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I recently saw some click bait link for the worst 25 scifi tv shows of all time. And believe it or not La Brea was not on it. We were robbed! The problem with the series finale and the show is not that it was convoluted and made no sense it is that they didn't even make any pretense of trying. We got a shotgun introduction to "sister" and then "dad" who seemed a key figure disappeared. Never mind Grandpa. And I'm still unsure why this microchip could not just be replaced. But that is not what is gnawing on me. It's how they completely ignored the subject of how changing the past would change the present. I.e. one reason we ended up with the world we have now is the neolithic revolution started in the middle east and spread from there with the America's being more isolated and developing and/or receiving various advancements at a delayed clip. If agriculture is developed in 10,000 BC in California that changes a lot. And we're not even talking about more modern technologies such as computers and automobiles that are just lying there. Now of course one reason why we're not reading about Olmecs sailing across the Pacific and conquering China is this "civilization" is facing packs of dinosaurs. Perhaps still wandering around downtown LA to this day. Again a pretty big deal. At least TRY to come up with some type of answer, a wormhole, something from the past, a volcano destroying the area.. something to say why our timeline is not totally messed up.

Missed opportunity to do a Safelite product tie-in. Tommy would be a great celebrity spokesperson! I know he developed magical ninja skills since going to college but the person D-Mac reminds me is the kid we couldn't help but groan at every time he appeared on screen in the original Power, Tariq. Of course D-Mac lacked a dad with enough pull to cover all his screwups. But he certainly brings Tariq level whininess. But the one thing D-Mac lacks is any prospect of having a future spinoff. Whether it is next season or the season after next we all know he's a future organ donor.

On Sacker. Here is the thing. She is running in New York City. And that already puts her at a disadvantage running as something other than a Democrat. Mike Prince is running to destroy the Democratic Party. Full Stop. His platform is basically a centrist Democratic Party platform. If he succeeds in New York given the way the system is set up you will have thousands of people thrown out of work if the Democrats are thrown into third party status. Unless the Democratic Party nominates someone really crazy against her and the party itself wants to throw behind her as independent she is just the tag-a-long of a spoiler. The nephew has seemed pretty fine with bulldozing people for profit. The professor was personal but he knew exactly what he was getting into when he applied for the position. It's not Rian joining a hippy dippy firm that got merged into something else. But here is another possibility related to the nephew. Scooter himself. He didn't want Philip hired because he saw the firm as potentially too dirty for him. He is obviously protective of him and was rather thrilled to push his cousin ahead once hired. Take this very possible scenario. Wendy, Axe, & co are able to dirty up the firm and put Prince at risk and Prince decides the best course is for Philip as head of the firm to take fall arguing that it will only be a little time in Club Fed (and FYI that is DEFINITELY not the Brooklyn Federal Detention Center) and he'll take care of him as President. Scooter disagrees and pushes Prince in front of the train to protect his nephew. And actually Daniel Breaker is a great actor. I'd watch a Scooter spinoff.

I'm not sure how to analyze this episode. I am not sure I am even supposed to. Why again am I supposed to be rooting against this Prince guy that some of the richest scummiest people on earth seem to hate? Why is Sackler who has been building relationships for years with power brokers in the Democratic Party to run in one of the most Democratic cities in America thinking of running as an independent. And how many times has Chuck prided himself on turning down asks from people like Axe on principle. Hell. He torpedoed state of the art MTA improvements to deny NYC the Olympics because the rich giving gifts to the city would corrupt the public. And he lets in Dr. Evil to blackmail a former cabinet official as a favor to a another fugitive from justice? I've come to conclusion maybe I should be looking beyond logic to perhaps the writers guild strike. Now normally with a story this much of a mess I'd blame Hollywood writers doing too much cocaine., But if they are on strike perhaps it is ChatGPT instead. But perhaps it's a little of both. You can get ChatGPT to write a script as if it was written after a coke and booze bender. Now at last this episode makes sense to me.

