Dog Days Movie Review

Major Spoilers are included in this movie review. Please read with caution.

I watched Dog Days for Nina Dobrev and for all the dogs she cuddled with on her Instagram. The other cast members were wonderfully too, but the story was predictable and not original with their humor. The dog factor made it a tad more interesting, and was clearly geared toward audiences who owned or really loved dogs.

The story is about a group of unrelated people with cliche problems. The only real connection all these characters have is the vet hospital they visit throughout the film. Nina Dobrev plays Elizabeth, an anchor for the morning news, Tone Bell plays Jimmy, her co-host and love interest.

Yes, they are the same people from the new series FAM. Their on-screen chemistry works much better in this movie than in their TV series. I was buying their cute romance and understood the idea behind putting the two actors together on the television screen. When they broke up and afterwards, Jimmy lost his dog was probably the saddest moment in the entire movie. He sold his grief, and the “Amazing Grace” almost turned comedic but luckily didn’t.

Vanessa Hudgens plays Tara, a barista attracted to Dr. Mike, the main doctor at the vet hospital. She ends up realizing he isn’t the guy for her (shallow), and falls in love with the nerdy, cute guy named Garrett (Jon Bass) because he adopted their favorite dog. This movie is really predictable for real. Seriously, I guessed correctly on everything.

My favorite storyline is new parents, Grace and Kurt, trying to bond with their adopted kid Amelia. They end up not getting along until a dog enters their life. As a result, Amelia bonds with the dog and starts to love her adoptive parents. It’s really cute and gets increasingly heartbreaking with the twist thrown in there: the dog is a runaway and belongs to another character in this movie.

The other major characters are Dax (Adam Pally), who has to take care of his sister’s dog, and Walter (Ron Cephas Jones), who is the owner of the lost dog. He looks everywhere throughout the movie because the dog was the last thing he had from his late wife.

Overall, the movie is lighthearted comedy. I enjoyed it for the most part. Dogs are awesome!

Iron Kissed Book Review

Major Spoilers are included in this book review. Please proceed with caution.

Before reading further, if you have not read my Moon Called or Blood Bound reviews, the links are here and here respectively. Now, let us continue:

Written in January 2008, the series centers around Mercy Thompson, an auto mechanic who lives in the Tri-Cities. She also happens to be a shape-shifter. In the third book, Mercy investigates a murder to clear her friend’s name and to find the real killer.

I almost want to stop reading the Mercy Thompson series. The third book made me uncomfortable with its ending. The love triangle was resolved in a weird manner, and the toxic masculinity was at its strongest with Adam, Tim, and Samuel. Yes, I have been noticing a trend with the first three books. The werewolves, Adam’s Pack, keep acting like they own Mercy like she’s their property, and I still cannot believe she lets them treat her that way.

However, the writing for most of the book was good… the mystery plot with Mercy’s friend Zee and the world-building with the Fae was the best part of the entire book. Fae are my least favorite supernatural species. I thought they weren’t done well in the Sookie Stackhouse series, or its TV counterpart, True Blood either. However, the mythology behind the Fae artifacts, how they connected to the mystery, and the overall species was surprisingly fascinating. I commend Patricia Briggs for making such a great world.

Mercy Thompson series have a solid formula that expands Mercy’s character and the world in natural ways. The ending practically ruined the entire book in my opinion. How Patricia Briggs used the rape writing trope was an injustice to her heroine. She used it to bypass developing her characters and plot.

Then, the love triangle choice was taken away from her. I was actually hoping Briggs would not implement the “one of them dies or leaves” trope to rob Mercy of choosing, and thank goodness she didn’t! However, the choice was still taken from Mercy. Let me explain this: Samuel chose to take himself out of the running because he was not interested anymore. This scene made me mad when Samuel said he’d talk to Adam about letting him have her… she is not their property to play with.

Stefan was also absent, and he's a fan-favorite because I literally see Stefan Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries.

Overall, the book started good like usual, then the love triangle made me lose interest for a few days, and then the ending was awful. I bought the next three books ahead of finishing, and kind-of regret it… I’ll be taking a break from this series.

Next? The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson. Time to finish the Mistborn Trilogy.

Doom Patrol 1x01 "Pilot" Episode Review

Major Spoilers are included in this episode review. Please read with caution.

The spin-off series of Titans, Doom Patrol is already better than its parent show. The series centers around a group of superheroes who detest who they are and have no aspirations to become heroic in any way. They live in Doom Manor with a scientist named Dr. Niles Caulder (Timothy Dalton). The lovable group of misfits consists of Robotman (Brendan Fraser), Negative Man (Matt Bomer), Elasti-Woman (April Bowlby), and Crazy Jane (Diane Guerrero).

