HBO has confirmed the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones will return in 2019 with six-episodes.
The news confirms what many fans and critics expected after the conclusion of the seventh season, which saw a delayed premiere due to the story requiring filming in the winter. No premiere date has been given at the time of the statement. While not confirmed, each episode is rumored to run about an hour and a half in length.
HBO’s full statement can be read below:
The epic fantasy series Game of Thrones will return for its six-episode, eighth and final season in 2019.
David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, David Nutter and Miguel Sapochnik will be the directors for the new season. Writers for the new season are David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, Bryan Cogman and Dave Hill.
The executive producers of the series are David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Carolyn Strauss, Frank Doelger and Bernadette Caulfield. Co-executive producers are Bryan Cogman, Guymon Casady, Vince Gerardis and George R.R. Martin.
I apologize for being MIA the past few episodes of Runaways. Part of this is due to real-life obligations/the holidays, but it is also because I have been growing increasingly disappointed with this show. While I was still unimpressed by the first half of this week’s episode, by the end of Doomsday I had hope for next week’s finale and what a second season of the show could bring.
I went into the pilot of Marvel’s Runaways very excited and with high expectations. I absolutely love the comics and having Josh Schwartz adapt it for Hulu felt like a personal birthday present. When I watched the pilot, and it was apparent that the TV adaptation would be deviating from the source material in certain aspects, I was even more excited. This meant that I would be able to enjoy the essence of what I loved about the comics but still be surprised and engaged by plots twists and turns.
Over the past couple of week I have been trying to figure out what has caused me to lose so much interest in the TV version of Runaways. At first, I thought that I was comparing the show to the comics too much and that I was more obsessed with figuring out how things would turn out if things didn’t happen like they did in the comics. What I finally realized was that my issue is that the changes made directly impact aspects of what this story is fundamentally about.
My main issue is with the introduction of Jonah. Instead of being evil masterminds working for Gibborim, Pride is a group of individuals who were unknowingly lured into making a deal with the devil (except for Leslie and Tina who were aware of the devil). As was referenced in “Metamorphasis” most of Pride didn’t realize that the gifts that Jonah bestowed upon them came at the price of human sacrifice, and by the time they did, it was too late to get out. Jonah’s role as the mastermind behind Pride decreases the culpability that the parents have regarding their actions. While the parents are undeniably committing heinous acts, the fact that they were originally conned into murdering runaway teens makes them more sympathetic characters which fundamentally changes the relationship between the teens and their parents.
Another aspect that frustrates me is what seems like the erasure of the show’s connection to the Marvel-verse. I first noticed this in Metamorphasis when Tina tells Nico that the Staff of One reads her mind by pricking her finger and using electrical pulses through her blood, or something like that. My first thought was “Did they really just use science talk to explain away the Staff of One?” But my second thought was even more important: this means that Nico isn’t a witch. Instead, the only connection that the Staff of One now has to magic is that it was created at a tech company called Wizard.
Then, this week on “Doomsday” the origin of Molly’s power also gets muddled and confusing. Up until this point, I thought it was safe to assume that Molly was a mutant. In the comics she and her parents were mutants, and the show seemed to follow this route as well. It was expected that her search for information about her parents would yield information about her mutant abilities. Well I was wrong because her search for information about her parents led her to a VHS where Mr. and Mrs. Hernandez warn their daughter that Pride dig site isn’t actually renewable energy but instead rock holes with mutant fungi that will destroy the world. Then, through a flashback, we learn that baby Molly most likely got her powers from poking those mutant fungi rocks. What the actual F is going on right now.
The Dance of Love
I know I just spent a good portion of this review criticizing this show, but this episode did have it’s good moments. Namingly, everything from the dance on.
The teens decide to try and stop their parents from destroying the world and use the school dance as their cover. And boy, do things get hot and steamy at this dance.
When Gert arrives at the mansion that their dance is held, she immediately heads inside to find Chase. And find each other inside they did. Man I love these two. I love how Chase smiles when he talks to his mom about Gert. I love the way that Chase looks at Gert. I just love them. While at the dance, the pair reflect on how crazy their life has become, and decide that since this may be their last night on earth they should have a final dance. And by final dance I mean run off into the abandoned wedding hall to have a quick sexy sesh under the chuppa.
Outside in the car the rest of the kids are wondering where Gert and Chase are so Nico and Karolina form a search party and head into the mansion. Once inside, Karolina decides that she too must seize the day, and she gathers all of her courage to finally kiss Nico. To Karolina’s surprise, Nico kisses her back. SHE KISSES HER BACK! I don’t know where the show is going to take this, but dear lord, this was amazing. I just really hope they don’t have Nico explain away the kiss by saying she was upset about Alex.
The Construction Site
The four lovebirds rejoin the rest of the team and head over to the digsite where they reach their first roadblock: Gibborim Security. Karolina advises the security guard to call her father Frank who she has been confiding in regarding the nefarious action of Pride. She is sure that he will vouch for her far fetching story of needing to enter the construction site for a school project. What she doesn’t know is that Frank has been feeding all this intel to Jonah, who informs Pride of their children’s whereabouts.
When the runaways enter the dig site they find a much larger hole than they ever expected, and decide to split up to conquer the hole. Full disclosure, I really do not understand their plan. First, Molly and Karolina are tasked with pushing a large truck into the hole possibly to see how deep it is? What ends up happening is that Molly pushes the truck all by her lonesome while Karolina shouts words of encouragement from behind. Next, Gert and Chase go to try and stop the drill using tech knowledge. The pair take this time to have a non-talk about having slept together under a chuppah a mere hour before. Gert, unsure how to process the events, reverts back to her coping mechanism of calling Chase stupid and calling the affair a one time deal. What she really means is “I can’t deal with the possible end of the world and the fact we just slept together at the same time so I am just going to be mean to you.” Chase is confused and taken aback, but he has more important things to think about, like destroying the computer controlling the drill with his fistigons.
With the truck in the depths of the hole, and the machinery blown to smithereens there is only one thing left to do: fill the hole. Nico uses her handy Staff of One to cast a “Fill the Hole” spell but as she does the Staff magically flies out of her hands into Tina’s who has just arrived with the rest of Pride. It is time for the teens to confront their parents face to face.
Other Things
Apparently, Leslie didn’t know that Karolina could glow, but she feared that she might be able to. I don’t know much about Godly being genetics, but I feel like it would be safe to assume if you have a baby with a God, that kid will be part god as well.
The writing at certain parts of this episode seemed SO forced. Here is a prime example that I just cannot forgive
Karolina: “Crack the windows though, this is LA. If anybody sees an animal in the car they’ll call the cops. Even if it is a dinosaur.”
The latest film in the Star Wars franchise has succeeded in taking bold surprising risks yet nonetheless remains true to the spirit of what made the space opera resonate with audiences for so many years. There were so many things going on during the course of two hours and 33 minutes but I wanted to take a moment to focus on a uniquely elegant weapon amidst a sea of blasters and new deadly armaments. Full disclosure, I have wanted my own lightsaber since the age of 13 and even studied fencing in college to secretly live out my dream of becoming a Jedi…anyways…
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE LAST JEDI. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
The notable weapon has been an iconic part of the series since Episode IV and it plays an important part of Episode VIII as well. We all know that Luke inherited his father Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber from Jedi master Obi Wan Kenobi back in Tatooine. He had it with him on the ice planet Hoth where he used it to kill a Wampa and make a hole inside an AT-AT walker to throw in a bomb during the Galactic Empire’s attack on the rebel base. Luke also possessed the weapon during his training on Dagobah with Yoda as well as when he left for Bespin to help his friends. It was on the cloud planet when he encountered Darth Vader and battled the dark lord of the Sith where he lost both a hand and a lightsaber.
Fun factoid, this was actually Anakin’s second lightsaber having lost his first one on Geonosis.
Many years later the weapon resurfaces with Maz Kanata (played by Lupita Nyong’o), a former pirate and smuggler in The Force Awakens. We first see it when Rey (Daisy Ridley) finds it in Maz’s castle, having been drawn to it through the Force. When she touched the hilt, visions flooded her mind and frightened her immensely. Understandably the scavenger didn’t want anything to do with it. Maz though gives it to Finn, suspecting that Rey would need it in the future. This indeed happens when the two friends are running for their lives in the snowy forests on Starkiller Base. The ex-Stormtrooper gets knocked out by Kylo Ren and the two Force wielders engage in a lightsaber duel. The scavenger from Jakku emerges the victor despite having no training whatsoever. Episode VII ends with Rey on the island where Luke is, offering him his old lightsaber and audiences screamed in anticipation.
Picking up where TFA left off, The Last Jedi shows Luke taking the weapon with his mechanical hand and simply throwing it over his shoulder in utter disregard. He doesn’t want anything to do with Rey nor has any inclination to return to the fight despite the younger woman’s plea that his sister Leia needs his help. Thankfully the lightsaber didn’t fall into the water, but sat safely on a ledge and is later found by Rey (porgs were interested in it too). She tries to convince him repeatedly that he needs to come back to no avail. The scavenger is a stubborn one though and stays on the island despite his clear desire for her to leave him the hell alone. With nothing else to do, she begins to do some combat practice with her staff and then decides to try it with the Jedi master’s weapon and she looks pretty good wielding it, once again without any real training whatsoever. Luke watches on with some interest but walks away after she accidentally slices through a piece of rock. Whoopsies. At another point in time she instinctively uses the Force to pull the lightsaber to her and almost attacks Luke with it during a very heated confrontation. During this skirmish, he shows viewers that he’s still nimble and incredibly skilled in a way we’d never seen in the original trilogy. Yes, my inner geek was squealing in pure joy the entire time.
Rey decides to leave the island with the hope of turning Kylo Ren/Ben Solo back from the dark side, having had a vision of his future when the duo Force touched across space. She tries to once again ask Luke to come back with her and save his nephew but he still refuses. She departs with Chewie on the Falcon and takes Luke’s lightsaber with her when she gets into an escape pod to go to Snoke’s ship. Once within the hangar bay, Kylo greets her with stormtroopers and handcuffs. He then takes her to Supreme Leader Snoke’s chambers where the Force-sensitive head of the First Order resides.
What follows next is an incredibly intense set of moments that grips your heart and doesn’t let go. Snoke is definitely team dark side but he doesn’t appear to be a Sith Lord as he doesn’t use the title Darth. He uses the Force to take the blue lightsaber and one can’t help but compare this scene to Emperor Palpatine, Vader, and Luke on the second Death Star in Return of the Jedi. The younger Skywalker’s earlier warning to Rey that this isn’t going to turn out the way she thinks it will is a little reminder to fans as well because boy this sequence was insane in the best way possible. So Snoke tells Rey that she’s naïve in thinking that she can turn Kylo back to the light side because he knows his apprentice’s every thought and feeling. It was the Supreme Leader who actually made the Force connection between the two and manipulated them both to do his bidding. She tries to retaliate but the disfigured humanoid creature is much stronger and easily deflects her attempts to attack him. Meanwhile Kylo is kneeling before his master much like Vader did with the Emperor. Snoke now senses a strong resolve in his pupil and tells him that he must kill Rey to fulfill his destiny. As he narrates what’s going on in Kylo’s mind, audiences may think that the scavenger is done for as the ex-Jedi is ready to kill his true enemy. But then he uses the Force to turn the blue lightsaber towards his master and activates it, slicing the Supreme Leader in half. What follows next shows us what a powerful duo Rey and Kylo make when they work together. They are able to take out Snoke’s Praetorian guards through both individual battles and teamwork.
The next pivotal moment is when Kylo tells Rey that they need to let the past die, both the Sith and Jedi. He wants her to join him and they can rule the galaxy together. He even tells her that she knows deep down that her parents were insignificant nobodies who sold her off for drinking money and that they were dead and buried in unmarked graves on Jakku. Kylo makes her admit that she knew this deep down but he adds that she matters to him. He offers her his hand and even asks “please.” Well holy nerf herders! Rey’s hand begins to reach out and film attendees everywhere gasp not knowing what’s going to happen next as she Force grabs the blue lightsaber! But it doesn’t come to her because Kylo is fighting back trying to bring the weapon to him. It’s a battle of wills for this object that’s been tied to so many Force wielders and is a Skywalker legacy. Both individuals are giving it their all and it results in the lightsaber breaking in half and causing a small explosion. This is such an important moment in the film and in the Star Wars universe as a whole because it symbolizes the end of the old and the beginning of something new.
Interestingly enough as well, when Luke appears in Krayt to battle his nephew, he is using his father’s lightsaber again instead of his green one from Return of the Jedi. Earlier during the flashback scene with Luke and Ben Solo many years ago, we see the Jedi master wielding the green blade as he considers killing Leia and Han’s son after seeing the darkness within the boy. So why did the he choose to use his first lightsaber in this confrontation? Perhaps he felt that he had to return to his roots. Kylo must have been so focused on his anger towards his uncle that he didn’t notice that he and Rey had just fought over the very same weapon the Jedi was holding.
This scene was incredibly nostalgic as well, harkening Ben Kenobi’s battle with Vader in Episode IV on the first Death Star. We have two masters fighting against former pupils who’ve gone dark. I was anxious the entire time because I was expecting Luke to pull an Obi Wan and vanish before Kylo’s eyes. It does eventually happen with a twist! Surprise Skywalker isn’t actually there, he’s been on the island the whole time and was Force projecting himself being the OG that he is. Luke then sits himself on the rock, gazes at the horizon and vanishes peacefully.
As he does, both Leia and Rey sense his presence vanish as the old Jedi became one with the Force. Inside the Falcon, the scavenger is holding the two halved pieces of the blue lightsaber (and we see the Kyber crystal within!) and asks General Organa how they can possibly rebuild. The princess calmly answers that they have everything they need. Given that the lightsaber is an essential part of Jedi training, I can’t imagine Rey not having one of her own in the next film. Perhaps the Jedi texts that were hidden on the Falcon (did she take them from the island?) will hold an instructional guide on how to build one herself.
The blue lightsaber was tied to so many important characters in the Star Wars universe and had gone through so many different battles that it’s hard to say goodbye. It had been with Anakin through the Clone Wars, with Luke through the Galactic Civil War, and been kept safe by both Obi Wan and Maz. On it’s final run with Rey, the weapon was able to take out a big villain in Snoke and perhaps she’ll be able to rebuild it to truly make it her own. One can hope at least! I’m counting on you J.J. Abrams.
Mr. Robot Season 3, Episode 10: “eps3.9_shutdown-r”
Original Air Date: December 13th, 2017
Grade: B+
In the season 3 finale, the silence is broken as Elliot and Mr. Robot share a breakthrough, the Dark Army closes in, and Irving goes full on American Psycho outside of a barn. We finally learn why Phillip Price is so invested in Angela, and Elliot makes a choice for himself, as the series reaches a major turning point.
“I should have never done this. I should have left this alone. I’ll never learn… This is on me.” – Elliot
Grant and the Dark army raid Elliot’s place, as Elliot hides across the hall in Shayla’s old apartment. Concerned that the Dark Army has taken Darlene, Elliot asks Mr. Robot for help.
They argue over why they haven’t been talking all season. Elliot admits that it’s because he fears the part of him that is Mr. Robot. Mr. Robot confesses that had he known about the bombings, he would’ve found another way. They acknowledge that they’re part of one another: just as Mr. Robot is a part of Elliot, Elliot in ways, has been influencing Mr. Robot. This is a major turning point in the coming together of Elliot’s split-personalities. Though, it only works because they’ve acted with separate interests all season.
Mr. Robot shares with Elliot that thes a mole in the FBI is Santiago. They raid and search through Santiago’s belongings but get interrupted by Irving, who suggests that the two come with him.
