Summary: Yennefer lives a sad life, being abused in her family. She unlocks her magical ability and is recruited by Tissaia to learn how to control her magic, but she isn't very good at it. She forms a bond with another mage, Istredd, but he is actually spying on her for Stregobor, learning that she is half elf. Geralt takes on a new mission and is joined by a bard, Jaskier. Geralt's mission takes him to Filavandrel, the former king of elves, who has been scavenging grain to keep his small community alive. Geralt and Filavandrel come to a deal, Filavandrel moves on and Geralt gives his earned money to Filavandrel. On the run, Ciri is found by a boy, but she leaves him behind when she finds a Cintran encampment. Ciri learns that many people despised the ruling family. In an attack, the camp ins destroyed, but Ciri is saved by the boy, who reveals himself to be Dara, an elf hiding in the forest.
The Good: The opening sequence is very effective as a compelling short story that is separate from the rest of the show we were introduced to in the first episode. Yennefer is immediately easy to sympathize with because of her miserable life and kindhearted nature, and she is a good viewpoint to learn about this world through. The rest of her story is an effective exploration of magic's role in this world, and the uniqueness of the training is interesting to watch. Ciri's experience in the camp is generic and uninspired, but it works and is an effective stepping stone for her character. Her story already feels like a sloppier version of Arya's story in "Game of Thrones", but the storytellign device is so strong that it still mostly works for me. I appreciate that Ciri is being faced with the realities of the poor soldiers who she has never properly interacted with, and she is faced with the harsh reality that her precious grandmother may not have been as well-liked as it seemed from her position as a princess. There's also a good sense of danger throughout her storyline as she is forced to conceal her identity, and by the end of the episode, she is alone and on the run again, with just a single boy, Dara, to help her. I enjoyed the episode's focus on introducing elves to us, giving a strong connection between all of the storylines as each of the three main characters end up having some sort of connection with elves. Ciri is saved by a lone elf, Yennefer reveals she is part elf, and Geralt has a direct encounter with the king of elves, and also expresses some intriguing parallels to them. This was a good way to develop the lore of the world, and it helps connect us more with Geralt especially since we can imagine that his story is very similar to that of the elves, we just have to wait until we can learn more about him. The Bad: The Geralt story is hard to get into. It never elevates above feeling like a mission of the week storyline. I was also very confused by how unsatisfying his story felt. We didn't get enough interesting world-building throughout his storyline to ask any interesting questions about his mission. I was confused with the man hiring him with full faith that he would do his job. If Witchers aren't very well liked, then why is he trusted so much? Furthermore, I was left wondering about the authority in charge of these people. Isn't there someone else to go to when there is a "devil" or suspected thief? I can buy that maybe there is nobody to turn to in this society, but this needs to be shown to us. This episode has too much exposition and that makes it bland at times. A lot of the information on the elves is given to us via flat monologues that aren't acted well. These scenes were extremely bland to watch, and I found myself losing focus at numerous points. Yennefer's story has flaws. Her romance with Istredd is awful and hard to watch. The acting is atrocious and the romance feels really forced and unrealistic, making it difficult to watch. The Stregobor twist is interesting, but we don't know Stregobor well enough as a character for this to have impact. Why should I care if he has interest in Yennefer? To me he's just another wizard living in a tower. I don't understand why he is considered so important. I'm sure there is a reason, but the show hasn't done a good job of conveying that reason to me. It's tough to grasp Stregobor's role in this world right now. I also did not like the ending eel scene very much. It is surprising to learn that some students are sacrificed to keep the world of magic going, but I had too many questions about logistics for this to have impact. Are these sacrifices made to keep magic alive? Why did the students agree to die? How did Yennefer feel about this? Why wasn't Yennefer sacrificed, since she was so inept at magic? It will be fine in the long run if these questions are answered, but by forcing me to ask these questions now, the show prevents me from engaging with the deeper societal questions that it tries to raise by sacrificing students for the greater good. The same problems with dialogue, poor acting, and lack of subtlety persist from the first episode. This episode isn't written very well, and even though it presents an intriguing world, I find myself losing my immersion in almost every scene because of how poor the acting and dialogue is. The lack of subtlety is emerging as a big problem as well. There is definitely some good storytelling to be had in this humans vs elves conflict that seems to go back a long time, but so far the show is only interested in hammering in how greedy and selfish humans are, which is very one-note and uninteresting. It's frustrating to see the show transparently attempt to criticize humanity over and over again with these lines about how bad humans are. Rather than being philosophical or though-provoking, it comes off as preachy, shallow, and edgy. The Unknown: How did Yennefer portal? Who is Tissaia? She suggests that she is similar to Yennefer, is this true? Why did she sacrifice the other students? How does she feel about allowing Yennefer to live? Why is Istredd at this location? What is his role? Why did he try to warn Yennefer to stay away from Tissaia? Why is it significant that Yennefer is half elf? What will Stregobor do with this information? What is Stregobor's role in this society? Is he some kind of leader in the wizard community? Why is he important? What power does he possess? Who Dara? Why is he in the woods? Is he with anyone else? What was Filavandrel's Uprising? When did it happen? What was its significance? What will happen next with Filavandrel? Will he return? Abbott seemed to be a dwarf. What makes him "clean"? What happened to him and his people? Why is Torque a goat-man? How? Who is the authority in this world? We know Calanthe was ruling in Cintra, but what about everyone else? Which kingdoms are Geralt and Yennefer in anyways? Best Moment: I'll probably go with the music sequence at the end of the episode. The visuals and editing in this show have been quite good so far, and without any of the poor acting and dialogue, this scene doesn't have anything holding it down. Also the song is really good. Character of the Episode: Yennefer. Conclusion: This episode had more decent progression and world-building, but the blunt nature of the storytelling combined with poor acting and dialogue continue to get in the way of the show. So far, I am not impressed by what I've seen. Score: 55
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Summary: Geralt is a Witcher that arrives in Blaviken. He meets the wizard Stregobor who wants him to kill a woman, Renfri, who he believes is able to destroy the world and is evil. Geralt speaks with Renfri and learns her story. She tells him to kill Stregobor. He tells her he would rather not get involved and suggests that she leave Blaviken. Renfri doesn't do it, and upon Geralt's return she gives him an ultimatum: choose between her or Stregobor. Geralt ultimately murders Renfri and her men and is banished from Blaviken. He gets a prophecy that tells him his destiny will be intertwined with a girl in the woods. Elsewhere, Ciri is the princess of Cintra. Nilfgaard declares war on Cintra and attacks, killing the king and queen. Ciri, who has a magical power of some kind, manages to escape into the woods.
