We all have our lucky numbers, those all-important digits that we hope bring us some measure of good fortune or success, and while they don’t always bring us what we hope for, we hang on to them none the less because hey, you never know. But, in some circles, there are indeed numbers that signify success through and through and in the television industry, that number is 100. Because in T.V. land, when a television series reaches 100 episodes, that’s considered to be quite the milestone. It means that a particular show has beaten the odds in a business where shows come and go, and wouldn’t you know it, last night Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. reached that incredible milestone.
 
Yes, that’s right, a tale focused on the adventures of Phil Coulson and his friends and surrogate family finally reached this momentous occasion and as I settled in to watch the big one-hundy, I was curious as to how exactly ‘The Real Deal’ would celebrate and honor the rich and powerful moments that this series has brought forth over the past five and half years and in unexpected fashion, this particular tale pulled off such a feat by going to some deeply emotional and philosophical places. And the catalyst for all of that was to force the audience and what’s left of the team to face the fact that Phil Coulson is indeed dying thanks to his deal with the Ghost Rider.
 
That admission allowed for the team to speak their minds on what Phil means to them and how hard it will be for them live without a man that has meant so much to them and my goodness, these gentle moments featured some of the finest acting this show has ever seen and in all honestly, the scene between Daisy and Phil is one that sticks out the most in my mind when it comes to that because the performances that Chloe Bennet and Clark Gregg delivered brought tears to my eyes to say the least. But, rather than spend a full hour saying goodbye to Phil, there was a mission to accomplish. Because the explosion that happened at the end of last week, caused a rift that was unleashing creatures from another dimension that preyed upon everyone’s fears and with Phil facing the end, he volunteered to be the one to close said rift.

This is where the series paid tribute to its history and brought forth some philosophical moments as well, simply because Phil was forced to face his fear of death, and ponder upon what his life and his legacy and it was quite the incredible treat to see the series focus on something such as this, because it’s just so rare to see in comic book related stories and I think it’s incredible that they took the time to do so since it added some powerful gravity to Phil’s situation. However, regardless of the power of that moment, there was still a day to save and thanks to an awesome surprise cameo from Deathlok, Phil accomplished his goal and it was super cool to see the show provide quality flashbacks and other cameos in this segment of the story as well.
 
Yet, while this one could have ended on an incredibly somber note, it instead found a way to celebrate life in beautiful fashion by giving the fans something I think we’ve all been waiting for since the beginning of the series, Jemma and Leopold’s wedding and this was just a lovely way to end the episode because…it’s about freaking time these two tied the damn knot. However, in classic S.H.I.E.L.D. fashion, there was one last surprise waiting for us at the end of this one, in that, it was revealed that Deke actually has some important ties to this group of heroes after all, since an investigation by General Hale revealed that his genetic makeup features markers from both Fitz and Simmons, making the man family and forcing our minds to toy with the notion as to whether or not the team can save the world after all…
 
Because Deke’s presence at the wedding, and his delivery of a ring that will be passed down for generations, lends credence to the theory that they’re stuck in a temporal causality loop. But, while time will tell on that matter, in the here and the now, what a great episode this turned out to be. I honestly think that this one will be looked upon as one of the finest the series ever had to offer, and it served as a wonderful reminder as to why we love this show so much; it’s incredible characters. They’re the reason we’ve tuned in for five wonderful years, the epic stories they experience, have just been a bonus. Either way, it really has been one hell of a ride when it comes to this show, and I cannot wait to see what other incredible moments and epic surprises await us from here on out. Until next time.    

​You know, I truly have to tip my hat to Freeform’s Beyond for one simple reason, the fact that this series has mastered the art of the slow burn in every single way imaginable. It was already evident that the show knows how to properly simmer a story as is, but last night’s episode, ‘I Scream, You Scream’, demonstrated that the series is also learning how to gently bring up the heat when it comes to tense plot lines, because this particular tale was tough to sit through in all the right ways. 
 
