His Dark Materials: The Cave (2x02)

 Another solid outing!

Cons:

As with last week, I found the stuff with the Magesterium the least interesting. Mrs. Coulter is great, but it seems to me like we're padding some of the church politics stuff from the book, in order to check in with Coulter more frequently. Maybe I'm misremembering, but I don't think there was quite as much of this in the book. It's not bad, it's just not my favorite aspect.

Will going to the bank, and then to his... grandparents' house? Was kind of weird. I didn't hate it, honestly, but it was another situation where it felt like padding so that we got enough time with Will while Lyra was doing her business as well.

Pros:

Although I did notice some padding in this episode, even that padding wasn't a total loss, as I'm really enjoying the performances across the board! The actor playing Will is doing such a good job of toeing that line, of being a kid who had to grow up too fast, taking on responsibilities, while maintaining that fear and also that credulity that kids continue to have even as they age.

Grey's Anatomy: My Happy Ending (17x03)

Well this was quite lovely, I'm not at all upset about how they're handling the Derek situation!

Cons:

I won't go on too long of a ramble about it, because god knows you all know how I feel, but Owen sucks, Teddy sucks, and Tom, while a jerk, is absolutely the most wronged party in this particular situation. I mean, no, Owen is the most wronged party, I get that, but the way he behaves towards Tom is childish. I was appalled, at the end, when Owen gave Tom the news that he had tested positive for Covid, and he did it in such a callous, unprofessional way. Like, you just told a human being he has a dangerous illness. Show an ounce of compassion. Also just like... fuck Teddy for trying to make amends. Tom is right to want nothing to do with her right now.

I guess it's cool that Meredith chose Richard to be her POA instead of Alex, but honestly I think Maggie would have been just fine... are you really telling me that Richard Webber is going to be better at letting Meredith die when it's her time, than Maggie would be? They're both incredibly stubborn. Plus, I like the idea of it being Alex, even if he's absent... this is the first mention we've gotten of him in quite some time. I wonder if there's supposed to be an implied closeness between them, even though he moved away? I really can't tell, and I wish there was a way it all could have been handled differently, to be quite honest.

Supernatural: Carry On (15x20)

Oh my god. Lol. So... did Andrew Dabb forget to read back through his finale script one final time before deciding it was finished? Because like... Dean says "if we don't keep living, all that sacrifice (Cas and Jack) will be for nothing." Cut to a comically short time later, where Dean dies and is just like "time to go, let's not keep fighting, I'm tired lol."

Like WHAT did I just witness. I'm so grateful, in this moment, to a little show called The Magicians, because in April of 2019 they ended their fourth season with such an egregiously terrible decision that I literally couldn't sleep for a week, I was shaking and intermittently sobbing, I had never felt so betrayed and devastated over any piece of media before. After that, I've sort of become numb to bad endings, and this is no exception. This episode was absolutely terrible and I'm just sort of like... meh. I'll ignore it. Whatever.

I do want to forego the usual "pro" and "con" sections in this review, and do a more traditional full-on ramble about my thoughts, because they're kind of convoluted, if I'm gonna be honest.

His Dark Materials: The City of Magpies (2x01)

And we're back! I had to wait a full week after it aired to watch this episode, because I don't have HBOMax and I'm a dumb American. :)

Cons:

I will say that the stuff with the witches and Mrs. Coulter ended up being my least favorite part of this episode. I think Mrs. Coulter was the stand-out hit in season one, but I can already see how the expanding world is doing a big favor to the way this story is going to be told, and I'm thinking her strangely vulnerable cruelty isn't going to be enough to carry the whole show anymore. The thing is, the acting is great, but if you were a person who hadn't read the books, you might be a little lost in the weeds with the Church politics, and who's lying, and about what.

Similarly, the witch's council scene dragged a bit, and didn't give much of a sense of the witches and their personalities. It felt like an exposition dump scene, albeit with some amazing costume design!

Grey's Anatomy: All Tomorrow's Parties/The Center Won't Hold (17x01/02)

Scout is indeed a cute name but it was weird that they just looped around to the original name that we'd all already heard! But whatever. Adorable. As for the rest of the episode(s)? Let's take a look!

Cons:

I a not a fan of Owen, I never really have been, so I especially resent being in a position where I feel like I need to be on his side. But Teddy? God, Teddy sucks, y'all. It's such a bummer. I loved her character once upon a time, but I don't really see a way forward from this where I can ever root for her again. Not only did she cheat on Owen, often, but when Owen gave her every opportunity to open up, when he tried to salvage something of their trust by giving her chance after chance to come clean, she still maintained her silence. Like, honestly, screw her for that. She gives Jo a whole speech about how she sabotaged her happiness because it was so unfamiliar to her, but no, I'm sorry, give me a break... remember that backstory where she was having an affair with her roommate's girlfriend who then died? And then all of this with Tom? She's a serial adulterer and not a good person.

Speaking of relationship woes... I maintain that Catherine Fox sucks. Without broader context, within this episode, it seems like it's a story about two people who hurt each other but love each other deeply, and I did like that Catherine actually used her words and apologized. But with the broader context? I just honestly don't get the affection between them. I don't believe in their love for one another. Stubborn pride is one thing, but the level of malice behind Catherine's actions? Not acceptable. Also, yes, Richard was wrong to hang out with a woman who was clearly interested in him, but this was during a time when he and Catherine were hardly speaking and basically separated, and I honestly think Catherine's behavior was way worse, over all! But even setting aside my dislike for Catherine... I just don't care about their romance!

Supernatural: Inherit the Earth (15x19)

That was somehow simultaneously a crowded mess, and a complete anticlimax. I'm literally just like... super confused and afraid about what the finale is going to be now.

Cons:

Sam's the dog person. That's part of canon. I liked the moment when Dean found the dog, or whatever, but I wish Sam had gotten a moment with the puppy too, before Chuck took it away. A small thing, but one of those typical wrong details in Buckleming episodes, where it just honestly doesn't seem like they know the characters very well.

Lucifer and Michael have a fight in the Bunker and Michael takes Lucifer out really, really easily. So like. Remember when the first five seasons of the show were the buildup to the Apocalypse, and Sam sacrificed himself for an eternity in Lucifer's Cage to stop it from happening? Apparently a fight between the two archangels is just a bit of fisticuffs, nothing to get worked up about. That annoyed me. But I guess consistency has never been something this show has cared much about...

Supernatural: Despair (15x18)

I'm having an out of body experience, I cannot believe this. Last night was legitimately one of the weirdest nights of my life, and not just because of *gestures broadly* but also because of *gestures broadly* and myriad other small but still totally bizarre personal things coming at me from all angles... strap in, y'all, I've got some shit to say.

Cons:

We're gonna talk about it. Ohhhh, we're gonna talk about it. But let's start with some other shit before we get there.

So... are we ignoring "Dean was willing to let Jack sacrifice himself" or something? Like there was that moment with Sam and Dean where they talked about it, and Dean apologizes for pulling a gun on Sam, and Sam is like "oh it's okay Dean, no worries." But at the beginning of this episode, Dean seems to be just as worried for Jack, and as protective of him, as the others, with absolutely no acknowledgment of what happened in the last episode. This... should have mattered. There should have been some regrouping and some serious talks about this. Seriously.