#TV Critic

[satirickitty]

I had wild successes early on with Blorbos such as Xena, Seven of Nine, Spike & Castiel

Subsequent Blorbos have all been subject to kill your gays, fridged for man pain or only in it for 5 minutes syndrome

[hollywoodalreadydidit]

The Peripheral Season 1 Episode 8 "The Creation of a Thousand Forests" Recap & Review The season finale of The Peripheral does the age old sci-fi trick of answering 1 of the 10 questions you have, and ignoring everything else. Leave a comment, like, share and subscribe to our channel here: http://tinyurl.com/y5ccpkfo

[angelofdumpsterfires]

how i feel about all the changes in s3

[julianlytle]

Here is a video podcast of a conversation between Roxana Hadadi, TV Critic at Vulture & myself about the series I'm A Virgo.

[etoilesdeglace]

"What's really bothering you darling? "When the Briarwoods came, no one could have prevented it. But this? I did this. I had us flee here, and Raishan followed..."

[ariadne-mouse]

In e105 Cooldown, Robbie and Matt have some back and forth about Dorian's new sword and abilities, prompting the below background exchange that happens around full unrelated sentences from Taliesin, nevertheless faithfully captured by the closed captions & pieced back together here:

[agueforts]

"HOLY SHIT, 9/11 WAS 20 YEARS AGO??" SAYS MAN WHO WITNESSED THE EVENTS FIRSTHAND

[watchyourbuck]

bobby “I’ll build you a mile of runway” nash you are the most romantic man in the world

[khruschevshoe]

You know, it's rather interesting to me that Taylor Swift's parasocial relationship with her fans is honestly more akin to a YouTuber than a writer's. When I scroll through her tag on tumblr/Twitter, it's far more regarding the connection to her personal life/relationship developments than the actual metaphors/fictional story she might be telling. Everything comes back to how her songs reflect back on her relationships with Joe/Matty/Travis/Jake/insert ex-boyfriend here. And what fascinates me about it is that even though she complains about it, she leans into that very perception because it strengthens the parasocial bond.

The marketing for TTPD so clearly being about Joe Alwyn and the songs to Matty Healy. The marketing/video for Red TV so CLEARLY being about Jake Gyllenhaal, with so many of the new lines in All Too Well specifically being digs at him (I'll get older but your lovers stay my age, casting an actor that looks like him for the video, specific lines in I Bet You Think About Me). The fact that songs like Getaway Car and Bejeweled and Gorgeous and London Boy and Lavender Haze being picked apart at time of release and long after for signs of relationships crumbling. The way she uses surprise songs in relation to her relationship development with Joe/Matty/Travis. The damn TTPD "stages of grief" playlists where she deliberately undid/changed the meanings of old songs just to keep her audience speculating on her love life.

It's not sexist to point out that her wielding her love life is a marketing tool and that the strongest connection to her audience isn't the strength of her writing/the composition of her music- it's her deliberate crafting of a connection between her music and her personal life, leaving the audience invested in her music as an extension of Taylor the Person/Girlfriend rather than Taylor the Artist.

[unwisegirl]

listen like. people are totally entitled to their opinions and criticisms of the pjo show but. sometimes it’s just hard to hear/read. I know the show isn’t perfect but seeing the cast & producers talk about it and seeing the level of love and excitement theyve put into the work, idk, I feel for them having people tear it to shreds. criticising the author himself for not adapting it well when he’s doing something different with a new medium, saying they’re sorry for the kids who love the books but have to act in this “terrible” show as if these kids aren’t THRILLED by the opportunity and just so committed to giving the show their best.

(watch the behind the scenes documentary. seriously.)

again totally valid criticisms & opinions!! but you win some and lose some in an adaptation. eg. trying to expand on themes, keep a consistent tone, appeal to a broader audience (including those of us who loved the books as kids but are now!!! adults!!!), keep within budget, etc etc all these things involve some trade offs. sure some of the humour and goofiness has been lost but we also get amazing beautifully acted scenes that really expand on core themes of family or who is a monster etc etc.

speaking on a personal level I have had a hard time these past few months and this show became a genuine escape, a way for me to connect with my sister watching the episodes together, a rediscovery of my inner 12 year old who waited so long for this. and I know there are people who are like me and they had certain expectations and that’s why they’re disappointed and that’s so valid, but it’s a lot of negativity sometimes, & I just wish we could give a little grace bc making a creative thing is hard, and pleasing everyone with that creative thing is impossible, and most of all, maybe we could revel a little bit more in this unique complex piece of work that lots of people poured their hearts into with nothing but the best of intentions.

[marvelousbelladonna]

Some new art from today’s episode of Abridged episode 51

Look at Keyleth!!! 🥰

[hollywoodalreadydidit]

Chucky​ Season 2 Episode 8 "Chucky Actually"  Season Finale Recap and Review *SPOILERS* Terrence is catching up on shows after the holiday, and he is absolutely FLOORED by that one death. That Chucky is a wild boy. Like, Share and SUBSCRIBE to our channel here: http://tinyurl.com/y5ccpkfo

[the-one-where-casey-watches-tv]

The Handmaid’s Tale episode 5.07 “No Man’s Land”

I wanted to start my blog here, partly because it’s fresh, and partly because I found this to be one of the best episodes of TV I’ve ever seen. I’ll say it: The Handmaid’s Tale is one of the best shows of all time, and I’ve been watching it all unfold with bated breath from the start- but I also struggled with the beginning of this season. I found it to be a little aimless now that June had made it to Canada, and I worried this show was about to overstay its welcome. I went into “No Man’s Land” ready to disappointedly declare this show another victim of Big Money (stay tuned for my thoughts on Stranger Things), but June and Serena stopped me in my tracks.

