The 100 5x08 "How We Get To Peace" Review

Major spoilers are ahead!

The title of the episode speaks for itself. The price for peace is high and everyone is doing whatever it takes to achieve it. Except Monty and Harper. They are adamant on finding another way based on Jasper's suicide note and his claim that "they are the problem".

Monty and Harper want to cultivate the algae that put Murphy in a coma for a week in order to avoid killing people. This also ensures that everyone can survive using the farm without invading The Valley. But Clarke and Bellamy are determined to shed blood by sacrificing Kara Cooper. And when that doesn't work, Bellamy uses the algae to knock out his sister to stop the war.

I understand Clarke doing something like that to Octavia, but Bellamy? I know he doesn't have what it takes to kill his sister. Monty even suggests that option, but no one is willing to go that far. Only the side characters are expendable, Monty! Get with the program!

There is a lot of talk about war for the past two, maybe three, episodes, and I think this is causing serious pacing issues for the season. All this talk and prep for war yet no war will occur. I hope everything picks up once Bellamy and Clarke force Wonkru to surrender.

On the other side of things, Raven is this week's victim of Abby's pill addiction and it breaks our hearts to see her get hurt. Abby is spiraling and her actions sever the mother-daughter relationship she forged with Raven. This makes Raven want to sacrifice Shaw (her love interest) to make sure Abby doesn't get her next fix.

Murphy and Emori's alliance with McCreary is interesting. I'm surprised Diyoza believed the story they concocted. I mean, Murphy is radioing Diyoza to make a trade for Raven, and a few hours later, McCreary has both of them hostage? I hope no one is that stupid.

We have another hiatus, ugh I feel like this show has a lot of them, but with only five episodes left in the season, I'm sure the action, the moral decisions, and the death toll is going to ramp up. 

Side note: Diyoza and Kane talking about the future and "Hope" was moving. I watch The Originals too and having Diyoza consider the name was pretty coincidental. Like, okay? Maybe you should think of a different name.

Marvel's Cloak and Dagger 1x04 "Call/Response" Episode Review

Major spoilers are included in this review! Read with Caution!

The latest episode arrived. And boy it was something. Miles better than last week's episode as we finally get Cloak and Dagger in the same room. I love the entire conversation between Tandy and Tyrone and how they're going to finally get things done.

The main problem with the episode? The constant transition between present and past. I didn't like it because it felt too abrupt in the beginning, but ultimately, it paid off in the episode's last moments. However, this is my own personal opinion, but I would've preferred the whole conversation to have occurred and then have the present day stuff happen... in chronological order.

We learned about the adults in this episode, particularly Tandy's Melissa, her boyfriend Greg and Tyrone's father Otis, and how their dynamic with the protagonists. Tandy gradually learns, to her shock, that Greg is a nice person! A married man, but he is still a good man.

Tandy bonds with him, uses her powers of seeing hope on him, and helps him with the Roxxon investigation. She wants justice for her father and wants her mother to reconsider her relationship with him. Melissa breaks up with him, and when Tandy goes to his office to see him, he is killed off by a mysterious assailant and then his whole office goes up in flames.

She, and the rest of us, are devastated by this! They made Greg likable to make his death impactful and that is mean! This leads Tandy to commit suicide via drowning and chains around her body, only to come out with her light daggers saving her again!

This resonates with the last bit of conversation between Tyrone and Tandy. They are thrown into a talk about privilege, race, and thoughts of suicide. Tyrone calls her out on the privilege and how if she wants to kill herself, she might as well do it. Their talk ends on a bad note, that sends them off to the present day events.

Tyrone learns more about his father Otis and his involvement with a group called the Red Hawks. This is hilarious how Tyrone is too shook to understand the situation especially when knives are pulled and hugs are welcomed. He also finds his brother's Cloak outfit and wants to wear it. This is a clear allusion to a future superhero outfit. 

In the end, Tyrone returns to the police station to face his fear, based on Tandy's advice, and we are left on that little cliffhanger, unsure what he wants with Detective Reilly. 

The two are separated again, but at least it feels right that they are. Before, it felt off, but now that these two have talked and argued, there is a lot to look forward to. The anticipation is real, and Cloak and Dagger can finally get going on the plot narrative.

The Originals 5x09 "We Have Not Long To Love" Episode Review

Major spoilers are included in this episode review! Read with caution!

Always and Forever indeed!

Welcome to another episode review of The Originals! We are only 4 EPISODES AWAY FROM THE END! This show is almost over and tonight's episode is a great indicator that no one is safe! We have suffered two losses tonight, but thankfully none of them are the Mikaelsons.

Let's get into this review and what happened!

As you know from last week's episode, Elijah has his memories restored! I'm surprised Elijah went back to his usual self this quickly. He's dressed up, talking elegant, and is trying to make amends for his horrible mistake. Freya and Klaus seem to have forgiven him or at least tolerate him for his role in Hayley's death, but Hope is not easily swayed. 

Hope tries to calm the whispers through painting, but nothing works. Klaus and Freya want her to wear the bracelet to suppress her magic, but this only angers The Hollow. She hurries through her spell book for a spell to help her.

Klaus is furious with Freya about this development and promises if anything happens to his daughter, she will answer to him. 

If this wasn't enough, Freya also has to deal with Declan, who is upset about Hayley. He learns his girlfriend is dead via voicemail and missed the funeral. Freya has no real answers for him, which is overheard by a guilt-ridden Elijah. 

Elijah makes his way to Rousseau's and has a discussion with Declan about Hayley. Once Declan brings up the engagement ring and "the one who broke Hayley's heart", he figures out that Elijah is the same man. 

This is where things get intense. Hope walks in on the two of them and her anger explodes. She is worried for Declan's safety and threatens Elijah to not harm him. Elijah promises not to harm him, but then Hope proceeds to knock him out with a spell. 

Hope hates Elijah for what he did to Hayley, and he claims he hates himself as well. Then The Hollow takes hold of her anger, and she starts slashing him viciously with her magic. Klaus tries to intervene, but Hope puts her father down.

Declan wakes up to witness all of this. Hope calms down after the violence, and Elijah proceeds to compel Declan into forgetting everything so he can move on with his life.

I expected the Hope-Elijah showdown to have more emotional and buildup, but it turned into Hope needing an outlet for her dark magic. This leads to a sweet father-daughter moment though, which is always appreciated. 

The main plot of the episode involved Marcel, Josh, Vincent, Freya, and Keelin. This is filled with some good action and supernatural politics. The Purist Vampires want the werewolves to leave New Orleans and to live out in the Bayou like they did before the show began.

Josh points out how the Purists are doing the exact same thing Marcel did in the past - vampires living at the top of the food chain and making the other two species live out their days in fear. This makes Marcel see that things have to change for the better.

Of course, this is refused, so the Purists start sending threats and destroying their floats for the parade. Lisina and Keelin are talking about the past and love lives when all of this happened. Their friendship is much welcomed but also a good reminder on how much Freya deserves some happiness in her life.

Keelin plans to leave the next day because she can't keep waiting around for Freya. The Mikaelsons will always choose each other. There isn't any room for anyone else. Then a bomb explosion changes everything!

Lisina is killed and Keelin is badly injured. Freya begged for Keelin to survive and this is the wake-up call she needed to pop the question! That's right! Freya and Keelin are officially engaged. I loved this so much! I hope they make room for a wedding in the last few episodes!

Speaking of love, Vincent and Ivy are finally becoming a couple. They flirt, kiss, and show so much affection. But they are both plagued by the politics of the city. The witches will have to choose a side soon, just like in the past, but they are unsure which one to pick. 

Emmett, the leader of the Purists, comes to Vincent and offers him a deal to join forces to take back the city. Vincent refuses to join the vampires and threatens to pull Emmett into the sunlight if he tries to do anything against him. 

So when Vincent joins Marcel's team, Emmett does something terrible. Vincent goes running for Ivy, who is doing a ritual with other witches in the cemetery, and gets there in time to find her dying. He holds her in his arms as she succumbs to the poison she drank.

The episode ends there... and the show is going on break for two weeks!! I hate hiatuses! 

Sound off in the comments and share how we're feeling about the last four episodes approaching... I know I'm going to cry. This is inevitable.

