DC TV Weekly #20

Part of me hates these several week gaps between the DC Shows. However this also means the wait between this season and the next will be even shorter, so it's a worthy sacrifice I suppose.

Supergirl 'Ace Reporter' Review
Several years ago I used to make fun of The CW for having nothing but melodramatic schlock on, now here I am, excited because one of my favourite actors from one of their great TV Shows makes a guest appearance in another of their great TV Shows. The times they did change. Rahul Kohli, best known as Ravi from iZombie guest starred as a genius billionaire who has invented nanobots that can heal any injury. But of course, like nanobots always do, they end up being used for villainous intentions. Not by Kohli of course, but by his...Partner? Assistant? And her evil plan is...Well I don't know. Almost nothing about this makes any sense. Honestly I just wish they made Kohli the proper villain because it's fun seeing him have to play a completely different character from his one in iZombie. However, that's only one half of the main story, the other half is Kara and Snapper's bitching at each other over what counts as being a reporter, and big surprise(!) Snapper is an unreasonably judgemental and pretentious twat and the idea of being a reporter in a series about fighting aliens is still boring as all hell. We also got more of James being a really bad superhero, capturing an armed robber and letting him go when he finds out he's just a teenager...really James? Not going to wait till the police show up? Not going to talk to the kid? Just instantly make a snapped judgement and let the armed robber go? Wow you suck. What did work well for the episode was Lena's development and further insight into her history and her fear that she shares a dark-side like the rest of her family, but that's only a portion of what feels like a lazy episode where the majority of the cast have disappeared for. 6/10.

The Flash 'The Once and Future Flash' Review
...It's not worth the rant. Because despite the multiple times Barry has learnt that travelling through time is a bad thing, he still decides to go ahead and do it. Despite Jay warning him not to do it, then later sacrificing himself because he so badly believed Barry was worthy of being The Flash, and here he goes and tramples on that legacy. Thing is, I'm not mad, because I'm not shocked. I'm not shocked that our hero has gone back on his word, committed a stupid mistake that he has made several times in the past and refuses to learn. The Flash, one of my favourite superheroes, the heart of the DC Universe, has turned into a complete and utter moron. It's not even the action itself that is stupid, but what he does while in the future, not being allowed to leave until he helps make things better for the people in this timeline. You dumbasses do realise that if he goes back in time with the new information then he can prevent this timeline from ever existing? But instead you have him risk himself against Mirror Master and Top, a fight that in reality he should have won with ease. But no, instead Cisco is a moron, future Barry is a dick and H.R. is for some reason famous (You remember he has the face of a known murderer right?). They even address in the episode that Barry breaks his promise, and they sound shocked about it, really? Barry Allen breaking his promise, what a surprise(!). Can I think of anything positive to even slightly redeem this episode? Well, Jesse L Martin was phenomenal as always, especially during the graveyard scene, and that new Flash suit looks really cool. But in actuality, I just can't give this a positive rating, I want to give it the lowest grade possible but at this point I'm just tired of being mad at The Flash. 2/10.

Arrow 'Dangerous Liaisons' Review
Why don't I have more to say about this episode? I feel like Felicity betraying the team should have left a bigger impact than it did. After all her betrayal isn't entirely unwarranted, not is it clear whether or not it was the right thing. She's had a tough year, and has spent the last 5 years watching the people closest to her make ethically questionable decisions, and the fact that the episode ends without saying what she did was right or wrong feels like a smart choice. The only conclusion I can come to is that the emotional stakes didn't feel high enough. For Felicity of all people to go against Team Arrow, not just use another team, but to actively sabotage Team Arrow feels like this should have lead to a lot more drama, but instead everyone treated her like "Jeez Felicity, this really sucks, cut it out huh?". When I feel like this is one of those few times where Oliver would have had reasoning on his side to be pissed off with a member of his team. This emotional void is made even more clear considering the subplot with Rene and his daughter. Granted while it feels like it came from a completely different episode, the scenes of him talking about how he hurt her, and then getting reunited with her were genuinely touching, which is even more impressive considering he's one of my least favourite characters. So while the main plot was average at best (Underwhelming would probably be more accurate) the B-plot actually ended up being the more engaging story. Let's call it even and go with a 5/10.

Why is it always the first episode after a big break is always one of the weaker ones?

