Spoilers

Episode One: “A Midnight Dreary”

Episode Two: “The Masque of the Red Death”

I started to watch episode one of The Fall of the House of Usher on Netflix with the intention of not continuing after the first one. To be honest, with two rewatches (X-Files, Moonlighting) going on right now, along with multiple series (Loki, Gen V, American Horror Story, Goosebumps, Bonus Action) and the October 13, there is not a ton of time for another series. But I do love Edgar Allan Poe and so I wanted to say that I gave this new limited series on Netflix a chance.

After two episodes, I am totally hooked.

I need to find the time to watch the rest of this because it is a masterpiece.

As I mentioned, I love Edgar Allan Poe and there are so many allusions to Poe’s work that it is nearly impossible to keep up with them. I realized about half way through the second episode that they were doing the Masque of the Red Death and that the character named Prospero was even involved. I see now that the episode title is even based on the short story.

The narration of the series is Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood) confessing to C. Auguste Dupin (Carl Lumbly), sitting in his house, drinking a glass of the best whiskey available. Roderick is telling Dupin (who by the way is the main character in Poe’s Murder in the Rue Morgue) about the deaths of his six children over the last two weeks.

There are allusions to Poe’s work everywhere, from The Raven to Annabel Lee to The Black Cat to Gold Bug. It feels like a comic book movie with the Easter eggs they drop for the comic readers in the audience, except this is for those who read Poe. It’s just great.

And it is compelling as can be. I want to know what happened to the six kids. We have seen the end of Prospero at the end of the shocking episode two, but there are five more to go.

Then, there was Mark Hamill. He played Arthur Pym, based on the novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. Pym is the Usher family lawyer.

These first two episodes are just so good and I have added this to the crowded EYG schedule.

Spoilers

“Who Gets the Last Laugh?”

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day!

I planned on watching the finale of season one of this awesome new series, One Piece, on Netflix to celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day, but it was tough waiting. I so enjoyed this series that I would have ran through this series had it not been for Talk Like A Pirate Day.

Now, after seeing the finale, this is so satisfying that I am really glad that I waited for this special day.

The Luffy- Arlong showdown was epic. The battle between Zoro/Sanji and the Fishmen was awesome. Usopp finally was able to have a successful battle. Nami was able to get herself free from Arlong. Kobe stood up to Garp. Helmeppo stood beside Kobe. Luffy’s confrontation with Garp.

So much wonder. I loved this so much.

One Piece is one of my favorite shows of 2023. This was so unexpected. The characters were so amazing and their chemistry and charisma carried so much of the show. The show felt like a true live-action anime.

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Spoilers

“The Girl With the Sawfish Tattoo”

The penultimate episode of Netflix’s Anime adaptation takes a look at the tragic history of Nami and we discover the reason why she is working with Arlong.

The scene where a young Nami and her sister Nojiko is protected by their ‘mother’ from Arlong, who was there to collect a fee. The mother did not have enough for both girls and herself, so she told Arlong to accept the money for her daughters. Arlong shot her in front of the girls, which is a horrendous moment.

You would think that this would lead to Nami to get revenge, but instead she went to Arlong and offered to work for him, being a great map-drawer. She asked to join on the condition that she could buy back her village. It was a huge amount of money, but he agreed.

Nami in current day had the money, but Arlong double-crossed her, taking the money for himself and still going to destroy the village. This led to Nami finally asking Luffy for help in one of the best scenes of the series so far.

There were also some good scenes in this episode with Garp and Zeff, Kobe and Helmeppo and Luffy and Zoro. Luffy definitely took a different tone this episode as he was much more serious despite never giving up on Nami. It would be easy to say that she betrayed them and just sail off, but Luffy refused to do so, dedicating himself to helping her, even if she did not want it. When he places that straw hat on Nami’s head after she finally, tear-filled, asjed for his help was just tremendous.

I want to wait for the finale for Talk Like a Pirate Day on Tuesday, but that is a long way away. I hope I can wait that long. Honestly, I wanted to continue to the final episode right away. This has been one of my favorite series of the year so far.

