More creepy things are going on with the Crain family as they have the funeral for Nell, and we spend a focused episode on Hugh.
Hugh has a major secret about what happened on the night when Olivia died, and we are slowly coming around to the answer to it. Of course, there are just three episodes remaining so those answers should be coming soon.
Hugh is shown being questioned by the sheriff and he was not overly forthcoming. We know that something weird happened that night that he felt the need to protect his kids from, but this does not shine any light on that.
We do learn for sure that Hugh has been talking to Olivia, as we suspected last week. He told Luke, who saw the Bent-Neck Lady and a scary Olivia at the funeral, that he had been talking to Olivia since the death, and that it was a coping mechanism that had been given an okay by his therapist. It feels like there is more to that than what he said.
Some of the scenes involving the dead and decaying corpse of Olivia, whether it be in Nell’s grave, grabbing Luke’s arm, or crawling along the floor in front of Hugh and Theo, are truly frightening and well done. The story of what happened on that night has been drawn out slowly over the first 7 episodes and I expect big things over the final three.
Hazbin Hotel’s second season ends with two massive episodes that are absolute BANGERS!
The two songs at the end of each of these final episodes are just the best of the entire series. The major ensemble songs were so brilliantly written and kept the mood absolutely amazing.
Alastor is playing the long game. He is awesome. He is not on anyone’s side… only his. I still think he has a respect for Charlie that shines through. He manipulated Vox every second of these episodes. Plus, bringing back the favor from the first season that Charlie owed
Sir Pentious had a big job to do and he had a fabulous song with Seraphim. I was concerned with his place in Heaven when he first got there, but he came through big time these final two episodes.
Angel Dust’s story is clearly not finished as he returned to Valentino after the big final song.
These two episodes were as good as any this season. The show felt a little disjointed at times in season two, but these brought them home in ways that were so satisfying that it made everything worthwhile.
We did not get Lilith this season outside of a few cameos. I really expected her to arrive in this finale, but she did not. That story will also continue into season three I am sure.
“The Great Swirling Apparatus of Our Planet’s Function”
Hm.
We got the origin of Pennywise, or the Galloo, what the Native American people called it. I’m not sure that I understood how everything happened. I guess the town of Derry was built inside the circle that they trapped it in.
I like Charlotte a lot. She went to the police in order to try and talk with Hank, Ronnie’s father. She is able to get in to see him, and we find out why he is lying about his alibi, and it was not connected to Pennywise. It was the racism of the time as he was having an affair with a married white woman.
The most horrific moment of the week was when Marge tried to use a table saw to cut out her extended eyeballs, thanks to her fear of her glasses making her eyes look like they bulge out. We heard about that in episode one or two and now it pays itself off. It was a scene where I was literally screaming for Marge to not do what she was going to do.
Of course, poor Lilly, who saved Marge’s life, is made to look like she had attacked her, as the entire lunchroom came to see the events. Not a good look for Lilly.
Dick used his shining to get inside the head of Daniel to find out about the pillars, which apparently are in the IT house where we know the well is located.
We are now half way through the season and we have yet to see clown Pennywise. However, the previews for upcoming weeks had some horrible scenes featuring Pennywise, so he is coming.
I am going to be perfectly honest. I had heard so many amazing things about The Haunting of Hill House before I started it during the Sunday Morning Sidewalk, and it has been disappointing. Yes, I have enjoyed the show so far, but it was not the epic that I was expecting.
Then, there was episode six, “Two Storms.”
Now I see what everyone else was talking about.
What an episode. This one blew all of the previous episodes away. It had tension, it had character reveals, it had story beats and it had some of the best direction/shots of the show.
There were multiple, long one-shots of scenes as the camera follows the grieving Crain family around the funeral parlor. Technically, this is a master class of direction from series runner Mike Flanagan. Whenever the one-shot would end, the transitions were spectacular, and we would be back into another oner. The design of the plan for each shot is unbelievable and executed perfectly.
The surviving Crain kids and their father finally are all together in the present day as a thunderstorm raged outside the funeral parlor. The show gave us a flashback to another storm that occurred with the Crain family while they lived at Hill House and they paralleled the two storms with a narratively striking purpose. We got to see some major effects that the house had on both Nell and Olivia. Nell’s disappearance and Olivia’s encounter with the spirits were chilling.
Chilling is a good way to describe many of the moments from this episode, including the appearance of the bent-neck woman at the family visitation. There was no jump scares here. The scenes transcended jump scares. They were done so spectacularly that you couldn’t help but be disquieted.
The character development was wonderful too, as secrets came out. The alcohol flowed freely (which I thought was incredibly selfish by every kid, considering Luke was there, clean and sober, watching his siblings all slapping back vodka) and the tongues were sharp. Fueled by their loss and grief, the kids and Hugh said some dramatically hurtful things to each other as truth came to the surface. Hugh seemed to be talking to himself, convincing Steven about the mental illness he believed ran in his family, but I believe it was clear that he was talking to Olivia’s spirit.
