Category Archives: TV-G[eek]

Cobra Kai S4 E1

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SPOILERS FOR COBRA KAI SEASON 4

“Let It Begin“

It’s New Years Eve Day and Netflix has dropped the long awaited season 4 of Cobra Kai. We’ll be binging it today and, maybe tomorrow depending on how things go, and doing a write up for each episode.

I watched season 1 back when this was on YouTube Red. It was a main reason why I purchased that streaming version of YouTube. I enjoyed season 1 but I did not return for season 2. When it came to Netflix, I still did not watch. When season 3 came out and everyone was talking about it, I decided to binge these two seasons at once. I was very pleased that I decided to so that. I really enjoyed those two seasons and I am looking forward to season 4.

At the end of season 3, having Johnny and Daniel come together with a common enemy was an epic way to leave off the season. However, I guess the idea that the long-standing rivalry would just go away was a pipe dream as Johnny and Daniel immediately clash over the differing styles. Maybe this was necessary, but it felt as if this was what the first three seasons were building towards and that it might have been a step back. It makes sense that we should see this conflict.

Eagle fang and Miyagi do training cobra Kai season 4 episode 1 - Cobra Kai video - Fanpop

I did like how Hawk had to take some punishment. The biggest issue I had last year was that his face turn came out of nowhere and did not feel earned. The resentment from some of the other students and the senseis is real and was a nice addition to the story.

I also enjoyed the fact that Terry Silver did not just come running back when John Kreese called. They gave us a scene where Silver reflected on his past from Karate Kid 3 and was not happy about it. It immediately made him more of a real character than he ever was in the movie. In fact, they actually did too good a job, because I now am not sure why he makes the choice to return to Cobra Kai.

Cobra Kai' Season 4: EPs Preview Terry Silver's Return | TVLine

The end of the episode with the students working together to “build a bridge” was a great moment and showed Daniel and Johnny, who were about to give in to their baser instincts about each other, that this could work even if it was not easy.

Good start, laying the groundwork for what is to come.

Hawkeye S1 E6

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SPOILERS FOR HAWKEYE EP. 6

“So This is Christmas?”

The Hawkeye finale had a lot of actions and the wrap of storylines (maybe too many), but it left me with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach because of one major moment… after a confrontation with Kate Bishop and being hit with a car driven by Eleanor, Kingpin ran into someone with a grudge.

Maya.

The show made it appear as though Maya, aka Echo, killed Kingpin by shooting him in the head. We did not see the actual shot, but we heard it off screen. Still, it made me unhappy that after so long waiting to see Vincent D’Onofrio reprise his role only to kill him off after the first episode.

The I saw this on Twitter. It was from the comic books.

This made me feel a lot better. I expect that Kingpin survived the attack and will be the main antagonist in the upcoming Echo series on Disney +.

So with that out of the way, I can look back over the rest of Hawkeye episode 6 with more open heart and less bitterness over the possible death of Kingpin.

There were a lot of great scenes in this episode, many of which included Florence Pugh as Yelena. Her initial reactions with Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop in the elevator and through the Christmas Eve party was great. Honestly, I would go for a whole series of Kate and Yelena together. The dialogue is crisp and the action is well designed.

But even more emotional was Yelena’s showdown with Clint on the ice outside 30 Rock. Yelena had every intention of killing him, but she wanted to know about her sister Natasha more. This was a powerful scene and fit beautifully with these two tremendous actors. Clint doing the whistle brought Yelena back to reality, finally accepting that what Clint was telling her about Natasha’s final moments was true.

We got a chance to see the new costumes and to see our LARPers in action as Clint and Kate’s “army.” This was a little iffy for me, but it worked in the long run. Gotta love Grills.

One of the issues I believe is the difference in directors. Episode six was directed by Rhys Thomas, who also directed episodes 1 & 2. Episodes 3-5, which are considered the best of the series by most critics and commenters, were directed by Bert and Bertie. I wonder how the series would have felt had Bert and Bertie directed episode 6 as well?

Then, thankfully, Clint was able to get back to his family for Christmas as he promised, with Kate and Lucky the Pizza Dog in tow. I could not have handled a tragic end for Clint Barton after these six episodes so I am thrilled that he made it home. Plus, he had a certain gold watch with him that he gave to his wife Laura. On the back of the gold watch, we see a symbol of SHIELD, confirming that Laura was, at one time, an agent of SHIELD. Was she Mockingbird? Maybe.

This episode ended with a post credit scene, the only episode of the series to do so. After wishing everyone a Happy Holidays from Marvel Studios …

The show gave us a full Broadway number from Rogers: The Musical. We got the full song of “I Can Do This All Day”!

This was a ton of fun and really put a nice button on the series.

