Category Archives: TV Shows

12 Monkeys, Season 3

Leave a reply

Well, SyFy really wanted to mess with us didn’t they? The whole season in one weekend? I’m still not sure how I feel about that. It was nice to binge it, but I would rather binge in my own time and in my own way. So now the wait for season 4 (the final season) is going to feel twice as long. Anyway, these are my thoughts on season 3. This is a general overview, not an episode by episode recap. Therefore, spoilers for all of season 3 are ahead.I’m going to try to go in order here, but I may end up skipping around. So many thoughts!

Lets’ start with the first 4 episodes that aired Friday, May 19th. It was a nice arc, since it ended with Cole and Cassie reuniting and the death of Ramse. The introduction of the personal splinter machines really turned things on its head. Being able to splinter when you need to and reset the timeline when something goes wrong is a powerful tool. If the Witness is threatened, then you just splinter and reset the timeline. “Raise the Witness in the chaos of history” indeed. That has got to mess with a person, regardless of whether you are destined to destroy the world.

Cole meeting future Cole was a surprise. Future Cole was much lighter than Present Day Cole. Future Cole seemed to be at peace with what had happened. At least that was what he tried to convey to Present Day Cole. When Cassie stepped out (another surprise!), she said that Future Cole lied. What’s that about? Why did he lie? To protect the timeline? I thought it was a nice touch that this took place at the Emerson Hotel. Its there home base in every timeline. I also liked that Cole and Cassie were reunited by the end of episode 4.  It didn’t feel rushed, and it didn’t drag on too long.

Jennifer Goines is awesome. Her adventures in WWI and Paris were some of the best parts of season 3. If you hadn’t already, you really begin to feel sorry for her. She’s trapped in 1917, and has to make a way for herself for years until they find her. She tries so hard to leave clues with no results. Her one woman shows were brilliant! When Cole and Jones finally find her, they don’t even care about what she’s been through. She’s just another tool, not a real person who’s a member of the team. I was glad that when the timeline was reset, Cole treated her with the respect she deserved. Go Jennifer!

There were only 4 guardians assigned to protect the Witness. The 12 Monkeys didn’t seem to have a plan for how to replace a guardian who dies. Maybe they thought it wouldn’t matter because they could always reset the timeline? It would seem that you would do that sparingly, and only when it was absolutely necessary to save the Witness.

Ramse and Olivia, together again! You always know that Olivia is up to something. Why would you ever trust her? Jennifer was right- she is always exactly where she wants to be. 23 years she had Sam?! My first thought was that Sam himself was important, but it was really a way to get Ramse where he needed to be, which would in turn get Olivia where she needed to be- at the laboratory. Such an elaborate plan, but it worked. The key to getting Ramse to do what you want is through his son that he knew for like, 2 days. What was interesting about Olivia in this season was that she was much more animated, and less stoic. We see some emotion from her, which I’m sure was all calculated on her part. Her torture scene was a bit too much for me, but it shows how cold Jones and Olivia have become. Jones, even after getting Hannah back, still is completely single minded in destroying the witness, and so is Olivia. Both will do anything, suffer anything, and sacrifice anything to achieve that goal. Has all of this happened before? Olivia knew about Cole and Cassie’s child, and told Ramse, knowing that he would be willing to kill Cassie, so the witness will never be born.

Goodbye, Ramse. Now we don’t have to watch you make bad decision after bad decision, all for a son you barely know. But with all the time travel, will we see him again? Also, why did he never take his gloves off? Even when he was at the hotel with Cole in 2007, he was drinking and still had his gloves on. That annoyed me.

