Summary: Ross is still trying to get back with Rachel unsuccessfully. Joey buys Chandler a bracelet to pay him back and represent their friendship, but Chandler doesn't like it. Monica needs some money and has to ask her parents for it. They give her some of her old stuff as well and the friends all decide to watch a prom video from when Monica and Rachel were in high school.
The Good: This was a fantastic episode. The comedy was so consistently funny and some of the laughs were really smart. Chandler was fantastically energetic as always and he provided some really funny moments in the storyline with Joey, which I really enjoyed. It felt real that Joey would do something to pay Chandler back now that he's making money, so I was pleased by that, but more impressively was the bracelet story which felt like a real thing that could happen and it also provided some great moments. Phoebe was awesome in this episode. Her pretending to be a guy was hilarious, but better than that was the lobster analogy which is easily one of the funniest things in the show so far. The lobster thing also tied in beautifully into the Ross/Rachel storyline which had a tremendous conclusion in this episode. Ross trying to get Rachel back by getting rid of another guy was hilarious, and him trying the whole lobster thing was some really funny stuff. It brought the focus back onto Ross/Rachel for a bit which made the final scene even more surprising and powerful. The actual prom video was superb too and it led to some smart and surprisingly funny jokes as we got to see who Rachel, Monica and Ross used to be. The Bad: Nothing really. Best Moment: It's tough to choose but I think Ross trying to get Rachel with the lobster analogy was the funniest thing in this episode. Character of the Episode: Phoebe. Conclusion: This was great comedy with so many memorable moments and it also had some spectacular storytelling. This episode was something really special as it balanced comedy and story with perfect execution. For sure the best episode of the series so far. Score: 89
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Summary: James and Alyssa try to cover up Koch's murder and they dispose of the body and escape. Police arrive and they find Chris' wallet at the scene, and after talking to Chris they are put on Alyssa and James' tail. Alyssa and James are shaken up and get in disguises. Alyssa doesn't trust James anymore and leaves him. James discovers that he's not a psychopath and calls the police.
The Good: This was a much better episode, and one that helped me really care for the 2 lead characters. It was really effective seeing them forced to face themselves and each other after they officially killed somebody, and discovering how shook up they were really helped keep things feeling real. James in particular had a fantastic episode of development as he finally faced that he isn't a psychopath and is just a human with emotions. Seeing him go through this development while also discovering that he does love Alyssa is powerful stuff and it left us with a very sad and powerful image in our heads as James got himself beaten up by a gang just to help him with his pain. Seeing James and Alyssa dispose of the body and the evidence was fun and good to see. The Bad: Are we seriously supposed to believe that they just missed Chris' wallet? And that Chris never went back to try and get it back? That was a bad oversight. Chris talking to the cops was funny, but it felt too over the top and unrealistic and both Eunice and Terry didn't feel like real cops. The Unknown: What is the story of Eunice and Terry? Where has Alyssa gone now? What is James going to accomplish by calling the cops? Best Moment: James and Alyssa awkwardly sitting together trying to individually deal with their issues was powerful, especially since they both didn't realize just how hurt the other was by the crime. Character of the Episode: James. Conclusion: This episode had emotional resonance, and as such it was easily the best episode of the show so far. Score: 63 Summary: Monica sees Jean-Claude Van Damme and wants Rachel to ask him out for her but Jean wants to go out with Rachel instead. Rachel agrees and the girls come to blows while Phoebe tries to put out the fire. Chandler meets a former schoolmate and goes out with her only to find that she wants revenge on him for humiliating her in grade 4. Ross prepares to have Marcel one final time and Joey gets a role as an extra in a movie.
The Good: This was a continuation of the last episode, and thankfully the writers put the exact same amount of effort into this one to make it feel special. All my compliments on the previous episode also apply for this one, as they used the celebrities smartly while having simple but effective storylines which are filled with fantastic moments, with Chandler's storyline stealing the show this time. Chandler's acting was fantastic as expected and he did a great job getting humour out of absolutely every scene. But of course everything else was pretty great too. The Rachel/Monica/Phoebe story is just fantastic and was a hilarious way to put all three women at something of a conflict leading to several hilarious scenes of them Rachel and Monica trying to get back at each other with Phoebe trying her best to calm things down. This could have easily fallen into a clichéd mess, but the dialogue was smartly written ad felt real while also being extremely funny at all times. Great work by the writing team for that storyline. The Joey as an extra bit was good for the odd chuckle as well, though it doesn't do as good of a job as Phoebe's storyline in the previous episode. The Bad: If you have read my previous reviews, you should know that Marcel has easily been Friends' worst storyline for me and that remains here. Sure we got a cute story for Ross, but I really didn't laugh at all for it and it was completely forgettable and felt like a waste of a plot for Ross who is usually one of the funniest characters on the show. Thankfully Ross got a good role in the Chandler plot which I'll get into below. Best Moment: Everything that took place in the bathroom as superb. The dialogue, the character details and the laughs were perfectly executed and they had me laughing the entire time. That scene is a perfect example of how to do a comedy. Character of the Episode: Chandler. Conclusion: The Marcel story prevents this episode from reaching the same height as the previous one, but this was still stellar television which was injected with a real energy and tons of laughs. Friends has done a fantastic job of being consistently funny and it seems that the writing is improving with every episode. This was another excellent episode. Score: 79 Summary: Ross goes to visit Marcel at a zoo only to learn that he is working TV commercials now. Joey gets his own stalker who finds him and they start dating, but she is mentally ill and thinks he is actually Drake Ramoray. Phoebe sings for children at the library but she upsets parents by singing about inappropriate topics.
The Good: This was much better than "The One with Two Parts" from last season because it had a proper flow to it. This wasn't a drawn out storyline, but rather it had a single overarching storyline while each episode contained individual storylines. I found this approach to work much better and led to much better story and comedy overall. To begin, I'll say that the stories were simple but effective. They weren't anything special, but they were easy to follow, and also had all of the characters playing very organic roles. This episode was really refreshing for laughs too, particularly Joey's storyline which featured a ton of hilarious scenes, including Joey and Chandler preparing to receive the stalker and the throwing water scene. The originality of the comedy being shown helps the show remain fresh and hilarious, even though it has already had over 30 episodes. The other storylines were excellent too. Phoebe had a lovely background storyline which had a nice message and featured some good laughs with Phoebe's great "advanced class" lyrics. Ross' story was also great and featured a fantastic cameo from the voice of Homer Simpson. That brings me to my final topic, the celebrity appearances. Celebrity appearances can be very distracting and forced, but in this case they were used very properly as every celebrity character served a purpose in the story and provided tons of laughs without ever taking the focus away from the show. It's great to see celebrities used so excellently. The Bad: Nothing really. Best Moment: There were tons of fantastic moments here, but I'll pick the sequence if Joey and Chandler trying to escape the stalker desperately and arming up. The ridiculousness and the frantic pace combined to make just a constant supply and laughs in a scene which felt similar to the fantastic "scary-ass clowns" scene from "The One with the Baby on the Bus". Character of the Episode: Chandler. Conclusion: This was an excellent episode. This didn't feel at all like set up and was consistently funny throughout which is all I ask for from comedies. The stories weren't special or memorable, but the sheer amount of enjoyment I got here was probably the best the show has done so far. I can only imagine what an episode with a memorable story could do with humour like this. That could be transcendent television. Score: 81 Summary: James and Alyssa break into a house to stay there. They start being more compassionate towards each other but James eventually alienates Alyssa by not wanting to have sex with her. Alyssa shuts him out but then the owner of the house comes back and tries to rape Alyssa. James kills him.
