MagnusHex
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Posts posted by MagnusHex
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2x17: Twenty-Two
The problem with watching older shows, especially those very old shows, is that you inadvertently call up memories you have of newer shows. Sometimes, this is detrimental to your viewing experience as you make unfair comparisons which had a better telling of the same story.
"22", however, had me at the edge of my seat in the last 5-10 minutes because I've seen Final Destination. I literally yelled in my head, "DON'T GO ON THAT PLANE!"
Granted, the character of Liz Powell (played by Barbara Nichols) is a little thin in character substance. Worse, she acts like an airhead blonde who's rude to the psychiatrist trying to help her feel better. However, under a different context, this episode takes on a more feminist approach: mansplaining doctors and colleagues trying to claim that the woman is delusional (in a Rosemary's Baby kind of situation). Though to be fair, the doctor did his best to help Liz snap out of her supposed nightmare (the agent Barney Kamener, played by Fredd Wayne, not so much helpful as patronizing and sleazy).
Furthermore, I just like the whole atmosphere of the dream sequence and how it foreshadows quite decently what's about to unfold in the ending. It's basically one very long sequence of Final Destination premonitions, which I found to be clever once I realized what it all meant (my headcanon is that this is the TV pilot to Final Destination and poor Liz ultimately didn't escape the entity of Death itself after the episode ended; Flight 180 was merely history repeating itself). I was waiting with bated breath for the plane to blow up even though I don't think I've seen this episode before (or haven't seen it for a long time), and when it did, it was still such a shocking moment.
Anyway, great fun of an episode when viewed from a modern movie goer's perspective. Rod Serling was ahead of his time.
4/5
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2x14: Bread and Circuses
What happens when you release an episode that was produced earlier at a later date than another episode with a similar plotline but was produced later? You get people thinking it's a rehash of that episode that was produced later. I'm watching the show according to the production order, so B&C came before "The Omega Glory", an episode I read that had a similar premise as B&C.
Without knowing that context, however, I greatly enjoyed B&C. I just find it fascinating because AFAIK, this is probably the earliest incarnation of televised real live violence that I've known of in fiction. Arnold's Running Man wouldn't arrive until 1987, along with many other "murderous reality show" stories that were more ubiquitous as shows became more self-aware and "meta." B&C's mockery of TV ratings was amusing and quite refreshing for its time.
The alternate history of Rome was fun as well as we not only explored the idea of Rome not collapsing, but also the titular concept of "bread and circuses," where Roman citizens were placated with violent gladiatorial show, thus becoming indifferent to the existence of "well-treated slaves" who are offering them entertainment. If you're gonna do a story about a violent reality show where real murders happen, it couldn't be more appropriate to base it on the classic Roman gladiatorial games since it's the most well-known version of gladiator fights (thanks to Russell Crowe and a tongue-wagging Joaquin Phoenix).
Of course, I wish they did more with this alternate history because it feels like scratching the surface, especially with the way they haphazardly revealed that the Sun Worshippers are actually SON Worshippers, as in Jesus H. Christ (the H is silent; Christoph Waltz best Jesus). Like c'mon, you're gonna leave me with a reveal like that and NOT expand upon it? Good lord. I wanted to see Jesus go Django on those Romans' ass. lol
Let's also not forget that Spock and McCoy had a nice little exchange in the prison, and despite Spock's attempt at his usual stoicism, I think Spock is just putting up a front (remember, he's half-human) and McCoy was at least partially right about his feelings of frustration. I like how both of them kinda laid out their heart to each other in the short scene.
Overall, a fun concept of an episode (Kirk uses a machine gun!) that I wish I could've seen more of.
4/5
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1 hour ago, Snow Apple said:
One that I didn't like was the remake of The After Hours. They changed the ending to be like a horror movie.
Oh man, now I wanna see that.
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12 hours ago, DeeDee79 said:
Jensen being a stronger actor doesn't translate to "hogging the spotlight". I cannot express how much I disagree with this take. Most of the post is borderline BvJ territory.
Disagreed.
On 5/8/2024 at 10:39 PM, BabySpinach said:A mere difference of opinion doesn't call for you to either 'back down' or 'hold your ground'; the only reason you'd use those terms would be if you did feel attacked in some way.
Just admit you don't actually have a counter-argument (or simply don't respond) instead of trying to mock my perceived emotional investment. That's lame.
Disagreed.
