I have to admit, that I thought long and hard about how to start off this particular recap of Jack Ryan, because the season one finale of this magnificent series, ‘Inshallah’, outright left me at a loss for words. I mean seriously, season one came to a close, and the story faded to black and I just sat there in silence, in awe of everything I’d just experienced and well, it wasn’t the silence that threw me for a loop, it was the sheer rawness of this episode. Because there was no sense of a greater meaning here, or an attempt to pay homage to a particular spy series or story. This was just a rollercoaster ride of emotion, one that gave the audience everything it could ask for and more.
 
Which means, it’s best we dig into how exactly this particular tale managed to tug at the audience’s feels, because this episode turned out to be quite the master class when it comes to building tension. Because moment by moment you could feel the trouble building in this one and that all started once Mousa bin Suleiman and his son arrived on American soil because this signaled the beginning of a grand and slow reveal of his true master plan and all that we were able to assess early on is that he had a bigger attack planned, one that involved blowing Cesium into a public place so that people would perish in brutal fashion from radiation poisoning, further creating chaos and panic in our country.
 
But while a nuclear related attack within the borders of the United States of America is terrifying enough, the show was more than happy to take that kind of terror one step further, because I made mention of the fact that this was a slow burning scheme and we eventually came to learn that Mousa’s big plan was to fire off the Cesium into the ventilation system of Washington Memorial Hospital, where the President was under observation for the Ebola scare and well, if Suleiman was successful in his mission, all kinds of chaos and panic would ensue. But thankfully, Jack figured out the plan and we were treated one tense sequence of events in the hospital as everyone worked to capture their man.
 
Unfortunately, however, Mousa was able to escape, and in order to keep the good fight alive, he abandoned his son, and the fear and panic in the young man’s eyes helped lead Jack to Suleiman’s location and this led to the most heart pounding sequence of the episode. Because it was truly a race against time to stop Mousa before he was within range of a functional cellular tower, wherein he could detonate the Cesium and still wreak havoc. But Jack stayed hot on Suleiman’s trail and the instant he lost sight of the madman, a quick reminder of how important Samir is to Mousa, helped Jack zero in and put the man down for good, making the Jack the hero we’ve been waiting for him to become.
 
So yeah, woo. This one outright took my breath away and I give the writer’s room serious credit for giving us a fast-paced episode that nearly gave me a heart attack and wrapped everything up in a neat little bow and well, when all is said and done, what a phenomenal first season for this series. It was just, powerful and magnificent and I loved the shout out to The Sum of All Fears in this one with the nuclear subtext and it would seem the sky is the limit for Jack Ryan related adaptations down the line. After all, Greer going to Russia and offering Jack a ticket implies he may meet one Marko Ramius, leading us to a remake of The Hunt for Red October and I’ve already heard talk that next season takes place in South America meaning we may be seeing a new iteration of Clear and Present Danger. Either way, I am one hundred percent sold on this series, and I’m ready for more and I’ll be counting down the minutes to season two. Until next year.  

​Be careful what you wish for. It’s a phrase that’s becoming quite common when it comes to the television shows that I watch, because as of late, I’ve found myself quite invested in the plot and the characters, to the point where I’m hoping something in particular will happen, only to have that desire wildly backfire on me when my dreams come true and well, that phrase applies to the next episode of Jack Ryan as well. Because for some time now, I’ve desperately been wanting the CIA and every agency available to properly go after Mousa bin Suleiman, especially after all the horrible things he’s done and well, they do just that in ‘The Boy’, but what happens when they do is an outright game changer.
 
However, before we get to the big surprise twist that comes about from the hunt for Suleiman, we have a few other things to cover in this tale since it was packed to the gills with more surprises and unexpected moments and most of them involved Jack and his overall development and growth when all is said and done and the first important one that came our way, involved a surprise meeting with Cathy at USAMRIID, wherein his cover was blown when he was forced to question her regarding the possibility that Suleiman and his late brother had figured out a way to weaponize a particularly nasty strain of Ebola and this moment mattered because for the first time in his budding relationship with Cathy, he was forced to be 100% honest about what he does and it was nice to see him own up and repair whatever damaged he had done to this relationship before the end of the episode.
 
