I broke down when his dad finally hugged him, shedding his own shame from the abuse in his past.
The characters and performances felt so authentic and nuanced that I forgot I was watching a film at times. That hasn't happened to me in a very long time. Absolutely breathtaking. Quite possibly the best film of the year.
Even better written and funnier than the first episode.
Possibly the best film about OCD, with a focus on the obsessive part, and mental health recovery in general.
What a masterpiece of an episode!
Every story thread converged into a chaotic political ballet of destruction!
I can't believe this was written back in 2014! 10 years ago!
> -When does a revolution happen, guv?
> -I don't know. When wankers go bonkers?
> -When the coercive arm of the state has more in common with the people in front of them, attacking them, than they do with the people behind them, paying them.
This show was so ahead of its time, and criminally overlooked.
An eye-opening, somber, enraging experience.
One of the most hard-hitting documentaries I've ever watched, devoid of dramatizations, half-truths or propaganda.
Directed by Josef Weitz's own great-granddaughter, as she delves into the diaries of Josef, the architect of one of the largest land-grabbing, ethnic cleansing, population transfers in recent history. This is the history of the Zionist state of Israel.
I'm absolutely loving this show so far!
Another very unconventional story with many twists & turns.
A simple gimmick but masterfully written and acted, keeping the tension high throughout the episode.
Amazing episode about narcissism and intergenerational trauma.
Amy had been a controlling, narcissistic mother from the start, so I'm glad she had her arc and went away. I hope she doesn't return in the next episode to revert the show back to its status quo.
An excellent documentary of a character assassination.
A Democrat governor took the fight against corruption and fraud to Wall Street on the eve of the financial crisis of 2008, and Republicans ensured his downfall.
P.S. Roger Stone deserves to rot in prison (and he would've if it wasn't for Trump).
What an riveting episode!
Astounding performances from Beckinsale and Latimer! The writing and editing was so tight and polished that you don't notice that almost the entire episode is just two characters talking.
LOL @ A-Train's energy drink commercial, parodying Kendall Jenner's Pepsi ad.
So many good parallels drawn from reality, like The Deep's support for Homelander's "hard stance on crime" which is, of course, used as doublespeak to excuse racial biases in law enforcement.
I love how much the writing has improved this season. The central theme seems to follow the great proverb:
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."
- John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton
Fantastic episode!
The newly-revealed relationship with Teri, the "Tony" persona, the internalized transphobia, they all add nuance and complexity to Donny's character, showing how his low self-worth and unmet needs for acceptance and affection have allowed Martha to bulldoze his boundaries, with gradually escalating transgressions leading up to her sexual assault on him.
Great episode.
Like before, this show is at its best whenever they move away from Harley & Ivy. This deconstructed version of Gotham is so deep and interesting that it's always fun exploring these alternate versions of established characters.
Props to Conner Shin for writing this amazing episode and he's not even credited on IMDb yet.
The season 1 finale was a little underwhelming, so not perfect, but definitely the best medical drama since House.
Great episode and season finale.
Cassie's character development through the conflicts with her friends and family was much better done this season with a deeper psychological understanding of her personality and Cuoco really nailed a broad range of emotions (especially her depiction of shell-shocked PTSD was spot-on).
I think the main flaw of the movie is that it asks too much out of the viewer. You need to have an extensive knowledge of how delusions form and how drug addicts behave and rationalize, in order to follow the characters and not tune out because of the absurdism. THIS IS NOT A SCI-FI FILM.
It's clear from start to end that the movie is about drug addiction and drug-induced psychosis. His prescription bottle read Hydrocodone, an opioid used for pain relief. On the phone he talked to his daughter about his fake injuries. He crushed his last two pills and snorted them off-screen before leaving his office. Isabel slips him something in his drink when they first meet, that's when his bender begins (along with the "powers"). From then on, Isabel and Greg seem to experience a drug-induced shared psychosis (aka folie à deux).
One way that could explain the "glitches in the Matrix" is if we assume that the audience is not an objective observer but either a third party in this shared psychosis or simply an extension of Greg's deluded subconscious.
Marriage Story but better.
