What I Saw 10/22/16: Arrow & Supergirl

Hello again! This post is way late because I have been doing a bunch of traveling on very little sleep. When I had time to relax on Saturday last week I spent a lot of it just binge watching an anime, and a couple episodes of regular TV. Each episode of the anime, Planetes, covers a theme which blogging all at once would not do justice, so I will little by little write about it at some point. In the meantime, I'll write about the comic shows I'm trying to catch up. I wanted to give Supergirl another chance now that it switched networks. I have another day's worth if TV to blog about, and I'll try to get it out soon. 

What I Watched:

Arrow S5.E2 - "Recruits"
Supergirl S2.E1 - "The Adventures of Supergirl"

What I saw:

The Arrow is back.

After two lackluster seasons, it seems like Arrow is on track to make a comeback. The theme of the episode was about teamwork and trusting others. Better yet, that theme was played out in both the present day and flashback scenes, with drastically different outcomes.

Oliver learns that the paranoia that he has learned over the years is actually preventing him from being able to hang on to his new recruits. He took a chance in trusting Ragman in saving him rather than take vengeance. Using that small victory, he decides to reveal his identity to show that he trusts them, rather than try to beat it into them like it was to him.

The flashback scene explains where he learned the exercise of having the recruits try to get past him to ring a bell. It also explains why he finds it so hard to trust others and build friendships. Once he came up with the idea to team up and he rang the bell, the Bratva killed all the other recruits leaving him to be the sole survivor. I'd be scared to make friends after all that too.

The show is doing a good job of keeping a balance on use of magic, metahumans, and general badassery. The biggest flaws of the last two seasons was that they lacked any focus on what type of villain or how big should they make the stakes. Sometimes just a personal struggle can be interesting on its own, like Felicity's guilt over the Havenrock nuke, or Captain Lance's returning alcoholism. I'm interested to see how those storylines will play out.

Supergirl is kind of the same.

The first half of Supergirl kind of played out the same as the first season. It still seemed to reach out as to why an all powerful being goody two shoes is relevant in today's modern storytelling of flawed heroes. It did get over its fear of whether it could include Superman and still be a show about Supergirl, and they even made fun of how much of a need he is compared to her. 

The last half picked up a little, as the characters riffed off of each other making it more enjoyable to watch. It still suffers from cheesy dialogue, but the writers seem to be more aware of it and make it part of the joke rather than expect us to take it seriously. It has potential, but I still need a few more episodes to really see if it has found it's own rhythm.

Superhero shows have sort of dominated my attention, especially since the CW is planning a badasss crossover through all 4 shows. I would say I'll be back into some of the other shows I was watching, but National Novel Writing Month is starting on November and I'll be putting my focus on writing 50,000 words during the month. The posts won't be as frequent as they once were, but I'll try post at least once a week. Wish me luck! 

What I Saw 10.19.16: Bob's Burgers &The Flash

It's good to be blogging again! Although I am doing it at the end of a very errand/chore filled day and about 5 hours of sleep, so if it seems shorter or if there are more typos than usual it's due to being exhausted. Also, I'm about to be heading out of town again, so I might not be posting for a few days. If I can find the time next week, I might do a couple of "bonus" posts for some animes I'll watch during the weekend (you are not getting out of watching Planetes this time: you know who you are!).

What I watched:

Bob's Burgers S3.E22 - "Carpe Museum"
The Flash S3.E2&3 - "Paradox" and "Magenta"

What I saw:

In the first little break I got today was Bob's Burgers.

I haven't written about this show yet because I end up watching it in those times where I only have a half-hour and in the mood for a comedy; even though Nurse Jackie is really is more like a half hour drama series than the comedy label it's given. Not to mention that for some reason on my blu-ray player it is literally the only show on Netflix where the sound mysteriously cuts out after about 10 minutes, which get's annoying. The show is funny, but like most things I blog about there is more to the show than the jokes it tells.

In this episode the lesson of the day was about learning who you are and being okay with it. All the kids are taken on a field trip to the museum and are paired with someone at random. The moral of the story was best presented through Tina's story, where she decides to try and help the classmate she was paired with from being so dork, only to discovery she is equally dorky. Bob confirms that he is not a rule follower after breaking ranks with Louise, Gene is okay with not being turned on by mannequin boobs, Linda is very overeager person when helping people (or anything she does really), Louise wants to take over the restaurant and follow her dad's rule breaking footsteps, and her buddy is okay with risking his life in order to live a little.

Pretty funny episode, overall. One thing I'll add attention too is my favorite subject of existentialism. The kid who has asthma and is willing to risk an attack in order to have some fun follows the concept a man named Viktor Frankl discusses in his book Man's Search for Meaning. He wrote about how you discover what is truly meaningful to you when you are put in a position where you have to risk your life to accomplish things. The things you are willing to risk your life for is what really matters, and you learn to prioritize and dismiss the other more mundane things we normally get caught up in. All the excuses we put before ourselves about why we can't do something goes by the wayside; or else we become depressed at never having taken the chance. It's a very powerful book, and not too long either so I highly recommend it if you haven't read it before.

I caught up and watched two episodes of The Flash.

In a way it was good watching these two episodes back to back because there were mostly a continuation of the idea of acceptance that they introduced with Flashpoint. In "Paradox" Barry learns more about the world he has stumbled back to after reseting all the events he changed. Team Flash is fractured, and he keeps pissing everyone off when he tries to ask about what's going on. The best moment I think came when the Flash of Earth-3, Jay Garrick, pulls Barry from the time-stream and tells Barry enough time travel. No matter what he does to change things, it's never going to be exactly the way he left it and he needs to accept what has happened or else risk making things more effed up than they already are. I think that is the more realistic way to look at time travel, because honestly even with just going back one day you're either forgetting something you had done or your knowledge of what you do remember will make you do something different anyways.

