Category Archives: Netflix

Stranger Things 5 E4

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“Chapter Four: Sorcerer”

Will Byers

Will has discovered how he is connected to Vecna and the Upside Down.

There was a great final scene of episode four and an unbelievable cliffhanger. It is clear that the Duffers had planned on this being the break between chunks of episodes. That throwdown with Vecna and the demogorgons destroying the military was brutal and intense.

We get a bunch of exposition from Max, convincing Holly that they were in a prison. Holly has become a major player in this first part of the final season, and I do like this actor they have playing her.

Speaking of the acting, it is really nice to see some of these actors be provided some solid individual scenes to show off their abilities. In particular, Finn Wolfhard’s Mike, who has not had much to do over the last couple of seasons, feels like he has been rejuvenated in this season so far.

Vecna has the kids that he wanted. The military took some serious damage. Eleven and Hopper confronted Dr. Kay (Linda Hamilton) and the weird tentacle. And what was behind that special door? Eleven’s sister from season two.

Next set of episodes are out at Christmas and it will be awesome.

Stranger Things 5 E2, E3

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“Chapter Two: The Vanishing of…”

“Chapter Three: The Turnbow Trap”

Major pair of episodes. The crew still is attempting to find Vecna. Meanwhile, Vecna has Holly, Mike’s little sister, and is readying a plan to continue to grab other kids.

It seems as if Will has been having some insights on Vecna, but truthfully, I wonder if Vecna is seeing though Will’s eyes just like Will believes that he is seeing what Vecna is seeing.

Hopper and Eleven are trapped in the Upside Down, and they found a giant wall. The army had a weapon that affected Eleven… seemed like a sonic weapon of some sort.

I love how the kids are working together, setting up plans and doing what they can. Their plans have not been incredibly successful, but that is beside the point. The idea is that they are together. In past seasons, the group has been split apart multiple times. I like that they are basically together.

I am not sure if the town has been isolated or not. The town seems to be in denial about what is going on in Hawkins.

Max showing up with Holly is wild. It was great to see Sadie Sink out and about and not just stuck in a hospital bed.

I loved the scene of Eleven inside the mind of the soldier, and the mystery behind the door.

Stranger Things 5 E1

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“Chapter One: The Crawl”

Wow.

We have been waiting for the final season of Stranger Things for what has seemed like forever. Season four was shown in 2022, and we are just now beginning to prepare for the last season of shows for the Netflix hit.

Four episodes dropped on Thanksgiving eve on Netflix. Episode One was 71 minutes.

It was intense.

The town of Hawkins, Indiana is under quarantine by the military because of the events at the end of season four. The gang is using the military (unbeknownst to them) to carry out their own covert searches of the Upside Down in an attempt to find Vecna and finally put an end to it.

Things do not go well.

Holy cow. What a final few scenes.

Plus, Dustin gets the crap kicked out of him by the basketball punks. Dustin was bringing the Hellfire back around in honor of Eddie. Dustin was having some real problems, poking the bear.

The episode started slowly, but man did it kick into gear.

Wednesday S2 E7, E8

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“Woe Me the Money”

“This Means Woe”

Honestly, the last three of the four episodes of Wednesday season two were fantastic. I loved the final two episodes after one of the best uses of the Freaky Friday twist ever. I was not sure where it was going because it seemed as if the storylines were all ending quickly.

In episode 7, we dealt with the story of Principal Dort, revealing what he was always after. The third act of the episode at the gala was sensational. Particularly the dance routine with Enid and Agnes was amazing and I loved how it worked in to the downfall of Dort.

In episode 8, there was a great finale featuring one of the best reveal of all time with the origin of Thing. I never even thought that was possible even though they spent some time hinting about Thing’s past during the season. Making Thing the actual right hand of Isaac Night was so good.

Once again, the story is rooted in something that Morticia and Gomez did while they were at Nevermore. The secrets of the Addams Family seem to cause all kind of troubles.

The best part of the season was getting Wednesday and Enid back on the same page. The lack of these characters’ interaction in the first half of the season and the negativity between them was a poor choice. This is part of the reason why the last three episodes were so good. They were able to get back to the pair.

Hopefully Pugsley’s inclusion in season three will be considerably less. It looks as if season three will start off with a search for the Alpha Wolfed-Out Enid and eventually will include the mysterious Ophelia, who we see Grand-ma-ma has in a dungeon. They named dropped her all season long so I anticipated seeing her this season, but it’ll be next season.

