My Review of American Horror Story: NYC - Something's Coming

 

Written by Ryan Murphy & Brad Falchuk

Directed by John J. Gray

Gino: "I'm not looking to break a big story, Pat. Come on, this is about people dying."

And for the gays, you get a season for yourselves. Isn't that a good thing? After a rather female dominated second season of the spin off series and past seasons on this show being more female led, perhaps this season focusing on gay men was somewhat overdue.

However, going by this opening episode, this will be a season that inevitably will draw comparisons both Pose and Dahmer, and to be fair, there are some similarities where those comparisons will not be unjustified. Saying that,this might be one of the stronger opening episodes the show has done. It's also the first time this show has ventured into the Big Apple and I'm surprised it's taken eleven seasons to do such a thing.

So where do I approach talking about this episode? Let's talk about the journalist Gino Barelli (Joe Mantello) and detective boyfriend, Patrick Read (Russell Tovey). There are some issues in their relationship and the slew of gay men being murdered, seemingly by a leather dom named Big Daddy (Matthew Bishop). Both have different approaches to handling this potential killer before both find some common ground on the issue.

Gino and Patrick seem to be the centre relationship here and the latter upon quickly realising how ineffectual his own precinct has been with these murders essentially encouraged Gino to do his own investigation. This led to Gino seeking out some fancy artist type named Henry (Denis O'Hare) who predictably put Gino in danger. Meanwhile Patrick decided to explore the hanky code while his boyfriend was getting kidnapped by a killer.

Then there's Adam Carpenter (Charlie Carver). He's another sympathetic character who's worried about his missing friend Sully and managed to outrun Big Daddy. He also managed to do some digging into his own by making friends with photographer Theo Graves (Isaac Powell). The latter was definitely not as helpful as he could've been to Adam but there's a sense that underneath his hedonism that there's something of a conscience with Theo. Not to mention an obvious spark with Adam that later episodes will undoubtedly explore, given his blatant disdain for sleazy sugar daddy Sam (Zachary Quinto).

With Big Daddy being a looming threat, Sam on the other hand was a very present one. His possessive nature towards Theo and sleazy behaviour towards the men that the latter photographed, including poor Freddy, who found himself in danger as the episode ended. Unfortunately, Freddy will be far from the last guy in danger from Big Daddy.

As for the few female characters that appeared in this season, there was a doctor named Hannah Wells (Billie Lourd). Hannah spotted a disease in the deer community and ordered them to be shot at a specific location while Fran (Sandra Bernhard), the only lesbian regular so far offered Gino protection while giving him flack for not publishing lesbian voices in his newspaper. Then there was a glamorous lounge singer named Kathy (Patti LuPone) and Patrick's ex-wife Barbara (Leslie Grossman) but outside of Hannah, none of these roles had a lot of screen time. This season does seem to be geared towards the gay men.

- The opening credits didn't appear here but thanks to the first two episodes leaking on Disney+ India, I spotted them. I'll mention them in my review for the next episode.

- We met another friend of Adam's named Morris (Kyle Beltran) and Patrick's chief, Mac Marzara (Kal Penn), who I'm expecting to be revealed as gay later in the season.

- Theo definitely feels like a stand in for Robert Mapplethorpe, though given the time period, I wouldn't be surprised if he appears later in the season.

-  The hanky code got mentioned due to opening victim, Captain Ross (Lee Aaron Rosen) having a dark blue one lodged down his throat. Gino also talked about the light blue, grey and yellow bandannas to Patrick. Bandanna was a working title for this season. 

- Standout music: Kathy's rendition of Fever was pretty decent. 

- Chronology: New York City, 1981.

Something's Coming did a great job of kicking this season off. The central story has risk of being cliched and it won't kill Ryan Murphy to have a wider spectrum in how he writes gay men. So far with the obvious exceptions of Sam and Henry, the majority of the gay men in this episode are likeable/interesting enough.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of House Of The Dragon's 1x09: "The Green Council"

 

Written by Sara Hess 

Directed by Clare Kilner

Rhaenys (to Alicent): "Have you never imagined yourself on the Iron Throne?"

The King is dead and after a very long season of declining health, family in fighting and general scheming ala Hightower, the moment came where the Greens demonstrated without a shadow of a doubt as to why none of them deserve to be on the Iron Throne. In all of Westeros, has there been a family so undeserving of that seat?

Yup, I've been shamelessly team Black for a long time and this episode cemented my allegiance more to that house. While Alicent had her moments of sadness for Viserys's death, wanted to prevent Rhaenyra and her children from being assassinated and even called out her own father, none of them negated the fact that her own ambition ruled over everything else.

You can posit the theory that she misheard Viserys's last wish about Aegon being his successor but when nearly everyone in this episode including Aegon himself was quick to point out she was wrong, perhaps Alicent could've conceded the point? Nope she was determined to get her ill equipped first born on the Iron Throne and she succeeded. By doing that she's also brought about her own family's destruction.

Speaking of Aegon, this show has done an amazing job in demonstrating on how terrible he is in every aspect. He slipped out of the Red Keep and wound up being a temporary hostage of Mysaria while two teams went out of their way to look for him. We had twins Erryk and Arryk looking for Aegon on Otto's behalf as well as Criston and Aemond for Alicent's. In this regard, I'm glad that Alicent emerged the victor in that little game.

With Aegon ascending the throne, the highlight of the whole moment belonged to Rhaenys. Whatever issues she might have with Rhaenyra and Daemon, even Rhaenys knew that Team Green wasn't it. Alicent did her best to get Rhaenys on side and for a moment, I thought she might have gotten through to her. I did enjoy watching Rhaenys reading Alicent for filth in regards to the latter succumbing to all the men in her life. You can tell that Rhaenys's words had an impact on Alicent as the episode progressed.

As for the twins, their story took a very surprising turn. Both Erryk and Arryk took very different stances in regards to the Blacks and the Greens. Erryk openly expressed his disgust with Aegon's debauchery and wasted no time in trying to help Rhaenys out of King's Landing. However Rhaenys proved more than capable of getting herself out of a potentially dangerous situation. She even managed to reclaim Meleys and scare the shit out of Alicent and Aegon before she departed.

Meanwhile the division within the Red Keep was also interesting to watch. It was great to see characters like Lyman Beesbury (Bill Patterson) and Harold Westerling (Graham McTavish) essentially stand up for Rhaenyra even if it cost them both. On the other hand, both Criston and Larys's own devotion/obsession with Alicent continued to be creepy with at least one scene involving Larys that felt like it came out of a Quentin Tarantino fantasy. Alicent really does have the worst people in her corner, doesn't she?

- The first episode this season not to feature Rhaenyra or Daemon. We did see Viserys's body getting wrapped up while Alicent will not be in the finale.

- Aegon and Helaena's children appeared briefly in this episode and we learned that Aegon has fathered several bastards in Fleabottom.

- Mysaria using Aegon as a means to help get children out of being used for fighting endeared the character more to me. 

- Aemond seems to have that 'second son' envy of Aegon and for a brief moment, I had thought he was going to kilo his brother to get the Iron Throne.

- People on this show need to start paying attention to Helaena's predictions. She saw that last scene coming. 

- Chronology: Exactly where the previous episode left off.