Some other plot points wrapped up:

  • Eleanor killed Armond.
  • Jack was innocent and had been framed by Eleanor. Jack had a chance to show his sword skills helping Kate at the party.
  • Maya killed Kazi in an emotional struggle.
  • Eleanor was arrested for the murder of Armond but she did show that she loved Kate more than her partnership with Wilson Fisk.
  • More trick arrows including another Pym tech one that led to a problem for the Track Suit Mafia.
Hawkeye Episode 6 Finale: Is the owl a Marvel Easter egg? - GameRevolution
  • Eleanor using information to try and blackmail Kingpin shows that she has some balls.
  • Clint called Kate his partner.
  • Kingpin wore his Family Business outfit from the Marvel Comics.

Hawkeye has been a great season. My current Marvel Studios’ Disney + series ranking are as follows:

  1. WandaVision
  2. (very close) Loki
  3. Hawkeye
  4. What If…?
  5. Falcon & Winter Soldier

They’ve all be excellent though. Not sure what is next…maybe Moon Knight? She-Hulk? Ms. Marvel. I’m sure it will continue the excellence the 2021 shows have begun.

Hawkeye S1 E5

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SPOILERS FOR HAWKEYE EPISODE 5

“Ronin”

It has happened.

After weeks of speculation and trepidation, Marvel Studios brought the first character from the Netflix Marvel shows into the MCU, and it was one of the characters/actors that everyone wanted.

Yes, Vincent D’Onofrio is now a member of the MCU playing the one and only Kingpin. Wilson Fisk appeared in a photo, a blurry and out of focus cell phone picture on Kate Bishop’s phone.

Technically, I suppose that could be any actor, but Vincent D’Onofrio’s name was in the end credits so it is 100% confirmed. One of the greatest villain performances of all Marvel projects is D’Onofrio’s Kingpin, and now he is in the MCU.

This was, of course, the conclusion of the episode, but the show had so much more to it than just a Kingpin cameo. We had a flashback to 2018 as Yelena was out trying to free another former Black Widow agent when we saw her get dusted during the Blip. However, we saw the event from Yelena’s perspective and it looked as if she was only gone for a matter of seconds, but it turned into 5 years. When she came back and realized that she had been gone for 5 years, her first thought was of Natasha, and that was heartbreaking considering that she had no idea about Natasha’s sacrifice.

Then in present day, we get a fantastic conversation between Yelena and Kate Bishop. Florence Pugh and Hailee Steinfeld showed just how much charisma and chemistry they had. The discussion between them was as compelling as any action scene that the show gave us. These two women are incredible performers and will be vitally important to the MCU over the years.

Clint, meanwhile, got himself back into the Ronin costume for a confrontation with Echo. During this fight, Clint revealed himself as Ronin to Maya and then told her that her “boss” had an informant send info to Ronin about her father. He told her that the boss wanted her father dead. I have a feeling that we just saw the set up for the Echo Marvel Studios series that is in the works.

We also got to see a cool thing with a monument in NYC honoring the Avenger members for their efforts of the Battle of New York. Clint came here to talk with Natasha.

It is just another example of Marvel’s expert world building. Yelena also mentioned the “improved Statue of Liberty” which was an allusion to Spider-Man: No Way Home, which I will be seeing tomorrow night.

Next week, the Hawkeye series comes to a conclusion and they seem to have a lot of area to cover before it is over. Just looking at a possible list of things that they may need to cover includes:

  • Kingpin’s plans
  • Who killed Armond?
  • What is up with that watch from Avengers Compound? How does it tie with Laura Barton?
  • Hawkeye and Yelena’s problems
  • Echo and “Uncle”
  • Is Elenore the real power? Did she frame Jack or is that part of their plan?
  • Name the Pizza Dog!
  • Will Clint make it home for Christmas?

Hawkeye has been a great series so far and I am excited to see the finale next week.

Hawkeye S1 E4

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SPOILERS FOR HAWKEYE EPISODE 4

“Partners, Am I Right?”

Marvel Studios Hawkeye has become an awesome series, improving every week. Episode three was such a great episode, could episode 4 match up?

While there were fewer action scenes this week, the character moments were all the more impactful. There was a sweet moment between Kate, her mom and Jack. We saw Eleanor and Jack dance and Jack had a funny quirk of screwing up phrases such as “Absence makes the heart grow older.” It was enduring and made you wonder perhaps they aren’t as bad as you think…

Okay, maybe not. But there were some cool character moments with them anyway. I also believe very much that the show is setting up Jack to look like one of the people in charge of the Track Suit Mafia when I believe the real power is Eleanor. I love Vera Farmiga and anything that gives her more to do, well, I am all for it.

