Written by Jason Aaron
Penciled by Esad Ribic
Published Sep-Dec 2019
Basically the same old Thor story, Loki is trying to kill him. Surprise surprise.. But this time, it's old, ancient Thor. Millions of years after the Necrosword saga, now it turns out Gorr the God butcher was right. I liked this one, although it was a little long. Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic end their 7 year Thor run on a high note.
I give this one a 9/10.
from ign.com
https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/03/29/doom-patrol-season-1-episode-7-therapy-patrol-review
from Showsnob.com
https://showsnob.com/2020/09/17/raised-by-wolves-episode-6-recap/
Mother gets distracted by her feelings for her creator as the Mithraic close in on the settlement in Raised By Wolves episode 6.
And we’re back with another frustrating hour of Raised By Wolves, a show that started so strong and has somewhat waned in its intrigue by the latest episode. In Raised By Wolves episode 6, Mother continues to be fascinated by her memory archives and again revisits the pod in the woods.
This time, she and a vision of her creator have sex. It’s as stupid and cheesy as one would expect. What is the point of Mother developing these feelings for the creator? Did he program her that way? Doesn’t spending so much time away from the settlement detract from her core programming to protect the children?
Despite being beaten down, she still manages to access her powers in her unconscious state, using telekinesis to lift massive boulders and shatter them, killing several soldiers before she takes off back to the settlement. There, Sue has managed to retrieve Paul while the rest of the children pile into the lander on Father’s orders.In episode six, we see how her compulsion toward visiting the pod puts everyone in the settlement at risk. Marcus, Sue, and the other Mithraic soldiers discover her little hideaway and concoct a plan to attack her while she’s in stasis. It doesn’t work according to plan, however, as Mother is more powerful than they, or we, could have expected.
While not as powerful as Father, he isn’t without his skills. He holds his own against the Mithraic for as long as possible until Hunter betrays him by shouting his destination from the lander. It’s hard to watch as Father is gunned down and killed for the second time this season. By the time Mother returns, it’s too late.
She tries to save Father by pulling the bullets out of his body but is distracted when Paul returns and steals the pouch containing her eyes. Marcus sends Paul back to the settlement after Sue rescues him, giving him this new task. It’s directly correlated to his time spent as a child soldier, although perhaps not a trait he should want to pass on.
As Mother chases after Paul, she doesn’t notice Marcus waiting in the wings for her until he delivers a crushing blow to her chest. But before Marcus can deliver a finishing blow, that voice in his head returns, demanding he let Mother live.
A lot of what I found frustrating about the sixth episode is the lack of answers and the continued presence of the same mysteries we’ve seen playing out all season. The mysterious version of Tally returns yet again, this time seen by Vita, and briefly, Campion, yet we come no closer to understanding her purpose. Campion meets some interesting new frustrations this week when he sees Paul succeeding him in terms of intelligence.
Paul quickly solves a stick puzzle within seconds when Campion took almost 23 minutes to do the same thing. Then he creates a trap to kill the creatures, and Campion feels betrayed as he doesn’t want to kill anything and especially because Father praises him for his skill. It results in Campion attacking Paul and striking him in the face multiple times.
Growing up, Campion was always told he was special by the androids due to his resilience and the fact he didn’t get sick. In reality, we don’t know Campion to be extra special beyond his immunity to toxins. In this episode, he acts his age by displaying surliness and frustration at being bested by Paul, the child to whom he has felt the closest.
Campion mentions all living things have souls in this episode. He has cultivated an interesting system of beliefs on Kepler-22b, and I wonder where they stem from. I also wonder if his idea has taken root in the overworld like maybe the veil between life and death is different on this planet. Perhaps a version of Tally is still alive.
Maybe that could mean Father continues to exist even if his android body is out of commission. I sure hope so. I found his character to be one of the most compelling on the show, and it feels like we barely scratched the surface of his relationship with Mother or his past. As MEAWW pointed out, while it’s difficult to know who to root for between Mother and the Mithraic, Father is the “underdog with a heart of gold” that you really hope succeeds.