The Green Council started off as a quiet episode before the shit really hit the fan. The stand out performances of course have to go to both Olivia Cooke and Eve Best and that last scene where Rhaenys could've ended the Greens on the spot was rather jaw dropping. I cant wait to see how the finale will end this particular season.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of Halloween Ends (2022)

 

Written by Paul Brad Logan & Chris Bernier & Danny McBride & David Gordon Green

Directed by David Gordon Green

Corey (to Laurie): "What are you gonna do when Michael comes back for you? Because he is coming."

Trilogies are a difficult beast to get right, aren't they? Sometimes they can end on a whimper. Rarely do you get them all right from start to finish and in other cases, they can wildly deviate from where they were expected to go. Halloween Ends definitely fell into the latter category.

Following the events of Haddonfield dealing with the boogeyman over the course of two movies set in 2018, this third installment took place a year later where nerdy babysitter Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell) found his life being torn apart following the accidental death of Jeremy (Jaxon Goldberg) while under his watch.

Three years later, Jeremy's grieving parents separated, abandoned their former home and Corey became something of a town pariah while working for his uncle and being antagonised by a bunch of annoying teenagers. Then Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) came into Corey's life and soon a blossoming romance with Allyson (Andi Matichak) also followed. In some respects, perhaps things were about to look up for Corey.

Expect not really. The town still largely hated him, those teenagers tried to kill him and then ending up in the sewers led to Corey experiencing something of a life changing encounter.  Yup, before you thought this movie was all about Corey Cunningham (which it mostly was), there was the fact that Michael Myers (Nick Castle/James Jude Courtney) was still alive, in pretty rough shape and for some reason instead of killing Corey on the spot, Michael ended up sparing him with some interesting consequences.

For months this movie has been compared to John Carpenter's Christine but instead of a corrupted motor, merely looking deep into Michael's eyes managed to set Corey on something of a killing spree and he certainly didn't waste time going from nerdy bloke to bad boy as his relationship with Allyson intensified and Laurie realised that Corey was another threat to her family's safety.

The scenes between Corey and Laurie are fantastic, both offering a contrast to the impact that Michael Myers made on their lives. Of course while this movie finally did what previous ones considered but balked at with the copycat killer storyline then gets somewhat nixed with a return to status quo of sorts. I think this movie made a misstep with not leaving Corey's overall fate ambiguous. 

However, the audience wanted a final confrontation with Michael and Laurie and this movie gave a hell of a showdown between the pair of them. Arguably the best one within the trilogy itself with a conclusion that for this timeline that made sense here. Michael got the ending he deserved, while both Laurie and Allyson (the latter not best served here compared to the previous two movies) got their own respective closures. 

- Both Nick Castle and James Jude Courtney appeared in other roles in this movie besides sharing Michael that connected with Corey as well.

- There were loads of lovely nods to the first movie as well as Halloween III: Season Of The Witch with the opening title sequence. 

- Laurie was writing a memoir for most of the movie, Allyson worked as a nurse, Frank wanted to visit Japan with Laurie and Lindsey read tarot cards and worked at a bar. We also learned that Sondra survived the previous movie and saw both her and Julian at the junkyard scene.

- Corey killed the majority of people here while Michael had the lowest body count in a film he's appeared in. Terry also killed Corey's uncle by accident. 

- Standout music: The score music naturally, especially the Corey And Michael bit. 

- Chronology: Halloween 2019 at the beginning before we moved into 2022.

For better or worse, Halloween Ends certainly lived up to it's title by providing a definite ending to this specific timeline. Is it a perfect ending? Nope. Does this mean we'll never get another Michael Myers movie ever again? I doubt it somehow but it's an interesting way to end this particular with. The Corey storyline might have felt a bit late in the game but it worked far better than expected and this movie will definitely a fanbase because of the interesting choices made with it. 

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of House Of The Dragon's 1x08: "The Lord Of The Tides"

 

Written by Eileen Shim

Directed by Geeta Vasant Patel

Viserys (to Otto): "I will sit the throne today."

The day finally came or more specifically the episode itself. Viserys Targaryen, first of his name had lived a long and not very healthy life. Throughout this first season we've seen the man's health diminish in shocking ways that him even breathing at this point was a miracle in itself. This episode did what it needed to do and the ripple effect it'll have for the remainder of the series shouldn't be underestimated either.

Viserys might have been a weak king but he was undoubtedly a good man and his love for Rhaenyra was something that was endearing to watch, even if it meant looking the other way at times. For one final time, Viserys stood up for Rhaenyra when backing Lucerys's right to Driftmark in response to Vaemond trying to take it from the boy. Of course Daemon's own skill set also took Vaemond out of the conversation as well but this episode was all about Viserys's final moments.

Viserys to his credit was not only happy to see his first born daughter, her husband/his brother along with their own children bit he was determined to try and mend fences with all warring sides of his extended family. He almost made some progress but the enmity between Jace (Harry Collett)/Luke (Elliot Grihault) and Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney)/Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) only got worse while Rhaenyra and Alicent briefly put their differences to one side, something which clearly didn't please Otto in the slightest.

However in his final moments of life, Viserys lamented about the prophecy and thanks to Alicent being with him at the time, she now believes that Aegon was destined for the Iron Throne. Aegon seems more interested in terrorising the serving girls as well as ignoring his sister wife and winding up his nephews, At this point, Alicent might as well as go for the throne herself over her incompetent son.

It's almost a shame that war will break out by next episode because there was some progress with Rhaenyra and Alicent during the dinner scene and you even got the feeling that in spite of all the bad blood spilled between them, there was a yearning to reconnect as well. Sadly, Alicent's need to get her son on the Throne will ruin all that.

As for other storylines, Rhaenys didn't seem too broken up with the prospect of Corlys being missing and possibly dead at the Stepstones but more irritated by Vaemond's attempts to claim Driftmark. Also in spite of her belief that Rhaenyra was responsible for Laenor's 'death', not only did she back Lucerys's claim for Drifmark but also accepted both him and Jace as potential husbands for Baela (Bethany Antonia) and Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell). I'm genuinely surprised that Rhaenyra just didn't tell her about Laenor though.

- The opening credits now has the long list of characters including the grown versions of Rhaenyra, Daemon, Viserys and Alicent's children. Rhaenyra and Daemon also had two sons - Viserys II and Aegon III and were expecting another child. Daemon even collected dragon eggs for them.

- Helaena (Phia Saban) made her displeasure for being married to Aegon well known during the dinner scene and seemed to enjoy dancing with Jace in order to spite Aegon.

- Mysaria reappeared again after being gone for over a decade with it being revealed that Alicent's handmaiden was one of her spies.

- We got to meet another set of twins this week, knights Ser Erryk Cargyll (Elliot Tittensor) and Ser Arryk (Luke Tittensor). Even Alicent couldn't tell them apart. 

- Rhaenyra clearly knew the assignment with the black dress she wore throughout the episode, further hinting at the imminent divide while Alicent decorated the Red Keep with the Seven Pointed Star symbols.

- Chronology: Six years since the events of the previous episode.

