This is what made GOT so great in the earlier seasons. The nuanced characters, rich dialogue, and complex politics. You can feel all of the chess pieces being set up and the game starting to be played. I’m absolutely loving this so far. And those opening credits with the original GOT theme has me feeling some type of way.
What a finale. Watching everyone come together and use what they have learned and prove to themselves and each other how capable they are felt so good, while on the flip side of that we see devastation in Carmy. The restaurant recovers and runs smoothly without him as he sits alone, cold, and while falling victim to his insecure self-worth and ultimately inadvertently ruining one of the best things to ever happen to him in Claire. I knew the fridge issue would come into play in the finale, but didn’t expect it to happen like this. The rich complexity is that Carmy isn’t necessarily wrong. His focus given to Claire took him away from the restaurant, but Claire is also so incredibly good for him otherwise. She made him a better person, but in some regards also a worse leader during a critical time in his professional life. I hope that he can eventually find the right balance, repair things with Ritchie, and find happiness in his personal and professional lives. I think he needs to learn to relinquish some of the control he holds over the restaurant and lean on others around him who have proven themselves capable. His presence in their lives and pushing/challenging them has helped all those around him grow, and he just needs to give himself credit for that while also not putting so much pressure on himself. He’s shaping up to be a fantastic character and I can’t wait for more. Season 3 better be announced soon.
10/10. Peak. This might be one of the best comic book TV finales or even episodes ever. Maybe this is recency bias but I don’t really care, this straight up floored me. Incredible.
Oh I am HYPED. But the fridge…
Some great cultural elements and history continue to be explored, but once again a Marvel show uses almost an entire episode late into the series to flashback and provide a bunch of background information and exposition that forces the main story to a screeching halt right before the finale. This is something that the MCU Disney+ shows have really struggled with. I like what they explored in the flashbacks this episode and especially with Kamala traveling back to the partition, but I just think they spent too much time in flashbacks for this being the penultimate episode. We did get important forward plot movement but it felt somewhat rushed and tagged onto the end because we spent a large chunk of the episode outside of the main story. Either the episode needed to be longer or there needs to be more episodes in the season.
Incredibly hard to watch but equally as SUPERB of an episode of television. Jamie Lee Curtis gonna win an Emmy for this.
ANOTHER banger. In love with this show and it continues to reach the very high bar it has set for itself. Viserys’ entrance in the throne room is one of my favorite scenes in GOT ever, and this show continues to nail those big moment scenes for the characters. I loved how this episode was a heartwarming yet tragic sendoff for Viserys and he has been one of my favorite GOT characters. Paddy Considine deserves all the praise for an amazing performance and I’m really going to miss him in the series. I can’t wait to see the events of the last two episodes play out.
Well this is not what I expected. At first I assumed it was all in Barry's head but now it seems like we may have actually just gotten a massive time jump? Or maybe it really is all in his head? I love that I have literally no idea how this show is going to end, it keeps me on my toes and locked in each episode. Bill Hader is flexing his directorial skills hard this season, this episode was beautiful to look at. But it was also a little hard to watch, everything felt so drab and depressing, and Barry was a bit insufferable, but I know that's the point.
Found this episode to be pretty cheesy but still I can appreciate what they're doing with the show. The visuals once again are unique and cool, and I like the cultural elements and themes they're bringing in. Iman Vellani continues to give a convincing and impressive performance for this being her on-screen debut. Even though it's not my favorite show so far I think it's doing a decent job with what it's going for.
This episode was pretty grounded when it comes to Rick and Morty which was actually really refreshing. The scene with the kids and Rick at the table as they painfully listen to what’s going on upstairs was golden.
I see a lot of positive reactions so I’m probably in the minority here but I don’t think the show earned this ending. I was definitely surprised and there was a level of emotion, but the ending mostly just made me mad. The conclusion felt rushed, and it just feels like Alan went through all this and put up with everything all for nothing. I understand that he went on his own internal and reflective journey with his relationship with his son and that was paid off at the end, so it technically wasn’t all for nothing, but I’m not a fan of how the end played out. The emotional weight with Alan’s kids should’ve hit so much harder than it did but they were barely even characters in the show so it falls short because I feel no real connection to them. So for me this finale was more annoying and frustrating than the captivating tragedy they were likely going for.
Nathan Shelley's redemption has begun, and you know what, I'm here for it. If there's one show out there that could pull off redeeming even the most hated characters it would be this show. I felt so proud of Nate this episode, which I know sounds weird because he's a fictional character, but that's just the strength of the show. Everyone feels real with relatable issues and flaws, and Nate is one of the most fully understood and developed characters. Watching him start to turn himself around felt so victorious. This episode also saw lots of other characters show their growth. Keeley, Roy, Rebecca, Sam, Jamie, it's amazing how so many characters can have emotional moments as we watch them grow into better versions of themselves and become more comfortable and confident in who they are. And then we move on to Ted. I think the moment at the end of bringing Rebecca the biscuits as he does every day, could be a metaphor for him relatively staying the same old Ted while everyone else has changed. He's always been a force for positivity and support, and now he has infected everyone else with that mindset. It's almost as if there is nothing left for him to do at Richmond and now he is needed elsewhere (back home with his family), leading to what I bet will be a bittersweet finale to the show or at least the season. Also some great comedy this episode, per usual. Another Ted Lasso banger.
