My Review of Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)

 

Written by Tom Hardy And Kelly Marcel

Directed by Andy Serkis

Cletus: "Welcome back, Eddie Brock. It's been a long time. I miss you ... so much."

The biggest trick ever played on a studio was Sony gaining success with their Venom movies. It gave the false impression that audiences wanted movies adjacent to Spider-Man when in reality, I think they just like Tom Hardy in this role. Anyways, on to the review.

The end of the first movie had Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) meeting Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson) in prison. This was at the behest of Detective Patrick Mulligan (Stephen Graham) and it was a meeting that didn't exactly go all that well either.  Not dissimilar to Eddie's life in general as this movie pointed out.

Yes, Eddie and Venom had this odd couple dynamic going well, until they didn't. There was only so much chocolate and chickens that Venom could consume and Eddie was tired of having to try and reign the symbiote in at times. Worse than that, another encounter with Cletus Kasady only resulted in the latter getting his own symbiote and Eddie and Venom going their separate ways.

Watching Venom trying to get new hosts while going to Mrs Chen (Peggy Lu) for comfort was amusing while Eddie was coping without being bonded to Venom as well as his ex-girlfriend Anne Weying (Michelle Williams) being engaged to nice doctor Dan Lewis (Reid Scott). Dan was also dealing with Venom being back on the scene again.

As for the main villain plot, Carnage bonded to Cletus. Cletus wanted to free his girlfriend Frances Barrison/Shriek (Naomie Harris) and Shriek wanted to kill Mulligan. Oh and Carnage didn't especially care for Shriek, creating conflict between him and Cletus. Not to mention the links between Venom and Carnage to boot.

Like the first movie, you've got a rushed third act that's a bit messy on the CGI battle between Venom and Carnage. Annie's got the thankless damsel in distress role, Shriek's poorly utilised and even Cletus got swiftly dealt with after being separated from Carnage. Oh and the movie totally rifled off the end of The Dark Knight and not in a good way.

- Tom Hardy got a story by credit for the movie as well as a producer credit too.

- Mid credit scene had Eddie and Venom see Spider-Man (Tom Holland) on the TV along with J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons).

- Andy Serkis agreed to make the movie if he got to film it in the UK. He was also in the MCU.

- This was originally scheduled for October 2020 but got pushed to 2021 due to COVID.

Standout music: Carl Cox's Carnage, Johnny Cash's San Quentin and Little Simz's Venom.

- Chronology: A few months from where the first movie left off as well as 1996 for the Cletus and Frances backstory.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage isn't the worst sequel you'll see but it's definitely not without its problems. The pacing was rough in parts, Carnage and Shriek are poorly developed and its got a very messy third act. Still the buddy duo between Eddie and Venom did a lot of heavy lifting.

Rating: 6 out of 10

My Review of American Horror Story: Delicate - The Auteur

 

Written by Halley Feiffer 

Directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton

Anna: "You're a monster."

Siobhan: "Oh, no babe. I'm so much worse."

The last few seasons this show has developed a very annoying habit of short changing viewers with shorter and rushed finales and it's a habit that very much needs to stop. The sad thing was that I saw this coming.

Picking up from the last episode, Anna got into ambulance with Dex and Kamal. Within moments, Ivy was revealed to be the driver and both Dex and Kamal were killed off, along with some pointlessly misandry from Ivy to boot.

Then we had Anna surrounded by Ivy, Nicolette, Talia, Sonia and Susan (yes, that's the superfan's name), only for her then to give birth to a demon baby and become paralysed. Trying to renege on a devilish deal does have it's drawbacks.

So, what was the endgame of this season along? Well, this witchy cult are called Delicates and their Auteur was Siobhan (surprising no one). Their goal was to recruit women who wanted it all, birth super powered children and basically live in a matriarchal society. Thematically, it did make sense.

Unfortunately, it's all very rushed exposition with Siobhan also admitting that she was Dex's real mother and that 75% of Anna's baby was hers too. Oh and despite goading Ivy into killing her, Siobhan had no problem in killing Ivy as well. Then there was Anna's choices.

Truth be told, Anna either had misfortune if she refused to join the Delicates or join them and keep producing demon kids. When it seemed like Anna was going to submit, along came Adeline to help Anna using Hestia's power in order to wipe Siobhan out. That scene alone was extremely rushed.

Anyways, if the season had the ongoing narrative of whether or not women can have it all, this episode proved they could. Anna ended the season with an Oscar, a human child and power of her own. It's just a pity the season didn't do a stonger job of having her get all of this stuff organically. Things really just kept happening to Anna. As a character, she had very little agency.

- An opening flashback showed Siobhan meeting Anna at an IVF support group while another one had Siobhan recruiting Dr Hill.

- Anna was sporting the Delicates spiked green heels. Nicolette was recruited to groom Anna for this entire plot.

- Ms Preacher's first name was revealed to be Mavis. She was killed off screen.

- I was hoping this episode would show us clips from the very movie that Anna won a freaking Oscar for. 

- The Ashleys really were just there to make up the numbers, though one of seemed happy about having male sex slaves.

- Chronology: Early 2024 as well as 2019 flashbacks for Anna/Siobhan and a 1970s one for Siobhan/Dr Hill.

I didn't hate The Auteur as a finale but it was unsatisfying and very rushed. I don't know what future the show will have beyond next season but changes in how it's approached need to be taken on board. The finales definitely need to be longer and the heavy focus on Anna would've worked had she been better developed, which she wasn't. 

Rating: 7 out of 10 

A Varied Mood Board Of Shows

I know it's been freaking long since I've done one of these but here's another snapshot of stuff I've been watching over the last few months.

Big Mood: Channel 4 have found a new niche of comedies with a more serious undertone and none serious than this one. Lydia West and Nicola Coughlan are on fine form as the level headed Eddie and the flightier Maggie, and both make for a believable friendship. Throughout the six part series, you had Maggie battling both her bipolar and writers block while Eddie struggled to keep her dead father's along pub alive and dealt with an unwanted pregnancy. There's not many laughs to be had with the show but there's a good insight into friendships and mental health.

Celebrity Big Brother: While ITV2 certainly got the parent series right, I have to admit the celebrity version on ITV was something more of a mixed bag. Way too many influencer types, other unrecognisable celebs and one that seemed more fitted for the Daily Mail style audience. On the other hand, there was something entertaining in watching Louis Walsh make a prat out of himself yet while the winner was decent enough I suppose. It just felt a bit of a letdown after last years much better civilian series.