The Lord Of The Tides was less about either Vaemond or Lucerys potentially succeeding Corlys and far more about Viserys's final moments. Needless to say that Paddy Considine delivered an exceptional performance with Emma D'Arcy not far behind him as well. I have to give a special shout to both Eileen Shim and Geeta Vasant Patel, who did an increible job with the writing and directing for this episode as well. Both of them need to be mainstays with this show going forward.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Werewolf By Night (2022 MCU Disney+ Special)

 

Written by Heather Quinn And Peter Cameron

Directed by Michael Giacchino

Verussa (to everyone): "For tonight, it's every hunter for themselves."

2022 has undoubtedly become the year where the MCU have found themselves no longer being critic proof with many projects coming under far more scrutiny than years before. Has there been a decline in quality in the behemoth of franchises? Kind of but at the same time, the MCU can still prove capable of pleasantly surprising nonetheless.

For example, this delightful special, appropriately timed for the month of Halloween itself decided to pay homage to the Universal Monster Movies of old while also further delving into the supernatural side of the MCU. Needless to say, it's paid off with aplomb.

Ulysses Bloodstone (Richard Dixon) has died and his widow, Verussa (Harriet Sansom Harris) has decided to appoint a successor to the monster hunting club of her former husband. Among the group of hunters, included Ulysses's own daughter, Elsa (Laura Donnelly) and the rather mysterious Jack Russell (Gael Garcia Bernal), who had his own agenda and one that turned out to be far more sympathetic than his fellow competitors.

With Elsa determined to get her family heirloom off the back of the captured creature Man-Thing (Carey Jones), Jack's motives were more about rescuing his friend, forming a bond with Elsa and having the fact that he was a werewolf in secret revealed in possibly the worst way going. Needless to say, Jack soon went from being a hunter to being a prey of sorts.

In fact, a pretty jealous Verussa ultimately tried to use Jack in order to get him to kill Elsa, only for Jack and Elsa to kill most of Verussa's guards along with the remaining hunters in question before Verussa herself fell victim to Man-Thing. As a result, Jack got his freedom and Elsa got her inheritance with things feeling neatly wrapped up here.

Jack's connection with Elsa was nice to see with even a hint of a future romance between the two of them but it was his scenes with Man-Thing that were the highlight of the episode. Their friendship and willingness to rescue one another was nothing short of endearing and they might one of my favourite partnerships in the MCU in the space of one special. 

- The other hunters in this special included Liorn (Leonardo Nam), Jovan (Kirk R. Thatcher), Azrael (Eugenie Bondurant) and Barasso (Daniel J. Watts). None of them were particularly sympathetic characters but entertaining to watch.

- The majority of this special was in black and white until the last few minutes after Elsa got the Bloodstone.

- Standout music: Judy Garland's Somewhere Over The Rainbow during Jack and Man-Thing final scene together.

- Chronology: Something of an unspecified timeline here.

Werewolf By Night was delightful 52 minutes that proved sometimes less can be more but if more had been on offer, I would've gladly taken. Fantastic performances from Gael Garcia Bernal, Laura Donnelly, Harriet Sansom Harris and Carey Jones, this Disney+ special definitely proved that the more horror and supernatural stuff we get from the MCU, the better.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (2022 Netflix Series)

It took me a little longer to catch up with this recent and rather controversial limited series from Netflix, focusing on infamous serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer. Was it worth the watch?

Written by Ryan Murphy & Ian Brennan & David McMillan & Janet Mock & Reilly Smith & Todd Kubrak

Directed by Carl Franklin & Clement Virgo & Jennifer Lynch & Paris Barclay & Gregg Araki

Glenda Cleveland (to the police): "I called you for months and its too late. Y'all come too late."

Ryan Murphy's foray into the world of Netflix over the last three years with the type of shows he's chosen to do have been a mixed bag for some. As shows they've largely felt no different to the majority of his FX content and in some respects, the rather long title of Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story could've easily been a lost season of American Crime Story. In fact, watching this series did remind me of the second season of that show, which had focused on Andrew Cunanan's murder of Gianni Versace. Tonally, this series wasn't that much different to it.

The first episode opened with Jeffrey Dahmer (Evan Peters) taking home his last victim, Tracy Edwards (Shaun J. Brown) with the intention of killing him. Only this time, Tracy managed to escape from Dahmer's grasp, alert the police and get Dahmer arrested to the relief and anger of his neighbour Glenda Cleveland (Niecy Nash), who had warned the police about Dahmer, only to have been ignored by them.

From the second to the seventh episodes, most of this limited series put the focus on Dahmer's childhood. We see him growing up as a strange kid with a morbid fixation on taxidermy, something which had been encouraged by his father, Lionel (Richard Jenkins). We also see Lionel marry another woman, Shari (Molly Ringwald), following the separation from Jeffrey's mother, Joyce (Penelope Ann Miller), whose own mental issues were depicted throughout the series.

On top of Jeffrey flunking high school, getting kicked out of the army, bouncing from various jobs and his volatile relationship with his religious grandmother, Catherine (Michael Learned), the show saw his descent into terror with an emphasis on some of his victims. Something that Dahmer was able to do due the shocking incompetence of the police force at the time a well as their lack of accountability following the fallout of Dahmer's crimes revealed.

This series made no bones about the fact that the majority of Jeffrey's victims were non white and along with Tracy Edwards, some of the victims largely emphasised throughout the series included Konerak Sinthasomphone (Kieran Tamondong), Steven Hick (Cameron Cowperthwaite), Ronald Flowers (Dyllon Burnside) and Tony Hughes (Rodney Burford). Most of these men died at the hands of Dahmer and the ones who survived him were deeply scarred by what Dahmer had done to them. 

While family members of Dahmer's victims have been critical of this series, I'll admit this series has at least tried to be respectful to them as well as depicting the fallout of Dahmer's actions, his trial, life in prison, finding God as well as his own brutal death at the hands of a fellow inmate. Not to mention the dark shadow that his reign of terror had left on everyone, including Dahmer's own family.

- Other killers who factored into this miniseries within context to Dahmer were Ed Gein (Shane Kerwin) and John Wayne Gacy (Dominic Burgess).Ryan Murphy has previously depicted versions of Dahmer and Gacy in American Horror Story: Hotel.

- In spite of the controversy surrounding  the show, it's become of Netflix's biggest hits in less than a month of its release.

- The end credits of the finale showed all seventeen victims of Dahmer. 

- The episode titles for the episodes are Bad Meat, Please Don't Go, Doin' A Dahmer, The Good Boy Box, Blood On Their Hands, Silenced, Cassandra, Lionel, The Bogeyman and God Of Forgiveness, God Of Vengeance.

- Standout music: The song Please Don't Go by KC And The Sunshine Band was used a lot in this series.

- Chronology: From 1959 up until 1994.

Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story made for an uncomfortable watch with a compelling set of performances from Evan Peters, Niecy Nash, Richard Jenkins and Rodney Burford to name a few here. Also given the success of the series, I wouldn't be shocked if another real life monster gets emphasized in a follow up show.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of House Of The Dragon's 1x07: "Driftmark"

 

Written by Kevin Lau

Directed by Miguel Sapochnik

Rhaenyra (to Alicent): "Exhausting, wasn't it? Hiding beneath the cloak of your own righteousness but now they see you as you are."

Wow, did this episode take some fucking turns or what? The big dramatic trailer moment with Alicent coming after Rhaenyra with Aegon the Conqueror's knife was something I expected this episode to end on. Instead it took place halfway through the episode and it wasn't even the most shocking thing here. Then again appearing in the trailers did dilute the potential shock factor in that scene.

