Sometimes when you settle in to re-watch your favorite television shows, you find yourself treated to all kinds of unexpected surprises. You'll occasionally come across an episode that you find isn't quite as strong as you remember it being or, as was the case the other day when I settled in to watch the next entry in season two of Battlestar Galactica, you revisit an episode that you didn't care for much back in the day when you first saw it...only to change your stance on it because it is downright brilliant.

Because 'Sacrifice' is a dark and brooding story, one that seems to operate in utter chaos and it those elements that left me with a bad taste in my mouth originally, but upon further viewing, it is those elements that actually make this one an incredible and jaw dropping story that saw the exit of a series regular in heartbreaking fashion. Now in this particular tale, we meet Sesha Abinell, an everyday citizen and survivor in the fleet who recently saw her husband die at the hand of the Cylons and she decides that action is needed, action that the Admiral is unwilling to perform so she takes it upon herself to hold a group of hostages aboard Cloud Nine in order to get Adama to turn over Sharon Valerii, so she can be summarily executed. 

If anything, that sounds like a fairly by the numbers, one off plot, but upon second viewing it turned out to be anything but. Not only was this a tense and powerful story, but it also continued the whole theme that the series has been exploring in this back section of season two in regards to death and how we deal with it. Thus far in this arc we've seen Lee sink to the lowest levels possible, we've seen Kara begrudgingly accept death as an acceptable fate before choosing to fight it, and this go round...we were witness to  someone taking revenge in order to right the pain it causes by way of Sesha and she most certainly takes it to the extreme since Lee, Ellen, Billy and Dee are all caught up in her hostage crisis. 

But what made this episode so harrowing, is the fact that the Admiral, Colonel Tigh and the President are faced with the sheer horror that their loved ones and crew mates may need to die in order to keep more issues like this at bay and while it's clear they are resigned to the potential fates of those in question, they certainly don't like it and it eats at them the entire episode, and to make matters worse, this was the final appearance of Paul Campbell as Presidential Advisor Billy Keikeya because at the end of the hostage crisis, Billy is gunned down as he tries to do something heroic and well...at the time what upset me about this episode was the fact that his death seemed so unnecessary...as though he was mere fodder for Sesha's fury. But now with a few years under my belt, and a better understanding of what this show is trying to accomplish during this story arc...it works. It's sad. It's powerful and necessary since it fits this ugly story arc to a tee. 

Because truly the lesson here, is that revenge accomplishes nothing and harms more than expected and while that may seem like a no brainer to so many, sometimes people forget that all important lesson. Sadly though, that's that for Billy, and there are plenty of new wounds to tend to in the fleet since Kara nearly killed Lee by way of friendly fire and it's hard to say how hard the loss of Billy will hit President Roslin, not to mention Adama's bold decision to protect Sharon may backfire as well. Either way, what a powerful and wonderful episode and I am incredibly glad it was a far more engaging experience the second time around, and I know that the show isn't quite done exploring death just yet because 'The Captain's Hand' is next and I distinctly recall that this next story features plenty of loss and sorrow. Until next time. 

Like anything else in life, closure is both good and bad in so many ways. While we usually look at closure as the finale to a darker chapter of our life, allowing us to finally move forward and start anew, we often forget that there's a messy process to closure, where sometimes we learn things about the people we love that can hurt us badly and both sides of that proverbial coin was explored in great depth when it comes to last night's episode of American Gods.

As to how the show explored closure...well, as the old saying goes, we got the bad news first since this episode, 'The Secret of Spoons', picked up immediately where last week left off, with Shadow recovering from his physical wounds from the attack Technical Boy's thugs laid upon him before allowing him to deal with his emotional ones when he returned home to pack up his things and say goodbye and this sequence was downright heartbreaking to watch. Because seeing all the 'Welcome Home' decorations strewn about the house in his honor along with pictures of the happy couple, only increased the sting of last week's revelation as to how Laura Moon died, a fact that never left Shadow's mind and one that was hammered home when he bothered to snoop through her phone. 