A very similar concept to DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, but the approach is more grounded and relatable. I do enjoy how all of the tragic stories were regular accidents like a car crash, plane crash, and falling into a lake. They added the “unusual” element to give them their new bodies and powers. Robotman is strangely relatable and the only sane character on this show. He’s easily my favorite.

Having the narrator be the villain of the season, Mr. Nobody (played by Alan Tudyk), was a great choice, and to have him self-aware elevates the storytelling. The self-awareness is not hammered to the point of insanity like Legends, but more to the point of making our protagonists hate themselves. They are trying to live in a world that doesn’t accept them, while still trying to accept themselves.

The villain, most of the time, is way more interesting than the hero.

Most of the time, this series doesn’t even feel like a superhero story, and more like a regular TV series that non-superhero fans could enjoy. I’d be curious to see how someone who hates superheroes or doesn’t watch those shows would respond to this series.

Overall, I enjoyed the pilot episode. Episode reviews will come on a weekly basis. There are 15 episodes this first season. I have officially invested in Doom Patrol.

Supergirl 4x12 "Menagarie" Episode Review

Major Spoilers are included in this episode review.

Valentine’s Day themed episode with loves forming and others breaking, but the family dynamic between Kara, Alex, and J’onn is the one that ultimately breaks our hearts. I’m not understanding the approach the writers are going for with Alex Danvers. Is she going to turn against Supergirl and alien life? Or is this more about how Alex never really developed this season?

I hadn’t noticed until she kept pointing it out, and adding her fierce protection of Kara ties the situation quite nicely. It always goes back to Alex putting her life on hold for the sake of Kara’s alien secret. J’onn also opened up his private detective business, but we are only left with a cliffhanger involving one of his clients.

James Olsen and Lena Luthor were incredibly distracting. I’m not invested in Lena’s research because that requires me to care about their romance. The creepy “Twilight” vibe with the picture of her sleeping, and how we knew the relationship was doomed because James cannot accept her work in making humans super. There’s nothing here. Remove this, and add Red Daughter scenes instead.

The show missed with Red Daughter and the overall season-long goal. Although this current season is light years better than season 3’s Reign storyline… I just don’t know what they’re going for anymore. The politics going on might be taking precedence over the writing, and I hope the show handles this situation better next season. Children of Liberty, President of the United States, DEO and mind-wiped Alex working with Colonel Haley… throw in Red Daughter, and we officially got ourselves a mess.

The Venom-inspired alien and human host combo will need to get addressed at some point. A willing human and alien working together might have impacts on the political agenda of this show. Yeah, I’m thinking more politics than plot right now. I hate it, but it’s somewhat easier to view Supergirl that way based on what I talked about in the last paragraph.

Brainy and Nia’s interactions are great. I do actually want more Brainy screentime because how he’s comprehending human emotions and flawed data analysis makes for great character development. However, the Nia / Kara scenes were fantastic, just misplaced in this episode. I also found Yvette, Nia’s awesome roommate, interesting, but she doesn’t really serve a purpose yet. I’d also like to know how close they are…

The Children of Liberty shouldn’t have been in the episode. Ben corrupting his son to the dark side (muhaha) was brilliant, and his release from prison is going to cause major trouble because he is an exposed activist / alien hater, similar to Lex Luthor, who is slated to appear in this season. I think his actions will make Kara consider outing herself as an alien.

Manchester Black recruits the villain of the week to his group, The Elite. Not going to comment until we get more information.

Overall, I mostly had fun with it. The problem was I had no idea where any of this was going.

How To Get Away With Murder 5x13 "Where Are Your Parents?" Episode Review

Major Spoilers are included in this episode review. Please proceed with caution.

Parents are getting involved with the whole investigation. Not on purpose of course. Annalise’s and Connor’s mothers happen to stop by during the holidays when the FBI decided to ruin the fun. Kind of sucks the Feds have to work during precious family time. I randomly thought about that while they were sweeping Connor and Oliver’s house for the wedding photos… good thing Connor’s mom deleted the photo from Instagram showing Nate and Miller arguing in the background. Guess she’s officially involved now.

Annalise’s mother, bless her heart, also suggested Annalise and Nate get married so they can’t testify against each other in court. Also, she has rooted for their romance from day one. How she responses to Sam Keating having a child named Gabriel with his first wife and hiding it was priceless.

Bonnie is still going through a horrible time with Miller’s death, and the funeral was no better with Miller’s mother wanting the murderers to get the death penalty so she can watch (so raw!), and might be pregnant (?)… She claims the test was negative, but since the results weren’t shown onscreen, I’m going to assume she’s lying to Frank. I think Bonnie and Frank are a better fit for each other than Frank and Laurel. I’m really glad the latter romance is pretty much extinct at this point.

The closing moments of the episode show Annalise meeting with The Governor. Every time I write “The Governor”, my mind goes straight to The Walking Dead. He will always be the real “Governor”.

