Alabama (1) 55 vs Utah State, 0

Young gets 6 TDs, No. 1 Alabama routs Utah State 55-0

By JOHN ZENOR

September 3, 2022 

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Bryce Young’s five touchdown passes were nothing all that new for Alabama’s Heisman Trophy winner.

That 63-yard sprint down the left sideline and other big runs presented a seldom seen side of his game.

Young didn’t just throw for those touchdowns — all in the first half — he even ran for 100 yards and a score in No. 1 Alabama’s 55-0 opening victory over Utah State on Saturday night.

It was, he said, a “cool” and “interesting” experience.

“I just try to do whatever is best for this team, whatever the defense gives us,” Young said. “That’s definitely interesting. It definitely wasn’t something I was planning. For me, it’s just taking whatever the defense gives us.

“Today that was just what was available. It’s cool.”

The Crimson Tide began their quest for national title redemption with a not unexpected start-to-finish domination of the six-touchdown underdog Aggies (1-1). Less anticipated: Young’s runs.

Known primarily as a passer with a penchant for scrambling and buying time, Young flashed his running ability more than he ever did last season, including a 63-yarder down the left sideline.

He also spread the ball around to Alabama’s new set of playmakers, with two touchdown passes to both Georgia transfer Jermaine Burton and Traeshon Holden and some handoffs to Jahmyr Gibbs.

Young ran five times after netting zero yards thanks to sacks last season with a previous long run of 16 yards. He also completed 18 of 28 passes for 195 yards before exiting one drive into the second half following his TD run.

“I see Bryce do that on the regular, so it wasn’t really new to me,” Alabama safety Brian Branch said. “Just watching him be himself out there is truly amazing. Playing with a Heisman winner, I can’t describe it.”

Gibbs, a much talked about transfer from Georgia Tech, flashed his speed with a 58-yard run on the first play after the half. He finished with 93 yards on nine rushes.

His backup, Jase McClellan, caught a pair of TD passes.

Alabama outgained the Aggies 559-136 in total yards.

“It is what it is, and I’ve seen people in the SEC come here and get treated exactly the same way,” Utah State coach Blake Anderson said. “We’re not built that way. We’re a long ways from being able to play that game physically and match up. Maybe we’ll never be able to.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Utah State, which finished last season ranked, had won two straight games against Power 5 teams and started off strong with a 23-yard gain. Then the offense stalled and the defense was overwhelmed by Young & Co. The Aggies couldn’t turn a late blocked punt into points.

Alabama: Spent the offseason stewing over a loss to Georgia in the national championship game and came in as the favorite to win the national title, according to FanDuel sportsbook. Then Alabama did pretty much what it wanted to against a mismatched opponent. The Tide put some new playmakers on display after losing receivers Jameson Williams and John Metchie III and tailback Brian Robinson Jr.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Alabama didn’t do anything to diminish its status as the team to beat, but No. 3 Georgia and No. 2 Ohio State got the chance to make much bigger statements. The Bulldogs beat 11th-ranked Oregon 49-3. The Buckeyes topped No. 5 Notre Dame, 21-10.

SIDELINED Louisville transfer wide receiver Tyler Harrell had a walking boot on his right foot and didn’t dress for the game. Tight end Cameron Latu also missed the game with a knee injury.

CHANNELING SABAN

Saban emphasized it wasn’t a perfect performance and there’s plenty of room for improvement. His players echoed that sentiment.

“It was good, but we still have stuff to work on,” Branch said. “It’s not like we played a perfect game.”

Added Saban: “No disrespect to Utah State — their players played hard, they’ve got a good little team. But we’re going to play teams that are much more physical and aggressive and talented than what they are, so we’re going to have to do things correctly.”

UP NEXT

Utah State hosts Weber State on Sept. 10.

Alabama visits a Texas team led by former Tide offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian.

Louisiana Tech, 24 at Missouri, 52

Burden shines as Mizzou rolls past Louisiana Tech, 52-24

Sep 1, 2022
AP

https://youtu.be/Qqgk2Ub-b7M

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- — When things went awry for Missouri last year, the defense was usually the culprit.

It was that side of the ball that gave the Tigers a lift in their opener against Louisiana Tech on Thursday night.

With their offense off to a slow start, the new-look bunch of coordinator Blake Baker came up with a trio of first-half interceptions, including one that Joseph Charleston returned for a score. And that was all the spark needed for the Missouri offense, who got on a roll behind heralded recruit Luther Burden III in a 52-24 victory over the Bulldogs.

"We struggled early to find a rhythm. We were not in sync," Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz acknowledged, "but we were able to capitalize on the momentum the defense created."

