#lovecraft country episode 2 explained

[lokiondisneyplus]

SPOILER WARNING: Do not read if you haven’t seen Season 1, Episode 5 of “Loki,” now streaming on Disney Plus.

I think it’s when Alligator Loki ate President Loki’s hand that I realized I was in love.

To be sure, I was always into “Loki,” Marvel Studios’ third Disney Plus series and the first devoted to exploring a single character: the god of mischief as played by Tom Hiddleston. From the first episode, I dug the absurdist deadpan humor imbued by head writer Michael Waldron, and I was immediately smitten with how director Kate Herron employed ’70s sci-fi brutalism and a particularly British affinity for bureaucracy to build out the world of the Time Variance Authority.

“Loki” looked unlike anything I’d ever seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, an increasingly difficult prospect given there are now 26 discrete iterations of the MCU — soon to be 27 with the impending debut of “Black Widow.” As the show has progressed, that feeling has only grown more acute as “Loki,” in its exploration of its title character’s identity, managed to carve out its own unique personality not just in the MCU, but also in the grander landscape of sci-fi storytelling.

To put it as simply as I can, “Loki” is a cosmic-yet-intimate time-traveling romantic action comedy about how Hiddleston’s sexually fluid narcissist finally learns how to fall in love with himself — or, rather, the female version of himself who has lived a whole lifetime of harrowing experiences apart from his own. In doing so, the show has proven that not only can the MCU work on television, it can thrive on it.

Marvel Studios’ first Disney Plus series, “WandaVision,” was a fabulous first step onto TV, proving that the MCU, itself an experiment in creating an episodic series of blockbuster feature films, could shrink itself down to the scope of an American sitcom. Its exploration of grief and the restorative power of comfort TV could not have been more relevant to an audience enduring a devastating pandemic. But as it unfolded, the escalating mystery of what was actually happening on “WandaVision” — Evan Peters showing up as Pietro-but-not-actually-Pietro, Kathryn Hahn hiding in plain sight as Agatha, Elizabeth Olsen unwittingly responsible for almost everything on the show as Wanda — began to overwhelm it. Fans and major entertainment news outlets alike began wildly theorizing each week — it’s Mephisto! it’s Magneto! — and the pressure to achieve a Marvel-sized scale, service a wide ensemble of MCU characters, and resolve all its narrative strands made the final episodes of “WandaVision” feel, to some, misshapen.

Marvel’s follow-up series, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” meanwhile, was at once more conventional and more ungainly, with five separate antagonists (John Walker, Karli Morgenthau, Helmut Zemo, Sharon Carter and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine) operating at cross-purposes and overshadowing the two title characters meant to be at the heart of the show and the exploration of being a Black man in America meant to drive it.

“Loki” avoids all of that, because it’s the first MCU show that understands to its bones that the best television is about its characters first, and its story second. The lasting pleasure of longform storytelling is allowing the audience a far deeper understanding of who is on screen than a two-hour movie can allow. That sensibility is already woven into the MCU: Watching Tony Stark, Thor, and Steve Rogers grow and changed over multiple features has been central to the franchise’s unprecedented success. But while Marvel’s conviction to make their shows the same way they’ve made their movies makes sense, it’s also had the paradoxical effect of making “WandaVision” and “FAWS” feel too overloaded with their characters doing stuff than just letting them be.

Each episode of “Loki” does just that. In Episode 1, Loki and Mobius (Owen Wilson, never better?) sit and talk about why Loki does what he does; in Episode 2, they ruminate on the nature of accepted reality while trying to solve the mystery of the variant Loki’s whereabouts. In Episode 3, Loki and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino, an instant star) spend the entire hour walking through a doomed planet getting to know each other, and casually coming out in the process. Episode 4 is when the story shifts into a higher gear, with Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s Ravonna Renslayer emerging as its true antagonist, but even that episode allowed for several extended scenes of human connection, between Ravonna and Mobius, Loki and Mobius, and Sylvie and Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku, richer with each episode).

This week’s penultimate episode, “Journey Into Mystery,” introduces several new Loki variants, a critical new location in the Void (the purgatory at the end of time into which all pruned entities are dumped) and a blockbuster movie sized enemy in the monstrous, timeline devouring Alioth (re-imagined somewhat from the comic books). And yet, there’s still time for Loki and Sylvie to sit on a hill, share a conjured blanket and quietly express how much they mean to each other, and there’s also time for Classic Loki (the great Richard E. Grant) to get a deeply satisfying character arc. After explaining how his own existential despair at his lot in life allowed him to live well past his encounter with Thanos, Classic Loki’s encounter with Loki and Sylvie reinvigorates his sense of glorious purpose — and helps Loki to understand he’s more powerful than he’s ever allowed himself to be. It’s a full meal in miniature, and Grant makes the most of it.

All the while, Herron and writer Tom Kauffman work in all manner of delightful alternate reality Easter eggs, from the USS Eldridge (purported to have been part of an experimental cloaking and teleportation device in 1943) to the Polybius video game (purported to be a government psy-ops scheme). More notably, there are also some MCU Easter eggs, including the Thanos helicopter and the Living Tribunal that flit by quickly and appear designed to tickle Marvel die-hards and pleasantly mystify everyone else. And then there’s Alligator Loki, a flawless creature who should be protected at all costs.

There is one blink-and-you-missed-it moment, though, that could be something more, when the Qeng Enterprises logo shows up on the Avengers tower. In the comics, Tony Stark sells that tower to Qeng, which is secretly connected to the same Marvel boogeyman that’s haunted “Loki” from its premiere: Kang the Conqueror. The decrepit house Loki and Sylvie are stepping towards at the end of the episode also looks like it could — could — be Chronopolis, Kang’s HQ in the comics, although the TVA itself could be that as well. In any event, it’s been well documented, here and elsewhere, that Kang could be the entity who is really behind the TVA, especially since “Lovecraft Country” star Jonathan Majors has already been cast in the role and will appear in 2023’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.”

If “Loki” does introduce Kang in its finale, however, then the show is stepping onto its highest, thinnest tightrope yet. This is supposed to be a show about Loki, not about a villain that, within the world of the MCU, remains a total unknown. It’s a massive risk for any series to bring in a brand new character — let alone the Big Bad! — in the final episode, so this could be another example of an MCU series serving the larger franchise at the expense of its own story. That would be a shame. Sticking the landing, after all, has always been troublesome for TV because TV is so much more about the shared journey than the ultimate destination. And yet, if anyone in the MCU knows how to alight onto safe ground despite impossible odds, it is the god of outcasts, who lives to survive.

“Loki” streams new episodes Wednesdays on Disney Plus.

[twh-news]

How Loki's finale sets up season 2 and the future of the MCU

Loki finale spoilers follow.

Just minutes into the season-one finale, Loki and Sylvie finally arrive at their destination following last week's big castle reveal. When the doors to their destiny swing open, Miss Minutes suddenly appears and congratulates the pair on completing this "awfully long journey."

Sure, season one was only six episodes long, but Loki's story started way before this. Combine all of his movie appearances with the wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey hijinks of this show, and it sure does feel like we've been on a long journey with the God of Mischief.

And now, following that post-credits reveal, Marvel has confirmed that Loki will indeed return for a second season. Thank the gods this journey is continuing, because there are more loose threads in that final episode than there are in all of Asgard's finest tailories combined.

Loki ending explained

Upon arriving at the Citadel at the End of Time, Loki and Sylvie are promised all of their greatest desires, including an infinity gauntlet, the Throne of Asgard and a win against those "self-righteous' Avengers. Christmas came early for our Lokis, but despite all that, they both end up turning Miss Minutes down.

And with that, the Big Bad of Loki (and now the MCU as a whole) is revealed to be Lovecraft Country's Jonathan Majors, AKA He Who Remains AKA Kang the Conquerer AKA "a jerk" (his words, not ours) AKA the villain that comic book fans predicted all along. What follows is a hefty amount of exposition that puts even the first episode to shame, so we'll do our best to summarise.

While He Who Remains bops around to avoid Sylvie's sword, he serves the pair tea and begins to explain his big origin story. Eons ago, in the 31st century, our guy (let's call him Kang, even if the show didn't) discovered the multiverse around the same time that other Kang variants did. At first, they shared knowledge and tech amongst themselves, but as time went on, those who were not "pure of heart" began to invade other realities, which erupted into all-out war.

This Kang was different from the rest, because he discovered Alioth, a creature born of the tears in reality that this war created. He Who Remains weaponised the creature, thereby ending the multiversal war. To preserve cosmic harmony, this variant then decided to isolate the "sacred" timeline, his own, and prune the rest to avoid another war. He then created the TVA to maintain this peace and thereby keep his other variants at bay.

According to He Who Remains, the only way Loki and Sylvie can move forward is if they either take over the TVA or kill this variant, which would unleash the multiversal war along with an "infinite amount of devils." So either "stifling order or cataclysmic chaos."

Pressure mounts once they cross the threshold, the point beyond the timeline that Kang knows. Everything from this point on is a surprise to him, so he's content to let his fate rest in the hands of two Lokis because… he's tired, he says.

Sylvie thinks that He Who Remains is also He Who Fibs A Bunch, so she tries to kill him. Loki isn't so sure though, and as you might expect, the pair try to settle this with a cheeky knife fight. This ends with a big kiss (cue the strings!) and then a double cross.

That's right. Sylvie chooses vengeance over love and shoves Loki through a portal, sending him back to the TVA. And with that, Lady Loki guts Kang like a fish. He seems pretty chill about it though, promising that she'll see him soon... Ominous much?

At that point, all of the timelines start branching out like crazy, creating the multiverse of madness that Kang tried to stop, until he got bored of it. We then cut back to Sad Loki at the TVA where he tries to tell Mobius that a terrifying new threat is on the way. But Mobius doesn't even know who he is anymore.

Does this mean that the timeline has been altered? Or has Loki been thrown into a new reality? Either way, it's not looking too good for the God of Mischief because a statue of Jonathan Majors has replaced the Time Keepers one we usually see in the TVA lobby.

How Loki's finale sets up season 2 and the MCU's future

Season two is going to throw plenty of new challenges at Loki, and hopefully a lot less exposition. First of all, our God of Mischief will need to figure out what the Hel's going on in this new version of the TVA. How will he get Mobius on side if Kang has always ruled this timeline or rewritten history in some way?

And it's not just one Kang he needs to worry about. He Who Remains has now become They Who Remain, which means that there are an infinite number of time-travelling villains to fight. And the worst thing of all is that Loki doesn't even have Sylvie on side now either following that savage betrayal.

