​If there’s one thing that I’ve been pining for when it comes to The Man in the High Castle, it’s been revolution. I’ve been hungry over the past three years to see the people of this twisted and uncomfortable world rise up and fight against the awful Nazis and release the world from the disturbing grip of Fascism. But that, simply hasn’t come to fruition. After all, the Reich is everywhere, thanks to their superior firepower and the Japanese Pacific States have their own special hold on society as well, meaning that my desire to see the fight arrive may never come to fruition because of the enemy’s sheer strength.
 
But, it would seem, that revolution is slowly coming to light on this series and the next episode of the show, ‘Excess Animus’, seemingly gave us the beginning of rebellion since a fair chunk of this episode focused upon Juliana Crain and her reunion with Hawthrone Abernathy for one reason and one reason alone; she wanted the film that changed her life forever. Yes, the movie that showed her the Allies winning the war could be quite the powerful tool in the grand fight against the fascists, since it could influence imaginations everywhere and inspire people to rise up and fight at last. But winning over hearts and minds was merely the first part of a grand and important plan.
 
The plan in question involved destroying the dimensional gate that the Nazis were building in Pennsylvania in order to prevent the Reich from roaming the multiverse. But before she could get started on this particular mission, she needed the proper papers to return to the Greater Nazi Reich, meaning it was off to Sabra for her own safety while she waited for said papers to be completed and while there, she was finally able to reunite with Frank and Ed for that matter and it was quite nice to see the three of them hanging out again and see Frank and Juliana rekindle their romance after all this time since it provided us with a genuinely beautiful moment in a story mired in darkness.
 
However the relaxed nature of this story didn’t end there, since this episode also took the time to check in on a few other side characters to see how they are doing, like Childan and Inspector Kido, since these two crossed paths thanks to Childan’s utter breakdown since his dissatisfaction with the changes to his life, like losing his shop, eventually got him arrested and in front of the Inspector. And as for Kido, well, he was simply haunted in this episode by the betrayal he experienced under his watch and Tagomi’s knowledge of the matter, led to an important sit down between the two men since Kido was finally able to learn the truth about what the heck is going on from the Trade Minister.
 
When all is said and done however, I must admit that I rather enjoyed this little breather. Because the past two episodes were intense to say the least and it was just refreshing to see all the characters take a moment and conduct a little personal inventory for a change. Because I get the feeling that things are going to ramp up from here, especially now that we know that Mengele is preparing to do trial runs of his device, which means we can expect some serious action from Juliana in the episodes to come and man, I hope she is successful in her endeavors, for the thought of Nazis running rampant in the multiverse is disturbing to say the least and well, it’s time to see just how exactly she’s going to take the fight to them, once she’s done with the dimensional gate. So, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to watch another episode of this magnificent tale. Until next time. 

​If there’s one particular constant in this universe, it’s that there are consequences for our actions. Some are good, many are bad, but risk is part of the game called life and we often hope that when we roll the proverbial hard six and make the tough call…that good things will come our way and consequences are on my mind today, because of the sixth episode of season three of The Man in the High Castle, since that’s precisely what ‘History Ends’ focused upon, those unnerving consequences and with good reason, since we needed to see what kind of fallout was going to come about from Juliana Crain and John Smith’s bold decisions in the last episode.
 
As it turns out, little good came their way in this tale, with Juliana perhaps suffering the most for her decision. Because killing Joe, and taking all of the intel that he gathered during his time in the Pacific States, would make her public enemy number one and it wouldn’t take long before the Reich or the Kempaitai would come looking for her and once again, she found herself on the run and headed toward the Neutral Zone in the hopes of running into Hawthorne to figure out what her next move needed to be since she had the Nazi’s plans to cross over into other dimensions at her fingertips and well, it was tough to see her broken and on the move once again and it’s clear now that Joe’s death is going to haunt her in the days ahead. 
 