The episode "Magenta" was also about coming to terms about who you are, much like Bob's Burgers. Harrison Wells and his daughter Jesse return to Earth-1, interrupting Barry and Iris' disastrous date. Jesse is now a speedster, and Harry doesn't want to accept the new dangers that are about to fall upon his daughter as she considers being a hero. Wally is disheartened that he isn't a speedster, and risks his life to "jump start" his powers by jumping in front a truck, hoping they will kick-in to save him. He has to learn to accept that he does not have powers, (for now anyways). The fact that he was willing to risk his life to try and trigger them, again like I talked about earlier, means becoming a hero is important to him. The metahuman Frankie, has to accept the past abuse that has happened to her in order to regain control of herself from her other more vindictive personality. Her true self does not want to risk the lives of others for her justice.

Then we get to Barry and Iris' date. Barry sums up the moral of the episode by explaining the reason why their date was such a disaster earlier because they were trying to deny their reality. They are part of a crime fighting team, with Barry's powers at the center of it. Trying to ignore that fact will continue to tear at their relationship until they come to terms with that. They have to just be themselves or risk not being a "them." I just hope he doesn't F*** everything up by erasing their progress with time travel again. I thought it was funny that he himself had pointed out that he and Iris have kissed twice but he erased it with time travel both times. Hopefully the third time really is the charm; for all our sakes.


So while I like comic shows/movies, I do not really read any actual comics. Any knowledge I have I gained from watching the animated version of it. If you want to know more comic background where the shows like Arrow, The Flash, The Walking Dea and others draw their material from, check out this YouTube channel called Emergency Awesome. What are some of your favorite animated comic shows? Let me know in the comments below!

XP: Everlasting Summer VN

This post will be slightly different (but a lot longer) from the others, only in the fact it's not about a TV show. I enjoy stories in all forms, and as such I got caught up playing a visual novel (VN) called Everlasting Summer, which hails from mother Russia. I decided I would write about what I experienced (XP in gamer slang) playing the VN. I will break it down by character arch, and you can click on the character name to skip to that particular arch. I recommend downloading the game on Steam because it is the perfect price to enjoyment ratio, meaning it was free and enjoyable.

What I played:

Everlasting Summer follows a Russian protagonist named Semyon, who is reaching his mid-twenties and feels directionless. He is frozen by indecision because he doesn't have any real passion for anything and just holes up in his room all day. One night he hops on the bus for a rare visit with his friend from university (which he dropped out of) and falls asleep. He wakes up in a Soviet era pioneer summer camp and is 17 years old. Afterwards, he embarks on week long journey with one of the girls at the camp: Lena, Alisa, Slavya, Ulyana, Miku, Yulya (who is a hidden character after all others are completed), and even an ending where Semyon searches for answers on his own. Each arch, with the exception of Miku and Yulya, had a good and bad ending. Yulya did have to two different endings, but neither were bad endings. We'll get to what I mean by that.

What I experienced:

First ending I went for was Lena.

I went with this one first because I wanted to dip my toe in and get a feel for the game. This cute, shy, intelligent young - oh my God this girl is crazy! Everything started off normal, Semyon having given up on finding answers to how or why he ended up in the past and spent time with her at a dance, searching for their lost comrade, where she was surprisingly brave because she felt safe with him (aww).

Things changed when Semyon acts like an idiot when he can't tell why he cares whether Lena knew he peeped a little nudity from one of the other camp girls, Alisa (it's because you like Lena you idiot!). Then Lena starts to show a pretty nasty side, with a snarling face, yelling, and even punched out Alisa from her jealous feelings. And if you get the bad ending, things get crazier.

Semyon finally wisens up for just a moment and acknowledges feelings for her, and after a tumble in the sack he wakes up and it's departure day. The bad ending goes, he is eager to leave at the possibility of returning to his time, and she is understandably hurt but acts like she understands. Then he comes back after packing and finds she has slit her wrists. And not the teenage angsty cut across the wrist; she went up and down half her arm... And died. Semyon wakes up back in his time and then ends up doing the same because he regrets not putting her first.

Now the good ending is, obviously, not nearly as intense. Instead of being eager to leave, Semyon tells Lena the truth about being from another time. She believes him, and they take off on the mysterious bus together. Only this time he remains in the past, and has to rebuild his life from scratch, which he gladly does because he is with Lena. They go through a long textual epilogue, but bottom line he works hard and Semyon ends up becoming a writer.

The message that I gather is that it is important to be honest about your feelings, and to trust what it is you feel. As long as you do that, you have a purpose and reason for the hardships that you face. Lena's personality also spoke to the Gemini in me. Semyon asked which was the real her, the shy bookworm, the brave think-on-your-toes girl, or the angry jealous slugger; and the answer was simply "all of them." I found it relatable because I myself have multiple sides that come out for different occasions, so it was interesting to see it from an outside perspective. I will say this though, I'm not nearly as angry or suicidal. Just saying.

Next I went for Alisa's arch.

From the get-go this girl is supposed to be quick to anger and rebellious. She, naturally, uses that aggression to hide her insecurity, which comes out when Semyon criticizes a song she made up on guitar. It turns out she and Lena grew up in the same town, and some of her insecurity stems from living in Lena's shadow.

Once again Semyon is an idiot and doesn't realize that she likes him. After Alisa and Lena fight over him, Semyon has Alisa apologize and she thinks he likes Lena as a result. Alisa and Semyon find some vodka and do a drunken tumble in the sack. They wake up too late to catch the bus and they embark on the long walk to town.

Bad ending was they argue because he seems eager to leave her behind, she reveals her insecurities, and tries to minimize the impact of their intimacy. A bus finally drives by and picks them up. Semyon falls asleep and wake up in his own time, and makes a decision to pursue music, which he had dabbled a bit in the past. Good ending is they talk it out, get on the bus, and he wakes up on his own time. Only this time he runs into Alisa exactly one year later at the end of one of his shows, who has no memory of the camp. He asks her out and that's all she wrote!

Both endings revolve around the idea of self-confidence. Semyon was never confident in his abilities in music and dropped it, and Alisa was never confident enough to think someone would actually like her and not Lena. She learned she didn't have to pretend to be strong, and it was okay to open up to someone. So basically just be yourself, try things out, and see where it takes you!

< Next I aimed for Miku's ending, missed, and got Semyon's instead.

So when you don't end up being distracted by all the girls Semyon actually tries to look for answers. This storyline filled in some of the holes in the plot the other archs leave out, the main one being: what exactly is this place? Even in the other archs people act skittish when talking about the outside world and are very vague in any answers they give.

