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Scandal S07E05 Recap

K.F. Cumberbatch
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0
Scandal S07E05 Recap

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD.

There she is! The tyrannical, power mad, corrupt, very despicable Olivia Pope I’ve seen emerging all season (and in some of the last). She’s broken free of the spell that is Fitzgerald Grant III and has returned to being insufferable (not that she wasn’t even after having sex with him softened her). This episode really reaffirmed Olivia’s villain status this season and it looks like no one is capable of reeling her in.

From her talk with Eli in the opening scene (in which he seemed to cower from her), to the stank face she gave Mellie as she was being laid out for her actions (and gosh is there an overabundance of Olivia Pope condescending stank faces this season) and the “apology” she gave Chris later in the episode after they had sex (and pretty much admitted that she sleeps with him to use him and his show), Olivia was just all over this episode being the worst version of herself. She even said that not giving her what she wants is an act of war. Arrogant and bratty much? I love Chris for telling her off at the end of the episode.

The only “good” thing she did in this episode was come up with a way to end the coup in Bashran with minimal loss of life to American soldiers. Her motives were in no way altruistic, though. The only person Olivia Pope cares about and the only person she serves is Olivia Pope. The only person now who seems to believe that there is some kind of good left within Olivia is Quinn and she, perhaps, hero worships Olivia a little too much.

By the end of the episode the only person who had stood up to her, the only person who gave her orders, the only person who put her in her place, Mellie, was doing her bidding. I would like to know exactly what it was that Olivia told Mellie that made her do an about face like that. Even though it seems like she was just going along with what Olivia wanted her to do. She did apologise to Fitz, quietly, for tearing into him the way she did. So I don’t think that she wanted to do it. Perhaps Olivia blackmailed her or threatened her in some way? When Mellie yelled at Olivia she wasn’t sorry.

Mellie’s feelings for Rashad completely clouded her judgement. Her decision to continue to try and re-install him as president of Bashran, even though congress voted against going to war, was driven by them. To her credit, the treaty was still at the forefront of her mind and she still wanted to ensure it happened in order to secure national and global safety. She absolutely needs Rashad to be president in order to achieve that. However, her asking Olivia to use her resources as Command to ensure Rashad’s reinstatement was fueled by her attraction to him. And because of that I’m very disappointed in her, even though I understand.

All of Mellie’s efforts were for naught, though.

The ending of this episode was just too perfect. As Rashad and Yasmin got into the plane I just had this feeling that it would blow up. And it did. I don’t know if it was the rebels who did it – they had gotten to him in the White House, after all, so it’s possible that they did – but it may have been a mistake for him to get on American television and speak about how he wanted to change Bashran. He gave them more than enough motive, besides what they had already, to get rid of him and stop him being reinstated.

That being said, I wouldn’t put it past Olivia to have been the one behind the bombing of the plane. She was against the war to begin with and the only reason that she went along with it was because she was bewitched behind Fitz once again. Now that she’s shaken out of that, reaffirmed her power as Command and seemingly put Mellie under her thumb, it’s well within reason, to me, that she would now do what it is that she wants concerning Bashran. Although, killing Rashad would be completely unnecessary to her doing that. They were sending him home anyway, which was what she wanted to do in the first place.

Random thoughts:

  1. Why doesn’t Olivia just get rid of Fitz herself? Or is she trying to assert her power over Eli by making him do it.
  2. Is Chris the new Sally?
  3. Fitz is seriously taking Olivia on?
  4. Gosh darn it Yasmin!
  5. Jake is on board with Darth Pope?
  6. Kind of afraid for Chris’ life right now.

Scandal airs Thursdays at 9 PM on ABC.

Scandal S07E04 Recap

K.F. Cumberbatch
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0
Scandal S07E04 Recap

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD.

Yawn. Olitz is back on. Their on and off again relationship got old three seasons ago and I wish the writers of this show would just give it a rest already. They’re just as bad as Carrie and Big. Although, the rekindling of their relationship may have little to do with actual romantic feelings (although I’m pretty sure that they’re there) and that makes this go around with the two a little more interesting. Especially since Olivia has now become privy to why Fitz has suddenly re-entered her life.

We didn’t get the confrontation between Fitz and Olivia over his finding her stumbling out of her elevator, all over Chris, that I thought that we would get. In fact, Fitz seemed rather un-bothered by it. Which was weird and made even more so by the fact that he told her that he was back in Washington for her. He should have been as upset as Olivia was. That too, I found strange; how strongly and negatively she [over]reacted to his presence, but I chalked it up to her being rattled by his unexpected visit. I still think she was overreacting, though. Although, she kind of wasn’t. In the end.

It wasn’t until a few scenes later that it occurred to me that Fitz had gone to Olivia because Eli sent him. The missing girls case was an obvious pretense for him to have a reason to see her and confess his still lingering feelings for her. But even that was a pretense. Genuine as I believe his feelings and his desire to be with her to be, he only went to Washington to reel her in and check her power as Command. To distract – and maybe even soften – her with their relationship. And it worked.

