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Stranger Things 5 E8

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Spoilers

“The Rightside Up”

Happy New Year to everyone.

My New Year’s Eve routine is out of whack this year because they decided to drop the series finale for Stranger Things tonight. I usually watch Infinity War and Endgame until midnight. I have done that the last five years, but with Stranger Things tossing a curveball, I decided that tonight would be different.

I am going to address the hatred part two has received online, but just for a minute. I thought the last three episodes were really strong and helped set up what is happening tonight. You have the right to hate the show if you so choose. I hope you have more reasons to feel the way you feel beside the fact that Will came out to his friends and family.

Moving onto the finale, the plan to prevent Vecna from crashing the Abyss into the earth kicks off, but it never works out the way things are planned.

Here are some random thoughts:

  • The way they dealt with the Eleven “death” was great. I really liked how Mike ended up explaining the possible way Eleven survived, but we really do not know. It was a nice way to end the show.
  • Linda Hamilton was never used to her full potential. She was never really a character outside of a villain. Then, I wanted her to be dead, bigtime, but she did not die.
  • The Mindflayer showdown was just awesome. It reminded me of the fireworks in the mall in season (two?).
  • Joyce chopping the head off Vecna? Yes, please.
  • There were some really tense moments. When Henry overcame his fears and struggled his way into the cave, surprising those kids… man, oh, man.
  • I think there may have been too much falling action in the episode. Did I really need a graduation ceremony turned into chaos by Dustin? Fun? Sure. But necessary? No.
  • Murray’s homemade bomb that took out the helicopter? Perfecto.
  • I was also happy with the fate of Eight, especially with the potential way she helped Eleven.
  • Eleven is truly a bad ass. The way she dispatched those soldiers was just nothing short of brutal.
  • The special effects in this episode was just amazing. That gigantic monster in the Abyss looked epic.

Stranger Things is going to go down as one of the most successful Netflix shows of all time. I saw that the finale was being shown in movie theaters across the nation, including in the Cinemark that I usually attend. I was curious (although I was never planning on watching this anywhere but my room) so I went to the Cinemark website to find that the 7 PM show was completely sold out, as was several other showings that they were having. A few of them had just one or two seats available. Even the showing that is scheduled to start at 11:50 PM had just the very front row of seats available. This was in the Quad Cities. I wonder what it would be like in a bigger city like LA or New York.

This finale was a lot of fun for me. It had a lot of excitement and uncertainty. I enjoyed it a great deal and I feel like the Duffer Brothers brought their show to a definitive conclusion, even if I did not get Linda Hamilton killed.

2025 EYG Year in Review: More TV

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We have given the best shows in each of the categories (Drama, Comedy, Genre, Animation). Now let’s get a little more specific.

Best Actor Drama: Sterling K. Brown (Paradise). Runners-Up: Stephen Graham (Adolescence), Noah Wylie (The Pitt), Michael C. Hall (Dexter: Resurrection), Jeremy Allen White (The Bear), Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game 3), Josh Holloway (Duster)

Best Actress Drama: Rhea Seehorn (Pluribus). Runners-Up: Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets), Christina Ricci (Yellowjackets), Julianne Nicholson (Paradise)

Best Supporting Actor Drama: Owen Cooper (Adolescence). Runners-Up: Gerran Howell (The Pitt), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear), Elijah Wood (Yellowjackets), Peter Dinklage (Dexter: Resurrection), Jason Isaacs (The White Lotus).

Best Supporting Actress Drama: Uma Thurman (Dexter: Resurrection). Runners-Up: Tracy Ifeacho (The Pitt), Katherine LaNasa (The Pitt), Erin Doherty (Adolescence), Jamie Lee Curtis (The Bear), Parker Posey (The White Lotus).

Best Actor Comedy: Seth Rogen (The Studio). Runners-Up: Steve Martin (Only Murders in the Building), Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building), Owen Wilson (Stick).

Best Actress Comedy: Selena Gomez (Only Murders in the Building). Runners-Up: Natasha Lyonne (Poker Face).

Best Supporting Actor Comedy: Marc Meron (Stick). Runners-Up: Christoph Waltz (Only Murders in the Building), Ike Barinholtz (The Studio), Bryan Cranston (The Studio), Teddy Coluca (Only Murders in the Building), Peter Dager (Stick).

Best Supporting Actress Comedy: Meryl Streep (Only Murders in the Building). Runners-Up: Kathryn Hahn (The Studio), Patti Harrison (Poker Face), Renee Zellweger (Only Murders in the Building), Zoe Kravitz (The Studio).

Best Actor Genre: Gabriel Luna (Andor). Runners-Up: Charlie Cox (Daredevil: Born Again), John Cena (Peacemaker), Ncuti Gatwa (Doctor Who), Alexander Skarsgård (Murderbot), Vincent D’Onofrio (Daredevil: Born Again).

Best Actress Genre: Jenna Ortega (Wednesday). Runners-Up: Rebecca Ferguson (Silo), Bella Ramsey (The Last of Us), Dominique Thorne (Ironheart), Jennifer Holland (Peacemaker), Jaz Sinclair (Gen V), Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things 5).

Best Supporting Actor Genre: Bill Skarsgård (IT: Welcome to Derry). Runners-Up: David Harbour (Stranger Things 5), Tim Robbins (Silo), Stellan Skarsgård (Andor), Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us), David Dastmalchian (Murderbot), Anthony Ramos (Ironheart), Steve Agee (Peacemaker), Arian S. Cartaya (IT: Welcome to Derry).

Best Supporting Actress Genre: Danielle Brooks (Peacemaker). Runners-Up: Sadie Sink (Stranger Things 5), Matilda Lawler (IT: Welcome to Derry), Genevieve O’Reilly (Andor), Isabela Merced (The Last of Us), Lyric Ross (Ironheart).

Best New Theme: IT: Welcome to Derry.

Best Makeup: Stranger Things 5. Runners-Up: Fallout, IT: Welcome to Derry, Gen V, Alien: Earth, Wednesday.

