My Review of How To Get Away With Murder's 6x08: "I Want To Be Free"

Written by Hadi Nicholas Deeb
Directed by Alrick Riley

Mystery Caller (to Annalise): "Once you arrive, we'll call you with further instructions."

And we have it or do we? Going by the flash forward, it actually did look like Annalise was finally done with everything and was about to fake her death and get the hell out of there. However going by the trailer for the mid season finale, something else could be happening as well.

As for present day stuff, we got the whole Nate vs. Birkhead trial with Bonnie quickly being taken out of the mix as the former's lawyer and Tegan stepping in with some shadowing from Annalise on the snarky front. Then the case resulted in Jorge being publicly outed as a murderer and Birkhead having to do some damage control.

Of course this happened after Bonnie had to suffer from making herself rather known and ended up in a car accident, resulting her in being rather mad with Frank and Annalise once she was aware that her boyfriend really was an innocent man after all. Bonnie certainly didn't catch a break in this episode.

Speaking of breaks, Asher thankfully did get one this week. Sure, things with him and Michaela are still on shaky-ish ground thanks to Gabriel being a dick but at least he was able to solve the Snow White case and bag himself a nice cheque to boot. By the way, I thought the use of that particular thought experiment was pretty clever and worked well in the overall episode.

As for the rest of the gang - the sooner both Nate and Gabriel are gone, the better. Why any of the others bother with them at this point beggars belief. Michaela certainly let Gabriel cloud her judgement a bit too much this episode but Tegan was on fine form yet again.

Then there was Connor and Oliver. Even though we didn't get follow up on last week's flash forward with the latter, I did like that the elephant in the room was addressed with Connor's confession. Both Connor and Oliver made some fair points about the situation at hand as well.

- Just realised that the Snow White case was a bit of a metaphor for what Annalise is clearly planning to do.
- Oliver with the puppy party. The obvious highlight of the episode of course.
- The first episode this season not to address Laurel in any way at all. I guess we've finally moved on from her.
- Chronology: A week before the events of the mid season finale.

I Want To Be Free is a solid if not spectacular lead in to the mid series finale. I did like the use of the Snow White case, more backstory for Tegan and it was nice to see Asher get a win as well this week. I just hope they pull off this final mystery satisfyingly though.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Vogue It Up Ladies

It's been a while but once again, a look at some of the recent programs that I have been watching.

Arrow: It's amazing that the absence of a certain ship this season has rapidly improved the quality in the show, even if there's a walking reminder who now thanks to the Monitor is in the present day. On one hand, that takes the flash forwards out of the equation for the time being but on the other hand - yeah, Mia is just awful but at least we get William and Connor in the present day, we've had reappearances from Thea, Talia and Curtis and Katie Cassidy-Rogers did a blinder with her directorial debut for the show.

Batwoman: This show still suffers from Ruby Rose being an incredibly wooden lead (any emotional scene and she struggles badly) but between Alice, the addition of Mouse and any scene that Mary has shared with Sophie and Luke has been rather fun. The show did a decent take on the Executioner but characters like Catherine and Jacob are pretty weak at times and even for a CW show, there can be some cringe worthy dialogue at times. Still, it's not as bad as I thought it would be but there's so much better out there.

His Dark Materials: Confession time: I've never read the source material and have no desire to. I've never watched the movie that came out a few years ago with Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman and after watching the first two episodes of BBC and HBO's adaptation, I don't think I'll be going much further with this show. Aside from a sublime performance from Ruth Wilson (someone get her for Doctor Who), this star studded fantasy epic has left me largely unengaged. It's gonna be a pass for me.

Pose: For a moment I was worried and feared that BBC2 would drop this show after the ratings for the first season being rather underwhelming to put it mildly. The good news is that they've been airing the second season on Saturdays in double bills and it's been fantastic. The first season was great but this season has been even better. We've seen Angel and Ricky move on with their careers, Blanca and Pray Tell confront their illnesses, Elektra slaying with the quips and a poignant episode focusing on Candy's life/death/funeral was a series highlight. I'm so glad this show has been renewed for a third season. Sublime television.

Supergirl: Of all the CW DC shows on the air at the moment, this one remains the weakest but the most recent episode was a surprising series highlight. I still don't great care for William and Andrea as characters but the latter has become slightly more interesting now they're delving into the Acrata storyline with Leviathian. On the other hand though, Jimmy got a rubbish exit, Lena has crossed too many lines and everything else feels like it's treading water until a certain event in December.

The Flash: Eh, this season has also lost a lot of momentum and it's been building ever so much to that certain event but unlike another show, not quite as well. It also doesn't help that Bloodwork is one of the dullest villains and that I still don't massively care for the new Wells either. Cisco got a decent standalone episode I suppose and Barry/Iris had some offscreen fun but so far this season has been pretty lacklustre.

- The CW have added two future DC pilots - Green Arrow And The Canaries (with Katie Cassidy, Juliana Harkavy and Katherine McNamara) and Superman And Lois (with Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch) for series orders.
- HBO Max will be doing shows for Green Lantern and Adam Strange within the next year.
- Ryan Murphy's Hollywood Netflix series will be released from May 1st 2020.
- Stranger Things has officially been renewed for a fourth season.
- Expect fan favourite actors for American Horror Story's tenth season, which might be it's final season.
- Brooklyn Nine-Nine has been renewed for an eighth season by NBC.
- Sarah Michelle Gellar will also be starring in the FOX miniseries Sometimes I Lie along with the upcoming series, Other People's Houses.
- The Gossip Girl reboot will be going ahead on HBO Max and will be more diverse than the original series was on the CW.
- Titans has been renewed for a third season with Blackfire being posed as the main antagonist for the next season.
-  Gemma Whelan, Predrag Bjelac,Steve Pemberton, Raj Bajaj,Turlough Convery, Camille Cottin and Evgenia Dodina have joined the cast for the third season of Killing Eve.

My Review of American Horror Story: 1984 - Final Girl

Written by Crystal Liu
Directed by John J. Gray

Brooke (to Donna): "I guess we're both the final girl."

Gotta be honest - I knew that this show was somewhat going to subvert the infamous trope this episode was named after and having both Brooke and Donna make it out of Camp Redwood alive (even things were a bit touch and go) absolutely worked for me. Of course, we also got a Final Boy in the mix.

Having sat out the previous two seasons, Finn Wittrock came back for the finale as an adult version of Bobby Ritcher and naturally the handsome lad wanted a bit of insight into his father's history with the forgotten camp. Both Montana and Trevor were more than happy to fill him in on that while at the same time doing their best to protect him from Richard Ramirez.

Bobby managed to make it out of Redwood alive, even though Ramirez did get to stab but things didn't become totally clear for him until he met up with Donna and Brooke in the second half of the episode. Donna working in an asylum filled Bobby in on his father being a victim of Margaret's machinations while also pointing out how the latter eventually got her just desserts.

Of course there was also the mystery of who was giving Bobby money all the years throughout his childhood and that was resolved when it was revealed that Brooke was alive and had built a pretty nice life for herself, even though she had kept her distance from Donna. It was nice to see both women reunite and while the makeup department didn't convincingly age up either Emma Roberts or Angelica Ross that much, I'm just glad both of them survived.

As for Bobby - he went back to the camp again, nearly got killed by Margaret, was saved by his father and grandmother and told by Montana to live his life but not to forget the ghosts of the camp as they've formed their own peaceful-ish community to punish Margaret and Ramirez for the rest of time.

I wish we had gotten more scenes with Bobby, Benjamin and Lavinia but the material we did get was satisfying enough. I also forgotten how great Finn Wittrock can be on the show and I seriously hope he's back next season in whatever capacity that Ryan Murphy and company can get him for.