“You don’t understand what they put me through… But you will soon enough.” – Santiago
Meanwhile in the FBI headquarters, Santiago tries to kidnap Darlene, but Dom catches him in the basement garage and after a brief inquiry, he punches her in the face. When Dom comes to, she is tied up in the backseat with Darlene in Santiago’s car. Dom puts the pieces together about how Santiago was involved on both sides and has hindered their investigation the entire time.
“Find a way to live with what you did.” – Price
After being taken in a Van last week, Angela eagerly awaits inside a mansion, stating that she has important information for Whiterose, but soon learns she was actually taken by Phillip Price.
Wanting to leave, Price admits to her that he’s looked after her all this time, as she was in Whiterose’s way with her lawsuit, and Whiterose is someone that goes to any means to eliminate threats in her way.
Confused as to why he helped, Price reveals to Angela that he used to date her mother, and that though he loved her, he also took pleasure in keeping emotionally distant. As a result, Angela’s mother saw to it that she be kept away from her monster of a father, revealed to be Phillip Price. Never planning on telling Angela the truth, Price only intervened when he saw how much Whiterose’s manipulations (Promising to undo everything, including the death of her mom) drove Angela mad.
Angela admits to killing those people in the cyber bombings. She confesses that she served Whiterose because she believed that there had to be a bigger purpose to those deaths, to which Price reveals that there wasn’t. It was all pettiness between him and Whiterose. Emotionally broken, Angela wants to know what Price will do in retribution. He tells her to just accept the fact that she’d been conned.
Much like Tyrell, Angela was being used to achieve a goal for the Dark Army. Disappointing because this was all very much what Elliot told her last week and what the audience had known for most of the season. Though it was cathartic how the reveal of the nature of Price’s relationship snapped her out.
“In time. This’ll get easier to live with. I promise.” – Irving
Irving takes Elliot/Mr. Robot to a barn in middle of nowhere, where Angela and Darlene await. Leon is there too with a group of Dark Army henchmen. Irving and Santiago then take Dom outside to be executed.
In a very tense moment, Irving takes the outside woodchopping axe in hand (The one Tyrell had been using for months while hiding) as Santiago pleads with Dom to work with the Dark Army. Just as she braces herself, Irving swings the axe and buries it in Santiago’s chest. Irving tells Dom that she works for the dark army now. When she refuses, he begins going over a detailed list of every single member of Dom’s family and where they live, as he violently decimates Santiago with the axe. He tells Dom to imagine it’s her various family members, as he continues down the list of her family and hacks away. When she returns to the barn with blood stains, Leon states, “Looks like she just got her initiation.”
After cleaning up, Irving tells a recently arrived Grant that he took care of everything and is going on sabbatical. Grant demands that he stays, but Irving reveals that he used to be Grant five years ago (Whiterose’s right hand man and coerced lover) and that he believes she’ll be okay with his leaving.
Interesting, as not only does this serve a way for Bobby Cannavale to leave the series for now (if he wants to) but it also gives us a bit of depth into the history of Whiterose. Particularly, that she might do this and have relationships like the ones she has with Grant, frequently.
“History, is finally coming for you.” – Grant
Elliot/Mr. Robot debate about what to do next and Elliot finds a camera that Whiterose must be using to watch them. When Grant arrives to kill Elliot, Elliot admits there is no stage three and that he hacked the Dark Army, threatening to release all information to the public. An empty threat, as Grant admits that the Dark Army would survive regardless, and that even if Elliot reversed 5/9, they’d already gotten what they needed. In a final effort, Elliot offers to move Whiterose’s project to Congo. Grant believes it’s a lie. Elliot and Darlene are put at gunpoint, but before being shot, Leon kills the guards. Grant answers a call from Whiterose, which ends with her essentially breaking ties (and breaking up) with Grant over his jealousy/lack of faith in Elliot. Grant responds by killing himself. Elliot sends what Whiterose needs to the Congo.
“You are a terrible person. Don’t ever convince yourself of anything else.” – Dom
In the aftermath, Dom gives Elliot access to Sentinel: the FBI’s secured network. In her departing words, Dom condemns Darlene: that she ruined her life, and forced her to abandon her convictions, leaving on a note that was just shy of malicious. Now burdened to live as a pawn to the Dark Army, Dom’s hatred of Darlene makes sense.
“You were right. There’s a part of you in me.” – Mr. Robot
Finally, Elliot accesses Romero’s files but discovers that all Romero found was that somebody else exported the key data. Elliot realizes that it was Mr. Robot, who claims that he did it because it’s what Elliot would’ve done. They question whether-or-not they should do this, as undoing 5/9 means that it would be all for nothing. Elliot responds that the incidence brought the real enemies out into the light, and that his goal is now to take them down.
With renewed conviction, Mr. Robot reveals that he had transferred the data to a drive at home and burnt it onto a CD hidden under an image of Elliot and his dad. Elliot uses the information and sends an E-mail to E-Corp, seemingly undoing 5/9 and nicely wrapping up season 3.
Thoughts and mentions:
In the post-credits, Fernando Vera, Shyla’s ex-boyfriend and murderer that Elliot sprung out of jail, confronts Darlene outside of Elliot’s apartment. A nice cliffhanger leading into season 4, though it’s relevance is slightly lost, given that Shyla died two seasons ago.
How befitting is it that the episode reveals that Price is Angela’s father literally the day before Star Wars Episode VIII comes out. Mr. Robot does an amazing job with timing and tie-ins to pop culture.
Elliot’s memory about being pushed out of the window by his dad? You know, the memory that might have been critical in the foundation of his personality disorder and the creation of his Mr. Robot alternate identity? False. This is huge. The fact that Elliot can’t accurately remember his childhood actions (thankfully, Darlene can) means that his black outs, and thus Mr. Robot, may have been happening for a very long time. Much further back in time than we were led to believe.
As much as I loved Season 3, I just found the season finale to be just okay. In the moment it’s great and the emotions and tension run high, which is good quality television. My issue lies in some of the writing choices. Specifically one issue I think is a plot hole when I look at the big picture: That all of this time, Mr. Robot (Elliot himself) was the key to undoing 5/9. After going through this journey as an audience member, yes, it fits and I liked it. But when you start thinking all the way back into the beginnings of season 2? I start to wonder how many times everything could have been fixed had Mr. Robot just said he had the keys to undo the hack the entire time? There’s something poetic and yet unsettling about it. That the answers to the series up to now have literally been sitting in front of Elliot this entire time. At least, for me.
In one of the last montages, we can see people watching the scene from the original Superman movie, where Superman reverses time so he can save Lois Lane. The great undo key has been a motif throughout this season, with Angela wanting to undo her mother’s death, Whiterose’s project which has been implied to be a time traveling machine, the homage to Back to the Future (A movie about time travel) and most obviously, Elliot’s arc of reversing 5/9 this season.
In yet another well-executed utilization of sound, ‘Vom Veacha Tha Sneha Knom’ by Pan Ron is the song playing when Grant arrives in his black limo while rocking his shades like a badass.
In the last scene, we can see rainbow Vladimir Putin posters in the backdrop. Yet another reference to today’s political climate.
Are y’all really going to make me do this without spoilers?
I promise I won’t ruin anything for you here – it’s way too good for me to want you to know anything juicy – but DAAAAAAAMN there’s so much I want to talk about! Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a film so daring in its plotlines and treatment of characters that we know and love that it begs to be dissected and geeked out over for pages and pages of review text.
But I’m not going to do that here. I promise.
What I do want to do though is tell you how much of a treat this movie is…in the vaguest way possible.
When J.J. Abrams delivered The Force Awakens into the world two years ago we got a mostly light and breezy return to that galaxy far, far away that moviegoers have been obsessed with for over 30 years. Characters that we’ve been in love with for ages were suddenly back on the big screen interacting with new and equally lovable characters and the future of the franchise immediately looked bright.
That film did face some criticism for feeling too much like a remake of the original film in the series, but those critics will almost certainly be silenced after seeing The Last Jedi. What Johnson delivers to us with this film is so wholly original from anything that’s come before it in the series that it probably runs more risk of shocking fans who thought they had it all figured out already. But shock factor aside, I think most fans – like myself – will find themselves enamored with this new film and positively excited about what could come next.
So what’s so good about it, you ask?
Just about everything about it is good! But the base of that goodness lies in Johnson’s excellent screenplay. Set mere minutes after the ending of The Force Awakens, the action picks up as our favorite members of the Resistance led by General Leia Organa (the late, great Carrie Fisher) try to evade the seriously pissed off forces of the First Order’s General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson). An exhilarating space battle ensues and morphs into an epic chase across the galaxy with heroic pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) quickly butting heads with newly anointed Resistance Admiral Holdo (Laura Dern) about the strategy of escape.
Frustrated with the direction of the Resistance escape, Poe turns to old buddy Finn (John Boyega), BB-8, and series newcomer Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) to hatch a plan that will hopefully deliver the fleet to safety and keep the fight alive for another day.
Meanwhile, Rey (Daisy Ridley) tries to lure famed Jedi Master Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) back to the fight after his mysterious disappearance following Ben Solo/Kylo Ren’s turn to the dark side. The only problem is that Luke has no interest in returning to the fight and firmly believes that the time has come “for the jedi to end.”
Looking back at The Force Awakens I was genuinely delighted to see Han, Leia, and Chewbacca back on screen but having Luke here (his cameo at the end of the previous film hardly counts) with stuff to do and a legitimate leading role was somewhat magical. There were moments that I felt like a little boy wondering, “What is Luke going to do next?!” And let me tell you, what he does fails to disappoint. He’ll make you cry, cheer, and gasp in wonder.
I think what makes seeing Mark Hamill do his thing here so special is the fact that he is almost singularly associated with this role from a physical point of view. Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher are both great in their Star Wars roles but we know them from so many other things that there is always that notion of “I’m watching an actor here”. In Hamill’s case, his career has focused largely on voice work (with great success I must add) so when we actually see him on screen it’s not “Oh look there’s Mark Hamill playing Luke Skywalker,” its more like “There’s Luke Skywalker!” And that added bit of pureness that he brings to it because of the way his career played out is truly rare and wonderful. As movie fans we’re beyond lucky to have it.
I don’t want to say anything more about the characters or storyline because a lot of what plays out is truly best left to discovery in the moment, but Johnson does a masterful job of telling a story about making choices and illustrating that the world isn’t purely made up of good people or bad people but rather a mix of gray areas in between. This is a very dark movie at times but Johnson masterfully balances that darkness with touches of humor and grace that make the whole viewing experience a well-rounded and enjoyable one.
From a technical point of the view this is probably the most visually stunning chapter in the saga with many soon-to-be-iconic shots and some truly stunning special effects. The cast is solid across the board. And John Williams once again delivers a rousing musical score but you already knew that, didn’t you?
If the film has any faults it might be that it could feel a little long for some viewers. For instance, an adventurous detour to a casino planet of the rich and famous probably takes up more screen time than it needs. I was also disappointed in the lack of information we get about the mysterious Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis). He appears in a lot of scenes but we never really get to know any more about who he is, where he comes from, why he’s so powerful, or why he’s such a dick. This was something I was looking forward to most about this film and in that regard, it let me down.
But with those few gripes aside The Last Jedi is a tremendous addition to the Star Wars saga. I personally have a hard time comparing it to the original films that I’ve watched countless times over the course of my 34 years on Earth, but it is definitely on par with those original classics and almost certainly better than any other entries in the series that came after them.
But as we look forward now to Episode IX I have one request for director J.J. Abrams: BRING BACK LANDO CALRISSEAN! The Resistance needs him and we as viewers need Billy Dee Williams.
Mr. Robot Season 3, Episode 9: “EPS3.8 STAGE3.TORRENT”
Original Air Date: December 6th, 2017
Grade: B+
In the penultimate episode of Season 3, Elliot and the Dark Army plot to be rid of one another. Mr. Robot and Tyrell are put in their place during a surprise visit by Phillip Price. Darlene and Dom get intimately close in a honeypot gone awry as pieces are set in motion and major intentions are revealed.
Where It All Started
We open on a flashback at the beginnings of All-safe and E-Corp’s partnership, where Gideon Goddard’s initial pitch to manage security for E-Corp falls on uninterested ears. At least, until Angela enters the room. Suddenly, E Corp’s CEO Phillip Price takes interest, and later, pushes the deal with All-Safe forward which leads to the beginning of the series.
The relationship between Price and Angela is a curious one, and given the reveal at the end of Season 2 about her part in the Dark Army, I have a feeling that somewhere in Angela’s seemingly crazy rants this season lies a deep-seated truth about what’s really going on.
“They Own The FBI”
“They own the FBI” is the message Mr. Robot leaves Elliot on the mirror which kickstarts Elliot’s journey in this episode. After last week’s guilt tripped journey with Trenton’s brother culminating in Elliot finding meaning again in his life, Elliot finds some information read by Mr. Robot the night before: Trenton’s e-mail and Tyrell’s surprising release from the FBI.
Meeting at the old F-Society arcade, Elliot and Darlene discuss the details of Trenton’s e-mail, which was sent to Elliot after she and Mobley were murdered by the Dark Army. It details a way of undoing 5/9, discovering that Leslie Romero, the older hacker from seasons 1-2 that was killed by a ‘stray bullet’, had exported the encryption keys used in the 5/9 hack as a safety precaution. But all his files were now stored in the FBI Sentinel network system after his death. After a short dispute, Darlene chooses to go after the files, while Elliot chooses to deal with the Dark Army.
While showing off a car, the Dark Army’s fixer man, Irving, is hacked by Elliot. He hack’s Irving’s Onstar computer, stopping the moving car in a manner similar to how Irving had done in episode 3. Ironically, Elliot then unveils to Irving that there is a ‘Stage 3’ to his plan and that he needs to meet with Whiterose.
Though he doesn’t get to meet with Whiterose, Elliot does meet with Grant (Whiterose’s right-hand) and The Dark Army. Using the meet-up to infect their network with malware. Elliot now ‘owns’ the Dark Army, just as he had done to others in the past. Later on, Grant meets with White Rose and shows that he is highly suspect of Elliot, the two agreeing that now might be the time to do away with him as they had his father.
“Angela, I want to help you, but you got to explain to me what you think is happening?”
Before meeting with the Dark Army, Elliot meets with Angela, who has seemingly lost her mind over the guilt of the Dark Army’s attacks. She believes that things are going to return to what they used to be, to what extent, we’re not entirely sure, but Angela believes that it can bring both Elliot and her parents’ back.
After being interrupted by Leon, Elliot’s bodyguard in prison who’s surprisingly opinionated about older TV shows and works for the dark army, Angela leaves Elliot feeling betrayed and goes to pack her things (including her fish) before going out and being intercepted by a mysterious white van.
The Honeypot gone awry
Darlene meets with Dom to seemingly share secrets about Whiterose being behind everything. Though in actuality, it’s an attempt to steal Dom’s badge to gain FBI access to Sentinel. When she can’t scan the ID or get it off of her, Darlene decides to bond with Dom, the two sharing intimate moments both at the bar and later, in Dom’s apartment after she invites Darlene inside.
Dom displays a more vulnerable side of herself to Darlene, including her loneliness and her obvious signs of interest. Darlene takes the initiative, though Dom still locks away her badge and gun in a safe prior to the two sleeping together. Afterwards, Darlene tries to sneak into Dom’s safe but is caught by a disappointed, Dom.
At the interrogation room, Darlene reveals to Dom and agent Santiago, the chief investigator of the 5/9 hack and secret mole working the dark army, that Romero’s files locked away in the Sentinel FBI network might be able to undo the 5/9 hack. Santiago then informs Irving and notes that Darlene is locked away in their interview room… alone.
“Wouldn’t she want you to realize the truth and fight? Or would she want you to be their little Bitch?”
