Say what you want about cable programming, but I cannot get enough of one particular channel that always provides us with some of the best shows out there, The History Channel.  I am a sucker for a ton of the programs that it brings to the table and since I love hearing the history behind things, it is the prefect channel for me to watch. Not catering to only one type of program, I have found over the years that whenever there is nothing better on, I am always able to find something great playing on History and before I know it, I have been watching for a better part of the day and have no regrets about it at all.

Pawn Stars – I never thought I would be captivated by a show that takes place in a pawn shop, but this one has done just that to me. With the great family dynamic of Rick, Corey, Chumlee and the Old Man, it seems like a venture that I might want to get in on. Learning all kinds of historical things about antiques that find their way into the shop like launch keys to old pedal cars, you never know what is going to walk through that door. Being in Vegas seems to add a little bit something extra to the experience, since there are plenty of gamblers out there that can fall on hard times and need to move something quickly to pay the rent. It is just a fun and informative show that not only gives you a great history lesson, prices of goods that you could hang above your mantel, but it also shows you how bald people are treated on a daily basis.

American Pickers – One profession that I never thought would be fun is the one called 'picking'. I had never seen the appeal of doing something like this, until Mike and Frank took center stage and were able to bring rusty gold back to life. With some of the amazing things that they are able to find in old barns, buildings and so on, it makes we want to open up my wallet and try to do some of these things as well. While I am not a huge antique person, I am sure that I would be able to find something out of the ordinary that would look great hanging up somewhere around the house. Besides buying and selling some great pieces, you get a great history lesson to go along with them and sometimes they find something that blows your mind. 

Counting Cars – I have never been a huge car guy, but when you see Danny and his team transform a piece of junk into a work of art, well I might need to find an awesome job to try and buy one of their creations. With so much of our history revolving around transportation in this country, it is amazing to see just how much cars have changed over the years. This show gives you different history behind what was happening between the years and why different brands did their things, not only for the money, but for the innovation. Then with the slick paint jobs that come out of Count’s Kustoms, you would never believe that the cars or bikes that have been released were a day older than the day you saw it. 

The Curse of Oak Island – I don’t know what it is about treasure type shows, but they are just so much fun to watch and The Curse of Oak Island meets that criteria. It must be the whole 'discovery of the unknown' that pulls me in, but I will have to get back with you on that, because...something has to be discovered. Brothers Rick and Marty Lagina have spent a lifetime in pursuit of this crazy treasure that has been a part of folklore on Oak Island for over two hundred years and they will not stop until they are able to bring it to the surface. With different clues left all over the island, it seems like you just need to know what to look for and they will lead you in one direction or another. The Money Pit has fascinated me since the start of the show and it looks like they might actually be able to make it to the bottom and see what secrets have been hidden there for generations. But the thing that really keeps me glued to the screen for this series is all of the secrets about the island that are being revealed, and while I hope that there is a treasure, I also want to know who was behind all of the secrets as it seems like there are several different groups in history that used this island for their own purposes. 

Hunting Hitler – While I am not a huge WWII buff, my father is and it is has been pounded into my head that Hitler may not have been killed in a bunker at the end of the war. It's a theory that has been shared by many over the years and this show is trying to find out where the führer may have actually escaped to. It is very interesting to see the locations that the research group has found over the past season and, it does seem plausible that Hitler may have had a life after the war. The thing that I find fascinating about the search that this group is conducting, is that some of the places that they check out are secured from the public and while that could just be a coincidence, it just adds credence to the theory that someone of importance was there, or may still be there. I really want them to try and find an old Nazi base in Antarctica, I have not seen that on the show yet, but everybody knows that there was more than one down there and if Hitler never wanted to be found, a snow base would have been the perfect spot.
​
So there you have it, several shows that I cannot seem to pull myself away from, and they are all on one network. Which surprises me, mainly because I do not like to watch normal television these days since there are way too many commercials to interrupt my viewing experience. I know there are more great shows, even scripted ones that The History Channel is making a run with like Vikings, which I hear good things about, but it will be a while before I get to that one, since I still love the history aspect of these shows and usually feel like I am learning something while watching them, even the repeats. 

