Category Archives: Apple TV +

Dark Matter S1 E5

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“Worldless”

Dark Matter’s fifth episode was another banger.

Between this, Silo and Hulu’s Paradise, sci-fi television is hot again.

Jason and Amanda moved through different universes, learning along the way about what they need to do to try and find their way to Jason’s original world. Meanwhile, they are encountering a variety of worlds where that world’s Jason had something tragic happen.

One world was filled with a deadly disease, and Jason found Daniela sick and dying, after they took away her Jason. Another world, Daniela and Charlie reacted to Jason in a terrible way because their Jason was supposed to be in prison.

As they met Blair, from Amanda’s reality, they learned more about the Box. Blair had gone through so much inside the Box that she simply could not go back into it at that moment. She could not face the differing universes and the stress that built on her inside the Box. She warned Amanda that she needed to know what she wanted for herself, instead of just following Jason.

meanwhile, Jason 2 has been moving in and out of the Box easily, including returning to his home universe to grab some more of the drug. He told Leighton that, after he leaves the reality, Jason planned on sealing the Box’s entrance, essentially preventing anyone from coming into the universe. He knew that Jason and Amanda had made it into the Box a few days before and he is looking to keep Jason from finding his way home.

Four more episodes to go for season one.

Dark Matter S1 E4

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“The Corridor”

The Apple TV + series Dark Matter episode four was on the docket tonight and we get a very cool display on the multiversal travel. It felt as if the corridor where Jason and Amanda found themselves after their harrowing escape from Leighton. They found their way into the Box and were transported to the corridor, with an infinite number of doors, and an infinite number of possibilities.

I was really wondering how they were intending on finding their way anywhere without it feeling random and coincidental. It seemed as if this was never going to have a reasonable answer to how to navigate the multiverse.

And then Jason figured it out.

So far, this has been great. I am still working hard to keep in focus on which Jason is which, and when they brought Leighton into the situation, I was even more confused (though I think I worked my way through it). The concepts here really work well and feel very tightly scripted. It had to be otherwise it would feel like a major issue.

The story of Charlie’s twin brother was very emotional and how his family honors him (Max) is quite lovely. It is also something that I am not sure if Jason 2 knows about and could be something to trip him up eventually.

Jason 2 is taking some big life changing steps as he occupies Jason’s life. Quitting a job and going full in on the Box, with Leighton’s help, of all people. It was interesting how Charlie had been picking up some vibes from Jason 2. Charlie knows something is not right, but he would never in a million years be able to come up with a theory of why.

Dark Matter is some outstanding sci-fi so far, even if it is a slow burn. I am loving it so far.

Dark Matter S1 E1, E2, E3

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“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 +.

Silo S2 E10

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“Into the Fire”

The ending of Silo season two made me think of the ending of LOST season 3, where Jack said “We have to go back!” That moment was such a mind-f that no one was expecting it. That is how I felt when suddenly, the end of Silo seemed to be in a different time before the silos were built.

It led to us seeing where the Pez dispenser came from. It was such an unexpected twist that it was wild.

Both sides of the storyline this year came together in some great scenes.

  • I was right about Walker and the others setting up Bernard, although, I have to admit, mid way through the episode, I was not sure if I was right. Loved the scene between Walker and Bernard that confirmed the plan.
  • Juliette coming over the hill as the whole of silo 18 was preparing for force their way outside was as dramatic as it could be. It was one of the best moments of the show.
  • Again, it may just be me, but Juliette writing “Not Safe. Don’t come out” and showing it on screen as she did reminded me of “Not Penny’s Boat” by Charlie on LOST. Yeah, I know I have LOST on the brain.
  • The Algorithm is strange. It said that Camille could stay but Sims and his son had to leave. Why? Solo kept saying that his mom did not come back when they went to deal with the Safeguard. Is this tied together?
  • The scene where Juliette let Audrey have it for her treatment of Eater, whom we learn has a named- Hope. This was awesome because I have thought Audrey has had something shoved up her butt since the minute we met her.

Last week I believe I stated that ep. 9 was my favorite of the season. That is no longer accurate as episode 10 was just completely awesome from the beginning to the weird flashback at the end. The fire that seemingly consumed Juliette and Bernard, the rebellion’s ‘end’, and everything else.

Silo has done a tremendous job of providing specific details and answers to mysteries while keeping plenty of them active to keep the audience guessing. Rebecca Ferguson and Tim Robbins were outstanding all season long with a special shout out to Steve Zahn’s Solo who may have been the best character we have met so far. Zahn’s performance was special and his bond with Juliette was incredible.