But the other key moments in regard to Jack’s personal growth came about during his scenes at the CIA because it was clear that after everything that he’s been through, our dear Jack is no longer the mousey analyst he was when we met him. He’s hellbent on making a difference and proving Jim wrong about having to compromise his ideals and that was made evident by his push to send in ground forces to deal with Suleiman so that young Samir would come back to the United States safely in order to be reunited with his mom and perhaps his boldest and coolest moment to date was when he stood up in the briefing with the President and asked POTUS for the boy’s safe return and had his wish granted by the leader of the free world. But alas, while this was cool to watch, I did make mention of the fact that something ugly awaited us in this tale and all of that came about by way of the assault of the Suleiman compound.
 
Because once the Special Ops team arrived in Syria and the compound, they quickly came to discover, that Mousa and his entire army, were nowhere to be found. The place was simply vacant, robbing us of a grand showdown with this monster, but the lack of confrontation wasn’t a total loss. After all, there was intel to be found in this place and while Samir was missing as well, the rest of the hostages, one of which we learned had ties to POTUS, were brought home and well, this anti-climactic moment, was in fact, all part of Suleiman’s plan. Because while the hostages went off to meet the President at a ceremony, the CIA came to realize something terrible, that Suleiman was in essence, feeding the hostages a steady diet of Ebola laced vitamins and pills, making the hostages the weapon and exposing the President of the United States to one of the deadliest viruses on the planet…
 
So, yeah, holy crap. I was not expecting that kind of twist when all is said and done because Suleiman’s move to expose POTUS to Ebola is one of the boldest plans I’ve ever seen a villain undertake in either television or film and while the immediate impact of this move isn’t evident in this tale since we fade to black the instant we learn of this fact, no good can come from an assassination attempt on the President’s life and I’m sure this is only the opening salvo of a bigger plan for Suleiman and his men and well, as stunned as I am from watching this one, I have to know how it ends, so if you’ll excuse me, I need to go and press play and start the season one finale of this magnificent show and see what kind of pyrrhic victory comes about from my desire to see Suleiman pay for his crimes. Until next time.

The point of no return. It’s a phrase that we have heard or will use at some point in our lives and there’s good reason for that, because such a point in our lives exists. It can flat out mean that we’ve made serious progress in our career goals and have reached a point where it’s success and nothing more from here on out. But often times, the phrase carries negative connotations with it, since there also comes a point where our life, or the life of someone else, is spiraling out of control and when we or they have hit that point, it’s all downhill from there and that phrase is on my mind today, because last night’s episode of Better Call Saul, ‘Winner’, saw several characters reach the point of no return when it comes to their respective journeys and nothing will ever be the same for them from here on out.
 
Take Mike for example. Because for some time now, he’s been walking the line between bad guy and good guy, and while he’s done questionable things in his past, and the present for that matter as well, he’s never quite given into the darkness surrounding him, and he’s always tried to throw people a bone and give them the benefit of the doubt when possible. But last night, Mike finally gave in and embraced his role as Gus Fring’s true right-hand man by conducting the hunt for Werner and dealing with the gentle German’s escape in the most brutal fashion imaginable, by putting the man down for his betrayal. And while he was still kind enough to help in keeping Werner’s beloved wife alive, the choice had indeed been made and there’s no going back to Mike’s old life, he’s a henchman from here on out.
 
But while Mike’s story was tragic in its own right as he finally crossed an important line, it was Jimmy McGill’s journey that took every incredible twist and turn imaginable as he too reached that proverbial point of no return and I’ll be honest, his actions in this episode were downright heartbreaking. Because in this story, Jimmy continued his powerhouse long con in order to get his law license back, going so as to take the time to ‘grieve’ at his brother’s grave so that people with ties to the state board could see his sincerity and he even wrote a check for twenty-three thousand dollars to dedicate a reading room to his brother at Hamlin, Hamlin and McGill to help in the effort of showing the entire world how much he cared about Charles and well, this sequence was quirky, yet tough to watch since Jimmy made it clear just how much none of this mattered in the end, all that mattered was being able to practice the law once again. 

