Spoilers

E7: “Catch Me If You Can”

E8: “Know You are Loved”

I have been hoping to finish this limited series on Netflix for awhile now, but it always seemed as if something got in the way. Well, it is Thanksgiving and I have the day basically open and so I finally got the chance to watch the remaining two episodes of this thrilling limited series.

Time travel is always mind-bending.

In episode seven, things really go wrong, for everyone except Harker/Mannix. Things for him go exactly as they are meant to go… the same as they have gone since the loop began.

However, in 2053, Iris Maplewood makes a decision. She saves Defoe in her timeline and they hatch an attempt to go back to 1890 and prevent Elias Mannix from his plot.

Unfortunately, she does go back in time, but does not realize that the technology that helps her walk does not exist in 1890 and that leaves her as a cripple.

So much is going down in this episode that I continued to wonder exactly what was going to happen to stop this time loop from continuing. Who knew that it would be Alfred Hillinghead?

Hillinghead had confessed to the murder to save his lover and, as we saw in ep. 7, he is strangled to death from Mannix’s orders. Mannix, as Julian Harper, goes to Hillinghead’s daughter, Polly, and ends up marrying her. She gave birth to a son that began the lineage that would lead to Mannix’s own birth and all the tragedy that occurs.

In episode 8, Maplewood was able to get to Hillinghead, when they were both in holding cells, and she let him know about everything. This time, when Hillinghead is visited by Mannix before being strangled, Hillinghead went on to insert doubts and uncertainty for Mannix.

Things went along, basically, but the marriage to Polly winds up being compromised and they are anything but happy. On his deathbed, Mannix records one more record telling his future self that everything was a lie. Before Charles Whiteman kills him, Mannix gives him the record and begs him to put it in a safe place and get it into the hands of Shahara Hasan.

Whiteman take the record with him and hides it at the police bar. Shahara, from 2053, goes back in time and finds the record, playing it in 2023 for Elias before he detonates the bomb.

Elias chooses not to explode the bomb and the future is changes, the loop is broken, and Elias and future Shahara disappear, having technically never existed.

This was a compelling 8-episode series that was well-written and very smart. It required the attention of the viewer and I like that kind of show.

we went back to the past to see that the lives of Whiteman and Hillinghead were better, and the people that had died in the time were back. There was a strange ending to the show. 2023 Shahara was in a cab talking about life in general, and the camera revealed that the cabbie was Maplewood and that she used Shahara’s name.

I am not sure how that happened or what that meant, but it put an odd button on this sci-fi series that was really well done.

Spoilers

“The World is Yours”

Whoa. An amazing episode of this show, as several of the pieces start to fall into place in what exactly had happened. We saw some amazing things happen over the course of this episode and I’m not sure where this now goes, until it goes right back to the beginning.

I was unaware that this series was based off a graphic novel of the same name by British writer Si Spencer. My friend Todd had heard of it and while we were discussing the series, the graphic novel came up.

No doubt that this series is science fiction goodness with a big dose of time travel. This episode feels like the low point in the middle of act two, but it is just unclear where the show goes from here over the final two episodes of the limited series.

Everything that was said to happen does happen this episode. The massive bomb takes out London by Elias’s hand. We see where the body came from and how 2053 Gabriel Defoe winds up a dead body with a bullet wound in his eye but no bullet in his skull. And shot by Iris Maplewood. Wouldn’t have seen that coming. Whiteman finds his revenge/justice and that leads him to the end of a noose. Alfred Hillinghead arrested for murder in front of his wife and daughter after telling his male lover to escape.

Lots of action and intensity in this and it sure seemed that Elias, or Mannix/Harker/Elias seems to have won, starting the loop once again.

Two more episodes of Bodies on Netflix, which I should get done over the weekend. This has been a top notch adventure so far.