Anyway, The Governor (hehe) reveals the truth about Nate Sr’s death. Apparently, with a file as proof, Emmett was the one who committed the deed, and Annalise is shown to believe the contents inside Emmett’s file. Wow, really good thing they didn’t end up making out earlier in the episode.

We’re really close to the end of the season… the last few episodes are going to have start resolving things soon. Ideally, a few episodes ago, but there’s no point dwelling in the past. Please let Bonnie be okay. She’s literally the only character I love right now besides Annalise Keating, that’s a given since this is her show, but her supporting cast keeps making a mess out of it.

Grey's Anatomy 15x13 "I Walk The Line" Episode Review

Major Spoilers are included in this episode review. Please read with caution.

The new loves are trying to find their place in this hospital. Owen, Amelia, Betty (Brittany), and Leo family dynamic exploded in front of Brittany’s parents. Meredith has chosen to date DeLuca, but wants Maggie’s permission, Teddy / Koracick are still in the midst of developing their romance past the flirtation stage, and Bailey is jealous of Alex Karev being chief. The last storyline is the weakest, but an entertaining one that shows how old this show really is. Having the past several chiefs on the board was nostalgic and a good tie-in to Bailey’s predicament.

Owen lost his cool, but revealed his true feelings on the whole situation. He loves Leo, his son. Amelia tried her best to handle the situation, but all he sees is the darkness. Yes, I used the word ‘darkness’. Owen only cared about Brittany when it was convenient for him, but with all the drama she brought into his life, he’s being a jerk and taking it out on Amelia. This is honestly a creative mess with no real happy ending waiting for anyone here.

Meredith’s decision to be with DeLuca takes a backseat to Maggie’s reunion with a bully. It puts her in a daze and unable to hear what anyone says. The whole “DeLuca” conversation doesn’t happen until near the end of the episode. Point is, Maggie is okay with it, and Meredith has a romantic time with her main squeeze by the closing credits. The love triangle is either over, or Link is not done fighting yet. Well, I do hope they address Link’s part in the story soon. It still wasn’t right for Meredith to stand him up.

Maggie operates on her arch nemesis, Kiki, despite the hesitation, and ultimately saves her from a near impossible surgery. The whole “it’s never been done before” happens a lot on this show. This series lives on doing the impossible, and saving the lives of countless patients.

Teddy learns how to be Owen’s best friend through her patient’s love life. She has a husband and a best friend. The two of them have been friends for so long, that they decided to table the romantic notion to maintain the friendship. It works out for the most part… the other guy is not even the first husband. This propels her to support Owen about his bad situation, and her romance with Koracick moves to the kissing stage. I am so okay with this whole thing… this baby is going to have so much love.

Alex and Bailey’s part in this episode was small and not really interesting until the last scene. The whole “I thought you were going to fail the intern year” was my mentality too when it came to Alex Karev.

Overall, another fantastic episode with strong emotional beats, particularly with Owen, Maggie, and Teddy.

The Magicians 4x04 "Marry Fuck Kill" Episode Review

Major Spoilers are included in this episode review. Please read with caution.

Sexual tension was everywhere in this episode. Literally everywhere. The Magicians were playing around with their random / planned character pairings: Quentin and Elliot Monster, Julia and Penny 23, Josh and Margo, Alice and Christopher Plover, the author of Fillory Books and child molester. I was on the edge of my seat, waiting for one of the couples to hook up. I wanted Julia and Penny 23 to be with each other, but Margo and Josh made way more sense and went with a consent story.

I didn’t think they’d actually fall for each other, but they definitely became closer friends. She consented for the good of a friend, and admitting she liked him was a really vulnerable moment. Margo is always a highlight in every episode.

Quentin is grieving his father, which leads to Elliot Monster strangely helping him through the pain. They break the model planes, Then after the fun was over, the Monster delivered the worst news: Elliot is dead, and has been this entire time. This totally destroyed me, and adding the post-sex scene with Margo and Josh talking about Elliot being dead, made the two storylines linked in that regard. Of course, Elliot is not dead… and is trapped somewhere that resembles Brakebills. He calls out for “Margo!” bless his heart.

Julia’s Goddess story is thriving. She can’t do magic, but is invincible, and according to a new follower, she has great power. There was also a ritual where Julia had to get naked, and Penny 23 had to rub oil over her body, including her breasts. I like how she told him to get over himself… it’s not something he hadn’t seen before. She and Margo are honestly killing it this season. It’s a shame the characters do not like each other.

Alice’s side story was disgusting because she had to work with the child molester, and in the end, she learned Quentin’s book was ending next week. Her imprisonment / escape in the Library is the weakest component so far, but it is so essential right now.

Overall, I had a lot of fun with this episode. We need to save Elliot.