Ripley: Prior to watching this, the reception seemed to be mixed at best. Some loved seeing a newer version of The Talented Mr Ripley. Others were put off by the black and white format and felt Andrew Scott was too old for the role of Tom Ripley. Personally, I think he's the best thing but there were times where Ripley was almost too inept to live (that boat scene in the third episode being the best example). The show's gorgeous looking, beautifully capturing the 1960s time period and Italian setting. The lacklustre ratings on Netflix and audience antipathy on the other hand does however indicate that we shouldn't expect seconds for this one.

True Detective: I don't know. I liked the first episode of this season but I have to admit, the show just fell apart as it went along. The finale both felt rushed in some parts and a slog in others and despite a good partnership with Jodie Foster and Kali Reiss,  just didn't care enough about either Danvers or Navarro to be really invested as the season concluded. Some wasted actors and a barely contained misandry in the writing didn't help at times either.

Wreck: Back in late 2022, the returned BBC3 struck gold with this nautical slasher/horror series and while the second series traded the cruise ship setting for a wellness centre in Slovenia, it lost none of it's groove. Throughout the six episodes of this second series, we lost so many characters, gained some new ones (and lost some of them), got some great character development, inventive kills, bits of romance, alliances switched up and a promise of more vengeance. What I'm trying to say here is that I really hope BBC3 commission at least one more series of this delightfully batshit crazy show. 

• Joshua Jackson will lead upcoming ABC medical drama, Dr Odyssey, created by Ryan Murphy.
• Speaking of Ryan Murphy, he will produce another horror series on FX called Grotesquerie with Niecy Nash, Leslie Manville and Courtney B. Vance heading up the cast.
• So Help Me Todd has been cancelled by CBS after two seasons.
• Fallout has been renewed for a second season by Amazon.
• Production for the second season of Gen V has been halted following the recent death of Chance Perdomo last month.
• Season 4 of The Boys will premiere on Amazon from June 13th.
• Grey's Anatomy has been renewed for a 21st season while spin off Station 19 will conclude next month after seven seasons.
• CSI: Vegas has been cancelled after three seasons by CBS.
• Seth McFarlane has admitted that Family Guy won't be ending any time soon.
• The third season of Netflix's Sweet Tooth is coming soon and will be the show's last one.
• ITV have announced that the fourteenth series of Vera will be it's last.
• CBS have changed their minds again and given S.W.A.T. an eighth season.
• Netflix have renewed The Witcher for a fifth and final season ahead of it's fourth season. Liam Hemsworth replaced Henry Cavill in the lead role. 

My Review of Late Night With The Devil (2023)

 

Written And Directed by Colin Cairnes And Cameron Cairnes

Jack: "Ladies and gentlemen, please stay tuned for a live television first as we attempt to commune with the Devil."

Time for a horror trip, and what a trip of a movie this one turned out to be. Formatted in a documentary style, here was a movie about a show where the unimaginable happened on live air.

The show in question being late night show, Night Owls where the host, Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) was not only dealing with the loss of his wife, Madeleine (Georgina Haig) but also his talk show in desperate need of ratings. Cue Halloween night.

A night appropriate for some spooky shenanigans, Jack's first guest included a psychic named Christou (Fayssal Bazzi) who tried to talk to the audience with spirits that had mixed results. The mixed results being something that the second guest of the night was willing to use to their advantage.

Former magician turned skeptic Carmichael Haig (Ian Bliss) was a bit too happy to denounce Christou's psychic abilities and was even more keen to antagonise Jack at every turn. As the movie progressed, this would be something that Carmichael would deeply regret.

The main crux of the movie however involved Jack's interview with Dr June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon) and a young girl named Lilly (Ingrid Torelli). Lily in particular played host to a demon named Mr Wriggles and when the latter came out to play, shit went down in the studio and even Carmichael's attempt to disprove it with poor Gus (Rhys Auteri) went horribly wrong.

It's really the final act that made this whole movie for me. The terror of Lilly's possession along with Jack's connection with The Grove, along with the price of his fame and the last scene. Let's just say this movie ended on a very appropriately dark note.

- Lilly had been held prisoner by a Satanic church that worshipped Abraxas before she was rescued by June. June wrote a book called Conversation With The Devil.

- David Dastmalchian got cast as Jack Delroy due to the directors reading article he wrote for Fangoria about late night regional horror TV hosts.

- The Grove in here were a reference to a real life sect of a similar name.

- Chronology: Halloween 1977. Despite being an American movie set in New York City, this was filmed in Melbourne, Australia.

Late Night With The Devil might be one of the creepiest horror movies to come out this year. The studio setting along with the time period worked brilliantly. David Dastmalchian gave such a brilliant performance and that end scene was brutal. I loved this one.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver (2024)

 

Written by Shay Hatten And Kurt Johnstad And Zack Snyder 

Directed by Zack Snyder

Kora: "Their nightmare is you and I fighting together."

Jimmy: "You must know, you cannot win."

Has it really been four months since the first part of this wannabe Star Wars saga? Yes, it has and in that time, we've also Dune Part II finally get released too. Okay, enough snarking, review time, lads.

Four months might have passed between releases of this series but time has moved slower here. First of all, secondary baddie Atticus Noble (Ed Skrein) was revealed to be alive and needless to say, he was determined to get both the Scargiver and nuke the planet/moon Veldt and not entirely in that order.

The Scargiver being deserter soldier, Kora/Arthelais (Sofia Boutella), who with her own band of misfits and warriors were going to be a massive pain in the backside for Noble and still largely unseen Regent Balisarius (Fra Free). I mean, they're really holding off that inevitable reunion between Kora and Balisarius for a reason, but the little we actually saw here left a lot to be desired.

Kora's crew again comprised of General Titus (Djimon Hounsou), skilled assassin Nemesis (Doona Bae), slave Prince Tarak (Staz Nair), soldier Millius (Elise Duffy) and humble farmer, Gunnar (Michiel Huisman). Yeah, it's them along with Sam (Charlotte Maggi), Aris (Sky Yang) and Jimmy the mechanical Knight (Anthony Hopkins) along with glorified redshirts to keep Veldt from getting massacred by Noble and company.

The first of this movie felt like a lot of padding. Between an overemphasised montage of wheat collecting and well intended flashbacks sloppily done, I felt like some of the first half could've been shorter. As for the second half, I had the opposite issue to be honest.

If the first half dragged like hell to get to the main battles, the second half almost went overboard with it. Yes, it descended into mindless violence, certain characters died and others that were assumed to be dead. Well, one of them turned out to be alive and there's the hook for the next movie.

- The director cuts for both parts will be released on Netflix later in the summer. You'll get six hours of this.