The 100 5x07 "Acceptable Losses" Review

Major spoilers are included in this episode review. Read with caution!

Welcome back to another episode review of this amazing show!

The hiatuses are over for the time being and the weekly episodes can commence! How I missed The 100 and the way it questions the whole "Good vs Evil" mentality. If you have forgotten what happened in the last episode (darn breaks!), my episode review is here.

There are a lot of things going on in this episode as the war prepares to get underway.

The first thing the show addresses in this episode is how everyone is either different or the same since the time jump. Clarke and Bellamy are put in their rightful place by Octavia, who is doing whatever it takes to save her people - the same as they did when they were in charge.

Octavia has a lot on her plate and truly wishes everyone to get out alive (Raven, Echo, Abby, Kane, etc.), but she is also responsible for the well-being of everyone else - her Wonkru. Indra is afraid she will ultimately lose herself and has no regrets in the part she played with Kane's escape. 

The mother-daughter relationship Indra and Octavia share is a spectacular piece of work and to see it tested like this worries me. I pray Octavia does not go too far in the darkness. I mean, Octavia's actions make sense after she explains the gameplay.

Let's use this example:

Clarke claims using the worms as a weapon against Diyoza will kill The Valley. Here, I was like, "Yeah. What a horrible plan." Then Octavia and Cooper swoop in with the clean explanation, "After many tests, we know the worms will die out in a few days."

There is a clear power struggle between Octavia and Clarke and the tension is clear when it comes to Madi. After Octavia takes Madi in as her second, Clarke decides to take Octavia out in order to protect her daughter and the rest of their friends.

This will put Bellamy in an impossible position. Who will he side with? His close friend or his sister?

Monty finally earned some screentime when he read Jasper's suicide note (thanks Clarke for not reading it!) and learns how Jasper planned to kill himself earlier with a gunshot in the mouth (season four premiere).

I had completely forgotten that no one knew about this and it helps put things in perspective for him. Jasper believed "they" were the problem and he no longer wished to be a part of the problem - the cycle.

The Diyoza-Kane dynamic is amusing whenever he tries to keep her in check. Her knowledge of the show's background is also paying off when she compares dropping 100 delinquents on the ground is no different than leaving 300 prisoners on an asteroid. 

The biggest twist though? The pregnancy! Diyoza is really pregnant and that is going to cause trouble if the characters are incline to pro-life! I wonder if being frozen did something to her baby though? And if a baby daddy will factor into the overall plot? I mean, I feel like the father's identity is irrelevant for this kind of show, but curiosity...

I think Abby and Kane broke up too... She chose her pill addiction over him. And I enjoy how they squabbled over how the pills make her a better doctor and without them, they'll only have a clean junkie who will only think about her next fix. 

What an interesting situation...

Raven and Shaw are going to get together at some point. "Love interest!" is screaming all over the place with those two. Echo did him dirty to get Monty's device into the hard drive... Raven is distraught that they betrayed the one good person on Diyoza's team.

Next week's episode should get explosive! Clarke vs Octavia and Wonkru vs Prisoners! All-Out War on every front! How far will Clarke go to save her friends and daughter?

Sound off in the comments and let's discuss how our morals keep getting questioned with every episode of this show!

Supergirl 3x23 "Battles Won and Lost" Review

Major spoilers are included in this episode review. Read with caution! 

I lost any hope for a comeback a few episodes back for this season and from how this finale was structured, so did the show. Instead of trying to give us a fleshed-out conclusion to the World Killer known as Reign, Supergirl decided to cut its losses and look toward the future.

Let's start with what I liked about the finale. The action scenes in the opening were amazing to watch (Kara and Alura flying around was sweet!). Saturn Girl and Brainiac 5 returned to save the day and to also deliver bad news to both Mon-El and Winn.

While Pestilence was defeated in the future, it brought back another equally dangerous threat (alluded to  the original Brainiac), making it dangerous for Brainy to go back to his time. In his stead, he wants Winn to join the Legion and to help make the future safer for his kind. 

Winn is conflicted about this because he would miss his friends and the guilt he carries over Dimos' death. However, Brainy shows him a glimpse of the future with an artifact (his drawing) and tells him how his protection belt is the first of many in groundbreaking technology.

This, and with James' encouraging, Winn decides to join the Legion. Mon-El also takes his leave after Reign's defeat and has an awkward goodbye with Kara. After so much buildup on the whole "Will they/Won't they?", the way they decided to choose their duty over love felt weak and rushed, especially in regards on how they ended Mon-El/Imra.

I enjoyed the J'onn/M'yrnn goodbye and how it affected J'onn to make a life-change: to leave the comforts of the DEO and to live among the humans like his father wanted for him. He takes a leave from the DEO and puts Alex in charge as the new director. This gives her the chance to do her job but also to stay out of the danger in order to start her family. 

Alex and Lena shared a profound moment about knowing what they want and her desire for children vs wanting to do her job. This is an interesting friendship in my opinion because Kara/Lena/Supergirl are still on the rocks by season's end. 

The whole Alura/Kara reunion was a disappointment to say the least. They rushed the precious mother/daughter time in three episodes and said their goodbyes like they wouldn't be able to see each other again. You have spaceships and holograms... I think you two could figure something out! I hope they find some way to reuse Argo City in the next season.

James got the "Superman" mention - explaining why the Man of Steel is not there helping everyone in National City - and he also outed himself as Guardian to the world. He got his Iron Man moment, which will most likely have consequences in the future.

Sam, after a journey to the Dark Valley, finally found her Kryptonian strength and used it to defeat her alter ego. However, this came at a price. Before Reign was killed, she managed to kill Sam, Alura, and Mon-El in a heat vision frenzy.

This bothered me because they tied it with the whole "I don't kill" thing. Supergirl is adamant on not killing Reign despite finding no other way. She lets everyone else reasonably convince her that killing is the only way, and it costs everyone their lives.

Unable to deal with this, Kara takes Mon-El's Legion Ring and finds a "distortion" to travel back in time. She pulls a "Barry Allen" and goes back right before Sam delivers the finishing blow to Reign. This time, Supergirl uses the black rock to take Reign back to the Dark Valley, where she is imprisoned forever.

This allows Supergirl to stop Reign without killing and to give Kara the closure she needs to accept herself as both human and kryptonian. Sam is also 100% human, which thrills both her and Ruby. They can finally move on with their lives.

We'll see if they return for the next season, but if not, they did the best they could for Sam's character, but major praise for Ruby. It's hard to incorporate children into superhero shows, but Supergirl did it and I was quite pleased.

Alura takes back the black rock to Argo City and takes comfort knowing no one on Earth has it. This is when I rolled my eyes because I SPOTTED LENA LOOKING GUILTY! She kept some of it for herself to study, which will cause major trouble for her once Supergirl figures it out.

Is Lena evil or not? Time will only tell if she will live up to the Luthor name...

Selena and her followers were also dealt with... they are being sentenced on Argo City, which gives Kara comfort because no killing is cool. Adding them into the mix felt weird and one-dimensional as we got to the season finale... like I'd rather have Purity and Pestilence around. 

Coville also survived his ordeal (being the one who alerted the Superfriends on Selena's location) and will most likely return to cause trouble. I loved him as a villain and hope to see more of his cult leader stuff in the future.

But the World Killers are behind us. The show wants us to forget and move on, and we should do the same...

Winn's goodbye with everyone was incredibly emotional. His goodbye with Alex though was more heartfelt than Kara's, which is weird considering it should be the other way around. I did tear up though when Kara mentioned how this all began with her and Winn.

Winn may be gone, but Brainy will be sticking around to replace him as the "smart guy". I hope this will give the show a new outlook and maybe they can explore the Kara/Brainiac 5 romance in the next season. Or at least hint that it will happen. 

I was a fan of the relationship in Justice League Unlimited. 

Now let's talk about Kara's "big time travel mistake". She created another version of herself who popped up in Siberia!! Wow time traveling in the Arrowverse always has consequences. I think it was also a combination of the black rock splitting her too. 

I'm looking forward to seeing how this will play out.

The finale resolved the season's big bad in the first half and spent the second half playing "set-up" for the next season. I thought that was an interesting approach and a good indicator on how the show realized how off-the-rails they got toward the end there.