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Yet another contribution to the long line of problematic scripts where men being taken advantage of was played for comedic effect. Sure, no sex happened (supposedly), but Becky still took his pants down and strapped him to a bed. I guess among some circles, that would be called "getting lucky" instead of sexually harassed, but you know, he's a man. He probably enjoyed it.
I think the worst part is that the episode treated like Becky merely did a "oopsie" (note the quirky comedic music at the end) rather than being a creepy stalker. I want to believe that that's the reason why Sam and Dean find her appalling - not because she's unattractive since she's quite pretty, but because she's so clingy, needy, and as we have seen from this episode, possessive.
Also, didn't a guy did a similar thing seasons ago and the episode also made it seem like he was a victim (instead of a sexual predator? It's probably not comparable though, to be fair, since I can't remember if there was sex involved with that one, unlike the case with Becky. Plus, I'll admit that Becky is kinda a victim anyway because "Guy" the demon was practically like a drugdealer.
I will boost a point in this episode's favor though for Crowley's appearance. It was a nice speech from him about the integrity of Hell... even if I had a bit of a hard time buying it (from Crowley of all people, talking about integrity).
2/5
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2x11: The Deadly Years
The fear of old age. Probably one of our most primal fears, alongside the fear of the dark and the unknown. It is kinda surprising that in the 23rd Century, the problem of aging (and all its unfortunate consequences) has yet to be solved. You'd think that something like that has been resolved, alongside the cure for cancer.
But while this episode had a very interesting concept, it suffered from many problems in the script. For starters, why did Commodore Stocker waste time on holding some competency hearing when they could have spent that precious time finding a cure for the very disease that's making Captain Kirk RAPIDLY AGING. RAPIDLY. As in time is running out! Christ, I don't know which was dumber: his time-wasting (probably just to usurp Kirk) or his trespass of the freaking Neutral Zone. Damn bureaucrats.
Furthermore, Spock agreeing to waste time on the competency hearing was far, far worse as it showed the lack of his usual rational thinking. Bones at least had the excuse of being too senile to focus on curing the disease.
And another thing: why didn't they immediately go into quarantine after discovering that something on the planet was making people age rapidly? You'd think that after all the invasive disease and phenomenon Kirk had encountered, he'd have learned. If not him, Spock.
Finally, that cringeworthy line from Kirk to Janet Wallace: "What are you offering me? Love, or a going-away present?" (He probably means sex when he said "present", ugh. Gets even more creepy when you take into account the whole grandpa roleplay fetish.)
It's a shame too because the episode had such a strong first act (despite the lack of quarantine). The way Scotty's aging was revealed was nicely edited and I could feel genuine tension (even though I already had a feeling what Scotty was gonna tell Bones).
2/5
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Probably the closest you could get to solid proof that this show is misogynistic, because killing a mother protecting her child isn't something worth feeling guilty about as much as lying to your brother. Good job, show. Go Team Dean. Bravo on all points this episode. I hope you are proud of yourselves.
I probably shouldn't be surprised though. CW is a tween network, so the maturity of its stories are teen-level. Expecting Dean to take some accountability is too complex for this show (ironically, even the shallow MCU had its heroes took accountability in Civil War), because if the writers had to figure out how to make Dean admit his mistake without offending his precious fanbase, the plot would never move along. Teen drama needs to move at a good clip without pondering too much.
You can tell this is a tween drama by the way the latest hottie in line falls head over heels with Dean, our knight templar, after her friend was killed. Sam does the boring stuff of exposition, and Dean gets the girl. Phew. You are sure Sera Gamble, a woman, was the showrunner for this season? The whole vibe here just feels a little frat-boyish (kinda fits that Jensen got cast as Soldier Boy, who's even more dated in his masculinity ideals).
I love Zack Handlen's review on the MotW plot: "Ugly people will turn on you the moment they get a chance, because they are bitter. Also, unattractive." The MotW is whatever because as always it's just another generic monster plot they didn't bother delving too deep into, because the real meat of the show is that mopey brother drama.
1/5
I have a feeling Dean killing Amy wouldn't resolve that soon though. If so, I might increase this up to a 2/5, because even if the Amy-killing does have more consequences down the line, this episode just leaves a bad taste in my mouth with Sam shrugging away Dean's actions. Then why the hell did you get so pissed off in the first place?! If you're gonna go halfway on your morals and principles, Sam, I'd rather you just shrugged it off in the first place instead of wasting my time.