- Kora "killed" Princess Issa in flashbacks and I actually thought the character was going to regenerate. The romance with Kora and Gunnar was very rushed.

- I did like the various banners that Sam made for the characters.  It seemed like a secondary romance between her and Aris was being hinted at.

- The Bloodaxes have done sweet naff all to help so far. Maybe the cuts are where they're better utilised.

- Zack Snyder has mentioned wanting this to be a six movie saga. Now whether Netflix let that happen is another thing.

- Chronology: Essentially where the first movie left off. Not a lot of time passed either. 

Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver should've been a marked improvement on an underwhelming first entry. Look, I've seen worse movies but this wasn't good. It should've been but it's all over the freaking place and if I were Netflix, I'd be hesitant to continue this franchise unless major improvements were made to it.

Rating: 6 out of 10

My Review of Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990)

 

Written by Joseph Stefano

Directed by Mick Garris

Norman (to Fran): "Oh, I've killed before and now, I'm gonna have to do it again."

Into the fourth movie of this series and we got something that not only served as a prequel but also a sequel that only went and ignored the previous two sequels. Don't you just love it when a horror franchise does that?

Ignoring the crazy aunt that pretended to be his mother, we have a Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) who was released from the asylum he had spent a long time in calling a late night radio show, hosted by Fran Ambrose (CCH Pounder). This would be the main plot of this movie.

The radio show in question was about men who killed their mothers, a topic that Norman was well versed in and one where he was better to articulate than the experts Fran had on her show. Fran got so enamoured with Norman, the experts themselves were almost quickly written out of the movie to accommodate Norman himself.

Getting to the prequel aspect of the film we had a lot of flashbacks with a young Norman (Henry Thomas) and the toxic, co-dependent relationship with his mother Norma (Olivia Hussey). Throughout the flashbacks we had Norma emasculate her son incessantly, only for Norman to eventually snap and kill both Norma and her lover, Chet Rudolph (Thomas Schuster). To be fair, Norma had it coming.

Of course Mommy Dearest and her feckless boyfriend weren't the only victims of Norman's in flashbacks. Norman's dalliances with two different women, spurred his "mother" persona into murder. Then there was also the fact that Fran realised Norman was on the verge of killing again.

The would be victim being Norman's own wife, Connie (Donna Mitchell). Norman was tempted to murder his wife because she fell pregnant against his wishes and a reunion between the couple in the Bates family home really could've the same way as the sequels did. Norman came close to succumbing to his mother yet again before choosing a different path.

- The writer for this movie was the same as the original movie. However this aired on Showtime instead of being a theatrical release.

- Janet Leigh (Marion Crane from the first movie) did an introduction for the movie's broadcast.

- Anthony Perkins has a different pitch that was more akin to a black comedy that the studio rejected in favour of what we ended up.

- Chronology: 1940, 1949, 1951 and 1990. Norman's birthday factored into the movie, set during one night.

Psycho IV: The Beginning does feel like a marked improvement on the previous movie and managed to pull off the prequel with a sequel idea rather well. Anthony Perkins gave a strong final performance as his most infamous character with Henry Thomas, Olivia Hussey and CCH Pounder all providing fantastic support. It's a bit underrated this one.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Immaculate (2024)

 

Written by Andrew Lobel

Directed by Michael Mohan

Sister Cecelia: "I know God saved me for a reason but I'm still searching for what that reason is."

Time for a religious experience. I'm sure this film won't be unsettling at all. Well, that a brief hope but then we had an opening scene where poor Sister Mary (Simona Tabosa) got buried alive for trying to escape a Roman Catholic convent. That scene alone was the tip of the brutalness we'd get here.

For the main focus pivoted around a young nun named Cecelia (Sydney Sweeney). An American nun who was brought to the same Roman Catholic convent that Sister Mary failed to escape from. For Sister Cecelia, she was about to undergo one hellish experience throughout the movie.

The experience being a mysterious pregnancy and one that Father Sal Tedeschi (Alvaro Morte) would take an overt interest. During the first half of this movie he appeared to be an ally to Cecelia, sympathetically listening to what drove her into the church in the first place but then, Cecelia's miraculous pregnancy changed everything at the convent.

There was fellow Sister Isabelle (Guilia Heathfield Di Renzi) trying to murder Cecelia and berating the latter for being chosen instead of her while poor Sister Gwen (Benedetta Porcaroli) also paid the price for trying to warn about the strange goings on. Of course, for Cecelia, it'd only get worse.

With her health getting worse, nuns dying around her and a conveniently placed warning via 2 Corinthians 11: 14, it turned out that Cecelia's pregnancy was more planned than divine intervention. I mean, not that much of a shocker but for poor Cecelia, finding out that she was a pawn in a much larger scheme wasn't what she was hoping for.

The idea of the convent using nuns to try and bring about the next messiah was delightfully demented as an idea. No wonder Cecelia ended up snapping as she ended up killing Deacon Enzo (Giuseppe Lo Piccolo), the Mother Superior (Dora Romano) and of course, the mastermind himself, Tedeschi while the birth scene itself and how Cecelia dealt with the "miracle" ended this movie on a dicey note.

- Sydney Sweeney auditioned for this movie a decade ago, it didn't work out back then and a few years ago she got a director and the movie made.

- The movie literally has it's own "twin movie" with The First Omen, which came out the same month and with the same idea.

- Standout music: Carol Of The Bells and Ave Maria, the latter used in an unsettling way.

- Chronology: I initially thought this was going to be a movie set in the past but a few incidents did indicate it was a present day story.

Immaculate made for a rather creepy look into religious horror, evoking a seemingly forgotten subgenre of film while giving a stellar performance from Sydney Sweeney and good scares and gore. However the third act/trimester did feel a tad rushed but other than that, I liked this one.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Psycho III (1986)

 

Written by Charles Edward Pogue

Directed by Anthony Perkins 

Sheriff Hunt: "Why, Norman, why? Good God son. You'll never get out again. We're gonna have you locked up forever."

Norman: "But I'll be free. I'll finally be free."

Following the events of the previous movie, any hope for Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) to be rehabilitated had gone out the window. He had relapsed and murdered Emma Spool (Claudia Bryar) and was keeping her body like he had done with his mother beforehand.

On top of that, he had more threats coming out of the woodwork. Emma's disappearance had been noted and none more than by journalist Tracy Venable (Roberta Maxwell), who seemed determined to prove that Norman was bad again. Unfortunately for Norman, she wasn't the only problem he had to face in this movie.

Norman also had to deal with the slippery wannabe musician Duane Duke (Jeff Fahey) who charmed himself into Norman's good graces by getting a job at the motel but then also teamed up with Tracy to stab him in the back. Duane however overplayed his hand when he realised that Norman didn't respond well to blackmail.

