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

DCEU Blog: Batgirl Cancelled, The Flash Ends And DC Studios A Go?

Well, if this hasn't been the most volatile of months for DC fans, I don't know what has been. A lot happened this month and a lot of it, not so good.

Let's talk about Batgirl, shall we? In the space of this month, it got cancelled (despite being in post production) for a tax write-off by David Zaslav, the directors were locked out of access of their own movie, a funeral screening was held and now its confined to a vault, never to be released. Not exactly a great precedent there, Zaslav.

Speaking of Zaslav, he did go on to mention a potential DC Studios with a possible ten year plan and that movies won't get released until they are done and he only wants sure fire hits, so possibly expect less experimental stuff moving forward for now.

However rumours of a DC Studios has Dan Lin as a potential candidate to run it. Lin was a producer on the ill fated Justice League Mortal movie as well as credits such as The Lego Batman Movie and Aladdin.

Ezra Miller has also had a meeting with WBD about their recent scandals and it seems for now they still have a job. The Flash movie has tested positive in test screenings and will for now make it's June 23rd 2023 release date.

Joker: Folie A Deux has officially been confirmed for an October 4th 2024 release date with filming due to begin in December. Joaquin Phoenix will reprise the title role with Lady Gaga as the new female lead while Zasie Beetz will also return as Sophie Dummond. Todd Phillips will direct from a script co-written with Scott Silver.

Mattson Tomlin will co-write the sequel for The Batman with Matt Reeves. Expect further developments on this movie over the next few months.

Yet again there are rumours of Henry Cavill appearing in Black Adam as Superman. I'll believe it when I see it but thought I should mention it nonetheless.

Shazam! Fury Of The Gods will now be released on March 17th 2023 while Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom will now take the December 25th 2023 release date instead. Blue Beetle for now remains on August 18th 2023 but don't be shocked if that gets moved as well.

CW wise, The Flash TV series upcoming ninth season will be it's last and comprise of 13 episodes. It'll air in 2023.

Both The Penguin and John Constantine (rumoured title) shows are rumoured to start filming in early 2023 for HBO Max. The former is a definite but the latter, given the way JJ Abrams is losing WB projects, I wouldn't be too confident just yet.

The Sandman was the number one title for Netflix in it's first three weeks of release. A second season has yet to be confirmed but hopefully it'll get it.

The third season of Stargirl premieres tonight on the CW. Given the dearth of promotion for the show, I wouldn't be optimistic about it going beyond this season.

Jordan Elsass will not be returning for the third season of Superman And Lois as Jonathan Kent and the role will be recast. Filming is due to start next month on the CW series.

Pennyworth has been strangely retitled Pennyworth: The Origins Of Batman's Butler and will premiere in October on HBO Max.

HBO Max will not be releasing Batman: Caped Crusader but the show is being shopped around with Netflix, Hulu and AppleTV apparently interested in the show. 

My Adventures With Superman is still being worked on, Harley Quinn has been renewed for a fourth season while the future of Young Justice has yet to be revealed.

Well, that was a jam packed month. What other hits can DC take? Will any rumoured projects go ahead? Here's hoping the next few months are more positive.

My Review of House Of The Dragon's 1x02: "The Rogue Prince"

 

Written by Ryan Condal

Directed by Greg Yaitanes

Daemon (to Corlys, re Viserys): "I will speak of my brother as I wish. You will not."

Into the second episode now and things are certainly moving at quite a pace. Time often does in this world bit we had something of a jump here where Viserys has gone from grieving over the loss of Aemma to ow being strong armed by his council into getting a new wife. The idea of Rhaenyra being a future queen really has threatened their delicate sensibilities, something which Rhaenys took immense satisfaction in pointing out.

Especially when it comes to both Otto Hightower and Corlys Velaryon aka the Sea Snake. Both men have had the same idea of using their daughters to get closer to the Iron Throne. Needless to say, at one of them actually succeeded with the idea while the other took their defeat rather poorly and threw their lot with Daemon by the end of this episode. It's not hard to guess who is it?

I am really glad that Viserys had the decency to turn down Lady Laena (Nova Foueillis-Mose) because watching both Corlys and Rhaenys trying to marry off their child to a man nearly four times her age was unsettling. Viserys at least had the sense to be against the idea and not go through with, even though it put him on shaky ground with the easily slighted Corlys.

