The Vampire Diaries - "The Walking Dead" - Review

Bonnie has probably been the character The Vampire Diaries has been most off point with throughout the series’ run. Bonnie has frequently been more of a plot device than a character. Part of the problem is that Bonnie is the only major character who can perform magic which means she always gets forced into plots solely for her powers. And yet this is fantastic episode for Kat Graham as Bonnie.

The character suddenly clicks in a way she hasn’t in the past. It helps that her story is front and center and that the deeply confusing and convoluted Silas story finally has a sense of direction and comes out in full force. Silas was meant to be this season’s big villain but this never really came together. He’s been more in the background than a character of this seeming magnitude arguably ought to be. But suddenly Bonnie’s motives in the Silas scheme, and the general nature of the scheme itself, are clarified. And that makes a world of difference. 

We actively root for Bonnie rather than scratching our heads pondering just what the hell is going on with her this week. I was even actually a little devastated when Bonnie looked down at her dead body. Something I never thought I’d say.

The return of dead folk also proved to be rather effective. It’s a well the series has drawn from a bit too much, but it works here. I’ll take any excuse to see Alaric and Damon palling it up again as it remains to be one of my favorite pairings. But other returning character are also nicely used including Lexi who floats the suggested romantic interest of Caroline past Steffen (I smiled; I can dig it. Their relationship has grown into something really sweet and sobering. The only problem would be their mutual nagging feelings for former lovers) as well as Jeremy whose appearance was necessary for Elena’s closure (Jeremy's appearance is almost underwhelming). 

The Elena and Silas storylines are at times at odds with eachother (which is a problem this season has had with balancing multiple long term storylines). But for the most part this is a solid outing from the series.

Grade: B+

Community - "Advanced Introduction to Finality" - Review

Community’s season four finale “Advanced Introduction to Finality” suffers from a lot of the problems this season has suffered from. It’s high concept with a tacked on heart. It’s not very funny. There are many character decisions that don’t align with what we know about the characters. And that’s really just the start of it.

It’s an episode where I can understand all the intentionality of it but in execution it’s an absolute mess. It leans on ideas from the past that just aren’t that fun or interesting to re-hash (notably the darkest time line). The darkest timeline dopplegangers crossover to make sure Jeff takes a job as a lawyer … only they don’t because this would be so totally ungrounded in reality that even by Community standards it would make the series seem broken (much more than it already is). All in all, it just left a bad taste in my mouth.

There’s a heart in there somewhere if you look hard enough. But the whole premise of the episode wants to have some weird headscape shenanigans to go down so that we can get insight into Jeff’s feelings about leaving Greendale and how his time there changed him so much. But this analysis is so very unclear for so long that it’s almost beside the point. 

The real point is to try out this concept, which is cool (I guess at face value at least) and may be in the past I could potentially see the show attempting something of this sort, but I wish it didn’t involve the darkest time line (which has never been much fun outside of “Remedial Chaos Theory”). More importantly, concept for the sake of concept is never, never a good or genuine basis for a series. 

Community could get away with the craziness of its premises in the past because there was some deeply felt emotion under the surface that wasn’t sutured on at the end. Here I felt very little and at times was uncertain as to what the writers wanted me to feel in the first place.

The episode made me uneasy at times simply because this never should have been a concept it ever tried to pull off ever, and the the way they went about it was so poorly handled that it became marred even further.

This season has had its moments, but by and large it has been inconsistent, at times laugh-less, sometimes flat out irredeemable (yea, I'm being bombastic, but this episode has me in that sort of mood), and this finale is the worst offender. A very disappointing effort from a lackluster season of a show that used to be so much more.

The Office - "A.R.R.M." - Review

“A.A.R.M” has peaks and it has troughs. There are things that are terrible (anything involving Andy). But it also has some of the best moments of the season.

While the series should have ended long ago with the departure of Michael Scott, the show has found ways in this final season to retroactively justify the extra two seasons. For instance, the shenanigans of Jim getting one over on Dwight like old times was not only very funny but an excellent pay off of that relationship. This was the type of story I wish the show had been doing for much longer and much earlier. 

Not only is this one of the funniest episodes in a long while, but it has some phenomenal emotional moments. Anything between Jim and Pam this season has been great enough to merit the screen time post-Michael, but the video montage intercut with Jim’s speech to Dwight about love is one of the most satisfying dramatic moments the show has done in a long time. 

And even slightly fluff material on the edges of the episode such as Darryl’s dance-party departure managed to be funny, touching, and pull off some nice (sometimes weird) character moments from the supporting characters. 

I was on the whole pleased even if much like this season in general it was not the most consistent of experiences. For the most part it had me laughing and tearing up, and it had me reacting as such in a manner that only this show can do when it’s working effectively. The Office may have gotten messy in later years, but it still has a few tricks up it sleeve.

