My Review of How To Get Away With Murder's 4x10: "Everything We Did Was For Nothing"

Written by Matthew Cruz
Directed by Jonathan Brown

Laurel: "Hi Mom."

Last week's episode set something of a bar with it's cliffhanger. This week's episode managed to outdo it a little as a panicked Annalise and Frank assumed that Jorge was constantly calling the recently bumped off Dominic's phone. Except for the fact that it's actually Laurel's mother doing the calling and while we didn't see her, we certainly learned more about her this week.

It turns out that Jorge has a history of gaslighting the women in his family as his current attempts with Laurel showed a pattern he previously visited upon his former wife as Laurel got herself assessed by Isaac (who Annalise had to charm back into helping her being honest about her real motivations) and subsequently released from the hospital.

It feels like we could be going down a Scandal route with Laurel's parents or not but either way, Jorge's sinister presence is making itself known. When Tegan wasn't freaked out by Michaela contacting her, Denver threw Bonnie under the bus (who also seemed to be working against him as well) by giving her name to Jorge as well. Considering there's only five episodes left and Laurel really did unleash a shit storm by going up against her father, I'm guessing someone else could suffer the consequences of this family feud.

On the plus side, at least Laurel is taking responsibility for the mess she's largely caused and most of the gang are sharing information with each other, such as Michaela telling Annalise and Frank what triggered Laurel's early labour along with Annalise and Bonnie finally getting their feelings out in the open and hopefully moving forward with things as well.

On the other hand though, is Oliver going to be a liability for the gang? He didn't do himself any favours this week by going against Annalise or hacking Simon's hospital records. He also didn't help himself when he posed as Simon's boyfriend to go see him in the hospital but he did at least seem to take on board what Asher was trying to say in relation to the latter's past experience with Sinclair. Not entirely sure the situations are comparable but this was still overall a pretty nice moment in an episode filled with some great character bits.

Annalise and Bonnie's muddled relationship in general was given the best going over and I liked that Bonnie's feelings for Annalise were confirmed properly as there had been some ambiguity with the two for a while now. Annalise's conversation with Isaac was also similarly revealing but I do believe she cares about those kids, even if they do keep bringing trouble to her door.

- You gotta love how Frank literally disposes of Dominic's body in his car in broad daylight. I assume he paid those guys, otherwise that was extremely sloppy on his part.
- There's another Nate Lahey out there? We learned that thanks to Connor's continued pursuit of those other cases Annalise was doing in the first half of the season. This should be interesting.
- I'm expecting a possible Oliver/Simon pairing might happen when the latter wakes from his coma.
- Chronology: Five days since He's Dead.

Everything We Did Was For Nothing kept things moving along nicely. There's a lot of interesting potential with that reveal about Nate, the imminent arrival of Laurel's mother and next week's custody episode along with Jorge emerging as a big threat to the Keating 5.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story - Manhunt

Written by Tom Robb Smith
Directed by Nelsan Cragg

Ronnie: "Andrew, what do you do?"
Andrew: "Nothing. I've done nothing. I've done nothing my whole life, that's the truth."

And we're onto the second episode of this fashion killing themed season. Going with the first episode,  it seems we'll be bouncing back and forth between years as the time here was split between Cunanan's arrival in Miami and the Versace family dealing with illness, fashion shows and fidelity.

Sticking with the Versace part first - I know this series is going by Maureen Orth's Vulgar Favours book about Cunanan and Versace but as much as I am enjoying this series, I can see why the latter's family are more than happy to distance themselves from it as well. It's one thing to speculate that Gianni had HIV but it's another thing to actually pass it off as factual, even if it might have been potentially true. Considering that Feud itself got a lawsuit set on it, I'm surprised it didn't happen here as well.

Last week, I wasn't really that impressed with both Ricky Martin and Penelope Cruz as Antonio and Donatella respectively but I did think both of them put in better performances this week as flashbacks showed the two of them clashing over Gianni's condition and lifestyle while unable to band together following his death at Cunanan's hands this week. The good thing about this episode is that I think it did a great job of conveying both Donatella and Antonio's respective pain for losing Gianni.

Another strong point was the rivalry between Donatella and Gianni as well as seeing something of a shift in the latter's relationship with Antonio when he wanted to give up bringing men back to their place and settle down with Gianni. I think both Edgar Ramirez and Ricky Martin are playing off each other extremely well in the tender scenes they're sharing.

As for Andrew Cunanan. we saw him arrive in Miami and we saw him charm a lady at a local motel into letting him stay before we saw him also befriend former florist/escort/drug addict Ronnie Holston (Max Greenfield) as the two of them hung out for most of the episode, before Cunanan was forced to flee after his identity was made known to the cops.

Once again, Darren Criss is on fine form as Cunanan's effortless lying to everyone he encounters is genuinely terrifying to watch. There was even a bondage session with an older guy that I'm actually surprised didn't result in death but as the episode reminded us, Cunanan's bloodlust was never far behind as we saw his creepy tribute to Gianni on display and his last encounter with a guy in a gay bar probably won't result in anything good either.

- The story about the other Versace sister, Tina is actually true. The stuff with Ronnie on the other hand, not so much.
- I am a little disappointed that unlike American Horror Story and Feud, this show doesn't go for a more fancier title sequence.
- Standout music: There a selection but the uses of Easy Lover and Gloria certainly stood out the most.
- Chronology: May 1994 and July 1997 for this episode.

Manhunt keeps the pace going pretty well with some better emphasis on both Donatella and Antonio, making them better characters to watch compared to the opening episode but it's still both Gianni and Andrew who hold the most attention. The least go to the detectives but their scenes are at least decent exposition material while the Miami setting really adds to the series.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Batman 66 - Episodes 9-12 Reviews

In this batch of episodes, let's indulge in some extreme escapology and a diplomat about to be taken in by a riddling menace.