Yet, while one would think that such a long con was simply par for the course when it came to Jimmy, the true point of no return for this broken man was tied together by two key moments. Because part of the long con involved Jimmy serving on the board of the foundation that his brother left behind and while he was on the board, he saw an opportunity to give a young woman, who made a mistake with the law, such as he has on a few occasions, a second chance at life and becoming a lawyer, something that was staunchly shot down and well, that flat out broke him. Because he saw himself in her shoes, even going so far as to give her advice on how to handle her life and the system from here on out, when in reality, that advice was for himself, and seeing how she was treated and viewed reminded Jimmy of his own journey to this point, and his relationship with his brother and in one powerful isolated moment, we saw all of his pain and anguish come boiling to the surface and the genuine tears and stunning pain that Jimmy experienced led him to quite the decision.
 
One that at first, seemed noble and moving since Jimmy faced the state board with his head held high, and he was able to finally put together some eloquent and moving words in order to finally get his law license back. But as it turns out, Jimmy orchestrated all of this as part of the con, and he brought some members of the board to tears to get what he wanted and in that moment, we came to realize that Jimmy truly came to believe the words he told that young woman, in that, the system was rigged and the odds were always against him. Because he was Slippin’ Jimmy McGill, a man who would never be taken seriously as an honest and just lawyer, he would always be a joke, so it was time to give the system what it wanted and in a stunning and powerful moment, he made it clear that he was no longer going to practice under his given surname of McGill and just like that ladies and gents, the big moment arrived, and Saul Goodman was born. 
 
Yet, this grand moment, one that we’ve all been waiting for, fit the bill perfectly for ‘be careful what you wish for’. Because the birth of Saul was a painful and heartbreaking affair, since this alter ego was born out of revenge, and hate and a chance to stick it to the man and help the ‘little guy’ fight against a system that favors others, at least in Jimmy eyes. And to make matters worse, Saul arrives at quite the great cost as well. Because in creating this man, he’s also isolated the outright love of his life, and likely ruined their future together since it was clear in those closing moments that Kim Wexler realized what she had been party to and that Jimmy played her like a damn fiddle. But, the moment arrived none the less, and Jimmy McGill has reached the point of no return, and now his fate and his future are in the hands of one Saul Goodman…

You know, I thought long and hard about how exactly I should open up this particular recap of last night’s series 11 premiere of Doctor Who. Should we discuss the Doctor’s storied history and how it works alongside a new Doctor for a new generation? Should we talk about the need for change and how important it is in a series such as this? Or, do we address the looming issue when it comes to this series, the one that has kept the fans talking for some time now; the fact that the Thirteenth Doctor is…gasp…a woman! Because in all honesty, going to that final topic seemed like overkill, at first, simply due to the fact that so much has been said and written about it.
 
Yet, it was the only thing that my mind kept coming back to when my fingers hit the keyboard, and there’s good reason for that, it’s a damn big deal when you make a change that significant in a series that’s featured only men in the title role for fifty-plus years. But, the importance and the gravity of having a woman take over the lead role for a pioneering science fiction show such as this is another topic for another time, one that quite frankly, better writers than I will tackle. Instead, one of the reasons that I felt the need to focus upon this first, is simply due to the fact that I was taken aback by the sheer nastiness that came forth from a chunk of the fanbase when they discovered the Doctor was making a gender change. I saw horribly misogynistic and outright ridiculous comments on social media from ‘fans’, ones that made it seem as though the progressive messages this series exudes fell upon deaf ears and these same people wished failure for Jodie Whittaker or they outright threatened to stop watching the series over this bold and magnificent decision.
 
Which brings me to the other reason I wanted to focus upon this negative hulabaloo…to outright gloat. Because ‘The Woman Who Fell to Earth’, proved an important point to every single hater and Jodie-basher out there, in that…they were completely and utterly wrong about everything they had to say when it comes to the new Doctor. For the 13th Doctor is an absolute delight to watch on the screen, and it doesn’t take long to see in this episode, that Jodie has already made the character her own and given this ancient Time Lord a unique personality that is quite frankly, fun in every sense of the word since she brings a special brand of glee to her portrayal of The Doctor, and really, Jodie’s electric and magnificent performance is merely the beginning when it comes to the wonder of an episode that quite frankly embodies the best parts of Doctor Who.