With two foils for Norman, there was also the fallen nun Maureen Coyle (Diana Scarwid). Yes, she looked too much like Marion Crane and there was certainly a point to that too. It also didn't take too long for Norman to fall in love with her, sleep with her as well as save her from a suicide attempt.

Norman's love story with Maureen certainly presented a new element to the character but his issues towards women and sex were further compounded by his mother's influence on him. Needless to say, it didn't end well for Maureen and it nearly didn't end well for Tracy either, until Norman broke his mother's hold on him.

The last scene where he was arrested by Sheriff Hunt (Hugh Gillin) seemed more like a victory for Norman where he admitted to finally being free. Also the movie's decision to reverse the Emma Spool revelation from the last one was a wise decision.

- Anthony Perkins made his director debut with this movie. He'd only direct one more prior to his death. He wanted it in black and white but Universal said no.

- Was it me or did the opening scene feel like a homage to The Exorcist? I thought I was watching the wrong movie at first.

- The last movie for Virginia Gregg who played Norma Bates in the first three movies.

- Chronology: A month has passed since the events of the second movie.

Psycho III certainly did it's best to keep up the momentum from the last one and I did appreciate the continuity from it. It's not quite as strong but in spite of his technical inexperience, I think Anthony Perkins did a decent job pulling double duty here.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Baby Reindeer (2024)

 

Written by Richard Gadd

Directed by Weronika Tofilska And Josephine Bornebusch

Donny: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is, uh, my stalker. Say hello to Martha."

Ah, Netflix. This month you spoil us with two shows focusing on male protagonists and very different ones too. While Ripley revelled in a cold and chilling turn with a murderous main character, this show went in a darker route without murder on the table.

The premise seemed simple. You had aspiring comedian Donny Dunn (Richard Gadd) working in a pub where one day he showed a bit of kindness to a sad woman named Martha Scott (Jessica Gunning). It was a kindness that Donny would soon regret when Martha would become fixated with him, a fixation that got extreme as the seven part series progressed.

Throughout the series, we saw Donny both try to fend off Martha's volatile advances while somewhat being fascinated by her obsession with him. However with Martha revealed as a lawyer with a history of stalking and a better knowledge of the law that Donny, it was hard for the latter to get the authorities to take his plight seriously. That's often the most frustrating but realistic part of this series.

Martha's obsession with Donny not only had him suffer but the loved ones around him. Throughout the series we get to see his relationships with an ex girlfriend named Keeley (Shalom Brune-Franklin) and her mother, Liz (Nina Sosanya) as well as his parents, Gerry (Mark Lewis Jones) and Elle (Amanda Root) and the effect Martha's reign of terror would have on them as well.

A big relationship that was emphasised was Donny's relationship with a transwoman named Teri (Nava Mau). It's a beautiful relationship, sadly marred by Martha's presence but also one where Donny got some insight into his bisexuality. There's a gorgeously written coming out scene that Donny had with his parents in the last episode, coupled by a funny moment where Gerry encouraged his son to win Teri back. 

The highlight of the series though came at some of the most brutal moments and they stemmed from Donny being mentored by TV writer Darrien (Tom Goodman-Hill), with the former being sexually assaulted by the latter. There's a scene where Donny broke down at a competition and went into painful, raw detail about his attack to a moved crowd that might contain one of the best performances I've seen in a long time.

By the time the series came to its conclusion, Donny's life had gotten better through getting work and Martha being charged for her relentless harassment of him and his loved ones but the end scene. That scene really added a very complicated sting to a compelling series.

- The series was largely based on Richard Gadd's own experience with a stalker. I did like how he's talked about giving Martha layers as a character.

- The title for the show got explained in the finale. It involved Martha having a toy Reindeer that gave her comfort as a child.

- Donny gave Martha a cup of tea as well as free diet Coke when she visited the Harp. A barman gave Donny a free double Vodka and Coke.

- At least two of the episodes have the link www.wannatalkaboutit.com 

- Throughout the episodes, there's a lot of emails shown onscreen between Donny and Martha.

- Chronology: August 2015 to March 2017, detailing Martha's obsession with Donny. Edinburgh and London based.

Baby Reindeer might easily be the best series of 2024 so far and there's still eight months left in the year. Star making performances from Richard Gadd and Jessica Gunning along with an unflinching look into stalking, mental health, sexual assault and coming to terms with sexuality, this show's an absolute must see.

Rating: 10 out of 10

My Review of Psycho II (1983)

 

Written by Tom Holland 

Directed by Richard Franklin

Norman: "I don't kill people anymore."

I've been meaning to rewatch this series and review the sequels for a while. Advance warning: I actually dig sequels to a movie that didn't need them in the first place. It's largely down to Anthony Perkins of course. 

Over twenty years after the events of the first movie, a seemingly rehabilitated Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) has been released from the asylum and needless to say, he's got quite the battle ahead of him. It's a battle from different sides.

For Norman, there's an effort on his part to atone for his actions by working in a diner and it's there where Norman struck up an unlikely friendship with young waitress Mary Samuels (Meg Tilly). Perhaps he saw Mary as a means of amending what he did to Marion all those years ago.

However in spite of his best intentions to get on with his life, others weren't so keen on letting him be. Former motel manager Warren Toomey (Dennis Franz) went out of way to antagonise Norman and later ended up dead as a result and worse than that, Norman was both seeing and getting phone calls from his "mother", which did a number on his sanity.

Of course the main reveals from this sequel came in pairs. First of all, it was disgruntled Lila Loomis (Vera Miles) who was behind Norman's distress for most of this movie along with the reveal of Mary being her daughter. Mary felt bad about her part in Norman's downward spiral but it came at a massive to both of them.

As for the real big twist. No, it wasn't Norman eventually snapping and reverting back to his dependency on his mother. Instead it was the reveal of Emma Spool (Claudia Bryar) being supposedly Norman's real mother and the actual killer in this movie. I'm not sure I liked that reveal in itself but the aftermath of it certainly ended the movie on a macabre note that worked for me.

- The book Psycho II came out a year before this movie was released with an entirely different plot and outcome for Norman.

- Anthony Perkins son, Oz played a younger version of Norman during the movie as well.

-  This sequel would've been a TV movie had they not gotten Anthony Perkins to play Norman Bates again.

- Chronology: 22 years since the events of the first Psycho movie. Sam Loomis died between movies.