As for the other children, nothing else in this episode feels new with them. Right now, they exist more as a plot point rather than three-dimensional characters in their own right. Paul and Campion are the only ones to receive significant arcs. Even Tempest and Hunter, the most outspoken of the group, don’t have much significance to the overall plot yet.
from Vulture.com
https://www.vulture.com/article/the-boys-season-2-episode-5-recap-we-gotta-go-now.html
The second half of the second season of Amazon’s hit The Boys starts with the worst episode in the show’s history. The series’ greatest asset has always been momentum; when it starts to spin its wheels, as it does loudly in this hour, it just becomes noise. It’s a show that needs to zip by instead of dragging its heels through talky scenes covering ground that has already been covered. This episode runs just over 60 minutes, and what happens? Homelander and Stormfront become a power couple, and Billy basically reunites with his boys. Both things were inevitable. A show built on shock and surprise can’t be this damn predictable, and what’s really going to hurt The Boys here is that fans can’t just pop into another episode to wash the taste out of their mouths. The weekly release format may help build buzz, but it almost feels as if it’s amplifying what doesn’t work about this show, especially in a transitional episode like this one.
“We Gotta Go Now” is another episode about intense image management. Homelander’s crisis in that department continues to spiral when footage surfaces of his killing a bystander, and he doesn’t handle the PR well. The Deep continues his return to the public eye via the Scientology spoof that is the Church of the Collective. Queen Maeve battles how to handle her public outing by Homelander from last week, which is now being worked into the film-within-a-show, The Dawn of the Seven. A-Train tries to fight his imminent expulsion from the group, which is also being captured in the movie. And finally, Annie reunites with her mother, in a sense, but is really being manipulated more by Stormfront, who connects at last with her perfect match in Homelander — first, to change the fallen star’s public perception and then for some kinky super-sex.
It’s a lot for one show, yet none of it really feels like it’s going anywhere. Take the Homelander arc: He has been losing face with the public for some time now, and the footage of his killing a bystander should be a major moment. The best scene in this episode is when he drops in on a rally outside Vought and dramatically fails to win over the crowd. In the episode’s most shocking beat, his eyes turn red, and he lasers everyone in the plaza. Imagine if that weren’t just a fantasy. Imagine if Homelander did become a supervillain. Maybe The Boys is headed there this season, but “Homelander isn’t happy without adoration” has been cooking for too long. Let’s take it off the burner and do something with it.
At least the end of the episode seems to push his arc forward a bit. Stormfront has brought Homelander over to her side completely — convincing him that he doesn’t need fans, he just needs soldiers — and the two get together for some crazy, high-flying, hard-crashing, chest-lasering sex. Homelander is the most powerful superhero in the world, and his only remaining ally seems to be the show’s stand-in for neo-Nazism. That can’t end well.
And what about Billy and the boys? Like the rally scene, most of his arc this episode feels like a fake out. Billy isn’t going to Argentina! So it becomes a matter of trying to figure out how the writers will keep him in Mother’s Milk and Hughie’s lives. The guys find Billy at his aunt’s house, where he went to get his awesome stuffed pig-humping dog. In a convenient plot move, Black Noir finds Billy too, leading to a showdown that happens close to the end of the hour. Again, imagine if something shocking had happened here. What if Billy had killed Black Noir? What if Black Noir had killed Mother’s Milk? This show needs to get more dangerous.
Instead, Billy “speaks” to Mr. Edgar through Black Noir’s body cam, revealing that he has proof that Homelander is a rapist and that Becca gave birth to his child. Edgar tells Black Noir to let them all live if the proof is destroyed. It probably won’t be. But it seems to get Billy and the gang back together to a certain degree. Surviving an attack by a sociopathic superhero will do that to you. Again, how did Black Noir get in a populist group like the Seven?