However, with the house packed up, it was time to move on and get back to business with Mr. Wednesday and this is where the positive side of closure came into play because this forthcoming road trip to Chicago gave us a vastly different Shadow. We finally saw relief in this man, a sense of the unknown infecting his soul because he was in many ways free now, and on a new path that he doesn't completely understand, and he's okay with that, and his internal freedom and strength didn't go unnoticed because he did spend a little time chatting with the God known as Media since she too offered him a job, something he was quick to turn down, but really, Shadow's finest moment came about when he and Wednesday arrived in Chicago.

One of the many things that just so happens to make Doctor Who a wonderful and inspiring show is that in many ways, it is accessible to fans from all walks of life because the series manages to find a way to transcend just about any genre out there. If you're a fan of science fiction you already know you're in for a fun time. But if you love dramas, romance and everything in between, well the Doctor finds a way to deliver on those fronts as well.

In fact, there really isn't a genre out there that Doctor Who cannot integrate into the series and for proof, well look no further than last night's episode, 'Knock Knock', since it managed to bring a slice of horror into the Doctor and Bill's lives by way of a creepy landlord and his equally creepy house that Bill, her new friends/flatmates and the Doctor found themselves trapped within because as it turns out, the landlord of this place was luring people into becoming tenants here for years in order to feed them to said house so that their energy would sustain his ailing daughter, who also happened to be made out of wood.

If anything, there was a lot to like about throwing some horror into the mix for a change, but we will get to that in just a moment because one of the great standouts of this particular episode was the complex monster featured this week, because the weekly beings that are featured this year on the show...are so completely non traditional. They're not pure evil, they're not out to conquer all of mankind, they're simply misunderstood and caught up in strange circumstances, and this week's episode was no exception to that rule since the Dryads, as the Doctor called them, were mere interstellar insects that did the Landlord a favor by keeping his daughter (later revealed to be his mother) alive, it's the Landlord that took advantage of them and made them into something evil, and truly it's neat to see mankind become more of the issue as series ten progresses since they simply don't understand what they are dealing with when it comes to these creatures, and it's equally awesome to see the show give us alien life that wasn't born with malevolence in its heart.

As for the horror that was featured in this episode, well...that was just a pure treat. Everything about this story was a beautiful and wonderful throwback to horror stories of old and kudos are in order to the series for paying tribute to scares from around the globe. Not only did every single scene in the house evoke a feeling of classic Hammer horror films it also brought back fond memories of old Vincent Price movies such as House on Haunted Hill. But perhaps the biggest homage that stood out in my mind, was the episode's big time wink and nod to 1981's The Evil Dead by way of the moment when Felicity managed to escape the house, only to run into an awful fate in the trees that waited for her in the darkness. 

However, what truly stood out for me in this episode, is the continuing dynamic between the Doctor and Bill. They always seem to know what the other is thinking, and they always seem to know the right course of action and it's just magnificent to see the Doctor and his companion mesh this early into their voyages together. The awkward phase was quick and clean for these two and I'm equally appreciative of how much of the Doctor is rubbing off on Bill since she was equally as fearless as he was last night in uncovering the truth to the mystery surrounding the house and at this point, considering how well these two click on screen; I think it's safe to declare Peter Capaldi and Pearl Mackie as the finest Doctor and Companion duo of the modern Who era.

In the end however, it's clear this episode was simply about bringing the fun. We appear to have moved past the current grief that the Doctor has been carrying since last year and it was nice to see an Earth-bound adventure play out before our eyes. However, I don't think we've seen the last of the pain that the Doctor carries around in his two hearts. Despite the fact that this was a one off tale, the moment when Twelve glossed over regeneration and what it means for him and his kind strikes me as more pertinent than we might expect and clearly there's some serious guilt hanging over his head when it comes to whomever is locked up in the Vault, and it would seem we are drawing closer to the big reveal of exactly who that might be. Personally, I still think it's Missy, but time will tell. Until then. ​

It would seem as we move into the back half of season two of Battlestar Galactica that the show is shifting in tone toward far darker places. While the earlier part of the season seemed to hold tight to working together and putting aside one's differences, these last few tales have locked their sights in on the notion of death and how we deal with it on a personal level.

