This is your weekly reminder that I will spoil book and show events that have occurred so far, but I will not spoil any book events that have not yet occurred on screen.

This week we got one of those episodes a show occasionally does where the main character never appears. My memory for these kinds of things is actually quite positive, probably because I’m more inclined to remember the excellent ones (like 'Zuko Alone' from Avatar: The Last Airbender) than the awful ones. I think for American Gods I’ll file this away under 'excellent one,' as I had a wonderful time.

Our main plot about Essie was taken straight out of the book and mostly unchanged. Even some of the dialogue was spoken word-for-word. There are a few minor changes of things which do not alter the overall plot or the end result (she is caught shoplifting by Bartholomew in the book, for example, but she is still saved from the gallows by a pregnancy, albeit from an unknown father, and she doesn’t encounter Sweeney in the prison, or at all until her death.) Overall, I was very happy with the presentation and it was an absolute delight to hear and see Essie’s tale, and especially at the end when Sweeney comes to get her.

Back in the present, we get a little information about the Buffalo, Salim is set free, and we find that Sweeney is still working for Wednesday. I have no choice but to speculate about the Buffalo, since it seems to be standing in for a Buffalo-headed man from the book, and the information we did get about him was not always terribly clear or specific. Perhaps he falls into some of the holes in my memory, but I am not quite sure how they fit together yet.
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Seeing Salim go free was quite nice. In the book he is only mentioned once in passing after his 'Somewhere in America' encounter with the Jinn, and I do not know where he’ll end up after his drive with Laura and Sweeney, but I hope he finds something better. He certainly deserves it.

Having Wednesday’s Ravens follow and talk to Sweeney along the way revealed two interesting things: first that Sweeney is still under instruction from Wednesday, and second: that Wednesday is actively working to remove Laura from play…again. Although we do find out that Wednesday was responsible for having Laura killed in the book, it’s never stated who exactly did the deed: Wednesday or one of his cohorts or associates. I can see why they decided to have Sweeney do it for the show: it adds a bit of depth to him and helps spur his development along. In the book Sweeney appears only twice after his bar fight with Shadow and then no more, and it would seem he is not working for Wednesday but simply trying to get along with his own life. (And, of course, recover the coin.) Whether he was still working directly for Wednesday or not was not definitively stated. Having Sweeney undoubtedly be an agent of Wednesday in the show does work at least to provide us a direct connection to our main characters. As for what other significance it will have, only time will tell.
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It was surprising to me (yet also, somehow, not a surprise, in the 'how did I not see this in front of me' kind of way,) that Wednesday seems to want Sweeney to remove Laura from the field of play. Since Sweeney wants his coin back anyway, it all fits together very conveniently. In the book Laura is definitely an unforeseen presence, and she causes problems for the old and new gods alike. She remains mostly out of their direct knowledge, however, except for Shadow relaying to Wednesday and one of the Zorya sisters that his wife is alive. Nobody but Shadow ever deals with her directly until towards the end of the book, (except for a few lackeys she kills like we saw earlier in the season, but they don’t really count,) and certainly nobody seems to take too much interest in or take any direct action against her. Since Wednesday encountered her in person in the show (driving quickly away from the motel as he turned up the radio,) it makes absolutely perfect sense that he would seek to remove her as a variable: Wednesday has a Plan and she is not part of it. He doesn’t need any Unknowns screwing things up. The fact that Sweeney also happens to need his coin back means Wednesday has the perfect man for the job.

Seeing Sweeney give the coin back to Laura was, for me, the most shocking part of the episode, and not just because we knew that Wednesday wanted Sweeney to re-kill Laura. (Or should I say un-revive her?) Knowing what I do about the importance of the coin makes me feel that there is absolutely nothing that would get Sweeney to part with it ever again, so this felt uncomfortably out of character. Unless he really believes in his promised resurrection and thinks he can hold out until then, or he’s changed the way he views and values life (which was hinted at by his 'saw my death in the fire' bit, which was original) then I can’t see any reason he’d ever give up that coin again. I feel like Sweeney changing his view is the most likely answer here, and we’ll see more evidence of his changing mindset in the future. If not, I can only hope we’ll get an explanation for this odd behavior somewhere down the line.

Lastly, I want to talk a little bit about Essie being played by Emily Browning. I have no complaints about the quality of her performance, which was excellent, but I’m worried about potential broader implications. If this is simply a nice, artistic thread of consistency, where Sweeney sees in Laura the image of someone he once knew, then that’s fine. However if it’s going to create some kind of direct connection between Laura and Sweeney, or even Laura and the Gods in general, I’ll be worried. In the book Laura always stood distinctly apart from gods of any kind, so to change that here would be to fundamentally change the way all the many 'sides' align in the narrative. Some of the drastic changes we’ve seen so far have certainly proven the showrunners can pull off such alterations and still end up with a fantastic final product, so I won’t be so stupid as to knee-jerk my way into pessimism, but I must admit a note of trepidation.

