Grey's Anatomy: Good as Hell (17x13)

Lots of stuff happening, as always!

Cons:

I want to loop back in on the whole idea of Jo starting a new discipline. I didn't mind the stuff in this episode, about Bailey not wanting to let her go because they need her during the pandemic. But seeing it made me realize how poorly they set up the stakes earlier on. I didn't understand that that was the issue, or what was making Jo so nervous. I wish this had been paced better throughout the last several episodes.

I will repeat myself: I don't care about Teddy. Teddy's freak-out, Owen's compassionate response... I know I should care, but I do not. Please stop wasting my time with this.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: One World, One People (1x06)

Oof, okay, so I obviously enjoyed watching this, but I do have some things I would like to discuss.

Cons:

The biggest one is honestly about Isaiah. I understand that this is a superhero show, and there's some cheesiness baked into the very concept of it. I like the idea of a triumphant ending for our heroes, where amends are made and everyone is brought some measure of peace. BUT, I feel like a more nuanced, more true to reality ending here with Isaiah might have been different. Maybe he gives a tip of the hat to Sam, says he's happy he's found his peace, but he still doesn't agree with his choices. See, the thing is, some people who have been hurt by systems want that system to acknowledge its mistake, to apologize, to make amends. That's what Sam is pushing for. He believes we can do better, and all that. And that's a wonderful perspective. But other people who have been hurt by systems might not want anything to do with that system ever again. At the end, when Sam sets up the part of the museum for Isaiah, he says "now everyone will know what you did for this country," and Isaiah seemed pleased and touched by this. But I couldn't help but think... he was forced into doing those things, and then punished for doing them. If he'd decided he didn't want acknowledgment, didn't want to be linked to the idea of American heroism... I couldn't blame him for that. It might have added more nuance to the ending. Sam could have even said that it's okay if he and Isaiah don't agree on the best way forward, they still have mutual respect, or whatever.

Grey's Anatomy: Sign O' the Times (17x12)

Some heavy stuff, y'all. It's interesting how this show is addressing current events but on a delay because that's how TV works... really brings some things to the forefront of my mind that unfortunately the news isn't much focused on anymore.

Cons:

I found some of the story beats surrounding Bailey's patient to be a little clumsy. He's cartoonish and cruel to Bailey. I could buy someone not believing in COVID (believe me, I've met some of those people), but for him to literally say to his doctor's face: you're lying to me and you're making money off of scaring people? It felt a little too blunt, like this man was meant to represent every little aspect of that kind of human being. And then for him to die in the parking lot? Not exactly subtle.

I'm always talking about how I don't like Catherine Fox, and this episode actually helped me in articulating why. It's like she always traps people into providing her mic drop moments. She doesn't communicate, she dismisses people's concerns and ideas, goading them into a situation where they speak to her rudely. Then she turns around and hits them with the cold hard facts of how she was right all along. And like... Catherine is right, and has a good point, when she talks about fighting the way she knows how to fight. But why does she always have to have the last word? Why does she always have to say things in this righteous way, that doesn't allow room for anyone else's opinion?

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: Truth (1x05)

Well, okay then.

Cons:

I've complained about the uneven time given to Sam and Bucky, and while I appreciate where this episode went with everything, it did shine a further light on how little Sam has had to do all season. How his growth has been happening in the background to other things. I wish the balance could have been changed a little. 

I also continue to be less interested in the Flag Smashers than I am in anything else in the show. Not the ideology or how they function politically in this world, but the actual individual characters. Spending time getting to know them makes sense, it humanizes their struggles and what they're willing to sacrifice for their cause. But I just don't find Karli to be a particularly compelling individual, so it makes those scenes a slough to get through.

The opening fight scene between Sam, Bucky, and John Walker was good, but it wasn't great. The whole time I was watching it I kept thinking about the Tony/Steve/Bucky fight at the end of Civil War, three men fighting, the shield pinging between them. So much angst and desperation and history and weight to the whole thing. This fight should have been like that, but instead it felt a little more measured. Sam and Bucky are fighting to take the shield away from a dangerous man who has clearly lost control. It almost felt like they were just doing a job. Their connection to the shield was muted during the fight itself, which made that final beat, when Bucky throws the shield down at Sam's side and walks off, hit a little less hard.

