Tarasme

I want to LOVE this show. In fact, I'm almost defensive of the criticisms- valid as they may be- because of how much I want a show like this to succeed. I'm hanging in there for the long haul- the only thing that might be insurmountable is- as others have mentioned- the half-hour format. If tPtB could innovate how serial/MotW plotting can work in this format, the show could be stellar. If the team continues to rely on the old paradigm- it's doomed.

I wish that the FOX owned Marvel could start to interact with the MCU proper (a la S:H). A nod or two to the incident in New York, the Sokovia accords, Infinity Stones, StarLord, Pym Industries, etc. etc. I sincerely doubt I'll get my wish considering there are hordes of attorneys waiting and watching for any infringement of intellectual property, but a girl can dream.

Enjoyed last week; looking forward to tonight. But I'm so, so sad that my genre shows are now also ALL receiving the moniker "Family Drama." Ugh. If I wanted to watch "This is Us," I would.

First thoughts... In his X# of days in the desert... Is he... him? Or the Other Guy? If he were there with a couple thousand other people, I'd probably go to Charleton Heston, Mt. Sinai and stone tablets.

I am skeptical too, however, this is a May that let the girl live- then- the girl turned around and killed hordes of people. I can see that Framework!May would have felt responsible for anyone hurt by the girl she allowed to live. Consequently, May would have turned off anything that ever tried to show mercy or compassion lest it turn around and bite her in the ass again.

Fun and heartbreaking episode! Poor Clive. He's lost a lot, sacrificing for his work. Did the timeline mentioned at the end mean that Wally, Anna, and her brother (brother right) were infected at the beginning of the outbreak? Were they somehow part of ground zero at the lake party? Or was there some other chain of transmission?

And have we even glimpsed what regret- or even if there was a regret- was removed from Fitz? *A*IDA insists that the regret removed is what drove the Framework creation; was it only Melinda's regret at Bahrain or does each soul entering come in free of whatever previously hindered? I hope they act consistently with this- cause it looks like Mack is in there sans regret too. If everybody gets to be primary regret free, I'd like to know what the pivot point was for Coulson, Mace, and Fitz.

*sniff* UGH! Too much angst! Though I believe- at this point- Jemma will be able to fully forgive Fitz, if/when they're rescued, I don't think Fitz will forgive Fitz. Then again, the Fitz that comes back might not be looking for forgiveness. :( Same with May-- will the May that steps out of the Framework even want to be the person she was before. And what will happen to the Framework? Not everything in there is a brainwave capture, but who knows how much of it- of the persons in it- qualify as sentient souls? Will Daisy, Jemma, Coulson, and Mack be responsible for killing a noble Ward? Or Hope? UGH! I'm ready for AIDA to be throat punched immediately. AAAAAAAIDA. AIDA. AIDA AIDA AIDA. How dare you use your angst and the giant ARTIFICIAL chip on your shoulder to ruin the world. Selfish brat. Pbbbtttzzs. Poor Holden and Agnes. :( Does anyone know if the Darkhold is still playing a role in what's happening? Or did it just start AIDAs evil ball rolling?

The Berlanti team addresses the ramifications of Thawne's eeevol high jinks in another show...

That was fun! The pace was swift, action interesting, and I did squee (and -ee and -ee) when n'kid Hayley and Elijah got a tender moment. A little off with the blah blah blah Marcel's in charge and no one should question/challenge him blah blah blah. Crazy Klaus was good though redundant- more blah blah blah you need me because everyone who has ever has feared me and that's the only way to keep people from taking what's yours blah blah blah. And... I'm already tired of Freya being willing to screw anyone and everyone for a quick resolution to Michelson angst. Yes Freya, we understand the nice werewolf made a deal with Hayley, not you so she should just suck it. Sheesh.

Couple o' things: 1. (tags just in case) 2. My thoughts, when introduced to the massive psychic energy that might destroy the hell dimension, went immediately to the twins. Baby girls are the most powerful beings around. Not to be gross, but Bonnie's shot her psychic wad- so to speak- on her own grief driven dimensional creation. 3. Did anyone not know the cameo was from Katherine? Heh. Cameo- heh. Nicely played production team. 4. Kudos to previous posters who noted that this is the umpteenth ridiculous hero plan to- wonder of wonders- go crazy wrong. 5. Is there anyone other than Katherine we'd like to see but haven't in the last three episodes? In the TVD universe, it's interesting that they've quarantined the Originals in their own psychic dimension while TVD finishes. Other than Michelsons, I think everyone's mostly wrapped? Yes? Oh Wait- where's Steven R McQueen?