In addition to the Annie/Mom stuff that just doesn’t register narratively or emotionally, Kimiko has become a hired super-assassin, but Frenchie is still trying to save her, and Elena, Maeve’s girlfriend, doesn’t want to be part of her public image as America’s new super-lesbian. Maybe there’s just too much going on this season? Sometimes when a show has to juggle this many characters and subplots, the writers can’t figure out how to push them all forward at the same time and thus take the safe route of just barely nudging each piece on the board. There are three episodes left this season, and this show has built its following not by pushing pieces around but by flipping them in the air and changing the rules. Let’s hope the writers remember that for the end run.
from Vulture.com
https://www.vulture.com/article/away-series-premiere-recap-season-1-episode-1-go.html
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| Photo: Courtesy of Netflix |
Just kidding! That’s a huge worry the entire time, as it should be, because, hi, hello, have you heard? Space is scary as hell.
Before we embark on this mission to boldly go where no one has gone before, let’s meet the team of five brave astronauts who have trained for years to man the Atlas I.
Our commander, representing the United States, is Emma Green. A former Navy pilot and supremely talented astronaut, she was selected to lead this prestigious crew, thereby fulfilling her lifelong dream of being on the first mission to Mars. Emma’s husband, Matt, is also a NASA employee (no pressure, teen daughter, Lex!) and was in the running for a spot on the Atlas I until he was diagnosed with cerebral-cavernous-malformation disorder, or CCM, a rare disease that can cause seizures, brain hemorrhages, strokes ― just, like, a whole bunch of awful things that you wouldn’t want to happen anywhere, let alone in space. Matt pivoted and became the chief rocket engineer for Atlas I and is extremely proud and supportive of his wife and everything she’s accomplished. He’ll be down in mission control alongside her every step of the way. But let’s be real: We’ve all seen TV shows before, and you don’t give one of your main characters a rare and possibly fatal disease and not deploy it at some point in time. Someone keep an eye on Matt, okay?
Emma’s second-in-command is India’s representative on the Atlas, Ram. Ram is, I guess, the closest thing to a “bro” you could probably get with astronauts: He loves food and talking about how much he loves women and also has spectacular facial hair. He spends a lot of time heaping praise on Emma, which on the one hand is something you probably want in your second, but on the other hand … I have some suspicions.
Misha is Russia’s cosmonaut pick, which makes sense, since out of the five people on Atlas, he has clocked the most time in space and he’s highly skilled on the engineering side of things. At the big press conference, he claims he remains unbothered by the fact that he has more experience than his commander, but we quickly learn that’s not the case. Oh, and he brings puppets to space for his grandkids, so you know he’s going to reveal a softer side at some point.
Next there’s Lu, a brilliant chemist from China, who, thanks to some major negotiations on her home country’s part, will (should the Atlas make it) be the first person to actually step on Mars. She’s leaving behind a husband and a young son and a mysterious “friend” who gave her the ring she keeps with her. She and Misha seem to be the closest out of the crew members, and she’s 100 percent on team Don’t Trust Emma Green.
Finally, meet our botanist from England, Kwesi, who has spent absolutely zero time in space but is braving it all to grow plants on Mars. Honestly, all the high-stakes space and emotional drama is great, but I would watch a show simply about Kwesi trying to get stuff to grow in space. I know I could “read” a “book” about it (and yes, I’ve read and watched The Martian), but I’d rather defer to Kwesi on all things plants. He seems nice and kind and I hope three years in space doesn’t ruin him.
And that’s our Atlas I crew! The women and men willing to risk death ― and spend three years in space ― all in the name of discovery and exploration. Inspiring, no? But the premiere episode of Away is about much more than just introducing us to the crew and the pressure of this international feat ― it is very much about testing Emma’s ability to be the crew’s commander, both by way of problems in space and back on Earth, because nothing can be easy. Not one thing.
Away doesn’t even bother showing us the launch of the Atlas I as it goes from the Earth to the moon for its fueling pit stop, because we’ve been there, done that, ya know? We do, however, get to see Emma’s last night at home. She gets honest with Lex about the reality of how dangerous this mission is, and, honestly, Lex seems pretty cool for being a teenager whose mother is headed off to space for three years. I’d probably just be crying and puking the entire time, but we all deal with parents leaving for space differently. Emma and Matt also partake in a good ol’ fashioned prelaunch lay, as mandated by NASA, probably.