The model of a successful third party run is to compress one of the major parties so much that you become their de facto replacement. Perot in 1992 before the Democratic convention and before he dropped out due to Clinton being scandal plagued pushed Clinton to third and became the anti-Bush/anti-Republican candidate. He ended up dropping out as Clinton rebounded (and then strangely came back in the race later). But that is what you want to do. Take most of the vote from one party and then pad your numbers with some votes from the other. Another example would be Macron who basically squeezed out the mainstream left in France. Leaving a more extreme left who supported him in a run off and the right doing a similar thing but with different percentages. But in essence what Prince is doing is running as what billionaires like Bloomberg and Schultz have toyed with. Running as essentially moderate Democrats who will be able to a squeeze and consolidate much of the left and then have some hook to get those on the more moderate right who might not vote for a Democrat but will for an independent. Prince is trying to be the person who squeezes out the Democrats and then tries to siphon off some Republicans as well. Hence the Killer Mike endorsement. Hence using talent from the a big DNC affiliated strategist (and no doubt his firm and affiliated firms in his orbit). The problem is major parties in America are major for a reason. And there is a reason a more "moderate" or "radical" alternatives to them fizzle. They retain enough institutional support that it's difficult for any effort no matter how "serious" not being eventually seen as a spoiler. He's going to have a difficult time no matter what Wendy does. She's just there to make sure it hurts extra bad on the way down. Surprised Chuck didn't throw Ira to the wolves. In fact would not be shocked if next episode we find out Chuck did just that and was just lying to Ira.

You're supposed to cheer for mega millionaires to beat the billionaires. This is classic Marxist class struggle. Except the proletariat are prep school educated, attended Ivy League universities and have 100 million dollar IRAs. And rather than quoting Hegel they quote Andrew Ross Sorkin's favorite band this week. Plus Wendy is like Christopher Walken in the Dead Zone. Except rather than psychic powers she has the ability to compel plutocrats of already questionable morals to do even worse in the name of making bigger bank. This makes her the greatest moral arbiter that our era has been blessed with. All that said keep an eye on the prize. It is to keep as many pieces on the chess board for as many possible spinoffs as possible. And while that means Prince is not going to become leader of the free world, long term consequences beyond that might get in the way of possible future tv pilots.

What I'm cheering for is Ira to get back at Chuck for sinking his company for his own ambition. I want to see Ira backstab Chuck and become the US Attorney himself. The office could do worse than having someone highly competent without a self-serving messiah complex.

I'm glad the show is ending because I've invested too much to quite but it feels like the show rather than telling a story with organic characters is just dragging the characters along where it wants to go regardless of what makes sense or feels organic (like say the last half of the last season of Game of Thrones). The show always had it's flaws. It's overuse of meta and cultural references rather than adding to the show just became stilted dialogue. And everything meant to show New York CIty culture or extravagance felt like paid product placement (because it probably was). But in the end it really was a biting satire about flawed human beings making moral compromises to achieve their ambitions while wistfully trying to moralize their choices to justify themselves. You had at its center a Brahmin old money Ivy League educated man born with a silver spoon in his mouth worth tens and most probably hundreds of millions of dollars on a populist crusades against new money billionaires he considers vulgarians and intruders. The type of fight New York City has had for hundreds of years. It also is a biting satire on the excesses of capitalist excess and governmental and societal corruption. But in the end it was fun. Over the top people butting heads and getting a little come uppance for their evils and living life up the way as mere plebeians wished we could. What I had against this last episode is trying to frame Axe as a hero. Axe is great. Axe is fun. I missed Axe (and understood why the actor who played him had to attend to family). But he is not the "answer" for bettering the common good or to be admired for much besides showing panache. We may want him to get away with it. But Wendy trying to build him in moral terms made me scratch my head. Then there is Wendy who is the "pied piper" of the show. Never the moral center. She is actually the moral blackhole. She is where the Taylors of the world go to help them lose their moral inhibitions against doing the worst possible things to help make the firm and themselves money. Her "counseling" is about helping people understand their most wanton desires actually are perfectly reasonable if they think about it differently. Whether it is seeing the "good" your fortune can bring at future times or realizing you don't really need to fear the scorn society shows you for doing wrong. Our Jeff Bezos wannabe is probably a megalomaniac. And let's be honest anyone who does become a contender for president probably does have more than a touch of megalomania and self-belief. But being a moral barometer has never been Wendy's strong point. It has been helping folks remove their. That said I think it can be fun watching Axe destroy Prince. Just don't sell me on Wendy being Christopher Walken from the Dead Zone. That's just too much for me.