For The Thirteenth Doctor is a true hero through and through and she is all about diving into the mystery and working with a fevered mania to figure out how solve said mystery and save lives in the process and speaking of that, she’s also willing to do whatever it takes to keep people safe, and I loved watching her cut through everyone’s worries about the problem at hand and maintain a positive outlook and really, it’s that positivity that stands out the most in this series thus far. Because The Doctor I’ve come to know through the years, was a touch cantankerous and broody at times as he reflected upon the tough things he’s seen over the course of two-thousand plus years, and that somber and sour feeling is how they sold their worthiness to others, but none of that is evident with Thirteen. She’s all about playing the positive side of ‘What if?’ and that inspires her new friends in ways I’ve never seen on the series before.
 
Because often times, The Doctor’s companion or companions were immediately skeptical of the Time Lord when they first met her previous iterations, questioning the Doc every single step of the way. But here, Thirteen’s confidence is infectious, and it allows for her new companions to believe that if they stick with her and follow the plan, things are going to turn out just fine and well, they do, with a price of course. But it was refreshing to see Ryan, Yaz and Graham, and Grace for that matter, unify and rally behind the Doctor to save an innocent life and I was also quite pleased to see that the Doctor is as tough and as fearless as ever, since she was able to outwit and outmaneuver one of the nastiest and angriest villains that the series has seen in years with ease, and one has to wonder if we will be seeing this unique race of warriors appear again down the line…
 
But what matters most, piggybacks on what I just made mention of, the Doctor’s grit. Because the best part about this premiere, is that Thirteen doesn’t fall into any predictable pitfalls or tropes when it comes to female characters in cinema and television. She’s strong, she’s resourceful and she makes miracles happen without the TARDIS by her side and well, I’m supremely excited to see where this new direction of the series is going to take us, and if the series premiere is any indicator of what’s to come, then we are going to be in for one hell of a treat, wherein once more we see the awe and wonder of the universe through a fresh set of eyes, and a pair that have seen just about everything time and space has to offer, and that’s bad news for those who would do others harm, because the universe and the show are clearly in good hands with the Thirteenth Doctor at the helm of the TARDIS…well, when she and her new friends find it, that is…

​Our moral compass is something that often guides us through every phase of our life. It helps us selects jobs/careers, friends and the people who will potentially become our husbands and wives somewhere down the line simply because, we want to be surrounded by people who reflect what we believe in, and letting that compass guide us to those elements in our lives, allows for us to enjoy a sense of stability and security, especially when we find our morals challenged, and they will be at some point in life because that’s simply the kind of surprise the world sometimes sends our way. But what we rarely think about in life, is how we will respond to said challenges when they arrive because of the fact we work so hard to avoid them.
 
If anything, I think that’s one of the many, many reasons we often turn to stories that feature good people being pushed by fate and circumstance since it gives us guidance and ideas about how to deal with that kind of adversity when it does drop into our laps and it just so happens that a good man’s moral compass was pushed to the limit in the next episode of Jack Ryan since ‘Sources and Methods’ put Jack in quite the tough place mentally. Because in order to find Hanin, he and Greer were going to have to bend to the will of some not so savory characters to get help in locating her and well, it was simply fascinating to watch Jack struggle with this compromise so mightily.
 
In fact, I am hard pressed to think of a time in the entire Ryan-related Tom Clancy universe where I’ve ever seen the man this pissed off, but it would seem that working with and paying a man deeply involved with sex trafficking is the straw that breaks his proverbial back and well, he’s not wrong to be upset with that, because it takes an unsavory mindset to choose that kind of disgusting career field. But what I didn’t expect to see in this episode, was Jack losing his cool. Because his ire over dealing with this kind of scumbag got the better of him to the point where and the help eventually came to blows and Jack’s anger wasn’t just solely directed at this piece of human garbage, Greer got a taste of it as well since Jack challenged this particular mission parameter every step of the way.
 
But, despite the fact that this uneasy alliance was seemingly ready to fall apart at any given moment. The trio stuck to the mission, and payout at hand and eventually, they were able to rescue Hanin from the clutches of her husband’s disgusting henchman, Yazid, and gather the intel they so desperately needed on Mousa’s exact whereabouts. But while a fair chunk of this episode operated in morally ambiguous territory, it did find a way to deliver a particularly beautiful moment and that was accomplished by way a sub plot involving Victor, who ventured to Syria to meet the family of the man he killed in his introductory moment since it was revealed briefly in the last episode, that he made a mistake with that kill and in an act of kindness, he gave that man’s family all of his Vegas winnings and apologized for his mistake.
 
