Tag: review

Midnight, Texas Season 2 Episode 1: Head Games Recap

~ Metacrone

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It’s time to return to Midnight, Texas, or to visit for the first time if you’ve never been. There just happens to be a new hotel in town, owned by a renowned healer and his lovely wife. They can help you with anything from a crystal meditation session to rebalance your energy to an exorcism of your terminal demon cancer. And anything that might require a severed demon head, but let’s keep that between you and me. Healer Kai seems to want to keep his frequent sessions with the head private.

The town’s resident psychic, Manfred Bernardo, is a bit under the weather this week, having never fully recovered from last season’s finale, when he allowed 6 demons to possess him at once, so that he could drive away a really powerful demon, Colconar, who wanted to own the town’s resident witch, Fiji. The demons left a little something behind inside Manfred that’s slowly taking him over. The fact that it’s enough to bring his ghostly grandmother, Xylda, back from the hereafter, might make the whole thing worth it.

Other than Manfred and his girlfriend Creek, who are understandably having some relationship issues, the town’s couples are doing great. Bobo and Fiji are having such great sex that they don’t just feel like they’re flying, Fiji’s head actually hits the ceiling. Lem and Olivia now share a psychic connection to facilitate their wedded bliss, since he fed her some of his blood to heal her after she was gravely injured. He doesn’t have to be told which spot is the right spot anymore. And Joe and Chuy are as centered and peaceful as ever, or so it appears. Chuy is doing a lot of yoga to get his demon side back under control.

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The Man in the High Castle Season 3 Episode 5: The New Colossus Recap

~ Metacrone

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The New Colossus is such an eventful episode that it’s hard to know how to even summarize it. The title refers to the centerpiece of Nicole’s Jahr Null plan, replacing the Statue of Liberty with a new statue based in part on the image of Thomas, but also to John Smith and the power he accrues, which is supposed to keep him and his family safe, but instead hangs like an albatross around his neck.

The themes of identity, spirituality, community and responsibility continue to be explored this episode. Frank engages in soul searching before his bar mitzvah, trying to discern how to best atone for his sins while keeping his current community safe. Helen works through her grief and wonders how to reconcile her feelings about Thomas’ death with being a strong wife and mother. Juliana struggles with the meaning of the films and how they relate to her relationship with Joe in this world. John has to come up with yet another scheme to retain power and protect his family, this time breaking up my dream team of Rockwell and Hoover.

The episode begins with Himmler overseeing the graduation exercises executions of more Lebensborn assassins. His favorite is a tall, broad, blonde named Hans, who is the best the Reich has to offer. Hans is able to shoot fleeing Jews in the back faster than anyone ever, making Papa Himmler ever so proud.

Keep repeating to yourself that even in this reality, the Reich will fall eventually, and take some deep breaths.

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The Man in the High Castle Season 3 Episode 4: Sabra Recap

~ Metacrone

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Episode 4, Sabra, focuses on the strained partnerships and heightening tensions of the alternate reality of The Man in the High Castle. Ed and Robert begin their journey back to the west coast, complaining at each other the whole time. John and Helen continue to struggle with their grief over Thomas’ death and the increasing scrutiny and pressure on them because of John’s promotion. Joe and Juliana grow physically closer, but choose every word they say carefully.

Meanwhile, the JPS begins experiencing protests over the fuel shortage because of its effect on everyday life. Wyatt shows up at Juliana’s door, wanting to get to know her better. Thelma and Nicole also get to know each other better, in an illegal way that could get them both reeducated at best and executed at worst. Tagomi and his painter get to know each other better over dinner, but Joe has plans for dessert.

The title, Sabra, refers to the Catholic community outside of Denver that secretly shelters a community of Jews, called Sabra. The term sabra means a native-born Israeli Jew. It’s taken from the name of a cactus fruit that’s tough on the outside but soft and sweet on the inside.

The Neutral Zone and the Japanese Pacific States turn people into this version of themselves, people who are tough and wary but can still have normal relationships with those they trust. In the Reich, trust is virtually impossible, as even one’s closest friends and loved ones might be convinced to turn one in for the good of the state. Joe was once a  young cactus fruit, but now he’s been squeezed dry, and the shell that’s left works for Himmler.

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Manifest Season 1 Episode 5: Connecting Flights Recap

~ Metacrone ~ 1 Comment

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In episode 5, Connecting Flights, we learn that “It’s all connected.” What’s all connected? Well, the subway system, for one thing, and it’s ancillary hidey holes. Olive and Cal, for another, though we’re still exploring the extent of their connection, and they don’t appear together in this episode. Beyond that, the use of the phrase is vague, other than definitely relating to Flight 828 and its passengers. We seem to be building up to discovering that the passengers and the callings are all connected, but there’s no telling what else might be part of the larger picture, and what this connection means.

Are the people who are close to the passengers connected? Did this connection direct their lives during the 5 1/2 years their loved ones were missing? There were, after all, two flights in the air that night. Just because one came home on time doesn’t mean it wasn’t affected by something. An episode title like “Connecting Flights” has to make you wonder. Did something more subtle happen to the passengers on the first flight, as well?

