Supernatural: Unity (15x17)

It's weird, I would have bet good money on this being a Buckleming episode, given how crowded it felt. But no, we're saving those chuckle-fucks for the penultimate episode, which just bodes... really super great and awesome.

Cons:

Like I said, this shit was crowded. In the span of one episode, we learn what Jack's final task is, learn what his weapon is and how he's going to use it to kill Chuck and Amara, see him implement said plan, and then fail at it, the episode ending with him on the verge of death with no outlet. It all happened lightning-fast.

And on the flip-side of that? I'm really feeling the pressure, considering there are only three episodes left, and I'm starting to get mighty nervous that our friend Castiel might not survive next week's outing. The trouble is... why has this whole last run of episodes been about Dean resenting Jack? Like, is there not enough else going on? The plot twist in this episode is really actually quite good, and it appeased one of my biggest worries about a way they might end the show in a really dumb fashion. But it's replaced by other concerns, one of which being that the Jack conflict feels manufactured, and has been given center stage for the end of the whole show. Jack is great, but why is Jack the main character after fifteen years?

Supernatural: Drag Me Away (From You) (15x16)

 So like. Hmm. I... hmm. I don't really know.

Cons:

Honestly, I have no problem whatsoever with the fact that this is a "filler episode". I think people are forgetting that even in the best days of Supernatural, many of the episodes, even pushing right up against climactic finales, were your basic MOTW stories, woven in with themes and character development that had a bigger impact on the A-plot. So that's fine. No complaints in theory.

But... okay, so, young Sam and Dean have the story of Sam talking about going to college and Dean being like "no that's stupid" and then Dean not letting Sam go on hunts, and then at the end Dean softening a bit and saying "I don't know about college... but we make a good team." Sound... familiar? It's... the entire seasons-long subplot about Sam and Dean being at odds about the hunting lifestyle. Sam wanting to be "normal" while Dean wants to hunt and make his dad proud. Okay, I understand this was a huge theme of their childhood, but GUYS. We've got four episodes left after this. Is this a theme that's important to the end of the show? Are we still debating where Sam wants to be, what he wants to do with his life? I thought this had been settled. Ad nauseum. A lot of the flashback stuff with the Winchesters felt like a serious retreading of ground. Not only was this what the first season of the show was largely about, it's also been a significant element in almost every episode where we've seen younger Sam and Dean, in any capacity.

Supernatural: Gimme Shelter (15x15)

I saw a lot of people on the interweb complaining that this was a time-wasting episode, and since there's so little of the show left, it felt pretty pointless. I don't know if I'd totally agree, but I do admit to having some trepidation about how much plot we still have left to cover!

Cons:

We all thought, based on the promo, that Cas was going to finally tell Sam and Dean about his deal with the Empty. But no, it's actually about how Jack will die in the process of killing Chuck and Amara. Here's the thing: if this is actually the direction the show goes, it will be absolutely banana bonkers, and a terrible decision in every way. The show has set up a couple of interlocking themes in its latter seasons: 1) not all supernatural creatures are actually monsters, and 2) self-sacrifice for the sake of "destiny" is a terrible plan. Free will rules the day. So... if in the end it's like "screw you, Chuck, we have Free Will, but we are going to listen to his other cosmic entity (Billie) and sacrifice Jack for the greater good because she told us it was the only way", then they've just completely destroyed their whole freakin' message. I'm putting this in the "cons" section because I want to lodge an immediate complaint about that potential ending. If that's where they take this thing, they're freakin' idiots.

On a lesser note, I do want to say that splitting up Team Free Will 2.0 was a bit of a bummer. Yes, Jack and Cas' adventure was fun, I liked that Sam and Dean were essentially a subplot for once... but I want more interaction between the four of them. As this episode ends, Cas is immediately leaving again. I don't like that at all!

Supernatural: Last Holiday (15x14)

 We're back, baby!!