Night 2 was only three episodes. That was a good thing because there was way too much plot to process with 4 episodes. I know I am skipping over a lot of stuff, but these are things that stood out to me…some are important, others not so much. I wonder if it would have been better for Cassie and Cole to just tell everyone who the Witness was. Olivia was able to figure it out, according to her, and Deacon probably would’ve gotten there eventually. (Oh, and can I just say that I’m glad Deacon survived? Its like he’s the truth teller for the series. I  know he wants to have a purpose. So far its been to get Cassie out of Titan. Hopefully, he can play a bigger role next season.) Jones may have still wanted to kill the Witness, but she may have been more amenable to finding another way. I think Jones was hurt that they didn’t tell her. They didn’t trust her, so that made Cassie and Cole the enemy too.

The heist in 1989 was all kinds of wonderful. Little Jennifer is just as awesome as grown up Jennifer. Jennifer is officially a part of the team. About time! And I also love how Deacon is like the Jennifer Whisperer. He gets such a kick out of watching her go. I like how he tries to watch out for her. Glad to see Terry the Tortoise! And Gale! Nice to see him contribute more to the team. But telling him he will die in 1961, wow.  That was pretty brutal. He was already having a hard time, that just made things worse for him, I think. But as usual, he pulls through for them. Hope Valley, 1953. Whoa. That poor kid. He’s a primary, and he’s surrounded by crazy people. Was he born to be the Witness, or was he made to be the Witness? I also wonder if the lady the Witness drew was really Cassie, but the Witness intentionally pointed to the other woman instead. Had the Witness (lets call him Athan, the name Cassie gave him) had visions of his mother and father yet? I get the feeling that even at that age, he knew who they were. I do like how Athan has always been one of the voices in Jennifer’s head. He is primary after all. I believe in season 2 it was established that the primaries throughout time all can hear each other.  That is the source of the voices in their heads- the other primaries throughout time. Cool. Jones and the crew find out the identity of the Witness, and now the team have become enemies. Let time jumping games begin!

Night 3, is the final act. Cassie and Cole are splintering through time, looking for Athan, while Jones and drew chases them through time. Jones and crew is using Jennifer’s drawings to find Cassie and Cole, but of course Jennifer is also trying to protect them. Jennifer will always be Team Cole. So the last guardian encourages Athan to write the Word of the Witness, and then soon after Athan leaves to splinter himself through time. He says that this helped him to stay sane. Until of course, he falls in love and tries 607 times to save the woman he loves. Which, apparently, after failed attempt number 607, he decides that he is going to be the Evil Witness after all, and set about destroying time/the world. Because of course that’s what happens! Love makes you crazy. Or, at least the loss of it does. We get a masquerade ball, where Jones and crew catch up with Cassie and Cole. Of course, Jennifer saves the day! with fireworks!

The theme of this season seems to be of fate and destiny. Can you choose your fate? How powerful is destiny? Will time let you change your destiny? Interesting how the Witness thinks he is a primary “or some variation thereof”. What does that mean??

And Jennifer of course gets herself out of the cage so she can play her part in saving the “dying man” from her drawings. Who just happens to be the Witness. And of course, Olivia reaches the culmination of her plan, and is able to splinter to Titan, using the coordinates she received back when she took Ramse to see his grownup son. So many callbacks and pieces to the puzzle.

Cassie and Cole catchup with the witness and take him back to the house of cedar and pine. And of course, they tell him when they are, and he passes that information along to Olivia, who then uses it to help Jones and crew find them, and then everything goes haywire. Titan! Olivia! Cole and Cassie were too willing to give Athan the benefit of the  doubt. When someone shows you who they are, believe them! “My family have come for me.”

So, all this stuff about Olivia really being the Witness is problematic for me. We’ve spent a whole season trying to save the Witness who is really not the Witness? And why is Olivia the Witness? Athan says that insuring his birth insured Olivia’s. The Witness is timeless, the deceiver. But even Olivia sys that she hasn’t done those things yet. He witnessed, but is not The Witness. huh? I feel like I need to rewatch seasons 1 and 2 so I can understand Olivia better. There should be some clues in there.

