#Leah and Walker DELIVERED with this scene

[moonlit-typewriter]

Let’s talk about “I’m Okay.”

Because I really want to talk about it:

To start, I am fully in support of the change from the metal spiders to Hera’s throne (I can explain why in a different post, but not this one because this one is dedicated to a specific part)

What I really want to talk about is Walker Scobell’s delivery of the “I’m okay” lines.

Even more specifically, his facial expressions and why their subtlety was perfect….

“It’s okay”

The first thing he says is not actually “I’m okay.” He says, “it’s okay.”

Because this is when Annabeth is second guessing the plan. She’s watching the gold encase Percy and it’s at the point where it’s clearly fully covering his legs that she tells him to move.

And he tells her “it’s okay.” It’s okay that this was the plan they made, it’s okay that this was logically the best one they had, and it’s okay that she’s standing there and not trying to help him.

And he’s not saying “you’ll be okay” because he knows she will be. To him, it’s a no-brainer. He’s telling her that it’s okay that sometimes hard decisions have to be made.

While we don’t see him say that line, we can hear the tone of his voice, which is gentle and reassuring. We can also see his face afterwards. As you can see, the gold only just starting to encroach on his face and it hasn’t fully covered his upper body. When he’s telling Annabeth “it’s okay,” we can see from where his eyes are that he’s looking right at her. His eyes are reflecting light but they’re not watering yet, his eyebrows are slightly raised, and he’s still trying to smile (as seen in the corners of his mouth)

In terms of conveying emotion, raising one’s eyebrows is used to both ask for the attention of whoever you’re talking to and also to provide emphasis. Percy is making sure Annabeth is looking at his face (and not the gold) and he’s emphasizing the words as he says them.

“I’m okay” - 1

After the first “it’s okay,” Percy switches to saying “I’m okay”

This first one is still him comforting Annabeth. If you think about it, the last time Annabeth watched one of her friends being transformed into something else, it was Thalia and she was gravely injured. Percy is assuring her that he’s okay. He’s not in pain, he’s not suffering, he’s okay.

We can see this in the way he’s still looking at her (direction and angle of his eyes) and way he purposefully pulls the corners of his mouth up after he says it. He’s still trying to smile for her sake.

However, we can now start to see some negative emotion in there. See how the inner corners of his eyebrows are slightly pushed downwards??? That’s an indication of sadness. He’s trying to be reassuring and smile but part of him is still sad that this is how it’s ending for him. We can also see it in the way he’s tearing up more now.

“I’m okay” - 2

This is when we see his expression changing more overtly. The first thing we can see is that he’s no longer attempting to make eye contact with Annabeth. This is when it changes to him saying it to reassure himself

He’s still kind of trying to reassure her but he’s now recognizing that he needs to hear it too. It’s at this point where he actually doesn’t close his mouth between lines; it stays partially opened.

While the slightly open mouth is another indicator of fear, part of me wonders if it’s for his breathing.

When Hephaestus frees Percy from the trap, it leaves Percy gasping for air, rapidly taking deep, gulping breaths. This insinuates that, while he’s fully encased in the gold, Percy can’t breathe.

While we don’t know exactly how the mechanics of the golden throne work, it’s quite possible that, by the time Percy was repeating “I’m okay,” he was starting to feel it getting harder to breathe.

On the other hand, him having his mouth open to assumedly help him breathe easier could also be due to the fact that now he’s starting to realize just how scared he is. He’s almost entirely covered and it’s finally sunk in that this is about to be It for him and there’s no doubt that his heart would be racing, which also increases one’s breathing.

“I’m okay” - 3

The 3rd “I’m okay” is softer than the other ones and furthermore, Percy’s stopped trying to maintain eye contact with Annabeth. Now, his eyes are moving around and have an almost “far away” look in them.

By the time we get to this point, his face, which is the last place to be covered in the gold, is nearly covered. If he’s trying to move anything except his eyes and mouth, he can’t. This is when it’s fully setting in that he’s going to “die” and he’s scared.

Even though he asked Annabeth to come back for him after the quest, he had no way of knowing what would happen while he was trapped. Just because Hera survived it, doesn’t mean he automatically could too. She’s a goddess. So there’s still a chance that he’s never walking away from this trap, even if Annabeth frees him later.

We can see his eyes watering more clearly and one more time, we see his eyes momentarily shift to Annabeth before they move away again. He can’t help but look at her. Part of me is wondering if that isn’t for reassuring her but for needing her to reaffirm what he’s saying (such as nodding or something like that). Something to help him believe it.

Now, we don’t see his face becomes fully covered because it cuts back to Annabeth but we do see split seconds beforehand, which is where the most emotion (in my opinion) comes through, almost seemingly involuntarily.

So far, he’s been decent at keeping a relatively calm face. He’s been tearing up a bit and there’s been some small eyebrow movement, but otherwise, his gaze aversion has been one of the only significant things.

However, just seconds before he’s fully sealed in the gold, we get this almost unconcealed look of fear. His eyes are wider, his eyebrows pull in tight, his nostrils flare and he pauses for longer before he says “I’m okay again” because he knows he’s not and it’s terrifying.

He’s frozen before he can say it another time.

I cannot emphasize enough how much I love Walker Scobell in this role.

Congrats if you made it this far.

[randomness-is-my-order]

there was a distinct point in the throne scene where i could hear the emotion really taking over percy’s voice and my jaw actually dropped. had to pause and take a lap. grab tissues. mentally plan their emmy campaign. shoutout walker scobell for having a Moment in each episode (sometimes multiple) and showing up every single time, doing each one better than the last

this ep just made me so excited for all of the trio’s actors, i feel like i’m watching the start of some very impressive careers and it’s an honor

i agree with absolutely everything you said!! truly, walker’s been impressing me since i first saw him on screen (the adam project; just a few months before he was announced for pjo). initially, i thought his comedic timing and physicality set him a cut above the rest but really, in pjo, i’ve been constantly stumped by his emotional intensity. he brings a gentleness, authenticity and emotional maturity to his portrayal of percy and the throne scene was so well done!! you can tell the thoughts behind his eyes, you can see BUILD-UP before he says something or he collapses from the poison from his face alone. again, he’s serving fucking microexpressions already which blows my mind!! his little brave smiles and wavering tones as he reassured annabeth (and himself) while he was being swallowed by gold BROKE me.

also like leah and aryan match his energy 100%!! i think i may be in the minority that wasn’t entirely convinced by their acting chops in the first two episodes (don’t come at me pls!!) but after episode five i would be a FOOL to doubt their capabilities!! leah’s portrayal of annabeth is both full of wisdom yet with the right amount of 12 yr old girl energy. it’s a balancing act. she makes annabeth both incredibly capable yet delivers annabeth’s high intensity emotional moments with expressiveness befitting a 12 yr old. but that’s the thing: she doesn’t overdo it. annabeth is just on the EDGE of losing it, she doesn’t straight up lose it because she does indeed have experience with loss before. she’s gonna do so well. and aryan has added soooooo much more to grover’s book counterpart. not only does he manage to make grover be nervous and be hesitant and grappling with some confidence issues but he also makes grover be fun and whacky and sharp and clever and SUBTLE. his scene with ares was phenomenal coz atleast for me you could see the process of his manipulation through his expressions alone. you can see the little smugness in his eyes as he manages the god of war. just so well done!! also some of aryan’s line deliveries are so goddamn hilarious. 😭

ok yeah about time i rambled about our celestial trio and their very capable actors! i hope they have thriving careers but that they stay happy and healthy throughout!

