rubyred

Nate/Amaya surprised me. I thought they were hinting towards a Mick/Amaya pairup, which I thought had intriguing possibilities. But I didn't mind their chemistry -- at least they had some. And it was the first time I found Nate the least bit charming. But it was definitely jarring for sexytimes to be going on whilst everyone else was fighting for America and/or their lives. Wow, Evil!Rip is sooo much better than Hero!Rip, and restores my faith in Arthur Darvill's talent. I knew he had it in him, I couldn't figure out why he was such a charisma vacuum in season 1. Really enjoying how the show has found its legs and just goes bonkers at full speed.

I know many people didn't have much use for the character of Wes, but boy did I notice that he was missing. Every time there was a scene of the K54, I literally thought, "where is everybody?" And then I did a count and realized that it was Wes that was missing in the frame. And most of the time he didn't even have dialogue! But he was part of the group, and now there is a Wes-sized hole in the group that I think all of the characters are feeling, even if they don't want to. Even Connor is grieving in his head-up-his-own-ass way. I also miss seeing Alfred Enoch lope across the screen (/shallow end). I liked the Golden Girls scene, and I also liked that Laurel's spidey-sense started tingling about Meggy. Although I think Meggy is too peripheral to be the actual murderer. My guess is that murder was not the aim, it was an accidental flail that proved fatal. Unless it was a Mahoney hit, in which case it was deliberate. Even though I don't think he even knows how he feels about everything going on, it was good seeing Frank be good at his job. And I agree with the poster upthread, there is something a little too extra about that DA.

If Fitz having Daddy issues distracts or destroys FitsSimmons shmoopiness, I'm all on board. Both actors are selling it for all their worth, but IMO there's no narrative urgency to have them as a couple, except for angst relationship issues that I don't watch this show for. Really interesting reading about the aspect of consent issues about a possible Phil/May hookup in the wake of LMayD. That is disconcerting, to say the least. And that the show will probably gloss over it...that's disconcerting too. And all too possible. My only solace is that May is very direct and clear-minded about things, and that it would be in character for her to struggle with that. (And then the show drops it after one speech in one episode.) I think Ming Na Wen has been doing an amazing job selling LMayD's own internal conflict. I actually felt sorry for her even as I rooted against her. John Hannah is doing such a good job as a devious bastard, both as Bot!Radcliffe and human. And there's just something about how their scenes together amplifies his and De Caestecker's Scots accents....mmmmm.

Peter Capaldi, anyone?

This show has gotten so much better. I mean, sooooo much better. I don't watch Arrow so don't know much about Darkh and Merlyn, and this episode focusing on their POV has told me everything about their characters - and it was glorious.

Boy, do opinions differ. This might be the episode that loses me. I saw zero chemistry with Albert (and it doesn't help Tom Hughes that his Albert's romantic "rival" is played by Rufus Sewell.) He is dour, humorless, disapproving, and borderline socially inept. I know that historically Albert was pragmatic and/or phlegmatic, but damn, son. You know perfectly well why you're there, and no you don't have to like it but it's still the reality of your world. The show made it seem like Victoria had to pursue Albert, when she was actually the more desirable mate. The constant negging, ugh. And there's poor Jenna Coleman, working her ass off to convince us of her fascination, as Hughes mumbles through a fake mustache that was almost as bad as George Lucas' beard in Legends of Tomorrow. The scene with the flower and the knife on the dance floor - I had to turn away in secondhand embarrassment. The below-stairs drama was cliche after trope, and while the butler's German putdown of the valet had a certain satisfaction the dude's a sleaze robbing the household so I can't root for him except for in that moment. Hopefully Hughes will get better, but for me he's not holding a candle to Rupert Friend's Albert, who while still formal and distant still seemed sweet, and was clearly present in his interactions with Victoria, not dissing her in a flailing attempt to continue a conversation. I did like the actor who played Ernst, and wished he was playing Albert. He always shows up as the brother or second son, usually louche and irresponsible, and sometimes in very bad wigs (The White Queen and also I think Medici: Masters of Florence, or maybe The Borgias).

So those Daisy and Mace scenes...was that a chem test? Also it occurred to me that LMayD doesn't know that she's an android. She was slightly more chatty and that was suspicious but the substance of her responses were quite May-like. I get so distracted when watching this in HD; the sheer amount of makeup that's visible takes me right out of the story. The initial closeup on Aida, she was contoured to hell and back. And seeing a passed-out May rocking the false eyelashes...

