Tag: netflix

Travelers Season 2 Episode 1: Ave Machina Recap

~ Metacrone ~ 3 Comments

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Welcome back to the 21st, fellow Travelers! It’s been a long year for us since we’ve heard from the Director, but only a short time has passed for the characters. We get a huge new mythology infusion this episode, courtesy of an important new character. We also check in with virtually every character from season 1, answering the question of who is and isn’t coming back this season, along with picking up the story within hours of the finale.

But first, we meet Vincent Ingram, who is in the process of describing his recurring nightmare of his experience as a survivor of the 9/11/01 tragedy. Only this nightmare has a twist, because he isn’t the original soul to live in his current body. He’s traveler 001, sent as a test case, then meant to send the future an email confirming his arrival and die in the attacks. No plan survives contact with the past, including the first one, which went wrong from the moment of arrival.

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Mindhunter Season 1: Review

~ Metacrone

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In Which the FBI Learns to Think Like a Serial Killer

Mindhunter is a new 10 episode original series from Netflix based on the true crime book of the same name by John E Douglas and Mark Olshaker. Douglas spent 25 years in the FBI, many of them developing the science of criminal profiling. The series is a fictionalized account of  Douglas’ time with the FBI’s Behavioral Sciences Unit, where he worked with Dr Ann Wolbert Burgess and Robert Ressler to study and categorize the behavior of psychopathic criminals.

The first season starts before Holden Ford, the stand-in character for Douglas, and Bill Tench, the stand-in for Ressler, meet. Ford is an FBI hostage negotiator and instructor at the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA. Tench travels the country teaching FBI methodology to local law enforcement agencies. He listens in on local concerns and occasionally assists with cases at the same time. Ford feels he’s wasting his time teaching a subject that’s too limited to students who don’t care, while Tench wants help carrying his slide projector, so their supervisor pairs them up.

While Shepherd, the supervisor, originally pairs the two as a way to get both to stop hassling him, it proves to be a stroke of genius. Local officers frequently approach Tench and Ford during and after their presentations with unique cases that seem unsolvable. These spark Ford’s instincts, leading him to seek out more information about crimes involving fetishes and repeat offenders: what would come to be known as the work of serial killers.

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The Defenders Season 1 Analysis and a Bit of Speculation

~ Metacrone ~ 2 Comments

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Disclaimers: We can’t speculate much about the next Defenders season, since the continuation of this season’s storylines will be picked up in the individual series’ seasons that will be released long before we get season 2 of The Defenders. So my speculation is about where the story might go for individual characters or organizations, regardless of which show in the Netflix Marvel Universe they might be appearing on at the time. Also, there are a few previously published spoilers sprinkled throughout this post, such as casting news for the various shows. Spoilers are marked [Spoilers].

Characters & Relationships

I enjoyed The Defenders and its focus on the characters. The interplay between the various Defenders was fun, interesting and deepened each character. The interactions between the Defenders and the members of the Hand and other side characters also gave us some entertaining moments, and challenged the characters. Gao and Hogarth, in particular, are played by incredible, talented women, are well-written, and generally provide a challenge to whoever is on screen with them. The addition of Sigourney Weaver as Alexandra was genius, and it’s sad, in a way, that she seems to be definitively dead, so we can’t see more of her. It was also entertaining to watch the supporting casts from each show come together and play with each other.

But the Defenders themselves are the main attraction, and they deserve the attention. Watching Danny and Luke develop from two alpha males who didn’t like each other and stood in their corners snarling, to a big and little brother camaraderie and respect was tons of fun. Seeing the two damaged, suspicious orphans, Jessica and Matt, slowly let down their guard enough to trust each other and discover their matching sarcastic senses of humor was also good fun.

[Spoiler: Danny will be visiting Luke, Claire, and Misty on Luke Cage, season 2, so the bromance will continue. Maybe we’ll get a chance to see Danny supervise Misty’s fitting and rehab with her new cybernetic arm.)

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Stranger Things Season 2 Chapter Nine: The Gate Recap

~ Metacrone

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We’ve finally reached the end of season 2. This episode is the pay off for the Duffers’ series and season long promises, like #Justice for Barb, Mike and El at the Snow Ball, the reason Billy exists (haha, just kidding), closing the gate to the Upside Down, and ending Will’s demon Mind Flayer possession. Let’s see how it all goes down.

We pick up at the moment we left off, probably because there would have been a fan riot if they hadn’t. Fans are mad enough that El was kept separate from the rest of the cast for 8 out of 9 episodes.

El and Mike throw themselves into each other’s arms, just like you’d expect, and hold on for dear life. After a minute, Mike pulls back to tell El that he never gave up on her. He called her every night. Every night for… El finishes his sentence, “353 days. I heard.”

Mike asks why she didn’t respond and let him know that she was there and okay. Hopper jumps in to tell Mike that he was the one who wouldn’t let El answer. El and Hopper hug hello and ask each other where they’ve been. Neither answers. There will be some long catch up conversations, eventually.

Mike hits Hopper and is furious with him for hiding El away from everyone for a year. Hopper drags Mike to a bedroom for a semblance of privacy to argue in. Pretty sure everyone in the house is going to hear it anyway, accidentally or accidentally on purpose.

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Stranger Things Season 2 Chapter Eight: The Mind Flayer Recap

~ Metacrone

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Today, we say a tearful goodbye to Bob the Brain, founder of the Hawkins AV Club, mentor to my husband Mr Clark, electronics wizard, puzzle solver, surrogate dad, supportive boyfriend, and superhero. You will be missed, Bob. Your heroic nerd legacy lives on. Samwise would be proud.

But we have other things to do before the Demodogs have Bob for dinner.