A few things. First. I am not convinced the kid in white is the good guy and not just toying with them. Or at the very least answering to a higher power and just following orders even if doing so a bit more reluctantly. Second. I now get why the bus was necessary. How long has it been since the end of season 1 and the end of season 2. Maybe two weeks? And what has the body count been since then? Come to think of it how long has it been since the Matthews' family arrived? One month? Two months? Three. The kids saying Angkoeey. I am wondering if it's a child's mispronunciation of another word that's similar used to describe what they are going through. Two come to mind. Agoge was the harsh regimen children had to go through to train them in Ancient Sparta. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agoge Another would be Anagoge which would be more meta. Again from wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anagoge Given the last two scenes with Tabitha I find that definition intriguing. Lastly I am curious to see who Tabitha meets on the outside in the unnamed town she is now in. There are three directions they could go in. She could meet those who "died" in the town. She could meet those who escaped the town (i.e. perhaps the nurse is Victor's mother). Or she could just be in a dream like state (perhaps to the outside world catatonic like Julie was) and/or chained to some wall or stone somewhere. Whatever the answer they need to hurry up and settle the writer's strike and gives us a third season!

On lack of communication. One thing to keep in mind. We don't actually know how long they have been together. We don't even know if Victor has only survived one "reset" where the community was wiped out. The town may only have 40 people tops with a very high turnover rate. Kept in a constant state of agitation where no one has much time for much discussion until the next crisis hits. if you take this to the human world picture a town occupied where the invaders use torture and atrocity to shock people into a state of fear because they know once they calmed down planning for an insurrection could start. Terror and horror are a form of social control. Epix/MGM+ isn't most streaming services. It is a pay cable channel even if like HBO they are trying to rebrand into a streaming channel because that makes investors happy. They are also building up their original programming inventory. Godfather of Harlem is already in it's third season and should see a fourth. They haven't greenlighted a zillion shows like some streaming services did (and ended up reversing course when it was too many). I think we'll get a third. For what it's worth and includes very necessary caution of who knows how long the writers strike will go for and how that affects everyone's plans with everything. https://readysteadycut.com/2023/06/17/from-season-3/#:~:text=At the time of this,praise from critics and fans.

Gonna miss this show. Loved the ending with the fake movie. One last skewering of Hollywood. It got everything wrong and created a fake cliche narrative. Whenever you hear the words "based on a true story" it means yeah a lot of it is just made up.

He doesn't need to start a new one. He signed a contract to buy ATN competitor Pierce. He can even claim he's continuing the "true" legacy of his father. Roman had it right. There is nothing magical about Royco. It's just some crummy company his father used to run. Tom almost played himself with Greg. If he had just told Greg that as long as he is at the company he would be taken care of Greg would not have been so scared of Mattson. Tom assumed Greg was too stupid to try to watch his own back. And perhaps he had reason under normal circumstances to think that but given Greg had access to both sides that was risky. Unless Tom's real end game was to end any chance of Shiv and Mattson hooking up (both business wise and in real life) This is about as close as we can get to a happy ending if Mattson follows through with it. Makes me wish Elon Musk had bought Fox News/Newscorp instead of Twitter so we could see what the complete gutting of a media company looks like in real life! I expected Stewy to screw over Kendall too. But I guess it was part of the drama to make us think Kendall had "won." Still I do expect given the ratings success they will try to do a spinoff. And a Stewy centered "Billions" type show about an Iranian-American vulture capitalist is something I could see. Shiv going back to Tom now makes more sense. Shiv throughout the series played on Tom's insecurities saying implicitly and even explicitly that he was out of her league. That she was slumming with the help. Only now that he's CEO does she even consider him being in her league. She always viewed his ambitions as being pathetic and a joke. She might humor him or she might ridicule him. But she always undermined him both professionally and emotionally. The funny thing is she ended up boosting him when she denigrated him to Mattson as being a pathetic lapdog since that was exactly what he was looking for in a CEO. So now if even if she still looks down on him she has less ammunition to lord it over him. Meaning they may be able to finally have a somewhat more balanced relationship. That said his stay as CEO might be limited since he won't be needing an American CEO after regulatory approval. He may get a nice golden parachute out of it. So who was that guy who followed Kendall? I was thinking federal agent or someone his family hired to follow him around or simply a bodyguard.