Things could soon change in that regard though given the pair's connection. With Kang's tempad, Sylvie can go anywhere now, and we wouldn't be surprised if she ends up drawn back to Loki in some way.

Ravonna will almost certainly pop up again too. The TVA is all she's known, before the mindwipe anyway, and her quest to discover free will could end up transforming the Judge into an ally of sorts. And boy does Loki need all the help he can get.

Beyond the show itself, Loki's finale also just changed Marvel's entire trajectory. Not since we saw America's Ass has the MCU been left so shook by one event, but here we are, about to dive into the multiverse of madness.

The most obvious connection is between this and Doctor Strange's next film, which happens to be called The Multiverse of Madness. The good Doctor must be having heart palpitations after watching this episode, and rightly so, because he's perhaps the only one strong enough to fix this mess, aside from Wanda of course. In fact, the Scarlet Witch could turn out to be the key to everything going on here.

As a Nexus Being, Wanda can reshape reality itself, and that's going to come in handy given all of the Nexus shizz happening from this point on. Elizabeth Olsen's involvement in the film has already been confirmed, and at the end of WandaVision, it was strongly implied that Wanda will visit another reality to try and rescue some version of her now deceased children. Could this help fix things somehow or perhaps make them worse?

Doctor Strange and Wanda aren't the only ones caught up in all this. An animated show called What If...? will dive into some of Marvel's alternate realities firsthand, and the upcoming Spider-Man sequel will also tackle the multiverse with cameos from franchise stars who appeared pre-Marvel. Who knows? Maybe Spider-Ham will turn out be the one who saves everyone.

All this multiverse tomfoolery also opens the gates for X-Men and Fantastic Four characters to finally join the MCU. Marvel's First Family, as they're known in the comics, are already confirmed to star in their own film, and those Merry Mutants won't be far behind either. Whether those teams end up being recast or whether they ask the original actors to come back, one mutant whose return has already been confirmed is Deadpool.

[unpopularly-opinionated]

Finished the Lovecraft Country finale and....it was okay. Overall, I liked the show, I hope there’s another season because it has a neat concept going for it, but the ending was kinda...eh.

Like there’s no way to explain this if you haven’t seen the show yourself, but I really don’t think they built up Christina as the bad guy they wanted her to be by the end. Yes, her plan to kill Atticus to become immortal is established like 4-5 episodes from the finale, and obviously that’s pretty evil, but beyond that she’s established as not really a good or bad guy, but just someone who’s there to help the main characters w/ magic.

She literally helps them on numerous occasions, even when it doesn’t benefit her to, and she even makes it clear that she more or less doesn’t want to hurt them at all, she just has to...but part of the problem is there’s no real reason she has to.

Her whole issue is that she’s a woman born into a family where only men have any power, and she gets by by pretending to be her brother...and that’s sort of it. The immortality thing kinda comes from nowhere. The idea is that she wants to become immortal to I guess A) do what her father couldn’t do, and B) show everyone what she can do...but even her drive to impress isn’t made clear. She sort of has a very “who cares what others think” attitude so it’s not clear why she’d care what the other Order members thought of her.

Up until the last episode, she’s not really portrayed as being evil or malicious, and even then she makes it clear that she does not want to hurt them but she just feels she has to because reasons.

I think one of the issues with the show was that it was trying to balance a main plot, while also trying to show off what crazy shit can go on in their world. Like the whole bit about the time machine...or Hypolyta living for 1000 years...or D getting killed and then brought back...none of it really seemed to matter to the plot. It was all just “wow, cool, time travel, space robots, knockoff Pennywise”.

The show, overall, has good bones, but it needs to work on the meat. I hope there’s a season 2, I really do. It seemed to sorta set itself up for one but also maybe not. Ultimately, if it gets another season I think it will vastly improve the show, but if not, I think the show will suffer greatly for it.

[fabelyn]

Lovecraft Country ep04

Musings & Questions:

-How did Hypolita steal that orrery without people noticing? It’s hardly small enough to fit her bag;

-They mention a time machine, thus confirming my assumption last episode that their very non-subtle talk about that mysterious(tm) man that saved the dad and uncle ages ago was likely Atticus or his dad time traveling;

-I assume pasty white dude is Cristina in disguise, though I’ll give the show props if it’s a trick and they are different people, but I don’t think the show has it in it to do that.

_random musing: i’m so very bad at recalling names I managed to write this post using Titus instead of Atticus and had to be told *slaps self*

The Bad & Ugly:

- So the blood sygil kept Cristina out of the property... shouldn't our main cast be looking into other black magic that also works against the white folk as opposed to instead trying to look for the book in the hope that Atticus can read and use? Literally it’s confirmed black magic works do just find another woman that does that stuff (surely there wasnt just ONE in all the country that they happen to have gotten killed off) and ask if she has anything else they can use to ward off white murderous magical racists. But noooo, betting on a page (name dropped by the very suspicious murderous magical white person) to be useful and able to be read by Tic and also used by Tic sounds like a better plan somehow /s

-”The world doesn’t revolve around you! He was kidnapped and I was killed!” Uuuuhh except it does? The shit dad was kidnapped to bring Tic to them, Leti was killed to get Tc to do as they will. They are after a page so that Tic can use. Every issue they’re having, as well as their plan, DOES revolve around Tic.

-Leti losing it on Tic was pathetic. Fucking peace of shit dad, as usual, doesn’t reveal what he knows or has, Tic gets mad and somehow Leti tells Tic off? And apparently all they needed was to kiss to fix it. Uuugh.

-Actually, anything revolving the dad is shit. Apart from his murder at the end, maybe. To explain: seems like a show writer has daddy issues. The dad is complete shit, abusive even, hides information, constantly tears Tic down, etcetc yet somehow the writing makes Tic bad for lashing out and it felt like the dad being useful and saying Tic was a good kid (aka a non apology) was his redemption... fuck that shit, dad should have died, the writing has pushed his shit parenting for too many episodes I dont want him redeemed I want him dead and the uncle back. Anyway, his brutal senseless murder of that Two Spirit person makes me hope he ISN’T going to be redeemed and in fact going to get his dues. Because redemption and hapiness after abuse and murder is too much.

- "I'm going to the last destination my hubby planned before beig murdered, which involves going through a lot of dangerous towns, in a country thats racist to the point of murder, with my underage daughter in tow.” C’mon woman, I get that your grief and suspiciouns would make you a thief and all, but endangering the daughter? Hoping the next episode has her leaving the daughter with an acquaintance somewhere.

The Good & Great:

-Special effects were great this episode (the ghosts last episode not so much) The Two Spirits coming back to life was especially well made but everything else was good too.

-The Indiana Jones adventure/exploring part was cool. 8/10, with 2 points docked because of the dumb fighting I already complained about. But when they were actually focused it was great.

-I like the minor details, like shit dad and Leti shivering as they waded through the water (but not Tic, obviously).

-I like that they didn’t try to rush the subplot with Leti’s sister, instead building it up and fleshing it out to make it more believable she’d take random white people magic next episode (although the preview didnt show a transformation so I wonder fi they changed that).

-I enjoy the glimpses into Cristina’s life.

[aion-rsa]

Marvel’s Loki Episode 5 Ending Explained: Who is the Real Villain of the MCU Series?

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This article contains spoilers for Loki episode 5.

Agent Mobius did say that time ran differently in the TVA but who could have imagined that the penultimate episode of Loki would arrive so quickly? Marvel’s Loki episode 5 “Journey Into Mystery” keeps up a streak of superb installments for this increasingly superb show. 

In this hour, Mobius joins the side of the heroes, Judge Renslayer has some questions, and Loki and Sylvie’s relationship continues to blossom thanks to the conjuring of an uncomfortable green blanket. Equally as important, however, is that “Journey Into Mystery” raises some big questions about the ending of this show and the future of the MCU. Questions like…

What is The Void?

This episode does a pretty good job of succinctly describing what the Void is. The Void is the end of time, itself. Since the Time-Keepers are unable to completely destroy matter (Theory of Conservation of Mass and all that), they send unwanted Variants to the end of the timeline to languish or be swallowed by a hungry monster (more on him in a bit). 

In Marvel Comics, The Void is something of an actual character. It is a destructive amorphous entity capable of both adopting a corporeal form and destroying the universe as we know it. During the Siege storyline, the Void even killed Loki, which then facilitated his “rebirth” as Kid Loki. See how this all starts to fit together?

What is Alioth?

In the world of Loki, Alioth is a big, hungry cloud monster that prowls the Void looking to consume yummy matter. It’s the TVA’s unwitting cleaning service, wiping out all the Variants that the TVA can’t eliminate. Classic Loki helpfully offers up the analogy that the Void is a shark tank, and Alioth is the shark.

Alioth of the comics was first introduced in 1993’s Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective #1. That same comic also introduced Ravonna Renslayer and features Kang the Conqueror as its central villain. Oh yeah, it’s all coming together. 

Alioth is considered to be the first being that broke free from the constraints of time. It’s no wonder then that it would make an appearance in Loki.

What’s Up With That Castle?

It’s about time a Marvel villain lives in an honest-to-goodness castle! While it’s still possible that this is a misdirect and this environment is not what it seems, for now it looks like episode 6 will be headed off to a spooky castle.

Interestingly, there are no shortages of spooky castles in Marvel comics lore. Perhaps the most famous one is Castle Doom within Doomstadt. Bet you’ll never guess who lives there! Yes, it’s ol’ Victor von Doom himself, Doctor Doom to his friends…of which he has very few.

Another notable abode is Castle Limbo, which serves as the home of Immortus, who was once Nathaniel Richards a.k.a. Kang the Conqueror. Look, Kang is a confusing character, so you’ll just have to trust us on this one.

What is Mobius’s Plan?

Thank the gods that Loki and Mobius finally embraced their destiny as best bros. Mobius leaves all the Lokis behind in The Void to return to the TVA. What does he plan to do once he gets there? Why, burn the whole thing down, of course!

It’s unclear how Mobius believes he’s able to pull off such a grand task. The TVA is an enormous bureaucracy with seemingly infinite moving parts. The only real weapon that Mobius has at his disposal is the truth. The truth changed his and Hunter B-15’s perspectives but can it do the same for everyone else? The only other named TVA employee that we’re aware of is Casey (Eugene Cordero). He seems like a sweet, non-confrontational lad. But perhaps that will all change once he realizes he’s been robbed of fish dinners his whole life.

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What Becomes of the Other Lokis?

