She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022) s01e04 – Is This Not Real Magic?

This episode down-shifts the action a little, leveraging returning guest star Benedict Wong—who star Tatiana Maslany frequently breaks the fourth wall to comment on appearing—without moving any of the subplots forward. Other than Mark Linn-Baker’s too understated sitcom dad in the real world bit. He shows up for a scene to Wrecking Crew-proof Maslany’s apartment after the attempted assault last episode. No straight-to-the-heart and twist zingers for the incel bros this episode, but Maslany does get in a fun “what’s Twitter complaining about?” comment in.

Is that Earth-616 Twitter, Earth-199999 Twitter, or our Earth Twitter? I really want to know the rules behind references in the MCU; I hope we find out all the twists, turns, and hurdles someday.

A bad (as in, bad at his job) stage magician named Donny Blaze (unclear if he’s Johnny’s brother) has been using actual magic to add some oomph to his shows. He starts teleporting random audience members, usually women in short skirts, into other dimensions. One, played by Patty Guggenheim, fights her way through a demon dimension while making bargains and having adventures, escaping to Wong’s living room just in time to spoil “Sopranos” for him.

Rhys Coiro (director Kat Coiro’s husband) plays Blaze. He’s a complete dipshit, which is one of those strange casting choices. Leon Lamar plays his enabling sidekick. They’re both fine but somewhat lackluster compared to Wong and Guggenheim. Guggenheim’s hilarious as a party girl with a heart of gold; she ought to get a spin-off. They should at least do a special about her fighting her way through Hell, Vormir, or wherever.

Wong does a lot with a little; he’s mostly reacting to Guggenheim being fabulous and Rhys Coiro being scummy.

The subplot has Maslany reluctantly starting to date in her big green persona, which proves to attract a different caliber of Tinder match. Michel Curiel plays her dreamiest match. They have a wild night out.

“She-Hulk” is on entirely solid ground now, but—even more than “Ms. Marvel”—it feels like they’re making a TV show here, meaning a second season should be in order, especially if the MCU movie guest stars are going to do two-episode arcs. At the same time, the guest stars—even the tangential ones—are distracting from the regular law firm cast. Ginger Gonzaga’s the only one to show up here, again entirely support for Maslany, with no one else making the cut.

It’d just be such a perfect way to comment on the overall MCU (Wong makes a good Spider-Man: No Way Home reference at one point).

My Life Is Murder (2019) s03e03 – Bloodlines

Since “My Life is Murder” started as a relatively straight Melbourne-based mystery procedural, I don’t know if they would’ve done a horseback riding episode first season. I don’t think they did one last season. But they have so much fun with it this time; I imagine it has to be because star and executive producer Lucy Lawless wanted to ride horses against a beautiful New Zealand backdrop. This episode’s mystery involves a stud farm—of the equestrian variety—which provides lots of opportunities for breathtaking scenery and beautiful horses.

The show’s either an advertisement for New Zealand to the point they ought to suggest B&Bs, or it’s all a humble brag about how much better things are there than everywhere else. Except for the murdering, of course. There’s lots of murdering about.

Lawless’s regular sidekick, Ebony Vagulans, is still pretending to be in Paris this episode, so Lawless again has new sidekick Tatum Warren-Ngata. Not sure how they’re going to handle having both of them around (the teaser spoils Vagulans’s return). Lawless and Warren-Ngata continue to make a good team. Lawless has a fine foil in most of the episode with old curmudgeon Roy Billing, leading to Warren-Ngata getting into trouble. Warren-Ngata’s on leave from the Navy; I guess she can come in and out as needed.

Anyway.

Billing sort of runs the stud farm because new owner Te Kobe Tuhaka is a sharp dresser but not a horse studder. Tuhaka’s dad started the business, and Billing worked for him. The dad also semi-adopted Steel Strang, whose murder kicks off the episode. It looks like a horse done it, but Ramiri Jobe found some contradictory evidence. It’s contradictory enough that it’s unclear why he’s having Lawless do the case off the books since it’s like, you know, evidence.

There are several suspects—the horse, obviously, Billing, Tuhaka, Tuhaka’s estranged sister, Miriam McDowell, stud farm human stud Jono Kenyon (who immediately cozies up to Lawless), and studding scientist Jessica Grace Smith. The solution will involve almost all of them; very intricate plotting; Stacy Gregg gets the writer credit.