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Dean and Sam immediately not becoming wanted men anymore by the end of the episode was lame, and Dean's singing went too long and ended up making the scene kinda awkward.
Other than that though, this episode was pretty good, especially the reveal that not only is the Big Bad now part of the government, he cooly rejected Crowley's offer instead of teaming up against the good guys like I had expected him to.
3.5/5
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So, killing a monster who swears off feeding is fine, but letting go two blatant killers who had no remorse for their murders too? Fuck off, show.
Cool Buffy reunion though. James and Charisma's scenes together were the best part of the episode, which don't amount to much.
I also like how they had Don save their asses. James should just appear again later in the season to join forces against Leviathan.
3/5
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2x13: Back There
This was a weak episode that had such potential. Time travelling back to prevent a president's assassination (or to prevent any national tragedy for that matter) is such a concept we dream about that this episode would have been more interesting if it had shown the unfortunate consequences of preventing said assassination rather than the failure of such prevention in the first place. Imagine if Peter Corrigan had made things worse after he travelled back to the present. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
Furthermore, Peter was acting like a raving idiot. Granted, he was panicking about the event of the assassination, but from what I could tell, he had at least a few hours before Lincoln was shot at 10:15pm, so he had ample time to calm down and form some kind of plan. It didn't even have to be a complicated plan; just take the place of the guard who was supposed to keep a look out (the guard went off to get drunk instead according to historical records) and then yell "ASSASSIN" when JWB (or whichever suspicious individual that wasn't supposed to be there) appeared.
Lastly, Lincoln's assassination took place around the Civil War. A lot of people had reasons to kill him. Why didn't the police chief (or anyone else for that matter) took Peter's threat more seriously? It didn't make sense.
This episode had a lot going for it with its premise, but unfortunately, it failed to deliver on all counts, including making Peter's motivation to stop the assassination more fleshed out.
That being said, I would have liked to see a remake in the '80s Twilight Zone that's about the JFK assassination instead. That one might prove more challenging to prevent due to not only the probable existence of multiple shooters, but also all the conspiracy around it. Same with trying to prevent 9/11 from happening.
2/5
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2x10: Mirror, Mirror
Mirror universes aren't exactly a new trope (though admittedly, it might have been new in the '60s, assuming The Twilight Zone didn't have something like that), but man, this was a fun episode, if only for seeing Shatner chew the scenery for a few minutes as Mirror Kirk.
Gotta love the fact that Mirror Spock remained as logical and compose as ever, not being reduced to the barbaric nature of his fellow crewmates. Shows that Vulcan nature can overcome the environmental influences sometimes, and that saner minds prevail (Mirror Kirk's in for a nasty surprise when he gets back home).
More than anything, I just like how the episode doesn't really hold back in showing how evil the counterparts can be, whether it's attempted sexual assault from Sulu (literally can't keep it in his pants to assault Uhura in private instead of in public view) or just committing genocide casually. The episode went all in on the evil, and it paid off in its stakes that gave the episode real tension.
5/5
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2x12: Dust
I hate episodes like these. It's written to be so manipulative. I mean, I get it, Serling's Twilight Zone has always been filled with preachy messages, and I was fine with them - when they made a good point. An episode like this, however, where we are supposed to side with the convict because he's remorseful of his mistakes, where we are supposed to hate the people who cheered for his execution because they are all apparently racists, not because they wanted to see a drunk who killed a kid punished, it just doesn't work for me. It feels hypocritical in its message and disingenuous.
All the racism and voyeurism the townspeople have displayed, and all the nasty scams Sykes have pulled, sure, I will condemn them. They are all assholes. This episode would have aged perfectly in our day and age to be honest with all our modern values towards racism. But one wrong doesn't excuse another. DUI is a crime, and Luis Gallegos shouldn't have been free - not because he's a POC or whatever, but because he killed a kid under the influence. There should at least have been jail time for him. AFAIK, DUI isn't usually punished with the death penalty, but the jail time is definitely high.
The fact that Rod wants us to sympathize with this guy because RACISM is just such an appalling way of discrediting the issue of racism. It's poor writing like this that real racists could use as ammunition to cry "woke!" everywhere.