The most pleasantly strange aspect of “Journey Into Mystery” is how many new Lokis it introduces. This hour features: Classic Loki (Richard E. Grant), Boastful Loki (DeObia Oparei), Kid Loki (Jack Veal), President Loki (Hiddleston), and Alligator Loki (uh… a CGI alligator). Naturally, each of those Lokis has their own official hashtag sprite on Twitter. 

Fittingly for their chaotic energy, each of the Lokis introduced in this episode have quite different ultimate fates. Boastful Loki betrays his Loki comrades, because that’s just what Lokis do. The subsequent scene of President Loki and his Void army battling the other Lokis is one of the best moments of this show yet. That causes our Loki to take off with Classic, Kid, and Alligator. When Mobius invites that trio to come back to the TVA with him, they decline because the Void is their home now.

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That is the last we’ve seen of Kid Loki and Alligator Loki thus far but not the last of Classic Loki. The comic-accurate trickster returns to help Loki and Sylvie when they need it the most. He uses stunningly powerful magic to create an approximation of Asgard all around him, distracting the ravenous Alioth. Even Sylvie with her enchantress power is stunned by Classic Loki’s abilities. 

Is Richard E. Grant’s Classic Loki Really Dead?

Ultimately Classic Loki is swallowed up by the Alioth and therefore finally blinked out of existence. Or is he? It seems like he could have been utilizing the very same technique here he claims to have used to escape his death at the hands of Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. “I think we’re stronger than we realize,” Loki tells Sylvie, so this would certainly be a case of that if it came down to it.

Plus, that leads us to the final and most important question that this episode raises. 

Who is the Villain?

Who indeed? There has been one name bandied about as the most likely Loki Big Bad. Before we get to him (and it’s absolutely who you think), indulge us in another theory. What if the villain of Loki is…

Classic Loki or Another Loki Variant

Richard E. Grant is kind of a big deal as an actor. It’s not every day you can find a seasoned performer who can portray a kindly exterior with some menace underneath. With that in mind, it’s possible that Classic Loki is a bigger character than he appears at first glance. This episode goes out of its way to communicate just how powerful Lokis can be. And when you combine that kind of god-like power with a trickster’s sensibility, it’s not hard to imagine that Classic Loki, or another Loki entirely, could be pulling all the strings. 

Kang the Conqueror 

While Loki confronting himself in the end would make for a dramatically interesting enterprise, the hard evidence at hand still seems to indicate that Kang the Conqueror is our real villain. The internet at large has been banging the drum for Kang the Conqueror as the ultimate Loki villain for weeks now and it’s not hard to see why.

This isn’t a case of collective delusion like with all of the Nightmare/Mephisto WandaVision theorizing, Kang really does seem to be a legitimate possibility. For starters, we know we already have an MCU actor for Kang in the fold already in the form of Jonathan Majors (Lovecraft Country). Kang was announced for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania but doesn’t it sound very Marvel for the character to make his unexpected debut here?

In the comics, Kang the Conqueror is wrapped up in multiverses, timelines, and all manner of heady sci-fi nonsense that Loki is already invested in. In fact, as Reddit user u/Hpotter821 points out, one iteration of Kang in Marvel comics sought to become Immortus by eliminating all of his other Variants. It would seem that creating the TVA to police other timelines would be quite useful in that mission. 

Then there’s the fact that Kang has at least some level of crossover with just about every major character and element of Loki. Kang has a relationship with Ravonna Renslayer in the comics and is also an occasional rival of Alioth. The show is not shy about injecting Kang’s aesthetic into the proceedings. While ostensibly space lizards as Loki described them, the Time-Keepers do appear to resemble the classic Kang the Conqueror look a bit. And the TVA logo? 

Oh. Hey. I just noticed that the centerpiece of the Time Variance Authority’s seal totally looks like Kang’s head. 🤷‍♂️ #Loki pic.twitter.com/93QzNDVSbi

— Ken Plume (@KenPlume) July 2, 2021

Oh yeah, that’s Kang, baby.

Perhaps by this time next week, all of this Kang conjecture will look as silly as WandaVision’s Mephisto fever dream. It’s undeniable, however, that Loki has provided us with plenty of breadcrumbs. If it’s all a Kang-sized red herring, then so be it. 

Doctor Doom

This is a considerable longshot, despite the fact that we’ve wanted it to happen for a long time. Doom was at the center of Marvel Comics’ multiverse-shattering Secret Wars event by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic, and the castle we see in this episode’s conclusion sure does look an awful lot like his humble Doomstadt home.

Every time we get excited about Doctor Doom or the potential Secret Wars threads embedded in this show, we’re brought back to reality by the fact that there’s virtually no way that Marvel would introduce arguably their greatest villain in a teasing series finale episode, especially not when they’ve got the Kang-centric Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania to tee up with Kang. Yes, we’re hedging our best by including him, but can you blame us?

Anyway, patience, Doom fans. The Fantastic Four movie is finally a priority for the MCU, and we should see that by 2023.

Kevin Feige

This obviously won’t happen but in the spirit of Marvel’s next Disney+ series What If…?, what if Loki and Sylvie arrive to the throne room in the castle and Marvel Studios head Kevin Heige is hanging out there wearing one of his trademark baseball caps? As witnessed in WandaVision and now Loki, this phase of Marvel cinematic storytelling is clearly about setting up a new multiverse of possibilities. What better way to introduce that multiverse than by completely breaking the fourth wall?

OK, so there are probably a ton of better ways but Feige would at least be fun and truly unexpected.

The post Marvel’s Loki Episode 5 Ending Explained: Who is the Real Villain of the MCU Series? appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[constantlyirksome]

Lovecraft Country 1x05 Review: Come on Out of Your Shell.

(Spoilers!!)

I was a latecomer to Lovecraft Country, so it’s taken me a few weeks to watch episode five on time this week but BOY have I never been so excited to finally be able to do a review for this show that is rocking my world and has me giddy in a way a show hasn’t in a while.

Firstly, last week’s Indiana Jones-esque episodes in the tombs of a museum was dope. I just needed to get that out there, but this week the show goes to new heights. Never before has the show been so mind melty, so gory, so rife with racial complexity and struggle, and this show already had all of that in spades.

This episode focuses mainly on Ruby, Letitia’s oft overlooked sister as she continues her affair with the mysterious, pale William, with one extra wrinkle. He has, without her knowing, given her the power to transform into a white woman. How isn’t immediately clear but the show does take this pretty old “body swap” trope and throttles it with it’s gruesome visuals and ideas. William, fascinated by butterflies and their transformations, literally puts a white woman’s skin over Ruby’s. Each time she has to claw and scream her way out of the white husk like the Bride clawing out of the husk of another person, meat dripping off of her like overcooked ribs, until she’s herself again.

The imagery of it does make the body swap angle fresh, as does the racial implications of a black woman swapping bodies with a white woman. In the 50’s. (Why is it the same woman as the racist farmer from episode 2?) I am not in any way qualified to talk about the experience of what it’s like to be black, or colorism so I won’t focus too much here out of respect, but it was a FASCINATING storyline. It was easy to see why she so quiclkly got swept up in the privileges, but it did NOT take long to realise, even from the inside, the racism in her world permeates everything. Her deciding to use that privilege for murder a racist sex pest in a very ironic twist… go off. Also multiple times Cardi B plays during key scenes of Ruby’s, (these is red bottoms/ these is bloody shoes), and in a show set in the 50′s i think that’s spectacular.

Another complicated story this week and one I hope we see much more of is of Tic’s dad, Montrose. Up until this point the audience has seen nothing but an abusive drunk, and that George, Tic’s uncle was more of a father figure.

But Montrose’s story is far more tragic and confusing, as it turns out he is also a gay man. That doesn’t excuse hitting your kid. Ever. But it does explain some of the anger and secrecy and adds a layer. He’s at the drag club with MFing Monet x Change and Shangela. He experiences euphoria and freedom in the arms of the queer community. The audience feels sympathy for this guy for the first time, which adds to the character, but I’m gonna need to see some healing with his son for there to be a full redemption arc. A deep conversation that leads to a better relationship.

Speaking of Tic, we don’t see much of him this episode, as he and Leti attempt to decode the codes of the cult that is haunting them, to some success, ending in a beautiful scene where they confirm their feelings for one another, and Tic shows that he hasn’t carried through his father’s cruelty and anger into his relationships, that he is a different man, and boy do we love to see it. There IS however the hint that Tic might head down a bad magical path. While his pursuit of “saving our people” by unlocking these magic mysteries every magic has a price. Leti sagely says “You’re father though he was doing good, and look what he did.” (Killed an ancient, innocent lady.

The final twist of the episode revealed to Ruby during a poorly timed visit to Williams house is the most shocked I’ve been by a show in a while. Whether that’s a testament to the show, or to  my own ignorance I’m unsure but it was a wow moment regardless. Turns out, hiding in Williams skin, like Ruby inside that white lady, was Christina, the shows mysterious, driven agitator and antagonist. Will Ruby be able to reveal this? What will Christina do? All I know is that I am hooked right into Lovecraft Country, and so should you be, provided you’re chill with gratuitous gore.

