Grey's Anatomy 15x02 "Broken Together" Episode Review

Major Spoilers are involved in this review.

Part two of the two-hour premiere is here! If you hadn’t read my review on part one, click here.

Picking where we left off in the first episode of the 15th episode, Meredith is continuing to have her dreams about DeLuca and the Ortho God Link. Can we not have Meredith hook up with this man please? I think I’m going to puke if this happens outside her dreams.

Meredith wakes up to find Maggie and a whole lot of milk in the fridge. Maggie had to get milk after Jackson impulsively proposed without even saying “I love you” yet. I think they’re trying to change Jackson into an “April” character who finds his faith. Now I really wish April was here on the show to witness this development unfold.

Amelia also comes to the house after having her big moment with Owen interrupted by their adoptive children. Yes, this is a weird situation they have going on.

Alex and Jo, for the sake of keeping them on the show, return to GreySloan to get jobs. Jo has a major breakthrough and wants to stay at the hospital as a fellow to work on it with Meredith. This surges Meredith to talk Bailey into creating a fellowship, but Bailey has no money to invest for it. Instead, she bought a “moon spa”… which makes the situation grave for Jo who declined the job in Boston. crap….

Speaking of the “Moon Spa”, Jackson wants to put Neesha (bike girl) in the machine and convinces Bailey to let him do it. He and Glasses operate on Neesha while they talk about his half-assed proposal. What. The. Hell.

Unfortunately, Neesha crashed and even with Dr. Link’s help outside the chamber, she didn’t survive the operation. This crushes Jackson, but it helps him move forward with Maggie and a start to him dealing with all of his recent issues (PTSD). They also confess their love for one another.

Also Owen and Amelia are officially back together!! Teddy is going to mess that up with her pregnancy. This will be one hell of a love triangle.

Miranda Bailey has also decided to give Jo a fellowship under her leadership, essentially stealing Jo Karev away from Meredith. Then the final twist of interim chief… Alex Karev has been chosen because he is technically quit and didn’t have an opening for him… this is like Mark Sloan being chief… I’m already loving it!

Comment if you wanna discuss or have theories… I’m open to hearing them all!

What a beautiful day to save lives!

Grey's Anatomy 15x01 "With a Wonder and Wild Desire" Episode Review

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

Yes! I have finally gotten the time to write this episode review. The second part of the two-hour premiere will be posted right after this one. This post will only cover the first half of the premiere as it is technically the first episode. Got it? Good. Let’s go into this.

This picks up the following day after the season 14 finale.

The episode opened with a vivid sex dream. Meredith Grey was getting it on with Andrew DeLuca, then Jackson Avery (ew!), and finally Koracick. I think she’s starting to get lonely.

Jackson, Maggie, and DeLuca walk to work. DeLuca is somewhat tired and embarrassed that he kissed Meredith Grey, then he saves Jackson and Maggie from getting hit by a car. The bicycle girl was not lucky.

Jackson starts to believe in the bigger meaning… I really wish April was still on the show for this revelation. He does everything in his power to keep her alive, but I’m jumping ahead of myself. They take bicycle girl to GreySloan and we meet the new hired “Ortho God” — Dr. Link and his sidekick, Dr. Nico Kim.

I think Dr. Link is an okay character… no Callie Torres, but Dr. Nico Kim is flirty with Dr. Glasses. This adds a new level of fun for Dr. Glasses, who drops things and flinches whenever Nico winks at him. Please make them a couple or something… I see the potential!

Teddy has a change of heart about interim chief after learning about Owen and Amelia’s bizarre situation. She tells Bailey that she is leaving again and then runs into the weird couple and their new child. Teddy excuses herself and then runs into Casey Parker, who is roped into her situation, who then ropes Maggie.

Bottom line: sworn to secrecy about Owen being the father of her child.

DeLuca is the MVP of the episode, literally saving the doctors from certain death. During surgery, Roy is caught on fire but DeLuca manages to save him from getting too hurt. This doctor was about to call in sick too… wow.

Alex and Jo are relaxing on their honeymoon. Then Jo decides to work during their vacation and has a major breakthrough about the future of medicine.