Psycho II easily could've been a disastrous sequel but it more than acquitted itself. Both Anthony Perkins and Meg Tilly (who apparently didn't get along) are excellent and play off each other so well. There's a tragedy in Norman trying his hardest to be good, nearly succeeding and slipping back to his old ways. 

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of American Horror Story: Delicate - Little Gold Man

 

Written by Halley Feiffer 

Directed by Jennifer Lynch 

Siobhan (to Anna): "Congratulations. Go get that high road, baby."

After last week's episode, I was hoping this would have a bit more bite to it and it kind of ... didn't.  Awards season really came and went and speaking of the latter, the timing of Anna going into labour certainly worked out. Just not for her.

Of course this was another episode where the strangest of things was happening to Anna, people kept warning her that she was in danger and she made no effort to try and prepare herself. The Oscars stuff fell surprisingly flat with Anna predictably winning for The Auteur after she effectively sold her baby to Siobhan.

Speaking of Siobhan, we're eight episodes in and the most interesting thing happened with her here and funnily, it didn't involve Anna. Instead, it involved a trip back in time where she had a similar relationship to Mia Farrow that she had with Anna in the present day. The movie she worked with Mia will not shock in the slightest. After all this season has largely been riffing off that movie in particular.

When Anna wasn't selling her baby to Siobhan and going into labour, she made an effort to try and seek out Ms. Preacher after the latter disrupted Virginia's funeral. Not that much came out of it as Preacher ended up being taken away by the women.

Fortunately, Anna's confrontation with Cora fared a bit better. Cora revealed as Anna's stalker but not actually involved with the women and Dr Hill was a bit surprising. Cora being Dex's mistress was a tad disappointing but of course, Dex had to be a cheater. This season definitely hasn't portrayed any of the male characters positively.

Anyways with Oscar wins, more crazy hallucinations and Siobhan and the women circling in on Anna, I'm definitely ready for this season to wrap up. I do have a feeling though the ending might quite deliver as it should do. I hope I'm wrong.

- In the opening flashback we saw Mia Farrow, Frank Sinatra, Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate. Mia was filming Rosemary's Baby.

- The Academy Awards presenter who gave Anna her win was Hamish Linklater. He's the husband of series alumni Lily Rabe, who the show needs to get back next season.

- Anna hallucinated seeing black skin on her legs as well as both Babette and her mother at the Oscars.

- No Ivy, Sonia, Nicolette, Talia or Kamal in this episode.

- Crass of Dex being the one to get Cora the apartment next door as well as giving her access to spy on him and Anna.

- Chronology: 1967 Manhattan in flashbacks and 2024 in the present day. Anna's thirty weeks pregnant.

Little Gold Man did feel like a step down after the brilliant previous episode. Overall, I'm not confident this season will be a fan favourite, even in retrospect and I worry the finale will be a letdown. I hope that's not the case.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Mary & George: "War"

 

Written by D.C. Moore And Laura Grace

Directed by Florian Cossen 

King James (to George): "An old fool's lust blinded me, but now I see. You're the traitor."

It's been seven episodes but I went the slow path and chose to watch this on a weekly basis. I think that was a good decision. This finale certainly brought things to a fiery ending for both George and King James.

Their relationship had effectively soured between episodes with James in isolation in the woods and George getting a bit too big for his boots and acting like the King himself. That of course would backfire on him here. Sadly for George, not everyone shared his ambition.

Trying to get Charles married to the Spanish Princess came to a screeching halt this week and George only made the situation worse. He pretty much exaggerated to Charles why the marriage wouldn't go ahead and he effectively declared war on Spain in the King's. Of course, Mary tried to step in to save the monster she created but it was definitely a case of too little and too late.

George would no longer listen to her and her attempts to manipulate the King were initially countered by George fucking him in the woods. Then word of war with Spain got out and whatever hold George had on the King was gone in an instant. James had quite the wake up call. He even stripped George of his titles but before he could put his lover to death, things went badly for the King.

Yes, George proved that power always meant more than any loyalty to the King. George didn't hold back on killing King James and he almost got away with it. Given the amount of lives that George ruined in his mother's (and his own) quest for power, there's a suitable irony in his death coming a very unexpected person. 

As for Mary, she didn't quite suffer as much as the King or her son, but it's clear that Sandie's death affected more than she wanted to admit, along with knowing that George had a part in it. That and her inability to get the King back on side and her son's demise. Whatever she achieved definitely came with a hefty price overall.

- Sir Francis Bacon was missing his nose and had the stench of death. Mary saw that as enough reason not to kill him.

- George's second child was born shortly before his own demise while him and Charles were likened to brothers.

- George had flashbacks of various men and women he fucked over the years during this episode.

- Chronology: The series ended with 1628, marking George's death.

War marked a very strong ending for the series. Throughout these seven episodes, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Galitzine and Tony Curran delivered with their performances and didn't put a foot wrong. I had a great time with this show.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Venom (2018)

Written by Jeff Pinkner And Scott Rosenberg And Kelly Marcel

Directed by Ruben Fleischer

Eddie: "All right, fine, I'm sorry. So, what do you want to do now?"

Venom: "The way I see it, we can do whatever we want."

With the MCU having their way with everyone's favourite Web slinger and Tom Holland proving successful in that role, of course Sony weren't going to sit back and let the rest of the IP do nothing. This line of thinking has been a blessing and a curse for them.

With Sony garnering success with Miles Morales in the Spiderverse movies, for live action,  the idea was to play around with some of Peter Parker's known villains turned antiheroes for ideas. Starting with one of his biggest rivals made sense.

Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) was a smart mouth journalist who rubbed people up the wrong way but seemed to have the charm to fall back on. He also had a loving girlfriend named Anne Weying (Michelle Williams) but when Eddie pissed off the wrong guy aka, Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed), his relationship with Anne soon ended.

Eddie's mistrust of Drake however ended up being justified as the latter had found an alien parasite from space and he wasted no time callously using unwitting subjects to experiment on with it. One of the parasites named Venom attached itself to Eddie when Drake's scientist Dora Skirth (Jenny Slate) let him investigate the Life Foundation. Needless to say, this was where the movie picked up.

Eddie's symbiotic relationship with Venom definitely provided a source of comedy, battle of wits, a team up with Anne and her new man, Dr Dan Lewis (Reid Scott) and of course, the wrath of a very annoyed Drake. Oh and when Eddie wasn't trying to calm Venom's almost insatiable appetite, there was also another parasite named Riot that took control of Drake with similar results.

While this movie certainly has the entertainment factor, it's the big battle where things went off the rails. Carlton Drake isn't particularly intimidating to begin and his possession of Riot isn't as well thought out as it could've been. The fights between Venom and Riot alone are surprisingly rushed in a rather flat third act. 