But just because Away skips over Atlas I’s first leg doesn’t mean it goes smoothly. In fact, most of the episode is dedicated to piecing together some “incident” that left Emma questioning her leadership and Misha and Lu asking for Emma to be replaced by backup commander Jack Willmore (who is on the lunar base) ahead of their next launch as they begin the eight-month journey to Mars. Misha thinks Emma completely froze; Lu thinks Emma acted recklessly and endangered everyone’s lives; and everyone has a different story of what went down.
When Emma finally tells the story, we get the full picture: There was a chemical leak. When Emma goes to the panel with the leak in order to stop it, she finds Kwesi there opening the panel, which is a huge no-no because it lets the chemical leak out into the ship. (Kwesi is a newbie, remember?) To stop the giant chemical balls from causing damage, Emma uses her shirt to try and stifle them, not realizing her sweat will act as an accelerant, which turns the floating chemical balls into floating fireballs. Luckily, Lu, being a chemist, is ready with the fire bag, and she and Misha are able to catch the fire before it does any real damage. Well, physical damage. The whole incident has certainly damaged crew relations. Emma blames herself for being impulsive, but her therapist tells her she was trying to act fast and save her crew. She’s only human. Some of her crew members don’t see it that way.
Misha and Lu are already questioning Emma’s ability to lead this mission when she gets a call from the ground that only makes them question it more: Matt’s had a stroke. Were you guys watching him? I told you to watch him!
Matt collapses while cooking dinner for Lex, and we soon learn that one of his cavernomas bled. He’s rushed to the hospital where Lex and Melissa, Emma’s on-ground crew support, alert Emma to the situation while her entire crew is watching. She pulls the “I’m going to Mars!” card and gets the best doctor she can find to get Matt through his emergency surgery. Lex is appropriately terrified and all she wants is her mom to come home, but that’s, like, a truly insane commute.
Still, with just hours to go before the Atlas I takes off for Mars, Emma could step down and take the next bus (rocket ship) back to Earth and be with her family who definitely need her. Even after being reminded that she knew this job would demand great sacrifices and no astronaut has ever abandoned their mission and that, yes, there is extra pressure since she is a female commander, Emma decides she wants to go home.
Fortunately for all of us already invested in this show (it happened fast, didn’t it?), when Matt gets out of surgery, Emma tells her husband and daughter the news, but even groggy and in pain, Matt will! not! stand! for it! He has to whisper everything he wants to tell Emma to Lex, who relays the message, and I am here to tell you that even though this moment is fairly predictable, it is extremely emotional. This is who Emma is, and they’ll all be okay, and she has to go. He needs her to go. By the end of it, even Lex is telling Emma she can’t come home.
And so even though tensions with the crew, worried about Emma’s focus, are at an all-time high ― Misha outright tells her that he doesn’t trust her ― Emma is, as they say, go for launch. With one last message from the Atlas crew on the surface of the moon to the people of Earth, one about coming together to achieve the impossible and the promise that they will reach the surface of Mars and return home, our astronauts blast off as the entire world watches.
• I laughed so hard at the part when Emma calls Dr. Madigan in the middle of the night to demand he save her husband and is like, “Hello, I’m Emma Green, and I’m calling from the moon.” There’s no real phone etiquette for that situation, but there must be something better than that, right?
• Anyone else irrationally annoyed watching all of these surface-of-the-moon-to-Earth crystal-clear video chats when sometimes I can’t even get a good connection when talking to someone ten miles away? I know it’s NASA and all, but still.
• Away was inspired by astronaut Scott Kelly’s yearlong expedition aboard the International Space Station in 2015 and the Esquire magazine piece (also called “Away”) that chronicled Kelly’s story ahead of his launch, should you be interested in supplemental reading. For me, there is never enough space content.
• Josh Charles saying “Go, you fucker, go” quietly but emphatically is really the kind of energy I need right now, bless.
from Vibe
https://www.vibe.com/2019/03/black-monday-episode-8-7042-recap
For seven episodes, we got glimpses into the past that molded Mo into the savage trader he is. Episode “7042” finally takes us closer to his origin, and apparently, that leads us to Los Angeles in 1968. The Jheri curl is now a blown-out afro, and his ruthless mercantilism on Wall Street is replaced by altruism for underserved communities, as a member of the Black Panther Party. The glimpses into his past — the Church’s Chicken on his birthday, his visit with Jammer — all begin to congeal into one vision of a misguided man.