[thetimetraveler24]

Okay now that I’ve seen the first two episodes of the PJO show once through, here’s my initial thoughts.

To get the negative ones out of the way… I didn’t like how they did the “You drool when you sleep” line. Leah delivered it great but it was very… out of place. It felt shoehorned in for the fan service and I think there were better ways to fit it in. There were other lines but I can’t think of them at the moment.

I was also expecting more from the fight scenes. Percy vs. Mrs Dodds was a blink of an eye. I agree it should be quick, but Percy accidentally killed her. He didn’t even know the pen was riptide. In the books, I know it went “I did the only thing natural. I swung the sword” and him killing Dodds wasn’t him being a master fighter, but it wasn’t totally an accident. The Minotaur went down too easy. Percy’s fight with Clarisse and the Ares kids shouldn’t have been longer than Percy’s fight with the Minotaur. Also, Gabe’s car should have blown up.

On to the good stuff!

Walker is everything as Percy. I love love love him so much for this role. He delivers every time with the Percy attitude with just the right amount of cluelessness and the right amount of sarcasm and sass. Love it so much.

Aryan is definitely giving Grover. He’s exactly the right awkwardness I pictured with Grover in the books. Can’t wait to see him shine as Grover in the next episodes, especially in the Vegas episode because that’s when we get to know more about Grover’s past with Thalia and his desire to find Pan. I think Aryan will be great.

Leah was perfect for Annabeth. She absolutely gives off an air of knowing more than the people around her. She was book accurate frustrating vague about Capture the Flag and I loved it when she just disappeared and left Percy wonder what to do now. The whole Capture the Flag scene was perfect in my opinion. Not a ton of Annabeth in these first two episodes, so I’m looking forward to seeing more of Leah in the next weeks.

Like I said, Capture the Flag 10/10 no notes.

Loved the Mr D pretending to be Percy’s dad. That was so fucking funny I was cackling the whole time. “Peter Johnson is here!” was giving “Another Terrible Day” I loved it. Perfect Mr. D casting.

Loved Chiron. He always gave me old grandfather vibes and thats emulated here. Another great casting choice.

Percy is already demanding child support and I love it. My guy is ready to fight the gods and I’m here for it.

Love Luke putting it out there that the bond between him and Annabeth is strictly siblings. I will be okay if they keep Annabeth’s crush on Luke because I think it’s normal for tweens to crush on older teens/young adults they idolize, but I think the show is keeping it strictly platonic. Love that change, opens it up for some heartbreaking dialogue to replace some lines in Last Olympian.

Lastly, one thing that isn’t necessarily good or bad about the show:

I wish the episodes were longer. I would be okay with hour long episodes. The content is there, and the audience will watch the whole thing, pinky swear.

But I’m not complaining. I’m pretty happy with what I saw today. I can’t wait for next week and the next and the next. I’ll probably rewatch over the next week and give more detailed thoughts as I watch.

[nikki-is-a-nerd]

Since The Percy Jackson s1 is done, i can now write my overall experience with it. Mind you i only read the first book of PJO because I couldn’t afford the books and because goddamn borrowing it from the university library was like a pack of coyotes seeing a slab of meat after 15 years of starvation.

(Side note: i once got scratched in the face by a girl who wanted to read Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, when i was gonna borrow the book for a second time. I learned it was better to just buy the books one by one per year.)

So i fully enjoyed the series. Regardless of how a lot of people have been calling it shit or a disgrace to the books. Like I appreciate how Uncle Rick managed to retell his own story, see it come to life, in a way that he wants. I appreciate Sally Jackson having a bigger impact to how Percy is as a person and as a character.

Yes, i too was shocked with the grover snitch scene in ep 1, then I thought about it, it made sense. Grover is my favorite character and i would like to say that the movie version of Grover made me feel uneasy but this version of grover, he made me long for that kind of friendship. I also love how Grover unlike in the movies, isn’t comic relief. You see his emotional struggles. You see him grow from “we have to keep the peace, let’s all be kind” to then showing us that he’s more than that. He is smart, cunning, manipulative if need be. He is also brave and he carries so much emotional baggage. The fact that he expresses rage about certain things, makes him feel more human to me. By giving him so much depth, by casting Aryan Simhadri, his depiction of grover would make book grover very proud.

Annabeth is also really really amazing in my eyes. Seeing a child give off an air of “i know things that you don’t” like an adult is so cool. Seeing her grow from “the gods are just and they have their reasons” to “The gods have flaws and they make mistakes, but i will be better than that” is very tear jerking. It helped me see Annabeth in those moments as a child who didn’t get to experience a proper childhood finally see what its like to be loved without having to give anything in return. Leah Sava Jeffries, shows emotions so well. Her posture changes depending on how she feels. She slouches a bit when she’s dejected or upset and is more poised when she’s feeling the most confident. Her eyes carry so much emotion in scenes where she doesn’t speak. She’s a lovely actress.

Percy, gods where do i even begin. Walker first off, played this character so well! You see how he’s feeling through his eyes, his face is so expressive and i love it. Percy also gets my mom approval card (which means my mom also loves his character). The way they show him to be loyal, caring, empathetic but also he’s just a child so you understand why he acts the way he acts. People complained about how percy wasn’t fighting like a pro, but i think that’s what makes it great. Percy is new, he’s learning as he goes, when we finally see Walker Portray the Percy that we all know, we can look back at s1 and we’ll see that truly, Percy has grown in skill. Also im always gonna sob over the fact that his scenes where he chooses to sacrifice himself for his friends, he always implies how he isn’t enough, we see how he sees himself and that hurts. Percy’s sass and humor though are also such highlights. I would love to see more of walker’s percy too.

Now honorable mention to my favorite backstabbing, pretty boy, luke. I love how he is such a good actor. Watching him play luke kinda immersed me in the moment, i forgot that this kind ,young man is the antagonist. Because when he played luke when we first saw him, i too wouldn’t be able to think that this guy, he can be cruel. But he delivers so much rage, so much resentment in his scene with percy in the finale. The way charlie acted in that scene, gods, i was shocked. I truly believe watching him and his character’s descent to something more is gonna be a rollercoaster ride of emotions.

