Summary: Monica invites her high school friend Will over for Thanksgiving but tensions arise because Will has always hated Rachel. Joey tasks himself with eating an entire turkey.
The Good: This may not have been as well-written as some of the bet episodes of "Friends" but this was certainly a very entertaining and hilarious experience. Not every joke lands, but the ones that do land are excellent and I was laughing hard during several scenes. The "I Hate Rachel Club" is a clever idea and it leads to some really funny moments between Will, Ross and Rachel, especially when the rumours started getting introduced. While Rachel being a hermaphrodite is decently funny, it's Ross' new reputation as a "romancer of the elderly" that really lands. I also really enjoyed Will. Brad Pitt is one of the show's most notable guest stars so far and I though he was handled very well, playing a fun character who never gets too much attention, detracting from the episode. The other characters have decent stuff as well. Monica adds some extra depth and laughs to the storyline, Chandler and Phoebe get the odd good line, and Joey is fun as he prepares to eat the turkey. The Bad: Some of the writing isn't great here. Chandler and Phoebe's storyline fizzles out quickly without doing much of anything. Seeing Ross and Rachel fight has gotten pretty tiresome over the seasons and this fight has to be one of their most forced arguments. It's hard to buy into Rachel being upset at Ross for something he did 15+ years ago. Obviously he doesn't feel the same way anymore. Furthermore, while Ross kissing the old librarian is funny, it continues the trend of the writers repeatedly humiliating Ross. Plus, it feels like stuff like this should have come up earlier. Best Moment: There are lots of great lines here. I'll go with Ross saying "she didn't look 50" and Chandler's reply of "did she look 16". Character of the Episode: Ross. Conclusion: The jokes and ideas in this episode are tremendous and it leads to another excellent Thanksgiving episode. But because of some writing flaws, I can't say this is one of the show's better Thanksgiving episodes. Regardless, it's a lot of fun and is another welcome addition to season 8, a season which has done very well to have so many memorable episodes so far. Score: 72
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Summary: Jake recruits Wuntch, CJ and The Vulture to help the Nine Nine bring down John Kelly, leading to lots of tension. Terry is in denial about his transfer.
The Good: This episode and the last are polar opposites. Where the last episode poorly utilized the characters and had a shocking lack of effective jokes, this episode had some of the best and funniest character interactions I can remember in the show with nearly every joke landing perfectly. This is "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" working at its fullest potential. Finally the overarching story is actually used well because it doesn't take itself too seriously and the episode is packed with jokes no matter what the situation is. This show has always failed when we are expected to take it seriously. Thankfully that's not the case here at all. Furthermore, the characters are all used perfectly. Terry's gimmick makes logical sense as he's in denial about a very real problem, and the show isn't concerned with tricking us into thinking that Terry's actually leaving. It's a plot used to make jokes which is perfect, and Terry's constant denial is joked about in really clever ways. The side characters are utilized perfectly in this episode and all of them are hilarious. I've had problems with the repetitiveness of Wuntch, the blandness of The Vulture and the over-the-top nature of CJ, but I thought all three characters were at their best in this episode, bringing in jokes at perfect time. Plus with so many characters in the episode, each characters shtick never got old and it was 20 minutes of pure fun with some outstanding jokes packed in there. The Bad: Nothing I would call bad. Best Moment: It's incredibly hard to pick. I'll have to go with Rosa questioning Holt calling Wuntch a snake only for him to reply "the devil comes in many forms". The icing on the cake is Rosa nodding as if it's a perfectly reasonable explanation. Character of the Episode: It's a hard choice. I'll go with Terry for this one. Conclusion: This is exactly what I've wanted from the show. "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" is always at its best when it commits to being silly, fast-paced fun and I'm very glad that it went all out for this episode. All in all, this was a very memorable season finale that ended up being one of the show's best episodes. The season as a whole wasn't quite so good. I've used the word inconsistent many times in my reviews when describing this season and I wholeheartedly stand by that. This season had some really good episodes but it had far more stinkers than any other season. Some good ideas were explored well, but even more bad ideas came up and detracted from the episodes. In its favour, I can safely say that season 6 was the most ambitious and experimental season of the show, with plenty of episodes that took risks and tried something different. I appreciate the risks but not all of them paid off unfortunately, and a lot of choices in this season did not work. One other big talking point about this season was the departure of Gina and unfortunately this was the worst part of the season. Gina has always been the weakest character of the show and this season utilized her worse than any other. Overall, I enjoyed parts of this season but much of it was incredibly disappointing to me. This was one of the show's weakest seasons, along with season 4, but I hope that the showrunners have learned what works and what does not so we can get a more consistent experience in season 7. Score: 82 Summary: Holt tasks Jake and Charles with hunting down a serial killer using traditional methods to spite John Kelly. Terry learns he's going to be transferred to Staten Island so he tries to get a coworker, Brian, to quit so that the Nine Nine can have enough funding to keep him there.
The Good: I liked parts of this. It was nice to see Caleb again and I enjoyed Jake and Charles investigation story. The episode's clear highlights came from Holt dissing Kelly repeatedly. The Terry storyline is decent fun and there are some good moments throughout. Hearing Down with the Sickness play at the end was beautiful, and I think this "suicide squad" set-up is a really exciting idea for the next episode. The Bad: But this episode wasn't very good. Once again "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" goes towards an overarching story and it does not work. This episode did not have enough laughs and the story was bland and predictable. Of course Kelly is so villainous that he tries to make New York a police state. Of course his henchman said baba booey on hot clues for some stupid reason so that Jake could make the connection. The writing is horrible and I don't care for this Holt vs Kelly story since we know Kelly obviously won't end up succeeding, just like all the other villains in the show. Caleb's return was fun but the character was really sold down the river by having him spontaneously try to bite anyone that gets near him. The cannibal jokes started to get old last time we saw Caleb, and it's disappointing that his return only led to even more of these horrible cannibal jokes. The Terry story is underwhelming as well. It's obvious Terry isn't going to be leaving and the episode doesn't do enough with this idea to be funny. As a final note, I didn't like how minimal of a role Amy, Rosa and Charles played in this episode. In an ensemble sitcom it's weak when half of the characters hardly do anything in an episode. Best Moment: Probably Terry trying to claim that Staten Island is still part of the city. Not many other moments made me smile. Character of the Episode: Holt. Conclusion: This was really underwhelming. It set up a fun story for the next episode but I was stunned by how dull and unfunny this was, especially for a show that has usually at least been entertaining even if not always hilarious. The inconsistency of season 6 continues. Score: 49 Summary: On the day of Terry's lieutenant's exam, the precinct decides to do the delayed Halloween heist.
The Good: Clearly my negativity in the last episode was misplaced as I had completely forgotten that we hadn't seen a Halloween heist in this season yet. And as usual, it was spectacular. The crazy twists and turns and the vicious competitiveness of all of the characters has become par for the course for these heists and as ever, it was tremendous fun to see everything go down. So many parts of this episode were terrifically funny, like Holt's constant insults and claims that he is the only two-time winner, Amy and Jake's taser gifts, Jake constantly betraying Terry, the second Scully and the return of Bill (he's not dead!). All of these moments were fantastic and were incredibly fun to watch. The creativity on display in these Halloween episodes is unmatched, and it's no wonder that these are always so much fun to watch. Having Terry win this one was perfect, as was the reveal that he already became a lieutenant weeks ago and simply orchestrated all of this to have his big moment and one-up the rest of the precinct. The Bad: Nothing about this episode was bad. The only reservation I have is that these Halloween episodes almost feel like they are from an entirely different show, one that is far better than this one. I wish the show could be this good in every episode. Instead it feels like I have to get through the show, waiting for it to entertain me in the select few episodes as good as this one. Best Moment: So many moments to pick from. Character of the Episode: Terry. Conclusion: This episode won't change my opinion about the season as a whole, but wow I had a tremendously fun time watching it. The Hallwoeen episodes are the best thing this show has done and every season they seem to be several levels above everything else that the show does. This episode was no exception and managed to be just as fun as last season's Halloween episode, which is no mean feat. Even as the show is starting to lose my faith, I'm still excited to see more of these. Score: 84 Summary: Jake is thrilled when he and Terry get to meet with Gina again but he finds that she is surprisingly distant. Holt is convinced Nikolaj is a genius and helps Charles give him the training he needs. Rosa is injured but refuses to take any help from Amy.