On the plus side, once the big fight was dealt with, Eddie managed to get back into Anne's good grace and strike a compromise with his new best friend. We even got a scene where the pair help snarky convenience store owner, Mrs Chen (Peggy Lu) from getting robbed without killing. 

- Mid credit scene had Eddie make a prison visit to serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson) who promised "Carnage".

- Post credit sequence was a long clip for Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse. 

- Stan Lee had a brief cameo near the end of the movie, walking g a dog and talking to Eddie.

- John Jameson (Chris O'Hara) appeared at the start of the movie to introduce the symbiote into things.

- Standout music: Enimem's Venom and Pusha T's No Problem.

- Chronology: There's a six month time jump during the movie.

Venom definitely has an entertaining factor that for the most along with a lively lead performance from Tom Hardy does carry this movie more than it should. The third act is a letdown with Riot being a poor counter villain and the love story with Anne does feel a tad tacked on. Saying that, the fun factor does outweigh logic gaps and certain creative choices.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Scoop (2024)

 

Written by Peter Moffat And Geoff Bussetil

Directed by Philip Martin

Prince Andrew: "If I do an interview, the question is, why you?"

Sam: "With respect, you know how people see you."

Prince Andrew: "Spell it out."

Sam: "Randy Andy."

After six seasons of The Crown, I guess Netflix's appetite for Royal Family wasn't sated enough. So, came this movie where the public downfall (but not really) for Prince Andrew (Rufus Sewell) came to the forefront.

If the poster was anything to go by, you'd almost think that BBC newsreader Emily Maitlis (Gillian Anderson) was going to be the central figure of this movie or even the disgraced Andrew himself. Nope, instead the film quickly established that TV producer Sam McAllister (Billie Piper) was really the main character of this piece.

Sam's a single mother and a determined career woman. When she's not getting the interviews and stories that others aren't, she's confiding in her mother, Netta (Amanda Redman) about her worries while also noticing that her son Lucas (Zach Colton) has a crush on a girl a class above him. However the main emphasis for Sam here of course was her job.

A job that she's great at but at the same time, her determination rubbed certain co-workers like Freddy (Jordan Kouame) the wrong way. Saying that with a contact like Jae (Connor Swindells) in New York, Sam soon realised that the story between Prince Andrew and his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein (Colin Wells) was going to hit the fan.

Sam's determining got her a meeting with Andrew's private secretary Amanda Thirsk (Keeley Hawes) and once, Epstein's home had been raided, Sam had the upper hand in getting Andrew into agreeing with the BBC Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis. Needless to say, an interview that wouldn't benefit the grubby Prince either.

There's a masterclass of acting between Gillian Anderson and Rufus Sewell during the big interview itself. An interview that undid whatever good will Andrew had with the public while also redefining both McAllister and Maitlis's careers. Both women really exposed a monster in quite a public fashion.

- The movie was based on McAllister's book, Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC's Most Shocking Interviews. 

- Amazon will have their own counter to this movie with upcoming miniseries A Very Royal Scandal. Emily Maitlis will be an executive producer for that.

- Billie Piper's wig for playing Sam McAllister cost over £11,000, which was ludicrous.

- Chronology: Started in 2010, New York with the majority of the film in 2019 and the interview taking place on November 16th.

Scoop delivered some strong performances from all four leads but if I'm honest, it's Billie Piper who well and truly delivered the most. It's her central performance that does anchor the whole thing long before the big moment appeared.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Doctor Who - Varada Sethu Confirmed For Season 2 (Series 15)

Well, it only took three months to confirm something that arguably should've been revealed earlier but we're finally here nonetheless.

Joining the 15th Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) in their second season/Series 15 of Doctor Who will be Andor actress Varada Sethu and she will be a regular for the second season. Yes, with the first season focus on one companion, the second season will have an additional member to the TARDIS. 

Earlier this year, it seemed like Varada Sethu's casting was an indicator that Millie Gibson had been axed from the series or that her role as Ruby would be greatly reduced. According the press release from the BBC, it appears that she will still be a regular for the 2025 series. 

As of now, details are still being kept under wraps as to who exactly Varada Sethu is playing but executive producer and showrunner Russell T. Davies has made it clear that the stakes will be higher for the next season.

I have to admit that it does feel a bit odd talking about Season 2 (Series 15) when we're exactly four weeks away from Season 1 (Series 14) airing but that's how crazily ahead this production has gotten. To add to the craziness, they're now filming the Season 2 finale. In an Instagram post, Russell T. Davies labeled the new TARDIS dynamic as "The Three Who Rule" and if that isn't an episode title for Season 2, it'll be a missed opportunity. 

While we're talking about the next season, what can be revealed? In terms of writers, Russell did point out that there would be more new ones while in terms of directors, you've got Alex Pillai (Christmas 2024), as well as Amanda Brotchie, Peter Hoar and Ben A. Williams for now.

In terms of guest actors for the second season, both Nicola Coughlan and Joel Fry were confirmed months ago for the Christmas 2024 special. Within Season 2 (Series 15), you'll have Jemma Redgrave, Ruth Madeley Alexander Devrient reprising their UNIT roles of Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, Shirley Anne Bingham and Colonel Christofer Ibrahim as well as Michelle Greenidge, Angela Wynter and Anita Dobson as Carla Sunday, Cherry Sunday and Mrs Flood while other guest actors include Jonah Hauer-King, Lewis Cornay and Blake Patrick Anderson.

We've got some truly exciting times ahead for the show in the next two seasons. I'll post more announcements as they come in.

Doctor Who airs Saturdays on BBC1/iPlayer/Disney+ from May 11th.

My Review of Fellow Travelers: "Make It Easy"

 

Written by Anya Leta And Jack Solomon And Ron Nyswaner 

Directed by Uta Briesewitz 

Hawk (to Kimberly, re Tim): "He wasn't my friend. He was the man I loved."

Oh, wow. Eight episodes and I made it to the finale and what an absolute stunning piece of television. It's been a hell of a journey but now the story has ended for both Hawk and Tim.

Interestingly, we went back to the 1950s for some of this episode. Hawk and Lucy were married, mostly happy and the latter was expecting Jackson. Tim on the other hand, just got out of the army and yes, he reunited with Hawk.

Tim's time in the army not only made him want go move into social work, but the sexual dynamic between Tim and Hawk took a turn. Tim even got to top Hawk during a scene that had a jab at Tim drinking milk. Of course though, happy reunion wasn't going to stay on the cards.

Mary, who had disappeared a few episodes back returned to warn Tim about being an inconvenience to Hawk. Her words ended up being true but before Tim could do anything about them, Jackson was born and that kind of nixed that confrontation.

