Star Wars Rebels (Season 1)

Given how much I like Clone Wars and Star Wars as a whole, it's surprising that I haven't seen Star Wars Rebels yet. With Bad Batch airing with multiple episodes focused on characters from the series, it's about time I finally give it a watch.

Star Wars Rebels is a sequel series to Clone Wars about a tag team of rebels during the rise of the empire. The team is composed of Twi'lek pilot Hera, secret Jedi Kanan, brawny Lasat Zeb, artsy Mandalorian Sabine, faulty droid Chopper, and newly-joined Padawan Ezra. This season has the rebels try to gain minor victories against the empire while evading the Jedi-killing Inquisitor. On its own merits, I think this really works as a storyline for this first season. The Inquisitor is a terrifying force whenever he's on screen, and there's a surprisingly tight sense of continuity this season, with plot points from earlier episodes like the Gall Treyvus transmissions, FULCRUM, and Vizago paying off in the final few episodes. Having only 14 episodes this season definitely helped compared to other Star Wars series, the pacing is pretty much perfect this season. The final few episodes are a particular highlight, with the arrival of Tarkin signaling the point that I really started to enjoy the series. However, there's a big problem with Star Wars Rebels that's preventing me from loving it right now, and that's the fact that I just don't like most of the cast.

For starters, this season is almost entirely focused on the protagonist Ezra despite being based around an entire ensemble cast. While the backstory about his parents is interesting enough, I think he's too much of a jerk to the rest of the cast for me to really care about him. I feel like that applies to the cast as a whole, though, they're bickering and fighting so often throughout the season that it's hard for me to buy into the fact that they're the "family" they say they are. And while characters like Zeb, Hera, and Sabine have a lot of potential with their interesting pasts that are hinted at throughout the season, they barely get any screentime. I'm also not a big fan of the art style, especially in comparison to Clone Wars. While I'm all for exaggerated and cartoonish movement (I loved the art of Tartakovsky's Clone Wars), it's oddly distracting in Rebels. It's probably because of how the characters are always moving, constantly, even when they're talking to each other. I also don't love how simplistic the character designs are, especially when it comes to returning cast members like Obi-Wan and Ahsoka in the finale. On the other hand, I loved the score. Kevin Kiner returns from Clone Wars, and while the music doesn't have quite as many memorable individual pieces as that series, the background music as a whole perfectly evokes the vibe of the original trilogy. 

Despite my many gripes with the season, the final few episodes were pretty great:

Vision Of Hope: For the first time in Rebels, I feel like I genuinely get the sense that fighting the empire can feel genuinely hopeless. Gall Treyvus was a sign of hope from the start of the season, so the reveal that he's an empire plant is really effective and crushing. It's a low point for the cast this season that solidifies how alone they are.

Call To Action: Tarkin's arrival to Star Wars Rebels was such a great idea to finally establish the stakes. He's such a no-nonsense character and he makes it clear from his very first scene. Aside from his appearance, though, Call To Action has the main cast make their very first large-scale impact on the galaxy with their transmission message, along with Kanan's capture setting up for the season to end.

Fire Across The Galaxy: This was a pretty great finale. The final lightsaber fight with the Grand Inquisitor was great, most of the cast had some moment to shine, and the last few minutes were excellent. The reveal of the Rebellion widens the scale for the series, and the appearances of Ahsoka and Darth Vader left me (and I'm sure many other fans) very excited for Season 2.

Overall, the first season of Star Wars Rebels is well-paced enough and has a strong ending, but the generally unlikable and thin cast and off-putting animation prevents me from truly loving the series, at least right now.

2/5 Stars

Better Call Saul (Season 5)

In my Season 4 review, I wrote that the show's biggest flaw was just how separate the Saul and cartel storylines were. With Season 5, I'm happy to say that this is not the case anymore, resulting in one of the show's best and most compelling seasons yet.

Season 5 of Better Call Saul continues pretty much where the last season left off. Jimmy has pretty much officially become "Saul Goodman", Gus and Lalo Salamanca are in a drug war, and Nacho and Mike are pretty much caught in the middle. Similarly to Season 3, all of the buildup from the previous season starts to pay off a bit. Jimmy is particularly interesting as while he immediately gets a ton of clients, he's also contacted by none other than Nacho early on in the season, which ropes him into the cartel war as well. Given that one of my biggest gripes with the series is how separate the two main storylines are, seeing them actually intersect in this season felt incredibly rewarding, and it leads to some of my favorite episodes yet. Just like last season, Kim also has some amazing. The premiere starts with Kim seemingly disapproving of everything "Saul" stands for, but throughout the season, she finds herself joining him in trying to take down her own client Mesa Verde. Unlike Skylar, who only gets more disapproving of Walt as time goes by, Kim seems like she's actually enjoying scamming people with Jimmy. And then, in the second half of the season, she gets involved with the cartel herself. I never quite realized it until this season, but Kim might just be the show's greatest character.

As for the Mike side of things, the big conflict between Gus and the Salamancas is probably at its most intense this season, with both sides having their own victories throughout the season and Nacho and Mike stuck in the middle of the battle. It all builds to the season finale, which has an assassination attempt that causes Lalo to learn that Nacho is also working with Gus. I can only imagine how intense things will get in Season 6. And then there's Mike himself, who is left shaken by Werner's death at the end of the last season. This might be my favorite season for Mike, as we finally get to see him make peace with the past. By the last few episodes, he is at his most confident and self-assured. With all of the praise I have given the storylines and character arcs, my only major issue with the season is that it does have a bit of a slow start. With the exception of The Guy For This (which boasts a fun Hank and Gomez cameo), the entire first half of the season is fairly standard fare. Thankfully, the second half of the season is probably the best stretch of episodes in the series to date, they're a payoff so strong they make the entire season better in hindsight.

Predictably, most of the highlights this season are in the second half:

Wexler Vs Goodman: The Mesa Verde storyline comes to an end in this episode as Jimmy/Saul works on a defamation video behind Kim's back. While they worked (and were super entertaining to watch), it's another pretty cold move from him... yet the episode still ends with Kim asking to marry him. Meanwhile, Mike finally turns the tables on Lalo by actually managing to have him arrested.

Bagman: This might have been the most Breaking Bad episode of Better Call Saul ever made. It's a grueling, terrifying, and cruel trek through the desert focused around the show's two main protagonists, containing a shootout, a compelling scene between Kim and Lalo, and a pretty sickening ending. It feels like BCS's Ozymandias, though its brutality comes from being slow-paced and plodding rather than fast-paced and overwhelming. Bagman is probably the most ambitious and unconventional episode of the series, and it's up there with some of the best, but it's also so painful and hard to watch that I probably won't be seeing it again anytime soon.

Bad Choice Road: Bagman wasn't enough? Bad Choice Road comes directly after it and manages to be just as good, though for much different reasons. The whole episode is an incredibly tense buildup as Jimmy tries to maintain his story while also dealing with his trauma from the events of Bagman, only for it to start to unravel when Kim and Lalo stumble upon bullet holes (I guess you can say his story had holes in it). It all leads to this ridiculously tense final ten minutes which has Lalo come to Jimmy and Kim's house and question them on the story, which ranks up with Chicanery as one of the most impactful final scenes.