Because this episode took its time when it came to fleshing out some powerful moments and that allowed for this story to become an edge of your seat affair and really, one such example of this that sticks out in my mind, is the whole mess involving Hollow Sky. Because really, the show took its time in pointing out that the walls are beginning to close in on this awful, awful organization and really what kicked off their troubles in this tale is that Luke went to the FBI and told them everything he knows, setting off some red flags, which meant that one particular party, Pastor Ian, needed to be dealt with to keep their secrets safe, and Yellow Jacket handled that the only way he knows how… 
 
But, while the FBI plot line was fascinating in its own right and yielded a surprise we will get to at the end, the larger focus of this episode, was Holden’s plan to rescue Edgar, something that needed to be handled in delicate fashion. Because in order to get him out, Holden, Charlie and Jeff had to get past the legions of guards in the hospital keeping him hostage, and to complicate matters, Edgar had been moved into the freezer to prevent him from starting any more fires. But, thanks to Charlie’s observation skills and Jeff’s sheer brute force, the trio were finally able to rescue their new friend and learn more about the mysterious freezer in that, only Holden can make use of it to save all of mankind from the horrors that have crossed over from the Realm.
 
Speaking of those horrors, they are what capped off this tale in impressive fashion because our worst fears and suspicions about the missing cryo-patients from Hollow Sky came true last night. Every last one of those wealthy donors had their souls if you will, replaced by those beings from beyond and they broke out of their freezing chambers for one reason and one reason alone; to unite and form a powerful army and the only missing piece when it comes to their militia of doom is Diego and in a chilling sequence of events, these beings stormed the Sheriff’s office, and set Diego free at last.
 
Yet, while this episode answered a few important questions and set up one hell of a showdown between good versus evil, it also left a few unsettling issues hanging. For example, what is Luke’s end game going forward since he shows such disdain for the Realm and everything going on, and let’s not forget the fact that Agent Borden suddenly doesn’t seem as absent minded as previously thought since she in essence disavowed any knowledge of Luke despite you know, meeting with him, leaving me to wonder exactly what she’s up to. Either way, this was a fun episode and if this is the kind of tension we can expect going forward, then I welcome it. Because this slow build is paying off in spades, and is likely leading us toward quite the explosive season two finale…

​It’s always a wonderful moment when you realize that everything that’s been introduced in one of your favorite television shows, is starting to come together. It means that a grand plan was put together from the get go, one that will reward the audience for their time and their patience and it just so happens, that last night’s episode of Designated Survivor, ‘The Final Frontier’, brought forth that storytelling epiphany since this particular tale started to blend together everything that season two has brought forth thus far.
 
And, as an added bonus to that little treat, for the first time, in a long time, there was a grand conspiracy at the fore front of the story, by way of a hack that disabled the International Space Station and NASA and Roscosmos as well, putting Hannah on the case, with Damian’s help because he had information on said hack, and who might be responsible for it. This led them on the quite the chase around town until they were finally able to find a proper lead on the hack and its code, and while they weren’t able to bring in the people responsible, they were able to get the fix for this mess to the White House so that the Station could be fixed and resupplied before the situation became grim in space.
 
However, that turned out to be quite the difficult task, since the Russians were not exactly cooperative. They wanted to avoid having any American engineer take a peek at their code and their designs, which meant that Kirkman had to bring in his diplomatic big gun, Cornelius Moss, in order to pick his brain on how to resolve this mess, before eventually letting Moss help out in the matter and that’s when the episode dropped quite the bombshell in our lap. Because Moss cut a deal when it comes to the Icarus investigation without the President’s permission in order to save lives and well, such a move did not sit well with Kirkman.
 
In fact, it led to quite the confrontation between Cornelius and Tom wherein Moss flat out called the President to the carpet in regard to his inaction and indecisiveness over the past few weeks, and while Moss’ intentions were noble, Tom saw it as insubordination through and through, and asked Cornelius for his resignation and well, this was shocking to say the least. It goes to show that Tom really isn’t one hundred percent ready to sit in the chair, and he’s pushing himself harder than he needs to and that may lead to trouble in the weeks to come, if not sooner seeing as to how the video of his conversation with the man who killed his wife found its way onto the internet.
 