Time and time again this season, we’ve seen Tyrell Wellick as someone without any actual power or control, manipulated by the powers that be. In the opening flashback, Tyrell’s reluctance against hiring All-safe is immediately shut down by Phillip Price. In the present, after spending most of the season being locked up and hunted by the FBI, Tyrell finally gained his freedom, but only after fulfilling the Dark Army’s bidding with the global attacks.
In Tyrell’s return home, he is met by Mr. Robot. A heated debate ensues about the aftermath of the Dark Army terrorist attacks and the roles Tyrell and Mr. Robot had played. Just as Tyrell puts on his murdering gloves to use on Mr. Robot, they are interrupted by Phillip Price, who reveals that he has always known about 5/9 and had personally allowed the global catastrophe to happen. He also tells Tyrell that he finally gets to be CTO, though in title only.
A pyrrhic victory, as Tyrell got everything he’d ever wanted, yet both his freedom and his title mean nothing at the cost of his now deceased wife and missing child.
After accepting that they were both used, Tyrell empathizes with Mr. Robot and reveals that the Dark Army has a man inside the FBI. Which Mr. Robot reveals to Elliot at the beginning of the episode.
Thoughts and mentions:
Angela seems completely out of her wits, reiterating that she wants to bring her parents back? Now while she seems crazy, let’s not forget her major role at the end of Season 2. I think it’s more complicated than she’s being manipulated. She keeps saying that they (Elliot and friends) don’t understand and that there are people trying to stop this. Stop what though exactly? In an episode that reveals some heavy secrets, Angela’s role in all of this seems to hold the most mystery… which feels awfully similar to last year.
Loved the shot where Elliot meets with Darlene in the F Society arcade and while pacing back and forth, the camera jump cuts repeatedly into repeated out of focus shots that are in frame. The cinematography this season has been outstanding.
Loved the woman playing the glasses of water in the background of Whiterose’s place during. Utilized the sound perfectly and really fit the tone of that scene in an ambient and yet sinister way.
WHAT IS THE PROJECT WHITEROSE NEEDS SENT TO THE CONGO!? A part of me thinks it’s bigger than a plant, and given Angela’s rants, I’m even considering that it’s a Time Machine A-la-Lost at this point.
“No puppet, No puppet, you’re the puppet!” Yet another one of the many references this season to our President.
Sweet Sleeves, Dom. Loved how they showcased that again in her scenes for this episode. She hides it well and so seeing it, brings sort of an intimate feeling to her character. Which was very appropriate in her scenes with Darlene.
In this episode of Supertrash, Alyssa and Jen discuss the Supergirl midseason finale “Reign.”
There was a lot of good (Reign), and a lot of bad (Lames) going on in this episode. And boy, does Jen have a lot to say about the bad. We also discuss Mon-El and Imra’s relationship along with the impending storyline Alyssa never wants to happen: Alex adopting Ruby. So sit back and enjoy!
This week’s episode of Runaways, “Kingdom” was packed full of action, group bonding, and surprise twists. We even get to learn who that flakey decrepit man Leslie nakedly snuggled with is! Most importantly though, this is the first time that the show has truly felt like a superhero series as the gang joins forces to find Alex.
Parent Problems
Alex has been abducted by Darius Davis, the guy whose Nana Mr. Geoffrey Wilder threatened to kill a few episode ago. In a nutshell, Darius and Geoffery are childhood friends and were locked up together. One day, Cole from Charmed visited Geoffrey in jail and offered him a business proposal. There was one the stipulation, he wouldn’t work with Geoffrey if he was in prison. So Mr. Wilder asked his bestie to do him the biggest solid ever (confess to a murder he didn’t commit) so that Geoffrey could get out of prison. It was a big ask but he promised that Darius and his family would be set for life if he went along with the plan. Well, it turns out that isn’t what happened…. Which leads to Alex getting kidnapped.
Darius tries to disabuse Alex of the notion that his father is a good man and Alex responds with “Nah dude, hold your breath. I already know my dad is a stone cold murdering douchebag. No convincing needed here.” Alex does seem to connect with Darius’s tech wiz, Andre, who is about the same age as him. Unfortunately, Alex ends up having to shoot Andre in the shoulder in order to save his dad’s life (more on this later).
Girl POWER!
Nico calls her fellow runaways to meet her at the Cafe to come up with a plan to find Alex. Karolina is the first to get there, and guys, we need to discuss the way Karolina looks at Nico. (Don’t worry, I will be talking about it constantly). In response to Karolina freaking out about their parents being murderers, Nico gives Karolina a comforting hug. And boy, does Karolina lean into that hug; her body practically melts into Nico’s embrace.
That is until they are interrupted by the rest of the cavalry– Gert and Molly. With the gang all there (sans Chase who is spending quality time with his pops) Nico casts a magical Alex finding spell with the Staff of One and these four badass chicks go off to save the Man-sel in distress.
Karolina is in the driver’s seat, driving like a beautiful, charming, and magical maniac, as she chases after Alex’s heat signature. This was one of my favorite scenes of the episode. While Gert is in the back complaining about Karolina’s driving because 1) she is getting car sick and 2) she doesn’t want to die in a gruesome wreck, Nico turns to Karolina and says “You’re doing great.” That is all Karolina needs to hear to confidently continue her insanely crazy driving.
When the girls finally catch up to Alex, we get to see each of the runaways use and demonstrate their respective powers. After Nico fails to disable Darius’s SUV, Molly jumps in with her mutant strength to save the day by lifting the car with her bare little mutant hands, finally proving her powers to the group. But it doesn’t stop there. Next, Karolina takes off her bracelet and Rainbow Brites the hell out of Darius et. al., and when Chase finally arrives he blasts his Fistigons at the baddies.
It is Nico, though, who saves the crew by casting a protection spell that stops bullets midair. It was a fabulous fight scene, and it is the first time I felt that these Runaways were a team of superheroes.
The scene following the epic fight sequence is my favorite of the episode though. The teens reconvene at the Coffee Shop to digest that night’s events, as Nico brushes a strand of hair off of Karolina’s face.
The gang is hyped on adrenaline, as knowledge of Karolina’s and Molly’s powers are out in the open. They are amazed that Karolina can glow. They are in awe of Nico’s Staff of One. They all learn about Old Lace. But even among all this excitement, they have to deal with the fact that their parents are evil murderers, and most likely are about to sacrifice Alex’s new friend with the gunshot wound, Andre.
The kids rush to The Wilder’s secret underground sacrifice dungeon only to find an empty room. The Pride has decided to conduct their sacrificial ritual in Leslie Dean’s private Gibborim room instead. And this time, the sacrifice ritual works and the flakey decrepit man turns into COLE from Charmed aka Jonah Dean, aka Leslie’s husband and Karolina’s birth dad!
I have so many thoughts, questions, and theories to discuss, so let me just list them out:
Jonah: I think it is safe to assume that Jonah is Karolina’s birth father. Actually, that is the only aspect of this storyline that I feel safe assuming. Everything else is just a long list of questions. How did he get decrepit? Do the sacrifices performed every year bring him back to normal form, or was it just this one? If it was just this one, why is this year different than any other year? Also, I was assuming that the sacrifices were to a higher power, something that gave them success, but it was just to un-flakeify Jonah. I can’t imagine that the rest of the Pride would risk so much just to save Leslie’s husband, so are they just making him normal to proceed with the second part of another ritual?
Amy: I have a new potential Amy theory. When Tina Minoru catches Nico returning the Staff of One she says something along the line of “You and I are the only ones the staff works for.” This made me wonder if Amy’s death was connected to the Staff of One. Maybe she tried to use it, but since it was not her destiny, it had harmful effects resulting in her death?
Karolina: I am sorry if this is a spoiler for some, but most of you know by now that Karolina comes out as gay in the Runaways comics. While it is slightly hinted at towards the end of the first complete volume, it isn’t said out loud until later. I love how they are putting it front and center in the TV adaption of Karolina’s character. I love the way Virgina Gardner is able to portray the confusion and pain of coming to terms with her sexuality and falling in love with a close friend. Her face brightens and her body relaxes with every interaction with Nico. But then she sees Alex and Nico together, and she wants to scream and cry, but she can’t. She has to hold in that pain. She has to grin and bear it.
Chase and Victor Stein: I am conflicted about Chase’s storyline with his father this week. After discovering Chase’s new invention, Victor decides to have some quality bonding/inventing time with his son. Chase’s eagerness to put aside all the pain his father has caused to receive any praise and any quality time with his father was heartbreaking. I can’t tell if the show wants us to feel compassion for Victor Stein though, and that was further complicated by Victor revealing to his son that he has a glioblastoma. This ailment explains why Victor has been sweaty and seeing things, but it doesn’t explain away why he has been abusing his wife and husband. I just don’t understand where they are going with this.
The Cafe: This may be a trivial point, but this is supposed to be the same coffee shop that Molly ripped the toilet and window out of while escaping Mrs. Wilder, right? How is Molly still allowed to patronize this establishment? Also, did the coffee shop already repair the bathroom, or are they just running their business with a toilet less bathroom that also has a gaping hole in the wall?
Happy! may be the craziest show Syfy has ever aired.
Based on the graphic novel from comic writer Grant Morrison and artist Darick Robertson, Happy! stars Christopher Meloni in his most insane role yet (yes, even crazier than his character in Wet Hot American Summer).
In “Saint Nick,” Meloni plays Nick Sax, a revered ex-cop turned degenerate hitman, who finds himself being hunted by the Scaramucci crime family and corrupt NYPD officers who are on their payroll.
Sax, using the flat of a prostitute, lures four young, dudebro Scaramuccis and offs three of them immediately. The fourth offers him a secret password that would unlock priceless riches, before shooting Sax in the chest. Sax in retaliation shoots his aggressor out of the window and onto the streets of New York City. Unfortunately for Sax, his latest target manages to survive the fall.
Sax heads down to the street to off the last of the Scaramucci boys but is pulled in close and has the secret mafia password whispered in his ear. The intense shootout mixed with Sax’s degenerate lifestyle leads to him suffering a heart attack. When he finally comes to in the back of an ambulance, Sax finds a blue, animated, flying unicorn waiting for him.
Happy, voiced by Patton Oswalt, tries to convince Sax to rescue a little girl who has been kidnapped by a meth head Santa Claus, but Sax has a hard time believing the flying blue unicorn is something more than a figment of his drug-addled mind.
Once Sax arrives in the hospital, he finds himself chased down by the Scaramucci torturer, Smoothie, after the prostitute in the flat alerts the corrupt NYPD officers that Sax may know the secret password they are searching for. What follows is an over-the-top, hilariously violent, escape sequence culminating in a cliffhanger ending where Sax learns from Happy that the missing young girl is his daughter he never knew he had.
The premiere of Happy! is definitely one of the weirdest and most shocking new shows I’ve seen on Syfy, let alone TV. Meloni and Oswalt work well off one another, even if one is a CGI-animated figure. Meloni’s gives his all in his most insane performance to date.
The opening moments may have had me asking if I really wanted to spend my time watching the series, but the dark tone and insanity set the tone to what I imagine will be a cult classic for Syfy.
Hello friends! In this episode, Alyssa and Jen discussed Night Two of the DC Crossover “Crisis on Earth X.”
These final two hours of the crossover were dark and emotionally draining. We continue to express our disdain and disappointment for having Nazi’s as the villain and mourn a beloved character from the DC universe. Jen also has very strong opinions regarding Olicity that she needed to get off her chest. Hope you enjoy!
In this episode of Supertrash, Alyssa and Jen discuss the Monday night’s episodes of the DC Crossover Bonanza “Crisis on Earth X.”
The first night of the cross-over provided lots of material for us discuss. First, there is the wedding etiquette that all superheroes in the DC universe seem to lack (no on RSVPs, only SOME Legends were invited). Then there was Sara and Alex which we had many thoughts and feeling about. And lastly, we discussed one of our biggest issues with the crossover…. Nazis.
Showtime has announced it has picked up freshman comedy, SMILF, for a second season.
“From its first episode, the refreshingly honest point of view of SMILF broke through with audiences, the press and on social media,” said Gary Levine, President of Programming, Showtime Networks Inc. in a press release. “Frankie Shaw is a creative force to be reckoned with and we love having her on Showtime. Her showis funny and forthright, pointed and poignant, irreverent and relevant, all at once. We can’t wait to see where Frankie takes SMILF next season.”
SMILF, starring and executive produced by Shaw, takes a look at the life of Bridgette Bird, a young woman from South Boston whose desires for relationships, sex and a career collide with the realities of working-class single motherhood.
SMILF debuted with the biggest premiere week audience for a new Showtime comedy since 2012 and since is averaging 4.4 million weekly viewers across platforms.
Disney and Marvel have finally unleashed the highly-anticipated Avengers: Infinity War trailer during Good Morning America Wednesday morning.
In Avengers: Infinity War “the Avengers and their Super Hero allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.”
Anthony and Joe Russo direct the film, which is produced by Kevin Feige. Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Michael Grillo and Stan Lee are the executive producers. Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely wrote the screenplay.
Avengers: Infinity War releases in U.S. theaters on May 4, 2018.
Season 1 Episode 04: “Fifteen” Original Air Date: November 28, 2017
While the fourth episode of Marvel’s Runaways “Fifteen” wasn’t the most exciting episode in the world, it was still entertaining. “Fifteen” begins with a flashback to the morning Nico found her sister Amy unresponsive with a bottle of pills by her side. Nico shouts and screams for her parents but when she instructs her smart house Wizee to call the cops, Tina Minoru not only nullifies the request, but she also uses the Staff of One to magically knock out Nico when she attempts to contact the authorities via her cell phone.
Fast Forward to present day, where Nico is thumbing through Amy’s diary which Nico stole from her mother’s office. She delicately grazes her fingers over the words inked by her sister which includes entries such as “Life is good because of Mermaid and Seahorse” when she is interrupted by a group chat invite by her fellow Runaways. Apparently, she is the only one in LA to not hear about Destiny’s dead body washing up on the beach. The confirmation of Destiny’s death further bolsters Nico’s developing theory that her parents killed Amy and the suicide was just a cover story.
Nico and Alex
With every passing episode, I swear that this high school follows the Rosewood High philosophy of education. The kids go to school, have lunch, and then head to their after-school activities.
Nico and Alex’s extracurriculars include heading to the police station to report their parents as suspects in the deaths of Amy and Destiny. When Nico first asks Alex to accompany her to the cops, he declines but he soon changes his mind after he sees Gert and Karolina teaming up. He also realizes that Nico probably needs someone in her corner right about now.
At the station, the pair quickly realizes that the LAPD doesn’t take teens reporting murders seriously. But Nico is not one to back down and she refuses to leave until her task is complete and she makes her statement. That is until she sees the cop the same cop that secretly visited her mother after Amy’s death escorting Robert Minoru and Victor Stein into the station. On that note, her and Alex scram, with new intel; The Pride has an LAPD Detective in their pocket.
Gert, Karolina, and Chase, and Gert
Welcome to another example of how horrible high schoolers can be and the manifestation of toxic masculinity.
It is the Monday after the party and two LAX predators approach Chase to demand an apology for beating them up and stopping them from raping Karolina. Since Chase is one of the good guys, he refuses and decides to break a few more of their ribs before Karolina and their coach intervene. Karolina still doesn’t know what happened the night of the party, but the rumors flying around school are that she hooked up with the two LAX douches and Chase beat them up because he was jealous. This results in one of the “mean” girls calling Karolina a “lacrosse ruining slut.” I hate high schoolers.
Still in the dark about everything that happened at the party, Karolina decides to focus on something more concrete: proving her mom’s innocence. She is convinced the Runaways didn’t see an actual sacrifice, but probably a non-sacrificial ritual that she has never seen because it is above her level in the church. She enlists the help of Gert, because sisters stick together, and they head to the Dean residence. After some bonding and investigation, they copy an encrypted ULTRA file from Leslie Dean’s laptop onto a flash drive for Alex to decode.