How I Met Your Mother - "Something Old" - Review

We’ve been led to believe that How I Met Your Mother takes place in a universe where fate and destiny exist and a whole manner of strange inexplicable things occasionally occur. Part of this is due to Ted being our narrator, but some of it can’t really be explained away no matter how heightened Ted has made this story he’s providing us.

Ted has been like a dutiful Job, worshiping at the altar of fate, and as the series has gone along we’ve watched his belief in faith break down. And that’s a little heartbreaking. In that last scene where skeptic Robin has been converted by Ted and Ted has sworn off fate, there’s something truly sad about it all. HIMYM probably shouldn’t have gone on this long, but it’s handling the way people would respond to their circumstances in older age still fairly well.

And yet as the rain falls down, in such a way reminiscent to the season one finale, we can’t help but feel that Ted was meant to swear off his big meeting to come and comfort Robin. Perhaps this is fate. And it proves to be a rather sad and sweet scene that makes up for an episode that on the whole is merely spinning plot wheels to kill time until the wedding. 

Robin also acknowledges one of the season’s big flaws. She admits that she’s hesitant about her marriage to Barney; the way he continues to act completely like a man child distant from his emotions has her deeply concerned about the engagement. The connection, on top of this, paralleling Barney’s behavior to her father (a point made very apparent by Barney and her dad competing at laser tag) makes this moment all the sadder and more touching. 

Robin and Ted know that they aren’t meant for eachother (heck, hasn’t the universe sabotaged them enough times already), and yet the rain comes down as if as sign from the universe that in that moment they need eachother, may be even belong together ... if only until the storm passes.

Game of Thrones - "The Climb" - Review

If there’s any series that could be slightly considered the spiritual successor to The Wire, it might arguably be Game of Thrones. Sure, there’s plenty that sets them apart, but both tell a number of seemingly disparate stories set in one place and those stories all affect and relate to one another. David Simon, creator of The Wire, claimed that he structured each season of The Wire like a Greek Tragedy. In essence, things that take place have a pre-ordained quality to them. We know watching The Wire really, really terrible things are going to happen to the characters and it’s pretty much impossible for them to escape their fates. Similarly, events in Game of Thrones have a sense of inevitability. There are road markers that the show is just working its way towards. Jaime was always going to lose his hand. Ned was always going to get beheaded. And even now, you can probably guess that fates are being mapped out that may not play out in full until a season or more down the line. But the writing is on the wall long before things occur if you pay close enough attention. The exciting part is guessing where it’s all going and knowing that things are being set up that will get paid off in due time.

“The Climb” isn’t the best episode thus far because it’s clearly a bridge to bigger events just off on the horizon; the tragic, crazy stuff that will blow up in due time. That’s not to say it’s a bad episode. If anything, it’s like a paint by the numbers episode of Game of Thrones. But less intense Game of Thrones is still incredibly absorbing. And part of it comes down to suggestion. Game of Thrones doesn’t exactly have a straight line narrative, but it’s obvious that things are being set up that will come to fruition in good time. Though there aren’t really any of the memorable oh shit moments Game of Thrones has become infamous for, it’s still a very fun episode.

But it works because the show is suggesting quite emphatically that cool stuff will take place if we follow it on its crazy journey. Sometimes that means hoping for payoff that doesn’t come or that doesn’t live up to the suggestion (fans of Lost will know this experience). But when it does payoff things it’s been hinting at, well, Game of Thrones is a powder keg that’s been lighting a fuse often without you even realizing it. So where are the fuses being lit in “The Climb”?

Well, for starters, there’s Jon and Ygritte in the titular climb. Jon’s story this season has been almost solely suggestion. He’s walking towards the Wall in order to do what he does in this episode, climb over the Wall with the rest of the wildlings. But there’s payoff here from previous episodes. Jon’s simmering tension with Orell Skinchanger finally puts his life in imminent danger when the Orell cuts loose the rope holding him to the Wall. Jon’s consummated relationship with Ygritte also puts him in an even more precarious position than ever before. Ygritte knows that Jon is working for the Watch still but doesn’t reveal this secret to the rest of the wildlings presuming that their newfound relationship will keep Jon loyal. Jon at least seems torn and it’s apparent that he has feelings for Ygritte. When Jon and Ygritte got together it wasn’t really surprising. Much of the second season had been suggesting this very thing was going to happen, but it remained a pleasing development. 

