Person Of Interest (Season 2)

Person Of Interest's first season was an entertaining start to the series, but it was fairly procedural. Its second season on the other hand is the point at which the show gets really good. 

Season 2 starts right where the first one ended with Finch having been kidnapped by the hacker Root and Reese asking The Machine for help. After a two episode-long arc where Reese tries to save Finch, the first half of this season goes back to the show's standard procedural format, but halfway through, Reese is arrested for his vigilantism, shifting the series into nearly full serialization and introducing us to two more major players: Decima Industries, the antagonist of the series that wants to take over The Machine with a virus, and Sameen Shaw, a field operative who joins Team Machine throughout the last third of the season. Needless to say, there's a lot here, and most of it is really great. The opening story arc with Root is a lot of fun, and she ends up becoming a reoccurring player for the rest of the season. The standalone first half has some fun episodes like Bury The Lede and Critical, the Reese in prison arc is one of my favorite storylines of the series, and the final arc about the virus is just plain excellent. Season 2 does a good job of raising the stakes compared to the first season, along with demonstrating just how much the presence of AI changes the show. Season 2 is way more sci-fi heavy than the first, especially in the final two episodes, but it all feels perfectly paced.

However, the place where Season 2 absolutely excels is in its characters. Reese and Finch's backstories are explored to a much greater extent. Reese learns more about his time in the CIA along with the dramatic events at Ordos, and the bombing that killed Finch's partner is revealed in the season finale. Carter and Fusco's fight with HR is put more into the backdrop this season, but their new partnership led to a ton of fun moments between the two. And then there's Root and Shaw, who are phenomenal additions to the cast and add a great sense of fun to the show, between Root's affable attitude and Shaw's excellent snark. It helps that Root is played by Amy Acker who, between this show and Angel, is easily one of the most underrated actors in TV. This season also introduces Bear, a pet dog that Reese adopts and is absolutely perfect in every way. Frankly, Season 2 is nearly perfect aside from one structural issue. While I love the second half (Shadow Box onwards) where the storyline becomes more serialized, the first half is standalone to a fault. Season 1 at least had its reappearing plot threads, but Season 2 didn't have much of a storyline until Reese got arrested.

This is the point at which Person Of Interest's seasons are so packed with banger episodes, it's hard for me to list all of my favorites:

The Contingency: This was a great season premiere and a strong followup to the Season 1 finale. I really like the concept of Finch using Reese as a contingency in case something happened to him, and the scene where Reese blackmails The Machine into helping him find Finch was incredibly impactful. We also get to learn more about Root, and we get to see Reese adopt Bear, probably one of the show's greatest decisions.

Prisoner's Dilemma: This episode was just plain outstanding in every way. Carter was at her absolute best here as she worked to free Reese from prison and stop him from being identified, and it's filled with emotional sequences where Reese is forced to face his past. But it's not all intense, Fusco has one of the funniest subplots in the series where he gets into an insane off-screen adventure to save the next number. When Reese got freed from prison, there were ten minutes left in the episode, resulting in a stunning ending where Stanton appears, kills Donnelly, and kidnaps Reese.

Dead Reckoning: And to think Prisoner's Dilemma was just the first part. Dead Reckoning is easily one of the show's most important episodes, with several game-changing reveals. Snow and Stanton are killed off, Decima Industries makes its first appearance, the virus that the second half focuses on is released, and we get the crazy reveal that Finch is responsible for the events at Ordos. It's not as personal as Prisoner's Dilemma but it moves the show into a greater focus on technological warfare. 

Relevance: Shaw's first appearance is easily one of the most creative episodes in the series. Unlike most episodes which focus on Reese and Finch as they try to save the number, this episode focuses entirely on Shaw as she finds herself on the run, with Team Machine appearing only sparingly. It's a fun and relentless action-focused episode that even gives us our first Shaw and Root scene, trust me, this is gonna be important in the future.

Trojan Horse: The final arc of the season starts with this incredibly lore-heavy episode. Shaw finally learns of Reese and Finch's working place, The Library, we learn that Decima is responsible for Stanton's virus and that it's targeted for The Machine, and Beecher learns that HR framed Szymanski only to be killed off (in an incredibly devastating scene for Carter). There's a lot of exciting set-up here that I just found so enjoyable.

Zero Day: This penultimate episode was just plain stunning, it was frantic, relentless, and it left me absolutely breathless from start to finish. There is so much to love here. I love that Root and Finch team up again, I love that Reese and Shaw team up, I love the final train station scene where Root and Reese get access to God Mode, I love Carter finally deciding to take the battle to HR no matter what, and I love just how chaotic most of this episode is. Zero Day is easily one of my favorite episodes in the series and a great continuation of Person Of Interest slowly becoming a sci-fi show.

God Mode: While it's not as good as Zero Day or Firewall, for that matter, this was another strong finale with a ton of really fun moments. Reese using God Mode led to a ton of fun and exciting Equilibrium-esque shootouts, Shaw finally learns about the machine, the reveal of how Ingram dies is predictably emotional, and the twist about The Machine having moved itself was one of the biggest mind screws I've ever seen in a show. It wasn't perfect, Carter's storyline was left hanging and the lack of a cliffhanger like Season 1 was a bit disappointing, but otherwise, I really liked this final episode.

Overall, Season 2 is a general improvement on the first with some memorable storylines, stunningly great episodes, excellent character development, and a strong second half, even if its more episodic first half is one of the show's weaker stretches.

4/5 Stars

Person Of Interest (Season 1)

Person Of Interest is one of my favorite shows of all time with an engrossing story, a likable cast, and some of the best escalation in any TV show I've seen. Season 1 may be a bit on the simple and procedural side, but it does a great job at laying the groundwork for the better and more exciting later seasons.

Season 1 of Person Of Interest starts off with a simple premise. John Reese, a presumed dead CIA agent, teams up with a reclusive billionaire named Harold Finch to use a government machine that he designed, aptly named The Machine, to stop crimes before they occur. There's an interesting twist in that Reese and Finch only learn who's involved in the crime rather than if they're the victim or the perpetrator, but most of the season follows this fairly procedural format. It can get a bit repetitive fairly quickly, and I totally get if you'd lose interest in the show so early. However, Season 1 introduces a bunch of interesting plot threads that surface every once in a while, from a police officer named Carter who finds a fascination with the two, to an elusive hacker named Root, to the interesting backstories of Finch and Reese, to a mob boss named Elias, to a group of corrupt officers named HR. Some of my favorite episodes of the season focus on these subplots, and the way they slowly progress throughout the season is immensely satisfying. I also really like how the season slowly and carefully introduces a sci-fi element, foreshadowing The Machine having sentience before the season finale all but confirms it.

As for the characters, you might not think much of Reese and Finch at first. They have flashback scenes scattered throughout the season, but they also don't seem to have that much to their character. However, Person Of Interest is amazing at subtly introducing character development, and watching the two leads slowly gain trust in each other is incredibly fun. By the final few episodes of the season, I was surprised to find that I did in fact care about Reese and Finch, along with side characters Carter and Fusco. Elias is another highlight, despite being an antagonist, he's easily the most fun character to watch thanks to Enrico Colantoni obviously having a great time in the role. I also thought the action scenes are pretty great throughout, though Reese ends up heading most of them, they're all super frantic and exciting. Thematically, Season 1 is fairly basic, but it introduces its themes of corruption, paranoia, and artificial intelligence for the later seasons to explore even further.

Witness: This was the episode that helped me fall in love with the series, for sure. After six fairly basic procedural episodes, Witness finally introduces us to the elusive Elias, albeit with a twist. Reese spends the whole episode trying to save someone only to learn it's the same exact mob boss they and Carter have been trying to track down. It's a brilliantly-executed twist that shows how Person Of Interest may not be the structured procedural series I initially thought it was.

Number Crunch: This midseason finale starts off fairly standard with Reese and Finch having to save multiple people at the same time. However, the main plotline suspiciously ends ten minutes early, culminating in an absolutely bonkers cliffhanger which has Carter finally meet Reese and Finch in person only to save them from getting killed.

Baby Blue: This episode was an absolute gut-punch. Reese and Finch trying to save a baby is fun and cute at first, but when they strike an alliance with Elias, pretty much everything falls apart. The final ten minutes are devastating and intense as Elias tricks Reese into revealing his target's location and Carter quits trying to help out Team Machine.

Flesh And Blood: The Elias storyline comes to an action-packed and exciting finale. It was a lot of fun to see Carter try to save five mob bosses, and the final battle with Elias is incredibly satisfying and badass. Of course, Elias had to have a victory of his own, but otherwise, his defeat was cathartic and easily one of the season's high points. 

Firewall: Person Of Interest pretty much always nailed its season finales, but this one was particularly satisfying in how it brought together the remaining plot threads, from HR taking a massive hit, to Fusco and Carter clearing things up, to the reappearances of Alicia and Zoe, to the shocking ending where Root reveals herself and kidnaps Finch. It has great action, crazy twists, along with that aforementioned confirmation that The Machine is artificially intelligent.

Overall, while it may be a bit basic and procedural, Season 1 of Person Of Interest does a great job of introducing the characters and laying the groundwork for the excellent later seasons of the show.

3/5 Stars

Princess Tutu (Season 1)

Having seen and loved Madoka Magica, I wanted to try out some more unconventional magical girl shows, so I decided to check out Princess Tutu. I absolutely did not expect something so weird, and I'm kinda here for it.

Princess Tutu is an anime about a duck named Ahiru (or Duck in the English dub) who gets a necklace that lets her turn into a human that can became a magical girl, with the task of finding the pieces of her love interest Mytho's heart. However, not only are there people who don't want Ahiru to achieve her goal, but the events of the show are being watched by a writer named Drosselmeyer who tries to use them for his own story. There's a lot more to the premise though, even by the third episode, Princess Tutu starts playing around with reality and how much of it is just part of Drosselmeyer's story. I'm a big fan of this sort of meta commentary, so an anime about characters of a story trying to fight fate and the way they are written is just plain awesome. Princess Tutu packs in a ton of references to fairy tales and ballet as well, with Ahiru herself taking a lot from Swan Lake and The Ugly Duckling, but a large portion of the episodes are based off of fairy tales of their own.

Now it's time for me to address the elephant in the room, the show's title. Princess Tutu is not as light and fluffy as its name will have you believe. Even in the earlier episodes, there's a dark undercurrent, I mean the first line of the show is "once upon a time, there was a man who died". The shift in tone isn't as drastic and sudden as in Madoka, though, rather Tutu has a slow and gradual shift as its fluffy fairy tale exterior gives way throughout the course of the season. Along with the shard-collecting nature of the storyline, this means the show has a bunch of Monster-Of-The-Week storylines that I found to be its weakest part. However, it all builds up to a pretty amazing ending that left me incredibly excited for Season 2. Princess Tutu is a fast-paced and often bizarre show, packed with surreal humor and dance battles. It implements preexisting classical music for its score, which fits it pretty well, for the most part. Between the animation, the music, and the surreal meta commentary, Princess Tutu strikes a super dreamlike feel that I found myself really enjoying. I also found myself really liking the cast, who all have their own compelling conflicts about avoiding their fates. But Ahiru is easily my favorite, she's a super excitable and adorkable protagonist with compelling self-esteem issues that I just can't help but root for.

