REVIEW: American Gods, Episode 108
American Gods returns with episode 8 of season one, the season finale, entitled “Come to Jesus” and everyone is eager to have a meeting with Ostara.
It was time for Mr. Ibis to take a break and for Mr. Nancy to be the one in the spotlight (quite literally). Nancy tells the story of Bilquis, Goddess of love and character who is not unfamiliar to us viewers. This backstory was definitely something that we needed, we just didn’t know it. We saw that she went from a Queen who had everything she wanted, to a homeless woman who didn’t have a lot more than the clothes she was wearing. We were able to find out that she, like Vulcan, accepted the help of the New Gods in order to rise again, and that is something pretty much everyone would do. Maybe Bilquis isn’t as loyal to them as Vulcan seemed to be, but ultimately the new Gods took her out of poverty and starvation, and so she is in big debt to them. Moral of the story: “You need to get yourself a Queen”.
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Wednesday and Shadow head to Kentucky to do just that. There, they find Ostara, commonly known as Easter, Goddess of Spring, resurrection and rebirth. Ostara was definitely not nearly as happy to see Wednesday as Wednesday was to see her, but she became quite charmed with Shadow and the feeling was clearly mutual. Nowadays, when we think of Easter we think of Jesus and the resurrection, but truth is that Easter existed long before that and, just like Christmas time, Easter celebrated the equinox. Ostara may be, among the Old Gods, one of the few who is doing fine, but, in the end of the day, she is just as forgotten as they all are. Even though people still celebrate Easter (which gives her some power), they don’t do it in her name anymore, and Wednesday makes sure to point that out.
It totally made a lot of sense seeing many Jesuses in this episode. In fact, there are many people who worship him, but everyone has a different tradition, a different interpretation of the bible, and so, without realizing it, people believe, not in one Jesus, but in several ones. And, as it is our belief that creates Gods, apparently it can also create more and more Jesuses.
Meanwhile, Laura and Mad Sweeney arrived to their destination, and who better to bring someone back from the dead than the Goddess of resurrection herself? But not all deaths are the same, and after looking into Laura’s case, Ostara realized she can’t bring her back to life because she was killed by a God (or as Sweeney put it, she was sacrificed to a God). It is this way that Laura finds out that she and Shadow have been manipulated by Wednesday for a while, at least since they came up with the “perfect plan” to rob the casino. For some reason, Wednesday wanted Shadow in a position where he had nothing to lose because he had already lost everything. This definitely proves that Shadow wasn’t the one picked to be Wednesday’s body guard just because he was the first strong guy Wednesday could find. There is clearly a lot more to it and I can’t wait to find out what it is.
It was after this that we got to see that amazing, crazy super scene in which everything was happening at the same time. Media arrived. Unlike the Technical Boy, Media doesn’t want to start a war (I am not really saying the Technical Boy wants to start one, but he probably wouldn’t mind it too much). Media wants to enlist Gods to keep them in check, to make sure they are not going to start a mutiny, but she is not willing to do everything to make this happen. Ostara feels misrepresented by the media and the new Goddess pretty much says that she doesn’t care, and tells her to adapt. This is how it has been and this is how it will continue to be.
After Media, it didn’t take long for the other known New Gods to show up, and I have to say, I always love Media and Technical Boy’s outfits. Media’s outfits are always very modern and fashionable but at the same time, historical and old. Technical Boy’s are always so futuristic and rebel teenage-like. The New Gods couldn’t be more confident they will prevail. As they said, they control everything. The only way the Old Gods would announce themselves would be if they went house by house knocking on doors and, even so, no one would listen to them, no one would care about them. The New Gods are “the flow”; the “platform AND the delivery mechanism”.
But the New Gods weren’t seeing the big picture, they were underestimating Ostara. After having her power increased because of a few deaths in her name, Ostara was able to take the spring away, and so the scene just got better and better. Apparently, the Old Gods didn’t need a delivery mechanism, because they have one that is more effective than any other. If people want to see flowers again, leaves on trees, crops grow, green fields… they are going to have to pray for it. “You give a little, you get a little”. That is how it used to be, and that is how the Old Gods want it to be again.
It makes all the sense in the world that the war between Old Gods and New Gods isn’t a physical one, but a war for everyone’s belief. First of all, because no physical war would live up to the audience’s expectations. Secondly, even if the Old Gods won and killed the New Gods, what good would that do? They would still not be important, and the New Gods would eventually be back because people would continue to believe in them. If the Old Gods want to kill their opponents, they will have to make sure that no one believes in them anymore.
It was also in this overwhelming scene that Wednesday revealed who he really is: his real name is Odin, Germanic God of all Gods. Like everything in this show, the pseudonym “Wednesday” didn’t come out of nowhere. “Wednesday” is derived from the old English “Wodenstaeg”, which means day of Woden (which is one of Odin’s many names).