However, while Juliana dealt with her respective problems, John Smith once more faced fresh ones of his own. After all, Reichsführer Himmler expected the best possible performance from his Reichsmarshall-to-be, putting John under a lot of undue stress, stress that was only compounded by the fact that it was up to John to keep the peace with the Pacific States in regard to this whole mess with Joe, prompting him to send Hoover out there to get answers and smooth things over and set up the manhunt for Juliana since Himmler wanted the head of whomever brought down his precious Lebensborn and John had to juggle all of this, alongside keeping the peace at home since this episode confirmed that Himmler had Erich killed to keep John in line, meaning that Helen was in trouble if she continued to falter.
 
But thankfully, the episode wasn’t all gloom and doom since we came to learn that Helen is starting to heal, thanks to her therapy sessions, and as an added bonus, Ed came to discover that his longtime friend Frank was alive and well at the compound in the mountains and the two of them had a little reunion, a positive one at that since good friendship knows no bounds and Ed even stuck around for a little bit to see Frank celebrate his Bar Mitzvah. But while these good people celebrated Frank and his completion of the ceremony, a dark cloud hangs over their future and the future of so many. For John Smith was indeed made the Reichsmarshall of America, and Himmler promised everyone the end of America’s past and a new beginning for the Reich at John’s swearing in ceremony.
 
If anything, it was jarring and powerful to watch a Bar Mitzvah happening while the murderous Nazis celebrated the beginning of Year Zero for America, and I tip my cap to the Writer’s Room for giving us such a bold contrast of scenes and well, it made me hope that the look in John’s eye, the one filled with conflict and confusion over his ascension to one of the Reich’s elite, will cause something to snap in him and allow for him to rise up against Himmler and the Reich’s disgusting ideals, giving Freedom a fighting chance one more time. Time will tell of course, and some would say that I’m being far too optimistic for this twisted world. But the foundation for freedom is there, and there is hope and joy happening away from the Reich’s watchful eye and all a true revolution needs right now is the proper spark, and hopefully one of these characters, will ignite the fire. Until next time. 

There are many, many reasons as to why I am such a huge fan of Doctor Who and one of those reasons, is the sheer fact that this series never has to resort to ‘one-upsmanship’ when it comes to its storytelling. Because this saga always has something special to fall back upon thematically in order to tell a compelling story and that matters for today’s recap because let’s be honest, last week’s episode was simply top notch, and there is no topping ‘Rosa’, and had the series tried, I firmly believe we all would have been disappointed by last night’s tale, instead of feeling the outright joy that ‘Arachnids in the UK’ sent our way.
 
Because this particular tale, was just downright fun through and through and it more or less featured a highlight reel of what we love about the show, since the Doctor’s compassion was on full display here, as was an epic and chilling mystery alongside a few surprises along the way. But before we get to discussing those all-important surprises, let’s take a moment and discuss the wonder of the fact that this episode went all-out for Halloween by giving us something that plenty of people fear, giant spiders with an appetite for human flesh that just so happened to be running amuck in Sheffield and this little twist ended up serving as the foundation for plenty of creepy moments, and the fine display of the Doctor’s compassion as well.
 
After all, it’s a well-known fact that the Doctor believes that all life matters, and well, that mantra of hers was taken to a whole new level this go round, thanks to the fact that the spiders in question were not at all what we expected them to be. For normally in science fiction, big bugs equal unrelenting evil as they take full advantage of their size to enjoy every meal imaginable while soaking up the wonder of being at the top of the food chain for a change. But in this tale, the spiders didn’t gain sentience or have malice in their hearts. They were scared, they were confused at their bodies suddenly changing without warning and well, rather than squash them or fight them, the Doctor did everything within her power to help them and her push for knowledge eventually brought us to the true villain of the story, mankind itself. 