Some of the best episodes of the season include:

A Princess's Vow: This episode gave us the first true hints at just how much Drosselmeyer has control of the world of Princess Tutu. We learn that his book exists in real life, that some of the book's characters exist as well, and that stunning final reveal of the tragic fate planned for Princess Tutu. I like that throughout the episode, Arihu is left questioning what is real and what isn't. This episode also had one of the better Monster-Of-The-Week storylines, with the reveal of its similarities to Hansel And Gretel genuinely catching me off guard.

Crow Princess: This episode was easily the darkest one yet, with even the coloring and visuals being a lot more muted and moody. I like that Ahiru finally takes the time to think on why she'd want to take such a tragic path, and it leads to our first scene of Drosselmeyer freaking out over someone messing with the story. It all culminates in a crazy final sequence where Mytho and Princess Tutu are finally honest with each other, and Rue is revealed to seemingly be the raven with an alter ego of her own.

La Sylphide: This otherwise solid episode had an absolute gut punch of an ending which finally brought the whole main cast into the same location. Kraehe forcefully removing Mytho's heart shard is shocking (and beautifully animated, I might add), but it's still only second to the twist that these characters might have been playing the wrong roles the whole time.

Banquet Of Darkness: Banquet Of Darkness focuses heavily on Ahiru and Fakir's new partnership, and it's great. These two have such an entertaining dynamic and it was incredibly fun to see them grow to understand each other a bit, Fakir even learns that Ahiru is a duck! Befitting the penultimate episode, we get some other pretty big reveals like the confirmation that Edel is a puppet, Kraehe revealing she knows Ahiru is Tutu, and the fact that Kraehe can see Drosselmeyer. And once again, we get a crazy cliffhanger where Kraehe tries to trick Tutu into causing herself to disappear.

Swan Lake: It's impressive how nearly flawless this finale ended up being. It's a personal and climactic confrontation with Kraehe that gives the whole cast their own moments to shine. I love the creative ways in which Tutu and Fakir fight fate, Edel's sacrifice, Tutu's solo pas de deux, it's just so immensely satisfying. Swan Lake is an incredibly emotional and cathartic finale that leaves room for a darker Season 2.

Overall, I really enjoyed the first season of Princess Tutu. The characters are likable, the meta storyline on fighting fate is compelling, and the allusions to classical music, ballet, and fairy tales are so well-implemented that they heighten the quality of the show.

4/5 Stars

Dark

I was originally going to review Dark in seasons like I usually do, but I ended up running into a bit of an issue. I know this show is good, it's incredibly well-done, but halfway through the second season, I realized something: I just didn't enjoy watching it. Thus, I decided to delete my original seasonal reviews and review Dark as a whole, what I liked about it, what I didn't, and why I couldn't fall in love with it like so many other people have.

Dark starts out intriguing enough, it takes place in a town called Winden where a kid named Mikkel mysteriously disappears. Eventually, we learn that there is a wormhole in a cave that lets people travel back in time to 33 years prior. Soon after, you learn that the whole timeline has basically turned into a knot and everyone's attempts at breaking it fail, only for alternate universes to be introduced in Season 3 as a way to potentially untie the knot once and for all. This is an incredibly simplification of Dark's story, though, as it is packed with mysteries, characters, and incredibly screwed-up time loops. By the end of the show, you realize that nearly everyone is related in some insane way thanks to time travel, everything is connected.

I was really into Dark during the first season, which is still probably my favorite of the bunch, when it took on a sort of mystery box format. The first few episodes were overwhelming in just how many plot elements they introduced, but the show continued to resolve its mysteries in a tidy and realistic manner. Dark is stunningly tight throughout its three seasons, which is an incredibly impressive feat given how complex it is. Season 2 was where the magic started to fade, however, as it mostly felt like more of the same without that same initial mystery. Most of the episodes just made the timeline even more convoluted, and it wasn't until the finale where the show introduced anything truly new, that being the alternate universes. Season 3 was an improvement, and was probably the best season on an objective level. It was still complicated as hell, even moreso with the alternate universes, but its central conflict was compelling and the final half was a pretty excellent ending.

However, while this all sounds really cool, and it was for a bit, Dark left me feeling kind of cold by the end. My biggest problem in the show is in regards to the characters. The show tosses so many characters at you in its first episode alone, and even by Season 2, I still couldn't reliably recognize any of them. I didn't find myself caring about anyone other than maybe Jonas, and it doesn't help that most of the cast is pretty unlikable. Once the time loops become apparent, I realized that I felt even more alienated from the characters since it seemed like nothing they do would ever matter. The addition of alternate universes was a great step forward, but it was too late for me, even in Season 3, I just didn't care about this show's cast. I ended up caring more about Dark's mystery and intrigue, so when the magic of the show's unique and eerie score, strange way of telling stories, and complex structure started to fade, I ended up caring less.

Even more, Dark kind of felt like a slog to watch at times. Not because it was boring or anything, but because it was just plain exhausting. There are so many plotlines, characters, and mysteries to keep up with that I had to take notes and do research during and after every single episode just to barely understand what was going on. Watching this show felt like work, and while some people might enjoy unpacking its complex mysteries, I just wanted the show to end. And the worst part is, Dark isn't even a bad show. It has amazing production values, with great acting, beautiful cinematography, a stunningly tight script, and a great score. I have my nitpicks about the abundance of musical montages, the ridiculous amount of silences, the weird incest storylines, and how nearly every episode just happens to start with a sex scene, but I know that what I'm watching had a lot of work put into it. I wanted to love Dark, but it just wasn't for me, and that's perfectly fine.

There were some pretty great episodes throughout the show, however, particularly the ones with big plot twists:

Truths: While there are many crazy revelations of people being related in some way, Truths is probably the most impactful just because it was the first. The reveal that Mikkel and Michael were the same person is pretty great, and made a ton of sense while being genuinely surprising. We also got to meet Noah for the first time, which was pretty cool.

Alpha And Omega: Dark always did a good job with its season finales, they made the season feel self-contained while leaving a ton of loose ends open. This finale gave us the reveal that The Stranger was an adult Jonas, which was really cool and, once again, made a ton of sense. There was also Helge's surprise death, and the reveal of the apocalyptic future of 2052.

Endings And Beginnings: This whole finale had this great air of tension to it as the apocalypse slowly neared, and we got some shocking character deaths, messed up revelations, and the big climactic reveal of alternate universes. I already expressed my praise towards the addition of alternate universes, it's a cool twist that expands on the show's time travel rules while giving me hope that the characters could finally unite that time knot.

Life And Death: It's stunning just how unbelievably relentless and chaotic this episode was. The sheer amount of character deaths is insane, culminating in probably the show's most effective (or one of the most effective) twists, Jonas's death.

The Paradise: I'm not gonna lie, this finale was satisfying as hell. It's so interesting to realize just how much unhappiness and misery the time loop caused everyone, so when the loop has finally been untied, and the survivors are happy in the origin world, it's hard not to feel pretty happy for them.

Overall, Dark is an incredibly well-produced show with amazing production and a story that's way neater than it should have been. However, I just couldn't find much enjoyment in it myself. So I'll leave the review with this: Give Dark a try, if you like it, that's awesome! But if you happen to not like it either, that's fine as well. I'm happy that I try so many different genres and shows, even if not all of them appeal to me.

2/5 Stars

Favorite Episode: Alpha And Omega

Frasier (Season 3)

Season 3 of Frasier is easily the best season yet, implementing more overarching storylines and including tons of fun and entertaining episodes.

Frasier's third season is the first one to have a bit of a storyline, at least for its first half. The season introduces a new station manager named Kate, who starts out ruining Frasier's show and blossoms into a temporary relationship only for Kate to leave midway through the season. I think the Kate arc is fine, it's nice to see a bit more serialization in Frasier but I've never found Kate to be an interesting character or one of Frasier's more interesting love interests. It's Niles's storyline that I found really appealing, as a few episodes into the season, Maris wants to divorce him. This storyline stays a bit more in the background and isn't resolved by the season's end, but Niles's issues with Maris give the great character a lot more focus. Even better, now that Niles's relationship is on the rocks, the show can give his romantic subplot with Daphne a bit more focus as well.

My biggest problem with Season 3 is how it manages to drop so many of its storylines around the middle of the season, with Kate leaving and Niles's problems with Maris slowly becoming less relevant. As a result, the season ends up peaking around the middle, with a final third of the season that is pretty much entirely episodic, not entirely a bad thing until I realized that most of the season's best episodes were around the middle section anyway. Still, the final few episodes weren't awful, I like the flashback-heavy finale that shows how much the cast developed, but it's a bit disappointing coming after Seasons 1 & 2 which seriously peaked in their last few episodes. In terms of overall quality, however, Season 3 is probably the most consistently strong season yet. Its low points weren't nearly as low as the lowest points of the first two seasons, and its highest point was Moon Dance, my favorite episode up to this point. The dialogue and writing was as witty and sharp as usual, and the main cast ended up being as endlessly lovable as ever. 

Once again, there were some top-notch episodes this season, particularly in the middle section:

The Last Time I Saw Maris: This episode blew me away the first time I watched it. I knew that Niles and Maris would have to divorce eventually, but I didn't expect the seeds to be planted so early on in the show! But aside from the shock factor, this was just another genuinely funny Niles and Maris farce that allowed the former character to make a bit of a fool of himself in thinking the latter got kidnapped.

Moon Dance: It never really became important until this episode, but Niles and Daphne are probably my favorite couple in TV ever, or at least they're up there. David Hyde Pierce and Jane Leeves have so much chemistry and some of my favorite Frasier episodes are devoted to the two. Moon Dance has a similar buildup to many other Frasier episodes, but rather to a hilarious bit of chaos, it builds up to one of the sweetest moments in the series with Niles and Daphne's impressive tango and first kiss. I ship it so much!

Look Before You Leap: This is the greatest Leap Day episode ever made and there's no contest. I love how Frasier convinces everyone to take big leaps of faith only for them to pretty much all turn out disastrous, culminating in Frasier taking his own big leap of faith only to embarrass himself on live TV in one of the series' funniest payoffs.

High Crane Drifter: While this episode is probably most known for Daphne's iconic annoyingly catchy "Flesh is burning" song, I really like the concept of this one. Frasier snaps at someone for being inconsiderate and is suddenly named a hero, with tons of people following his lead by getting revenge on people that did them wrong as well. I'm a big fan of Frasier episodes that spiral out of control like this, especially when Frasier himself is the main victim.

Chess Pains: This episode is just plain cute. Frasier driving himself crazy after repeatedly losing against Martin is a joy to watch (do you see a trend in these episode picks?), yet the episode never feels repetitive in spite of its premise. Every time Martin wins at chess manages to be funnier than the last. I also love the subplot of Niles replacing Maris with a dog, who looks like a perfect visual representation of the many hilarious descriptions of Maris that have been made throughout the show.

Overall, Season 3 is yet another improvement with a greater focus on Niles, more storylines, and a general increase in quality, even if not all of its attempts at serialization work.

4/5 Stars

Frasier (Season 2)

For its second season, Frasier still hasn't quite developed a plot yet, but it did solidify the farcical structure that the series would become known for.