Something Unforgivable: While it doesn't quite stack up to Bagman and Bad Choice Road, or the last two finales for that matter, this was still a strong conclusion to the series that takes the war between Gus and Lalo to a new direction. The assassination attempt on Lalo is tense, and the reveal of Nacho's betrayal left me very worried about his chances of survival. Meanwhile, Kim finally breaking bad at the end of the episode was a shocking twist that parallels the ending of Winner is a disturbing way.

Overall, Season 5 finally brought the disparate threads of Better Call Saul together to outstanding results, leading to some of the best episodes and characters arcs in the entire series. It has a bit of a slower start, but the second half is one of the best stretches of episodes yet.

5/5 Stars

Better Call Saul (Season 4)

After its intense and fast-paced third season, Season 4 is a much needed breather for Better Call Saul. While this does make for a much slower-paced and at times uneventful, it packs an emotional punch and ends on a really strong note.

This season of Better Call Saul is almost entirely about the fallout of Chuck's death, at least on the Jimmy side of things. It's interesting to see how the death affects everyone, from Howard completing falling into depression to Jimmy struggling to be truly sad about it. In addition to the death, though, Jimmy also has his law license suspended early on in the season resulting in his career being at its absolute worst. This really is a rock bottom season for the character, which makes him getting out of his rut by lying about Chuck's death to renew his license and officially changing his name to "Saul Goodman" a perfectly earned ending to the season. But even more interesting than Jimmy was Kim, who spends the season getting more and more alienated from Jimmy and his more questionable acts. It's not too unlike Skylar learning about Walt's drug dealing, but I'd say it's even more compelling due to Kim's realization being a much more gradual build. Meanwhile, Gus begins construction of his iconic meth superlab from Breaking Bad, which ultimately runs into a bit of a snag when Lalo Salamanca arrives to take over for Hector, becoming one of the show's biggest and scariest antagonists.

Season 4 strikes a much different tone than the first three seasons, being generally a more somber affair between the fallout of Chuck's death, Jimmy's career issues being the worst they've ever been, and a certain character's unfortunate death in the season finale. Changing tone so drastically is always a tough thing to pull off, but this season does a good job of maintaining the characters and general vibe of Better Call Saul while still making things a lot darker. In addition, all of the drama manages to land, and the impact of Chuck's death really does ripple throughout the season. However, Season 4 also brings my biggest issue with Better Call Saul to light. Naturally, the entire season is one of the most slow-paced yet, and that's perfectly fine. However, I feel like it's made even worse by the fact that the storylines for the two main protagonists (Jimmy and Mike) are completely separate. With the exception of Season 1, this was an issue that I had started to notice throughout the series, but I think it became the most apparent here. Most of the time, it feels like I'm watching two entirely different shows at the same time which can feel a bit jarring at times. Hopefully, Season 5 will start to blur the storylines together a bit.

While Season 4's highest point is easily its ending, there are some pretty great episodes here:

Quite A Ride: Probably the rock bottom for Jimmy, this episode has him resort to selling prepaid phones only to get himself mugged by some kids. We also get the introduction to Werner, who has some of the best material this season, and we get the first flashfoward that takes place pre-Granite State showing us Saul clearing out his office before he gets his new identity.

Something Stupid: Similarly to Inflatable, this episode has one of my favorite montages in the sequence: a long time-jump sequence that shows Jimmy and Kim drifitng apart as their careers take them in different directions. Jimmy is really bordering on the line of becoming Saul in this episode. I also think it's worth noting that Deborah Chow's direction this episode (she also did some of the best episodes for Mr Robot and Mandalorian) was excellent even by this series's standards. 

Winner: By far the best episode of the season, Winner is a fantastic season finale that feels both low-key and incredibly shocking. Werner's death felt pretty inevitable at this point, but it was still devastating to watch. Lalo learning about the superlab is a dark omen for the future. And biggest of all, Jimmy faking sadness about Chuck's death to get reinstatement and immediately boasts about it and his plans to Kim is a big ending to the season, with fascinating parallels to Breaking Bad's own Season 4 finale.

Overall, Better Call Saul's fourth season was a bit slow and its two major storylines were even more disjointed than usual, but the character work was characteristically strong, the dark tone led to some compelling emotional punches, and the finale was a fantastic and rewarding ending to the season.

4/5 Stars

Better Call Saul (Season 3)

If Better Call Saul's second season was a lighthearted and slow-paced transition, its third season is a climactic, fast-paced, consistently shocking season full of payoffs, easily ranking as one of the best seasons in both this series and Breaking Bad.

Coming after the set-up in Season 2's finale Klick, this season focuses on the conflict between Jimmy and Chuck culminating in a big trial halfway through the season. However, in spite of Jimmy's law license being at stake, the storyline feels like it's more about Chuck's slow and painful fall throughout the season. Not only does he lose the trial against Chuck, he loses his reputation, his job, and his family. As for Jimmy, this season seems to be more about him starting to do some incredibly questionable things, even more than the last two seasons. Aside from using Chuck's mental illness against him in the trial, Jimmy also turns one of his elderly clients into a pariah to motivate them to accept a settlement. There's a reason we get introduced to the name "Saul Goodman" this season, as that's easily the worst thing he's ever done. Kim also has a pretty solid subplot about being overworking culminating in the failure of her and Jimmy's firm. As for Mike, this season introduces him to none other than Gus Fring. While he's still as terrifying as always, it's fascinating to see how much livelier he used to be. We also get to see more of his job in Los Pollos Hermanos and how he hides his life of crime from his employees. Nacho is probably the highlight of this storyline, though, as his plan to assassinate Hector is tense, culminating in us finally learning how he ended up in the wheelchair.

As you can tell from the last paragraph, a lot of stuff happened this season, far more than Seasons 1 and 2. This season is incredibly fast-paced, but it thankfully doesn't feel rushed. As a matter of fact, all the buildup in the previous season, makes the many events that happened this season feel all the more rewarding and earned. Chuck's trial in Chicanery is probably the biggest example of this, an episode that had the impact it does because it's something that the show has been building up to ever since that big twist in Pimento. The fast pace of this season and constant twists of this season also made me realize something impressive about Better Call Saul, and that's the fact that it's a prequel yet the show still manages to surprise me and make me tense. If you've seen Breaking Bad, you know that Saul and Mike can't die, Hector has to be incapacitated at some point, and Chuck is probably going to bite the dust given that he's never mentioned in the original series, but this show still manages to be surprising and engaging. This is probably because of how the series focuses a lot on career which is far more flexible than whether or not someone lives and dies, but there's also the fact that you won't quite know the fate of characters like Kim and Nacho, and returning characters like Saul, Mike, and Gus instead leave you wondering how they became the way that they did.

With as much going on as this season, the highlights this time around were soaring:

Witness: You'd think that for an episode with Gus's first appearance, that would be the highlight. And as great as seeing Gus again was, it wasn't even the best part of Witness. Rather, what really made this episode a classic for me was the shocking events near the end of the episode where Jimmy learns about the tape, confronts Chuck about it, and destroys it only to allow himself to get arrested.

