The Path - "Liminal Twilight" and "Dead Moon" - Season 2 Episodes 1 and 2 Recap and Review

January 26, 2017

Season 2 Episode 1 - "Liminal Twilight"

Before we even get into the premiere, can we just talk about the anticipation I had for the show’s return? From the second I saw the preview for the series, I knew I would love the show. And my hope is I enjoy this season as much as I did the last. Because, it certainly kept me on my toes without disappointment. The dynamic relationships, and the layers in each character. It’s very well put together. And so the episode began with twist I didn’t see coming. “Doc” (as Eddie calls him) woke up being coocoo bananas over seeing what “The Light” had to say. I’m sure there isn’t too much to expect of a man who founded this crazy cult, so I really shouldn’t have been taken aback by that. When we see Cal and Sarah, the tension is still very evident. Even with my level of knowledge in regards to the psychological aspect of how cults work, it still annoys me how blindly the seemingly intelligent people follow it. Felicia and some of the others had been with the movement since the start, so you’d think they’d be able to sense the energy difference Cal had in comparison to Steve. Cal is a total sociopath, how is that so hard to miss? But, I digress.

It was comforting to see Eddie finding his way being back in the real world. Although, as he looked on to the compound, you could still see his struggle. As for those on the compound, they still seem to be doing as they always do, doing weird thing such as making the young kids just starting out, spin. As I gazed at this for a moment, I forget Agent Gaines was still involved there until I saw him among the young kids, who are spinning away, most of them gleeful, some doubtful. I always love the attention to detail in this show, even in simple scenes like that. They make it show how each person’s journey is so different. We found out our newlyweds are expecting, which took Cal by surprise, and I’m sure will trigger him to spiral again, the psycho. I mean, he practically admits to killing Silas to the congregation with his profession of him going to “The Light” with Steve. I mean, come on bro. Sarah definitely is catching on, and she isn’t the only one. Is it mean to say I find pleasure watching Cal’s relationships slowly crumble? I mean shoot, there is only so much a sociopath in a position of power can hide before being seen for what they are, right?

Can I just say, that even though I saw the deer, I still jumped when Sarah hit it? Please tell me I’m not the only one! I was also taken aback by Agent Gaines kissing Sarah’s sister in law. That’s going to blossom into some drama, I’m sure. What was most shocking was when Sarah called Cal after hitting the deer; that he admitted to killing Silas and him taking her to his gravesite. I would have caught on before we got there, and was surprised she didn’t. I feel like in his twisted mind, her killing the deer, and his killing Silas were equal. He kept referring to it as an accident too, which, would have enraged me. Killing in cold blood isn’t accidental. But Sarah asking him to unearth his remains… whoa. I mean, I understand her reasoning, but dang, that’s intense. And that bomb that was dropped at the end about Steve having been pushed, yikes. I mean, we know Eddie was with him so...this isn’t going to end well. And the bigger bomb, Steve chose him. But, we all kinda already knew that.

Season 2 Episode 2 - "Dead Moon"

Hoping the episode would start with Sarah giving up Cal for him killing Silas, I was left sad and disappointed. She had the perfect opportunity at her unburdening but chose to stay silent. Her devotion to this creep is so perplexing to me. Is it to any of you as well? As was eluded to in the last episode, Mary is all but blurting out that the baby is Cal’s not her husband’s. Seeing as her marriage is interracial, it will be hard to hide if that’s the case. Though, being of mixed race myself, and having siblings and other family members of mixed race, I have seen how random the genes you favor can be. I was literally on the edge of my seat during the supposed fundraiser, waiting for Cal to lose it. Between the guy hitting on Sarah, and his obsession with Mary and her pregnancy, then being told no money would be coming that night, he’s not strong enough not to blow.

Meanwhile, Hawk had continued to grow closer to his new female friend during their 1R retreat with his uncle Russel. Once again, finding solace in a girl. Maybe this will be his thing, hmm? As they were stumbling around in the woods I was hoping somehow, they’d stumble upon the freshly dug up ground where Silas, and now the deer were.