Granted, the show has stumbled and stumbled hard when it comes to exploring these concepts simply because 'Black Market' was an unmitigated failure in the matter, because one really cannot explore death properly when you turn Lee Adama into an ace detective, but I digress. Since the episode that follows that mess is nothing sort of brilliant since 'Scar' continued this new exploration of our mortality, and  extended that notion beyond our human characters...by passing it along to a powerful Cylon Raider as well in a story that also saw Kara Thrace, fall from grace. 

This particular tale had us join the crew the ​Galactica as they worked to protect a mining mission that would in many ways shore up the future of fleet since the mining team was harvesting materials that would provide fleets of Vipers to be built aboard the Pegasus. But there was one caveat when it came to completing this mission; a Cylon Raider nicknamed 'Scar' that was incredibly good at bringing down colonial pilots. His existence created quite the stir amongst the pilots, since everyone outright feared him and every single time they took to the void they knew there was a chance that Scar could claim their lives and really...the aspect of death that this episode explored, was the fear of it.

Because we saw Kat clash with Starbuck over her fear of being taken down by Scar and for that matter the Cylon Raider in question also happened to be terrified over its possible end since we learned in this story that Raiders are traditionally reincarnated like other Cylons and the pain of prior death and the potential of one final one hung heavy over this warrior. But the centerpiece of exploring this fear came from Kara, who struggled mightily with the possibility that Anders was lying dead somewhere on Caprica and she was falling to pieces over that possibility and it drove her to the brink of madness, and it seemed her only hope for sanity was to drink as much as possible and hope for a swift end if a face off with Scar came into play.

Thankfully at the last moment, when she does come face to face with Scar, Kara makes the wise decision to live and in the process loses her Top Gun status to Kat when she helps the eager pilot bring down Scar, but when all is said and done...wow, this was one intense story. Not a moment was wasted in this one, and it featured top notch performances from every cast member and I truly appreciated the fact that it didn't offer any easy answers when it comes to facing death or the possibility of it, it only reminded us that sometimes we have to face whatever comes our way both good or bad with our heads held high and to never forget to honor those we have lost and there's nothing wrong with simple messages such as that and I'm incredibly glad to see the show getting back to its philosophical roots to turn this season around after that last misstep and judging from what I remember about the next episode, there's more about death to be explored, so it's time to settle in and see what somber message awaits us. Until next time.

​Good storytelling includes a great many things. Not only do the characters need to be vibrant, relatable and moved along by a strong, engrossing plotline, the story has to find a way to reach us and draw us in. We have to feel what the people in the story are feeling and last night’s episode of Designated Survivor managed to pull that off.
 
Because ‘Misalliance’ took us on quite the wild ride, one that combined every single story line and concept the show has explored in its freshman season and while that seems like a lot to throw at the audience, which could in turn create chaos when it comes to the story, that’s kind of the point. Because at its core, chaos and preventing it is one of the core concepts of this series and sadly, last night…chaos reigned supreme.
 
Because as President Kirkman and his wife worked to put their family back together at the White House, Tom had to deal with the whole mess surrounding Speaker Hookstraten and despite his best hopes to see a resolution come out of the controversy surrounding her, Kimble makes the tough call to step away from Congress and take on the role of Secretary of Education, leaving Tom without a strong ally on Capitol Hill. But, that was merely the beginning of the chaos last night because there is still the matter of the missing Hannah Wells and the show’s new villain in Patrick Lloyd.
 
I think it’s safe to declare Lloyd as such simply because of the fact he was in on all of the communication regarding Hannah’s capture, he’s regularly meeting with the White House Traitor and he more or less revealed his hand to take the country back by force while Jason was listening in on his conversation, something that led to the most stunning moment of the night where Lozano and Jason faced off, and well ladies and gentlemen, it would appear that Jason is dead barring some kind of miracle. To make matters worse, Hannah was whisked away to a ship at sea, something she was unable to discover until she freed herself from her handcuffs and well…suddenly things are looking quite grim.
 