Now all television is suggestion. It’s tantalizing us with possibilities. Melisandre comes to take away Gendry, which is a cool development but leaves a supporting character’s fate up in the air. What’s to happen to our favorite blacksmith? Well, only time will tell, but knowing the intrigue on Dragonstone of late, it can’t be anything good. Melisandre also hints that she and Arya will meet again at some point in the future. That’s a piece of dialogue with all sorts of hidden implications about future events (although for now it feels like a bunch of vague, hocus-pocusy nonsense). Then there’s this Red God that Thoros and Melisandre both worship. Of all the religious faiths, this god appears to have the greatest real, tangible power (we see that with the revival of Beric Dondaron) and that implies something about those individuals who believe in it or serve it.

There aren’t a lot of big events in “The Climb”. Besides the climb itself, there isn’t much that’s really massive. But a number of events finally come to pass that have been hinted at for a while. “You’re not as good as you think you are,” Anguy resident archer of the Brotherhood Without Banners tells Arya. And this applies to a lot of characters. Jon’s guise isn’t as deceptive as he seems to think. Theon is led to think he’s outsmarted his captor only to learn that his torturer is deeply sadistic and likes mind games (as if that weren’t already clear). Olenna’s scheming falls short because Tywin’s scheming is always two steps ahead of everyone. Varys’ scheming also falls short as his ever constant struggle with Littlefinger temporarily falls in favor of his arch rival who has Joffrey perform some deadly torture sex on Ros. Jaime gets released from Lord Bolton’s captivity but he’s too shortsighted to see that Brienne won’t be allowed to come with him. 

And though these don’t feel like major steps forward, nothing is standing still. The climb may be drawn out across an entire episode but it’s genuinely a lot of fun, and it also provides a nice thematic tie to the episode (albeit one very bluntly stated to us by Littlefinger – though his take on it is merely one variant of it). Everyone is moving forward, climbing forward towards their destination. It’s a literal climb in Jon’s case. But others are climbing. Arya is climbing towards letting darkness consume her innocence (as Melisandre notes). Theon is climbing towards a torturous demise. Littlefinger is climbing towards the throne.  Bran climbs towards the Wall and greater magical prowess. Sam climbs to Castle Black (as well as greater confidence in his own ability). Robb climbs to an uneasy peace with the Freys. Tyrion and Sansa climb towards an unfortuante betrothal, both to their displeasure. 

Though I’m sure you were probably anticipating something more in this episode, I see all the possibility in the world. Only time will tell how this will play out, but for now this looks forward to some exciting potential outcomes and that’s often just as thrilling as the actual explosive moments. 

Stray Observations:

-Sam and Gilly’s story doesn’t go anywhere but it’s incredibly sweet.

-Thoros explanation for his faith is fascinating. Paul Kaye is great in this scene.

-Beric claims that when he dies there’s nothing but darkness. Well, that’s depressing and also potentially telling about the state of Westeros (especially on a spiritual/magical level).

-Arya acts like the series moral compass in the episode, immediately recognizing the questionableness of Melisandre’s actions.

-“Does this look like it’ll have a happy ending?”

-Edmure is to be wed off to one of the Freys as appeasement. He is not pleased, but does anyone care since this is Edmure who is pretty useless.

-Olenna’s trump card for Tywin noting the shamefulness of Loras’ sexual orientation: it’s not nearly as bad as incestuous sex. Touché.

-The ice on the Wall collapsing is a very exciting and well-staged scene.

-A great cut away after Tyrion says, “This is awkward”.

-Is anyone at all surprised that Littlfinger has counted the swords on the throne?

-Meera and Osha's sniping at each other is a lot of fun even if it's just killing time and reminding us of this group of character's existence. 

-“It’s a rare-enough thing, a man who lives up to his reputation." 

-All the playing up of Loras being gay is getting a bit tiresome. 

Grade: B+

"Iron Man 3" - Film Review

Iron Man 3 has the weird task of balancing the long term goals of a serialized narrative and telling a stand-alone story. And in the process of carrying the weight of the pre-existing long term narrative (a la The Avengers) and being its own isolated story, it finds itself between a rock and a hard place it never fully overcomes.

The film is a fun, action-packed time that’s on the whole very entertaining, but it somehow always seems to fall short of being fully satisfying. The film muddles around in its narrative for the first act, seemingly uncertain as to what the heck it wants to be. There’s a voiceover by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) foretelling of future events, but the film never lives up to the claim of how awesome and dark these events are supposed to be. By the time it does settle on the direction of its plot, about a third of the way through, the action picks up and remains to be rather exciting and well-executed; and the action largely cover for a lot of the film’s sins.

The film is stronger than Iron Man 2 (which also muddled around trying to service too many needs for the individual franchise and Marvel films as a whole). There is a fairly straightforward story that the film follows through on (it even has a few genuinely interesting twists, particularly one involving the villain the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley, being delightfully hammy)). But the film is never as crackerjackin’ of a good time as The Avengers ultimately was, and the film inevitably lives in the shadow of that film.

