Tag Archives: Netflix

Reptile (2023)

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June 13, 2023

Reptile is on Netflix and is a mystery/thriller starring Benicio Del Toro and it is the entry for the June Swoon 3.

According to IMDB, “Tom Nichols (Benicio Del Toro) is a hardened New England detective, unflinching in his pursuit of a case where nothing is as it seems and it begins to dismantle the illusions in his own life.”

Benicio Del Toro is always great and this is no exception. He is well cast in this murder mystery and you buy everything that he does. Justin Timberlake stars along side Del Toro as a scummy real estate agent whose girlfriend is murdered. Interestingly enough, I buy him in that role very much too.

The acting is excellent. The story is less so. Honestly, there were times when I would start losing focus on what was happening and it felt as if the story became too messy as it continued. The film is well over two hours and you feel that run time. I think this could have been tighter with 20 minutes cut out of the film.

However, there were some good points, especially Del Toro’s performance. He is the later actor to take what is an average script/film and elevate it with what he does. In the hands of a lesser actor, Reptile would be a sub par film. What makes this watchable is Del Toro and his connections with the other actors around him.

One of those actors is Alicia Silverstone, who played Tom Nichols’ wife, Judy. The relationship between them was one of the best parts of the film and more of it would have aided the story.

I’m not sure how I feel about the resolution of the mystery, but I did think the final scene was strong and very tense.

In the end, Reptile has its moments, but feels too long and is unnecessarily complicated.

Sweet Tooth S3 E4

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“Beyond the Sea”

We are now half way through the final season of Sweet Tooth and this was a dark, very emotional episode all around.

This is probably the best episode of the final season so far because it centered so much on Gus and what he had to do, not only to continue his quest to Alaska, but to honor the dead on the Whale’s Song, the boat they were trying to get to at the end of episode 3.

The boat had been shut down because the crew and passengers had all been exposed and died from the sick. All except one person, named Darwin. With Darwin’s help, Gus was able to remove all of the bodies from the ship while giving them all burials at sea.

The powerhouse moments of watching this little boy drag wrapped up bodies and throw them into the ocean, while providing a voice over eulogy, was truly a beautiful and touching homage to these people. Understand, we knew none of these people on the boat, but the way the moment affected Gus was how it affected us as the audience.

It made it even worse when we discovered that Darwin had also contracted the sick and he killed himself by falling overboard. Not before he set the boat up to continue its trek to Alaska.

I really thought that this was where Jepp was going to get his. The show teased that he had been exposed to the sick and that this was where Big Man was going to die. However Singh was able to test him and proved that he was free of the sick. I really do have a bad feeling about Jepp’s fate this season and I think that if something does happen to Bog Man, it is going to be crushing.

Meanwhile, we continue to see how horrific Mrs. Zhang is as she does not care what gets in her way in her wish to capture the ‘deer boy’ as she puts it. Her total dismissal of her grandson’s injury shows what she thinks of hybrids and her coldness toward her own daughter makes her a cruel individual.

The flash of hope at the end of the episode helped to place the rest of the episode into context. It was an episode about death, about remembering, about honoring, and about surviving. Gus remains perhaps the strongest character on the entire show.

Sweet Tooth S3 E1

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“The Beginning is also the End”

The final season of Sweet Tooth dropped on Netflix this weekend. This is based on a comic book from one of my favorite writers, Jeff Lemire, and has been a great two season series. Now, Gus, Big Man, Bear and Wendy are on their way to Alaska to find Gus’s mom, who happens to be in bunch of trouble herself.

Christian Convery returned as the titular character and shows, once again, how perfectly he was cast as the deer hybrid, Gus. The young actor exudes charm and warmth, making this character the perfect protagonist for this world filled with sickness and cruelty.

Jeb, aka Big Man, has to face his own problems as he is trying to continue to protect Gus. Big Man is getting older and life’s conflicts just don’t bounce off him as they used to do.

The first episode provides some further insight into the relationship between the two hybrids, Gus and Wendy. They both seem to be the most good hearted characters you could hope to see, and I hope that does not lead to their eventual downfall.

With the first episode cliffhanger, the arrival of Dr. Singh wanting to talk about Alaska, the show kicked off with a bang. There was an avalanche in the Rocky Mountains that was awesome, placing another challenge before our foursome.

Jeff Lemire has written some of my favorite comic series from outside of Marvel, but I never read Sweet Tooth. It has that same feel that one might get when reading Fishflies. I do not know how much the series has stuck to the comics, but I can definitely feel the touch of Lemire in the story.

