The Man in the High Castle Season 2 Episodes 3, 4 & 5 Recap: Nebulous Loyalties in a Tense Game of Chess

Travelers, Escalation, & Duck and Cover

tmithcs2frank

As we move toward the midpoint of the season, it feels like almost everyone is a pawn being moved around the game board by someone. Some players are even being fought over by two or more sides. Frank and Ed (especially Ed) are being watched by the Japanese and the Western Resistance. Juliana is being torn in pieces by the Reich and the Eastern Resistance, by the Smith family, and by George Dixon. Joe’s loyalties are divided by his father and Smith, and a bit by Rita, who may or may not have connections to the resistance. Smith is caught between his loyalty to his family and the Reich. He may also now have a deal with Kido. Tagomi is caught between his desire to save his own reality and the pull to stay with his lost family in the alternate reality. Both Smith and Tagomi are being pressured by Inpector Kido and, ultimately, the General. The General’s motives seem clear, but Kido is too complex to put down to simple motives. His loyalty is to the law, the Empire, and his family, but we’ve seen him exercise his own judgement about what’s best for the Japanese people in the long run before. He appears to be operating on his own again, doing whatever he feels is necessary to accomplish his goal.

The Western Resistance still seems far from benign to me. They manipulated Frank into joining them. Connell withheld Juliana’s letter and made Frank believe she’d betrayed him instead. Lem and Sarah both know Frank’s being lied to, yet they’re going along with it. Sarah’s even sleeping with Frank. Was the seduction part of the plan? Connell is a sociopath who is willing to achieve his goals through any means necessary. A romance with Sarah would further cement Frank’s commitment to them. I hope that’s it’s not true, but Sarah seems to have lost everything and to be just as ruthless as Connell.

Continue reading “The Man in the High Castle Season 2 Episodes 3, 4 & 5 Recap: Nebulous Loyalties in a Tense Game of Chess”

Who Wore It Better: Darren, Lena, or Euan? Hedwig Transformation Poll

All three of the actors who have had regular gigs playing Hedwig in the national tour of Hedwig and the Angry Inch have given us photos or videos of themselves in the middle of their preshow preparations. (Darren took his during his Broadway run.) Which national tour Hedwig wore the makeup-only look best?

Click on each photo to see it full size.

Vote for your favorite after the cut!

Continue reading “Who Wore It Better: Darren, Lena, or Euan? Hedwig Transformation Poll”

Happy Winter Solstice from MetaWitches

solstice-card-5-5x4-frontlarge

May Your Days Grow Ever Brighter

Amelie at the Ahmanson: Photos of Phillipa Soo, Adam Chandler-Berat & the Cast in LA

amelietitlecard

Phillipa Soo (Hamilton), Adam Chanler-Berat (Next to Normal) and Tony Sheldon (Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) are currently starring in the preBroadway production of Amelie, A New Musical, at the Ahmanson Theatre in LA, based on the 2001 French film. It also features Emily Afton, David Andino, Randy Blair, Heath Calvert, Alison Cimmet, Savvy Crawford, Manoel Felciano, Harriett D. Foy, Alyse Alan Louis, Maria-Christina Oliveras, Lily Sanfelippo, Jacob Keith Watson and Paul Whitty.

Below, we have several photos from the LA production, which continues through January 15, 2017. Amelie will have its Broadway premiere at the Walter Kerr Theatre, beginning performances on March 9, 2017 and opening April 3, 2017.

biglittleamelielooking

Continue reading “Amelie at the Ahmanson: Photos of Phillipa Soo, Adam Chandler-Berat & the Cast in LA”

The Man in the High Castle Season 2 Episodes 1&2 Recap: Three Castles

The Tiger’s Cave & The Road Less Traveled

the-man-in-the-high-castle

Time to catch up with Amazon’s The Man in the High Castle! We finally meet the man himself, Hawthorne Abendsen, and, not surprisingly, he’s a little nuts. The “castle” appears to be a giant warehouse full of alternate reality films. Metamaiden doesn’t like him. She’s confused about where these films are coming from, and how the supernatural aspect plays into the full picture of the show. I (metacrone) think he’s high strung from having seen so many potential future disasters, and he’s weighed down with the possible impact of his choices.