Good Trouble 1x06 "Imposter" Episode Review

Good Trouble 1x06 "Imposter" Season 1 Episode 6 Promo - Callie plans to disclose her connection to Malika to Judge Wilson before Ben has the opportunity to undermine her and, in the process, learns she might not be the only one with a conflict of interest on her team.

Major Spoilers are included in this episode review. Please read with caution.

Good Trouble is tackling a lot of stories with well-rounded characters. Dennis is getting well-deserved time, and his relationship with ex-wife Jennifer is devastating. We got so little on that love story, but I am already broken by that expression Jennifer gave Davia’s was too much. Marianna is so over these boys and started a fight club going at her workplace. Callie is in another love triangle with Gael and Jaime. Man, these love triangles are amazing. This spin-off is going places, and the major critique I have are those “fake-out” scenes.

Gael’s sister, Jazmin, needs to get more involved in the show too. Her story is so important to tell, and it adds to Gael’s character with him being bisexual.

Marianna and Raj are friends… but even the nice guy has a tendency to make dumb mistakes. We are being shown no mercy. Reminds me of The Good Place telling us being a nice person is getting harder with each passing day. After he tries to kiss her, she is furious but tells him it’s fine. The next morning however, was a different story. She goes off hard on how he totally disrespected her, and that it was an inappropriate gesture. Yes! She is killing this story!

Callie and Judge Wilson also discuss how she knows Malika from the Jamal Thompson case. He keeps her on the case, while also asking for her discretion on his son and the ankle monitor. She warns Judge Wilson that she already told Ben and Rebecca, but not about the home arrest. Ben is mad and jealous that Callie didn’t get punished, and wonders what she has on the Judge.

Overall, the past six episodes have been nonstop action. I am fairly invested in these characters and their stories, and how they’ve come together to support one another through the family dinners. There are only four more episodes left in the season. Where’s the rest of the family? Jesus? Brandon? Hurry up!

This Is Us 3x12 "Songbird Road: Part 2" Episode Review

Major Spoilers are included in this episode review. Please read with caution.

The long break is over! This Is Us delivered on the conclusion of the “Nicky Pearson” arc, and boy, I was blown away by the structure of the episode. The flashback story paralleled nicely with the present day character pairings: Kevin and Rebecca, Kate and Randall, as they grappled with Jack Pearson’s legacy being questioned. Kevin breaks my heart in the present and flashback story.

Rebecca was the MVP of the episode, positively and negatively. I know a lot of people are mad at her for being mad at something she also done, and that’s fair. However, Rebecca and Kevin’s journey together makes me weep for them. She is regretting how she didn’t ask him further, which was shown in at she volunteered to take Young Kevin to a baseball store.

Kate and Randall should’ve made a bigger deal about returning to their childhood home. They only used it to enhance the flashback story, and how the overall time spent there with their father. Like, a huge flood of memories would’ve plowed me if I returned to my childhood home after twenty-plus years of being away. Showing how they both remember the “sequin fight” differently reveals their general viewpoints of their father: Randall saw him as a great man with flaws, and Kate preserved only the good memories of her father, blocking out his flaws from her mind to a certain degree.

Nicky and Rebecca scenes were filled with tension. How she arrived to meet Nicky was a great scene. I was speechless, frozen like the rest of her kids. Nicky may not need help from his family, but Kevin sure does. He’s drinking again and I’m crying all over again. I hadn’t cried to this show in so long… I missed it so much.

Overall, one of their best episodes in a while!

The Flash 5x14 "Cause and XS" Episode Review

Major Spoilers are included in this episode review. Please read with caution.

Season Five has to figure itself out. I know where to begin, this is a Groundhog Day’s episode, but the show is kind of spinning their wheels here with Cicada. They have fully-fleshed out his character a few weeks ago, but Team Flash has to wait around to stop them. Barry has to stay in the Speed Force for most of the episode, and Nora is left with the responsibility to protect everyone.

I loved Jessica Kennedy Parker’s performance during this repetitive hour of television. The Flash may have gone overboard with repeating the scenes a bit with Cisco’s personas, but watching Sherloque Wells get more suspicious with each new reboot made me appreciate his character so much. Her increasing panic and nervous breakdowns felt so natural. I mostly found entertainment in pointing out the small changes Nora would try next, and how at least one person is destined to die. Killer Frost dying was my favorite because it was the first one.

Cecile even had a brief cameo, which is odd considering she’s a series regular.

With Joe West’s leave of absence, I understand the writers are probably having a hard time figuring out a place for her. A possible consequence to time travel is the best they can do at the moment.

Cisco got a lot of screentime in this episode. After two episodes of being gone from the action, he finally returned with the meta-human cure. The problem is they have to wait 30 days for the cure to work. Stop spinning your wheels, get Cicada out and bring Thawne in. Oh, and explain what’s going on with Gracie and the dark matter coma. I’m very needy.

