Breaking Bad (Season 3)

Coming after the incredibly well plotted-out Season 2, the third season of Breaking Bad doesn't quite follow the same structure. What results in easily the most uneven season of the show, with some of the highest high points yet and also some of the largest flaws.

Let's start with the good stuff, because there's still a ton of good stuff. Most of Season 3 focuses around Walt beginning to work for Gus while Skylar deals with the knowledge that her husband's a drug dealer. The first half of the season also has a villain in the form of the Salamanca Cousins, the two terrifyingly mute hitmen who are after Hank. I like a lot of these storylines, Skylar is a much better character now that she actually knows Walt deals drugs and is struggling to figure out how to deal with it, Hank's conflict with the Cousins has some of his best moments, and Gus is, once again, an excellent antagonist even if he doesn't quite seem like one until the latter half of the season. 

Now for the problems, Season 3 is pretty obviously a season that was written episode by episode rather than planned out and it shows, even moreso coming after a season as tightly-plotted as the second. The first half is alright, it's very slow-paced but it works as a slow build to the dramatic events of One Minute, but once the cousins are killed off, the show starts to meander a bit until the last two episodes. But by the second to last episode, I was still pretty engrossed, and the season could have still left a strong impact with a strong ending. It didn't quite do that, though. Full Measure is a fine finale, we get some badass Mike moments and a pretty tense final few minutes, but it felt incomplete. ABQ gave nearly every character something to do and tied up everything, but in Full Measure, characters like Skylar and Hank, who had ongoing storylines, had pretty much zero screentime. And while the plane crash definitely caught me off guard, Jesse shooting Gale was predictable the moment Jesse brought up the fact that he doesn't kill people. There was a lot of potential here but with the limited cast and the fact that we don't even see Jesse on the run, it definitely felt like the show runners weren't as on top of things this season, more than in any other episode.

Despite my gripes though, at its best, this season can still be pretty damn great:

Sunset: Sunset was an incredibly fun and incredibly tense episode that did a great job at saying goodbye to the iconic RV. The main conflict is simple, Walt and Jesse give away their RV now that they have Gus's superlab, but now they need to find a way to prevent Hank from getting his hands on it. Most of the episode is just this really entertaining cat-and-mouse game as Walt tries to give Hank the slip, with tons of close calls and clever strategies.

One Minute: Easily one of my favorite episodes of the first three seasons, One Minute is pretty much the defacto season finale for the first half of Season 3. After getting beat up by Hank, Jesse gives Walt an iconic and devastating call-out speech that really feels like the first major rift in their relationship. But the real highlight of the episode is Hank's intense fight with The Cousins. Breaking Bad has a few action scenes but this was easily my favorite of the bunch, it's relentless and scary, with all three major players near death at a constant rate. It's a brutal flurry of violence that ends on an excellent cliffhanger with all three men down.

Fly: Ah, Fly, the most divisive episode of the whole show. For a lot of people this episode is filler, but for me, it's a pretty great character study of Walt and Jesse, along with their dynamic. It says a lot that a simple storyline of Walt stringing Jesse along as he tries to kill a fly feels like such an encapsulation of the series as a whole, and Walt's big monologue near the end of the episode is definitely some of Bryan Cranston's best acting. I don't care if Fly is "filler", it's a damn good episode with great writing, fun offbeat humor, engrossing character drama, and some of the most inventive cinematography in the show thanks to Rian Johnson (Whose work I absolutely love). Easily one of the best bottle episodes of all time.

Half Measures: While I didn't love the season finale, the penultimate episode was actually pretty great. Jesse's investigation into Gus's men really solidifies the fact that he's far more cruel and despicable than he initially seems, and the final scene where Walt kills two of Gus's men and tells Jesse to run is one of the most thrilling and propellant cliffhangers in the series. I also quite liked Mike's speech about not taking half measures, it's a great speech and an iconic moment overall.

Overall, I still enjoyed Season 3. Its main storylines were compelling and its high points were insanely high, but it definitely felt a bit clumsier than the previous season and ended on a bit of a weaker note. Not quite 3/5 Stars, but not 4/5 Stars either, so... 

3.5/5 Stars?

Breaking Bad (Season 2)

Breaking Bad's first season was great, but it was also really short! It felt like a prologue more than anything else, which means that for its longer and more ambitious second season, it's the point where Breaking Bad really begins to show just how excellent it can be.

Season 2 of this series starts with a strange flashforward, mostly focusing on a pink teddy bear floating in a pool. The season returns to this flashforward every once in a while throughout the season, building towards a big reveal of what it means in the season finale. Outside of this foreshadowing, most of this season doesn't quite have an overarching plot, rather it feels like more of a continuation of Walt's story. He faces off with Tuco by Episode 2, meets his lawyer Saul midway through the season, seemingly resolves his cancer in the latter half, and begins working for his new distributor Gus Fring. Season 2 introduces some of the best and most iconic characters of the series, with Saul adding a ton of enjoyable levity to the series getting his own spinoff in the process, Gus being an incredible antagonistic force, and Jesse's new girlfriend Jane becoming an incredibly important aspect of Walt and Jesse's dynamic. There are a lot of great storylines here, and the season as a whole feels incredibly well plotted-out, probably because it is! Apparently, this is the only season to be entirely written ahead of time, and it shows. I even like the surprisingly divisive plane crash reveal, I feel it's a perfect situation where Walt's actions finally result in genuinely devastating consequences.

However, Season 2 also starts to make one of my biggest gripes with the series all the more apparent. Walt either quits or takes a break from making drugs multiple times throughout the first half of the series, but it's especially bad in this season. Whenever something really big happens like Walt being kidnapped by Tuco or Walt learning his cancer is in remission, we're sure to get an episode entirely focused on his domestic life that just drags the pacing to a halt. It plays out the same way every time and those episodes ended up being some of my least favorite. Not to say I hate Walt's family, though. I didn't mention this in Season 1 but I actually really like Skylar White. She's a necessary foil for Walt who really starts to come into her own in this season finale, where she finally learns that her husband is keeping a secret from her. Season 2 also amps up the experimental stuff which I just adore, from the aforementioned vague foreshadowing, to the episode focused on Jesse and a kid, to Saul's lighthearted introduction, to the RV bottle episode, to the hilariously bizarre scene where Danny Trejo's head is attached to a tortoise with a bomb strapped to it. There's an offbeat vibe to the series that's always been there, but Season 2 definitely amps it up a bit.

There were quite a bit of great episodes this season, but these are my favorites:

Grilled: The lack of Tuco resolution in Season 1 meant that the first two episodes of Season 2 were focused on getting him out of the show, but hey, at least we got a pretty great episode from it! Grilled is a tense affair, Walt and Jesse's lives are in danger from Tuco throughout the episode, but having Hank be the one to save them and kill Tuco was both satisfying and awesome. We also get an introduction to Hector Salamanca, another excellent character who doesn't really get his time to shine until Season 4.

Better Call Saul: Saul is a great character whose arrival really signals a point in which the series takes a jump in quality. His sheer presence is a great bit of world-building for the drug world, but Bob Odenkirk's energetic and charismatic performance makes him so much more than that, a truly compelling and unique character of his own. This episode had a real sense of fun to it, there's a lot of comedy scattered around and the way Walt and Saul bypass Hank's sting operation was really slick and cool.

Phoenix: I went into this episode knowing that Jane was gonna die at some point, but I thought it would be during a finale or something. So color me surprised when, at the end of this episode, Walt walks into Jesse's room, sees Jane overdose, and watches her die. It absolutely left me stunned and desperate to see the finale...

ABQ: ...And what a finale it was! I loved nearly everything about ABQ, it took all of the storylines throughout the season and tied them all together, and a lot happens here! Jesse goes to rehab, Hank meets Gus, Walt cures his cancer, Skylar learns Walt's keeping a secret in a phenomenal scene, and biggest of all, Walt's killing of Jane indirectly caused a plane crash right over his house. Talk about facing the consequences of your actions. We also get the first appearance of the hitman Mike, a fascinating character who gets a ton of interesting material in both the later seasons and Better Call Saul.

Overall, outside of some moments of stop-and-start pacing, Season 2 is a strong improvement over the first with a longer length, some great character introductions, tons of memorable storylines, and a phenomenal ending.

4/5 Stars

Babylon 5 (Season 2)

While the first season of Babylon 5 was alright, its episodic format definitely held it back a bit. Season 2, on the other hand, comes after the game-changing finale Chrysallis and goes for a serialized story arc that feels far more driven and consistently strong.

Unlike the first season, Season 2 has more of an overarching story, multiple in fact. Sinclair has been replaced by a new commander Sheridan, who's investing into the Earth president's assassination. Delenn is adjusting to life as a half-human after her metamorphosis. And biggest of all, the Narn and Centauri enter a full-on war that rages for a large amount of the season. Most of these storylines are pretty great, especially the Narn-Centauri war which had been building throughout the course of Season 1 as well. I'm still not entirely sure if I prefer Sheridan over Sinclair, I do have a soft spot for how comforting and calm Sinclair is, but I think Sheridan works better as a protagonist since he's far more flawed, and Bruce Boxleitner is definitely the stronger actor. Overall, I think the whole cast has improved this season. They're far better written and have much stronger chemistry with each other, especially the power trio of Sheridan, Garibaldi, and Sinclair. 

Generally, I think the seasons strikes a solid balance between serialized and episodic. It definitely feels like things are progressing episode after episode, and even the standalones rarely end up pretending that the overarching storylines don't exist. We end up getting episodes like And Now For A Word and Comes The Inquisitor which flesh out the characters and storylines without progressing the overall plot. The season also ups the humor along with the darkness allowing for a nice range in tone. However, I also think the pacing this season was a bit off at times, particularly during the Narn-Centauri War. I'll be honest and say I forgot about the war and its focal characters at times because there were just a whole bunch of episodes in the middle of the season where it just did not appear at all. With G'Kar and Londo busy with the war, a large portion of the season focused on the Earth cast, while I think Season 1 did a better job of giving each member of the cast equal screentime. On the other hand, Kosh got a lot more focus this season, he's just as intriguing and mysterious as ever, but now that we know he's one of the good ones (or at least he seems to be), he's definitely risen up the ranks to my favorite character.

For a much better seasons, its high points are much higher than in Season 2, and more frequent as well:

The Coming Of Shadows: Around the start of this episode, I realized this would be the one where the Narns and Centauri erupt into war, and it was pretty tough to watch. G'Kar and Londo were so close to finally making amends, but at that point it was far too late, Londo had just blown up thousands of Narns. If it was just the start of the Narn-Centauri War, this episode would be great enough, it's an honest-to-god Shakespearean tragedy filled with unfortunate irony and costly mistakes. But then Sinclair appeared... twice... and I knew this episode would be one of the show's best.