As the old saying goes, money is the root of all evil, and there's a reason that phrase continues to resonate after all this time, because there is indeed some truth to it. Some people, of course, help propagate the spirit of the saying by doing just about anything and everything for a quick buck. But the sheer necessity of money drives all of us to work hard to acquire more of it so we can keep a roof over our heads and food on the table and that need for cash, and what it does to us, became the central focus of last night's episode of Better Call Saul.

If anything, this sudden 'quest for cashola' that influenced a fair majority of the characters last night, made 'Fall' perhaps one of the darkest episodes that season three has to offer, simply because the people we know and love on this show, didn't quite seem like themselves. They were selfish, angry and boorish, all in the hopes of securing a little financial security, and as this show is wont to do, there will be clear cut consequences for their actions and while the jarring darkness of this episode may seem surprising and out of place, this was nothing more than the pinnacle of a season long tragedy, one that has seen everyone fall from grace, and one that even managed to suck Kim Wexler into the abyss as well.

Yes even dear Kim, who often serves as the moral compass on this show, was not immune from the draw and the power of the need for money. After all, with Jimmy out of work, she's been faced with the real possibility of coming up short when it comes to her budding new practice, which could in turn lead to financial ruin and with that in the back of her mind, she takes on the Gatwood Oil case after all, knowing full well it's more than she can handle at the moment, but also due to the fact that the riches that would come with this open and shut case...would fund the practice for a good long time. But alas, the amount of work required and the amount of energy it takes is too much for Kim to handle and in a stunning moment she passes out, loses control of her car and crashes it on the way to the Gatwood Oil meeting, leaving her practice, pride and health in the same state as the case...in tatters.

However while Kim's tragic story this episode is related to financial necessity, Chuck used monetary symbolism to handle his issues. Because the fallout from his little breakdown at the Bar hearing continues, to the point where the insurance company the firm uses for malpractice insurance is prepared to raise the premiums at HH&M twenty five percent out of concern and well...Chuck's bravado and desire to fight such a matter leads Howard to make a tough call...and ask Charles McGill to become a silent partner and retire from the firm. Unfortunately, Howard's gambit backfires and Chuck stuns him with a breach of contract lawsuit against HH&M, putting the firm on the hook for $8 million and potentially ruining their reputation all because Charles, cannot stand the thought of being humiliated or forced out and he is happy to use cash to get his point across just fine and it's equally amazing...that he's starting to unleash his inner Jimmy more and more....

Speaking of the younger McGill; Jimmy demonstrated just how far a man is willing to go when he's broke to enjoy a little financial security and his story...was truly the hardest of the night to watch. Because with all the time in the world on his hands, Jimmy visits Irene, a client from the Sandpiper case to get an update on the case and as it turns out, sweet Irene has received a powerful settlement offer from Sandpiper, one that would net Jimmy a cool million plus. But taking the money now is something that she doesn't want to deal with because it's something she feels is best left to the professionals, and the advice she's been given...is to wait. But the idea of having to wait to hit it big is more than Jimmy can handle and after his pleas to have Howard push the case into settlement are utterly ignored, Jimmy takes drastic measures into his own hands.

He takes the time to hang out with all of Irene's friends, pointing out just how much they would make in the settlement and it doesn't take long for jealousy and disdain to begin to settle amongst her pals and Jimmy being Jimmy, well he takes everything one step further, buying Irene gifts to make it look as though she clearly doesn't need the money and one by one, her friends begin to turn upon her, leading to a penultimate moment where Jimmy actually bothers to rig a Bingo game so Irene can win and face silence and angry stares from her friends...breaking the sweet old lady down into tears.  It's this moment that Jimmy was waiting for all along since he is able to bring up the settlement, and able to gently nudge her toward taking that payout and while Jimmy is able to 'convince' her to settle and is now likely as rich as can be...are you freaking serious?

I mean really, let's all take a moment and let this sink in. He flat out broke a sweet, little old lady's spirits, all in the hopes of getting a big time pay day and the amount of work and calculation that went into this long con...is downright stunning. It signals the fact that Jimmy has truly snapped on a primal level and that he will stop at nothing to make sure he and Kim are taken care of, since he did make a point to try and celebrate with her. But more importantly, this shocking moment and decision on his part, continues to reinforce the fact that Jimmy McGill is quietly starting to disappear before our eyes, because only a man without a conscience, like Saul Goodman, would be okay with breaking down an innocent person like that to get what they want and there's a fair chance now that it won't be long before Jimmy leaves his old life behind and lets Saul take over completely.

However not every aspect of this episode was completely mired in darkness, and ironically, the men one could consider to be villains...found ways to do the right thing in this story. After all, Mike did the start the process to get his money secured away for his family by getting a 'job' at one of Fring's shadow businesses, and Gus was even nice enough to cover any Federal expenses so that Mike gets every single dime, and even Nacho took the high road. Since his plan to take Hector down is going to take longer than expected he finally came clean to his father about everything, including Salamanca's plan, and took his lumps for losing his father's respect. But despite seeing more touching and classier moments from the supporting cast...all of it was overshadowed by Kim's desperation, Chuck's indulgence of his darker side and Jimmy's continued slide toward Saul Goodman. Either way, it's clear now that the season three finale is going to be downright brutal, because this was merely the setup...and the fallout that comes from these events will likely be nothing short of devastating. Until next time.