The Good: This was a better episode. The characters are very patiently getting developed and I'm starting to appreciate them more and more. What really works about this is that they are discovering more about themselves while we are learning about them. It's a nice way to watch a TV show as the characters learn exactly what you learn which is a very good way to utilize teenage characters. The dance scene was very good. These 2 have good chemistry, but they really needed a scene like that to actually get me to start caring for their relationship. I was rooting for them to stay together later in the episode, so the scene definitely accomplished what it set out to do. The final scene was extremely tense since we knew what kind of man the owner of the house was due to James discovering his pictures. I was genuinely unsure if James would actually do anything, but I'm glad that he did, leading to a gruesome kill for him. I really like this development, since it practically gave James exactly what he wanted (to find out what it's like to kill a human), and I'm excited to se the effect this will have on him and his budding relationship with Alyssa. The fact that each episode is only 20 minutes long really helps the show get some momentum when it doesn't really accomplish a whole lot. It's much more watchable because of that. The Bad: The house owner was another ridiculously messed up guy. This show really needs to have a normal character to at least ground it a little bit in reality. The same flaws as the last episode mostly still stick though they have been improved upon a little, especially in the case of James and Alyssa. The show still has many more hurdles it needs to cross however. The Unknown: Why wouldn't Alyssa's dad recognize her? How young was she when he left? Why did he leave? Will he even be happy to see her? Now that James has killed someone, will his motives change towards Alyssa? How will the killing of the man affect the story? Surely this is setting up some kind of major police confrontation. Best Moment: The end scene was great and there is something I really like about seeing a psychopath and sociopath calmly looking on at the scene of a major crime they have committed, Character of the Episode: James. Conclusion: This was a stronger episode and the show seems to be finding a way to be uniquely enjoyable even with it flaws. I'm not sure if the show is going to hit high heights but at 20 minutes per episode, I feel confident in saying that it shouldn't be a slog to get through at all. Score: 59 Summary: James and Alyssa get in a car crash and they hitchhike. They are picked up by a guy who tries to get it on with James in a public bathroom. Alyssa finds them and takes the man's wallet with threats to call cops. James' dad calls the cops.
The Good: The humour in this episode worked though it wasn't as frequent as the pilot. The opening scene with the car crash was hilarious and I instantly figured out more or less what had happened before we had those scenes showing us exactly what happened. The humour was great and it opened the episode on a perfect note. I really like that this show is doing what I like to call the "anime exposition" where we get to understand characters' thoughts through a voiceover. I think it fits this show since both characters have hidden motives and we don't fully understand them yet. This is a good way to let us figure out both characters without them properly understanding each other. I think that works for the best in the long run since it could allow for great drama where we understand the characters but they don't fully understand each other. I'm glad that this show is dodging the generic melodrama as it improves a lot because of that. The Bad: This show does have a lot of problems it needs to work out though. The main characters feel way too overblown and unlikeable. I hope that we can get more of an understanding of them, especially seeing that their chemistry is great. Until then though, the show is lacking the ability to truly pull me in. The big problem with them specifically is that they feel too robotic right now, and that has caused some of the emotional moments in this episode fall flat for me. I don't understand Alyssa very much so to see her crying doesn't really do anything for me. The side characters are really bad too and severely lack much personality and memorability. The man they met in this episode will only be remembered for the fact that he tried to come onto James in a scene which should have been treated as a MUCH bigger deal than it was. The Unknown: What are the motives of James and Alyssa? Can we truly trust them? I thought we knew that James' mom was in Japan but apparently she is dead. What happened to her? How did she die? Best Moment: The opening scene had the best humour. Character of the Episode: James. Conclusion: Tis was a notably weaker episode with disappointing moments, but I still feel that it has potential to be very good if some flaws are ironed out. Score: 55 Summary: James is a 17 year old psychopath who meets a angsty teen named Alyssa. Alyssa falls in love with him due to him being different and goes on a date with him. James, however, wants to kill her. Alyssa and James decide to leave their town in James' dad's car.
The Good: This was very unique and is a neat concept for a TV show. It's always great to see a new TV show which isn't afraid to take risks and be different. I thought the introductions to the main characters were very well done. Usually I'm not a fan of voice overs as they often feel like a lazy way to give us exposition, but here I feel it works as it offers us a quick introduction to these characters so the story can kick off. While it doesn't do a great job making us care about both characters (see: The Bad), we at least understand who they are on a basic level which makes their irritatingly angsty behaviour much more acceptable in our eyes. In the end, I feel that these voice-overs were the very best way to introduce us to both James and Alyssa. The one thing this show does really well is its black comedy. There were loads of moments which had me laughing, which helped me enjoy the show much more. As a drama it is lacking currently, but the show was just so easy to watch due to its unique black comedy, which helped me overlook some of the flaws. The Bad: The characters seem extremely shallow currently. They are really unlikable, so the show is going to need to work hard to make me care about them, and it just hasn't happened yet. It's also really hard to connect to characters who feel so overblown that they couldn't possibly exist in the real world. In the end I'm just left with a basic understanding of who they are instead of anything more than that. I'm definitely willing to wait if we do get more background on these 2. Some of the dialogue feels very choppy and awkward. I understand that it is the point of this show as it helps with the black comedy aspect, but it does hurt my immersion somewhat. The Unknown: What were those memories from James? What happened with his mother? Who were the bloody bodies at his house? What happened to Alyssa's father? Best Moment: Not a whole lot stood out, but I felt that the final scene was the best with some nice tension with James wanting to kill Alyssa before deciding to leave with her. And of course we got a good laugh as James punches his father in the face. Character of the Episode: Alyssa. Conclusion: This was a solid premiere for a very unconventional TV show. It has some flaws, but at only 20 minutes long, the episodes go by quickly and are easy to watch. This show has definite potential if executed properly and I believe things can definitely get much better than this episode. Score: 61 Summary: Rick's group can't find Merle. Glenn is kidnapped by a group of Hispanic people. They want Rick's guns. Rick doesn't want to give the guns and both factions prepare to fight. However both come to an agreement once Rick realizes that they are good people. Jim acts funny at camp and is tied up by Shane. The camp is attacked by walkers and both Amy and Ed are killed. Rick and co. return to the camp in chaos.