For now, the focus is on how the people who weren’t on Flight 828 coped with their losses. Some, like Grandma Karen, focused on the positive and tried to quickly move forward. Others, like Grace, couldn’t let go. A few, like Jared and Grandpa Steve, seem to have managed to find a middle path of mourning then moving forward, but never forgetting their losses.

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The Man in the High Castle Season 3 Episode 3: Senso Koi Recap

~ Metacrone

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While episode 2 brought a series of endings to the world of The Man in the High Castle, and the feeling of fully completing storylines from previous seasons, episode 3, SensĂ´ KĂ´i, contains reunions, beginnings and revelations. John Smith has the biggest revelation of all. Dr Mengele convinces him that the films he’d dismissed as fake after he learned about them as part of Hitler’s collection are, in fact, documentation of other realities in which other versions of ourselves live similar but different lives. The awakening to possibilities that cascades through Smith’s head is practically visible.

Juliana and Joe are reunited, but spend most of their time circling each other cautiously. The two amateur spies have grown up to become lethal weapons and the young pair who were uncertain of their causes have firmly chosen where they stand. Unfortunately it’s not on the same side. The films prove that they have a deep connection in every reality, but death is usually involved when they are together, going all the way back to the season 1 films. The current crop of films raises the stakes even higher.

Nicole’s film documentary about Thomas Smith has its premiere with everyone who’s anyone in the American Reich in attendance. It’s clear that the film is thinly veiled propaganda meant to position John Smith as the next Reichsmarschall. The film leaves Smith’s enemies seething, especially Hoover and Rockwell, my very favorite villain duo on this show ever. Rockwell has a certain charismatic panache that we don’t see often on MITHC, and Hoover just loves being his sycophantic evil flunkie so darn much.

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The Man in the High Castle Season 3 Episode 2: Imagine Manchuria Recap

~ Metacrone

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The title of episode 2 of The Man in the High Castle season 3, Imagine Manchuria, refers to a line Kido says to his would-be new assistant. If Nakamura thinks San Francisco weather is unpleasant in the winter (it tends toward cool and frequently rainy), imagine what it will be like when Kido turns on him and has him sent to Manchuria, which can be as cold as the Arctic in winter. In other words, things can always get worse.

This is the theme of the episode, as the solution to one problem inevitably causes a bigger problem down the line. If we don’t see the bigger problem in this episode, we’re likely seeing the set up for it. Helen solves the Smiths’ gossip problem one way, but now has a crime scene to deal with. John solves it another way, but now has an ongoing blackmail scheme to finesse at a time when he’s being watched very closely. Kido arrests Juliana, but also catches Trudy, who he executed in the opening scenes of season 1. The triumph of catching a Resistance operative is overshadowed by the mental discord of seeing a woman he knows to be dead, now inexplicably returned to life. And of being put in conflict with Tagomi once again.

Schemes within schemes are revealed within the Reich, until anyone who has any power there might wish they’d been sent to Manchuria. In addition to his other supersecret American operations, Himmler is playing Hoover and Rockwell against Smith, and it’s anyone’s guess which side he’ll favor in the end. Joe is a Lebensborn special operative who works directly for Himmler, apparently as an assassin, but his true purpose is unknown to almost everyone. Even Smith and the head of the Reich Embassy in San Francisco, who is ostensibly his boss, don’t know. And Himmler is a demanding, impatient taskmaster who accepts no excuses.

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Upcoming Supernatural Shows Part 2: Charlaine Harris’ Midnight, Texas [Videos]

~ Metacrone

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Update 10/25/18: Added link to new TVLine exclusive sneak peak clip.

Midnight, Texas premiered as a summer show on NBC in 2017 with a 10 episode run and poor to mediocre ratings. Somehow, they were given a second season and moved to the fall- probably because of supernatural interference. Or an enthusiastic global and digital response to the show. Charlaine Harris has connections, y’all, she can make these things happen.

Ms Harris is the author of the wildly popular Southern Vampire Mystery series, otherwise known as the Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries/True Blood TV series. Midnight, Texas is currently a three novel series that takes place in the same universe as the Sookie Stackhouse novels. There are a few crossover characters in the books, though I don’t remember seeing any in season 1 of the TV show. They don’t arrive in town until the second book, so keep your eyes open this season. Last season combined storylines from the first and third books. So far it looks like season 2 will cover the second book.

Just like Sookie’s town of Bon Temps, LA,  the small southwestern town of Midnight, TX attracts outsiders, loners and misfits, especially those who are a little more than human. Midnight is sparsely populated, with barely enough permanent residents to even be called a town. It sits at a dusty crossroads with magical properties. The people who are drawn to settle there form a close-knit, protective community. They are slow to trust outsiders and don’t share secrets easily, but they are a force to be reckoned with when one of their own is threatened.

