Note: May be minor spoilers for the movie, but will keep them as limited as possible.
I went into this movie with some pretty low expectations, just due to the nature of the movie and how unique of a movie it is in premise alone, and I can say that I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. It's a pretty frantic, all over the place movie, and I think that is what makes it more unique than even the POV style of the film. Just based on the title of the movie alone, the action scenes needed to deliver, and I felt that, except for a few weak points, the action in the movie was very well done and felt different than most other movies just based on the fact that you are watching everything from a first person perspective.
For those that don't know, the premise to the movie is that the entire movie is told from the first person perspective of the protagonist, Henry. He wakes up and his wife is attaching parts to his body, and we find out that most of Henry's body has been replaced by robotic parts. We don't really get much explanation as to what happened, and we get little tidbits of that as the movie plays on, and I think that adds to the intrigue of the film. Considering this premise, I felt that it would be hard to keep any sort of narrative rolling, but something as simple as not explaining just what happened to Henry before waking up was enough to keep things interesting for a bit, while filling in the empty spots with a bunch of action scenes.
In the opening bit, we get to see the main antagonist, Akan, who is very over-the-top right from the outset, as he breaks in to the facility where Henry is being set up with his new robotic body parts. Things go wrong quickly, as we learn that Akan is trying to create an army of "engineered" robots similar to what Henry has now become, and Henry and his wife are able to escape the facility, if only briefly. Henry's wife gets taken, and Henry is saved by a man named Jimmy, played by Sharlto Copley. As the only bigger named actor in the film, Sharlto Copley does most of the heavy lifting throughout the film (especially since we never see Henry), and he does a fantastic job with what he is given. He is the comic relief, the main device to keep the plot rolling, and he even plays multiple roles (which I won't fully get into, as I think it would take away from the movie).
If the above explanation seems a bit strange, or doesn't make a lot of sense, than I think you are starting to get an idea of what this movie is really all about. It's not a conventional movie, and I think that is what makes it good. The storyline is pretty basic, although there are a few twists that are well done, but overall, the story isn't what the movie is all about. They went all in on the first person perspective aspect, and tried to make the movie revolve around that, and for the most part, it is well done. There are a handful of moments where the shaky camera work doesn't really show what is going on, but I felt that most of the time, it felt like it was supposed to feel. You are supposed to be Henry in the movie, and it's supposed to make it more immersive, similar to a video game even. While I don't think it fully accomplishes that goal, it does accomplish being something different than everything else that is being released, and I applaud the filmmakers for at least attempting it. There are not a lot of movie studios out there that would even try, and so for that alone, I have to the give the movie its due.
One big thing I would like to point out that I felt while watching the movie is that it knew what it was and never once tried to take itself seriously. It was meant to be over-the-top, and it 100% embraced that throughout the whole movie. If it ever started to take itself seriously, it would make sure that it did something so big and ridiculous, that it would bring it back into perspective and make you realize that you are just watching a distraction of a movie, not something that was trying to win any awards or be something that was going to make you think too hard. It was an action movie, similar even to movies in the 80's that were big and cheesy and just went for it, no matter how silly the end result was.
I don't want to say that this was the best movie I have ever seen or anything like that, but I do think that the movie was a brave choice and was executed well for what it was trying to do. It's not a movie that is for everyone, but I also think that if you go into it knowing what you are getting, it will go a long ways to helping you enjoy the movie more. It is a big, in your face action movie, that relies on its first person perspective and non-flinching filmmaking. If you want to experience something different from anything else released this year, than Hardcore Henry is for you. If you are looking for something that is going to make you think long after the movie is over, than you probably want to steer clear.
My rating for the movie is 7.5/10
Saturday, April 30, 2016
Friday, April 15, 2016
TV Show - Bates Motel - "Refraction"
Note: Major spoilers for the episode of Bates Motel. You have been warned.
It's been a few weeks since I wrote about Bates Motel, and instead of trying to recap all the episodes since then, I have decided to just write about the most recent episode, with maybe some insight on the couple of episodes preceding it. I don't think I'm going to give a full on recap of the episode either, just going to hit on some of the highlights and give my thoughts.
In the last episode, Norman finally came to grips with the fact that he can't quite distinguish between what is real and what is fake. He now wants help, and he has asked Dr. Edwards to help him sort it out. He is doing better about opening up to Edwards, but he still is a bit guarded and doesn't want to give up too many personal details, especially about his father. But it still looks like he is headed in the right direction...until he decides to make a phone call to his mother.
He leaves her a message, and then when he is in the yard later that day, Norma comes to visit him. As the viewer, we know she is not really there, but Norman thinks the whole thing is real, and even expresses later that he knows it is real, because she hugged him, and he felt it. He tells this to Edwards after he is confronted about the phone call and then the supposed time he spent with his mother. The doctor tells Norman that is wasn't real, and this causes Norman to panic and try to leave. Edwards blocks the door and that is when the magic happens. Norman turns into his mother right before the doctor's eyes, and he quickly assesses the situation and starts talking to "Norma" about her son.
I can't commend Freddie Highmore enough on his portrayal of Norman. It is a complicated character to pull off, and I have a hard time believing that anyone else could pull it off quite like Freddie does. The subtle changes he makes right at the time of the "switch" to his mother is done so well, that they didn't even have to show Norma this time for us to know right when it happened. The way that Freddie pulls off the small little nuances that Vera Farmiga does in her portrayal of Norma is so well done. I'm afraid that since this show has not really gotten much attention since it started, that Mr. Highmore is not going to be nominated for any awards come award season, but I have a hard time thinking of any other character on television right now that is so well portrayed.
In the episode, we also get to see Dylan and Emma, as Emma is getting to come home from the hospital. The scenes between these two characters are also very well done, and with as well as things are going for them, including Dylan looking like he is going to get a job in Seattle so he can move there when Emma and her father move, I can't help but think that something is going to go terribly wrong soon. If (when?) it does go wrong, I think I'm going to be really upset. They have done such a good job of slowly creating this relationship between these two characters, and they have mainly stayed away from the rest of the cast for the most of this season. Which just makes me think even more that something has to go wrong soon. I think it would be great for them to all move to Seattle, and not be around when it all hits the fan with Norman after he gets out of the hospital, but I just have a hard time believing that it will turn out that way.
Lastly, we see the after effects of the break-in at Norma's house, and Sheriff Romero trying to clean up the mess and make sure it doesn't happen again. While he is taking care of that, Chick introduces himself to Norma, saying he can fix her window that was broken during the break-in, just so he can get close to her and try to find out where Caleb has gone. When he finally reveals himself for what he is, a very interesting scene plays out where Norma asks him if he is going to kill Caleb, and he asks if that is what she wants. I thought it was the highlight of this storyline, but I really wasn't that into the whole situation. Maybe it will play out better than I think, but I think it is going to just be a way to tie up all the loose ends with Caleb before the next season, as I don't think he will play much of a part.
Overall, I thought it was another solid episode, as every episode has been so far this season. Each new episode keeps pulling us closer and closer to end, and it seems like the show runners are upping the stakes every week. With only a couple more episodes left, I would think that Norman would be getting out of the hospital soon, but he seems to be getting so much worse, that I don't see where he has an out. Maybe they will wait until next season to get him out of there, but I would think they would want to tie this all up, and make the last season all about finishing up the storyline with Norma and Norman, but maybe they have other plans. Either way, I'm excited to see what happens next, as I think that they are really honed in on where they are going, and that is going to make the rest of the series a fun ride.