The Good: I appreciate the lack of a prologue in this episode. Fantasy tropes were generally avoided in this episode, and I thought that throwing us into the world was the way to go. I naturally learned a good deal about this world and its rules by just watching the story unfold, and I think that the flow of information was pretty solid. Geralt is immediately likeable. Henry Cavill puts in a good performance and there is enough that is interesting about this character to make an impression. I appreciated the examination into his morals and ideology with the Stregobor/Renfri conflict. It leads to a nice moment towards the end of the episode as Geralt makes his choice and learns about the uncertainty of the world, how it is not in fact split into good and bad. The action was the other big highlight of this episode, specifically the climactic action scene with Geralt. The choreography was outstanding and the directing was superbly done to make Geralt look superhuman without making everyone else look weak and without compromising the intensity of the action. The sequence had a lot of heart put into it, and it was everything that it needed to be. The Bad: The dialogue has been really poor so far. It feels like modern day dialogue being thrown into a medieval setting and it does not fit at all. The clash between modern times and a fantasy medieval world does not work well, and it was jarring to me to hear people talking like they do in the 21st century. Furthermore, the dialogue is lacking in depth and subtlety. The messages of the show are forced too hard through dialogue, and I often felt like the dialogue wasn't natural, it was constructed specifically for the plot. Additionally, I was confused by a lot of the dialogue that focused on far too many terms that are unique to this world. For this dialogue to mean anything, we need to know what these terms mean, and the show doesn't tell us a lot of the time. That makes for an unsatisfying experience. The deadly combo of poor dialogue and poor acting has unfortunately hit the show. The only thing that made this dialogue worse was the disappointing line delivery that made things feel even more stiff and unnatural. Characters like Ciri and Calanthe were mostly unconvincing in their portrayals and it made their scenes difficult to enjoy. I'm also much less invested in the Ciri storyline than Geralt's. The characters haven't been defined yet, and the story so far seems like a generic, uninspired fantasy flick where the evil kingdom attacks the good kingdom because a girl has magic powers. I'll need much more of substance than that to get invested in this story. Geralt interests me far more. I expect pilot episodes to hook me and make me excited to watch the next episode. This episode didn't really make me do that. It felt like a generic fantasy piece with very little original or unique about it. I presume that the show will get better as it starts to explore the characters and world in more depth, but this is a rather flat way to hook the audience. The Unknown: To clarify, I have never seen anything in the universe of "The Witcher" so I am coming into this show completely blind. So I will have many questions. Where are these locations? Where is Blaviken? Rivia? Cintra? Nilfgaard? What is this world like? Who is ruling? How many kingdoms are there? What are these monsters? How do they live in this universe? Where did they come from? How many are there? Are they a serious threat? What is a Witcher? Why aren't they well liked? Are they some kind of mutants? How did that happen? Were they killed off in the past? Is the curse of the black sun a major event in the history of this world? Who is Lilit? What was Falka's Rebellion? Why is Nilfgaard attacking Cintra? Why did they choose to attack now? Who rules in Nilfgaard? Are they after Ciri? Why? What power does she have? Why is it so important? What's with the dream that Renfri gave Geralt? Was it prophetic? How was she able to give him this dream? Are these two storylines happening at the same time or is there a difference? Calanthe mentions that she won her first battle at 13, yet in Geralt's story, there is mention of Calanthe winning this battle in the present tense. Is Geralt's story happening at an earlier time? Is Ciri the girl in the woods? I imagine she is because she was told that Geralt is her destiny. Best Moment: Geralt talking with his horse, a remarkably human moment for him that helped me connect with him and his ideals. Character of the Episode: Geralt. Conclusion: Coming off of the success of "Game of Thrones", it was important for this show to establish itself as a fresh story that is worth being told instead of a pale imitation. It hasn't done that yet, but it did enough right in this episode for me to continue. The acting and dialogue is a problem that I really want to see improved though. Score: 58 Summary: In the flashsideways, Hurley helps Sayid remember by getting him to help Shannon. Kate is reunited with Claire at the concert and helps her give birth, helping both of them remember. Charlie is there too and also remembers. Jin and Sun remember at the hospital when the doctor, Juliet, shows them their baby. Juliet runs into Sawyer at the hospital and they both remember. Locke remembers after his surgery but Jack doesn't. Jack goes to the concert to find David and instead finds Kate. Kate takes Jack to the church where everyone is gathering. Jack goes in and finds his father and finally remembers. He learns that he died and that the flashsideways is a kind of purgatory world. Jack joins everyone else as they decide to move on together. On the island, MIB finds Desmond with Rose and Bernard. He takes Desmond with him, threatening the lives of Rose and Bernard. Jack's group meets up with MIB and Jack goes with MIB to take Desmond to The Light. Desmond goes in and "removes the cork", destroying The Light. The island starts to destroy itself, but MIB has also become human. Jack chases down MIB and they fight. Jack is mortally wounded, but Kate shoots MIB. Jack kicks him off a cliff and he dies. Everyone else tries to escape. Miles and Richard find Frank in the water and they go to the plane to fix it. Sawyer and Kate go over there on MIB's boat and they find Claire, convincing her to go with them. They all get on the plane and leave. Hurley stays behind with Jack who has to go back to fix what Desmond did. Ben stays behind too. Jack accepts that he will die and makes Hurley the new protector. Ben agrees to help him lead. Jack goes into The Light and puts the cork back in. He has Hurley pull Desmond out. The Light is restored. Jack wakes up outside of the cave and walks to where he first landed on the island and dies there.
The Good: I've had my problems with this final season, but this final episode was a brilliant standalone conclusion for the show. "Lost" has always understood the importance of emotion in storytelling, and that did not change with this last episode. There was excitement and twists, but more than anything, this episode closed out the story for all of the characters, giving us an emotional and memorable farewell to one of the strongest casts of characters I've ever seen in a TV show. I love the decision to focus so much of the show's finale on the characters, and that made this episode exceed my expectations. The opening montage was a beautiful piece of work to kick off the episode. From the first second, "Lost" established a sad, reflective atmosphere for this final episode, revelling in the fact that the show was ending and extracting as much power from that idea as possible. The success of this scene immediately invested me into the episode, and it was a sign of the heavy emotional focus that would permeate the rest of the episode. We finally got to find out more about the flash-sideways world, and I will admit that the conclusion to this storyline was hugely satisfying. Surprisingly, most of this finale took place in the flashsideways and I think that this was the correct call. Unlike previous episodes where I felt emotionally distant from the events in the flashsideways, this time I was invested in everything. The key difference here is that in this episode it was blatantly obvious that the characters I was watching were the same characters who I had been invested in all this time. They were no longer these alternate reality versions of the people I knew, they were the exact same people! Once that realization came in, everything happening in the flashsideways carried far more emotion. All of the various moments of the characters' remembering their past lives were beautiful and heart-warming, a perfect send-off for all of these characters that I've enjoyed watching for the last six seasons. The episode built up to its emotional ending perfectly. There were so many fantastic moments in the flashsideways up until the ending sequence, which I'll talk about later, but at its heart, the ending sequence focused on Jack, and to great effect. In typical Jack fashion, he had been stubbornly hiding from the truth about where he was, and he was only able to finally remember after being faced with the memory of his father. Jack's scene with Christian was fantastic. Not only did Christian provide the necessary context for what this flashsideways world is, but he also had a heavily emotional role in finally resolving Jack's longest running inner conflict: his lack of closure with his father. It's impressive that a show with such scope as "Lost" managed to circle its conclusion back to the emotional heart where it started. Then we had a spectacular final few minutes to close out Jack's life beautifully, and celebrate the relationships between the characters (see: Best Moment). This ending was something special and was executed perfectly. What made the flashforwards work so unbelievably well was the little moments that made these characters feel so real, reminiscent of "Lost" at its best. It was great to finally understand what Desmond was trying to do and what exactly it was that changed him after remembering. The season has been hurt by keeping Desmond's motives needlessly vague for so long, but this does explain things in retrospect at least. The flashsideways story will doubtless be better on rewatch, and I'm pleased that we at least got an explanation for one of the most frustrating questions that has plagued my mind for much of this season. Hurley's trip with Sayid was a blast to watch. It was clearly obvious that this was our Hurley through some delightful moments with him. Seeing Hurley's goofy grin upon seeing Charlie again is one of those really human moments that I appreciate so much. Most TV shows forget the humanity of their characters, but "Lost" rarely does. I also really got a laugh out of Hurley trying to spark Sayid's memory by giving him a gun, calling back to their experience together in "Because You Left" and "The Lie". The storyline went to its natural conclusion as Sayid was reunited happily with Shannon, giving us a nice little cameo from Boone as well. It initially felt weird that Sayid was not with Nadia, but considering how Sayid's story went in "Sundown", I would guess that Sayid doesn't believe himself to be worthy of Nadia after all that he's done, especially after her death. Because of that, having him end up with Shannon at the end makes perfect sense. The many scenes of the other characters remembering were all brilliant. We got to see a nice moment at the concert as Claire's birth from season 1 was recreated, allowing her, Kate, and Charlie to all remember. Plus there's the really funny scene where Charlie sees Claire in the crowd and creepily stares her down in shock. At the hospital we get some delights. Jin and Sun remembering while Juliet shows them their baby was really emotional, helped along by the fact that we know that Jin and Sun died too soon a couple episodes ago. Their brief encounter with Sawyer was another pleasing delight, especially with how happy Jin was to see him again. Then we got the magnificent scene between Sawyer and Juliet, who were as amazing together as when we last saw them. I was thoroughly pleased to learn that Juliet's last words "we should get coffee some time" and "it worked" all had to do with what she would tell Sawyer in the flash-sideways. Lastly, I come to Jack's excellent scenes with Locke and Kate. Terry O'Quinn is as loveable as ever, and Locke remembering was thoroughly heartwarming. I especially loved the brief smile that washed over his face when he recognized Jack's signature stubbornness. Kate and Jack's scene was surprisingly sweet. Kate took it easy with him, and it was evident how happy she was just to be seeing Jack again, echoing in her statement of "I missed you so much" that she had lived out the rest of her life before reuniting with Jack here. Some other great moments in this storyline came towards the end of the episode with Ben. I appreciate that Ben decided to stay behind a little longer. It wouldn't fit for him to be in