Or, to be more specific, a wealthy and powerful businessman named Jack Robertson who quite frankly, is about as vile as villains come. Because all he cared about in this tale was power and control and his image and he spent the entire episode scheming to keep said image flawless and well, it was just fascinating to see such a realistic villain on Doctor Who since we’ve seen men like him in the public eye or we’ve known people like him in some form or fashion and well, his cruelty knew no bounds in this tale since he was willing to kill the mother spider, who was already facing her end due to a lack of oxygen in order to satisfy his own morbid sense of revenge and he better hope he never crosses the Doctor again because the look in her eyes after he put momma spider down…featured the kind of fury you don’t ever want to see from a Time Lord.
 
However, I did make mention of surprises in this tale, and those came about by way of Ryan, Yaz and Graham. Because now that they were home, they had a grand opportunity to return to their regular lives, but their short adventure through time and space clearly changed their perspectives on just about everything. Suddenly, they came to realize that they either have nothing to hold on to on planet earth at the moment, or that they don’t quite fit into the world to begin with, and that prompted them to go to the Doctor and ask if they can come along for more adventures and that was simply refreshing to see. Because often times, the promise of adventure and a little charm from prior iterations of the Doctor prompted companions to hop aboard the TARDIS. But the Doctor didn’t even try to talk them into it, she wanted them to do this on their own, due to the risk involved and even then, they simply could not say no.
 
In the end however, this episode was simply a blast. The creepy moments were creepy, the jokes were simply phenomenal, in fact the scene where Graham waits for the spider in the hallway was downright hilarious and most importantly, the Doctor was able to save the day once again and put quite the jerk in his place and well, this season simply continues to impress. The writing is top notch and the stories are compelling and Jodie Whittaker delivers as the Doctor week in and week out and now that the team is officially assembled, I cannot wait to see what amazing adventures await us in the stars and the best part of all? #TeamTARDIS is now going to be a thing…until next time. 

The best television shows out there, regardless of their genre, all share one common and important thread; there comes a point where their plots kick into overdrive by way of an episode that leaves the audience in awe. And when it comes to The Man in the High Castle, that particular moment in season three arrived with the fifth episode, ‘The New Colossus’. Because this story, featured all kinds of incredible surprises that catapulted everything forward and all of that was accomplished by way of two key characters; John Smith and Juliana Crain, with the latter of those two journeys providing us with one of the most shocking moments the series has seen to date.
 
But before we dig too deeply into that particular stunner, we need to talk about John Smith’s journey in this tale, simply due to the fact that this story showed us just how far he is willing to go to keep his family safe from here on out. Because Hoover and Rockwell were ready to make their move on the Hero of the Reich and bring him down, even going so far as to bring the Reichsfürher to New York to expose Smith for the fraud they believed him to be. But Smith wasn’t going down without a fight, and thanks to the intel he had been quietly gathering on Hoover, he was able to convince the man to back the right side, the Smith side if you will, and embarrass Rockwell and get him tossed from his job as Reichsmarshall.
 
However, while that was a stunning and oddly satisfying surprise in its own right, alongside the fact that Himmler seemed to approve of any shady tactics done on Smith’s part to get the job, since this change up made him Reichsmarshall, all of that paled in comparison to the fact that Smith added an insurance policy to his new title as supreme leader of America, by having Rockwell murdered during his exile in Cuba. Yes, that’s right. John Smith went all out to ensure that Rockwell never came back to haunt him and while it was fascinating to see John evolve like this, I’m still questioning his loyalty to the Reich since he and his wife have spoken to their desire to live a better life that isn’t in this vein, and the shock John displayed over the plan for Year Zero has part of me hoping that he will use his newfound power to fight the Reich somehow.
 
But those are questions for another time I suppose, since we do need to discuss the wonder of Juliana’s story as well. Because this particular tale saw her relationship with Joe come to head in ugly fashion. Because as it turns out, Tagomi survived his assassination attempt thanks to a nightly patrol that managed to spook dear Joe and once Juliana learned of this attempt, she went to Joe and did a little sleuthing after another romantic encounter and came to discover the cold truth about Joe and at long last, he showed his true colors to Juliana and demanded she return to the Reich with him once his work in San Fran was complete. But rather than abide by his demands, she instead did the unthinkable, and killed Joe in order to secure her freedom and to keep Tagomi safe.
 