Best Animated Show: Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

Best Animated Show Voice Actor: Christian Borle (Hazbin Hotel). Runners-Up: Erika Henningsen (Hazbin Hotel), Colman Domingo (Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man), Jeremy Jordan (Hazbin Hotel), Will Forte (Win or Lose), Hudson Thames (Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man)

Best TV Show Cameo: Sacha Baron Cohan (Ironheart). Runners-Up: Nicholas Hoult (Peacemaker), Rob Reiner (The Bear), Olivia Colman (The Bear), Keegan-Michael Key (Only Murders in the Building), Simon Helberg (Poker Face), John Cena (Pluribus), Martin Scorsese (The Studio), Ron Howard (The Studio), Ice Cube (The Studio).

Best Season Finale: IT: Welcome to Derry.

Stranger Things 5 vol. 2 E5, E6, E7

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SPOILERS

“Shock Jock”

“Escape from Camazotz”

“The Bridge”

Christmas night saw the second volume of the final season of Strange Things came out with three episodes that will lead directly into the finale, next week on New Year’s Eve.

These three episodes do a tremendous job setting up that finale. We got plenty of answers about what has been going on these last five seasons, and they really fit together nicely. I am impressed with the writing of the Duffer Brothers.

I love the way that they worked the Wormhole into this story, recontextualizing the Upside-Down and what it actually is. The whole moment when Nancy shot the wormhole was so tense and scary with the vacuum outside of it. I loved how Dustin was on the outside of the situation and found the answers in Bremmer’s journal.

Speaking of Dustin, he and Steve went through it in these episodes. They dealt with the way they were treating each other in the first volume and it was extremely dramatic as they handled the deep pain that they were facing.

Jonathan and Nancy dealt with their relationship in a strong manner. The scene where they finally told each other the truth was a really great scene.

I do not like how they are setting up the ending of this with the implication that Eleven is going to need to die for everything to finally be over. I really dislike the sister.

I love how the group is basically back together in the seventh episode, preparing for the big finish. They have not all been back together in a long time, and seeing the team come back together was great.

Vecna truly is terrifying. The use of the redesigned Vecna is really well done and how they use it along with the Henry form. Henry was every bit as scary when dealing with his little cult-like kids. I needed more Dipshit Derek in these episodes.

Max coming back was very satisfying too, as was Will’s admitting about being gay. Both of these moments gave a strength to the ensemble and allowed these characters to show how important they were to each other. It was a lovely way to do this, especially with the Will reveal. Will was still very nervous and awkward during the entire time, hem-and-hawing around the topic. Watching the group embrace him was a beautiful moment.

And we are set up with a crazy plan to save the world and prevent the crashing together of two worlds via the wormhole. A final showdown certainly with Eleven and Vecna (hopefully with Will there too. He deserves to be in the final showdown).

They have actually made me reconsider my New Year’s Eve routine. I usually watch Infinity War and Endgame to midnight, but now, I might have to readjust my tradition.

2025 EYG Year in Review: TV Shows

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There were so many great TV shows on streaming and TV. We split them into four categories: Drama, Comedy, Genre and Animated.

Starting with Animation:

#5. Eyes of Wakanda (Disney +). Good show with four episodes dropped all on one day. Second half of those episodes were considerably better.

#4. Win or Lose (Disney +). Pixar show on Disney + that I watched during the Sunday Morning Sidewalk. Highly entertaining and well written.

#3. Marvel Zombies (Disney +). This one turned out way better than I ever thought it would. Another one day drop by Marvel on Disney +.

#2. Hazbin Hotel (Amazon Prime). Second season of the Hell musical was awesome. Wonderful music and amazing voice acting.

#1. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (Disney +). One of the best animated Spider-Man series in quite a long time. Great characterization, not only for Peter, but also for Lonnie (Tombstone). I loved the adjusted origin and the tie ins to the MCU was clever.

Comedy

#4. Poker Face (Peacock). Always entertaining. Natasha Lyonne is great as Charlie. Every time is seemed like the show made an adjustment. And that was the truth.

#3. Stick (Apple TV +). Owen Wilson starred as a former golf pro who finds a skilled kid who he wanted to help become a pro. Funny and clever.

#2. The Studio (Apple TV +). Insider story starring Seth Rogan as a movie studio exec and his struggles to get his films out. Hilarious writing and a ton of brilliant cameos.

#1. Only Murders in the Building (Hulu). The fifth season of this venerable series was remarkably entertaining and funny. There has been some great seasons of this show, and the fifth one worked so well.

Drama

#10. The White Lotus (HBO Max). This was my least favorite of the three seasons of White Lotus. I was only really interested in one of the stories, and I was unhappy with the resolution.

#9. Squid Game Season 3 (Netflix). Squid Game was really great, but was tainted by the finale, which left way too much undone and unsolved. The end hurt this badly.

#8. The Bear (Hulu). A much better season than the previous one. The Bear felt like it got back to the success from the early seasons. This is in a drama because it is NOT a comedy.

#7. Duster (HBO Max). This was a fun series with Josh Holloway and a duster car. This sadly did not get a second season, but it was much better than it got credit for.

#6. The Pitt (HBO Max). This one might be higher if I had watched the entire series. I am currently at episode 7. Great medical show with Noah Wylie.

#5. Pluribus (Apple TV +). Another one that might be higher on this list if it is finished. There is only one more episode left, but it is really great.

#4. Yellowjackets (Paramount +). The third season continues to show the weirdness of the forest. The story of the mysterious events are still exceptional.

#3. Adolescence (Netflix). Four episode mini series from Netflix with a teenage boy who is charged with murder. Brilliant performances from Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper.

#2. Dexter: Resurrection (Showtime). After the up and down nature of Dexter: Original Sin, I did not expect much out of Resurrection. However, this was a sensational series with Dexter taking up residence in New York. This was so fabulous.

#1. Paradise (Hulu). One of the best new series of the year. The mystery behind the death of the President and what was going on with the story. Paradise was so wonderful. I did not expect it to be this good.

