​It is no secret, that I am a die hard football fan. There's just something so incredible about the speed and the precision of the game that Sundays are simply not enough for me to enjoy and I often find myself pouring over anything I can when it comes to the sport, including any movie or television show about it.  

However, the downside is, while those mediums do an adequate job of entertaining all of us, they are lacking that special something that comes with the sport...the sheer thrill of it, which is why one of my guilty T.V. pleasures only comes around once a year when HBO airs Hard Knocks. For those unfamiliar with the show, it is a limited run of five episodes that takes us inside the training camp of an NFL team, chronicling the first weeks of preseason as the coaches put together their team for the year.  

What makes it such a guilty pleasure, is the sheer fact that it is an uncensored, unfettered look at professional football and now in its fifteenth season, this series shows no signs of stopping, and that's a good thing since this series provides us with so many stunning moments. The tough discussions the coaches have to make, the things they have to say to their players to get them motivated is all on display here and well, it instantly sucks you in. This is a series that gives you everything you don't get on game day, it is truly a complete football experience and this year is no exception. The Los Angeles Rams are the focus this year and even though this season wraps up next Tuesday, I am in awe of what this season has shown us. 

This is the first year that a team that relocated cities has been highlighted and quite frankly, what I've learned about the Rams, is that despite the fact that this sport is a business, this team tries their best to make everyone feel like a family. Because the hardest part of this show to watch, and no doubt the hardest job the coaches have to go through...is cut down day. This is when the coaches have to say goodbye to a particular player, veteran or rookie to meet the NFL's roster requirements and man...sometimes you can pinpoint the moment when you see a player's heart break as they realize there is a fair chance that their NFL career has now come to an end, and your own heart soars when you see a fan favorite or someone that you connect with make the team and live their dream.

If you're a casual football fan and feel a desire to know more about the game and what goes into it, this is the series for you. If you're a die hard NFL fan and haven't caught this yet, you need to. Only because this is as close to as many of us will ever come to being inside the locker room of an NFL team to truly see what it is like to play in the NFL and it is my hope that this series continues long enough to have spotlighted every single team in the league, my Broncos included. But for now, I'll settle for the every day fix of teams that I only know in passing, and live the agony of defeat and the joy of victory through ninety men, trying their damndest to live their dream and earn the elite title of professional football player. 

Episode recaps are a time honored tradition when it comes to Game of Thrones (or any show you’re currently obsessed with, really). Friends gush about their favorite scenes, acquaintances quote their favorite lines in Facebook status updates, the internet runs wild with spoiler alerts and fan theories and memes, and even the stars of the show tweet pride or displeasure at the actions of their Westerosi counterparts. It’s a cycle of detox and re-tox. Let’s unpack and analyze the hell out of that episode and then get pumped for the next one. But with this important ritual comes an interesting phenomenon. Inevitably, as we all sit on the couch and recount the episode’s highlights, one friend will begin ranting about how much they hate [INSERT CHARACTER’S NAME HERE].

Anyone even remotely familiar with GoT knows that there is a plethora of easily despised characters, from the somewhat annoying Maester Pycell to the downright wicked Ramsey Bolton. But one name that I’m always shocked to hear in these exclamations of loathing is none other than Sansa Stark. Let me be clear, I’m not shocked by this because I think there is nothing to dislike about Sansa. For all her good qualities she is still spoiled, presumptuous, naïve to the plight of the common folk, and downright ungrateful sometimes.  But the Sansa haters never really mention these faults.

After watching the sixth season’s first episode, “The Red Woman,” in which Sansa escapes Winterfell and the clutches of her abusive husband, Ramsey Bolton, my friend uttered the words, “I wish Sansa would stop being so weak.” There were nods and murmurs of agreement at this statement and I could not for the life of me figure out why. I’m not a huge fan of Sansa, personally. If I had to pick a favorite character she’d likely not even make the top ten. But for all the words I’d use to describe a young woman who lost her home and family and spent years of her life living in fear of multiple abusers, weak is certainly not one of them.

I pressed my friend on her assessment of Sansa. What did she mean by weak? The response she gave detailed the fact that Sansa had indeed been passed from abuser to abuser (Joffrey and Cersei, Littlefinger and her Aunt Lysa, Ramsey Bolton, etc.) but then reasoned that she had never managed to escape any of them or fight back, and this is what made her worthy of intense dislike.

