​I have to admit that I was extremely excited to settle in to watch last night’s episode of The Flash, simply due to the fact that last week’s tale set up quite the cliffhanger when all was said and done. I mean come on, the prison warden discovering Barry’s true identity set up all of  kinds of potential repercussions for the show down the road and if by chance Barry fell into the hands of Amunet Black, things would only go from bad to worse and well, the resolution of that wonderful setup ended up being everything I hoped for and more.
 
Because ‘True Colors’ ended up being an absolute tour de force episode that quite frankly kept me on the edge of my seat, all thanks to the fact that this story was in essence a race against time to save Barry from being sold to Amunet and really, the first thing I loved about this particular tale, is the sheer fact that once again, Barry was a beacon of inspiration. Because not only was he able to escape his cell and rescue the Bus Metas from a future of servitude, he actually managed to bring out the best of one of them in the process since Becky Sharpe finally saw the folly of her ways.
 
If anything, it was wonderful to see Barry influence a villain in this manner and while he and his band of Metas were successful in escaping Iron Heights, disaster was waiting for them at the end of their journey since both the Warden and Amunet were at their exit point to greet them, shortly before DeVoe came to crash the party and partake in some wholesale murder before robbing the Metas of their lives and apparently their powers, save for Becky, who he transferred his consciousness to and well, this was quite the interesting little twist because it gives us some insight into his grand plan and it would seem absorbing the powers of the Bus Metas is paramount to whatever scheme DeVoe is putting together.
 
But while that part of the story was a touch dark, there was some light to be found in this tale, since Team Flash pulled off one hell of an upset in Barry’s case. Because in this story we came to learn that Ralph can actually use his powers to mimic another human being and in a taste of poetic revenge, Ralph became Clifford DeVoe to ‘prove’ that Barry did him no harm and wouldn’t you know it, the plan worked and Barry was released from Iron Heights and it really was quite lovely to see DeVoe’s wife get a taste of her own medicine for a change. But alas, Barry’s release and experiences in this episode did give him pause because it seems as though DeVoe is using Barry to bring the Metas to him and that means that being friends with Ralph, could be hazardous to his health…
 
But, the most important thing when it comes to this particular tale, is that cracks are starting to form in DeVoe’s strange master plan. Because, not only is his wife starting to have doubts and concerns about said plan, Clifford is starting to let his arrogance take control, which means that he may make mistakes along the way in thinking he is so superior and that could spell good news for Team Flash. In the end however, this episode was a blast. I loved the fact paced nature of this tale, and it was quite the bold twist to resolve the whole reveal of Barry’s identity in such brutal fashion, and I’m now dying to know why DeVoe is so intent on using Barry as a delivery system for Metas, and sadly, we will have to wait until the end of the month to find out since The Flash is going on a slight break for a couple of weeks…

​The more I think about it, the more I’ve come to realize that we’ve hit quite the dark patch in storytelling when it comes to Supergirl. After all, since Reign officially arrived on the show, we’ve seen Kara beaten within an inch of her life, watched her and the team struggle to defeat Reign at every single turn and to make matters worse, they lost an ally in the line of duty and they now have to face off with more Worldkillers thanks to the revelation that others like Reign walk amongst us and while we enjoyed a slight break in the action last week, it was back to business last night as the DEO continued its hunt for Reign’s potential partners in crime.
 
Yet, while it seemed at first that ‘Both Sides Now’ was going to provide us with more of the same dark and powerful storytelling we’ve come to expect at this point, the series actually managed to drop quite the surprise in our lap. Because shortly after the DEO brought in the second Worldkiller, Purity, Kara had quite the epiphany. Because in reality, it’s been nothing but raw violence and fury when it comes to how Supergirl and the DEO deal with her new foes as of late, and a moment of levity when she and the gang came to arrest Purity brought her to the realization that maybe…it was time to try something new, and kill her enemy with kindness.
 
This led to a fascinating set of scenes wherein Kara tried her best to reach Purity’s alter ego, Julia, and despite Alex’s protests and outright bravado, eventually it seemed as though Kara was finally reaching the gentler side to her foe. Of course, things went south as they often do and Purity managed to escape. But another fierce showdown between Purity and Supergirl, wherein Julia took control of her consciousness and her body moments before Reign pulled her away for reconditioning, proved that Kara’s approach was indeed the correct one to begin with and oddly enough, the alter egos of the Worldkillers might be the key to putting an end to all of this madness.
 