1x09: Zelda The Great

An episode set during April Fools was going to be a bit of a tricky one and one that also included the Bank getting robbed for a third year in a row for exactly $100,000. It's also the same time that Zelda the Great herself (Anne Baxter) would arrive in Gotham to perform some of her most daring escape acts and team up with Eivol Ekdol (Jack Kruschen) in order to steal a valuable diamond before realising that it's a trap set up by Batman himself. This then resulted in clueless Aunt Harriet being kidnapped as part of the cliffhanger for this first part. Anne Baxter who plays Zelda is on good form here, though she's more infamous for her other role as Olga later in the show's run. 7/10

1x10: A Death Worse Than Fate

One criticism I have to have with this series is that sometimes it tries too hard to make most of it's female antagonists sympathetic. It's not that I hate the trope, it's just sometimes it's done a little too often as many of the female assistant to the baddies get an attack of conscience and try to help the Dynamic Duo against the baddie of the week. In this second part, Zelda somewhat suffers from that trope by actually helping Batman and Robin against Ekdol, even though she's still jailed for her own role in things. It's still a good two parter but it's a pattern that's hard not to notice throughout the series though. 7/10

1x11: A Riddle A Day Keeps The Riddler Away

It really didn't take long in the first season for the Riddler to re-emerge and the arrival of a royal visitor was clearly enough to bring the Prince of Puzzles out for a rematch with the Caped Crusaders. This two parter is unique in being one of the first episodes not to be lifted from a comic story as well but within the episode, the Riddler and his gang, along with a new female assistant Mousey don't waste time in causing mayhem during the Miss Galaxy content and of course, ending this one by having both Batman and Robin spinning around. It's a little hard not to pick up on how bondage heavy this show was at times. 7/10

1x12: When The Rat's Away The Mice Will Play

Now this was an excellent conclusion to this two parter. With the Riddler's scheming in full swing to swindle a royal visitor, there's an inspired bit where everyone believes the Dynamic Duo are no more and Riddler sends one of his cronies disguised as Batman to meet Bruce Wayne and Commissioner Gordon. It's a delightful moment in an episode where the Riddler is at his scheming best, which makes his inevitable defeat all the more interesting to watch. 8/10

Next blog will delve into The Thirteenth Hat/Batman Stands Pat and The Joker Goes To School/He Meets His Match, The Grisly Ghoul.

My Review of How To Get Away With Murder's 4x09: "He's Dead"

Written by Abby Ajayi
Directed by Jet Wilkinson

Laurel: "Tell me you wouldn't be that stupid."
Frank (re Dominic): "He's dead."

Given the title of this episode, the he in question really could've been either Laurel's newborn baby or Simon and things certainly were looking bad for both in the last episode that aired in November but it turns out that the he in question actually turned out to be Dominic.

In the space of this episode, we barely learned that Dominic was to Jorge what Frank has been to Annalise all this time and it seemed oddly fitting that Frank ended up being the one to kill him as well after the latter goaded him about Laurel and turned out not to have the missing hard drive either. This was also the same Dominic that despite killing Wes last season also tried to warn Laurel about going through with her vendetta against her father.

I know the actor has commitments to another show but it's a pity that Dominic was bumped off, just as he was getting a bit more interesting as a character. The being in love with Laurel bit didn't surprise me but the fact that Wes actually called him and referred to himself as Christophe was something I didn't expect to happen on the show. If it means getting more Alfred Enoch for the remainder of this season, then I'm intrigued to see how that pans out as the gang are now aware of that last voice message.

As for Laurel, there was a lot of gas lighting being thrown her way this episode what with Jorge able to bribe an entire hospital into handing over a premature baby to him and even Annalise herself was pretty powerless to stop him as well. This episode kept throwing hints about Laurel's mental health, which I get will be better explored in the rest of the season but I am hoping we don't have to wait too long for her to get her baby back.

As for Simon - how the hell did he actually survive that gunshot? People have died for less on this show but dramatically, Simon being alive is going to cause more problems for the Keating 4.5 than him being dead ever will and I do find it interesting (if a little hypocritical) that Oliver seems determined to protect Simon from the rest of the gang as well. Besides, Connor was the one who told the gang that going through with Laurel's plan was a bad idea and none of them listened to him.

The rest of the episode then saw Bonnie managing to get Asher out on bail as both her and Annalise continued to be awkward around each other along with Isaac also getting the brunt of Annalise's temper. Her comment about his daughter's death was pretty uncalled for, even in the stress of the situation but I don't think Annalise is wrong about him being a terrible doctor though.

- I think we can safely assume given Tegan's scenes with Michaela in this one that the latter won't be working at Caplan & Gold any more. I do hope Tegan is kept around though.
- They didn't credit Alfred Enoch for his appearance as far as I could tell for this episode. Then again, it would've been a massive spoiler if they had.
- Given what the remaining episodes have to do, I'm intrigued to see how they're going to be able to fit in a crossover episode with Scandal as well.
- Chronology: From where Live.Live.Live. left off.

He's Dead wasted no time in things spectacularly going to pot for nearly all of the main characters here. In some ways, this did feel like it should've aired back in November as opposed to now but it cleared up all the remaining flashbacks pretty well and the set for more chaos to boot.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story - The Man Who Would Be Vogue

Written by Tom Robb Smith
Directed by Ryan Murphy

Andrew (to a boyfriend): "I really do have a date with Gianni Versace."

American Crime Story is going to be like Feud for me in the sense that some seasons will pique my interest more than others and the ones that do will get bigger reviews. The first season of this show did a good job with the OJ Simpson trial with both Cuba Gooding Jr and Sarah Paulson on fine form but this is the season of this particular show I've been clamouring for the longest time.

Originally The Assassination Of Gianni Versace was meant to be the show's third season with the events of Katrina intended for the second year but things have been swapped around and we get this one earlier than expected as the episode starts with Gianni's brutal murder while ending with his killer, Andrew Cunanan looking a bit too pleased with himself.

I really don't want to jump ahead here but going by this episode alone, I actually do think Darren Criss could be onto some awards as his portrayal of Cunanan seems to be eerily on point. Through his interactions with his straight couple friends, a former boyfriend and Gianni himself, Andrew is presented as a fantasist whose homicidal tendencies are barely concealed.

Seeing Andrew constantly lie to everyone else around is pretty alarming, especially as his friends and Versace themselves seem to be reeled into his various backstories. I even had a hard time keeping up with them at times but the back and forth between killer and final victim certainly was compelling to watch nonetheless.

Then there's the title character himself. Edgar Ramirez does actually look similar enough even without the makeup and changed hair to Versace but he really seems to get the part pretty well so far. His past is touched upon nicely in a post opera scene with Cunanan and the depths of his relationship with Antonio D'Amico (Ricky Martin) are also looked into as well.

While both Ramirez and Criss are the best parts of the first episode, it's everyone else who are just kind of there. All the detective/police characters feel a little too generic so far, which I'm not too fussed about but I was kind of hoping that Penelope Cruz would stand out a bit more as Donatella Versace herself. So far she seems a bit subdued but given that there are eight episodes left to go in this particular season, I'm sure she'll get moments to really impress. The jury is out on Ricky Martin as D'Amico as well. He might surprise but I wasn't too taken with his portrayal just yet.

- Tom Robb Smith who will be writing nearly all the episodes this season previously worked on BBC drama, London Spy.
- The dove beside Versace actually did happen. That along with Miami Beach, the pawn shop tip, Donatella's arrival and Cunanan's constant were things the episode got completely right.
- Standout music: A few 90's hits playing as well as the overuse of Adagio for the first seven minutes of the episode. I have to admit that did jar things a little at the start.
- Chronology: July 15th 1997 for a good portion of the episode as well as 1990 to depict Versace and Cunanan's first meeting.

