So much of what makes Hannibal's approach to violence more compelling than just about every other serial killer/murder investigation show out there is that it's more committed to being gruesome, not less. The murder tableaus each week are just that, a kind of art, not some math equation that needs to be puzzled out…

I gotta say, the first half of the finale left me a bit underwhelmed: dialogue has never been Hannibal's strong suit, so the extremely talky ramp-up left something to be desired (Alana's meltdown in the car was also…not the best).

***Spoiler-ish***

Here's what's great about this finale, and also why it's a manipulative sumabitch: during the whole evening, the only person I was sure was 100% safe was Oliver.

"There’s Gene Parmesan, disguised as a giant ostrich," made me laugh more than anything in the trailer. Not being a Debbie Downer, AD is funny because of context, so 90-seconds of spliced gags isn't playing to its strengths.

-Matt Weiner, have you been reading my Fifty Shades of Dray(Per) fan fiction? I find it funny that for all Pete's imitating of Don, Don's little roleplay tonight mainly recalled Pete's dom-sub fetishizing in the cathouse last season.

For real. Maybe it's because i've watched too much original L&O in my life, but I'm struggling to think of any other episode of TV that has done a parody that committed, accurate, and staggeringly funny.

If the The Grandmaster is a success, it could herald a new era of high-art auteurs doing genre fair.

Only as a cool-kid-sounding expletive standing in for a more plain phrase like "stuff," or "tonal emphasis"! Don't hate me!

Despite the awesome homage to A New Hope this was some dark middle chapter shit worthy of Empire. It was basically the Twelve Days of Misery: three discovered identities, two breakups, one dead Yao Fei, and a doom machine about to sink a district named for trees.

Favorite espionage setpiece?

Watching Iron Man 3 made me realize it's basically just a remake of KKBB starring Tony Stark. The Christmas setting, the narration, opening the movie on a flashback, the sly takedowns of Hollywood bullshit and fame -even the totally awesome pulp-novel tribute of a credit sequence is totally influenced by KKBB. Beyond…

I consider myself an Iron Man 2 defender in much the same way I would defend a literal cup of weak tea. It's not abhorrently awful -it's actually pretty good in a couple spots- but also uneven and generally weightless. I would argue it's picked up sooo much damn hate since in the last year or so largely because the…

Yup, that was the moment me thinking "oh this is kinda like The Raid" became "oh, this is EXACTLY like The Raid". Adding the shot of the broken bone carpet Oliver had created as he walks away struck me as right out of Old Boy as well.

Deserved A-. Strong from end to end, minus the typical Laurel issues. I mean, this episode managed to do an extended homage to The Raid: Redemption, only to then finish the scene with a nod to Oldboy. That's pretty great.

Watched the series finales for both The Shield and Spartacus within 24 hours of one another. Needless to say, I was, and still am an emotional wreck. Both are tremendous series that are near-peerless as examples of pure storytelling; no filler, no trips down blind alleys, just pure, focussed storytelling with complete…

I'll be looking forward to revisiting it weekly with your and Nowalk's recaps, as I really wish I had been able to see the show when it originally aired. The show makes itself very easy to devour in quick fashion, but shotgunning all seven seasons in the span of 4 months didn't allow me time to unpack and properly…

Fonzie came back!

I literally just finished the show for the first time 10 minutes ago, and yup, the hype is justified. Jesus Christ I am an emotional wreck right now. Finding out Tasha is leaving is NOT what I needed to hear right now.

Of course, it's not like being good with a gun would suddenly make her awesome. I honestly can't remember the last time Laurel was portrayed as competent, as her work as a lawyer always gets her stuck in a jackpot that Oliver has to get her out of. I'll skip the rant, and just say that between Thea's sudden interest…