Wonder Woman - TV Movie/Episodes 1-3 Reviews

I've been thinking about rewatching this classic series for a while now and just like my spent on Batman 66, this will be formatted as mini reviews for several blogs.

TV Movie: The New Original Wonder Woman

Opening with a two part movie pilot of sorts, this was ABC attempting to move away from their previous attempt of a pilot by recasting Wonder Woman aka Diana Prince with Lynda Carter. It also meant having a depiction of the character and her world more faithful to the source material. Set during the backdrop of World War II (1942 specifically), you had charismatic Mayor Steve Trevor (Lyle Waggoner) crash land on Paradise Island and after winning a contest against her mother's (Cloris Leachman) wishes, Diana brought Steve back to Washington D.C., briefly entertained the idea of being an entertainer but found herself drawn to Steve Trevor's world. Speaking of Steve, he might the typical action man of the piece but the guy's propensity of getting himself into danger certainly ended up with him being captured by his secretary Marcia (Stella Stevens), who was revealed to be a Nazi agent. He'd get rescued by Wonder Woman, be infatuated with her, round up Marcia's henchmen before being introduced to his new secretary, Diana. Now did he make the connection between the two new women in his life? Nope, lol. As a pilot episode, it's lengthy but it set up everything needed, including the campy title sequence. We even get to see the Invisible Jet and Diana's transformation into Wonder Woman. 8/10

Episode 1: Wonder Woman Meets Baroness von Gunther

In a way, this almost felt like another pilot but it's not really. Saying that, two regulars are introduced with General Philip Blankenship (Richard Eastham) and Etta Candy (Beatrice Colen) and both are there to interact with Diana and Steve and make their world a little more expansive. A minus about this series would be the fact that most of Diana's Rogue's gallery are not used but at least a few of them do manage to make it into the show. The first one being Baroness Paula von Gunther (Christine Belford), who during this episode was locked in a prison and was seemingly attempting to atone for her Nazi affiliations. Of course, she's not genuine and it didn't take long for either Diana or Steve to suspect her of plotting something. It also didn't take long for Paula to get a hold of Wonder Woman's lasso of truth and for Steve to end up bound and gagged by Gunther's henchmen. While it's a good idea to have any Rogue Gallery, I'm not sure having two villainous Nazi women in two episodes in a row was a bright idea. Saying that, I do think Paula was a more restrained baddie compared to Marcia and the Sherlock obsessed Tommy was a decent child guest character. 7/10

Episode 2: Fausta, The Nazi Wonder Woman 

Having two episodes in a row focusing on Nazi women was an odd choice for the series but three certainly did seem like they were pushing it a tad. This time we started off in Germany with Fausta Grables (Lynda George Day) keen to prove herself to her superiors by apprehending Wonder Woman. This meant going to Washington D.C. and having Steve Trevor used as bait to assess how much of a threat Wonder Woman truly posed and how her physiology could be used for the Nazi cause. Wonder Woman ended up being captured and brought to Germany with Steve Trevor going en route to the UK to Germany in order to rescue her. Of course Wonder Woman saved herself, Steve ended up being captured and she had to save him again. Where the episode took a more interesting twist was in the fact that Fausta ended up turning on her superiors and abandoning the Nazi cause. It's a bit of rushed turnaround but after Marcia and Paula being dedicated to that regime, this did provide a nice contrast to previous events. 7/10

Episode 3: Beauty On Parade 

Ah, it's the beauty pageant episode. The one where Diana went undercover at said pageant, posing as Diana Paradise, occasionally taking calls from her "uncle" and also incurring the ire of fellow contestant Rita (Christa Helm). It was also an episode where the main mission was expose a sabotage ring of radar scanning equipment, led by the pageant's musical director (Bobby Van). The musical director who also had the name of Monty Burns and was also plotting to kill Einsenhower. While he didn't succeed on that front, at least his name will live on in a different character, Monty was an entertaining enough guest villain. The episode also had Steve pay more attention to Diana, specifically when she was undercover at the pageant and after three episodes,  we even got a different method of transformation. Overall, an entertaining episode if not a favourite of mine. 6/10

Next blog will cover The Feminum Mystique Parts 1 and 2, Wonder Woman vs. Gargantua!, The Pluto File and Last Of The $2 Bills.

My Review of Douglas Is Cancelled (2024, ITV/ITVX Miniseries)

 

Written by Steven Moffat 

Directed by Ben Palmer

Madeline: "To clarify, I don't believe in women's rights because I don't believe there is any such thing. I believe there are human rights and denying isn't a reason to join a movement, go on a march and write a book. It's an act of war. It's a reason to retaliate, so don't fuck with me."

I think this year might really be a good year for Steven Moffat. First he came back to Doctor Who and gave us the excellent Boom (we've still got upcoming Christmas special Joy To The World to look forward to) and now this provocative miniseries centring on cancel culture.

If there's a writer who might have a tiny insight into this topic, maybe it's Steven Moffat. His days on Doctor Who often sprung an ire among some fans, in particular his depiction of women. That's been a criticism that has followed Moffat beyond his time running the best show ever and it's definitely something that obviously fueled this miniseries too.

Our main characters are two co-anchors of a Live At Six News show. You've got middle-aged and experienced Douglas Bellowes (Hugh Bonneville) and the younger but savvier, Madeline Crowe (Karen Gillan). They're a dynamic team with chemistry, both on and off the camera but one incident would change their whole relationship during this four part series.

The incident being a joke that Douglas told at a wedding. A joke he claimed not to remember but has gained online traction regardless of Twitter being unaware of the actual joke itself. Of course, the fact that it was said was enough to cause ripple effects to everyone that Douglas was connected to. This included his newspaper editor wife, Sheila (Alex Kingston) and their political activity daughter, Claudia (Madeleine Power), the latter of whom was one of the weaker written characters until the last episode.

Throughout the series, Sheila along with Douglas's sleazy producer, Toby (Ben Miles), tone deaf comedy writer, Morgan (Nick Mohammed) and ineffectual agent, Bently (Simon Russell Beale) all try to band together in order to save Douglas's career. However, it's the idea to do a rehearsal interview before Douglas has to be interviewed by Kirsty Wark at the Hay Festival that really upped the ante for this series.

The first two episodes had that set up feel about them but then the third episode was mostly flashbacks. You could see how much of an influence that Douglas had on Madeline at a young age along with two different encounters before she became his co-anchor. The interview scene in the hotel room between Madeline and Toby made for some genuinely uncomfortable viewing and that's putting it mildly.