Then there was Otto Hightower whose plans to get Alicent married to Viserys managed to pay off. Its still massively inappropriate but there was the sense in the episode that Alicent and Viserys genuinely cared for one another. However, I think we can all assume that Alicent's friendship with Rhaenyra has definitely gone down the drain along with the latter's chances of getting the Iron Throne.

Speaking of Rhaenyra, she has better instincts for the kingdom than her father does, which was why I think both Otto and Corlys and even Rhaenys were determined to undermine. You know who didn't though? Yup, the guy mad at being replaced by his niece, who even went as far as to steal a dragon egg and pretend that he took Mysaria for a wife and she was pregnant. 

Daemon had the perfect chance to kill Rhaenyra on the spot and he chose not to. He literally had the bigger dragon and army and yet, he listened to Rhaenyra and handed the egg back to her. Whatever issues he might have with Viserys, he undeniably respects both him and Rhaenyra. He wouldn't even let Corlys talk poorly of his brother in front of him.

Daemon and Corlys's  team up to one side, another lingering threat of this episode was the introduction of the Crab Feeder aka Prince Admiral Craghas Drahar causing trouble for Viserys and Corlys at the Stepstones. It's not quite White Walkers stuff but it's an interesting set of problems for the Kingdom outside of the more personal ones presented at the moment.

- The theme tune literally is Game Of Thrones all over again with the title sequence being somewhat similar, though with plenty of blood spilling. It looks great.

- Congrats on the show getting an early second season renewal. The ratings alone for the first episode were a record for HBO.

- Rhaenyra took Ser Criston Cooe as her Knight for the White Cloak Guards. She was mentioned to be fifteen while Laena was mentioned to be twelve. I assume Alicent is similar in age to Rhaenyra.

- Daemon's dragon is called Caraxes while Rhaenyra's is Syrax. Both have great entry scenes in this episode. Daemon has currently taken over Dragonstone. Laena also seemed interested in missing dragon, Vhagar.

- Viserys does seem to be rotting away as this episode had his finger in maggots in order to stop it from rotting completely.

- Chronology: Six months since the events of the first episode.

The Rogue Prince started off as a surprisingly slow episode and shorter than the opening one but in spite of pacing, things actually moved along faster than expected. I anticipated there would be a threat to Rhaenyra's claim to the Iron Throne and this episode presented several while Daemon's various shades make him a rather compelling character to watch.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Harley Quinn's 3x07: "Another Sharkley Adventure"

 

Written by Sarah Nevada Smith

Directed by Cecillia Aranovich & Jennifer Coyle & Mike Milo

Poison Ivy (re Bruce): "Oh shit. Okay, so there's that baggage you were talking about."

Selina: "I cannot be here when he wakes up."

Last week's episode took a change of pace and focused on the Joker becoming Mayor. This episode pretty ignored all of that in favour of three other storylines that all had their own merits. One of them being a much needed focus on King Shark.

As a character, King Shark hasn't had a lot to do this season. This episode finally gave him more spotlight following the death of his father and his brother, Prince Shark assuming the mantle of King now. Except that the Prince wanted to sell his Kingdom to Ocean Master and of course, King Shark wasn't having any of that.

It didn't take long for the brothers to fall out over their ancestral land being sold to Aquaman's brother and it didn't take much for King Shark to kill his brother as well. I guess this means he's now the river of his homeland, unless he can palm it off to someone else.

With that plot, taking up a good chunk of screen time, the other big storylines were more focused on Harley and Ivy coming up with ways to rescue Frank by kidnapping Bruce Wayne. However with Ivy being ill from trying too hard to connect with the Green, it was up to Harley to go and get Bruce all by herself. 

Of course that would've gone a bit smoother had Batgirl not been the clingy friend in which Harley tried to blow her off and Mad Hatter (Griffin Matthews) wasn't trying to control people again with those hats of his. Still though it was fun watching Harley and Batgirl working together though we can add Mad Hatter to the list of ever growing dead rogue gallery members.

As for Bruce Wayne, he was super annoying in this episode. Moping for Selina dumping him, being like a love sick puppy when she didn't show at the gala before getting himself tied up and gagged by Harley. I have to admit, the writing has been really bad for the character this season.

- Clayface is still using the Billy Bob Thornton look, even though the film has been completed.

- I'm with Nightwing regarding his comments on Selina. Again the writing for her has been the worst for the character.

- Tawny opened the episode with her show spotlighting a romance between Ratcatcher and one of his rats.