My favorite part of the episode is Amelia confessing what she wants to Owen. I was in shock that she admitted how much she loved Owen and how she will not fight Teddy for him, but she had to let him know where she stood. Then they kiss and my heart rejoiced in their rekindled romance that we saw coming from 3,000 miles away.

Part two is here.

American Horror Story: Apocalypse 8x03 "Forbidden Fruit" Episode Review

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

I am excited to write this episode review! Hey fellow fans of this twisted series! Here’s a quick explanation on why I didn’t write episode reviews of the last two episodes: they didn’t feel like crossover episodes beside Michael Langdon and Rubber Suit. They were nice, but I didn’t have any enough interest to write the reviews.

BUT THIS EPISODE GOT ME IN A WRITING MOOD!

We got more information on our more intriguing characters like Michael, the robot Mead, and Mallory. I realized their names all started with the letter “M'“. Let’s call them the Three M’s for the purpose of this review.

Mallory is a witch or demon. There. I said it. The scene between Michael and Mallory was super unexpected. I couldn’t believe all that “demon-face” and hissing happened. Supernatural forces are at work in this Outpost! Who or what the hell is Mallory? Theories are centered around her being Zoe Benson, the witch from the Coven season.

Let’s talk about the return of Cordelia, Madison, and Myrtle. These three witches arriving at the bunker in the aftermath of the “apple” massacre was the greatest part of the episode. It took the entire Apocalypse cast to die, but it was worth it. They, or rather Cordelia, resurrected their “fallen sisters” Mallory, Coco, and Dinah from the dead.

Then Madison dropped her most infamous line: “Surprise bitch!” oh how I enjoyed her saying it. But then I questioned the meaning within the context of the episode. Have Madison and Mallory met? Which brings us back to the whole “Zoe is possessing Mallory” theory.

Michael is going to have his hands full facing off against the Coven and their Supreme. He is also taken back by Mallory’s powers and may have tried to decimate the witches before the world ended. He also revealed Mead is based on the only woman who ever loved him…

OMG is Constance coming back or living through Mead? I’m too excited about all of this!

Anyway, rest in peace Apocalypse cast, I was only ever here for the Murder House/Coven crossover stuff anyway. Next week’s episode is going to be so good! Yes!

This is Us 3x01 "Nine Bucks" Episode Review

Welcome back to the world of crying because you have a heart. This is Us returned Tuesday night and instead of giving us concrete answers, they developed two mysteries in the distant past and the far away future. Let’s talk about the present first!

The Pearson Siblings (The Big 3) turned 38 years old in this season premiere. Two years have passed for them since the pilot episode, and Randall’s first meeting of his biological father, William. It feels like forever ago, but two years it is. I’m crying already…

In the aftermath of Deja’s attack on that poor defenseless car, Randall and Beth had not attempted to talk to her about it. Randal decides to connect with her through their adoptive backgrounds, but Deja gives it to him straight: they are not the same.

Her father didn’t want her and her mother didn’t want her either. They made choices that she had no control over. As Randall put it, “it was lame of [him] to say they were the same”.

This is because of the unspoken pain she has over her biological father. She decides to confront him at the store he works at and afterwards, makes a real choice for herself to move on with the Pearsons. Deja is getting formally adopted.

Beth and Kevin also have a real conversation over her cousin, Zoe. She provided the comedy of the hour with her strong belief that those two were “knocking boots”. Beth catches on quickly and has a blowout with Zoe before confronting Kevin.

I loved this talk they had. Beth admits for the first time since the show started that she does indeed love Kevin. Beth never admits because she’ll lose her coolness, but it’s been said. She doesn’t want Kevin to get hurt because Zoe has proven to have hurt men in the past (man-eater), which is crazy because of her obvious disdain for Kevin during this entire show. The relationship between Zoe and Kevin is rocky from there, but we got good insight on the in-laws’ bond.

Toby and Kate are trying to have a baby through vitro fertilization. He ends up dumping his anti-depressant pills to help better their chances of having a child. However, we already know this leads to him going through his depression again. It also shows he may no longer be with Kate in the future, which is an excellent addition to the “her” mystery. Who is “her”?