The show in itself is really really good. Yes there are odd sudden black screens, but I don’t mind them. I don’t mind the changes, i just think that the episodes could be a bit longer. The story is captivating even with those changes, i love how Uncle Rick got the chance to give us an adaptation that isn’t an exact copy of the book, because i believe that a good adaptation doesn’t need to be a scene per scene copy, because if that’s what y’all wanted, listen to an audio book where people act out the scenes. Think of it this way, the book and the show are just two separate universes. Like how we have the MCU and the Marvel Comics. Same characters but different continuums.

People tend to find the negatives before they see the positives, its how we’re mostly wired. If we look past them, you’ll see that there are things that are better.

I would definitely be excited for a s2

[lilfuturescars]

I WANT ABSOLUTELY 0 COMMENTS ON THE CAST DECISIONS OKAY??

THEY ARE FUCKING PERFECT!

Yeah, it’s the first watch and emotions are all over the place but THEY ARE PERFECT. No questions asked about it.

The delivery of a single ‘yes’ on Leah’s part in the bathroom scene is SO Annabeth Chase and ITS A SINGLE WORD BUT DAMN.

Aryan delivers Grover’s nervousness so perfectly, how he’s willing to make things right after his failure with Thalia. HIS PROMISE TO SALLY.

And WALKER. Just that montage of “Percy’s on it” and cue him with absolutely anything else IS…. Just chef kiss.

It’s all the fucking little details and the mannerisms and oh my god this is all I can say right now because I just finished watching and I’m still assimilating everything but this is all I could EVER ask for of the Percy Jackson adaptation. I haven’t even gotten around the camps or other characters details, just those three. BUT THE DETAILS!!!

I swear I was fully in. I was in camp half-blood. I. WAS. THERE.

My senses are overwhelmed I’ll be back when I’m a coherent person.

[itsanotheridiot]

I am starting this off by saying that Leah and Walker and doing great in my opinion

But tiny critique ima need them to put a little more panic in their voices like the scene where Percy calls for his mom when the minotaur attacks or Annabeth telling Percy and Grover to run like it’s a high adrenaline situation but the way Walker delivered the “MOM!” line and Leah delivered the “RUN NOW!” line just throws me off a little. They need a little more force behind their lines

Just a small thing I noticed. Has anyone else has? This is the first season though so they will likely improve

[haruhey]

chronological thoughts of twd 11x17

- saw sebastian and threw up a lil in my mouth

- saw negan and threw up a lil more in my mouth

- omg rick

- did judith start having an accent omg

- SEASON 5 🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶

- where r they

- omg lance hornsby girlboss

- daryl’s stupid scar pls

- DONT TALK TO MAGGIE SHUT UP NEGAN

- carol being the first line of defense iktr iktr ❤️

- omg daryl with the slay plan

- i hate negan i hate him i hate his screentime i hate him not a redemption arc let him die please i so viscerally need him to die

- this WILL NOT be the season i like negan shut up stop trying to make me

- oh a whisperers comeback

- omg that walker MACKIN

- i love my flustered angry boy lance 🫶

- its giving my math prof when his mic wasn’t working and he almost cried

- AHAHAHA lance got shot

- OMG DARYL

- lance is in his thanos i’ll do it myself era

- oh that scene of him glaring in the car was kinda sexy ngl hi sir

- i wish i could drive this good

- OH MY GOD THEY GOT SIDEFUCKED BY DARYL

- oh slay kill sebastian

- omg yumiko i haven’t seen her in a hot minute

- WE WANT JUSTICE DELIVER SEBASTIAN NOW WE WANT JUSTICE DELIVER SEBASTIAN NOW WE WANT JUSTICE DELIVER SEBASTIAN NOW

- overthrow the government OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT

- let rosita take her personal day mercer get ur stick out of ur butt 💔

- ew i hate negan’s stupid dumb face

- oh who is april what is the tea

- negan killed her didnt he

- they should kiss maybe i think

- wait what is this plan are they sending negan in to keep the people in there safe?? how is this accomplishing that?? is he tattling on hornsby???

- oo “if no one else is playing by the rules why are you?”

- CAROLLLLLL

- OMG CAROL IN HER NANCY DREW ERA 🫶🫶

- her shirt looks so comfortable

- omg gracie called daryl a dumb loser idiot who sucks

- omg omg omg what is going on they look like they suck so bad

- do u think if u pressed the ice machine ice would come out

- OMG THE PHOTO

- no daryl why are you so sentimental with ur stupid picture of u and the kids u love so much

- wait no i think carol just has a picture of them omg 🫶🫶🫶

- OMG CAROL IN HER MICHAEL MYERS ERA W THAT KNIFE PLSS

- THE SHOT OF JUDITH IN THE CUPBOARD PLS ITS NOT FUNNY BUT IT IS

- JERRY IS JUST SO ?? HIMBO??? I LOVE HIM???

- yo what are you doin’ here man?

- “where is carol?” me throughout 11B man

- OMG A GIRLBOSS COLLAB

- they should team up and kill negan together and then make out

- how long do u think negan practiced that line in his head so he would look cool in front of carol be honest

- OMG NEGAN SPILLING THE TEA

- carol girlboss 🫶🫶🫶

- SHUT UP PAMELA WE LITERALLY KNOW WHO DID THIS

- omg the dad slayed

- yumiko should have just let them kill pamela

- HELL YEAHHH DOWN WITH THE MILTONS THE MILTONS ARE MURDERERS HELL YEAHHHHHH

- omg yumiko and magna back on their girlboss wlw relationship love them together

- OH NO JERRY GOT SEEN

- omg the commonwealth people got their backs

- UNION STATION????

- oh my god negan shut up carol does not care

- OMG IS HE SCARED CAROL IS GONNA KILL HER

- carol is like ??? u??? when my boytoy is out there fighting for his life???

- omg maggie and daryl both look so haggard pls someone just give them a hug 😭

- ewww theyre talking about leah

- GLENN NAME DROP

- ok daryl and maggie kiss now

- gracie’s cardigan looks so comfortable

- omg they’re so super stealth rn

- that man is such an idiot fr

- god rosita is so slay i love her so much its insane

- the sewer is so disgusting i would never go down there rip to them but i’m different

- annie leave negan for maggie challenge

- carol and negan r so bold

- carol is my girlboss fr fr 🫶

- IS THAT

- oh my god hes disgusting

- yeah that’s correct u suck so bad sebastian

- NEGAN SAYING “i have seen her pull bunnies right out of her ass with my very own two eyes” CAROL GOES 😐😑

- carol continuing to be described as the epitomy of girlboss in the show iktr iktr

- ARE THEY GONNA SHOOT THEM

- omg thats what negan deserved i have no pity for him

- pamela lies! sebastian kills! period!