Chase also shows up at the Dean residence to talk to Karolina about what happened at the party. There has been a lot of discussion about how the inclusion and handling of the rape scene served more as a vehicle for Chase’s character development than anything else, and this episode further supports that argument. When Chase finally admits to her what happened that night she is more relieved to know what happened than upset that these two guys were about to rape her. I know that everyone deals with situations in their own way, but this seemed to be about her appreciating what Chase did for her more than it was about what she actually went through. It was also, yet again, used as a plot device because Chase’s admission prompts Karolina to show Chase her rainbow powers.
The Ultra files
Karolina and Gertrude pass the encrypted files baton to Alex and Nico. When Alex cracks the code, they find a list of teen church member. One each year for the last 15 years. Their parents have been taking in scared and desperate teens to serve as their pool of potential sacrifices. One name that isn’t on the list is Amy, leaving Nico to re-examine her theory regarding her sister’s suicide yet again.
There are definitely suspicious incidences surrounding Amy’s death. The fact that it happened the same night as the sacrifice, the fact that Tina wouldn’t let Nico call the police and LOCKED DOWN their home after finding Amy, the fact that a corrupt detective came to their home assuring Tina that he would “take care” of things. That is all hella sketchy. All of those events coupled with Nico discovering that Amy’s diary was not a book of dark scribbled prose allowed her to think she could make sense of the loss of her sister. She didn’t miss any signs, her sister didn’t take her own life. It was something else. Something bigger. But just because Amy’s diary didn’t show signs of a depressed individual doesn’t mean that she wasn’t struggling. There is still so much of this Amy storyline that needs to be uncovered, I really don’t know where this plot will lead.
The Pride
The parents are dealing with their own issues this episode since the girl they thought they sacrificed in a wonky machine was found on the beach.
Victor calls an emergency Pride meeting to show the rest of the group the most recent girl he kidnapped for the sacrifice, but when he arrives at the meeting his van is empty. Also, Victor looks like he hasn’t showered in 5 days and has been on a week-long bender. Not trusting Victor to successfully kidnap someone in his state, Tina assigns Robert to accompany Victor on his next kidnapping trip. This backfires because their next victim fights back and the cops come to the scene. Moral of the story: Tina, if you want something done right, you do it yourself.
The Yorkes decided to skip the emergency Pride meeting to search for their genetically engineered dinosaur. Unfortunately, The Yorkes’ absence makes the other members question their loyalty to the mission and Tina Minoru uncovers their tentative plans to flee The Pride. Ruh roh.
If I have to suffer through seeing this, so do all of you!
A rundown of the parent’s drama would be meaningless if we didn’t discuss Leslie Dean. I legit have no idea what is going on in her storyline. In my previous post, I theorized that the decrepit man on the bed was her father, and god do I hope I am wrong. When Leslie goes to visit him this week, she apologizes for taking so long, GETS NAKED, and then jumps in the bed so the pair can spoon. It was very disturbing, I can’t erase that image from my mind.
What about Molly?
You may have noticed I haven’t talked about Molly much. Well, that is because our youngest runaway was barely existent this week. Starting with the teens’ video chat, Molly was placed in the background, and I mean that literally. While Gert is at her desk chatting with the other four members of the team, Molly is out of frame chilling on Gert’s bed trying to get a word into the conversation. I understand not having Molly and Gert call in separately, but at least have them share the screen! Gert could have brought her computer to her bed to include Molly or pull up an extra chair for her. Poor Molly.
Later in the day, while home alone, Molly decides to take up Mrs. Wilder’s offer to answer any questions Molly has about her parents when she is interrupted by a loud noise that turns out to be Old Lace, the genetically engineered dinosaur her parents have been searching for. Luckily, Gert gets home in time to psychically train her dragon and save her sister’s life.
Other Things
Oh yeah, the episode ends with Alex getting kidnapped.
Not too much really happened this week, which is a little disappointing for a show that only has ten episodes. It seemed more like a string of plot lines happening alongside each other with nothing tying them all together.
Got any new theories, thoughts, or questions? Let me know in the comments!
Welcome to the latest installment of Supertrash: a Supergirl Podcast.
This week Alyssa and Jen discuss episode 3.07 of Supergirl “Wake Up.” We talk about everything from J’onn’s bathroom habits to why James seems so happy about Mon-El’s return. But most importantly, Alyssa opens up about how Mon-El returning with a wife ruins her favorite potential ship: Winn-El.
At midnight this morning/last night, Hulu dropped the first three episodes of Marvel’s Runaways. The TV adaptation, based off the comic book series of the same name, does a brilliant job of holding true to the spirit of the characters, and their stories, while introducing enough new material to keep die-hard fans of the comic on their feet.
After watching the first three episode here is a list of questions/theories I have (there will be no major spoilers from the comic book here)
****Spoilers through Episode 1.3 “Destiny”****
1) What is up with Amy’s death?
Amy is Nico Minoru’s sister and a new character in the Runaways universe. This is a pretty big departure from the comic books where all the kids were only children. The pilot takes place on the second anniversary of Amy’s death, which also happens to be the anniversary of the Pride’s annual teen sacrifice party. Here is where questions regarding Amy’s death arise. I don’t think that the Minoru’s sacrificed their own daughter. While all members of The Pride are decidedly evil, the TV show paints a more personal and human side of the parents that comics did not. Even Tina Minoru showed some remorse before sacrificing Destiny, so I doubt she would sacrifice her own daughter, Amy. I think that Amy committed suicide due to the way that everyone has reacted or talked about her death. This brings me to my second question: if Amy was already dead, did they decide to offer her dead body to that light machine instead of a random runaway? I hope not, but really, who knows?
2) How did Amy fit into the group?
This is a smaller question, but I found Amy’s role in the Runaways clique a bit confusing. At first, it seemed as though Alex was in love with Amy, but that doesn’t pan out because he is really in love with Nico. Also, Amy wasn’t in that happy gang picture Alex sent out to everyone. So was Amy a part of this friend group, or just Nico’s older sister that came to the annual Pride parties?
3)What does Victor Stein’s machine do?
In the comics, The Pride sacrifices young girls to the Gibborim gods. The high tech light pod that Victor Stein uses is new. In the episode “Rewind” it was implied that this was the first year that The Pride used the machine at their ceremony, so what were the sacrifices before that like? Why did they assume that THIS would be their last sacrifice?
4) What is that creepy body in The Church of Gibborim?
So the old decrepit dude with the high tech face mask is also novel to the TV adaptation of Runaways? This guy is in a private locked room that only Leslie Dean can get into and he seems to be intertwined with the sacrifice. Does sacrificing the girls give him life? In the past has it been temporary and the Stein Machine was supposed to make it permanent? Also, that dude is totally Leslie Dean’s father, right?
5) What’s the deal with Frank Dean?
While we are on the subject of the Dean family, let’s talk about Leslie’s husband, Dean. Unlike in the comics, Frank is not a part of The Pride and does not know it’s evil nature. He also has no role in the Church of Gibborim. He is basically just Leslie’s arm candy it seems. As the episodes progressed, Frank started to become more and more suspicious of his wife and the activities of the church. Also, when Catherine Wilder (Alex’s mom) was planning on using a memory wiping serum on Molly, it was revealed that same serum was once used on Frank and he had “Never been the same.” So did Frank discover what The Pride was doing in the past and they wiped his memories? What other traits of Frank changed after the injection?
6) How do these kids have so much free time before school?
Maybe not the most important question on this list, but one that I felt needed to be addressed. Alex had time to get dressed and play video games before going into the kitchen to eat the pancakes his mother made, and then driving off to school. That is nothing compared to Karolina who got dressed to attend Church of Gibborim services before asking her mom to sign a permission slip to travel to San Francisco THAT NIGHT, and driving off to school. It’s like the world of Rosewood where the Liars would run 500 errands before attending their one class for 10 minutes.
So those are my six pressing questions I had after the first three episodes of Runaways. I also wanted to point out how much I appreciated the extra depth that the show put into the character of Chase Stein. While his introduction to the comic was a panel where Victor Stein punched him in his face, the subject of his abuse was rarely discussed. He was the stupid jock that made inappropriate jokes and was really good at figuring out how machines worked. I didn’t feel any connection with his character until the end of the first volume. That is different on this show, though. Before we even see Chase, the camera scans his room and there is a shot of a lacrosse trophy on top of AP Calc textbook, a shot of his calculus notes, and then a shot of a baseball trophy.
Chase hasn’t even been introduced yet, and we can see the duality of his character. He is struggling to please his father by being this academic while pursuing his dreams of being an athlete.
Let me know what questions you guys have, or if you have any more theories about what is going on in Marvel’s Runaways!
Welcome to the third installment of Supertrash: a Supergirl Podcast.
This week, Jen and Alyssa discuss episode 3.06 of Supergirl: “Midvale” where Kara and Alex go back to their hometown. We contemplate the Canadian border drug trade, try to determine the ages of Kara and Alex, and discuss how Chyler Leigh’s performance stole the show in the 5 minutes of screen time adult Alex was granted.
This week on The Shannara Chronicles, we are given two new episodes once again and the action just doesn’t stop! The sophomore season of the show is proving to keep audiences on their collective toes as we are given more deaths, resurrections, reunions, and views into other worlds. On top of that, characters continue to develop and grow as they encounter one challenging situation after another.
Here are the unforgettable moments from episode 7, Warlock and 8, Amberle:
Leah falls under Crimson control
Picking up from last week, Queen Tamlin gives her talisman to Lyria and sacrifices herself to save her daughter. She tells Eretria and some of her guards to take the tunnels to get out of the city while she stays behind with Jax and Slanter. This is her come to Jesus moment as she finally realizes that her choices have caught up to her and she shows remorse and tells her daughter that she loves her. It’s a huge change for her character who had been so manipulative the entire season. When Riga enters the throne room he tells Tamlin to bow down to him or he will begin kill her subjects. The queen swallows her pride and bends the knee.
Allanon is in a coma
Meanwhil Wil and Mareth take Allanon to Storlock but the healers there are not able to do anything since this is a magical wound. One of the healers though gives Mr. Ohmsford a book that Allanon left with him and it turns out to be the Druid’s Codex. Mareth is able to read druid because her mom taught her when she was young (through old love letters that Allanon had written) and she finds a passage where she can enter his dream in order to bring he out of the coma. To achieve this, the same rune is carved over the druid’s heart is and on Mareth’s palm. She then recites an incantation that will allow her passage into his dreamscape, the catch is that if her father dies while she’s still in there she too will die.
Inside Allanon’s dreams
The spell takes a moment to kick in but Mareth wakes up to find herself in a field. As she searches for her father, a winged demon appears and is about to kill her when she is saved by dear ol’ dad who asks what the heck she’s doing here. Turns out that he is in this coma for a reason and that is because he needs to communicate with someone only accessible through this state. That someone is Bremen, his old master who died many years ago. He summons the man’s soul and explains that he was told a new druid would appear and that he believed it was Bandon. Bremen says that it wasn’t Bandon but Mareth and Allanon’s all but she’s my daughter how can this be? His master says she has innate magical talent that will even surpass his own. Boom! This is the first time he’s acknowledge her as his kid but is warned that hopefully he manages to train her enough before his own mortal journey comes to an end. Lastly Bremen hands Allanon a new sword hilt.
When father and daughter wake up, Wil notices that one of Allanon’s neck runes light up and vanishes only to reappear on Mareth’s back. He tells his progeny that everything is going to change because she is going to be the next druid. On the plus side however, Allanon’s magic wound from Bandon healed itself. The druid then reads Eretria’s mind and the ex-rover explains that Amberle came to her in another vision and wants Wil in Arborlon. Mr. Ohmsford protests that he doesn’t know how to get into the tree and that he’d tried so many times. Allanon says it will be different this time because he has actually been summoned.
Wil and Mareth have a little goodbye chat outside where he tells her that Allanon may not be the world’s greatest dad but he’ll be a hell of a teacher. She in the meantime understands that he’s scared to see Amberle again after wanting nothing but that (and being disappointed) for an entire year. There’s a lot of unsaid things in the air as the two characters have gone through quite a bit together this season so far. There’s definitely chemistry between the duo and I’m hoping that they’ll have a chance to explore that at some point in the future. Also who could resist Wil when he looks at you with such piercing eyes.
Death sentences in Leah
Queen Tamlin, Jax, and Slanter are all slated to be executed by the Crimson. Her highness and the mercenary have a little heart-to-heart as the end draws near and appear to find some common ground. Before she is led out of her cell, the queen begs Jax to find and protect Lyria and Heaven’s Well at all costs. As she is walks outside, a solar eclipse is visible and this is obviously a bad sign. Riga is then about to push her off the ledge when she turns around and takes the step herself, choosing to go on her own terms instead of his.
Mareth is the last of the Elessidils
Well how could I forget that Mareth is not only Allanon’s daughter but also the niece of King Eventine since her mother Pyria was his sister. So she is now not only the next druid but the rightful heir to Arborlon’s throne. Wil confirms this with Eretria. Meanwhile Allanon presents Mareth with her own special sword that was given to him by Bremen in the dreamscape. She is able to activate it by clearing her mind and begins her training.
Bandon comes to Graymark
Bandon arrives Graymark and kills all the Crimson soldiers inside, claiming the fortress for the Warlock Lord. Looks like he will be performing the resurrection there. He uses Allanon’s blood that is still on the Warlock Blade to drawn sigils in the sand and recites an incantation to bring his lord back to life. During the eclipse’s peak, he completes the ritual and succeeds in bringing back his deceased master. The Warlock Lord rises and seizes his sword, magically clothes himself, and walks to his throne room. Bandon follows him and is shocked that the guy has Allanon’s face (albeit a very demonized one). I’m guessing that’s because the druid’s DNA was used to resurrect him. What fun for Manu Bennett to be playing two different characters!
Wil finally sees Amberle again, gets closure
When Eretria and Wil arrive at Arborlon, members of the Chosen have been slaughtered by the Crimson outside the chamber of the Ellcrys. The halfling tries to procrastinate his reunion with Amberle by saying that they need to go after the others who seemingly fled into the forest. Leave it to Eretria to say no you have to go into the tree and talk to your dead ladylove now. Wil knows that she’s right does what he’s supposed to. He walks into the tree and is transported to a beach where a familiar figure is waiting. The reunion between these two are tugging on the heartstrings! Wil finally gets to express his pent up anger from Amberle’s decision to sacrifice herself without telling him. He felt abandoned and left alone to pick up the pieces. Amberle for her part understands why he’s upset but reasons that this was her destiny and now he has to accept his. He argues that he doesn’t have what it takes to save the Four Lands like her and Shea and that he’s seen the truth that he fails. Wil further tells her that he’s knows that the Warlock Lord wins and kills everyone he cares about Allanon, Eretria, with Amberle adding Mareth to that list. Still, she explains that the future isn’t decided yet and that he can win with the Sword of Shannara. Well they have a huge problem because Wil shows her the broken blade.
As they walk on the beach together, she tells him that the truth is never easy and that the sword shattered because he wasn’t ready. When he asks what that truth is, he hears his father’s voice and walks into their barn. Shea appears and tells his son that he’s here to help. Wil though is still in denial and claims that he’s not a hero and can’t save anybody. However, dad explains that he became an alcoholic and dies in that cave alone because he is the true failure. Shea couldn’t risk not coming back to Hedy and not having him that he was too scared to make the ultimate sacrifice. He was ashamed to be alive because he couldn’t face his truth and he doesn’t want his son to make the same mistake. So does that mean that ultimately, Wil revealing his true identity to Shea actually contributed to his dad’s downfall? Yikes. This is why when time travel is tricky business. Unless of course Wil was MEANT to tell Shea about all that stuff because Wil had to grow up the way he did? The duo then enter one of the huts in Storlock and Wil says that all he ever wanted to be was a healer but that wasn’t his destiny. He asks his father how can he defeat the Warlock Lord once and for all and Shea answers that he must drive the Sword of Shannara straight through his heart. Dad also says that he must make peace with his past to a confused Wil because he thought he’d resolved his issues already. Nope, not yet! Amberle is his final truth as he must finally accept that she is truly gone and let go. When he is able finally do so in front of the spirit of the Ellcrys (aka Ambertree), the Sword of Shannara becomes whole again.