When Barry eventually did return, he taught Nora an important lesson on time traveling and showed her the cup analogy. He is passing on the wisdom he learned from Jay Garrick to his future daughter. I was impressed with that scene.

Thawne’s plan, or what Nora will gain from his plan, is revealed. They are trying to defeat Cicada, destroy the dagger, and save Barry from the Crisis on Infinite Earths. So, we know this Thawne / Nora partnership will have some connection to next year’s crossover. We all knew Reverse Flash would play a major role in that story, and having Tom Cavanagh portray him was a smart move acting-wise. I hope the writers are figuring out a reason for why Thawne is wearing Harrison Wells’s face again.

Character performances were outstanding, but the logic behind what everyone was doing in the final fight scene took me a minute. I understood when Nora jumped into the breaches. They were literally slowing her down… It was so ridiculous. Overall, an episode that didn’t add much to the plot, and a harsh reminder that Cicada has run out of stuff to do.

Arrow 7x13 "Star City Slayer" Episode Review

Major Spoilers are included in this episode review.

The “big” reveal at the end of this episode was really predictable. Let’s start there. If you haven’t seen the newest episode, you probably still already know what I’m talking about. Black Star is revealed to be Mia Smoak, daughter of Felicity and Oliver. The blond hair gave her away in her debut episode in the fighting cages. Her attitude is kind of like Felicity’s babbling if corrupted by Oliver’s aggression.

The re-introduction of Connor Hawke, from “Star City 2046”, was also a nice touch to the episode. He was featured in the first season of Legends, as the Green Arrow. Roy Harper’s fight scene against him was well-choreographed, ensuring his fighting style was super consistent with what we’ve seen back during seasons 1 through 3.

Most of the audience seemed to have guessed the character’s true identity, and that’s partially why the “big” reveal didn’t work out. I was already so close to learning about the truth… getting to the end was annoying and made everything else going on less meaningful.

Stanley returning in this episode as the “Star City Slayer” should’ve been a bigger deal… and his performance was terrifying… oh yeah, the episode tried to do a horror themed episode, and it didn’t really work.

William (Younger) is written out of the series too. He is officially moving in with his grandparents (Samantha’s parents) because he was miserable/endangered for the past two seasons living with Oliver and Felicity. Oliver sounded insane thinking William was safer with him after everything that happened. I’m also really surprised it took William’s grandparents so long to save him from the horrible plots that plagued this show.

Oh, and it explains why William hasn’t been in contact with Oliver or Felicity until the flash forward story begins on Lian Yu.

Curtis also left the series. He was written out, and it was a long time coming. The cast is still overcrowded, but his character was the least developed since season seven began. This departure also explains his absence in the flash forward story… he doesn’t live in Star City anymore. Dinah gets her throat slit in this episode too… damaging her Canary Cry.

Speaking of Dinah Drake, her conversation with Captain Singh from The Flash was incredibly natural and not at all forced. Small moments like this enrich the Arrowverse so much.

Overall, everything was predictable, and I only enjoyed the “surprises” because they officially confirmed what we already knew. The “All Flash Forward Story” is going to be interesting. Can Nora make a cameo since she is from around that time? Can Nora and Mia be friends? Can Arrow jump to the future and tell stories with Mia, William, and Connor? New Team Arrow?

How To Get Away With Murder 5x12 "We Know Everything" Episode Review

Major Spoilers are included in this episode review. Please read with caution.

The episode opened with a domestic terrorism charge. The FBI is trying to arrest Gabriel on grounds of domestic terrorism. Let me process how a storyline like that was rushed, but let’s talk about how the big reveal about his character, the show is literally bouncing him around, having no idea where to stick him until this one. There was a lot of information being thrown around regarding the domestic terrorism charge, and how the FBI framed him this whole time to get to Annalise Keating.

I don’t think there are a lot of episodes left, but there doesn’t seem to be enough time to wrap all of this up. This show needs to end soon.

Michaela is proving ruthless even to Tegan with that email threat. Remember that story she told Laurel about trauma, and how she wasn’t affected? I think she was lying, or it’s affecting her in ways she can’t recognize. She may be in love with Tegan, but not she’s safe from Michaela’s wrath.

Annalise stole the hour with her rant at Nate, Frank, and Bonnie for always cleaning up after them. She has to use her adopting Wes secret to save them from going to jail for killing Miller. She uses this to convince Gabriel to pin everything on The Governor, who is an antagonist (for some reason, honestly forgot), and the FBI has a board of suspects… BUT THE EPISODE DIDN’T END THERE!

Michaela and Gabriel are getting back to good terms. Her love life is the worst. I mean, look at Asher.

Connor’s Mom posts a picture of her and Asher on Instagram This is too much… especially with Nate and Ron arguing in the background. Well, they are screwed now.