So, that’s what we are left with at the end of this episode, a President in crisis since he’s clearly struggling with his duties as Commander-in-chief, and now, new threats are coming to the surface and really, when all is said and done, I love that everything is finally starting to come together. After all, everything in regard to Damian’s double-crossing ways was revealed in this tale and while he isn’t telling us everything just yet, one has to wonder if Patrick Lloyd somehow played a part in this as well, and really, everything will now revolve around Alex’s death going forward, because if Tom cannot get over that pain…well then disaster will surely follow. Until next time.

​If there’s one thing that can be said about The X-Files, it’s that when the show decides to go dark, it really goes dark, and it always seems to bring us the bleakest of episodes when it indulges itself in the horror genre. If anything, it seems that this particular genre inspires the Writer’s Room to simply let loose and see just how far a story can go and that kind of carefree and terrifying style of storytelling was on display in last night’s episode, ‘Familiar’.
 
This particular tale brought Mulder and Scully to the town of Eastwood, Connecticut to investigate the death of a child who just so happened to the son of a law enforcement officer in this tiny little berg and well, what these two uncovered was the stuff of nightmares and while the plot was fascinating and intriguing in its own right, what made this episode so incredibly memorable is the sheer fact that it held little back in its exploration of how far people are willing to go to find a sense of justice.
 
Because once it was discovered by the father of the slain child that a convicted sex offender lived in his town and fit the profile put forth by Agent Scully, all bets were off in this story and it while it was chilling enough to watch a peace officer bust down the door of this man’s home in the hopes of putting of a bullet in his head, nothing compared to the mob mentality that came about when the offender in question returned home and well, seeing this man take a beating from both police and citizen alike served as a fine reminder that man is often times the most frightening monster of all and this entire sequence of events, and how the officer in question became judge, jury and executioner, was supremely uncomfortable to watch.
 
Yet, the show had a few other surprises waiting for us up its sleeve. Because the real culprit behind this whole mess was in fact, Witchcraft, as Mulder posed early on in the tale and well, the creatures that were conjured up by an ancient spell definitely sent chills down my spine since they only had one thing on their minds, blood, and the horror elements present here served as a wonderful throwback to all the other horror themed episodes this wonderful series has featured throughout the years and the outlandish beliefs of the town and the need for its people to remain ‘pure’ served as a wonderful homage to the many small town horror movies of the 1970’s. 
 
When all is said and done however, this really was a damn good episode. I have to admit that I squirmed in my seat more times than I care to count and I really appreciate the fact that this story wasted no time in scaring the living daylights out of us, and that it didn’t let up for the rest of the hour. It simply made for an incredible experience and it really was nice to see the series continue to snap free of the mythology this season and pay tribute to its horror roots. But with only two episodes left before this magnificent season comes to an end, I’m left to wonder after this one, does the series have another stand-alone story waiting in the wings for us? Or is the grand conspiracy about to return? Looks like we will find out next week, until then.

One of the many reasons that the CW’s newest superhero offering, Black Lightning, continues to be such a unique television show, is the sheer fact that it doesn’t matter what path this show takes storytelling wise, it’s always going to find a way to surprise us and deliver something unique and refreshing when it comes to the superhero genre and I make mention of that, because in the past few weeks this show has featured a return to far more traditional fare, making it seem as though this saga’s deconstruction of said genre was coming to a close, but thankfully last night’s episode proved otherwise.
 
Because ‘Equinox: The Book of Fate’ once again took the tropes and clichés that we have come to expect from superhero stories and turned them upside down, and this time it accomplished that by way of Anissa and her journey in this tale. Because normally on a show such as this, when someone is discovered to have powers, they are immediately drafted into the cause in question and trained how to use their powers and how to be the model hero and well, that simply didn’t happen right away in this particular tale. Instead of embracing their daughter’s potential, Jefferson and Lynn saw her newfound gifts as a solid reason to steer her clear from a life of fighting crime.
 
