She-Hulk: Superhuman Law

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Jennifer Walters, played by Tatiana Maslany, is fired from her job after getting into a superhuman show down in the courtroom and must now look for other work.

I enjoyed this episode a lot more than the first and thought that it was a noticeable improvement. I thought the comedy landed a lot more and made me laugh a few times and I also like that they are quite clearly setting up the Planet Hulk and World War Hulk comics storylines, as we see Banner, played by Mark Ruffalo leave on a space ship in the episode. I also thought bringing back Tim Roth’s villain character from The Incredible Hulk was a smart move especially because it puts Jen in a morally questionable spot and also develops out the character more beyond just being a mindless evil Hulk creature.

However, this episode still has some noticeable issues. The worst of these is how this episode just moves on from the Titania, played by Jameela Jamil, introduction last week and doesn’t even bother to bring her character up again which gives that final interaction in the first episode an air of pointlessness and I think that whole sequence was a poor fit. Moreover, the lines at the start of the episode in the bar when Jen says how much she doesn’t want to be a superhero and how bad her super hero name is are irritating, worse yet is the line about billionaires and orphans which feels like they are dumping on what has gone before which isn’t a winning strategy.

Overall, certainly better but the writing still needs a lot of work.

Pros.

The humour is starting to land more

World War Hulk

Bringing back Tim Roth

Cons.

The early bar scene

Ignoring Titania

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American Horror Stories: Drive

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A young woman , played by Bella Thorne, believes herself to be the target of a serial killer after she is chased by a manic driver.

This episode was lazy, they rip off the classic urban legend of the murderer in the backseat and think that by calling it out they somehow make up for it, which is simply untrue. I suppose I should give them some credit they do flip it so that the killer is actually the driver and the person in the backseat a victim, but even this feels contrived and lazy.

The story seems to go out of its way to spoil the twist, and when we finally learn that a bored and disinterested Bella Thorne is the murderer we are left going ‘well obviously’ rather than feeling anything even remotely akin to shock.

I would also question in what way this is supposed to be scary, it feels far too tongue in cheek, especially the ending and makes me question whether they even got the brief.

Overall, the worst episode of the second season of American Horror Stories so far.

Pros.

It is watchable

It is unintentionally funny at times

Cons.

Throne

The episode ruins the twist midway in

It isn’t scary

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Only Murders In The Building: I Know Who Did It

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The trio reveal who the killer is.

I worried last week that the show would swerve away from having Cinda, played by Tina Fey, be the main villain of the series, and then this episode proved that worry to be founded by having it be her assistant instead. I think this reveal was way less satisfying and felt quite anti-climactic.

Moreover, another thing I didn’t like about this episode, which has also been at the borders of this whole second season more broadly is a sense of smugness. I know the show has been nominated for a number of awards and has quite a devoted fanbase, but the series seems to be a little too into itself now, giving far too many knowing looks to the audience.

I will give the episode some praise for bringing back Cara Delevingne’s character, even if she is still being incredibly under used, I think Delevingne’s new arrival is probably the best thing about what is otherwise a very mixed season.

Overall, a decent end, but one that highlights the shows key issues, it’s long in the tooth continuation onwards, and its smugness.

Pros.

Bringing back Delevingne

It was watchable

A few funny moments

Cons.

The smugness

It ignored the best possible villain

It like the rest of the season was badly paced

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Only Murders In The Building Sparring Partners

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

An old enemy rears their head as the gang home in on a murderer.

So I think this episode was again a mixed bag, for the most part it is filler and padding, however the final twist reveal more than makes up for it. By pointing the finger at Cinda, played by Tina Fey, the show really capitalises on the dislike the audience has for her and creates a satisfying ‘it all makes sense now’ sort of moment. I will say however, that if the show doesn’t go with Fey’s character being the villain of this season then it will feel like a huge missed opportunity.

Again the Oliver, played by Martin Short, parenting subplot continues to not even remotely interest me, as we all know the secret will come out it is just inevitable. I think some of the side stories this season has done has expanded and deepened the character of a lot of our favourite Arconia residents however, in other cases such as this it has just ended up feeling like filler.

I liked that Cara Delevingne’s character returned and that it looks like she won’t be the villain, hopefully in the next episode we can have her origins explored a bit more so that her character can start to feel less two dimensional.

Overall, a fairly standard episode made a lot better by a great and satisfying twist ending.

Pros.

The ending

Delevingne’s return

The sparing sequence

Cons.

The Oliver parentage side story

The pace is really quite off

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Only Murders In The Building: Hello Darkness

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The trio must race back to the Arconia in order to save Lucy, played by Zoe Colletti, who faces down a killer in a blackout.

I was right the prospect of a blackout did lead to interesting things. I think the idea of Lucy genuinely being in danger of dying and the sort of ticking clock narrative of all that really helped to bring me back on board for this episode and to care again. I thought this episode often nailed the tension it was going for and had genuinely worried for the characters.

I also really enjoyed the Nina, played by Christine Ko, side story in which she chats to the buildings doorman, played by Teddy Coluca, during the blackout. I thought it was nice to see a more human side to Nina as parts of this season have set her up as some what of a cold character or even a possible future antagonist. I thought the scene the two shared was sweet and it brought a smile to my face.

However, nothing can ever be without flaw. I didn’t like the Oliver, played by Martin Short, subplot wherein he questions his son’s parentage. It felt almost soap opera esque and entirely needless, I would have rather the series be shorter and we don’t have to get overly indulgent filler like that.

Overall, certainly a lot better than the last few episodes but not without its issues.

Pros.

The tension

How the episode uses the blackout

The scenes with Nina

It makes you care about the characters

Cons.

