sluggish neko

Shhh! Don't mention the spy plotline that shall not be named-- it might hear you and return to ruin this season. This season looks promising with its focus back on the politics and light cases of the week. No casual murdering or torturing! Though, for a second there, when Huck approached the reporter, I was a bit scared the show might relapse. I don't mind Jake if he's a Huck or Quinn replacement. At least he doesn't eat up screen time with petty bickering. I'm glad Quinn finally realized she's not really on a higher moral ground. Maybe now, she can just shut up and she and Huck can both go back to being purely functional to the case of the week, which is the only time I find either one of them tolerable at this point. I wish they had kept Huck's back story a mystery. I love how Cyrus is still the puppetmaster despite puttering around at home and that he used Abby to get what he wanted. I'm sure it's only part one of his plan to drive Liz North out and get his old job back.

Cookie holding a broom and not beating Hakeem with it? Progress! It's nice to see how far these two have come. Maybe Hakeem can finally get over his mother issues. The new girl in his hot tub is way younger than the last one who joined him in that tub. Andre has two strikes against him: he's not musical and he has a mental illness, which apparently to Lucious, is worse than being gay and sleeping with a future stepmother. Or, maybe Andre resembles his mom? That flashback with Kelly Rowland was really abrupt and confusing. It's too bad Andre didn't use his police connections to find out that Vernon is the cleavage-busting prosecutor's witness for Lucious's murder trial. Does Lucious even know that Vernon betrayed him? If so, Andre might be able to score points that way.

Me too. It feels like it undoes all her character development from season one-- especially now that she works with the Liber8 members (and even has a rapport with Garza-- a Kiera/Garza pair-up is always fun) and tears up over Lucas's death, a man she was mercilessly hunting not long ago. I thought she understood that by working to change her corporate dystopian future, she was giving up her son and any hope of going home. And now, she's also gone back to conspiring with Alec and lying to Carlos. Uh, hello? The guy is more dependable than Alec, who has betrayed her once before. Has she learned nothing? At least Carlos has. I thought maybe he had planted a listening device in Alec's new office... but listening in on the jail convo between Keira and Travis works too. I'm glad Kiera finally asked the question I've been wondering all along. How can Kellog, knowing himself so well, trust the future version of himself? Why isn't present Kellog trying harder to figure out future Kellog's master plan? Also, isn't it funny that the new future soldier bodyguard lady of his looks like she's cosplaying as Kiera? Someone is still crushing on a certain Protector.

Damn Daniel, that was waaaay to close a shave for those pesky arm hairs. Then again, it's a better job than Sweeney Todd. At least the soldier is still alive to talk... Zombies don't give good intel. Nick's so lucky! He's trapped with a smooth talking magician! I can't wait until he Houdinis both of them out of that cage.

Yay! Killian's back! The kid looked so cute in his bartender outfit mixing drinks and turning down Lindsay with a serious "I'm working." The way Paul looked at Lindsay and Edgar at the end... he doesn't still have feelings for her, does he? I hope not. Their marriage was a disaster. I also would like Edgar to have some chance though it's pretty obvious he's getting his heart broken. What Lindsay said about Paul, Amy, and Edgar being nice and knowing that she wasn't-- it's a lot more self-aware than I thought her character to be. As for Gretchen's friends, I think it's more than her friends had kids and changed. There was also the one who was a teacher and in AA who didn't party anymore. I think it was more that they've moved on to another stage in life-- a more responsible stage-- and aren't that interested in drinking and partying. Sometimes friends grow older and have less in common than they used to. Happens a lot.

