What did you miss? For a review of the last episode, click HERE

From Den of Geek: https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/the-expanse-season-3-episode-2-review-iff/

The Expanse S3 Ep 2: IFF

Gravity becomes a deadly force in this week’s The Expanse, which introduces new characters and tests established relationships.
By Michael Ahr|April 19, 2018|

In previous reviews for The Expanse, the show has been praised for its use of gravity as a character in that the actual science behind g-forces, whether null or boosted by acceleration, informs the overall story to great effect. Upon watching “IFF,” it seems more accurate to say that gravity is a catalyst for conflict or a focus for action, and the episode excelled in this regard. The title, “IFF,” also brilliantly addresses the compelling theme of identifying of friend or foe, whether among Holden’s arguing crew, between the Pinus Contorta and the Razorback, or even with the new character played by Elizabeth Mitchell, who challenges Errinwright for the attention of the UN leader at a crucial time.

Mitchell is, in fact, perfectly cast as Anna Volovodov, or Pastor Anna as readers of the James S.A. Corey novels know her, even though her appearance, character, and history appear to be quite different here. Mitchell’s ability to smile with equal amounts endearment and menace and to combine wide-eyed disbelief with a strength of resolve are perfect for this role in which Anna must place a moral and religious framework around the UN war and the origins of the protomolecule. The softer side she shows her wife and daughter and the hard edge revealed by her past as the Secretary General’s speechwriter create a complex character from the very start.

Plus it’s great to see Errinwright squirm now that someone else has the ear of Esteban Sorrento-Gillis. When Anna says that there are things in the universe bigger than them, it not only refers to the God of her belief system that the politicians in the room don’t share and in fact ridicule; it also is a nod to the alien force behind the protomolecule, which Errinwright seeks to control but which Jules-Pierre Mao actively seeks to prevent him from acquiring. Errinwright as warmonger is a more concrete antagonist than The Expanse has had in the past, and his discomfort and inevitable downfall is fun to observe.

But of course Mao has reignited his interest in the protomolecule now that he’s seen the advancements Dr. Strickland has made, but will the hybrids be used as leverage to free the Mao family from UN persecution or as weapons for the Mars Congressional Republic to fight back — or as something else entirely? The evolution of the storyline involving Prax’s daughter, Mei, whose immunodeficiency makes her ideal for accepting the changes the protomolecule wreaks on the human body, is headed in an obvious direction with Holden and company on their way to the Helium-3 refinery on Io, but the setup here still draws us in, especially when Mei’s friend from Ganymede shows off his glowing blue arm.

Then there’s Holden’s promise to Prax to rescue Mei, which takes center stage in a spectacularly contentious way in “IFF.” Although it might stretch credibility somewhat that Alex and especially Naomi would insist on answering a distress call when they are already on a detour from the safe haven of Tycho, once it’s determined that the ship in question is Julie Mao’s racing vessel, the Razorback, it makes at least a little more sense that they’d, as Holden put it, “punch above their weight.” Convenient plot device aside, hopefully they’ll all head to Io together next.

As mentioned, however, the star of the episode was gravity, and its most obvious use was as an action sequence enhancer. It would have been enough to watch the Pinus Contorta fire its PDCs and missiles at the escort vehicle pursuing the Razorback; The Expanse, after all, excels at space battle sequences. But the unsecured locker and the resulting deadly rain of tools was amazing to watch as the ship spun through its maneuvers. Amos’ daring rescue of Prax also served as a nice counterpoint to their conversation about why Prax chose to break the tie and vote to help the ship in distress.

Gravity also acted as an active aggressor upon the fragile Earther body of Chrisjen Avasarala, who tolerated the desperate escape from Mao’s yacht as best she could. Before the surprising rescue by the Pinus Contorta, there was a well-paced, logical progression of labored conversation between Bobbie and Chrisjen as the Marine admitted to being a terrible pilot while coaching the elder stateswoman through strategies for dealing with high-g, including the wonderful whistling into commercial. Whatever crisis there is to come as Bobbie and Holden’s crew scramble to save Avasarala’s life, it was a well-earned moment full of suspense and punishing endurance.

The convenience of Holden and Avasarala coming together in the vastness of space does require some suspension of disbelief, especially in the overly sacrificial manner in which the Pinus Contorta raced to rescue what was at the time a complete stranger. But the introduction of new characters and the development of established relationships, along with the excellent use of gravity, which has become The Expanse’s trademark, make this another successful episode overall. Not yet as mind-blowing as season two, but there’s hope that it will get there.

From TVLine: https://tvline.com/2021/10/15/you-recap-season-3-episode-1-natalie-dies-death-explained/

You S3 Ep 1:
And They Lived Happily Ever After

By Andy Swift / October 15 2021, 12:00 PM PDT


From the moment Joe Goldberg first spotted his new neighbor in the closing moments of YOU‘s second season, it was clear that he had found his new obsession.

Lo and behold, the Netflix thriller’s third season — which is now available to stream in its entirety — finds Joe getting extremely close to that mysterious woman on the other side of the fence. Natalie (played by Michaela McManus) turns out to be the deeply dissatisfied wife of a tech mogul named Matthew (Scott Speedman), who’s far too busy with work to notice that his wife is being seduced by the serial killer next door.

And you know it’s love, because Joe even gives Natalie the Beck Special (aka pleasuring himself in public while thinking about her). He also puts on his finest stalker cap and follows Natalie to the library, where she keeps the flirtation going by leaving a book for him at the front desk. So it’s no surprise when Natalie invites Joe over to her home, “accidentally” cuts her hand on a wine glass, then takes him to her reading room for a little bump and grind.

In fact, the only surprise here is that Joe finds the wherewithal to reject her advances, returning home to release all of his pent-up sexual energy on Love. You know, his actual wife. The two women even become friends, with Natalie putting on her realtor hat to help Love find a spot to open her new bakery. Unfortunately — spoiler alert, again! — that bakery is the last place Natalie ever goes. As soon as Love puts the pieces together and figures out that something is happening between Natalie and Joe, she bashes the poor woman over the head… and kills her.

“You do have to keep switching things up,” showrunner Sera Gamble tells TVLine of the big twist. “I’m going to say this, and Future Me is going to be really pissed that I said this out loud: With a show like this, where Season 1 was such a particular fun, twisty ride coming off of Caroline [Kepnes’] book, we really had to prove to you at the beginning of Season 2 that we would still be able to surprise you. So we did a lot of stuff in Season 2 to try to do that. The conversation at the beginning of Season 3 was ‘What do you think would happen if you were a viewer?’ And it’s that Michaela would be in the whole season, so we were like, ‘She’s got to go in Episode 1.'”

For the record, the actors who play Natalie’s killer and the object of her affection are both down with the brutal twist.

“I was into it, because it was like, ‘Oh, this is going to go in some other direction,'” Penn Badgley tells TVLine. “That’s always exciting.”

Adds Victoria Pedretti, “It’s fun when you can subvert people’s expectations on television these days. We’ve all consumed so much of it, so I find that it’s harder to be surprised.”

What did you miss? For a review of the last episode, click HERE

From Vulture.com:https://www.vulture.com/article/billions-recap-season-5-episode-10-liberty.html

Billions S6 Ep 10: Liberty

Billions Recap: Eggs at Dawn
By Sarene Leeds


Photo: Jeff Neumann/SHOWTIME

We’ve come to the point in the season where I think I know what the long game is, but given my history covering Billions, I could still be way off. It’s for this reason that I’m glad things aren’t entirely clear on the scheming end in “Liberty.” As if, gasp, the writers — showrunners Brian Koppelman and David Levien teamed up with Emily Hornsby for this particular episode — wanted us to remain somewhat in the dark.


The Billions universe now exists in a post-COVID world, and through no fault of its own, the show is stumbling a bit. Because it’s had to adapt its pre-pandemic scripts, we’re dealing with a few square-peg-in-round-hole situations. Namely, the timeline has become a little murky: We can assume that some months have passed between “Implosion” and “Liberty” because (a) COVID has hit, (b) the Axe Cap offices closed down, and (c) Senior has recovered from his kidney transplant. However, the distribution of vaccines and a full-on return to the office (featuring masks and strategically placed hand sanitizer) would suggest a full year has gone by between last week’s episode and this one — but if that’s the case, then, what? Did the plotlines somehow enter stasis during Billions’ unspecified lockdown period?

My theory is that Axe is the kind of guy who would force everyone back into the office well before most companies did the same. He’s also the kind of guy who has the resources to vaccinate his employees behind closed doors before the trials are even complete.

On the flip side, including COVID in the storyline makes Damian Lewis’s overseas location more plausible: Why is Axe only showing up via Zoom, FaceTime, or ye olde telephone call in this episode? Because he tested positive for COVID (catching the virus from his pilot because, rich guy) the day before he was supposed to get vaccinated and has to quarantine, of course!