Two mysterious male pioneers appear separately and talk to Semyon from the shadows. They tell him this week in the camp is on an an endless loop. They had been there for so long they managed to learn how to travel to other people's "pioneer camps." One of them likes to mess with people, the other is trying to instill hope. They just explain that it is a supernatural occurrence, and depending on who you talk to it is a hell with no escape, or there is an exit, you just have to learn how to get out. Later on Semyon finds note from himself that says he is there for a reason. All the girls in the camp which there is a story arch on visit him in his cabin while he is waiting to depart, and drops hints that they had a crush on him of sorts. He does a lot of self-reflecting about whether he should have done more while he was here instead of just be lazy the whole time.

Bad ending is there is a third voice that calls out to him from the woords right before he boards the bus, and as he goes to explore he is killed. Good ending is he ignores the third voice and gets on the bus. He wakes up in his own time, but receives online messages saying he is not done, and he will find out soon enough. Given the timing of the other endings, I would say 1 year later he would probably repeat the cycle.

What I gathered from this arch is that in choosing to continue his old way of life in a brand new setting, he once again missed out on life, and the lessons the camp was supposed to give. He needs to be more active, and take chances even if he doesn't understand what's going on. Life is murky and unclear, but you still have to act anyways.

I did Slavya's arch next because it was easier and I needed a self-esteem boost after failing to get Miku's.

Slavya is definitely the Goody-Two-Shoes (which after researching how to spell it, is based off of a folk tale...who knew!) of the bunch. She is also the most mature, in which she knows how to speak clearly to adults and use logical arguments instead of just yelling "because" with no good reason behind it like most other teenagers, or in this case Semyon. Semyon is a little more rebellious in this arch, and also quite the peeping Tom. He peeps on her twice as she dances naked in the woods to let off steam, and then in the bathhouse (why a bathhouse has such a big see through window is beyond me).

I liked how the Semyon in this arch took notice that even though he is mentally an adult in his mid-twenties, he acts more like a teenager than Slavya. However, even Slavya admits that she cannot be serious all the time, which is why she had done her naked prancing in the woods.

Bad ending was they argue on the last day on how they want to continue their relationship, because Semyon is not sure if he will remain in this time, or wake up in his own time, or even cease to exist entirely. He pressures her to let him live with her, but doesn't explain why because he didn't learn Slavya's communication skills. She declines, he wakes up in his own time. He has changed, however, and actually starts to take charge of his own life. He is more friendly and makes decisions. Good ending is, exactly one year later he runs into Slavya and he asks her out.

Again, the overall theme is being decisive, no matter if you know how things will work out for sure. With the right attitude, you can be happier in your life even without clear direction at first. He doesn't end up in any fancy career this time, but the difference is he is not bothered by it. He makes decisions and accepts the consequences, which is all anyone can do.

Ulyana's was next after I read hints that Miku's was messed up.

I was worried about doing this ending too, which is why I pushed it until later as well. All the other archs had nudity and sex scene, but all the other archs where with girls the same age as Semyon (in physical form anyways) at around 17 or 18. Ulyana is pegged at about 14 years old, and she even looks more like a child. I was afraid of how weird and awkward this arch would be if the same pattern continued. Thankfully, there was no such scenes, but it was a mixture of romance and being an older brother to her, which is still weird.

Ulyana is energetic and does childish pranks on everyone. Semyon looks after her and ends up getting involved in her pranks and desire to break the rules by being out late. On more than one occasion her sugar rush crashes and she falls asleep, latching on to Semyon like a teddy bear. They are always  caught by someone walking in on them after they spent the whole night out, and he struggles to explain that there was nothing perverted going on.

Bad ending, Semyon learns a lesson about having fun, and he decides to go back to the college he dropped out of because he remembers having fun with being around other people. He feels like some of Ulyana's energy rubbed off on him. He is packing up after class exactly one year after the camp and reminisces about his time there. Good ending, as he reminisces Ulyana enters the classroom as a 19 year-old student and he asks her out.

The main theme Semyon keeps talking about during this arch is authenticity. Ulyana doesn't hold anything back, and is true to herself no matter what people think about her childish pranks. Moral of the story: it is important to do what you feel is right, regardless of what others think. And do stuff that you like to do, no f***s given.

Then I finally got the courage for Miku's arch.

It's not that I was exactly afraid of it. I was actually really curious to see how weird it was. I mean, what could be worse than the double-suicide I experienced my first playthrough? But still, I figured it was probably better to save it for last once I found out it was rather unique. And indeed it was.

So instead of being like the rest of the arch's where you go through the camp with the same overall events occurring from a different perspective, they went all Inception; a dream (waking up in the pioneer camp as a 17-yeard old) within a dream (being a film student filming a movie with the game's plot as the script) within a dream (film students Semyon and Miku waking up in the pioneer camp in the past and, people are being killed off by a murderer and zombie/demon kids swarming the place). Needless to say, it was not what I was expecting. 

The film students Semyon and Miku had previously been in arelationship, but had a falling out even though it was obvious they still cared for each other. Both of them say they have mixed feelings but end up doing it on the beach and falling asleep. They wake up in the past similar to the main story. Then all the characters start to be killed off one by one, until only Semyon and Miku are left running for their lives in the woods from a horde of demon children. They just curl and wait to die since there is nowhere left to run....and then Semyon the film student wakes up. He then realizes, or rather remembers, how much he cares for Miku and then holds her tight saying he loves her.

Very entertaining story arch. Not that scary for the most part, but there was one part that did make my eyes go wide for just a second because I wasn't expecting it. I liked the lesson when it comes to so called "mixed feelings" for someone. I think as adults we try and make things more complicated than they have to be. The characters argued about what kind of life they wanted to live together, but the simple fact was they wanted to live it together, and they lost sight of that. If you ever have any doubt whether you are being a dumb adult and adding complications when you shouldn't, try explaining it to a child, and they will give you a reality test like no other.

Then there was only Yulya's arch left.