- Chet apparently swings both ways and he nearly copped with Chef Bertie while they were watching over Ramirez.
- Ray was the one to make sure Brooke didn't die in Redwood and Brooke herself made sure that Trevor died there after Margaret killed him outside the camp.
- Standout music: Mike + The Mechanics The Living Years for the final moments of this episode.
- Chronology: 2019 for the duration of this episode but also Halloween 1989 for the flashbacks.

Final Girl marks a very satisfying ending to what was a wonderfully fantastic season. While it would've been to have kept the whole in 1984, the second half of this season really ramped things up and this finale brought it all home. This season is definitely now a Top 3 favourite for me.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Titans 2x10: "Fallen"

Written by Jamie Gorenberg
Directed by Kevin Sullivan

Mercy (re Gar): "He says he wants to be a Titan, reunited with his team. I think it's an excellent idea."

Why do I get the impression that Mercy isn't coming from an altruistic place when she agreed to that idea at the very end of this episode? Also, can I say that without the Gar/Conner/Mercy subplot, this episode really would've been a write off as the main plots were not that compelling by comparison?

Conner tried to distance himself from Krypto and Gar with little success as neither one of them would let him wallow in his guilt and for that I'm pretty happy. Of course their reunion became shortlived when Cadmus closed in on them and Mercy managed to talk Conner into surrendering himself over while also taking an interest in Gar.

It's been three episodes and so far, out of the live action versions of Mercy Graves we've had in the last three years, this version has so far been the most successful of the bunch. Natalie Gumede is playing a blinder with the character so far and we even got a little glimpse into Mercy's home life before she put a game night on hold in order to catch up with Conner. The woman is certainly committed to her job but doesn't thankfully have an infatuation with Lex Luthor either.

As for the first main plot - Dick in prison. Yup, this reeks of filler as he mostly wants to be left alone, refused to do favours for a clearly corrupt prison officer while grudgingly stepping in to help some sympathetic prisoners from being deported.

Aside from the obvious allusions to a Nightwing origin, this is a subplot that needs to be quickly dealt and soon. At least Donna has managed to put her annoyance aside to try and reach out to the rest of the team though.

Then there was the Rachel segment of the episode. She headed to a homeless shelter, saved a nice girl from an abusive boyfriend and accidentally brought a gargoyle to life, which means that Donna has now mistakenly assuming that Rachel has succumbed to her dark side. Although a marginally better plot than Dick's prison one, it's also a storyline that needs to come an abrupt end by next week.

- The episode casually revealed that Mercy has a wife and children, making her the first LGBT character on the show, though Chella Man (Jericho) is the only LGBT actor on the series so far.
- Dick was held in the Kane Holding Correctional Facility while his cellmates were going to be transferred to Corto Maltese.
- Jason, Rose,Hank, Dawn and Kory were all absent from this episode. I only missed two of them.
- Chronology: More or less from where Atonement left off.

Fallen isn't a terrible episode but neither is it a terribly exciting episode. Both Dick and Rachel's storylines reek of filler material that might have worked a little better earlier in the season but now feel a bit too late in the day to be dedicating screentime. The Cadmus was fortunately more successful though.

Rating: 6 out of 10

My Review of God's Own Country (2017)

Written And Directed by Francis Lee

Johnny (to Gheorghe): "I want you to come back. With me. And I want us to be together. I don’t want to be a fuck up anymore. I want to be with you. And that’s what I need to say."

Ah, I'm a little late to the party with this one. Released over two years and put in a relatively late time slot on Film4 last night, I have heard this movie often being compared to Brokeback Mountain and while there are some justifiable comparisons, I feel it does this lovely movie something of a disservice. It's actually better than the infamous Oscar winning movie from over a decade ago.

Starring Josh O'Connor (The Durrells) as a lonely, closeted and general messed up young farmer named Johnny Saxby. In the first few minutes of the movie we see that Johnny struggles to win the approval of his own father, Martin (Ian Hart) while being treated slightly better by his grandmother Deirdre (Gemma Jones) as he manages the family farm and cops off with a stranger during a farmer's market.

Resentment does seem to play a role in Johnny's life. He harbours it towards his own father and even towards a former friend who has moved beyond the Yorkshire village he seems to resent being trapped in and then there's the arrival of Romanian farm hand Gheorghe (Alec Secareanu) who also bears the brunt of Johnny's anger before things heat up in a different way between the pair of them in the middle of a field.

The love story between Johnny and Gheorghe is beautifully played out for the rest of this movie. It's by no means perfect, especially as Johnny can't help but hit the self destruct button but before he does, he livens up with Gheorghe's influence and there's a lovely sense of domestic bliss between the two of them that even Johnny's family can't help but notice as well.

Speaking of Johnny's family, they're nicely realised as characters and when Martin becomes the victim of a stroke, there's a noticeable shift in how him and Johnny relate to one another and if it were not for Deirdre, we may not have gotten the fan pleasing ending that this movie bows out on.

Both Josh O'Connor and Alec Secareanu have effortlessly natural chemistry with one another and everything about their love story feels authentic from start to finish. Director Francis Lee added a lot of his own personal experiences into this movie and it certainly paid off as well with the sheer truthful nature of this movie and it's characters.

- Both actors were sent to live and work on a farm to prepare for their roles and those scenes didn't use body doubles either.
- The movie's title is a big reference to Yorkshire where the entire movie was shot.
- Standout music: The use of Patrick Wolf's The Days was a sublime choice to end this movie.
- Here's a link to Francis Lee's Twitter thread, giving a wonderful break down on his thought process for the whole movie .... https://twitter.com/strawhousefilms/status/1194029093886578690

I watch more than enough LGBT cinema (and still there's lots I need to catch up on) and I have to honestly say that God's Own Country is one of the best gay male led movies I have ever watched in my life. Everything about the movie is completely on point - acting, characters, writing, cinematography, atmosphere, music, editing and so. It's such a beautiful piece of cinema that deserves to be seen by as many as possible. If you've not seen it, amend that now. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of How To Get Away With Murder's 6x07: "I'm The Murderer"

Written by Laurence Andries
Directed by Lily Mariye

Oliver: "I'm the murderer, arrest me!"

Well, I didn't expect that flashforward moment at all, no I did not. So is the mostly innocent Oliver Hampton a killer? According to his outburst that even Frank couldn't stifle at the police station, it would appear so but with two episodes left until the mid season finale, there's of course going to be some twist or simply Oliver's actions playing a role in the "death" rather than him having actual blood on his hands.

Yes, seven episodes in and I'm still skeptical as anything about Annalise actually dying. I still just don't believe it's actually going to happen and these flash forwards continue to convince me more and more that it's fake out but whether or not everyone else is in the dark or playing along with Annalise, I'm still not so sure on.

In the present day though, Oliver finally found out that Connor was the one to dismember Sam's body after Asher had brought up that there were things about that night he didn't know. We didn't really get to see Oliver react to that monumental bit of information due to the flash forward but I'm sure it's going to be an interesting one when we get to the next episode.

This episode to it's credit had a lot more going for it than the last few had. First of all, we saw Annalise reluctantly go on a date with Robert from three episodes ago and while it took her a while to get used to it, they had some nice scenes together.

Of course when Annalise wasn't getting her love life on track, she was also voicing disapproval over Frank's interest in Bonnie when she wasn't getting the latter to scare Tegan off helping Nate a little. Then there was the return of Governor Birkhead, who now has Bonnie in her sights, so that will probably wind up in disaster for the latter as well, despite being warned off by Frank.