That was further evidenced by Sam’s storyline in this episode. Because Lena dropped by L Corp to let Sam know that she was going to be enjoying more time off in order to help her heal up and while at first this looked like quite the blessing, since Sam was able to spend more time with her daughter, another transformation into Reign seemed to signal a breaking point for Ruby and Sam when all was said and done. Because Sam is starting to crack under the pressure of these blackouts, meaning that there is still good within her and it would seem that the plan going forward, according to Kara, is to save the Worldkillers from the evil that resides within them all.
 
If anything, I thought that was a lovely twist to inject into the plot line because while these super fights have been impressive through and through, it’s clear that Kara is completely overmatched when it comes to the Worldkillers and I love the fact that she’s trying a new approach to defeat them at last. As to how exactly she will bring out the best in these villains has yet to be seen, but hopefully she and her friends at the DEO can bring it out of both Reign and Purity before they find the third Worldkiller. Either way, this was a solid episode through and through, and really, it’s the first time we’ve seen legitimate hope in this storyline and I’m definitely curious to see where it all goes from here. Until next time. 

I think it’s safe to assume, that I’m not the only fan of Star Trek: Discovery that was bracing themselves shortly before last night’s episode. Because let’s be honest, last week’s tale ended in grim and foreboding fashion and when this show goes dark, it goes dark, meaning that it made sense for this week’s story, ‘The War Without, The War Within’ to take us to some supremely bleak places and well, this one ended up being quite the pleasant surprise. Because while it did indeed drag us through the proverbial mud, it also managed to set the stage for Burnham’s redemption.
 
But, before we get too deep into that, let’s dig into the tough stuff, since two key things happened in this episode when it comes to the war, the first being that in this tale we learned that the Klingons haven’t won the war just yet, but they are damn close to doing so. It turns out, that in the nine months that Discovery has been missing, the Klingons have resorted to the wholesale slaughter of the Federation, using their cloaking devices to aid in suicide missions on Starfleet bases, which has helped to decimate a third of the fleet and it’s allowed for the Empire seize another twenty percent of Federation Space and well, that kind of aggressive action has brought the Federation to its knees.
 
That means that Starfleet is desperate to save what’s left of the Federation and that’s where the second key element comes into play. Because in essence, Starfleet seems ready to abandon the principles that founded the United Federation of Planets since much of this episode dealt with some behind the scenes deal making between Sarek, Emperor Georgiou and Admiral Cornwell so that the Federation could finally enjoy a victory against the Klingon Empire and well, while on the surface it seems as though the plan devised in this story is a simple one designed to get the Empire’s attention, I couldn’t help but notice that the audience is more or less in Burnham’s shoes when it comes to this plan, in that something far more ominous is coming together in the shadows and it’s likely something that none of us will approve of.

​But since we cannot discuss what that might be without more information in hand, it’s time we move on to Burnham’s journey in this tale because this is the episode that served as Michael’s reckoning. Because every decision she’s made this season came around full circle and honestly, it was quite surprising to see people straight up call her out for her actions and the past that she refuses to step away from. Georgiou pointed all of this out first and it was further reinforced by way of a verbal lashing from Ash later on in the episode and you know what? They’re right to put her on notice. Because in reality, while Burnham has been bold this season and done some good things, she has yet to deal with her actions or her past, and I think this is a brilliant stroke of storytelling.
 
Because there’s a realism that comes with adding that kind of twist since so many of us deal with trauma and pain in similar fashion. We push ahead as we need to, we process the parts we can handle, and the rest gets buried for another time and the beauty of a story like this, is that Burnham can hide no longer from her pain and her past and now more than ever, she’s going to have to deal with all of it. Because if she stands on the sidelines this time around, horrible things are going to play out since we all know that Mirror Georgiou is likely playing one hell of a long con to get what she wants and the Federation now stands on the precipice of sliding into incredibly dangerous territory.
 
In the end however, this was simply a fascinating episode through and through. We’ve never seen the Federation reeling quite like this in the franchise’s storied history but it was wonderful to see the series resurrect a quality character study during a time of war, something we saw during Deep Space Nine’s run because both of these issues have to be resolved, and both go hand in hand and it should be fascinating to see what Burnham does next to put her past to rest and to save the Federation from extinction. Either way, kudos to Discovery for trying something different with its penultimate episode and hopefully this grand setup pays off in spades when we get to next week’s season one finale. Until then. 

When it comes to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., I think it is safe to assume that there are two things that the fans of this show have been waiting for with baited breath when it comes to season five. First and foremost, everyone wants to see Kasius get his just desserts and second, everyone is dying to know exactly what caused Planet Earth to shatter like an egg and as it turns out, last night’s episode of the show, ‘Past Life’, not only managed to bring us to closer to the answer of that all-important mystery, but it also delivered the goods by finally allowing for us to bear witness to Kasius getting exactly what he deserves.
 