the church with everyone else, plus he would naturally want to be with his daughter a little while longer. I enjoyed his apology to Locke, and their scene together was fittingly sweet as Locke forgives him, and they share a moment as Locke stands up for the first time in this world. Lastly, we have a lovely little interaction between Hurley and Ben, hinting at the friendship they developed during Hurley's time as protector. The island story was far more straightforward than the flashsideways one, but it was still filled with excellent scenes with strong storytelling. It was good to see Rose and Bernard one final time, showing that they did jump back to the present along with the others, but they continued to live happily together. I also really liked the small moment where Richard discovers a gray hair, and realizes that he wants to live. Desmond telling Jack about the flashsideways world and how that's where everything matters was really strong too, highlighting why Desmond has changed so significantly. He literally got a glimpse of the afterlife. It also gave Jack a nice moment to show how he has changed by telling Desmond that he knows that he can't change the past and has to accept what has happened. Jack finally felt like a genuine hero by the end of the episode, which was the right way to end his story. It was tense to see him working with MIB to set up Desmond destroying The Light. We got a nice callback to the hatch in season 1 which allowed Jack to talk down to MIB and defend Locke's ideals. Once The Light went out, we got what was a fairly simple final battle between Jack and MIB. It was a bit cheesy at times, but it was delightfully cheesy and led into a pretty solid action sequence, ending with MIB's death. I appreciated Kate shooting him down early in the episode, and there was pay-off to them when she delivered the mortal wound to him. MIB's death mirrored Jacob with Jack kicking him off the cliff, just like how MIB kicked Jacob into the fire, a nice parallel. But it was after MIB died that Jack's heroism stepped up. He decides to sacrifice his life to save the others as well as the island, deciding to stay back while Sawyer and Kate leave. His farewell with Kate was another powerful moment in an episode that was filled with them. It was clearly outlined here that Jack was sacrificing his relationship with Kate to fulfill his destiny and save the world. Another lovely scene is Jack helping Hurley realize that he must be the next protector. Jorge Garcia did a terrific job here of highlighting Hurley's fear, and his tears upon realizing that Jack has to die were genuinely powerful. I enjoyed the funny irony of Hurley becoming protector by drinking water out of an Oceanic water bottle, and his constant denial of his new position was completely sensible. I found Hurley asking Ben to help him out to be a touching scene, and Ben's humility at being asked this question is a perfect indication of how nicely he has developed into a likeable character, leaving his days of lying and manipulating behind him. The Bad: While I praise the decision to focus the end of the series on the characters instead of on mythology and the island, there are still consequences of this approach. The most significant consequence is that Lindelof and Cuse have broken their promise to the fans that all of their questions would be answered. Constantly asserting that things would be answered has distracted the audience from the story and made them focus too much on the plot during these final episodes. As such, an incredibly moving episode like this may not be appreciated from the legion of fans who were disappointed with how the rest of season 6 went, and that is understandable. Had there not been so much hype on solving the mysteries created by Lindelof and Cuse, I believe that this episode would be much more beloved than it currently is. Instead, this wonderful episode is a polarizing experience, not through any fault of its own, but because of a lot of unsatisfactory storytelling throughout season six. The flashsideways were given an excellent resolution, and looking back, I appreciate them more as a complete story. However, I have to question if this story was a necessary one. Did we really need the flahsideways to exist in every single episode when they are essentially just an extended epilogue for the characters? Surely it would have been better to include the flashsideways in "LAX", "Happily Ever After", "The End", and maybe a few other choice episodes instead of throughout the entire season. A lot of the time spent with the characters in their centric episodes feels like wasted time now, even if there were some good storytelling ideas for them. There is no way that Frank survived the submarine sinking, that is entirely unbelievable. Furthermore, I don't understand why he is suddenly fine with flying the plane off of the island. Wasn't he against this possibility a few episodes ago because the condition of the plane was uncertain? Why change his mind now? This was one plot development that was way too convenient and undercooked. Claire's role in this season was just awful. Her storyline went nowhere and her scenes in this finale were tedious, consisting of characters just trying to convince her to join them until she gives in. I wish Claire had been handled better this season. Claire was "crazy" this season, and apparently that meant that the writers could write her illogically and nonsensically. That's not how "crazy" works, there should still be some consistency to her even if she is crazy. The Unknown: How did the flashsideways world get created? How did Jack survive The Light? Is it because he was the protector? How did MIB become human again after The Light went out? Best Moment: The final few minutes of the episode were mesmerizingly beautiful. One of the most emotionally powerful sequences of television I've ever seen. Contrasting Jack's death on the island after having saved his friends with everybody finding their inner peace and moving on in the flashsideways was fantastic stuff. It even nicely came back around to the show's central theme of letting go. But more than strong storytelling, this sequence was put together in a way that felt highly emotional and nostalgic. The score, acting, pacing, and editing added so much to this sequence and I really felt something seeing everybody hugging it out after finding each other again. Furthermore, the decision to have Jack go back to where he woke up was wonderful, and it added some extra emotion in this final scene by allowing us to reflect on how far the characters and the show has come since that first episode. And of course, ending the show with a shot of Jack's eyes closing was the poetic cherry on top for what was a fantastically emotional final scene. Character of the Episode: Jack. Conclusion: As a standalone episode, this was fantastic. There was so much emotion here, and "Lost" did something really special here by choosing to focus on the characters, their relationships, and how much we care about what they have been through. This felt like a celebration of the show, and I will absolutely miss it now that it is over. Season 6 as a whole was a bit disappointing. There were some stand-out episodes like "The End", "Across the Sea", and "Ab Aeterno", but these were mostly only good as standalone experiences. The story as a whole didn't come together very well this season. The pacing was strange, too much time was spent in the flashsideways, we didn't get enough answers for important aspects of the show like the others, and some of the characters like Sayid, Claire, and Widmore were given a weak storyline throughout the season. That being said, there were lots of enjoyable episodes and season 6 was an easy-to-watch season with plenty to love; it was just a step down from the excellence that "Lost" displayed in seasons 4 and 5. If I had to rank all of the seasons I would go with 1 > 4 > 5 > 2 > 3 > 6, but I firmly believe that every season is great and has different strengths and weaknesses. As a whole, "Lost" stands the test of time as one of the all-time great TV shows. If anything, it is better to watch the show now because people binging the show will not be bothered by the lack of answers problem that ruined the show for so many people back in 2010. But overall, "Lost" is a magical experience. There are better shows out there, but I don't think there is any TV experience I have had that tops the first time I watched "Lost". I enjoyed the show thoroughly from season to season, flaws and all. The show was never boring, and there were always characters to invest in, mysteries to unravel, and stand-alone episodes to enjoy. One of the best things that "Lost" did was reinvent itself with each passing season. The show was never afraid of changing and growing, allowing it to stay fresh for its entire 120 episode run. I hold a very high opinion of this show to this day, and I think that it is essential television to watch. Score: 81 Summary: Gi Hun and Sang Woo fight in squid game for the final game. Gi Hun wins and chooses to spare Sang Woo, deciding he wants to quit. However, Sang Woo kills himself so Gi Hun gets the prize money. Gi Hun goes home but finds that his mother has died. 1 year later, Gi Hun is back to his old life and hasn’t spent the prize money. He is invited to a meeting where he finds Il Nam, who is actually the creator of the game. Il Nam reveals that he made the games because he is rich and bored and wanted to have fun. He also wanted to participate once before dying. Il Nam passes away. Gi Hun gives a sizable chunk of his money to Sang Woo’s mother, and Sae Byeok’s brother who he entrusts to Sang Woo’s mother. Gi Hun prepares to see his daughter in America, but turns back, deciding to stop the games.
The Good: The final game is suitably tense and climactic. It’s shot well and is thrilling to watch. Sang Woo opting to kill himself instead of going back with nothing is sadly a fitting end for him, one that makes sense for the character. The ending after that was very well done. Gi Hun felt too much guilt and misery after winning the game that he had no motivation to do anything with the money he had. All he wanted was to go back to the way things were before, which was very real. To top it all off, his mother tragically died before he returned, leaving Gi Hun with nothing but 45 billion won of blood money. The sequence immediately after he completed the game was miserable and difficult to watch in a perfect way. Devastating television. The Bad: The Il Nam twist is terrible. It feels so unnecessary, adds nothing to the show, and retroactively ruins one of the most poignant moments of the whole show back in “Gganbu”. Furthermore, his motivations as the bad guy really suck. It’s another case of someone being rich and bored, so they do something sadistic. That’s unbelievably uncreative and it’s a completely unsatisfying motive. Gi Hun’s emotions during the final game are tough to relate with. I’m not sure when he became so purely compassionate, but it’s hard to buy into the level of tears he sheds for Sae Byeok and Sang Woo. Especially when he was trying to murder Sang Woo moments before his death. Similarly, his emotions 1 year after the game are tough to connect with. I’m not sure why he didn’t keep his promises and take care of Sang Woo’s mother and Sae Byeok’s brother. His meeting with Il Nam being a turning point for him doesn’t work and the character’s story gets muddled by this reveal. I’m not sure what it was about this moment that made him change his mind and decide to spend his prize money. The final moment of the show was also poor. I want to see Gi Hun be a good father and visit his daughter. Having him turn around to stop the game made me shake my head because it doesn’t close out the season on a satisfying note. Gi Hun’s development in this final episode is so messy and unsatisfying. It should have been better. The Unknown: What is Gi Hun planning to do next? Will we get another season? Best Moment: Gi Hun returns home and finds his mother dead on the floor, and weeps next to her. A harrowing and powerful moment showing that the prize money is far from enough to fix Gi Hun’s life. Character of the Episode: Gi Hun. Conclusion: The first 20 minutes of this finale were excellent and suitably depressing and miserable. But everything after the ill-conceived twist was very poor and left me feeling unsatisfied and disappointed. A truly mixed finale episode. For my thoughts on season 1 as a whole, click here to read my review of it. Score: 56 Summary: Gi Hun and Sang Woo argue with each other. After a feast, the three remaining players are given knives at night. Sae Byeok is dying from a glass wound, and she speaks with Gi Hun, and makes him promise to care for her brother. Gi Hun goes to get help but Sang Woo kills Sae Byeok. Jun Ho gets to an island but he is followed by the Front Man. He contacts the police, but is killed by the Front Man, who is his brother.
