"Unbreakable" Review (Spoilers)
May. 13th, 2022 04:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
matt_zimmerAlso reviews for the latest episodes of Star Trek: Stranger New World, and Young Justice: Phantoms, the series finale of Naomi, and the latest episode of The Flash.
Unbreakable
It's been years since I've seen this, but it still holds up. Big time. But what struck me most upon rewatching it is that people classifying it as a superhero film are mislabeling it. It's a horror film. Full stop. It simply uses the notion of comic books as the premise. The entire tone is that of a thriller.
I looked around for clues the second time that Mr. Glass is the Big Bad, and I am both happy and unhappy to report there are no real story clues to it, the way there was to the end revelation of The Sixth Sense. What it DOES do is make thematic sense. Not simply for the reasons Elijah believes as his destiny of a supervillain. But the truth is Elijah was getting way more close and personal into David's life than an actual good person would. The biggest hindsight clue that Glass is bad isn't found in out of context clues you see the second time around. It's that his behavior in the film is stalkerish and creepy, and as far as his confrontation in the other guy's comic shop is concerned, outright hostile.
I am undecided if the first time we see David being him hiding his wedding ring to flirt with a stranger is the right intro or not. We aren't made privy he's separated at that point, and he simply seems skeevy. I don't know if that's the right introduction. What I will say is that for people who didn't know the premise beforehand, this isn't something Superman ever does, so you part of you is as resistant believing this as he is.
The biggest laugh in the movie is when he son suggests putting more weight on the barbells and he surprisingly says "All right." That was super funny, and basically the only thing in the movie that was.
I don't agree with Elijah that comics are an art form not suitable for children. But c'mon, a sketch for a four-year-old? What's the dude thinking? I don't even think Elijah even needs to have a point to think he sucks. He's just a crappy father because he's getting his 4-year-old a gift no 4-year-old would want.
The clips from The Powerpuff Girls and I Am Weasel frustrated me. They're Warner Bros clips, right? Do you know WHAT stuff the film should have paid the WB licenses to include? Superman. Batman. You know. Actual comic book characters. I take the film's exploration of comic books with a huge grain of salt because it uses made-up examples rather than actual comic books. Price mentions Kryptonite ONCE, but nothing else is from an actual comic book. Kevin Smith also worked for Miramax / Disney around this time, and there are still plenty of actual references to real sci-fi and superheroes in his stuff.
Back when people believed Shyamalan was a better film director than he was, people were clamoring for a follow-up to this. It's an origin story for David Dunn in this movie, and people wanted to see the next step and him in an actual superhero film. "Glass" as a film was NOT what people wanted to see. And maybe people expecting a superhero film for the sequel weren't being realistic. Shyamalan, especially at that stage of his career, wasn't afforded big enough budgets to do a legit superhero movie. But the truth is, even though he wasn't, and even if "Glass" always needed to be as light on the superheroics as this was, that doesn't change the fact that the script to this movie is solid, and Glass's is terrible. I find it hard to believe it was written by the same guy.
Why is this script so much better? It's not the twist ending. The reason I think this is a great film was due to the scene where his kid points the gun at David. That was masterfully written scene full of pathos and more interesting to me than a trick ending ever could be. I thought that whatever malaise David feels in his family and marriage, he's a great father for the way he handled it. Very quickly he realizes saying "Elijah was wrong" is the exact wrong thing to say. It makes his son dig in, and WANT to prove that he's right. Instead David says if he shoots him, he's gonna leave and go to New York, and he'll never see him again. Whether David actually believes the gun will harm him or not, that was brilliant. He accepts his son's frame that he'll survive the gunshot, but suggests that if it happens, he's leaving even if he does. He gives the son actual motivation to not shoot him without actually telling the kid he's wrong and Elijah's crazy. That wouldn't work not just because the son was right. But because the more he pushed back on the idea, the more the kid would dig in. Instead David accepts the idea and lets him son know there will still be major negative consequences if he's right. And after he gets and unloads the gun, all three characters in the scene sit down and take a deep shuddering breath. There is NO reason somebody who wrote a scene as brilliant as that should have written the dreadful script to Glass. None at all.
