wanderingstar

The most intriguing matchup of this round, IMO. Japan has looked solid this tournament, but Croatia were finalists in 2018, and Luka Modric doesn't seem to age.

My greatest delight in this tournament so far is Japan beating Germany and Spain.

My TV did not default to dubbing (thankfully!) I really enjoyed seeing the actors speak their own languages as their characters - and watching each character figure out how to communicate with someone who doesn't speak their language (Olek is really good at this, though it helps that he seems to speak some German)

One other thing I liked in this episode - when Eyk returns to the Kerberos and he and Maura hug, the rest of the people are like "Um, guys...we kinda have some pressing matters to attend to." 😆 It's a moment of levity in a show that doesn't have many.

This episode is where things came together for me - particularly at the end. Even after the revelations of episode 7, I was very invested in what happens to these characters. Are they real? Figments of Maura's imagination? (I sure hope Eyk isn't-lol) I also really loved the characters running in and out of each other's memories. The landscapes (mindscapes?) are so surreal they made it easy to relate to the characters' disorientation. Will need to rewatch the whole season to see what clues I missed.

How Much Can We Believe in 1899’s Reality? - questions and some speculation for season 2

Stellan Skarsgård’s Luthen is instantly one of the best Star Wars characters ever

"I don't want to be alone, I want Maarva" will always break my heart.

A few end of season interviews Nicholas Britell Made Andor Sound Nothing Like Star Wars Tony Gilroy Built Andor’s Finale Crescendo First Diego Luna Shot Andor’s Prison Break on His Last Day of Filming

Wasn't that great! Go, Mon! I guess she also is moving ahead with marrying her daughter off to Davo's son. And Leida seems excited about it. ::shudder:: Wilmon broke my heart. I was terrified he would be killed after he lobbed that bomb. Bix hearing Maarva's funeral and humming along to the music was so beautiful. I am SO glad Cassian rescued her! I did not want to see her suffering anymore. I figured Karn would rescue Dedra, but it was still great. Loved when she told him, "I should say thank you." 😆 I was ready to throw hands when that one ISB guy kicked over B2EMO. I literally yelled out "How dare you!" Very happy that he escaped along with Brasso and the others. Loved hearing excerpts from Nemik's manifesto. Between that and Maarva's funeral speech, Cassian radicalization is almost complete. And we saw elements of the Empire's desperation in the way they attacked the people of Ferrix. That Tigo had been itching to do something, even when Meero told him not to. And look how that's turned out. I can only imagine the crackdown that's coming for Ferrix after these events. Once again, Cinta coming through in the clutch and taking down Corv. She stays ready. I need more of her in season 2. I really loved Cassian pausing at Clem's brick to remember him. Diego Luna really has crushed it this season. Shout out to Nicholas Brittell for his brilliant score this season. Gonna have to go listen to it now.

I admit that I was baking while watching the finale last night, so I may have missed it - what was the anagram?

Daniel is the only character that gets on my nerves. And yes, I'm definitely in the Eyk & Maura camp, so that may be clouding my judgement-lol

Angel is so messy. He already has a partner in Ramiro, so why does he go chasing after Krester. I'm actually enjoying the dynamic between the characters when they don't understand each other due to the language barrier. It's fascinating to watch them find different ways to communicate with each other.

Some downright creepy visuals in this episode but none more than that pile of bodies that Jerome and Olek are ordered to toss overboard. Iben calmly throwing The Boy overboard while all hell broke loose was really quite something. She is so fervent in her belief she's happy to capitalize on everyone's fears so she can slay a "devil." I appreciated Tove at least trying to talk some sense into Krester (Tove is definitely becoming a favorite) Loved everyone's reactions when The Boy reemerged from the cabinet with nary a scratch. They were all like WTF? I know how they feel.

No, it did. I rewound twice to be sure.

Seeing all those people move in lockstep to throw themselves off the ship was chilling. Even more chilling? The wide shot of hundreds throwing themselves off ::shudder:: I continue to enjoy the growing bonds between Olek and Ling Yi and, of course, Eyk and Maura (come on, y'all just make out already!) Iben continues to scare me more than anything on this show.

I'm liking Eyk and Maura's scenes. Dare I say it, I'm starting to ship them. Iben (hyper religious Danish lady) may be the most terrifying character in this show. There are few things scarier than a true believer. Olek and Ling Yi are sweet together, though I'd better not get too attached to them.

As soon as I saw The Boy, my mind went to Children of the Corn 😅 Felt bad for Eyk as he went back to the memories of his family. I can feel that I'll need to rewatch this show after I watch the whole season.

Super curious to find out the backstory on Angel and Ramiro. Is it too early for me to guess that Daniel and The Boy are the same person?

I'd forgotten just how hot Andreas Pietschmann is. Love seeing him in a lead role here. Eyk just seems perpetually haunted. I'm glad he has Maura to help him steady himself. I enjoy Rosalie Craig as an actress. She does a good job of making Mrs. Wilson very smarmy. Ángel also radiates a charm that quickly curdles into smarminess. Loving all the cast so far.

I found Leida and her friends reciting that oath or whatever it was so very creepy.

Have never felt as seen by this show as I did when Sgt. Mosk's Zoom call with Syril glitched and froze. Seeing the mini-cortege for Maarva was heartbreaking, as I remembered her last conversation with Cassian. Cass trying to get a message to his mom, part of which was "tell her she'd be proud of me" - that hit me. Yet another loss for Cassian who has already lost so much. This episode was mostly setting up for the finale, but there was still plenty for me to enjoy like seeing some native Narkinians (I was wondering how Cass and Melshi would get off the planet), the return of the Time Grappler, and poor Mon Mothma's increasing problems. I'm sparing a thought for Anto Kreegyr (even though we've only seen him via holo) because everyone seems so ready to throw him and his men under the bus. Edited: How could I forget Luthen's escape from the Imperial patrol. Didn't realize what deft maneuvers he had up his sleeve.

Another question: is the release date November 17 or November 21?

I did not expect to like this show as much as I do. I enjoy Lesley Manville in pretty much everything she does, so I wanted to watch it for her, but I wasn't sure if I'd be into the meta-ness of it all. But that has turned out to be my favorite part. I'm loving Susan and Pund's conversations (I was surprised to find out from the Masterpiece Studio podcast interview with Tim McMullin that he and Lesley Manville did not film the majority of their scenes together) Her exasperation with him in the face of his patience is fun to watch. As an amateur writer, I find the depiction of the writing process delightful and way too accurate-lol Alan saying to Charles "It's Magpie Murders not THE Magpie Murders" was hilarious and made my inner copy editor feel very seen. Plus, I love seeing actors I've watched in many other cozy mystery shows.

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