Lynn was hoping for her daughter to avoid the superhero lifestyle so that she wouldn’t rob herself of a normal life and Jefferson, well his reasoning for keeping Anissa out of the fold was far more fascinating. Because in a roundabout manner, Jefferson more or less admitted to his daughter late in the episode that he seemed to view himself as a bit of a failure when it comes to being a hero since he’s seen people die on his watch and because he has yet to bring down his nemesis and well, that was just surprising to see through and through since we rarely see a superhero reflect upon their wins and losses, and I love that the series took the time to show us Jefferson’s struggle with the darker side to heroism and that he expects his daughter to be better than him because in the end, he did agree to train her.
 
However, sandwiched in between that wonderful little twist, there were still plenty of other goodies to be found. Like the fact that Gambi continues to play both sides to keep the peace since he took out Joey Toledo in this tale, and this episode also featured some serious escalation on Tobias’ part since he finally decided it was high time to take control of the crime syndicate in Freeland, and thanks to a little inspiration from his sister, they were able to finally put Lady Eve down in brutal fashion…and make it look like Black Lightning was the man responsible for her murder, and that will likely complicate matters for our conflicted hero in the days to come…
 
When all is said and done however, I really loved this episode. It was just refreshing to see a superhero caution another one of their own about the life they are about to choose, and that serves as a fine reminder that being a hero isn’t all fun and games, it’s a decision that can come with some heavy consequences since not everyone sees things your way and I also love the fact that Tobias is becoming more lethal in every single episode and with his sister gone now, and his enemy perfectly framed, I get the funny feeling the remainder of season one of this magnificent show is going to blow us away with some powerful storytelling. Until next time.  

​There’s a certain level of comfort that comes with watching superhero shows in that, we rarely get an unhappy ending. Our heroes know how to save the day through and through and it’s really become the status quo on these shows. But once in a great while, they suffer some serious setbacks in their mission, or nearly fail in their role and oddly enough, last night’s episode of The Flash, gave us an hour of storytelling wherein, Barry came incredibly close to failure for a change.
 
That little twist made ‘Enter Flashtime’ quite the unique episode to say the least. Because not only was it a far more intimate and emotional affair than we are used to when it comes to this show, it also changed up its storytelling style by giving us a tale that was free of Clifford DeVoe. Yet, it was still filled to the brim with harrowing moments because in this story, Team Flash was forced to investigate an attack on an ARGUS convoy and shortly after arriving to put the bad guys in jail, a terrible surprise was revealed to Barry in that…the cargo container in this convoy was carrying a nuke, and our villain in question, had just pushed the big red button.
 
This forced Barry to slide into hyper speed mode, or Flashtime as it shall be known going forward, in order to figure out how to potentially stop this bomb from going off and he definitely pulled out all the stops to prevent Central City’s destruction. He tried making use of Cisco and Killer Frost’s powers, to no avail, because they needed time to flow normally in order to do their thing, and he even recruited Jesse and Jay to help him out. But eventually, they too were unable to help dear Barry in his quest to save the day because they simply could not maintain that kind of speed for such a prolonged amount of time. 
 
Which quite frankly, left the story completely without hope. The explosion was growing moment by moment, Barry was wearing down and his only solid idea, to throw the bomb into the Speed Force, would likely cause more harm than good. But a moment of inspiration from Iris as Barry attempted to say goodbye and apologize for failing the team gave The Flash a fighting chance and a last minute jaunt into the Speed Force to retrieve the device that rescued him from it in the first place, so that lightning would zap the bomb and reverse the fission process, proved to be successful and once again, an exhausted Flash managed to save the day.
 