Finishing strong, I am excited to see where this is heading.

Wednesday S2 E4 & E5

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“Hide and Woe Seek”

“Woe Thyself”

I tell you what…. Wednesday burns through plotlines faster than any show I think I have ever seen. I have no idea what the over arching storyline for the season actually is because things get wrapped up in an episode or two.

I was pretty sure that the mysterious patient was going to turn out to be Wednesday’s aunt Ophelia, but instead, she turned out to be Tyler’s mother… and Slurp (aka Isaac Night)’s sister.

Wednesday got a new spirit guide and it turned out to be Principal Larissa Weems. They made her Wednesday’s 13th cousin, twice removed. It is a neat way to include the character in the continued series.

The sixth episode found the series using the old Freaky Friday body switch, which has been done by nearly EVERY series like this. I did like the way that Wednesday and Enid had to learn about the other. The lack of connection between them this season is one of the biggest problems of the series. Thankfully, all that seems to be in the past as episode six wrapped up everything, especially the Enid is going to die plotline.

Enid is shown to be an Alpha and she kind of gained Wednesday’s respect.

It was sad to wish a fond farewell to Christopher Lloyd’s head as Professor Orloff was killed and eaten by Isaac Night.

Two more Wednesday episodes next up.

Wednesday S2 E3, E4

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Immediately, I was surprised with how quickly things are wrapped up in this season. They mentioned Wednesday’s stalker in episode one and we learned who that was in episode two. We found out who the Avian was in episode four. The biggest mystery still active is the potential vision of Enid’s death, so that must be the overarching storyline.

There were so many people killed in this show, specifically episode four. Characters that I never would have guessed would die. Christina Ricci returned for a one episode arc to try and save Tyler and it cost her. Christina Ricci felt very much like Misty from Yellowjackets.

Tyler’s escape in episode four clearly sets things up for the second half of the season.

Four also featured Uncle Fester in a big role and he is easily the best of the characters. Played by Fred Armisen, Fester is certainly standout as he is plotting to get sent to the asylum to help investigate.

The whole camping trip in episode three felt such a rushed plot point that was involved in this season for no apparent reason. It seemed that the entire purpose for the camping trip was to get a proper meal for Slurp the zombie. Sure Wednesday is kick ass and her winning the game was awesome, but the everything else felt lackluster.

The second part of season 4 drops in September on Netflix.

Wednesday S2 E2

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“The Devil You Woe”

I have found the second season of Wednesday on Netflix to be a bit of a mixed bag so far. Anything dealing directly with Wednesday and her orbit has been great. Episode two revealed her stalker, an invisible girl who is Wednesday’s #1 fan.

There was also a great scene between Wednesday and Tyler at the insane asylum. Tyler’s psychiatrist makes me suspicious. There is more to this character than the few fleeting moments we get with her.

It was Prank Day at Nevermore, which feels like a horrible idea. Barry Dort is another of the new characters this year that clearly has more to his story than what we know. Will the principal of Nevermore now be like the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts?

Donovan Galpin, a major character of season one, was found dead by Wednesday, his eyes pecked out by crows. “Murdered by a murder of crows” as Wednesday said. Donovan’s eye found its way to Wednesday and Enid’s dorm room.

All this is fun and I expect will mix together before the end of season two. What I have not enjoyed at all so far has been Pugsley Addams and his storyline. There is just something about Pugsley that is off-putting. I am also not fond of Eugene this season. I loved that character last year, but I am just not feeling him in season two so far. These two together have been dragging these episodes down.

Catherine Zeta-Jones is great as Morticia and seeing her more this season is only a good thing. She has some storyline that requires her to bring in her mother. It ties into Barry Dort’s desire as he blackmailed Bianca to use her siren song on Morticia.

There are two more episodes in the part one of season two.

Wednesday S2 E1

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“Here We Woe Again”

The long awaited season two of the hit series Wednesday dropped on Netflix today. Featuring characters from the Addams Family, Wednesday sees Wednesday Addams return to school at the mysterious Nevermore.

The show does not miss a step in jumping right back into the mysteries of Nevermore as Wednesday has to deal with her sudden popularity over her saving the school in season one, Pugsley coming to Nevermore with her, a stalker, black tears, as well as a new cabal of characters.

