Wynonna Earp, Season 3, Episode 11: Daddy Lessons

That was rather unexpected - did not see a lot of that coming - well done Wynonna Earp for being most unpredictable

So, Nicole and Waverly are dealing with the super awfulness of Charlie being dead by Doc’s fangs and wondering how they tell Wynonna. Nicole has to leave because as a precaution she’s having the town evacuated in case Bulshar causes badness to happen (and can I say how much I love Nedry calling her Sheriff?). Alone, a very upset Waverley touches Charlie

And he comes back from the dead.

Now I thought Charlie as rival love interest and all was perfectly placed to be a sacrificial pathos character. Did not expect resurrection.

This throws another spanner in the works because Waverly is rethinking the whole sacrifice thing. I mean it’s one thing to think you have a magic ring doing weird stuff and kind of dodging the whole specialness of that. But when you start bringing the dead back to life it kind of makes your reassess things. Wynonna catches on to this and, after walking past Charlie walking around in a daze (which nearly pole axes Nicole) she goes and tracks Waverly down by the Eden stairs that Wynonna can’t see. Waverly is determined to sacrifice herself and Wynonna can’t stop her

So Wynonna knocks her out. And plans to have someone drive her out of Purgatory. She can’t do it, she has Bulshar to fight. Nicole can’t do it because she’s sheriff and also she can’t tell Waverly no because awwwwwwwww. So they enlist an extremely confused Charlie to do it. While Nicole continues to be dumbstruck by the whole being alive thing

Waverley and Charlie have a few sacrificial conversations, she doesn’t want to die but she will sacrifice herself as a last resort. And he takes her to her mother’s greenhouse… which he shouldn’t know about. More on this later

Because Wynonna has another problem - without Peacemaker she is vulnerable and is kidnapped by some Revenants who want to offer her to Bulshar as tribute as one of his bridges. This comes with witty banter, creepy guy making her wear his dead wife’s dress and gay Revanant doing her hair (Wynonna Earp, look Nicole and Waverly are awesome but you’ve still only just started treating Jeremy as a character and he and Robin are still largely comic relief. Basically you don’t have nearly enough banked to get away with this throwaway stereotyped bullshit).

She’s presented to Bulshar to find that Mercedes is already there. Voluntarily. And she makes a passionate defence of cowardice, survival and how she’s totally going to survive this and if this means being team Bulshar then so be it. And I kind of applaud Mercedes for this - sorry, I love her and I love her unabashed, unashamed willingness to look after herself, to protect herself, to resist her martyrdom without the slightest hint of shame.

Also her take on the Titanic is absolutely awesome. I worship Mercedes

Oooh oooh, who wants a tv show that somehow manages to connect Delle Sayah from Killjoys and Mercedes just going out there and being gloriously terrible people together? You’d watch it. You’d know you would.

Bulshar wants a lieutenant - and Wynonna seems to listen to Mercedes because she offers herself. She wants her family to live. She wants Waverley to live. And to do that she will serve Bulshar, she even offers to beg, she even kneels before him offering service… until she nearly touches him and he recoils in actual terror from her touch and has her locked in a cage

Killjoys, Season 4, Episode 10: Sporemaggedon

So Aneela is back - and everyone’s not super ok about that as D’avin and Johnny hurry her onto Lucy to answer questions and make it clear that they’re super not happy with her given the number of people she’s stabbed and all.

There she reminds them that body swapping is totally something you can do - Khlyen and D’avin did it last season. She also tells us what the Green is - well she mentions lots of woo woo but ultimately the green is a big repository of memory: a big transdimensional space where nothing is forgotten and everything exists. So kind of like a giant Wayback machine

No this doesn’t explain the super healy Hullen - but that’s nothing to do with the Green, that’s just The Lady’s shenanigans. She has a plan, she and D’avin go in, they grab Dutch and D’avin uses his strange Anti-hullen woo granted by the military experiments on him and when she’s stunned they leave.

Johnny insists he wants to come as well and Aneela warns him that since the Green is a big sea of memory, The Lady can use your worst moments, your memories against you and the more you care the more it’ll hurt. Since Johnny is a big ol’ carebear, this isn’t ideal. It’s also why Aneela wants to know nothing about her son Jaq - if you care about someone it can be used against you.