So, just like that, we’ve seen our first real major character death on the show in three years and well, this was quite the tale the say the least. It really was an edge of your seat affair through and through and I loved this one for being so bold and well, the the simmer that the last episode set up is steadily being brought to a boil and it’s clear now that the dimensional gate being built in Lackawanna is going to be a big focal point going forward, as is the situation in New York since the new Reichsmarshall is conflicted about his role, at least I hope he is. Because John may be the last good hope for the future in the GNR and it should be interesting to see where the plot is headed from here on out. Until next time.   

I’ve spent a lot of time as of late in my recaps of The Man in the High Castle pondering upon the fact that this series really has changed in its tone and design, since season three has started off in such slow and methodical fashion, and that I’ve been quite curious as to when the story was planning to kick into overdrive and well, I kind of, sort of got the answer to my question. Because episode four of this season, ‘Sabra’, seems to be a bit of a turning point for this saga, since this particular tale does start to move things forward in bold fashion, but not in the manner that one might normally expect.
 
Because there were no earth-shattering moments to be found in this one, just…a hovering tension that permeated the entire fabric this episode, and grew as the story chugged along and really, much of came about from the reintroduction of Frank. Who we learned is alive and mostly well and living in a Jewish community hidden away in the Neutral Zone and this badly burned resistance fighter has changed his stance on violence, instead opting now to inspire change through art and he is the man who drew the symbol that we’ve seen popping up all over the Pacific States, and while his newfound perspective on violence didn’t exactly cause the tension in question, his art has certainly taken on new life and brought forth some serious unease and change back home.
 
After all, people are starting to march in the streets now for the supplies they desperately need from the Reich and well, the folks we saw protesting here, used that symbol as their unifying rally cry and despite the fact that their protest was broken up in violent and horrifying fashion, that symbol rattled Kido when he saw it once again and it is fascinating to see people in the Pacific States make the effort to risk it all in this fashion and the desire to resist and be free seems to be going from a simmer to a light boil. But while all of this, and Smith’s continued cat and mouse game in New York, were fascinating in their own right, the centerpiece of this tale was Joe’s journey to say the least.
 
For our newfound spy continued his assassination run, this time going after GNR defector Howard Wexler. But his mission here didn’t just involve bloodshed, Wexler was in possession of some fascinating plans, ones that if I had to guess, are related to the Reich’s desire to visit other dimensions, which is scary in its own right. But really, what matters more here is that this episode more or less confirmed that Joe is a lost soul at this point, one dedicated to the Reich and nothing more, because Joe finally made his move on Tagomi in this episode, following him in the dead of night and well, the way this one ends, leaves us wondering as to whether or not we will be saying goodbye to the Trade Minister in the opening moments of the next tale.
 
Either way, I like the fact that the series started to ramp things up in this tale, and honestly, if I had to guess, I would venture to say that this particular tale serves as the grand setup to something more, as if the series is poised to make quite the jump in the next couple of episodes to blast this plot wide open and well, I am still hooked. Because this episode, and every single one that came before it, have done a phenomenal job of weaving together a beautiful tapestry and I simply have to know more. So, on that note, I’m diving back in to see if the next chapter in this tale, is going to be the moment when everything starts moving at a breakneck pace. Until next time.   

What I have always loved when it comes to science fiction, is the genre’s ability to examine humanity in surprisingly beautiful fashion. After all, it’s found multiple ways to explore the best parts of mankind and give us an idea of what our world and our future might look like if we took the time to embrace unity over anything else and the genre has even worked to try and steer us clear of our own pitfalls by examining what might happen if we took the time to indulge our more ignorant ways of thinking and sometimes, at least in television, the genre is able to tackle current events and give us ample commentary about our world and the direction it is headed in.
 