So it would be like Pretty Women, except the call girl rather than marrying the CEO becomes the CEO. I'm in. As for Greg he could get it because he is fine with what Mattson wants in the job. A figurehead who would be the American who would do (or more accurate have actions done in their name) whatever Mattson and his brain trust wanted. He's not looking for Shiv to come "run" the network. He's looking for someone like Big Head in Silicon Valley.

Deals of this magnitude usually have breakup fees. The kids may have a lot of their personal finances on the line if it does not go through. Money which the Pierces may use to help buy ATN or even Waystar itself. They put too much effort into the plot point to leave it dangling and it may bite the kids. From Connors presidential run and his buying the Mansion from Logan's ex to the Pierce purchase the kids have been pretty cavalier with the money Logan gave them. But they can't escape a contract even if the price becomes too rich for their taste. I agree. If Roman lived a different life and wasn't in Manhattan he would be picking a fight with the biggest man he could find in the bar. He wasn't looking to "win" a fight. Quite the opposite.

What would Shiv be getting anyway? Mattson is quite clear he wants the network for it's intellectual properties (movies, tv shows) and he intends to take a wrecking ball to the rest. ATN he wants to be a low cost Bloomberg clone rather than a high priced egofest to sell My Pillow. Even if she is CEO she would not be exactly getting much. But yeah, Mattson will totally screw her over. And she'll deserve every second of it. Mattson is trying to tempt Mencken with what the rest of his company can do. Particularly social media which can reach more people than the news ever will. One thing people forget in the whole Fox vs MSNBC vs CNN thing. Or in this world Pierce vs ATN is how few people actually watch ANY of them. Some may get better ratings but it's all relative and all of really bad (read old) demographics. Absolutely. If you live in the outerboros it may be overreacting a bit. But if you're in Manhattan and they are boarding up the buildings it may be nothing but the noise and commotion may scare the kids. And there is still a chance something bad could happen. So if you have the means why not take a little vacation and spare them the drama? To me it was more about Kendall wanting the universe to center around him and perhaps a bit of guilt over the Mencken call. And yes the Roy kids who dad accurately called "not serious people" did not become any more qualified to run the company anywhere besides into the ground after Logan died. With his funky numbers and skeletons the kids may actually beat Mattson. But folks like Stewy are waiting in the wings to do the same thing. Kick the Roys to the curb and dismantle Waystar for fun and profit.

Shiv's problem was she faced a choice between her political beliefs and business interests. Fear of Menken becoming president. With the fear of her deal with Mattson falling through. She came up with an ill considered plan to accomplish both. It unfortunately failed on two ends. First even faked it never gave Jimenez the firm answer that Menken gave and Kendall required. And second it was easily verified to be a fraud. Could she have called the Jimenez camp and told them to just lie to Kendall so ATN would might do what they want? Sure. But she did not want to risk that they might actually give in to Kendall and Roman. In her mind protecting her deal was always more important than her beliefs. Not that her beliefs are not how she defines herself but she would rather have what in her mind is a "moral victory" she can blame on her brothers than an actual victory for Jimenez's camp. Business come first. However the best job for her is actually what Mattson is offering. She is far better at dissecting other peoples action than making decisions on her own. Being an advisor to a campaign or a CEO is where she belongs. When she has to make them on her own she falls on her head. She can tell you how to run your lemonade stand. But never put her in charge of it.