Chicanery: Easily the highlight of the series to date, the climactic trial between Jimmy and Chuck is a tense, heartbreaking, and consistently surprising courtroom drama, with the tables frequently turning between the two. And then there's the ending, where Jimmy uses Chuck's mental illness against him to render the case illegitimate and destroy his credibility, that's simultaneously incredibly satisfying and somewhat cruel, leaving you with very mixed emotions by the end of the episode.

Fall: This might have been the hardest episode to watch in the entire series. Jimmy's scheme to turn Irene's friends against her is ridiculously cold-hearted and sets new standards of how low he can get, but this episode also has Nacho's disastrous failure to kill Hector, Kim overworking herself into getting in a car crash, and Howard finally falling out with not just Chuck but Jimmy as well, and it's deserved too! Fall really shows that in spite of Chuck's elitism, both he and his brother are just awful people. 

Lantern: Better Call Saul finally nails its first season finale, with Lantern being a jam-packed and shocking ending to the season. Jimmy apologizing to Irene and her ex-friends is painful and surprising but ultimately the right thing for him to do, Nacho giving Hector a stroke caught me off guard since his first attempt didn't work as did Gus presumably knowing what happened, and worst of all, watching Chuck slowly lose everything until he burns himself in his own house is devastating and signals a massive shift in the series's dynamics. 

Overall, Better Call Saul's third season was excellent, managing to be fast-paced, climactic, morally complex, and surprising without falling into any of the prequel trappings.

5/5 Stars

Better Call Saul (Season 2)

After the excellent first season of Better Call Saul, Season 2 feels a bit more like a transition season, with a lighter tone, more character development, and unfortunately, less notable episodes. 

Better Call Saul is an odd series to review season-by-season as it feels very much like one interconnected story rather than something divided by an antagonist or major villain. Season 2 is probably the most notable instance of this, as it spends a lot of time setting up the events of Season 3. The tension between Jimmy and Chuck gets worse and worse until the finale sets up their big trial in Chicanery, and Mike slowly gets more and more involved with the Salamanca family to the point where a very important Season 3 character (Gus) has to intervene. It makes it much harder to think of Season 2 as its own thing and that's probably its biggest flaw. However, there are a few really strong storylines and plot threads that are still worth discussing. Mike's conflict with Tuco is incredibly tense and slowly builds up to a bombastic payoff in Gloves Off, Jimmy and Kim deciding to leave their firms together and start a company of their own is a really interesting storyline for the two of them, we get to see a lot of pre-wheelchair Hector, and Chuck's cold-hearted betrayal of Jimmy in the finale was pretty shocking. Even with all of the set-up for Season 3, I think the character work this season was generally really strong, and I liked that Jimmy's fall went back to being a bit more gradual coming after Marco.

The thing that I remember Season 2 for the most, though, is the light-hearted tone. Outside of the last two episodes, this is by far the most upbeat season in both Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad, with episodes like Cobbler and Inflatable shockingly low on drama and heartbreak. That's not entirely a bad thing though, as Better Call Saul is a genuinely funny and well-written show with sharp black comedy and clever gags. Season 2 also establishes a pretty big BCS mainstay: the montage. Better Call Saul has a montage sequence in nearly every episode, whether they're used for humor or drama, and they're always slick and well-edited. One of my favorite scenes in the season is the hilarious montage in Inflatable where Jimmy tries to get himself fired from D&M intercut with an inflatable tube man. It's just so visually striking that it has been stuck in my mind for years after seeing that episode for the first time. Aside from the strong comedic moments, however, I don't quite think Season 2 of Better Call Saul is able to reach quite the same heights as the first. None of the episodes even come close to topping something like Five-O or Pimento. Thankfully, there aren't any downright bad episodes this season once again, but I wouldn't really call any of them amazing either.

Still, there are a few highlights, such as:

Gloves Off: The Mike vs Tuco plotline from the first half of the season reaches a head in this episode, and an incredibly satisfying one at that. Mike's decision to not resort to a shooting to take down Tuco, instead tricking him into getting himself arrested for assault.

Inflatable: I already wrote about how much I love the central montage in this episode. It's fun, well-edited, and slick. But I always thought this episode was fascinating as a whole in how it uses an inflatable tube man to encourage Jimmy to go his own way, which I found to be a bit more natural than his similar epiphany in Marco.

Nailed: While not as much of a massive gut-punch as Pimento, that scene at the printing place between Jimmy and Chuck has been seared into my memory. It's a truly chaotic and heart-pounding sequence that shows their relationship continuing to fall apart (literally) in the most hard to watch ways possible.

Klick: As far as season finales go, Klick is fine enough, but definitely an improvement on Marco. As I mentioned above, Chuck's betrayal in tape recording a desperate confession from Jimmy was shocking, and Mike's assassination falling through thanks to a note that reveals someone is watching him is a great set-up for Gus to appear.

Overall, while I definitely enjoyed Season 2 for its character work and strong humor, it feels more like a set-up for Season 3 than its own season, resulting in none of its episodes truly standing out.

3/5 Stars

Better Call Saul (Season 1)

I don't think I need to say that Breaking Bad was a massive success at this point, it's considered by so many people to be one of the greatest if not the greatest TV show of all time. As a result, giving it a spinoff based on breakout character Saul makes a ton of sense, and the fact that it's being produced by the same team as its predecessor makes this one of the best spinoffs ever.

Better Call Saul is a spinoff/prequel series to Breaking Bad about the titular character Saul Goodman, originally known as Jimmy Goodman. The entire series focuses on Jimmy's fall as he becomes the slimy, charismatic lawyer we all know and love, but Season 1 mostly lays the groundwork for his journey throughout the series. Jimmy starts off as a struggling public defender who left the law firm HHM after being unable to advance in it. Meanwhile, he has to take care of his brother Chuck who left HHM due to his own electromagnetic hypersensitivity. As a whole, this season is really slow-paced, but it still manages to be entertaining to watch partly due to how fun it is to watch the charismatic Jimmy defend people. Unlike Walt who didn't seem to have much of a morally shaky past until he starting making drugs, Jimmy used to be a con artist and isn't afraid to do some questionable things from the very start of the series. However, Jimmy isn't the only protagonist in Better Call Saul, as Mike Ehrmantraut also has a pretty major role in the series. Throughout the series, we get to see him become the hitman he is in Breaking Bad while also getting more history on the Salamanca family. This season doesn't quite give the two storylines much screentime, but they are the focus of two of its best episodes. BCS also has a strong supporting cast. Nacho is an incredibly fascinating and complex character that only gets better in later seasons, Kim has a great dynamic with Jimmy while also having her own compelling conflicts at HHM, and Chuck gets an outstanding twist in the penultimate episode that brought his character to another level for me.