The triple alliance of Chuck Rhoades, Mike Prince, and Taylor Mason, established in last week’s episode, appears intact. However, Taylor’s role remains subdued, albeit critical: They put the idea of cornering the cannabis market into Axe’s head. Meanwhile, Chuck and Prince take center stage at a Jeffersonian Dinner (yep, it’s a thing, and there are indeed rules) where they lead federal and New York State officials — attending via WebEx, because, COVID — in a spirited discussion over the legalization of marijuana.

And I mean “center stage” in the literal sense because the whole evening was an elaborate setup to trick the one person who wasn’t even there — Bobby Axelrod. We get the sense that the ruse was a success, even though Axe has figured out that Chuck and Prince are working together, so it’s still anybody’s game with two episodes left in the season.

One thing I’m curious about, though: Is Senior truly on Team Axe now? I’d totally believe it, given how Axe saved his life. Hell, even Chuck was ready to accept this turn of events. But I have to wonder if Senior (still the trustee of Axe’s new bank) is playing a double agent, crashing his son’s dinner at the quarantined billionaire’s behest and feeding Chuck’s intricately crafted intel back to Axe. That’s Billions for you — it always keeps you second-guessing.

Let’s see, what else has changed? Axe Capital is no more, splitting into Axe Bank and Axe Asset Management Division. Taylor Mason Carbon exists, but just barely, thanks to the machinations of both Axe and Chuck. Axe mandates that Taylor’s girlfriend and investment-relations guru Lauren choose between working for Axe Bank or Mase Carb, while Chuck places Wendy’s role with Mase Carb in jeopardy in his quest to get a look at the company’s books — a.k.a. a gateway to Axe Bank’s balance sheets.

The Taylor subplot in this episode is another instance where I can’t decide if they’re getting played or if, because they’re working with Chuck and Prince, they’ve sacrificed their personal and professional relationship with Lauren for a greater good.

At the top of “Liberty,” Chuck has his attorney/BFF Ira Schirmer (Ben Shenkman) send a demand to Wendy under the guise of divorce proceedings: Pay Chuck his alimony in a lump sum of $25 million in 48 hours (as opposed to the agreed-upon payment plan), or else he’s conducting an audit of Mase Carb. This is what spurs a furious Wendy to FaceTime Ira during the Jeffersonian Dinner, where she catches wind of the whole legalizing-cannabis convo that she then passes along to Axe. Axe then conscripts Senior to attend the festivities and report back to him.

Much to Taylor’s dismay, Lauren is considering Axe’s offer, because she has a personal history of financial instability. It’s understandable that she doesn’t want to be dependent on anyone, not even Taylor. But things deteriorate quickly when Wendy, refusing to let Chuck get his grubby hands on her company’s books, sells her shares in Mase Carb to Axe for $25 million in cash. This betrayal (or is it? Notice that Taylor wouldn’t give Wendy a loan, and they’re working with Chuck and Prince, so what gives?) pushes Taylor to insist upon an immediate decision from Lauren, which results in an acrimonious breakup and Lauren moving over to Axe Bank.

Despite its COVID-related flaws, “Liberty” remains a standout Billions episode. Yes, it’s chockablock with the usual schemes, betrayals, and triple-crosses, but it’s also pleasingly balanced with, wait for it, love and tranquility. (No, I can’t believe I wrote those words either.) The slow-burn of all slow-burns that is the Wendy/Axe relationship finally culminates in the most Billions way possible: Axe admits to Wendy that he sabotaged her relationship with Tanner because he wants her, and she reciprocates those feelings. Aww, nothing says romance like stalking and destroying another man’s livelihood.

I also adored the Wags subplot, where he sweetly attempted to woo his latest baby mama conquest (Caroline Day) while juggling his duties as the newly minted head of Axe Bank. Candlelight office dinners catered by Tom Colicchio are nice and all, but the true way to a millennial woman’s heart is ripping into oblivious underlings who don’t know a department head from a CEO. It’s totally baller.

But who would’ve guessed that the best scene in the whole episode would be a dialogue-less, three-minute, one-take shot depicting Chuck cooking up an omelet? This decidedly un-Billions moment takes place shortly after Chuck and Prince share a sunrise joint to celebrate their victorious Jeffersonian Dinner, with Chuck’s pajama-clad daughter Eva (Alexa Swinton) joining in. I kept waiting for something monumental to happen, but it never does, and that’s the beauty of this scene.

Watching it a second time around allowed me to bask in its peacefulness, and there was comfort in that. It’s the antithesis of the “Pancake Eater” story and a nice reminder that these odious characters are also people with kids to feed (this is Billions, we need those reminders). My favorite part is when Chuck flips the eggs, and Paul Giamatti drops some of them onto the stove. All three actors chuckle softly because God knows how many takes this scene required.

Don’t worry, Billions. I won’t tell anyone that you’ve got a beating heart beneath your venal façade.
Loose Change

• Corey Stoll throwing some salt over his shoulder after salting his eggs was a nice Mike Prince-ian touch.

• Dr. Creepy Doctor announcing to several government officials that he knows tons of Heisenbergs waiting to step out of the shadows once recreational amphetamines are legalized may be why he lost his license. Just sayin’.

The Morning Show S1 Ep 2: A Seat At The Table

What did you miss? For a review of the last episode, click HERE

from EW.com: https://ew.com/recap/the-morning-show-season-1-episode-2/

The Morning Show S1 Ep 2: A Seat At The Table

The Morning Show recap: Control the narrative
By Jodi WalkerNovember 01, 2019 at 06:55 PM EDT


The Morning Show isn’t quite adding up to the series its star power suggests it could be just yet, but hot damn, can it roll out a string of compelling moments. Mostly, they involve watching Jennifer Aniston play Alex Levy as her blood pressure rises right up to the line of causing us to wonder whether Alex is completely losing her mind or just now finding her power.


And that’s a promising direction. Because isn’t power exactly where The Morning Show’s two main themes — behind-the-scenes drama of broadcast news and exposure of rampant sexual impropriety in the entertainment industry — overlap perfectly in a Venn diagram of ruthlessness? The Morning Show premiere had impassioned outburst after impassioned outburst about the state of news and the #MeToo movement, and while it was very fun to watch Aniston and Reese Witherspoon do their impassioned thing, and it’s always a worthwhile endeavor to showcase female anger, none of it ever reeeeeally added up to any substantial point of view on… well, the state of news or the #MeToo movement.



But one scene in this second episode gave a quick glimpse into the exact point of view The Morning Show is uniquely equipped to tell. Head booker Hannah gets wind that The Morning Show’s ratings rival, Your Day America, has booked one of Mitch Kessler’s victims to tell her story, so she shows up at the woman’s hotel room to try and convince her to come on The Morning Show instead. Clearly, it would look bad for The Morning Show to have the victim of their former anchor go on a rival show to tell her story, but that wouldn’t be a very convincing argument for the woman, Ashley, who just wants a safe space to tell her story, now would it?



So when Ashely immediately says no to going back to the place where she was allegedly assaulted, Hannah gives her a more compelling reason: “This is television, not a woman’s study seminar at Vassar… How you tell the story is the whole f—ing ballgame, and if you do it on YDA, you’ll be the angry person.” The thing is: Hannah is both correct and trying to intimidate this woman into coming on The Morning Show. Or is it possible she really could have Ashley’s best interest at heart?



Hannah tells Ashley that going on the enemy show will make it look like she’s scorned and bitter, just trying to get back at The Morning Show by aligning with their enemy. She’ll look weak and manipulated by YDA: “Trotted out like a piece of meat and discarded when you’re not needed anymore.” Finally, Hannah plays the bravery card, telling Ashley that if she’s going to blow the whistle on Mitch Kessler for being a predator, she has to have the guts to do it in his own house. “It won’t mean anything otherwise,” Hannah pleads, nearly in tears. “Come on The Morning Show. Come back to the killing floor. Show everyone you have the nerve, but especially — show him.”


Wow. Hannah is good. And Gugu Mbatha-Raw is so good playing her, because at the end of Hannah’s impassioned speech we’re actually left with a substantial quandary. If everything Hannah saying is right, can her intentions still be wrong? Can Hannah truly care about protecting Ashley when it’s also for the benefit of The Morning Show’s ratings? Does anyone at The Morning Show actually care that they created a space for women to be harmed and promoted the man who was harming them to become one of the most powerful men on television, or do they only care about the Morning Show legacy? Can it possibly be both?


Weirdly, Cory is the only person who seems to openly talk about the show’s wrongdoing in the matter of Mitch’s misconduct. I say “weirdly” because Cory seems like a hella creep, so that is a surprising perspective from him. I am obsessed with the off-putting cadence and inappropriately timed smiles Billy Crudup is constantly deploying as Cory, but those aren’t the only things suggesting the guy is a creep — it’s also the jazz singer crooning “Creep” as the episode opens on the meeting he set up with Bradley at the end of the premiere. The camera pans over the crowded club, finding Cory and doing a nice, long push in on him as the woman, sings, “I’m a creeeeep.” And as Bradley walks in, looking nervous: “What the hell am I doing here? I don’t belong here.”