The Good: The physical comedy of Rosa trying to open the door was pretty funny and it also had that fantastically explicit line from Rosa (see: Best Moment). It was a dumb C-story, but had some good jokes, complete with a wonderfully ironic end with Amy absurdly being taught a lesson by watching Rosa. Holt and Charles have a few good lines in their story as well, with Holt's consistently hilarious personality shining once more. The Bad: This side stories have their problems though. The Amy/Rosa story is familiar physical comedy for the show and it feels like regression for Rosa to go back to being too tough for help after all of the development she has gone through throughout the series. The Holt/Charles storyline is honestly pretty dumb. It's blatantly clear that Nikolaj isn't a genius so the reveal that Holt is wrong isn't funny and it just makes him look like an utter fool. The main storyline was a complete failure courtesy of Gina's return. It's infuriating that the show brings Gina back only to misuse her even more than ever. Gina in this episode embodies all of her worst tendencies as she proves to be as selfish as ever, cutting off her friends and making it abundantly clear that they mean nothing to her. Yet by the end of the episode, the writers try to get us to sympathize with and understand Gina in spite of her making no moves to change who she is, acting like Gina is completely justified in what she's doing. It's every bit as frustrating as it was before Gina left the show, and I'm left feeling disappointed that Gina's return gave us all of the characters worst attributes without giving us anything worthwhile to appreciate her return. Best Moment: Rosa responding to Amy's "you can't spell independent without dependent" with "you can't spell go f*** yourself without f*** you!" Character of the Episode: Rosa. Conclusion: Gina's poorly handled return, combined with some empty side stories made this episode another failure in a season that has been extremely disappointing. Right when the show strings together some strong episodes, it falls to the bottom with this poor episode. Inconsistency has dragged down this season, and my hopes are low for the season turning into something worthwhile in the final few episodes. Score: 45 Summary: The Nine-Nine try to stop a hacker from accessing their records. Rosa is unsure of what to do when Jocelyn arrives, wanting to break up with her.
The Good: This was another experimental episode and I really enjoyed it. The time crunch led to a lot of fun and fast-paced interactions, squeezing a lot of great jokes into the episode. Hitchcock and Scully were the highlight in their quest to get the garlic bread in time for the lasagna so they could really enjoy it. It was dumb fun that meshed brilliantly with the serious threat of the hacker to keep things feeling light and entertaining. Plus the ending gag with the two of them eating their food in silence was perfect. Rosa's story was also a good use of the character and she was given some nice scenes with Jake. Amy's FOMOW was a lot of fun as well and I really enjoyed her irrational attempts to get back to the precinct. The Bad: Jocelyn comes off as incredibly selfish for putting herself above Rosa's incredibly important job, especially since it seems like she spends plenty of time with Rosa anyways, evidenced by Rosa's everchanging hairdos in "The Crime Scene" and Rosa saying that they still see each other every day. It's hard to buy into Rosa really liking Jocelyn when we know nothing about her and when she comes off as a total bitch in this episode. The twist with Knox being the hacker was really easy to predict unfortunately which hurt the episode a bit. Best Moment: Hitchcock and Scully calling Holt and Jake, demanding to know what happened to the lasagna. Character of the Episode: Hitchcock and Scully definitely take this one. Conclusion: This was a fun and unique episode that got in a lot of laughs, even if some of the storylines weren't as good as they could have been. Score: 68 Summary: Jake helps Holt on a case when he starts feeling self-conscious interacting with Kevin's academic friends. Terry and Amy compete over who can throw the best lunch party for the Nine-Nine.
The Good: I really loved the main storyline of this episode. Having Holt, the most intelligent and robotic member of the Nine-Nine express feelings of self-consciousness and insecurity when dealing with Kevin's friends is wonderful and it's a very unique side of the character to explore. It's a clear case of impostor syndrome, a complex psychological condition that I'm really surprised to see this show tackle. Holt is wonderfully human as he deals with this and there is a surprising amount of comedy scenes throughout this more serious plot line, making it consistently entertaining, and even unpredictable at times. Holt was fantastic throughout the episode, portraying his nervousness while also being hilarious doing little things like "creating a kerfuffle" or playing crossword games. Jake is also excellent here as he tries to convince the smartest man he knows that he isn't just some loser. Jake is endearing, and his lines throughout the episode are great, with my favourite being when he learns that he's like a Hitchcock to these academic people. As a final note, it was very satisfying to have Kevin stand up for Holt against his colleagues. The show did a wonderful job of using realistic superiority complexes to make these people utterly detestable. Also, highly educated people looking down on less educated people as lesser individuals is a huge pet peeve of mine, so the ending really worked for me. The B-story has some fun moments too like Gary complaining about getting shot and Hitchcock and Scully somehow travelling to both lunches. The Bad: The B story unfortunately isn't very good overall. For some reason it's centered around John Kelly's budget cuts which feels really out of place as it's a storyline I had completely forgotten about. Furthermore, the lunches that Terry and Amy made were incredibly expensive and it's impossible to buy into both of them dropping that much money wastefully, especially when they complain about budget cuts hurting the precinct's quality of life. It should be a no-brainer to spend this money on services around the precinct rather than expensive lunches. Honestly, having such expensive lunches really undermines the threat of budget cuts anyways, and it also means that the plot makes no sense whatsoever. Best Moment: Holt playing the crossword app. Character of the Episode: Holt. Conclusion: This episode had one awesome storyline and one weak one. I think the excellence in the A-story shines enough to overcome a lot of the episode's shortcomings however, so I have a much more positive feeling towards this episode than a negative one. Even with some nonsensical aspects, the high quality of the A-story helps the episode overcome a lot. Score: 71 Summary: Jake convinces Amy to have a "casecation" where they spend time together working on a case in the hospital but early on they stumble upon a serious issue when they realize that they disagree on the matter of having kids.
The Good: This was another single storyline episode and I really like how often these are coming uo. It's enjoyable to watch a single story unfold and I thought that it improved the experience of this episode. There were some good jokes here like the hilarious debate and the endless stream of debate monitors as well as Terry and Rosa's ill-times casecation dance and Pam's hilarious comments. The Bad: But unfortunately the story needs to be good for a single storyline episode to deliver. This one was not a good story because it wa shighly implausible. I could understand a couple getting haphazardly married without determining if the other wants kids or not. but I absolutely cannot buy somebody like Amy not making this clear with Jake beforehand. It's an insult to the character of Amy to assume that she didn't discuss this with Jake several years ago. Furthermore, it's absurd to think that this never came up. Did they seriously not discuss this in episodes like "Moo Moo" where Charles outright encourages them to have kids and they actually babysit? Furthermore, we have never seen Jake express that he doesn't want kids so this came right out of nowhere, and it's starting to get frustrating how the show explains away random new character beats being added to Jake with "daddy issues". It's repetitive and lazy, and this episode falls victim to it. What's worse is Amy threatening to divorce Jake having not given him even a few hours to search his feelings. It doesn't feel consistent with the relationship these two have had over the past 5 seasons, and it's a complete overreaction from Amy. Lastly, Holt's arrival in this episode made no sense. There's no way that Holt would ever stop working to monitor a debate between Jake and Amy. Hell, he thought Amy was keeping Jake in check during an investigation! Why on Earth would he be okay with this debate? Much of the episode was written poorly like this. Lastly, the bomb scene felt tonally out of place in this episode. It was needlessly intense without any stakes and it very much feels like it was forced to give Jake the necessary moment where he realized he wants kids. Like the rest of the story, it felt lazy. Best Moment: The countless membership credentials being listed off was a funny joke that kept getting funnier as it went on. Character of the Episode: Jake. Conclusion: This episode was hugely disappointing. This should have been a great episode but the horrible continuity and writing dragged this one down badly. Another poor episode in what is turning out to be a really disappointing season. Score: 48 Summary: Jake and Charles work a case involving a therapist who Jake thinks is guilty of the crime. Terry tries to hide that he ordered a sex book. Holt tries to get Rosa to let him meet her girlfriend Jocelyn.
The Good: The 3 stories here are fine enough. Jake not liking therapy has been a trait of his for a long while, so I really enjoyed seeing an episode dedicated to this idea. There were some good moments in the storyline like Jake's horrible accents. The side stories were solid enough. Rosa's fake date was fun once you realized what was going on, and I thought that the relationship between Holt and Rosa was nicely explored in this storyline. It's great to see how much these characters have grown from the time they struggled to speak to each other while Rosa was dating Marcus. The Terry/Amy story is pure filler but it's funny filler and I enjoyed it. Unlike last episode, this episode clowns Terry in a believable and funny way. It humanizes Terry to have him have sexual flaws and it's funny to see him go to such lengths to keep his secret. The Bad: There was something missing from all three of the storylines. Since Gina's departure, the show has had fewer storylines per episode on average which has helped make each of the storylines more significant, for better or for worse. This episode has 3 storylines and it really hurts the episode because none of the three storylines ever hit their full potential because they feel very rushed. Best Moment: The ridiculous cold open using B words the entire time and ending in an absurd scream of "BABUSHKA!" is funnier than it has any right to be. Character of the Episode: Jake. Conclusion: This was a solid episode of comedy. The storylines were rushed, but they were all good and easy enough to watch. There isn't anything special about this episode, but it meets my expectations. Score: 65 Summary: Jake and Charles work together to stop Nikolaj's birth father Gintars from confusing Nikolaj. Holt and Amy get excited when forensics expert Dr. Yee comes down to the precinct.
