AlliMo

I like a good battle scene as much as anyone, but every episode can't be filled with them, both for plot and budget reasons. I've admittedly always found political intrigue more interesting anyway. Politics built civilizations; the battles were just what everyone knew about, and the Vikings were far more sophisticated and complex than their reputation for rape and pillage suggests. I like seeing how Judith has grown and changed. She's learned to make the most of what very little power she has, and good on her. Lord knows that Ecbert is manipulative and scheming, but he's also a man who's always had a genuine interest in learning and open to new ideas, and above all else, he's thoroughly pragmatic. Lagertha is a BAMF and the one character I expect to still be standing when it all ends. Not a whole lot going on back in Kattegat, but Fimmel and Ludwig are both so compelling that I don't mind. It's not entirely unbelievable that Yudu was an emperor's daughter, considering he could have literally hundreds of concubines. I will forever be bemused by people complaining about sex scenes while simultaneously demanding more violence.

New characters almost always bring something interesting, so I'm down with Harald, especially being familiar with the sagas. They really found themselves a treasure when they cast Fimmel. Good on Gisla for getting some of that. I mean, being as she's living in a time where her main job is to provide an heir, she's just doing her duty. Often, and with great enthusiasm.

CMM was unexpectedly delightful. If his character really is dead and we do get a third season, it could be driven by Peggy's determination to bring those responsible for his death to justice.

I don't agree that Greg has shown any genuine interest in or concern for the people who are supposed to be his friends, unless you see condescenscion and judgement as caring. I don't even see his urging Josh to jettison Valencia as concern for Josh as much as he finds her annoying and would prefer not to have to deal with her. I don't think he's supposed to be a terrible person, but he does seem written as someone who only hangs out with the group of people that he does because he's known them most of his life and they're in the same place he considers himself as being stuck in. Of course, other people may think otherwise but that doesn't make them wrong, it just means that they see it differently.

That's the thing - I don't feel like Greg has done much of anything to show that he actually cares much about Josh or being a friend to him, and that's part of why his pretty accurate suspicions about Rebecca are being interpreted as being about his own personal grudge. Greg has layers, but so far the only person he's really shown any genuine concern for has been Rebecca herself, even when it keeps biting him in the ass.

Greg is seriously starting to grate. His instincts are spot on about Rebecca, yet he doesn't seem to see how he's starting to become just as obsessive as she is. He can say that he's just looking out for Josh, but he's shown himself to be a less than stellar friend to him. He's tolerated Valencia at best, has frequently expressed disdain for her, and has repeatedly urged Josh to reconsider his relationship with her. Yet, suddenly he's scheming with her? He's far too focused on a woman he went on ONE date with for a guy who's just declared himself ready to commit to a relationship with another woman. Get over it, dude. Darryl and White Josh are adorable. I love how completely unphased WJ was over the course of Darryl's freakout.

Aya has swiftly moved to the top of my list of characters who need to die yesterday. I can pinpoint exactly why I can't stand her - she has Klaus' unbearable arrogance and Elijah's stick up the ass, without either's sense of whimsy or honor. I liked Hayley and Cami bonding and being all girl power. Joseph Morgan clearly relishes getting the majority of the most dramatic lines.

Katheryn Winnick had her first black belt in junior high, has extensive martial arts training and ran multiple schools training in martial arts. She's pretty bad ass in her own right.

Gisela and Rollo are hilariously both bewildered and intrigued by each other. Those two are going to make a hell of a power couple once they actually figure out how to talk to each other. Welp, I don't think Lagertha and Kalf trust each other even a tiny bit, but clearly they know exactly how to turn each other on. Ragnar loves Rollo, and Ragnar knows Rollo. He knows that Rollo will make a grab for power the first chance he gets.

The ship scenes were crazy intense. Mischa's Pellegrino impersonation is steadily improving.

Sands now knows that Rebecca can't be bought, and he's also starting to realize her importance to Brian, and clearly they want to keep Brian relatively happy and amenable to doing their bidding. He needs to tread very carefully with how he handles Rebecca, and no doubt he knows it.

Gus is a jackass. Not sure I'm recalling it correctly, but wasn't he not even aware that she was responsible for an entire family until after he spur-of-the-moment married her? It's one thing to screw with Fiona, but he's fully aware that his actions are screwing her entire family that include minor children. Not only that, he's can't possibly be stupid enough not to realize that not having financial ties with Fiona can only be in his own best interest. Cut your losses and your legal ties and move on already, douchebag. Sean may be mess all his own, but he's a mess with at least some significant life experience. Normal, well adjusted guys just can't understand her life or where she's coming from. Sean at least can relate to her on her level. Ian is an adrenaline junkie with considerable ability to improvise in an emergency. EMT or firefighter would probably be an ideal career for him. This show can strike a lot of wrong notes with me, but it may be one of the better portrayals of abortion that I've seen. Showing a young woman making the decision to have an abortion because she's thought through the effect having a child will have on her ability to reach her life and the people that she loves, receiving compassionate care from a provider, and moving on without her life without regrets or doubts. Lip's louche advisor is starting to become my new favorite character right behind consistent all-star Svetlana.