Of course Johnny insists so it’s off to the RAC and the pool of green. Which is a problem because Turin knows who Aneela is and has HUGE issues with all the people she’s killed, people he cares about and is prepared to shoot her in the face. And after the death of Pip Zeph doesn’t want to see anyone with Dutch’s face

But Aneela talks woo-woo and science with Zeph, intriguing her and eventually D’avin gives Turin the Green killing spore to reassure him he has options - but first they need to rescue Dutch,

To the Green!

In the Green Dutch and Aneela meet up to talk about a box Khlyen left for Dutch to give Aneela and I’m not even sure what is going on here because the layers are just confusing.

Everyone quickly enters their own hellscape as the Lady throws all their worst memories against them. Dutch and D’avin manage to meet up and they have to pull Johnny away from a heartbreaking scene with Pawter where Johnny tragically asks them to stop him turning round to look at the fake Pawter. Ouch

However when the Lady throws fake goons at them so she can talk to Aneela, D’avin points out since this is all their memory they can easily access memories of the various armouries they’ve been in - and fight back with big guns. Until D’avin pulls out his super power which is very very effective.

Killjoys: Season 4, Episode 9: The Kids Are Alright

It’s time for Jaq to go into hiding - and Jaq rightly predicts that his dad is going to Snot Cry because he’s just so fluffy and emotional.

D’avin and Johnny track down Delle Sayah in her hidden base - turns out it’s one of Khlyen’s hidden safe houses. She’s there dragging up all the research he hid about the Hullen and green. She does intend to track down the Nine and take over - but only when she has Aneela by her side because she’s still very much in love. So much so she even moves Johnny to declare he’ll bring Aneela back. Despite him not being a fan of Delle Sayah after the whole murdered Pawter thing

They leave Jaq with her - she’s not thrilled with the new name and Delle Sayah is clear that Osman is his middle name - and Dutch urges him to learn from her as there are many ways of fighting

Dutch also reveals to Johnny about the weird scars appearing on her back - which Dutch assumes to be Aneela. Johnny isn’t thrilled at being left out of the loop here

The plan now is to take back the RAC - to free all the kids captured on board and to seize the pool of green. This means a big reunion with Turin and Fancy and Zeph and Pip (who is slightly nervous about Dutch after she headbutted him when he was first possessed by the brain spider but as Zeph reassures him that if Dutch wanted him dead he totally would be. She’s… not wrong).

Turin gives out his tactics for the attack - with Dutch snarking all the way until Turin has to take her aside to tell her off and threaten to demote her - and she rightly points out what bullshit this is, this isn’t about Killjoys and he has no rank.

Instead they settle into a kind of fun dynamic where Turin is the grumpy father figure and they’re all his wise-cracking kids who respect him and love him but don’t necessarily do as they’re told. Especially Pree and Dutch who are the Problem Children

The plan is to send Weej in first and while everyone has reservations, Turin is clear that this is NOT TO BE QUESTIONED and he trusts Weej )and points to Johnny for the “isn’t it hard when a younger cuter model comes along” snark at Fancy because that is definitely an A+ burn.

Unfortunately there’s a new Hullen forcefield around the RAC and Weej ends up splattered. Alas poor Weej, I thought you’d be an interesting character, what a shame.

To take down the shield Johnny says lots of science things but basically they need a magic box (Johnny is also fretting a little about being a third wheel now that Dutch and D’avin are back on but Lucy is always there for him) which involves Dutch and D’avin going undercover in a hippie cult (the horror! The horror!) before claiming the box and taking it to Johnny. Of course being Killjoys this means they only have a limited time before it causes seizures. Of course there’s a time limit.

Zeph also does some research on the scars on Dutch’s back which have been transmitted by Aneela: she visits the Scarback dominatrix who can confirm what they are and what the symbols mean individually - but not what they mean collectively as one symbol. And despite lots of thinky sex with Pip, Zeph can’t figure it out

Wynonna Earp: Season 3, Episode 10 The Other Woman

Flashback! Basically to remind us that way back in the day (1887) when Bulshar was first defeated with an alliance of Juan Carlos (a priest and angel), Bobo and Constance. But there was also another woman present recording Juan Carlos’s memories. This will be relevant soon. They also refer to a Champion

In the present Bobo is imprisoned and so broken than even he doesn’t want to be released. He is barely making sense but bringing extra levels of bleakness for Wynonna who is very very very hopeless. And research isn’t Wynonna’s thing either so she leaves it to Jeremy and Waverley (who are despairing and recapping everything because it’s all getting a bit conmplicated) and takes her Quintiple shot latte to go spend some time with Charlie

Charlie’s kind of sad at being kind of sidelines and hot firemen are not used to being sidelined. While he has a point, Wynonna has way way more going on than Charlie’s feelings or their relationship. She pretty much tells him that they’ll pick this up in Spring and he slopes off in a huff. Look it’s not like he’s not informed here, he knows about the supernatural, he knows about the woo-woo, he knows what’s at stake - he needs some perspective here.