However, despite that magnificent moment of levity, and the fact that Jack and Jim earned quite the important win in this tale, there is still cause for concern as we barrel toward the season one finale. After all, Hanin’s son Samir is in grave danger now that the CIA knows where his home is located, and there’s no doubt in my mind Jack will be pushing to keep that young boy safe and then there’s the whole mysterious matter involving Suleiman and Ebola. Because that mysterious strain has been hanging around the story for some time now and now that we know the Suleiman brothers dug up the body of an EVD-27 victim, this virus is suddenly taking the center stage and I fear that Mousa is working to weaponize the virus. But in the here and the now, what a great episode this turned out to be. Seeing Jack be challenged in new ways is paramount to his growth and I suppose time will tell if he can indeed find a way to maintain his morality in the coming days now that he has Suleiman in his sights. Until next time. 

When it comes to storytelling, the villain’s backstory is extremely important to the overall plot, simply because it’s important to understand what drove this particular person to perform their twisted deeds and uncovering the secret to their special brand of evil makes reading or watching a particular tale all the more fulfilling. Yet oddly enough, the spy drama is the only place where a storyteller can get away without offering any of that up, simply because those stories are grounded in a structure where the adventure and the experience matter over anything else, allowing for the bad guy or gal to be evil without ever having to explain what made them turn their back on mankind.
 
But thankfully, as Jack Ryan continues to reinvent the genre in new and exciting ways, it’s clearly looking to put an end to the two dimensional villain by adding depth and understanding to their lives as well and in the wake of the sobering and terrifying attack on Paris in the last episode, the next tale in this chapter, ‘End of Honor’, focused upon what drove Mousa bin Suleiman to murder so many people without giving it a second thought and well, I have to admit that I am fascinated as to how our villain is driven by something more than a desire to create the world’s largest and greatest Islamic State, since the man is in fact…an outcast who wants to be admired by others and feel as though he belongs to something greater and this episode provided us with a grand exploration when it comes to the formative moments that pushed him to take that need for acceptance, this far.
 
As it turns out, the fire in his heart was stoked during his time in Paris, because as a young man growing up in the city of lights, he only found darkness and disdain coming his way. Because no matter how hard he tried to clean up his image as a Muslim refugee, and offer good answers and ideas for job interviews that would have given him and his brother stability, he was rejected and dismissed at every turn and to compound matters further, a run in with the police, where he took the fall for his brother is what landed him in prison and it was there that he was radicalized. For it was behind bars that he discovered the wonder of religion and found his true north since he suddenly felt like he belonged to something greater and the rest as they say is history and it was fascinating to see his origin story play out and come to learn just how much Mousa loves his brother.
 
That last part mattered in this tale, because Mousa wasn’t aware of the fact that his brother was dead and that was an angle that a rattled Jack and Jim were planning to use against him in order to bring him and his cohorts to justice for the Paris attack. But alas, their plan to contact Mousa through the game he and his brother used to communicate didn’t quite go as smoothly as planned since Mousa was able to expose Jack during their chat. But in doing so, Jack was able to outright confirm that a mystery woman in a refugee camp in Turkey, who was offering information on Mousa was Hanin after all, and now it would seem that both Mousa and Jack are racing against time to find Hanin in order to get what they want respectively and it should be interesting to see who gets to her first. 
​
Either way, I really dug the fact that this episode dove deep into Mousa bin Suleiman’s psyche and past. It was simply fascinating to learn what makes this man tick, but truth be told, this exploration of said psyche also makes Mousa a far more terrifying villain when all is said and done. Because in many ways, this man truly has nothing to lose now, and men like him, the kind who have no attachments to a world that’s rejected them, will stop at nothing to create the utopia that suits their psychological needs and that adds a sense of urgency to Jack and Jim’s hunt for Hanin because if they take too long in finding her, they buy Mousa more time to prepare a more devastating and vengeful attack. Until next time… 

Let’s be honest, if there’s one thing all of us crave in our everyday lives, it’s acceptance. We love the idea of people seeing us for who we are and being just fine with us, despite our flaws and it’s something we seek out on a regular basis and enjoy from our closest circle of friends since it provides us with a sense of peace. But, the true Zen moment when it comes to acceptance, is when we are able to look in the mirror, and be happy with the person that we see, because it doesn’t get more powerful than self-acceptance and when we aren’t happy in our own skin, bad things happen since we push to fill that void by any means necessary and being happy with one’s self and accepting who we are internally is on my mind today, because it was a powerful focal point of last night’s episode of Better Call Saul.
 