Better Call Saul is the rare spinoff that I feel can stand head-to-toe with the original show since it's pretty much produced by the exact same team. Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould still have a huge role in the production of this series, Bob Odenkirk and Jonathan Banks are returning as Saul (Jimmy) and Mike respectively and barely missed a beat, and the entire series manages to strike that same Breaking Bad blend of black humor, hard-hitting drama, and complex character dynamics. Despite the similarities though, there are a lot of aspects that differentiate the two series from each other. BCS has a much lighter tone with less violence and more wordplay, allowing for the aforementioned black humor and generally strong writing to really shine. I also feel like since the Breaking Bad team had all that experience with their first show, Better Call Saul doesn't have any growing pains at all. In spite of its relatively slow pace, Season 1 is completely lacking in any weak episodes, with plenty of them actually ranking among my personal favorites. My only gripe with this season that prevents it from being five stars is really just the finale, which isn't a bad episode but an uncharacteristically clumsy end to the season, shafting most of the cast to rush Jimmy into breaking bad. Knowing that his fall throughout the next three seasons is leagues more gradual, it feels more like the showrunners didn't know if they'd get another season and tried to make this one a series finale just in case.

While almost every episode this season was great, the high points really stick out:

Mijo: The pilot episode ends on a pretty great cliffhanger with Jimmy's accomplices accidentally running into none other than Tuco Salamanca. Miko is a strong followup to the pilot as it forces Jimmy to talk his way out of getting killed by the still incredibly terrifying and psychotic Tuco. It's a great showcase of Jimmy's charisma, it introduces Nacho, and it feels like a dark omen of things to come. Even more, coming right after the end of Breaking Bad, watching this episode just solidifies how consistent the quality is between the two shows.

Five-0: I didn't care too much about Mike in Breaking Bad. I thought he was a cool character, sure, but he was always a bit of an afterthought for me. Well, Five-O definitely changed that, this entire Mike-centric episode was just plain heartbreaking. The whole episode has this uncharacteristically gloomy vibe which the sad story of Mike's son definitely earns, but it's the final scene where Mike admits to everything that happened to his son that really makes this episode special. It's phenomenally written and probably has Jonathan Banks's best performance to date.

Pimento: While I was a tad disappointed by the finale, the penultimate episode was an incredibly different story. Pimento is a shocking episode that reveals Chuck's true nature, and that he prevented Jimmy from moving up in HHM because of his past. Michael McKean does a great job of selling the twist, and getting that first taste of Chuck's more elitist nature makes him a far more interesting character. The twist also puts all the events of Season 1 into perspective and has a massive impact on Jimmy's development. And that's not even it! Mike gets a great subplot about his first job as a bodyguard that gives the biggest hint of his character in Breaking Bad yet.

Overall, aside from its shaky finale, Better Call Saul's first season is a worthy successor to Breaking Bad and an incredibly strong start to the series with great characters, plenty of truly memorable episodes, and the same tone and strong writing that helped its predecessor make such an impact.

4/5 Stars

Amphibia (Season 2)

Amphibia's first season was solid, but it spent a lot of time laying the groundwork through its many standalone episodes. Season 2 is a noticeable improvement with a stronger sense of plotting and adventure, even if it still makes some compromises to justify its numerous standalone episodes.

This season of Amphibia is quite a bit more focused on plot than the last one, starting with the family finally leaving Wartwood to go to Newtopia to figure out how to get home only to run into Anne's other friend, Marcy. Meanwhile, the king of Newtopia has his own sinister plan that comes to light in the finale, and Sasha and Grime plot their revenge after the last season. Having the characters leave Wartwood and explore Amphibia as a whole for a large portion of the season is a great change of pace, widening the scope of the series and adding far more world-building. There's a real sense of adventure this time around that felt a lot more compelling than the slice of life vibe of last season. Marcy is also a really great addition to the cast and a really fascinating character. I like that she's not nearly as toxic and antagonistic as Sasha (that would just be repetitive), rather her clumsy and oblivious nature are a double-edged sword that make her both endearing and a bit of a walking disaster at times. I also much prefer King Andrias as a villain over Grime due to how he jumps between affable and terrifying, and once again, the finale is excellent, bringing all of the characters and story threads together and absolutely blowing my mind. Amphibia definitely has its dark moments, but True Colors shows just how dramatic and compelling it can be.

However, this is still a season of Amphibia, so there are still a lot of standalone outings. Thankfully, these fare a lot better than in Season 1. For starters, the humor is generally much stronger than in the first season and I found myself laughing far more often. The standalones are also far more varied, with many focusing on giving minor characters in Wartwood like Ivy, Maddie, and Mayor Toadstool a lot more depth. However, I feel like the structure of this season feels a bit choppy at the cost of these standalone episodes. Sometimes it works well, like obviously the Plantars' road trip to Newtopia would have them make pit stops, but other times it feels forced, like how the family has to wait a week in Newtopia for King Andrias to get back to them. It feels like an RPG where you have to grind for XP until the story starts happening again. Frankly, I think that applies to a lot of Amphibia, which already feels like a love letter to video games in and of itself. This does lead to a lot of cute references, especially once Marcy enters the picture, but it also leads to an incredibly videogame-esque structure to the season that might just not mesh as well with a TV series. Case in point, the three temples that might be cool in a Zelda game but get a bit repetitive in the series proper.

There are still plenty of highlights this season, especially the plot-focused episodes:

Toadcatcher: This episode was a fun sequel to Prison Break, focusing on Sasha and Grime both dealing with the events of Reunion. There are some great emotional beats and Grime is surprisingly aware of what Sasha is dealing with, but the highlight was one-off antagonist Yunnan whose gloriously hammy personality led to some of the funniest moments of the season.

Marcy At The Gates: There's a lot to love about this one. We finally get to see Newtopia, Marcy makes her (excellent) first appearance, and the groundwork is laid for the next storylines of the season. However, the biggest surprise is that there wasn't a cruel twist of Marcy secretly being an awful person. The parallels with Reunion were interesting, and I actually really liked that Marcy was exactly as she initially appeared, clumsy flaws and all.

Day At The Aquarium: While probably not as satisfying as Toad Tax, this midseason finale is definitely still emotional as the Plantars try to say goodbye only to be reminded of all their past adventures. It's pretty obvious that Anne isn't really being split up from the rest of the cast, but the callbacks are still effective and there's another interesting cliffhanger about King Andrias.

After The Rain: After nearly a full season of buildup, After The Rain finally has Anne learn that Hop Pop buried the music box, which leads to an incredibly heavy episode for the series. Following up Sprig's reveal in Hopping Mall, Anne learns how his parents died, and seeing her and Hop Pop made at each other really stung.

The First Temple: Out of all three temple episodes, I think this was definitely the best of the bunch. It serves as a good followup to After The Rain as Anne and Hop Pop finally make up this time, the big Flipwart game at the end was visually-stunning, and the general design of the temple was easily the coolest of the three.

Barrel's Warhammer: Another strong Sasha and Grime episode with a ton of interesting world-building for the toads, setting up a big toad rebellion for the finale. But the most impactful aspect of this episode is Sasha's development, between her learning that Anna and Marcy are teamed up, along with her alienation of Braddock and Percy not too unlike her aforementioned friends.

The Dinner: The entire storyline of Sasha and Grime pretending to get into the Plantars' good graces was a ton of fun, but The Dinner was easily the best of the three episodes because of just how hilariously uncomfortable it was. Grime was probably the highlight here due to how much he sticks out among the frogs, but finally getting to see the human trio together once and for all was great on its own.