The Good: There are some good jokes here. Holt and Amy's awe towards Dr. Yee is funny, as is Terry's deteriorating face. Jake and Charles have a nice enough story with some good moments to it. The Bad: I did not like the stories in this episode. The A-story was the better of the two, but it had weaker jokes and a pretty dumb premise. Gintars coming to see Nikolaj is strange. You get the sense that he would have given up all rights to contact Nikolaj when he put him up for adoption yet this was never mentioned. Furthermore, it's idiotic that Jake and Charles would allow Gintars to meet Nikolaj purely because he said he would not reveal Nikolaj's true parentage. It feels dumb for them to be so trusting of Gintars. Additionally, I did not like that Jake inexplicably went behind Charles' back to get rid of Gintars when typically they would do something like this together. And it feels even more forced that Charles wants Jake to get out of his family life when Charles gets involved in his and Amy's life all the time. The story was not well written here. The B-story is a typical sitcom story that sabotages its characters. Holt and Amy are annoying and out of character as they inexplicably geek out over Dr. Yee. It's beyond stupid that they kept up this behaviour after Dr. Yee was revealed to be a fraud and it makes them look awful. Holt gets it the worst here as the character is completely sold out for jokes. He insults Terry and Rosa at will and shows no concern whatsoever for his detectives or his position while dealing with Dr. Yee. It's an insult to the character of Holt to have him behave like this, and several decent jokes are ruined because Holt is such an out-of-character asshole in this episode. Terry ruining his face is funny but the reason for him doing so is idiotic. Everyone knows that microbes live on the human body so having Terry get rid of his facial hair to prevent this makes him look like the dumbest person in the precinct. Best Moment: Gintars and Charles trying to out-Nikolaj each other. Character of the Episode: Jake. Conclusion: This was a bad episode. Dumb storylines, characters behaving woefully out of character, weak jokes and poor writing all combine to make this one of the worst episodes of the show. Season 6 has been incredibly inconsistent so far with some great episodes but some bad stinkers like this one. Score: 43 Summary: Amy takes Jake to a dinner with her mom and perfect brother David who is obviously the preferred child. Charles enlists Terry and Holt in a competition to determine who can go undercover to get information from a criminal.
The Good: I enjoyed both storylines. They have their fun moments and I laughed numerous times. Jake is perfect in the Amy storylines as his reactions to Amy's unhinged responses to David being arrested are fantastic. He seems genuinely confused and almost scared for her which is realistic but still funny. Furthermore, the end of the episode where he lashes out at Amy's mom was excellent and I really enjoyed it. The Charles story is also pretty good. Charles isn't allowed to show how smart he is in most episodes but thankfully he got to prove that here as he sets up the horrible Holt and the average Terry for failure in order to send Rosa to extract the information. Terry and Holt are really funny here and I enjoyed their roles. At first I was annoyed that Charles' worst attributes were being focused on to ruin the plan, but the writers came up with a clever twist to end the episode and I really liked it. The silly traits that these characters exhibit are always far better when they are clearly being done as a joke rather than these traits just being who the characters are. The Bad: Amy's arc doesn't feel like the right one. It seemed like the episode was going to tackle how unfair it is for parents to clearly have a favourite child but instead what we focused on was just pure jealousy from Amy and the greater problem of Amy's achievements not being recognized by her parents was completely ignored. It felt awkward throughout the episode to not address this, and I always felt like the wrong story was being told. Best Moment: Jake raging at Amy's mom. Character of the Episode: Jake. Conclusion: This is another solid episode with a lot of good jokes. It doesn't end up being anything special, but I liked it. Another typical "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" episode. Score: 67 Summary: Jake helps Amy solve a sexual assault case. Holt suspects that his nemesis the Disco Strangler has escaped prison though it is far more likely that he is dead.
The Good: I enjoyed both of the storylines in the episode as they were quite fun. The Jake/Amy story feels like a spiritual successor to "Moo Moo", bringing light onto the serious issue of sexism. This story ran a huge risk of failing but I think it worked overall, particularly with the consistent jokes throughout the episode that kept everything fun and breezy. Jake in particular was handled really well as he was comedically ignorant but respectful when he needed to be and I really liked that. I also liked that the episode did not have a simple happy ending and Amy only got to provide a small victory instead of a full victory. It's a realistic resolution for a situation like this and I appreciate that the episode didn't sugarcoat it. The guest star characters at the office were also a lot of fun with how scummy they were. The Holt story is also pretty good. It's a story that uses the character of Holt really well and it allows him to be at his sassy, hilarious best as he tries to hunt down this old man he insists is still alive. The Bad: The Disco Strangler as a nemesis of Holt feels forced because we're only told that Holt obsesses over him and are never shown this happening in previous episodes. It's very clearly a retcon to make an interesting plot in this episode. Amy's problems with sexism don't work even close to as well as Terry's problems with racism. Whereas the race problem has been an issue since the beginning of the show with Holt, this sexism problem has been introduced out of nowhere so unfortunately it feels like it was forced into the show instead of being a natural episode like "Moo Moo" was. If an episode like this was the plan, I wish that Amy and Rosa had been characterized better to reflect the ideals that they expressed in this episode. Best Moment: Holt giving out a warning about the Disco Strangler. Everything he says is made 100 times funnier simply because he is the one saying it. Protect your neck! Character of the Episode: I want to give it to Holt but Amy feels right for this episode. Conclusion: This was a solid episode. While not as well done as "Moo Moo", this was a strong episode that tackled a serious topic in a way that didn't detract from the humour you would expect from "Brooklyn Nine-Nine". There were still flaws of course, but I liked this episode. Score: 69 Summary: Jake and Holt work together when they discover a spy has been sent to their precinct. Amy tries to get the precinct more organized.
The Good: The A-plot is brilliant and is "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" at its best. Watching Jake and Holt work together to take down the spy is brilliant and it's their dynamic at its absolute best. On one hand there's Holt who is fantastic here, be it his never-ending barrel explanation or from his reactions to his assistant's "obvious" flirting. He's hilarious throughout and this is Holt at his best. Then there's Jake who is the loveable, energetic detective we have known. What starts as an innocent plan to get Holt a new assistant becomes a spy thriller as Jake channels his inner "Thomas Cruise" while trying to get Holt to engage in the spy dynamic. The story throughout is tremendous fun, and it culminates in a wonderful moment as Holt commits to the spy dynamic to frame John Kelly. It's a satisfying story with numerous funny moments. The Bad: But then we get the B-story which is not good. First of all, it's hard to believe that Amy hasn't already tried to clean the precinct. Second, why does everyone here keep so many possessions? They have homes to put this stuff do they not (looking ta you Charles)? I get that this is why it's supposed to be funny, but it's so stupid to see nobody bring up the sensible solution of taking your stuff home instead of leaving it at the precinct. Furthermore, the reveal Terry's connection to the suspenders is because he wanted to wear them as a lieutenant feels cheap. Why would Terry not just say that before instead of keeping it secret and making everyone feel guilty afterward?! It's an absurd story twist to force an emotional element into the story. Best Moment: I'll go with Holt's hour-long dialogue on barrels. Character of the Episode: Holt. Conclusion: This was an episode of two halves. The A-plot was magnificent and had me tremendously entertained, but the B-plot was a typical stupid sitcom plot idea that was executed poorly. The good does outweigh the bad, but I'm left wondering at how good this episode could have been with a better B-plot. Score: 68 Summary: Flashbacks show one of Adrian's servants impregnating herself with Adrian's sperm. Years later, Trieu comes to Antarctica to visit Adrian, revealing herself as his daughter. Adrian lets her in due to her intelligence and Trieu reveals her plan to take Dr. Manhattan's power and hopes Adrian will fund her. Adrian refuses. On Europa, Trieu's satellite has seen Adrian's message and she sends a probe to bring him back to Earth. Adrian leaves, frozen in gold to preserve himself until he gets back. In the present, Adrian is defrosted by Trieu. Meanwhile, Jon is transported into the 7K's base where Keene is prepared to take his powers. Angela finds the location and bursts in but is outnumbered. She tries to tell Keene about Trieu's plan but he doesn't listen and tries to take Jon's powers. However, Trieu and her people teleport to the 7K location and Keene is liquefied. Jon uses Keene's remains to teleport Adrian, Laurie and an undercover Wade to Antarctica. Honouring her deal with Will, Trieu murders the entirety of the 7K. Trieu takes away Jon's power and he dies. Meanwhile, Adrian decides to use his squidfall on Trieu's location, freezing the squids to make them lethal. They fall and Trieu is killed. Angela runs and makes it tot he theater where Will and her kids are waiting. She eventually makes peace with Will. Adrian is knocked out by Wade and Laurie prepares to apprehend him. Angela remembers Jon talking about all of his powers possibly being in an egg and she finds an egg in her kitchen. She eats it and checks to see if she can now walk on water.