The final episode did centre on the rehearsal interview between Madeline and Douglas and without being hyperbolic, both Karen Gillan and Hugh Bonneville do give career best performances here. The fact that Douglas not only remembered exactly what he said but the fact that he tried every subterfuge to get away with it was bad enough. Madeline might have been motivated a bit by revenge and disappointment in creating Douglas's downfall but given that the line was about her, it wasn't difficult to see why she did the things she did. 

- Every episode had a mid credit scene involving a cab driver named Tom (Joe Wilkinson) trying to think of ideas for a TV show. Madeline was his last fare.

- Madeline idolised Douglas since she was seven. Amy Pond idolised the Doctor at that age too. I'm just saying.

- The finale flashback revealed that Madeline wasn't attacked by Toby but used his sleazy behaviour against him to secure her job.

- I loved the bathroom scene with Madeline and Sheila where they're informing each other on their relationship with Douglas. I also just got a kick out of seeing Karen Gillan and Alex Kingston acting again with each other.

- Kirsty Wark did appear but it was Madeline being interviewed at the Hay Festival, following Douglas being ousted from his job.

- Chronology: Very much in 2024, with various flashbacks to Douglas and Madeline's respective pasts. 

Hats off to Steven Moffat but I think he really cracked it with Douglas Is Cancelled. In a lot of ways, this could've horribly wrong and been extremely tone deaf but he legitimately struck the right balance as witnessed by both Douglas and Madeline's characters throughout. Sublime performances by Hugh Bonneville and Karen Gillan and has become one of the best shows in 2024.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of Deadpool 2 (2018)

 

Written by Reese Rhett And Paul Wernick And Ryan Reynolds 

Directed by David Leitch

Cable: "I use a device to slide through time. The longer I travel, the harder it is to control. I got two charges: one to get me here, one to get me home."

Deadpool: "Well... that's just lazy writing."

Hot off the success of the first movie, Ryan Reynolds was definitely eager to prove that he wasn't a flash in the pan with the superhero lark. Would this movie prove him, right? Yeah, it did. 

Of course, it's a movie that also decided to do one of the most loathed comic book tropes as well. Yup, poor Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) got fridged. Actually she got shot and killed early into the movie and her death put Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) into something of a funk.

Trying to get him out the funk was Colossus (Stefan Kapičić) along with Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Briana Hildebrand) and the latter's girlfriend Yukio (Shioli Kutsuna). They thought involving him in a mission to contain teenage mutant Firefist (Julian Dennison) would be a good idea. Instead it went awry and both Deadpool and Firefist ended up in prison. 

It was in prison that Deadpool and Firefist could've bonded but between time travelling killer Cable (Josh Brolin) trying to murder Firefist and Deadpool being a dick to the struggling teenager, the kid ended up being a bigger threat than Wade expected. So !uch of a threat that a team needed to be assembled.

The team in question comprised of characters like Domino (Zazie Beetz), Bedlam (Terry Crews), Shatterstar (Lewis Tan), Vanisher (Brad Pitt), Zeitgeist (Bill Skarsgard) and Peter Wisdom (Rob Delaney). They made up a variation of X Force but they're mostly there to be killed off. Except for Doino, who really did have luck on her side and was essentially the female lead of the group. 

Of course the movie also had Deadpool and Cable eventually working together with Domino, Colossus, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Yukio and Dopinder (Karan Soni) to try and prevent Firefist from getting revenge on his evil Headmaster (Eddie Marsan), along with Juggernaut (Reynolds). It's another bloody battle but one with a positive outcome in regards to the overall outcome with Firefist. Two movies in and maybe, Wade Wilson has it in him to be a superhero after all.

- Thanks to time travel, Vanessa's death was ultimately reversed with other characters like Shatterstar and Peter being spared too.

- The credit sequences had Deadpool killing off his previous movie incarnation to a bemused Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), preventing Ryan Reynolds from doing Green Lantern and visiting baby Hitler.

- Dopinder's developed quite a bloodlust between movies. He even got an impressive kill towards the end of this one. It was nice to see Weasel (T.J. Miller) and Blind Al (Leslie Uggams) again. 

- Yup, there was some brief cameos from Professor X (James McAvoy), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Quicksilver (Evan Peters) and Nightcrawler (Kofi Smit-McPhee) in this movie.

- Standout music Celine Dion's Ashes, Pat Benatar's We Belong and AC/DC's Thunderstruck.

- Chronology: It's been two years since the events of the first movie.

Deadpool 2 does feel like Reynolds took everything people loved about the first movie, upped the ante a tad and made sure not to change too much as a sequel. It's as good as the first movie with a great slew of new characters to play around with. It also moved things along a little on the LGBT front with some allusion to Deadpool's pansexuality along with the Negasonic/Yukio romance.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Deadpool (2016)

 

Written by Rhett Reese And Paul Wernick

Directed by Tim Miller

Deadpool: "I didn't ask to be super, and I'm no hero. But when you find out your worst enemy is after your best girl, the time has come to be a fucking superhero."

Ah yes, the most irreverent of characters from Marvel. The guy who would likely fuck you as well as kill you but before assaulting your eardrums with a barrage of puns. Yup, it's that guy. Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), otherwise known as Deadpool and this was his origin story.

It's a story being told out of order. In the present day, Deadpool was out for revenge against the man responsible for his healing/mutated face/powers aka Ajax (Ed Skrein). He's also known as Francis Freeman and he's very much the British villain of the piece, backed up by Angel Dust (Gina Carano), who doesn't say much but can pack a punch.

Deadpool's grievance also included the fact that Francis only went and kidnapped Wilson's estranged girlfriend, Vanessa Carlysle (Morena Baccarin). In the comics, Vanessa's a mutant named Copycat. Here she's mostly the wise cracking love interest/escort with Baccarin making the most out of the role.

On a serious note, the actual love story between Wade and Vanessa was actually done really well. There's a playful chemistry between Ryan Reynolds and Morena Baccarin that made it easy to root for Wade and Vanessa to make it as a couple. Of course Wade did let her down by bailing but after the events of this movie, they did get back together.

Going back to the villain of the piece. Ajax was trying to make his own mutants to use for his own nefarious reasons. He's immune to pain and like Angel Dust, he's not too easy to kill off. Saying that though, he still doesn't make it out of the movie alive, so there's that.