The concept of Nell and Olivia NOT having killed themselves, and, instead, being killed by the house came up and it triggered the resentment of the others for Steven’s book. They shared moments that we had seen over the first five episodes in the kids individual focused episodes that showed how much these siblings were not as close as they may have thought.
This episode elevated the entire series to a new level, one that makes me understand the fervor over this show that had seemed good, but not exceptional before this. I can’t wait to see where the show goes from here.
Had a run of four episodes of Sha Na Na tonight and I have the same complaints that I always have. The laugh track/applause track is just terrible. Honestly, the first 10-15 seconds of every song is impossible to hear because of the fake clapping. Second, the humor is terrible. This show is so much better when they have a musical guest so they can sing with Sha Na Na instead of doing this cringe-level comedy bits.
These four episodes only had one guest star that sang. It was Della Reese and that episode was the best of the four. It did have a pretty racist comedy bit called House of Kyoto, but other than that, this was the one.
I read a tweet awhile ago from Jon Bausman who spoke about the early season comedy being less than they had wanted. He said he thought it got better in later seasons. I sure hope so.
Fact is, when Sha Na Na is singing, this show is sensational. These four episodes had some bangers in them, including Mr. Bass Man, All I Have to Do is Dream, and Why Do Fools Fall in Love, which I believe are done multiple times over the years on the show.
The strangest song of the four featured Pamela Myers singing with Frank Gorshin, who was doing impersonations of celebrities like Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman etc. Gorshin seemed really weird during this segment, but it was interesting to hear Pamela Myers sing the song. It was in the old parked car bit that they usually run.
Other celebrities on these four episodes included Adrianne Barbeau, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Kristy McNichols, Rosey Greer and Milton Berle. I think they had taped more bits with Milton Berle when he was on the show earlier in the year and they just inserted them into this episode because at the end of the show, Bowzer did not thank Milton Berle for being on the show. He only thanked Rosey Greer. Why was Rosey Greer booked for the show?
Looking ahead, Chubby Checker and Chuck Berry are coming up soon. Those are the type of guests I want to see on Sha Na Na. More music, less of all the other background jokes.
Carol is trying to maintain herself, but with so much taken away, she is finding the way of life to be tough. She does not want the “convenience” of being able to ask for anything and have the Others provide it.
Like a live hand grenade.
Carol asked about how long she had before they turned her into a mindless drone too. Their response: they were not sure. They were working on it.
Carol did get on the phone with one of the non-English speaking survivors. There was a contemptuous conversation there that will clearly come back later in the series.
There was more humor in this episode than in the previous ones, but it felt like a pause between major events. The series has been renewed for a season two already, but Vince Gilligan believed he had a four season story, so things may be on the slow burn for awhile.
Episode three of the new IT series on HBO Max is a banger.
We get some more psychic “shining” from Dick Hallorann, who we know ages up to work at the Outlook Hotel (and get an axe in his chest from Jack). The scene of him in the helicopter, flying over Derry and having psychic images of Pennywise in his forms, was exciting. Admittedly, as he was opening the cargo door of the copter, I never thought he’d fall out or die from that because I knew he had to be a part of the Shining eventually. Still, it was a tense moment.
Shawshank was mentioned too, which is part of the Stephen King shared universe. I do love how there are Easter eggs from other films in Derry. I’m sure there are some other hints out there that I do not recognize.
Ronnie’s father has something he is not telling anyone. It feels as if it is something that could work as an alibi, but he does not want to let that info out. Curious.
The flashback to the 1908 incident with Pennywise was scary. Frank and Rose’s interactions with the creature in the woods, a lookalike for the slender man from the carnival, was intense. Frank running from the creature only to be saved by Rose, wielding the slingshot that Frank had given to her (and Frank’s father had given to him). It was an exciting cold open showing what this episode would bring.
It was not as intense as when Ronnie, Lilly, Will, and Rich went into a graveyard to try and summon the monster that had attacked our departed friends from episode one in order to get pictures of it. I am not sure they could have come up with a more dangerous plan if they had tried. They were really fortunate to escape that event with their lives.
We end the episode with a pic of Pennywise as Will said of the photo he took, “It’s… a clown.”
I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it sure wasn’t this. I couldn’t believe what was happening.
Everybody in the world suddenly started spazzing out at the same time. Carol, one of the most miserable people in the world, was apparently immune, for some reason.
The entire planet, with the exception of 12 people, appeared to become of one mind, much like a hive mind. The transformation in episode one was creepy as can be.
Directed by Vince Gilligan who wrote, directed or produced episodes for The X-Files, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, this show is completely original and takes the idea of the dystopian future in a way that has never been seen before.
Apple TV + has been exceptional with the sci-fi genre. This is yet another fine option on the streamer. I have to say that these first two episodes have a great premise, some excellent execution of story and introduction of the characters with real issues.
Carol, an author, has a short fuse on her temper and that causes massive problems for the hive mind, which seems so far to be trying for nothing but happiness.
There are some conflicts in these two episodes that truly make you wonder what you would do if in their situations, but I do feel like something more is on its way. Gilligan has a history of complexities in his shows.
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 