Right after she slept with him she didn’t impose her will on Mellie, like she had previously, when they disagreed on how to handle the coup in Bashran. She went along with what Mellie wanted to do. I did not expect that plan to work so effectively. It’s kind of pathetic that the second Fitz is back in her life and between her legs, Olivia turns to mush. Much as it seems that without him and with a decent amount of power she’s a borderline tyrant.

I thought that Olivia was suspicious of Fitz and had sent Jake to look into his activities prior to his turning up in Washington because she knew he was up to something, but wasn’t sure what. She was just scared to get involved with him again because she didn’t know if she could be Command and have a happy life with Fitz. That was why she overreacted to him coming back into her life. But of course, she knows now that Eli sent Fitz to her and it’s not looking too good for Daddy Dearest.

Mellie had her own relationship drama going on in this episode, aside from the drama of trying to mediate the summit. She finally admitted that she has feelings for Rashad.

I do think that said feelings are clouding her judgement a little, however, because of the lengths she wants to go to in order to reinstall him as president of Bashran. True as it may be that she needs him to be the leader of the country in order for them to make a deal concerning the nuclear weapons and to facilitate the summit. The rebels in Bashran certainly won’t agree to any deals with her, far less entertain even a discussion about it.

I am not mad at Cyrus and Fenton becoming a thing. I don’t ship it, but I don’t hate it. Fenton seems to be fairly sweet on Cyrus and it’s kind of adorable. Particularly since Fenton is likeable this time around and not being a completely arrogant jerk. I didn’t think of the painting as a grand gesture indicating his romantic – and sexual – interest in Cyrus until the assistant and Mellie said so. I assumed it was his apologising for his gross conduct the last time they had crossed paths.

Cyrus rejecting Fenton out of vanity was surprising, although he was right that there is no competition between Fenton and Michael in the looks department. But the man does adore him so that has to count for something.

Random thoughts:

  1. Curtis knows when to disappear.
  2. Look at Mellie and Rashad. All working together so perfectly.
  3. Olivia cock-blocking Mellie pretty hard there with Marcus.
  4. Pretty sure he only implied that Mellie slept with Rashad because she is a woman.
  5. Olivia went to Eli…for boy advice?
  6. Cyrus is going to teach him about more than politics!

Scandal airs Thursdays at 9 PM on ABC.

Scandal S07E03 Recap

K.F. Cumberbatch
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0
Scandal S07E03 Recap

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD.

One thing that former Queen of ABC, Shonda Rhimes (she’s at Netlfix now) has excelled at, is making fans of her shows wait by elongating anticipation. That is exactly what she did with this episode. Who else wanted to and expected to see Fitz “confront” Olivia after catching her with another man? Instead, we got a flashback to what Fitz was doing leading up to that moment, during the first one hundred days of Mellie’s presidency. It may not have been what I wanted to see, but I still appreciate it.

I love how both Fitz and Mellie – former husband and wife – work with each others’ exes. One, that they do it at all and two, that they do it without having each other for it. I’ve loved Mellie and Olivia as a power couple pretty much since the moment it became a thing and I love Fitz and Marcus as a power couple almost as much. They give Mellie and Olivia a run for their money.

Marcus was right in saying that the majority of Fitz’s success as president was due in large part to Olivia. In fact, the same could be said of Mellie so far. Olivia was the power behind both of them. So yes, she does deserve to have an entire wing dedicated to her in his library. I don’t quite agree that Fitz reduced Olivia to a, as Marcus put it, “homewrecking black ho” and I don’t think that Fitz’s original plan for how to include her would have reduced her to such. As much as it wouldn’t have paid her the professional respect she deserves.

It would be wise of Fitz to acknowledge her role in his life professionally, more than personally, to preserve both of their legacies. It would be pertinent of him to acknowledge their romantic relationship, only because the public knows about it already and it would be conspicuous not to. But it shouldn’t be emphasised.

Since we’re talking about her already, am I the only one who isn’t convinced that Olivia would make a better, more ethical and moral Command than her father? That she would do the right thing and in the “right way?” I fear an Olivia Pope with as much power as she currently wields. She doesn’t exactly have clean hands and has proven that she is more than ready and willing to dirty them further. The first two episodes of this season have proven what kind of Command she would be.

I don’t think that Eli is being an alarmist and I don’t think that his concern is something that should be ignored or dismissed. It’s Eli Pope! As I said about him in my recaps of the last season, he is a man that doesn’t scare easily. So when he is and he issues a warning about the thing that he’s afraid of, you need to pay attention because it’s a legitimate threat. His conversation with her in the season premiere and his conversation with Fitz here are foreboding. I do think that Olivia will be corrupted by her power if she isn’t already.