All of those elements are precisely why I’m such a huge fan of Doctor Who. Because few sci-fi shows out there try to embrace all of those elements the way this show does, but what’s truly interesting about the Doctor’s adventures, is that for the most part, the series used to focus heavily on only one of those particular elements, embracing the best parts of mankind, while only peppering in servings of the other two whenever the saga deemed necessary. It’s not a bad thing that the show doesn’t focus on all three on a regular basis, it just means that past writers never truly found a solid opportunity to integrate everything in a single sitting, but all of that is clearly starting to change with the new direction the show is heading in. Because last night’s episode, ‘Rosa’, was a tour de force of storytelling, one that felt the need to tackle some of America’s troubles in magnificent and powerful fashion.
 
Which quite frankly, caught me off guard, simply due to the fact that this particular tale started out like pretty standard Who fare since the Doctor and her friends were in essence, trapped in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955 since the TARDIS deemed it necessary to keep them there, which meant they were likely going to have a run-in with civil rights activist Rosa Parks while they searched for time travel related energy and I call that standard fare simply because we’ve seen the Doctor hang out with famous people from history in the past while on an adventure or as a particular mystery unfolded around her. But when Ryan found himself taking an open-handed slap from a ‘southern gent’ who couldn’t stand having a black man speak to his wife, it became evident this episode was going down an incredibly different path. 

​In fact, this is where the series went into full on commentary mode, by taking the time to examine the nature of racism in the modern world and well, this was an uncomfortable part of the series to watch. Because this part of the story made a couple of things inherently clear; that we have indeed made progress when it comes to respecting human beings who happen to have a different shade of color on their skin, but also, how much further we have to go and well, the uncomfortable part for me in this tale, is that this episode pointed out how some of the attitudes present in the United States of America in 1955, are still persisting in present day and that was a sobering reminder of the power of fear and hate and I’m glad the series took the time to show us this darker side to humanity since it did a great job of reminding all of us how stupid and wrong this particular set of beliefs truly are. 
 
Yet, what truly made this particular tale so powerful, is the fact that it offered up some powerful messages for the audience during this exploration. The first one being that hate is something that may never be defeated, since our villain was oddly enough a racist from another time. But, that if enough people come together and shun that kind of behavior, that men like him are easily forgotten and also that…all it takes to change the world sometimes, is to stick to one’s virtues and what’s right and what’s just and never waiver from it, which is precisely what Rosa Parks did, and that phenomenal message was hammered home by allowing for the audience to bear witness to a recreation of that incredibly significant moment when she refused to move from her seat and one has to wonder if there was more subtext to be found for the modern world in that final message as well.
 
In the end however, this was hands down, one of the finest episodes of Doctor Who that I’ve ever seen. It was powerful, inspirational and poignant and just plain good, and everything worked in this tale, the moments of humor, the story, everything was just downright perfect and it exhibited the best parts of the Doctor as well. Because it’s a well-known fact that the Doctor isn’t good with this kind of ignorance, something that was evident in Thirteen’s eyes when she was involved in the unwarranted and foolish hate of the times, and she did everything within her power and more to make sure that history turned out the way it was supposed to, and that Rosa Parks made the difference she needed to and well, you can’t ask for anything more from a time traveling alien that has saved the universe more times than we can count and really, if this is the kind of quality we are getting with Chris Chibnall at the helm of the series a mere three episodes into Jodie Whittaker’s tenure, then who knows what other incredible and powerful stories await us in the weeks to come…

​It never ceases to amaze me, just how The Man in the High Castle manages to find new ways to surprise me. Because as I settled in to watch the third episode of season three, ‘Sensô Kôi’, I truly expected more of what this new year of storytelling has had to offer; the slow burn style of storytelling. But as it turns out, this particular tale is one that ended up becoming a hybrid of sorts. Sure, the story took its sweet time and focused heavily on character development, but it also found ways to advance the plot and drop some bombshells in our laps, like for example what we learned about Joe Blake in this tale.
 
