Ugh, this season started off promising … and then it took a downward turn into superpowers and super villains. On the one hand, I'm really happy about the alien presence this season. On the other hand, the story lines just are not playing out well.

Yes, I'd like to think that the frame job was always a contingency plan for Stahma, because she specifically invited Favi Kurr's wife. The wife was a wildcard, as far as a women's movement goes, since she might share her husband's beliefs, or she may be bristling underneath. It could have gone either way, and I…

Stahma could also have laced the outside of the cups. I mean, that's how she killed Kenya last season. She could have used a napkin as a barrier between her hand and the poisoned surface.

In terms of the alien designs for the show, I agree: it seems the rule of cool is the driving force behind the aesthetics, rather than practical considerations. I'm okay with that up to a point (I'm still fond of Sukar's post-Apocalyptic steampunk fashion), as long as it's not distracting. Unfortunately, with the…

There's an actual psychological term for it: "Species dysphoria". However, that doesn't apply to all Otherkin or therians. A portion of that group is simply engaging in it as a metaphysical/pseudo-religious belief system (a New Age variant of the old shamanism ideologies).

Okay, I see where you're going. I hope the show comes back to this topic at some point. It's a bit bizarre to have a clearly-sentient humanoid be treated as if it were just a simulation of sapience. It's not even just an android; it's a full-blown flesh creature with cybernetic enhancements.

Yep, exactly. I think Stahma is aware enough of social behavior to have a secondary plan if the first didn't work out. She's been a potent manipulator because she comprehends how to bend people in her direction, or how to dispense with them if she can't control them.

That's a possibility. Still, Pottinger's recollections seems to indicate that it was a systemic opinion that Biomen were disposable, and not worth salvaging. I suppose we won't know unless the show delves into the Pale Wars more.

I do think that Stahma genuinely intended to exhort those women into cultural revolution. However, once she realized they were too entrenched in their beliefs, she decided, "F- this; ain't nobody got time for that! Backup plan it is." She was on a timetable after all, what with Favi Kurr on a crusade against her.

I actually hadn't heard that story, about the Brazilian, before.

I suspect it's either similar to a cross-dressing fetish, or its a body dysphoria situation. In the former, the Viceroy is only interested in the outfit as a titillating costume. In the latter, he is maybe psychologically projecting qualities onto Castithan anatomy that he believes is a truer embodiment of his…

So the club that Rosewater was referring the E-Rep major-domo was a hookup bar for Castithans.

Yes, I was dismissive of the arkfall scavenger hunt, because it really didn't seem to have anything to do with anything else happening in the episode. However, @SMB does point out a thematic bridge between the two plots. It seems a sense of identity is the common thread throughout the episode.

Yes, that cosplay bit can either be really insightful, or really … bad. That's why I described it as "provocative" rather than anything else, because we'd need to see how it plays out first. On the one hand, they're entering discussions of identity dysphoria, cultural appropriation, and racial/species fetishism. On…

I think Nolan's reaction to Churchill is a bit exaggerated. I think the show wanted to speak to the idea that mass-produced GMOs have the stigma of lesser value attached to them. However, in this case, I really think Nolan should have thought of Churchill at least more like a war service dog, rather than just "stem…

The game and the show exist in the same world, but their locations are separated by half a continent. The game plays out along the Pacific coastline, with the gigantic Storm Divide badlands between it and St. Louis. I imagine it would be like how CSI Las Vegas is unaffected by CSI New York's cancellation.

Stahma is really working as a whole character for me. Much of her behavior is atrocious, but the show really successfully connects the dots regarding her motives. She can still be pretty appalling, but not inscrutable. Plus, it speaks to how "other" her mode of reasoning seems to be, even if her situation could be…

I liked that exchange where Pottinger called out Nolan on being a bigot. It was small and quick, but it definitely touched on the implications regarding the perceived values of a living thing, which you mass-produce with the intent of sending it out to die. If its whole purpose is to be cannon fodder, it's much easier…

I've whined about the one-sided cultural exchange depicted on this show (Votans adopt human culture, but little is shown of humans adopting Votan aesthetics/practices), but, holy wow, I was not expecting this episode! It went further than answering my complaints, and it's totally doing whiteface in a really…

Does that mean no review this week? I mean, once you're done vomiting and stuff…