Tag Archives: recaps and reactions

TV Time: Parks and Recreation 6.19

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Source: tvguide.com

Source: tvguide.com

Title Flu Season 2

Two-Sentence Summary Tom attends a sommelier competition to find someone to hire for his restaurant, only to discover that Craig is a great—and very enthusiastic—sommelier. Meanwhile, Ben’s frustration over his parents selling their lake house leads him to the discover that he wants to start a family with Leslie now, which coincides with Leslie discovering that her nausea might not be a flu symptom after all.

Favorite Lines
Ben: I want to start our family. I mean—I know things are crazy. But there’s no “good” time, and I want to do it now.
Leslie: Well buddy, I’ve got some good news for you…

My Thoughts A lot of fun things happened in “Flu Season 2.” Andy thought karate could be used as first aid. Bo Burnham showed up as a 17-year-old country singer with the worst attitude imaginable. Craig tried to bring it down a thousand notches. April pretended to be a sommelier. And Ben got drunk on blueberry wine and went to one Ron (the Pawnee version) to another (the Eagleton version) for advice.

But in the middle of all of the hilarity and hijinks, something momentous happened. LESLIE KNOPE IS PREGNANT. THERE IS GOING TO BE A LITTLE KNOPE-WYATT BABY IN THE FUTURE. BEN AND LESLIE ARE GOING TO BE PARENTS.

(Sorry about the caps—some things just need to be virtually screamed from the rooftops, and your favorite TV couple having a baby is one of those things!)

My favorite thing about “Flu Season 2” was the way it played with expectations, subverting them from the moment we learned the episode’s title through its blissful conclusion. I thought this was going to be another episode where a flu epidemic was used to create excellent moments of comedy, much like its predecessor, “Flu Season,” was back in Season Three. So imagine my surprise when it became clear that Leslie didn’t actually have the flu. The scene at the drugstore where the revelation dawned on Leslie was so great because it dawned on the audience at the same time. By allowing us to go into the episode thinking it was going to be about the flu, the writers kept us (and Leslie) from immediately putting together the oldest cliché in the book: woman + throwing up = pregnancy.

While the title may have led us to believe that this episode was going to be about something else, I shouldn’t have been surprised that it ended up featuring a huge step forward in the progression of Ben and Leslie’s story. The original “Flu Season” used the flu as a vehicle for Ben to see just how special Leslie is and for Leslie to see how much Ben had come to care about her. I’ve always believed that was the episode when Ben went from being intrigued by and maybe attracted to Leslie to starting to really fall in love with her. So it makes perfect sense to me that “Flu Season 2” ended up also being about something a heck of a lot deeper and more meaningful than the flu.

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Game of Thrones Moment of the Week: “Two Swords”

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Game of Thrones is back, and I think we all need a place to talk about it. My inability to always watch the episodes in a timely manner would get in the way of writing full reviews of each episode, but I definitely wanted to start a Game of Thrones weekly feature over here. So feel free to comment about the moments I choose throughout the season, but the comments are open to discussion of every aspect of these episodes! And just as a fair warning: I read the series last year, so if I accidentally spoil anything by talking about foreshadowing or by not remembering how far along the show is compared to the books, I apologize. (Short story: Possible spoilers ahead!)

The Moment: Tyrion meets Oberyn Martell

two swords oberyn martell

Setting the Scene: The bad blood between the Lannisters and Martells is shown in no subtle way by “second son” Oberyn Martell’s stabbing of a Lannister in a King’s Landing brothel. Following this show of force, Oberyn reminds Tyrion that his sister, Princess Elia of Dorne, was once married to Rhaegar Targaryen before he ran off with Lyanna Stark and started a war, which resulted in the deaths of Oberyn’s niece and nephew as well as the rape and murder of Elia at the hand of Gregor Clegane. As a parting word, Oberyn tells Tyrion to inform his father that “the Lannisters aren’t the only ones who pay their debts.”