Series 1 Episode 4
‘Owl Stretching Time'
 
Sketch List
Song (And Did Those Feet)
Art Gallery
Art Critic
It’s a Man’s Life in the Modern Army
Undressing in Public
Self-Defense Against Fresh Fruit
Secret Service Dentists
 
The Art Gallery Sketch perhaps best showcases the Python team’s ability to deliver multiple commentaries with one premise. Like the best of Python sketches the premise is simple and silly: what if when we talked about artistic taste, we literally meant we liked how the art tasted? Enter Janet (John Cleese) and Marge (Graham Chapman), two examples of the Python archetype: The Pepperpot. The “Pepperpot” character, as defined by John Cleese in his 1969 TV Special, How to Irritate People, is a middle-aged woman whose “life’s ambition is to be in the audience of a TV Quiz show. She is to be found in shopping areas, blocking the pavement, tormenting babies, spreading rumors, and spending a fortune on bargains. She enjoys worrying and being shocked. Individually, she is intolerable, in a group, horrific.” These are the same genre of women from the Whizzo Butter Ad in the “Whither Canada” episode.

The Pepperpots meet while touring an art gallery and compare their difficulties in getting their children to treat the artwork with respect. They detail the destruction Ralph and Kevin have brought to various exhibitions by smashing, defacing, and eating the artwork, punctuating their accounts by striking those children off screen. These children and the violence done to them in this sketch are both implied, which serves two purposes. First, the implied violence of the disembodied slap off-screen is a joke that banks on audio cues only, which is quite funny when used in a sketch which is primarily about visual art. Second, because the violent discipline takes place off-camera, and it is quite clear that there are no actual children present on set, this audio-gag serves as a bit of a “screw you” to the BBC censors. The violence is all implied which allows the Python’s to make their joke and the leaves the censors with nothing to protest.

As the Pepperpots catalogue the priceless works smashed, vandalized, or ingested by their sons the slaps grow more frequent and unprompted. Towards the end of their discussion Marge disappears off-screen to dole out 5 blows in a row calling Ralph a “naughty, naughty vicious little boy” and Janet, not to be out-done, slaps Kevin without cause.  But it turns out that the Pepperpots have a limit: they will not abide spitting. The humor of this silly line drawn in the sand comes from the assumption that the disrespect inherent in spitting is somehow more egregious than smashing or swallowing the artwork. This is solidified by both Pepperpots chowing down on what remains of a Turner masterpiece. By participating in the physical consumption of the artwork the Pepperpots validate their children’s actions. This portion of the sketch concludes with Janet delivering the punchline, “I don’t know much about art but I know what I like” as both she and Marge eat what’s left of Turner’s “Fighting Temeraire.”

Though the Pepperpots talk about the works their sons have destroyed with relative ease we are meant to dismiss their misguided views on how to enjoy art as a product of their middle class station and limited education. By using the Pepperpot character type the Pythons are focused on the middle class mother and how she’s raised her children. However, as the sketch transitions the Python’s cut to an Art Critic (Michael Palin) who is in the middle of eating Maurice Utrillo’s “Mother Catherine's Restaurant In Montmartre.” This transition and the world it creates make an important point about how society understands art. The audience recoils from the notion of the Pepperpots’ children eating art as that is in direct contrast to our reverence for art, and their mothers reinforce that reverence by harshly disciplining them. Then, as we witness the Pepperpots themselves eating the Turner Painting we dismiss both the sins of the child and parent as fundamentally misunderstanding art as a result of class and education. But then the world of the sketch shifts dramatically as we are shown an intellectual authority, the Art Critic, “appreciating” art by eating it. Our perspective must shift again in order to understand that this “taste” for art is not a child’s mistake, or a misguided belief held by a less-educated household, but a definition of a term backed by the intellectual authority of the society. Seeing Palin’s Art Critic hiccup after eating Utrillo’s painting while commenting on his brush-work almost makes me ask myself “have I been enjoying art the wrong way?” This is how our opinions of art are founded, passed down by the intellectual authorities and taken to varying extremes by the general population.