So now we start a new cycle for the fourth and final season. We’ve got a new map of symbols, with Jennifer being the key to deciphering them. The serpent eating its own tail. The new symbol for next season. And Cole’s mother!! I knew she had to play some role. It was always weird that we never even saw her. Cole’s dad was adamant about protecting him, and he was always a little to accepting of this whole time traveling business,. He was emotional, but pretty calm when he met his adult son in season 1. What did he know? Who is Cole’s mother? What is Cole’s mother?! It looks like mommy issues will be a theme in season 4. And finally, has anyone ever explained where the name “12 Monkeys” came from?

And for all you Wheel of Time fans out there, in the letter Cole’s mom wrote him, she talked of the serpent eating its own tail. Is Cole’s mother an Aes Sedai!?

Is it 2018 yet?

Advertisement

TV Round Up

Leave a reply

Well, I did a  Reading Round-up last time, so now let’s move on to TV!

These are TV shows that I am currently watching, just finished watching, or ones that I am looking forward to. These are mostly sci/fi  and fantasy, but I did include some others. As usual, they are in no particular order. I already do more in depth pieces on 12 Monkeys and Man in the High Castle, so I won’t list them again here. These are shows that I’m not going to do regular posts about, but that I am enjoying watching. As usual, these are in no particular order.

  1. The Expanse (SyFy) I have posted about the book series already, but needless to say the TV show is fantastic. The production values are high quality for television and the story is staying very true to the spirit of the books. Season 2 is currently airing. The SyFy channel has really upped its game. Its nice to see the channel focus on good quality science fiction programming, rather than shows with only a tangental relationship to the genre. Bravo, SyFy!
  2. The Magicians (SyFy) Once again, another great series from SyFy, based on a book series (The Magicians by Lev Grossman). I like the show, however, even though I’ve read the books, the show can get a bit confusing. From episode to episode, and sometimes from scene to scene, it feels as though something is missing, whether its a scene or a whole episode. It is very jumpy. I have found that binging a few episodes at a time is helpful. Having read the books helps, but in places where they have veered very far from the books, sometimes it becomes muddled. I do recommend this series, but you have to pay close attention. No playing on your phone while watching this one!
  3. Emerald City (NBC) This show has finished its first season. It is a take on the Wizard of Oz series by L. Frank Baum. Notice I said a take on the book series, not on the movie. I’ve only read the Wizard of Oz, and if your only exposure to this story is the classic movie, well, lets just say the books are not a technicolor fantasy. Its quite dark. So, basing the tv series on the books rather than the movie was a pretty interesting take. Of course, the characters are very grey, and the story includes elements from the books that I don’t think have ever really been translated to the screen. The story has its issues, but if you are looking for something that is not just a re-make of the movie, this is worth checking out. The ratings were not that great, so I don’t know if it has been picked for a second season, but even with its future up in the air, I do recommend giving the show a try.
  4. 3% (Netflix) This one is something that I wouldn’t normally watch, but I was looking for something different, and this came up on my Neflix home page. I’m glad I took a chance! This is a Brazilian show about a future society where people are given the chance to live in a better, utopian society. However, only 3% of the candidates are taken. Those chosen to compete for a spot in the utopia are put through a series of challenges, and of course, the surviving 3% get to move “offshore” to the utopia. And, as you can imagine, this utopian society is probably not a real utopia. The show is in Portuguese, so you can watch it dubbed in English (or other languages) or use subtitles. Its a great show, and it has been picked up by Netflix for a second season.
  5. Prison Break (FOX, April 4, 2017) I was a huge Prison Break fan when the show first aired in 2005. It aired for 4 seasons, plus an extra episode called “The Final Break”. As you can guess from the title, its about a prison break. The main character comes up with an elaborate plan to get himself into the same prison where his brother is on death row, in order to break his brother out of prison. Every episode is a piece of the plan to break out. It is woven together brilliantly, and the first season is riveting.  By the 3rd and 4th seasons it got a bit convoluted,  but its still a great thrill ride. A new season is coming to FOX on April 4th, 2017. It takes place a few years after the events of season 4. You can watch all of the previous seasons on Netflix.
  6. The Americans (FX) The Americans is about Russian spies living in the U.S. in the early 80s. They are posing as your typical suburban American family. The parents are the spies, but their two kids have no idea.  I can’t say too much without spoiling it, but there is a lot of eighties nostalgia going on, in addition to all the spy stuff. Its very dark and keeps you on the edge of you seat. he episodes can get slow at times, but the precarious situations the spies get themselves into, and the lengths to which they have to go to accomplish the mission, are very intense. Highly recommended. Be forewarned that there are some graphic scenes, so if you’re squeamish, be prepared to cover your eyes. A lot. Its currently in its 5th season. Its final season (season 6) will air next year.