Elsewhere in this episode, the main case revolved around a closeted gay man shooting a student and it was certainly one of the more complex cases the show has done this season. I did like the involvement of Asher and Gabriel (and that was miles better than their pettiness over Michaela), even if the result was still the teacher being sent to prison for 25 years.

- We got a rundown of some of more Connor's pre series sexual history during one scene in this episode.
- It was pretty obvious that the woman at the start of this episode was going to be a spy.
- We also saw Gabriel looking up a handgun. He did seem surprised when he learned that Annalise and Sam lost a baby.
- Chronology: A month from where the previous episode left off.

I'm The Murderer again is not a hugely plot advancing episode and with two left before the show takes it's winter break, we really do need to get on with things. The main case was great though and there were still plenty of lovely character bits but let's see how these flash forwards really play out without the misdirect now.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of American Horror Story: 1984 - Rest In Pieces

Written by Adam Penn
Directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton

Brooke: "All I have is anger."
Donna: "You're wrong, you have me and together we have a purpose. One righteous motherfucking act of revenge and if we can do that without hurting another soul in the process, it'll wash away every shitty thing we ever did."

With the title of next week's finale revealed as Final Girl, it seemed the right time for Donna to give Brooke an education on the most infamous of horror tropes as the two of them made their way to Camp Redwood with a nosy journalist for good measure.

The journalist in question Stacy immediately recognised both ladies at a diner and wasted no time in letting them know that she knew who they were. To Stacy's credit, she was more interested in getting a juicy story more than turning both women into the authorities and agreed to take them to Redwood where Brooke had to be talked out of killing her by Donna. Can I just say this Brooke/Donna team up the last few episodes has been a joy to watch?

As for Stacy, she got her story but she didn't leave Redwood alive as Margaret, Bruce and Ramirez all made sure she was taken out of the equation pretty quickly. Speaking of which, while I admire Margaret's abilities to get two serial killers to work to her interests, Bruce feels like such an unnecessary addition this late in the game. I was disappointed that Richard didn't do us a solid and just kill Bruce but there's always next week though.

As for Benjamin, this was not an entirely great episode for him. He failed to get vengeance on Ramirez, got tortured by most of the counselors and has more or less endangered his son but on the plus side, he was also reunited with his mother and brother and even the former seems to have let go of her burning hatred for him. I guess as long as he stays with Lavinia and Bobby, it might keep the counselors at bay.

Then there was Montana and Trevor. Their love arc seemed a bit rushed and a part of me is surprised that Montana is now suddenly feeling bad that she played a role in the Night Stalker's infamy. Trevor's reasons for wanting to kill himself to be with Montana also seemed a little rushed too but guess death would be a preference for most people than being married to Margaret, who seemed unfazed by her husband shagging a dead woman.

- I should've mentioned them last week but Courtney had the task of getting rid of Kajagoogoo's bodies. It seems every other musician except Billy Idol is destined to be bound to Redwood forever if Margaret's plan is a success.
- Donna's comments on a certain trope, you just know the show is going to subvert this in some way. Maybe neither survive. Maybe it's a Final Boy with Finn Wittrock's character introduced next week.
- Standout music: Eye Of The Tiger and I Wanna Know What Love Is.
- Chronology: October 30th 1989, so Halloween has got to factor into the finale next week.

Rest In Pieces is a fantastic prelide to the finale. Now that we've got all our main players at Redwood, the scene is set for one hell of an ending. Will Brooke get her revenge? Who will be the last girl standing? Will the ghosts be able to move on? I can't wait to see how this season ends.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Titans 2x09: "Atonement"

Written by Jeffrey David Thomas
Directed by Boris Mojsovski

Gar: "Conner, how would you like to be a Titan?"
Conner: "I don't think I can, Gar. You guys, you're actual heroes, I'm not."

Alternatively, this episode could've gone with the title of Nearly Everyone Hates Dick Grayson But No One More Than Himself and you could see how this would all play out. Confession might be good for the soul but all it did for Dick was to have everyone except Gar abandon the Tower and get away from Dick as far as they could.

Before getting into that part of the story, let's look at Gar. He's been seriously underused all season long and when he finally gets a moment to do stuff, it's mostly in the weakest episode of the season and with everyone nearly gone. Even Dick leaves the Tower after telling Gar to keep the faith so the only company the latter has is Krypto and Conner and that's where things get messy.

Conner did eventually wake up and there was some nice bonding scenes with him and Gar but as soon as they stepped out in public, Conner misread a situation, cops got injured and Gar had no one to turn to help fix things. I have to admit I was disappointed that Rachel at least didn't stay with Gar or tried to give Dick the benefit of the doubt.

Speaking of Rachel, while she was mad at Dick, I did like that she also didn't let Donna off the hook and reminded the latter about her own role in the Jericho situation before abandoning her. Then there was Jason and Rose leaving together but we didn't really get to see what happened with them, post Tower.

As for Hank and Dawn - they flocked back to Wyoming and were doing okay until Ellis's sister had to wade in and spoil things for them. I hate to admit but even though I do like Minka and Alan as actors, it's becoming obvious that the characters simply don't work as regulars and the obvious break up and Hank sinking back to drugs were more eye rolling than saddening to watch.

As for Kory herself - at least she abandoned the Tower for reasons other than Dick's deception over Jericho's death. In one of the better parts of the episode (aside from the initial Gar/Conner/Krypto scenes), we finally got to meet Blackfire and it looks like the war between the sisters is going to heat up over the next few episodes. Too bad that Faddei became a casualty in their feud.

Last but not least, there was Dick himself. He got punched by Dick, abandoned by everyone, left the Tower, tried to make right with Adeline, got a brutal warning from Slade who considered their feud over and then deliberately attacked security men to get arrested. Overall, this episode was the worst one for Dick in the series so far.

- Even though I am definitely Team Kory, it does seem like she was really horrible to Blackfire as they were growing up. Not surprised the latter killed their parents though.
- Does Bruce actually give a toss about Dick or Jason at all? Gar couldn't reach him at all in this episode.
- Standout music: I guess Hank and Dawn's Ain't No Mountain High, proving they're better singers than heroes any day of the week.
- Chronology: From where the end of Bruce Wayne left off. It's also in the latter half of June as well.

Easily the weakest episode of the season. I get that Atonement was trying to salve Dick's conscience over Jericho (and he had some nice home truths even Slade couldn't avoid) but the show needs to sort itself out and actually have a proper team instead of the constant stopping and starting we've had for too long now.

Rating: 6 out of 10

My Review of How To Get Away With Murder's 6x06: "Family Sucks"

Written by Vanessa James Benton
Directed by Laura Innes

Asher (to Michaela): "You were right, families suck."

Well, Asher's certainly do and given the way things predictably soured in this episode, I take it this will be the last we'll be seeing of his sister and mother for a bit, yeah? It started moderately okay with some Irish dancing and Chloe dancing with Connor before ending with the reveal that Asher's mother still blames him for his father's death.

I can't say I'm surprised by the turn of events really and it did serve as enough of a plot device to get Asher and Michaela to reconnect and sleep together as well. I should be a tiny bit bothered that Michaela is cheating on Gabriel with Asher but that would imply that I care about Gabriel as a character and I really don't.

When Michaela wasn't sleeping with Asher, snarking about how Connor made his way into the K5 or briefly giving Chloe the benefit of the doubt she was mostly mad at her father and Annalise and pretty told Solomon to stay away from her but the chances of that actually happening seem to be very unlikely given that he's being set up as too prominent a character this season to quickly written out - unlike Vivian and Asher's family.

