My Review of How To Get Away With Murder's 4x13: "Lahey V. Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania" (& Scandal's 7x12: "Allow Me To Reintroduce Myself")

Written by Morenike Balogun & Sarah L. Thompson
Directed by Zetna Fuentes

Olivia: "If you lose this case, it will set criminal justice reform back decades."
Annalise: "You don't think I don't know that?"
Olivia: "Then think about accepting some help. That's all I'm suggesting."

Okay, on a scale of things that were always inevitable at ABC, a crossover special with Olivia Pope and Annalise Keating happening was always going to happen. I think the fact that it took until Scandal's final season and How To Get Away With Murder being truly established perhaps was the best time to do this.

With the former show, I haven't been watching as avidly as I had done in previous seasons but I made an effort to watch both episodes and it seems that Mellie Grant is President and both her and Olivia had a rather public falling out that saw the latter resigned from being the President's fixer while Olivia's former Gladiators (Quinn mainly) seem a little too hell bent on sabotaging her, only for them to have a bit of a change of heart towards the end of the first half of this story.

The nuts and bolts of the first half involves both Annalise and Michaela coming to Washington DC in order to get Olivia on board to help overturn the Supreme Court with the face cases surrounding Nate's father. It would've been a little predictable for Annalise and Olivia to clash and that's exactly what happened throughout the crossover in various parts.

To be honest, I liked that there was some tension with the two of them. Aside from it being a great way for each of them to deconstruct the other before realising they actually work pretty well together. To say both Viola Davis and Kerry Washington play off each other brilliantly would be underselling but damn it, they do and every Annalise and Olivia scene is marvelous to watch over and over again.

As for the face cases itself, there were a few predictable bumps along the way, which was good for putting both Michaela and Marcus to use and we had both Olivia helping an initially crumbling Annalise along with the latter delivering an impassioned speech that certainly helped to postpone things for a bit. While the face cases was the thing to engineer this crossover, there were plenty of other things to keep things ticking along rather nicely.

For Olivia, there was an element of using her team up with Annalise to curry herself some favour and rebuild herself which several characters seemed more than happy to point out while Annalise also had to deal with her ailing mother appearing on the scene, news about Isaac taking an overdose and the episode ending with Simon waking up, which was definitely not the news that Annalise was expecting to hear at the last minute.

- Liza Weil was previously Amanda on Scandal, so it's a bit disappointing that Bonnie didn't get to interact with Olivia.
- Michaela and Marcus had sex with each other and Connor/Laurel/Oliver realised it quickly. I'm also glad that Frank told Laurel about her mother's connection to Wes though.
- Pretty clever of ABC to get an actual re-enactment of the TGIT promo with Olivia and Annalise actually having some wine and popcorn in one scene.
- Chronology: Not long since Ask Him About Stella.

Crossover wise, both Allow Me To Reintroduce Myself and Lahey V. Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania did an excellent job of having both Olivia Pope and Annalise Keating's worlds come together in a rather solid way. I don't know if we need a repeat of this next season but I certainly wouldn't object to one either way though.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of How To Get Away With Murder's 4x12: "Ask Him About Stella"

Written by Tess Leibowitz
Directed by Stephen Cragg

Isaac: "You need help!"
Annalise: "Not from you!"

Okay, I really want to talk about the final scene of this episode first and normally I would but sticking with the title for this one, let's discuss the Isaac segment instead as it turns out his addictive personality has resurfaced or maybe it never went away in the first place.

The episode started with him getting a fix and then confessing to Annalise that he's been high again, so the two of them go and get something to eat as Annalise spends a good portion of this episode trying to actually help Isaac but you could already tell that her efforts were going to be in vain, even with Bonnie putting her head in a noose with Denver in order to prevent Isaac being arrested for his daughter's death.

Flashbacks did show Isaac's role in Stella's death and while he didn't directly kill her, his addiction is what led to his child being able to take her own life though. Seeing Isaac unravel as his lies became exposed was an interesting change of pace from the Laurel heavy scenes we've had but I genuinely did think he was going to attack Annalise before she managed to get away from him.