In 1986 though, Tim was getting closer to death and Hawk wanted to be with him for his final moments. There was a lovely scene with Tim and Lucy as the latter realised how much Tim meant to Hawk. I got why Lucy wanted to properly meet Tim and it certainly gave her the sense yo leave Hawk for good without any bitterness for her husband.

As for Hawk and Tim, their last scenes were some of the best we've had in the entire miniseries. Tim however did make Nawk step aside while both him and Marcus along with several other protestors made one last stand in order to bring awareness to the AIDS crisis.

The last scene with the memorial broke me a little. I knew Tim was going to be dead but watching Hawk breakdown at Tim's "beyond measure" memorial flag and admitting to Kimberly that Tim was the man he loved. Yes, I did cry at that scene but what a beautiful final moment. 

- Both McCarthy and Cohn's deaths were covered in this episode. Cohn's flag had "Coward. Bully. Victim."

- Jerome admitted to Marcus that he was positive. Frankie wasn't sad when Cohn's death was announced.

- Standout music: Johnny Mathis I Look At You and Arthur Russell's Love Is Overtaking Me.

- Chronology: 1957, 1986, 1987, 1996, 2012 throughout the episode.

Make It Easy made for a gut wrenching, absolutely beautiful finale to a poignant miniseries. I've enjoyed this from start to finish and the love the series has gotten was justified. Sublime performances from Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey but everyone was fantastic to watch along with the quality in writing and directing. Everyone should be proud of this production. 

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Fellow Travelers: "White Nights"

 

Written by Brandon K. Hines And Ron Nyswaner 

Directed by Destiny Ekaragha 

Tim (to Hawk): "Everything we said last night. Everything we've been through. What is wrong with me?"

The penultimate episode and another big time jump. We trade a groovy decade for one with flairs and one of the biggest protests to happen for the queer community. We also had another awkward reunion between Hawk and Tim.

Since the last time the two of the clapped eyes on each other, things have changed for the pair. Tim spent time in prison, came out to his family, moved to San Francisco with Marcus and Frankie and worked with the latter as a social worker. However in spite of those positive changes, he was still drawn into Hawk's orbit yet again.

As for Hawk, his marriage was barely hanging on, he somewhat wrecked Kimberly's (Brittany Raymond) baby shower and Jackson died between episodes due to a heroin overdose. That, along with the excessive drinking and drug use, Hawk seemed to be hellbent on killing himself. 

Going to Fire Island on Hawk's beck and call certainly turned out to be a mixed experience for Tim. Sure, he made some new friends like Rafael (Carlos Gonzalez-Vio) and also clashed a bit with Hawk's new boytoy/dealer, Craig (Morgan Lever). Though not as bad Craig clashed with Hawk when he dared to bring up Jackson at the worst time.

Yes, this episode had Tim realising that he needed to completely break away from Hawk while in 1986, Hawk was by Tim's after the latter's latest setback in the hospital. Then there was the Lucy and Kimberly scenes where the latter did all the work in figuring out for herself that her father was gay.

As for the Marcus and Frankie storyline, there was the origin of how Jerome came into their lives. The backdrop of Harvey Milk's death and the protest that followed at the Elephant Walk Bar was a great way of bringing these three characters together. 

- Not too surprising that Hawk preferred the term "homosexual" while Tim and everyone else preferred "gay". 

- Plenty of talk of the meat rack on Fire Island while in San Francisco we had Cleve Jones (Augustus Oicle) also talk about Milk being murdered  y Dan White.

- Standout music: Dan Hartmann's Relight My Fire, David Bowie's Boys Keep Swinging and Sylvester's You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real).

- Chronology: 1979, Fire Island, San Francisco and Washington. 1986 San Francisco. 

I loved White Nights. Two very important plots in regards to gay politics and culture and both done so well too. It was nice to see more focus on Marcus and Frankie as well as what seemed to be the end of Hawk and Tim yet again.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of American Horror Story: Delicate - Ave Hestia

 

Written by Halley Feiffer 

Directed by Jennifer Lynch

Ivy (to Adeline): "Motherhood is always a blessing."

Why is that the one episode that doesn't feature Anna Victoria Alcott turned out to be the best episode of the season? I'm not kidding. Not only was this episode much needed but it made wonder what this season might have been had we had a different protagonist all along.

The episode opened up a very long time ago with Ivy giving birth in an abandoned shed. Well, technically she had to cut her own stomach open in order to give birth to two very familiar characters. The connection these characters have won't shock but it does work beautifully here.

The connection being that Sonia Shawcross and Adeline Harding are actually sisters and Ivy was revealed to be their mother. Adeline being the odd one out as she tired of giving birth to demon babies and defected for a normal life. That meant being married to Dex and running a feminist vegan restaurant named Ave Hestia.

Even these bouts of normalcy didn't stop doing some after hours magic and it certainly explained her reluctance to have children with Dex. Unfortunately, abandoning her coven came with consequences as not only did both Sonia and Ivy come for her, but so did Nicolette and Talia. Needless to say, things didn't end well for Adeline this episode.

As a protagonist, I found Adeline far more interesting in this one episode than Anna has been in the previous six. This brand of magic does seem more in line with Satanism and while Dex might be an innocent in this, his father certainly wasn't.

Virginia was right all along when she said that Dex Sr was in league with Satanism. I mean, we watched him knock out his own wife while witches drained her blood and he fucked one of them. Even Dex Jr got his memories wiped when he walked in on the ritual. Why did it take so freaking long for the show to get to the more exciting stuff?

- Adeline was able to perfect an American accent, something which both Ivy and Sonia couldn't do. Cara Delevingne's Irish accent was surprisingly decent for the most part.

- Talia sold her soul to join the witches and birthed multiple kids during her business trips.

- I had to laugh at Dex admitting he was a rubbish painter. I'm assuming his parents knew about Adeline than Dex himself did.

- Anna's Super Fan (does that character even have a name?) appeared at the drug store where Adeline bought a pregnancy test. 

- Anna, Siobhan, Dr Hill, Ms Preacher and Kamal were all absent from this episode.

- Chronology: 42 AD Western Europe, 1243 Galway, Ireland and 2013 Brooklyn, New York.

Ave Hestia finally gave this season a much needed shot in the arm. Nothing against Emma Roberts but Annabelle Dexter-Jones did an absolutely fantastic job here as Adeline and Sonia and this story finally got interesting to watch. It shouldn't have taken this long but I'm glad this episode delivered big time.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of Fellow Travelers: "Beyond Measure"

 

Written by Dee Johnson 

Directed by Uta Briesewitz

Hawk (to Jackson): "There's nothing wrong with you. You're gonna be fine. We're all gonna be fine."

