My favorite style of episode, when it comes to the magnificent police serial CHiPs, just so happens to be the ‘day in the life’ episodes. For when we have smaller plots to deal with, we are treated to some supremely personal stories involving Ponch and Jon, the kind that allow for us to really understand what makes them tick and what they stand for and while we know they’re good men through and through, seeing their moral code in action time and time is just a treat since there’s no grey areas when it comes to these patrolmen and you just don’t see that on television anymore. And really, this is on my mind today simply due to the fact that a ‘day in the life’ served as the focus for the next episode in this storied franchise, ‘High Flyer’.
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Now what I truly appreciated about this particular tale, is the sheer fact that it found a way to provide equal time for Ponch and Jon’s stories, and when it comes to  Ponch, we dove deep into his fear of flying. Something that was accomplished in the simplest of fashion since Getrear was rotating officers into the CHP helicopter and Ponch, well he worked hard to skip out on having to go up into the sky in the most creative ways possible. Because he convincingly faked a cold to stay on the road, and did a fine job pretending to have a hearing issue in order to stay grounded and well, this was just quirky and personal and delightful because it felt realistic and relatable. But despite Ponch’s best efforts to avoid a skyward voyage, eventually he found his way into the chopper, and well…we will come back to the importance of that in a moment.

Because we have to talk about Jon’s story in this tale, because he found himself in quite the conundrum. For a teenage girl named Kim, developed a powerful crush on him, since she was a little lost without her father in her life, and she simply could not stay away from him, to the point where she would show up at his place at one in the morning to talk and seek his guidance since he was right across the street. And to make matters worse, a fight with her mother, prompted her to just, invite herself into Jon’s apartment as a roommate, and now you have a fine understanding of the problems he faced in this tale. For if he played the bad guy, he would have damaged Kim’s already fragile psyche, but clearly, he could not let that kind of unhealthy behavior continue and oddly enough, Ponch is the one who saved the day here by getting Sindy to pose as Jon’s girlfriend, shattering the fantasy and setting things right again. But what matters more when it comes to this plot thread, is that Jon took every precaution to follow the right path in this matter and did everything within his power to make sure all were happy because that’s the kind of guy Jon is.

Yet, I made mention of the fact that eventually Ponch had to go up in the CHP helicopter and now is the perfect time to revisit that, because there were some Creeps of the Week to be found in this story as well, some crafty car parts thieves to be specific. And despite Ponch and Jon’s best efforts to round them all up at the same time, they only got their hands on a few, that is, until Ponch took to the sky. For while he was on observer duty, he found the thieves’ hideout, allowing for Jon to arrest another one while Frank laid into an epic pursuit worthy of a Hollywood movie since he and the pilot actually took the time to use the chopper as a proverbial weapon and drive the last thief off the road and while I’m pretty sure that breaks every damn regulation in the book, who cares? It was thrilling to watch and it was just downright cool to see Ponch hop down from the chopper and get his hands on the creep.

If anything, this was definitely a low-key episode compared to everything that preceded it and I won’t lie, it was a welcome palate cleanser. For this season has operated in some supremely cerebral territory and put our heroes in some tough places, and this one really did bring the fun through and through and I really enjoyed getting to know Ponch and Jon better once again and really, season two can do no wrong. Because if it’s not wowing me with thrilling new storylines, its sticking to what made the series so great in the first place and well, considering the fact that this show is dropping a different style of episode my way as I chug along, I’m quite excited to see what it will deliver down the line and well, you know exactly what that means, so on that note, until next time.  

Normally in a superhero story, the hero and the villain take part in a powerful showdown at the end of their respective journeys. This is where the thunderous blows occur, city blocks are leveled and good overcomes evil because the hero figured out how to defeat the seeming invincibility of the bad guy. Sure, sometimes there’s fear injected into these stories, the kind that impacts the hero, but they eventually get over that because it is topical at best and they know deep down that they have to be bigger and stronger because everyone is depending upon them to do the right thing. But what if the hero or heroes struggled to overcome their fears in that final showdown? What if the villain’s cloak of invincibility was their ability to engender terror and fear in the hearts of the just? Would the good guy or good gal be able to rise to the occasion with their demons surrounding them? Well as it turns out, those powerful and pertinent questions served as the focal point for the season two finale of Cloak & Dagger.

For ‘Level Up’ saw Tryone and Tandy once again return to the void in a race against time to deal with Andre Deschaine since his power was growing stronger by the minute and more people were disappearing from the streets and well, what they found once they crossed the threshold was simply fascinating and unsettling all at once. For Andre was there, waiting for them, but rather than allow for a good old-fashioned fist fight to take place, he banished our heroes to the depths of their souls wherein they were forced to face their worst fears. For Tandy, that meant coming face to face with the darker side of her father, and for Tyrone, that meant facing off against the life he once believed he left behind and this, was freakin’ brilliant. Because it allowed for so much depth and emotion to come into play for our characters and it forced them to live up to the episode’s title and fight back in unique and creative ways.