Bradley is an outsider, see, and the writers will make sure you know that by basically making her deliver Jughead’s “I’m a weirdo” speech from Riverdale. Bradley explains to Cory that she hasn’t had a big break because “I don’t think like other people, I say whatever I mean, I don’t play games, I don’t fit the mold.” It is very embarrassing to listen to! It’s made a little less cliché by the show having the self-awareness to have Cory laugh at this explanation and respond, “Oh, right — a weirdo.”


But still: Bradley is someone who waxes poetic about her own uniqueness a lot. She does at least back up some of her big talk about “ideas — things that matter” when Cory sends her for an interview with Chip to be a correspondent because he wants to reinvent The Morning Show by hiring “smart people with fresh perspectives.” Bradley comes equipped with ideas for stories she thinks she would be a good fit, even though Chip tells her that correspondents don’t generally write their own stories.


Bradley’s story ideas — a mom-and-pop shop who want to be bought by big business, a memorial to the immigrants who died in the Triangle fire of 1911 — could make for interesting segments, but Mitch is barely listening to her because he thinks this is a waste of time in their current crisis. “I don’t’ know how to say this without being rude,” he eventually snaps, “but your stories aren’t right for us, and it’s not even ostensibly what you’re here to discuss, so…”


Oh, Bradley does not like that. She’s sure her stories are good, and she thinks the Morning Show is bad, so she screams as much at the executive producer. He attempts to get away from her threatening to call security, until she’s down the hall and says, “You know what, people like you are the reason broadcast news is what it is — thanks for your time, Charlie-Chip, whatever your f—ing name is!” (Chip’s “What the f—?!” said to an emptied hall is also pretty priceless.)


But as Bradley storms out of the building, she also seems to realize that she just yelled her way out of any chance at becoming one of the people who could create the change she seems to think broadcast news needs. Of course, it’s unlikely the meeting ever would have gone all that well because Chip’s brain is about to start leaking out of his ears if he gets anymore stressed.


Earlier that morning, 90 seconds before she was supposed to go on air, Alex got a call from her agent Sarah saying that UBA is still refusing to agree to her contract renegotiation, specifically the clause that says Alex gets to approve any new co-anchor hire. It’s the one thing Alex won’t budge on, telling Sarah, “I just need to be able to control the narrative so that I’m not written out of it.” So when she hears UBA isn’t interested in letting her do that, she storms off stage, finds Chip, and tells him that she’s not going on until he promises to help get her co-anchor approval.


The woman takes her earpiece out — she means it.


Staring wide-eyed at his watch, Chip tells her that pulling a stunt like this won’t make the network promise her anything: “It’s just gonna make them think that you’re f—ing losing it.” Alex counters that sometimes you have to lose it to get people to take you seriously as someone announces they’re 30 seconds to air. Alex crosses her arms.


Chips huffs that he’s trying to protect her, but she’s putting him in an impossible situation. “I don’t want you to protect me!” Alex scoffs. “I’d like you to respect me.” Chip rolls his eyes, asking if she got that off some card, but in the end it’s pretty on point. Chip does seem to want the best for his anchors, but only if what’s best also falls in line with The Morning Show’s preordained mold. He finally promises Alex cohost approval, and she hurries to her seat with five seconds to air, but we never see him do anything to back up that promise. Chip tells a younger anchor, Daniel, that he’s in a prime position to get the co-anchor job, but he needs to — hold onto your hats — be more like Mitch, and stop being so serious all the time (including not calling the now thrice-mentioned Gilmore Girls musical “neo-pro-life-rights propaganda” in the halls).


And finally, Chip shows up to Mitch’s house and tells him he has to stop calling reporters to try and tell “his side of the story.” Ah yes, Mitch, the (allegedly) prolific sexual predator, who can be heard all over New York City complaining about his morality clause and how he’s being burned at the stake (coincidentally, a thing that historically happened when men insisted women were liars!), and who hilariously asks Chip how long he’s supposed to sit around while he “takes [his] punishment like a man.” Is that what he’s doing??


Steve Carell has proven he can act his ass off in any character and genre (including just… randomly getting really hot in real life?!), but at times as Mitch he sounds so much like Michael Scott… presumably because Mitch is being purposefully portrayed as a buffoon of comical proportions. Like when he says to Chip with absolutely no self-awareness: “At first they came for the rapists, and I did not speak up because I am not a rapist, and then they came or the powerful men and you did not speak up because you are not a powerful man, but what are you gonna do when they come for the everyday, run-of-the-mill creep like you, Chip?”


Hey, Mitch — is the premise that you should have spoken up for rapists when you had the chance???


Thus far, the goal of following Mitch after his firing seems solely to be showing him as a pathetic narcissist. I sure as hell hope the goal is not for us to feel sorry for him, or to root for him when he makes the rare right decision to not to go cause a scene at the ceremony where Alex is receiving a Leadership in Journalism Award that night as he was original planning on doing…


For the last two episodes, Alex’s estranged husband has reminded her that they’ll be attending “the event” together, which turns out to be the award ceremony. Alex is receiving the honor, and she can’t skip because then everyone would know that she’s actually very afraid of what’s going to happen to her in the wake of Mitch. And fear can make you do a lot of crazy things — especially when you get to your table and realize that Cory has invited Bradley Jackson to attend your event, and has inexplicably arranged for her to be seated right next to you at your table.


Bradley looks stricken when she realizes why Cory invited her to the event — well, she doesn’t really realize why, but she gets that it’s not good. But Alex knows why: Cory is declaring war. And what better battleground than the women’s bathroom?


After excusing herself for a breather, Alex first runs into her rival anchor on Your Day America, Audra (Mindy Kaling, whaaaaat?!) who’s all fake sympathy for “everything” that’s going on. “Why, Audra?” Alex laughs. “I didn’t f— anyone!”


In the premiere, Cory said something about Alex coming alive in the midst of a controversy; he meant it as an insult to her being otherwise complacent, but he’s right. Alex is living in that bathroom, which seems to be a magnet for her enemies. As Audra exits, Bradley enters, terrified when she spots Alex. She tells Alex that she doesn’t know why she’s there, but she feels really stupid about being jerked around by the men of the Morning Show all day.


“He sat you at my table to f— with me,” Alex informs Bradley matter-of-factly. Then she asks Bradley, if she was so uncomfortable, why didn’t she just leave? “I don’t have the right to tell the head of a network to f— off,” Bradley says sadly. “I’m a nobody; I’m not you.”


Correct — Alex has leverage in this world, but there’s no man out there who’s going to turn over some of their power so that she can have it instead. That much is clear when she exits the hell bathroom to discover her own personal devil, Cory, just outside (it’s also when I discover that Alex’s red gown is actually a jumpsuit with the widest, flowiest of legs).


Alex tells Cory she’s ready to cut through all the middle men — she’s telling him right there that she’s not closing on her contract without cohost approval. He says that’s too bad because she’s not getting it. Then he tells her they bought this award for her.


Alex has just stared Bradley in the eyes, a woman paralyzed into submission by her own lack of power, and realized that is not her own position. Alex has a platform, she has leverage, and if no one is going to give her the power she thinks she deserves in the form of co-anchor approval, she’s going to have to take it.


Alex marches up to the podium to accept her award, she dedicates it to the women UBA failed to protect, and she announces a new era for The Morning Show, and for women. “So I would like to take this moment to announce my new Morning Show cohost,” Alex says, sweeping her arm out toward the crowd: “Bradley Jackson.”

The Sinner S3 Ep 1

What did you miss? For a review of the last episode, click HERE

From ew: https://ew.com/recap/the-sinner-season-3-episode-1/

The Sinner season premiere recap: Detective Harry Ambrose begins another very bad day
By Matt CabralFebruary 07, 2020 at 12:45 AM EST



If you’ve seen the previous two seasons of The Sinner, you’re aware the crime drama wastes no time introducing a grisly murder scene before spending the remaining seven or so hours uncovering the mystery behind it.


“Part 1” of the anthology series’ third installment adopts a slightly more slow-burn approach before spilling any blood. It opens in a bathroom stall, where Jamie Burns (a bearded Matt Bomer) is stealing a few puffs off a vape pen and dropping some Visine in his peepers. Things brighten up beyond the men’s room, where we discover Burns is a popular high school teacher, adored by his female students and fellow staffers alike.



While “Mr. B” is giving one of his charges a nice confidence boost, encouraging her to write a glowing college recommendation letter for herself, the scene shifts to a more familiar, bearded face. Dogged detective Harry Ambrose (Bill Pullman) — the one constant, connective tissue between seasons — is chatting with his superior, who’s gently proposing Harry retire. The subject sends Ambrose bolting for the door, but not before his boss mentions Harry’s increased stress… ”Ever since that case last summer with the kid.”



The offhand reference to season 2’s creepy cult poisoning not only confirms where we’re at in the show’s timeline but also Harry’s penchant for getting drawn into bizarre, complicated cases. But five minutes into the episode, there’s no sign of wrongdoing. In fact, the recently divorced detective is enthusiastically greeting his estranged daughter and grandson at the train station.