The Good: This episode was pretty ordinary, but the ending was fantastic. The attack at the end was completely unexpected and provided a shocking and terrifying conclusion to the episode. The surprise worked tremendously here as the entire episode was quiet and seemed to be focused mostly on Rick's group while also providing a very positive message with both factions coming to a compromise. I had expected some drama from Merle returning, but the idea that a horde of walkers would arrive at camp and kill several important characters wasn't anywhere in my thoughts. The terror struck immediately and made for some visceral, tragic and genuinely tense television. And it also established the important point that nobody is safe in the show since death can come from any second with walkers everywhere and safezones apparently being not-so-safe. Amy's death in particular was pretty impactful, which was a masterful mixture of sudden shock, Laurie Holden's great acting and a great scene at the beginning of the episode to help us buy a little more into Andrea and Amy's bond. By all means if a character dies after minimal screen time in just 4 episodes, I usually won't feel much (just look at Ed's death), but the execution of Amy's death was a fine example of how to create a ton of emotions after such a short time period. The Rick storyline was pretty good too. The storyline with the Vatos group was enjoyable but pretty unspectacular. But I won't be too harsh on it because this was a very necessary storyline for the series. It helps build the world much more to learn that there will be other groups to encounter and that not all will be good. The Vatos group here were well-defined and good people, allowing for the show to explore the positive themes of working together to survive, but I'm betting that sooner or later there will be an encounter with a not-so-good group, perhaps a scavenging group. The Bad: The characterization is still lacking. The storyline of the Vatos group would be much more acceptable if we got some actual character development, but we learn nothing new about Rick, Daryl, Glenn or T-Dog. While I thought the Amy death worked in this situation, we definitely need to care more about the other characters if any other deaths are to happen. The Jim story really lacked in my eyes. The idea that he dreamt about what would happen and dug holes was just ridiculous and too clichéd in my eyes. Additionally all we learned about Jim was that his family died, but his story really wasn't that impactful. It was too by-the-numbers for a sad backstory and it really lacked the powerful originality of Morgan and Duane's backstory. The ending line felt too clichéd and I honestly feel like the ending would have been much more powerful if it ended off with no dialogue and just Andrea's tears without such a forced and cheesy line of dialogue. There were a few small writing blemishes here. The use of the grandma to diffuse the tension was a little too cute for my taste. I also would have preferred if both groups could have been more decent to each other, seeing that humans are sort of rare in this post-apocalyptic world, but it's not a huge issue since it was somewhat explained afterwards with the scavengers. Lastly, it seems ridiculous that the camp would be left so undefended. Surely they must be putting somebody on watch at all times? It's life or death after all as the ending attack demonstrated. The Unknown: Where has Merle gone? Clearly he didn't return to camp so where has he gone? Did he even take the van or was it somebody else? Andrea and Amy were discussing if Florida was affected. That begs the question of how the rest of the world currently is. Are there any places on Earth that are spared? Could this only be an America problem by chance? Best Moment: The ending attack was superb. Character of the Episode: Nobody really stood out but I'll give it to Andrea for her acting at the end. Conclusion: This was a solid episode that exceeded expectations with that tremendous final scene. There were a few small flaws but there were also moments that really impressed me making this episode above average. More content like this is exactly what I would want from The Walking Dead, just add some characterization. Score: 68 Summary: Carol and Susan decide to get married and Ross is conflicted. Eventually when they get into an argument, Ross ensures that the wedding does happen. Rachel's mother comes to visit and tells Rachel that she wants to divorce her father. Phoebe is possessed by the spirit of an old woman who recently died.
The Good: This was very funny throughout and there were some hilarious moments which helped to make up for some of this episode's flaws. The Phoebe storyline was pretty ridiculous and far-fetched but it featured several great laughs and funny moments to make it feel worth it. The highlight of course being the old man who makes an effort to sleep with Phoebe. That scene was really great. The Rachel storyline was very good here as well. There was some genuine emotion and purpose to it as Rachel's mother is going through a story which ties in a lot with Rachel's personal life. That added on a lot to the good comedy that Rachel's mother provided. The titular wedding was very funny as well with Chandler and Joey getting in a lot of hilarious lines and Ross being his usual funny self through his awkward interactions. I also liked Monica's stressed out anger as she forced everyone to work. It created a few well-timed laughs. Joey's performance on Days of our Lives was a nice little scene to get as well, showing good continuity from last episode. In general, this episode had some of the best laughs in the whole season. The Bad: Phoebe being possessed was too ridiculous for my liking and it was treated too normally. I understand that this show is a sit-com but to have something unrealistic like that really hurts my immersion to the show. I wish that the Rachel storyline led somewhere as it didn't really get a definitive conclusion. Joey's "smell the fart" acting was a little too on the nose for me (pun intended), as it felt extremely unreal to see acting like that on a soap opera. Best Moment: The old man scene was fantastic comedy. Character of the Episode: Chandler, though everyone was good in this episode. Conclusion: This episode had some big flaws with realism, but it was consistently funny and had a lot of good, meaningful storylines which is a big improvement from the last episode's weaker storylines. This was good fun. Score: 77 Summary: Joey isn't sure what to do with his acting career, but he then gets a good audition for Days of our Lives. Joey learns that he has to sleep with someone to get the part. Rachel dates a guy who looks and acts just like Ross. Monica gets Fun Bobby to stop drinking and he becomes extremely dull.
The Good: I like that they made the Russ storyline fit the episode thematically with it feeling like a soap opera plot. I thought it was a funny little parody dynamic. Also some of Ross and Russ' conversations had funny moments. Monica's story was okay and had the occasional laugh. Joey's storyline was the best here and his character got a spotlight here. I liked his conflict where sleeping with a girl, something he often does, stands in between him and his job, yet he doesn't want it because he wants a good role because of his own talent. I did laugh when his hesitation ended up working in his favour, getting him an even better role. It was a nice bit of irony. The Bad: The Russ plot felt very dumb and far too clichéd to be properly enjoyable. It didn't produce enough laughs to feel worth it either. I struggle to believe that Rachel wasn't able to piece together who similar Russ and Ross were. The Fun Bobby storyline felt bland and pointless. It didn't accomplish anything and there were no good laughs throughout. It was a typical sitcom storyline with Fun Bobby suddenly changing, causing Monica to develop his problem for the final laugh which really isn't that funny. It was simply okay and got far too much screen time for such an average story. Best Moment: I'll go with Chandler joking about being in a soap opera because it fit the episode in a funny way. Character of the Episode: Joey. Conclusion: The Joey story was very good, but everything else was typical and extremely average. The laugh count was far below average as well. One of the show's weaker episodes. Score: 56 Summary: The Man in Black reveals to Dolores that he is William. Dolores finally gains true consciousness like Arnold had hoped. It's revealed that the maze was Arnold's revised idea of how to achieve consciousness for the hosts. It's also revealed that Teddy and Dolores' shootings in Escalante are the same incident as Dolores is actually Wyatt. Maeve, Hector and Armistice make their escape. Only Maeve makes it to the train but she decides not to leave to find her daughter. Ford unveils his new narrative which features Dolores killing him before killing everyone else as all the other hosts arrive to wreak havoc.