Season 2 of Frasier is pretty much more of the same for the show. Not only is there no overarching storyline once again, it might even be worse than the first season, which at least had the character development of Frasier and Martin adjusting to living with each other. Frasier's second season, on the other hand, is as episodic as episodic gets. Pretty much every episode is its own individual story, which means that the general level of quality can fluctuate. Thankfully, none of Season 2's episodes are worse than the worst that Season 1 had to offer (Fortysomething), and its high points are even higher. Aside from the general improvements in dialogue and writing, what makes Season 2 a marked improvement on the first is the fact that Frasier had finally figured out how to work out its structure.

Starting this season, most of Frasier's episodes are farcical, meaning that they start with a simple misunderstanding or premise that slowly spirals out of control and builds to a bombastic and usually hilarious finale. These farce episodes usually the funniest in the series, and the best of the bunch feel like intricately-crafted Rube Goldberg machines where every line and set-up ends up being paid off near the end of the episode. Despite this new emphasis on farce, the characters never feel like they're being used as plot devices, most of the comedy during these episodes feels genuine because the show lets the characters just bounce off each other as they are. As for the moment to moment jokes, Frasier is well-known for its intelligent and highbrow humor that can sometimes take a bit of time to get, lots of wordplay and tricky references. I've always liked that this show settled for witty wordplay rather than mean-spirited snark, simplistic meta humor, or raunch, there's definitely a part of me thinks Frasier is why I like puns so much.

At its best, Frasier's second season has some of the most iconic episodes of the series:

The Matchmaker: The first two episodes of Season 2 were pretty bland, so imagine my shock when Episode 3 was the best one yet, by a longshot! The Matchmaker is probably the first true farcical episode of the series, mostly being about Frasier being mistaken by his station manager. What makes this one so great is how oblivious Frasier is. Throughout the episode, he makes all of these subtle statements that can be interpreted in completely the wrong way, it's a perfect showcase of just how witty Frasier's comedy can be.

Adventures In Paradise: While I'm not sure it needed to be a two-parter, this episode signals Lilith's return, and a great one at that. I like that the development between the two has continued from the last Lilith appearance, with this episode's storyline being about Lilith accidentally ruining one of Frasier's dates. The ending is excellent too, with Frasier forced to accept Lilith's getting married before him, and a surprise cameo from Diane from Cheers (in a dream sequence, though).

Roz In The Doghouse: I've always loved the side characters who work at KACL, so it's nice to get an episode that focuses on one of them. This episode has a fun concept of Roz leaving to be Bulldog's producer, and I enjoyed the sequence where Frasier shuffles through a bunch of bad producers. But the best scene is easily the mini farce near the end where Bulldog misinterprets Roz and thinks she wants to sleep with him.

An Affair To Forget: Niles has always been my favorite character in Frasier and this has always been one of his best episodes. It takes a fairly rote concept of Niles thinking his wife Maris is cheating on him and turning it into a hilarious mess of a final act with sword fights, mistranslated languages, and a wrecked chandelier. It's easily one of the funniest sequences in any Frasier episode ever.

The Innkeepers: Once you get past the initial surprise that Frasier and Niles actually bought a restaurant, you get another one of the show's funniest farces where their plan slowly and painfully spirals out of control. There are a ton of funny moments here like Frasier shoving Bulldog to the corner of the restaurant, Daphne killing an eel, and of course, that chaotic ending where absolutely everything goes wrong. An absolute classic.

Overall, while Season 2 of Frasier is still painfully episodic compared to the show's later seasons, it solidified the show's main structure and produced some of Frasier's most iconic episodes.

3/5 Stars 

Frasier (Season 1)

To this day, Frasier is still one of the most unique sitcoms I've ever seen, a blend of domestic, situational, and workplace built on Rube Goldberg-esque farces. While Season 1 is a bit more standard than most Frasier seasons, it's still a solid start for the series.

Frasier is about the titular character, a psychologist who moves to Seattle after the events of the show Cheers. In Seattle, he's forced to move in with his father Martin and his caretaker Daphne. There's also Frasier's brother Niles and his producer Roz, who play fairly large roles in the show as well. What makes Frasier so unique compared to most sitcoms I've seen is how it doesn't necessarily fit into a particular genre. There's a domestic element to it with Martin, but there's also moments that feel more like a workplace comedy, entire storylines that take place at Frasier's radio job. I think the later seasons do a better job of mixing these disparate elements as the cast gets closer and closer, this season they feel a bit separate, but it's a different take on the genre. The later seasons also start to develop overarching storylines and more complex farce storylines, while Season 1 is mostly episodic and standard sitcom fare.

While structurally Frasier hasn't fully come into its own in Season 1, it absolutely nailed the writing and characters from the very first episode. To this day, Frasier still has one of my favorite pilots in TV history, though the show struggles to top it until about halfway through the season. It obviously helps that the writers and the character of Frasier carried over from Cheers (Angel had that advantage as well), but pretty much the entire cast is fantastic. David Hyde Pierce is especially hilarious as Niles, and it's amazing how quickly he manages to fit in his role. I also love Roz and Daphne, both of which being incredibly likable in their own. Even the dog, Eddie, is a more memorable character than in most shows I've seen. When the title character who had been established eight seasons prior in Cheers is one of my least favorite in the cast, that's how you know this is a damn good cast.

While Season 1 isn't my favorite of the bunch, there are still a bunch of episodes that I adore, especially near the end:

The Good Son: I first watched Frasier pretty early on, with most of the other shows I've seen being other sitcoms like Friends, The Office, Parks & Rec, and 30 Rock. They didn't have very great pilots, so The Good Son absolutely blew me away with how seamless it all felt. This is how you write a TV pilot, it quickly and efficiently introduces the characters and shows the viewer their quirks through dialogue alone, and best of all, it's just plain funny! And as someone who didn't watch Cheers, you can go in completely blind without worrying about being lost.

The Show Where Lilith Comes Back: Frasier brought back a bunch of characters from Cheers, but Lilith was easily the best and most enduring of the lot. Her dynamic with Frasier is super entertaining, especially in this episode which has her disrupt his radio show in a hysterical sequence. I also like the more emotional and heartwarming ending, which resolves their conflict in a sweet note.

A Midwinter Night's Dream: This episode was one of the few farcical episodes of the season and a taste of what to expect from the future of the series. We finally get an exploration of Niles' feelings for Daphne and it's just great. It perfectly balances hilarious comedy as Martin and Frasier try to stop him from making a mistake and some genuine moments like Daphne giving Niles a kiss.

Frasier Crane's Day Off: This episode was just hilarious. It feels like the perfectly blend of Frasier's different genres, showing how Frasier being sick influences his job. Gil makes his first appearance, we get to see Niles run the radio show for a bit, and Frasier trying to take back his slot while on drugs is just plain hysterical.

My Coffee With Niles: This was one of the most unique season finales I've seen to date. It's a real-time bottle episode where Frasier and Niles just sit at a cafe together and reflect on the past year. It's not dramatic or climactic, but it fits. I like that Niles finally talks about his crush on Daphne with someone, I like that the other members of the cast appear in the cafe, and I like that Frasier decides that he is happy. It's a fun homage to My Dinner With Andre, and a surprisingly satisfying finale that perfectly fits a show where the protagonist is a psychiatrist.

While it's light on plot and hasn't grown into its iconic farcical structure yet, Frasier's first season is a solid start for the series with great writing and characters right from the get-go.

3/5 Stars

Parks And Rec (Season 7)

Parks And Rec's Season 7 follows a three-year time jump into 2017, resulting in a season that feels far removed from the rest of the season, yet simultaneously a nearly perfect way to end the show.

Season 7 takes place in 2017. Leslie and Ron are reeling from an intense argument, Gryzzl is trying to buy the Newport land in Pawnee, and pretty much everything is different. I kinda like this season story-wise. Leslie and Ron's conflict is believable, and the episode where they make up is one of the series' best. I actually think the Gryzzl conflict is a bit dull, but its resolution in Save JJ's is satisfying. However, the second half of the season after most of the department reconcile is where Season 7 really starts to shine. Pretty much every member in the cast gets their own satisfying story resolutions, all culminating in the series finale that shows us their full futures. 

There's a real sense of finality to all of Parks And Rec's seventh season that helps it feel so impactful. Right from the very first episode, it's made clear that this is the final season, and it's easily as its best when wrapping up character arcs. I think writing-wise, Season 7 is a bit hit-or-miss at times. While some episodes are amazing and hilarious, there are other episodes like William Henry Harrison and Gryzzlbox that are somewhat lacking in humor, being far more plot-driven. Despite this and the season's short length, however,  Season 7 is also willing to experiment with bottle episodes, an episode entirely about Johnny Karate, and a series finale composed of flashforwards. Even moreso than Season 6, this season's high points are super high and its low points are fairly low.

As a result, there are some really good episodes this season:

Ron And Jammy: While not the best Ron And _____ episode of the bunch, this second episode is not only really funny, but it actually made me feel bad for Jamm. Having an episode briefly pairing him up with Tammy 2 was an inspired decision and led to some great comedic moments.

Leslie And Ron: This is easily one of the show's best episodes, entirely revolving around Leslie and Ron's dynamic, why they split up, and how they can rebuild their friendship. Despite is somewhat sad nature, Leslie And Ron is a very funny episode, and seeing them reconcile is as heartwarming as it is hilarious.

The Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show: I adore this episode. It's a heartwarming sendoff for Andy and April, which also just being hysterical. The Pawnee commercials featuring the show's minor characters, each segment utilizing different members of the cast, Johnny Karate is a love letter to Parks And Rec and is a high point in a season with a whole bunch of high points.

Two Funerals: This was a great and heartwarming penultimate episode. I really liked Tom trying to make a super spectacular proposal to Lucy only to just decide on something low-key, along with Ron finally accepting change. And I don't think there would ever been a perfect ending for Jerry (Larry? Garry? I kinda lost track) than him becoming mayor.

One Last Ride: While I still feel Moving On was a more impactful ending, I quite like getting this much closure on all of the characters (we also see Ann and Chris which does give it a few points). I like how each member of the cast gets their own segments that intersect with everyone else, as if we're getting shown potential future episodes of Parks And Rec. And I also like how the finale leaves a few things ambiguous like who between Leslie and Ben became president.

Overall, I really like Season 7, even with how different it is. There's a sense of finality to the whole season, as everyone gets a satisfying, heartwarming, and funny resolution to their character arcs. It's a memorable and unique final season for one of my favorite shows.

4/5 Stars

My ranking of the Parks and Rec seasons is:

1. Season 3: Despite its short length, Season 3 is a relentless series of iconic and hysterical episodes that never let up. The Harvest Festival storyline is also great, and the debut of Ben and Chris pretty much completes the show.
2. Season 4: While not as consistently hilarious as Season 3, the core election storyline is easily the best plotline of the show, and comes with some of my favorite episodes in Parks And Rec.
3. Season 5: The first two-thirds of Season 5 is fantastic, and all that build-up to Leslie and Ben's wedding is great. The final third, while still good, feels tacked on and noticeably weaker.
4. Season 7: Even as someone who doesn't love timejumps, I really liked Season 7. It had a lot of great episodes, gave all of the characters satisfying farewells, and has a real sense of finality to it.
5. Season 2: While definitely an improvement on its predecessor, Season 2 still hasn't quite perfected the series' formula. Lots of great episodes but also plenty of duds, and Mark still needed to leave.
6. Season 6: Season has a fantastic opener and a fantastic ending, but it drags in the middle and the recall vote storyline is easily the most frustrating part of the whole show.
7. Season 1: Yeah, this season is still pretty bad. The characters, tone, and writing just isn't on point yet, and the only saving grace is the fact that it's mercifully short.