-Danny

Doctor Who 'Smile' Review

Doctor Who has always had flimsy continuity, it happens when you're a 50 year old show about time travel. But one episode. One goddamn episode, could no one keep track? An episode about happy robots learning the concept of grief and seeing it as an enemy-killing anyone experiencing it-and The Doctor's plan is to simply wipe their memory. Even though last episode he came to the conclusion wiping memories is not a good way to solve your problems and can just lead to even more problems. In this case, what's to stop the robots from learning about grief again and the same dilemma happening again. It's even worse when you think of how this was all just one more rewrite away from actually being a damn good episode. How about instead of The Doctor removing grief from their systems he teaches them to cope with it? To learn that people need to feel grief, that you can't stop it, that trying to deny the problem rather than accepting it actually makes things worse. Something that The Doctor himself has a lot of trouble with in the past. It would also tie in with Bill and her puddle girlfriend and helping her cope with it.

Speaking of Bill, she remains a great character and the highlight of the episode. Her constant random choice in questions and thinking outside the box continues to be entertaining, but we get further insight into her philosophy. She's a naturally optimistic person, and she wants to see the future simply because "I wanna see if it's happy". Of course the episode then tries to prove her wrong by saying the Earth turns to shit and humanity is on its last leg...even though that contradicts everything about Earth's history from other Doctor Who episodes (Again, continuity is wibbly wobbly). But just thematically that's an idea that really doesn't fit well with Doctor Who. This is a series built on hope, that the good guys win in the end, that the future is bright, that change is good. That's the bigger issue here with this plot thread, not that it doesn't make sense continuity wise, but it goes against the core philosophy of Doctor Who. It's also rather insulting to Bill as a character, as if they're saying she was stupid to think the future could be anything but terrible. The episode was written by Frank Cottrell-Boyce, who previously wrote season 8's 'In the Forest of the Night'. Another terribly written episode with a cynical and very anti-Doctor Who philosophy behind it. Why does this man keep getting to write for this show when he doesn't understand the basics in Doctor Who (Or even well structured writing).

This episode is thematically at odds with itself, with the prior episode, and with the series as a whole. The Doctor behaves out of character and it's inconsistent in a plethora of ways from the rest of the series. Bill was the only real saving grace of the episode, but I feel like one more draft is all we needed for a solid episode. 3/10.

-Danny

Doctor Who 'The Pilot' Review

Doctor Who is back! After taking a whole year off with only a Christmas episode to keep us entertained and for fans to forget to review (Oops) we're back with a new companion and Capaldi's final season. So let's get to it. In this episode we see The Doctor is still recovering from losing River and has settled down in a quiet life as a university lecturer, when a young woman named Bill catches his interest and eventually she is exposed to his world and has now joined him as the new companion.

A while ago I discussed Moffat as a writer and something that this episode reminded me of is how well the man plays with structure. What very much could be a very formulaic episode, that being the introduction of a new companion, Moffat is able to reinvent it in ways to make it feel fresh. In this case, this isn't the introduction of a new status quo, but we're thrown into it when The Doctor is already in a stable life, is already aware of Bill, and by the end of the episode they've known each other for several months. Now true this is a very hit or miss style of writing for Moffat, it can easily make things too confusing and feel more like homework trying to keep up with things, but this is one of the cases where it actually plays out rather easy to understand because it's a simple premise, and one that we've seen done a multitude of times.

Something else less conventional is where The Doctor currently sits emotionally. A noticeable pattern when it comes to a Doctor's second companion is very often the relationship is never as strong as the prior companion because at the start of that friendship it's clear The Doctor is still hung-up on his last friend. 10 did it with Rose & Martha, 11 did it with Amy & Clara, and I was worried 12 was going to do it with Clara & Bill. But instead, he's not miserable, he's contempt. The loss of Clara and having to say goodbye to River has obviously left an emotional toll on him, but instead of shutting himself out from the universe, he's instead decided to rebrand himself. Settling for a quiet life as a lecturer, while also working with Nardole on a secret project known as 'The Vault'. Nardole is another important thing, because it means The Doctor is not having to face things alone, and considering he's been doing this for 50 years now, having someone who knows him that well by his side has to be helpful.