The happy reunion isn’t without a hint of the inevitable darkness to come, however, as Burns — coming off the same train — hurriedly passes Harry after having been annoyed by the smartphone-obsessed passengers on his commute. Back at Harry’s new homestead in the woods — an upgrade from his post-divorce rental — his daughter expresses concern for Harry’s safety given the house’s remote location (this also sets up a recurring joke where Harry runs outside every time he gets a call because he gets “two bars by the maple tree.”) While Harry awkwardly attempts to connect with his grown daughter, who’s also recently divorced, she turns the discussion to her son Eli, who’s in therapy and is described by his mother as a friendless bookworm.


CREDIT: PETER KRAMER/USA NETWORK


Back at the Burns’ picturesque upstate New York home, Jamie’s domestic life seems as blissful as his professional one. While the teach tends to chicken on the BBQ, he shares light conversation with Leela (Parisa Fitz-Henley) his beautiful, pregnant, artisanal candle-making wife. Jamie becomes a bit distracted, though, and while the missus discusses candle scents, he places a hand dangerously close to the hot grill. And then the doorbell rings.


It’s Nick Haas (Sharp Objects‘ Chris Messina), Jamie’s old college buddy. He jokes that he’s delivering an Amazon package. A surprised Jamie is not amused. “What the hell are you doing here?” “I told you not to come here,” and “Get the hell out of here,” are among the greetings he offers his apparently former friend. A confident, cocky Nick doesn’t take kindly to this, drops the episode’s first f-bomb, and weasels his way into joining the Burns for dinner. Awkward conversation ensues, as the not-so-invited guest digs into the couple’s personal lives, accusing Jamie of wanting to move from Brooklyn and have a baby, against his wife’s wishes. Cue f-bomb No. 2, from Jamie this time, before Lela comes to the rescue and shifts the topic to Nick’s profession. Upon lifting a glass with a hand wrapped in fresh bandages, he cryptically responds, “Private equity.” Lela follows up to ask if he’s in town for work, to which he creepily and calmly replies, “No, not really.”


At Ambrose’s house, a late-night call sets Harry in motion to do what Harry does best. Following a quick apology to his daughter — who’s annoyed he’s on-call during her visit — he arrives at the scene of a car accident. Flashing police lights and roadside flares illuminate a vehicle wrapped around a tree. A first responder brings Harry up to speed. The passenger, now at the hospital, called 911, there’s an open container of alcohol in the car, and the vehicle was traveling well above 80 mph down a private, one-residence road. That one resident, by the way, was not expecting visitors. Oh, and they’re going to need hydraulics to remove the driver from the crushed vehicle… ”Idiot wasn’t wearing a seat-belt.”


As Ambrose rounds the wreckage, we get a close-up of the doomed driver. It’s Nick, his cocky gaze replaced by a lifeless, blood-soaked stare. Cut to a nearby hospital, where a bloodied and bandaged Jamie flashes back to the car careening down the dark road. His worried wife interrupts his hazy recollection, but he gives her a hug and assures her he’s okay, even though they lost control of the car because his frenemy was driving too fast.


Back at Harry’s office, he takes a call from a Michigan veteran’s home eager to send him some of his deceased dad’s personal belongings. Harry’s not so eager to accept, and so begins this season’s narrative thread into Ambrose’s persistently troubled personal life. There’s no time to dig up the past just yet, though, as Burns shows up for a chat. The meeting was set up as a formality, due to the presence of the open alcohol container, but Harry being Harry soon steers the line of questioning into areas Burns isn’t prepared for. A tearful Jamie soon concedes he was inebriated, but answers the best he can (or at least pretends to.)


Things take a turn for the weird when Jamie says, since the accident, his hands don’t seem like his own and his house doesn’t quite feel like his home. He also says, when Nick looked at him — splayed out on the hood of the car — it was like the first time he’d really seen him. Harry chalks the bizarre comments up to shock, suggests he see someone to sort it all out, and sends him on his way.


But as Harry drives past the scene of the accident again, you know he’s thinking it was more than a joy ride gone wrong. In fact, his destination is that sole residence on the private road the men were racing toward for no apparent reason. Harry asks the owner, a painter named Sonya (Jessica Hecht) if she was expecting company the night of the accident. She wasn’t, nor does she claim to know the two men despite her eyes saying otherwise when Harry flashes their photos. If that doesn’t raise any red flags, then Sonya’s defensive posture and query as to whether or not the men were armed should do the trick.


When we next see Jamie, the ever-dutiful husband is helping his wife pack candles in her shop until he sees Nick peering at him from the street. The apparent hallucination sends Jamie stumbling into the stock room, where the blood under his bandaged hand begins to blossom through the dressing. Another hallucination or a real, stress-triggered reaction?


The next face we see is Nick’s, stiff, close-up, and caked in dried blood. The morgue’s medical examiner informs Harry that Nick would have survived had the medics arrived sooner. She also points out a knife wound through Nick’s hand, unstitched and sustained a few days before the accident. Harry and his partner begin going through his personal items, where they discover he was single, well-off financially, and didn’t have a phone among his belongings. This sends them to the impounded wreckage, where they quickly notice the parking brake was pulled, and blood and fingerprints indicate Nick struggled a bit before dying. More fingerprints on the radio knob also suggest someone was eager to crank some tunes post-accident.


While Jamie attempts to clear his mind with a brisk jog, he’s subjected to more disturbing flashback memories, including a bloody Blackberry on the side of the road. Meanwhile, Harry’s seen enough questionable details to call in a forensics team, officially turning this accident into a crime scene. Jamie soon drives to the scene, which is now covered in yellow police tape and crawling with dudes in lab gear, but quickly backs up after briefly locking eyes with Sonya, who’s also checking out the new developments.


Harry next follows the investigation to Burns’ house, where he meets his wife and fires a few questions her way regarding her husband’s relationship with Nick. Apparently, Nick had been staying at a nearby hotel for a few days, and Ambrose wondered if Jamie had seen Nick prior to that fateful night. Growing increasingly uncomfortable with the questions, Lela remains polite but offers little in the way of helpful information. The exchange also jolts her into a flashback memory as soon as Harry leaves.


“Did Jamie ever tell you about what we used to do in school? Did he ever mention me?” Despite Jamie’s protests, Nick continues with the antagonizing line of questioning during dinner. “Should I tell her? How would she react?” Before he can share more, Jamie brushes it off as “normal college bullshit,” while Lela shuffles off to get dessert. As she preps some ice cream treats, she overhears part of a hushed, hostile exchange, one that brings the episode’s f-bomb tally to three.


The next stop on Harry’s find-the-foul-play tour takes us to Nick’s hotel room, where he finds one of those paper-made fortune-tellers kids love to make. A call from HQ also comes in, informing Harry a Blackberry (apparently easier than the average smartphone to encrypt) was found at the scene.


While Harry’s giving the directive to track cellphone pings, Jamie and Lela make small talk over dinner prep. When the conversation shifts to Ambrose’s visit earlier in the day, Jamie’s hallucinations kick into high gear. This time he doesn’t just see Nick, but his old buddy enters the house, grabs a knife, and slits Lela’s throat. Jamie jumps out of his skin, frightening Lela, and bringing the scene to a tense close.


Back at work, Harry’s watching videos of Sonya, a painter focused on subjects of male vulnerability. After a few pics of creepy old naked men pop on Harry’s screen, he stops the video to analyze the intel on Nick’s Blackberry pings. Bottom line: It seems Jamie used Nick’s phone to call for help but waited an hour from the time of the accident before entering the digits. Harry immediately jumps to an accusation of “impeding a rescue,” which carries a charge of second-degree murder. Harry’s soon-retiring commanding officer thinks he’s grasping at straws, but Ambrose’s theory gains traction when he also learns the phone was intentionally powered off at some point.


While administering a foot rub to his wife, Jamie finally opens up a bit about Nick. “He’s a troubled guy. He’s self-destructive. I had to cut him off.” He also admits Nick was in town to meet him, despite Jamie repeatedly putting him off. Lela even questions if Nick was in love with Harry, but he assures her it was never like that.


Back at Harry’s backwoods domicile, he’s taking a call by the maple tree where he gets those two bars. Turns out Nick’s phone was wiped clean — no prints — strongly suggesting someone’s hiding something. Fast-forward to Jamie’s bathroom, where he’s replaying the previous night’s events in his head. In the speeding car, Nick says, “Once we get there, the less you speak the better.” Jamie replies, “I’m not doing this.” Nick says, “Yes you are. Just watch me and follow.” Jamie replies with f-bomb No. 4 and insists Nick stop the car. Nick speeds up, Jamie pulls the emergency brake, and the vehicle winds up where we first found it, nearly halved by a tree.


We get a bit more context this time, though, as we see Jamie crawl from the wreckage, while a still-alive Nick is stuck in the windshield. The latter begs for help as best he can with a massive glass shard piercing his torso; he grabs his phone, asks Jamie to call 911, then drops the device. Jamie picks up the bloodied, cracked Blackberry and… turns it off. He then kneels before Nick and watches what little remaining life he has drain from him.


