The Handmaid's Tale, Season One, Episode Seven: The Other Side

We know that Luke, Hannah, and June, were desperately trying to cross the border into Canada when they were seperated.  June and Hannah were taken and from June's perspective, Luke was probably dead at the side of the road.  This is absolutely true in Atwood's brilliant book.  Because Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, is going to be a series, rather than a miniseries, it's necessary to enlarge Atwood's world and perhaps fill in gaps Atwood originally allowed the reader to do for themselves.  The first such attempt at this is The Other Side, when we see what happens to Luke. 

In the book as well as the show, Luke, while concerned for the well being of his wife and daughter, doesn't seem to quite get how dangerous life is rapidly becoming for them.  In the book, Luke stops June from going to protest. On the show, he valiantly promises to protect June and Hannah though he clearly doesn't have the skill set to do so.  This is a man who doesn't know how to load or fire a gun but is too proud to admit it, even when the lives of his wife and daughter depend upon it. Luke may be a good man but he's short sighted.

Rather than dying on the roadside, Luke is shot and placed in an ambulance, so that he can receive enough medical care to be well enough to be questioned. Fortunately for Luke, the ambulance that he is traveling in ends up slipping on ice and crashing, leaving him the only survivor. Luke then makes his way back to where is car went off the road and walks into the woods. There he finds the torn family album, he and June tried to preserve, along with Hannah's stuffed animal. Luke continues to travel and makes his way through an abandoned town. The store fronts are graffitied  with "gender traitor" and "fag". Luke makes his way into an abandoned business and collapses.

Fortunately for Luke, he's found by a group of people who are also fleeing the Gilead.  He's resistant to even going with them though he is warned repeatedly about patrols and the fact that he won't make it far on his own and is injured. Even now, Luke cannot grasp the reality of his situation.  His fellow travellers are “an Army brat, two strays, a gay, and a nun”. One woman is so traumatized after being repeatedly raped that she doesn't even speak.  Even in the face of this, Luke is determined to get out of the van to somehow get back to Boston and find June.  It's only when a gun is pulled on him that Luke is forced to settle the hell down.  

When the van finally stops and Luke is free to go, the Nun says a little prayer for his safety.  Luke doesn't fully grasp his situation until Zoe, the woman who saved him, drags him into a church to see the bodies hanging from the ceiling. Apparently, people tried to hide the fertile women and the Gilead responded by hanging them all in retribution.  Luke is informed that there are places like this in every small town because this is how the Gilead deals with resistance.  It's the sight of the dead bodies hanging from the ceiling which finally wakes Luke up.

American Gods, Season 1, Episode 4: Git Gone

This episode is all about Laura Moon – and I think this is a definite improvement and was definitely needed to add some flesh on the flawed and slightly more complex character we see here. It would be easy to just have demonised her – had her be the cheating wife who betrayed Shadow so thoroughly, had the last words about her be from Audrey lavishly bathing her memory in the most exquisite venom. But instead we get this, from her eyes

As is often the case with American Gods, it’s less the individual scenes, the details of Laura’s daily life that make up the story so much as the collected images and scenes together that tell the full story. I love the artistry of this, how we can see Laura’s personality and life build in all these little scenes. Even things like her work getting automatic card shufflers when she preferred to shuffle them. Through grim repetition and her excellent acting we see Laura’s life – a life she clearly finds dull, boring, lonely, unchallenging and pretty much hellish up to her openly considering suicide.

And then Shadow walks into her life when he tries to rob her casino. And she warns him off, saving him from being caught with his very bad plan. She takes him home and they have sex

We see a real difference here between Laura’s view of their relationship and Shadow’s – from the very beginning Shadow has put her on a pedestal – his love for her is all consuming. He is happy, super super happy just being with her. He tells her he would be super happy with Laura even if they were living in cardboard box

But from the beginning this is clearly not enough for Laura. Even his sweet, gentle sex with her bores her and she pushes for something harder, rougher. Laura was clearly intrigued by the danger represented by Shadow the thief – but they quickly fall into the same domestic routine, boring jobs, boring lives, sex which doesn’t really do it for her and again we see Laura flirting with suicide.

