Author Archives: Doc

One of Them Days

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I was never a fan of the trailers for the movie One of Them Days, and I swear it was shown before every movie I watched for months. Because of that, I have ignored this movie for several weeks. However, I have heard positive word of mouth about the film so I figured I would fit it into the schedule. A lot of times when I set up a film like this, I come back loving the movie. Sadly, that is not the case for this one.

Of course, I did not hate this. I would say that it was passable.

According to IMDB, “When best friends and roommates Dreux and Alyssa discover Alyssa’s boyfriend has blown their rent money, the duo finds themselves going to extremes in a race against the clock to avoid eviction and keep their friendship intact.“

While I did not love much of anything in the film, my favorite part was easily the performance of Keke Palmer. Her performance as Dreux was full of charm and humor. She pulled off the main protagonist of this film wonderfully well. She was absolutely a star on the screen. I was not as much of a fan of the performance of SZA, but she definitely had chemistry with Palmer. I was not a huge fan of the character that SZA was playing. I feel as if I have seen this type of character before.

The story was too compressed into this time frame and I think it is tough to buy everything happening in this single day. Still, several of the individual scenes were funny and well set up. And i guess the idea that this is “one of them days” is part of the concept.

Keke Palmer and, to a lesser extent, SZA is the reason to watch this movie. Their chemistry and charm carries the film through for me.

3 stars

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #3

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February 9

“Carentan”

Week three of the Sunday Morning Sidewalk was the third episode of Band of Brothers, which showed that it continued to be one of the most realistic and stunning displays of wartime battles ever put together.

This episode featured Private Albert Blithe, a solider who was struggling with the war and its trappings. He went through a bout of “hysterical blindness” and ended up being wounded on a scouting mission. This was an amazing story of self-doubt and fear. 1st Lt. Speirs was a key piece to this story, as his brutal nature became legend among the men, but it was his wisdom that helped keep Private Blithe going. Speirs’s death was totally foreshadowed when he told Blithe that he was scared because he still had hope, and had not accepted the fact that they were all already dead.

There was a great scene at the end of the episode where Sgt. Malarky went to pick up his laundry that he had dropped off before the mission. Mrs. Lamb had done the laundry and he paid her. She asked if Lieutenant Meehan had forgotten about his laundry and she hoped he would come and pick it up. She had not realized that he had been killed. Malarky paid for his laundry as well, not telling her that he had been killed. She then asked about 1stSgt. Evans, Pvt. Moya, Pvt. Bloser, Pvt. Gray, PFC. Miller, Sgt. Owen, T-5 Collins, and Pvt. Elliot and Blithe, all of whom were dead. The show used this as a way to indicate that the Easy Company had lost 65 men during this offensive and that Blithe did not recover from his wound and died in 1948.

Dark Matter S1 E1, E2, E3

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Spoilers

“Are You Happy in Your Life?”

“Trip of a Lifetime”

“The Box”

Apple TV + has had some great series. Ted Lasso, Shrinking, and Silo are three of my all-time favorites shows. So with an opening in the schedule and Battlestar Galactica done, I needed a new show to go along with the X-Files and The White Lotus. I knew of a show called Dark Matter, which I had heard positive things about, and I decided this would be a good opportunity to start this watch.

After the first three episodes, I am completely in! This is some fantastic sci-fi storytelling and some top notch multiverse action.

I will admit the first episode or so was kind of confusing until I was able to figure out which one of the Joel Edgertons were Jason and which one was Jason 2. Once I was able to focus in on which one was which, things fell into place.

Three episodes in and this is really rocking hard. So hard that I am trying to avoid just binging the entire nine episodes in one sitting. That would defeat the purpose.

Joel Edgerton is awesome in this series, playing two versions of Jason Dessen. You can see the differences, subtle as they may be, between the two men. Edgerton does a fantastic job of carrying this story on his back.

With Jason and Amanda conceivably back in Jason’s universe (or on their way) I am curious to see where this show goes next. When Jennifer Connelly took a bullet to the head in the one universe, it was a shocking moment that told me that anything could happen. No one was safe in this multiversal tale.