Bill as the new companion gives an instantly positive first impression. Her first meeting with The Doctor told us everything we need to know of her personality and why The Doctor is drawn to her. She's excited by the curious, she's energetic, she's upfront, she's abnormal, she thinks outside the box. This relationship starts off on equal grounds, The Doctor has a liking for her excitable personality, and she rather than being startled by the unknown, learns from it as she goes (Her point about the TARDIS acronym was hilarious). She's the complete anti-Clara, while Clara suffered from no personality, warped morals and Moffat's obsession with making her the most important person in the universe, he's created a character that is completely the opposite. She's strange, but still believable, she's creative & intelligent, but also naive and weird. Something else is that Clara never had anything to ground her, nothing real to come back to Earth for. With the first episode we're already told about Bill's dead mother, as well as her relationship with her foster mum. Speaking of dead mother, the fact that The Doctor went back in time, befriended Bill's mother, convinced her to let him take a bunch of photos of her just to get Bill a Christmas gift was the most adorable thing the 12th Doctor has done.

However, Bill is not the only companion this year, we also have Nardole, the one off character from the Christmas special in 2015 is now a main character. Unlike Bill, this is a character that did not leave a good first impression on me and I groaned when I first heard the news. However, between this and the 2016 Christmas special, the character has actually turned out to be rather entertaining. I'm not sure how much draw he'll bring to the drama or action of the series, but from a comedy aspect he's certainly improved, also as I stated earlier, he has now spent decades with The Doctor, meaning he has an understanding of how he works and could provide an interesting perspective. I'm actually enjoying the character and I'm curious to see how he'll play out in future episodes.

For what is basically a new starting point for Doctor Who in an attempt to draw in new viewers, I think it works fine from that angle. It's not a hard core rebranding like Moffat has tried to do several times in the past, thus I'm not sure how it'll work in bringing in new viewers apart from being mildly entertaining. I do have to say, as a long time fan of the series, I was quite fond of the episode. Peter Capaldi is still amazing as The Doctor, Nardole isn't as annoying as I thought he would be, and Bill left a very strong first impression. 7/10.

-Danny

My Favourite Films – 12 Angry Men (1957)

Lately the films that I’ve chosen to talk about for this series have felt a bit too…mass appealing? Which I’m not too disappointed in, one of my goals for this series was to present films that people may not look at as having analytical worth, or perhaps went under appreciated for how much effort went into them and how many small details make them great. With that being said, I feel as if I don’t balance it out and talk about some “easier” films to discuss then it might create the wrong impression of my taste in films, or might not show how diverse I like to think my taste in films is. Another reason why I don’t talk about these “easier” picks is because not much has to be explained. I’ve said in the past films like Pulp Fiction and Shawshank Redemption could easily be discussed in this series, but at the same time what would be the point? I could go up to any cinephile and say “I think Shawshank Redemption is an amazing film” and they would only respond with “Yep”. Because no one ever needs to explain why Shawshank is an amazing film, everyone knows it. I prefer talking about films that would have people asking “Really? Why do you think that film is so good?”. Nevertheless, that doesn’t change the fact that just because something is obviously brilliant, doesn’t mean it can’t be talked about, so: 12 Angry Men.

12 Angry Men was directed by Sydney Lumet and stars Henry Fonda, as well as 11 other men playing the jury of a murder trial of a young man who is accused of murdering his father. In which the majority of the film takes place in just one room as they all debate whether the defendant is innocent or guilty. Sounds like a fairly simple premise, in fact one might say it’s dangerously simple. How could a 97 minute film that is just people in one room debating be at all interesting? Through amazing directing and pacing is how. To me, this film is one of the best examples of minimalism in all of cinema. One room, 12 people who aren’t even given names and filmed in black & white means there is nothing distinguishing in the frame. We’re not even shown any of the events of the crime at hand, just people talking about it. In the rule book of cinema this should be a major crime, and on a personal level should have bored me to tears. Film is a visual medium, show-don’t-tell, yet this film was able to individualise every single juror member with just the bare minimum needed to make them memorable. Details such as Juror #9 having a great memory for small details, #5 being poor and relating to the defendant on a social class basis, etc. Within the 12 jurors each one has details about them that show how different they are, some are young, some are old, some are middle-class, some are lower class, some are locals, some are immigrants, some are invested, some aren’t. By the end of the film each one has been fully characterized without even a name being exchanged.