And Now For A Word: This episode was fascinating, essentially a "documentary" about the events on Babylon 5. It's a really neat way to look at the season's events from an outsider's perspective, and adds a lot of interesting world-building towards how Earth thinks of aliens. It was kind of hard to watch given just how targeted and biased the reporter is, but while the format was used to generate drama, it was also used for a lot of funny gags especially seeing characters in the background trying to appear on camera.

In The Shadow Of Z'ha'dum: This episode was pretty intense, with a razor sharp focus on the storyline of Sheridan interrogating Mr Morden. Pretty much the entire cast was telling him to stop, but he didn't listen because he wanted answers, and we finally got them. It's always super satisfying when Babylon 5 finally resolves one of its major mysteries, and this was one of the best. We learn more about who the Shadows are, where they're from, what they did, and how they relate to the Vorlons. The final scene is a mission statement that I hope gets paid off, with Sheridan asking Kosh to help prepare him to travel to Z'ha'dum himself.

The Long Twilight Struggle: This episode was so intense it left me in shock, sitting and staring at the screen for a full minute so I could fully process what had just happened. The Centauri won, not a massive surprise, but the consequences were immense. Narn was bombed back into the Stone Age, G'Kar lost his position, and the Narns pretty much lost everything. The scene in the meeting room was so gutting and hard to watch, with amazing acting all around. But that wasn't even it! We also got to see the full group of the Rangers, which includes Delenn, Garibaldi, and even Kosh! So at least there's a bit of hope... 

The Fall Of Night: While I probably preferred the more explosive and character-driven Chrysallis, this was still a pretty great and game-changing finale. Easily the most suspenseful episode yet, the first half had this unnerving feeling as if things could fall apart at any minute, and it did. Earth signed a treaty with the Centauri for their own safety knowing they're occupying other planets, Sheridan earned the ire of pretty much every Centauri, and now the whole universe knows what the Shadows look like, meaning that they're probably gonna start attacking. Oh, well, at least we finally know what Kosh looks like outside of his encounter suit!

Overall, This was a pretty great second season. Outside of some pacing issues and a new protagonist that I don't quite love yet, the writing, tone, acting, and overarching story was far stronger and more compelling than in the first, and the show has a much stronger sense of confidence that I hope gets even stronger going into the third season.

3/5 Stars

Babylon 5 (Season 1)

Babylon 5 was a show that never really crossed my radar at first until I learned more about it and just how ambitious it was. J Michael Straczynski planned this entire show ahead of time, as if it was one long book. He was incredibly active on forums and fan pages to the point that there's an entire website compiling his input, and he and the show ended up helping coin some of my favorite elements in TV, that being the Myth Arcs and Wham Episodes. There's only one other show that had this much of a cultish impact on TV and that's my favorite show of all time, Buffy. And just like Buffy, its first season wasn't the best, but it is definitely promising.

Babylon 5 is a science-fiction show about a group of diplomats on the titular space ship as several intergalactic wars rage and loom in the background. I'm not gonna sugar-coat things, the show doesn't put its best foot forward. The pilot "The Gathering" does a solid job with world-building and introducing the cast, but it has some bad acting, a sluggish pace, and weak special effects. All of these qualities improve once the show begins proper, especially if you're watching the HBO remaster, but even then, a large portion of the season is composed of standalone episodes that just weren't the greatest. A lot of these standalone episodes, especially at the start of the season, mostly had very standard and predictable pattern where everything got tied up at the end (which feels a bit odd in a show about political turmoil). I tend to give first seasons the benefit of the doubt since the novelty of a new show is there, some of my favorite shows has a slow start, and the slow build towards serialization can be satisfying, but I also totally understand if anyone was put off by the start of Babylon 5.

However, what this show does do well is definitely the world-building. JMS crafted an entire universe with multiple planets and species with their own complex political relations which is incredibly impressive. Every episode, even the weaker ones, provides more information on this world, from their religions to their history. And as poorly aged as the CGI is, the practical effects still look pretty great, with alien species like the Centauri and Minbari looking incredibly distinct and memorable even today. It was also interesting to watch the writing slowly improve throughout the season, with the latter half balancing drama and humor pretty much perfectly. The whole cast is likable and they have a great dynamic with each other, especially the power trio of Sinclair, Garibaldi, and Ivanova. We also get more and more important revelations throughout the course of the season like what happened in Sinclair's past, what happened to Babylon 4, and who the Shadows are, slowly building until the game-changing finale Chrysallis which seems to be setting up a far more serialized Season 2. I feel like this season, aptly titled "Signs And Portents" feels like a prologue for the show as a whole, slowly laying the groundwork of the world through these standalone tales and setting up for the real meat of Babylon 5. While I'm sure all of this set-up will be satisfying later on, it just wasn't the most fun to watch, really.

While the episode quality was generally hit or miss this season, these were some of the highlights:

And The Sky Full Of Stars: The first genuinely great episode of the series and a really unique one. The Cybernet is super trippy and unique, and the exploration of Sinclair's backstory is interesting. We still don't know all the answers, but the reveal that Delenn is part of some conspiracy about his lost memories. For the show's first "Wham Episode", it was a pretty good one.

A Voice In The Wilderness: For the first two-parter of the series (unless you're counting The Gathering), A Voice In The Wilderness definitely feels more ambitious than any episode before it. It's just a really well-rounded episode overall, packed with cute character moments (Ivanova's mantra is perfection), exciting planetary exploration, and a tense final battle. This episode feels like more of an adventure than a lot of the other politically-driven episodes, and I'd be perfectly fine with seeing more stuff like it.

Babylon Squared: Similarly to And The Sky Full Of Stars, this experimental episode packs in a ton of important plot information, revealing that Babylon 4 was unstuck in time. As a result, this episode is filled with timey-wimey shenanigans hinting at a dark future for the cast and an important destiny for Sinclair. We also get to learn more about the conspiracy that Delenn is a part of as it really feels like the show was starting to build to some massive reveal about everything...

Chrysallis: This season finale was absolutely mind-blowing, taking every single story thread, from the Shadows to the Earth government to Delenn's plan to Sinclair's past, and tying it all in a knot. Every characters gets something to do here, and the sheer amount of big twists and massive status quo changes throughout the episode left me constantly stunned. No wonder JMS coined the Wham Episode term, he's hella good at it! This was easily the best episode of the season, funny, dramatic, and tense in equal measures. It was a satisfying ending and an amazing set-up for what should be a more serialized Season 2. Nothing's the same anymore, indeed.

Overall, Babylon 5's first season wasn't the best. It has rough CGI, a slow start, and some very cheesy standalones, but its world-building, characters, and solid second half makes it a rewarding watch regardless.

2/5 Stars

Person Of Interest (Season 5)

Coming after the fairly shaky Season 4, Person Of Interest's fifth season was a massive return to form for the series. In spite of its short length, it delivered a nearly perfect ending to one of my favorite TV shows of all time.

Right from the get-go, Season 5 of Person Of Interest feels a lot more propulsive than Season 4. Its premiere is a fast-paced chase through New York City, its second episode is one of the funniest in the series, and its fourth episode is an insane dream sequence. The middle of the season does have its standalones, but a large portion of Season 5 definitely feels like it's building to something. It definitely helps that Team Machine actually gets some victories this time around, they save The Machine, they reunite with Shaw, and by the end of the series, they officially defeat Decima and win a happy ending. Unlike Season 4, which was nearly entirely losses, Season 5 struck a much better balance without making Decima feel like less of a villain. It perfectly strikes the balance of fun action and character interactions and dark paranoia-fueled drama that I enjoy from the series, with my only complaint being that this season was just too short.

But even though most of this season was already pretty great, the final four episodes of the season were just plain amazing, bringing everyone's character arcs to a climactic and satisfying close. Reese, Root, and Elias all die saving Finch, with The Machine taking on Root's voice (so one could argue that Root gets her wish of becoming The Machine). Finch prevents himself from breaking his "no kill" rule after Root's death and finally reunites with Grace after saving the world. Shaw rejoins the team, gets over Root's death, and takes over for Reese and Finch. Fusco finally learns about the Machine, and Greer dies because of his own ego. I normally wouldn't highlight these character resolutions but this series does it so perfectly. Every single character gets the ending that they deserve here, happy or sad, resulting in one of the best finales in television history.

Once again, there are a lot of great episodes this season, but these are the highlights:

BSOD: Coming after the cliffhanger-heavy Season 4 finale, BSOD starts with Finch and Reese on the run to the subway before The Machine completely powers down. I got serious John Wick vibes from this episode, it's a relentless series of action scenes with Reese and Root having been separated in the post-Correction chaos. And best of all, the characters actually succeed. Though a close call, the team unites and makes it to the subway right on time to rebuild The Machine, resulting in a surprisingly hopeful premiere overall.

SNAFU: Person Of Interest has always been pretty effortlessly funny, but SNAFU is easily the funniest episode in the whole series (with If-Then-Else, Most Likely To, and Identity Crisis close behind). The main premise is that the Machine is rebooting and struggling to recognize faces, meaning that it accidentally thinks Reese, Finch, and Root are threats. As a result, there are a lot of really funny scenes from The Machine's faulty perspective, from the cast members playing each other, to its belief that fictional characters are real-life murderers. It manages to progress the plot while also being a fun time.

The Day The World Went Away: Kickstarting the phenomenal final arc, The Day The World Went Away was one hell of a 100th episode. Similarly to BSOD, it's a relentless chase scene where the team struggles to save Finch, culminating in one of the most ambitious car chases I've seen in a TV show (maybe second to that drone chase in 24). Sadly not everyone makes it out alive, with Elias and Root dying to save Finch. Overall, I think their deaths were great and worked really well for their characters, but also having Root die so soon after reuniting with Shaw did feel a bit on the cheap side. Still a great episode, though.

Synecdoche: Coming after the 100th episode, Synecdoche was a bit less frantically paced, but it was still a fun episode regardless as it tasked the team with their most ambitious mission yet: saving the president. It was also oddly optimistic, revealing that The Machine has backup teams in case Team Machine fails, and marks the point at which the tables really start to turn on Decima. There's also Finch's great subplot where he struggles to deal with Root's death, so he considers actually killing for once.

.exe: This penultimate episode absolutely blew me away by making the decision to kill off Greer before the finale, and it was one hell of a cathartic death too. Finch didn't have to kill since Samaritan did it for him! We also finally have a way to defeat Samaritan once and for all through a virus. I also thought it was neat that The Machine showed a bunch of simulations of a world where it was never created, revealing that even with everything that has happened, the characters would have been even less happy.