I have found yet another massive winner on Apple TV +.

Dexter: Original Sin S1 E9

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Spoilers

“Blood Drive”

I was more impressed with this episode of Dexter: Original Blood than I had been for a few episodes. Then Dexter did something so stupid that it defies explanation.

In the last few minutes, he captured Captain Spencer and wrapped him up on his table. He taunted him for awhile and then decided to let him escape. I understand he was doing it so he could follow Spencer to where he had the missing Nicky hidden away, but there are so many things that could go wrong with that idea that it is shocking. I mean, just off the top of my head, the police captain could decide to turn Dexter in and frame him for the death of the kids. I can’t believe that would be hard to do… especially since Dexter had already cut off Spencer’s little finger, something that everyone knows the killer had done.

Spencer’s motive for kidnapping Nicky (and the kid before whom he killed) was fairly week too. I mean, just to get back at his ex-wife, he was going to torture and kill his own son? That felt so bizarre. I assume the other kid was taken and killed as a way to throw off the investigation, but that was so out there that I just do not accept that any of this made sense.

The flashbacks this episode were more engaging, which was not typical for this show. They featured the two traumatized brothers, Brian and Dexter, being adopted by Harry and Doris and having Brian be psychotic. It feels like it was a bit of a stretch from Brian and Dexter seeing everyone killed to Brian trying to suffocate baby Deb with a pillow to make her stop crying. The time frame seemed rushed.

I do think making the serial killer involved in this season Dexter’s separated brother is a good twist. I’m just not sure that this is done well either. Brian did not show much emotion about being separated from Dexter as a child, so having the separation be the driving force behind Brian’s murder spree did not feel right. Maybe it was just his excuse to unleash his own Dark Passenger, which makes more sense to me.

I believe there is only one more episode remaining for this season so we’ll see how things get wrapped up. The Brian storyline does not feel like it can be finished up in one episode, especially an episode where the Dexter-Spencer story is still a high priority. Still, we’ll see what happens.

The White Lotus S1 E4, E5, E6

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Spoilers

“Recentering”

“The Lotus-Eaters”

“Departures”

I finished off the first season of The White Lotus with some mixed feelings. The show is amazing, beautifully shot with gorgeous imagery of the Hawaiian Islands. However, the characters, while intriguing and deep as well as wonderfully acted, are just the worst people around.

Even those characters that I think we were meant to connect with as an audience are just the worst examples of people.

Armond is the perfect example. I am both sorry for and disgusted by Armond. He took so much grief and unnecessary strife, particularly from Shane, but he made so many choices that led to his own downfall. The scene of him pooping in Shane’s luggage was gruesome, shocking, and downright disturbing (albeit really funny). Of course, this “feud” with Shane sure seemed as if Shane came out on top and I am not sure how I felt about that. Shane was one of the biggest jerks on the show. Just losing his wife did not seem to be enough Karma for him.

Another character that we were meant to support was Paula, but she was every bit as bad as Olivia. She totally corrupted Kai which led his his arrest. That arc was anything but satisfying as that character was sacrificed to the show. I kind of expected Kai to have given the jewels he stole back, maybe anonymously, because he was better than that and had felt the regret of his actions. I guess not as Armond just said he was caught and that was all we got from him.

If there was one character who was worth rooting for, it was Belinda, who got royally screwed over by Tanya. The whole storyline with Tanya and Greg did not work much for me. He just blew in, had sex with Tanya, and told her he was sick. This was so out of nowhere, it felt out of place. Plus, it led to Tanya turning away from Belinda, whose heartbreak over the rejection of her business plan, a plan that Tanya encouraged in the first place, was crushing. Actor Natasha Rothwell did some wonderful acting in the final episode, keeping much of her own disappointment and ache inside and expressing it through her eyes and face.

There are seven episodes of season two also on MAX and I expect that I will be jumping into them soon. This first season was really well done and acted, creating some definitive feelings for these people. They just may not have been a happy feeling.

The X-Files S8 E3

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Spoilers

“Patience”

Agent Scully and Agent Doggett went together for the first time as partners out to chase down DC Comic’s Man-Bat.