I really didn't like that they did a Scandal twist of the Princess Di tragedy. Can we put a moratorium on dead princesses and their lovers in crashed cars in tunnels surrounded by paparazzi? Even Banksy's Dismaland knows that's tired and done. Olivia really didn't look that happy when Fitz announced his divorce. Maybe she's finally realized that dealing with Fitz 24-7 will be a handful. The guy is clingy. Plus, he was a real dick to Mellie. They've both done terrible things, but she's always put his career first and now that she's the one with the career, he's going to threaten to torpedo it just like that? Not cool. I felt bad for her and I'm not even a fan of Mellie. Besides, I still fail to see how the latest betrayals of Cyrus and Mellie are any different than all their previous ones. Fitz should know them well enough to expect that kind of behavior. Olivia looked stunning in that black ruffled couture dress. That was the highlight of the episode for me.

They sure tie up storylines fast on this show! I'm convinced that Lucious is some kind of unbeatable mastermind. He's in jail and still, he stopped the hostile takeover AND took care of Frank. At this rate, they should just assume that Lucious has already bought all their allies to turn against them so that he can mwa ha ha at them... from jail. Cookie's got her work cut out for her if she plans on taking him down. Then again, she obviously still cares for him too-- just like he has the same love-hate thing going on with her. In the end, all this fighting over Empire will probably end up being some kind of elaborate foreplay. I love that Andre had to hold back Cookie to stop her from attacking Anika at the party. Her hostility toward Anika is never not funny.

With Ms. Bean's body disappearing, the hammy kill scenes, and the reveal of Boone's fake death, I wondered if anyone really died at all. At the end, will it all have been some elaborate prank on Chanel or the sorority? And wow, Chanel really grates after thirty minutes. I barely made it through the two hours. The show's too OTT for me. I'll find out who the killer is from the recaps-- that way I don't have to listen to the spoken dialogue.

When they killed off the black soldier in the first scene, I wondered when did Doctor Who become The Walking Dead? Seriously though, I was annoyed that the soldier was pulled into the ground like any other redshirt when all he was trying to do was help the kid. As other posters mentioned, Missy does resemble a zanier and more murdery version of River Song (the part where she steps out carelessly into "space" reminds me of the scene River airlocked herself out of the spaceship and into the TARDIS). Still, she entertains me. And no, there's no way I believe that she and Clara are dead. How many times have they been killed and come back in some form or another? At this point, they're wearing indestructible plot armor. Same goes for the Doctor. I too am tired of all these episodes centered on the Doctor dying and timey-wimey cleverness. I found this episode as a season opener jarring with all talk of death and the heavy, heavy soul-crushing consequences of time travel. It seems like it's more fitting for a season ender... especially since the Doctor is going up against his archenemy Davos (sorry, Missy-- you're more of a frenemy). Shouldn't a season opening episode be a little lighter? I felt like this needed more build-up.

The special effects were nice and... that's about all the nice things I can say. Wow, the dialogue was clunky. Stark Sands appeared to be on Ambien and Meagan Good was... boobalicious. I had some hope that Dash and Arthur would be identical twins and that Arthur would turn out to be eeeeevil so that Stark Sands can have some fun playing both parts, but that hope was dashed (pun not intended) when Arthur made an appearance and he was played by Zano. I can't take Wilmer Valderrama seriously. He'll always be Fez from that '70s Show for me. I laughed after all his lines even though there was no punchline. Though that amused me, I won't be sticking with this series.

Did Jason confirm that Emily wasn't his mother? I thought the shake of his head was more of a "No, I can't tell you" instead of "No, you're not my mother". Or maybe, it's left ambiguous on purpose. I was annoyed that she was used as a way to blackmail Alec AGAIN. Apparently, it bothered her too. With all the high tech they have, can't they tag her with some kind of location tracker if she's such a liability? I get the impression that Carlos has a crush on Kiera. When he asked her if she had a chance to go back and she answered so quickly, he looked so crushed. He also had that same look when she didn't even ask if he was okay after that brutal (and awesomely choreographed) fight with Travis. He's done a lot for Kiera and Alec-- least they could do was invite him to that awesome dinner they had at the end... though that would be trouble if he saw Lucas and Garza there. Still, they should treat him to a dinner. The poor guy probably broke some ribs. Way to look after your partner, Kiera. Liked the brotherly snarking from Julian... who seems to enjoy just chillin' in their HQ.