Genre

#15. Alien: Earth (FX). This started great, but it fell off quick. I actually never finished this series.

#14. Fallout (Amazon Prime). I have only seen one episode of season two so far, which is why this is as low as it is. It might be on the 2026 list too.

#13. Silo (Apple TV +). The ending part of the season came into 2025 and it was a very strong season.

#12. Perry Jackson and the Olympians (Disney +). Another show that would be higher on the list had there been more episodes released by now. I do like the mythologically based show.

#11. The Last of Us (HBO Max). The second season of The Last of Us was a step down from the first season.. mainly because of the results of Joel’s fate. It was brutal and damaged the show.

#10. Wednesday (Netflix). The second season of this show was good, but maybe not as great as season one. Still solid and it had some great new characters.

#9. Doctor Who (Disney +). I am sad that Ncuti Gatwa was gone from the role by the end of the season. I loved him as The Doctor. This was a great season with some excellent episodes.

#8. Ironheart (Disney +). Ironheart was better than I expected and… MEPHISTO CONFIRMED!!!

#7. Gen V (Amazon Prime). Gen V does a great job setting up for the end of the Boys in 2026. The characters are excellent and the story was awesome. Brutal as always.

#6. Murderbot (Apple TV +). Surprise series with a robot that becomes sentient. A fun sci-fi series with a wonderful group of characters that are easy to root for.

#5. Strangers Things 5 (Netflix). The first part of the final season of Stranger Things was so great, especially the ending of episode 4 with Will.

#4. Andor (Disney +). The second and final season of Andor is amazing. You knew what the fate of these characters would be, yet the drama of this series was never lacking.

#3. Peacemaker (HBO Max). John Cena’s second season dealt with the multiverse and Peacemaker has to confront so many of his personal demons. A great season for this show… and another brilliant opening credits.

#2. Daredevil: Born Again (Disney +). Daredevil returned and brought Kingpin with him. Shocking death in the first ten minutes set the tone for the season. I wish they had done more with Muse, but it had a great episode in a bank.

#1. It: Welcome to Derry (HBO Max). The prequel to the movie series was so great. The first episode introduced us to a group of kids, made us love them, and then killed them off. Then, we meet another group of kids who had to struggle against Pennywise. Bill Skarsgård was amazing as Pennywise, scary and sinister. A satisfying conclusion with one of the best finale of the year.

Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl

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I was not sure if I was going to go to this. This was a limited release film coinciding with the release of Taylor Swift’s new record, “The Life of A Showgirl.” I would not be considered a “Swifty” by any stretch of the imagination, but I did go to the ERAs Tour film and I enjoyed it well. It worked into the schedule tonight so I wound up in Cinemark with a ton of teenage girls and a few other adults to see this film.

It is not really a film. It is also not really a concert film. It showed us the brand new video for the song “The Fate of Ophelia,” all of the lyric vids of the other 11 songs, and several behind the scenes shots of Taylor in the prep for the video, both with rehearsing and discussion of the creative.

Taylor Swift was the director of the video as well so she was shown to be the definitive creative force behind it. There were times when it seemed that she would speak and everyone else would just agree with her. I would have liked to see someone make a comment that wasn’t just “Oh how awesome you are.”

As a middle school literacy teacher, I did love the fact that she made a comment about a metaphor, followed by a comment on alliteration and then mentioned imagery. I hope the kids in the theater heard those terms.

As for the music, it was a bit of a mixed bag. It was clear that “The Fate of Ophelia” was the best song on the album. They showed us that video at the beginning of the movie and at the end. It was definitely my personal favorite as well.

I did notice that Taylor Swift’s songs on this album had a tendency to be repetitive, in one specific manner. She seemed as if she ended every song in the exact same way. The music slowed or stopped and she repeated one line that she had sung during the song, as if she were really emphasizing it. It was fine, but I did notice it so I would have liked maybe some variety in the end of the songs.

The songs that I did enjoy included “Elizabeth Taylor,” “Actually Romantic,” “Wood,” “Opalite,” and “Cancelled.” There were two songs that I did not like at all. They were “Father Figure” and “Wi$h Li$t.” “The Eldest Daughter,” “Ruin the Friendship,” and “Honey” were good. The album’s title track, “The Life of a Showgirl” was underwhelming, but not at the level of “Father ZFigure” or “Wi$h Li$t.”

The experience in the theater was as much a reason to go to this as anything else. It was fun with the audience cheering and applauding throughout the film. No one sang along in my theater, but it was fun to be part of the mass.

Overall, this was not much of a film, but it was a solid experience and I was happy to have chosen to see it. “The Fate of Ophelia” is easily the hit of this album and was the most important of the songs with this movie.

3.6 stars

Dexter: Resurrection S1 E10

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Spoilers

“And Justice for All”

The first season of Dexter: Resurrection came to a close on Amazon Prime with an exceptional finale that was filled with tension and anxiousness and finished in an extremely satisfying way.

Dexter was trapped inside the serial killer vault at Prater’s home with the dead body of Batista on the floor. Prater trapped him inside and was going to leave him to die from lack of water. Dexter finds Batista’s phone in one of the episode’s contrivances. There were a few.

One that the episode kind of wrapped up was this. Dexter had seen the gun on the floor that Prater had used to kill Batista and he thought to himself that he must not get his fingerprints on the gun. However, it did not seem as if Dexter minded getting his fingerprints everywhere else in the room as he touched…. everything. At the end, it did show Dexter cleaning up after himself, but to think that he could get rid of every print is stretching it a bit. Still, at least he made the effort.

I like the fact that Charlie gets to leave with her ailing mother after basically making a deal with Dexter and Harrison (sort of).

Peter Dinklage is a superior actor and his performance as Leon Prater was top notch. He probably was the second best villain in Dexter history behind John Lithgow’s Trinity Killer. You could feel the desperation from Prater as he was wrapped up on Dexter’s table.