The performances are also what help flesh out these characters, all of them are given chances to shine, though Henry Fonda as Juror #8 is given the most screen time-being the biggest actor-but the performance stealer for me was Lee J Cobb as Juror #3, a man who is adamant that the defendant is guilty, and slowly over the film it is revealed that he lets his emotions-mostly with his broken relationship with his son-that clouds his judgement, eventually leading to his breakdown. It’s the subtlety of how is motivations are shown that make this a brilliant performance. The perfect marriage of acting and directing that drive such a nuanced film, another iconic scene is when Juror #10 goes on a bigoted rant and all the other Juror’s simply look away in disgust, no explanation given, but you can just tell they all have their own reasons for not being able to look him in the eye.

Sadly though this is not to say this is a perfect film, plot wise there are some very large gaps that I doubt would ever happen in an actual courtroom. Fonda as the only juror to initially believe the defendant to be innocent has to slowly but surely convince all of the other jurors to see his point of view. Unfortunately his point of view is built mostly on coincidences and an adamant belief that he is right, not seeing the other argument, which is actually the most logical argument. His reasons for not thinking the defendant is guilty is based on coincidences and what-ifs, ignoring that the most likely scenario is probably the correct one. He argues that just because the boy was in the apartment when his father was killed, murdered with the boy’s knife, just because no one technically saw it, means it couldn’t possibly be him, without offering an alternative to who could have killed him. In a logical scenario, the boy would have been found guilty no question, but I suppose the filmmakers would have wanted to end it on a more positive note and having the boy be found innocent.

Regardless, this is a masterfully crafted film, with some of the best direction in all of cinema, great pacing, brilliant and distinct performances. It is often considered to be one of the greatest films of all time, and it is certainly one of mine.

-Danny

Legends of Tomorrow - Finale Review

No other DC Shows this week, so I guess we've got a Legends of Tomorrow solo review for the finale. In this episode we see the team come back together and decide in order to restore the timeline, they have to break every rule in the book, by travelling back into their own timeline, teaming up with themselves and taking on the Legion of Doom. In my last review I said that the prior episode felt like it could have been the finale all on its own, but without seeing both parts I couldn't be sure. Now that I have seen both parts...I still think I was right, but I also see the pros of giving it an extra episode. The biggest pro for the second part is that it means the finale ends on a grander scale, two sets of Legends, dozens of Reverse-Flashes, multiple deaths and even setting it in WW1 just for the extra level of grandness. However the argument for the one parter is that being on a smaller scale also made it more intimate. The heroes had already lost and had to work their way to victory from nothing, plus having only one death made the impact more effective. The drama and tension would have been higher, so having that last minute victory would have felt all the sweeter.

Then again, expanding on it means we also get a lot more character development, we see Mick & Leonard's story arcs come to a close, Rip finally bids his farewell to the team, Nate & Amaya stop cockteasing, Sara finally moves on from Laurel's death, we get a lot of closure. Plus the action scenes are made all the better considering there's two of everyone. In the end, everyone got the endings I feel they deserved, especially the final scene between Mick and Leonard, betrayed by the only person he thought he could trust completely, someone who had manipulated him into hurting those that actually do better him as a person. The old Mick would have torn Leonard to pieces for this, but this Mick, more saddened that his oldest friend is not who he remembers him as, ends it with a simple sentence "You know what your punishment is Leonard? You end up being a better man." And you know something? That was actually really touching, especially for Mick.

Despite my debating whether this finale would have worked better as a one parter or a two parter, the main thing is that it works. It was a well done finale to an overall huge step-up from season one. Though I overall gave season one a positive review, I honestly have very little interesting in returning to it. Season two however, I'd be more than happy to go back and rewatch this. The entire season was filled with fun, wacky adventures of a misfit group of time travelling superheroes with dinosaurs, George Lucas and racist zombies. But at its core the characters all started to connect more and feel like a family.

The finale I give a 7/10.

The season overall I give an 8/10.

-Danny

My Favourite Films - The Muppets (2011)

Been a while since doing one of these huh? After a month of doing nothing but talking superhero shows (Still have plenty more to say on that btw). So, let’s get back into talking about other stuff I like, let’s talk about yet another one of my all time favourite films.

The Muppets was directed by James Bobin and stars Jason Segel and Amy Adams as Gary and Mary, a couple who go on a trip to Los Angeles with Gary’s brother Walter, both being massive fans of The Muppets growing up, hoping to see where they are now. But, much like in the real world, The Muppets popularity has faded over the years, and now they’ve all gone their separate ways, with plans to demolish their old studio. So, it’s up to Gary and Walter to bring The Muppets back together for a reunion show, in hopes to bring The Muppets back to the limelight.