My ranking of the Parks and Rec finales is:

1. Moving Up: As much as I enjoy Season 7, I would totally be fine with this being the finale. All of the season's storylines converge, everyone gets a satisfying ending, and all of the callbacks to the show's prior running gags are very well-executed.
2. Lil Sebastian: The decision to build the finale around a pretty minor character actually paid off in spades and helps to give this episode a grandiose feel, while also packing in a ton of cliffhangers and major points of plot progression.
3. Win, Lose, Or Draw: Leslie winning the election is such a grand and satisfying moment that I absolutely love, but even with that singular focus, every character gets plenty of screentime and the final few minutes is a relentless series of hooks for Season 5.
4. One Last Ride: One Last Ride is just heartwarming, each of the flash-forwards feel like a mini Parks And Rec episode that we would've gotten if the show had continued onward into the future.
5. Freddy Spaghetti: While it doesn't really resolve much, Freddy Spaghetti is an incredibly densely-packed finale that gives the entire cast something to do. Also Mark leaves.
6. Are You Better Off?: As mentioned above, I don't like the recall vote storyline and I hate this episode for introducing it. Thankfully, Andy's pregnancy test subplot saved it for me.
7. Rock Show: Rock Show isn't a bad season finale, it actually packs a pretty crazy cliffhanger, but it really suffers from the general lack of quality in Season 1's writing.

Favorite Episode: The Debate

Parks And Rec (Season 6)

Season 5 ended on a fairly shaky hook for the next season involving Leslie facing a recall vote. It only makes sense that Season 6 is at its best when it's far removed from that fairly depressing premise.

I'm not going to sugarcoat it, Parks And Rec's sixth season gets off to a rough start. After a pretty fun premiere, the season starts with a story arc where Leslie gets recalled from city council, which just doesn't sit well with me. Pawnee's citizens have always been a bit insensitive, but it's usually played for comedy, and you can still understand why Leslie loves the town so much. This arc has pretty much everyone Leslie has worked for throughout the show turn against her, which just feels antithetical to the idealistic tone Parks And Rec has been maintaining these past few seasons, instead this whole initial arc just felt cynical. Thankfully, the rest of this season had some pretty great storylines to make up for it. I thought the merger with Eagleton was a super cool premise, and I wish the season devoted more time to it. I also thought Ann and Chris's departure was well-executed, along with that big unity concert at the end of the season. 

While I'm not a fan of the direction this season went in a lot of the time, the writing is shockingly consistent with the past four Parks And Rec seasons. Most of the episodes are generally still funny, especially post-recall vote, and at its best, this season has some of the best moments in the series. The final storyline about the unity concert in particular feels like it could have ended the show as a whole, tying up everyone's storylines in a satisfying manner. My only other gripe with the season is with how many characters left at certain points. Andy leaves to London for the first half of the season, and once he returns, Ann and Chris leave soon after. They're replaced by a character named Craig, who can definitely be entertaining at times, but he also screams nonstop. Just hearing him talk can get grating at times, which is why I'm glad he got toned down a bit in Season 7.

As mentioned before, despite my several issues with this season, its high points are some of the show's highest:

London: I love how grand this season premiere is. It starts with a wedding between Ron and Diane, and evolves into a big trip to London. It's a lot of fun to see the characters goofing around in London, but I also really liked seeing Leslie snap from the frustration of dealing with Pawnee. She was definitely echoing my opinions on the whole recall vote situation.

Ann And Chris: This episode was a perfect sendoff to these two. After six seasons, the Pawnee Commons are finally opened in one of the most satisfying scenes of the series. And the final shot where Ann and Chris drive off and the rest of the team goes off to get brunch could once again be a perfect end to the series as a whole.

Flu Season II: While probably not as good as the original, this is still an incredibly funny and entertaining sequel to one of the show's most iconic episodes. And the big reveal at the end that Leslie is pregnant is an exciting way to kickstart the end of the season.

Moving Up: This is one of my favorite season finales of all time, it's perfect in nearly every way. It's funny, it's heartwarming, it's emotional, and while it packs a super enticing hook for Season 7, it could have been a perfect series finale as well. The trip to San Francisco was fun, Leslie's conflict about leaving Pawnee was engrossing, the Unity Concert was beautiful (especially 5,000 Candles In The Wind), Tom's restaurant success was satisfying, Ron revealing Duke Silver was awesome, and once again, the time jump was exciting. I adore Moving Up, it's easily one of the show's best.

Overall, Season 6 struggles from an oddly depressing start and a bunch of character absences, but its high points are insanely high, and it sticks the landing better than any other season in the series.

3/5 Stars

Parks And Rec (Season 5)

After two phenomenal seasons, Parks And Rec had to dip in quality somewhat. Despite that, the fifth season is still really good overall, only suffering from some unfortunate network interference.

Season 5 was originally intended to have 13 episodes and it absolutely shows. The first 14 (13 + Women In Garbage) episodes of the season form a pretty perfect storyline about Leslie and Ben reuniting and getting married, while Leslie deals with being part of the city council and her new rivalry with counselor Jamm (I hate Jamm by the way). Most of the episodes throughout this first segment of the season are excellent, I'd genuinely put Season 5A on par with Seasons 3 & 4. However, the season got nine more episodes, one of which was placed fairly early on, resulting in a Season 5B that felt a bit more aimless. There were some storylines like Leslie learning that the citizens want to recall her and Tom's unhealthy relationship with Jean-Ralphio's sister, but it felt nowhere near as well plotted-out as the first fourteen episodes. And while there were some great episodes, Season 5A was far and away the better season.

Despite my gripes with the season's structure, Parks And Rec's Season 5 still pretty much nails the humor and tone of the series. The characters are still incredibly likable this season, even moreso in the case of Chris and April. Chris's arc about going through depression is incredibly well-executed, and April has developed far enough that seeing her actually try to work and put in effort is exciting. This also might be one of the series' most lighthearted seasons, in a good way. All of the wedding proceedings for Leslie and Ben lead to some of the most heartwarming moments in the whole show. And I while I may not love Season 5B, it's also absolutely hilarious at times, between the Animal Control department, the Sapersteins, the adorable sing-along of Time After Time, and the Star Wars filibuster episode. 

There were a lot of really memorable episodes this season, but particular in 5A:

Halloween Surprise: This episode was just plain adorable. Ben returning to Pawnee and proposing to Leslie in the house that they wanted to get together is such a sweet and iconic moment in the series.

Ron And Diane: I really like Diane, she's absolutely perfect for Ron, so seeing her finally meet Tammy 2 was such an exciting prospect. And the fight between Tammy and Leslie was absolutely hysterical. We also get to see Jerry's family in full and just how happy his life actually is.

Two Parties: Two Parties feels like the quintessential Parks And Rec episode. The main plot about Leslie stopping Jamm from ruining the lot is fun and satisfying, but I really like the subplot about Ben and the boys all having their own ideal bachelor parties. There's no conflict or drama, it's just half of the cast having fun and being friends with each other. It's this time of warm-hearted comedy that's why I love this show so much, and the fact that the episode was able to be so adorably sweet and genuinely funny is a testament to how excellent Parks And Rec's writing is.

Emergency Response: The penultimate episode of Season 5A is easily one of the show's funniest episodes (and it's even funnier post-2020). Seeing the department completely fail at preventing a fictional pandemic is just so funny to watch, there are so many hilarious lines throughout. Yet, it also manages to have a really emotional ending, with Leslie and Ben deciding to get married now and Chris learning Andy failed the police test.

Leslie And Ben: Ron punched Jamm in the face! Oh, and Leslie and Ben get married but that's not as important. All jokes aside though, this is easily one of the sweetest and most satisfying episodes in the series. It's not as funny as Emergency Response, but it gives Leslie and Ben the memorable wedding they deserve, and I'd be perfectly fine if this was the season finale.

Animal Control: This episode was just plain hilarious, between Ron trying to work while being sick, and April trying to get a new Animal Control department. Both of these storylines are great, with Ron at his comedic best, and I like how April gets to show off her intelligence in resolving the Animal Control conflict.

Overall, Season 5's first fourteen episodes are excellent, probably one of the sweetest and most heartwarming stretches in the series. Season 5B, while funny, just doesn't compared and feels tacked-on.

4/5 Stars

Cowboy Bebop

Cowboy Bebop, the sacred cow of anime that everyone loves. Having just seen it, I can definitely see why it's so beloved, and why it's such a great gateway anime for so many people.

Cowboy Bebop is an episodic space western anime about a team of bounty hunters, Spike, Jet, Faye, and Ed. Each character has their own backstories that slowly build over the course of the season, but otherwise, this show is as standalone as it gets. There's a nice sense of unpredictability to Bebop, each episode chronicles a different adventure and you never really know what to expect. The show runs the gamet of genres from standard sci fi adventure to more grounded revenge tales to comedy to horror. Even more, it nails the key to making a good episodic series: A likable cast that you want to see go on adventures. The Bebop crew has a nice dynamic, fun banter, and a solid amount of depth. I also like that the anime hardly packs any exposition, and all of the world-building is just done by watching the characters interact with each other and the world. However, Captain Bebop also suffers from a big problem that a lot of episodic shows face, there are bound to be some missteps. There are some weaker episodes here, like Wild Horses and Boogie Woogie Feng Shui, and the fact that the high points of Bebop end up being the more serious, character-driven outings like Ballad Of Fallen Angels doesn't really help things. 

Thankfully, even with some of the weaker episodes, Bebop absolutely excels when it comes to its presentation. Captain Bebop is stylish, it's slick, and it has a sense of fun throughout. This is most obvious in the score, which is boasts some insanely catchy jazz tunes that left me bopping my head, especially during the chase scenes. But it's not just jazz, Heavy Metal Queen used both rock music and silence to great effect for example, and the show uses some preexisting songs like Ave Maria in pretty good ways as well. And that's not to mention the amazing OP theme. Even the sound mixing and balancing is shockingly well-done, I seriously recommend watching this show with headphones, they put way more effort into that than most shows I've seen. I'm also a big fan of the action scenes, which are violent, intense, and incredibly dynamic. At its best, the animation can be downright stunning. However, there are some scenes that look a bit on the stiff side. Similarly, the voice acting (English dub) was a bit shaky at the start, but the actors slowly adjust to their roles as the show goes on. 

At its best, Captain Bebop boasted some really excellent episodes:

Ballad Of Fallen Angels: Of course, everyone knows this episode is amazing. The cathedral scene was particularly stunning, and Vicious is a great villain, but even the buildup in the first half was great. The opera scene was tense, and it was great to see hints at Spike's and Jet's backstory. Definitely the show's best episode, it's so striking and effectively executed that it towers over the rest of the series.

My Funny Valentine: I was thoroughly surprised with how much I enjoyed Faye's backstory, especially since it was a flashback that comprised the first half of the episode. It was fascinating to see her more naive younger self, and her confrontation with Whitney in the end of the episode was one of the most intense in the anime thus far.

Mushroom Samba: This episode was just so much fun. Ed and Ein going on an adventure together, the goofy music, the crew getting high on mushrooms, that train chase at the end, Mushroom Samba is a gleeful episode and easily the anime's most enjoyable.