Spoilers

“The Chef and the Chore Boy”

One Piece continues to be one of my favorite viewing experiences with every episode that I watch. Episode six, The Chef and the Chore Boy, is one of the most emotional of the series so far as out characters are dealing with their concern for their fallen crew mate, dangers from outside and the betrayal of someone close.

Luffy is learning about being the captain and the difficulties that goes with that. He also had to face off with the fish-man Arlong, where the fish man kicked his butt. Not only was this a defeat for Luffy, but he had to deal with the betrayal of Nami, who was working for Arlong and brought him the map. However, she was able to manipulate Arlong to not kill Luffy after he had beaten him and to toss him into the sea water instead. While it may seem cold, she saved Luffy from Arlong ripping his throat out.

We saw how a young Sanji and former pirate captain Zeff came together, stranded on a deserted aisle with little food. The show also revealed that Zeff cut off his own leg to eat after he gave all of the food to Sanji. Christian Convery (Sweet Tooth himself and one of the stars of Cocaine Bear) played the young Sanji and he did an amazing job. Convery has been one of the top actors of a young age over the last few years.

The final scenes of this episode were powerfully emotional as we got Zoro waking up and committing to be Luffy’s first mate, a goodbye between Sanji and Zeff, and a surprise for Kobe when Garp double down on going after the Straw Hat Pirates when he thought they were just going to leave him be. Kobe discovered that Garp is Luffy’s grandfather.

And then Buggy the Clown is back… or at least, his head is. And he is working with the Straw Hats! Not sure he can be trusted.

Two more episodes to go. Finale planned for Talk Like A Pirate Day!

Spoilers

“Eat at Baratie!”

One Piece is an absolute joy on Netflix.

There is such an amazing group of characters on this show, and they continue to add even more awesome characters every episode.

In this episode, we meet Sanji, a disgruntled cook at a floating restaurant Luffy and his crew arrive at. I have seen photos with Sanji with the other Straw Hat Pirate crew so I am guessing he is the next crew introduced. Then, we get the next major antagonist, Mihawk, the world’s greatest swordsman and Zoro’s new white whale.

Just no way around it, Mihawk is bad ass. He is one of the most intimidating new characters we have ever seen and the end sequence with Mihawk and Zoro in their big swordfight, which was a massively emotional battle.

We just saw the background of Zoro last episode with his oath to become the greatest swordsman in the world, to honor his friend.

Watching Zoro’s two swords crumble after being struck by Mihawk’s sword was shocking. The scene of Mihawk slicing his gigantic sword across Zoro’s chest was unbelievable. Of course, no one ever believed that he was actually going to die, but it does a wonderful job making you think that it could happen.

This really sets up Mihawk as someone for Zoro to aspire to and a goal for him to target. This continues to give an incredible depth of character to him.

We are also see more character points from Luffy (with his grandpa), Kobe (conflict with the Marines truth and his own perception) and Nami (her conflict between her new friendships and her plans).

I love this show. Even an episode that did not feel as great as the previous ones, ramped it up in the final fifteen minutes with scenes that were powerful.

Spoilers

E3: Tell No Tales”

E4: “The Pirates are Coming”

I love this show.

After four episodes, it has completely engaged my curiosity, anticipation and thrilled me to no end. I love these characters and I love the villains that cause the conflict. One Piece has been a huge success in my eyes for Netflix.

It is just so much fun.

Episodes three and four are a two-parter, in sense, though it does not call it so. This is the first time where the story expanded past the first episode and encapsulated a second one.

This two episode arc serves to introduce Usopp, who would become one of the new crew (not a crew) members. We are shown a young Usopp running through the town calling out that “The pirates are coming.” He is great with a slingshot and works at the shipyard.

This is the reason why our Straw Hat Pirates crew come to this town. The boat they were are was leaking and getting ready to sink and they needed to find a new pirate ship.