Yet, while all of that sounds cheerful and triumphant, this episode actually accomplished all of those wonderful things in the darkest of fashion. Because this episode set the stage for some dark days ahead for our intrepid agents. But before we get too deep into what exactly made this particular tale so incredibly bleak, let’s talk about the most satisfying moment of the night…the fall of Kasius, and as it turns out, a grand showdown with this Smurf-looking punk was wholly unnecessary when all is said and done, because all it took to bring down Kasius was for him to discover the body of his beloved Sinara.
 
In fact, finding her body, still impaled aboard Zephyr One, was enough to completely and utterly break him, to the point where he was unable to put together a plan or a coherent thought when it came to defeating Coulson and the gang. Instead he gave in to fury and imbibed a Kree super potion to give him the fire and strength necessary to take down as many of the Agents as possible and thanks to Mack’s sheer brute force, and Jemma’s quick thinking, we finally saw this awful, awful creature pass into the great beyond and well…that was definitely one satisfying moment to have play out on screen, considering how many disgusting things this man has done.
 
However, I did make mention of the fact that this particular tale was extremely dark and what made it that way, was the appearance of an alternate Elena, one that was killed and resurrected time and time again by Kasius to learn more about the situation we are currently experiencing alongside the team, and what she had to say, was downright terrifying. First and foremost, she let us in on the fact that the team has in essence been caught in a temporal causality loop wherein they fail to save the world time and time again and apparently, their folly, is that at some point along the line they will try and save Phil Coulson’s life, whom our Elena learned, is already dying…
 
So yeah, that’s how this one ends, with a pyrrhic victory. Sure, it’s great that the team defeated Kasius and is finally headed home, but their leader is dying, and Enoch and Deke didn’t make the trip because they sacrificed their lives to make sure Coulson and the gang make it back safely and just…wow. It’s so rare to see a win of this magnitude be this costly or this ominous and it truly raises more questions than answers and to top it all off, we won’t be getting the resolution to said questions, for at least a month since the show is now on a tiny break. Either way, this was quite the episode when all is said and done, and kudos to the Writer’s Room for being bold, and upping the stakes because I am already counting down the minutes until the show returns. Until next time. 

Life is truly difficult, when we are without purpose or direction. Because those two things are what drive a human being to be more and to do more and when they disappear from our day to day functions, we simply become listless and lost and wouldn’t you know it…that’s precisely what’s happening to just about every single character on Beyond right now. Because ironically enough, the fight against Hollow Sky united everyone and gave them something to drive for and now that Frost is gone and the company is mired in defeat, things are starting to fall to pieces for everyone involved.
 
In fact, that’s really all that last night’s episode of the show focused upon, making ‘Knock, Knock’ an uncomfortable hour of television as we watched this group of incredible people struggle to get through the day. Heck, it’s so bad at this point that even the bad guys are starting to fight amongst themselves, as was evidenced by Yellow Jacket’s storyline last night, since he was summoned to his mentor’s home to be effectively snuffed out since Shoemacher put two and two together in regards to her robbery, forcing YJ to fight for his life and while he emerged victorious, I honestly feel as though he got off easy in this episode.
 
Because there were more tough moments to be found in this tale. Case in point, Luke, who followed through on his promise to help Riley and in doing so, found himself in quite the predicament since the scum bag she pointed him toward caught Luke in the act while he was trying to steal some goodies and now he’s in for a lot of money to this dude, otherwise he’ll be facing some physical harm and he wasn’t alone in finding some suffering since Willa is starting to see the harsh realities of caring for an ailing Arthur since her grandfather is struggling with his machine still being down, to the point where he’s confused and agitated and willing to get arrested in order to find the pieces of the puzzle to fixing it and well, his focus on the Realm and nothing more is starting to break her down.
 
But of course, the highlight of the night was Holden’s journey, because he too is a man without purpose, and after destroying the hanger to the tune of a half of a million dollars, he makes the tough decision to quit his job to try and find his own way and to make matters worse his relationship with Willa is strained to the point where they’re becoming frosty toward one another. But, there was some light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to his storyline, simply because it seems as though Holden is starting to truly ponder upon making use of his powers to better the world, and I wonder if his brother’s predicament will be what gets his superhero side back into the fold.
 