I am going to apologize in advance for what I am about to say because not a lot of people share my opinion in this, but if I have to pick a team, I will pick the New Gods. Everyone likes their TV, their technologies, social media, oil… and that is what the New Gods represent. The Old Gods had their time of prosperity, now they either need to “adapt and survive” (like Media said), or disappear and die. It is a good thing that the New Gods are making sure some of the old palls still survive and still have some believers. They should be happy with that. It is definitely time to say: Out with the old and in with the new.
This was definitely an awesome episode. Finally Shadow believes, finally the war is on, finally Wednesday revealed his true identity, finally Shadow saw Laura again. There was only a problem with it, a very big one in fact: after watching it, we have to wait almost a year to watch a new one. I am giving this episode a 9.9/10 (I am saving my 10, in case there is a better one coming).
With this, I conclude my reviews of season 1 of this amazing show. It was, like any other, a season with its highs and lows, but overall a really amazing one. Hope it doesn’t take too long for season 2 to start.
REVIEW: Once Upon A Time in Wonderland, Episode 108
Once Upon A Time in Wonderland returns with episode 8, “Home”, and with the winter finale upon us, everyone wants to be the first to find Cyrus.
In flashbacks we saw Alice and Cyrus and learned a few things more about these two. I never get tired of seeing Alice kicking ass, and especially everyone’s face when they find out she can fight, and so it was very amusing watching that first scene. What wasn’t so amusing was seeing her injured. Luckily it was nothing Mrs. Rabbit couldn’t fix, but the Rabbit is right to point out that she may not be this lucky next time. One thing is true however: even though Alice didn’t choose to fall in love with Cyrus, she chose the life she was having, she chose to be with him, and she knew the consequences of that decision. And she would rather die a premature death on Cyrus’ arms than live years and years apart from him. And that is exactly what true love is all about. But even considering all this, it is obviously still nice having a place to call Home, somewhere to go to when things get tough and, with the help of the Caterpillar, Cyrus was able to build it.
And it is to their Home that Alice believed Cyrus was going to. But before getting there, she wanted to make a stop at the Rabbit’s place so that he would help them escape from Wonderland. Unfortunately, the Rabbit isn’t very keen on helping them, since the Red Queen kidnaped his family. With Will’s help (he knows Anastasia better than anyone) they manage to find them, and these 3 head to the Outlands.
Meanwhile, Jafar enlists the help of one of the Queen’s Tweedles to get Cyrus’s bottle. With this, all he needs is for Alice to make her last wish, and he will have everything he ever wanted. But he soon realized that the Queen was much smarter than he thought, and the bottle he was given was fake. So he gets mad as he had never gotten before and destroys the Queen’s castle after taking one of her hairs. The Queen’s castle was definitely a very beautiful and original castle, definitely one fitted to a beautiful queen such as Anastasia.
At the same time, after learning that Cyrus was caught in one of her traps, Anastasia goes to get him. They make a stop to go get the real bottle and, after convincing Cyrus to tell her where he was going to, they also make way to the Outlands. Obviously Anastasia never trusted Jafar, but when he got the fake bottle was probably the moment she realized Jafar didn’t need her for the spell, and that she was simply the means to an end.
Alice was the first getting there and after she couldn’t find Cyrus she started making all sorts of other plans to search for him again. It was a bit weird that she didn’t think that the reason why Cyrus wasn’t there was simply because he hadn’t arrived yet. But it was still nice seeing that Alice didn’t lose hope that she would find him, I think she simply thought they wouldn’t reunite that day, but she was wrong. After 8 episodes apart, Cyrus and Alice were reunited at last, and it was just as beautiful as we had imagined. But the sweet nothings soon came to an end when Alice saw who Cyrus’ travel companion was.
It is finally in this scene that we realized what Anastasia was trying to get: she wanted to travel back in time and stop herself from accepting the King’s offer to become queen, so that she would continue living with Will. She probably thought she didn’t have many chances of getting him back in present day, so a trip to the past was her only option. Anastasia begged everyone to leave Wonderland immediately but anyone trusted her at first, and I definitely don’t blame them after everything she put them through.
Wanting to get rid of the Red Queen, Jafar performs a spell to kill her. Anastasia is able to dodge it, but the lightning strikes Will. Because of the first wish Alice made, they both find themselves dying, and Alice doesn’t want to make a wish because that will take Cyrus back to the bottle and Jafar will have what he wanted from the beginning. But what she didn’t remember was that she had promised Will a wish, and so he wished to “end Alice’s suffering”. As wishes go, this was kind of a smart one, since I don’t think anyone can take back wishes, and so, for Alice to stop suffering, Will would have to stop too. But what no one remembered was that physical suffering isn’t the only kind of pain, and thanks to Will, Cyrus is no longer a genie. But wishes come with a price, and Will payed his by taking Cyrus’ place in the bottle.