Because their worst fears were strong to say the least, prompting the duo to switch sides to weaken what haunts the other, and while it seemed at first that they had discovered the solution to their problems, Andre didn’t let them off the hook that easily and made them face their direct fears once again and that’s really where the episode shined. Because Tyrone and Tandy came to realize that the only way to deal with a tragic past, or the fear that we’ve let an opportunity pass us by, is to embrace where we are at and acknowledge what’s happened and make peace with it and coming to that epiphany allowed for both Tyrone and Tandy to escape Andre’s clutches and confront him and work as one to finally defeat him and his evil machinations and it was supremely satisfying to see everything come together in this fashion, and even see Mayhem make peace with what she’s become.

Yet, what was equally as impressive about this episode, was its ending. Because it found a way to tie up every single plot thread introduced this season in rapid fire fashion since we saw Lia do time for her crimes. We saw a family start to heal since Tyrone’s parents found a way forward, and as a courtesy to Tyrone’s mother, Mayhem helped make it seem as though Connors did himself in to absolve Adina of her crime. But most importantly, we finally saw Tandy and Tyrone make a decision about what their future is going to hold and thankfully, they felt the time arrived at last to embrace their powers and their abilities and become the heroes they were meant to be. As to where they will set up shop, we simply don’t know since the closing moments of this tale saw them heading off into the night to places unknown, but when they get there, those that would do harm need to watch their backs because Cloak & Dagger will do whatever it takes to make things right…

If anything, this was just a wonderful way to close out season two because in essence, this has been a two season long, magnificent origin story for this powerhouse duo and well, I cannot say with any certainty that we will see more of their exploits since as of press time, Freeform has not renewed the show for a third season. So, if this is where the story ends, this will serve as a wonderful series finale, one that saw our characters complete a powerful arc. But I do hope that Freeform doesn’t make a mistake here like they did with Beyond and they give this series another year because this really is one of the finest superhero shows out there, and it would be incredible to see Tandy and Tyrone doing their thing, free from the baggage they’ve carried for decades and well, all we can do is hope and wait for season three, and bask in the wonder of this incredible finale. 

I think we can all agree upon the fact, that year one of the newest iteration of The Twilight Zone has been one wild ride. For we’ve seen the series reinvent itself like never before, becoming a beacon for powerful social commentary, the kind that doesn’t shy away from hot topics in our world, nor does it take the time to handle said topics in subtle fashion and that made it a lightning rod for criticism as the season rolled on. For there has been plenty of feedback on social media mocking the show for its attempt to say something about our world, but regardless of any criticism sent the show’s way, the commentary has rolled on week in and week out, leaving me to wonder what particular topic would fall under its purview for the season one finale.
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But as it turns out, ‘Blurryman’ ended up being a vastly different kind of episode for this series, one that quite frankly surprised this reviewer to no end. In large part because it went some extremely meta places thanks to the plot, one that involved a writer named Sophie Gelson who found herself at quite a crossroads. For her job on The Twilight Zone was in quite the strained place thanks to her inability to truly attach herself to the material and well, her tough day at work only becomes more strenuous when a mysterious blurry figure begins to stalk her on set and well, it really doesn’t get more meta than that. I mean, come on, we get a writer on the show being terrorized by strange forces and this little twist allowed for Jordan Peele to break character as the Narrator and have a little fun with the story, and it was quite cool to see the series address its own ‘shortcomings’ in the eyes of its critics with that little riff on how shows of its kind should stick with a kitschy formula over having any kind of social relevance or responsibility.

However, once the Blurryman comes into play, that little riff becomes paramount to the plot and that’s really where the story sucked me in because this really did transform into a parable on whether or not entertainment as a whole should commit itself to any kind of commentary on our world or our society and the answer to that question, was a resounding yes. For the human condition is what drives the best stories in any medium, and to ignore that, is to ignore the power and the value of art and as an added bonus the series also made it clear that this is nothing new for The Twilight Zone. Commentary is something that’s been around since its inception and to reinforce that point and remind us of the show’s past relationship with said commentary, it was eventually revealed that Rod Serling himself was the Blurryman after all, and his haunting of Sophie served as the visual representation of how one cannot escape what a story has to say about our world, and while some may criticize this twist, it works for me, simply because Rod and the show are truly synonymous in every way imaginable.