This will be the last Supergirl episode review of the summer, but rest assured, I will return in the fall to review season four! ON SUNDAY NIGHTS! YAY?

Blog Update #1

Hello blog readers,

I am writing to update you on my future plans for this blog. As of June 17, 2018 - I have written a total of 87 posts (including this one!), excluding the 4 from April 2017, but found myself slowing down in the summer.

The purpose of this post is to inform you all on my blog progress and what material I plan to write for the future. I also have ideas to change the structure of the blog itself to improve accessibility and navigation.

I plan to write season reviews of various shows and movie reviews plus book reviews once I get myself back into the reading mood.

These shows/movies/books are on the list to write in no real order:

1. Jane The Virgin Season 4 Review
2. Dynasty Season 1 Review
3. Killing Eve Season 1 Review (after I watch the finale)
4. My Hero Academia Anime Season 1 Review
5. My Hero Academia Anime Season 2 Review (after I finish the season)
6. The Magicians Season 3 Review (after I start and finish the season)
7. iZombie Season 4 Review (after I start and finish the season)
8. Black Lightning Season 1 Review (after I start and finish the season)
9. Dragon Ball Super Card Game Updates / Game Play (new thing to add to my blogging)
10. Writing Updates / Current Writer's Block
11. Mooncalled Book Review
12. Luke Cage Netflix Original Season 2 Review (June 22 release date)
13. Ant Man and the Wasp Movie Review (July 6 release date)

In addition to those listed above, I will regularly write episode reviews of The Originals, The 100, and Cloak and Dagger in addition to Supergirl's 3x23 review. Those are the three shows I'm watching weekly for the summer season, and I will most likely write a "farewell" post as well for The Originals' final season.

If you have any other recommendations, you can pass it my way and I will add it to my list. Thanks for your time, and I will keep you posted!

Marvel's Cloak and Dagger 1x03 "Stained Glass" Episode Review

Major spoilers are included in this episode review. Read with caution!

Hey people! I have returned with another episode review of Marvel's Cloak and Dagger. If you hadn't seen my reviews of the first two episodes, the links are posted here (1x01) and here (1x02) for your conveience. Otherwise, keep reading and comment on what happened in the latest episode.

I believe the first two episodes suffered from uneven pacing and this current episode is no different. I found myself getting frustrated with the two awkward shifts between perspectives, the unexplained mechanics with their powers, and the lack of movement in the plot.

After the cliffhanger is resolved, Tandy continues her way out of New Orleans and Tyrone goes to the church for an explanation. This is shown through their own perspectives, which got hectic and frustrating for the lack of explanation and awkward transitions. They are a part for most of the episode until the ending, where they are finally ready to talk about their powers.

I wanted that resolution to happen at the beginning of the episode, but once again, the show decided to slow things down to flesh out the characters' relationship even more without them actually talking to each other.

However, we do get an introduction to Detective O'Reilly, the female detective who arrested Liam in the previous episode. She is questioning the boy who tried to rape Tandy, but he is not comfortable talking to her once she puts the pieces together. She leaves him alone, but this gives the boy time to figure out how to cover his tracks.

O'Reilly wants to help Tandy and goes to her to come forward. But the boy is two steps ahead and has got Connors to shut the case down. This disappoints Tandy, who is a changed woman after the weird jumping around through time.

Tyrone and Evita's relationship is developed and a new character is introduced. Her Aunt is into voodoo and helps Tyrone tap into his powers, setting off his own journey into Tandy's life. In the end, Tyrone and Evita kiss, but this romance is most likely going to fail in favor of the two protagonists' inevitable love story.

This whole episode felt like a filler. The plot didn't move all that much, but we got more insight into O'Reilly. I wish we got more Liam beyond the hallucination thing because, unlike Tandy, I'm concerned for his well-being.

BUT now that Cloak&Dagger are finally coming together, I pray this show will pick up the pace and fix the unevenness it displayed. 

Incredibles 2 Movie Review

Major spoilers are included in this movie review. Read with caution.

Incredibles 2 is finally here!! My siblings and I left the children behind to embark on this journey last night!

After 14 years of waiting for this sequel, we finally got to see the sequel and resolution of that cliffhanger in the first movie. Was it worth the wait to see the second movie? 

In one word: ABSOLUTELY!!

The animation, fight scenes, character development, well-written story, and pacing worked out wonderfully in the sequel, giving major props to Bob, Helen, and Violet for their outstanding character arcs. It didn't rely too heavily on nostalgia (but you definitely need to watch the first movie first) and the world-building was done well in regards to the superhero politics.  

We met several new heroes and learned how losing superheroes made the world less ideal for new characters Winston and Evelyn. 

Helen (Elastigirl) was the perfect choice to take over as the main character for the sequel for various reasons. Unlike Mr. Incredible who can only hit things really hard, she has powers that work well in animation and the creative things you can do with a stretching ability. I enjoyed watching her in action and getting to see her shine.

Bob (Mr. Incredible) took a step back from being a superhero and worked on being a super parent to his three kids. He loves being a superhero and seeing him struggle with his wife being in the spotlight hurt his ego.

However, as he worked to understand Jack Jack's powers, Helen's popularity as a brand-new superhero, Dash's "new" math, and Violet's "adolescent" problems, he figured out there are other ways to become a hero.

Dash did not have a major story in this movie unlike his siblings Jack Jack and Violet. However, the animation is really clean and the details have made the kid seem buffer to me. 

Violet goes through the motions of having powers and going through the consequences of having them. Her date Tony sees her in a superhero costume and subsequently gets his memory wiped, which angers her for the most of the movie. 

The character development done for her is relatable and heartfelt, which reminds me a lot of how far she came in the first movie (half-face hidden and shy). She is outspoken and angry... like a normal teenager. 

Jack Jack provided the much-needed humor with his various super powers and relationship with Edna, the costume designer. He can teleport, fly, move things with his mind, heat vision, replication, dimension jump, fire monster, phase through walls, grow into giant monster, and apparently so many more powers. 

The movie is designed for kids (rated PG) but created for us adults who had to wait a long time for the sequel. This is our time, and for us, the wait was really worth it. I hope a third movie is in the works because we need more of this story and world. 

Sound off in the comments if you've seen the movie. Wasn't it incredible?

The Originals 5x08 "The Kindness of Strangers" Episode Review

Major spoilers are included in this episode review. Read with Caution!

I'm crying! I'm crying so much! What a powerful episode! I have been dealing with feelings this week over personal issues and missing a friend, so watching this episode helped a lot with getting out the frustrating tears.

Thank you Daniel Gillies for an outstanding performance! He has excelled my expectations for the final season and is currently the MVP of the series. 

This episode picks up where we left off in last week's with both Klaus and Elijah trapped somewhere, but they figure out quickly that they are not alone.

All the Mikaelson siblings also returned in this episode!

Yay! This makes me so happy!

Rebekah and Kol have been missed and seeing them all together, even memory-less Elijah, is what the show is all about. And I love Kol's naked entrance into the chambre de chasse. Freya is also present and tells her siblings this may have been Vincent's way to keep them separate.

The only way out of the chambre de chasse is through the white door. It has five locks for each sibling, which means they have to search the compound for their respective keys.

Klaus and Elijah are close to killing each other before the search begins, so Kol defuses the situation and takes Elijah with him. This leads to a surprising bonding moment for the two brothers. 

Elijah wonders why Kol never visited him in the seven years (only Klaus and Rebekah). Kol tells him the truth: they were never close that way because of the exclusion from the vow and how he murdered his wife Davina. 

Remember one of the worst things to happen on this show? Elijah may not remember, but Kol sure does. 

Elijah asks if he ever apologized for such a cruel act, but Kol says he kind of did, but we all know he didn't really. All Kol cares about though is that he got Davina back, but "not everybody is so lucky". 

Klaus wonders if his family key is in the family crest. This leads us into a 15-year flashback with Klaus and Hayley. In the aftermath of season 1, episode 8 ("The River in Reverse"), Klaus took Hayley to the compound for the first time. She tells him for the first time that she wants to believe in him for their child's sake and reveals her pregnant belly.

THE FEELS ARE REAL!

Then the smashing begins. Klaus doesn't find his key, but we get another visitor. Marcel gets dropped inside and reveals the truth: Vincent is not the one behind this mess but rather Hope is responsible! Are we sure she isn't the villain of the season?