There are a lot of feminist pros and cons to Game of Thrones. Pros: Strong and diverse female characters, women in positions of power, women who defy gender norms. Cons: inequity between male and female nudity, violence against women and sexual assault used as spectacle, female stars being paid less than their male counterparts. All of this is a discussion for another day. But a truly dangerous and anti-feminist perception from GoT fans is the demonization of Sansa Stark and the idea that there is a “right” way to be a survivor of trauma or sexual assault.

The problem I see with my friend’s assessment of Sansa is that it reduces her entirely to the role of “victim” and then condemns her for the ways in which her trauma defines her. She isn’t allowed to be called a survivor because apparently that term only applies to women who “get themselves out” or “get their revenge”.  This becomes problematic for women everywhere for two reasons.

One, it provides another category for women to be in competition over. My friends not only agreed that Sansa is weak but as proof they compared her to other GoT heroines who supposedly represented the “right” way to overcome abuse and trauma. Never mind society’s insistence that women must compete for jobs, men, compliments, etc. Now apparently we have to compete over who can best conform to the victim ideal, who can best overcome their abuse and abusers and show the world they can’t be broken. While some could argue this has a powerful message (overcome, do not break, don’t let the patriarchy get you down), the underlying message is that it is the victim’s responsibility to heal or survive according to society’s standards and not at their own pace, comfort level, or means. By insisting a survivor be a certain kind of powerful, you remove their power.

Secondly, any woman who sees themselves in Sansa is being told that they are also weak and worthy of ridicule. There is a consistent outcry among women in geek culture (and every other community, for that matter) for more diverse representation, for more women in more roles with more complexities. Representation and being able to see one’s self in media and popular culture is a powerful affirmation that you are not alone. And yet, when presented with Sansa Stark, the GoT viewing audience seems more concerned with wishing she were more like the other women on the show. Apparently, diversity in representation only applies to conventionally “likeable” characters.

The root of the problem is our society’s expectations of victims. It’s not enough to one day find yourself free and healthy and regaining your agency, unless you’ve stabbed Meryn Trant in a brothel or burned a city to the ground you’re doing it wrong. Granted, in episode nine “Battle of the Bastards,” Sansa does get her revenge moment and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love it, but it felt to me like an unnecessary attempt to “strengthen” her character or appease an audience that is always crying for more blood.

When it comes to victim advocacy, it’s not enough to support the real life women who’ve survived trauma. It’s not enough to uphold the fictional women who found their freedom or got their revenge. We have to support the women who are still struggling to escape their abusers. We have to praise the fictional representations of women who endure and survive and hopefully someday find peace. We have to applaud the strength of Sansa Stark and recognize that even if she had never gotten the chance to feed Ramsey to the dogs, she is a survivor.

Sometimes, the buildup for a series finale...turns out to be quite the disappointment. We get the feeling that incredible things are going to happen, and we will be treated to a sweeping and epic story that takes our breath away...only to get an ending that is simply an ending, one that may or may not satisfy and leaves us talking about how it didn't live up to expectations for days to come. Part of me was worried that 11.22.63 was going to suffer from this. After all, we only had an hour left, Jake was already in Dallas with Sadie, leaving one to wonder...how would the show handle the act of stopping Lee Harvey Oswald over the course of an hour without dragging it out? 

Well the answer to that question was simple, handle it up front and in stunning fashion because as it turns out 'The Day in Question' was an incredible series finale, one that properly wrapped up every plot thread and every question we've had on our mind, and it truly managed to take your breath away because the Man with the Yellow Card was right...Jake should have never messed with the past, but more on that in a moment, because before this recap gets ahead of itself, we need to talk about Jake's quest to stop Lee Harvey Oswald since the past did everything in its power to make sure he failed to do so. Every possible change it could make to hold them back came out of the woodwork, from impossible traffic jams, to the dead appearing briefly, to the past simply trying to wipe out Jake and Sadie if it meant yesterday would remain unchanged. But lo and behold, Jake and Sadie survived all of those wild attempts to finally come face to face with Lee...and despite the close calls with failure, Jake managed to succeed in his mission, but at a great cost. 

Because in the midst of distracting Lee long enough for President Kennedy to escape, Sadie took a bullet from the would be assassin and it wasn't until Jake finally put an end to his rampage did he see his love wounded and the two shared a wonderfully tender moment before she passed on. But if that wasn't enough for Jake to suffer through, Dallas P.D. and the FBI placed him under arrest, under the suspicion that he was the man who took a shot at the President and it gave Jake a sit down moment with Agent Hosty where he was able to use his knowledge of the future to confuse the man long enough to get one important phone call...from the President of the United States, personally thanking Jake for saving his life, and with that call, Jake was now the hero of the hour...one that asked to be kept anonymous and one that was ready to go home and see what positive changes had come to 2016 out of this painfully pyrrhic victory. So he returned 'home' to Lisbon, Maine and once more stepped through the diner's portal...only to find one horrible surprise.