Brady Cook, who won the starting job in fall camp, threw for 196 yards with an interception and a touchdown run. And the trio of Cody Schrader, Nathaniel Peat and BJ Harris in the backfield each reached the end zone.

Yet it was Burden, the five-star prospect from St. Louis, who delivered on the hype. He caught a swing pass from Cook before making one defender miss and splitting two more for his first score, then he took a direct snap and ran for another.

Burden's only real gaffe came on a sharp throw that bounced off his hands for an interception.

"I see it every day, to be honest with you," Drinkwitz said of his freshman star. "I just didn't want to build it up too much."

Louisiana Tech's Matthew Downing threw for 184 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions in new coach Sonny Cumbie's version of the Air Raid offense. Downing didn't get much help from the Bulldogs' ground game, though, which ran 22 times for 11 yards against what was one of the worst rush defenses in the Football Bowl Subdivision last season.

"That's got to be better," Cumbie acknowledged. "I have to be more patient with the run."

Indeed, most of the focus around Missouri has been on the defense, which was rebuilt for new coordinator Baker around a slew of Division I transfers. And they got into the act right away: Florida arrival Ty'Ron Hopper and Charleston, a newcomer from Clemson, had two of the Tigers' three first-half interceptions.

It was the first time Missouri picked three passes in a first half since Sept. 4, 1982, against Colorado State.

"When you turn the football over three times on the road against a good team," Cumbie said, "and your margin for error is very small, and you give them seven points, the momentum builds against you."

Charleston's pick-six early in the second quarter came two plays after Schrader, who transferred in after leading Division II in rushing last season for Truman State, had catapulted into the end zone to give Missouri an early 7-3 lead.

It wasn't a perfect performance by any means for the Tigers, who nonetheless led 24-10 at the break.

They were on the move after Charleston's score when tight end Tyler Stephens fumbled the ball away inside the Louisiana Tech 10. The Tigers also blew coverage on a simple slant that Griffin Herbert turned into a 75-yard TD reception, and twice spanning halftime the Tigers were stuffed on fourth-and-short conversions.

Burden's short TD run and Cook's 20-yard scoring scamper late in the third quarter put the game away.

"The thing that is kind of good for me, the mistakes are all correctable, all really correctable — lack of execution, turnovers, the penalties," Drinkwitz said. "There's a bright future ahead of us but we have to get out of our own way."

WIN IT FOR LUPER

WR Chance Luper, who was expected to start for Missouri, went to the hospital Thursday with what Drinkwitz called "an illness" that is expected to keep him out at least six weeks. Luper is the son of Tigers running backs coach Curtis Luper.

THE TAKEAWAY

Louisiana Tech kept slinging the ball, even when the game was out of reach, and backup QB Parker McNeil was rewarded with a pair of late touchdown passes. It was a positive sign for the future of an offense designed around the pass.

Missouri will need much better offensive line play beginning with next week's trip to Kansas State. Along with failing to push the pile on fourth-and-short, the Tigers' front struggled to protect Cook and committed far too many penalties.

UP NEXT

Louisiana Tech plays its home opener against Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 10.

Missouri visits the former Big 12-rival Wildcats the same day.

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

The Boys S3 Ep 3: Barbary Coast

from Collider: https://collider.com/the-boys-season-3-episode-3-recap-barbary-coast/

BYNICHOLAS SISTIPUBLISHED JUN 06, 2022


Season 3, Episode 3 of The Boys, “Barbary Coast,” begins with a 17-year flashback, featuring a glimpse of young Starlight (Maya Misaljevic) on the “Little Miss Hero” pageant circuit as a child. Starlight’s controlling mother (Ann Cusack) counsels her before her performance when she complains of her side hurting: “Pain is just weakness leaving the body.” Starlight performs a choreographed rendition of Britney Spears’ “…Baby One More Time” while her mother stands off to the side, at times directing her daughter’s movements. At the end of the performance, Starlight puts her right hand behind her back and makes a fist, her hand shaking with the tension of having to disguise her pain. The narrative cuts to the present day, with Starlight (Erin Moriarty) watching the footage of Homelander (Antony Starr)’s shocking speech at his Annual Birthday Celebration, in which he made the decision to finally offer a sneak peek of his true colors to the world. Homelander’s gamble ultimately pays off, as Ashley (Colby Minifie) bursts into his room to tell him that he’s up by 21 points with his base.

