shallowness (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
shallowness) wrote2019-07-24 07:23 am
shallowness) wrote2019-07-24 07:23 am
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The big TV post
I watched the last episode on my Giles-centric DVD anthology of BtVS episodes, which was ‘Lies My Parents Taught Me’. Although there is a focus on Buffy’s relationship with Giles – does she need him at all any more as a teacher? Will she listen to him? Is what he’s saying worth listening to? – I‘d say it’s more of a Spike-centric episode, and Buffy-Giles is seen in the context of Robin’s relationship with his mother and Spike’s with his. I enjoyed the complex back and forth between a newly-returned-to-Sunnydale Giles and a burdened, older Buffy, partly because I was watching the episode out of context, as my feelings for the Scoobies had got quite tortured by this point, IIRC.
Giles labelled Spike a liability (yes, but an entertaining one!). Robin revealed he had a secret room full of crucifixes, as you do if a vampire killed your Slayer mother and you were brought up by a Watcher. We got flashbacks to William and his doting, sick mother, who he sired. She then turned into a very entertaining nasty piece of work. I was amused by the fact that Dru didn’t like her new pet’s instant desire to vamp his mother so she could hang out with them too given all her daddy issues when it came to Angelus. A literate script, with one gross bit.
The next show I’ll watch on DVD is likely to be Community season 4.
Gotham 5.7 ACE Chemicals
Jim was promised salvation for Gotham (again) IF nothing went wrong. He had a weird murder case to deal with, a sleep-deprived Bruce walked into Jeremiah’s trap (how many times has Alfred been kidnapped now?) and Barbara wore an excellent fuschia coat. I mean, the Barbara/Jim/Lee triangle continued with extra babydaddy issues: Jim’s doubt about Barbara’s fitness for motherhood and Lee thinking that Babs’s attempts to kill her disqualified her from being Babs’s OB seemed fair. But, of course, Lee will be Babs’ OB.
Jeremiah’s stalkerish wish to replay the defining event of Bruce’s life was creepily effective. Bruce was asking good, simple questions. Along with Selina, we learned that Oswald had no credible plan for escape, which led her back to the thought of Jeremiah’s tunnels. Jim (bringing along Lee why? For more tortured discussion of what he was going to do about his baby with another woman, I guess) learned that Tetch was behind the Chessmen bringing back the chemicals plant into operation, and as ‘The Waynes’ and Alfred were hypnotised, we got a sizeable hint that Jeremiah and Tetch were in cahoots.
I’m wondering when Selina found out Barbara was pregnant. I know it’s five days after she told Jim and news could have spread, but I think my point is we should have had more scenes of them talking before. Anyway, Selina revealed to Babs that she hadn’t forgotten Tabitha as easily as it had seemed, that she meant to use Oswald to get off the island (even though she’d have to do the work), steal off him, and then they could have their revenge on him. Babs was in! Selina (as an abandoned daughter) might have better maternal instincts than Babs.
Alfred and Bruce had a lovely ‘I thought I’d lost you’ ‘Never’ ‘Gosh, that kid’s tall.’ moment. It was finally revealed that Jeremiah’s tunnel had been to get to Bruce Manor rather than the rest of the country and the Manor was probably destroyed and the tunnel in bad shape too. (I’d got confused about the logistics of this.) As soon as she realised she wasn’t a killer, Selina came close to becoming one again, but Alfred eventually got her attention with ‘Bruce needs your help’ for the second time.
I don’t remember if it was canon that they went to see Zorro (having seen so many iterations of the Waynes’ death in so many adaps) but I enjoyed Joker and Harley’s take (and it’s nice that the Zorro and Batman connection is acknowledged). Jeremiah’s plan made more and more sense, and while Lee means less to Bruce than Jim, (making them parental figures when one tension between them was that Jim and Babs had procreated) (I had forgotten, and was reminded by a later conversation, that Jim and Lee had lost a baby), that should achieve what Jeremiah nuttily wanted. Though, honestly, Jeremiah lost points for not realising Alfred is Bruce’s true father figure.
Also Jeremiah presumably didn’t know Selina was there the first time around. Usefully, she was on the second, which went by very quickly. So, Echo = Harley (I wasn’t sure) which is how Jim knew her.
I was very much reminded of The Lego Batman Movie, while simultaneously thinking Cameron Monaghan was killing it at the plant. Of course Jeremiah fell into a vat, and of course he’s not dead dead. He’ll probably be up and walking next episode.
I am so not bothered about Lee/Jim’s slap-kiss. But I DID want the wee BatCat to have a hug, even though Selina’s amped up issues remain. But she might not be so desperate to leave Gotham now?