My rating for the episode is 8.5/10
It's been a few weeks since I wrote about Bates Motel, and instead of trying to recap all the episodes since then, I have decided to just write about the most recent episode, with maybe some insight on the couple of episodes preceding it. I don't think I'm going to give a full on recap of the episode either, just going to hit on some of the highlights and give my thoughts.
In the last episode, Norman finally came to grips with the fact that he can't quite distinguish between what is real and what is fake. He now wants help, and he has asked Dr. Edwards to help him sort it out. He is doing better about opening up to Edwards, but he still is a bit guarded and doesn't want to give up too many personal details, especially about his father. But it still looks like he is headed in the right direction...until he decides to make a phone call to his mother.
He leaves her a message, and then when he is in the yard later that day, Norma comes to visit him. As the viewer, we know she is not really there, but Norman thinks the whole thing is real, and even expresses later that he knows it is real, because she hugged him, and he felt it. He tells this to Edwards after he is confronted about the phone call and then the supposed time he spent with his mother. The doctor tells Norman that is wasn't real, and this causes Norman to panic and try to leave. Edwards blocks the door and that is when the magic happens. Norman turns into his mother right before the doctor's eyes, and he quickly assesses the situation and starts talking to "Norma" about her son.
I can't commend Freddie Highmore enough on his portrayal of Norman. It is a complicated character to pull off, and I have a hard time believing that anyone else could pull it off quite like Freddie does. The subtle changes he makes right at the time of the "switch" to his mother is done so well, that they didn't even have to show Norma this time for us to know right when it happened. The way that Freddie pulls off the small little nuances that Vera Farmiga does in her portrayal of Norma is so well done. I'm afraid that since this show has not really gotten much attention since it started, that Mr. Highmore is not going to be nominated for any awards come award season, but I have a hard time thinking of any other character on television right now that is so well portrayed.
In the episode, we also get to see Dylan and Emma, as Emma is getting to come home from the hospital. The scenes between these two characters are also very well done, and with as well as things are going for them, including Dylan looking like he is going to get a job in Seattle so he can move there when Emma and her father move, I can't help but think that something is going to go terribly wrong soon. If (when?) it does go wrong, I think I'm going to be really upset. They have done such a good job of slowly creating this relationship between these two characters, and they have mainly stayed away from the rest of the cast for the most of this season. Which just makes me think even more that something has to go wrong soon. I think it would be great for them to all move to Seattle, and not be around when it all hits the fan with Norman after he gets out of the hospital, but I just have a hard time believing that it will turn out that way.
Lastly, we see the after effects of the break-in at Norma's house, and Sheriff Romero trying to clean up the mess and make sure it doesn't happen again. While he is taking care of that, Chick introduces himself to Norma, saying he can fix her window that was broken during the break-in, just so he can get close to her and try to find out where Caleb has gone. When he finally reveals himself for what he is, a very interesting scene plays out where Norma asks him if he is going to kill Caleb, and he asks if that is what she wants. I thought it was the highlight of this storyline, but I really wasn't that into the whole situation. Maybe it will play out better than I think, but I think it is going to just be a way to tie up all the loose ends with Caleb before the next season, as I don't think he will play much of a part.
Overall, I thought it was another solid episode, as every episode has been so far this season. Each new episode keeps pulling us closer and closer to end, and it seems like the show runners are upping the stakes every week. With only a couple more episodes left, I would think that Norman would be getting out of the hospital soon, but he seems to be getting so much worse, that I don't see where he has an out. Maybe they will wait until next season to get him out of there, but I would think they would want to tie this all up, and make the last season all about finishing up the storyline with Norma and Norman, but maybe they have other plans. Either way, I'm excited to see what happens next, as I think that they are really honed in on where they are going, and that is going to make the rest of the series a fun ride.
My rating for the episode is 8.5/10
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
TV Show - Better Call Saul - "Fifi" and "Nailed"
Note: Major spoilers for the episode of Better Call Saul, you have been warned.
For all the criticism I gave the show earlier in the season, when I said that it felt slow and was just kind of cruising along, it has now started to prove to me that the show runners know what they are doing and are playing the long game instead of the quick hits to get people talking. Unlike another show on AMC with significantly more viewers (okay, it's The Walking Dead everyone), which I feel continues to back itself into the storyline it wants by making the characters do whatever suits their need that week, Better Call Saul has turned into a masterwork of letting the characters get where they are going because of their character, not in spite of it.
As Jimmy starts to come more into his own with each passing week, and I mean turning into Saul Goodman more and more, all the slow build is starting to pay off. By gradually turning into the character we know and love from Breaking Bad, he is influencing everyone around him as well, and it has caused for some very good scenes over the last couple weeks. By changing the address on the Mesa Verde documents to screw over Chuck, it has caused Chuck to go off the deep end a little bit, and even show some signs that he is maybe a little bit more like Jimmy than he wants to admit. This also has caused a rift between Jimmy and Kim, although we don't know just to what extent yet.
When I said Chuck is going off the deep end a bit, I guess I should back up a second. Chuck brought this on himself by not letting the Mesa Verde situation go. He decided to go extremely out of his way just to make sure that Kim didn't get the account, which in turn was just to get to Jimmy. I don't know if it is full on jealousy, or if he just thinks Jimmy is going to continue to mess everything up, but Chuck has been doing an awful lot as of late to try to take Jimmy down a peg. And in this instance, he decided to try to take Kim down as well, which is what really set Jimmy off and caused him to alter the documents anyway. This of course all came out in the form of the lecture that Kim gave to Chuck when he tried to explain everything to her. Of course she knew what happened, but she blames Chuck for making Jimmy the way he is, and so she may be mad at Jimmy, but I think she feels sorry for him more than is mad at him.
The real problem now, which leads us to the ending of the most recent episode, is that Kim knows what Jimmy did, and has somewhat accepted it, but now has to deal with the consequences if something goes wrong. She says as much to Jimmy, telling him that there can be no loose ends. This causes him to go to the all night copy center he went to when he altered the documents, and a bit of craziness ensues. After Jimmy buys off the clerk, Chuck shows up to ask about whether Jimmy was there, and Chuck has a full on episode. The episode ends with him passing out and banging his head off the counter, and we are left to wonder just what effect this will have on Chuck.
I certainly don't think Chuck will die from the incident, but I do think there is a high likelihood that he has caused some serious damage in his head, maybe even brain damage. He hit his head really hard, and we have to believe that Jimmy will have to face some consequences from his actions. If Chuck goes into a semi-vegetative state, and Jimmy has to live with that, it could cause for a very rough break between season 2 and 3 for Jimmy. And if the rift he has caused between himself and Kim grows, especially after she finds out what happened to Chuck, then the chips are all starting to fall into place for Jimmy to turn into Saul Goodman for good.
I don't want to forget about Mike, and he certainly had some good moments in this episode as well. He starts off by robbing Hector's transport truck in the desert. After Nacho figures out that it was Mike that robbed them, he sets up a meeting between just the two of them. He confronts Mike, who admits to doing it, and tells Nacho that there is no way it can link back to him. This seems to appease Nacho until Mike asks why the cops weren't involved. Nacho gets upset even more now, since he thinks Mike is just trying to set Hector up to get arrested, and thus will possibly cause Nacho to get arrested as well. After a brief standoff of sorts, Mike tells Nacho that he is done with Hector, and to not worry about it. But then Nacho tells Mike that some random guy found the truck in the desert, and that Hector killed the man so to have no witnesses. Something tells me Mike isn't as done with Hector as he seemed to let on.