Yet while all of that was fascinating in its own right, the execution of such a bold twist is key, and making use of sets from this season, alongside some lovely homages to classic episodes, such as ‘Time Enough at Last’ really helped to make this plot work in seamless fashion and it also helped to bring together both iterations of the show and the wonders this episode provided us with, structure wise, didn’t end there. Because this particular tale really did do a fine job of reminding us, just how seamlessly the show can shift between genres and execute what they stand for flawlessly, since early on, this was a wonderful comedy and once Blurryman/Serling arrived, this sucker dove into outright horror and watching Sophie try and escape what she feared was a terrifying experience to say the least and kudos to the show for everything it pulled off in this episode and this season for that matter.

Because really, whether you stood by it or not, one has to admit that this iteration of The Twilight Zone has been bold and downright fearless. For it never once shied away from the ugliest parts of our world that we honestly try to avoid to talking about because they are such hot button issues, and it definitely had no problem ruffling feathers in tacking said issues and well, this really was a unique and brilliant way to bring season one to a close, since this finale makes it inherently clear that the show is only going to continue to examine our modern world and the problems it faces and well, dang it, that leaves me hungry for more. Because The Twilight Zone really is an important piece of art that our world needs right now and I’m utterly hooked on what this series has to say and how it executes its messages which means, for me, it’s going to be an extremely long wait, when it comes to season two of this magnificent series. Until next year.  

We’ve talked a lot over the past few weeks, and I suppose years, about how Freeform / Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger tends to defy convention when it comes to superhero stories by way of concepts and plots that simply buck the norm in this genre. And I continue to reinforce that point, simply because the series continues to find new ways to shatter tropes and wow us every single step of the way and last week’s episode was no exception to that rule. For ‘Blue Note’ did something that superhero stories and shows rarely do, since it took the time to examine what drove Andre Deschaine to a life of evil, and while that seems pretty by the numbers for a series in this vein, let’s not forget, that we’ve already been down this road before in season two.
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For earlier this year, we spent a lot of time learning about Mayhem, and what makes her tick and why I call this revolutionary in its own right is that most shows and stories never dare to introduce a second villain, much less focus upon who they are as a person, especially late in the season, since the story should be preparing for the season finale. But since Brigid/Mayhem operates in a grey area and Andre is the true big bad of season two, it only seemed right to dive into his past and his personality and well, what we discovered was fascinating and harrowing to say the least because Mister Deschaine is a different kind of villain when all is said and done, because he is that rare monster that was evil to begin with, which is another trope/notion that this episode rips apart.

Because so many villains are men and women who lose their way or have a specific set of circumstances that remove the light from their view of the world. Or they’re like Mayhem, products or creations of their environment, prompting us to feel a sense of pity for them since they don’t know any better. But Andre, well, we learned from the get-go that he was nothing more than an egotistical jerk, one who believed that greatness in music was achieved through moments instead of hard work and his headaches robbed him of his glory and any hope or belief in a future, prompting him to take his own life on the fateful night that the Roxxon rig blew. And that perfect set of circumstances gave him his newfound power, and a second chance at life, but he squandered it quickly when he discovered what his power could do, and it took little to no time for him to begin to build his twisted empire of despair.

Yet, I suppose that it is safe to say that some good has come out of his desire to rule the world as a god, simply because he’s pushing Tyrone and Tandy to do more and to be more since they were rock solid heroes in this tale through and through, since Tyrone worked to secure a future for New Orleans, one free of drugs, and Tandy took the moral high ground when Mayhem wanted to end Lia’s life for her crimes and when they worked together, these two also accomplished wonders. For they were able to decipher every clue thrown their way in order to track down Andre and uncover his plan to use the Blue Note to dive the world into despair. But, despite their best efforts to find and stop him, it would seem his plan has come to fruition, for the world is seemingly now a vacant and desolate place, where Andre’s chilling tunes carry across the wind.

If anything, this really was quite the impressive way to set up the season two finale for this series, simply because, I didn’t see that ending coming, and by taking the time to examine Andre’s life and his hardships, it really seemed as though we were going to be treated to a tragic and innocuous penultimate episode. But every revelation, and every twist and turn suddenly added a sense of urgency and danger to this tale and man, Tandy and Tyrone truly have their hands full going forward. Either way, I really dig the fact that the series took the time to slow things down if only for a moment, just so that Andre received a little depth to his character. It’s something you just don’t see all that often in superhero shows, and while I personally feel he’s more of a scumbag now, he’s a scumbag with depth and that matters in a show that pays attention to the details. Either way, the time for a final showdown between our heroes and Andre has arrived, and I cannot wait to see how the series wraps up this harrowing story later tonight. Until next time. 