It was very predictable that he eventually would, but I’m glad nonetheless that Fitz showed his supported for the protester. He still has some power and apparently (judging from his visit to the supermarket) is still very popular. All he needed to do was go to the statue and praise the man’s efforts. That’s it! For a second I thought that he would pull up a chair next to the protester and and stay, but that wouldn’t have worked logistically. What with his security detail and all of the trappings of being a former president. Really, a small gesture was enough.

Random thoughts:

  1. That kiss was a goodbye judging by this season so far.
  2. Does Fitz know how to cook?
  3. He doesn’t.
  4. Aww, he’s so ready to jump in and help Mellie.
  5. A wild Eli appeared.

Scandal airs Thursdays at 9 PM on ABC.

Stranger Things S02E09 [FINALE] Recap

K.F. Cumberbatch
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0
Stranger Things S02E09 [FINALE] Recap

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD.

The party is back together and just in time to save Hawkins – and the world – all over again. It’s nice to see all five of them reunited and all, but the reunion that we all care about the most, is the one between Mike and Eleven. And I have to say, it was kind of…disappointing.

Am I the only one who wanted them to run up to each other and kiss? I mean, yes, they are children (13 at the most given Max’s age) so it’s kind of creepy that I want to see them kiss. But and however, Mike and Eleven are OTP! They’re seeing each other for the first time in a year and all they do is hug? We need a little more than that Duffer Brothers.

Mike was so flooded with emotion upon Eleven’s return that he berated and hit Hopper because he kept her away from him. I honestly feel like Mike should have – and he probably did – understood why Hopper kept her hidden, even from him. He’s totally aware of the danger that they were all in, especially Eleven. In that moment, though, I think he was just upset that she had been so close to him and he didn’t even know. He missed her so much.

Which only brings me back to how he could have felt that much, that strongly and not, as Sebastian would say, “kiss the girl.” And then we got teased with an almost kiss when Hopper and Eleven were leaving for Hawkins Lab. The Duffer Brothers knew exactly what we would want and they knew what they would do to us by teasing us with it and drawing it out.

I really don’t like that Eleven dissed Max the way that she did. Initially it was funny, but it just fed into the that tired old trope of women and girls hating each other because of a boy. Eleven could have begrudgingly shaken her hand. She has to know that there is nothing between Max and Mike.

Finally! Someone (Mike) pointed out that killing the Mind Flayer would kill Will as well. They really should have realised that sooner. In any case, they came up with a pretty good plan to make sure that that wouldn’t happen; raising Will’s body temperature in order to make the Mind Flayer leave his body. I had never even considered that they could, or should, have done that in the first place. Long before this very direct threat to his life. It would have saved them so much trouble. But I don’t blame them for not thinking about it sooner.

I was afraid that Joyce would carry things too far because of her anger and pain over Bob’s death and wind up hurting, and maybe even killing, Will. It looked like she came damn close to it too before it tried to strangle her. For a few seconds there I thought that “Will” would have died and taken Joyce with him. Which would have been a terrible and tragic ending for both characters. But Nancy jumped in and saved them both.

I loved Billy’s flirting with Mrs. Wheeler. It was quite amusing. Despite his being an endlessly despicable character, with the flimsiest of dimension and no development, I hope he comes back next season just so he can have an affair with her. And I want Mike and Max to find out about it just for the added awkwardness of his friend’s brother sleeping with his mother.

I didn’t think that Billy showing up at the Byers home would have played out the way that it did. I thought that something would happen to make him wise to what was going on and then he would fall into line. What we got was a brawl between him and Steve. I really expected Steve to finally show him who’s boss and beat the life out of Billy, but that wouldn’t have made sense since it was established that Billy was physically stronger than Steve all season. I’m glad that wasn’t the case because we got Max being the one to finally put him in his place instead.

I was as proud of Max for standing up to Billy, as the boys were surprised to see her do it. That was quite the triumphant moment for her character and it was great to see. However, like Billy, she was flat and one dimensional all season. She didn’t add much of anything to the show, if at all, and it would have hardly been different had she not made an appearance this season.

Hopper and Eleven would never have been successful with their plan had it not been for Steve and the kids going down into the tunnels and setting the vines on fire, that’s a fact. But I really didn’t want them to go down there. I was firmly on Steve’s side when it came to staying at the Byers home. The kids only got their way because Billy showed up and knocked Steve out.

But man did Steve truly step up and become one of the most loveable characters this season by taking care of the kids. Like he told Nancy, he’s an awesome baby-sitter. He saw how determined the kids were to help and did his best to protect them and keep them safe. It was only then that I felt sorry for him about his break up with Nancy and rethought my shipping her with Jonathan.