2/5
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13 hours ago, FlickChick said:
Sorry, have to disagree with you on this one. Every time I do a season/series re-watch, I skip this episode as I find it a total bore. I also have to disagree about Jensen Ackles' "hogging" the spotlight. He simply does a helluva job with any material he's given. After all, he doesn't write the script. But we'll agree to disagree.
He didn't write the script, but he did still hog the spotlight, intentionally or not.
Anyway, I'm not surprised about your comment, seeing how the fandom feels about Sam and Jared compared to Jensen. I still stick by my comment and have no intention of backing down.
This season should be fun though for anti-Dean fans.
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I've started noticing a pattern with these last two episodes: it gives us a groanworthy moment with Dean, but it gives the few Sam fans out there (that like him more than Dean) a nice moment that either redeems Sam as a character or just makes him look that much more well-written. Sam's final moment this episode where he finally admits that he's feeling better about his life is easily one of my favorite moments on the show, period. Plus, I like that Padalecki is given an opportunity to show his acting range for once instead of letting Ackles hog the spotlight like always. It's just weird but also cool how Sam's character has matured a lot more this season while Dean's character took a regression instead of being the usually level-headed and rational one. Sam is the heart and Dean is the head of the team, but this season so far, Dean's head is somewhere stuck up his butt.
I don't mind Jo returning, and Osiris' whole schtick had so much potential for a plot (not to mention how we are finally upping the stakes to making mythological gods a regular MotW now), but unfortunately, that potential was squandered because the show wants to drag Amy's plotline out. This episode would have been given a 4.5/5 at minimum if Amy was put on the stand and Sam has to struggle with being betrayed by the end. As it is, bringing Jo back just for what might as well be a filler episode that failed to address Dean's guilt over lying to Sam in any shape or form, I sentence you to a...
2/5
The 2 is for Sam, both for his speech at the end and him being a lawyer. No points for dragging out what was a poorly written scene from last episode's ending.
On the bright side... next episode: SPIKE AND CORDY. OH MY FUCKING GOD FINALLY LETS GOOOOOO
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12 hours ago, Trini said:
There's not going to be any art for you to enjoy if artists are eliminated from the industry.
Guess humanity just has to find some other ways to amuse themselves. Like arguing on the Internet.
12 hours ago, Trini said:See, I don't think that's the same situation. The tools and methods changed, but there are still creatives making subjective decisions; AI seems to want to eliminate humans from the equation entirely.
That just sounds like a luddite's point of view. Even if AI is as bad as these doomsayers are claiming, it's still a piece of technology that can be used to humanity's advantage. Hell, if it becomes smart enough, it could even be an ally rather than what the cynical technophobe might say.
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14 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:
The big deal is that it puts actors out of work. Which, okay, maybe you don't care about them, but I do since they are human beings.
Big fucking deal. African children are starving and no one gives a shit. Here I am going broke while billionaire actors live luxuriously in their penthouse. I don't give a fuck about actors. They can pump the gas if they're out of work. Human beings still do that. No, this isn't about human rights - this is about their billion dollar paycheck that you're defending, which is hilarious unless you're their agent or something.
And people arguing about actors or defending them on an
Internet forum of all things ain't gonna change shit anyway. If I don't support an AI generated movie, somebody else will. This whole self-righteous crusade is honestly rather silly. I'm gonna do what I want to do, watch what I want, and all anyone could do is offer their empty criticisms feeling good about having lectured this one stranger online (who's probably not even living in the same country as you or any of those actors, therefore not even supporting the economy of the country those actors are from anyway, making this whole conversation even more irrelevant if we're talking about livelihoods).14 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:And honestly, there is a difference between an actual actor's performance and an AI-generated one. For me, the only legitimate use of AI in a film is using it for non-natural performances by animals and inanimate objects. I would never, absolutely never, want it used in place of a human performer.
If there's a difference, I couldn't tell. The movie was entertaining all the same.
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11 hours ago, JustHereForFood said:
AI has no soul. You can make mediocre art with no soul, but good art is only made with a soul.
Art is subjective, and its beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 'Nuff said.
The Spider (2024)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-tc2YlCqCk
Finally, the live action take of "What If's" "Metamorphosis" issue we never got because Disney pussed out. The effects are scary enough for a fan film and the actor looks just enough like Tom Holland to pull it off.