The Good: I liked the reveals that kicked off the episode. I do like the twist that Trieu is Adrian's daughter and it nicely explains how she has been so knowledgeable and rich throughout the series. It also leads to a pretty good dynamic between her and Adrian which I enjoyed throughout the episode. Her motives finally become clear as evidently she was cloning her mother and bringing back her father so they could all witness her achievement. But bringing Adrian back ended up being her undoing. It's simple but effective storytelling. I also really like the detail that the gold statue we saw several episodes back was actually Adrian all along. The conclusion of Adrian's time on Europa was surprisingly solid. We finally got some answers on the game warden and why Adrian wasn't allowed to leave. He did it to himself in search of a worthy adversary since he was deathly bored on Europa since everything was so perfect. It's a sensible character development and it resulted in a surprisingly poignant send-off for the game warden who ended up being quite the interesting character. The rest of the episode had moments that I really loved. The highlight had to be Angela and Will's scene in the theater which neatly closed off their character arcs with the two of them finally coming together and giving each other the peace that they sorely needed. I also really liked the reveal of Keene's plan and how he learned that Cal was Dr. Manhattan. The details all added up, and just about every little question I had was neatly wrapped up. I also really liked Jon's death and I thought that it was a powerful send-off for the character. Lastly, I appreciate the irony of Adrian finally getting out of his decade-long imprisonment only to be arrested by Laurie. It was a sensible conclusion for the character. The part of the episode that really stood out was the ending. Coming back around to the idea of Jon leaving his powers behind was a really smart idea and it ended the show on a perfect note, wondering if Angela received his powers or not. I think she definitely did since it fits perfectly with everything Jon was doing in the last episode (Ex. he said that seeing Jon on the pool would be important for Angela later). I really like this ending and I think it serves as a lovely segue into the next chapter of Angela's life which may see her doing what Jon didn't by using her powers to help humanity. The Bad: The layers and layers of twists do get old eventually. This show reminds me a lot of "Westworld" which similarly relied on surprise twists and tight, satisfying writing to please the viewers. But just having that and not having a consistent emotional core to the story hurts the show and that is what happened here. Once all the mystery was gone, the only things I cared about were Angela's relationships with Will and Jon. Everything else was quite uninteresting to me and so I found it difficult to invest in the conclusion of this story because it all felt rather hollow. Even though there were fun twists and mysteries to solve throughout the seaosn, I can't help but feel that a simpler approach to this story and its characters could have made this finale feel more intense and emotional. The climax of the episode felt rather anticlimactic. For a show that was packed with unexpected twists and turns, the climax had none of those and was as predictable and generic as possible. There wasn't any drama to everything that happened in the climactic 30 minutes, so I felt an emotional disconnect when watching Trieu's plan unfold before being foiled by the main characters. The villains felt incredibly hollow. Trieu was only interesting because of the mystery surrounding her. Once that was gone, she became incredibly bland. Keene was never interesting since he was a boring white supremacist with absolutely no depth at all. This one-dimensional character never engaged me and I did not care at all when he died. How did he die anyways? I have no idea and I feel like the episode should have shown his death in a better way. Wade and Laurie had shockingly little to do in this episode. They were essentially just along for the ride and the writers couldn't come up with anything interesting for them to do in this final episode, which is a poor way of handling supporting characters. What's even more unforgivable is that Angela, the main lead of the show, is relegated to a passive role in this final episode. She does nothing for the story at all! That's a very poor use of the main character in the climactic moments of the show to have her do nothing of substance at all. It was very disappointing. The frozen squidfall was really strange. It completely destroyed Trieu's device and went straight through her hand, yet Angela can run through the rain with only a small bit of protection and be fine somehow. It was very inconsistent and took me out of the episode. The Unknown: Did Angela get Jon's powers? What will she do with them? Best Moment: Angela and Will in the theater. Character of the Episode: Angela. Conclusion: This was a mixed bag of a finale. On one hand, the show hit us with one last twist, satisfyingly answered questions and had a couple of great moments. But on the other, this episode was simple, predictable, unfulfilling and didn't utilize much of its cast in meaningful ways. In the end, this was a fine enough conclusion to the show. The show overall was alright. This show is the perfect example of why I don't like to use my season/series average scores to judge the overall quality of a show because it is quite off-base for this show. This show is not as good as the average score will make it out to be. It is plain to tell that this show was created based off of 3 brilliant story ideas: visiting the psyche of a survivor of the giant squid in 1985, examining if Hooded Justice was black, and showing us a love story for Dr. Manhattan. The episodes focused on these ideas were wonderful and easily the best parts of the show. But the sum of the parts does not hold up very well. These 3 episodes were awesome but everything else in the show did not live up to my expectations. It was too convoluted at first, and then it became too simple and unemotional in the end. I can comfortably say that I found the show to be simply decent overall, but that it did supply some of the greatest TV episodes in the last few years, and that is what I'm going to remember it for. Score: 60 Summary: Jake and Rosa work together to solve a crime after Jake foolishly promises the victim that he will solve it.
The Good: This feels like an unofficial sequel to "The Box". Here's an episode that focuses heavily on the police work aspect of the show while exploring a relationship between Jake and a secondary character without being burdened by B and C stories. It worked wonderfully well once again. The story here was really fun and the detective work was engaging. I really enjoyed the dynamic between Jake and Rosa as per usual, and their relationship remains one of the high points of the show. The jokes were also really good here. Jake's lunatic behaviour was surprisingly funny and led to the great scenes with Charles and Amy. I was also consistently amused by Rosa's changing hairstyles, Agent McCoy's hilarious speaking style and the antics of the high delivery man. The Bad: This feels like familiar content for Rosa. The show has really cheapened the character by making her come off as the most emotional of the detectives because they fall back on her emotional side far too often. I appreciate the continuity between her and her mother, but it feels like it was sloppily inserted in the second half of the episode. It didn't feel organic to switch from Jake's unnecessary promise and lunacy to Rosa's personal problems. Best Moment: The delivery man being horrified by the crime scene felt real and was absolutely hilarious. Character of the Episode: Jake. Conclusion: This was an excellent episode, and was exactly what this season needed. The story was flawed but engaging, and the jokes throughout were consistent. It's an excellent episode overall. Score: 77 Summary: In a flashback, Jon (Dr. Manhattan) meets Angela in a bar and proclaims that he loves her since he can "see" the future because he experiences all of time at once. He eventually convinces her to go out with him. They are happy for a while and Angela decides to get him to take the form of the deceased man Cal in order to blend in with society. After about 6 months, they fight and Jon goes to meet Adrian. Adrian gives Jon a device to allow him to forget who he is so he can live properly with Angela. In exchange, Jon teleports Adrian to a perfect world he has created on Europa. In the present, Jon wakes up confused. Angela talks to him and it's revealed that Jon went to talk with Will shortly before forgetting everything. Angela asks him to ask Will how he knew Judd had KKK robs in his closet, creating a paradox. Jon reveals that he knows he will be teleported away by the 7K and killed but Angela refuses to accept it and fights for him. Jon saves her and fights but he ultimately gets teleported away. Elsewhere, Adrian has been imprisoned and he speaks with the game warden who leaves him a cake. The cake has a horseshoe which Adrian has been using to dig a hole out of his prison.
The Good: Another excellent episode. This show seems like it was created solely because there were ideas for these one-off episodes. There was the excellent episode about Wade, the all-time great story about Will and Hooded Justice, and now this wonderful love story between Angela and the all-powerful Jon. Each of these episodes provide unique and engaging experiences and they have been the definitive highlights of the series so far. Standalone episodes like this that get you invested in the characters and the story can make TV shows feel so special because this experience is so unlike anything else you can find. This episode finally introduced us to Dr. Manhattan who has been hyped up since the start of the series. Since I haven't read the comics, I was incredibly impressed by the idea of this character. Jon feels like an ordinary man with personality, yet the way he acts and speaks makes it evident that he has godly powers. He's a decent man, but he's one who has been gifted the ability to experience all of time at once as well as many other abilities. This is such a wonderfully creative concept for a superhero and this episode utilizes it perfectly, particularly the way he experiences time. The entire episode is spent jumping around many different time periods and it is magical to watch. The way it is structured is inherently messy, but it's stitched together by the idea that this is what Jon is experiencing. He is experiencing his whole life in this disjointed manner with time not being a straight line for him, so it engages the viewer into the experience even more by having us visualize time like he does. It's a really impressive way to tell a story, and it's a testament to how good the outstanding editing team behind this series really is. But this episode wasn't just plot explaining how Jon's powers work. It was a much more personalized experience than that. It was a simple love story between two characters who ended up having one of the most unique relationships I have ever seen. And it was simply wonderful to watch. I didn't expect that I would care this much for a relationship that was established so quickly, but the episode does a fantastic job of showing us what these characters like about each other and why they fell in love. I though it was a fantastic idea to have the episode be almost completed before we finally understand what it was that made Jon fall in love with Angela to begin with, and I thought that it was very sweet that Jon loved her simply because she was willing to stand up and fight for him despite him being a godly being. Even with all of his powers, she still decided that she had to help him. The story here is told nearly perfectly, and I really enjoyed this experience. And the ending was really well done too. We knew from the onset that the ending was going to be tragic (Jon said so himself), so the difficult part was making us care about this relationship so that this inevitable tragic ending would hit hard. And the show succeeded at this in flying colours. By the time the end of the episode came by, I was dreading the end of this relationship and it was genuinely sad at the end to see Jon get teleported away. The decision to consistently show scenes from their first meeting through the bar ended up being a fantastic choice since it really added to the emotion of this ending while also allowing us chances to reflect on how far these characters have come and how lengthy and complex of a love story we just witnessed. I also really liked how much this episode explains about the show. Almost every remaining question I had was answered in this episode. The biggest answers being for questions regarding Jon, Will's motives and just about everything regarding Adrian. While I liked getting answers for Will and Jon, the answers surrounding Adrian pleased me the most. Finally we have a full picture of what this character is and what he has been doing on Europa. I thought the scene between Jon and Adrian was great. Since I haven't read the comics, I'm not familiar with what their relationship is like, but I really enjoyed their interactions in this episode. I liked that a weapon intended to cripple Jon was used to help him, and I also liked that Adrian's current imprisonment was his own choice and that what seemed like an attractive decision ended up being a horrible choice that led to him wasting his life away. Just like in "This Extraordinary Being", the acting, directing and editing was outstanding in this episode. It was very well put together and felt surprisingly cinematic. Lastly, I'm a big fan of puns so I can comfortably say that this has to be one of my personal favourite episode titles. It makes me wonder if Angela's last name was decided specifically to make this episode title work. The Bad: This episode makes one big mistake and that's introducing a paradox into the story. I was really impressed with how Jon's powers were integrated into the story naturally with some clarity on how they work. Jon can see and experience everything but he can't change anything because of the way he perceives time. In his case it has already happened, so even though he knows what happens next, he can't change it. This was a sensible way to have time travel and it makes perfect sense. But then for whatever reason, the show went out of its way to introduce a paradox when it really didn't need one. It takes away from the brilliant way that the episode introduced time-travelling elements and I don't think that this paradox adds enough story value to be justified. In the end, it was a poor decision. The Unknown: For once I don't have much for this section. This episode had answers galore and didn't raise many questions at all. What have Will and Trieu been doing this whole time? What are they going to do in the finale? Where did the 7K take Jon? Will Angela be able to see him again? Will Adrian finally be able to escape Europa? What is his role in the story? The finale is next and he still hasn't connected up with the main story. Best Moment: Jon tragically being teleported away, while at a different point in time he finally gets Angela to agree to dinner with him. It was such a sad end to their story, a story which had been nearly perfectly executed, to build up to this tragic conclusion. It's amazing how much I care about this relationship after just this one episode, and it's a testament to how good this was. Character of the Episode: Jon. Conclusion: This was another masterful standalone episode. While not quite as good as "This Extraordinary Being", this was another creative experience, giving us a highly personalized view at the love story between Angela and Jon. I absolutely loved this. Score: 85 Summary: Jake and Terry find out that somebody is impersonating Doug Judy and they investigate the case. The rest of the precinct battle with the fire department over who gets to have Shaw's as their bar.