Hope (unseen in the episode) is trying to take back The Hollow and to reunite her family. When Marcel tried to stop her, she threw him inside the chambre as well. Unable to do anything with this information until they get out, the siblings continue to search for the keys to escape.

Elijah is clueless without his memories and asks Klaus about his relationship with Hope after finding a stuffed rabbit - one that he gave her the day she was born. Another flashback with Hayley is initiated!

This one happens during the end of season 1 and Hayley is debating names for her newborn daughter. When she brings up "Katherine" though, Klaus swiftly rejects the name with a "God No!" I enjoyed the "Katherine Pierce" mention immensely. 

Then Klaus brings up Elijah's devastating reaction to Hayley's first death (when she turned into a hybrid) and belittled Klaus on how they have lost "their family's only hope" - one of the most powerful Elijah Mikaelson scenes.

Then Hayley and Klaus mutually agree on the name: Hope Andrea Mikaelson.

I love how Hope's middle name is Hayley's birth name! That is so beautiful and a memorable way to honor the life Hayley was denied in New Orleans. After remembering, Klaus tells Elijah he was the one who gave Hope her name. 

Marcel and Kol are catching up with each other while searching for the key. Marcel asks about Davina, who is not really calling these days. Kol is really happy being with her. He explains to Marcel how he wanted to be a part of the "Always and Forever" so bad until he met Davina.

They find Kol's key in a Shakespeare book, one he gave Hope for her 9th birthday. This is when Marcel figures out the room they're in is the music room. This room didn't exist for a century, so it would be impossible for Hope to replicate on her own.

Only one other person could've seen the room: Freya Mikaelson. Kol showed her the room when she pretended to be his date back in 1914. Klaus confronts his sister, and she admits the truth, explaining how Hope losing both her parents (one dead and one distant) will ultimately ruin her. This is why Freya is helping her.

She leaves the chambre de chasse and takes her lock with her.

Marcel is truly the greatest key finder. He catches up with Rebekah and helps her find the key. Hope hid it with a necklace under the floorboard. A necklace Rebekah gave her as a reminder of her "Crazy Aunt Bex".

This also gives Marcel the chance to tell Rebekah how much he loves her and how he will not die on her unlike Cami or Hayley. But Rebekah isn't worried about getting Marcel killed but destroying him. He tells her that she's doing good job on that right now and leaves the room.

Klaus continues his search and finds a box of letters from Hayley. Another flashback happens! These are too emotional!

Four year flashback. The day Klaus decides to end communication with Hayley and Hope. This is because of what happened in "One Wrong Turn on Bourbon". Klaus insists Hayley is not a Mikaelson and has the chance to escape. But she refuses to give up on him, thus the box of letters she kept sending him.

When he burns the letters, he finds his key in one of them.

Then Marcel and Elijah have an interesting talk about his lack of memories,  which ends with Elijah calling him "Marcellus". A strong indicator on his restored memories, or rather he is deliberately not letting them return to him. This enrages Klaus because of how his lack of memories got Hayley killed.

Memory-less Elijah questions that love and his family because he claims he made them all miserable. Kol reminds him that they all make each other miserable - that's how family is supposed to be! 

Klaus gives another passionate speech about Elijah being his greatest ally, best friend, and brother, and the memory-less version killed him when he failed to save Hayley. He hates him for taking that Elijah away from him forever.

Then Hope does the thing: she starts ripping the fragments of The Hollow out of them. The pieces merge back into one and all four of them collapse.

While this is going on, Marcel goes on the search for the final key. If Marcel wasn't in the chambre de chasse with them, I have a feeling they'd never escape the room. He helped find two of the keys: Rebekah's and Elijah's and aided Kol in finding his. 

Elijah's key ends up being in a coffin filled with snakes. Hope views her Uncle Elijah as death for his role in Hayley's demise and hid his key there. The door opens once all keys are used, and then they're thrown into another maze: Elijah's white corridor.

Kol and Marcel are the first ones to leave the room: The Original Trio remain as Elijah tries to open his Red Door. Klaus tries to leave him, but Rebekah stops him, saying they need to help him get to the other side.

To help Klaus forgive their brother, Rebekah reminds him how angry she felt about Klaus killing their mother. If you hadn't watched The Vampire Diaries, here's a quick reminder: Elena Gilbert exposed the truth about Klaus killing Esther and it broke Rebekah to hear this about her brother.

She tells Klaus that forgiveness isn't easy and that they've all done terrible things, but it is possible to forgive and to never stop fighting for that vow they swore to each other.

With that, Klaus tells Rebekah to leave and promises to bring their brother back.

Klaus stands by his brother and tells him how he died when Hayley died. Then he goes on about Elijah's love for Hayley because she believed in them and fought for them when she could've walked away. He doesn't know who will emerge out of Elijah on the other side, but he can't open the door alone.

They bust through the red door together and the memories flood back into Elijah. All the good memories of Hayley overwhelm him and then he remembers how he left her to die at Greta's hand. His siblings and Marcel watch him get destroyed by the role he played and the love he has. He screams and sobs in agony getting hit with all of it at once!

Even Kol cries for his brother! This was so raw! Daniel Gillies broke all our hearts in that scene!

Klaus fulfills his promise and gives Elijah a vial of his blood to cure Antoinette. Elijah refers to his brother as "Niklaus" and they exchange a look, making his intentions clear. He cures Antoinette out of obligation but ultimately leaves her behind.

Rebekah and Marcel oversee the destruction caused in New Orleans. Rebekah assures Marcel that the city will recover from this, but Marcel isn't too worried about the city, but rather their relationship. He rehashes how they work: he either has her or the city for the past five seasons, but he can't keep bouncing between the two anymore. 

Marcel tells her how great being a vampire is (getting to see history), but Rebekah reveals that is essentially the problem. He chose to become a vampire, but she is forever cursed, never given the choice in the matter. She wants to grow old, to have children, and she knows she can't have those things. 

She doesn't want her sadness about that to ruin him and kisses him goodbye. I hope this is resolved by series' end because Marcel and Rebekah are endgame. They belong with each other and are only separated because Claire Holt isn't a full-time regular! Ahh!

Klaus is angry with Freya about the role she played in all of this and tells her to give him the room. Freya leaves to check on a sleeping Hope, who has The Hollow inside her now, and Klaus finally reads the letters Hayley sent him. 

Elijah, wearing his signature suit and tie, goes out to the bayou to honor Hayley and to give a proper goodbye. 

The family drama was the best part of the hour, but Elijah's memories returning and the tight episode filled with the sibling reunion made this episode one of the best in the season. If not the best episode of the season so far! It dealt with the power of family, loyalty, redemption, forgiveness, and how far these people have gone for one another - especially Hayley and Klaus!

Klaus' grief for Hayley through the flashbacks made this episode horribly heartbreaking and it also showed how much he grew to care about her over the years. How he read her letters and broke down over her words got us grieving with him. 

Even if this is the final appearance of Phoebe Tonkins as Hayley in the season, her presence will be felt in the last remaining episodes as Elijah and Hope will have to work out their own issues and how they both feel responsible for her death. 

Sound off in the comments and share how you're feeling about this amazing episode. Always and Forever... until forever ends. I'm not ready for the show to end.  

Supergirl 3x22 "Make It Reign" Review

Major spoilers are included in this episode review. Read with caution!

The plot continues to falter, but the character arcs are moving strong. Supergirl has a problem with maintaining their plot/story but always succeeded in making relatable characters like Kara, Alex, and Winn.

I have invested in those three characters since the Pilot, but unfortunately this show is called Supergirl and not Super Friends, which would actually strengthen the show than hinder it. Alex, Winn, J'onn, Mon-El, Lena, and Winn are amazing characters, but they are forced to orbit Kara/Supergirl because this is her show.

But this is only the first of many problems that exist in this episode. Let's dive into the specifics here:

The Argo City storyline failed miserably. Kara spent so little time there and it proved only to distract her from seeing the main threat: Selena and her followers arriving on Earth. It felt incredibly rushed, especially the Kara-Alura reunion, and I hope we get to see more of Erica Durance play Alura in the next season.

