Outlander: A Practical Guide for Time-Travelers (7x07)

Dun dun dunnnn!

Cons:

I will say, I thought giving William a cheery, jokey bff in the army was a little transparent. The second this dude opened his mouth I was like "ah, he's about to die so William can learn the true horrors of war." I didn't dislike everything with William in this plot thread, but it's probably the least I've cared about adult William since we met him; he's more interesting to me as he relates to the interpersonal connections of Jamie, Claire, and Lord John. Big surprise there.

I feel like they made Rob Cameron just a little too pushy and sinister? In the books I think there was just a little more time to get to know him as a purely innocuous figure, so here it's like we barely know him and now he's pushing in for dinner invitations and asking questions about Roger's papers, like... it's pretty obvious pretty quickly that something's up. I don't know how I would have solved for this, but just thought I'd mention it. The pacing also kinda made the Buck thing a little less impactful, just because we go from "what the hell are you doing here" to "I forgive him, he's Cousin Buck" so immediately. It also made me miss Roger having a huge scar on his neck and difficulty speaking clearly. That's such an important character trait for him in the books, that he never fully recovers from his near death by hanging. I get why for practical reasons they cut it out, but I think it makes his relationship with his ancestor more compelling if the evidence of his close call is still there in every word he speaks.

What We Do in the Shadows: The Campaign (5x04)

I'm in a bit of a Good Omens coma at the moment so pardon me if this is rather a brief review!

Cons:

I guess I wanted a bit more of an understanding of where Lazlo was coming from with his behavior towards the people of Little Antipaxos. It seems like he's trying to impress them at first, but he belittles them and thinks they're all primitive idiots. Then, when they don't warm to him, he immediately goes hostile and tells them to fuck off. This from the man who refuses to set foot back in his homeland because they insulted his beautiful and perfect wife Nadja. I wish we could have seen this play out more from Lazlo's perspective, so we could see maybe that he's feeling insecure or strange about all the time Nadja is spending with these new friends, or something.

Pros:

That said, Lazlo and Nadja are still hilarious, and I did love the resolution, wherein Nadja's new friends think that Lazlo is a figure from their old folktales, a particularly foolish and mean-spirited oaf who brings good luck to those who are near him. That would be funny to see more stories about!

Outlander: Where the Waters Meet (7x06)

Lots of good stuff to talk about!

Cons:

I remember this from the books, that Jamie's time fighting for the rebels keeps kind of dragging on and getting addendums added onto it. Like, you think he's done, then he gets pulled in elsewhere, and keeps saying yes again and again... it felt a little messy in the book too, and here I find myself antsy to get to Scotland and all the stuff that happens in the aftermath of that.

Pros:

In the aftermath of fleeing from the fort, Jamie and Claire try and help sneak as many people away as they can. One woman, frantic and sure that the Indians are going to take her, ends up running off and when Claire goes to find her, she watches the woman take her own life, and is then captured by the British. When taken to their camp, she finds her patient Walter Woodcock, and she also finds... William. I loved Claire showing her compassion and strength as a medical professional again, and that William, even upon finding her to be a rebel, wants to help her out as best as he's able.

What We Do in the Shadows: Pride Parade (5x03)

What an episode, holy shit.

Cons:

I can't think of anything I'd change about this one! I guess I'll repeat my comment that the Guide doesn't have a ton to do. The joke seems to be that she's superfluous and ignored, but she does feel superfluous to me, so it's just not that funny.

Pros:

Where to start? The Nadja plot thread was hilarious. All of the physical comedy of the doll inside vampire-Nadja's body was a delight, I was laughing out loud at so much of this. And then the grotesqueness of Colin and Doll-Nadja both inhabiting vampire-Nadja's body? The duet they sang at the pride event? I don't even have anything coherent to say about any of this, it was just hilarious all the way through. The ending gag of Lazlo deflowering doll-Nadja who is possessing vampire-Nadja, along with Colin, with vampire-Nadja inside doll-Nadja egging them all on... I mean, what other show can you think of that would ever do something as batshit insane as this? It's incredible.

Outlander: Singapore (7x05)

Huh, interesting. A couple of significant changes I'm not sure how to feel about, but an otherwise solid episode!

Cons:

Now, as a caveat, it has been a minute since I read the books, but I'm almost sure the scene with Ian meeting Emily's son goes a lot differently. For one, Ian is the one to name the kid Swiftest of Lizards, and Emily actually asks Ian to name her daughter, but he feels a connection to the older boy, and names him instead. It's left incredibly ambiguous as to whether or not this really is Ian's biological son, although later events strongly suggest this to be the case. In the show, they cast a little white kid to play Swiftest of Lizards, so it seems pretty clear we're not supposed to have any doubt. And he already has his Mohawk name, and Ian gives him an English one: Ian James. I'm... not sure how to feel about this. I liked the subtlety, the ambiguity, in the book. And I liked that Ian claimed the right to name him in the Mohawk fashion, instead of being handed the opportunity by Emily. It makes Ian's connection to his Mohawk identity stronger, that he names this child of his spirit in the tradition of one of his chosen people, instead of the people of his birth. I don't know, it just felt a little too neat and tidy, the way this played out.

What We Do in the Shadows: A Night Out with the Guys (5x02)

The poor Guide lol.

Cons:

I will say, the Guide isn't really my favorite part of the show, as much as I love Kristen Schaal. So when the show seems to lampshade how superfluous she feels, making jokes about how the other vampires forgot about her, didn't notice she hadn't been around, I find myself sort of agreeing with that sentiment. She's great, but she doesn't seem to add much that we don't already have with the other characters, and I don't miss her when she's gone! Sorry!

Pros:

I did enjoy Nadja's plot thread even without caring much for the Guide, specifically her discovery of Little Antipaxos! It was so fun to see her connect back with her roots, while being completely and utterly oblivious to the poor way she's treating the people around her, specifically the Guide. Her enthusiasm about her original home is infectious and delightful.

What We Do in the Shadows: The Mall (5x01)

We're back!

Cons:

I will say, with this show being a pure comedy without a lot of significant character development for the most part, there are occasionally running plot elements that get dropped or shuffled off very unceremoniously that I wish could have been delved into more. The big example for me going into season five is Colin Robinson being his normal adult self again, with no apparent lasting impact from the time he spent growing up as a kid. I want Lazlo and Colin's relationship to have shifted in some way with the fact that Lazlo is basically Colin's dad now, and I worry that they won't take advantage of the comedic (and heartwarming) fodder that this scenario provides. So far, we don't have any hints of it.

Outlander: A Most Uncomfortable Woman (7x04)

Oh boy oh boy, things are a-happening!

Cons:

So, I honestly really liked Jamie and Claire's sex scene in this episode, but as a small note: I'm not a fan of the slow-pan away from them on the bed, over to the shot of them in the mirror; it's just so cheesy and feels played out. Isn't there a different way to do a sort of fade to black situation?

Ian and Rachel are just... bland nothingness to me, sorry. I don't really care for them much in the books either. I like Rachel as a character, but the romantic entanglements she finds herself in are always a bit of a snooze fest. The way they played up the connection of Ian and Rachel in the brief time they met just felt so forced, like, oh, a young single woman and two young single men! We've got to have romance blooming immediately! Kind of lazy, honestly.

I feel like Tom Christie's horrible abusive behavior is sort of ignored here? Like, we can feel some measure of sympathy or gratitude for the man, sure, he saved Claire's life after all. But he was an absolutely horrible father to his children and I feel like the show has come around on Tom too much, presenting him as more sympathetic than I think he's supposed to be.