- wtf are those walkers how did they get so close is nobody doing their jobs

- TEAR GASSING THE CROWDS??? R U KIDDING ME??? THATS SO FUCKED??/!-???

- omg am i mercer

- be the change you want to see in the world mercer kill pamela

- rosita pubging irl rn

- OMG TORN IN HALF REST IN PIECES FR

- people in power stop drinking when there’s trouble challenge

- no fucking way pamela is ‘boys will be boys’ing this shit no fucking way pamela istg

- OH MY FOS SHE HIT GIM

- omg carol is playing along with pamela to get what she wants thats so slay of her

- where did they get all of that rope to tie that walker up omg

- AHAHAHAHA GET HIM DARYL GET HIM

- nooo the smirk lance is insane he needs to go to therapy or smth fr fr

- omg angsty caryl moment my heart literally dropped

- boo negan should just leave boo negan redemption arc booooo

- omg negan slept with mercer to get into the commonwealth

- um he also tortured the love of her life for like a week ofc shes wary of him???

- ok but yeah he does owe it to maggie idc idc idc

- AHAHAHA LANCE LOOKS LIKE SUCH AN IDIOT WHEN DARYL KNIFE TO THE THROATS HIM

- if daryl yelled at me i think i would cry i hate it i hate it i hate it

[lola-andheruniverse]

So I just watched 11x09! Pretty neat episode, good pacing, lots of things happened (thank God) and not one to demolished our ship. Yey!

First of all, I'm so happy TWD is back! I really missed this zombie telenovela full of nonsensical action scenes and contrived dialogues hashtag my favourite show.

Nobody asked me but here are my few cents about it, I tried not to be too spoilery and I don't know how to add cut on the app so proceed carefully:

TWD SPOILERS TWD SPOILERS

1. All the action scenes with exploding zombies and all just felt a little meh to me. Like I think they were properly done yeah but I don't get on the edge of my seat anymore. Guess that's okay, too many years watching these fucking dumb zombies to feel threatened by them. TWD zombies got nothing compared to TWD spoilers.

2. Gracie really needs to learn how to defend herself. Loved all Aaron scenes, as usual.

3. Don't have anything to elaborate about Lydia. She's babe and deserves all acceptance and happiness and love and I hope we will see more of her on 11b.

4. Father Gabriel had is chance to talk to the religious Reaper and it was marvelous. Great scene, great pay off! I wish he got the chance to meet Pope as well, but we need to be happy for whatever crumbs this show gives us. He and Rosita..I think she's still mad he left with Maggie to a suicide mission and managed to get back alive but just barely. Girl was just really tired after fighting dozens of walkers in the middle of a storm and really hungry and that's what saved him of a 'cabron, I told you so', fucking stupid man'. They still a strange pairing but they really felt like a married couple with things to discuss on their reunion.

5. Talking about married couples who need to have a conversation cough caryl cough that little hug full of relief and tension and let's talk about it later because we are still stranded but we love each other hug cough. So nice to see Daryl hugging his family, Carol taught him to be a hugger and now he can have all the hugs he wants. He deserves them all. D*nnie reunion was very sweet and not charged with heavy emotions AT ALL. And to think people were talking about a new Terminus hug. They really need to stop exaggerating on spoilers before a caryler has a heart attack induced by stress. Am I the only one who thought it was interesting to not see Daryl's facial expressions when he hugged the Dixon family but that we did see his face when he hugged C*nnie? And the juxtaposition of that scene with Carol and Maggie reuniting? AK we know what you're doing, you're not mysterious at all.

6. They are really keeping RJ on silence because the boy can't act. Poor kid. He's still very cute looking at his apple with his neutral face.

7. We got our Alden question answered and it shocked 0 people. I liked the dude but he won't be missed. Anyways, I thought it was a beautiful scene delivered by Lauren Cohan.

8. Couldn't care less about Maggie x Negan sorry but I'll miss him serving as comic relief. I feel we'll have another Negan bottle episode on the near future and I don't know how to fell about it.

9. All the Reapers are gone except Leah. She'll steal more precious screen time with her drama but what can we do besides pray to have her ass kicked by Carol, right?

BEST SCENE OF THE WHOLE EPISODE: Eugene lonely clapping after introducing Lance to our exhausted and suspicious Team Family. Chef kiss 🤌

Also..where is Nabila and her adorable kids? Jerry, what they did to your family? They = TPTB

And that's it, I'm ready to the Commenwealth bonkers spoilers now. Send them all!

[shimmershae]

My thoughts on Episode 7--Promises Broken

Placed behind a cut for those of you that would rather escape my babbling, lol.  You’re welcome.  

The episode opens with Maggie, Elijah, Father Gabe, and Negan.  

Right away I can’t help feeling disappointed because the emotional core of last episode (Kelly and Connie’s reunion and the aftermath) seems like it’s being ignored and punted further down the road so we can waste another hour getting piece meal progress on the Reaper front, but I’m going to try to push my misgivings away and enjoy this episode for what it is, so.  

“Daryl just told us to go home.”  

And save your hides and keep the rest of the community safe?  I can’t argue that Negan might have an actual point here, lol.  But Maggie sure can.  

Not gonna lie.  When Negan came back with “I think he was being subtle. He said they were armed with lookouts” I had to LOL.  

“We will never be even.”  I mean.  Maggie been frustrating me with her stubbornness in this suicide mission, true.  But she right.  They will never, ever be even.  

“Ya’ll know Blackbeard, too?”  I admit it.  I laughed.  A little.  

Okay.  I don’t know if this bodes well for this episode or not, but the cold opening in this episode?  Was the most underwhelming cold open of this season.  

At least the opening credits still give me that old familiar rush of the heyday of TWD.  

Fake Stephanie and Eugene are on Walker clean up duty.  Hmm.  I think I’m going to refer to Fake Stephanie as Fifi until she gets a real name for brevity’s sake.  

Fifi handles herself surprisingly well with the Walkers.  Is she one of Mercer’s stormtroopers working undercover maybe?  

Somehow I doubt it’s true that our friends can trust “Lance” but whatever, lol.  

I hate to admit it but I’m already kind of bored with this episode.  We’re barely over 6 minutes in.  

I didn’t recognize Princess without her fluffy pink coat!  

Zeke is definitely struggling.  

I do like that these two  have been paired up.  They have taken to each other quickly and already have a good rapport.  There’s something endearing about their scenes together.  

“Never been afraid of hard work.  Kinda anti-friends who die from stubbornness.”  Have I mentioned lately how much I love Princess?  Because I really, really do.  