- Chronology: From where the last episode left off.

Another Sharkley Adventure hot the ground running with the three main plots. The strongest being the Harley, Batgirl and Mad Hatter but the King Shark and Bruce Wayne ones had their moments too.  A very engaging episode.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of The Sandman's 1x11: "Dream Of A Thousand Cats/Calliope"

 

Written by Catherine Smyth-McMullen

Directed by Hisko Husling & Louise Hooper

Calliope (to Richard): "All writers are liars."

And just like that, Netflix only went and served us another helping of this wonderful series. Well, two very different and affecting stories in one new episode. Now do one better, Netflix and serve us up a second season renewal already.

The first story of the piece ventured into animation territory.  Dream Of A Thousand Cats saw a young Tabby cat (Rosie Day) sneak out of the house of her owners (David Tennant and Georgia Tennant) with another cat in order to hear the tale of a Siamese cat (Sandra Oh) who shared a rather interesting secret about the former dynamic between humanity and the feline world.

Through her own flashbacks the Siamese cat talked of how her owners (Michael Sheen and Anna Lundberg) callously got rid of her kittens and how she ventured into the cat version of the Dreaming where she learned that once humanity were subservient to cats before they dreamed up the world the roles have been reversed.

The Siamese cat's hope was simple - to get enough cats to dream back the way things were but her audience seemed indifferent to her mission statement, minus the young Tabby who genuinely took her word and began to dream herself of cat paradise. Perhaps a world ran by cats might not be the worst outcome after all and I say this as someone who is more of a dog person.

The second story of the piece went back to live action and had something of a damning commentary on writers and their muses. Calliope focused on that particular Greek muse as played by the fantastic Melissanthi Mahut. In this story, Calliope found herself at the misfortune of two desperate writers, the first being Erasmus Fry (Derek Jacobi) who kept Calliope prisoner for sixty years and now hands her over to another desperate writer.

The second writer being a male feminist called Richard 'Ric' Madoc (Arthur Darvill) who at first seemed a little reluctant about keeping Calliope prisoner and even tried to placate her for inspiration until the threat of having to pay back money drove him into forcing himself on her for book material. Unfortunately his horrendous methods got him the inspiration he needed but his morality continued to plummet as the episode progressed.

With Calliope unable to appeal to Madoc's better nature and the Kindly Ones/Fates unable to intervene, Calliope's only chance for help was her ex-husband, Morpheus himself. We learned pretty fast their marriage ended badly and they lost a son, Orpheus but while Calliope was hesitant to seek out Morpheus's help, he actually did help her nonetheless.

Morpheus's punishment of Madoc by overwhelming him with enough ideas to drive him to absolute madness was a pretty inspired punishment and fitting for the story. It was hard to sympathise with Madoc but it was interesting to watch the dynamic between Calliope and Morpheus. Morpheus has proven that he's capable of positive change while Calliope was determined to make sure what happened to her would never happen ever again.

- This episode was released two weeks after Netflix dropped the first season. While I don't see Netflix going the weekly route with their shows, it's clear they're seeing the benefits of split releases as well.

- There has been a fair amount of Doctor Who actors who appeared in this show but this episode felt like the majority of the cast were. I would've loved to have seen David Tennant in a live action role.

- Arthur Darvill previously played by Rip Hunter in Legends Of Tomorrow. James McAvoy who voiced Golden-Haired Man also voiced Morpheus in the Audible version. Neil Gaiman himself voiced The Skull Crow.

- Chronology: 2018-2022 for the live action segment of the episode.

Dream Of A Thousand Cats/Calliope could've arguably been saved as the opening episode for a second season (seriously, Netflix, c'mon, you know you want to) but thematically, it does serve as a gorgeous epilogue to this first season. Two fantastic stories adapted seamlessly together into one of the best episodes we've had so far. I absolutely loved this one.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of American Horror Stories: "Facelift"

 

Written by Manny Coto

Directed by Marcus Stokes

Fay (re Virginia): "She didn't deserve this."

Enid: "Can't you see? She never belonged here but you do."

It's been over twelve years since Nip/Tuck came to an end and to be perfectly honest, everything that happened in this episode could've easily made up a mini arc of sorts on the show. Welcome to the anti McNamara/Troy take on things.