Side note: I thought the whole Alura hologram trick looked ridiculous. More ridiculous? Winn didn't believe it was actually Kara, but Alex believed right away. It was humorous though how he self-acknowledged his mistake and quickly went to work on the dual portal thing to return to Earth.

The Earth DEO storyline on non-lethal tech is still developing in this episode. Again, another rushed storyline we got only last week. Winn is developing the tech and lets Agent Dimos test out the forcefield belt. This protection helps him fight off the Dark Priestesses, but when all three blast their heat vision, he is unable to survive.

Dimos is a background character. He has sporadically appeared as a foil to Winn for short but memorable scenes, like the episode "In Search of Lost Time" when their negativity toward each other almost got them killed. His death affected Winn the most, and he will probably deal with it for quite a time.

Alex proved herself again in this episode. She is gradually moving to Team Lena with their teamwork on Sam's condition and how she used kryptonite to fend off Selena and her followers. I loved the fight sequences and the way kryptonite was handled against evil kryptonians because... they exist and we need to defend ourselves.

Ruby and Sam were surprisingly moving. I have grown more attached to Ruby than Sam and having both of them together hiding in that invisible shield felt tense. I was scared for their well-being and hoped they wouldn't get found.

M'yrnn and J'onn were doing "The Reach" for a good portion of the episode. Yeah, all the storylines are getting crammed again. This one was an investment and the pay-off was one earned. Saying goodbye to M'yrnn was heartbreaking and his love for Alex was moving.

I'm not sure how I feel about the fantasy/science genres getting smashed into one. Selena claims Reign is religious magic and treats it as such, using her to create a New Krypton on Earth. This sounds familiar (Zod?).

But then Lena claims it's science and that Sam is dying while Reign is thriving. Only one can survive. This leads Sam to go back to the Dark Valley to find something to save herself. I wish the Dark Valley wasn't a real place but something existing inside Sam's mind. It would make more sense that way.

Coville was an interesting character for his religious devotion to Rao and then Reign. I hope the heat vision attack didn't kill him. His return for next season would be wonderful as his potential is worth exploring.

James played virtually no role in this episode except to comfort Winn. They need to fix his character or give him something better to do. I hate seeing such potential wasted like this.

With everyone back on Earth ready to fight, only one question remains: will Supergirl do what needs to be done and kill the World Killer Reign?

Sound off in the comments and share how you think this will all end.

Marvel's Cloak and Dagger 1x02 "Suicide Sprints" Episode Review

Major spoilers are in this episode review. Read with caution!

Welcome to the second half of the two-hour premiere review! If you hadn't read my review on the first half, the link is here.

Let's dive into the second half, episode 2.

Tandy and Tyrone are trying to figure out how they used their powers. But she also has other things to worry about... the man she stabbed in the alley last night. I believe she did the right thing, I mean, he tried to rape her, but it might not seem that way especially since she fled.

Liam is caught up on the situation and tries to locate him. They find out the guy is in the ICU and will wake up at some point. There is also a detective investigating the crime scene.

The two of them need to come up with $10k to get new identities and to fled the city.

Of course, they don't have that kind of cash and try to bargain. Then Tandy tries to get her secret cash funds, but her mother and "boyfriend"/lawyer robbed her and used it to move the Roxxon case forward. This scene is explosive and raw as it shows how far these two have fallen as mother and daughter.

This leads to Tandy and Liam dressing sharp as wedding crashers. 

This was the best part of the episode, or at least the most fun, as we get to see them in action. Tandy spots three potential snags, but the big one they're after is the tip money with the maid of honor. I was impressed with how well she knew the scene, and so was Liam.

He forgot she used to be one of them, and this saddens her, not ready to talk about the past with him. This leads to a sweet dance and another memory glimpse plus a glowing table scene. Like what she did to her mother, she saw his greatest hope: the two of them being happy and married.

Tandy is overwhelmed and runs off into the bathroom. She runs into the maid of honor and has a heartfelt talk about how she's always running away. I enjoyed the scene until Tandy swiped the tip money off her. She and Liam take off in the wedding car too. HOW RUDE!

Let's talk about Tyrone now.

He keeps teleporting but is unable to explain this to the coach or his parents. He missed school and then he missed basketball practice. His team suffers as a result: running suicide sprints. The coach refuses to let him take the punishment and forces Tyrone to watch his team suffer on his behalf.

Tyrone also does suicide sprints after-hours to make up for missing practice. This does not please his team though, who have no faith in Tyrone after punching out that one player. They attack him and lock him inside the locker room. He ends up taking a baseball bat and breaks the door open.

He goes after Connors again with the baseball bat but backs out last minute. Tyrone goes home and talks with his mother again, who is presenting a strong front for her son. Like Tandy, he looks into her mind but instead of hope, he sees worst fear: losing both Billy and Tyrone.

In the closing minutes, Tandy breaks up with Liam to run alone, and he ends up getting arrested by the detective after Tandy. He calls her to bail him out as he has no money left (he gave everything to her), but she turns the music louder and keeps driving out of New Orleans.

At the same time, Tyrone steals his mom's gun and barges into Connors' house. He goes after him with the gun and corners him. As he fires the bullet, his powers activate and teleport him.. in front of Tandy's moving car!!

He shoots into her car and makes her swerve straight into a tree. Her powers light up as the episode ends! What a cliffhanger and an explosive start to the show!

The second half also suffered through uneven pacing, but the mystery of the detective intrigues me and the two main leads are about to interact again. Who is this woman? She will most likely play a bigger role moving forward.

Hopefully, the pace evens out as certain scenes felt out of place or dragged on (the bedroom scenes where they prepare for bed is the prime example). 

I will continue to watch the series, so expect more episode reviews in the future! Thanks for tuning in, people!

Marvel's Cloak and Dagger 1x01 "First Light" Episode Review

Major spoilers are included in this episode review. Read with caution!

When I first heard Cloak and Dagger was going to premiere on Freeform, I had no idea what to expect. The Marvel TV shows usually have rough starts (excluding Netflix and Hulu Originals), so I went in thinking the show would flop like Inhumans.

BUT I WAS PROVEN WRONG!

The show blew me away with its changed setting (overcrowded New York City to New Orleans), mature themes like sexual assault and racism, the changed backgrounds for our main protagonists (Tandy is poor and Tyrone is rich), the chemistry between the two lead characters, and the creative directions they went with those improvements.

I had no knowledge of these comic book superheroes except for their connection to the Runaways, but Olivia Holt's involvement convinced me to give it a shot.

Let's get into what happened in the first half of the episode. 

The opening scene is the background of how Tandy and Tyrone got their powers. 

Tandy is finishing up her ballet lesson and her mother forgets to pick her up. She whips out her cellphone and calls her dad to come get her. Some time passed (OMG she kept practicing in the rain) until her dad came, who is angry with his comapny Roxxon about work.

If you are a committed MCU fan, you probably noticed Roxxon has appeared in other movies too like Iron Man. This will be the first show to feature them as an antagonistic group.

Tyrone is hanging out with his older brother Billy and his friends. Billy sends Tyrone home because he doesn't want him wrapped in their business. Tyrone disobeys and secretly helps his brother by stealing the stereo from the car.

Billy is not happy about this and teaches him some morals, taking him back to return it. The police found them before they can do the right thing, and the two of them race off. Billy tells his brother to hide and surrenders to the police.

However, the police officer (Connors) shoots Billy twice and watches him drop to the water. Tyrone is devastated and jumps in after him.

At the same time, Tandy's father Nathan is driving recklessly in the rain and talks on the phone about something shady. Tandy is gradually getting frightened as the vision gets less and less clear. Then the Roxxon oil rig explodes out in the ocean and distracts Nathan, forcing him off the road and into the ocean.

He dies on impact and then Tandy tries to break free. Then she begins to glow once Tyrone comes near and the opening scene ends there.

Years pass to show where the two characters end up.

Tandy is seducing rich boys to rob them and is living in an abandoned church. She is also addicted to some pills and has a partner in crime (boyfriend) named Liam.

Tyrone is playing basketball and trying to get the ref to call out some penalties. This leads to a physical confrontation between Tyrone and another player who keeps hitting him during the game.

The two of them don't meet until a party in the woods. The chemistry between them is evident and electrifying. She ends up stealing his wallet, and he goes after her. Once they touch each other, their powers activate and Tandy is shaken.