[funkyfatbabe]

hi! so me and you seem to have similar taste and I was wondering what tv shows you watch? for recs haha

if we have similar tastes i hope you havent seen some of these so im a little useful!!! 

x files (if u couldnt tell lol imo season 6 is *chefs kiss* the best, if you’re a binge watcher this might be a hard one for u)

buffy the vampire slayer (similar vein to xf but more comedy/easier watching)

pose (abt the black/latino ballroom scene in 80s new york, has a lot of trans actors!!)

wentworth (australian, like orange is the new black but more realistic yet somehow still super dramatic and gay, i binged the first 6 seasons in a week bc i had to know what happened next lol. big tw for this one)

good girls (3 suburban mums turn to crime to make ends meet, comedy drama, sucks u in like wentworth, decent representation but it does tend to make poc/lgbt people cops/fbi if you dont wanna see that)

american crime story (reenactments of historical crime cases, oj simpson trial s1 and assassination of gianni versace s2. i loved s2 it was enthralling) 

kath and kim (australian, absolutely iconic comedy following the life of a suburban mum and her spoiled daughter who’s in her late 20s, hard to explain kinda like satire???)

mindhunter (crime thriller, follows 2 fbi agents and a psychologist in the late 70s in the early days of criminal profiling, david fincher is involved so u know its good)

sharp objects (based on the psychological thriller book by gillian flynn (author of gone girl), mentally ill crime reporter goes back to her hometown to solve/report on the murder of two young girls but has to deal w her own trauma, big tw for this one too but i love it)

ok im lazy now heres some more u probably already know/i cant be bothered expanding on

breaking bad (fun fact creator was an x files writer and cast bryan cranston bc of his work in an x files episode)

daria

aggretsuko (new season on friday :o)

twin peaks

malcom in the middle

the newsroom 

american horror story

the fall

killing eve

unorthodox 

atypical 

flight of the concords 

lovecraft country

[ispendtoomuchtimewatchingshows]

Ok I just watched the first 2 episodes of lovecraft country and

1. Wtf is this. I am extremely confused I have no idea what’s happening at any given time.

2. The main dude and all the women are hot

3. Am I supposed to like the blonde twilight girl?

4. They already killed the uncle? Bro what about his wife and daughter... I’m sad

But like yea stranger things mixed with bible stuff and then also 1950’s racism and then aliens?? Please someone explain

[quarantinethis]

Review Lovecraft Country Episode 2 SPOILER ALERT Breakdown Analysis

00:44 Episode Review#NoSpoilers 04:02 Episode Breakdown #SpoilerAlert 21:15 Review Summary 22:53 Outro

Intro Music ROYALTY FREE intro sound action electric guitar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wrLY

#LovecraftCountryCast: #JonathanMajors ...  Atticus Freeman #JurneeSmollett ...  Letitia 'Leti' Lewi #CourtneyBVance ...  Uncle George Freeman #MichaelKennethWilliams ...  Montrose Freeman #AunjanueEllis ...  Hippolyta #AbbeyLee ...  Christina Braithwhite #WunmiMosaku ...  Ruby Baptiste #JadaHarris ...  Diana #ChaseBrown ...  Young Atticus #MarcusGriffinJr ...  Teen Atticus #MacBrandt ...  Capt. Seamus Lancaster #AlexCollins ...  Crane #JamieChung ...  Ji-ah #JamieNeumann ...  Dell #JonathonPawlowski ...  Burke 

 #LovecraftCountryreview and in depth analysis of the #lovecraftcountryfirstepisode.Inspired by the #Cuthulhymythology written by #HPLovecraft. The mythology is based around #EdgaAlanPoe #Necronomicon.

 Aired on #HBOMax and #NowTV in the #USA and in the #UK. Directed by #JordanPeele and #JJAbrams.

A great start to what seems to be an inspiring series. It hits the tones and ideas perfectly, telling a full and complete stories.

A great beginning that sets up the series and a good first episode that hits at what is to come. A brilliant #horrorseries and #monsterseries. Plenty of #mystery and #suspense. One of the #topseriesof2020   A TV piece of history and definately #oneworthwatching

Sign up to #QuarantineThis for more #moviereviews #filmreviews #seriesreview and #originaldocumentaries.

Sorry for any mistakes, I watched the episode when it aired and then made this in depth video in the proceeding hours. It was great fun and I cant wait for the next episode

[megareviews]

Spring 2019 First Impressions

The Spring list is late as usual (is it usual if it’s only the second instance?), but at least I’m closer to the beginning than last year. I’ve reached 50% completion on the doing this for an entire year consistently, so nice.

Aikatsu Friends!: Kagayaki no Jewel (Aikatsu Friends!: Jewel of Radiance): Aikatsu is relatively low on my priority list of magical girl megaseries.

Bakugan Battle Planet: This show actually premiered last semester, but in English, and this season is when the Japanese dub started. Either way it’s somewhere deep in the Bakugan series, which is based off of what are probably my least played children’s toys.

BAKUMATSU Crisis: Second season of an otome game adaption that looked okay when I started it, but I still haven’t watched past the first episode.

Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai (Bokuben / We Never Learn): The main show that I know the source material of, and it is just about meeting my expectations. An average guy who has to study rigorously to maintain his average grades is put in charge of tutoring the two smartest people in his school. This might not make sense until it’s explained that he has to tutor them in their worst subjects, because those subjects are the ones they want to major in for college. It’s a nice theme of working hard for what you enjoy situated in a rom-com with some haremy aspects and an unusually high density of goofy faces, so watch it if you like those aspects.

Bungou Stray Dogs 3: I still need to see what they did with HP Lovecraft in season 2

Carole & Tuesday: What happens when a runaway rich girl and a poor orphan girl meet up on Mars? They form a band of course. A tale of two lonely souls finding each other and become a little less lonely in a big world, making music together. It looks great and it sounds amazing, so this is definitely a priority watch.

Chou Kadou Girl 1/6 (Amazing Stranger): Imagine Buzz Lightyear from the original Toy Story except in a 20 -something guy’s house and then failing the don’t move when humans are around rule almost immediately. That’s what this show is.

Cinderella Girls Gekijou CLIMAX SEASON (Cinderella Girls Theater CLIMAX SEASON): For somebody who doesn’t watch idol shows, the theater shorts are pretty fun, though I’m not nearly caught up in this one to say how this season is going.

Diamond no Ace Act II: Oh boy there’s so much baseball this season and a lot of it is sequels.

Fairy Gone: There’s a lot of things going on in this show but I think I can simplify it to military use of fairies to give soldiers super powers. The protagonist has been taking jobs as a mercenary to find her sister who was split from her after their village was burnt down. Then at an auction that she works as a guard, things start going wrong and the thief who appears is none other than that sister. The first episode ends with the end of a three way fight between security and the girls, so I’m not sure where the show’s going at all. Maybe if the show didn’t flash back to the protagonist’s village burning down three times, there would be a little more time to give direction.

Fruits Basket (2019): I never know how to deal with reboots for shows that I can remember, but haven’t seen the original. I know there’s people who turn into animals and a “do the carpets match the drapes” joke, and that’s about it from the 2001 anime.

Gunjou no Magmel (Magmel of the Blue Sea): After a new continent appears in the world, explorers flock to it, not always as prepared as they should be for venturing into the unknown. The main character works at a company to rescue explorers from mishaps along with a few others. The worldbuilding is interesting and the main character’s black lightning is pretty cool looking, but his attitude and decision making abilities kinda put me off for now. That and the comprehensibility of the subtitles I was watching fell off a cliff halfway through the episode.

Hachigatsu no Cinderella Nine (Cinderella Nine in August): So far it looks like a pretty standard club building show based around women’s baseball. It looks nice and we have 4 club members as of the first episode, so they should make it to at least full team of nine pretty quickly. It looks nice outside of an odd montage near the end of the episode when the club plays a game with some local kids, and the character designs are a bit more memorable than the usual baseball cast. I appreciate the fact that they’re playing hardball, but I’m not the type of person to watch anything sports ever.

Hangyaku-sei Million Arthur 2 (Operation Han-Gyaku-Sei Million Arthur): All I know about this show is that there’s a bunch of characters named Arthur and that it’s a sequel.

Hitoribocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu (Hitori Bocchi's ○○ Lifestyle): When one of the most socially anxious kids in elementary school gets separated by her only friend when they go to different middle schools, her friend gives her a quest: to become friends with everybody in her new class. She’s got a real go-getter attitude, but from feeling physical pain from trying to talk to a stranger to fainting when somebody actually responds to her, she’s got a rough path ahead of her. It’s a really fun show that gets you rooting for the main character in her attempts of communicating with others in a normal manner.

Isekai Quartet: Four of the biggest isekai series in one short mash-up is a recipe for confusion. Especially since they’re all put together in a school setting where no fighting is allowed, even if there are holy gods and undead abominations in the same class. Anything can happen with all these people taken from their original normal lives, tossed into various fantasy worlds, and then slam dunked back into a relatively normal setting.

Jimoto ga Japan (I’m From Japan): I cannot find a trace of the anime anywhere online and I am glad of this having read the manga. It is just a really dumb comedy about Japanese prefectures that I struggled to read a few chapters of before giving up.

Joushikausei: A silent anime, as in there’s no spoken words, about a few high school girls. It’s an interesting concept, but I found it a bit uncomfortable to watch, mostly due to the whimpering and other nonverbal noises the girls were making.

Kedama no Gonjirou (Gonjiro the Yarn Ball): A children’s show that hasn’t been licensed and no group is fansubbing it, how unusual… It actually looks interesting though so I might search for the raws to check it out.

Kenja no Mago (The Magi’s Grandson): A child raised by a powerful wizard in the country reaches an age where he can move out to the city and attend a magical high school. Unfortunately for him, his parental figures only taught him combat and magic, so he doesn’t really know how to sustain himself in the reals world. It is a decent concept but there’s a 50/50 chance of any scene looking nice or looking awful, and the scene transitions all look like they were made in Powerpoint.

Kimetsu no Yaiba (Demon Slaying Blade): A happy family of coal sellers is destroyed in a night when a demon strikes. The eldest son was out due to a combination of work and a blizzard, and when he returns he finds all but one of his family members completely cold and covered in blood. This last member is rushed down the mountainside for medical aid, only to turn into a demon on the way down. A meeting with a demon slayer turns tricky as he tries to protect his demonized sister who’s fighting between killing instincts and her love of her brother. The opening promises some beautiful animations and the overall show isn’t slacking either, so overall it’s a very promising show.

KING OF PRISM -Shiny Seven Stars-: It’s the TV version of a boy band movie tetralogy which is also a sequel I think?

Kiratto Pri☆chan Season 2: A sequel to a idol anime that I reviewed last year. I think this is one of the first times a sequel has shown up that I also reviewed the first season of, though unfortunately it was for  a show that I didn’t watch fully.

Kono Oto Tomare! (Stop this Sound!): One more club building show for this season, this one about a Japanese instrument called a koto. After all the upperclassmen of the club graduated in the previous year, only the main character is left in the club, and needs more members before the club gets closed, the usual. The first new member is a seemingly delinquent 1st year who is surprisingly diligent. There wasn’t too much interesting or unique other than the topic of the club, so music fans might find this more watchable than I.

Kono Yo no Hate de Koi wo Utau Shoujo YU-NO (YU-NO: A Girl Who Chants Love at the Bound of this World): The first episode for this kind of front-loaded introducing characters and pulled out its premise of parallel dimensions and a device to navigate them towards the end, which means I’d probably have to watch another episode to figure out how I feel about it. It’s nice to not have a giant exposition dump take up the first episode of a show, especially since it will have two cours to tell a story, but I didn’t feel any particular gravitation towards the characters by this point, so I won’t be prioritizing any follow-up on it.

Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin (Midnight Occult Civil Servants): With a job at a place called the Nocturnal Community Relations Division, the first thought of the type of people dealt with is most likely not going to be fairies. Our main character is taken from a world of the ordinary to being able to see and talk to the supernatural creatures that live locally, called Anothers. His co-workers are equipped with magically enchanted police tape and other trinkets to help solve issues that occasionally arise between Anothers. I like the modern fantasy setting, and the fairly low level fights with the supernatural so far, so there’s promise in where the show goes.