That is what I was thinking. The Wisconsin scenario is so realistic I'm frightened it might give someone ideas. What gave me PTSD was Connor deciding his long standing professed principles matter less than what personal opportunities he might avail himself to. Unfortunately I don't think this shows Romans immaturity but his growth. This isn't an impulsive ill considered rash action without any thoughts to ramifications. It was the "smart" play to be close to and ingratiate himself to power. This is exactly what his father would have done. This is what has been missing in discussions over who was "best" to take over ATN is what ATN is. The "elephant" in the room is ATN has a couple institutional goals. First fan service to it's audience. Second to influence power with it's audience to get them to approve their business plans. And third to be political arbitrator that can flex power for and to the right so it's position within the right wing is unassailable. If it was a competent non-family member like say Gerry she would've cut the deal in a heartbeat. Damn the political consequences. Which is why if you have trouble with what ATN is the person to cheer on is Mattson since he wants to basically tear Waystar to pieces and turn ATN into a vanilla news network that won't cause waves. Roman sees his relationship with Mencken as a possible way to one up Kendall and of course to block the merger and keep himself in the running. If he thought he could get a better deal by going the other way he would've. Even though she was sympathetic I think we are being soft on Shiv. Part of why Kendall acted emotionally and backed Roman was Shiv was backstabbing her brothers. Rather than being a conduit to make sure the merger didn't happen she was seen as doing the opposite. Her subterfuge helped set up a situation where Kendall's perceived business interests were never going to be aligned with Jimenez. Roman may have built the boat but Shiv cut the anchor. I also believe Shiv would've gone with Mencken if she thought Jimenez was going to block the deal and Mencken wasn't. She is not someone to let her personal issues get in the way of her business interests. If she was she would've called Jimenez and put him on the phone with Kendall. She didn't. Her alliance with Mattson was too important. Kendall showed himself to be the reactive indecisive leader he always was. Even if he survives Mattson the stockholders are going to eat him alive particularly as he alienates his siblings. Tom is walking that tightrope trying to keep his job. What he needs to do is follow his own advise to Greg and gather his own pile of dirt as leverage for when he falls off so he can land on his feet. So far he is surviving.

The TA has enough public earnestness combined with a desire to get exactly what he wants that I am surprised he hasn't been offered a consulting job with the Tate campaign. There has to be agenda beyond simple eye candy. Glad Cane is pulling back from being so heavy handed with his father. Since he badly needs Dad's advise. What am I saying? Cold blooded murdering drug trafficker. Not that I need worry too much about his prospects since getting in business with Tariq is the surest way to go on a long dirt nap. Speaking of future organ donors Effie expressing hopes and dreams about a bright optimistic future? I have watched enough tv shows to know where THAT quickly leads. Will Tariq off her for "killing" his ex? Or will someone else have the honors? Since there is only room for one idealistic good natured law abiding citizen on the show and her name is Ashley Fitzpatrick and she gets mocked for it every episode Tariq goes to class there has to be something up with the black billionaire he was tasked with trying to bring over to the firm. My conspiracy theory? Jenkins is the real big bad for the season. And he's the boss of the "connect" folks shaking down Tariq, Brayden, and Cain. He's there to observe Tariq in plain sight as well as have the Weston family launder his ill got gains. I like Saxe and him being all idealistic the end of last season start of last season made me very worried for his fate since no good deed in the Power universe goes unpunished. What would Power be without his slimy self slithering around? He's the white Tariq who somehow always survives the carnage of everyone around him getting massacred. In fact if Tariq ever gets a law degree they should start a firm called, "Baad Noos and Howe." I've got a hunch he is going to double cross the DA and the cop. Particularly now that the DA is not putting out. I have mentioned this since the original Power was still on. I understand cell phones drive the narrative. But do they have to be THAT incriminating and constantly admit to criminal conspiracies and even all but live blog their criminal acts? I mean forget the cops and the feds who one day will realize they can get that all that information from the cell phone companies. Is Effie really going to leave those text messages with Cane implicating her in "killing" Tariq's ex on her phone while Tariq is sleeping right next to her and could conceivably catch her by simply reading her text messages? If Jimmy McNulty ever moves from Baltimore to NYC these guys are screwed.