Overall, it’s another solid episode. Lawless and Billing have a great time together (so do Lawless and Kenyon). There are a couple character reveals for Lawless; one secret she’s keeping from Warren-Ngata (and the audience), then another secret she’s keeping from everyone (but the audience).

All Creatures Great and Small (2020) s03e01 – Second Time Lucky

Last season’s Christmas special ended with World War II getting started (or as close as they could get to the war starting without it starting); this season begins with the recruiters in Darrowby, but the vets are exempt from service. It’s a running subplot throughout the episode, initially very gentle, as Nicholas Ralph discovers you can override your exemption and opt-in. Everyone else starts wondering why he’s so keen.

Because it’s not a “James Herriot goes off to war” episode—one thing about “All Creatures” being based on memoirs is you could just google and spoil the story; I’m going to let myself be surprised, or not. No, it’s a wedding episode. Ralph and Rachel Shenton are heading down the aisle, complete with bachelor’s night at the Drovers, Ralph’s parents coming to town (Gabriel Quigley and Drew Cain have surprisingly little to do), and everyone worrying Shenton’s going to have second thoughts again.

There’s a lot of nice character stuff for Shenton, with the various people in her life asking how she’s feeling about this wedding, including little sister Imogen Clawson, who’s ready for Shenton to move out (even if Shenton isn’t), vets’ housekeeper Anna Madeley, and, of course, dad Tony Pitts, who gets gruffer and more adorable every episode.

But Ralph’s arc is muddled, partially through intentional obscurity (the enlistment subplot), partially because part of the story is Ralph, Samuel West, and Callum Woodhouse getting blackout drunk at the Drovers for the bachelor’s party. Madeley’s got to get them motivated and moving, with a veterinary case making it hard to make the church on time.

The episode feels more like a special than a season premiere, with nothing really being established for what’s next. There’s also this weird moment when Woodhouse comments on Ralph’s Brobdinagian sense of duty, based on something in the veterinary case, but the example was someone class shaming Ralph, not his sense of duty. It’s a disconnect.

The episode’s good; the performances are rock solid; nothing feels off; it just doesn’t feel like we’re really back in Darrowby yet. Even the Tricki Woo (essayed, as ever, by Derek) cameo feels too forced for a regular episode but just right for a summer special.

It also might just be the “missing wedding ring” subplot, running through the entire episode, is the closest the show’s ever gotten to saccharine. “All Creatures” has always been exceptionally well-balanced (save a couple times), and it’s always weird when they go too far.

Resident Alien (2021) s02e14 – Cat and Mouse

“Resident Alien”’s been leaning on the soundtrack a lot this half-season. Usually, it’s too much country country rock, but this episode’s got some great songs, used to excellent effect. It’s like someone didn’t like how they were doing it and fixed it.

Thank goodness.

There are only a couple more episodes this season, so it would seem this episode is moving the chess pieces into position for the season finale. The episode starts teasing Linda Hamilton’s latest discovery, along with an unexpected character reveal; it’s unexpected enough the show might be able to wrap her arc this season.

But she’s only in it for the opening. The rest of the episode is the regular cast about their business, with Alice Wetterlund’s painkiller addiction the main character development plot. The A plot is Alan Tudyk dealing with returning guest star Terry O’Quinn, come to town at sheriff’s deputy Elizabeth Bowen’s request. O’Quinn’s an alien hunter who can see real aliens, just like little kid Judah Prehn, which O’Quinn soon realizes and sets about turning Prehn against Tudyk.

Both those arcs—Wetterlund’s and Tudyk’s—go a lot darker than expected. When “Alien” started, it was a far cry from the Capraesque comic series, but it’s mellowed since the start. This episode removes the mellow.

The subplots include mayor Levi Fiehler and wife Meredith Garretson fighting over the planned resort; Fiehler supports it, Garretson does not. Garretson’s helping Sarah Podemski with her injunction against construction; the show says Podemski’s character’s name about sixty-four times in a three-minute scene, so it’s like they knew no one else could remember it either. It’s Kayla, incidentally.

Podemski plays a little support in Sara Tomko’s subplot later on; Tomko’s reeling from meeting her real mom last episode, which gives her and her friends (save Tudyk) all sorts of feelings. Well, not Wetterlund either, because she’s self-destructing, particularly with boyfriend Justin Rain. But there’s a little movement on Tomko’s plot, enough they’ll be able to do something with it before the end of the season.

Then Corey Reynolds has his awkward romance arc with Nicola Correia-Danube still going while conspiring with Fiehler against Garretson and those danged environmentalists.