No cliffhanger here, but Ambrose is clearly on an intriguing path.

New Mutants #14-18

Written by Vita Ayala

Art by Rod Reis

On the edge of Krakoan society, the New Mutants let loose! Welcome to the Wild Hunt — going big, blowing things up and combining powers to see who can be crowned king of the mountain. But something lurks in the trees. Something old — and hungry. And its favorite prey is young mutants! As Karma and Dani delve deeper into their nightmares, a spider sets his eyes on the most vulnerable among the team. And as the Wild Hunt continues, someone vanishes without a trace, plans long in motion begin to unfurl and children who play at being adults must now prepare for the fight of their lives. With one among them lost in Otherworld, can the New Mutants find and extract their friend without losing themselves in the process?

What did you miss? For a review of the last episode, click HERE

From the Review Geek: https://www.thereviewgeek.com/clickbait-s1e4review/

Clcikbait S1 Ep 4: The Mistress

Clickbait – Season 1 Episode 4 “The Mistress” Recap & Review
26/08/2021 by Greg Wheeler


The Mistress

Episode 4 of Clickbait begins with Emma Beesly being interviewed by Amiri. She claims that she and Nick were in love and soulmates. She’s in the dark about Nick’s motives, although Amiri is clearly very suspicious of this woman.

Emma works as a health insurance agent, and even receives numerous gifts on her birthday from “Danny.” The pair get along well, with pictures on the mantlepiece hinting that they’ve even been away on holiday together.

It’s clear now that Nick was leading a double life. It doesn’t take long before she learns that her boyfriend is not who he says he is. Emma actually saw the news reports and noticed Sophie on TV. She head up to Oakland to see Sophie and to help, apparently. According to Emma, they were engaged to get married.


We then see a number of scenes repeated again that we’ve already seen, this time from Emma’s perspective and not really adding anything to the show. On the back of Sophie’s scathing comments though, Audrey rings her friend and expresses her concerns. She thinks Emma should head home but something is keeping the girl there.

Emma eventually heads up to the school where she meets Matt. They’re both in agreement that Nick was “one of the good guys” but there’s definitely something amiss here.

Piia heads in to see Matt not long after and questions him about Nick’s affair. Apparently he had no idea but does direct Pia toward Emma, who races out of the school after breaking into Nick’s office.

When she and Pia finally catch up, Emma reveals how close she and Nick actually were, divulging personal incidents involving Pia and Nick in the past. Although Pia understandably doesn’t trust the woman, she does take her number incase any further questions crop up.

Well, that evening Emma receives a threatening call in her hotel, warning her and telling the girl she needs to leave immediately. Panicked, Emma gets in her car and drives away. Only, in doing so she’s rammed from behind by a car that eventually knocks her off the road.

After this attempt on her life, Pia shows up to exhibit concerns over Emma’s story. Amiri is there too to take Emma’s statement but it soon becomes clear that Nick was a serial cheater, seeing a number of different women at the same time as Sophie and Emma.

While Sophie starts to receive threatening message too, Emma shows up to see another victim – Mandy. Together they reflect on Nick’s shady past and decide to “burn the f*cker”. And by burning, this includes Emma going live on TV and outing Nick as the serial cheater that he is.

The Episode Review

Honestly, the first 20 minutes of this episode were completely pointless. Sure, we see things from Emma’s perspective and learn a little more about Nick’s double-life but some scenes are literal rehashes from the episode before.

Apart from this, the episode does deepen the examination of Nick’s character, showing him to be a serial cheater and well-known to toy with people’s emotions. Given he spoke to Emma every single day, and there are pictures in her apartment of the pair (presumably anyway) on holiday, how did neither of these women suspect anything?


It’s certainly a bit of a far cry and especially someone savvy online would undoubtedly have sensed something amiss. The fact that Nick is using the same photo across numerous dating sites would be a red flag and I’m pretty sure there’s technology that can cross-reference pictures back. Catfish, of all TV shows, actually shows how well this works to root out deceptive people.


Either way though, the ending leaves things wide open as it looks as if we’re about to shift perspectives over to a different character next time out.

from TVLine: https://tvline.com/2021/10/17/hightown-recap-season-2-episode-1-starz/

Hightown S2 Ep 1: Great White

Hightown Recap: New Season, New Jackie
By Keisha Hatchett / October 17 2021, 6:59 PM PDT

It’s a new season and a fresh new start for Hightown’s Jackie Quiñones.

She’s 50 days sober, happy and regularly attending her AA meetings. Though she’s made a lot of progress, she’s still coping with Junior’s death and laments not doing more to help him.

Determined to catch Frankie, who was released from prison at the end of last season, Jackie starts working the case on her own time. However, buying drugs from a dealer in the hopes of securing a warrant is not the right approach in Alan’s eyes despite what she learned from Ray. He’s quick to remind her that she’s only a liaison for one day away (and on call if they need help searching women suspects) and brushes off her attempts to be more involved with the force.

Leslie Babcock, the only other woman in the unit, advises Jackie to build a case first and even invites her to ride along when they investigate a new murder.

Meanwhile, Ray is a mess and fantasizing about Renee. He’s living in his basement while renting out the upstairs portion and attending mandated therapy sessions to work through his sex addiction issues. Desperate to get his job back, Ray begs for a recommendation to his bosses, but his therapist insists on continuing their sessions instead.

Frankie is happy to see his cousin Jorge out, but not everyone feels that way. Jorge immediately rubs Renee the wrong way by making lewd comments about Ray and later, snide remarks about her wearing white while she tries on a wedding dress. Unfortunately for Renee, she may end up having to work closely with him. Frankie wants her to return to the club as assistant manager while Jorge serves as manager, but Renee just wants a normal life.

Elsewhere, Alan visits an injured Osito, who’s been released from the hospital and admitted to prison for shooting Jackie. The guards have it in for him because he shot a cop, and he requests to be transferred to a less severe unit to serve out his time. Alan will only do so if Osito can provide quality intel.

Jackie hits up Ray, who’s working at a bar, and he warns her to watch out for Leslie because she will “stab you in the back.” At a reinstatement hearing, Ray says all the right words. He admits his relationship with Renee was not consensual given his position of power and makes sure to come across as remorseful. With Jackie as his character witness, it looks like he might actually get his job back. But a member of the review board drops a surprise witness in Captain Jones, who recalls the time Ray sent d—k pics to Jones’ wife in 2013. Suffice it to say, Ray does not get reinstated.

Jackie is called to a nice house in the suburbs where three kids from affluent families were found dead after overdosing on a powerful new drug called the Great White. The case attracts major media attention and a distraught mother lashes out at the police for being useless in front of a swarm of cameras. It’s not a good look for the department. Jackie uses this as an opportunity to approach the lieutenant about joining the force full time, even suggesting that she ride with Leslie. Jackie’s persuasive pitch gets her approved for a three-month probationary period.

The episode ends in irony: Jackie and Leslie talking about putting away Franke and Jorge while Jorge begins the journey back home after securing a meeting to sell Great White. They unknowingly pass each other on the road — a sign that their paths will likely cross again.

What did you miss? For a review of the last episode, click HERE

From Den of Geek: https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/black-sails-season-2-episode-7-review/

Black Sails S2 Ep 6

The latest episode of Black Sails season 2 on Starz is a complex, surprisingly introspective affair. Here's our review...

By TS Rhodes|March 8, 2015|




This Black Sails review contains spoilers.

As the pirates bicker their way toward a vote on leadership, Hornigold or Flint, all of Nassau plots, plans and re-thinks its position, with only the light of candles and torches to show them the way. Flint, in sudden crisis because news has come that the gold is gone, is taken by the Spanish.

Silver is in conflict because loss of the gold means loss of his ties to Flint. Anne Bonny is rising from the horror of her latest murder to decide what will happen to the rest of her life. Eleanor is facing a choice between Vane, with his intense, loyal love for her, and Flint’s ephemeral vision for Nassau.

Vane is forced once and for all to decide between Eleanor and his freedom. Billy Bones is caught between the Navy’s offer of a pardon and loyalty to Flint, who may or may not have let him slip into the water to drown.

It’s a complex, introspective episode, full of beautiful images of flickering candles. Flint sits in his tent, waiting for the voting on whether the pirates of Nassau will vote to follow him or Benjamin Hornigold, former holder of the fort. This is one of the things that Black Sails does most realistically. I’ve never seen anyone properly drag out the role of the vote for captaincy. It involves men who are not great thinkers, men who live their lives governed by their muscles and their emotions. Votes change because one man trash-talked another man’s mother, rather than the merits of the case.

Anne Bonny is adrift. Her double-murder has left her emotionless and drained, drained enough that we hear her story, horrifying to a modern viewer, common enough in the 18th century. Max shows her wisdom in dealing with Anne. Max protects, guiding Anne away from life as a whore. The woman’s clothes Anne wears to replace her own bloody ones don’t fit, a significant detail in this show. I also note Max has retained Anne’s battered old hat. We’ll see that hat later, I’m sure. Max brilliantly and sincerely mediates with her girls on Anne’s behalf. Her plan uses all of Anne’s talents, and for the first time, allies Anne Bonny with women rather than men.