The premise of the sketch is simple and silly: the humor comes from confusing the two uses of the word taste. But yet again the Pythons craft the world where this confusion takes place with such care and conviction that it opens up a discussion about the enjoyment of art and where our methods for enjoying art come from. Until next time, Geek On!

Each and every one of us out there know someone that we consider to be our 'rock'. These are the people that always manage to inspire us with their strength and outlook on life, and they're often the people that we turn to during our times of need because we know that if anyone can help us get through tough times...it's them. 

But what we rarely think about, is how tough life can be for our own personal hero. They're so strong and so wise that it seems that nothing can ever bring them down or get under their skin...but they're human just like us and they have problems, just like us. Which leaves us wondering, who exactly steps in and saves a hero during their time of need? It's a question that was posed and answered in this week's episode of The Librarians, 'And the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy'.

Because this is a story that more or less did the impossible, it put Eve Baird's life in genuine danger. Yes, you read that right. The Guardian, the strongest of the group and protector of the Librarians was suddenly in a world of trouble when an ancient magical spirit known as The Reaper appeared to Eve and her friends in Las Vegas, dropping off a Prophecy Cube and an hourglass before disappearing, leading the group back to the Library where Jenkins informed everyone that someone had summoned this powerful being to come after Eve and that the hourglass indeed meant that the sands of time were counting down to the Reaper's return where he would claim Eve's life and curious as to how a being such as this might be able to pull that off...she looked into her own Prophecy Cube and saw her untimely demise in the heart of the Library, leading to a race against time to figure out how to save Eve's life...

But what really made this episode so darn entertaining is the fact that it wove an incredible plot together. This is a story that managed to put together in essence a Causality Loop a la Star Trek, all while peppering in loads of Greek Mythology, making this story one that you absolutely had to follow in detail thanks to its many 'blink or you'll miss it' moments. But while it was cool to meet an ancient Greek deity and see the team figure out puzzle after puzzle to save Baird, the crowning jewel of this episode was the fact that it answered the all important question, who guards the Guardian? After all, Eve is the rock I mentioned earlier, that person that everyone turns to in time of need and since we're dealing with magic the easy answer to that question came about during the finale of the episode, that the Library is the one who protects the Guardian.

But in a good story, the answer is more complex than something as simple as say a magical library keeping watch over a life and well...this is a good story meaning that there was a deeper meaning to all of this and in reality, the true guardians of the guardian, that epic hero that everyone on the show turns to in a time of need...are her friends. Because I am constantly reminded of the moment when Ezekiel and Jake offered up their own lives in exchange for Eve's, and they did it without hesitation or a second thought and well, that was simply an incredible moment to see. To know that her friends will have her back on a moment's notice and will do whatever they must to protect her was a stroke of genius and it was a fine reminder to all of us to never forget to keep on eye on those we look up to and be there in their time of need. Either way, what a lovely little episode and the show deserves all kinds of credit for putting together such an emotionally complex, action packed tale. Until next time.

Perfection is something that is incredibly difficult to achieve when it comes to storytelling. After all, there's not a writer or director out there that can truly please everybody. Somehow, or in some way the plot simply doesn't resonate with an audience member, or the story doesn't quite wrap up the way that someone saw it play out in their mind. It's not a bad thing by any means, it's simply a fact of life in the entertainment industry. But once in a great while, a particular story gets everything right and believe it or not, perfection is actually achieved, as was the case with the season two finale of Blunt Talk.

That may seem like a bold statement, but it's a correct one. Because 'Is This All Because I Didn't Call You?' simply did everything right when it comes to the conclusion of a story. Every single plot thread introduced this season was resolved, which is no easy feat. The vibrant characters of this show wrapped up their respective story arcs and the season long theme of love and what it does to us was brought to its logical end as well and of course...it did all of this by never once straying from the laughs, which it brought forth in spades, starting from the opening moments of the show where we picked up immediately after last week's episode, with Walter and Harry in drag, their backs turned to Margaret Rudolph with a gun pointed at their heads.