Grey's Anatomy: Sorry Doesn't Always Make It Right (17x11)

This one is going to be quick, sorry.

Cons:

While I am glad, in theory, that Owen apologized to Teddy, I'm still... frustrated by the way Teddy's trauma has been worked into the story. Owen says he should have known that Teddy sleeping with Tom was a sign that something was wrong because it was "so out of character" for her not to be there for him, and be a good friend to him. But... he also says he'd love to hear more about Allison. Again, Teddy was cheating when she was with Allison, too. This was before the trauma that led to her having all these symptoms that cause her to betray people. So really... Teddy participating in adultery is not "out of character" at all. That's the whole point and the whole problem with how all of this is being framed!!!

A more petty complaint is that while I really like Amelia and Link, for some reason this story gave me more secondhand embarrassment than usual! I was cringing during a lot of their scenes. Especially the proposal thing. And Amelia's vocal fry was really pronounced. This is not a knock on the actor's voice, I just think she sounded like maybe she was more tired than usual? Which could have been an acting choice, I was just... really noticing it.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: The Whole World Is Watching (1x04)

Well, uh... shit. Whole review under the cut for spoilers.

The Walking Dead: Here's Negan (10x22)

So, that's the end of the season, then. Let's talk about it!

Cons:

On a bigger level, I will say that I was right, that this season built to absolutely nothing. It's almost like the Whisperers were the Season 10 A-plot, and these last few episodes after the long hiatus were about cleaning up the aftermath and setup for next season or even for spin-offs. And that's... weird. It means I can look at an individual episode and think it's perfectly interesting or even excellent, but I feel no sense of momentum. I'm reading short stories instead of a novel, you know? Different experiences. Less good, in my opinion. At least with this show.

But if we take this episode on its own merits and don't think about how it (doesn't) connect to the rest of the show... I really did enjoy it. But there were certainly some issues. The main one? Lucille has a bad case of "dying perfect wife" syndrome. She's beautiful and strong and brave and if she gets angry it's because Negan is failing to live up to her angelic standard. I wish that sad dead wife characters, learned about through flashback and dreams, could have some actual nuance. Could be someone with a personality and flaws. Lucille was too much of a Cool Wife for me to feel like she was a real person.

Grey's Anatomy: Breathe (17x10)

Well, this was stressful.

Cons:

Okay, I loved seeing Lexie and Mark in theory, but I have to be brutally honest and say that this is the first time that Meredith's dreamscape beach scenes tipped over into too saccharine for me. I think it's because Lexie and Mark both seemed like guardian angels, only there for Meredith, and they didn't really make me remember the fully developed characters. It wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination, but it wasn't my favorite of the cameos.

When Catherine asked Jo if she was thinking about switching specialties and Jo had this weird reaction, that felt like an awkward script moment to me. Too over the top and noticeable of a reaction to such an innocuous question.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: Power Broker (1x03)

I think this is my least favorite of the three episodes thus far, but by no means did I think it was bad or unworthy of its place in the series.

Cons:

Honestly, the reason it wasn't quite as strong for me is... Sam Wilson felt like a side character. The first two episodes felt more or less evenly split between Sam and Bucky as the drivers of the action, the ones with the complicated emotional stakes. In this episode, Bucky was definitely the lead, and Sam definitely took a more supporting role. I guess, at the end of the day, I hope Sam gets an episode before the end that feels like his moment to shine.

I'm predictable in saying this, but the thing I care about the least so far is the actual plot. So the time we spend with Karli Morgenthau is not really inclined to hold my interest. Similarly, the stuff with John Walker isn't as gripping to me unless it's butting up against Sam and Bucky. Really, I want the focus to remain on those two and their relationship and the big questions they're facing moving in the world given their unique positions.

The Walking Dead: Diverged (10x21)

I don't really know about this one. I liked it, but I found myself frustrated by it as well.