There was a great set of character beats between Clint and Kate when Kate came over with films and ugly sweaters for some Christmas cheer. Kate knew Clint would be missing his children so she came to cheer him up. This led to the discussion about Ronin and Kate guessing that Clint was actually Ronin. Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld are such exquisite actors that even the minimalist scene is powerful. Renner’s facial reactions are beautiful, revealing Clint’s guilt over his past as Ronin, the pain of losing Natasha, and the loneliness of not being with his family on Christmas. All the while, slowly building confidence in Kate as a partner, though he is not willing to call her that. The subtlety of the scenes in the apartment shows off such great direction and some superb writing.

And when the action arrives, the action is so kick ass. The action sequences in the last couple of episodes have been exceptional and the rooftop fight with Maya, Clint, Kate and the mysterious masked figure was just brilliantly executed. Of course, we knew who that masked figure was. Anyone who saw the post credit scene of Black Widow earlier this year knew that Yelena Belova, Natasha Romanoff’s “sister”, was on her way and she had some unfinished business with Hawkeye.

Florence Pugh is one of the brightest new stars of the MCU and, with a potential pairing with Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop, the MCU has two amazingly talented actors to carry the franchise into the future.

Last week’s biggest shock was the appearance of “Uncle” in Maya’s flashback and the speculation that this was Vincent D’Onofrio reprising his role as Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin. We did not get any confirmation of this in episode 4, although there was another mention of “The Big Man” at the top, which was an obvious inference to Kingpin. If this turns out to not be Kingpin, this would make the absence of Mephisto in WandaVision seem like nothing. With Kevin Feige confirming that if Daredevil appears in the MCU, he will be played by Charlie Cox, it is simply a matter of time before Kingpin shows his bald head. With episode 5 scheduled to come out the day before Spider-Man: No Way Home is released (and Charlie Cox rumored to be playing Matt Murdock there) I would not be surprised if Vincent D’Onofrio is coming next week.

This show continues to showcase the exceptional interplay with Clint and Kate. Of course, now Clint is trying to distance himself form Kate as a way of protecting her because he knows that the arrival of the Black Widow Assassin changed the game. It is unclear whether or not Clint knew who Yelena was, but that confrontation is coming soon because there are only two episodes left.

Hawkeye S1 E3

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SPOILERS FOR HAWKEYE EPISODE 3

“Echoes“

Episode three of Hawkeye took a huge step forward, taking the fun energy from episodes 1 & 2, and tossing some action and feels into the show.

Plus a major Easter egg… who is Uncle?

Little Maya, who would grow up to be Echo, is shown in flashbacks at some martial arts training when her father told her that Uncle would take her home. And then we saw him. A large man in a black suit, carefully out of frame, came up to Maya and touched her face kindly. There was a small laugh from the man too. And the world all came to the same immediate conclusion… Wilson Fisk aka Kingpin.

Could this be Vincent D’Onofrio from the Netflix Daredevil series? It sure looked like him and the show hinted HEAVILY at that in several other moments, but it did not matter. KINGPIN CONFIRMED!!!!

It was obviously Kingpin in the scene. I won’t hear any other theories, dang it. It is not like Marvel has trolled us before (ahem… Ralph Boehner…. Mephisto…. a jet ski).

These flashbacks did an amazing job of connecting us to Echo in just a few minutes. We all could relate to her and felt for her. When her father died from the Ronin attack, the plot showed us the motive for what Echo is doing.

The action ramped up to eleven too. The car chase scene that they showed in a preview fell into this episode and it was tremendous. It was shot beautifully, with such an amount of creativity. The chase scene was right out of the Matt Fraction run on Hawkeye, with a few adjustments.

Near the end of the scene we get one of the most awesome use of arrows and technology. Clint Barton fired a Pym arrow at another arrows that Kate has shot and made it a gigantic arrow, which crushed the Tack Suit Mafia’s car. This rocked so hard.

By the way, I love the Track Suit Mafia. They are hilarious, Bro. Trust a Bro.

The episode ended way too early. It just flew by and ended with Ronin’s sword in Jack’s hand at Clint’s throat. It is a great cliffhanger and I can’t wait for next week.

The action was astounding, but the quiet moments were so full of emotion. When Clint received the phone call from his son Daniel during the time when his hearing aid was broken, and Kate had to write down what Daniel was saying was really powerful. Especially when Clint says to his son that he loved hearing his voice when that was the last thing he could do. That scene was so emotional and caring and you got to see daddy Clint and the pain of not being with his family was palatable. Then, the diner scene where Clint told Kate how the hero’s life required sacrifice and included pain and Kate just thought Clint needed a new costume.

Three more episodes to go. Hawkeye has been a wonderful series so far. And we have not had any sign of Yelena Belova yet. These performances are fantastic and impactful…even the little roles. There is nothing wasted.

And Bro… that was Kingpin!

The Beatles: Get Back Part 3

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Peter Jackson’s documentary trilogy, The Beatles: Get Back, concluded today on Disney + with the third part to the series debuting, with where everything had been building to… the rooftop session.