If anything, it was nice to see the show shake things up a little bit and put Barry in a tough place for a change and really, this episode handled one hell of a mess in magnificent fashion. You really saw the hope drain out of Barry’s eyes as the seconds and minutes progressed and for a moment there, it truly seemed like there was no stopping this bomb and really, this is how filler episodes should be when it comes to shows like this. Because not only was this a welcome break from the Thinker’s nonstop onslaught, this was an edge your seat affair and it still told a complete story and I really hope I see more thrilling transitional episode like this, as season four of The Flash rolls on. Until next time.

I have to admit, that I’m starting to struggle mightily with the back half of season three of Battlestar Galactica because it’s just so wildly inconsistent. At times it’s delivering the sheer brilliance that I’ve come to expect from this show, yet at other times the stories are about as messy as they can get and my frustration with the up and down nature of this stretch in the story only continued with the next episode in this storied saga, ‘The Woman King’.
 
However, my frustration here doesn’t stem from the quality of the episode, because actually, there’s a lot to like about this tale. It’s intimate, it features a fascinating plot wherein Helo must unravel a murder mystery wrapped in discrimination and while that alone is indeed intriguing enough, the story throws in a magnificent twist that’s supremely and unexpectedly relevant to the times since we learn that the people of Sagittaron have rejected modern medicine and would prefer to not be treated upon their arrival aboard Galactica.
 
I say that’s unexpected and relevant simply because it turned out be a prophetic twist since in our modern-day world there is quite the issue brewing with the anti-vaccination movement and this surprise tie-in to everyday life definitely invested me in the story. As did the acting for that matter since Bruce Davison plays the villainous Doctor Michael Robert and he brings a raw honesty to the role that makes him terrifying to watch in some scenes and Tahmoh Penikett holds his ground against this veteran actor by bringing a nobility to Helo in this tale since his dedication to his convictions eventually out the good doctor as the deranged murderer that he is.
 
Which brings me back to my frustration with this episode, because…it simply doesn’t belong when it comes to the current story arc. The fleet is so close to finding a big clue as to the whereabouts to Earth, the Final Five Cylons loom large over the story and frakin’ Gaius Baltar is in custody and preparing to stand trial and this…this is the story we decide to focus upon? It’s just disappointing to see a story that quite frankly would have stood out in season two of the saga, get buried in the midst of something bigger, and really, that’s what I’m hungry for more of here, the bigger story and resolution of the plot points I just made mention of.
 
If anything, this just serves as a fine reminder that putting together a twenty-episode season is a difficult ordeal and, in all honesty, I really wish that the opportunity arose for these episodes to find their way into an earlier section of season three, say, after the Battle of New Caprica so that the back half of this season would have left us all breathless. But, what’s done is done and it’s time to push ahead through a few more slower stories before we arrive at the utterly magnificent season three finale. Until next time.

​Over the past few weeks, we’ve experienced absolute wonders when it comes to Planet Earth: Blue Planet II. We’ve been to the depths of the oceans to see what kind of creatures live within the darkness. We’ve been below the ice of Antarctica and seen life thrive in the freezing cold waters, and on the opposite side of that, we’ve visited the bustling communities of the coral reefs that hum about beneath the waves of warm water. Yet, of the many complexities we have explored in this world within our world, there’s one remaining element that the show has yet to fully explore in detail, mankind’s impact on these delicate eco systems.
 
Granted, it’s touched upon our impact in prior episodes, but last night’s finale of this stunning saga dug deep into mankind’s relationship with the oceans and well, it made ‘Our Blue Planet’ a tough episode to watch. Because this particular tale did little to hold back on the impact our actions have upon the world and it opened my eyes to a great many things that we clearly need to do differently. For example, since we often think that we are the true masters of this planet, we tend to grab every resource for ourselves and ourselves alone. We’ve yet to truly ponder upon the possibility that there is enough for everyone, and as it turns out, with careful management there is and for proof, look no further than a Herring Fishery in Norway, where both whale and man alike have figured out how share a fish we both make use of to survive.
 