More importantly… WHO IS “he”? The past gives us a deeper look into Jack and Rebecca’s first date, which does not go well despite them being a “super couple”. He only has nine bucks to his name and makes the date worse by not disclosing his problems.

Rebecca, against her better judgment, decides to give him a second chance when they kiss in the car, and have a good heart to heart about his struggles after the war. However, this second chance is apparently destroyed when an unknown character shows up at her doorstep and starts kissing her. Jack sees this and drives away the following morning.

WHAT IS GOING ON?

Not exactly a “super crying” episode. I did shed a few tears, but that’s because I know the pain and suffering is just starting. Overall, an excellent start to a “dark” season. I can already tell we’re going down a path of tragedy that we can’t escape from. Once we learn who “her” is, no matter who it is, hearts are getting broken.

Moon Called Book Review

Welcome to my second book review!

I intended to do more book reviews when I started my blog, but things didn’t go as planned. My reading schedule went to hell about two months ago when I overwhelmed myself by reading three books at the same time, including this one, and then my short break turned into a hiatus.

When I bought another book this past week, I realized I had to go backwards and picked back up Moon Called (2006) by Patricia Briggs. Two months ago, I was at the halfway point of the book, but retained my knowledge of the first half.

Having a day off from work, I powered through the second half and finished this afternoon.

The story revolves around Mercedes Thompson, a coyote shape-shifter, who works as an auto mechanic in the Tri-Cities area of Washington. It is urban fantasy and the first book of the “Mercy Thompson series”. I have the next two books too and will likely buy the entire series as I progress through them.

In this first book, Mercedes “Mercy” Thompson is roped into a mystery surrounding a new werewolf named Mac, who is murdered, and the subsequent attack on the local Alpha Werewolf Adam, who was taking the young boy under his care.

This was a well-crafted mystery, but I ended up not liking how everything resolved. There were a couple of red herrings to throw us off as readers, but the end result was not satisfying, but the characters are definitely worth investing in.

The werewolf society is structured fairly well, and it is clear that Briggs did extensive research into pack laws, norms, and behavioral patterns. This was the main reason the book came my way. A good friend of mine recommended it during one of our writing group sessions to help better my writing on werewolves. This ended up being the best part of the book.

Strangely, the one part I didn’t like about the book was the “vampire chapter”. It was too predictable and none of the vampires were interesting characters except Stefan.

On that note, I enjoyed that there is another vampire named Stefan in this book series with a Scooby-Doo designed van. I just keep picturing Stefan Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries, ignoring the physical description Briggs wrote.

The pacing was good with no boring moments, characters were compelling, and Mercy is a great protagonist. She does not take crap from anyone and ends up in a developing love triangle by the book’s end. Yay for love triangles!

I’d recommend it if you’re into werewolf lore and want to learn more about them.

The Dragon Prince Netflix Original Season 1 Review

Mild Spoilers are included in this review. Read with Caution.

I finished the short first season over the weekend. It was only 9 twenty-minute episodes and by the end, I can honestly say it was worth watching. It was funny, action-packed with compelling characters, and the animation was beautifully layered. Although some of the scenes do not look the best, especially in the earlier episodes. The animation budget clearly went to the fight scenes because all of them look amazing.

While a worthy Avatar: The Last Airbender successor, it is definitely not as good. However, it has the potential to become something amazing in its own right. But it is hard to ignore the strong similarities between the two shows as both were created by the same head writer Aaron Ehasz.

The story is set in a world called Xadia. Humans and elves are at war with each other because the humans used dark magic to kill the Dragon King and his egg known as the Dragon Prince. The main characters: Ezran, Callum, and Rayla discover that the egg was not destroyed but stolen by the humans, setting them on a quest to return the Dragon Prince to its mother and stop the war.

The first three episodes (1/3 of the season) centers on setting up the world, characters, and the story. The prologue section of the first episode established the conflict, the elements of magic, and how it affects our current set of characters: Callum, Ezran, Bait (the animal companion) and Rayla.