The Good: Doug Judy episodes are always fun. Though they have gotten formulaic and repetitive as time goes on, I still have a good time with the Jake/Doug interactions which are always a blast. This was no exception to that as I greatly enjoyed their interactions. Bringing in Terry and Doug's younger sister as the actual culprit is fun and it shakes things up a little bit for a more engaging storyline. The B story is fine. It's nice to see the fire department come into play again because it has been a long while since they last appeared. There were some nice moments in this storyline too like Rosa's drunken phone calls and Charles vomiting after his speech. The Bad: The episode is formulaic and doesn't do much to surprise, even with the Trudy twist. Like I said before, it's a fun episode. It just never threatens to do anything more. Best Moment: Charles vomiting after his dramatic speech. Character of the Episode: Doug. Conclusion: This was another solid Doug Judy episode. The character is fun and I look forward to his appearances each season, but I have to admit that the episodes haven't been anything too memorable in a long while. This episode continues that trend and does nothing to change that. Score: 66 Summary: Flashbacks show Angela's past. Her parents were killed by a bomb in Vietnam, her grandma came to bring her back to Tulsa but she died of a heart attack right after they met. In the present, Angela wakes up to Trieu giving her treatment for consuming Will's nostalgia. Angela talked a lot while she was out and Laurie has pieced together the story of Cyclops. She goes to Jane to tell her that she thinks 7K is Cyclops under a different name but Jane traps and captures her, revealing herself as a 7K member. Meanwhile, Bian runs some tests on Angela's mind. Trieu talks to her for a bit but leaves for the grand opening of the Millennium Clock. Angela gets out and explores the facility, discovering that all of the Dr. Manhattan booths are connected to Trieu. Trieu finds her and tells her that Dr. Manhattan is actually in Tulsa pretending to be human, and that the 7K are planning to capture him to take his power. Angela runs away and goes back to Cal who is revealed to be Dr. Manhattan. Angela knows who he is and takes a device out of his head, turning Cal into Dr. Manhattan. Elsewhere, Adrian is determined to be guilty by the game warden.
The Good: I really liked the editing of this episode and how Angela's memories and Will's memories were spliced together, allowing us to experience Angela's identity confusion with her. It was a clever idea and executed really well. Furthermore, getting a look at Angela's memories like this provided a natural way to explore her tragic backstory with how she was always alone and never had anyone to care for her, explaining the trauma that made her so angry. I like the consistency with how this show examines its themes about superheroes. The show has taken its perspective and continues to reinforce the message it has for us in new and unique ways. I really liked the exposition we got in this episode. Finally things seem to be clear about almost everyone. Courtesy of Laurie's scenes, we now completely understand what the 7K are up to. The twist that Jane is a member was well executed, and we finally get a full reading of what they are after: ruling America and making Senator Keene a god. Furthermore we also learn how Will and Trieu are opposing the 7K's goals and are making efforts to stop them. These reveals work well because they help bring the story together in a satisfying way while finally letting us know what these mysterious characters are all about. The Cal twist surprised me. I didn't see it coming at all since I assumed that Dr. Manhattan was on Mars this whole time, and the idea that he has been right in front of us the entire time as a background character is quite the twist. And it seems like Angela was aware of this too (see: The Unknown) which is a very interesting development. I'm excited to see what comes next and what kind of a role Dr. Manhattan will play in the story as a character. I look forward to finally meeting him in the next episode, and the cliffhanger has me very excited. The Bad: This was very much a transitional episode. That doesn't make it bad, but it makes it very unspectacular. This episode was all about laying down exposition for the story while giving us Angela's backstory to make it more engaging. It's a fine watch but you can clearly tell that the main purpose of this episode is to hype up the next 2 episodes rather than telling its own story. I still find Trieu and Keene to be very two dimensional characters. They have been framed as important but there isn't anything about their motives that particularly interest me now that things have been revealed. I suppose that's why there has been so much mystery in this main storyline, it's an attempt to hide how simplistic and boring these character motivations really are. Trieu's motives may still be interesting, but at the moment she seems like a pretty bland character. I hope we get some time dedicated to her in these final episodes. There were some things in this episode that bothered me. For one, Laurie getting to learn everything because Angela talked in her sleep was highly convenient and it felt like far too simple of a development to be satisfying. It feels like the writers needed Laurie to know this stuff, so they found a cheap way for her to already know rather than make the character do anything to earn this information. Following this, Laurie does a really stupid move and gets herself captured. For a really smart FBI agent, they portrayed her like an idiot in this episode and I didn't like that. Also, Angela being able to go around the Trieu facility so easily without anyone noticing didn't feel right. Surely security should be much better here. Also the door to the room with the elephant opening because the control panel was smashed is a stupid trope that I hate seeing in movies and TV shows. It makes no sense. Adrian's story in this episode wasn't very good. Not only does it continue to make little sense, but I'm struggling to find the purpose of his story, which is especially frustrating since just about everything else is becoming clear now. Watching this ridiculous and utterly confusing court scene tested my patience, and it was difficult to watch without knowing any of the stakes or consequences to Adrian's actions. I just couldn't get invested at all. The Unknown: What happened to Wade? Where did he go? It seems like he survived the attempt on his life. Why did the 7K try to kill him anyways? What does the Millennium Clock do? Why is Trieu trying to restore her mother using Nostalgia and cloning? What does she need her for? What are her current motives and goals? Is she simply trying to stop the 7K? It feels like she is up to something more. Dr. Manhattan is Cal! How did this happen? Angela apparently knew this all along. How does she know Dr. Manhattan? When did they meet? Why did she agree to this? What will happen now that Dr. Manhattan has revealed himself? Will he be able to stop the 7K? Best Moment: Trieu finally revealing everything to Angela. It was a good twist with the reveal that Dr. Manhattan is in Tulsa, and this moment finally cleared up almost all of the murkiness in the story. As a result, everything became clear for once, and it felt like I finally understood the stakes and motivations of the characters and I could finally connect with them. It took a while, but finally the confusion has gone away and I feel like I'm watching a proper story now. Character of the Episode: Angela. Conclusion: This was a transitional episode with several flaws, but it also had some good reveals and a well-edited story showcasing Angela's past. The episode was good, just there was nothing at all special about it. Score: 64 Summary: Gina announces she is leaving and decides to give "Gina Moments" to everyone in the precinct.