This episode was in some ways foreshadowed with Roman's talk of "killing dad." And up to the end even if they told themselves otherwise at the very least Shiv and Kendall were drawn to whatever course of action would get back at their father. Some of their anger is not just the loss of their father but the loss of having someone they got show up or get back at. Not that Logan was a good dad. Connor felt neglected and ignored because he was. And while it may have been the best course for her we can bet that probably the locking up of his mother was not handled with grace, tact, or care. The three other kids were bound to the company by their mom's divorce settlement and Logan did seem to have thought of seeing if one of them was worthy. And none of them quite frankly have been. I don't doubt when they say Logan hit Roman that it was probably pretty brutal. And like some kids abused by distant fathers Roman may have seen it as the only way he can get his father to acknowledge he existed. Thus encouraging rather than discouraging the behavior that spurred those beatings. And this is where the show probably goes from here. Shiv and Kendall are basically what they were before. Neither without talents but both having a singular overriding confidence in their own abilities that causes them to trip over themselves. While convincing others you are the smartest person in the room can have it's upside, deluding yourself that is always the case is another matter entirely. Kendall seeks out sycophants and lets no one delude him of his fantasies (and to the extent they succeed they produce the opposite affect of pushing him into lethargy and hopelessness). Shiv is more pragmatic and she can see other people's hypocrisies and where they go wrong. But she looks down on everyone and devalues their intelligence and counsel in favor of her own. She's the medical student who has enough knowledge to think she can do brain surgery and yet not enough to know that she really shouldn't. Roman has the right idea in courting Gerri and trying to use her as a mentor. He also knows enough to know the value of a conversation is to figure out what they know and what they are going to do rather than pontificating. But self-control has always been his problem. The question is whether it is an issue of "maturity" and something he'll outgrow. Or if he's just a spoiled man-child ill suited to be anywhere near a modern board room where such idiosyncrasies have large risks of attracting highly adverse media attention and lawsuits. Connor has stated he wanted in the company. Everyone either condescends him or outright laughs in his face. Instead he chose a course "parallel" to the company probably hoping to earn his father's respect by going into politics and expressing what are imitations of his father's politics that way rather than through media the family owned. And perhaps getting some respect and adulation from the 1% he might get in an election even if not the 50% he'd need to win will get him the feeling of being "loved." Or more importantly get him the type of attention that maybe his dad might feel the least bit proud of him for. I was of the opinion when the show started that Connor would be the best one to run the company. And I still have that opinion and for the same reason. Connor knows what he doesn't know. A fringe benefit of having never been the least groomed for the job. And would let the people who know what they are doing run it while providing the "vision.' Which is the right-wing politics that will get him access to the important people. He might have the potential to be say Steve Forbes. Kendall will have them leverage everything on the metaverse or whatever strikes his fancy. Shiv will get outsmarted by Pierce or anyone else and not even realize she lost. And Roman is a walking class action lawsuit. Unlike Kendall and Shiv he might also be smart enough to know he should step aside and just collect the paychecks or be a figurehead. But in the end the real question is are they smart enough to be like the Disney family and enjoy the profits or will they try to burn it all down for their own vain glory? My money is on them burning it all down! But my fear? Something that must be in the back of your mind with the barbarians trying to bring down "prestige television" for baser profits. A spinoff show for each of the kids to try to build a franchise. Something Logan would approve but a trainwreck worthy of Connor's presidential campaign!

Well. He can win a bidding war. The question is at what point is it just a fruitless waste of money. To someone like Logan a financially struggling "prestige" media company is a way to paint fresh paint on his ratings strong but not well regarded media empire. Think Murdoch buying the Times of London and the Wall Street Journal. But even that is only worth so much money. The kids however unless they are willing to spend money to renovate it or do something with it they are are vastly overrated to a name and a declining name at that are not necessarily getting the same value. To give an example of what I mean. Let's say you're Newsy. That new station that is on the air but which even if you heard of you probably have little regard for. If they bought he New York Times and became New Times Media with substantial crossover from with the Times national newspaper brand perhaps you have a synergy that would enhance not only the former "Newsy" brand and made it more valuable but also have a network (and hopefully internet presence) to push your newspaper brand. If however it was bought by a hedge fund who did in a highly leverage way above market price to get a newpaper with a declining revenue model I am not sure what they have got themselves. Worst case scenario for Logan? He eliminates a competitor. But for the kids? To keep afloat they have to sell off parts of and devalue the brand so much they might be left with pennies on the dollar of what they paid for which loans and interest payments owed to the banks who helped fund the buyout. And this assumes the Waystar deal goes through and the kids have money to spend. And they may STILL owe a prohibitively expensive breakup fee to Pierce if it doesn't.

