orgrinrt Reviews

The Witcher: Everybody Has a Plan 'til They Get Punched in the Face (2023) Season 3, Episode 6

It could have been great

[5/10 · 27 July 2023]

I had such hopes for this latter volume, seeing as the story got somewhat more faithful to the source prior this episode (though a lot of weird additions and changes remained), which I hadn't expected, but vaguely appreciated.

The arc this episode went through could have been so amazing. I remember the books sort of breezed through it a bit, but the plot points contained within made sense and were pretty epic, I have to admit.

But this one, while preserving some plot points, went into weird directions with others, and I can't help but feel annoyed that such minute things as the surroundings for certain scenes were needlessly changed to something that didn't really feel like a necessary or warranted change.

I mean, the episode ticked many of the boxes in terms of plot points, but the delivery was very much disappointing. Mixed with some weird additions and changes, it just fell flat for me.

And the two heavy-hitter plots, Dijkstra and Geralt, neither hit as heavy as they should've in my opinion.

I don't really have much hope for the remaining two episodes, but we'll see...

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

Far exceeded any expectations I had

[10/10 · 2 May 2023]

I've only now reached "maturity" in some sense with DnD, having played four characters in various campaigns, two of which are still going on. I don't consider myself the hardest fan of the franchise, but this movie was way more entertaining, impressive and enchanting than I had expected.

So, this comes from someone who's barely made it past amateur in the game and its lore: This was a complete treat in all of the ways I could've hoped for.

The script, the story itself, is surprisingly good. The comedic nature made it hard to be immersive, but it was. Plenty of easter eggs and references, some of which were later revealed, but it was quite fun to notice them and savour them in the moment, without the non-dnd friends realizing the depth of some funny or impactful moments.

They chose a lot of hard ways through, by which I mean they did not scare away from doing big, hard-to-get-right things. And I would say they got most of everything pretty close to right. Right enough that I simply have no complaints.

It really did feel like an entire campaign. The fun part was also to see, how a lot of the dialogue and actual things that happen were very close to how things would play out in a campaign we'd play. Having a brilliant plan A, then resorting to plan B, then just having chaos direct the story, having the party adapt and just improvise things like we would do. It was such an endearing experience in a way, but even looking at it all outside of this perspective, it truly feels like the story really carries its weight on its own merits, and would very likely impress most of those without these experiences or "connections" sort of.

The cinematography was beautiful, and often reminded me of Lotr, the only movies to date that have managed this genre without being corny or awkward or too limited. We had big shots of the sceneries, good pacing, various interesting places and milieus... it all works so well, it's hard for me to wrap my head around that after so many years since I've last experienced this. In Tv-series realm we did have the first few seasons of got, and maybe a few others, but this is truly on the exact level of the greats.

While this is much more comedic and adventurous-y than lotr or got, it does work in the context. For me, dnd has always been about funny moments and encounters, things going wrong and having these grand adventures where a group of people just somehow make it and save the day. It kind of reminds me of pirates of the caribbean in many ways. And that was another great series, although I wouldn't count it in this exact same genre, or maybe I'm more thinking of "theme" or something.

This is like if Lotr was more like Potc, and based on dnd. It's fun. It's actually very immersive, and definitely impressive. It has its heart-breaking moments too. It really does have a lot of the things a good production should.

It is a great piece of entertainment, a truly worthy experience, and I can't help but hope that they manage to turn this into a franchise and keep up the level of greatness.

10/10. I will be rewatching this very soon with a bunch more of my friends, and I bet I'll find even more little details and easter eggs to enjoy.

Go watch it. Pay for it. You'll love it, I'm sure.

Dexter: New Blood: Sins of the Father (2022) Season 1, Episode 10

This wasn't it

[5/10 · 10 January 2022]

The season was great so far, though it had its bumps. All the way up until the latter half of this episode, this was absolutely a commendable reboot. And I think we all know how hard that is to pull off.

But the way it ended... Somehow it didn't feel right.

My very first reaction was disappointment, but the more I thought about it, it probably makes sense for things to end this way, in the situation that we had. But it doesn't feel good despite that.

I can try and rationalize a lot of the decisions that happened in the finale (and even along the way there, from the very first episode), but it doesn't remove this sense of disappointment.

I'm not sure if the writers wanted to make a point with the way they wrote things here. Something along the lines of rubbing in the fact that in the end, Dexter is a truly horrifying serial killer. Up until now he rationalized to himself, as well as us in the audience, that the things he did, were justified, in some sense of the word. And the series before, as well as this one prior to the finale, did terrific job of convincing the watcher that this is the case. But it isn't. And maybe they wanted to, perhaps even had to, make that point. I don't know. Maybe it just doesn't make sense (in the entertainment sense) and that's that.

But that's exactly why it's so irritating.

I think it got too real, too ugly, to be likeable.

1883 (2021–2022)

It's beautiful, grim, and in no rush

[10/10 · 28 December 2021]

After watching so many rushed pop adaptations of fantasy lately, it's just such a treat to watch a show that isn't in a mindless hurry to go places.

The scenery is beautiful. The characters are solemn, which suits the atmosphere perfectly. Naivety quickly washes away from the faces of those that have it, though I do realize some of the characters are a bit over the top with the gloominess. But that simply sits well with the overall feel of the show, so it's not a hinderance by any means.

I felt like the show wasn't very full of action, because I had those corny action-packed shows of late so fresh in my mind, but really; the show has been full of action so far. It's just so well delivered and rounded nicely, that it doesn't feel like the tacky "music video"-esque bits that irk your senses, even though you end up enjoying it somewhat as a visual spectacle. No, this one really takes its time to show it and lays it down so pleasantly, even if the subject matter of the scene is grim and horrifying.

Personally, I love the main cast of characters. The actors do a splendid job, but I also realize this specifically speaks to my sensibilities -- I'm a man of few words myself, and a lot of the characters fall into that category. Watching the show feels a bit like being at home, in terms of being entertainment. This is exactly the kind of thing I would likely make, had I any semblance of skill in any of the required fields (which I, fortunately, do not). It truly speaks to me on a level not many shows do.

But right now we've had two episodes. The season is long, so there's plenty of chances to go wrong. However, something about the very sure and true way of delivering the show tells me it's not very likely we'll go amiss. This holds all the cards firmly in hand, to keep the level of quality and beauty up.

That being said, I will come back and update my rating as well as this review as required. I'm sure there'll be plenty to say further down the line.

But for now... thanks to everyone involved, I did not expect to watch anything so enjoyable after having so many lukewarm experiences of late. My gratitude.

The Wheel of Time (2021– )

Really wanted to like it, but ultimately feels lacking

[6/10 · 28 December 2021]

I really did want to like this. The initial episodes seemed exciting and seeing as I've only read the first book, the Eye of the World, I didn't see big problems with the changes until we got towards the end of the season.

But then, something didn't feel right anymore. Can't rightly place what that is, but once I paused the second last episode at around its halfway point, I just didn't want to click it and continue anymore.

I wanted to carry on to see more of Pike and Henney (really the two saving graces of the show, along with Robbins), but that's not really enough for me. I admit the actor playing Rand really is worth looking at visually, but the delivery of the character doesn't feel right somehow. I think most of that is due to the writing, but the delivery itself fights a bit with the image I had of Rand in my head. Can't really place that either though.

Matt... the actor does a really great job, but his arc felt just... weird. I don't know. A lot of these things probably make more sense if you either know where the characters will end up later on in the books, OR you haven't read anything at all and come to the show with fresh eyes, unburdened by expectations or prior images for the characters and places and whatnot.