The return of Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso) signifies a return to form for the titular Boys. Along with a new HQ in the Flatiron building and a re-unified front to stop Homelander, Hughie (Jack Quaid) has undergone some significant character developments that might one day render him immune to Butcher’s quips. He attained a new level of confidence from his swanky job at the FBSA, yet the revelation of Victoria Neuman (Claudia Domit) being the head-exploding supe nearly washed it all away. In traversing this, a weathered yet more mature Hughie has emerged, one that gleefully accepts Butcher’s “Lifetime Achievement at the Cunt of the Year Awards” distinction.

Butcher announces the next mission: talk to Grace Mallory (Laila Robins) to get the full scoop on the potential Homelander weapon. Further proving that he’s the real deal, Hughie asks without hesitation for Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) to break his arm so that Neuman won’t be suspicious of him leaving work for the day. Kimiko proceeds to snap his arm out of its socket, in what is only one of three surreal gross-out moments in this visually softer installment of The Boys.

The Boys meet up with Mallory and Ryan (Cameron Crovetti) at a safe house. Butcher presses Mallory on her secret dealings in Nicaragua that he mined from Gunpowder (Sean Patrick Flanery). Through a 1984 flashback, Mallory recounts her time stationed in Nicaragua during “Operation Charly,” an off-the-books initiative by President Reagan to drum up cash to support the Contras in their fight against the Sandinistas. Young Mallory (Sarah Swire) oversaw a cocaine trafficking operation which used the profits to buy more weapons for the Contras. She explains another element of the operation: “The unwritten policy was to sell the cocaine strictly to minority neighborhoods. Destabilize, demoralize, while staying out of white ones.”

In '84, the government added supes into the fray in the form of Payback, Vought’s superhero team at the time. Led by Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles), the decision to bring them in is explained by a young Stan Edgar (Justin Davis), who carries the same cold tone and grace as his present-day counterpart. He explains that the addition of Payback is a trial run for the return of superheroes in the military. In a first-time reveal, a young Black Noir (Fritzy-Klevans Destine), a member of Payback, is seen without his mask, arguing with Stan Edgar about the prospect of being a maskless hero. When enemy forces attack their camp, the superheroes attempt to aid the fight of the Contra soldiers, yet end up taking down some of their own people. After the battle, Black Noir is revealed to have half of his face ripped off. Crimson Countess (Laurie Holden) comes running up to Mallory, telling her that Soldier Boy has been killed by the Russians with the alleged “supe gun.” Flashing back to the present, Mallory explains that she “lost 116 men and Vought got full immunity. That was the day I decided to make them pay.”

Butcher is livid that Mallory has concealed this information for so long. He believes that if she had told him about it sooner, then Homelander might already be dead, Ryan wouldn’t have to live his life in fear, and Becca might still be alive. At this moment, Butcher reverts to his persona from Season 1: lamenting Becca’s death and focusing on destroying Homelander at all costs. Mallory offers up an indictment of Butcher, claiming that his hellbent endeavor is a selfish one and that he is just like his father. On Butcher’s way out, he tells Ryan “…maybe I don’t want to look at you after what you done to my Becca. Did you ever think about that?” Ryan storms off and tells Butcher that he hates him.

After meeting with Starlight and Homelander to supposedly reaffirm his place in the Seven, The Deep (Chace Crawford) and his wife Cassandra (Katy Breier) return to his room to have sex. In what would otherwise be considered an uncharacteristically normal sex scene in the grander context of The Boys, The Deep starts dirty talking the octopus stuck to the wall of his fish tank rather than Cassandra. However, Homelander later holds a celebratory dinner for The Deep, later revealed to be seafood-based. The Deep reluctantly eats lobster yet is unprepared for the final course: The Deep’s octopus friend Timothy. Homelander eggs on The Deep to “eat fucking Timothy,” while Cassandra texts him from across the table to eat the octopus. The Deep gives in, tragically inhaling his octopus pal who begs for his life as he is consumed by one of his own. The Deep passes his final test to return to the Seven with flying colors.

After going full supe with a Temp V injection in the previous episode, Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) begins to suffer some deleterious after-effects. He takes regular bathroom pit stops throughout the day, doubling over the sink with residual eye laser activation. The hangover reaches its apex when, in the middle of an honest heart-to-heart with Hughie after Butcher’s comments to Ryan, Butcher barfs up the Temp V all over Hughie’s face.

Before the Boys embark on the first step of their mission to attain the “supe gun,” Frenchie (Tomer Kapon) claims that he cannot go because he has a “matter of great importance.” He meets up with Cherie (Jordana Lajoie) who reveals that she has gone back to work for Little Nina (Katia Winter). She explains that she was moving product for her and had it stolen. Frenchie is then kidnapped by Nina’s henchmen and taken to her. Nina claims that Cherie stole the heroin from her, and unsuccessfully tries to convince Frenchie to kill Cherie. Their sexual history is alluded to, as Frenchie previously worked for Nina.