It is iconic now, but to watch the Beatles performing, interspersed with the crowd on the street being interviewed and watching the police get the run around by the Beatles’ people was a hoot. Hearing from people on the street who loved what was happening to those people who thought it was just a gigantic disturbance was truly fun.

The Beatles : Get Back | Les Beatles, sans l'agonie…

The first hour or so of part 3 felt a little anticlimactic as we just got more of the rehearsal footage that we got heavily in the first two parts, but it is no doubt fascinating. The process by which these musical geniuses came up with and developed these classic songs was amazing to watch. From Ringo starting a bit from Octopus’s Garden to George coming in with lyrics he wrote the night before for Old Brown Shoe and watching them tweak these into what we would know later is just amazing. Still, there may have been a touch too much.

However, every scene with Paul’s little stepdaughter Heather and her interactions with the rest of the band was absolute gold. Watching the Beatles embrace that childlike humor and fun was an absolute treasure.

Paul McCartney's stepdaughter, 6, shows Beatles drummer how to keep the beat in intimate new footage | Daily Mail Online

I was unaware that several of the songs recorded on the rooftop actually wound up as the final version on the final LP, Let It Be.

It speaks to the enormity of the Beatles that this three episode documentary created such a stir in the community and that Disney + was willing to release it on their streaming platform. It has been over 50 years since the Beatles broke up and two of them have passed away, yet the hunger for the band remains at a high level. Jackson does a wonderful job creating a story out of this footage and giving us an up close look at these four iconic musicians from the greatest band of all time.

I want more event-like releases from Disney +. This was absolutely worth the 8+ hours I committed to it.

The Beatles: Get Back Part 2

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Part two of Peter Jackson’s epic documentary on the Get Back recording sessions featuring the Beatles dropped on Disney + today, picking right up from where part one left off.

When we left part one, George Harrison had left the band and they had gone to a meeting that, as the film indicated, did not go very well.

So there led to some deep discussions about the future of the band and what they were going to do, especially when John was late the next day and speculation was that he maybe was not coming in. Paul dropped the quote, “And then there was two” referencing him and Ringo.

However, John did eventually arrive and the three of them played around for much of the day. There was an uncertainty around what the band was going to do and exactly how they were going to continue with their project.

After deciding to switch sites to Apple EMI studios helped soothe some issues and George returned. What really seemed to help the Beatles was the arrival and subsequent use of keyboardist Billy Preston, one of George’s friends, who they convinced to play the piano so the other members of the Beatles would not have to. This helped their idea of playing the songs live to tape.

Billy Preston brought an energy back to the Fab Four, and helped them out. In fact, on the days when Preston was not available because of another show he was working on, you could see that the Beatles were less on task.

This leads to the idea of the rooftop concert as a solution to their live performance problem. When Paul had this suggested to him, you could see his eyes light up and the expression on his face brightened.

We got a cameo from EYG Hall of Famer Peter Sellers early in the episode, during the Is John coming part. Oh, and the Yoko Ono singing while Paul drummed was ear-splitting. It cannot be described.

Can’t wait to wrap up the documentary tomorrow.

S1E2: Part 2 - The Beatles: Get Back Soundtrack | Tunefind

The Beatles: Get Back Part 1

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What an amazing couple of hours.

The first part of the documentary series, The Beatles: Get Back from director Peter Jackson debuted on Disney + on Thanksgiving with part 2 coming tomorrow and part 3 on Saturday. On the whole, there is over 8 hours of footage in the three parts detailing the “Get Back” sessions that helped lead to the break up of the Beatles.

I loved the way Peter Jackson stayed out of the way here and let the footage tell the story. He would throw in some on screen text when the narrative needed a little specificity, but there was no sign of a voice over and no talking heads who want to hang on to the groups success (I’m looking at you Beatles: Up Close & Personal).

Jackson gained the footage of these sessions, which had originally been intended as a documentary back in 1969-70, and he arranged it to show not only the creative process of one of the most brilliant bands in music history, but also how that creativity put strains on the individuals in the group and how it led to an eventual split.

Watching the Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr for those of you living under a rock, working through arrangements of a group of brand new songs on a deadline because of a TV special they were going to record was utterly fascinating. The creative process that these men showed during this was inspiring and quite impressive. The songs we knew, but they were in mid creation so some lyrics were rough and incomplete.

You could feel the tension between the group, especially with Paul and George, who clashed over the guitar bits throughout the part 1. John seemed to be constantly late to the sessions, which was also called out by the boys.

The Beatles: Get Back' Review: Addictive and Essential - Variety

Part 1 ends with George Harrison having left the sessions saying that he was done, that he was leaving the Beatles. The film let us know that they set up a meeting with the Beatles on a Sunday and, ominously, the meeting did not go well.