Then there's the Connor bit of the episode. Bonnie's reasons for picking him did make sense but it still surprised me given as we've not had that many nice scenes between Bonnie and Connor during the show's run. Bonnie also cooled things a little with Frank (who seems to be serious in his profession of love to her) and she was there to comfort a bloodied Asher during the last scene so that's another would be suspect to mull over until the mid season finale reveal.

As for the rest of the episode - hats off to Cora for outsmarting Nate and essentially choosing to help Tegan over him. I think Tegan had every right to be mad at Nate but the fact that she's willing to help him get justice for his dad in spite of his obsessively annoying towards her does show that Tegan is the better person.

- Did the show really have to go down the predictable route of having Annalise and Solomon go with a romantic past? Annalise now has the alias of Justine Brooks for when she flees the country.
- This episode was directed by Laura Innes, who should be returning to the series as Governor Birkhead.
- Oliver had little to do other than look after Frank for about a scene. Annalise also tried to file a restraining order against the Castilos.
- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off.

Family Sucks at least gave us closure on the mystery of why Connor was selected for the Keating 5 and threw another good but inevitably misleading flash forward moment. I guess I'm happy that Tegan managed to get one over on Nate and I do like Solomon but right now, it feels like we're treading water til the mid series finale.

Rating: 7 out of 10

The Batman - Thoughts On The First Bits Of Casting

It's been an exciting few months for this movie, hasn't it? Back in May we found out who would be donning the cape and cowl for Matt Reeves upcoming The Batman movie and last month, three significant bits of casting was revealed.

First of all, there's Batman himself. If you had told me a few years ago that the man best known for Edward Cullen would succeed Ben Affleck, I would've probably laughed but the more I think on it, the more it's a delightfully left field bit of casting. To be fair, Robert Pattinson has proven himself over the years with his post Twilight career (and has recently turned in a rather critically acclaimed performance in The Lighthouse) and some of his comments upon getting the biggest role in his career have definitely reassured me that he's going to bring something different but worthy to the role itself.

Along with a new Dark Knight, we've also got our Catwoman in the mix and this time around, it will be Big Little Lies Zoe Kravitz as the infamous cat burglar. This isn't Kravitz's first time as Catwoman as she previously voiced the role for the 2017 movie, The Lego Batman Movie, making her first actor to play the character in different continuities as well. Kravitz's isn't the first woman of colour to play the role as we had Eartha Kitt in Batman 66 and of course, Halle Berry in 2004's Catwoman and there's also the fact that her stepfather, Jason Momoa is of course Aquaman in the DCEU to boot. Welcome aboard, Zoe.

Keeping with the Rogue Gallery members (and there are going to be quite a bunch in this movie), casting for the Riddler certainly took an interesting turn. Originally we were going to get Jonah Hill in the role but he stepped out of the running and Prisoners actor, Paul Dano will now take on the role. This version of the character will also be called Edward Nashton, which should appeal to comic book fans as more recent onscreen iterations have stuck with the Nygma surname. Whether or not the Riddler is the main antagonist of the movie though has not been confirmed.

Our last bit of casting (for now) was the confirmation of Westworld's Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon. If you needed any further proof that Matt Reeves Batman universe was a separate entity to the one previously set up by Zack Snyder and Ben Affleck, then this is all the proof you need. Wright is definitely a strong choice for Gordon and it opens up the fact that when Jim's daughter, Barbara, it will be a woman of colour as well in the role. Speaking of Barbara, seeing as there doesn't seem to be any development on the movie front (writer Christina Hodson will be penning for a certain speedster, post Birds Of Prey), I'm guessing we'll see her briefly in this movie as well before she becomes Batgirl. In short though: Wright's casting works for me.

Casting Confirmations: https://twitter.com/mattreevesLA

The Batman is in production with filming due to start in early 2020 for a June 25th 2021 release. I'll do more blogs as casting and filming progresses. So excited for this movie. 🦇

My Review of The Covenant (2006)

Written by J. S. Cardone
Directed by Renny Harlin

Chase Collins: "You ready to say "uncle"?"
Caleb Danvers: "I'm ready for you to go to hell."

Back in 1996 we got one of the best witch related movies with The Craft (which is now getting the reboot treatment) and a decade later, someone decided that a male version would be a good idea, so we got The Covenant and while it's not quite the gem that the female led movie from a decade earlier, it certainly has a few things in it's corner.

First of all, you've got the pretty boy leads aka the Sons of Ipswich - Caleb Danvers (Steven Strait), the leader of the group as well as Pogue Harry (Taylor Kitsch), Reid Garwin (Toby Hemingway) and Tyler Simms (Chace Crawford) all of whom are becoming close to reaching their full potential with their powers, especially Caleb whose ascension is rather a big plot point of this movie while bad boy warlock Chase Collins (Sebatian Stan) is out to cause as much trouble as he can.

I'm not gonna lie - the acting in this movie won't blow you away and there's a horrible overuse of slow motion which doesn't entirely work during one important sequence, not to mention the central romance between Caleb and new girl Sarah (Laura Ramsey) is pretty poor at best with no real chemistry between Strait and Ramsay and while the other lads outside of Chase are not really developed, there's still a lot that does work in the movie's favour.

The rich history with the warlocks and the consequences of abusing as seen by how quickly Caleb's own father aged in the movie are successfully handled along with Chase's own backstory and his motive for wanting to take Caleb's power. Even their final battle in the barn amid the naff use of slow mo actually works well enough and it's leaden with some hilariously cringe worthy dialogue.

There's also the surprising level of homoeroticism in this movie as well. Chase could've easily killed Caleb but chose to play the long game to get his powers and there was definitely some flirty banter during their antagonistic exchanges, more from Chase's end than Caleb's though. As for Chase, his eventual fate is left a little ambiguous, which I did like.

Sebastian Stan who would later go on to be a prominent player in the MCU certainly seemed to have a lot of fun playing the camp baddie and Steven Strait does make for a nice if not totally charismatic protagonist. It's almost a shame this movie didn't do well enough to have generated a sequel as it would've been fun to have seen Caleb and Chase go a second round.

- Jessica Lucas who played Tabitha Galavan on Gotham appeared here as one of the other lads girlfriend, Kate. Her character isn't given much to work with.
- Some of these actors have worked with each other in other projects after this movie. It's also no surprise that all the male cast were models in their past. The movie certainly put that to use as well.
- Nice enough use of Darklings and CGI spiders in the movie.
- Chronology: 2006 Ipswich, Massachusetts.

It's by no means a classic movie, and nor is it quite the disaster piece either. The Covenant might not be quite as iconic as The Craft but it's a diverting way to spend some time with a nice range of guy candy and a decent backstory/rivalry with the main characters. Don't expect anything too scary or deep and you'll have a blast with this one.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of American Horror Story: 1984 - The Lady In White

Written by John J. Gray
Directed by Liz Friedlander

Lavinia (to Benjamin): "I want you to know it was me. I took the one thing you cared about and I used it to destroy you."

This season might be a Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters free zone but for the final three episodes, we're starting to see some other former cast members surface and this week, two previous regulars were brought in for some rather good guest appearances.

First of all, there was Lily Rabe. Aside from Cult, she has appeared in nearly every season and while only a handful of seasons have given her prominent roles, she's always made sure that whatever smaller role she's been given that she doesn't waste screen time. This role might not be her at her most likable character wise, but damn did she deliver an impressive performance.

