Are you talking about the comics? Because I don't care about the comics. This is the movies. If they can't set up a villain so that I give a fuck about him after five movies, then who cares about him and his "competence"?

They've been setting up this storyline for five films at least. That I'm not even intrigued at this point is a failure.

On the four or five movies whose plots has hinged on the various infinity gems, where they were all the least interesting aspect of the story. On his various cameo appearance which struck fear in no one's heart. And on the fact that a major subplot in Guardians of the Galaxy was that two of the film's characters…

The worst of it was Guardians of the Galaxy, where two of the characters are his adopted daughters whom he's tortured and abused their whole lives, and who hate and fear him, and you still can't be bothered to give a crap about the big purple lug. That's when you realize the entire idea should have been jettisoned…

Dare I hope that this means Marvel has finally accepted that Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet are a dud, and is planning to get them out of the way as quickly as possible?

Definitely agreed about Souza, but he was far from that season's only problem. The writers had the perfectly sensible idea of making Peggy's opponent a woman who has been ignored and discounted, despite being a genius, her whole life. And then they had the even more sensible idea of bringing back Dottie Underwood as…

It was a concept in search of a story. The first season coasted on Atwell's charisma (of which she has incredible reserves), which worked because her arc was about moving past her grief for Captain America. The second season didn't have anything like that kind of bulletproof character arc, and ended up adrift.

That was one of the things that Jessica Jones did really well. Jessica could have killed Kilgrave at almost any time - in fact, he seemed to delight in giving her opportunities to do so, knowing she wouldn't take them. Her real dilemma was how to stop him in a way that would also save the people he'd forced to…

They're going to need to find a really good story for S2. One of my reactions to S1 was that, amazing as it was, it leaned on Kilgrave too much, and left the show vulnerable once he was gone. I suppose it's possible that the S2 story will build on something set up in The Defenders, but honestly, I hope not. JJ is…

There was an article a few weeks ago claiming that the reason she keeps wearing those baggy, high-collared jackets is in order to conceal the bulletproof vest she's wearing underneath. Turns out they don't make vests that are form-fitting for women.

What you need is to watch Love and Friendship, where Beckinsale wears the opposite of form-fitting clothes (unless corsets count; though these are on the inside of her clothes), and is the lead in a very funny comedy.

People have been saying "let the BoBs vent" for close to two months now. How much longer are they going to need? And do you think they could find a place to vent that isn't on the floor of the Democratic convention, right in front of the cameras of a media that is desperate for an "even-handed" story about how both…

I actually think Barry and Iris have a lot of chemistry (the actors certainly do). It's just that the way the show is writing their romance makes me want to gag - from Joe's paternalism and the horrifying fact that he's shipping his two children, to the way that the show expects Iris to just forget about her dead…

I definitely felt like the first few episodes were a little rocky, and then it really started firing on all cylinders. Though that could easily be more a case of me adjusting to a weird premise and a protagonist who's hard to like, than the show getting its feet under it. I think it's brilliant now, though.

I recently finished my rewatch of the show, and I have to admit, the fifth season is pretty weak. It coasts off great characters and the incredibly tense situation they were left in at the end of the previous season, but most of the actual episodes are pretty forgettable - only "The Day the World Went Away" and maybe…

No, I don't think that's true at all. People say that because the conventional wisdom is that DC movies are serious, and MCU movies are jokey and quippy. But you can make jokes and still take yourself very seriously, and that's what most MCU properties do. At their heart there's a profound earnestness that comes…

This feels like a very odd choice. I'm not a comics reader, but the sense I've always gotten is that Ghost Rider is characterized by an embrace of its own ridiculousness - that, unlike Punisher, he doesn't take himself at all seriously. And the one thing that AoS has always refused to do (even thought it really…

A lot of people started speculating about the characters' return after Most Wanted was killed, but I've been thinking about it, and surely the obstacle here is the actors themselves? Having been released from their contracts, what could you possibly offer them that would make it worthwhile to come back and play 7th…

Yes, clearly. But if you can bring up Daredevil S3 and Punisher even though work on them hasn't even started, there's no reason not to discuss Jessica Jones.

I'm very grateful for that, by the way.