Cons:

The same problem I always have with Supernatural was definitely on display here, that of clunky exposition in C-plot episodes. I wish they could find a more organic way of catching us up with the main story points, instead of just having Sam awkwardly tick them off on his fingers: "oh, remember how Jack has his soul back, and we have to kill God?" It's like... yeah, Sam. Yeah, I do remember that, thank you.

I feel robbed that we didn't get to see Sam and Eileen's date, but honestly I'm delighted that she was mentioned.

Pros:

This was a standard, familiar, comfy C-plot Supernatural episode with a nice little focus on Jack and his relationships with the Winchesters. Nothing fancy, nothing groundbreaking, but just the kind of comfort food that you love to see as we get ready to say goodbye for good.

The Walking Dead: A Certain Doom (10x16)

 Guess who doesn't care? Me! I don't care!

Cons:

Trying not to be super jaded and negative here, but this episode just completely bored me. It seems like we're entering the final stage of this show, as it's been announced that after an extended season ten and season eleven, The Walking Dead will come to an end. But not really, because there are all these damn spin-offs now and I just don't care! I ain't a quitter, so I'll see this shit through to the end, but I will not be following these characters on to their future homes. I just don't have the patience for it.

While watching this episode I found myself zoning out and missing things, and just kind of generally lost in the miasma of the goal and how it was being accomplished. So Daryl, Carol, Lydia, et. al are trying to do away with the Whisperers once and for all, and it seems like they accomplished that? With several dramatic moments where we're supposed to fear for Lydia or for Gabriel or for Carol or whatever, and then in the end Beta dies kind of unceremoniously and we're just done with that whole threat? This show has a serious tension-management issue. They stretch out their villains until they've squeezed every ounce of threat from them, and then the actual ending of it all is quite anticlimactic.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The End Is at Hand/What We're Fighting For (7x12/13)

 And so we're at the end! Let's dive in.

Cons:

I wish I could give a different response, but a lot of this finale had me feeling a little cold. It's not that it was bad, but all the time spent on Kora and Garrett and on other characters who I don't give a shit about... it felt wasted to me. Kora showing up, and the whole "hello sister" thing, like she's Damon from The Vampire Diaries or some shit... and the redemption arc... all of it felt so telegraphed, and so unsatisfying, seeing as Kora is a new character who we haven't had time to get to know. Daisy's emotional arc ends up being about two characters who were only introduced in this season: Daniel and Kora. I liked the stuff with Sousa, but come on! It's supposed to be about family or whatever... Kora is brand new, there was no time to make it land.

The fact that the whole plan hinges on Kora, and on connecting with Daisy... I loved what Daisy said in last week's episode, about how Simmons is her sister and that's where her focus should be. Found Family > A stranger that you just met who happens to share blood with you. Yikes.

And then I thought about the characters they chose to bring back, and the characters that didn't get even a mention. What about Bobbi and Hunter, for goodness' sake?!

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Brand New Day (7x11)

Well, S.H.I.E.L.D. is being destroyed... this is getting pretty wild!

Cons:

I don't care about Kora. I'm sorry. I want to, I want to be compelled by this drama, but it just doesn't do much for me. We have this episode where all kinds of relationships are being explored: Daisy and Daniel, Fitz and Simmons, Simmons and Deke, Mack and Daisy, May and Coulson... and then have screen-time at the end devoted to Kora and Nathaniel? Who gives a crap?

It was painful to see Fitz for this brief moment in flashback. I understand that people who looked into the background of the show might have known all along that Fitz literally wasn't going to be in the season at all beyond a few moments (except the finale, one would assume), but I feel cheated. I didn't realize it was going to be the whole time. I kept holding out hope that he'd show up in the end-credit stinger, and every time he didn't, it really was disheartening. I liked seeing him, but it was almost worse to have him so briefly!

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Stolen (7x10)

I've got to admit, I get a little lots in the weeds with this whole Inhumans plot, and I feel like it's less connected to the things about the season that I've actually enjoyed up to this point?