Okay, so maybe it is not specifically the Man-Bat aka Dr. Robert Kirkland “Kirk” Langstrom. But there sure were a few similarities to the two characters.

I thought that the scenes with Scully and Doggett worked fairly well. Scully going out of her way to try and fit into the role of Mulder in the story seemed logical and the conflict with local authorities continued to be a trope of the X-Files.

John Doggett is an interesting piece. He seemed more willing to buy into the paranormal than Scully would have been, but he proved himself with his late second return after what looked to be a potential watery grave. I was never worried that Doggett was going to be killed, but it was a dramatic moment as Man-Bat and he fought in the water.

The ending was a bit anticlimactic as the Man-Bat just swooped down, was shot at, and disappeared. Doggett’s idea that he had shot him, as did Scully did not feel like a satisfying conclusion. Sure, it fell into the type of ending the X-Files thrived on, but this did not work as well as many of these previous monster episodes did.

Overall, it was an okay episode, and it furthered the partnership of Scully and Doggett, which was a vital component for the rest of the season.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #138

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February 6

We had some ice last night in the weather and it has led to there being a no school day today after I had a personal day on NEW COMIC BOOK DAY. All that meant that I had some open time to finish reading the books and the EYG Comic Cavalcade is able to come out early this week.

I picked up several graphic novels yesterday, two at Comic World and two at BAM!. At Comic World, I grabbed We Called Them Giants by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans and Fantastic Four: Season One by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and David Marquez. The Gillen/Hans book is beautiful and really great. At BAM!, I got Dark Horse graphic novel Skull and Bones: Savage Storm by John Jackson Miller and James Mischler and the beautifully drawn The Road, adapted by Manu Larcenet.

This is a double dose of Marvel this week as the missing shipment from Diamond (boooooo) last week arrived with this week’s books. Diamond is really setting themselves up as the antagonist of this column.

Books this week:

Exorcism at 1600 Penn #3. Written by Hannah Rose May and art by Vanesa Del Ray. Cover art was done by Vanesa Del Ray. The possession of the President’s daughter takes more steps forward as Kevin tries to convince everyone that it was happening. I was getting frustrated how these adults were all so blind with their denial, but it seemed like everyone has come around to the truth as the penultimate issue of this series concluded.

Deadpool #10. Written by Cody Ziglar and art by Roge Antonio. Taurin Clarke did the cover art. Deadpool and Ellie are back from the dead with their healing factors compromised. Taskmaster tried to help them train their fighting style to adjust. I was not a huge fan of this issue or the way they have downgraded Deadpool’s healing factor. I am willing to see where they go.

The Patchwork Girl of Oz #1. Adapted, Illustrated and cover art by Otis Frampton. This is an adaptation of one of the novels from L. Frank Baum and I really enjoyed it. It was a surprise to find it in my box, because I did not remember actually ordering it (I’m not saying I didn’t do it. Just did not remember it). I like the more cartoony art here because it worked so well with this story. I found this to be very joyous.

Hellhunters #2. Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and drawn by Adam Gorham. Variant cover art by Salvador Larroca & Edgar Delgado. This World War II series with these characters continues to be interesting, especially now that Logan (aka Wolverine) has joined the crew. He has made it much bloodier than it had been. This dynamic is intriguing as well.

Namor #7. “The Battle of the Eighth” Written by Jason Aaron and art by Paul Davidson & Alex Lins. Varian Cover art by Olivier Coipel (Silver Medalist). I thought this was epic. Namor facing down the leaders of the different ocean kingdoms. Namor’s battles were so awesome.

The Ultimates #9. Written by Deniz Camp and guest artist is Chris Allen. Cover art was done by Dike Ruan & Neeraj J. Menon (Bronze Medalist). We get a whole issue featuring Luke Cage in jail. This Ultimate universe continues to be rocking hard.

