they mention it offhandedly late in season one. i remember because i just about fell out of my chair after watching these bridgeport-ass characters for so long

come on. he’s not going to do that. he will never do that. in addition to all the personal trespasses he committed, he appears to be an absolute raving narcissist. so he will always say something, and of course the thing he says will be something like this. so why spill any digital ink on the matter?

i mean...what else is he supposed to say? anything that could be construed as an admission of guilt or responsibility undermines his legal defenses. so yeah, why not say something flippant? why is this a news item?

as with ep 3, i will once again shout out that this episode was written by Emily Yoshida, an AV Club alum from the site’s heyday

i assume that’s a deliberate choice to contrast him against the more refined and strict postures in which the Japanese characters hold themselves. it also has the added benefit of making him immediately stand out in a crowded frame, even when he’s in the deep background

not at all to be the resident Annoying Book Person, but all of this stuff is right there in the original text. for whatever limitations of POV Clavell may have had as a white Englishman of the mid-20th century, his work had an incredible level of compassion and empathy for the women in such a hierarchical,…

the intent is definitely obvious, and i was a bit surprised that it was only addressed here at face value. the Gin scene is the whole point on which this episode pivots. the entire hour is full of scenes of women asserting their power in the world of men, and Gin arguably has the most impressive display of all. in…

the diving sequence isn’t about how endearing or different he is. it’s about Toranaga tiring him out, then challenging him to a race once he’s created conditions where his own victory is assured. that’s a character beat for Toranaga, not Blackthorne

this has been my takeaway, too. and as an unfortunate side effect, it means dan levy’s speech–great in a vacuum and well-performed–completely falls flat as the “gotcha” it’s clearly intended to be to its audience

i do miss the analysis and deeper commentary. but i also get that good analysis takes time that these probably underpaid freelancers don’t have the way they did under ESJ’s editorial tenure

(i’m the one lunatic who was fairly regularly in Sims’ corner, and like Yoshida he’s one whose career i’ve greatly enjoyed…

this episode was written by Emily Yoshida, who got her professional start right here on the AV Club fourteen or so years ago

it’s really not that surprising:

Marcia Lucas is def a household name

nonono, you’re wrong, everyone knows the definition of arresting cinema is your star literally lecturing the audience with passages from a nonfic book for ten endless minutes

god, this is such self-serving horseshit. turn out a mediocre movie with a hard-to-market subject, get middling-to-negative reviews on the execution, and then imply racism (but never accuse, never be brave enough to actually, substantively accuse) rather than take a hard fucking look at her own creative choices

meanwhil…

I would argue that it’s superior animation and a superior film.

The Bear should be in drama and Succession should be in comedy

and Killers of the Flower Moon

lol @ this list that has Madame Web but doesn’t have Mickey 17

The Boy and the Heron is such a wild omission, both as a superior animated film to Spider-Verse and also as the likely last film of the greatest living master of animation