Cons:

Like, I'm sorry, but so much screen-time was used on Gordon and on time-streams and on Nathaniel Malick, and I just don't really give a crap. It feels so disconnected from everything. The most compelling part here is Daisy's family connection, to Kora and to Jiaying, and that gets less screen-time than a young version of a future-villain (John Garrett) who doesn't have any emotional resonance in the story anymore. I don't have a problem with any of the pieces here, but the combination/balance felt off, if that makes sense.

Actor availability aside, every episode that I watch, I keep thinking how much richer it would be if Fitz were there. Iain is the most talented actor on the show, and he brings a real dynamism to many of the other characters, and as much as I've been having fun with this season, I definitely do miss him in a very real way. This episode, since it was so time-heavy on elements that didn't interest me, I feel like I missed him more than ever.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: As I Have Always Been (7x09)

I am feeling some kind of way right now.

Cons:

Missing Fitz hours continue... especially in light of Certain Events. I wish he could have been there.

Also... like... while I was watching Daisy and Daniel being adorable, I literally said out loud to the screen: "oh no, they're going to make me like this, aren't they?" and they DID and I DO, but I refuse to let go of the cold bitterness in my heart over the way Peggy Carter was treated by the MCU as a whole. I'm just quietly seething about it forever and ever amen. Setting that aside, I do think Daisy/Sousa works, and I can let go of my rage if I just ignore the other stuff and focus on this as its own universe with its own version of Daniel's fate. To be slightly critical, though, I feel like Daniel taking things in stride makes a certain amount of sense given who he is as a person, but I do wish we'd seen him do some more grappling with his new reality. Does he not want to go and see if any of his friends are still alive, decades older, now? Does he not miss ANYTHING about the life he left behind? Suffice to say, I'm feeling conflicted!

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: After, Before (7x08)

Elena gets her groove back!

Cons:

I really loved focusing on May and Elena for a good chunk of this episode, but the story felt somewhat crowded and also oddly... muted, by bringing in not only Jiaying (it was cool to see her again), but also a host of other people living at Afterlife, like Kora, and the guy working with the Chronicoms... etc. I didn't dislike the story, but it crowded up the frame, so to speak.

Still missing Fitz hours, folks...

Pros:

But like I said - focusing on May and Elena in this episode was such a treat. They have a good odd couple energy, honestly. May is still emotionless herself, but she's starting to pick up on how other people feel even without needing to touch them. Elena, meanwhile, is obviously stressed nearly to the breaking point, because if she can't get her powers fixed, she might not be able to perform a key function that will save the ship and allow them to get back home to their own time. So the negative energies are just feeding between them, growing in intensity.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Totally Excellent Adventures of Mack and The D (7x07)

I mean, this was a lot of fun, obviously. What else is there to say?

Cons:

You all know what I'm going to say. I freakin' miss Fitz. He wasn't even mentioned in this one!

Pros:

As soon as I realized that Deke and Mack were going to be settling in to 1982, I immediately thought Deke would try to invent technology early/buy in on stocks for things he knew were going to make it huge. Basically, the same thing he did back in the 2010's, using his future knowledge from the Lighthouse. And we sort of got that - only we got Deke becoming a musician, and "writing" a bunch of famous '80s music that hadn't come out in '82. I loved it! So great! This is what I'm talking about with the show having a lot of fun with the various decades/motifs. Deke saying, with full confidence, "I wrote this song," and then playing the SUPER recognizable opening to "Don't You Forget About Me" was honestly so funny.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Adapt or Die (7x06)

Oh my gosh, poor Mack!! I'm going to rush my way through this one, sorry.

Cons:

Are they setting up a Sousa/Daisy thing? I'm going to be honest, I'm not mad about it if so. I know I keep griping about this, and it's cool to see Sousa and I love his character... but I guess I'm still bitter about the fact that Agent Carter, an excellent show (better than Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. honestly) has been done so dirty by the MCU. So there's this part of me that's salty that the setup and care given to Peggy and Sousa's relationship in that show has been tossed aside and can't even really be properly deconstructed here, as to say anything unfavorable about Steve/Peggy would be anathema to the brand or whatever. I'm gonna grump about it even as I'm glad to have Daniel Sousa along for the journey.