Basically channeling Mrs Voorhees, Rabe's character Lavinia was quickly revealed to be Benjamin's mother, whom she treated appallingly following the death of Benjamin's younger brother, Bobby when Camp Redwood went under the name of Camp Golden Star. Needless to say, Lavinia didn't take her favourite child drowning well and subsequently murdered the counselors and somewhat also triggered her own son's darkness in the process.

In the present day (still 1989), Benjamin returned to the camp, nearly got killed by the impersonators he murdered earlier in the season until he relayed his past to Montana and company while Xavier would then lead Benjamin to his mother and thus the best scenes of the episode.

I'm seriously hoping that both Lily Rabe and John Carroll Lynch are regulars next season because with this episode alone, both of them absolutely knocked it out of the park. Lavinia got all of her spiteful bile out towards her son while at the same time being moved enough to give him some help in actually taking Ramirez down. I knew Benjamin wasn't going to make it out of the season alive but killing him to become a ghost to take out Ramirez means he might get his shot at redemption after all.

Of course while there was the main plot with Benjamin and Lavinia, the B plot with Brooke and Donna was also great to watch too. Brooke showed some natural distrust towards Donna's sudden turn in wanting to help her before the latter explained that she wanted to do the right thing. Donna also tried to get Brooke to move on from Margaret and Redwood but that didn't pan out.

Instead both women bonded over some roller rink action and outsmarting a serial killer in the shape of porn stache wearing Bruce. Unlike Rabe who excelled as Lavinia, Dylan McDermott felt entirely pointless and not remotely threatening as Bruce. Still though, it was rather satisfying seeing Brooke and Donna work together to take him out before making the last journey they're likely to make this season.

- Lavinia was the one who triggered Margaret's killing spree back in 1970 while we learned that ghosts can feel pain and pleasure. Montana also hooked up with Trevor and didn't kill him.
- Ramirez made it to Redwood and managed to kill a rock star and his entourage, which Courtney now has to deal with.
- Standout music: Poison was effectively used during Bruce's pursuit of Brooke and Donna.
- Chronology: We're still in 1989 but we had flashbacks to both 1948 and 1950 for Lavinia's backstory.

The Lady In White certainly added another twist to the original killers and while it certainly and shamelessly ripped off a certain horror franchise with little in the way of differentiating, it was a wonderful guest arc for Lily Rabe, not to mention excellent performances from John Carroll Lynch, Emma Roberts and Angelica Ross. I really hope the last two episodes end this season on a high note.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Titans 2x08: "Jericho"

Written by Kate McCarthy
Directed by Toa Fraser

Deathstroke (to Jericho): "Watch closely son, this is what happens to Titans."

Unfortunately for Deathstroke himself, this is what also happened to his son. Deathstroke was going to suffer the consequences of killing Garth, even as this episode revealed that Jillian was the real target and what crueler way than to be the one responsible for his own son's death?

I knew the show was never going to actually have Dick murder an innocent man but of course his actions in seeking out Jericho would be what led to the latter's death nonetheless. Even when Dawn's wise words got Dick to admit to Jericho everything about their friendship and who Slade really was like, Jericho still chose the Titans.

I thought Chella Man, who is relatively inexperienced as an actor did a solid job with the character this week as we got flashbacks to Jericho's life before his powers and throat getting slashed along with the discovery of his abilities to control bodies and the bond he thought he was forming with the Titans. Like Aqualad, it's almost a shame he's dead in the present day but given how large the cast is this season, I guess it's just one of those things we'll have to deal with.

The episode tried a little to humanise Slade a bit. He genuinely did care for his former wife and son but not enough to directly make amends and he had no problem savagely beating Donna before nearly killing Dick at the church. Still though, his actions along with Jericho's death did see the Titans disband in the past and it's looking like the same will happen in the present too.

Flashback wise, this was as good an episode as Aqualad was a few weeks ago and it certainly expanded a little on the Titans disbanding than what we've had earlier in the season. Saying that with only five episodes left, it's time to park the flashbacks and get to the main action. Deathstroke is still very much an ongoing problem in the present and so are Cadmus and there's not much time for any more trips into the past.

- What exactly is Jillian's work? We've had two appearances from her (Slade did get her in the end) and no clue as to what she was actually doing.
- Wintergreen giving Jericho a mythology lesson by dissing the Titans has got to come back and get him big time before the season ends.
- Another episode where the majority of the characters (Rachel, Kory, Jason, Gar, Rose, Conner, etc) sat out. I'm not complaining as sometimes it helps the show but I do think we need to leave the flashbacks to one side now.
- Chronology: Mostly 2014 given the flashbacks with Jericho in this one.

Jericho filled in some good blanks with stuff we already knew, had a decent twist with Garth not actually being the target and a rather cool and creepy display of Joey's abilities (Hank's dancing, rude customer being taken down a peg etc) but there are plots we need to get back to now for the remaining episodes of the season.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of How To Get Away With Murder's 6x05: "We're All Gonna Die"

Written by Sara Rose Feinberg
Directed by Felix Alcala

Bonnie (to Annalise): "He was saying Laurel to you because you helped her disappear."

Ah, yes, of course Annalise helped Laurel disappear or at least that was what Xavier was trying to get Frank to believe between the beatings the latter endured this episode in flashbacks. Needless to say that while frank certainly had a rough time, he did make it out of the episode alive and even admitted his feelings to Bonnie.

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. Maybe frank does genuinely have feelings for Bonnie, maybe it's something else but can we please put this Laurel plot to bed if Karla Souza isn'r returning at all? There's enough going on at the moment that I'm not really sure we need more of the Castilos of it's not needed for this final season.

Between Frank getting his beatings, Annalise found herself a little strapped for cash from her secret account and she decided to turn in a favour from Solomon and the latter did not seem pleased with having to pay Annalise. Then again this wasn't the first time he found himself having to pay out as things soured with Michaela a little quicker than expected.

I did like Michaela's scenes with Solomon this week and while I wasn't surprised that the latter would disappoint her further, I was surprised that it happened so fast. Michaela had some great moments in this episode along with the way she was able to read Asher's sister as well.

Speaking of Chloe - I can safely say that I don't like her. She seemed to have no problem with undermining Asher at every turn and planting down in the friendships he's built over the last few years and I wouldn't be shocked if Chloe and the mother had their own reasons for getting Asher away from the rest of the Keating gang so to speak.

Then there's Tegan. In flash forwards we learned that she was alive and well and not the informant while in the present day, she had some wonderful scenes with Annalise and her ex-wife. I have to admit that Cora did come across as a bit cold during the divorce proceedings and I'm not looking forward to the inevitable team up with Cora and Nate, mainly as the latter's vendetta towards Tegan has gotten as tiresome as Gabriel blaming Annalise for his father being a cheater and so on.

- No main case of the week but we did have Robert send Annalise some flowers and Tegan didn't exactly hold back on her jealousy there.
- Oliver admitted to helping Frank find Laurel and there's growing conflict with him and Connor.
- Theories on who took Annalise's money anyone? Gonna go with Xavier for now.
- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off.

We're All Gonna Die is something of a step up from the previous few episodes. It's nice we're ruling out various people in the flash forwards and the conflict with Connor/Oliver is interesting enough. There was a large emphasis on Tegan, which also helped this one.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Dimension Hopping Down The Rabbit Hole

It's been a while since a TV Jumble, so here's a look in at some of the stuff I've been watching.

Arrow: I really can't believe it's the last season and like another series, everything is building towards Crisis On Infinite Earths as the Monitor has missions for Oliver, Diggle and Laurel and Lyla is only bloody Harbinger after all these seasons. Is it premature to say this could be the best season the show has ever done? Probably but so far, it's so much fun and while the flashforwards do nothing for me, the main action and various character returns certain are.