Some of the changes I did like, especially with the Aes Sedai and Tar Valon, also the whole Stepin arc was a great addition in my opinion, but as a whole it all felt a little rushy and too limited, if that makes sense as a word in English.

This show also made me not want to pick up the next book just yet. Something about it just really made the whole story feel like a chore to continue, even when the books are definitely a completely different thing and don't have the same problems by and large.

Anyway, it's entertaining enough as a tv fantasy up until towards the end of the season. I fully intend to finish it at some point, but right now it's just... not enough for me. I'll update my rating and this review as required once I find the time to continue. But until that day, I wanted to share my view.

The Witcher: Family (2021) Season 2, Episode 8

Packed with action, but...

[7/10 · 21 December 2021]

Packed with action, but ends with a reveal that I am not sure we should be getting this early on. I'll keep this spoiler-free, so I'll refrain from specifics there.

All in all, this episode was very on brand for this season; A lot of things that don't necessarily make a lot of sense, but probably make it a little bit more exciting as an adaptation. I am not against all that, since *if* done well, it can be very thrilling to see new things and perspectives in a story one loves. Action helps to palate it all for the average viewer, so it's a necessary evil, I suppose.

However, it's not exactly easy to pull something like that off. In the process, season 2 manages to crank the volume up to 11 and things do get fairly crazy, fast.

Overall, I don't hate most of the changes, which is not to say that I think they're bad either. A lot of it is okay, some of it even good, but in general I'm not sure if most of them really make the story better, even as an adaptation in a new medium that does indeed warrant *some* changes as a premise.

The finale feels hectic, but I actually think the Kaer Morhen bit was pretty cool, even if it was certainly the main culprit. It looked great, and I'll just go ahead and put all my gripes regarding to the sensibility of some of its parts aside and confirm that it was, indeed, visually exciting and really, really cool to watch.

I think this show is going way too fast and easy with some aspects of the story. I already mentioned the very end of the episode, but also the whole introduction of the deathless mother seemed unnecessary (i.e I can't see what value it brought even when thinking in terms of the medium and especially the visual side of things; other than maybe this one battle in the last episode, which could've been based on so many other things that would've made it less strange and divergent). In the process the show's presentation of Nilfgaard is now maybe too different and focuses on the wrong things (and Cahir is really getting a rough treatment...), since instead of being the calculated, rational outcome of what should really remain a secret for several seasons still, we now have this emphasis on impulsive religious-tasting stuff and a side of a hut grandma influencing the entire dynamics and politics of the continent.

But all this being said, I still don't think the finale, nor the season as a whole, was bad. Not by any means. It looked great all the way through, and especially in that regard it's been a significant bump up from the first season.

The cast does a great job and I think they've made a great job casting the actors. All of it works well.

My only real gripes are with how things have changed, in what manner, and with what speed. I have a feeling, though, that as the seasons keep coming, things are starting to get more cohesive and make more sense. A single season might seem hectic as we get this amount of stuff going on, some of which is entirely new (and some if it doesn't really mesh all that well with the part of the audience that has prior exposure and thus, expectations to be broken) just to stir the pot a bit more, but I think it'll feel less so as things get established. I still do think that they tackled way too much in this one season (honestly, even just very faithfully adapting the Blood of Elves would've probably felt rushed in 8 episodes), but I guess that's a thing all adaptations have to struggle with. There's only so many minutes to go, and I bet there are money daddies up in the food chain both demanding action and pop-culture references, as well as giving very rough constraints in which to accomplish all that. Things cost money, after all, so I don't think there's a universe in which we could get perfect adaptations of anything, ever.

I am satisfied and remain hopeful for what's to come. I'm really coming to terms with how different this show is going to be, and as we go, I think it'll get easier to adapt to that and not subconsciously compare the source with the adaptation so much.

The Witcher: Voleth Meir (2021) Season 2, Episode 7

Entertaining, but...

[7/10 · 20 December 2021]

Entertaining, but I'm having huge doubts about the direction the show is going.

I am decidedly not against doing things differently and especially not when *expanding* (not replacing) on the source materials. For example, episode 4 was great, even though a lot of it was something that never happened and some of it even could not have happened. But it was done well and all of it served some purpose. And not only that, it was woven well and had good pacing, so as a package it just worked.

The episodes since, all the way up to this one, have not been so well composed. A lot of the things the show does differently are entertaining, but not all. So far, I have a good opinion on most of it and I can see where they are going with some of it.

Some, on the other hand, I can't really understand yet. I'll not spoil anything, but I think most familiar with the story would probably agree at least on part. Some of it seems to come too soon or go way too far in a different direction. I have to emphasis, that I don't think any of it is terribly off, but part of these things feels dubious at the moment.

There's one episode remaining in the season, and it's hard for me to see how this wraps up for the next season.

I do have to admit that because a lot of these things are stuff that are either just done differently or they are things that are sort of plausible since they were never covered in the books -- maybe hinted at, but some not even that -- this season has been quite exciting at times. It's been a fresh experience on many fronts, and as long as it has been something that could've happened but just wasn't covered, it's been really interesting to get more of those arcs. And especially some characters that weren't really covered at all in the books, some even just barely mentioned. Also, the new characters that weren't in the books but that make sense, they have been great to watch.

That being said, a lot of it I still don't think they should've changed. Or at least at this point, prior to seeing the season finale, some of it does not seem to serve a purpose that'd make it better than it could've been had it been done more aligned with the source. Some of that stuff feels like it might have worked had they introduced it later on, rather than this early. Remember, that we are just barely getting started at this point, and we're already getting... a lot.

Which is also kind of good. I remember reading Blood of Elves and at the end of it, feeling like we didn't really get anywhere. After the exciting and action-packed short stories, it felt a little slow and unimportant. The show's writers seem to have had a similar feeling, since they are throwing in a bunch of stuff to try and make it exciting at all times. Most of it works, I admit, and I'd bet for the average viewer who hasn't read the books, it might just work altogether well. But not all of it works. Some not at all.

I really hope they manage to tie things together in the finale, however, because if not, this show stands to get more and more off base on some fronts and I fear what that may bring us moving forward.

Episodes 1 and 4 have been the two saving graces for this season. Episodes 2 and 3 were not great, at least to me, but episodes 5-7 have been mostly okay. I think episodes 2 and 3 suffered from being sort of an adjustment period for the changes, but even reviewing them now, they weren't great. I truly hope they somehow manage to save a lot of the worse parts in the finale.

But even if I'm being very critical, I still do think that there's great potential with this show. You can't please everyone, and I get that nerdy farts like me probably aren't the real target audience for the show. We already have the books. They aim to cash in on the contemporary popularization of fantasy, which all in all, is good. Even if I don't especially like the decisions made here, it's still great to see fantasy getting more and more popular.

On a positive side, it's no longer giving people such nerdy, sweaty impressions when I talk about the books and worlds I like. But on a downside, e.g when I talk about witcher, a lot of people no longer associate it with the books, but rather on the games (earlier) and even now, this show.

As a lightweight consumer and a moderate fan, I do not care so much, but I do feel for the author and the fans who are really hardcore with the lore.

The Witcher: Redanian Intelligence (2021) Season 2, Episode 4

A bunch of bangers

[9/10 · 18 December 2021]

Yes, yes and yes!

Episode starts strong with one of my favourite characters, Dijkstra. It was a great scene too, almost perfect. They did great job with the casting; I immediately recognized who it is, though in my head I somehow imagined him bulkier, on the fat muscular side. Not that the actor here looks small by any means.

