thuganomics85

Fisk is generally a scary guy and has said a lot of terrifying things, but nothing gave me chills as his "Daniel is the future of this city." Best of luck to you, New York City, if that is remotely true! While not minding her for the most part despite not being wild about the romance, Heather was definitely losing me with the way she seemed to lump Daredevil alongside Muse. Ironically, she isn't wrong about him having issues and I don't expect her to automatically be on Team Daredevil, but it seems obvious to me that there is a difference between a vigilante who might get too violent dealing with criminals vs. a psychopath who kills innocent people and displays them as murals. Oh, and then there was her claim about how she saved herself, which is technically true, but she would have been dead for sure had it not been for Daredevil's save. Yeah, I'll be very surprised if this relationship lasts if/when she finds out the truth about Matt. But, hey, at least things are better for Fisk and Vanessa! Turns out Vanessa really did set up Luca last week, and Fisk returns the favor by revealing what he did to Adam all of this time! And Vanessa responds by straight-up murdering her former lover in front of him. And how it's all bedroom eyes and smiles for them! Those crazy kids will never break-up, dammit! Poindexter is now back into the world thanks to an unknowing assistance from Matt. Definitely question his ability to somehow use a tooth as a mini-bullet, but I guess it's pointless to underestimate the skills of Bullseye! Sometimes I like to be surprised, but other times I want to obvious to happen. And in the case of Powell and his cronies, I really do hope this is leading to Frank finally getting out of his lair and unleashing some Punisher beatings and more to this lot. Great seeing Jack again. Not so great that he might be under Fisk's thumb thanks to Fisk knowing about his extra activities, but I won't count the Swordsman out of the game yet! BB Urich hopefully has eyes in the back of her head and finds a way to put a dent in Fisk's scheme. Bonus points if Daniel takes a hit as well. So, it sounds like Vanessa was actually the one who pointed Poindexter to Foggy, instead of Fisk. Makes sense, because I do think Fisk; in his own strange way; would have kept his word about not going after Matt's inner circle, while Vanessa doesn't care about things like that. But I'm sure we will dive more into that later. Did not have Matt taking a bullet for Fisk on my bingo card. I wonder if this will elevate Matt in the public's eyes as some kind of hero risking his life for the mayor. But how will he explain knowing it was coming? Either way, I hope this leads to another Matt/Fisk confrontation and scenes. Need more Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio playing off one another.

Yeah, I would watched the shit out of Teenjus. Slap that thing onto the CW network during its heyday, and we would get five to six seasons top! And, somehow a coked up Uncle Baby Billy would still be a less insane writer than most of the braintrust that graced us with Riverdale (I say that with affection, I swear!) Figured Kelvin's winning streak would be thwarted for a bit, and I guess it makes sense that it will be thanks in part to a vengeful Vance Simkins, who I do think was telling truth about his disgust for homosexuality and other views that go against the Bible, but I also think he is using this as a way to stick it to Jesse and the rest of the Gemstones. Because despite their insults, arguments, and immaturity, I really do think they care for one another and Vance knows to exploit it. Fitting since he seems to just flat-out hate his own family. He hasn't done a lot of yet, but I hope we get more of him as an effective obstacle, whose downfall will be epic. Stephen Dorff really shined here. Jesse's goon squad digs up that a lot of Lori's previous relationships have either ended in death or disappearance, so the kids now think she is some kind of Black Widow. Eli doesn't believe them, but thanks to his car being on fire and a brick with "Sinners" being thrown through a window, Lori finally admits to an ex that might be problematic. That said, I'm keeping my eye on Corey. The way he was looking at them going into the house was kind of scary. I think he doesn't like this relationship at all, and I can see him being connected in all of this. Amber comes to Judy and BJ with a gift of a service monkey named Dr. Watson! He ends up being quite effective: even if he can't quite figure out the different flavors of White Claws. Close enough! But that final shot of him was definitely setting something up. Sola the Nanny is going to drown you in the pool, if you don't watch yourself, Billy! And then Teenjus will end on a cliffhanger! We need to know if Teenjus will end that dance battle that I'm sure was in the Bible!