With Jason gone and Hannah who knows where, the only two people that know every single thing about the conspiracy at this point are unable to share their knowledge of the horrors to come and that will no doubt make life extremely difficult for President Kirkman in the days ahead and when all is said done, at first, I really didn’t enjoy this episode. The scattered feel to it, the sense of chaos appeared to be a cop out until it hit me that well, it was all part of the show. We were supposed to feel blindsided and confused because that’s necessary when it comes to the experience and more than likely that feeling of confusion is a sign of things to come as Lloyd and his cronies make their move to re-shape America into their own twisted vision. Until next time.

It's no secret now that The Handmaid's Tale is a show that takes us to the darkest and most deprived places of the human condition. Cruelty is everywhere in Gilead. There is little value for human life and every episode to date has left the audience in need of a moment to collect their thoughts when the darkness has finally come to a close. 

So as I settled in to watch last night's episode, 'Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum', I expected more of the same; powerfully dark moments that would give me pause, but instead...I was treated to quite the surprise. There's been a slight paradigm shift in the style and design of the storytelling on this show because this particular tale decided to bring forth something that I never thought we would ever see again when it came to Gilead and the awful world it has created...a sense of hope. 

Yes, you read that right. For the first time in the short history of the series, hope and the power that comes with it made a guest appearance, but its arrival on this show did not come without a price. For in order for June/Offred to find it...she had to sink to her lowest point without it. Because for a vast majority of this episode, it was business as usual. June was to be punished for not being pregnant and she was trapped in her boring little room, and well...the cabin fever was more or less driving her mad. It led her to remember what life was like shortly after she was captured and how she and Moira nearly escaped their training center to freedom, and sadly, those memories didn't serve as inspiration to resist, they were instead a fine reminder that she was trapped, there was no escape and it almost broke her. 

As the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end and that fully applies to the Framework storyline on ​Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. because despite the incredible storylines that this excellent arc has brought forth for the show, at some point the series has to return to the 'real world' so to speak and last night's episode, 'Farewell, Cruel World!' signaled the beginning of the end when it comes to this nightmarish, digital playground.

But rather than simply allow the team to escape this awful and disgusting place in quick and clean fashion, the show said its initial goodbye to the Framework in stunning and epic fashion, by providing us with another tour de force story where escape seemed impossible and the clock was working against our intrepid agents since Aida did her best to hide the way out, buying her time to finish creating her new human body and to make matters worse, in order to conserve power aboard Zephyr One and keep Daisy and Jemma alive, the cloak was removed, leaving them open to attack.

But truly, the centerpiece in this episode was not the action, but the experiences some of the characters had to go through, specifically Mack and Fitz because their stories this week were downright heartbreaking. For Fitz, he had to struggle with a loss in the family and what's he done in the Framework, because in an effort to get him to the exit point, Jemma went and visited dear old dad and well...the attempt to get him to help out went poorly, resulting in a scuffle and the eventual death of the elder Fitz, something that sent Leopold into a frenzy to the point where he disobeyed orders from Aida and went on a revenge mission to find Simmons and put her down. Thankfully, their paths crossed at the exit point and Radcliffe did Jemma a solid by throwing Fitz through the back door, but while he is now free of this world the lasting effects of what he did in the Framework have left him confused and afraid and it would seem the brand new flesh and blood Aida was hoping for this kind of chaos all along so she can keep Fitz around for more of her nefarious plans. 

However, while it was heartbreaking to see Fitz filled with regret and fear and pain over what happened in the digital world, it paled in comparison to what happened to Mack. Because despite seeing that the Framework is a complete and utter digital lie, he chose to stay behind and live within it. Not out of weakness or fear, but flat out because of his love for Hope; and when he learned his beloved daughter did not exist in the real world, he simply could not bring himself to be away from her and wow...this was quite the twist. We learned earlier this year that Mack carries around plenty of pain when it comes to the loss of his daughter, and that he seemingly is able to use that pain to survive and push forward in life, but clearly the mere motion of being able to hold her again and be near her...is too powerful to surrender and if by chance Mack does survive the Framework, will he be broken and shattered like Fitz appears to be?