The idea that getting bitten by a radioactive spider giving you super powers worked well enough in the '60s, but as a Spider-Man fan who had read almost all the Spidey comics up till the Dan Slott Spider-Verse era, I really dug Metamorphosis' subversive take on "What if something went wrong and the radioactivity just made you mutate?" All the power in the world ain't gonna give this any sense of responsibility because he would be too hungry for blood.
And they say Spider-Man is for kids (while Batman is for adults).
5/5
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10 hours ago, FlickChick said:
Not only that, but get ready - Dean's actions in this episode will be brought up at least a few times this season. Never want to let a sleeping drama dog lie!😟
I think the worst part is that Dean gave this impression immediately before the final scene that he trusts him now (letting him drive his Impala as a seeming gesture of goodwill), that he regretted using the word, "freak."
And then he said "the other shoe will drop" to Amy, the same phrase he used to describe Sam when he thought that Sam would just lose control again. Fucking disappointing, Dean. All that goodwill you displayed for your brother, your flesh and blood, in the scene immediately before this one - poof, gone. All so the writers could stir up the usual angst conflict nonsense between them. So much for character development.
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Late Night with the Devil
I'm just going to come out and say it: I don't see the big deal with using AI technology as long as the movie proves entertaining. Sure, it might affect the billion-dollar Hollywood industry in the future, but that's hardly my problem. Sorry, but this middle-class (soon to reach lower-class) dude has zero fucks to give because I've got bigger problems and just want to sit down and enjoy a movie, not debate AI.
And for what it is, it is an entertaining movie. We've all known that these Hollywood celebrity schmucks have dealings with scientology and god knows what other Devil cults there is, so this movie isn't too farfetched.
I just love how cynical the entire movie is, up till the feel-bad ending. All of these are unlikable people, even the lady who brought the child to a late night show in the first place. For all her good intentions, she signed up for this gig, so.
I also love the unique '70s late night show aesthetic that was brought to the film. True crime documentaries have been trending for the past decade or so now, so a gritty live television style of storytelling does fit for the modern movie-goers' sensibilities. This has easily been one of my most unique film experiences, period, and it's exactly what I live for: creative horror experiences.
Nice job, AI.
4/5
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Well, that sucked. And after everything I said about episode 2 too. Jesus Christ. One of you could have said something. lol
I don't know. I get why Dean ended up killing Amy because he's always been a knight templar about monsters, but this is just so disappointing after the terrific bond Dean and Sam has built up over the past two episodes. Now Sam is hiding shit from Dean - again - and Dean is also lying to Sam as well and perhaps doing what he thinks is best for Sam and everybody, coming off like a real tool. It's just one of those annoying CW tween drama that I guess will never really go away. All my high hopes for this season are now gone.
What frustrates me even more is how Dean left the kid alive. Look, if you're gonna go all knight templar on all monsters, then go all the way. Don't be a hypocritical bitch about it and ending up letting the kid (who has now lost his source of food) become the next serial killer.
And it's even more frustrating that Sam would have gotten a nice spotlight episode on him showing his tracking and hunting skills. Ever since season one, I've always wanted to be #TeamSam over #TeamDean because his character's more sensitive, nerdy and insecure side just resonated more with me, so even when his character became a big tool and a big fool, I kept waiting for his redemption to come. This episode could have been it, showing Sam in control and trying to make the best moral decision without being a dick about it.
At least Leviathan remains smart. Tracking credit cards and the Winchesters' aliases. That's probably the smartest thing the writers wrote this episode. Unfortunately.
3/5
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2x6: The Doomsday Machine
What an intense episode. This episode is action-packed and moves at a great clip, rarely letting the audience take a breath of relief till the very end. Part of that reason is due to the titular "planet killer" and its unique design. It just feels so epic like a vicious mystical force of destruction, somewhere between a cross of Eye of Sauron, Unicron, Galactus and perhaps the Gates of Hell from the Doom games because goddamn, that sure looked like a portal to Hell. All my fanfiction headcanon started going crazy when I learned that there's a planet killer fighting against the Enterprise. Imagine if it was Unicron. How could they kill a literal chaos god (in the comics, he's a god)?
But I think that's what ultimately help this episode: that it's not just another god-like being again toying with the crew of the Enterprise, but a threat that's more straightforward and primal in nature, something you could immediately recognize as a big threat that one needs to duck and run away from.
