• A Play On Nerds Main Show
    • MuppeTrek
    • Reel Opposition
    • Sappy Crap
    • Televison
    • Film
    • Video Games
    • Miscellaneous
  • Meet the Team
  • Contact Us
Menu

A Play On Nerds

  • Podcasts
    • A Play On Nerds Main Show
    • MuppeTrek
    • Reel Opposition
    • Sappy Crap
  • Nerd Words
    • Televison
    • Film
    • Video Games
    • Miscellaneous
  • Meet the Team
  • Contact Us

The Path - "The Hole" - Season 1 Episode 5 Review

April 21, 2016

Source: Hulu

When we left Eddie last week, he was being led by Cal to dig until he “found something.” So it was no surprise to see we are met by Eddie still digging when this week’s episode starts. Cal is still waiting for Eddie to have a vision, sees him react and calls him out. Eddie’s vision happened to involve Cal kissing his wife Sarah. Not a very nice vision to have considering it’s not too far-fetched. But Eddie is smart enough to keep his vision to himself. At least he can see Cal for who he is.

Source: Hulu

 As for Eddie and Sarah’s son Hawk, he finally took the leap to make a choice of his own without the movement’s influence. When his “IS” friend asks him to join her at a party, he caved and showed. He lost track of time and ended up innocently falling asleep with her. His absence sends his family into a panic; he is almost 16 which is the age they choose to stay in the movement or leave. We learn his aunt Tessa left the movement, so it’s a very sore subject for his family. And talk about mother’s guilt, his mom lays it on thick with him! She badgers him into staying in the movement by reminding him of her sister and telling him a story of how he died and came back to her when she was pregnant. So he does what a lot of teens do, he tells her what she wants to hear. And I am starting to see he may become more of an ally to his dad than we first thought, and I think Eddie sees it too.

Source: Hulu

While we are on the topic of seeing things for what they are, Mary seems to lose her rose colored glasses for Cal in this episode. After doing what he requested of her, finally sleeping with Sean the man he suggested for her, she starts to see his manipulations. She was so excited to tell him that she did what he asked of her, but he was so angry and preoccupied with the situation he had with the rich family, The Ridge’s, he was “helping,” that he was a major dick to her. And after that, she tried to talk to him again but stopped when she saw how sweet and loving he was being towards Sarah. This obviously didn’t sit well, because she tried to leave the camp. It was only after talking to Sean she chose to stay. So hopefully she will also end up helping Eddie or Agent Gaines when it comes to Cal because he is a freaking sociopathic creep.

Source: Hulu

Cal really loses it with the situation with The Ridge’s. Their son was not to under any circumstances get the ayahuasca laced medicine. So when he found out Sarah sent him with his mother to Peru to do just that, he was livid. Mr. Ridge was a powerful man, and he was now on his bad side. This could blow up big time and be bad for the movement as a whole. But it seems what set Cal off more than that was the fact that Mr. Ridge called him out for losing control of his “cult”. We can clearly see Cal is a quick tempered control freak, so that is one of the worst things that can be said to him.

We also see more about Agent Gaines in this episode. We learn there is something going on with his daughter medically, and he used it as an in with Eddie. He tells Eddie he wants to start the first R on the ladder, he wants to start practicing. But he was shocked when he saw Eddie talking him out of it rather than pushing him in like most cults. I’m sure Eddie is trying to help save any more people from getting sucked into this crazy cult. Speaking of, I was surprised to see Agent Gaines's reaction to meeting and speaking to Alison. He was playing the devil’s advocate pretty hard and he seemed so cold when he told her to leave and start a new life. But I was happy to see he looked into what she told him more. He and his partner agreed the activity before her husband’s death was suspicious and very close to mimicking trafficking. And that could give them more grounds to look into the movement further.

Source: Hulu

But I have to say, the best part of this whole episode was finally seeing Cal get his ass kicked. He clearly deserved it. He bullied Mr. Ridge into following along with his wife and trusting them to treat his son, then his son and wife vanish. That’s a big breach of trust, and powerful people don’t like being made to be fools. Granted it looks like his son really is getting the help he needs from the medicine. But, it was still nice to see someone finally check Cal. I just hope Eddie doesn’t stay blind to his wife Sarah; she is just as delusional as Cal can be, minus the violence. And I have a feeling we will see her playing right into Cal after she sees him all beat up. That’s part of his plan anyways, to steal Sarah and have the movement under his rule. But I guess we will have to wait and see!