Eleven closing the gate did not go the way that I expected it to. Her very brief training with Kali prepared her to do it, but I really thought that, like in most other narratives, at some point during closing the gate that Eleven would come to realise that it wasn’t anger that she needed to fuel her powers, but love. And not just the romantic love she feels for Mike, but her paternal love for Hopper and her platonic love for the rest of the kids. Anger got the job done, though, so I’m not complaining.

Her powers seem to be evolving outside of her learning to channel her anger to be more powerful. She freaking levitated! Does that mean that she will eventually learn how to fly? It would be cool if she learned how to fly. It looked incredibly painful pushing her power so far; bleeding out of both nostrils, the veins around her eyes and how dark  they became was quite unsettling. Is she ever going to be able to use her powers without that happening?

Nancy and Jonathan ‘s (and Murray’s) plan to bring down Hawkins Laboratory worked and had none of the negative consequences that I thought that it would…so far. Well, except for Owens being out of a job. I did not like him at all for much of his appearance, but he proved to be a much better man that I gave him credit for. Especially by following up on Hopper’s request to set Eleven free. I didn’t think he’d have gone so far as to arrange for Hopper to legally adopt her, but I love that he’s her legal guardian now. He’s officially her dad.

They finally went to the Snow Ball! I completely forgot that Mike had asked Eleven to go last season. It was well worth the wait. As was the kiss that they finally shared. It was the perfect moment for it to happen. As to other kisses at the dance, I was rooting for Dustin to end up with Max, just because he liked her so much and tried so hard to impress her. Plus, he’s the most adorable one in the group. I can get behind her and Lucas though.

Even Will, who’d been a social pariah at school had gotten asked to dance. It hurt seeing Dustin sitting on the bleachers crying because none of the girls wanted to dance with him. On the bright side, he got to dance with his original dream girl, Nancy. The way his face lit up as they danced was so endearing. She even stroked his ego a little. It was adorable.

Hopper and Joyce had great chemistry this season. Perhaps even more so than the last. As much as I love Bob (R.I.P.), I hope that the two of them wind up together by or in the next season. That would complicate Mike’s relationship with Eleven quite a bit, though. Still, Joyce and Hopper all the way.

I really liked this season. It took a while to get to the point where I found it captivating and enthralling, but once it did I was thoroughly hooked. I loved spending time in this world, with these characters again and seeing how they’d grown and changed. The Mind Flayer confusing somewhat, especially in terms of what it is exactly and how it tied into season one. Apart from that, though, I was a good season and I can’t wait for the next one.

Random thoughts:

  1. Aww, Eleven hugged Dustin and Lucas too.
  2. Steve is surprisingly okay with Nancy and Jonathan.
  3. Did Steve just call Mike Nancy?
  4. I knew the demodogs would run past Dustin and Steve!
  5. Sure, nothing ever happens in Hawkins.
  6. Does Mike ever smile for pictures?

All 9 episodes of Stranger Things are currently available for streaming on Netflix.

Stranger Things S02E08 Recap

K.F. Cumberbatch
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0
Stranger Things S02E08 Recap

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD.

I didn’t want to think that it was true. I didn’t want to believe that it was true…but it was true; Will wasn’t Will anymore and had been completely taken over by the Thessalhydra, I mean, the Mind Flayer. It had all of us fo0led with its “I’m so sorry. He made me do it.” act. I should have known from then that it wasn’t him – and I kind of did. Will wouldn’t have led those soldiers into a trap.

Again, I can’t help but feel for Will, but also for Joyce. How much it must have hurt seeing her son and knowing that it wasn’t him but some evil thing possessing him. My boy Mike though, he didn’t even hesitate in suggesting that they knock him out to keep him from spying on them. He had no qualms! And was basically the only one thinking on their feet.

The demogorgons, demodogs, slaughtered everyone just like I knew that they would. Just one demogorgon took out Hawkins Lab in season one, an army would do the same much faster and much easier. There were far less than I had assumed, given the number of dots on the radar. It could be that we haven’t been shown all of them in full force yet, I suppose.

Bob just continued to prove why I – and, I’m sure – everyone else loves him by volunteering to put his life at risk to save everyone else. Even going so far as to tell Hopper to take the others and leave him. Really, Bob was an amazingly brave, just all around good man that I am going to miss immensely. It’s so unfair. Why did he have to die? He got everyone out! He got himself out! He was home free! And did they need to rub it in by showing him getting eaten by those deomodogs?

I am so with and behind Joyce in killing the Mind Flayer. Bob needs to be avenged! This is the one time that I am going to advocate revenge. The Mind Flayer can’t kill Bob and get away with it! It took Joyce’s son, it took her boyfriend and now it has to be killed.

If that thing wasn’t in Will and was in someone else, I would have advocated burning him to get the information out of him. But there was no need for such violence. Will is still conscious in there and appealing to his emotions was a much kinder method. Joyce once again proved why she has earned the title of Best Mom by knowing and believing that Will was still in there. I myself was somewhat doubtful, but Joyce’s instincts are always a safe bet.