Before the season finale of American Hero, Starlight pulls aside Supersonic (Miles Gaston Villanueva) and explains to him the truth: that Homelander is a murderous psychopath. She attempts to convince him to let her choose someone else as the winner of the show, but he says that he needs some time to process. Homelander later approaches Starlight with a new angle for the show, touting it as the “the craziest twist”: The Deep’s return to The Seven. The Deep presents a “peace offering” diamond dolphin necklace to Starlight, which she rebukes as she kicks him out. Starlight holds the Flight 37 video over Homelander’s head. In a significant moment, Homelander highlights a stunningly valid paradox: if he loses everything, then he will have nothing to lose. He describes a nightmare scenario of pure destruction, wiping out entire cities and critical infrastructure. He declares that “I am the Homelander. And I really can do whatever the fuck I want.”

Moments before the broadcast of American Hero, Supersonic reveals to Starlight that despite her warning, he’s going through with joining the Seven. He feels a responsibility to be there for her after she refused to bail on him. Later on, at the taping, Starlight announces Supersonic as one of two winners of the series. Homelander announces The Deep as the second winner, as the two remaining contestants look on in disgust. Starlight plays her part, accepting The Deep’s apology. Homelander’s final twist manages to test Starlight’s tragically strong resolve that was established in the opening sequence. Homelander announces that he and Starlight are in love. Starlight endures a stoic state of shock as the producers rave about this plot development. They ask for a reshoot of the scene, with Starlight acting “less shocked.” This time around, Starlight leans into her role, smiling and kissing Homelander. Young Starlight’s rendition of “…Baby One More Time” plays as she reaches her right-hand back, closes her fist, and digs her fingernails into her palm.

Ball State, 10 at Tennessee, 59

Hooker leads Tennessee over Ball State, 59-10AP

AP
Sep 1, 2022
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- — Hendon Hooker threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns and ran for two more scores to lead Tennessee to a 59-10 season-opening victory over Ball State Thursday night.

Hooker, in his second year as the Volunteers' starter after transferring from Virginia Tech, had 211 yards passing by halftime along with a 38-0 lead. Eight different receiver caught passes in the first 30 minutes. He was replaced by Joe Milton midway through the third quarter.

"(Hooker) was really efficient," said Tennessee coach Josh Heupel. "He was in command; in control. He was in complete command of the football game."

Jaylen Wright led the Tennessee ground game with 86 yards and a touchdown.

"Tennessee is good at what they do from an offensive standpoint," said Ball State coach Mike Neu. "It's tough to slow down an offense like that with a quarterback playing at a high level."

"We have more guys who understand the ‘why' behind (what's being done)," said Heupel, comparing his second season to last year. "We're a deeper team than a year ago.

"We know more about this football team than a year ago. Roles are going to change throughout the season."

The Cardinals' bruising running back Carson Steele was limited to 27 yards on 11 carries.

"(We were) disruptive up front," Heupel said of his defense's success against Steele. "We controlled the edges. We didn't let him get vertical in their run game."

Making his first career start at quarterback for Ball State, redshirt junior John Paddock threw for 269 yards and a TD. His first pass, on the game's first play, was intercepted by Tamarion McDonald. Tennessee scored its first TD on the next snap.

"Credit John Paddock for battling back, especially after that punch to the gut to start the game," said Neu. "Really proud of him for battling back."

The Vol defense came up with three turnovers — two interceptions and a fumble.

NUMBERS GAME

Hooker extended his streak of games with having thrown a touchdown pass to 13, tied with Tony Robinson (1984-85) for second all-time in Vols' history behind Heath Shuler's 18 (1992-94)... Hooker's two TD passes gave him 33 in his two-year career at Tennessee, 10th on the all-time list... Vols receiver Cedric Tillman had his streak of seven consecutive games with a touchdown reception come to an end. Tillman is Tennessee's all-time leader... Tennessee has scored 45 or more points in its last four games, tying a school record set in the last four games of the 1993 season.

THE TAKEAWAY

Ball State: The best thing to come out of Thursday night's game in renovated Neyland Stadium was the $1.5 million game check that will help the athletic department. The Cardinals, picked to finish last in the Mid-American Conference West Division can set their sights on improvement after the lopsided loss.