Return 0: This series finale ties with Angel's Not Fade Away as my favorite of all time, but for complete opposite reasons. While Not Fade Away emphasized resolving its themes rather than giving its characters a happy ending, Return 0 put a focus on the characters as they fight to destroy Samaritan once and for all. It's simultaneously action-packed and emotional, with an emphasis on the emotional side. There's a lot of great moments here, from Reese's noble sacrifice, to The Machine's goodbyes to everyone before being reset, to Finch reuniting to Grace, to Shaw getting a call from The Machine in the final scene. But the most affecting part for me was The Machine's message for Shaw, the only thing that could make her cry. And the most ironic part is that it made me tear up too, and I'm someone who barely cries when watching TV shows. Who knew?

Overall, Season 5 of Person Of Interest was a nearly perfect final season with an amazing start and an even better finish. It gives each character a satisfying and well-deserved resolution, and perfectly balances the tone and stakes that Season 4 struggled to maintain.

5/5 Stars

My ranking of the Person Of Interest seasons is:

3 > 5 > 2 > 4 > 1

My ranking of the Person Of Interest finales is:

5 > 3 > 4 > 1 > 2

Favorite Episode: If-Then-Else

Person Of Interest (Season 4)

After one of the greatest seasons in television history, Person Of Interest had a lot to live up to. And while Season 4 is definitely a really good season, especially compared to most television, its second half is where the show starts to peter out a bit.

By the time Season 4 starts, pretty much all is lost for Team Machine. They're forced to craft entirely new identities to stay out of Samaritan's detectors, only for the Machine itself to bring them back together to save Persons of Interest but in secret this time. The first half of this season is pretty great, returning to the more episodic structure of early Season 3, but with the added tension of the characters trying to stay out of sight. There's a nice balance between more lighthearted and intense episodes, and it all culminates in another amazing trilogy (though it's actually five episodes this time) in the middle of the season. It's not as good as the HR trilogy, but it's still incredibly great TV, ending on one of the greatest episodes of all time, let alone the series. However, halfway through the season, Shaw is captured by HR and the momentum slowly starts to slow down a bit.

The second half of Season 4 is easily the weakest stretch of episodes in the series since Season 1. Between MIA and Terra Incognita, it really feels like the show started to spin its wheels, even with Shaw kidnapped and Samaritan out there, it's mostly just a selection of the most basic standalone episodes in the series. And with Carter dead, Shaw missing, and Root trying to look for her, going back to just Reese and Finch felt like a step back. This is also the point at which Decima's constant victories started to get really annoying. You can have your villain win often, but when the heroes barely get any victories throughout the course of the last one and a half seasons, it can feel repetitive and frustrating. Season 4 does end on a pretty strong note with its last three episodes but with Shaw still captured and Decima winning again, it served as the point that I was the least invested in the series.

Still, while I probably have the most gripes for this season, at its best, it has some of the show's best episodes:

The Devil You Know: Kickstarting the arc in the middle of the season, The Devil You Know gets to an fast-paced start where Shaw's cover is blown and she's forced to go into hiding after an intense shootout. Despite the opening, though, most of this episode is actually focused on the Elias/Brotherhood conflict, culminating in Elias sacrificing his right-hand man to land a hit on Dominic in spectacular fashion. 

The Cold War: While a bit more low-key and slow-paced compared to the episodes before and after it, The Cold War has Samaritan completely crash the economy in one of his most world-destroying moves yet. But the real highlight is the actual conversation between Samaritan and The Machine, using a little kid and Root as their respective mediums. It's easily one of the most sci-fi scenes in the whole show.

If-Then-Else: This episode is just genius and one of the greatest ever made. It has a simple storyline, the team is forced to fight their way out of the Stock Exchange, but the big twist is that The Machine is constantly running scenarios to try and find the best way out. It's a great blend of action and comedy, while also providing insight on how The Machine operates. But obviously the highlight is the excellent ending where Shaw kisses Root and sacrifices herself to save everyone else, even if it's also kinda responsible for the drop in quality in the season's second half.

Control-Alt-Delete: This was a unique episode, focusing entirely on Control, of all characters. It serves as a great denouement to the events of last episode while giving us a bit more insight on what Samaritan is working on outside of the context of New York. It felt a lot like Relevance, with characters like Root appearing with their own things to deal with, but Control and her investigations is the real star of the show here.

Terra Incognita: This episode was a devastating final goodbye to Carter that pretty much entirely focuses on Reese as he finally learns to cope with her death. There's no action, no Samaritan or Machine lore, it's pretty much just a two-actor play with Reese and Carter's ghost that's raw, emotional, and very affecting.

Asylum: This episode was a breath of fresh air after the second half of the season, finally having the characters learn that Shaw is in fact alive. Root and Finch aren't able to save her, granted, but this was still a tense episode that forced The Machine to finally give up its location. It's not all sad, though. We also get the big final confrontation between Elias and the Brotherhood where he finally gets his revenge in a great sequence, and Martine is finally killed off. Asylum is a fast-paced and eventful episode that's actually one of my personal favorites.

YHWH: While not as good of a finale as Deus Ex Machina, YHWH was still pretty great. Given how destructive The Correction is, I was genuinely surprised that the show actually went through with it, and between that and the ending where Team Machine rushes into a group of Decima soldiers, it feels like no one is really safe by the end of this one. However, it wasn't all downer (it's actually a bit more hopeful than Deus Ex Machine, believe it or not). Reese got to use God Mode again which is always fun, and The Machine is nearly entirely destroyed.

Overall, I did really enjoy a lot of Season 4, especially the first half and the last few episodes. At its best, it's still some of the best stuff on TV, but the second half definitely seemed like it was spinning its wheels a bit.

4/5 Stars

Person Of Interest (Season 3)

Season 3 of Person Of Interest is up there with some of my favorite TV seasons of all time. It's pretty much a perfect season, flooded with so many amazing episodes, stunning twists, and a massive change in genre that works incredibly well. 

Person Of Interest's third season is divided up into two halves, just like the series itself. The first ten episodes are a grounded crime drama focusing more on the big final battle with HR, while the last thirteen episodes go full sci-fi as it focuses on the conflict with Decima Industries and their own AI Samaritan. The oddest thing is it's really hard for me to decide which half I like better, so I'll talk about both:

The HR arc (episodes 1-10): The first half of the season mostly focuses on Carter's fight with the corrupt group of police officers known as HR. It all culminates in a trilogy in the middle of the season that reveals Carter spent most of the season orchestrating a plan to take down HR, which is easily one of the best stretches of episodes in television history. Meanwhile, Shaw and Root are slowly adjusting to the team throughout this part of the season, resulting in Team Machine being at its most close-knit, which is a lot of fun to watch. As a whole, this HR arc is more small-scale and grounded while still serving as an excellent ending to the grounded crime drama portion of the series. For the second half of the season, things are going to be much more different.

The Samaritan arc (episodes 11-23): With HR down, the series shifts focus to the looming conflict with Decima, who are revealed to be working on their own AI called Samaritan. It works as a really cool parallel with the HR arc not just because of the genre shift but because of how it contrasts Carter's manipulation of HR with Decima's manipulation of Team Machine to get Samaritan up and running. As this half of the season progresses, things slowly begin to get out of control for the team culminating in the phenomenal season finale where Samaritan's activation forces the team into hiding. But it's not all dark, as this half of the season also packs in some fun experimental episodes like a flashback episode, a Reese-centric episode on a plane, and a light comedic outing at a high school reunion.

There are so many amazing episodes in both of these arcs to the point where I just don't know what to exclude:

Razgovor: Having slowly inserted herself into the team these last few episodes, Shaw gets an entire focus episode here and it's really good. The main Person Of Interest is a spy-wannabe kid who Shaw grows attached to throughout the episode, and she's actually really funny and entertaining for a kid. Shaw gets some flashbacks to her father's death and how her lack of emotional response to it led her to realize there's something wrong with her, which was an incredibly sad moment. And that's not even it, since we have Carter continuing to move on HR and Shaw being kidnapped by none other than Root.

Endgame: Kickstarting the phenomenal HR trilogy is the weakest episode of the three, yet still one of the best episodes in the season (that's how good this arc is!). Carter's full plan is revealed here as she turns HR and the Russian Mafia against each other, reveals a safe deposit box full of incriminating evidence, discovers the head of HR, and records a confession that he killed Beecher. All of her background work throughout this first half of the season gets its payoff here and it's oh, so satisfying.

The Crossing: Continuing the HR trilogy, The Crossing is a far more intense and grim episode as Reese and Carter are on the run to turn in Quinn, while Fusco is being tortured by HR for info. It's relentless and action-packed, but it also lets these three characters (especially Fusco) show just how determined they are. By the end of the episode, HR is actually taken down, but it's not that easy since Carter is shot and killed by one of its members. It's a devastating and shocking ending, but at least Carter went out on a high note.

The Devil's Share: Ending the HR trilogy, The Devil's Share is far more somber and less action-packed, starting with a devastating montage showing how the members of the cast are coping with Carter's death. Reese, Fusco, and Shaw spend the episode considering crossing the line and killing the man who shot Carter, but having Elias, the literal mob boss, do it was probably the best route here. We also get Finch actually recruit Root to help out for once, kickstarting her slow acclimation into the team.

Lethe/Aletheia: While this isn't necessarily a two-parter, I like to group these episodes together because they do share a lot of the same storylines, and especially because they introduce Samaritan as the major villain for the rest of the series. But that's not even it, since Reese leaves the team out of grief, Control makes her debut as she tortures Root in a genuinely uncomfortable sequence, and Hersh and his men seemingly blow up. There's a lot here, I'd argue these to be the most important episodes of the whole show, as they also kickstart the trend of Decima always getting the better of everyone.

Most Likely To: The first forty-minutes of this episode are pretty great on their own right, a light-hearted standalone where Reese and Shaw sneak into a high school reunion to protect a POI. It's comedic, cute, and lends us a bit more insight on their disturbed pasts. However, the last five minutes are insane as the Northern Lights project is revealed to the press and promptly shut down, a massive status quo that changes the premise of the show itself.

Beta: Beta is a heartbreaking episode that has Decima use Finch's former fiancée Grace to get to Finch. It's a tough episode to watch, with an incredibly personal conflict that leaves Finch dangerously close to revealing to Grace that he's alive. The bridge scene at the end is especially tense, and while Grace is saved, Finch is captured and comes face to face with Greer for the first time.