I love the handshake at the end. Because Elijah seems to understand what it means when he offers it. It's the final step in both of their origin stories. And he knows it.
I can complain about the franchise ultimately turning unsatisfying (and inexplicably tying itself to the freaky horror film "Split"). But this movie itself is solid as hell. I wanted and deserved a better follow-up (we all did) but the truth is this movie is excellent. Also probably would have been remembered even better if it were stand-alone, and I didn't have to remind myself that Shyamalan was dumb enough to have David drown in a puddle of water decades later. Still pissed about that. Unbreakable is great though. ****1/2.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds "Children Of The Comet"
Buckle up. This is gonna be a long-ass review. We have a lot to talk about. I suspect many longtime Trekkies won't much like what I have to say. Or maybe they'll think I'm right. I'm not the comet in this episode. I can't see the future.
First off all, I need to talk about second episodes a bit. What my expectations for them are, and how I review them. I have found that as far as episodic television goes, second episodes tend to be MUCH more instructive about a show's eventual quality than the Pilot is. This is especially true for the second episode of episodic science fiction. They are the first regular episode of the series. A Pilot sets up so much, and a second episode shows the viewer how they can expect the show to operate from week to week. If a show is great, the second episode is almost always worse than the Pilot (and sometimes by a lot). Good shows usually take a few episodes to find their footing. This was a little worse than last week, but still pretty great. And as far as Star Trek goes, I think in a lot of respects it feels better than The Original Series. Particularly the character of Spock. Of course, Ethan Peck is not as great in the role as Leonard Nimoy was. But I think this show's Spock is better written than he was on the old show. And frankly, I think a lot of that DID have to do with Leonard Nimoy. The guy is a beloved institution for good reason, but one thing people don't like to remember is that he was VERY protective of how Spock was portrayed. In my mind too much so. If an Original Series writer had come up with the humming scene Nimoy would have certainly refused to do it. I know, "Row, Row, Row your boat.". But that scene was in a film that was directed by a close personal friend after he'd been playing the character for 25 years. I feel when it comes to Spock, Strange New World's version might wind up more interesting than the original simply because Ethan Peck is game for anything.
I also want to be very clear about something. I don't actually blame Nimoy for this. In the 1960's especially, TV stars had far too much power and input, and yeah, vanity. It was not a personal failing on Nimoy's end. The vanity involved for TV and movie actors back then was simply considered normal. They demanded a LOT from their writers and producers and also refused to do scenes they felt might embarrass them. It was a different culture and a different time. And that's why I think this version of Spock will be more interesting. What I like especially is that I don't feel like any of the things he's done so far are actually out of character. Whether Nimoy would have permitted them or not, they still feel entirely true to the character, which is kind of amazing. Nobody will ever beat Leonard Nimoy for Spock. But perhaps the writers of this show will be allowed to stretch boundaries Nimoy would never have permitted. I think that's likely at this point.
Nimoy definitely lightened up a bit later in life. His appearances on both The Simpsons and Futurama suggest he stopped taking himself too seriously at some point.
I scowled at the recap at the beginning of the episode. I hope that's the only one, and only done because it's the second damn episode. But episodic television should NOT have recaps every week. They should only have them for two-parters.
We got far more information about Nyoto Uhura in the dinner scene than we got in three seasons of The Original Series and Six Movies. While J.J. Abrams has gotten some praise for finally giving the character something to actually do, we still didn't learn too much about her (other than making her name from the novels canon). Uhura having a tragic backstory, and sort of being iffy on Starfleet, is nothing we've gotten before. I liked how cool Pike was with Uhura being unsure about Starfleet. Frankly, I think everyone in Starfleet SHOULD be viewing their career differently from one another, and I think the Universal "Starfleet is the be-all and end-all goal for humanity" in the first five series is NOT a very human way to look at things. Some people love their jobs. But some people don't. It would be weird if everyone in Starfleet DID love their jobs.
I love that the Chief Engineer is a blind Aenar. Star Trek: Enterprise IS the worst Star Trek series (sorry Discovery haters, you are wrong about that show being the worst) but Season 4 was mostly good except for the horrible series finale, and I thought the idea of the Andorians and the Aenar were an interesting addition to the canon. Considering that Discovery doesn't actually seem all that interested in Star Trek lore, that specific Deep Cut on this show impressed me. Him showing off what he could do with Spock was beyond cool.