Either way, what an episode. Once again the hour simply flew by because of how strong the story was and once again it left my jaw dropped with all those incredible twists and turns and I appreciate the fact that we didn't 100% leave the Framework behind. Because it gives us a few more episodes to see if Dr. Radcliffe can finally redeem himself completely by perhaps talking Mack out of staying and it gives our favorite agents a little more incentive to find a way back in to save their friend and considering how spread thin they are, that will be easier said than done. But what sticks with me most when it comes to this episode, is the ominous teleportation that Aida pulled off, and I say ominous because there's a fair chance her disappearing act comes straight out of the Darkhold and considering the fact that Aida has read that book to cover to cover, there's no way she used it to only become human...she has to have bigger plans in play, plans that will no doubt make life even more difficult for Coulson and his friends. Until next time.

It's been a wild and powerful third season for The Flash, one that has forced Barry to finally accept his role as the savior of Central City and perhaps what's truly made this season so rewarding and so intriguing is that nothing has come easy for anyone this year, because the characters have been challenged like never before.

Everyone has had to earn every victory and every smile this season and that has led to some of the finest episodes the series has ever put together and last night's story, 'I Know Who You Are' gets to join that pantheon of excellent episodes because this fast paced and tense tale brought together the best elements that season three has had to offer, and it also just so happened to deliver the moment we've all been waiting for, the reveal of Savitar's true identity. 

But what made this tale so wonderful, was its humanity. Because everyone in this episode was working toward saving someone they love and that gave this story a certain sense of beauty I've never quite seen on the show and all of it came together by an unexpected glue...Doctor Tracy Brand. She was the mission this go round since she held the key to trapping Savitar in the future and everyone banded to together to make sure that neither he, nor Killer Frost came near her and it was simply wonderful and heartbreaking to see everyone come together...and struggle mightily with the fact that their close friend in Caitlin Snow more or less embraced evil by teaming up with Savitar. 

In fact her willingness to do so, nearly broke Cisco, driving him to the point where he was deathly afraid of even using his powers against her since there was the remote chance that he could potentially harm her and he wasn't the only one worried that someone could get hurt. Joe nearly broke it off with Cecile to spare her the wild life he lives by hanging with team Flash and H.R. took quite the liking to Tracy Brand to the point where he took on the role of surrogate protector. But while all of this was engaging to watch...all of it was overshadowed by the penultimate moment when a light switched on in Barry's head and he came to realize that there's a reason that Savitar knows every single step that Barry is going to take...because Savitar IS Barry Allen.

Yes, you read that right, The God of Speed is nothing more than Barry Allen from the future, a Barry who is disfigured and damaged beyond repair emotionally and when all is said and done, I truly did not see this coming. It always seemed as though Savitar was someone close to Barry that turned for whatever reason, but despite the surprise that comes with this...it makes sense. That darker Barry we saw eight years in the future clearly ends up suffering more pain somewhere along the line and feels a strong need to punish himself to ensure that pain continues and well, this sets up quite the showdown because not only will Barry need to become faster, he will need to figure out how to become a better man so that such a monster never comes into existence. Either way, just like that, ​The Flash went to some meta and deep places and this revelation just made the season finale and everything that leads up to it, all the more intriguing.  Until next time. 

I must warn you, that I expect you to have watched the first episode of American Gods before reading this, because I am going to discuss what happens in the episode without taking care to avoid spoilers. I do not, however, expect you to have read the book, so I will not spoil anything which has yet to happen. 

As with any book-to-screen adaptation, changes have been made. Some are small, some are large, and some are practical. I am not here to definitively claim one version as 'superior;' I am simply here to compare and discuss. To that end, there are three changes I want to mention.

First, the 'Coming to America' sequence. In the books, the Vikings encounter a lone native, who they sacrifice to their God, and are eventually driven off the new land by the other natives. In the show, as you know, they instead make many offerings of their own flesh. I’m not particularly certain whether this change is really going to make any significant difference, since the whole purpose of the story is to show one of the ways Gods from the old world are brought to the new one. I will note that we got some interesting imagery in the show’s fight, which I believe is alluding to some future events which should share some similar imagery.