For once he returned home, Jake quickly discovered that the world he left behind now simply ceased to exist, replaced instead with a devastated wasteland wherein he finds few humans...save for one important one, Harry Dunning. Under attack by wasteland thugs, Jake saves Harry once again and is taken to Harry's home as thanks where he learns quite a few things. For starters, he finds out that Harry remembers him from the night he put down his father, but despite Jake's efforts to save the family, one by one they all died after America went straight to hell after Kennedy left office. President Wallace, as it's implied, brought war and a horrible bombing upon our once great nation, resulting in the wasteland that Jake now sees before him.

It means that Jake has no choice, but to go back once again, to reset the past and let Kennedy live in order to save the human race. But his return to reset the timeline also means that young Harry must endure the horrible night his father killed his family since it's clear the timeline won't save Harry from suffering the loss of his family either. The only thing that Jake wants at this point from history, is to let him be with Sadie and nothing more, and oddly enough, the day he goes back, is the day she was visiting her cousins, the day she said they just missed and upon his return to 1960, Jake spots the love of his life driving by and chases her down to the diner she's at to reintroduce himself one more time and restart an incredible love affair, only to see the Man with the Yellow Card waiting outside for him, and when he steps outside, he's chastised for starting his own nightmarish loop and warned that she will die over and over every single time he returns to the past to try and save her and be with her. Which means Jake is forced to do the unthinkable, and say goodbye to Sadie and return to the 2016 he once knew to live his life. He returns to his teaching job, he apologizes to Harry for not being able to do more for him...and when curiosity takes over, he looks Sadie up, only to find she's being rewarded by Jodie High School for her incredible work through the years and he goes to see her one more time to share one last dance...

That's where our story ends, with Jake being able to see his love once again, and the world back the way that it always was and well...this was a brilliant series finale. We were able to play out an incredible 'what if' scenario and see the drama and wonder that comes with trying to change the past and it was quite the ride, but more importantly, this was...a thoughtful series, one that works to teach all of us a little something about life, specifically how important it is to live in the moment and enjoy all that the world has to offer. It never discounts the importance of the past, if anything the story stands strong by the fact that the past shapes us in multiple ways, but we should never remain within it, we should always move forward and enjoy the moments that can never be captured again and well, when all is said and done, this is one of the best Stephen King adaptations I have ever seen and it's one that quite frankly I plan to watch over again a few more times to properly appreciate one beautiful story.

Sometimes in storytelling, in order for the characters to truly learn anything about themselves or their purpose in the story, they have to be completely and utterly broken down. They have to be at their absolute lowest in order to pick themselves back up and accomplish wonders...or horrors and that is exactly what 11.22.63 did with its seventh and penultimate episode, 'Soldier Boy'. Both Jake and Lee Harvey Oswald were truly put to the test this go round, suffering in ways we have never seen when it comes to these two men and the end result was absolutely spectacular, and incredibly intense.  

The word intense gets used here simply because of the fact that the clock is ticking this go round. This episode constantly reminds us that we are mere days away from the Assassination of John F. Kennedy and while Jake healed up, Lee Harvey Oswald finally found his inspiration to perform the act. It wasn't necessarily about sending a message to fascists as he has proclaimed here and there, it was simply a thought that occurred to him at his absolute lowest point. His wife no longer loved him, he felt as though he was a failure in every possible way, so this seemed like a chance at redemption and an opportunity to make the world a far better place, at least in his own mind and one has to wonder...had Marina taken him back sooner this episode, let him know she just needed more time to think, would he have changed his mind? Well, that's a question that the show addresses this in cryptic and powerful fashion, but more on that in a moment.

Because the more painful moments of the night came from Jake, who recovered from his wounds, but suffered from a heavy bout of amnesia. He knew he was here for a purpose, what that was exactly he never quite understood. Thankfully Sadie was there every single step of the way to try and jog his memory, with little progress, but during Jake's struggle, Deke said something quite powerful that resonated when it came to the story because it applied to both men. He made mention that, 'a man who's lost his purpose, is a man who's scared to death' and well, that's about as spot on as it gets. Jake has in essence lost his way in this story, trying to balance too much and making some poor decisions in the process. One of which was committing Bill, and that choice came back to haunt him as well. Because Jake and Sadie try to get Bill out of the Asylum, only to find that he has been confused and shattered and subjected to electro shock therapy and at this point he is so confused and afraid...he takes his own life rather than deal with coming to the possible realization that he was put in here, and went through all this suffering...for nothing.

