'Castle Rock' Season 2, Episode 2: 'New Jerusalem'

 When last we met, Annie Wilkes had gone to a very dark place and was falling fast.  I mean that literally, as she was falling into a hole.  Considering the height of the fall, she's actually in pretty good shape.  Even a second fall after a failed attempt to climb out doesn't seem to do too much.  She has a slight limp, but is still able to jog with little trouble.  Then again, Wilkes was incredibly resilient in the original novel, so that could be a bit of subtly consistent writing.

It turns out that Ace isn't the only corpse down there.  This convinces Annie to change her mind about staying, though Joy is reluctant to leave this time around.  On the one hand, yes she's made friends, but she did see Ace making molotov cocktails, you'd think that she'd be able to figure out why Annie suddenly wants to book it.  

Speaking of Ace, the family doesn't take his disappearance too kindly.  Despite the fact that he hasn't been gone that long, Pop uses every resource he has (which is surprisingly considerable) to try to figure out what happened.

This prompts flashbacks that show us how Pop came to adopt the two into his own family.  It does allow Pop to show a softer side, but we also see that the family tension predates the mall shenanigans. We also see that the adoption may not have been as altruistic as many would be lead to believe.  

This aspect of the plot remains a bit cumbersome, but this does flesh out the characters to give them a bit more depth.

Even with this, though, Annie remains the main draw.  Caplan continues to shine and her devotion to her daughter remains a highlight.  Even with the rising tension between the two, especially as Joy starts to put pieces together, the bond is a very strong one.

Abdi gets a decent showing too, especially when Pop abducts him after Annie leads him to believe that it was Abdi, and not her, who killed him.  It was pretty convenient that Annie had a second prime suspect to disperse suspicion.  At first, I thought that she was going to come clean and argue self defense when Pop confronted her, but she used what she had to present a credible alternate take on events.  

I did find it odd that Abdi decided to goad his adopted father during the interrogation.  He didn't do it. You'd think a straight forward acknowledgement of that would have been more effective than trying to provoke Pop to violence.  He doesn't even try, it was very bizarre.  It would be one thing if Pop just ignored it, but there's no attempt to be upfront about how things played out.

The episode ends on one doozy of a cliffhanger, as Annie turns around to find none other than Ace Merrill standing outside her car.

This episode fleshed out the season on both a character and setting front.  It also opened up new plot lines so that things can move forward.  The first episode was pretty self-contained, which was nice, but I think this gives the viewer more reason to keep watching.  It'll be interesting to see how things play out.

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The Punisher episode 12: 'Home'

Thus, we come to the penultimate episode of the show's first season.  I figured we'd get the big showdown and the last episode would be sort of a denouement.  Instead, we get a starter showdown, but all is not wrapped up quite yet.

While the show has benefited from a strong cast from the get go, they really shine here.  The Lieberman family reunion is amusingly awkward, but still fairly powerful in its own right.  The fact that they have to watch Micro "die" again a few minutes later certainly doesn't help matters.  Everything works out for them pretty well, all things considered, but there are probably going to be some awkward nights at the dinner table going forward.

As a result, however, Frank ends up getting captured by Billy and Rawlins. Even though, Frank spends most of the episode tied to a chair, he still gets some standout scenes.  His conversation with Russo when he first wakes up is one of the episode's major highlights.  It's clear that Bill still has some degree of loyalty to Frank, and while he won't hesitate to do what needs to be done, his talk about regretting the way things turned out seemed legit.  Conversely, the history only acts as fuel for Frank's hatred.  

Rawlins is also in rare form, as the sight of Frank up close seems to have driven him completely insane.  The actor is hamming it up something fierce, but it is still chilling.    The drastic turn contributes to it, but even putting that aside, it's still pretty creepy.

Rawlins' raving loon does contrast nicely with Russo's more no nonsense approach to the matter.  The disparity becomes clear when the two have achieved their goal.  Russo wants to end Frank quick and be done with it, but Rawlins is enjoying the torture session too much and insists that it continue unabated.  The two were never really simpatico, but seeing the two diverge the way they did was interesting to watch.

While the episode is more dialogue driven, it does give you some Frank Castle bad-assery, as he dispatches Rawlins in a particularly gruesome display.  Considering that Frank has done quite a bit up to this point, it says something that this still manages to leave an impression.  It's glorious, but also horrifying.  It's a good thing Micro's kids didn't see that, they'd never want to get within 10 yards of him again. 

It's been a long road, but we're finally coming to the end of the season.  While the final confrontation with Russo looms, a part of me hopes he lives to fight another day.  It seems like the conflict between the two is finding its groove and I want to see more of it.  We'll see how things will play out, though.  

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''Legends of Tomorrow' Season 4, Episode 5: 'Tagumo Attacks!!'

 This episode tries to manage three different sub-plots.  It's not an easy task, but this one manages to do it fairly adequately.

Naturally, one of them follows Ray, as he attempts to recruit Nora Darhk to save Constantine. For a girl who was trying to remain hidden, she was surprisingly easy to find. It was nice seeing Sara use her dad as a frame of reference to add a piece to the puzzle, but it still seemed surprisingly quick.

Nora is initially willing to cooperate, but wavers a bit due to not wanting to succumb to the influence of dark magic again.  It's an understandable and even admirable motivation for the character.    Just as she was found rather quickly, she was convinced to change her mind rather quickly, but the episode has time limits and there are other plots to cover.  I was surprised that Nora didn't make some pun surrounding her last name when Ray asked why "dark magic" had to be what was necessary to save John.

Seeing her willingly turn herself in was appropriately sad, but still a great moment for her.  On the one hand, it seemed like the time bureau was really overdoing it, but at the same time, you have to be watchful for the old "I surrender, suckers' trap.  It would be something that her father would do.

