Toadie

Hell yes, that's the kind of faith in a show I like to see!  Already renewed five months before season 4 airs.

https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/the-expanse-renewed-season-5-amazon-1203282087/

Never has a show made me crawl out of my skin like this one.  It's simply incredible, especially in today's political climate, and especially for how bold it all is despite not really showing anything.  Elizabeth Moss just nails in it in a way that only she really does.  Her acting style and what she does with her face is quite unlike any other actress out there.  To me, it's a battle between her and Carrie Coon for best actors, male or female, on tv. 

Also, as a straight, white male, I have to admit that I feel slightly guilty when I feel so destroyed at the end of each of these episodes.  Women and/or gay people in this forum, I can't imagine how much more powerful this must be for you.  This is one of the most horrific pieces of "fiction" I've seen in a long time.  Everything about this show ticks every horror button in my heart and mind.  I can't imagine what it must be like if your gender and your sexuality mirrors that of the most effected on this show.  It's tough stuff, to say the least, but it's also pretty important.  I wasn't aware of the book before going into this, but I'm aware now.  Hell, to call this fiction is almost a disservice.  This is just real life of history and, in other parts of the world, today, with the names changed and the garb a bit different.  

Whew, this is an experience.  Peak tv continues to peak.

There really needs to be an episode explaining Erica's absence and John's 360 view change on life. I really hope Regina King didn't want to come back and they had to do a plan B script. We'll see...

Interesting that people seemed to be confused with John's change of viewpoint.

He literally shot a dude, mostly likely to death, who came back at the same time his daughter came "back to life" who then, the next morning, was blown to absolute hell.

Stronger men have turned to outright cults (let alone the simple belief in the supernatural) for much less.  Not to mention, that's kind of a large part of the Leftovers themes.  In this world, John's turn is beyond natural. 

Daniel Sackheim directed both this weeks "The Leftovers" and "Better Call Saul".

I don't know about any "lull".  All I saw was some solid character development that I wasn't expecting based off the first episode or two.  I was fully expecting most of the 7 to be cardboard cutout villains for The Boys to destroy but man, they didn't rest on that, even though I would have been plenty fine with it.  A stylized revenge tale.  But actually, it turned out to be far more interesting and far deeper than I imagined at the beginning.

Also, Anthony Starr's Homelander is one of the more interesting and scary villains I've seen in a long damn while.  He's absolutely terrifying.  I have no idea what happens next as I haven't read the comic, but I can't wait to find out.  How you defeat a Superman level villain that is as smart as Lex Luthor isn't going to be easy, but sign me up for next season!

@akritenbrink  You're right, we often view these types of stories from the freedom fighter or soldier perspective, and often the women of the story are side characters of either the pure vitcim or the hard-as-nails warrior.  June/Offred is every bit a fighter as someone with a gun or combat training.  She's choosing not to let the bastards win in the face of hopelessness, doing whatever she can with the limited amount of options this horrific system provides her.  

Toadie said:

rkcrawf said:

Toadie said:

JaimieT said:

Toadie said:

rkcrawf said:

@JaimieT Very thoughtful analysis.

I, esp. after listening to the Solo podcast, am trying to figure out what this "feels like Star Wars" thing means. I did not love TLJ, but I do think it felt like Star Wars. I thought Solo felt more like Star Wars, and I'm not sure if that viewpoint is heavily influenced by nostalgia (and the occasional bit of fan service and John William's score). I partially agree with you about "hope," but I put forward that Rey getting more adept at the Force in a few days (plus the little boy at the end) should offer hope. However, I don't think RJ put the right emphasis on it, because the death of Luke was center stage. 

The death of Luke, ironically, was hopeful, and Luke realized that himself in the end.  He realized the Force wasn't just a tool for his family, and only his family, to use for good or ill.  That he wasn't the ONLY symbol that the rebellion should look too, to use as their ace in the hole, or more realistically, their crutch.  He realized that in his death, Rey would rise.   That other "nobody's" like Rey would rise.  He was so scared of his legacy that he forgot that there are still others out there willing to fight, even though, in his mind, nobody nearly as powerful as him or his family.  Rey sparked that new hope in him, and he used up his remaining power to let them escape, let rebuild, and prepare for the fight at hand.  It's, by far, the most hopeful and heroic thing I've seen Luke do.  I think people forget that Luke was, for most of the original trilogy, a bit wishy-washy and brash.  He led his allies into danger just as many times as he saved them, often for selfish reasons.    