Pierrot Le Fou: Easily the anime's weirdest and scariest episode, Pierrot Le Fou has Spike pursued by an evil, nearly invincible, and childlike clown. Visual-wise, this episode is striking and memorable, using shadows in incredibly memorable and impactful ways. I think it has a bit of an exposition problem, but this episode was an incredibly unique and strange watch.

Cowboy Funk: This episode was just plain hilarious, from the bomber who always gets interrupted in the middle of his speeches, to the hysterically hammy Andy who feels like a caricature of Spike's flaws, along with tons of really funny lines. Between this episode and Mushroom Samba, Bebop does comedy really well.

The Real Folk Blues: Most of the show had episodes about Faye, Jet, and Ed facing their past, while Spike spends most of the show (especially between Jupiter Jazz and this episode) running away from it. This entire finale focuses on Spike, but I think it works. The final battle with Vicious the Syndicate is action-packed and climactic, the sheer amount of character deaths all land a punch, and the final scene is just plain iconic. It's a great finale, definitely the best episode of the show.

Overall, Captain Bebop is a stylish and varied space western with a likable cast, fun action, and some surprisingly great dramatic moments. It has too many weak episodes for me to call it a masterpiece, but it kept me entertained throughout.

4/5 Stars

Favorite Episode: Ballad Of Fallen Angels

Zack Snyder's Justice League

Reviewing Zack Snyder's Justice League is a massive undertaking, especially since I saw the original movie and I want to say everything that I need to say, so I'll be dividing it into chapters (since the film definitely should have been a miniseries instead, holy cow is this long!).

Prologue: The first nine minutes of the film make it very clear that this is a Snyder film in all of its glory. I especially love the claim that the 4:3 aspect ratio is necessary for Snyder's "creative vision". I won't deny it was a bit distracting at first, but I got used to it quickly since I own a whole bunch of games that use a smaller aspect ratio like that. Otherwise, I like how it established where all of the major players and MacGuffins are, but it went on far too long for my liking.

Don't Count On It, Batman: Pacing-wise, the first chapter of the Snyder Cut is probably the weakest. There are so many unnecessary scenes, instances of slow motion, and shoe-horned musical numbers. Why did we need to have a scene where a village sings a folk song for Aquaman while someone else sniffs his sweater? It made me so uncomfortable, I wanted to quit right there and then! I was surprised to find that the scene where the city mourns Superman's death was cut. I actually kinda liked that scene and thought Snyder shot it, but oh well. I was also surprised to find just how much of the dialogue was brought from the original! Where those lines actually written by Snyder or did he just have to carry them over? The action scenes were definitely an improvement, the special effects felt less cartoonish, and the slow motion did add tension to certain moments. The music was also way more intense, though some of the audial cues were annoying as hell, especially for Wonder Woman. It's a mixed first chapter all around.

The Age Of Heroes: This chapter was alright? The titular Age Of Heroes was a noticeable extension from the original, and definitely an improvement. A bit of special-effects overload, but it was really cool to see Darkseid in action. It actually felt like a large-scale battle and a scene of its own rather than random flashback nonsense. We also get to meet DeSaad and learn more about Steppenwolf's motivations to redeem himself in Darkseid's eyes. It's a pretty predictable motivation and still makes him a bit of a dull villain, but he's at least more interesting here, and it's nice that he's talking to an actual person rather than himself.

Beloved Mother, Beloved Son: This chapter was actually pretty good... almost. It added the most new scenes yet, and I was surprised at how much it ended up explaining. Barry Allen overworking himself to pay for his tuition makes him a bit more sympathetic this time around, along with the explanation of why Steppenwolf was holding people hostage (these aspects were seriously brushed over in the original). But obviously, the highlight here is Cyborg's backstory. It's amazing how just a few more scenes make him a much better character! Otherwise average scenes have so much more impact with that added context, Victor's cynicism is far more understandable, and Ray Porter's acting shines through so much more.

That backstory was necessary, it's a damn shame it wasn't in the original. Oh, and that scene with Diane and Alfred, that was adorable and necessary as well. The Atlantis fight scene was also a surprise improvement, I despised the original fight, but this version had some neat shots, cool moves, and a lot more impact to it. I didn't love the first two chapters, but I'll admit, this was a genuine improvement on the original film... except that introduction for The Flash. The scene was almost good, it was almost great even, but why did Snyder have Barry caress Iris's face before saving her?! It's so creepy and a perfect example of my main issue with this film, every time I start to get into it, Snyder just goes too far.

Change Machine: This chapter was alright. The battle in the tunnel was a lot better, and it felt like the movie did a better job of showing the team not working together. It was also pretty neat to actually get an explanation on how Cyborg got the Mother Boxes, along with the reveal of the Martian Manhunter. All in all solid chapter, but not too many noteworthy additions.

All The King's Horses: Okay, this is where the improvements really start to show. The original version of this part of the film was so incredibly flawed and nonsensical, but the Snyder Cut fixes so many of my complaints. The team didn't just randomly find Superman's ship, we see them break into STAR Labs. They didn't just leave the Mother Box alone out of stupidity, Silas had it and used it to sacrifice himself to help the League. Lois didn't appear out of nowhere to calm down Superman, she was in the area as shown earlier in the film. The fight with Superman was still pretty fun, even moreso with the better CGI, and I thought Silas's sacrifice was an amazing scene that I'm stunned wasn't in the theatrical release. The movie's "darkest hour" scene actually felt like a "darkest hour". Oh, and there's also the Knightmare scene which was definitely cool, but felt a bit oddly placed, especially since we learn all of this information in the epilogue anyway.

Something Darker: I actually liked Justice League's final battle already, but this was a massive improvement, and once again, not just because of the CGI improvements. Steppenwolf's defeat was more cathartic, the battle was far more tense, and I love how Cyborg and Flash saved the day and resolved their character arcs at the same time. Flash using time travel was a pretty sick scene, as was Cyborg facing his inner demons. I still don't like the DCEU's version of Flash, but this movie did make him a bit more important. Cyborg, on the other hand, completely won me over. Once again, it's an absolute tragedy he got as shafted as he was. As for Superman, all of his scenes were improved, and not just because there were no CGI mustache issues. I liked that he decided to help the team, and how his flight mirrored that in Man Of Steel. This was a great finale, probably one of DC's best, it's the rare time they actually stuck the landing... almost...

Epilogue: At first, this chapter was alright. The montage of everyone tying up loose ends with Silas's final message in the background was excellent, and actually emotionally resonant knowing the full context. Luthor escaping from prison was pretty neat, as was Martian Manhunter. However, I didn't love the Knightmare scene. It kinda felt like an edgy fanfic with the shaky close-ups, Batman cursing, Mera's accent, evil Superman, and all the character deaths. But even more, it feels like a scene from a different movie, a movie that we're likely not even gonna get. It was long, it halted the pacing, and it just felt unnecessary. I also don't like Leto's Joker, even with the new outfit, he just doesn't sit well with me. I get why Snyder included the Knightmare stuff, but this movie could have been both self-contained and shorter without it.

Overall, I enjoyed watching the Snyder Cut. Not only was it a fun watch, but I'd say it was actually kind of a good movie? Maybe one of the better films in the DCEU even ?! It's easily the definitive version of the Justice League, the effects are better, the action is more tense, it's far more tonally consistent, the emotional moments hit harder, and the added backstories, explanations, and lore made the plot far more airtight. However, it does suffer from way too much padding, some bizarre scene choices, and a rough first half. It probably should have been a miniseries, but I'm fine with calling it the most unbelievably ambitious superhero film I've ever seen.

3.5/5 Stars (Subtract .5 for the epilogue)

Falcon And The Winter Soldier Live Reactions

With WandaVision over, now it's time for the MCU's next big show, Falcon And The Winter Soldier. I've done this song and dance before, I'll be reviewing every episode individually and giving my general consensus at the end of the season.

New World Order: Not gonna lie, this was a surprisingly depressing first episode. We're so used to seeing all the flashy fights that you kinda forget that the superheroes also have their own more personal problems to deal with. I'm always fascinated by how The Blip has affected the world, and this episode did a good job of showing the economic and political chaos that it all caused. I especially loved Bucky's subplot, though, his interaction with the therapist alone added so much depth, and the realization that he killed his neighbor's son in the past is just heart wrenching. There wasn't much action here, sadly, but the opening chase was pretty fun and hopefully, that big cliffhanger is what kicks off the plot.

Star-Spangled Man: Coming after the relatively slow-paced premiere, Star-Spangled Man wasted no time in bringing its two protagonists together. I actually think they reunited a bit too quickly given how slow Episode 1 was, but I'm just glad to finally start seeing Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan in the same room. They have really good chemistry, and their banter is easily the most enjoyable aspect of the series. I also found myself really enjoying John Walker's character, it was fascinating to see him struggle to fit in where Captain America did as he slowly got more and more impatient with Sam and Bucky throughout the episode. Once again, the cliffhanger was great, I'm super excited to see Zemo again.

Power Broker: While the first two episodes were pretty haphazardly paced, I feel like Power Breaker was the first really great episode of the show. Winter Soldier and Civil War are two of my favorite MCU films, so this episode in particular had a ton of awesome nods, like the Winter Soldier theme reappearing, Sharon and Zemo returning, and the "will you move up your seat" joke being brought back. Zemo was great here, perfectly balancing between goofy villain and genuine threat, and I thought it was interesting that Sharon got so screwed over by the events of Civil War. Madripoor is such a unique location that gave me serious John Wick vibes, and the fight in the harbor was easily the best action set piece yet. And then there's the ending, which suddenly dropped Ayo from Wakanda into the show and completely caught me off-guard! Just like in WandaVision, it should be cool to learn more about a character who didn't get much focus in her films of origin. Also, fun fact: She actually debuted in a small scene in Civil War!

The Whole World Is Watching: I hate John Walker. I felt a bit of sympathy in Episode 2, he was obviously dealing with way more than he can handle, but wow, is he just awful in this episode! Not that he isn't a well-written character though, the writing and acting are absolutely amazing for this character. He's understandable but definitely hatable as well, and it definitely made the Dora Milaje beating him up low-key kinda satisfying. And that ending just solidifies it, he completely ruined Cap's reputation right there and then in one of the most horrifying and screwed-up moments in the whole MCU (why couldn't WandaVision be this dark?!). But enough about Walker. I like that Sam was trying to talk with Karli, it's always great when the good and bad guys talk it out and it pained me that Walker had to come in and ruin it multiple times. Ayo's appearances were great and gave us a bit more time with Bucky's time as White Wolf, but I was hoping she'd actually join the team, maybe next episode? Zemo was great as usual and his scheming in the background was fascinating (and of course he escaped). Power Broker was probably more fun, but this was definitely the most well-written episode yet.

Truth: This episode made me realize why this miniseries feels so haphazardly paced, because it's really just a movie split up into chunks. Truth is basically that segment between the second and third act where all seems lost, the characters reflect, and the pieces are moved for the final battle. As a result, Truth is pretty slow-paced outside of that amazing opening confrontation between Bucky, Sam, and John Walker (probably the best fight in the show by the way). Still, there were plenty of cool individual moments throughout the episode, such as Torres getting the wings, Bucky tricking Zemo into get captured by the Dora Milaje, Madame Hydra's sudden appearance, Isaiah's story (seriously though, all of his scenes are super intense and that's probably thanks to Carl Lumbly's performance), the training sequence, Sam and Bucky actually hanging out and getting along, Batroc returning, and that cliffhanger. This was very obviously a transition episode, and I still found the boat subplot a bit dull (like a third of this episode was just boat-fixing montages), but I'm glad it took the time to start tying some plot threads (*cough* Wandavision *cough*), and seems to be setting up what should hopefully be a great finale.