This was certainly an amazing episode, and that twist in the end was an incredible one that I definitely did not see coming. I am giving this episode a 9.0/10.
I will be back soon with my review of episode 9 entitled “Nothing to Fear”, where we will find out who Will’s first master will be.
REVIEW: Midnight, Texas, Episode 104
Midnight, Texas is back this week with the fourth episode of its first season and we got to meet a “Sexy Beast”, which was the trouble-bringer of the episode.
There were, fortunately, a few developments in this episode and Manfred and Creek continued their “relationship” (not sure if you can call it that, but why not?). It is nice that the writers have made it normal by now to watch more intimate scenes between these two (especially because the pilot didn’t make it seem like we would get scenes like this anytime soon). It is also nice to see that mundane things still matter (sometimes supernatural shows forget the most natural things), and Manfred still obviously needs money. What he didn’t expect was that it would be knocking on his door. And with a new client, came a new case. Manfred started working on it but soon realized he couldn’t do it alone, so he brought the team back together again. I really like to see this team in action. We got to see them joining forces on last episode and now again in this one. On episode 3 it was definitely more badass and each one of their skills was required. This didn’t happen as much this time, but it is understandable, because last episode they were fighting many vampires at the same time.
Speaking of monsters, this week we met a new one: a succubus. In folklore a succubus is a demon in female form that appears in dreams to seduce men. The myth of this creature evolved and, as we saw in this show, it doesn’t always appear in dreams. Considering this, the show did a great job creating it. It was also nice seeing a creature that is a bit more unknown, rather than other classic creatures we are used to see in supernatural shows (like ordinary demons, shapeshifters, ghosts…).
I am liking Olivia more and more, and she was amazing in this episode. It was great seeing her perform that little job, and also watching her do it like it was an ordinary Wednesday. We even got to know a little bit more about her and her origins. It would be to expect that a girl as badass as her came from a broken home, but it was still heartbreaking hearing what she went through. But she doesn’t have to worry about it now because she has Lemuel and he is not going anywhere (at least I hope he doesn’t). The dynamic between these two has been great from the beginning, but it was especially amazing in this episode. They looked like two partners in crime and it was funny seeing the looks they exchange while torturing that poor guy.
Speaking of relationships, it was also nice that Bobo and Fiji finally accepted that they were in love with each other. It took a while, but nothing we couldn’t wait. It appears that they bring out the best in each other and that was clear as water when Fiji convinced him to stop going after the Sons of Lucifer (not the first time, but the second). I just hope they continue this dynamic instead of lying to each other and saying it was a one-time thing and they can’t ruin their friendship.
Another thing that was nice to see was Creek working with the team and not being afraid to make a stand. Alone in the parking-lot and seeing the succubus escaping, she could have stayed hidden (which was something I was afraid she would do), l but instead decided to not be afraid and injected some magic gas into the succubus. What was not nice to see was that there are people (and by people I mean Connor) who are a liability, but still always get in the way, even though they don’t know how to deal with the situation they are getting themselves into. He was trying to protect his sister, but it is clearer every episode that she can, unlike him, take care of herself, and so he should just stay home and do whatever it is he likes to do (that or toughen up and help). I hope he chooses the second, because he seems like a nice and smart kid.
Overall, this was a good episode, but I feel like the previous one was a bit better, and so I am giving it 7.5/10.
I will return next week with my review of episode 5 entitled “Unearthed”.
REVIEW: Big Little Lies, Episode 104
Big Little Lies continued with the fourth episode of the season entitled “Push Comes to Shove” and the mothers definitely found all kinds of trouble in this episode.
Madeline did definitely not start the episode with the right foot because she is proposed, by Nathan, to have a couple’s dinner, which means, of course, Madeline and Ed, Nathan and Bonnie. I am not sure if Madeline could hate the idea of this dinner any more than what she already did. But it was really nice seeing her blow off some steam when she got home and found Ed singing for her dressed as Elvis Presley.
But this is far from being everything Madeline did in this episode. The play situation was finally more discussed and we learned both the name of the play, Avenue Q, and why so many people think it is inappropriate: there is a sex scene between puppets. When I heard this is why they wanted to stop the play I was surprised, because I thought it would be something more drastic. Renata defended why she wanted the play to be cancelled by totally avoiding the subject and suggesting a whole new play, saying that what their kids need is nostalgia. I think this statement of hers made it completely official that she only went after the play because Madeline supports it and she wanted to win against her. She made such a big deal about this just because of one sex scene. There are plays which you are advised to take your children with you, others where your children should stay home. And just trying to shut down a play based on this, seems very childish. Fortunately, Celeste was there and she kicked a lot of ass. I think this was the first time Celeste shined (I don’t mean Nicole, she has been shinning from the beginning, but Celeste hasn’t, at least not in a good way). As we found out later, Celeste loved that moment as much as we did.