Other shows I’m watching include: All the Marvel Netflix shows (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist); Arrow, The Flash, Better Call Saul (although I am a season behind).

There’s more I could add, but this gives you an idea of what I like. What are you watching?

 

 

 

The Man in The High Castle, S1 and S2

1 Reply

I didn’t post about this show last year, but I will give you the general run down. Its based on the novel of the same name by Philip K. Dick. In a nutshell, this is what the world could have been like if the Axis powers won World War II. The United States in divided into 3 territories: The east coast is controlled by Germany, and the west coast is controlled by Japan. Down the middle of the country, the Rockies, part of the Great Plains, is the neutral zone. Of course, this isn’t just straight alternate history. There are time traveling elements! You see, there are these films that very few people know about, that show a world like ours, where the Allied powers win. Of course, the bad guys want these films, because you don’t want the good guys seeing them and getting any ideas about starting a resistance movement or anything like that. (wink, wink).

So in Season 1, we get the set up. The story takes place in 1962. We figure out who the players are and how each part of the country is run. We get a little more insight into what’s going on in the rest of the world in season 2. In season 1 we meet Juliana, who’s sister is a part of this resistance movement that knows about the existence of the films, and is determined to use them to overthrow the Germans and the Japanese. Juliana is in San Fransisco. We also meet Joe, who is in New York City.  Juliana discovers the film, meets Joe, and that’s pretty much when the story takes off. There are many more characters involved of course, but to try to list all of them here would be information overload, but suffice to say, the interplay  between the characters, the two empires (Germany and Japan) is incredible. If you know your WWII history, then you know that the alliance between Japan and Germany was not an easy one, and that tension remains even after their victory. This is explored more in season 2.

I will say that the show really hits its stride in season 2. We are past the set up and exposition phase of Season 1, and we get to see more of the world created after WWII. There is so much attention to detail, that you find yourself looking for all the “easter eggs” and references to what technology and culture would have been like. In many ways it was more advanced, and in others it seems stagnated in the 1940s. I am not an expert in any way when it comes to WWII and this time period, but just as a fan of history in general, the whole thing is just riveting. In season 2, we get to spend more time with other characters and delve a little bit into their motivations. The world is also expanded, and we see more of what life was like beyond Joe and Juliana in the States. I feel like if I say too much more it will give away too much and will take away from some of the surprise revelations about the characters. Watching the show raises the question, for me at least, as to why some Americans appear to be whole heartedly accepting the superiority of both the Japanese and the Germans. In every oppressed society you always have people who will buy into the propaganda of the oppressor, but it just makes you want to know how they got there. I am aware of the times and the state of race relations, and due to their own prejudices that it may have been easier for some to get there, (at least in the German controlled eastern U.S.) but these were still foreign invaders. We start to see some of this in Season 2. And lets not forget, this is alternate history with a bit of science fiction thrown in. The existence of the films themselves speaks to the existence of time travel and alternate universes, and this is a major plot element in season 2. Be forewarned, it gets a bit timey-whimey, but its not hard to follow at all. I actually think it handles the concept of time travel and alternate universes in a very thoughtful way. At times it will break your heart.