The mission was interesting because I think even ten years later the Prime Directive would have prevented the Enterprise from interfering with a comet destroying the planet. I found Pike's bemused reactions to the Shepherd quite entertaining, but what I like especially is that as far as mysterious aliens go, the Shepherd is far easier to understand than the primitive aliens who spoke in badly-written riddles the old show embarrassingly used every other week. When the Shepherd asks Pike if he is a reasonable man, I knew the Shepherd's intentions were good, and the lesson at the end would be that Pike needs to be more reasonable. And I like that the moral was allowed to stand for Pike, because outside of the Organians, Kirk's ongoing and obnoxious dumbassery week in and week out is simply allowed to stand. And again, it was a different time and era. But I'm looking forward to a Star Trek series that might suggest we could learn as much (if not more) from the aliens we encounter than they learn for us. That was a big reason I preferred The Next Generation to be honest, and to get that in a show set in this era feels like a treat.
Also episodes like this could not have been done on The Original Series because they would not have the budget for visual effects even approaching this in the 1960's. Part of me dislikes the episode for that, and for the fact that the Enterprise looks very different than it should. But unlike the Klingon make-up in Discovery, I don't think the stylistic changes or noticeably better effects and sets are done because of licensing issues. It's because they can. Yeah, I nerded out on The Next Generation episode "Relics" for building an almost exact replica of the original Enterprise bridge. And regardless of whether it feels comfortable (or even canon), I have to concede it LOOKS better here. Maybe that's enough. Maybe not for purists. But maybe that means I'm not a purist after all.
I don't suspect most of my reviews for this show will be this long, but I did feel the need to add some context about my judgments of second episodes. But I thought this was a solid week, and if this is the show demonstrating a "regular episode", I am most certainly going to be a very happy viewer most weeks. ****.
Young Justice: Phantoms "Rescue And Search"
I expressed great frustration last week over how unfair I am to the show. And my biggest weakness is finding a bunch of nice things to say during "good" episodes. It's easier to point out a failing instead of saying "I liked that," about most everything.
This episode is a bit of a gift in that I WILL be able to do a point by point dissection of things I liked. Why? Because it was actually an outstanding episode! I very much owe it to the fans of this show to talk about everything that worked like gangbusters and landed beautifully. If only because I don't tend to love very many episodes of the show. While I love this one, I'm going to honor it as best I can, and point out as much awesomeness as possible. It's the least I can do.
I like that this show's version of Klarion is the very first time I've seen of that character that is an actual threat, both physical, and even mental. And I love that about this version of the character. My only suggestion to Weisman about him is to perhaps let the Lord of Chaos' arc be less planned out ahead of time going forward.
I thought Dick's detective work was outstanding. Rocket and Zatanna expressed disbelief over Dick getting from nowhere to almost the entire thing, but isn't that exactly how Sherlock Holmes works? If Dick really IS The World's Greatest Detective's greatest apprentice, Sherlock Holmes-style astounding leaps are to be expected.
Superboy is not doing so well in the Phantom Zone. I love Phantom Girl waking up to essentially tell him, "Dude, shut up. You aren't helping."
Zatanna wishing the Monarchs lose was great because it's very clear that's the only thing in their frustrating conversation Clark cared about.
It is a VERY Weisman storytelling technique to have a villain suggest a hero cooperate because who knows? Maybe they can gain the upper hand later. I tend to call b.s. on most Weisman storytelling techniques of this nature. This specific idea is sound however, and I like it because Zod is treating everybody like a grown-up. I think a lot of Weisman's villains are too meta and self-aware to be believable. I liked Zod's argument because not only was it true, but it was the correct way to get Bart to do what he wanted. I liked that.
I've been hating almost all the tags this year, but that one was super interesting.
If I hated the episode, I probably would have done a longer review. But I think this review got to the bullet points of why this episode was great, and why I suspect both this arc, and maybe even the end of the season have the potential to end strongly. We'll see. All I know is I unreservedly loved this week. *****.