If there’s one specific type of television episode that I’m often wary of, it’s the holiday themed episode. Because these particular tales tend to go to some weird places when it comes to shows grounded in reality, wherein something supernatural or magical has to happen around Christmas time or Halloween, in an attempt to capture the spirit of the holiday and wow the audience and it’s often lame and it just takes myself and others out of the experience when all is said and done. And that’s on my mind today, simply because of the fact that I was tad nervous to start the next episode of CHiPs, largely due to the fact that ‘Trick or Trick’ was a Halloween themed tale and with this being filmed in the 1970s, when going goofy with a show was still a thing, I was worried this one might go off the rails and give us a strange experience.
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But thankfully, the powers that be, felt that there was no need to slip Ponch and Jon into the world of the supernatural. Instead, the series found a way to integrate the mythos of Halloween seamlessly into this tale and it accomplished that particular feat simply by throwing some of the stuff we tend to pay more attention to when Halloween rolls around, into the storyline, since Ponch did a fine job of finding himself surrounded by every spooky superstition there is out there since he walked under a ladder, broke a mirror and came near thirteen black cats and to top it off, the show found a way to even sneak a ‘haunted’ house into the mix. Because Ponch and Jon did have to go inside a creepy old house that was on their patrol route to find a missing child, and it was just neat to see the series toy with elements of horror and pay respect to the holiday and the genre with the musical stings and genuinely eerie moments present in that sequence.

However, while it was fun to pay tribute to ol’ Sam Hain and the horror genre as a whole, this is a police series with criminals that need to be dealt with, and there was plenty of interesting thievery happening for Ponch and Jon to contend with. For instance, there was the older woman who was stealing candy bags from little skeletons in the hopes of getting back the engagement ring she thought she’d lost, and she genuinely believed that losing that ring had screwed up her last chance at love. But thankfully, she found the sucker with an assist from our duo. Yet while that was unique in its own right, this story also found a way to integrate a couple of Creeps of the Week into this episode, by way of a man and woman named Eddie and Susan, who were down on their luck thanks to Eddie’s gambling habits. And in order to be free of Eddie’s debts, Susan dressed up like a magnificent and flowing ghost, in order to blend in and surprise the liquor store owners she decided to rob and well, this was the perfect costume for this crime since she was able to soar into the night, that is until our favorite patrolmen got a solid lead on their trail and busted them before the evening came to a close.

But truly, the highlight of this episode, was the mysterious Hobgoblin that haunted Sergeant Getrear on this holiday. Because every single year, someone hopped on the radio to express a spooky message to all of the officers out on patrol and the Sarge was done with it, because he’s the boss and it’s against policy, and he vowed to figure out who the Hobgoblin was this year and put an end to this silly tradition once and for all and well, what made this such a treat was that the show was happy to reveal early on that Grossman was the mysterious Hobgoblin after all, and we also came to learn exactly how he pulled off this lovely little prank. For he gave his fellow patrolmen assigned times to broadcast their spooky messages and if they forgot, he filled in and it was just fun to see this little prank unfold over the course of the night and see the Sarge track down every lead in the matter before finally exposing Grossie in epic fashion and he even informed Artie exactly how he caught him and I suppose the lesson here kids, is that if you’re going to pull some awesome pranks at work, don’t get sloppy. Plain and simple.

If anything, I’m so glad that this particular episode bucked the television mold when it comes to holiday episodes by finding a way to have some serious fun with Halloween and not let it overshadow the fantastic writing that’s already present in season two, and I won’t lie. I’m now quite curious to see if the show is going to tackle other holidays down the line such as Christmas or Thanksgiving or New Year’s in this manner since clearly, this episode laid out the blueprint for giving the audience a top-notch holiday story that’s grounded in the day to day obstacles police officers face. But while that’s down the line, in the meantime I can simply bask in the wonder of another quality episode and honestly, I’m super impressed with season two thus far because it just keeps knocking it out of the park storytelling wise, and I am definitely ready for more. So, on that note, I’m code seven friends, because it’s time to hit the highways once again. Until next time. 

