USA has announced that Grace Gummer will be joining the cast of Mr. Robot as a series regular in the second season.
Gummer will star as Dominique (Dom) DiPierro, a young FBI field agent investigating the Evil Corp Hack. She will use her instinctive skills to try and track down the fsociety members and find answers.
The series recently took home the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama and Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for Christian Slater.
Imagine waking up, alone with no memory of who you are or how you got there. The only clue to your existence is a tattoo with a name you don’t recognize. If that isn’t bad enough, you realize that your movements are controlled by an outside force. This interesting premise is the opening of Klaus, a 2D puzzle platformer from La Cosa Entertainment for the PS4. But is there more to Klaus than just an intriguing premise? Well…
Normally I like to start a review with the positives of a game but like Klaus, I’m going to save the good stuff for later. After a promising intro, the game hands the controllers over to you the “Player”, an actual in-game character in Klaus’ fourth wall breaking narrative (See I said it was interesting). Klaus controls like any 2D platformer, with sprint and jump being the means used to get through each level. Unfortunately, Klaus himself is floaty and unprecise, leading to frustration as you’ll often times miss a crucial jump and plummet to your death. After a while you can convince yourself that you are used to his movements but even at the very end I found myself missing simple jumps. If the platforming isn’t satisfying, maybe the puzzle aspects can save the experience?
At no point through Klaus’ main campaign, did any of the “puzzles” feel clever or satisfying. Often times they are a matter of finding a key, unlocking a gate and proceeding to the exit. I never had to take a minute to think or walk away like many great puzzle platformers require, simply pushing through got the job done. I know what you’re thinking, “with floaty frustrating controls and boring puzzles, Klaus probably isn’t worth recommending right?” Well…
So, yes, controlling Klaus through each level isn’t fun most of the time, but the game introduces a second playable character with new mechanics about an hour and a half into the game who is genuinely fulfilling to play as. It’s the constant introduction of new mechanics that keeps Klaus fresh and fulfilling to play. The new mechanics more than compensate for his floaty controls, even if those controls have you cursing out loud as you miss the same jump dozens of times in a row. Helping push the players to the end are secret levels that have the best “puzzles” and platforming the game has to offer. These levels are so good, that I genuinely wish the game was an hour-long and only these levels. Also, that interesting premise has to pay off in the end right?
Yes, the opening premise pays off in a big way, slowly unveiling more about where Klaus has awoken, who he is and what happened to him. By the end of the game I was happy I had played to completion. I do wish I had reached the completion sooner however. The in-game statistics say it took me 4 hours to beat the entire game, which I’m skeptical of because it felt much longer. Each chapter over stays its welcome and does a disservice to the game as a whole. This also hurts the art style, which at first blush is beautiful in its simplicity but after a while turns boring and stale. I’d rather have a tight, well-paced experience than one that feels fluffed to justify a price point. (Editor’s Note: You’re better than this.)
Klaus like its title character is a fascinating albeit flawed game. While overly long and often times frustrating, I do believe it is a game that fans of 2D puzzle platforming will be grateful they finished. It’s truly a shame the game does so much to try to stop players from getting there.
Insomniac, creators of the Ratchet & Clank series, Resistance series, and Sunset Overdrive, have announced their next game, Song of the Deep, and it’s not what you may have expected. Insomniac best describes it as “a brand-new Metroidvania-style underwater adventure.”
You play as 12-year-old Merryn who is on an quest to find her father. The gameplay will revolve around the girl and her submarine as you guide her through an “expansive and mysterious world,” “discover sunken cities,” and solve “diabolical puzzles.” The submarine will even be upgradable as you find a new substance known as “Tyne”. There are even situations where Merryn will need to leave her submarine to get herself out of a tight spot or two.
One of the most interesting things about Song of the Deep is the publisher. Ted Price, Chief Creative Officer of Insomniac, has announced that GameStop will be handling the publishing rights, in what he has called a “non-traditional developer-publisher relationship.” This is the first time GameStop is working as a publisher directly with a developer. According to GameStop Group global lead Mark Stanley, they will be treating Song of the Deep as a “full AAA launch.”
Song of the Deep was completely unknown until this announcement, yet it will launch within a few short months. It’s really unlike anything I’ve seen before, and has definitely peaked my interest. This is a game you should absolutely have on your radar.
Song of the Deep will launch this spring for $14.99 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Physical copies of the game will be exclusive to GameStop (for obvious reasons). Keep an eye out for an official release date as we head farther into the year.
Are you excited for this underwater adventure? What do you think of GameStop as a publisher? Let us know in the comments down below!
What’s up, guys and gals! Welcome to the Workprint Gamescast!
Listen to Rob, Jen, Bilal, and the gang talk about the latest in video games news, what they’re playing, and all other manner of nerdy habits.
THIS WEEK ON THE GAMESCAST: Another full house on this week’s episode as Josh and James join our usual trio to discuss the week in gaming. Find out what drives our heroes up a wall when it comes to gaming. Discover how far Josh can push Rob’s buttons before he retires from podcasting.
Want to watch our shenanigans live? Check out the Workprint Twitch channel. Our gamescast goes live every Wednesday at 8:30 PM EST.
Spoilers through The Flash 2×11 – “The Reverse-Flash Returns” and Arrow 4×11 – “A.W.O.L.”
It’s no secret that the sophomore season of The Flash has been riddled with plot holes and character issues; and don’t even get me started on all the shenanigans going down on Arrow this year. Two shows that were once at the top of their genre have since fallen to the way side and that’s a damn shame, because when Flash and Arrow were good, they were so good.
That being said, the two DC comics shows aren’t the worst things on television (that title belongs to Shadowhunters right now–Sorry, Nicole!). There are some good parts to them: they’re mindless fun, don’t require much effort, and some of the characters are really well done. I adore Felicity and the Diggle family on Arrow and Joe and Barry’s relationship on The Flash is top-notch. Likewise, I can forgive many inconsistencies or suspend belief for the sake of the story. Sure, Arrow became popular because the show was grounded and gritty but he is still a comic book character.
However, the most recent episodes for both shows made moves that went beyond believing the fantastical and journeyed into the just plain idiotic for the sake of moving the story forward.
The Flash started the week out with the death of Turtle, the aptly named villain who could slow the speed of those around him. Contrasting perfectly with Barry Allen’s speed, the Turtle’s abilities seemed to hold the missing link for Team Flash to finally find a way to stop Zoom. Earth-2’s Harrison Wells wasn’t a fan of that because he’s still more interested in saving his daughter (understandable) and thus, killed Turtle via brain aneurysm, thereby halting their research and giving Zoom a greater edge, and no one on Team Flash suspects a thing.
No, seriously? Team Flash and S.T.A.R. Labs has this hi-tech vault make exclusively to imprison metahumans but they don’t have security cameras? The show made a joke out of how much the team has beefed up security since the start of the season but still it seems like anyone and everyone has been able to just show up unannounced. For some of the smartest minds in the world, Team Flash can be pretty dumb.
And I can’t get over how frustrating it was that Patty Spivot cried wolf to learn that Barry was the Flash. You’re better than that, Patty.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Team Arrow has been far to smart this season. More specifically, the show has relied too heavily on Felicity Smoak to do any and everything for the group of vigilantes, including controlling construction equipment wirelessly. I don’t doubt that Felicity is one of the best hackers in their universe, but at some point it has to stop. In MOMENTS, she is able to break into A.R.G.U.S.’s secured facility and unlock doors and computer files at will. The group of villains had to steal a dead agent’s eyeball to gain access. If breaking into A.R.G.U.S. was so easy, then why didn’t she just access all of Waller’s files on Shadowspire beforehand? Why haven’t they used this skill to learn all they can about Damien Darhk?
Or maybe it’s just Felicity who is too smart because Team Arrow chose to ignore valuable information for the sake of tension in the story. Andy Diggle straight up told the crew that the rail guns were a diversion for something bigger, something more dangerous, but because Oliver and Co. “know better”, they still put all their eggs in the “protect the rail guns” basket. And that decision led to the death of Amanda Waller.
Also, can we discuss how ridiculous it was that the leader of Shadowspire gave both Amanda Waller and Lyla 20 minutes each to decide whether or not they were going to give him the access codes to Rubicon? He didn’t give them TO access the codes; he gave them 20 minutes to LET Team Arrow come save them. That’s almost worse than the cliche villain monologue explaining every detail of his plan for evil to stomp out good.
Don’t get me wrong, I actually enjoyed both of the most recent episodes of The Flash and Arrow, especially Felicity dealing with her inner demons, but the enjoyment is diminished by the fact that writing and plot development has been horrendous all season. At times, it’s hard to believe these are even the same shows from one year ago.
The Flash airs Tuesdays on The CW at 8pm EST. Arrow airs Wednesdays on The CW at 8pm EST.
SHADOWHUNTERS - "Dead Man's Party" - Clary, Jace, Alec and Isabelle must hatch a rescue plan that takes them into the heart of a vampire lair in “Dead Man’s Party,” an all-new episode of “Shadowhunters,” airing Tuesday, January 26th at 9:00 – 10:00 p.m., EST/PST on Freeform, the new name for ABC Family. ABC Family is becoming Freeform on January 12, 2016. (ABC Family/John Medland)
KATHERINE MCNAMARA, DOMINIC SHERWOOD
Shadowhunters
Season 1, Episode 3: “Dead Man’s Party”
Air Date: January 26, 2016
In this week’s Shadowhunters, the squad must somehow figure out a way to rescue Simon from the night’s children at the Hotel DuMort without telling the Clave of their plans. Clary continues to struggle in a completely new and dangerous world, but she is slowly finding her own path as a new Shadowhunter. She remains determined in saving those she loves from great peril despite having recently learned that the villainous Valentine is her father.
While there was plenty of action and romance to go around, audiences were also treated to a lot of serious and angsty moments that showed the complexities of the shadow world.
From the nephilim to vampires and seelies, here are our favorite scenes:
When the Shadowhunters head to the cemetery to find Mary Mulligan’s cash of weapons, Alec voices his opinion to Jace as he doesn’t understand how the other can trust Clary when he doesn’t even know her. Before the elder Lightwood sibling heads back to the Institute to get a bow, he tells Jace that of course he trusts his parabatai but in turn Jace shouldn’t doubt his loyalty.
Being parabatai for the nephilim is a sacred bond between two Shadowhunters to fight together as lifelong partners (regardless of gender) and is a relationship even stronger than that of siblings.
After Alec leaves, Jace begins to teach Clary how to wield a seraph blade in the cemetery and tells her that the blade knows that she’s a Shadowhunter. As he guides her in the proper way to use the weapon, audiences get an incredibly intimate scene between the two as they are obviously attracted to each other but neither is willing to act on it yet.