The Good: It’s taken far too long, but it’s good to finally see Gi Hun and Sang Woo argue and openly come into conflict with each other. Sae Byeok gets caught in the middle, and she has some nice moments before she passes away. Her connection with Gi Hun was resonant and it was sad when she died. The Bad: The relationships between these three characters haven’t been built up well enough throughout the show, and as a result, I can’t emotionally connect with what I’m watching. Gi Hun seems to have turned on Sang Woo much too quickly and I can’t buy into their intense hate because it did not build up organically. Gi Hun and Sae Byeok’s relationship confused me. Sure, Gi Hun said he trusted her, but we never got to see why, and their relationship never furthered after that. Because of this, I can’t buy into them having such a meaningful connection in this episode. Hell, shouldn’t Gi Hun still be angry that Sae Byeok took him money! That was never resolved. Jun Ho’s story arc ended and I’m left wondering what the point was. I never knew his relationship with In Ho, so the reveal that In Ho is the Front Man had no emotional impact at all. Jun Ho’s death was as flat as it possibly could have been. Also, Jun Ho knew that they would be looking for him, so why would he leave his scuba gear out in the open? Hide it at least! The Unknown: Will the police be able to hunt down the organizers of the game? How did Jun Ho's brother become the Front Man? What happens to the winners after the games are done? Best Moment: Sae Byeok and Gi Hun’s conversation. Even though I didn’t fully buy into it, it was well-written and well-acted. Character of the Episode: Sae Byeok. Conclusion: This episode had big developments, but it was a disappointingly flat experience. I didn’t feel the emotions that I was supposed to feel during the many key moments in this episode. This proves that developing storylines and characters is essential, because if you don’t do it, your big pay-offs will feel as dull and lifeless as they were in this episode. Score: 54 Summary: Everyone returns and find Mi Nyeo is still alive. The VIPs arrive and are greeted by the Front Man. Jun Ho poses as a servant. The next game is glass stepping stones. Deok Su and Mi Nyeo die together. Gi Hun, Sang Woo, and Sae Byeok are the only survivors. Jun Ho is taken back by one of the VIPs. He pulls out a gun and gets information from him before escaping with scuba gear.
The Good: The reveal that Mi Nyeo survived was good. It made sense that she lived but it was frustrating (in a good way) to learn that this awful woman gets to live while all of the others had to die. I really liked the husband trying to get everyone to vote to end the game again. Sang Woo fittingly tears him down with an excellent speech about why they can’t afford to end the game after coming this far. I really appreciate moments like these that highlight the psychological aspects of the game and the characters themselves. The fifth game was enjoyable to watch. It wasn’t tense, like many of the other games, but it had that uncomfortable feeling of dread. The Bad: I was disappointed to see that there was no follow-up to Sang Woo killing Ali. No guilt expressed by him, and no suspicion from Gi Hun about what he did. It’s a shame to have such a key character moment like Sang Woo’s betrayal and not offer up any follow-up. The VIPs were terrible. They have no separated characters, and the voice acting and dialogue for them was beyond awful. It was painful to watch them on screen. Having them just be evil rich white men is a played out and uninteresting trope. The show would have been better off without them. The game went on for a long time without ever feeling suspenseful. Outside of the deaths of Deok Su and Mi Nyeo, the outcome was quite obvious again. The problem with having only a couple of defined characters means that it is obvious who will survive and who will die, and that saps away all of the suspense. Lastly, the glass breaking was really stupid. For one, the scene was shot in a needlessly dramatic way which was laughably bad. But also, glass breaking like that could have easily killed the winners! The Unknown: Who are the VIPs exactly? Why are they so important? Are they just rich people betting on the results of this game? Where is Jun Ho going to go now? Will he be able to contact the police? Who is the host? Why wasn’t he available to speak with the VIPs? Best Moment: Sang Woo’s speech. Character of the Episode: Sang Woo. Conclusion: I enjoyed several parts of this episode, but familiar flaws like lack of suspense and character work continue to haunt the show. Add on the pathetically awful VIPs and this is a weaker episode. Score: 58 Summary: Everyone has to pick a partner for the next game. Mi-Nyeo is left out and is taken away and presumably killed. It’s revealed that the partners will compete with only one surviving. Ji Yeong lets Sae Byeok win. Gi Hun is allowed to win by Il Nam. Sang Woo manipulates and tricks Ali to beat him.
The Good: The fourth game was the best one yet. It starts off with the predictable, yet powerful twist that the partners wouldn’t be working together - they would be fighting each other. What followed was some moving psychological exploration as teammates would have to sever the bonds between each other knowing that only one of them would be able to walk out alive. The game wasn’t particularly suspenseful. Instead, it was packed with emotion and sadness leading up to a poignant and brutal conclusion (see: Best Moment). The relationships here were mostly done well. Ji Yeong’s sacrifice was a beautiful moment and a powerful idea that was well acted by both actresses. Sang Woo manipulating and turning on Ali was a given because of who they were, but it was no less heartbreaking when Ali realized that he had been fooled by his friend. Most effective was Gi Hun and Il Nam. At the start of the episode, Gi Hun decides to risk his own success to partner with Il Nam, being the only one to show any kind of compassion to Il Nam. In the end, Il Nam recognizes this compassion, and even though he knew that Gi Hun was tricking him, he decides to give up his life for Gi Hun as a thank you. It’s a wonderful moment, and it’s brutally sad when this sweet old man has to die for Gi Hun to move on. The Bad: This was an emotional experience, but it never hit that next level. This is because the characters and their relationships haven’t felt fully developed yet. I’ll explore this more in my season review, but all of the deaths had diminished impacts because the relationships between characters felt phony and inorganic. This episode never felt real because it felt like it wasn’t telling the story; it was just trying to make us cry. The predictability of the episode is what prevents it from having any suspense. It’s easy to work out who survives and who dies, and nothing is done to surprise us. This could have been suspenseful and emotional, but there is no suspense here. As a result, the marbles game becomes 30 minutes of waiting for an obvious result. That’s not inherently a bad thing, but it definitely could have been better with some genuine tension. The Unknown: What will the next game be? What is Jun Ho going to do next now that the VIPs are coming? Best Moment: The series of deaths to conclude the episode. Ji Yeong sacrifices her life, Ali is betrayed by his friend, and Il Nam thanks Gi Hun before meeting his own end. Putting each one after the other was a smart move and we were treated to some superb acting from everyone involved. Character of the Episode: Il Nam. Conclusion: The most powerful and memorable episode yet. There were some big flaws, but the sense of dread and sadness permeated this episode all the way to its devastating conclusion. A very memorable experience. Score: 68 Summary: Jun Ho gets involved in the organ harvesting and is sent for a delivery. He kills his partner and sneaks into the Front Man’s room to learn more about the game. The doctor gets into a fight with the guards. All are captured and executed. Gi Hun’s team is victorious and they return. The next night, no fight breaks out.
The Good: Mi-Nyeo is fun to watch. She’s a useless idiot, but that is the point. She brings some much needed levity to this dark show. I enjoyed seeing the characters bond a bit during the night shift. So far all that we’ve seen is characters sharing their backstory; it’s not enough but it’s a good start. I hope to see these characters interacting more in future episodes. The Bad: The organ harvesting plot is boring and completely uninteresting. I couldn’t care less about the plot and the characters. Again, the show is hurt by having the guards be faceless characters. I can’t connect to them at all. Similarly, it’s hard to invest in Jun Ho without being able to see any acting from him. This is especially problematic because we know nothing about Jun Ho as a person. With so much of this episode dedicated to uninteresting characters and storylines, it becomes a drag to get through. The plot builds up to the ending scene when Jun Ho learns more about the game, but we don’t get any particularly interesting details or revelations. The Unknown: Who are the VIPs? Why does the game have this principle for equality? What does this mean for the origin of the game? What happened to Jun Ho’s brother if he already won the game before? How long has the game been running for? It looks like it’s been a long time. Is Player 001 going to die soon? He doesn’t look well. Best Moment: Ali and Sang Woo bonding while on watch together. Character of the Episode: Ali. Conclusion: There were some good character moments, but too much of this episode was wasted on a side plot that I didn’t care about at all. Score: 51 Summary: After Deok Su kills another player, everyone realizes that killing each other is allowed. When night falls, a fight breaks out and many people die. The next day, the next game is tug of war. Deok Su and his goons win easily. Gi Hun’s team work together and start their round.