I think that we have finally put to bed the possibility that Blessing is the New York Ripper. That made me extra pleased. In fact, Dexter implied that Blessing is someone whom Dexter himself needs. Dexter took a turn to be more inclusive and less isolated. It sounded as if this was a new arc for everyone’s favorite serial killer.

I enjoyed every episode of the Dexter: Resurrection season and I hope that there will be another season down the road. I liked the tone and the intensity of the show and the budding relationship with Dexter and Harrison worked well.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #27

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SPOILERS

Part Two

The A & E documentary KISStory Part two is the story of the rock band Kiss, in the second part of their careers.

I still feel as if there are some things missing without Ace Frehley and Peter Criss’s actual involvement in the documentary. Any time Peter or Ace is heard in the doc, it is from archival footage or interviews and the doc started off with a message saying that they chose not to participate and they “do not endorse the views of this program.” That meant that this doc was from the POV of Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. I am truly curious how the story might differ.

This part of the doc started off with the band in some internal trouble, though they tried to force their way through it.

HOT TAKE: The Elder is my favorite Kiss album.

However, I may be the only one as the concept album seemed to be mentioned as one of the big mistakes of the group.

Peter Criss left the band, apparently after a concert where he was messing with the timing of the songs. That is one of the main functions of the drummer, and I could understand the feeling of betrayal that would bring up.

Ace Frehley was gone too, not long after Peter, leaving Kiss struggling with new musicians and characters from the band. They no longer had the Catman or the Spaceman in the group.

The doc showed the historic moment on MTV where KISS, for the first time, revealed themselves without the make-up and followed the band as it became another 1980s hair band.

The MTV Unplugged series was the first place where Peter and Ace returned for some songs, giving the idea that there could be a reunion at some point. The reunion tour was huge business and seemed to be a success at the start. However, the same demons that had pulled them apart in the late 70s apparently remained at this time. It was portrayed that Peter was upset over money and the perceived secondary status in the band behind Gene and Paul. I wish I had his official POV to see how accurate that was. Ace appeared to not be one who could handle the fame at the level KISS had reached.

I found myself with so much more respect for guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer, who were in the band and were removed when Ace and Peter returned. That felt tough, but they were total professionals. Tommy was even brought back in to help Peter and Ace get back to their levels of performance, and he wound up doing much of the tour manager duties.

It was a tough section involving the drummer who had replaced Peter in Kiss came up. Eric Carr came into the group and wound up dying form cancer. Paul and Gene told the story of Eric begging them to play on the song “God Gave Rock ‘N Roll To You” for the video, a song they recorded for the Bill & Ted Bogus Journey film. Paul’s description of Eric playing on that video was heartbreaking.

Both weeks of this doc ended really quickly, as it felt like something was being cut off.

I enjoyed this as I was always a fan of KISS, especially when I was younger. I was never an obsessed fan and I would be curious to hear what a deep fan thought of this documentary.

With this two-part doc series done, next week we start with a new show for the Sunday Morning Sidewalk. I think the series that will be next is the HBO show, Lovecraft Country.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #26

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Spoilers

Week twenty-six of the Sunday Morning Sidewalk takes a bit of a turn as we start our first documentary series, a two-part show originally on A & E (which I watched on Disney +) featuring the EYG Hall of Fame rock band known as KISS.

The first episode of the series was about an hour and a half and outlined the early days of the band and their struggle to rise to the top of the record business, all the while struggling with their personal turmoil and behavior.

The doc heavily featured new interviews from Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, but only had archival footage or interviews with band members Peter Criss and Ace Frehley. There was a disclaimer that appeared in the documentary stating that Ace and Peter refused to participate in KISStory and did not agree with the presentation. That really triggered my curiosity. I knew that there had been issues between the band for years, especially with Ace and Peter, and I wanted to know why they refused to participate. Online, what I could find was that Ace and Peter refused because the amount of money offered was insultingly low and that they wanted final editing rights. I don’t know where that came from. Apparently, Peter Criss also refused to allow the song “Beth” to be used in the doc so that was in my head the entire time they were discussing the success of that song and how it helped propel the group upwards.

Peter and Ace were shown to have their own problems, specifically with alcohol and drugs, but I do not think it was done to the exclusion of the others. Gene spoke of his own issues, trying to put his ego aside while Paul spoke about plenty of his own troubles, including his anxiety over a birth defect he had with his ear. It did not feel like the doc piled on Ace and Peter. They definitely included how important they were to the band. Heck, even Gene and Paul admitted that the band’s sound did not come into focus until Ace came in to audition.

The feelings of the band were being made clear as they became more successful and started doing things like “KISS Meets the Phantom” or going more disco with “I Was Made for Loving You.” They addressed how some fans felt as if the group sold out as the success came fast. You could tell from the way Paul and Gene spoke about it that they felt much the same way, but they could not refuse it.

The clips from the Tom Snyder interview where Ace was clearly drunk were amazing. The looks on the faces of Gene and Paul were unmistakable and were painful to watch. The anger in their eyes was so obvious that anyone should have been able to see it.

The first episode ended with Ace’s announcement that he wanted to do solo work, and the band was definitely falling apart.

I truly would wish to have had more than just Paul and Gene’s voices in the doc, reflecting back on the history of this band. Peter and Ace’s absence 100% put a cloud over the documentary, even if it felt as if the doc did a good job of being balanced despite of their absence.

Next week will be part two of KISStory for the Sunday Morning Sidewalk and we’ll see where the band went from there.

2025 Emmy Nominations

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Here are the nominees for the EMMY Awards. These were given out this morning with some sad omissions. For me, I was hoping for Kathryn Hahn to be nominated for Agatha All Along. I would have liked for Patti LaPone to get a nom too, as her episode was one of the best of the year. I am thrilled that Agatha All Along received a nomination for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics with “The Ballad of the Witches Road.” That should really win. There was no song that was more intricate to the plot than this one.

Nothing for Squid Game is shocking, despite season 2 being a lesser season. And despite getting 14 nominations, there was nothing for Diego Luna or Stellan Skarsgård in acting categories.