Side note: If Riga hates magic so much, why doesn’t he try to destroy the Ellcrys? Sure that would release the Dagda Mor and the demons back on their land but he can totally handle that since he’s impervious to magic and all.
Bandon has a teeny request for the Warlock Lord
So back at Graymark, the Warlock Lord asks why Bandon’s resurrected him and trapped him inside his foe’s (Allanon’s) body and the elf responds that he wants to serve him. So wait a sec, I thought the evil sword was controlling him and the Warlock Lord WANTED to be brought back. Why is he questioning the motivations behind it? The super powerful magical being senses though that Bandon wants something else to which the younger man admits to. The two walk to a different chamber where a dead Catania rests. He says that if she is brought back to life he will be the Warlock Lord’s servant forever. Did he see when/how she would truly die last season and decided to bring this evil dude back to save her?
The Warlock Lord grants his wish and brings her back to life but she tells Bandon that she’d rather be dead that be with him. OUCH. His evilness though gets tired of their spat and he commands Catania to come to him. She is engulfed in red smoke and turns into a more zombie looking creature with veins popping out of her face and her eyes looking lit up with light. She walks to the Warlock Lord, sits down on his lap and begins to make out with him. UHM WHAT IS HAPPENING!!!! Bandon is also likely thinking that exact same thing because he tells the guy to stay away from her like an angry child but is thrust back with magic. Oh dude, what did you expect?
When Bandon wakes up the Warlock Lord provides some very Allanon-like teachings that love is an illusion and that he must empty his mind. He tells the elf that Catania never loved him and that no one ever did. He then says that Bandon must kill his desire, but that would certainly mean destroying the good left in him. The Warlock Lord sagely explains that the darkness doesn’t serve them, they serve the darkness. Conflicted, Bandon takes the blade and eventually gives in to the dark side and stabs Catania, who once again dies. This is actually a measure of kindness towards her because she wasn’t in control of her own body and didn’t want to be there. Bandon’s eyes light up and it looks like he’s now actually enjoying it when moments ago he was in tears. The Warlock Lord grasps his new apprentice’s hand and says that now Bandon can walk by his side. So this was a test and his journey to the dark side is complete.
Mareth’s training continues
Father and daughter spend time together in Storlock as Mareth’s training commences. He is teaching her how to fight with the sword first because magic is only used sparingly as it always comes with a price. During one of their spars, Allanon collapses and two more runes vanish from his neck. It seems that because he didn’t take the druid’s sleep after fighting the Dagda Mor he is now dying from lack of magic. The sleep was supposed to replenish his power but it could take decades to do so and he had to find Bandon. The elder druid is resting in bed when Mareth asks him if he ever loved her mother and eventually he admits that she was the only woman he ever loved. Allanon keeps trying to teach her that she cannot be attached to anyone because emotions will cloud her judgment. Understandably she’s having a hard time with this because she is one of those attachments to him. But because he needs to rest to agrees to leave.
While she’s training outside, the Crimson arrive (tipped off by an angry elf who lost his hand to a demon). Riga has her put into a magic suppressant collar and orders Allanon to give him the Druid Codex or he will kill Mareth. The druid does so and Riga orders his men to kill them both while he returns to Graymark because of a breach. Meanwhile, father and daughter are tied to a stake as it is lit by a Crimson soldier. Mareth cries that this is her fault and Allanon tells her that she is more important to him than a book. They clasp hands as flames erupt all around them.
Someone loses their head at Graymark
As Riga and his men enter Graymark, they are greeted by Bandon and the Warlock Lord. His evilness easily destroys the Crimson soldiers through a magical fire but the general only gets a scratch. The elf is ready to do battle when the Warlock Lord traps him in a rope of barbed wires. He then uses the wires to string Riga up in between the fortress doors and then proceeds to rip his head off while saying that the Four Lands will be consumed by magic. The powerful dark magic user then asks Bandon if Queen Tamlin had any kids and the elf answers yes, the Princess Lyria. Their next task is to find her in order to access Heaven’s Well.
Eretria versus the Crimson
Eretria manages to locate the other members of the Chosen who are still alive. She tricks some of the Crimson to follow her while she doubles back and frees the captive elves. They make a run for the tunnels underneath Arborlon (every big city needs these as escape routes fyi) but are soon caught by their assailants once again. Who saves them? It’s a MORD WRAITH! WHAAAAAT??? YESSS!!! So one of the Warlock Lord’s servants dispatches the Crimson and Eretria tries to control it only to have the darned thing enter her instead. She seems to absorb it and her eyes turn black. When Wil emerges from the Ellcrys and finds her, she’s unconscious outside of the chamber with some very bloody hands. He asks her if the other Chosen are safe and she answers yes but as they hug, the ex-rover’s eyes go black for a second again. As the two head to the enclave we see the lifeless body of one of the Chosen hidden in the shrubs. Looks like the darkness took over Eretria and she slaughtered them all without even realizing it.
Final Thoughts
The show does an amazing job lighting the characters, everyone looks so good. Everyone’s skin is glowing, well except for the Warlock Lord but he’s technically dead?
It’s so nice to see Poppy Drayton back on on the show and like Wil, I feel a sense of closure now that she has moved on to become the Ellcrys. Also with Ander’s death it feels like a changing of the guard where a new generation of Elessidils (in Mareth) will be able to lead the elves on a new path. Whether or not she will be accepted because she’s a halfling will be interesting to find out.
Speaking of which, Wil and Mareth are kind of adorable together with their dreamy looks. Stop it guys. Just kidding, don’t stop.
So much character development in Queen Tamlin and Jax! Tamlin especially really tugged at the heartstrings as she finally did was right and died with honor. She didn’t try to manipulate her way out of her circumstances but met it head on instead. Though part of me wonders if she would rather die than have to face the Warlock Lord herself? She’s left that problem for Lyria to deal with as her daughter must now protect Heaven’s Well.
Jax it seems like is on his way to becoming a hero again. He’s promised the queen’s guard to protect the princess given that the guy helped him and Slanter escape Leah.
Bandon’s final journey to the dark side of the Force, I mean magic, was really quite clever on the Warlock Lord’s part. I’ll resurrect your woman only to have you kill her so then you’ll literally and figuratively be destroying your capacity to love.
Also poor Catania has died twice already this season. Not cool.
How nice and convenient that the Sword of Shannara can be made whole again within the Ellcrys as long as Wil was ready. Surely Ambertree knew that it was broken in the first place and was part of the reason why she had Eretria bring him back to Arborlon.
Does the Warlock Lord perhaps ship Bandon and Eretria and does he plan to use both of them for their magic? If Bandon and Eretria had a kid and then Wil and Mareth had one as well, it would be the ultimate dark side/light side battle in the Four Lands! But I digress…
It was also extremely gratifying to see the two main villains this season battle it out with the Warlock Lord triumphing over General Riga. Despite Riga being magic resistant as Mareth pointed out a few episodes ago, he wasn’t impervious to other things. Allanon warned him that he didn’t know what he was up against and ultimately he died because he was over confident. Now the Druid’s Codex is in the hands of the evil guys.
Hello fellow Challenge Heads, and welcome to the season finale of the DIRTIEST season ever. I know that this review is up super late, so you guys all know who the winner is. JK, we don’t find out who won the season until Tuesday’s reunion. (Hard eye roll coming from behind the computer). If the reasoning behind this decision was to prevent leaks on the winner, I guess I can understand that, but it made for a pretty anticlimactic finale. This was a pretty underwhelming final challenge. There was no suspense, there was no umph, and that was largely due to the constant stopping and starting at each stage.
We left off last week as the three teams were lugging heavy stones down an Argentinian maze. Jordan and Camila were are able to play smarter not harder by finding a shortcut and come in first place for the initial stage with Cara/Derrick seconds behind them and CT/Tori not far behind.
Bola Bola
For Stage Two, the players must throw bolas, which is an Incan weapon that was used to hunt Llamas with (poor llamas). The goal is for each pair to throw the bola onto a cactus shaped apparatus some distance away. Each time the pair misses the cactus, they have to take a shot of fermented llama’s milk. I actually had to close my eyes and then walk away because I started gagging watching this.
The players compete in the same pairings as Stage One and since Jordan/Camila came in first they have the power to assign one team a second bola and they give it to Tori/CT. Jordan and Camila crush the challenge yet again. Even though CT/Tori had two bolas, they come in second because Derrick/Cara couldn’t throw those bolas for shit.
On to Stage 2: PUZZLE TIME! It is also time to shuffle up these pairs…. kind of. Jordan and Camila get to choose the female and male they would like to compete with in the next leg of the race. Jordan picks Tori and Camila chooses CT, forcing Derrick and Cara Maria to pair up for the third time in a row.
Each team has to run up and down steep hills to pick up their puzzle pieces. I was having sympathy knee pains watching Jordan run down those hills on his jacked up knee. I am also convinced that Jordan may not be human. Derrick/Cara get to the “Sudoku on steroids” puzzle first, but this doesn’t really do them much good. Derrick is bad at puzzles, this is nothing new. I don’t like him any less for it. But it does mean that Cara Maria has to do the puzzle all by her lonesome, which allows the two other teams to finish the puzzle first.
Then the final challenge comes to a halt as the challengers face their final double-cross. The male and female who pull the doublecross have to assign a five-minute penalty to another player of the same sex. For the girls, Tori pulled the double-cross and called out Camila because 1) Camila is the worst 2) Camila has a massive lead. On the guys’ side, CT pulls the double-cross on the first try and gives Jordan the five-minute penalty.
Totem Recall
Finally, each player is competing individually. The goal here is to build a totem after completing a bagillion steps.
First, the competitors have to run up and down and through the mountains until they reach a cliff with climbing gear. There are only three climbing setups, so only three players can go at a time, but there is no penalty to being the last three to arrive. Instead, the players’ time is paused until it is their time to climb. This stopping and starting of time is so disruptive to the flow of the episode. Anywho, Derrick, Jordan, and Camila are the first to arrive at the climbing gear so they are the first to climb. And cue Camila’s first freakout/tantrum of the finale.
She starts screaming and crying that her rope is “pulling her the fuck down.” Tori just sits back and watches because the more Camila freaks out, the smaller her lead gets.
Tori: “Camila’s having a fit right now, and…. It’s fucking awesome to watch”
The second group of players climb there way to the top without an emotional breakdown, and now it is time for everyone to run across the ridge of the cliff and build the totem, the actual point of this stage.
While running, Jordan notices the large Totem Pole (again the NAME of the stage) and quickly commits it to memory. Apparently, Jordan is the only one to even notice that totem. Good thing Derrick is right behind Jordan and copies his Totem before he knocks it down. And then CT copies it from Derrick, and Cara Maria from CT and so on. The only person who wasn’t smart enough to cheat was Camila and she is forced to run back to the original totem before a second building attempt.
Derrick is My Hero Stage
I forgot to write down the name of this stage, so I just made one up.Since Cara Maria came in first in the Totem Recall, she takes this opportunity to work with CT on the next stage. This leaves Derrick to work with an incredibly grumpy and irritable Camila.
When the players approach this stage there is a huge explosion. An explosion that has nothing to do with the challenge at hand. For this fifth stage, the pairs must run into a smoke-filled tent and decipher a word on the wall (snake). All three teams got the word “Snake” right on their first try, with Jordan/Tori coming in first by 20 or so seconds and CT/Cara and Derrick/Camila only seconds apart.
Derrick, who knows he sucks at puzzles, had one goal for this challenge: stay out of Camila’s way. Camila was not happy with Derrick’s game plan. From the second they write “Snake” on the chalkboard, Camila starts bitching at Derrick. He tries to give her a high five and say “great job” but she isn’t having it. She just keeps saying that she had to do everything herself. Derrick agrees, apologizes, and follows it with “You did it all alone and you crushed it.” Not even playing to Camila’s vanity will work for Derrick in this scenario and eventually, Derrick just gives up.
Derrick: “You did awesome, I’m gonna walk away now”
It is time for bed, and there is a nice warm tent with nice warm blankets inside of it. Except there are only 4 sleeping setups meaning that the Stage 5 winners have to pick one girl and guy to sleep outside on the dirt. Jordan’s choice is a toss-up because no one really knows what place Derrick and CT are in, but in the end, he chooses Derrick. Tori’s decision, well it was a no-brainer. She chooses Camila for the same reasons she chose her in the double-cross. Next comes one of my favorite/ most bizarre moments of The Challenge ever. This is Camila’s response to Tori’s decision:
Camila:“You guys might have beds, but you might just have to sleep next to some Camila shit. Oh, I know where I’m pooping tonight”
WHAT?!? That is hilarious, and scary, and gross, and amazing, and insane. I can’t. Who says that? What is going on in this girl’s mind?
Salt-berry Fields Forever
For the last leg of the final, the competitors arrive at a salt field 14,000 feet above sea level where they will have to hold onto sled attached to a truck as it drives over the salt field. Once the truck stops they have to run to the finish line. Also, bursts of fire are going to go off randomly as they are sledding on this salt field.
In the end, the inhuman Jordan, with his bum knee sprints to the finish line minutes ahead of the rest of the pack. I think it is safe to say that Jordan is the male winner. Even with the five extra double-cross minutes, he was first in every stage except for the Sudoku puzzle. The girl’s winner is a little harder to predict, but I am pretty sure it is Tori. Camila’s five-minute penalty plus her totem climb freakout really ate into her time.
Other Things
I was really hoping that Cara Maria would pull the double-cross because it would have forced her to choose between Camila and Tori. I know Tori said that if either of the other girls pulled the double-cross that she would be screwed, but I am not sure about that. Camila had a significant lead at that point and not giving the five extra minutes to Camila would diminish her chances of winning the final. So which would Cara have put first, her friendship with Camila or the half a million grand prize?
I can safely say that I had no intention of getting invested in a slow burn female pairing on a soap opera and yet, here I am. Several months ago, I’d heard rumblings that The Young and the Restless was going to be, at long last, doing a queer storyline. Mariah Copeland and Tessa Porter were supposedly going to fall for one another. Never mind that Tessa was dating Mariah’s brother and both women were, up until this point, straight. I didn’t think much of this news and pushed the rumors into the back of my mind, instead focusing on actual wlw (women who love women) stories. Jump ahead to August when I learned that this storyline seemed to actually be taking shape because Mariah and Tessa had kissed! Queue me setting my DVR to record Y&R on a daily basis.
As someone who loved watching Bianca Montgomery go from scared closeted teenager to an out and proud lesbian on All My Children (in spite of some of the less than stellar storylines) I was thrilled to learn that the world of daytime television was adding another same-sex pairing, and so far I have not been disappointed!
Mariah, played by the incredibly talented Camryn Grimes, has been on the show since 2014. Camryn herself has been around much longer having previously played Cassie Newman who was, in true soap fashion, Mariah’s dead twin sister. Mariah was raised in a cult and is the secret twin no one, not even her parents knew about. At one point she even developed a crush on her adoptive father, Nick. Tessa, played by Cait Fairbanks, is new to Y&R as of 2017. She’s a singer-songwriter, in real life and on the show, who is now dating Noah, Mariah’s brother. Soaps are wild.