The Good: The murder at the start of the episode was terrific and set the stage for a really tense night (see: Best Moment). The show remains an engaging watch and episodes like this with a lot of excitement and intrigue make it an easy to binge show. The acting and direction elevates the show, especially during the games. The games would not be enjoyable at all without the strong acting and direction. The Bad: The fight at night was chaotic and disappointing because of the way it was shot. The blinking light made it needlessly hard to see what was going on, so I couldn’t be invested in the action. Furthermore, I’m disappointed with how little the characters have developed their relationships with each other. This makes it tough to care about them and it deflates much of the tension. The tug of war game was a disappointment. All of the important characters were placed together, so it’s blatantly obvious that they aren’t going to lose and die. Because of that, the tug of war had no suspense at all; the result was predetermined. To make matters worse, the cliffhanger is awful. It’s an attempt to build up suspense by making us wonder if the team will lose. Obviously they won’t, and cutting off the scene before it finishes deflates any sort of momentum or excitement it had going for it. The result at the start of the next episode is going to be completely flat and emotionless because of this decision. Lastly, Jun Ho’s story is difficult to invest in because it’s tough to know when we are actually watching him. He looks the same as all of the other guards. Furthermore, its difficult to invest in a character when we don’t get to see their face. The Unknown: What is this dissection that is going on in the background? Is this organ harvesting? Why was the coughing guard contacting Jun Ho? Best Moment: Gi Hun begs the guards to do something about Deok Su killing someone. Instead they simply collect the body and announce that the player was eliminated. The implication sets in for us and for the characters that killing each other is legal. Seeing everyone slowly understand this was tremendous and it completely changed the dynamic of the show. Character of the Episode: Il Nam. Conclusion: This episode had a lot going on and had a really strong opening, but a lack of suspense and flat character relationships is hurting the show. Score: 57 Summary: Jun Ho sneaks onto the boat and poses as a guard for the game. 187 players have returned and they prepare for the next game. Gi Hun, Sang Woo, Ali and Player 001 form a team. The pickpocket explores the facility through the vents during a bathroom break. The next game is honeycomb and everybody important manages to survive.
The Good: There were some nice moments as the characters started to form alliances. It was interesting to see the different players approaching the next game with varying strategies. I enjoy the relationship between Gi Hun and Sang Woo. Gi Hun is well-meaning but unintentionally insulting, while Sang Woo is more self-absorbed and doesn’t care for anyone else. This makes for a curious dynamic, and we can see Sang Woo already prioritizing himself over his team. The honeycomb game is a fun spectacle to watch. Jun Ho’s investigation is an interesting story and I’m curious where it is going to go. The Bad: This is an in-between episode. Outside of the game, there isn’t very much substance here. A lot of moments here felt like they were ripped out of any other generic TV show. The exploration of the facility by Player 212 and 067 was typical dystopian content and nothing special. Similarly, the reveal that the guards are young people didn’t have much impact, and the man killing himself after seeing the boy was a silly moment. Even more of a trope was the front man executing the boy because his identity was revealed. I get what the writers are going for, but this is unspectacular and familiar television that I have seen many times before. Jun Ho taking the other mask without anyone else noticing makes no sense. The game lacks tension because it is obvious that nobody important will die. Player 212 being able to somehow cheat while being closely watched is absurd and should not be possible. The Unknown: What was the pink slip in that one man’s food? Does he have a connection on the inside? Why was he pulled aside after the game? Why are the guards all young people? Who are they? Why are they going along with this game? Best Moment: Gi Hun continues to hype up Sang Woo to everyone, oblivious to how much Sang Woo hates it. A nice character moment. Character of the Episode: Gi Hun. Conclusion: Even with the addition of a game, this felt like a transitional episode. There’s some solid stuff here but nothing more. Score: 60 Summary: The players vote to end the game and return to their lives, but situations get worse for everybody. After a couple of days, most players decide to go back to the game. A detective, Jun Ho, begins investigating after his brother goes missing.
The Good: I’ve seen claims that this episode is useless filler but I couldn't disagree more. This was an essential episode of world-building, answering a lot of key questions and giving us plausible reasons for the participants to participate in this sadistic game. The opening sequence of the episode was well done as we got to hear the players ask all of the important burning questions in the wake of last episode’s massacre. I was pleased to see the game halted temporarily so that it could be hammered in how awful life is for these people. The episode’s title of “Hell” could not be more fitting. This episode is brutal and depressing, showing that all of these people are not living a happy existence, and that as risky as it is, they have no choice but to hope for the best and play the game. The Bad: The individual characters aren’t clicking yet. All of their storylines are simplistic and they don’t have a lot of depth to them. It’s difficult to invest in these characters right now. It doesn’t help either that this episode is poorly paced because it constantly cuts from character to character. The endless misery in this episode is very difficult to get through. The Unknown: Where do the bodies go? Why did Player 001 vote to end the game? I assumed that he would continue because of his brain tumour. It felt strange when he changed his mind later. Will Gi Hun’s mom have her feet amputated? Who is Jun Ho looking for? Someone who died? Will he discover the game as he continues to investigate? The pickpocket stayed awake. What is she planning to do? Best Moment: Player 001 meets with Gi Hun and they sit together and talk about life. It’s a nicely written scene, and I love the added touch that they are eating uncooked ramen because that’s all that they can afford. Character of the Episode: Gi Hun. Conclusion: This is a sad and difficult watch, but it provides essential background details and worldbuilding to make the show more plausible. I enjoy detail-oriented television like this. Score: 65 Summary: Gi Hun is a gambler with no money. He is in trouble after borrowing lots of money. He is given an opportunity to play kids games to win money and he signs up. He’s taken to a mysterious location with over 400 others and plays red light, green light. The players who lose are murdered. Gi Hun manages to survive.
The Good: The first half hour of this episode reminded me of the “Breaking Bad” pilot. We are shown a glimpse into the life of Gi Hun, and we get to see how awful his existence is, leading to him taking an extreme chance to get more money when he’s given the opportunity to do something he enjoys. It worked in “Breaking Bad” and it works here too. The first half hour of this episode is sad and miserable in all the right ways. Then the second half of the episode goes in a completely different direction. The red light, green light game is a horrifying watch, brutal and unsettling. The aim is to shock us, and the sequence is absolutely successful at doing that. It’s chilling to hear the doll’s childlike voice crying out “green light, red light!” in Korean while dozens of people are getting shot and killed. The dystopian setting of the game adds on an intriguing mystery on top of this and I can say that I’m definitely interested in watching more. The Bad: I can’t say that this is easy entertainment for everyone. The horror is an uncomfortable viewing and was difficult for me to watch. I also struggle to get invested in the concept of this game. This pilot episode aimed to shock us, and it ended up skipping a lot of important world-building because of that. I have too many questions about the game and the logic about its existence to be fully immersed in what I’m watching. Lastly, this pilot suggests that this will be a battle royal TV show. We have had too much of this genre in recent times, and I’m concerned that the show will move in a direction that doesn’t interest me. The Unknown: Who is organizing the game? How will the disappearances be explained? How is this allowed to happen? Who is the masked frontman? What games are going to come next? Will people want to opt out of playing? How will that be handled? How will people be convinced to stay? It’s hard to imagine that all the contestants will go along with this horrifying concept. Where is the island that these games are occurring on? Best Moment: The shocking impact of the first murder followed by a total massacre. Character of the Episode: Gi Hun. Conclusion: This was a solid pilot with a horrific and shocking climax. I’m not entirely convinced by this show yet, but this is an engaging first hour. Score: 64 Summary: Gi Hun is a gambler who is down on his luck. He end up participating in a game involving 456 competitors who play children's games with their lives on the line. After six rounds, Gi Hun is ultimately victorious, but has lost many friends along the way, including his childhood friend Sang Woo, a pickpocket Sae Byeok, and a kind old man Il Nam. He wins the prize money, but finds himself depressed after returning to his life. He discovers that Il Nam was the creator of the game and faked his own death. Il Name dies of natural causes after revealing to Gi Hun that he created the game because he was rich and bored. Gi Hun initially plans to leave the country to see his daughter, but changes his mind and decides to do something to stop the game.