Why It’s Awesome: I think one of the character introductions that A Song of Ice and Fire readers have been anticipating the most is the Red Viper of Dorne, and this exceeded my high hopes by creating a fully-realized character from his first scene. Pedro Pascal is an excellent casting choice for Oberyn. The way he delivered his monologue about Elia’s fate left me breathless, and I wanted to cheer at his perfect parting words. The controlled grief and fury laying just below the surface of his words were chilling in the best possible way. You know this man means business, and you know from the start that it’s not a good thing for the Lannisters that he’s the Dornish prince in town for Joffrey’s wedding. Oberyn Martell is one of the most charismatic and compelling characters in the whole series, and his introduction left me hanging on his every word—even when I knew what they would be. Once again, this casting department did an excellent job, and this scene left me so excited for all that’s to come with Oberyn this season.

Honorable Mentions: Brienne confronts Jaime over the fate of the Stark girls, Joffrey mocks Jaime’s blank space in the White Book, Jon Snow talks about Robb, and Arya is reunited with Needle

TV Time: Once Upon a Time 3.16

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OUAT-Its-not-easy-being-green

Title It’s Not Easy Being Green

Two-Sentence Summary In Storyrbooke, Zelena’s connection to Regina is revealed, and the half-sisters face one another in a “wicked versus evil” showdown. The roots of Zelena’s envy are shown in flashbacks to her life in Oz, which she left behind when the Wizard helped her get to the Enchanted Forest to train with Rumplestiltskin.

Favorite Line “Didn’t anyone tell you? Black is my color.” (Regina)

My Thoughts Once Upon a Time is at its best when the heroes of the show are united against a compelling, charismatic villain. The second half of Season Two struggled because, let’s face it, Greg and Tamara were anything but compelling villains. The introduction of Robbie Kay’s deliciously devious take on Peter Pan injected some much-needed energy into the start of Season Three, and one of the most pleasant surprises of this half of the third season has been how fabulously fun Rebecca Mader’s Zelena has been.

It’s no secret that some of the show’s best moments feature its villains (or anti-heroes or whatever they would like to be known as) sharing scenes together, chewing the scenery in a way that is both perfectly campy and utterly captivating. So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the combinations of Zelena and Rumplestiltskin and Zelena and Regina drove this episode. It’s always fun watching Lana Parrilla and Robert Carlyle have so much fun with their characters, and I can now say the same for Mader.

The Wicked Witch’s origin story wasn’t sympathetic enough to make me want happiness for her despite her wickedness, and I’m happy for that. I understood her, but I still think her envy is rooted in something more pathological than a sympathetic backstory can explain. And that’s okay. I don’t think we’re supposed to feel a lot of sympathy for Zelena. Yes, she had an alcoholic adoptive father and was abandoned by her real mother, but she seemed to live a life of love until her adoptive mother died. Whereas Regina lived with an abusive, literally heartless mother and a father who never seemed to defend her from Cora’s wrath. I know we have the benefit of knowing all the facts Zelena’s envy has blinded her from seeing, but I think Regina is the one who got the worse end of that deal.

What interested me the most about Zelena in this episode was how much more like Cora she was than Regina ever was, despite Regina being the one to grow up with their mother. Both Zelena and Cora grew up poor, and that gave both women a sense of envy and lust for a better life that Regina never had (which is a nice twist on the idea that the original Evil Queen in the Snow White story was driven by her envy of Snow White, and that was never the case on this show). Zelena had more control over her magic than Regina, and I think much of that difference can be attributed to the fact that Regina saw the evil in her mother’s magic and wanted no part of it for many years, while Zelena never had that exposure to dark magic being used to hurt her.

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TV Time: Parks and Recreation 6.18

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Let’s welcome back everyone’s favorite beautiful tropical fish, Heather, who was kind enough to share her thoughts on this week’s episode of Parks and Rec (since I was busy watching Captain America and Black Widow save the world last night).

parks prom

Title Prom

Two-Sentence Summary Organizing a high school prom brings back memories of the Parks Department family’s own prom experiences and brings up uncomfortable feelings for some. Leslie is determined to mold a promising high school student into a future Parks and Rec employee, while Ron attempts to stop her before uncovering the real reason for her obsession.