Way too man nominations for The White Lotus, which was, at best, an average show this season. That show dominated the acting categories and should probably only should have had about half of the noms it got.

I love Martin Short, but I really thought Steve Martin had a better season on Only Murders in the Building this year with all the stuff he had to do with Jane Lynch’s character Sazz Pataki’s murder.

Outstanding drama series

  • “Andor” (Disney+)
  • “The Diplomat” (Netflix)
  • “The Last of Us” (HBO Max)
  • “Paradise” (Hulu)
  • “The Pitt” (HBO Max)
  • “Severance” (Apple TV+)
  • “Slow Horses” (Apple TV+)
  • “The White Lotus” (HBO Max)

Outstanding comedy series

  • “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
  • “The Bear” (FX)
  • “Hacks” (HBO Max)
  • “Nobody Wants This” (Netflix)
  • “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
  • “Shrinking” (Apple TV+)
  • “The Studio” (Apple TV+)
  • “What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)

Outstanding limited or anthology series

  • “Adolescence” (Netflix)
  • “Black Mirror” (Netflix)
  • “Dying for Sex” (FX)
  • “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” (Netflix)
  • “The Penguin” (HBO Max)

Outstanding television movie

  • “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy” (Peacock)
  • “The Gorge” (Apple TV+)
  • “Mountainhead” (HBO Max)
  • “Nonnas” (Netflix)
  • “Rebel Ridge” (Netflix)

Outstanding reality competition program

  • “The Amazing Race” (CBS)
  • “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (MTV)
  • “Survivor” (CBS)
  • “Top Chef” (Bravo)
  • “The Traitors” (Peacock)

Outstanding talk series

  • “The Daily Show” (Comedy Central)
  • “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC)
  • “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS)

Outstanding scripted variety series

  • “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (HBO Max)
  • “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)

Outstanding variety special (live)

  • “The Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show Starring Kendrick Lamar” (Fox)
  • “Beyoncé Bowl” (Netflix)
  • “The Oscars” (ABC)
  • “SNL50: The Anniversary Special” (NBC)
  • “SNL50: The Homecoming Concert” (Peacock)

Outstanding variety special (pre-recorded)

  • “Adam Sandler: Love You” (Netflix)
  • “Ali Wong: Single Lady” (Netflix)
  • “Bill Burr: Drop Dead Years” (Hulu)
  • “Conan O’Brien: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize For American Humor” (Netflix)
  • “Sarah Silverman: Postmortem” (Netflix)
  • “Your Friend, Nate Bargatze” (Netflix)

Outstanding game show

  • “Celebrity Family Feud” (ABC)
  • “Jeopardy” (ABC)
  • “The Price is Right” (CBS)
  • “Wheel of Fortune” (ABC)
  • “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” (ABC)

Outstanding lead actress in a drama series

  • Kathy Bates, “Matlock”
  • Sharon Horgan, “Bad Sisters”
  • Britt Lower, “Severance”
  • Bella Ramsey, “The Last of Us”
  • Keri Russell, “The Diplomat”

Outstanding lead actor in a drama series

  • Sterling K. Brown, “Paradise”
  • Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses”
  • Pedro Pascal, “The Last of Us”
  • Adam Scott, “Severance”
  • Noah Wyle, “The Pitt”

Outstanding lead actress in a comedy series

  • Uzo Aduba, “The Residence”
  • Kristen Bell, “Nobody Wants This”
  • Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”
  • Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear”
  • Jean Smart, “Hacks”

Outstanding lead actor in a comedy series

  • Adam Brody, “Nobody Wants This”
  • Seth Rogen, “The Studio”
  • Jason Segel, “Shrinking”
  • Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”
  • Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear”

Outstanding lead actress in a limited or anthology series or movie

  • Cate Blanchett, “Disclaimer”
  • Meghann Fahy, “Sirens”
  • Rashida Jones, “Black Mirror”
  • Cristin Milloti, “The Penguin”
  • Michelle Williams, “Dying for Sex”

Outstanding lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie

  • Colin Farrell, “The Penguin”
  • Stephen Graham, “Adolescence”
  • Jake Gyllenhaal, “Presumed Innocent”
  • Brian Tyree Henry, “Dope Thief”
  • Cooper Koch, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”

Outstanding supporting actress in a drama series

  • Patricia Arquette, “Severance”
  • Carrie Coon, “The White Lotus”
  • Katherine LaNasa, “The Pitt”
  • Julianne Nicholson, “Paradise”
  • Parker Posey, “The White Lotus”
  • Natasha Rothwell, “The White Lotus”
  • Aimee Lou Wood, “The White Lotus”

Outstanding supporting actor in a drama series

  • Zach Cherry, “Severance”
  • Walton Goggins, “The White Lotus”
  • Jason Isaacs, “The White Lotus”
  • James Marsden, “Paradise”
  • Sam Rockwell, “The White Lotus”
  • Tramell Tillman, “Severance”
  • John Turturro, “Severance”

Outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series

  • Liza Colón-Zayas, “The Bear”
  • Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks”
  • Kathryn Hahn, “The Studio”
  • Janelle James, “Abbott Elementary”
  • Catherine O’Hara, “The Studio”
  • Sheryl Lee Ralph, “Abbott Elementary”
  • Jessica Williams, “Shrinking”

Outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series

  • Ike Barinholtz. “The Studio”
  • Colman Domingo, “The Four Seasons”
  • Harrison Ford, “Shrinking”
  • Jeff Hiller, “Somebody Somewhere”
  • Ebon Moss-Bachrach, “The Bear”
  • Michael Urie, “Shrinking”
  • Bowen Yang, “Saturday Night Live”

Outstanding supporting actress in a limited or anthology series or movie

  • Erin Doherty, “Adolescence”
  • Ruth Negga, “Presumed Innocent”
  • Deirdre O’Connell, “The Penguin”
  • Chloë Sevigny, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”
  • Jenny Slate, “Dying for Sex”
  • Christine Tremarco, “Adolescence”