The Man Who Would Be Vogue is a good start to this season. It definitely feels like a big enough contrast to last season's OJ trial and certainly going for the glamour factor that appealed to those who would've enjoyed Bette And Joan last year as well. The time jumps that we're going to get for the remainder of the season could make or break things but this opening episode did more than enough to reel me in.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Halloween 2018 Movie - More Casting Details

It's been a while since I've talked about this upcoming movie and this might be the last blog until a trailer is released for it but with filming for the latest Michael Myers now started, here's some bits to savour.

First of all, another picture of Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode with Michael Myers, the latter set to be played again by original actor Nick Castle. I know, it's just a picture but given the 40 year history with these two, it's hard not to be excited by this (and further delighted in Rob Zombie's awful remakes being further invalidated as well). Anyways onto casting though.

Not only will Laurie be encountering her murderous brother once again (or maybe he won't be if the writers really are determined to ignore every previous sequel) but so will her daughter, Karen, played by Arrested Development's Judy Greer and keeping it family a la Strode, Karen's own daughter, Allyson, who will be played by Andi Matichak, whose previous credits include appearances in Orange Is The New Black and Blue Bloods.

Also joining the cast for the yet to be titled eleventh Halloween movie are Virginia Gardner (Marvel’s Runaways), Miles Robbins (My Friend Dahmer), Dylan Arnold (Mudbound) and Drew Scheid (Stranger Things). No details who they're all playing so far but it's safe to assume they'll be friends of Allyson's and picked off one by one when Michael starts sniffing around after the Strodes. Co-writer Danny McBride has said about the upcoming movie's timeline ....

“We’re kind of ignoring all the films past the first one. It picks up after the first one, but it’s sort of an alternate reality. It’s as if the first Halloween ended in a slightly different way.”

Source:  http://comicbook.com/horror/2018/01/15/halloween-movie-sequel-cast-jamie-lee-curtis/

The movie is currently filming and will be released in cinemas from October 19th. I really cannot wait to see this one.

Batman 66 - Episodes 5-8 Reviews

For the second batch of episodes I'm looking at, we've got the Clown Prince Of Crime and a rather chilly customer making their debuts as the Caped Crusaders grapples with both them, the threat of their identities being public knowledge and saving a kidnapped sportsman.

1x05: The Joker Is Wild

I'm glad but not remotely surprised that it didn't take long for the Joker to pop up in the series and it should go without saying that outside of Mark Hamill's take on the role, Cesar Romero is one of the best versions we've had of the character. With this episode, the Joker audaciously breaks out of Gotham State Penitentiary and soon encounters both Batman and Robin during a robbery, until he's outsmarted by the Caped Crusader's utility. One thing I liked about this two parter (and I liked lots of stuff) was the Joker actually took the time to try and come up with his own utility belt and the cliffhanger where he nearly came close to revealing both Batman and Robin's secret identities to the whole country was rather clever. 8/10

1x06: Batman Is Riled

While the cliffhanger to the previous episode is resolved a little too quickly for my liking, this was another cracker of an episode though. Having failed to publicly expose the Caped Crusaders identity on live television, the Joker then decides to nab them during a christening of a boat in order to publicly execute them instead. It's just one extreme to another with the Clown Prince but while his plan was reasonably sound (for the Joker of course), Batman and Robin did manage to save themselves just in the nick of time. 7/10

1x07: Instant Freeze

This one is interesting but probably because it's one of three times we'd see the Dynamic Duo encounter Mr Freeze or Doctor Schievel as he was formerly known before conditions forced him to live in sub zero temperatures. Like another Rogues Gallery member, Freeze would be played by three different actors in the series, with this two parter featuring George Sanders as the chilly menace. This version looks closer to human than his later versions and there's a good cliffhanger here when he puts both Batman and Robin on ice. In the midst of that, there's also a plot to steal a diamond from the visiting Princess Sandra of Molino. 8/10

1x08: Rats Like Cheese

The second part of the first Freeze story, with again, a reasonably quick save for the frozen Dynamic Duo. If it sounds like I'm criticising, I'm not, it's just an observations. Anyways, this episode sees Freeze and his men kidnap baseball player Paul Diamante (Robert Hogan) before Batman trades himself in for the sportsman as part of Freeze's ultimate revenge plan. I have to point out here to liking the design of Freeze's chilly layer and the use of the red heat light during certain moments before Schieval is eventually apprehended. There's also an amusing last scene at a Wayne Manor party where Dick rejects the choice of Baked Alaska for dessert. 8/10

Next blog will delve into Zelda The Great/A Death Worse Than Fate and A Riddle A Day Keeps The Riddler Away/When the Rat's Away The Mice Will Play

Celebrity Big Brother 2018 - Year Of The Woman

Ah, the start of January where some shows are either returning from a brief hiatus or going on them and also that time of year when Channel 5 dole out the first of two editions of Celebrity Big Brother as the civilian version continues to lose people.

And our 16 celebrities (now 15) this year are journalist Rachel Johnson, Kardashian friend Malika Haqq, Rochdale detective, Maggie Oliver, former Corrie actress Amanda Barrie, DJ Ashley James, former MP Ann Widdecomb, reality TV star Jess Impiazzi and trans journalist/TV presenter India Willoughby. For the first four days and keeping with the Year Of The Woman subtitle, it was a girls only house but by the fourth day the boys were also added into the mix. For the lads this included various reality people like Shane Jenek/Courtney Act, Andrew Brady, Dapper Laughs, Jonny Mitchell as well as 90s r'n'b singer, Ginuwine, former Boyzone star Shane Lynch, footballer John Barnes and ballet dancer, Wayne Sleep.

In recent months, the #MeToo campaign has been very prominent in the public eye, given the fallout of the recent Harvey Weinstein scandals and with gender based issues being more prominent in the media as well just of late, I wasn't entirely sure that it was a good idea as such to have this as a theme for the new series. Given that social media has become too conflated in the issue at times here, having this could've put some viewers off but it seems to have for the first fortnight generated some interesting debates among both male and female housemates as India vocally discussed her own issues as a transwoman while Courtney Act also provided some insightful commentary into gender issues as well for certain housemates. I have to admit there was also a good discussion among the lads over the likes of Weinstein and Trump earlier in the week as well.

Speaking of India though, she was the first housemate to leave in last night's eviction episode, which allowed Jonny Mitchell another week in the house and I have to admit to being genuinely surprised that she left. Given the show's overt love of conflict and the fact that India was providing it in spades, I genuinely thought that would've kept her in the house for a bit longer. When it comes to India, the only thing I can say is that she really was her own worst enemy in the house. While Courtney/Shane was a lot more patient and willing to explain things to other housemates, India always seemed to be in defense mode and in the end it became her own undoing. In a way, it's a shame because in her exit interview with Emma Willis, India was quite calm and reflective and had we seen that side of her in the house, she really could've gone far in the house.