Now that we’ve had a quick round-up of the ladies of “Teriah” let’s talk about where we are in their story. Mariah is dating Devon, Tessa is dating Noah, and in spite of their boyfriends, things look like they ramping up for our ladies. The longing looks that they’ve been throwing at each other are getting harder to hide and three weeks ago (I think, time is confusing on soaps) Mariah tried to get Tessa to talk about her feelings regarding the kiss they shared. Mariah’s getting good at this lesbian processing thing! Tessa, who looked like she wanted to sprint out of the room at the mere idea of that discussion, used the standard “the timing isn’t right” line in order to put a stop to anything. However, when they hugged after that conversation, she clutched Mariah as though she was a life raft.
Then. Last week. My heart was blown wide open. Sharon, Mariah’s mother, called her daughter out after she overheard Mariah stating she was feeling “physically ill” before leaving the Halloween party. Sharon didn’t realize why her daughter was feeling ill but knew something was up. This confrontation leads to one of the most incredible scenes I’ve seen in a very long time. Mariah eventually unloads her feelings for Tessa onto Sharon, and Camryn’s portrayal is a thing of beauty. The anguish in her eyes, the fear on her face, the utter turmoil she’s feeling. It’s all there. After Mariah’s confession, Sharon tells her daughter that she must go to Tessa and be honest with her. The November 2nd episode ends with Mariah coming clean with Tessa, and Tessa acknowledging that their kiss did, in fact, mean something. But, for now, all Tessa wants is to be is friends.
It’s rare that a storyline rips me open the way this one has, and I can honestly say I wasn’t expecting any of this. Soap operas aren’t where I tend to go for my wlw stories but this one, in spite of its soapiness, has resonated deeply with me. To hear Mariah say “But all day long, I am playing this part. I am so… I am so tired of pretending” is incredibly powerful.
It is something that so many queer people have felt, and we don’t get to hear it said nearly enough. Couple that with Camryn’s delivery and I was a pile of uncontained feelings on my couch. I haven’t cried at a coming out scene that hard in a long time. To see this coming out scene followed up with a discussion between Mariah and Tessa, where you start to see Tessa’s façade crack, is the icing on an already delicious cake.
I have no idea how Teriah’s story will play out. Rumor has it this slow burn will take a year, and I have no idea what they’re counting as the start, but let me tell you I am firmly all in. I know the odds of a happily ever after are slim, but that doesn’t change the fact that this could be one incredible ride.
You can catch The Young and the Restless weekdays on CBS.
Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to the second installment of Supertrash: Supergirl 3.05 “Damage.”
This week, Alyssa and Jen talk about episode 3.05 “Damage” where we discuss the Sanvers breakup (aka all of our Sanvers feelings). We also discuss Supercorp, our fears of a James/Lena pairing, and most importantly our feelings about Lena in a sweatshirt.
The experience of watching episode 5 and 6 of The Shannara Chronicles this week was a heart wrenching one because of so many crazy events happening. My brain hasn’t processed it all yet. We have families reunited, alliances made, betrayals, time travel, skulls, almost weddings, sword fights, Mord Wraiths, more magic, and death, lots of death.
Here are the most memorable moments from the two-episode extravaganza.
Cogline’s a druid? Say what?
Just having left the castle, Jax parts ways with Eretria claiming that he’s got stuff to do. As he disappears, she suddenly gets attacked by Leah soldiers but is thankfully helped by Cogline! Unfortunately though it seems that the ex-rover keeps getting pulled back to the golden city because her friend says that they need to speak to the queen immediately. If I were Eretria I’d be ridiculously sick of all this back and forth. Once they arrive at court, we discover that Cogline used to be a druid and looks like he served the Leah royal family. Queen Tamlin asks why he’s returned after 30 years and he tells her that when he left the king swore he would fight the Warlock Lord to the last man. We also get a little history lesson that Leah was the only city untouched by the War of the Races and it was because Tamlin negotiated a deal with the evil druid. The Warlock Lord killed the queen’s husband, gave her the throne and in exchange he would drink from the Heaven’s well. The well is the source of the Silver River and the magic in those lands. While the queen is super defensive about her choices, Cogline interrupts her and explains that her efforts to save her people doomed them all if the Warlock Lord returns.
It’s a trap! A magical one that is
Meanwhile in Paranor, Allanon sends Mareth away saying that she shouldn’t enter the keep because it’s too dangerous with her uncontrolled magic. She huffs off in anger while the two men go in. Wil asks Allanon what the plan is but the druid claims that it’s better that he doesn’t know because Bandon can read his thoughts. Inside the duo find Bandon and Flick. Bandon scans Wil’s mind and sees that his intentions are true. Allanon’s head though is closed to him and the druid tells his former student that he will only get the skull when Flick is free. The guy does so but only after slicing the elder Ohmsford with his blade, which is naturally coated with poison. Allanon then touches some runes on a broken column and a bright light appears with the skull materializing on a pedestal. Bandon quickly realizes it’s a fake but before he can do anything the older man tackles him. Mareth easily activates a spell, locking them both within a prison. Turns out she and Allanon planned this little trick without Wil’s knowledge so that he wouldn’t reveal it to Bandon. But still the halfling is pissed because his uncle is now poisoned and dying. Inside the magical cage, Bandon and Allanon are prevented from injuring each other by any means.
The meaning behind Eretria’s tattoo is revealed
We also discover this week the meaning behind Eretria’s tattoo and boy it’s a doozy. In Leah, she demands that Cogline to tell her the truth regarding the tattoo and her mom. He gives in and explains that the tattoo means she is a descendent of a sect that survived the great wars aka Armageddon’s children. They survived because they weren’t entirely human, they were hybrids with demon blood. Uhm come again? To make matters worse that meant they could be corrupted and controlled by anyone with powerful dark magic. Eretria inherited this from her mom. Cogline continues that they had been constantly hunted and that her mother had been fatally wounded by a demon when he met up with them. He had promised the dying woman that he would take care of her daughter. She asks how can she believe him after all his lies and he says that he can prove it. He takes her to an abandoned police station where he is keeping a black Mord Wraith prisoner inside an electrified jail cell. Cogline disables the electricity and tells Eretria to go inside in order to train herself. He instructs her to use her will to get the Wraith to submit and she is able to do it. However, she later confesses that she liked that feeling. Be careful, fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering, and you know, to the dark side.
The Warlock Lord’s skull is cleverly hidden
Turns out the skull isn’t hidden in Paranor afterall. However, the means to get to it is. After some investigating, Wil uses the elfstones to summon a chamber of sorts that they believe will lead them to the skull with their combined druid/Shannara blood activating it. Wil tells the other halfling that this is the perfect way to confirm once and for all if she is Allanon’s daughter because the spell would work if she was. The imprisoned druid yells that if she’s not it will kill them both but they take the plunge anyways and it totally works. So magical DNA test proves that he’s her dad. That’s sorted. When the two regain consciousness, they find themselves transported to Shady Vale except it looks different. Soon they discover that they’ve been sent back in time because they help rescue Wil’s dad Shea Ohmsford from some local bullies. Well this is nice, it’s a father-son reunion! All is not perfect in Shady Vale though and Wil stumbles onto the early stages of his parents’ relationship. Shea ends up breaking up with Hedy after he overhears her talking to Wil. He claims that it’s too hard with everyone against them and he runs off. Wil finds his dad inside the cave within the waterfall where he and Mareth hid from the Mord Wraiths a few episodes ago. Shea confesses that he’s been troubled by dreams of monsters with silver faces trying to kill him. Wil then tries to explain that what the other man is seeing are visions of the future and that it’s real. Understandably Shea doesn’t believe him and he trips while backing away, suddenly seeing Wraiths, Hedy covered in blood, a cornfield, and the Warlock Lord’s skull. He then takes off into the cornfield. Then because of Murphy’s Law, a Wraith materializes but is quickly neutralized by Wil using the elfstones.
Jax’s got a soft side
Looks like Jax’s been using the money he earns from being a mercenary to help the family of one of his men. Unfortunately the Crimson finds him and wounds a young boy he’s supporting. He is quickly able to take them out but keeps Lieutenant Valka alive because the elf just made it personal. He takes the elf back to Leah so that King Ander can get info on General Riga. Sadly though the wife of one of his men (who had died) angrily tells him to leave and never come back because he’s cursed. Ouch. Back in Leah, Lyria brings Ander to the stable where Jax has Valka.
Everyone’s dying in Paranor
Back at Paranor, Flick is dying and pissed off at Allanon because the druid brought so much misery and heartache to his family. Allanon though is all please don’t blame me I didn’t choose their destinies. The elder Ohmsford scoffs at that and asks if it’s his destiny to die like this, to which Allanon remarks that some people are meant to be sacrificed. Wow he really needs to filter himself. But the human isn’t the only one suffering, Bandon notices that the druid isn’t looking too great and it turns out that they are both being weakened within the prison. But since Allanon is super old, the effects are worse on him because he uses magic to sustain himself, so basically he’s dying too.
The hunt in Shady Vale continues
The hunt for the Warlock Lord’s skull continues in Shady Vale. However, Shea is reluctant to believe that he’s anything more than a farmhand when the two time travelers tell him of all the great things he will do. Just when he’s had enough, Wil tells him the story of during one particularly bad winter he released a rabbit from a trap even though his family had no food to eat because he felt bad for the animal. Shea had never told anyone the story before and Wil said not yet anyways. Mareth recommends though that he should stay hidden because the Mord Wraiths are already looking for him. The trio go back into the cave where Wil asks his dad if he’s noticed anyone or anything unusual lately. Shea hasn’t though and says that he has to leave to meet Hedy because they’ve entered a scarecrow competition together. Wait a sec, did he forget that he broke up with her and also evil creatures hunting you! But the other man is stubborn and still wants to go but Wil in frustration bursts out saying that they do win the competition, Hedy tells her dad that she’s in love and that he’s heard this story his whole life. Shea then asks who Wil really is and the other man reveals that he is Shea’s son. Come he was dying to spill the beans! So Wil leaves dad in the cave and goes to check out the scarecrow with Mareth, relying on a hunch after remembering playing with the thing inside their barn as a kid. But it’s not there though they luckily run into Hedy who tells them that the Ohmsfords have a scarecrow out in their field. So the twosome rush over yet still no skull to be found. Wil then realizes that the scarecrow itself is just another clue and that his father and Allanon must have hidden it below in the field itself because in present day Shady Vale the whole area had become a lake after a flood. After some digging they manage to find it at long last. Things take a turn for the worse when the Mord Wraiths show up and find Shea who’s gone in search of Hedy to apologize. Wil manages to destroy them once again with the elfstones but his dad gets cut pretty deeply. He uses the magic again to heal his father and then has a heartfelt moment with his mom. He tells her that the road ahead of them won’t be easy but that Shea is a good man and to remember her love for him. This is the goodbye he was never able to properly have with her. Excuse me while I mop the tears from my keyboard. Mareth and Wil then return to the Paranor and the present, but before leaving they see Allanon riding into Shady Vale. Shea’s journey is about to begin.
Lyria and Ander talk about their marriage
Meanwhile in Leah, Ander asks the princess if she’s sure about going through with their marriage because of her feelings for Eretria. Lyria answers that this is how she’s going to keep the ex-rover safe by making her mother believe that she’s getting what she wants. The elven king then surmises that when they are married Queen Tamlin will have no choice but to support them and they will use that to defeat the Crimson. He also adds that if they do this they need to be honest with each other. She agrees that their people need to come first. They shake on it to seal the deal. The twosome then approach Queen Tamlin to seek her aid in eradicating the rebel elves. She proclaims that her weapons vault is at their disposal but Lyria also asks for a brigade of Leah soldiers. Their discussion is interrupted suddenly by one of the Tamlin’s guards who informs the royals that the Crimson had breached a wing of the palace and rescued Valka. Furious, Tamlin provides the bride and groom with three units. She then tells the guard to bring Jax to her. Looks like the ties between the queen and the Crimson are over as she hires him to kill General Riga.
Eretria goes dark for a second
Cogline tells Eretria that the Warlock Lord will seek her out because of the darkness within her and that she must prepare herself to resist him. If he is able to drink from the well and corrupts it, the Four Lands will be doomed. Alright we get it. Later on she returns to the electrified prison and stands in front of the Wraith. She then thrusts her hand inside it and manages to somehow vanquish it. During the smiting, Eretria’s eyes go completely black (much like Bandon’s before) and she gets a vision of the Wraiths and herself with yellow pupils as she if she’s possessed. Clearly rattled, she slowly backs out of the cell not understanding what she’s seen when Jax finds her. He explains that he was supposed to kill Riga but that plan went south and he’s pretty sure the Crimson is going to go after the queen. So Lyria and the mercenary hightail it back to Leah once again.
RIP Flick Ohmsford
Back in Paranor things are still pretty grim. The poison has consumed Flick even more and Bandon is campaigning to be released from the prison because he has no quarrel with them and only wants the skull. Mareth knows the spell to release either men and Wil asks her to trust him. She reluctantly does but tells him that she’ll go against Allanon’s wishes but he shouldn’t act like the druid. So the other halfling lets Bandon out but he then puts his blade against Flick’s chest saying that he’ll only cure the man if Wil hands over the skull. Wil demands that he help his uncle first before he hands over the Warlock Lord’s head. Flick then does the unimaginable and tells his nephew that he loves him before pulling Bandon’s sword down upon his chest. Holy crap! Wil is enraged and he uses the Sword of Shannara to fight the dark elf. Unfortunately he isn’t powerful enough and the other man is able to break the blade, stunning its wielder. Mareth in the meantime releases Allanon who then battles Bandon himself. This is such a hard scene to watch because the druid then gets wounded with the poisoned weapon while the Warlock Lord’s underling makes off with the skull. Curses!
The Crimson’s out for blood and gets it
It’s time for Ander and Lyria’s royal wedding at the palace but before they can say any kind of vow, General Riga reveals himself to be the officiant and all hell breaks loose. His men appear from all corners and it’s a blood bath. Lyria does a pretty decent job in battling the rogue elves herself with King Ander taking on the Crimson leader. Riga tells his king that he doesn’t deserve the crown and then stabs the other elf on the side. No. DO NOT LIKE. Eretria and Jax arrive in time to engage the enemy and the princess tries to take Riga out but is easily knocked aside. The general is about to kill her when Ander thrusts out his sword and this is where I scream NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Because what happens next is horrible. Riga then thrusts his blade into the elven king’s heart and the guy collapses. The episode ends with a close up on Ander as he stops breathing. WHAT THE DAMN HELL. This is not ok.
Final Thoughts
So technically Allanon isn’t the last druid because Cogline is still alive right?
Eretria is magical now too except she can be a weapon of the Warlock Lord and from the visions both she and Wil had, looks like she could be joining Team Dark Magic with Bandon sometime in the future.
Wil thanking his mom was so heart wrenching. It was a beautiful scene and truly such an intense moment for the character to be able to get closure and say goodbye to his mom.
Shady Vale back in the day gives off an intense hipster commune vibe. I like it.
Does Wil and Mareth revealing parts of the future to Shea change anything when they get back? Time travel is tricky business
Also Mareth has a crush on Wil! But the question is how does he feel in return? I know it’s been a year technically since Amberle’s death but I’m not ready for him to be ready yet!
Now that Allanon is poisoned as well, who can cure him since Bandon’s halfway back to his evil hideout by now.
We had two big deaths in Crimson and I was NOT prepared for it. Ok I was prepared for Flick’s death but not Ander. Now who is going to rule Arborlon? Who is left in the Elessidil line? Is this a opening to bring in Wren Elessidil from the books?
But in the immediate elven power vacuum General Riga could easily sweep in. Although this could also be a good move for Queen Tamlin to use Lyria as a pseudo ruler there since she was going to marry Ander.
Also I wasn’t expecting the Sword of Shannara to be destroyed so fast. It’s a pretty important magical weapon and now what are they going to use against the Warlock Lord?
I am 100% behind Eretria being magical because why do Wil, Mareth, Allanon, Cogline, and Bandon get all the fun?
The Gallaghers are coming back for Season 9 of Shameless on Showtime!