The first hour was a bit unfocused, but I think that was by choice, in order to be as objective as possible, so the audience can form their own presumptions of the events. While in the second half, we get to discover more and more the subjective nuances of the family's relationships. I empathized with the relatable issues it explored, regarding Samuel's character, like guilt, shame, self-loathing, self-sacrifice, fragile narcissism, perfectionism, fear of failure, procrastination etc.
Superb episode, with only a couple of small stupid points:
- Kimiko shouldn't have been drinking with her abdomen stitched up. Alcohol inhibits clotting and encourages bleeding. She could've died of internal bleeding long before taking the Compound V. (Plus, I feared the alcohol would interact adversely with V, causing her to die or "hulk-out")
- I didn't like how they presented Annie's and Kimiko's decision of "I'll save you, even if you don't want me to" as triumphant, when it's no different from the toxic macho "damsel in distress" crap. Frenchie and M.M. should've objected and easily win that argument, considering their past experiences and discussions.
"V isn't good or bad" yes, but no person is all good or all bad either, nor do they stay good or bad forever no matter what. Of course, there are certain patterns of reinforcing behaviors, but everyone is constantly shaped and ever-changing by their life experiences and decisions. I think this is the most important takeaway from the show.
Great finale, but I was hoping Milad would turn out to be an undercover agent for the Sepah (thinking he botched the car assassination purposefully) and would have had to blow his cover to stop Tamar.
I'm glad I wasn't wrong for seeing red flags in Sharon's adversarial style of therapy.
My first clue was having her clients sit directly opposite from her. A therapist should try to never do that because it triggers defensive fight-or-flight responses in our "lizard" brains. It's also helpful when dealing with conflicts in relationships. Try to sit next to each other or, at most, at a 90-degree angle when talking things through.
So far, I love the overall tone. It's nothing like The Death of Stalin, The Dictator or Tropico, as I've seen people commenting.
Here, the satire is played straight and dead serious, which is why it manages to humanize the Madame Chancellor.
It's a lot more similar in tone to Succession, The Sopranos and Breaking Bad than an outright satire.
Some may say that it's riding a very thin line, and risks being perceived as glorifying totalitarian dictators.
I think it's a very important perspective to have, because this is how corrupting and dangerous the slippery slope of authoritarianism is.
They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another’s throats.
What a coincidence to hear Philip Larkin's This Be The Verse again, only a couple of weeks after S03E11 of Ted Lasso .
A superbly made documentary but a tough watch.
Even though I was following the case when it went to trial, I still found parts of this infuriating.
Fuck Eddie Gallagher, his family of sycophants and all the other racist psychopaths that end up in the US military, fuck Corey Scott, fuck Brian Ferguson, fuck Trump and his cronies, fuck Fox News and their viewers. This was a monumental failure of the US Navy command and prosecutors that allowed this to be turned into a mobster case by Trump and his cronies.
Superb episode!
We got some suspenseful hacking, some realistic psychotherapy and some more cracks appearing in Faraz's devotion to the regime that could result in him becoming compromised and exploited by Mossad.
Loved the episode. If you got a justice boner for Sam standing up to the fictional Dubai Air, wait till you learn about the real-life state-owned Emirates airline, let alone the human rights violations in the United Arab Emirates.
A little too mean/cruel at times but otherwise superb!
Finally a medical drama fit to dethrone House.
Amazing episode. The writing and performances were top-notch. And it is true that victims of abuse usually take 18-20 years to confront their abusers. Apparently, that has to do with how long the brain takes to process these traumatic experiences.
"He was often very proud, very stubborn. Smart boy in many ways. Could've gone to university. But he just wasn't motivated in that way. Hard working but not always productive."
That fits the description of someone who may have been twice exceptional (aka 2e) as a child, possibly with ADHD.
Absolutely brilliant and powerful. Astounding performances from the two protagonists.
Owen's depiction of someone suffering from PTSD was breathtaking. I also liked how it was made ambiguous whether there was a cameraman in all of the scenes or it was just in Matt's imagination for most of them (e.g. the cliff scene and a few others where there are shots from multiple angles cut together).
That was absolutely brilliant. So much nuance and so many teachable moments. I love that all the characters are flawed and not black-or-white.