As for the rest of the house, I have to admit there are a lot of people I really like in this current series. It should without saying how fantastic I think Courtney/Shane J is but there's also the likes of Shane Lynch (his discussion about former band member, Stephen Gately was lovely), as well as Ashley, Jess and Malika all being likeable. Amanda has endeared herself as well with her own frank discussions and being unafraid to call India out on things and I can't fault the likes of Rachel, Ginuwine, Wayne or John either. In terms of least favourites I guess it's going to be Ann Widdecombe (some of her comments are horrific, though Shane J is brilliant at cutting her down to size) or Dapper, whose laddish humour (and I don't generally mind laddish humour) is just a bit much at times. Andrew and Jonny are reasonably inoffensive although the latter needs to come out of his shell a bit more. I'm not particularly interested in the blatant showmance between Ashley and Ginuwine, though it's nowhere near as cloying as past ones we've had while the bromance between Andrew and Shane J/Courtney has been entertaining enough. Even some of the cliched gender based tasks have been surprisingly amusing at times. Of course there's another fortnight or so to go so whether or not this current series can maintain it's entertainment value is hard to tell.

Celebrity Big Brother airs Mondays-Sundays on Channel 5 from 9pm.

Batman 66 - Episodes 1-4 Reviews

On this day 52 years ago, ABC debuted the campest version of the Caped Crusader with Adam West in the title role of Batman and Burt Ward as the Boy Wonder, Robin himself and because of that, now seems the perfect time to kick off my episode reviews for the series that I rewatched properly a couple of weeks ago.

1x01: Hi Diddle Riddle

I'm a fan of the Riddler as a villain but I have to admit to being genuinely surprised that he was the first choice of antagonist for the Dynamic Duo to face off. I'm not saying that's a bad thing but it did surprise me a little. Anyways, Frank Gorshin is fantastic in the role from the off and the Riddler's scheme to have Batman brought to court to unveil his true identity is a stroke of genius. Keeping with some popular tropes, the cliffhanger to this first episode resulted in Robin being captured and nearly operated on by the Riddler and his henchmen while a surprising highlight was seeing some of Batman's dance moves in a nightclub. 7/10

1x02: Smack In The Middle

The second part to this opening two part story keeps the pace of the story going well. Having poor Molly (who will be in a long line of misguided female assistants for the villains of the week) disguise herself as Robin, only to die a quick death in the Batcave was actually pretty shocking. The show's violence has at best edged on the cartoon end of the scale but this was one of the rare times where someone actually died on the show and it's suitably grim as well. Of course, Robin is rescued himself and the Riddler is promptly defeated. The interesting thing about this opening story aside from the swift introductions to recurring characters Alfred Pennyworth (Alan Napier), Dick's aunt Harriet Cooper (Madge Blake), Commission Gordon (Neil Hamilton) and Chief O'Hara (Stafford Repp) is that Riddler like nearly every enemy that appears in the series already has a pre-existing history with the Dynamic Duo. 7/10

1x03: Fine Feathered Finks

For the second two parter, it was the turn of the Penguin (Burgess Meredith), who to be honest, was probably the villain that showed up the most in the show's three season run. For his first story, the Penguin has been released from prison and wants revenge, so he tries to get Batman to choose his crimes. This then led to Bruce Wayne (and not for the first time in the show) going undercover and visiting Penguin's KGBird store to try and ruffle his feathers, only to end up getting netted and left to nearly roast in a furnace. This show certainly knew how to do a cliffhanger. 7/10

1x04: The Penguin's A Jinx

The second part quickly resolved Bruce's fiery dilemma while at the same time moving the action towards the Penguin setting off his true goal - kidnapping movie starlet Dawn Robbins (Leslie Parrish) and this was certainly the episode where the Penguin's many umbrellas came into play in a big way. I do like the back and forth double crossing as the Dynamic Duo and Penguin tried to outsmart the other while the latter's plans came afoul at the last minute. There's also a nice little bit where Commisioner Gordon explains to the audience the reason behind Batman's costume. 7/10

Next blog will delve into The Joker Is Wild/Batman Is Riled and Instant Freeze/Rats Like Cheese.

DC TV Shows - Some Updates

My first blog of 2018 and it's a DC TV related one. Anyways, some news about the three newest DC shows that audiences can expect pretty soon.

First of all, Black Lightning is coming very soon. In fact, less than a fortnight away as it's first season will be paired with The Flash for Tuesday nights with Cress Williams playing the title role on the show. For now, there will be no connection to the Arrow universe but I wouldn't be too shocked if that changes sooner than later. The CW have now also released a photo of Nafessa Williams as Thunder/Anissa Pierce, the daughter of the show's title character, Jeff Pierce, showing that heroism will be a family trait on the show. The show's first season will run for 13 episodes and also stars  China Anne McClain, Christine Adams, James Remar, Damon Gupton, and Marvin "Krondon" Jones III. Also LGBT fans will be delighted to know that Anissa will have a love interest in fellow hero, Grace Choi, played by Chantal Thu while Jill Scott will guest star as Lady Eve in the series.

Elsewhere Krypton will ensure that along with Supergirl, that the Superman universe will have a television medium in the run up to the character's 80th anniversary. The series, due to air on SyFy in the Spring sees Cameron Cuffe as Seg El, the grandfather of Superman with Georgina Campbell as Lyta Zod. The series will have versions of Adam Strange and Brainiac/Vril as portrayed by Shaun Sipos and Blake Ritson respectively along with Seg's father Ter-El, Doomsday and Hawkgirl also appearing in the series. The pilot episode is written by David S. Goyer and Ian Goldberg and directed by Colm McCarthy.

Meanwhile Titans have also released their first official image of Alan Ritchson and Minka Kelly's Hawk and Dove last month. The costumes seem faithful enough to the comics and with the previous release of Brenton Thwaites as Robin, it's nice that we're getting more on the upcoming series from DC's streaming service. A release date has yet to be confirmed as the series is still currently filming but hopefully it won't be long before cast shots for Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy and Amy Rohrbach are released.

Black Lightning Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z65EdJntX1U
Krypton Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE5prsMJAWc

Black Lightning will premiere on the CW from January 16th, with UK/Irish viewers getting to see the show on Netflix. Krypton will air on SyFy from March 21st and Titans release has yet to be confirmed.

2017 TV Overview

It's been something of an upside down year for television in 2017, so here is a not so huge look at the highs and lows of the year in question.

Most Talked About Casting: Jodie Whittaker broke records and provided a lot of discussion when her casting as the 13th Doctor became worldwide news. How this will bode for the series could go either but at least she's generated discussion for Doctor Who again.