Anyway relationship drama aside, Wynonna has a visit from Kevin, a woman and heir to basically the Powers That Be who watch but don’t interfere. Except they totally interfere because THEY ALWAYS DO. This is a genre rule. People who can’t interfere constantly interfere but then have weirdly arbitrary limits so they can’t use their super powers to make things easy.

Oh and Kevin is played by Anna Silk. And one of her reasons for helping is that she’s sick of the powers that be boy’s club.

Not that Kevin is especially confident with Wynonna Earp and Wynonna isn’t arguing at all about being clueless, under trained or an alcoholic. But she has a lead on a weapon that can kill Bulshar - his arm. His arm which he lost when he was entombed in a dangerous rickety mine (he got a new one). So that’s Waverley and Wynonna off on a road trip.

They arrive at the mine to find a revenant that Waverley remembers from her research - he’s a one armed Revenant who was trapped in the mine long ago. But he also has both arms - because apparently Revenants and Bulshar can share body parts. So they need to take his arm back … except this mine is a uranium mine. And the Revenant is radioactive. When Wynonna touches him she’s burned and staggers back sick and ill

Wynonna Earp: Season 3, Episode 9: Undo It

Waverley and Nicole are still having issues about the powerful ring that is now glued to Wavelery’s finger. Since it has a habit of killing people, they’re concerned about the fact they can’t get it off. They even call in a creepily obsessive jeweller, Dexter who is definitely a demon. He also can’t get it off, even with a saw.

And we have the return of Mercedes!

Yes I’m taking a moment to celebrate this - because Mercedes was awesome. I have a complete soft spot in my heart for unrepentant, terrible characters who run through the show being completely awful in glorious ways. Mercedes is the poster child for this wonderful awfulness

She’s not doing incredible well since last we saw her she had her face melted off. She still has scars and is in a lot of pain - and has been travelling the world getting a series of operations to put her face back together again. She’s troubled but more concerned with getting her money out of the safe and snarking about how very very very good (or very very awful) the magical ring could be.

When Dexter arrives tries to take the ring by force and Waverley melts off his face. This is not reassuring for anyone.

Wynonna and Doc awake in the barn having sex - and Bulshar arrives with a band of demonic beekeepers to cast some delusion magic on them both.

There follows a truly awful and powerful scene in which Doc is trapped under the floorboards being slowly buried alive while Wynonna tries to find a way to free him. But every time she dies - often horribly, in great agony including acid and red hot metal, only to groundhog day back at the beginning. Each time with Doc buried a little more. Wynonna starts our snarking and wisecracking but her slow, terrible grind down is really powerfully portrayed as she dies again and again.

Eventually she finds Bobo - and she starts killing him. Each death, again, setting back the clock. In desperation Wynonna, as they both die yet again, appeals to Bobo to work together to defeat Bulshar: but he’s broken. Completely broken by the despair of repeated deaths he has given up.

Luckily for him that Jeremy calls Waverley and Nicole and they find where Bobo is trapped, wrapped in roots (since plants and trees seem to be Bulshar’s thing) and manage to rescue and wake him up. He then tells them about what Wynonna and Doc are facing

Fangs for the Fantasy: Changes

We had a couple of weeks of no posts while one of us was on holiday

Glorious, sunny Portugal

And one of us was not:

Ontario (Summer)

We are resuming posting from next week with some differences in our format. Fangs for the Fantasy is run by Paul and Renee (though from some of the emails we receive, a fair few people seem to think we have a team or staff. Alas, no) and in the face of health issues, we're adjusting some of our format. In particular, Renee cannot type for an extended period of time without considerable pain and discomfort. Since she needs to preserve her energy for fending off polar bears, some of our posts, reviews and recaps will now appear in audio/video format; containing the same recap and commentary we normally provide

We hope this may also lead to us resurrecting our old Youtube channel and podcast

Videos will appear on our channel and also on Fangs for the Fantasy with appropriate links (to, say, relevant Friday discussions) below the video

Storm of the Gods (Areios Brothers #1) by A. R. Braun

The Greek Gods returned 30 years ago after centuries of dormancy after they were drained in the big battle against the Titans. They have set up their new land in California.