Deus Ex Machina: What an amazing season finale this was, tense from start to finish. It leads you to believe that it's an action-packed episode where the team tries to save Finch from Vigilance's attempt at revealing The Machine to the world, only to discover that Vigilance was an invention by Decima and that this was all an elaborate plan to get Samaritan up and running, and it works. By the end of the episode, the team is forced to split up and form new identities, and worst of all, the iconic library is destroyed. This finale pretty much demonstrates what I love so much about this season, its willingness to drastically change the status quo nearly every episode left me absolutely hooked from start to finish.

Overall, Season 3 should feel like it's disjointed but it just isn't. It's a phenomenal and consistently strong season packed with amazing episodes and twists, somehow managing to pull off a genre shift pretty much flawlessly. It's an excellent microcosm of what I love so much about the series and is easily the peak of Person Of Interest.

5/5 Stars

Toree 3D

Toree 3D is a short and simple platformer that only costs a dollar, but it shows a lot more quality than you'd initially expect.

Toree 3D's story is pretty much non-existent. You play as Toree, a cute duck with sunglasses, who has had his ice cream cone taken away by an eldritch monstrosity (so basically a Kirby game). You have to dash and jump through nine short platforming stages in four different worlds to get the cone back. Toree 3D feels great to play. The controls feel fluid and responsive, and while the game is momentum-based, you never feel like you're not in control. My only real gripe is that you can't invert the camera control, though that could be an easy chance in a patch. The levels are also a ton of fun, each focusing on a core concept that all comes together in the excellent final level.

If you're playing Toree 3D just to finish it, you'll probably be left a bit unsatisfied. Even for its price, there are only nine levels in this game. However, Toree 3D isn't meant to be played normally, it's a speed run game. The controls are perfectly tuned for you to dash through these levels and you get a rank for how quickly you finish it. There are also a ton of collectible stars to find in each level as well if you prefer exploration. Getting all the A-ranks or all of the stars will net you a secret character for each task. The A-Ranks get you Tasty, who can run really fast and is great if you really want to break these levels. But even cooler is that getting all of the stars nets you Macbat, who has infinite jumps. This means that if you want, you can just fly around the level looking for Easter eggs and otherwise inaccessible areas, pretty much breaking the boundaries of the game. This is such a cool mode and I wish more games would do something like that.

Toree 3D feels like a love-letter to the PS1 and it shows in the art style. All of the characters and levels have that charming pixelated low-poly look that you'd come to expect from the system, but the game also doesn't limit itself to these standards. Toree 3D also has really excellent draw distance and runs far better than any game of this caliber would on the original system. The music is also much more complex and high-quality as well, though I definitely got a Chameleon Quest vibe from some of the themes. There are also a few creepy moments (distorted levels, giant low-poly monsters) scattered throughout the game that might catch you off guard at first, and while I think they stick out from the game's otherwise happy aesthetic, it was definitely an interesting surprise.

Overall, Toree 3D is a (mostly) cute title with a charming low-poly art style and a fluid control scheme. It's definitely worth getting for a buck, just don't expect something insanely long or ground-breaking.

3/5 Stars

Breaking Bad (Season 1)

At this point, Breaking Bad is widely considered to be the greatest television show ever made, and I definitely see why. It tells a simple story incredibly effectively with great performances, writing, and cinematography across the board. However, every great show tends to have its humble beginnings.

Everyone knows the story of Breaking Bad at this point. Walter White is a chemistry teacher who learns he has cancer, so he starts developing drugs with a former student named Jesse to make money for his family before he dies. Season 1 of the series feels like a sort of prologue. Walt is only dipping his toes in the criminal life here, and doesn't even invent his alter-ego Heisenberg until the penultimate episode. It's a slow first outing, one where every death Walt causes has a genuine effect on him unlike in later seasons. This is probably my favorite aspect about Season 1, Walt is constantly forced to do things that are immoral and cruel, but he slowly acclimates and even owns up to it near the end of the season by blowing up a drug dealer's hideout. However, as you may expect, Season 1 is also where Walt is the most connected with his domestic life, with many of the episodes focusing on his family members and friends as well. This is probably the weakest aspect of the season for me, while Walt slowly getting into making drugs is incredibly compelling, there are also a bunch of subplots like Walt's sister-in-law being a shoplifter and Jesse covering for his brother that I just did not find as interesting. I get why they're important, these side storylines become less prevalent as the family members get more involved in Walt's drug dealing antics as the show progresses, but it doesn't make them all that fun to watch.

Season 1 of Breaking Bad is short, only seven episodes, meaning that the moment it really starts to get good, it's pretty much already over. Apparently the season was impacted by the writer's strike, which also explains why the finale itself was pretty much an average episode. I think this shortened season works as a prologue, as I previously mentioned, but it's definitely the least memorable season of the bunch. Still, even the weakest season of Breaking Bad is great TV. Obviously the best aspect of the show is the performances. Bryan Cranston is an amazing actor in everything he does (I just reviewed Godzilla and he has great in that too), but there's a reason Walter White is his most iconic role. He perfectly captures Walt's dorky chem teacher side and cruel Heisenberg side, while imbuing enough nuance and intensity into the role that it leaves you wondering if he, morally-speaking, was always Heisenberg. There are so many ways to interpret the decisions Walt makes, which is why he's one of my favorite TV characters of all time. Jesse, as played by Aaron Paul, is a great character too, but his best moments don't start until Season 2. Right now, Jesse is at his best when playing off of Walt, thanks to the sharp, black-comedy and banter-laden writing. I also found myself really loving the cinematography in the show. All of the colors are bold and the show is almost entirely shot in wides that truly let you take in the scenery of New Mexico.

Despite its short length, there are some pretty great episodes this season:

Pilot: Easily one of the best pilot episodes ever made, Breaking Bad's first episode throws you right into the chaos with a gripping and now iconic scene where Walt crashes an RV and runs out in his underwear with a gun. The pilot does a great job of establishing the lead, his goals, and the show's themes from the get-go, while giving you a satisfying resolution to that iconic opening.

Crazy Handful Of Nothing: This was the episode that left me completely hooked. After nearly a whole season of buildup, Walt finally becomes Heisenberg, shaving off his head, and blowing up Tuco's hideout with the power of chemistry. Speaking of which, Tuco is a great and demented villain, and his story arc over the next few episodes (seeping into Season 2), is definitely one of the show's better ones.

Overall, Season 1 of Breaking Bad feels more like a prologue, with a short length and some weaker storylines, but it also sells you on the show and is just as well-written as the later seasons.

3/5 Stars

MonsterVerse

With the release of Godzilla vs Kong, I decided to watch all of the MonsterVerse films as I haven't seen them before. As a whole, I had a pretty good time with these films. At their best, I was jumping in my seat with joy. At their worst was KoTM, but we'll get to that in a bit:

Godzilla (2014): I wouldn't say I'm a Godzilla fan, haven't seen too many of his movies, but I love his design and tend to geek out whenever he does something badass. Knowing that, I actually liked this movie a lot. There were a lot of complaints about how long it took for Godzilla to appear and how much longer it took for an actual kaiju fight, but I didn't mind it too much. I love that this film had a slow burn as it made all of the big Godzilla appearances have much more impact, helped by Edwards' direction really emphasizing his scale compared to other humans. This movie was pretty blatantly more focused on horror and how Godzilla's rampages affect individual people, so if you look at a lot of the action as escape sequences from the perspectives of the humans, they're really not that bad. There were even some images like the train and bridge scenes that I thought were genuinely haunting. 

Another complaint was about the human characters but they weren't too bad either, especially the characters of Bryan Cranston, Ken Watanabe, and Elizabeth Olson, though Cranston was killed off too early for sure. And the big final battle absolutely lived up to the build-up, it was well-shot, focused almost entirely on Godzilla, and had the coolest kill in any movie ever in the form of that goddamn atomic kiss (I hadn't giggled with excitement at a movie like this since maybe Endgame?). Even on its own merits, it's probably the best battle in the entire MonsterVerse even if it's the only one in the movie. As a whole, Godzilla 2014 wasn't a masterpiece or anything, but it was well-paced and satisfying, and easily the best and the most well-crafted film in the MonsterVerse.

4/5 Stars

Kong: Skull Island: Coming after the experimental Godzilla film, Kong Skull Island was a bit more average, maybe a bit too average. The fact is that there have been so many movies of a group of soldiers stuck on a jungle/island, particularly in Vietnam, and this one didn't add too much new to the formula. Skull Island was at its best when it was weird, the opening scene just threw you into this tense and fun chase, Kong's appearances were big and bombastic, and Tom Hiddleston slicing pterodactyls with a katana is the exact type of gonzo insanity that I just wish there was more of. There are hints of a truly batshit crazy film here, but it's hidden behind an incredibly standard and predictable plot. 

On the other hand, the cast was definitely the best in the franchise as a whole. Samuel L Jackson and John C Reily were particular great with an interesting conflict, but the other actors were all super likable even if the characters they played were fairly one-note. As for Kong himself, he was easily the best part of the film. His action scenes were all really fun and prioritizing his intelligence compared to the other monsters was a good move when slotting him into this cinematic universe. He wasn't just a generic giant gorilla, he was Kong, he picked up objects like trees and helicopters and threw them at his foes, he used a giant tree trunk as a sword, he ripped out the Skullcrawler's tongue! Not gonna lie, I didn't love Kong much before I saw this film, but his moments here really won me on the character. Overall, it's a decent popcorn flick that's at its best when it's insane and at its worst when it's just a generic "armies in the jungle" film.

3/5 Stars

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters: I really wanted this movie to be good! The trailers looked so cool, but this movie was just boring, and it makes me angrier the more I think about it. We had four massive Toho monsters in this film, all of which with really cool designs, but they barely had any screen time (a little more than 20 minutes apparently). There were more kaiju fights, sure, but none of them were as impactful and well-shot as the original, rather they were obscured in darkness and constantly interrupted by the human characters. 2014's final battle had long, wide shots and every single action had this massive impact, which made moments like the tail swipe and kiss of death feel massive. These fight scenes had a lot closer shots and would constantly cut away to the human characters right before or in the middle of an attack (like a cut in the middle of Godzilla swinging Ghidorah around or a cut right after Rodan and Ghidorah charge at each other). As a matter of fact, I watched a few re-edits that change the color grading and remove the cutaways and they're actually not that bad, but the movie version is so horribly edited that it removes so much of the impact of these fights.