Batwoman: I'm going to eat a tiny bit of humble pie and admit that this series is slightly better than expected. I mean the writing is still ropey at best, Ruby Rose's acting leaves much to be desired and while Alice is clearly the best character of the bunch, I do wonder if they can sustain her as a villain. Still though in three episodes we've gotten plenty of flashbacks, a nice backstory for the future Hush and a love angle with Sophie Moore. Mary is decent enough as a character but Luke, Jacob and Catherine are a bit stilted at times.

Orange Is The New Black: The last six episodes for this show were some of the best we've got in the show's seven year run. The series finale is easily one of the best final episodes a show could do and most of the characters got interesting enough endings. Piper and Alex despite some hiccups remained a couple, Red and Lorna lost themselves, Nicky matured, Gloria got free, Sophia appeared one last time as did a few other characters. This show chose the right time to end and it ended on such a high note.

Pennyworth: I have to admit the more this show progressed, the less interested I became with it. Just like Krypton, this show does somewhat struggle to justify it's existence and the stuff with the Raven Society became far less interesting as the series progressed. If this gets renewed for a second season, I don't think I'll bother to be honest. Even the campy delight of Paloma Faith's Bet Sykes isn't enough to compel me back to this series. UK viewers can see it on the StarzPlayer app if they're bothered to.

Supergirl: After the unfortunately overly preachy fourth season, this year so far seems to be determined to tell us the dangers of technology through the Obsidian plot and Lena's clear abuse of it, following what she's done to Eve and the slow burning anger she's harbouring with Kara as well, now that she knows the latter's real identity. I have to admit that aside from the J'onn plot with his brother, nothing is overly compelling me so far. I don't like either Andrea or William, we're getting relationship drama too early with Nia/Brainy and Alex/Kelly and Jimmy is hanging there like a spare part until his inevitable departure.

The Flash: So far, not a bad season but Monitor stuff to one side, nothing is really jumping out too much either. The Killer Frost thing with her personality is coming across as oddly condescending, Cisco is a bit adrift without powers, new Harrison is eh and I'm not sure on new villain Bloodwork so far. I am liking the media angles with Iris, Chester and Allegra are promising recurring characters and I did like Cecile's involvement with Ralph and his mother. I'm not hating the new season but it needs a bit more at the moment.

- Darren Criss has taken the lead role of Ryan Murphy's upcoming Hollywood series on Netflix. Murphy's other show, The Politician has been renewed for a second season.
- Fans of Laurel Lance, Dinah Drake and Mia Smoak can soon enjoy a Canaries spin-off with the trio. A backdoor pilot for the show will be part of Arrow's final season.
- 13 Reasons Why has been renewed for a fourth and final season.
- The Daleks will return yet again for another special episode of Doctor Who. I'll be doing a blog on the show again soon.
- BBC2 viewers can catch the second season of Pose from Saturday at 10.20pm. They will be doing double bills of the series.
- The Walking Dead has been renewed for an 11th season with Lauren Cohen slated to return to the show.
- Patton Oswalt has been cast in a secret role for the second season of The Boys.
- We're getting a gritty Clueless reboot courtesy of CBS and it sounds terrible to be honest.
- UK fans of Dynasty are going to have to wait a while before Netflix stream the latest season.
- Stargirl might be airing on HBO Max instead of DC Universe when it premieres in 2020.

My Review of American Horror Story: 1984 - Episode 100

Written by Ryan Murphy & Brad Falchuk
Directed by Loni Peristere

Donna (to Brooke): "Welcome back to the land of the living."

Nine seasons. Nine different themes. Over 50 regular and prominent recurring cast members and far too many characters to account for and we've finally gotten to Episode 100. It's a moment that needed to go all out but here, it feels more like a quieter affair than I would've preferred.

Instead of multiples references to past seasons, there was only a brief reference to one of the most iconic seasons and if you were expecting either Evan Peters or Sarah Paulson to magically show up, then you're going to be severely disappointed. The episode itself might feel disappointing due to it's lack of fan service but twists, there's some good ones to savour.

First of all, there are two time jumps. The first one involving Jingles tiring of Ramirez's overzealous killing spree and deciding to annul their partnership by getting the locals in Mexico to hand him over to the police. Of course this was going to come back and haunt him and when Benjamin decided to settle down and be a family man, it was a happiness he wasn't able to sustain.

I knew his wife was going to die and I'm glad that Benjamin himself wasn't the one to destroy his family and I'm definitely rooting for him to get his revenge on Ramirez. Also I feel comfortable saying that six episodes in, Benjamin has become one of the best characters on the show. I really want him to survive this season or at least get something resembling a heroic-ish sacrifice. Either's good.

Also having a terrible time of it happened to be Brooke. She got framed for all of Margaret's killings and sentenced to death. Still in spite of the promise of a lethal injection hanging over her, she was able to get some pithy barbs into both Margaret and Ramirez and then the episode took a rather predictable turn when Donna ended up rescuing her from death. Guilty conscience aside, I'm glad that Donna stepped in for Brooke.

Then there was Margaret herself. Not only did she managed to get away with her second killing spree but she clearly took some styling tips from Ivana Trump, accumulated a lot of scary property and even blackmailed a surviving Trevor into a marriage to boot. All of this is inevitably going to make her downfall all the sweeter especially as she decided to go back to Camp Redwood for a big celebrity event that will inevitably bring about bloodbath number 3.

As for the ghosts of the piece, Chet had to be talked out of getting revenge on Margaret while Xavier and Montana were having fun bumping off anyone who dared to venture into the camp much to derision of other counselors and a fed up Ray. It's nice that Ray has become the voice of reason among the ghosts and that he made some effort to try and help Brooke. I guess this is the beginning of his redemptive arc.

- Um, Margaret seemed to have an ear in the present day. Leslie Jordan appeared in a terrible brown wig as her assistant, Courtney.
- Anyone else get a Lost flashback when Satan decided to help out Richard with that black smoke?
- Standout music: The Smiths How Soon Is Now? and Billy Idol's Flesh For Fantasy.
- Chronology: We jumped from 1985 to 1989 in this episode. I guess we're not sticking to the subtitle then.

Episode 100 might not feel like the biggest way that this show could've celebrated this prominent milestone but in general, it certainly moved the plot along in some interesting directions. Can we just have Brooke, Donna and Benjamin team up to take out Margaret and Richard and expel the murderous ghosts? These last three episodes are going to be fun.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Titans 2x07: "Bruce Wayne"

Written by Bryan Edward Hill
Directed by Akiva Goldsman

Bruce (to Dick): "Come on Boy Wonder, this is your show. The whole night is about you. Saving your ass. Chasing your ghosts. Let's see what you got."

For an episode that was titled after a certain vigilante billionaire, he was more of a snarky sidepiece than anything else. Hell, he wasn't even really in the episode as Bruce's appearance was courtesy of Dick imagining him in order to work through his guilt over a lot of things, namely Deathstroke.

I've been mixed on Iain Glen's general portrayal of Bruce so far in the show and there's a part of me that feels he's rather miscast in the role. Saying that, I did love the generally pithy version of Bruce we got here and while it's something I wouldn't want to see all the time, it did more or less work for this particular outing.

In this episode alone, Dick managed to track down Wintergreen by seeking out on one the latter's ex-girlfriends at a burlesque joint while Deathstroke decided that mind games was the next logical step to go with dismantling the Titans once and for all. Unfortunately this also involved several characters unfairly blaming Jason for messing with their heads.