If there’s thing I’ve noticed, when it comes to this early leg of season two of CHiPs, it’s that the series is definitely diving into some heavier subject matter. After all, we’ve seen Jon ponder upon leaving the force after he and Ponch were accused of hurting an innocent citizen, and we’ve watched the dynamic duo risk life and limb to get some toxic tankers to their destination and they dealt with one twisted news producer and to top it all off, poor Jon has seen his family life cross over into his work life thanks to an overzealous nephew. Which begs a few questions. Is the show done with the fun? Is season two when this series starts to resemble a young Law and Order? Thankfully the answer to all of those questions is a resounding no. Because it turns out that the series was ready to shake things up once again, since the next episode in this saga, ‘Neighborhood Watch’, brought the fun back to the forefront of this iconic franchise.  
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It accomplished such a feat, by planting Ponch and Jon into a place that the show rarely goes, the suburbs. Yes, a simple trip to the everyday world of Los Angeles to try and get Dodgers tickets ended up becoming the duo’s stomping grounds for a little bit, simply due to the fact that cars and joggers and kids weren’t mixing safely in the slightest, and it was up to the CHP to fix that, and while that sounds like simple and relaxed duty, it turned out to be anything but. In fact, Ponch and Jon basically met their match by way of some bratty kids that love to skate and love to ride some tasty waves and well, when I say kids, I mean…kids. Like, the kind who aren’t even out of fifth grade yet, and these sassy little brats made life hell for Ponch and Jon since they turned up and caused trouble on a fairly regular basis by using the neighborhood as their playground.   

Which forced Ponch and Jon to step in and find the kids a safe place to do their thing and that led to some hilariously awkward moments wherein our heroes took to their boards to help cement the skate park as the cool place to be and well, the wackiness didn’t end there. Because the show really did a fine job of painting suburbia as a vastly different place than the rest of the Los Angeles basin and for proof, look no further than the guy who set his car on fire rather than deal with the problems that came with the car’s title and well, I wish the new owner of that car, Ponch, the best of luck. Because while he only paid eighty-three bucks for it, have fun with that fire damage. But I digress, because that goofy moment and everything that took place here really did lighten the mood when it comes to season two, but it’s clear that this series wants more depth when it comes to its storytelling, which means some heavier stuff was present when all is said and done.

Because this episode did feature a Creep of the Week, a fellow named Gerald Billings to be exact and well, Mister Billings was a Grade-A jerk. For this dude, was only worried about striking it rich in his sales gig, and unfortunately for everyone on the road, that meant they had to deal with his ego and his reckless push behind the wheel to get to his appointments on time. And the danger he put others in, along with his drinking problem, allowed for him to have multiple run ins with Jon specifically, and despite Jon’s best efforts to give this guy a wakeup call when it comes to his dangerous behavior on the road, this guy didn’t listen in the slightest, even after he was arrested for a DUI. But this ugly plot thread came to a head when Billings ran over a jogger while drinking and driving, allowing for Jon to finally confront the man and talk some sense into him and of course, bring him in for his crimes.

If anything, I have to admit that the Billings plot line took me by surprise since it once again put our humanity on display. Because while the guy was easy to dislike, and I do mean easy, he was still a man in a bad place, making bad choices and he clearly needed some help to get on track and well, hopefully Jon’s genuine care in this story helps him do just that. But outside of that, this really was quite the entertaining ride, and while those kids pushed the wrong buttons, they definitely offered up some genuinely comical moments, especially when we see them behind the wheel of a parent’s car on their way to the beach, or when they pinned down Ponch and Jon with a remote control plane and really, what I’m hoping for, now that we are getting into the nit and grit of season two, is balance. I would genuinely like to see more cerebral episodes like the ones that preceded this one, and more fun ones like this, thrown in to keep it light, because this season really is doing some wonderful things storytelling wise, and it would be a shame to see the old formula take back over now, when it’s accomplishing so much. Until next time. 

Over the course of our lives, we ask ourselves a great many questions. For instance, when we’re young, we ponder upon what kind of career we are going to choose and what the structure of our life is going to look like and once those all important questions are answered, new ones populate our minds, ones that are more, philosophical in nature. For once we’ve established ourselves and our future, we tend to reflect inward and wonder what kind of person we are, and what exactly we stand for in this world and really, this process of self-discovery, and the two questions that I just posed are on my mind today, simply because the season two finale of Killing Eve, ‘You’re Mine’, focused heavily on those queries since Eve Polastri was forced to find the answers to them in the most harrowing of fashion.

Because the mission to corner Aaron Peel basically ended in disaster since everything that could go wrong here, did go wrong. For not only did Villanelle discover that Peel is a murderer and was hosting her former handler at his Rome estate, prompting her to say the safe word, more of the Twelve’s lackeys came calling for Eve and Hugo, an act that left Hugo wounded and on his own as Eve went to save Villanelle and while all of that alone is bad in its own right, nothing compares to the disaster in question. Since a face to face reveal of the fact that MI6 had its eyes on Peel by way of Eve, prompted Villanelle to blow her cover and quickly put down Mister Peel in violent and twisted fashion, violating their orders and leaving them on the run without an idea of what was coming next and that…is when Eve was forced to face herself and answer those all-important questions.  