And then, I'm really pumped that we get to this side of Cahir this early in the show. It took so long in the books and he is, with all his faults, one of the best characters, up there with Dijkstra in my books. The show really did him dirty in the first season. I really really hope we don't go back to that.

The scene with the elves and relieving was so good too. The actor playing the Temerian soldier had a very tiny role, but oh my god how well that scene played out. It's tragic, of course, but the actor really was fantastic there.

And Batey as Dandelion is as strong and exciting as ever. In the books he makes most things he's involved in just that much more entertaining. The same is true for this show, which I really do appreciate. The meta commentary with the song with multiple timelines was such fun. I just wish they did the book's sequence with the trap door and all, but that's a minor complaint. This elf arc really fits the overall tone of this show and in this episode, it is well executed and tied together. And the moments towards the end of the episode felt really real. Great acting from all.

Triss arriving at Kaer Morhen, too. It played so well, very faithful to the books in the atmosphere of it, even if a lot of the actual content was based in different things. While I liked the Triss in season 1 too, I do have a soft spot for lighter orange hair and it just makes the actress shine and somehow resemble the image of Triss I had when reading a bit better. Though I never imagined Triss this redheaded. I must have missed some detail somewhere or just mistook words (I read in English, though it's not my native tongue), because the games went this way too as I understand.

And Geralt teleporting was a hilarious scene. They really outdid themselves here, everyone involved.

Also, getting more of Vesemir is great, in this episode it actually works so well too. This whole mutagen restoration idea seems like an actually great branch for the story (if done well, mind you).

All in all, this episode had a bunch of bangers and I think they maybe should have spread all this greatness across the two previous episodes a bit. But I won't complain. This was really a fun and entertaining episode.

The Witcher: What Is Lost (2021) Season 2, Episode 3

Feels a lot like the first season (in good and bad)

[6/10 · 17 December 2021]

There's one thing I realized watching this episode.

When done well, this divergence from the source material can be quite exciting and interesting. Fresh, for the lack of a better word.

However, it proves time and time again to be a tough feat for shows of any caliber. This series is no exception.

After the previous episode, this was better. Compared to the first episode of the season, which was brilliant, this isn't very close. I'm starting to see that this show is not going to follow the established story as much as I had thought it would and that I probably shouldn't think or expect that it does.

It's just so hard to shake this off feeling, when something happens that does not happen -- and could not happen -- in the books. You have this image in your head and it's so hard to reset that to get the proper experience with this show. You end up comparing the two and that's really just unfair to the show.

There were odd choices and head-scratching moments -- such as how they chose to deal with the whole leshen thing (seriously, what was the point of all that if it ended like this?), or the end of the episode (seriously, absolutely nobody chasing after them?), or the fact that a significant plot point in this episode was based on the idea that somebody killing someone else absolutely means they can not be a spy -- but at least this episode felt more substantial and entertaining, if nothing more.

Be it as it may, I'm basing my rating in relation to the first episode of the season. This episode felt very much like the first season did. In good and bad. Mostly good, which I reflect in the rating. It's a shame I can't say there was something great though. Well, maybe the environments and some of the shots, those were amazing at times.

So far the first episode has been the highlight and the rest has not impressed. That is not to say it has been bad, though. Almost halfway through the season and we don't have much to show for it, but it's had its moments.

But there's plenty of time to get somewhere. I choose to have high hopes for what comes next.

The Witcher: Kaer Morhen (2021) Season 2, Episode 2

Confusing

[3/10 · 17 December 2021]

The first episode of the season was great, but... I'm not entirely sure what I just experienced.

A lot of things happened here that make little sense, if any at all. I don't want to spoil anything, but why, for example, did they let a certain someone go in the end?

And what is this with Eskel, I can't believe this is how they portray him. And the whole arc with him... It was a very ambitious, I sort of understand where they were going with it, the spectacle, but why this? It feels like a B-tier fantasy TV drama from 30 years ago.

Elsewhere, the whole elf arc is confusing too. I'm not sure what is going on there, but I have a feeling we'll get more context in the following episodes, but as a standalone episode this one is just fully confusing and unconvincing.

On a positive note; Kaer Morhen looks awesome. Vesemir was a little bit of a question mark for me at first, but ultimately the choice of actor and presentation feels like a great fit. Well... that's about it in terms of positives.

I certainly hope there's a very good reason for some of these plotlines and decisions, and we'll get more... cohesion? Or context. Or something.

I also hope the rest of the episodes won't continue like this. The first episode was such a good and balanced delight though, so there's hope.

The Witcher: A Grain of Truth (2021) Season 2, Episode 1

A very promising start

[9/10 · 17 December 2021]

I liked the first season, but a lot of it was just the excitement of seeing the things I've read play out visually (to an extent). Especially the environments and props looked a little rough on the edges, and the cohesiveness of the writing/pace/focuses was not on point, though it wasn't bad either.

The first thing I thought while taking this episode in, was how great it looks in comparison. I just recently re-watched the first season to build up to this premiere, and wow. I don't know what they changed, I don't know what kind of things go into producing something like this, but whatever they did, it really hits the nail visually and atmospherically. My intuition says it's a combination of a lot of different small things designed, executed and played out just a little bit better, simultaneously.

There were bits that felt awkward or weird, sure, especially with the tightened timeline and other (surprisingly well executed, though small) changes, but there isn't a show that doesn't have any of that. In relation to other shows in this genre, this episode is close to the top in my books.

And really the main thing: Excellent work delivering Nivellen. That was absolutely perfect. It made the episode, really. Adaption from the books here didn't fail, casting was perfect. In fact, to the contrary: It really did surprise me how good they managed to make this. I had my doubts when the episode titles came out, as well as in the beginning of this episode, but all that quickly vanished as the episode progressed.

This gives me hope for this season. Really a big bump up from last season, in terms of immersiveness/atmosphere/visuals as well as cohesiveness.

The Wheel of Time: The Flame of Tar Valon (2021) Season 1, Episode 6

It hits a lot of the spots for me

[9/10 · 10 December 2021]

Now, I'll start with this: I only read the Eye of the World prior to starting this show, so I am not emotionally attached to or even knowledgeable about some of the stuff that will come. I can see why certain plot points or arcs missing/replaced would upset some, but to me, with my very fresh eyes for this series, I am pleased and enjoying the show so far.

I am not 100% with all of the casting choices (though, I don't know how these characters will develop in future, so some of them might make more sense in the context of what they'll become), but this episode was great.

It looks beautiful and exciting, as always. I think, if nothing else, the props and scenes just look stunning most of the time and make it worth the time and the subscription fee.

And I have to say, I absolutely dread to read all these 1/10 reviews with the word "woke" used in so many different forms that it makes me almost rip my jaws in half from cringing.

So far nothing that I have read is *that* critically different from what I've seen on screen.

So far, at any rate.

I hope they keep it up. The show started rough and was nowhere close to anything over 6/10, but I think it's really getting somewhere. The actors and portrayals are growing on me. Right now, I would've voted this 7.5/10, but I'll throw a 9/10 in just to counter some of the ridiculous 1/10 reviews.

It's definitely not a 10/10. Yet. I can absolutely see how some die-hard fans of the series might not like all of the changes (and for the most of it, I wouldn't even know yet, maybe I'll join the choir once I get further in the books and the stories diverge even more), so I can understand a low rating. But I find it hard to believe anyone would seriously vote this as low as 1/10. The looks alone carry it over that threshold, in my opinion.

