Starchild

Ho. Ly. Fuck. That was amazing! The writing and characterization on this were fantastic. In just an hour it felt like we got 2 hours of story. I don't think I've experienced that since nuBSG. And ALL of it was show, not tell. Not a single assumption that the audience wouldn't get it. And the acting was phenomenal across the board. Every performance was note perfect. Every character sounded and acted like real people would. And I have some level of investment in every single one. I have fallen in love with this show already. Can you tell?

The writing for this episode was a mess. Every single scene was wholly unsatisfying, until finally June started channeling Clint Eastwood. That was the only scene that made sense. And OOC much? Daniel didn't pop up out of the back seat and strangle that ranger in the drivers seat? He wasn't that out of it. And where did Strand's empire building come from? Left field? Since when was he a take-charge-and-take-revenge type? He's amoral, when did he become a justice machine? Yeah, somebody better take care of Dakota. Even if it's just Fate with a handful of walkers. I'm still waiting for Madison to come back and put a cap in Charlie's ass. You know if she does come back, she is gonna be as hard and cold as an iceberg. (Come baaaaack, Madison!)

Generally speaking there appears to be a serious lack of nuance that has crept into the show (and Bill, presumably). I noticed it at a couple of points. The discussion with Osbourne skipped over a lot of the depth of what happened with the Oprah interview and Piers Morgan, as well as what some of her past colleagues alleged, and was boiled down to a couple of rants that underscored the point he was trying to make about cancel culture. They looked like a couple of mean girls at the popular table in the cafeteria after teachers called them out on their behaviour. The angry declaration that yes, of course, white people are allowed to talk about black issues. That's not untrue, but props to Ian for trying to push back on the obvious problems with the points being made, specifically that blacks who resist arrest are a lot more likely to be violently taken down than whites who resist. I almost expected Bill to say something like, "then they should definitely know better." The whole thing about how he rages against "wokeness" and cancel culture in general makes me uncomfortable. There is a vast landscape between "I should be able to say whatever I want with impunity" and "that person who said the n-word in high school 20 years ago when talking about rap music should be tarred and feathered, fired from their job, and forever cast out from polite society." Sneering at the term "wokeness" implies that people are too sensitive and just need to grow up, when a lot of people out there have been, and are being, badly hurt by a lot of other people, in a lot of different ways, at a lot of different levels (individually and systemically). The term "cancel culture" suggests some monolithic movement devouring humanity without just cause. But both of these are much more complex than that, as issues concerning human beings typically are. Yes there have been some extreme examples that went too far, but people should be ready to accept the consequences for their words and actions, especially in the present. If the moral arc of the universe is bending towards justice, it should be expected that people who habitually demonstrate a lack of respect to their fellows will see those fellows wash their hands and turn their backs. If corporations recognize that trend (for they rarely lead and usually follow in matters of social justice), they will also respond in kind. To me, that is not some unjustified cancel culture. That is justifiable social (and corporate) responsibility. By all means, push back against the overreactions (and the underreactions for that matter), but don't paint over the entire nuanced picture with a splash of whitewash or a stripe of tar. Respect is key to a civilized society.

At least. Look how much trouble John Reese had staying under the radar doing this kind of thing in NYC. And he had help from a billionaire hacker lol.

This statement aligns with a realization I had while watching this episode. I mentioned last week that I preferred the premise of the original, which was the loner going from place to place and taking on bullies of various stripes. While this episode did have an element of that, with Nicky helping a random stranger being bullied by someone stronger, it didn't quite work. Why? The reason is encapsulated in the scene at the private casino. Even if it's for a noble reason, disrupting a business and beating up guys in public who are just doing their jobs (notice she didn't actually lay a hand on the bad guy in this scene) is not something you can do in a major city in 2021 without facing legal or civil consequences. If this is something she plans on doing on a regular basis, how can she hope to continue to avoid arrests or lawsuits? Hell, the DA ex-boyfriend didn't bat an eye. Really? In the Old West, where law enforcement was spotty, this could work. The only way this could even slightly work in the 21st century is if the protagonist did their best to remain anonymous and nomadic, so no single police force really knew who they were or where to find them. Good people doing good deeds are arrested and sued all the time these days.

Here's a question: since Dakota is such a sociopathic little shit willing to kill to get her way, why doesn't she just kill her sister, instead of trying to convince someone else to do it for her?

The dynamic between them seemed to shift into something a little closer to equals when June saved her life by chopping off her hand. John turned June from a runner into someone who takes a stand. I hope losing him hardens her into a fighter. Although first she's probably going to feel some guilt about not running away with him. If she had he'd probably still be alive. Dakota needs to pay. It already bugs me that Alicia didn't banish Charlie for killing her brother. But fine, she was just a little kid so Alicia took the high road. Dakota is old enough to face the consequences of her actions, as well as being substantially more ruthless than Charlie was. Morgan, as pragmatic as he is now, must know he can't bring someone like that back to his new home.