I’m very excited for part two tomorrow on Disney +.

Hit Monkey S1 E2

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SPOILERS FOR HIT MONKEY EPISODE 2

“Bright Lights, Big City“

Whoa. The pilot episode of Hit Monkey was good, but episode two is absolutely insane. I loved it. There were so many shocking and hilarious moments in the show. Jason Sudeikis is a riot as Bryce, the ghost who is bonded to Hit Monkey, following him around and giving his opinions whether wanted or not.

My favorite line came in the battle with the old woman.

“She’s going to play through it“

Of course, it was a reference to her having her right arm torn off.

That fight with the old woman was brutal and showed why I am watching this on Hulu and not Disney + and why this is not MCU canon. Bloody and violent, Hit Monkey is something that I did not know that I needed.

We also got the origin of the monkey suit. No pun intended.

Hit-Monkey (TV Series 2021– ) - IMDb

I love this so far. Excited to see episode three at a later point.

Hit Monkey S1 E1

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SPOILERS FOR HULU’S HIT MONKEY

Okay, what just happened?

I watched the first episode of Marvel’s Hit Monkey on Hulu, an animated show that is way too violent for the MCU or Disney +.

I believe that I will be watching this as the year goes on. It dropped all ten episodes on Hulu, but I am not planning on binging this in a few days. The episodes are around 30 minutes, so a binge would not be a huge time investment, but I get the feeling this would go down better spaced out.

Jason Sudeikis voices hitman Bryce who, after a hit goes wrong, ends up in the snow with a tribe of monkeys. The monkeys try to help him and heal him, but there is one among the group that did not appreciate Bryce’s arrival.

Hit Monkey [Hulu] Review: Marvel Animated Show Wastes Its Premise | IndieWire

This show was remarkably violent. You could tell that would be the case 2 minutes into the show when a guard is decapitated. That was unexpected and, once again, tells you why this is on Hulu.

The animation style reminds one of Archer, which works with what is here. The animation is not going to blow anyone away, but it is serviceable for a show about Hit Monkey.

Xplosion of Awesome: Hit-Monkey - Pilot

Not knowing anything about Hit Monkey (outside of the character’s existence), I kept waiting for some kind of mystical powers that would send Bryce’s mind in the body of the monkey. That was not going to happen. After Bryce dies, he returned to the monkey, who has started using the guns, to be a spiritual guide of sorts.

This is truly weird, but it is fascinating and somewhat entertaining. I hope it goes into more than just the revenge plot because it could get repetitive otherwise. I looked up Hit Monkey and it appeared that he is a Deadpool villain. That sounds as if we can consider him an anti-hero. It also looked as if the show stuck pretty close to the origin of Hit Monkey with only some adjustment.

I’m curious to see where they take this. I enjoyed this more than I did the first couple of episodes of MODOK, which just was not for me.

Hawkeye S1 E1 & 2

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SPOILERS FOR MARVEL STUDIOS’ NEW SHOW, HAWKEYE

“Never Meet Your Heroes“

and

“Hide and Seek“

Bro.

Marvel Studios has returned with their next Disney + series, this time featuring Clint Barton, Hawkeye. However, it is not just about Hawkeye, but it also serves as the introduction to Kate Bishop, the young girl who adopts the name Hawkeye in the comics.

This series has inspirations from the Matt Fraction run on Hawkeye from 2012 in Marvel Comics. As with all MCU content, it takes the material from the comic books and shifts it to what they are trying to accomplish with their movies/shows. This is clearly happening here. Many of the things that happened to Clint Barton in the comics are happening to Kate Bishop in the show.

Kate Bishop is played by Hailee Steinfeld and this is a perfect casting. From scene number one, Steinfeld personifies Kate Bishop beautifully and makes the character her own. There is a surprisingly large amount of time spent with Kate Bishop in the first two episodes, which I think works very well considering that we are still learning who she is in the MCU. Hailee Steinfeld is a star and her chemistry with Jeremy Renner is apparent.

Some general thoughts…

I love Vera Farmiga. She is great in everything that she does and casting her as Kate Bishop’s mother is a stroke of genius. Them pairing her up with Jack Duquesne, as played by Tony Dalton is awesome too. Jack Duquesne is the name of a Marvel character named the Swordsman and we see a few hints about that as well.

I loved the prologue which shows young Kate Bishop eavesdropping on her father and mother fighting. Kate claimed that nothing would fall out of the sky, which is an ironic statement considering this flashback was set in 2012 and that it was the day of the Chitauri’s assault on New York. Seeing the events of the day through the perspective of the child brings more of a impact of the moment.

Bro. The Tracksuit Mafia. Bro.