Sadly though, that wondrous place is not the norm when it comes to our world, meaning that a fair chunk of this story was dedicated to showing us how mankind is not in harmony with the ocean in the slightest. For example, we are just now learning that noise pollution from our travels above the water have an adverse effect on the creatures below since they use sound in their daily lives and some species use it to help them stay safe, making such matters difficult when a propeller is roaring above them, and to complicate matters, our inability to figure out and solve our waste problem is now having incredible influence on marine life as well. After all, there are albatross out there, that researchers are learning have plastics in their stomachs since they’re finding it in the ocean when they feed and baby dolphins are suffering as well because plastic unfortunately breaks down into micro plastics in the ocean, wherein they are consumed by plankton and then up the food chain and the poisonous nature of this particular type of plastic builds up in adult dolphins and may be transmitted to their young when they nurse from their mother.
 
However, it was not all gloom and doom in this tale, simply due to the fact that this episode was quick to point out, that humanity is fully capable of reversing the course on any damage done to our beautiful oceans and it demonstrated that by way of two magnificent tales. The first being that of the Sperm Whale, a species hunted to low numbers ages ago are now thriving once again thanks to the efforts of various nations and perhaps the most beautiful story of the night came from the Caribbean, where we learned that the Leatherback Turtle, a species whose numbers dwindled due to hunting, are surging once again thanks to the efforts of one man, Len Peters. He came to realize the sheer majesty of these creatures, which come to the shores to lay their eggs and he worked diligently with his community to preserve the lives of these turtles and well, his efforts just go to show the sheer difference than mankind can make when it comes together and works with a singular purpose.
 
If anything, what I appreciated most about this episode, is that it didn’t insult the audience or talk down to us when it comes to the man-made calamities that plague our oceans. It simply stated the facts and offered potential solutions and really, it is up to us to fix it and after watching this series, I’m definitely going to spend a little time learning what I can do differently in my life to help out this beautiful blue world and when all is said done, I cannot thank the people behind the scenes of this series enough. They have presented us with a marvelous look at our oceans, and I’ve learned so much from this seven-episode saga and I do hope that more documentaries such as this continue to surface because I firmly believe the world needs them now more than ever. Because, not only do they teach us wonderful things about this tiny world we are blessed to live upon but also because, I honestly do believe they truly inspire us to make our blue planet, a better place for all the creatures that inhabit it.

​Sometimes, the short breaks that a television show will take in the middle of their season, turn out be quite excruciating to the say least, because of the fact that the show in question has left us with some lingering questions or a cliffhanger that simply blew our minds. We simply have to know how this story is going to end and delaying it simply drives you mad and, in all honesty, that’s precisely how I feel about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. taking a month off after dropping an amazing cliffhanger in our laps.
 
After all, we simply had no clue who made it back to present day safely at the end of the last episode, but thankfully last night’s tale, ‘All the Comforts of Home’, answered that burning question quickly, in that, everyone made it back to 2018 just fine, and well, this episode actually gave our characters, and the audience, a moment to catch their breath for a change as the team once again acclimated to the world they briefly left behind. In fact, this story took things so slow, we were even introduced to General Hale’s daughter Ruby and we learned of her love of Quake and the show even took this opportunity to drop a little comic relief our way since Deke also made it back to our time and took full advantage of the creature comforts we all enjoy before getting thrown in jail for being stone cold drunk.
 
Which of course meant that Daisy had to save him, but that moment of levity was in fact, the last real joy we would experience in this episode. Because Coulson and the gang did have a world to save after all and well, one of the first clues of the trouble to come that they learned about in the future, was already on display. A beacon from above was blasting down upon St. Louis, but upon further investigation, Fitz and Simmons came to realize that this signal was in fact created by the same device used by Hive to contact the Kree, and it wasn’t receiving a signal, it was actually broadcasting one, prompting the team to head to St. Louis to figure this mess out and after running into an old friend in Piper, our intrepid Agents came to learn they had walked right into a trap.
 