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf (2021)

This would have worked much better if it wasn't based on an established character

[7/10 · 2 December 2021]

I'm a recent convert to Sapkowski's universe. By which I mean that just this autumn, I started reading The Last Wish and ultimately ended up consuming 5 books in a few months; the two short story collections up to Baptism of Fire. I'm currently reading the Eye of the World so that I can watch the amazon show, but right after that I'm looking to finish the witcher saga.

I really like this universe. It's actually fairly counter-intuitive, since it's not all that original when you think about it. The short stories started off heavily referencing common tropes or well established stories and putting a twist on them.

Then it evolved and while The Blood of Elves was a slow read and ultimately not very eventful, it really picks off afterwards and things get larger in scale and impact.

Now, with this well-liked book series as the base for these modern adaptations (the games, the netflix show and now this), it's very easy to take the already established characters and tell their stories or expand on them.

The trouble is, they are already established. Choose that path, and you don't have much wiggle room if you're telling stories from a period that is at least somehow documented already. I feel like this is one such case.

Though I haven't finished the book series and I expect I might learn new things that make some of the things here less out of place, it still feels a bit... off?

The story itself, the animation, the visuals -- it's all very beautifully done and if nothing else, entertaining.

I can't help but feel that if they just told this exact story from an entirely different POV, this would have stuck so much better.

I get the temptation to tell Vesemir's story -- he's a liked character, especially so now that the third game came out and people who haven't read the books would also recognize and like the character.

But even acknowledging that, this entry is indeed entertaining and looks awesome. I'm not a big fan of animations, but for me, this really works because I know the world and thematically it really fits the universe. The story itself, if we disregard the characters involved, seems entirely on brand for the world and what we've seen in the books, for example. At least that's how I feel, but then again I haven't finished the book series yet, so that that as you will.

It was fun and exciting to watch, so I'll give it a 7. A lot of that is probably just the universe, that I'm presently consuming and loving, inflating the number, but that's sort of the point of making this in the first place, no?

I already played Thronebreaker after Baptism of Fire to get Meve's POV, even if not canon, and I'm looking forward to playing the main game series after I've read all the books.

This was a fun little journey along that path that I did like, so I would recommend anyone in similar position to do the same, if you're so tempted.

The Mandalorian (2019– )

Rekindling my love for the franchise

[10/10 · 18 July 2021]

I don't have the words to explain the excellency here, and many more have said most of the things I'd want to say, but better.

I'll just add one thing.

This series has brought back all the memories, all the passion, I used to have for the franchise a long time ago.

After the prequels (which I liked, to an extent) it sort of faded out for me. It was a combination of things, but there just wasn't anything compelling enough around from that time all the way up to last year.

I have to say, it feels so weird. I watched the new movies and while they were generally okay, they lacked... something? I don't know what it is, but this show has it in abundance. I gave a shot to rogue one too, but it just felt like none of that had the x factor that made it so soulful in the first place.

I never attempted to watch the animated series, since at that point I had already lost most of my interest and it just seemed weird for someone who isn't accustomed to cartoons or animations.

But after finally taking the leap to watch this show -- I owe it to myself to check out the animated series as well.

This show was a complete surprise. It took me this long to view it in the first place, because I had so lukewarm experiences with all the new entries in the franchise that I just assumed this was equally uninteresting.

But it turns out this rivals the original trilogy and really sets the bar high for future spin-offs and adjacent stories.

The ending of season 2 was powerful. Very powerful.

I just...

I feel like I'm in this production's debt. This brought up so many feelings and memories I thought lost forever.

Just top-notch work from everyone involved.

I haven't followed the show very close, so I don't know if there will be more seasons, but I will certainly mark the premieres on my calendar from now on.

Next up, I think I'll start with the animated series, finally.

The Eternal Road (2017)

A heartbreaking concept, but this was once the reality

[8/10 · 9 July 2021]

You can see my score right there. I will not describe the plot or go into spoilers -- there are plenty of that here already. Instead, I will discuss the things that were left storming in my mind after watching this beautifully delivered, tormenting and utterly heartbreaking movie. I'll touch on my thoughts about the movie as well, but I'm sure most couldn't care less about my thoughts, so I suggest you move on to the next review.

So... I am not against communism in principle. On a theory level it's a very nice and wholesome idea, but it could never work in our world. Not in humanity's current state and the inherent scarcity that comes with living in a finite, limited planet. There are unlimited futures before us and who knows, maybe in a few of them it'll become plausible and maybe even the norm. But it's hard to see our self-destructing species lasting long enough to see something utopistic like that.

I wanted to get that out of the way, lest someone would mistake my harsh stance against the soviets to be against communism as a concept. It's not.

Soviet Union was -- as all "transitional" dictatures always are -- a shameful stain in humanity's history. From an everyday perspective it was probably fine for some, if not most, but dictatures can never, not ever, exist without abundance of death, misery and loss of freedom.

There are plenty of books and films about the tragedies that took place both behind the curtain and in plain display. There's no lack of content from this perspective. I'm sure there's almost an equal amount of similar content, but from the opposite perspective. There are many sides to everything, nothing is plain black and white. But it'd take immense mental gymnastics not to see the SU for what it was: A tragedy for many, people and entire nations alike.

This movie breaks my heart. The entire concept, the utterly despicable act of forcefully hauling suspected communists beyond the border, even if not in preparation of shooting them directly afterwards, is such a hard thing to understand. It must've taken such a gigantic enmity to be able to do something like that to another human, a fellow citizen, in front of their family no less.

But we could never truly understand today what it must've been like back then, when the wounds of a civil war were still fresh in everyone's memory. And it might be incorrect to state that "we" as a collective could "never" understand such monstrous deeds. I'm certain there are many that can.

But I know I can't.

Well, my obvious and shameful privilege aside, and my fairly biased take on history, this was a great watch. The story feels real -- we've heard stories like this our entire lives -- and the cast does a great job bringing the characters alive.

There are some truly harrowing moments buried within. The movie does a sufficient job bringing forth the weight of those. It feels very heavy at times, especially towards the end. And it just keeps getting more and more rough.

I love the way the main character, Jussi, was written and portrayed. I haven't read the book this is apparently based on, but Jussi just feels very Finnish to me, in this movie at least. There's very little emotion in his face most of the time, though you can tell how he feels behind those eyes. But when he shows his feelings, it's a contained thunderstorm. He doesn't speak much, doesn't talk about himself either -- all these are things that a lot of people around the world would probably find utterly boring and plain -- but he breaks under pressure like most men would. There are no classical heroes in this story. Not one.

But there's soul in that. It's hard to put into words, but I could feel him, in a way. He straightens his back, utters no words, betrays no emotions, looks into the distance with empty eyes and accepts his place. Bides his time, or if worse would come to worst, he'd march towards his and his fellows' abrupt, unjustified end before a line of soviet rifles, with his chin up, silent and devoid of excess facial expressions.

There's a certain beauty in that. Though I recognize it's probably overly romanticized. But it's a movie after all, so I say it's only fitting.

A lot of the smaller arcs move a little chaotically. It's not hard to follow, really, but brings a certain disruption to the experience every once in a while. Though it might just be that it enhances it. Hard to say, since I enjoyed it thoroughly regardless.

It looks beautiful, in a somewhat gritty way. The steads, the nature, the props and clothing; it all seemed authentic enough for my peasant eyes.

There's one line, towards the end, that stuck with me. You'll know what I mean once you get there yourself.

All in all, it was a surprisingly good experience. I was expecting it to be just another overly corny and cheesy Finnish drama that takes place -- as these often do -- in the war and war-adjacent periods. But it turned out to be quite a bleak and slow-paced movie that has a certain soul to it. I'd recommend this to most.