There’s nothing I love more than a good meta-story, ones where once you contextualize it, you suddenly appreciate it all the more, and this film is a perfect example of that. It’s not exactly a subtle film in it’s message, but that’s because it’s also not a secret The Muppets are not as popular as they used to be, and they don’t pull punches in this film, they show just how bad it has gotten for The Muppets as a brand, and how their numbers are so low they’re not even considered profitable anymore. So the show they’re putting on the prove they’re still worth the attention is really just subtext in the greater Muppet brand and this film is that brand’s attempt to show to the world why anyone loved The Muppets to begin with, and why they’re still loving today. Because people did used to love The Muppets, heck, they were on top of the world, celebrity cameos, half a dozen movies, a TV show, everyone knows The Muppets and has been exposed to them at some point in their life. However, that doesn’t make this one of them nostalgia bombs that Hollywood loves to make, where they just reference things you used to love instead of giving you something new. They do make callbacks to their more popular material at points, but it doesn’t overshadow anything, the focus is still on giving people new material to show why they’re worth still loving, not something to remember loving.

This can all be summed up in my favourite line in the film, and one of my favourites in any film, during the song ‘Pictures in my Head’ “Could we do it all again? Make them laugh like we did then?”. That’s actually quite a heartbreaking line because of how many times that does happen, how many aging comedians lose their touch as the years go by, or how things entertained us as children we find aren’t as funny when we grow up. It’s never a good feeling, and like I said, this film is honest about where they stand with the world, and how hard it’s going to be to prove their worth a second look. How do I know the film succeeds there and it’s not just nostalgia? Because honestly, I don’t have that much of a connection to The Muppets. I was certainly aware of them, and I’m sure I was exposed to them a tad when I was a little kid, but before seeing this film, I could name maybe three of the Muppets? But throughout the film they made me understand where they were coming from, and in their attempts to rebuild a connection with their audience, they built their first connection with me. I grew attached to these characters, I wanted to see them succeed in both the film and in life, which since the release of the film has had…mixed results.

This is why I think it’s important that they saved the big ‘Rainbow Connection’ until the end of the film. The biggest song from The Muppets franchise and the one that everyone (Even I) knew and heard. They could have easily used this upfront, but instead they waited until they had earned it, when you had already fallen in love with these characters again, and then finally they gave you that wave of nostalgia, showing The Muppets at their best. This was the moment they had most definitely won everyone over. This wasn’t just an entertaining throwback to a piece of your childhood, this was an emotional connection built with you, and then followed instantly by the best piece of fan service ever. The Muppets, lose, their attempts to save the studio are foiled and they’ve hit rock bottom, but they’re together and willing to build themselves back up, even if no one will give them a chance. They open the doors and see hundreds of adoring fans outside, cheering for them, because yeah, everyone loves The Muppets, I don’t think it’s physically possible to hate The Muppets. This film reminded you why you loved The Muppets, and the end there represents every single person in the audience who had reconnected with this franchise.

To top off all off with the sprinkles of this movie would be two elements, the comedy and the music. The comedy is very clever and whitty like The Muppets should be, with a lot of 4th wall breaking, silly puns and visual gags. While the music is charming, catchy, equally funny, and was actually the first ever Muppet film to win best original song at the academy awards.

There’s something charming about this old school style of storytelling, and shows the power of storytelling, how even though The Muppets are not meant to look real, we’re always fully aware that they’re just foam and strings with people out of frame controlling them, we somehow still get sucked in, we get fooled and we just see the characters. You never think there’s someone moving Kermit the Frog, you see Kermit the Frog. I remember in an interview they did for this film with Kermit and Piggy-because yes, that’s how big these characters are, they actually had them doing interviews-and the host joked about how he kept looking in their eyes expecting a response.

This is what The Muppets can do, they can take simple materials, put it together with a great cast, great crew making a truthful, funny and charming movie and take both classic fans and new fans and make a superb movie that truly makes you fall in love with this franchise, whether it be for the first time or the millionth time, and that is why it deserves to be seen as one of my favourite movies.