She wonders if he is the boy from the beach. He is confused about this statement but also knows something is wrong. Not willing to face her past yet, Tandy runs off but leaves his wallet behind. Their interactions, the strongest parts of the premiere, are limited, which also makes the pacing uneven as we are drawn into their differences and similarities. 

The rest of the episode keeps them apart. 

Tandy goes back to her house and we get a glimpse of how her life fell apart. After her father's death, Roxxon raided their home and took all his research, not willing to take fault for the accident either. Her mother spiraled and is still trying to make a case against them. 

Then it gets weird. Tandy touches her mother and sees a mesh of hope and memories. Her mother, being loving, was at her ballet practice and so was her father. This overwhelmed both people, which showed how her light powers function. 

She ends up going to a fancy ballet and watches from a different spot. The rich boy finds her because she used the ticket she stole from him. His friends surround her, and then he attacks her, making his friends leave them. 

In a desperate moment, her light becomes a dagger and she stabs him to save herself. Tandy leaves him and is startled by what happened.

Tyrone starts waking up in random places. The first place is the Roxxon rooftop. He is wrapped in his huge blanket that also acts as his cloak. We also learn when Tyrone tried to report the police officer who killed his brother, the police department claimed that officer doesn't exist.

But he does exist! Tyrone finds him and teleports to the back of his car. When Connors opens the back of his car, Tyrone ambushes him and runs off. This leads to him talking to his mother about his brother and how that is still affecting them after all these years.

The episode ends with the aftermath of the opening scene. Young Tandy wakes up next to Young Tyrone and takes his sweater. This goes with the present where it's revealed that she still owns the sweater and wears it for comfort.

Young Tyrone wakes up after Young Tandy is gone and picks up her ballet shoe. He is also seen to have it in his possession in the current day. 

Overall, the show is groundbreaking for what it represents. These kids are not fighting against evil parents or supervillains, but rather the injustices they face as human beings (drugs, sexual assault, racism, etc.). However, the pacing of the episode can get annoying at times especially in the second half of the premiere.

The second half of the two-hour premiere (episode 2 review) will be posted here.

The Originals 5x07 "God's Gonna Trouble the Water" Episode Review

WARNING! Major spoilers are in this episode review. Caution! 

Last week's episode was a brutal one. If you haven't read my review of it yet, the link is here. Read it and come back here. It's worth the trouble.

This is the aftermath of that rushed brutality. We all had a week to process what happened and how it happened. I'm still not okay with it. I understand the death and how it will propel things in another direction, but the way it was handled felt off.

Hayley Marshall deserved better. She had a one-night stand with Klaus, raised a child, and joined a family that promised "Always and Forever" until forever ends. It ended for her when she saved Hope and Klaus - her family. She sacrificed her life to keep them safe, but I think it could've been built up better. 

Klaus is troubled and knows he must leave New Orleans before Hope arrives for the funeral. But then a letter drops in magically and we get a special Klaroline moment before the dark stuff happens. Caroline is unable to come to the funeral but offers Klaus support and to remind him that she is only phone call away.

I love how much these two have grown with each other. Caroline loves his family and has grown considerable close to Klaus over the last few years. It's implied she has bonds with other members too like Hayley, Rebekah, and Hope. I can't wait until Caroline pops up again near the end of the season.

But let's get into how Hope is handling her mother's death.

Not well. 

She needs her father but because of the dark magic (The Hollow), it's preventing them from getting close. Klaus has requested Ivy to do an astral projection spell so he can be there for the funeral and to comfort his daughter.

The other Mikaelsons (Kol and Rebekah) are mentioned but are staying away because the more of them joined, the more chaos they bring. However, one Mikaelson forgot and dropped in for a visit to pay his respects... for the wrong person (Greta).

This causes problems because Klaus and Elijah aren't supposed to be this close. After Elijah and Antoinette meet with Greta's followers, Klaus ambushes them and takes them outside the city to rot in a jail cell. He snaps Elijah's neck and then gives Antoinette a nasty werewolf bite.

Elijah begs Klaus to save Antoinette's life and offers the one thing he has: himself. He is willing to let Marcel and Vincent restore his memories in exchange for the cure. Klaus refuses his offer and hangs up the phone. This doesn't stop Elijah, who somehow still has the phone.

He dials for Marcel and Vincent, who accept the terms. They figure it'll take some time for Klaus to forgive Elijah, and with his memories restored, he will take Greta's followers with him out of New Orleans. That is some hopeful thinking.

Ivy and her ecstatic performance shined in this episode. She reveals the brand new prophecy promising the death of all first-born witches (herself, Freya, Hope, and countless others) if the Mikaelsons continue meeting with each other. She shares this information with Vincent and then with Klaus. 

Klaus is horrified and is unprepared when he eventually astral projects to his daughter. She tells him to go away, hating him for not being there for her. Klaus also hates the situation and carves Hayley's name into a tree alongside Jackson and Mary (RIP).

This is an emotional scene. I was not prepared for the "little wolf" nickname to surface. Her death may have been a mistake, but her farewell episode (this one) was going strong. He shared his hopes and dreams for their daughter and how he wished he could rely on her advice

I teared up a little thinking back on how these two characters went from a one-night-stand to two parents raising a beautiful daughter, who is getting her own spin-off. He wants her to grow up, to achieve her dreams... you know, like any other parent would hope for their child.

But Hope isn't ready to hear any of this from her father yet.

Hope is still distraught about the funeral disaster. None of Hayley's friends came (Marcel and Vincent), all the people on the streets were strangers, Declan wasn't informed, and then a bunch of Greta's followers attacked the scene, interrupting the grieving.

Hope blows up one of the vans and the others escape. Freya is knocked to the side when she tries to stop Hope. Klaus, in astral form, arrives too late to do anything about it.

Freya is in pain too. She doesn't know how to comfort Hope and is in need of comfort herself. She also misses Keelin and struggles without her around.

Marcel and Vincent go meet Elijah and bring a vial of Klaus' blood. They prepare the spell and begin to restore his memories. Elijah starts hearing his memories through the doors until he encounters the red one - the one with his most horrific memories on the other side.

He is too scared to let it all come back and it threatens to destroy him. He is overwhelmed, fighting off Marcel's compulsion, and gets knocked out. Marcel and Vincent leave, promising to give Antoinette the cure if he wakes up with his memories intact.

Freya calls Klaus and tells him about what Marcel and Vincent did. He is furious because he believes he already lost Elijah. He wanted to spare his brother the pain of letting Hayley die and if he got those memories back, it would destroy him. Either way, their Elijah is gone.

Despite the warnings, Klaus arrived in-person for the werewolf ceremony for Hayley and held his daughter's hand. Keelin also showed up and reunited with Freya. They are too good! I'm so glad they're back together.

The chaos starts happening and everyone evacuates except father and daughter. Klaus and Hope share "I love yous", finding their situation impossible. Hope swears to find a spell or something to free their family, to save "Always and Forever", and Klaus hopes she finds it someday before speeding away.

The episode ends with Klaus and Elijah getting trapped somewhere. More accurately, their minds have been put somewhere else. Elijah is still memory-less and it looks like they will be forced to work together to escape wherever they've been transported to.

These episodes are starting to look amazing. Next week we're getting the entire Mikaelson Family and hopefully Elijah will finally face his memories head-on and the guilt that will inevitably come for him.

Comment and share your thoughts. I'd love to hear them.

The 100 5x06 "Exit Wounds" Review

Major Spoilers in this episode review. Read with caution!

The show went on a week break and now it's about to embark on another one? This irks me. Next episode airs June 19.

While the plot did little movement, a lot of character dynamics were established or rehashed to give the audience a good sense of where everyone is or isn't after the time jump. Octavia hates Echo, Bellamy doesn't recognize his sister, Murphy/Emori are not in a good place, and Clarke's relationship with Madi is tested.

Let's get into what all that means.

Everyone got separated again! 

The 100 crew was back together for a hot minute, but this time jump really messed things up in the character dynamics. This is what went down in the episode essentially:

1. Emori helped Murphy and talked about their relationship.
2. Clarke tries to hide the truth about Madi (unsuccessful) from Octavia, Nyla, and Gaia
3. Bellamy tries to reason with Octavia about Echo
4. Diyoza/Kane offers Wonkru a chance to abandon Octavia and come to the Valley.