I was afraid that killing the Mind Flayer would mean having to kill Will. He is in the hive mind after all. I was surprised when no one brought that up in the entire discussion about killing the thing before. It looks like all they have to do is close the gate to kill the Mind Flayer, but I’m still wary that Will won’t be alive buy the end of the season. That solution is a little too simple. A little too easy to resolve everything. Not without a loss of some kind.

Luckily for them they got Will’s message before the phone rang and “Will” found out where they were. Whoever that was picked the worst possible moment to call Joyce’s house. Those demodogs got there really quickly and I loved how Jonathan hesitated to take the gun from Hopper and Nancy just stepped forward, ready to kill anything that made it inside the house. I love how, with the teen group, she is the one who is always leading them in some sort of plan or scheme to save the day.

I really expected Eleven to show up at Hawkins Lab and save Bob at the last minute. Instead, she showed up at Will’s house and killed all of the demodogs. The girl knows how to make an entrance. The only thing missing from her return was a kiss between her and Mike. I was ready for that to happen. They’d been apart and missing each other for so long. It would been perfect. But more important things were at hand, I guess.

Random thoughts:

  1. How are they going to escape Hawkins Lab?
  2. Max’s parents DO exist.
  3. Billy’s dad is a homophobe and abusive. Is Billy gay? I always got the feeling that he was gay.
  4. This plan should work. He did get Frodo to  Mordor.

All 9 episode of Stranger Things are currently available for streaming on Netflix.

Ch’An Releases “Body”

K.F. Cumberbatch
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0
Ch’An Releases “Body”

The Barbadian songstress yesterday dropped her new single “Body” on iTunes in an exclusive early release. Leading up to its debut, she teased its imminent release with excerpts of the song’s lyrics. Along with the announcement, she posted a video of her performing the song. Ch’an performed the single live at last year’s Mahalia’s Corner Christmas Special to a receptive audience.

On his Instagram page, local model Emmanuel Tyson, teased the release of the music video, in which he is her co-star. According to the clapperboard in the image, the video will be directed by Barbados Visual Media Award winning filmmaker Clish Gittens, with cinematography by Melanie Grant and Vonley Smith and production by Movement.

Ch’an also shared a behind-the-scenes photo from the video shoot on her Instagram page.

Listen to the song here: “Body” by Ch’an.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BajpMy8lvU0/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaoNw1llJPR/

Stranger Things S02E07 Recap

K.F. Cumberbatch
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0
Stranger Things S02E07 Recap

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD.

This episode made me realise what Eleven’s journey for this season was, if only because the word was repeated about three times in its run; Eleven’s search for a “home.” It was really when her aunt told her that she could stay with her and her mother, near the beginning, and called the place “home” that it became obvious to me, but even more so when Kali said the same.

When Eleven caught her aunt on the phone my first thought was that she called Hawkins Lab. I was so relieved when it turned out that she was trying to find Hopper. Not that, to Eleven, that was any better. She was still mad at him. I kind of wished that she hadn’t over heard, just so that Hopper would have gotten the message at some point (he had his own stuff going on at the time, ya know, fighting demogorgons) and come for her. But if she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have run and meet Kali and friends and come to appreciate the home she had with Hopper in Hawkins.

I was so glad when she found Kali and they embraced each other as sisters and bonded on the roof. They’d found each other again and were happy. But Kali went and spoiled it by manipulating and using Eleven.

I do feel like she was sincere and genuinely cared for Eleven, but she saw her as an asset and powerful weapon in taking down her enemies. Not much better than “Papa”, really. Although I did understand why she did what she was doing and empathised with her, but she was still wrong and did not in any way need to twist Eleven into becoming a murderer like herself.

I hated watching her teach Eleven to fuel her power with her anger, the same way that she did. To use her powers to hurt others. That’s not our Eleven. She protects people, hurting or killing others only if doing so means achieving that objective. Sure, channeling her anger did make Eleven more powerful, but I think we’ve seen enough media in which that is the case to know that that isn’t the way to get more powerful at all.

Mick was the only voice of reason on Kali’s team. With Eleven there, Kali had gotten impatient, reckless and irresponsible in her quest to kill the personnel from Hawkins Lab who had a hand in her abuse. I don’t blame Eleven for thinking that Ray was alone; we know how her powers work, that she sees only the person she is looking for. But Kali doesn’t know that. She didn’t take the time to understand Eleven’s powers and how they work. So it was no surprise that there was someone else there.

Good on Ray’s daughter’s for calling the police first thing. And for existing in the first place. Ray was as good as dead before Eleven saw their photo with him. Our Eleven has a heart and she could not rob them of their father, no matter how much Kali tried to push her to kill him. When Kali berated Eleven for knocking the gun out of her hand I thought that she was about to kick Eleven out of the group.