The Good: There are some clever ideas here. The scene between Holt and Gina is really good, the chess match is an interesting idea and leads to several pretty solid jokes, and the story being told here is good. Holt and Gina have always had a pretty good relationship and it was nice to see that explored in this sequence as Holt makes sure that Gina will be okay after she leaves. The Bad: This was a celebration of Gina and unfortunately all of her worst attributes were put on display in this episode. This show has almost never used Gina correctly. Throughout the series she has been completely unlikeable, being selfish, cold and an outright prick in many moments. Yet the show refuses to acknowledge these flaws and likes to pretend that she is perfect and that she knows just about everything, with there being nothing else for her to learn. Gina is a narcissist that thinks she is perfect, but instead of getting Gina to grow past these traits, the show sends the message that there's nothing wrong with it and that she actually is perfect. That is not the correct way to handle a selfish character, and it makes her irritating and frustrating. This episode falls for all of these trappings with the Gina Moments which paint the character as some sort of goddess who blesses everyone else in the precinct with important revelations. What the heck? I don't buy for a second that any of these characters need to get Gina's validation for any of the things that were brought up. Amy's is just a repeat of the exact same story for her that she shouldn't try to be cool and just be herself, only the catch is that this time Gina tells her to do this. We have seen Amy overcome this flaw herself countless times, but apparently she needs Gina to tell her this (a person she should despise by all means by the way). Rosa's moment isn't earned at all and there's no reason to believe she would feel emotions just like that. It's a cheap joke that sells out the character. Jake's moment is perhaps the worst since Gina's actions caused him to be brutally beaten up for no reason, yet Jake acts like it was the best thing ever. It's a consistent stream of frustrating moments, encapsulating everything that I disliked about Gina. What a waste of a farewell episode. Best Moment: The Holt/Gina chess games. Character of the Episode: I want it to be Gina but it really can't be. Terry gets it instead. Conclusion: This episode was downright annoying. The show has tried to justify Gina's horrible actions for too long, and it was a terrible decision to do this in her farewell episode, reminding me of everything I disliked about the character. I should be much sadder that she's leaving, but after this episode I was almost glad to be rid of her. This show really let down the character of Gina by writing her so poorly, and this episode sums up everything I've disliked about Gina with perfect accuracy. It would be impressive if it wasn't so damn irritating. Score: 44 Summary: Laurie tries to get Angela to agree to treatment but she passes out and finds herself reliving Will's life. Will becomes a cop in 1938 and is warned to beware of Cyclops. Will arrests a white man, Fred, who burns down a Jewish store but is surprised to learn that his fellow cops set him free. Will comes in angrily but is calmed down and sent to continue his day. Later, the white cops kidnap Will and threaten him by hanging him before cutting him down. On his way home, Will saves innocent women from an attack, becoming Hooded Justice. He returns home and admits to June that he's angry. Afterwards, Will makes an attack on Cyclops by finding out where Fred works. Will is met by Nelson who enlists him to form the New Minutemen. Later, Will discovers that Cyclops is using mind control on black people to get them to fight each other. He doesn't get any help from the Minutemen and investigate son his own, murdering an entire building full of Cyclops members. Will returns home and sees his son putting on his makeup and panics, screaming at him. June decides to leave him after this, seeing that the anger has taken over him. The flashbacks jump to years later, showing that Will used the Cyclops mind control to get Judd to hang himself. In the present, Angela wakes up next to Lady Trieu.
The Good: Well here it is. It was only a matter of time before a Damon Lindelof show goes completely insane with an episode hyper-focused on a single character, whose story is told in a meaningful and creative way, making for a very memorable experience. This episode channeled the same feeling as other outstanding episodes like "The Constant" and "International Assassin" and had its own spin on the formula to create an equally riveting piece of television. The examination of Will in this episode was nothing short of phenomenal. He has been such a mystery so far, so it was fascinating to pull back the curtain on his life and see what he's all about. And true to what this show has been about so far, Will is all about anger. Anger is what fuels him, and throughout this episode it is about the only emotion he seems to feel. Going through what he has, it's easy to understand his rage, and there were many horrifying moments in this episode that really accentuated why Will has every right to be upset and take vengeance on the racists in Cyclops. But if things were so black and white, this episode would not be interesting. Getting justice may be good for the world but it certainly isn't good for Will or his family, and that leads to the depressing end of the episode where Will seemingly loses faith in the Minutemen, and in his rage, he loses his own family. The episode has shown how supportive June was of him, but Will never seems to give anything back to her. And when their son is born, Will is as neglectful of a dad as he could possibly be, leading to a shocking scene where his son puts on the Hooded Justice makeup, forcing Will to look at the horrifying legacy he is leaving behind. And it's this moment that finally alienates June, leaving Will to live out his life as a lonely man, still bent on getting justice against Cyclops and nothing more. It's a sad story to watch and it's paced and executed to perfection to make us sympathize with the character and feel the struggle that he does. This nicely fits with the theme of racism and with the stories that are being told in the present day. Anger has been on display throughout the show on a consistent basis, and the show is plainly sending the message that angry vigilantism is not true justice. Here we see Will taking out Cyclops with pure rage, but they don't ever go away. There's no change and all that happens is that Will loses who he is and loses his family. This nicely ties in with the present day story where Angela is one of several characters who are also fueled by anger, wanting nothing less than to murder all the racists to solve their problems. But if there's one thing that Will's story tells us, it's that this type of justice is no true justice at all and that more needs to be done to solve these problems. The examination of these themes in this episode only added on to what was already a great experience. Something that I thought was really impressive was the episode's outlook on superheroes. Once more we see that the masks are worn to hide trauma. Will wears the Hooded Justice mask to hide his own identity and his pain, pretending to be a white man to push his own pain to the side so he can be something that he's not: a hero. The show has painted its heroes in a consistently gray perspective and it does so here again. And Will is not the only example. Captain Metropolis is another example of this, as despite being a hero he turns his back on racism, only willing to push forward his own agenda for the people rather than doing something genuinely helpful to society. His story isn't fully fleshed out and I would like to know more, but I get the feeling that I will have to read the comics to learn more about him. The reveal that Will was Hooded Justice was really well done. It's a very unique take on this character to have him be black the entire time, and I've learned that this was a unique take from this show, not part of the original Watchmen comics. I really love this idea and I think that it's the kind of bold story choice that justifies the existence of this show as a Watchmen property. This is somebody with a vision enacting the story that they had in mind. Now is a great time to bring up the American Hero Story TV show segments that had been shown in previous episodes up until this point. I'm very grateful that we were shown these scenes because they informed me about who Hooded Justice and the Minutemen were. Without them I would have been legitimately confused about Will's identity and who Hooded Justice was. What we were shown ended up being just enough for me to understand the weight of the Hooded Justice identity reveal, while also making it a pleasant surprise to learn that Will used to be one of the vigilante superheroes of the past. I also thought that these sequences were plain fun as I really enjoyed seeing a TV show within a TV show that was shot in a completely different style from everything else. The scenes were fun while also giving me some important story details without me even realizing it. The overall presentation of this episode was astonishing and was one of the biggest highlights of the episode. The filming was top notch, and I was almost always impressed by one thing or the other. Be it the impressive switching between Will and Angela's face or something like the astonishing POV shot of Will being hanged, I was almost always in awe at the style in which this episode was filmed. I also thought that the black and white filter was an inspired choice and that it worked really well for this story. The Bad: Nothing was bad. I suppose that the one thing this episode was missing was a single moment that really made me feel something for Will. The episode had several fantastic scenes but nothing quite went far enough to make me feel as much as the aforementioned episodes "The Constant" and "International Assassin" did. The Unknown: Was there a greater purpose to Nostalgia? Why did Trieu make it? What happened to Angela while she was unconscious? How did Trieu get her? Will Angela be affected by this experience? What is Will's current agenda? Why did he murder Judd specifically? Does he have a plan to take down Cyclops/the 7K? Best Moment: Will finally snapping and murdering everyone in the building before coming home and lashing out at his own son. It's horribly sad to see this man cave in and let anger completely dominate who he is, ruining his life in the process. Character of the Episode: Will. Conclusion: What a phenomenal piece of television. This was absolutely superb from start to finish, giving us a highly personal experience with Will while also giving us big reveals, a compelling story and one of the most memorable television experiences I have had. Add on the outstanding acting, editing, cinematography and overall presentation of the episode, and you have one hell of an experience. Score: 87 Summary: Jake takes Gina and Amy to a high school reunion but everyone remembers his for tattling when he never did it. Charles helps Rosa choose between love interests. Holt joins Terry, Hitchcock and Scully in a radio sound-guessing game.
The Good: I enjoyed parts of this. There are some solid jokes throughout. I thought Amy's role in the episode was really unique for her and it led to several great jokes. I liked the way that the show set up for Gina's departure which is coming this season. The conversation with her and Jake towards the end of the episode was a good way to set it up. The side stories are harmless fluff with a few good jokes in there. The Bad: But of course harmless fluff is nothing special and does not add to the episode. This episode as a whole was rather bland. The side stories added practically nothing to the episode and the main story was lacking in jokes. Gina was at her worst again as she did something bad to Jake yet the show decides to justify it rather than admit it as a mistake. This show never figured out how to do Gina properly and it's disappointing to see her be as annoying as ever in one of her final episodes. Best Moment: I'll go with Amy being turned on by Jake's perfect attendance record. It was a clever joke. Character of the Episode: Amy. Conclusion: This episode had decent jokes, but flat storylines and Gina being at her worst again made this another rather weak instalment. Season 6 hasn't gotten off to the greatest start outside of the honeymoon episode. Score: 50 Summary: Flashbacks show that Wade was in New York when Adrian dropped a giant squid on the city, killing 3 million people. In the present, Laurie calls Wade into her office, having planted a bug on his desk. She requests that he inform her about the pills Angela is hiding but he refuses since it's personal. At home, Wade's extra dimensional security breaks down and he is frustrated. It's revealed that he always has some form of reflectatine to protect himself from psychic blasts. Wade goes to a support group and meets Renee. They hook up but Wade realizes she is part of the 7K so he follows her to their hideout where they are testing out some kind of portal. Senator Keene is part of 7K. It's revealed to be a trap and Wade is captured and offered by Keene to get Angela off of the board and in exchange he will show him something. Wade is shown a video by Adrian, revealing that the giant squid was his doing to unite people and prevent nuclear war. The squidfall is also his doing, and he is also the one who made Redford the president. Shaken by what he has seen, Wade goes through with selling out Angela and Laurie comes in to arrest her. Angela swallows all of the pills at once. Wade returns home, and thinks about getting rid of his extra dimensional security but changes his mind. The 7K pull up to his house with loaded guns. Elsewhere, Adrian is catapults himself out of imprisonment. He is revealed to be on a moon orbiting Jupiter, and he has been using bodies to spell out the message "save me". However, he is pulled back in by the game warden who arrests him.