I can see Tom coming back to Downton because he realized that it was where his family is now, and more importantly, where Sybbie's family is. I think he and Mary have good chemistry, but I also suspect that part of that may be due to the actors' close friendship in real life, what with her late fiance being a close friend of his that he introduced her to. Evil Butler will always be my favorite character and in the fan fiction in my brain, he's swooped up by some equally devious American lesbian heiress who wants a good looking beard and they live out their days in genial companionship, living it up in New York with their secret side pieces and occasional visits to Downton to lord his elevated state over everyone.

Seems like a more or less accurate description of one's twenties to me.

As a divorced woman in her 40's who had her child young and has faced those same dating trials, I so feel for Xiomara. I like that they're addressing the fact that while she may have made the decision to wait until marriage, Jane is still a young woman with a healthy and more importantly, completely normal sex drive.

Dying. Dying over the entire "Text-Mergency" song. "I already put it on Urban Dictionary!"

Svetlana continues to be both my favorite character on this show, and the smartest. Though, Hail to Queen Vee this episode. I have zero sympathy for the professor. She knew better, and whether or not Lip *feels* like he was taken advantage of, he was. It's not like they were even all that careful about being found out. Same goes for her husband. I don't care what their arrangement was, he's a middle aged man who is fully aware of just how predatory his wife's relationship with a student is. I just hope Lip doesn't end up paying for it by it endangering his education. Ian being flabbergasted at the firefighter wanting an actual date was typically Gallagher. None of them have ever seen a functional adult relationship, so they have no idea what it looks like.

I've said it before, but I think both Phoebe Tonkin and Leah Pipes are competent actresses that just happen to suffer in comparison from being on a show with an unusually talented cast. I didn't actively dislike the character of Cami; I just thought she served very little purpose other than being the token human, so I'm interested to see where they're going with her storyline. I will never, ever tire of Elijah's supremely elegant brutality. I'm a geek about such things, but I really liked the imagery of the Strix witch's blood spreading in the water followed by the cut to liquor filling up a glass. Well done, editing team.

This series started out slow, but it sure did pick up speed steadily. I'm excited for the next season. Thomas Jane plays Miller as so delightfully louche. I was trying to figure out what they were basing the Belter accent on, and my CC called it "Creole." Okay, fine, we'll go with that.

Selling the ring was pretty shitty on Fiona's part, but honestly, if I had the choice between that and seeing my family out on the street, I'd probably be a shitty person, too. Gus was a nice enough guy, but I don't have much sympathy for him. He married her knowing so little about her that he didn't even *know* she had a family that was dependent on her. If the ring was that important to him, he knew where she lived. Instead he chose to write a bitchy song about her (that she deserved, to be fair.) Tough hop, Gus; join the Gallaghers in dealing with the consequences of making poor life choices. If Ian could stay on his meds, I actually think he could be a good firefighter. We've already seen that he has the discipline when it concerns something he's passionate about, like his ROTC training. I'm wildly ambivalent about Debbie. On one hand, I can't believe that she could be that naive about the realities of being a teen mom growing up the way that she did, and on the other hand - well, growing up the way she did is probably precisely why she thinks the way that she does. I think this is what so many people who grew up in relatively "normal," functional families often can't understand - how do you make good choices for yourself, or have aspirations for your future, when practically nobody that you've ever known has done so? Where do you even learn those skills? Svetlana continues to be the best character on this show.

I enjoyed it, mostly due to Tom Ellis. Most of religious record paints Lucifer as fairly ambiguous, so I'm perfectly fine with not having him be Pure Evil.

Oh, I am all over this. I am 100% in.

I think this actually has potential. Some of this episode reminded me of occupation period of "Battlestar Galactica." I'm genuinely intrigued to find out just what exactly "The Factory" is and does to people. That comment about everybody being jealous of his hair - how meta.

I disagree that Peggy and Souza don't have chemistry, but I also think Hayley Atwell has chemistry with just about everyone. Souza is clearly far too by-the-book to act on his feelings. I do think, however, that Enver Gjokaj is woefully underutilized here. He was by far the best thing about "Dollhouse." That being said, I don't think Wilkes is gone and I think he's a great match for Peggy. Speaking of actors I'm particularly fond of, I'm tickled pink to see Lotte Verbeek as Mrs. Jarvis. She is just a delight.

I liked Patty, but I'll admit I like the show better when it's not entangled in romantic drama. I'm happy anytime I see The Chief in anything.