When you really think about it, the best television shows out there follow a pretty strict set of rules. They establish their overall plot for the season, they advance it in fine fashion, only going the wayside if the carefully planned plot calls for it and eventually wrap everything up in a neat little bow. But then there's American Gods. A show that is, hands down, one of the best television shows out there, and a big reason why this show is so downright incredible, is because on a regular basis, it breaks all the rules.

This is a series that can make the mundane incredibly interesting, and this is the only series that I can think of in recent years that can completely and utterly veer off from the main plot and still captivate its audience with little to no effort and for proof of that, look no further than last night's episode of the show; 'A Prayer for Mad Sweeney'. Because this intimate little tale, did basically nothing to advance us toward the forthcoming war between Wednesday and World, instead opting to center in on our favorite Leprechaun and tell his harrowing tale and well...in a nutshell this episode of the show was completely and utterly beautiful as it switched back and forth between the past and how Sweeney made it to America and present day as he continues to try and save Laura Moon. 

Now, what truly made this story so enchanting, was the fact that it focused little on Sweeney himself in the past. Instead we were treated to the story of Essie MacGowan, an Irish woman who was raised on the legends of the Gods, and Leprechauns for that matter and followed the lessons to those legends to a tee. She always left an offering for these mystical beings in order to see good fortune come her way and despite a few missteps and forgotten offerings along the way, leading to tough and troubled times for Essie, she always comes back to the Gods she knows and is able to lead a good and fruitful life because of her faith, and in her waning moments...she meets Sweeney at last, and he reveals his true identity to her, and that she and a handful of others brought him to this strange new world and that magical moment is her reward for her continued faith and she is allowed to pass into the great beyond with the knowledge that something more exists in this life. 

Yet there is a powerful irony to go with that tale, because the Sweeney we see in the past, while still mischievous as his kind are wont to be...is a classier man. One willing to provide comfort to a dear old lady before she dies, which makes for quite the painful contrast when we look at present day Sweeney. Because it doesn't take long to be reminded of the fact that modern day Sweeney is a rude jackass, or as Salim puts it, 'an unpleasant creature' and one has to wonder what made him into this bastardized version of himself, and thankfully an errand of mercy, where he takes the time to save Laura once again after a harrowing accident, opens the door for us to figure out precisely what changed the man.

To truly understand Mad Sweeney, we need to venture back to his final conversation with Essie MacGowan. Because during the course of their little chat, Sweeney mentions, with the kind of piss and vitriol that only he can summon, that most people in this new world have no place for Gods or belief and well...this is where the show surprised us with quite the philosophical moment. Throughout this entire tale, Essie and even Sweeney ponder upon the wonder of America and how one can come here and become anyone and do anything and it speaks to the American Dream through and through. But upon arriving here, both God and human, at least in this tale...seem confused and unsure of what the Dream is exactly and how to pursue it. Essie merely makes amends as best she can since she's a survivor, but for men like Sweeney, who rely on others to make them more...he more or less becomes lost in the crowd and that seems to turn him to a darker place.

It's heartbreaking in a way since Sweeney has all the power of belief he could ever need (albeit perhaps a hollow one), thanks in part to children's cereal, something he is fully aware of; but he is a man wandering this great land without a sense of purpose or direction and after years of letting his darker side come to the surface, this tale seems to serve as a reminder of not only how far this once proud King has fallen from his better days, but also how much he longs to do good things again, and provide comfort in time of need like he did for dear Essie, instead of bringing sorrow and pain as he did for Shadow, since it was also revealed that he helped Laura's death come about on that fateful night. Either way, what a powerful and beautiful piece of storytelling this episode turned out to be and it serves as proof that sometimes, it's okay to break from tradition when a wonderful story is dying to be told. Until next time.

Sometimes in life, you have to mix things up a little bit, that way you get a change of pace in life and everything doesn't feel quite so mundane. Oddly enough, since entertainment often mirrors life, sometimes our favorite television shows do the same, all in the hopes of giving the audience something new and exciting to enjoy and mixing things up, is precisely what Doctor Who did last night. 

Because after weeks of incredibly cerebral and thoughtful episodes that examined the state of the world and the human condition, last night's story, 'Empress of Mars', harkened back to the simpler days of Doctor Who, bringing back a classic villain in the Ice Warriors and delivering unto us a story that was downright fun. Now this particular tale saw the Doctor, Bill and Nardole head to Mars in 1881 in order to discover how a message reading 'God Save the Queen' made its way onto the surface of the planet near the North Pole and after the TARDIS whisks Nardole back to present day, it's up to the Doctor and Bill to unravel the mystery and what they discover is nothing short of amazing. A small regiment of British soldiers is here on the planet, brought to this world by a weary and confused Ice Warrior they call Friday and the hope for these soldiers is to discover riches untold before they return to Earth. But they are merely pawns when it comes to Friday's master plan...to revive Iraxxa, the Empress of Mars and it is up to the Doctor and Bill to keep the peace between these two war mongering species. 