Tennessee: With the embarrassing 2019 season-opening loss to heavy underdog Georgia State still fresh in the minds of Volunteer fans, they were able to exhale when Tennessee, under second-year head coach Josh Heupel, showed it was focused and prepared. The Vols made positive strides that they will be able to take into next week's trip to play No. 17 Pittsburgh.

UP NEXT

Ball State: The Cardinals will jump into the MAC season next Saturday when they entertain rival Western Michigan.

Tennessee: The Vols will head to Pitt Sept. 10 with revenge on their minds. Last year, Tennessee gave up 27 points in the second quarter and lost a 41-34 decision to the Panthers.

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

Black Sails S4 Ep 2

from Den of Geek: https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/black-sails-season-4-episode-2-review-xxx/

By TS Rhodes|February 6, 2017|

This week’s Black Sails is one of the best episodes in the show’s history, full of revelations and plotting and gunfire and tenderness. As has often happens in this show, the violence is epic, but the best moments come when the characters stand or sit together, by torch or candle light.

We pick up mere moments after we left – Long John Silver, having made it to land alive, has been clonked over the head, and is being dragged through the sand. Cut to Silver chained to a post. Beautiful set here, a home made from pieces of shipwreck.

Silver’s captor produces paper and a carpenter’s pencil, and announces his intention to turn Silver in for the bounty (500£) He kindly adds one more crime to Silver’s accomplishments by killing one of the Governor’s men himself, then demands that Silver write a confession to the crime.

Pirates are being hanged in Nassau and Max, supporting the Governor, tells her informants that they need to lay low, and stop helping the pirate cause. Meanwhile, Eleanor has the brilliant idea of asking her rich grandfather for cash and support. She plans to use her alignment with Woodes Rogers (who has more social clout) as leverage to gain Grandpa’s support.

Their position is becoming more dire. Blackbeard (in an entirely imaginary, but suitably theatrical move) sends a ship full of hanging corpses drifting to the city. Blackbeard is sitting out in the harbor, daring Rogers to come out and fight, while he sends Rackham and Bonny in by nightfall to kidnap Eleanor, whom he blames for Vane’s death.

Silver’s captor is none other than Israel Hands, Blackbeard’s former first mate. Hands is enraged over his treatment by Blackbeard when Vane rose to power. It seems he’s been living rough on the island for years, and Silver, ever the con man is soon spinning tales of the legend of Long John Silver, and the dead redcoats in the woods. Silver, says Silver, may be worth 500 to the British, but he’s worth far more in the power struggle with the pirates. And he claims to share Hands’ rage at Blackbeard.

Is he telling the truth? Israel Hands is an interesting character here. He is both a part of history and a part of the Treasure Island universe. The real Hands was, indeed Blackbeard’s second. And the fictional Hands appears as an alcoholic former pirate in the crew of the Hispaniola in Robert Louis Stevenson’s book.

Anne Bonny has the best speech in the episode during the raid on the plantation. Blackbeard wants to avenge Vane’s death by killing Eleanor, but Anne has mixed feelings about Max. Anne has felt kinship to Max as they are both women living in a man’s world. She has slept with Max, and may have even loved her a little. But Max tried to separate Anne from Jack, and that is something that Anne can’t forgive.

This is the quiet talk in the dark, a heart revealed. And it’s a messy heart, full of anger and affection and betrayal and lust. Anne blames it on the island.

Blackbeard is also thoughtful. Jack speaks with him about Vane, about the thought of “only a fool would give his life to earn the admiration of a corpse.” Blackbeard is sentimental here, remembering his relationship with Vane as an almost mythical partnership. But Vane would never have been as sentimental as Blackbeard. Where Blackbeard saw an omen in a large white bird, Vane saw dinner. Is it really for Vane’s memory that the pirates fight?

We began the episode with Silver helpless – a crippled man without his false leg, captured by a violent man with no reason to show mercy. By the end, he is demanding a meeting with Max, calling in what she owes him in order to support the pirate cause and establish himself as a Pirate Kind in fact as well as reputation.

But this is the Max who is invested in going straight. She arrives at the meeting place with her own muscle to support her. When Silver makes demands, she replies that she will repay him by holding him captive rather than turning him over to the redcoats.

But now Silver has Israel Hands on his side. The fight is short and bloody. Max escapes. Her men die. We close with the look on her face, and on Silver’s.

There’s very little historically wrong with this episode. Pirate trials did happen fast, and many, many pirates died showing no remorse. And while I’m not an expert on the way landholders treated their slaves, militia and the plan to hold the slave’s families hostage against rebellion is entirely plausible.

The details related about Eleanor’s family is close to history. Sets and firelight and guns and motivations are beautiful and believable.

