Thursday, March 17, 2016

Grimm: A Bump in the Road of Nickalind



He has your pitch black Grimm eyes!


        Just when things between Nick and Adalind were going so well, Adalind's inner beist reappears. Adalind and Nick have come a long way. A very long way but they managed to take their relationship to the next level. So it kinda makes sense that Adalind's Hexenbeist would rear it's ugly head to test the new sort of couple out.



Maybe they'll sleep in the same bed
from now on

    Ways this can go wrong

            Adalind is terrified like Juliette was when she beisted out though Adalind has been a hexenbeist since birth. Nevertheless, Adalind may lie to Nick for a while believing that if he found out then they would take quite a few steps back in their blossoming relationship. She may revert to old habits, most of the time without even realizing. She may even become so paranoid that she either leaves Nick or Kelly to find another cure or just takes Kelly afraid Nick would take their son away from her. 


It feels so weird but also so right somehow!

     Ways this can work out

              Though Adalind was a total bitch in the beginning, the minute she gave birth to Diana she's been a dedicated mom. Also now she had better influences on her life so perhaps she'll be more honest with Nick this time around. If you think about it Nick would be the first good boyfriend she's ever had (I'm guessing since Reynard wasn't that great... yeah he was a dick). This may prompt her to try and make it work by being honest right off the bat. 


One very unorthodox family that Fate has
thrown together

        I never expected to like Adalind and Nick as a couple more than Nick and Juliette. So weird but I got used it and Nick deserves a bit of a happy home with a family; even though Juliette's "gone" Nick is still able to have that. The reason is I think it's what both Adalind and Nick really want: a loving home and family which unexpectedly made this work better than anyone thought it would. Who knows maybe Nick really has fallen in love with Adalind but doesn't see it yet and he'll try and help her tame her inner beist. (Like maybe go on a hexenbeist killing spree or something or would the Grimm blood thing still work?)


Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Of Kings and Prophets: Premiere Review




         It's about time someone decided to make this story into a show. The story of David is one of my favorite stories from the Old Testament which is the only interesting part of the Bible to be honest. There have been mixed reviews so far but I feel like they're being a bit unfair. 


Just another day in BC

      Characters & Story:

            I'm not even going to make the joke about the many British accents and the 2 white guys (Ray Winstone as Saul and Olly Rix as David) playing the major characters. First off it's too easy and second it's like beating a dead horse. I focus on the quality of the actor and I think the casting turned out pretty well despite the many casting changes during the production. 


This Rizpah chick is bad news




You have to be bad to survive as a woman in this era

            I for one am happy to see Christina Chong (playing Rizpah) again after SyFy's Dominion cancelation. She's the girl with attitude which seems to play well with her character like the rest of the female cast. Old Testament women were strong, tough, and wily. They had to be in order to survive. The Old Testament is also full of characters who are all deeply flawed individuals. Saul was a pretty ok king until Samuel basically bullied him into genocide and when he didn't kill Agag the king of the Amalakites, Samuel butchered the guy in front of a rabbling crowd. Here's Saul trying to unite the 12 tribes of Israel which is not an easy thing to do and Samuel comes with a task that doesn't sound like a loving God. Then again the Old Testament God was a vengeful one. 



Armed with a harp, a sling and a charming smile

         But in any case it still spells bad news for King Saul. In the story after this event, Saul sinks into a deep depression which is soothed only by David's beautiful harp playing. And before you cast David as the hero of this story you may want to read the rest of his tale. David is a musician/shepherd. He's very exuberant with a hell of an arm. He's also got some hubris when he promises to kill the lion that's slaughtering his village's flocks. Sounds noble but still going after a menacing lion with just a leather sling and a rock? David's got a brass set. Now David's on the rise but he also doesn't have ambition to become king at first. That comes later. So David has good qualities as well as bad ones that will hurt as well as help him. What's he willing to do to survive and fulfill his destiny?



Behind every great king is an even smarter queen

  Content: 

         As far as content goes it has about as much blood and sex you'd expect ABC to allow. Most claim it's a play at getting Game of Thrones fans to watch but people need to stop associating or even comparing the HBO fantasy show to this one. I feel people will enjoy it a lot better if they avoid comparisons. The story of David is the original GoT, people. You don't have to be a Bible thumper to enjoy a good tale of war, treason, backstabbing, and sexual conquest. I can tell they worked really hard on the setting. The costumes are well done. It really pulls the whole story together. 


Girls love musicians

        Overall I give the show a B-. I'm excited for a show about a Biblical story that doesn't center around Jesus for once. Even Christ would like the break from the attention. So I'm definitely watching and I encourage everyone else to give this show a chance.


Tuesday, March 8, 2016

The Magicians: Burned Bridges


Grow up, girl. You lost get over it.


                  So Julia and Quentin's last encounter was less than pleasant. Clearly this friendship was not as strong as they thought it was. Julia put Quentin in an enchanted sleep and a nightmare where she taunted him. Though she never intended Quentin to get hurt Julia crossed a line. But does that mean there's no hope of a reconciliation.


