This is my first post, so a little breakdown of how it's going to flow. I start off by listing what episodes of a show I watched today, and then I kind of give a critique by what I thought the show was going for or just my experience of it in general. As a result, there will be spoilers...you have been warned! Click on the show title to jump to it if you aren't interested in the others.
What I watched today:
Shameless, S2.E6 "Can I have a Mother"
Black-ish, S3.E1 "VIP"
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.LD, S4.E1 "The Ghost"
What I saw:
So first up is Shameless:
I'm about halfway into the 2nd season, and so far some of the characters have undergone a bit of a transformation. The elusive Steve made a reappearance in Southside Chicago, and between him and Fiona it was very clear something was still going on. Grandma Gallagher showed up at the door and sprinkled some love/money to the grandkids but just completely put down her son, Frank. Lip and Ian are still not talking to each other after a misunderstanding regarding admission in Westpoint. And V and Kevin's foster kid ran away after being visited by members of her old cult.
Basically, the story was laying the groundwork for where the rest of the character's arcs are going to go for the season. Lip has been spiraling down the whole season over the break up with his (non)girlfriend, and it has been painful to watch. Lip was usually smart and and had a plan for everything but has grown so angry and obsessive over Karen that it seems out of place. The one thing I did notice is that Lip is drinking more, so it may be kind of the fall of a Gallagher becoming the inevitable drunk, we'll see. I think the show is trying to convey that emotions or love are sometimes out of our control, but on Lip it just doesn't fit. They definitely nailed it with Fiona, who would reach out and call Steve when she felt the most sad or stressed because despite the way he left, she still loves him. Their passionate reconnect added to that.
We finally get to see why Frank drinks so much! Given how we see Grandma Gallagher just ream him the entire episode, it would make anyone reach for the bottle and never look back. I thought it was interesting to see that, especially when Fiona makes the comment "I know what it's like; I have shitty parent's too." Frank finally messes up with Sheila since he is so stressed out and he moves back into the house with the kids - and his mother. This is all about having to face one's demons, which given how Frank is an alcoholic, is something he hates.
Second is Black-ish:
Just gotta say I love this show! Hilarious social/racial critique similar to The Boondocks but without the N-word being thrown around every few seconds (The Boondocks is still awesome though, don't get me wrong). The Johnsons go to Disneyland, and true to Dre's style they go all out with VIP passes. The kids and Dre of course take it too far and have everything taken away. Meanwhile Bow and the in-laws lose themselves in the Disney experience, literally at first and then figuratively.
Basically for Dre and the kids it's all about humility. The whole theme of the show is Dre, who grew up in the hood but managed to achieve the American Dream and is in a position to spoil his kids, but the kids end up having different view of morality and appreciation. That's basically what happened in this episode, but tenfold since Dre "bought" a white tour guide which let them cut in front of everyone. I liked how he kept using that word as a kind of "that's what your race gets for enslaving mine" kind of moments. Diane of course had the best line in the show after they lost their VIP status and she also lost her glasses: "I can't see how far we've fallen, but I can sure feel it." Dre had to instill humility back into his kids by ditching them in a line after their VIP status was revoked, and all was well again. And as for Bow and the in-laws, it was more about how experiences can bring people closer together, even though Bow and Ruby are enemies.
This episode wasn't as densely packed with meaning as last year's season premier, but it was still funny to watch. I will add that Disneyland/Disneyworld really creep me out morally and philosophically. If you've never really thought about, check out this episode of an anime that delved into what meaning is at the heart of those kinds of theme parks.
Last up is Agents of SHIELD:
Daisy is going solo vigilante tracking down a new group of baddies and runs into a mysterious...okay it's Ghost Rider. It was pretty obvious and they had advertised it anyways. The old team has been separated per the new director and Fitz-Simmons are finally Fitz-Simmons for reals. Radcliffe designed a non-AI based robot (which when he described it sounded an awful lot like AI) to be used to help SHIELD, so he says. The team track down a weapon which is more spiritual/supernatural than what they're used to, and Mae seems to have been infected by it somehow by the end.
I like how Daisy has been given the moniker "Quake," and it seems like she has become more of an anti-hero, as SHIELD is trying to hunt her down because of what she has done. The pacing in this episode was good, where they hinted at the sinisterism of the new Director and the introduction to Ghost Rider. I liked how they made GR Latino, which I think is much needed in the superhero world. DC did something similar with The Flash when they changed the West family into people of color. I like when producers take a step back and ask "do they really have to be white?" as the answer is almost always no. It's important to add diversity, because while TV shows are fiction, the fictional part isn't that people of color do not exist or are only background characters.
The best part came at the the end when Ghost Rider had Daisy dead to rights, and it was her time to be judged. GR had mentioned earlier that it was "him" that decides who should live or die, and the survivor he went to finish off said "I don't want to die" with the reply "they all say that." Daisy, true to form, told him to kill her because she deserved it; yet she was spared by "him." This goes to show it is not about being free of sin, but owning up to it and trying your best to make it right.
Per Joss Whedon's MO, we are only given hints at what may lay down the road, which is what I really enjoy about him as a showrunner. He plays the long game, and when you have 23 episodes to tell your story it's best to take advantage and let the audience discovery it along with the characters.
That's it for my first post, hopefully somebody reads it! This took longer than I thought so I might not post everything I watch, or at least not right away. Or I guess I could just watch less TV...but probably not!
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