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

In television, review, article Tags hulu, cult, occult, the path, aaron paul
Comment

Fear the Walking Dead - "We All Fall Down" - Season 2 Episode 2 Review

April 20, 2016

The second episode of the second season of FTWD begins with rolling waves on a sun drenched shore. If you’re like me and a bit tired of the endless humid forests of TWD, these shots of the golden coast are a nice change of pace. We’re treated to a somewhat out of place scene of two children gathering seashells together, but soon enough walkers begin to wash up on shore. TWD isn’t too scared to kill kids but it seems a little early in this series to be putting children in harm’s way. Luckily these kids are protected by a fence, and strangely, they seem to have been making a shell collage for the walkers. It seems as if they’re protected, for now, but where is this magical place where kids are dressed in L.L. Bean and have the convenience of playing on the beach during the end of the world?  We’ll see, perhaps.

Source: AMC

After that odd little intro, we find our heroes in a bit of a predicament. The log book that Nick recovered from the sunken vessel details that their destination of San Diego has been bombed out and depleted by the military. Worse yet, they are being pursued by a larger vessel, presumably crewed by the guy Alicia was playing Dream Phone with last episode. Looking at the map, Strand figures they’ll be safe in a cove on an island but the group thinks a neighboring island, one designated as a wildlife refuge, would be a better spot. In a rare moment of concession, Strand agrees and off they go to Catrina Island.  

I will say that I like the pacing of the show, even though it’s barely two episodes in. So far it’s fairly point A to point B without a lot of filler or useless dialog. Abigail docks on the island and Strand tries to stay behind by himself but Daniel insists he and Ofelia will keep him company, leaving the Manawa clan to go exploring. As it turns out, our well-dressed kids and their guardians reside on the island, but are hesitant to help despite their house lights flashing on and off, as if trying to signal someone.

George, the man of the house, or ranger station rather, informs Travis over a beer that the Pacific Northwest has been napalmed straight to hell, as well as every major city down the coast. The border has been shut down and according to reports from other ranger stations, pretty much the whole western half of the country has gone dark.  This gives us some room to speculate.  Where did the outbreak begin? What were our heroes in Atlanta up to at this time?  Perhaps Rick was in a coma at this point on the timeline…

Source: AMC

Source: AMC

Meanwhile Maddie and Melissa, the woman of the house, have a chat and find they have some things in common professionally. The conversation is polite, if a bit awkward, but it isn’t until the third and eldest child makes an appearance that we see that these folks may be a little off.  Seth seems overly concerned for his mother and wary of Maddie, giving her a parting glance as he goes on patrol. In the living room, Nick has no trouble befriending the kids and his happy-go-lucky demeanor casts a glaring light on Alicia’s quiet wine drinking and Chris’ insufferable brooding. It isn’t until the little boy, Harry, takes Nick upstairs that he also sees that things aren’t quite right on this island. Harry has action figures with little red marks on their foreheads, named after those that have been infected and subsequently shot. He also tells Nick about his “power pills.” One thing about Nick is his ability to gain trust and observe and learn without showing fear or concern.  Yet another asset, as Strand would see it.

Back on the boat, Daniel begins to pry at Strand’s motives. I like the dynamic of the two characters, one with a dark past and another with a mysterious one, making nice but also feeling each other out.  Meanwhile, George tells Travis his theory behind the outbreak and guesses him to be Maori (the actor who plays Travis is, in fact, Maori and this is one of the rare times he is cast as such) and shares an odd interest in Travis’ culture.

On their way back to the boat, Travis and Maddie compare notes on just how bizarre things are on the island, while Nick and Alicia idly chat about the pros and cons of the end of the world.  These are some of the most poignant lines of the episode.  Nick remarks at the stillness of the Earth, and that their situation does not qualify as “The Rapture.” When he says that something is off on the island, Alicia murmurs:

“Everything is off, everywhere.”

