The Bad Batch Episode 1: Aftermath

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

This episode and this series so far as a whole feels very much like a direct continuation of Clone Wars, which I appreciate as it helps to fill in the gap between that show and the later Rebels. This episode revolved around Order 66, and the clone response to that, which again I found fascinating and hope the show will dig even deeper into. I thought the decision to have the majority of the Bad Batch not be effected by this order, bar Crosshair was a little strange as surely either they would all have not been effected, or all been effected as they have very similar DNA; hopefully the show will clear this up.

I thought the appearance of Kanan Jarrus and Saw Gerrera was again a nice way to tie the series in with what had come before, in terms of production. Though it did also feel a little ‘remember this character, remember that character’, with these returning characters acting as somewhat of a story crutch: the same can be said of Omega- but I’ll get to that.

As a character I am torn on Omega, on the one hand I think the idea of a female clone of Jango Fett, who also has powers, has a lot of potential. On the other hand I think they are clearly trying to recapture what they had with Baby Yoda and that parent-child bond which again feels like repeating things from the near past.

I thought the action and the animation as a whole were both very well done, with a clear progression between the 3 shows being clear to see.

I am looking forward to the next episode.

Overall, a solid start that is perhaps a bit too reliant on the past.

Pros.

The animation

The action

The Bad Batch themselves

Cons.

Omega

Bringing back so many old faces

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Falcon And The Winter Soldier: One World, One People

Falcon And The Winter Soldier Episode Six: One World One People

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Sadly, this review is not positive. With the way the series had gone I was expecting this episode to bring everything together and to make the series better, despite its faults, but really all this episode did was point out how bad the faults of this series are, and the bad finally outweighed the good.

So firstly the positive, I enjoyed the endings that most of the characters were given, they were suitably poignant and impactful, I particularly liked the final scene we see of Carl Lumley’s Isaiah Bradley; it brought a tear to my eye. Likewise I thought Sebastian Stan’s Bucky and Wyatt Russel’s US Agent both get endings that feel earned and that set the characters up for interesting adventures in the near future.

However, arguably the star of the show Anthony Mackie’s Falcon/ Captain America, doesn’t get the ending that he deserves. After all that time deciding whether to take on the mantel and pick up the shield we just see Sam fully dressed in his Captain America costume which takes away a lot of the impact and though the suit itself looks cool it does not make up for seeing him put it on for the first time.

The reveal that Emily VanCamp’s Sharon Carter is in fact the Power Broker was in no way a surprise, it was blindingly obvious, personally I thought they had revealed it last week in that episode but evidently not. It makes no sense from a character point of view why Sharon has taken this course of action, and the post credits scene of her being pardoned only to carry on being evil just makes it worse- it is a baffling decision, she has to be a Skrull.

Moreover, and I have spoken at length about this in the past, like many Marvel projects the biggest issue with this series is the villain. Erin Kellyman’s Karli is simply awful, perhaps the worst villain Marvel has ever had on screen, her motivations make no sense, she switches emotions and her entire personality at a moment’s notice and the final episode has her repeating the same lines over and over again because it doesn’t know what to do with her.

Overall, disappointing and leaves a sour taste in the collective mouth regarding the Marvel Disney + shows.

Pros.

Walker and the Thunderbolts tease

Bucky and Sam at the end

Isaiah Bradley’s ending and the emotion

Cons.

Everything regarding Sharon Carter

Karli was awful

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Them: Exploitation Or High Art? The Series Can’t Decide

Them

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

My, my it has been a minute since a horror series has actually given me nightmares and bothered me psychologically outside the show. This is a very powerful show for a lot of reasons, it will scare you both in terms of supernatural horrors and very real ones as well, it will sicken you and make you angry.

In case I wasn’t clear, I think this is one of the best new horror TV series in the last few years, as not only does it have something to say, but it also fully executes its premise to a strong degree as well, it flourishes under its large undertaking.

The themes and messages don’t feel in your face or lecture like, as they are expertly woven into the wider story, though as you are watching it you are given an education on very real world evils that happened and are still happening.

I think across the board the acting is top notch, the only weak spot I could find would be the little girl who gave a few very bad performances at times, but hey I won’t labour the point about child actors not being very good.