Naomi "Ready Or Not"
I watched the last two episodes kind of late so I got notice of the cancellation before I saw them. Let's see if these are good episodes for a series finale.
The last scene of this one does not make me hopeful. It suggests a drawn-out longterm arc that we'll never get to.
Lourdes and the boy who has a crush on Naomi being let in on the secret is interesting, especially since through refusing to deny it, Zumbado and Dee practically handed them her secret too.
I don't like the "Trust no one" thing at the end. It bears bad tidings for the next episode.
I liked Naomi and Anabelle pondering if there are differences between this world's version of Superman, and the comic books that star him. This is the exact type of question the show needs to be raising and I wish they did it more often.
I like Red Eye saying "Above my paygrade" when Naomi broke his electric daggers. Says everything.
That was interesting but it left me with a bad feeling. I think that rather than a satisfying finale with a tag setting up next year, we are about to be stuck with a big fat cliffhanger ending. We'll see if I'm right in 45 minutes. Please let me be wrong. ****.
Naomi "Who Am I?"
I was right. There will be fans of the show who will put ALL of the blame on The CW's cancellation for that ending, but the truth is, as far as superhero shows go, Naomi was always a risk. A show featuring a black teenager female superhero with few actual DC Comics ties? The show should have understood what a tough sell renewal would have been, and crafted a satisfying wrap-up for the first season at least. THAT type of game-changing and devastating cliffhanger should only be attempted by shows that have both been around for a bit, and also are in no danger of cancellation. The CW didn't make that story choice. The producers did. The show going out in a frustrating manner is on them, not The CW.
I was a little surprised we saw Brutus the way we did. Normally an appearance by a character that important is done in silhouette in the last shot of the finale, so they can cast a big name actor when the show returns. Brutus is just... some guy however, that Naomi actually meets face to and face and fights. On some level that's an underwhelming turn. On another its refreshing. Or it might be if the show weren't cancelled.
On some level it's good the show was cancelled. Because I think the thing that peeves me most about the cliffhanger is that I get the distinct impression the show wants to walk it back next year. Just based on what we've seen in that vision, Naomi's parents are monsters, murderers, and kidnappers. They are also series regulars that the show would not want to write out, and the only way for that to happen is for Naomi to either forgive them or come to an understanding with them. And that's one of television's biggest problems when it comes to surprise betrayals. The show will often ask the viewer to forgive unforgivable things. It's unforgivable to ask Naomi to someday forgive the people who murdered her parents. I certainly shouldn't be expected to. And that's why the Surprise Betrayal Trope not only never works, but has to be bought back in most occasions. And part of me is thinking the show is better off gone than seeing the writers retcon exactly what we just witnessed in that flashback and acting like it's possible they were acting in their world's best interest. Because that's what they'd have to do, and that would suck ass.
Also, speaking as an adopted kid, I always found Naomi's relationship to her adopted parents quite refreshing in that there was no trauma attached to their relationship. Television demands that adopted kids pine for their biological parents because most television writers believe adopted families aren't real families. And this show proves that cynical opinion of mine about TV writers right. And what pisses me off the most is this show was trading on goodwill for showing a positive adoption scenario only to repeatedly pull the rug out from under the viewer, finally leading to the revelation they killed her parents and stole her. I and my entire family are always ALWAYS made to feel less-than on television. It hurts especially learning this show's initial positive portrayal was a meaningless platitude, and the show hates adoption as much as the rest of fiction does. It pisses me off, and depresses me at the same time.
Still, even keeping all that in mind, my reaction to that would have been very different if it were a season finale rather than a series finale. I would have hated it, but I might have gotten over it. But making the last episode completely unsatisfying and annoying was a specific choice the producers made, NOT on the network, and I didn't like it. *1/2.
The Flash "Funeral For A Friend"
Are we seriously doing this? For real? I'm not. I'm not reviewing this episode. I'm not going to act like the characters and viewer being asked to grieve a fake-out death is remotely acceptable storytelling. It's a lie, a waste of time and energy, and the show is asking me to put more emotional investment in it than I could ever get out of it.