As you can probably tell, I whole heartedly recommend this series! You can binge watch both seasons on Amazon Prime.

Lilypad rating: LilyPadLilyPadLilyPadLilyPad out of 5

12 Monkeys, S2:E8-13 (Mostly the Finale!)

Leave a reply

Seriously, my mind is so blown right now, I can’t even! I am not going to do an episode by episode thing, I’m just going to give my overall thoughts on the final episodes of season 2. I will say that I am definitely glad we are getting a season 3, because I would NOT be able to get over it if this were a cliff hanger! (I may write a random post about my love of the late TV show Kings (2009), and how that ended, but that will have to wait).

Please note there are complete spoilers ahead!

There are so many things to dissect here. For one thing, the big question is answered about who is the Witness. We also jumped to the future. So it looks like next season, we’ll be going to the future, rather than the past, which i think is a good way to switch things up for next season. We also see the Pallid/Tall Man has his hands in everything, and Olivia is not on his side. I don’t know if she is on the side of our heroes. She’s probably just on her own side. Which I think works. It appears that Ramse will be reunited with his son, but we still have the question of what happened to his son? What does Olivia want with him? Is he special in some way? Does she just need him to control Ramse? If so, what does she want Ramse for? What is her plan?

I wonder of Madeline Stowe’s character will be back. If not, it was a nice cameo.

Jones! She is such a badass! I’m glad she was able to finally experience the machine she has sacrificed so much for.

Jennifer’s medley of rousing movies speeches was so made of win! Jennifer in 1917? That’s going to be interesting. Although I hope she does;t spend too much time there. Her crazy during that time, is not going to go well of her. To say the least.

And can we talk about Titan? So Titan is just a big ole time machine that can send people into the future and the past. Whoa. I know that Jones’ husband and the Pallid/Tall Man) were going to work together, and I bet that was the creation of Titan. The Pallid/Tall Man has his hands in everything, doesn’t he? Was the creation of Titan all a ploy to eventually get pregnant Cassie to the future so she can “bear the witness”? (Ooh see what I did there?). Anyway, I’ll definitely have to watch a couple more times to get all the things I know I’ve missed.

Deacon! I hope he’s not dead. I was warming up to him, and he was really becoming a part of the team.

And of course, Cole and Cassie finally find some bit of happiness. You knew that wouldn’t last long. I am curios about how Cassie is able to remember her life with Cole. When Cole prevented the paradox, shouldn’t that have reset the timeline again? And why would Cassie still be pregnant? “Born to two travelers outside of time”. Ugh. So many questions!

This has been such a great ride. For so many shows, the second season is the “sophomore slump”, but this season was almost as good as the first. It has gone past stopping the plague, which they had to do because you could only take that plot so far. I usually have an issue with “the conspiracy is bigger than you know!” plot lines, or the “now we have three villains!”. This season has been crafted very well, and I hope this level of quality continues with the next season.

Is it 2017 yet?

 

12 Monkeys, S2:E3-7

Leave a reply

Yes, I am still watching! Let’s get caught up. Once again, no play by play episode recaps, just my overall thoughts about what has happened so far.

SPOILERS AHEAD

So in Episode 3, “One Hundred Years”, we travel back to 1944. I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about traveling back to different moments in time. I thought this would end up being a “time period of the week” kind of thing. I’m glad I turned out to be wrong. It appears that the virus is taking a backseat to saving not just humanity, but time itself. That really goes hand in hand though. Chasing the 12 Monkeys that travelled back in time has shown to be a good move, although I don’t know how I feel about this particular instance. It felt a little clunky, which may be because there was some set up going on, and additional information about the Primaries, and why the Monkeys want to kill them. I’ll have to watch those parts of the episode again to get a better handle on their purpose. Solid episode, but one I  know I will come back to so I can watch more closely.

