him the show would have been so much worse. And Iwan Rheon as Maximus, there was an inkling of a good villain, a tragic one that would have worked, but he was given such terrible material to work with that he became more of a nuisance than an engaging character. So after this, I doubt Inhumans will be back for another season unless it was extremely overhauled or rebooted, and as it stands while Iron Fist pissed me off with how boring it was, this show stands right next to it as an example of how to waste such good source material and turn it into a disappointing and meandering mess.

Lucifer (Season 3) “Off the Record“

This week’s episode of Lucifer was not only the best episode of the season but also one of, if not the strongest episodes of the show so far. I thought it was interesting to see Reese, a man who apparently escaped death on this path of revenge after finding out his wife had been cheating on him with Lucifer. That alone was an interesting story for an episode, but considering that all of the revelations that showed up as the episode went on was nothing short of brilliant. Firstly having Patrick Fabian from Better Call Saul in this show was awesome, he’s an incredibly talented actor and he plays crafty characters so well. Seeing him pretend to be friendly to Lucifer and Decker, but then plotting and scheming in the background was very engaging. At first, he’s just on this simple path of vengeance, but after he seeing Lucifer’s face he goes to great lengths to take him down and by the latter half of the episode he’s made so many mistakes and missteps that it’s no surprise that he met his end by his own doing. I also loved learning the reveal that Reese and Linda were married and he’s still trying to rekindle the marriage, this was the best material Linda’s had since season 2 as it gave Rachael Harris ample screen time to do some really lovely work opposite Fabian. I also liked the case with the mysterious serial killer and his eventual reveal as the guy Reese seeks out to get Lucifer, his turn while talking to a dying Reese in his office was so sinister and cool. Tom Welling as always has the right level of charm, wit and humour that makes Lucifer such a captivating character, Decker didn’t get as much screen time as usual but I enjoyed her as well as the appearances of Maze and Dan. Also having the ending play out the same as the beginning was a smart/intriguing ending. Now it makes me think if that’s happened in the real world already and if so when? Oh one more thing, Lucifer’s devil face, if the events of this episode happened recently does that mean he has the face back? Or did this happen prior to the events of season 3? I’m so curious! 😛

 

Star Wars Rebels (Season 4) “Rebel Assault”

So far season 4 of Rebels has been pretty cool, the first two episodes “Heroes of Mandalore Part 1 & 2” and “In the Name of the Rebellion Part 1 & 2” have been great, and I enjoyed most of “Kindred” too. And “Rebel Assualt” is the first taste of the tone, atmosphere and seriousness that I’ve been hearing about and looking forward to before this season started. We’ve heard for a while now, that season 4 of Rebels was when the Empire was going to step up and become a real threat and the rebels would start feeling the pressure and be less successful than before and that was certainly felt here. Hera and her assault team were able to break through an Imperial blockade but were mostly taken out by the second legion of ships, and while Hera, Chopper and one other guy did well to fend off that assassin Rukh, but in the end, Hera was captured by the Empire. It’s been a while since the heroes faced a real danger, where the odds we staked against them and the bad guys have felt competent at stopping the rebels. While Rebels hasn’t been the best debut for Grand Admiral Thrawn, he has shown moments of strategic talent, and this episode was good because it showed that he had planned ahead, so even if the rebels got through the space battle, on the planet he had another wave of ships to take out the enemy with ease. Good stuff. Also, I loved how serious and urgent this episode felt, from the beginning, you’re thrown straight into the action and get all these cool moments of hand-to-hand combat, dogfights between X-wings and TIE fighters and some small moments of dialogue, heroism and sacrifice. I really liked the way this episode looked, some of the cinematogrphy during the action sceens were great, and the colour scheme on Lothal epsiecally when the rebel ships were falling out of the sky, beautiful. I am curious what the Loth-Wolf told Kanan to do, guess we’ll have to wait until later to find that out.

Well, that’s what I’ve been watching. So have you seen or plan to watch any of this show? If you have any thoughts be sure to drop a comment below and let me know what TV shows you’re currently watching too. Until next time, laters! 😀

 

What I’m Currently Watching #37

Howdy ladies and gents, and welcome to What I’m Currently Watching where I give you a tiny update on what TV-based stuff I’m watching and give mini reviews/impressions on them. It is week 37, and I’ll be going back to the old format of having mini-reviews for several shows in the week and today I’ll be giving you my thoughts on Inhumans, Lucifer and Star Wars Rebels. With that out of the way let’s talk about some TV! 😀

Inhumans (Season 1) “Make Way for… Medusa”

