I’d agree that this was the weakest episode of the season so far, but in my book that speaks more to the strength of the season than any glaring deficiencies in this episode.

“His Dark Materials” is a trilogy. The Book of Dust is a separate thing that happens to be set in the same universe and involve many of the same characters. And it is technically one book in three volumes, like The Lord of the Rings.

Which isn’t to say that if this ends up being a huge hit they won’t go back and adapt L…

On the other hand, this is an alternate universe with an alternate history. It’s possible that the slave trade didn’t exist in this universe, and the economic forces that created contemporary racism didn’t apply in Lyra’s world. There might be a different, less horrific reason for why there are people of African…

The visual design of the show is spectacular. There were so many moments, like Lyra running on the rooftops of Oxford and the shimmering city in Azrael’s photogram of the Northern Lights, that felt ripped right out of my imagination.

The Philadelphia Story is a great movie, but it always throws me how it opens with a incidence of domestic violence that is played for laughs. I’ve never really been able to warm up to Dexter, because he loses my allegiance right out of the gate.

One of the fascinating things in this episode was the idea that Brent’s incapacity for empathy may be rooted in his lack of experience with adversity. When you go through your entire life with other people shielding you from the consequences of your actions, you’re shielded from the vital experiences that cultivate…

For someone who was clearly done with the show about three seasons before she was written off, Willa Holland sure didn’t phone it in tonight. Her and Stephen Amell have always had great sibling chemistry, which made the Oliver/Thea brother-sister dynamic my favorite relationship on the show. Both of them did some of…

In his previous appearance, Jay Garrick mentioned that he was training his successor, and explicitly identified her as female. So in my head canon, Jesse Quick was on Earth-3 training with Jay when Earth-2 got wiped out — at least until it’s stated explicitly otherwise.

The real question is whether Violett Beane will…

I always get nervous when there’s a showrunner change, but so far Eric Wallace is killing it. Every character feels like the best version of themselves. Ralph is being used without being overused, Caitlin/Frost is a rock star, Barry and Iris are in a great and mutually supportive place, Joe’s back full time.

Best the show’s been in years. Usually we talk about the advantages of serialized storytelling over episodic storytelling. But this final run feels like it’s going to be episodic in the best way. The last few seasons would have spent half a season or more on the story that was crammed just into the season premiere. I…

I don’t think it’s that anybody seriously thinks better of Dubya’s record now, it’s just that now it has become distressingly clear that someone can do an even worse job.

And Dubya wasn’t a sociopath, even if he was far too comfortable employing them in his cabinet and on his campaign teams.

In fairness to Kevin Sorbo, he’s syndicated television-level talent while Karl Urban & Sean Astin are feature film-level talent.

The difference is that Rip’s departure felt necessary so that Sara could step up as captain.

The fact that the rape was incidental to the larger violation doesn’t make it any less of a rape.

Syd is definitely also guilty of sexual misconduct. It’s less of an issue dramatically because her victims weren’t main characters.

But erasing someone’s memory so they’d have sex with you, when you know they wouldn’t have had sex with you if their memory was intact, sure is.

David is still going to be an Omega-level mutant with adolescent onset schizophrenia. The combination of god-like powers and a menagerie of voices in one’s head isn’t a stellar combination.

I would agree that it was a bit too pat; I was hoping for Part 18 of the “Twin Peaks” revival but got Part 17 of the “Twin Peaks” revival instead.

Looks like they’re going full science fiction for the final season. Not sure how I feel about that.

Abby willingly sacrificing herself so that the others she was with might be spared is the first time (and necessarily last time) that she will embrace that “do better” philosophy. It was nice seeing her go out doing something wholly selfless.