Source: AMC

The next morning, Seth teaches Chris the finer points (pun intended) of walker maintenance with a pick axe. Travis has a problem with his son so eagerly “killing” as it were and his confusion prompts George to explain his very pragmatic approach to the zombie apocalypse while patching up holes in the fences. They come to an overlook, where Catalina is visible. George knows that all the walkers on the island will eventually make their way toward Catrina, and he’s at peace with it. He and his family will live on the island until the day they die, whenever and however that may be. That’s the truth of his situation, and there is no morality, no malice in their fate, simply how things are now.  When Travis asks how George can just give up like that, he replies with a thought provoking line:

“I’m not giving up.  I’m mending the fence.”

A lot can be said about this approach to life in the end times. George is realistic about his chances and chooses to live on his own terms.  Rather than wander and live in fear, making mistakes, getting people killed, and generally making a mess of things as we’ve seen our heroes do for a few seasons on TWD, George would rather live out whatever time he has left in one place, as secure as he can make it.  While his stoicism in the face of eventual horrible death is admirable, something is still not right on Catrina.

Source: AMC

Elsewhere on the island, Nick is once again proving to be quietly resourceful, using his nose for narcotics to find the “power pills” Harry mentioned, before being discovered by Willa, who wants Nick to come draw with her.  There is value in being easily likeable.  It doesn’t raise suspicions.

As we approach the end of the episode, a few truths start to reveal themselves. Melissa confesses to Maddie that George’s pragmatism and stubbornness has an ugly side. She wants Harry and Willa to have a better shot than just waiting for the island to be overrun with walkers, and asks Maddie to take them on the boat. In fact, it was her that signaled Abigail in the night. Maddie then talks to Travis, who says he’ll talk to George. It’s a little frustrating that Travis’ first instinct is to talk it out, even though it rarely worked last season, and usually made things worse. Daniel finds a hidden cache on Abigail’s bridge, containing maps of Mexico and a military-ish looking weapon, an MP5? Gun nut readers feel free to correct me. Strand himself is shown chatting with someone over satellite phone, and while it’s still unclear what his aim is, all we need to remember is “sundown.” And finally, Nick reveals the truth of the family on Catrina Island.  George is planning on taking the Big Nap, and bringing his whole family along for the ride. “Power pills” indeed.

Source: AMC

When Travis, Maddie and Nick try to take Willa and Harry, things go haywire as they often do. Perhaps FTWD has suffered a bit because it was difficult to care about the characters or get emotionally invested in what happens to them along the way. The final few minutes of this episode take a huge, albeit tragic, leap forward in terms of emotional content.  Things go as badly for our heroes as you might expect, but in a way that perfectly illustrates how dangerous it can be to try to help others, and how awfully devastating the unintended consequences of trying to do the right thing can be. I’m not trying to avoid spoilers here, I just think my usual play by play would not do the scene justice.

I’d definitely say the stage is set for an interesting season. We may be caught up in the sad ending of this episode, but let us not forget that it seems that Strand is on his way to some place specific. Perhaps he’s delivering our heroes to someone? That gun in the storage locker may not be for self-defense. But Daniel is on to him and if there’s one person on the boat who is more dangerous than Strand, it’s him. This episode has also proved, to me anyway, that the writers are capable of compelling writing and are able to find the heartstrings that have been tugged many, many times already by TWD. I look forward to the further voyages of Abigail.


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

In television, review, article Tags twd, fear the walking dead, the walking dead, ftwd, horror, amc, zombies, zombie
Comment

The Path - "The Future" - Season 1 Episode 4

April 18, 2016

When the last episode ended, I was convinced that Miranda was dead. I was relieved to find out she wasn’t and that she was being hospitalized. I also found it interesting that we learn a little bit more about the ladder in this episode through the agent who had infiltrated the movement as a prospect or possible. When I saw that two elders of the movement who were with Cal in Peru were now at the camp, I was relieved. At least those two know what Cal is capable of, they seem to read him well. Not to mention, they also know of the founder’s true state.

Source: Hulu

We also see Cal being a total manipulative sociopath yet again as he talks to Miranda. He knows exactly what to say to her to get her to “unburden” as they say. Eddie is very concerned, as I’m sure anyone else would be when he found she was missing from the hospital. He knows when people disappear, it’s not a good thing… Alison taught him that.