Season three looks to have a ton of surprises in store, and I cannot wait to see where this sci-fi series takes me. Apple TV + has yet another epic series on its hands.

Silo S2 E9

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“The Safeguard”

Wow. This was an intense episode of Silo. It was easily my favorite episode of season two so far. Everything is coming together into major events setting up for the season finale next week.

If I am being honest, some of this season has not caught my attention. I have always been in on everything Juliette is doing, but a lot of the political stuff from the original silo has gone over my head. However, as things ratchet up, every scenes has grown in intensity.

Silo had a LOST moment too as Juliette comes across the Others. Okay, that is not their names, but she found this handful of young adults as she was searching for Solo. The inclusion of these characters brought a anxiety level that ramped things up. Rick and Audrey are angry and spiteful… at least Audrey is. She is very much like kill first and figure it out later. We see how she was behind a lot of the missteps that happened to Juliette earlier in the series (another LOST like trope that saw the same scene from different POV).

Juliette tried to figure out the combination to the vault for Rick and Audrey. Audrey had told her that she would kill Solo when her baby cried again because the baby was hungry. This all led to the reveal of Solo’s backstory and the tragic events that led up to him being stuck in that vault on his own. The whole scene of Juliette trying to convince Solo to give her the combination was effective and suspenseful.

Lukas winding up in front of the giant AI was amazing too. What is the Safeguard? I don’t know, but I think it is safe to assume that it is a way to protect the secrets by destroying the silo. We know there are 51 other silos out there and, according to the AI, only three other people had ever gotten the instructions it was going to give to Lukas.

What side is Sims and his wife going to end up on? I don’t know but all I know is that Bernard needs to face some justice. He is such a horrible character at this point, just concerned with his own power. Unless, that is, there is something that the show has not shown us yet, which is absolutely possible. I think Bernard is going to get his because of Knox. I think Know knows that Walker is the “traitor” and that he was setting up Bernard with a fake story. Maybe I am wrong about that, but the way he spoke to Walker about the possible traitor, it really seemed as if he had figured out the truth.

The finale looks to be a huge episode. This one was easily my favorite of the year so far as every story grasped my attention and made me anxious.

Silo S2 E8

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“The Book of Quinn”

Apple TV +’s sci-fi series Silo is marching along this season with plenty of tense and anxiety-filled moments.

My favorite section is those including Rebecca Ferguson. She is an awesome actress and her character, Juliette, is one bad ass. Just this episode, she gets shot by an arrow, pulls it out, treats the wound, while suffering from the bends, and continues on in her search for the person who took Solo. She needs her suit back to make it back to her own silo and only Solo knows where it is.

At the end, though, Juliette comes across three others, one of which had that bow trained back on her for a second time.

Bernard is a real dirtbag. His quest for power is just non-stop as he manipulates poor Walker into becoming his snitch. He placed her former spouse’s life in danger in order to blackmail her. He truly is an epically horrible man. He is also going to be taking advantage of Lukas until he gets the message translated. Sims told Lukas that Bernard will dump him immediately after he gets what he needed from him, and I believe that fully.

More details on the mysterious and apparently awful Salvador Quinn are revealed as Lukas found the book that he was looking for, a copy of the Pact.

Two more episodes remain in season two of Silo and I see big things preparing to happen.

Silo S2 E7

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“The Dive”

Juliette goes diving again and winds up in trouble. Solo convinced her to fix the water pump before she left his silo because, and rightfully so, he believes that once she leaves she most likely will never come back.

He explained about swimming to her and also about the bends. It’s a fascinating world where someone has to be explained what swimming is. Plus, you know that his comments about the bends were going to lead to something.

While she is down in the water, her oxygen goes off and the connection to the bell she would ring is severed too, forcing her to ascend in a rapid manner. When she gets up there, Solo is nowhere to be seen and there is blood around the area.

Is there someone else in this silo? Always thought so. This all but confirms it.

Bernard continues to flail in his attempts to keep everything together, but more and more things are going against him. This includes Sims, whose wife has been whispering in his ear. Sims and Bernard have a tense convo where lines sure seem to be laid down.

The food poisoner is revealed too. The level’s head cook who had told them about the poison in the first place. Her mother is above the blockade and they were using this as a way of pressuring her to do their bidding.