Favorite Line “Blueprints for the future are a fool’s errand. They’re like blueprints for a house—nice to have, but any foreman with a brain doesn’t need to look at them. One day—this year or maybe the next—you’re gonna be somewhere else, so enjoy yourself now.” (Ron)

My Thoughts As a whole, this wasn’t my favorite episode of the season. It wasn’t as funny as previous episodes have been and, despite the episode being shaped around and largely taking place at the prom, it felt disjointed to me. However, it did have Ron giving life advice to Leslie and a good look at Andy and April’s relationship, so I still ultimately enjoyed it.

While much of Leslie and Ron’s interactions with Allison felt like a rehashing of their many arguments over their ideological differences, it served a purpose. Ron has always been there to give advice to Leslie (and Ben) when they are uncertain about their futures. He is very good at knowing what they need to hear, and that largely comes out of his respect and understanding of Leslie as a person.

A scared Leslie is one we haven’t seen much of before. She’s always been very good at what she does and has gotten used to that feeling. She knows that the Parks Department runs smoothly because she is there, and she worries about what will happen to it if she’s not. Even if she’s outgrown it, she loves it and wants it to be in good hands if she leaves, but because she is Leslie Knope, she expresses that in ridiculous ways. She doesn’t like uncertainty, but it’s a part of taking chances. I think Ron gave her some good advice, and I love that she recognized it.

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We Need to Talk About New Girl

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new girl disappointed

Nick and Jess broke up. It’s been over a week, and I’m still having trouble writing about it.

Before you think that this is just a case of impassioned fangirl angst, let me remind you that I am no stranger to TV breakups. I live with the emotional scars of being an Alias fan; I had to watch my favorite character deal with the fact that the love of her life married someone else and stayed married to her for a whole season. I’m not one to get apoplectic over a TV breakup.

But do you know what I do get apoplectic over? Contrivances, poor characterization, and shoddy writing choices. If my favorite couple on a given TV show calls it quits in a way that feels believable and organic to their characters, I’ll be sad, but I’ll understand. I don’t understand Nick and Jess breaking up, but maybe that’s because I don’t really feel like I understand New Girl very well anymore.

I wasn’t someone who immediately jumped on the Nick/Jess train—or even the New Girl train, if I’m being honest. It took until Season One’s “Injured” for me to really open my heart to the show, and that was because I cared about the people in that episode; I wanted good things to happen for them, and I could see that they wanted good things to happen for each other. I don’t enjoy TV shows that let the plot influence how the characters are written; I want the characters to drive the plot. In order for that to happen, those characters need to be written consistently. By New Girl’s second season, I was blown away by the consistent and surprisingly complex characterizations that were guiding the show.

When Nick and Jess kissed, I think everyone was surprised by the impact of the moment—including the writers. These were people who had said that both Nick and Jess had a lot of growing up to do before they could be with one another romantically; they even hinted that a relationship would be bad for both characters. But as Season Two entered its incredible final stretch, it seemed as if they were proving themselves wrong on a weekly basis. Nick and Jess didn’t just work together; their relationship was good for both characters. It showed sides of them that enriched their characterizations while still keeping the show as funny as it ever was.

Season Two was the Season of Nick. We learned about his past, we saw that he was capable of being responsible and romantic, and we watched him develop into a person who was willing to grow. Nick Miller was a revelation in Season Two of New Girl, and the whole show benefitted as a result of the deft handling of his character.

And then came Season Three…

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TV Time: Once Upon a Time in Wonderland 1.12

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It’s time once again for Leah to take us into the world of Once Upon a Time in Wonderland!

wonderland

Title To Catch a Thief

Favorite Lines
Will: More like a jack-of-all trades, actually.
Alice: But, apparently, master of none.
Will: Watch your tongue, lass, else you’ll lose that as well as your head.
Alice: That’s a bit redundant, don’t you think?
Will: Depends which one you lose first.