The Good: As everyone who has seen this show has said, this is a magnificent premise. Gathering up poor people in desperate need for a solution to their problems to fight to the death while playing simple children's games is a creative idea. It's very unsettling to see life and death stakes placed on games that you've played as a kid, and the psychological horror aspect of the show was very well done. I was unsettled and plagued with dread and anxiety at numerous points during the show, which I'm sure was the intent. The show is very successful at bringing this idea to life. The acting is another key aspect of this show. As I'll discuss later, I don't think that the characters or relationships were very well defined, and I was also unimpressed with the lack of suspense in the show. However, the show still managed to entertain me in spite of these flaws, and much of that has to do with the excellent acting from almost all cast members. These simple characters were brought to life by the performances, and even though the characters were lacking depth, I found myself invested in them and hoping that they would survive almost entirely because of the acting. For example, characters like Sae Byeok and Ali weren't given very much development and I often felt disconnected from them. However, the acting elevated these characters and made me care about them in spite of the lackluster writing. I was sad when they died because the acting sold me on the characters and made them feel real to me. Additionally, the acting was key in making the various games enjoyable. Both the main cast and the random other players were all tremendous in these scenes. The acting is what made me feel the anxiety and horror of these games, and that made for some very compelling television. This show is really effective at showing us how horrible life is for the poor who are unable to make a steady income. I can't say that it masterfully explores these themes - "Parasite" explores similar ideas with far greater effectiveness - but it does a very good job of highlighting the struggles of the poor. Episodes 1, 2, and 9 in particular do an outstanding job of portraying the misery that you feel out in the real world when you don't have enough money to get by. This is an easy show to binge-watch. It's tailor-made for people who enjoy binging with a simple, fun story to follow along. It won't do anything special but it will make for a great experience if you love to binge. The Bad: This show is easy to watch but very hard to emotionally invest in. The concept is wonderful but it is let down by the poorly written characters and relationships. The characters in this show are shockingly simplistic, defined by only a single trait. Very few characters are given more depth than this one trait, and it makes them feel shallow and undefined. I don't feel like I got to know these characters because of how underdeveloped they are. For example, Ali's only bit of development is how trusting he is, and this core trait is all that defines him. We never learned anything more about who he is. When characters are limited like this, it prevents me from ever feeling like I truly know who they are. This also gets in the way of memorable relationships forming between characters. When the motivations, personalities, and morality of characters are poorly defined, it makes it tough to buy into their actions and decisions, and by extension, their relationships with each other. For example, take the relationship between Sang Woo and Ali. It is difficult to understand why Ali trusted him so much and why Sang Woo formed a bond with Ali knowing that he will have to kill him in the future. My detachment with the characters results in a detachment with the bonds they form with each other. The biggest issue with the poorly defined characters and relationships is how it impacts the key emotional moments in the show. When characters died and when conflict erupted, I didn't find myself feeling the moments as much as I should have. Some of these moments should have been devastating but they don't have the impact they needed. These include Sae Byeok's death (not impactful because she is hardly defined and I don't buy into her relationship with Gi Hun) and the conflict between Gi Hun and Sang Woo (not written well enough to justify how heated it got after the fifth game). As much as I enjoyed the games, they were lacking in suspense. The acting sold me on the horror, but I was never on the edge of my seat hoping for the main characters to be okay. Part of that is because I wasn't invested in the characters, but I also think that the execution of the drama left a lot to be desired. For a show that has almost all of the main characters die, it was absurdly predictable. At the start of each game I quickly determined who would live and who would die, and there were never any surprises that suggested I would be wrong. I also have to look quizzically at the amount of times Gi Hun barely made it in the last few seconds. Gi Hun finished last second in almost every game. The biggest problem with this is that we know Gi Hun is the main character and will likely survive, so there is no tension at all when it is teased that he will lose. What's more surprising is that the side characters - the ones who genuinely could die - are very rarely teased with the possibility of death in these games. That removes a lot of suspense from the games and transforms them from tense life-or-death experiences into a mindless setpiece that goes on for far too long. The worst case of tension-less games is the tug of war round. All of the main characters were on two different teams, and they didn't even face each other. So obviously, both of the important teams would win. There was no tension whatsoever, and yet the tug of war game is focused on for a whopping 25 minutes without a single drop of suspense. That's a very poor use of time. Some specific parts of the story did not work. The Jun Ho plot line ended up being entirely pointless and it added nothing to the story. Even when compared to the other shallow characters in the show, Jun Ho is woefully underdeveloped. I knew nothing about him for the entire show and he felt like a useless addition. I didn't care about his relationship with his brother because we were never shown it, and I knew too little about him to get any suspense out of his undercover position as a guard. This plot line was a chore to watch every time it came up, and it did not even go anywhere worthwhile. All that we got was a twist about the Front Man, which was about as meaningful and impactful as a wet fart. The Front Man's identity meant nothing in the long run, and the "drama" of him killing his own brother was flat and completely underdeveloped. Overall, this was a poorly written, boring storyline. The other big miss was the final twist that Il Nam was the creator of the game. This twist was completely unnecessary and added nothing to the show at all. All it accomplished was damaging the one relationship in the show that I found to be well written, also ruining the single most powerful moment of the whole show when Il Nam "died" at the end of "Gganbu". Furthermore, this ending twist revealed the reasoning behind the games, and it was deeply underwhelming. To learn that the games were made because rich people were bored is the most lazy, uninspired, and empty direction that the show could have gone in. The ending of the show left a bad taste in my mouth and it makes it difficult for me to recommend this show knowing that it doesn't end well. As a final note, the VIPs were terrible. Absolutely terrible. Awful acting, awful writing, and the flattest characters of the entire show. Best Episodes: E01 Red Light, Green Light: The first episode is an engaging pilot. It effectively shows us the plight of the main character, and builds to a chaotic climax as we see the brutality of the red light, green light game. E02 Hell: A powerful episode showing us the horrifying reality that these characters live in, while also addressing the all-important question: why are these people willingly competing in this game? E06 Gganbu: The marbles game was a spectacular piece of emotional storytelling. This is the one game that felt like it had real stakes, and seeing the onslaught of deaths at the episode's end was brutal. Worst Episodes: E04 Stick to the Team: The two main setpieces in this episode were hugely disappointing. Tug of War was the weakest game of the six, and the nighttime fight was shot very poorly. E05 A Fair World: The whole episode was marred by focusing so much on a story that was very difficult to invest in. Thankfully there were some good character scenes or this would have been a total failure. E08 Front Man: This episode had some huge moments, but I was never invested enough to really feel them. Much of this episode fell flat as a result. E09 One Lucky Day: The season finale started off wonderfully and was really strong for a while. But everything after that ill-fated Il Nam twist was a colossal letdown and it ruined what could have been an excellent episode. Character of the Season: Gi Hun. Conclusion: "Squid Game" is a weird phenomenon of a show. To me, this show is simply decent, a fun 9-episode watch that is riddled with significant storytelling problems. To me, this is not a show that's particularly worth talking about because it doesn't do anything exceptional. But this show has been executed in a way that appeals perfectly to the audience of binge-watchers, an audience that is increasing in size every day. As a result this show has seen a spectacular explosion in popularity. I can't say I'm surprised that this show was so successful. After all, a simple premise, simplistic but well-acted characters, and an engaging mystery filled with empty surprises is unfortunately enough to satisfy 90% of people who casually watch television. But much like with other recent shows like "The Mandalorian", I am concerned that these high-budget, short-length TV shows are going to become the new mainstream for television. The beauty of TV shows is that they are much longer than movies and they have to be budgeted carefully to be successful, resulting in a reliance on quality writing, acting, and emotion to keep the audience invested. If length decreases and budget increases, then there isn't much separating TV shows from movies, and then there's a scary possibility that future TV shows will all feel like elongated movies. And that takes me to how I feel about "Squid Game" overall and my biggest concerns about it. It's a decent experience and an enjoyable binge, but it steers television in a direction that sacrifices quality to appeal to the masses. I find this show to be merely average in terms of quality, and I am deeply concerned about what TV shows like these mean for the future of television. Summary: In flashsideways, Desmond returns to run Locke over again. Ben stops him but is beaten up by Desmond and remembers him. He tells Locke about it, and Locke goes to Jack, convinced that he is supposed to be fixed. Desmond turns himself in to Sawyer, and while being transferred to prison, he breaks out with Kate and Sayid, with the help of Hurley and Ana Lucia. On the island, Jack and the other survivors decide that they will go after MIB to kill him. They head to find Desmond and the well. On the way, they are intercepted by Jacob who throws his own ashes in the fire, allowing himself to be seen by everyone until it burns out. He explains why he brought them there and that one of them needs to replace him. Jack chooses to do it and becomes the next protector. Ben, Richard, and Miles get C4 from the barracks and run into Widmore and Zoe, who fled there. Zoe tells them that MIB is coming, Widmore hides and Miles runs away. Richard goes to talk to MIB who possibly kills him. MIB approaches Ben who tells him where Widmore is hiding. After MIB threatens Penny, Widmore tells MIB that he brought Desmond as a last resort, but Ben shoots him, saying he doesn't get to save his daughter. MIB goes to the well and finds that Desmond had been taken out. He reveals to Ben that he plans to destroy the island.