When Luffy finds the ship that ‘speaks’ to him, they meet Usopp and he tells them about the owner of the shipyard, who is a friend of his. You doubt this considering we have seen that Usopp is the ‘boy who cried wolf.’

However, he does take them to meet his friend, Kaya, a wealthy but sickly young girl about to turn 18. Luffy plans on convincing her to make a deal with them for the ship. However, as they were there, it was revealed that her butler was a pirate captain who was slowly poisoning her.

The butler was revealed as Kuro, the captain of the Black Cat Pirates, who had long blades on his fingers and an ability to move quickly. This would lead to yet another epic fight scene with Luffy and the crew.

We learned more about the background of Zoro, specifically why he carries a third sword. This dated back to his early sword training with a young woman who he could not defeat in combat. This back story did give us more insight into Zoro and it helped him be motivated to escape the deep hole he had been tossed in by Kuro’s two henchpeople.

The Marines are on Luffy’s trail too as Garp becomes a mentor for Kobe. The very end of episode four dropped a bomb too as Luffy sees Garp through a spyglass as they were being pursued on the new ship and he says “Grandpa.” Garp is Luffy’s grandpa??? Did not expect that.

Our main characters continue to bond as they battle with each other to help save Kaya from the evil clutches of Kuro. Having this occur over the run of two episodes allowed the show to pace this very well and not make it feel rushed. All of these storylines received a nice amount of time and fit together extremely well.

Buggy the Clown literally pulled himself back together after being trapped by Luffy last episode only to be grabbed and taken by another pirate that felt like a big deal. Even though we know nothing about this Arlong (at least I don’t since I did not see the anime this is based on), this character absolutely felt sinister and a problem. I wonder if Kuro will wind up with Arlong and Buggy too?

This has been great so far. I did not intend on watching this many episodes already, but the cliffhanger at the end of episode three made me keep watching. According to Netflix, there are only eight episodes, but Wikipedia indicates that there are ten, so I wonder if the last two episodes are being saved like a part two, much like season 4 of Stranger Things did.

Either way, my goal is to spread out watching the remaining 4 available episodes so that I can watch the final one on September 19th as a way to celebrate Talk Like A Pirate Day. Ahoy!

Their new ship was dubbed The Going Merry, after Kaya’s lawyer who had been killed by Kuro.

Spoilers

“The Man in the Straw Hat”

I think I love this new series. A lot.

Buggy the Clown made his presence known this week with an over-the-top excellent performance by Jeff Ward.

Again, the episodes center around how amazingly charming and engaging the main cast is. Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy, Emily Rudd as Nami, Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro are all huge winners and are so wonderful and easy to cheer for. Even though we see this episode that there is something we do not know about Nami, who looks to be ready to betray the other by stealing the map from out under them. That will be troublesome, especially after Luffy specifically trusted her with the map since she was “the Navigator.”

The flashbacks to young Luffy with Shanks are always great, as we see why Luffy has such a connection to the straw hat that he wears. Not to mention the apparent ability Shanks has to control sea creatures?

The parts of the story with Buggy the Clown was awesome. Jeff Ward did a fantastic job as this character, who I was afraid was just going to be a Joker rip off when I first saw him at the end of the first episode. That was not the case at all, although there are certainly some new and spectacular powers from baggy, who is another person to have eaten the Devil Fruit. It was hilarious when Buggy called out his finishing move, as Luffy always does.

Zoro has come around fairly quickly. From loner to someone willing to help Luffy under any circumstances. It might have been too quick to be honest as I wondered this as he was tied to the circus wheel. Still, that is a minor complaint (more of a critique, really).

I think I said that it was 8 episodes last post, but it looks like there are 10 actually. That makes me happy. I would watch 100 of these.

Spoilers

“Romance Dawn”

What a joy this was.

I had no idea what this was. I had never heard of the manga cartoon this new Netflix series was based upon. I actually never even heard of this adaptation coming on the streamer. I happened to come across some reviews of it on YouTube earlier today. So I figured…

I love me some pirates…

This is the perfect month for a new pirate themed series, since we are just 18 days away from Talk Like A Pirate Day on September 19th. It also gives me a new series to watch along with season two of The Bear and season three of Only Murders in the Building.