So what exactly happened to make Alicent get a bit knife happy on Rhaenyra. Funnily enough, it wasn't Rhaenyra that Alicent had in mind for the knife but rather Lucerys, who during a very violent spat with Aemond cleaved the latter's eye. Basically Alicent decided to get a bit literal on the whole 'eye for an eye' adage when Viserys refused to punish his own grandchild.

I thought Aegon was a little shit in the last episode but Aemond stepped up that factor, first by claiming Vhagar, then by attacking a rightfully upset Baela and Rhaena and also by making sure he knew that both Jacaerys and Lucerys were bastards. Oddly enough, his victory over claiming Vhagar did calm him down in regards to losing an eye.

As for Rhaenyra, the walls were definitely closing in on both her and Laenor's sham marriage and both of them needed a miracle. Alicent might have failed to turn Viserys against Rhaenyra but the latter knew her claim to the throne was under serious threat and she had to act accordingly. She needed a husband that could strengthen her claim. Laenor was out and Daemon was in. Only problem being Laenor still being alive but on this show if a spouse becomes an obstacle, there are ways to remedy that conundrum.

Yup, it really did appear that we were going to get the 'bury your gays' trope a second time this season and had the show stuck to the source material, it's what would've happened. Heck, this episode did a great in convincing that Daemon had hired Qarl to murder Laenor at Rhaenyra's behest. We even got a dual between the lovers and a body for Rhaenys and Corlys to mouth over.

Except in a genuinely surprising twist, it turned out to be a ruse and Laenor turned up alive and sailed off with Qarl for some unknown adventure. If this was the last time we've seen Laenor and Qarl, this was a great way of ending their story. This turn of events also served as a good reminder that this show will do it's own thing, which means other characters fates down the line could end up being very different from the source material itself.

As for Rhaenyra and Daemon, those two didn't waste time here. Laena had just been buried in the sea and the two of them ended up having sex in the sand, stepping up against the Greens, faking Laenor's death and even getting married in secret with their children as witnesses. Alicent and her Greens might want to up their game because Rhaenyra and Daemon as a force will definitely pose a big threat to her.

- Alicent went from judging the Targaryens about their queer customs to planning marriage for both Aegon and Helaena. The latter might be weird but she's the nicest of Alicent's children so far and she did predict Aemond's fate with deadly accuracy.

- Rhaenys and Corlys's stance on Rhaenyra's children was fascinating to watch. Corlys embraced them as his own while Rhaenys was distant towards them. She was also resentful of Daemon not letting Laena come home.

- Larys became Lord of Harrenhal following the deaths of Lyonel and Harwin. Alicent also made it clear that she would be asking a big favour of him fairly soon. Otto has also become the Hand of the King yet again.

- Not only has Viserys lost an arm but his memory seems to be going as well. In one scene he mistook Alicent for Aemma and didn't correct himself when he realised what he had said.

- This is the first and likely only episode this season set on Driftmark from start to finish. 

- Chronology: Not long from the events of the previous episode.

Driftmark was definitely a season high point for me. Yes, if the show had stuck to the book and killed Laenor, a part of me would've been disappointed but I still would've highly rated the episode. The fact that they changed that though did work in the episode's favour as well as every other storyline we got this week. Possibly my favourite episode so far.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Hocus Pocus 2 (2022)

 

Written by David Kirschner And Blake Harris And Jen D'Angelo

Directed by Anne Fletcher 

Winifred: "Lock up your children, Salem. We're back."

Oh indeed, they bloody well do. In an era of reboots, sequels and the combination of both (requels?), it was time for Disney to dip into the well and see of there was some more life into this 1993 camp classic and would you look at it? It seems there was some more life in the Sanderson Sisters after all.

Opening with a flashback scene to 1653, a very stroppy young Winifred (Taylor Paige Henderson) has incurred the wrath of the local reverend Traske (Tony Hale) by refusing to marry a young man, due to her preference for Billy Butcher. As a result, the reverend attempted to take her sisters, Mary (Nina Kitchen) and Sarah (Juju Journey Brener), but a spider caused something of a frenzy and the girls scarpered into the forbidden forest for refuge.

Once in the forest, the girls encounter Mother Witch (Hannah Waddington) who hands her beloved Book over to Winfred while warning her never to do the Magicae Maxima spell. For the most part, Winifred agreed to that term but she also had fun getting revenge on the very villagers who banished her and her sisters. Then the action dips into the present day.

The present day involving three young girls named Becca (Whitney Peak), Izzy (Belissa Escobedo) and Cassie (Lila Buckingham). Something of a fractured group due to Cassie having a jock boyfriend named Mike (Froy Gutierrez), both Becca and Izzy visit the magic store (formerly the Sanderson home) where the owner Gilbert (Sam Richardson) managed to trick the girls into lighting a new Black Flame. You can guess exactly what transpired next as a result.

Yup, they're back and they're badder than ever. Winifred (Bette Midler), Mary (Kathy Najimy) and Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker) waste no time in singing about their return, attempting to kill both Becca and Izzy and of course, some generational revenge when they realise the current mayor Traske (Tony Hale) has a daughter who can be handy for the spell that should not be done.

Between Gilbert's scenes with Billy Butcher (Doug Jones) as the latter's head was needed for the spell and the new trio of girls reuniting and taking on the Sanderson Sisters, there's plenty to enjoy here. The new trio are a likable bunch and work well together. Of course there's the reveal of them forming a new coven, given Becca's bond with Book and the fact that she's also a witch too. 

As for the Sandersons, all three of the are on fire here with a much grander scheme than the previous movie. Needless to say, they do the Magicae Maxima but there are consequences and one that lead to a character shifting moment for Winifred. Fortunately though, it was a moment that was prepared for and as one generation of witches leave the mortal plane, another have risen to take their place.

- A post credit scene had Gilbert's cat (who was briefly mistaken for Thackery Binx) watching over another Black Flame.

- Both Winifred and Becca came into their power during their 16th birthdays. It also looked like Mother Witch was going to make herself known to Becca and company.

- Mary and Sarah found themselves using a mop and roombas while Winifred got a proper broom. The scene at Walgreens was hilarious.

- Anne Fletcher replaced Matt Shakman due to the latter's commitment to fellow Disney+ sequel Disenchantment.

- Standout music: The Sanderson Sisters The Witches Are Back and their version of One Way Or Another resulting in a flash mob scene during a Sanderson Sisters drag show. We also had a gay couple watching the movie. 

- Chronology: 1653 and 2022 as well as some clips from the 1993 movie.

Hocus Pocus 2 managed to do everything a sequel needed to do these days. It embraced the past, brought back the Sanderson Sisters, Book and Butcher and did something new with them while also ushering an exciting future that I will be shocked if Disney+ don't capitalise on. That post credit scene alone definitely made it clear that we haven't seen the last of Winifred and company.

Rating: 8 out of 10

DCEU Blog - Constantine Sequel A Go, Joker Sequel Adds To Cast And Black Adam Is Imminent

Well, it's been another fun, messy and chaotic time to be a DC fan. Here's a rundown of what's gone down over the last month.