When they went back to what Cal was up to and showed him touching Mary’s stomach, I was waiting for her husband Sean to come out and deck him. So when he showed up and Cal scrambled, I couldn’t help but think he was thinking the same. When we see Eddie reach out to his brother’s ex, we know he is desperate not to focus on Sarah. So, I have to admit, I was happy to see the chick blow their date. With all her remarks about The Movement and accusing him of being jumpy, do you really blame him though? Most of what she said just isn’t first date talk. The whole idea of dating his dead brother’s ex was kind of strange to me anyways.

I couldn’t help but chuckle that the next time we saw Cal, as I thought, he had a meltdown. Instead of heeding his friend’s warning about not appearing too desperate, he goes on a frustrated rant that only he could think would end in donations. Sarah finds herself getting hot and heavy with the man she had met earlier, and Eddie seemed to have um, made up with his friend. So, it’s pretty easy to see where Hawk can turn to women in times of despair, his parents do the same.

And I wasn’t surprised to see Cal top of his, not so graceful night, assaulting the man Sarah hooked up with. Now, hopefully Sarah will be able to see he is a complete lost cause. Something has to give with this guy. When she confronted him and asked how he can live with himself, I was half expecting her to be the next one he snapped on. But we know he is obsessed with her, so that won’t happen.

And I really hope Sarah isn’t pulled into a web by this homeless shelter he showed her. Because let’s be honest, he deserves absolutely no credit for that. He listens to audiobooks telling him to act, and what to do. It doesn’t count; nope, not one bit. And wow, did this episode end with a bang, am I right? Sorry, easy pun. But jokes aside, it’s not surprising Eddie would be reminded of his vows in the moment he was. However, it was very surprising to see that as morning broke during the 1R retreat Hawk was, from what I gather, sending gratitude to the light, and being one with it, and he began to levitate. WHAT? I can’t wait to see where this will lead. I have a feeling this is going to be getting really intense. Dare I say the fight of light and dark?

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

The Walking Dead - "Hearts Still Beating" - Season 7 Episode 8 Review

December 13, 2016

In general, regardless of how I felt about this episode, I think I’m done with mid-season finales. The end of season six was more of an insult than a tease, and while the premiere of season seven was strong and awesome in the worst way, these past few episodes have really killed that momentum. As all roads lead to war, we’re going to take another break, just to give an already bored audience a chance to finally check out. Or are the morsels juicy enough to keep us trudging forward?

So far, Maggie and Sasha (with Enid) are the darlings of Hilltop for their quick thinking during the ghetto blaster Gremlin assault last time, perhaps even on their way to dethroning Gregory. Michonne and Isabelle, her perhaps escapee Savior hostage, take a trip to Sanctuary and Michonne gets a rude awakening about the scale of what they’re up against, but it does not change her will to fight. We check in on Carol, who gets visits from both Morgan and Richard. Morgan is making more of a social call, to see that she’s already well taken care of by Ezekiel. Richard meets with them to urge them to urge Ezekiel to strike against the Saviors, not knowing just how outnumbered they are. Carol wants none of it, indeed she seemed quite happy with her log fire and book. Of course, news of what’s happened to Rick and friends has not reached her…

Daryl’s mystery benefactor slipped him a key and he finally makes his escape, as Negan is at Alexandria and guard duty is considerably more lax. But not before running into Jesus and beating Fat Joey to death, perhaps the one Savior we might have had sympathy for, but Daryl makes a good point: every Savior takes. It’s not about getting by or surviving, it’s about taking it all. Thus, the bludgeon.

Negan is a passionate cook and makes a lovely spaghetti dinner for Carl and Olivia and Rick, but Rick’s off scavenging with Aaron. In a powerful metaphor for the show’s ratings as of late, the two paddle a sinking boat over to the hoarder’s houseboat. They find a considerable stash of weapons (with no ammo) and a cryptic note for whosoever finds the treasure. It’s this note that Rick pores over at the end of the episode when he and Michonne agree that they need to fight back.