Source: Hulu

As for Sarah, she seems still held up in Cal’s grasp. She’s helping him with the rich couple we meet previously and their addict son. The husband wasn’t so keen to find out about the Meyerist green juice treatments, which we find out is ayahuasca based. I knew that stuff was laced. What I didn’t expect however was to find out Cal is to be Eddie’s guide. And now, even after finding out about the truth of his trip and how he questioned the light, he’s pushing him to do the next step on the ladder. Cal is also pushing to change the use of the “medicine” as they call it. Perhaps because of Eddie’s vision of the real truth?

While there are all these secrets among the adults within the movement, Sarah and Eddie’s son Hawk has found himself with a secret life outside the movement. He has met a girl who is tempting him to look outside of the movement and all he has known. The once so pure poster child of the movement is slowly giving into temptation. It makes you wonder if maybe he would ever help his father if he were to try to fight back. Or is this maybe a more temporary lapse in judgment for Hawk? It’s hard to say.

Source: Hulu

Ascension Day also takes place in this episode. We see the base of their religion. They speak about the day the ladder was discovered and when their founder climbed it and brought back with him great wisdom. One of the elders who were there that day shows her hands and explains how she tried to follow him, but was burned. The followers were in awe as this carried into Mary telling her own her personal story of abuse. Even Agent Gaines was brought to tears. He has now seen, maybe, that the person he promised to help bring his daughter back to is just as bad as whatever he feels is going on in this movement.

Source: Hulu

As perhaps Agent Gaines is letting his guard down, it’s a good thing the elders, Felicia and Bill, put their guard up higher. Cal took them to see Miranda, who is clearly brainwashed. They seem frightened by his downright demand to be the new leader. He has told them he’s going to write things promised by their comatose founder, and judging by his extreme views this is not going to go well. At least they have entrusted the already suspicious Eddie to watch out for him and let them know what he’s up to. What better way to do that then to let him be his guide on this new step on the ladder. Or at least I hope that’s why he’s doing it, because if he really did get sucked back into this crazy cult, Alison is completely on her own fighting against them.

In television, review, article Tags cult, hulu, the path, thriller, suspense
Comment
← Newer Posts Older Posts →

Follow us on twitter!

  • A Play On Nerds
    On today's show: Since #ThorLoveAndThunder is blasting its way into theaters, we're checking out another god who bl… https://t.co/77pW08WoUG
    Jul 8, 2022, 5:03 PM
  • A Play On Nerds
    On the show this week: #TheMuppetShow special guest star, singer, dancer and former Charlie's Angel, Cheryl Ladd! A… https://t.co/4O8UeGEsmN
    Jul 4, 2022, 3:34 PM
  • A Play On Nerds
    On today's show: In honor of the release of so many super hero movies and TV shows, we pay tribute to the very stra… https://t.co/UbIrnBqSqE
    Jun 24, 2022, 6:13 PM
  • A Play On Nerds
    On the show this week: #TheMuppetShow special guest star, legacy British actress of the stage and screen, Lynn Redg… https://t.co/5JRL6o4fnW
    Jun 18, 2022, 9:23 PM
  • A Play On Nerds
    RT @rider_coattail: APON does some of its best work on the back foot, but what do you expect from Sticker Laden Old-Timer-acting Affici… https://t.co/2a4MvE9Jmc
    Jun 13, 2022, 9:25 AM
  • A Play On Nerds
    Well, it looks like Sappy Crap is back! At least for one episode anyways... We'll explain. But come get sappy with… https://t.co/GVv3lbmDfI
    Jun 10, 2022, 9:30 AM
  • A Play On Nerds
    On today's show: #TheMuppetShow special guest stars, country and film stars, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans! And… https://t.co/optKoCqU4L
    Jun 3, 2022, 12:50 PM
  • A Play On Nerds
    On today's show: In honor the release of the #TopGun sequel, we watch the other best ace fighter pilot dog fight mo… https://t.co/TXKqEmMcHw
    May 27, 2022, 1:31 AM
  • A Play On Nerds
    On the show this week: #TheMuppetShow special guest star, goofy folk/country singer Roger Miller! And #StarTrek Or… https://t.co/tZE3fA5lBu
    May 20, 2022, 3:30 PM

Google+