Yep, their commitment to eugenics would probably mean that a cure for polio would only be discovered as an accidental byproduct of research into strengthening the Master Race. I could see it being used behind the scenes by the well connected party members to eliminate polio in preferred Aryan gene lines, but the…

I'm very curious about the exact timeline for the German occupation. The Resistance guy in Ep. 1 talks about fighting at Virginia Beach, this world's mirror image of Normandy, so there was clearly a huge conventional amphibious assault before the Germans decided to nuke Washington. Maybe this also played out as the…

Well if Band of Brothers is accurate, some members of the German American Bund did emigrate and fight for the Nazis. You could kind of extrapolate the story out from there in High Castle world building. Particularly after hearing how things for the Jews in Boston went to shit very quickly after the US surrendered and…

Having not seen Ep. 9 yet, my money is on the Trade Minister. You're probably right, but having some of Tagomi's heretofore unknown private muscle show up and sorta save the day would be consistent with the serial conveniences and coincidences that frequently hobble this generally solid show. We'll see!

It's kind of fascinating watching how many of Ragnar's mannerisms Bjorn is adopting. You could see him starting to emulate his father last season, particularly once they got to Paris. But I'm struck with the way Alexander Ludwig has been watching Travis Fimmel and incorporating more of his body language in the way…

I think Erlander is the wild card. I was surprised he helped put down Einar because I'm assuming his ultimate goal is to kill Ragnar. How propping up Lagertha helps get him there I can't see yet. I don't have a good feel for how many swords Erlander can bring to the fight. Horrik lost most of his men at the end of…

<mugatu voice="">
Rollo: So hot right now.

"Villainous" — apparently from the Old French word for 'terrible wig'

Strictly speaking, only a game changer when you have surprise on your side or fortifications to hide behind. Crossbows require 2 hands to operate and crossbowmen would need time to switch to their back-up weapons. If the regular infantry can close to hand-to-hand distance the advantage shifts back to guys with swords…

Yeah, they seemed to reload way too fast. At a minimum the user would need to step into a stirrup mounted on the front of the bow in order to span such a short bow with such significant pull with both hands. But I know it was a dramtic coneit that simply runs counter to the physics of spanning a powerful crossbow…

The period setting is astoundingly well done. Living historian here, I'm really nit picky about stuff like that and I was blown away by how authentic every damn scene looked.

I'm pretty sure the twins were either stew or an all natural skin care treatment for the Witch at the end. Since we already saw what happened to their youngest brother I assume the producers felt no need to go to that well again.

Yep. It's a classic parable. Makes me think of the Twilight Zone episode where the aliens turn the 1950s suburban Christian humans against each other by some fairly simple ploys.
"Say, the whole block is blacked out except for Joe's house."
"Yeah, what's Joe up to, anyway!?"
"Let's fucking kill Joe! He's one of Them!"

Yeah, I wouldn't call it an indictment exactly, but it takes a story you've sen a lot—people in isolation falling apart emotionally due to incredible stress—and shows how their deep and abiding faith is actually so corrosive that it makes a bad situation worse. Their particular strain of Puritanism was so dour, so…

As somebody who began his reenacting career with an English Civil War group I can tell you the clothing and material culture depicted in the movie are spot on. I spent as much I me staring at the details of the clothing during the close-ups as I did following the plot.

Hey, a Greek Chorus is a useful thing to have. And having Julie appear with frequency is good way to hear Miller's inner dialog without resorting to less subtle film noir/Bladerunner style voice-over.

I also kinda like that it's a byproduct of the Cant. It's been pretty well established that the Cant was where a lot of that crew washed up because they couldn't get work elsewhere. And among a crew of 50+ (according to the book) you can kinda keep your secrets to yourself. As part of a crew of 4 on a 'legitimately…

More to the point, she's an excellent XO and makes a great "practical" counterweight to Holden's earnest morality and integrity. Basically, she helps this show's Ned Stark actually keep his head attached while enabling him to achieve most, but not all, of the noble goals he is obsessively pursues.

I'm good with the S1 adaptation approach, personally. I'm almost done with the book Leviathan and having the UN storyline brought forward from book 2 I think adds a really good overview of the conflicts at their highest level. Even if the Earth/UN storyline takes place exclusively in the rarified air of the UN…

As far as I"m concerned the money shot for Peters' accent was
Tristn: "I know all about you. I Googled you."
March: "That sounds obscene!"