She tries to explain this to Shadow but he just doesn’t get it – he takes her unhappiness as a personal insult, confused and lost with the idea that love is not enough. And I love this message – I love the idea presented in media that you can love someone deeply and passionately but still need more from life for it to be fulfilling – that love isn’t always enough for happiness and that doesn’t mean the love is lacking or inferior; it’s just that there’s more to life.

I can’t stress enough how really well done Laura’s boredom is, how much her life is a prison to her. And from that we see her motive to encourage Shadow to rob he casino – with a better plan. Not for the money but for SOMETHING, something different. Something to give her life meaning, something exciting, interesting, something other than the agonising hellish routine she lives.

And it all goes wrong

Sense8, Season Two, Episode Ten: If All the World's a Stage, Identity Is Nothing But a Costume

The pieces are finally coming together for most of the Sensates. Having made the decision to run for office, Capheus must deal with his nerves and give a speech. Lito has an audition for the role of a life time. Sun is getting closer to finally getting revenge on her brother.  Kala and Wolife are coming to a point of no return in their relationship as they confront their feelings for each other and of course Nomi, is now E Dead thanks to Bug. 

Being late on the loop, our beloved little cluster is still working on getting blockers to protect themselves. Thankfully, Kala's science knowledge comes in handy here. Kala joins Riley on the flight home and talk quickly talks turns to what it's like for Riley and Will to be together. Naturally, Riley assures Kala that it's pretty damn awesome.  Having her suspicions confirmed, Kala's next visit is to Wolfie. Clearly, the Wachowskis are determined engage every single romantic fantasy you've ever had by having this happen on a balcony at sunset. Even though Kala is undeniably attracted to Wolfie, she's largely kept up her guard. Now, Kala risks it all and admits that if she lost Wolfie, her life would have no meaning. 

Now that Wolfie and Kala have admitted that they have to be together, they now have to figure out how, when, and where.  Kala doesn't want Wolfie in India and is determined that they can only be together after she tells Rajan.  Germany isn't in the cards with the escalating violence either. So, London it is.

It's now time for Lito's big audition with Kit Wagner, a powerful gay screenwriter/producer.  And who did the Wachowskis cast? Why, Andy Dick of course. I understand this choice but I don't like it all.  Ltio is absolutely nervous because of how much is riding on this but of course, this is when Sun shows up. in need of Lito's help. Earlier, Lito had promised to help Sun fake her way through being a bartender and if she doesn't make a sidecar, her fake identity will be revealed. This is a tough position for Lito to be in but he asks for a break and helps Sun out. It's straight up flair bartending and it's awesome. Now that he's done helping Sun, it's time for Lito to get serious about his audition and he's blowing it. Nothing in Lito's career to this point has prepared him for a role like this. Fortunately, Lito has Sun in his corner.  Sun channels her feelings of isolation as a child to bolster Lito's performance and it's beautiful and heartbreaking all at the same time. 

Now that Lito has gotten the role of his dreams, it's time to attend his first big Hollywood party with Hernando and Daniela The Fetishist by his side. One look at Lito causes Mark and Kit to decide that he's not dressed appropriately. This means that Lito must undress down to his underwear (thank you for that Sense8) and put on random pieces of clothing from the other party goers.  I think it's a sign of just how much confidence Lito lacks in this moment because he allows himself to be treated like a dress up doll. Now that Lito's dressed like his character in Iberian Dreams, it's time for him to meet his love interest Blake Huntington. I have to say that Blake is smooth and he even manages to catch Hernando's interest with his breakdown of Lito's previous roles. I see what you're doing there Sense8 and you better not have Blake come between Hernando and Lito.

12 Monkeys Season Three, Episode One: Mother

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Cole looks out at the ruins of a city.