“Nobody’s born a monster. We’re made.” (The Jabberwocky)

“I grew up with a very stubborn girl; always felt like they were the best kind.” (Will)

What Happened? Jafar sends Will to retrieve his staff by using possibility of bringing Anastasia back to life as motivation, which initially puts Will at odds with Alice and Cyrus. However, Will and Alice eventually come to an understanding: They can’t give Jafar his staff back, but they will try to find a way to get Anastasia back. The trio ends up with an unexpected ally in the Jabberwocky, who tells them about Amara’s ability to help bring Anastasia back in exchange for helping free her from Jafar. Meanwhile, we see in flashbacks how Will and Alice first met. The flashbacks include Alice stealing Will’s heart back from the Queen of Hearts, as well as Alice and Will’s capture of the Rabbit as proof of Wonderland, which takes place just moments before she discovers Cyrus’s bottle.

My Thoughts What I enjoyed the most about this episode was the way it brought us full circle in our story and the depth it added to Will and Alice’s friendship.

Will and Alice’s friendship has always been one of my favorite parts of the show, and I’m so glad that it is getting attention amidst all the action and romance. In this episode, we discovered how Alice and Will first met, and it was in a fashion that was truly fitting for their characters. Will had been sent by the Queen of Hearts to kill Alice, and they engaged in an entertaining bit of fighting and banter before Alice decided to go get Will’s heart back to end their conflict.

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TV Time: Once Upon a Time 3.15

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quiet minds

Title Quiet Minds

Two-Sentence Summary In Storybrooke, Neal joins Emma on the quest to find Rumplestiltskin, a quest he began in the Enchanted Forest during the lost year. Flashbacks reveal how Rumplestiltskin returned, why Zelena has his dagger, and who was prepared to pay the ultimate price for using dark magic.

Favorite Lines
Emma: Go ahead and laugh. I almost married a monster from Oz. It’s hilarious.
Neal: I almost married an evil minion of my grandfather, Peter Pan. So I know what you’re saying.

My Thoughts “All magic comes with a price.”

This has always been one of the core themes of Once Upon a Time. Actions have consequences, and the choices we make have lasting ramifications on not only our lives but the lives of those around us. “Quiet Minds” was an episode about choices—both the good and the bad ones; the smart and the foolish ones; the ones we make and the ones made for us. Yes, it had some confusing magical/supernatural elements, but the moments that stayed with me had nothing to do with special effects or fairytale mythology. What I’ll remember about this episode long after this show is off the air (hopefully many years from now) was the story it told about a group of fairytale characters struggling with the very real and very human choices they’ve made.

In this season’s “Quite a Common Fairy,” we were shown that Regina made a choice to run away from the prospect of a second chance at love and happiness with Robin Hood. Ever since that episode, I’ve been waiting for her to come face-to-face with the consequences of that choice, but I’ll admit that it happened much sooner than I expected.

I still predict that Regina and Robin fell in love during the lost year without her seeing his lion tattoo. They definitely shared more than just that one adventure during their missing year; they were immediately drawn to each other in the same way Snow and Charming were back when they were cursed Mary Margaret and David. The way Regina showed a flicker of recognition after they repeated their dialogue from the beginning of their Enchanted Forest relationship reminded me immediately of Charming knowing that Snow was the only thing that felt right about his life in Storybrooke back when they were cursed. Once Upon a Time always has fun with dramatic irony, and I’m having fun watching it play out with this relationship. Another thing I’m having fun with in terms of this relationship is the chemistry between Sean Maguire and Lana Parrilla. Their scene in the farmhouse was as blatantly driven by sexual tension as any scene in Once Upon a Time’s history.