Sweet Tooth on Netflix has a total of 8 episodes in the final season.

Rustin (2023)

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June 8, 2024

I have yet another Oscar nominated film for the June Swoon 3 today. This nomination went to Colman Domingo for Best Actor in Motion Picture. He did not win the Oscar, but he gave an electric performance that carried an average film to new heights.

There have been a lot of examples of an amazing lead performance elevating a movie before. Rustin is just the latest example in a long line. Many of these tend to be biopics. This is yet another.

Bayard Rustin was a leader in the Civil Rights movement and a driving force behind the 1963 March on Washington. He was also an openly gay man. His leadership and charisma shone through the struggles his life presented to him.

Colman Domingo is absolutely amazing in this film and he overshadows the rest of the movie. Without him, this movie would be considerably lesser. The way the film is present is fairly pedestrian outside of the main performance.

There is a solid cast supporting Domingo including Chris Rock, Gus Halper, Jeffrey Wright, Ami Ameen, Glynn Turman, Johnny Ramey, CCH Pounder, Michael Potts, Jordan-Amanda Hall, and Lilli Kay.

But Domingo leads the way, bringing to life this man who had such a hand in creating this seminal point in history. He is a name that is not as well known as Dr. King or John Lewis, but he should be.

Bodkin S1 E4, E5, E6, E7

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I chose to finish this series up this morning with the final four episodes on Netflix. I found Bodkin to be a fairly enjoyable romp that had moments of messiness. Still, I think the strength of the show was the characters and the shades of grey that they all displayed.

The mystery of what happened to the missing kids from 25 years prior is dealt with by the sixth episode, where we basically knew everything that we needed to know. It would lead into a climatic confrontation with all the forces in episode seven.

Honestly, episode seven was convoluted and, as I already mentioned, messy. Still, I think the show stuck to our characters, Dove, Gilbert and Emmy, and provided a satisfactory end to the series.

I did like how the mystery itself played out. When we discovered that one of the bodies in the trunk of the car that had been sunk in the bog was not Fiona, that took the tale in a different direction… back to the Yoga-using nuns.

The mystery aspect of the story did blend together very well, with all of the different tentacles of the story fitting together well.

Then there was the eels.

Apparently, eel smuggling is a major crime in Northern Europe and the producers, after discovering this, felt as if they had to include this bizarre fact in their series. It did work with Seamus, as he was known to be a major smuggler from his past.

And when Seamus discovered that he was the father to Sean, who was the son of Fiona, who died in childbirth and was buried by the nuns, things got really chaotic.

It all took place on the night of Samhain and the big celebration going on in Bodkin. And a bomb? Yes, a bomb. This is the part of the story that felt over-the-top and messy as everything is set up for a major showdown.

Overall, I enjoyed this series. It was passable entertainment, and it was carried by the three main characters. I especially liked how none of them were necessarily great people. Dove, in particular, would be clearly defined as an arse.

You can stream Bodkin on Netflix.

Baby Reindeer limited series E4-7

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I had not intended on binging this whole series in one day. I had thought that this could be another several week watch. However, with the sick day, I had time available and this was just so amazing of a show that I couldn’t help myself.

Baby Reindeer is a seven-episode limited series on Netflix that has been creating quite a buzz lately, for good reason. It is based on a true story, written and starring Richard Gadd, who based this on a time in his own life.

Episode four bought the answers as to why Donny was such a victim for Martha. He had been abused by a writer, a writer whom Donny had idolized and who was sexually pervasive with him after getting him high on a variety of drugs. This vital piece of information, which was hinted at in the first three episodes, gives us the theme of the show, seeing how abuse can affect an individual and how trauma from the past can really derail a person’s life.

Martha was not shown as a villain. She was absolutely mentally ill, suffering from her own challenges, but to call her evil is not an accurate portrayal. Even at her worst, Martha was retaliating or responding to situations in her life that she was unable to deal with in any other manner. In her mind, she was in love with Donny and this was the way for her to express it.

Donny’s own self-hate caused everything around him to falter, including the potentially positive relationship with Teri. There really is an amazing amount of depth to these characters who go far beyond good vs. evil.

While the first three episodes of the series were highlighted by Jessica Gunning’s performance as Martha, these last four, in particular episode six, showed a remarkable performance from Richard Gadd. His monologue on stage at the comedy finale was just unbelievable and as raw as an open wound. I was completely captivated by the acting on display. This felt like a man breaking down in front of everyone.