2046

Because there's so much going on with the plot and so much time shifting, Jones has to give us a recap about what has happened up until now. It's really necessary because of how in-depth this conspiracy has become over the seasons but it's still not making a lot of sense if you ask me.  We know now that The Witness is actually Cassie and Cole's son and several characters are lost in time.  Cole is now looking for them in 2163, by chasing the temporal signature of the enemies machine. Cole at this point is desperate to save Cassie at all cost and his hope is fading. Jones questions how they can defeat an enemy from their own future because time is no longer on their side. 

After planting yet another beacon, Cole returns from his trip to be confronted by Jones, who believes it's time to stop searching.  Jones believes that Cole's loyalty is distracting him from the truth, which is that Cassie isn't the mission. Cole brings up Ramsey and Jennifer and so Jones is forced to point out that they need to stop the plague and potentially save everyone. When Cole refuses to listen, Jones actually threatens to put Cole down.  Cole is holding out hope because of a spike in the temporal energy at a place he stopped at. Jones finally consents to another mission but decides that this time, Cole won't be going alone. 

Hannah is engaged in a battle straight out of the thunderdome when she's approached by Jones.  Hannah doesn't want to go anywhere because she is concerned about the security of the facility and feels that she has a responsibility to her sisters.  Jones however argues that they might lose Cole and therefore, someone must keep an eye on him. Hannah is insistent that she went to Titan for Goines and that this is not her mission. Jones finally convinces Hannah to go by saying that the greatest danger to Cole is himself.

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Hannah trails behind Cole as they search for Cassie. Hannah makes it clear that she doesn't trust what he's become - a man unwilling to face the hard choices. Cole finds the beacon in question, only to find that it's run out of battery. Hannah of course wants to splinter back but Cole is not having any part of that. Before they can come to blows, the machine powers up again and starts flashing red. Hannah steps into Cole's path, and points out that they almost died the last time they were in Titan. Hannah suggests they head back to the facility. Cole however is worried that if they don't go now, they will lose the signal forever. Hannah attempts to inject Cole with the syringe her mother gave her and when that fails, a fight breaks out between the two.  Hannah is savage as fuck and it seems as though she gains easily gains the upper.  What Hannah doesn't realise until too late, is that Cole has injected her instead. Cole keeps moving until he comes to the outskirts of Titan.

A heavily pregnant Cassie is now dressed in red and she's clearly despondent. Arianna lays out a feast of food in front of Cassie, encouraging her to eat to nourish the child growing in her belly. Magdalena enters the room to tell Cassie that she has a chance to show her love for the Witness. It seems that Magdalena feels that Cassie should display love for the man he will become because the Witness chose Cassie as his vessel. It turns out that Magdalena was raised to raise the Witness and it's she who the Witness will see as his mother figure. Cassie apparently is just a womb. It's as creepy as it sounds. Magdalena holds a knife to Cassie's throat and warns her to mind herself.  

2046

Hannah has returned, thanks to Cole injecting her.  Hannah quickly announces that they found Titan and that need to bring James back before he can approach. Unfortunately, because James's tether was used to bring Hannah back, the machine thinks that James is already in 2046. Before they can bring James back, the system has to be rebooted.

The Legend of the Blue Eyes (Blue Eyes Trilogy #1) by B. Kristin McMichael

With the death of her parents, Arianna is being raised by her aunt and uncle. Naturally, having no memory of her parents, Arianna constantly questions what little family she has about her origins, only to meet a brick wall each time. Fortunately for Arianna, she's come across a source who claims to have all the answers that she has been searching for. With Arianna's sixteenth birthday approaching, she is about to pass a threshold which will change her life forever and she will finally have the answers she's so long sought.  

The Legend of the Blue Eyes reads like Aryan nation YA.  I will never get back the hours back I lost reading this book and will forever feel as though Kristin McMichael stole from me.  Throughout The Legend of the Blue Eyes, we are continually reminded how super special Arianna is. Her blue eyes make her stand out amongst her people, who are all brown eyed.  If that were not enough, she's blonde and extremely petite. Never for one minute could I as a reader forget about how Arianna's blue eyes, blonde hair, and petite stature make her super special because McMichael never seems to tire of repeating Arianna's physical description, nor did they tire of reminding us of Arianna's super special specialness as a result.  The Legend of the Blue Eyes is absolutely the exaltation of Whiteness and in particular, White womanhood. Pointing to random black dude on a bus only reifies everything that's wrong with this book.