My guess is that the lead character, Monkey D. Luffy, was a vital role for this adaptation to cast and Iñaki Godoy brings amazing charm and likability. I was in on this guy immediately. He was so fun to watch and he had brilliant chemistry with his ‘crew’ who does not want to be known as a crew.

Emily Rudd is Nami, a thief, and Mackenyu played Roronoa Zoro, a pirate hunter, create a trio that is awesome. The three of them have their own talents. I was shocked when Luffy was revealed to have stretching powers that he received as a kid when he ate a demon fruit.

Eiichiro Oda is the reclusive creator of the manga One Piece and he, in a video shared on the show’s Instagram, supported the new live action adaptation.

“As a Hollywood production, the action and VFX are great, not to mention the performances by the cast. But above all I want to call attention to how perfect the Straw Hat cast are,” says Oda. “It’s like you’re watching the Straw Hats in real life, which I’d love for you to savor.” (Petski, Deadline).

The cast absolutely is the strength of this first episode and that is really important. The fight choreography was excellent as was the special effects.

One Piece has dropped eight episodes on Netflix and I am excited to continue to watch this series. I do not plan to binge this necessarily, but I am looking forward to work my way through the first season.

The end of the episode a cool pirate named Buggy the Clown that looks to be coming next episode. Buggy is being played by Jeff Ward (the awesome Deke from Agents of SHIELD).

SPOILERS

It had been quite a while since the first season of Sweet Tooth on Netflix dropped. It was so long ago that I simply hadn’t remembered a second season was coming, and I was shocked when I saw that season two of Sweet Tooth, the show based on a comic from writer Jeff Lemire, showed up on the streamer service.

Christian Convery played Gus, aka Sweet Tooth, after appearing in the big screen movie Cocaine Bear (as one of the biggest scene stealers in the show). Convery does a fantastic job as the titular character in this series and he brings such a solid emotional feel for the character and a more mature and powerful presence.

I was a little disappointed that the show kept Gus and “Big Man” Jepp, as played by Nonso Anozie, apart for such a length of time this season. It made me think of the old days back when LOST would go out of their way to keep Jin and Sun away from each other. However, this show picked up dramatically when Gus and Jepp reunited. The interaction between the two is one of the most vital parts of Sweet Tooth.

The villains of this season were very compelling and menacing. General Abbot, played by Neil Sandilands, easily advanced this character into a horrible person with selfish plans. But even worse is Dr. Aditya Singh, played by Adeel Akhtar, whose scientific research into a potential ‘cure’ for the Sick took him to some dark places and, even if his motives are pure, his actions are much like many of the mad scientists we have seen before. He has lost plenty this season and he seems to be even more obsessed in Gus and the other hybrids.

The secondary hybrid characters were cute and had their moments during the season, but they were definitely in the background. There were some shockingly cringy special effects during the season, especially with the arrival of an alligator-hybrid child named Peter. Some of these effects were a drawback to the story and pulled me out of it.

The show effectively used flashbacks to further the story, especially the origin of Gus and what had happened to his mother Birdie (Amy Seimetz)

The finale for this season did have a cruel misdirect that I did not appreciate much. When they made it look as if Gus had been shot and killed by Abbot, only to reveal that the funeral they were having was for Aimee (Dania Ramirez), who had contracted the Sick, was a cruel trick.

Season three is clearly set up as the group is headed off to Alaska to try and find Birdie. Hopefully, it won’t be as long of a wait between seasons this time.

Season two of Sweet Tooth is on Netflix.

SPOILERS

I had not been interested in watching Wednesday, the new Netflix series based on the characters from The Addams Family. I had always enjoyed the Addams Family, but the most recent versions of the show have been lacking. However, I had time on Sunday without having much of anything to watch so I decided to give a few episodes a chance. Later that night, I finished the eighth episode as I binged right through the show. I loved it and I was totally in on the entire show.