But maybe I wouldn't be as pissed if the humans were at least decent like in 2014? Nope, most of the cast was either painfully dull (Mark), or incredibly stupid (Emma, Stenz). Emma, in particular, when she realized that joining an eco terrorist group was a bad idea, I legitimately wanted to scream "No, duh!" at my screen. Frankly, I found myself frustrated with a lot of moments in this film, from the little things like cutting away from Madison getting a giant concrete slab dropped on her head as if it never happened, to how the Oxygen Destroyer appears out of nowhere at the worst possible time. So when you have weak monster fights, and a frustrating story, what else is even left? Frankly, just the monsters themselves and their cool designs, which once again, had only twenty minutes of poorly-edited screentime in service of humans that I just didn't care about at all. However, this movie isn't irredeemable, the depiction of Mothra was pretty much perfect. Her design was beautiful, her fight was the best in the film, and her sacrifice was the most emotional part of the film. That's right, I cared more about a giant bug than the entire human cast. I think that sums up my general opinion of the film pretty well.

2/5 Stars

Godzilla vs Kong: I actually really liked this one. At this point, the human characters were just there to carry the plot and that's it, they didn't have personalities because they didn't need it, and the movie made sure to prioritize the two titular monsters this time around. Godzilla and Kong don't speak, they never had, but their actions throughout the movie conveyed so much character alone. In this movie, the humans are just plot devices, and Godzilla and Kong are the real characters, and I think that's great. Case in point, whenever a battle started, there were barely any cutaways like in KoTM. The action was great this time around, all shot with long takes and allowing Kong and Godzilla use their entire movesets to their advantages. And the last 30 minutes were just excellent, giving both fighters the victories they deserve (while still letting Kong win), and the final battle with MechaGodzilla was just full of "hell, yeah!" moments.

As for the story, it was the perfect excuse plot to get these two to fight and bring in MechaGodzilla for the finale, never overstaying its welcome or forcing its humans into situations that would just come into conflict with the big monster fights. Hell, some of the quips were even pretty funny this time! Kong got to learn sign language which I thought was a really great move, the Hollow Earth concept was actually pretty neat, and tying MG to Ghidorah made the movie feel like a deserving finale to the MonsterVerse as a whole. I even really liked Junkie XL's score here, it was definitely one of the better ones. Overall, GvK might not have been the best-crafted film and its characters were massive blank slates, but by focusing on the titular monsters and providing some great action, this was definitely one of the best films of the bunch.

4/5 Stars

So my ranking of the MonsterVerse films would be:

1. Godzilla (2014)

2. Godzilla Vs Kong

3. Kong: Skull Island

4. Godzilla: King Of The Monsters

Oh, and also best finishing moves:

1. Ripping open the MUTO's jaw and shooting atomic breath down his throat (Godzilla)

2. Tearing apart MechaGodzilla bit by bit and ripping out his head (Godzilla Vs Kong)

3. Ripping out the Skullcrawler's tongue (Kong: Skull Island)

4. Ripping off and burning Ghidorah's last head (Godzilla: King Of The Monsters)

And overall, I did really like these movies. I still think 2014 was the most well-crafted of the bunch and nothing could really top the "kiss of death", which is probably the greatest finisher move in any movie ever, but Skull Island and GvK had some really great kaiju action in spite of their weak characters. KoTM was still garbage, but as a whole, I'm glad I watched these films. The moments of badass, city-destroying monster fights made it all worth it.

Infinity Train (Book 4)

Infinity Train was supposed to have eight seasons. Right now, it has four, cancelled right in the middle of its run, and that's just heart-breaking. Seasons 2-3 were already so good, imagine how amazing the later seasons could be. I'm still holding out hope, but it just hurts that the show ended so early, let alone on such a table-setting season.

Book 4 of Infinity Train is a much different season than the first three, taking a more light and character-driven tone. There isn't as much emphasis on the mysteries of the titular train, rather this season focuses on Ryan and Min-Gi, presumably the first case in which two people enter the train at the same time. These two were childhood friends, but had a massive falling out, so now they're on the train to mend their relationship. I thought their storyline was alright, the first episode did a good job of establishing the conflict and their dynamic throughout the season remained entertaining, but I feel like this was probably the least interesting book for me. I think it's because the show doesn't really do anything new, it doesn't have the mystery of Book 1, the existentialism of Book 2, or the moral ambiguity of Book 3. It's about two normal people on the train with no twists to the formula, so we already know they're going to escape, unlike the other seasons where it really feels like the characters have to earn their escape. Book 4 was fun, but it just wasn't as ambitious.

Of course, there has to be the comic relief denizen, and this season gives us Kez, who I actually really love. Her snarky attitude and the fact that the whole train seems to hate her is just so funny and entertaining, at least until the show starts exploring how her lackadaisical attitude impacts everyone she meets. Honestly, Kel was the real star of the show this season. As for the train, probably the most interesting aspect of the season for me is that it's a prequel, so we get to see Amelia take over as conductor in the background of the season. However, that's the only real bit of lore we get this time. The rest of the season is purely personal, and has a much lighter tone as a result, which isn't all a bad thing, we did all get some cool cars like the "astronauts on a line" car. It's pretty obvious why this is the case, Book 4 was meant to be a breather season that set the tables for Book 5, which is also why the fact that the series is cancelled is so frustrating. Book 4 isn't a bad season, it's still well-written and emotional with some really great episodes, but as a final season without the follow-up it needs, it sticks out like a sore thumb. And if Book 5 does somehow come out, I may even re-review this one with that added perspective, but in the context of a final season, Book 4 just feels lacking.

While the season wasn't as compelling as the first three, it still had some pretty great episodes:

The Twin Tapes: This was a really unique premiere for the series, focusing entirely on the lead's lives outside of the train. Watching Ryan and Min-Gi slowly fall apart was just plain uncomfortable, and the split screen in the middle of the episode did a great job of showing how their lives were going in different directions. And the reveal that the season was a prequel is pretty cool too.

The Party Car: The bathroom scene was one of the most effective moments of bonding between Ryan and Min-Gi. Even though they were able to play a concert yet, seeing them just jamming out in the tub was incredibly sweet. We also get our first big hint that Amelia is taking over the car.

The Castle Car: This was easily my favorite episode of the season because of how it truly explores how Kez's attitude can negatively impact the people around how, how for all of her mistakes, she never truly apologizes. It all goes into making her such a fascinating character for me. Also the ending with Amelia having officially taken over the car was just plain awesome.

The Train To Nowhere: While it wasn't as intense as the other finales, it did a good job at tying everything up. Kez finally apologizing was great, Ryan and Min-Gi mending their relationship was sweet, and overall, this was a pretty heartwarming ending. Maybe not the best series finale, but a good ending to the season.

Overall, Infinity Train's final (hopefully for now) book was meant to be a simple breather season with a light-hearted tone and a simpler story. It's not as intense as Books 1-3 but it's not meant to be and it was a fun watch regardless with probably the best denizen in the series. But it wasn't the best pick for a final season, and it sticks out because of it.

3/5 Stars

My ranking of the seasons, hopefully for now, is:

2 > 3 > 1 > 4

My ranking of the finales, hopefully for now, is:

3 > 1 > 2 > 4

Favorite Episode: The Tape Car

Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003)

The prequel trilogy is an interesting beast. The movies themselves were seriously flawed and oddly paced, but they have some of the best supplementary material out of any Star Wars trilogy out there, probably a testament to the sheer potential of Lucas's world in these movies. While the seven-season-long Clone Wars series is a more well-known and comprehensive depiction of the titular event, and I definitely plan on reviewing it at some point, Genndy Tartakovsky also made a depiction of his own, and it's a lot different.

This series, which I'll just call Clone Wars, was actually a miniseries composed of three seasons. The first two seasons had ten 4-minute-long episodes, while the third season was shorter but had longer episodes. Clone Wars attempts to summarize the most important battles and tide-changing moments of the titular war, occasionally splitting off into side stories about what other Jedi are up to. Airing after Attack Of The Clones, it does a solid job of tying it with the third movie, introducing characters like Ventress and Grievous impressively early on, and ending with the Battle Of Coruscant. We even get a few entirely original characters like the shockingly badass Durge and the cool Chameleon Droids. However, I think the short length of the series means it doesn't do the best job of actually evoking the size and scale of the war like a seven-season-long anthology series would. Most of this series takes place during the same battle, and the characters don't really have arcs or development. The third season is a bit better with its longer episodes, but as a whole, this show is more style over substance. As a result, where it falls slightly flat as an actual depiction of the Clone Wars at times, it definitely excels as a feat of animation.

Tartakovsky is well-known for his fluid and angular animation style and I don't think it's demonstrated more effectively than in Clone Wars. The action scenes here are both effective and understated. They're not overly flashy and drawn-out (*cough* prequels *cough*), yet the characters still get to use their Jedi abilities in unique ways, like disassembling a droid with the force and hurling its parts at everyone else. Dialogue is fairly lacking in this series, it's only used when truly necessary. This show really just lets the visuals and sound design speak for itself. Sometimes the music even cuts out to just let you take in the sounds of the war, it's oddly immersive. Similarly, the simplistic 2D style might take a while to get used to, and the faces are a bit stiff at times, but these simple designs lend well to the show's spartan style. Clone Wars's "less is more" direction is an incredibly odd one to take for such a story and lore-heavy series, but I found myself compelled through the visuals and action alone, which just kept getting better as the series went on.

While the episodes are short, there are a few that I thought were pretty great:

Chapter 9: As I mentioned before, Durge is an awesome and intimidating villain, and his big final battle with Obi-Wan for the season was an incredibly fun bit of action with an explosive ending.

Chapter 13: Easily the most iconic fight in the series, this episode does something the prequels rarely ever did, separate the Jedi from their lightsaber and force them to use other ways to fight. Windu is forced to beat an army of Super Battle Droids in a myriad of creative ways, and the ending where he retrieves his lightsaber and destroys the tank that caused him to lose it in the first place is satisfying.

Chapters 18-19: The battle between Anakin and Ventress was easily one of the best in the series. It's well-choreographed, dynamic, and incredibly dramatic. Chapter 18 was a bit more flashy and exciting, but Chapter 19 was far more intense, culminating in Anakin tapping into the Dark Side while Duel Of The Fates plays in the background and seemingly killing Ventress!

Chapter 20: The end of the first volume has Grievous make one hell of a first appearance, completely slaughtering a group of Jedi in what seems like more of a slasher film than an actual fight. Grievous is intimidating in this episode, way more than in any of his other appearances, and as a fan of his design, he deserved so much more. Not sure how I feel about his voice though.