Derek is a scion of Ares, carrying the legacy of his powerful war god sire, along with his brother follow their role to capture and defeat dangerous monsters. And capture over rogue scions

Including the heir to the mysteriously missing Athena and four other powerful Scions. But as he gets closer he realises things are far from simple and world changing devastation could follow him making the wrong choice. But does he dare oppose Ares? Can he even oppose him? Who can fight the god of war?

Greek mythology! I am sold. Sold sold sold. Throw me some good ol’ ancient god mythology and I’m always one board. Doubly so when you get all the research in place and go all out for the research pulling in figures like Cassandra and random Greek monsters (so many Greek monsters) and generally working on their characters while adding a heavy dash of original concepts as well? Sold sold sold

So we have a world where after several centuries of dormancy after fighting the Titans, the Olympians have woken up and are back. And Not Amused that humanity has sort of forgotten them or, at very least, has stopped worshipping them. Since the Greek Gods are not exactly known for their humility, gentle persuasion or generally not being capricious, short tempered and seethingly insecure jealous sex maniacs, this did not go down well.

The Greek gods chose their territory - California - and divided it between themselves as new regions for the new Greek nation state. It is inferred that the US objected to this. It’s also heavily inferred that Zeus was having None of that and there’s something of a detent between “Neo Vasileio” and America

This is one element about the world building I like - we have that excellent balance between giving us lots of information so we know what is happening in this world, who is who, what the stakes are, what powers are being thrown around, etc etc but not so much that we’re inundated with unnecessary facts. Even though I kinda really really want those facts. I want to know what the reaction was with the greater world. I want to know exactly what Zeus did. I want Zeus and Hades and Apollo to be more than extremely briefly appearing characters. I want to meet all the Greek gods who have territory that we haven’t met yet - Artemis, Aphrodite, Hermes, Poseidon, Demeter, Haphaestus, Hestia, Hera, Perseophone. I want to learn all of this

Fear the Walking Dead, Season 4, Episode 13: BlackJack

Morgan and the truckers are all still looking for the mysterious man who had the Truck before them, all of Morgan’s friends, Quinn world peace and some really good drugs

June not just wants to find John but she has definitely had a full blown conversion to the Morgan Cult.

James is not a fan, referring to the truck as an “airport shuttle” because of all the extras they’re grabbing. Althea is somewhat neutral but wants to find Quinn because he has her truck and she’s obsessive about it. Sarah and Wendell are kind of mellow because they’re kind of mellow about everything. They’re also great fun with their points for killing zombies, casual rogueish approach to the apocalypse, low key competence and general fun

It’s nice to have characters approaching the apocalypse with a casual amusement. I also like that Wendell proves he is quite capable of defending himself while James clearly isn’t (and learns strongly that Wendel is not incapable because he uses a wheelchair).

And they find one of the Dirty Woman’s written on zombie which leads to a walky talky conversation with her. It’s what we expect from her filthy weirdness. People are strong when they’re alone and stabbing people in the face for the last cookie in the world but helping people or needing help or accepting help just makes you super super super weak and shameful. I mean is she actually against all co-operation? Because any kind of co-operation requires a level of help. Does she think everyone should be a wandering loner?

She also reveals she knows Morgan was big bad and scary in the past so he needs to be so again.

Morgan’s not doing that. And to double down on that by burying the graffiti zombie because… well he’s almost a parody now. Ok Morgan, I get that you’re all good and fluffy now but, what, 90% of the entire world’s population is actually dead (though we are kind of assuming that. For all we know isolated islands are fine. Hey, maybe it’s confined entirely to the Americas) he’s going to be digging a whole long time. In fact you may cause more environmental damage with the holes than just leaving the bodies to rot. Morgan has a big speech about how they will continue to meet and help everyone

They spend a little while reflecting on how nice the guy - known as Polar Bear - who set up this trucking network was. Wendal and Sarah are sure he’s alive - they have standards. They wouldn’t steal from someone who couldn’t manage alone. Awww aren’t they nice.

Sarah and Wendell still aren’t entirely on side with riding to the rescue and Sarah even begins to draw a blade on Morgan … which he deals with in 2 seconds with his stick. Sarah and Wendell quickly realise Morgan has 10,000 levels of badass more than them and decide they have absolutely no objection with going where he wants to go - especially since Althea can drive the truck