Midara na Ao-chan wa Benkyou ga Dekinai (Ao Can’t Study): While the name Ao is usually blue, or sometimes even moth, in this case, it stands for Adult Only, the 18+ rating in Japan. This is due to her father’s profession, an erotic writer, and surprisingly, the main character hates her father for naming her that and spends her entire life studying to get into a college far enough away from him. This is thwarted by a guy confessing to her and filling her mind with romance and lewder thoughts, with the help of her father. I hate this as a concept and don’t watch this.

Mix: A semi-sequel baseball anime. I say semi, because from what I’ve gathered it is recommended but not necessary to watch the original first.

Nande Koko ni Sensei ga!? (Why is my Teacher Here!?): It’s about a male student and his teacher, ending up in awkward situations together, like being trapped together in a men’s bathroom stall. A show of pure fanservice through and through, so there’s not much else to say.

Namu Amida Butsu!: Rendai Utena: What started out as an action about cleansing impurities from the world gives us a quick bait ‘n switch to a slice of life about gods bumbling about in the human world attempting to be competent humans. I found it irritating to watch, and it was very clearly based off of a gacha game, which do not have a good track record of making good shows.

Nobunaga-sensei no Osanazuma (Nobunaga’s Young Bride): A modern age middle school teacher way down the ancestral tree of Oda Nobunaga meets the bride of the man himself, who traveled to the present from the day of the original Nobunaga’s death. She’s no older than when she left her original time, which leaves her at 14 years old, with no knowledge of modern day Japan so she’s stuck with the main character’s family and decides to be the new Nobunaga’s bride anyways, which… is weird.

One Punch Man 2: A big sequel of the season, and one where people have been waiting with wary anticipation due to the change in animation studio and director. It definitely looks a lot stiffer than the first season, for action and non-fight scenes, but the story is a bit more interesting in my opinion, as the show starts working on fleshing out other heroes and why they fight.

RobiHachi: the first episode of this really is a springboard for setting up what the plot and cast will be, just about starting right at the very end.  We’ve got an ultra gullible man in debt, a genius teen with no sense of purpose, a robot rabbit helper, and their spaceship that blares its own theme song when it transforms into a mech. They set off to find a legendary planet that grants happiness after a couple of hijinks on their starting planet. It’s a very busy show, both visually and plot wise, but still an enjoyable experience if you can keep up.

Sarazanmai: 50% connecting with other people through oversharing with them, 50% kappas stealing souls from other people’s butts. It’s hard to describe the show but I’m having a good time, and the art is gorgeous, and special care is taken with little details in the show. I’d say watch the first episode definitely, and then decide whether or not to follow up on the rest of the show.

Senryuu Shoujo (Senryuu Girl): The focus of the show is on the Japanese poetry type of Senryuu, mostly because the main character can only communicate with others through writing these poems. Thankfully, she’s got some good friends and is in her school’s Literature Club, so she has plenty of practice and is around people who appreciate her work.

Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san (Meddlesome Fox Senko): The fox gods of the world have a duty to protect humans, and are becoming more proactive in seeking out humans with negative emotions before those emotions go out of control. In comes the male lead of the show, an overworked businessman who has basically just been going through the motions of life by this point. One of the fox gods appears in his house, doing the cooking, cleaning, and other tasks to help relieve the main guy’s stress. It’s comfy and there’s some funny moments, but I feel like the show would be better off as a more episodic show featuring various humans rather than just the one that it looks like the show will focus on. I’m also worried about the romance genre tag that the show has.

Shingeki no Kyojin 3 Part 2 (Attack on Titan 3 Part 2): I’m still on episode 5 of the original series, with no particular motivation to make it any further. More people die in bloody explosions probably.

Shoumetsu Toshi (Lost City): As the title of the show would imply there is a city that has been lost to humanity, as in, it just disappeared one day. The main female character is the only one who survived the city disappearing, and is targeted by a mysterious group due to that, and she tries to return to where the lost city used to be due to a message by her father who went missing with the city. In addition there was a monk with super powers who was standing on a motorcycle’s handlebars facing off against the main girl who could summon her Lost bodyguard with a bunch of guns but that was kinda just thrown in at the end.

Strike Witches 501 Butai Hasshin Shimasu! (Strike Witches 501st Join Fighter Wing Takes Off!): Oh god it’s been so long since I’ve consumed Strike Witches content. This is a slice of life spin off of the original series, so the context is recommended, but not necessary. The animation is also very much on the rough side for a ten minute long short. 

Yatogame-chan Kansatsu Nikki (Yatogame’s Observation Diary): After briefly being disappointed in the lack of heavy Nagoya dialects encountered in Nagoya, the main character runs into a classmate who happens to have one. In addition, all of her favorite foods and animals are popular or famous in Nagoya, so he sticks around with her for meeting his ideals of what a Nagoyan should be. They then travel the city as part of the photography club to see all the sights of the city.

Youkai Watch!: Despite what it looks like from the title, this is pretty deep in a line of sequels of Youkai Watch.

[newagesispage]

                                                                AUGUST    2021

THE RIB  PAGE

Fran Drescher is running for National SAG-AFTRA President with Anthony Rapp as secretary treasurer for Unite for Strength!!! Matthew Modine is running under Membership first with Joely Fisher for Secretary Treasurer. Running in local elections are, among others, Yvette Nicole Brown, Shari Belafonte, Rosie O’Donnell, Jeff Garlin, Ezra Knight, Dule Hill, Camryn Manheim, Sara Rue, Mindy Cohn and Ever Carradine. Sept. 2 is the day!** Frances Fisher filed a suit against SAG-AFTRA over the health care plan but a judge rejected it.

*****

Sha’Carri Richardson’s problem is all our problem. No more drug testing for Mary Jane in this country!

*****

Chuck Schumer finally unveiled the Cannabis administration opportunity act to end Federal prohibition of marijuana.

*****

Dolly Parton used the $10 mil + in royalties from the Whitney Houston version of her song to invest in a black neighborhood in Nashville.

*****

Bob Balaban and Henry Winkler play brothers in The French Dispatch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can’t wait for October 22!!!!!!!!!!!!** The next Wes Anderson film will star Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody and Tom Hanks. No other details are out there yet.

*****

Trees save lives in heat waves.

*****

TBS will bring us n updated Stupid Pet Tricks with Sarah Silverman.

*****

So much organized religion is based on forgeries, fakes and plundering. Virtually none of it is based on any sort of truth, spiritual or even historical. Just lies to fulfill an agenda and control the masses. And so far it has worked. –Larry Charles

*****

Scarlett Johansen has sued Disney cuz her contract guaranteed a theatrical release only.

*****

An expert on the circus industry recently reached out to me and urged me to not compare Trump and his comeback tour to clowns and the circus, as that is an insult to clowns. –Jim Acosta

*****

Eric Adams has won the Dem primary for Mayor in NY.

*****

Have you seen High on the Hog?? It’s awesome!!

*****

Jeff Flake will be ambassador to Turkey.

*****

Cornell West resigned from Harvard with a scathing letter accusing the school of “intellectual and spirited bankruptcy of deep depths.”

*****

Biden gave a hell of a speech in Philly. He needed to go on more about the filibuster but he was passionate about the For the People act and the John Lewis voting rights advancement act.  He roared, “Peddlers of lies are threatening the very foundation of our country.”

*****

Will Celebrity Dating Game continue? I am sure they think romance expert, Michael Bolton is a cute and quirky thing to do but not so much. If it stays, I hope they change the music, at least those final notes. And why are half of the questions, “Who am I?” The show could be cute but they need a little work!!

*****

Jeff Bezos donated $200 mil to the Smithsonian air and space museum.**Feminists everywhere winced when Gayle King was interviewing the Bezos space team.  Bezos commented about the 18 year old going with them into space and that he was just worried about the prom at 18. Gayle said “And I was just hoping for a date to the prom.”** But we have to love Wally Funk, the oldest woman to go into space.**Bezos thanked the Amazon employees and customers for paying for his trip. Yikes!**  Saw a great sign: Pay fair taxes, end hunger, help people, end poverty, save Earth or fly to space.

*****

Antonio Banderas and Harrison Ford will star in Indiana Jones 5.

*****

Zsa Zsa Gabor’s ashes were laid to rest 5 years after her death.

*****

The Britney conservatorship mess is still going thru the courts, and now topless?

*****

Pope Francis underwent colon surgery which caused him to comment on the need for good health care for all.

*****

Questlove brings us Summer of Soul!!!

*****

Reports show that about 150 people were killed by guns in more than 400 shootings during the 4th.

*****

Has anybody ever built a show around the Tex Watson tapes?? The LAPD apparently liked to deny them but there was a book.

*****

Henry Hall is out with his debut album, Neato, along with a tour.

*****

Do all male law enforcement officers have to be bald now?

*****

Idaho has begun an eradication campaign that could slash the number of gray wolves living in the state by 90%.

*****

Hooray for the monthly child tax credit!!

*****

Release Me 2 from Barbra Streisand is due out August 6.

*****

The look into the Jan. 6 insurrection has begun. Kinzinger and Cheney are in. **Tucker Carlson attacked Harry Dunn, a Capitol officer on air. The man protected Carlson’s son, a House staffer.** On Jan. 5, the Steve Bannon podcast went like this: All Hell is going to break loose tomorrow. Just understand this. It’s gonna be moving. It’s gonna be quick.** Why is mainstream media putting nearly all eggs in the Covid and Olympic baskets and only a few on the insurrection hearing?

*****

Why do so many that call America , “great” seem to hate it?? How can one love this country and not want majority rule, not want democracy??

*****

The Emmy noms are out: Lovecraft Country was nominated even though it has been cancelled.  Also hooray for Pose, The Flight attendant and for Conan!! Lead actor is a tough category with Matthew Rhys, Billy Porter and Rege-Jean Page. Aidy Bryant and Jean Smart got lead and supporting noms. I have to route for Ewan McGregor and Anya Taylor-Joy. I am excited for Paul Reiser, Bowen Yang, Evan Peters, Carl Weathers, Renee Elise Golsberry, Dave Chappelle, Helena Bonham Carter and Daniel Levy. There is love for Yvette Nicole Brown, Issa Rae and Maya Rudolph. The Masked Singer got a few noms. The doc category included Tina, Allen V. Farrow and The Bee Gees. Friends: The reunion got 4.