I love how Clint just hung around at the end of episode two waiting for the Tracksuit Mafia to come and “kidnap” him. He called it “catch and release” and it reminded me of the scene with Scarlett Johansson in the 2012 Avengers. His calmness in the face of this situation gives you the idea of what a badass Clint Barton was.

Then there was Lucky the Pizza Dog.

At the very end of episode two, we get our first glimpse at Echo, who seemed to be the force behind the Tracksuit Mafia. Echo is a more recent character in Marvel Comics and she already has a spin off series on Disney + planned so she will certainly be a big deal moving forward. I’m not sure if she is truly the one behind the Tracksuit Mafia. When they blew into the black market auction, they were after a specific item: a watch that was recovered from the wreckage of Avengers Headquarters. What connection that has to anything is yet to be determined.

I would be remiss if I did not mention Rogers: The Musical! The slight glimpse we got at the stage show (before Clint and his family snuck out) was cool. We heard part of the song “I can do this all day” with a group of dancing and singing Avengers. It was not just a joke either as it seemed to trigger the painful memories of losing Natasha for Clint as well as other troublesome memories.

I did enjoy the moments we got with Clint and his kids. I am also happy that some of the speculation as to why Clint’s wife, Laura (played by Linda Cardellini), was not in the trailer did not come to fruition. There was speculation that they had separated or were at odds. Thankfully, that is not the case and Clint was just getting time alone with the kids in NYC. The whole Christmas feel of this series is great and the theme of family is explored.

Hawkeye at the LARPing event is one of the best scenes in the show. It introduced the character of Grills to the show as well. And…

“I fought Thanos.” LOL

Hawkeye is attending a larp in the new Hawkeye trailer or I'm a monkey's uncle : r/LARP

The first two episodes have been very grounded and street level, which is something that the MCU could use at this point with all the multiversal action happening now. Clint Barton gets a chance to shine, which is something he has not had much time to do up until this point. I am excited to see the rest of the show.

Squid Game Ep. 9

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SPOILERS FOR SQUID GAME FINALE

“One Lucky Day“

How do I feel about this?

Betrayed. Angry. Disappointed. Impressed.

The finale of Squid Game is a real gut punch in a lot of ways. The twist of the episode is something I’ll look at later.

The Squid Game finale finished with a brutal battle between Gi-hun and Sang-woo in the final game, which was clearly always going to be the Squid Game. This struggle in the rain was unbelievably violent, brutal and realistic. It was down in the dirt, literally. It was able to show the progression of Gi-hun’s character during this series with the way he reacted to the potential win and the refusal to kill Sang-woo.

Gi-hun showed that he truly was a good man at heart and that he was willing to let Sang-woo redeem himself despite all the horrible things that he had done during the game. Then, when Sang-woo jammed the knife into his own throat, he took a step back into being the childhood friend and he kept Gi-hun from sacrificing everything and giving up the money.

So Gi-hun was returned to his life, with his 45 billions. and a huge case of PTSD. His mother was dead. He would not touch the money and we have a time jump.

1 year later.

Here was the twist. Here was the betrayal.

Il-nam is alive. Il-nam was the Host. He was behind everything.

How does this make me feel? The emotions from episode 6 were real. Now though, they are tainted. I just do not know if having this unforeseen twist at the end of the show was worth taking everything from episode 6 and warping it. Having Il-name behind it all and turning out to be nothing more than a cruel and bored rich guy makes me reconsider everything that I loved about that character from the first part of the season.

Don’t get me wrong, it was a surreal twist that I did not see coming. That is always welcome, but was it worth it? His answer to why he set these games up was basically “I have so much money, I was bored.” Doesn’t that make him every bit as bad, if not worse, than any of those VIPs that attended the last few games?

There was more done with the episode at the end, but this was the moment that swung everything. This moment is one that I am still not sure how I feel about. I appreciate how it played with my emotions, but did it cross a line? Did it go too far? I am not sure what to think about it yet. And the twist, being able to accept it and deal with it will color my opinion of Squid Game from episode one through the finale. This one point in time where Player 001 was not dead and in fact was the evil entity behind the whole thing, a character that I loved and mourned over….

I just do not know.

By the way, I guess Jun-ho is dead after falling off that cliff in episode 7 because we never once even make a fleeting reference to him in the finale. That felt like a major piece that is just left dangling.

Would I be in on a season two of Squid Game on Netflix? Honestly, right now, I am not sure. I loved episodes 1-8, but that finale really made me question how much I loved those earlier episodes.

It is a wait and see from me.

Squid Game Ep. 8

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SPOILERS FOR EP. 8 OF SQUID GAME

“Front Man“

So the wild speculation I made back around episode four turned out to be 100% on the nose. The Front Man turned out to be the brother of Jun-ho, In-ho.