I wondered if they'd all been replaced- FitzSimmons included. If the command pertaining to the LMD detector was deleted upon execution (is that even a thing? Or is it convenient plot tech?), then any of them could have executed then not known that they executed. Simmons was late to get to AIDA [I had a REALLY hard time making out most of the dialogue due to my husband's snores- did Fitz and Simmons tease the poor red shirt that Fitz sent with her to find AIDA- the evil murdering android?] and though she was with someone, it really doesn't mean much. Neither does her discovery that there are additional LMDs- self awareness as an LMD is hard to come by and being a replacement is dependent on complete immersion, so, depending on what Radcliffe has planned for SHIELD to accomplish, Simmons could discover an army of LMDs and still- unknowingly-be one herself. Maybe snores covered up missing something that would exclude LFitzSimmonsMDs? If so, please let me know! I really don't want to do more are they or aren't they with those two.

Even with all the nonsense, this one had feels. Feels with tears. I do have sympathy for Damon. For the entire run, he's really been pretty pathetic. He's been the martyr eschewing his role as martyr- in Damon's mind, he's the only one that can get things done. He's the only one that can do the dirty work. He's the only one that should suffer the consequences. He's the bad guy that will do the bad guy stuff that needs doing so that everyone else can remain alive, free, whole, clean, Etc. I'm glad that the character might get to experience the freedom and relief of accepting that he's not in, will never be in control. He didn't have control over becoming what he is. But now, he can act in a way that isn't because he's supposed to be the monster. Cool. Caroline needed to throw that ring farther. Gah. The sirens should have smoldered to death 5 episodes ago. Someday, when I'm feeling nostalgic, I'm gonna reverently watch the letter scene again. Lovely. I also liked seeing Damon choose to unequivocally apologize to Matt for Vickie. And Matt give a somewhat realistic response- more feels. What else happened? Oh yeah, the bell and the Donovan family bell making relevance are stupid. I'll promptly forget about them again. I will, though, be happy to watch more father-son bonding with Joel Gretsch. Jasmine Guy's presence in the credits spoiled me- it was so nice to see Grams. Glad she didn't torture anyone. Not really:

Yep, Kwame and another Voltagio (*sigh*) episode. Michael was very sympathetic to Kwame and understood how Kwame's emotions got in the way of what he was trying to do.

*sigh* Voltagio. ::::oldladygrossslobber:::: I can understand that MV isn't classically handsome but damn does he have "C" Charisma. And while I'm a goodie two shoes that is blissfully without my own ink, I don't begrudge him trying to out rebel the rebels- particularly if it gives him a "bad boy" aesthetic compared to his brother's (*triplequadruplesighdrool*) sweet goofy boy next door.

"I am a leaf on the wind..." *sigh* Wash *sigh*

I really liked this episode: * Red shirts were given due reverence. * Call outs to Cap, Erskine serum, Cal, etc. Awesome. * Mace's Inhuman humanization provided him with a means to be... human. Good characterization all around. Poor guy drafted to be more than he is- cool. * Mack's Not!Ax hatchet. Heh. * Confirmation LMayD doesn't know she's an LMD and good philosophical discussion between AIDA and Radcliffe about the extent of programming on AIDA and May's actions. I'm really interested to see where they go with LMayD's discovery and how AIDA is going to end up rejecting Radcliffe. Will decoy May go to Simmons or Fitz, try to go it alone, or is there something "programmed" that will insist she return to Radcliffe? Humans have "programming" too- I'd love to see how the LMDs AIs deal with nuances like the morality of the protection SHIELD is trying to offer vs the apparent immorality of the Darkholde.

I'm not sold on this season but I could watch Mack reminisce 80's killer 'bots and wax about the horrors of Skynet- with a sympathetic YoYo- for days. "He brought it on himself." Hehhehheh. Regarding LMayD- I'm still holding onto the idea that LMayD has no idea she's an LMD. Though Ming-Na Wen had furtive eyeball movements during all the scenes at SHIELD with Not!AIDA (or L-AIDA-D- whatever), we didn't see anytime that the May decoy showed an allegiance other than real May would. I really wish tPtB had kept scenes of drugged May out of the eps- though I don't like Philinda, I can't say I'd have seriously questioned that May is May during those scenes. I'd have chalked it up to my own displeasure in the romance arc and a little bit of awkwardness with the new relationship turn for the characters. I'm also holding onto the notion that Phil and Fitz's skeptical comments about an android being susceptible to the Darkholde have some meaning. It would be great if AIDA is really unaffected by the Darkholde and that her only changes have been the result of programming changes from Radcliffe. I would love to see her fulfill her mission as a shield and protect the team from the corrupted Radcliffe. John Hannah's characterizations were so groovy- Radcliffe's creepy but genuine glee at the idea of eternal humanity was somethin'. I liked Simmons' hairpin come taser. Vijay is super cute- I hope he's back soon and a first string member of team SHIELD. Parminder Nagra can get a commupuns anytime now- hopefully a full on Quake attack then jail. Nice to see JPF but I doubt he'll be around much in this goon-y incarnation. Do y'all even care who the anti-Inhuman mystery string puller is? I don't think I care. I'd really like some cool stunt casting but I'm not holding my breath so- meh.