Most Welcomed Cancellation: Class. It was the spin off that absolutely no-one wanted, the BBC couldn't be arsed to promote and very few actually tuned in to see and therefore won't be missed.

Most Talked About UK Drama: There was a few but the usual suspects included Broadchurch, Peaky Blinders, Line Of Duty and Doctor Foster. Only one I actually watched but the other three were inescapable on my timeline.

Signs You're Dying On Your Arse: Big Brother UK couldn't get a look in this year during it's civilian series as Love Island became the summer hit while the equally as tired Strictly Come Dancing overshadowed the plain tired X Factor for another year running.

Soap Of The Year: Emmerdale, what with Ashley's dementia storyline and of course, Moira's recent murder of Emma along with the other big hitting storylines of the year.

Soap That Fell Apart This Year: EastEnders, in virtually every way as audiences made their loathing of Sean O'Connor's shockingly inept era more than known online and elsewhere. Fortunately with John Yorke at the helm, the show might be turning around soon.

Irish Show Of The Year: Not a huge selection to choose from if I'm being honest. Red Rock was on for very little of the year, Dancing With The Stars was okay but hardly must see telly. Neither Striking Out nor Acceptable Risk were anything to write home about either. Perhaps that recent Christmas special of Mrs Browns Boys.

Toxic TV Partnership Of The Year: Olicity in Arrow. At this rate, it's not even the writing but the absolutely horrible fan base, who are reaching Johnlock levels of irritation at this rate. But it's also the writing too. Someone rein both Guggenheim and Mericle in already.

Show I Watched, Loved But Didn't Blog About: The fourth and fifth seasons of Wentworth, which really could give the equally great Orange Is The New Black a run for it's money. I can't be the only one hoping that Joan somewhat survived, right?

Worst Cancellation: Not that many really hit me this year but I think losing Sense8, which for me is both Netflix's best and most underrated series was a letdown. Fortunately there is an upcoming special to tie up loose ends though.

Best Cancellation: Girls. Also a strong contender for one of the worst series finales with Lena Dunham not bothering to write something that actually resembled a series finale.

Revivals, Revivals, Revivals: This year saw the returns of Prison Break, Twin Peaks and Will & Grace. All had decent returns but I do wonder if this is a trend that could get out of hand as well.

Strangest Ship Of The Year: Jon and Daenerys from Game Of Thrones have got to win this one, considering what we learned about them in the seventh season finale.

Reunions Of The Year: Join winner here between Arya and Nymeria in Game Of Thrones and Eleven with all the gang in Stranger Things.

Better Than The First: Stranger Things might be Netflix's over talked about show ever, but it managed to create a second season that not only was as good as it's first run, but even better in parts, and yes, that also includes the much divisive The Lost Sister episode.

Disappointment Of The Year: I hate joining in with everyone else but even I can't defend Iron Fist, which turned out to be Marvel's first fail of a series. Thankfully, The Defenders was a lot better, viewing wise.

TV Event Of The Year: There was plenty but I'm going with the Arrow verse's Crisis On Earth X four part saga.

Gone Too Soon Award, Character Wise: Bill Potts. She got one series of Doctor Who and managed to become the best fit for Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor along with Nardole. Don't leave it too long Big Finish to reunite this underrated team.

Kiss Of The Year: It's either going to be Lito/Hernando in nearly every episode of Sense8's second season or it's Citizen Cold/The Ray from Crisis On Earth X. I'll let you guys decide. Also ship of the year as well this one can be counted.

Comedy Show Of The Year: I'm actually going to go with Santa Clarita Diet because a show about a suburban mom as a flesh eating zombie was an unexpected treat. Also Drew Barrymore.

Least Subtle Politically Themed Series Of The Year: Both Supergirl and American Horror Story: Cult are strong contenders for this one.

Amazing Villain Of The Year: Cersei Lannister. Or the Dragon that got possessed by the Night King. Either way, it's something or someone from Game Of Thrones this year.

Shit Villain Of The Year: Savitar from The Flash. Just that one speedster too many. Thank fuck for The Thinker now, yeah?

Ryan Murphy Show Of The Year: I'm going with Feud: Bette And Joan. Don't be surprised if next year, it's The Assassination Of Gianni Versace though.

Non Deaths Of The Year: Nearly every character on Gotham is unable to stay dead for longer than a few episodes. Not complaining but it's becoming a common trend though.

DC Series Of The Year: Legends Of Tomorrow for it's unbridled approach to literally throwing every silly thing and making it work in a sublime way.

Marvel Show Of The Year: The Defenders with The Gifted maybe coming a close-ish second.

Likely To Be Cancelled Next Year: Once Upon A Time as it's current reboot seems to be losing viewers, even though it's picked up a little, quality wise.

Unintentionally Funny (Possible) Death Of The Year: Simon in How To Get Away With Murder, who managed to accidentally shoot himself during a heated confrontation with the Keating 4. If he pulls through, you'd think he'd learn a lesson here.

Meanest Deaths Of The Year: Either Cersei's brutal punishments towards Ellaria and Tyene in Game Of Thrones or Ally's revenge on Ivy in American Horror Story: Cult. Also having two Masters kill each other was a new one for Doctor Who.

Double Act Of The Year: Both the Master and Missy in Doctor Who. John Simm and Michelle Gomez on really superb form.

Binge Watch For Me: Actually Batman 66, following the unfortunate death of Adam West this year. I'll be doing reviews for it next year.

Anticipated New Show For Me In 2018: Right now and because I'm usually Team DC, it's going to be Titans.

LGBT Character Of The Year: Sara Lance from Legends Of Tomorrow.

So those are my highs and lows and in betweens of 2017. What are yours? Also my last blog of the year, so I'll see you guys in 2018.

My Review of Doctor Who's 10x13: "Twice Upon A Time"

Written by Steven Moffat
Directed by Rachel Talalay

The Doctor: "Doctor, I let you go!"

And now we've come to the end of the road. For some fans, this might be the last episode of Doctor Who they will watch. For others, it's going to be a bit of a wait until Autumn 2018 but for Steven Moffat and Peter Capaldi, this was their exit episode and it was something altogether.

It's hard to imagine that Moffat himself has now ran the show for the same length of time as John Nathan Turner did in the 1980s and like Turner, Moffat himself has been a polarising showrunner. Never boring but certainly guilty of certain excesses and perhaps overstaying his welcome in the role. With this episode alone, we're given some of those excesses one last time and more proof that it's not a bad thing that he's handing over the reins to Chris Chibnall.

Twice Upon A Time's premise is simple enough - two Doctors unwilling to regenerate, time frozen, a soldier destined for death in the trenches of World War 1 and an alien presence disguised as Bill Potts trying to get a measure of the Doctor's character. All told within an hour in a regeneration episode that feels decidedly low key to boot.