I have to say that I'm excited for the season finale. The slow build is starting to pay off in dividends, and I think the season finale is going to have several really big moments in it. I'm holding out hope that we may even get to see the debut of an old Breaking Bad character in the finale, but I could be way off base on that. It just seems like it might be a good time to bring in Gus Fring, even if it is only briefly, or even if they just tease his appearance for next season. Either way, there should be some fireworks this coming Monday, and I'm very interested to see how this season ends.
My rating for the two episodes is 8/10
For all the criticism I gave the show earlier in the season, when I said that it felt slow and was just kind of cruising along, it has now started to prove to me that the show runners know what they are doing and are playing the long game instead of the quick hits to get people talking. Unlike another show on AMC with significantly more viewers (okay, it's The Walking Dead everyone), which I feel continues to back itself into the storyline it wants by making the characters do whatever suits their need that week, Better Call Saul has turned into a masterwork of letting the characters get where they are going because of their character, not in spite of it.
As Jimmy starts to come more into his own with each passing week, and I mean turning into Saul Goodman more and more, all the slow build is starting to pay off. By gradually turning into the character we know and love from Breaking Bad, he is influencing everyone around him as well, and it has caused for some very good scenes over the last couple weeks. By changing the address on the Mesa Verde documents to screw over Chuck, it has caused Chuck to go off the deep end a little bit, and even show some signs that he is maybe a little bit more like Jimmy than he wants to admit. This also has caused a rift between Jimmy and Kim, although we don't know just to what extent yet.
When I said Chuck is going off the deep end a bit, I guess I should back up a second. Chuck brought this on himself by not letting the Mesa Verde situation go. He decided to go extremely out of his way just to make sure that Kim didn't get the account, which in turn was just to get to Jimmy. I don't know if it is full on jealousy, or if he just thinks Jimmy is going to continue to mess everything up, but Chuck has been doing an awful lot as of late to try to take Jimmy down a peg. And in this instance, he decided to try to take Kim down as well, which is what really set Jimmy off and caused him to alter the documents anyway. This of course all came out in the form of the lecture that Kim gave to Chuck when he tried to explain everything to her. Of course she knew what happened, but she blames Chuck for making Jimmy the way he is, and so she may be mad at Jimmy, but I think she feels sorry for him more than is mad at him.
The real problem now, which leads us to the ending of the most recent episode, is that Kim knows what Jimmy did, and has somewhat accepted it, but now has to deal with the consequences if something goes wrong. She says as much to Jimmy, telling him that there can be no loose ends. This causes him to go to the all night copy center he went to when he altered the documents, and a bit of craziness ensues. After Jimmy buys off the clerk, Chuck shows up to ask about whether Jimmy was there, and Chuck has a full on episode. The episode ends with him passing out and banging his head off the counter, and we are left to wonder just what effect this will have on Chuck.
I certainly don't think Chuck will die from the incident, but I do think there is a high likelihood that he has caused some serious damage in his head, maybe even brain damage. He hit his head really hard, and we have to believe that Jimmy will have to face some consequences from his actions. If Chuck goes into a semi-vegetative state, and Jimmy has to live with that, it could cause for a very rough break between season 2 and 3 for Jimmy. And if the rift he has caused between himself and Kim grows, especially after she finds out what happened to Chuck, then the chips are all starting to fall into place for Jimmy to turn into Saul Goodman for good.
I don't want to forget about Mike, and he certainly had some good moments in this episode as well. He starts off by robbing Hector's transport truck in the desert. After Nacho figures out that it was Mike that robbed them, he sets up a meeting between just the two of them. He confronts Mike, who admits to doing it, and tells Nacho that there is no way it can link back to him. This seems to appease Nacho until Mike asks why the cops weren't involved. Nacho gets upset even more now, since he thinks Mike is just trying to set Hector up to get arrested, and thus will possibly cause Nacho to get arrested as well. After a brief standoff of sorts, Mike tells Nacho that he is done with Hector, and to not worry about it. But then Nacho tells Mike that some random guy found the truck in the desert, and that Hector killed the man so to have no witnesses. Something tells me Mike isn't as done with Hector as he seemed to let on.
I have to say that I'm excited for the season finale. The slow build is starting to pay off in dividends, and I think the season finale is going to have several really big moments in it. I'm holding out hope that we may even get to see the debut of an old Breaking Bad character in the finale, but I could be way off base on that. It just seems like it might be a good time to bring in Gus Fring, even if it is only briefly, or even if they just tease his appearance for next season. Either way, there should be some fireworks this coming Monday, and I'm very interested to see how this season ends.
My rating for the two episodes is 8/10
Thursday, April 7, 2016
TV Show - 11.22.63 - The Final Three Episodes
Note: Major spoilers for the final three episodes of the 11.22.63 mini-series, you have been warned.
Since I got so behind on my recaps of the mini-series, I am not going to give a full recap of each of the episodes, but instead just discuss some of the high points (and low points) of the final three episodes, including my overall thoughts on the mini-series as a whole now that it's over.
For the first of the three episodes, the biggest moment that happened was when Bill turned on Jake and had decided to not help him anymore, as he had become somewhat of friends with Oswald. I had already put into my mind that Bill was potentially the "second gunman" and it was a pretty good moment when Jake comes to that same conclusion. Of course, it turns out he was wrong and that there was no second gunman, but still the paranoia of the moment and what he does next were pretty good for the storyline. So he goes to Bill and tells him that Marina is having the baby, and she is at the hospital, so Bill goes with him even though he is still mad at him. When they arrive, Bill gets taken by a doctor and put into the psych ward, per Jake's orders. He told the doctor that his "brother" was sick and needed help, and Bill only helps that theory along by talking about all the things that Jake has been and is planning to do.
The other big moment was when the past pushed back against Jake and he got beat up by a guy that he won money off of with his gambling. At the end of the episode, Jake is laid out unconscious in the street, and I thought there was at least a chance that he was going to be so injured that he wouldn't be able to follow through with his plan. As it turned out, this didn't happen, but I thought it would have been an interesting way to go with it. Due to only having a couple of episodes left, however, caused this to not really be a feasible way to handle the situation.
I thought the episode was okay, and the way that Jake got rid of Bill so that the didn't do, in Jake's mind, something stupid and help Oswald kill the president was pretty well done. I almost wish they had held on to this and let it actually happen, so that Jake then had to try to stop Bill as well. It would have given reason for Jake and Sadie to split up, which could have opened up all sorts of other scenarios, but I was okay with the episode as a whole.
The next episode was, in my opinion, the worst episode of the series. I felt like everything was kind of rushed, and not much happened. The most of the episode found Jake trying to remember what he was doing, and why he was there, and he only had a few weeks left before the assassination. Once he remembered, he went to check on Bill, thinking he could give him the answers. This was the only real big moment in the episode as we find out that Bill has been subjected to shock therapy, and his brain is pretty much fried. He doesn't hate Jake anymore, but he also can't seem to distinguish between what is real and what is fake. Jake says that he is going to get him out of there, but then Bill jumps out the window and kills himself. We then get to the end of the episode, and it is Oswald standing at the window with his gun, waiting for the motorcade to come by.