In fact, the only flaw I can see in the whole thing is that, when Woodes Rogers’ ship is seen coming off of the quay, Blackbeard orders his own ship to “pursue.” With Rogers still closer to land, and Blackbeard holding the mouth of the harbor, the order should have been to “intercept.” Pretty good history for an hour about pirates.


Bravo, Starz! It looks like we’ll this last season will be a high note.

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

Evil S2 Ep 8: B is for Brain

from TVline.com: https://tvline.com/2021/09/05/evil-recap-season-2-episode-8-b-is-for-brain/

Andy returns in this week’s Evil. And by the end of the episode, I’m willing to bet that he’d rather cross the Khumbu Icefall armed only with dental floss and a pair of woolen mittens than try to figure out what the holy heck is up with Kristen these days.

She’s self-harming. She’s punching dudes in grocery stores. She’s demanding that he wear an animal mask while they have sex. It’s a bad scene when your mother-in-law — who’s currently worshipping a doll, remember — is in the right, but Andy, what Sheryl said is true: You’ve been gone too long.

There’s also some very intriguing God-helmet stuff that unfolds during the hour. Read on for the highlights of “B Is For Brain.”

HELLO, ANDY | Kristen is drinking the monks’ whiskey in the bathtub (ha!) when her girls announce that their father will be home in just a few minutes. She’s less than thrilled. But she pastes on a smile and goes down to greet Andy. When they’re alone later, he announces “I need sex,” and she’s into it, but she flinches when he pulls her close. Turns out, she has several cross-shaped burns on the skin of her abdomen, injuries she explains away by saying that she leaned into the stove by accident. Andy is incredulous, but the prospect of nookie distracts him… until she seems to get off on his hurting her by touching the wounds.

Don’t worry, it gets weirder. She grabs a bag from her closet and pulls out gags (did she steal those from the monastery?) and animal masks; he gets a rat, and she gets a tiger. They go at it, and it’s apparently a satisfactory experience for both of them. Yet when he wants to cuddle afterward, she skedaddles out of bed and doesn’t seem to care much when one of the girls sees her, still in mask and lingerie, in the bathroom.

GOING TO HELMET IN A HANDBASKET | The next day, Kristen, David and Ben are at a research lab. The scientists there are mapping the brain to investigate neurodegenerative disease, but the electrode-studded helmet they place on their subjects has been causing some to think that they’re communing with God. Kristen scoffs that the Vatican only wants them to look into the project to see whether technology can be used to convert people to the faith, though she concedes that stimulation of the temporal lobe — which the helmet does — could lessen depression and cause ecstasy, as one woman reports. The problem, though? Some test subjects report experiencing Hell while strapped to the unit.

So our trio decides to try it out. Ben is first. He has a vision of his dead mother, who tells him she wanted him to understand science but not reject Allah. “I did not reject Allah,” he tells her. “Allah rejected me.” Still, though, she takes him by the hand and they wander through their old neighborhood. But when a prostitute walks by and takes off her veil, she’s a scary, dark cloud of ghost. In the test area Ben rips off the helmet and runs from the room.

CLEANUP ON AISLE 2! | Kristen is next. But before we get to her experience, let’s talk about how Andy finds the red unicorn journal in her closet, and it’s filled with maps of houses (and are those sigils on them?). And later, when he and Kristen are in a supermarket and a douchey guy cuts them in line, Kristen goes to the frozen aisle, grabs a bag of French fries, and whallops the guy so hard that he hits the ground. (Real talk? Right before this, Kristen is telling Andy about how she misses the way they were before kids, when they “didn’t give a f—k,” and while my personal manifestation of this type of personality dissonance usually manifests in an ill-advised one-more-glass-of-wine-than-everyone-else-is-having, followed by tipsy online shopping at 2 am, I FEEL YOU, MAMA.)

Anyway, back to the helmet. As we watch, it seems like David is going next. But his vision is of Kristen, selecting an ice axe and then going to Orson LeRoux’s house to murder him with it. Kristen is shaken when David privately tells her what he saw; she hightails it to Kurt’s office, who advises that she confess to David, if nothing more than for the placebo effect, which could alleviate her physical symptoms. “THIS IS HER THING, ISN’T IT?” I write in my notes at this point, and it IS. She goes to David’s room at the rectory and when it opens, Leland is gnawing on David’s arm while David screams in pain on the floor.