Spider-Boy #15. “All Eyes on the Prize.” Written by Dan Slott and art by Paco Medina. with Spider-Girl’s origin art by Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado. Cover art by Paco Medina and Edgar Delgado. The Dragon’s Challenge rolled on as we end up with a final battle between Daredevil & Spider-Boy and Bullseye & Spider-Girl. Daredevil does something to protect Bailey that was unexpected and costs them dearly.

Avengers #23. “The Casino Job Part 2” Written by Jed MacKay and art by Farid Karami. Cover art was done by Valerio Schiti & Alex Sinclair. The ultimate odd couple is taking on the Avengers this week. Kang the Conqueror and the Black Cat. Huh? Strange pairing for sure, but Kang needs someone to steal something and he chose Felicia.

The Spectacular Spider-Men #12. “Hero Worship.” Written by Greg Weisman and art by Emilio Laiso. Cover art was done by David Baldeón and Edgar Delgado. The two Electros return and are about to defeat the two Spider-Men until we get the appearance of a scaly surprise. Honestly, this issue felt a little lesser than it has been recently. We’ll see how it goes from here.

X-Men #10. “Brinksmanship.” Written by Jed MacKay and penciled by Netho Diaz. Cover art was done by Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer and Marte Gracia (Gold Medalists). This was another epic issue that was highlighted with a tension filled confrontation between Cyclops and Lundqvist. This scene was just awesome and stood out as one of the best one-on-one verbal matchups in the entire series. I loved this.

Juvenile #3. Written, illustrated and cover art by Jesus Orellana. Juvenile has just been a tremendous book over the first three issues. Sara and Max are amazing together and there is a ton of stress after they are recaptured from their escape attempt. What is going to happen to them? It is especially up in the air after we see Ella. This might be my current favorite independent book going.

Justice League: The Atom Project #2. “Cold Fusion.” Written by Ryan Parrott and John Ridley and art and cover by Mike Perkins. I will admit that I was not as into this issue of the series as I was issue #1. I do like super powered polar bears though.

Absolute Superman #4. “Chasing the Storm.” Written by Jason Aaron and art by Rafa Sandoval. Rafa Sandoval & Ulises Arreola did the cover art. Superman seems to be messing with the Peacemakers, and they are not happy about it. I actually thought this was the weakest of the Absolute Superman books so far too. Still, I like this new take on the character.

Ultimate X-Men #11. Written, illustrated and cover art by Peach Momoko. This was an interesting book. There were several mentions of other Ultimate books, including Black Panther and the new Black Cat. I wonder if this was included to make sure everyone understood that the Ultimate X-Men was still taking place in the same universe even though it is so different from anything else.

Sabretooth: The Dead Don’t Talk #2. Written by Frank Tieri and art by Michael Sta. Maria. Tyler Kirkham and Arif Prianto did the cover art. I enjoyed how this book is building the world of this time, with all of these groups vying for power. Plus, Sabretooth takes on an alligator man. Always fun.

When I Lay My Vengeance Upon Thee #2. Written by Gus Moreno and illustrated and cover art by Jakub Rebelka. More possession this week as Father Stygian and Father Barrera have to face some seriously gross stuff.

Frankenstein New World: The Sea of Forever #1. Script by Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden & Thomas Sniegoski. A follow up series from ten years ago, Mike Mignola returned to Frankenstein and young Lilja following her vision above ground. I like this take on the Frankenstein story in this new series from Dark Horse.

Parliament of Rooks #3. Written by Abigail Jill Harding with Richard Starkings and illustrated by Abigail Jill Harding. Darius has gone full monster form, though his thoughts are still with his beloved Princess Seraphina. Some beautifully drawn monster images make this book stand out. I am curious to see how this Ablaze book wraps up.

Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu #4. “Rats” Written by Jed MacKay and art by Devmalya Pramanik. Davide Paratore did the cover art. Things are going rough for Moon Knight as he is out for vengeance of those that killed the Midnight Mission. Moon Knight takes it to another bloody level.

In Bloom #2. Written by Michael W. Conrad and art by John J. Pearson with Lola Bonato. John J. Pearson did the cover art. The story of the people “blooming” take another turn in a much more shocking and graphic manner. There were a couple of scenes of pure horror in this book.