As for the rest of the supporting cast, it's a strong bunch of characters. For the human connection you have Wade's best friend/batender Weasel (T.J. Miller), cab driver Dopinder (Karan Soni) and Blind Al (Leslie Uggams). I enjoyed those characters but Deadpool's team up with Colossus (Stefan Kapičić) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) was the best rapport he had in the movie. Yes, the X-Men jokes were heavy handed but highly enjoyable.

- The post credit sequence laid it on thick about Cable being the main draw for the sequel.

- Ryan Reynolds previously played a mouth sewn Wade Wilson in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Ajax threatened to sew Wade's mouth shut before having him gagged during a certain scene. 

- The opening credits had fun with the placeholder names and giving the plot away.

- Stan Lee and Rob Liefield both had cameo appearances in this movie, along with Nathan Fillion. The latter's scene was cut from the theatrical release.

- Standout music: Juice Newton's Angel In The Morning, Salt-N-Pepa's Shoop and George Michael's Careless Whisper.

- Chronology: There's definitely a fair chunk of time going over the events of the movie and the lead into the present confrontation between Deadpool and Ajax.

Deadpool's a movie that while it lays it thick with the jokes, visual gags, general gore and potty mouth antics, it does have a lot going im it's favour. The breezy storytelling certainly made sure the movie didn't outstay it's welcome and after failing with Hal Jordan, at least Ryan Reynolds can say he made Wade Wilson into his own.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of House Of The Dragon: "Regent"

 

Written by Ti Mikkel

Directed by Clare Kilner 

Helaena (to Aemond): "Was the price worth it?"

From Aemond's standpoint, so far it appears that the price very much has been worth it. Criston might have stopped him in killing Aegon II at the end of the last episode but that was only a minor setback. Aegon II might be alive but he's in no condition to rule.

I mean, the guy got burned to a crisp and now will be bedridden until the plot needs him to get better but for now, it's a dose of milk of the poppy and none of his family bothering to comfort him in the slightest. In fact both Alicent and Aemond were desperate to rule in his stead. Guess which one of them actually succeeded in that regard?

Well, it certainly wasn't Alicent, who got called out on her hypocrisy by everyone in the Green Council before unanimously handing the job to Aemond. Yup, even Criston and Larys had no problem with picking Aemond over Alicent and given the crap she's pulled, this was just desserts for Alicent.

Of course things aren't very rosy for the Greens. Criston's great idea of parading Meleys's head to the smallfolk had the opposite reaction of what the idiotic Hand intended and with Aemond's great plan to basically trap everyone in King's Landing, there's going to be a riot on their hands. These turns of events have also presented an opportunity for Team Black.

Rhaenyra's council might be made up of idiotic and reckless men (not you, Jace) but it's women are far smarter. Rhaenys might not longer be with us but thanks to Baela, Jace went from being resentful of being held back to coming up with a good strategy by the end of the episode. Oh and Baela managed to also get Corlys back on side with Rhaenyra making the latter her new Hand. Baela certainly inherited Rhaenys's savvy.

Then there was Mysaria too. She's certainly proved to be an asset to the Blacks and here she managed to enlist serving Elinda to take a trip to King's Landing to sow some further dissent. At this point, the Greens really are going to get undone before we get to the finale.

As for Daemon, if Baela, Jace and Mysaria were doing their best to help Rhaenyra, he was doing the exact opposite. In fact, his delusional behaviour of wanting to be King grated throughout the episode and his recklessness with the Brackens and Blackwoods caused more damage for Rhaenyra's cause. Can we just get him out of Harrenhal before he fucks up even more? I'm still enjoying the likes of Simon Strong and Alys Rivers and their scenes with Daemon.

Last but not least, Jace really did come up with a great plan. It was about time someone decided to be assertive in finding riders for the unclaimed dragons and while Rhaenyra didn't seem sure to begin with, she did come around to the idea. Between this and getting the North, the Vale and and the Twins to bend the knee, Jace really stepped up for the Blacks this week.

- Rhaena and Lady Jeyne Arryn (Amanda Collin) seem to have a bit of tension with each other. Jeyne basically got baby dragons.

- Rhaenyra has spent the last few episodes being at odds with Alfred Broome (Jamie Kenna). Instead of getting rid of him, she gave him a mission. She was also reading up on Visenya.

- Aemond had the sense to get the ratcatchers cut down and we got to see that dog again. Elinda should bring him back to Dragonstone if she gets out of King's Landing alive.

- Daemon imagined having sex with his mother, Alyssa (Emeline Lambert). He also saw Laena again. It does seem like Alys is intentionally driving him mad.

- Showing Meleys's head like that seemed to be indicative of a curse. The smallfolk sensed that and so did Rhaenyra. Even Gwayne wasn't fond of the idea. 

- Chronology: Not long from where the previous episode left off.

I'll admit that I didn't enjoy Regent as much as the last two episodes but mulling over it again, there was a fair amount in it's favour. Saying that though, Daemon has certainly lost his mojo this season while everyone else has started to step up in the Blacks.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of My Adventures With Superman 2x09: "Pierce The Heavens, Superman"

 

Written by Jake Wyatt

Directed by Jen Bennett 

Lois: "I love you, Clark Kent."

Superman: "I will always love you, Lois Lane."

After the previous episode, we had Superman taken over by Brainiac and Lois decided to take on the Black Mercy herself. Needless to say, it wsnt her brightest idea, given that it totally took over Superman.

Inside the Black Mercy, Superman found himself reunited with Jor-El and Lara, but a much colder version of his birth parents. A version that seemed very determined to suppress both his free will and memories as best they could. What they hadn't banked on was Lois and how impossible getting rid of her would turn out to be.

Lois being a spanner in the works of couldxwoukd proof to be essential. No matter how much Jor-El and Lara tried to remove her, the more her influence grew on Clark. Yet again, we got another big moment of love being declared between Superman and Lois. It was also vital in breaking the Black Mercy from the both of them.

The last act of the episode was an invasion on Metropolis by Brainiac and its done pretty well here. It was also a good way of showing how utterly ineffectual Amanda Waller's plan for the city's protection with Brainiac easily taking control of her robots and then there was the team up of Superman and Kara to take out Brainiac.

With this being the penultimate episode, of course Brainiac managed to temporarily defeat both Superman and Kara, mainly through the use of Kryptonite. Right now, things aren't looking good for the citizens of Metropolis. 

- I did like having the Daily Planet team and Vicki Vale band together to distract Waller in order to rescue Jimmy and Kara.