“You make it a part of yourself, and it a part of you. Now the blade never dims. It’s saying you belong together.” – Jace
Later on, Jace and Clary kill some time at a biker bar frequented by vampires and end up stealing a motorcycle that’s been demonically modified for a little joyride. It’s a great moment as Jace is able to show her that not all parts of the shadow world are terrible. For a little while they can just enjoy cruising in the air like teens without a care in the world.
Izzy goes to see Meliorn, a Seelie (half angel half demon) and her occasional love toy. The two try to extract information from the other in between lots of kissing. Meliorn for his part tries to find out if Clary has the Mortal Cup while Miss Lightwood finds out how to get inside the vampires’ lair. The whole scene is incredibly passionate and Izzy slays in that red dress!
But let’s not forget the major make out session between Simon and New York vampire clan leader Camille Belcourt either. He even bites her neck and draws blood! Yowza. The beautiful vamp has the accounting student enthralled and he reveals that Clary’s memory had been blocked and she doesn’t know where the Mortal Cup is. This seriously pisses Camille off because she knows that Magnus Bane must have been the one to tamper with the girl’s memory.
After Izzy extracts information from Meliorn and discovers how to sneak into the Hotel Dumort, the Lightwoods meet up and she begins to berate Alec about how repressed he is. The two are quite opposite where Izzy is incredibly comfortable in her skin while big brother is a stickler for rules. While Alec is the responsible sibling, Izzy has a rebellious streak. Still its touching to see her always on his case about relaxing because she wants him to be himself and be happy.
In the final scene of the episode, Simon and Clary are safely reunited in the Hotel Dumort’s rooftop after Raphael lets him go. In relief she tells him that she can’t live without him because she’s already lost everything else. Simon is essentially her anchor, her steady rock that gives her life any sense of normalcy after being plunged into the shadow world. But it’s so heartbreaking to see Simon’s face after she kisses him on the cheek because he totally wants to kiss her on the lips but he can’t do it. Oh the pain of unrequited love!!!
What were your favorite scenes this week? Comment below!
You can catch Shadowhunters on Freeform Tuesdays 9/8 central.
The event co-founder of the Evolution Championship Series, Joey Cuellar, has announced the nine games that will be included for the 2016 tournament. Returning favorites include Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Super Smash Bros. Melee, while new entries such as Street Fighter V, Pokken Tournament, Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator, and Tekken 7: Fated Retribution will be hitting the game floor.
The full Evo 2016 Games list includes:
Street Fighter 5
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator
Mortal Kombat X
Pokkén Tournament
Killer Instinct
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Tekken 7: Fated Retribution
The tournament will run July 15-17 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Are you happy to see this year’s line-up? Are you upset that Smash Bros. is represented twice? Which of your favorite fighting games didn’t make the cut? Let us know in the comments down below!
Do you love Star Wars Battlefront? Enjoy getting free content? Then today’s update is for you!
Since it’s launch in November, Star Wars Battlefront has received two free maps and a new game mode called Battle for Jakku. Starting today, EA have announced a second batch of free content (as well as general bug fixes and game tweaks) that will be coming to the title on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
The Tatooine Survival map will now support the Blast, Droid Run, Drop Zone, Hero Hunt, and Heroes vs Villains multiplayer modes, and is called Raider Camp.
New Hoth-themed outfits for Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, both of which will be available to all fans when they play as these two iconic characters on Hoth – these were unlocked by our players for completing our Heroes’ Holiday community mission last month.
We are giving players the ability to create Private Matches, which makes playing with friends even easier.
The introduction of Daily Challenges and Community Events. These are designed to rally the Community around certain goals and objectives, giving players the chance to earn credits and unlocks even faster. We’ll have more news regarding Community Events and Daily Challenges in the days ahead.
And of course, we are also including some overall balancing tweaks to both weapons and multiplayer modes.
They have also announced the upcoming schedule for paid content:
Star Wars Battlefront Outer Rim – March 2016 – Fight among the factories of Sullust and battle within Jabba the Hutt’s palace on Tatooine.
Star Wars BattlefrontBespin – Summer 2016 – It’s hunt or be hunted in this action-packed experience set in the Cloud City of Bespin.
Star Wars BattlefrontDeath Star – That’s no moon! One of the most iconic locations in the Star Wars universe makes its debut in Star Wars Battlefront.
Star Wars BattlefrontExpansion Pack 4 – Title to be announced. Details to be confirmed. Coming early 2017.
Are you excited to get more free content for Star Wars Battlefront? Will you be purchasing the next batch of paid DLC? Let us know in the comments down below!
THE X-FILES Season 10, Episode 2
“Founder’s Mutation”
AIR DATE: January 25, 2016
GRADE: C+
Written and directed by series veteran, James Wong, “Founder’s Mutation” is our first stand-alone, non-mythology effort of the new re-boot of the series and while it’s less convoluted than the premiere, it’s also not much of an improvement. It finds Mulder and Scully reinstated with the FBI without even bothering to explain how or why they were able to just slip back into their jobs, willy-nilly, without so much as a personal, moral debate between the reunited couple who broke up over the madness that was their assignments.
Their latest investigation leads them to a young programmer (Chris Logan) who died under mysterious circumstances that only he (and the audience) is privy to: a painful, piercing noise which lead him to force-install a letter opener into the side of his head in a scene that is gruesome, eerie and disturbing as it is beautiful in terms of execution.
Unfortunately, the episode veers wildly off-track, taking us on a maudlin journey through FeelsLand, where we’re forced to revisit the saga of William, Mulder and Scully’s child. This might sound all well and good — if William was interesting. What can I say? I wasn’t a fan of William. His conception is murky as hell because, like a nervous teenage boy confessing his sexual activities to his parents, Chris Carter continues to tell us Mulder and Scully got it on without actually saying it. I can understand placating both sides of the “shipper” community, but enough is enough. Added to this, William’s presence (built up as a sort of “second coming”) was ultimately irrelevant to the bigger picture.
So, why do we have to be subjected to late afternoon sunshine-soaked, LOST-style flashbacks of Scully and Mulder imagining their lives with William in it? Scully takes her son to school, playfully reminding him of how to behave there (“don’t fart”, William says; the material is SO deep) while Mulder raises William on toy rockets and 2001: a space odyssey before witnessing William being sucked into space by aliens just like his sister Samantha. To call these sequences “pandering” would be an understatement. They’re unintentionally humorous, gratuitous and out-of-place and none of it belongs on the show. You think I’m crazy? Check out Mulder’s dismissal of Scully’s pleas of sensitivity to the past: “I’ve made peace and moved on.”
So, then move on already. William was already deemed boring once. Do we have to march through this again?
For a plotline that was meant to be a backdrop, it actually ends up overshadowing an interesting, if somewhat goofy, story about mutated children who all look terrible save for one that looks Teen Beat gorgeous and has X-Men-like telekinetic superpowers, resulting in the obligatory final showdown where the evil doctor who enjoyed poking at special kids with needles and sticks ends up with his eyeballs melting, recalling Raiders of the Lost Ark. “You can’t unsee something like that,” Mulder deadpans like a bored James Bond to a perpetually stern, yet puzzled-looking Skinner.
He says these things (as well as his new catchphrase “I’ve heard something similar to that” in response to characters who recite self-serving dialogue like “The truth is in here” and “Trust nobody”) when he and Scully aren’t rattling off jokes about “Google” and “Obamacare”, the showrunners’ strangely annoying and mildly insulting tactic whipped out to remind us that we’ve driven the Television DeLorean from 2001 to 2016.
I wouldn’t say I’m worried about The X-Files because it’s really not possible to worry about this show. It’s so steeped in pop culture and rich in television street credit, a few clunky efforts are forgiven with little trouble. That I’m already using the term “clunky efforts” to describe the first couple of episodes of the show?
Three Fields Entertainment, the former developers of the famous Burnout franchise, have announced their new game: Dangerous Golf. They claim that Dangerous Golf will be “a serious golf game as Burnout was a serious simulation of driving games”. In other words, this is not your grandpa’s golf game.
According to Three Fields Entertainment’s website, “players aren’t striving for Par or aiming for Birdie – they’re playing for dollar damage as their high score.” You will also be awarded for trick shots, ricochet techniques, and other outlandish things, such as turning your golf ball into a bomb. This game absolutely sounds like it will be the next great party game.
Of course, physics will play a big role in this tile. Three Fields Entertainment goes on to say that, “Dangerous Golf may be a fun, silly golf game, but it’s one that was created with a serious technical edge. Our team worked closely with both Epic’s Unreal Engine 4 team and Nvidia to not only push the boundaries of their PhysX, Apex Destruction and Flex technologies, but also to deliver a truly physics based game experience.”
Dangerous Golf will be available on the Xbox store, PlayStation store, and Steam in May of 2016.
Are you excited to play a game with exploding golf balls? Do you love to causing as much damage and mayhem as possible? Let us know in the comments down below!
It’s been hard for TMNT: Mutants in Manhattan by Platinum Games to stay hidden in the shadows. It started as hushed rumors, but eventually lead to leaked screenshots and an achievement list. However, the cat is finally out of the bag (… er, Turtle is out of the bag?). Platinum Games has officially announced TMNT: Mutants in Manhattan, and it will release in Summer 2016 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC (sorry Wii U fans).
While little is known about the title, Platinum games and Activision have released the first trailer for the game. The story is written by IDW Comics author Tom Waltz and will feature Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael as they battle the evil Shredder and his gang of foot solders. The game will also feature 4-player online co-op.
Are you excited to see the release of a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game? Are you surprised that the leaks were true? Let us know in the comments down below!
Pretty Little Liars
Season 6, Episode 12 – “Charlotte’s Web”
Air Date: 1/19/2016
This week on PLL: Aria and Emily tell a bunch of lies, while Ali hosts a very awkward dinner party.
After Charlotte’s funeral the Liars head to Radley to regroup and start talking about Sara Harvey. Apparently Sara Harvey was cleared on all charges because she plead Stockholm Syndrome and now has some sort of amnesia. It’s all a little confusing. Also, she is no longer a suspect in Charlotte’s murder because her hands are burned and are incapable of doing anything. Hopefully that includes talking because I don’t know if I can handle hearing her voice ever again.
All of the girls have decided to stay in Rosewood except for Aria, who is acting squirrelly as fuck. She says she needs to leave Rosewood ASAP to get back to work but the other girls don’t buy it. They all know that as a Liar showing up to work is optional. Hanna pulls Aria aside before she leaves two things are revealed:
Emily threw up in the bathtub the night Charlotte was killed (successful night indeed)
Aria snuck out at around 3AM and was gone for the amount of time it takes to break someone’s neck and throw them from a bell tower.