So as this episode progressed, I couldn't help but notice that there was a particularly special feel to this story, almost as if someone in the Writer's Room asked the question, 'hey, what if we put Peter Capaldi in a Tom Baker episode?' and everyone in the room ran with it. Because everything about this episode looks and feels like an episode from that particular era of the show. The costumes were a touch brighter this week, at least when it came to the soldiers, the performances outside of the Doctor and Bill were a little more over the top just as they were back in the late 1970's and early 1980's on the series and all of these elements and changes made for a fun story that no doubt pleased long term fans of the show by paying respect to the Fourth Doctor and for newer fans of the show, they were introduced to a classic villain in proper fashion because the always angry Ice Warriors didn't mess around in this episode. But while it was cool to see the show relax a bit and have fun with the story, it was also nice to see that the incredibly intelligent writing that's become a staple of series ten was present in this particular tale as well.

Because this story was more than happy to take us on a trip down memory lane and remind us that mankind's past is filled to the brim with foolish mistakes and embarrassing behaviors, and all of that was presented by way of the Queen's servicemen. After all, these men were incredibly comfortable with viewing Friday and the African gentleman in their regiment as lesser beings and it was strange to see both alien and man be used as servants, and the bravado and brashness that came with these men was equally raw and cringe worthy since these men were obsessed with untold riches, ego and oneupmanship and of course, making sure the British Empire found proper roots on Mars, and while at first this seems like an unnecessary plot device, there was actually a rhyme and a reason for having all of this present in the story. 

After all, Doctor Who is a show that celebrates the best parts of our humanity and it was necessary to show the worst parts of who we are, to remind us that we are capable of great things and that final sequence, when it seems that Iraxxa is going to slaughter everyone that gets in her way, only to have Colonel Godsacre surrender his life and his honor to Queen Iraxxa in the hopes of having his men and the Earth spared...was downright magnificent. It truly spoke to the beauty within mankind and the sense of unity we all share on this tiny little planet we call home and oddly enough, the show did take it's intelligent writing a step further, by ever-so-subtly pointing out that in many ways the Ice Warriors weren't that different from mankind after all since Iraxxa and her kind were equally as ignorant and brash as their human counterparts and it was quite nice to see these two species find some common ground when all is said and done.

If anything, this was simply a refreshing episode of the show. Gone, for the most part, were the deeper elements exploring the Doctor's psyche and health that have been prevalent all season long and I say...for the most part because the end of the story did leave me with quite a few questions revolving around some lingering issues. First and foremost, why did the TARDIS bring Nardole back to present day? Was it to get Missy out of the vault to help him pilot the ship back to 1881, so that she could check on her age old friend? Because when she asks him if he's all right, there's some genuine concern in her voice and well, that begs the question...what's wrong with the Doctor? Time will tell, but one has to wonder if there are some unexpected side effects or long term damage ready to come to the surface following his dealings with the Monks and the events at Chasm Forge. Either way, something is clearly wrong and that could be what leads Twelve...to regeneration. Until next time. 

While it's a wonderful thing that Science Fiction is an ultra popular genre these days, one does have to lament the fact that sometimes, our Sci-Fi is a little more action oriented and less on the cerebral side. No judgment, it's simply a sign of the times, but when a Sci-Fi story pops up that just so happens to be ridiculously intelligent and fun, it certainly should be celebrated and it just so happens that Dimension 404 delivered that kind of wondrous story with its second episode, 'Cinethrax'.

In this episode we are introduced to Dusty, a hardcore film buff who firmly believes that classic films are always superior to anything made in this day and age and unfortunately for Dusty his tolerance when it comes to modern movies is about to be put to the test since his niece, Chloe, drags him along to a  showing of a big time Hollywood blockbuster presented in the brand new, ever so gimmicky, 4D Experience...Cinethrax. It's something Dusty quickly realizes he wants nothing of, and in order to focus on the story he uses his own pair of 3D killing glasses, allowing him to ignore the over the top effects. But by using his own gear, Dusty uncovers something terrifying about this motion picture and his discovery...will change his life (and the world for that matter), in ways that he could have never imagined.

So once again, we have to keep the spoiler-y details light in this recap because holy cow, the twists and turns in this one far exceed the wonder of even the pilot episode. So rather than ruin that for you, let's take a moment and simply discuss the sheer intelligence and brilliance of this particular episode because there is plenty to rave about when it comes to this one. First and foremost, the casting. This story features the always sublime Patton Oswalt as Dusty and Sarah Ryland as his niece Chloe and well, you could not have chosen a better pair of actors for this story. Both of them hold their own and bring these characters to life and have fun while they do it, but their incredible talent makes this story believable and they're so genuine that you care about what happens to these characters and it simply makes the big surprise in this one all the more thrilling.