Chapter 24-25: Probably the coolest thing about this series is that unlike its sequel series, which focuses on the Siege Of Mandalore, here we get to see how Grievous kidnaps Palpatine and how the Battle Of Coruscant starts. I mentioned this in my Star Wars retrospective but the Battle Of Coruscant is one of my favorite sequences in the whole series, so this was just so amazing for me. And I also like that Palpatine wasn't captured easily, it was after a really long and tense fight with pretty much the entire Jedi council that boasted some of the best choreography and humor in the series. It also made me realize that Shaak Ti is a badass and nearly killing her twice in Revenge Of The Sith did a serious injustice to her character.

Overall, 2003's Clone Wars miniseries may be too short to actually tell a comprehensive story about the war and its characters, but it's still worth watching for its great visuals and action, unique style, and interesting take on the Star Wars universe.

3/5 Stars

Infinity Train (Book 3)

While I absolutely loved Book 2 of Infinity Train, it was pretty similar to the first and it was time for something different. Book 3 takes a massive risk by making the protagonists insanely unlikable, but I think it paid off.

The main protagonists of this book are none other than Grace and Simon from The Apex, who get stranded away from The Mall Car and are forced to work their way back through the train. What makes this season so interesting is that Grace and Simon were villains last season, and they still are. They have misguided philosophies and cruel actions, and the season starts with them destroying the "Unfinished car" from the first season. They think One-One is the "fake Conductor" of the train, they try to manipulate other kids to their philosophies, and they think poorly of everyone without a number. The show doesn't sugarcoat this fact, these characters are villains, they do awful things, and even though we learn more about their pasts, it doesn't erase their misdeeds. It's easy to absolutely despise Grace and Simon because of this, but I still enjoy watching them. These two leads gain new perspectives on the train throughout their journey, and it's fascinating to watch them evolve in different ways, with Grace regretting her actions and Simon doubling down on them. The second half of the series is particularly compelling as they start to drift apart and turn against each other.

Just as fascinating is Hazel, a passenger who was brought on the train at a very young age and has been raised by a gorilla named Tuba, and has a number that has somehow been turned off. She and Tuba are the token good counterparts of Grace and Simon and not only spark their development, but serve as compelling characters with affecting backstories of their own. As for the train itself, we continue to learn a lot more about how it works, particularly the backstory and name of The Cat. Amelia also makes a much larger appearance here as we see how she's trying to get her number down, while also giving Grace and Simon the big news that she's the false conductor. My only issue with this season compared to the last two is that the cars aren't nearly as inventive this time around, but it's understandable given that the character work takes priority during this book.

This is needless to say at this point, but pretty much every episode was great. These are the highlights, though:

Le Chat Chalet Car: I did not expect this episode's twist. Every person on the train had some sort of guardian, Simon's was The Cat, and she left him to die at 10 years old. No wonder he joined the Apex, and it does a lot to explain more about The Cat and how Simon ended up the way he is. Oh, and the joke about a blizzard being the Randalls having a snowball fight is just the most perfect thing ever.

The Color Clock Car: This episode was just plain painful. The color maze car itself was pretty fun as Simon and Tuba seemed to start to bond, only for Simon to kill Tuba. I thought Simon would at least keep it a secret, but nope, he gloats about it pretty much solidifying the fact that he's not gonna have a change of heart. We also get Hazel turning into a turtle out of grief, adding even more ambiguity to who she really is.

The Hey Ho Woah Car: All of the lingering tension between the group completely explodes during this uncomfortable episode. Amelia reveals she's the False Conductor, Simon learns Hazel's a turtle and that Grace kept it a secret, Hazel learns she's a failed clone of Alrick, and Grace tries to save face by insulting Hazel. It's a relentless eighth episode of the show where absolutely everything goes to hell.

The Origami Car: After constantly being told about their backstories, we're finally shown what really happened with Grace and Simon as the former gets trapped in her old memories. We learn how Grace's parents were like, how she met Amelia, and how The Cat deserted Simon. I was also surprised to find that Hazel left, for good, and she doesn't come back for the rest of the season. Grace ruined things with her.

The New Apex: This is easily the most intense and wince-inducing episode of the show. Wanna know what happens when a Grom kills you? Wanna know what happens when you drag the memory tape out of your head?! The final battle between Grace and Simon was tense and left me breathless as they both nearly fall off the train multiple times, and Simon's entire death sequence was absolutely shocking. This was a great finale and easily the best episode of the season, marking the end of The Apex for good.

Overall, Book 3 of Infinity Train takes a big risk by making the protagonists villains, but it absolutely works. The characters are compelling, the darker tone is a breath of fresh air, and the ending is absolutely stunning. I think Book 2 was still my favorite overall, but the fact that this one was nearly as good is just plain impressive to me.

5/5 Stars

Infinity Train (Book 2)

Being an anthology series, Book 2 of Infinity Train takes place with an entirely new cast and has an entirely new story. However, it doesn't lose the magic that made the first book great, rather it's actually better, with a strong protagonist and an added dose of intensity.

Infinity Train's second book revolves around Mirror Tulip (who I'll refer to as Lake since that's the name she chooses by the end of the season), as she tries to help a person named Jesse leave the train while evading the Reflection Police. Tulip was an alright protagonist for Book 1, but Lake was so much more compelling. While the train itself had less mysteries, the question of how she could escape the train kept me intrigued. I also really liked the Reflection Police as villains, every time they appeared, the show turned intense really fast. But what I especially loved was her conflict about trying to become her own person separate from Tulip and the Flecs, it's one of the first time I see a character try to figure out their identity to this much of an extent. The second half of the season is even better as Lake really starts to doubt herself thanks to the police and the fact that she can't leave the train through the usual portal, yet she still continue to assert that she is her own person and she will find a way to get off the train regardless, she's just such a good character!

As for the other characters, I'm don't think I like them as much as One-One and Atticus, but they're pretty good too. Jesse was a bit annoying at first, but the more I got to know him, the more likable he became (Lake had the same opinion in the show, so I think that was probably intended). He was a very different character than Tulip, with a different conflict about being  As for Alan Dracula, he wasn't nearly as good as Atticus, but his shapeshifting antics got a giggle out of me more often than not. As for the train itself, the cars this time around were really unique at times, like the hand-drawn map car and the hilariously blunt "kick the Toad" car. The latter half of the season also gives us tons of neat lore about how the memories are extracted for the tapes and how the numbers are printed, but the best new piece of lore was the introduction of the Apex, a group of delinquent humans that want the highest number they can get and hate those who don't have numbers, called "nulls". They're not only a cool piece of lore, but a great way for Lake to confront the fact that she doesn't have a number and for Jesse to deal with his past faults.

Once again, most of the season was great, but these episodes were the highlight:

The Toad Car: This was the first excellent episode of the season because it finally stuck Jesse and Lake in a room together and had them actually try to get to know each other. The looming threat of the Reflection Police outside the car and the lack of trust that Jesse and Lake had for each other made it a really tense episode, but the "kick the Toad" joke added a good amount of levity.

The Mall Car: Knowing what we know about the Infinity Train at this point, the goal of the Apex seems so bizarre, but that's what makes them so fascinating. I already mentioned how this storyline benefits the story arcs for both Lake and Jesse, but what I especially love is the "Ball Pit Car"-esque downer ending which has Jesse forced to leave Lake at the mercy of the Reflection Police. The Mall Car was an excellent episode that kicked off the nearly flawless final stretch of the season.

The Wasteland: Easily the best episode of the series thus far, The Wasteland actually brings Lake outside of the train for most of its runtime, and it's weird, as we learn that you can't walk too far away from the train without it suddenly pulling you back. We also get the climactic confrontation between her and Mace where he gets her to doubt whether or not she's an actual person only to be killed off in the most brutal scene of the whole show.

The Tape Car: The Wasteland alone would have made this season better than the first, but the sheer lore dump that is The Tape Car was nearly as impressive. I did not expect to learn nearly as much about how the train works as I did, but the reveals of how the tapes and numbers are formed were so cool. Lake's breakdown after not getting a number was absolutely heartbreaking and One-One's return in the Steward suit was an exciting hook for the finale. We even get Alan actually developing and helping out for a change, and it's great!

The Number Car: I wouldn't say this finale was as good or as thoroughly surprising as the first season's, but it was definitely cathartic. Jesse returning to the train was a genuine surprise because I didn't think it was possible, but it ended up causing a hilarious and terrifying paradox that implies that there are some serious flaws with the way the train was programmed. The final battle with Sieve was intense, and Lake finding a clever way to leave was satisfying. And of course, this is the episode where Lake decides her name, a perfect resolution for one of the best characters I've seen in quite a while. 

Overall, while it lacks the freshness and quirkiness of the first book, Book 2 of Infinity Train was generally a marked improvement with an amazing protagonist, an incredibly second half, some really neat cars and train lore, and a general sense of intensity.

5/5 Stars

Infinity Train (Book 1)

Infinity Train has had a rocky history these past few years, starting out as a five-night-event, only to be revealed to be an anthology series with eighth seasons planned. It got cancelled and brought back several times over only to be officially cancelled with Book 4. With the show about to end, I decided to finally give it a watch, starting with the first book.

Infinity Train is an anthology series about a mysterious train in a deserted wasteland where every car has some sort of weird gimmick. It's a solid premise that allows for a lot of different stories with a lot of different characters, realistically you can make as many episodes as you can come up with different cars in the train. Book 1 of Infinity Train is a pretty great pitch for this premise, centering around a teenager named Tulip who tried running away from her house to game design camp only to stumble onto the titular train, kickstarting a short ten-episode season where she tries to get to the engine and find a way to escape. I was initially concerned when I discovered that each episode is around ten minutes, and the first episode, while pretty great, was incredibly overwhelming and fast-paced. I think that was on purpose though, and the pacing slowed down a bit as the season progressed, as we learn more about Tulip, the train, and its quirky set of inhabitants. And by the end of the season, everything manages to be tied up in a satisfying and thoroughly surprising ending. I still wish the episodes and season were a bit longer just to see more cars and spend more time with the cast, but Book 1 was definitely a completely story and its movie length also made it feel like no time was wasted. 

Speaking of which, the characters are pretty great, especially Tulip! The concept of a kid dealing with divorce isn't anything new, but Infinity Train manages to explore how Tulip was affected by it in ways I haven't seen in many other kid shows. Tulip is abrasive at the start of the show because she still hasn't come to terms with her parents' divorce, she rushes through the train and initially finds everyone on it to be a bit of a nuisance. However, her character development as she learns to accept change and her parents' divorce is incredibly compelling and well-done. The other characters, like One-One and Atticus, are also very enjoyable and while they might serve as comic relief at first, they do have their important roles to play in the plot. But while I like the characters, the train itself is the real star of the show. There's a ton of inventive cars, memorable inhabitants (like the Randalls and crystal dudes), and intriguing mysteries set up in the pilot, and the show strikes a perfect balance between giving the viewer answers and just leaving certain bizarre moments unanswered. The animation is also pretty solid, the characters and well-drawn and expressive, but what I really like is the synthwave background music that really gives a surreal and mysterious vibe to the show.