Instead, she did something worse. She further tried to manipulate Eleven by creating an illusion of “Papa” that echoed the words she had said to Eleven. For a split second I thought that he was actually there. Right then Eleven should have left, I think. Just because Kali used him against her.

It wasn’t until Eleven checked in on Hopper that I realised that the episode had gone back in time a little. I like that it was Hopper that she visited and not Mike, just because I really like that she considers their little house in the woods to be her home. I really love their father/daughter relationship. Mike is her one true love and all, but for much of this season it wasn’t her relationship with him that I cared about. It was her relationship with Hopper.

I think that even if she hadn’t seen that Hopper and Mike were in danger, Eleven would have gone home when she did. It was a great catalyst, but her thinking about Mike and the rest of the group and her memories with Hopper, to me, showed that she was ready to go back. I did feel sorry for Kali, having to let Eleven go after just having gotten her back. But Eleven’s place was not with them.

Random thoughts:

  1. Back to Eleven!
  2. Oh, so Kali can use her powers on multiple people at once.

All 9 episode of Stranger Things are currently available for streaming on Netflix.

Stranger Things S02E06 Recap

K.F. Cumberbatch
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0
Stranger Things S02E06 Recap

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD.

Will’s plight this season continues to pull at my heartstrings. I cried real tears for him, at the beginning of the episode, seeing him writhe in pain and screaming as he burned. Every episode finds a new way to make me feel for him. In this one it was like triple fold.

First with his burning and then with his amnesia. It’s not very clear how much he remembers or how much time he lost in his memories, but the fact that he didn’t recognise Hopper makes me think that at the very least he remembers up to before being rescued from the Upside Down. At the worst, he doesn’t remember any of the experience, which is, in some ways, a good thing. I’m just happy that he remembers Mike.

I was hoping that his amnesia meant that he was no longer connected to the Thessalhydra, but that was too much to ask for. I wish there had been another way to test his connection to it besides burning the vines, but that seems to be the only stimulus which affects Will as well. At least now we have an understanding of what the connection is.

I’m not sure that a virus is an apt comparison to make. In the case of the vines, sure, they infected the plants. They are the virus. In Will’s case the Thessalhydra literally went inside him. That is more like possession than infection. The hive mind does make sense in terms of how the vines seemed to be sentient. The demogorgons seem to be part of the hive mind as well.

Which, first of all, why are there so many of them?! One was bad enough. Where did the others come from? Aside from that, this hive mind thing raises so many other questions. Like, was the demogorgon is season one under it’s control or was it working independently? Could it have worked independently? What does the Thessalhydra want? Has it been pursuing it since last season? Is Will’s only purpose as a spy? I’m pretty sure the answer to that last one is “yes.”

Which leads me to the third thing that happened in this episode that made my heart break for Will; that he sent the Hawkins Lab personnel into a trap. I was wary of him saying that he knew how to defeat the Thessalhydra, just because immediately before he told Mike he knew how to stop “it”, he’d been looking at the guard’s gun. I really wanted it to be true, that he was helping them to defeat the Thessalhydra, and that he wasn’t completely taken over and he was no longer Will. But that was something else that was too much to ask for as well.

Dustin should have listened to Mike and the others when they told him to kill Dart! I knew it would have been bigger when he and Steve got back to his house. I kind of don’t understand why it grew so quickly, now, when Will upchucked it a year ago, but whatever. I wasn’t surprised when Steve found that it had shed its skin. I was hoping that it had died of starvation, but no, it escaped. They really should have killed it sooner.

I guess their plan to get rid of Dart wasn’t a bad one. Dustin had successfully (almost) lured Dart before and they’d done so with last season’s demogorgon. They had no reason to think that it wouldn’t have worked. Plus, they had no way of knowing that there was more than one demogorgon and that they were being controlled by the Thessalhydra. But leaving the sun roof open was a very bad move.

At least Max believes Lucas now. It stands to reason that she wouldn’t have before so his being upset that she didn’t was a tad unreasonable. It looks like the two of them are headed toward coupledom, which was obvious for a few episodes now. Poor Dustin. He was the one who liked her the most and was damn near in love with her. Lucas was almost indifferent to Max for a while.

Max’s backstory was quite disappointing. She’s just a product of divorce and her, we now know, step-brother is only mean to her because he hates Max’s mother and takes it out on her. I was expecting more from her and Billy. The writers took so long to reveal their origins, that only made it feel all the more important. And we never saw their parents. It was like they were signalling bigger things for her. We could have found this out about her from episode one. Without all of the mystery gassing her up. Also I think Billy may well be a racist.

I’m still somewhat unsure of Nancy and Jonathan’s scheme. It could cause more harm than good and I’m not convinced that it’s the best thing to do quite yet. This is all fueled by wanting revenge, not justice, and that is hardly if ever a good thing. But it did bond Nancy and Jonathan.