Parrilla did a superb job of showing that Robin could actually make Regina happy. Her smile when she talked to him about whiskey absolutely melted my heart. But there is still a part of Regina that is afraid to open her heart, which is why she bolted the second she saw his tattoo. However, this Regina isn’t the young woman who ran away from Robin in the pub in the Enchanted Forest. She’s grown so much since then, and she’s become a woman who has made choices—both awful and good—and has finally learned to own up to the consequences of those choices. It doesn’t surprise me that she finally met the man who was destined to make her happy after selflessly giving up her true love—Henry—to pay the price for casting the first curse. Just as casting the curse had a consequence (giving up Henry), so did Regina choosing to undo it (meeting Robin Hood).

At the end of “Quiet Minds,” Regina had to once again own up to the consequences of a choice she made. Watching Robin play with Roland, Regina was watching the life she could have chosen for herself; the happiness that could have been hers had she chosen differently all those years ago. Parrilla broke my heart in those silent moments because you could feel her being drawn to this man whom she believes she’s finally ready to love but has missed her chance to be with. I can’t wait for her to discover that she can still choose to open her heart to him; she can still choose happiness, and it’s not too late.

You could see it written on Parrilla’s face as Regina watched Robin and Roland: She believes she isn’t meant to have a happy ending. That was a running theme in this episode as well: Is it really as simple as “heroes get happy endings and villains don’t,” or is the real world a whole lot less black-and-white?

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Grading the Season Finales 2014: Brooklyn Nine-Nine

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Source: Fox.com

Source: Fox.com

Title Charges and Specs (1.22)

Written By Gabe Liedman & Gil Ozeri

What Happens? Jake is told to stop investigating a prominent community leader who he believes is laundering drug money. The whole team from the 99th precinct comes together to support Jake: Gina, Rosa, Terry, and Boyle advocate for him at his hearing; while Holt and Amy join Jake in an undercover operation at a dance contest to prove that he was right about the money laundering. It’s later revealed that Jake’s investigation could have compromised a larger FBI investigation into a major crime family. He’s asked to go undercover for six months to infiltrate this family, which means he has to make it appear as if he’s been fired from the NYPD.

The uncertainty of the next six months of his life leads Jake to tell Amy that he wishes they could be together—“romantic stylez”—but he knows that’s not possible because she has Teddy and he has to disappear without any contact for six months. Boyle also faces a relationship crossroads as Vivian calls off their engagement, leaving him pathetically heartbroken. Terry and Rosa try to help him cope by offering their best advice (although Rosa admits she’s not often heartbroken because she doesn’t give her heart to nice guys like Boyle), but he seems to find some solace in a drunken hookup with Gina, waking up next to her in the morning as the episode ends.

Game-Changing Moment Jake deciding to take the FBI undercover job didn’t just have huge ramifications for the plot of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, it furthered more than one important character-development arc as well. As far as plot progression goes, the show could choose to spend time next season with Jake as he goes undercover, or it could (and I think it will) use the six-month period to keep the show in real-time, picking up just after Jake’s time undercover has ended. But it’s certain that Jake will be a different character and a different detective because of these experiences, and everyone at the 99th precinct will be different after working for six months without Jake.

The real “game-changing” aspect of this plot twist, however, was what it revealed about Jake and Holt’s relationship, as well as it what it led to in terms of Amy and Jake’s relationship. Holt trusted Jake’s abilities enough to encourage him to take the undercover job, and Jake trusted Holt’s judgment enough to do what he was asking of him without knowing any details. The level of trust shown by these two characters towards one another represented a huge step in their relationship, which has steadily and believably developed since the pilot. Jake’s new assignment also forced him to come to terms with his feelings for Amy, whom he won’t be able to see for the next six months. The danger inherent in this assignment made his confession feel as appropriate as it could, and it will be interesting to see how those cards being laid on the table come into play next season.

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TV Time: Once Upon a Time in Wonderland 1.11

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Today the lovely Leah is back with her thoughts on the latest episode of Once Upon a Time in Wonderland!

OUATIW111

I sincerely apologize to everyone for this review being so late this week. I had a tough week between several character deaths occurring on the shows I’m watching, I had to make a tough decision to stop watching a show that I’ve loved, and it was a busy week for me in general, all of which postponed my writing.