I was pretty disappointed with this episode considering how much I have enjoyed all the other episodes, so I was starting to think that the ending wasn't going to live up to the rest of the series. Other than the moment with Bill, which I was sad about because he just got dragged into this whole thing, nothing else really happened and I felt like they were just trying to get to the end. I guess that was the whole point of the episode, since they still had a month to go, but I just felt like a lot of the episode was forced and was just weak compared to the rest of the series.
In the mini-series finale, we see the past trying to stop Jake, but he gets to Oswald and shoots him with his own gun, saving Kennedy. In the process, however, Sadie gets shot and dies, and Jake gets arrested. At the station, he is being accused of working with Oswald and trying to kill the president, but then the president calls and thanks Jake for saving his life and so they have no choice but to let him go. With nothing left for him in the past, Jake returns to the future to find that things didn't work out like he had planned. The world has pretty much gone down the toilet as America was attacked and saving Kennedy has only made things worse instead of better. Jake runs into Harry and he remembers Jake saving his family when he was a boy. He explains what happened, and Jake decides to go back and reset everything, so that he can be with Sadie. He figures out that the whole purpose in him going back was to be with her, so he finds her right away and forgets about all the other stuff. As he talks to her, the yellow card man shows up and Jake goes to talk to him. The man tells him that he is in his own loop now, and that she will die over and over, and there is nothing Jake can do to save her. Realizing that he can't do that to Sadie, he instead leaves and goes back to his old life.
Back in the present, he sees Harry again, and Jake says he is sorry. Harry says it's okay, and that Jake is a good man, which hit me pretty hard right in the feels. Jake also looks up Sadie on the internet and finds out that she is still alive, and is receiving an award, so he goes to see her. Sadie is obviously old now, but she has touched so many people in her life, so Jake gets to see the impact he had by not messing with the timeline. At the dance after the awards show, Jake goes to Sadie and asks for a dance. He asks her if she lived a good life, and she explains to Jake that she is happy. She asks why he asked, and he says, "You just look like you deserve to be happy." And with that, the series ends.
I have to be honest, the last fifteen minutes or so really got me more emotional than I thought it was going to. This whole time, the series was about something else, until the very end when you realize it wasn't about the assassination attempt at all, but it was instead about Sadie the whole time. By trying to save Kennedy, he instead messed everything up, which brings home the idea that everything happens for a reason, and that you have to look for the good in situations, not the bad. The final meeting with Jake and Sadie was really well done, and I teared up a bit watching it, because I didn't realize how attached I had gotten to her, and how much their relationship was the base of the show.
Overall, I thought the series was really good. It had a couple of moments coming down the stretch there that made me wonder how it was all going to end, but I was really happy with the ending. The beginning was really strong, the middle was okay, and they ended on a high note. I won't say the series was great, but I definitely think it was worth watching. I'm glad they didn't just cop out at the end and have him save Kennedy and make everything better in the future, as I thought it was good to show all the consequences that he had to endure for trying to change things.
My rating for the final three episodes is 7/10, 6/10, and 8/10
Since I got so behind on my recaps of the mini-series, I am not going to give a full recap of each of the episodes, but instead just discuss some of the high points (and low points) of the final three episodes, including my overall thoughts on the mini-series as a whole now that it's over.
For the first of the three episodes, the biggest moment that happened was when Bill turned on Jake and had decided to not help him anymore, as he had become somewhat of friends with Oswald. I had already put into my mind that Bill was potentially the "second gunman" and it was a pretty good moment when Jake comes to that same conclusion. Of course, it turns out he was wrong and that there was no second gunman, but still the paranoia of the moment and what he does next were pretty good for the storyline. So he goes to Bill and tells him that Marina is having the baby, and she is at the hospital, so Bill goes with him even though he is still mad at him. When they arrive, Bill gets taken by a doctor and put into the psych ward, per Jake's orders. He told the doctor that his "brother" was sick and needed help, and Bill only helps that theory along by talking about all the things that Jake has been and is planning to do.
The other big moment was when the past pushed back against Jake and he got beat up by a guy that he won money off of with his gambling. At the end of the episode, Jake is laid out unconscious in the street, and I thought there was at least a chance that he was going to be so injured that he wouldn't be able to follow through with his plan. As it turned out, this didn't happen, but I thought it would have been an interesting way to go with it. Due to only having a couple of episodes left, however, caused this to not really be a feasible way to handle the situation.
I thought the episode was okay, and the way that Jake got rid of Bill so that the didn't do, in Jake's mind, something stupid and help Oswald kill the president was pretty well done. I almost wish they had held on to this and let it actually happen, so that Jake then had to try to stop Bill as well. It would have given reason for Jake and Sadie to split up, which could have opened up all sorts of other scenarios, but I was okay with the episode as a whole.
The next episode was, in my opinion, the worst episode of the series. I felt like everything was kind of rushed, and not much happened. The most of the episode found Jake trying to remember what he was doing, and why he was there, and he only had a few weeks left before the assassination. Once he remembered, he went to check on Bill, thinking he could give him the answers. This was the only real big moment in the episode as we find out that Bill has been subjected to shock therapy, and his brain is pretty much fried. He doesn't hate Jake anymore, but he also can't seem to distinguish between what is real and what is fake. Jake says that he is going to get him out of there, but then Bill jumps out the window and kills himself. We then get to the end of the episode, and it is Oswald standing at the window with his gun, waiting for the motorcade to come by.
I was pretty disappointed with this episode considering how much I have enjoyed all the other episodes, so I was starting to think that the ending wasn't going to live up to the rest of the series. Other than the moment with Bill, which I was sad about because he just got dragged into this whole thing, nothing else really happened and I felt like they were just trying to get to the end. I guess that was the whole point of the episode, since they still had a month to go, but I just felt like a lot of the episode was forced and was just weak compared to the rest of the series.
In the mini-series finale, we see the past trying to stop Jake, but he gets to Oswald and shoots him with his own gun, saving Kennedy. In the process, however, Sadie gets shot and dies, and Jake gets arrested. At the station, he is being accused of working with Oswald and trying to kill the president, but then the president calls and thanks Jake for saving his life and so they have no choice but to let him go. With nothing left for him in the past, Jake returns to the future to find that things didn't work out like he had planned. The world has pretty much gone down the toilet as America was attacked and saving Kennedy has only made things worse instead of better. Jake runs into Harry and he remembers Jake saving his family when he was a boy. He explains what happened, and Jake decides to go back and reset everything, so that he can be with Sadie. He figures out that the whole purpose in him going back was to be with her, so he finds her right away and forgets about all the other stuff. As he talks to her, the yellow card man shows up and Jake goes to talk to him. The man tells him that he is in his own loop now, and that she will die over and over, and there is nothing Jake can do to save her. Realizing that he can't do that to Sadie, he instead leaves and goes back to his old life.
Back in the present, he sees Harry again, and Jake says he is sorry. Harry says it's okay, and that Jake is a good man, which hit me pretty hard right in the feels. Jake also looks up Sadie on the internet and finds out that she is still alive, and is receiving an award, so he goes to see her. Sadie is obviously old now, but she has touched so many people in her life, so Jake gets to see the impact he had by not messing with the timeline. At the dance after the awards show, Jake goes to Sadie and asks for a dance. He asks her if she lived a good life, and she explains to Jake that she is happy. She asks why he asked, and he says, "You just look like you deserve to be happy." And with that, the series ends.