So it’s been days.  Has it been days that Maggie and Negan and Co. have been outrunning the Reapers?  I’m talking since they left the safe house.  Does that mean that it’s also been days since Kelly and Connie’s reunion?  This timeline is so slow and yet they keep telling us it’s been days and making me think we’ve been missing time.  Like I can’t even.  

You know Carol’s “Pookie is in danger” senses have to be big-time tingling by now if it’s been DAYS.  

Also?  Alden almost certainly has to be dead.  

But I digress.  They obviously don’t want us getting hung up on the apparent time warp between ASZ, Meridian, and the Commonwealth.  It’s like the Bermuda Triangle of the ZA.  

“A person with your pedigree...”  

Okay then.  Commonwealth is full of uppity assholes.  Good to know.  

Yumiko looks classy!  I say that in my best Princess voice, lol.  

Well.  At least they’ve given Daryl Dog back.  Has Dog come to his senses though?  That is the question.  

Daryl sharing a smoke with the enemy to gain some intel.  Or maybe just the keys to food storage.  

So.  Another redshirt (Elijah’s sister’s friend) we don’t know bites the dust.  Meh.  Including that tidbit in the trailer was purposefully misleading, lol.  Not that I want people to die, but still.  

“But the one?  He’s mine.”  Let’s take bets.  Was it Carver Elijah has a beef with because it just seems like it was.  Could also be that his name is the only one I know, lol.  

Where is Maggie sending our hobbled Father G?  

“I kept my mask for practical and sentimental reasons.”  Negan?  You almost had me.  He really can’t help his inherent asshole-ishness can he?  

But seriously.  Yuck at what they about to do because I assume Alpha and Co. at least cured the nasty skins.  

I wish I could say I give a damn that they’re attempting to give Leah some more likeable layers but it’s a cheap cheat so naw.  

There’s that damn river that symbolizes the great divide between Daryl and his love and his family.  At least it’s pretty.  

I’m with Daryl.  Is Pope just looking to cleanse the earth of those he doesn’t feel belong or what?  Wheedle the truth out of her, Daryl.  

“You never needed anyone to make you strong.”  

Think our guy has ever said this to his real girl?  

It’s kinda funny that the Whisperer flunkie is now the herding Whisperer tutor.  

Is that the Reaper’s version of a priest?  Sorry.  I swear.  I’ve been trying to pay attention during their scenes.  But my mind wanders because it feels like Woodbury and the Sanctuary all over again.  The Whisperers at least were elevated by Samantha Morton, Ryan Hurst, Thora Birch, and yes, Jeffrey Dean Morgan.  Like I love Norman Reedus and the character he’s crafted in Daryl but he’s not enough to have me enthralled with Leah and these dudes.  I don’t care if they were all Calendar pinups before the ZA.  

Truly.  A+ casting with Yumiko’s brother.  

Yeah.  Something’s definitely fishy about Tomi’s reluctance to go back to his old life in the Commonwealth, but the desire for a slower, less stressful existence is definitely relatable so I’m not going to hold that part against him at all.  

What did Maggie say after Elijah asked if Negan had changed?  Because I replayed it a handful of times and still don’t know.  

This Lancy Hornsby dude reeks of slimy politician.  

Too much one on one Daryl and Leah in this episode.  Without any kind of chemistry at least these two drag each other and their parts of the episode down.  Leah’s character is a fail for me and it has nothing to do with shipping reasons.  She’s just not believable or authentic to her role as a mercenary.  

“If I could do it all over again, I’d have killed every single one of you.”  Damn.  Well.  He’s being true to himself, I guess.  Unapologetically Negan.  

Again.  I can’t say Negan’s wrong exactly but shit does he deliver some uncomfortable truths.  

Princess’s childlike delight over treats is <3.  

Look at Eugene running toward danger!  OG Eugene would never.  Abe would be so proud.  

Eugene and Fifi actually work pretty good together but it all feels so staged.  I feel sorry for our guy.  

“This guy was being, well, an asshole.”  LMAO @ Josh’s delivery. The asshole definitely deserved that punch and his date deserved to be eaten.  

Real Stephanie is so pretty.  

Aww.  She’s concerned about Eugene.  

Oh shit.  Eugene punched Pamela Milton’s little entitled prick of a son.  This feels like the ASZ Monroes all over again.  Sorry.  I can’t remember their names.  

Poor Eugene.  Have I said that already?  

Is this Lance Hornsby guy the lesser of two evils or...”  

All the chances you’ve gotten, hmm?  Seems to me they’ve been set up for some failure too, though.  

Maggie and Negan leading a herd where?  Meridian?  

That poor woman.  Just wanting her family safe and spared of seeing her meet her maker.  

f

So Leah’s not completely cold.  Okay.  Doesn’t mean she’s able to be saved though.  

At this point, Kang is just  yanking Daryl’s chain and ours in the process.  

Even hidden behind that skin mask, Elijah made me tear up when he saw his sister.  

No previews?  What a copout.  

Not Kang correlating Maggie and Negan to child and coach, lol.  

The narrative they keep pushing about the villains having families and FEELINGS doesn’t change much for me, Angela.  Gracie was the only innocent in that outpost Team Family attacked.  I’m not saying they should have done it but stop trying to make the bad guys sympathetic.  It isn’t earned.  

Interesting how she mentions Gabe is trying so very hard to hold onto faith.  

If Leah’s the frog boiling in that pot?  They better be serving frog legs to the starving community she’s hunting.  Just saying.  

Overall impression of this episode?  

It was boring.  No seriously.  

I wish I could say I liked it better but it was just meh.  I can’t even muster up any words because I just feel blah about it and that’s not a good feeling to have going into the first final (mid?  half?  tri?  I don’t know what to call it) episode of the season.  

Withholding the previews further adds to the doldrums because what is there to actually be excited about here after that episode?  At least try to pique our interest, Angela.  

[angelthefirst1]

The three missing weeks after Grady, Beth's funeral and Daryl's delusion all in 1018.

Okay so I've taken my time with posting any analysis of 1018, mainly because I was trying to figure out exactly what's being repeated (beyond the obvious Alone and Still repeats) and also understand the weirdness of the episode and how the loops will play out going forward. Since I first watched 1018, I realised they are showing us a representation of the three missing weeks after Grady, and Daryl's mindset (He goes a little cray cray) during his second search for Beth (her body anyway) This episode will have future and past fulfillment when/if we finally see the missing 17 days and the attempt at Beth's funeral-during which her body is going to go missing... Emily's song Omaha hotel holds clues about Beth's (attempted) funeral and the outcome. Go listen to the song if you haven't...

The group is going to take Beth to a church-most likely this one...