Last about Madeline: I definitely did not enjoy her kiss with Joseph. I really like seeing her and Ed together, and I hope she doesn’t leave him for Joseph (which I don’t think she will).
Celeste and Perry seemed to have taken a break from the violence, and they had a few sweet moments in this episode (like the one in which Perry tells Celeste he would like to have a daughter). But it didn’t take long for them to start arguing and then returning to violence closer to the end. Celeste told Perry she was having a meeting with the mayor, and he did not like that very much. Don’t get me wrong, Perry doesn’t have an excuse for beating Celeste, and I am not taking anyone’s side in this, but this time Perry is right. It seems that Celeste never tells him anything. He overreacted a bit when he said she was going back to work (which she at least wasn’t when she started), but this is totally something one would share with their significant other, long before the meeting actually took place. And it is not just this meeting: in the first or second episode Perry stayed one more day to take the twins to their first day of school and he wanted to meet the teachers but that had happened the day before, and Celeste just went on her own, without even telling him what they were doing. When the highest stage of a couple’s relationship is when they are miles away from each other, there is definitely something very wrong.
It was nice seeing that Celeste doesn’t want to settle with just being a mom. Of course it is great but she doesn’t really do anything all day (and still has a baby-sitter, which is beyond weird and ridiculous). She loved going to the meeting with Madeline and she loved the feeling she got from being there and being a badass. She wants to go back to work, but she is afraid of Perry, as the couple’s therapist found out.
Lastly, Jane also found some trouble of her own: she said in this episode she wanted to move away, but then she seemed to put it aside. The teacher was nice enough to go talk to her about Ziggy, but she mistook the signs she got from class, because maybe both Amabella and Ziggy are both being bullied. This makes the fact that Amabella told everyone Ziggy was the bully look very strange. If they are both being bullied, why point at him? Maybe this is all part of the bully’s sick game.
Jane took Ziggy to a child psychologist and she said that is Ziggy is most likely not the bully, and finally understood that he himself might also be suffering from bulling. This show really deals with a lot of great subjects and it keeps adding and that is really incredible.
This episode was a great one as usual. I hope that Jane starts getting more screen time, because I think for the past 2 episode (3 and 4, I mean) it seems she is being sidelined by the other two moms. I am giving this episode an 8.3.
This show is definitely too small, and there are only 3 more episodes left, so don’t miss my review of episode 5, “Once Bitten”.
REVIEW: American Gods, Episode 107
American Gods continues the season with episode 7, “A Prayer for Mad Sweeney”, which seemed a little like a standalone episode, but a good one nonetheless.
“The American colonies were as much as a dumping ground as they were an escape”. It is like this that we begin a new chapter of Ibis’ “Coming to America” story. America was in fact the land of dreams, but for some to be living the dream, others would have to work for both themselves and for the dreamers, and that was not forgotten in this episode of American Gods.
In this very peculiar chapter, we meet Essie McGowan and a comparison between her and Laura is inevitable, since they were portrayed by the same actress: they both struggle for the life they think they deserve, neither one of them forgets what matters to them (at least they rarely do), and both of them always seem to want more, no matter how much they have. Something that is also inevitable to compare is their beliefs: Essie seems to fully believe in a lot of things, but mostly leprechauns; while Laura doesn’t believe in anything (at least she didn’t use to, but that is probably different now).
What I enjoyed most about Essie’s character was her belief. As I just said, she believes in a lot of things, but, unlike a lot of people, she doesn’t believe as a hobby. Every day (sometimes maybe more than once a day) she would spare some food, put it on a plate and serve to the leprechauns. Of course this was definitely not a very big deal when she had lots of food to eat, but she didn’t always, and she would still remember them. There were in fact a few occasions in which she forgot this, but not because she kept all the food for herself, but because she was busy. It is probably because of Essie that a certain Irish leprechaun found himself in America. Leprechauns have been nothing but a myth for a long long time and so they would have to follow the believers wherever they went. I also even wonder if the coin that Mad Sweeney says to be his lucky coin (the one that is now inside Laura) isn’t the one that Essie gave him. That would be interesting.
But though there were a lot of scenes from the past, the present was not forgotten. We continued to see the trip that Laura, Salim and Mad Sweeney share. But Salim didn’t stay long in this episode because he was given what he wanted sooner than he expected: the location of the Jinn in House of the Rock. I am not yet sure what this is, but we will probably see it next season. I was told this is an amazing part of the story, so I am looking forward to it.