Oswald turned to Ed (who failed to realise that he was a second choice co-conspirator) and this did nothing for the episode’s balance, but the final scene where Babs again couldn’t kill Oswald (good going, embryo!Barbara Gordon) and agreed to join in on their plan, while refusing to get involved in building a sub, was daft and entertaining.
The Joker trying to get in on Bruce’s seminal trauma (and Jeremiah’s loss of Jerome being a factor in this) and all the iconic moments felt thrown together in a typically frenzied Gotham way. That could have been bigger and better is what I think I’m saying.
Killing Eve 2.7 Wide Awake
Much better episode – I knew I’d been right to look forward to going to Rome.
So, is Villanelle’s gorgeous place part of the Billie ID? Anyway, we and Eve learned that she’d had sex with those girls, not killed them. It gradually dawned some more on Eve that Carolyn wasn’t supporting her well, and the enabling probably meant something nefarious. His own mother calls him ‘poor Kenny’ – and Kenny mistrusts her, though he still lives at home. Eve went to see the shrink and got his double warning – about the direction she was taking and Carolyn ignoring his warning – she heard, but did she listen?
Meanwhile, Villanelle paid Nico a visit in his storage unit. His “friend” was once again annoying (and it was hard to feel sympathy with her when Nico admitted he didn’t love her, because getting emotionally involved with a married man is asking for trouble), and I thought that, given that Villanelle had threatened them good and proper, she wouldn’t really just let them walk away.
But to leave us hanging about what exactly Villanelle had done and to go to Rome, trusting that what happened there would be interesting enough for us to let it keep – well, they were right. The developments between Aaron and Villanelle/Bilie were fascinating. I joked about him being a feeder in London, but then it turned out he was a total control freak. I wasn’t sure about Villanelle going along with everything, because the fact that she hadn’t at first had got his attention, although I suppose it was looking into her and finding out that she was a shadow that really hooked the man who likes to know everything. Whatever he really thinks, however much he seems to trust her – and how did Villanelle know he didn’t have audio on her, given his knowledge about the Russian guy? – the kinship between them resonated.
Oh, and the palazzo they were in was gorgeous.
Meanwhile, Eve, still claiming Villanelle was on course – their interaction in the restaurant was funny, particularly as a respite from Aaron Controlling Everything – remained obsessed. Hugo had to deal with being her errand boy and didn’t seem to mind getting sexually exploited by his boss until he saw the earpiece. Talk to Nico, lad.
Speaking of: was Nico really out for the count that long? Nightmare to wake up in a locked unit with someone he cared about killed like that, though.
So, yeah, much better!
Agents of SHIELD 6.9 Collision Course Part 2
I groaned when we learned that there were six minutes until impact, and there was a lot of talking – especially talking Deke down. When he gave up on the bomb, I obviously had more feels about May-Daisy hand-holding than Deke/Snowflake cuddling. But then Daisy realised Quake had got to do what Quake had got to do. So cool. Also cool: May stopping the one Shrike that nearly shut Deke up (slightly incredible that that was the only one to come through the broken window). But cooler still: Quake destroying all the Shrike in the vicinity. So, I wasn’t too minded to quibble when May told Snowflake that yes, all the ladies on Earth were this cool.
But Inhuman ladies are very cool when they remember they have their superpowers/the show has the budget for them. I grumbled a bit that we didn’t see Yo-Yo use her powers during the six minutes, but she made up for it afterwards. I liked that she freed Mack to give him the ability to sort things out at his end. I really loved that she talked properly to Jarko and maximised his doubts about Sarge’s monomania and treatment of the team. Although did she kill the other guy? He was a bit annoying and the least memorable of the team, but still.
I was sure that Jarko’s big incendiary return to the ship was futile, but the crew were dunzo anyway.
Yo-Yo/Mack are the couple I care the least about, and it would be fine for her to take some time after she had to kill her kinda-boyfriend, but they saved the world, so who’s thinking sensibly? It’s funny that everyone ships them. Oh, and I liked Yo-Yo looking out for May.
So, apart from Davis clearly getting Shriked and fulfilling his redshirt destiny, I have to think ‘May’ was somehow Izel at the end, because I don’t see May calmly flying her ship and then deciding to shoot Sarge assassination style. Due process him.
It was a shock, because what Izel had suggested, that she knew more than Sarge did about who he was (though the Fitzsimmons recognition threw her) and that he’d had no memories to lose, was intriguing. And weren’t he and Mack due to have a talk about who he was? Although Mack and Sarge’s posturing ‘talks’ have not been that edifying or entertaining, TBH. Particularly this episode, as Sarge got crazy driven by revenge – Snowflake was owed that confrontation with him for leaving her to get blown up.