At first Aria denies leaving the hotel room but when Hanna tells Aria she SAW her leave, Aria tries to cover her ass by saying she was just running to her car. Oh Aria, you were never good at lying on your feet. Immediately after this confrontation, Aria runs over to the loft above The Brew to visit Ezra, who looks like he hasn’t showered in a year. She tells him that they NEVER saw each other the night of Charlotte’s death, it never happened and that he can never tell a living soul about the thing that didn’t happen that they are not talking about. Yep, that is pretty much the Ezria that I remember.
Aria
Aria flees Rosewood to Boston just in time to get to work and see her boyfriend Liam, whose hipster level is on par with Ezra’s. She and Liam are coworkers, so they need to keep their relationship on the DL (which seems to be a recurring theme in Aria’s romantic relationships). Liam and Aria meet with their boss, who is not too happy that Aria was unable to convince Fitz to hand over a draft of his second book. Mrs. Boss was under the impression that Aria would have power over Ezra due to their special relationship. And by special relationship I mean the sacred bond between a student and teacher. To make things even worse. Mrs. Boss Lady assigns the Ezra account to Liam. No one, I say NO ONE takes Ezra away Aria without Aria’s say so, so Aria successfully begs for a second chance and flies right back to Rosewood to convince Ezra to keep writing.
When Aria getsthere she and Ezra dance around the subject of the book advance until it is finally brought up. She tells him that the editors are not blowing smoke up his ass, the really loved B-26 Ostinato, and they are excited for his next book. Ezra reluctantly hands Aria a thumb drive containing the progress he’s made on the book, but he warns her she won’t love what’s on it. And what is on it is every article about Nicole’s kidnapping and murder that exists in the world. Ezra was not kidding when he said Aria might not like what she saw.
Spaleb/Cancer?
News of Charlotte’s death has reached all of the Rosewood politico bloggers and they are trying to use this juicy bit of news to ruin Veronica’s campaign. Little do the bloggers know that the Hastings’ girls have Teen Hacking Extraordinaire Caleb on their side. Caleb, who is stationed in the Hastings Kitchen, is able to track down the source of this media leak and then uses his hacking powers to change the story’s narrative. He even offers to rig the election in Veronica’s favor, but Spencer declines, stating that the Hastings have met their quota of winning rigged elections.
Another thing not working in Spencer’s favor is a term paper she wrote for her sophomore Criminology class. She was tasked with writing a case study, and she chose to write about a woman who thrown from a chapel tower with a broken neck and clean fingernails. The EXACT same was Ms. Charlotte DiLaurentis was killed. Caleb thinks Spence is being paranoid and I realize that five years really makes people forget because this is the exact shit an A would pull. And yes you can say “well A is Charlotte and Char is dead,” but that same excuse was used when we found out about Mona right? Who knows what other crazies lie out their in Rosewood.
Emily’s Mysterious Lesbian Disease
I think it is safe to say that Emily has the biggest problems of all of the Liars at moment. On a positive note those pills and needles in Emily’s bag last week were not because she is an addict. On a negative note, those pills and needles in Emily’s bag last week were for a mysterious lesbian disease that Emily has. A serious disease that requires blood draws and regular treatments.
Things just keep getting worse for lil’ ole Em when her credit card gets declined while trying to pay for parking after her appointment at Hollis Medical. Luckily, that pothead baker that Ezra hired to work at The Brew back in the day comes to Emily’s rescue. Yes this is the same pothead baker whose gummy edibles made Toby trip the fuck out and get suspended from the RWPD. It turns out Sabrina Is running The Brew now. She was only supposed to be the interim manager while Ezra was Habitating, but then his girlfriend got kidnapped/murdered so plans changed. Emily asks Sabrina not to tell anyone that they ran into each other outside of Hollis medical to which Sabrina replies “Who the fuck would I tell? But actually, let me use this moment to overshare with you. I once had cancer and at first I didn’t want anyone to know, but in the end, family and friends are what got me through it. You need support.”
On one hand, it is sweet that Sabrina reached out to Emily, on the other hand Sabrina took a pretty big leap from seeing Emily outside a medical center to thinking she has a major illness. She could have just been having an STD test or something and didn’t want anyone to know. Emily does confirm Sabrina’s suspicions that it is more than an STD when Emily tells her that she doesn’t want to worry her mother.
Here is my big question, and I come from a Public Health background so I may be the only one thinking about this, but how the fuck is Emily paying for this treatment on the salary of a bartender. She is not in school, so she does not have school insurance. She may be under her mom’s insurance plan, but then it would be pretty hard to hide all of the appointments since there is usually a family deductible. Lastly even if she did sign up for Obamacare in California, those treatments most likely would not be covered in the state of PA and she would still need to pay out-of-pocket until she reached her deductible. I’m just saying.
So you know that deep hole of lies Emily has been digging for herself, well it is about to get a whole lot deeper. While at The Brew, Pam sees a Hollis appointment pop up on Emily’s phone. Instead of saying that she was getting her flu vaccine, or her annual GYN exam, she lies and tells her mom she is applying to Grad school at Hollis. I think I actually slapped my palm to my face during this scene. I don’t think even Mona could get Emily out of this hole she is in.
Later that night Emily visits her father’s grave for the first time since his funeral, and the first time she has seen the tombstone. She explains that after her father’s death she lost failed a few classes, lost her scholarship and when she came home was too scared to tell her mom. A or no A, Emily always gets it the worse. Then in the climax of her emotional purge to her father, she spots Sara Harvey lurking around in the cemetery. Ugh Sara fucking Harvey.
Hanna
Hanna’s Hunky Australian boyfriend ,Jordan, dropped all of his big publishing duties to come to Rosewood and check in on his girl. Not only did he ship himself in, he also flew in all of favorite foods, including a dozen cupcakes from Lucky’s. No just kidding, the cupcake is from Greenwich bakery. There is no paper towel Benjamins associated with this cupcake. That pretty much sums up Hanna’s personal storyline this episode.
Dinner Party Extravaganza
Ali decides to have a dinner party with all the Liars and their significant others to help her deal with her grief. A second reason for this dinner party is that 100% convinced that Aria was involved in Charlotte’s death. Aria has been dodging Ali’s calls and she left early… so basically she was acting like Aria.
As expected, the dinner party is awkward from start to finish. First awkward moment: Caleb and Jordan trying to add the leaves to the dining room table. Second awkward moment: Hanna and Caleb looking for wine related paraphernalia together in the closet. Third awkward moment: Ali has everyone hold hands and basically accuses Aria of killing Charlotte while saying grace. Dear all TV characters on any show ever, DINNER PARTIES NEVER END WELL! A Fourth not exactly awkward moment is that Spencer explains to Jordan how she and Caleb reunited. Essentially it was the fates and gods that brought the back together. Spencer was abroad in Spain and Caleb was backpacking through Europe and their Meet Cute occurred at train station. Jordan totally gets the relationship vibe from this conversation, and I am really interested to see where he goes with this.
After the dinner, Hanna can’t keep Aria’s secret to herself any longer and she spills the beans to Spencer. Spencer suggests that they look at the hotel’s surveillance footage, since Ashley runs that bitch after all and Hanna responds with “No, I don’t do that stuff any more.” This, right here, is the tipping point for Hanna and truthfully all the Liars. These girls have had 5 A free years. They escaped the torture, escaped the surveillance, escaped the cat-and-mouse game. If they go and sneak into the hotel’s security room, they are the same girls there were five years ago. Is protecting Aria worth it?
Obviously they decide that it is worth it and sneak into the Radley security room. They discover that Aria left the hotel with Ezra before Charlotte was murdered but arrived back alone after Char’s death. So to basic logic suggests , Aria and Ezra are our number one suspects, and Aria must be confronted.
When Aria returns to the Montgomery House, she is greeted by a trio of Liars. In turn, they each explain why they are confronting her… bitch was shifty the night Charlotte died… and they need her to confess. It takes less than a second for Aria to break down and cut to a super long Ezria flashback. In the flashback, the two talk about the trial, drunken pizza,rural PA, and then all of a sudden see Charlotte emerge from a car outside of the church. Ezra has a mini breakdown about Nicole when he sees Charlotte and sends Aria away in a cab. Moral of the story, everyone thinks Ezra killed Charlotte. Worse, Spencer is convinced that she told Ezra how to commit the murder because of her paper. To protect Aria, Hanna goes back to the hotel and deletes the footage of Aria sneaking out.
Spaleb/Cancer pt 2:
Over in The Barn, Spencer is setting up the couch for Caleb to sleep in and she asks if he is okay sleeping on the couch again. Is the other option her bed? I hope so. After Caleb scoffs stating a posh Hastings Barn Couch is nicer than any Euro Hostel Bed he has slept on and Spencer reveals it has been 3 years since they have met in Europe. So, to be clear, these two this relationship has been going on for three years. The two reminisce about their abroad experience, sparks fly, and the two look longingly into each other’s eyes. I do not consider myself a shipper, but I would build a boat and become captain of the Spaleb ship!
Hanna Quote of the Week:
Emily: “We research cures, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, infectious diseases.”
Many loved the surprise of Her Story last year on PC and iOS. The creator, Sam Barlow, has recently gone to Twitter to announce a new game… sort of. The tweet simply read “HS2 has a 1-pager. Neat”. He even kindly included a (very blurry) screenshot of the page. This gave many fans reason to be excited.
While we know very little about the new project, Barlow went on to respond to fan speculations. He said that the new game will have “no relation story-wise to Her Story“, but did say that it will stick to the same live-action format. He also claimed that Her Story 2 is only a “working title”.
Are you excited to see more from creator Sam Barlow? Would you like a direct sequel to Her Story or something completely different? Let us know in the comments down below!
Pretty Little Liars
Season 6, Episode 11: “Of Late I Think of Rosewood”
Air Date: 1/12/2016
So in preparation for season 6B of Pretty Little Liars and the time jump, I have re-watched every episode of the series. On that note, this episode begins in the empty hallways of good old Rosewood High as past dialogue from the Liars echo in the background. The choice of quotes were delightful and included classics such as:
Aria: “Don’t look at me, I’m ready to hang a sign ‘Bitch can see’”
and the always entertaining
Emily: “Yes I know the dead girl who isn’t dead anymore.”
Oh, the ghosts of Liars past will always haunt Rosewood High. The camera finally settles on the new RHS English teacher, Mrs. Alison DiLaurentis, the girl who spent less than two years actually in high school. Rosewood High really knows how to pick them. A judge has approved a hearing to evaluate Charlotte’s release from the hospital and that the Liars will need to be present at said hearing. To make sure that all four Liars come and say exactly what she wants them to say at the hearing, Alison writes a handwritten letter to the four girls, pleading her case.
The girls head back to Rosewood and meet up at The Brew. Emily is the first one there and secretly pops some pills before the other girls arrive. When the other three arrive the girls do a round of hugs, take a shit ton of selfies, and catch up on what the last 5 A-Free years were like.