Not doing it this week. I'll review next week if the writers decide to be honest with their story for once. I don't reward liars with long reviews (even bad reviews). They don't deserve my time. 0.
Unbreakable
It's been years since I've seen this, but it still holds up. Big time. But what struck me most upon rewatching it is that people classifying it as a superhero film are mislabeling it. It's a horror film. Full stop. It simply uses the notion of comic books as the premise. The entire tone is that of a thriller.
I looked around for clues the second time that Mr. Glass is the Big Bad, and I am both happy and unhappy to report there are no real story clues to it, the way there was to the end revelation of The Sixth Sense. What it DOES do is make thematic sense. Not simply for the reasons Elijah believes as his destiny of a supervillain. But the truth is Elijah was getting way more close and personal into David's life than an actual good person would. The biggest hindsight clue that Glass is bad isn't found in out of context clues you see the second time around. It's that his behavior in the film is stalkerish and creepy, and as far as his confrontation in the other guy's comic shop is concerned, outright hostile.
I am undecided if the first time we see David being him hiding his wedding ring to flirt with a stranger is the right intro or not. We aren't made privy he's separated at that point, and he simply seems skeevy. I don't know if that's the right introduction. What I will say is that for people who didn't know the premise beforehand, this isn't something Superman ever does, so you part of you is as resistant believing this as he is.
The biggest laugh in the movie is when he son suggests putting more weight on the barbells and he surprisingly says "All right." That was super funny, and basically the only thing in the movie that was.
I don't agree with Elijah that comics are an art form not suitable for children. But c'mon, a sketch for a four-year-old? What's the dude thinking? I don't even think Elijah even needs to have a point to think he sucks. He's just a crappy father because he's getting his 4-year-old a gift no 4-year-old would want.
The clips from The Powerpuff Girls and I Am Weasel frustrated me. They're Warner Bros clips, right? Do you know WHAT stuff the film should have paid the WB licenses to include? Superman. Batman. You know. Actual comic book characters. I take the film's exploration of comic books with a huge grain of salt because it uses made-up examples rather than actual comic books. Price mentions Kryptonite ONCE, but nothing else is from an actual comic book. Kevin Smith also worked for Miramax / Disney around this time, and there are still plenty of actual references to real sci-fi and superheroes in his stuff.
Back when people believed Shyamalan was a better film director than he was, people were clamoring for a follow-up to this. It's an origin story for David Dunn in this movie, and people wanted to see the next step and him in an actual superhero film. "Glass" as a film was NOT what people wanted to see. And maybe people expecting a superhero film for the sequel weren't being realistic. Shyamalan, especially at that stage of his career, wasn't afforded big enough budgets to do a legit superhero movie. But the truth is, even though he wasn't, and even if "Glass" always needed to be as light on the superheroics as this was, that doesn't change the fact that the script to this movie is solid, and Glass's is terrible. I find it hard to believe it was written by the same guy.
Why is this script so much better? It's not the twist ending. The reason I think this is a great film was due to the scene where his kid points the gun at David. That was masterfully written scene full of pathos and more interesting to me than a trick ending ever could be. I thought that whatever malaise David feels in his family and marriage, he's a great father for the way he handled it. Very quickly he realizes saying "Elijah was wrong" is the exact wrong thing to say. It makes his son dig in, and WANT to prove that he's right. Instead David says if he shoots him, he's gonna leave and go to New York, and he'll never see him again. Whether David actually believes the gun will harm him or not, that was brilliant. He accepts his son's frame that he'll survive the gunshot, but suggests that if it happens, he's leaving even if he does. He gives the son actual motivation to not shoot him without actually telling the kid he's wrong and Elijah's crazy. That wouldn't work not just because the son was right. But because the more he pushed back on the idea, the more the kid would dig in. Instead David accepts the idea and lets him son know there will still be major negative consequences if he's right. And after he gets and unloads the gun, all three characters in the scene sit down and take a deep shuddering breath. There is NO reason somebody who wrote a scene as brilliant as that should have written the dreadful script to Glass. None at all.
I love the handshake at the end. Because Elijah seems to understand what it means when he offers it. It's the final step in both of their origin stories. And he knows it.