All three factions in the show’s world now have access to information about the alternate realities (and, consequently, have their own man in a high castle). The Resistance and the Nazis access it through films brought to Abendsen and Hitler, and the Japanese through Trade Minster Tagomi’s mystical abilities. Both Abendsen and Tagomi seem to have figured out that Juliana is an important, lynchpin character in some way. Tagomi appeared to feel that her locket was too important as a talisman to offer back to her, even as they were both staring at it in his house. I’m not clear about whether Hitler’s specifically trying to have her killed, but Smith has certainly been keeping up with her status and whereabouts.

Continue reading “The Man in the High Castle Season 2 Episodes 1&2 Recap: Three Castles”

It Can’t Happen Here: Unless It’s Aliens or Has Orange Hair (Audio)

itcanthappenheregraphic

On October 24, 2016, 2 weeks before Election Day, we both attended a local staged reading of the play It Can’t Happen Here, based on the 1936 novel by Sinclair Lewis. The novel, and the play, describe the rise and rule of a charismatic, dogmatic, conservative politician who is eventually elected president. He promises a return to traditional values, but reneges on his promises soon after he takes office, turning the country into a totalitarian regime within a period of a few months. Anyone who doesn’t offer complete, unquestioning loyalty to the new regime is imprisoned or executed.

This may sound like a drastic scenario, something that “can’t happen here,” but Lewis wrote the novel originally because he was watching this very thing happen in Nazi Germany at the time. The original stage adaptation was created the following year. The original 1983 TV miniseries about an alien invasion,V, was also based on It Can’t Happen Here (and the later reboot series). V’s creator, Kenneth Johnson, was inspired by Lewis’ work, but the network executives at NBC thought the story would be more interesting if the American fascists from the book were turned into aliens for TV.

Continue reading “It Can’t Happen Here: Unless It’s Aliens or Has Orange Hair (Audio)”

CNN Commentator Receives Trump-Style Pat Down by TSA

She’s Not the First, She Won’t Be the Last.

Metamaiden:

I wouldn’t be surprised if this happens to me at some point. TSA sometimes decides it’s “policy” to pat me down and search all my stuff because I ask them to hand check my external electronic medical devices, so they don’t get ruined by the x-rays. I still walk through the metal detector, and the rest of my stuff goes through the x-rays. They don’t consistently pat me down, it depends on the airport and who’s working that day. Sometimes they argue with me about whether the devices need to be hand checked at all, instead, which is my right according to their own policies.* They’ve spent 10-15 minutes trying to force me out of an inspection that takes them 2 minutes. TSA basically likes to go on power trips, as far as I can tell. This is a perfect example of that. This poor woman.

Continue reading “CNN Commentator Receives Trump-Style Pat Down by TSA”

A Brief History of Romantic StuckyNat Part 2: 1945-The Winter Soldier

captain-america-the-winter-2980.jpg

This is the continuation of my 5 part headcanon series about StuckyNat (Steve, Natasha and Bucky). Part 1 is HERE. This series tells the story of what would be going on in the minds of Steve, Natasha and Bucky if all 3 were in love with each other. It follows the timeline of the 2 Avengers movies and the 3 Captain America movies. It is canon-compliant.