Because shortly after shutting down the device, a strange being and its robotic assassins arrived to subdue and capture the team, revealing the fact that Piper betrayed her compatriots and struck a deal with General Hale to ensure her safety and well, despite Piper eventually going back on her deal with Hale to make sure her friends were safe, this entire operation ended in disaster. Because the mystery guest had quite the skill, in that they could toss bladed discs with flawless accuracy and in order to save Mack from being sliced and diced, Yo-Yo stepped in to save the day, and in the process, lost both of her arms, signaling what could be the beginning of the end for mankind since we saw Yo-yo in the same state in the future, and to make matters worse, we found out the mystery being in question is Hale’s daughter after all, and her hero worship of Daisy, appears to be nothing more than an unhealthy obsession…
 
If anything, this episode deserves some serious credit for being able to manipulate the audience so well. This truly seemed like a grand setup story for the back half of season five, but instead it turned out to be quite the harrowing experience and after watching this one, there’s a single moment that continues to stick out in my mind. Specifically, where Mack and Yo-Yo were discussing future Yo-Yo and whether or not she was telling the truth and suddenly, I’m starting to wonder if that’s going to come into play later on down the road, because what if saving Phil Coulson is what changes the future after all? I guess time will tell, but in the here and the now, there’s a sense of urgency hanging over this storyline and it’s hard to say how much time the team has left before all hell breaks loose on planet Earth. Until next time. 

​I have to admit, that I was counting down the minutes to this week’s episode of Beyond, simply due to the fact that I had a funny feeling in my gut after the end of last week’s tale. Because it really seemed as though the arrival of Diego signaled something bigger for the show, and that the plot was likely about to kick into overdrive and the anticipation that surged through me only grew stronger as I came to realize that my gut instincts were correct. Because last night’s episode, ‘Stir’, was an episode that moved the plot forward leaps and bounds.
 
Now, the first step this episode took in making that happen was by bringing together just about every single plot thread the series has introduced this year. After all, the whole mess with Pastor Ian has escalated to the point where the top brass at Hollow Sky are aware of it, and by top brass I mean Yellow Jacket, and he found his way back to Fort Reed to make sure that the company’s secrets are safe. But YJ’s visit went above and beyond a mere housekeeping matter, because let’s be honest, that’s a tad beneath his abilities. Instead his return to Holden’s home town also allowed for him to investigate a far more fascinating matter, the arrival of Diego.
 
Which brings us to the second element of the night that was downright fascinating, the grand reveal of why Diego is here. Because he and Holden had a little alone time after their battle since the police arrived to break it up and arrest Diego and well, our worst fears were definitely realized when these two came face to face. Because we learned that Holden did indeed accidentally release something evil within the Realm, and now that evil wants our world and the people that inhabit it to survive and the implication hung heavy over this episode, that Holden may not be able to do anything to save all of mankind from a disturbing and fiery fate.
 
But what impressed me the most about this episode, is the sheer fact that at long last, all the characters are full of life once again. I made mention of the fact a few weeks ago, that everyone seemed lost, and now that trouble has arrived, everyone is focused and ready to roll once again and for the first time in the brief history of the show, Holden was acting like a hero through and through. He challenged Charlie to let go of her fear and he stepped into the proverbial Lion’s Den with Jeff to learn more about the mysterious freezer from Edgar, and it was simply magnificent to see Holden finally embrace his role at long last and I’m looking forward to seeing him grow into it in the weeks to come.
 
If anything, this episode was packed to the gills with surprises through and through. Heck, we were even able to witness an impromptu showdown between Willa and Charlie, where they seemingly buried the hatchet, and I love the fact that Edgar has been playing the audience and his doctors the whole time and I get the funny feeling, that freezer of his, which supposedly can transport people to the Realm, is likely the key to ending this whole mess. Either way, this one was a blast through and through, and I’m certain things are only going to ramp up from here as we barrel toward the season two finale. Until next time.