*****

“Voting is not supposed to be easy. That’s what our men died for.”- Jack Finger

*****

Giant Pandas are no longer endangered.

*****

Zalia Avante- Garde is the 93rd Scripps National Spelling Bee Champ.** I’m more impressed by the girl who won the Spelling Bee than the billionaire who went to space. –Mike Jollett.

*****

Why do they have to run erectile dysfunction ads during true crime rape episodes? ** And why do people still say things like, “this just don’t happen here” or “dumped like a piece of trash? “ There have to be other things to say.

*****

Tom Barrack, chairman of the inaugural committee for Trump was arrested for foreign lobbying shenanigans. America first, right?** Wilbur Ross lied to congress about the census and the Trump administration declined to prosecute.** Stephen Calk, bank exec was found guilty of trying to get a WH position by giving Manafort millions in loans.

*****

Jake Ellzey won the Texas special election run off for congress, beating out Trump’s girl Susan Wright.

*****

Every city should have a Peacemobile!!!!!

*****

The Chinese government has been called out for malicious cyber -attacks.  Four officials have been indicted in California.

*****

Miracle Workers’ Simon Rich was there when FB was invented and was so creeped out by people using it to stalk women.

*****

There was a story in Rolling Stone about how Eric Clapton threatened to cancel shows if the venue required proof of vaccines. Valerie Bertinelli tweeted: Once a dick, always a dick.

*****

Every Fox news host is vaccinated. –Mikel Jollett

*****

Toyota has dropped out of Olympic ads.  Contenders are starting to drop out due to positive Covid tests.

*****

Actor Isaiah Stokes has been indicted for murder.

*****

Lionsgate has bought the rights to Clerks 3.

*****

Ready or not, here come the Olympics.- Harry Shearer

*****

The Cleveland Indians will now be the Cleveland Guardians.

*****

A bust of KKK leader Nathan Bedford Forrest was taken out of the Tennessee capitol.

*****

American Housewife was sold into syndication.

*****

The poorest zip codes include Erie, Pennsylvania, Decatur and the south end of Peoria, il, Canton, Oh, Waterbury, Ct., Bonsecour, Al. and Elpaso, Tx.

*****

Issa Rae married Louis Diame.

*****

The court of appeals disqualified Judge John W. Ouderkirk from the Jolie- Pitt divorce because of a business relationship with Pitt’s attorney.

*****

Joe Manchin owns a coal company.

*****

The Hollywood walk of fame has welcomed Jimmy Smits, Kathie Lee Gifford and 90 year old Marla Gibbs. Terry Crews is next!

*****

Generation after generation of women love the bad boy.  Do they never learn? I will never understand, please explain.

*****

Pelosi rejected 2 of the noms to serve on the special committee looking into Jan. 6. Kevin McCarthy withdrew his 5 noms.

*****

The gun that killed Billy the Kid is for sale.

*****

I think you should leave with Tim Robinson on Netflix is hilarious if U get thru the gross. U can’t miss the episode with Clifton Davis and Fred Willard!!

*****

Joaquin Phoenix is trying to get some bears from a traveling show moved to an accredited sanctuary. The Bearadise Ranch in Florida has been cited for, “violating state wildlife laws.”

*****

Go employees Go!! Frito Lay is on strike, Coal miners are on strike and Ride Share drivers are on strike. A good portion of this country should be on strike. The top of the corporate ladder needs to learn! Let those that treat us fair rise to the top.

*****

Who owns Brett Kavanaugh?

*****

A Bishop seeking to deny Biden communion was caught on Grindr.

*****

Gabriel Jagger married Anouk Winzenried.** I don’t know why the Rolling Stones bass player doesn’t just change his name to “not pictured.” –Michael Mckean

*****

Frank Fritz will not be back on American Pickers.

*****

For the first time, astronomers have seen behind a black hole. Einstein predicted the gravitational pull of black holes is so enormous that they warp the very fabric of space. He was right. Scientists have now spotted light which was being emitted by the far side of the black hole.

*****

Look for Heels on Starz.

*****

What is this new screen for Amazon? It sucks.

*****

Biden has signed an executive order to protect infrastructure from cyber- attacks.

*****

Arthur was canceled.

*****

The Kennedy Center has revealed the latest honorees. The 44th class is Justin Diaz, Berry Gordy, Lorne Michaels, Bette Midler and Joni Mitchell and will be held on Dec. 5.

*****

Get well Bob Odenkirk!!!! The fabulous Odenkirk collapsed on the set of Better call Saul from a minor heart attack.

*****

Days alert: We have lost Days of Our Lives first director, Joseph Behar.  He will be missed.** Marla Ginns is joining the cast as Paulina’s Mother. ** Is EJ throwing Sami out? Will AJ McLean join the cast? **Rex is back.**Peacock is bringing us a limited series, Days of our Lives: Beyond Salem that will send many couples on romantic vacations and lead to intrigue. Lisa Rinna will star.** Arianna Zucker (Nicole) is set to marry Shawn Christian (former Daniel).  He popped the question on Father’s Day.

*****

R.I.P. President Jovenel Moise, Philece Sampler, Robert Downey Sr., Richard Donner, flood victims of Belgium and Germany,  Robby Steinhardt, Covid victims, Joseph Behar, Robert Moses, Jackie Mason, Dusty Hill, joey Jordison, Priscilla McMillan, Ron Popeil, Carl Levin, Saginaw Grant and Charles Robinson.

[weathergames]

HBO's Lovecraft Country Episode 2 Explained! "Whitey's On The Moon" Easter Eggs & Things You Missed https://bit.ly/34yZgec

[wavemstudios]

‘Lovecraft Country’: What the Book Explains About the Wildest Parts of Episode 2 http://dlvr.it/RfChkX

[aion-rsa]

Lovecraft Country Soundtrack: Complete Details and Playlist

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

HBO’s latest blockbuster drama effort, Lovecraft Country, is a unique Lovecraftian beast. As adapted by Matt Ruff’s novel of the same name, the show takes classic horror, sci-fi, and adventure tropes and adapts them into a timely story of American racism.

Though the series is certainly timely, it’s also timeless. As evidenced by our helpful explainer article, it wasn’t immediately clear when Lovecraft Country even took place. That’s partly because the Jim Crow era of American institutionalized racism was a lengthy one. And the fact that Atticus “Tic” Freeman was a war veteran didn’t help out much. Which war coincided with “whites only” restaurants and sundown towns? World War II, The Korean War, The Vietnam War – take your pick, really. That pleasant disorientation is enhanced by an equally disorienting soundtrack.

Rest assured, Lovecraft Country takes place in the mid 1950s. But the show’s excellent soundtrack is not limited to the mid 1950s. Sure, there are your standard old-timey classics like “I Just Want To Make Love To You” by Etta James and “Sinnerman” by Nina Simone. But the show’s music choices also include some anachronistic numbers. The hard-changing “Clones” by Tierra Whack is unmistakably modern hip hop. Even Marilyn Manson of all people contributes a song as an episode closer.

Lovecraft Country’s superb soundtrack isn’t even limited to music itself. The series’ first two episodes both feature extended spoken word monologues from Black academics and deep-thinkers that serve as the score for certain scenes. Episode 1 “Sundown” brings a James Baldwin debate to the table while episode 2, “Whitey’s on the Moon” gets its name from a Gil-Scott Heron poem that scores a climactic scene. 

Given the depth of Lovecraft Country’s fascinating soundtrack, we decided to catalog it. Follow along with the show’s song choices here.

Episode 1 – Sundown 

“Main Title (From the Jackie Robinson Story)” by Herschel Burke Gilbert

“Sh-Boom” by The Crew Cuts

 “I Just Want To Make Love To You” by Etta James

“Clones” by Tierra Whack

“I Want a Tall Skinny Papa” by Sister Rosetta Tharpe

“Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” by Big Maybelle

“September Song” by Sarah Vaughan

“You Upset Me Baby” by B.B. King

“Recipe For Happiness” by Jimmy Self

“Sinnerman” by Alice Smith

Episode 2  – Whitey’s on the Moon

The Jeffersons Theme Song by Ja’Net DuBois and Oren Waters

“Bad Moon Rising” by Mourning Ritual (feat. Peter Dreimanis)

“The End” by Earl Grant

“Blackbird” by Nina Simone

“Killing Strangers” by Marilyn Manson

“Whitey’s on the Moon” by Gil-Scott Heron

“River” by Leon Bridges

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Episode 3 – Holy Ghost

“Window” by The Album Leaf

“Ain’t That a Shame”by Fats Domino

“Ständchen” by Marian Anderson and Franz Rupp

“God’s Been Good to Me” by The Mighty Walker Brothers

“Boogie at Midnight” by Roy Brown

“Good Rockin’ Daddy” by Etta James

“Is You Or Is You Ain’t My Baby” by Louis Jordan

“I Don’t Hurt Anymore” by Dinah Washington

“Take It Back” by Dorinda Clarke-Cole

“Satan, We’re Gonna Tear Your Kingdom Down” by Shirley Caesar

Episode 4 – A History of Violence

“Bitch Better Have My Money” by Rihanna

“Get Em” by Jade Josephine

“Cops and Robbers” by Bo Diddley

“Devil or Angel” by The Clovers

“Cows” by Kbn Kbnlondon

“I Put a Spell on You” by Marilyn Manson (cover)

Episode 5 – Strange Case

“Tonight, You Belong To Me” by Patience & Prudence

“Dark Phrases” by Janet League from For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf (1976)

“Return to Love” by Black Atlass

“Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” 

“Money” by Cardi B

“Bad Religion” by Frank Ocean

“Please Give Your Love to Me” by Robin Robinson

“Tutti Frutti” by Pat Boone

“My Baby Dearest Darling” by The Charms

“Sweetly Sad” by Alain Bernard Denis

“Melody in F” by Trevor Brown

“Tutti Frutti” by Little Richard

“Lovin’ Machine”

“Lonely World” by Moses Sumney

“Bodak Yellow” by Cardi B

Episode 6 – Meet Me in Daegu

“The Trolley Song (from Meet Me In St. Louis)” by Judy Garland

“Neujeun Jajinmori” from APM Music Library 

“Main Title (from Easter Parade)” by Johnny Gree, The MGM Studio Orchestra & The MGM Studio Chorus 

“Oppaneun Punggakjaengiya” by Park Hyang-rim

“Overture (from Summer Stock)” by MGM Orchestra 

“You Wonderful You (from Summer Stock)” by Gene Kelly and Judy Garland

Episode 7 – I Am.