I was under the impression that Lindsay was annoyed with Edgar for abandoning her at the chicken wings place to talk to the bartender and purposely called him over to help her take Tinder pictures to tease him. That would make her an even worse person. But, her being oblivious of Edgar's crush makes her a less bad person. I'm still not rooting for these two any time soon. I love how juvenile Gretchen and Jimmy are. Gretchen isn't ready for a college moving checklist (or a normal person cellphone according to Sam) and Jimmy can't put together faux-IKEA furniture. They really are well-matched.

I barely recognized Ofelia in Alicia's clothes. I guess it was part of her strategy to seduce the soldier into getting her medicine for her mom. Not a bad play... though I was hoping she would also manage to get the guy to spill what was really going on. That might have been more useful. Nick should be taken away for his hair. It looks like it's infectious. So the head military guy plays golf and acts like a dick to Travis... can it be any more obvious that he's evil?

Maddie is driving me nuts! She knows what's up, but decides that Monopoly is the best use of their time. MONOPOLY?!? How about stocking up on supplies? Or cleaning up her drug addict son who is probably covered in dry vomit and whatever else after shooting his dealer? If it is a disease, shouldn't everyone be burning their clothes or at least bleaching and taking showers? Do they not understand infection? But the most glaring waste of that time is NOT explaining to her daughter WTF is going on and letting her wander ignorantly in their neighbor's creepy, empty house. ARGH! When Maddie asked Liza to kill her if she ever got zombified, I was hoping Liza would just do it then and there. No need to wait for zombification. Salazar is right. These people are weak. The only useful one is the nurse.

After the mess of timelines from season 3 (and that felt like ages ago), I couldn't remember what was going on, but I was happy to see all the characters again. I'm hoping they find a way to bring back Sonya for one last appearance before the series ends. People never truly die on time travel shows. They freaked me out with that short scene with Keira waking up back home. If everything had been a suit-induced coma sim dream, I would have punched the TV. I'm glad it was only motivation for Keira to want to go home-- though I'm a bit confused because now that she changed the past, does her future and her child still exist? This is what confused the hell out of me last season with all the shifting time lines and whatever it is Curtis and his Traveler friend are trying to accomplish. Then again, I don't care as long as Keira and Carlos are back to being partners, Alec is once again guiding her from a computer screen, Garza is causing chaos, and Kellog is smarming it up. Did Syfy always show Continuum at 11pm? It's such a late time slot!

Stephen seems to be getting more comfortable with each show. His interviewing has improved. The Clooney and ScarJo ones were stiff, but the Amy Schumer interview was looser and more fun. Of course, the Biden interview was outstanding but I think that's because he and Biden have so much in common. I never saw Stephen King interviewed before either, but the guy was funny-- especially when he kept teasing Stephen with his giant medal. I enjoy the political segments-- mostly because they feel a lot like his old show. I also really liked the coffee skit with Laura Linney. I love that kind of weird, dark humor (it was hilarious when she just lay down on the floor next to him as he continued to make tomorrow's coffee) but I wonder if that kind of humor has general appeal. I'll probably continue to check in every now and then and see how the show is doing like I do with Larry's show. Like the Nightly Show, I think it'll improve over time.

Oh yeah, the cut to the bear with its mouth distorted in the same way as Paul was pretty funny. The actual act... to quote Lindsay, "ew". The way the phone salesman tried to sell Jimmy & Gretchen on the family plan-- was it a parody of a Don Draper/Mad Men pitch?

So glad this show is back! How is it that Gretchen and Jimmy aren't dead yet? Then again, waking up naked and trashed is the norm for them. I wish I could unsee the Lindsay and Paul sex scene. Edgar, run away!