To give her a proper funeral-which as Daryl knows, Beth found it beautiful that someone dressed the walkers up (as dolls he says) to give them one. So...the group will want to do this for Beth.

She will be left in a car park (probably left in a car for a bit) to “watch the bugs fly around in the parking lot lights”. They will change her into a nice dress with flowers and make her all pretty, repeating what happened with the funeral home walkers-they get dressed up and even had makeup on. They could possibly put her in a coffin like Daryl was in the funeral home... As they go to dig the grave a massive storm will roll in (there has to be another storm, because it will be fulfillment of the music box "waking up" or playing again, and the storm from 510) During this storm walkers will come, taking the groups attention and Beth will "Step away for a minute" leaving before they can bury her. Daryl will try to track her, thinking she's a walker, but her footprints will be washed away in the storm, causing a repeat of this moment...

The map Daryl is using to find Rick will be repeated as Beth's "footprints" being washed away, causing him to scream and start to lose it. The rain and it pouring/flooding with water is symbolic of Beth's return representing Jesus the the living water.   Daryl in 1018 is screaming one minute in the rain, and smiling the next. 

Showing him both losing Beth in the rain and finding out she's alive on two different timeliness. Carol will most likely have played a role in going with Daryl to search for Beth after her "funeral", repeating their search from Consumed. The going fishing/fish symbolism in this episode is a play on the biblical concept of fishing for men (finding/saving the lost) As others have already mentioned, I also believe Leah to be either in part a hallucination or completely.

But Daryl did not have a romantic relationship with her.

Just as the 'oh' funeral home scene hinted at a potential romance, we never actually got to see it. Only a hint of it... They have repeated that here, and it's almost as if Daryl is on the outside looking in at his own past story. But this is Beth's story not Leah's and they haven't repeated almost every major Beth scene only to give it to Leah now... There is WAY to much weirdness in this episode for everything to just be as we see it, they are misdirecting us. 1018 heavily repeats both Daryl's search for Sofia and Rick losing Lori. This is about Daryl losing his future wife...Beth not Leah. Rick hallucinates Lori in this white dress next to some graves...

This will be inverted with Beth in her funeral dress, walking away from her grave, and just like Rick, Daryl can never quite reach her, even though she is alive. Rick started going crazy after losing Lori, when Maggie (Beth's sister) delivered or “birthed” baby Judith. Lori dies and Judith became Beth's...

Do you see the twist from this scene with Leah, talking about losing her son whom her sister gave birth to, or birthed? When Rick is outside the prison because he keeps seeing Lori he says to Hershel he has "Stuff and things to do" so he won't come back. Same as Daryl says to Carol when she tries to get him to stop looking for Rick, Daryl says "I've got stuff to do", once again hinting that this is some kind of mind trick, with Daryl seeing Leah not the real Beth...

Just like Rick was seeing-not the real Lori... The same episode Rick loses Lori, shows Maggie and Glenn in the watch tower messing around and Daryl crassly yells to them "Are you coming?"

They have actually used this with Daryl and Carol in the beginning of 1018, twisting it with Daryl saying "You want to come right?" And "I didn't say you could come". 

Daryl even closes the one eye, because of the glare. Exactly the same in 304 and 1018.

Now don't freak out this will find fulfillment in the future with Beth and Daryl, and yes...most likely on a motorcycle. I don't usually get crass but that's what they are repeating and lining up for the future here, so I wanted to point it out. The previously on clip from 1018 shows Daryl say "We just got Maggie (and little Glenn) back"

Around the same time Rick loses Lori and he is having his breakdown, Maggie and Glenn get taken by the Governor and as soon as they get back, that's when Rick starts "seeing" Lori. Fulfilling the "We just got Maggie (and little Glenn) back line". In 304 Daryl jump starts his bike while Axel looks on saying it needs a tune up. Repeating the beginning of 1018 when he can't start the bike. 

Another call back is when Daryl and Carol come across a dead deer in 1018, it's bitten in an almost identical way to a deer that is shown in the opening of 304 (The episode Lori dies)

Carol also gets lost in the tombs during this episode, and eventually gets an empty grave with cross allocated to her, even though she isn't dead. So Leah could well be symbolic of both missing Carol and Missing Beth combined. And the cabin crosses a reminder of them both...

The repeating themes from around the time Rick loses Lori are very obvious if you go re-watch that story line. One particular location that they visit on the way to rescue Maggie and Glenn from the Governor is a cabin, that very much reminded me of Leah's cabin...

It’s next to a river...

And has taxidermy fish on the walls, and pots and pans too.

But most significantly is a dead pet dog inside...

Before they see the dog, they smell him and Daryl says "What's that smell?, it's got to be a dead fox or what's left of one" Leah wears a dead fox around her neck and has a pet dog, so this repeating could actually point to Leah being a walker/hallucination...

I have been trying to remember any past fox symbolism in this show to explain Leah's fox fur, but couldn't think of any other instances, so this is a really interesting clue to the fact that Daryl mistakes a dead dog for a dead fox. The dead dog is on a blanket similar to the one Dog sits on when Leah has Daryl tied up. And it's collar looks to say Hunter!

The owner in this cabin also has a shotgun like Leah and points it at Rick and Daryl when they first enter.

He gets killed almost straight away because he keeps marking noise and drawing walkers. The very next scene shows Andrea standing in front of a painting with a boat, repeating the boat symbolism from 1018. And the clock just happens to say 10.10

Daryl is also seen collecting fire wood, just like in season three with Rick and Glenn...

When walkers come, Leah shoots some of them (Lori shoots some in season 3) and motions Daryl to follow her somewhere safe, repeating this moment with Beth and Hershel from the episode Rick loses Lori...

The scene where Daryl gets knocked down and his ears start to ring is pivotal because it's a repeat of Daryl's other great search-his search for Sofia.

During which he falls down into a river and starts hallucinating his brother Merle..

So while 1018 is showing him searching for and losing Beth's footprints in the rain and screaming in anger about it, the moment when he gets knocked down by a bolt of lightning and his ears start to ring, the story becomes a weird mix of Beth and Leah. This is a representation of Daryl passing out after falling and some kind of injury, just like he did when searching for Sofia. Repeating but inverting his search for Sofia, where he fell into a river bed, had a head injury/concussion, hallucinates about his brother and finds Sofia's doll not the real Sofia... So Leah could also be a representation of finding Sofia's doll. The doll represents a walker, just like Daryl said in the funeral home. Sofia was lost on a road/highway, goes into water in a river but disappeared and was then found dead coming out of a barn. Beth however is the opposite, in that after her funeral she will end up in a body of water/river because of heavy rain, then the barn in 510, she is represented as being alive coming out of it.