Unsatisfied with ageing, in debt widow Virginia (Judith Light) finds herself being tempted by a facelift courtesy of a rival named Cassie (Cornelia Guest) who recommends her to a very mysterious plastic surgeon named Enid Perle (Rebecca Dayan). Initially Enid played hardball and refused to work on Virginia until the latter appeared at her most desperate to do whatever it took to look younger.

Needles to say, Virginia moved things around, ignored the advice of her sensible stepdaughter, Fay (Britt Lower) and went ahead with the surgery that Enid offered. Then Virginia spent the majority of the episode in bandages for both her face and hands and in a shit load of pain for added measure. Instinctively something should've told Virginia something was off with this set up but she got in deeper than ever.

Virginia got in so deep she even went to Enid's little mountain place in order to get her bandages removed and after rejecting Fay one too many times, Virginia was ultimately on her own. It turns out the not so good doctor literally turned Virginia into a pig woman and all because she was part of a group that worship beauty and a deity named Etain.

From there on in, it wasn't long before Virginia's attempts to escape were derailed by a former crush Bernie (Todd Waring) and got speared to death by everyone else in the process. Judith Light gave one hell of a performance as the desperate Virginia in spite of the character's mountain of misfortune throughout this whole episode.

As for Fay, she quickly went from being sad about her stepmother's death to embracing a life as part of the beautiful ones with a subtle glow up and a hunky would be love interest by the end of this episode. Yup, it did not take much to get Fay around that cult's way of thinking.

- This is the second episode in a row factoring a deity into the mix, though Etain is from Irish mythology.

- Maybe it's because of the premise of the episode but I was genuinely surprised we didn't get a nod of sorts to Nip/Tuck here.

- This episode was also intended to be the sixth and wasn't moved.

- Chronology: I'm assuming it's 2022 for this episode.

Facelift wasn't quite as strong as the previous episode but it was a solid enough tale with strong performances from Judith Light, Rebecca Dayan and Britt Lower and Dayan set to return to the main show, I'm hoping that Light and Lower won't be far behind.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of The Sandman's 1x10: "Lost Hearts"

 

Written by Jay Franklin

Directed by Louise Hooper

Desire: "Oh, poor Dream. I really got under your skin this time, didn't I? Next time I'll draw blood."

Well, this was a finale that resolved one threat a little too quickly in some respects, another in a nice case of self sacrifice while at the same time neatly setting up two further threats in the hopes that Netflix may actually grant a second season. We can only hope, right?

First of all, the Corinthian. He's been a strong antagonist for most of the season with this episode being the only second on screen encounter he's had with his creator. In this episode he tried his hardest to push Rose further into getting rid of Morpheus while also inspiring the Collectors to really see themselves.

Unfortunately for the Corinthian, Rose wasn't as easy to get on board as he had hoped and Morpheus seemed to dispatch of him a little too quickly while giving the Collectors a harsh wake up call on their true nature. On the other hand, while the Corinthian's death was a tiny bit anticlimactic, this episode also hinted at a very likely reimagining of the character next time around.

Slightly more satisfying however was the resolution to the Vortex storyline. Having Unity take in the Vortex in order to spare Rose from death seemed like a very obvious thing to do but it actually worked well from a dramatic perspective. Perhaps we'll see Unity Kinkaid again. I do think we'll likely see Rose and especially Lyta, given that the latter gave birth and Morpheus will likely make good on his promise.

As for the threats set up, it was Desire who got Unity back in the day in order to take out the Dreaming. For a character who has had about five minutes worth of screen time in the four episodes they've appeared in, I have to give Mason Alexander Park props for really bringing Desire to life here. The rivalry between Desire and Dream can only intensify more.

As for Lucifer, this episode decided to check in on them and yes, they're still smarting from Morpheus's defeat of them. It's why Lucifer was keen on making God livid by listening to the Lords Of Hell's plans to expand the place. Looks like Morpheus will have two major problems if this show does manage to get a second season.

- Both Destiny and Delirium were mentioned in this episode. Surely both of those characters must be a shoe in for a second season.

- Rose went on to write a fantasy book while her and Jed moved in with Lyta, the baby, Hal and Carl. Zelda and Chantel bought Hal's B&B.

- Morpheus showed willingness to change by giving Lucienne more responsibility and even letting Gault become a Dream while Fiddler's Green resumed their natural form. 

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off.

Lost Hearts served as a strong finale to an impressive first season. Easily one of the best Netflix shows we've had this year and I'm hoping it'll be back considering that there are plenty of others stories that can and should be translated on to the show.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of The Sandman's 1x09: "Collectors"

 

Written by Vanessa James Benton

Directed by Coralie Fargeat

The Corinthian: "Hello Rose. Don't worry, you're safe with me."