1945- The Original Avengers Assemble

Bucky Barnes was shocked when he woke up at the bottom of the ravine to find himself not dead. His body was a mess. He could barely think through the pain. He lay in the snow falling in and out of consciousness, wondering if he was hallucinating being alive. He didn’t have any clear thoughts, memories or feelings for decades to come after that. His body and mind weren’t his own.
Steve Rogers stayed in the back of Bucky’s mind through the whole 70 year long ordeal, a small kernel of hope and love that helped keep Bucky’s own identity alive and compartmentalized, no matter what they did to him or made him do. Even when they told him Steve was dead, something in him kept burning against all odds, buried so deep it was almost lost, waiting for the right time, the right trigger to break free. Until he saw the man on the bridge.
There were a few times that Bucky briefly came to the surface in the decades before Steve broke the Winter Soldier’s programming for good, like when he was forced to kill Howard. When he met and trained Natasha Romanoff in the Red Room, she brought him back to himself for a while. But his handlers were quick to squash his awareness as soon as they noticed it, and wipe every bit of memory that surfaced or was newly created. The longer he was the Winter Soldier, the more his handlers preferred him to be an automaton. Holding his leash too tight ended up allowing cracks to show through. Steve and Natasha slipped through those cracks and broke them wide open.

Continue reading “A Brief History of Romantic StuckyNat Part 2: 1945-The Winter Soldier”

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 2 Episode 1 Recap: Where Is Josh’s Friend?

Welcome back to Crazy Town! I mean West Covina, California! Let’s take a moment to review where we left off last season. Princess Jasmine and Aladdin Rebecca and Josh finally hooked up at the wedding that they both just happened to be attending. Or at least Aladdin thought it was a hook up. The Princess thought they were probably well on their way to being engaged. The carpet flew and everything. Josh must be really good in bed.

Greg, Rebecca’s actual date for the wedding and sort of boyfriend, got passed out drunk and had to be poured home by our resident patron saint of clean living and patient friendship, WhiJo (leaving Rebecca free for her hook up). Rebecca, fearing Paula’s disapproval, had hidden that she was back with Greg again. Paula found out and absolutely snapped, since she’d heavily invested her considerable talents and energy into Rebecca and Josh’s fantasy relationship. Rebecca screwing that up by falling for Josh’s best friend was not part of Paula’s plan for her daughter’s best friend’s life. Greg and Paula are currently having a few issues with priorities and control. Daryl and WhiJo continue to be the cutest couple on the planet.

And, that’s what you missed on CEGF! 😍

We open the new episode just after the end of the season finale, with Rebecca desperately trying to convince Josh that she didn’t think they were engaged or any creepy stalkerish stuff like that. The flying carpet has knocked her off her gaslighting game, but Josh also isn’t the brightest, so they end at an uncomfortable stalemate.

Continue reading “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 2 Episode 1 Recap: Where Is Josh’s Friend?”

Mozart in the Jungle Season 3 Review: Why Are There So Many Dramatic People?

mozart-in-the-jungle-amazon-season-3_full

My husband and I spent Friday and Saturday evenings this weekend binge watching the new season of Mozart in the Jungle. God, I love this show. I don’t think there’s any other show currently on TV that makes me hit the pause button repeatedly as often  during an episode so that I can sit there and just laugh for a few minutes. And it’s often just because of a reaction look from one character to another. Of course, that reaction has been set up over three well-written seasons now, and played beautifully by the stellar cast, but still. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is the only other show that comes close. (Shameless plug. Go watch it if you don’t already.)

This season finds the symphony in the middle of an ongoing strike/lockout, with the characters scattered around the globe. Hailey is touring Europe with Andrew Walsh, the egotistical cellist she slept with last season. Rodrigo is in Venice to work with Alessandra, also known as La Fiamma, an opera diva who suffers from severe anxiety, depression and stage fright, but is trying to make a comeback. Gloria and Thomas are having an affair, while Thomas continues composing and Gloria tries to keep the symphony from bankruptcy. The rest of the characters have taken on various odd jobs, some musical, some not, while they wait out the lockout, or figure out what to do next.

Continue reading “Mozart in the Jungle Season 3 Review: Why Are There So Many Dramatic People?”