In news that absolutely no one saw coming, Keanu Reeves will reprise his role in a yet to be dated sequel to the 2005 movie Constantine movie with Akiva Goldsmith penning the script, Francis Lawrence directing and JJ Abrams producing with Bad Robot.

As for the HBO Max series, both that and Madame Xanadu are being shopped around. I wouldn't hold your breath on either of them getting picked up tbh.

Blue Beetle has apparently had it's first test screening, though no major spoilers have leaked aside from a rumoured runtime of two hours and forty five minutes, though I imagine that will be shortened.

In news that also won't shock anyone but there's no DCFanDome this year though we might get some DC related content at next month's NYCC.

Henry Cavill is yet again getting heavily rumoured to be appearing in both Black Adam and The Flash. Take it with a serious grain of salt.

Leslie Grace has leaked a few clips of filming for Batgirl on her social media accounts. Unfortunately the film will not get a release due to the tax write off.

James Gunn has recently confirmed the second season of Peacemaker will start filming in the next few months.

Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener and Jacob Lofland have all signed on in undisclosed roles for Joker: Folie A Deux.

Shazam! Fury Of The Gods will feature director David F. Sandberg's wife Lotta Losten as a new character given that her previous one died in the first movie.

Jason Momoa has hinted at more than one version of Batman for Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom. Both Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck did film scenes for the movie.

Michael Bishop will replace Jordan Elsass as Jonathan Kent in the third season of Superman And Lois, which has begun filming. Chad L. Coleman has been cast as Bruno Mannheim.

Pennyworth: The Origins Of Batman's Butler premieres on HBO Max from October 6th. The fourth seasons of Titans and Doom Patrol will premiere in November and December respectively. Exact dates to be confirmed.

Brec Bassinger will appear as Stargirl in a crossover with Titans while Titus Welliver has been cast as Lex Luthor for the series.

Richard Harmon has been cast as the Owen Mercer version of Captain Boomerang for the upcoming ninth season of The Flash.

Well, this ends another month of DC content. Let's see what next month brings. 

My Review of House Of The Dragon's 1x06: "The Princess And The Queen"

Written by Sara Hess

Directed by Miguel Sapochnik

Alicent (to Larys): "In all of King's Landing, is there no one to take my side?"

The Green Queen laments about sides. Last episode talked about the colour green being a call to war for the Hightower House. Green is also the colour of envy and Alicent's envy towards Rhaenyra has gotten progressively worse as we tale a big time jump in this episode.

We're in the second half of the season now and after a fabulous job from both Milly Alcock and Emily Carey, it's now time to see what both Emma D'Arcy and Olivia Cooke can bring to the roles of Rhaenyra and Alicent. Going by this episode alone, not only are the characters in excellent hands yet again but shit has gone down in a massive way.

Alicent went from wanting to retain her friendship with Rhaenyra (something the latter reminded her of her during a council meeting) to actively trying to snatch away Rhaenyra's inheritance so that her eldest boy, Aegon (Ty Tennant) can have it instead. Except he hadn't quite gotten to the part of hating his oldest sister and nephews but by this episode's end, Alicent had dropped the same toxicity into him that Otto had done to her all those years ago.

I see a lot of people blinded by their like for Alicent as a character trying to downplay her actions against Rhaenyra but the reality is that Alicent is no longer a pawn in her father's machinations. She hasn't been for over a decade. Everything Alicent did in this episode was of her own doing. She knew exactly what she was saying during her conversations with Larys who has become as much an enabler to her as Qyburn was to Cersei.

Alicent maliciously started the episode with summoning both Rhaenyra and Laenor (John Macmillan) following their birth of their third son, Joffrey just so she could make a point to Viserys about the sons not being Laenor's in order to discredit Rhaenyra. Viserys made it clear he was aware of his grandchildren's true parentage but seemingly did not care. Of course that only made Alicent even more determined to be a royal bitch this week with Criston coming in second place.

Not content with murdering Laenor's former lover and getting away with it, Criston also took it upon himself to talk poorly of Rhaenyra and even tried to humiliate her older sons, Jacaerys (Leo Hart) and Lucerys (Harvey Sadler) before Ser Harwin gave Criston a much deserved beating. Unfortunately thanks to Larys being a right creep for Alicent, both Harwin and Lyonel didn't make it out of the episode alive. Damn you, Alicent.

As for Rhaenyra and Laenor, they knew their family was being compromised thanks to Alicent's relentless scheming and took themselves back to Dragonstone. Considering that Rhaenyra's plan to marry Jace off to Alicent's only daughter, Helaena (Evie Allen) backfired, both her and Laenor didn't have much choice but to leave the Red Keep. Sadly for them, Alicent will stop at nothing to get Aegon on the Iron Throne.

Taking this out of King's Landing and also with history repeating itself, Daemon found himself both married and a widower again. Yup, poor Laena (Nanna Blondell). Her time with Daemon resulted in getting Vhagar, having two daughters, Baela (Shani Smethurst) and Rhaena (Eva Ossei-Gerning) but like Aemma back in the opening episode, Laena was unable to give birth to her next child. However unlike Aemma, Laena at least got to decide her fate, something which even Daemon showed some admiration for.

- Both Emma D'Arcy and Olivia Cooke's names are now in the opening credits of the show. 

- Aside from Vhagar, we also met/heard of Sunfyre (Aegon's), Dreamfyre (Helaena's) and Vermax (Jacaerys's) while Aemond (Leo Ashton) had no dragons and was a the victim of a prank called The Pink Dread. Helaena also had an impressive bug collection.

- While Rhaenyra was getting pregnant by Ser Harwin, Laenor also found his own lover with Ser Qarl (Arty Froushan) while craving to do battle in the Stepstones again.

- Daemon and his family had ended up in Pentos for their part of the episode with Laena desperately wanting to go back to Driftmark.

- The war between the Blackwood and the Brackens were mentioned again as was House Tully too. 

- Chronology: It's been ten years since the events of the previous episode. 

The Princess And The Queen kicked off an interesting shift in dynamics as lines have definitely been drawn between Rhaenyra and Alicent. Both Emma D'Arcy and Olivia Cooke have gotten off to an excellent start with these older versions of the characters and it looks like things will only get worse between the pair as the rest of the season will unfold.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of House Of The Dragon's 1x05: "We Light The Way"

Written by Charmaine DeGrate

Directed by Clare Kilner

Viserys (re Rhaenyra/Laenor): "I hope to herald in a second age of Dragons."

What is with wedding, eh? Well, usually people tend to die in them as we saw with both the Red and Purple weddings in Game Of Thrones and that tradition was maintained here with the second wedding in the series but only the first we've seen so far. I still can't believe this show skipped showing us seeing Viserys and Alicent wed but they didn't make the same mistake here.

The nice thing about Rhaenyra and Laenor's union was the fact that both of them knew exactly what they were doing. Theirs was a political marriage, a bid to unify both Houses Targaryen and Velaryon and strengthen their numbers against any potential future threat. On top of that, the bride and groom had an understanding about their real desires and how to accomplish them while also performing their expected duties as newlyweds.

In essence, everything should've gone without a hitch but you had both Daemon and Alicent making sure their arrivals at the feast made a statement. Except it wasn't them who scuppered the royal feast but more two jealous lovers instead. If only Ser Joffrey had kept his mouth and if only Ser Criston didn't go so spectacularly batshit crazy and murdered him in front of everyone before contemplating suicide himself. That was until Alicent stepped in at the last minute to stop him.