I have to be honest, the last fifteen minutes or so really got me more emotional than I thought it was going to. This whole time, the series was about something else, until the very end when you realize it wasn't about the assassination attempt at all, but it was instead about Sadie the whole time. By trying to save Kennedy, he instead messed everything up, which brings home the idea that everything happens for a reason, and that you have to look for the good in situations, not the bad. The final meeting with Jake and Sadie was really well done, and I teared up a bit watching it, because I didn't realize how attached I had gotten to her, and how much their relationship was the base of the show.
Overall, I thought the series was really good. It had a couple of moments coming down the stretch there that made me wonder how it was all going to end, but I was really happy with the ending. The beginning was really strong, the middle was okay, and they ended on a high note. I won't say the series was great, but I definitely think it was worth watching. I'm glad they didn't just cop out at the end and have him save Kennedy and make everything better in the future, as I thought it was good to show all the consequences that he had to endure for trying to change things.
My rating for the final three episodes is 7/10, 6/10, and 8/10
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
TV Show - The Walking Dead - "Last Day on Earth"
Note: Major spoilers for the season finale of The Walking Dead, you have been warned.
After an entire season of buildup, the moment has finally come and gone, and I can honestly say that the season finale of The Walking Dead was everything that is right and everything that is wrong with the show all in one big episode. I'm not going to go through the routine of recapping the episode as I have done most of the second half of the season, but instead I'm just going to share my thoughts and observations of the episode, and the season as a whole.
Let's start with the OTHER storyline, since there were two real things going on in the episode, and we'll save the good stuff for last. Morgan and Carol have had a rough go of it this season, between not seeing eye to eye most of the time, to only find out that they both sort of want the same thing. Carol has had an attack of conscience this season, and it all came to a head in this episode, as she was being pursued by the remaining Savior from the attack on the road in the last episode. The man caught up to her and was about to kill her when Morgan got there, and in a bit of role reversal, he ends up killing the man to save Carol's life. She was pretty much ready to just let it all go and finally put an end to it all by letting the man kill her, but Morgan said that he isn't going to let her die.
I felt that it was a pretty underwhelming end to this story arc. I thought that one of the two of them was going to die, I thought more than likely Morgan, but instead neither of them did. I guess the fact that were able to come to an understanding with each other is probably the "happier" ending for them, but I guess the bleakness of this show just kind of makes you wait for the bad to happen instead of the good, to a point where I was kind of disappointed that things didn't end badly for them.
But they more than made up for that with the main storyline. After an hour of boring buildup, they finally got to the good stuff, but let's back up a minute. As I said in the opening paragraph above, I think that all of the problems I have with this show, as well as the reason I continue to watch it anyway, were on full display. The problem, you ask? I feel like they have an endpoint in place, and so everything they do is to justify getting to that endpoint, as opposed to letting the characters get their on their own. It's almost like they spend time doing background and character building, to just then throw it away when they get to part they were going to and let the characters just fly around as opposed to doing what they should. It's been on even more display in the last few episodes as the group that "doesn't take chances anymore" just started taking chance after chance until everything went down the toilet, culminating in the ending of the episode and season. So they spent an hour just (in my humble opinion) wasting a bunch of time until they could get to the moment they have been trying to get to all season. And that was the introduction of Negan.
As the lights go on around the group, and Rick realizes they are surrounded, the feeling of dread that comes over the group also comes over we the viewers. And so we can now forget about the boring first hour of the show because they have gotten us to where they wanted to go. Even the guy says it to them after they are surrounded, he says, "You have arrived at where you are supposed to be" or something along those lines. Now the big question has been for me all season, when they get to where they are going, is it going to be worth it? I have to say that it is a resounding yes, at least mostly. I have a minor qualm, which I will get to at the end here, but overall this next part played out as good, if not better, than I had hoped for.
As Negan walks out for the first time, he has the look and the feel that he should. He is a larger than life character, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan played him perfectly. He doesn't mince words, he is intimidating, and as Rick realizes that this guy can and will do whatever he has to do, it is truly an amazing thing to watch. The look in Rick's eyes is top notch acting by Andrew Lincoln, and everything about the scene plays out as one of the most intense scenes I have seen on television in a long time. All the way up to, and including, the game of eenie-meenie-miney-mo that Negan plays to pick which one of the group members has to die. I think the beauty of this scene is that Negan already well knows who he wants to pick, he has sized them up and already figured it out, but he plays the game with them just to make things worse on them, to intimidate them more and more with each passing second. Until the crushing blow, done from the point of view of the victim so we the audience don't know who he picked.
Which brings me to the minor qualm I mentioned above. I felt that it was a cop out by the show runners. I understand why they did it. Ratings, buzz during the off season, open discussion amongst the fans. But I felt like they spent the whole season building it up, just to then say, "Okay, now that we have built it up for the last six months, you can wait another six months to find out what we built up to." I personally think that had I found out who the victim of Lucille was, the more likely I would want to watch next season, to see what sort of effect that has had on the rest of the group. By the time the show comes back on again, I feel like the shock value of it will have worn off, and it will more just be, "Okay, so which one was it," and I won't feel the same impact as if I had just experienced the scene and got to see the aftermath briefly before the long hiatus.
Overall, I thought the episode was subpar, until the last twenty minutes, which was one of the better scenes in the entire series, so it's kind of hard to rate the episode as a whole. I just felt like most of the episode was spent waiting in anticipation, and so it felt like most of the episode was just filler that was unnecessary and didn't really add anything to the end sequence. I was glad that the payoff on Negan was so well done, I just wish we could have gotten the full resolution to this season long setup instead of letting this season now run over into the next one. Hopefully when it comes back on in several months, the fallout from this whole thing will make me see that it was worth the wait, but I have my doubts about that, and expect to just be back in the same boat again. Hurrying up and waiting for the next big moment to keep me coming back for more.
My rating for the episode is 7/10 (5/10 for the first half and 9/10 for the last half)
After an entire season of buildup, the moment has finally come and gone, and I can honestly say that the season finale of The Walking Dead was everything that is right and everything that is wrong with the show all in one big episode. I'm not going to go through the routine of recapping the episode as I have done most of the second half of the season, but instead I'm just going to share my thoughts and observations of the episode, and the season as a whole.
Let's start with the OTHER storyline, since there were two real things going on in the episode, and we'll save the good stuff for last. Morgan and Carol have had a rough go of it this season, between not seeing eye to eye most of the time, to only find out that they both sort of want the same thing. Carol has had an attack of conscience this season, and it all came to a head in this episode, as she was being pursued by the remaining Savior from the attack on the road in the last episode. The man caught up to her and was about to kill her when Morgan got there, and in a bit of role reversal, he ends up killing the man to save Carol's life. She was pretty much ready to just let it all go and finally put an end to it all by letting the man kill her, but Morgan said that he isn't going to let her die.
I felt that it was a pretty underwhelming end to this story arc. I thought that one of the two of them was going to die, I thought more than likely Morgan, but instead neither of them did. I guess the fact that were able to come to an understanding with each other is probably the "happier" ending for them, but I guess the bleakness of this show just kind of makes you wait for the bad to happen instead of the good, to a point where I was kind of disappointed that things didn't end badly for them.