After Bill's untimely death, a memory does flash through Jake's mind and it leads he and Sadie to Jake's old apartment and eventually...a face to face meeting with Lee Harvey Oswald and at last, everything comes flooding back for Jake. Prompting him to make a move now and put down Lee, but the fact that Oswald has his baby girl with him, forces Jake to rethink his actions. Instead he and Sadie finally come to an understanding, once Jake tries to move on in the mission without her, that's she's part of this now too and the two head to Dallas in the early hours of the morning of 11.22.63 to prepare to stop Lee there instead. But before the morning comes, Jake is visited by the Man with the Yellow Card and we learn that much like Jake, he too has come back in time to stop an awful event and has learned despite being trapped in some kind of temporal loop...there is no changing the past, it will unfold exactly as it is supposed to and the episode ends with one chilling image, of Lee Harvey Oswald, setting up his lunch and an orange soda by the window at the Book Depository as he settles in with his rifle...with a sly smile on his face.  

So here we are ladies and gentlemen, the big day has arrived at last and we are mere hours from seeing if Jake can alter the future, or if the Man with the Yellow Card was right and wow, was this episode about as brilliant as it gets. Our characters were indeed stripped down and rebuilt and now Jake is refocused and Lee has his purpose and the breakneck speed that this episode operated with, simply took my breath away. But while we know what waits for us next, one big question still looms over this episode...was the Man with the Yellow Card telling Jake the truth? Because according to this mystery man, Lee was always going to do this and I wonder if this was just the past being gentle with him for a moment to steer him off course because...Jake has in fact altered the future. The Dunning family will be different in years to come, since he killed Frank, and Bill is gone through his actions as well...so is it more that only certain points in time can never be changed? We may never quite get a full explanation, but one gets the feeling, that question will indeed be addressed in some fashion in what should be an epic and powerful series finale. Until then.

As the old saying goes, the truth shall set you free, and on 11.22.63, it certainly seemed like that was going to be the case. Jake was open and honest with Sadie at last and this next episode should have been all about Jake getting back on track because of that and well...that most certainly did not turn out to be the case. The truth did nothing to improve his situation, if anything, things are getting worse for Jake as the date for JFK's assassination draws closer, because the past is starting to have enough of Jake's interference and because everything began to fall to pieces in 'Happy Birthday, Lee Harvey Oswald'.

Case in point Bill and Jake's relationship, which has already seen major strain over the last few episodes, finally came to a boiling point in this particular tale. Bill is a man who needs facts and evidence in front of him, he needed to see that Frank Dunning was evil in order to believe that what Jake was doing made sense and despite the facts that Jake has dropped upon him regarding Lee Harvey Oswald and the role he could play in the upcoming assassination, he needed to see more from the man, a sense of true evil and unfortunately, Bill simply isn't seeing those things. For one, he's madly in love with Marina and enjoying a whirlwind affair with her, and Oswald has even befriended the man, leading to a stunning scene where Bill decides to reveal the bugs in the apartment to Lee in a devastating act of defiance against Jake. To make matters worse, after an ugly confrontation between the two of them, Bill begins to cozy up to Lee's weapon as well, prompting Jake to wonder if Bill is the second shooter of historic lore, and it forces him to make a tough decision.

With Bill more or less compromising the mission and its success, Jake lies to Bill about Marina and that she needs his help at the hospital, only to take the young man into the psychiatric ward instead...and have Bill committed. It's a bold plan that quite frankly had the potential to fail, but Bill sold the notion of insanity hook, line and sinker, by rambling on about how Jake was from the future, a murderer and so on. While he may be right, the doctors seem to think otherwise, and his conviction on the matter will not doubt keep Bill in the mental hospital for quite some time. Either way, it's a stunning move on Jake's part, and it demonstrates how dedicated he is to the mission once again, and has even managed to find the balance between taking care of Sadie and preparing to the save the President's life. But...despite his work to keep her safe, the past saw an opportunity to devastate Jake when Sadie checks into the hospital for plastic surgery to deal with that nasty scar and by spotting the strange man with the yellow card in his hat, he's able to intervene and save her. 

