A Discovery of Witches Season 3 Episode 2 Recap: In Which Diana and Matthew Have Unexpected Family Reunions

In episode 5, Matthew and Diana continue to work with Chris and Miriam to analyze creature DNA. Father Hubbard returns Jack to them, with mixed results. After Benjamin reappears, Matthew agrees to form a scion.

Recap

The episode begins with modern day Father Andrew Hubbard (Paul Rhys) kneeling in his church while doing a little light devotional reading. Hubbard recognizes Benjamin Fuchs’ (Jacob Ifan) footsteps as he approaches from behind. He says he told Benjamin never to darken his door again. Benjamin won’t leave until he gets what he came for (not “who,” though he’s referring to a vampire). Andrew says he hasn’t seen the person in question in months. Benjamin is sure he’ll show up sooner or later and orders Andrew to inform him when that happens. As Benjamin walks away, Andrew whispers, “Why can’t you just leave him alone, Benjamin?” Since Benjamin is a vampire, he hears the whisper, but ignores it.

Continue reading “A Discovery of Witches Season 3 Episode 2 Recap: In Which Diana and Matthew Have Unexpected Family Reunions”

The Wheel of Time Season 1 Episode 4: The Dragon Reborn Recap

Much of episode 4 takes place in the Aes Sedai encampment, where Moiraine, Lan and Nyaeve stop for the night after meeting up with the sisters in episode 3. Moiraine reconnects with Liandrin and the other Aes Sedai sisters, has her wound healed and evaluates Logain, the potential Dragon Reborn. Nynaeve learns more about the Aes Sedai and their Warders.

Rand and Mat travel with Thom the gleeman, stopping at a local farm for the night. Egwene and Perrin travel toward the White Tower with the Tuatha’an and learn about their peaceful philosophy, the Way of the Leaf.

Recap

The episode begins with a flashback to the recent past in Ghealan, where Logain (Álvaro Morte) is waging war on his own people. This is the war the Two Rivers villagers discussed in episode 1 that’s taking place in the south. Logain’s peasant army has stormed the gates and is sacking the king’s castle. The king’s retainers attempt to move him to a secure location, but he’s a dedicated leader and refuses to leave the battle. Logain approaches, all power and intensity, repelling attacks with barely a twitch of his finger.

Continue reading “The Wheel of Time Season 1 Episode 4: The Dragon Reborn Recap”

A Discovery of Witches Season 3: Preseason Promotional Media Round Up

ka_05_adow_s03

The third and final season of A Discovery of Witches, based on The Book of Life, the third book in Deborah Harkness’ supernatural All Souls Trilogy, premieres in the UK on January 7, 2022 (on Sky Max and NOW) and in the US on January 8, 2022 (on streamers AMC+, Shudder and Sundance Now). Season 3 consists of 7 episodes.

There are currently no plans to film Harkness’ 4th book about Diana and Matthew’s world, Time’s Convert, which tells the story of Matthew’s son, Marcus Whitmore. Harkness is working on more books in this universe, so let’s hope for another trilogy which can be filmed together!

Now that season 3 is almost upon us, here’s a collection of season 3 trailers, photos and interviews for those who want a sneak peek.

Continue reading “A Discovery of Witches Season 3: Preseason Promotional Media Round Up”

Time Travel TV Comparison: Dark vs 12 Monkeys vs Travelers

A reader requested that we write up a compare and contrast review between 12 Monkeys and Dark. Now that all of the Dark recaps are done, we thought we’d do that, and add in Travelers, the other fan favorite time travel show around here.

All 3 shows premiered and completed their runs between 2015 and 2020. They are all anchored in the present day, but also take place in the future and the past. They all deal with dystopian futures which the main characters want to prevent using time travel and the knowledge of events they’ve gained through time travel and advanced technology. All 3 also have ensemble casts that include time travelers, their handlers and mad scientists, though the groups tend to be fluid- almost everyone will time travel or have a good idea eventually.

Continue reading “Time Travel TV Comparison: Dark vs 12 Monkeys vs Travelers”

Agents of SHIELD Season 7 Episode 11: Brand New Day Recap

agents-of-shield-season7-episode11

By Metamaiden and Metacrone

Episode 11 is the final installment of Agents of SHIELD before the 2 hour series finale. Nathaniel and Garrett have kidnapped Jemma and Deke and stolen the Zephyr in order to extract Fitz’s location from Jemma’s mind. They take the Zephyr into space, where the team can’t follow them, for the interrogation. In an attempt to foil Sibyl’s predictions, Daisy, Mack and Sousa use the quinjet like a rocket and follow anyway.