Also, Bonnie talking to Miller’s mother was too horrible. I don’t even want to discuss the heartache involved in all that… Hugs for Bonnie!

Grey's Anatomy 15x12 "Girlfriend in a Coma" Episode Review

Major Spoilers are included in this episode review. Please read with caution.

Grey’s Anatomy is honestly one of the best shows on TV right now. One of the few shows out there that aged gracefully over the years. I had to say that before diving into the episode review.

Sorry for the late review post. I had to grieve Garrett and Natasha for the past five days. OMG!!! I cannot believe we were put through that after what happened with Thatcher Grey last week. Garrett and Natasha were the patients of the hour… so much screentime was devoted to them. The episode even framed their reference of time from Christmas to Valentine’s Day through Garrett’s inability to leave Natasha’s side. I cried whenever they said anything romantic to each other.

The wedding under the stars killed the audience. The lit-up phones and tablets with pictures of stars, and of course Meredith is reading their vows to each other. The most beautiful—and heartbreaking—moment in the entire episode. To make them officially husband and wife before Natasha passes. She didn’t make it like why?!

The best part is how this storyline connects to Meredith’s love triangle with DeLuca and Link.

Meredith is messing around with two of them, but only one is getting tired of her games. DeLuca, the man I support, is fed up with her, and cannot believe she’d encourage Natasha to fight for her love, but Meredith won’t do the same for herself. This scene convinced me I made the right choice in Andrew DeLuca. Link is a good character, but he’s not meant to be her love interest. The two of them kiss on the rooftop at the end of the episode… YAY!

Ben and Miranda are back together. He builds her a tree house (FINALLY), and I’m so happy! They also did it without even a hint of what happened on Station 19. I haven’t forgotten!

Amelia and Owen learn a devastating truth. Betty lied about everything, and ran away from her parents while pregnant with Leon. Her parents have no idea Leo exists, and might take him away. This came out of nowhere, which can be a good / bad thing. I’m not sure yet because this whole story is kind of messy. This is gonna put some doubts in Amelia’s head for sure… and Owen might run back to Teddy if he loses Leo to Brittany’s (“Brittani”?) biological parents.

Teddy and Koracick are really cute together. Yes! Then, I remembered the paragraph above. Messy.

Catherine is struggling with her rehab, and pushing herself to become better. I almost died when she fell to the ground and cried in Richard’s arms. The two of them have been through enough, and I’m glad they managed to spend time with each other in the bedroom. They freakin’ deserved it.

Overall, I cried a lot.

Supernatural 14x13 "Lebanon" Episode Review

Major Spoilers are included in this 300th blog post. Please proceed with caution.

Welcome to my 300th blog post! Which also happens to be my episode review of Supernatural’s 300th episode! YAY! I’m so happy to dedicate this post to the show’s latest milestone. 300 episodes is insane. I have said “300” too many times. Let’s get into this review:

I didn’t know what to expect going into this episode, tried to guess along the way, and ended up getting most of it wrong. I’ll get to that in a second. First, we gotta talk about the return of Jeffrey Dean Morgan as John Winchester.

The set-up to the whole thing was wonderful. I have been anxious, looking at the countless antiques Sam and Dean took from the dead monster. The whole “kids stealing their car” thing, plus the killer ghost clown, could’ve been it’s own episode, but the writers made it work somehow. I almost forgot this whole scenario happened until it became relevant to John Winchester’s grand return.

John Winchester was pulled from the past (2003) and brought to our present, where he caught up with his two boys and their crazy adventure. Then he hears Mary’s voice, and that facial expression he made told us everything we needed to know. He turned to meet her gaze, and immediately began to gross his kids out by making out with Mary quite passionately. The dark fight scene… I was honestly expecting John to have Lucille in his hands and not a shotgun.

Sam and John got proper closure. After 12 freaking years, I could not believe Sam and his father got to talk things out… Sam does have a point. His dream of wanting a normal life was a lifetime ago, and all he cares about is getting to spend time with his dad again. These men are drawing out our feelings, and I hadn’t felt like this in a long time. Having recently watched Season 1 / 2 episodes with John Winchester in them, I’m glad to see the writers and actors are able to capture the original Supernatural vibe.

Zachariah also returned in this episode. He and Castiel (Pre-Season 4 persona) arrived on Earth to find what changed in the timeline. The references to Castiel’s “I don’t understand that reference” and the whole “Angel of the Lord” was great. I love this show so much, but alas, the inevitable had to arrive…

The family reunion was short-lived. Our hearts broke seeing the family all together again, but knowing this happiness was only temporary. If they continued to keep John in the present and not return him back, the whole future would change, and that’s a bad thing because nobody can save the world like Sam and Dean.