But as Daisy said: she’s a killer. Deke was absurd, but funny as he irritated Fitz. I spent most of the episode calling Fitzsimmons idiots as they slowly caught up with how much trouble they were in. Could have done with more of Fitz reuniting with people other than Mack, but I suppose they felt it would be overkill.
Possibly Sarge isn’t dead-dead – but this is not Gotham - I am just basically struggling with them killing Clark Gregg’s character off here. CLONES??? They’d have to be time and space-hopping clones, though. Good ending, in that it left me bursting to know what happens next!
Giles labelled Spike a liability (yes, but an entertaining one!). Robin revealed he had a secret room full of crucifixes, as you do if a vampire killed your Slayer mother and you were brought up by a Watcher. We got flashbacks to William and his doting, sick mother, who he sired. She then turned into a very entertaining nasty piece of work. I was amused by the fact that Dru didn’t like her new pet’s instant desire to vamp his mother so she could hang out with them too given all her daddy issues when it came to Angelus. A literate script, with one gross bit.
The next show I’ll watch on DVD is likely to be Community season 4.
Gotham 5.7 ACE Chemicals
Jim was promised salvation for Gotham (again) IF nothing went wrong. He had a weird murder case to deal with, a sleep-deprived Bruce walked into Jeremiah’s trap (how many times has Alfred been kidnapped now?) and Barbara wore an excellent fuschia coat. I mean, the Barbara/Jim/Lee triangle continued with extra babydaddy issues: Jim’s doubt about Barbara’s fitness for motherhood and Lee thinking that Babs’s attempts to kill her disqualified her from being Babs’s OB seemed fair. But, of course, Lee will be Babs’ OB.
Jeremiah’s stalkerish wish to replay the defining event of Bruce’s life was creepily effective. Bruce was asking good, simple questions. Along with Selina, we learned that Oswald had no credible plan for escape, which led her back to the thought of Jeremiah’s tunnels. Jim (bringing along Lee why? For more tortured discussion of what he was going to do about his baby with another woman, I guess) learned that Tetch was behind the Chessmen bringing back the chemicals plant into operation, and as ‘The Waynes’ and Alfred were hypnotised, we got a sizeable hint that Jeremiah and Tetch were in cahoots.
I’m wondering when Selina found out Barbara was pregnant. I know it’s five days after she told Jim and news could have spread, but I think my point is we should have had more scenes of them talking before. Anyway, Selina revealed to Babs that she hadn’t forgotten Tabitha as easily as it had seemed, that she meant to use Oswald to get off the island (even though she’d have to do the work), steal off him, and then they could have their revenge on him. Babs was in! Selina (as an abandoned daughter) might have better maternal instincts than Babs.
Alfred and Bruce had a lovely ‘I thought I’d lost you’ ‘Never’ ‘Gosh, that kid’s tall.’ moment. It was finally revealed that Jeremiah’s tunnel had been to get to Bruce Manor rather than the rest of the country and the Manor was probably destroyed and the tunnel in bad shape too. (I’d got confused about the logistics of this.) As soon as she realised she wasn’t a killer, Selina came close to becoming one again, but Alfred eventually got her attention with ‘Bruce needs your help’ for the second time.
I don’t remember if it was canon that they went to see Zorro (having seen so many iterations of the Waynes’ death in so many adaps) but I enjoyed Joker and Harley’s take (and it’s nice that the Zorro and Batman connection is acknowledged). Jeremiah’s plan made more and more sense, and while Lee means less to Bruce than Jim, (making them parental figures when one tension between them was that Jim and Babs had procreated) (I had forgotten, and was reminded by a later conversation, that Jim and Lee had lost a baby), that should achieve what Jeremiah nuttily wanted. Though, honestly, Jeremiah lost points for not realising Alfred is Bruce’s true father figure.
Also Jeremiah presumably didn’t know Selina was there the first time around. Usefully, she was on the second, which went by very quickly. So, Echo = Harley (I wasn’t sure) which is how Jim knew her.
I was very much reminded of The Lego Batman Movie, while simultaneously thinking Cameron Monaghan was killing it at the plant. Of course Jeremiah fell into a vat, and of course he’s not dead dead. He’ll probably be up and walking next episode.
I am so not bothered about Lee/Jim’s slap-kiss. But I DID want the wee BatCat to have a hug, even though Selina’s amped up issues remain. But she might not be so desperate to leave Gotham now?
Oswald turned to Ed (who failed to realise that he was a second choice co-conspirator) and this did nothing for the episode’s balance, but the final scene where Babs again couldn’t kill Oswald (good going, embryo!Barbara Gordon) and agreed to join in on their plan, while refusing to get involved in building a sub, was daft and entertaining.
The Joker trying to get in on Bruce’s seminal trauma (and Jeremiah’s loss of Jerome being a factor in this) and all the iconic moments felt thrown together in a typically frenzied Gotham way. That could have been bigger and better is what I think I’m saying.
