Taboo: My Thoughts

   Anyone besides me got chills from the FX premiere of Taboo? Every scene mesmerized me (at least the scenes with Tom Hardy and not just because I'm physically attracted to him). It was dark in setting, raw and unapologetic in dialogue and characters and the actors were chosen well. 

Tom Hardy giving me the eye... oh wait I think
it's the evil eye

      How can you not love Tom Hardy? He makes you laugh, scares you, and melts your insides with his skills (and his voice let's not forget that). He does his best with dark, cynical characters grappling with emotional and mental issues. Tom plays James Keziah Delaney, basically a prodigal son return home for the funeral of his father only to find the East India Trading Company trying to muscle in on his inheritance. James is rough, disturbed and doesn't take shit. Though James puts up a front in his private moments he's barely holding it together. He sees the ghosts of his past and is haunted by demons from all the sins he committed for the East India Trading Company. Tom Hardy is spell binding in his role. He's got that intensity down and you can't help but be afraid as well as fascinated with him and his character. You know you shouldn't care for such a damned soul but you do because Tom Hardy lets you see some of James's vulnerabilities. He's a hard man but broken inside. He's an outsider and stranger in his homeland. Feral and yet controlled, walking a thin line between sanity and total madness.

Tom Hardy was watching Game of Thrones and thought:
"Huh. So incest is in..."

     James also seems to have an unnatural love for his half-sister Zilpha. She says she's happily married but you can tell the opposite even before James crashes his father's funeral. There's a coldness there. But you can see why Zilpha's trying to convince not only James but herself it seems that James and Zilpha had surrendered to temptation to each other's and (my theory is) had a son prompting James to leave either by his own choice or because his father found out and banished him (well the show is called "Taboo" what's more taboo than incest?). And award for Biggest Dead Beat Dad goes to... James Delaney. He is confronted by his bastard son's foster father who complains he hasn't been paid for raising the kid for 10 years. James gives the foster family a sack of money for "past, present, and the future" that last word emphasized as James doesn't want to be bothered with this again. 

In his private moments James sinks into
a murky darkness of self loathing & guilt

     Still he takes a look at his kin (his son maybe). He doesn't want to meet him but is happy to just take a look once then never see him again. There is a tenderness there as James watches the boy doing chores. "Put some money aside for his future if he's rash... like me." Sort of a sadness you see in James followed by an immediate retreat back into his armor. Yet James won't apologize for being in love with his sister as he tells her at the wake, "One thing Africa didn't cure is that I still love you." That's going to be interesting especially since in the promo for future episodes Zilpha is on her half-brother's door step in the pouring rain one night. Hmmmm...

James Delaney would be the best pimp.
He's got that swagger

      The show's your basic classic revenge story with a supernatural twist. The overall setting is visually stunning with death/underworld imagery to paint the horrific picture. The opening sequence has a horror-movie aspect that draws you in with it's creepiness. The show uses disturbing imagery of dark, dirty alleyways, neglected mansions and crypts to sell the theme of Death which feels constant as we enter the underworld of London society. I feel the other theme is confronting one's sins. They catch up with you and the dead don't stay buried whether metaphorically or literally. 

Tom Hardy in a loin cloth? Sign me up!

  
       This show has worked it's voodoo magic on me. I love Taboo! Tom Hardy, the cast and crew have done a wonderful job. Every part of this show will send cold chills creeping up your spine and tickle your love of thrillers (and Tom Hardy). 

Grimm: How Will It End?

    So this is the last season of NBC's Grimm. Seems unfair! I know I was happy that there were just 13 episodes left but I didn't think it would be the last season! I guess the time has come to stop beating around the bush and see who will win and who will die.

Who knew I'd adore this pairing!?

   Nadalind is ENDGAME

           For all those hoping that Nick and Juliette will work it out I'm not going to stomp on those wishes. BUT... I feel that Nick and Adalind are going to be the endgame of the show. I mean that kiss in "Fugitive" was like fire works going off! And Nick and Adalind have grown quite close since having a son together. Adalind is a different person than from the series premiere: she's a mother and I feel in Nick she's finally found a guy who respects her as well as loves her unlike Renard who treated her like crap. Adalind's own mother threw her out of the house when she lost her powers. Nick has given Adalind a home and Nick has someone he doesn't have to keep secrets about his identity from. "If Renard hurts you I'm going to kill him." ~Adalind "Well if he does kill me I wouldn't mind that." ~Nick. I can see Nick and Adalind having a home together with Kelly and Diana in the last episode.