Ending the episode with John back in the Impala, “waking up from a dream”, gave the story a “full circle” vibe. I wish we had more time with John Winchester and his family together again. It took 300 episodes to get all four of them in the same room—I don’t count the past versions—and breaking them a part like that was incredibly cruel. I needed more time…

Legacies 1x10 "There's A World Where Your Dreams Came True" Episode Review

Major Spoilers are included in this episode review. Please read with caution.

The Saltzman Twins are back in the newest episode. Josie and Lizzie have spent quite a few episodes away from the main drama, but this Lizzie-centric hour of television propelled one of the main storylines forward. I wanted Josie to get some of the spotlight too, and she does, but not in the same way Lizzie did. After feeling once again neglected by her father, Lizzie teams up with Jinni (“genie”) and has three wishes granted that all involve Hope Mikaelson.

1st wish: Hope never went to the Salvatore School.

2nd wish: The Salvatore School was never built.

3rd wish: Hope Mikaelson was never born.

These trips through alternate realities are loaded with The Vampire Diaries / The Originals Easter Eggs like: Damon and Elena having children, one of them named Stefanie Salvatore (YES!), and then there was more with Klaus Mikaelson being alive again (off-screen), Kai Parker, and of course, seeing Mystic Falls High is always a pleasure. The best one is the most plot-relevant: The Merge, which is what drove Lizzie to kill her sister in last alternate reality.

Lizzie went through a lot of trauma and character development in these scenarios, and the idea that she has no memories was initially frustrating… until Jinni explained how her subconscious will know what’s missing, and how this “crack” in her mind will lead to the same horrible future: one where Lizzie oversteps and kills Josie.

Overall, I’m happy Lizzie had her own episode dedicated to her issues and Easter Eggs. I do enjoy Hope’s character, but it was about time the Saltzman Twins returned to the fold. They have been away for way too long. We shall see what happens in next week’s episode.

The Magicians 4x03 "The Bad News Bear" Episode Review

Major Spoilers are included in this episode review. Please read with caution.

The Magicians is officially off its rockers because everything was great. The cliffhanger left from last week’s episode was defused by Margo’s timely arrival, and the group is once again split apart as fast as they are all brought back together. Margo and Josh are taken by the Elliot Monster to hunt down Bacchus in Fillory, while everyone else scrambles to get access to magic. Oh, Alice is also in this episode, working to get everyone’s books from The Library. Once again, all of these storylines may seem disconnected, but are united by the common goal of protecting each other.

Margo is an outstanding female character. She keeps outdoing herself, telling Josh to “start acting like a real pussy” was so fierce. Her friendship with Elliot is highlighted in this episode, despite his character being possessed, and showcases how far Margo will go to protect her friend. She also did a lot of smart thinking like by not using the “golden chair” trap and instead bargained with the Monster like a true High King of Fillory.

The pairings in this episode were well-chosen: Quentin and Julia, Penny 23 and Kady, Josh and Margo, Alice and Nik (Santa Claus). I appreciate Q and J for the childhood friendship, and how they confided in each other about how their efforts to save magic may have been in vain. Penny 23 and Kady have great chemistry despite him being a different Penny, and their plan to swipe extra magic coins was… honestly I don’t blame them. Alice and Nik’s escape from The Library is the smallest part in the story, but an essential one because the fallout of Alice escaping with those books will have major ramifications later on.

Quentin playing the Push card game was really entertaining, and using Penny 23 as a bargaining chip was a dick move. The final round of Push had me shaking in my seat!

I praise the show for bringing on Zach Cherry from YOU and giving him the role of their counterfeit dealer. His scenes were well-done using the power of Luck, and the scene when they tracked him down was too real. How Penny 23 restarted Penny 40’s (the OG) phone alongside everyone else was the realist thing… The voicemail cliffhanger was a solid way to end the episode. It angered me, which means I fell for the suspense. Damn you, The Magicians!

Overall, I was really into that episode. I think season 4 is the strongest entry yet to the series, and the early renewal for a season 5 seems like the right move. The writers know what they’re doing especially with the dialogue. I am too excited for next week. Hopefully, I remember this show airs on Wednesdays!

Fate/Grand Order Mobile Game App Review

Voted by fans as the most loved chapter of the hit mobile RPG, Fate/Grand Order, the Seventh Singularity "Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia" animated TV series is coming in 2019!

Welcome to my second game review!

I have been meaning to write this game review for about a year now, and I’m really glad I put it off because getting people on board with anything Fate-related is really tricky. The problem isn’t that Fate is awful; it’s far from being terrible. In my opinion, the anime is kind of outdated beside Fate/Zero. And even that particular series has its own flaws that would turn people off.

However, this mobile game, free to download in the app store, is the reason I was able to bypass everything wrong with Fate and showed me what the series got right: the characters and more importantly, the Servants with tragic backgrounds. There are so many of them, but all of them are lovable. Fate/GO is about collecting your favorite Servants and being able to fight side by side with them.

