Supernatural - "Safe House" - Season 11 Episode 16 Review

March 25, 2016

Let me first begin by saying how happy I am the wait is over. It feels like it’s been forever since the last episode aired. So I was very pleased when the episode commenced and there were two familiar faces gracing my screen, Bobby and Rufus! Two older, but equally badass hunters that paved the way for Sam and Dean. In true Supernatural style, the main plot of the end of the world was soon pushed to the side with a one liner saying they had no leads on that front, which left us to focus solely on the case at hand.

This particular case was a revisit to a case Bobby and Rufus had previously handled a “handful of years before”. Much like Sam and Dean, Bobby and Rufus have a very entertaining banter and rarely agree on the terms of the case. Bobby was thinking it was a ghost, whereas Rufus is convinced it is a Baku, a Japanese nightmare eater. So it’s not surprising to see the flashbacks coinciding with modern day Sam and Dean both in their interactions and the case. And this episode really seemed to drive home the similarities between Bobby and Dean, which again proves they spent more time with him than their biological father; a point made by Bobby in this episode as well. (I love seeing Bobby’s soft side when it comes to those boys!)

Not sure where to go on this case, they reference Bobby’s hunting notebook, only to find yes, he was at that location previously, but he never filled in the information. Oh Bobby, how typical. So now it looks like they are flying blind, again. They chose to start with burning bodies, in case it was a ghost. Unfortunately for them, both bodies had been burned already, thanks Bobby and Rufus! They do know after speaking to previous tenants however, there was a sigil left behind the wallpaper, but they aren’t sure what it is for.

Time to hit the books, and Sam, doing what he does best, finds out who the culprit is. A Soul Eater? Thank goodness Bobby had notes on a previous encounter with the Soul Eater, but his notes say they can’t be killed only trapped. That explains how it could have been released. The house was recently bought, and the new owners disrupted the sigil in the redecorating process. Haven’t we learned that’s how most of these things start? Maybe we should stop changing up old houses until we do our research on them? Now this awful Soul Eater is free to trap souls in its nest again, and that’s exactly what it’s been doing! The nest mimics the house in which the soul eater resides, so that should hopefully make it easier to navigate.

Thank goodness for the Men of Letters and all their research, because Sam found a sigil that could actually kill this thing, and end this once and for all. No more risk of it being released. And good thing too, because this guy, as small as he is, uses the trapped souls as his own personal minions, and that’s just creepy. The only issue with the new sigil is it needs to be painted in blood, in two places. Inside the nest, and out! Dean’s very quick, “Not it,” response cracked me up, as did most of the banter in this episode. However, sadly for Dean, he lost the deciding rock, paper, scissors game and was voted to go into the nest. Which, knowing how badly Sam tends to muck things up, that is probably a good thing. Don’t get me wrong, Sam is wonderful when it comes to research, but we all know they don’t call him “Moose” for nothing.

But of course, once Dean gets in the nest, Bobby is also there. Apparently there is no time or space in the nest, because Bobby sees both Sam and Dean, and Dean sees him too. While Sam is busy drawing the sigil in his time, Rufus is busy doing the same in his. But the Soul Eater is no dummy, he takes over Dean and Bobby’s bodies in order to stop the sigil from being completed. Rufus is successful in fighting off the now possessed Bobby, with little struggle, as is Sam with fighting off the possessed Dean. As Sam finishes his seal, ALL of the souls trapped, regardless of time are released, including Bobby. Bobby’s gut always being on point, knows it’s not over. He tries to tell Rufus, but he insists the sigil worked, and pushed the souls out when it trapped the Soul Eater. But, we all know the truth, it was Sam and the sigil he made that saved Bobby. We would have been Bobby-less far before he died and he wouldn’t have been there to help with the apocalypse! Now that is a sad day! I for one am very happy that if we had to lose Bobby, it wasn’t to the Soul Eater. He went out like the badass that he is, and I was very happy to have him back, even if just for the episode!