Cheers to the strongest couple on the show

  Monroe & Rosalee Happy Family

         Monroe and Rosalee are having a baby! After escaping the sewers Monroe and Rosalee talked about maybe moving away from Portland seeing it's not a safe place to raise a kid. Um... is anywhere safe when you're a Wesen and friends with a Grimm? If they do move away I don't see them losing touch with Nick. Monroe and Nick have been through a lot together. Monroe and Rosalee met through Nick. They would probably call once in a while but if they don't move I see Kelly and Monroe and Rosalee's baby being best friends. If it's a girl they may even date... UGH! Why does it have to end? These kids are a treasure trove of new story lines! I'll leave that for fans and their fan fiction. Anyway I can't imagine Monroe and Rosalee not getting a happy ending. They are the strongest couple on the show.

Renard was never an evil guy, just a bad one with
good intentions... sometimes

  Renard Loses (Preferably He Dies)

          Renard has bounced around the spectrum of good guy and bad guy unable to choose a side. He wasn't my favorite person in season 4 (mostly because it felt like his character was a bit drab borderline pathetic) but now he's let his true colors show. He's ambitious but he also has some compassion which is why he's having an emotional break down. He's seeing blood on his hands, remembering how Meisner died and that he mercy killed him. Renard is frantic to place the blame on Nick for Bonaparte's death not only for his own sake but I think also for Diana's. Perhaps he's afraid that they'll kill her or worse she'll kill all of them. Renard is finally developing a healthy fear of his daughter. Now how will Renard be defeated? I actually hope Nick beheads him. It would be poetic in a way because Grimms and Zeigerbiests are natural enemies. Even though they worked together in the past to uphold the law in the Wesen community but that professional relationship soured and now they've reverted back to their initial instincts of distrust and violence. Grimms are known for beheading Wesen so having Renard's head on a platter sounds like perfect justice for me. Yet Nick is also a cop. It would also work if he puts Renard away for life. Besides it's not like Nick can just kill the new Mayor of Portland. Also Diana won't kill Nick for killing her dad if he just arrests him. 

Never play with voodoo dolls

Diana's Future

     I honestly feel like Adalind should bind Diana's powers if she can or maybe use Grimm blood to destroy the hexenbiest in her. Unless Diana's immune like Adalind now then yeah bind her powers. Diana has shown that children given such power is dangerous not only for their emotional well being but kids don't really understand right from wrong yet. Diana is just doing whatever she wants. All kids want their parents to stay together and get angry when someone hurts them. Diana saw Bonaparte and Renard's mistress as a threat to her "happy" home. I don't believe she hates Nick but I shudder to think what she'd do if she saw him kissing her mom. If Diana had her powers suppressed then she'd grow up as a better person as Adalind has sworn to do for her kids.

Wu had the best sarcasm to offer

  Sgt. Wu's Wild Man

        Wu isn't necessarily a Wesen but he's now a part of the community. If they don't find a cure for him then Wu can learn to control his inner wild man and be a better cop. I see him making detective maybe. He could definitely give better insight into the weird cases.

Hank should at least have a girlfriend.
He's got the worst luck

  Hank's Happy Ending

       Hank has not had good luck with relationships on this show. But there was that one time when he came back from vacation where he ran into his ex-wife. I feel like that was a hint that maybe they would get back together for the series finale. Maybe Hank tells her about the Wesen world starting the relationship honest. I just want Hank to be happy. He deserves it!

Juliette gets a second chance. Use it wisely

  Juliette's Ending

         Now for Juliette. I admit I didn't like her character to start because she was so bland but she got more interesting when she was introduced to the Wesen world. Then when she became a hexenbiest WOW! I actually liked her even more when she got powers. I don't see her and Nick getting back together. There are just some things you can't come back from and helping people murder your boyfriend's mother is a big one. Though I think after being touched by that healing stick her soul was cleansed which may have in fact "cured" her of her hexenbiest because right now she can't wolge without having a seizure if at all. She can start over as anything she wants. If she's still a hexenbiest then she could do good by fighting evil wesen like Grimms do. I see her working for Hadrian's Wall for a long time in some other branch.