Speaking of Alicent, I talked about her making a statement this episode and she did by wearing a green dress to the wedding feast. That in itself would seem rather innocent but she was making a point to both Viserys and Rhaenyra. Thanks to a bit of shit stirring from Otto (knew he wouldn't be so easy to get rid) as well as both Larys also doing his own stirring and Criston confessing to bedding Rhaenyra, Alicent had enough of both her husband and former friend/stepdaughter. Looks like Rhaenyra can add a few more enemies to her list following the events of this episode.

As for Criston, he foolishly believed that Rhaenyra would renounce her inheritance and take off with him for parts unknown? Surely, he couldn't have been that naive but seemingly he was. However while it looks like he's well and truly burnt his bridges with Rhaenyra and her in turn might have a new protector with Ser Harwin, it also seems like for now, Criston has Alicent in his corner.

As for the Velaryons themselves, Corlys still has his issues with Rhaenys never getting to be queen and seemed determined that his grandchildren would maintain the family name, to which Viserys mostly agreed to. Then there was the revealing conversation that both Corlys and Rhaenys had in regards to Laenor's sexuality. Something tells me that Corlys won't be too upset with Joffrey being out of the equation.

As for Daemon, he opened the episode with taking his first wife Lady Rhea Royce (Rachel Redford) out of the equation while also incurring the wrath of her cousin. Also between some flirting with Rhaenyra during her own wedding feast, he found the time to charm Laena (Savannah Steyn) and she was definitely charmed by Daemon. Looks like there's going to be another Targaryen/Velaryon wedding on the horizon. Yeah, the episode ended with Rhaenyra and Laenor tying the knot and Viserys falling to the ground.

- I should've mentioned it last week but Alicent also had her daughter, Helaena, which means there are two more babies on the horizon for her.

- Otto really drove home the fact that Viserys days are numbered and the latter does continue to get worse with each passing episode.

- Lyonel became Viserys's hand while Daemon looks set to inherit Runestone in spite of murdering his wife and not having any children with her. Their marriage was unconsumated.

- We met Rhaenys's dragon Meleys this week and saw Seasmoke again.

- This episode marked the final appearances of both Milly Alcock and Emily Carey as Rhaenyra and Alicent. The actors playing Laenor and Laeana will also be recast for the second half of the season.

- Chronology: Very little time has passed since the events of the previous episode but we're in for a major time jump next week.

We Light The Way in some regards could've felt like a season finale given that we're about to enter a time jump and get four prominent roles recast. Both Milly Alcock and Emily Carey have done a fantastic job in the first half of the season and it's going to be interesting to see how Emma D'Arcy and Olivia Cooke expand on the roles as things between Rhaenyra and Alicent are about to heat up big time.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Harley Quinn's 3x10: "The Horse And The Sparrow"

 

Written by Sarah Nevada Smith

Directed by Joonki Park

Harley (to Ivy): "Let's kill the Joker? I love that for us."

There have been plenty of times in the last eighty years in which various characters have had the perfect motives and opportunities to kill the Joker. On this show, it's for when he actually does something good that nearly ended up a dead man. Until he wasn't.

This show has probably done something more original with the character in years compared to everything and making him the Mayor has been a good twist. Ivy upon accepting an offer to run the Legion of Doom had the perfect chance to kill the Joker. Harley was even willing to go through with it. Except she wasn't and both Joker and Ivy knew it.

There was something refreshing with the Joker and Ivy actually having a conversation about Harley and the differences and similarities with her. In the end, Ivy realised that Harley had evolved into someone that wanted to help people and she supported. Harley also vowed to support Ivy's own Legion goals and Joker lived another day and got Bruce Wayne arrested for tax evasion. 

With Bruce Wayne heading to prison, the Batfamily were down a member. That left a spot available for Harley to temporarily assume while Batgirl lead the group. This will definitely make for a fun dynamic next season.

Elsewhere the premiere of A Hard Wayne's Gonna Fall wasn't just triggering for Bruce but Clayface himself had a hard time with everyone not knowing his hard work. When he tried to out himself as Billy Bob Thornton, no one listened to him and both King Shark and Frank's advice was largely ignored. Still that storyline has been resolved.

- Selina stole a pair of pearls, only to later give them back to Bruce after he was arrested.

- I caught that reference to a certain CGI mustache. Now I wonder what that could be about.

- Some guest appearances from Clock King, Bane, Swamp Thing and Nora Fries during the screening of the movie. Rita Farr played Martha Wayne. 

- Chronology: From where the last episode left off.

The Horse And The Sparrow wrapped up this season on a strong note. While this season hasn't been as strong as the first two, watching Harley and Ivy's evolution as a couple has been joy and I expect next season to likely be the last, I can't wait to see what will happen next.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of House Of The Dragon's 1x04: "King Of The Narrow Sea"

 

Written by Ira Parker

Directed by Clare Kilner

Daemon (to Viserys): "I want Rhaenyra, I'll take her as she is. Give me Rhaenyra to take to wife and we will return the House of the Dragon to it's proper glory."

It's weird. I think audiences when watching Game Of Thrones were horrified by the idea of Jaime and Cersei yet found themselves rooting for Daenerys and Jon and now the same has happened with Rhaenyra and Daemon. Although we absolutely shouldn't, but in fact we want those two to get together and yes, going by the book, it will happen eventually.

This episode however really did lay the ground work for their future union in style. Things opened with Rhaenyra at Storm's End, bored out of her mind and rejecting every suitor without so much as giving any of them a chance to argue why they'd make for a great future husband. This was also to the frustration of Viserys and even Alicent to a certain extent as Rhaenyra cut her tour short by two months and headed home, just in time for Daemon's return.

Rhaenyra could barely contain her happiness at seeing Daemon again and he in turn tried to offer her another perspective of having a political marriage. Then the episode went down the Aladdin route and both Daemon and Rhaenyra slipped into the poorer side of King's Landing where venturing into a local brothel became something of an eye opener for the latter.

There's a section in the Fire And Ice where Daemon taught Rhaenyra how to seduce a man and this episode clearly adapted that idea with the two of them being in a very compromised position. Rhaenyra and Daemon are clearly attracted to one another, almost had sex, only for Daemon to stop it and Rhaenyra to later have sex with Ser Criston, whom she's also been very attracted to and has insanely good chemistry with.

Of course, Otto being the scheming shit heel he's been all season so far had Rhaenyra followed and couldn't wait to tell Viserys about his daughter's trysts. Points for Viserys for openly calling Otto on his ambitious scheming and even more points for Rhaenyra into getting Viserys to do what we've all wanted done to Otto since the first episode and have the latter removed as Hand. 

Sadly though, I don't think Otto will go away quietly and will find other ways to be a thorn in Rhaenyra's side.  Not to mention Viserys clearly didn't believe Rhaenyra either, considering he had his maester bring her some moon tea to end the episode. That's something Rhaenyra might need in the future when she does marry Ser Laenor, which isn't a prospect that she's especially keen on.

As for Alicent, this episode saw some interesting facets to her. She seemed keen to reconnect with Rhaenyra then confronted her stepdaughter/former best friend about those rumours of Daemon. She also went from helping Viserys in his bath to being completely miserable when having sex with him. Not to mention she seemed to struggle with her own babies this week. Out of all the characters, Alicent definitely had the worst time of it this week.