The domineering Xosha Roquemore plays the role of Candance, the woman who Jammer intimated broke Mo’s heart. Roquemore’s last recurring role was as comedian Dawn Lima on Showtime’s I’m Dying Up Here, a short-lived series about the seedy side of stand-up comedy in the early 1970s. Her as Candace is another stellar casting choice. Roquemore was able to speak honey-coated bullets that can pierce any man’s ego in a way that’s both comforting and impactful as a Black woman comic in the 1970s. It’s just as mesmerizing to watch on Black Monday as a Black Panther member in the 1960s.
This arc, while entertaining, seemed to continue an awkward trend in Black Monday: the Black woman bears the weight of the man’s faults. Candace is portrayed as the person who took Mo from thinking of others and drug-free to a staunch individualist who probably has cocaine residue in his DNA. Similarly, it’s Dawn who is the cause of Mo’s Jammer Group being partly owned by the Lehman Brothers in the episode “243,” and the one who feels the obligation to blow up her marriage and future love life to save a risky Georgina Play that Mo involved her in without her say. But, then again, Regina Hall and Roquemore deliver two of the most emotionally jarring performances of the episode and demonstrate two separate, but equally as profound, ways of Black women releasing themselves from the control of men.
Taking Black Monday to the 1960s accomplishes a number of worthwhile feats otherwise unlikely in the 1980s Wall Street timeline. For one, the first 90 seconds of this episode features a wider variety of Black faces than the last seven episodes had, combined. But, more than anything, the new timeline allows for the soul music of the ‘60s to narrate the story.
Music has always played a noticeable part in the show, but more so as a reinforcement of the time period. In this episode, the sounds of the time guide the audience and take them deeper into the character than what they see on the screen.
In the episode’s opening, soul singer Harry Krapsho lets us know “I don’t care about money too much” and “I don’t have a dollar to my name, and if you don’t mind I’d like to keep it the same” on his song “Don’t Worry.” Those sentiments play as a Black man, whom we don’t realize is Mo, exits a bus in Los Angeles, California. Before we find out Mo wasn’t money-hungry in his past — and formerly known as Roland — the sweet sounds of Harry Krapsho let us know.
Candace deceptively persuades Mo to abandon his principles by smoking weed and going against the Black Panther Party’s wishes, as Sandy Szigeti’s “Make Believe World” scores the scene. After, the plot twist minutes later, the song is a shrewd act of foreshadowing by the showrunners. But, It’s the late, great Nina Simone’s rendition of the 1967 song “I Shall Be Released,” written by Bob Dylan, that expands the Black Monday world.
Near the end of the episode, Candace’s true identity is revealed while she’s looking into the eyes of the men and women who seem to have put her in such a position. When Nina’s voice wails out “I remember every face of every man who put me here,” Candace’s motives become more complex. Black Monday lets the music leave you with the thought that Candace may have been compromised by the FBI, and in order to avoid jail time, she would have to turn in her fellow Black people. The steely resolve in her final words to Mo — “I told you, ‘I got you.’”— further complicates that theory and adds an engrossing richness to Candace’s character.
Black Monday could’ve left Nina Simone’s rendition for the climax of the flashback arc and the episode would still be great. But, Nina returns for one last “I shall be released” after Mo sends Dawn packing following her revelation to Mo about who she really loves. The image of Dawn piercing her lips and steadying her gaze on the countryside instead of being shocked into submission by Mo’s thoughtless decision, while Nina belts out her hope for release, is a moment of Black perseverance we would’ve never thought a show like Black Monday would make a focal point in such an important episode.
The episode also ends with an uncharacteristically sentimental Mo reverting back to his selfish ways at the same time Ms. Simone sings about “release.” And just like that, one four-minute song helps set up the emotional stakes at hand in the final two episodes of Black Monday’s first season.