I found the central mystery of what was happening on Wednesday to be engaging. The other Addams Family characters outside of Wednesday were used very well, fitting into the storyline beautifully. Using Thing as a regular character was brilliant and I loved how the secondary characters all seemed to bond with the living hand. Uncle Fester (Fred Armisen) was done perfectly and in just the right amount.

Wednesday Addams, played by Jenna Ortega, is our main protagonist despite the fact that she is dark and brutally cruel. He scene where she tosses the piranha into the swimming pool to attack the bullies who had stuffed Pugsley into a locker was rough. The show did not just dismiss the action as a joke either. It told us that Wednesday might have faced attempted murder charges, which is not something that the sitcom would touch.

Wednesday was shown to be pretty unlikable and withdrawn from people who seemed to want to reach out to her. Some of the early episodes had moments that showed her in a bad light and the show used this as a plot point. Wednesday reminded me as a dark version of Sheldon Cooper from the Big Bang Theory. She did things that were mean-spirited, but she did not necessarily understand how she was being cruel.

Watching her slowly realize that she needed more help from people than she wanted was great and seeing the character develop, even slightly, was thrilling.

I did not think taking Wednesday and placing her in a school where she could blend in with the werewolves, sirens, gorgons etc. was a good idea, but she still stood out as being an outsider. Plus, there were normal humans around too, but they were accustomed to the “outcasts.” The show struck a perfect balance between the bizarre and the normal.

I enjoyed all of the secondary characters, from Enid Sinclair (Emma Myers) to Sheriff Donovan Galpin (Jamie McShane). I found just about every other student at Nevermore school to be interesting. They all had their arcs through the season as well.

I am a huge fan of Edgar Allan Poe, so I enjoyed the references to the writer. The similarities and differences between Nevermore and the city of Jericho were wonderfully designed. Both had their secrets and their dark histories.

The show does a great job of making every character seem to be the monster that was killing people in the woods. There was some real tense moments and I did not want to see Eugene Otinger (Moosa Mostafa) killed by the monster. Some of the characters became important to me.

Everything was not perfect. I was not in love with the finale. It was fine, but there was just something about it that did not work as well as most of the rest of the series. I think part of it was the turn to evil by Tyler (Hunter Doohan), the sheriff’s son who turned out to be the monster, a Hyde. I think I wanted him to be manipulated instead of lying about his statis.

There also seemed to be a lot that was forced in that final episode, including the return of Joseph Crackstone (William Houston). Maybe because it felt like it came out of nowhere.

Despite the finale not quite being up to snuff when compared to the rest of the show, I loved Wednesday, and I would be excited to see another season.

Tim Burton directed several of these episodes and was an executive producer as well.

The show feels like a combination of some of my favorite shows. There is some LOST here. Some Twin Peaks. Some Harry Potter. Some Marvel. It was a lot of fun.

“Lot 36”

So I have decided to dedicate some time to watch the new anthology series on Netflix from Guillermo del Toro, Cabinet of Curiosities. Dedicating time to a new series can be a daunting task because of the time issue, especially with Netflix because the series are usually all dropped at once in the binge format. I am going to try to watch this on a regular basis and not binge it. Maybe every few days I will hit another episode, trying to stretch this out over a few weeks.

This could work well considering the show is an anthology show and every episode is a different story and not a continuation.

The first episode featured the wonderful Tim Blake Nelson and one of my former favorites from General Hospital, Sebastian Roché. Tim Blake Nelson played an ex-vet who buys storage lockers to try and make money from the salvage to pay off some debts. He comes across a certain unexpected object in the storage locker that brought him much more than he thought.

This was a fun start to the series. It takes some weird twists in the storyline that I did not expect during the first act. I guess I should have anticipated that with Guillermo del Toro in the directors seat. He has always been one to work with the creepy end of the spectrum and this is no different.

I will say that the ending to the episode kind of came too quickly. As it was building up during the show, it took a weird switch and then was done. It did feel rushed at the end.