Episodes 4 and 5 “Emergence” and “Bodies of Water”, were pretty exciting. In “Emergence” we tie together Ramse’s entry to 1944 and how that paralleled Cassie and Cole’s adventure. I thought it was well done, and I liked the fact that it didn’t take up the entire episode.  I did like that Ramse talked to Cassie about how she was treating Cole. It was nice to see them put aside their animosity for the sake of the one thing they have in common- they both love Cole. We also got to hear Jennifer call Cole “Otter Eyes”. Too cute! Jennifer’s explanation of time and the Primaries was well done. What if there is no time? Everything past present and future happening now. It hurts my brain. I also like how they splintered in front of the cop. And did it in such a badass casual way. Nice. I like the confidence. And how cool is it that the lady Monkey ( I don’t know her name! Does she have one?)  is the whistling man’s momma! At least he comes by his beliefs honestly. It’s in his blood! I’m also sensing a theme of science versus nature. Jones’ explanation when they got back was interesting. Nothing in science can explain the Monkey’s theory, but nature has its own way of doing things. And we don’t know all of nature’s secrets. And the flower petals will never not be creepy.

In “Bodies of Water”, how sad for Jennifer. I loved when she told Cassie that she has no idea how exhausting it is being “crazy”. I loved her journey here, and that we got to spend sometime getting to know her. Cassie’s journey in this episode was pretty great as well. We are coming back to the Red Forest and its meaning. This was real an episode for all the female characters to shine, and they definitely did. We are getting closer to finding out who the Witness is. Apparently the Witness can be whomever he or she needs to be in order to direct his followers. Is the Witness real? Is it someone whose consciousness is trapped in time? Therefore they can enter people’s minds to manipulate them? So many questions.

Episode 6, “Immortal”- 1975! Creepy Primary serial killer! What’s not to love? Anti looks like the Primaries hear each other’s voices in their heads. Its like they are communicating, how they are keeping time together. Interesting… The set up for Sam as either the Witness or some other important role seems to start here. Sam tells Ramse that there are more lives at stake than just his. And Cassie’s journey continues in this episode when she comes face to face with the Witness. Who first appears as Aaron and then as Cole. Why is Cassie important? What is her role? I like her as badass scientist and time traveller, but it would be cool if she had a more defined role in the fight to save time. And of course, Go Team Hyena!!

Episode 7 is definitely a game changer. It really went horror movie on us this episode. I did want the men form 1959 to somehow tie into the story more. It seemed like they would have an even bigger part. And what happened to them? Once time was fixed, did they go back to 1959? If they died in 2044, did that change the events of 1959 and forward? I’m sure I’m missing something. Anyway, it was good to see Cassie and Cole working together. I also thought the scene with Cassie, Cole, Ramse and Sam was well done. It really showed the different bonds that Cole has with Cassie and Ramse. Ramse is his brother in all things and Cassie’s bond with him is more than just something romantic. Because of what they’ve been through, their bond is unique, and really calling it romantic isn’t giving it enough depth. But the best part of course was Sam getting transported somewhere, “somewhen” else. Who did he meet? Is Sam the Witness? Is the person he meets the Witness? I like that Sam appears to be getting a more important role, and not just the reason Ramses is willing to let millions of people die.

Seriously looking forward to the next episodes!

12 Monkeys, S2:E1 & 2

Leave a reply

As much as I would love to post a big long treatise on these first two episodes, I won’t. Unfortunately I’m throwing this up so that I can try to be a bit more consistent. Anyway, the season 2 premier was on April 19th, and it was awesome!

I’m not going to do a blow by blow or scene by scene recap, its just not something I would be particularly good at, nor do I find them to be all that interesting. If I were good with witty one liners and great at making nicknames, I would consider doing it. But since there are way more people out there that are better at it than me, I’ll just give you some brief impressions. Hopefully, as the season progresses, I can get more in depth with my posts.