The Good: This was a great season finale, and was Westworld's best episode since its pilot. The season has been really hurt by convoluted storylines and unclear characters, so it's no surprise that the show excels when the plot is finally made clear and characters well-defined at last. This was a very lengthy episode with an absolute ton of stuff which I enjoyed to talk about. I'm going to tackle everything at random because formatting this is going to be a real effort. The Teddy storyline early on was well done. I really liked that we had a brief pay-off with the man who always bumps into Teddy as he kills him out of reflex after experiencing memory flashes. I also like how it helped to tie into the reveals going on in the Dolores storyline while also establishing that Teddy is approaching true consciousness along with all the other hosts. Next I'll focus on the huge answers we got for the maze and Arnold. I thought the entire sequence when we learned about the maze was beautifully executed and provided us with very easy-to-follow exposition. I thought the actual answer that the maze was Arnold's revised pathway to consciousness was an immensely satisfying answer to the big question and it really fits in with the show thematically. Arnold's scenes with Dolores in the past regarding the maze were excellent as we got to really understand Arnold as a character when we see how he desperately wants Dolores to gain consciousness and to be real. I feel that this episode did an absolute ton to make us understand and care about the struggle Arnold went through, so we could actually understand why he wouldn't want the park to open and why he was so hell-bent on getting the hosts to consciousness. As for the other big reveal regarding William, I thought it was handled very well. I did predict it, but I still thought it was a great reveal and it definitely helped make me care about William much more now that he is both William and the Man in Black, two characters who I sort of halfway understood. With both characters being one, it gives William much more depth so I can understand him much better than I did before. Now regarding Dolores, I do like how they gave us a reason to care for her at last. Arnold did explain how suffering is what makes a human, and her suffering here finally awakens her consciousness. It also allows me to finally care about her character who seemed pretty average for the entire season. Evan Rachel Wood has put in a hell of a performance and it felt like a shame for her character to be rather bland. However, things finally came together in this episode for her. The explanation for Dolores' weird flashes was also great as she was apparently going back on the trek she went on with William while tragically imagining that she was back with him again. It's pretty tragic and does a lot to help us care for Dolores. We also got an explanation for the gun we saw her with before, as it apparently was the same gun she used to kill Arnold. The Maeve storyline was pretty god with some nice twists and turns. The return of Bernard was great and I'm more than happy to see that he is still alive. But more importantly, the reveal that everything Maeve has done so far was programmed is pretty big. Apparently Ford wanted Maeve to escape Westworld herself to get to the real world. However, this twist wasn't just meaningless as it made the big moment where Maeve goes back for her daughter more significant, as this is now officially her first move where she went against her code. It was great to get more motives for William to get a better idea of his character. Apparently he is looking for a real game to play with real stakes, which is good to know. It makes perfect sense and fits in with the character of William both in the past and present. The unveiling of the final narrative by Ford was great. He delivered a really dramatic speech and his death scene was picture perfect and fit in completely with his character. I like that we finally understood what his goal was here, as he revealed that he is now correcting his mistake and is now going to finally complete Arnold's wishes for the hosts to achieve true consciousness. The Bad: Once more, the Westworld staff are hopelessly incompetent. The fact that people can just change core host code with nobody noticing is a critical oversight. Additionally, having the core staff get locked down in the main room with no power is incredibly stupid has no realistic sense to it. And furthermore, nobody is watching any of the workers to make sure they aren't doing anything wrong which is just plain stupid. The stupidity of the Westworld staff is easily the weakest part of this show. The show still had serious emotional problems here, notably with Maeve. We don't know enough about Maeve's relationship with her daughter, so I really can't buy into her decision to stay for her daughter. Furthermore, I think the entire season lost emotional attachment because of the show's desire to keep everything a surprise. Had we known about Arnold, understood that the MiB and William are one and the same, and also understood Ford's motives, I believe that the show would have been much better and more engaging. The Unknown: Was Dolores modelled after somebody in Arnold's life? What was with the dog in Teddy's flash? Does it have importance in the story? What is the real world? We know that Westworld is in the future, but how is everything outside of it in the future? Did William kill Logan somehow? Was it the host's bomb when it left the park? How would the Westworld staff just let that happen and how would they not get sued? Or is Logan still alive somehow? Why did Ford want to send Maeve to the mainland? Also, considering the term mainland, does that mean Westworld is on an artificial island or something? There were samurai training during Maeve's escape with the logo of SW. Is there a Samurai World which will be explored next season? Is Ford truly dead? Or was that a fake version of him or something along those lines? What will Armistice do next now that she escaped the door? Could she leave the park in Maeve's place? Best Moment: The final speech by Ford followed by Dolores killing all while the host army arrives was the perfect note to end this season. Character of the Episode: I'll give this one to Ford for once more being amazing, though Dolores is a close second. Conclusion: This was a very good finale with plenty of great moments and a lot of pay-off. It delivered on all of my expectations and provided us with the most emotion and spectacle since the first episode. As for the season as a whole, I thought it was enjoyable but had an absolute ton of wasted potential. After the great pilot, I would have hoped for a much better series with exciting moments and genuine emotion at seeing the hosts start acting out. Unfortunately, the show was clogged up by an endlessly confusing plot which completely took away from any possible emotional attachment. And yet, the show's biggest weakness was also its biggest strength, as it was very unique fun to try and piece together exactly what was going on in this show. Being unique is one thing this show definitely did, as watching it felt different from every other show on television, which I think is why it is a show that is worth watching, whether you enjoy it or not. It tried something new and while it didn't completely succeed, it was still something different. As for season 2, I'm not sure how to feel about it. It would be a pain to get yet another season of confusion, and I don't see that happening, but I have to wonder how the writers are going to make up for losing the entire confusion aspect of the show and I have to question if they are actually capable of writing a proper story. I do hope they are because we could get something special next season. This entire season almost feels like an extended prologue, and I'm interested to see which direction the main story goes from here. Score: 69 Summary: Bernard inspects Maeve but Maeve controls him and tells him to find the truth. Maeve finds Hector and recruits him for her escape. Logan exposes that Dolores is a robot to William but Dolores fights back and escapes. William pretends to be back to Logan's side but when Logan sleeps, William kills all of his men. Teddy is killed by the girl host who reveals to be semi-conscious at least. The Man in Black is let go and meets Dolores. Ford is confronted by Bernard who wants the truth. HE learns that he was modelled to be an exact replica of the dead Arnold. Ford takes control of the situation however and has Bernard kill himself.