In the end however, this really was an episode filled to the brim with emotional chaos. Heck, even Charlie is having issues left and right and she’s always in a solid place, and I get the funny feeling her reunion with Holden may only complicate matters for her further. Either way, I’m kind of digging the fact that season two is really bringing the characters to their knees before vaulting the plot forward, it adds a level of depth this show has never had before. Either way, things are likely going to get tougher before they get better and really at this point, I’m just curious to see if it will be something close to home that helps Holden transform into a hero, or something far greater, like dear Diego. Only time will tell…

The debate over what precisely makes a television show, a book or a motion picture worth our while will likely never end. But I do believe that we can all agree on one thing, in that, the mark of a quality story from any of those particular mediums is that it has to move you on a fundamental level. You simply have to feel something when you immerse yourself in the story and when it comes to the Paramount Network’s brand-new miniseries, Waco, that all important milestone came to fruition during last night’s episode.
 
Because, ‘The Strangers Across the Street’ took us deep within the Branch Davidian compound, to give us an inside look into their daily lives and well, that kind of perspective ended up making me incredibly uncomfortable, due to the fact that everywhere we turned, something fanatical and disturbing played out on the screen, and what set this grand reveal in motion, was the fact that David and his followers, were quite curious as to who exactly moved in across the way, and that curiosity, kicked off a cat and mouse game wherein both sides tried to figure out one another and once David’s group caught wind of the fact that their new neighbors were Federal Agents, things went into that uncomfortable territory.
 
After all, life inside Mount Carmel is one dedicated to a recreation of God’s Law and some of David’s visions and revelations in relation to that, have pushed him to perform actions that are illegal to everyday folks, such as having multiple wives and underage ones at that, and while taking the time to explore the fact that such things happened within the compound is enough to make one uncomfortable, the show took it one step further, by outright examining the impact of David’s actions since we were privy to a short but powerful moment between Rachel Koresh and her little sister Michelle, David’s underage wife, where Michelle spoke to her concerns about her lack of a choice in marrying David, a conversation that underscored just how much control he has over his followers.
 
But the show wasn’t quite done yet with making us squirm in our seats because this story also took the time to fully explore just how manipulative David can be, something we only got a taste of in the first episode and wow…his ability to read people and bring them along to his way of thinking is downright chilling and all of this came about by way of his interaction with ATF Agent Robert Rodriguez, who went by the alias Jacob Vazquez in this tale. Because no matter how well Robert covered his tracks and deflected when it came to his mission and his identity, David saw right through it and to top it off, he recognized Robert’s pain and brought it to the surface and had it not been for a botched newspaper article pushing up the timetable on the ATF’s raid, one has to wonder if David would have converted him into a member of his congregation, because he was clearly breaking Robert down.
 
In the end however, I was thoroughly impressed with this episode. In part due to the fact that it made me want to turn away when seeing what life inside Mount Carmel was really like, but also because, for a transitional episode, this ended up being one compelling and intense story. I attribute a lot of that to Taylor Kitsch and John Leguizamo’s performances in this tale, because both of these actors were at the top of their game and the back and forth between them was breathtaking and tense and well, it looks like our learning experience is about to come to an end because the siege is about to begin and perhaps the final parting gift when it comes to this episode, is that it also filled me with dread, since I am fully aware of the fact that some seriously dark storytelling awaits us in the weeks to come. Until next time. 

Whether we like to admit it or not, sometimes our favorite television shows become a tad predictable after they’ve been on the air for a few years. That’s largely in part due to the fact that formulas work, and sometimes it’s the best way to tell a transitional story when the powers that be want to give the audience a break from the overall story arc, and if there is one show that has used a predictable formula in successful fashion time and time again, it would have to be The X-Files, by way of the show’s ‘Monster the Week’ storylines. 
 
You know which ones I’m talking about, wherein Mulder and Scully head off to some exotic or out of the way place to investigate some freakish being from the depths of our nightmares and we are treated to a story that resembles our favorite horror movies before our intrepid agents move on to their next case and last night’s episode, ‘Ghouli’, seemed as though it was going to follow that prototypical mold since Mulder and Scully were dispatched to investigate a pair of teenage girls who tried to kill one another all in the hopes of saving themselves from the monster that shared the namesake of this tale, but it ended up being so much more.
 
Because it didn’t take long for our dynamic duo to discover that these two girls, who didn’t know one another in the slightest, shared a common thread, a boyfriend named Jackson Van De Kamp and a courtesy visit to Jackson’s home is where this episode took quite the left turn. Because the arrival of Mulder and Scully revealed that the Department of Defense was looking to clean up anyone involved in something known as Project Crossroads, which turned out to be the experiment that helped the Cigarette Smoking Man create Scully’s son, William, and while that alone could have served as the most interesting part of this episode, this tale had an even bigger surprise up its sleeve.
 