I have seen a view reviews comparing this series to the work of Jordan Peele and basically saying something to the extent of this show steals from or rips off his work. Now, though I can see how both share similar ground I would argue that what we are witnessing rather than a copying is the formation of a new socially focused horror sub-genre that all of these works belong to. I also think this series does enough to clearly separate it from Peele’s work.

My one complaint would be that this series often crosses a line, now this is personal to me, I don’t need to see a dead dog’s corpse multiple times shot with a close up angle as well, nor is it necessary to have a prolonged rape scene and show it multiple times throughout the show as well, for these reasons I would say the show often ventures into bad taste. Furthermore, during some of the latter episodes the show seems to revel in the violence that is occurring on-screen rather than acting to condemn it. I can understand why creatively the show would cross this line, in both cases, and choose to do it the way it does, but personally I found it off putting.

Overall, an impressively strong horror series

Pros.

The acting

The scares

The social commentary

Consistency throughout

Cons.

It does fall into bad taste on a number of occasions

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Falcon And The Winter Soldier: Truth

Falcon And The Winter Solider Episode 5: Truth

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

I think that this may have been the best episode of TFTWS, so far, though not a lot happened in terms of action, which would usually be a complaint for me, the episode was incredibly impactful both in terms of the wider MCU as well as to dissect and discuss real world issues and there implication in this fictional world.

The easily angered sort, who complain about the show every week yet keep coming back, will not be happy with this episode as it is the most ‘woke’, to borrow their phrase, so far. Personally, I think this show has felt far more personally impactful and meaningful because it has addressed these racial issues rather than ignoring them as previous films and tv shows within the same universe have done.

I thought the character journey of Anthony Mackie’s Sam was near perfect, not only do we entirely understand the trouble his character is having in taking up the mantle of Captain America, but we can also see why it is important that he does. I think the scenes between Sam and Carl Lumley’s Isaiah Bradley are perhaps some of the most moving in the entire MCU.

There is a cameo in this episode, that has been hyped up since last week, that really isn’t as big as you would hope or expect it to be. Julia Louise-Dreyfus feels shoehorned in, it feels akin to the Ed Sheeran cameo in Game Of Thrones, awkward and clunky, and I hope they bring her back and use her in the future or this has been a big misstep for Marvel.

I thought the continuing descent of Wyatt Russell’s evil Captain America was fascinating to watch, he truly believes he is Captain America despite everyone agreeing he is not right for the role. I see him heading up a future Thunderbolts team possibly as soon as the end of the final episode.

Overall, though the episode does not push the boat out in terms of action, it is an incredibly moving episode that makes you feel, question and appreciate the world of the MCU and those behind it that bit more. Just ignore the cameo.

Pros.

The history of the shield

Sam and Isaiah

The opening fight scene

The post-credits tease

Cons.

The awful cameo

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Behind Her Eyes: The TED Talk On How Not To Do A Twist

Written by Luke Barnes

Behind Her Eyes is a supernatural thriller series directed by Stephen Lightfoot based on the novel of the same name by Sarah Pinborough. The plot revolves around a love triangle at a local doctor’s clinic that becomes more dangerous due to the fact that one of the trio can astral project.

This was billed as Netflix’s most recent must binge series and I did, and honestly I have to say it is kind of a mess. The first few episodes start the show off on a strong note, there is a keen sense of place and characters and the hint of something more at play- a supernatural element. However, as the series rushes to its end, things quickly start to come apart.

The last two episodes of the series feature a number of twists that I believe ruin the show. The generic erotic thriller themes of the first few episodes are made more interesting by the tease of something more supernatural going on, and boy do you get that in the last two episodes. Sadly, when we do start dealing with the ideas around astral projection it is boring, poorly thought out and leaves more questions than answers.

Overall, the series does have moments of promise, but it throws it all away at the end.

Pros.

Some early intrigue and the tease of something more

Cons.

It quickly becomes generic

The twist is not very good

The astral projection stuff is riddled with issues

It derails itself

1/5

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Falcon And The Winter Soldier: The Whole World Is Watching

Written by Luke Barnes

Falcon and The Winter Soldier episode 4 The Whole World Is Watching sees Bucky (Sebastian Stan) Sam (Anthony Mackie) and Zemo (Daniel Bruhl) hot on the heels of the Flag Smashers. Moreover, John Walker (Wyatt Russell), is pushed further to the edge.