So here is a quick recap of what each girl has been up to:
Spencer is living in DC after graduating from Georgetown and is working as a lobbyist. VERONICA IS RUNNING FOR SENATE. This is like my dream come true.
Hanna is engaged and travels the world for her fashion industry job. Mama Marin has also had her hands full over the past five years. She found some extra seed money in a few lasagna boxes, bought up Radley Sanitarium and made it into a swanky hotel! This, hands down, is my favorite thing that has happened during this five-year jump.
Aria is working for a publishing company in Boston and dating a man named Liam who may be further up Byron’s ass than Ezra was. I am not totally sure because every time Byron talks I go deaf with boredom.
Emily tells the girls that she is working at the Salk Institute, but really she is a bartender who serves pink drinks and roofied flasks. I am so confused about what fake job Emily could possibly have at the Salk Institute. I don’t think she has ever been interested in biology. Also, at some point during the five-year jump, Wayne Fields died, and Pam became British and only wants to talk about things over tea.
Brotherhood of Ex-Boyfriends
Aria goes back to The Brew and runs into Ezra who is now living in Toby’s old apartment above the shop. Over the past five years, Ezra has not only run a successful coffee shop, but he published a book and worked with Habitat for Humanity. While Habitating for Humanity in South America, his girlfriend Nicole got was kidnapped by revolutionaries. This has made it hard for him to write his second book and when Aria tell him that she and her bosses understand, Ezra has the audacity to say this:
“I don’t understand any of it. I don’t understand how a girl I met in this shop, who never hurt anybody could be dragged off by half-baked revolutionaries and no one can seem to find her. So you understand that, explain it to me. You go somewhere to help, it shouldn’t cost you your life.”
Let’s unpack this. First, is Aria one of Ezra’s publishers? Second, how is Ezra surprised that something scary and horrible happened to a girl that he met in The Brew located in THE TOWN OF ROSEWOOD? I am pretty sure that more people have disappeared from Rosewood than all other towns in the country combined. Second, you are going to unload your bag of whoa’s on Aria, the underage girl who you stalked and who was also almost murdered 500 times in a two-year period? I think out of anyone Aria understands that someone could disappear while in South America.
Spencer visits Toby at a random plot of land where he is building a house. I guess building a house is a lot harder than “renovating” an apartment above a coffee shop. He then takes her out on a rowboat on the lake out back, and then it starts pouring rain, and then they have passionate sex in the house he built. Oh, oops, for a second I thought I was watching The Notebook.
Veronica for President
And next, the girls are at are at Veronica’s Rosewood Senate campaign. Oh man, I would have been happy to have watched an hour of Veronica Hastings campaign footage. That should be the PLL spinoff, Veronica Hastings’ political career. She has my vote any day. Anyway, Spencer parts from the other girls and heads to the stage. But before she gets there, Mona pops out from the shadows. Yes, Mona time! Of course both these girls would be working in politics. Mona reveals to Spencer that she still has nightmares about the dollhouse, and you remember that she was down there longer than anyone.
The Hearing
So apparently the whole point of this hearing is to determine whether the girls believe Charlotte still poses a threat. They all give the reasons they are not afraid of Charlotte anymore and each of their statements reflect each liar at their core. These are still the girls we know and loved from five years ago. Spencer gives a logical and matter of fact explanation of why Charlotte no longer poses a threat, Hanna talks about forgiveness, Emily talks about bravery and honor and Aria basically just loses her shit. Like completely loses her shit. She starts having flashbacks to the Dollhouse during her testimony and basically tells the judge that “bitch needs to stay locked up.” And then Mona comes in to give her testimony coming to Char’s defense. The few months she spent in Radley really messed her up, she couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be there for years.She asks the judge to just let Charlotte go home to her family.
Bi-Polar Martinis
After the trauma of testifying in court, the girls head to Radley Sanitarium to get their drank on, the exact same place that created A. Em asks Spencer if she is okay drinking here, since she used to be locked up at Radley and all, but Spence says she is fine. Just then girls get a group text from Ali saying that Char has been let out. Hanna makes everyone turn off their phones so the Coven of the Sacred cocktails can commence. And commence it does, and Spencer is drunk, and it is wonderful. Here are some of the best Drunk Spencer Quotes:
“If you didn’t know what this place was, you wouldn’t know what this place was.”
“You guys are seriously lacking in any good taste. That’s why I love you so much! I love each one of you.”
At last call, Hanna picks up the tab and invites the girls up to her mini bar suite because her mom RUNS THIS BITCH. As they are leaving Spencer reveals that she never thought Charlotte would get let out that they could lie for Ali one more time and it wouldn’t matter. And then they have a last toast to Charlotte, trying to put the past behind them.
Wake up in the Morning Looking Like P. Diddy
It is the morning after, and it is so nice to see that Spencer and Aria have assumed their normal sleeping positions together on the couch. And damn, Spencer looks hot hung over. The girls get an early morning wakeup call from Ali who is freaking out because Charlotte is missing. Well this is extremely alarming. Also alarming, as Emily gets out of bed she a bunch of syringes spill out of her bag. Luckily no one else notices. What are you up to Emily?!?!
Well you may have guessed it, but Charlotte is dead. And at the scene of the crime we get to see Toby…. in his uniform. Seriously, I don’t think I will ever get used to Toby in his uniform as a cop. I still laugh out loud every time I see it.
Brotherhood of Ex-Boyfriends part 2
Caleb stops by Hanna’s suite to make sure she is okay.I may be a lesbian, but seeing Caleb always makes me swoon. Guess how Caleb knew to visit Hanna… Spencer called him. Guess who Caleb may be working with… Spencer. Guess where Caleb is staying while he is in Rosewood… the vents of Rosewood High Spencer’s Barn. I may be a minority here, but I totally hope they are boning. I mean it has been five years and I always thought that Spencer and Caleb would be great together. I mean, anyone would be better than Toby. But he did come to make sure
Funeral Time
Another day, another funeral. Welcome to Rosewood. Just as the service is about to start, Sara Harvey’s stupid face covered by a vail walks into the church looking like morphed Jenna robot. I am just praying she doesn’t talk. I can’t handle hearing her voice again. Lorenzo approaches the Liars to tell them that they Charlotte’s death has been deemed a murder, and that they will need to stay in town for the next couple of days. And the adventure begins!
Hanna Quote of the Week:
“Why can’t they make quiet ice cubes.”
Emily Vest Count:1 (This season I will be tracking how many times Emily wears a vest)
Many fans are waiting for the much hyped Mighty No. 9, the spiritual successor to Mega Man from Keiji Inafune, especially those that Kickstarted the campaign back in 2013. Originally the game was to release in September of last year on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Wii U, 3DS, and Vita, but was delayed until February 2016. Sadly, that date will also be missed.
Keiji Inafune had this to say on the Mighty No. 9 Kickstarter page:
“Unfortunately, we have an announcement that will be very disappointing to all of you. In preparation for the February release of Mighty No. 9 we have been working hard with our partners to resolve any network issues and porting work necessary to publish Mighty No. 9 on the various platforms. However, the issues relating to the network modes were more critical than expected, and it has become apparent that we will need to delay the game from its February 9th release date. We have been working up until the very last moment to resolve these issues in order to make the February release, but it has become clear that we no longer have enough time to fix the issues and have everything prepared for release.
The reason for the delay is rooted in bugs inside the network modes, and specifically problems with matchmaking. There are two large reasons for this problem, one of them being the large number of platforms supported (the solution for each platform is slightly different) and the other stems from the fact that the engine we are using is no longer being updated which means adjustments for matchmaking and online code are being made manually (actually reprogramming parts of the engine by the dev team themselves). Unfortunately, this is all a result of miscalculations on the part of us, the development staff. As a result, our fans who have been looking forward to Mighty No. 9 have been forced to wait for over half a year longer than expected, and for that we are sincerely sorry. I want to take this chance to apologize personally, and on the behalf of the development staff.
…Because we are constantly working on it in cooperation with all our partners, we want to wait and make sure that everything is confirmed to be ready before giving a new specific release date. But we expect it to realistically be in Spring 2016.
For this 3rd delay of the game, we have no excuses for disappointing our fans and especially our backers once more. We want to take this chance to express our sincerest apologies to everyone who has looked forward to the release.”
Are you disappointed to see Mighty No. 9 delayed yet again? Or do you think Comcept and publisher Deep Silver should take their time to get the game perfect before launch? How many delays is too many? Let us know in the comments down below!
THE X-FILES Season 10, Episode 1
“My Struggle”
AIR DATE: January 24, 2016
GRADE: B-
“[The X-Files have been closed]…for better or worse. We’ve…moved on with our lives.”
— Dr. Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson)
It’s been over a decade since The X-Files graced our TV screens and nearly a decade since showrunner Chris Carter tried to get us all off his back by pitting FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully (David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, respectively) against European organ smugglers in 2008’s The X-Files: I Want to Believe, ending the film with Mulder and Scully on their way to a remote island for some much-needed vacation.
With their luck, they’d end up battling smoke monsters and hiding from islanders in ratty clothing.
FOX has re-booted The X-Files much to the squealing delight of the oldest of the old school fanboys. Yep, that X-Files. The one with David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson and that one FBI Boss dude with the glasses who “got the most fan mail” because he’s bald and manly with those football shoulders…where was I…?
Oh, yes.
The opener (entitled “My Struggle”) finds Mulder and Scully separated and fatigued, no longer living their dream life of Unabomber Chic seclusion in the middle of the mountains. While she works at the Cure de Christ Hospital from the last film, Mulder has gone from moping over monsters to…well…moping over monsters. “UFOs are a punchline,” he laments as we’re subjected to YouTube’s finest fake UFO footage made by armchair digital artists who should have been doing the effects for this show. We’re in a new era, Duchovny tells us. One where Adobe After Effects is an accomplice of the enemies of truth.
Who do Mulder and Scully turn to? Why, the great Tad O’Malley (guest star Joel McHale), a conspiracy theorist a’la Alex Jones and Glenn Beck who’s so over the top, he nearly makes the aforementioned look sane. O’Malley has uncovered a grand conspiracy “in the works since 9/11” which was, in his opinion “a warm-up for World War III.” Alien abductions are just part of this conspiracy. In fact, so are UFOs. None of what Mulder and Scully have seen or done in the last nine seasons and two movies has been “the truth”.
So what is the truth?
Who knows anymore? Mulder does. He buys O’Malley’s goofballery after O’Malley shows him a crew of scientists working on an “ARV”. What’s an “ARV”? “An Alien Replica Vehicle”. They’re vehicles built by the military utilizing technology found aboard the only real UFO ever recovered: the flying saucer at Roswell. “Well, wait, Matt,” you’re saying. “I’m confused. If UFOs are a giant hoax, how was Roswell real? As it turns out, aliens are just nice beings who have been trying to warn us not to kill ourselves. So they sent ships in to just kinda hover around and not do much. One crashed. And we built a ship using its energy and murdered all the aliens who warned us not to kill.