            Something I think is significant about this episode is that everything that transpires, the entirety of both women’s thoughts and actions, aren’t at all pre-meditated or influenced by anything other than their raw personalities. From the moment Serena shoots Ezra, neither of them knows what they’re going to do or how they’re going to feel about it until it’s already happening. It’s June and Serena’s authentic selves, and it’s the inevitable power shift that has been brewing for five years. We know what Serena does with all the power and we know what June can do with none of it; turning those tables in an unpredictable situation is what shows us who these women really are. Throughout this season I made a lot of guesses about what was going to happen, and I was wrong every single time. Throughout this episode, though, I felt incredibly in step with every beat in the most cathartic way. This show is nothing if not true to its characters, and this episode languished in knowing exactly who all these people are.

            Let’s start from the beginning- Serena’s driving a car, in labor, gun in hand, and June’s in the back seat. Already I’m smiling and on the edge of my seat, but it’s also a little silly. Where does she think she’s going? Really, three seconds later she’s crashed the car? But this isn’t a flimsy plot device, it’s the set-up of both Serena’s chaotic helplessness and June’s agency. Serena is stuck. June is not. Of course Serena crashed the car. June said it best- “Jesus Christ, are you in fucking labor right now? Stop waving that around, you’re going to get us both killed” (this episode made me laugh just enough to remind me that none of this is funny at all, but June herself is very funny).

            At first, she doesn’t even hesitate to ride this out with Serena. But Serena is her consistently unpleasant self, and she pushes her away. And June, being her own usual self, doesn’t take it for a second. In a flash, she’s digging out the car. What does she owe Serena? Less than nothing. Serena’s lucky June has even let her live this long. But in the time that it takes to get the car out of the mud, the bigger question sets in. It’s not about whether Serena deserves grace from June of all people. She doesn’t. But June is looking towards a future in which they live in a merciful world. She’s done with people giving birth alone in cold abandoned buildings, done with children growing up with false parents, done with any human being thinking they get to determine whether another human being is deserving of humanity. So the car is good to go, but she goes back in the barn. And Serena now couldn’t be more relieved to see her. She’s looked down the barrel of this situation and felt real fear for her life for the first time, and she is no June Osborne.

            With June at the wheel, this birth goes so smoothly they might as well be in a hospital, but once baby Noah (of course) arrives, it’s time to talk about why they aren’t in one. Serena has burned every bridge she could possibly cross next, and with her ethical duty fulfilled, what happens now isn’t really June’s problem. Or so it seems, at first glance. While Serena prattles on about the Lord, beautifully expressing the inherent selfishness of Christianity, June realizes just how deep this all goes. Serena is never going to be a good person. If after all this, she’s still thinking everyone else in this world is just an angel or a snake or some metaphorical entity existing purely to serve her life experience in one way or another, she’s just not gonna get it. And June recognizes this- saying “I’m a person” with a shake of her head- but she recognizes something about herself as well. She’s had multiple opportunities to fuck Serena over and I think it was a mystery to her just as much as it was to us why she wasn’t taking them. That confusion and conflict was written all over June’s face every time she had the chance, but this is the first time she consciously understands and voices that she doesn’t want to kill Serena.

            Changing the world isn’t going to happen through a handful of isolated good deeds. Mothers deserve to nurse their babies, and babies deserve to come into this world with their parents. As June muses on motherhood, and Serena explores her options, a bond creeps in between them. What good does it do that June saved this woman and her baby if all she’s going to do now is leave them to die or deliver them to be separated by the same organization she’s trying to dismantle? When Serena laments another woman stealing her baby, the irony is so abundant it’s just plain laughable, but she does remind us of something: the evil factory of Gilead is still churning away, and June is looking at its next victims if she doesn’t do something. It’s the ultimate test of June’s integrity that Serena of all people is who is put in front of her to save, but it doesn’t change what she should do. Serena’s lack of growth is what makes June’s choices so significant. Of course June would help a woman in need; the only question left to answer about her character, and about right and wrong, is if she would help this woman.

            So I know this episode is called “No Man’s Land” because that’s where all of this goes down, but nothing punctuates the huge emotional distance we’ve just traveled, and the fact that it was an intensely female experience, like the arrival of Luke in the final moments. Let me say first that I don’t think Luke has ever done a single thing wrong in his entire life, and his wholehearted goodness is what underscores the gendered nature of Gilead’s oppression. When this episode started, June and I both wanted bad things to happen to Serena. June and her friends ripped Fred to pieces with their literal teeth and took pieces of his body just to further relish the experience, and we’ve all been waiting for Serena to get hers too. But now, even though Serena hasn’t changed, June’s understanding of the world and what is called for has expanded. Serena is still falling prey to a broken, oppressive world that does to women what it could never- and would never- do to a man. There was nothing but justice in Fred’s death. Serena’s suffering in her current situation is, to sum it up, complicated. But it doesn’t seem complicated to Luke. He doesn’t hesitate to do what June has, inexplicably even to herself, been unable to bring herself to do. His confusion as to why June isn’t happy about this, while understandable (if I hadn’t seen what happened over the last 45 minutes I would be confused too), confirms the chasm Gilead has created between man and woman.

            As is the sign of a great episode, I feel like I could go on and on about it. It’s filled me with thought, and I’m still kicking around so many feelings about the significance of the individual, the ethics of extending a hand to the corrupt, and the fact that June is actually an incredibly biblical and Christ-like character. I couldn’t possibly say everything there is to be said about all this, so if you’re having thoughts and feeling inclined to share them, I’d love it if you reblogged, followed, or sent me a message!

[purple-crusader]

Percival glasses shots my beloved

[ariadne-mouse]

Double vision