If anything this move to hurt Jake galvanizes him more and he finally makes one big move to discover 100% as to whether or not Oswald was acting alone in this matter and he confronts George, CIA style of course, torturing the poor man and terrifying him to uncover the awful truth. There was no conspiracy to end Kennedy's life, it's an idea that Oswald has hanging in his mind and armed with those facts, Jake knows its time to finish the end game, and put down Lee Harvey Oswald before he can cause any harm. But before he can kick into action and deal with Lee, the past finally catches up to Jake, in the most unexpected way possible...through his monetary life line. It turns out that Jake never went back to teaching to pay for Sadie's surgery and to live; he instead used his black book of gambling to handle his affairs and well, his latest win, combined with the fact that Bill tried to get in on the action on the same fight...finally caught his Bookie's attention, and he was more than happy to make an example of Jake in violent fashion.

From a result of his beatdown, Jake is left unconscious in the hospital, with trauma to the brain and judging from Sadie's comments, his memory is suffering as well and that's where our story ends and wow, what a brutal episode. Who knew that Jake was able to go to such dark places to get things done? It could be simply because time is running out since 11.22 is a month away, or it could because his experiences to date have finally changed him. But either way, Jake is a changed man, one willing to do what it takes now, it's just a matter if he's going to remember his mission once he finally wakes up. Either way, outside of Sadie, Jake has cleared a path to Oswald now, and man...it may be time to just sit down and binge the last two episodes in one sitting because devastating episode or not, this is it, the time to save the President is near, and Jake's options at this point are to save the man...or start all over once again, if he has it in him of course. Until next time. 

It seemed that for a moment, 11.22.63 was about to undergo a major tonal shift, and take us into a realm where the story took its time to come to a boil, giving us deeper insight into Jake and his adjustment into the past as the day drew closer to save President John F. Kennedy. It seemed that way, because the fifth episode in the series ended up surprising the hell out of all of us, by bringing back the intensity and the scares with a final showdown between Jake and Johnny, and a crucial moment in history where Lee Harvey Oswald supposedly took his first shot as an assassin.  

'The Truth' did live up to its namesake and finally gave us the moment where Jake stopped lying to Sadie, but not where we expected it to. Because in those opening moments, we picked up right where we left off, with Sadie trying to figure out what she was hearing on those tapes before running out of Jake's house in the middle of the night to sort the matter out. The embarrassment of that late night tussle, the little incident at the whore house and the fact that Sadie heard Russian on those tapes was finally too much to bear for Principal Simmons, and he decides to let Jake go from his teaching position. At first glance, it seems as though Jake is finally freed up from any current obligations, allowing him to re dedicate himself to the mission at hand. Heck, he and Bill even had time to scope out Walker's place to prepare for Oswald's possible attack on the General.  

But alas, the past finally found a solid way to strike back at Jake and keep him off track from changing it...by going after the one thing he loves...Sadie. Right before he left his home to catch Oswald at Walker's house with Bill, a phone call came through that sent chills down his spine. Johnny had come home to Sadie, and well...he felt it was time for the three of them to have a little chat. The mere prospect of Sadie suddenly being in danger was enough to force Jake to abandon the stakeout and head to his love's house...to find that Johnny had cut up Sadie something awful before his arrival and he was ready to torture Jake as well to prove a point that she only belonged to Johnny and if he couldn't have her, no man would. It led to one hell of a set of intense scenes, where safety was nonexistent and it seemed like there was no way out for the two lovers, and Jake was going to have to bend to Johnny's wishes, and drink the bleach that Johnny so graciously provided for him. 

Thankfully, through quick thinking, Jake and Sadie were able to blind Johnny, and eventually put him down for good. Leaving the police with questions and Sadie on the way to the hospital to deal with her horrific injuries and while Jake waited with baited breath to see if his newfound love would come through the surgery okay, Bill continued on with the mission, waiting to see if Oswald popped up at Walker's house. The past however, had other plans in mind, and since Bill is attempting to change it as well, it decided to continue its newfound trend of using people that our heroes love to break them and keep them off course; since Bill witnessed his sister emerging from the Church near Walker's home and mesmerized to see her face once again he chased her down...only to discover that he had made two critical mistakes. The first one being, that the young lady in question was not his sister...and he missed discovering exactly who was behind the gunshot that rang out in the darkness.

Bill's failure is clearly leading to a strain between he and Jake since Bill broke down on the phone when he relayed what happened on this fateful night, but while the mission suffered another setback, Sadie made it through surgery and Jake...well he finally took the time to tell her everything she ever wanted to know. Yet, despite that happy ending, let's be honest...everything essentially fell to pieces this episode. Jake's unemployed, unless Simmons is changing his mind, his love is badly wounded and the mission is in tatters. Plus to top it off, Bill is making nice with the Oswalds now, having met the man face to face after once more pushing the envelope to spend time with his wife and at this point, it's hard to say how the hell they are going to get back on track. Because Bill clearly can no longer handle the pressure of this, and the past is taking full advantage of that, and Jake is lost in love, meaning that at this rate, minus a few bumps here and there, the past is going to stay preserved unless Jake settles his mind down and refocuses on why he came back to the sixties. Until next time.