I think this is the main thing. Isn't this the longest that Dillahunt has worked on any one project? He just seems like one of those actors who values quality over quantity and likes to take on a lot of different challenges. Still, I loved John and will miss him a lot. I'm one of those. While Dakota (whom I never trusted) was reciting that note and convincing Morgan she rescued him, she was simultaneously convincing me that it wasn't Madison who did it. I think I was more disappointed then Morgan lol. Still, that doesn't mean Madison is not still out there. Yes, I'm dying hard.

Usually, when a character gets some focus, they become more nuanced. By the end of this, IMO the opposite happened. I could see why Negan went back to the gang after his wife died. I don't think it was to save the doctor and the girl. It was revenge for delaying him to the point that he didn't make it back in time to stop his wife's suicide. So at the end of this he became less nuanced. I also did not see anything in this episode that clearly influenced him to form the Saviors. Lost opportunity? I would not want to watch a series that focused on the formation of the Saviors. It was heavily implied that the Saviors were dominant throughout their reign, that they never came significantly close to defeat until encountering Rick et al. TWD is depressing enough without seeing the good guys always losing and the bad guys always winning.

Exactly what I said last week, thank you.

Observations: Writing is simplistic and just not very good, hopefully that improves All the young characters are distractingly attractive, odds are against that in real life How convenient that the siblings can fill in as superhero sidekicks (the hacker sister that can get all the answers, and the medic brother who can patch up the hero when she has to keep a low profile) I preferred the premise of the original (a loner going around helping people) I'm here for the fighting For some reason I can't articulate, I don't trust the new brother-in-law

I don't think I'd mind the occasional storyline with the kid, like in the original, but weaving it into every episode is annoying me.

When Robyn found out about the pills, why didn't she immediately call the father to check on his daughter, instead of driving all the way over there in NYC traffic to check herself? Maya could have died in that time. Did I miss her saying he wasn't answering his phone? 'Cause if not, that kind of writing makes no sense in the time of cells, just a sloppy, illogical choice for the sake of drama.

Looks like an Old English Sheepdog. https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/old-english-sheepdog/

I think you're close to the reason here. They knew S11 was coming later than usual so they filmed a few vignettes to keep the audience going. I appreciate the effort, regardless of the results. In my opinion, those waiting for some plot movement aren't getting the point of these episodes. I admit I started out with that expectation too, but I've modified my expectations now. It's similar to my reaction to the "Lost" finale, where I was initially disappointed (though I never outright hated it), but then came to appreciate it for what it was. The plot will move forward in the new season. For now, we're getting those character moments that many of us have said all along that we want more of. Well here they are. And I like them.

For now, maybe. Park has adapted to Morgan's relationship style of being surface-mean, but he can't keep it up long term. He's just not that kind of guy. He showed that in this episode. She's going to have to have some kind of personality breakthrough if she wants him more permanently. Ethical overstep seems to be a theme this season. It comes from the doctors (on this and other shows) standing around observing personal conversations (when they're not doing a procedure at the time). Whenever they stand there in the background and listen/watch it just makes me crazy. That would never happen in real life of course, real health professionals would step out and let the patient have their conversations in private (plus they're too busy to just hang around).

It looked to me to be handmade (or at least hand-decorated). That suggests to me that he made it for his dad, perhaps as a Father's Day or birthday gift. It may have become his dad's favourite mug, since it was a gift from his son. He would have kept it after his father died as a representation of that bond between himself and the one other person in the world that understood him.

Is he a tenant, or just a roommate? Did they have a contract? Even if he could sue, he does still have to work with her and that would really complicate things. I can see him forgoing a lawsuit even if he had standing, he's that kind of guy. Wasn't it a duplicate of his original mug? Since he was in denial about his autism I doubt it would say that on his favourite mug. ETA: I did a freeze frame. It says "World's Greatest Dad"

Fear is still several years behind right? So is this stormtrooper group here supposed to be the culmination of what Virginia's group is there, I wonder?

I figured early on at least some of this was going to turn out to be in her imagination, which probably caused my attention to wander a bit, because I missed whatever it was that Fake-zekiel said to her at the dramatic reveal (that it was actually her punching the guard). Anyone catch it?

Yet.

I think it's supposed to be television shorthand for whether or not a character is expected to be reasonable and/or an ally. Until they have a name, you can't trust them.

And for me, these smaller episodes typically have a higher emotional impact, assuming you care about the episode's theme at all. Or the featured characters.

I liked it too, it was intense at the end there. I didn't expect Gabriel to kill him after he ended the game and freed Aaron. But surprisingly, turns out Gabriel was right to not trust the guy. I guess he either remembered the scene on the roof (the two parents dead and the son tied up and turned), or it unconsciously fed his intuition. Possibly, it would seem one of the parents, given the choice between spouse or son, shot their spouse to spare the child (or shot themselves to spare both). Then, in the second round, the surviving spouse chose to kill themselves rather than the son. Horrible enough, but then he just leaves the boy tied up on the roof to die. Cold. But if he could do it to his own brother...

It always bothered me that Aaron didn't try to find Eric and put him to rest.