Outstanding supporting actor in a limited or anthology series or movie

  • Javier Bardem, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”
  • Bill Camp, “Presumed Innocent”
  • Owen Cooper, “Adolescence”
  • Rob Delaney, “Dying for Sex”
  • Peter Sarsgaard, “Presumecd Innocent”
  • Ashley Walters, “Adolescence”

Outstanding guest actress in a drama series

  • Jane Alexander, “Severance”
  • Gwendoline Christie, “Severance”
  • Kaitlyn Dever, “The Last of Us”
  • Cherry Jones, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
  • Catherine O’Hara, “The Last of Us”
  • Merritt Wever, “Severance”

Outstanding guest actor in a drama series

  • Giancarlo Esposito, “The Boys”
  • Scott Glenn, “The White Lotus”
  • Shawn Hatosy, “The Pitt”
  • Joe Pantoliano, “The Last of Us”
  • Forest Whitaker, “Andor”
  • Jeffrey Wright, “The Last of Us”

Outstanding guest actress in a comedy series

  • Olivia Colman, “The Bear”
  • Jamie Lee Curtis, “The Bear”
  • Cynthia Erivo, “Poker Face”
  • Robby Hoffman, “Hacks”
  • Zoë Kravitz, “The Studio”
  • Julianne Nicholson, “Hacks”

Outstanding guest actor in a comedy series

  • Jon Bernthal, “The Bear”
  • Bryan Cranston, “The Studio”
  • Dave Franco, “The Studio”
  • Ron Howard, “The Studio”
  • Anthony Mackie, “The Studio”
  • Martin Scorsese, “The Studio”

Outstanding directing for a drama series

  • “Andor,” Janus Metz (“Who Are You?”)
  • “The Pitt,” Amanda Marsalis (“6 P.M.”)
  • “The Pitt,” John Wells (“7 A.M.”)
  • “Severance,” Jessica Lee Gagné (“Chikhai Bardo”)
  • “Severance,” Ben Stiller (“Gold Harbor)
  • “Slow Horses,” Adam Randall (“Hello Goodbye”)
  • “The White Lotus,” Mike White (“Amor Fati”)

Outstanding directing for a comedy series

  • “The Bear,” Ayo Edebiri (“Napkins”)
  • “Hacks,” Lucia Aniello (“A Slippery Slope”)
  • “Mid-Century Modern,” James Burrows (“Here’s To You, Mrs. Schneiderman”)
  • “The Rehearsal,” Nathan Fielder (“Pilot’s Code”)
  • “The Studio,” Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg (“The Oner”)

Outstanding directing for a limited or anthology series or movie

  • “Adolescence,” Philip Barantini
  • “Dying for Sex,” Shannon Murphy (“It’s Not That Serious”)
  • “The Penguin,” Helen Shaver (“Cent’anni”)
  • “The Penguin,” Jennifer Getzinger (“A Great or Little Thing”)
  • “Sirens,” Nicole Kassell (“Exile”)
  • “Zero Day,” Leslie Linka Glatter

Outstanding writing for a drama series

  • “Andor,” Dan Gilroy (“Welcome to the Rebellion”)
  • “The Pitt,” Joe Sachs (“2 P.M.”)
  • “The Pitt,” R. Scott Gemmill (“7 A.M.”)
  • “Severance,” Dan Erickson (“Cold Harbor”)
  • “Slow Horses,” Will Smith (“Hello Goodbye”)
  • “The White Lotus,” Mike White (“Full-Moon Party”)

Outstanding writing for a comedy series

  • “Abbott Elementary,” Quinta Brunson (“Back To School”)
  • “Hacks,” Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky (“A Slippery Slope”)
  • “The Rehearsal,” Nathan Fielder, Carrie Kemper, Adam Lock-Norton and Eric Notarnicola (“Pilot’s Code”)
  • “Somebody Somewhere,” Hanna Bos, Paul Thureen and Bridget Everett (“AGG”)
  • “The Studio,” Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory and Frida Perez (“The Promotion”)
  • “What We Do in the Shadows,” Sam Johnson, Sarah Naftalis and Paul Simms (“The Finale”)

Outstanding writing for a limited or anthology series or movie

  • “Adolescence,” Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham
  • “Black Mirror,” Charlie Brooker and Bisha K. Ali (“Common People”)
  • “Dying for Sex,” Kim Rosenstock and Elizabeth Meriwether (“Good Value Diet Soda”)
  • “The Penguin,” Lauren LeFranc (“A Great or Little Thing”)
  • “Say Nothing,” Joshua Zetumer (“The People in the Dirt”)

Outstanding writing for a variety series

  • “The Daily Show”
  • “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”
  • “Saturday Night Live”

List from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/2025-primetime-emmy-nominations-full-list/

Jurassic World: Rebirth

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The seventh film in this franchise was released on Wednesday as Jurassic World: Rebirth found its way into theaters for the Fourth of July weekend.

With Scarlet Johansson and Mahershala Ali leading the cast, Jurassic World: Rebirth resets the franchise after the seemingly final film Jurassic World: Dominion.

It is five years past the events of Jurassic World: Dominion, where it seemed as if the humans and the dinosaurs were going to be living in the same world. Turned out that was not going to work out for the dinos as they found out that living on earth was bad for them and they had to move closer to the equator.

A group of mercenaries led by Zora Bennett (Scarlet Johansson) and Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali) went to the island where all the worst of the dinosaurs, the weird mutates from the science experiments were cast out in a chance find DNA of certain dino monsters that can help cure diseases.

Also, there was a family who were out sailing (I guess near the equator) and a dinosaur in the water caused their boat to capsize. They also wound up on this mutant monster island (no Godzilla or Kong to be found). The two groups cross paths at the beginning.

While there are so many problems with this movie, I’ll start with some of the good things. I thought there were some good action scenes or dinosaur chases sequences. There was a scene with a dinosaur and a inflatable raft that was fairly tense. Some of the action was pretty good.