With Salim gone, Laura and Sweeney continued their journey in an ice cream truck, which was probably great for Laura because her body is rotting really fast. But most journeys have detours and this was no different: because of a little bunny (which means they are close to their destination), the truck crashed. Sweeny was fine, but the same can’t be said for Laura, because her body was opened and the coin jumped out of her. Our favorite leprechaun picked it up and was definitely thinking of just going away, when he looks back and starts thinking of what he should do. And this is the moment we find out that he was actually the one who killed Laura in the first place, by Wednesday’s command. That’s right! Even though Wednesday wasn’t physically in this episode, he will always be the one pulling the strings of the other characters.
It was nice seeing the interaction between Laura and Sweeney, both in the present and past. Both actors do in amazing job (all cast does an amazing job in this show actually). It was curious that the writers made this episode to be the penultimate, because those are usually more shocking episodes that set up the season finale. But Americans Gods is now expected to the unexpected, so we shouldn’t really be shocked about something like this. Of course that I don’t have to say that Wednesday and Shadow were both missed. As much as I like Laura and Mad Sweeny’s interactions, I love Wednesday and Shadow’s relationship more.
This was a good episode, but a bad one by comparison. Even among the greatest of the greats there is one which comes as the worst, and that is the case of “A Prayer for Mad Sweeney”. I am giving it a 7.4/10.
Episode 8, “Come to Jesus”, is the season finale and a new battle between old Gods and new will take place, so don’t miss my next review.
REVIEW: Once Upon A Time in Wonderland, Episode 107
Once Upon A Time in Wonderland is back with episode 7, “Bad Blood”, which made all blood ties between characters become a burden.
In flashbacks leading to maybe a few weeks before what was seen in 104, we meet Jafar’s parents. There is nothing particularly interesting about the mother, but the father is a totally different story: Jafar’s father is the Sultan, making him a bastard to the throne. Jafar goes to the palace hoping to be welcomed with open arms, but his father says he is lucky enough to become a servant. We also saw a scene in which Jafar called the Sultan father (or almost did) in the middle of a business reunion. This scene didn’t seem very realistic, because it can’t be easy calling someone we have never seen before “Father”, and it’s not like they were very close to each other. But I’ll let this one slide. But the Sultan is definitely not as OK with this as I am, and he did not let it slide, in fact he drowned Jafar for it (of course Jafar didn’t actually die, or we wouldn’t be here).
Flashback stories like this is one of the reasons I love Once Upon A Time. The writers develop both heroes and villains the same way. If heroes had a moment in their lives that made them a hero, then villains should have one too. And that makes us understand what drives them to do whatever it is they are trying to do. In this case, Jafar is trying to break the laws of magic, so that he can make his father love him. Of course this is totally a very desperate attempt for love. “What good is love and respect if it has to be stolen?”. This is something Jafar’s father says, and it couldn’t make more sense, but it looks to Jafar that he ran out of options, and force some love into his father is the only chance he has to be loved.
But Jafar’s father wasn’t the only one who popped up in this episode, Alice’s father, Edwin, did too. Jafar kidnapped him and pretended he was him so that he could tell Alice all those things she wanted to hear, but it didn’t take long for Alice to find out the truth. The only disappointment in all this is how Alice and Will made it obvious they knew what was happening. Alice actually gave a good excuse to leave with Will, but talking to each other and occasionally look at a man who has something to hide is definitely not the way to go.
But Jafar was still not done, and so he went to get Alice’s real father and we were able to see a beautiful scene between this father and daughter. Edwin said he blamed Alice for his wife’s death, that he shouldn’t have needed proof to believe his own daughter and finishes by telling Alice that Cyrus escaped. Finally Edwin served a purpose other than always being the one doubting, and embraced his daughter, her belief and her love. I said before that it would have been very hard for anyone to believe what Alice used to say, but of course that Edwin could have been a little bit more understanding and flexible than sending his daughter almost immediately to an asylum.
Tired of listening to all this sentimentalism, Jafar threw Edwin from the cliff in which he was over, and this forced Alice to make her second wish: she wished her father back home. Two down, one to go. But don’t forget that wishes come with a price and, although her father did in fact return home safely, he thinks all the impossible things he saw were nothing but a dream.
It was just a pity that we didn’t get to see much of Will and Anastasia, but this was still a great episode. Of course that for some characters to shine, others have to be sidelined, since there is no time in one episode for everything. But that is exactly why there are still some episodes to go through, and I am giving this one an 8.1/10.
With 6 more episodes before the story comes to an end, things are definitely starting to get more and more intense, and episode 108, “Home”, was the winter finale, thus I promise that there will totally be a few twists and turns. So don’t forget to stick around.
