wanderingstar

Podcast interview with Jacob and Sam. The host cracks me up.

Are all the episodes being released at once?

Saw the film last night and absolutely LOVED it. I'm glad they gave the characters - and the audience - space to mourn T'Challa and Chadwick Boseman. LOVED Namor! Tenoch Huerta crackles ever time he's on screen. His scenes with Angela Basset's Ramonda are some of the best in the movie. And I loved Shuri's journey. I lost my Grandma last year, so Ramonda's conversation with Shuri about death not being the end and our loved ones still being with us even when they're no longer physically present really hit me. It was just great seeing all the characters and being in this world again.

Two more observations about this episode. Hearing that Maarva is hiding her medication - that detail is so true to life. I know some elderly people who have done exactly this thing. The writing for Dedra puts me in mind of the way the writers of The Expanse novels wrote their villains, giving them interior lives and characterization beyond being foils for the heroes. In this interview with Tony Gilroy, he says something similar.

Thanks for sharing! I miss this show. February can't come soon enough!

Finally catching up on this show, and this episode is delightful. LeVar Burton was great as the spy-masquerading-as-a-librarian. Loved his scenes with Eliot. "What's TNG" - ha!

That was SO good. The prison break was incredible, exceeded all my expectations! I was stressed as it all unfolded, from watching the prisoners signal each other to watching Cassian break the pipe to Kino yelling "Attack!" Kino! 🥲 He sacrificed himself to get everyone else out of prison. I was so sad when he said "I can't swim." Davo Sculdun is every bit the asshole thug Mon intimated last episode. His scene with Mon made my skin crawl. So, Lonni Jung is the mole inside the ISB. I felt bad for him as he was pleading with Luthen to let him go. Luthen's speech was epic, but then Stellan Skarsgård is always good value. I'm still very worried about Bix.

Currently obsessed with this song

I don't think that Syril is in love with/has feelings for Dedra. It's more like he views her as a role model of sorts and would like to be validated by her. He's definitely an Empire true believer and obsessive. But I don't think Dedra is like that. She doesn't really strike me as an ideologue.

I enjoyed Karen Pirie as well and was delighted to see Emer Kenny was involved - both in front of and behind the camera. I do hope we get a couple of drop-ins from Bunty in season 10 of Father Brown like we did in season 9. I love the energy she brings to the show.

Cassian being so caring with Ulaf really moved me. When he told the doctor to call Ulaf by his name, it felt like he wanted to maintain the man's dignity as much as possible - even in such a dehumanizing place.

This episode was absolutely brutal. I was so worried for Ulaf the whole episode, but I still was not ready for his ending. That was a gut punch. I'm not surprised that plus learning no one's getting out made Kino want to help with the escape plan. Meero's scenes with Bix were also agonizing to watch. I wanted to punch that Dr. Gorst when he waved hello at Bix. Bitch, this isn't a picnic! So Vel is Mon Mothma's cousin. Loved her subtly shading Perrin at the dinner table with "Yes, all the good ones are taken." Syril has no chill. Really - you're stalking an ISB supervisor? You are so in over your head! This is a small thing, but my heart hurts every time we hear the PA in the prison blare "On program" and everyone puts hands on heads. So dehumanizing.

Gave me big Grey Gardens vibes.

I just started watching this show (have not read the books or seen the '94 movie), and I was really surprised at how domestic these two are - at least for a little while. Someone else mentioned their coffins next to each other, along with bedroom slippers. Super domestic, which caught me off guard. I don't necessarily hate Lestat, but I do find his face very punchable. Jacob Anderson is really good as Louis.

Celebrate the End of Baseball Season with the Niners on 'Deep Space Nine'

One other thing I liked in this episode was Bix and Brasso coming to check on Maarva. This show does a good job of showing people being in community with each other.

I'm so thrilled we get a third season!

Good article on how the Empire wipes out whole cultures 'Andor’, the Empire, and cultural erasure

Andy Serkis! I was so excited when I saw him. Kino is terrifying. I was distressed every time they cut back to the prison. Cassian's fear when he first arrived was palpable. All the talk about inmates being "fried" if messed up in some way was chilling. I sincerely salute the production design team for this show. That prison was scary af. So, we got the meeting between Karn and Meero. Karn is so desperate to catch Andor and maintain order, and he was basically saying "hire me!" but Meero's entire disposition around him said "Boy, don't get ideas above your station." Bix trying desperately to contact Luthen was painful to watch. And now the Imperials have snatched her up. I shudder to think what she'll be subjected to by Meero. I'm fearing for Mon Mothma and her friend Tay. We got to see Saw Gerrera! Fantastic scene between him and Luthen. This show is so damn good.

I know Anton Lesser (Maj. Partagaz) from his role as Chief Superintendent Bright on the PBS Masterpiece series Endeavour. For that reason, I very badly want to believe that his statement in this episode - "I'm wondering where we'd be right now if everyone here showed the same endeavor as Supervisor Meero" - is an easter egg for us Endeavour fans 😄

Can't believe I forgot about Karn. His new office was giving me serious 1984 vibes.

My mind went here too - well, more prison escape than heist.

This show is so good. Cassian's homecoming was not what he expected. His conversation with Marva before he left was heartbreaking. And Bix looks so broken. You can see how traumatized everyone is after that raid by the corpos. Bix saying "You lie, you steal, then you disappear" was real. Cassian escaped off Ferrix and everyone else was left to suffer the consequences. Almost didn't recognize Vel with her glow up! I really hope she and Cinta reunite before the end of the season. Absolutely loved all of the Mon Mothma scenes. Her argument with Luthen highlighted the complexities of a revolution. Mon seems like more of an incrementalist while Luthen is more aggressive. And Mon's talk with Tay was fantastic. Loved how she kept telling him to smile. So, the Imperials are punishing the Aldhanis in the wake of the raid. Hearing that news report was chilling. Enjoyed the turf war between Meero and Blevin. Niamos looks like a terrifying place. They just snatched up Cassian and railroaded him. Damn. I did love the music that introduced is to Niamos.

Love those character posters for season 3!

This is how I feel about the season as a whole. There were moments during some of the episodes where I felt truly transported and very invested in where the story was going. But at other times, I found some of it kinda pointless. I am glad that this episode gave us some good reveals (The Stranger, Sauron). I mostly enjoyed it, Thought we'd get more time in Numenor, maybe with the Queen Regent mourning her father. I was also curious what was happening with Elendil's daughter, Earien. A bit surprised that we didn't check in with the dwarves or the Southlanders again. This fairly positive review of the finale also includes some areas for improvement. On this one, I could not agree more.