As the halfway point arrives for 11.22.63, the show continues to impress by more or less throwing the time travel genre of storytelling upside down by challenging all the things that we often see in these stories. Case in point, 'The Eyes of Texas' is an episode that addresses one key thing, would anyone ever bother to challenge your existence in another era of time, or would we simply blend in? The answer to that question, is that man's inherent curiosity wouldn't allow for one to simply blend in, but in addition to exploring that little wrinkle in time travel storytelling, this was a story that also continued to dive deep into our character's psyches, and their emotions.

Because love was in the air this go round with Jake and Sadie's romance continuing to grow and well, the show deserves some serious credit for putting together a pair of actors that have incredible chemistry together because this is a whirlwind love affair that you can believe in and it's stunning to see how fast Sadie and Jake have fallen for one another and how important it is that they are viewed as wonderful and flawless by their respective lover. There's an inherent fear to their love, and with good reason since both of them are hiding the truth from one another, but more on that in a moment. Because as these two star crossed lovers let their hearts speak before their minds...Bill is quickly discovering that Lee's lovely wife is catching his eye as well, and that's making it harder for him to accomplish his mission, since Oswald likes to beat his blushing bride on a regular basis. But, while it seems like trouble is brewing because of his incredulous crush, this show is constantly full of surprises...so who knows, nothing may come of this.

But speaking of surprises...another significant aspect to this particular episode, is the importance of truth and of course, whether or not one can just blend in magically when it comes to another era of time and well...one chilling yet entertaining moment in the story arrived when Miss Mimi confronted Jake, and pointed out that while all his baseline records were in order, in many ways he simply does not have a past and thanks to a quick pivot on Jake's part, he was able to avoid having to tell exactly why he was here in hilarious fashion by giving her quite the cover story that happened to resemble a few scenes from The Godfather saga. But while Miss Mimi was satisfied with his explanation and let it slide, she did make a valid point. If she could uncover such things about Jake, others would as well, and...others certainly did. Which brings us back to the whole cat and mouse game Sadie and Jake are playing...because one unpleasant surprise that Jake's new beau has been keeping from him...is the former man in her life, and the horror that he is.

As it turns out, Sadie's husband, the man that she claimed to be divorced from, was refusing to sign the papers and let his lady go, and to make matters worse, he felt the need to intervene in her budding new relationship with Jake. A few carefully placed photos made it initially appear that Jake was being pursued by the CIA in his case against Oswald, but all along it was a jilted husband and well...when confronted about it, Sadie revealed what an abusive monster the man truly is and it led to one incredible showdown between the two men where Jake was more than happy to slam the creeper with some powerful words that forced Sadie's man to back down as soon as possible. Oddly enough, it was a solid enough effort to get her hubby to sign the divorce papers and free her at last, but not before he took the opportunity to attempt to ruin their relationship, with an eerie note declaring that Jake is not what he seems and by breaking into Jake's home and helping lead Sadie where he wanted her to go...so that she could discover some of the Oswald surveillance tapes in Jake's basement...

Which means that the real truth about Jake will be pouring out of him soon, undoubtedly come the next episode and it has to. Sadie has revealed everything she can to Jake and it's only fair for him to do the same or completely lose her. But while it seems like the show is shifting in tone to a romance, it's not. The romance is merely a companion to a story that well, has two choices. Either become a break neck action serial that starts jumping into the quest to save JFK and nothing more, or...continue to be a slow burn character study about a man trying to adapt in a world he doesn't understand and not lose his humanity along the way, and by giving us the romance and depth, we are indeed getting the latter of those two options. Combine that with the fact that the mission is getting harder as Jake continues to try and balance both saving a life and loving a woman, and we are in for one tension filled ride as the clock continues to tick toward 11.22.63 and truth be told, I found this to be an incredibly engaging episode, and love the fact that nothing is easy or going according to plan. It's raising the stakes without adding manufactured drama, and I can't wait to see how the conversation with Sadie is going to go come next episode...until next time.