While most of the episodes were at the very least solid, these were some of the highlights:

The Cat Car: For me, The Cat Car was definitely the first showcase of how emotional this series could get, revolving around Tulip forced to confront some of her worst memories. We already knew from the pilot that she didn't handle her parents' divorce well, but this episode shows how in denial she was about it, and while she does end up accepting what happened, it doesn't make it sting any less. It's an inventive, gutting, and oftentimes creepy episode that really won me over.

The Chrome Car: This episode was an absolute trip, the titular mirror-filled car led to a ton of unique visuals and trippy reflections. But easily my favorite part was Mirror Tulip herself, she had a really interesting conflict and I like how through her years of being Tulip's reflection, she ended up knowing her better than even she did. 

The Ball Pit Car: Talk about Mood Whiplash. This episode lures you into a sense of security with its goofy ball pit antics, only for the Conductor to appear and ruin everything. The second half of this episode was insanely intense and devastating, as the otherwise happy car is slowly destroyed and characters are presumably killed. While Atticus getting turned into a bug wasn't great, it says a lot that I genuinely believed they killed off the dog.

The Engine: This was a pretty great finale to the first book of Infinity Train, bringing everyone's storylines to a satisfying conclusion. I knew there was something special about One-One, but him being the train's original conductor still surprised me. The final battle was fun and utilized a lot of plot points from the past season, the reveal of Amelia's number was genuinely chilling, and the hook for Book 2 with Tulip's reflection still being missing left me excited.

Overall, Infinity Train's first book was pretty great. It's a strong self-contained story with an interesting hook, great characters, and a solid ending. The only issue is that I wish it was longer, but hey, that's what the next books are for, right?

4/5 Stars

Steins;Gate

Steins;Gate is a patient and thoughtful time travel anime that takes its sweet time to deliver a compelling and satisfying story, even with a bit of a slow start and some shaky plotlines.

Steins;Gate is a show composed of two halves, the first half is a lighthearted slice of life anime about experimenting with time travel, while the second half is a darker and dramatic sci-fi thriller filled with tragedy, time loops, character deaths, and a battle to save the world. The first half of Steins;Gate is alright. It's an incredibly slow-paced mystery where each episode has the cast slowly experiment with time travel, which means that not too much happens every episode. As a result, I didn't really love any of the episodes in this first half, they all just kind of blended together for me. Despite my complaints, this wasn't a bad first half. There's definitely a satisfaction in how they slowly learn more through iteration, escalation, and the scientific method. But while the sense of mystery is great, what really made me want to get through this first half was the characters. Steins;Gate's cast is excellent, they're all super colorful and have some amazing and entertaining banter between each other. Even when not much is happening, it's just fun to see them all interact, and I really found myself liking a large portion of the cast. 

However, even with the moments in the first half that I did enjoy, it wasn't until the end of Episode 12 when Steins;Gate became quite a bit better. From here on, the story shifts to a thriller where Okabe repeatedly goes back in time to change the future, stop SERN, and save Mayuri from dying. I already mentioned how much more compelling Okabe was during this first half, but the higher stakes left me a bit more hooked. Even more, despite the drastic shift in tone, this second half keeps the iterative elements of the first, with the characters constantly experimenting with ways to modify the timeline enough. Eventually, the conflict became far more character driven as Okabe has to convince every member of the cast to take back their D-Mails (those initial experiments that altered the time) to save Mayuri and the world. While I do like the character growth it gives, and the decision that Okabe has to make are pretty heartbreaking, but it's also pretty easy to see its visual novel origins through the "girl of the week" structure. My favorite part of the series ended up being the last two episodes, which felt like a large scope ending that brought things full circle and tied up the loose ends for every single character in a heartwarming and satisfying manner.

Out of the show's cast, I don't think there's a single character I disliked, with Kurisu and Suzuha being particular standouts. I even found Faris, the "moe cat girl" character, incredibly fascinating in how much of a colorful and bizarre character she is. Though, the highlight was definitely Okabe. I kinda hated him during the first half, he was really insufferable a lot of the time. He was a jerk to most of the cast and his antics became annoying fast. However, once the second half started, Okabe actually started to develop as a character, and his sheer determination to save Mayuri made him far more compelling and interesting. After twelve episodes of him being a bit of an ass, it was satisfying to see him actually bond with the other lab members, maybe that was even the point. The only character that really rubbed me the wrong way here was Ruka, who really could have been one of my favorite characters if dealt with a bit more sensitively. The concept of someone wanting to go back in time and change their gender is an interesting one, but there's so many uncomfortable moments surrounding Ruka, particularly stemming from Okabe's insensitivity and the generally conflicting claims on what gender Ruka's actually supposed to be (and not just from the outside). I did find myself caring about Ruka's conflict because it was a fascinating idea, but the execution of her storyline generally just left me feeling mixed.

As for the presentation, I thought it was pretty great. The animation is generally pretty expressive and well-animated, but it has these random moments of being insanely smooth that catch me off guard all the time. Between that and the fact that lot of the really impactful moments and lines have the characters stare right at the screen really make it feel like Steins;Gate is a visual novel in motion (the anime is based on one after all). I also really like the tone it strikes through the presentation, there's barely any background music outside of important scenes and the whole anime has this incredibly muted and foggy filter to it that creates this compelling sense of isolation, even in the more light-hearted moments. In spite of the general lack of music, I did really like the anime's OP.

There were a bunch of really great episodes in Steins;Gate, even despite my gripes:

Dogma In Ergosphere: Frankly, most of this episode was just alright, but it was the ending that really kickstarted the show proper. SERN storming into the lab, revealing the mole, and killing Mayuri drastically changed the tone and direction of the anime. It's not just a relatively lighthearted show about a bunch of dorks tinkering with time travel anymore, SERN is real, the stakes have risen, and the cast is in serious trouble by the end of the episode. It's really great stuff!

Metaphysics Necrosis: Coming after that big twist was easily one of my favorite episodes in the show. It chronicles Okabe's first two attempts at going back in time to save Mayuri, serving as a pretty great microcosm of the second half of the anime. Okabe is reckless and panicked during his first attempt and causes Mayuri to die again, so he tries to be a bit calmer and more rational next time only to realize that maybe she's just destined to die. It's an intense episode that really got me hooked.

Sacrificial Necrosis: This episode's ending was just rough. It was all building up to Suzuha's attempt at going back in time to retrieve the IBN 5100, only for it all to go horribly wrong. The reveal that she had amnesia for years and killed herself upon realizing what she missed out on is just devastating, and Okabe's decision afterwards sets the stage for several future episodes of the show.

Finalize Apoptosis: The second half of this episode was just plain insane. The big confrontation with FB, who is revealed to be Mr Braun, is just plain sickening, as he articulates just how much pain he puts Moeka and the other Rounders through before shooting her and then himself. Yeah, no wonder Okabe throws up after that scene. And just in case the episode wasn't crazy enough, Okabe realizes that if he wants to save Mayuri, Kurisu's gotta die.

Being Meltdown: This episode focused almost entirely on Okabe and Kurisu, who I actually thought were a really great and compelling couple. Most of this episode were just them discussing what Okabe is supposed to do, with him ultimately deciding to pick Mayuri. It's a heartbreaking episode and could have been a really bittersweet ending for the show... at least until Suzuha calls in the post-credits scene.

Open The Steins Gate/Achievement Point: I was worried the last two episodes would feel a bit tacked on and cheapen the ending of Being Meltdown, but these actually ended up being the best episodes of the show. We learn about how Kurisu's death happened and how it caused WWIII, and the series ends with a fun and exciting time-heist where Okabe has to trick his past self into think Kurisu died utilizing tons of Chekhov's Guns from previous episodes of the series. The ending was incredibly happy and satisfying, and everything was brought full circle.

Overall, Steins;Gate had a bit of a slow start with a shaky yet methodical first half that set up the mysteries and characters. By the time the anime gets great, it's already halfway through, but at its best, Steins;Gate is a compelling time travel story with an excellent ending.

3/5 Stars

Favorite Episode: Open The Steins Gate

"That One Episode"

So a common term I've been hearing a lot lately is "That One Episode", pretty much the episode at which a TV show is generally meant to blow the viewer's mind. Maybe it's from shock at a change in tone or direction, maybe it's just an amazing twist, or maybe it's an episode that shakes up the status quo so much you have no idea how the show could continue on. It's the type of episode that, when you show it to your friend, you make damn sure that you take in their reaction. So, I decided that I wanted to list out the "That One Episodes" of the shows I've seen so far, and I'll keep updating the list as I continue to watch more and more shows. Also, to avoid spoilers, I won't record what actually happens during these episodes, just the ones you need to look out for:

The Good Place: Michael's Gambit (Season 1, Episode 13)

Scrubs: My Old Lady (Season 1, Episode 4), My Screw Up (Season 3, Episode 14)

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Passion (Season 2, Episode 15), Seeing Red (Season 6, Episode 19)

Angel: Reunion (Season 2, Episode 10)

Breaking Bad: Box Cutter (Season 4, Episode 1)

Lost: Walkabout (Season 1, Episode 4)

The Sopranos: College (Episode 1, Episode 5) - Side note: It's also worth mentioning, Employee Of The Month, University, Whoever Did This, and Kennedy And Heidi for either being shocking, screwed-up, or both.

Person Of Interest: The Crossing (Season 3, Episode 9)

Mr Robot: eps1.7_wh1ter0se.m4v (Season 1, Episode 8)

24: Day 1: 11pm-12am (Season 1, Episode 24), Day 5: 7am-8am (Season 5, Episode 1)

Succession: Connor's Wedding (Season 4, Episode 3) 

Severance: The We We Are (Season 1, Episode 9)

Agents Of SHIELD: Turn Turn Turn (Season 1, Episode 17), What They Become (Season 2, Episode 10), Self Control (Season 3, Episode 15), The Real Deal (Season 5, Episode 12), The Devil Complex (Season 5, Episode 14) - I've expressed this ad infinitum in my reviews but this show is infamous for its many amazing plot twists and status quo shatterers

Dexter: Hungry Man (Season 4, Episode 9), The Getaway (Season 4, Episode 12)

The Shield: Mum (Season 3, Episode 5)

Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Best Of Both Worlds (Season 3, Episode 26)

WandaVision: On A Very Special Episode (Episode 5)

Falcon And The Winter Soldier: The Whole World Is Watching (Episode 4)

Loki: The Nexus Event (Episode 4)

Red Vs Blue: Chapter 16 (Season 6, Episode 16)

RWBY: End Of The Beginning (Season 3, Episode 12)

Bojack Horseman: Escape From LA (Season 2, Episode 11)

Gravity Falls: Not What He Seems (Season 2, Episode 11)

Amphibia: True Colors (Season 2, Episode 36)

FMA Brotherhood: An Alchemist's Anguish (Episode 4), Separate Destinations (Episode 10), Death Of The Undying (Episode 19) - Side note: Yes, I know FMA has three "That One Episodes", that's how insane this show can get, and one can argue there's even more!