But they more than made up for that with the main storyline. After an hour of boring buildup, they finally got to the good stuff, but let's back up a minute. As I said in the opening paragraph above, I think that all of the problems I have with this show, as well as the reason I continue to watch it anyway, were on full display. The problem, you ask? I feel like they have an endpoint in place, and so everything they do is to justify getting to that endpoint, as opposed to letting the characters get their on their own. It's almost like they spend time doing background and character building, to just then throw it away when they get to part they were going to and let the characters just fly around as opposed to doing what they should. It's been on even more display in the last few episodes as the group that "doesn't take chances anymore" just started taking chance after chance until everything went down the toilet, culminating in the ending of the episode and season. So they spent an hour just (in my humble opinion) wasting a bunch of time until they could get to the moment they have been trying to get to all season. And that was the introduction of Negan.
As the lights go on around the group, and Rick realizes they are surrounded, the feeling of dread that comes over the group also comes over we the viewers. And so we can now forget about the boring first hour of the show because they have gotten us to where they wanted to go. Even the guy says it to them after they are surrounded, he says, "You have arrived at where you are supposed to be" or something along those lines. Now the big question has been for me all season, when they get to where they are going, is it going to be worth it? I have to say that it is a resounding yes, at least mostly. I have a minor qualm, which I will get to at the end here, but overall this next part played out as good, if not better, than I had hoped for.
As Negan walks out for the first time, he has the look and the feel that he should. He is a larger than life character, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan played him perfectly. He doesn't mince words, he is intimidating, and as Rick realizes that this guy can and will do whatever he has to do, it is truly an amazing thing to watch. The look in Rick's eyes is top notch acting by Andrew Lincoln, and everything about the scene plays out as one of the most intense scenes I have seen on television in a long time. All the way up to, and including, the game of eenie-meenie-miney-mo that Negan plays to pick which one of the group members has to die. I think the beauty of this scene is that Negan already well knows who he wants to pick, he has sized them up and already figured it out, but he plays the game with them just to make things worse on them, to intimidate them more and more with each passing second. Until the crushing blow, done from the point of view of the victim so we the audience don't know who he picked.
Which brings me to the minor qualm I mentioned above. I felt that it was a cop out by the show runners. I understand why they did it. Ratings, buzz during the off season, open discussion amongst the fans. But I felt like they spent the whole season building it up, just to then say, "Okay, now that we have built it up for the last six months, you can wait another six months to find out what we built up to." I personally think that had I found out who the victim of Lucille was, the more likely I would want to watch next season, to see what sort of effect that has had on the rest of the group. By the time the show comes back on again, I feel like the shock value of it will have worn off, and it will more just be, "Okay, so which one was it," and I won't feel the same impact as if I had just experienced the scene and got to see the aftermath briefly before the long hiatus.
Overall, I thought the episode was subpar, until the last twenty minutes, which was one of the better scenes in the entire series, so it's kind of hard to rate the episode as a whole. I just felt like most of the episode was spent waiting in anticipation, and so it felt like most of the episode was just filler that was unnecessary and didn't really add anything to the end sequence. I was glad that the payoff on Negan was so well done, I just wish we could have gotten the full resolution to this season long setup instead of letting this season now run over into the next one. Hopefully when it comes back on in several months, the fallout from this whole thing will make me see that it was worth the wait, but I have my doubts about that, and expect to just be back in the same boat again. Hurrying up and waiting for the next big moment to keep me coming back for more.
My rating for the episode is 7/10 (5/10 for the first half and 9/10 for the last half)
Friday, April 1, 2016
TV Show - Better Call Saul - "Bali Ha'i" and "Inflatable"
Note: Major spoilers for the episode of Better Call Saul, you have been warned.
I've been a bit busy the last couple weeks, so I have gotten behind on my recaps for the shows I have been writing about, and so I have decided to do a condensed version of my recaps. I am lumping the last two episodes together, and won't be doing the normal full recap of the episodes, but instead just give my thoughts and review of the two episodes instead.
We see that the situation for Kim has not really gotten any better, as Howard is still very upset with her. He gives her a case that is basically unwinnable, and the opposing attorney offers her a job at his firm. She says she will think about it, and runs another con with Jimmy to blow off some steam. She tells him about the offer, and he tells her to take the job.
Meanwhile, Mike continues to refuse Hector's offer, and so Hector sends Tuco's cousins to threaten Mike's granddaughter, which causes Mike to meet with Hector to renegotiate. Mike says he will do it, if Hector gives him $50,000. Hector agrees, and says that Mike will take the fall for the gun charge so Tuco doesn't get put away for a long time. Mike then gives Nacho half of the money, telling him that he wasn't able to follow through on their deal, as Tuco will be back sooner than expected.
For the most part, this was a throwaway episode. Lots of development, but not much going on. Some promising things on the horizon potentially, depending on which way they go with things, but overall I was underwhelmed by the episode as a whole.
In the next episode, we get a flashback of Jimmy when he was working for his father. A guy is ripping his father off, and Jimmy tries to tell him not to fall for it, but his father can't help but try to see the good in people, and so he does it anyway. The man tells Jimmy that there are wolves and their are sheep in this world, he needs to decide which one he is going to be. Jimmy takes the money that the man paid him for some cigarettes and doesn't put it into the register.
I thought this back story was very good, as it pulled from the story that Chuck told a couple weeks back about how Jimmy was causing their father's business to go under. We got to see that Jimmy tried to help his father, but he couldn't get through to him, so he starting taking from his father just like all these other people were doing, because he was too easy.
Mike gets Jimmy to represent him when he tells the judge that the gun was not Tuco's. This causes the judge to be suspicious, but they won't say anything else, and so the gun charge will not be put on Tuco. Jimmy then goes to resign when he finds out that he will lose his signing bonus if he quits, so he instead decides to get fired. The next little bit is pretty humorous, as Jimmy pushes the limits until Cliff gives him what he wants. Jimmy then goes to Kim and says they should start their own firm, but she says she will only do it if Jimmy does things the right way. He says he is tired of doing what everyone else tells him to do, so he's now going to do things his own way, so she says no to the offer.
After her interview with the new firm goes very well, Kim makes the decision that she doesn't want the job after all, and wants to open her own firm. She offers to Jimmy that he will open his own, and she will open his own, and they will just work together without being actual partners. We don't get his answer as the episode ends.
There was not much Mike in this episode, which is always a bad thing, but there was one scene that show him scouting out Hector's place, so he must have some retribution in mind. We know that Hector is in a wheelchair in Breaking Bad, so I think this doesn't end well for him, but I am very interested to see how Mike goes about handling the situation, without getting the rest of the group to kill him, so the next few episodes should be pretty good following this part of the story.
Overall, this episode was better than the previous episode, but still not a whole lot going on. More build up, but not a lot of payoff. There is only a few more episodes left, so hopefully things will pick up here real soon. If that is the case, this season has a good chance of ending on a high note.
My rating for the two episodes is 6.5/10
I've been a bit busy the last couple weeks, so I have gotten behind on my recaps for the shows I have been writing about, and so I have decided to do a condensed version of my recaps. I am lumping the last two episodes together, and won't be doing the normal full recap of the episodes, but instead just give my thoughts and review of the two episodes instead.
We see that the situation for Kim has not really gotten any better, as Howard is still very upset with her. He gives her a case that is basically unwinnable, and the opposing attorney offers her a job at his firm. She says she will think about it, and runs another con with Jimmy to blow off some steam. She tells him about the offer, and he tells her to take the job.