I did like a lot of this show and I am looking forward to continuing watching this anthology series.

SPOILERS

I had intended on doing a write up after each episode of Netflix’s hugely successful series, Cobra Kai, after the fifth season episodes dropped. However, when I started watching the show Friday afternoon, I just did not want to take the time in-between the episodes to write. I just wanted to get to the next episode and, before you knew it, I was done with the series. So instead, I decided to do a season 5 overview instead.

Season five was just tremendous. I think it may be my favorite Cobra Kai season yet. It was just so enjoyable and it actually seemed to break some of the series’ own typical trends. There were a very limited amount of group fights between the kids of the show. It seemed in past seasons, the kids of the different dojos were constantly physically fighting, and, while there was some of that, the giant fight scenes were kept to a minimum. That made the fight in the finale feel much more important.

Another thing they switched up this year was the re-introduction of Mike Barnes. As a long time fan of General Hospital, I was looking forward to the return of Sean Kanan, who played AJ Quartermaine on the soap. Just about everyone speculated that Terry Silver would call on his old associate Barnes, the bad boy of karate, to help him out with his new plan. However, the show took that expectation and twisted it, bringing back Barnes, but making him a decent guy who has overcome his horrendous past to build a better life. I loved the use of Kanan in these episodes mainly because of the switch up.

Chozen is one of the best aspects of season five. I was really worried about him though because as soon as he made that phone call back to Kumiko’s voice mail, I was sure that he was doomed, and it sure seemed as if I was right about my fear when Silver left Chozen sliced and diced faced down in his fountain, bleeding from a series of sword cuts. Thankfully, Chozen survived, continuing to prove he was the biggest bad ass on the show.

I also loved the maturing of Johnny after learning that Carmen was pregnant with his child. He still approached everything with the immaturity of Johnny Lawrence, but he was trying his best. Plus, the friendship between Daniel and Johnny finally seemed to be able to put the past away. In every other season, Daniel and Johnny try to make amends only to find themselves on opposites once more. Not this season, which was epic. Once Johnny got back from Mexico, the friendship really became an important part of the show.

Daniel was put through the ringer this season. Building on his borderline paranoia over Terry Silver, Daniel was becoming someone we did not recognize. He went from someone out of control when it came to Silver to someone in total control in the finale. Daniel had a great arc this season.

It was also epic to see Miguel and Robbie finally put their anger with each other away and become friends. In the fight between them this season, they used flashbacks to their infamous school fight to perfection. It built beautifully on what they had done before and what they had learned in the previous seasons.

Tory Nichols and her story arc was excellent too. At first, working as a mole inside Cobra Kai for John Kreese, and then eventually arriving to Sam and the others in her “Rogue/X-Men” moment. There was a lot of getting past old baggage between characters this year.

Speaking of Kreese, he showed how much of a bad ass he still was. Yes, I thought he had actually died in the finale, but I was fooled. I have no idea where he will go now, but I am there for it.

There are scenes and evens that happen in Cobra Kai that would not work in a lot of other series because it would be just too corny. However, it all works beautifully in Cobra Kai for some reason. There are plot points and moments that should never work, but fit into the tone of this series perfectly. Season five just flew by and it blended each episode together with a wonderful cast of characters that spanned the gamut from oddball to sinister, and it does so with a smoothness that just should not work. And yet it does.

Cobra Kai season five was just exceptional and, even though most of the main threads seemed tied up nicely, I hope there will be more Cobra Kai to come.

SPOILERS

“Chapter Nine: The Piggyback”

Two and a half hours is longer than a lot of movies, but the final episode of Stranger Things in season four is better than a lot of movies. There were so many emotions and anxious moments in this finale that it really put a satisfying period on the best season of Stranger Things we have had. Some of the early episodes had a few storyline that dragged some, but every one of them was fire in this episode.