One World, One People: This finale was alright. Similarly to WandaVision's finale, it was predictable and pretty action-heavy, but unlike that choppy poorly-edited mess, this one was well-paced and at least tied up all of its loose ends. I also didn't think this finale needed to be anything surprising since this wasn't that kind of show. We got Sam as Captain America, and Walker as US Agent. The final battle was pretty solid, Sam flying and using the shield at the same time led to some pretty impressive moments, but I felt Walker got the short end of the stick, he didn't really have much to do! I was also somewhat disappointed with Sam and Bucky being separated for most of the episode given the show's title. Sharon being the Power Broker was predictable, but I didn't get too mad at it. The real highlight here was definitely Sam's speech to the GRC which I thought was great. Blunt? Sure. But after over a year of this pandemic and the US being a bit of a mess, that was absolutely something I needed to hear from a TV show. As a whole, this finale was fine. It was satisfying, had a solid final battle, and one really great moment. It didn't go above and beyond like I'd hoped, but unlike WandaVision, it actually felt coherent and emotionally satisfying. And "Captain America And The Winter Solider" was a pretty sweet ending card, even if it doesn't quite have the same ring as the show's actual name.

So what did I think of Falcon And The Winter Soldier? I enjoyed it quite a bit, actually. I don't think it was as creative as WandaVision, and the pacing was a bit off given the show was basically a movie chopped up into bits, but overall, I think I liked this one just a bit better. Sam and Bucky are great characters with well-defined arcs and some really strong banter, the action was fun (especially in Power Broker and Truth), and the side characters like Ayo and Zemo were a lot of fun too. The show's ending was predictable, but this was a far more air-tight and satisfying tale than WandaVision. But probably the most surprising aspect of this series was how it dealt with issues I didn't expect Marvel to even touch, and aside from some shoddy moments (particularly in Episode 2), I think it did so very well. So, I enjoyed this one and I admire it for trying to do more than just be a buddy action series like, say, Hobbs & Shaw. FatWS tried to say something while still being a fun MCU show, and it did a pretty decent job with both.

3/5 Stars

Favorite Episode: The Whole World Is Watching

Cobra Kai (Season 3)

Cobra Kai's second season was a bit on the middling side, but it ended with a massive gang war that completely upended the entire status quo. Thankfully, Season 3 did a good job of following up on that insane finale, even if it still isn't as consistently strong as the first.

Season 3 was probably at its most compelling when dealing with the fallout of the fight at the school. I liked how each character had their own consequences that they had to deal with throughout the season. The community is starting to be against karate, Sam faced panic attacks, Miguel had the entire season to recover from his injury, it was all incredibly well-paced. We also get a lot more alliances between Johnny and Daniel this season, as Kreese's status as the bad guy becomes more and more evident. It's a bit of a slow burn, but it helps to make their climactic teamup in the finale all the more satisfying. It seems like more than any other, this season is about mending wounds, with a particular highlight being Johnny and Miguel rebuilding their relationship that I found so great back in Season 1. We also get a ton of returning characters from the films, Kumiko and Chozen, Ali, and even Silver from the third movie in some of the best scenes of the season. I love how Ali is the one to help Johnny and Daniel resolve their issues, how Chozen ended up being a super nice dude, and how Kumiko gave Daniel a final message from Mr Miyagi. If you're a fan of the Karate Kid films, this season should absolutely be a dream come true.

However, Season 3 also made me realize what has been falling flat for me in regards to Cobra Kai these past two seasons: the gang aspect. While I love those massive battle scenes and dramatic finales, I realized that the show has been forcing me to suspend my disbelief in ways that I just can't anymore. The melodramatic conflicts between Cobra Kai and the other dojos have just gotten so over the top this season, and Kreese's army-esque demeanor doesn't help matters. I admire the show's willingness to demonstrate the ineffectiveness of school faculty, but this is just ridiculous. While I still enjoy the show for what it is, it's gotten difficult to empathize with anyone who doesn't think all three dojos should be shut down for good. However, I love how the finale hinges the major conflict on another All Valley tournament, it's a great hook for next season and one that makes a lot of sense. Season 3 marked Cobra Kai's shift to Netflix, and while the cinematography, fights, and production values is generally the same, I found that the lighting of all things ended up improving. Right from the first episode, it looked like the show's lighting had gotten much more dynamic since the shift to Netflix. The fight scenes and music is also great, though I don't think any scene was able to top the insane school brawl from last season.

As usual, the season had a bunch of great highlights, such as: 

Nature Vs Nurture: This episode was basically a buddy-cop film but with Daniel and Johnny, with all of the banter, interrogation antics, and action scenes you'd expect. I wasn't a fan of the subplots, but that search for Robby was so damn fun!

Miyagi-do: This episode feels like a love letter to Karate Kid fans. The reunion with Chozen, the reveal of Miyagi's secret pressure points, Yuna's surprise appearance, Daniel's trip to Japan really covered all of the bases. We also got the heartwrenching scene where Hawk breaks Demetri's arm, and the far more satisfying scene where Amanda gives Kreese a well-deserved slap on the face.

December 19: While it wasn't as jaw-droopingly shocking as No Mercy, this was another really great finale from Cobra Kai. Ali's role was amazing, she was the perfect character to really put all of the crazy melodramatic conflict into perspective. And the big fight at the LaRusso residence (while really cheesy and oddly lacking in consequences) was a fun resolution to the high school conflicts. It was awesome to see Daniel and Johnny finally reconcile, face Kreese together, and get their dojos to reunite. Add in the promise of Terry Silver's return and you get a great season ender (seriously though, why are Cobra Kai's finales always so good?!).

Overall, Season 3 does a great job of following up from the insane school brawl, and boasts some amazing references and a ton of satisfying reconciliations, even if I'm still not a massive fan of the gang war aspect of the plot.

3/5 Stars

Helltaker

Helltaker is a game about starting a harem of sharply-dressed demon girls. Yes, I actually just wrote that sentence. And the oddest part, is that it's not even a bad game, though a very short one. This review shouldn't be too long.

Helltaker is an odd blend of puzzle game and visual novel. Each level is a Sokoban-esque puzzle where you have to push blocks, punch skeletons, and dodge spikes to get to where its demon girl is residing. Then, you have to pick the right option to convince the girl to join your group. There's also a bullet hell final boss (cause every indie game's gotta have a bullet hell final boss these days), which is easily the highlight of the game. I'm not a big fan of Sokoban, so I didn't love the puzzle sections. They get really hard later on with insanely intricate solutions to the goal, but thankfully, you can always skip the puzzle if you want (or look them up). The visual novel sections were much more interesting, as it was a lot of fun to try and reason the correct thing to say based on each girl's personality. Speaking of which, the characters and dialogue were surprisingly good given the game's fairly superficial goal. Each demon girl has their own personality and I can totally see why the cast resonated with the internet so much (aside from one other factor). Even if Helltaker is just trying to get a harem, you can tell there's something going on behind the scenes in hell. I'd also recommend pressing the L button during every level since you can get some entertaining banter between the characters.

Presentation-wise, Helltaker is super polished. The artstyle is clean and the characters are incredibly expressive. I love the cute Chibi versions of the characters during gameplay, along with the more detailed art used during the VN segments. The character designs also do a good job of aligning with each of their personalities. And then there's the music which is just so good, Vitality in particular. Helltaker is a free game, which means that it's pretty short. It should only take about twenty-minutes-or-so to fully beat, which is a bit of a shame. However, there are a lot of fun little secrets, with multiple bad endings, achievements, and even a secret ending. It still shouldn't take too long, half an hour at the most, but I like games that include a whole bunch of little Easter eggs like this. 

The creator of Helltaker is quite open about the fact that he just made the game because there aren't enough female demon girls in suits, which makes it somewhat impressive that he managed to put this much work into the game anyway. It may be short and its gameplay may not be the most fun, but it's also boasts likable characters, an interesting world, and a stellar presentation with a buttload of charm.

Update: The game just got a pretty big and free update with some tough new levels and some neat new lore. Helltaker still shouldn't take more than a hour to beat even with the update, but the fact that it's still entirely free even after the DLC makes it even more worth getting than before.

3/5 Stars

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time feels like the natural extension of the original Crash Bandicoot trilogy that I have been wanting ever since... well, the Crash Bandicoot trilogy. Toys For Bob did an amazing job and perfecting the formula here, resulting in easily my favorite game in the series.

Crash Bandicoot 4 plays fairly similarly to the original three games. You run, jump, and spin in linear, hallway-like stages that switch between 2D and 3D. Something that I noticed right off the bat is just how fluid the movement is, especially compared to the N-Sane Trilogy. Crash has a ton of his old moves right from the get-go, and it's easy to combo these moves into each other, like sliding into a jump, or crouching to do a higher double-jump. This game introduces the gimmick of these four masks which you can use to distort reality in some way. Lani-Loli let's you switch dimensions, phasing objects in and out of reality, Akano lets you pull off a dark matter spin that lets you jump high and destroy everything in your path, Kupuna-wa lets you slow down time, and Ika-Ika, my personal favorite of the four, lets you flip gravity. Each of these masks are a ton of fun to use, fit into Crash's moveset excellently, and are utilized to their absolute fullest. By the end of the game, you'll be swapping between masks at a rapid pace in sequences that really put your skills to the test. To add on to the variety, there are also three side characters to play as. Tawna can use a grapple hook and wall jump, Dingodile can use a vacuum to suck up and spit out objects, and Cortex can turn enemies into blocks and dash. Just like in Spyro 3, most of these side characters can be found in optional levels, but unlike in that game, each character has a fully fleshed-out moveset and are incredibly fun to play as. There are a few chase sections, but otherwise, this game's variety comes almost entirely from the masks and side characters which is a breath of fresh air knowing how vehicle-heavy Crash 3: Warped is.

Even more, the level design in Crash Bandicoot 4 is excellent. Each level brings something entirely new to the table, from jumping across cars in a futuristic city, to a music-themed skyline, to exploring an alien planet. Compared to the original trilogy, these levels are far longer and more intricate, constantly changing settings and gimmicks. For example, the first level moves from a beach to a temple to a cave to a rail-grinding section to a tribal village to a towering mountain. The camera moves are dynamic too, sometimes panning up or down to show you just how large the level is. These levels are also a lot more difficult than the original trilogy as well, but this time around, you have the choice to remove lives entirely, resulting in a much less frustrating experience than those original games. My biggest problem with Crash was how the limited hitpoints, trial-and-error enemies, and difficult levels made the addition of a life system feel like artificial difficulty, so I'm glad Toys For Bob ended up fixing that. Add in insanely quick retries and I feel more determined to power through difficult sections just like in games like Celeste and Super Meat Boy. The bosses are also so much better than the original. They're still one-hit kills, but you get a checkpoint after every phase, allowing Toys For Bob to make the fights way longer, larger, and more ambitious.