Cons:

For one thing, on a big-picture scale, what the heck is this season building to? Nothing, I guess. Everything's disjointed. Next week is the finale, and it's a Negan-centric episode. We've barely checked in with Negan for weeks. Which means, unless they pull something miraculous off in the one hour they have remaining, that we're going to be going into the hiatus before the final season with all of these threads still dangling. Maggie and the new characters she brought with her? We barely know them. Princess, Ezekiel, Eugene, and Yumiko? Who knows where they're at. Carol and Daryl's growing distance? Impossible to say. There is just so much material here, and none of it is building to anything at all.

And then to narrow in on this episode specifically, I want to praise a lot about it, but I will admit that The Walking Dead has a subtlety issue, in that it's... not subtle. I think some of the moments here could have spoken for themselves, rather than having everything spelled out for us. Most specifically with Carol and Jerry's conversation at the end. 'Twas just a bit too on the nose.

Grey's Anatomy: In My Life (17x09)

Ughhhh. I don't know how to talk about this episode. I'll do my best.

Cons:

See, I don't like Teddy. This episode doesn't change my mind. There's this awesome moment that I'll talk about later, where Amelia is tearing into Owen for not respecting Teddy's trauma. And like... good for her. I don't like Owen, either. And he certainly deserves to be put in his place. But Teddy and Allison were cheating. Teddy was the other woman. Adding in this history of having this woman be the "love of her life" when their relationship was built on sneaking around and lying to their friend? And this is before the trauma that supposedly justifies Teddy's lying? I just don't really buy it as a reason to totally forgive her and sympathize with her actions. If Teddy's treatment of Owen and Koracick is a trauma response, then... well, I'm sorry, but it doesn't just make it all suddenly okay. She still has to own up to it, and it's still completely fine if Owen never forgives her.

Also just... I really don't like it when shows do the whole idyllic flashbacks to a beloved person who has died. Allison seems absolutely perfect in every way, and Teddy's love for her is very cheesy and movie-esque... but I can't get over the infidelity thing. I really can't see past the harm they're doing to another human being, who doesn't even get to appear in Teddy's catatonic dreamscape. I also feel weird about appropriating the tragedy of 9/11 for this fictional character... for some reason it's hitting me in the wrong way, perhaps because I find it so hard to sympathize with Teddy.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: The Star-Spangled Man (1x02)

Oh boy. Things are getting juicy.

Cons:

Can we be done with the joke of "wow, I'm surprised this incredibly strong fighter is a woman"? Like, at first it didn't bother me that Bucky thought the woman was a hostage, but then it turns out she's the head of the Flag-Smashers. That could be a commentary on Bucky's outdated way of thinking. But then later, during the fight, Sam says "that girl beat you up!" like a fun banter joke, and I'm just... sick of it. Sam, aren't you an Avenger? I know there's a dearth of ladies over there, but you've met Wanda, right? And Natasha? They were part of your little family unit along with Steve, weren't they? Jeez. You know there's no reason why a woman can't be a dangerous criminal just as much as a man. #feminism. (But in all seriousness, that was a disappointing joke.)

I will repeat my concerns from the first episode, about how we're positioning our good guys and our bad guys. See, the bad guys don't want to let the same people have the power, the way it all was before the snap (or the "blip", as I guess it's known). They want to redistribute power, to break down these harmful systems. And then you've got Sam, getting denied at the bank, being harassed by the cops, showing that he too is victimized in this current system. So... is the ultimate solution really supposed to be Sam-as-Captain-America, taking on the mantle of a system that has rejected and hurt him and other people like him, for as long as (and long before) there even was an America? I want them to take this to a different place, an unexpected one, but I'm nervous about the optics.

The Walking Dead: Splinter (10x20)

I keep coming back to the fact that this whole back half of the season has been a disjointed mess. What's it all building to? Anything at all?

Cons:

I want to tread lightly when talking about the character of Princess. I think the actor is doing a fantastic job, I find her compelling to watch... but on the flip side, I can't imagine that people who actually have various mental illnesses that include psychosis are thrilled with this representation. The violence, especially. I don't know. Maybe I'm treading too lightly. The episode explains that Princess isn't "crazy," that maybe her overactive imagination, her way of coping, is actually the only sane response to an insane world. But is that enough? Do I think this portrayal of a mentally ill woman in the apocalypse is being realistic about the challenges therein, or do I think some unfortunate stereotypes are being reinforced? It's unclear.