I can complain about the franchise ultimately turning unsatisfying (and inexplicably tying itself to the freaky horror film "Split"). But this movie itself is solid as hell. I wanted and deserved a better follow-up (we all did) but the truth is this movie is excellent. Also probably would have been remembered even better if it were stand-alone, and I didn't have to remind myself that Shyamalan was dumb enough to have David drown in a puddle of water decades later. Still pissed about that. Unbreakable is great though. ****1/2.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds "Children Of The Comet"
Buckle up. This is gonna be a long-ass review. We have a lot to talk about. I suspect many longtime Trekkies won't much like what I have to say. Or maybe they'll think I'm right. I'm not the comet in this episode. I can't see the future.
First off all, I need to talk about second episodes a bit. What my expectations for them are, and how I review them. I have found that as far as episodic television goes, second episodes tend to be MUCH more instructive about a show's eventual quality than the Pilot is. This is especially true for the second episode of episodic science fiction. They are the first regular episode of the series. A Pilot sets up so much, and a second episode shows the viewer how they can expect the show to operate from week to week. If a show is great, the second episode is almost always worse than the Pilot (and sometimes by a lot). Good shows usually take a few episodes to find their footing. This was a little worse than last week, but still pretty great. And as far as Star Trek goes, I think in a lot of respects it feels better than The Original Series. Particularly the character of Spock. Of course, Ethan Peck is not as great in the role as Leonard Nimoy was. But I think this show's Spock is better written than he was on the old show. And frankly, I think a lot of that DID have to do with Leonard Nimoy. The guy is a beloved institution for good reason, but one thing people don't like to remember is that he was VERY protective of how Spock was portrayed. In my mind too much so. If an Original Series writer had come up with the humming scene Nimoy would have certainly refused to do it. I know, "Row, Row, Row your boat.". But that scene was in a film that was directed by a close personal friend after he'd been playing the character for 25 years. I feel when it comes to Spock, Strange New World's version might wind up more interesting than the original simply because Ethan Peck is game for anything.
I also want to be very clear about something. I don't actually blame Nimoy for this. In the 1960's especially, TV stars had far too much power and input, and yeah, vanity. It was not a personal failing on Nimoy's end. The vanity involved for TV and movie actors back then was simply considered normal. They demanded a LOT from their writers and producers and also refused to do scenes they felt might embarrass them. It was a different culture and a different time. And that's why I think this version of Spock will be more interesting. What I like especially is that I don't feel like any of the things he's done so far are actually out of character. Whether Nimoy would have permitted them or not, they still feel entirely true to the character, which is kind of amazing. Nobody will ever beat Leonard Nimoy for Spock. But perhaps the writers of this show will be allowed to stretch boundaries Nimoy would never have permitted. I think that's likely at this point.
Nimoy definitely lightened up a bit later in life. His appearances on both The Simpsons and Futurama suggest he stopped taking himself too seriously at some point.
I scowled at the recap at the beginning of the episode. I hope that's the only one, and only done because it's the second damn episode. But episodic television should NOT have recaps every week. They should only have them for two-parters.
We got far more information about Nyoto Uhura in the dinner scene than we got in three seasons of The Original Series and Six Movies. While J.J. Abrams has gotten some praise for finally giving the character something to actually do, we still didn't learn too much about her (other than making her name from the novels canon). Uhura having a tragic backstory, and sort of being iffy on Starfleet, is nothing we've gotten before. I liked how cool Pike was with Uhura being unsure about Starfleet. Frankly, I think everyone in Starfleet SHOULD be viewing their career differently from one another, and I think the Universal "Starfleet is the be-all and end-all goal for humanity" in the first five series is NOT a very human way to look at things. Some people love their jobs. But some people don't. It would be weird if everyone in Starfleet DID love their jobs.
I love that the Chief Engineer is a blind Aenar. Star Trek: Enterprise IS the worst Star Trek series (sorry Discovery haters, you are wrong about that show being the worst) but Season 4 was mostly good except for the horrible series finale, and I thought the idea of the Andorians and the Aenar were an interesting addition to the canon. Considering that Discovery doesn't actually seem all that interested in Star Trek lore, that specific Deep Cut on this show impressed me. Him showing off what he could do with Spock was beyond cool.
