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.
Watch David Being the Sweetest in this Once Upon a Time Deleted Scene
In order to promote their Blu-Ray and DVD releases, ABC’s Once Upon a Time has unveiled a brand new deleted scene.
The scene features David (Josh Dallas) and a sleeping Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) as her Prince Charming reveals why he doesn’t use his wish to wake her up.
According to TV Line, when the scene aired, Dallas originally said it was because of the consequences such wish might bring on his lover. However, in this scene, we get to go deeper into David’s decision.
The Blu-Ray and DVD will be available August 15, and will include more deleted scenes as well as BTS clips, featurettes and interviews.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdR8X_jU6sw[/embedyt]
Rapper Krondon Joins the Cast of Black Lightning as Tobias Whale
The CW has cast Los Angeles rapper Krondon as the main villain in Black Lighting, Tobias Whale.
Co-executive producer of the show Salim Akil said he was really excited about Krondon from his audition. “His authentic street sensibility along with an insightful intelligence is perfect for the Tobias character arc,” said Akil, “Not to mention his regal physical bearing will be additive to making our show exciting and different.”
Today is the start of a great new beginning…#Blessed
— KRONDON (@KRONDON) August 10, 2017
Here’s the official description of Krondon’s character:
An African-American man with albinism, Tobias Whale is the leader of Freeland’s most feared gang — The 100. But in the days before Black Lightning, Tobias was a politician, rising up the ranks of local government through corrupt and illegal means. That was until he was brought down by Alvin Pierce, Jefferson’s father. Enraged, Tobias murdered Alvin and was driven underground into exile. It’s here he found a place to rebuild, growing into the violent and methodical leader of The 100 as we find him today. But Black Lightning’s recent return has ignited Tobias’ desire to emerge from the shadows and face his biggest adversary, Jefferson Pierce AKA Black Lightning.
Black Lightning is expected to premiere next year.
Source: Comic Book Movie.
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.
Sarah Paulson Reveals Info About American Horror Story
Sarah Paulson revealed some potential spoilers about American Horror Story: Cult.
The actress teased a lesbian marriage during the Television Critics Association’s press tour on Wednesday. She said, “There are two women married to each other in that house, but who are they?” According to Entertainment Weekly, she was referring to a set that reporters visited. “It’s me and Alison [Pill],” Paulson continued, and after seeing Pill’s shocked reaction, Paulson quickly added: “That may or may not be true.”
Paulson and Pill are playing Ally Mayfair-Richards and Ivy Mayfair-Richards, respectively. This is the first time the both actresses have worked together. “We’ve known each other for a long time and have never had a chance to work together, so it really is the most exciting to have all of these scenes with the person who I couldn’t respect more and who is so good at acting,” Pill said.
Game of Thrones Episode 7.04 Beats Record for Most Watched Episode
As you may or may not know, episode 4 of the hit HBO series Game of Thrones “The Spoils of War” got leaked online last Friday, just a couple of days before the episode premiered Sunday night.
However, this did not stop the show from breaking a new record.
“The Spoils of War” is now the most watched episode of the show, drawing 10.2 million viewers. 7.04 beat beat 7.01, “Dragonstone,” which grabbed 10.1 million viewers.
Game of Thrones breaks this record rather often, as the season 6 finale held the most watched title previously with 8.9 million viewers and the season 5 finale before that with 8.1 million viewers.
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”.
Watch Billy Eichner Talk to Seth Meyers About American Horror Story: Cult
Billy Eichner was on Late Night with Seth Meyers and he gave us a little info on the upcoming season for American Horror Story.
Even though he obviously couldn’t give too much away, but he did say the upcoming season was going to be very gory, sexual, dark and surreal.
Eichner also said this is one of the biggest departures people have seen from his usual comedic self.
Check it out:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qettPFnGYfY[/embedyt]
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.
[WPGP gif_id=”6709″ width=”600″]
“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.