One of those characters is the new principal, Barry Dort, played by Steve Buscemi in a strangely familiar wig and black mustache.

The first episode certainly threw a lot of different things into the fire (some actually literally) setting up what looks to be a jam-packed season two.

Jenna Ortega reminded us immediately that she was the perfect casting for Wednesday Addams. Her dialogue and character play is wonderful. Seeing her spend her summer vacation hunting down and scalping a serial killer made for a great cold open.

Emma Myers returned as Enid, Wednesday’s colorful werewolf roommate and bestie. The easy chemistry between these two is one reason this show had such an amazing season one. Enid feels as if she will be at the center of another psychic vision mystery as we see Wednesday at the end of episode one have a vision where Enid grabbed her and told her that she was dead because of her.

There are a bunch of new mysteries in the air around Nevermore and I will be working on completing the first part of season two over the next week or so. Four episodes dropped today and the second part of four episodes drop at the beginning of September.

Squid Game Season 3

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Squid Game Season Three dropped on Netflix yesterday and I was able to binge it on Saturday and what an emotionally ragged trip this show took us on over the last six episodes of the acclaimed Korean series.

If we are really being truthful, season three of Squid Game really should be considered the second part of season two, as season two left us with a huge cliffhanger and very little to nothing resolved. Season Two Part 2 or Season Three is really semantics, so who cares that much?

Season two had spent a lot of time building the characters participating in the Squid Game up, so we had connections to them and that we cared about them (or despised them, as the case may be). I guess we should have known that they were building up these characters in order to rip our hearts out in the last season… because that is exactly what happened.

Honestly, there were a few characters that I believed would survive this season because I couldn’t believe that the show would be that cold hearted. Unfortunately, the show could be that cold hearted because practically every character that I thought “no way do they kill them off” got killed off.

Seong Gi-hun (played by Lee Jung-jae) was the one I was sure would survive, but the show had a fate for him planned out. He was truly our hero of the show and he showed what an honorable man he actually was. His efforts to save the baby, as well as others along the way, made him the show’s breakout character.

Geum-ja was another character that I thought for sure the show would not kill off, and then she hanged herself, after stabbing her own son to prevent him from killing Kim Jun-hee moments after she had given birth. That round of hide and seek was just horrific and filled with tension and anguish. Hyun-ju was another who I was sure had a great chance of being safe, but she did not make it out of the hide and seek, despite the fact that she found the exit before anyone else. She returned to get Geum-ja and Kim Jun-hee, whom had been together the whole game, only to get killed from behind by Myung-gi, right in front of Jun-hee and his daughter.

The jump rope section was also just rough and showed the worst in the players of this game. In fact, the worst of them kept making it through and the characters that I cared about kept getting killed off. I felt satisfied by the end with the deaths of those rotten players though.

However, the VIPs arrived to watch the games and they all had zero accountability at all. Man, I really wanted those VIPs to pay some kind of price for their cavalier attitude toward the games and their downright cruelty and wickedness. Nope, they see the ending of the games when Seong Gi-hun threw himself off the large pillar to save the baby and the VIPs are just never seen again. I really wanted someone to burst into the room and blast them all with some automatic weapon.

Who would guess that Cate Blanchett would be involved in the recruiting for more Squid Games in the world? She made a cameo as an American recruiter playing ddakji with some guy in an alleyway.

The last ten-fifteen minutes was spent wrapping stories up, giving us some ideas on what the few surviving characters were doing, specifically those secondary characters, such as Seong Gi-hun’s daughter.

This was a rough final season as so many of the characters that we had bonded with are killed rapidly. As I said, I really wanted more of a final ending that does not make me think that the Squid Games could be brought back or continue on as the show outright implied. The VIPs needed some kind of comeuppance for me to feel completely satisfied. The sacrifice made by Seong Gi-hun was beautiful and packed an emotional wallop.

A powerhouse of a series.

Adolescence TV Mini-Series E1-4

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Whoa.

The new Netflix series Adolescence was a British crime drama that really packed a punch.

It was a four episode limited series that explored the story of a 13-year old boy accused of murdering a female classmate and the effects that this had on the boy, his family and others at school.

The third episode was the most stunning of the four, as it featured the boy Jamie Miller and Psychologist Briony Ariston having a session where she was trying to assess Jamie’s understanding of the case. This hour of TV was as thrilling and anxiety-ridden as you will ever see, with two amazing performances from these two actors, who spent nearly the entire time alone in a room. Owen Cooper played Jamie, and Erin Doherty played Briony.