The mission was interesting because I think even ten years later the Prime Directive would have prevented the Enterprise from interfering with a comet destroying the planet. I found Pike's bemused reactions to the Shepherd quite entertaining, but what I like especially is that as far as mysterious aliens go, the Shepherd is far easier to understand than the primitive aliens who spoke in badly-written riddles the old show embarrassingly used every other week. When the Shepherd asks Pike if he is a reasonable man, I knew the Shepherd's intentions were good, and the lesson at the end would be that Pike needs to be more reasonable. And I like that the moral was allowed to stand for Pike, because outside of the Organians, Kirk's ongoing and obnoxious dumbassery week in and week out is simply allowed to stand. And again, it was a different time and era. But I'm looking forward to a Star Trek series that might suggest we could learn as much (if not more) from the aliens we encounter than they learn for us. That was a big reason I preferred The Next Generation to be honest, and to get that in a show set in this era feels like a treat.
Also episodes like this could not have been done on The Original Series because they would not have the budget for visual effects even approaching this in the 1960's. Part of me dislikes the episode for that, and for the fact that the Enterprise looks very different than it should. But unlike the Klingon make-up in Discovery, I don't think the stylistic changes or noticeably better effects and sets are done because of licensing issues. It's because they can. Yeah, I nerded out on The Next Generation episode "Relics" for building an almost exact replica of the original Enterprise bridge. And regardless of whether it feels comfortable (or even canon), I have to concede it LOOKS better here. Maybe that's enough. Maybe not for purists. But maybe that means I'm not a purist after all.
I don't suspect most of my reviews for this show will be this long, but I did feel the need to add some context about my judgments of second episodes. But I thought this was a solid week, and if this is the show demonstrating a "regular episode", I am most certainly going to be a very happy viewer most weeks. ****.
Young Justice: Phantoms "Rescue And Search"
I expressed great frustration last week over how unfair I am to the show. And my biggest weakness is finding a bunch of nice things to say during "good" episodes. It's easier to point out a failing instead of saying "I liked that," about most everything.
This episode is a bit of a gift in that I WILL be able to do a point by point dissection of things I liked. Why? Because it was actually an outstanding episode! I very much owe it to the fans of this show to talk about everything that worked like gangbusters and landed beautifully. If only because I don't tend to love very many episodes of the show. While I love this one, I'm going to honor it as best I can, and point out as much awesomeness as possible. It's the least I can do.
I like that this show's version of Klarion is the very first time I've seen of that character that is an actual threat, both physical, and even mental. And I love that about this version of the character. My only suggestion to Weisman about him is to perhaps let the Lord of Chaos' arc be less planned out ahead of time going forward.
I thought Dick's detective work was outstanding. Rocket and Zatanna expressed disbelief over Dick getting from nowhere to almost the entire thing, but isn't that exactly how Sherlock Holmes works? If Dick really IS The World's Greatest Detective's greatest apprentice, Sherlock Holmes-style astounding leaps are to be expected.
Superboy is not doing so well in the Phantom Zone. I love Phantom Girl waking up to essentially tell him, "Dude, shut up. You aren't helping."
Zatanna wishing the Monarchs lose was great because it's very clear that's the only thing in their frustrating conversation Clark cared about.
It is a VERY Weisman storytelling technique to have a villain suggest a hero cooperate because who knows? Maybe they can gain the upper hand later. I tend to call b.s. on most Weisman storytelling techniques of this nature. This specific idea is sound however, and I like it because Zod is treating everybody like a grown-up. I think a lot of Weisman's villains are too meta and self-aware to be believable. I liked Zod's argument because not only was it true, but it was the correct way to get Bart to do what he wanted. I liked that.
I've been hating almost all the tags this year, but that one was super interesting.
If I hated the episode, I probably would have done a longer review. But I think this review got to the bullet points of why this episode was great, and why I suspect both this arc, and maybe even the end of the season have the potential to end strongly. We'll see. All I know is I unreservedly loved this week. *****.
Naomi "Ready Or Not"
I watched the last two episodes kind of late so I got notice of the cancellation before I saw them. Let's see if these are good episodes for a series finale.