Callum (Jack DeSena) is essentially Sokka from Avatar. Sharing the same voice actor definitely strengthens my assessment. The guy fires inappropriate jokes left and right, has insecurities about his abilities (HE IS A MAGE!), and makes the battle plans (light, zap, slash). He is the older step-brother of Ezran and the step-prince of Katolis, one of the human kingdoms.

Ezran is the innocent child of the series, the “true” heir to the throne, and the one who bonds with Rayla the most, the moonshadow elf assassin who has never taken a life. This friendship is at the heart of Rayla’s journey who took a magical bind to take the young prince’s life before they met. Seeing this contrasted with her growing trust in them was a truly satisfying arc.

Rayla is the most compelling character out of the three. She is a warrior and every fight sequence with her is badass to say the least. Her dynamic with Callum is also entertaining whenever he breaks the tension with his “Sokka humor”.

The human villains: siblings Claudia and Soren are also in the humor department. While villainous, they are also complex characters unlike their father Lord Viren, who is a combination of LittleFinger and the Night King from Game of Thrones. The latter character is toward the end of the season.

This show also has a lot of similarities to Game of Thrones. I mean, the king even declares “winter is coming” in the first episode.

The racial tension between humans and elves is also made evident whenever Rayla encounters any other human besides Callum and Ezran, and in the way everyone talks about elves. There is good diversity in the series as well, with everyone having distinct skin tones.

The adult characters in the first three episodes (looking at King Harrow and Lord Viren scenes) can sometimes dig too deep into the exposition, but the writers do somewhat of a good job of inserting humor into those scenes to make it a bit lighthearted. I loved King Harrow hating on Lord Viren for using “dark magic” to solve the problems caused by “dark magic”.

But this problem essentially goes away after the focus goes back on the main trio.

The cliffhanger at the end is too good! These writers had the utmost confidence that Netflix will renew this series for a second season. I hope the second season gets more episodes, maybe not like twenty-ish episodes, but more around 10-13 range would be appropriate.

Overall, I enjoyed this series, Avatar is better, but the show has the potential to reach the same level that Avatar did if it keeps doing what it’s doing.

Crazy Rich Asians Movie Review

Sorry for the lack of blog posts in the last few weeks, I had a lot going on during the latter half of August, but I have returned to deliver a movie review! 

Crazy Rich Asians premiered on August 15th and had the pleasure of seeing it twice. Once on opening day and then again a week later. The romantic-comedy film was filled with fireworks, drama, a colorful setting, and literally full of Asians. It was a masterpiece and the first film to have an all-star Asian cast since The Joy Luck Club back in 1993.

The story is about Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) traveling with her boyfriend Nick Young (Henry Golding) to meet his family for an upcoming wedding in Singapore. Once she arrives, she discovers Nick and his family is one of the richest families there.

Based on Kevin Kwan's first book, it delivered on the major plot points that I enjoyed while reading. It predictably cut some parts like less attention on the other family members, but they kept enough of the story to keep the heart. 

The one major change from the books I approve of is the character Peik Lin Goh, played by Awkwafina. In the book, I don't recall her being remotely humorous, but in the movie, she easily provided almost all of the comedic moments along with her father, played by Ken Jeong. She acted fairy godmother-like with how she helped Rachel adjust to the rich lifestyle and how to act around the Young Family.

This movie does not represent all Asian-Americans by any means. We're not all Crazy Rich. But the culture is present in the form of food and clothes. Especially the food. 

Astrid's plot in the movie was more or less the same, I'd say it was simplified. Played by Gemma Chan, I believe she did the character justice with grace, beauty, and glamour. In the book, her issues with Michael were made more obvious early on, but in the movie, we do not get a glimpse of their issues until the end. 

However, I do appreciate how they prepared Astrid for the sequel with the mid-credit scene. She is about to take on a bigger role with future love interest, Charlie Wu. The movie did shoot more scenes with Charlie, played by Henry Shum Jr., but they were cut to give Astrid more screentime. I think they made the right decision.

Overall, I'd give this movie 10/10 for achieving the impossible. I'm excited to buy this on DVD and to watch the developing sequel. I'm happy!