The main story is about a demi-Servant named Mash teaming up with the player (that’s us!) to solve distortions in human history caused by rogue Servants. The tutorial is a lot like Fate/Zero’s first intro episode where they throw a ton of information at the player to catch them up: Holy Grail War, Servants, Masters, Command Spells, and how the game works.

Story mode is played out like a visual novel, and on top of that, Servants have their own personal tales called Interludes, which fleshes out their personalities, and for in-game, if you play through them, the Servants will get upgrades in skills or their Noble Phantasm, their finisher move.

The game play is turn-based combat, with the player (Master) being able to control three Servants at a time. As a reminder, Servants are Heroic Spirits from various cultures / histories. The Master’s Party is allowed to have six Servants total: three active members and three sub-members as back-up. Each Servant has 5 Command Cards and they are shuffled in a deck, then dealt out every round, giving the player a total of 5 different Command Cards to use against the enemies.

The Command Cards are called Buster (physical), Art (magic that fuels the Noble Phantasm), and Quick (low attacks that fuel critical stars).

I have been playing this game for about 8 months now, and it was my starting point for the Fate anime. To be honest, I enjoy the game a lot, and I make sure to log in everyday. Obtaining high rarity Servants is the best / most frustrating part of this entire game. Investing money into this game is borderline a necessity… normally in other free-to-play games, I find ways around spending real money, but Fate/GO does not have loopholes.

Overall, I would recommend this game to play if you want to learn more about the Fate universe without watching the anime or reading the manga / visual novels. Plus, you’ll have fun with the Servants readily available in the Friends Summon. One of the best Servants in the entire game comes from there: Cu!

Side note: I PULLED MYSTERIOUS HEROINE X ALTER! BERSERKER!

Also, if you already are playing this game, my friend code is: 228,567,965

Kingdom Hearts 3 Video Game Review

Major Spoilers are included in this video game review. Please proceed with caution.

Welcome to my first video game review! If you haven’t played Kingdom Hearts 3, I suggest you leave this page before I start discussing the spoilers and game play. This long awaited video game came out last week after 13 years of waiting. Kingdom Hearts 2 came out in 2006, when I was in 5th grade. I distinctly remember because I had allowed my elementary friend to borrow my copy, and was frustrated that he took so long with returning it to me. SO MUCH HAS CHANGED SINCE THIS GAME WAS OUT!

Quick story: I ran into said elementary friend to pick up my pre-ordered copy, and the two of us couldn’t believe we ran into each other at our local Gamestop after so many years have gone by. He had a kid last month, and that really blew my mind.

Back to to the game: Kingdom Hearts series is about a boy named Sora who travels the Disney multiverse with Donald and Goofy to protect the worlds from the Darkness threatening to consume them. Sora is the main playable character with Donald and Goofy as allies. We get other allies too depending on what world we venture to: Hercules, Woody and Buzz, Baymax, Captain Jack Sparrow, etc.

The gameplay is simple and clean (hehe) with Sora being able to control three keyblades similar to FFXV’s take on Noctis having the ability to wield different weapons. For the first time ever, Sora’s battle style can be adjusted to the player’s liking. However, this is not a button smashing type of game…

The high combos, attraction specials, and aerial recovery mechanics are incredibly flawless to the point that it’s easy to get sucked into it. While dishing out your own attacks early game, it’s hard to recognize at times when the enemies are fighting back, or notice the HP bar going way too low. I relied on Cure and Hi-Potions more and more as the game progressed.

The story scenes also play out like a movie and makes grinding through the battles / worlds way more enticing. I finished out the game in roughly 30 hours two days after the game was released. I cried the whole time and was 100% satisfied with the story’s ending. This video game also marked the end of the Xehanort Saga and concluded all of the loose plot lines from the side games like Birth by Sleep, 358/2 Days, 3D: Dream, Drop, Distance, etc.

Sora’ character growth is connected to the player’s need to grind and explore the Disney Worlds, because his adventure in the last Kingdom Hearts game, Dream Drop, Distance, left him relearning his skills in addition to leaving him with self-doubt about saving the people inside his heart. Being able to raise Sora’s level, skills, and Keyblades, helped the player connect with the character more easily.

Donald and Goofy’s interactions with Sora are more developed both in the story and in gameplay. They are helpful allies and converse way more often by pointing out hidden treasures and lucky emblems nearby the area. The quote, “My friends are my power”, have never felt stronger with these two at the top of their game.

I’m going to stop now. Otherwise, I’ll keep rambling on and on about the “most unreviewable” game out there right now. Overall, I fell in love with the series all over again, lived out my childhood in two days, and played “Face My Fears” way too much in addition to “Simple and Clean”.

Kingdom Hearts 4… I’ll see you in a decade? Hopefully sooner? Please?