​In only two episodes time, 11.22.63 has quickly established itself to be one hell of an incredible ride with stunning stories that leave the audience on the edge of their seat and as uncomfortable as possible. Which means, with the third episode looming on the horizon, where would the story go next? Well as it turns out, this is a series that has no problem taking a little break from the action because 'Other Voices, Other Rooms' was quite a quiet, yet still incredibly entertaining episode as it answered the question...would Jake continue on with his mission to save President John F. Kennedy? 

The answer to that question was a resounding yes. Jake indeed decided it was high time to finish the job and save the day, but it didn't come from some epiphany over killing Frank Dunning, if anything that haunted him deeply this episode. No instead, his decision came about courtesy of his new friend Bill, the young man whose family was also a victim of Frank's bloodlust. Bill had a lot of questions regarding the newspaper clipping Jake was carrying on him, among other artifacts and Jake's knowledge, and the sheer curiosity coming from Bill regarding his mission seemed to calm Jake's nerves and allow him to focus, prompting him to ask Bill for a ride back to Dallas to finish what he started. But his understanding of the situation and the chance to perhaps do something good managed to inspire Bill and he asked to help out in the matter, something Jake reluctantly agrees to.

A partner however, turns out to be quite the blessing, because it allows for Jake to be in two places at once...when the time is right however. Because in fascinating fashion, Jake and Bill are forced to settle down and let time pass in order to properly begin their investigation of Lee Harvey Oswald...when he eventually returns back to America in 1962. So in the meantime, Jake and Bill find themselves a couple of jobs and settle down, with Jake opting to return to teaching and Bill taking whatever gig he can and well...life goes on as the two men wait for the right moment and what made this so fascinating is to see that life for Jake, some fifty odd years in the past...isn't that different than it was in the present. He's still able to teach, his students are still young and impressionable and it was kind of neat to see that in reality, and of course according to the story, life hasn't changed that much after all these years.  

But, there was plenty more to this episode than Jake just settling down and relaxing in the past. 1962 eventually arrived, and that meant it was time for action. Setting Bill up in an apartment right across from the one Oswald is going to be living in soon, the idea was simple, surveillance. This was an opportunity to see first hand if someone else helped prompt the notion of killing Kennedy to Oswald and to see how the once and potentially future assassin put together his attempt on General Walker as well...but with the past never enjoying the notion of being messed with, this was a job that didn't go that easy. For one, the boys had a little trouble with their equipment plant since Oswald showed up early and neighbors that had a problem with Bill eventually ruined some of the tapes. But there was at least one pay off at the end of the story...Jake and Bill learned that Oswald is a violent and angry man, one who seems to think the people in charge are fascists, and that has dire implications for the future...

However, despite the fact that this episode was so low key and relaxed, it turned out to be incredibly entertaining simply because it was a wonderful opportunity to get to know Jake a little more up close and personal and continue to understand just how genuine and kind his character truly is. A fine example of this, is how good he is to the school secretary Miss Mini, and how above and beyond he goes to make sure she is treated as a person, and not a person of color. That may get him in trouble at some point because of the era he lives in, but in the here and the now, it does make Jake a pretty wonderful character. Plus, it's wonderful to see he's met someone in the past and they click so well considering how lonely Jake was in 2016. But, either way, this was a fun little story, and a welcome change of pace considering how dark and powerful the last episode was, and it should be interesting to see what comes out of Oswald's outburst at the rally...until next time.

Over the years, we have all been witness to some incredible stories when it comes to the everyman rising up to the occasion and saving the day or the world. But the vast majority of those stories have left out a key element in character development in order to keep the story rolling...specifically, exactly what does it take to truly be a hero?

Think about that for a moment, simply because of the fact we rarely think about it beyond the story as well. A hero is someone who puts their life on the line, willingly to save others without thinking twice about it. That requires a certain level of sacrifice and dedication that few will ever understand, and it also means that these men and women will have to make tough decisions, one that can change lives forever. So perhaps it makes sense then that it isn't often explored in fiction, because we want our heroes to be our heroes and nothing more...but when it comes to 11.22.63, the series decided it was high time to do that deep dive into how a hero is born in the second episode, 'The Kill Floor'.

Now this was...a damn impressive episode through and through. Not only did it challenge and develop Jake in ways we never quite expected, but it went to some dark places, as only a Stephen King story can. This episode saw Jake make a strong effort to try and do some good in the past, by preventing the death of the Dunning family, hopefully altering the future and giving Harry a better life in 2016 and while that idea sounds simple enough...the execution of it turned out to be anything but. Because Harry's father Frank, turned out to be worse than Harry ever described him to be, and Jake made the mistake of trying to get to know the man before that fateful Halloween night and quickly came to regret it; since Frank turned out to be filled to the brim with malice and pride and the deep rooted fury present in his soul came out with ease on a regular basis. This was never more evident than during the disturbing scene in the slaughterhouse, where Frank made a violent point of brutally killing a cow to prove his physical prowess to Jake, and to remind the time traveler that no one would get the best of Frank Dunning. 