I'm not sure if this is the last we'll see of Isaac given that Annalise did drop another bomb on him by phoning his ex-wife to ask about Stella and I suspect it's probably not either. Of course, Isaac wasn't the only set back Annalise had to deal with this week.

Her Face Case with Nate's father also kept taking bad turns, even to the point where Nate Sr was losing even more faith in his son and the justice but this plot did result in some of the best scenes of the episode. On one hand we had the Keating 5 being their competitive best to try and write the best statements for Annalise and when things truly went south, Michaela was the one to put Annalise into contact with someone who could fix(er) their problems.

For the last few weeks, ABC have been shamelessly hyping up the crossover event this show will have with Scandal and for a few seconds we got to see Annalise attend a lecture of Olivia Pope's. However we're all going to have to wait another three weeks before we get to see both Viola Davis and Kerry Washington go toe to toe with each other, but it was hard not to feel excited during that final moment.

- Laurel got to see her baby this week, which she named Christopher while Frank confronted Sandrine over her connection to Wes.
- Connor is going back to law school and the wedding is back on with Oliver, though I'm starting to doubt it'll actually go ahead.
- I have to admit that Asher was pretty funny as the cook for most of this episode.
- Chronology: From where He's A Bad Father more or less left off.

Ask Him About Stella didn't really advance too much with Jorge's ongoing schemes and I have a feeling that even the crossover might not advance Sandrine's connection to Wes as much but episode wise, there were plenty of good moments to go over.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Walk Of Atonement

Summer television is a little slow but with some shows ending, others have started up to fill the void though.

Game Of Thrones: I think it's safe to say that while the fifth season has not been the show's best season, it has definitely been as discussion worthy and controversial as the previous four have been though. Cersei's downfall was something that had been coming for a long time and it only made sense that her attempts of getting rid of Margaery would also backfire on her. The much talked about walk of shame scene was dealt with pretty well and it'll be interesting to see how she'll come back from that next season. Also interesting will be to see if Jon will be a part of the next season considering what happened to him here along with the various cliffhangers surrounding Daenerys, Sansa/Theon, Arya. This might not have been the show's strongest but it was still an interesting ten weeks nonetheless.

Humans: The remake of the popular Swedish sci-fi drama has finally aired on Channel 4 (soon for AMC viewers) and things got off to an interesting start with the Synths proving to be both helpful and potentially dangerous in equal measures. Most of the first episode focused on the eerie Anita and Laura being openly suspicious of her while we also saw a rather touching father/son relationship between widower George and his broken Synth Odi - something I hope we get more in later episodes as well. The subplot with Leo and his Synth Max was a nice way of setting up the wider storyline too. All in all, let's hope this show doesn't end up having the same fate that Utopia did not so long ago.

Orange Is The New Black: It's been an interesting week (or so) for Netflix what with both Sense8 and the return of this show and both have been great to catch up with. Granted, I've only seen the first two episodes of both shows current seasons and keeping with Litchfield, things are as crazy as ever. I loved the opening episode focusing on various Mother's Day flashbacks (even Healey was awarded one) and the focus on Bennett in the second episode when Alex wasn't learning of Piper's role in her current predicament was also good. Along with the unlikely friendship with Big Boo and Doggett, this is a great start to the third season.

Scandal: SkyLiving caught up in relative time to air the final episode of this show's current season and in some ways, it felt like a bit of a clearing of the decks. B613 seems to be effectively done with now that Rowan's in jail as Eli (very clever that), Jake stepped aside so that Olivia and Fitz could get closer and both Mellie and Cyrus got booted out the White House as well for good measure. Now whether or not all of these things stick when the show returns in September, I don't know but it would be nice to see some of them stick so the show can properly move forward though.