It was a tense opening to say the least, but thankfully some quick talking and quick thinking from the group allowed for a clean exit from the wild party and that's where the first round of laughs arrived, because you haven't lived until you've seen Patrick Stewart and Adrian Scarborough running in heels. But, after their side splitting escape, Walter got down to business, turning over the raw video he recorded of Margaret at the party to the L.A.P.D. so they could open an investigation into her activities before turning his attention to getting back on the air and that's where Jim had quite the epiphany. Sure Walter was suspended from hosting the show, but being a guest, well that was a whole different matter, setting in motion a wonderful plan to get Walter on the air, one that everyone participated in, regardless of the fact that Bronson was at UBS to protect his interests in Rudolph Global, and well...that teamwork paid off. Walter was able to reach the people of Los Angeles and get Proposition 68 passed, see Margaret arrested for her crimes and even get a little payback on Bronson for the insults he threw Walter's way since the CEO was forced to step down due to his suspicious ties to Rudolph Global.

Now normally, I spend a fair amount of time on the plot when it comes to these recaps, but a special episode calls for a special recap, one that spends a little more time examining all the things that went right this episode, especially when it comes to the fact that everything was wrapped up so sweetly because...Walter freaking did it! He brought a criminal to justice, he did something to change the world and that's a huge deal. Especially when you consider that a year ago Walter was high as a kite, driving through the streets of Los Angeles singing along to 'Miss Cindy' before literally busting balls and it's evident now that fateful night was a fine wake up call. He has grown into a man looking for something more in life. He set out to be a real journalist and leave something behind for future generations and he pulled that off, regardless of the risk he stuck to his guns and it paid off in spades.

What made his grand accomplishments equally as amazing is the sheer fact that the team came together to ensure that Walter was successful in his endeavors. There were no questions, no debates, just blind trust in their friend and together...they worked wonders. But what I loved most about this episode, was how it wrapped up the thematic concept of love and its effect on all of us. Rather than give us a hollow ending, where somehow Walter found love like so many did this season, he remained single, but cognizant of the fact that without love, and the madness it drives us to, he never would find himself surrounded by such a wonderful surrogate family and that's when it hit me. Love was merely the device to the story's true over-arching theme...life. This was a season designed to remind the audience that we should take every risk, regardless of the pain or suffering that may come our way because without those things we will never grow, never be more and most importantly...we may never experience wonderful and majestic moments that will fulfill our lives in ways we never thought possible.

It was simply a magical way to end this episode and this season and I have to admit that it was handled in such a classy and beautiful fashion that the closing image of Walter, surrounded by those he loves, celebrating their victory and their lives will remain as one of the most wonderful moments I've ever seen on television...and it absolutely brought tears to my eyes. Either way, Walter saved the day and there's no cliffhangers to be found here, just a wonderful and uplifting conclusion to a wonderful story and my thanks go out to Executive Producer/Writer Jonathan Ames for being the driving force behind such a lovely tale, and Patrick Stewart, Adrian Scarborough, Timm Sharp, Dolly Wells, Jacki Weaver, Mary Holland, Karan Soni, Romany Malco and every other actor that appeared on this show for their stunning performances that helped bring  this majestic world to life; and most importantly my thanks to Starz for allowing a show filled with hope to take the airwaves in an era where gritty stories rule and I certainly hope that Blunt Talk is picked up for another season because television needs more shows like this, ones that relate to their audience and inspire us every step of the way. Until next time.

The anticipation when it comes to tomorrow's season two finale of Blunt Talk continues to grow for us here at Nerds That Geek as we watch the minutes and the seconds disappear from the clock, bringing us one step closer to resolution as Walter Blunt makes one last impassioned push to reach the people of Los Angeles and complete his season long goal of finding fulfillment in his career while giving back to his fellow man and if you couldn't tell...we're excited to see how this story wraps up.