REVIEW: Big Little Lies, Episode 103
Big Little Lies continues to surprise and conquer with episode 3 entitled “Living the Dream”, which sounds a bit ironic since all characters are definitely far from living their dream life.
The episode continues with Madeline’s attempts to sabotage Amabella’s party, organizing and founding “Disney on Ice” tickets. I continue to say that this is unfair for Chloe, because she makes it clear she would rather go to the party, than that “stupid show”. Chloe is a smart girl and she is also Ziggy’s friend and I think if Madeline had talked to her about it, she would be OK with doing this.
But while Chloe preferred to stay, Perry would like to go to the “Disney on Ice”, but Celeste is not particularly fond of this idea. Of course Perry didn’t want to go to see all those princes and princesses dancing on rollerblades, but to spend more time with his two sons. I think Celeste loves her husband, but she prefers the long distance relationship they have while he is away, than while Perry is in town. And I also think that Perry loves his wife too, he simply doesn’t really know how to love her and how to continue to make her love him, so instead of the Sweet Nothings, Perry uses violence. This may seem illogical to all of us in the outside, but maybe in his head it makes sense, maybe he doesn’t mean to hurt her. Maybe this is the language he speaks because that could be what he used to see in his home, and so it is normal to him. All of these could be explanations. Of course none of these makes the beating OK, but it helps us understand his situation. I don’t want to judge Perry (at least not yet) because we don’t really know a lot about him. But it seems like we will find out.
Speaking of this problematic couple, it was really amazing the scene in which they go to the couple’s therapist. It looked like Celeste didn’t want to tell the therapist about the fight, and she also made it seem like the beating was her fault too, because she put it as “we fight” and “we get angry”. It is totally not unusual that couples fight (it may even be one of the most common things there are), but what is not normal is that it leaves bruises (both psychological and physical). At least Perry had the decency to admit what he does, which is definitely a step in the right direction. Making him the one who mentions this might mean that Perry wants to change, but he simply doesn’t know how. One thing is for sure: going to see a therapist was definitely a great idea and it also seems that it started paying off, because Perry and Celeste finished the episode dancing, so maybe things will change. Or not, since it seems like those two go back and forth. We’ll see.
But Perry and Celeste are definitely not the only ones with troubles in paradise, because it looks like things are starting to blow up on Jane’s face. I think it was last episode that the teacher asked the first grade class to make a family tree and I thought that meant more complications for Jane and turns out I was right. Seems like Ziggy doesn’t know much (or at least much of the truth) about his father, but he really wants to know at least his name, giving the excuse of having to put it in the tree. This leads us to find out what happened: Jane tells Madeline the actual story and we find out that Jane was also a victim of domestic violence (or kind of). I read some comments of people saying they think Ziggy’s father is Perry, but I don’t think so. Jane knows Celeste and, even though we didn’t see a scene that showed that, I am sure Celeste showed Jane pictures of her family and Jane would have recognized him. There was also a really great and intense scene in the end of the episode in which Jane saw someone breaking into her house and so she grabbed a gun to protect herself. This turned out to be kind of a hallucination, but it showed that she is afraid Ziggy’s father might come back someday, or she wouldn’t have a gun.
Not being able to happen in any other way, Madeline is also far from “Living the Dream”. Her play is looking more and more in danger and, like this wasn’t enough, Abigail left to go live with her father and Bonnie, because she feels like she is living the life her mother wants her to live, instead of living it in her own way. It was really funny when, while “handing over” Abigail to her ex-husband, Nathan said that Ed was always looking at him, watching him. Nathan is starting to feel threatened by Ed, and he definitely should be, because Ed looks like that kind of badass that no one sees coming.
It is also starting to look like the murder that will happen will be a rushed crime of hate, since it is said that there is a lot of blood and broken bones. Will Perry lose control and kill Celeste? Will Celeste kill Perry in an attempt to protect herself? Will Ziggy’s dad come back and kill Jane, or Jane ending up killing him? Is this related to Madeline and Renata’s war? Looks like we will have to continue to tune in for answers.
This was a great episode and I can’t wait to see more of these 3 moms and their struggles through life. I am giving this episode an 8.2/10.
Stay tuned for my next review of the fourth episode entitled “Push Comes Shove”.
REVIEW: American Gods, Episode 106
American Gods returns with episode 106, and looking back now, one may realize that this episode’s title is a bit heavy on spoilers: “A Murder of Gods”.