All things must come to an end, and in this case there were two endings left. This follows a similar story track to Semyon, where it focuses more on what kind of supernatural place the pioneer camp is. The main difference stems with the appearance of a girl with cat ears and tail, who says she is an observer of all the camps. There are multiple camps, each with one person who is the focus of the journey, while the rest (including Semyon) follow a script of sorts. She is able to see and be in all of them, but does not know why the camps exist, or have any memory of a life before. Yulya stays out of sight and gathers supplies for winter, even though after 7 days the summer week repeats itself, albeit slightly differently; like the multiple endings we have gotten so far. Semyon tries to use her for answers at first, but ends up caring for her after their interactions.

The two endings split after a city filled with skyscrapers magically fades into the horizon. Semyon recognizes that it might be his old reality, and Yulya confesses this has never happened before and she knows this time will be different. Semyon and the girls try to walk to the city to investigate, but the city never gets any closer and the girls turn back leaving Semyon alone with Yulya. She asks him to turn back after he receives a call for help over the walkie-talkie from the camp leader. 

If you ignore the call and charge ahead you end up back in reality, with all the girls in their adult ages arrive at your doorstep. They explain that they all woke up and remembered about their time at the camp, and their time with him. Semyon also faintly recalls all the different lifetimes he spent with each of them. If you do answer the call, you find the camp empty, and you spend more time getting to know Yulya and her easy going "life just happens" sort of attitude. You both ride the bus on the 7th day and fall asleep, and dreams about the other lifetimes he lived with all of the girls. When Semyon wakes up  he and can faintly see the outline of a girl, you get to choose who it is, and then he gives a line about how it couldn't be anyone other than that person.

Now this arch had a lot of existential themes thrown in, because he started to think about if there was some kind of higher being controlling everything, does his choices even matter. And given the fact that he was transported across space and time for a purpose basically confirms a higher power at play, it's a very real concern which makes him anxious and depressed. Yulya is sort of the opposite mindset. She knows something is going on beyond her control, but rather than try and understand something she has no way of understanding, she carries on each day gathering supplies for a winter that will never come. Better to live your life rather than be frozen in indecision.

Once last note on the ending for this arch and then I'm done (I promise!). On one ending you end up with all the girls at the doorstep, and I think that is more of just a happy ending to wrap up the plotline. The other one where you have to choose one person who will come into focus suggests that love is not some logical choice, it is something that we feel when we are sharing experiences with that person.

The End!

This is my first post about visual novel or videogame. I will probably do another one similar to this for the Steins;Gate, both the visual novel and the anime adaptation. I recently binged through both the week before I started this blog, so when I have more time I'll write about the amazing storytelling in both adaptations. So if you haven't watched the anime or played the VN, now is a good time to do it before I write about it in the next XP segment.

I have Firewatch and Broken Age on my list of things to play. What pther videogames have you guys played that had really good storytelling? Let me know in the comments below!

What I saw: October 17th, 2016

Today is a workday so no real chance to get much TV watching done. This week might end up being pretty busy too, but I'm hoping to catch up on a lot more shows.

What I watched:

Nurse Jackie S3.E10 - "Fuck the Lemurs"

What I saw:

The episode was all about how we all must pay for our sins, even if it's not right away. Jackie is 10 days clean and the worst of withdrawals behind her. Despite that progress, she is being asked to do a drug test and barred from administering medications because of suspicions. All because her erratic behaviors from before  led her to be suspected. Not only that, but the strain that her addiction has put on her marriage has also increased her 11 year old daughter's anxiety to where she needs medication, specifically Xanax.

Jackie is reluctant about the meds because of the addictive quality they have, as well as a sign that things aren't getting better. She realizes, at this point, just how bad she let things get and how much she still has to go through because of her addiction. One moment that was impactful (and funny) was the 11 year old boy who got his head stuck in a chair. The father of the boy said "I wonder what goes through the mind of an 11 year old," with Jackie wondering the exact same thing with her own daughter.

The last scene where her daughter explains how her anxiety feels is spot on, and this is coming from a guy who works in the mental health field. Usually mental illness is portrayed more stereotypically and a lot more violent. This show does a good job of showing us that mental health is seen in the ER or in life a lot more than TV usually lets on.

Coop, of course brings in the funny with his own addiction: his ego. Everyone continues to play off of it, and Akalitus will literally make him pay for his stupid plan to marry the girl he just started dating by buying back the statues for the chapel.

What other shows or scenes have you guys seen that really showcase anxiety depression believably? Let me know in the comments below!

What I saw: October 16th, 2016

Time for a full blog post today! I got to watch a few episodes of stuff after a very busy weekend and a very sleep inducing workweek. I was on a train and caught up with some season 4 Arrow, which is not really worth writing about on its own. I did watch the season 5 premier, which so far seems to be an improvement, but I'll be cautious. Anyways, time to continue on.

What I watched:

Arrow S5.E1 - "Legacy"
Shameless S2.E8&9 - "Parenthood" and "Hurricane Monica"

What I saw:

Starting off with the Arrow Season 5 Premier.

I stopped watching this show after Season 3, because the writing was just all over the place, and The Flash's season 2 as just infinitely better that there didn't seem to be a point. Now that it's on Netflix I watched a couple of highlights (Vixen showing up, and Lauren's death) that were mentioned in The Flash; as well as the finale to get a better feel. I was right in not watching it.

But, I then watched the premier now that I had some context, and I actually kind of liked it. The whole episode's theme of moving on seemed to parallel with the production of the show: its time to move on from the failures and get back to kicking ass. Oliver reconsiders his vow to not kill as a vigilante, and when Thea reluctantly dons her costume to rescue him and sees his ruthlessness, it solidifies that she is done with that life. There is the question of whether taking a life is it ever right comes back to the forefront, with no clear answer.

Oliver takes the cue from everyone else and decides to move on and recruit a new time for the bad guys that lie ahead. I'm cautiously looking forward to seeing how this new season pans out.

Now a double dose of Shameless.

These two episodes had a bit of a Good Will Hunting vibe to it. Lip's smarts are actually impairing him rather than empowering him. Everyone is telling him how smart he is as he tries to slack off and sign up for vocational training rather than continue the college track he was on, because he feels he needs to prepare to take care of his family. However, he grows increasingly frustrated as Karen shakes off the responsibility and tries to find an adoptive family that will pay her for the baby, basically mocking his idea of parenthood.