Another packed episode, especially since the show’s making sure to give Jenna Lamia at least one great comedic scene an episode. She actually might get two here.

Lovely little moments from Gary Farmer, too, as he tries to help adopted daughter Tomko navigate her latest emotional trauma.

They’re in good shape; can’t wait to see where they close up this season.

The Lion & the Eagle (2022) #3

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I haven’t been betting against Lion & the Eagle. The first issue assuaged any Aftershock fears I was having after writer Garth Ennis’s horror comic for the company. The second issue was excellent. I fully intended to be Ennis war comic weeping the next and final issue. But I wasn’t expecting Ennis to do anything major with the title; artist PJ Holden’s already doing the European album size. Being square and bigger is enough.

And then Ennis has a spectacular series of narrative jabs this issue, turning Lion over on its head a couple times before turning it around too. It’s incredible. Especially since he doesn’t do it until the second half of the issue. The first half’s full of exposition and action; the second half’s reflection on it. Only then Ennis completely changes the narrative distance on Lion after giving it some solid whacks as the doctor character tells the army guy what’s up a couple times, and the army guy’s got to sit with it. Then there’s a Communist soldier soapboxing about the military-industrial complex, and it’s phenomenal. I can’t give away the big twists, either. There are two, one with the narrative distance, one with the narrative. Both do peerless character development work. Ennis is on fire.

And Holden’s keeping up. This issue’s simpler—the occasional silhouette, more frequently white backgrounds—but more emotive. Holden focuses on how the scenes hit, whether they’re talking heads or the dramatic ones. Not to mention there’s a phenomenal battle scene. Holden scales from close-ups on emphatic white to gory, frenetic battle action. It’s a beautiful book.

So now I’m expecting an Ennis war comic weep and being floored by whatever he and Holden come up with. Ennis has been doing excellent war comics for over twenty years now, and, somehow, he keeps getting better. He leverages the natural exposition of military command—someone can always be explaining something to someone else—and then works in historical detail, but he’s breaking out of that norm with Lion. He’s using character relationships while also playing with narration.

This series will make a wonderful collection someday; hopefully hardbound and obviously oversized.

Kevin Can F**k Himself (2021) s02e05 – The Unreliable Narrator

Since Covid-19 doesn’t exist in either of “Kevin”’s universes, I forget this season is their Rona season, and it might have affected how they plotted the season. Because even though last episode had a surprise party gone wrong plot, I also forgot “Kevin” sometimes does sitcom tropes in their “sitcom” part of the episode. The imbalanced episodes—and Annie Murphy no longer hanging around Eric Petersen as much—have meant shorter sitcom portions.

This episode’s got a blackout, which I’ve seen in at least one sitcom I can readily recall, and there must be countless others. It’s such an easy episode (the blackout episode, not this episode of “Kevin”; this episode of “Kevin”’s an intricate marvel). The action picks up about a week after last episode, which had Mary Hollis Inboden’s birthday party, followed by a cliffhanger with Candice Coke making a show-shattering discovery.

Also continuing directly from last time is Brian Howe’s girlfriend, Lauren Weedman, who everyone finds annoying. And Murphy’s still pestering ex-boss, high school crush, ex-lover Raymond Lee. In fact, she’s bugging him when the lights go out, and Petersen, Alex Bonifer, Howe, Weedman, and Jamie Denbo show up. Petersen thinks Lee’s cafe is the perfect spot to hang out during a blackout, not suspecting he just walked in on Lee telling Murphy to stop complaining about Petersen so much.

Murphy leaves the cafe to commit a felony with Inboden; only then a couple cops—Inboden’s new pals through Coke—pull up on them and want to earn points with detective Coke by doting on her girlfriend, Inboden. It’s an incredibly stressful sequence; Anne Dokoza has done some fine directing work on this show, and I think this episode’s probably her best. The cop adventure leads to an unexpected wrench on the way to the actual crime. Meanwhile, Inboden’s sullen—more sullen than usual—and isn’t talking to Murphy about it, which turns into concurrent character development arcs. Very nice script, credited to Sean Clements.

There’s an excellent subplot for Bonifer and Denbo again, who again ably essay far more complex roles than initially written.

Lee and Petersen “bonding” is also a great bit, especially with Petersen invading Lee’s space at the cafe.

“Kevin”’s second season is quieter than the first (so far) but just as impressive an accomplishment for cast and crew.