My favorite part (bias is here) is the Emori and Murphy of the hour. They are given the least attention (besides Diyoza herself) but have some emotional beats going off in Emori. She explains to Murphy how she found community in Raven's mentoring, but all he did was punish her for figuring out herself.

This is why Emori broke up with Murphy during the time jump. She guesses correctly that he only did that because he was jealous of the attention he wasn't, and they begin to make amends. They would've have sex if McCreary didn't survive the trap they laid out for the Prisoners hunting them.

The "couple" take him hostage, which will work because he is the most mysterious/interesting character in the antagonist group. McCreary being sick and a potential power-player is what makes him incredibly dangerous but also equally entertaining to watch.

Clarke is more concerned about Madi than anything else going on. Her priorities have shifted because she has grown a motherly bond with the child. While Madi wants to believe in the Octavia she heard about in the stories (Girl living in the floors), Clarke has to tell Madi they cannot trust her.

Madi is a true nightblood, not an artificial one like Clarke. If Octavia knew the truth about Madi, she would see it as a threat to her reign as Blodreina. Matters get worse when Nyla and Gaia get involved. Nyla wants Clarke to reveal the truth to Octavia because she believes in Wonkru, but Gaia is insistent on keeping the flame alive.

Gaia is not a true believer of Wonkru and is still committed to her original mission: to protect the nightblood and to protect the flame - the spirit of the commander. She even tries to kill Nyla, but Clarke stops her out of loyalty. 

This causes an uneasy trust/distrust between Clarke and Nyla. The time jump changed Nyla, who was always committed to Clarke under the most distressing situations. Nyla hopes Octavia will spare Madi once the truth is out but cannot guarantee it.

In the end, Madi took matters into her own hands and confesses to Octavia the truth. Clarke tries to stop her, but it's too late. Octavia welcomes Madi into Wonkru and begins her training. This was a horrible decision on Madi's part, and now it'll become even more difficult for Clarke to protect her.

Octavia does have sympathy for Madi though - both girls being forced to hide for being themselves. I enjoy the parallelism between them, and Madi's admiration may stem from that one strong commodity. However, this may not be enough to stop Octavia from one day killing the girl to keep her leadership strong.

Bellamy is really beginning to see how everyone truly changed: specifically Octavia and Clarke. He is begging his sister to spare Echo and to give her a chance to join Wonkru. He even sword-fought her to convince Octavia, but despite besting her, she would not be swayed easily. Love is a weakness.

Bellamy's love story with Echo is really well-done in my opinion. I wish it really started back when they met in those cages because their chemistry was on fire at time.

It's still blazing when they initiated a love scene right before she went to take Diyoza's offer to go undercover for Octavia. Two love scenes in one episode? The 100 is not messing around.

Kane and Diyoza are playing Octavia perfectly. He is the perfect traitor for Octavia to oppose, and I love how Diyoza barely appeared yet her presence is felt throughout the entire episode with her offer and how that is affecting Wonkru.

Blodreina's leadership over them is faltering.

Echo's interactions with the Wonkru couple also reveal how much we don't know about the bunker's dark days. There is a lot of undisclosed information and that is enough to give Echo her conscience. She will not rat out the people who want to leave, but that doesn't stop Octavia from taking action.

She orders Kara to shoot down anyone who tries to board Diyoza's ship but only enough of them to show Diyoza that she didn't simply let her people go. In a way, Octavia gave Echo and the others a fighting chance to survive. How far has Octavia fallen?

Bellamy thinks Octavia killed her own people, but she believes she simply executed traitors.

Monty's one-role in the episode was to hack Diyoza's computers but it can only be done on the inside with Raven's help. This is where Echo's role comes into play. Monty crafts a device attached to her wristband to give Raven for the hacking.

While everyone was getting searched, Echo cleverly hid the device inside her friend's bullet wound - the one she received getting on board. Wow that sick in the awesome definition and the actually "ew" sick way too. I loved that scene exists. It was so creative, but it caused her friend obvious comfort. She literally took one for the team.

I'm surprised Kane turned into a real ally to Diyoza. When he helped the Wonkru people who came aboard the ship, he appeared genuinely on her side. He didn't get enough screentime for a good sense of his emotional motives, but I'm sure he'll hold regrets later for siding with the enemy. Octavia didn't give him much choice, but this is still a pretty low blow.

I'll see ya in two weeks for the next episode. If one more break happens after this one... I swear... I do not enjoy hiatuses. They break the natural flow of the episodes for me.

Supergirl 3x21 "Not Kansas" Review

Major spoilers for the latest episode in this review. Caution! 

I had to take a minute to process what happened in the latest episode. The trailer is incredibly misleading for starters. I knew this going in though, like come on... no way Kara is gonna just leave National City with Reign on the loose.

But this episode picks up where we left off in last week's episode. Supergirl and Mon-El are having a hard time taking down Reign for some reason. Lena is going like super-scientist on the mystery rock, which is allegedly black kryptonite, and is able to create the cure in the nick of time. The syringe SOMEHOW PIERCES Reign's flesh, and she returns to Sam. 

All this happened in the first few minutes of the episode. The threat of Reign is over in a hurried manner so we can get to what the episode is actually about:

1. Kara and Mon-El going to Argo City
2. Gun Control

I really wish the show didn't cram these two plot lines this into one episode. They could've easily save the gun control stuff for another time because it felt tight in contrast with Kara going home.

Yes. Gun control is a serious topic and it starts a conversation. I understand that, but it appeared Supergirl was trying to shove it down our throats. Especially when the show went one direction without addressing the other side's opinion.

The Arrow did a fantastic job on the gun control issue episode (Arrow 5x13 "Spectre of the Gun") when they presented both arguments in the form of Rene and Curtis. I'll post the YouTube video below for those who do not watch that part of the Arrowverse.

The scene is a good one. I enjoyed their honest conversation. But back to the review:

J'onn and James did well in this episode when it came to the criminal who used a DEO weapon. I'm not sure I agree with how J'onn decides to use non-lethal weaponry moving forward. First they get rid of kryptonite and now their guns? I'm with the DEO agent who walked out and complained about defending themselves.

How will you protect people? Especially from aliens and... I mean, aliens are a serious thing.

Supergirl tackled the issue overall in a good way, which is a great thing to do, but just not in an episode where Kara bonds with her mom Alura (Erica Durance) and childhood best friend.

This is an important aspect of Supergirl's mythology and to have it rushed close to the end of the season bothered me immensely. 

Erica Durance is a wonderful actress, but her limited presence in this episode hindered what should've been an emotional punch in the gut. Instead, we got Karamel, the readdressing of Kara and Mon-El. Will they get together or not?

Do we honestly care at this point? Several times I have wished he would just leave. Nothing against the actor, I love him as Kai on The Vampire Diaries, but their relationship was also a distraction to the Argo City storyline.

I found myself getting frustrated ... in the end, it became about how Kara is more human than she realizes, and how right she is about someone stalking her. Selena, the dark priestess of Reign, stole Kara's spaceship and met with Thomas Coville to enact a mysterious endgame.

Oh yeah... Sam is not completely cured. She froze in place when Selena made her arrival.

There are other small things going on here too:

1. Lena hires Eve Teschmacher as a fellow scientist (I know right!) and discovers the rock is a scientific breakthrough.
2. J'onn has to prepare for "The Reach" with his father because his time is near. Damn it!
3. Alex wants to adopt a child after her experience with Ruby. YAY!

My support for Supergirl ended when I finished the episode. I thought it was on a roll for the second half but this one decided to fly off the handle. The last two episodes might make up for it, but we will just have to wait and see.

Question? Why didn't Kara call Superman when she discovered part of their home planet was alive? I think that would be pivotal information to learn. I guess she forgot. 

13 Reasons Why Netflix Original Season Two Review

Major-heavy spoilers are inside this season review. Warning! Read with Caution!

A couple weeks ago, I finished season two of 13 Reasons Why. It somehow sparked more controversy than the first season. It appeared to have learned its lesson by giving viewers a warning and a small talk about topics like depression, bullying, suicide, etc. I had hopes this second season would correct a lot of what triggered people in its first run.

I was clearly wrong. Plus the storytelling had a lot of flaws to go along with that.