- Superman got a nice new suit after Brainiac's hold on him was broken. Now we have to get Kara out of that Brainiac warrior look.

- Even in his mind, Clark's so nice he won't even kill a Sun Eater. 

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off.

A rather strong penultimate episode. Pierce The Heavens, Superman had some really great characters moments and action sequences. I've enjoyed this Brainisc arc and I can't wait to see how next week's finale will conclude it.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of MaXXXine (2024)

 

Written And Directed by Ti West 

Maxine: "Now, say it with me... I will not accept a life I do not deserve!"

Concluding a trilogy ain't an easy feat and for one where every movie could stand alone as it's own thing, maybe it should've been easier. There's no denying that both X and Pearl were slam dunks. Can MaXXXine boast the same?

For me, I rather think it does. Perhaps my bias for this time period is showing but an 1980s slasher movie was definitely going to be up my alley. Also the change in location and this was definitely a different flavour of a movie to cap off this trilogy.

Six years has passed since Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) survived the antics of her encounter with Pearl Douglas (Mia Goth) and she's found herself in LA, trying to get her big acting break. After getting rejected for a music video, her agent Teddy Knight (Giancarlo Esposito) has gotten her the part in a horror sequel, titled The Puritan II. 

To be fair, in spite of the obstacles of her work in the adult entertainment industry, Maxine managed to impress both casting directors and the movie's director, Elizabeth Bender (Elizabeth Debicki). The latter in particular sensing something in Maxine that could be molded into a future star but what should be a great time for the budding starlet did come with it's own set backs.

For instance, the backdrop of the Night Stalker saw various friends of Maxine such as Tabby (Halsey) and Leon (Moses Sumney) getting brutally killed as well as Maxine's co-star, Molly Bennett (Lily Collins). However it's not the Night Stalker responsible for these killings but needless to say, they're connected to Maxine.

When Maxine didn't have local detectives such as Williams (Michelle Monaghan) and Torres (Bobby Cannavale) on her back, she also had rogue private investigator John Labat (Kevin Bacon) terrorising her at every opportunity. However it didn't end well for him when Maxine called in some favours.

As for the actual killers, it's a religious cult led by Maxine's fanatical father, Ernest Miller (Simon Prast) with a personal vendetta towards the corruption of Hollywood. Motive wise, it makes sense, was set up as far as X and thematically works for Maxine and her overall trajectory as a character. Personally I found it very satisfying though Maxine can sustain her new found success make for an interesting fourth movie.

- Sophie Thatcher from Yellowjackets had a nice but small role as an FX artist that helped make a mold of Maxine's head for the movie.

- I'm glad we got a gay character in this movie with Leon, who owned a video store. Too bad he got killed halfway through the movie but he was a good friend to Maxine.

- Like every bloke who watched this movie, that scene where Maxine dealt with a would be attacker, I did squirm. Saying that, he did have it coming.

- Nice use of the house from the film, Psycho. Yes, it was a set piece.

- Standout music: Animotion's Obsession, Frankie Goes To Hollywood's Welcome To The Pleasuredome and Kim Carnes Bette Davies Eyes.

- Chronology: This film takes place in 1985 Los Angeles. There's also a flashback to 1959 with a young Maxine quoting her father's catchphrase.

As a trilogy ender, I think MaXXXine does a great job with bringing things to a conclusion. On a thematic level, it worked for me with Mia Goth doing an excellent job throughout. I will admit that some of the supporting cast could've been a bit more utilised but overall, I think this movie will gain a following overtime. 

Rating: 8 out of 10 

Doctor Who - SDCC 2024, Massive Big Finish News, Spin-Off Talk (Spoilers)

As it's been three weeks since the ending of Series 14 (Season 1), you'd think we'd get a little breather on the Doctor Who front. Yeah, not happening.

After sitting out San Diego Comic Con due to the actor and writers strikes last year, Doctor Who will be heading to Hall H on July 26th for an hour long panel from 12.30pm to 1.30pm. On that panel will be showrunner Russell T. Davies as well as series stars Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson, aka the 15th Doctor and Ruby Sunday.

The hour long panel will discuss all things in relation to the recent series that aired on BBC1 and Disney+. However we can expect more to be revealed there too. Quite possibly a certain spin off being finally confirmed or a trailer for upcoming Christmas special, Joy To The World with guest star Nicola Coughlan or perhaps details on Varada Sethu's companion Belinda for Series 15 (Season 2).

Meanwhile fans of both Doctor Who and Star Trek fans can enjoy an Intergalactic Friendship Panel: Star Trek x Doctor Who panel. This will be hosted by Alex Kurtzman and Russell T. Davies. The official BBC site has more details on this event during SDCC.

For those of you who had been missing the 13th Doctor and Yasmin Khan, well today, some brilliant news just got revealed. Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill will be reprising their beloved roles for Big Finish. Yup, you heard correctly.

The Chris Chibnall era of Doctor Who might have only ended back in October 2022 but in 2025, it'll be coming back with a vengeance. Confirmed months ago were box sets for both the Fugitive Doctor (Jo Martin) and the Spy Master (Sacha Dhawan). Now it's time for the 13th Doctor and Yasmin Khan to get their audio debut.

The upcoming series will comprise of 12 hour long stories due for release in July 2025, titled The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures. Details on writers, directors, guest cast and the stories themselves have to be confirmed but rest assured, when they are, I will definitely talk about them on here. I've been critical of Chibnall's era but this is fantastic news and I'm so happy for Jodie and Mandip as well.

Last but by no means least, that spin off. For the last year, it was rumoured to be a UNIT show, an anthology series on popular monsters, a former Doctor show and a series about the Sea Devils. Truth of the matter is, there's been a lot of rumours but will SDCC finally put us out of our misery and actually confirm what it actually is?

One of the persistent rumours has been the title for the show - The War Between The Land And The Sea. Those exact words were mentioned in the Series 14 episode, 73 Yards and there was a recent rumour of the spin off potentially featuring former 10th Doctor (David Tennant) companion, Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman). Not to mention Russell T. Davies also admitting that he planned to work with Eve Myles again. She played Gwen Cooper in Torchwood. 

At this point, I'll take what I can get, spin off wise but the idea of both Martha Jones and Gwen Cooper appearing in this is too good and opportunity to pass up. In two weeks, I'll hopefully be reporting some very good news here.

The Doctor Who panel will be from July 26th from 12.30pm to 1.30pm at Hall H. Season 1 will be released on DVD, Blu-Ray and limited edition steelbook from August 12th 2024.