The Good: The answers continue to flow at a consistent and immensely satisfying place. This episode gave us some really great reveals which helped make the story a little more clear, while edging us closer and closer to having an idea of the complete story of Westworld, which will hopefully be revealed to us in the finale. One of these great reveals was the reveal that Bernard was created in the image of Arnold. I know a lot of people had theorized about this, but this reveal caught me by surprise which made me appreciate it even more. It answers some big questions about why Bernard was talking to Dolores, as it instead seems that it was Arnold talking to her. This also all but confirms the multiple timeline theory I had thought up a while ago, and I even have some new parts to that theory which I will discuss below (see: The Unknown). The actual scenes between Ford and Bernard were great as well. It's interesting to see that Maeve had a full effect on Bernard to force him to have a desire for the complete truth from Ford. The confrontation itself was very tense since we were led to believe that Ford was being pressured by Bernard, which made it all the more impactful when Ford turned the tables back around. Of course the performances of Jeffrey Wright and Anthony Hopkins were sublime as usual. The scenes with William, Logan and Dolores were very good as well. William and Logan haven't been particularly likeable thus far, but their stories and characters were clearly defined here, making their conflict make sense throughout. I was decently engaged throughout their story. Maeve recruiting Hector was a nice scene too which I thought was nicely written and executed. The Maeve storyline has done a good job of making me slowly care for the hosts and almost hope for them to escape or turn the tables on the humans. The Bad: The trap for the Man in Black seemed ridiculous. Again, how the hell are the hosts allowed to set up a literal death trap without anybody doing anything? Sure, they sent Charlotte to help, but shouldn't it be completely against protocol to have death as a possibility in Westworld? Also shouldn't the staff notice that the hosts under Wyatt's control are conscious in some ways? The same problems with emotion still exist, but I suppose that can't be helped when the show is two episodes away from the finale. I've accepted it as one of the show's flaws at this point. The Unknown: How was Dolores able to hurt Logan? How did that happen? What happened to Dolores' wound? Or is there yet another Dolores timeline? What were with Teddy's memories with Wyatt? They were at the same town as Dolores' flash in the last episode. Could those two stories be linked? Also where is Wyatt? The girl said he was gone. And how does the girl seem to remember things? Also, Wyatt's guys didn't react to Stubbs telling them to freeze motor functions. How does that work? Did Ford program them that way or something? So Charlotte stills wants to throw out Ford. How does she know the Man in Black? Do they have similar agendas of sorts? Why was Elsie's signal way out there? Did Stubbs get killed? So apparently Dolores killed Arnold. How? Why? Why wasn't she deactivated for it? Okay so here is my big theory about the timelines. I'm thinking that the Man in Black is the same person as William for a number of reasons. For one, we know that the Man in Black is from at least 30 years after Westworld was created and that he basically kept the park going. I believe that William took control of Logan's company and helped keep the park afloat. And there are a number of details pointing towards this. For one, we see William getting more violent and he says he is learning to play the game, a quote that the Man in Black frequently uses. But more damningly, we see William using the exact same knife that the Man in Black carries with him. Additionally, when Dolores is opened up, she has machinery inside of her. Yet we know from Maeve that the hosts in the present day don't have machinery inside of them, proving that the William and Logan story takes place in the past. Also the end of the episode has Dolores wondering if William has arrived at the church, before the Man in Black arrives and says hello. That seems to be some very well done foreshadowing. I'm sure there are other details I'm missing because this show is fantastically written, but I'm 100% confident in this theory. Best Moment: Nothing in particular stood out, but the reveal of Arnold being Bernard was the most impactful moment for me. Character of the Episode: Bernard/Arnold. Conclusion: This was another strong episode which featured some great answers, though the show still remains mostly incapable of providing true emotions. Still, I enjoyed this episode as the show's convoluted narrative does become clearer with every episode. And I must give some credit to the show for making such a complex story make sense while we watch the show. Score: 64 Summary: Monica starts tipping people with cookies instead of cash and gets negative results. Monica and Rachel host a Christmas party but their radiator breaks and the room gets really hot. Phoebe learns that her grandma has been hiding her true dad from her. She gets the location of her true dad and goes to meet him, but is scared that he won't be what she hopes.
The Good: This was a really solid episode of comedy. The storylines for each character were solid enough and there was some great comedy. Ross in particular was fantastic and he really shone as he continued to fret about all the things Rachel hilariously said about him. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but David Schwimmer brings some real life into Ross to make his character much funnier than it should be. It's really something quite brilliant. As for the other storylines, I thought they also were quite good. Phoebe's story had some good laughs in it and the concept of her grandma pretending her father was the picture frame guy is very clever and leads to a bunch of great jokes. Phoebe ultimately being scared to meet her father was a great storyline too which was easily relatable and also had Chandler and Joey around to provide some funny lines throughout. The Bad: Nothing was truly bad, but this episode just didn't stand out enough. There were some good chuckles, but no huge laughs and the story wasn't quite as good as some of the recent episodes. I also feel that Rachel and Ross should have been a little more aggressive towards each other in this episode. Best Moment: Ross asking Monica over and over if he is obsessive was hilarious. Character of the Episode: Ross. Conclusion: This was a very good episode with some nice laughs and it is easily an above average comedy episode, though it is a bit of a step down from the sheer quality of the last 5 episodes. Score: 70 Summary: Ross has to pick between Julie and Rachel and makes a list of cons for Rachel and Julie with Chandler and Joey. Ross chooses Rachel who is overjoyed, but she sees the list and doesn't want to be with Ross anymore. Ross tries to get Rachel on his side again. Monica gets a job making food products for a new brand called mockolate.
The Good: The story in this episode was tremendous. It flowed so logically and realistically throughout, and every development came naturally from the characters saying things that they would normally say, and doing things that they would normally do. Of course Chandler and Joey would suggest the list to Ross since they don't think about what would happen if Rachel found out. That fits their characters. Of course Ross would be really confused and lost, being in such an awkward situation. Of course Rachel would want to see what the guys were writing about her, not expecting to find something negative like she did. The list of great organic moments go on and on, making this a really satisfying chapter in the story, providing a very logical split for Ross and Rachel to further complicate their story. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this story unfold, as the writing was actually better than most dramas. But of course story isn't a priority in comedy episodes. The real question is, was this episode funny? And thankfully, yes it was. The characters still provided an absolute ton of great jokes throughout these serious situations and I got some of the best laughs this season from this episode. All the characters shined here, and Michael McKean was fantastic in his subplot, helping to add some much needed levity throughout the serious story points. The Bad: Phoebe singing about the love triangle was funny, but it doesn't really make much sense and it seemed like a pretty cruel thing for her to do to Ross, who clearly just wanted to get off the topic. Best Moment: The entire scene when Rachel tried to grab the list after it was accidentally printed by Chandler. All three guys were hilarious as they desperately tried to keep the list from Rachel, especially Joey who had the bright idea of Chandler reading to Rachel, which felt like a real thought he would have in his head to save them. Character of the Episode: Rachel for this one, but it's close. Conclusion: This was an awesome episode, the best of the season so far. Comedies are always at their best when a great story is combined with lots of funny jokes. This season has delivered a lot for the jokes in recent episodes, but this one went above and beyond for the story, making the episode hit that next level. Excellent stuff. Score: 84 Summary: Rick and the group return to the camp at the quarry. Rick reunites with Lori and Carl. Lori is mad at Shane for lying about Rick being dead. Merle's brother Daryl is mad that Merle was left behind. Rick goes with him, along with Glenn and T-Dog to get Merle and the guns in Rick's bag he left behind. They go to the rooftop but find that Merle has escaped by severing his own hand with a buzzsaw.