My only major gripe with Crash Bandicoot 4 has to do with the insane amount of content it has to offer. Getting to the final boss is just the beginning here, each level has an N-verted variant, twelve gems each (6 for each variant), hundreds of boxes to collect, costumes to find, time trials with developer times, flashback tapes that require no-damage runs to collect, and incredibly hidden gems. Not to mention the N-Sanely Perfect Relics which are just ridiculous. Getting 106% in Crash 4 is an insane task and one that I wouldn't recommend to anyone who isn't immensely confident in their abilities to play Crash Bandicoot. I've always found Crash's completion requirements a bit on the steep side, but the massive size of these levels means that I almost always end up missing a bunch of boxes that are hidden around in a corner, and the difficulty makes no damage runs nowhere near as palatable as the first three games. If you're not an avid completionist, these requirements may not mean much to you. I'm perfectly fine with playing to the final boss, beating the N-verted and side character levels, and maybe finding a few hidden gems and flashback tapes along the way. But Toys For Bob went seriously overboard with the padding here, and while I usually like it when games are packed with replay value, this is a bit too much.

As for the presentation, Crash 4 is excellent. The art style is colorful and beautiful to look at, especially in the large-scope levels like Off-Beat and Crash Landed. The story is fairly simplistic, but it packs in a lot of entertaining interactions between the characters, give everyone their own little subplots, and is filled with charm. It doesn't have the mad-cap insanity of Twinsanity's story, but it's a lot of fun on its own. I especially love Dingodile's subplot, where he gets involved just because his diner got destroyed, poor sap. As for the soundtrack, Crash 4 may not be as melodic as the original games, but its dynamic score works great for the larger levels. I love how the music always goes fast-paced whenever you're on a rail-grinding section, it's super fun. My favorite themes are probably the themes for Tawna, Dingodile, and Cortex, it makes playing their levels even more fun.

Overall, Crash Bandicoot 4 is easily the best game in the series for its intricate and memorable levels, fluid gameplay, great variety, and for generally iterating on the originals in useful ways. I wouldn't recommend completing it to 106% at all, but it's definitely worth a play otherwise.

4.5/5 Stars

Soundtrack Retrospective: Kirby

Now, it's time to talk about the Kirby series, which is pretty well-known for its music that starts out light-hearted and slowly becomes more epic and dramatic as the game goes on, and it's pretty amazing:

Kirby's Dream Land: Kirby's simple first game gets a fairly simple first soundtrack, but it's impressive just how much Kirby's musical identity was there right from the very beginning! The upbeat tunes, the fast tempo, the key shifts, it's all here in spades. I also think it's interesting how, unlike with Mario and Zelda, this is far from the most iconic soundtrack in the series (that would be either Adventure or Super Star). Green Greens, Bubbly Clouds, and Mt Dedede are pretty well-known, but we also have songs like Float Islands, Boss Theme, and Castle Lololo that, while really good, don't seem to reappear nearly as much as you'd think. Float Islands, in particular, has been pretty much replaced by its calm remix in Super Star. Generally, Dream Land's soundtrack is fairly short and lacks some of the darker tunes the series is known for, but it's a great taste of what you can expect from the Kirby series.

Highlight: Mt Dedede is probably my favorite theme in the game. It's fast-paced, exciting, and perfectly fits the more serious side of Kirby's iconic rival, but I'm also surprised at how the usage of chiptune makes King Dedede's theme so much more intense than some of its other remixes.

3/5 Stars

Kirby's Adventure/Nightmare In Dream Land: Kirby's Adventure is up there with the best NES soundtracks ever made. Fitting the console's most advanced game, this soundtrack is shockingly impressive for an NES, it's incredibly fast-paced and complex, with a backing track that's just as interesting and dynamic as the main melody. Each level theme is iconic here and perfectly captures the vibe, from the upbeat Vegetable Valley, to the lullaby-esque Grape Garden, to the stunningly beautiful Rainbow Resort. Even the hub themes are great, each serving as a calmer version of the level themes. Add in some intense boss themes, catchy mini game tunes, and bonus athletic and forest themes, and you get a massive soundtrack that's jam-packed with great songs. The Nightmare In Dream Land soundtrack is great as well, but it does suffer from the GBA's crusty soundfont.

Highlight: Rainbow Resort's level theme, also known as Starry Sky, is an incredibly emotional theme for the game's final world. It's calm, serene, and absolutely beautiful. It helps that pretty much every single one of its remixes (Nightmare, Air Ride, Star Allies) manage to be just as good if not better, it's just that perfect of a melody.

4/5 Stars

Kirby's Dream Land 2: Dream Land 2's soundtrack is criminally underrated and I think it's time someone does it justice. The music in this game takes Kirby's usual high energy and cranks it up to eleven, nearly every song manages to be fast-paced and incredibly fun to listen to. As a result, the more upbeat tracks like Big Forest, Iceberg, and Rick The Hamster never fail to put me in a good mood, and the darker tracks like Coo's Theme, Cloudy Park, and Dark Castle end up being incredibly intense and emotional. We even get some great remixes of Float Islands and Yogurt Yard just to sweeten the deal! Having praised so many Game Boy soundtracks in my past few retrospectives made me realize just how much I love the soundfont, and it's used to pretty much perfection in Dream Land 2.

Highlight: Dark Castle is easily one of my favorite songs in the series and probably one of my favorite final level themes of all time. It's probably the darkest song in Kirby up to this point, so it manages to be unbelievably epic and intense. And don't even get me started on the Planet Robobot remix which is just godly.

4/5 Stars

Kirby Super Star (Ultra): Kirby Super Star easily has the series' most iconic soundtrack, and given that the game is divided up into multiple sub games, it means the lineup of tracks is absolutely massive. Spring Breeze gives us a ton of great remixes of the first game's music, Dynablade offers an entirely new lineup of top-notch melodies like Cocoa Cave and Candy Mountain, Great Cave Offensive's music is exciting and adventurous, Revenge Of Meta Knight boasts thrilling and epic tunes as you storm the Halberd, Gourmet Race is packed with goofy earworms that perfectly captures Dedede's more lighthearted side, and Milky Way Wishes boasts a phenomenal final boss theme. And that's not even going into Super Star Ultra, which managed to include some the absolute best boss themes in the whole franchise for Dynablade, Heavy Lobster, Kabula, Galacta Knight, and especially Masked Dedede. To be perfectly honest, this isn't one of my personal favorite soundtracks. The soundfont isn't super punchy, and it lacks many hidden gems outside of those overplayed popular ones, but it's still a great selection nonetheless.

Highlight: For the original game, the highlight would probably be Gourmet Race, which is one of the most iconic themes in the series for a reason. It's upbeat, fast-paced, light-hearted, and packs an incredibly great chorus. However, if you include Ultra, the best song is easily Masked Dedede, which is an insanely epic and propellant remix of King Dedede's theme. Its remix in Triple Deluxe is just as good, if not even better!

4/5 Stars

Kirby Block Ball: This is more of a sidenote since it's not one of the major games but Kirby Block Ball has one of the most unnecessarily fantastic soundtracks out of any game I've ever heard. It's hard to really explain what it does well aside from the fact that every single tune is an absolute banger and a great piece of chiptune. Just listen to it, you won't regret it.

5/5 Stars

Kirby's Dream Land 3: Dream Land 3's soundtrack is super underrated and I love the soundfont it uses. It's so comfy-sounding and perfectly fits the game's pastel aesthetic. But even more, this soundtrack feels so nostalgic in the way that its songs are structured. Most of this game's themes start fairly upbeat only to go through a key shift halfway through that just hits so hard. My only major gripe with this soundtrack is that it's just too short! By Cloudy Park, the game starts reusing old songs for many of its levels which is a shame because every tune here is excellent and I'd really like to see more of it. Still, what is there is fantastic.

Highlight: Sand Canyon 1 is the quintessential Kirby song in my opinion. It's so upbeat, fast-paced, and never fails to put a smile on my face, and the chorus (which utilizes the key shift I mentioned earlier on) is just so good!

4.5/5 Stars

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards: Ending off the Dark Matter trilogy on a high note, Kirby 64 once again has an excellent soundtrack, managing to top the already great score of its predecessor. While there's already a great selection of typically peppy Kirby tunes and lovely cutscene music, what really elevates 64's soundtrack is how unusually dark it gets. Songs like Quiet forest and Factory Investigation are super atmospheric, boss themes like Vs Boss and Miracle Matter are super intense and thrilling, songs like Neo Star Map and King Dedede's Castle go full-on DnB, and of course, the final boss theme is one of the most haunting tunes in the whole series. Like all the best Kirby soundtracks, it starts off great and only gets better and more awe-inspiring as it goes on.

Highlight: There's a lot of great songs I could pick but Zero Two is easily the highlight. It's so solemn and melancholic for a Kirby song, with a great bassline and an absolutely beautiful melody. For me, this is the song that started the trend of Kirby final boss themes being phenomenal, and you should expect to see many more of them in the highlights.

5/5 Stars

Kirby Air Ride: While Ishikawa and Ando are the main composers of Kirby, sometimes Shogo Sakai of Smash Bros Melee and Mother 3 fame comes in to compose, and it's almost always amazing. He has this grand orchestral style that you'd think wouldn't fit Kirby, but it works perfectly in Air Ride. All of the songs in this game feel straight-out of Smash Bros, they're bombastic, they're epic, and they never fail to leave you hyped. From the soaring Air Ride themes, to the more Kirby-esque Top Ride themes, to the adventurous City Trial themes, to the great remixes of previous Kirby tracks, every song in here is excellent.

Highlight: Oh, so many! City Trial is the obvious choice here, an epic track that builds up to a beautiful fanfare at the end, but I also have to give praise to the absolute techno banger that is Machine Passage, which feels so unlike Kirby it fits perfectly. 

5/5 Stars

Kirby And The Amazing Mirror: Despite my gripes with the GBA's sound quality, the Kirby games are some of my most-played games on the system, so I have a lot of nostalgia for their music. Amazing Mirror's melodies manage to be excellent in spite of the low sound quality, from the epic Radish Ruins, to the intense Dark Meta Knight, to the absolutely beautiful Candy Constellation. I wouldn't say Amazing Mirror's music excel in any particular area, it's just a really strong lineup of a bunch of really strong Kirby tunes.

Highlight: Candy Constellation is one of my favorite Kirby tracks of all time and one of my favorite tunes on the GBA . It's so beautiful and nostalgic-sounding, and every single one of its remixes manage to be amazing on their own, especially the one in Squeak Squad.

3/5 Stars

Kirby Canvas Curse: Canvas Curse's soundtrack is an acquired taste, but I absolutely adore it. Following the more DnB direction of 64's music, Ishikawa decided to go for a soundtrack composed almost entirely of glitch techno remixes of pre-existing tracks, and it's unlike anything I've ever heard in a video game. The new genre really gives all of these tried-and-true Kirby tunes new life, with a large chunk of the aforementioned remixes being the definitive versions of those songs for me. From the chill Bubbly Clouds remix in Tiny Town, to the brilliantly chaotic Nightmare remix in Spectacle Space, to the club banger Float Islands remix in Collapse Castle, to the mesmerizing Rainbow Resort remix in Frozen Fantasy, to the quirky Ripple Field 3 remix in Ghost Grounds, to the frantic Factory Investigation remix in Mad Mechanism, the list goes on and on. No joke, Canvas Curse does techno better than Planet goddamn Robobot, so no wonder a lot of its tracks were used for that game's bonus stages. And while most of Canvas Curse's music is remixes, the original tracks are some of the best in the whole series, particularly the horror-leaning endgame themes.