I also was touched by the scene where Donny went back to his parents to tell them about the video of that monologue that had gone viral on social media, mainly because Martha had threatened to tell them about it. The reveal that his father had also been sexually abused as a child was one of the most powerful moments of the show. The hug between father and son was life-affirming.

The end was very poetic too as Donny wound up at a bar and, almost, in the same situation that Martha was in at the beginning of the show. One wonders if this characters of Donny would ever truly get past the obsession that he seemed to have for Martha. While this is based on a true story, there is enough fictional aspects to make one wonder.

This was a difficult and uncomfortable show to watch at many times, and yet it was worth every second. It is one of the best shows of 2024 so far.

Baby Reindeer limited series E1-3

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I heard some discussion about this limited series on Netflix. Several of the online critics that I respect and like had positive things to say about this, so I decided since I have a sick day today from school, I may as well give it a try.

The first three episodes were just tremendous.

According to IMDB, “Based on a compelling true story, the hit 2019 Edinburgh Fringe one-man stage-play Baby Reindeer follows the writer and performer Richard Gadd’s warped relationship with his female stalker and the impact it has on him as he is ultimately forced to face a deep, dark buried trauma.”

Richard Gadd played Donny, a bartender who wants to become a stand up comedian. One night, a sad figure of a woman came into the pub and sat down on the stool. Donny took pity on the woman and offered her a drink. Little did he know where this would take him.

Jessica Gunning is astounding as the woman, Martha Scott, who begins to stalk Donny, ingratiating herself into his life in an obsessive manner. The brilliance of the performance is the fact that you can see the reason why Donny felt the empathy for her. There are flashes with Martha that is not just her mental illness, but her desperation to be something more to someone. Jessica Gunning truly gives a layered performance through the first three episodes.

The first three episodes spend some time hinting that there is more behind Donny than what we see and perhaps some of his choices and behaviors will make sense after we find out what that is.

The feral response Martha had when she found Donny with Teri (Nava Mau) was brutal. Donny’s angry response chased her away, but I am not sure what the show will do next, and i love that.

Powerful limited series so far, based on a true story of Richard Gadd’s actual stalker.

Damsel

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Millie Bobby Brown has had success with her movie role choices since her breakout performance on Stranger Things. This weekend saw her brand new film, a fantasy film, debut on Netflix.

According to IMDB, “A  young woman who thinks she is being married to a perfect prince is thrown into a pit where she discovers she’s not going to be a princess after all, but a sacrifice to appease a bloodthirsty dragon. Trying to survive long enough until someone can save her — she soon realizes that no one is coming and this “damsel” must save herself.“

Led by Brown, the cast of this film was solid. Robin Wright, Angel Bassett, Ray Winstone, Nick Robinson, Brooke Carter, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and Milo Twomey. However, Millie Bobby Brown spent a lot of time on screen and the other powerful actors were supporting for sure. This is definitely Millie Bobby Brown’s movie.

The special effects/CGI of the movie were pretty good, specifically the look of the dragon, which was on screen a lot.

The story was fairly simple. It was a survival tale, bit it took the concept of a “damsel in distress” from fantasy movies and flipped it on its head. She did not need anyone to come rescue her.

I did enjoy the voice of Shohreh Aghdashloo as the dragon. Aghdashloo, who I remember from 24, has a very distinctive voice and it gave that dragon a strong presence.

There is a lot of fun in this movie. Brown is very charismatic and easy to root for. It may be a simple film, but that does not mean it is a bad one.

3.4 stars

The X-Files S3 E20

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“Jose Chung’s From Outer Space”

“I know how crazy this is going to sound, but….”

One of the greatest BLEEPIN’ X-Files episodes of all-time was next on my list. It was “Jose Chung’s From Outer Space.”

Let’s start off with the amazing casting of Charles Nelson Reilly as author Jose Chung. CNR was so great in this role and he brought a sensational comedic chemistry with Gillian Anderson, whose facial expressions and comedic timing were as on point as I have ever seen her. The pair of them recounting this story from different POVs made for such a fantastic framing device that the humor just worked perfectly between them.

Guest appearances from Jesse Ventura and Alex Trebek as Men in Black added such a special feel to the episode, as they tormented the weirdos involved in the story. Jesse Ventura was a personal favorite performer, originally from the world of pro wrestling, and I loved his use in this show.

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson did a great job of changing the style of their characters’ performance depending on which person was providing the POV.