Storm: Lifedream #1. Cover art was by Taurin Clarke. There are three different chapters of this Storm story that is written by and drawn by different teams. I do enjoy me some Storm and this does cover a long part of her history. It is clear that there are big plans moving ahead for Ororo Munroe.

Red Before Black #4. Written by Stephanie Phillips and illustrated by Goran Sudžuka. Goran Sudžuka with Ive Svorcina did the cover art. This book has been reminding me of Thelma and Louise while bringing in a character this issue that made me think of the Crocodile Hunter. Lots of fun.

What If Galactus Transformed Spider-Gwen #1. “Tipping the Scales.” Written by Kalinda Vazquez and art by Daniel Picciotto. Ron Lim and Israel Silva did the cover art. This is the final of the What If Galactus series and this book felt the same as a lot of the others. I was enjoying the set up, but the book ended before the big final battle. This left me feeling unsatisfied as many of these recent What Ifs have. I thought this was an excellent HALF of a story.

Power Man: Timeless #1. “Something New” Written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly and art by Bernard Chang. Andrei Bressan & Rachelle Rosenberg did the cover art. This is the surprise of the week. I did not expect this to be a new series. I was not a fan of the previous Power Man: Timeless one shot from a few months ago, but this was great. They brought this Power Man into the 616 universe (it seemed like) and I suddenly found his adventure engaging as could be. I never thought I would want to read on with this book, but I do.

Phoenix #8. Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Alessandro Miracolo. Yasmine Putri did the cover art. Jean Grey is going through some personal growth inside a cocoon? We get the new form of Phoenix at the end.

Wolverine #6. “Lineage.” Written by Saladin Ahmed and art by Martin Coccolo with Martin Coccolo and Bryan Valenza did the cover art. Laura arrived in the book to help Logan follow the clues that are leading them to Adamantine.

Two-Face #3. Wild, but I could not find the creator credits inside this issue of Two-Face. The cover listed Ward, Veras & Plascencia but that was all I could find. I found the creators of the few pages of Zatanna at the end of the book that is appearing in all of the DC books this month. The Two-Face book has been good so far as we get a big reveal at the end of it.

Psylocke #3. “Lady-Killer.” Written by Alyssa Wong and art by Vincenzo Carratù. Cover art was done by Mahmud Asrar & Matthew Wilson. This was a solid issue of Psylocke as she met up with John Greycrow, after finding his bloody arm with a note on it last issue. This was probably my favorite issue of the series so far.

Scarlet Witch #9. Written by Steve Orlando and art by Jacopo Camagni. Russell Dauterman did the cover art. Hey, fresh off her appearance in the Avengers, Black Cat is now here stealing from Wanda. Felicia is really giving those luck powers a go. Not sure why Black Cat has suddenly been everywhere, but I don’t mind it.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6. Written by Jason Aaron and art by Juan Ferreyra. Cover art was by Jorge Fornes. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back together and… things are falling apart. They can’t get along and spend most of this issue fighting with each other. And Donnie is carrying around a rat claiming it is Master Splinter. Things aren’t good for the Turtles.

Other books this week: Grim #21, Rocketfellers #3, Bitter Root: The Next Movement ashcan, and Spirits of Vengeance #6.

Companion

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Companion is a sci-fi/thriller that flew under the radar. I knew very little about it before it was released in the theaters. I do not recall seeing any trailers for the film. I had heard some positive word of mouth about the film, but I still knew very little when I walked into the theater this morning to see it.

If you can go into this movie with as little knowledge as you can, please do so. Companion was an outstanding film that was a ton of fun and very creative and imaginative.

In the vein of going into this movie as free as you can, I am not giving any spoilers, nor am I going to give a synopsis, as this is one of those films where it is very difficult to give a synopsis without giving away some major plot points.

Starring Sophie Thatcher (Heretic, Yellowjackets) played Iris and Jack Quaid (The Boys) played Josh, a couple who was heading for a weekend with friends at a remote cabin. Both Thatcher and Quaid do a sensational job in this film as our main characters. They had a great chemistry and worked very well together to create a story that kept the audience on the edge of their seats the entire time.