Eleanor’s decision to take Vane’s hostage, Abigail, and escape the fort on her own was made last week, but it is this week that we see the ramifications. She needs Abigail’s trust, and when she encounters the rusty gate in the tunnel, she needs the girl’s help. There are some powerful symbols here: Going into the tunnel (womb) facing a struggle (the gate, which doesn’t open just because one has the key) the need for sacrifice (Eleanor’s injury) and the requirement that Abigail become an active participant in her own rescue.

It’s only after Abigail helps with the gate that Vane confronts them. I rather think that, if Vane had come a minute or two earlier, when Eleanor was the only active force in the escape, that she would have acquiesced to his demands.

Vane is finally facing the chasm between himself and Eleanor. He loves her, pure and simple, and would have defended her to the death. But Vane is a simple man, honestly pursuing the life he wants for himself. In many ways, he’s the epitome of a pirate. What he wants is freedom and respect. He won’t play politics.

However, when Vane realizes that Eleanor will do anything to further her plans for Nassau, he states the situation clearly. He has killed, many times, on her behalf. She may not appreciate this, but Vane’s love for her has moved him to accomplish more than he ever could alone. When he tells Eleanor that this betrayal, which puts him in jeopardy, is the final one, and that he will hold her accountable, we must believe him. Vane has already risen from the dead.

Eleanor leads Abigale through the tunnels and into the world above, straight into the civilized arms of Miranda, Eleanor’s father, and Flint, now going by his given name, to earn the girl’s trust. But the warning is here. Even Charlestown is not a civilized place. Vane knows that you can’t trust civilization. Abigail has repeated this information to Eleanor, but she is yet too innocent to fully understand what it means.

We can expect more betrayals, and not from Vane.

Last week Billy Bones confided to Dufresne that, when the Navy set him free, it was with the promise of pardons for nine men (including Billy) if those men helped bring Flint back for trial. Billy has learned from his run-in with the law. He uses Dufresne to find the men who are willing to turn Flint in. Then he makes his case for loyalty with his fists and his feet. “Until we are all safe, there isn’t one of us who’s safe.” Although Billy still sides with Flint, his sentiments match better with Vane.

And, lastly, Silver. Silver who wants the gold more than liberty. We knew that his loyalty to Flint was broken the minute he realized how fragile Flint’s foundations were, and how little gold mattered to the Captain. How broken, we don’t see until the very end, but when it comes, it shifts everything. And Silver shares it with Max, the only one on the island who has the subtlety he does.

The alliance now stands – Max, Silver and Bonny. They are for the gold, and with Jack’s help, they may even get it. As the book says, the men feared Flint, and Flint feared Silver. Not without cause.

The pirate island lives on. Chaos and death wait just outside the door. We only need to wait for morning.

From the Review Geek: https://www.thereviewgeek.com/dopesick-s1e1review/

Dopesick S1 Ep 1: First Bottle

Dopesick – Season 1 Episode 1 “First Bottle” Recap & Review
13/10/2021 by Greg Wheeler

Episode 1 of Dopesick begins in 1986 during an epidemic of suffering. This happens to be the first time OxyContin is brought up, with sales reps pedaling the claim that less than 1% become addicted. According to these doctors it’s a miracle drug. As the scenes skip forward to a court case in 2005, Dr Samuel Finnix is under the spotlight for his role in being on the frontlines of the devastation to follow.

Before we find out much from the court case, the catalyst for this begins back in 1996 where we find Finnix working in a clinic, serving the local community. There’s a fair few different characters in town, including a whole group of coal miners. One of them is Betsy Mallun, who hurts her back badly when she slips and lands hard on a metal instrument.

Meanwhile, Dr Richard Sackler comes under fire from his family for the cost of these drugs about to hit the market. Raymond sticks up for him but the rest of the family, sat around eating in this expensive gallery, have their doubts. Richard though promises that this drug will work.


Now, the purpose of seeing all these individuals in this small town comes from a brief flash forward to 2005. With Dr Finnix being questioned, he blames OxyContin as the sole reason for a high number of deaths in his town.

This case has been 3 years in the making, with Rick Mountcastle and Randy Ramseyer given the greenlight to investigate by John Brownlee. All three of them work together to build a case against Purdue Pharma, the creators of this drug. The trouble is, no US attorney is going near this with a bargepole. So that naturally means they need to gather as much evidence as possible.

Some of that evidence comes from sniffing around Bridget Meyer, the deputy director of the diversity division. According to Rick, she has first-hand experience of what’s happened. So naturally they show up at her office… but she refuses to engage. That is, until Randy mentions a harrowing story about a guy selling pills out the back of his car to an 11 year old girl.

Now, later in the episode we actually jump back and see Bridget working in the DEA and how OxyContin is being sold alongside cocaine. Since its arrival on the market, things are starting to get sticky out on the streets. Jails are filling up, prostitution among minors is increasing while addictions are at an alarming high (no pun intended).

Further complicating matters is a promotional video for Oxycontin itself. All the figureheads chosen to speak don’t mention the drug by name, simply stating it as “pain medication” that works.

Richard continues to push OxyContin though, demanding that the sales force begin promoting this drug and flip doctors from Vicodin and other pain medication across to OxyContin instead.

With the largest sales force assembled, among those is Billy Cutler and Amber who joins the workforce as they’re briefed to win over as many doctors as possible. And of course, one of those doctors happens to be Dr Finnix.

Talking over a bucket of KFC, Cutler does well to win the man over. However, it’s Betsy that seals the deal for him, as Finnix sees the nasty bruises across her back and implores her to take time off from work. When she refuses, he decides to prescribe her a dosage of OxyContin.

The Episode Review

The first episode of Dopesick gets things off to a great start, despite jumping all over the place between various different individuals and timeframes. While that would ordinary cause a bit of whiplash, it actually works surprisingly well here to show the timeline of events and how deeply this drug affects the local community.

Dr Finnix looks to be the focal point in all this, inadvertently turning this quaint small town into – I’d imagine anyway – an absolute cesspit of addicts.


Seeing the true extent of this drug’s devastation, and how Big Pharma have essentially solidified themselves as this impregnable force in the US is difficult to watch – especially when you consider the malicious and calculating ways these individuals targeted rural areas first to roll the drug out.

Whether Richard was actually aware of his drug being so addictive, serving as a snake oil salesman, is up for debate but this first chapter does well to show the extent of devastation his actions have caused across the community. With three episodes this week and lots more drama to come, it remains to be seen what’s on the agenda next for our characters.

Avengers #39-45: Enter the Phoenix

Written by Jason Aaron
Art by Javier Garron, Dale Keown, Luca Maresca


Collects Avengers (2018) #39-45. The planet-burning cosmic firebird known as the Phoenix Force has returned — and the Avengers are drawn into a globe-spanning battle for ultimate power! In the distant past of One Million B.C.E., one young girl’s only crime was being born with red hair…and her destiny will change human history forever! In the present, the Phoenix Force searches the globe for a new avatar — and many of Marvel’s most powerful heroes and villains are contenders! As the battle to wield the Phoenix grows ever bloodier and more desperate, Thor leads the Avengers in a fight to contain it. But the quest is complicated by the Thunder God’s mysterious connection to the cosmic firebird! Who will be the all-new Phoenix?! Plus: Blade pays a dark price in the fight against the King in Black!

Black Widow (2021)

From Roger Ebert.com: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/black-widow-movie-review-2021

Black Widow

Brian Tallerico July 08, 2021






There’s an added poignancy to the year-plus delay of Marvel’s “Black Widow,” finally ending July 9th when the film will be in theaters and available for a premium charge on Disney+. And there’s a palpable sense that this story would have felt a little delayed even in May 2020. After all, why did Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man get three standalone films before Natasha Romanoff got one? Fans complained long before the pandemic that it felt like Black Widow was getting pushed aside, only given her own adventure after the end of her story in “Avengers: Endgame.” Director Cate Shortland’s movie confirms that Black Widow could have carried her own flick ages ago. There’s enough character, back story, and intrigue in her world for a whole series. A lot of movies in 2021 have felt a bit different because of their existence in a post-COVID world, but for all of these reasons, “Black Widow” feels distinctly like a pre-COVID product, a dip into the history of one of Marvel’s most popular characters that’s truly better so very late than never.

The best aspects of “Black Widow” echo the ‘70s spy movie tone of one of the best films in the MCU, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” Director Shortland and writer Eric Pearson (an MCU vet behind both “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Endgame,” along with Thor, Spider-Man, Ant-Man films and the ABC TV shows) unabashedly pull from beloved action and espionage classics with elements that echo the Bourne films, “Mission: Impossible,” “The Manchurian Candidate,” and, most of all, James Bond (a clip from 007 even plays on a television in the film). And yet “Black Widow” incorporates all of these spy-action greats into something that feels alive and original on its own terms, thanks largely to tight action choreography by Shortland and a great cast that centers four very engaging performances from Scarlett Johansson, David Harbour, Rachel Weisz, and, most of all, Florence Pugh.