Sauna (2008)

A tormenting atmosphere, slow in pace

[7/10 · 7 July 2021]

I've wanted to see this for the longest time, since I first saw the DVD case in a renting shop, back in 2008 or 2009 I think. That's some 12 years, during which I infrequently recalled the desire, but there was always something else going on and it never happened.

Until now.

I have to say, it was very different than I had envisioned. I can't recall why I thought it to be different, maybe there was some ad somewhere, or a trailer, that painted a slightly misleading image and it distorted further as time went on and my memory got warped along the way.

Be it as it may, I have to admit I enjoyed it during the entire length, until the very finale, which I found a bit anti-climactic. But I won't go into spoiler territory -- see for yourself.

The landscapes, the setting; all the props and the costumes, they were all superb. We rarely see this part of the world in a historic piece that goes further back than the early 1900's. I thoroughly enjoyed everything about the setting. Granted, it is bleak and tormenting, but in its own way it's very fresh and unique. That may not be the case (a bunch of equally bleak settings come to mind from elsewhere), but something about it feels out of ordinary. In a good way, that is.

The acting was generally good. As usual, Virtanen delivered in spades and it was truly a treat to watch the character. It felt real, it felt authentic, it was great.

The brother, on the other hand, Knut... Most of the time it was almost on par with Virtanen's delivery, but then at some other times it... just wasn't. At times his character broke the illusion for me, the charade where I'm convinced this is a real thing I'm witnessing, and suddenly I was very aware I'm in this reality and just watching a movie. I think it was the accent, the way he delivered certain lines. The acting itself was convincing enough, so I think people who don't understand Finnish probably never felt this disconnection. But it wasn't that bad, just a minor thing that bothered me.

Now, the story itself and the pacing of it, it was all great. I don't mind my movies slow and taking their time to tell the perfect version of its story. There were no moments I felt particularly bored or unfocused.

The atmosphere was seriously tormenting, especially after the middle point of the film. It wasn't as much a horror movie, as it was a... tormenting movie?

It's definitely not your mainstream type of "cheap" horror, and it's not gore-y or shocking either. It employs a few tricks common to horror flicks, but it's not the kind of horror you'd hear your buddy randomly talk about. I think many people would probably feel a little annoyed after this one, if they had thought it to be the "ordinary", blockbuster-y type of horror.

But let's talk about the ending. Without spoiling anything.

When the finale hit, I was starting to worry there'd be no satisfying resolutions. Suddenly the pace cranked up to 11 and it felt weirdly vague about everything. And then, those worries came to life as the credits started rolling in the screen. Abruptly, I felt.

It still bugs me that a lot of very central questions just don't have an answer. I get the idea of bathing the whole thing in symbolism and then leaving plenty of room for the viewer to ponder on the themes and the questions.

But it felt like some very simple things, that probably shouldn't be left to the viewer to guess at, were left open. Things that would entirely change the tone of the story in that one single moment when it'd be revealed.

When we started approaching the finale, I realized I had had all these theories of what was going on, what had happened. I was, without noticing, building all these overly complex explanations for certain things that I won't spoil, or twists in the very setting of the story, but the movie left it all open in a way that makes all of them equally unlikely as the most simplest, literal take on the whole thing.

All the possible explanations, twists, they were all left with a sense of unlikeliness, so there's not much to ponder about.

Maybe I'm a simple person and just don't possess the cognitive capabilities to understand the story. Or maybe it's intended to be taken literally, in which case it feels even worse.

But other than the ending, the movie was great. If the ending had been a bit more fleshed out, or more likely, better explained to simpletons like me, this could've been an easy 8.5 or a 9 from me.

But it's well worth a watch, if you like a slow-paced, tormenting experience.

Tolkien (2019)

A beautiful, heart-wrenching portrayal

[8/10 · 16 June 2021]

This is a story very close to most, I'd imagine. Of course, only a select few will ever touch the humankind in the way people like Tolkien do, to ever leave such a mark, but I believe this depiction has themes that touch and have touched most, if not all of us.

I will mention first and foremost, that I am a big fan of Tolkien's work and the worlds he has built. I've always been the type of person to get immersed in the characters, stories and the lore of the worlds I read, not their authors. As such, I don't have much exposure into Tolkien himself.

So, I can not say whether this portrayal is authentic to the subject, but I find it irrelevant in this context. Whether things happened this way, whether these stories are true, doesn't change the experience one has when experiencing it.

As with most things, I tend to put things in perspective. Historic productions, unless explicitly produced as documentaries, will always have a great deal of fiction in the mix, if only to fill in the blanks. I don't regard this any different just because it's a more modern period and a much more recent person being portrayed.

There are a few different things here that I could relate to personally; The struggle as a younger man to find one's place in the world, the constant battle between the things you love and what you have to do. The sacrifices that inevitably come with it.

The kind of friendship portrayed here -- a fellowship, as the movie makes a point of saying -- is one most can probably relate to. Not to the same extent, of course, and not everyone, but most would probably recognize that feeling of bond and brotherhood.

This makes the latter parts of the movie all the more heartbreaking. I won't go into spoilers or anything, but as we close the end of this tale, it starts hitting fairly hard.

The pacing of the movie feels a little off at certain points. Generally I like my movies slower rather than fast-paced, and this movie is no exception, so the problem doesn't lay there. The pacing problems come with the wildly different time periods the movie has to jump between. As a whole, the movie is a perfect compromise in terms of speed, but has way too much to show and tell in one go. I think it could have benefited the movie greatly if it was at least an hour longer. But alas, we are talking about a movie, and as a movie I think it hits the correct spot as a whole.

This is a beautiful story with inspiring arcs. The scenery and props work wonders to immerse you in and it's all directed and shot very beautifully. The actors do a tremendous job across the board. But there's a very heavy undertone looming under the shiny surface, and some absolutely heartbreaking moments that left me, a grown man, crying. Not to say that grown men are less susceptible to cry, it's simply a rhetoric way to emphasis that for those of us that do relate to many themes involved, this movie can conjure the famous lump in the throat.

Of course, there are a lot more to it -- love and courtship, inspiring characters that help guide one's way to a legend and of course, the war. I don't want to get too much into it, since the things stated prior are the things I wanted to say.

I want you to experience it for yourself, if you haven't.

Now, as to the hot topic of being true to the source... I can not say whether that is truly a major problem with the movie. But I will, inspired by this movie, be seeking out some materials to read about Tolkien's life.

And I think I will re-read the adventures written by the protagonist of this story, from the very beginning.

Leonardo (2021– )

It's a touching, heartbreaking story, with beautiful scenery

[9/10 · 25 May 2021]

So, I went in without expectations. I got the chance to stream the first season (apparently, the only one?) and took it without hesitation. There was no time to read reviews or otherwise get familiar with the background or the people and places this is based on. Obviously I know Da Vinci but my knowledge is very surface-level.

Well, I wasn't let down, that's certain. This was a very well formed show with a pace that was absolutely masterfully designed. Not once did I jump out of the experience -- it was a gripping ride that I, to my own shame, watched within four nights.

The way the story is told is a little bit unorthodox, in a way, though the use of flashbacks and an interrogation as a story telling device isn't exactly novel. But there are various benefits to this: The pace is controlled beautifully and the whole story rides smoothly. There is constant mystery, or at the very least things you are wondering and looking forward to learn.

Some of the people, some of the timings were in contradiction with some of the things I've heard or read about the history of the area, and some more with other shows portraying an overlapping time period in the same or adjacent area. I'm not sure if this indicates that this show isn't exactly truthful to what is known, but after reading some other reviews I understand that little is known about Da Vinci after all, so a lot of the other materials have probably just filled in the gaps in the name of entertainment, the same as this show here. Ultimately, I do not care that much if the show is not very accurate to the current consensus, but it's a thing I like to try and find out just because I'm generally interested to know that. So I won't count that against the show at all.

