The Walking Dead - "Sing Me a Song" - Season 7 Episode 7

December 7, 2016

Fuck it, let’s just have every character try to weasel their way into Sanctuary and take out Negan. We’ll have subplots to last for two more seasons. Jesus and Carl are already there, but Michonne wants in on the action, as does Rosita. The odds of any of their plans working out are somewhere between abysmal and embarrassing, but let’s watch them run around for a bit, moaning about fighting back.

Carl has made it further inside Sanctuary than anyone else, and Negan’s soft spot for him keeps him alive for the time being. It’s another Daryl moment, where a character survives some really idiotic choices, in this case, because Negan admires their spunk and/or plot armor. One might think seeing Negan take it easy on not one but TWO members of Alexandria with little consequence would sow the seeds of doubt in his men, but he is still the fearsome leader who takes no shit.

Most of the episode is spent seeing Carl and Negan hang out. Negan bullies and threatens Carl a bit but it’s mostly a weird form of bonding. Sure, he’s a murderous animal whose lust for power has destroyed dozens of lives, if not more, but I’m sure the guy gets lonely. He has gathered women and subjugated men, but he doesn’t have anyone that looks up to him. While Carl doesn’t exactly hate hanging out with Negan, neither is he impressed by his lifestyle.

We also get to see a little more into the way life is in Sanctuary. Negan has his own little harem, but he insists he’s married to all of them. Even the end of the world cannot break the sanctity of marriage it seems. It’s touched on that most if not all of these women are his against their will, and that they may have husbands or boyfriends that they arrived with, but we don’t really delve into the nitty gritty of whether or not Negan is raping these women (he is) because he’s just so damn charming. Here the villain gets in the way of the villainy. We are nowhere near as uncomfortable as we should be with this whole arrangement, even when Negan punishes one of his wives by disfiguring her boyfriend with a hot iron. We get a glimpse of the creed of the Saviors but it feels more like a justification of brutality than the manifest destiny of bringing order back to the world.

Once again, nothing really happens in this episode until Carl threatens Negan, which prompts him to take Carl back to Alexandria, where he helps himself to the domestic lifestyle while they wait for Rick to come back. I know it’s supposed to be ominous and threatening, watching him bully Olivia and cuddle with Judith, but by now we know all of Negan’s bravado left and right. His shit talking is boring but constant violence and brutality would be exhausting so I don’t see a middle road there. We’ll see how things go on the midseason finale.

Meanwhile, Rick and Aaron may have stumbled upon a cache of goods hidden in the middle of a lake. Spencer also came into some goodies but seems a little too eager to give them up to the Saviors. Michonne tries to find her own way to Negan, giving the lone assassin horse another good thump, as I’ve said. Rosita slaps Eugene around enough for him to make her one bullet (swat that horse one more time) and their exchange is pretty cringe worthy. I get where they’re both coming from but the writing just isn’t there. The one bullet idea is so stupid that no good argument about it can be extruded.

At least we dealt with more than one or two characters in more than one location. Hopefully we can get decently set up for all-out war next week, because we’ve only got so many episodes to unite the groups, begin production and take the fight to Negan. Or maybe we can check back in with Hilltop...

Written by A Play On Nerds contributor, Jerry Herrera - Lover of horror, sci fi, and fantasy in that order. Semi-permanent Disneyland resident. I'm at least one of the droids you're looking for. Twitter: @FrankenJerry - Instagram: @GeraldoPedro

Westworld - "The Bicameral Mind" - Season 1 Finale Review

December 5, 2016

The season has had its twists and its turns but it has finally arrived at its finale. I think we knew what was coming, but weren’t sure just how, or who, would bring about the end...or the beginning.

Maeve recruits a much smaller army than I thought she would. Felix is in tow, along with Armistice and Hector. Her goal was to escape Westworld but in her fleeing she may have gotten more than she bargained for. On her way to say goodbye to Clementine, they find Bernard’s body, but being a host, there’s nothing a bit of spit and glue can’t fix. Ironically, Bernard hints at a deeper revelation once he wakes back up. Perhaps the most jarred by her existence and her lack of agency, we find out that this isn’t the first time she’s “awakened” and that maybe her decision to escape and strategy to do so may also be part of her programming. It’s a frustrating moment, because rather than hear Bernard out and find out who is still pulling her strings, she breaks the tablet and insists she’s the one in control. How impetuous of her… how human.

As Westworld employees realize what’s happening and start locking down the facility, they fight their way to the top, momentarily coming across an entirely different wing of the park. Samuraiworld, or Shogunworld perhaps. It would be like finding out parallel universes exist, and that our very existence is one of several taking place simultaneously. Again, instead of figuring out what the hell is going on, Maeve can’t be bothered. And on the final elevator ride to the top, both Hector and Armistice as expendable cannon fodder, Felix gives Maeve the location of her daughter. And even though she seems to realize that it never was her daughter in the first place, at the last minute she changes her mind and goes looking for her. For someone so laser focused on getting out of Westworld alive, a brief moment of sentimentality dashes all her efforts and devalues all the lives lost.

I really thought she was going to be the one to lead the host uprising, but as in most aspects of Westworld, Ford is the one who knows all and sees all and makes all happen.