In another “Coming to America” chapter, we see Mexicans trying to illegally cross the border to get to the new land. To do so, they need to cross a river and, even though no one said anything, not everyone could swim. But in the end this didn’t turn out to be much of a problem: you don’t need to be able to to swim if you have a friend who can walk on water. The real problem appeared when they were all setting foot in America: border guards (at least I think they were border guards of some sort) started shooting everyone. Jesus tried to protect the man he had just saved from drowning and gets shot in the hands and then in the chest in the best Jesus-like way. We didn’t see what happened to the people he was trying to save, but it is likely that they died (I am an optimistic, but also realistic). But none of what I said some far fits the Most Interesting Things category, but here is something that does: the bullets the guards used to kill everyone had the name Vulcan on them. Yeah, that’s right, Vulcan, God of fire and the forge, the God we meet later in this episode. Maybe he wondered why he was a bit more powerful the day that happened, and maybe he didn’t know why, but we do: someone sacrificed a Jesus in his name. The irony in all this (and this also fits into the Most Interesting Things category) is that the guards were also religious, and probably believed in the same God the Mexicans did.
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“What came first: Gods or the people who believe in them?”. This is something Wednesday says early in the episode and definitely something that will allow everyone to think about until their head hurts. In the most “chicken and egg” scenario, this may be as impossible to prove (unless you ask the Gods themselves). If it is people’s belief that creates Gods, then maybe Humanity came first. But if that is so, Humanity got it wrong, because no God created the Universe, let alone Earth.
While we think about this (im)possible situation, Shadow and Wednesday make their way to Virginia, more specifically, a small town named Vulcan. When they arrive they witness a funeral, or, as Wednesday put it, the celebration of a sacrifice. In the lead there is Vulcan. Coincidence that the Mayor’s name is the same that the town’s? The residents might think so, but we know better. Unlike many of the Old Gods, Vulcan is going tremendously well. Every death by those Vulcan bullets (or by the forge itself) is a sacrifice in his name, every bullet shot to the air is a prayer. But of course Vulcan didn’t manage to do this on his own, he had the help of the New Gods. They probably made him a deal similar to the one they made Wednesday, the only difference is that Vulcan took it.
Wednesday definitely goes by many names and in this episode we find out one more: “Grimnir”. This is what Vulcan calls him before Wednesday asks him to join the upcoming war. Putting on a masquerade, Vulcan accepts and even forges Wednesday a blade, but that was the last thing he ever forged because Grimnir cuts his head off with it, after finding out where Vulcan’s loyalties lie.
In the meantime, we see that Laura and Mad Sweeney’s journey continues. They find each other again and also, while trying to steal his taxi, find Salim. With the promise of resurrecting Laura and point Salim towards a Jinn, they go on a road trip. We also saw that the connection between Shadow and Laura was bigger than we thought, because Shadow was able to actually see her in his mind. Maybe what Laura needs isn’t a resurrection from some Jesus, but to be with Shadow for a few minutes.
This was a great episode and a bit of a shocking one too (not as great and shocking as the last, though), and so I am giving it an 8.7/10.
Gods aren’t the only ones who need you, and in next episode we will also see “A Prayer for Mad Sweeney”, so stick around.
REVIEW: Midnight, Texas, Episode 103
Midnight, Texas is back for another episode, the third of its first season entitled “Lemuel, Unchained”, where we learn more about this incredible town’s vampire.
After diving into werewolf mythology (or weretiger to make things clearer), the time has come to learn more about vampires. Visiting Lemuel’s past, we find out how vampire are turned: they need to drink blood from another vampire. I find a bit weird that this is all there is. Vampires are supposed to be dead creatures (that is something they say a few times in this episode), so how come that there is nothing in this process that kills them? But it was still nice to see these flashbacks and find out about Lemuel’s beginnings as a slave. It is always great finding out about people’s past in order to understand why and how they are the way that they are. And it seems that this show won’t pull back explanations.
We also find out that not all vampires are like Lemuel, he is actually more of a one of a kind creature. He is the only vampire (at least that we’ve seen so far), who doesn’t need to drink blood to survive. But more importantly (at least for the Midnighters) we learn what is a myth (garlic, holy water and the need for invitations to get into a house) and what isn’t (sun and wooden stake to the heart kill them, and silver weakens them). I am glad that at least garlic is a myth. TV vampires have evolved and I don’t think there is a recent show that actually uses it to pull vampires away. That would be a bit weird.
We didn’t get to see much of Joe (I am hoping he will get a centric episode eventually), but we saw a little bit of him. It seems that very few people know he is an angel, and I am looking forward to seeing everyone find out about him. He said in this episode he is going to leave, but I think (and hope) that he doesn’t. It seems like trouble is coming and it will definitely be nice having an angel around.
I am also starting to love Olivia. She is a total badass and it was awesome when she killed that vampire with her heels. She is also very loyal and she will definitely go to distant to protect her friends. She doesn’t seem to have many (so far), since she is very suspicious, but I bet that once she makes more, she will totally die for them.