My ship finally happened! I was tickled pink by Murray pointing out how obvious it was that Nancy and Jonathan had feelings for each other and how accurately he read both of them. It was hilarious how, even pointed out to them so clearly, they denied having feelings for each other. Not just there, in front of Murray, but in their rooms to themselves and then to each other.

They had to have known that they were lying to each other. They were so awkward in their rejections. I was overjoyed when Nancy opened her door and Jonathan was standing outside. And Murray with his ever observant nature knew exactly what happened the next morning.

Random thoughts:

  1. Finally! Lucas picked up his walkie.
  2. Holy crap the portal is HUGE!
  3. Haha. Sex jokes.
  4. Steve’s girl advice is terrible.
  5. I didn’t like Sam but his unwillingness to harm Will in getting rid of the vines made me warm up to him a little.
  6. The demogorgons explain all of the bones.

All 9 episode of Stranger Things are currently available for streaming on Netflix.

Stranger Things S02E05 Recap

K.F. Cumberbatch
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0
Stranger Things S02E05 Recap

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD.

Joyce is the real MVP. I really can’t sing her praises enough this season. She annoyed me for a good part of the last season, but this season she is, by a huge margin, my favourite character. And I got mad love for Bob too. He rolls with the punches as much as she does.

She is the definition of a strong female character who doesn’t need to be able to kick butt to be considered as such. Although I wouldn’t put it past her that she could if it came to it, especially if it involved her children. She’s a Mama Bear. Like last season, though, she’s paying far more attention to Will than she is Jonathan. He went on an entire road trip and she hasn’t noticed yet. Jonathan doesn’t need her as much or in the same way that Will does, however.

I love that she spearheaded the search for Hopper. And that she rescued him. She was so fearless about jumping into the tunnels to go and get him. It was marvelous. She’s literally a hero. And Bob, good old reliable Bob, just jumped in behind her without question or hesitation. And he had no idea what was going on. He really solidified my love for him in this episode. I was quietly shipping Joyce and Hopper, but not anymore.

I love that Bob loves Joyce and her children and everything that comes with her. He said that to her himself, but his actions truly proved it. He brought Will toys to play with on his sick day at home from school. How sweet was that? And even though Joyce refused to tell him what was going on, he helped her. He did ask for the truth, but he didn’t demand it or give her an ultimatum or anything. And he was so enthusiastic when he realised that Will’s drawings were a map. He just went with everything. At this point Joyce is going to have to tell him about what happened and what is happening. He’s in the thick of it now that they’re in the hands of Hawkins Laboratory.

Those vines felt very sentient. It’s clear that they’re a part of the Thessalhydra, or perhaps are being controlled by it, and that is itself sentient so it would follow that they would be as well. Still, it’s really creepy how they seemed to have been stalking Hopper and like they had lured him into the tunnels. That lent a great deal of credence to Will’s theory that the Thessalhydra could use him to spy on them they same way they were using him to spy on it. I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss that notion if I were Mike.

I feel so sorry for Will this season. I don’t know what’s worse; what happened to him last season or what’s happening to him this season. For him at least. For me, as a viewer, this is worse just because this time I actually get to see him suffer through his ordeal. He was largely absent and unseen last season. Seriously, every time he breaks down crying my heart breaks. And it did even further still when he started…seizing?…I have no better word for it, as the Hawkins Lab personnel started burning the vines. And no one seemed to realise the connection between the two!

Eleven’s whole saga this season breaks my heart too. She’s crying just as much as Will and it hurts just as much to watch her do it. How terrible must it have been for her to see what had happened to her mother and how she came into this world? Did she experience it like she was her mother or did she just observe it? The former would have been terrible.

I didn’t expect her mother to have psychic abilities as well, so that was a surprise. I suppose the MK Ultra experiments had worked n her too. When the lights started flickering I immediately recalled how Will communicated with Joyce from the Upside Down. That was a nice call back. It wasn’t until Eleven started following them that I realised that it was Terry who was making them flicker. She really can only communicate with Eleven in the place they go when she does the sensory deprivation. Eleven can’t stay there, though. I don’t think that she will. I’m just glad that she and her mother got to meet each other.

I don’t think that Owens thought that Nancy and Jonathan would still talk. Which only further proves his arrogance. He underestimated them the same way that he had the Upside Down. I thought that they’d have gone to the Hollands with the tape. Not Murray. Nancy’s whole thing has been telling Barb’s parents the truth.

Murray was right in calling her out on her naivety in believing that she had enough to bury Hawkins Laboratory. Further, no one would have believed their story anyway and Murray wouldn’t have been a reliable source to back up their claims. He’s the town kook and a conspiracy theorist. He has zero credibility. His strategy of watering down the story, however, and making it something more believable that will still land Hawkins Lab in some deep water, just might work. We shall see. The point isn’t to tell the truth, it’s to make Hawkins Lab pay after all.