She did it! At long last, Victoria figured out that they were in Thailand after-all! She even said it twice! I'm so proud of her! Between that and her hilariously gleeful reaction to Piper breaking down over the idea of living at the monastery, she certainly made sure to go out on a high, delightfully irritate note. I will miss her, her reaction shots, and every crazy line that comes out of her mouth. Got me there with Lochlan for a bit. I really did think that he was a goner, since there would be some poetic irony over Tim killing the one family member he actually wanted to spare (before he changed his entire mind about every.) But I guess you have to really ingest a lot of the fruit to actually die from it. Either way, the Ratliff family are all still in one piece (and none the wiser, I guess? Kind of didn't explain any of that), but I can only imagine what the reaction will be once they realize Tim is possibly going to jail and they may have lost everything. It did look like Saxon was already suspicious about what his dad was blabbering on about. Instead, the main victims where none other than Rick and poor Chelsea! Despite everything, Rick just could not change his ways. Jim returns to to the hotel, insults him and his mother, and flashes a piece, so at the opportune moment, Rick has his revenge and murders Jim with his own gun. He then has a shoot-out with the bodyguards, where Chelsea is caught in the crossfire. Rick then follows her by getting shot in the back, but he likely was dead inside already. A fitting, if tragic end for both of the characters. Rick was probably always destined to let his anger get the better of him, and Chelsea's need to always stick by his side was likely always going to be her downfall. And, of course, Jim was Rick's father after-all, but judging from the way he was acting, I don't think Rick missed much by not having him in his life. If only he knew. Oh, and Rick's killer was none other than Gaitok, as the show surprises me by not having him fuck that part up, and he successfully takes Rick out. And that seems to impress Mook, because of course it does. He's now Sritala's new bodyguard, but I'm guessing he's going to let Valentin get away scot-free? I guess he fell for his sob story about getting deported and whatnot. Damn, Belinda got the money and Tanya-ed poor Pornchai! Okay, too be fair, I think some of it was her fear of Greg retaliating and her just wanting to get Zion and herself to safety, but that was still pretty cold. I was honestly surprised it worked out, because it felt like Zion was really overplaying things with his "business man" cred. But, I guess Greg felt it was better to just pay them off. Make sense, since he certainly seems content with his $495 million and sitting in his chair like some kind of Bond villain, while Chloe sets up another potential cuckhold fetish for him. That man cannot be stopped, apparently! Will not be surprised if he keeps popping up each season. Best friend group actually kind of gets a happy ending, even if I still feel like Laurie's selling herself short in a lot of ways. Plus, I imagine Kate and Jaclyn will never not be the gossiping mean girls that they are. But, I guess it's still a win, more or less? They all also seemed remarkable chill at the end, despite being front and center during the shoot-out. This will definitely be a vacation they will remember! Fabian just getting dunked into the water during the shoot-out was an unexpected comedic moment in a tense situation. And, so ends another season of The White Lotus. I definitely understand the flaws and criticisms, as I do feel like al ot of the characters never took off compared to previous seasons (in particular, the staff side was really lacking. No Armond or Isabella to keep me invested), a few of the stories were underwhelming or overstayed their welcome (couldn't get into Belinda's arc once Greg got involved, and Rick's stuff dragged out and was pretty predictable), and while Thailand was gorgeous as expected, I didn't feel like the location was taken advantage of as much as, say, Italy was last season. Acting was generally strong though, although, surprisingly, I felt like this was one of Walton Goggins' more underwhelming roles. Not bad or anything, but he was kind of overshadowed a lot, which I'm not use to. But I really enjoyed Aimee Lou Wood, the three actresses playing the best friends, and Parker Posey pretty much stole every scene she was in. Biggest surprise was Patrick Schwarzenegger, who end up delivering on some standout moments. He might be in the shadow of his father in some ways, but I can see him having a bright future for sure. All that being said, I still had a fun time and I can't wait to see what insanity Mike White comes up with next. I'm down with the speculation/wish of maybe being set in the mountains somewhere next time, because a season in a colder location could be fun. Personally, I'm pulling for something like the Scandinavian Mountains, because I want the next resort to be family-owned and all of the employees are played by all of the Skarsgards! Any bets on future famous folks or familiar faces to appear in the future? The first thought that pops into my head is that I feel like Jon Hamm is destined to show up on this show someday. Also still wanting someone from Succession to crash the party. Hell, just make it a crossover! The poor White Lotus staff having to deal with Roman or Kendall's bullshit. Or Frank and Karl can show up, retired and just enjoying not having to be at Waystar Royco anymore! A pipe dream, I know....