- Sean Maguire and Rebecca Mader have been upgraded to regulars for Once Upon A Time's fifth season. Casting calls are also being made for Merlin, Arthur and Guinevere too.
- Supergirl will now air on October 26th. The Pilot will also air at Comic Con next month as well.
- Rumours are circulating that The X Files will be doing a sequel to a popular story when it comes back in January.
- Barry will get a new love interest for Season 2 of The Flash.
- Andrew Gower will be one of many several new actors viewers can expect to see in the second season of Outlander.
- Empire will have a recurring female rapper to be mentored by Jamal.
- Fame is getting a reboot on Lifetime.
- Cristine Rose will be reprising her role as Angela Petrelli in Heroes: Reborn.
- Homer and Marge will split up and Sideshow Bob will get to kill Bart in The Simpsons.
- Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman are considering a reboot of Queer As Folk US.

Taking Over From The Demon

A look at some of the shows I've caught up on, mostly finales too.

Arrow: Finally, this whole Ras Al Ghul storyline has been put to bed and about bloody time too. I said in a previous blog that I felt the story didn't really work for this show's verse (bar the wonderful Nyssa) but for now, I'm cool with the way it ended and the outcome it had for both Oliver and Malcolm as a result. The finale itself was probably the weakest we've had from the series so far but it was still a solid way of ending a solid if not entirely amazing third season though.

Game Of Thrones: Oh dear. You'd think after that ill-advised scene with Cersei and Jaime from last season, the writers wouldn't have gone there with Sansa and Ramsay on their wedding night, but unfortunately they did and a bit of an internet shit storm ensued as a result. Don't get me wrong - I hated that scene as much as the next person and felt it wasn't needed for the plot but at the same time, the online reaction over it was a bit much though. Other than that, there has been a slow progression with Arya's Braavos storyline, Cersei seems to be digging her own doom but not before taking the Tyrells down with her and the Jaime/Bronn and Tyrion/Jorah scenes have been fun to watch as well.

Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD: Season 2 has been a solid, fun romp and an overall improvement on the show's predominantly shaking first year and this finale was definitely a good note to end things on. The writers stuck to their guns and made sure there was no way that Ward would ever be a good guy again, it raised the stakes by putting several characters in danger (where the hell has Simmons gone to) and it put to bed some other plots, such as Skye's screwed up family and Raina of course. All in all, count me in for next season.

Once Upon A Time: A finale where most of the characters take on different roles courtesy of a narcissistic Author? Why the hell not? For the most part, it was a blast to see an Evil Snow, bandit Regina, mad Emma and Heroic Rumple at play and I did like that it was Henry who mainly saved things (along with Emma) while the show beautifully set up things for the fifth season with a certain someone becoming the new Dark One and the promise of Camelot too.

Scandal: Am I a really awful person for hoping that this show would be ballsy enough to actually kill off Jake? Even though I knew deep down that he wasn't going to die (despite it being very touch and go), the idea cutting the tedious with him, Olivia and Fitz was so appealing. Other than that, I do like that Olivia quickly worked out that Russell was working for her father (shame, he was fit) and at least the show isn't making Mellie's bid for Senator an easy ride either.

The Flash: That finale was just brilliant but the last two episodes in general were just amazing. The show has had an incredible first season and it ended on a wonderful note with the promise of a more expanded universe for it's second run. I really hope that given the breakneck speed in which the way the show operate that it doesn't burn out during it's sophomore season. Oh and getting a peak at Caitlin's future along with various character sacrifices was pretty nifty too.

- The pilot for Supergirl has leaked online. This happened last year with The Flash.
- Speaking of The Flash, the show will introduce other speedsters in it's second season while Arrow's fourth year will go for a lighter tone.
- Matthew Goode won't be returning for the seventh season of The Good Wife.
- Empire's second season will be 18 episodes. Guests confirmed for now include Alicia Keys, Lenny Kravitz and Chris Rock.
- Morena Baccarin has been confirmed as a regular for the second season of Gotham.
- Selma Blair, Paul Kim and Bruce Greenwood have joined the cast of American Crime Story.
- Danny Pino has left Law & Order: SVU.
- Dougray Scott has exited upcoming ABC drama, Quantico.
- The Following has been axed after three seasons.
- Harry Shum has been cast as Magnus Bane for the upcoming Shadowhunters series.