What made Rick decide that enough was enough, after perhaps two visits from the Saviors? Not including the premiere, we have kicked around bullshit, going from settlement to settlement to check in on characters and tell stories we only kind of cared about, supposedly showing the reach and savagery of Negan and his goon squad but never really reaching the intensity and fear achieved back out on that lonely road. In actuality, things haven’t gotten too bad for Rick and company, brainings not withstanding, in the timeline of the season. But when Spencer makes a power play in front of the citizens of Alexandria to Negan, to have Rick removed and he installed as the leadership of the settlement, and Negan rightly guts him for being a snake in the grass, THAT was the tipping point. One of the most unliked characters in the last few seasons gets killed and that’s what makes things too much to bear. Very stupidly and against Father Gabriel’s sound fucking advice to fight as a team, Rosita takes a pot shot at Negan. She manages to miss at an embarrassingly close range and instead hits Lucille, who is apparently bulletproof. She completely blows the foundry secret wide open and probably sets back the war efforts in a massive way, gets Olivia shot in the face, gets Eugene kidnapped and herself almost killed for the equivalent of a Tinder mistake. A mistake she was about to make again, if only Spencer saw the real opportunity. A lust for power over beauty was his undoing, and I was happy to see him go.

I would rather believe that Rick decided the Saviors needed wholesale slaughter when he saw Aaron being beaten. Admittedly I was tense during the final fourth of the episode because I knew what was coming for Spencer but Negan did a great job of playing coy and cool until it was time to get messy, and I knew he had Olivia’s card the moment she messed up the weapon inventory, and I was really worried for both Rosita and Eugene. But after Aaron explains his logic for helping Rick scavenge where others disagreed with bowing down, that as long as the hearts of those they love are beating anything is bearable, seeing him take a thrashing was the most difficult thing to watch. It was senseless, excessive, and did well to remind us that the Saviors are a bunch of gargantuan fuckers.

After the dust clears, our remaining heroes journey to Hilltop to reunite with Maggie, Sasha, Jesus and Daryl. It’s a feel-good moment to see everyone hug it out, and for Rick to tell Maggie she was right to want war. These characters are only good for ruining anything in their path. They are murderous nutjobs, but they at least have loyalty to one another and the show works best when they’re shooting people and watching each other’s backs. The mid-season finale takes a huge step toward getting back to that, only to stand still for a few weeks. It’s frustrating. But until then, we have a montage scene of our heroes smiling at one another, each knowing that they will use their unimaginable trauma to fuel what will hopefully be a spectacular display of carnage.

Another heartwarming tidbit was seeing Maggie in a ball cap and fingerless gloves, perhaps an homage to fallen loved ones...

But did you see the spooky boot, belonging to someone watching Aaron and Rick make off with the goods from the boat? DUN DUN DUN...

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 - "LOTUS" - Season 12 Episode 8 Review

December 9, 2016

As was predicted, we see Lucifer did come back in a bigger way. When the episode begins we see him in the body of a church Archbishop. He doesn’t even try to hide it as he walks down the hallway, inverting crosses as he goes. He had attempted to take the vessel of big CEO prior to that, but the vessel wasn’t strong enough. He gave himself away when switching to the Archbishop by opting not to wear the huge cross always adorned by the vessel. Since as we all know, Lucifer and crosses don’t mix. Luckily for the Winchester’s that was enough to tip them off. Not so lucky for the others at the church, however. By the time the Winchester’s got to the church, a failed exorcism had already been attempted, and there were bodies everywhere. Lucifer is not playing around this time. He’s pissed, and you can tell.