The last scene of this one does not make me hopeful. It suggests a drawn-out longterm arc that we'll never get to.
Lourdes and the boy who has a crush on Naomi being let in on the secret is interesting, especially since through refusing to deny it, Zumbado and Dee practically handed them her secret too.
I don't like the "Trust no one" thing at the end. It bears bad tidings for the next episode.
I liked Naomi and Anabelle pondering if there are differences between this world's version of Superman, and the comic books that star him. This is the exact type of question the show needs to be raising and I wish they did it more often.
I like Red Eye saying "Above my paygrade" when Naomi broke his electric daggers. Says everything.
That was interesting but it left me with a bad feeling. I think that rather than a satisfying finale with a tag setting up next year, we are about to be stuck with a big fat cliffhanger ending. We'll see if I'm right in 45 minutes. Please let me be wrong. ****.
Naomi "Who Am I?"
I was right. There will be fans of the show who will put ALL of the blame on The CW's cancellation for that ending, but the truth is, as far as superhero shows go, Naomi was always a risk. A show featuring a black teenager female superhero with few actual DC Comics ties? The show should have understood what a tough sell renewal would have been, and crafted a satisfying wrap-up for the first season at least. THAT type of game-changing and devastating cliffhanger should only be attempted by shows that have both been around for a bit, and also are in no danger of cancellation. The CW didn't make that story choice. The producers did. The show going out in a frustrating manner is on them, not The CW.
I was a little surprised we saw Brutus the way we did. Normally an appearance by a character that important is done in silhouette in the last shot of the finale, so they can cast a big name actor when the show returns. Brutus is just... some guy however, that Naomi actually meets face to and face and fights. On some level that's an underwhelming turn. On another its refreshing. Or it might be if the show weren't cancelled.
On some level it's good the show was cancelled. Because I think the thing that peeves me most about the cliffhanger is that I get the distinct impression the show wants to walk it back next year. Just based on what we've seen in that vision, Naomi's parents are monsters, murderers, and kidnappers. They are also series regulars that the show would not want to write out, and the only way for that to happen is for Naomi to either forgive them or come to an understanding with them. And that's one of television's biggest problems when it comes to surprise betrayals. The show will often ask the viewer to forgive unforgivable things. It's unforgivable to ask Naomi to someday forgive the people who murdered her parents. I certainly shouldn't be expected to. And that's why the Surprise Betrayal Trope not only never works, but has to be bought back in most occasions. And part of me is thinking the show is better off gone than seeing the writers retcon exactly what we just witnessed in that flashback and acting like it's possible they were acting in their world's best interest. Because that's what they'd have to do, and that would suck ass.
Also, speaking as an adopted kid, I always found Naomi's relationship to her adopted parents quite refreshing in that there was no trauma attached to their relationship. Television demands that adopted kids pine for their biological parents because most television writers believe adopted families aren't real families. And this show proves that cynical opinion of mine about TV writers right. And what pisses me off the most is this show was trading on goodwill for showing a positive adoption scenario only to repeatedly pull the rug out from under the viewer, finally leading to the revelation they killed her parents and stole her. I and my entire family are always ALWAYS made to feel less-than on television. It hurts especially learning this show's initial positive portrayal was a meaningless platitude, and the show hates adoption as much as the rest of fiction does. It pisses me off, and depresses me at the same time.
Still, even keeping all that in mind, my reaction to that would have been very different if it were a season finale rather than a series finale. I would have hated it, but I might have gotten over it. But making the last episode completely unsatisfying and annoying was a specific choice the producers made, NOT on the network, and I didn't like it. *1/2.
The Flash "Funeral For A Friend"
Are we seriously doing this? For real? I'm not. I'm not reviewing this episode. I'm not going to act like the characters and viewer being asked to grieve a fake-out death is remotely acceptable storytelling. It's a lie, a waste of time and energy, and the show is asking me to put more emotional investment in it than I could ever get out of it.
Not doing it this week. I'll review next week if the writers decide to be honest with their story for once. I don't reward liars with long reviews (even bad reviews). They don't deserve my time. 0.