Highlight: As mentioned above, Tiny Town, and Spectacle Space are so good they manage to surpass the originals, but my favorite songs are easily Drawcia Sorceress and Drawcia Soul, which are easily two of the most intense themes in the series. Sorceress is absolutely beautiful and ethereal, while Soul is a terrifying mess that feels like Kirby's version of Hartman's Youkai Girl. Both final boss themes are some of the greatest and most underrated in the whole series and elevate an already great final encounter to legendary heights.

5/5 Stars

Kirby: Squeak Squad: For a while, I thought of this game's soundtrack as lazy due to almost entirely being composed of pre-existing tracks and fairly straight remixes (especially compared to Canvas Curse's unique style), with the only original stuff being the songs for the Squeaks. However, I think I was a bit harsh on this one. Sure, there are a lot of remixes, but a large portion of them are essentially better versions of Amazing Mirror tunes and combined they barely comprise half the soundtrack. There are a lot more original tunes than I initially remembered, and many of them are really soothing and calming. Songs like Wonders Of The Stars, Digging Through The Clouds, and many of the menu themes help to make this one of the comfiest soundtracks in the series. There's just a vibe to Squeak Squad's music that perfectly encapsulates the Flagship era of Kirby, making for the best score out of their three games.

Highlight: The Legendary Halberd is easily the highlight here, a mashup of Meta Knight's Revenge and the Legendary Air Ride Machine theme that sounds absolutely glorious. It's epic, grand, and it manages to perfectly fit Meta Knight. It also helps that this song comes with one of my favorite levels in the whole series. Other highlights include the tense Troubling Situation (the Squeaks boss theme), the haunting The Final Stretch, and the incredibly nostalgic File Select.

4/5 Stars

Kirby's Epic Yarn: This was my first Kirby game, so you can probably guess just how warped my initial perception of Kirby music was at first. I thought all Kirby music was cute and cuddly like this game's was! Despite the generally light-hearted and calm vibe, or maybe because of it, Epic Yarn's music is absolutely beautifully-composed. Tomoya Tomita did an amazing job with every single song here, it's honestly the perfect soundtrack to study to. I love the composition of Epic Yarn's songs, and the heavy usage of piano legitimately made me want to learn the whole score on piano myself. Epic Yarn has easily one of my favorite soundtracks in the series, it's stunningly beautiful, even with how different it is from the rest of the series.

Highlight: Melody Park is probably my favorite, with a wide variety of instruments that perfectly fits the game's token music level. However, I'm also a big fan of this game's Gourmet Race and Battleship Halberd remixes, the latter of which makes piano epic, along with Snowy Fields, which is so unabashedly Christmas, I can't help but love it. Oh, and Big Bean Vine is downright stunning. I hope I've made clear just how much Epic Yarn's music means to me!

5/5 Stars

Kirby Mass Attack: Another Shogo Sakai soundtrack, and while it's not as good as Air Ride's, it perfectly captures his grand vibe. It's so strange, even with this game's somewhat small scale and arcade-y nature, its score gets surprisingly dramatic at times and it still works, without sacrificing the game's tone. We even get some great Air Ride remixes as well! But while I love the level themes, we also get some excellently upbeat and charming themes for the minigames as well, from the intense Kirby Quest theme, to the slapbass-heavy Pinball themes, to the peppy Strato Patrol EOS themes.

Highlight: I won't cheat by listing the Air Ride remixes as highlights, so I'll probably go with either Dark Clouds, Ruins Ahead, or Tree To Tree. Dark Clouds is a darker remix of an earlier theme that oozes Sakai's style, Ruins Ahead is a desert theme so powerful it manages to beat the remix of Air Ride's Sky Sands, and Tree To Tree is so upbeat and cute it's hard not to smile while listening to it.

4/5 Stars

Kirby's Return To Dream Land: Return To Dream Land was my first "real" Kirby soundtrack and it blew me away. As per the usual, it starts off upbeat but slowly gets darker as the game progresses, culminating in my favorite final boss theme of all time. In my opinion, Return To Dream Land has the catchiest soundtrack in the series, with the best melodies. While there are still plenty of fantastic atmospheric pieces befitting the interdimensional theming, Ishikawa and Ando went for a more arcade-y vibe with this soundtrack, putting a big emphasis on synth and even bringing back the Dream Land 3 soundfont for a few songs. As a result, it really feels like there isn't a single bad theme in this entire lineup, they're all memorable, catchy, and super enjoyable to listen to. In its own way, it just feels like the definitive Kirby soundtrack, the magnum opus that all of Ishikawa and Ando's past works have been building up to. And yet it's still not even my favorite in the series...

Highlight: Sky Tower and Techno Factory are two of my favorite Kirby tracks, and Aurora Area is downright transcendant, but CROWNED is my favorite song in the series, and part of my Top 3 video game songs of all time. It's epic, it's bombastic, it's fast-paced, it's excellently composed, it has an awe-inspiring intro and yet it never loses the momentum, it's pretty much a masterpiece of a video game song. And just to add on to how mind-blowing it was for me, just imagine listening to this song for the first time thinking Epic Yarn was the standard for Kirby music. Yeah, mind blown.

5/5 Stars

Kirby Triple Deluxe: Triple Deluxe easily has my favorite Kirby soundtrack and is definitely the series' most consistently strong. For a game about beauty, Triple Deluxe's definitely lives up to that bar. Nearly every song here is just stunning, the instrumentation is great, and the tone and intensity slowly rises as the game progresses. Each world's music is better than the last culminating in one of the greatest final stretches of music I've ever heard in a video game soundtrack. And that's not to mention the bonus levels which utilize nearly Return To Dream Land's entire soundtrack, so we really have the best of both worlds here.

Highlight: I already brought up the Masked Dedede remix and how unrelentingly awesome it is, but frankly this game's entire final world is probably the musical highlight of the entire series. Moonlight Capital and Beautiful Prison are epic and intense final level themes, Revenge Of The Enemy has an amazingly sinister turn halfway through the song, the remixed Hypernova theme uses electric guitars to sound even grander than the original, and all of Sectonia's boss themes, from the elegant Sullied Grace to the beautiful Moonstruck Blossom to the exciting The World To Win, are absolutely phenomenal. It's hard to just pick one highlight in this game, so I'll just go with the entirety of World 6!

5/5 Stars

Kirby And The Rainbow Curse: Kirby music has always been good but since Epic Yarn, it's been nothing but banger soundtracks since, and Rainbow Curse is no except. Shogo Sakai returns for what is likely his last full Kirby soundtrack, along with the similarly fantastic protege Megumi Ohara (who secretly got many of the best tracks in the game), and what a way to go out! The higher quality instruments really let Sakai go wild with complex and memorable melodies that still feel distinctly his, and the masterful use of varying leitmotifs rivals his work on Mother 3. But in case an already great soundtrack for the main campaign wasn't enough, Sakai and Ohara also decided to do nearly 40 additional remixes of Kirby's best tracks, ranging from series highlights like CROWNED and Candy Constellation to deep cuts like Big Forest and Snowball Shuffle, and they're great too! Many of these remixes rival or even surpass the originals, and even the ones that don't give the tracks a fresh new coat of paint. They even made a medley of tracks specifically used for YTMPVs, because why the hell not?! If you said this was your favorite Shogo Sakai soundtrack, I wouldn't blame you! Air Ride just sticks with me a bit more, but it's still another top-notch Kirby OST nonetheless.

Highlight: Dark Crafter's theme is yet another excellent final boss theme for the series. It's short, but it's grand and utilizes Rocket Kirby's leitmotif in a triumphant fanfare. I also like Infiltrating The Junk Factory which is an intense techno piece that kickstarts the final world of the game on a great note.

5/5 Stars

Kirby Planet Robobot: Planet Robobot has a great soundtrack, but just like the game itself, it's my least favorite of the modern quadrology. Befitting the technological landscape, the soundtrack has an emphasis on techno, which works pretty well since Kirby has already had a history with the medium. At its best, Robobot packs some pretty banging tracks like the boss themes, the desert theme, and the remixes that play during the laboratories. I also like how cohesive this focus on techno music makes Robobot's soundtrack. However, I don't feel like most of Robobot's music is really able to surpass some of the best techno bangers in the series like Machine Passage and Miracle Matter, and its heavy usage of its leitmotifs can get pretty repetitive near the end.

Highlight: I already mentioned the godly remix of Dark Castle, so I'll go with P.R.O.G.R.A.M. which is an excellent reprise of the already great title theme for the final boss. This is the type of song I wanted to hear from the whole score, it's intense, pure unbridled techno and it's an absolute banger!

4/5 Stars

Kirby Star Allies: Not gonna lie, this might be the perfect soundtrack to end this retrospective on. Star Allies is a big anniversary celebration of all things Kirby, and its score contains a massive 200+ songs ranging from beautiful level themes like Nature's Navel and Eastern Wall, to intense boss themes like Hyness Unmasked and Prayer Song To God, to amazing remixes of some of the series' best songs like CROWNED and Zero Two. It's an amazingly ambitious soundtrack that perfectly epitomizes why I love Kirby music so much. The constant fast pace, the blend of upbeat themes and darker more dramatic tunes, the remixes that nearly always manage to rival or surpass the original, they're all here and they're amazing. And if all that's not enough, Star Allies even managed to get a third composer Yuuta Ogasawara, and he's just as great! His music goes for a more mystical tone, which is pretty unique for the series, but they ended up being some of the best tunes in the game like Planet Earthfall and Planet Towara. 

However... it is a bit tough to call this one of my absolute favorites of the series because I kinda lied. Star Allies does have over 200+ songs, but roughly 50% of that is reused from older games. Kirby games have a tendency to reuse songs from past games, but Star Allies is practically a Kirby's greatest hits collection with some great original songs thrown into the mix. It's awesome to listen to, but doesn't make for the most cohesive or emotionally impactful soundtrack. Still a series highlight, though.

Highlight: The Star-Conquering Traveler is easily one of the most ambitious songs in a Kirby game, and it's absolutely amazing. This is a whopping five-movement suite, each perfectly fitting the phase of the final boss you're fighting. I particularly love the synth-y Movement 2, the organ-heavy Movement 3, and the oddly somber tune that plays during the fight with Void, but this song is at its best when it's listened to in its entirety. As part of one massive whole, this is one of Kirby's best final boss themes, and that's saying something.

5/5 Stars

Kirby And The Forgotten Land: I made a whole post about its music but TL;DR, it's 5/5 Stars and one of the best in the series.

With so much great music under its belt, here's my Top 10 soundtracks in the Kirby series:

1. Kirby Triple Deluxe
2. Kirby's Return To Dream Land
3. Kirby's Epic Yarn
4. Kirby Air Ride
5. Kirby And The Forgotten Land
6. Kirby Canvas Curse
7. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
8. Kirby And The Rainbow Curse
9. Kirby Star Allies
10. Kirby Block Ball

Next up, let's check out the Sonic soundtracks, because no matter how flawed the game, Sonic music generally tends to be pretty great...