This episode was not just a comedic one. It started the stretch of doubt from Mulder that led him to dismiss his belief in UFOs, accepting the fact that everything is part of the government plan. This would carry on for quite a few episodes.

The use of footage of Scully’s actual autopsy of a man in an alien costume being used as a cheap alien autopsy video was a master stroke of genius as was Scully’s breathless reaction of consternation when Chung asked her about it.

This was the final episode written by Emmy winning writer Darin Morgan, whose episodes included classics “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose,” “Humbug,” and “War of the Coprophages.” Morgan would return in the X-Files 2016 revival.

There are so many clever moments in this episode that you could not hit them all. From the craziness of Rocky to the sweet potato pie, “Jose Chung’s From Outer Space” had something for everyone. It is one of my, if not THE, favorite episode of the show and I am so glad that we reached this episode in season three.

Spaceman

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So this must be the weekend for science fiction.

I watched Spaceman, the third sci-fi movie of the day for me. It is also the one that I am the most conflicted about.

It is very well known that I am not a fan of Adam Sandler. However, he has had some more recent, serious movie roles that I have enjoyed, so seeing this still left me with some hope. After watching it, I am just unsure what exactly I watched.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, “Six months into a solitary research mission to the edge of the solar system, an astronaut, Jakub (Adam Sandler), realizes that the marriage he left behind might not be waiting for him when he returns to Earth. Desperate to fix things with his wife, Lenka (Carey Mulligan), he is helped by a mysterious creature from the beginning of time he finds hiding in the bowels of his ship. Hanuš (voiced by Paul Dano) works with Jakub to make sense of what went wrong before it is too late.”

This is most definitely a slow burn sci-fi movie, which I do not mind. I have always enjoyed a good slow burn character piece, and this is definitely a film that embraces the pace.

Adam Sandler does a decent job in this performance, but it does feel strange at times. I have to say, I did not realize that he was supposed to be an astronaut from the Czech Republic until midway into the film. There was not much about Adam Sandler or his performance that screamed Czech.

Then, things go really weird when the creature voiced by Paul Dano arrives and begins a deep, psychological and internal discussion about just about everything in Jakub’s life. I don’t want to spoil the creature, but your acceptance of this creature will depend if you think the film is a decent sci-fi film or a silly facade.

There are things about Paul Dano’s character that I would like to discuss, but I can not go into it without spoiling some specifics so I will not do so. Let me just state that one of the big themes of the film deals with the loneliness and isolation of Jakob and how that might affect his mental state, and I’ll leave it at that.

I went back and forth with Dano’s character, so it is the reason why I am unsure how exactly I feel about Spaceman. This is the central relationship that we focus on and I am mixed on it. I found it more interesting overall than silly, so there is that.

There was an interesting use of flashbacks to tell the story of Jakob and his life. I did enjoy the manner in which the movie displayed the flashbacks and how the story on earth maintained a different visual style than the scenes in the spaceship or from the flashbacks. I thought the direction of these scenes especially, from director Johan Renck, was solid. I am not sure that I got enough out of the scenes to understand some of the decisions made by Jakob, especially in the area of Lenka. Carey Mulligan has some good moments, but not enough of them to really matter.

I do think the film missed some opportunities to really take this into a strong character piece and deal with some heavy ideas and themes. What they did was okay, but I think there is an outline of something that could be truly good.

You should check it out on Netflix. This is one that I think you could hate, but I found enough here to be engaged by it.

3.3 stars

Code 8: Part II

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It was quite a weekend for sci-fi part two films. The biggest, of course, was Dune: Part Two in theaters, but the other is a film that arrived on Netflix called Code 8: Part II.

This was a film that I had no idea even had a Part I. Apparently, this is a sequel to a sci-fi film that came out in 2019 and on Netflix in 2020 featuring Robbie and Stephen Amell.

According to IMDB, “After witnessing the murder of her brother and subsequent cover up, a teenage girl with abnormal abilities seeks the help of an ex-con (Robbie Amell) and his former partner-in-crime (Stephen Amell). Together, they face a unit of corrupt police officers who deploy advanced robotic technology to prevent themselves from being exposed.”

The mix of super powered individuals and the science fiction robotics is very intriguing with this movie and leads to some interesting scenes with the different characters. I did like the young girl, Pavani, played by Sirena Gulamgaus. I thought she pulled off her character with some gusto.

The relationship between the characters played by the Amell brothers were shaky at times. It was unclear the relationship between them and it was inconsistent. Perhaps this is a drawback to not seeing the first Code 8 movie.