Because in this story, we came to learn that Joe has gone down one incredibly dark path and killing his father wasn’t merely about redemption but completing his training as an assassin for the Reich. Because we saw him take out a target with impunity in this tale and what’s equally as terrifying is that he now has his sights set on Tagomi and one has to wonder if the only thing that will save the Trade Minister’s life is Juliana since she and Joe still have feelings for one another. But Joe’s tirade about how the Reich is the future and the answer makes me nervous and it is obvious that little speech of his serves as quite the set up for a storyline that will either end in heartbreak or with Joe’s outright redemption.
 
However, while Juliana and Joe played a little cat and mouse game in San Francisco, another important plot point was being set up in New York, since John Smith was placed in charge of Adolf Hitler’s private film collection. Because the Reich has renewed interest in the films since they’ve come to learn that people can travel through the multiverse and Smith’s work on the films will help in the Reich’s research when it comes to other worlds and possibly having Nazi forces traverse them, which is a chilling thought in its own right and the future of that plot point was hammered home by the fact that Juliana can now dip into memories forged by her other selves and she may have an idea as to where exactly the Reich is building a device designed to traverse the multiverse.
 
Yet, while all of these little plot points were magnificent in their own right, the story did need to deal with the whole matter regarding Helen’s moment of involuntary manslaughter and well, it was John to the rescue there, since he personally took the time to stage a robbery crime scene and had others take the fall for it and this part of the story was just a fine reinforcement of the fact that John is on precarious ground right now. Because despite ‘clearing’ Helen’s name, the whole Reich is watching their new hero, and any mistake may bring about his downfall and it cannot be a good thing that Reichsführer Himmel is taking reports from Hoover about John Smith, directly…
 
When all is said and done however, it was nice to see the grand setup for future plot points come together in this one and I am supremely curious now about the Reich’s plans for the multiverse and can we take a moment and talk about how chilling it was to meet Josef Mengele in this episode? Because that dude, was outright human garbage and it was the first time all season that I felt a chill run down my spine from seeing one of history’s greatest monsters come to life again and well, his arrival in the story, and his pride over what he does, has me hoping that someone puts him down without giving it a second thought. Either way, this was another fine episode, I really am enjoying the melodrama and I really do get the feeling the bigger plot points are just going to explode right before our eyes as the season rolls on and well, I need more. Because I am very curious about Joe’s fate and the mess surrounding John, so if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to watch another episode. Until next time. 

​One of the many reasons that I fell in love with Amazon’s The Man in the High Castle, is its incredible pacing when it comes to storytelling. It always seems to know how to properly ebb and flow between action and exposition and considering how low key and chill the season three premiere of this series turned out to be, I was fully expecting the next episode in this grand and sweeping tale, ‘Imagine Manchuria’, to provide us with something a little more fast paced. So, imagine my surprise when I came to discover another relaxed episode, that focused heavily on character development and getting us up to speed on where everyone is at, months after the powerhouse season two finale.
 
Granted, I should add a caveat, in that, this kind of slow pacing isn’t a bad thing by any means, just…unexpected for a series that’s always building toward something more, which means I get the funny feeling this season is going to be pushing toward just that as the season rolls on. But until that point, we are going to be treated to this slow burning approach and well, that allowed for us to see that Ed and Childan are alive and well and thriving in the Neutral Zone as they waited for things to cool off in San Francisco. Plus, this slower approach also helped us to see that there might be something wrong with Joe after all since he was oddly detached upon his arrival in San Francisco, and oddly comfortable with the orders that came his way. 
 
But while I get the feeling there will be more to discuss and see when it comes to Joe’s story in the coming days, Juliana and John Smith really took the center stage in this particular tale since Juliana once again found herself in hot water with the Kempaitai since Kido was able to arrest her, and Trudy…again, putting Kido on a collision course with Admiralty since Tagomi made a point to intervene and have the sisters released into his custody and well, Kido’s confusion and surprise over Trudy’s return may lead to trouble down the line since he’s now taken an interest in the Trade Minister as well, and matters will no doubt be complicated further by the fact that Trudy was finally able to travel back to her home universe. 
 