But truly, what I loved most about the episode, is the fun that it brings to the table. There's little jabs at the absurdity we sometimes see in pop culture when it comes to elitist ideas in fandoms and while that satire is entertaining, the true piéce de résistance of this story is the sheer love it sends to science fiction tales from the past by way of utterly brilliant homages and in jokes from various franchises. From Dusty's shirt to how some of the characters act, it's clear that the Writer's Room was ready to pay their respects to John Carpenter and some of the true modern classics of Science Fiction along the way...in addition to throwing in a little love to the horror genre for good measure as well. There are definitely some distinct moments reminiscent of George Romero's work and well, for those of us who love the films of that era, it's simply a joy to see it come to life in this fun and thrilling story. 

If anything, I'm quickly starting to realize that Dimension 404 is one of the smartest television shows out there. I'm only two episodes in and already I'm finding tons of social commentary and real world scenarios that we can all relate to and quite frankly, that's magnificent. Because this show holds nothing back. It says what it wants to say, it is bold in its storytelling and I was thoroughly impressed with the scope and intelligence of this episode. With that in mind, I need more. The stories are getting smarter as the season progresses and truly, I cannot wait to see what other treats are in store for me up ahead. So with that in mind, it's time to start the next episode and indulge in some more witty science fiction. Until next time.

Perhaps the best part about going back and watching your favorite television shows all over again, is that sometimes you discover something wonderful and new that you might have missed the first time around, and that's something that's starting to happen with increasing frequency, the more I dig back into Battlestar Galactica. 

Because as each episode plays out before my eyes all over again, there are subtle nuances in the storytelling that I have never noticed before. For example, I completely missed the fact that season two worked hard to build in underlying themes and concepts for the characters to examine in just about every episode, and I'm quickly starting to notice that season three is working harder to draw the audience in and truly give them an outright experience, and that was never more evident than in the second episode of season three, 'Precipice'. Because this particular tale continued the bleak and dreary atmosphere that the season premiere established in fine fashion, but it found a way to shatter that experience by peppering in a sense of hope.

Much of that, was accomplished by way of the story that took place aboard the Galactica. Because now that they were in contact with the people of New Caprica, the ship and its rag-tag crew seemingly come back to life. Everyone is suddenly vested in Adama's plan to rescue those they left behind...well...except for Lee. The younger Adama seems to recognize the risk involved and the possibility that Pegasus and Galactica may never escape such a risky gambit and that's when the Admiral surprises his son and the audience for that matter. Because in the midst of a tender moment with his son, he points out the fact that he cannot live with himself if he leaves anyone behind again and he orders Lee to take the Pegasus and the rest of the fleet to resume the search for Earth and well...holy cow, what an inspiring plot line to watch. You more or less feel Adama's dedication and devotion to the people of New Caprica and his resolve to save them all, regardless of the cost, leaves your spirits soaring.

But what's incredible about all of that, is that the fleet's plot line, is what's used to break up the utter darkness on New Caprica and thank heavens for that because things back on this desolate rock are downright devastating. Because in the wake of the suicide bombing from the last episode, Saul Tigh continues to conduct such attacks, despite Laura Roslin's pleas to put an end to that kind of violence. The Colonel is determined to defeat his enemy and the pressure he applies to the Cylons forces their hand to apply more 'stringent' discipline upon the populace, going so far as to round up people deemed troublesome in the middle of the night and forcing Baltar at gunpoint...to sign off on an execution order for every last one of them, and faced with his own death, the President of the Colonies does the only logical thing to save his hide...and signs on the dotted line...

Yet despite the fact that the show lined up every last one of these innocent people, and trained guns upon them...it still found a way to deliver some hope. As it turns out, the Admiral allows Sharon to join the Colonial Fleet and sends her off to New Caprica, mostly due to the fact that the Centurions stationed there will see her as a standard Cylon model, all in the hopes of using her to help advance the forthcoming plan to rescue the last of humanity and hopefully her arrival means that the gunshots we hear at the end of the episode are the kind that save lives instead of take them. In the end however, what an experience this story turned out to be. There was no deeper meaning to be found here, no commentary on mankind, just a wild rollercoaster of emotions...and I'm fairly certain there's more of this wild ride waiting for us around the corner. Until next time.

Despite how strong people are, or appear to be, there's one fundamental truth when it comes to humanity...we can only take so much. There simply comes a point when the weight upon our shoulders breaks us, or the trouble in our lives makes us snap and it's safe to say that fans of The Handmaid's Tale have been wondering for some time now...just how much more can the people of Gilead take when it comes to the hell they live in?