The thing that stuck out the most to me so far is that Cole and Cassie have reversed- Cole is now the one who’s “soft” and Cassie has gotten “hard”. Cassie isn’t hesitating to do what she feels needs to be done in order to stop the virus. Cole is more willing to think things through and come up with a different solution. It makes for an interesting dynamic for season 2, and I’m interested to see where it leads them, and how it affects their relationship.

What hasn’t changed as much is Ramse. He and Cole are back together (yay! I think this was the most compelling relationship in season 1) but of course, he still is willing to sacrifice the lives of millions of people to save his son. The son he only knew about for a day or two probably. Not to say that fatherhood can’t change a person, but this seems to be an extreme measure to go through. And who’s to say that in the changed timeline, his son doesn’t still exist? He may still have his son, just not in the aftermath of the apocalypse. But that’s what happens when you mess with time!

And, Jennifer Goines continues to be a delight.

I am a little concerned about how they are going to keep dodging around the release of the virus. How far back in time will they have to go? If the release of the virus is just fate, then why bother? That’s a central question this season, I think. Do you believe in fate? If events are fated to happen regardless of how the time line is changed, when do they figure that out, and how do they do things differently? Does it even matter? In the words of Sarah Connor, is there no fate but the one we make?

Stay tuned!

12 Monkeys (SyFy Channel)

Leave a reply

I’ve decided to post about this TV show because it snuck up on me. As with many nerds and geeks, I have had my issues with the SyFy channel. From the name change to the fact that for awhile it wasn’t actually showing, you know, scifi stuff. The past couple years or so, they have gotten back on the ball. I haven’t watched all of the new shows, but at least when I look at the tv listings for the channel, the programming looks like something that would come from a network calling itself “SyFy”. Anyway, I hadn’t really watched anything on the network since Battlestar Galactica, and I had heard good reviews about the show. So, over the summer they began running the whole first season in the middle of the night. So I set the DVR and started watching. Holy. Cow.

Time travel makes my head hurt. So yes, this show made my head hurt. But it was so engaging, and the characters were ones I could root for, and the acting was great, the concept was straight forward, but complicated at the same time. Its not necessrily the best show on tv, but its a very entertaining hour each week, and I always found myself anticipating the next week’s episode.

Without giving stuff away, the premise is that there is a virus/plague that wipes out 98% of humanity in 2017. In 2043, a man, James Cole, is sent back in time to 2013, to stop the virus/plague from ever happening. He is to do this by killng the man who started it all. Obviously, since this is a tv show, things don’t go as planned. What comes next is a whole bunch of time travel, fixing past events, changing past events, the effect it has on the future, the effect it has on the present day characters Cole meets, and how his time traveling affects their lives… its really cool. The show is not groundbreaking television, I’m not going to put it on the level of Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, or many other acclaimed shows. But it’s highly entertaining, and doesn’t treat the audience as if it were dumb.

I don’t know if I’m going to be recapping each episode (I’m not really good at that sort of thing), but I will chime in here with my thoughts as season 2 unfolds.

I can.not.wait. I’m going to have to re-watch season 1 a couple more times before the season 2 premiere in April. Because thats the kind of nerd I am.

The Quest 7-31-14, Episode #1

Leave a reply

I watched this show, and I like it. I am a fantasy nerd, and this show plays to that, in spades.

As many of the contestants on the show stated, I grew up always wanting to be somewhere else, or someone else. If only I could live in Narnia and frolic with the fauns all day! If only I could fight dragons like they do in Dragons of Autumn Twilight! Now, these contestants, sorry, “paladins” (I think they could’ve come up with a better name) can live out that dream. Sure, you could do cosplay, but adding in the actors and production values, for me, would make this the adventure of a lifetime.

The show is a bit cheesy at times, and some of the dialogue from the actors is a bit cringeworthy, (the sunspear? are we in Dorne?) but it’s a great concept, and a nice summer reality show that hopefully, will not devolve into cat fights amount the paladins.

I’m in, so let the games begin!