Lucas is making progress with the code too as it is a numerical code from a book- Bernard believes it is from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Shrinking S2 E12

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“The Last Thanksgiving”

What a wonderful final episode of Shrinking.

However, I really thought this was going to end with a tragedy and I just did not want to see it happen. Thankfully, Jimmy arrived at the train station just as Louis, who had been rebuked by his friend who said that he “got drunk and murdered someone”, was about to step out in front of an oncoming train. I really thought this was going to happen and I could not handle the season coming to an end with such a horrible tragedy.

So many great things happened:

  • Derek forgave Gaby and brought her mother to Thanksgiving.
  • Brian and Charlie hired a nanny, and had Liz do two days a week. It was Derek’s idea at first.
  • Julie kidnapped Paul again… this time to go to Gaby’s Thanksgiving. He kept saying he was under duress.
  • Paul stood up and gave a beautiful speech about the people at the party being people that he did not have to hide his tremors from. It was an amazing scene and Harrison Ford knocked it out of the park.
  • Sean had a nice scene with his father *finger poke*
  • Summer called for help from Jimmy when she was shoplifting abortion medicine.
  • Jimmy worked with Paul to try and get better after admitting that he was not okay.

The scene with Jimmy and Louis at the train station was legendary as they sat and tried to guess what other people’s jobs were. It echoed back to the past when Louis and his wife used to do that.

This was a wonderful episode to wrap up a pretty solid season overall. Shrinking will be returning for a season three on Apple TV +.

Silo S2 E6

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“Barricades”

Silo streamed its sixth episode the other day and things continue to be happening. This episode spent most of the time in our original silo, with only a few minutes at the end of the episode with Juliette and Solo.

Sheriff Billings takes a stand after finally getting to be able to talk to Shirley, Knox and Walker. He showed himself that he was willing to follow the law and not worry about whose side he is on. He also seemed to discover that his shakes from the Syndrome were gone despite not taking his herbs for days. What does this mean for the people of the silo? Is it just one more lie that has been used to maintain the status quo?

Bernard is feeling like he is losing control of things as the revolt below him in the silo has been picking up steam and his attempt to starve them out has failed. He realized that he has lost the sheriff, who is going to follow the law and not just blindly follow what he says.

Things are going to go crazy when Juliette is able to return to her original silo. It’s coming…

Shrinking S2 E11

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“The Drugs Don’t Work”

A more emotional episode of Shrinking than we’ve had for awhile as both Jimmy and Paul had major events in their lives, causing each of them distress. Plus, Gaby’s personal demons began to throw a wrench into her relationship with Derek.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and problems are welling up for everyone. However, there was a great moment when Brian received word that the woman who had rejected Brian and Charlie as adoptive parents for her baby, changed her mind.

Sean is also having issues that he does not want Derek to help him with, even though Derek had an awesome fix for.

Jimmy is quickly on a downward spiral as he realized that he was not doing better dealing with his wife’s death and that he really needed help. His reaction to Alice being friends with Louis has triggered the episode and Jimmy called Paul for help.

Of course, Paul’s medication is starting to fail him, as he had noticed more tremors than he had before.

At one point, I was unsure what this show was going to do because it felt as if the storylines had all wrapped up sufficiently. However, Shrinking has amped everything back up for a “finale?” next week.

Silo S2 E4, E5

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“The Harmonium”

“Descent”

Boy, some big things went down on Silo over the last two weeks.

I did not realize that I was a week behind when I pulled up the series on Apple TV +, but there they were. Then all the crap happened.

  • The Mayor killed Judge Meadows. Poisoned mushrooms. I knew fungus should not be eaten.
  • Solo is going crazy…okay, maybe he is already crazy.
  • Knox and Shirley framed for the murder of Judge Meadows.
  • An angry mob chased after Knox and Shirley.
  • The whole Juliette going underwater to go find a suit was tense and crazy.
  • Juliette collapses from her infected injury on her arm.
  • Is Solo the real Solo? Who is the Solo that Juliette knows?
  • Sims is made a Judge. Not Bernard’s shadow though.

Things are building for a really exciting second part of the season. I can’t imagine what is happening with this rebellion when Juliette makes it back to her home silo.

Shrinking S2 E10

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“Changing Patterns”

Okay, so perhaps this is not the season finale after all.

I really thought that this was the season finale. But when I pulled up the show on Apple TV +, I saw episode 11 listed for next Wednesday. So I guess this is not the final episode of the season. I do not know how many there are.