The Good: This episode dove deep into the psyche of Wade which I really enjoyed. This show hasn't delved too deep into characters up until this point, so I was both surprised and pleased to get an episode entirely centered around Wade and his struggles. Wade ended up being a really interesting character. Previous episodes hinted at how paranoid he is about another giant squid coming, but this episode really dived into that paranoia. We learn that Wade never goes anywhere without reflectatine coating his head, even without his mask he has a hat which is lined with it. Furthermore, he frequently runs emergency drills for potential squidfall to ensure that he will be safe from it if it ever happens again. I thought that this fear was presented to us in a logical way. First we see the cause of his fear with the fantastic flashback sequence to kick off the episode, while also giving us the memorable visual of the giant squid in the middle of New York City. Then afterwards we get the suggestion from Laurie that Wade is not past his trauma yet, and she even enforces the show's theme of masked superheroes hiding personal trauma by putting the idea in our head that Wade only joined the police force so that he could have a reason to hide in reflectatine all day, an idea that is all but confirmed as the episode goes on. But Wade denies all of this. He tells Laurie he is past his trauma and even tells the support group that he's out of the tunnel. But he says all of this wearing reflectatine on his head the entire time, and his actions at his own house suggest that he is just another man troubled by the pain he suffered in the past. Wade's arc ties nicely into the plethora of reveals we get when he explored the 7K's hideout. There are several questions raised about their motives (see: The Unknown), but this episode answers just about every question I had about the squidfall and the mysterious giant squid event that took place in 1985, and giving really satisfying reveals for every answered question. Furthermore, these answers don't only service the plot, but they also service the arc that Wade goes through. Wade has held onto his trauma for 30 years, unable to let it go, but here he discovers that it was all a hoax and he shouldn't have been so scared about the squids since it was a trick this entire time. This is a huge revelation for him that puts him into huge inner conflict, which we see explored as the episode goes on as he betrays Angela. But it looks like he has made the wrong choice as not only has he sold out his friend, but it looks like he might have to pay for his mistake with his life. Another wonderful piece of character work is when Wade thinks about tossing his extra dimensional security, but goes back to get it. There are some habits that you just can't toss away so quickly. It's a lovely examination of this character, and it by far the most compelling content we've gotten from this show so far. The reveals in this episode were really strong. I've already touched on the reveals surrounding the squid, and I think they are brilliant. The video recorded by Adrian was an absolute highlight of the episode, so densely packed with information to analyze in order for us to better understand the story. In some ways it reminded me of the outstanding orientation video from "Lost". The other key reveal was that Senator Keene is actually working with the 7K. This is a big surprise and it brings a lot into play about prior scenes in the show and what his motivation is. Plus we also got it confirmed that Judd was part of the 7K and that the two of them were apparently working to keep the peace. I'm intrigued to learn more about how the 7K operate and that little bits of information we got here were wonderful. The Bad: I didn't connect with Wade's key decision as much as I should have. The episode had a lot to do, so much that I think it wasn't able to spend as much time with Wade's choice of betraying Angela as it should have. I wasn't as in-tune with the characters thoughts and emotions as I had hoped. The show is still a bit frustrating to go through. This episode was excellent but it is hurt by the fact that I wasn't particularly invested in the show in the previous 4 episodes, only intrigued. I feel that this could have been a better episode if prior episodes had built up the world and characters in a more compelling way up until this point. I thought that the Adrian scenes were out of place here. In an episode entirely focused on Wade it felt strange to switch over to what Adrian was doing, and it hurt my investment in Wade's story when I was suddenly ripped out of it and sent somewhere else. The Unknown: What are Senator Keene's goals? Why is he part of the 7K? What are they planning to do with the portal? Why did they go to kill Wade at the end of the episode? Is it because he knew too much? Did they succeed? Why was Keene involved in some of the events from previous episodes? Why did he send Laurie to investigate in Tulsa? And why did he allow himself to be threatened by a fellow 7K member at the funeral? So Nostalgia are pills containing memories. Does this mean that Will gave Angela his own memories? What happens now that she swallowed all of his pills? Will she essentially be living his life now? What's going to happen to her now that she has done this? Also she's now arrested. What is Laurie going to do with her. So Adrian is on a moon orbiting Jupiter. Why? What is he doing so far away? Who is keeping him there? Who is this game warden exactly? Who is he asking to save him? It looks like there was more he had written that wasn't shown. What else did he write? Best Moment: Adrian's video was a wonderful piece of television. A ton of important answers were revealed in this video, but on top of that, it was a pivotal moment for Wade who realized that everything he had believed in for so long was just a hoax. His entire world came down in front of him during this video, and it was amazing to watch. Character of the Episode: Wade. Conclusion: This was a great episode. We got a lot of big reveals and important plot details while also being taken on a compelling character journey as we explored Wade who turned out to be a really interesting character. Though the episode is hurt by how messy and confusing the show has been up until this point, I still think that it was really well done and I had a blast watching it. Score: 72 Summary: Jake and Charles investigate into Hitchcock and Scully's past. Holt tries to get an interview to slander Commissioner Kelly's plans. Terry and Rosa go up against Amy when the downstairs people coming upstairs causes problems.
The Good: This episode had decent ideas. The Hitchcock and Scully story is fun, and it's nice to see how they were badass cops in the past only for Wing Sluts to completely change them. It's a funny story that manages to show the heart that these two have. The other storylines are passable for comedy. The Bad: I thought this episode did not have good jokes. The storylines weren't a natural fit for jokes and it showed. For an episode titles after Hitchcock and Scully, the jokes surrounding them were simplistic and bland, far from how funny they usually are. The upstairs people vs downstairs people conflict felt phony and unnecessary, and the jokes were too over-the-top to be believable. The story wasn't given enough depth to succeed, and watching the characters argue is hardly compelling comedy. The Jake/Charles story is also quite silly. Dragomir is obviously not who he says he is and Charles looks like a total moron for not noticing that. Charles has always been trusting, but this was definitely a step too far. And, the story doesn't even have any good jokes to make up for its issues. The Holt/Gina/Kelly story is fine but again it is lacking in comedy and didn't really make me laugh at all. Best Moment: The opening scene showing the old Hitchcock and Scully. Character of the Episode: Hitchcock and Scully. Conclusion: This episode really disappointed me. An episode hinging on Hitchcock and Scully's background should be a slam dunk, but the stories in this episode were uninteresting and the laughs did not connect with me at all. This should have been far better than what we got. Score: 52 Summary: Lady Trieu buys a farm property where something falls from space. Angela works on disposing the evidence that Will was in her bakery. She returns to the heritage center to view her family tree but is shaken by a loud sound. She goes outside to find her car and Laurie standing with it. Angela finds some pills in the glovebox and hides them. Angela enlists Wade to help her find out what the pills are. While disposing evidence, Angela is seen by a mysterious man. When she goes into work, she finds out that Laurie is her new boss, and Laurie is onto Will after discovering his prints on Angela's car. Laurie, Angela and Petey go to the Millennium Clock to meet with Lady Trieu. Will is in contact with Trieu. Angela learns that Laurie knows about her history with Cal, and confronts Cal about speaking with her. Trieu discusses her plan with Will. Elsewhere, Adrian gets fetuses from a lake and forms them into more clones, more determined to escape.