Meanwhile, Mike continues to refuse Hector's offer, and so Hector sends Tuco's cousins to threaten Mike's granddaughter, which causes Mike to meet with Hector to renegotiate. Mike says he will do it, if Hector gives him $50,000. Hector agrees, and says that Mike will take the fall for the gun charge so Tuco doesn't get put away for a long time. Mike then gives Nacho half of the money, telling him that he wasn't able to follow through on their deal, as Tuco will be back sooner than expected.
For the most part, this was a throwaway episode. Lots of development, but not much going on. Some promising things on the horizon potentially, depending on which way they go with things, but overall I was underwhelmed by the episode as a whole.
In the next episode, we get a flashback of Jimmy when he was working for his father. A guy is ripping his father off, and Jimmy tries to tell him not to fall for it, but his father can't help but try to see the good in people, and so he does it anyway. The man tells Jimmy that there are wolves and their are sheep in this world, he needs to decide which one he is going to be. Jimmy takes the money that the man paid him for some cigarettes and doesn't put it into the register.
I thought this back story was very good, as it pulled from the story that Chuck told a couple weeks back about how Jimmy was causing their father's business to go under. We got to see that Jimmy tried to help his father, but he couldn't get through to him, so he starting taking from his father just like all these other people were doing, because he was too easy.
Mike gets Jimmy to represent him when he tells the judge that the gun was not Tuco's. This causes the judge to be suspicious, but they won't say anything else, and so the gun charge will not be put on Tuco. Jimmy then goes to resign when he finds out that he will lose his signing bonus if he quits, so he instead decides to get fired. The next little bit is pretty humorous, as Jimmy pushes the limits until Cliff gives him what he wants. Jimmy then goes to Kim and says they should start their own firm, but she says she will only do it if Jimmy does things the right way. He says he is tired of doing what everyone else tells him to do, so he's now going to do things his own way, so she says no to the offer.
After her interview with the new firm goes very well, Kim makes the decision that she doesn't want the job after all, and wants to open her own firm. She offers to Jimmy that he will open his own, and she will open his own, and they will just work together without being actual partners. We don't get his answer as the episode ends.
There was not much Mike in this episode, which is always a bad thing, but there was one scene that show him scouting out Hector's place, so he must have some retribution in mind. We know that Hector is in a wheelchair in Breaking Bad, so I think this doesn't end well for him, but I am very interested to see how Mike goes about handling the situation, without getting the rest of the group to kill him, so the next few episodes should be pretty good following this part of the story.
Overall, this episode was better than the previous episode, but still not a whole lot going on. More build up, but not a lot of payoff. There is only a few more episodes left, so hopefully things will pick up here real soon. If that is the case, this season has a good chance of ending on a high note.
My rating for the two episodes is 6.5/10
TV Show - The Walking Dead - "Twice as Far" and "East"
Note: Major spoilers for the episode of The Walking Dead, you have been warned.
I've been a bit busy the last couple weeks, so I have gotten behind on my recaps for the shows I have been writing about, and so I have decided to do a condensed version of my recaps. I am lumping the last two episodes together, and won't be doing the normal full recap of the episodes, but instead just give my thoughts and review of the two episodes instead.
In the first episode, we get to see the fallout from the attack on the Saviors and it really focuses a lot on Denise. It has always been a pretty good giveaway that when one of the not so crucial characters gets a full episode like this, that they will likely not come out of the episode, and that is exactly what happens here. On her way back to Alexandria, with Daryl and Rosita, Denise decides to try to prove something to herself by trying to get a cooler out of a car with a walker in the drivers seat. You would think this would be a good time to kill her off, but instead, she succeeds and gets the soda pop she wanted several episodes back. As she goes into a speech about why she felt she needed to do what she did, she gets shot by an arrow through the eye and dies.
We also get to see some interesting scenes between Abraham and Eugene. This culminates in Abraham leaving Eugene to find his own way back to town, but secretly is following him in case he gets in trouble. After Denise gets shot, we see that Dwight (the guy who stole Daryl's motorcycle) killed her with Daryl's crossbow, and has captured Eugene. Abraham is hiding out nearby, which Eugene sees, and so he causes a distraction by biting Dwight in the crotch (which was as awkward as it happened as it was typing that sentence), and the group manages to get Dwight and his group to retreat, causing no more death of our group outside of Denise.
I was just starting to like Denise, so I was a little upset to see her go, but I guess her story had run its course. Not to mention, now there is no doctor at Alexandria, so this will likely cause all sorts of problems in the near future. We also got to see that Dwight is a more important character than originally thought, even though I was sure he would show back up at some point, I just didn't think he would have such a direct impact (more on that in a bit with the next episode).
In the next episode, Carol has up and left for, from what I can tell, no real reason other than she doesn't want to kill anymore. Despite this fact, she comes across some Saviors on the road and very quickly and efficiently kills them all, not showing any real remorse, so the character arc seems a little strange for her right now. I guess she is just doing it out of necessity, but the inner conflict she appears to be having is just a little strange to me. I will wait for the rest of this to play out, but I'm sure this will have something to do with Morgan in the near future. Likely in the season finale.
Morgan and Rick go out looking for Carol, and they come across the destruction that Carol has left in her wake, but she is nowhere to be found. Morgan finds some blood leaving the scene, and says it must be Carol's, so they follow the trail. They come across a farm, and Morgan keeps Rick from killing a guy there, and they finally have a conversation that they should have had a while back now. Morgan tells Rick about the Wolf that he was hiding after the attack, and it appears actually gets Rick to see that maybe just going around killing everyone isn't the only way, but I think the finale this coming week will just reassure Rick's thoughts.
Which leads me back to Morgan. If Morgan can't convince Rick that killing isn't always the answer, than what point does he serve anymore? Rick is going back and Morgan is continuing to go after Carol, which means that this week, the two of them will run into each other almost assuredly, and there will be no one else around. I think that these two are finally going to get to the heart of their issues with each other, and I think only one of them comes out of the episode alive. And for this reason, I think the first (maybe only) death of the season finale will be Morgan.
Daryl is ticked over what happened to Denise, and blames himself since he let Dwight live earlier in the season, so he goes after them alone. Michonne, Glenn, and Rosita go after him. They find him in the woods trying to track the group, and they try to convince Daryl to come back, but he won't listen. Rosita goes with him, and Glenn and Michonne start heading back. However, they get caught by Dwight's group, and are tied up when Daryl and Rosita come across them. Glenn sees Daryl and shakes his head, trying to warn him, but it's too late. Dwight shows up behind Daryl, with a gun pointed at his back. He pulls the trigger, blood splatters across the screen, and the episode ends.
For the shock factor that they put out here, I think we can all agree that Daryl is not dead. He's too major of a character to be dead like that, but that doesn't mean that he won't die in the finale. I find it highly unlikely, even thought I have thought for most of this season that he would die in the finale. The trailers for this week's finale have shown us Negan, so he will be showing up, and we currently have Glenn, Michonne, Rosita, and most likely Daryl if he is in fact alive, captured by Dwight and his group, so this will most likely be where the big showdown is going to come into play. I think we can likely add two more people to the mix, as I'm sure Rick will coming looking for Michonne, and Abraham is likely going to come with him.
