Supernatural - "First Blood" - Season 12 Episode 9 Review

January 27, 2017

With the Nephilim still on the loose and the boys in government custody, of course Castiel reaches out to Mary for help. But, to be honest, being in the government’s control, especially if they think you tried to kill the President of the United States would be scarier than most things they have encountered.

It doesn’t surprise me at all to see Dean doing the 1,000 mile stare, and not responding when the guy comes to intimidate him. Sam, however, looks scared, as he most always does. Let’s just hope this Mick Davis guy really has their back, and knows where they are. He seems to have a lot more resources than they do. But it seems, he is on a mission to talk to the American hunters to get them to unite with him, unsuccessfully. And of course as the days tick on for the guys in solitary, things are happening in the hunter world. Asa’s daughter called Dean’s cell to tell him about a pack of werewolves they encountered. Mary answers, and asks her location, but it doesn’t go much further. Castiel and Mary seem kind of useless pining for Sam and Dean.

When the guard brings Sam and Dean their chow and finds them unresponsive, I knew something was up. There is no way they’d off themselves, and no way that Billie would help bring them back if they really were goners. She has made it more than abundantly clear her stance on the dead staying dead. So as I sat waiting for the commercials to end and the answers to unfold, I hoped they were faking somehow. The mortician seems perplexed by them dying on the same day, the two jerks in charge of their keeping, not so much; they seem to accept it. Even if they are upset they didn’t get answers. I was not too surprised to see them gasp back to life, but it sucks because they have no idea where they are. They are in a government place that wasn’t supposed to exist.

Being as resourceful as they are, that doesn’t prove a problem. They figure out their approximate location. With their mom coming from Missouri from a case, and Castiel already on the way, let’s hope they get ahead of these government creeps. Because, if they catch them, it wouldn’t be as nice as the sit and wait game they were playing. Cas calls for backup, and as I had suspected, Mick is called in with his associate. Of course these two already know the location of this government facility, as they say, it’s their job. I’m still not sure I trust these guys… I guess we’ll have to wait and see. I chuckled when Dean overtakes the soldier and tells “the man in charge” they are the ones who should be worried, as they are the trapped ones. What we have all learned from Dean in the past: he doesn’t do well with threats, at all. That puts him in fight mode. And they don’t even know Castiel called in backup, so this could get messy. Before Castiel and the rest of them even come to help, Dean and Sam knock down each soldier one by one before making Dean’s promise true. They have the two guys in charge trapped, which again, made me chuckle. I was a little surprised they took this opportunity to tell them the truth of the President being possessed. And I was amused when they end their conversation with the answer, “we are the guys who save the world”. But as we have seen, time and time again, it’s quite true.

Of course, they are surprised to see their mom with Cas when they find them. But even more surprised to see Mick and his counterpart, Mr.Ketch, with them. What shocked me was seeing Billie. I guess she did make a deal with them. They have to give up a Winchester come midnight, permanently. And this deal, is bound in blood. So of course, Mary takes the bullet, or at least tries to. Before she has the chance, Castiel puts his angel sword right through Billie’s heart. And then his speech… right in the feels. But, I guess he forgot what Billie said about having cosmic repercussions. So I’m a little worried what that’s going to mean. Destruction on Earth? And as for Mick’s part with things, he makes sure Mr.Ketch takes care of all the witnesses. And he used this opportunity to make his pitch to a Winchester, Mary. Who knows where this will lead. I really hope she doesn’t drink his kool-aid!

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 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