This episode wasn't as "fun" as the other ones, and it wasn't meant to be, which is fine - but I felt less immersed in the time period, less like I was seeing anything essential or specific about the decade. Hopefully '80s shenanigans come back in for next week's installment. That should be lovely.

Also - still missing Fitz big-time.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: A Trout in the Milk (7x05)

Project Insight? Ooooh.

Cons:

Seriously, did they just like - forget to tell us Fitz wasn't going to be in the season or something? I'm getting frustrated by his lack of presence or mentions. Very briefly, Deke asked Simmons about it, Simmons said she didn't know anything, and then we moved on. I'm annoyed.

I'm not going to repeat the whole rant from last week's episode, but I'm annoyed with the way that Sousa's life has been stolen from him. I think it's clear that the MCU doesn't really respect its TV properties as part of the continuity. All of Agent Carter was disrespected enormously by the end of Avengers: Endgame. And Sousa is the character who is arguably the most screwed over, in terms of the movie canon just... ignoring his whole existence and erasing him entirely. I guess I'm still very glad to see him around in the show, and hope he sticks around for a lot longer. But... dude, it's really annoying to me that he was supposed to just... die. And now he's been pulled out of his own time? That doesn't feel remotely fair to him, and I just wanted to reiterate that.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Out of the Past (7x04)

I have some complaints, but over-all I did have a lot of fun with this one!

Cons:

Obligatory complaint about no Fitz. Seriously - this episode didn't so much as mention him! Really frustrating. I hope there are at least one or two good episodes featuring lots of Fitz before this show wraps up for good. I miss him terribly.

Also... what the Marvel overarching canon did to Daniel Sousa is kind of unforgivable. We get a throw-away line that implies that he and Peggy fell apart because of work reasons. In at least one version of events, Steve Rogers travels back into the past and fucking steals Sousa's whole future, and Peggy's too. So that's... not great. But just the idea that his legacy, his fate, is to die? Yikes. Sure, our heroes save the day... but they do so by erasing Sousa from history entirely. I just think that's such a sad fate for such a fun character.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Alien Commies from the Future! (7x03)

My boy Daniel Sousa!!

Cons:

This whimsical trek through time has a lot going in its favor, and I do appreciate that we're not totally ignoring the impact of racism and sexism on the ability of several of the agents to do their jobs. I guess I'm kind of hoping/kind of dreading the furtherance of this plot element. It's one thing to hear from May after the fact that someone called her an "oriental," or to see segregated bathrooms in a diner. Are we going to go further with the racial injustice? I hope not, and yet at the same time this mostly sanitized version of history is also not quite sitting right with me. I feel like the show is kind of trying to have it both ways, which is a little troubling.

So, it's been a while since I watched Agent Carter, but I thought Peggy and Daniel more or less ended up together? Here's the thing... I can't tell if this is part of the Endgame time-line where Steve went back in time and behaved like a selfish ass, or if this is another timeline, where Peggy had a life without Steve. In either case, what's the situation with Daniel being all weirded out at the thought of Peggy being at the station? And people calling him "Peggy's old partner"? Did they drift apart? Have some sort of falling out? I am not about that. I wanted them to have happiness together, at least for a time.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Know Your Onions (7x02)

I'm definitely more on board with this week's episode than I was last week!

Cons:

Still no Fitz... I'm getting a little nervous about how little we know of Simmons and Fitz's time together before the time travel began. Here's my off-the-cuff guess that I hope is wrong. They lived a full life together, grew old, etc. etc. and then had to part ways. Simmons is actually an LMD so that the rest of the team doesn't know for some reason; her real body is somewhere else, and elderly woman - maybe even dead? I know I'm probably nowhere close to right, but I just had to put the theory out there so I can seem super smart if it turns out to be true. The point, really, is that I'm worried Fitz is hardly going to be in this season at all, and we won't really get to see Fitzsimmons live out any of their happily ever after. That would be a huge bummer.