We are so excited in fact that the good people at Starz provided us with not one, but two exclusive sneak peeks for tomorrow night's finale and we are happy to unveil a second clip from 'Is This All Because I Didn't Call You?' and as an added bonus, Starz also provided us with a fascinating infographic that ties together all of the incredible places that we have visited with Walter over the entire run of the series to date.

So, please enjoy this awesome preview, and if you missed the first one, check it out here and make sure you tune in tomorrow night as Blunt Talk wraps up an incredible year of top notch storytelling. Until then.

I know with Christmas right around the corner, everybody is looking forward to spending time with their families and there is nothing better than that. But there are times when you can get a little too much family time and you need to excuse yourself from the masses for a little bit of 'me' time. There is nothing wrong with this either, as we all love our families, but there are times when things can get a little heated and it is just best to step away. So, why not head downstairs to the TV room and binge on a couple of your favorite shows to keep you in the holiday spirit? So here are a couple of shows that are nice and Bingeworthy to catch up with this holiday season.

​Jessica Jones ​(Netflix) – Now if you want to see the proper entrance of Luke Cage, you need to check out Jessica Jones. I had a few reservations about this series early on, mainly because I did not know anything about the character, but I will tell you what, it was a great series. Watch as Jessica Jones tries to make the other side of Hell’s Kitchen livable again, but does not have an easy time of it with Kilgrave looming over her shoulder. More of a discovery series as you get to see Jessica deal with her inner demons, try to make her foes into heroes and use everything at her disposal to stop evil from growing. But the best part about this series is the relationships that she has with her junkie neighbor Malcolm and best friend Trish and the fact that she expects her friends to be just that and nothing more. 

Daredevil (Netflix) – I had no reservations about the first season of this series, I loved it and it should be watched by everyone that feels cheated by the movie that came out. As Matt Murdock tries to make Hell’s Kitchen safe from evil, he faces a foe in Wilson Fisk that he has never known the likes of. It is easy to get lost in this series from the get go and with Foggy bringing the comic relief and Karen being able to keep the group grounded, it is a damn good series. I did not like season two that much as the storyline got much darker for Matt and Foggy, but it did introduce The Punisher and having Frank Castle in any show makes it hard to resist. 

Westworld (HBO) – You can call me a geek or a nerd, but one thing that I have learned over the years is to watch anything that is inspired by Michael Crichton because his stories are just fabulous. His name is the only motivation I needed to check out this new adaptation of Westworld and I have been far from disappointed. The show is even taking some liberties that were not in the original movie by showing us the inner workings of the Delos park and you even get to meet the minds behind whatever experiment is being conducted. In a land full of android hosts that are extremely lifelike, the guests get to live out their wildest dreams and fantasies, which can be good, or bad, depending on which way you look at it.  It seems like every character gets their own storyline, even if they are not real and it all leads to one place in the end. If you are a fan of character driven stories, regardless of action, which there is plenty, this is the show that will fill any void for you. 

Channel Zero (Syfy) – What is a holiday without a little taste of horror being involved? I am a huge believer that the horror genre should be around year long, because it is just fun to watch and be frightened for a little bit. Channel Zero has not disappointed at all in season one, and being such a short season, it makes it easy to sit through the entire season in one sitting. Seeing Mike Painter come home from being many years removed and bringing up a television show that changed Iron Hills forever and seeing how all of his childhood friends react is one thing, but seeing Candle Cove come back on the air is something else. With the strange occurences from years ago starting up all over again, you are left to wonder who and what is behind the creepy puppet show and the freaky tooth monster that feeds on the youth of the town.  Very good little series and if you like horror, it is one that you do not want to miss. 