The two Doctors bit first. I've made no bones on my Twitter account that the idea of Peter Capaldi sharing his final story with a former Doctor was a bad idea and despite a great performance from David Bradley as the First Doctor, this episode only confirmed that it was indeed a bad idea.

Aside from the fact that it's an inappropriate time to do a multi Doctor story, another reason why it doesn't work is that the First Doctor actually adds very little to the episode. No-one was angling to see his regeneration yet again and Moffat's overexaggeration of the character's supposed "sexism" along with some genuinely vomit inducing dialogue towards Bill was something I really could've done without.

On the other hand, he did play well with the Doctor, Bill and the WW1 captain of the piece but everything that Moffat was trying to convey (mainly how the show has evolved over 54 years) could've been done with a return of Susan or simply just left alone although, which would've been preferable as well.

Then there's the Captain of the piece. I'll be honest - Mark Gatiss is a pretty hit and miss actor and having him in this role smacked of favouritism and while he was far from amazing in the role, he wasn't too terrible either. The reveal of his character being the Brigadier's grandfather felt a little indulgent but overall it worked well enough but even his character didn't add a whole lot to this particular outing. That said, the bit with the Christmas Armistice added some festivity to this particular episode.

Then there's the alien presence. Not a baddie as such but the Glass Lady did spend most of her time disguised as Bill because in the future, Testimony (who seem like a less sinister version of Missy's 3W scheme) can use of the memories of the recently departed and take their form. It means that we didn't get to see Bill properly in the episode but it did mean that the Doctor managed to see both Clara and Nardole one last time as his memories of the former were restored at the last minute.

As for the Doctor himself, this was Peter Capaldi's last episode and despite my fear that having another Doctor in the mix would upstage him, it didn't. The Twelfth Doctor hasn't always been my favourite Doctor and his era could've been handled better but he's given a good final outing with some choice dialogue to issue in a new era.

Then there's the new Doctor. It's been over five months since Jodie Whittaker was announced as the new Doctor and aside from two words and being thrown out of the TARDIS in a scene similar to The Eleventh Hour, there's not much to go on just yet as to how she will be in the role but judging by the online reaction so far, she may win over everyone next year.

- The episode started with a Previously On bit for 709 episodes ago in case you didn't think the First Doctor was being lifted from The Tenth Planet. Ben and Polly's appearances are too brief though.
- More archive images of most of the former Doctors during the Testimony scenes. I wouldn't be surprised if we got something a little similar in Whittaker's first episode as well.
- Rusty from Into The Dalek made a cameo appearance in this one as well. Of all the characters to appear in Twelve's last one, he was a bit unexpected.
- Murray Gold got out some of his most famous bits of music during his time on the series as this episode also served as his departure too.
- The episode will be released on DVD from January 22nd. Truth to be told, it should've been a part of the Series 10 box set.
- Chronology: 1914 Ypres, World War 1 at Christmas as well as the South Pole and the Weapons Factories of Villengard.

Twice Upon A Time marks the end of an era and after eight years, I was somewhat hoping that Steven Moffat would go for something a bit bigger and showier for his final episode. It's a good ending for Peter Capaldi's Doctor but easily could've worked better without another Doctor added into the mix but the cameos are nice and the regeneration is well done and there's a whole new era to now look forward to. Thank you Steven and Peter, you did well.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988)

Written by Richard Curtis & Ben Elton
Directed by Richard Boden

Ebenezer Blackadder: "So, let's get this straight: If I was bad, my descendants would rule the entire universe!"
Spirit of Christmas: "Maybe... Maybe... But would you be happy? Being ruler of the universe is not all it's cracked up to be - there's the long hours... I mean, you wave at people the whole time. You're no longer your own boss."

There have been many adaptations of A Christmas Carol and essentially, it's always the same in each version. The Scrooge of the piece is shown the error of his ways and is scared into changing for the better. Except this version has a somewhat different take on the situation.

For Ebenerzer Scrooge (Rowan Atkinson) is already the most generous man in all of Victorian London, so much so that between his shrieking niece Millicent (Nicola Bryant) and Mrs Scratchit Pauline Melville) and everyone else, he's often taken to be a complete mug during the Christmas period with only Baldrick (Tony Robinson) being the one person who doesn't outsmart him.

Ebenezer is then visited by the Spirit of Christmas (Robbie Coltrane) who gives Blackadder a glimpse into the past of his ancestors Lord Blackadder and Mr. E. Blackadder, Esq, giving the current Blackadder the idea that perhaps being so generous is a fault. However it's when the Spirit decides to show Blackadder a rather galactic future, which includes appearances from Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie that Ebenezer is compelling to change his good ways.

It's a predictable change of events but one that is rather delightful as poor Baldrick suffers the brunt of Blackadder's newly acquired mean streak but even he somewhat fares better compared to a visiting Queen Victoria (Miriam Margolyes) and Prince Albert (Jim Broadbent) as the latter's newfound rudeness seems losing out on a reward for good measure.

- The bit about the dog in the nativity scene has been edited in some versions but I've seen it in recent repeats on television.
- This and Blackadder Back & Forth are the only time we've seen previous roles reprised.
- You could see an influence for Hagrid's look here with the Spirit of Christmas's attire and bit of Blake's 7 for Blackadder's galactic descendant.

Probably one of the funniest and memorable adaptation of a classic tale. Blackaddet's Christmas Carol is also for me the best installment of that particular comedy franchise. It might be a little mean spirited but it's also a festive treat to catch over the next few days as well.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Krampus (2015)

Written by Todd Casey & Michael Dougherty & Zach Shields
Directed by Michael Dougherty

Max (to Omi): "Are we going to be okay? What?"
Aunt Dorothy: "She said we're fucked!"

Anything that combines both the horror and Christmas genres can never be a bad thing and while there are possibly bigger Christmas horror films out there (Black Christmas, anyone?), this modest hit from two years is a worthy contender.

Centering around the Engel family, young lad Max (Emjay Anthony) just wants a normal Christmas like his family used to enjoy but when extended family members show up and things quickly descend into chaos, he ends up losing his faith in the Holiday and as a result, a certain goated fellow and his friends begin to terrorise the family but not before Max's German grandmother Omi (Krista Stadler) recalls her own encounter as a child with Krampus.

The animated flashback gives us the basic details - Krampus punishes those who've been naughty or lost their faith in Christmas and as the movie progresses, each of Max's family members are assaulted by an array of baddies from Krampus. The highlight of this though are the Gingerbread men who are ridiculously cute but utterly sinister, at least until one of them is eaten by the family dog that is.

Of course, Max is the one who brought about Krampus, so after a noble but predicted self sacrifice from his grandmother, it was obviously going to be him that would be the one to end Krampus's reign of terror. I won't spoil what exactly happens but I will say that the final scene of the movie ends the movie on a particular memorable note though.