In the same way that when Maggie showed up and mentioned a new group of baddies who want to hurt everyone, this particular group of people, wearing what looks like stormtrooper armor, is already kind of exhausting to me. See, I have this glimmer of interest. The man that Princess talks to mentions paperwork, and a process, and authority, and rank, and it seems like a more legit operation than really anything our characters have come across thus far. That could be really cool! I want to find out more! But remember when Eugene said he knew how to make a cure just to get Abraham and Rosita's protection? Or remember when a helicopter took Rick away and we never saw him again? There are all these tantalizing hints of a bigger, structural, scientific next step, people with a better grip on the situation than the characters we've been focused on... and we never get to actually see it. I want to see it. I want some follow-through, please and thanks.

Grey's Anatomy: It's All Too Much (17x08)

I don't know... this one kind of just rolled right over me. Not in a bad way, not in a good.

Cons:

DeLuca's death is stupid, and the legacy of it here is still stupid. They had so much they could have done with his character, and now having everyone go through their tepid, repetitive grief routine is just tiresome. They gave most of the grieving material to Teddy, who I hate, and to Bailey, who I love, but I don't really like the response they gave her. She decides to order an autopsy and do an M&M about DeLuca's death to make sure no mistakes were made, but Richard tells her she's causing harm to the living, that no mistakes were made. It was just a tragedy. I don't know... does this seem like something Bailey would do? It felt like a more transparent excuse than usual, to have two characters standing in a room yelling at each other.                                                 

And Teddy, with that whole thing where she keeps glimpsing DeLuca all over the place? It's really annoying and why would I connect with her grief over the loss of Andrew? There are other characters who I wanted to spend more time with. This was emphasized at the end when we had the memorial and we didn't get to hear what people were actually saying about DeLuca, because honestly most of these characters didn't have a personal connection with him... and the ones who did, didn't have a lot of screen time to deal with it. Then we end with Owen carrying Teddy home at the end... and the trailer showing a Teddy-centric episode next week... gah. No THANK you. I don't LIKE you, Teddy. Sorry not sorry.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: New World Order (1x01)

Watching this show is going to be strange for me because I genuinely ship Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson with one Steve Rogers... so basically I just want to watch them sitting around being sad about him being dead the whole time. But I'm open to the possibilities, here, I really am...

Cons:

Positioning the bad guys here as... well, as communists who want a world without borders, and then making them into terrorists... let's just say I'm side-eying this pretty hard. You have that twist at the end, where the United States brings forth a new symbolic hero, a new Captain America, and my brain immediately started spinning forward as to where this is going to go. See, we've got anarchist baddies who want to destroy all the flags on one side, then we've got this pretender to the throne on the other side. But the issue won't be that there's something inherently flawed with the whole concept of a militarized heroic folk legend for Americans to idealize... it'll be about how it's the wrong man carrying the shield. At some point, in a moment of triumph, Sam will take the mantle on for himself, and then we can safely and comfortably cheer as our hero takes down the big bad commies who don't love 'Murica enough. I want to be wrong. I want them to mix things up, to challenge things, but all I can see is that the ultimate heroic conclusion is going to be "government control of Captain America is Bad, but Captain America himself, and what he stands for, specifically America, is good."

The Walking Dead: One More (10x19)

This was all in all a good installment, certainly more invigorating than the first two episodes of 2021. But that doesn't mean it was perfect, by any means.

Cons:

So this is one of those episodes that is good enough that it could have been great, if not for some relatively small aspects that could have been easily fixed. The big one is that the character of Mays comes on too strong. I don't mean in the sense that he's antagonistic and mean and has this ugly outlook on the world. I was totally caught up in it when he sat down and ate the boar meat, when it was slowly revealed that the boar and the booze had been his, that he considered Gabriel and Aaron to be interlopers. Then, the moment with the gun, shooting it through the wall, realizing that Aaron was tied up on the other side... that was chilling.

And then, after a great deal of excellently paced buildup, we get... Russian Roulette? Really? That's so unsubtle and lame and played out. We get this speechifying about how the world is bad and people are bad, and then Gabriel and Aaron being like "no, we're good actually" and it was just... incredibly on the nose. We slipped right back into some of this show's most common issues, spelling out the messaging way too obviously. There's no room for nuance when you have characters start speaking out a fully realized moral debate like they're ancient Greek students of Socrates or something.