The Good: There were some sound developments in this episode to set up the finale. Jacob's speech to the remaining candidates was well done and it entirely outlined the stakes of this final conflict. We have it explicitly stated why everyone was brought to the island, what they need to do, and what they are fighting against. This was a scene that we needed, and it nicely brought everything together and closed out Jacob's role in the story. Some nice touches in Jacob's answers include him saying that he specifically picked flawed individuals like himself, and that he gave the candidates a choice, not forcing the role of protector onto them like his mother did to him. I really appreciate how Jacob has been humanized, and that added a lot more weight to his words. Jack's decision to take on the role of protector was a great moment, one that the show has been building up to for a while. I enjoyed Ben's scenes in this episode. He hasn't been given a whole lot to do this season, so it was nice to see this episode devote a lot of time to him. Seeing his actions in this episode, it would be easy to assume that Ben is back to being the same horrible and evil person he was in previous seasons. But that wouldn't take into account how his character grew in the episode "Dr. Linus", an episode that highlighted the good side of Ben. Because we have seen Ben change, I think it is fair to assume that what we see in this episode is Ben doing everything he can to survive. He sells out Widmore, he kills him, and he allies with MIB to ensure his own survival. And it's important to remember that he still has a walkie-talkie to contact Miles with. It's likely that Ben will try to turn on MIB when he gets a chance. I enjoyed the way this story was told and it gives some fascinating depth to some of Ben's scenes. It's chilling to see Ben sit down outside of the barracks, awaiting his own death as MIB casually walks over to him, knife in hand. The fear is portrayed superbly by Michael Emerson, and when MIB gives Ben a chance to live, you can see him take the opportunity with both hands and give up Widmore. You can portray Ben's betrayal of Widmore as petty revenge for Widmore killing Alex but it is more than that. It is Ben trying to save himself and come up with a plan, and I believe that Ben's decision to kill Widmore was to stop him from giving MIB valuable information. This depth adds more substance to Ben's storyline in this episode. I was pleased to see Sawyer feeling fittingly guilty after what happened on the sub, and it was nice to see Jack absolve him of any blame. I also enjoyed the cameos from Danielle and Ana Lucia in the flashsideways. The Bad: Something about this episode felt flat. The storylines on the island were fine enough, but they were missing that extra bit of emotion that we usually get from "Lost". The resolution of the Widmore storyline should have been a huge moment, but it was executed in a way that made it feel like an afterthought - just another loose end to tie up. There should have been a more important feel to those scenes. Similarly, the scenes with Jacob weren't as good as I had hoped. I like the scenes but I can't help but feel that they should have been better. It would have been nice to see more of a reaction from the candidates to what Jacob was saying, and I especially would have liked to see a greater emphasis on what Jack was sacrificing to become protector of the island. The moment that Jack says he will do the job is good, but it's not great because that extra emotional element that "Lost" usually nails is missing from the scene. Widmore's return was executed poorly and had a disappointing conclusion. After how central to the plot the Ben/Widmore rivalry was, you would expect their reunion to be a huge moment. But it's happening far too late in the game to feel important, and there is no emotion to any of their scenes together. I was disappointed that such a compelling relationship was shoved to the side and given a flat conclusion. Furthermore, I was unsatisfied with Widmore telling Ben and Richard that Jacob came to him. If that's true, it's hard for it to have any meaning because it is hard to see why Jacob would come to him. Apparently Jacob showed him the error of his ways, which is far too vague and lifeless of a line to have any impact. How has Widmore changed after this meeting? What did Jacob tell him to get him to change? I have no idea. This reveal means nothing if I haven't even seen how it affected the characters and the story. Widmore's return to the island deserved much more screentime and I can't help but be disappointed with how he was handled. I'm still not entirely sure what to make of the flashsideways world. The scenes in this episode were good and enjoyable, and there was a sense of momentum heading into the finale. But I'm still so confused about what Desmond's goal is and how he is able to know and do the things that he is doing (see: The Unknown). That makes it tough for me to emotionally invest in seeing Desmond reunite everyone, even though I feel like I am supposed to be rooting for him to do so. Hopefully the finale can provide us with an emotional edge to bring together this strange flash-sideways story. There were some small things I also did not like. If Richard was killed by MIB, that's got to be one of the worst deaths on the show. He deserved much better. Danielle telling Ben he was like a father to Alex was a well-acted scene, but it was too heavy-handed to have much impact. MIB telling Ben that he plans to destroy the island seems stupid. MIB just promised Ben that he would be in charge once he was gone! The Unknown: What is that cut that Jack has on his neck? I remember seeing it back in "LA X Part 1". Why is Desmond calling Jack claiming that he found his father's body? How does he know that Jack lost his father's body in the first place? How is he able to go after Locke knowing that he won't accidentally kill him? How was he able to organize the escape with Kate and Sayid? Did Jacob actually visit Widmore? Why? Couldn't he have just gone straight to Desmond instead? Or even Ilana, somebody we know that Jacob trusts? Talking with Widmore seems like a waste. How does MIB plan to use Desmond to destroy the island? Who took Desmond out of the well? Did the candidates get to him first? Was it Sayid who let him out? Miles? Or someone else? Is Richard really dead? Best Moment: Jack becoming protector of the island. It's the culmination of his arc and the moment felt significant. I appreciated the little touch of Jacob saying "now you're like me", the same way his mother did to him. Character of the Episode: Ben. Conclusion: This episode set up the finale decently, but a lot of the moments didn't land as well as they should have. This was an alright episode, but there is a lot of pressure on this finale to give us an emotional and suspenseful climax that is worth the many tedious episodes we have gotten this season. The pieces are in place, and I hope that "Lost" can deliver a fitting and memorable conclusion. Score: 57 Summary: A long time ago, a woman named Claudia arrives on the island where she meets another woman. Claudia gives birth to Jacob and MIB and is promptly killed by the woman, adopting the kids as her own. As they grow up, Jacob and MIB develop opposing worldviews. The mother reveals that she is protector of the island and shows Jacob and MIB The Light, which she is protecting. Jacob is content on the island and is looking to earn the mother's admiration, while MIB yearns to see what is across the sea. MIB has a vision of his dead mother and goes to live with the other people on the island. Jacob and MIB still talk frequently and MIB eventually reveals that he intends to leave the island and has found a way off. Jacob tells this to the mother. Distraught, the mother takes Jacob back to The Light and makes him the next protector. The mother goes to see MIB, knocks him out, and slaughters his people. Enraged, MIB goes back to the cave where they lived and kills the mother. Jacob sees this and beats up MIB, takes him back to The Light, and throws him in. MIB becomes the smoke monster. Jacob lays the mother and MIB's physical body to rest in the cave.
The Good: With just a few episodes left, "Lost" decided to hit us with one final swerve with a stunning formula break episode. I never would have expected an entire episode to go without having a single main cast member appear and that is exactly what happened here. The entire episode took place in the past and gave us the detailed history of Jacob and MIB, and I was engrossed by every moment of it. I had hoped to learn more about these mysterious deities all season, and I'm thrilled that we finally got a chance to see who they are and what they have been through. So much of this episode explained the Jacob/MIB dynamic that has been present since "The Incident". For a show notorious for not answering questions, it nailed all of the important character-centric questions surrounding Jacob and MIB. We learned everything we needed to know about their relationship, who they are, and why they are at war in this episode. Let's start with MIB. MIB's motives have been kept murky since his introduction, and we finally get to see what drives him: he just wants to see what is across the sea to satisfy his child-like sense of curiosity and wonder. It's surprisingly human and relatable, and I appreciate that this villainous character has been given such a simple and understandable origin. I also like that we see how he developed his philosophy about humans. It actually came from his mother, but he doubled down on it because he ended up living with humans, experiencing their vanity firsthand. I really like the storytelling of how this contrasts with Jacob's views on humanity, which I will discuss more later. MIB's desire to kill Jacob also makes a lot of sense. MIB just wanted to leave, but his mother stopped him and foiled his plans. And then to add the cherry on top, Jacob turned him into the smoke monster, forcing him to live on as an entity instead of as a being, and taking away any chance of him ever leaving again. I'd say that's a pretty good reason to want to kill somebody. Jacob is also given an excellent bit of development. I've always thought of Jacob as a god in this universe, so it was easy for me to be frustrated with how he seemed to be so vague and distant from his people for what felt like no good reason. But this episode explains to us that Jacob is no perfect deity. He's just another flawed human that was thrust into a job he never felt like he wanted, deserved, or earned. He's as clueless of a protector as he could possibly have been. This episode does a fantastic job of portraying Jacob as timid, confused, and low on confidence. He is the one who stays with the mother, and yet he is always the second favourite, the back-up choice to being the protector. He is the one who is afraid of moving on and having things change. When MIB threatens change by leaving the mother, Jacob beats him up. When MIB threatens to leave the island, Jacob immediately tells the mother. When MIB kills the mother, Jacob lashes out and turns him into the smoke monster. Jacob is not some legendary being, he's an afraid child with an inferiority complex. It's surprising how negatively he is portrayed in this episode, painting him as so relatably human. I also really appreciate that this episode even explains why Jacob is so distant from his people. He's not just being vague and unhelpful because the plot demands it - it's just who he is. Jacob is timid and shy, and he does not like to directly involve himself with people. Instead he likes to watch, and he is able to believe that humanity is not all bad because he takes an observer's perspective on all humans. Unlike MIB, he keeps his distance from humans, hoping that their individual sense of good is enough to overpower the vanity, negativity, and evil that overcomes them when they interact with each other. That's why Jacob does not stop Ben from killing him. That's why Jacob makes Jack go on a frustrating trip to a lighthouse instead of giving him answers. That's why Jacob doesn't communicate much with his followers. He expects people to understand good for themselves without needing somebody to tell them what to do. This philosophy is developed organically in this episode, and it clashes with MIB's philosophy beautifully. Bridging these two characters together, we have the mother. The mother is admittedly a bit underdeveloped, but she fulfills her role in the story perfectly. This woman is legitimately lonely and insane. She lives on her own, kidnaps two babies after killing