The film was both exciting and funny, blending both together very effectively. The writing was so good in both structure and dialogue. You had feelings for these character, including the secondary characters played by Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, Harvey Guillen, and Rupert Friend.

You may never have heard of this movie, but it is absolutely worth your time. It is a blast and provides such a exceptional experience.

4.2 stars

EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week

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February 5

There are no covers this week from Mark Spears, so everyone else has a chance.

Plus, I have two weeks of Marvel books this week, and, partially because of this, all three medalists this week are from the House of Ideas.

Bronze Medalist

The Ultimates #9

Cover art by Dike Ruan & Neeraj Menon

I have always loved those white backgrounds on these covers so this immediately moves this Ultimates book up the list. Then with the cool white jail bars covering our characters give us a nice perspective for this issue.

Silver Medalist

Namor #7

Variant cover B

Cover art by Olivier Coipel

I swapped the cover A for this one because I liked this one so much more than the cover A book. This is a great look at Namor as he is swimming in the blue of the water.

Gold Medalist

X-Men #10

Cover art by Ryan Stegman, J.P. Mayer, & Marte Gracia

Cyclops’s optic blasts shown on the cover around the entire cover. The title itself is affected by the optic blasts. This is a beautiful use of the red color and gave us something original.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man S1 E3, E4, E5

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Spoilers

“Secret Identity Crisis”

“Hitting the Big Time”

“The Unicorn Unleashed”

The second week of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man on Disney + saw the release of three new episodes. Three solid episodes again this week as we see several new interpretations of Spider-villains as well as the debut of one of the most iconic ones.

The dual story of Peter’s rise as Spider-Man and Lonnie Lincoln’s downward spiral to Tombstone is fascinating. They are spending a ton of time building the character of Tombstone to become, perhaps, the big bad of the series, long term.

But we also got our first look at Otto Octavius, pre-Octopus arms. It is revealed that Octavius is behind the weapons that have been showing up around New York.

We got a version of Speed Demon, Unicorn and who will eventually (I think) become Rhino.

Harry Osborn is brought into the “Team Spider-Man” by Norman. Norman said that he couldn’t always be available, but his son could. The Peter-Harry friendship is starting to develop, even though Harry seems to be becoming Peter’s Ned Leeds in this cartoon.

This is also interesting since the show is using the Iron Man/Captain America MCU storyline as a backdrop. I assume they will show up sooner or later.

My biggest problem I have in this show is the fact that everybody wears the same clothes every time. I know it is meant to identify these characters, but it is becoming very odd. I want Peter in something besides that yellow shirt and blue jacket.

I would say that the animation style is still a little distracting, but the storytelling has been top notch so far.

Paradise S1 E4

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Spoilers

“Agent Billy Pace”

Okay, I am officially in.

I may have still been slightly uncertain about this show after the first three episodes, but after the fourth episode, I am all in. I thought this was easily the best episode of this show that I have seen yet, and it was also the one that crushed me.

This episode featured Billy Pace, with a look at his background, and it was tremendously engaging. He had a dark past and the episode played with the uncertainty that he was the reason the president was killed. As it moved on, it became clear that Billy Pace was a bad guy who had found his friend and family with Xavier and his kids. By the end of the episode, I was in love with this character.

And then the show killed him off.

Man, that scene where he is poisoned by Jane on the orders of Sinatra. Then there was a scene with Sinatra and Billy that was just tense and anxious, which is what led to his death. I know I was nervous about Billy the rest of the film at that point and I thought he had made it when he got home. Then, the rugged gets pulled out from under me.

The death of Billy Pace was a kick in the gut. I would not have guessed that his death would have meant anything to me, but it has been awhile since I have felt this upset over a character death.

By the way, the mystery of the surface world is another cool thing and having Billy kill the people doing the investigation was a rough truth that caught me off guard. I am looking forward to seeing how everything ties together.

The music was by Poison this episode… Every Rose Has Its Thorn. Was the band’s name a hint?

I am fully in on this show now, at I guess, the halfway mark. You can watch Paradise on Hulu or Disney +.