The four episodes are shot in a one take (although there are a few moments where there are hidden cuts in the filming). It was an amazing accomplishment of acting and staging of a TV program to make this one take even remotely possible.

The show was created by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham. Graham also starred as Eddie Miller, the father of Jamie. His performance in episode four was all kinds of heartbreaking, ranging from anger to total rage to regret and grief. The show did not shy away from the after-effects on the family, showing how the parents were forever damaged by their son’s actions.

The show uses the term incel, which is a mostly online subculture of men who are unable to find a girlfriend and who use this as an excuse to blame women for it. It is a type of misogynistic tendency that has been more active in the last few years. The show name dropped Andrew Tate during one episode.

Owen Cooper was exceptional as the Jamie Miller. His performance was both emotional and chilling. I wanted to believe his denials right up until the fourth episode when he calls his dad, on his father’s 50th birthday, to tell him that he had decided to plead guilty. Even after Jamie nearly admitted that he had done it in episode three and the implication that they had him on CCTV footage actually stabbing the girl, I wanted to believe that there was going to be a twist. I wanted to believe that there was something else going on. In the end, it was exactly what it looked like the whole time.

This was a devastating four episodes of TV, with unbelievable performances from everybody and a plot that was absolutely gripping and crushingly real. It is not an easy watch, but it is a powerful one.

Cobra Kai S6 E11-15

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The final five episodes of the final season of Cobra Kai dropped on Netflix, bringing the series to a satisfying conclusion.

The tragic ending to episode 10 did not really play a piece in these final episodes very much. But the Sekai Taikai coming back to the Valley to complete the tournament was weird, yet worked.

There were a lot of great character moments in this last five episodes where we saw more of the development of these characters than what we saw in the first ten episodes. Moments between Johnny and Creese, Sam and Tori, Tori and Robbie, Dmitri and Hawk, and Johnny and Daniel.

Highlights included Johnny and Carmen’s wedding, both of the final matches in the Sekai Taikai with Tori and Miguel, the return to Cobra Kai, the moment when Daniel LaRusso walked out in Cobra Kai gear, the boat explosion, all the callbacks to the previous seasons and the Karate Kid movies.

My least favorite part of these episodes were the part in Korea with Kim Da-eun and her grandfather. This was a big thing is episode 11, but meant nothing after that.

Mixed: When the tie happened in the Sekai Taikai and it was announced that the tie breaker would be a battle of the two sensei. I literally laughed loudly at the silliness of that twist. Yes, the results in episode 15 turned out epically, but the very idea is just stupid and made no sense.

I thought there was so much more emotion in this block of episodes than previous ones that it was such a strong conclusion to the series. I did like how, in the end, it circled back to having Johnny front and center. This show did start off with Johnny as the main character and Daniel as a supporting character, which changed as the seasons progressed. The turn back to the Cobra Kai roots worked really well and made a lot of sense.

Even more, I was please that they did not make Johnny do the crane kick in that final battle to win the match. I really thought that is where they were going with that match, but the way they did it was so much better and felt far less forced than the crane kick would have felt.

We do not learn anything more about Miyagi’s past, and I actually think that worked well too. That felt like a side story that did not matter in the long run. Once they dealt with it in this episode, Daniel was able to accept the unknown and move on.

So after six seasons Cobra Kai had some really cheesy moments and some that were so far over the top, but it formed together with some excellent storytelling and character development. It also introduced us to a group of characters that we truly liked watching and provided a wonderful conclusion. I wondered if season five should have been the series conclusion, but after seeing these last five episodes, I am glad that they took it one more season.

Squid Game S2 E6, E7

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“O X”

“Friend or Foe”

I finished up the second season of Squid Games on Netflix late last night and I have thoughts.

First, it sure ended at a strange place. It almost felt like this was a first part of a season like they did for Stranger Things and Cobra Kai. I have not heard any info on a second part to season two though. Perhaps it is just setting up for season three instead. If so, then season two would absolutely be the Empire Strikes Back of the Squid Games as things went oh so wrong for our heroes (PS… just looked at the end of the episode and it says season three will be back in 2025 so there is that.)