Grey's Anatomy: Helplessly Hoping (17x07)

What the heck did I just watch with my own two eyeballs? What the ever living fuck? Spoilers ahead, ye be warned.

Cons:

Okay, I'm going to go ahead and compare Grey's Anatomy to The Walking Dead real quick. Both are long-running shows with a large ensemble cast, and the cast grows, people leave, new characters are added, and we're meant to feel emotional attachments to new characters as well as to those few originals who are still sticking around. Oh, and main characters die on a semi-regular basis, for the drama of all of it.

Now, the thing is, Grey's is actually better than The Walking Dead at getting me to give a crap about new characters as they get folded into the show. So many of my favorites today weren't originally part of the show. Jo is a good example of this. Callie wasn't an original character, neither was Arizona, and I loved them. Link is a more recent fave. The list goes on. You know one character I particularly loved?

The Walking Dead: Find Me (10x18)

Ughhhh I just don't care.

Cons:

So, this is a persistent problem on this show, where all the pretty actors are wearing clothes that fit them and they've got their eyebrows sculpted, and even if they're not wearing makeup they still look pretty damn clean. I've sort of gotten used to it. It's the "shaved armpits while stranded on an island in Lost" phenomenon, and it's just the way things are. Maybe it was because Leah was being presented to us as a love interest for Daryl, and she was just so obviously gorgeous, but it stood out to me more than it normally would have.

And speaking of the love interest thing... god, can we just not? It was such a clumsy, unconvincing love story. Leah is all angry and pointing a weapon at him, then she lets him go, and then the next time he comes back she's like "oh, thanks for bringing the dog back" and they strike up this relationship, that got serious enough that Daryl was contemplating coming to live with her, and never going back to his old family? Yeesh, what a large gaping hole in our conception of his character. I'm not saying this for shipping reasons, but I've always seen Daryl as either gay or ace or, if he does have a relationship with a woman, that relationship being with Carol. There are so many different ways Daryl could go for me, and hooking up with random lady in cabin in the woods just... does not jive with how I picture him in my head!

The Walking Dead: Home Sweet Home (10x17)

Dang, it's been a while since I've written a review!

Cons:

So, the problem is, I don't care anymore and I don't think this show is particularly good anymore. A bummer, but there it is. Everything here feels like a retread of material we've already seen done over and over again. We've got so much of this show left to go, especially if you include spin-offs (which I really don't, you couldn't pay me to watch Fear or Beyond or whatever else they've got going), and I'm just dreading the months (years!) ahead where we go over and over the same well-trod ground.

Having Maggie back really shines a spotlight on how... uncomfortable and unnecessary Negan's "redemption" is. The problem is, we didn't see his redemption. We saw a man who murdered people and took pleasure in it, then we learned he's sad because dead wife, then we flash forward and he's friends with Judith and we're supposed to be cool with that? There's no complicated redemption arc here. Maggie is right to despise him and want nothing to do with him.

Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks (2021 New Years Special)

I honestly really loved that! Like, a lot!

Cons:

It wasn't perfect, however. Of course. A few little nitpicky things, and one or two bigger complaints:

So, the bad guy was a little too one-note evil capitalist/politician. Some of his lines made me roll my eyes, like "this is a PR nightmare" being his reaction when he learned that the Daleks were eating liquified humans. The irony of him suddenly being hailed as a hero worked okay, but he was maybe just a touch too cartoonish for my personal preference, in an episode that mostly managed to feel really grounded.

Sometimes the Dalek stories will touch on this "race purity" thing, and the Doctor will talk about how they are beings of hate, and it really feels like we're doing a Nazi allegory, but they don't quite... go somewhere with it? Like, we've got the Prime Minster character talking about protecting borders and increasing security, and then the Daleks who are trying to stamp out "impurities," right? And there's something there, it's not exactly the most subtle of story craft, I guess I just wish it felt more intentional. The Daleks have metaphorical resonance here, and I'm not sure it was totally utilized.