“F9” may have a lock on the word “family” this season but it’s also the main theme of “Black Widow.” Natasha Romanoff is on the run from one makeshift family when she’s thrust back into the arms of another. The film opens with a scene right out of “The Americans” as it’s revealed that a young Natasha and her sister Yelena (played as an adult by Pugh) had a brief life in Ohio under parental figures Alexei (Harbour) and Melina (Weisz). They seemed like a normal family, but ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ were really Russian spies, and the girls were only being prepped for their coming induction in a super soldier program back in the homeland. After an explosive opening, the credits for “Black Widow” reveal that Natasha and Yelena were turned from average girls to killing machines, separated when Romanoff murdered the head of the program, Dreykov (Ray Winstone), and destroyed his Red Room. Or did she?

Jump ahead to just after “Captain America: Civil War,” when Natasha is on the run from her own government, underground after violating the Sokovia Accords. While she’s off the grid, she receives a package from Yelena, who is suffering through her own forced exile after discovering a substance that releases the Widows from their chemical subjugation. It’s very intentionally a reversal of the super-soldier serum concept that drove the action of projects like “The Falcon vs. the Winter Soldier.” Wherein Bucky Barnes stories often centered on vials that could make ordinary men into killing machines, “Black Widow” centers on vials that can turn killing machines back into ordinary women. Yelena sends a case of the vials to her sister, knowing it will bring her to a safe house in Budapest. From there, they are forced to break Alexei, aka The Red Guardian, out of prison and eventually reunite with the Black Widow who really made them, Melina.

Like a lot of the MCU, “Black Widow” is a bit thin in the villain department—new ads have highlighted the inclusion of the Taskmaster, a killing machine who can mimic its enemy’s fighting skills, and those scenes do stand out in terms of action, but parts of the film lack the urgency that would have been provided by a stronger enemy. Having said that, Shortland knows how to keep “Black Widow” more sleek than a lot of other MCU directors. It’s a more driven film than we often get from the MCU, deftly moving from one action set piece to another, only losing its momentum in a couple scenes—an extended family reunion and one of the talkiest showdown scenes in history in the third act (although one almost wonders if Shortland and Pearson aren’t parodying the Bond films again here with their legacy of monologuing bad guys). It’s not often the case in the MCU, but the pace is an asset here as “Black Widow” tells a relatively simple story with significantly less fat than a lot of other superhero flicks. It makes sense that a no-nonsense killing machine like Black Widow should have a no-nonsense installment, but it’s nice to see it actually happened.

That’s not to say there aren’t a few diversions for character and some interesting playing around with themes. There's a fun duality to "Black Widow" that should make returns to other projects in this universe more engaging. It purposefully echoes themes of covert government programs from projects like "Winter Soldier," revealing that the Americans don't have the market cornered, and it also deepens Natasha's life-long battle between being a lone wolf and needing a pack with which to run. Much was written about how "WandaVision" made previous MCU projects richer and there are elements of "Black Widow" that should do the same not only for Johannson's previous projects but for Pugh's going forward. It's a standalone film that doesn't just exist in a vacuum but enhances the films in which Black Widow stood with others.

On that note, hardcore fans of Romanoff may be unhappy how much spotlight she cedes here to the other members of her family, particularly Red Guardian and Yelena, but both actors are good enough that complaints shouldn't land. Harbour’s take on Russia’s version of Captain America is a clever one, finding just the right balance of humor and bravado—countering his performance here to his one in this week’s “No Sudden Move” reveals a significant range for an actor who feels like he’s on the verge of a remarkable decade of work. However, the film really belongs to Pugh, who nails every single line reading in a project that’s clearly designed to hand the baton off from Johannson to Pugh, who will appear in Disney+’s “Hawkeye,” in much the same way that Captain America’s shield went from Steve Rogers to Sam Wilson. Pugh proves more than up for the challenge, finding just the right shades of strength and vulnerability. It’s a top tier MCU performance and the film’s MVP.

As with a lot of the MCU, the third act here gets a little cluttered and repetitive but then the film recovers with a remarkable final action sequence that sends characters and debris hurtling through the sky (an MCU staple but Shortland’s choreography makes it feel urgent again). It’s ultimately a film that works on its own terms, a long-delayed enriching of the story of a beloved character that will make her ultimate sacrifice in “Avengers: Endgame” feel even more powerful in hindsight. Every blockbuster this Summer is being touted as the sign that the world is back to normal—“Black Widow” is more a reminder of what fans loved before it shifted off its axis.

What did you miss? For a review of the last episode, click HERE

from Vulture.com: https://www.vulture.com/article/the-white-lotus-season-finale-recap.html

The White Lotus S1 Ep 6: Departures

The White Lotus Season-Finale Recap: Mess With a Guest, Die Like the Rest
By Amanda Whiting


Photo: HBO

Here is a television series that fulfills its promises. Dark, hectic, and stirring, The White Lotus’ season finale at last caught up to its frame story, which has been looming faintly over the action but never appeared to steer it. That fact in itself was perhaps the most salient clue we had as to who might die. In a luxury hotel, Armond once told the trainee Lani, the staff disappears into the tropical wallpaper — pleasant, helpful, interchangeable. Armond himself could be messy and antagonistic behind his obsequious mask, but until the transcendent moment in which he shits on Shane Patton’s resortwear, he could never quite take the mask off. Of course the coffin belongs to the hotel manager. How else could the story of three vacations ever double as the story of one person’s wasteful death? RIP, Armond, who died as he lived: in service to another man’s narrative.

Against Cristobal Tapia de Veer’s anxious score, this week’s credits read like the series’s potential hit list. Surely, Sydney Sweeney’s Olivia is still on the first of her many lives. Jennifer Coolidge’s alcoholic Tanya is fragile enough to die, but then again, she’s made it this far. Maybe they’ll kill off Natasha Rothwell’s empathic Belinda, just to make sure that after six hours in the noxious milieu of the filthy rich, we’re still able to feel. Only Rachel struck me as completely safe; the show had already brought her so low that she seemed somehow beneath death.

Accordingly, it was a pleasant surprise to see the sunrise over Haleakalā and wake up on the beach with the homeless Quinn. Only a 16-year-old boy with bones like Gumby could sleep on that rubber-band chaise and then jump right into a canoe. “Let’s go, braddah,” one of the local guys calls out to him, sprinkling in the familiarity of pidgin. “We need you.” It’s not that these strangers are being extravagantly kind to him, but they do treat him like a human being worthy of the same respect as any other person. When he tells his loved-up parents he wants to stay in Maui and finish high school online, they dismiss him without any curiosity. If they could only dismiss him compassionately, maybe Quinn wouldn’t think his only escape is aboard a hōkūleʻa to Polynesia.

The Mossbachers implicitly understand that they need Quinn in the house as a distraction from their fractious marriage. Nicole is desperate to find something to respect about her husband, but I doubt this Superman–Lois Lane role-play is re-creatable in San Francisco or New York or wherever they make their Restoration Hardware of a home.

Meanwhile, in the Pineapple Suite, Rachel is in the throes of her awful epiphany: “I think I made a mistake.” By morning, Shane’s touch is enough to induce a panic attack. She may have entered holy matrimony with blinders wider than the Pacific, but this moment where it suddenly clicks for her is relatable. Yesterday, she was fine — unhappy, yes, but in a way that some persist for their entire lives. Today, Shane makes her skin crawl. She gets a facial instead of the fruit platter and arrives back to find her husband arming himself against the ring of international jewel thieves he heard about at breakfast. I thought I had this dude’s number, but I was startled to learn he’s an “I wish I had a gun” guy. He settles for Chekhov’s pineapple knife and engaging the bolt lock.

Rachel has a little speech prepared for her future ex-husband, but the gist is “It’s not you, it’s me.” She just doesn’t want to be arm candy. Shane calls her an insecure baby, to which she replies something like, “Nuh-uh, Shane, you’re the coddled, tantrum-y baby.” Relax, Pattons, you’re both babies.

Tanya and Greg have progressed from booty calls to daylight. It’s the least depressing story line, so why does it make me feel so gross? Greg’s coughing while Tanya teases renting a house in Aspen just to be near him. “That’s a lot of sugar,” she says when he offers to fetch her a piña colada. It’s hard to watch Tanya interact with the world; she’s the bull and the china shop.

Armond catches up with the Mossbachers to share the good news, which is also devastating news: Nicole’s missing jewelry has been found, along with the “sweet kid” who burgled it. Watching Liv’s suspicions crystallize into knowledge is painful. At sea to flex Mark’s and Quinn’s new PADI licenses, Paula vomits off the side of the boat. It could be seasickness, or it could be the somatic manifestation of overwhelming guilt. She drops the necklace Kai made her into the sea in some empty cinematic gesture, but there’s no closure for this level of carelessness. This is what you see when you close your eyes.