The story is okay. I wouldn’t rave about it, but it does have a good flow and the idea of technology being corrupted by human is definitely a regular one in sci-fi.

I liked this film. I have seen reviews stating that this was a step down from the original, but as that is not an issue for me, I would say I liked watching this. It may not be the best Part II of the weekend, nor the best sci-fi film of the weekend, but it was a worthy watch despite that.

3.5 stars

American Nightmare

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Unbelievable.

I have had this three episode true crime documentary on my list at Netflix for a few weeks now and I found a time to binge it tonight. What an unbelievable story. Shocking and outrageous in many ways.

Honestly, even the manner the show presented the story messed with the emotions and the comprehension of the audience. What actually happened? It laid out the story in a definite manner that was meant to have audience members draw their own conclusions… and then they flipped the script.

In 2015, Denise Huskins was the victim of a home invasion that led to her kidnapping. Her boyfriend Aaron Quinn reported the abduction the next day, claiming that he had been instructed that the kidnappers were watching him on a camera and that they would hurt Denise if he called the police.

The Vallejo Police investigated but the story of the kidnapping was so out there that they switched gears and began to believe that Aaron was responsible for Denise’s disappearance.

Then, she returned.

At this point, the police began thinking that this is a real-life case based on the Ben Affleck movie Gone Girl, and that this kidnapping was a hoax.

Except, it wasn’t.

This was amazingly compelling. The first episode focused on Aaron’s story and how the police were looking at the case. the POV of law enforcement was a major theme throughout all three episodes. I was shocked when Denise came strolling to her father’s house at the end of the first episode.

Episode two dealt with her story and the horrors that she went through. Again, her story was so wild that it was difficult to believe and it was much easier for the police to believe that a hoax was a much more likely scenario.

I really liked this doc because it had quite a bit of finality to it. A lot of these true crime docs that I have seen have an air of uncertainty to them, perhaps a mystery that is still unsolved. This may have had some unanswered questions (in particular, the kidnapper had told Denise that he had intended to kidnap Aaron’s ex instead of her), but there was a very definitive result which I truly appreciated.

It is a resounding accusation against police forces in the area that did not believe the stories of the women victims and instead, chose to relate it to a fictionalized movie. It also showed that there were police officers who took their jobs seriously and were dedicated to finding the truth, in particular Misty Carausu, a police officer with the Dublin Police Department in Dublin, California, who found the kidnapper, found goggles and a strand of long blonde hair that she eventually tied to Denise. It was the efforts of Misty Carausu that led to the arrest and conviction of the kidnapper/rapist, Matthew Muller.

This was an amazing documentary series, shocking and a powerful watch. I am very pleased that I decided to watch this compelling story.

Masters of the Universe: Revolution

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The sequel to the Masters of the Universe: Revelations from filmmaker Kevin Smith dropped on Netflix this weekend with five-episodes that ran around a half hour each. This made the series a simple binge and satisfying story with some classic characters if the 1980s.

Another fun tidbit for the series was hearing the voice talents of Mark Hamill and William Shatner working together. Having Luke and Kirk together in any manner is a Geek dream.

The story basically continues from the Revelations series as the characters were dealing with fall-out of everything that happened there when Prince Adam’s father fell ill, so badly sick that he was not long for the world.

There were some solid emotional bits in the story and some good character arcs, especially for Evil-Lynn. Her eventual redemption was one of the most satisfying of the entire series. The show also went into the origin of Skeletor, tying him to Adam in an unexpected way.

There were a lot of voices on the internet that spewed out venom and hatred over the Revelations series when it first came out on Netflix. It got so bad that it was pretty clear that Kevin Smith had been discouraged over it. You could hear the change come over him during his podcast Fatman Beyond. 

However, it seemed as if this time there are many more voices of positivity with this series. I hope Kevin takes in the well-deserved love and it makes him feel better. I really enjoyed Revelations, perhaps more so than Revolution. 

This series feels much more like a love letter to the original series than the previous one had. Revelations felt like he took the characters from the series and made them into deeper characters and put them on some arcs that may not have been popular, but were very interesting and thrilling. Here, it felt as if it were more about the story with the characters taking a bit of a back seat. With the fewer number of episodes, I think that was a wise choice.

The music/score of the animated show was sensational. Some of the music swelled with energy and passion, creating the perfect tone for most of the scenes. 

The animation was very good too. There are some truly beautiful shots of the action and the imagery of the surroundings.