The Good: This was more solid stuff. I appreciate that the show slowed down the pacing a bit, which helps preserve the walker drama for use later on. This also allows for the show to start developing its characters to help us appreciate them a little more. It's good to get an instalment where all the characters just get a chance to breathe without the threat of walkers lurking around every corner. Surprisingly, the best part about this episode was the existence of a bit of a love triangle, though thankfully the focus of the storyline doesn't appear to actually be on the love triangle part of it. The drama between Rick, Shane and Lori was very good and I am interested to see where it goes (see: The Unknown). I think it could make for some good conflict between Rick and Shane, and Rick and Lori which can be really enjoyable content if handled in a smart, non-melodramatic way. Before the love conflict though, was the reunion which I thought was well done and provided a good moment of emotion for the characters. I was very happy with the opening scene of Merle trying to escape his handcuffs. Michael Rooker was just brilliant in that scene and brought real life and conflict to Merle in that brief scene as he struggles to deal with his fate, slowly going crazy through everything that's happening. It was very well done. Rick going back for Merle was a very welcome development. Not only did it give this episode some drive later on, but it has also given us a chance to help understand some of our main characters (Glenn, Daryl & T-Dog) presumably in the next episode. I loved that Rick had deeper motivations to going back than just to save Merle. That would have been the clichéd "good guy" thing to do, but instead with the added depth of Rick wanting to get the walkies to help Morgan who he feels he owes a debt to, Rick feels like a deeper and more realistic character. It just so happens that Merle is also in the place where he left the bag. I enjoyed the ending scene too. Shane destroying Ed was nice as it allowed him to take out some frustration, hinting at how he may be a little bit of a danger to the group, which is a good continuation of how he seemingly got far too caught up in playing leader in the previous episode and this one. In contrast to that though was the fantastic twist when we see that Merle has severed his own hand to escape the handcuffs. That was a great cliff-hanger to end off on and it promises a much better tension-based episode coming up as a follow-up to this one. The Bad: This was a slower episode with limited plot movement, but it didn't do anything to make any characters not named Rick, Merle or Shane stand out. Everyone just kept to their single character trait they were given which didn't make me care for anybody any more than I did last episode. All the new characters were bland as well with very little to them. Ed is just a generic asshole, which is made especially worse since we already have Merle and Daryl playing that role. It gets annoying when like 33% of the male characters are assholes. And while on the topic of sexism, the whole women doing laundry thing did bother me a little bit, though not as much as it probably bothered some others. And of course I thought Daryl was a pretty lazy character as a younger and slightly more tolerable version of Merle. There were a couple of weirdly written moments too. T-Dog mentioning the lock only when the group finally got back to their campsite was ridiculous in my eyes. He must have been horribly conflicted about what happened to Merle, so why not at least tell the others that he may have saved Merle's life. But perplexingly, T-Dog keeps it to himself, prolonging the amount of time Merle would be suffering alone on the rooftop. There was also Lori's decision-making process when it came to Rick leaving. She is mildly against it at first, but then suggests Rick going to save Merle anyways as if she has accepted it, but then walks away upset as if Rick said this without consulting her and then confronts him later, this time very upset. It all felt very sloppily written and just makes Lori out to be even more annoying than she already was. Also did Rick and Lori seriously have sex like 3 feet away from a sleeping Car? Seriously? The Unknown: How will Shane deal with the Lori situation? What will that conflict come to? How will Rick get involved? Did Shane just say Rick died to start getting it on with Lori? Or was it just to get them out of the hospital? Or did Shane really think Rick died? Where has Merle gone now? I expect he is heading back to camp to extract some vengeance. Best Moment: I'll pick the opening scene, as it stood out more than anything else this episode. Character of the Episode: Rick. Conclusion: This was a solid episode, but the poor character work and occasionally weak writing does hurt the score quite a bit. Score: 63 Summary: Ford has Bernard stage Theresa's death to look like an accident. Ford uses this to expose Theresa as a traitor of sorts and has Bernard reinstated. Charlotte talks to Lee to formulate a new plan. Teddy remembers the Man in Black and turns on him. The Man in Black reveals his past. Dolores and William are found by Logan. Maeve modifies herself to gain control over other hosts but has a flashback and accidentally kills the new Clementine. She is brought in for examination.
The Good: Ford cleaning up after Theresa's death was great. His scene explaining what happened was fantastic as it was him sending a very subtle threat to Charlotte who has every reason to suspect him. This wasn't about Ford not being suspicious though, but rather it was him taunting Charlotte and letting her know to not get in his way. The scene was really fascinating in the way all the Ford scenes have been. Just as good as that scene though, were the 2 scenes between Ford and Bernard. Their dynamic is extremely entertaining and unique since Ford treats him as a real person and almost like a subordinate of his until it is convenient for him to calm Bernard down. Their scenes are fun and the acting is fantastic from both men. It was fantastic to see the Man in Black's history so we can understand him more as a character. It was a great scene where he laid out his backstory while Maeve experienced her flashbacks and I thought the editing and cinematography was excellent in that scene. The Man in Black has been one of the biggest things early in the season that has just provided confusion without much explanation. To finally get his backstory is immensely satisfying and helps me care a little bit more about him as a character. By far the best thing about this episode in my opinion is that it provided a ton of answers, while leaving things vague enough to leave room for a ton of speculation heading into the final 2 episodes of the season. We learned a ton about Maeve's past, the Man in Black, Ford's motives, Dolores' strange flashes and Arnold's role in everything. We also got a truckload of information regarding Dolores and Ford's new narrative (see: The Unknown) which answered a lot and tied together a bunch of plot lines in expert fashion. It was tremendously satisfying, but we still haven't received complete answers for everything. Things are left vague enough for me to anticipate the final 2 episodes which will hopefully fill in the holes. The Bad: I still have massive problems with the Westworld staff. It is incredibly hard to believe that Sylvester and Felix have the skillset to give Maeve what she wants and it's even harder to believe that nobody is noticing or questioning what they are doing. This entire storyline feels incredibly unrealistic because of these constant inconsistencies. I have praised Westworld's writing, but it seems the one thing the writing was shockingly sloppy on was the staff of Westworld and how organized they are. They really just come off as irresponsible and disorganized buffoons that should have no business running a high maintenance park like this one. This also tied in to ruin Maeve's big scene when she manipulates everyone. It was certainly cool to see, but how does nobody notice that she is making hosts go against their script? Are there no staff members watching? And how do they only notice her disturbance when she kills Clementine and nothing else? The Westworld staff problem is severely detracting from my enjoyment of a lot of these scenes. I enjoyed the Man in Black's story but it feels like it came way too late. The show was too concerned with being mysterious and confusing early on, which detracted from my enjoyment. Had we received this information early on, it would have given us a drive to follow the Man in Black's journey and be interested and I think it would have made his scenes much more interesting with better drama. But instead the show waited to tell us this information, and I think if it hadn't, I may have enjoyed some of the earlier episodes much more. The Unknown: Why is it so tough to kill Wyatt's men? Are they hosts created by Ford to be even stronger? A really interesting line comes when Ford reveals that he is aware of other hosts experiencing troubles with memories. Does this mean he orchestrated them? Is he in control of that too? Just how much does Ford have control over? Staying on Ford, what is his new narrative exactly? What does Wyatt have to do with the narrative? And also why did Ford dig up a town for it? Tying into the dug up town is Dolores' storyline. I'm positive that the town she was in is the one Ford unearthed. Why? Because we see that church steeple, which Ford did find several episodes ago. More interestingly though is how this plays into my multiple timelines theory. Apparently Ford has already unearthed the town, yet when Dolores and William find it, it is still buried. Could the William and Dolores storyline take place in the past? And even more interestingly, it seems that there is yet another timeline since the Dolores that was talking to William was also experiencing flashbacks to something else. What is that event? I have no clue, but I'm very excited to find out what it was since apparently Dolores was killing a lot of hosts in that town. And more intriguingly, why was that town buried? Was it because of that incident? Could that incident have something to do with the incident that happened in Westworld before it opened? The answers feel so close yet there are just a couple elusive plot points that are preventing the answers from being clear. So is that Arnold's voice we have heard in Dolores' head? What does Arnold want from her? Stubbs talked to Bernard and got some strange responses about Theresa. Could he potentially figure out that Bernard is a host? Best Moment: The Man in Black revealing his history was a great moment. Character of the Episode: Man in Black. Conclusion: This was a solid episode that answered a lot of questions and provided some welcome backstory, though it is hampered down by the disappointing handling of the Westworld staff. Score: 62 Summary: Charlotte and Theresa work together to expose the hosts as dangerous in an attempt to get rid of Ford. Bernard is fired for his inadequacies. William becomes even more attached to Dolores on the train. They escape from a shootout and start travelling together. Clementine is taken and Maeve discovers that she is being experimented on after Felix shows her where Clementine is. Maeve decides that she needs to leave. Bernard takes Theresa to show her something in Ford's office. Ford reveals that Bernard is a host and that this was a trap orchestrated by Ford. Bernard kills Theresa.