So, now we have this alien Ferrari that O’Malley just helps hoard instead of, I dunno, contacting all members of the press to expose the project.
What does Scully think? She thinks O’Malley’s insane and that his ideas “border on treason”. That is, when she’s not succumbing to O’Malley’s creepy (and frankly, unbelievable) attempts to get into her panties.
The first episode of the much-vaunted re-boot of The X-Files is frustrating. On the one hand, Duchovny and Anderson continue to have a warm, welcoming chemistry that shows no signs of ever dissipating, as aged and tired as they look. There are moments that really work. The “what you thought was real wasn’t real” storyline (as irritating as it is; Chris Carter’s asking a lot of viewers to dump much of their investment in the last decade of what’s been presented to them) is actually intriguing and, if the show manages to find new fans, gives us something to chew on for the future. On the other hand, the episode feels routine and by-the-book, bogged down by needless expository monologues written by and for the InfoWars mindset.
Granted, that’s the fringe element this show helped build and continues to wallow in. The problem the show noticeably suffers from is what Mulder hopelessly points out: the fringe is considered a laughing-stock and is, at times, viewed with a hostile level of scorn and derision. It’s hard to take any of what we’re saying seriously. Fox Mulder was always noble. We identified with his plight because what he was doing was born out of love, so it’s both confusing and unfortunate that the show portrays Glenn Beck types the same way.
Call me crazy, but I like my conspiracies served up classy, not lumped in with “the guvernmint is gonna take yer gunz!”
HEROES REBORN -- "Project Reborn" Episode 113 -- Pictured: (l-r) Robbie Kay as Tommy Clark, Danika Yarosh as Malina Bennet-- (Photo by: NBC)
Heroes Reborn
Season 1, Episode 13: “Project Reborn”
Air Date: January 21, 2016
At the end of the last episode of Heroes Reborn, we are left with a new mystery after Malina and Nathan (Tommy) save the world through the sacrifice of their grandfather, Noah Bennet. The twins are living their lives separately with Nathan back in Carbondale while Malina was in Odessa attending high school at Union Wells.
As Nathan and his girlfriend Emily are at the ice cream parlor, a trench coat wearing patron gets ups and leaves, having drunk a strawberry milkshake. When the master of time and space comes to clean the table, he sees that a tarot card had been left behind. The scene cuts to Malina going to her locker at school and she finds another tarot card there as well. Confused, the teenage girl goes outside and gets inside a Mercedes Benz that has come to pick her up. Seated in the car, her great-grandmother asks her how her first day was. Malina gives Angela the card and tells her that someone left it for her and that she felt like she was being watched.
The older woman looks at her great-grandchild in dismay and says that her father is coming for her and Nathan and that no one will be able to protect them from him.
His name is never revealed, but Claire calls him Hammer and they first met on June 5, 2012. Her life had changed after revealing her abilities to the world on December 7, 2010, but it had only become more dangerous. Eventually Claire had to go into hiding and she would meet the future father of the twins.
Peter and Claude had rescued Hammer and several others Evos from being lynched in Monaco and had taken them to a barge that was then docked in Tarragona, Spain. Even then he was already wearing his trench coat. Hammer had been badly injured and Mohinder feared that he would never walk again. Apparently Claire had been the first person he saw after regaining consciousness and they grew close during their time on the barge. The duo had their first kiss on July 4, 2012.
Angela Petrelli and Claire Bennet
Still, things weren’t perfect between the couple and Hammer had become moody and felt that the others needed to be more proactive. He began to fight with Peter, Claude, Mohinder and Micah. Then one day he disappeared without a word to anyone.
Sometime after on September 27, 2013 he came back into Claire’s life while she was hiding in Italy at the Abbazia di San Giovanni in Spilimbergo. He missed his “Blondie” and had explained that things in the outside were getting intense and that he wanted a break from it all by seeing the only person that could make him smile. The two consummate their relationship but the next day Hammer vanishes again. Within that week, Claire begins to feel nauseous and realizes that she’s pregnant.
On June 13, 2014 when she arrives at the summit in Odessa, Claire scratches her hand and notices that she’s not healing. Soon after her water breaks and she is rushed to the hospital to give birth. The events after that was explored in Heroes Reborn.
HEROES REBORN — “Project Reborn” Episode 113 — Pictured: Robbie Kay as Tommy Clark — (Photo by: NBC)
So we don’t know what Hammer’s real name is or what kind of powers he has. Nathan (Tommy) inherited the Petrelli ability of power absorption (great grandfather Arthur possessed it, great uncle Peter had ability replication/mimicry) and Malina’s elemental control could have come from her maternal grandmother, Meredith Gordon’s line (who was pyrokinetic) or possibly from her father. Still, we do know he likes strawberry milkshakes, trench coats, tarot cards, and that likely he has some nefarious plans in mind for the twins and humanity.
While Herores Reborn was not renewed for a second season, this little nugget does leave fans of the series wanting more. And also how did Angela Petrelli get younger again?
Legends of Tomorrow isn’t the worst superhero premiere I’ve seen in recent years, but it’s not near the top, either. It’s just kind of there, selfishly soaking up all the superheroes leftover from the Flash and Arrow guest appearances.
Legends follows Time Master Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill) as he journeys from the apocalyptic year 2166 back to our present 2016 in order to assemble a group of heroes to defeat Vandal Savage, that crazy bearded dude Team Arrow and Flash beat up before the mid-season break. I considered dividing up my discussion into hit/miss categories, but I’m afraid far too much of it would be the latter. Instead, I’m going to use bullet points to talk about my feelings. Besides, I’m lazy and bullet points are easy.
The opening hour is a convoluted mess of cliches and plot holes just for the sake of getting our heroes together in one place. I recognize that with 8 heroes, 9 if you include Rip, things are going to get hectic, but it felt like a Power Ranger montage, gathering all the cool kids after school in the parking lot to go beat up the bullies.
The show needs to cut F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. out of the picture. On top of the token black kid getting obnoxious lines like “I can dig it”, Victor Garber doesn’t do comedy well and I foresee him being very out of place on this show.
Also, he drugged a kid.
Combining Sara Lance, Ray Palmer, Captain Cold, and Heatwave, however, was fantastic. If those four don’t banter weekly, I riot. I miss you, Sara. Please come back to Arrow.
Now I desperately want Sara and Leonard to be a duo. Not romantically, of course, but their chemistry and coolness is the best on the show so far. And then Heatwave can get jealous.
But Brandon Routh as Atom always melts my heart. His awkward insecurities and intelligence make him a perfect addition to an ensemble cast.
Ray Palmer and Sara Lance train with Oliver and Laurel on the regular and we don’t see it on the other shows? What was the point of that? Are they hiding in closets while Felicity is off being Oracle-d?
That being said, Rip Hunter is awful. I have zero connection to his character and watching him gave me flashbacks to Constantine. Why do I care about the future when Zoom and Darhk and rampaging about? I’m sorry about your wife and kid, but that bomb was dropped way too early for me to care.
I’m sorry, I know people like the actor who plays Rip Hunter because he’s from Doctor Who but I hate him. After one episode I wouldn’t follow that dude to a free dessert shop if it meant I had to converse with him along the way. He’s bland and not at all how I imagine the character should be.
Hawkman and Hawkgirl are probably the best of the bunch, if only because they have the most logical reason to be fighting Savage. They’re pretty vanilla as far as characters but that’s the case for most of Team Legend, otherwise they’d be staples on other shows.
Vandal Savage needs to up his game. He doesn’t seem to have any real power other than the ability to create a lifetime supply of hair grease. If he’s the big bad, he’s going to have to be more memorable.
Hawkman’s constant “you do totally love me” reminders are creepy, right?
I wish the show had started in the action. If anyone is watching Legends, they’re already a fan of Arrow or Flash, so there isn’t much need to introduce the characters slowly, one by one. Instead, it should have started with the crew on the Waverunner, doing their respective jobs. And I think it’d have been better if Rip had pandered a little more to each characters’ strengths–coerce Ray by telling him about the technology, Sara to fulfill her bloodlust by killing for good, the Hawks to get revenge on Savage, the Weathers the chance to steal big technology or some nonsense–instead of just kidnapping Men in Black-style and saying it’s “for the good of humanity.” The pilot is labeled as two parts, anyway. If you’re going to take time to give pointless exposition, do it for the characters, not the setting. Goodness.
Overall, I don’t think Legends is off to a bad start, it just focused too much on the backstory instead of the characters. I expect, hope, in a few episodes it will find its footing.
Legends of Tomorrow airs Thursdays on The CW at 8pm EST.
What’s up, guys and gals! Welcome to the Workprint Gamescast!
Listen to Rob, Jen, Bilal, and the gang talk about the latest in video games news, what they’re playing, and all other manner of nerdy habits.
THIS WEEK ON THE GAMESCAST: Jen gets a promotion, Rob has to vomit and Bilal breaks the rules…again! The gang discusses the difficulty in returning to a game you’ve put down or a game from an era past!
Want to watch our shenanigans live? Check out the Workprint Twitch channel. Our gamescast goes live every Wednesday at 8:30 PM EST.
This week, The Bachelor opens with 3 of the girls gossiping outside “Alcoholic Mansion” about Muppet-Mouth Olivia, and their dislike of her. Says pointless girl #1: “I don’t, like, trust her, like, I’ve tried to, like, connect, but I just, like, cant.” At this point in the brilliant conversation, Host Pimp Daddy Chris Harrison strolls in to tell the girls the usual. “This week, there will be 3 dates. One group date, and two one-on-ones.” He dramatically exits, leaving the first date card behind. Lauren with a B. initial, who is a different person than Lauren with an H. initial, gets the first one on one. The other girls are NOT happy and roll their eyes fiercely.
LAUREN AND PETER BRADY:
Ben/Peter Brady picks Lauren up in a convertible and asks her to guess where he is taking her. Turns out they are going to a small airport, and getting into a tiny bi-plane, which are known for stunts. Lauren, a flight attendant, is terrified at first, but then she is soon charmed by Ben’s boring persona. They fly over Drama Mansion, just to rub it in the girls faces I guess, and boy does it work. Reactions from the girls below ranged from: “I can’t EVEN!!!” (Emily), to “I’m trying not to think about him feeling the love-bug with Lauren B. right now”. (Muppet). When Ben and Lauren arrive at their destination, some random isolated field, he picks her up and gives her piggyback across the meadow. They soon arrive at a jacuzzi, which is literally sitting in the middle of the outdoors for no reason. He tells that she can go and change “behind the tree” and she comes back in full bikini mode. They sit in the hot tub and kiss a lot, and he squeals “Dang, you’re cute.” WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE, YOUNG MAN!