Killing Eve 2.7 Wide Awake
Much better episode – I knew I’d been right to look forward to going to Rome.
So, is Villanelle’s gorgeous place part of the Billie ID? Anyway, we and Eve learned that she’d had sex with those girls, not killed them. It gradually dawned some more on Eve that Carolyn wasn’t supporting her well, and the enabling probably meant something nefarious. His own mother calls him ‘poor Kenny’ – and Kenny mistrusts her, though he still lives at home. Eve went to see the shrink and got his double warning – about the direction she was taking and Carolyn ignoring his warning – she heard, but did she listen?
Meanwhile, Villanelle paid Nico a visit in his storage unit. His “friend” was once again annoying (and it was hard to feel sympathy with her when Nico admitted he didn’t love her, because getting emotionally involved with a married man is asking for trouble), and I thought that, given that Villanelle had threatened them good and proper, she wouldn’t really just let them walk away.
But to leave us hanging about what exactly Villanelle had done and to go to Rome, trusting that what happened there would be interesting enough for us to let it keep – well, they were right. The developments between Aaron and Villanelle/Bilie were fascinating. I joked about him being a feeder in London, but then it turned out he was a total control freak. I wasn’t sure about Villanelle going along with everything, because the fact that she hadn’t at first had got his attention, although I suppose it was looking into her and finding out that she was a shadow that really hooked the man who likes to know everything. Whatever he really thinks, however much he seems to trust her – and how did Villanelle know he didn’t have audio on her, given his knowledge about the Russian guy? – the kinship between them resonated.
Oh, and the palazzo they were in was gorgeous.
Meanwhile, Eve, still claiming Villanelle was on course – their interaction in the restaurant was funny, particularly as a respite from Aaron Controlling Everything – remained obsessed. Hugo had to deal with being her errand boy and didn’t seem to mind getting sexually exploited by his boss until he saw the earpiece. Talk to Nico, lad.
Speaking of: was Nico really out for the count that long? Nightmare to wake up in a locked unit with someone he cared about killed like that, though.
So, yeah, much better!
Agents of SHIELD 6.9 Collision Course Part 2
I groaned when we learned that there were six minutes until impact, and there was a lot of talking – especially talking Deke down. When he gave up on the bomb, I obviously had more feels about May-Daisy hand-holding than Deke/Snowflake cuddling. But then Daisy realised Quake had got to do what Quake had got to do. So cool. Also cool: May stopping the one Shrike that nearly shut Deke up (slightly incredible that that was the only one to come through the broken window). But cooler still: Quake destroying all the Shrike in the vicinity. So, I wasn’t too minded to quibble when May told Snowflake that yes, all the ladies on Earth were this cool.
But Inhuman ladies are very cool when they remember they have their superpowers/the show has the budget for them. I grumbled a bit that we didn’t see Yo-Yo use her powers during the six minutes, but she made up for it afterwards. I liked that she freed Mack to give him the ability to sort things out at his end. I really loved that she talked properly to Jarko and maximised his doubts about Sarge’s monomania and treatment of the team. Although did she kill the other guy? He was a bit annoying and the least memorable of the team, but still.
I was sure that Jarko’s big incendiary return to the ship was futile, but the crew were dunzo anyway.
Yo-Yo/Mack are the couple I care the least about, and it would be fine for her to take some time after she had to kill her kinda-boyfriend, but they saved the world, so who’s thinking sensibly? It’s funny that everyone ships them. Oh, and I liked Yo-Yo looking out for May.
So, apart from Davis clearly getting Shriked and fulfilling his redshirt destiny, I have to think ‘May’ was somehow Izel at the end, because I don’t see May calmly flying her ship and then deciding to shoot Sarge assassination style. Due process him.
It was a shock, because what Izel had suggested, that she knew more than Sarge did about who he was (though the Fitzsimmons recognition threw her) and that he’d had no memories to lose, was intriguing. And weren’t he and Mack due to have a talk about who he was? Although Mack and Sarge’s posturing ‘talks’ have not been that edifying or entertaining, TBH. Particularly this episode, as Sarge got crazy driven by revenge – Snowflake was owed that confrontation with him for leaving her to get blown up.
But as Daisy said: she’s a killer. Deke was absurd, but funny as he irritated Fitz. I spent most of the episode calling Fitzsimmons idiots as they slowly caught up with how much trouble they were in. Could have done with more of Fitz reuniting with people other than Mack, but I suppose they felt it would be overkill.
Possibly Sarge isn’t dead-dead – but this is not Gotham - I am just basically struggling with them killing Clark Gregg’s character off here. CLONES??? They’d have to be time and space-hopping clones, though. Good ending, in that it left me bursting to know what happens next!