I suppose we all have our opinions, but I find it strange that TLJ is seen in such a negative light.  It's, imo, the most "Star Wars" ass "Star Wars" film since the first one, because it deals with the same ideals of heroics that don't rely on destiny to save the day.  

In contrast, "Solo" certainly looked like "Star Wars", but I didn't really feel much of the soul there, and sadly, I just didn't buy the actor as Han, but whatever, I'm glad people are liking it.   Wish I could have been more on board myself.  Han's my favorite character.  Oh well.

I think you hit on something, that TLJ was Luke's movie, and I think it should have been Rey's movie. 

I kind of answered that above, but I think it's BOTH their stories.  The two heroes figuring out what it means when "destiny" no longer plays a part.  The old way of thinking. i.e. Luke, dying off in heroic fashion so that the new generation, Rey, can become all she can be, unshackled by destiny and generations of strict doctrine that tells a Jedi what they "must" be.   Without the clash of the two different era of heroes, Rey would be stuck in the past, both in ideology and her own sense of self, and that obviously doesn't work in the new galaxy they find themselves in.  She both reveres the old hero that was Luke and the Jedi Order, but realizes that the dogma of the old ways don't control her, don't prophesize her "gutter trash" as a hero, and that she has to become one despite not being some hero of legend.  The old ways are done, and to be cheesy, "let the past die".   Without Luke as a major focus and a counterpoint to Rey's new era of Jedi hero, I don't think it would have worked well at all.  

Luke needed to die in the 2nd act to pass the torch. This was the problem. First movie passes the torch to Rey as the hero. Luke comes back and sidelines her to the point where the climax of the movie is his. She basically becomes Obi-Wan in TLJ and is just an enabler for Luke, when it should have been the opposite. 

I guess the only thing I can say to that is, I disagree.  If that's the story you wanted, that's fine, but that's not the "The Last Jedi" story, and I also disagree that he sidelines Rey, more than he shares the story with her, because well, that's the story of the film.  And the story of the new trilogy.  It's much more Kylo and Rey as a piece, rather than simply Rey's story.  It's destiny vs. chance.  The chosen one vs. the nobody.  The climax wasn't at the expense of Rey, it was for the benefit of Kylo - which btw is a much stronger villain than you get from most of these types of films, and in many ways, more complex and interesting than Vader himself.  Luke's story is really Kylo's story.  It vital to making him the villain that he is.  Without that, those two halves of the whole don't work.  The structure of the film is one of the major reasons *why* it's one of my favorite "Star Wars" stories.  This is a trilogy after all, and it doesn't pretend it isn't, just like "Empire" didn't pretend it wasn't, either.  

Anyways, like I said at that the beginning, I'm so confused what "Star Wars" fans actually want.  Do they really want a Star War-sy red meat fest that I found "Solo" to be, or something that changes and grows the universe?  "The Last Jedi" made me more hopeful for the future of "Star Wars" than any film has since I saw the original trilogy for the first time decades ago.  The Force feels magical and mysterious again specifically because of how TLJ handles Rey's story and what kind of hero it turns her into.  I suspect in the years to come that TLJ we be looked on more fondly much like Empire was in the years after it's release.  Of course, Episode 9 could come out and ruin it all regardless.  What a weird time to be a "Star Wars" fan lol.

I gotta say, as much as I loved this season, not having full coverage has been a damned mega bummer.  Some of the stuff that happens this season would have been amazing to hear A.Ron break down and theorize episode by episode.

Amazon, thanks for bringing it back, but damnit!  Just damnit...

This sucks, BUT at the very least they seem like they will be able to give us an ending to the The Expanse as a tv show.  The absolute worst thing would have been they just cancel it right here and now, and most executives do, so that's something at least.  And from what I understand, if you are going to end it early, doing so at book 6 is the best you can hope for.

Still, fuck Cas Anvar, and I hope they don't even try to recast, just make the character done and dusted or something.  Also, I still don't understand Bezos letting this not come to a full conclusion.  The dude absolutely adores the series.  Is he so adverse to bank rolling the rest even at a loss that he'll let one of his favorite series go out like this?  I suppose the answer is yes, and now more than ever, I don't understand these rich people with more money than god.  What the fuck is the point if you can't spend it on things you want?  Eat them, I say, eat them all! <span></span>