The dogs have waited patiently at the top of the elevator shaft since the end of episode 6, but they’re done waiting. Owens assures Hopper that the glass is polycarbonate and won’t break, so of course the dogs break though in less than a minute. Owens really didn’t read the lab files closely, or talk to the survivors from last season, when he took this job.

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Stranger Things Season 2 Chapter Seven: The Lost Sister Recap

~ Metacrone ~ 3 Comments

 

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In The Lost Sister, El continues her journey of self discovery with a trip to Chicago to find her psychic sister, 008/Kali. The sisters lost each other when Brenner separated them after Terry’s aborted rescue attempt. The episode is a stand alone featuring El’s storyline by itself.

We watch El learn about herself and face decisions about what kind of person she wants to be. She’s been physically lost since she left the lab, and a lost soul for her entire life. Kali is the same. They help each other begin to be found in ways that could only happen with each other.

As the episode begins, El is still wearing the blindfold and psychically communicating with her mother. She’s been there since the end of episode 5, so you would think she’d have gotten more than the repeating story of how Terry lost her mind, but she hasn’t.

El describes the visions to Becky over lunch, focussing on the other little girl behind the door with the rainbow. Becky suggests that El look through Terry’s files of missing children that she thought might be like El. El finds an article about Kali with a photo. El puts the blindfold back on and sits in front of the staticky TV, but she can’t find Kali.

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Stranger Things Season 2 Chapter Six: The Spy Recap

~ Metacrone

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This episode begins with a Silkwood shower for Hopper, and emergency treatment for burns that aren’t externally visible for Will. At Hawkins Lab. Things are definitely different under Dr. Owens, as he moves from definitely willing to kill people/evil into a morally ambiguous gray area this episode. Brenner and his henchwoman Agent Frazier would have shot everyone at the Pumpkin Patch and left their bodies in the tunnels, without a second thought.

Dustin and Steve are still on the road to Dustin’s house, which moves around according to plot needs. Sometimes it’s a couple of doors down from Mike and Lucas, sometimes it’s a couple of miles.

Once it’s fully dark for maximum scary movie effect, they’re allowed to find Dustin’s driveway. Steve gets out his nail-studded bat, which feels like it needs a name. ANYTHING BUT LUCILLE, PLEASE. Dustin sends Steve and his pal, the bat, into the basement. Steve doesn’t find anything unusual down there except the skin that Dart shed with this growth cycle. Dustin follows him down to look around more closely. Oops, Dart’s gotten a little stronger and has busted out through the cement basement wall.

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Stranger Things Season 2 Chapter Five: Dig Dug Recap

~ Metacrone

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Well, that’s an image out of a horror movie, isn’t it. We get more clarity on El’s origin story this episode, as she finds her mother and aunt. She’s welcomed once they discover who she is, no monstrous acts required.

Back in Hawkins, Dr Owen’s quote from Sarton echoes through the episode, as decisions are made that will undoubtedly set us up for the eventual finale. Dustin finally understands that Dart is dangerous and seeks out help. Hopper is rescued from the tunnels, but the rescue exposes more problems than it solves. Bob the Brain helps Joyce, Lucas talks to Max, while Jonathan and Nancy talk to Murray Bauman, bringing the secret further into the world in different ways that may or may not be wise.

Joyce continues to work on the puzzle map, while Will explains his current experiences of the monster to Mike. Will sees what the monster sees and feels what he feels as the monster spreads further into Hawkins. The monster’s consciousness has gone from feeling like a barely remembered dream to an overwhelming presence in the front of his mind at all times.

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Stranger Things Season 2 Chapter Four: Will the Wise Recap

~ Metacrone

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Yikes! Things are heating up! Or cooling off, in Will’s very eerie case. Everyone is slipping back into warrior/investigative mode.

It’s especially nice to see in Nancy and El’s cases, since they’d both been relegated to the sidelines in their own lives by well-meaning but clueless men. Being safe starts to become meaningless if you’re a prisoner or expected to be a bystander while decisions are made for you.

Joyce races into the school parking lot and jumps out of her car. She and the kids quickly find Will in one of the ball fields, still stuck in the Upside Down and engulfed by the Shadow Monster. To the outside world, he appears to be having a seizure. Joyce tries to snap him out of it, but he doesn’t respond. Finally, the monster releases him and he snaps awake.

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Stranger Things Season 2 Chapter Three: The Pollywog

~ Metacrone

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In this episode, things take a distinct turn for the worse, though, following in the tradition of horror shows, the characters don’t necessarily realize it yet. Dustin thinks he’s found a cute, cool new pet. It’s like he’s never seen a movie before. Bob thinks he’s helped Will face his fears. He’s clearly never read a Stephen King novel. Max thinks she’s made some quirky new friends with no complications. Mike thinks he feels El nearby, and hopes to find her soon. Everything in Hawkins is always more complicated than that, and soon is a very relative term.

We pick up moments after we left off in episode 2. Dustin is stealthily sneaking whatever was in the garbage can into his room. His mom is asking way too personal questions. The family cat doesn’t like what he’s carrying. And Yertle the Turtle is being kicked out of her home.

Dustin pulls out a handful-sized unidentifiable amphibian and puts it in Yertle’s aquarium. I start fearing for Yertle’s life. This is surely connected to the Upside Down. Possibly it’s the larva that Will coughed up last season. Dustin’s curiosity is engaged, so he’s blinded by science and love. He can’t see the danger. He looks at the three musketeers bar that he and the pollywog are sharing (Dustin’s favorite), and names it D’artagnan, after the most noble of the musketeers. Dart for short. THIS WON’T END WELL. It’s not okay to break Dustin’s heart, show.  Or Metamaiden’s.

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