For a return to the hotel to get her hands on the recordings of Peel brought about an impromptu meeting with Caroyln, wherein she revealed that this was the long game after all. Peel’s death was always an inevitability and the boss played Eve in order to get bring everyone to this point, and well…being faced with the fact that she and Villanelle were manipulated to achieve a bigger goal for MI6, was more than she could bear. And she quickly came to realize that this is not the kind of person she is, she’s not about deception and manipulation, she’s about honesty and transparency and seeing what MI6 and in turn Carolyn are all about, prompted her to turn her back on this business and surprisingly, her decision sure didn’t matter in the slightest to Carolyn and that really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, since hey…she got what she wanted in the end. 

But the self-discovery for Eve didn’t end there. Because now that she was removed from a life of spy work, she turned her attention to the only real anchor she’s had for some time now and her timing on returning to Villanelle couldn’t have been better, for Oksana’s arrival at the hotel, led to a brutal showdown with Raymond, wherein Villanelle was able to motivate Eve to do the impossible and kill Raymond to finally prove a point that our favorite assassin has believed from the get-go in that, she and Eve are one in the same. But shortly after Eve saved Villanelle by chopping Raymond into bits and pieces, Eve came to realize that her obsession was in essence manipulating her too and was working to mold her into something twisted and that, did not go over well either. Because murder and mayhem is never what Eve wanted, she wanted justice and honor in her actions and Villanelle’s machinations only helped to reinforce her moral code and she abandoned Oksana as well, but not before the pain from rejection, prompted the skilled assassin to point a gun at Eve and pull the trigger, leaving our beloved Eve collapsed on the ground, with her fate hanging in the balance.
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So, yeah, that’s how this one ends, in bleak and powerful fashion, and there’s a lot of unpack in this one, but before we reflect a little longer on that shocking ending, let’s talk about the good and really highlight the incredible nature of Eve’s journey in this particular tale. Because in reality, she’s been lost for a long time and has worked hard to figure out what she wants out of life and what she’s all about and this season’s highs and lows for her finally allowed for her to realize the good person that she really is, and how she should engender that good in just about everything she does, and well, what a phenomenal arc for her to go upon this season. Because growth is what we all crave for our favorite characters and to see it play out here is supremely satisfying indeed and it also makes that ending, all the more devastating when all is said and done.   

Because…we just don’t know if Eve is okay. Did the bullet put her down for good? Or is she lying there bleeding out with a bad wound? And for that matter, if she is okay, what comes next for her? Does she return home and leave the spy life behind, or does she dig deep and use that newfound sense of morality to go after Carolyn and the Twelve, and Villanelle for that matter, for all their treachery and the trouble they’ve caused? Sadly though, we will have to wait until season three to have those particular questions answered and the desire for knowledge when it comes to Eve’s fate, is the true beauty and power of this finale. Because it would be a crying shame to see her journey truly end mere moments after she came to realize what she is all about. But regardless of how that stunning ending is resolved, I have faith that the series will continue to wow us, for Killing Eve has once again proven itself to be one of the boldest spy dramas out there and it really doesn’t get much bolder than this ending wise, and once again, I’ll be counting down the minutes until season three arrives, so I can see where this stunning story is headed. Until next year.   

I think it is safe to say, that we can all agree upon the fact that season six of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has started off in some pretty dark and bleak territory. After all, we’ve seen the team do their best to move on from the death of Coulson with mixed results, and we’ve seen Jemma basically crack at the potential loss of the love of her life and worst of all, we’ve all had the opportunity to meet a twisted version of our beloved Phil Coulson, one that loves to destroy life instead of save it and well, I have to admit that I’m quite surprised that the series has embraced the darkness this early on in the season. Because, that’s a very DCEU thing to do, and a little off kilter since the MCU is all about the fun. But as it turns out, the show was fully aware of this little conundrum since last night’s episode, ‘Fear and Loathing on the Planet of Kitson’, did what this series does best, and found a way to bring some smiles to our faces to break up the clouds hanging over this story.
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It accomplished such a feat, by basically taking us to the galaxy’s version of Las Vegas, because we quickly learn in this tale that the Planet Kitson is a pretty wild world, one that just so happened to be devoid of any rules or regulations, and well, it seems everyone here is trying to make it big in the easiest way imaginable and that was a good thing for both Fitz and Enoch. Because with nothing more than a single dollar to their name, they needed to find a way to buy a ride to their true destination and the only way that they could pull such a feat quickly, was to swing by the nearest casino, and well, that’s where the fun started. For it was just wild to see Enoch and Fitz in the middle of an interstellar casino, doing their best to try and game the house, and well, their exploits went so poorly that they eventually joined in on a game of literal life and death to try and cobble together a temporary fortune.