I don't know, man. This Shinwell thing is like the slowest burning slow burn EVER. He's still there even though he contributes next to nothing to the plots, so I have to think they're building up to something. It better be worth it, because the show grinds to a halt --there's just no energy -- in every Shinwell scene. This is particularly glaring in Watson/Shinwell scenes, because LL plays Watson so low-key she's practically somnambulant. This is not a criticism, btw, I like Liu's take on the character and her understated performance. And NE does a good job inhabiting Shinwell as well. But the scenes completely lack urgency. Make me care, show.

Ooooooh. I don't want to sign up for (another) streaming service though. Maybe they'll offer the first few eps for free. One hopes.

Ah, my people. After reading through the thread I just wanted to throw in my two cents about Nick & Adalind: NO. For me Adalind is equally as irredeemable as Eve/Juliette. And for the show to now be presenting Adalind as this uber-mommy just steams my clams. Adalind planned to SELL Diana. All along. She only changed her mind - very late in her pregnancy - due to the Redeeming Magicks of Childbirth...or was it that she realized Frau Blucher was going to double-cross her? (Sorry can't remember the character's name, the German woman not Shohrah A, the Evil Gypsy). So both of Nick's love interests have sucked in many and various ways, it hardly matters to me anymore which one he ends up with. I try not to think about the Fire Daemon, with whom he actually had intriguing chemistry. His only options are Eve and Adalind, yadda, yadda, yadda, blee, blah, bloo. Looking back it seems like every season I was in anticipation of what the show could be, and just never was. The world building was always crap (I think production thought it was too onerous, as evidenced by the eventual torching of the trailer). They never made good use of James Frain (James Frain!!), and as for poor Alexis Denisof, the less said the better. What better symbol for how bereft of creative thought the show has become that its chief magical object is a...stick. It's a stick, man. There's no calling it a wand, or a Spear of Destiny, nothing. It's a stick. I will watch the last season because it's there, I like most of the cast, and it's familiar, but I've given up trying to make sense of it because I don't think production has cared to since season 2 and why should I care if the creators don't?

Overall, this was a pretty entertaining way to ignore New Year's Eve. However. The Carly character is a problem. The thing is that Traveler!Carly is a clearly competent tactician. But Present!Carly is the most isolated host, with the least resources. A single mom with an infant, no job, no HS Diploma, an abusive boyfriend and no apparent support system of any kind? All the other Travelers have lives that give them some cushioning - Marcy can manipulate David, Trevor has his helicopter parents plus he's a teen, MacLaren has his wife and FBI partner, even Philip has his sleazy lawyer, who may not be a friend but it's in his best interests to keep Philip alive and out of legal trouble. Carly has no one. (Oh, except Chekhov's Baby. When will writers learn that you can't introduce an infant in the first act and then not even just namecheck where the baby is for the rest of the episode? Oh and maybe show a little more of Carly bonding with Baby Jeff, so she doesn't come off as completely negligent and thoughtless.) Now, this wouldn't have to be a problem if they showed how she uses her Traveler skills to deal with the asshole boyfriend. But instead we see her flail and fail constantly. The beatdowns were satisfying but everything else she did ran counter to any productive way of getting what she wanted. She's defensive and hostile and playing right into Bad Cop's hands, but she's supposed to be smarter than that. I think it could have been interesting if they showed her frustration at being forced to function at levels subpar to her capabilities. And if they weren't going to write it, I wish they had cast an actress who could bring those layers. IMO they casted Carly too young. She's fine on missions but as someone upthread mentioned, there's no chemistry there, particularly romantic chemistry, with MacLaren. And if they had casted someone with a little more life experience I wouldn't have been as confused by seeing him make out with some older white lady during his hallucinations. Someone here thankfully explained that the blonde lady was what "Carly" looked like before entering this host (guys, I was so confused by that scene). Which make sense. Except MacLaren still looked like Eric McCormack, even though he wouldn't. But I guess that would have been even more confusing to depict. Sorry, tangent. It sort of felt like the last few episodes honed in on what the show could really be, but that was different from what it started out as. I'm interested to see more, and intrigued by the hints of what life is like in their future, although I doubt the budget will ever stretch to us actually seeing it. Random ?s: What was so compelling about MacLaren's argument that made that policewoman Traveler let him shoot her? How could our Travelers not know about the Faction, when Ellis and Grace were among the first Travelers (according to their serial numbers) and therefore the oldest and knew all about it? (Time travel is such a pain in the ass when it comes to who knows what when and why. Don't make me start a spreadsheet, people.) Why didn't MacLaren's wife die in the plane crash? WHY? It often felt like each Traveler only did the bare minimum to help each other outside of missions. I couldn't tell if it was because they didn't confide in each other or because they were all expected to sink or swim in these new lives (Protocol 5) even though they were dumped in wildly inequitable situations. The school bus of old folk travelers riding to their deaths was depressing. At least they got to see a dog/bear!