The Liandrin flashback was brief but really well done, and helps explain why she has embraced the Forsaken/Black Aja the way she has. After everything she went through, the only person to show her any kindness or assistance was none other than Ishamael. Yeah, even if he had self-serving goals, it's easy to see why that act would earn undying loyalty. Great seeing him/Fares Fares for a few second again. Hey, it's Thom Merrilin! I was kind of wondering if/when we were going to see him again, since he's been absence since season one. Hope he sticks around a little bit, because all fantasy teams need at least one bard! So, the Tanchico gang goes undercover into the streets to find intel about Liandrin, and while they do acquire some info, it actually ends up devolving into a party with drinks, gossip, gambling, and Elayne singing a ditty she always knew, but now just realizes that it is obviously a pretty raunchy song. Yeah, I guess it's not surprising that a lot of that would go over her head, heh. But, hey, she's apparently a hell of a singer! Ceara Coveney continues to really shine in this role. Alas, the fun times to end on a sour note, because while the gang is able to find one of the braces, good old Moghedien returns, mind controls both Nynaeve and Elayne, and acquire the brace for herself. Pretty creepy stuff. Deep down, I figured she wasn't going to kill either one of them, but I was still worried throughout that scene. Really powerful villain right there. Perrin and Faile are already moving to the kissing stage of their relationship. A little rushed, but I guess if you just survived an White Cloak onslaught, why not enjoy life a little? Not surprised that Mat' sisters were actually the real channelers, and helped save Alanna. Hell yeah, Padan Fain is back and is "assisting" the White Cloaks, but you know damn well he's got something else going on. The best part was seeing freaking Eamon Valda of all people looking a little unnerved by him. You know the wheel has truly flown off (pun intended), if Captain Torture of all people is getting concerned about events. After a visit of being tied to Lanfear's wheel (that's her thing!), Egwene confronts Rand about his dream activities, and he's... basically is like "Well, you've been ignoring me all of this time!" Buddy, just because your girlfriend is busy trying to figure out her magic powers, doesn't mean you can just step out on her. Especially with your former flame, whose one of the Forsaken and can kind of be evil at times. I know she hot and looks great in all of those black outfits, but maybe show some restraint, my friend. Should have known overly-precious kid was being set up to die. Not just die, but die by Rand inadvertently killing her when using all of his power to take out Samuel. Yeah, I see some of that madness starting to well up now. Moiraine (and the rest) have their work cut out for them now.

We interrupt your normal comic book hero scheduling for a bit of a detour into Criminal Minds-like territory! The previously segment pretty much gave the game away that the patient was Muse since we never saw him since his initial scene and there wasn't any real reason to show it. They kind of rushed through what I'm guessing was a somewhat significant villain in the comic world, but I am curious to see how that will affect Heather going forward. Not just the whole being captured and forced to shoot him at the end bits: he pretty much admitted that she/her book was the inspiration for his "art." Even if she shouldn't be blamed for the acts of a crazy guy, that has to do a number on one's mind. How much time has passed on this show, because it seems really early for Matt and Heather to be in the "I love you" phase. Their relationship feels like it has barely developed, let alone getting into love territory. Fisk was cracking me up with how he was trying to frame Daredevil as some kind of evil man, who ruined him and his business. Ah, yes, Kingpin! You were just a humble, everyday blue-colored worker that had your life ruined by that pesky vigilante with horns. He even broke people's bones! You would never do that!! Hard to get invested in the fight between Cherry and Kirsten, when I had to pop over to IMDB to even figure out what the characters names are. Knew Luca's plan was going to backfire. Have to think it was all a set-up. Yeah, Vanessa might have cheated on Fisk, and Fisk responds by kidnapping and torturing her lover, but dammit, that's nothing therapy can't fix! No one can replace Wesley, but I'm warming up to Buck as Fisk's new suave, suit-wearing lackey with a gun! I'm kind of hoping this series ends with Powell finding out Matt's secret identity, so he truly realizes just how many times he's got his ass handed to him by this guy!