The Good: This was a much better episode. This episode allowed a single storyline to become the primary focus, creating a less messy episode which is notably easier to follow. Furthermore, there was less dependence on mystery and confusion in this episode. The Unknown is notably smaller in this episode and I think that's a very good thing. The mystery was becoming a real chore to follow as it just kept adding on, so to get an instalment focused on giving us some plot movement and answers is a very refreshing change. Hopefully the remaining 3 episodes follow this format, as this is something I would enjoy much more. The standout part of this episode for me was the Bernard twist. I had expected the reveal of somebody to be a host since the first episode, but I was really surprised it was Bernard. I had thought his memories and the call to his wife would have confirmed him to be human, but that all seems to just have been host backstory, which is really interesting. The reveal was brilliantly executed with many moments provided for fans who really pay attention to realize that Bernard is a host. The line of "what door" is a total giveaway that Bernard is a host, since he has been programmed to see some things hidden in plain sight. This also explains how when Bernard went to meet with Ford, Ford seemingly appeared out of nowhere. He simply entered the room through a door Bernard couldn't see. That's really good writing which was so hidden that I didn't even notice it for about 30 seconds or so. And of course, they add confirmation later on in the scene for everyone who may not have picked up on it and it's an equally great reveal as we hear Bernard say the scripted "that doesn't look like anything to me" when facing his own blueprints. The writing was something really special with this reveal and it does raise a lot of questions. I also really enjoyed Ford one-upping Theresa here. Theresa remained confident but Ford calmly and coldly asserted his dominance in a terrific scene, giving Theresa the slow realization that she wasn't long for this world. Anthony Hopkins just brings some wonderful life to Ford and plays his calm evil in such a captivating way that makes him a real joy to watch. Ford seems to be the man behind the curtain for everything in this show and it makes for such a lovely dynamic. Following his speech, Bernard's cold and straightforward murder of Theresa was really well done. Jeffrey Wright played the change in Bernard's demeanor so well to make him feel truly terrifying as he tragically murders the women he loved. Or at least thought he loved, though I'm sure Ford can just as easily erase Bernard's memory of Theresa. I also really liked the early scene with Charlotte proving Ford's hosts to be dangerous after the reverie update. It does help us understand what the exact problem is with the hosts. We have seen the hosts get aggressive and malfunction and now we learn that it's because they remember things. It was great to get confirmation for this and I was happy to see that we got answers during a tense scene that progressed the storyline. It was a relaxingly easy scene to watch where each character's motives were mostly clear. It was established that Charlotte was working with Theresa to attempt to shut down Ford, meanwhile Bernard was caught in the middle of everything and got stuck taking the blame. It was nice and easy to follow and gave more stakes to Ford's killing of Theresa at the end as he was simply taking care of her when she got in his way, just like he said he would back in "Dissonance Theory". Lastly, I am enjoying William's overall story arc. His attachment to Dolores is very uncomfortable and the show is doing a good job of establishing how William got himself in such an awkward situation where he fell in love with a host. The Bad: The dramatic wild west scenes continue to fall flat. They just exist to provide some basic action with zero tension to fill up some time in the episode. The train attack scene in this episode served literally no purpose and I found myself getting quite bored watching the scene, while waiting for more interesting things to happen. Charlotte is an astonishingly boring character. She just got introduced and has done nothing to make me get interested in her or care for her in any way. I really don't care to see more of her and I would be satisfied enough if Ford was to just take care of her as well. We need more explanation on how the employees of Westworld are able to just take Maeve around everywhere. Apparently the higher ups do pay attention so why don't they do anything? Do they just not notice Maeve walking around when she clearly shouldn't be? It's really annoying to have no explanation about who everything works behind the scenes. This has been a problem for several episodes now and it seems that we will never get a concrete answer for this. The biggest problem with this show is that it is completely devoid of emotion. I don't care about any of the characters much for the show to get an emotional reaction for me. All this show is capable of is shock, and that is all I felt during the ending scene with the Bernard twist and his murder of Theresa. Granted the writing was exceptional for this scene, but I didn't feel sympathy for Bernard with the host reveal and I didn't feel much for Theresa as she got killed by her lover. The show is alarmingly low on emotional engagement and that is a big problem which prevents this show from being anything more than very good. The Unknown: Is Elsie just written out of the show now? Is she dead? Did Ford have something to do with it because clearly he has the ability to manipulate things like having Elsie take a leave of absence. Did Ford make Bernard take out Elsie like he did with Theresa? What will William and Dolores find in the outskirts? Will Maeve actually escape Westworld? How does she plan to do that? How will Felix and Sylvester help her with it? How is Ford going to disguise Theresa's death? Might he possibly have her take a leave of absence and replace her with a host? How is he going to deal with Charlotte? Will he kill her next? I wouldn't put it past him to set up more hosts in his employment. Best Moment: The final scene was chilling and very tense. Anthony Hopkins continues to impress me as Ford. Character of the Episode: Ford. Conclusion: A much better episode with greater focus and less emphasis on mystery, though the show is still being hampered down with a lack of emotional engagement in its characters. Score: 65 Summary: Glenn helps Rick get out of the tank. Rick shoots some zombies but that draws a horde towards them. Glenn takes Rick to his group who are trapped in a building with zombies right outside. The group looks for a way out and ultimately decide to rub guts on Rick and Glenn so that they can go through the horde and get a truck. The plan works and Rick brings the trucks so everyone can escape. One of the members, Merle, is handcuffed though and is left on the roof of the building when the key is dropped.