The next two are both to do with Shadow’s meeting with Technical Boy. (Since his name was not specifically mentioned, I’ll tell you here that the boy in the car smoking the synthetic toad skins is supposed to be the New God of Technology. He is referred to as 'The Technical Boy' later on in the novel.) First, the meeting itself: it’s been no secret that Technical Boy appears very differently than he was described in the novel, but the aesthetic changes have to do with the changes in technology, and in our perceptions of technology, since the book’s release.

I am more concerned with the nature of the meeting. One of my favorite things about the book is the way the line between our world and the world of gods is almost indistinguishable, at least for a while. Did Wednesday actually fix the coin toss, or was he simply lucky? Was Sweeney really pulling coins out of thin air with magic, or just a particularly good con artist? Shadow’s journey into this new world, hidden just beneath the surface of our own, takes time and slowly creeps in at the edges of his vision. Although the readers know gods exist thanks to things like the Bilquis segment, they are left uncertain about whether Shadow has truly fallen in with them. Technical Boy, in the novel, simply pulls up in a limo and Shadow gets in and rides along, rather than having some strange device attached to his face and stumbling through a mystical other world where the laws of physics are just suggestions. In the show this leaves the audience with no doubt whatsoever that Shadow has found himself mixed up with, if not gods, then beings of great power who are something more than human. ​

I find my feelings torn about this change: on the one hand, as a reader, it almost feels like the showrunners have said to me 'We know what you want, and we know that you already know what’s going on, and we’re not going to hesitate to give it to you.' They aren’t teasing me or hanging it above my head. They have, with no uncertainty, given me what I’ve been waiting to see for a very long time. On the other hand, I feel like viewers who haven’t read the book are being cheated out of the delightfully pitched and perfectly paced journey I experienced as a reader. Does this even come close to ruining the show? No, of course not, and this different pacing means fewer viewers are likely to drift away because things aren’t happening quickly enough, nor are they confused about what exactly is going on. It also lays out a clear message for Shadow: this is larger than he is. But on a personal level I feel a bit let down that I’m not going to get to witness Shadow’s slow descent with my own eyes or discuss it with other viewers.
​
Lastly, I’d like to mention Shadow being saved from death after his meeting with Technical Boy. In order to avoid spoiling anything my language may get a bit muddled, but I’ll do my best to keep it coherent.
The attack and rescue did not happen in the book; instead Technical Boy drops Shadow off near his motel. Let me now say that I think I know what happened because it closely resembles a very similar event which takes place later in the book, so I’m working off the assumption that my theory is correct. I could be completely wrong, but only time (and the next episode) will tell.

If I know what happened, then the purpose of having Technical Boy order Shadow’s death seems to be done entirely so that Shadow can be saved, and including the salvation seems to be for the sole purpose of teasing at something which comes up later. I can only assume the showrunners felt that leaving absolutely no trace of this 'Later Thing' for an entire episode would be a mistake, and so they built in this attack and rescue so there’s be a hint of it in the first episode. Unfortunately this may have caused a few problems down the line: when Shadow next encounters this 'Later Thing' it will no longer be his first experience with it, and saving his life seems like a pretty significant shared event to have in common at a first meeting. Also, this makes Technical Boy seem to be a bit more overtly and directly hostile and willing to do violence than he was in the book. This change in his nature may be only surface deep, or it may play into their broader depiction of Technology and internet culture, but I have yet to see that it’s for any reason other than to facilitate the rescue and the 'Later Thing' it hints at. They seem to have changed so much just so they can include a hint of something here, and it has the potential to change the whole dynamic of later events, if they let it. In the end, we’ll just have to wait and see.           

There was a special air of anticipation that came with settling in to watch this week's episode of Better Call Saul in that, it truly seemed as though the grand showdown between the Brothers McGill was finally about to come to fruition with brother staring down brother in a courtroom. 

However this is a series that thrives on surprising the audience as often as possible and that was never more evident than it was last night, since 'Sabrosito' went in quite an unexpected direction, by examining the consequences of everyone's actions to date this season and by exploring, in depth, Gus Fring's relationship with Hector Salamanca for a fair chunk of the episode, allowing for the whole McGill mess to take the backseat for a bit. But despite this unforeseen twist, last night's tale was still the tour de force we've come to know and love because the dynamic between Hector and Gus was downright fascinating through and through. 