The announcement made earlier today by David Nevins, President and CEO, Showtime Networks Inc., comes off the news of Shameless’s Season 8 premiere delivering 50 percent year-over-year growth.
“As challenging as it can be for any show simply to maintain viewers in the current TV landscape, Shameless is adding them in droves,” Nevins said in a statement. “But it’s no mystery why. The series’ reputation for rich and resonant characters and for deep – and deeply twisted – comedy has drawn not only faithful longtime viewers, but a steadily growing audience. And creatively, the season that kicked off this past Sunday is stronger than ever.”
“We are so grateful to SHOWTIME for giving us the opportunity to continue making Shameless,” said series executive producer and showrunner John Wells. “It’s a labor of love (and a blast) for all of us.”
Season eight finds the Gallaghers on an upswing – Frank (Macy) comes out of a drug-induced haze and decides it’s finally time to be a contributing member of society. Fiona (Rossum) faces hard decisions when she discovers her success as a landlord might mean someone else’s misfortune. Lip (Jeremy Allen White) struggles with unexpected sacrifices he must make to stay sober, while Ian (Cameron Monaghan) takes up a cause in hopes of getting back with Trevor (Elliot Fletcher). Debbie (Emma Kenney) builds her future at welding school while juggling life as a single working mom, as Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) gets creative finding tuition money after he loses his scholarship. Meanwhile, Liam (Christian Isaiah) discovers just how different the Gallaghers are from the families of his rich classmates as Frank schools him on “sticking it to the man.” Kev (Steve Howey) and V (Shanola Hampton) have to find a way to deal with Svetlana (Isidora Goreshter) after she steals their bar, The Alibi.
The Call of Duty franchise shows no sign of slowing down with the debut of Call of Duty: WWII.
Activision’s Call of Duty: WWIIopening weekend raked in over $500 million in sold-through copies worldwide – doubling last year’s sales for Infinite Warfare. In comparison, the newest Call of Duty had a bigger opening weekend than Thor: Ragnarok and Wonder Woman combined!
“We challenged our players to get their squads back together and they answered the call, with the highest number of players we’ve ever seen on current gen consoles and PC,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision, in a statement. “Call of Duty: WWII returns the franchise to its roots and the results are incredible, selling twice as many units in its opening weekend as last year, and setting the day one record for full-game downloads on PlayStation 4. Our $500 million opening weekend was not only bigger than Thor: Ragnarok‘s, it was bigger than the opening weekends of both Thor and Wonder Woman combined. And we’re committed to supporting the community with continuous improvements and new content
Call of Duty: WII is now available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Hello, everyone! Welcome to the brand spanking new podcast, Supertrash: A Supergirl Podcast, hosted by Jen Stayrook and Alyssa Berkowitz.
For our inaugural episode, we discuss episode 3.04 of Supergirl “The Faithful” where Kara encounters a Supergirl worshipping cult.
Several interesting topics emerge from our discussion including: what would Alex have done in Europe if that plane didn’t crash, the age of Ruby, the legendary ‘girls night’, and of course, Sanvers and Supercorp.
This week on the Challenge XXX: Dirty Thirty: Six players fight for the last two spots in the finale, and the epic MILLION DOLLAR final begins.
Boat Ridin’ Dirty
As promised, the four competitors who secured their place in the finale last week were treated to a peaceful boat ride to a private island. This place was gorgeous, but was it actually a private island? It seemed more like a private bungalow on an island. This is not to say this place wasn’t beautiful, but if someone told me I was going to a private island I picture something a little different. Anywho, the company is 3 former champs and Tori, the rookie of the year. Everyone is nice and peaceful and civil. Even Jordan is being nice to Cara Maria. I know it’s a miracle.
Back in the house, the remaining six competitors are preparing to fight for their lives for their piece of a million dollars.
Snakes on a Beam
The name of this finale Challenge this season is “Snake Your Way Back In.” I know I have harped on the challenge titles this season, but come on, this one is SO bulky! I am officially renaming the challenge to “Slitherin’ Back In.”
Each player starts the challenge off sitting on two blue ropes hanging off of a beam. They need to shimmy their way to the end of the beam using these two ropes until they come to a single yellow rope. They must then transfer themselves onto the yellow rope and continue to shimmy to the end of the beam and fall into the water with the yellow rope in hand. The first one in the water to loop their yellow rope around their buoy wins.
The boys are up first where Hunter has decided to remove his cast to compete (more on this later)
Derrick: “I’m most nervous about losing to a guy who has one hand, and a clumsy Tony.”
Don’t worry guys, Derrick pulls it through and destroys his competition. Hunter was able to move maybe half an inch due to wrist (which is a surprise to no one) and Tony is barely able to gain any ground because he doesn’t know how to properly work his limbs.
But YAY DERRICK IS GOING TO THE FINALE!
CT: Derrick, the little engine that could, just chugs along. Gets it done.
Next up, the girls. As I said last week, there didn’t seem to be much of a front-runner out of these three, but man, Camila just crushed her competition. She was the only one that realized you have to shift your weight OFF of the rope you are trying to move and she cruises smoothly to the end of the beam into the water and then into the finale. The crazy thing is that neither Jenna nor Kailah took the time to see what Camila’s strategy was throughout the entire challenge. If they just snuck a peek they could have realized her technique and maybe have a fighting chance. In the end, Camila won, and Kailah sums up my feelings completely.
Kailah: Camila’s a really shitty person, and I didn’t really want to see her succeeding in a final or even making it there. I was hoping that her bad karma would catch up to her but it didn’t, and it really sucks.”
5 Champs and a Rookie
Now that the final 6 competitors are set, it is time for TJ to reveal as little information as possible to the cast about the upcoming finale. First, and most important, is the breakdown of the prize money.
3rd Place= 15K a piece
2nd Place= 35K a piece
1st Place= 450K a piece
So essentially if you don’t come in first, you are going home with chump change. That isn’t to say that 35K isn’t a lot of money, but it less than 10% of the first place winnings. Additionally, simply making it to the finale doesn’t guarantee you prize money. All competitors must COMPLETE the final in order receive their bounty. And with that, the cast is off to Salta, Argentina for the last leg of this journey.
TJ isn’t going with them to Argentina though, he has already been there to set up the DIRTIEST COURSE IN THE HISTORY OF COURSES. What is TJ trying to say here? Is he implying that he physically put together the final course or is he implying he helped design it? Both of these theories are highly improbable. First I can’t imagine TJ would volunteer to do the grunt work of setting up the final, that is what PA’s are for. Second, TJ doesn’t even have a producer’s credit on the show, why would he have any say in the structure and design of the finale?
On that note, the Finale 6 pack their bags and head to Salta, Argentina with their Argentine Tourism Agent: Jordan.
Jordan: “Argentina is one of the adventure capitals of the world. It has every terrain you can think of. Snowcap mountains, rivers, hills, woods. Anything you can think of Argentina has to throw at us, and I could not be more stoked.”
It is here that one of my favorite moments in challenge history occurs: Derrick talking to his son. Derrick makes his final call to his son before the final begins, and asks Little D if he had breakfast
Little D: “Yeah I had mashed potatoes and a twinkie.”
First, what a combo. The best part though is Derrick’s reaction. He is amused, slightly embarrassed, and then gives the camera a look worthy of Jim Halpert.
When I say Jump
Since TJ has already “been there, done that” with Salta Argentina, he delivers the first set of instructions via video message. In order to even GET to the final, the competitors must jump from a plane 20,000 feet above ground (which according to Jordan is 2x as high as a normal skydive).
Cara Maria is shaken to her core about this jump. I don’t think I have ever seen her in such a panic. While he does find her meltdown hilarious, even JORDAN also admits that he feels bad for her.
When they get to the skydiving place, we learn that they will have a “professional” strapped to their backs so they won’t be doing the jump solo. That is great, they have so much less to worry about. After watching these guys jump and land, I am really questioning their credentials as skydiving professionals.
First, the landing runway wasn’t dirt or grass, it was a gravel pathway. Derrick and Tori are the only two competitors to have a “normal” landing. CT and his “professional” landed in a way that the ground literally shredded his shorts into threads. That is nothing compared Jordan who crash-lands on his knee before bouncing off the ground a few more times. Everyone runs to Jordan to make sure he is okay, and an ambulance comes to check him out. He is pretty sure that his knee isn’t *fully* busted, so he decides to soldier on. But really, who are these “professionals” that production hired for this jump? Did they even test this challenge before throwing the cast in? Did TJ have to go through this jump to ensure that it was truly the dirtiest skydive Ever In Challenge History?!?! On top of that, Cara Maria and Camila land who the hell knows where and have to be driven to the main landing strip.
The Donations
Now that they are all on solid ground, and ⅔ of the male competitors are injured from the pre-challenge, challenge, it is time for the ACTUAL final to begin. The first leg is called “Donations” where the competitors have to pair up with the opposite sex to lug heavy rocks through a big ass maze. The pairs are as follows:
Cara/Derrick
Jordan/Camila
Tori/CT
Jordan is trying to fight through the pain in his knee, telling himself that 450,000 will buy him a new knee. I don’t mean to burst your bubble Jordan, but unless you have really good insurance (which as a small business owner is unlikely) that prize money may not cover as much of a total knee replacement as you think it will. Jordan isn’t the only one having a hard time, all of the players are struggling to complete the task due to the high altitude. When the episode ends all three teams are pretty much even, with Jordan and Camila possibly having a slight lead.
On The Shannara Chronicles this week, Team Magic is on a side trip to recover a powerful weapon, while Eretria and Jax return to Leah to warn King Ander about a certain queen’s Crimson related activities. Meanwhile Ander and Lyria spend some quality time together and get real.
As the return of the Warlock Lord draws closer to reality, here are the eight must know moments from season 2 episode 4, Dweller.
Allanon is the worst dad ever
Back at Storlock (where Wil was aided by the gnomes), Allanon is convinced that he can’t be Mareth’s dad because he was told that the druid’s sleep prevented him from having children. Wil asks him to consider that maybe he had bad information. The guy really shouldn’t rely on magic as a contraceptive. The druid you should know better! There could be tons of little druids around the Four Lands thanks to the “druid’s sleep.” Poor Mareth though has to deal with the rejection and puts on a brave face claiming that she doesn’t want a dad, just a teacher to help her control her growing powers.
Will gets the elfstones back
Wil being reunited with the eflstones is all thanks to Eretria who found it at Graymark. You’re welcome. It’s super obvious that the ex-rover doesn’t want to leave him again but he tells her that it’s too dangerous for her to go to Paranor with them and that they will see each other again. From his perspective that makes sense since he doesn’t care about Allanon’s safety right now apart from needing him to get Flick back and he doesn’t really know Mareth so both their lives are expendable. Eretria however actually matters to him and so he wants her away from danger as much as possible.
Dark Bandon goes shirtless
While preparing for a spell of sorts, Bandon goes shirtless while an uncomfortable Flick is trying to remain calm. I may have gasped out loud when this scene happened. The older man tries to convince the magic user that he cannot trust the Warlock Lord. Bandon responds back that the world doesn’t take care about people like him and to prove his point, he and Flick ask a nearby farmer if they could spend the night there claiming to be on their way to Arborlon. The farmer agrees saying that he’s happy to help a fellow elf out. During dinner the Warlock Lord’s servant asks the man and his wife about their life and how they came upon the property. As their hosts chat the conversation moves to magic and how they despise anyone who practices it, believing that it is the cause of all problems in the Four Lands. To make matters worse, the couple’s young son brings in a mask that was used to chain the son of the former occupants of the house. Of course it turns out to be Bandon’s old mask because this used to be his house. Using his abilities he flings back the farmer and his wife, forces the kid to wear the mask and then kills the young boy in front of his parents. Yikes. He’s proven his point to Flick that most people wouldn’t hesitate to do the same to him just because of his gifts.
Jax and Eretria have a bonding moment
Allanon sends Eretria back to Leah in order to warn King Ander of the queen’s possible duplicity. Jax had earlier told the druid that the swords the Crimson possessed could only be made by the sorcerers of Leah. While she’d rather go to Paranor to be with Wil and to avoid seeing her ex-girlfriend Princess Lyria, she reluctantly agrees and the with mercenary accompanying her. While camping out, Eretria asks him about the tattoos on his knuckles and if he was a member of the Border Legion. Surprisingly he opens up and essentially confirms it. Jax tells the story of how he and his highly trained men encountered demons during a routine scouting mission and we are led to assume that no one else survived but him.
Lyria and Ander get acquainted
Lyria explains her love for Eretria to the elven king, which is a good move on her part. Unfortunately though he also finds himself in a bind because he needs Queen Tamlin’s support. Am I the only who thinks that if Lyria took the throne from her mother then she could do whatever she want and help the elves without all these strings attached? Eretria and Jax just happen to arrive in Leah to overhear this conversation between the two royals. Jax hands over the Crimson blade to Ander and explains how it came from here, while Eretria says that the elven group also kidnapped Allanon in the stables. They had been waiting for the druid and she sent Catania to tell him. The elven king says that she never made it and that Edain told him she went back to Arborlon. The ex-rover rightfully states that the guy is lying and that he’s got to be the mole. Finally!
The Sword of Shannara found
Allanon takes Wil and Mareth on a side journey that pisses the halfling off understandably. He explains that to defeat the Warlock Lord, they need to recover the Sword of Shannara that is actually buried with Shea Ohmsford. They go to a hidden location through an underground cavernous labyrinth where the trio find themselves stalked by a creature called a dweller. It manages to capture Wil and takes him to it’s nest. There the poor guy goes through his worst trauma and while the creature feeds of his pain. Props to the special effects in this shot because that tentacle is nasty looking. As the beast begins to suck the life force from Wil, we see a much younger version of the halfling playing with his dad’s sword in the barn. Shea catches him and basically loses it, screams to never touch the blade and then starts whacking his kid with it in a mad rage. Soon though Mareth and and Allanon find the nest and the spider-like dweller is in defense mode. The druid almost gets his head bitten off when Wil is able to destroy it using the elfstones. They then make their way to Shea’s final resting place where Wil is able to say a final goodbye to his father, who left him and his mother when he was still a child. He finally understands his dad’s actions and got closure. Bonus: Wil claimed the Sword of Shannara which reacted to his touch. Now on to rescue Flick!
Queen Tamlin lies her ass off
When an enraged Ander confronts the queen after catching Edain red handed, she deftly turns the accusation back on him saying that he’s the one with a Crimson member in his party. She then switches her tactic to threatening him into calling off the wedding/alliance because she claimed to want her daughter most of all. He then comments though that would be great news for Lyria because she has no intentions of marrying him. He then aggressively asks Queen Tamlin if he can count on her support to crush the Crimson once and for all. Reluctantly she gives him her word, but that doesn’t really mean much at the moment does it?
Lyria has her own demands
The princess goes to see Eretria before the other girl is off again and the two women share a tender kiss. The ex-rover tells Lyria that she has so much power because her mother needs her more than she needs her mom. Something clicks in her mind and she informs her highness that when she becomes queen herself, her support won’t be there. In turn an upset Queen Tamlin asks what she thinks she’s doing. Finally it seems that Lyria is learning how to play the game and is opening negotiations to get what she wants. The princess wants to be treated as an equal and for Eretria to be left alone. The kitten has claws of her own!
Final Thoughts
Really enjoying the Crimson storyline this season because it is incredibly applicable to events going on in the real world. Shannara Chronicles doesn’t shy away from the ugly side of life to depict bigotry and fanaticism. The scene when Bandon kills a child was particularly gruesome as well and not easy to watch. Speaking of which, it was fascinating to see him interact with the family because you can see how he’s lost compassion for people. He seems to give them a chance to prove him wrong but had they acted differently would he have left them in peace? I’m not sure. Still, it’s difficult to digest because both parties are in the wrong. The family for being bigoted and Bandon for murder.