I was not a huge fan of the Russian arc for most of this season (with the exception of Hopper’s awesome escape) but it felt too dragged out and too separate from the story being told in the season. That changed with the use of the Demogorgon and we got a fantastic struggle with Hopper, Joyce, Murray in the gulag trying to help the kids by killing these monsters. Tying it back to the main story really brought a relevance that had been missing. Then the connection between Hopper and Joyce came through the screen.

Max offering herself up as bait was frightening and I was legitimately crying as she raised from the ground. Lucas was fighting with Jason and when Jason stepped on the Walkman and broke it, I audibly cried out. Jason deserved his fate when the “earthquake” came through the house. Even with Eleven there, I was scared for Max. I couldn’t believe that they would kill her after the drama of episode four, but they did it anyway. Thankfully, Eleven was able to save her, sort of. It seemed as if Max may be alive but is lost in her mind.

The death of Eddie was also painful as he went out a hero. Having Dustin there made the loss all the more painful. Eddie was a major player here, with his metal performance of Metallica and his efforts to give the party more time. His death by the bats was horrible and painful.

We learned that Vecna/Henry/1 was behind everything that was happening with the Upside Down. It is not the Mindflayer. Instead, Vecna survived the finale (according to Will, who said that he could feel him now that he was back in Hawkins). He was hurt, which sure seemed as he should be with the saw-off shotgun and the fire that was consuming him. I was pumping my fist when Eleven arrived and pulled Vecna away from Max the first time. That was an amazing arrival.

Mike’s words of love helped to inspire Eleven in her battle with Vecna. This was another thing I thought might come from Mike’s dying words, but I am grateful that my prediction was off.

The earthquake that ravaged Hawkins was horrific and frightening. It is still amazing that the town is so blinded by their denial. I did enjoy the falling action, catching up with the characters after the “victory” over Vecna. The California crew arriving back in Hawkins reuniting with their friends, Dustin with Eddie’s uncle, Hopper and Joyce making it back from Russia, and Hopper’s emotional reunion with Eleven were all great moments. Jonathan and Nancy’s reunion was awkward as could be as they both have clearly grown apart but are afraid to admit it. Then, the huge cliffhanger with the storm clouds which should lead us into season 5.

This was great. Emotional. Exciting. Painful.

Can’t wait for season 5.

SPOILERS

“Chapter Eight: Papa”

At first, I was just going to write up both episode 8 & 9 together in one post, but I decided that I wanted to split them apart. I did watch them back to back, which was a commitment of four hours. The 8th episode was an hour and a half. It did not feel like that though. These episodes flew by as the storylines continued to come together.

This has been a great season so far, though there are a few early story bits that did not work well. However, these storylines (basically the Russian gulag and the west coast crew) fired on all cylinders in this volume of the show. Mike and Will became huge pieces for the episode and the Russian tale became so much more than it had been on the build.

Episode 8 gave us some serious kick ass action from Eleven. Her confrontation with Brennen had me screaming at the TV and then her crashing of the helicopter that was trying to shoot her was amazing. Eleven’s reunion with Mike was emotional too.

Speaking of emotions, Will was talking to Mike, trying to convince him that Eleven would always need him because he was the heart of the group and he showed the mysterious painting. That made me happy because I had considered them looking at the painting after Will died. There have been plenty of rumors about which characters might die in this volume and it has made me anxious about all my favorites.

Thankfully, Matthew Modine was the first to go and that made me happy. I’ve wanted this guy to get offed the minute after he walked into the present day section of this show. It is all the better too that it was not Eleven who killed him.

Going back to Will, his monologue to Mike in the back of the pizza van about feeling different and not knowing how people will react was not just about Eleven and Mike. It was clearly about how Will feels different because (as plenty of people have speculated) Will is gay. The show has not said the specific words, but he is obviously implying it. And the words were beautiful and Will’s pain was powerful.

The Hawkins crew went about preparing for their plan to kill Vecna/Henry/1 by going to a gun shop and beefing up their weapons. They ran into Jason and his basketball vigilantes doing the same thing.