The biggest drawback for me is another thing that connects it to the original series. I did not watch the He-Man show back in the 80’s and the weird, quippy dialogue/patter was cringey at times. When Lynn started to sing the K-I-S-S-I-N-G song, I could almost hear my eyes rolling into the back of my head. I understand that is the tone of the series and that it did have a place, but it was fairly annoying at times.

Otherwise, I think this was a satisfactory entry into the Master of the Universe mythos and longtime fans should find a lot here to praise instead of taking to the internet to rip down. 

A Murder at the End of the World E1, E2

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“Chapter One: Homme Fatal”

“Chapter Two: The Silver Doe”

I was looking for something new to watch. I didn’t want to dive into more from Moonlighting or The X-Files, as I have done several of both of those series this weekend. Picket Fences is done. Fargo has one more episode. I have not been too enthralled with For All Mankind as of yet. I finished Murder House. I wanted something new.

I will be doing a Twin Peaks rewatch at some point, but this did not feel like the right time. There are several other great shows I love such as Monk, Castle but those are both multiple season runs and I am only in season 2 of a bunch of the X-Files. Having something that has an end in sight is always welcome.

So I went looking for other options, and eventually I worked around to Hulu. Hulu was being kind of wonky tonight (I think because of the frigid cold we have here right now), but I still came across A Murder at the End of the World.

I had seen this before and the concept intrigued me and I am always a fan of a good murder mystery. It is also only seven episodes, which is great. It feels like one of those shoes like Echo, The Body or Fall of the House of Usher that can be a quick, palate cleanser in-between the longer commitment of the multi-season re-watches.

I started the series hoping that it would be able to catch my attention. I will say it started a little slow, but my the end of episode one, everybody had arrived at the setting and the characters were introduced and the murder was in place. At that point, I was all in.

The basic plot is something that we have seen before. A group of people are invited to an isolated location and somebody is murdered. This trope is very common, but I did like the way this series set up the trope and tied it to our main protagonist’s background. 

Emma Corrin felt very familiar to me, but I did not recognize anything on her IMDB page (that I had watched, I mean… I recognized shows. I just never watched The Crown or Pennyworth). I enjoyed her portrayal of Darby Hart, an amateur sleuth/true crime writer who had been called the Gen Z Sherlock Holmes. She wound up being invited to a retreat with some of the big brains of the world and her former friend/love Bill Farrah (Harris Dickinson) was also in attendance, as one of the world’s aforementioned artists.

At the end of the first episode, Bill dies in front of Darby. It is believed that he O.D.’d, but Darby did not believe it. She knew something more was going on, and she sneaked into the crime scene to see what she could find.

The story is told with flashbacks back to Darby’s younger years, not only during the time she and Bill were in pursuit of the Silver Dove Killer, a serial killer obsessed with silver jewelry, but also to younger years yet, when Darby was with her policeman father, including at crime scenes he was investigating. Her observations helped him with his cases.

There are some interesting characters in the show, but there has not yet been too much development of any of the other invitees to the retreat. They have been touched on, but the depth is still to come, I expect.

There was a disturbing glance at a person in a mask on the video in Bill’s room when he died. It was a scary image and it was one that I did not expect.

The first two episodes were really good and, with only five more to go, it should not take too long to find out who the guilty party is. I hope it delivers in the long run.

Blue Eye Samurai S1 E5, E6, E7, E8

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“The Tale of the Ronin and the Bride”

“All Evil Dreams and Angry Words”

“Nothing Broken”

“The Great Fire of 1657”

I finished season one of Blue Eye Samurai today with the final four episodes. This is such a great show, with amazing animation, perfectly executed fight choreography, and some of the best character work around. It is absolutely a high bar for the next season to reach.

Specifically, episode five was an amazing format, with the story being told with a narrated puppet theater. It was one of the most imaginative style choices that seemed to fit perfectly with the tone and style of the show.

Everything led to a huge confrontation between Mizu and Fowler as the city burnt down around them. I am not sure if I loved the way the cliffhanger unfurled, but I am willing to let season two play out to see what happens. I think I would have preferred for Mizu to have killed Fowler instead of trying to use him.

Plus, with Mizu and Fowler on a boat to London, does that mean that our cast of supporting characters Ringo, Taigen, and Akemi are going to be sidelined in season two?

It was a sad end for George Takei’s character Seki, shot to death retreating from the fire. His was a character that showed his true allegiances through the year… and it was to Akemi.

This was such a joy to watch and I am very glad that I took the suggestion from a couple of the YouTube content makers, saying that this was one of the best shows of 2023. It certainly was epic.