Madoka Magica: I'm Not Afraid Of Anything Anymore (Episode 3), This Just Can't Be Right (Episode 6)

Anohana: The Flower Blooming On That Summer (Episode 11)

Steins;Gate: Dogma In Ergosphere (Episode 12)

Psycho-Pass: Saint's Supper (Episode 11)

Invincible: It's About Time (Episode 1)

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Later, Buddy (Episode 8)

Arcane: The Base Violence Necessary For Change (Episode 3)

Steven Universe: Jail Break (Season 1, Episode 52), A Single Pale Rose (Season 5, Episode 18)

To be continued...

Nathan For You

Nathan For You is a lot of things. It boasts one of the strangest and most unique concepts for a comedy, something that could easily have been a disaster, but I think they managed to pull it off.

Nathan For You is a show about Nathan Fielder, as played by himself, and his attempts to help struggling businesses with the most bizarre ideas he can think of. The twist is that all of these businesses are real, the only scripted character in the show is Nathan, and the whole series is shot as a fake documentary. There are a lot of ways this could backfire, Nathan's plans often times have the potential to completely tank the show (The Claw Of Shame especially), and if treated poorly, the show can feel mean-spirited. However, Nathan For You rarely feels like that. The show rarely depicts anyone in a negative way unless they actively do something questionable, with Fielder himself usually the butt of the joke, and more often than not, Nathan's antics end up boosting the success of a lot of these real life businesses. Dumb Starbucks and "goat saves a pig" became internet hits, and even the private investigator Wolfe that Nathan helped ended up getting a TV show!

There's a lot of interesting things to think about when it comes to the line between fiction and real life that this show so consistently ties. Obviously, Nathan tells the people why they were being filmed eventually and to make sure they approved of being filmed, but a lot of these interactions are still incredibly genuine. Of course, this contributes to the show's cringe comedy as seeing Nathan play a character and embarrass himself in front of actual people is funny and uncomfortable, but it's the rare moments of bonding and success. Whenever a business strategy actually works and becomes a unexpected hit, it can be genuinely heartwarming. A highlight is in the Gas Station episode where Nathan goes on a hike with three other people and has an offbeat yet oddly sweet bonding experience. Even given the fact that so much of it is faked, there's something about the show that feels so honest and the way the writing and editing twists around the real life interactions really lets them speak for themselves. Another scene from the Gas Station episode is this bizarre conversation about grandma's pee that's just so bizarre, there's no way it could have been from a screenplay.

Part of what makes the show so great is definitely Nathan himself. I don't usually talk about the acting all that much in these reviews, but Nathan For You would not be the same if it wasn't for the titular character. It's a difficult task to have to play a fictional version of yourself in real conversations, but he rarely ever breaks character and maintains the nuances that make "Nathan" so interesting. It's also thoroughly impressive that Nathan manages to give his fictional persona a narrative and character arc throughout the show, each season ending with some big breakthrough or shift. I wasn't expecting the finales to actually feel like finales, but he somehow manages to pull it off (except Season 2's, that was actually one of the weaker episodes). But as good as the premise is, my favorite aspect of the show is easily how inventive so many of these episodes are. For a show about a guy with crazy unconventional ideas, Nathan Fielder has a real sense of ambition that he brings to the show. Even episodes that aren't as funny than others manage to be incredibly interesting, since the premise is the type of thing no other show can show you. He keeps one-upping himself as well, culminating in Nathan fooling the entire world with a fake celebrity story in the fourth and final season.

Since the show has four seasons, I'd also like to quickly discuss my verdicts on the show's seasons:

Season 1: An incredibly consistent first season, all things considered. There weren't really any episodes I found bad, though nothing I found amazing either, and the only segment I disliked was the Haunted House one which leaned a bit too into mean-spirited territory. It ended strong with The Claw Of Shame and the surprisingly solid finale, and it did a good job of selling me on the show with plenty of iconic moments. 

3/5 Stars

Season 2: Season 2 is an overall improvement compared to the first, but it definitely suffered from getting its length cut from 10 episodes to 8. At its best, ELAIFF and Dumb Starbucks were some of the series' best, the character arc was fun and Nathan did a great job of coming up with interesting new ideas. At its worst, however, was an underwhelming finale that serves as one of the few times Nathan went too far.

4/5 Stars

Season 3: Season 3 was easily the best season and it's not even close. Nathan went crazy with the creative and fun ideas, with some of his most gutsy and intricate plans yet. While one could argue that this season just had the highest percentage of good episodes, I feel Nathan was just the most creative. From starting a clothing line, to faking a movement, to actually giving himself a friend, to walking a tightrope, the episodes in this season just left me impressed from start to finish.

5/5 Stars

Season 4: Nathan For You's fourth season got off to a bit of a rough start where it really started to feel like the show was running out of steam (Episode 2 was my least favorite in the series), but it eventually got better by the halfway point. Stunts like the anecdote, the smoke detector instrument, and asexual computer repair were a lot of fun, and the movie-length finale Finding Frances is one of the show's best episodes, maybe second to Dumb Starbucks. While it wasn't as consistently great as Season 3, it was a strong final season for the series, and I'm glad Nathan ended the series on a high note.

4/5 Stars

While the quality remained high, these episodes were either the funniest or the most impressive, or both:

Santa/Petting Zoo: While the Teen Street segment was pretty funny, the most impressive part was the Petting Zoo part where Nathan fakes a viral video to promote a petting zoo. I enjoyed the show's premise from the start, but the sheer wow factor in looking up "goat saves a pig" and finding all of the articles on the matter was just the coolest thing to me.

The Claw Of Shame: Easily the gutsiest episode of Season 1, The Claw Of Shame has Nathan test himself to escape from handcuffs before a robot pulls down his pants. It's genuinely impressive how far he goes for comedy in this episode, all of the reality show-style editing and the usage of an actual robot just feels so ambitious for a comedy show. And I love how the episode flashes back to Nathan's childhood and his other failed business attempts which do a good job of fleshing out his persona. It's a funny, ambitious, and surprisingly tense highlight of the series.

Souvenir Shop/E.L.A.I.F.F: The first half of this episode is fairly standard, which is why the fact that Nathan had to revisit a previous plan that ended up being illegal was such a pleasant surprise. At this point, I've mentioned enough that I love episodes about the act of filmmaking, so it was a lot of fun to see Nathan try to edit his footage into some sort of a film. The screening of The Web is such a hilarious payoff to the whole episode, especially since we get to see the whole movie and how it utilizes prior scenes.

Dumb Starbucks: Dumb Starbucks was how I heard about this series. I didn't even realize it came from Nathan Fielder, but I remember hearing the discourse over this parody Starbucks. This isn't even the most complex of Nathan's plans, thought the parody artist scenes are absolutely hilarious, but the waves it managed to make are just so impressive. And even more impressive is the fact that Nathan managed to weave a phenomenal story around this real life event with some of the best humor in the show, thought-provoking ideas about art and unintentional messages, and a solid albeit fake character arc for Nathan.

Electronics Store: This season premiere was easily one of Nathan's most intricate episodes, starting with a plan to sell 1$ TVs and spiraling into an attempt to sue Best Buy. There were so many enjoyable setpieces this episode from the bizarre preventive measures to Nathan's "date" that I'd easily call it one of the quintessential episodes of the series.

Smokers Allowed: Similarly to ELAIFF, the concept of basing a play off of a real life recording of a bar is such a fascinating idea to me, but an incredibly funny one as well. Just like Dumb Starbucks, it's a funny commentary of what constitutes as art, and I love the running gag about the play's "climax" being just another uneventful segment. This episode also had probably the cringiest moment in the whole series, you'll know it when you see it.

The Hero: The Season 3 finale managed to top The Claw Of Shame in sheer ambition and risk. Nathan taking over someone else's lives to make them a hero is such a unique challenge that feels deserving of being a finale storyline, and the final sequence where Nathan tightropes on his own multiple times is just insane. This man actually put himself through nine months of preparation for a single thirty-minute episode, and it shows just how much work goes into this show. And the ending is a super poignant scene where Nathan is forced to confront the fact that he doesn't see himself a hero.

The Anecdote: Leave it to Nathan to completely bamboozle the entire world on live TV by fabricating the world's best late night celebrity story, and then actually trying to make it real through a bunch of loopholes. This episode took over $350,000 to make! And it was definitely worth it, especially the hilarious scene where Kirsten Dunst nearly copies Nathan's story on accident.

Computer Repair/Psychic: While this wasn't one of the show's best episodes, I have a personal appreciation for its Computer Repair segment, which somehow managed to be one of the better representations for asexuality I've seen in a TV show (depressing, I know). The concept of trusting asexuals with computer repair so they don't look at your private photos is the exact type of loving joke my friends would make about me and perfectly toes the line between respectful and hilarious. Once again, not one of the show's highlights, but it means a lot to me.

Finding Frances: It's hard to really describe this episode. It feels like a Nathan For You movie, an ambitious two-hour-long finale where Nathan tries to help Bill reunite with his past love. It's way more dramatic than it is funny, but it works as a compelling piece of media regardless. Bill's moral ambiguity made the whole episode incredibly tense, and the ending managed to be incredibly poignant and well-done. For a show that's pretty strictly episodic and based in reality, I feel like Finding Frances, its biggest and most emotionally resonant episode, works as the perfect series finale.

Overall, Nathan For You is easily one of the most ambitious and creative TV series I've ever watched. While its best episodes were probably more impressive than funny, the sheer devotion that Nathan had to both his character and his crazy ideas made this series an absolute joy to watch.

4/5 Stars

My ranking of Nathan For You's seasons is:

3 > 4 > 2 > 1

My ranking of Nathan For You's finales is:

4 > 3 > 1 > 2

Favorite Episode: Dumb Starbucks