True Colors: Look, I'm not the biggest fan of Amphibia but, wow, do they know how to end a season. I didn't think we could get better than Reunion, but this might be one of the greatest season finales ever. The Toad rebellion, the fight with King Andrias, the music box, Anne's conflict with Sasha, the Newtopian technology, Marcy's secret, General Yunnan's return, Polly getting her legs, Anne's Calamity Box powers, Frobo's death, Marcy getting stabbed, we get all of that crammed into a 22-minute episode and then some. It's dramatic, action-packed, shocking, funny, intense, tragic, and ends on one hell of an insane cliffhanger. 

Overall, Amphibia's second season has a strong sense of adventure, better writing, and an even better storyline that leads to an even better finale (somehow!), however its videogame-esque pacing doesn't quite translate as well to a TV show.

4/5 Stars

Amphibia (Season 1)

Amphibia is an incredibly charming animated series with an intriguing world and cast, along with a ton of potential, even if its sitcom-esque structure holds it back a bit. 

Amphibia is an isekai of sorts (as in, it's not an anime) about three friends who ended up teleported to another world entirely populated by amphibians. The main protagonist is Anne, who moves in with a humble family of frogs while trying to find her friends and figuring out how to get home. The season has an overarching storyline about one of Anne's friends Sasha joining with the antagonistic toads, slowly building to her climactic reunion with Anne in the finale. The dynamic and parallels between the two are super fascinating, as throughout the season, we get these hints that maybe Anna's friends are more toxic than she initially thought. Sasha only appears in four episodes this season, though, so I hope the next season can explore their relationship a lot more. However, the most impactful storyline this season was Anne adjusting to her new life in the town of Wartwood, slowly fitting into her family, gaining the town's respect, and ultimately becoming less selfish by the end of the season. There's a real Schitt's Creek vibe to Anne's development, as you grow to character about the town of Wartwood and its citizens throughout the season, once again making the finale feel that much more powerful.

While the overarching plot and character arcs are excellent, the majority of this season is populated by standalone episodes, and this is where I think the show gets a bit weaker. Especially early on in the season, Amphibia goes for some pretty stock children's show plots like "I can do your job but better", learning to drive, characters getting sick, and an episode about not taking care of a pet you find in the wild. I wouldn't quite call it filler (partly because I hate the term), and certain episodes do give the characters some great development that make the climactic moments hit harder, but it does take a while for the show to become genuinely great. I also found the humor to be a bit hit or miss, with plenty of the attempts at comedy just falling flat for me. There are some really great subtle jokes, but there are also plenty times where it feels like the show is just screaming at me to laugh, especially with Sprig's constant posing. At its worst, I feel like Amphibia can be a bit too much like an old sitcom, with episodic morals, cheesy jokes, and neat and tidy storylines. However, with the plot becoming more prevalent as the series goes on, I do hope that Season 2 can give it more of a focus. As for the animation, it's mostly fine. It'll never blow you away, and I think some of the facial expressions are pretty derpy-looking, but it's functional. The real highlight in terms of the visuals, though, is the general world design of Amphibia. The world feels really well thought-out, with tons of cool-looking creatures and cute frog designs for all the citizens of Wartwood. I also enjoyed the background music a lot, with Sprig's fiddle song in "Fiddle Me This" being a pretty big highlight.

Speaking of highlights, there were a bunch of really strong episodes this season, especially when the plot got involved:

Toad Tax: This was an incredibly satisfying, climactic, and eventful midpoint for the season that felt like a breath of fresh air for the series. Right from the get-go, there's a darker tone to it, as we finally get introduced to the Toads and learn just how corrupted Mayor Toadstool is. However, the ending where Anne finally gains the respect of Wartwood is heartwarming and satisfying, and while I didn't love the first half of the season, the sheer amount of episodes up to this point makes it feel all the more earned.

Prison Break: Airing right with Toad Tax, Prison Break is a pretty entertaining lore dump as we finally get to see what Sasha has been up to, meet the main villain of the season, and take a tour of Toad Tower. It fits along with Toad Tax incredibly well as it gives more of a focus on the newly introduced antagonists, and the contrast between Anne and Sasha's situations are very interesting.

A Night At The Inn: Polly finally gets her time to shine in this episode, where she saves the entire family from cannibals. It's a fun and kinda scary horror-esque episode that ends on an explosive note. It's easily one of my favorite standalones of the bunch.

Cursed!: While I found myself liking a lot of the minor citizens (Wally especially), Maddie ended up being my favorite for her unique design and the sheer possibilities that her magical abilities can add to the series. Case in point, in spite of its fairly predictable twist, Cursed! is a really fun episodes of the show about how Maddie is far nicer than her look might indicate, and the titular curse let to some pretty funny gags at Anne and Sprig's expense.

Anne Of The Year: This was an excellent penultimate episode, finally reuniting Anne with Sasha... and also Grime's entire army. But aside from that great cliffhanger, the main storyline about the party is pretty fun, giving most of the cast something to do and resolving Sprig's admittedly cute romantic side plot on a sweet note.

Reunion: This was an excellent season finale, easily the most well-executed episode in the whole show. The writing, the character development, even the animation and humor took a bump in quality. The opening flashback was an incredibly realistic portrayal of what it's like to have a toxic friend, bolstered by the nuanced performance from Sasha's voice actress, and the big confrontation on the tower was cathartic, climactic, and an absolute emotional rollercoaster. The song "Lean On Me" has been forever changed.

Overall, Amphibia's first season shows a lot of potential with a strong storyline, interesting world-building, and great characters. However, it's also a bit of a slow start to the series with its unoriginal standalones with hit or miss humor.

3/5 Stars

Justified (Season 6)

Justified is an interesting series as each of its seasons feel like one self-contained story, each with its own vibe, storyline, and tone. For a final season, Season 6 might seem oddly small-scale, focusing on the core cast of the series. However, that also makes it the most personal and satisfying season of the bunch, and probably the best.

Season 6 of Justified boasts probably one of the simplest plotlines in the series. Raylan is building a RICO case against Boyd, with Ava being forced to help as an informant. Meanwhile, Boyd is trying to rob a criminal named Avery Markham for his vengeful boss Katherine Hale. That's pretty much all there is to know, and it never gets more complicated than that, though that's not really a bad thing. The simplicity makes the slow build in tension all the better, culminating in a strong second half to the season (and the series as a whole). As villains, I think Markham and Katherine are pretty good. They're both intimidating in their own ways (Sam Elliot without a mustache is downright ghoulish), and are leagues more charismatic and interesting than the Crowes ever were. However, the real focus of this season is the main trio of Raylan, Boyd, and Ava, which I thought was a perfect choice to bring the show to an end. With all of his morally gray-ness, the decision to have Raylan go rogue in his search for Boyd just felt perfect, and the whole season built up to an amazing confrontation between the two. The real highlight this season, however, was surprisingly Ava. Given how much I hated her storyline last season, her storyline about having to rat on Boyd was really compelling. She really starts to realize that she's just trapped between Raylan and Boyd, and some of the decisions she makes in her attempt to escape ended up being some of the more impactful moments in the season.