Yet, while that was awkward and quirky to watch in its own right, the real laughs came about by way of Daisy and Jemma. Because the team quickly came to discover that Fitz made his way to Kitson and made their way there to rescue him, and while it was obvious that Daisy and her fellow agents were superior combatants when compared to the everyday citizens of Kitson, an unfortunate snack break leveled the playing field. For when Daisy and Jemma went to the casino to bring their boy home, the little nibble they ingested, turned out to be a psychotropic drug to humans, and it was time for it to do its thing, meaning that Daisy and Jemma were as high as kites when they stepped onto the casino floor and this, was rip-roaringly hilarious. I mean come on, you have two of the toughest women in the galaxy, struggling to navigate a pair of stairs and turning into giggle monsters over every little thing, and to top it off we got a wonderful Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas homage with Daisy’s monologue about her experiences in the casino and how everyone smells like cheese.

But, all hilarity aside, there was a threat to be found in this particular tale, for a Hunter, whom I thought was nothing more than a bounty hunter at first, was hot on Fitz’s trail, and unfortunately for Enoch and Fitz, this dude was a Chronicom just like Enoch and the fact that our favorite observer was helping Fitz get out of a jam, did not settle well with his kind. In fact, they straight up shut the man down, meaning he is now an outcast when it comes to his own people, a realization that left him destitute. But, he seemingly has found a new purpose in life, since Fitz admitted to Enoch that he is his best friend in the whole wide universe and also because, the mysterious Hunter was successful in his mission to grab hold of Fitz meaning that the hunt for our favorite scientist is going to continue and Enoch will undoubtedly join the fray and well, the real mystery here, is why the Chronicoms are so incredibly concerned with the changes in the timeline, because letting that play out the way it was supposed to would have cost billions of people their lives, and it just seems weird for them to be okay with so many people dying.

Plus, to make matters worse, Sarge’s little weapon seems to have discovered whatever it was he was looking for last week and well, it’s obvious that trouble is brewing back on Earth, once again. But in the here and the now, this was just a magnificent episode. Because I really cannot remember the last time I laughed this hard at an episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and I really do love the fact that the writer’s room and everyone involved with the series knew they needed to take a little break from the darkness and have a little fun for a change and really, the big kudos here need to go to Chloe Bennet and Elizabeth Henstridge for their performances in this tale, because they flat out stole the show with their comedic timing. But while this was a blast, I think we all know the outright fun cannot last and I’m fairly certain that come next week, it’s going to be back to business for this series. Until then.    

Since I am relative noob when it comes to Top Gear and all it has to offer, I have to admit that last night’s season finale weighed heavy on my mind in the days following up to it, simply because, I was quite curious as to how a season involving a show about cars was going to end. I mean, was there a story being told here that I was unaware of and everything we’ve seen this season was somehow going to tie together in magnificent fashion? Well as it turns out, I simply let my mind get out of control when it comes to said finale. Because while ‘Episode 5’ did indeed close out the season in a wonderful and entertaining manner, there was no grand story here to wrap up, there was just more fun to be had when all is said and done.
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In fact, it turns out that the best way to close out the season to a series such as this, is to flat out turn the guys loose, so to speak, and allow for their special brand of honesty to shine for an entire episode. And well, the series accomplished such a feat by getting the guys up close and personal with a few vehicles that made great claims or had a special mystique surrounding them, and the end result made for one fascinating finale, wherein we saw Matt LeBlanc, say some honest and raw things about the latest iteration of the Aston Martin V-8 Vantage because this particular vehicle ended up being a bit of a disappointment for Matt. After all an Aston should signify ingenuity and inspire wonder in its driver. But the odd ‘Big Mouth Bass’ aesthetic of this particular vehicle, combined with an underperforming German motor under the hood, prompted Matt to pay this car no mind.

Which quite frankly, was bold to say the least since most shows that highlight the power of technology do everything they can to prop it up, so seeing some honesty here was refreshing, and that kind of candor continued with Rory’s segment as he took the time to review the new Rolls Royce Phantom. For Rory wasted no time in pointing out that a car that Rolls declared to be ‘The Finest in the World’ has some credence to its claims since this magnificent vehicle does indeed host some incredible features that provide a smooth and silent ride, thanks to the tech present in and around the car, and aesthetically, the vehicle is about as gorgeous and refined as they come. But to call it the GOAT of cars is a bit much since its six-meter design makes it difficult to drive casually around town, which means that really, this Rolls is more of a status symbol, one that embodies, as Rory put it, the wonder of ‘excess’, so if you’re looking to impress, then yes, it’s the best there is.