The family on the other hand are led well enough by Adam Scott and Toni Collette as Max's sympathetic enough parents, Tom and Sarah but the highlights probably are Aunt Dorothy (Conchata Ferrell) and Howard (David Koechner), who starts the movie as a jerk but steps a little when things begin to get ugly.

As for Krampus, he looks menacing enough and he's actually used quite sparingly in parts, making his actual appearances the more effective when he's seen on screen. It does prove though that less is more as the gory is kept to a minimum and the use of a blizzard adds to the creepy atmosphere that the movie successfully captures.

- The movie was released to coincide with the Krampusnacht, the Austrian festival that celebrates Krampus punishing bad children.
- Three others actresses nearly played Omi before Krista Stadler but all bowed out for different reasons. Pictures of cast and crew members were used for the end credits.
- There's a reference to the director's previous work at the start of this movie. The movie is also dedicated to his mother who passed away during the film's production.
- Standout music: Plenty of Christmas music but Krampus Karol of the Bells by Brea Olinda High School Singers  is the clear highlight though.

Krampus is a delightfully macabre movie to watch. If you fancy a Christmas horror flick this year, this is definitely one to give a watch too. There's a creepy monster, enough rootable characters to care about and a rather tantalising ending to the whole thing. I'm not going to declare it the best Christmas horror movie ever seen but it's definitely worth viewing over the holiday period.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Game Of Thrones - Season 7 Review

US Airdate: July 16th-August 27th 2017

The End Is Near: This has been an interesting year for Game Of Thrones. Onto it's penultimate season and unlike another rival cable series, the show has benefited from the fact that audiences know it's coming to an end fairly soon and that the show has been rightly building towards it.

Last season was the first time the show was flying blind without the original source material as such and this season continues that while at the same time, shortening some of the cast a little too. With seven episodes for this penultimate year, there's time dedicated to giving Arya one last shot at vengeance against the Freys while the Lannisters (with the help of Euron) manage to take out the Sand Snakes, Ellaria and even Olenna as Cersei keeps a grip of the kingdom she killed to stake a claim on in the first.

Perhaps the most satisfying of deaths though would be Littlefinger. A character I've loathed since the first season and one who has survived a little too long for my liking, having Baelish try and pit both Sansa and Arya against one another like he had done in the past with their mother and aunt ultimately proved to be his downfall when Sansa herself showed just how far she's managed to come as a character.

One of the biggest moments of this season was the reunions with the Starks. We saw Sansa and Jon bond most of last season and here, he trusted her to look after their home while he finally met Daenerys but the other reunions were really affecting. Arya's brief encounter with a feral Nymeria was my favourite moment from the season along with her and Sansa and Bran all reuniting within the second half of the season. After everything this particular family had been put through, it was a relief to see Littlefinger fail in his efforts to undermine the Starks once again.

Keeping with families, the Lannisters couldn't be any more fractured than before. The various scenes shared between Cersei, Jaime and Tyrion really did hint at how diminished they are as a unit and even with the former pregnant, there's a feeling that by the time we get into the final season, the Lannisters will be as wiped out as the Tyrells and Martells have been this year.

Then there's the Greyjoys, with Euron trying to fill in the villainous void left by Ramsay. He's not quite as menacing as Ramsay or even as bratty as Joffrey but he's a decent enough antagonist and with his capture of Yara earlier in the season, it took Theon until the end of the season to find himself again and I can't wait to see how he'll deal with his murdering uncle next season.

The big event of the season though had to be Jon and Daenerys finally meeting. It's taken the show quite a while to get there but in the five episodes that they're together, the chemistry between the two of them certainly feels organic, even when Jon's true heritage is actually revealed in more detail between Bran and Sam. That's certainly going to make things a lot more awkward in the last season.

As for the rest of the characters - we did get a little too much time of Sam nearly becoming a maester even if he did get to interact with Jorah and learn more about Jon's real family background. His brother and father were reintroduced, only to be incinerated later in the season but there was also some great character moments from the likes of Brienne, the Hound and Tormund along the way.

The last two episodes of course were the highlight of the season as the White Walkers showed they weren't taking any prisoners given their colossal attack and snaring of one of the dragons while the meetings of Dany and Cersei was another highlight and with that chilling final, we've got one hell of a final battle to look forward to when the show does return for it's last installment.

DVD EXTRAS

With seven episodes on display, there are eleven commentaries so not only is every episode represented on that front, but some get more than one commentary to boot. There's features on an anatomy of an episode, deleted scenes and an animated story called Conquest & Rebellion on an extra disc that gives a little more insight into the show's rich history.

EPISODE RATINGS

7x01: Dragonstone = 7/10, 7x02: Stormborn = 9/10,
7x03: The Queen's Justice = 8/10, 7x04: The Spoils Of War = 9/10,
7x05: Eastwatch = 8/10, 7x06: Beyond The Wall = 9/10,
7x07: The Dragon And The Wolf = 10/10

Season 7 is currently available on DVD.

Reign Sort Of Supreme

My last TV jumble blog (probably) for the year and a look into some of the show I've been watching in the last few weeks.

Arrow: To be fair, this season has been mostly good and now that Cayden James has made himself known and seems to be assembling his own little gang of semi-baddies, it does look like he'll be a proper threat for the second half of the season. However there are still some problems with the show - the overt Olicity pandering (that reception scene was 10 minutes too long), the fact that Curtis, Dinah and Rene do not work as characters so them abandoning Team Arrow doesn't really work and the show not knowing what to do with Thea and even Diggle to a point. We could also do with a bit more of Black Siren too.

Once Upon A Time: This season still feels like it's lacking without most of the older cast but admittedly, things have taken a turn for the better. Having Gothel revealed as the Big Bad instead of Victoria along with Drizella's own scheming machinations has done wonders for the last few episodes along with a decent backstory for Rapunzel and introduction of Nick to add to the guy candy of the show as well as Zelena's welcomed return, not to mention a surprising love story between Alice and Robin. Other than that though, the show still can't make the Henry/Jacinda romance compelling while Tiana needs a better role than "supportive" best friend but at least more characters are waking up and Anastasia might be Gothel's downfall when the show returns in March.

Stranger Things: Last time, I mentioned this show, I had just watched the first episode of the second season. Since then, I've finished the entire season and I have to admit, it was just as great as the first year. It was nice to see Will get more screen time, even if the poor kid was playing host to a dangerous creature while Max and Bob turned out to be brilliant additions to the show (poor Bob). It was also nice to see Steve step up this season along with Dustin and Lucas getting bigger roles and Mike and Eleven's reunion at the end. Unlike some fans, I also enjoyed seeing the latter meet her sister for that one episode and I'm intrigued to see where the show will go when it comes back next season.