Title Heart of the Matter

What Happened? In flashbacks, we see how Cora influenced a young Anastasia on the eve of her wedding and helped facilitate the events that lead to Will’s removal of his heart. She also taught Anastasia how to use magic, bringing Anastasia more fully under its corrupting power. In present-day, Will’s lack of a heart is getting in the way of Jafar’s spell, and Alice and Cyrus go to Storybrooke to get Will’s heart back before Jafar gets to it first. When Jafar takes the heart from Alice and Cyrus back in Wonderland, he loses his staff to Cyrus, and Cyrus realizes that the staff contains his mother. After putting Will’s heart back in, Jafar has no need of the Red Queen, so he kills her in front of Will after their reunion.

Favorite Lines “I’ll save you some time: water, hairy spiders, being stabbed in the head, and uh, raisins—grapes are fine, but raisins-” (Will)

“I believe he is as much my captive as I am his. We create our own prisons.” (The Sultan)

My Thoughts This episode continued to bring the intensity in our build up to the season finale, and it was full of new information for both the audience and the characters. As a general note, I am really enjoying the way that—since the show has returned—it has felt like they are playing out the final showdown, while also giving it room to breathe. Instead of packing all the most important events into the last episode and making it so fast-paced that there’s no time for more nuanced, quieter moments, we are getting one big event stretched out over a few episodes, and I really appreciate it.

The flashbacks in this episode were a major source of information, and personally I felt grateful that they showed Anastasia’s conflict. Since the midseason finale, I have fully believed that the Anastasia truly does love Will, regretted her past decisions, and wasn’t as cold-hearted as everyone thought she was. This episode showed us that she regretted her choices even before she married the king, and if it weren’t for Cora’s influence, she would likely have run away from the palace and gone back to Will. I love that this show has evolved the Red Queen from a somewhat one-note villain who was a cold, simpering, power-hungry queen into a complex woman who is ambitious, will fiercely stand up to anyone who tries to take her down, and is also able to be loving and compassionate. She is full of complexity, and I enjoy seeing female characters that are given so much depth.

 

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TV Time: Castle 6.19

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The Greater Good

Title The Greater Good

Two-Sentence Summary The team from the 12th precinct investigates the murder of a Wall Street tycoon, and when the U.S. Attorney’s Office gets involved, Captain Gates comes face-to-face with her estranged sister, Elizabeth. When they’re not working the case, Castle and Beckett try to trim their extensive wedding guest list.

Favorite Lines
Beckett: Ryan, you guys kept your wedding small. What was it, like 100 people?
Ryan: Yeah, that’s all we could afford.
Castle: How did you contain the list?
Ryan: I have a lot of relatives who hate me now.

My Thoughts I’m running low on inspiration today, which kind of feels appropriate for writing about a Castle episode that was far from the show’s most inspired hour. It wasn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination; it just wasn’t particularly memorable. Therefore, I’m not bursting with analysis or commentary (which could also be a side-effect of my brain still trying to process what happened on Sunday’s episode of The Good Wife).

I’m hopeful that some of you have thoughts to share so we can get a solid discussion going about “The Greater Good,” and to start you off, here are my five biggest takeaways from this episode.

1.) Sometimes a filler episode is just a filler episode.
“The Greater Good” was the very definition of a Castle filler episode: It was case-heavy, focused on the development of a character besides Castle or Beckett, and had cute but not transformative Castle/Beckett moments. Recently, I’ve been impressed with the way this season’s middle group of episodes have still managed to show character growth and keep me thoroughly entertained, but this one didn’t grab and hold my attention the way other midseason episodes have this year. I’m not a big fan of case-heavy episodes if the case isn’t one with a sense of humor or at least something to make it stand out from traditional procedurals. This was a strange episode to use as the last one before a month-long hiatus (which I know is beyond the show’s control) because it didn’t really leave me clamoring for more.

 

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