However, while the stage was being set in San Francisco, John Smith dealt with more complications in New York when it comes to Hoover and Rockwell since both of these men were operating without John’s knowledge when it comes to the hunt for Abernathy and of course their shady plan to discredit Smith in the papers was slowly coming to fruition and all of this was motivated out of the fear that Smith was being groomed to replace Rockwell as Reichsmarshall. But John isn’t one to lie down and let people push him around, and he put plans in motion to ensure that further problems with these two men will be headed off at the pass. But unfortunately for John, keeping control over the controversies brewing around his family won’t be an easy task, especially when one considers that Helen managed to kill Adler’s widow during a brief confrontation at the Adler estate.
 
In the end however, I have to admit that this continued slow burn approach when it comes to the story is actually quite compelling. After all, it’s the little things that matter and every single moment here feels as though it really is laying the foundation for greater moments and well, I’m thoroughly enjoying this new and improved storytelling design for the series and I have to know more as to what exactly comes next, especially in regard to the matter involving John’s wife because her grief and her anger are clearly out of control and that’s not an insult, because she has every right to grieve, it’s more so…is there any way she can find a balance in a nation that expects is citizens to be strong at every waking moment? Time will tell of course, but rather than wait too long to find out, I think it’s high time to settle in and watch the next chapter of this harrowing tale…

​Few shows have piqued my curiosity like The Man in the High Castle, simply because it is such a different and dynamic series when compared to just about everything else on television. It’s bold, since it shows us a terrifying world in every sense of the word and its chilling setting has made for plenty of uncomfortable and squirmy moments, but I have to admit that after season two, I was quite curious as to where exactly this series this was headed. Because the danger that was present between the Greater Nazi Reich and the Japanese Pacific States was resolved at last, meaning that an uneasy peace was coming to this world which seemed odd for a story that was grounded in conflict from the get go.
 
Which means that the series three premiere, ‘Now More Than Ever, We Care About You’, was quite the different affair. One where we saw a fair majority of the characters settling in to everyday life once again. Juliana was living in the Neutral Zone with her alternate sister and scraping by like always. John Smith was enjoying his new promotion and all the lavish benefits that come with it, despite the fact that his home seemed a touch empty without his son present and really, the only person seemingly in conflict was Joe, who was tasked with a tough request from the Reich in this opening tale since it was either put down his father as penance for the coup d’etat that almost happened last season, or face his own certain death. 
 
So, suffice it to say, it was supremely off putting and odd to see the people in this world return to a sense of normalcy and well, I was quite curious if this was going to be the new norm for the saga. But thankfully, this was all a painful and unsettling ruse, for there is still conflict brewing everywhere and it would seem this fragile peace is going to shatter at some point or another, and things eventually became uneasy for the characters as the story rolled on. For Juliana, her conflict and respective struggles came about when unique assassins (later revealed to be Lebensborn) tried to get to her and Abertnathy in the Neutral Zone, putting her on the run and on a collision course to meet with Trade Minister Tagomi to learn more about her fate in this world and other dimensions.
 
It would also seem that trouble is brewing in the Reich as well since John Smith’s idyllic lifestyle is about to move from a simmer to a boil since there are others in the Reich who seemingly are jealous and untrusting of John, to the point where they are looking for ways to discredit the hero of the Reich and plans are being set in motion to make him look like quite the fool, something that will push his loyalty to the Reich to the limit, no doubt. Plus, Joe it would seem, has finally had enough of his past and the Reich altogether. Because despite going along with his superiors’ plans, Joe made quite the bold decision to put down Smith’s right-hand man before fading into the night and really, it seems as though a genuine resistance to everything these two nations stand for is rising.
 