Meanwhile, at Crazy-town Mansion, Caila is talking to another girl and says: “I’m, like, just now realizing that, like, other girls are, like, here.” Really? You’re JUST NOW realizing this? That’s the ENTIRE premise of this silly-ass show. How could you NOT realize this, dummy? Then she starts sobbing while talking, and doing that annoying “wave away my tears with my hand like a fan” thing. “Like, I could potentially get my heart-broken. It’s so hard.” More sobbing. The chick she is talking to has zero reaction and offers nothing in the way of comfort.
Meanwhile, Ben and Lauren are at the romantic dinner portion of their date. This is the part where nobody ever eats anything, and they have dumb conversations while not eating. They discuss Lauren’s love for the simple things in life, and also her love for her dad, whom she mentions about 750 times in the course of 10 minutes. Creep-ville..
“I want someone who can be, like, the kind of dad to my kids that my dad is, like, to me.” Peter Brady tells cameras: “This girl is special. I want this girl to REALLY know me.” What the hell does that mean? Did you have gender reassignment surgery or something? Should she call you Caitlyn? What exactly are you hiding? Finally, he tells her about his own dad, who had a triple bypass and some health issues, and how scary that was for his family. He is okay now, but it made Ben realize the fragility of love, life, marriage, etc. And with that, he gives Lauren the rose by saying: “Lauren, will you accept my rose?” Ewww. That’s a bit weird. MY rose. Is that how he has sex too? “Random Woman that I’m having sex with right now, would you accept my cock?” After dinner, another musician I have never heard of (Lucy Angel) performs a private concert for them inside a huge barn-like place. They dance. They kiss. Ben says to cameras that it feels like the perfect type of date you might have with your future wife.
Meanwhile, back at Over-Dramatic Mansion, there is more crying over things that haven’t even happened yet. These ladies love to make up drama that doesn’t even exist. Jubilee Friendly’s Dessert is sobbing into her gigantic press-on nails that “I just wanna, like, stick out to him. I think he goes for the always happy, nice, good girls. He has a type and it’s SO not ME!!! Like, it just sucks! Waaaahhhh!!!!!” More crying. Again, the person she is talking to, who may or may not be a different person than the person Caila was talking to earlier, offers up zero comfort or words of support. She just sits there and blankly watches her cry.
GROUP SOCCER ORGY DATE:
The Group Date consists of Amanda, Haley, Jennifer, Shushana, Leah, Amber, Lauren with an H. initial, Muppet Mouth, Jami, Rachel, (who the hell is Rachel?), Lunatic Giant Teeth Lace, and Emily. Of course, the “twins” have to go everywhere together. And by the way, holy shit there’s a lot of girls on this date. They could just leave Ben behind altogether and nobody would even notice.
The girls are brought to the Coliseum for a Soccer Match, and they get help from U.S. World Cup Winners Kelly O’Hara and Alex Morgan, who coaches them. Lauren H. says to camera: “I have zero ball-handling skills.” Muppet tells cameras: “Ben looks so good today with his blue, and his eyes, and his pants.” Ummm … what??? Then she made her open-mouthed Muppet face. Pimp Daddy Harrison shows up and breaks the ladies into two teams that will then play one another, with the winning team getting to remain on the night date with Ben. The Stars vs. The Stripes. The twins are split up and must play one another. Emily is randomly kicking ass (get it? Kicking ass? Soccer? ) as the goalie, and Ben is losing his mind with excitement over her skills. I think he was orgasming at one point, he seemed so turned on.
The game is a tie score, and goes to sudden death. Rachel gets hurt, but she’s a trooper and gets right back up again. Jami scores the winning goal, and Emily finally misses one. They go home and cry some more.
Meanwhile, Ben and the six winners have a toast by the fire outside. Muppet pulls him aside immediately, pissing off all the other girls. Lace to camera: “To no ones surprise, Olivia took Ben upstairs to one of the hotel rooms, waving with him from the balcony down to us. It was kind of a slap in the face.” Muppet then tells Ben that the girls find her intimidating. They kiss.
Meanwhile, the girls are sitting by the fire making fun of Muppet. Amber says that she has “fat toes”, and then Lace makes her say it again, but louder, with more feeling!!! Lace agrees, and then they also discuss her boobs looking fake, and that she has bad breathe. One of the girls takes Muppet aside and tells her the others were mocking her toes. Her response is “Oh my god. Perfection is so lame. SO LAME!!!!” Then she sat with her mouth wide open.
Lace pulls Ben aside and again they have another totally awkward conversation about how they never get enough time to have more awkward conversations. Then Amber gets time with him, and they connect and kiss quite a bit. Amber tells the cameras she is on Cloud 9, and he gives Amber the group date rose.
FRIENDLY’S DESSERT JUBILEE AND BEN AND WHATEVER:
The second Date Card arrives and it is for Jubilee, which we established is also the name of an ice-cream dessert at Friendly’s. It looks like a roll and has many layers of goodness. Yum. Anyway, Jubilee and her white, scary nails gets the date, and she absolutely flips out, screaming bloody murder like she just won the Powerball. She tells the girls that she gets socially awkward when she’s nervous. Ben shows up and she gets awkward right away and jokes with him: “Youre 20 minutes late. But it’s whatever.” The girls are flabbergasted by this thing called humor and sarcasm, as none of them possess any, and they completely overreact to everything she says going forward. The helicopter shows up in the front yard, and Friendlys ice-cream dessert is nervous again about getting in it, so she jokingly says: “Hey, does anyone else wanna go on my date?” Its a fucking joke and they all need to chill the hell out. Instead, they all start gossiping and calling her pompous and unappreciative and ungrateful. “Oh my god! What did she just say?”, they shockingly observe.
Caila: “She doesn’t appreciate this date she was given.” Jami: “I found that to be super offensive.” Ladies, get over yourselves. Of all the silly-ass things to be angry at, this should not be one of them. I actually like Friendly’s dessert. She is rough around the edges, very real, vulnerable, and not at ALL like the 900 other blonde bimbo mannequins that walk through the doors of Alchoholic Mansion every single season, looking and acting all cookie-cutter.
Clearly, Ben likes Ice-Cream Dessert too, and they are having an awesome time teasing one another and joking around. He flies her to a beautiful Health Spa location, where they eat caviar and she spits it out in disgust as she starts laughing. “I’m so sorry, this is awful”. He laughs too. He tells cameras: “There is something about her that is very attractive to me.” She says she knew the date was going well when she called him ‘white boy’ and he laughed. They swam together and laughed and kissed. She tells cameras that Ben “gets ” her. He tells her at dinner that she is refreshing, and that he wants to know more about her and her childhood and past. She gets very quiet and emotional, as she begins to talk about her traumatic past in Haiti, saying: “I haven’t been able to go back there, because I can’t go back alone. My fears of being unlovable stem from that time, because, well … my whole family died there , except me. I was the only survivor. I have a lot of guilt and things to work out.” Wow. That is heavy for this show. He listens and tells her how incredible she is to have gone through so much in life. He gives her the rose and she cries and sits in his lap and says “thank you so much.” He tells cameras “I love, love, love that Jubilee has so many different layers.” Hey! Just like a Friendly’s ice-cream dessert!
Meanwhile, back at Catty Mansion, all the girls are convinced that Jubilee isn’t coming back and that Ben will send her home, because she is evil and made that joke about someone else going up in the helicopter – so when they see her the next morning, they whisper about her and ignore her, and then accuse HER of being snobbish and stand-offish. Lauren with an H says: “she seems to be pulling back, and I know that Ben wants a wife that will be friends with all the other soccer moms .” GAG!!!!!! Is that what Ben wants? Yuck! And how the hell does this mindless twat know what Ben wants? Maybe the reason Friendly’s dessert is not being social with you all, is because you are all so busy gossiping about her when she is standing 10 feet away from you! Sidenote: I can’t believe I’m actually getting upset about this crap.
COCK-TAIL PARTY:
Now its time for more drinking and more crying because there’s too much drinking. Ben comes into the Mansion main area and tells the girls that he is having a very bad night. He just found out that two family members were killed in a plane crash last night. He is clearly upset, and wants to talk about it, or find comfort somewhere. He tells the cameras: “When things like this happens, I want to find someone to sit with and talk to about it.” Immediately, in the middle of his sentence, Muppet steals him away yet again.
Comically and ridiculously, she sits him down and begins talking about …… wait for it ……… her cankles. She doesn’t even mention the fact that his family members just DIED TRAGICALLY. Nope. She goes on this pointless monologue about herself and her stupid insecurities: “So, I’ve always hated the parts of me down below my knees. I hate my knees, my toes, my cankles. People have made fun of me for it, and people have written blogs about my cankles.” She cries into the cameras: “I’m sorry. It’s so hard to be strong!” GAG!!!!
Meanwhile, Ben tells cameras: “This is not what I want to talk about right now. It would be really nice if someone here would just not think of themselves and come through for me right now.” Friendly’s Dessert does just that, and manages to piss off the women EVEN MORE, since “she already has a rose” and “how dare she spend time with him.” These stupid bitches are so focused on their roses that NOBODY seems aware that BEN’S FAMILY JUST DIED!!!!!!!!! Except Jubilee, who sets up a massage table and takes him to it, asking him to trust her like she trusted him the night before. He loves it, and tells cameras it was exactly what he needed on a night when he was stressed.
All the girls watch her through the bushes and point like little infants. “Are you kidding me? She has a rose!!!” they gush. Lace is once again NOT HAPPY!!! She says that Friendlys is “flaunting her rose around.” Really? Amber goes to get Friendlys and have a come to Jesus talk with her, but Jubilee isn’t having any of the white-girl drama. “I’m not doing your girl-chat,” she says. “No.” Amber says “then we will come to you.” Then she goes inside and tells the girls that Friendlys thinks she is too good to come inside, so they have to go to her. She overhears that, rolls her eyes at the lie, and then walks through the room saying: “I don’t know WHAT drama y’all got going on, but I want no part of it.” She goes upstairs to her room.
Ben gets wind of something going down, and goes up to speak to Friendlys and see whats wrong. Amber comes in for no reason, and begins to explain to Ben that Friendlys dessert made offensive comments about going up in the helicopter. Seriously, he looked at her like “Really? THAT’S what this shit is about? MY FAMILY JUST DIED!!!!” Instead, he simply sticks up for Jubilee and says “I like that Jubilee has a sense of humor and makes jokes, and I want her to feel like she can say anything around me.” He gives her a hug, and pretty much ignores Amber. Then he goes downstairs with the girls and proclaims exhaustedly: “Finally. The drama is over.”