As it turns out, the answer to that question is...not much more. The people of this 'proud' nation are starting to crack, and while one might expect that to be a wonderful thing, the better word for it is bittersweet. Because reaching the breaking point is good for some, and bad for others and that dynamic was on full display in last night's episode, 'The Bridge'. But before we dig into the details there, it's important to note that this particular chapter in this harrowing story was vastly different from anything else we've seen to date on this show. This was...when compared to the other episodes, an action packed tale, one that dropped the social commentary to propel the plot into new and exciting places and it worked like a charm. This story was captivating, thrilling and downright heartbreaking and perhaps the best place to start, is with the darker plot line that this episode featured.

Because this particular tale took us back into Commander Putnam's household to examine another tough aspect of the Handmaid's role, the day they are sent packing to another Commander's home and needless to say, this act was not going well for Janine. She struggled to hand over the baby and she struggled to keep it together at her new post, and that meant trouble was on the horizon for Janine. We've known for some time her mental health is suffering in this world, and Putnam made it worse by promising her the world and well...despite the fact that June expresses concern and that Aunt Lydia knows something is wrong, Janine is left to her own devices and that leads to disaster. Because Janine escapes, return to the Putnam's and grabs baby Angela, and threatens to dive into a freezing river with baby in hand and if it wasn't for June, she would have succeeded in hurting the baby. Instead...she chooses to harm herself and ends up in the hospital for diving into the river after all, and when all is said and done, what a powerful and sobering storyline this turned out to be and who knows if Janine will ever recover. 

But despite the darkness prevalent in Janine's harrowing story, there is hope on the horizon after all, because June finally made contact with Mayday and offered up her help and she was given orders to help the resistance. She was to return to Jezebel's and pick up a package from a bartender and this task presented us with a completely different type of June. Suddenly she was confident once again, filled with purpose and direction and she arranged a return to this awful place but what matters more...is that suddenly June is becoming a leader whether she knows it or not. While she didn't succeed in her mission thanks to the Commander's focus on 'romance' over anything else, she did finally get through to Moira and remind her to fight this awful world and Moira went from coward to hero in no time at all since she smuggled out the package and found a way to get it to June before orchestrating her own escape and it was utterly magnificent to see this kind of strength and fight appear in a pair of characters that appeared to be losing all hope.

If anything, this is quite possibly the only true feel good episode the show has offered up this season because seeing this many people buck the system and resist brought a smile to my face, and when one considers all the talk of resistance that's been permeating throughout the season, perhaps the fight will finally come to Gilead's core. But we can never forget that when it comes to matters such as this, things get worse before they get better. Clearly Nick is suspicious of what is going on with June and no one knows exactly where his loyalties lie but his dedication to the Eyes is disturbing to say the least and with this all important package now in the Waterford's home...June is at risk more than ever. Either way, this is quite the setup for the season one finale, and I'm expecting something explosive because these poor people have all had enough of this oppressive place and it should be interesting to see where this insurrection will go from here. Until next time. 

Anthology style storytelling has always had a special place in my heart. It may be because I  enjoyed a steady diet of ​The Outer Limits and Tales from the Darkside growing up, but seeing a complete story unfold before my eyes in a short period of time is something that utterly captivates my imagination. So when one of my colleagues on this site, Bri, let me know that Hulu had fired up a new anthology series, I jumped at the chance to dive in and enjoy the wonder of ​Dimension 404.

If by chance you're fan of this style of series as I am, the good news is, it doesn't take long to settle in and enjoy this show since the pilot episode, 'Matchmaker', is a perfect blend of The Outer Limits and The Twilight Zone, and thankfully it adds its own twists to the mix so its not a total 'clone' of the classics. Now the plot for this particular story introduces us to a love lorn man named Adam who is desperate to find his one and only, and after some serious prodding from his roommate, Adam tries out the dating site; 'Make-A-Match' in order to find that special someone and wouldn't you know it...it works like a charm. He's introduced to Amanda, who meets his every need down a tee and well....when all is said and done, let's just say the old saying, 'if it seems too good to be true,' comes right into play.

Granted that kind of simple plot seems like it has no place within the confines of a show that compares to The Twilight Zone, but despite the spoiler warning above...I really don't want to reveal the twist that comes with Adam's plight because it's the kind of thing that needs to be experienced to say the least. Because it is downright brilliant and extremely Sci-Fi and in line with an anthology series of this style and design. But what I do want to discuss, is the sheer amount of thought that went into this particular tale. Because despite its light-hearted moments, and awesome science fiction twists and turns...this story does a phenomenal job exploring several key things; our need to be loved and desired and how hard it can be to go on when we are rejected by someone we care for, and...how technology has completely changed the dating landscape. 

Because holy cow...we get quite the in-depth look at the pain that comes with heartbreak and you feel for Adam when it arrives at his doorstep because you can completely and utterly relate to the man on a personal level, and to see that kind of humanity present in a script such as this is simply beautiful. But really...the technology aspect, ends up being quite the lovely little piece of social commentary because let's be honest, dating apps and dating websites have removed the thrill of dating to a certain extent. We in essence shop for our potential mates now, and are happy to remove them from our feed if they don't meet our particular criteria and this episode puts that strange change to dating front and center and even offers up an honest solution to the matter that isn't out of this world or silly.