This is an odd brain trust

   Agent Trubel

          I feel Trubel would still work for Hadrian's Wall. I feel it's where she had the most purpose and where she felt most at home. Trubel did the most good for HW. And I see her keeping in touch with Nick and the gang. Maybe she'd baby sit on occasion. Who else is more qualified than a woman with a machete? 

Grimm is ending. Hold me!

      Grimm was such an amazing show. I can't believe it's ending. I was hoping it would go on for at least 7 seasons but I guess NBC wants to move on or just want something to rival Game of Thrones. Either way I'm happy to have been a fan of the show. Great costumes and twists and turns. They took the old fairytales and completely reimagined them! Well I hope all of our characters live happily ever after...

The Originals: Possible Predictions

        There have been a few pictures released over the last few months about the new season of The Originals. From those I can possibly gather what may happen in season 4.

Back to dungeons and whips.
Are we sure it's not a set of an S&M porn?

      Last season finale Marcel placed Klaus in the cemetery and bricked him up after he sunk that magical painful dagger into him putting him in an agonizing catatonic state. In this new photo Klaus is conscious and in chains facing Marcel in some crypt. Something must have happened to make Marcel want to "free" his father-figure. Possibly a new big bad or Hayley coming back to cause trouble and Marcel figures out that he was deceived and is trying to figure out Hayley's game. But I feel this is one step towards their reconciliation because like it or not Marcel is family; maybe not by blood but Klaus raised Marcel as his own son. There's a connection between them and like I said, there's probably a new big bad that they'll need to ally against.

I can already feel the Daddy-Daughter
chemistry between them!

       It's been 7 years I'm guessing since Hayley has been to New Orleans, driving around in that moving truck with the bodies of Kol, Elijah, Rebekah, and Freya in it. In a trailer shown at Comic-con little Hope asks, "Are we going to get my dad?" Hayley responds, "Yeah, sweetie." And then a photo was released showing Hope meeting her father for the first time since she was a baby. I for one am excited to see how Hope's powers have progressed over the years and that she has developed a personality that could interact with her family. These people are essentially strangers to her so she won't understand why they do some of things they do like murder indiscriminately. Klaus wants to be a good father though he's still controlling so I feel Hope and Klaus will argue sometimes but he will truly change as a person while trying to catch up on all the years he's missed out on seeing his daughter grow up. Hope is a hybrid of vampire, werewolf, and witch and as she gets older she becomes more dangerous and more important to those three races who will either fear or revere her. A pack of werewolves believe she's the "chosen" one or something so Hope may play an essential role and her family will rally around her.

Look at Joseph holding Hope's hand! So cute!

      Now in the trailer we see that the Mikaelson compound has been abandoned being over taken by nature as if a century had gone by. I'm guessing that Marcel didn't want anything to do with the place after sentencing his father-figure, friend, and role model to eternal suffering. He doesn't want to be a Mikaelson anymore or associate with them in any way like before where he wanted to emulate Klaus (taking the compound right down to the "M"). Last we left Marcel, Vincent was scolding him for leaving his vampire kills in plain sight for any one to find (one almost killed Kinney who I guess is the new human of the cast of crazy characters). Vincent took back St. Anne's church making it a sanctuary for anyone running from Marcel. So you can bet Vincent and Marcel will be at odds in the start of the new season. Will this contention last? Alliances are always shifting on this show which is what makes the TVD/TO universe so interesting. Two people would be enemies one day, then allies, then enemies again, then friends and perhaps maybe lovers. I'm feeling good for this season. 

Emerald City: My Thoughts

           After having a few days to digest the premiere of NBC's Emerald City I feel like I can finally give you all my thoughts.

Ok who wouldn't want to find a half naked guy on
a cross?

      Okay the whole story is similar (eerily so) to ABC's Once Upon A Time. It certainly has a few elements in common: Dorothy (Adria Arjona) like Emma has a job that helps people though Dorothy is a nurse but she has a criminal element where Emma has a record, Dorothy steals pills for her family to make money on the side to help them pay the bills. Both heroines have an identity crisis because they were given up as infants by mothers who were hoping to save them from evil forces. Both heroines are drawn into a strange world to find that they are not normal but have magic. And they both have love interests with criminal pasts. Perhaps one of the few differences between Dorothy and Emma is that NBC replaced a cute kid with a cute dog, a police dog to be exact. I will say that Dorothy seems more well adjusted though but that's because she was adopted and raised by her Aunt Em and uncle who love her like their own daughter.