She’s very disoriented when she takes off the helmet, and she can’t figure out why one of her boots is buckled now; it very clearly wasn’t before she donned the apparatus. Anyway, for real now, she runs to Kurt. He observes that she talks about David a lot, but that Andy is home after a long time away, and she’s barely mentioned him. “Reflect on what you want in this moment. If it’s your husband, it’s your husband. If it’s David, it’s David,” he says. But she says that David isn’t obtainable, because he’s about to become a priest. However, Kurt notes, “If he doesn’t become a priest, he’s not unobtainable.”

‘MAPS TO KILL PEOPLE’ | David is the last to put on the helmet… and he sees nothing. But Sister Andrea has an easy explanation for that — his visions are from God, not from being zapped by electrodes, she says — and they’ve got bigger problems, anyway. She faced off with Leland earlier in the episode and managed to stare him down by wielding a kitchen knife and a steel demeanor. But the bad guys are getting stronger, she warns. So she instructs him to meditate more and “start over,” because Leland will be back.

Ultimately, Bishop Marx is frustrated when David says the Vatican should not look into the helmet, Kristen says it “absolutely” should and Ben is torn. Back at home, after getting read for filth by Sheryl and her creepy puppet of the damned, Andy suggests that they sell the climbing business and that she quit her job, because something in it is “making you different.” She gets very angry very quickly, raising her voice as she protests that her work is “making me tougher. It’s making me more self-sufficient.” In fact, her job is “our lifesaver,” she says.

Her ire, though, is doused when Andy pulls out the unicorn journal and says that Laura told him that the blueprints are “maps to kill people.” Kristen starts crying, overcome, explaining that they’re a therapeutic tool to manage her anger. She’s so clearly done for the day, and he lays down behind her and puts his arm around her to comfort her.

Later on, though, when Andy is asleep, Kristen creeps downstairs. She heats a crucifix over one of the stove’s burners. When it’s glowing hot, she lays it on her bare stomach, presses it in and then claps a hand over her mouth to stifle her scream.

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

Star Trek Picard S2 Ep 5:
Fly Me To The Moon

Despite Paramount pouring many millions into "Star Trek," it seems "Halo" has been the recent draw as the new sci-fi show's premiere broke the streaming channel's records(opens in new tab) this week on Paramount Plus(opens in new tab). And while recent episodes of "Picard" have been some of the best "Star Trek" we've seen since the first season of "Discovery" back in September 2017, there are early indications that Season 2 of Jean-Luc's ongoing adventures is beginning to slip. But more on that later.

The tribute to "Star Trek: The Voyage Home" was evidently limited to just one episode and we've moved on, way past that now, with episode 5, entitled "Fly Me To The Moon." That said, there are still a lot of exciting plot threads to continue with and we pick up more or less straightaway from last week's episode with Picard (Patrick Stewart) talking to Laris Tallinn (Orla Brady). He concludes that she's a sort of "Supervisor," similar in principal to a one-time character called Gary Seven who appeared in an episode of "The Original Series" entitled "Assignment: Earth" (S02, E26), which was actually an attempt to jump-start a potential spin-off series.

According to Memory Alpha(opens in new tab), Gary Seven (played by Robert Lansing) was a human-looking male whose ancestors were abducted from Earth around 4000BC and taken to another planet. He was a Class 1 "Supervisor" sent to Earth in 1968 to discover why his superiors lost contact with Agent 201 and Agent 347. When he discovered they were killed in an car accident, he assumed their mission. Using advanced alien technology, he continued their mission to make sure mankind did not destroy itself with nuclear weapons.

There were subtle indications(opens in new tab) that this connection was coming and even if you missed those, lest we forget how "Discovery" tapped into "The Original Series" back in the Season 3 two-part episode "Terra Firma" with the Guardian of Forever. And while there's nothing wrong with this, it would be nice to see these throwbacks developed further, rather than appearing to be casually-regarded, short-lived references used when new ideas seem to be thin on the ground. Perhaps we'll learn more about the backstory of Laris Tallinn later, but given the rapid turnaround of guest-star characters in this show so far, it feels unlikely. And we'll come to that too, a little later.


We see the same young girl that Q (John de Lancie) was obsessing over during his lunch break last week only now she's in a kind of spacecraft cockpit simulator and not doing a very good job with an orbital debris evasion practice run. A French flag patch can be seen on her arm before a head and shoulders close reveals her name badge, Renée Picard (played by Penelope Mitchell).

Picard provides some helpful exposition, "The Europa Mission was a pioneering space flight in my history," so you'd think he'd remember that a Picard was on it. In "Star Trek: Generations," he says to Deanna Troi, "From being a small child, I can remember being told about the family line. The Picard who fought at Trafalgar. The Picard who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. The Picards who settled the first Martian colonies…" Confirming the family's importance through history, but he'd surely remember this. (Then again, it didn't even occur to him that an "alien living in Los Angeles in the 21st century" might be Guinan.)