Lee Byung-hun, who played Storm Shadow back in 2013’s G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra, is a well-known Korean actor and, according to the research I’ve done, is the most familiar face among the cast. I am pretty proud of myself for wildly speculating Front Man’s true identity back in the early part of the series. His confrontation and unmasking on the edge of a cliff with his brother was tense and potent. Both of the actors involved in this scene did tremendous work. You can see that, even though he shoots his brother in the shoulder causing him to fall off the cliff and into the water, In-ho was tying to maneuver it so he could take his brother in alive. (BTW, there is no chance that I think Jung-ho is dead. He’s coming back in the finale…count on it). The scene where In-ho sees his brother’s reflection in the mirror gives us a deep look into the mind of Front Man.

The brotherly confrontation was one part of this episode. The other part was the pay-off from last episode’s exploding glass bridge and the choices made prior to it blowing up. Gi-hun confronted Sang-woo about his cold-blooded shove of the guy from the glass company. This was brilliantly written as Gi-hun asked him if it had been him on the glass in front of him, would he still have pushed him. Sang-woo verbally attacked Gi-hun, blaming him for being here and Gi-hun masterfully turned that around, wondering why Sang-woo, the “golden child” and highly educated college man, was here too. They were clearly placed as opponents moving forward.

But there was a third wheel here and it was Sae-byeok. It had looked like she was injured after the glass bridge was blown up, and, in fact, she was as a huge glass shard was shown to be imbedded in her side.

She tried to bandage herself up, but this was going to require more than what she was capable of. As the Squid Game soldiers provided a final meal of steak, she was not eating much because she was in such bad shape. The soldiers left each of the three of them a steak knife, which you knew would come into play.

Gi-hun approached Sae-byeok in the night to check on her and to try and build an alliance with her against Sang-woo. They had a great conversation about their families and Sae-byeok tried to get Gi-hun to promise to look after her brother if he won the money. She knew at this point that she was most likely not going to survive this side wound. Gi-hun would not promise, saying that they could get out together and split the money. When he noticed that Sang-woo had fallen asleep and had dropped his knife, Gi-hun was going to go kill him, but Sae-byeok stopped him by telling him that he was not that kin of person and that he had a good heart.

It was at this point that Gi-hun realized that Sae-byeok had an open wound in her side and he ran to try and get help from the door. When it opened, there was the soldiers with a casket. Gi-hun turned around and realized that Sang-woo was standing by her bed and that he had stabbed Sae-byeok in the neck, killing her.

There have been some terrible deaths in the series that has elicited some powerfully emotional responses, in particular Oh Il-nam and Ali Abdul in episode 6, but this one was one of the worst yet because Sae-byeok was already badly injured, perhaps even fatally, and he still went and took advantage of her situation to kill her. I said last episode that Sang-woo had become the “Big Bad” at the end and it is clear that he is exactly that. It is coming down to Sang-woo vs. Gi-hun in the final game, which I assume will be the Squid Game itself.

This was the shortest episode of the season, but it was fully packed with powerful moments and fantastic acting. I am so glad that I did not continue on with the dubbed version on Netflix because I just do not think the dubbed version would have delivered the emotional depth and potency of the scenes. And, like all other subtitled films I have watched, the best ones make you forget that you are reading the movie.

Even though I had figured out who Front Man was, I have no idea how this series is going to end. That is a great feeling. I do not even have any wild speculation to toss out now. I sure hope that Sang-woo gets what it coming to him, though.

Squid Game Ep. 7

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SPOILERS FOR SQUID GAME EP. 7

“VIPs“

After the last episode with so much emotion and anxiety during the marbles matches, episode 7 picks right up with the suspense as the players are thrown into a game where they have to choose one of two glass squares to jump on. One is strong enough to hold up to two people while the other one is not strong enough to hold one. Choose poorly and you fall to your death.

This was a great way to get rid of the remaining “Red Shirts” of the show (an allusion to Star Trek, of course). One of the things this show has been tremendous with has been giving a little bit of character to the Red Shirts. They may not be incredible complex or deep of characters, but they all have something to make them more than just cannon fodder. Case in point, in the Tug O’ War episode, we met married couple that Sang-Woo rejected for his team. We also saw that this couple formed a pair in the marbles, meaning one would survive and one would not. The husband (number 69) survived the marbles but was immediately crushed by the loss of his wife. We knew so very little about either of these characters and yet their loss and their pain resonates with us because we understand the feelings. We also understand when Player 69 killed himself instead of facing life of guilt knowing that he lived because his wife died.

The episode is entitled “VIPs” because the VIPs arrived to watch the final two games live and in person on the island. These characters were shown to be the stereotypically worst people imaginable. They were betting on the outcome of the games while they sipped wine an couches with real naked women acting as feet rests and pillows. They all spoke English too, which is clearly a commentary on the American way of life. One could see someone like Donald Trump beneath one of those sparkly golden masks.