Written by Kaylynn Kasandra. Awkward hippie who enjoys helping people, creating things, reading, sci-fi, fantasy, and Thor. Find more from her at kaylynnkasandra.com and
http://www.youtube.com/c/tiedyesmurf

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - "Parting Shot" - Season 3 Episode 13 Review

March 24, 2016

This week, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. takes a bit of a stumble after two strong episodes coming out of its mid-season break. “Parting Shot” tries to serve as a pseudo-backdoor pilot for spin-off, Marvel’s Most Wanted, but falls flat in its execution. Most Wanted’s concept relies on AoS positioning certain characters in a way that their exit from the show, and subsequent entrance into a completely new show, makes sense. Unfortunately, success in this regard is mixed. While the writers are able to provide an explanatory lead-in to Marvel’s Most Wanted, this explanation feels forced and muddled. "Parting Shot" is able to partially redeem itself with how it concludes its story-line, but it's not enough to completely make up for the convoluted taste left in our mouths.

To put it simply, this week's episode is very sloppy and confusing. The plot is fairly self-contained, and uses the season-long 'search for Inhumans' arc as a vehicle to tell a much smaller story. Paramount to the audience's understanding of this story; however, are two key one-off characters, whom are introduced so quickly that it's hard to follow what makes them so important, how this importance plays a role in the events that follow, and what these characters even look like. The narrative is split between the present and flashbacks; which doesn't significantly hinder our comprehension of events, but leaves me wondering if the climax would have been more impactful if the episode were told in a linear fashion.

I think it’s fair to say that the pressure of setting up Marvel’s Most Wanted hurt this episode in some unforeseen ways. Greenlit back in January, the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. spin-off shot its pilot around the same time as “Parting Shot” was filmed. From a logistical standpoint, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s show runners didn’t have the luxury to implement a logical farewell arc that could have extended into the latter parts of the season. Instead, these changes to the cast needed to be made quickly; resulting in the forced story-line this episode is faced with.

In terms of action, we are treated to a battle between our heroes and an Inhuman with a unique, though disappointingly vague power. An explanation is provided, but it's a bit out there in terms of realism, even for my tastes. The visual effects and camerawork are stunning for a network show; though, and the series' well-crafted action sequences continue to be its greatest strength. Something that might be of interest only to me is AoS's continued ‘Worf-ing’ of Mack. Make that two out of the last three episodes in which the latest Inhuman provides an initial demonstration of their powers on poor, little Alphonso Mackenzie.

When the dust settles from the fighting, the rest of the episode plays out in a way that feels all too contrived. Most shows are typically written in a goal-oriented sense. Showrunners will start with where they want their season to go, and then craft a series of narratives that will eventually get them there. The opposite, while certainly more organic in nature, is less likely to result in the high-concept, more ratings-favorable episodes that producers typically prefer to build from. Ideally, you'd like to see stories logically flow from the characters and the consequences of their actions. In the case of "Parting Shot," the writers are so desperate to get certain characters from point A to point B that the decisions these characters, and those around them make seem unrealistic and inconsistent.

And yet, despite the house of cards plot and head-scratching climax, "Parting Shot" somewhat manages to save face with its heartwarming final scene. For a show that has more than its fair share of character development problems, I'm impressed that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is able to generate such a strong emotional response towards characters outside of the season one core. Maybe I underestimated my steadily growing attachment to these characters that AoS has slowly grinded out of me through one and a half seasons. Or, maybe I'm just a touchy-feely sap with an eternal soft spot for a misty eyed Jemma Simmons. Maybe it's both. (It's probably both).

Regardless, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is able to capture sentiment in a way that not all shows are capable of. And, in the end, maybe that’s all that matters. As much as we tune in to S.H.I.E.L.D. for the MCU tie-ins and super-powered fight scenes, it’s our investment in the characters, and fascination with where they’ll end up, that keeps us coming back, week after week- something that ABC is surely hoping to take advantage of when Marvel’s Most Wanted debuts in the near future.

Written by A Play On Nerds Contributor, Garrett Yoshitomi. You can find his tweets @garrettweets

Daredevil - Episodes 1-4 Reviews

March 24, 2016

Punisher Rising: A Daredevil Review

It’s been a long recess, but court is now back in session. The law firm of Nelson & Murdock is open for business, and the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen is ready to take back his city. So, fire up those Netflix accounts, forego all human contact for the next thirteen hours, and dive into the darker side of Marvel’s fare with season two of Daredevil.