My Review of Smiley (2022, Netflix Limited Series)

 

Written by Guillem Clua 

Directed by Marta Pahissa

Alex (to Bruno): "I know this is crazy and we always end up fighting. We're completely different. Like Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant but if they gave it a shot, why shouldn't we? We might not have a happy ending but we can have a beginning if you want."

Pride Month might have been last month and while it's definitely too early right now for Christmas movies, I had been meaning to catch up with this limited series released back in 2022. As they say: better late than never.

The premise for this show seemed to be based on a chance, miscommunication, an attraction of opposites and the red thread. Be certain that last one would be rather important with our protagonists Alex (Carlos Cuevas) and Bruno (Miki Esparbe). Two men completely different to one another, yet throughout this eight part series, are also very much drawn to each other.

For this show, expect every rom-com trope under the sun but this show has such a sweet disposition, its hard not to be charmed as gym obsessed barman Alex accidentally leaving an angry rant intended for an ex-boyfriend would bring architect and movie buff Bruno into his life. The attraction's immediate but so would be their clash of personalities. Alex and Bruno do the deed by the second episode but then spend the majority of the season with other people.

Yup, that's where both Ibra (Cedrick Mugisha) and Ramon (Ramon Pujol) would factor into the series. As characters, they're both likable enough but ultimately placeholder love interests until Alex and Bruno realise that they want to be together. Of course until you have to wait until virtually the last minute for the leads to properly get together but at least when it happened, it felt earned enough.

Of course while the show was predominantly focused on both Alex and Bruno's romance and their separate worlds that kept getting pulled further into each other, the supporting characters were also decent to watch. At first, I wasn't that greatly interested in a lot of these characters but as the series progressed, the more they started to interest me.

With Alex, there was his mother, Rosa (Amparo Fernandez), whose reunion with former friend Ramiro (Carles Sanjaime) revealed a side about Alex's father that was a bit of a surprise. Also pivotal to Alex's world included lesbian couple Vero (Meritxell Calvo) and Patri (Giannina Fruttero). Their relationship also had plenty of angst while drag entertainer and bar co-owner, Javier/Keena (Pepon Nieto) provided a bit of levity to proceedings.

As for Bruno, we never got to meet his own family but his relationship with co-worker and best friend, Albert (Eduardo Lloveras) and Nuria (Ruth Llopis) was rather lovely to see through the series. Not to mention, his bond with his adorable dog certainly endeared the character quite a bit.

- The episode titles for the show were When Alex Met Bruno, The Wings Of Icarus, The Beast Of My Girl, Start Over, Every Sheep In It's Pen, One Degree Of Seperation, Five Minutes Before The Countdown and The Red Thread.

- Alex's favourite film was Frozen but the Katherine Hepburn/Cary Grant movie, Bringing Up Baby was a source of bonding for both him and Bruno.

- Every single episode used split screen to mostly good effect. The fourth episode had fun with the Grindr style profile talking.

- Creator/writer Guillem Clua had written this as a stage play which ran for three years and it had been written in Catalan, despite mostly being in Spanish.

- The romance between Javier and Ramiro was a nice addition to the second half of the season. Vero and Patri had been together for seven years. 

- Chronology: The show took place during Christmas 2022 and early 2023 in Barcelona. Alex was 32 and Bruno was 36.

Smiley certainly had a lot going for it. A great central love story, generous helpings of guy on guy action and a strong line up of supporting players. I definitely enjoyed watching Alex and Bruno's story play out over the eight episodes with both leads giving it their all. I would've liked a second season but at least it didn't end on a cliffhanger.

Rating: 8 out of 10

The Future Of Ryan Murphy Shows

I've been wanting to do this particular blog for a while now and with the increased amount of shows that Ryan Murphy is involved in, here's a rundown of what to expect.

911: Season 8 of the long running firefighter show will return to ABC from September 26th and will be paired with another Ryan Murphy production, making Thursday nights a Murphy double bill. Expect more of Buck/Tommy and maybe Eddie, lol.

911: Lone Star: Season 5 of the hit show got delayed and pushed to the Fall on FOX. The date has yet to be officially confirmed but there are rumours that this might be the final season for the popular spin off series. Season 4 ended with TK and Carlos tying the knot.

All's Fair: Kim Kardashian clearly enjoyed working with Ryan Murphy and vice versa because now they're working on an all female led law firm drama for Hulu. The better part though would be Jon Robin Baitz executive producing this and the castings of Glenn Close and Halle Berry. Expect this to debut in 2025 with filming due to start shortly.

American Horror Stories: Last October, FX on Hulu premiered the first four episodes of the third season as part of their Huluween event. Expect the remaining five episodes in October with leprechauns, clones, things under the bed, werewolves and the backrooms being the order of the day.

American Horror Story: It's been three months since the second half of Delicate wrapped but there's been no word on Season 13 as of yet. My guess is that it's been pushed to 2025 and FX have yet to officially decide whether it'll be the final season or not. I'm sure we'll know in due course the fate of this long running series.

American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez: Ryan Murphy just loves his anthology shows and this is another one for FX. Airing with a double bill from September 17th, the show will delve into the rise and fall of disgraced NFL player Aaron Hernandez. Josh Andres Rivera will play Hernandez with the cast also including Patrick Schwarzenegger, Jake Cannavale, Lindsay Mendez and Tony Yazbeck to name a few.

Doctor Odyssey: If you wanted a show that looked like Grey's Anatomy met 911, then this series might be for you. The cast includes Joshua Jackson, Sean Teale, Philippa Soo, Don Johnson and Callum Swan. The premise being on a cruise liner does have a lot of potential and I don't doubt it'll put the naughty in nautical as well. Premieres September 26th on ABC.

Grotesquerie: Potentially filling the void for American Horror Story and even American Crime Story, this upcoming detective horror show rounded out its cast with Niecy Nash, Leslie Manville and Courtney B. Vance. It's also added both Travis Kelce and Nicholas Alexander Chavez to the cast. An airdate for FX has yet to be confirmed but expect it late 2024.

Mid-Century Modern: Of all the upcoming shows, this might be the one I'm the least excited for. It's also potentially not going to happen as only a pilot episode has been commissioned for Hulu so far. Basically, Matt Bomer, Nathan Lane and Linda Lavin are in a Golden Girls knock off, playing variations of Rose, Dorothy and Sophia. There's also a role for a hot pool boy that's yet to be cast. I'd be shocked if this gets picked up as a series. 

Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story: The follow up from the successful Dahmer series has both Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez playing the Menendez brothers as well as Chloe Sevigny and Javier Bardem as their parents. The series will premiere on Netflix in late 2024.

I'll catch up with most of not all these shows over the next year. Some I'm looking forward to more than others.

My Review of Challengers (2024)

 

Written by Justin Kuritzkes

Directed by Luca Guadagnino

Tashi: "How often does this happen? Going after the same girl?"

Patrick: "Not as often as you'd think."

Art: "We usually have different types."

One of the most talked about movies of the year and while I missed it in theatres, I did wait for the digital release. Was it worth the hype? Yes, I'd say it was actually. I found this quite an interesting movie to watch.

I'm not a big tennis affictionado but I find it less boring compared to other sports. Tennis was certainly the order of the day here, but also in the midst of a love triangle between two friends/rival Patrick Zweig (Josh O'Connor) and Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) and the rather aloof, Tashi Duncan (Zendaya).

Love triangles are not always easy to get right as often, there's one character you care less about than others. Fortunately with this movie, all three characters are compelling in their own right as well as with and against each other that it made it easier to get invested. It also helped that our leading cast radiate chemistry off one another in spades.

In fact, while both Art and Patrick get romantically involved with Tashi at different points throughout the movie, the amount of sexual tension that both men have for each other was as palpable as what they had for Tashi. I'm not joking here. Even Tashi spotted it and didn't want to be a homewrecker between the pair.

Of course as time passed throughout the movie, Tashi had gotten into a relationship with Patrick that ended after she sustained a career damaging injury. Then she settled down with Art, had a kid with him and was desperate for Art not to end his career that she resorted to trying to get Patrick to throw a game to salvage her husband's career.

By the time we got into the last act of the movie, both Patrick and Art were fighting to win that one last game. Tashi was in the crowd, almost not knowing she was meant to root for and the tension practically leapt off the screen. Even I was very getting very into this fictional match by the very end.

- The movie tries to age Zendaya a bit with a haircut but does nothing to show either Josh O'Connor or Mike Faist being older. 

- The strikes delayed this movie's release by nearly seven months.

- The churro scene between Art and Patrick was just as hot as the two of them inadvertently kidding each other.

- Some of the tennis balls being hit were the work of CGI, even though the actors did train for their roles.

- Standout music: Nelly's Hot In Here, Bruce Springsteen's Tunnel Of Love and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's Compress/Repress.

- Chronology: We span from 2006 to 2019 during the entirety of the movie as well as the US Open.

I really enjoyed Challengers. As a movie, it certainly lived up to the hype. Zendaya, Josh O'Connor and Mike Faist were absolutely on fantastic form with one another and the chemistry between all three was off the charts. Easily one of the best movies this year. 

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of House Of The Dragon: "The Red Dragon And The Gold"

 

Written by Ryan Condal

Directed by Alan Taylor

Aegon II: "What would you have me do, mother?"

Alicent : "Do simply what is needed of you. Nothing."

Going into this episode, I knew exactly what to expect with this one. Well, at least the very last scene. Boy, did that scene hurt. There are plenty of standout performances here, but without a shadow of a doubt, the best came from Eve Best. 

When it came to Team Black, Rhaenys was always the smartest woman in the room and this episode, she wisely summised that Rhaenyra couldn't go into the battle at Rook's Rest. Rhaenys decided that she would go into the battle instead and yes, it really ended as badly as it could've done. It was brave for Rhaenys to step in but it cost both her and Meleys their lives.

If it had just been Aegon II and Sunfyre, Rhaenys might have made it out of the episode alive but of course that little shit Aemond had to show up with Vhagar and pull the same dirty tactics that he did with Luke last season. Aemond's shaping up to be my second favourite member of the Greens. I need that guy to get some form of comeuppance for Rhaenys.

At least when it came to Rhaenys, she went out like a total badass. It sucks losing the character but her death will have certainly galvanised this war between the Blacks and the Greens and it's not like the latter came out of this battle totally victorious either.

Criston might have used the fairly modest Rook's Rest to smoke out a dragon but damage was done to the Greens. Not just by Rhaenys and Meleys but also down to Aemond getting his own back at Aegon at precisely the worst time for the latter. This episode weirdly drew sympathy for Aegon. Between Aemond trying to murder him and Alicent berating him to do nothing, the guy has no one in his corner.

Alicent's continued crappy parenting also served as a contrast to Rhaenyra and Jace this week too. Jace might have been mad at his mother taking a trip to King's Landing but when the chips are down, he has Rhaenyra's back. Rhaenyra even told Jace about the song of Ice and Fire. The very thing Alicent won't tell Aegon about.

Back to Team Black, Rhaenyra does need to get better control over her council as this week, it felt like they were all going to up and leave due to their impatience of Rhaenyra's softly approach. They certainly approved of her finally wanting to go into battle. Rhaenyra now knows that she cannot avoid bloodshed.

As for Daemon, well Harrenhal has been a trippy experience for him and mostly down to Alys Rivers. I am loving that character and her interactions with Daemon have been a delight. We can also thank Alys for more hallucinations of young Rhaenyra, Aemond and now Laena (Nanna Blondell). I don't trust Alys in the slightest but I certainly am enjoying her presence.

- Ser Simon Strong helped Daemon meet up with Ser Oscar Tully (Archie Barnes) and Ser Willem Blackwood (Jack Parry-Jones) to build support for the Blacks.

- Criston's misogyny towards Rhaenyra reared it's ugly head too when killing one of her supporters. I do love that Gwayne Hightower hates his guts.

- Alicent got herself some Moon Tea and Larys spotted it. How has she not found a way to get rid of him or at least under her control by now?

- Rhaenys made it clear to Corlys that she knew exactly who Alyn of Hull was to the latter. Even without book knowledge, most viewers would've guessed by now.

- Aegon II embarrassed himself by mixing up his Valyrian words, which Aemond took great pleasure in. Aegon also got rid of Viserys's history books.

- Chronology: A few days since the events of the last episode. 

There was a ridiculous amount of hype for The Red Dragon And The Gold and it certainly delivered. I absolutely loved this episode. The dragon battles were brutal and Rhaenys got one hell of an exit. Eve Best deserves all the praise here.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of My Adventures With Superman 2x08: "The Death Of Clark Kent"

 

Written by Angela Entzminger 

Directed by Kiki Manrique 

Brainiac (to Lois/Jimmy): "There is no more Kal-El. There is only the machine who is Empire."