It was really nice seeing all of the main characters join forces to take down the vampires and save Lemuel. Supernatural team-ups are great because every creature has different abilities, and when they join those abilities, they can accomplish anything, as impossible as it may seem. The only thing that seems to not belong is Creek. In a supernatural show, humans are usually a liability, a burden and not often very contributive. In this show that is different when it comes to Olivia, but definitely true when we refer to Creek’s family. It seemed like they were ready to help when they were sharpening wooden stakes, but in the end they just stalled a bit and endangered Manfred’s life.
I said on my last review that I was relieved the writers didn’t turn the obvious connection between Manfred and Creek into a real big drama in which it would take them a long time to finally embrace what they feel, but it seems they will do that after all, not with these two, but with Bobo and Fiji. It was to suspect from the beginning that Fiji liked Bobo, and it became more and more obvious throughout the scenes with them. Now it is also clear as water that Bobo likes her too, but it doesn’t seem like they will start a relationship soon. I understand Bobo just lost his fiancé, but just kiss already!
This episode seemed a bit like a filler one, since nothing major happened, but it was nice, as I said, learning more about vampires and seeing the Midnighters working together to bring them down. It was a good episode but not as good as the last one (at least in my opinion), so I am giving it a 7.8/10.
Midnight, Texas will be back next week with episode 104 “Sexy Beast”, and so will I, so don’t go anywhere.
REVIEW: Once Upon A Time in Wonderland, Episode 106
The story of Alice’s struggle for love in this new world continues with episode 106 of Once Upon A Time in Wonderland, “Who’s Alice”.
Flashbacks in this episode showed us where Alice went after she lost Cyrus and before she joined Bethlem Royal Hospital (fun fact: this is based on a real asylum in London, the oldest in the world). Alice went home where she found her father’s new family: his new wife, Sarah, and his new daughter, Millie. Of course that her father continues not believing Alice but, let’s be fair, who would? He could obviously try a lot harder to understand what his daughter went through, but his new wife definitely doesn’t help by forcing Alice to meet someone else. It was never to expect that Sarah would try to understand Alice’s situation, that is more Edwin’s job, but it would have definitely been nice to see him stand up to her. I think he wasn’t really a fan of the idea of forcing Alice to marry, and that he was hoping he didn’t have to pick a side between his daughter and his wife, but when it comes to family you can’t not take sides. Realizing that ultimately her father took Sarah’s side, Alice preferred to go to the asylum than marry some dude. I wonder if these parents (specially Sarah) would make the same choices and demands if this whole thing was about Millie instead of Alice. Maybe. But maybe not.
Present day begins after Alice found the location of Jafar’s tower, and now she is headed that way. Right in the first few scenes we see her kick the ass of 2 men, and it was really funny when they found Will and said that Alice attacked them while they were sleeping. We are all like “yeah, right”, including Will. Jafar definitely made an amazing prison: very hard to escape, since we learn that the tower is in a floating island, and also hard to get rescued, since you have to cross the Black Forest to do so. This forest definitely stood up to its name, because everything was literally black. Most people in Wonderland didn’t know this, but the reason why no one returned wasn’t because of this first part, but because of the second: Borogrove. Here we meet the creepiest man ever who apparently goes by the name Carpenter. The reason why very few people leave is because this place makes you want to stay there forever. But not all is lost because Will comes to Alice’s rescue. But even after that, things decline because Alice doesn’t remember anything, so Will makes her remember by using Cyrus’ neckless, proving once again that love is the most powerful magic of all.
Sometimes things are left unexplained, and that sucks real badly, but it is great that they explained why Borogrove didn’t affect Will: because he doesn’t have his heart. I think this makes sense because it makes you want to stay by giving you happiness (not real happiness, but happiness nevertheless), and since he doesn’t have his heart he can’t feel anything, neither real nor fake. It was also nice seeing Alice happy, even if it wasn’t real happiness and it was only for a short while. She is on a quest for love and that will probably only lead to one of the two: heartbreak, or a happy ending (or happy beginning if you prefer). Since happy endings are hard to come by, at least we managed to see her smile, just in case she doesn’t succeed.
At the same time, we see Cyrus also meaning to find Alice, while on the run from Jafar’s guards and the Red Queen. It was nice seeing the Queen here. She has the bottle and if she finds Cyrus, then Jafar can’t continue underestimating her. The writers are definitely well developing her character, and I like her more and more every episode. But her efforts are worthless, because when Cyrus is caught between Anastasia and a cliff, he literally takes a leap of faith.
This episode was nice, but I feel like it was more of a filler episode, because nothing much happened that affected the major storyline. This was a little bit of a step back in the season, so I will give it a 7.6.
I will be back soon with my next review of episode 107, “Bad Blood”, in which blood ties will become a burden.