Kevin Can F**k Himself (2021) s02e04 – Jesus, Allison

There are three big swings in this episode. Two are significant but subtle; one is not subtle at all. The first involves Annie Murphy and Candice Coke. They’re teaming up for the day to put together a party for Mary Hollis Inboden’s birthday, which no one knew about until the day before. Murphy and Coke are running errands and having a miserable time together, but then they get around to talking about Murphy’s husband, Eric Petersen, and how much it sucks being around shitty dudes. Inobden’s got a soft echo of that experience, hanging out with drunken brother Alex Bonifer for her birthday tradition at the ice skating rink.

Before “Kevin” started, the advertising played up the “sitcom wife realizes her husband’s a jackass,” but the show doesn’t treat the sitcom universe in that way. The show’s a fascinating examination of characters through various television trope lenses. This episode is the first time there’s really been something outside Murphy’s sphere, and it’s Coke’s, and it shares space with Murphy. It’s excellent, gentle but barbed because bickering sequence. Grace Edwards has the writing credit for this episode, and it’s awesome.

The second subtle swing involves Bonifer and Jamie Denbo. The reason Petersen helps Murphy with the party is because he wants to set Denbo up with his dad, Brian Howe. Howe’s new girlfriend (Lauren Weedman) has a terrible laugh. Petersen thinks Denbo’s available because she’s separated from her shitty husband; the plan goes terribly, particularly for the ambushed Denbo. Later on, she confronts Bonifer about it, and we get to see Bonifer’s character development start to pay off.

They’re outstanding. They’re not Murphy or Inboden, but they’re outstanding. Bonifer’s arc this season is incredibly difficult, and he’s nailing it every time. Then Denbo’s scaled up nicely.

Of course, the third swing is for Murphy alone. She’s seeing Robin Lord Taylor around town, stalking her, even though he’s comatose. The show’s letting Murphy’s character development boil unattended while giving Inboden the dramatic interactions. Very cool.

I can’t wait to see where they take this season; there’s going to be so much great acting.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022) s01e03 – The People vs. Emil Blonsky

I’m pretty sure this episode of “She-Hulk” is the first time the MCU has acknowledged white males aged eighteen to thirty-four are entirely pieces of shit. There’s a bit with the news showing Twitter posts complaining about She-Hulk, then the MCU version of the Wrecking Crew is a bunch of Trump voters who’ve decided to finally commit to just assaulting women. It’s a fantastic flex from the show, and watching CGI She-Hulk beat the shit out of the Wrecking Crew, who seem like they’ll be back, is going to be great.

This episode’s where the show finally delivers on all fronts—there’s legal comedy-drama, there’s MCU business, there’s fourth wall breaking, there’s a celebrity cameo. The show takes several shortcuts to get there, including B plot protagonist Josh Segarra. Segarra plays Pug, who’s from the comics, and I’m pretty sure he wasn’t in the last episode. He certainly didn’t talk or get introduced. In fact, when he shows up in this episode, the focus is on returning guest star Drew Matthews.

Matthews is an assistant district attorney shit-bag Maslany and Ginger Gonzaga used to work with; he needs their new firm’s help with a matter involving a New Asgardian shapeshifter. It’s a lot of… not MCU workplace jabs and jokes. The MCU got over the Blip faster than real life got over lockdown. It’s a bit disconcerting seeing “She-Hulk” comment on workplace harassment fifteen minutes after Tatiana Maslany broke the fourth wall to assure viewers the show’s not just about returning MCU guest stars (no Mark Ruffalo this episode, but Tim Roth and Benedict Wong).

Roth and Wong are in the A plot—we can call them A and B plots with “She-Hulk,” Maslany broke the wall to talk to us about how they work—spinning out of their adventures in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. It’d be fascinating to see the Disney+ numbers to see if “She-Hulk”’s an entry to Shang-Chi or vice versa.

Anyway. Maslany’s still trying to get Roth out on parole, and Wong seems to be the key, only Wong’s the Sorcerer Supreme, and he’s got things to do. It’s an excellent sequence and a wonderful comic adaptation; they’ve cracked “She-Hulk.” Unfortunately, it does seem like there’s been a lot left on the cutting room floor—Segarra’s introduction, Gonzaga and Maslany being besties, Gonzaga having a part—but the show delivers. Roth, a stunt cast back in Incredible Hulk, finally gets to loose himself in the part.

And Wong’s a delight.

And Maslany’s a delight. “She-Hulk”’s loads of—surprisingly grounded—fun.

