Kate47

Okay, it's official, the Vecna murders will never not be hard to watch. Maybe even more viscerally nasty than last season's goo.

Oh man, Tammy Thompson was everything I thought she'd be.

Gene gets to learn one of the basic rules of atonement: sometimes you apologize and the other person doesn't accept it, and you have to accept that. Anthony Carrigan is just knocking it out of the park with his expressions this season. I loved his ....sure when Barry was describing his tone of voice. The scene where the Bolivians raid the Chechens was amazing on a ton of levels, and I'm onboard with them bringing in the new FBI guy to shake things up a bit. Edit: I completely missed that the FBI agent was Albert. For some reason I thought it was just a random war flashback and didn't connect it with Korengal.

I'm actually really proud of Gene, undeterred until Barry promised to leave him alone (and gave him the cash). I would have thought he'd be shallow enough to jump at the first sign his reputation was changing, and instead all he was thinking of was getting his family the hell out, with working luggage. His character constantly surprises me.

Man, they said the final episode was gonna be a giant cgi battle, but I didn't think it'd be so literal. That was a really good episode, but it just whizzed by.

I do love that the hesitancy to hire Gene isn't because he's older, washed up, etc. It's because he's been genuinely awful, making Barry's quest for redemption that much more difficult.

I am the Selina Meyer nervously laughing gif because wtf. That scene of Barry in Sally's office was legit terrifying. We've seen bits of this come out before, but jeez. This season is getting super dark right out the gate. Y'all, my stomach was in a knot for the entire episode and I think I need to go lie down.

I keep thinking of that quote from Dr Harrow, “do you think you created Steven to hide from all of the awful things you feel you’ve done in your life, or do you think Steven created Marc to punish the world for what your mother did to you?” I don't have any analysis on it, but it keeps coming back to me like a puzzle box.

Double posting because I had a ruminate. I think the psych ward with Harrow is also within Marc's mind. I think it's a way for his mind to force his alters together and have the conversations he needs to have. So there are a few layers: the sessions with Harrow at the top level that pulls from things his (acknowledged) alters experienced recently to create this therapy session, then the next level is the interactive memory part of the asylum, and then the final level is the boat. Tawaret mentioned untethered consciousnesses, so I'm thinking of the whole experience like that. The meetings with Harrow are Marc's top level consciousness trying to create some structure for the situation, and maybe how he fronts within his mind.

I think the unnamed third alter was the one created to take the actual beatings. Steven was created to live a happy, normal childhood and life while Marc carried the guilt. I believe that Marc pulling Steven away and saying "you don't need to see that" also happens inside his mind when his mother begins the physical abuse--he shuffles Steven away and the third alter bears the brunt. ETA: I'm honestly not sure Marc's even aware he's doing so, it looks like neither of them know who the third alter is or are aware of him. But he's definitely the most unreservedly violent and unhinged.

I haven't yet finished the episode, but just wanted to say I loved how excited Steven was for Tawaret to do her welcoming speech, index cards and all.

I'd agree with these critiques. There's no indication that there's going to be a second season, and it's a bit...contextless so far for something that may end up being a single story. Side note, Oscar Issac is giving me young Bruce Campbell and I'm here for it.

My God, this show is so good. The way it whipsaws between dark scenes and humor is just bonkers. Props to everyone involved, I hate that these episodes are only 30 minutes long.

Real big Descent vibes from Layla's fight. I'm loving how weird this is getting. It's a testament to Oscar Isaac's acting how uncomfortable the kiss and the flirting made me, even though ostensibly that's her husband's body.

I loved Khonshu over Steven's shoulder like "yeah, crush his windpipe!" *wiggles moon staff*

I love Steven. He's a bit bumbling but he's got great lines and a strong moral core, and you can see how Marc built Steven to be everything he wants to fix in himself: liking his wife's favorite poet, so adverse to killing that he's a vegan, completely flying under the radar. I also liked that the episode explored a bit more what it's like to not be the dominant personality in control. Was that sand at the foot of Steven's bed when he woke up and tried to run? ETA: it is sand, I went back and double checked. It looks like a crescent moon shape. Wonder what that's all about.

Y'all, I did a whole victory dance in my living room when Eli won, like what an amazing fight. Props to the coordinators this season, they stepped up the game

Okay tho, Eagle Fang's gi are on point. ETA: I really love that they put in the skills divisions of the tournament, because it gives the other students who are less hand to hand flashy a chance to really shine. ETAx2: Moon and Amanda are my two fav characters always and forever in a straight stacked roster of characters. Those ladies always pull through. Forgot: I will watch the tournament committee come to a decision any day of the week.

Shout out to the guy doing side hustles to pay for his cat's hernia surgery! Also shout out to the new Eagle Fang girl, I love her already. Also x3: I love that nothing in cobra Kai at this point is face value. Kreese and Silver are ostensibly training these kids, but they're also spreading lines of manipulation and probing at cracks for weakness at both sensei and student. It really says a lot that they can pit Robby and Kenny against each other and I can immediately see the strings being pulled.

I haven't yet finished the episode, but I want to note how proud I am of Johnny this season. He's making dinners, doing exercise, trying his fellow sensei's kata. I love that Daniel got super hungover after they agreed to fight and Johnny is the one who really prepared. They may still be stuck in that old rivalry, but Johnny's character is growing. ETA: also the respectful and adult relationship with Carmen! She stated boundaries and he respected them, which imo is huge.

Tbh I'm actually loving this arc for Robby. He has a chance to step outside of the hate that drives his current karate obsession and teach a kid who would be a better fit for Miagyi-do. I'm also loving the intro of the new kid, really emphasizing the ripples of this ridiculous karate feud. ETA: I continue to love Amanda's character, she's so well written with real depth. Her learning about Tory's situation and having it thrown back in her face, thumbs up to the writers. They seem to have a real sense of each of the characters and how they'd react to a given situation.

Crossing my fingers so hard that everybody gets a wardrobe change in season 2 but especially Rand gets rid of those godawful chaps in his search for anonymity.

The Ronin suit looked terrible in anything but super dark lighting, so I was very glad to see it lit on fire at the end of the episode. Alternately, Yelena's hairstyle was all kinds of fire and I was very sad we didn't get to see it in better lighting.

I love that Nat was a Black Widow, part of a sisterhood of assassins with countless cover stories, and yet she only ever truly had one sister. Clint knows immediately that it's Yelena, and it's a great layer to their friendship and Nat's backstory.

I also am not opposed to Moiraine and Siuan being each other's only love interest! You could tell the depth of feeling they had for each other, and my hope is that the show doesn't just brush that off if they are paired with men later on.