And lastly Daryl says to Beth in Alone "Go up out off the road, I'll meet you there". Which is where they could well meet again-on a road. (Saying meet you up the road, also indicates a lengthy time period) All this would in fact make Beth, Sofia 2.0 but with the opposite outcome. In 1018, once Daryl falls down and his ears ring, he is effectively passed out and dreaming from that point on. We see him then pick up his crossbow and smile in the rain, because what comes next indicates he finds Beth (Leah) When Daryl hallucinates Merle, he tells him that he is looking for a girl and Merle says "You got a thing for little girls now?" and "You going to die out here looking for her?" Merle gets mad that Daryl isn't looking for him. They have switched it in 1018, in that Daryl is looking for his brother Rick now by a river and hallucinates a version of Beth (Leah) who gets mad that Daryl keeps looking for Rick.

Merle, during the hallucination also mentions Daryl's Chupacabra (a mythical blood sucking dog) he apparently saw, which could be a representation of Leah as the dead fox/dog/walker or him seeing Beth and thinking Beth is a walker. 

Merle questions whether Daryl really saw this Chupacabra because Daryl apparently ate some special mushrooms...

So I see these possibilities... Daryl is reliving his search for Beth in his mind because he is injured causing him to hallucinate Leah, as a less painful substitute. Like Rick hallucinates a dressed up version of Lori to cope with the pain. Daryl has been poisoned or eaten something/drank something (like the mushrooms) to make reality and fantasy mix, causing a repeat of the Merle/walker situation. Where Leah may be real but Beth memory's are mixed with reality. Just like Merle was not real but the walker was. Leah is a walker (dead fox/dog) who looks like Beth to Daryl, and while trying to put her down he is knocked out, starting a weird mixture of memory's. I will leave it here for now, there is always more I could go into but this is way long enough for now...

Beth is coming!!!

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 22 July 2019

Quick Bits:

A Walk Through Hell #12 concludes what has been an excellent horror tale from Garth Ennis, Goran Sudžuka, Ive Svorcina, and Rob Steen with another trip into existential terror as we’re given a glimpse of what this is all about and what’s coming.

| Published by AfterShock

Action Comics #1013 keeps a lot of plates spinning as it works through elements of “Year of the Villain”, Event Leviathan, the ongoing Invisible Mafia story thread, and the Rose and Thorn revival. It’s kind of impressive as to how it remains entertaining and engrossing with as much going on.

| Published by DC Comics

Age of Conan: Bêlit #5 is another ending this week, as we finish off Bêlit’s coming of age origin story, as she confronts the Stygian priest and lays claim to her title of Queen of the Black Coast. Great art from Kate Niemczyk, Scott Hanna, Andrea Di Vito, and Jason Keith.

| Published by Marvel

Amazing Spider-Man #26 introduces us to the new Sinister Syndicate fully as they plan an attack on Boomerang. It’s kind of funny to see him still getting into trouble even now that he’s trying to stay legit. Great art from Kev Walker and Laura Martin.

| Published by Marvel

Ascender #4 gives us a few surprises in the fight between the vampires and the resistance. The grey washes, with mixes of red, from Dustin Nguyen on the vampire’s throneworld is very impressive.

| Published by Image

Batgirl #37 launches the new creative team of Cecil Castellucci, Carmine Di Giandomenico, Jordie Bellaire, and AndWorld Design with part one of “Oracle Rising”. There’s a nice battle with Killer Moth, emphasizing what some villains are doing in order to try to get noticed by Luthor to receive the offer, while playing up the expense that goes into crimefighting. Also, the Terrible Trio unleash something probably not too good.

| Published by DC Comics

Dark Red #5 concludes the first arc as Chip and Evie try to fight off an army of Nazi vampires. It’s good, with some nice funny moments. Great art from Corin Howell and Mark Englert.

| Published by AfterShock

Detective Comics #1008 is a straight-forward single issue story of Batman and Joker at the circus from Peter J. Tomasi, Doug Mahnke, Jaime Mendoza, Dave Baron, and Rob Leigh. It’s a refreshing change of pace from the extended arcs, even as it sets up a new threat in the “Year of the Villain” offering.

| Published by DC Comics

Dial H for Hero #5 gets a little meta as we dive into the Multiverse, the Heroverse, and the Bleed from Sam Humphries, Joe Quinones, Scott Hanna, Jordan Gibson, and Dave Sharpe. The use of breaking through panels, reproductions of old comics scenes, and a variation of styles just deliver phenomenal storytelling.

| Published by DC Comics / Wonder Comics

Dungeons & Dragons: A Darkened Wish #2 continues to fill in the backstory of the adventurers’ time with the White Sails, introducing us to the pitfalls that harried them, before giving more hints in the present of the nightmare that tore them apart. B. Dave Walters, Tess Fowler, Jay Fotos, and Neil Uyetake are delivering an entertaining fantasy tale here.

| Published by IDW

Fearless #1 is a new three-issue anthology mini-series spotlighting a number of the women of Marvel, both characters and creative talent. This first issue leads off with a continuing lead feature from Seanan McGuire, Claire Roe, Rachelle Rosenberg, and Janice Chiang, as Sue Richards, Carol Danvers, and Storm prepare to visit a girls camp as motivational speakers. There’s also an entertaining Mille the Model back-up from Leah Williams, Nina Vakueva, Rosenberg, and Chiang. And a very funny Jessica Jones story from the Captain Marvel team of Kelly Thompson, Carmen Carnero, Tamra Bonvillain, with Chiang. Though short, that last story is pretty much worth the price of the issue alone.

| Published by Marvel

Five Years #3 sees Tambi meet with Ivy and Julie to discuss that various nations around the world are dangerously developing Phi-alloy technology. Also a surprise appearance of people we thought were out. Great art as always from Terry Moore.

| Published by Abstract Studio

The Flash #75 delivers three stories for this extra-sized anniversary issue. The lead concludes the “Year One” arc. This is some of the best art that I have ever seen from Howard Porter, he and Hi-Fi just deliver amazing artwork here. There are also two back-ups, one hinting at things to come in the future for Barry and the other tying in to “Year of the Villain” as Captain Cold receives Luthor’s offer.

| Published by DC Comics

Guardians of the Galaxy #7 begins the second arc, “Faithless”, from Donny Cates, Cory Smith, David Curiel, and Cory Petit. It really introduces us to the new Universal Church of Truth as they take out an entire squadron of the Nova Corps and then worse things happen as the Guardians go off to investigate. I love the name for the Guardians’ new ship and that final page is one hell of a shock.

| Published by Marvel

History of the Marvel Universe #1 is an interesting project from Mark Waid, Javier Rodríguez, Álvaro López, and Joe Caramagna. It’s framed as Galactus telling Franklin Richards (at least I think that’s Franklin Richards) the history of the universe before it dies and the next is reborn. As expected, it’s dry facts, but it’s fascinating in how it’s comprehensively presented and the artwork from Rodríguez and López is jaw-dropping gorgeous. There are also annotations in the back to show where these events come from. It’s well put together and I highly recommended it to die-hard Marvel fans.