This tends to happen when shows run out of source material. As the first season essentially captured the novel to its core, it was hard to tell where the show would go beyond the trial and Alex's attempted suicide.

Hannah Baker continued to have a presence in flashbacks and as Clay's hallucination. Katherine Langford is an amazing actress and played Hannah Baker beautifully in the first season, but she could only do so much with her character in this current season. In my opinion, Hannah's story was told and completed in the first season, so her continuation felt off.

Her presence was honestly not needed beyond the flashbacks, and in fact, her hallucination proved more distracting than anything else. I worried for Clay's psyche when he began to see his former love and how he refused to tell anyone about it. 

Clay also proved phenomenal in the season in his interactions with girlfriend Skye and enemy/friend/brother Justin, but the focus rightfully drifted from him and onto the more interesting characters like: Alex, Tyler, Zach, Jessica, and Bryce.

I viewed Alex as the main protagonist of season two and applauded his journey. He went through the most change and suffered a lot for what he did in the last season. He lost his memory and reverted to a pre-season one personality. The guy also changed his hair, a plot device to differentiate between flashback Alex and present Alex.

Zach had a great redemption arc this season. He helped Alex with his physical therapy, finally stood up to Bryce in the end, dealt with his guilt involving Hannah, and led Clay to The Clubhouse using the photographs. He is my favorite character and his unexpected love story with Hannah was so sweet and perfect, it almost made me wish they worked out in the end.

Addison Montgomery - I mean Olivia Baker - played the guilt-ridden mother so well. The way she recounts all the flashbacks with her daughter hit strong emotional beats. If she treated Hannah differently, if she just told her daughter she looked beautiful instead of pointing out the small flaws, maybe things would've turned out differently. All what-if questions that circled inside her head. In the end, she decided to live for her daughter and go to New York in her place.

Tony went through his own problems this season. He revealed the reason he helped Hannah with the tapes: he owed her for what she did for him. She hid him when the police came looking for him, and I found this endearing. This was the moment she used to get him to orchestrate the events of the first season.

We didn't get much of him beyond helping out Clay with Justin's drug problems and his romance with the trainer. He is always assisting Helmet with whatever he needs. He drove a getaway car for Tyler after all per Clay's request. Whatever problem Clay gets himself in, the first thing he usually does is call Tony.

Bromance is too strong.

Jessica was the MVP of the season.

She stood up for herself, learned how to control her story, maintained an interesting dynamic with Bryce's current girlfriend Chloe, and represented Hannah for what Bryce did to them. Her friendship with Nina helped bring to light about the topic of sexual assault and the #MeToo montage with all the female characters was also a good way to start a conversation.

I thought her character development was going great until the last episode of the series. I'm not sure how to feel about Jessica and Justin getting together in the locker rooms right after Alex kissed her.

I'm glad they didn't make Bryce a sympathetic character. He is designed for hatred. Even his own mother hates him for what he did to Hannah. When she slapped him, it felt right. He has no respect for anyone and only cares about himself, knowing what he did was wrong. The twist with him and Chloe was interesting... how he attacked her too and the pregnancy. 

It explained why she backed out of her testimony last minute. Chloe is scared of Bryce and raising a child on her own. We will have to wait and see how this plays out in the next season, if this show gets another season.

They most likely will get another season.

Tyler went through an interesting arc when he made friends with Cyrus and his sister. A friendship that went sour when he dated his sister, and then their pranks against the popular go too far. He also went through a horrible, graphic, sexual assault in the bathroom.

That one scene pushed it too far.

Monty became the true villain when he did that. And how the hell did the school not notice something went wrong? The sink was smashed, the mope had blood, bathroom stall door broke, and water was everywhere. I'm not saying the school should jump to sexual assault, but they should've known something bad happened. 

This course of action made Tyler think he had to pack up his arsenal and attack the school with some violence. I was so relieved he didn't go through with it. After all the recent school shootings lately, it would've been unwise to show one right at the end of the season. 

BUT CLAY SHOULD'VE CALLED THE POLICE. I hated how he talked everyone down from doing the right thing to preserve Tyler's life. He endangered everyone on the off-chance that he could convince Tyler to spare all the innocent people. The season ends with the police coming anyway with Clay holding a shotgun with Jessica and Justin by his side.

Those are the main takeaways I got from season two. I didn't even mention Marcus, Courtney, Ryan, Mr. Porter, the unethical Baseball Coach, and Sheri, but they played minor roles compared to the major players in my opinion.

Comment and share how we're feeling about the controversial season two. Do we want a season three? I'm intrigued but wouldn't get mad if they didn't renew.

Deadpool 2 Movie Review

Major spoilers are included in this movie review. Read with caution! You've been warned!

Hi there. Welcome to my second movie review. I am so happy to share with you my insights on this beautiful movie and to also share my love for the Merc with a Mouth: Wade Wilson/Deadpool. Let me say this before anything else: if you loved Deadpool 1, you'll love Deadpool 2.

It has more cameos, more jokes, more action, (lol) more characters, and even more controversy known as Fridging. While OG characters from the first movie are sidelined in the second half (Colossus, Negasonic insert rest here, Blind Al, Taxi Driver Dopinder, Weasel, and Vanessa), we are introduced to new characters (Cable, Domino, and Russell) and the X-Force. 

Ryan Reynolds plays the anti-hero with such style that it's hard to believe anyone else could possibly take up the mantle. Reynolds doesn't play Deadpool... Deadpool plays Reynolds.

While the first movie had a more basic love story, this sequel focuses more on a complicated "f-word" known as family and how Deadpool starts seeing what he has instead of what he lost. After Vanessa gets fridged in the first part of the movie, Wade goes into a sad spiral and wants to die to reunite with her.

I had mixed feelings about Vanessa's death to propel the movie forward into the fun second part. I felt she could've just broke up with him and the same effect could've paid off, especially if she was going to come back to life in the end (stay for post-credit scenes, they're hilarious).

Then again, the movie would've needed to find another creative outlet for the afterlife scenes. I did enjoy those for the most part. 

Cable, Russell, and Domino are amazing additions to the movie.

Russell surprised me for how big of a role he played... Deadpool views the kid as his second chance to do the right thing and thinks it's his answer to finally getting together with Vanessa in the afterlife. I loved Julian Dennison's performance and his stabs at the Studios for not casting plus-sized superheroes. We deserve role-models too! 

Cable, played by Josh Brolin, plays an antagonist for most of the film until Russell enlists the Juggernaut's help. This was a twist I hadn't expected, but this villain forces everyone to work together for the final part of the movie. We didn't get much of his background in this film, but we'll probably get more in future films.

An X-Force movie is approaching.

Speaking of that team, what a way to dismantle the entire squad in one go. The trailers teased us for months on their appearance and then they all die horribly because of a wind advisory warning. Poor Peter... Cable didn't even need to lift a finger against them.

Domino (Zazie Beetz) is a joy to watch and her dynamic with Deadpool was fantastic. When she carried him like a backpack (lol)... I'm glad she was the one who survived the X-Force massacre. She had a small connection to the overall plot, which makes her presence even more amusing based on her luck power.

One more thing I want to mention: the Queerness of it all. The Deadpool/Colossus bromance... let's call it what it is... romance! Colossus plays a good foil to the foul-mouthed Deadpool, and I'm glad they played out their story the way they did.

This also went hand in hand with Negasonic name-too-long and Yukio. Such a cute couple who contributed a good running gag (Hi Wade! - Hi Yukio!). This is such an easy way to include Queer characters and their romances without dragging the plot down. I hear "not contributing to the plot" is the main excuse for excluding LGBT but when did hetero-centric relationships contribute to the plot? Especially superhero plots?

Let's look into my Avengers Infinity War movie review and see if I mentioned how the Tony/Pepper romance was so essential to the plot it needed to be included.

Oh right... I didn't.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie for what it was. It had a lot of references to other properties, so strangely, you needed to go in with a lot of knowledge to catch them all. And if you hadn't watched Logan, I'm sorry if the beginning of the movie spoiled how Wolverine died. 

I liked the sequel better than the original, but I know a bunch of people prefer the original Deadpool movie. Comment and share how we're feeling about the latest superhero movie.

Next superhero movie coming in July: Ant Man and The Wasp!