That does not bother me much because Shrinking is consistently one of the best written and entertaining shows on TV.

I had been wondering where this show was going as it seemed like most of the storylines were wrapped up over the last couple of episodes, but there were a couple that came raging back into the forefront.

In particular, the whole Louis/Alice friendship came back hard and heavy this week. Alice found out that Jimmy had told Louis to not see Alice again and that crushed her. Apparently, there are more legs to this as Alice told her father that he ruined another birthday.

Oh yeah, it was Alice’s 18 birthday. She was a little unfair in this situation in my opinion. I mean, Jimmy did find her a car just like his wife. Sure he can be blind in a lot of ways, but to say that he ruined the birthday felt a touch harsh.

There are some great development with all of the other characters too. Paul, Liz, Derek, Julie, and Gaby had solid arcs within this episode, but they all paled in comparison to the birthday escapades.

I wonder how many more episodes the season has for us?

Shrinking S2 E9

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“Full Grown Dude Face”

Another wonderfully charming episode of Shrinking. The writing on this in on par with some of the best writing on television.

However, next week is the finale of season two and I am not sure where this will go. There does not seem to be any kind of overarching storyline through the season. There was but it has been resolved a couple of episodes ago. And this episode felt like a wrap to a couple of more. At least, for the moment.

It was a great single episode with some excellent character work, as Jimmy as seemingly on fire this week, while dealing with Alice’s growing and becoming even more independent. We had some furthering of the search for a baby by Brian and Charlie.

I guess the theme of the episode is parenting, as everyone involved has some connection to being a parent and trying to understand the sacrifices and, sometimes, the outright lying, that goes with it.

Seeing Harrison Ford doing exercises that look to be twerking is a highlight for sure. There is not enough Harrison Ford this week even if every second he is on screen he absolutely dominates,

Silo S2 E3

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“Solo”

The best parts of this episode came from the interactions between Juliette and Solo. Solo is the person locked in the vault that we met last week. He told her that if Juliette tried to open the vault again, he would kill her.

However, we discover that Solo is not quite confident in his mental acuity. He was not sure if Juliette was real, so he put some soup out for her. When she gulped it down, Solo realized that she really was real.

Steve Zahn played the off-balanced survivor and he did a great job of spending most of the episode acting with his voice (and perhaps every once in awhile with his eyes).

Discovering the secrets of this other silo, Juliette wanted to get back to her own silo (Silo 18), to warn others of the dangers that brought this silo (Silo 17) down. She was stifled on how to make that happen since her own suit was torn to shreds.

This led to Solo exiting his vault when he feared that Juliette was going to not return. I am not sure where this goes, but Solo feels a little cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs to me.

The stuff happening back in the original silo was not as compelling for me. We get a bunch of trouble from a group planning a potential rebellion. We get questions about Juliette’s actual choice about wanting to leave. The Mayor continues with his machinations. Judge Meadow who is starting to figure out how she can leave the silo and The Mayor seemingly helping her (though I don’t trust him one bit).

Shrinking S2 E8

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“Last Drink”

A wonderful episode of Shrinking this week.

It started off with a flashback to prior to the car crash and gave us all the feelings about Jimmy’s marriage and the events leading up to the accident. (We also got to see a bunch of weird outfits and hats meant to make these people look younger).

We finally returned to the moment at the restaurant when Jimmy saw Alice, Brian and Louis together. It rocked Jimmy’s world and sent him into a spiral.

We also got a chunk of work on the relationship between Liz and Derek, and Derek went to confront the guy who kissed Liz. Derek worked on his own feelings and was able to see how some of this was his own fault. The fact that it appeared as if Liz and Derek were going to get past the kiss was really great. I did not want an extended fight between them and this gave us a chance to look at these important characters a little deeper.

Jimmy going to see Louis to tell him that he forgave him was undercut a bit by telling him that he never wanted to see him again, that he needed to be out of his life and to not see his daughter again. That did not feel as healthy as it could have been and it does not feel as if that story is done. I have some very frightening thoughts about what this could lead to.

Paul was beginning to have some more issues, such as not sleeping well and having some memory lapses, so he went to the doctor. That was a real healthy choice instead of just ignoring it. Turned out that the doctor recommended that Paul give up drinking, signaling that giving up alcohol would help with a temporary fix on some of those problems.

I think this might have been my favorite episode of the second season so far. It had those tough issues and the wonderfully funny writing that did not overpower the drama, but only helped to serve it more.