After having the title character sit out the previous episode, this one brought Superman back into the mix, but alas, for him, a common Superman trope happened here. No, not that one. The other one. Yeah, Superman just cannot catch a break from bring taken over.

With the use of a device called Black Mercy, Brainiac spent a good portion of this episode invading Superman's mind and corrupting his memories before eventually succeeding in taking him over. At least Superman tried to put up a fight though it was one that he ended up losing.

In the battle of wits, we got to see Superman's past battles with Luvewire and Parasite somewhat distorted before Brainiac realised that Lois and Jimmy were his biggest strengths. Yes, we got to watch Superman being isolated by Lois during Brainiac's hostile takeover of him. 

With Brainiac fully in control of Superman, this episode saw him lose control of Kara. Well, to be fair, Brainiac practically traded her in for Kal-El and Kaea got a very harsh wake up about her father's true motives. On the plus side, at least she managed to team up with Lois, Jimmy, Monsieur Mallah and the Brain.

I really loved this team up throughout the episode and I thought the mutual attraction between Kara and Jimmy was handled well here. Lois also got past her own issues with Kara, guilt for rejecting Clark and even came up with a plan to rescue Superman. Yeah, she's used the Black Mercy.

- We got a lot of different memories being corrupted by Brainiac, including a destroyed Smallville at one point.

- While Lous was right to initially mistrust Kara, the latter was also right to mistrust Lois.

- Jimmy is definitely going to have to explain to Kara that he's not the leader of Earth.

- Chronology: From where the last episode left off.

I really liked The Death Of Clark Kent. Brainiac's manipulations of Superman were done nicely throughout the episode and Kara's team up with the gang was fun to watch. This Brainiac story has been great.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Nosferatu: A Symphony Of Horror (1922)

 

Written by Henrik Galeen

Directed by F.W. Murnau

Title Card: "Nosferatu. Does this word not sound like the midnight call of the Bird of Death? Do not utter it, or the images of life will fade - into pale shadows and ghostly dreams will rise from your heart and feed your Blood."

With Robert Eggers soon to release his own version, it was high for me to actually the original. Nothing wrong with a bit of German Expressionism on a Friday evening I thought. Nothing wrong with it at all.

Basically this movie's an unofficial adaptation of Dracula, only with some name changes and a rather silent atmosphere. After all, it's a silent movie and a very creepy one at that. It's amazing how unsettling this movie can be at times.

Anyways, you've got your protagonist of sorts with Thomas Hutter (Gustav Von Wangenheim), a man from a small German town, married to Ellen (Greta Schroder). His life took an interesting turn when he was assigned to travel to Transylvania to meet up with the mysterious Court Orlok (Max Schreck). The fact that Orlok by name frightened the locals should've given Hutter a hint of what was to come.

Instead Thomas met with the Count and like the adaptation it's based on, the good Hutter ended up being the Count's plaything and barely surviving the ordeal. As for the Count, this version has a trip to Wisborg in mind as well as the pursuit of Ellen as well.

I'll admit the dynamic with Orlok and Ellen isn't as refined as Dracula's with Mina's in most adaptations are but her role in Orlok's downfall served as a brilliant way to end this adaptation. Of course, it's a bittersweet ending for Ellen too, leaving behind a broken hearted Thomas.

As an adaptation, the biggest success would be while Nosferatu hit nearly all the same beats as Dracula, it still does them differently. There's no youthful visage for Orlok to hide behind and no brides to terroriseoor Thomas as well. Not to mention some characters are merged (Ellen literally being Mina and Lucy) while others like Knock (the Renfield of the bunch) are still given their own moments to shine.

- There's a few versions of this movie that have survived with most of them restored onto physical media.

- Orlok's origins were dipped into occultism for this movie. Nosferatu is an archaic Romanian word for "vampire".

- This was the first vampire film to have a vampire die by sunlight and it's been a thing ever since.

- Chronology: 1838, in both Wisborg and Transylvania.

Needless to say but Nosferatu is an utterly sublime piece of cinema that has well and truly stood the test of time. It's chillingly atmospheric, the use of score music certainly set the mood and the performances from everyone but especially Max Schreck are sensational. 

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of Terrifier 2 (2022)

 

Written And Directed by Damien Leone 

Jonathan: "They used me to get to you. They lured you here for a reason."

Sienna: "Why would you say that?"

Jonathan: "It's what Daddy saw."

When you release a horror movie that managed to be a hit but rightfully got criticism for it's handling of women, how do you follow up with your sequel? Well, you make an effort to course correct and to this movie's credit, there's definitely a concentrated attempt to do better.

In the last movie, we saw the brutal treatment that characters such as Tara, Dawn and Victoria all received at the hands of killer clown. Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton). Two of them died and Victoria's fate certainly feels worse than death itself. She's also a factor in this sequel.

However if the first movie enjoyed switching up final girls, this sequel similarly does the same. Here the focus fell on to teenage girl Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera) and her younger brother, Jonathan (Elliot Fullham) as both of them finds themselves to being the latest targets for a certain clown. Not to mention anyone else in their orbit.

Notably both Sienna and Jonathan's mother, Barbara (Sarah Voigt) finds herself to be one of the many kills by Art. However, before her death, she was largely depicted as an abrasive character, who struggled to connect with her children as well as believe the strange goings on that surrounded them as well.

At first it seemed like Jonathan's fascination with Art was going to lead to him being a budding killer himself but meeting Art in person managed to scare him straight. Then there was Sienna herself, who in one movie alone certainly proved her mettle as a final girl for the 2020s.

Dressed as an angel warrior, it was up to Sienna to not only save both herself and her brother while Art also murdered her friends but it was revealed that her own father predicted Art's antics. The movie also seemed to imply something supernatural about Sienna as well as she managed to defeat Art but not really.

Like many horror baddies, Art does refuse to stay dead and in this movie he also got himself an ally in Little Pale Girl (Amelie McLain). I don't think Art needed a sidekick this early on but I also found Little Pale Girl to be just as creepy and disgusting as Art, so I guess I was wrong. As for how Art will be back for the upcoming third movie.

That was where the post credit scene came into play. Poor Victoria had a worse time than Sienna and Jonathan given that she had to give birth to Art. It made for a truly disgusting ending to a mostly improved second solo outing for the villainous clown. 

- Professional wrestler Chris Jericho had a role in the movie as a nurse named Burke. Felissa Rose and Tamara Glynn also have small roles in the movie.