Outside of Markham and Hale (and a few of their coworkers), Season 6 is almost entirely focused around pre-existing characters. I think this works really well for the final season, as the major conflict feels more personal, and we don't have to deal with having to learn about an entirely new cast of characters. In addition, this also means that even outside of the main trio, pretty much everyone gets a satisfying resolution. Loretta is a surprising highlight as we get to see her evolution and rise to a Mags-like figure, but there's also Rachel taking over for Art, Wynn being revealed to be a rat, and... I don't think anything demonstrates Season 6's love of the Justified cast more than the fact that the series finale has a 20-minute-long epilogue that reveals where all of the characters moved onto. This season also has some excellent pacing and consistency. There's hardly a weak point in the entire season, and the overarching conflicts slowly build, with each episode becoming more explosive and intense than the last.

This entire season is pretty consistently strong, but there are some notable highlights:

Fate's Right Hand: This premiere did a great job of laying out the core conflict of the season, with Raylan trying to get Boyd, Boyd robbing a bank, and Ava having to figure out how to be an informant. There's also a bittersweet tone to this episode, with the many references to the pilot really hammering home the fact that things are coming to an end. But the real highlight was the end times of Dewey Crowe,  ending with a heartbreaking death for a character I thought would be too dumb to die.

Dark As A Dungeon: It's always a ton of fun when Raylan and Boyd get to spend a lot of screentime together, so seeing them both cross paths during the Walker manhunt was a ton of fun. While I expected Walker to bite the dust, his death scene was pretty great, as was the solemn final scene where Raylan sees his father's ghost. It really feels like he's going to leave Harlan this time.

Burned: Loretta goes full Mags in this episode, winning a oratory argument with Markham and Boyd that feels straight out of Season 2. The reveal that Wynn is also a rat was pretty great. But the most striking moment of the episode was Boyd almost dying in Zachariah's mine explosion, a drastic change in tone for the series with shaky cam and a horrifying performance from Walton Goggins that feels uncharacteristically vulnerable.

Fugitive Number One: For me, this is the episode where the sidekicks die. Mikey and Carl both have pretty shocking deaths, the former dying for his boss and the latter dying from his boss. Mikey sacrificing himself to kill Katherine was shocking not just because he killed a major villain, but because of just how gory the whole fight was. It might have been the most intense sequence in the series. There's also a strong cliffhanger where Raylan goes rogue to track down Boyd.

Collateral: I'll be honest, I thought this episode was a bit on the slow side until there was fifteen minutes left. But then we got a tense gunfight, amazing confrontation between Raylan and Boyd, an injured Bob, an arrested Raylan, a captured Ava, some fun interactions between Markham and Loretta, a shocking death for Zachariah, one of Boyd's cruelest acts to date, and a ton of great set-up for the series finale.

The Promise: What a satisfying finale, likely even the best episode of the whole show. There were just so many amazing scenes here. The confrontation in the barn was absolutely dripping with tension, the highway quick draw between Raylan and Boyd was the purest encapsulation of Justified's modern western genre, and of course, the final conversation between Boyd and Raylan was just perfect. Every character gets a satisfying resolution thanks to the time jump, and the sheer amount of strong bookends make the ending feel so unbelievably fitting.

Overall, this was a perfect final season for Justified. It's a personal and character-driven story with pitch-perfect pacing, tense escalation, and a stellar finale that ends the series on as satisfying of a note as possible.

5/5 Stars

My ranking of the Justified seasons is:

6 > 4 > 2 > 3 > 1 > 5

My ranking of the Justified finales is:

6 > 2 > 3 > 1 > 4 > 5

Favorite Episode: Decoy

Justified (Season 5)

Justified has been one of the most consistently strong shows I've ever seen, without a single season I have disliked. However, Season 5 had a bunch of issues working against it, between setting up for the show's final season, a cast member leaving soon into the season, and Elmore Leonard sadly passing away shortly before production began. As a result, while Season 5 isn't bad by any means, it's easily the most uneven and flawed season of the bunch.

Season 5's main storyline had a ton of potential from the outset. The Crowe family has been established all the way back in Season 1, so having a season focused around them could have been awesome! However, the Crowes ended up feeling like an inferior version of the Bennett clan. The most obvious similarity is Danny, who's like Coover but so much more unlikable and childish, but there's also the sympathetic kid Kendal (who I actually quite like), and the main antagonist being the head of the family. Sadly, unlike Mags, Daryl Crowe Jr is a dull character played by the horribly miscast Michael Rappaport who just doesn't know how to do a western accent. Thankfully, not all the Crowes are bad. Dewey gets a ton of screentime this season and he's always a ton of fun, Jean-Baptiste doesn't appear for too long but he definitely makes an impact, and best of all, Wendy is the highlight of the season for being far more intelligent than the rest of the family along with her interesting parental role for Kendal, compelling morally-gray nature, and strong dynamic with Raylan. Season 5 of Justified is also crammed full of other subplots, rivaling Season 3 in sheer overstuffed-ness, between the fallout of the Detroit mob, Ava in prison, Boyd teaming up with the Crowes, and Raylan's tensions with Art. I don't hate most of these subplots though, with Art learning about Raylan having Nicky Augustine killed and eventually getting shot being particularly strong.

However, this season also boasts the worst subplot in the series: Ava in prison. While the payoff is alright, separating Ava from the cast and forcing her through nonstop hell in one of the darkest storylines in the series, completely lacking in hope or humor, was a bad idea. The writing makes some serious stretches in logic to keep Ava in prison, often times leaving me frustrated. It also felt odd that given how many characters go to prison in this series, no one goes through nearly as much turmoil as Ava does. It's not just the Ava storyline though, this whole season felt a bit too dark. The first episode alone kills off a whopping nine characters and it just gets worse from there. The show's distinct black comedy and clever quips are far less prevalent, and things just don't go well for a large portion of the cast, especially Ava. This isn't implying that Justified can't be dark (Brother's Keeper, Slaughterhouse, and Outlaw are some of my favorite episodes), but this season just feels so hopeless at times. Even the cinematography is dimmer than usual! Still, I don't want to be too harsh towards this season. It does a great job of setting up for the final season of the series, all of the characters are pretty much intact, the entire second half is pretty consistently enjoyable, and the dialogue is just as great as it's always been. Season 5 of Justified is a decent season of television, but in a show where I have exclusively given seasons 4 or 5 stars so far, decent just isn't good enough and its problems are far more glaring.

Despite my gripes, there were a bunch of episodes that stuck out to me as highlights:

Shot All To Hell: A lot happened this episode, not all of it is great (Ava being forced into prison is one of the most contrived things in the whole show and Jean Baptiste died way too early), but most of it is at the very least gutsy. Paxton and Mooney are killed in shocking and surprising ways, Wendy makes a strong debut, Alan Tudyk's assassin is terrifying, and the conflict between Art and Raylan reaches new heights when the latter reveals how Nicky Augustine was killed.

Weight: Danny Crowe is probably the worst character in the series. He's just so unlikable and gross, so his surprising death ended up being really satisfying. It's also one of the most hilariously uncomfortable instances of Justified's token black comedy this whole season. Meanwhile, Dickie reappears (who I actually kinda missed after Danny), and Boyd finally gets to confront the jerk that kept Ava in prison. 

Starvation: Boyd and Raylan team up episode! Starvation is easily the most fun episode in the season and feels like a return to the Justified of the first four seasons, between the interactions between Ava and Raylan, the great banter between Boyd and Raylan, and the hysterical Dewey subplot that results in him getting himself arrested.