So what is going to happen? For anyone who knows much about the comics, a big death is coming. This is not something that they can completely get around, and someone will have to die, but not necessarily the same character from the comics. In fairness to those that don't know about the comics, I will not say who it is in the comics, but will instead give my thoughts on the remaining characters.
Rick is safe. I also think that Rosita is safe, as she doesn't pose much of a threat to Negan nor is she important enough to get the impact necessary for this scene. Michonne is an interesting choice, as she and Rick are together, and if Negan finds out about that, it would make for a good option, but I don't think it will happen, and I don't think we are ready for Michonne's character to be gone from the show. Daryl has already been shot and gravely wounded at least, so I think that alone makes him safe for the finale. Why set it up the way they did just to have him killed by Negan in the finale? Doesn't pass the smell test, so I'm saying he is safe.
That leaves Glenn and Abraham. Both have been set up for a potential death in my opinion, as they have both gotten some extra screen time lately. Both are major enough characters that killing one of them off will gravely impact the group and will have an effect on the viewers. I think either is a high possibility, but I'm going to go with Abraham. The whole Glenn is he dead/is he not dead situation they went through halfway through the season is ultimately what keeps Glenn safe now. I don't know why they went through all that, to bring him back for a few episodes, and then to kill him off, so I think Abraham is the one to go. I also think there is a very real possibility that we don't find out on the finale, but instead will have to wait until the show comes back on to find the answer, so I guess we will just have to see what happens this weekend and then I will post my thoughts on the finale.
My rating for the two episodes is 7/10
I've been a bit busy the last couple weeks, so I have gotten behind on my recaps for the shows I have been writing about, and so I have decided to do a condensed version of my recaps. I am lumping the last two episodes together, and won't be doing the normal full recap of the episodes, but instead just give my thoughts and review of the two episodes instead.
In the first episode, we get to see the fallout from the attack on the Saviors and it really focuses a lot on Denise. It has always been a pretty good giveaway that when one of the not so crucial characters gets a full episode like this, that they will likely not come out of the episode, and that is exactly what happens here. On her way back to Alexandria, with Daryl and Rosita, Denise decides to try to prove something to herself by trying to get a cooler out of a car with a walker in the drivers seat. You would think this would be a good time to kill her off, but instead, she succeeds and gets the soda pop she wanted several episodes back. As she goes into a speech about why she felt she needed to do what she did, she gets shot by an arrow through the eye and dies.
We also get to see some interesting scenes between Abraham and Eugene. This culminates in Abraham leaving Eugene to find his own way back to town, but secretly is following him in case he gets in trouble. After Denise gets shot, we see that Dwight (the guy who stole Daryl's motorcycle) killed her with Daryl's crossbow, and has captured Eugene. Abraham is hiding out nearby, which Eugene sees, and so he causes a distraction by biting Dwight in the crotch (which was as awkward as it happened as it was typing that sentence), and the group manages to get Dwight and his group to retreat, causing no more death of our group outside of Denise.
I was just starting to like Denise, so I was a little upset to see her go, but I guess her story had run its course. Not to mention, now there is no doctor at Alexandria, so this will likely cause all sorts of problems in the near future. We also got to see that Dwight is a more important character than originally thought, even though I was sure he would show back up at some point, I just didn't think he would have such a direct impact (more on that in a bit with the next episode).
In the next episode, Carol has up and left for, from what I can tell, no real reason other than she doesn't want to kill anymore. Despite this fact, she comes across some Saviors on the road and very quickly and efficiently kills them all, not showing any real remorse, so the character arc seems a little strange for her right now. I guess she is just doing it out of necessity, but the inner conflict she appears to be having is just a little strange to me. I will wait for the rest of this to play out, but I'm sure this will have something to do with Morgan in the near future. Likely in the season finale.
Morgan and Rick go out looking for Carol, and they come across the destruction that Carol has left in her wake, but she is nowhere to be found. Morgan finds some blood leaving the scene, and says it must be Carol's, so they follow the trail. They come across a farm, and Morgan keeps Rick from killing a guy there, and they finally have a conversation that they should have had a while back now. Morgan tells Rick about the Wolf that he was hiding after the attack, and it appears actually gets Rick to see that maybe just going around killing everyone isn't the only way, but I think the finale this coming week will just reassure Rick's thoughts.
Which leads me back to Morgan. If Morgan can't convince Rick that killing isn't always the answer, than what point does he serve anymore? Rick is going back and Morgan is continuing to go after Carol, which means that this week, the two of them will run into each other almost assuredly, and there will be no one else around. I think that these two are finally going to get to the heart of their issues with each other, and I think only one of them comes out of the episode alive. And for this reason, I think the first (maybe only) death of the season finale will be Morgan.
Daryl is ticked over what happened to Denise, and blames himself since he let Dwight live earlier in the season, so he goes after them alone. Michonne, Glenn, and Rosita go after him. They find him in the woods trying to track the group, and they try to convince Daryl to come back, but he won't listen. Rosita goes with him, and Glenn and Michonne start heading back. However, they get caught by Dwight's group, and are tied up when Daryl and Rosita come across them. Glenn sees Daryl and shakes his head, trying to warn him, but it's too late. Dwight shows up behind Daryl, with a gun pointed at his back. He pulls the trigger, blood splatters across the screen, and the episode ends.
For the shock factor that they put out here, I think we can all agree that Daryl is not dead. He's too major of a character to be dead like that, but that doesn't mean that he won't die in the finale. I find it highly unlikely, even thought I have thought for most of this season that he would die in the finale. The trailers for this week's finale have shown us Negan, so he will be showing up, and we currently have Glenn, Michonne, Rosita, and most likely Daryl if he is in fact alive, captured by Dwight and his group, so this will most likely be where the big showdown is going to come into play. I think we can likely add two more people to the mix, as I'm sure Rick will coming looking for Michonne, and Abraham is likely going to come with him.
So what is going to happen? For anyone who knows much about the comics, a big death is coming. This is not something that they can completely get around, and someone will have to die, but not necessarily the same character from the comics. In fairness to those that don't know about the comics, I will not say who it is in the comics, but will instead give my thoughts on the remaining characters.
Rick is safe. I also think that Rosita is safe, as she doesn't pose much of a threat to Negan nor is she important enough to get the impact necessary for this scene. Michonne is an interesting choice, as she and Rick are together, and if Negan finds out about that, it would make for a good option, but I don't think it will happen, and I don't think we are ready for Michonne's character to be gone from the show. Daryl has already been shot and gravely wounded at least, so I think that alone makes him safe for the finale. Why set it up the way they did just to have him killed by Negan in the finale? Doesn't pass the smell test, so I'm saying he is safe.
That leaves Glenn and Abraham. Both have been set up for a potential death in my opinion, as they have both gotten some extra screen time lately. Both are major enough characters that killing one of them off will gravely impact the group and will have an effect on the viewers. I think either is a high possibility, but I'm going to go with Abraham. The whole Glenn is he dead/is he not dead situation they went through halfway through the season is ultimately what keeps Glenn safe now. I don't know why they went through all that, to bring him back for a few episodes, and then to kill him off, so I think Abraham is the one to go. I also think there is a very real possibility that we don't find out on the finale, but instead will have to wait until the show comes back on to find the answer, so I guess we will just have to see what happens this weekend and then I will post my thoughts on the finale.
My rating for the two episodes is 7/10
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