Part of the Hawkins crew plan was to offer up Max as bait so they could catch Vecna/Henry/1 in the Upside Down while he is mentally traveling to the regular world.

A great set up for the finale. The Hawkins crew with the A-Team “setting up the trap” section of the show was a great ’80s throwback. The nostalgia of the series has not been as relevant in this season’s episodes as it has been in the past.

Episode 9 is 2 1/2 hours long, which is longer than many movies so the conclusion is certainly going to be epic (since I have already watched it, I can let you know for sure).

SPOILERS

“Chapter 7: The Massacre at Hawkins Lab”

Okay, that was the end of Volume One of Season 4 of Stranger Things and it was fantastic.

The final two episodes, including the oversized 2 1/2 hour 9th episode, drop on July 1st. Thankfully, though, there was no horrific cliffhanger making me yell at the screen when it went to black,

Of course, it went to black several times so I had that terrible feeling multiple times.

The biggest reveal in this episode is how they connect Vecna to the orderly at Hawkins Lab and to Victor Creel. I did not see it coming and I really liked how it all developed. Of course, the orderly that had been approaching Eleven in the flashbacks turned out to be Henry Creel, son of Victor, who turned out to be the mysterious One from Hawkins Lab. He also was the one who slaughtered all of the kids in the lab. I said last write-up that I thought there was going to be a twist coming and that Eleven did not turn out to be the person who killed the kids, despite that is what the show wanted you to think, and I was right.

However, I never guessed that Eleven would open a door to the Down Under and that would cause the creation of Vecna. I like that a lot because it gives Eleven an even deeper reason to be involved in the upcoming final struggle with Vecna besides the fact that she needs to help her Hawkins friends.

No Mike crew in this episode. I very much expect them to arrive at Nina Project near the beginning of episode 8.

Hopper threw down with the Demogorgon in the Russian prison camp while Joyce watched on. The intensity of the confrontation was cool and the reunion of Hopper and Joyce was great, but I am ready for them to be out of Russia.

Dustin truly is a rock star. His theories have been 100% on target all season long and he has to be considered one of the MVP of the Haskins group. It is Dustin or Nancy.

When Vecna stepped in and took over Nancy, I was literally yelling at my screen.

Now that the first 7 episodes are in the book and we have a month to wait for the last two episodes, I can look at the first part as a whole. I found it somewhat uneven and I was not a fan of several of the storylines that took place. It definitely built to a strong final few episodes.

Favorite Episode: I’m torn between “Dear Billy” and “The Monster and the Superhero”. It is one of those. I would lean toward “Dear Billy.”

Least Favorite Episode: Still Chapter 1: The Hellfire Club” by far.

Best Actor: It is Millie Bobby Brown for the whole season, but I would say that the best single performance was Sadie Sink in episode four.

Most Underused: Will Myers. Why can’t Noah Schapp get his own storyline. He is a great actor, but it seems as if this show constantly sticks him in the background.

Best New Character: There are a bunch, but I have grown to like Eddie. I was not a fan of him in episode one, but he has become a much more enjoyable character so far.

Worst new character: I have no interest in Argyle.

Favorite Storyline: The Vecna investigations in Hawkins.

Worst Storyline: Hopper in Russian prison camp

Other Pros

• Dustin. He has been awesome this season.
• Paul Reiser. Always good to see him.
• Jason as the charismatic leader of the Hawkins flash mob.
• Victor Creel. Great cameo from Robert Englund
• The special effects and look of the show is brilliant.
• Vecna. Great villain. Absolutely menacing.
• Murray. And then Murray as Yuri.
• Characters interacting. This show does individual conversations extremely well.

Other Cons

• The group all split up. I want them all back together.
• Dumb ass parents.
• The government led by Lt. Colonel Sullivan
• Not enough Erica Sinclair
• Lack of Jonathan. I’m fine with Jonathan and Nancy seemingly growing apart. I always liked her with Steven more anyway. But that does not mean that we have to turn Jonathan into a stoner waste.

July 1st should be a big day for Netflix.