This story simply speaks to the fact that hurt is part of the game, and pain is part of love and whether we like that aspect of it or not, there's no such thing as a perfect mate, only someone who ignites something special in our heart, and we need to go out there...live our lives and take our lumps until we find that particular person, and finding a moral lesson in this tale is something I simply did not expect. But it's clear now that Dimension 404 is interested in telling a different kind of story, one with weight and gravity and for those reasons...I'm hooked and ready to watch another episode and really, if you need any other reason outside of quality storytelling and depth to watch this show, I did forget to mention the fact that the legendary Mark Hamill is your narrator/guide to this strange universe and that alone is worth the price of admission. Until next time.

This is your weekly reminder: I will not spoil anything that has yet to happen in the show, but I will spoil book and show events that have already been on screen.
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This week was another episode of original content leaving me with very little to talk about, so you can all breathe a sigh of relief knowing that you won’t have to suffer through too much of my verbosity today. In fact, I really only have a total of three points to address: what Vulcan (who is an original character written specifically for the show) means for the Old Gods, the information we got about the moving tree thing, and Laura beginning to consider just how terrible her old life was.

First, Vulcan. I think he feels like a natural addition to the American Gods Pantheon; guns and gun culture are certainly a very important aspect of American culture, and making him a modern interpretation of the old gods of forges, volcanoes, weapons, and security made a lot of logical and cultural sense. I think I already know one of the things Wednesday’s special sword is going to be used for later, and having it made by an Old God who adapted to the New World very well feels right for a few reasons.

Most importantly, Vulcan is a great representation of an Old God whose found his place in the world. He’s adapted, and although he’s not as powerful or prolifically worshipped as he may once have been, he still has his own perfect little world.  I found myself wondering why he would throw it all away and support Wednesday so quickly; was the potential weapon worship that would come from such a war really so tempting? To my relief, it turned out that no, it wasn’t: instead Vulcan, while helping Wednesday and giving him his sword, also gave him away to the New Gods in an effort to not pick sides and not risk his little bubble. Wednesday’s vengeance killing is one of the first serious showings of emotion and selfishness we’ve seen from Wednesday, and might help endear him to Shadow a bit, after Shadow’s discomfort at Vulcan’s people and what they stood for. 

It also shows us a bit more about Wednesday’s ethos: he does not simply want the Old Gods to adapt or change. Rather, he wants them to seize control of the world but stay the way they are. It’s worth mentioning that Vulcan’s 'franchising' of his faith is not dissimilar to the offer the New Gods made to Wednesday in the previous episode. Clearly Wednesday cannot abide such a choice, seeing it as a betrayal of what the Old Gods are. It all actually reminds me of Bilquis, who we haven’t seen in a while, but who seemed to be gaining back some of her old power thanks to the way modern technology facilitates her hook-ups.

With Vulcan serving so many purposes in this episode, he was almost utilized too well. It makes me feel like his value wasn’t explored to its full potential. Although there’s much more to do and only two episodes left to do it, I’m almost sorry Vulcan appeared and vanished so quickly.

Something else this episode gave us was a small piece of information about the moving tree thing. The scene itself was quite nice, and felt like it came from a more magical, mystical version of The Matrix car scene where they pull the probe out of Neo. If anything, this info left me even more baffled than I was: Wednesday mentions a 'Mr. Wood' who had to do with trees and forests and 'became something else.' Well I have no idea where we’re going with that. I can’t remember anything along those lines offhand in the book and, although there is a 'Mr. Wood' character, he’s just one of the Spooks or Black Hats who work for Mr. World. (Who, I mentioned before, represents the New God of Surveillance and Intelligence and Shadowy Government Agencies.) All of Mr. World’s agents have mundane names, like Mr. Town or Mr. Road. As for Mr. Wood, he and Mr. Stone interrogate Shadow before they are killed by Laura when she breaks him out, and that’s the last we ever see of him. Whatever’s going on here, I feel like this tree thing shares nothing more with the book character than the name. Time will tell I suppose.

Lastly, I’d like to talk about Laura, Sweeney, and Salim. As readers will know, Sweeney’s journey with Laura isn’t in the book, and Salim doesn’t appear again after his 'Somewhere in America' introduction, but I’m absolutely delighted to see them all here. Their travels together mean we get to have the delight of seeing these characters and actors on screen, even without directly throwing the main plot off course. Their performances (and especially their scripts) are marvelous, and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment they appeared. I think I actually enjoyed their sections more than Shadow and Wednesday’s in this particular episode. Meanwhile, they do bring us some important book-based progress: Laura is dying, and Sweeney is only oh-so-pleased to constantly remind her that she has no life. He’s also particularly happy to remind her that leaving her old life behind typically involves getting a new one which she does not have. Laura’s slow shift in attitude in the book from 'I want my old life back' to 'Maybe I want a new one' to 'Maybe I should accept my death' is one of the key facets of her progression as a character, and adding Sweeney and Salim to walk alongside her on this journey is a great way to escort her down that path.