This was not a great episode for Jason. His experience with Slade has definitely done a number on him and when it looked like he was connecting with Rose, that ended the moment she realised that Dick knew about her brother Jericho, a mystery which will be resolved by next week no doubt. Then there was being blamed by everyone else for the pranks and the near suicide attempt that Dick fortunately managed to stop.

Getting back to Jericho and maybe some personal bias is slipping in here but I refuse to believe that Dick would willing kill Jericho. Unless it was a case that the latter went evil and Dick had no choice or that Jericho chose the Titans over his father and Deathstroke just killed his son out of revenge/anger and so on. Thankfully it's one mystery that we don't have to wait any longer for an answer to.

As for Conner - he spent most of this episode nearly at death's door until Kory and Rachel banded together and healed him. There was also Eve escaping from Cadmus and bringing Krypto to the tower. If anything should reunite the team, it's got to be the cute dog who can shoot laser beams from its eyes and fly. As for Eve, really hope that she's not a future casualty but I wouldn't be shocked if she was though.

- Deathstroke drew crosses to get to Rachel, left alcohol for Hank, a photo of Ellis for Dawn, the orange soda for Donna and those pictures for Dick.
- Two episodes in and we've gotten full frontal Conner. Um, yeah, that's it really. Oh and this version of Mercy doesn't seem as enamoured with Lex as other incarnations have been.
- Anyone else find Iain Glen's homage to Batman 66 funny? That and his Alfred accent as well. On a serious note, are we ever going to get a scene with Bruce and Jason though?
- Chronology: From where Conner left off.

Bruce Wayne might not have been a showcase for the title character in question but it didn't really waste Iain Glen's talents either for that matter. Saying that though, it's time for the gang to take more direct action with Slade, move on from what previously happened and be a more united front. Aside from that, I really enjoyed this one.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of How To Get Away With Murder's 6x04: "I Hate The World"

Written by Matthew Cruz
Directed by Scott Printz

Annalise: "It's messy. I'm messy ... Broken."
Robert: "We all are. Doesn't mean I don't want to know you."

I was hoping that if Annalise was going to get a love interest in this final season, it would be with Tegan and while that still could probably, it seems for now the show will be pairing her with a male lawyer named Robert Hsieh (Cas Anvar) and so far, he intrigues me as a character.

Their meeting came about in a slightly ridiculous but still pointed case involving an incel not getting any from a dating app and the creator of said app using the algorithms for her own self serving purposes (as well as the government's). Parts of the story weren't great but I did love Annalise pointing out to Carl that he wasn't the only one who had to deal with rejection just because he was disabled.

Getting back to Robert - this episode gave us quite the information dump on him. In the space of a few scenes we learned that he's a Trekkie, has bad credit, is lactose intolerant and hopes that Annalise didn't kill her husband. He also seems like a nice guy genuinely interested in Annalise so here's hoping he's not working with the FBI, winds up evil or dead in the next few episodes.

As for Tegan this week we learned that she had an investment from her days with the Castillos that she was willing for Cora to keep but between Annalise and Bonnie's various words of wisdom, she was also willing to finally end her marriage with her estranged wife for good. I also liked that Bonnie seemed to be on Tegan's side and quickly clocked that Nate was in contact with the FBI as well.

Then there's the Michaela plot. Taking all the Gabriel scenes and his nasty scene with Annalise where he blamed her for Sam yet again, it was nice to see Michaela actually make contact with her father, Solomon Vick (Ray Campbell) and for the two of them to direct face each other head on. It's pretty interesting that this episode decided to add three new characters into the mix. Leading to my next bit of course.

Remember how I've been saying that Asher desperately needed a plot this season? It looks like the writers agree too as not only did he help with the main case this week and question whether or not he was a baby Incel but his sister Chloe (Kelen Coleman) has appeared and Asher doesn't seem that happy to see her for some reason.

Last but not least, we had a three way plot with Connor and Oliver, which to be honest, I'm not that bothered with. However, this episode Oliver seemed to be acting pretty erratic and I'm curious if that's supposed to be leading to something not good in the next few episodes.

- Frank appeared at the end of the episode, badly beaten so that didn't drag out either.
- Solomon does look a little young to be Michaela's father as some people have noted.
- Eve was mentioned a few times in this episode so I'm wondering if we'll see her again this season.
- Chronology: Not long from where the previous episode left off. Michaela overheard Connor freaking out in the other room in the flash forwards.

I Hate The World had it's piece on dating apps, rejection, introduced three interesting new characters and moved the flash forward to the start of the episode. It also kept the Laurel stuff to one scene and we got some sexy three way times, so yeah, this one was goodie.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of American Horror Story: 1984 - Red Dawn

Written by Dan Dworkin
Directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton

Brooke: "I wish I never came to this place."
Montana: "Don't worry, Brooke. You'll be leaving soon."

Well, we're at the half way point of the season and there was going to be a twist to propel the second half and well, as twists go, this one won't really shock you in the slightest. This is not strictly a criticism by the way.

First of all, Brooke got to be the final girl of sorts but there was a massive series of snags for her. In this episode alone, she talked about safety in numbers but everyone splintered off again and then she reunited with Ray. I knew earlier in the season there was a spark between them and this episode had a lovely conversation between the pair before they ended up doing the deed and Brooke lost her virginity to a ghost.

Five episodes and I guess Brooke really is a nice enough person. Unlike past episodes, this one did give her a bit of a personality as well as a backstory to her relationship with her psychotic ex, who was controlling her for a lot longer than expected. Brooke's reaction to Ray being a ghost was somewhat annoying but understandable in a way too.

Then there was the fight scene with Montana. Easily the best part of the episode as the latter let her mask slip and went for the direct approach in trying to kill Brooke. However it wound up the opposite way as the campers witnessed Brooke killing Montana and thereby giving Margaret yet another person she could frame for her crimes.

I'll admit I didn't see the Brooke twist coming but the ghosts, yeah, that was painfully obvious. If we're seeing Ray, Jonas and Montana here then I imagine that Trevor, Chet and Xavier are not far behind as Margaret finished off the other two as well in this episode. Also props to how deliciously deranged Leslie Grossman is being with this role. Margaret has definitely shaped up to her best character on the show so far. Her comeuppance is going to be suitably delightful when it happens over the remainder of the season.

As for everyone else - well, Donna seemed to be going on a bit of an apology tour given her realisation that Jingles wasn't the real killer in the first place and the episode ended with both Ramirez and Jingles (not one of Satan's acolytes) leaving Redwood to take their killing spree back to LA. At some point though, Jingles is going to want to catch back up with Margaret though. I also don't see his team up with the Night Stalker ending that well either.

- Donna's fascination with serial killers came from her father being one and her witnessing him murdering a woman in a motel. Ramirez also showed Donna her father to mess with her head.
- Nine seasons in and this show really does play fast and loose with the ghost rules as we had Ray tended to by a medic before realising he was stuck at Camp Redwood for eternity.
- Standout music: Billy Idol's Blue Highway.
- Chronology: 1980 for the Donna flashbacks, but where the last episode picked up from as well.

Red Dawn finally ended the night and while the twists weren't necessarily a game changer of sorts for the main characters, I am interested to see how this is going to play. I doubt Brooke is going to remain in prison for the same length that Jingles did and surely the ghosts of Chet and Xavier are going to want revenge on Margaret as well. Not to mention that next week's episode is the 100th episode for the series and we haven't a clue how the show is going to celebrate hitting the big milestone.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Titans 2x06: "Conner"

Written by Richard Hatem
Directed by Alex Kalymnios

Conner: "I don't think you're bad. I just want to leave."
Eve: "You said you wanted to know who you are and where you come from, the answers on the other side of that door."