Shotgun Wedding

A look at some of the shows I've been watching just of late ....

Arrow: The last few episodes have meandered a little and I have to admit, after initially finding Ras fascinating, I've actually gotten bored with the character and his desperation to make Oliver his heir. Maybe it's the Batman fan in me but either way, this plot isn't best working and having Nyssa being forced into marrying Oliver left a nasty taste too. On the other hand, I have enjoyed Thea and Roy's reunion and I liked that both Felicity and Ray broke up while remaining friends too. Ray has grown over the course of the season for me, character wise and more of Tatsu would be nice too. Hopefully the finale finishes off this 'heir to the demon' storyline for good though.

Game Of Thrones: I admitted to not really enjoying the opening episode as much as I did previous ones but the following episodes have been brilliant. While Ellaria's quest for vengeance is tedious, I do find the Sand Snakes interesting and I'm enjoying Jamie and Bronn's scenes together along with Tyrion and Jorah's ones too. Of course, it does seem like bad decisions are being made with Dany sticking around in Meereen and Cersei allying herself with the High Sparrow as well but at least Arya is getting results in Braavos and hopefully the change with the Sansa/Ramsay storyline will result in a painful demise for the latter. One can hope, right?

Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD: Still enjoying this season and the last few episodes have been great. May's backstory episode had it's moments and the show's attempts of having the original players work with Ward in order to rescue Lincoln and Mike also was a nice way of showing just how much things have genuinely changed with the show. The Inhumans plot is a lot better than the Real SHIELD stuff though, even if the show has found a better way of meshing the two together.

Once Upon A Time: I'll admit it - the Queens of Darkness was good on paper but didn't translate so well onscreen. Ursula had been taken out of the equation too quickly, Maleficent was mainly focused on reconnecting with Lily (which admittedly had some good moments) and while Cruella was the only one with true nastiness (and the most original backstory) was taken out too quickly. Not to mention that the pregnancy plot with Zelena seems like another obstacle we could've done without. At least with the Author getting a tad power crazy, it should lead to a suitably bonkers finale though.

Scandal: And the award for most distracting wig on telly - goes to Lena Dunham in an episode where she played a character that acting wise, didn't really stretch her but at the same time wasn't as frustrating as Hannah Horvath either. The last few episodes on SkyLiving have been fine but a little coasting. I did like Cyrus and Michael getting married but I am hopeful we'll never have to see Mellie's sister ever again. As for the B613 stuff, it does look like this season might finally wrap up that strand once and for all.

The Flash: Right now, this has rapidly become one of my favourite shows and the last few episodes have been joyfully mad to watch. An episode with a mind controlling Gorilla (hello, Grodd) shouldn't have worked but it bloody well did and having Iris finally be in the know of everything just as the show heads towards it's final two episodes is another good step in the right direction. Along with everyone being privy to Wells/Eobard too. I don't know what the last two episodes are going to do but I'm definitely excited to find out.

- Constantine is among several shows from NBC to get the axe. Others include About A Boy, State Of Affairs and Marry Me.
- ABC have passed on the Bobbi/Lance spin-off but have renewed both Agents Of SHIELD and Agent Carter for further seasons.
- Orphan Black has also been renewed for a fourth season. Brilliant news.
- Gotham's second season will return Jerome and introduce both Mad Hatter and Clayface.
- The Frankenstein Code has been ordered to series by FOX.
- CBS are rumoured to be planning to wrap up CSI with a television movie as the show's future is in the air.
- Following a certain departure, ratings have dipped for Grey's Anatomy but the show will be back for a 12th season.
- Rosario Dawson will be in the second season of Daredevil.
- CBS have officially picked up Supergirl for a series.
- Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell will air on BBCAmerica from June for US viewers.

Ding Dong, The Witch Ain't Dead

A look at some of the shows I've seen recently.