The Good: The opening sequence was really interesting. This was a brilliant way to introduce another important character, and the scene really allows Trieu to shine. She's clearly quite intelligent and accomplished, yet she is polite and likes to crack jokes as she goes about her business, almost like she enjoys toying with other people. She is really engaging, and watching her manipulate the couple to get what she wants is fascinating. Plus, this opening sequence raises even more intriguing questions as the mystery of this world gets more and more complex. I enjoyed the tensions between Laurie and Angela throughout this episode. I have always enjoyed crime dramas, so it's really fun to watch Angela try to escape as Laurie puts her in increasingly uncomfortable positions. In this episode, Laurie both becomes Angela's boss unexpectedly and brings her along for her investigation, which leads to some unexpected developments with Trieu. One detail I really liked was how the car falling at the end of the previous episode that Laurie thought was meant for her was actually for Angela instead. It was a nice little twist from what we expected, which allowed the show to touch on an idea that was heavily explored in "The Leftovers". I've really enjoyed seeing how Lindelof's work on "The Leftovers" is reflected in this show. The Bad: This episode falls a bit flat. This is an episode that needed to exist with the characters more established than they currently are, because it was difficult to care about the stories being told here. The main problem is Angela, who was very much the centerpiece of this episode. We know such little about her that it's hard to invest in her conflicts and decisions when they come up. There are two key problems that come with this. For one, we have no real idea why Angela isn't telling Laurie anything. Sure, she doesn't trust her, but why? Why doesn't she trust Laurie? And why does she need to protect Will as well? Is it because he is family? If that's the case, the show has done a woeful job of illustrating that this is Angela's motive, and as a result I'm really disconnected with Angela's overall story. Another big problem comes from the scene between Angela and Cal. We have had lots of scenes with Angela's family so far, with Topher, Cal and the other daughters. But they haven't really done much for me since I don't care very much about these characters and their relationships. This very much feels like the situation from "The Leftovers" season 1 where the Garvey family were completely unengaging until the full story was revealed at the end of the season. I feel like once we learn about Angela's story, this will be fine. But since we don't know her story, these early episodes aren't compelling at all. The Angela/Cal scene I specifically wanted to mention is when Angela asked him what he told Laurie. We don't know why Cal telling information to Laurie would be dangerous, and that's a problem because we don't understand the stakes of the conversation we are watching. Furthermore, Cal says he lied to Laurie, yet we never find out what he said. Are we really supposed to treat Cal talking to Laurie as a big deal if even the show doesn't seem interested in exploring it? The final scene of the episode really embodies my problems with the show so far. It's a very nicely acted scene with two enigmatic characters I'm interested in. But there's no substance to latch onto while they talk. It's just two characters vaguely talking about a plan that we know virtually nothing about, giving us tons of questions, but nothing else. It's very unsatisfying to watch these endless questions pop up, and I hope that the show starts focusing more on characters as we're almost halfway through the show's run and we still know very little. Adrian's scenes are still frustrating as well. We do still get some good reveals about the nature of his world, and I still do enjoy the mystery of his storyline. But when the rest of the episode is frustratingly vague, these confusingly artistic sequences only serve to test my patience and further annoy me. The Unknown: What was that meteor that landed in the Clark land? How did Trieu know it was coming? What is she going to do with it? Also, how did she make a baby for the Clarks? Was Lady Trieu the one who lifted Will then? Why is she working with him? How do they know each other? What is the deal they have? How is Will betraying Angela? What is Trieu's goal? What is the Millennium Clock for? Apparently Trieu is doing something with her daughter. What is she doing to her? How is it similar to what Will is doing to Angela? Who the heck is Lube Man? (as a side note, Red Scare is hilarious, I like him a lot) Why does Wade live in a bunker? Who is his ex? What are the pills that were given to Angela? Adrian says he was not the maker of the clones. Then who was? Best Moment: The unexpected opening sequence. Character of the Episode: Trieu. Conclusion: This was a frustrating episode. I enjoy mystery very much, and it can work really well in episodes like the previous one. However, this episode was too much mystery with too little story substance to tide us over. This was easily the least enjoyable episode of the series so far. Score: 54 Summary: In D.C., Agent Blake sets up a fake bank heist to take down a vigilante who has been going around the city. Later, Blake is met by Senator Keene who wishes for her to go to Tulsa, suspecting that Judd's death was the work of a vigilante. Blake brings another agent, Petey, with her to Tulsa. On the flight they see the Millennium Clock and Blake learns more about Petey, who reveals that he knows Blake used to be a hero. Upon arriving, Blake quickly interrogates Wade, learning that Judd's funeral is already happening, giving her very little chance to investigate the body. At the funeral, Blake introduces herself to Angela, knowing that she is Sister Night. Suddenly a 7K member arrives and threatens to blow up Senator Keene with a bomb. Blake shoots the 7K guy, but the bomb still goes off, and Angela saves everyone by throwing it in the grave and covering it with Judd's coffin. Blake speaks with Angela and reveals that she found Judd's secret compartment and passively threatens her. Throughout the episode there are scenes of Blake telling a joke to her ex Dr. Manhattan via a phone that goes to Mars. Blake leaves and suddenly Angela's car falls down right in front of her. Elsewhere, the master rides out in the countryside only to be reprimanded by the game warden. It turns out that his name is Adrian Veidt and he is imprisoned at this location.
The Good: 3 episodes in and already there is a formula break episode that centers on a completely new character that we haven't seen before. Lindelof did this in "The Leftovers" and he doesn't shy away from it here. The character of choice here is Laurie Blake who we learn a lot about in this episode as she is set up to be a potential foil for Angela. The character is really interesting and everything we learn about her is fascinating, certainly the best character work done all season. I love the idea of a former superhero who has soured on other people like her and as such is now specializing in vigilante hunting. She's a very interesting and complicated character who I suspect was explored more thoroughly in the comics that I have not yet read. But what I saw here was really engaging as Blake is set up as a thrilling rival for Angela. She's smart, experienced and ruthless in her approach and what comes next should make for some compelling viewing. Perhaps the most interesting part about her came from her relationship with Dr. Manhattan. The lengthy joke that she told him throughout the episode was incredibly interesting to me. Evidently, the heroes she mentioned in the story were all people who are established in the universe, and while I don't yet recognize all of them (see: The Unknown), this joke gave me tons of fascinating details about how the heroes operate and how things work in this world. But not only was this joke interesting and revealing of Blake's morals and value, I was also pleasantly surprised by the reveal that Blake used to be in a relationship with this Dr. Manhattan, the closest thing to a god in this universe. It was pretty sad to see her continuing to speak with him (if he's even listening), saddened by the fact that he has left, but understanding of why he has forsaken humanity. It's a very dreary perspective on humans as a whole, and it's a viewing that absolutely fascinates me. I can't wait to see more about Blake and Dr. Manhattan in future episodes. The show as a whole does have plenty of similarities in its approach to "The Leftovers". Not only from running a character centric episode like this, but also from telling its story in such a mysterious and convoluted way, encouraging us to analyze every scene in detail to get whatever information out of it that we can. In the first two episodes I have complained about it feeling like too much to be asked to invest without any engaging characters to help us through it. This episode helped repair this by centralizing on Blake and getting more information from her point of view while still raising more and more questions. I was thoroughly interested during the whole episode, which ended up being a spectacular example of how to reveal information about an unfamiliar world. I laughed when I saw that the mysterious contents of Blake's case was a vibrator that seems to be made to mimic Dr. Manhattan's manhood. That was quite possibly the last thing I was expecting to see in there, but it makes perfect sense considering Blake's relationship with Dr. Manhattan. The Bad: But not everything about the approach from "The Leftovers" works here, because it certainly did not entirely work in season 1 of that show. Despite my interest in the plot and the world, it feels like the show hasn't started to tell its story yet from an emotional perspective. I've only been engaged in a very basic level, invested in the plot and the world, but nothing has gotten me to engage with the characters or the story in a way that I get lost in them. In short, the show so far has felt hollow and flat in its storytelling structure, even though it has sucked me in with its world building. One key example would be the scenes with Adrian in this imprisonment of his (see: The Unknown). These scenes are well constructed and well acted, that's for sure, but they have utterly failed to emotionally engage me. In each episode they break the pacing of the story to offer me maybe one or two more answers, but in the process, they raise more and more questions. It's frustrating to see that the show hasn't even attempted to make me care about this character or his plight, whatever it may be (again, see: The Unknown). Instead the show is opting to test my patience with this strange storytelling. It's interesting, but I need something more engaging to latch onto in the early episodes of the show. Perhaps I am missing something from the comics, but even if I am I can't help but feel that knowing more information would only serve to make this storyline even more frustrating. That's because if you take out the mystery, there is nothing else left to make the Adrian story engaging. I do worry that this show is trying too hard to symbolic and artsy. At the moment I am only invested in the Blake storyline and the world, none of the other characters have piqued my interest yet. Symbolism is lovely to see in film, but it only works if there is a good story underneath. I hope that "Watchmen" proves that it is telling a worthwhile story instead of simply being artistic. The Unknown: Plenty in this section. What is the Millennium Clock? What is its purpose? Does it have a role to play in the story? Who were all of the people that were mentioned by Pete? Lady Trieu? Adrian Veidt? We learn that Adrian is the man in the castle we have seen in every episode so far. Why is he imprisoned? Who is holding him? It was stated earlier that Adrian has been declared dead. Is he actually dead? Where is he anyways? Why is he here? What did he do to merit imprisonment? Apparently Blake knows him and does not like him. Why? What is their history? Who were the three heroes mentioned in Blake's joke? The last one is certainly Dr. Manhattan. But who are the other two? I'm not yet sure about the first one, but I can guess that the second one might be Adrian. The way Blake described the character fits what we have seen from Adrian in his imprisonment. Apparently the second hero had teleported a giant squid into New York, murdering 3 million people to stop genocide. How did he do this? How did it stop genocide? Is this the reason why there is squidfall? If this hero is Adrian, could this mass genocide be the reason for his imprisonment? Was the falling car at the end the work of Dr. Manhattan? Why did he drop the car in front of Blake? What does this mean? Does this mean that Dr. Manhattan heard her? Why did he drop Angela's car though? Is he trying to help Blake? Does this mean that Dr. Manhattan is the one who lifted Will away in the previous episode? Are they working together? Best Moment: The end of Blake's call to Dr. Manhattan was a very sad moment for the character. Evidently she wants to be with him, but seeing that he has abandoned humanity evidently left a huge scar on Blake, causing her to seemingly forsake humanity as well. It's a fascinating bit of character work. Character of the Episode: Blake. Conclusion: This was a really interesting episode. The focus on Blake made for what was the most engaging episode yet, with some good character moments and lots of exciting answers about the world of "Watchmen". However, the show's continued emphasis on mystery and symbolism over story is getting frustrated, and even focusing on just a single character wasn't enough to overcome this problem. There needs to be more emphasis on characters and story for the show to hit that next level, and despite the exciting formula break in this episode, the flaws prevented it from being anything special. Score: 65 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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