Restitution: While probably the weakest finale, Restitution is noteworthy for its amazing set-up for Season 6. With Ava switching sides, Boyd going back to his roots, and Raylan planning to hunt Boyd down, it really seems like the final season is going to bring things back to the trio it started with. Daryl's death was also pretty satisfying, Boyd got a chance to outwit his enemies, and Ava is finally out of prison!

Overall, Season 5 isn't a bad season, maintaining the strong characters and writing that made the show great in prior seasons. However, more than any prior season, it suffers from a weak main plot, a downright bad prison subplot, and an oddly grim tone.

3/5 Stars

Loki (Season 1) Live Reactions

Well, you all know the drill by now. It's my 3rd time doing live reactions for an MCU show and I'm going into this one having only seen a single trailer. Like seriously, I didn't even see any ads, I have no idea what to expect here. I had some issues with the first two MCU series, but let's see if I end up liking this one?

Glorious Purpose: This could have been an awful pilot, it's pretty stuffed with exposition and flashbacks to previous movies, but I actually found myself enjoying it a lot. Like this is easily the best first episode out of the MCU series yet, and I hope that bodes well for the rest of the show. So where do I start with this one? The show just strikes this brilliantly offbeat tone that I found myself absolutely adoring. I don't think I mention this much but I'm a big fan of offbeat humor like in movies like Thor Ragnorok, Office Space, and most of Wes Anderson's stuff, so Loki is right up my alley. It especially has the vibe of Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, which is high praise given it's my favorite book of all time, and the bureaucratic humor is just top-notch, especially the opening sequence of Loki being checked into the TWA. I also quite liked the banter between Loki and Mobius. Getting Owen Wilson (a Wes Anderson staple) for this just helps add to that offbeat feel. But aside from all the humor, there's a lot to unpack in this episode. I like it when shows deal with free will and determinism, so the concept of the TWA and a "correct path through time" seems like a fresh and interesting facet to explore when it comes to time travel. The exploration of Loki's character was also pretty great, and the scene where he goes through his "future" memories hit pretty hard. And then there's the little things, like Loki's official gender being recorded as Fluid perfectly fitting his mythological origins, and the shot of infinity stones being tucked away in a desk. I'm not sure who the "Variant Loki" could be, but it seems like an intriguing mystery for the show to follow. So overall, I'm definitely enjoying Loki quite a bit. The first episode is absurd, thoughtful, offbeat, and above all weird, and I definitely want to see more of it.

The Variant: While this episode wasn't quite as funny as the premiere, it was so much better in terms of plot now that we don't need any more exposition and the flashbacks to the MCU are limited. I was also very surprised at how much ended up happening in it! The big finale where Lady Loki reveals herself, bombs the Sacred Timeline, and Loki follows her feels it could have been Episode 4 or 5. I'm very excited to see how the show moves on from such a massive shift in the story. Mobius and Loki's buddy cop dynamic was incredibly fun throughout the episode, and their discussion about free will and believing in the TWA was pretty interesting. The funniest scenes of the episode focused around the two of them, like the salad scene and the Pompeii sequence. I really loved Loki's depiction in this episode specifically. Despite his humorous and affable nature, it's always felt like he's more the "God Of Backstabbing" rather than the "God Of Mischief". In this episode, however, it feels like Loki has become way more mischievous and cunning than before, with nearly every decision he makes being an attempt at achieving his motivation of taking down the TWA. Overall, I really liked this episode a lot, probably even more than the premiere. My only complaint is the pretty cliche usage of "I Need A Hero", which has pretty much become the "Mr Blue Sky" of 2021 in terms of sheer overuse.

Lamentis: This episode felt a bit different than the first two, in a bunch of ways. The whole Lamentis trip felt like a bit of a detour and a means to bring Loki and Sylvie on the same page, and that's not entirely a bad thing. Loki and Sylvie have a lot of entertaining banter, the action was probably the best in the series yet, Lamentis is a visually stunning planet with its purple hues and neon lights, and that final one take at the end of the episode was pretty memorable. It was also pretty cool for the show to reveal that Loki is bi, also being from his mythological origins. However, the lack of the TWA was very much noticeable, with Mobius not even appearing to begin with. The TWA allowed for a lot of Hitchhikers-esque dialogue that gave Loki its own unique sense of charm, not to mention the type of existentialist themes that I love so much. Without the TWA, Loki just feels like another Marvel show. It's still funny, it's still entertaining and well-crafted, but this episode just didn't feel as distinct as the series' start. I also found it to be a bit disappointing that the Lamentis plot didn't just end right there and then. Given how fast-paced last episode was, this one just felt a bit incomplete. 

The Nexus Event: So this was probably the most anxiety inducing episode in the MCU ever and I have no idea where to even start with this one. Similarly to The Variant, it raced through far more plot than I ever thought it would. After getting shafted last episode, we got some great material for Mobius and B-15 as they both learn that they are variants and turn against the TWA in their own ways. We actually get to meet the "Timekeepers" and Loki and Sylvie get a big Snoke-esque fight scene right in front of them, which I didn't think would happen until the finale. I had the feeling that they would be fake, but it leads to an even more interesting mystery of who really started the TWA. And then there's the pruning, with both Loki and Mobius getting pruned unceremoniously. I also didn't think they (particularly Loki) would really die, but my internet went out right before I could see the post-credits scene so that gave me a minor heart attack right there. Once again, it leads to an incredibly exciting set-up for next episode where Loki meets his other variants and Sylvie finally demands some answers. I will say, though, while it does very much fit the character, I do really hope that Loki doesn't end up kissing himself, that's probably the only thing that rubbed me the wrong way. Otherwise, though, this was an incredibly surprising, fast-paced, and chaotic episode that felt like having a 45-minute-long panic attack. It's another insane fourth episode twist and ranks up with Previously On as the best MCU episode yet. I can only hope that Marvel sticks the landing this time, third time's the charm?

Journey Into Mystery: I feel like this was the type of episode Lamentis should have been. They're both detours to another planet that focus a bit more on character interactions, but Journey Into Mystery was far more wacky and weird while also progresses the plot a fair amount. The Void is a super weird and visually distinct place, and I definitely enjoyed the multiple Lokis. Alligator Loki was my favorite for obvious reasons, but I also enjoyed Classic Loki even if his role in the show was a bit trope-y (older tragic figure who regains hope and sacrifices himself for the young'uns). Seeing the different variants adds to that central question of what makes a Loki, and seeing our Loki learn to enchant was a pretty great moment. However, my biggest issue with The Void is Alioth, that giant alien cloud thing. I'm not a fan of giant villainous clouds since it doesn't quite feel like the characters are fighting something concrete, and that was definitely a bit of a problem here. As for Sylvie, I was a bit disappointed we didn't get a full-on interrogation scene between her and Renslayer, but having her prune herself and then finally have a conversation with Mobius definitely made up for it. But now we get to the season finale, something that the MCU hasn't quite been able to nail yet. Journey Into Mystery seems to be setting up the long-awaited resolution of the mystery of who started the Time-Keepers, but I can only hope that it manages to be something unpredictable rather than just having been Renslayer the whole time.  

