Watched 7th season of
Walking Dead which seemed to take a policy of "we do one episode with this community, then next with another one" and so on till they had done all. Individually, I enjoyed the episodes as some communities really shone
really shone with good individual characters explored there and some Alexandrian also benefiting in that kingdom as characters evolve in fresh area
, one community is hampered by concentrating on Alexandrians amongst them and having a God Mode character rather then building the characters in that community
. another is hampered by a shtick that makes no logical sense
and the Alexandrian based episodes are awful.
While some of the episodes are intresting, it does mean it fails to build it's threat of the big bad Negan (though he is an enjoyable presence in the episode he is in) and fails to build momentum before the finale which is alright but lacks oomph and has the usual logic flaws. The writing during the show has some questionable logic and it this point, I feel the Alexandrians needs to be wiped out. Most of them are stuck in the same old rut, the sense they are special with the knowledge they are untouchable and it is hampering the show. The episodes that worked where with characters that were either new or being put in a fresh light by the changed circumstances, communities that could have characters killed off and new things happen.
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Watched Fox and Noah Hawley superhero/X-men show
Legion. Premise: David Haller (Dan Stevens) is locked up in a mental hospital due to his hearing voices with his best friend Lenny (Aubrey Plaza). When new girl Kit (Rachel Keller) joins the asylum due to her hatred of being touched, David's life changes. Also this is an X-men show so Mutants with powers are to be expected
With so many superhero shows now (four DC, Agents of Shield, 4 Netflix/Marvel), a new show has to justify itself as more then "Fox and X-Men trying to cash in" so does Legion manage it? Yes. Certainly. 100%. I'm not including "well only Netflix goes adult with their superhero shows" as one of the reasons but one should bear in mind, not a kid friendly one. Two very simple reasons why it is justified: 1) Quality. People I talk to, reviewers I read use terms like best TV superhero show out there, I would say it is certainly up there with Jessica Jones or Daredevil season 1.
2) It is trippy (think Twin Peaks). A big part of Legion is David's mind and Hawley sees the freedom to be unconventional, your never quite sure which way an episode is going to head and what kind of episode it will be. Using old fashion and styles helps create that feeling of not quite being our world, of something a bit unreal. It allows for some horror which I found unsettling (in good way) rather then scary but others found it a good scare, it allows Hawley freedom to do things a more conventional show would not. The show does justify it's weirdness and it make sense in the world the show is set in
I wasn't a huge fan of the pilot, some really good stuff like David with his therapists, his troubled youth or how he gets to know Syd but the attempts to show the series weirdness feels heavy handed and I could get bored. It finished strongly so I decided to give it a second go and quickly loved it as much as others seem to have done. Very well written, the sense of strangeness enjoyable, decent action, a good baddie that is carefully revealed. At eight episodes, it is quick paced but it does leave some characters with limited development and once or twice someone I think I was supposed to care about by that point in show left me with "who the heck is this figure?" while some are prone to vanishing at times, some excellent twists and turns in the story as well as the excellent use of the freedom that came with the trippy style, lots of visual flair, there is a very good sense of humour. Cast do a very good job, initially found Plaza annoying in the "oh gods, she got another dry eccentric character" way but she really pulls off the role she is given when it is expanded
The romance is excellent, the strong writing and impressive cast clearly helping here but it is sweet, it is funny, there is chemistry, they make a strong pairing that is hard not to warm to. Their powers plays it's part and that is another thing the show gets right, having powers is going to influence your life in various ways including your love life and it deals with that. Not in a "people with powers will mope" way bit in a very human way that knows the little moments count.