The characters are very well delivered, which seems to be a common theme with shows these days. There's so many insane talents out there, but not enough productions to keep them all busy, so it follows that we get such treats of amazing portrayals more and more. Well, I suspect this has been the case always, but overall I feel like the level of acting has been increasing very steadily for decades. Or maybe it has to do with better, more complex and clever writing. Or the directing, perhaps. Or the fact that budgets are ever bigger and there is more competition. Who knows, but it's a good thing for the consumer.

There are no complaints from me in regards to the production, acting or anything else. It all meshes well together and gives us a beautiful, heartfelt story with interesting characters, places and arcs.

The places, props, clothing... it's all beautiful. As to how accurate it is, I can not say. It all looks amazing and tickles your sense of adventure, even though we don't adventure all that much here. I think this is another thing that has just increased in quality (as well as expectation) across the years, and there isn't often anything bad to say in this regard with shows that are worth reviewing in the first place.

It very easily deserves a 9/10 from me, and I was a little sad to see that it was a minishow with only one season.

I would recommend this to anyone. Generally there isn't much fighting or battles or all that epic stuff we've probably grown a little accustomed to in historic shows like this, but I find it only ensuring in the way that the show focuses on the more important and more relevant things regarding to this one character of history, recognized by most still today.

Dirilis: Ertugrul (2014–2019)

It's definitely something different, looks beautiful, but has problems

[6/10 · 25 May 2021]

NOTE: I feel obligated to mention, that I'm reviewing this show as _entertainment_, as a TV-show, and I'm not commenting on the actual history or characters of history that it portrays. I have little exposure or knowledge about those things so I will not attempt to bring them in. This is based purely on the show, and I regard it as such. I will make a few anecdotal comments about these, but it will be apparent when this is the case.

I'm not completely buying all those 10/10 reviews voted crazily helpful, written by supposedly western reviewers. Influenced partly by those reviews I decided that it might be a good time to finally visit this show, since I had eyed it in the past in intrigue. It's definitely not a straight 10/10 show...

That being said, I'm not even halfway through the first season (these are some long seasons...) and have no intention of stopping as it's certainly interesting. But I had to come and share my thoughts in case someone else from the western sphere is thinking of checking it out and feels equally wary and suspicious of the flood of 10/10 reviews. I will gladly update the score and the review itself if it gets noticeably better (or worse, for that matter).

It's not a bad show at all. The scenery and the props look beautiful, and as for their authenticity in the time period, that I cannot comment. I am not familiar with the history of Middle-East, which is actually precisely one of the reasons why I thought it looked visually so interesting and beautiful -- it's certainly different from the western-centric shows I've been comsuming my entire life.

There's a recurring theme of cheesiness. I'm not sure how I feel about it just yet -- right now everything just feels corny, but the first seasons of any show tend to have that quality to them. Certain shows, like "The Last Kingdom" pull off this style of corny, but most don't make it work at all. There are a couple of sides to it:

Where western-centric historic entertainments seem to traditionally portray the Islamic peoples as the bad guys when there's an arc that has to do with them (usually crusades or something like that), this one doesn't shy away from reversing that dynamic completely and portraying the crusaders as these corny caricatures of evil people that just do evil things, seemingly out of joy or whatever. I find it's appropriate, and completely warranted, and I'm not going to be a hypocrite and act like that is in any way different from what a lot of western productions do. However, I find it equally cheesy when shows like Knightfall do similar things. It's just not really good writing in my opinion, no matter who does the writing. I had kinda hoped that the position of always (well, almost, in recent years there's been a lot of more complex and flattering writing and portrayals) being portrayed with ill intent would've allowed the writers to overcome the trope and be clever about it, but I guess people are the same, no matter where they hail from. And again, I'm not saying it's uncalled for, it definitely is, crusaders were foreign invaders with intent to conquer, kill and plunder, and the material I've read has not painted a very pretty picture about their methods. But it's still boring and dimensionless to watch (although I have to say there are a lot of things that take the focus and make you entertained anyway, but more on them later).

Then on other hand, some of the main (good) characters have so far been nothing short of perfect in terms of skill, mind and morale. Which is a little bland in my opinion. The timing in which some scenarios go down is just downright offensive to someone who's got a little bit accustomed to more complex and forward-looking writing of the recent years. I mean it's not a bad thing per se, it's certainly entertaining to have a classical hero saving the day with his buddies who don't get a scratch and all that, but I guess it feels a little old and musty by now.

I taste a lot of similar flavors here as I did with the "Vikings" show. I'm not sure where those flavors come from, since Vikings actually did a good job of humanizing the opposing forces (and even going as far as openly embracing the "vikings are just plain bad guys" theme!), but I think it has to do with the lead character, and him being charismatic and likable and has an authority and confidence to him. Or maybe it's the way it's filmed and edited, that could be it too. We do get scenes with leaders portraying the other sides of the conflicts, which is kind of similar to what Vikings does. I don't know.

The actor who delivers the lead character is very charismatic and has a very cool air about him. Again, the writers made him cheesily good in all things he does (so far). Also modest and humble... you know, perfect. But on the other hand that does increase the charsima of the character, and the actor does a very good job portraying this. He's a likable character (so far, anyway), and I think the only problem with him is the lackluster fighting choreography (I mean, most of the other actors have very convincing fighting scenes, whereas this dude is kind of laxly strolling around and doesn't have the same weight behind his swings and all that) and the corny writing.

The show shines when we follow this lead dude. It's actually very entertaining and very similar to "The Last Kingdom" that has Uthred, who's almost equally corny honestly. So it's not hindering the show all that much when you put it in perspective.

There's a lot of lovely details that a foreigner like me gets from a show like this. The recurring sayings (often about the islamic faith, but there are some others too) are interesting, even if they feel a little weird and over-the-top to someone who was raised mildly christian and turned atheist by his own accord very early on in life. It seems their god plays a big part in all they do. Which is fine, I'm not saying it's a bad thing, just feels a little weird (partly since I can't judge whether it's faith-backed propaganda or a realistic portrayal of the time).

Also, the clothing, the jewelry, the general visual styles are amazing. It's very different to what I'm accustomed to, and definitely interesting. I often thirst for a similar portrayal of my own country's history, where there were points in time where we weren't so close to the major European cultural strands. This, in a way, satiates that thirst somehow. Or, maybe it's about it just being different and interesting.

The scenery is just beautiful. The mention of the animals, the general way the people live and behave, it doesn't differ all that much from a western point of view. But then there's the huts, the way of life that is definitely very different, the clothings, and the people that do act different when looked at individually. It seems the influence of their god makes them a little bit humbler (and certain) than I'm accustomed to, though that might be a intentional (or forced?) propagandist maneuver to write the support cast that way. I don't know... I hate that I have to think about this, but I can't just turn it off either, seeing as how a lot of islamic authorities and states, even today, with unwavering support from their leaders, theologians and institutions, behead dissidents, hang non-hetero or otherwise different people and all that, a thing I can't in good consciousness simply ignore when a show has these themes.