This was a solid episode; it was better than 3 and probably on a par with 2 (the best episode so far). I enjoyed the action scenes particularly the ones featuring the Wakanda Royal Guard and the final fight between Walker and the flag smashers.

Walker’s arc is given a very interesting twist here, that will have huge universe wide implications. Despite creatives saying things to the contrary, I think you are supposed to hate Walker and this episode goes out of its way to make you do just that.

We see more of Karli (Erin Kellyman) and her turn to full on villainy, and I have to say I don’t fully believe it. The actor is doing her best, but I don’t really see her as a viable threat, moreover her motivations seem too noble for us to want to see her defeated, but this episode did make her a lot less likeable for sure.

Finally, this episode does show us some of Bucky’s time in Wakanda, but it doesn’t give us anywhere near as much as you would like and honestly the flashback creates more questions than answers.

Overall, a very intriguing cliff-hanger, plenty of solid action, but a few familiar issues drag it down.

Pros.

The action

The cliff-hanger

Walker

Zemo is great again

Cons.

The villain is weak and unbelievable

It throws away a side character that needed to be developed more

The Wakanda flashback

3.5/5

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Paradise PD: Are You Edgy Enough To Enjoy This Show?

Written by Luke Barnes

Paradise PD is an animated tv show created by Waco O’ Guin and Roger Black. The plot follows the wacky goings on in a small town police department.

Paradise PD and Brickleberry are both very divisive shows. The comedy of this show often goes very dark and tries to out edgy itself, as nothing is off limits; it makes programs like Family Guy look tame.

Usually edgy humour doesn’t bother me, if anything I enjoy it. However, the third season of this show, which is the primary review focus of this piece, took it too far and put me off. It was not a particular thing that was said, but rather the wider attitude of the show. The jokes felt lazy, they were just trying to be as offensive as possible with no wider thought than that: they point this out numerous times with fourth wall breaks, but as I have said in previous reviews pointing out bad writing or in this case bad jokes doesn’t suddenly make them good.

Continuing on in that vein I thought this season was the worst of the show as well in terms of meta-comedy. The previously mentioned fourth wall breaks are used to a point of becoming insufferable here, they have been used in the show before, but now a reference to how the world actually exists as an animated tv show every few minutes, and it really isn’t as clever as the show clearly thinks it is.

Overall, hopefully much like Brickleberry this series will only run for 3 seasons and it won’t go on to tarnish itself.

Pros

One or two good jokes

It was nice to see Gina move beyond her infatuation with Dusty

Cons.

It mostly isn’t funny anymore

It is irritating

The plot for the most part seems unable to advance and has to repeat the same points over and over again

1.5/5 (for season 3) higher for the series as a whole.

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Falcon And The Winter Soldier: Power Broker

Written by Luke Barnes

Falcon and The Winter Soldier episode 3 Power Broker is the third episode in the Marvel Disney + series. The plot sees Sam (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky (Sebastian Stan), break Baron Zemo (Daniel Bruhl), out of prison so that he can help them find out more information about the super soldier program and the Flag Smashers.

I thought this episode was on the whole good, not as good as the previous episode however, for reasons we will get to later. I thought it moved the story along and introduced some interesting new elements and locations to the MCU that I hope to see again in other films and Disney + series.

It was nice to see Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) return. Though she did not do a lot, really she was just there to spout exposition and to remind the audience she was alive. However, she did manage to make an impression due to one very graphic, for the MCU, and well-choreographed fight scene.

My issues with this episode are twofold. Firstly, I think the two separate storylines, the boys hunting down answers about the super soldier serum, and the stuff with the fake Captain America (Wyatt Russell) are starting to clash. Personally I think the stuff with the fake Captain America is going in a very obvious direction and I would rather they just get it over with so we can focus on the more interesting matters at hand.

Secondly, and this is linked to the previous point, the idea of Bucky and Sam going rogue and the Government coming for them for freeing Zemo feels very phase 3, very Civil War era and I get that it is a stylistic inspiration for the show, but personally I think the MCU is past it and I don’t really want to see it go back.