Stan Against Evil (IFC) – If you're looking for a little bit of fun to go along with a tiny bit of scares, Stan Against Evil delivers just that. I was actually amazed how much fun this series really was and even though the first episode is a little rough, it does warm up and the humor is right up my alley. Something about being marked for death as the town sheriff does not seem to keep Stan down at all, mainly because he is no longer the sheriff as that job has been handed over to Evie. But with a room full of demon hunting gear, the two are able to protect themselves, along with others from the evil onslaught that has been haunting Willard’s Mill for generations. Plus you cannot forget about Stan’s daughter, Denise, who may be the backbone of the team, and while it seems as though she is innocent enough that she wouldn't hurt a fly, she is packing plenty of surprises and her obsessions are more than epic. 

I can only speak to shows that I have watched when it comes to them being 'Bingeworthy' and these are the ones that I would recommend. And I tried to keep the length of these shows a little shorter for the holiday crowd, between 6-10 episodes a season, making it possible to sit through them in a couple of days. Like I said, being around family is the best part of the holiday and maybe gathering around the television to watch a show could be a good thing as well. You never know unless you try and sometimes a show can bring the family together and give everyone something to talk about. Well, Happy Holidays to you and yours and I hope it is a great year for everyone once again!

Sunday is going to be quite the bittersweet day when it comes to Blunt Talk. On one hand we will be treated to an incredible story that should likely bring Walter's quest to expose Rudolph Global and all their evil deeds to an end; and on the other hand...this episode also happens to be the season two finale, meaning it will be a little while before we spend any more time with Walter Blunt and the wonderful people that surround him.

Regardless of that fact, we are counting down the minutes to Sunday night and the good people at Starz were kind enough to provide us with a pair of sneak peeks of Episode 210, so please make sure to tune in Sunday and is here a synopsis and your first taste of the season two finale; 'Is This All Because I Didn't Call You?'

After a final confrontation with the Rudolphs, Walter must find a way to make his case to the people of Los Angeles.

When it comes to ABC's Designated Survivor, the show deserves some serious credit for being one of the few thrillers out there that has found a perfect balance in its storytelling. Week in and week out we are treated to a fascinating storyline where newly minted President Tom Kirkman does his best to keep the nation together and these plot lines are complimented nicely by also providing us with a steady diet of mystery revolving around the disturbing conspiracy brewing behind the scenes.

But it would seem that the creative brain trust on this show fully recognize the fact that it is only a matter of time before the fans demand more from this conspiracy, and rather than continue to drag out this unsettling and mysterious storyline, last night's episode, 'The Blueprint' more or less blew the conspiracy wide open. Granted last night's revelations didn't quite give us all the answers, but for the first time in the short history of the show, it was in essence the focal point for the entire episode and all of it came about from a citizen turned villain who simply believed he needed to do something to save his country. 

That man's name was Gabriel Thompson and he just so happened to be a National Security Agency employee and the crime that made him public enemy number one? Walking out of the front door of the NSA with a specially designed hard drive, filled to the brim with national secrets...that he was more than happy to release to the public. The majority of the information he revealed revolved around the former Presidential cabinet, revealing a trail of corruption and self serving agendas yet Kirkman's information...remained a secret. In fact the only person close to the President that suffered from this info-dump was Emily when a scandalous email arose that put her job in jeopardy but the fact that Kirkman continued to remain safe in the midst of this mess, piqued Aaron's curiosity and he came to realize that Thompson was in essence sending the President a message and after confronting Gabriel he discovered his theory was true, the 'traitor' merely wanted a few moments of the President's time. 

While Kirkman dealt with that sticky mess, the mystery surrounding Senator MacLeish began to unravel as Hannah continued with her investigation courtesy of the new lead that came about from her mystery caller. As it turns out the '11:14' clue Hannah was provided with, was an important date in MacLeish's personal history, since it was the day he became a national hero, saving lives in combat several years ago...or at least, that's how the story goes. Hannah dug a little deeper only to uncover two chilling facts about MacLeish. One, that he knows Catalan since they served in the same military unit together and that his heroic acts are nothing more than a cover up since MacLeish and his unit took revenge upon the innocent after losing some of their comrades in combat, putting Hannah into a tight window to reveal the truth about the intrepid senator before he is confirmed as the Vice President and an ugly car accident, will only make her attempt to bring his deeds to light all the more difficult.