Spoilers

“Right Up the Wazoo”

“We Are One Another’s Ghost”

The fourth and fifth episodes of the new Netflix limited series, Bodies, are fantastic. This show has been doing a spectacular job of laying out this complex story through four timelines and multiple characters. I have found the plotting of this series to be tremendous work.

There are some heartbreaking surprises in these two episode, things that I did not see coming.

The timelines begin to bleed across as fingerprints from 1890 are matched in 2023. An older Shahara turns up in 2053 while investigating in 2023. We get an explanation on the importance of Elias and who he is connected to.

The death of Ester was tough to stomach and you could feel the pain that Charles was going through. Maybe the show should have given us a few more scenes with the two of them together to make their connection feel a little more realistic, but, in the end, I did feel for the loss of the girl and understood the suffering of Charles. I was so rooting for him to get his justice, but I had that sinking feeling that it wasn’t going to happen.

The time travel aspect of the show has started to come into focus and we are starting to see out antagonist in a clearer light. The conspiracy seems to be blankets over a lot of people over several timelines.

My guess is that the eventual wildcard involved here is Iris Maplewood from 2053. She seems to be with Mannix at this point, but one has to feel as if she is going to make the difference in the story.

Three more episodes to go. Things are going to be explosive soon.

Spoilers

I started a new limited series on Netflix that had been on my queue for a few weeks now. I wanted to wait until a couple of the shows that I am currently watching were coming to an end. Loki is now done. Goosebumps has one more episode next Friday. Gen V is over. It felt like the right time to start something new.

There are eight episodes of this British limited series. It is called Bodies. I had seen the premise of the series on Netflix and it sounded remarkable.

The premise on Netflix said, “Four detectives. Four timelines. One body. To save Britain’s future, they’ll need to solve the murder that altered the course of history first.”

1890. 1941. 2023 and then eventually 2053. Four timeframes that all wound up with the same apparent murder victim, his eye shot out, stripped naked.

In the 2053 year, we learn that something terribly tragic was going to happen in 2023 that we did not yet know. It sounds like whatever it was is a huge destructive event.

These characters in the different timeframes are all fascinating and complex.

I have found this to be so great so far and I am fully engaged with this show so far.

Spoilers

I had no intention of finishing this series today. I wanted to spread it out over the next several weeks. However, with the schedule packed with TV shows, movies and comics, and since I was really engaged in it, I just kept watching another episode as I would finish the previous one.

The titles of the series included;

Ep. 3: “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”

Ep. 4: “The Black Cat”

Ep. 5: “The Tell-Tale Heart”

Ep. 6: “Goldbug”

Ep. 7: “The Pit and the Pendulum”

Ep. 8: “The Raven”

Because of these titles, I knew which of the Usher kids were doomed that episode. They were all neat adaptations of the short stories written by Edgar Allan Poe, into a new story, a new format.

There were plenty of other stories/poem incorporated into the series as we met Annabel Lee, The Cask of Amontillado was highlighted, Rufus Griswold (who wrote Poe’s scandalous obituary), The Belles (poem), among others.

Some of the allusions to Poe’s work was subtle, some was anything but. Several lines of Poe’s poetry is recited in the episodes, especially lines from Annabel Lee.

Each of the Usher kids’ deaths are fun and earned. They all take form similar to Poe’s works. It’s cool knowing some of these reference. For example, as Roderick sat in the basement staring at the brick wall, I wondered whom was bricked up in the wall. Of course that was coming. As a writer, Poe buried people in walls several times in his career.

To be honest, the finale did feel a little preachy at times. Some of the monologues delivered in the episode spoke of a lot of the political controversies of the day and it did feel somewhat out of place. The message was there without needing to bludgeon the audience over the head with it. I did find that to be a bit unnecessary.

Though, I admit that I laughed with the line about Trump when the mysterious Verna said,  “Like I said to one of my clients, when I’m done, you can stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and it won’t cost you a thing.”

The Fall of the House of Usher was great. I love Edgar Allan Poe and this had him all over the place. Greta acting. Cool kills.

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.