“A Message From The Man In The Moon” by Josephine Baker 

“Baby Let’s Make Some Love” by The Penguins 

“Besame Mucho” by Josephine Baker 

“Tear The Roof Off” by Moonshine (Extreme Music Library)

“Piel Canela” by Josephine Baker 

“Better To Miss You” by FirstCom Music Library

“Bam-A-Lam” by Roy Milton Orchestra with Mickey Champion

“Lady Marmalade” by LaBelle

“Fire” by Mother’s Finest 

“Sinnerman” by Alice Smith

Episode 8 – Jig-a-Bobo

“Cruel Summer” by Bananarama

“Wee Small Hours” by APM Music Library

“Stop Dat Knocking” by Peter Di-Sante, Brian Mark, David Van Veersblick & Roger Smith

“I Put A Spell On You” by Alice Smith

“Topsy With Her Yellow Eyes” by actors

“’m here to say never again for black girls too” by Naomi Wadler at the March for Our Lives rally

“Stormy Weather” by Bilie Holiday

“Sinnerman” by Alice Smith

Episode 9 – Rewind 1921

“Avalon” by Al Jolson

“My Baby’s Foxtrot” by FirstCom Music Library

“Don’t Kill Dub” by Rob feat. Sonia Sanchez

“Tulsa, 1921: Catch The Fire” by composer with Janai Brugger of the Metropolitan Opera

Episode 10 – Full Circle

“Easy Living” by Billie Holiday 

“Ready Or Not” by Gizzle

“Jungle Alibi” by FirstCom Music Library

“Weary” by Solange

“Swing Out Sister” by 5 Alarm Music Library

“I Am Blessed” by Nina Simone

“Sh-Boom” by The Chords

“Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning” by Mississippi Fred McDowell

The post Lovecraft Country Soundtrack: Complete Details and Playlist appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2Evrtrq

[ramajmedia]

Swamp Thing Concept Art Reveals Blue Devil Design | Screen Rant

Concept art for Swamp Thing has been released, giving fans a detailed look at an alternate design for Blue Devil. The character, also known as Dan Cassidy, first appeared in comics back in June 1984. Played by Sharknado's Ian Ziering, he was featured in seven of the ten episodes. As is the case in the source material, the show explored the deal and subsequent curse that would ultimately transform him into the reluctant superhero. After saving Abby Arcane and Liz Tremayne from Conclave's security team, he was later seen leaving Marais for parts unknown.

The R-rated, horror-themed show debuted at the end of May, making it DC Universe's third live-action series. While both Titans and its direct spinoff, Doom Patrol, exist within the same universe, Swamp Thing very much existed as a standalone. The show seemed to be an immediate hit with fans and critics alike. Unfortunately, with the second episode yet to be released, the show was canceled. James Wan, who directed Aquaman for the big screen and served as a producer on the show, revealed that he was as in the dark as fans regarding the decision. Likewise, the show's star lamented the cancellation. Had the show continued, it would've followed an already prepared three-year plan that would've led to the formation of Justice League Dark.

Related: Why Swamp Thing Season 2 Isn't Happening: Cancellation Explained

Posting on Instagram, concept artist and creature designer Jerad S. Marantz shared a look at an alternate design for Blue Devil. In the post, Marantz made sure to praise the individuals and special effects company that he worked with. He also lamented the cancelation of the show, declaring it a "shame we didn’t get to see more of this guy". With some of the images also including the character's comic book weapon, The Trident of Lucifer, they have already received a wave of compliments from fans for the beautiful and terrifyingly detailed realization. Check them out below:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by jsmarantz (@jsmarantz)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by jsmarantz (@jsmarantz)

As well as Swamp Thing, Marantz also worked on such shows as Grimm and such films as 10 Cloverfield Lane. He has also worked extensively in the MCU, with contributions to such Marvel outings as Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and, most recently, Spider-Man: Far From Home. Among his upcoming projects, he helped design creatures for an episode of Lovecraft Country. The latter was produced by acclaimed directors  J.J. Abrams and Jordan Peele and scheduled to air on HBO.

Evoking such iconic screen creatures as The Beast from Angel season 4 and Tim Curry's Lord of Darkness from Ridley Scott's 1985 film Legend, the results are indeed dazzling. And not just for their comic accuracy. Like Marantz, fans continue to mourn the early cancelation of the show. Such images are sure to only exacerbate such feelings, as well as spur on the campaign to see the network change their mind. Whether or not such a campaign succeeds shall remain to be seen. If not, however, at least there exists such artwork to enjoy.

More: DC's Swamp Thing: 10 Questions That Will Never Get Answered Now That It’s Canceled

Swamp Thing season 1 is available in its entirety on DC Universe.

Source: Jerad S.Marantz/Instagram

source https://screenrant.com/swamp-thing-concept-art-blue-devil/

[ezekialmcadams]

2018 In Review

So, another year has passed.

ANYONE else felt this year just flew by like a rocket? I remember when I was a kid, my parents or other adults always spoke of the furious passage of time as an adult, but, HOLY FIRE ROASTED TROUTS!, it felt that I sneezed and I’m already at the end of the year. It didn’t help that this year was a garbage fire.

I was pretty disappointed in myself this year. I set some pretty lofty goals, and unfortunately, I fell short on every single one.

BOOKS

I only read SIX BOOKS out of my 100 book Challenge on Goodreads. Some might think this was a big undertaking but I’m a pretty voracious reader, and last year I exceeded my list reading sixty books. So excluding comics and graphic novels,

This is what I read

1)End of an Era by Robert J. Sawyer

2)A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline D’Engel

3)Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House by Michael Wolfe

4)Twin Peaks: A Final Dossier by Mark Frost

5)The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton

I had a few books that I’m still reading

Congo by Michael Crichton

Red Raptor by Robert T. Bakker

Sphere by Michael Crichton

The Serpent’s Secret by Sayantani DasGupta

Firebrand (Steeplejack Series) by A.J. Hartley

What Happened by Hilary Rodham Clinton

Aquaman: 75 Year Celebration by DC Comics

Green Arrow: 75 Year History by DC Comics

Ghostbusters: Ultimate Visual History by Daniel Wallace

I’m pretty disappointed in myself in not reading as much, but, honestly, I just didn’t have the energy this year. Every time I would start reading, my mind would wander with e5ith anxious thoughts or life stuff and I LOVE reading and don’t really want to sleepwalk through reading. I want to enjoy and be immersed into whatever reading, so instead I put the books down :(

Next year, I’ll hopefully do better.

TV

I had a very overwhelming list of TV series that I either wanted to watch for work, entertainment or just to keep up with Peak TV and pop culture.I planned to watch all of my unwatched series on Netflix, so I could write an article on the overwhelming dump of Netflix original content. I fell short. Here is a list of all the tv, from everything I was watching weekly, to the series I had started but haven’t finished, unwatched series, upcoming series I’m interested in and everything I finished.

  2018 in TV            

MONDAY

Manifest (Eight episodes left)

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee

Queen Sugar: Season 2 (Fourteen episodes left)

UnREAL: Season 4 (Nine episodes left)

THURSDAY

The Good Place: Season 3 (Three episodes left)

Murphy Brown: Season 11 (Three episodes left)

FRIDAY

SUNDAY

Escape at Dannemora (Three episodes left)

STARTED BUT HAVEN’T FINISHED

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (Seven episodes left)

Snowfall (Nine episodes left)

I’m Dying Up Here (Nine episodes left)

Top of the Lake: Season 2 (Five episodes left)

Anne with an E (Six episodes left)

This Is Us (Seventeen episodes left)

The Handmaid’s Tale (Nine episodes left)

The Mist: Season 1 (Nine episodes left)

Guerilla: Miniseries (Five episodes left)

Jamestown (Seven episodes left)

Ghosted (Eight episodes left)

The Mayor (Ten episodes left)

Alias Grace (Five episodes left)

Tin Star (Nine episodes left)

Hard Sun (Five episodes left)

Britannia (Eight episodes left)

The Deuce (Seven episodes left)

Everything Sucks (Nine episodes left)

Altered Carbon (Nine episodes left)

Dark (Nine episodes left)

Mosaic (Five episodes left)

Rise AKA Drama High (Nine episodes left)

The Crossing (Six episodes left)

The Looming Tower (Nine episodes left)

The Terror (Nine episodes left)

Into the Badlands (Two Seasons left)

Killing Eve (Seven episodes left)

Marco Polo (Seven episodes left)

White Famous (Nine episodes left)

Reverie (Five episodes left)

Sharp Objects (Six episodes left)

The Outpost (Nine episodes left)

Cloak and Dagger (Nine episodes left)

Who is America (Six episodes left)

Bobcat Goldthait’s Misfts and Monsters (Seven episodes left)

Sacred Lies (Two episodes left)

Strange Angel (Nine episodes left)

Succession (Nine episodes left)

Insatiable (Twelve episodes left)

Kidding (Nine episodes left)

$1 (Nine episodes left)

The Purge (Nine episodes left)

Jack Ryan (Nine episodes left)

The First (Seven episodes left)

Into The Dark (Eleven episodes left)

God Friended Me (Sixteen episodes left)

Tell Me A Story (Nine episodes left)

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (Ten episodes left)

The Kominsky Method (Six episodes left)

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 2 (Six episodes left)

Titans (Eleven episodes left)

Dirty John (Six episodes left)

NightFlyers (Nine episodes left)

Preacher: Season 3 (Nine episodes left)

In Search Of (2018) (Nine episodes left)

Absentia (Nine episodes left)

Yellowstone (Eight episodes left)

UNWATCHED TV SHOWS

Daredevil: Season 1 & 2 (Netflix)

Sense8 (Netflix)

Narcos (Netflix)

Love (Netflix)

Haters Back Off (Netflix)

The Crown (Netflix)

Ronja The Robber’s Daughter (Amazon)

GirlBOSS (Netflix)

Dear White People (Netflix)

The Keepers (Netflix)

Outcast: Season 2 (Cinemax)

Gypsy (Netflix)

Friends From College (Netflix)

Ozark (Netflix)

Mr. Mercedes (Audience)

Atypical (Netflix)

The Disappearance (CTV)

Mindhunter (Netflix)

Frankie Drake Mysteries (CBC)

Godless (Netflix)

The Indian Detective (CTV) - Nov 23 2017

Greenhouse Academy (Netflix)

Grace and Frankie: Season 4 (Netflix)

The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 4 Part 1 (Netflix)

Lost in Space (Netflix)

Stranger Things: Season 2 (Netflix)

Jessica Jones: Season 2 (Netflix)