- Rhaenyra was with Ser Criston and Lord Boremund Baratheon (Julian Lewis Jones) at Storm's End. We also got to see Samwell Blackwood cut down a Bracken to size. 

- Daemon named himself the King of the Narrow Sea but offered his crown to Viserys as a gesture of good will. Caraxes was the only dragon to appear in this episode. Daemon alluded to his wife being unable to have children. 

- Ser Harwin Strong, another one of Rhaenyra's admirers was amused by her masquerading as a boy in King's Landing. 

- For book fans, this episode gave a not remotely subtle hint about the nature of Rhaenyra's eventual fate. 

- Corlys planned to wed Laena to a rival from Braavos while Mysaria has moved up in the world since her last encounter with Daemon.

- Chronology: It's been a year since the previous one. Rhaenyra and Daemon haven't seen each other in four years.

King Of The Narrow Sea easily turned out to be the best episode of the season and while I shouldn't root for Rhaenyra and Daemon, it's kind of hard not to, isn't it? It's so easy to see why these two are drawn to one another when they're so similar and it was fantastic to see Otto get a temporary comeuppance even if I'm convinced he'll still be around to annoy.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Harley Quinn's 3x09: "Climax At Jazzapajizza"

 

Written by Tom Hyndman

Directed by Juan Meza-Leon

Poison Ivy: "Gotham City is going green."

Is it me or did it seem like the event that should've been the finale came an episode early? Ivy's whole mission this season has been to turn Gotham into her own Eden. She was successful but then her love for Harley somewhat derailed her life's goal and in spite of saving the woman she loves, Ivy wasn't happy with losing her paradise either. 

Thanks to Bruce using Frank to revive his parents and predictably getting it wrong, Ivy saw an opportunity to use the billionaire's botched idea for her own gain. Of course that involved puking plant zombies terraforming Gotham all during the middle of a jazz festival hosted by the Joker. Yes, the Joker along with the mayor of Gotham now goats jazz festivals.

This one in particular went through a name rebranding, hence the episode title. It served as the perfect platform for Ivy to address Gotham about her goal, only for Harley to try and talk her out of it and ended up nearly getting turned into a plant herself before Ivy reversed everything for Harley. Of course this will inevitably put a strain on their relationship.

Speaking of strains, Bruce really did have to do some growing up in this episode too. He was in denial about the state of his parents resurrection and it took a talking with Kong Shark to set him right. King Shark has been pretty underused this season but this was a great way to get the character to help with the main plotline.

As for Frank, Ivy's reversal of everything basically gave a reset while Nightwing and Batgirl did make a good team with Harley. I've actually liked the developing friendship with Harley and Batgirl this season and this episode saw them working well together. Nightwing could do with being a little less rigid though.

- Was it me or did that jazz guy looked a lot like Prince? Ivy was determined that he didn't get turned into a plant.

- Doctor Psycho made a point to tell Nightwing that he wasn't a part of Harley's gang anymore. Clayface assumed his portrayal of Thomas Wayne sent Bruce over the edge.

- Harley sacrificing herself for Bane also bought his grievance over the pasta maker to a conclusion. Oh and we briefly saw Swamp Thing here.

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off.

Climax At Jazzapajizza definitely had a finale feel to it but there's still one more episode to go. Can Ivy get over not achieving her dreams of Eden or will it just drive her and Harley apart? I wouldn't rule out the latter scenario just yet.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of American Horror Stories: "Lake"

 

Written by Manny Coto

Directed by Tessa Blake

Erin (to Jeffrey): "We keep trying to tell you. This is real."

Last season had a very simple trajectory with the opening two parter and finale all being tied into Murder House. This season started with a Coven link (a very well handled one), so it's surprising that this fine didn't either have a link to that or another season of the main show. In fact, it's amazing one episode alone even linked to the main show.

The episode opened with brother and sister duo, Jake (Bobby Hogan) and Finn (Olivia Rouyre) relaxing at Lake Prescott with their respective crushes before the two of them went for a swim. The swim then took a turn when Jake ended up drowning and Finn was unable to save him. This was even before the opening credits of the episode.

Months later, and we cut to Finn coming out of therapy and going home to her parents, Erin (Alicia Silverstone) and Jeffrey (Teddy Sears), neither of whom have handled Jake's particularly well and have drifted apart. While Jeffrey seems to move past his son's death, both Erin and Finn are haunted by and in Erin's case, that turned out to be more on the literal side of things.

After seeing Jake while awake, both Erin and Finn went back to the lake to retrieve his body and while they were successful in doing that, Erin also managed to uncover the bodies of three other men who chained to their death by a certain Reid Prescott. 

When the rather Mrs Boone started giving both Erin and Finn the info sump on the lake/dam's history, I knew thee was going to wind up being a connection to Jeffrey and this episode definitely didn't do anything shocking in that regard. If anything, it would've been more shocking if there hasn't been a connection at all.

Jeffrey being a Prescott and Jake's death being a long game for those vengeful spirits to lure him back to the lake and get revenge. Yup, totally telegraphed. I mean it's not a bad resolution to the episode but it was easy to guess how the whole thing was gonna play out and it really didn't that Jeffrey was written as a pretty one dimensional and unsympathetic character either. A bug bear with this season has been it's poor depiction of male characters and it's something the show needs to work on should it get a third season.

- This is the first time we've had Teddy Sears in the franchise in over a decade. He had a recurring role in Murder House. 

- The title sequence did a great job with the watery theme of this episode.

- Standout music: Doja Cat and Sza's Kiss Me More at the start of the episode.

- Chronology: A four month time jump took place after the opening credits.

Lake marked a decent but not spectacular ending for a season that while has improved a bit on it's first could definitely do better if it gets another season. Good performances from the main cast but a bit too predictable for it's own good.

Rating: 6 out of 10

My Review of House Of The Dragon's 1x03: "Second Of His Name"

 

Written by Gabe Fonseca And Ryan Condal

Directed by Greg Yaitanes

Rhaenyra: "I do not wish to get married."

Viserys: "Even I do not exist above tradition and duty, Rhaenyra."

Yup, time really keeps moving rather fast for this show. At the end of the previous episode, Daemon and Corlys had joined forces to take out the Crabfeeder (Daniel Scott-Smith) and Viserys royally pissed Rhaenyra by taking Alicent for his wife. Time might have passed but those two developments remain very relevant to the goings in here.

First of all, not only did Viserys get his male heir, Prince Aegon II but the boy has turned two and his name day culminated in a hunting session where many issues with his firstborn reared their ugly head as Alicent was also pregnant yet again with baby number two. If you read the book, you already know that. 

Paddy Considine has done a terrific job with Viserys so far this season and we're only three episodes in. On one hand, I genuinely believe that he loves Rhaenyra and have to praise him for not succumbing to the plethora of people telling him to make Aegon II his heir but on the other hand, he certainly has done a lot to widen the division between him and his first born.

This episode alone largely had Viserys pressuring Rhaenyra into getting married and providing him with grandchildren. His choice of suitor for Rhaenyra was the rather boorish Lord Jason Lannister (Jefferson Hall), who Rhaenyra straight up rejected. Her rejection turned out to be pretty justified considering that Jason would later put his foot in it with Viserys and the latter gave his daughter the sound advice of choosing her own suitor.

