Ottis

I watched the first two episodes of Under the Dome season one and quit. Why? Because it was very apparent that the whole premise of the show - the dome - was simply a plot device to tell the soap opera of the people within it. Resurrection is currently committing the same sin, BTW. Soap operas don't interest me. Interesting ideas do. Falling Skies does at least focus on the aliens and has an integral sci-fi story. It has veered a little close to soap opera with the Mason boys now and then, but has always returned to the bigger story. My problem with this particular season is that the characters are all becoming cartoons (Ghost) or cliches (Lexi) . And in some cases seem to be entirely different people (Ann, Lourdes). And the aliens are becoming a bit too dumb in order to keep the plot alive. They should have simply killed Tom vs. cut yet another deal.

I never saw Legion and don't have a starting point for the 30 years, so I pretend it is longer and the issue goes away. I assume there are settlements like Vegas and Helena all over the world, clustered around specific cities. And we'll meet more of them if the show continues. Why they survived and others didn't will be an interesting tale. I can't get a handle on the power of the bad angels. They don't seem to have powers beyond flight, and unusual strength. They are kind of like vampires, in other words. I expected something more biblical. But if all you need is computer-targeted AA guns or a few attack copters to bring down angels, then they seem a lot less scary. I also don't get their tactics. What is it about Michael that keeps the bad angels from attacking every day? Seems like a daily attack would wear down the settlement pretty quick, Michael or no Michael. He can't be everywhere at once in the city. And the bad angels already seem to have sleeper agents. So why Vegas survives is a mystery.

I was laughing so hard when "Ghost" rode into town, nodding at the locals along the way ("Yo, 'sup!") in order to go to the mothership that I had to stop the DVR and play it again. I have no idea why the writers think Ghost was a good idea. It's like having a member of the Village People be a superhero. And then Tom cuts a deal with the Espheni, and doesn't feel the need to explain it (or any moral qualm about his right to cut a deal, insincerely or no)? if he had an intact command structure, they should arrest him. There is no sense of menace in this show anymore. Everyone is comical or stupid. Tom, Pope, Anne ... as she decided to interrogate the injured skitter, we all said, "She will lose control and kill it, thereby losing her one source of intel, and later say she shouldn't have done that," And of course she did. And the Hitler youth are veering dangerously close to Niedermeir on Animal House. 'Where's your Pledge Pin, mister!" And Lourdes. When the hell did she become so influential? She was barely worth paying attention to as a doctor's assistant. Why does anyone listen to her or obey her?

A vigilante is by definition fighting back. If Tom were simply gathering intel, he wouldn't be so visible. And in the brief exposure we have had to "Ghost" so far, he actually rides up on his bike, stops, flashes a *flamethrower* to interfere in an "injustice" and that gets the attention of aliens who then chase him. That's the opposite of stealth. By making that stop, "Ghost" appears to be aiming to be a symbol of something, which means he is fighting back and not simply gathering intel. Vigilante + fighting back + symbol = vigilante action hero. I don't think itc an be any more clear. Or funny.

It was a contact poison, that had to be embedded deep ("into the nail beds" Akira said) to work. She knew she was killing the women, and the whole scene was to show how ruthless she is. I actually like that about her character. Overall, this is a Battlestar Galactica clone, complete with military vs. civilian leaders, outside threat to humanity and efforts to scan for angel infilitrators. The one different aspect is the Child of Destiny, but so far he isn't much to talk about. Enh, it's summer viewing. I'll watch for a while.

So according to TV Guide, Tom's Ghost *is* a vigilante action hero. Which I find hugely comical. I get that the humans are "different," but they aren't that different. They can't be, given their lack of technology, no special powers and dwindling numbers. That's a central conceit of many sci-fi productions, that we as a species are somehow different, and it only works when we see how we are different. So far, humans are mostly dying and losing on this show. A few small wins, sure, as we exploit that alien arrogance. But not enough to be meaningful. And with this season premier, it became even worse. I don't see an end game for humanity without a convenient plot twist like a new weapon, a new alien race or a disease that kills aliens. I just watched the season premier of Defiance, and that's what Defiance did. It closed last season with characters split up and opened with them in their new situations, and then reunited some of them. While I am not a huge fan of Defiance or Falling Skies (I love sci-fi though), Defiance did the season transition much better IMO.

I can't see it. A more powerful civilization that has colonized many worlds will have a system, and they will use that proven system rather than take the time to learn human history to create a hastily conceived, customized process to beat the humans. I say hastily conceived because while they may have observed humanity for a long time, their tactics seem to have changed only recently. I still struggle with Noah Wylie as any kind of action hero. Ghost was laugh out loud funny, especially since they first showed us Tom gearing up and then had him try to be mysterious while facing down the looters. That took away any possibility of his motorbike-riding 80s glasses dude being intimidating. And the grafitti "Ghost" head at the end was hilarious. Just terrible. Wylie has some acting ability but his strength isn't as a Schwarzenegger. We also were sure this entire ep was a mind experiment on various members of the 2nd Mass - it was so inconsistent with what we knew of the characters. They definitely do need a new phase to this war, but this was silly.

I also felt like the finale was so-so. There was nothing new for us to ponder, just characters sent in different directions than before. A few characters died. I had read the books so their deaths were no surprise, nor was anything about them. Though for some reason I have no recollection of a Lady Stoneheart. Still love the show, and will miss it. And will have to reread these threads in a year to remember where we were when the long delay started!

I think this, and the minister web shot from a ways back, show us just how far Malvo is willing to go to set up a cover to get his target. Lots of people in that church still think he is a minister, if any remain alive. My only disappointment was that the show had Lester stand up to Malvo in the bar and elevator. As I posted in the prior ep's thread, I hoped they didn't go that way because it was too predictable. I would have prefered Malvo sidling up to Lester at the bar to explain how much better Lester's life has become since he was a "bad boy" and had the show go in more of a philosophical direction.

Before we saw Malvo at the table in Vegas, I kept expecting him to surprise Lester by sitting next to him at the bar, and explaining how much better off Lester is now after he was "a bad boy." Just a nice, even monologue on the benefits of being a sociopath and taking control of your life. That would be much better than Lester confronting Malvo. I guess we'll see. Also, I was distracted and FF'd past the time skip, so the first scene I saw was everyone at the dinner table and Molly getting up pregnant. I thought wow, that was a ballsy timeshift - not even any notice! Take that, Battlestar Galactica! And then I rewound and noticed new footage and realized I had skipped past the "one year later" notice. OK, so less ballsy. But still appreciated. I assume all these pieces ... the grocery king, the detectives in the file room, etc., will all come to be linked at the end? Can't wait to see how.

The interesting thing about that interpretation is that eventually a horse kicks the gods in the chest and the gods die, too. A random event is more powerful than "the gods." Dinklage continues to kill it the past two episodes, after his scenery schewing at the trial. Love to watch him work. So is Littlefinger now wary of Sansa, after seeing her in action? It started to seem that way, until the dress on the stairs. Then it looked more like lust. But Sansa was the one who gave the command that they should get going. Littlefinger may not like what he has created.