Overall, still a strong episode, but some of the tonal and plot issues are starting to show.

Pros.
Zemo

Bringing back Sharon

The ending

Cons.

They do use Sharon for anything interesting

The storylines are starting to clash

A bit too Civil War like for my taste

3/5

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Falcon And The Winter Solider: The Star-Spangled Man

Written by Luke Barnes

The Star-Spangled Man is the second episode of Marvel’s Falcon And The Winter Soldier. The episode revolves around the introduction of the new Captain America (played by Wyatt Russell), as well as further developments with the Flag Smashers, and an exploration of the ideas around the super soldier serum and it’s continuation beyond Steve Rogers (Chris Evans).

I was deeply disappointed with the first episode of TFTWS, but I have to say this episode was a lot better and really got the series going in the right direction.

First off I want to say how excellent the Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) twist was it showed us a whole otherside of the super soldier project, which helped us recontextualise it in our minds whilst also expanding the wider mythos of the MCU to an interesting new dimension.

Secondly, the series is greatly helped by now having Sam (Antony Mackie) and Bucky (Sebastian Stan) on screen together. After watching this episode it only becomes clearer to me that one of the biggest issues with the first episode of this series was keeping its two main men separated. Luckily this episode fixes that and brings them together. Mackie and Stan have terrific on-screen chemistry together and really make the show what it is, their easy banter and shared pains make you want to watch the show and give a damn about the characters.

Thirdly, I enjoyed how this episode showed us the new Captain America in a wider light, we get to see him as both a villain to Bucky and Sam (the former takes an immediate dislike to him), as well as a hero in his own right. The ending of the episode teases us with bigger things to come and no doubt the new Captain America will have his character explored in further depth, but this is a nice start.

My only issue with this episode is that despite marking a quarter of the series being over, (as it is only 6 episodes), it still feels like it is arranging the pieces, which really should have been done in the first episode. An example of what I am talking about is that Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp), was said to have a large role in the series yet now we are a quarter of the way through it, and she is yet to appear. The pace should either have been quicker or there should have been more episodes commissioned to better fit this slow style.

Overall, a much, much stronger episode, however pacing still remains an issue.

Pros.

Bringing Bucky and Sam together

The reveal of Isaiah Bradley

Zemo

The new Captain America and his character work

Cons.

The pace is still too slow

4/5

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Star Wars The Clone Wars: The Prequels Were Actually Pretty Rad

Written by Luke Barnes

Star Wars The Clone Wars is an animated tv series created by George Lucas that explores the events in between episode 2 and episode 3 of the Star Wars prequels trilogy ending with the final moments of episode 3 and the order 66 purge.

I remember watching this when I was a kid and enjoying it a lot. However, for one reason or another I never ended up finishing it. Recently, I have been reconnecting with the Star Wars franchise, and my rewatch of this as well as the Mandalorian have been front and centre in that process; as I have always preferred Star Wars outside of the films, books, games, tv shows etc.

I enjoy the focus this show has on building up the wider lore of the prequel trilogy, with most of the interesting characters and events from those films being explored in a lot more detail here. I particularly enjoyed the Mandalore plot line and the return of Darth Maul: I think it was an inspired move that really adds to the wider Star Wars mythos.

Moreover, the new characters created for this show are also very welcome and serve to only boost the pre existing material.

Though it is nice to warmly reflect on this show from my childhood I would be deeply remiss if I did not point out the issues with it. Firstly the episodes are not in canonical order and are spread all over the place, this can be annoying when trying to work out what happens when, but it is widely ignorable. More egregiously however is the padding. Seasons are padded out with nothing b storylines that go nowhere and add very little, and this is a consistent problem throughout. You will break away from an interesting storyline about the wider war or universe and instead be given a plot about Jar Jar Binks or Padme doing something dull; suffice it to say this gets old quickly.

Overall, it is a fun animated show that fills in the blanks of the prequel trilogy nicely, however the padding and the episode sequencing do prove a challenge when binging.

Pros.

Developing the wider lore

Great character moments

An infectious love for all things Star Wars

Cons.

Multiple episodes of padding per season

The episode order is all wrong

3.5/5