The Rain (Netflix) - May 4 2018

Impulse (YouTube Premimum) - June 6 2018

The Hollow (Netflix) - June 8 2018

Treehouse Detectives  (Netflix) - June 8 2018

Two Sentence Horror Stories (Stage13) - Oct 2017

Queen Sugar: Season 3

The Dragon Prince (Netflix) - Sept 14 2018

Origin (YouTube Premium) - Nov 14 2018

Queen America (Facebook Watch) - Nov 21 2018

UPCOMING

Carnival Row (Amazon) - 2019

They Can’t Kill Us All (AMC)

Heist 88 (FX)

Blood and Treasure (CBS) - 2019

The Underground Railroad (Amazon)

Messiah (Netflix) - 2019

Kaos (Netflix)

Away - Mars Drama (Netflix)

Lovecraft Country (HBO) - 2019

Motherland (Freeform)

See (Apple)

Northern Rescue (CBC Gem/Netflix) - March 1 2019

Search Party: Season 3 - 2019

Are You Sleeping? (Apple)

NOS4A2 (AMC)

Another Life (Netflix)

Gen: LOCK (Rooster Teeth) - 2019

Diablo Animated Series (Netflix)

Avatar Last Airbender Live Action (Netflix)

The I-Land (Netflix)

October Faction (Netflix)

Warrior Nun (Netflix)

Hamelins (Netflix) - 2019

Sunshine Scouts (Netflix)  

The Passage (Fox)

Dark Cargo (YouTube Premium)

Barkskins (Nat Geo) - 2019

The Outsider (HBO) - 2019

Coroner (CBC) - Jan 6 2019

Cavendish (CBC) - Jan 8 2019

Unspeakable (Limited Series) (CBC) - Jan 9 2019

Deadly Class (SyFy) - Jan 16 2019

Black Monday (Showtime) - Jan 20 2019

Street Legal 2019 Revival (CBC) - March 4 2019

Diggstown (CBC) - March 6 2019

FINISHED

Ghost Wars: Season 1 - Finished Jan 7 2018

Van Helsing: Season 2 - Finished Jan 8 2018

Marvel’s Runaways: Season 1 - Finished Jan 9 2018

American Vandal: Season 1 - Finished Jan 24 2018

The Good Place: Season 2 - Finished Feb 1 2018

One Day at A Time: Season 1 - Finished Feb 10 2018

Star Trek: Discovery: Season 1 - Finished Feb 11 2018

One Day At A Time: Season 2 - Finished Feb 21 2018

SeaQuest DSV:Season 1 - Finished March 11 2018

Channel Zero: Butcher’s Block: Season 3 - Finished March 17 2018

Gargoyles: Season 1 - Finished March 30 2018

Max Headroom Pilot - April 3 2018

Prey Pilot - April 3 2018

Karen Sisco Pilot - April 4 2018

Wolf Lake Pilot - April 4 2018

The Magicians: Season 3 - Finished April 6 2018

Santa Clarita Diet: Season 2 - Finished April 24 2018

Black Lightning: Season 1 - Finished May 17 2018

Timeless; Season 2 - Finished May 19 2018

UnREAL: Season 3 - Finished May 19 2018

Superstition: Season 1 - Finished May 20 2018

Sien AKA The Deep: Season 1 - Finished May 23 2018

iZombie: Season 4 - Finished May 29 2018

The Americans: Season 6 - Finished May 31` 2019

Legion: Season 2 - Finished June 18 2018

Supergirl: Season 3 - Finished June 19 2018

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season 3 - Finished June 24 2018

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Season 3 - Finished June 24 2018

Star Trek: Voyager: Season 3 - Finished June 24 2018

Westworld: Season 2 - Finished June 24 2017

The Expanse: Season 3 - Finished July 15 2018

Star Trek: The Next Generation:  Season 4 - Finished Aug 10 2018

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Season 4 - Finished Aug 10 2018

Star Trek: Voyager: Season 4 - Finished Aug 10 2018

Clarissa Explains It All Pilot - Aug 12 2018

Orange Is The New Black: Season 6 - Finished Aug 26 2018

Big Mouth: Season 1 - Finished Aug 31 2018

Cobra Kai: Season 1 - Finished Sept 2 2018

The Path: Season 3 - Finished Sept 6 2018

Freakish: Season 2 - Finished Sept 8 2018

SMILF: Season 1 - Finished Sept 9 2018

Castle Rock: Season 1 - Finished Sept 13 2018

Barry: Season 1 - Finished Sept 20 2018

Lodge 49: Season 1 - Finished Sept 21 2018

American Vandal: Season 2 - Finished Sept 22 2018

13 Reasons Why: Season 1 - Finished Sept 26 2018

Wynonna Earp: Season 3 - Finished Sept 30 2018

13 Reasons Why: Season 2 - Finished Oct 5 2018

The Haunting of Hill House: Season 1 - Finished Oct 13 2018

Light As a Feather: Season 1 - Finished Oct 14 2018

A Discovery of Witches: Season 1 - Finished Nov 5 2018

YOU: Season 1 - Finished Nov 12 2018

Lore: Season 2 - Finished Nov 12 2018

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Season 1 - Finished Nov 23 2018

Castlevania: Season 2 - Finished Nov 28 2018

Doctor Who: Season 11 - Finished Dec 11 2018

Preacher: Season 2 - Finished Dec 15 2018

VIDEO GAMES

This year, I intended to play more videogames, and while I finished Firewatch, which turned out to be one of my favourite games of the last decade and a great first person adventure game to boot, I again, bought many games I never finished including Stardew Valley, The Adventures of Willy Beamish, Inherit the Earth, Lighthouse: The Dark Being and Bioshock.

Many other games including personal faves, Maniac Mansion, Grim Fandango, Curse of Monkey Island, Escape from Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge: Remastered Edition I bought but either haven’t had the time or interest to replay.

Others such as Shivers, Ecco The Dolphin, The Dagger of Amon Ra: A Laura Bow Mystery, and Broken Sword, I just didn’t have the energy to start.

I’m hoping next year to at least finish five games.

EZEKIEL CONFRONTS CHALLNGE

If you’ve been following me on social media, you know this year, I really want to dig down and confront fears or personal biases on things I deemed embarrassing or nerdy such as conventions, D&D, Magic:TG, WOW (World of Warcraft) and rewatching all of the Star Trek series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager, as well as watching series such as SeaQuest:DSV, Battlestar Galactica and Babylon 5 for the first time.

Ezekiel Watches Star Trek

I really ENJOYED rewatching Star Trek. It was such a big part of my early childhood watching TNG  with my parents and I LOVED DS9 and enjoyed Voyager, so getting to go back was such a delight and reignited my love for these series and made me want to proudly wear them as a source of pride rather then a blemish of embarrassment., I’m sad I wasn’t able to watch all seven series of each of the three series, but I’m halfway done  Season 5 on TNG, DS9 and Voyager that hopefully I can finish all series by the end of Jan 2019.

Ezekiel Watches SeaQuest, Battlestar and Babylon 5

I never watched SeaQuest DSV as a kid, despite my LOVE of the ocean and exploration, again due to embarrassment and wanting to be cool. I’ve watched the first season, there are three in total, and despite a few problematic areas *cough* poorly written female characters *cough* I really liked the potential of the series and a few of the characters.

With both Battlesar and Babylon 5, I only watched the Pilots of both series and while I enjoyed them, I didn’t have nearly enough a sample to know if I’ll enjoy them. Hoping to watch more of each as well as finish the last two seasons of SeaQuest next year.

Ezekiel Plays WOW

I’ve never played WOW (or had any interest). For a decade, my two younger siblings have tried to bully me into playing but it wasn’t until my friend, Kelly, started playing with her husband, that I wanted to share something that had become important to her. I don’t know I’d continue if Kelly stopped playing but so far I’m enjoying myself. I didn’t expect to enjoy (mainly it’s Kelly), she’s an EXCELLENT guide and is very good with going slow with me and teaching me about the world and its rules and not making me feel stupid or a burden.

PERSONAL GOALS

This year was my hard, my debut novel that was supposed to get published this past November, had an issue with my publisher and now its release is TBA, I feel like a failure, and my main priority of 2019 is getting the novel that I’ve worked on for five years PUBLISHED!

I wanted to lose twenty five pounds and start working out more to feel better, less sluggish and work on my mental health.. In this area, I succeeded, lost the weight I needed, and walked 3 km every day from May to late September. I need to work out more but I don’t feel as bad that didn’t happen.

I didn’t write as much as I wanted both for work and personal. I didn’t have as much published pieces as I’ve had in previous years. A lot of it was that my mental health was low throughout the year, and I had too many days off due to feeling depleted and exhausted .

I also didn’t work on the short stories much that I want to compile in a short story anthology that I want to self publish on Amazon and E Book. Again, I just need to push myself and write every day like I used to.

That being said, I’m really excited to go into the New Year and do better :)

BEST OF 2018

Two awesome things happened this year, I got my cat, Cheriden that was a rescue from my friend’s parent’s acreage, and he’s honestly the best part of my life right now. I had a cat, Sneaky, who was a tabby, when I was little but I’ve always wanted an animal that was a companion, that would come for snuggles and follow me around.  Cheriden was made for me, sometimes he’s too needy but he’s improved the quality of my life so much.

in 2005, I found a website, Isle of Coloden that was run by Kelly, who seemed just as weird as me and I admired her for her openness when blogging was such a new thing for me, I always thought she was a cool, and pathetic as it sounds, wanted to be her friend..  Last December, my ex, suggested I tell her how much she helped me through a difficult time in my life, when I had lost my girlfriend, I was initially reluctant but I did and Kelly and I started  chatting, she is now a co-host on my pod, Pop! Fishbowl, has helped me with WOW and I’m so glad to have such a caring, unique, opinionated person in my life.

For Christmas, she surprised me and bought me the first two seasons of Disney’s Gargoyles (Pretty much the complete series IGNORE Season 3!!!), which was such a delightful, thoughtful gift that came during a very tumultuous stressful week

and today I was again surprised to see I always made her best of 2018 list :) Shut up, I’m not smiling, YOU ARE! :) XD

TO 2019, AND BEYOND

Going into the New Year, I want to get my book published, figure out my two book deal so I get started on the next two that make up the trilogy, continue walking/working out both physically and mentally, finish my tv list, read at least 50 books and try to get short stories published in journals/magazines as well as play five video games.

In regards onto my website, Culture Gecko, I want to work on more local pieces in both Saskatoon and my other home, Vancouver. Interview local art7ist7s, business owners, report on news and current events. 

Fingers crossed, you guys!