“Real justice is personal. Sometimes the only way to get it is with your own two hands.”
For an episode that’s supposed to be a set-up for the finale, it still feels like a whole bunch of stuff goes down. That’s Banshee for you, constantly bringing the action and, more recently, the fantastic character work.
“One of these things is not like the other.”
“Sakizuki” opens with a terrifyingly intense sequence, one in which Roland Umber, the man caught in the eye of people from the end of last week’s episode, attempts to escape. The camera follows him as he agonizingly rips himself free, tears through a cornfield, and ultimately plunges to his death.
EPISODE 18, “EXTENDED FAMILIES”
As mentioned in the title, this episode is about various family dynamics and how they play a role in shaping our characters’ decisions and attitudes. For example, we have Tim Riggins essentially integrating himself into a new family, which certainly makes sense due to the events that transpired with his dad; that sense of disappointment is manifesting itself in a desire to prove something to himself through Bo and her mother. Although as of right now, I have to say that these two new characters don’t do much to really peak my interest, I’m sure Kitsch will handle it well. I’m betting this will go down the “sleeping with Jackie” road.
I give this episode 4.5 MeowMeowBeenz.
Community can still bring it with the concept episodes, and “App Development and Condiments” takes that concept and runs with it, crafting a wildly entertaining 22 minutes of television. This is just plain fun.
“We’ll get used to it, like we got used to everything else.”
The Jennings family has been through a lot recently. Last week, Philip and Elizabeth saw the bodies of a murdered family with ties to their own, and that traumatic event has compounded upon their paranoia. There’s an unsettling feeling permeating this second hour, a slower, yet still compelling episode with nice character work.
This is Arrow at the top of its game.
It’s thrilling, moving, and intense, and “The Promise” is one of the best episodes this show has ever produced. Featuring brilliant performances and fantastic action, this is a can’t-miss for any Arrow fan.
Now that’s more like it.
After a few shaky weeks, we’re back in full force to kick off the final arc of the season. “RAM” is the perfect mixture of backstory and teaser, shading in myriad character moments and tying together myriad storylines; this is some truly impressive stuff right here.
“You’re both under arrest, because you’re a fugitive…and you’re a dick.”
Justified can still bring the humor, but while this line is, for me, the funniest of the episode, it also encapsulates all of the problems of “Whistle Past the Graveyard”. There’s an ambivalence here that’s creeping throughout the show, and this episode in particular stumbles a bit in that department.
“My life’s been a circle of violence and degradation, long as I can remember. I’m ready to tie it off.”
So, we’re back to the idea of time being a flat circle. We’re now at the beginning of our story, back to the beginning of our case and the first leads we encountered. We’re now simultaneously sliding toward the end, and my, what a ride has it been.
ELLEN COLD OPEN: Well, we’re back after an extended hiatus, and we’re treated to a lazy, meandering cold open that features Parsons doing an awful Johnny Weir impression and myriad lame jokes; at least Kate McKinnon is mildly entertaining. Not a very good way to kick off the night. GRADE: C
MONOLOGUE: “I’m not that guy. I’m not that guy.” Uh, cool? Understandably, Parsons goes off about Sheldon Cooper, but he doesn’t really bring anything to the table that suggests he isn’t. You can tell he’s a bit nervous, though, and the whole thing is very shaky. GRADE: C-
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