While I’m still shipping Lyretria, it’ll be fun to see how Ander and Lyria work together in a political alliance. I suspect the two may get married only to achieve their own personal agendas.
This week on Supergirl: Sanvers is headed toward a breakup, in true CW fashion, so let’s talk about it.
Spoilers: no one has actually died, thank goodness, but there are spoilers through Supergirl season three, episode four “The Faithful.”
Relationships don’t last on The CW. It’s a running joke that if you love a pairing on the network, don’t get your hopes up because the writers love drama more than romance. So when Alex Danvers and Maggie Sawyer got engaged at the end of Supergirl’s second season, avid CW viewers knew that spelled the end of the beloved pair, but it didn’t stop LGBT fans from getting excited. Since their beginning, Sanvers has been a high point in a sophomore season full of lows, but even with their awesome and vocal fanbase, Sanvers still has problems in their representation, an issue that has become all the more glaring in season three of Supergirl.
Despite knowing The CW’s poor track record with relationships, fans became elated at the thought of a big, gay wedding on Supergirl, full of hope that they might finally get the spotlight they deserve. And then a few days after the finale, The CW announced that Floriana Lima, the actress who plays Maggie, would only be returning to Supergirl season three in a limited capacity. Considering that as a “series regular,” Maggie existed solely as a partner for Alex, appearing briefly in most episodes, a limited return spelled the end of the pair.
AND I’M DYING INSIDE BECAUSE OF IT.
Through four episodes of season three, it’s clear that the writers don’t intend for Maggie to stick around on the show, even in a long-distance situation, which means Sanvers is doomed to break up. With hints of arguments over the wedding and the possibility of children, Sanvers is likely going to break up (likely in the next episode) over a difference of how they see their future, and honestly, that’s probably the best outcome.
The Writers Don’t Know What To Do With Sanvers
Alex’s coming out journey has been one of, if not the, best arc on Supergirl. It was a slow enough burn that it gave viewers time to appreciate Alex’s struggle, but also didn’t needlessly draw out her pain for the sake of tension. Chyler Leigh brought a depth to Alex’s emotions that resonated, especially with LGBT fans. It was obvious from her coming out speeches to both Maggie and Kara that the writers took their time researching how important such a moment is to a queer person and it was handled delicately.
However, once Alex and Maggie became a couple, the writers had no idea what to do with them. Their relationship was filled with drama that boiled down mostly to an absurd lack of communication. Even in season three, I find it hard to believe that Maggie would have such a hard stance on children if Alex had opened up to her fiancé the same way she did with Kara. (And maybe she will, but it will likely be too late.) Instead, the pair has been forced to bicker and then make up over the course of around five minutes per episode in an attempt to give them a story arc, but all it has done is disconnect the pair from the rest of Supergirl. Given their lack of screen time, it’s no wonder that fans had a hard time connecting with the relationship.
Despite a lack of screen time, Chyler Leigh is AMAZING at breaking my heart.
Sanvers Never Fit Into The Supergirl Story
Even worse than the lack of screen time was the separation between Sanvers and the rest of the plots on Supergirl. Despite being a detective in National City who knows the truth about Supergirl, Maggie hasn’t been given an opportunity to work more fully with the DEO, thereby giving her a chance to develop her character separate from Alex. Instead, Maggie has been treated as a secondary character, one whose background and demeanor has been reduced to cliches for the sake of how it might impact her relationship. Because of Maggie’s inherent distance from Supergirl and the DEO, she never became fully integrated into that world, especially not when compared to how the writers find ways to integrate Mon-El, Winn, and James more into the plots. And with that, Maggie was always seen as a girlfriend first and a detective second.
Alex’s Development Suffered Because of Sanvers
This one hurts to write. I hate even reading that I wrote that Sanvers might at all be a negative influence for Alex, but at the end of the day, with the writers not knowing how to integrate Maggie into the story, Alex was pushed to the outside as well. It was as though the writers only had a limited amount of time Chyler Leigh could be on screen and instead of showing her as the self-sacrificing sister of Kara Danvers or the badass DEO agent, they relied on her being the other half of Sanvers.
I do adore Alex’s relationship with her gun, though.
In place of Alex’s protective presence, the writers put Mon-El as the forefront, the one who would “protect Kara against all others.” When Kara was in danger, it was Mon-El, not Alex, who tried to save her. Because of this emphasis on the two romantic relationships, instead of the sisters, Supergirl, and Alex, fell to the wayside. On the DEO side of things, J’onn stayed at the forefront (and admittedly, even his role was limited), so Alex was left to make brief appearances in fight sequences, leaving her story separate from Team Supergirl.
The Future for Alex and Sanvers
Maggie had the chance to become a wonderful, beloved character, but she was never given the opportunity to shine like some of the other recurring characters on Supergirl. (And I don’t blame Lima for not wanting to stay on as a character who was given such a short straw.) Maybe Maggie can return to the series later on, as it looks as though the Supergirl writers are going the smart route and NOT killing off her character. Until then, she will leave and Alex will be left to pick up the pieces. And we will all mourn the breakup together.
I hope that this shift gives Supergirl a chance to focus more on Alex’s development but moreover to learn from their experiences with Sanvers. I hope that the writers learn that while it’s important to represent the LGBT community, it’s more important to treat that community with respect. I hope that whoever Alex dates next (and I hope she’s given that time to date), she is given the time and development she deserves.
And I hope that Alex meets Sara Lance in the crossover and all of my smutty dreams come true.
Until then, I’m sorry, Sanvers. I loved you for the little time you were on my television.
A little bit Goonies, a little bit Aliens, and add 1830’s nautical history and you get a recipe for heaps of adventure in Michael Northrop’s Polaris. The book tells the story a ship on a scientific voyage that goes dreadfully wrong and the young crew left to fend for themselves. While on an expedition to the jungles of Brazil, only a few sailors make it back and soon an argument ensues on what to do with a sick crewman resulting in mutiny. The mutineers then abandon the Polaris and try to destroy it, with no regard for the boys still on it.
The story a wild ride as the children attempt to figure out what is happening and somehow make it back to land by themselves. Polaris plays out part thriller part horror as kids slowly realize that they aren’t alone on the ship and there is something very sinister below deck. I highly enjoyed the narrative as it was reminiscent of adventure movies in the 1980’s where a group of kids found themselves having to deal with a force outside of their ordinary lives. Against all odds they banded together to survive and overcame multiple obstacles. With the second season of Stranger Things having been released this past weekend, Polaris very much has the same flavor to it, except it’s set on a sailing vessel in the 1830’s.
I also particularly enjoyed the perspectives of Owen the cabin boy and captain’s nephew, Henry the scientist’s assistant, and the Spanish Brothers. The book was told from the point of views of various characters and you really got to understand their backstories and motivations. In addition, it was also a lot of fun to read the group dynamics and to see how each individual handled the extremely pressured and stressful situation they were in. Henry especially was interesting because he was the only one who was not a sailor and was the proverbial fish out of water. He had to get his sea legs and get them fast if he was going to survive. But we also find out that he serves a very important role in the story and it’s thanks to his brain that they have a fighting chance against the mysterious being lurking in the dark spaces of the ship.
Polaris is an action-packed adventure full of creepy noises, tense moments, twists and turns, and secrets. You’ll see what it was like to be a kid on a ship in the 1830’s and frankly it was a hard life. Northrop does a fantastic job in taking his readers into this world, showing us that these children are survivors and can handle challenges thrown at them. I was already dream casting characters in my head! Finn Wolfhard would make an excellent Henry.
Michael Northrop is also the author of the Tombquest series, Trapped, Surrounded by Sharks, Plunked, Rotten, and Gentlemen.
Polaris comes out on October 31, 2017 just in time for Halloween.
After a four year wait, the latest solo adventure for everyone’s favorite God of Thunder is upon us in the form of Thor: Ragnarok.
Directed with goofy energy by filmmaker Taika Waititi this third adventure in Asgard is less Game of Thrones and more Saturday morning cartoon. As someone in the small minority who loves the very first Thor film by Kenneth Branagh I was skeptical of a drastic change in tone but overall this change works after getting through a rocky first act that is unfortunately filled with more jokes that don’t work than ones that do.
Laughs aside, Ragnarok is also filled with quite a few big moments that will have a huge impact on the future of the character and the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole as it marches toward Avengers: Infinity War and its untitled sequel. So without further ado let’s recount all of those moments here and discuss what each one might mean for the future.
But be warned – everything is below is full of MASSIVE SPOILERS so please don’t read until after you’ve seen Ragnarok!
Last chance to avoid spoilers…I’m gonna start with a doozy…
Ok, you asked for it…
The Deaths of The Warriors Three
For as long as we’ve known Thor (Chris Hemsworth) we’ve known his three best pals, The Warriors Three, as the valiant bros who would follow him into any danger against all odds. We’ve been led to believe that they are among Asgard’s greatest fighters but in this movie Hela (a delightfully campy Cate Blanchett) shows up and kills Volstagg (Ray Stevenson) and Fandral (Zachary Levi) within seconds of them appearing on screen for the first time. I can’t even remember if they managed to have a line!
Hogun (Tadanobu Asano) gets to put up a little more of a fight against Hela when he shows up later, but is also quickly impaled and taken off of the chess board. It’s clear to see these deaths were meant to showcase the ferocity of Hela and what she can do but they’re thrown in so quickly and with so little emotional buildup that they fail to register with the audience or even anyone on screen. Farewell, friends!
Where is Lady Sif?!
After the quick deaths of The Warriors Three I kept waiting for Lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander) to show up and exact some revenge but don’t hold your breath. She’s nowhere to be seen here. In fact, no one even seems to be missing her. One has to assume the character was safely off-planet and ready to pop up in a future film.
Farewell Mighty Odin
At the end of Thor: The Dark World Loki (Tom Hiddleston) had used his tricks to put himself into Odin’s (Anthony Hopkins) shoes to become the king of Asgard but the real Odin’s fate was left somewhat of a mystery. In this film we quickly learn that Loki banished Odin to Earth so the two half brothers ride the rainbow bridge on down and meets up with Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch in a somewhat frivolous cameo) who helps locate Odin on a cliff in Norway. It is there that they say a final farewell to the great king but not before he gives them a heads up that they have a demonic older sister named Hela who is about to be free from her purgatory and plans to wreak havoc on everything.
If you’re keeping score that makes 4 relatively major characters in the world of Thor who bite the dust in the first hour of this thing. At this rate Thor 4 could be made for a real bargain price.
Thor is now Hammerless?
You’ve probably seen this in the trailers or TV spots already but mere minutes after showing up Hela manages to destroy Thor’s trusty hammer Mjölnir (quite easily I might add)! But if you were thinking he’d somehow magically get it back by the end think again. The hammer never flies back into his hand and we’re now left with the thought that Thor might just be using his own body to fight from here on out. Well, saying “just his body” is a little bit of a stretch because…
Thor Gets a Power Boost!
In a moment eerily similar to when Yogurt tells Lone Star in Spaceballs that the Schwartz ring is “bupkis” and the real power is within himself, Thor learns from a vision of Odin that he doesn’t need Mjölnir to fully access his power as the God of Thunder. He merely needs to channel that power internally to make himself get what I liken to a video game power boost that makes him crackle with lightning and shoot powerful bolts while he fights. This added oomph to his strength should come in handy during the upcoming fight with Thanos in Infinity War but I think I personally prefer seeing him beat up bad guys with a hammer.
…But Thor Also Loses An Eye
Gain a power boost. Lose an eyeball. That’s the real lesson of Thor: Ragnarok. In his final battle with Hela, Thor briefly gets bested and loses his right eye to her blades (its not as gruesome as it sounds if you’re worried about traumatizing your children). The film ends with Thor donning an eyepatch similar to the one worn by Odin but one wonders if this is a look that will continue into Infinity War. We haven’t seen a trailer yet but when footage of that film was shown at San Diego Comic Con there was no sight of Thor wearing an eye patch so either he’ll be getting some kind of new eye implanted or maybe Marvel was playing with us in the footage to keep this a secret and will be adding CG eyepatch later on? Only time will tell.
Bruce Banner Had Been in Hulk Mode for Two Years!
One major plot point in the film revolves around Thor being reunited with Hulk on the planet Sakar when they are forced to fight each other in a gladiator arena. After the initial bashing and smashing the two of them get friendly again and we learn that Bruce Banner had been in Hulk form ever since the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron – a whopping TWO YEARS!
When Thor finally coaxes him back to Bruce mode we learn about Bruce’s fear that if he transforms into Hulk once again, he may never be able to turn back. As this film’s final battle kicks off Bruce attempts to simply support Thor in human form but when a giant dog (I’m not kidding) threatens a group of innocent Asgardians Bruce transforms back into the Hulk and remains that way until the credits roll. We’re tempted to think he might be stuck that way forever now but I think its a fair bet that his potential love interest, Black Widow, will be able to pull him back from the green brink.
Asgard Is Destroyed
Ragnarok begins with Thor confronting the villain Surtur (Clancy Brown) who has the goal of uniting his crown with the Eternal Flame that burns beneath Asgard in order to destroy it. Thor wins this early battle and places Surtur’s crown in Asgard’s vault for safekeeping.
Fast forward to the final battle with Hela who gets her strength from Asgard and plans to use that strength to conquer the entire universe. Thor and friends attempt to stop her but realize they just aren’t strong enough so instead they kind of do the unthinkable: pile all of the surviving Asgardians on a lifeboat-esque spacecraft and then allow Surtur to do his thing by destroying Asgard and Hela along with it.
And that’s exactly what happens. This film ends with Thor’s home planet as we know it exploding into millions of tiny pieces. Thor then becomes king of not a physical Asgard but of the people who made it onto the ship and intend to make a new home somewhere else. Will that new home be Earth? I’d say it’s likely!
Pretty Sure Loki Nabbed An Infinity Stone
Remember how at the end of Age of Ultron Thor left on a quest to find the remaining infinity stones? Well, if you were hoping for that to be a plot point here you’ll be sorely disappointed. With a single line of dialogue in Ragnarok’s opening minutes Thor mentions that he went looking for the stones but found nothing. That’s it.
Umm…okay? Guess it wasn’t that important after all?
The film remains devoid of infinity stone hints with the exception of a visit to the vault of Asgard where we not only see a gauntlet for the stones but one of the stones itself – the Tesseract used by Loki in The Avengers. And while we don’t get clear evidence of the theft, good old Loki gives the stone a rather tantalizing look when he goes into the vault. He obviously couldn’t just let it explode with the rest of Asgard so I’d say it’s a good bet it’ll be found in his pockets and knowing Loki’s penchant for evil, I’d say there’s a good bet he’ll use it to get back into Thanos’ good graces.
Who’s in the Big Ship in that Mid-Credits Scene?
In true Marvel Cinematic Universe fashion Ragnarok includes two additional scenes after the movie initially wraps up. The one at the very end of the credits is a funny little bit featuring Jeff Goldblum’s wacky Grandmaster character but the one that appears in the middle of the end credits is a bit more consequential…
Thor and Loki are chatting about the impending return to Earth on their Asgardian lifeboat when they suddenly find their ship sliding right into the shadow of a much larger and menacing ship. The passengers of this new ship are not revealed as the film fades to black. Is it someone completely new on the scene? Someone from the Guardians of the Galaxy side of the universe? Or is it Thanos himself ready to take the Tesseract right out of Loki’s slimy hands?
We learned from the Comic Con footage of Infinity War that the Guardians find Thor floating in space so its probably safe to assume that things don’t go well with whoever is on this ship. But I think we’ll have to wait until May to find out for sure.
I still think the original Thor is still my favorite movie about the God of Thunder but Ragnarok manages to truly shake things up with all of the twists and turns listed above. What theories do you all have about the things mentioned above? Post them now in the comments below!