Yeah, I should have known that Uncle Baby Billy would be all about water skiing naked. Only thing less surprising is that he has a cybertruck. And even a toy one for a son. Oh, and a German nanny that he's always treating like shit. What is the over/under this all ends with her knocking him the fuck out or worse? Uncle Baby Billy, ladies and gentlemen! What one of the most lovable, despicable human beings on the planet! So, the Gemstone siblings actually aren't happy about Eli and Lori after-all, and used this entire lake vacation to try and break them up. Unsurprisingly, it all backfired and not only did they fail to do so, they will now have the mental image of seeing their dad 69ing someone. Not their best work, to put it mildly. I do think they are playing coy about Lori though. There were a few moments that suggested that it is possible she is trying to pull something off here. But I can easily see it all being a misdirect and her feelings for Eli are real. Corey is still a fun addition and I keep cracking up at this weird hostility towards Jana/his wife, anytime she makes a wisecrack. Especially since she's actually kind of funny. Gideon can kind of be underutilized at times, but he/Skyler Gisondo had some great lines/reaction shots this episode. A for effort, Keefe! But an F for.... everything else. I'm guessing BJ being dismissed/ignored over being in a wheelchair will come back to bite Judy big time. I'm assuming the lake house and everything around it was also filmed in the Carolinas like most of the series. I really do feel like it sets the series apart from other ones, by filming in that area.

Once again, I know that Victoria is just as fucked up as everyone else here, but I will never tire of her distain for Greg and the "boat people." She's at least on point with that. Granted, trying to play the white knight and whisk the girlfriends away to North Carolina to find "decent men" is probably not a winning strategy or approach, but knowing how her mind works, that's probably the best we've got with her. Definitely not surprised that Valentin and his buddies were behind the robbery, since that was speculated for quite some time. But not only does Gaitok figure that all out thanks to the handy tattoo, but Laurie saw the necklace in the guy's house, so that is two ways their operation can come crashing down. Goes without saying that I doubt this is going to all end with a simple arrest! As I figured from last week's credit reveal, Scott Glenn is here and is playing Sritala's husband. Rick has his big confrontation with him, but ends up not going through with killing or even punching him, because he sees him for what he is now: a frail old man, who cowered once threatened. I guess he will take this as a win, but I wouldn't be surprised if another shoe drops. Still banking on the character being Rick's actual father instead, since Rick claimed they never found the body. Honestly, Rick and Frank/Sam Rockwell's undercover gig was majorly flawed since they didn't seem to do any kind of research of any kind, but I guess it worked well enough that Frank has fallen back off the wagon, so I'm sure fun times will be had! Greg tries to make Belinda an offer she can't refuse, but it's likely she will stick to her principles for now. Don't blame her and I don't trust Greg any farther than I can throw him, but I do see Zion's side about maybe just taking the money. Talk about a lose-lose situation. Chloe reveals that Greg has his own kink that involves a little incest, because of course he does. Tries to get Saxon to participate, but even that's a bridge too far. Can't believe I'm saying this, but is there a chance Saxon might actually end up being one of more... won't say likable, but understandable characters when this is all said and done? Laurie might have fucked a criminal, but at least she saw through his scam attempt, but that puts her ahead of good old Alfie from S2! But will this be enough for the girlfriend group to come back together or are they fractured for good? Piper didn't seem happy at all about Lochlan wanting to stay at the monastery as well. Looks like Gaitok might have actually saved lives since Tim was going for the gun to possibly go all family annihilator. Still thinking Gaitok will be a part of the mysterious shoot-out. Don't want to predict too much for what is in store next week, but the previews at least Can't wait!