Back in the Lighthouse, Azula Kora tries to convince the team that she wants to join SHIELD while she also openly helps Sibyl. It’s a reversal of the S1 split between HYDRA and SHIELD and the reveal of Grant Ward as a HYDRA agent. The Triskelion pays the price, as it always must.

In season 7’s rewind through Agents of  SHIELD’s history, this episode brings the show back to the break point in S1 when HYDRA came out of the closet, SHIELD went underground and AoS became the show that it’s been for most of its run.

Continue reading “Agents of SHIELD Season 7 Episode 11: Brand New Day Recap”

Daenerys Targaryen and Natasha Romanoff: Two Powerful Women Meet Demoralizing Ends

In the Age Old Choice for Female Characters Between Powerful or Good, Wh*re or Madonna, Modern Writers Frequently Land on a Third Choice: Insane or Suicidal, Then Dead

When Joss Whedon’s dream came true and Natalia Alianovna Romanoff willingly flung herself to her death, I felt nothing. I knew from the moment she and Clint went off for the Soul Stone that she would die, but, stupidly, I didn’t quite get to the realization that she would be the one to kill herself – one of the few decisions she’s made for herself in her time in the MCU.

There aren’t a lot of options for women and girls to look up to as role models in media – not female ones, anyway. Growing up, I was always looking for female role models in media, and I frequently ended up in love with the ones who had agency, above all else. The “powerful or good” dichotomy that I wrote about in a post in response to the Frozen musical details the struggle I’ve always found in female characters. You can be powerful or good, have agency or compassion, intelligence or charm, be sexy or moral – wh*re or madonna.

Continue reading “Daenerys Targaryen and Natasha Romanoff: Two Powerful Women Meet Demoralizing Ends”

The CW’s Containment: Review of Entire Series

 

Containment- Sabine, Jake, Lex, Katie, Jana

Containment, the story of a viral plague which erupts in Atlanta and the quarantine zone that’s set up to control its spread, was a limited series which ran for 13 episodes on The CW in the spring and summer of 2016. Like all CW shows, it now lives on Netflix. Because it aired during that odd time of the year that isn’t a traditional TV “season”, Containment didn’t get much attention at the time, and had mixed critical reviews. (Metawitches wasn’t around yet.) Metamaiden and I both thought it was a fun show, for the subject matter, and brought some things to the table that we rarely see when a plague is the main subject.

Containment, based on the Belgian series Cordon, was developed for The CW by prolific showrunner Julie Plec, of The Vampire Diaries fame. She and David Nutter both served as executive producers. It starred David Gyasi as Major Alex “Lex” Carnahan, Christina Moses as Jana Mayfield, Chris Wood as Officer Jake Riley, Kristen Gutoskie as Katie Frank, Claudia Black as Dr. Sabine Lommers, George Young as Dr. Victor Cannerts,
Hanna Mangan-Lawrence as Teresa Keaton, and Trevor St. John as Leonard “Leo” Greene.

Continue reading “The CW’s Containment: Review of Entire Series”

Why Does Metawitches Keep Writing About Diversity and Violence Against Women When I Just Want to Read a Recap?

night television tv video
Photo by Tookapic on Pexels.com

Because life is political, so is entertainment, and so is our blog. Because we know that the creators of the shows that we love can do better. If no one points out where the issues lie, how will they know where they need to improve?

We live in the real world, where mass media has an effect on people’s attitudes. It’s important to examine closely exactly what we’re being shown and what messages are actually being delivered. It’s the only way that change happens.

Whenever we start analyzing how a show is doing in regard to its male/female ratio and other forms of diversity, and compare how characters from different demographics are being treated, we are always met with the response:

But aren’t the male (and white) characters being treated the same way as the women?

This is where attention to detail becomes important, plus the ability to count, and the ability to distinguish between a named character and a background character. When we’re discussing violent acts, this argument is frequently made, because there will be so many more men running around on screen than women that, of course, in raw numbers, more violent acts are happening to men than women.

Let’s break this situation down.

Continue reading “Why Does Metawitches Keep Writing About Diversity and Violence Against Women When I Just Want to Read a Recap?”