I don't think Elliot (or his Mr. Robot) persona killed Tyrell, though I have to admit, I was dreading the reveal of his body in the SUV when Elliot searched it (like Shayla's death). Elliot has always been portrayed as trying to do the right thing with his hacks like jailing Vera or breaking up Krista and the cheating husband. His goal is to avoid hurting people. Mr. Robot may be crazier, but he hasn't been shown to cross that line either. If Elliot became a murderer, that would put him on par with Tyrell and I think that would change the core of his character. Then again, this may be all wishful thinking because I like Martin Wallstrom's performance and I hope to see him back in season 2. OMG! Dogs ruling the world. That's awesome! That shovel guy needs to chill though. They were just looking for a new recruit for their pack. I'd volunteer but I'm a cat person. Without getting into the messy problem of what to do with unwanted pets, I saw fsociety freeing the dogs as part of the theme. The dogs don't choose to be caged and put down, but that's the fate society has dictated for them much like the people who have less power and money don't choose to be tied down by crippling debt. Their fates are dictated by the rich and powerful... those people in the swanky club that Phillip Price and Whiterose belong to. And it also shows fsociety's naivete. They think all that's needed is to let the dogs out, erase all debt and problem solved! But yeah, what do the dogs do now that they're free? What happens to the economic system when the debts are erased? Complex problems aren't that easy to fix. (It's like Bush thinking that taking down Saddam Hussein would solve all of Iraq's problems. It's never that simple.) Then again, I may be overthinking all of this. Also, because it can't be said often enough. Rami Malek should get an Emmy nom. He really makes the show.

I'm dying to know where Tyrell is. I missed that funny crazy American psycho wannabe. He was the one behind the mask in the Fsociety video, right? Whoa, Elliot was freaked out by Tyrell's wife right off the bat. He has good instincts. She's one scary lady. It doesn't seem like she knows where Tyrell is either. Is Angela getting sucked into the Evil Corp Cult? It's hard to tell. The answer she gave the shoe salesman about the reason she works at E Corp was similar to what the puppy killing guy said when he let the Fsociety gang access to the incinerator. Gotta pay the bills. But... do you really have to burn puppies to do it? I was so happy they let the doggies out of the cages before they left. So, what's Whiterose's game? Also, yay for more B.D. Wong! Hope he shows up more next season-- in drag or out.

Maddie does A LOT of dumb things, but hey, at the end, she learned pretty quickly not to go out and help her neighbor who was being attacked. Helping people always tends to bite you in the ass in the ZA. It's dangerous and lots of people aren't worth the trouble it takes to help 'em out. **Cough Father Gabriel Cough** It took Rick awhile to figure that one out. Still, it doesn't make her likeable cuz it's just the start of the ZA and a decent person would at least try. Didn't Nick tell her to warn the neighbor earlier? See? And he's a drug addict going through withdrawal!

Travis's group looks like they're so very screwed. So many potential zombies! I hope the barber survives and gives Nick a desperately needed haircut. Y'know one where he can puke freely without all that hair getting in the way.

Srsly! As far as Travis & Madison are concerned, only black people become zombies.

Godammit, Madison's reaction time is slow. Didn't she learn the first time not to let the zombie get close to her?

So it seems Will did get a do-over with Hannibal except instead of Jack, they killed the Red Dragon together. Now he knows how this kind of scenario plays out... not with a European vacation, but a tumble over a cliff. At least he won't be haunted by what-ifs and ghost Abigails! That last cliff scene really was beautifully shot and acted (even if it leaned a little heavy on the Hannigram slashfic) and to be honest, I'm fine with this being the end of the series. That tag with Bedelia was probably to show that they both survived, but I think it would have been better to leave it ambiguous. I'm going to pretend I never saw it. I'm disappointed we didn't get to see Hannibal kill Alana. Also sad we didn't get to see the CGI Wendigo/Stag vs. Great Red Dragon Battlemania. Ha! That could be a cheesy Syfy movie. Price and Zeller retelling the opening scene of Francis faking his death was hilarious. I wish I could hear them recap the whole season.