It doesn't matter how many years he gets. In jail he WILL be murdered by the Baxter family. He tried to kill the boss and that is a death sentence. There will be a contract on him and someone will collect. Same thing goes for Adam by the way. He would have undoubtedly been murdered and it is not out of the question given what happened to Kofi that Michael might have ended up dead as well. That Adam died anyway and everything done to protect him destroyed Michael is part of the tragedy. I thought it was taxes. My impression is the feds took over his case, and got him on federal charges in an attempt to flip him while getting local authorities to back off. I'm not sure what he is going back to jail for. The jail looks like the one he got released from. So possible he got screwed over despite promises made was sent back. Or (probably at his own insistence) he pleaded guilty to obstructing justice in hiding Adam's role in Rocco's death either locally or federally. Old school mobsters ALWAYS snitch. The ones who don't snitch never become old school mobsters, they get sent away early by the guys who do the snitching. That said I don't see him selling out his own daughter despite her obviously betraying him. Viacom is merging Showtime with Paramount+. And is going gangbusters on spinoffs on their two most wildly successful shows. Yellowstone and Billions. They want "Franchises" to make their own version of the Marvel Universe. This show may want a third season but it won't get one. Showtime is cleaning house and this is not a ratings blockbuster or one that can birth spinoffs. I'm cynical what a third season can add anyway. Then again I was cynical what a second season could add and they pulled it off.

Wanting to be Lost isn't necessarily a bad thing. The show From on Epix wants to be Lost. And that show so far captures many of Lost's best elements. Doing Lost badly is of course bad. But to be honest I'm not sure I'd compare to this to Lost. But what should one compare it to? Maybe Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure? Except the acting, character development, story, and even special effects were better in Bill & Ted. Same thing could be said about Planet of the Apes. Both the classic and the needless remake. So maybe Misty Mundae's spoof, Play-Mate of the Apes? Or perhaps I should compare it to one of those remakes that tries to be nonsensically darker and grittier than the original. This being the Flint Stones if they tried to put in a backstory for the advanced stone age technology and had Fred, Wilma, Pepples, and Bam Bam come from 2020.

Favorite period. The beginning. Loved the tension between Rick and Shane. It's a tension that has been playing on this show with no answer besides the finales faerie tale ending. Can any group wishing to do more than just survive but prosper (Woodbury, The Commwealth, CRM, Sanctuary even our heroes communities) survive without rolling over the other settlements and survivors they encounter? Even Negan admits that perhaps The Saviors might have made a mistake just subordinating rather than annihilating the other settlements around them. Of course a larger community gives you access to more people and resources. So keeping yourself too small makes you an easier target for others. What will the CRM do well they encounter The Commonwealth. Hilltop and Alexandria are too weak and irrelevant to much care about. But the Commonwealth? Maybe not. Favorite episode, chills down your spine? Definitely the season finale of season 1, TS-19 when the scientist working on the cure for the zombie virus before blowing himself (well the CDC was on self-destruct) tells Rick the secret (without us knowing) and Rick going white. With members of the group debating whether to die a quick death than see the horrors that await them outside. Back when the show still had an air of mystery. What would I have done differently? I would have ended the show after Negan's defeat. Key cast members were itching to get out and the show was creatively spent.

Yes. That is exactly what I was thinking. This was like the ending(s) of the last Lord of the Rings movie, Return of the King. Whenever you thought the movie was about to end it would just go on and on and on. This finale was the worst combination of too fast and too slow. It quickly buzzed sawed through the end story and meandered with ending after unsatisfying ending. How much of the last 30 minutes could be lobbed off without anyone much noticing? What speaks volumes for how far the show declined was the fact my main complaint is how many main characters survived. Which while not surprising with their deus ex machina solution to the Commonwealth overrun by zombies story line, it speaks volumes of how little impact most characters added after season 5 actually made. Anyone other than Negan, Lydia, and Ezekiel felt quite expendable. And to be honest I would not have been all that broken up if Ezekiel didn't make it even if I liked him becoming the new Governor. In fact maybe I am too generous with using Season 5 as a dividing line since Rosita never made much of an impact and whatever impact Eugene had generally made me root for the zombies whenever they were nearby him. I'm just sad this show was denied the perfect ending that would've tied in perfectly with the Daryl in France spinoff show. Daryl on his motorcycle on top of a surfboard being pulled by zombie dolphins across the Atlantic Ocean. I would say I feel sorry for Judith being abandoned again by a parental figure for reasons. But at this point it's just par for the course. All that said still looking forward to the spinoffs. This show has jumped the shark too many times and just got stale. It needed a hard reset. And hopefully the new locales and a brand new story with new characters will provide that.

What about when it's explained to the clearing folk that there is a way out of 10,000 BC but the Harris family & co came back personally to make sure every one of them is stuck in 10,000 BC. I am sure everyone in the clearing will volunteer for the cause. Sad thing? I am sure that is what the writers of the show are going to make everyone in the clearing do!