Even I was surprised by the next vessel that Lucifer chose. The very religious President of the United States had agreed to let him in. I don’t think he had a clue who he had agreed to let into his vessel though. The conversation between Lucifer and his vessel proves Lucifer will say anything to get what he wants. He knows the president’s weakness; the need to help others, and uses it. I only wish they had shown the real president’s reaction to Lucifer killing his secret service man. As such a religious person, I’m sure it wasn’t met with approval, if he was aware. But how cliché is it to see the president has a thing going on with one of his staff? He is a widower, so it isn’t adulterous, however, it is still quite overdone. But, the twist comes when she mentions to him the need to move forward in their relationship. She wants to go public, and have a baby. That’s scary. Literally the spawn of Satan himself. And being an angel, it wouldn’t take long to make that happen as we see later in the episode. So as we are digesting this crazy bomb that had been dropped, the Winchester’s were just figuring out, thanks to Crowley, who Lucifer’s newest vessel was. And they seemed just as shocked as I was when they found out.

At this point in the episode I couldn’t believe how far they were taking this mid-season finale. I had no idea about the other bombs yet to be dropped in this episode. So many things came to a head, yet came together so flawlessly… but I digress. We get a bit of comic relief when we finally see Rowena. She finds out her newest fiancé was not what he said he was at all; he was a con man. Mid-fight Crowley shows up, and with a snap of his fingers makes him explode. And as Rowena stands covered in blood, we once again see how twisted their relationship is, as she exclaims how it was the sweetest thing he had ever done for her. It was hard not to chuckle.

The conception of the nephilim finally gets detected by Castiel and now the Winchesters know as much as we do. On their way to get to the president, the aforementioned bomb gets dropped, in a pretty intense way. They get pulled over, by who we don’t know, but it didn’t take long for guns and punches to be drawn. And just when we think it will hit a head, BAM! A mysterious car playing jazz slowly creeps up and a man packing serious heat emerges. As the guys scramble to get out of the way, he lets loose a grenade launcher. He casually makes his way through the debris he caused, still, we have no clue as to this mystery man’s identity. As he addresses Castiel simply by “Angel,” we get the idea he knows more about them then we could imagine. And then, finally his identity is revealed as Arthur Ketch, British Man of Letters. The one sent to clean up their mess has finally stepped in. If only he knew about the nephilim, I don’t think this introduction would have gone as it did. I can’t be sure I trust what Ketch says. He claims he wants to help, seeing as the British know way more than their American counterparts. By giving them the technology to eject a possessing angel from a vessel on trust alone, I’m still not convinced. But hey, at least they got the egg thing right?

Now with the means to do the job, they set their plan into place. Crowley, using his handy dandy teleportation abilities, kidnaps pregnant Kelly. I didn’t see it going well, as she doesn’t seem too concerned when Castiel tried to prove to her that her baby is evil. I mean if an angel had me put my hand on a bible when I was pregnant and the thing went up in flames, I would be freaked the hell out. Even when evil was staring her directly in the face when she confronts Lucifer she still doesn’t seem too worked up. And I must say of all the times I’ve seen this team go up against Lucifer this had to be the most intense showdown. Considering what is at stake, I wasn’t surprised. I mean, all Lucifer ever wanted was to loved. Now he’s going to have a child of his own and their sending him away. I think Lucifer is a whole new level of angry, wherever he is.

And for all of 30 seconds we see a semblance of fear on Kelly. When she realizes her true beloved was still alive after Lucifer’s eviction it seems to subside. I could sense that even before it was revealed to us that she was going to take off. I didn’t however expect to see our boys arrested for the attempted assassination of the president nor see one the guys Ketch had taken down in the streets earlier. What is with that guy? I guess we'll find out sooner or later. I feel so bad for Castiel though. He’s one of my favorites and he always seems to be the one who gets screwed over or messes up unwittingly. The escape of Kelly falls back on him. I see this blowing up in her face. I don’t think it will be possible to birth a nephilim and have things turn out well, as it would be inherently evil. We are being left with so many questions! Are our boys okay? Does Ketch know what has happened to the Winchesters? Will he catch wind of the nephilim? Where exactly does Kelly plan to go? How is Castiel going to explain this? We will have to wait until January 26th to find out, and I’m sure you’re as anxious as I am.

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