Yeah, this is a problem. The selection process simply doesn't bear scrutiny. It would be one thing if the premise was that the team needed to be comprised of a junkie, single mom, high school jock and library cleaning lady in order to complete their missions with whatever junkie-fu, single mom-fu, jock-fu or cleaning lady-fu would be key to success, but it just hasn't been presented this way. From what's been doled out information-wise, the teen is actually a pretty old tech genius guy, the cleaning lady is a doctor, the junkie has some kind of eidetic memory and the single mom is....a soldier/agent? Surely the Director could have chosen more appropriate 21st century avatars for these guys? Although I guess the idea is that their present-day lives offer yet another challenge to the mission(s). To which I say, yawn. I hope this is better explained in further episodes, because I actually have enjoyed the episodes I've watched. There has clearly been a lot of thought put into the concept and the eps are tightly plotted. But there are logic gaps that are not being addressed.

Yeah, I agree. So far I'm handwaving it because something about the show is really pulling at me, it's so complicated and the situations so tense. On the flip side, the concept of making these mistakes because of mistaken social media profiles or news items constantly reminds me of the "historical documents" in Galaxy Quest, which undercuts the seriousness for me. But the abusive cop boyfriend has got to go, and the junkie with a conscience is way too much of a loose cannon. Also, it's a little too convenient for the cop to be targeting Marcy -- because she reminds him of how Carly has "changed"? What is that about, why make that connection?

He figured it out because his shady doctor acted like a doctor for once and told him. His mother, whilst doctor-shopping, had called one of the burner phones of the other doctors Krieg had stolen med license info from. His mom called this other doctor, unaware that she was leaving a message on Krieg's machine, and in her message left details about the kid's health history that did not jibe with what she had told Krieg. So Krieg figured out it was Munchausen, and told him. She played the message for him, so he could hear his mom lying about his health history.

Yeah this pissed me right off. Slagging off on how Elizabeth was "unprepared" to be Queen when in the previous episode the QM was so defensive about not preparing her! And then mentioning that Margaret got even less education -- yet Margaret seemed to think Elizabeth had the better life and Margaret would be a better queen because she had some wit. She knew even less, certainly she hadn't even had the constitutional history education E had. Argh. Like David/Edward, IMO Margaret would have been a lousy Queen (as it was and is defined now). It's not as if, given her allegedly vaunted intellect, she couldn't have gone out and gotten a real education or found a purpose or passion in life. She certainly had the resources. She grew up knowing the deal. She wanted to party and be glamorous, she didn't actually want the crown. But let's pout and whine and score burns about Daddy loving me best. Nice, sister. Sorry, I just can't with this one.

I really like Nelsan Ellis so I've been hoping that Shinwell would gel with the rest of the cast and show, and this was the first time I felt like he did that. It was the first time I felt that there was an authentic connection between him and Joan. And it was good to see that Sherlock, while he respects Joan's opinion on many things, was so anti-Shinwell purely IMO as being protective of Joan and yet, once presented with the clusterfuck of Shinwell's situation, Sherlock's formidable brain went into action. I bought that as a believable evolution of their relationship. I didn't know Ellis has been made a regular; it seems like Alfredo and his talents were/are a better fit for that but I don't know ACD canon so perhaps there's a Baker Street Irregulars character who matches with Shinwell? I would like him to have a little bit better luck and get a new apartment though, because the bathtub in the closet skeeves me out. Reminds me of being in college in NY in the 80s, and visiting a friend who was living in what had been a tenement in the lower East Side. The tub was in the kitchen, and they put a big board over it during the day to use it as a table. I kid you not.

I'm just grateful that Iris had any lines at all, so I'm going to overlook that she had the thankless "unsupportive/overprotective human" role usually inhabited by Joe. Any anyway, she wasn't wrong -- she didn't say Wally could never go out there, just that he needed more training than 2 days before taking on freaking aliens. Although it did occur to me...when HR said he'd help train Wally I got a suspicious tingle...I wonder if HR is secretly up to no good. That foolishness about writing a novel never rang true to me. What is HR really up to? (I hope it's something, because hipster doofus Wells is a waste of Tom Cavanaugh's talents for a whole season). I've bitched about Cisco's never-ending mainpain about Dante before, so I won't go into it now, but dang, so tired of hearing him bleat on the same self-pitying rant about Barry not changing the timeline for him, waah. Methinks his relationship with Dante was just as shitty as in other timelines, only now he's self-flagellating about that because now *sob* it's too late. This show, even with its faults, really felt like a "crossover event" unlike last night's teaser on Supergirl.