I haven't watched yet- it's on the agenda for tonight after more season 13 re-watch. BUT- I'm a little surprised at the red snapper love? I'm not really well versed in sustainable fish and over-fishing but aren't there only like two red snappers left in the whole world? My family fished in the Florida keys (Duck Key) in November and I was thrilled that we had a chance to catch and consume some yellow-tail snapper. Maybe red snapper in the Gulf have been replenished?

Amen. I think half of the Top Chef viewership is ready for Katsuji to be off of their screens. <3 Sheldon I too like John Tesar. I think I give him significantly more latitude, and did in his first season in Seattle, because he made his friggin' bones. I'm rapidly approaching his age and, like him, while I have some sympathy for stupidity, I have less time for it. Maybe I'm a jackass too? Oh well- I like him.

Thanks Netflix. I'm a genre junkie, so this was good. I extra special love fun genre, like SG1, so having many members of that production team back together was nifty. This show would actually benefit if it could find its way to more fun. That's a tough request, considering the main hook is death by body snatcher, but still. The little sweet things, like Philip finding his way through an opportunistic lawyer, (drug of choice)A, and his adorable turtle adoption are great. Wholeheartedly agree with above that Jared Abrahamson's turn as Trevor is a highlight- such nice notes that he was going to watch golf with Gary then so bittersweet that he had to leave after pouring the chips. Tom Mcbreath and Jennifer Spence need their own Ellis & Grace show. Now. Unfortunately, Eric McCormack has almost no chemistry with anyone there. His quipping ability doesn't save him here. He has zero chemistry with Nesta Cooper's Carly- which- Wright and team should have fought for this casting to be exactly right because we're supposed to believe that MacLaren is willing to risk the survival of generations for a few bath time's alone with her. Things are slightly better with Kat, but it was plot- not chemistry magicks- that told us MacClaren was willing to risk everything to save her life. Cool that the Director is more than a man (though I had my heart set on seeing Michael Shanks show up as the shadowy force of the future *g*). Cool that we weren't immediately fed the details about pervasive future changes including the destruction of Area 13, I mean, shelter 41. Cool that we don't really know if Grace (Ellis is 0014, Trevor's 0115, what Traveler is Grace again? 70 something?) is working for or against all of humanity- and really, I am totally in that they've obfuscated what force is fighting for humanity's best. It is so sad that they saved digging into that philosophical conundrum for the final two episodes of the season. I really hope there's a season 2 because the end of season 1 was just about a great show- plot canyons and all.

Binge watch on Netflix over the weekend: Yeah. The best part for me was the effort to develop the friendship between Raquel and Amy. Even with that, what we learned about them was reduced to a few sentences. For instance, exposition about Amy= she works in a bowling alley, has two friends, struggled with her sanity, and her mom was "crazy" but, apparently, a "seer" too. The heroes were flat. The villains were flat. I wish Jake's possession had lasted longer than ten minutes. He was much more interesting in those few scenes than being the Zeppo through all the other episodes. Blue humor's not my thing; being disgusting for the sake of disgust gets old fast. A lot of that nonsense- even just one particular theme being harped on, like the gates of hell opening- or not- through Raquel's girl parts- could have been replaced with character development.

I'm completing an NY season re-watch now. Comments from and about Carla are focused on her lack of confidence. The Casey influence supports that idea; CarlaNow would cook circles around CarlaThen and be thoroughly comfortable cooking her Carla food. No apologies. Casey, on the other hand, confident or no works for me only if I don't have to watch her THs. Same with Sam. I can't wait for hubby to drive me Southeast to do a long foodie weekend in SC. Closest we've been lately is Nashville (Florida doesn't count).

Good ep though I feel I'm still missing the energy of previous arcs. This whole season has felt like a prologue to me. I'm glad S4 2nd half will have the team back together. Well finally Mack- make up for lost time-- more Yo Yo kissing! Not surprised by Melinda in Danger! considering the anvils dropped by Phil's desire to open the bottle of whatever last ep and this week. Haven't we done the Faux-Linda plotline before? Though... I wonder if MAY knows she's a decoy? And why would AIDA, so willing to kill poor agent redshirt, keep Melinda alive? All the nuclear/ scientific gobbledy gook and stuff with Mace was lost on me. I did like that Mace used the same smoke for Daisy as he must have used for himself- the smoke Simmons had smelled and leveraged. I miss Simmons.

Though it's been done on another network, I'm hoping the supporting cast addition Ella (as opposed to the not so fictional novelist/ prophet)= God. Cause it would be cool to consider the meta conversations about faith, fatherhood, morbid humor, Star Trek, etc. between Lu & God.