Speaking of parenthood, Frank and Monica reconnect and return to the house to raise their family. Fiona is naturally distrustful, but slowly comes to grips that even if it is only temporary, she can still use the break from everything. She doubts her decision to give Lip the ultimatum of go to school and move out. This fell in line with the overall theme of what does it mean to be family, and what does it mean to be a parent.

Fiona is experiencing first hand that being a parent doesn't always mean having the right answer, or even if you are right, that the kids will see it that way. At a certain age, sometimes life ends up being the best teacher.

I wonder what will happen to show Lip just what exactly is he running from. Or rather, he needs to see that he is trying to force having a strong/normal nuclear family even though Karen wants nothing to do with the baby anymore. Something will break, either the bridge with his family or his delusions that he can have his family now.

What do you guys think parenthood looks like? Or if you want a more lighthearted question, what do you think needs to happen on Arrow to draw the audience back in? Let me know in the comments below!

Midnight run: Vixen Season 1

I haven't really posted anything because I've just been sleeping all the way up until I go to work; with no time to really watch anything. Since I work graveyards, I can occasionally sneak in something to watch. Tonight, in honor of the second season starting today, I re-watched the first "season" of Vixen. The quotes are because it was all the 2 min animated episodes put together into one 30 min episode. I would love to see this eventually gain a whole season.

What I've seen:

Vixen features an African-American female lead hero. That alone is worth highlighting because as I've said before, having a person of color as a lead, or even as a superhero, is still (sadly) a rarity. The show starts off with a dejected Mari, who feels lost without identity and a place to really call home.

This season takes on this journey of identity, and does it amazingly well within the 30 min they were given. She is able to discover her powers, and where she comes from during that time. She embraces her role as guardian, which she discovers is part of her family identity. She also accepts her foster father and Detroit as her home and will use her new identity as Vixen to protect it. Having a past helps you to prepare for your own future.

Characters from Arrow and Flash make appearances, but their voices felt a little flat. Especially Cisco, who is usually so lively. The best performance was from Felicity, who sounded just as cheerful as she does in live action. Other than that, the show was really well done and can't wait to watch the new season today!

What other superheroes of color would you guys like to see get their own show or movie? I definitely want Diablo from Suicide Squad. Let me know in the comments below!

What I Saw: October 7th, 2016

I finally got to watch The Flash! I was also surprised to find out it was no longer on Hulu, but managed to watch it online through the CW's new streaming site (it was totally worth the trouble, I might add). I used up a lot of time just walking around and enjoying the nice weather here in Bakersfield before it gets hot, and then freezing, so only two episodes today.

What I Watched:

Master of None S1.E10 - "Finale"
The Flash S3.E1 - "Flashpoint"

What I Saw:

Wrapping up Master of None.

This finale was filled with the theme that I like most, the Existential crisis. Dev and his friends attend the premier of the movie he was working on, just to find out his character was cut out from the entire film. Distraught from what he thought was going to be the movie to help put him on the radar for more movie gigs, he starts to question whether acting is really what he wants to do anymore. His dad gives him some advice by telling him of a story where a man is staring at metaphorical figs on a tree, where each fig represents a choice and direction his life can take. He takes so long trying to decide which fig to choose that he starves to death. Meaning, Dev needs to make some kind of choice or else his anxiety about what he should accomplish will cause him to accomplish nothing in his life. He isn't the only one who is going through something like this, as Rachel had hinted a couple episodes back that she wanted to pursue an opportunity with her company in Chicago because she is running out of time to start making her mark in life. She had also talked about wanting to travel in her lifetime.

Which leads to the HUGE bomb that was dropped for the ending. Dev and Rachel attend a wedding, and upon hearing the vows of the seemingly happy couple they imagine a scene where their own vows are more realistic. The vows included all the doubt and fear that people when it comes to relationship. Is this person really the one? Will I miss out on my true soulmate just because I am dating this person at the time most people get married?

Instead of taking his dad's advice about making decisions, Dev comes up with the idea of having each other write down a percentage of the likelihood of the relationship continuing to marriage; which is to say, he effed up. That actually reminds me of the scene in Kevin Smith's Chasing Amy. In this scene the main character is given advice which tells him point blank that he needs to be confident in that the woman who loves him loves him for who he is, regardless of some of the more, shall was say, adventurous, types that she dated before. Instead he does this (warning, there is foul language in this clip):



Back to Dev. He gets good advice from his friend Benjamin (who I might add is my favorite character) where he is told straight up that there is no way of knowing, and you have to take a leap of faith and figure it out as you go along. That there is no perfect relationship where you are happy all the time. Unfortunately the advice comes too late and Rachel decides to take her a leap of faith, but instead of taking the leap to be with Dev she does it by flying off to Japan. Dev then follows suit and flies to Italy to learn how to be a noodle chef, and then the season ends!

This episode is very relatable to those who are reaching full blown adult-hood and are in a position to make some serious decisions in their lives. The important thing to take away is you have to make a decision because then, and only then, do you get an answer.

On to The Flash!

If you couldn't tell, I've been excited to watch the new season. And I must say it was well worth the wait. This new Flashpoint world (named after the comic series Flashpoint Paradox that this episode is loosely based on), is one where everything seems better than the world Barry left behind. With the exception of Joe and Iris not talking because Joe is a drunk, everything is great! The best lines were carried out by the Reverse Flash, where he points out that Barry is deluding himself that everything will be the way he wants it to. Because, let's face it, in life things never come out exactly the way you want. Barry still tries to ignore this truth and starts to rebuild Team Flash by literally collecting (or hilariously in Caitlyn's case, kidnapping) everyone to put together in one room.

However, after Wally gets seriously injured to the point he is not healing, Barry realizes that he can't have everything he wants without someone else having to pay the price. He then releases Reverse Flash to reset everything by letting his mother die again. Of course, since the Reverse Flash is his archenemy, he adds an extra cost for all the trouble Barry has caused him. Upon returning Barry realizes Iris and Joe are still not talking, and he has no idea what the Reverse Flash did to change the past. The moral of the story: life is messy, and as much as we sometimes hate what life throws at us, sometimes the alternative can be worse. Not only that, but life will always be throwing things at us that we don't like, so might as well accept the things in the past we can't (or in time travelers' case, shouldn't) change, and focus only on what we can change, which is our future. I can't wait until next week's episode to see what was changed.