Just then, Loony Lace says “Can I talk to you?” She takes him outside. He seems exhausted by her existence at this point, since this is like the 5th time they have had to “talk” about nothing. This time, though, her rambling on and on has somewhat of a point. “I have a lot of work to do on myself, I wanna be able to offer you more. So maybe I should go home and continue to work on myself, because they say you can’t love someone until you love yourself, and I don’t know if I love myself just yet.” Jesus, woman. That was all very “Oprah” of you. The best part was after her teary monologue about how she is leaving, Ben literally gave ZERO resistance, nor did he seem to care. His response was simply: “Okay. Thanks Lace. Bye.” Not even joking. That is what he said. “Thanks Lace”, like he just finished a business transaction with her. Hilarious.
ROSE CEREMONY:
The mannequins all stood waiting for their roses, and sweating it out whether or not they would be chosen. Jami to cameras: “Jeez Louise! I want that rose!” HEY! WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE! In the end, he chooses the lame twins again, Lauren H., Caila, JoJo (who was entirely pointless in this episode), Jennifer, Leah, and Muppet. He chose Muppet, even after her cankles and fat toe monologue. She tells cameras that she is super confident she will get picked, and she says “I wanna marry Ben Higgins.”
Shushana goes home. “I’m in shock”, she says, in tears. Really? I’m in shock you lasted this long, you made zero impression except that you didn’t speak english and then you suddenly did. Jami leaves too. “Im blindsided, I feel like I just got smacked in the face”, she says. “I don’t know what to do anymore when it comes to liking a boy.” Well, maybe start by not referring to it as “liking a boy”, like you’re 12. Her advice to women everywhere? “Dont ever expect anything from humans.” Okay then. Go home to your Mother Ship, ya whackjob.
Meanwhile, the girls inside drink champagne and celebrate being saved for another week. Muppet tells cameras creepily: “We have an unspoken connection. When he hugged me, he squeezed my waist and that was him saying he knows he can’t always give me what I need all of the time, but he knows that I can handle it. ” WTF. You got all that from a squeeze? “He is my man at this point”, she says. Okay Muppet. Put your straight-jacket on. Its time to go back to the Funny Farm.
NEXT WEEK: The cast goes to Las Vegas, where I’m sure more drama and hijinks will ensue. Muppet uses her cankles to distract other gamblers into losing big money. Chris Harrison is overheard talking to himself and pretending to be Ben’s wife in the fantasy suite. Ben’s remaining family members all die and the girls keep talking about fat toes and bad breath.
As you’re all aware of by now, I’m a top notch detective when it comes to predicting what happens in movies and TV. Look at my portfolio of Game of Thrones and Homeland predictions and be amazed. I’m even better when it comes to the MCU and I found a tidbit in the season premiere of Marvel’s Agent Carter that I think hints at the origins of Captain America and Iron Man’s…argument.
This meme will always be funny to me.
But seriously, Agent Carter is only two episodes in and it is on point with its humor. Way to go, Peggy.
SHADOWHUNTERS - "The Descent Into Hell Isn't Easy" - Clary's memories may be the key to finding her mother and The Mortal Cup in "The Descent Into Hell Isn't Easy," an all-new episode of "Shadowhunters," airing TUESDAY, JANUARY 19 (9:00 - 10:00 p.m. EST) on Freeform, the new name for ABC Family. ABC Family is becoming Freeform on January 12, 2016. (Freeform/John Medland)
EMERAUDE TOUBIA
Shadowhunters
Season 1, Episode 2: “The Descent Into Hell isn’t Easy”
Air Date: January 19, 2016
Fans of Shadowhunters were undoubtedly thrilled by this week’s episode as Simon Lewis and Isabelle Lightwood finally had their first encounter. When we spoke to Alberto Rosende and Emeraude Toubia last October, they teased the meeting with laughter and anticipation knowing that their characters were huge fandom favorites.
Toubia had said that Simon was in a place where he wasn’t supposed to be at and now of course we know that he was at the Institute. At the end of the pilot, Clary is outside with Simon and Jace, both boys asking her choose between them. Ultimately she decides to stay with the Shadowhunter but brought Simon into her new crazy world as well. Once inside the Institute, he is able to see the facility for what it truly is after Jace (who had inscribed a rune on his own wrist) grabs his hand.
Simon is blown away by the modern interior that far more resembled a war room than an abandoned church. There he meets the beautiful Isabelle who had volunteered to stay with Simon while Jace and Clary talked to Hodge Starkweather about the Circle. The poor guy is totally caught off guard as Izzy explains that runes give Shadowhunters their demon fighting powers.
SHADOWHUNTERS – “The Descent Into Hell Isn’t Easy” (Freeform/John Medland) EMERAUDE TOUBIA, ALBERTO ROSENDE, DOMINIC SHERWOOD
What were Simon’s first words upon seeing Miss Lightwood? “So hot.” Agreed.
A protective Clary wasn’t sure she wanted to leave him with Isabelle but he shrugs her off saying that he’ll be fine. Sizzzyyyyyyyy!!
She takes him to her room while Jace and Clary talk to Hodge Starkweather about the Circle. In fact she even brings him breakfast! They chat more about runes and Isabelle explains that humans either die or go mad from them and then they have to kill the poor folks. She also tells him that Jace had applied a healing rune on Clary’s wound that saved her life. A distraught Simon stands up to go find Clary but Izzy stops him asking why his best friend would possibly need protection from her adopted brother. This scene ends adorably as she tells him not to worry because there’s a lot more food (that she cooked) to his dismay.
Later on as Clary and Jace go into the Silent City to retrieve her blocked memories, Isabelle volunteers again to stay with Simon outside since he can’t enter. She’s blatantly flirting but it’s not in a mean or man-eating kind of way. When Alec gets annoyed with him while they wait Izzy jumps to the rescue by asking Simon about what he wants to do with his life. When he responds by saying that he’s in a band and she seems genuinely interested in wanting to hear his music so they head back to the van to get his phone. Her protective instincts kick in after hearing a noise, instructing him to stay inside and lock the door while she goes to investigate. Unfortunately he is soon kidnapped by vampires Raphael and Lily (who want the Mortal Cup as well). Izzy is visibly upset that Simon vanished when Clary asks where he has gone after her ordeal with the Silent Brothers.
These first encounters are the beginning of Simon and Isabelle’s relationship and it’ll be great fun to watch them grow throughout the series as all sorts of twists and turns come their way. Both actors have brought a genuine tone to their performances with Rosende’s likable nerd and Toubia’s siren with a heart.
Watch our interview with the duo as they discuss their characters:
You can catch Shadowhunters on FreeForm Tuesdays 9/8 Central.
Comedy Central’s Key & Peele may have ended, but the collaboration between stars Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele is still very much alive on the big screen.
The first red band trailer for their film Keanu has been released and it centers around the kidnapping of a cat. Seriously, it’s the most adorable kitten ever.
Keanu, named after the cat, finds the two leads tracking down the kidnapped cat who happens to be taken by a local gang. Key and Peele set out to rescue the kitten by posing as drug dealers to the local gang.
Back in December Peele told Entertainment Weekly:
“This entire movie was basically the most expensive adorable-kitten video of all time,” jokes Peele, who wrote Keanu with Key & Peele alum Alex Rubens. “Overall it’s meant to satirize how pop culture paints masculinity and what it means to be African-American — and how many of us don’t fit into the mold expected of us.”
When I first saw the grave at the beginning of Arrow’s fourth season, I knew it meant a year-long tease and I was furious. What a cop out to create tension for the fans. You’re better than this, Arrow. Do you even remember season two?
Ten episodes later and I’m positively fuming that we still don’t know whose grave Oliver mourns. On top of that, not only do we have to suffer through pointless flashbacks but now we have over-the-top flash forwards to drive home the point that someone dies soon and Oliver is about to go off the rails, so get your tissues, ladies and gents, heartache is a-comin’.
To deal with all my rage surrounding this issue, I need to talk about it, dissect it, and throw vases to further emphasize how angry I am the writers are resorting to such a tactic. I felt a twinge of hope when Oliver walked to the limo because I secretly hoped it would be Darhk inside and maybe the pair had teamed up against an even bigger bad and how much cooler would that have made their relationship? (Going up against Darhk’s wife, perhaps?)
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen and instead a distraught (and ring-less) Felicity was inside the limo. But hey, at least she’s alive so we can cross her name off this list. For now. Knowing what I know about the show, let’s break down the likelihood of each character’s death. (These percentages are extremely scientific. Please don’t ask to see my math.)
John Diggle: 10%
If it is Diggle’s grave, I refuse to believe he’s dead. He and Felicity are the best parts of the show, so taking away that dynamic ruins any chance of an upswing in the series. I mean, Diglett finally got his Dollar Store Magneto mask! He and Oliver are bros again! Sure, it would cause a ton of waterworks for Oliver and Felicity, maybe even cause a rift between them if she thinks he’s at fault, but I just don’t see it happening. The only way Diggle gets a grave is if it’s to fake his death to keep Lyla and the wee baby Sara safe.
Lyla Michaels: 20%
That being said, I’m very, very afraid it could be Lyla’s grave. We know that Diggle ventures over to The Flash universe in Central City at some point later in the season, but what if he does so to run away from the pain over losing his wife? It’s been speculated that it can’t be the likes of Lyla, Detective Lance, or Laurel because no one else is at the grave with Oliver. However, I think fans severely underestimate Arrow characters’ need to run away from emotions. Look at what Oliver did in the most recent episode when Felicity was in the hospital. Diggle would be in Star City armed with a gorram rocket launcher if it meant he could avenge his wife’s death.
Thea Queen: 15%
It’s been an off-season for the younger Queen, but I still think she’s a safe bet. Besides, her bloodlust appears to counter Darhk’s abilities so they’d need her for a big boss battle. It would certainly cause Oliver to break his no-killing rule, but he’s lost enough family members, don’t you think?
Roy Harper: 5%
We know Roy makes a guest appearance soon, judging by the second half of the season’s trailer. However, if they bring him back only to kill him, after toying with my emotions and faking his death last season, the season is beyond saving.
Laurel Ugh-I-Can’t-Even Lance: 5%
I know I’m not supposed to say things like this but my goodness I hope it’s Laurel the Hypocrite’s grave. Oh, now you care about setting loose homicidal maniacs? Now you have morals and want everyone to be all about truth and justice because it suits the pants you’re wearing this week? I know the likelihood of it actually being Laurel is slim because we’ve already lost one Black Canary but my goodness, why is she even on the show at this point?
Detective/Captain/OMG-Who-Even-Cares Lance: 25%
He’s almost as bad as Laurel. Almost. Every time he references Oliver “dropping bodies” I want to sucker punch him in the teeth. You WORK for the bad guy. That guy who has killed EVERYONE around you? Yea, you helped him do that. Sure, you didn’t pull the trigger, but the guilt is still there. Darhk isn’t going to be happy Lance betrayed him, and I think he already suspects it, so Lance isn’t too safe. Also, as we’ve seen in the past, he doesn’t handle bad guys too well so offing him would be easy. Besides, the SCPD is a joke rivaling Gotham PD so maybe we need to get some new blood in there. Felicity looks to be taking up an Oracle-esque role so maybe we’ll be on the lookout for a new Gordon. Fingers crossed!