These VIP character were simply there for us to hate, bringing little more than that to the story. There was one horrendous VIP who embodied the worst of the gay stereotypes, probably not a character that would make it through in the American culture nowadays. These characters were very much caricatures, but it did feel like that was their purpose. Perhaps these are the rich men who bankroll the Squid Game. It gave an impression that there are Squid Games going on in more than just this location and these men may be involved in these. I’m not sure we are going to be going into more detail with these people, but I do believe those explosive charges we saw a few episodes ago may have a purpose with these men.

What we will absolutely be getting as a resolution before this show ends is the reveal of an identity of the Front Man. I am even more sure that Front Man is the missing brother of detective Jun-ho. I made that random wild speculation several episodes ago and now it just makes more sense. Especially since we know that the Front Man still reports to someone above him, The Host. Front Man notices the little details and he moves with a gun like someone who knows what he is doing. There is definitely a reveal coming with this character and, since he has been connected to Jun-ho, it makes sense narrative wise.

While I am talking about Jun-ho, can we comment on the battery life on dude’s cell phone? Where can I get that model? I have to be charging mine every other day if I am not using it much.

Then there was the most satisfying moment of the whole episode. As they are moving along the bridge of glass, Deok-Su decides to stop and blackmail the rest of the players behind him so someone else would go first. Who steps up? It is crazy woman, Han Mi-nyeo. She wound up spared last episode because of the leftover rule (those of us chosen last for dodgeball, we know what that feels like). She was back and she pretended to take the lead from Deok-su, only to grab him around the waist and throw them both off the bridge, crashing through the next glass step and falling to their deaths. That was such a satisfying moment because Deok-su was such a horrible person and really deserved to die, and Mi-nyeo was able to deliver on her promise to kill him she had made after he betrayed her in the Tug O’War. I could not think of a better way for this pair to go out than what the show gave us.

We are down to the final three. Gi-hun, Sang-woo and Sae-byeok. Sang-woo has really set himself up as the next “Big Bad” to be faced off with. He has had a secret through this entire series, something that he has been hiding from Gi-hun and I am sure that we will have that reveal soon too. Episode 8, interestingly enough, is a shorter 32 minutes. I’m not sure why this was, but I am fine with it. I have two more episodes to finish and I will get to them today. I did not anticipate being done with this series this weekend, but once I started, I could not stop.

Squid Game Ep. 6

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SPOILERS FOR SQUID GAME EP. 6

“Gganbu“

Okay, that one was tough.

Never will look at marbles the same way again.

The show flipped the script on us once again as the people in charge of the Squid Game had the players choose partners. We all thought that they were choosing partners to work together with, but instead, they chose someone they were going to have to play against with marbles. Whoever ended up with all 20 marbles would be the winner. So we had a fun little section at the beginning with these characters pairing up, with plenty of character moments, only to pull the rug out. Seeing the pairings, the fears that we would be losing some of our favorite characters was obvious.

The pairings were:

Gi-hun and Number 001

Ali and Sang-woo

Sae-byeok and Ji-yeong

Doek Soo and Player 278

Things were set up for some painful moments. And then the episode was spent showing amazing character moments and development that gave us more insights into who these people were. Ji-yeong and Sae-byeok in particular told us a great deal about their tragic pasts and what they may or may not do when they “win” the money.

Sang-woo showed his true colors in his pairing with Ali, as he was losing badly to the innocent soul that was Ali. He suckered Ali into giving him the bag full of marbles after Ali nearly won everything. Sang-woo betrayed the young father, who reminded us about his family during the emotional dialogue. Sang-woo has been sketchy throughout the first five episodes, but this was the worst thing he had done. The sound of the gunshot was painful. Thankfully we did not have to see the blood spray from Ali.

Of course, perhaps the worst one was Gi-hun and Player 001. The old man was suffering with the brain tumor, but was winning the majority of the marble rounds. Gi-hun was becoming more frustrated and afraid with every failure, until the opportunity presented itself to him. Player 001, who had told Gi-hun that they were now gganbu, best friends in marble playing, could not remember what he had said and Gi-hun lied to him, manipulating him so he could start to win some. This became the continuous stretch as Gi-hun kept lying to him. Gi-hun told the story of his own guilt and fear on his face. When Player 001 had one remaining marble, he wandered off, forced Gi-hun to follow him.

They wound up in a house that Player 001 said was his old house, and then he asked why Gi-hun would be fooling him. The pain just flooded out of Gi-hun. Player 001 gave the remaining marble to him, accepting his fate. The last words from Player 001 was that he remembered his name and that it was Oh Il-nam. As Gi-hun walked away, we heard the fatal gunshot.

This was a painfully emotional episode. One of the best of the series and it really moved the story forward.