Agree that the Villanueva vs. the guard fight actually ended up being better than the supposedly epic Reacher vs. Paulie showdown. The former felt more like an intense, suspenseful, gritty battle of wills, while the latter felt like an over-the-top Kaiju battle in human form. Which, to be fair, was probably what they were going for and it might delight some, but it kind of became comical the more it went on. And the resolution was a letdown: especially since it required Reacher to actually have to spell out to Paulie what he just did, in a way that it was clearly more about explaining to the audience what just happened. A clunky bit of exposition right there. I actually didn't mind though that there was no big fight for Quinn, and Reacher just shot him cold. It would make sense that Reacher wouldn't drag things out this time. And at least Quinn did get his memory back long enough to know what was the catalyst of his downfall. No surprise that Beck dies in an attempt to protect Richard. Figured that was where that was all heading. And now Richard's got a car and a bag of cash, and he's off to be a drifter himself! Teresa is back home safely, and Duffy is now off to do her own thing as well. At least she's the one who breaks things off with Reacher. He's normally the one that has to do that! All in all, I think this season was better than the last one, but S1 is still ahead by a good bit. The villains this go around where a little more rememberable compared to the norm, but I think the biggest difference so far is that the supporting characters really haven't stood out like Roscoe and Finley did way back in the first season. I get this is Reacher's show and all, but of the best parts of S1 was the interplay and chemistry between those three. Reacher really hasn't had that with anyone else outside of Neagley, and even then, she was also from S1. Then again, it's not like I really take this series too seriously, so I'll be back for sure to watch whatever town needs the assistance of a big-ass drifter next time!

They always say "Find a job you love, and never work a day in your life" and, well, Eamon Valda certainly is never working because he loves his torture! Man might be evil as all get out, but I aspire to be that content in my life! Hopefully his downfall will be epic, but until then, I will continue to love whenever he slimes it up. The actor is perfection in the role. Suspected that Elaida wasn't actually part of the Black Ajah, and is just your atypical, arrogant Aes Sedai, who looks down on almost everyone that she thinks isn't on her level. Including Siuan. Talk about being classist: she was borderline snarling "Ugh, poor people!" when trashing Siuan's more common quarters than the outlandish ones in the past. Not sure if she's always been like this or spending time with the queen got into her head. But she was shown to be someone who can also be manipulated, with the way she fell for Siuan's bait. It just happened to not end the way either one of them thought it would. Curious to see if this might humble Elaida a bit or make her even more determine to thwart Siuan and seize power for herself. I get why Mat probably needed a new roommate stat, but I'm admit that I'm biased and would have been totally down to hear Elayne talk about Tanchico and more history/geography lessons throughout the journey. Nynaeve puking nonstop would have hampered things though for sure. Glad Min is already with the group and I'm looking forward to seeing what this foursome gets themselves into. So, Moiraine's time in the rings made her realize that the only times Rand ever wins is if she dies, so she is now preparing for her eventual sacrifice. But we'll see if this is another premonition that can be wormed out of. Glad Alanna and Maksim are still breathing, but that was a lot of arrows the former has sticking out of her body... Loial with the obvious observation of the century with his "Stealth isn't my thing" more or less. Egwene is able to control the dream world better and even hop into her buddies' dreams. It's all nice, until she stumbles upon Rand making out with Lanfear on a cliff. Whoops! To be fair, that's the risk you take when you show up in dreams unannounced!

Good old Jack Duquesne showing up to to take Fisk down a peg or two! Still love that they cast Tony Dalton in Hawkeye with the assumption most would assume he would be a villain due to Better Call Saul, and ends up being more on the side of good instead. Judging from that phone recording, it looks like he's doing a little bit of vigilantism as well! Actually not surprising that a lot of the wealthy citizens in NYC would turn their noses on Fisk, due to his history and not being like them in so many ways. And considering he lacks any social skills whatsoever, this might be a tougher than expected obstacle for him to overcome. But I'm guessing he'll either get by thanks to violence and corruption, or Vanessa will end up being the wild card since she seems to be better at playing the social game or at least reading people. Had a feeling Fisk was going to use Muse's killings to his advantage and sure enough, he's now created an anti-vigilante task force, made up of all corrupt cops (including good old Powell.) And is pretty much arming them with unlimited power and being unchecked on so many levels. Yeah, this is getting a little too realistic. I just hope Frank has something say about all of this. Angela might have had a rough go of it, but at least she's still alive and she inadvertently did something major: she led Matt to finally saying "Fuck it" and dawning the suit once more. Daredevil is back, baby! He was probably doomed no matter what, but Adam probably would have been better off attempting to just hightail it out of there. If a guy tosses you and axe and tells you to come at him, he's either a) crazy, b) has the ability to back up that arrogance, or c) both. Matt's scenes with Heather gave off the vibe that they setting things up for them to not work out. Just a lot of awkwardness there. I would pay money though to watch her attempt to interview Frank. There would probably be a lot of rants and expletives in that interview!