Which quite frankly, is not a bad thing. Because it’s been two years of uncomfortable visuals when it comes to how the GNR and JPS operate and for some time now, I think we’ve all been dying to see someone stick it to the Nazis and the Empire. Which means that the question before us now, is how exactly that resistance will come together. Because what existed before was grounded in vengeance over freedom and that’s why it wasn’t effective, but here, it would seem the three key characters we just discussed might be the key to destabilizing everything, and it really does seem as though this was the grand setup to give this trio the opportunity to do the right thing at last and it should be interesting to see if they rise to the occasion. Until next time.  

The more time I’ve had to reflect upon the series 11 premiere of Doctor Who, the more I’ve found myself extremely excited when it comes to the Thirteenth Doctor and her forthcoming adventures with her new group of best friends (a term way cooler than companion). And really, my excitement stems from the fact that ‘The Woman Who Fell to Earth’ was a vastly different type of episode for the show, one that relied on the Doctor’s intelligence and good nature to solve the problem instead of relying upon help from the TARDIS or Time Travel and it was just refreshing to see that on display for a change.
 
Yet, when I settled in to watch last night’s episode of the show, ‘The Ghost Monument’, I found myself in quite the confused place. Because I’ll be perfectly honest, at first, it seemed as though this particular adventure was going to be quite the by-the-numbers affair. After all, the group was stranded on an alien planet, danger surrounded them and there was a mystery to solve and that quite frankly, took me off guard. I expected more, and well, it was there all along, I simply needed to take a moment and look beyond the basics to see that Chris Chibnall put together a script that was filled with some wonderful thematic concepts that are helping to make this show exciting and new once again.
 
For example, the first thing I finally noticed, about the time the group was moving across the water, is that this particular tale takes the time to expand upon something that was briefly explored in the last episode, in that…the show is trying to make the Doctor a beacon of hope once again. It really seemed during the final years of the Moffat era that our favorite Time Lord was a being to be feared, one that had left death and destruction in (at the time) his wake and well, that got old. But thankfully, that was nowhere to be found in this episode, and Thirteen made a grand effort to speak to the wonder of the universe and the value of life and the moment and of course, she was a hero through and through in this story, one that used her wits over violence and that was downright magnificent. 

Yet, what I was impressed with the most, is the sheer fact that this new chapter in the Doctor’s incredible story, is finding new ways to re-ignite the wonder surrounding this series, and keeping the TARDIS out of the story for a better part of the first two episodes, helped generate that because it was just a delight to see that ancient ship materialize on this ghastly planet and it was equally as magical to step through the doors with the Doctor for the first time and see the awe in Thirteen’s eyes as she realized she was home again and that awe was downright infectious in this tale since her new friends were stunned and excited to learn of what this ship can do and in all honesty, it left me grinning like a fool as well and that sense of wonder didn’t end there.
 
Because for the first time in a long time, the alien world present in this episode, a place known as Desolation, actually felt alien. From its nasty atmosphere to its poisonous water, nothing about this place felt comfortable in the slightest and it’s just rare to see a world where everything is hostile and dangerous on this series and that wonderful surprise was only further enhanced by the fact that it’s now been made evident that a new villain will challenge the Doctor by way of the Stenza and this, has me extremely excited. Because it’s something I was oddly enough discussing with my close friend Shae the other day since we both agree that Doctor Who has been heavily reliant on the usual cadre of baddies to advance the plot and it’s just wonderful to know that a species we have zero knowledge about in every way imaginable is going to step up and square off against the Doctor and well, I do wish them the best of luck.
 
But, when all is said and done, this was another solid episode, in my humble opinion. It was a wonderful way to reintroduce the newly revamped TARDIS, which looks amazing by the way, and everything before that moment worked for me as well. For there was plenty of tension to be found in this one, and it definitely kept my attention and most importantly, it left me hungry for more. Because now that the Doctor has her TARDIS back, time and space are at her fingertips and if our future adventures through the universe are going to be as magnificent as the last two, then we are going to be in for more amazing moments and once again, I find myself counting down the minutes until the next episode of this magnificent and enthralling series. Until next time.