It's also pretty funny to witness the absolutely unhinged, weird behaviour of the arabic leaders (I think that's what they are, it's hard to tell since the subtitles I found are not perfect exactly). They are written in a even cornier way than the European characters, and it's absolutely ridiculous I have to say, the way they just do the dumbest things because they are evil, without profiting from it or anything, just plain murdering people and smiling orgasmically. But they are hilarious a good way, since I think it's intended to be a comedic relief from the otherwise cheesy, preaching and serious tone of the show. Also, you can not NOT laugh at some of the actors who play the crusaders being regular Turkish shade of tan, but have a hilarious, obviously fake bright blonde wigs, akin to the children's wigs you see in markets, on their head :D Not very convincing, but then again I sympathize that it can be harder to find naturally Scandinavian looking actors who can also speak Turkish. Though most of these background characters never say a word, so I don't know what that's all about.

I mean I'm into it. It's different, it looks visually beautiful, people act in an interesting way (other than the leading cast or the antagonists who are just cheesy) and the actors do a good job, especially in the supporting roles. I also think Turkish (I think that is the language they use?) sounds beautiful to me (a thing I would not have expected to say, having their current dictator's speeches as my only previous exposure to the language). I have to admit that I find a lot of the characters pleasing to the eye as well, especially the very lead character.

I don't necessarily like the cheesiness, and the constant praise of their god (which I understand can be a very accurate portrayal of the time period, so I'm not saying it's a bad thing on its own), but it's entertaining enough.

I suspect it gets better with each season, as shows tend to do, until the one breaking season that falls flat and brings the whole thing down. According to the ratings, this one doesn't seem to have that specific season, so I'm optimistically waiting for what's going to happen.

Medici (2016–2019)

It fluctuates, but ultimately turns out amazing

[8/10 · 27 April 2021]

I rememberd trying to watch this when season 1 came. At the time I was left unimpressed and didn't continue watching after episode 1. I can't recall what made me choose so, but when I finally gave it a second chance, it feels awkward that I would ever think it lacking.

This show has a strong asset in the family, place and time setting it explores. It's even further fortified by the success of other shows that take place in adjacent or even overlapping time periods, better yet, in the very same peninsula.

I'm not a historian, I romantice the history of Europe in a way that probably doesn't make sense if you knew all the gruesome details, and so I can't really say how accurate this show is to what is known. There were so many prominent names from history that most probably recognize and it always feels great to see them portrayed in such a masterful way.

On that note, I think the acting was always great with this show. The script is generally good and there aren't many times where you'd feel bored or uninterested. But there were some. Generally the production is great, so I'll move on to the few gripes I had with the show:

1. The Pazzi arc of season 2 was corny. I don't know if it was intentional or what happened, but everything about the Pazzis across the whole season felt like a caricature. Their home -- dim, spooky and very unwelcoming. The actors they cast were great, but look very "evil" in a very classical way. The way the head of the family was written had me puzzled. I kept waiting for the moment when they finally humanize the character and make it less evil-y, but nope, the show insists on a dynamic that has some clearly evil antagonists. This wasn't the case in season 1. Or season 3 for that matter.

2. The music is great, but at times it felt out of place somehow. I'm not sure how to explain it, but it didn't feel like a mattress upon which the visuals calmly lay and glue things together, it felt somehow that the music tried to overthrow the visuals on some occasions. Some points of the show felt like a music video, though that was probably a conscious stylistic choice at least on the more prominent occasions this happened. Don't get me wrong -- 95% of the time it's fantastic and meshed perfectly with the rest of the show. The remaining 5% was still 5% more than most shows have.

3. Some plot arcs didn't seem to make much sense. I think this is probably about the show having to cut some parts out, which probably left some arcs feeling a bit abrupt or weirdly paced. I don't want to spoil anything so I won't go into detail, but sometimes the show decides to go one way, show an intriguing scene and then just never return there, with one of the following scenes implying whatever happened in there, happened, but without actually showing it to us as viewers. It could be that this was an intentional choice, but it felt a little bit annoying at times.

But I want to emphasis that none of these gripes really hindered the experience to any meaningful level for me. They were enough to make me take notice of them, but not enough to really matter.

The story has some slow moments that make you hungry for something to happen, but then the show usually satiates that hunger very quickly and it isn't a big problem. Then some moments are so powerful that they make you really feel the weight of things, the struggles or the joys.

This was a very good and captivating experience for someone who likes historical shows. I would think most with the same inclination would find it equally captivating.

The Sinner (2017–2021)

A very well written, genuine and touching show

[10/10 · 10 April 2021]

Update 2021-12-02

I don't have many characters left in this review, so I'll just add this.

Season 4 is by far the best of them and it managed to keep the tension up all the way through. This series has a very good grasp on how to do that. This was no different than the others in that it *really* made you feel things. The finale, as always, was satisfying and heartbreaking and it's impossible to hold back tears even if you sort of know where things are going by now. I don't ordinarily watch shows that are not fantastic in some ways, but this I keep coming back to, time after time, and always leave impressed and emotional. I don't follow production news or anything, really, so I do not know if a fifth season is coming (something about the ending tells me it mightn't, but I digress), but I whole-heartedly hope these keep coming. It's one of the best contemporary shows in its genre, if not the best.

Update 2021-04-15:

Okay, I've since watched seasons 2 and 3 (something about the show... didn't take very long, just kind of happened).

Season 2 was very lukewarm. It was interesting and definitely good, but nowhere near the level of first season. I was planning on lowering the overall rating to 7/10 if season 3 turned out to be equally "disappointing" (can you really talk about disappointment when it was still a great time and I couldn't stop watching?).

But... Then came season 3. Of which I had regrettably read some very negative reviews about beforehand and went in fearing it'll be bad.

Rarely have I had such a complete change of heart with a tv show. Season 3 was almost at the level of season 1 in terms of taking your attention and making you really feel the weight of things. I might be a bit biased with my own personal experiences with some of the things the lead antagonist kept talking about -- eternity, the void, the indifference of everything. I won't spoil things but once things started spiraling, I kept thinking how blurry the line is between having certain thoughts and somehow relating on some things with a clearly unhinged character, and then actually crossing that line and being consumed by those thoughts, like the antagonist did. How far have I myself been from that? Is there any way to know? Luckily, without spoiling anything, the antagonist here has a lot of things influencing the outcome of things that no regular people would likely have, but I'll leave it all for you to experience once you watch the season.

It's definitely not a pleasant story in season 3. It's very dark, confusing, even depressing. The characters, "good" ones included, feel even more flawed, equally humane but somehow more prone to missteps with this much more chaotic storyline.

But that's something I found myself enjoying. Nothing here is clear-cut, just like it wasn't in season 1. But the similarities are few and far between otherwise.

Season 2 didn't get tears from me and I was generally unaffected by the storyline (at least when compared to what seasons 1 and 3 did), but with season 3 I just couldn't hold it back. And again, equally conflicting situation. The writers have a way of making even the "bad" characters feel humane and somehow "real". Without shrugging at the bad stuff either, there's no lack moments showing just how bad the characters can be at times. Yet, when the pieces start falling and we begin to reach the climax, there will be several moments that provoke very emotional reactions.

I enjoyed season 3 enough to give the season the same 9/10 as I did for season 1. For that, and season 2 being generally okay, I've decided to keep my overall rating at 9/10.

I'm still very conflicted after seeing this latest season, but I'm glad I didn't skip it because of some of the reviews I read beforehand. It was brilliantly constructed, if not a bit overly eccentric and intentionally(?) too emotionally confusing. But all of it was put together excellently and these seasons have been very engaging and worthwhile for me. I think it might be for you too.

I'll leave my original season 1 review below:

---

I write this based on season 1 alone. I have every intent to continue watching, but season one was such an experience that I just had to take a moment to appreciate it and enforce the already good rating of this season (show altogether seems to have taken a hit after season 3, but I'll get there eventually and adjust my rating and review accordingly).