Oh, look, it's a cereal convention episode. A whole episode discussing the merits of Coco Pops, Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes and so on. Wait, what do you mean, that cereal means serial killer convention? What kind of false advertising is this? 

Anyways, the Corinthian and Jed have made their way to that convention and for the most part, Jed seemed blissfully unaware of the fact that Fun Land was a bit more than a friendly weirdo before witnessing his new friend and others killing a wannabe serial killer.

Yes, it turned out that the Boogieman (Lewis Reeves) aka Phil Sitz doesn't have quite the body count his reputation would have believed. In fact I'm sure he doesn't have a body count full stop and that he's little more than a fanboy with a deep thirst for The Corinthian. Needless to say, it didn't end well for Phil but the Corinthian was too busy making himself known to Rose than finishing up on Phil this week.

Then there's Rose and Jed. They properly reunited in this episode, managed to get away from an overeager Fun Land and then found themselves cornered off by the Corinthian. On top of that, we also found out that the rather helpful Gilbert was in fact Fiddler's Green and it's looking more and more likely that Rose might have to die in order to prevent worlds from shattering even further.

When the episode wasn't getting the Corinthian to his own goals, it was also doing a great job in creating a rift between Morpheus and Rose. The latter didn't take to Morpheus removing Hector from Lyta and she certainly didn't take kindly to Morpheus's threat of coming for Lyta's unborn child at some point. Morpheus really does have form for pissing the wrong people off.

On the other hand, he did show some character growth by apologising to Lucienne and he certainly seemed more forgiving of Fiddler's Green/Gilbert than he was with Gault in the previous episode. Perhaps he might be more willing to work with Rose in order to deal with their Corinthian style problem in the next episode.

- Seeing the various breakdowns in serial killers at the convention was interesting. That religion section though. 

- I think we got ourselves a Superman and Static Shock cameo of sorts when Jed was watching cartoons in his hotel room.

- I do find it nice that both Matthew and Merv each managed to get both Morpheus and Lucienne back on speaking terms with one another.

- Chronology: From where the previous one left off with the action mainly in Georgia. 

Collectors had some serious fun with the cereal conventions tropes as the Corinthian felt right at home, Rose and Jed finally united and Morpheus realised that he had to deal with both the vortex and getting people on side. 

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of House Of The Dragon's 1x01: "The Heirs Of The Dragon"

 

Written by Ryan Condal

Directed by Miguel Sapochnik

Viserys: "I've decided to name a new heir."

Daemon: "I'm your heir."

Viserys: "Not anymore."

It's been a little over three years since the divisive ending for Game Of Thrones and with one spin-off idea not making it past a pilot episode which never aired, can this prequel series (based on the book Fire & Blood) fare much better? Going by this opening episode alone, it's chances are somewhat decent.

Set nearly two hundred years before the death of the Mad King, the Monarch in question here, King Jaehaerys Targaryen (Michael Carter) has chosen his heir - grandson, Viserys (Paddy Considine), much to the disappointment of his granddaughter, Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best), the cousin of Viserys. To be fair, Viserys turns out to be a decent ruler but this episode also quickly established that he himself would need an heir as time moved rather fast in this opening episode.

Quickly there were two candidates assumed for this coveted role. The first being Viserys younger and more volatile brother,Prince Daemon (Matt Smith) and the other, a potential son from Viserys's wife, Aemma Arryn (Sian Brooke), only for tragedy and a brutal medieval C-section that resulted in the deaths of both mother and son.

With Daemon vastly overplaying his hand and saying the wrong words in front of the wrong people, Viserys turned his attention towards neglected daughter, Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) to assume the Iron Throne and given the way things are, it probably won't be too long before she might succeed her own father for the least envied position in the seven kingdoms.

This opening episode does a strong job of getting to the nitty gritty of everything important. Viserys allowed his pride to consume in certain ways (his wife's fate, his brother's machinations and his counsel perhaps not having his best interests at heart) but he was smart enough to realise his daughter was likely his best heir and even informed her of certain future events that their mere mention was enough to remind where this show. Not to mention a certain cut on Viserys's back cant be good for his long term health.