That Shiv and Tom balcony scene, just another example of some of the best written dialogue paired with some of the best line delivery you'll ever see in a show. Succession is just on point with every episode.
This was one of my favorite episodes of Ted Lasso in recent memory, there was a lot of great character work here. Ted was more or less a supporting character in this episode as they focused in on a lot of the side characters, giving them all some really great moments. The standout for me was Roy, who we see dealing with his breakup with Keeley in the most Roy way ever which was really funny as I love the humor he brings. But then we see a great moment between him and Trent Crimm (who I am very happy to have more of by the way), and a really touching moment at the end as he opens up to Ted and Trent about his time at Chelsea, which was also clearly a metaphor for his relationship with Keeley. That's just smart writing and it's so cathartic when he drops his Roy facade to open up to others. I loved the moment between him and Jamie as well, and am hardcore rooting for a bromance between the two of them. I really liked seeing Keeley's more subtle way of dealing with the breakup, as well as how she's handling her new job, and Rebecca had a great standout moment too. I liked what they hinted at with Jamie and how he seems to feel about Zava joining the club, and would be happy to see more attention given to him this season as he's become one of the most likable characters for me. I'm also excited to see the dynamic that Zava brings to the team and how everyone deals with that. And the final moment shows Ted again feeling lonely as everyone else has something to do at the end of the day and he's left alone, really hinting at the internal struggle he's going through about what's really keeping him at Richmond and away from his son back home. They're setting up his season arc in subtle ways that I really enjoy, and I'm excited to see how it all plays out for him.
This finale left way too many unanswered questions and I don’t think it was able to pay off all of the intrigue the show built. With that being said, some good emotional themes were there and I think those were paid off pretty nicely, but the payoff and answers to all of the mystery surrounding the plot felt a little lackluster. It’s almost as if they could’ve done something much more satisfying and cooler but instead what we got was just okay.
2023 TV Shows Ranked (list on my profile) --> https://trakt.tv/users/justinnumerick/lists/2023-tv-shows-ranked?sort=rank,asc
Season 1 Review:
Beef is such a welcome surprise. I didn't expect too much out of this and was wondering how they could stretch out a show about road rage to 10 episodes, but the road rage incident happens immediately and the show is really about what ensues after that, and I thought it was so effective from start to finish. A HUGE part of that success is due to the actors, who were so, so great. I've been a massive Steven Yeun fan since his days on The Walking Dead, and this show reminded me of just how talented of an actor he is. Ali Wong also does a fantastic job, and with the show centered on these two, they both effectively carry the load and help the show excel. Beyond the performances, the writing is sharp, clever, and very smart. Things are set up well including certain events and character beats, and therefore the story feels very tight. But what really impressed me was how effectively the show built the conflict and obsession between Danny and Amy over the course of the season. The road rage incident is just the beginning, and everything that happens after is like a wild back and forth that gets more and more serious and dangerous as the show progresses. Yet, it's not a completely linear or straightforward descent into madness, as both characters show signs of being better people here and there, but inevitably something always draws them back in. In some ways it makes the characters quite unlikable, but I found it so entertaining more than anything. The themes are also quite relatable in the sense that no matter how different we are as people, we all have stress and anger that builds up over time if we don't let it out, and sometimes all it takes is one inciting incident for us to explode. The show exaggerates this beyond what would likely happen in the real world, but I love when shows or movies use something so relatable and exaggerate it, and Beef is such a strong example of how to do that right. This show also handles massive tonal shifts as good as anything else out there. We start off in comedy mode, then as things get more serious the comedy gets darker and darker, and then as things progress even further we get into full-on intense drama. The show pulls off all of its tones very well. Dark comedy is some of the best comedy when it's done right, and while there were some pretty dark things here that feel a bit too serious for comedy (at least for me), overall the dark comedy was very effective. Then when things get more serious I found myself on the edge of my seat due to the intensity. And because they take their time to evolve the show as it goes along and place little elements comedy and drama throughout as both primary and secondary tones, there isn't much tonal whiplash when the tension ratchets up and the transitions are mostly seamless. The final episode did feel like a bold move and provided the most whiplash for me, but I loved it on a character level. The more I think about this show the more I love it.
8.8/10 -- Great
I’m seeing a lot of negative comments, but I’m finding this heartwarming and fun so far. Really likable characters facing real hardships particularly in their relationships, which everyone can relate to. It’s unrealistic on the therapy side of things but that’s what drives a lot of the humor. Overall I think this is a strong start.
The absence of Durin and the dwarves this episode after they were the best part of the last episode was severely missed. But we still got some great world building with continued beautiful visuals. I really enjoyed the attempted prisoner escape scene at the end of the episode and Arondir is becoming one of my early favorite characters.
As far as I’m concerned this show is cementing itself as one of the MCU’s best. It’s grounded and serious with strong character moments and I can feel actual stakes, both large and small scale. It’s not perfect, but so far it has been very solid.