Arrow: So, I'm keeping this at Sky1 pace and I've seen the latest episode and well, that departure I a) saw coming a mile off and b) still hated but not as much as I thought I would. Maybe instead of overly obsessing with the Ray/Felicity/Oliver triangle, characters like Diggle and Roy could've been more focused on this season. On the plus side, at least Laurel has continued to improve along with Thea and Ras not taking half measures to get his own way has helped to up the ante in Starling City but I'm still gonna miss Roy though. Not cool, show.

Game Of Thrones: It's been a hell of a week for this show's  return. Like Doctor Who last year, it had the misfortune of several episodes leaking online (haven't seen them) but even that didn't stop the opening episode getting 8 million viewers on HBO and 1.5 million on SkyAtlantic alike. The opening episode wasn't the show's best one but it certainly set up so many things - Dany's eventual fleeing for Meereen, a possibly deserved downfall for Cersei, Tyrion and Varys backing another ruler as well as new developments for characters like Sansa and Littlefinger. We've had stronger opening episodes but this one still managed to be an engrossing hour nonetheless though.

Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD: A good run of episodes. I haven't seen the big May episode yet (that's for tomorrow on RTE2) but I've heard good things about it. While the Real SHIELD thing is a little bogging down, I did like that it seems like both Fitz and Simmons finally got on the same page with each other and Skye ending up in that Inhumans sanctuary and not knowing that her would be mentor is her mother has potential, plot wise.

Once Upon A Time: I have to admit, although I'm enjoying the second half of the fourth season, I'm beginning to think this whole Queens of Darkness plot would've been better had Rumple not been responsible for it's inception in the first place. Despite some horrific plot gaps in logic (after the needless shafting of Marian), I think it would've been better had it been Zelena that reunited the trio and actually have them against Rumple/go after the Author (who we finally met)/try to channel Emma's potential darkness etc. Other than that, a solid bunch of episodes even if Zelena's long con with Robin makes little scene under even the least amount of scrutiny.

Scandal: With the kidnapping Olivia saga now behind the show (boy, did that four episode arc not go down well with certain viewers), I think The Lawn Chair should go down as one of the most poignant if somewhat on the nose episodes the show has ever attempted. It's airing (both in the US and UK) was sadly timely but it didn't detract from being an incredibly strong episode while the following episode gave us some much needed forwarding for Huck as well. Now I'm oddly intriguing by the upcoming episode with Lena Dunham next week on SkyLiving.

The Flash: Sticking with Sky1 pace here, can I just say I absolutely loved the Tricksters episode? I haven't seen the 1990s series where Mark Hamill originally played the role but watching both him and modern version, played by Devon Graye was an absolute blast as the two of them played off each other extremely well. Not to mention the use of an infamous movie quote as well. Seriously, I think this was the most bonkers episode the show has done and also my favourite as well, especially as the shocks about Harrison and Reverse Flash kept a coming and one of the least likeliest characters became privy to Barry's identity. I've said it before but right now this is still slightly surpassing the parent show at the moment.

- Daredevil has become the second most downloaded show this year since it's release on Netflix last Friday. I think I can guess the first one.
- UK viewers can watch the first season of Empire, Tuesdays at 9pm on E4 from April 28th.
- HBO have picked up Sharon Horgan's comedy Divorce, starring Sarah Jessica Parker to a full series.
- Revenge's final episode for Season 4 (or possibly ever) will be titled Two Graves. expect characters such as Mason Treadwell and Charlotte Grayson to appear in the last few episodes.
- True Detective's second season will air on SkyAtlantic from June 22nd, the day after it premieres on HBO.
- A second season for Constantine is "a long shot". I still think "unlikely" is closer to the mark.
- The BBC have renewed Poldark for a second series.
- Once Upon A Time has been renewed for a fifth season.
- The cast of Girls will be appearing in The Simpsons.
- Orange Is The New Black has been picked up for a fourth season.