The twist in question? The fact that Jackson was not Jackson, he was William, and we learned over the course of the hour that Scully’s son has some incredible powers, in that he can influence people with his mind and thanks to his powers, he and Scully inadvertently shared the vision of the end of the world that wrapped up season ten and his control of his newfound gifts is becoming so strong, that he was able to influence his girlfriends to see only Ghouli when they took the time to attack one another and well, this revelation and the time we spent with William made this episode far more heartfelt and intimate than one might expect.
 
Much of that comes courtesy of one particular moment in this tale, wherein Scully was able to say everything she ever wanted to say to her son, and this was, quite frankly, the highlight of the night thanks to Gillian Anderson’s incredible performance in that moment. But really, when all is said and done, this was quite the quality episode. It truly put a spin on the formula this show has made use of time and time again, and more importantly, Scully finally met her son and it’s wonderful to know that he’s safe for the time being, and it was just awesome to see The X-Files show off a little bit of heart for a change. Until next time.  

​Be careful what you wish for. That’s a phrase that keeps running through my mind over and over again when I think of last night’s episode of The Librarians and there’s good reason for that. Because for some time now, I’ve been desperate to see the series resolve the whole matter of the One True Librarian. I’ve written it about it endlessly in these recaps, discussed it at length with some of my fellow fans of this wonderful show and last night’s tale, ‘And the Trial of the One’ finally brought the matter to the forefront and well…I should have been careful of what I wished for. Because while the show did finally bring this whole matter to a head, it did it in the most devastating of fashion.
 
In fact, from the get go, there was a different feel to this particular tale since it featured a powerful sense of urgency and there was good reason for that. Because last night we learned that the Tethering Ceremony never took place, putting the Library on a dangerous path that would remove it from our world within the next twenty four hours and that led to a desperation move from the group, one that activated the Trial of the One and pitted best friends against one another in a deadly game of life or death where their greatest fears were on display and well, while that alone would have been more than enough to fill an entire hour, this harrowing sequence was merely the warm up for things to come.
 
Because Colonel Baird found a way to outsmart the Library and save everyone within it from this awful, awful ritual and just when it seemed that teamwork and unity would save the day, the Library made good on its promise to make them pay for disobedience, by mortally wounding Jenkins. Yes, that’s right. The series finally did what we all thought was the impossible, and bid farewell to an important series lead and in utterly heartbreaking fashion, we were forced to say goodbye to the always incredible Jenkins and while it was tear jerking, in fact, I’m misting up just thinking about that ugly moment, at least he went out in beautiful fashion and while that should have been sufficient punishment for the audience to endure, there was still more waiting in the wings for us.

​After all, every person out there has their breaking point, when they can simply take no more, and seeing Jenkins die before their very eyes was more than the Librarians could handle. After years of dedication and devotion to the Library, its decision to cause harm in this fashion pushed them all to turn in their resignations and just like that…our heroes were gone and that’s when the biggest twist of the night arrived, in that, this was all part of a master plan, one orchestrated by Nicole to destroy the Library and wouldn’t you know it, her plan was a rousing success. The Library faded into the great beyond and Eve was left standing in a parking lot in a world that doesn’t seem quite right, and that’s where the series will pick up next week, while in the meantime, the audience is left picking up the pieces to their broken hearts.
 
However, all emotional pain aside, credit is due when it comes to this series for delivering one of hell of a twist and one hell of an episode. Because, we’ve all been surprised that this season has gone this long without a big bad to guide the story along, but as it turns out, there’s been one waiting in the shadows this whole time and quite frankly…Nicole is hands down the deadliest foe the Librarians have ever faced. Because not only did she manage to defeat a Knight of the Round Table, she chased every single Librarian away and she brought the Library down and it’s damn impressive that the Writer’s Room was able to keep her true machinations a secret for this long and that she was able to accomplish all of this without a single spell.
 
But, what I am most impressed with when it comes to this episode, is the fact that it brought the thematic concepts of fear and doubt, and their respective power, full circle in this tale. Because that is in fact what defeated the Library in the end and really, at this point, we are entering undiscovered country when it comes to this series and that’s downright incredible. Because for the first time ever, we honestly don’t know if the Librarians will be able to save the day. Their support network has passed into the great beyond, the Library itself has disappeared and well, where we go from here is anyone’s guess, and all we can do at this point is hope. Hope that Eve figures out a way to unite this powerful group of friends, and that they can overcome their fears and their doubts to set the world right once again. Either way, the stakes have never been higher for this show, and despite the fact that I am still reeling from the twists and turns and heartbreak in this one, I’ll be front and center for the season four finale next week, simply because I have to know how this incredible story will come to its end. Until next time.