Supergirl: Outside of the crossover and angst, there hasn't been too much that's really advanced this season. We've had Kara having to deal with Mon El returning with new wife, Imra in tow along with Alex reeling from Maggie's departure but the Reign storyline itself has been more of a slow build until the character fully came into form for the mid-season finale to beat the crap out of Supergirl. Samantha's transition into Reign isn't that different from Smallville's depiction of Doomsday back in it's eighth season but it's been a decent enough trip. Saying that though, the show needs to give the likes of Wynn, Lena and Jimmy better material and Morgan Edge could do with being slightly less one dimensional as a secondary antagonist.

The Flash: Can I say that not having a speedster as the main villain has done this show the world of good? Clifford DeVoe and his wife have been the best and nuanced baddies we've had in a while and now that one of them has jumped bodies and framed Barry for murder, things really have spiced up for the second half of the season.Outside of that, Ralph has been a decent comedy character for the team, Amunet's been a fun antagonist for Caitlin and I've enjoyed Iris being the leader of the team as well though it does seem like the show seems to have no idea what to do with Wally this season.

- BBCAmerica have cancelled Dirk Gently after two seasons.
- Legends Of Tomorrow will air Mondays 8pm from February, Supergirl will return in April in it's old slot, though some episodes will air in January.
- UK/Irish viewers will be able to watch Black Lightning on Netflix next month.
- NBC are planning to revive The Office (why?) for the 2018-2019 TV season.
- James D'Arcy has a recurring role in the seventh season of Homeland.
- Jamie Murray will be playing a vampire with connections to Elijah in the final season of The Originals.
- Netflix will be doing the dark reboot of Sabrina.
- Krypton will air on SyFy from March. Full date to be confirmed though.

My Review of Empire's 4x09: "Slave To Memory"

Written by Joshua Allen & Dianne Houston
Directed by Sanaa Hamri

Cookie (to Lucious, re Diana): "We got one shot to put this bitch down for good."

It's been building up for long enough and as fun as the DuBois lot have been as antagonists, this probably was the right moment to take them down for good with one of them dying and the other facing public disgrace and arrest to boot.

I loved that in spite of all the protocol that Diana undertook to keep the Lyons out of the Captain's Ball, she still couldn't succeed in having her fancy event go off without a hitch as Lucious and Cookie got to Angelo, made him sign a confession and then gatescrashed the event as Cookie delivered a powerful blow to Diana's social standing within the community.

Having all of Diana's crimes against the Lyon family revealed to her society pals was one way to bruise her ego but also having her arrested for Bella's abduction was another. While I'm sure we'll see her again in some capacity in the second half of the season, this was a glorious takedown for a character who was delightfully villainous but it wasn't just Diana who got her just desserts.

There was something deeply satisfying in seeing Lucious beating the crap out of Angelo after getting him to sign a confession but having Jamal inadvertently kill him to save Warren was another strong moment of the episode. I am glad to see Angelo killed off, even if it's left Jamal in something of a dire situation when the show returns in the Spring.

As for Warren, I think he more than redeemed himself in this episode and despite some justified anger, you could tell that Jamal still cares about him as well and given that Warren basically hung his own family out to dry, getting in with the Lyons or getting out of dodge full stop are probably his only options right now.

Of course it wasn't just the DuBois clan who suffered here too. Hakeem was able to get his revenge on Anika in a calm, collected manner by getting Bella off her and considering the crap Anika has pulled, this was a long time coming as well. How the show is going to keep her around for the remaining of the season, I'm not sure.

The rest of the episode then saw Shyne paying Andre a visit, desperate for the latter to keep his mouth shut, only for Andre to actually reveal to Lucious about his role in the car bomb from last season. However given that the episode ended with Lucious being snatched by Claudia, I think the newly back Lyon patriarch has bigger problems to deal with.

- Becky is pregnant and according to Eddie's ex-wife, Giselle, they're also broke/fleeced by a Ponzi scheme, so he'll be sticking around for a while longer.
- No Tiana and Tory for this one and Porscha didn't really do anything of consequence either.
- Chronology: Yet another version of Jamal/Hakeem's Love Is A Drug but also Andre's opening dream sequence number, Superstar, which was fantastic.
- Chronology: From where the previous episode more or less left off.

Slave To Memory served as a strong mid-season finale. This season has been pretty strong but I'm glad the show is closing down on the DuBois storyline, though I'm hoping that Claudia's Misery style arc with Lucious isn't overly prolonged.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Empire's 4x08: "Cupid Paints Blind"

Written by Diane Ademu-John & Carlito Rodriguez

Directed by Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum

Pamela (to Andre): "You have got to be the dumbest criminal in the history of crime. Did you really think that you would get away with it?"

That I genuinely did not see coming. I knew something was going to be off with Andre and Pamela's relationship and naturally assumed that she was working for Diana DuBois but this twist was something else altogether. 

There was always going to be a consequence for Andre's therapist interfering with his meds but to have him imagine a girlfriend who he then imagined killing after she threatened to arrest him for his car bomb confession was pretty mind blowing for the show. Diana's meddling really did affect Andre both last and worst it would seem.

I guess in retrospect it might have been a bit obvious that Pamela wasn't real as she only ever really had scenes with Andre but it doesn't stop the reveal itself from delivering a fatal blow as both Cookie and Lucious have to witness Andre break down in the fashion that he did. If this doesn't ignite the old Lucious, I'm not sure what really will.

This episode alone it was mostly Cookie doing the heavy lifting against Diana. She got Thirsty to spot which one of Diana's bodyguards wasn't beside her while also paying Warren a visit and making a spectacle out of giving Diana back her mother's ring. At least with Warren, Cookie didn't have to do much in order to get him to co-operate.

Speaking of Warren, when Angelo wasn't taking pleasure in his bruises and Cookie wasn't pointing a gun at him, Jamal was brooding over his vocals on that particular song before recording a new version with Hakeem as the latter got some introspection on how to be a parent from Shyne of all people. Much as I'm not on the love train for Shyne, I will admit that this episode utilised him pretty well by giving us some more into his background.

Of course when we weren't dealing with present day problems, there were some more flashbacks between Cookie and Poundcake in prison as the latter gave birth and had her baby taken away from her. I've really been enjoying the prison flashbacks this season, even if they don't feel too relevant to what the episodes are trying to convey. I think we all know how fiercely protective of her sons Cookie is without flashbacks reinforcing them, though they're still a welcome treat.

- Tiana stood her ground and gave Hakeem a much needed slap this week. Shyne also has three different kids from three different women.

- No Becky, Porsha or Tory for this episode.

- Standout music: Jamal and Hakeem's Love Is A Drug and Tiana's Let Me Rock.

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

Cupid Paints Blind certainly delivered the biggest twist this season and overall, it was a stunning episode to boot. With Cookie firmly out for blood and Andre suffering the worst of Diana's machinations, I can't wait to see what the next episode will bring to the table.

Rating: 8 out of 10