Atom Men & Golden Guns

A look into some of the more recent shows I've been watching ...

Arrow: A decent slew of episodes but also ones with over familiar arguments as well - like Felicity's constant disapproval about the League of Shadows, Laurel struggling to get her father's forgiveness, Thea being unable to forgive herself when she isn't furious with Malcolm, Roy doing very little other than being supportive and Oliver having have a face like a slapped backside anytime someone else dons a costume. Ray's transformation into the Atom could've been done a little better but his enthusiasm is a nice counterpoint to Oliver's gloominess and he was a highlight in a less than riveting Suicide Squad episode too.

Girls: Not a bad finale actually. Granted the problem with this show is that the recurring/supporting characters aren't strong enough to give a shit about though so the focus on Adam's weird sister and Hannah's just as weird neighbour becoming parents wasn't too interesting. More interesting was the six month flash forward and the sudden changes for Hannah, Marnie, Shoshanna and Jessa, which could be a good sign for next season as well.

Looking: An okay-ish finale. I think the heavy emphasis on both Kevin and Patrick's relationship hitting the skids wasn't the best of ideas to be honest. The problem with this season (in a way) is that their relationship has become slightly less interesting than last season and one I'm hoping one that either the movies does away with altogether or gets back on track. The brighter spots were the Agustin/Eddie and Dom/Doris scenes but they were too few though.

Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD: This season is still ticking over nicely and while the Skye/Inhumans and Real SHIELD plots with Bobbi and Mack are more central now, I did like the diversion of Ward trying to help Agent 33 get her face back while at the same time getting to briefly meet May's ex-husband. That being said though, the divide between Fitz and Simmons is a little sad and I do think Coulson needs to be a bit more objective as well over the Skye storyline. Other than that, the show is still moving along nicely.

Once Upon A Time: I am really enjoying where the last few episodes have been going, While Ursula's storyline was wrapped up a little too quickly, the Queens of Darkness are still oodles of fun to watch and it's been nice to have August back properly into the fold as well. I also like that we know who Maleficent's daughter as well as the Author and the fact that Emma is aware of what her parents have done should provide the working for darkness to creep into her. Oh and does anyone else think Henry has a certain future as well, given what we learned about the Author?

Scandal: Finally, this storyline is done with. I think four episodes of Olivia being kidnapped and potentially sold off was more than enough and having both Abby and a briefly returned Stephen be the ones to save her was a lot more satisfying than either Fitz or Jake doing it. I also really liked that Andrew suffered some consequences for this whole stunt (proving Huck doesn't have to dismember or kill to be dark). The final scene with Olivia and Fitz though in episode 13 was definitely one of the best written and acted moments this season as well.

The Flash: I've really been enjoying this show a lot more than it's parent and the last two episodes (have to catch up with episode 17) have been some of the best ones yet. The whole Reverse flash mystery with Harrison has gotten more and more unpredictable and the return of both Cold and Heatwave (with the former's sister in tow) worked pretty well as did the increased screen time for Cisco and the building development for both Barry and Iris as well. Overall, this show keeps hitting new heights of brilliance.

- Owain Yeoman has been cast as Vartox in the upcoming Supergirl series.
- ABC are considering reviving The Muppets Show.
- NBC are reviving Coach, starring Craig T. Nelson.
- House Of Cards has been renewed for a fourth season.
- Irish viewers can see the second half of Outlander's first season from Tuesday at 11.20pm on RTE2.
- George RR Martin is helping to developing a show named  about a sci-fi writer in 1949 called Captain Cosmos for HBO. Martin has also confirmed he won't be penning an episode for the sixth season of Game Of Thrones.
- New Girl has been renewed for a fifth season.
- Fear The Walking Dead is the name of the spin off for The Walking Dead.
- The final seven episodes of Atlantis's second and last series will air Saturdays at 7.45pm on BBC1 from April 11th.
- Mitch Pileggi and William B. Davis are returning to The X Files.

Swinging From The Chandelier

You don't have to be a genius to work out that title, right?