-Danny

DC TV Weekly #19

Supergirl 'Distant Sun' Review
So was this the writers plan all along? Make Mon-El kind of a jerk for the entire season and then redeem him in the end by...not being a jerk? As if that makes up for everything else? Oh yeah, let's not forget to mention that dating him has put a super huge bounty on Kara's head. This man must be like 12 Hugh Hefners in bed or else he really isn't worth the effort Kara. Dicks you around for 6 months and now his parents want you murdered, you can do better. Honestly if I gave a damn about the romances in this story this might actually ruin the season for me. But you know what does ruin at least this episode for me? Dumbass people. Mainly Mon-El's mother, she loves her son with all her heart, will do anything to get him back, and the best idea she can think of is attempt to murder his girlfriend, and when that fails murder his father instead...lady...you're dumber than a sack of hammers. In what world does someone come up with a plan like this? And don't say she was desperate or depressed or any bullshit like that, this was attempt number one. Have you tried talking to him? Coming to a compromise? Maybe he comes back to Daxam on weekends? No wonder Mon-El is a shitty character, his mother's plan makes less sense than the movie Primer. So um...yeah, a whole episode about dumbasses being dumbasses. 4/10.

The Flash 'Abra Kadabra' Review
Wally West, Kid Flash, hero of Central City, missing for half the episode, shows up with no explanation. Nit-Pick? Perhaps, but it bothered me. What doesn't bother me is the Master from Doctor Who being the villain of this weeks episode--I mean Abra Kadabra...totally no similarities between these time travel super intelligent evil goatee sporting super villains. Not that I'm complaining, I love the Master, and I love how Abra Kadabra was as cheesy as the name would suggest. Even throwing in some good drama, not just having a villain of the week. Kadabra knows Savitar's real identity, but won't tell The Flash unless he sets him free, creating good conflict and even having Barry ask if they can get away with being selfish just this once, considering how many villains they've put away (Wouldn't actually be the first time you've done it, but the scales are still in your favour). Then to top it all off, Caitlin gets slightly impaled and only seems to react by...wincing, and in the end turns back into Killer Frost because Killer Frost has healing powers (Since When!?). Honestly, a part of this episode felt very slow, maybe it was the lack of urgency in the moment with Caitlin's story, or the wasted time with Cisco and Gypsy's love life, but this episode just felt...unsatisfactory, it's hard to pinpoint what. I could still be in recovery over how great the musical was, but this was a very "okay" kind of episode. 6/10.

Legends of Tomorrow 'Doomworld' Review
Part of me feels like this could have been a one parter. I was expecting it to end with Thawne throwing the spear into the Plot Convenience-inator that Rip was just gonna show up with some time travel contraption, save the day, life goes back to normal. It woulda worked, especially seeing as that was the absolute lowest our heroes could have felt, the bad guy one, their friend was murdered, would have been a perfect climax for a last minute rescue. Don't get me wrong, the build up throughout the episode was great to sit through, I just question where they can go when it feels they blew their big scene too early, but only time will tell. The set up ironically felt too rushed, Mick seemingly switching sides because this life was boring, not because he realised his mistake, or cared for the crew, but this life wasn't satisfactory. Also Snart seems to be too evil. Yeah he's a bad guy, but he's always had a code of ethics, and he always seemed like one who was more in it for the chase than the prize, I can't imagine him even bothering with robbing banks if there's no one who's going to stop him. Seeing all of the Legends in terrible positions and slowly coming back together to take on the Legion of Doom (Btw, Legion of Doom HQ, awesome!). But I feel like if this really needed to be a 2 parter they could have expanded on the initial set up and then save the big climax for the next episode. I won't use that criticism too much against the episode as I don't know where it's going to go from here, but I'll give this episode a solid 7/10.

Arrow 'Disbanded' Review
To be fair, there was no way they were going to top last weeks episode, it was the best one Arrow has had in years. Which is not to say this was a bad episode by any means, but the drama and emotions were running so high, this week feels kind of stale in comparison. Half of the episode was spent with Oliver and Diggle arguing over whether the team was over, meanwhile Felicity was the only one actually making progress on the main story, and in the end she does. Which to be fair, that final shot of Adrian drenched in blood with an ironically cheerful song in the background was badass. Also Thea is missing again, cause, y'know, her brother going missing, tortured and then found isn't something that she might wanna be involved with at all. Furthermore I...hm, nope, that's it. Like I said, half the episode was people repeating the same arguments, so I can't really comment more than once. Guess that's not a good sign. I'm feeling like a 6, but...eh, what the hell, that last scene was good enough to get it to a 7/10.

-Danny