While this episode was certainly front and centre with it's Targaryen clan and at least two dragons, other characters did stand out. We had Viserys's scheming hand, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) and his daughter, Alicent (Emily Carey) along with low born Dornish hunk/knight Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), Daemon's lover, Mysaria (Sonya Mizuno) and Rhaenys's husband, Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Touissaint), all of whom made a strong enough impression and helped fleshed out the goings on in King's Landing with the Targaryens.

- No flashy opening sequence so far for the series but the closing credits did use some very familiar music to again remind viewers the world they were re-entering. Emma D'Arcy who will play Rhaenyra later in the season did the opening narration.

- We had Starks and Baratheons in this episode with mentions of Westeros and Winterfell along with hints of the arrival of a certain season and the doom it will bring about.

- This show will apparently have a lot of dragons but here we just met the dragons owned by Rhaenyra and Daemon. Their scenes together certainly had a degree of tension to them.

- Daemon really does seem to despise his wife, who I assume we'll be meeting sooner than later. There's also a rivalry set up here with him and Criston.

- The most brutal moments of the episode outside of Aemma's death were Daemon's punishment for criminals with the Gold Cloaks as well as most of the tourney tbh. 

- Chronology: 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen. Nine years passed within the episode itself. 

The Heirs Of The Dragon kicked things off to a modest enough start but make no mistake, this show very much is picking up from where Game Of Thrones left off. The characters might not grab you as instantly as the previous series did but they definitely leave a strong impression and certain characters remind me of certain characters from that show too. With nine episodes left to go, I'm expecting bigger and badder stuff to happen as our characters get deeper into their own ambitions and play the game.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of The Sandman's 1x08: "Playing House"

 

Written by Alexander Newman-Wise

Directed by Andres Baiz

Morpheus: "Time to wake up, Jed Walker."

Okay, if there was an episode that highlighted just how needlessly harsh Morpheus can be, it's definitely this one. I mean, even Lucienne, his biggest enabler seemed to have opposed the way he handled the situation with Gault (Ann Ogbomo/Andi Osho).

Let's talk about Gault, shall we? If the Corinthian become obsessed with taking his work into the waking world, the Gault's determination to change her profession provided something of a nice contrast. Shes a Nightmare who wants to be a Dream. A Nightmare who instead of making a traumatised young boy's life worse, she tried to make it better. How are we not supposed to root for her?

Gault genuinely cared about Jed and in his dreams, she let him be his own Sandman, complete with superhero attire, going up against the baddies that he couldn't in the waking world. I absolutely believed her when she talked about wanting to be a source of inspiration. How Morpheus dealt with her and the punishment he inflicted on Gault was beyond harsh. Saying that though, it's not the first time this season we've seen Morpheus being needlessly cruel.

He started the episode willing to help Rose locate Jed but the moment he got his true aim in Gault, he abandoned her. I got to say that seems to be an unwise thing to do, considering that Rose's Vortex abilities are getting stronger and she's now jumping into her friends dreams to boot. Those friends of hers have some rather interesting dreams, don't they?

For example, Lyta's inability to have moved on from Hector intensified with this one. She dreamed about being pregnant with Hector's child and now in the waking world, she's actually pregnant. Has Rose's influence made that happen? And if Rose can influence a dream/ghost pregnancy with her friend, then Morpheus really should be worried and not get on her bad side.

As for Jed, it was hard not to sympathise with him. Barnaby was an evil brute and Clarice, while clearly terrified of her husband also did nothing to stop him from terrorising Jed. You know things are bad when even the Corinthian seems like a safer option for Jed than Barnaby and Clarice. Not surprisingly enough, the Corinthian did take Jed in order to draw Rose to him.

- Hal seems to have mommy issues, Ken was naked and terrified Barbie would leave him, Barbie had a doglike friend named Martin Tenbones (Lenny Henry) while Zelda spent time at a graveyard and Chantel spoke about making laws in their dreams.

- Some nice mention of characters such as Pied Piper and Doctor Death in this one, who became a part of Jed's rogues gallery in his dreams.

- Rose mistook Matthew for a crow at one point in this episode and the Corinthian killed three characters in this one in his bid to get to Rose and Jed.

- Chronology: Where the previous episode left off with the action mainly in Cape Kennedy.

Playing House very much moved things along and with two episodes left, we've got this Vortex storyline, an inevitable confrontation between both Morpheus and Corinthian along with Rose and Jed reuniting for real. This was a very strong episode with the ante very much getting upped here.

Rating: 8 out of 10