Yet while any moment with Frank came off as dangerous and terrifying, he was nicely counterbalanced by Jake and his tough and powerful journey to go beyond average man and become a hero to save the Dunning family. It was absolutely fascinating to see Jake slowly make the decision to end Frank's life if necessary and it spoke to how sheltered a life Jake has enjoyed in Maine. He's never been faced with tough or ugly decisions and now that he is in this unfamiliar territory, with some bold 'missions' ahead of him, he's having to adapt in ways he never has before and it led to one stunning finale, where Jake indeed sucked up any concerns or fears and confronted Frank in the midst of the drunken and violent tirade he learned about in 2016. It was a true 'edge of your seat' sequence of events where Jake emerged victorious, and transformed. Despite knowing he did the right thing, he still didn't quite feel good about it,  and in the process, had to reveal that he's from the future.

On the plus side it means he may have a companion on his journey, someone who believes what he says now since he did indeed 'predict' Frank going wild on his family, we'll find that out for sure as the story progresses, but when it comes to this one...just...wow. One needs to truly appreciate the fact that this story and this episode in particular, is presenting the past without rose colored glasses and shattering the Americana/Normal Rockwell image we often think of when it comes to the sixties and that's just brilliant. It demonstrates that the world remains one tough place. But what matters most, Jake turned out to be a hero after all. He made one incredibly tough decision by taking the life of another human being, and in doing so...who knows what possibilities have opened up for Harry Dunning now. But Jake still has one last big decision pending...now that he knows he can truly influence and change the future...will he reassign himself to his mission to save President Kennedy? Guess we will find out in the next episode, until then.

As we grow older and the world continues to change around us, our priorities and goals begin to change as well. For one, we start to realize that what we leave behind in this world and what kind of difference we make matters and that lesson is taught to us by the most important one of all...there's no going back and fixing past mistakes.

Oh but what if we could? Where would we go and what would we fix? It's a game we like to play in our minds, and it's something that prolific writer Stephen King decided to explore in the most epic of fashion with his novel, 11.22.63, and it just so happens that his book was exciting and fascinating enough to make it to the small screen since Hulu has adapted the book into an eight part miniseries and well...after having the chance to view the pilot episode the other day, this series completely and utterly has me hooked.

This series introduces us to Jake Epping, a schoolteacher who tries to make a difference in his students lives, and while he is clearly a good man, who cares about the people in his life...he seems to be in a rut. There's little for him to be excited about outside of a tasty burger at the local diner, he's staring down a divorce and it's clear he's starting to wonder if he's even reaching his students. But one fateful day at the diner, it's owner; Al Templeton steps into the backroom and immediately comes back to the restaurant extremely ill. He reveals to Jake he has advanced cancer, something Jake finds to be unbelievable since Al was gone for only a couple of minutes. But Al has more secrets to reveal, for in the back of his diner, is a portal to 1960. Those that enter it can spend as many years in the past as they like, and only lose two minutes of time in the present and he is revealing all of this to Jake for one simple reason...he needs his help finishing what he started. He wants Jake to return to the 1960's...to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Outside of a klunky start, this turned out to be one solid pilot for several reasons. For starters, it's a wonderful cast so far, and I say so far because I'm expecting to see more performances like this as the story progresses, and James Franco does a wonderful job of bringing a timid yet sometimes bold Jake Epping to life and Chris Cooper does a phenomenal job playing the tortured and determined Al Templeton. In fact Chris is the true highlight of this episode since his obsession on changing the past and the angst that comes with it instantly commits the audience to the story. We want to see if this can even be accomplished and we want to see if the world will indeed be a better place if Jake is able to pull this incredible feat off, and well...it's even more wonderful that this will be no easy task.

After all, leave it to Stephen King to find a way to make time travel dangerous and the fact that the past is a character unto itself, and doesn't like to be changed is an outright genius stroke of storytelling since now there will be some serious obstacles for Jake to overcome in his mission to change the future, as evidenced by what the past does to Jake for pushing forward in trying to uncover more secrets on who is responsible for the death of JFK.  Either way, this is through and through a refreshing take on the time travel genre of storytelling. There's no science here, just an every day man, caught up in incredible circumstances and trying to make a difference and he has truly taken on one monumental task, and I can't wait to find out where this story is headed. Until next time.