But who will that suitor be? Well, we can rule out Jason Lannister for starters. If he wasn't lowborn, then Ser Criston would be perfect for Rhaenyra. This episode alone saw the two of them connect more with each other while hunting for a White Hart. They ended up not killing the majestic creature but a warthog that attacked the pair didn't fare as lucky. The only other option of for Rhaenyra would be Corlys's son, Laenor (Theo Nate) as suggested by Lyonel Strong (Gavin Spokes) who would be a better hand for Viserys than Otto has been.

Speaking of which, if last episode gave a bit of focus to Laena, this episode pivoted things around Corly's son, Laenor who proved to be very handy to have in battle. Especially when he also had his own dragon, Seasmoke ready to take out most of the Crabfeeeder's men. Laenor would undoubtedly make for a good husband for Rhaenyra. Except for one thing, which will likely materialise the next time we see him on the show.

As for Daemon, he started the episode with Caraxes laying waste to some of the Triarchy's men and ended the episode with tearing the Crabfeeder (surprisingly off screen) in half. He also wasn't best pleased with Viserys's show of support but without it, he might not have had the full advantage he did during the last few minutes here. I'm a little surprised the Crabfeeder story came to an end with this episode but given the pace with this show, I shouldn't be.

- Not only is Jefferson Hall playing Lord Jason Lannister, but he's also playing the latter's twin, Ser Tyland Lannister who warned Viserys to take action over the Stepstones situation.

- Viserys has lost two of his fingers and seems to be balding. He was also rightfully disgusted with Otto's suggestion of Rhaenyra and Aegon II marrying.

- We met Otto's brother, Hobert (Steffan Rhodri), Larys Strong (Matthew Needham), Ser Vaemond Velaryon (Wil Johnson) and Ser Joffrey Lonmouth (Solly McLeod). The latter's relationship with Laenor to say the least.

- Alicent to her credit for now has tried to make amends with Rhaenyra and even disagreed with Otto's stance on getting Aegon II to replace his sister as heir. She even made the suggestion to Viserys to help out Daemon and Corlys.

- I'm curious as to why Lyonel didn't suggest his other son, Ser Harwan (Ryan Corr) for Rhaenyra. He does seem to be pushing for a Velaryon marriage these past two episodes.

- Chronology: Three years since the events of the previous episode.

Second Of His Name really did deliver with the family drama between Rhaenyra and Viserys while the battle at the Stepstones had it's own spectacle to boast. This show has quickly found it's footing in these three episodes and continues to be appointment television. 

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Harley Quinn's 3x08: "Batman Begins Forever"

 

Written by Jamieson Borak

Directed by Vinton Heuck

Harley: "Holy shit, you're -"

Bruce: "I'm Batman."

Crime Alley, huh? It's been likely less than five minutes since we've had some depiction of it in something and here, we've got Harley rooting around in Bruce's memories courtesy of a returning Doctor Psycho. I mean, this is the third time Psycho has helped into someone's mind. You'd think lessons would've been learned by now but seemingly not.'

To find Frank, entering the uncooperative Bruce's mind was the only thing to do. Of course for Harley and company, it meant reliving that scene in Crime Alley over and over again. Until Everyone else got kicked out of Bruce's head and Harley had to remain to help the troubled guy out.

I mean this was a brilliant way for not only some delightful nods to things such as Batman 66, Batman: The Animated Series as well as certain live action movies but also it was a great way for Harley to find out that Bruce and Batman are the same person while the pair of them tried to escape from Joe Chill. Of course you can never really escape the past.

Bruce's own guilt being the real chasing them was pretty obvious but effective. For all her goofing around, Harley did seem committed to helping Bruce as vest as she could and it did seem like she was getting a little through to him. As for Bruce's reasons for stealing Frank in the first place, that certainly took an interesting turn as well to boot.

Bruce thinking he can take Ivy's general plans for Frank by resurrecting his parents does feel like something Bruce would normally be against. I'm surprised even in this continuity that Alfred, Robin, Batgirl and Nightwing are going along with it and by the looks of it, it does appear that Bruce might have made a massive mistake with this plan.

- The opening credits were styled like Frasier as Doctor Psycho had become a radio therapist/podcaster. Killer Croc is a bigger hit though.

- King Shark sat out most of this episode and retreated to his kingdom while Clayface tried to get some information out of Thomas Wayne in Bruce's memories.

- Congrats to the show on scoring a fourth season. Nice to know these next two episodes won't be the last.

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off.

Batman Begins Forever was a fun way to cover some very familiar ground and like mind trips episodes we've had in the past, this one was another massive hit. Easily the best episode we've had this season and I'm hoping the last two will deliver.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of American Horror Stories: "Necro"

 

Written by Crystal Liu

Directed by Logan Kibens

Samantha: "Sometimes it's fun to go off script."

Well, this was a thing. A very twisted thing. Maybe one of the most twisted episodes in this franchise's history. Also maybe one of the strongest episodes in this spin-off's run. Horrified as I was by the concept of the episode, it was also one of the most gripping stories we've had.

Personal favourites this season of mine have included both Dollhouse and Bloody Mary but this episode will stick with me for a long while. It had all the trappings of a complete disaster area but managed to avoid all of them as well with some truly compelling central performances from two lead actors in the most fucked up love story we've had on this show.

On the outside, Samantha (Madison Iseman) seemed like a normal girl. She had a job she liked and a hunky boyfriend named Jesse (Spencer Neville) whom she intended to marry and some decent friends. So far nothing out of the ordinary there. Except for her extreme fascination with death, working as a mortician and a bloke named Charlie (Cameron Cowperthwaite). Then her world came tumbling down due to the worst kind of comprising video to stream on her wedding day that made her into a social pariah.

With an episode called Necro, there was an inevitability here. Samantha genuinely believed her new friend Charlie had died and in her madness, she had sex with his corpse. Only for Charlie not to be dead, Samantha to be horrified by her action and Charlie to out what she thought she did to him to a packed church.

Were Charlie's motives based on revenge? Apparently not. He was more interested in getting Samantha to embrace her weird self because he loved that she was similar to him. Like Charlie, the episode revealed that Samantha had her own brush with death at a young age with a parent. In the end, Charlie got what ye wanted and the ending of this episode took a hell of a turn.

Samantha shooting Charlie into a grave and then having sex with him as the two of them were about to be buried alive was the very twisted thing I mentioned earlier. What a way to end this one. Just when this franchise cannot get any stranger, they went and did this one for good measure.

- Cameron Cowperthwaite previously appeared in Cult while Spencer Neville appeared in 1984. Madison Iseman definitely deserves a role in the main series. 

- Originally this was meant to be the second episode of the season before pushed to seventh. 

- Standout music: #1 Crush by Garbage. Samantha was a fan of the group.

- Chronology: 1998 Maine for flashbacks of Samantha's childhood with the main action of the episode in 2022 California.

Necro was certainly a very twisted episode, offering a unique spin on the trope here. Fantastic perfomances from both Madison Iseman and Cameron Cowperthwaite and easily one of the strongest episodes we've had this season. Here's hoping the finale can bring this to a satisfying close.

Rating: 8 out of 10