Downey Jr. remains to be incredibly charismatic and strong as Tony Stark. But some of the choices with the character are never well-realized. Tony has anxiety attacks over the memories of the events from The Avengers but it’s never very well explained or well handled, and Downey Jr.’s performance is mainly what sells this change in character.    

All the supporting characters are similarly interesting but also often rather underutilized. Gwyneth Paltrow is still great at making Pepper Potts absolutely Stark’s equal, but at times she seems to be part of the story solely for Tony to have someone to save. Don Cheadle is a great actor but War Machine almost seems to be here at this point for (comic book) fan service. Guy Pierce is despicably slimy as Aldrich Killian and it’s an inspired bit of casting, but he’s put into a role of limited villainy.

Iron Man 3 has some great action sequences and the always winning performance of Downey Jr., but it may just leave you a little disappointed. 

Grade: B-

New Girl - "Virgins" - Review

Once upon a time New Girl was a very bad show. There was no way around it. The pilot wasn’t half-bad for a pilot, seeing as most sitcom pilots aren’t very good to begin with. But the early going of season one of New Girl was filled with so many missteps and flat out not enjoyable episodes that it was hard to imagine a version of this series where it was actually good. I had largely written it off.

Of course, the story has changed dramatically since then. New Girl in the back half of its first season improved significantly, finding ways to develop supporting characters and put them on an equal footing with Jess. It also became a whole lot funnier in the process. The best humor from the show has stemmed from the bantering between these very funny cast members (even undeveloped characters such as Cece and Winston can be wonderfully hysterical when necessary, although that may be more due to the performers than anything else). 

Then something suddenly happened in “Cooler” that demonstrated just how much this series had matured: Nick and Jess kissed. Suddenly, the implied tension between the two rose above its subtext. This might have killed a lesser series. (Heck, it would have killed this series towards the beginning of its first season) But oddly enough and thankfully so, it not only has been pulled off with aplomb but the show has become a whole lot funnier, sexier, and, dare I say, addicting due to this plot decision.   

The first episode that really gave me the inclination that New Girl could be so much more was season one’s “Injured” in which Nick waits for the medical results that will tell him whether he has cancer. It’s a surprisingly emotional episode and it hits upon emotional beats that the show couldn’t have managed prior to that episode. New Girl is a funny show, especially in its second season, but it’s also one that can strike a nerve when it needs to. Think back to the sub-plot in “Models” where Schmidt gives Nick a cookie. The muttering of Nick as he says, “Give a cookie. Get a cookie” is touching, funny, and sweet, and it’s all in the modus operandi of New Girl. That’s a fantastic scene and I simultaneously giggle and get teary eyed at the thought of it. 

These aren’t the only types of emotional moments that New Girl has been nailing though. We don’t usually think of sexual content as emotional, but when it’s done between two characters we’ve come to like and it feels so personal, sexy, and messily realistic, well it can't help but resonate with us. The scenes between Nick and Jess have been very good all this season. Pre-kiss their conversations were wonderfully intimate and lovely. For example, “Fluffer” is filled with these nicely observed moments between the two characters where they discuss their friendship and their problems (and also, in hindsight, the episode foretells their eventual hook up). But their scenes post-kiss have been electrifying; there is such a wonderful charge of chemistry between the two and whenever they’re placed together it's exciting. We want to see them kiss but we know they can’t (well, at least, we know they’re avoiding it). We know they want to kiss; we want them to kiss; and they do and it’s awesome! 

Well, actually, they do much more than kissing in "Virgins". And before they get it on, they and the rest of the gang talk about how they lost their virginity, and it’s all, of course, very awkward stories (except for Cece who is just immune to these things). The best of these is probably Schmidt’s, mainly for him wrestling with Nick covered in lube (which sounds weirder than it actually is). Jake Johnson, in general, does a fantastic job in the episode. He’s great both in the present day where he barely conceals how much he just wants to hook up with Jess and in the flashbacks where it’s like seeing versions of Nick from alternate universes (he’s a stoner in college and an absolutely adorable nerd before that).

I agree with Erik Adams assessment that the last five minutes of New Girl are almost the best show on television. So much happens in those last five minutes, especially in these recent episodes. And this episode is a fun but light episode until that final moment where Nick and Jess start playing like bunnies and suddenly it’s elevated that much further. Sure, everything had been fun before that but it takes what was already a wonderful episode and turns it into a tier further in enjoyableness. 

Even when New Girl isn’t at its best (say “Bachelorette Party” or “Cabin”) it’s still damn funny and it’s a delightful ensemble comedy that’s having a lot of fun and in turn that means we’re having a lot of fun right along with it.