Arrow: I've noticed a lot of criticism for this season and I have to admit that aside from Roy having bugger all to do and Laurel's Canary being arguably a little too quickly done, I've still enjoyed it a lot. Especially the last two episodes with Thea finally in the know about everything (nearly) and Laurel FINALLY telling Quentin about Sara's death. I'll admit there have been some moment where I've found both Oliver and Felicity a tad annoying and the less Vinnie Jones on this show, the better but other than that, it's still be good though.

Girls: Hannah as a teacher is not the daftest plot this show has ever done (see I can compliment the show) but one who encourages her students to get their tongues pierced just proves that she's not someone who should be taken seriously. Keeping with this show's uneven tone, Marnie accepted a proposal from Desi (who is an even duller character than Ray), Hannah's father was revealed as gay (did I miss something there?), Shoshanna's dating some bloke whose name I haven't bothered to remember and Jessa is still just there for some reason.

Glee: Sue's downfall having no actual consequences just proves that Ryan Murphy likes having his baddies unpunished for the most but her and Will's continuous feud is just tedious and has been for a long time. On the plus side - I absolutely loved the return of Jesse (the more Jonathan Groff on TV, the absolute better) and the Sectionals stuff was brilliant. Any episode that gives me songs like We Built This City, Hey Mickey, Take Me To Church and of course, Chandelier is going to be a winner for me. Expect a recap blog for the last two episodes in the next week.

Looking: If Girls can bag a fifth season, then Looking absolutely deserves a third one. It might not be event television in any way shape or form but the writing for this current season has been such a step up. The Halloween episode was hilarious, the episode focusing on Doris attending her father's funeral a season highlight and the Gamer episode also rather fun too. While I'm not as enamoured with Patrick and Kevin as I was in the first season, their scenes are still solid but for me, it's been all about Agustin and Eddie. I hate the whole shipper craze but I'm rooting for those two right about now. As for Dom, he might need a little more to do than open up a restaurant in the final episodes.

Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD: With Agent Carter filling up a void and both Daredevil and AKA Jessica Jones on the way, this show is powering full steam ahead with the Inhumans storyline with Skye and the division it's clearly going to have among the team members as well. This show has improved so much since it's shaky debut and the first two episodes it's aired this year have continued that as well, even if I'm slightly worried about Bobbi and Mac possibly scheming behind Coulson's back though.

Once Upon A Time: Another returning show (good news, UK fans - Netflix UK have all of Seasons 3 and 4 for you to watch now), the Queens of Darkness are a delightful force to be reckoned with and now with Maleficent being revived, I'm hoping for some serious chaos in the next few episodes and for the three of them to screw over Rumple as well (before he does with them). Other than that, I'm liking the Charmings having a dark secret, Regina and Henry continuing their quest for the Author, Belle getting on with things and the potential for Emma to become dark is interesting as well.

Scandal: Finally, SkyLiving are on to those episodes. I've read with interest about the whole Save Olivia Pope storyline and catching up with Run, even I think it's one of the best things that Shonda Rhimes has ever written for her television shows. I'd rather see Olivia save herself than have either Jake or Fitz rescue her but at the same time, it's likely both of them will have a hand in getting her out of her current predicament. This season has been seriously gripping and the next few episodes certainly look like they could be some of the show's best going.

The Flash: I still prefer it to the parent show and it's still one of four of my favourite new US shows in the last six months (you can guess the other three) and the last two episodes have done wonders in advancing the Firestorm plot (nice to see both Ronnie and Martin Stein), given Barry a love interest, Iris an actual journalism job while Joe and Cisco investigated Harrison, Caitlin was her general wonderful self and we had a teleporting villain as well as a brief glimpse of Grood as well. It's certainly been a busy bunch of episodes.

Two Weddings

A roundup of some of the shows I've seen over the last few weeks.