That's just cold, Julia. Well at least you show your true colors

            In the books (I'm allowed to say now) Julia actually progressed so far that she left the hedge witch safe house to find bigger magic. Though I much prefer this route. I don't know why but Julia just annoys me. She came off as a Susan Pevensy, thinking she knew everything and in a hurry to grow up but it's the reverse when Julia discovers magic is real and apparently she's not good enough to study at Brakebills she goes off the rails. She treats magic as a drug forsaking her family and friends to practice a few party tricks. I loved how Quentin told Julia to grow up because she truly was acting like a child. Also didn't she tell him the same thing not too long ago? Burn! So in my opinion Julia got what she deserved. 

Probably not a good idea to give this one
ANY kind of magic

             I will say it's a little unfair of Quentin to punish Julia for taking pity on him which wouldn't have been too horrible if she didn't know that he had romantic feelings for her in high school. That's worse than being mean to his face but Julia thought she was doing a good thing by being Quentin's friend. Julia saw herself as this good person when in reality she was probably a worse bully for seeing Quentin as more of a charity case. Now she's the one who's losing it. While Julia spiraled Quentin was getting closer to Alice and seems that he's going into a more healthy relationship and not just in romance. Quentin is making good friends (even though Penny likes to beat on Quentin there have been occasions when they worked well together). He's getting his crap together and I feel that's mostly due to finding out who he really is where as Julia is still trying to find out who she is which is why her world is coming undone. 


At least THIS relationship is working out

        Sometimes people outgrow each other. Julia is now in rehab writing amends letters to Quentin though so far she can't help holding a grudge. She's still hurt that he got into Brakebills and she didn't but it seems Julia isn't going to give up on magic just yet as a counselor (who's also a reverend) shows her another kind of magic. I can't help but feel that this is going to throw her back into the fire again but maybe praying to gods will put her back on the straight and narrow and therefore mend her friendship with Quentin.   

  

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

The 100: Bellarke At Odds


The chemistry is still burning between them!
They've been through so much together

                 Feels like only yesterday that Bellamy was calling Clarke by his pet name for her "princess". Now they're once more on opposite ends though still on the same side. Does that mean there's no hope? At the beginning of season 3 when Clarke was captured by Roan, Bellamy was hell bent on saving her. He was even willing to follow her on a wounded leg! If that's not a sign of some romantic feeling brewing then I don't know what is. However, they're second meeting didn't go so well... 


I don't like Bellamy wearing that uniform. It scares me

           To be fair to Bellamy, Clarke did abandon Arkadia, but not just Arkadia. Bellamy was the helping hand on that lever that killed everyone in Mount Weather so he felt as guilty and self loathing as Clarke. They used to lean on each other for support when faced with moral decisions but this time Clarke took the martyr route. So Bellamy had a right to be angry but that still doesn't mean he's right. Under Pike's influence (which is based on prejudice, grief, and anger) Bellamy has turned into a soldier of genocide. Though he pleaded for the wounded Grounders to be spared and has shown some conscience, he still follows Chancellor Pike to a point of moral blindness. It seems that nothing can persuade Bellamy to change his mind though I refuse to believe that.


Are these 2 going to do it of what because
I'm waiting for that

          Clarke's stance is towards peace which to me makes more sense. Assimilation has been happening since the dawn of human history. There's a clash of cultures followed by some bloody conflict but eventually there's unity; a combining of sorts, such as intermarrying of people as well as beliefs. Clarke's way seems less bloody and more in her people's best interest, increasing their chances of survival. For one thing the Grounders outnumber Arkadia 10 to 1. They could easily wipe them out despite Skaikrew having guns. And Pike is only enflaming tensions. He tried to wipe out a village when he could have easily found another spot or before massacring 300 Grounders could have negotiated a trade. In Clarke's defense she's trying to make up for her past sins by choosing a more peaceful path, hoping to never be put in a Mount Weather situation ever again. 


Seriously? Bellamy's so self loathing that he's going to
be Pike's bitch

           I still feel that Bellamy and Clarke are soul mates. Bellamy only handcuffed Clarke and took her prisoner because he felt that he was saving her. We see that they still have a strong bond though a bit frayed. They were both changed by what they did in Mount Weather but both chose different paths. Bellamy sees genocide as the only way while Clarke sees assimilation as a more sensible solution. Clarke feels so guilty that she doesn't want more blood on her hands which is why she let Emerson live. Revenge is too easy. Peace is hard but if Arkadia wants to survive then they have to burry some hatchets and make peace with the Grounders. It's not that peace is a foreign concept, it's more of a perpetuating circle of violence of hot heads. I think Bellamy can still be reached and that Clarke is the one who can do this. He just has to make the reach across the aisle.

I guess this guy forgot that he was killing Clarke's people
prompting her to genocide in Mount Weather...