their mother, and raises them while feeding them her own propaganda, preventing them from being their own people. The mother feels like the real villain of this story because it is her controlling and manipulative style of raising these two kids that caused all of this chaos to happen in the first place. I know a lot of people will be upset that we didn't find out more about the mother. But we really didn't need to know more about her from a storytelling perspective. She fulfilled her role perfectly, and I found myself getting invested in this family dynamic and all of the twists and turns that happened until the somber moment when Jacob said a final goodbye to his family at the end of the episode. On top of this lovely story, we were given loads of answers in this episode. Now, I know that lots of people will be upset with these answers because they didn't answer every little detail. For every answer we got, it raised more smaller questions that will frustrate viewers. But I maintain that this is not that big of a deal. The questions that remained unanswered are not important to the story, and spending more time addressing those questions would likely be a detriment to this episode. For example, we do not need to see exactly how the frozen donkey wheel was built and when that happened. All we need to know is that MIB invented it in an attempt to use the power of The Light to get off the island, and that it was finished sometime after this episode, likely by MIB to see if it would work. We don't get every detail possible, but we get enough for these to be a satisfying enough conclusion. Several other questions were answered this way. In this massive episode, we learned that MIB and Jacob were brothers, that the protector of the island creates the mysterious "rules' we keep hearing about, that Jacob is responsible for MIB becoming the smoke monster, that The Light is at the center of the island and is the reason for its importance, and so on. There were loads of reveals and answers in this episode, and I enjoyed them a lot. The Bad: There were a few moments in this episode that felt sloppy. The mother claims that she has made it so Jacob and MIB can't hurt each other. And yet Jacob beats him bloody on two separate occasions, knocks him out after bashing his head on a rock, and ultimately turns him into the smoke monster. So that line was just a blatant lie and only serves to confuse me. Did she mean that they were just unable to kill each other? If so, she should have said that. It was very confusing to me when Jacob hurt MIB in spite of what the mother said. I'm also confused about what to make of MIB becoming the smoke monster. With how vague The Light is, it's hard to understand what exactly resulted in MIB becoming the smoke monster and how this changed him (see: The Unknown). That moment could have used more context. I wasn't happy with the flashbacks at the end of the episode. They almost ruined the devastatingly sad conclusion of the episode as Jacob buried his family. It was jarring to go from Jacob's sadness to seeing the other characters finding the skeletons in what was an unnecessary flashback. We know where the skeletons are from! We don't need to see it again! These flashbacks came off as smug, as if the writers were trying to say "see, we planned it out this whole time!" even though that is blatantly untrue. The scene would have been far better had it just been Jacob mourning in silence or with some gentle music playing. I can see why some people would not like this episode. It's a very bold move to have an episode so close to the end of the show where not a single main cast member appears. As outlined above, I thought that this was a tremendous decision, but I can understand that some people would be frustrated with it, especially when you consider how rushed the past few episodes have felt. Having an extra episode to tell the story at a better pace could have been valuable. I also understand the criticism of how unsatisfying many of the answers are in this episode. I've outlined above why this episode's approach to the island's mythology didn't bother me much, but I understand if you're somebody who was frustrated that after six seasons of promised answers, you get told to stop asking questions and just enjoy the ride. It feels like a cop-out, and Lindelof and Cuse's decision to hype up that everything will be answered only to leave a lot of mysteries unresolved is a huge slap in the face to the people that watched "Lost" specifically for the mystery and mythology. Since I am not one of those people, I am not too bothered by the show's decision to zero in on story and emotion over plot and mystery, and I enjoyed this episode. But I am not the whole audience of the show, and I think that it is the responsibility of the writers to tell a compelling story that everyone can enjoy, not just a story that will divide the entirety of the show's audience. I'll continue to defend this episode and my enjoyment of it until the day that I die, but I can't say that this episode is not deserving of the polarizing reaction that it received. The Unknown: Oh boy, here we go. I expect that most of what I put here will not be answered. Who was the mother? How did she get to the island? Why does she have such a dim view of humanity? Who made her the protector? What is The Light exactly? Is it naturally forming? Did somebody make it there? How do you find it? How does its powers work? It looks like MIB built the frozen donkey wheel underneath The Orchid. But he was unsuccessful in his attempt to build it in this episode. When did it get made then? After the events of this episode? Why? Was MIB still involved with it? How does the power of The Light get harnessed to teleport somebody off of the island? Were the people we saw here the others? Does this mean that neither Jacob nor MIB created this group of people? What is the significance of them then? Are they somehow connected with the Egyptian people that built the statue and the temple? What exactly were these rules that the mother, MIB, and Jacob used? Is that an ability of the protector of the island, to create these rules? What exactly can you do as protector of the island? Why did MIB become the smoke monster? Does anyone become a smoke monster when they get thrown into The Light? Is MIB even himself anymore after becoming the smoke monster? Or is he a different entity? How is he evil incarnate? is it because he's a being made purely of The Light? Does that make him evil? How? Why? Not many unanswered questions frustrated me in this episode, but the ones surrounding the smoke monster definitely did. Why did MIB's body appear at such a distant location after he went into The Light? What happened to him in there? How was Claudia able to appear to MIB? Why didn't she also appear to Jacob? How do dead people appear on the island like this? Is it some different, unexplained force? Why does this happen? What's controlling it? Is this their actual conscience appearing or is it some fancy sort of vision? And for god's sake, what is MIB's name????? Best Moment: MIB embracing his mother in the cave was a phenomenal piece of acting. You could see that MIB is still the same as the young boy we met at the start of the episode that wanted nothing more than to just see what was on the other side of the sea. After all these years, that's still all that he is. He still loves his mother and there is nothing inherently evil about him. And in a devastating twist, that one moment of weakness allows the mother to knock him out and strip everything away from him. It's a fantastic scene that is heart-wrenching and pivotal in the episode. Character of the Episode: MIB, thought it is tough to choose between him and Jacob. Conclusion: This is a polarizing episode, but I thought that it was mesmerizing; the biggest formula break of the whole show and it was thrilling to watch. Every little detail provided us with key answers, and they connected it all cohesively within a compelling and emotional character story that humanized the two godly beings that have been the men behind the curtain of this entire story. Yes, there were flaws. The unanswered questions and few sloppy moments did give this episode a slightly unsatisfying feeling. But so much was done well, and the conception of this episode was a stroke of genius. My favourite episode of the season. Score: 80 Summary: Jake organizes a heist before Holt and Amy leave the precinct, also planning to announce his retirement from the Nine Nine. After a final crazy heist, the members of the Nine-Nine spend one final night together and then move on.
The Good: I've decided to tackle this two-part finale as a single episode because it was clearly intended to be viewed as a double-length episode instead of as two different episodes. Thankfully, the experience was wonderful. I've had major problems with season 8 as "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" felt like a show running out of ideas the entire season. But luckily that didn't interfere with my love for these characters and I was still able to enjoy and appreciate this series finale. I'm thrilled by the decision to end of the series with a heist. If I'm being entirely honest, the heists will likely be all that I remember this show for 10 years from now because they were easily the highlight experience of what was otherwise a solid but not great sitcom. And this last one maintained that trend. I was nervous that going for 40 minutes would make this episode feel stale, but this was packed with original jokes, callbacks, hilarious absurdity, and clever plans to make this stand out just as well as every other heist episode. This one even had the extra emotion of being the last episode of the show to make it stand out further. But what I will focus on, as always with these heists, is the absolute absurdity of what happened here. I've maintained that "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" is best when its not taking itself seriously - the cast is the best aspect of the show and when the cast members are allowed to go bananas with the characters they have been given, it will make superb television. Once again, that's what we got here. The twists and jokes in this episode were outstanding and somehow the show even reached new highs with moments like Terry's fake interview , the fake-out of Jake waking up in the future, and Holt showing off his absurdly amazing tattoo. The conclusion for all of the characters also felt natural. Jake quitting the force to be a good parent, Holt leaving, Terry being left in charge, and several of the characters making peace with one another all felt satisfying. The final scene with the gang all coming back together the next year for another heist was a perfect ending scene that kept with the spirit of the show. The Bad: Not all of the cameos worked. Gina never clicked as a character with me post-season 1, and her return was flat and uninteresting. Some of the other returning characters weren't given enough original material so they just went through the same tired jokes, like Teddy, Pimento, Mlepnos, Bill, and Caleb. Best Moment: This was an episode packed with spectacular laughs and it's hard to choose the best one. I'll go with the clever fake-out of Jake waking up in the future only for it to be yet another absurd elaborate scheme by Amy in an attempt to win the heist. Character of the Episode: Holt. Conclusion: This was an excellent finale. Even with the double-length, this never felt long and there were tons and tons of jokes that took up the entire episode. I ended the show feeling satisfied with where everyone ended up, and I'm pleased that we finished on a high note, even if season 8 was not a particularly good season. "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" as a whole is a show that I have somewhat mixed feelings about. It's a good show, and I laughed a lot watching these last 8 seasons. But I still feel like it never quite lived up to its full potential and thinking back on it, the show is somewhat forgettable when you think about great sitcoms in the last 10-20 years. I do think that I overrated much of the show, but there were certainly some fantastic highlights in its run like the iconic heist episodes and classic episodes like "The Box" and "99". Season 8 as a whole was disappointing and it feels clear that the show should have ended in season 7 with how badly the writers struggled for good ideas this season. However, this final episode was terrific and it ends the show on a positive note. Score: 78 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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