After five episodes in a largely 1950s setting, this episode finally decided to move things a bit further ahead by throwing us into the late 1960s. To recap, Senator Smith killed him, Hawk and Lucy got married and Tim joined the army.

At the start of this episode, Tim's time in the army had not only seen him becoming staunchly anti war but his actions in one of his protests with Father Lawrence in Baltimore led to him becoming a wanted man. That alone meant a reunion.

Well, a reunion somewhat facilitated by Marcus who contacted Hawk about Tim's predicament. Over a decade might have passed but it didn't stop Hawk from going out of his way to actively Tim, in spite of the latter being a bit resistant to his ex lover's help. 

Tim stayed in a cabin while Hawk tried to find a way to get Father Lawrence to take the rap for the anti war protest. It didn't take long for Hawk's son, Jackson (Etienne Kellici) to find him and for the two of them to bond with one another. 

Jackson got a lot of focus in this episode with both him and Hawk largely at odds, until the last scene. While Tim's presence might have upset Lucy, he did manage to reunite Hawk and Jackson before turning himself into the police. 

As for Marcus, when he wasn't putting Hawk and Tim back into contact with each other, he was looking after his father. Not surprising Marcus's father was unaware he was gay and thought Frankie was a strange name for a girl. Frankie on the other hand had his own plot that would take him to San Francisco. Yes, between episodes, both him and Marcus had broken up and this episode didn't reunite them.

- Lucy had no problem telling Tim that she burned one of his letters to Hawk. She also admitted to an affair from her past.

- It seemed like Marcus was asking out that woman who was looking after his father. 

- Lucy's mother was definitely aware of Hawk's extramarital affair. It also seemed like they were hinting at mental health issues for Jackson.

- Chronology: Mostly 1968 in Washington and Baltimore as well as 1986 San Francisco.

Beyond Measure was a nice way to shake up the timeline and one that was definitely needed. Hawk's family dynamic might have been on a shaky ground but in his own way, I do believe that he loves them as much as he does Tim. There was some truly brilliant scenes here.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Mary & George: "The Queen Is Dead"

 

Written by D.C. Moore And Anchuli Felicia King

Directed by Florian Cossen

Mary (to George/Kit): "I'll need things of you both."

Heading into this penultimate episode, you had both mother and son on the ropes as it seemed like their enemies were closing in around them and their allies were no longer going to be of use to them. What were they to do?

Edward Coke might have agreed to his daughter wedding John Villiers but he's certainly soured to the reality of their ill advised union. Not only that, he went out of his way to take down both Mary and George in his own rather spiteful way. Also, Francis Bacon and Sandie.

Sandie's part in murdering Sir David certainly came back to haunt her that her death was massively signposted throughout. She tried to warn Mary, who in turn resorted to her own desperate measures in order to secure Sandie's freedom. Sadly for Sandie, even when she manage to get a pardon, it didn't prevent her from being a casualty. Francis Bacon certainly knew how to hold a grudge.

Bacon's downfall this week also felt rather telegraphed. Mary was quick to use George's disadvantage with Coke in order to have Bacon stripped of his titles. Mary asked a lot of George but for Kit, she asked very little by comparison. George got even by having Sandie removed from her.

George certainly was manoeuvring a lot this episode. When he wasn't trying to prevent Coke from killing him and Kit, betraying Bacon and being at the behest of his mother, there was also his scenes with King James and Prince Charles. Those scenes were definitely interesting to watch.

It took a lot to snap the King out of his funk over Queen Anne's death and the expense of her funeral but he eventually did it. Then there was facilitating Diego's (Unax Ugalde) plot to get Charles to marry Maria Anna of Spain. It helped that Charles seemed keen on the idea. 

- Sandie revealed that her real name was Cliona to the woman who would end up murdering her in the carriage.

- George grew his hair between episodes. It now looks similar to King James's. He also became a father to a girl named Mary.

- The last two episodes have been short on sex scenes between George and James. We did have George fooling around with Katherine though.

- Chronology: 1619, following the death of Queen Anne.

The Queen Is Dead made for a solid penultimate episode. We got downfalls, deaths, marriage plans, new heirs and so on. Now just the finale to get to.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Fellow Travelers: "Promise You Won't Write"

 

Written by Katie Rose Rogers And Robbie Rogers

Directed by James Kent

Cohn (to Tim): "Kid, you're a terrible liar. You should work on that."

Well, I think this episode might have served as a wake up call for Tim Laughlin. I mean, be became disillusioned with both his politics, employers and relationship with Hawk. To his credit, he didn't just mope about it.

Instead, he did certain things about his disillusionment. First thing, upon realising that Roy Cohn used a forgery image during further Army-McCarthy hearings, he told McCarthy what Cohn had actually done. McCarthy however didn't want to hear it, which was a mistake on his part. 

Then there was Tim's bathroom confrontation with Cohn himself. A tense scene brilliantly played by Jonathan Bailey and Will Brill. Cohn was definitely his repugnant self with the way he patronised and tried to intimidate Tim. Tim's entire political beliefs in McCarthyism went out the window. He did the sensible thing and quit his job.

However he just traded one system of oppression for another as he enlisted in the army instead. Tim also ended his relationship with Hawk, but given that the latter was lying to him, putting distance and entering a lavender marriage with Lucy Smith, Tim made the right decision to end things.

The Smiths were more focused this week too with Leonard getting arrested for lewd behaviour and sent to an aversion therapy centre. There's a bitter commentary on how Hawk replaced Leonard along with the sudden suicide of Senator Smith when Leonard's secrets were about to be made public.

Last but not least, I'm not surprised that Marcus's position in The Post didn't go as well he wanted to. Saying that, at least he got leave on his own terms, we got some backstory on his relationship with his father and some nice scenes with Frankie. Saying that, both characters could do with a bit more screen time.

- Frankie and Storme are going on a tour. I've liked the few scenes Storme has appeared in.

- Jean certainly didn't hold back with her anger over McCarthy not getting her pregnant while Schine "dumped" Cohn towards the end of the episode.

- I expected that Leonard was going to reveal that Hawk took his virginity but instead they just jetted off together when they were younger.

- Chronology: A few weeks since Christmas in the 1950s while still 1986 during two brief scenes where Hawk saw Tim in the hospital.

Promise You Won't Write definitely played on the theme of disillusionment with many characters and those characters in return certainly doing something about it. That included characters I wouldn't root for as well.

Rating: 8 out of 10