We're now at the halfway point of this season and with Trigon's rushed resolution, the Titans reforming and Deathstroke making his presence felt, it's not like the first five episodes this season haven't been busy enough. Now it's time to up the ante by adding the Cadmus arc in the mix and the results are off to a good start.

We briefly met Subject 13 and Krypto towards the end of last season and this episode picks up where that left off as the two of them escape from Cadmus and trek off into the world to see what lies ahead. All the while Subject 13 assumes the name of Conner Kent and the woman responsible for his creation - Eve Watson (Genevieve Angelson) had to deal with Mercy Graves (Natalie Gumede) and her team looking for Conner at the behest of Lex Luthor.

I haven't seen much of actor Joshua Orpin beforehand but for his debut episode, he was rather impressive as Conner though. In this episode we saw Conner grapple with the real world, his interactions with Lionel Luthor (Peter McNeill), remembering bits of both his fathers lives while also being given sound enough advice from Eve along with his bond with Krypto and playing the role of hero.

For an episode that largely pulled away from the events of the previous episode, there was then a nice meeting of both worlds when Conner ignored Eve's advice about not being a hero and ended up saving Jason Todd's life. I do wonder if this means Jason has survived the season altogether or is there a later fatality lined up for him.

This was a nice way of introducing Conner to the Titans even if it did result him getting shot and poor Krypto recaptured by the end of this episode by Cadmus and Mercy. I have to admit that I did like this version of Mercy a little more than the two previous live action takes we've had on Batman V. Superman and Supergirl even though she didn't have a whole lot to do.

- DC had another live vote for Jason Todd before this episode. I don't think it would've mattered what the results would've been.
- The only other regulars to appear in this episode were Dick, Kory and Jason. Everyone else will be back next episode where the focus will be on Bruce Wayne.
- I guess the question because we've seen Bruce Wayne this season, will we meet either Clark or Lex? So far, there doesn't seem to be an indication from the spoilers that we will.
- Chronology: Exactly where Deathstroke left off.

Conner was another strong episode in a slew of strong episodes. It served as a great debut for the title character (and Krypto), Cadmus and overall as a good resolution to last week's cliffhanger moment. It's going to be interesting to see how the team and Conner take to each other and I wouldn't be surprised if the Deathstroke and Cadmus storylines merge into each other to give the team a real challenge in the second half of the season.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of How To Get Away With Murder's 6x03: "Do You Think I'm A Bad Man?"

Written by Daniel Robinson
Directed by Catriona McKenzie

Detective (to Connor): "You did this. Tell us why?"

Last week's flash forward ended with Michaela being a suspect in Annalise's "murder" (yes, note I'm still skeptical on that actually being a thing), so this week the focus turned on to Connor being a potential killer with the last moment resulting in him having one hell of a panic attack.

I've seen some people wonder if Connor was faking that in order to buy some time but it looked pretty genuine to me and he does have a history of freaking out when the shit really hits the fan. Now, do I believe he killed Annalise - of course not, but let's see how this plays out nonetheless.

As for the present day - Connor took some risky steps to reunite Hector with his mother, got into trouble with ICE and it was up to both Tegan and Bonnie to help him get the result he wanted but overall, it was a good storyline for him this episode, given that we got very little screen time with Connor and Oliver this week.

Keeping with the cases, Michaela managed to guilt trip Annalise into giving her a big one, involving the grieving woman of a man who was shot during a botched robbery. The woman in question wasn't massively sympathetic and both Michaela and Gabriel nearly lost the case before Annalise managed to steer things around.

Speaking of Michaela, her anger towards Annalise did seem to calm down a bit but then Gabriel had to go and reveal that her father was actually the lawyer rather than the client and in a slightly more predictable turn of events, might not be dead after all. Of course he isn't. That would've been too easy, wouldn't it?

As for the boring parts of the episodes, because sadly there was a few of them - I'm not really sure if Vivian can be sustained an entire season and does anyone really care about Gabriel at this point? Then there's also Nate's tiresome vendetta against Tegan, which I'm hoping doesn't result in the latter being vilified and of course, Frank falling into the most obvious of traps during his search for Laurel, which is another story that needs to come to an end if Karla Souza isn't returning to the show.

- We found out in this episode that Tegan is married/trying to divorce a woman named Cora. She also seems to be not holding back on her attraction to Annalise as well.
- Asher is in desperate need of a storyline this season. This episode was mostly him being a sycophant for Michaela and little else.
- Cute little moment with Oliver mildly flirting with Frank as he also tried to get more insight into the latter's relationship with Bonnie.
- Chronology: Not long from where the previous episode left off.

Do You Think I'm A Bad Man? isn't strictly a boring episode but it did have some rather boring moments in it (Frank, Gabriel, Nate, etc). Other than that, I did like the main cases, I'm enjoying the flash forwards and any scene with Annalise and Tegan is a highlight this final season.

Rating: 6 out of 10

My Review of American Horror Story: 1984 - True Killers

Written by Jay Beattie
Directed by Jennifer Lynch

Margaret (to Benjamin): "You were always so sweet to me and now I get to lay my sins upon you one more time."

You know what, that should've been obvious. As twists go, this season is knocking them out pretty well and this episode not only fleshed out Montana's motives for wanting Brooke dead but also revealed that Margaret is the real killer from 1970.

Given Margaret's general demeanor, it should've been clear from the start that she had the killer instinct in her. She had no problem setting the Night Stalker against Mr Jingles and when confronted with the latter, we soon learned that relentless bullying as a counselor led to Margaret enacting the perfect revenge and allowing her only friend at Camp Redwood to take the fall.

Not that this really clears Benjamin either. He's been bumping off innocent people since the season began and this episode he not only killed poor Chef Bertie but he slow cooked Xavier (who managed to survive) and even got to impale Richard for good measure. Of course, once he knew that he was an innocent man of a 14 year massacre, he'd get shot by the real killer. Luckily for him, Margaret happens to be a crap shot.

Of course, knives are more Margaret's area of expertise and she had no problem using one on Trevor while allowing the rest of the scattered group to think that Benjamin killed him. Given how quickly people are exposing themselves in this series, I don't think Margaret is going to waste time playing the long game as she tries to bump off the rest of the group.

Speaking of long games, both Montana and Donna could learn to play theirs a lot better. Both women let their desire for results get the better of them and with Brooke caught in the middle between two killers, we got to see Montana and Donna scrap it out before the latter ended up watching Richard getting resurrected for those hoping for another supernatural twists besides ghosts this season.

With Richard back in the game, Richter still around the place, both Montana and Donna immersed in their own schemes and Margaret being the actual killer to watch out, it'll be interesting to see how Brooke, Xavier and Chet will actually make it out of this season alive, if they do. Nah, they're probably all going to be dead before the 100th episode in two weeks, aren't they?

- Montana's brother, Sam (the guy who Brooke lied about not sleeping with) is the reason behind the former's desire to kill Brooke and team up with Richard Ramirez.
- For someone who was killed off two episodes ago, this is another one where the writers found a way to include Hopple and she looked rather sadistic when torturing Benjamin with electroshock therapy.
- Standout music: Billy Idol's Rebel Yell, which Montana thought was appropriate for her aerobics class.
- Chronology: From where Slashdance left off.

True Killers might not have entirely shocked with the Margaret twist but it was still nicely handled and the flashbacks with Montana and Richard were a good way of opening the episode. As a character though, Brooke is starting to emerge as the weakest and while I don't want the character to become a psycho bitch, she does need a bit of fire in her at this point.

Rating: 8 out of 10