Season one is on one hand an intriguing mystery, unraveling piece by piece with the help of a very genuine, sympathetic protagonist. On the other, it is a heartstrings-pulling story that has a way of realizing all the potential and weight the main arcs have.

I feel somewhat conflicted as to which of these aspects takes the front seat. The mystery is good and while at first things seem eerily sinister, things unravel in a way that feels very humane. Some of the bad things that happen, we ultimately see were a result of very humane reactions to some very stressful situations. Make no mistake -- there are truly evil people involved, but even they seem more like opportunistic, nihilistic people with no capability for empathy. Not like cliche'd evil masterminds doing evil things out of evilness alone.

And while the mystery is very well constructed and delivered by an amazing cast and production, the actual weight behind the main storylines feels so heavy and genuine I couldn't hold back tears in the finale. And the thing that surprised me was, the tears were just as equally towards two of the people who were portrayed as the evil people initially. I don't want to give any spoilers so I won't go into detail, but there are some really strong emotional moments when you start figuring things out.

And the show has a clever way of going about this. Partly it's thanks to the main arc being based on psychological issues and memory -- it lends an easy way to misguide the viewer and omit things in a way that doesn't feel intentional -- but part of it is thanks to an amazing team behind the script and execution of the season.

I'm truly happy that I got to spend these 8 episodes experiencing these characters and their stories.

I can only hope that the seasons that come after this first one, are equally well executed on all aspects.

If nothing else, I could whole-heartedly recommend this first season to anyone who likes to really get into characters and story. Easiest 9/10 I've ever given. It could have been a 10/10 but the season felt a little bit unbalanced in terms of pacing: The endgame and the finale felt like it came too quickly and if I really try to objectively think about it, rushed through the conclusions a little bit. Even this is a minor thing and wasn't an issue, but enough not to warrant a full 10/10.

Behind Her Eyes (2021)

A slow build up but pays off

[9/10 · 9 March 2021]

There's no need to go into detail about the production value. Writing is great, characters are delivered well and things flow naturally. There's a certain kind of atmosphere throughout the show that really binds things together nicely. Production is as good as it'll get, so no need to detail that part of the show.

The one thing this show has going for it is the mystery. From moment to moment the show builds things up in a certain way and at different times you feel certain that you "solved the riddle" or knew what was going on or who the "villains" were. The show is clever about this and misleads a lot. Sometimes this misleading feels too obvious and you think they're trying to do some clever reverse psychology stuff and you have to correct course a few times but generally you always have this sense that you have things all figured out.

Then comes episode 6 and from the very beginning of the episode the pieces start falling in place and you start putting two and two together and man, it really does pay off. The show builds up slowly and at times it felt like the show was going nowhere and maybe it wasn't worth it, but the show finds a way to completely surprise in the end even if things feel plain prior to that.

The first few episodes were ok and I would rate them at around 7/10. Nothing special but entertaining enough.

The ending bumps that straight up to 9/10 for me.

There were some strong emotional moments along the way but the strongest ones were in the finale. The show has some very hard and disturbing things to show you, but it doesn't feel too dark in general. This is something I could recommend to most people I know.

Lupin (2021– )

An easy delight

[8/10 · 6 March 2021]

Season one was a delight to watch.

It's generally light-hearted and easy-going and doesn't require too much dedication to watch. Characters are well written and very well acted, especially the lead characters. Though it does dip into very deep themes and imagery, it remains not too heavy to the heart. The first episodes are a little tougher than the ones later one, but that's because a certain arc is explored most at that time.

These days it's so rare to have a show where there's one clearly classically "chaotic good" character who just excels at everything and a mission to tackle some bad guys. This had same sort of feeling I had when I was watching "Limitless" (the TV production that was cancelled), though obviously still very different. Likeable main character who's just good at heart and seemingly intelligent and witty, but doesn't care much for authorities.

There were a lot of moments where you had to think to yourself "oh wow, that's convenient..." when things go just right and sometimes it's just by chance. But that's the nature of having a character like this leading the show. Usually with movies and shows this bothers me and it's hard to watch, but I didn't feel cheated or annoyed in these moments when watching this show. Maybe it's just the atmosphere, the pacing and the absolutely charming delivery of the characters that makes it just good enough to make you not think about all the problems.

The ending of season one was a little bit abrupt and has a major cliffhanger. We'll have to see where things go with season 2 and beyond.

The Comey Rule (2020)

An interesting portrayal

[9/10 · 28 February 2021]

Just recently I discovered how great these portrayals of real life characters, these peeks behind the curtain, are. I watched the Saddam Hussein series and it was a great watch. This is up there in the same alley from my point of view. This one however, is way better produced and executed.

As a foreigner to the US side of the Atlantic I have very little exposure to the details of the dealings of their local politics. So I do not know how much of this is accurate, but as I did with the Saddam Hussein series, I did some online searching about the characters portrayed here and then Trump himself, just as I did with Saddam Hussein, even though I do know these two characters from normal news exposure.

I learned a lot and even if it's not really useful information for me, I've found myself intrigued by these kind of controversial, almost "evil" characters of history. Of course this one is still basically history in the making and Trump isn't exactly as gruesome and unhinged as, say, Saddam Hussein, but I feel like he's not that far from it either. This series certainly goes on to strengthen that picture.

As a TV production it's catchy and makes you want to see more with each episode. The writing is great, though it's often the case with series based on real life characters or situations. I spotted a lot of actors that I've seen in big productions so it comes as no surprise that the delivery of the characters is top notch. Everything about the production quality passes any immersion tests I subconsciously have, so there were no disruptions to the experience at any point.

I like how the show doesn't have a happy ending. It's a bleak take on the behind the scenes dealings of US presidential politics and big picture FBI stuff, and doesn't really delve too deep into the details or the mechanics of those. It focuses on delivering the story and doesn't require any prior knowledge on how things run. And the story is very melancholic and emotional, something I didn't expect going in.

And sure, while this series is about Comey and the FBI, I find that the more intriguing characters in any entertainment production, be it a book or a movie, are always the "evil" or otherwise unhinged ones. This is no exception for me, and I find that Trump was certainly the most interesting character portrayed here.

All in all, it's a brilliant show as entertainment. I don't know about its accuracy so I can't say if it has any value for history buffs, but then again I don't really know how accurate similar shows like Narcos or House of Saddam are either, but I've considered them good picks for people interested in (modern) history.

Santa Clarita Diet (2017–2019)

Another decent show cut short

[8/10 · 24 February 2021]

I can't figure out what it is with these entertaining and well-received shows that keep being cut short. There are so many of them and with such variety.

They can't all be financial failures. Can they?

Is it the new age of consumption in form of digital streaming? Do services like netflix or hbo pay less per view than traditional tv?

Anyway, while this show being cut doesn't make sense to me, I'll just say this:

The cast is great. Well delivered characters that are also well written across the board. This alone is a little bit of a rarity, so good job for all involved.

The plot is a little meh. It's a fresh take on zombies (or, rather, the "undead") but it feels more of a background setting than an active plot point even if the arcs are directly tied to that concept. I think the strong point of this show is the okay comedy and the set of characters.

A lot of distinguishable actors here, doing minor characters too. I wonder if that was really necessary?

The end of season 3 was paving the road for something absolutely amazing. It seemed like things were about to pick up on pace and get wildly more exciting. I didn't read any details on this show prior to watching it so I didn't know it was cut after 3 seasons. What a disappointment.

At any rate, the show is well worth a watch if a light comedy with a dark twist might interest you. It's a strong production so if that premise hits a spot, you'll definitely like it.