Random thoughts:

  1. I love how optimistic about this Mike is trying to be.
  2. Jonathan rubbed his hand against Nancy’s! She pulled away, but still. Progress!
  3. Are the vines…following Hopper?
  4. Just realised that Dustin is the only one without a sibling and Lucas is the only elder sibling.
  5. Dang it Erica!
  6. Is Hopper going to die?
  7. Of course Max doesn’t believe Lucas.
  8. Of course Murray believes Nancy.

All 9 episode of Stranger Things are currently available for streaming on Netflix.

Stranger Things S02E04 Recap

K.F. Cumberbatch
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0
Stranger Things S02E04 Recap

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD.

It can never be said too many times how much of an amazing mother Joyce Byers is. Really. She’s the best.

My heart breaks for Will most of all, but also for Joyce. She’s trying so hard to help Will through this and to bring all of this to and end so that he no longer has to suffer, but this goes so far over her head and past her abilities. This is Joyce, however. She will find a way. More evidence for why she is, perhaps, the best mother in fiction ever, is that the adapted the temperature of the house to make Will comfortable.

She didn’t force him into the tub, or freak out and go off on him because some scary thing is possessing him and she doesn’t know what to do other than just…make him be normal again. Which is a valid response to such a thing happening, but it’s also pretty typical. Instead, she’s remaining calm and trying to understand him and what he’s going through. Accommodating him and the ways that he and his body are changing. Working with him, not against him and rolling with the punches. She’s meeting him where he’s at. I love that about her.

When Hopper blew up at Eleven for leaving the house, I thought it was adorably hilarious how, just like any other kid her age, she was throwing a bit of a tantrum. I’m just always happy when she gets to act her age, given her life experience. It got a lot less cute when she started using her powers. Even though I knew that she wouldn’t hurt Hopper, not on purpose, I was still scared that she would. And even herself given her nose bleed.

I understood that Hopper was only angry because he was scared, but he was really harsh with her. Threatening to send her back to Hawkins Laboratory, knowing how traumatic that experience was for her, was going way too far. There was no need to go there and he even made her cry. It was kind of  sweet moment when he tried to apologise to her but couldn’t. And I liked how, despite being mad at him, she she ultimately did what he said and cleaned up after herself. I know they call each other friends, but they’re just the perfect father/daughter pair at times.

The moment that she asked about her mother, I knew that Eleven was going to try to find her. We saw it in the trailers. I didn’t know how she was going to get to that point, since Hopper had told her that her mother is dead and, reasonably, she would have believed it. The fact that she reached out to her mother, however, does contradict that idea. Unless it was a shot in the dark attempt. Given Terry’s mental state, I figured that she would have been able to see Eleven – or rather, Jane – when she appeared in front of her. Although it could have been a case of it looking like she had seen Eleven, just like how it looked like Mike had seen her when he hadn’t. I prefer to believe that she did see her.

Jonathan and Nancy were once again adventuring alone together. It’s almost like they’re meant to be…I was so mad at Nancy for calling Mrs. Holland and telling her to meet so she could tell her the truth about Barb. But then I thought that there was no way that she was so stupid and that she and Jonathan must have been setting a trap for Hawkins Laboratory, knowing full well that her phone was tapped. I was right.

I never would have thought that she would have recorded their capture, however. That was a stroke of genius. Except, wouldn’t her bag have been searched before they were detained? Or did Dr. Owens, in his arrogance, underestimate them? I wouldn’t put it past him. I’m a little wary of what Nancy plans to do the the tape, though. That could be very reckless, depending on what she does. At this point, we really don’t know.

The thing that Joyce and Hopper have in common that I love about both of them is that they make connections very quickly. Like Joyce did when she noticed that Will’s drawings linked together like a puzzle. And Hopper immediately pieced together the drawings, Joyce’s observations about them and what Will said and figured out that they were vines and they were killing the plants and doing so from underground. Again, Hawkins Laboratory has no idea what they’re doing.

I give them kudos for following Hopper’s suggestion and taking samples from the dead plants and the soil, but every time I see Owens his arrogance is more apparent. He does know that its spreading. They’re trying to hold it back. But he wholeheartedly believes that their efforts are working and the rotting plants have nothing to do with the Upside Down, despite the trail of them leading back there. It just boggles the mind how someone can be so obtuse. This man has to be lying.

Dart is a baby demogorgon confirmed! Kind of? No one explicitly said it, but, he does have a flower face and flower faces don’t lie. When I saw Dustin’s mother calling their cat Mews for a feeding, I just knew that Dart had eaten the cat. It’s only a matter of time before it starts eating people. Dustin needs to kill that thing.

Random thoughts:

  1. That girl put the fear of god in Hopper.
  2. Steve did try to warn you Nancy.
  3. At some point these boys need to let Max know what happened.

All 9 episode of Stranger Things are currently available for streaming on Netflix.

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