Part of the shtick when it comes to YA is that the protagonist is always just figuring out who they are.  McMichael doubles down on this by never ever giving any answers, content to remind the reader that Arianna is super duper special.  We learn that supernaturals are divided into groups and that for some reason they're all at war.  Arianna, as it turns out is the daughter of two supernaturals from rival groups - a Romeo & Julliet. It made me want to scream that we're all familiar with this story and Shakespeare did it better, even with the Elizabethan English. 

As I mentioned, Arianna is the super special one and so people love her, stare at her and want to be around her.  This means that Arianna has to have personal security round the clock.  Her blood is highly prized and is capable of healing a whole host of aliments.  Arianna doesn't realise the true strength of her power and  beyond knowing that killing a child might not be quite right, she seems to have no problem listening in as her grandfather slaps the shit of her guard for daring to drink the blood she offered. She also seems to have no problem with her grandfather threatening to kill anyone who drinks her blood.  Sure, we are told that her grandfather is an old bastard and given the sense that he has a ruthless past, but McMichael never expands on that and instead seems content to remind us that Arianna is loved by her grandpappy, who's a mean bastard and therefore; this makes her even more super special.

Into The Bandlands, Season Two, Episode Ten: Wolf's Breath, Dragon Fire

Here we are at the final episode of season two. The entirety of season two has been leading up to a showdown between Sunny and Quinn.  Sunny's drive for the entire season is to find Henry and Veil and now that he knows that they're being held by Quinn, the confrontation is unavoidable. We've had two seasons now of Marton Csokas unfathomable accent which he occasionally drops and I for one have had enough. Quinn had better be good and dead now because his character has far out lived its usefulness. Having killed his own son, Quinn is absolutely determined to hold onto Henry for some reason.  This means holding baby Henry in the most creepy fashion while cooing his promise to protect him. It's yet another reminder that Quinn is mentally unstable because there's no reason to protect Henry from his father. 

Clearly, Quinn is determined to die before the tumor can take him out, despite his confidence in the men he has trained to go up against Sunny. Other than Veil, Lydia seems to be the only one in her right mind in the bunker and she decides to spill the beans about Quinn having the place rigged to explode should Sunny get too close to Veil and Henry. This should make sensible people run for the hills but apparently, the fighters are so dedicated to Quinn, they're willing to die for him.  Look, I know that these guys have to stay around to make the big battle more epic but having them choose to die to prove their loyalty to a man who has never done anything to earn said loyalty is plain and simple ridiculous. For being the only to show any kind of common sense, Quinn decides that Lydia has to die.

Now that The Widow has had her confrontation with Tilda, it's time for one with Waldo.  It's easy to see why Waldo like Tilda was originally drawn to the Widow but since that time, all she's done is betray her stated ideals.  Waldo is particularly concerned that The Widow has killed Tilda.  The Widow is incredulous and questions what kind of mother that would make her.  I'm with Waldo and his hard glare at that one. Now that The Widow has Bajie and MK in her custody, freeing the cogs and changing society are no longer a priority and so she offers Waldo the chance to be a baron in her sted, snarking that this is what he's always wanted. 

Having tossed aside her commitments, The Widow is now free to talk MK into getting back his powers.  MK however turns the table and holds a knife to his own throat. It's a good move because while MK may not be able to defeat The Widow, there's no doubt that she needs him. MK decides to use his leverage to demand to see Bajie.  The Widow is more than happy to comply and then promptly drops the bomb about the book, causing MK to realise that Bajie went into the monastery to get the book and that saving Sunny was just a byproduct of that decision. That's enough for MK to wash his hands of Bajie.