This current trend in time-traveling shows is so damn exhausting. I could keep up with it on Dr Who because it was Dr Who and I could basically ignore the lack of consistency because of the actors/characters and they were traveling through space as well as time. But the way it's half-assed on the CW shows, and now there's this huge theory about alternate timelines on Westworld -- ENOUGH. I don't need there to be alternate damn timelines in every freaking show I watch, and yet you can't get away from them. Despite the fact that the concepts of consistent worldbuilding and logical consequences - stating whatever the rules are for time travel - are apparently not in budget because they're not consistent from show to show or episode to episode. But here we are. "Flashpoint" is now code for "this is the reason everything sucks and it's all your fault Barry." To me this is such an oversimplification I completely check out once the word is uttered. I think if you're going to believe in the concept of timelines, you have to allow for the fact that there are an infinite number of potential timelines co-existing. Just as there are alternate Earths, there are alternate timelines. Flashpoint, in and of itself, did not DO anything. Flashpoint is an alternate timeline influenced by any number of coincidences, possibilities, probabilities, etc. So maybe Dante died in this timeline called "Flashpoint". But he's alive in any infinite number of other timelines. So suck it up, Cisco, damn. I love this character but frankly I always thought Dante was a prick and good riddance (and I feel no guilt about it, because Dante is a fictional character and even thinking about this to this extent is dumb because the timeline didn't cause anything, they've stated point blank Dante was killed by a drunk driver which means it was an ACCIDENT.) Argh! /rant

I assumed it was a reference to the funeral plans for King George. I conflated it with a scene from the movie "The Queen," in which the Queen Mother's funeral plans were co-opted for Diana's funeral, because it was the only processional plan that had already been rehearsed. In that scene, the QM's funeral plans are code-named "Tay Bridge" or somesuch. And she's like, "Tay Bridge? But that's my [funeral]".

Thanks, Lonesome. You're so right about suspension of disbelief - I had never heard of an Angel Amenadiel but had no problem rolling with it because I enjoyed the character. Knowing that I shouldn't necessarily draw parallels to the God of the bible totally answers my question (and opens my fictional worldview). And jhlipton, yes, I remember that about the Jewish God. And then started wondering...is this really "Mother", or "Father" in disguise testing his sons?

Tommy Lascelles does come across as an officious, judgmental jackass, but he has his reasons and I give the show credit for letting him state his POV. (Also Pip Torrens has been fantastic in the role). However, times were changing, and there was no stopping it. Watching all these old white men cling to power and fantasies about "the Empire" when it was simply becoming a different world has been really interesting. They sensed the change, and they fought it tooth and nail, partly by hiding behind "tradition," but it was inevitable IMO that the commonwealth countries would want independence. Why the hell wouldn't they? Churchill railing about "losing" India -- stfu, Winston. Your myopia, cultural condescension, and insularism are showing. Personally I don't get the urge to build empires. The logistics alone are staggering. How the British expected to keep control of all of the commonwealth nations forever is beyond me. But it wasn't the first, and probably won't be the last, attempt by some nation to "control" as much of the world as possible.

Okay this is going to sound super-lame, but...who IS Mom? Not her "earth" name, her divine name? Have we heard it? Because "Father" is "God", right? Who did God hook up with to create Lucifer, Azrael, Uriel, Amanadiel, etc.? Is she an invention of the writers or is there a piece of judeo-christian mythology I'm completely unaware of? God is God, he creates. He doesn't need a "womb," for lack of a better word. Maybe this is addressed in the original comic?

The only thing that's bugging me this season is that Lucifer doesn't seem to give a shit about Amenadiel. I'm beginning to wonder -- does he understand that Amenadiel has lost his wings? He hasn't shown any concern for Amenadiel's obvious depression and malaise. Is Charlotte the only one who understands the full situation? Because I've loved Lucifer and Amenadiel's sibling relationship in the previous season, I thought they had great brother chemistry and were equally matched when it comes to sibling snark. Or have I missed something and Lucifer knows about Amenadiel's existential crisis but simply couldn't care less?

The little thing that I loved about those scenes was when she went to talk to the reporters she had put on gloves and was gripping her matching handbag for dear life - her queenly props that she wears to this day.

Someone mentioned upthread that Anna, Bonnie & Frank are the heart of the show for them, more than the K5, which got me thinking -- Anna and the K5 are the heart of the show for me. While fascinating, I don't think I could take an hour of the Anna/Bonnie/Frank circle jerk of dysfunction and still regard it as entertainment. But I have to admit, I want to know WHY. Why do Frank & Bonnie love Anna so much. I get that she helped them out of some fucked up situations in their lives, but their willingness ride or die for her is so beyond anything. It's like they've imprinted like baby ducks and it's WEIRD.