Overall, this plot line worked, but was hampered by time constraints. Like I said, parts of it feel abrupt, but overall, the good stuff  was more than enough to make up for it.

There's a sub-plot with the Time Bureau that somehow becomes two sub-plots.  You have Nate and Ava attending a Heywood family thanksgiving, but you also have Gary trying to woo the delivery girl (something he's surprisingly good at) and then deal with a breakout of mythical monsters.

Nate's dad gets some highlight moments.  Him not hesitating to invite Ava to dinner was nice (as was the whole family welcoming her with open arms) and he also shows "papa wolf" tendencies when he is finally informed of what's going on and wants to do whatever it takes to make sure his son is safe.  It allows the two to develop a better understanding of each other and grow closer as a result.

I was a little underwhelmed by the "awkward nightmare" that the family gathering was supposed to be.  I didn't see anything that really felt hellish. Rowdy kids and having to wait for the turkey to cook seem like small potatoes all things considered.  Nate comparing the monsters' behavior to his family's was pretty funny, though, I'll give it that.  So was the air rifle bit.

How was there no mention of football games?  The Heywood guys seem like the type who would make that a priority, but there wasn't even a hint of a desire to sit down and watch.  It was a bit peculiar.

The main plot sees the rest of the team travel to 1950's Japan, where a mysterious giant creature is wreaking havoc.

Having the team go full force against a kaiju would have been really cool, but alas the show's budget doesn't really allow it and the team isn't really equipped for those types of battles anymore.  Even when Sara and Charlie face off against the monster, it seems a bit clunky.  The special effects and wire work weren't the best, but you could also see that as intentional, given the whole 1950's B-movie thing.

On the plus side, there are some great character bits.  The filmmaker with whom the team aligns gets a great speech talking about the aftermath of Hiroshima.  Yes, much like Godzilla, the monster here is tied to that event. The episode does something a bit different though, and in some ways, it works better.  It brings the horror down to a more individual level, but also shows the power of art.

Speaking of, Mick manages to save the day.  It turns out that the pen is mightier than the flame thrower, as he too brings a character to life to save the day.  It was a twist that, odd as it is, makes sense in context and was foreshadowed with the earlier revelation that Mick is an aspiring novelist.  While his creation is cool, seeing a Beebo vs Tagumo fight would have been interesting.  Maybe they're saving that for "Tagumo Returns!"

On other fronts, Charlie is slowly getting acclimated to being part of the team.  She's less useful here, but she does step up when it counts and does provide some contrast. Her line about humans using a magic book as a weapon really doesn't make any sense in context, given that that isn't what was happening, but it does foreshadow the closing wham line where Nate's dad reveals that, because the monsters can be controlled "Project Hades" is a go.

I'm guessing this is a DCAU Cadmus type deal, where the monsters are going to be used to protect the country from other monsters and/or threats.  I mean, the Arrowverse is a pretty weird place at this point so it's understandable that unconventional resources might be considered. That's just a guess on my part, though, we'll have to see how things play out.

This episode wasn't quite up to par with others this season, but it does provide some solid character development and does move the plot forward on a few fronts. The fact that it had so many things to cover kind of worked against it, but all things considered, it did pretty well.

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'Castle Rock' Season 2, Episode 1: 'Let the River Run'

 Thanks to some new tech, I can finally use my Hulu account again.  As such, I can dive back into "Castle Rock".  While it has been some time since I watched season one, the fact that this is an anthology series means that we're given a new arc with a new cast of characters.

One of the main characters is none other than Annie Wilkes.  Lizzy Caplan plays a younger version of the character here and she does a very good job of it.  There are shades of Kathy Bates' iconic take, but she is also able to put her own mark on it.  This is helped by the writing, which gives her a more layered and sympathetic motivation.

She's still a dangerous psychotic, and while she is a fugitive, she keeps a low profile and manages to keep her issues at bay by pilfering anti-psychotics from various hospitals where she works as a temp nurse.

Her main reason for doing this is her daughter, Joy.  It turns out that Annie is a quite good, albeit unconventional, mother.  She has her daughter's best interests at heart and genuinely does everything she can to give the girl a good life.

As a result, they are the best part of the episode.  Seeing secluded Joy find a group of friends was nice to see. Annie herself also gets some of the episode's highlights.  The scene when she comes clean after getting caught stealing meds was really quite heartwarming.  Credit where it's due, though, the doctor empathizing with her and agreeing to work with her to get her the medicine she needs helped seal the deal.  

Annie gets another highlight when she is confronted by Ace Merrill (yeah, this season seems to have much stronger ties to the King-verse than the first season.)  I don't want to spoil it, but it's freaking awesome. 

The whole mall/Merrill family rivalry wasn't the most compelling stuff, but it does play a pretty important role in the plot.   

The episode is also more grounded than the first season. There isn't that foreboding atmosphere and the episode is very light on supernatural elements.  There's talk of witches and satanists being a part of the town's history (this season appears to take place in Salem's Lot as opposed to Castle Rock itself) but that seems more like background information.  While we're on the topic, it is a little peculiar that the show relocated, but it is an iconic King town and it still has the dark and troubled past, so it's not that much of a deviation.  This also puts some distance between the two story arcs so that you're not constantly wondering where various season 1 characters are.

Seeing as the episode needs to set up the key players, the lack of horror elements makes sense. In Annie's and Joy's cases, it worked to the episode's favor.  

This was a solid opening. The cast is strong and it was well paced.  It does seem like a lot was wrapped up.  On the one hand, that's a good thing, but at the same time, I'm not sure where the plot can go. I guess I'll just have to watch and find out.

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