Bajie is promptly tossed into the cell next to Tilda.  Tilda tries to trick the guard by claiming that she's too hurt to reach the food he brings her, but he's too smart to fall for it.  Bajie is not impressed by Tilda's tactic. Odessa shows up to break Tilda out of jail and Tilda demands that Bajie be released as well, particularly when Odessa is forced to reveal that she's the one who ratted out Bajie and MK in the first damn place.  Tilda wants to go and confront the Widow in order to free MK but Bajie and Odessa manage to convince her that she's in no shape to do so. Bajie, Tilda and Odessa make their way outside to a vehicle which Bajie struggles to hot wire.  

The threesome find themselves confronted by one of the Widow's man but fortunately for Bajie, Odessa and Tilda, Waldo shows up and sends the guard on his way.  For much of the season there was some tension between Waldo and Odessa over their importance to the Widow. Now Waldo and Tilda face each other as two disillusioned people who have come to care for each other nonetheless. Tilda asks Waldo to travel with them but he declines.  It's bittersweet and a long time coming, but easily one of my fave scenes this episode. Tilda and Odessa give Bajie a lift to Quinn's bunker and Tilda offers to come along to help but Bajie assures her that he's got this. Tilda and Odessa then drive off together.

The Originals, Season Four, Episode Nine: Queen Death

At the end of the last episode, Elijah was ambushed by the Hollow and stabbed in the back by the nasty rose thorns. This of course means that the Original family has to band together to save one of their own.  At times like this, I tend to become a little less interested in The Originals, for the simple fact that we already know that Elijah is not going to die. Nope, not gonna happen.  It's not helped by the fact that the Original family is so ridiculously strong, it's hard to create even a remotely believable antagonist. At this point, I'm not even sure that The Hollow counts.  Okay let's do this and pretend to be filled with anticipation and worry for Elijah.

Hayley is the first one to notice that Elijah is missing because she wakes up in bed alone.  Hayley wanders downstairs to speak to Klaus, who's in the middle of allowing Hope to have the sugar high of all creation.  Seriously? The great hybrid is that much of a push over with his daughter?  The last time Hayley saw Elijah, he was on the way to see Marcel to hand over the dagger.

In the woods, Elijah is writhing in pain, trapped in a circle. Of course he's busy telling The Hollow how his family will come for him and bring doom upon her because that's what the Mikaelsons do. Sofya/The Hollow wants the Mikaelsons to come calling, looking to trade her former jaw bone for Elijah.  Sofya/The Hollow plans to take her jaw bone back and kill Elijah anyway because doing so will end his sire line and in the process offer up the big sacrifice that she needs to return to her body.

Vincent thus far is out of the loop and that's because the followers of The Hollow have completely trashed St.Anne's. As he's discussing this with Maxine, who shows up but The Hollow herself.  Vincent is quick to send Maxine on her way in order to protect her.  Being one to throw shade, The Hollow brings up Vincent's dead wife and not being one to be defeated in a battle of words, Vincent points out that she's standing there in a vampires's body. This causes The Hollow to smash Vincent against the pews and even though she's pissed, she still wants Vincent by her side again. The Hollow also informs Vincent of the trade that she wants to make for Elijah.

Vincent makes his way to the Mikaelson compound to let the family know that The Hollow has Elijah and what her terms are. As if the kidnapping of Elijah isn't enough inducement, apparently The Hollow has warned that if the Miakelsons don't hand over the jaw bone, that she will take it anyway and burn down the city in the process. This is when they decide that Hope, despite being the most powerful Mikaelson, needs to leave the room and play with something. The Hollow's threat inspires different reactions from the assembled crowd. Hayley and Freya want to save Elijah, Klaus wants to kill everything that moves, Marcel wants to find a way to save Sofya and Vincent, wants to use Elijah's death.