Arrow: I'm on Sky1 pace and the second half of the third season has started well enough. It's nice that we've Oliver actually survive his confrontation with Ras but the sooner his team become privy to that fact, maybe the better. Other than that, the flashbacks have been fairly okay (just realised that Tatsu is actually Katana) and I'm actually enjoying Laurel's slow but gradual evolution as the Canary as well. However the less of Vinnie Jones on my screen the better - as Brick, he's just dreadful. Ray's journey to becoming a hero is also developing nicely enough too.

Broadchurch: Series 2 has largely been a bit too hit and miss for it's own good and while the trial was painfully dragged out and had a terrible result, I did like the community banding together to ex-communicate Joe nonetheless though. On the plus side, at least the Sandbrook stuff got resolved and Hardy and Miller continue to shine as a double act. I'm not sure if commissioning a third series is entirely wise, given how this series struggled but I can also see why ITV might want to keep this show going for a bit longer too.

Girls: In the real world, Adam dumping Hannah for someone who is less annoying (even if she makes pretentiously boring YouTube videos) would be seen as a good thing. In this world, we're supposed to actually sympathise with Hannah, even if yet again, Jessa proved to be an awful friend by her own admission in Adam's new lover. Other than that, there was some witty-ish one liners from Shoshanna and Marnie going on about her dull as ditchwater relationship with the reject from Mumford & Sons. I think Ray might have done something but it's hard to remember, considering he's about as riveting as paint drying.

Glee: The last two episodes have been interesting. First of all, we had the transitioning for Beiste and it was dealt with well enough (even though it's a storyline that deserved more care and preparation with it) and then we had the weddings of Santana/Brittany and Kurt/Blaine, which I actually really enjoyed seeing, even if the latter's could've been a series finale treat. I do think they're forcing the Rachel/Sam pairing though and the absence of Quinn in the wedding episode stuck out like a sore thumb.

Looking: I'm really liking this season a lot. I like that we're seeing some tiny bits of growth with some of the main characters and I like that even though Patrick and Richie are no longer a couple, there's an effort being made to still have them interact in ways that don't feel trite. While the last episode I watched didn't feature Dom, I do like the budding relationship between Agustin and Eddie more than the current one with Patrick/Kevin. Overall, while the show isn't gripping, it has somewhat improved a little this year.

Scandal: Dear show - I've somewhat tired of Olivia, Jake and Fitz. Honestly, Liv could do better than either of them at the moment and eventually one of them (Jake mostly like) is gonna have to stand aside and hopefully sooner than later. Aside from that, the rest of the recent episodes have been good - anything involving Cyrus/Michael, Mellie snapping out of her depression and of course Huck's desperate attempts of interacting with his son too. All of this though feels like it's trundling along until we get to a particular plot thread I've already been spoiled for.

The Flash: Arrow is excellent but The Flash is just that tiny bit better. The last two episodes saw a cold/hot team up of villains resulting in a Prison Break reunion and then we got the introduction of gay villain/eventual good guy, the Pied Piper and while Hartley is a massive jerk, he's also pretty fun to watch as well. I also like that Iris is now a proper journalist (betting she learns Barry's identity by the end of the season) and that there are tiny advancements on Harrison's past as well as Robbie lurking in the shadows as well.

- Calista Flockhart has been cast as Cat Grant, the Anna Wintour style boss for Kara in the upcoming Supergirl series.
- Joel Gretsch has left MTV's Scream series.
- UK viewers will be able to see the sixth season of Community on SonyTV from next month onwards.
- Jonathan Groff will reprise his role of Jesse for the series finale of Glee and an episode prior to it.
- Lucien Laviscount will be regular in the upcoming anthology series, Scream Queens. Also added to the cast are Niecy Nash, Skyler Samuels and Billie Lourd.
- UK drama Dates will air on the CW.
- Cuckoo will get a US remake with YouTube actor Flula Borg in the title role. It'll air on NBC.
- Christina Aguilera will be appearing in multiple episodes of Nashville.
- Jennifer Hudson and Rita Ora will be in the season finale of Empire.
- Lena Dunham will be appearing in an upcoming episode of Scandal.