Man oh man is this freaking good. Richard Gadd is immensely impressive for writing and starring in this true story based on his own life, not to mention how this serves as an example of taking power back over your trauma. It's not only great for the story surrounding its development, but the final product is one of the most well-crafted shows we've gotten this year. The writing is sharp, the pacing is perfect in the way that it reveals things as you need to know them and not too soon or too late, the characters are filled to the brim with complexity and layers, and all around form an editing and production standpoint this thing rocks. It has genuinely creepy and tension-filled moments that are expertly crafted and the show keeps you so intrigued from start to finish. Gadd's performance is amazing, and Jessica Gunning is STELLAR. Might just be the best performance of the year so far?? Baby Reindeer is a show that takes the stalker idea and turns it into something so much more that that and something so unique. It has some really heavy stuff and some very hard to watch and difficult scenes, but I commend it for not backing down and highlighting real life horrors as they are and as things that we need to be aware of. A fantastic character exploration and overall just so intriguing, real, and powerful.
If I could give this an 11/10 I would. Not the ending I personally wanted from a selfish standpoint, but the ending that it needed to be to maintain the integrity of the show. What's so special about Succession is that it somehow manages to give us a show with virtually no character growth for the main characters, at least in the way you would expect, yet is so insistent and confident in who these characters are fundamentally that it is no less compelling to watch this all play out. The three Roy siblings are the same people they were at the beginning of the show, and any hope that they would grow or achieve their goals is squashed by the harsh truth that they are who they are and no matter how much we kid ourselves or how much they kid themselves, this was their inevitable fate all along. This was perfectly devastating and one of the best finales I have ever seen.
Absolutely loved this episode. Finally getting to Mandalore was really cool, and it felt very sci-fi. Mando teaching Grogu how to navigate the galaxy and the important skills needed to be a Mandalorian was great, and we even get to see that pay off later on when Grogu is able to use what Mando taught him to get to Bo-Katan (who had some great sequences in here also). Just expanding on the lore of Mandalore and the Mandalorians is so interesting and I'm really glad that seems to be the direction they're taking this season.
I was way too happy watching Beth get put in that cop car. Acts like she’s untouchable and gets put in her place, I love it. I know it won’t last long but I’ll take this small win.
Seems to be transforming from a typical mystery comedy to more of a sci-fi or fantasy thing? They're doing a great job of building intrigue and mystery, hopefully it all pays off.
Rainwater is a great antagonist because he is not by nature an antagonist. He is someone who is trying to do right by his people and give them a better and safer life so how can you root against that? By far the best antagonist this show has had and I just hope they start focusing on him more. And likewise John is a great protagonist because there are both good and bad sides to him. High emotions and confrontations made the end of this episode great, but again, this whole thing with Jamie and Beth doesn't make sense. There's no way the clinic Jamie brought Beth to didn't explain what was going to happen to her. Jamie was also still a kid at the time and clearly in over his head and not the right person to make that kind of decision. That does not excuse what he did, but maybe if John wasn't such an authoritative parent then Jamie would have gone to him for help (or Beth for that matter). And even when John discovers what Jamie did the first thing he worries about is that there will be less people to fight for the ranch and his legacy in the future, not about how this has affected Beth. John continues to show that he cares more about his family's legacy than their actual happiness or well-being. Or that he thinks the two are one in the same.
Wow they WENT for it with this finale and I’m so happy they did. The extent of that 4th wall break was not expected but so original and creative that it was so fun. I love how the MCU was able to literally criticize themselves in their own show with Jen talking about marvel finales and then take this finale in a different direction. And the Kevin bit was very clever and funny. This was honestly probably the funniest episode for me as I laughed out loud several times. And I love how the trolls online in real life are literally the villains in the show lmao. The writers knew how a subset of people would hate on the show for stupid reasons so it just used them as it’s villain which is so smart and hilarious but also makes it feel more real and relatable. Also Pug trying to blend in with Intelligencia was really funny and I love his character. And of course that ending scene got me so hype and I can’t wait for WWH. I’ve had my issues with the show but this finale was perfectly in line with the themes and style of the show and elevated the series for me. One of the best MCU Disney+ finales and might be the best.
Felt like the calm before the storm and a bit of a filler episode, but I don’t really mind. The writing is good enough and I’m invested enough in the show. Still got good character dynamics in this episode between the group of rebels and Andor. Excited for next week!
Actually quite enjoyed this episode, I found it fun and heartwarming. Jen’s character development all season has been about learning how to accept She-Hulk, then accept Jennifer Walters, and now figuring out how to accept both. This episode laid some of that out plain and clear for anyone that wasn’t getting it before, and Jen had some good character growth this episode. I still have my issues with the show but this episode was one of the most enjoyable for me.
Very solid follow up to the 3 episode premiere. Really liking the style and vibe of this show.
How I feel about this episode is how I feel about the show as a whole so far. There’s nothing I actively dislike, but nothing I’m in love with either. It just kind of exists. Like I’m interested enough to watch it and not be bored, but nothing is really gripping me or sticking with me.