Did not predict that we'd basically get a stand-alone, almost filler episode for this season. Along with pairing Matt off with none other than Yusuf Khan! Glad to see that Kamala and her gang won't be forgotten about since The Marvels ended up bombing at the box office (and I will continue to go to my grave thinking it was actually a pretty enjoyable film. Certainly not MCU's worst.) They made for a fun pair. Surprised that Mohan Kapur is still playing the role, because I could have sworn he had some kind of accusations leveled at him. Maybe there wasn't enough evidence to make Disney feel a recast was needed? Wouldn't mind seeing Detective Kim again. The actress made the most of her screen time. Bet Charlie Cox had fun getting to use a Irish accent for a brief second! Matt beats up a guy wearing a red ski mask at least, so maybe he's slowly getting back into Daredevil form?! They better deliver on the "Matt has dinner with the Khan Family" idea. Matt and Kamala interacting would actually be kind of awesome, I think.

Keefe put way more thought into the idea of "Devil's Piss" than one would have expected. Classic Keefe! Actually quite like the idea of Jesse now being jealous/threaten by Kelvin rising up in the ranks. While obviously a fuck-up like almost all of the Gemstones, I always thought Kelvin had moments of brilliance that set him apart at times from the rest, and I can see his experience as a youth minister; alongside his willingness to take advantage of his status in the LGBTQ+ community; giving him a leg up on some levels. Now, I won't be surprised at all if it all comes crashing down at the end, but him being a standout could make for some compelling television. Poor BJ! His dreams of becoming a pole dancer have not only already ended, but he might be paralyzed now. Judy certainly isn't making things easier. Again, I honestly do think it is coming from a place of legit concern and love she has for him, but she just can't help but to end making it about her on some levels and just making things worse. But I hope they do work it out when it is all said and done. Glad the siblings are already in the know about Eli/Lori, even though they were missing every obvious flashing neon sign about it until the very end. Looks like they have a brief family hug (complete with Kelvin's fogged up glasses from being in the steakhouse freezer!), but I suspect this won't be the end of it. Seam William Scott was a welcome addition to the show as Lori's son, Corey. He seemed even more upset about Eli/Lori than the Gemstones, so I'm wondering if he will be more of a problem going forward. Kept trying to place where I've seen the actress playing his wife, and I find out her name is Arden Myrin and I know her best from the "Black Ice News" sketch from Key & Peele! Not surprised the Prayer Pods were a bust and even became Masturbation Shacks instead. To be fair, that's on Jesse for actually putting lotion in there. What did he expect?! The Simkins are back into the fold and things will no doubt escalate thanks to the little bit of arson thanks to Jesse's lackeys (I will never not enjoy those fools!) So, the golden bible gets stolen in 2002 and a young Kelvin witnessed it and was possibly discovered by the perpetrator as well. Noticed that