But the brilliance of this episode, is the fact that at long last, President Tom Kirkman is fully aware that something awful is happening behind the scenes. Because he decided to grant Mister Thompson his five minute meeting and in exchange for his courtesy, Gabriel gave him the Hard Drive he swiped from the NSA, with a warning that he needed to show few people its contents and with good reason because sitting on that drive was one disturbing file, one that showed a simulation of what could happen to the Capitol building if by chance someone were to bomb it. Meaning that someone within the United States Government, leaked this file and helped bring about an incredible disaster. Who that is exactly, still has yet to be seen, and no doubt they are tied to the mystery lady in black but either way...wow what an episode. The walls are closing in on Hannah, the President knows the bombing was an inside job and well...that knowledge changes everything and unless Hannah can get the truth out about MacLeish soon...he will have someone with direct ties to this madness in his cabinet and all of this should make for one incredible midseason finale next week. Until then.

You know a television show is doing everything right when you find yourself counting down the minutes or even seconds to the next episode and that's precisely what I was doing last night when it came to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. since I was dying to know how the Ghost Rider's storyline was going to come to a close and exactly how this team was going to combat a being that can create matter out of thin air and every ounce of anticipation that this story built up in my mind paid off in spades with one incredible mid season finale. 

Not only was it action packed and gritty and awesome like the rest of the episodes this season, but this particular story managed to finally do the impossible, unite a team that has spent most of the season in shattered fashion, wrap up multiple storylines with a neat little bow and for that matter...set up what will likely be the big bad for the rest of season four. But before we get too deep into our potential new villain let's talk about the Ghost Rider and unity because that was the majority of the focus for 'The Laws of Inferno Dynamics' as the team assembled in Los Angeles to corner Eli Morrow and put an end to his wild plans, only to discover that Eli was going to make his capture as difficult as possible. 

There were booby traps, and a small army for the team to contend with and despite their best efforts to sneak into the building that Eli was repurposing for his dangerous experiments, the only person who could safely make their way through said traps was Robbie who finally came face to face with his Uncle to confront him about the pain he had caused the family and in the process, learn Eli's motivations for doing all the horrible things that he has done thus far. As it turns out, Eli is a man driven by insecurity and ego, since he firmly believes that people constantly underestimate him and disregard him as often as possible. So to have this kind of power, to be able to draw matter out of thin air, gives Eli all the boost his ego will ever need and to truly demonstrate his prowess, he 'built' a nuclear bomb in the center of Los Angeles.

The revelation of what he created is what finally allowed for the team to come together because every secret, every conflict between these characters was brought out into the open in the hopes of finally allowing them to heal and well...it worked. They were finally able to put aside their differences and figure out a plan of attack to bring Eli down and the easiest way to get his attention without causing any greater harm to the people of Los Angeles was to send Coulson in, armed with knowledge that Eli was unaware of; that all this matter he has been 'creating' is nothing more than petty theft since the conservation of mass still applies and Eli has merely been swiping matter from a side dimension to fulfill his evil plans and this revelation was enough to stun Eli long enough for the team to open a portal and banish him...and sadly Robbie, to the void where Coulson and the boys found themselves last week, where Eli could do no harm.

But...while it was awesome to finally see the team bury their bad blood and see Daisy rejoin the squad for one happy little ending, it would seem that a bigger threat is brewing behind the scenes in Aida. Whatever she learned from the Darkhold she has already applied, building another replica of sorts in Agent May and replacing the one we know and love with said replica and well...it seems that Mace's worst fears in regards to the Sokovia Accords have been realized since clearly Aida is ready to harm humans to keep her discovery/experiment a secret. Either way, this was quite the awesome winter finale. There was tension to be found in just about every scene as our intrepid agents raced against time to stop Eli and while it was incredible to see them wrap up so many storylines in neat and tidy fashion, I'm going to miss the Rider, he was an awesome addition to the story and hopefully we'll see him pop up again. But in the meantime, it looks like Ultron 2.0 is about be unleashed upon the world come 2017. Until then.