I think Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali are charismatic performers and I like cheering for them. Of course, I was cheering for them because I like them as actors, not because they have characters that I enjoyed. We’ll get back to the characters in a bit.

Unfortunately, that was about it for positives for me. I found myself bored quite a bit at the beginning of the movies. I thought these characters were all just bland and one-dimensional and if they weren’t played by familiar and likable faces, I wouldn’t care about these people at all.

The dinosaurs were not really dinosaurs. They are actually just monsters and most of the designs were okay at best. There were several times when you could easily see the green screen. Some of the monsters were cool and looked good on the screen, but just not enough. Give me more of the T-Rex instead.

The film basically had two stories crammed together in the movie that really did not have any crossover. The mercenaries after the DNA is one story and the family stranded on the island is the other. There was not enough story for either one of them, let alone for both.

There are so many moments in this movie that were basically recycled from the original three films, just tweaked a bit. There really was not anything new or original in the movie.

Rupert Friend’s character is right out of the stereotypical playbook for this type of film. You could easily see what this guy was going to do a mile away.

I’m not even going to comment on Delores.

I was very disappointed, but not surprised at Jurassic Park: Rebirths, which is more like Gareth Edwards’s Godzilla and less like Rogue One. Bringing David Koepp back in (who was a writer on the classic and iconic original Jurassic Park) did not help this franchise at all. It did have a few moments that were decent, but certainly not enough for a two hour and fifteen minute slog.

2.6 stars

Titan: The OceanGate Disaster

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June 19

This is the second film of the June Swoon today, and it is a second documentary. However, unlike Black Barbie, this tells the recent tale of a horrible tragedy from this decade. The documentary focuses on the disaster of OceanGate, the submersible that was intended to take people to see the remains of the Titanic, only to have its own catastrophe.

According to Netflix, “The Titan submersible’s ill-fated journey to the ruins of the Titanic dominated headlines in June 2023, yet the shocking decisions that led to the disaster have never been revealed like this. Titan: The OceanGate Disaster delves into the psyche of billionaire OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and explores his relentless quest to bring oceanic exploration to the masses – at any cost. Through exclusive access to whistleblower testimony, pivotal audio recordings, and footage from the company’s early days, the film provides an unprecedented look at the technical challenges, moral dilemmas, and shockingly poor decisions that culminated in the catastrophic expedition. Titan examines the doomed underwater endeavor that forced the world to reconsider the price of unchecked ambition in the depths of the ocean.”

The documentary does a really great job of telling this story up until the actual journey of the Titan. The time spent with the Titan during the time before the implosion gives me a clear and obvious picture of why this tragedy occurred and why this was pushed forward. I feel as if the doc needed to focus in on the time during when the world was unsure of what was going on and were hoping that the people aboard the Titan could be saved.

There were some fascinating interviews with people who had worked on the project or who were scheduled to be in the exposition. These were all really well done. It just felt like the time about the actual submersible’s destruction was handled through box text on the screen.

The most anxious moments of the doc was the sound of the popping during some of the footage, popping sounds that were the submersible cracking. These recordings were tense and astounding.

The doc certainly sets up OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush as our film’s villain, but it would have been nice to go even deeper than what they did. I can see the arrogance and the narcissism, but I would like to know more about it than what was given. He is made out to be the bad guy here though, and he very well may have been.

Overall this was a compelling story that seemed to be missing a few specifics or some more depth that would have made this an absolutely powerhouse of a documentary. As it is, it is fine.

3.6 stars

Oscar Picks from EYG

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Here are my official Academy Award picks for the Sunday night awards. I am not seeing the short films until tomorrow so I will be skipping that pick as of now.

Best Picture 
Anora
The Brutalist 
A Complete Unknown 
Conclave
Dune: Part Two 
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance 
Wicked

Actor in a Leading Role
Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes, Conclave
Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice

Actress in a Leading Role
Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison, Anora
Demi Moore, The Substance
Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here

Actor in a Supporting Role
Yura Borisov, Anora
Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain 
Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown 
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist 
Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice

Actress in a Supporting Role
Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande, Wicked
Felicity Jones, The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini, Conclave
Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez

Animated Feature Film
Flow 
Inside Out 2 
Memoir of a Snail 
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl 
The Wild Robot

Documentary Feature Film
Black Box Diaries
No Other Land
Porcelain War
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Sugarcane

International Feature Film
I’m Still Here
The Girl with the Needle
Emilia Pérez
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Flow

Directing
Sean Baker, Anora
Brady Corbet,  The Brutalist
James Mangold, A Complete Unknown
Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez
Coralie Fargeat, The Substance

Cinematography
Lol Crawley, The Brutalist
Greig Fraser, Dune: Part Two
Paul Guilhaume, Emilia Pérez
Ed Lachman, Maria
Jarin Blaschke, Nosferatu

Writing (Original Screenplay)
Anora 
The Brutalist  
A Real Pain   
September 5 
The Substance 

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing

Film Editing
Anora
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked

Music (Original Song)
“El Mal” from Emilia Pérez
“The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight
“Like a Bird” from Sing Sing
“Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez
“Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late

Music (Original Score)
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot

Sound
A Complete Unknown 
Dune: Part Two 
Emilia Pérez
Wicked 
The Wild Robot

Production Design
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Wicked

Visual Effects
Alien: Romulus
Better Man
Dune: Part Two
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Wicked

Makeup and Hairstyling
A Different Man 
Emilia Pérez
Nosferatu
The Substance 
Wicked

Costume Design
Arianne Phillips, A Complete Unknown
Lisy Christl, Conclave
Janty Yates and Dave Crossman, Gladiator II
Linda Muir, Nosferatu
Paul Tazewell, Wicked

Best Animated Short
Beautiful Men
In the Shadow of the Cypress
Magic Candles
Wander to Wonder
Yuck!

Best Documentary Short
Death by Numbers
I am Ready, Warden
Incident
Instruments of a Beating Heart
The Only Girl in the Orchestra

Best Live-Action Short
A Lien
Anuja
I’m Not a Robot
The Last Ranger
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent

I’ll pick the other two tomorrow after I see the live action and animated shorts.