Season 1 begins when Manfred Bernardo, a psychic with true abilities, which he sometimes needs to fake for customers, drives his ancient RV bus into town on the advice of the ghost of his grandmother, Xylda. Manfred was mostly raised by Xylda and they’re still close. They’ve been able to remain close because Manfred sees dead people. Everywhere. Sometimes they possess his body, but only if he lets them. Manfred is on the run from Hightower, to whom he and Xylda owe(d) a large sum of money.

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Upcoming Supernatural Shows Part 1: Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina [Videos]

~ Metacrone

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Halloween is almost upon us and it’s time for some witchy fun! Next week, on Friday October 26, two relatively lighthearted supernatural series will join the pack. NBC’s Midnight, Texas, based on the book series by Charlaine Harris, author of True Blood/the Sookie Stackhouse mysteries, will return for season 2. And the entire first season of the Riverdale quasi spin off The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, from the same team who brought Archie, Veronica and Bughead to life, will debut on Netflix the same day.

In this post, let’s look at Sabrina, then I’ll make a second post for Midnight, Texas.

238px-chilling_adventuresof_sabrina_issue_2Sabrina is based on the teenage witch from the comics, most specifically from the comic series of the same name written by creator and showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who is also the showrunner for the CW’s Riverdale. It’s not connected to the 90s sitcom starring Melissa Joan Hart, though I imagine the writers won’t be able to resist throwing in some inside jokes.

The show stars Kiernan Shipka as Sabrina Spellman, a half human-half witch teenager who has a big decision to make on her 16th birthday. Lucy Davis plays Hilda Spellman, the more maternal of Sabrina’s two aunts, who act as her guardians. Miranda Otto plays Zelda Spellman, a fierce, protective witch who wants Sabrina to follow in her footsteps as a devotee of the Dark Lord. (Guess JK Rowling doesn’t own that phrase.) Ross Lynch is Harvey Kinkle, Sabrina’s sweet, clueless, human boyfriend, who has no idea what’s really going on in the town of Greendale, where Sabrina’s chilling adventures take place. The cast is rounded out by Jaz Sinclair, Michelle Gomez, Chance Perdomo, Richard Coyle, and Tati Gabrielle, who play various friends, allies and enemies of Sabrina.

Updated 10/25/18: Added video of Sabrina’s comic book-style opening credits.

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Manifest Season 1 Episode 4: Unclaimed Baggage Recap

~ Metacrone ~ 1 Comment

This week’s episode of Manifest, Unclaimed Baggage, drew together Saanvi, Michaela and Flight Attendant Bethany to solve the mystery/case of the week: What happened to Bethany’s stowaway friend after the plane landed? They were an effective and appealing dream team, who I hope we get to see continue working together. Ben’s role in this case was to act as skeptic and briefly as driver.

What’s up with him being left out of the callings since the first episode?

Instead, Ben carried the family drama again, which this week centered around Olive’s adventures with shoplifting. Olive drew Danny back into the family mix, precipitating the overdue meeting between him and Ben. Or maybe it was just overdue that we met Danny. You can’t cast Daniel Sunjata, then keep him off my screen. At any rate, Grace is now officially a sketchy Femme Fatale in my book, and the Stones have gone from being a typical suburban family in the opening of the pilot to being a truly messed up suburban family.

Why is Grace a Femme Fatale? Not just because of the unexplained, secret strife that’s drawn her, Danny and Olive close enough together that they act like they’ve been through a war together. The other Stone family thread this week concerned Ben’s life insurance pay out of $500k, which the insurance company wants back, since he’s actually alive and all. Grace goes through a vague set of circumstances, most of them expected, and somehow comes up with having spent the entire half a million dollars already, in 5 years, on her and Olive. Plus all of the equity in their house.

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Maniac Season 1 Episode 10: Option C Recap

~ Metacrone

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With Option C, we reach the end the beginning of the road. That is to say, we come full circle. The drug trial ends, and the subjects are paid off and sent back to their day-to-day lives. Owen and Annie attempt to make changes in their lives, following up on what they experienced in their reflections.

The doctors are forced to change their lives, after the unexpected way the trial ended. They are sent out into the real world, no longer able to use their careers as an excuse to hide behind their computers in windowless rooms. All of the main characters spend the episode building toward striking out on new adventures, but we’ll have to wait to see if Maniac stays a “limited” one season series, or if it gets a season 2, before we find out if we get to follow the next stage of their development.

Option C begins with the subjects waking up from their “C” pill experience. They are dazed, overheated, and dehydrated. Owen asks Annie if she’s okay, but she just tells him, “Not now.” As the subjects stumble from the experiment room, James and Greta stand outside the door and say helpful things like, “You’re alive!” and, “You woke up!” They get it together after a minute and act as though they’re in a receiving line, congratulating the subjects and asking Owen if he feels pure, unaffected joy.

Owen tells Greta that he’s a huge fan and has read all of her books. That explains why he was able to understand Gertie, and she liked him so much. I wonder if Greta is Owen’s fantasy mother, when he dreams of replacing his own.

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