Vincent is quick to point out that Elijah has had a good long life, built on the blood and lives of those with a much shorter lifespan.  Vincent questions just how long the Originals think that they are entitled to walk the earth.  As far as Vincent is concerned, dipping the jaw bone in Hayley's blood and then stabbing Sofya through the heart is the perfect plan. Elijah's death can then be channeled to put the Hollow down. Vincent's little speech does strike a nerve with Freya, especially when he says that everyone dies. This causes Freya to think about Finn, whose soul she had kept inside a pendant. Yes, this is Freya's light bulb moment.

Freya proposes putting Elijah's soul into the pendant for sake keeping. The only problem with this plan is that because Elijah has been poisoned for so long, he may not be strong enough for the transition. Since The Hollow needs a sacrifice, Klaus decides to offer up himself and tells Freya since he hasn't been poisoned she should be able to keep his soul in the pendant. With Klaus dead, they can free Elijah and cure him with the venom concoction Freya made.

Shadowhunters, Season 2, Episode 7: How are Thou Fallen

So why did Cleophas decide to murder her fellow Iron Sister? It turns out she’s a Valentine loyalist into that whole “let’s murder all downworlders” kind of thing. AND she duly reports to her master to tell him how very very very very special Clary is with her super special rune of specialness.

Speaking of specialness, Clary is also hearing some strange noises no-one else can here.

Cleophas to re-prove her loyalty to Valentine so plans to kidnap Clary relying on her very terrible decision making. This is reasonable, Clary does make some very very terrible decisions. So much so that this episode I don’t know which terrible decisions are her ruse with Luke and which terrible decisions are actually real.

Cleophas inflicts the most fake and shallow of cuts to try and pretend to be mortally wounded to appeal to here werewolf brother Luke and Clary for help. Since she is a Valentine loyalist she hates all downworlders including her werewolf brother and apparently they have terrible painful history and Luke would quite like her to die in any number of fires. Clary, being Clary, pushes for a reunion and how important family is and decides she has even the slightest right to comment on this or stick her arrogant nose in. Because she’s Clary

Luke is also convinced Cleophas, Circle loyalist, is a bad person. Clary doesn’t believe him because FAMILY and she knows waaay better than him about his own family. Because Clary is the worst. But then this near stranger calls her CLARISSA which only Valentine does so this is proof she’s evil (or, y’know, a near stranger from a very formal quasi-holy order who perhaps isn’t willing to use diminutives/nicknames with you? But hey, but all means take this as more probative than Luke’s intimate knowledge of his own family history. Clary Is The Worst).

Also I kind of wonder about the Garroway parents who chose a relatively mundane “Luke” then decided to swing way out there on “Cleophas.”

Clary The Worst changes to plan B which involves walking into Cleophas’s trap to achieve something. What I’m not sure except just wandering around and making bad decisions and expecting the plot armour to save her. Whether Luke’s in on it or not Clary tases him and runs off with Cleophas.

I don’t know what Clary’s follow up plan was except it definitely involves no Clave backup except Jace because why would you want armed back up to deal with Valentine? Nah that would be too sensible

Instead luckily the weird noise strikes Clary again and this time Cleophas uses a rune to hear it to – it’s the sound of an Angel in distress. Cleophas makes the huge assumption that the angel is in distress because of Valentine. This confirms to Ceophas how very special Clary is because she’s tuned into angel radio and that makes up for her complete lack of common sense. It also really shakes her faith in Valentine because no matter how much she and he hates downworlders, torturing angels is a definite no-no.

So time to walk into Valentine’s trap and while Luke and Valentine face off while Valentine is held hostage, Clary and Jace fight three shadowhunters on the roof. Y’know what would help in this situation? More back up. Because Luke facing Valentine alone ends up with Valentine escaping. Clary and Jace do manage to take out the evil shadowhunters – but only because Clary has downloaded mega-fighting skills from somewhere. Give Shadowhunters train their whole life, when does she become powerful enough to fight off 2 at once?

She also has the super special rune to free the angel from his chains so he can assume his true form. Which is really unimpressive. I mean ragged wings and that’s about it Not impressed at all. You can do better, Shadowhunters.