Oscar Nominees

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Best Picture 
Anora
The Brutalist 
A Complete Unknown 
Conclave
Dune: Part Two 
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance 
Wicked

Actor in a Leading Role
Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes, Conclave
Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice

Actress in a Leading Role
Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison, Anora
Demi Moore, The Substance
Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here

Actor in a Supporting Role
Yura Borisov, Anora
Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain 
Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown 
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist 
Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice

Actress in a Supporting Role
Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande, Wicked
Felicity Jones, The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini, Conclave
Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez

Animated Feature Film
Flow 
Inside Out 2 
Memoir of a Snail 
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl 
The Wild Robot

Documentary Feature Film
Black Box Diaries
No Other Land
Porcelain War
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Sugarcane

International Feature Film
I’m Still Here
The Girl with the Needle
Emilia Pérez
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Flow

Directing
Sean Baker, Anora
Brady Corbet,  The Brutalist
James Mangold, A Complete Unknown
Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez
Coralie Fargeat, The Substance

Cinematography
Lol Crawley, The Brutalist
Greig Fraser, Dune: Part Two
Paul Guilhaume, Emilia Pérez
Ed Lachman, Maria
Jarin Blaschke, Nosferatu

Writing (Original Screenplay)
Anora 
The Brutalist  
A Real Pain   
September 5 
The Substance 

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing

Film Editing
Anora
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked

Music (Original Song)
“El Mal” from Emilia Pérez
“The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight
“Like a Bird” from Sing Sing
“Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez
“Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late

Music (Original Score)
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot

Sound
A Complete Unknown 
Dune: Part Two 
Emilia Pérez
Wicked 
The Wild Robot

Production Design
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Wicked

Visual Effects
Alien: Romulus
Better Man
Dune: Part Two
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Wicked

Makeup and Hairstyling
A Different Man 
Emilia Pérez
Nosferatu
The Substance 
Wicked

Costume Design
Arianne Phillips, A Complete Unknown
Lisy Christl, Conclave
Janty Yates and Dave Crossman, Gladiator II
Linda Muir, Nosferatu
Paul Tazewell, Wicked

Best Animated Short
Beautiful Men
In the Shadow of the Cypress
Magic Candles
Wander to Wonder
Yuck!

Best Documentary Short
Death by Numbers
I am Ready, Warden
Incident
Instruments of a Beating Heart
The Only Girl in the Orchestra

Best Live-Action Short
A Lien
Anuja
I’m Not a Robot
The Last Ranger
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent

Invincible S3 E1, E2, E3

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Spoilers

I did not finish season two of Invincible. I was not loving the show at that time. It felt to me that the show was just falling back on the blood splatter as the story. It was going too far for my taste. To be fair, I did not see the second half of the season so I do not know what it was like.

I had considered not watching season three either. It kicked off with three episodes dropping and they were longer episodes, so I just wasn’t sure if I wanted to get back into it. I decided that i would give it a chance.

I found these first three episodes of season three pretty good. There was still blood, but it did not feel as over-the-top as the last episodes that I watched.

I am not much of a fan of Mark’s new costume. I preferred the first one, but perhaps the new one will grow on me. The whole Invinci-Boy stuff was funny. Oliver is an interesting hero and kind of plays with Mark’s hypocrisy. His conflict with Cecil was based on basically the same idea, especially with Oliver killing the Mauler Twins.

The conflict between Mark and Cecil was rough and we saw how Cecil came to be with a backstory. I am not sure if any of them are in the right with this. Mark does seem to be overly erratic at times, but Cecil is totally condescending. We’ll see where this goes from here.

I did enjoy the arc of the Guardians over these first three episodes, with the conflict between Mark and Cecil splitting the team in half. I found this Guardians storyline to be a worthy addition to the stories going on.

I also liked the Mark-Eve relationship and how they have started to date. Admittedly, date might be a bit of a relative term, but I do like them together.

After watching the first three episodes, I feel as if I will keep giving the show another episode until I find myself feeling as I did during season two. So far, I would say, so good.

Dexter: Original Sin S1 E9

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Spoilers

“Blood Drive”

I was more impressed with this episode of Dexter: Original Blood than I had been for a few episodes. Then Dexter did something so stupid that it defies explanation.

In the last few minutes, he captured Captain Spencer and wrapped him up on his table. He taunted him for awhile and then decided to let him escape. I understand he was doing it so he could follow Spencer to where he had the missing Nicky hidden away, but there are so many things that could go wrong with that idea that it is shocking. I mean, just off the top of my head, the police captain could decide to turn Dexter in and frame him for the death of the kids. I can’t believe that would be hard to do… especially since Dexter had already cut off Spencer’s little finger, something that everyone knows the killer had done.

Spencer’s motive for kidnapping Nicky (and the kid before whom he killed) was fairly week too. I mean, just to get back at his ex-wife, he was going to torture and kill his own son? That felt so bizarre. I assume the other kid was taken and killed as a way to throw off the investigation, but that was so out there that I just do not accept that any of this made sense.

The flashbacks this episode were more engaging, which was not typical for this show. They featured the two traumatized brothers, Brian and Dexter, being adopted by Harry and Doris and having Brian be psychotic. It feels like it was a bit of a stretch from Brian and Dexter seeing everyone killed to Brian trying to suffocate baby Deb with a pillow to make her stop crying. The time frame seemed rushed.

I do think making the serial killer involved in this season Dexter’s separated brother is a good twist. I’m just not sure that this is done well either. Brian did not show much emotion about being separated from Dexter as a child, so having the separation be the driving force behind Brian’s murder spree did not feel right. Maybe it was just his excuse to unleash his own Dark Passenger, which makes more sense to me.

I believe there is only one more episode remaining for this season so we’ll see how things get wrapped up. The Brian storyline does not feel like it can be finished up in one episode, especially an episode where the Dexter-Spencer story is still a high priority. Still, we’ll see what happens.