Yet while those two segments were fascinating in their own right, the one that truly caught my attention was Chris’ spotlight. Because Chris took the time explore the wonder of the Ford Fiesta ST, and how it was a flat-out better car than a Lamborghini Aventador and he proved his point, by demonstrating just how impractical the Lambo is to drive in everyday England. Because the Fiesta can go anywhere, and handle just about anything the roads can throw at it, and most importantly, this is a vehicle that’s all about the fun and really, it was just a blast to see an everyday car pop up on the series since that actually manages to draw the viewer in and make them wonder if they can do all the cool stuff that Chris can do with a car, myself included. Because hey, I drive a blue Ford Focus, and maybe it’s time for me to take it up to the mountains and get a little wild. But, let’s be honest, I’ll probably just get a thrill at taking the ol’ girl over 75 and reward myself for being a speed demon by getting a root beer float.

However, I digress, because we do still need to talk about the celebrity segment before we close this recap out because Stephen Mangan’s time on the track was motivated by a personal goal. Because he saw an opportunity to best Matt LeBlanc’s time and he worked hard to shatter that and was successful in his endeavor and well, everything present in this episode, helped me to realize that really, what makes this show so magical, are its hosts and its guests, and all the shenanigans that happen in between. Because it’s their joy, and their banter that makes the testing these cars undergo worth our while and now that I’ve got a season of this series under my belt, I have to admit that I’m outright hooked. I simply need more when it comes to Top Gear, and I’ll definitely be checking out past seasons to see what I’ve missed and I’ll be looking forward to 2020’s run because this really is a magical show, one that puts a smile on your face and I cannot wait to see what this series holds for all of us, in the future. Until next year.  

Somewhere in our homes right now, is an item that holds great significant to us. It could be something as simple as a genuine family heirloom, one that we care for and keep safe thanks to the importance it holds when it comes to our family line. Or it could be a collectible item that means the world to someone since it invokes a personal memory, or it may be something as innocuous as a pen that just so happens to bring its owner luck since it was present for every great moment in their lives. The bottom line is that there are important items that hold great power just sitting around our household and the power and credence we give them is quite fascinating when all is said and done.

After all, they are just items, things, inanimate objects that can do very little, yet we still tell tales of why those cufflinks grandpa used to wear matter, or how that baseball played a part in the greatest summer of our youth, or how that pen helped us meet our dream guy or dream gal since it was present on the night we met. But while all of that sounds normal and innocuous in so many ways, one has to wonder, why do we give these items such power? Why must a pen have the same importance as the person we marry? And it just so happens that Jordan Peele’s latest iteration of The Twilight Zone felt the need to explore these questions in fascinating fashion, by way of last night’s episode, ‘The Blue Scorpion’.

Now I won’t lie, at first glance, I really thought that this story was going to be the show’s attempt to take on the nature of America’s love affair with guns, since in this story we meet Professor Jeff Storck who finds himself in quite the tough place. For his father has committed suicide, his wife is ready to leave him and all he’s left with is the mysterious gun called ‘The Blue Scorpion’ that his father used to end his life and if that’s not a setup for a story on guns, I don’t know what is. But as this series is wont to do, it quickly changed gears and focused instead on the power of the gun itself, since the mystique surrounding this weapon eventually enveloped Jeff and prompted him to keep it at his side at all times in the hopes that it would fulfill its legend of making one’s problems go away and ironically, it did just that.

But what matters more here, is the grand exploration present in this tale revolving around why items hold such power in our lives and the answers to the questions I posed earlier were quite simple in nature. For in a crisis, where we have nothing, an object becomes a focal point for hope, one that symbolizes our recovery and our progress and really, that’s what it all comes down to, the fact that these items are totems in their own right, and once the trouble or the moment has passed, these items suddenly become the embodiment of a memory, destined to tell their story for as long as they remain in our possession, and while that sounds harmless, there was a danger that the series wanted to convey when comes to this, in that, they can also be unhealthy. Because Jeff had an entire house full of items that spoke to the memory and wonder of his father’s life, yet he chose the gun and the fury it symbolized over anything else and well, that says everything it needs to when it comes to the dark side of totems…

If anything, I have to admit that this episode ended up being quite the pleasant surprise. Because ‘The Blue Scorpion’ served as another wonderful homage to Rod Serling’s iteration of the show since the fantastical was everywhere in this story, and I loved the little coincidences that Jeff kept running into here, making one wonder if the gun really did have the magic that everyone believed it did, or if such matters were nothing more than incredible coincidence and I really did enjoy this one when all is said and done. For it once again demonstrated the show’s versatility storytelling wise, and it offered a welcome respite from some of the heavier ideas present this season and the change in pace here, leaves me wondering what direction the series is going to take when it comes to next week’s season finale. Will that tale have something important to say about our world? Or will it continue to explore the bizarre? Or…will it find a way to bring both elements together? I suppose we will have to tune in to find out. Until next time.