Back onshore, Liv confronts Paula. What follows is a conversation that’s as manipulative as Olivia alleges, as hard-hearted as Paula perceives, and as selfish as we could ever have feared. “You’ve stolen, too,” Paula snaps at one point. Is that what’s underpinning this righteous crusade — payback for some guy they fought over? Paula’s right that Olivia isn’t very different from her parents, but Paula’s not so different either. Tellingly, Kai’s arrest happens offscreen. Wherever she started, Paula now belongs to the “tribe” that rarely faces its own flotsam.

Which brings us to the big breakup. Tanya wants to thank Belinda for helping her break old patterns like latching on to strangers and using her wealth to ensure fealty. That’s why Tanya can’t open a wellness center with her; she doesn’t want another transactional relationship, she explains as she slides Belinda a thick envelope of cash. (I’d be curious to see who’s paying for Greg’s flight to Honolulu, too.) Belinda’s tearful breakdown doesn’t get its deserved privacy because Tanya is shameless enough to return for the designer sunglasses she left on the spa counter.

By dinner, the White Lotus staff has been totaled, including Armond, who learns the big boss is coming round to fire him. So he empties every crushable pill from the girls’ lingering drug stash onto the table and snorts all that is snortable. That he cruise-directs his Last Supper rather than eats it is a dismal metaphor; that he does it high as the New Shepard is our only consolation. He’s smiling, he’s pouring wine, he’s showing the good people to their corner tables. It’s damn near ballet.

Lonely Rachel Patton shows up for dinner, which is unreal. Shane assures her he’ll be there when she’s done spiraling, but ten seconds later, when she’s not done spiraling, he slams the table. Ten seconds is the extent of his patience. The thought that he has done anything wrong hasn’t crossed his mind, and even though he’s an absolute buffoon, I’m a little sympathetic. Honeymoons are generally not so soul-searching. For her part, Rachel will be minimizing her desire to hit “eject” by the time she calls Belinda for after-hours company: “I’m just having a moment.” It’s momentarily satisfying to hear Belinda say she’s all out of advice, but it’s a hollow graduation. Compared with Tanya or Shane or Shane’s mom, Rachel is too easy to swat away.

Meanwhile, the Mossbachers are making light dinner conversation of convincing their underage son not to sail away on the morning light. Maybe they can take more trips or buy a boat? Paula looks on with disbelief that’s starting to curdle for me. Is she really surprised that they’ve moved on? And why is she so sure that the difference between enjoying dinner and simply sitting at the table for it is a meaningful one? Later, the girls spoon on the pullout, and Paula cries. After college, they’ll share an apartment in the city and be each other’s bridesmaids and never, ever mention Kai’s upended life ever again.

I’d almost forgotten someone had to die when Greg started hacking into his after-dinner drink. He ambiguously tells Tanya he’s got little time to live but a code to live by: “Enjoy life till they drop the curtain.” It’s not a bad philosophy, and it certainly seems to be Armond’s approach to his last 24 hours as regent of the White Lotus. Dillon and now Hutch — and I think I saw another body in there? — have joined the scorched-earth office party. Maybe one of these kids will die? As Armond tears through the hotel’s tiki-torch maze, it’s clear he’s looking to confront Shane in defiance of our usual bedtime. On this show, what happens after dinner usually arrives in soporific glimpses. We should all be safely asleep by now!

If only. Armond breaks into the Pineapple Suite against ominous choral music and all that glowing décor — grass-cloth wallpaper, marigold upholstery, the yellow brocade quilt. He walks over to Shane’s non-rolling suitcase, which seems to anticipate that someone other than Shane will be carrying it, and takes a glorious shit among the finery. (Thank the alcohol and the Adderall for being able to poo on command.) Although Armond is but steps from the bathroom, he does not wipe. He’s still in the suite, unwiped, when Shane comes in from the Kahuna Bar, baby-drunk and alone. He locates the source of the bad smell before hearing Armond’s attempted escape.

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who run out of the room when they hear a suspicious clatter and those who pick up the pineapple knife. I suppose there are two kinds of shitters, too: those who come out with their hands up and those who aren’t built for surrender. When Armond walks into Shane’s knife, it’s an accident, and it’s inevitable. There’s only so much chaos one story line can hold.

At the start of a vacation, it always feels as if you have all the time in the world to sleep late and check out the island; the end of a vacation always sneaks up on you. Before her flight, Tanya dashes out to the sea to throw her mother’s ashes in the air and dance through the ghost of her. Quinn cries as he squints out at the water he has fallen completely in love with. Rachel shows up at the airline gate promising to be happy; she may not even know about the other vacant body on the flight. Paula is reading Discourses on Colonialism, and Liv is reading Lacan or maybe they’re just making the sounds of the words in their minds before moving on. Nicole is counting her bangles. I repeat, Nicole is counting her bangles. Back at the resort, Belinda prepares to welcome this week’s guests. Every day is Groundhog Day at the White Lotus. Every guest is the same guest.

Except, perhaps, Quinn, who runs away when his parents’ backs are turned. Whether it buys him a life of independence or just one more day at sea, I clapped. The series did not end on a whimper; in fact, it hasn’t ended at all. But when season two of The White Lotus comes to HBO, I’ll be interested to see how many people want to return to the cloistered world of the squirmy, unthinking rich. That freedom you want for Quinn? It’s what you want for yourself, too.

What did you miss? For a review of the last episode, click HERE

From AV Club: https://www.avclub.com/as-it-closes-out-a-strong-third-season-american-gods-c-1846506569

American gods S3 Ep 10:
Tears of the Wrath-Bearing Tree

Should we really be surprised that the tally at the end of American Gods‘ third season is Mr. Wednesday: one, Shadow Moon: Less than zero?

Shadow spent most of Sunday’s finale hanging from a mystical tree, undergoing a vigil for his recently deceased father, Mr. Wednesday (aka the Norse god Odin). As time passed and the tree’s vines dug deeper and deeper into his skin, Shadow experienced visions featuring the orisha, the buffalo with flaming eyes and his ex-wife, Laura… and then he found himself on a plane, sitting across from Wednesday.

“Oh, please tell me death isn’t being on a plane with you,” Shadow said, and Wednesday replied that “technically, we are somewhere in between.” And as the horror on Shadow’s face grew as the realization of what was happening set in, Wednesday voiced it: “A blood sacrifice by a son? Wow. That’s powerful enough to restore me to all my former glory. Odin the all-father, all powerful once again.”

Back in the real world, the tree’s vines completely enveloped Shadow. And as a storm rolled in, Wednesday’s corpse seemed to disappear from where it lay at the foot of the tree; the shroud blew off in the breeze. “Is this the death of the Old Gods?” Czernobog wondered. “Or something much worse?” Mr. Ibis mused.

And with that kind of a cliffhanger, TVLine needed to get series stars Ian McShane, Ricky Whittle and Yetide Badaki on the phone for their take on the episode, as well as what might happen in a potential Season 4. Read on for their thoughts on:

WEDNESDAY’S LONG CON | Though it came as no surprise to those who’d read Neil Gaiman’s novel on which the series is based, the fact that Wednesday masterminded his own death is the hour’s biggest surprise. But really, McShane explains, what other choice did the Old God have? “His plan has failed with Johan, Marilyn Manson’s character. Tyr came out of the blue, did those things. Demeter, it didn’t work out there,” he explains. “And it’s like saying, ‘Screw it, I’ll have to think of something else.’ So I think Wednesday says, ‘Fine, I’m going to get rid of myself for a while. I’ll see if Shadow can stand up for me when I’m gone.'”

SHADOW AS STOOGE | “It really is heartbreaking for Shadow, that moment,” Whittle says of the sudden understanding that his very existence has been in service of the manipulative, lying Mr. Wednesday. “He’s never had a father in his whole life, not even a father figure, and then here we have a father who is all-powerful Odin… [Shadow has] truly found a place in this world, and although there’s lots of craziness around him, he’s growing into. He’s realizing that he’s special and that he might have a part to play… and that maybe he’s meant to rule alongside his father.” The fact that Shadow begrudgingly let Wednesday past his defenses and got played is the younger man’s “worst nightmare, when you realize that he never loved you and you were never important to him,” Whittle adds. “In fact, you were only there so that he could use you to become even more powerful.”





LAURA + BILQUIS 4EVA? | Toward the end of the episode, Bilquis seeks out Laura and says, “Thank Gods I’ve found you.” The moment, Badaki says, just might signify a new partnerships between two characters who hadn’t been in the same scene since the Motel America diner in Season 2 — and who’ve each had a hell of a journey of self-discovery in the meantime. “For these individuals that have now learned about themselves, have now stepped into their own power, the idea of being able to come together is… a powerful thing,” she previews.

NO MORE MR. NICE SHADOW | Whittle says he’s not sure what a potential Season 4 would look like for his character… but he’s not mad about the idea that Shadow might be a seething, super-charged ball of vengeance. “This is an actual demigod. This is someone with power, motive, strength,” he points out. “It will be a great challenge to play this morally good demigod who’s being burned by his father, and what that looks like in Season 4.”