The Oliver subplot

It feels like the ending of the season should be closer than it is

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She Hulk: A Normal Amount Of Rage

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Jennifer Walters, played by Tatiana Maslany, gets into a car accident with her giant green cousin and accidentally becomes a Hulk.

Yikes, I think of all the Marvel series thus far that this was the worst opening episode. This first episode really doesn’t seem to understand the Marvel beat, whilst being so try hard in its almost parody of Fleabag it presents a very confused identity.

To add to this there is some really quite jarring editing choices that make the episode feel choppy and not quite right. The choice of flashbacks taking place just before and then in the middle of a trial which then features a random fight, all without much explanation at all, makes things difficult to follow.

In addition this first episode is very heavy handed on the social commentary, far more so then anything else we have seen from Marvel to this point. I have no issue with films and TV shows making comments on political/social issues as long as they have a fresh take and don’t feel like they are just repeating talking points, this does the latter.

Finally, I understand needing to shorten things for the sake of the episode’s narrative, but having She-Hulk immediately being able to control her powers and not needing to train much at all, beyond one montage, again feels unearned.

Overall, I had heard the first episode was rough and that things get better, let’s all hope that’s true.

Pros.

The Hulk fight was cool

Maslany is trying

It is watchable

Cons.

It is preachy

The CGI still looks bad

She-Hulk immediately being great is bad story telling

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Only Murders In The Building: Performance Review

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

People from Mabel’s past come out of the woodwork to accuse her of past misdeeds and the world of Only Murders In The Building is further explored and built upon.

Frankly again I am slipping back into struggling to care for this season which is sad as the last couple of episodes seemed to be heading in an interesting direction. I think the big issue here is the same it has been throughout this second season, in that the mystery itself is paper thin and then the show is trying to stretch it out for as long as possible stuffing it full of needless side lots in order to try and keep people engaged. It is so blatant it might as well be written in neon.

I think the Mabel, played by Selena Gomez, heartbreak subplot was at least well-acted even if it was not needed. I do think that Gomez often has to do a lot of the heavy lifting for this show in a dramatic sense and luckily for the show she can hold her own in this regard.

To be perfectly upfront with you dear reader I am struggling to finish this season or to find any excitement for new episodes, to be of service to you I will stick it out until the end of the season but I won’t be coming back for the next season.

Overall, this season is being dragged out and dragged out beyond any semblance of a good show.

Pros.

Gomez

It is watchable

It was nice to Charles’ sort of daughter return

Cons.

It is getting long in the tooth

Too many subplots

Awful pacing

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American Horror Stories: Aura

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A young couple’s life is turned upside down when their doorbell camera start allowing them to commune with the dead.

I actually think this was better than the first episode and am pleased to say that it shows a positive progression for this season of American Horror Stories. The premise has a lot of creepy potential that I think this episode explores well, tapping into that Black Mirror space surrounding the horrors of technology. The idea of someone showing up on your door camera and banging on the door when you are alone in the house only to seemingly disappear moments later is inherently unsettling.

The performances from both Gabourey Sidibe and Max Greenfield are both strong, with Greenfield particularly coming alive in the last ten minutes. I thought for sure this episode was going to end up with Sidibe’s character revealing to be her witch character from Coven, but it didn’t go there.

My main issue with this episode is that once it allowed the ghosts inside, which a lot of the first and second act of the episode built up to, the tension mostly went away as the ghosts didn’t do anything scary. The first bled from the eyes and collapsed the other killed one of the characters in a fairly generic way, this didn’t feel scary.

Overall, another good episode but still with some noticeable flaws.

Pros.

The performances

The premise

The ending

The horror of technology

Cons.

The ghosts feel like a let down

The twist is incredibly obvious

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American Horror Stories: Dollhouse

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A group of women find themselves forced into a competition for who can be the best real life doll bride/mother.

After the frankly insulting ending of the last season of American Horror Stories I was a little remiss to watch this, however, it was better than I was expecting it to be.

Dolls are inherently creepy, porcelain ones more so, so the idea of women being kidnapped and forced to dress up as human dolls and do the bidding of a rich maniac is a chilling concept. I liked the ideas of the contest though I will admit it was very predictable in terms of the outcome, the plot amour was strong on this one.

Denis O’ Hare’s return is very welcome and he plays the crazed dollmaker well, being both darkly comedic and frightening in equal measure. The rest of the cast leave far more to be desired and fail to match O’ Hare. Additionally, in the closing moments of the episode wherein the witches were again brought back I thought the episode missed a huge opportunity by not having back any known faces leaving the reveal sorely lacking.

Overall, better than a lot of the episodes from last season giving me hope for this new season.

Pros.

It feels creepy

The doll theme works

O’Hare

Cons.

The ending

It is very predictable

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Under The Banner Of Heaven: True Detective This Is Not

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A murder in small town America, how fresh.

I know this series has got a lot of good reviews from other people and outlets but honestly I found this tedious to get through.

I think my issues with this show come from a mixture of the fact that each episode felt about 20 minutes too long and that I am incredibly checked out of the whole small town America murder plot and feel it has been done to death. Maybe it is because I am not American but to me this series just felt like many other crime shows and the plot was so generic that it could not keep me interested.

I think Andrew Garfield is one of the best actors working today but even he couldn’t prop this show up. Moreover, I would daresay that I think Garfield may have been miscast as his boyish looks didn’t really fit the kind of character he was playing.

Overall, this felt incredibly samey to me and didn’t have the right lead to keep me engaged throughout. By the midpoint of the series I really was just trying to finish it so I could give a complete review, I was otherwise checked out.

Pros.

Garfield is trying his best

It is well shot

Cons.

Garfield is miscast

It is badly paced

The mystery feels incredibly generic and samey

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