Of course, the meat of the episode here is the Moby Dick inspiration it took, with William Windom starring as Commodore Decker. Despite being a recast replacing writer Norman Spinrad's initial choice of Robert Ryan, William did a fine enough job expressing the obsession and crazy eyes that convince us that this man is off his rocker (even if William initially didn't know that the story is a Moby Dick tribute, and merely thought he was starring in a silly and cartoonish plot with a planet killer). I'm not sure how the original Moby Dick ended, but I'm glad they made it so that Decker ultimately just wanted to redeem himself and was carrying this massive baggage of guilt with him (rather than merely being motivated by his ego that might have been symbolized by the size of a certain sperm whale). Even if he was foolish and pretty much caused the deaths of Kirk's own crewmen as well, I feel that his sacrifice worked with the right poignancy (not to mention being the key to saving the day), particularly due to the fact that Decker's entire intention the whole way through was just to stop this planet killer that would wipe out the entire Rigel system (perhaps wiping off Earth in the future as well if the Starfleet didn't respond soon enough).
This episode also shows why Spock isn't as suited for command as Kirk (even if he does make a fine commander): Spock is too rational and by-the-book, resulting in the ship being commandeered because of loopholes in the rulebook. Kirk, on the other hand, would have just punched out Decker and forced him to take a medical reevaluation to classify him as mentally unsound.
Something also worth mentioning is the redshirt that tried to stop Decker when he was escorted for a medical exam. Most redshirts are cannon fodder, but that redshirt put up a fight with a Commodore long enough that he earned my respect.
5/5
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Okay, I take back what I said about last episode where things were starting to return to status quo: Sam is finally truthful towards Dean (about freaking Lucifer), the bad guys are finally smarter, a likable strong female character doesn't return just to get killed off, and for its budget, the Leviathan actually looks pretty terrifying. Reminds me of Pan's Labyrinth.
And then there's that pacing of the episode which picked up immediately from last episode's final scene, feeds us plenty of juicy plot involving Leviathan's brilliant and successful plans (with cut vocal chords) before dropping us off at a chilling cliffhanger. The episode just moves at a great clip.
It just feels like things are finally improving in Supernatural after the wonky season 6. The one thing that really convinced me that the writers are learning from the flaws of previous seasons (or rather, season 6 specifically) is that Dean actually got Sam to pull out of his delusion, asking Sam to use his trust in his brother as the foundational rock to keep him rooted in reality - and Sam just accepted that and beat Lucifer the delusion. It's great stuff and showed the bond of the two of them (as opposed to just milking angst for angst's sake and dragging out the whole delusion thing for an entire season, with Sam and Dean constantly mistrusting each other). And it 's like, after everything they've been through together, their brotherly bond should really be their strongest weapon.
4.5/5
Can't wait for next episode.
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4 hours ago, Annber03 said:
This part surprised me, 'cause I mean...that stuff is still going on? Fat-shaming is still very much a thing and people are still as shallow as ever. People may not be persecuted, per se, for their appearance, but people are still very much judged on it all the same, and there are entire industries still devoted to making us all look young and attractive and perfect. And that's not even getting into the issues people of other races and ethnicities have talked about in terms of how their looks are handled in media portrayals, or the way Hollywood still acts like women over a certain age aren't desirable or attractive enough, or things of that sort.
I do agree there's a lot more to the ugliness that's out there nowadays that goes beyond the typical judgment of one's looks, and ugliness is celebrated in terms of people's awful personality traits, like the vanity and pride you note, being rewarded instead of shunned. But appearance and people still trying to fit in and appear "normal"...that hasn't changed or become less of a thing. Not at all. So on that level, I think the episode still very much hits hard and is still very, very relevant.
From what I can see in mainstream media and what I heard from second-hand accounts, it's a lot better nowadays than the decade before. I will submit that this episode might still be relatable to Americans today as I'm not an American so my opinion is skewed, based on the third-party accounts I see across social media where fat-shaming is largely frowned upon. If you are either a fat-shamer or a racist or a sexist or a transphobe or a homophobe or just plain alt-right, you're done. Witch hunts will be performed, you will be shamed by TikTokers, many YouTubers will profit off of your scandal, and you might even appear on the CNN (because Christ, they eat that up).
And of course, just about every TV show and movies nowadays are celebrating diversity and inner beauty and everything the society of communist pig-fish people here have frowned upon. I didn't really see that kind of progressiveness in the 2010s or the 2000s, at least to such a radical level.
No, I believe that while shallowness and persecution still exist, they are not the loudest voice in the room anymore. The meek has risen.
