Outlander S1 Ends and I’m Torn

Oh Willie, we’ll miss ye. (But I’m glad you survived for a possible appearance in season 2.)

The Outlander season1 finale just aired on Starz, and I’m of two minds.

The first is that I’m glad it’s over.  The last two episodes were doozies.  To make things even more difficult, Starz delayed airing the season1  finale for two weeks because of Memorial Day.  That made the anticipation nearly unbearable.  I actually started counting down the hours, then the minutes.  Now I’m glad the episode is over, and I can get on with my life put my mind at peace.

The second is me wondering what will I obsess over until (most likely) mid-2016?

More thoughts on this controversial, polarizing, difficult but excellent episode will be forthcoming.

The Flash: The Trap (120)

What happens in the Time Vault, stays in the Time Vault.

For an episode with The Big Reveal (that Harrison Wells is a guy from the future named Eobard Thawn), “The Trap” it felt a bit underwhelming.  (Which is why this post is a tad late.)  The Little Reveal, that of Iris realizing Barry is The Flash, was much more satisfying.

Reminiscent of  an episode of Lost, one or two questions were answered while 45 others were raised. Perhaps those of you familiar with The Flash from DC Comics lore know the answers.  Or do you?  If the television show creators have tweaked the story, then you might be in the same boat as the rest of us.  If so, ha-ha. 

(There is a poll is after the break, so be sure to click it.)

1973: Not a Pretty Year

Coverage of this week’s Supernatural episode “The Werther Project” will be forthcoming.  But first I need to untangle my brain.

Well done, Robert Berens!  And not just the “tall, white fella, pretty hair” part.

Orphan Black Season 3

Good news!  Orphan Black is back!  Bad news: it’s on at exactly the same time as Outlander, so clone viewing will be taking a back seat in this household.

I’m still pretty damned confused.  After nine months, all the talk of Leda, Topside, DNA trademarking, and clone-boy program, the episode required major brain power to reconnect all the dots, especially when the dots weren’t connected in the first place.

Side note:  I’m am now officially, certifiably claustrophobic.  Helena’s crate scenes scared the bejesus out of me.  We’re talking massive physiological trauma.  Talking scorpion?  Piece of cake in comparison.

A Short Agents of SHIELD Comment before We Discuss The Flash

The second best part of “One of Us”

Did anyone else notice how easily Fitz and Simmons slipped back into their companionable banter when discussing May and her ex?  Simmons may still be annoyed with Fitz—it’s not likely a permanent repair to their relationship—but it gave us a much needed wink to the loveliness that is FitzSimmons.

And while crazy Cal (Kyle MacLachlan) was completely and delightfully crazy, the show was otherwise a big ol’ yawn.  I’m done with Skye.  Again.

Aftershocks: an After-Action Report

Adrian Pasdar and his (fake) mustache make an appearance via iPad.

“Aftershocks,”  as in Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD‘s return to television after its time out for the highly enjoyable Agent Carter.  Not to be confused with Law & Order‘s “Aftershock,” the episode in which Claire Kincaid (Jill Hennessy) died.  Or was in a coma, depending on who you asked (the latter mostly fans of Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston)/Claire Kincaid fan fiction).  And Lenny Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) in which fell off the wagon and marriage-faithful Rey Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) hooked up with a college student (pre-fame Jennifer Garner).  But I’m digressing to an earlier obsession.

So, I recorded Agents of SHIELD‘s 2015 premiere when it aired last week, but just got around to watching it.  Sorry I waited so long!  It was excellent;  in turns emotional, worrying, and humorous.  Of note:

A Gotham Quickie

Spirit of the Goat (106)

Hey!  Ben Edlund’s script for Gotham finally aired.  And it was surprisingly… not funny.  Granted, Gotham’s tone doesn’t lend itself to humor, but it does have its moments.  Take last week’s attack on our heroes (Detectives Gordon and Bullock, in case you were wondering who the heroes of this show are) by an elderly professor and his walker, and Bullock’s interrogative “What’s altruism?”  This week’s comedy came in the form of an interchange between Jim Gordon and Bullock’s wheelchair-bound ex-partner, Dix (delightfully played by Dan Heydaya) about Bullock.  And let’s not forget Bruce Wayne’s “I don’t know why he chose an ungulate for his totem?”  Ha!

Look at that. Harvey Bullock has a heart.

Harvey Bullock was given some depth of character which actually made him not only sympathetic, but also pretty savvy.  Ten years ago, Harvey was a go-get-em policeman, which got his partner (said Dix/Dan Heydaya) confined to a wheelchair.  It turns out Harvey is not only paying for Dix’s care, he also supplies him with questionable (meaning “girlie”?) magazines.  And Bullock actually figures out who’s really behind the murders.  You know, detective work.

So where’s Jim Gordon in all this?  Having a snooze-inducing conversion with his fiance, the show-sucking Barbara Kean.  She wants him to “let her in,” to tell her hisss…zzzz.  Then she has another useless conversation with her former roommate/lover, the even-more show-sucking Montoya, to leave Jim alone.  Montoya tells Barbara to .. blah blah blah.

Seriously, is there any reason for this MCU sub-plot?  Isn’t there enough dramatic material with all the city corruption, warring mob-bosses, and nemeses to be?

Supernatural in a Word

The season finale does not bode well for Dean.

I had planned to include “Do You Believe in Miracles?” in the “Season/Series Finale-Palooza,” especially since I hadn’t covered the previous two episodes.  But last night’s ending was so shocking, it must be addressed immediately and can’t be hidden underneath Grimm and Warehouse 13.

So, in a word…

Supernatural: Blade Runners (916) Quick Takes

It’s all about Dean this (half-)season. I like it.

If you heard a huge groan around 9:15 (ET), that was me reading the “Special Guest Star” credits for “Blade Runners.”  Thankfully, Snooki’s part was even shorter than Paris Hilton’s in… whatever episode that was.  Actually, Snooki wasn’t too bad.  A crossroads demon was a great part for her.

So Crowley’s phone lists Dean as “Not Moose.”  Does that mean Sam’s phone shows up as “Not Squirrel”?  And Sam is researching “Cain and Abel, The First Brothers.”  Because?  Is he preparing himself if Dean should turn against him?

Intelligence & Once Upon a Time in Wonderland: Not Very Quick Takes

Let’s get straight into it.

Intelligence:  Cain and Gabriel (110)

CyberCom to the rescue!

Once again, this week’s has little to do with the real CyberCom mission (keeping America safe, one email at a time), but rather the threat of a chemical attack.  In a bit of a switch up, director Lillian Strand (Marg Helgenberger) travels to San Francisco with Gabriel and Riley, while Jameson stays back with the doctors Cassidy.  Lest you think Lillian is brave and necessary to the mission, she’s on board because her daughter lives there.  There’s some angst about whether to tell her daughter to leave the city to avoid the potential attack, but the show’s Voice Of Reason (Riley) tells her to act like a mother and not a bureaucrat.

The actual case is one of Intelligence‘s more interesting ones.  Someone is orchestrating individuals in witness protection to build and release a chemical bomb which will leave many of San Fran’s citizens completely paralyzed.  He’s using a network of security, surveillance, and CCTV cameras to track everyone’s progress.  When Gabriel and Riley check one of the potential bomb-making sites, Gabriel spies the camera and taps into the feed, putting him into the same network as our “orchestra conductor” (also called “rider” here, as in the rider/mule/carrot/stick paradigm).  The rider uses the opportunity to call Gabriel on his “head phone.”  The conversation gives Gabriel some insight into this guy.