My Life Is Murder (2019) s03e02 – Nothing Concrete

This episode’s a mad-libs of murder mysteries; the victim’s found in a statue, one of the suspects is a billionaire tech jackass, and there’s an environmental angle in addition to a jealousy one. None of those items listed actually have anything to do with the actual motive. I forgot why the killer did the deed. I had to go back and look it up. And even then, I had to go over it another time because the motive’s slimmer than any of the red herrings.

And even though there’s a lot of guest star Craig Hall—as the dipshit billionaire—who thinks Lucy Lawless finds him irresistible, which gives Lawless plenty of opportunities to talk smack to her pals about him, the real story is Tatum Warren-Ngata. She’s a gamer and hacker friend of Ebony Vagulans, who went to Paris on mysterious business between last episode and this one. Vagulans has a couple of scenes, FaceTiming with Lawless from her very much not in Paris, France flat, albeit with an Eiffel Tower establishing shot. Warren-Ngata’s good and annoying in the right way to be a techy sidekick to Lawless, but….

I really hope Vagulans isn’t leaving the show.

“Murder”’s got another seven episodes, plenty of time to do a subplot for Vagulans, but also plenty of time to exit Vagulans. Maybe have her back for the finish. The show changed some regular cast between seasons one and two when the action moved from Australia to New Zealand, but it wasn’t like the first cop was anything too special. He’s no Rawiri Jobe, but Vagulans has been with the show since the start, and she and Lawless’s chemistry is a significant portion of the film’s charm. Like twenty-five to thirty-five percent. A lot.

So, concerning.

That worrying aside, like I said, Warren-Ngata’s good. It’s too soon to tell how she and Lawless will vibe, though.

The other suspects include Nisha Madhan as a sculptor who disagreed with the victim about environmental stuff, then Anna Jullienne as the victim’s assistant. They’re both solid, selling a lot in their exposition this episode. There’s not a lot of action, just a lot of Lawless going to different places and talking to the suspects.

The ending’s a mess, and Vagulans’s “vacation” is concerning, but it’s a solid episode otherwise. Lawless makes it enough fun.

Kevin Can F**k Himself (2021) s02e03 – Ghost

I didn’t understand what Eric Petersen was saying when he says, “Pal-o-ween;” I thought he meant Halloween, and then the dialogue implied he thought every month with a thirty-first meant that day was Halloween.

I figured out what had happened quickly, but it was strange because it wouldn’t not fit the show.

Petersen’s regular but not monthly Pal-o-ween events involve him and Alex Bonifer watching scary movies while Annie Murphy dotes on them. They probably make fun of her too. She’s not interested this month (I mean, is it set in August, it could be) because she and Mary Hollis Inboden have to go look at dead bodies. Murphy’s faking-her-death plan involves finding an identity to assume from a recent, unclaimed corpse. Her P.I., Tommy Buck, knows a guy who likes to claim unclaimed corpses. Inboden and Murphy have a hilarious discussion on that subject as they walk through the creepy, empty funeral home.

Murphy doesn’t tell Inboden going in, but sixteen years before or whatever, her father’s funeral was in the same funeral home, and that night was when she met Petersen (and Inboden) for the first time. “Kevin” makes a big swing with the flashbacks, which have the actors playing themselves with different hair and clothes, obviously, but no big make-up things. No CGI de-aging or youth casting. It works once Peri Gilpin shows up; she’s got a scene as Murphy’s mom, who berates Murphy after the funeral. And Murphy goes from the funeral home in reality—in the flashback, obviously—into the sitcom universe for that scene with Gilpin, which raises all sorts of questions.

It also makes the flashback hair and make-up approach “TV,” meaning just focus on the content and the performances. They’re memories, after all, almost entirely from Murphy’s perspective because Inboden doesn’t want to think about it. In the flashback, we see Inboden’s spirits fall, watching Murphy surrender to Petersen’s amiable influence. In the present, Bonifer’s having a breakdown about the whole thing—the whole thing being him assaulting Murphy, then Murphy and Inboden smacking him into reality from the sitcom universe—and forgets to go to Pal-o-ween.

There’s a subplot for Inboden and girlfriend Candice Coke, with Coke trying to involve Inboden in her life, but Inboden is still hanging with Murphy instead. Corpse-hunting beats game night. There’s some good material for Coke in this episode; she gets to interact with different people, not just whine about Inboden being friends with Murphy.

I still feel like the season’s a little unbalanced, with this episode the first to deal entirely with season two issues.

It’ll be fine. I’m just obsessing because I think “Kevin” might wrap up super.