So Inhumans episode 4, what can I say? This has to be the least engaging episode so far. While the plot of all the characters certainly advanced, most of it was very dull. I liked how things started off with Medusa and Louise on the hunt for Black Bolt in the helicopter, but their back and forth started to become tiresome, Louise was the character holding those scenes together because Medusa’s stubbornness and lack of knowledge for human-based rules became frustrating. Seeing Black Bolt and the other guy head to Declan’s facility only to find out it was dangerous after all was no big surprise, but what really bugged me was the fact that Declan was in contact with Maximus. I mean how many people does Maximus have in his pocket? It feels a little ridiculous that he knows so many people he’s in contact in Hawaii. The most interesting story was with Karnak and his new lady friend, I knew they’d end up together at this point, sure they had a relationship starting grow, but damn she got on him quickly and by the end of the episode she wants to shag the guy? That escalated quickly, maybe it’s Karnak’s tattoos? Haha. Crystal, the most boring of the main characters needed help with Lockjaw after he was hit by a vehicle at the end of the last episode, I’m glad he’s gotten medical attention, but unfortunately, it looks there may be a romance there for her character as well. Oh yeah and Gorgon, absolutely forgettable. The use of music in this show is really starting to feel like a CW show, they need to cut it out, it’s not cool it’s distracting.

Lucifer (Season 3) “Mr. & Mrs. Mazikeen Smith”

This week’s episode of Lucifer was really fun, as usual, there were some laughs, mystery, interesting revelations and good character development. This episode featured Maze wanting more out of life so she goes on the ultimate hunt for a fugitive, however, as the story progresses it seems like there is more to this case than she realised. It was great to see the return of Maze, after last season she really did become one of my favourite characters, and I loved how this episode focused on not only her bounty hunting adventures (which is always fun), but also how on her wanting more out of life to keep things fresh and exciting. I like how the creators behind the show have given Maze more layers, shown that for a demon with no soul, she does care about her friends, knows to do the right thing when the time comes, and doesn’t have to be isolated. I also liked how Decker and Lucifer were integrated into Maze’s story through their own sleuthing, I also loved the interaction between Maze, Trixie and Decker, Maze and her bounty Ben, and Daniel, Linda and Lucifer have some fun moments too. Also, the action in the episode was quite good, the hand-to-hand combat was done well, and because of the Canadian setting, it made for a nice change of scenery not only in the cabin/hotel room but also out in the snowy mountains too. The ending also was sweet and further illustrated the core connection that the main characters have with each other.

Star Wars Rebels (Season 4) “Heroes of Mandalore Part 1 & 2”

Man, it feels like the wait for season 4 of Rebels has been incredibly painful, especially after the awesome trailers came out showing off all that delicious footage. But somehow October arrived a lot sooner than I expected and the show’s back on the air. So the first two episodes, “Heroes of Mandalore Part 1 & 2” debuted this week and it was pretty good two-parter. Since last season I really started to get into the politics and drama surrounding Sabine and the Mandalorians, and this episode leans heavily on those plot elements from last season with Sabine and her crew attempting to save her father from the Empire while the Saxon worked from the shadows releasing the superweapon on the Mandalorians. It was interesting to see Sabine in such a tough situation, with her still trying to rise to the occasion as leader of her people, but how her past actions cost the lives of some of her people and lead several other Mandalorians to mistrust her or want her dead. Poor girl. Luckily she kept her head and had the right support to help make the right decisions, though, seeing Sabine get a little dark and want to make the Empire suffer was an intriguing and engaging turn for her. On top of that, there were some great interactions between Sabine and her father about art, Ezra had some fun moments here and there, and the appearance of Bo-Katan was cool too, I’ve still not got around to watching The Clone Wars, but even in this episode she came across as a capable fighter, a confident individual and someone who should be respected. But the main interaction that I liked was seeing the moment between Kanan and Hera, while it has never been made overly obvious, I always knew there was something between them and their exchange was swift, playful and yet totally realistic. After three seasons my suspicions/hopes about them being an item are finally coming to light haha. As usual, Rebels continues to be a beautiful-looking show, the lighting, colour scheme and overall cinematography is great. I also appreciated the sense of scale between the human-like characters and the ships and walkers was nice and the use of shadows during certain conversations was very effective as well. The only stuff I didn’t like related to some of the moments of humour which again is mainly for kids, but I don’t think it landed that well especially with Ezra’s silly jetpack shenanigans, the writers really should just make him mature a little more. Also, some of the situations where the heroes were surrounded by Stormtroopers didn’t look that dire and could have been fought through in my opinion. And finally, I was pretty disappointed that Sabine’s mother and brother weren’t among the casualties of the superweapon, while death isn’t a requirement for a show to be good, I wish the show had gone for it. For a few minutes, I really felt for Sabine and thought Rebels had gone to a dark place, and considering Sabine’s recent reconciliation with her family it would have made for some sad yet engaging story and character development.

Well, that’s what I’ve been watching. So have you seen or plan to watch any of this show? If you have any thoughts be sure to drop a comment below and let me know what TV shows you’re currently watching too. Until next time, laters! 😀