What I saw: October 6th, 2016

Even though The Flash has been out for a few days now, I still haven't managed to watch it. I got distracted doing other things, plus I usually watch it with my mom who has also been busy (mom, if you're reading this, I think I'ma have to watch it without you tomorrow. Love you!). I did watch a couple episodes of some other stuff, so here we go!

What I watched:

Supergirl S1.E14 - "Truth, Justice, and the American Way"
Longmire S5.E3 - "Chrysalis"

What I saw:

Really quick we got Supergirl.
I have watched a couple more Supergirl episodes, but still find it difficult to stay engaged. This episode fared a little better because it asked the question of what type of hero Kara wants to be. When Cat asks Jimmy to get to the bottom of Maxwell Lord's disappearance, he is conflicted in reporting the story he knows to be true about the DEO holding him indefinitely, or keeping the classified information he was entrusted with a secret.

Cat is hand's down the strongest character of this show, and she definitely held that title again with the story she told Jimmy Olsen about a story of domestic violence committed by a well liked celebrity. She kept it to herself and then the celebrity killed his wife, and she is left wondering if she had written the story would the wife still be alive today. Jimmy then has a talk with Kara about how keeping Maxwell locked up forever goes against the type of hero she is trying to be, since she is reacting on what he might do instead of having proof on what he has actually done. She reluctantly agrees to let him go, on the premise of, you guessed it, Truth, Justice, (and the American way, although they never said that part in the episode). It was an okay episode with the message that a hero has to be better than the enemies they fight, otherwise they are no longer a hero.


Now on to the good stuff with Longmire.
The case started off simple enough, a girl left alone as her father went missing, and mother who was addicted to painkillers and unable to really care for her daughter. The father is found dead, like he was run over by a car. Then the case took a huge turn as more of the facts started to be revealed. The mother was on painkillers due to the domestic violence being inflicted upon her by her husband, and she had kept it hidden for the sake of her daughter. That is where she was mistaken, however. Her daughter knew what was happening to her mother, how miserable it was making her, and how it had caused her mother to become addicted. So in order to protect her mother, she had killed her father by running him over with the car and pretending to be lost.

Domestic violence does a lot of damage to a family, not just for the person being abused, but for the rest of the family who lives in the home. The daughter was suffering watching her mother's suffering. So even though the mother thought she was being good by staying as a family, she was actually causing more harm than good. Its good for every parent to know that kids are more aware of what is going on more than parent's think, and just because it is not happening directly to them, doesn't mean they are okay.

Cady is attempting to do some good for the people on the reservation by reaching out to them directly for free legal assistance. However, the resistance she faces from the residents was difficult for her to understand because she is not a member of the reservation. I like how they included the reality that Native Americans have been screwed over by "helpful" white people in the past and are reluctant to accept. The show does an amazing job of highlighting that level of distrust with the government and for white people in general.

Then comes the discussion between Jacob Nighthorse (is it just me or do they always call him by his full name?) and Henry. Jacob uses the metaphor of Refeeding Syndrome as the reason he has withheld the larger casino paychecks from the rest of the tribe. Jacobe states that he is doing the tribe a favor by not giving them large checks in the outset because the people have been starved of wealth for so long, they will not use it wisely and would only cause havoc. Henry counters that the last set of people who made decisions that were the best of the whole tribe was the United States Government.

It is true that the government has long made sweeping decisions that affected Native American's without any of their input. But it could also be true that with an influx of cash, people who have resorted to drug/alcohol use to cope with the lack of opportunity on the reservation would probably just buy more drugs and alcohol. But the biggest flaw in that logic is that it assumes everyone is in that position, and that there are not people who simply could use the money to better themselves. It is a scary thing when a single person or group starts to make these types of decisions, because whatever decisions are made they are done using the beliefs of the person making them. And Jacob Nighthorse does not believe that his people can thrive without him.

Do you guys think Jacob Nighthorse was right to withhold the sudden influx of cash form his people? Or do you think it's better to make their own decisions, even if it will lead to more harm? Let me know in the comments below!

What I saw: October 5th, 2016

I actually checked out a new show that started this season. I heard about it from a podcast I recently started listening to, Talking TV with Ryan and Ryan, which take a similar approach to discussing TV where they focus on the quality of the storytelling. Thanks to them, I have yet another show to talk to you guys about.

What I watched:

The Good Place S1.E1-2 - "Pilot" & "Flying"
Shameless (U.S.) S2.E7 - "A Bottle of Jean Neat"

What I saw:

Starting off with The Good Place.
This is a comedy with the same creator as Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I actually haven't seen Brooklyn (although I've been meaning too for the longest time), but I am a huge Parks and Rec fan. This new show is just as thought provoking as Parks, only instead of looking at the role of government in community building, this show looks at what makes a moral individual. The premise is there is "Good Place" and a "Bad Place," and only the best of humanity makes it to the Good Place where a special neighborhood is crafted perfectly for a small group of people at a time. Except when a new architect making this neighborhood accidentally takes someone who was supposed to go to the Bad Place and puts them in the Good Place. This bad person is our main protagonist, Eleanor. Now her "soul mate" Chidi, who was a professor on ethics and philosophy, is left with the dilemma of reporting her to send her to the Bad Place or teaching her to be a better person to earn her right to stay in the Good Place.

In the show people's actions in life are provided points. We get a hint of where the writers are coming from with this snapshot of an orientation video that they give the newcomers, showing the point value of some of those actions:

Some of these are jokes, which the good ones are in the smaller print (rooting for New York Yankees is a no-no), but some of them seem legit. Like Genocide makes you lose a bunch of points, and ending slavery earns you a whole bunch. (I don't know about you, but I plan on scratching my elbow as much as possible for some easy points). Anyways, since this show will be talking about morality, it is important to know who's morality they are using. With Chidi being a professor on ethics, I am hoping that will give them a way to explain how they arrived to their conclusions as the show goes on.