Will these poppy seeds make me forget this storyline
is boring?

        That being said I feel Emerald City is much darker than Once Upon A Time. It's more surreal taking elements from the original novel and/or film and twisting them inside out: the yellow brick road was turned into a road layered with golden poppy seeds; the muchkins are now feral tribesmen of the Freelands; the Wizard of Oz (Vincent D'Onofrio) is actually a paranoid dictator who is suspicious of magic and has outlawed it; the "scare crow" has become a man who was crucified brutally and having amnesia; the Witch of the East (Florence Kasumba) isn't necessarily evil but nevertheless she tortures Dorothy and her new companion Lucas (scare crow guy) (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) leading Dorothy to trick the Witch into killing herself with the gun when she asks how it works; The Wicked Witch of the West (Ana Ularu) is... running a brothel and has a drug problem; Glinda the Witch of the North (Joely Richardson) seems less bubbly than her film counterpart being much colder and business-like; OH! And the ruby slippers have been transformed into gold and ruby studded gloves that have dissolved into Dorothy's flesh which is a good thing because ruby slippers are ostentatious and not great for walking also it adds a mystery that may keep you for the next episode.

I do like how they made the flying monkey a
mechanical one

      But perhaps my favorite part was the end of the episode where a cute little boy Tip (Jordan Loughran) who was being held prisoner by the crazy herbalist Mombi, turned out to be a cute not so little girl. Mombi apparently kidnapped or just took in the child protecting him/her from the dangerous world but Dorothy set him/her free after crazy Mombi tried to poison her traveling companion Lucas. Though Lucas crushed Mombi's head in a fit of rage because she tried to hurt Dorothy and himself, you saw that her hand twitched so you will see that cuckoo bird again. So the gender-bender thing is a shock. I'm trying to figure if Tip is supposed to be the "Tin Man" or Tin Woman in this case. Mombi was giving him "medicine" that kept his feminine side locked away in which case I think him being a girl is his "heart"? Sounds weak but it's one of the few story lines that isn't completely boring.

The dog is probably gonna be the best character
on this show

      I do like the Lucas/Dorothy aspect. I'm just a sucker for fantasy/romances with soul mates in them (no matter how cheesy and played out that story is). Adria and Oliver have some spark between them on screen. They don't force it but there are moments where you're just rolling your eyes because it's so obvious these two are gonna be a thing. However, I feel the overall setting and other elements of the show are just enough to compensate until this romance blossoms into something better... or not. There are plenty of other characters for you to love on this show with curious relationships to explore if you don't want to watch the cliché of princess/chosen one falling love with their knight in shining armor. 

West is her name? That's it? Come on

      Still I like how Dorothy is now a bit wary of Lucas (she named him after her hometown... because he's symbolic of her home... in case you're not already aware these two are gonna be romantically involved). She saw his dark side and that maybe Mombi was right that he's really a wicked guard of the Wizard who doesn't have a heart (oh maybe they combined the Tin Man & Scare Crow characters cool). There was a scene where Dorothy tries to teach Lucas how to do a knock-knock joke which was cute but then it came back around where Lucas is trying to make Dorothy now less afraid of him by saying "Knock-Knock" trying to engage her. So this romance will develop organically in some sense where it won't be all flirting all the time and blindly trusting a guy you met on a cross may not have amnesia after all. 

Don't harden your hearts just yet...
Even though this cliché is super played out

    
      I'm willing to give this show a shot. So the story is monotonous and looks like it's probably going to rely solely on visual effects (which is what a few people are saying) I'm always willing to give a show a chance to find it's voice, flow, vibe whatever you wanna call it that makes the story move fluidly. I feel people have been bombarded with so many fantasy shows that they're bound to be combined in another story but does that mean it's going to be bad? Not always. It's hard to come up with completely original elements without someone being a dick calling it out in a show then ruining it for everyone. Sometimes you just got to let that stuff go and give a show a chance to tell it's story before you go criticizing it's style or writing. Don't click your ruby heels on this one just yet. Give it a few more episodes before you make pass judgement.