Right out of the gate, season two throws us back into the action. Daredevil (Charlie Cox) chases a gang of robbers through the streets, picking them off from the shadows, one by one. After he takes down the last wrong doer and the police arrive at the scene, the camera pans toward the rooftops, with the show’s main theme rising in the background. Finally, as the music crescendos, the shot lands on Daredevil, stoic, as he surveys the city, reminding us why we fell in love with the series in the first place.

Episode one picks up several months after the season one finale. Nelson & Murdock is humming with clients, though not necessarily ones that pay, and we’re treated to a nice, brief re-introduction to the main cast. Re-introductions are rare for season two, and while the first four episodes mainly explore new arcs, the second third of the season really hits the ground running with continuing several story-lines from last season. If you’re a little fuzzy on any of the events from season one, or if you’re one of those brave souls who reads a review for a show they haven’t watched yet, it might be a good idea to take a look back at last season.

Unfortunately, the good times do not continue to roll for our protagonists, as they are quickly brought face to face with their next big threat, The Punisher. After two failed attempts at a Punisher film adaptation, (2004's The Punisher and 2008's reboot, Punisher: War Zone); fans wondered if such a complex character would ever be done justice on the big screen. Thomas Jane's portrayal in 2004 struck a chord in the hearts of fans, to the point that he even donned the mantle again for a short film that quickly went viral after its debut at San Diego Comic-Con. Unfortunately, the creative teams for both The Punisher and Punisher: War Zone lacked any discernible sense of the property, and both films fittingly missed the mark by a wide margin.

When word broke last June that Marvel had cast Jon Bernthal as the latest iteration of The Punisher for the second season of Daredevil, reactions were positive, though guarded. Bernthal rose to fame for his portrayal of the volatile Shane Walsh in AMC's The Walking Dead, and while fans believed he would bring the same explosiveness to the role of Frank Castle, as history has shown, the fit and talent of the actor isn’t always enough to compensate for a script that fails to capture the intricate ethos of the character.

Fortunately, Daredevil season two, easily puts these concerns to rest, and the Punisher arc is by far the highlight of the first four episodes and arguably of the entire season. Not only does Bernthal nail the nuance between Frank Castle's apparent psychosis and The Punisher's calculated and violent pursuit down the path of least resistance, but the narrative surrounding the MCU's most anti of anti-heroes matches this complexity, with a carefully laid web of clues that shrouds the character's background in mystery, and above all else, the execution of an ideological battle, between Daredevil and The Punisher, that feels neither contrived, nor without purpose. Top it all off with some truly gripping and well-choreographed action scenes, and you have a recipe for one of Marvel's finest character debuts to date.

The Daredevil-Punisher conflict ends up having quite the trickle down effect, as Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) and Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) get caught up in the legal side of the police investigation, giving us a number of wonderful moments for both characters. Particularly, I enjoyed the verbal sparring between Foggy and district attorney, Samantha Reyes. Reyes first appeared in the season finale of Jessica Jones, and serves as a nice nod to Daredevil's companion series, while also managing to establish herself as a compelling character in her own right. Karen fills the investigative vacuum left by Ben Urich's season one death. And, it's nice to see her transformation continue from damsel in distress to no nonsense gumshoe.

The character development falls a bit flat; however, when it comes to the interactions between Matt and Foggy. Foggy's concerns about his friend's dangerous hobby carry over from season one, though it's hard to imagine that in the time since the first season’s finale, he's yet to come to terms with Matt's Daredevil alter ego. What hurts this dynamic even further is the writers' and Henson's insistence on making this dissension come across as whiny as possible, undermining the character's likability with the audience. Yes, Foggy's reaction is probably realistic, but he comes across as just a tad bit hypocritical when he puts himself in relatively equal danger by visiting the Dogs of Hell bar, and confronting a rabid, armed gang member during his visit to Metro-General Hospital.

Luckily, the show does a better job with exploring the relationship between Matt and Karen. This romance angle was actually hinted at early on in season one, but was dropped almost immediately in favor of a Matt-Claire pairing. (Which, for the record is the ship I’m going down with). While Kare-Devil doesn't necessarily feel forced, there is a degree of abruptness to its introduction and execution that feels a bit weak narratively. However, their chemistry and our emotional investment in the characters is there, making this development both watchable, and at times even charming. It's clear by the end of episode four, however, where the writers intend on taking this arc. How they get there exactly remains to be seen.

Written by A Play On Nerds Contributor, Garrett Yoshitomi. You can find his tweets @garrettweets