Kate47

They mention in the same episode that Boston was also bombed, so it looks like that particular idea took hold fast. I really loved that scene, the shaking of the cup when he says there are 14 workers unaccounted for.

It's that dichotomy; Joel has to literally protect Ellie from the horrors of the world but also wants to protect that part of her that dreams of being an astronaut and tells terrible jokes. He doesn't want her to be handling a gun or taking second watch because that means she's hardening to the world but he's not Superman and it'll stretch himself too thin if he can't rely on her as well. That line when he's talking to Tommy about the dog sniffing and says "I just stood there and let it happen" is a great moment. He wanted to jump in the line of fire for her and (prudently, imo) didn't, and that's become this source of guilt and shame rather than "welp, it was just cargo." I think he had to say it out loud, to admit to himself that they were found family; that dichotomy of love and shame has existed in Joel since his daughter died. He's been stuck in survival mode for 20 years (while Tommy was apparently able to move past it) and now his walls are crumbling.

I really should watch the whole episode before commenting. I just get excited.

Ellie bonding with Sam is the best. I thought Sam and Henry were father and son at first, and then in the daytime you see how young he really is. The show does a good job of illustrating the shades of grey; Joel's comment in the last episode that he was bait once and has been baited and then Henry's story of collaboration. Kathleen scares me tbh.

Kathleen and her people are giving BSG collaborators post New Caprica vibes. I appreciate that Joel is like I should have stopped it but if I can't, here's how we do it better. Also don't shoot your ass. ETA I watched the whole thing. It's such a delicate and interesting dynamic, wanting to protect and shield Ellie but also needing to open her eyes to the way things are. Their bond is growing and I think they're doing it in an organic way.

It seems to have skipped some animals, we saw the frogs and ducks in the last episode. But so far I haven't seen any, say, dogs and cats. Could be that keeping a domesticated animal is a little low on the priority list, or maybe the cordyceps made its way into the dry pet food too.

Omg, you guys, why did I cry most of the way through this episode. Surprise appearance of Tess, love story, Offerman singing. What a banger of an episode. Okay, I lied. I cried through most and wept at the last 30 minutes.

They did a little "behind the episode" featurette after where you got to see the prosthetic work for the Clickers and man, it was gorgeous. The coloring of the fungus and the way it melds into the face was both beautiful and repulsive. Score one for practical effects tbh. As someone who's never played the game but has watched some playthroughs and character deep dives, I'm loving how the show is building the world. It's so intense and fills in the blanks without holding your hand.

I also loved the meeting with Otto on the steps, a reversal and inversion of the scene in the previous episode where Rhaenyra flew Syrax to get the egg back from Daemon. She came in the first time to back Otto's untrustworthy ass against Daemon during the day, now she's flying in with a crown at night to stand with Daemon against Otto. Very neatly done.

Oh man, my stomach was in knots the second Luke landed at Storm's End. He's such a sweet kid, and Rhaenyra's love for her sons shines through in every interaction. Sucks, man. ETA: also the Dragonstone map is dope af, that overhead shot when it's first lit was chef's kiss beautiful.

I love that we now know these characters so well, when they were touring the charter school I immediately knew what Janine was going to do, was irritated she couldn't keep it in, understood that she herself knew it and was unable to stop herself, and loved her for it. Of course she'd immediately think "how can I make it so my kids aren't feeling less than" and just go way past the bat for them.

Alicent is bold af to be dressing her kids in solid green. Cersei at least waited until Robert was dead before she pushed her kids in lion everything. I guess Viserys has reached the point where he's just done and over it.

Ava's gonna Ava, but I really loved her presentation for development day. She sounded like she knew what she was talking about, which is a far cry from the Ava of season one AND she apparently worked with Barbara over the summer to allocate the grant funds. Growth, we love to see it.

The memes this week have been A+

I too get tired of the constant side switching, but I think of it like this: kids are dumb, and Cobra Kai is the perfect trap. It takes kids who are bullied and want to be stronger and turns them into bullies, and it makes bullies even more dangerous. It's a perpetual cycle and some kids will eventually realize wait, idk if this is a good idea and choose to walk away. Some kids won't ever have that moment of clarity until they do something like injure or kill someone. But there's always new kids waiting to be recruited. And teenagers especially aren't really known for acknowledging their own mortality or limits.

You guys, my heart was in my throat during the middle of that episode, with Chozen going down and Robbie getting the wind slammed out of him. I also legit cheered when they formed up to protect the egg and then advanced. The ending felt very 80s movie, beating the villain by showing his villainy and then having nobody back him up, but it was v apropos. I wonder what happened to Kim Da-Eun, if she scrambled out the back or what. This season was great, all the way through. It did feel like a finale, but the worldwide championship is still coming and now Miyagi Fang will swell ranks and get to compete alone. Kyler and his cronies can go suck eggs.

Am I crazy, or did Chozen use Tang Soo Do to demolish the other senseis in the fight? It felt like he was showing Silver that he knew how Silver was trained and was unafraid to meet him toe to toe. But I also haven't seen Chozen fight much and don't remember Sato's style of karate.

I'm super curious to see what Viserys' official position will be if the fight against the Crabfeeder is successful. He's obviously not sanctioning it, and if it goes awry he can be all "they acted without my orders" but if it goes well, is he going to take credit for it, or reward Daemon and Corlys in some way? I legit can't predict what he'll do.

I did like the "problem like Maria" conversation between the King and Hightower re: Daemon. Can't make him Master of Coin because you say he's either stealing or thrifting, can't stick him in the City Watch because you think he's amassing a personal army, so what exactly should be done with the second son who's got all that ambition and a temper to go along with it? Being King is tough tbh.

Oh man, the way I rolled my eyes and said "this fucking guy" when Brenner walked out from behind the big Nina tank.

98% sure it's Rip Torn's dictated but not read gift gun, so chances are good it would have fallen apart the second he tried to pull the trigger. I skipped last week and watched 7 and 8 back to back and my muscles were so tense the entire time. Every piece of character development was so heartbreaking and so good and it was just so so dark. Kudos to them for not using the theme music for these last two episodes, there was very little lightness here and it was just an hour of people careening off cliffs.

Wanting to note that this episode and the previous one were directed by Nimrod Antal, who directed Predators, one of the better movies in the franchise.

I think the Moff Tarkin looking Russian dude was there at the end of season 3. He mentioned something about recognizing Joyce and that she looked better in the uniform. I very vaguely remember Hop standing up after the machine explosion and seeing several Russians and then getting coldcocked with a gun butt, my assumption is they escaped with him and flew him to Russia when they went back to Kamchatka.

I think the very first step in Steve's redemption was when he volunteered to help clean the graffiti off the marquee. Nobody around to impress, just a guy feeling like a shit for his actions and wanting to atone in some small way. The portrayal of grief in this episode is very real, in that Max can be both missing Billy and also somewhat glad that he's gone (which is common with abuse and imperfect relationships). He was not a great dude, but he was her brother for who knows how long, and she'll never get a second chance at their relationship. The counselor may have been able to tell her that grief is complicated and thorny and tough to handle, but she had to learn how to let people in first. Bottling up all that pain and guilt and sorrow is never going to be the look. Also, side note, Vecna reminds me of those people that have trouble remembering the names of new people they meet, so they insert the name into every sentence in order to train themselves into it.