Category: Reviews

The Walking Dead: Season 7, Episode 2 – The Well

“They needed someone to follow, so I acted the part. And I made it.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

After last week’s gruelling exercise in emotional endurance, this week’s The Walking Dead was a change of pace, as is the show’s frequent wont. Not immediately following up on the devastating consequences of last week’s events by switching to another plotline is one of the show’s common tactics – it helps keep you in suspense about one group of characters by building up new suspense with others. Though quite frankly, after last time a change of scene was something of a relief. Continue reading “The Walking Dead: Season 7, Episode 2 – The Well”

The Walking Dead: Season 7, Episode 1 – The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be

“Clock’s ticking, Rick. Think about what could still happen.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

All summer long, the question on every Walking Dead fan’s mind has been – who died? Having read the comic was no comfort – the TV version has deliberately misled comics readers before. This intense, emotionally gruelling season opener, scripted by showrunner Scott Gimple and directed by veteran Greg Nicotero, showed no mercy to those waiting for an answer. Every possible drop of tension was milked in a clever, non-linear narrative that set out to achieve two things – firstly, to keep us from knowing for as long as possible who was on the receiving end of Negan’s beloved baseball bat, and secondly, to break Rick more thoroughly than we imagined possible. Continue reading “The Walking Dead: Season 7, Episode 1 – The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be”

Class: Series 1, Episodes 1 & 2

“Of course Coal Hill will continue to act like a beacon across all of space-time, to any being who might want to make mischief with it. So – you will have to be on your guard.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

It’s been a very Doctor Who-less year, hasn’t it? For me, this has meant a nice long break from blogging, which was fortunate as I was in the labyrinthine process of buying a house with my partner and some friends. However, after a very long wait, the Doctor was finally back on our screens last Saturday; well, briefly, anyway. Long enough to hand over the reins to his show’s newest spinoff, the school-set, unimaginatively titled Class. Continue reading “Class: Series 1, Episodes 1 & 2”

Game of Thrones: Season 6, Episode 10 – The Winds of Winter

“A raven came from the Citadel. A White raven. Winter is here.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

It’s been a tumultuous year in Westeros, as Benioff and Weiss, freed of the constraints of actual books to adapt, have yanked the plot bodily forwards. As if acknowledging their free hand, this season finale was named The Winds of Winter, after the next volume in the series, which, let’s face it, is unlikely to show up until after the TV version is finished. Continue reading “Game of Thrones: Season 6, Episode 10 – The Winds of Winter”

Game of Thrones: Season 6, Episode 9 – Battle of the Bastards

“Let’s end this the old way. You against me.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

Wow. Have you been missing those epic battle sequences Game of Thrones does so well of late? Yes, there’s been some awesome political manoeuvring, backstabbing and the general nastiness the show is so good at. But perhaps you hanker for those slightly more formulaic days of the early seasons, when episode 9 was guaranteed to centre around a stonking, rip-roaring epic battle. Continue reading “Game of Thrones: Season 6, Episode 9 – Battle of the Bastards”

Game of Thrones: Season 6, Episode 8 – No One

“All of us have to believe we’re decent, don’t we, to get to sleep at night? Tell me, how do you believe you’re decent, after everything you’ve done?”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

Blimey, it’s fair rushed by, this season of Game of Thrones, hasn’t it? So much going on, so quickly, it’s hard to believe there’s only two more episodes left of this season. Yet again, there was loads going on this week, but what struck me most about this ep was the character work. Momentous decisions were made, dramatic plots redirected – and all because of who these people are. Benioff and Weiss, back on scripting duties this week, gave us an ep that plumbed the depths of all the characters, even those we didn’t actually see – and those characters may decide the fate not just of the Seven Kingdoms, but of all of humanity.

Continue reading “Game of Thrones: Season 6, Episode 8 – No One”

Preacher: Season 1, Episode 2 – See

“Boring ain’t the worst thing to be, Cass.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

After a rather good pilot episode, this week saw the first episode in the series proper of cult comic adaption Preacher. This is often where a show can hit problems, which are usually indicated by big, noticeable changes from the pilot – once again, NBC’s Constantine is a good example of this, with the putative female lead written out in the pilot’s closing minute and the lead character’s smoking habit suddenly reinstated. Continue reading “Preacher: Season 1, Episode 2 – See”

Game of Thrones: Season 6, Episode 7 – The Broken Man

“The real war isn’t between squabbling Houses. It’s between the living and the dead.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

With Bryan Cogman on scripting duties again, this week’s ep of Game of Thrones had an apt but ambiguous title. Broken men of all stripes were here in spades – Theon Greyjoy, Edmure Tully, even Jaime Lannister. But to which of them was the title referring? Continue reading “Game of Thrones: Season 6, Episode 7 – The Broken Man”

Game of Thrones: Season 6, Episode 6 – Blood of My Blood

“The Crown and the Faith are the twin pillars that hold up the world. Together, we shall make the Seven Kingdoms great again.”

 (SPOILER WARNING!)

After all the recent sturm und drang, this week’s Game of Thrones felt like it was taking a hit of a breather. In actual fact, it wasn’t – once again, there was lots going on. It’s just that after the emotional punch of last week’s climax, it couldn’t hope to top that.

Continue reading “Game of Thrones: Season 6, Episode 6 – Blood of My Blood”

Preacher: Season 1, Episode 1 – Pilot

“It was the time of the Preacher, in the year of ’01…”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

If you were a comic book fan in the 90s, you would have been well aware of Northern Irish writer Garth Ennis’ hit series Preacher. Politically incorrect, violent, profane, irreverent, and often hilarious, it told an ongoing tale of a disillusioned Texas preacher with a shady past who becomes possessed by a strange heavenly force, and goes on an epic quest to find God, who has abandoned his creation. Along the way, he hooks up with his criminal ex-girlfriend Tulip and a hard-drinking Irish vampire named Cassidy, and together they battle weird, warped and surreal enemies in their search for the Almighty. Continue reading “Preacher: Season 1, Episode 1 – Pilot”