You know what relates to me more in our modern cultural landscape? White Bear. From Black Mirror.
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2x6: Eye of the Beholder
Unfortunately, this episode is one of those that has such an iconic twist that I still remember it long after I've first seen it. I could still admire the brilliant execution, but that adrenaline and shock were no longer there. I think that's the reason why I don't bother rewatching most mysteries or shows that are over-reliant on a twist ending to be quality; once the truth is revealed, it's just not the same anymore.
But Eye of the Beholder is more than that, to its credit. As I said, the execution holds up adequately, the way everyone is shrouded in darkness and the sympathetic gestures the doctor offered in an extreme communist world. The only problem that detracts from the nice camera work is the title. It should have kept the original title, "The Private World of Darkness". Not only would the title have made more sense seeing how everyone is shrouded in darkness (perhaps expressing the world Janet Tyler [Donna Douglas when unmasked; Maxine Stuart's voice when not] was seeing beneath her bandages), but it wouldn't have given away the ending easily, thus making the twist that much more shocking.
One other thing that irks me about the title is when Walter Smith (Edson Stroll), the representative of the "deformed people" here to take Janet away to be segregated, repeated the title of the episode in such a blatant way that it made the episode kinda campy and goofy. As if Serling didn't hammer home enough the sledgehammer that's the title itself, he felt the need to shove it down our throats again at the end of the episode. It just felt so cheesy, like one of those parodies of a TV show on Futurama.
As it is now, rewatching this, my entertainment mainly came from speculating just how someone who look like Janet could live in a world like this. Many have said that this episode rings even more true to life today than the 1960s, but I don't see it: communism is no longer as big of an issue in most countries except for North Korea, China and Russia. In America, freedom has become taken a far more extreme form than the '60s, with everyone having so much freedom that the individualism has become a problem. The only "relatability" would be people judging others by their appearance, but even then, with our progressive culture in America where ugliness and obesity are celebrated while beauty is still recognized as beauty (rather than the distorted opposite world extreme displayed in this episode), that doesn't fit quite well either. It's a shallow and skin-deep comparison at best. The problem permeating America today isn't the chase of beauty; it's the pursuit of those few minutes of fame on a TikTok video and various forms of social media. Vanity and pride are the sin of the day, not the persecution of appearances.
That being said, this episode might have been more relatable a decade earlier or so when plastic surgery among celebrities was a bigger topic, when people were still trying to fit in as "normal" due to their insecurity about their appearances, when fat-shaming and shallowness still reigned over the western culture. The fact that this society in the episode is a communist culture doesn't really detract from the fact that people were made to feel like we have to fit in or be persecuted. Maxine Stuart perfectly conveyed that desperation when Janet was still under those bandages, that fear of not being treated like an equal just because of some physical defect. It's in her brilliant performance without the use of her face that made this episode excel, much like many, many episodes of The Twilight Zone where the actors' performances carried the entire show. It also gave this episode that unique aesthetic where the performers' body language told most of the story.
3.5/5
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S07.E11: Adventures in Babysitting
in Supernatural
· Edited by MagnusHex
Another filler episode with some very light "character development," so who cares? Dean sucking up to be a professional does nothing for me because it feels like treading on familiar grounds of the brothers dealing with their CW-branded angst.
On the other hand, I do like the name-drop for the monster of the week (not so much the adaptation of said mythological monster, which might as well have been a vampire). SMT and Persona fans should recognize the name easily. Here's some history on them from the SMT wiki:
"Vetala are evil spirits from Hindu folklore with varying shapes and forms who haunts cemeteries and takes demonic possession or control of corpses and are constantly plotting their return to the realm of the living or attacking humans until they are mangled. Their eyes glow with a dull light.
Legends say that the Vetala wield secret arts and can raise the dead by chanting mantras. They make their displeasure known by troubling humans. They can drive people mad, kill children and cause miscarriages. There are spells to utilize them to manipulate the dead. They suck the blood of their victims and bend them to their will, even controlling their movement like puppets.
Vetala are considered the greatest of all evil spirits but were also known as vampires or leaders of ghosts. They were also known as Preta as the most dangerous of them.
In Buddhist tradition, they are called Kondara or Metara."
The only part the episode got right was the "vampire" part. No secret arts of necromancy or puppet masters here, which is a shame, because Christ, that would have been a far more interesting episode.
2/5