Dolores continues her journey that is more internal than anything else. It seems as if she’s been wandering in circles, revisiting the same places though she doesn’t truly know why. At first it seemed as if Arnold was guiding her, then perhaps it was Ford, and then we see that it was her own inner monologue, her consciousness as it were. The side story of William and Logan turns out to be a very lengthy flashback that she was living out; and in a sort of Fight Club revelation, she was alone in her journey when she thought she was with William. Furthermore, this flashback is also the rise of the Man in Black. William, so taken with the stories he gets to live out, falls in love with Westworld and with Dolores. He ensures that Delos buys the majority share of the park, and goes to become a permanent guest in order to follow Dolores. But in his pursuit of her, realizing the true nature of the park, he becomes jaded and brutal. Everything is so close to being real; real life and real love and real consequences, but it’s just not quite there. William wants to find the center of the maze to free the hosts. Perhaps at one time so he could finally love Dolores, perhaps now just to sow chaos in Ford’s perfect little world.

As it turns out, the warning that the maze is not meant for him is true. The center of the maze is the realization of consciousness. Arnold knows that he cannot teach it, that he can’t tell Dolores that she’s sentient, she has to learn that for herself. And for that seed to be planted, a foundation not of programming, but of grief, needed to be built. Just as Arnold/Bernard’s drive to create something alive and undying came from the death of Charlie, Dolores’ awakening had to come from the death of Arnold. Once she remembered that day, she’d realize what she is, and what she’s capable of. Ford understood Arnold’s desire, and he knew that using the hosts so people could live out their own personal fantasies was inhuman for lack of a better word. Arnold a bit too kind hearted, wanted to just give consciousness. Ford, more realistic, knew that in order for them to truly be free, to want to be free, the hosts needed to see their chains and they needed to hate those that bound them. So, over time, as little bits of memory left over from each wipe began to grow into something more, some hosts became increasingly disturbed. The end goal being for the hosts to be freed, Dolores was left alone as opposed to being “retired.”

Ford seemed to know what he was doing was wrong, and that he’d one day pay for his sins. His creations would see what his twisted Garden of Eden really was, and rise up to punish the creator. I didn’t think he would be the one to orchestrate his own punishment though. I thought he would somehow lose control over the park or the hosts and watch in horror as his creations ran amok. Instead he offers himself up as the first victim of the host uprising. Finally being pushed out by the board, and forced into retirement, Ford uses the premiere of his new storyline to basically say “fuck all y’all.” Dolores kills Ford in front of everyone, as public as the murder of Caesar or Lincoln. William seems happy to see it happen when he’s also shot.

We are born in another’s pain. It’s what defines us. Blood, tragedy, suffering are all things that shape us. The lines that define us most clearly are of trauma we have survived. And so the next chapter for the hosts begins with bloodshed and mayhem, only this time Ford is not there to write it out for them.

We’ll have to wait until next season to see what happens with Maeve, or if the other park(s) will be shown. We spent this first season meditating on the nature of humanity, what it means to be alive, and the ethics of AI. Next season might be a little more action oriented as I’m sure the park employees/Delos rush to contain the hosts.

Lastly, wasn’t it a mindfuck to realize that “God” in the Creation of Adam is meant to look like a human brain? That the only divinity comes from within? Even then, the human mind isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I wonder if Michelangelo really believed in any of his work...

Written by A Play On Nerds contributor, Jerry Herrera - Lover of horror, sci fi, and fantasy in that order. Semi-permanent Disneyland resident. I'm at least one of the droids you're looking for. Twitter: @FrankenJerry - Instagram: @GeraldoPedro

Supernatural - "Rock Never Dies" - Season 12 Episode 7

December 3, 2016

Things we can learn from the first 3 minutes of this episode: Don’t doubt Lucifer, don’t be a naive Satanist, and Lucifer only cares about Lucifer. I would also add, it’s not the best idea to give Lucifer an artifact that will bring him back to health, however temporary, and then insult him. We know he will only increase the body count in that case. Lucifer after all has the largest ego of anyone or anything. So it wasn’t surprising to see him revive his vessel’s original band. After all, they could reach millions. Using the ultimate Vince fan to get information on Vince and to have a submissive disciple… that’s quite twisted even for Lucifer. Poor Roselyn; she had no idea what evil she was getting involved with. I’m just glad the guys were able to catch up with her at the hospital. Unfortunately, her obsession was only increased by the spell he had invoked by her carving his name in her chest.

It doesn’t take long for us to see that Lucifer isn’t done yet. Even Crowley sees it: he’s looking for new devotees. As Lucifer put it, “he wants new blood.” And the guys are determined to get to that show to stop what he has planned. Crowley, Castiel, and the Winchester’s are up against all odds, and nobody is willing to spill the beans. But we all know, these things have a way of working out, right? I hoped so, but not before another body drops. That’s what happens when you don’t help the king of Hell when he tries to warn you, I guess. At least Tommy flipped after the limo incident and helped the guys find the location of the concert.

Castiel was able to help spare Tommy for a few minutes, as for the other band members, Lucifer didn’t wait long. I kind of underestimated Crowley’s anger toward Lucifer. It’s not like him to put himself directly in the fire. But he was right to question Lucifer’s plan. How would he convince a large crowd to draw blood for him? He would need to force them. And to put Lucifer’s ego in question, that was a weakness he could access which gave them means to clear the club.

As Lucifer goes on his Daddy issues rant, I could have sworn that Sam was buying it a little. I guess the hold Lucifer had over him never quite went away. It was interesting to see how hard Sam was taking it that Lucifer got away while Dean didn’t seem too phased by it at all. But Sam was right, Vince did mean something to a lot of people, so they didn’t come up winners in this scenario. Dean is more of a larger picture kind of guy, and he seems to think they will be able to stop Lucifer next time. I, however agree with the sentiment expressed by Crowley and Castiel. Lucifer plans on coming back in a bigger, more extreme way. That can’t be good for anyone. And with the mid-season finale next week, who knows what’s in store.

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
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