In fact the show was so determined to truly answer any and all questions about why these two men cannot stand one another that it even showed us the genesis of their rivalry; taking us to a moment in time many years ago where Hector tried to please and impress the drug kingpin both he and Gus work for and he failed miserably in doing so since Gus' man delivered far more money and appeared far more professional than his counterpart, utterly embarrassing Hector. That mattered because in present day, with his supply lines cut thanks to Mike's fine work, Hector needed a new mule and took a little trip to Los Pollos Hermanos with his boys to intimidate the staff and cripple the business in order to extort whatever he needed from Gus. 

But the true centerpiece of this part of the story, is Gus himself. This was an incredible look into the mind of a man who will one day become a powerful drug kingpin in Albuquerque, and the speech to his staff the day after Hector and his thugs arrived at the restaurant was worthy of an Oscar and it spoke to Fring's ability to inspire and build trust since everyone ate that speech up and it was a fine reminder of how charming this man can be. He truly knows how to get people on his side and stand by him regardless of the circumstances, unless of course your name is Mike Ehrmantraut, who despite helping Gus out last week, wanted nothing to do with Fring's money for his services. He firmly believed that they were square and that his penance was paid, but Mike didn't close the door on any future work with Gus if the job in question, was a proper fit...

If anything, Mike served as the connective tissue for this episode, since he found his way into both storylines this week, but before we discuss that, we have to take a moment and talk about the fact that it was nice to see the human side of Mike once again. He's been in quite the dark place since last season, so to see him sit down with his family was refreshing to say the least, as was the moment of regret he expressed as well, since it let us know that poor Mike knows he's crossed a lot of lines over the past few years, ones that there are no return from and while he will spend much of his future working in grey areas, this was a nice reminder that deep down, he is still a good man.

As to how he connected into both storylines however, well...he owed Jimmy a favor as well since Jimmy did that recon work for him at Los Pollos Hermanos, so in order to square up with his attorney he posed as a repair man and made his way to Chuck's doorstep to handle repairs on the elder McGill's broken door, making use of power tools to scare Chuck off and get photographs of his living situation, that he later turned over to Jimmy who was over the moon when it came to getting such quality intel. It would seem based on this that the younger McGill is planning something special for his brother, but before we could figure out what exactly he has up his sleeve, the time had come for the Pre-Prosecution Diversion hearing and well...this was heartbreaking to watch all around since let's be honest, this is brother against brother, and it's not supposed to be this way.

It was simply strange to see them sitting on opposite ends of the table, staring one another down in frosty fashion and it was equally as weird to see Chuck haggle over the price of a cassette tape. But one moment in particular sticks out in my mind from this scene, one that tugged at the heart strings for certain...when the prosecutor asked Jimmy to apologize to his brother. Because not only did Jimmy struggle with giving said apology directly to Chuck, he made a point to emphasize that a brother shouldn't act in negative fashion against his brother and well...he's right. This whole mess is stupid to say the least, they're family, the only family they have left and this is how they spend their time, working hard to discredit the other in the most machismo of fashion and the cold nature of this whole hearing was a fine reminder of how much hurt they've imposed on one another...and that there may be no way to reconcile... 

However, once the hearing was over, it was back to business with Kim putting Howard and Chuck on notice while at the same time getting Chuck to admit to the fact that he made copies of the tape. It's something that apparently both Kim and Jimmy were banking on as they continue to build their little surprise for Charles and when all is said and done, this was quite the fascinating episode for several reasons. For starters, I am a little surprised they moved the showdown between Chuck and Jimmy to next week (based on the teaser), and second...it almost felt like we were saying goodbye to Gus for the time being as well. Between his impassioned speech, extra screen time and conversation with Mike about the future, it really does seem like Mister Fring is about to be put on the back burner for now. Either way, while this episode did have the feel of 'filler' it was still incredibly entertaining thanks to top notch performances and by stretching out the brotherly showdown, the wait to see it finally happen is actually getting worse because now, I'm dying to know what exactly Jimmy has up his sleeve...until next time...