First it was Taiwan, and now it's China. Maybe by the end of the season/series, Victoria will finally figure out what country she's actually in! I believe in her! So, The White Lotus finally did what HBO does best and brought in some good old incest to the proceedings! Not sure if there was any actual sex (yet?), but it certainly looks like a handjob was involved. I imagine this is only the beginning of a major fallout. Patrick Schwarzenegger in particular, really is playing it like Saxon was assaulted, which plays differently compared to the way Chelsea and Chloe are reacting to it. Lochlan though is the bigger question mark. He's claiming he blacked out too, but if he had more awareness over what he was doing to Saxon, then that takes things into even darker territory. Either way, I do not see the Ratliffs coming out of this as a happy family. At least it's not just them, because at this rate, the friend group is going to completely crash out. Each one of them have their own issues and weak points, but after sympathizing with Kate last week, I'm back to being more on Laurie's side now, because I really don't believe that Kate wasn't just trying to stir up more drama by letting it slip that she saw Valentin leaving Jaclyn's room. Nah, she didn't spill the beans just to get a "laugh" out of it: I think she wanted to see Laurie squirm and get upset. And then once confronted, Jaclyn, somehow made herself the victim in all of it. Sure, buddy. If that's the case, I'm guessing you'll tell your husband (who, apparently, was just working the entire time) all about it when you get back! This gang is such a mess! Zion is finally here and I'm already liking how casual he was over stumbling upon Belinda and Pornchai in bed, and just seems to be happy that Belinda is letting loose a little. Their relationship seems built on solid ground, so I hope Greg and whatever he is scheming doesn't fuck all of that up. Rick (along with Sam Rockwell again!) finally gets an audience with Sritala and her husband, and while we don't see his face yet, the guest cast credit confirms who I thought he was once I heard his voice! I'm pulling for her still, but I have a feeling things won't work out for Piper and the monastery. Feels like a shoe of some kind is going to drop that will prevent it from working out for her. Episode seems to be hinting the possibility of Tim becoming a family annihilator with his visions of first killing himself, and then killing Victoria after she claimed she couldn't live without wealth. But I'm guessing it's all a fake-out. Right now, I'm leaning towards Gaitok being involved with the mysterious shootout. He seems like a natural shot; at least on the range; but continues to be insecure about "manning up", impressing Mook, etc. I'm guessing he's going to get into some kind of situation, tries to play the hero, and ends up being too trigger-happy, which will lead to unnecessary deaths.

Okay, I know it's mainly been joked about on the internet and not a real idea yet, but after all of the talk about Alan Ritchson being a potential Batman in the next DCU, it kind of feels like he's been using this season as a possible audition reel, with Reacher's quest for vengeance, butting heads with the law, and feeling the guilt over the loss of a protege. Main difference is if it does happen, I don't see Batman sleeping with Jim Gordon! Figured pretty quickly that the salvage yard was going to be a set-up, since Quinn probably still doesn't trust Beck, and that it was going to blow up in the ATF's face for not sending any agents to the manor instead. But since Neagley is tailing the actual buyers, I'm guessing this is all going to end with her somehow getting into the manor and protecting Richard until Reacher (and the gang?) show back up. Definitely think they are setting Beck up for a noble sacrifice, due to all of his scenes with Richard and expressing his regret for the way things played out. I guess they could shake things up and really have him just go to prison for life instead. But right now, I'm still putting money on dying in Richard's arms! Neagley all proud of herself for sussing Reacher/Duffy out, but considering all of the main woman leads each season end up being his love interest, that's really not a hard pattern to follow.... Finale next week, so I'm guessing we'll be getting a lot of cracked skulls. And Reacher vs. Paulie: Round 2. And at least someone is going into that coastal dumping ground.

I've always been a sucker for the whole "characters reveals they have multiple hidden weapons" cliche, so I definitely got a kick out of all of the numerous knives and whatnot Moiraine kept pulling out of her dress before they went in for the test. Woman is prepared for everything! Kind of a slow episode compared to the previous three and I'm not sure all of it worked for me, but I did like some of the insights that were provided by seeing Rand's ancestors throughout the centuries. Really liked revisiting The Way of the Leaf group, because they are fascinating. I get the appeal to avoid violence at all possible, but it's just wild that you can be shunned for defending your sisters from a bandit. That particular ancestor really got the raw end of the deal. It was also crazy seeing again that civilization was almost futuristic way, way, way back in the past. I can only wonder for now what led to regressing in that aspect. Josha Stradowski did a pretty good job with the various versions of Rand's ancestors. Miles difference compared to his more stiff and wooden performance way back in S1. He really seems to have improved in a lot of ways. Looks like Moiraine saw a whole lot of potential futures and a lot of them don't look fun for either her or Rand. It was going by very quickly, but it looks like a lot of them involved Lanfear being the one who kills her. Also one where Egwene kills Rand?! And, of course, there is at least one where Moiraine and Rand hook up. Seems kind of wrong for some reason. I'm sure a lot of these revelations will come into play later, but hopefully next week's episode will have more of the other characters again.