Gi-hun’s whole plan to take it to the people running the show by hijacking guns from the guards was wild and was never going to work. The pink suits had such a huge number of people that the handful of rebels were just not going to get through. However, it got fairly far and might have had a chance if they did not have a rat inside their team. Of course, that is In-ho, 001, who had been inside the game manipulating the situation. His eventual betrayal ended the uprising and led to the unfortunate death of Jung-bae. I had seen a spoiler about a death in the final episode that was shocking and this was the one. For a minute, I actually thought it was going to be Gi-hun instead. That would have been a shocker.

Defying all odds, Geum-ja has survived. I was sure she was going down after her son Yong-sik had changed his vote from X to O. I thought he was going to have to pay for his choice with his mother, but she continues to fight on. It did look like she was a goner during Mingle, but she was thankfully saved.

Speaking of Mingle, that was another game that was intense and very difficult to watch at times. The way alliances were tossed aside by some compared to those that were going out of their way to try and help the others.

Seeing Thanos get his final payment at the end of season six was very satisfying, and of course, brutal. Fork to the neck is not something I expected to see.

For a season that I was not sure was needed, this was a very tense and exciting seven episodes.

Squid Game S2 E3, E4, E5

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“001”

“Six Legs”

“One More Game”

The first two episodes of the season were character beats, setting up the characters we would be following in the Squid Game and developing them some. I found those episodes to be of great importance because we jump full into the games in episodes 3, 4, & 5.

The games themselves are always the most intense, stressful parts of this show. Even the Red Light, Green Light, which we saw in the first season and we know what to expect, was just insanity when it comes to execution. The show did a great job of giving us something different for us to stress over. In this case, Gi-hun taking the lead and almost directing traffic, despite several of the contestants not believing him or wanting to follow what he said. When Gi-hun ran back out to save the guy who had been shot in the leg, we saw what a heroic figure he had become from his days of season one.

The other characters all elicited some emotion from us as viewers, both positively and negatively. I hate Thanos, even if he does some funny things. I love Geum-ja. She is the ultimate mother figure in the games and she must be protected. There will be a time, I am sure, that the show will want to rip out hearts out and it will kill her. I do not want that to happen.

Player 001 turned out to be In-ho aka the Front Man (Captain). Much like last season, number 001 is a traitor, a man from behind the scenes inserting himself into the game. In this case, we are aware of the treachery unlike last year. In this case, In-ho is also a former winner of the Squid Game and his presence is curious. He sure seemed as if he was working with the group during the six-legged pentathlon.

By the way, that six-legged pentathlon was both the most invigorating and exciting game and the most stressful and horrendous game played. Watching the group of five try to make it through five children’s games in five minutes was unbelievably tense and suspenseful. It was also hard for the second game.

The show has done a tremendous job of building mood during the two votes we have had to try and end the games. The first vote coming down to the final player, 001, who voted to continue, and the second vote being more weighed toward the stay and do one more game.

I am afraid a bunch of the characters whom stated that they will play one more game and then leave are going to find their votes a tragic mistake.

I really thought doing a second season of this show was going to be a mistake, especially since the creators of the show had not intended on continuing the show past season one. However, this has been exceptional so far and it has taken an extra step in its exploration into human nature. It does not feel like a repeat of what happened in season one, and even when something similar happens, it is done in a totally different manner. The writing has been great so far as they have created a bunch of characters that I really want to see survive, even though I know they will not.

There are only two episodes left in this season, which I have heard ends in a cliffhanger, so I am excited about wrapping it up.

Squid Game S2 E2

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“Halloween Party”

I have really enjoyed the start of season two as the show has not even made it to the games yet. They have taken some time to dive into more of the story of the characters, and not just Gi-hun.

We have spent time over the first two episodes with Kang No-eul, who was a refugee from North Korea who is continuing to try and get her daughter back from the North as well. She worked at an amusement park as a mascot and we saw her relating to a little sick girl. We thought she was going to join the games, but, instead, she turns out to be one of the pink guards instead, which was a cool surprise.

Gi-hun and Jun-ho meet up after the Russian Roulette game and have the initial misunderstanding as you would expect. They team up to try and stop the games. We get to see how much Gi-hun has been preparing for this over the last couple of years.

The scene where Gi-hun is having one of his teeth pulled in order to put a tracker in a fake tooth is a wild one and showed you what Gi-hun has become. The scene with Gi-hun showing all of his money piled up on his bed was shocking and again gave us an insight into the character of Gi-hun and what was important to him.

Gi-hun is back in the games and they will most likely get started next episode.