- The Clown Commercial dream/nightmare sequence was particularly well done.

- This movie was filmed before COVID, but also reshot after lockdowns as well.

- Chronology: From where the first one left off after Victoria's attack on Monica but a year since Art escaping the morgue. Still set in Miles County, New York.

There's definitely an improvement in Terrifier 2. The clear that's put into Sienna as a character as well as the supernatural implications with both her and Art the Clown. These along with Victoria's tragic continued existence are certainly worth expanding on in the next movie.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Terrifier (2016)

 

Written And Directed by Damien Leone

Dawn (to Tara, re Art): "That's the nicest thing a guy's done for you all night."

I know it's a tad early to be watching movies set during Halloween but I'm not much of a summer person and I thought it was time to reassess these movies. This first one, yup, it's a bit of a challenge.

Shot on a very small budget and very much looking that way, the movie opened with bitchy talk show host Monica Brown (Katie Maguire) interviewing the badly disfigured Victoria Heyes (Samantha Scaffidi) on live television. It turns out that a year ago, Victoria barely survived an attack by a brutal serial killer named Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton).

Victoria might have survived but clearly her encounter with Art did a serious enough number on her that she ended up savagely attacking a mocking Monica backstage. Then the rest of the movie jumped back a year to the night in question.

A year prior, Victoria's sister, Tara (Jenna Kanell) and the latter's friend, Dawn (Catherine Corcoran) had been out celebrating Halloween when they had the misfortune to bump into Art the Clown. At first he seemed like an oddball but it didn't take long for both Tara and Dawn to realise how dangerous he truly was. 

Yeah, one of the main issues with this movie is that Art's brutal attacks on both Tara and Dawn but the latter especially came across as really exploitative and nasty. For a character who doesn't speak a word throughout the entire, there's a not very subtle undercurrent of misogyny from Art in the way he targets women.

That's not to say there aren't male characters who don't get violently killed by the homicidal clown but the emphasis on how he goes after women was far more pronounced here. Especially when Victoria got thrown into the mix by the second half of the movie.

In terms of final girls, the switch up from Tara to Victoria isn't strictly a bad thing but even by Damien Leone's own admission, they're not very well developed as characters. Still though with Art being unkillable and Victoria's dark descent, at least they set up the work a sequel.

- Art the Clown originally appeared in two short movies that got merged into anthology movie All Hallows' Eve.

- Art had a very nasty habit of writing his name, using his own feces. He also has a trash bag of weapons.

- I did feel bad for that poor lady with the doll who foolishly tried to appeal to Art's humanity. It did not end well for her.

- Chronology: Halloween 2017 and 2018 respectively in Miles County, New York.

Terrifier undoubtedly is a mixed bag of a first movie. There's no doubt that Art the Clown works as a horror baddie and it's not hard to see why the character has quickly become a hit with horror fans. Sadly the protagonists are poorly developed, which does derail things a bit here.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of House Of The Dragon: "The Burning Mill"

 

Written by David Hancock

Directed by Geeta Vasant Patel

Rhaenyra: "He spoke to you of the song of ice and fire? It's a story he once told about Aegon the Conqueror."

Alicent: "The Conqueror?"

And just like that, this show really has decided to deviate further from the source material than ever before. That last act. A mixture of two characters that needed to have a scene together, even if from a logical point of view, it was unwise. 

Yes, Rhaenyra went from being smart about securing the safety of her younger children by sending them away with Rhaena (who wasn't best pleased about being taken out of the equation) to Pentos to being completely reckless with her own trip to the Red Keep. The ways in which this could've gone wrong for her had Alicent not shown her own mercy.

Now, here's the thing. I loved the final scene with Rhaenyra and Alicent and the more screen time that Emma D'Arcy and Olivia Cooke have the better, but Rhaenyra literally put herself in harm's way and only was half successful in het actual goal. Reasoning with Alicent was a lost cause but at least she had proof that Viserys hadn't changed his mind about being his heir.

Unfortunately for Alicent, she now knows for sure that she misinterpreted Viserys's final words and her undeserving son shouldn't be King. Of course Alicent would double down to the massive blunder she made. At this point, she almost doesn't have a choice. She has no allies within the Greens and war is about to properly break out. Alicent really has to own up to her role but likely won't for the time being.

Sticking with the Greens, Aegon saw the slaughter between the Brackens and Blackwoods as a good thing and even Criston got cocky this week with his foolhardy plan to take control of Riverrun/Harrenhal. However having to deal with Alicent's brother, Ser Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox) wasn't something he was expecting. Gwayne made an amusing annoyance for Criston.

Going back to the Blacks though, was Daemon's words about Rhaenyra not wanting to shed blood too on point? Even this week, the other Lords started to question her reluctance to go fully into war but after the end of this one, they're about to get their wish. Rhaenyra might have wanted to avoid war but now she has no choice but to embrace it. 

As for Daemon, his side quest to Harrenhal certainly had it's moments. His clear annoyance over Larys's uncle, Simon Strong (Simon Russell Beale) easily pledging allegiance to the Blacks made me laugh. Daemon desperately wanted to kill someone but the lack of conflict hindered his bloodlust. Daemon really having fun unless he's deep in a fight.

For those who have wanted the show to explore the supernatural side of things, you're in luck with this episode. Not only did Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) make a cryptic introduction but we also got to see Daemon hallucinate seeing the younger Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) tending to Jaehaerys. Talk about a pleasant surprise. I was happy seeing Milly Alcock back on the show.

- This episode properly introduced Ulf White (Tom Bennett), who foolishly claimed to be a half brother of Daemon and Viserys. 

- Aegon humiliated Aemond at the brothel while Helaena told Alicent that she forgave her. Helaena also showed empathy for small folk who've lost children.

- Mysaria became Rhaenyra's Mistress of Whispers while Larys became Aegon's Master of Whispers. Rhaenyra also talked of Seasmoke being restless.

- Rhaenys wanted Rhaena to get Corlys to be his heir. Corlys would prefer Jeffrey, which is telling. 

- Four dragon eggs while Lady Jeyne Arryn was also promised a dragon. We should be meeting her soon. 

- Chronology: Not long from where the last episode left off. Rhaenyra also got into the Red Keep in record time. 

I think I enjoyed The Burning Mill the best so far this season. The last scene did defy logic a bit but I can't begrudge the writers wanting audiences to get a new scene between Rhaenyra and Alicent. That cameo, plus the new characters introduced and this one had a lot to offer. 

Rating: 9 out of 10