I'm not super interested in May's story yet. I think I probably will be soon, but thus far it's a shrug from me.

Is that the last we'll see of Enoch? Is he just... stuck in the 1930's now with Koenig? That would also be a bummer.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The New Deal (7x01)

I hate to say it, but a lot of this stuff is just not that interesting to me. There are hints of the show that I once looked forward to eagerly, but for the most part I'm feeling a little bit... tired.

Cons:

So, there's a scale when it comes to characters coming back from the dead on TV shows. It can be done right, like in the case of Buffy, or can can be done lazily, as in the case with any character on The Vampire Diaries, or it can be done in a way that seems lazy but becomes the fabric of the show and part of the larger point, like, arguably, in Supernatural. Coulson's resurrection... I'm sorry, but I'm putting it firmly on the "lazy" side of things. His death at the end of Season Five was one of the most beautiful main character deaths I can remember seeing on a show. It was appropriate within the tone and the narrative, it had a good buildup, there was a sense of inevitability and yet up until the very end, you were watching still hoping for a miracle that would save the day after all.

And then he was back as a villain for a season, and now he's just... back. Okay, sure, he's an LMD, and I'm sure they'll do some exploring with that. But Clark Gregg just... being here, being all Coulson-ish, kind of erases the impact of that beautiful death two seasons back, doesn't it? The show isn't really getting a chance to explore a new dynamic, because the gang's all here.

Outlander: Never My Love (5x12)

I... Have... Issues.

Cons:

I don't want to blame the show-runners too much for the story-line with Claire, as it is lifted straight from the books. But do you know what occurred to me as I was watching this? The rape was actually completely unnecessary to the story. Like - seriously. Change nothing else. Show Claire being beaten and bloody and tied up, and it's awful and it's hard to watch and the performance is raw and honest and all that jazz.

But why rape? Why rape again? We've already had a story-line about Jamie being raped, and a story-line about Brianna being raped. At some point it's just torture porn. And the fact that she is sexually assaulted makes Jamie and the other men's journey feel like this really gross macho revenge fantasy. Again, I know this is all lifted straight from the books. And let me tell ya - it's one of my least favorite things in the books, too.

Westworld: Crisis Theory (3x08)

This season of Westworld was not very good. After watching this finale, I'm left with a rather empty feeling.

Cons:

So, all along, Dolores was trying to save humanity, because humans taught her the good and beautiful things about the world, not just the dark, broken ones. She wanted to give Caleb, and other humans, the gift of free will, breaking them free of the super computer or whatever. This theme of free will is so basic and so cheesy that even Supernatural does it better. I felt like rolling my eyes during Dolores and Maeve's final conversation.

I just... don't care about these characters and their relationship. There's a moment when Bernard and Stubbs are having something of a heart-to-heart, and I actually think both actors are doing a good job of imbuing the relationship with a lot of meaning and grudging affection. But the story itself has not earned this. We haven't seen them together as friends, we haven't been given a chance to really sink in to their dynamic.

Outlander: Journeycake (5x11)

I... have some problems, y'all.

Cons:

I'm not even going to sit here and talk about all the things that are different between the book and the show, because I actually think plenty of the changes were for the good, here. But one thing I will say is that Roger, Brianna, and Jemmy leaving to go back through the stones felt incredibly unmotivated. I know they talked about it earlier in the season, and agreed that they would go through if it turned out Jemmy was able. But in the book, Brianna's daughter is sick and will die without a surgery that can only be performed in the future. They all have to go. Here, the reason is a lot more nebulous, and I kept thinking - what's your actual hurry? What is your reasoning for leaving now? The war coming? Yeah, I mean I get that, but still. Bonnet is dead, there's no immediate, personal threat... it just felt like they decided to leave because the narrative needed them to decide that.

The way the story is changing, I'm starting to wonder if season six might be the final season of Outlander. They're taking some big shortcuts, changing some big elements, and it feels like they're wrapping things up instead of expanding for future developments. I'm... oddly okay with that, but it does make certain existing moments in the story feel underrepresented.