Turns out she's supposed to be on the prime crew for Expedition Europa, which was an early interplanetary mission to the Jovian moon of Europa. We've even seen big billboard posters promoting — for some reason — this mission when Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd) were causing havoc in downtown Los Angeles.

All that's known about Renée is that she "discovered a microorganism on Io that she believed was sentient and convinced the mission commander to bring it back to Earth." Given all the twisty-turny timey-wimey nonsense that's been going on of late, especially with whether or not Guinan would've known Picard, it's probably best to just not think about it too much, a bit like how the writers haven't.

Following the opening credits we're back on the crashed La Sirena and the Borg Queen (Annie Wersching) is up to some clever mischief. Tapping into the nearby cellphone towers, she calls the local constabulary and reports, "There are screams coming from the Picard vineyard!" This has the desired effect and a poor policier from little La Barre comes to pay a visit. Raffi and Seven meanwhile have managed to rescue Cristóbal Rios (Santiago Cabrera). So, you know, phew.

Upon watching some video footage of a therapy session with young Renée that Laris Tallinn has managed to get hold of, they can see that Q, who's gone full Freud, is the one who is surreptitiously trying to talk the young astronaut out of going on the mission, which suggests a whole new level of intervention from Picard's omnipotent adversary. In the past, Q's been satisfied with purely observing the various outcomes in his experiments in alternative history, but this is active interference. And then we get the biggest surprise of this episode, a Soong (Brent Spiner) and Soji character cameo.

This is a brand new incarnation of Dr. Soong, bookending his appearance in the first season of "Picard" as that was the oldest Soong we've seen, in the 24th century and now this one, in the 21st century marks the earliest. And since it's the modus operandi of this show to incorporate as many of the much-loved former cast members of "The Next Generation," it feels apt. The problem is, as we've mentioned, so far, it's been a rather rapid in the turnaround of potentially interesting reinvented characters.

And that's a shame, because as we see, Q versus Dr. Soong — with two exceptional, heavyweight classically trained actors playing the roles — could arguably be the greatest single match up in "Star Trek" since…well, Captain Kirk took on Trelane in "The Original Series" episode "The Squire of Gothos" (S01, E18). Who knows, maybe he'll turn up next week.

This episode isn't directed by Lea Thompson — although she makes a brief appearance as the chairman of the board that revokes Dr. Soong's license for breaking the Shenzhen Convention and running genetic experiments on soldiers with a privatized military organization, Spearhead Operations. This episode is once again in the hands of Jonathan Frakes and evidence of that will become obvious later in the episode.

Soong is struggling to find a cure for his daughter Kore's (Isa Briones) rare and unusual condition and Q introduces himself by way a cryptic business card, which incidentally has a number on it that you can actually call to hear a prerecorded message from the irksome entity. He gives Soong a test sample, which works, for a short period. But now Q has his claws well and truly sunk into the dodgy doctor so he'll naturally do anything for the promise of a permanent sure.

Meanwhile, on La Sirena, the poor policeman has totally failed to detect either Dr. Jurati (Alison Pill) fast asleep on the sofa, or the smell of the fire that they lit earlier. He's instead drawn to the voice of the Borg Queen who's imitating the sound of someone in distress. Jurati finally wakes up, grabs an antique shotgun and goes back into the crashed ship herself to see what's going on. She finds the Queen holding the policeman hostage and give her both barrels. Go Agnes.

Not long after, everyone regroups at the ship and Jurati explains what happens. Out intrepid time travelling team hatch a plan to crash a fancy gala where young Renée will be in attendance. This new plot thread has distinct a "Stardust City Rag" vibe from last season along with an element of "Mission: Impossible," as even the accompanying music helps set the tone in a trademark Frakes set piece. Jurati cleverly, deliberately lets herself get caught by security guards so that she's held in the security surveillance room, where through the power of flashback, we see how the Borg Queen was able to get two assimilation tubules(opens in new tab) into her neck before she "died" from her shotgun wounds.

Roll closing credits on what is an interesting episode that gets better the more you watch it. The worry is where it goes from here. Guinan was undoubtedly underused and let's hope that next week's story isn't just a format to introduce yet more cameo characters for just the space of one episode. The Brent Spiner versus John de Lancie match up is worth half the season alone and it's great to have yet another ancestor of the legendary father of eugenics appear in "Star Trek."

Rating: 7½/10