| Published by Marvel

Invisible Kingdom #5 concludes the first arc with an almost entirely one-sided battle between the Sun Dog and a Lux battleship. G. Willow Wilson, Christian Ward, and Sal Cipriano elevate the tension nicely through this issue and give a few surprises when everything seems grim and it looks like the end.

| Published by Dark Horse / Berger Books

Killer Groove #3 wonderfully showcases one of Jackie’s cases as it intertwines with the music scene and criminal underworld. Ollie Masters, Eoin Marron, Jordie Bellaire, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou are doing a nice job with this series of crafting one larger story out of many separate smaller tales.

| Published by AfterShock

Lazarus: Risen #2 is another dense read. The series has always been hefty, but this new format has elevated things further, doubling up comics content and adding a prose short story, the letters pages, and extra content like gaming material and the usual in-world advertisements. I’m loving it. Greg Rucka, Michael Lark, Tyler Boss, Santi Arcas, Simon Bowland, Adam Christopher, and Crystal Frasier are definitely giving you your money’s worth and more here. Excellent comics content as the war between Carlyle and Morray/D’Souza heats up.

| Published by Image

Livewire #8 pits Amanda versus Jada for a final round. It’s still interesting how practically everyone is trying to portray Amanda’s actions as harmful and villainous. Great art from Kano.

| Published by Valiant

Martian Manhunter #7 sees J’onn and Diane uncover some of the results of the experiments that have been going on with the kidnapped and missing people, it’s horrifying. Incredible and haunting artwork in this one from Riley Rossmo and Ivan Plascencia. 

| Published by DC Comics

Marvels: Epilogue is a short, but sweet, coda to the Marvels series from Kurt Busiek, Alex Ross, John Roshell, and Richard Starkings. It spotlights events from X-Men #98 through the eyes of Phil Sheldon and his daughters, capturing some of the awe, wonder, and terror that Sheldon experienced during the main series. The book is filled out with an interview with Busiek and Ross on their experience with the series and what it’s like to look back on it 25 years later, as well as interviews with the editors who worked on the book.

| Published by Marvel

Middlewest #9 sets out a new quest for Abel as he comes across the Nowak people. Skottie Young, Jorge Corona, Jean-Francois Beaulieu, and Nate Piekos are continuing to make magic with this series. The art is beautiful and the story is endlessly captivating.

| Published by Image

Psi-Lords #2 continues to investigate these four captives, changed for whatever reason by the Psi-Lords, and the habitat of their prison. An interesting jail hierarchy of gangs is revealed and a bit of a memory of the four’s lives before being captured. Gorgeous art from Renato Guedes.

| Published by Valiant

Star Pig #1 is weird. Very weird. Delilah S. Dawson, Francesco Gaston, Sebastian Cheng, and Shawn Lee give us the story of a kid on her way to space camp whose ship is struck and destroyed by an asteroid, saved by a space pig and a scavenger energy ball. It’s probably one of the more unique tales I’ve seen in a while.

| Published by IDW

Sword Master #1, like Aero before it, features two stories. In the first, Greg Pak adapts into English a tale from Shuizhu and Gunji of the titular hero, Lin Lie, and his quest to find his missing father. It’s an interesting start and the artwork from Gunji is gorgeous. The back up original story pairs Shang-Chi up with Lin in a story from Greg Pak, Ario Anindito, Rachelle Rosenberg, and Travis Lanham. It follows up on their appearance in the New Agents of Atlas tie-in to “War of the Realms” and presents an interesting antagonist on their trail.

| Published by Marvel

Valkyrie #1 is a wonderful debut from Jason Aaron, Al Ewing, CAFU, Jesus Aburtov, and Joe Sabino. We get some continued supporting cast from Jane Foster’s time as Thor, although with a new status quo, and an interesting hook in trying to track down Dragonfang, the former Valkyrie’s sword. The art from CAFU and Aburtov is beautiful.

| Published by Marvel

Warlord of Mars Attacks #2 continues this crossover of John Carter and Mars Attacks. It’s interesting how it incorporates Edgar Rice Burroughs’ stories as actual things in this world and explains how Mars as a dead planet and one as teeming with life as Barsoom could exist simultaneously.

| Published by Dynamite

The Weatherman Vol. 2 #2 gives us more of a look at the nightmare that has consumed Earth as the crew attempt to find the doctor who might be able to fix everything. It goes about as well as could be expected. The monster designs and execution from Nathan Fox and Moreno Dinisio are incredible.

| Published by Image

Web of Venom: Funeral Pyre #1 is another one-shot catching up on the wider world of Venom as we barrel headlong into Absolute Carnage. Cullen Bunn, Joshua Cassara, Alberto Alburquerque, Jay David Ramos, and Clayton Cowles give us a great story checking in with Andi Benton, the former Mania and occasional sidekick to Flash Thompson’s Venom.

| Published by Marvel

Wonder Woman #75 continues “Return of the Amazons” from G. Willow Wilson, Xermanico, Jesus Merino, Vicente Cifuentes, Romulo Fajardo Jr., and Pat Brosseau. This arc basically brings Wilson’s run around full circle to deal with some of the elements that kicked off her first issue as Diana faces off against Grail. Some really nice double page spreads with border art from Xermanico.

| Published by DC Comics

Other Highlights: Archie #706, Archie vs. Predator 2 #1, Bone Parish #11, Books of Magic #10, Clue: Candlestick #3, Curse Words #23, Doctor Strange #16, Farmhand #10, Freedom Fighters #7, Grumble #8, House of X #1, Justice League Dark #13, Lumberjanes #64, Magic: The Gathering - Chandra #3, Magnificent Ms. Marvel #5, Marvel Action: Avengers #6, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #41, Night Moves #5, Redneck #22, Secret Warps: Arachknight Annual #1, Shuri #10, Star Trek: The Q Conflict #6, Star Wars #69, TMNT: The Rise of the TMNT - Sound Off #1, Tony Stark: Iron Man #14, The Wicked + The Divine #44

Recommended Collections: Black Panther - Book 7: The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda Part 2, Go-Bots - Volume 1, Harrow County: Library Edition - Volume 3, House of Whispers - Volume 1: The Power Divided, James Bond: Origin - Volume 1, Lodger - Volume 1, Lumberjanes - Volume 12, Savage Sword of Conan - Volume 1: The Cult of Koga Thun, Self/Made, Star Wars Adventures - Volume 6: The Flight of the Falcon, Thor of Realms, William Gibson’s Alien 3

d. emerson eddy might well be a space lord.