When we last left Jimmy McGill and his friends on Better Call Saul, we found each and every last one of them residing in quite the dark place. It seemed as though everyone was slipping down the rabbit hole since Kim was disillusioned with her actions in court, Mike and Nacho were struggling with the consequences that come with their chosen line of work and Jimmy…well Jimmy was slipping further into the darkness thanks to a lack of income and a desire to further his vendetta against Chuck since he made his brother’s illness known to an agent at their mutual provider for malpractice insurance.
 
Which means that in essence, every single character on this show is at a crossroads and they have tough choices to make as to where they go from here. They can either begin to repair the damage done in their lives or feed the darkness in their soul and as it turns out, last night’s episode, ‘Slip’, saw these dynamic characters make those choices and clearly these decisions will put these people on vastly different paths. Because some of them chose indeed to get their lives in order and set the wrongs, right. While others…continued their downward spiral. 
 
With that in mind, let’s talk about the characters who are trying to positively impact their lives since there were quite a few, including Kim who enjoyed perhaps the most powerful moment of the night. Because at a lunch with the Mesa Verde folks, Howard made his presence known and of course, took an opportunity to intimidate and embarrass Kim, allowing for her to finally force a confrontation with her former mentor and stand up to him at last. Because despite his accusations that she and Jimmy caused HH&M great trouble with what they did in the Bar hearing, she made it perfectly clear that all she did was expose the truth about Chuck’s condition, something Howard chose to keep secret from his clients and it was magnificent to see Kim put Howard in his place…and accept what happened in court and decide to move on from it.
 
However the other characters moving in a positive direction didn’t exactly enjoy moments quite as fulfilling. Mike for example, had to go an ugly route to find some internal peace for his actions, such as finding the body of the Good Samaritan he inadvertently helped die and report it to the police before diving back into Gus Fring’s world to ensure that his granddaughter and daughter-in-law have financial security once he is gone. It’s a step in the right direction for Mike, but sadly one that keeps him in the grey area where he operates best. As an added bonus in this episode, Chuck was also working to better himself, since we came to learn that he has made great progress in his recovery, to the point where he can even make it to the store on his own. But the pain he endures there speaks to the fact he has a long way to go and the malpractice insurance issue…may cause Chuck more harm than good. 

​But while it was nice to see some of the characters on this show work to improve their lives at last, we do have to discuss the others who decided to indulge the darkness surrounding them, like Nacho. Because he pushed ahead with his plan to make his boss pay and pay dearly by getting those placebo pills ready and despite Nacho’s boldness in the matter, it’s clear he’s fully aware of the consequences if he gets caught in doing this, which made for one intense scene at the restaurant where Hector does business because making the swap almost broke Nacho’s normally solid nerves. But the swap was made none the less and Nacho’s ugly plan to bring down Hector Salamanca is now in motion.
 
Truly though the centerpiece of the night when it comes to indulging one’s darkside however, belongs to Jimmy McGill…because he continued his downward slide into Saul Goodman last night in impressive fashion. If anything, there’s an air of apathy surrounding Jimmy now and he’s had it with doing things the right way or the fair way, he’s just ready to do whatever it takes to get ahead and for proof, look no further than the incident at the music store. Because despite getting these guys more business, they saw an opportunity to handle matters on their own and not give Jimmy a dime for his efforts. Forcing Jimmy to bust a out a simple ‘slip and fall’ con to blackmail them into getting his money by looking at things from a legal side, and wouldn’t you know it, it worked.
 
But Jimmy wasn’t quite done enjoying the thrill that comes with using the law to his advantage and he decided to try something new while performing his court required community service. Because in masterful fashion he was able to break the man supervising said service with legal jargon to not only get a break from time to time and rest his back, while still getting full credit for his hours worked, but he was also able to get a drug dealer released from service and get his full hours as well…in addition to landing seven hundred bucks from the dealer for helping him out and it's clear now that Jimmy is truly getting a taste for skirting the grey line between what’s right and what’s wrong and every single time he makes a decision such as this, he moves one step closer to becoming Saul Goodman.
 
If anything, the best way to describe this episode is bittersweet. Because while it was awesome to see that Chuck is genuinely trying to better his life, that Mike is attempting to right his wrongs and that Kim is ready to leave the Chuck mess behind her…it’s just as heartbreaking to know that Nacho made his dark decision to put Hector down in brutal fashion. But most importantly, while it’s incredible to see Jimmy slowly slip into Saul’s shoes, it’s equally painful to watch it unfold before our eyes. Because little by little, the good in him we saw in the series premiere is fading away and it’s just a matter of time before only the darkness remains, and with only two episodes left in season three, one has to wonder just how much more progress Jimmy is going to make toward becoming Saul Goodman. Until next time.