Now a show with depth and meaning is great and all, but the since it is a comedy the real question is this: is it funny? The answer, thankfully, is yes! I say thankfully because that will help to ensure the show continues on at least for one season. TV is a business after all, and if it doesn't make ratings then it wont exist. The show does a good job of making you think while at the same time making you laugh at some of the ridiculous examples they give. Right in the beginning they had me rolling when they talked about which religion got it right, and the answer was all of them were about 5% right, but the punchline right after was hilarious. I am definitely going to keep watching.

Now on to Shameless.
All the emotions and thoughts the characters had been holding in are starting to come out. Today, everyone had the feels. I kind of liked how the show made everyone come to this realization at the same time, as the last day of summer comes to an end and school begins; very metaphorical. This episode was about how being true to yourself is a lot easier than trying to be something you are not. Steve (aka Jimmy) is an extreme example of this, since he was literally living a double-life and it cost him the person he loves most. Karen is another good example, where after she spent some real time getting to know the man she married, and realized she was lying to herself that she could live a life with him.

Jasmine has been rather flirty and grabby with Fiona all through-out their friendship, but today she finally confesses she is in love with Fiona. Her double-life of partying and heating on her husband also caught up with her, and she has been kicked out. She has been living several lies, and it finally got too much for her. Veronica then breaks down about Ethel leaving her and Kevin, revealing just how much having a kid meant to her. Kevin and Stan had been avoiding the fact that Stan needs someone to take care of him, but nearly drowned in the tub or burned the bar down.

Ignoring problems doesn't mean they are going away. Sooner or later you have to deal with them or they deal with you. Grammy Gallagher was a problem Fiona thought she could ignore until her basement meth lab almost blew up the house. Then Frank's problem became her problem. Stage IV cancer may resolve the problem for them, but I foresee Grammy causing a lot of damage before she goes down if they don't take her seriously.


So there you have it! Today's lessons: be a good person (whatever that means), and deal with your problems head on. What do you guys like to see in your comedies? What show do you think does a good job of tying the characters' struggle together, even if it is not the same struggle per se? Let me know in the comments below.

What I saw: October 3rd, 2016

Another workday, but I managed to wake up with enough time to make something to eat and watch an hour episode.

What I watched:

Agent's of SHIELD S4.E2 - "Meet the New Boss"

What I saw:

We learn that Daisy is on a quest for penance, as Robbie aka Ghost Rider described it. The fact that Daisy continues to decline to rejoin the team, and her death wish, shows that she has not forgiven herself for her actions last season, even if everyone else has. I think the biggest reason she has a death wish is because she not only hurt her teammate and her boyfriend died, but she at one point had begged to be taken back in by Hive despite what she did under his influence. She alone knows the truth of it, and can no longer look at her teammates in the eye.

So true to Joss Whedon's style of storytelling, a lot of things are told through context. With the "ghosts" they mention a book and another person in play who trapped them in the boxes, and Ghost Rider has the supernatural ability to touch and even kill the ghosts.

The real interesting contextual storytelling is with the new SHIELD director. He was introduced slowly; with all the clues as to what kind of person he is slowly being revealed. He is charismatic and meticulous as shown by his ability to joke with the committee taking the tour and the varying levels of clearance shown in the last episode. But the real big clue came when Mae finally falls prey to whatever infection the ghosts give and goes ballistic. When she fights the director, learn he is an inhuman, with strength and possibly invulnerability. Slow and steady wins the badass storytelling award.

What do you guys think about telling a story through context? Does it make it more enjoyable or does it give the audience too much work to be able to enjoy it? Let me know in the comments below.

What I saw: October 2nd, 2016

Another workday and my time got split up so I ended up watching two shorter episodes in between whatever else I did with my time (if it isn't watching TV then it doesn't count). I do want to say thanks to those who have read my blog. I also want to encourage those who do to leave a comment and give some feedback and let me know what you have seen in the shows you watch. Now that the housekeeping stuff is out of the way, on the the good stuff.

What I watched:

Nurse Jackie S3.E8-9 - "The Astonishing" & "Have You Met Ms. Jones?"

What I saw:

So in these episodes we start to get a feel for some of the character's flaws. Jackie's mask of perfection is cracking faster and faster with each day. She has come to accept she needs the dealer, Bill, but still refuses to admit she is a full blown addict. We also got to see a flaw in the new nurse Kelly as he flirts with high school aged girls who were drunk and Jackie calls him out on it harshly in front of Zoey from her high horse. Kelly drags her down from it when he comments that she is not fooling anyone and he knows she is high.

This continues on to the next episode when she starts to go through withdrawals after her dealer is killed in a car accident on his way to supply her. Everyone she cares about can see she is going through it, and when she tries to lie to Eddie about her back hurting to get some pills he calmly shuts her down and then she get's angry and storms off.

This show does an amazing job in telling the journey an addict takes before they truly hit rock bottom. Addicts are usually in denial, saying they need it to help with something, whether it is physical or emotional pain, and they can stop whenever they want to. Then they start to lose their supports like family/friends, then their jobs, their home, and if that isn't enough their lives. This season is definitely focusing on the fall of an addict.

The other part this season is showcasing is the concept of self-actualization. Coop has been moping about his mothers' divorce, Akalitus feels inadequate compared to her rival, and O'Hara is trying to establish roots. Each of them are facing something that makes them question where they are with their own lives and what have they actually done that matters. For Coop, he thinks the answer is to have a family of his own and he comically picks the hottest girl he remembers dating in high school and decides he is going to marry her. Akalitus is still on her journey of finding out what will set the hospital (but more importantly herself) apart from her rival. And O'Hara has decided to buy an apartment and leave her riches to Jackie's kids since she wants someone to benefit from what she has.

Let me know in the comments below what you guys think this season has been focusing on.

What I saw: September 30th, 2016

September is coming to an end, and you know what that means. Leaves will start to fall down, Halloween decorations will be put up, costumes will be purchased, and a crapton of shows will be back by next week! The one I am looking forward to, if you couldn't tell by the background picture, is The Flash. But until such time, there are still plenty of shows which have already started or I am catching up on. Here we go!