Donna Smoak: 20%
Felicity’s mom has been making regular guest appearances on the show and as anyone who watches TV drama can tell you, that is NEVER a good thing. The worst part is she’s a likable, genuine character and writers love killing off her type to spurn the hero into action. All of the above character deaths would drive Felicity to sobs, but I think only the death of her mother (and maybe Diggle) would cause her to implore Oliver to kill.
Now you tell me who you think dies in Arrow season 4. Someone I’ve listed or maybe someone else on the sidelines? Oliver’s son? Sara again?? Let me know in the comments and rage with me over this nonsensical plot device.
Editor’s Edition (Bilal):
Felicity Smoak: 1%
What if the Felicity does die and what Oliver was seeing in the car was a ghost of his beloved. It’s far-fetched as hell, but would ultimately be one hell of a twist.
Disney is moving around their 2017 theatrical calendar as they have announced two major shifts to blockbuster franchises Star Wars and Pirates of the Caribbean.
Star Wars: Episode VIII, originally scheduled for release on May 26, 2017, will now debut on December 15, 2017. The move comes after Star Wars: The Force Awakens, smashed numerous records, including biggest domestic and global debuts of all time as well as the biggest domestic second and third weekends, en route to becoming the highest grossing domestic release of all time with over $861M and the third biggest global release ever with $1.887B.
Written and directed by Rian Johnson, Star Wars: Episode VIII is currently in pre-production and will begin principal photography in London next month. Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman will produce and J.J. Abrams, Tom Karnowski, and Jason McGatlin will executive produce.
Taking the May 26, 2017 slot for Star Wars: Episode VIII will be Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, which was previously scheduled for July 7, 2017.
In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Johnny Depp returns as Captain Jack Sparrow with Geoffrey Rush back on board as Barbossa, Orlando Bloom resurfacing as Will Turner, and a terrifying new adversary, Captain Salazar, played by Javier Bardem, in the mix.
I’ll be the first to admit that Jeremy Jordan’s character on Supergirl, Winn, isn’t exactly the best. Sure, he’s kind of whiny and cliche but he–okay, he’s the least developed of the bunch and you could see that lovesick best friend plot line coming from a mile away. However, the actor behind Winn’s puppy dog-eyed character is quite the charmer. In fact, maybe he could woo Kara Danvers if he used those pipes on the show.
Some people know Jordan from his time on the heartbreak that was Smash, or maybe even from the movie of the musical The Last Five Years, but those who don’t obsess over Broadway and musicals like I do may see him as a nobody and that’s a real shame because he is fabulous.
Just listen to some of his (many) songs on YouTube.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like romantically pairing Kara and Winn on Supergirl, but I’ll cheer for his character just for the sake of the actor. Besides, we know Melissa Benoist can sing from her time on Glee, so the two could have a duet on the show and HOW CUTE WOULD THAT BE?
Video games based on movies and television shows can be a very tricky thing. Sometimes they can surprise you and be better than the source material, but more often than not it turns into a quick cash-grab with little depth and full of bugs and glitches. So where does Gemini: Heroes Reborn fall? Surprisingly, somewhere in the middle.
Gemini: Heroes Reborn is based on the rebirth of Heroes on NBC (which sadly won’t see another season). While many fell off the Heroes bandwagon long ago, I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the series, and looked forward to checking out a game based on the lore. Sadly, most of the Heroes Reborn references are only small nods to certain names and locations, while others are just completely shoe-horned into the experience, such as the hidden collectibles strewn throughout the levels. If you’re looking for a way to dig deeper into the universe the show has created, this may not be the best avenue.
The story revolves around Cassandra and her friend Alex. Gemini opens with the two searching through the rubble of an old Renautas building trying to find information on Cassandra’s parents, but things quickly go sour and Alex is kidnapped. While the story is somewhat generic, the horrendous voice acting, outside of a few characters, only makes it worse. When a character’s voice acting stands out because its good you know you have a problem.
The gameplay itself is serviceable, but nothing we haven’t already seen before. The best way to describe Gemini: Heroes Reborn is a mix of Mirrors Edge and Bioshock, which may sound awesome, however those games did it much better. As you parkour through the world, you use your telepathy and time travel abilities to solve puzzles and fight enemies. While Gemini will try to push you toward a stealthier approach, most combat scenarios just boil down to you telepathically throwing everything you can find at an enemy, slowing down time to run behind them before they can attack, and repeating until the room is clear. I must mention that the rag doll effects on the enemies is ripped straight from the early 2000’s, and often takes you out of the experience (in the most hilarious way possible).
As the game progresses Cassandra learns of her new Evo power, time travel. I don’t want to give too much away, since it would spoil the plot for those interested, but Cassandra’s time travel ability is fixed between two distinct points in time. Her telepathy ability on the other hand is found in a lab, as she injects herself with an unknown serum marked “telepathy” (like I said, the story won’t be winning any awards).
The way you unlock new abilities and progress through Gemini is somewhat sporadic. There is no leveling up or skill trees, but as you open new chapters, a text box pop-up will inform you Cassandra’s powers have somehow increased and now you can do “x,y,z”. There is no feeling of accomplishment.
Of course Gemini: Heroes Reborn isn’t all mediocrity. The graphics look good, and some of the puzzles often had me stumped throughout my play through. I didn’t run into any bugs, which is worth a mention in a game based on a television series, and it moved along at a brisk pace. That however is where the praises end.
There is nothing inherently wrong with Gemini, it just suffers from being average. The gameplay is fine, the nods to the show will make you smile, and the puzzles are an interesting change of pace from the combat, but it doesn’t do anything special that would pull in those uninitiated with the show. Gemini: Heroes Reborn a game only the die-hard Heroes fans should seek out.
‘Gemini: Heroes Reborn’ is available on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.
Galavant is back and I, for one, couldn’t be happier. 2015 was a great year for new television, with the addition of the likes of Marvel’s Agent Carter, Jane the Virgin, The Flash, Daredevil, and so on, but of those, Galavant was my favorite addition Despite low ratings, ABC made the right decision to renew the unique and happy-go-lucky show (a fact often referred to in season two’s opening episode).
But you’re here for the list. The internet loves its lists and I aim to please the internet.
5. The music
Of course I have to mention the music first because it’s a show with Alan Menken, that dude who wrote all those obnoxious Disney songs we love. Last season my biggest complaint about the show was that outside of the main theme and the final episode, the songs were really lacking. This season, however, right from the start we’re treated to catchy nonsense and a show that knows how to laugh at itself. Sid gets a Les Miserables-esque number, Madalena a ballad, and Kylie Minogue guest stars with a song entitled, “Off with his shirt.”
4. It’s so meta it’s beautiful
There’s something truly beautiful about a TV show that knows it’s on the ropes. The gloves come off, the dark humor comes out and it stops trying to pander and just is. Without that giant cancellation bear hanging over their heads, Galavant allowed itself to grow, to make fun of how ridiculous its setting is, right down to poking holes in Galavant’s “true love” disease and the “forest of coincidence.”
3. New pairings
Galavant smartly mixed up the groups from last year and it’s given us the beauty that is Richard/Galavant, but more importantly, it’s allowed Madalena and Gareth to shine even brighter. It’s no secret that I love a good villain and Madalena and Gareth’s evil ways make for a partnership so beautiful even I never dreamed possible. By mixing up the groups, it keeps the show from feeling too stale and it allows new characters and guest stars to make more of an impact.
2. There’s a bisexual punk princess
No, seriously. How can you not love that?
1. King Richard
Timothy Omundson’s vocal abilities have improved in the past year, but more importantly, he’s been given even more screen time and that’s only helped the show. His comedic timing, aloofness, and general likeability are what hold this show together. Without Richard, there is no Galavant.
And he has a dragon named Tad Cooper. Eat your heart out, Daenerys.
In the second to the last episode of Heroes Reborn, we finally get Erica Kravid’s backstory that explains her vendetta against Evos, but it feels too little too late at this point. Throughout the mini-series she has been painted as a manipulative and single-minded villain who only cared about her own agenda.
As the CEO of Renautas, she had acquired Primatech and was in league with Angela Petrelli, Noah Bennett, and Mohinder Suresh until the events of June 13. This was when her real plans came to light by having Phoebe Frady negate all Evo powers at the summit in Odessa and then orchestrating a massive explosion. She then blamed it on Suresh as an act of terrorism. This was all a part of her grand scheme to save humanity from the coming of natural disaster that would wipe off most of the world. But she wasn’t saving everyone of course, just the ones she deemed worthy.
HEROES REBORN — “Company Woman” Episode 112 — Pictured: (l-r) Rya Kihlstedt as Erica Kravid, Eve Harlow as Taylor Kravid — (Photo by: Christos Kalohoridis/NBC)
Her relationship with her only child Taylor had seemed rocky from the beginning and it had only gotten worse when she separated her daughter from her Evo boyfriend Francis (whom we met when they apprehended Molly Walker). Taylor had always felt like her mother didn’t have time for her but when she discovered that Erica was using Evos to harness their powers as tech and saw Francis plugged up and unconscious she began to mistrust her mother even more. Eventually she would join the Evos in the fight against Erica’s plans.
In this week’s episode we learned that Taylor’s father had been an Evo with healing abilities that took advantage of Erica when the Renautas CEO had been a young woman. The healer had cured Erica’s father of his sickness but in return had wanted her to sleep with him. The result of that encounter had been Taylor. When she was a young child, she had also gotten very ill and so Erica had to turn back to the same Evo for help. This time however, he had said that he was going to take Taylor but Erica’s killer instincts kicked in and she stabbed him with a pair of scissors to keep her child.
This intense moment between mother and daughter did shed some light to the cruelty Erica had endured at the hand of an Evo and provided some background into her cold calculating personality. Still, like Taylor said, this new piece of information just wasn’t enough. While her mother’s intentions may have been good at the beginning, it didn’t justify killing innocent humans, regardless if they were an Evo or not.
Erica came from very humble beginnings and somehow managed to become a very powerful woman, which certainly took a lot of cunning and skill. Her relationship with her daughter had brought some dimension to her character, but her background story it seems a little too late in the game with only one episode left.
Creator Tim Kring did put a different spin to the series by making its central antagonist completely human. In the original Heroes, most of the bad guys had been other Evos – Sylar, Daniel Linderman, Maury Parkman, Arthur Petrelli, and Samuel Sullivan. But Erica shows audiences that a human can be just as nefarious or even worse than someone with abilities. The character believes she is making hard choices for the greater good, but as the saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Now that Taylor has walked away from her, will she be even more determined in her feud against Evos? We’ll find out soon enough!
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