Because ‘Wiedersehen’ put Jimmy McGill’s insecurities and need to be accepted by someone close to him on full display, all while bringing his internal pain and fury when it comes to his troubled relationship with Chuck, and his death for that matter, around full circle in stunning fashion because this episode featured a pivotal moment in Jimmy’s life. For in this tale, we should have seen Jimmy law license be reinstated by the state of New Mexico and considering how impressive his reinstatement interview went, since he was able to wow the board with eloquent and informative answers, it was quite shocking at first to hear that the board would not be giving him back his license for the time being. But, once we saw Jimmy’s fury return after receiving this downtrodden and earth-shattering news, and learned exactly why the board said no, since they claimed he was ‘insincere’, it suddenly all made sense.
 
For in reality, Jimmy put on a show for the board, and ate up the acceptance they sent his way. They made him feel like a lawyer again, but one question and one question alone is what torpedoed his chances. Because when he was asked what the law meant to him, he hemmed and hawed and gave a mostly honest answer. But he forgot to speak to the one big reason that he worked hard to be a lawyer, to impress his big brother. In fact, he omitted any mention of Chuck altogether since he’s made it inherently clear that his brother is dead and gone and it is time to move on, and seeing that kind of cold response brought forth doubt in the hearing and well, it exposed everything that Jimmy has tried to bury internally and in the most stunning moment of the night, Jimmy’s pain was put on full display in front of Kim with equally disastrous results.  

Because the two of them finally had it out and Jimmy admitted, in his own special way, how badly he needed Kim to accept him for all of his flaws and to love him for the man that he is, and in this moment, the specter of Saul Goodman, and Slippin’ Jimmy were removed from the series altogether, allowing for us to see James McGill, the shattered man. It was here that we saw just how much Jimmy loathes himself, and believes he’s awful, and now we understand why he pushed so hard gain Chuck’s acceptance and in turn Kim’s and well, it was all so heartbreaking to finally see the real Jimmy and see how much he’s suffering and despite Kim’s best efforts to console him and promise him help down the line as he tries to appeal the ruling, I think we all know deep down, that this is the beginning of the end for this couple and that for some time now, they’ve been growing and moving in different directions.
 
If anything, it’s clear now that Saul Goodman’s creation never came about from one particular moment, but instead a series of them. Chuck’s death, the probable end of this relationship and a jading on Jimmy’s part when it comes to the law all helped to create a man that thrives on the acceptance and gratitude of strangers in desperate places and well, I strongly feel as though this episode brought us one step closer to Saul’s true genesis as we close in on Breaking Bad’s timeline and speaking of the source material, Jimmy isn’t the only one closing in on his destiny. For we came to learn in this story that Lalo is the reason why Hector has his iconic bell and Mike’s journey pushed him further into Gus Fring’s pocket since he will clearly do anything and everything to keep the business safe, and Werner needs to be worried about what will happen when Mike catches up to him.
 
But, while I am loving how the two universes are starting to blend together, what matters more here is Jimmy’s journey and how it continues to take a turn for the worse. Because wow, his breakdown in this episode was nothing short of stunning and well, I have a bad feeling that next week’s appeal hearing may be what snaps the last thread that Jimmy’s psyche is holding on to. Because a failure on Kim’s part would only create a greater divide in their relationship and reinforce his fears that he’s a loser and is being abandoned, regardless of the fact that Jimmy’s actions have led him to this point. But, either way, what a poignant and heartbreaking episode, and we are truly on a collision course with fate now for Jimmy, and the fact that we now know that Saul Goodman is forged from pain and anguish adds a new gravity and depth to the character that I never thought was possible. Until next time.