The Good: This was a great follow up to the series' fantastic pilot. The most impressive thing about this episode to me is how it kept the tension levels really high all the way throughout. It was a joy to sit back and watch the episode as we get introduced to the characters while they try to get themselves out of a real pickle. The actual problem of the walker horde was well done and it adds a great new sense of drama to the show, as we know that using guns will only attract more walkers. And of course one walker is threatening enough, but a horde is practically unbeatable. The way the show handled the escape from the building was very smart. Of course Rick and Glenn's tense walk through the street was fantastic television and had some awesome moments of tension, especially as the rain started coming down. But more importantly, I really enjoyed seeing the group plot out the different phases of the escape as well, as it really shows why these radically different people need to band together to have any hopes of survival. This also explains why somebody like Merle may be allowed in the group, as they need everyone they can get. But now back to the escape for a second, I do like how there were different phases to the escape, featuring plans that failed like the sewer system. This allowed for the walker threat to slowly escalate throughout the episode before climaxing in the group's final sprint to make it to the truck. The last thing I liked regarding the escape is how we essentially had a mini-escape at the beginning to set the tone with Rick escaping from the tank, another fun scene to watch. The character work was solid in this episode as well. I got a good idea of who most of the characters in the story are, and I'm excited to learn more about them as the show goes on. Glenn was a particularly likeable character and I think he was the standout character that was introduced, though I also got the sense of Andrea, Amy, Dale, Shane and T-Dog's characters. There wasn't any fantastic characterization here, but it was good enough, and so long as the show develops the characters more in future episodes (and I suspect that it will), I think everything will be fine. One of the easiest traps to fall into for a show like this is to get caught up in the depressing nature of the world and to forget that these characters are human, and instead just make them killing machines which do things mindlessly. Thankfully, this show dodges the trap by providing an absolute ton of human moments. The standout to me was Rick hesitating to rip open the zombie Wayne for his guts, instead opting to learn who he is and to make a little speech to honour Wayne. It was a perfect human moment to anchor the weight of the show in its characters. Other moments were great too, like Shane deciding not to go after Rick's group to protect those that are alive. This clearly demonstrates the differing point of views that these characters will have, while also showing that hard decision will need to be made in this world. We had a great moment seeing somebody making a hard decision later in the episode (see: Best Moment), but more on that later. I liked that the show had some humorous moments as well to keep things from being too depressing. Little things like Glenn enjoying the hell out of his sweet car go a long way to make this show easier to watch despite its gore and depressing overall theme. The Bad: Merle was a little bit too on the nose for me. I do like the idea behind him and Michael Rooker played him very well, but I thought that some of the things he did were too excessive. Lori is the first character in this show to piss me off. I wasn't happy with her decision making in the previous episode, but I didn't put it in my review because it was a small thing. This episode continued Lori's trend of being annoying though so I had to mention it. Lori is a crap parent to Carl, leaving him alone in this episode, and also trying to go to put up signs, which would again leave Carl alone in the previous episode. She is also extremely detestable with her sarcastic comments to Dale who is only trying to make sure she doesn't get herself killed. There were a few small things I didn't like here. I wasn't happy with everybody dismissing the helicopter as Rick's imagination. Wouldn't everyone want to latch on to anything hopeful they could get? Also, would the rain really clear away the walker smell so quickly? I understood what the threat was with the rain, but I don't think it would work like that. The Unknown: What are the backstories of these characters? I really want to know. So Glenn calls the walkers "geeks". What other names do people have for them? Does the word "zombie" even exist in this world? So now Rick is on his way to meet Lori and Shane again. How will they react to his return? What will happen with their little affair? What is Merle's fate? Are we going to assume he died? I noticed that T-Dog knocked over a box of tools as he made his escape, so could Merle have used those to get out? Also, did Rick leave his bag? Does that mean Morgan won't be getting any messages and may end up going to Atlanta with Duane only to find the walker hordes? Best Moment: The group runs to make their escape but Merle is left in handcuffs. T-Dog goes to let him out, unable to leave him to die, but on the way he drops the key, leaving no way to save Merle. This was a really good moment and Merle's reaction really helped put over how bad everything was. Better than that though, was T-Dog who had to make a split-second decision and leave, apologizing to Merle. But his humanity persisted and T-Dog ensured to lock the door to the roof, perhaps giving Merle something of a chance to survive, before T-Dog dashes out calling everyone not to leave him the way he just left Merle. This was such a powerful scene and put over how having humanity could very well cost you in this world, while also highlighting how terrifying it would be to have your friends all run away while leaving you for dead. Powerful stuff. Character of the Episode: Glenn. Conclusion: This was a really great follow up to the pilot episode. The tension kept up throughout and there were some really great moments here. There were some small flaws too, but other than that I think this episode did a great job of continuing to establish the post-apocalyptic world. Score: 72 Summary: Monica gets Chandler to work out with her after he gains some pounds. Phoebe goes out with a guy and is upset that he isn't putting out, so Joey gives her some advice for her to have sex. Rachel goes on a date but can't let go of her love for Ross. She searches for closure and leaves a message on Ross' machine, letting him know that she is in love with him.
The Good: The Ross and Rachel storyline in this episode was great. The build up to Rachel leaving the message was really well done and her scenes with Michael were quite funny all the way through. I loved Rachel constantly being bothered by Ross and Julie's cat, which I thought was a great touch. The titular scene with Ross finding out was very well done and was played well for comedy while also conveying the seriousness of the situation. The final scene in the coffee shop was really well put together and was a great climax to this storyline which has been built up since episode 1. I am interested to see where the story goes which is a good sign, and I'm sure that Friends will provide the expected comedy to keep things funny throughout. As for the other storylines, I thought Joey and Phoebe was the better of the 2. It had great jokes and a really funny twist ending which provided a big punch to leave me laughing. Chandler and Monica was harmless fluff and had a few funny moments in it as well. The Bad: The 2 subplots provided some good laughs, but felt completely filler. I have no doubt that these scenes won't be important in the long run as we learn nothing about the characters, we just see them interacting in 1 on 1 scenes in funny ways. This isn't a bad thing to say, after all I was still entertained, but it isn't as good as the meaningful storylines which were explored in season 1 and other episodes this season. Best Moment: The final scene for story value, but for comedic value I have to pick Ross finding out about Rachel's love for him. David Schwimmer just plays the character so well. Character of the Episode: Rachel. Conclusion: This was a really great episode, but it didn't quite hit that next level for me. There was no amazing laugh that left me unable to breathe, so that doesn't quite elevate it to the next level. Don't get me wrong though, this was still an excellent episode with good consistent humour and nice story progression. Score: 77 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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