What I watched (click on the show title to skip straight to it):

Black-ish S.3E.2 - "God"

The Getdown P1.E6 - "Raise Your Words, Not Your Voice"

Luke Cage S1.E1 - "Moment of Truth"

What I saw:

First up is Black-ish.

Black-ish goes right back into full swing in this episode. When Zoey drops a bomb on Dre that she doesn't believe in God, Dre's (hilarious) overreaction takes the audience into a discussion about not only faith, but how different cultures derive their beliefs. He even went into full on lecture mode talking about how people who suffer the most have the strongest belief in a higher power (and his coworkers fall asleep as a result). I like how the show was brave enough to put in that snapshot documentary style and then make fun of themselves immediately after. The show creators were pretty much saying "this is serious, but we know you don't want serious," but in a balanced way. And by balanced, I mean the show stopped short of saying religion is the opiate of the masses, but described it as more of a way to cope with the injustice people face in the world. Dre takes note that all the white people in his office are atheists and all the people of color are the ones that believe, and so he goes back into his mode that he has whitewashed his kids too much with almond milk and Gouda cheese. The family talks more about where they fall on the spectrum of faith, which I think even Dre was surprised that it was more of a spectrum than just two categories of believing in God or not believing. I think it reflected really well what people actually think when it comes to God or any other higher power.

The biggest moment came when the family went with Bow for the sonogram appointment. Since it is a 30 minute comedy, the unofficial rule is that whatever conflict is going on is resolved and everyone returns to normal with little to no change occurring. While the show did end up following this rule, it did it in the most suspenseful way I have ever seen. Stop reading now if you haven't seen the episode, because it was the best moment and it was such a strong performance that it must be seen. Similar to the way Dre described the his thoughts on Obama's walk to his inauguration last season, which I will include here:





Okay, you've had plenty of warning so now the scene in today's episode. The sonogram technician is unable to find the baby, there is nothing but static emanating from the machine when there should be a heartbeat. The whole family is just horrified and you can see the resignation on Bow and Dre's face, until at last the technician finds the baby and the heartbeat is strong. Zoey says "thank God" and Dre takes it as a victory that she still has some faith in her. That is something I agree with actually. I myself am not really a believer, but everyone, even "non-believers," have all experienced that moment where they feel so powerless that they just pray to God, the universe, or whatever for help. Again, faith can be described more as a spectrum rather than an absolute. Anyways, a really great episode and good discussion on faith.

Wrapping up The Getdown.

So this is the last of the available episodes for right now, with the rest of the season picking up next year. What I can say is, it was a really strong finish. The beginning of the episode brings a few things to a head, and four characters end up having to make a choice that will shape them for the rest of their lives. Ezekiel is being lectured to by the head of the city financial office, who is telling him that he needs to be able to let go of his habits and friends of the ghetto in order to be successful, with the more memorable line: "Success is more about the relationships you break rather than the relationships you make." Shao is pushed into making the choice to kill the traitor to Fat Annie, cementing his position in the crime business. Dizzee makes the choice to act on his feelings for Thor whether he should kiss him or not. The show did a good job at subtly building up Dizzee's attraction, especially at the end of the last episode where he wistfully thinks about Thor as one of the graffiti trains rolls by. Then Jackie Moreno ends up making the choice to once again accept the consequences of the bad things he has done, and does a sexual favor on someone he forced to do the same to him in the past.

Ezekiel ends up choosing to pursue the path that will lead him out of the ghetto, and emphatically agrees to do what needs to be done and attend a political rally. This is where he really shines though, because while he said he was willing to do whatever it took to get out of the ghetto, after he heard mayoral candidate Ed Koch talk trash about his home and the art that he and his friends pursue, he realizes that "young people aren't the problem; we're the solution." He gains tghe support of the younger attendees at the rally by referencing graffiti artists, to show that he is not giving up on the art or his home. A very powerful moment on staying with your community, taking the good with the bad. Shao is forced to choose between Fat Annie and the DJ battle, but talks his way into doing his work pushing drugs at the battle itself. He makes it clear that being a DJ is his true calling, and will do whatever he needs to do to pursue it. He has taken that leap of faith, and will not look back. It is actually kind of unclear if Dizzee ever did kiss Thor, but they got close enough to know that he had made his choice before they were interrupted by a change in song. It's cool that we got to see that yes, there was an LGBT(QIA) community, and that they actually had a large influence on the art and music that "normal" people enjoyed. They may be marginalized and underground, but that doesn't mean they aren't powerful. While Jackie had revenge taken out on him, he really can't fall any further so he kind of carries on like normal, with a light at the end of the tunnel with Mylene signing on with a record company.

Mylene finally sees Ezekiel in action at the DJ battle, and is blown away at what he can accomplish with his rap skills at the getdown. I'm glad that they had her become more supportive, and the last scene of them talking about the future, and whether they should abandon the Bronx or try to stay and make it better shows that they are both maturing. I think that is a struggle that most people who live in a poor neighborhood face. It is their home, their life. Getting out may change things for themselves but not for those who still have to live in the ghetto. I'm curious to see how they will resolve this dilemma next year.

Lastly, we get to Luke Cage.

This series premier did a good job at setting up the origin story for our soon to be hero. He already has his powers, but he is still wrought with guilt and sadness over the death of his wife that he simply cannot take on anyone else's problems. We are shown his reluctance to move on from his wife's death when he declines the phone number of the girl at the barbershop. However, what I thought was strange and kind of broke the character logic was when he very strongly flirted with Misty only a few short hours later. The only thing I can think of to keep the logic together is that she might look like his wife, but even then he was very much pursuing her, not observing for signs of his wife or anything. Well, the show must go on I suppose.

The real moment of truth comes when he discovers one of his wife's killers is in town, and he knows he has to do something. He then rescues his landlords from being hustled by thugs seeking "donations" for the councilwoman's new center she wants to build. He plays the reluctant hero, but now that he has a mission he is willing to fight for, he accepts his new mantle. A superhero isn't born when they get their powers. A superhero is born when they put those powers to the benefit of others. The show did a good job of reminding us of that.