For All Time, Always: They did it, Loki actually stuck the landing! Granted, the show is getting a cliffhanger so this episode didn't have quite the same importance of bringing everything to a close, but this is easily the best MCU D+ finale to date. For All Time, Always was actually surprising, and tense, and well-paced. Nothing felt rushed and none of the major plot points went for the easiest way out. Sylvie just unlocked the multiverse, nearly every variant of Kang The Conqueror is now able to go wherever they want, and Loki is stuck in a completely different timeline (an alright cliffhanger but I'm not super drawn to these type of AU storylines). I'll admit, I didn't quite expect Kang to actually appear, I kinda thought it was just a Mephisto-esque rumor that could never actually come true on a Disney+ show. And now that Kang has finally debuted, I really like him, or at least the "He Who Remains" version we met this episode. Jonathan Majors looked like he was having the time of his life, and I could definitely see Kang being a far more lively villain than Thanos was. However, I do have a few gripes. Renslayer and Mobius's confrontation was a bit underwhelming, and I was left incredibly confused by her decision-making. As inevitable as it was, I didn't feel all that comfortable seeing Loki and Sylvie kiss, though I was glad she just used it to betray him. I will also say that this episode was a bit too exposition-heavy, it probably won't be as surprising upon rewatches. Still, the sheer scope and ramifications of this finale completely blew me away, and I can definitely say that this is the first MCU show to leave me feeling satisfied and then some.

Overall, Loki was fantastic, easily the best MCU show yet and one of the best MCU entries in general. I love how willing it was to be weird and experiment with genre, tone, writing style, and audio-visual presentation. The twists were surprising, the characters were great (Loki, Sylvie, and Mobius in particular), and the overarching theme of free will tackles one of my least favorite story tropes in a really interesting and thought-provoking manner. My biggest issue with the season is that the offbeat buddy cop show I was hoping for was just the first two episodes (reminds me of WandaVision in that aspect), and the writing was never quite as good after that. Frankly, it feels like every idea was explored in a single episode, I would have loved it if this season was just a bit longer! Still, for what it was, Loki was a very pleasant surprise for me and I absolutely cannot wait to see more of it. I can only hope that Season 2 will feel as fresh, inventive, and fun as its predecessor.

4.5/5 Stars

Justified (Season 4)

Boyd, Mags, Quarles, one of Justified's greatest strengths has always been its villains. So can you make a successful season of Justified without a major big bad? Believe it or not, yeah! Rather than focus on a villain (or group of villains), Season 4 focuses more on telling an interesting murder mystery and ended up being my favorite season yet.

The first scene of Justified's fourth season is a flashback to 1983, where an unknown figure named Drew Thompson falls from the sky with a failed parachute. When Raylan and his team learns that Thompson is alive and the parachutist was someone else, it kickstarts a massive race to find the real Drew Thompson. This season doesn't have much of a villain, at least at first, focusing far more on the mystery. As a fan of mystery stories, this season is right up my alley, but for those who want a villain, Theo Tonin of the Detroit mob becomes the main antagonist as the season goes on as he wants Thompson killed. Tonin mostly stays in the background so he isn't a super fleshed-out character, but he doesn't have to be, he's a ticking time clock to make solving the mystery far more of an importance. His underboss Nicky gets a bit more screentime in the second half of the season, and he's really slimy and hatable even if he also doesn't get too much depth. I still enjoyed the season's first half for its fun subplots, but without a villain, it can feel a bit aimless. Thankfully, all of the set-up does pay off as Season 4's second half is by far the strongest in the series. The mystery gets a satisfying resolution, the characters collide in a series of really compelling episodes, and the sheer amount of twists and character deaths is insane compared to the last three seasons. And while Drew Thompson himself isn't quite a central antagonist, he's still a very interesting character on his own merits.

Though while I enjoyed the mystery, I think Season 4's biggest strength is in the characters, who all get some of the best material in the series. Arlo is at peak jerkass as he stubbornly refuses to reveal any of the info he knows about Drew Thompson, so when he dies halfway through the season, Raylan struggling to deal with it is incredibly compelling. There's an interesting theme throughout the series about how different Raylan really is compared to the criminals he fights, but this season also has him going rogue and partnering up with said criminals far more often. Boyd also gets a ton of great stuff this season. The subplot where he faces off with a preacher who keeps converting his men is ridiculously fun, as is his plan to take down Tonin from the inside. After becoming a criminal in Season 3, Ava really starts to face some of the consequences of her actions this season, culminating in her getting arrested in the finale. Even Tim and Rachel get more to do, with the former getting a subplot entirely to himself as he tries to get revenge for his friend's death, and the latter getting more involved with the main plot. Along with the characters, the general vibe of this season feels like Justified at its most offbeat. There are rattlesnakes to the face, a guy sawing off his foot to escape the police, Bob making Drew puns while getting brutally tortured, the black comedy this season is just masterful.

I adored most of this season, so there are a lot of episodes worth noting:

Where's Waldo: While I really enjoyed the season premiere that established the Drew Thompson story, Where's Waldo was a particular standout from the season's first half. Waldo Truth was a really intriguing figure, and the twist that Waldo was the one who died, Drew Thompson is alive, and the presumed Waldo was dude named Harold Shawn was insanely clever and surprising. We also get a big confrontation between Boyd and Preacher Billy that has the former at his scripture-spitting best.

Outlaw: After watching this episode, I went on the Justified Wiki to see how many characters died. It's seven characters, some minor and some major, an absolute bloodbath by the series' standards. Obviously, the scene that stuck out the most in my mind is the wince-inducing fight that resulted in Arlo's painful death, but there's also Colt shooting Tim's friend, Duffy's creepy fake cop assassin, and Boyd weaseling his way into Tonin's good grace. While most seasons of Justified have that one episode that kicks the plot into second gear, Outlaw is by far the darkest and most shocking of the bunch. Nearly every episode after this one is a highlight.

The Hatchet Tour: This episode finally reveals who was Drew Thompson: It was Shelby the whole time! The initial reveal was incredibly well-executed, but the show didn't go too long without the rest of the cast piecing things together on their own. I like that a lot of Justified's characters are pretty smart (except that Winona subplot), so I rarely feel frustrated with the show. This episode also had the first confrontation between Tim and Colt which was just as emotionally charged as I had hoped.

Decoy: Easily my favorite episode of the show yet, Decoy is an incredibly tense and action-packed outing as the Marshals have to elude the Boyd and the Detroit mob while getting Drew out of Harlan. There are just so many amazing scenes in this one, Tim and Colt's conversation, Raylan meeting Boyd at the stairwell, Bob taking down Yolo (and the aforementioned Drew puns), Ava learning about Johnny's betrayal, the Molotov cocktail, and the triumphant ending where Raylan really is able to get Drew out of Harlan. Decoy is brutal, incredibly well-written, and a series high point.

Peace Of Mind: Coming in between the tense and brutal Decoy and Ghosts, things went oddly well in this episode, at least for most of it. Ellen May is saved, Drew Thompson is in custody, Tim kills Colt in an incredibly satisfying fashion, and Limehouse gets to be left alone. However, this is still the penultimate episode, and the cliffhanger of Nicky targeting Winona is a typically tense set-up for the finale.

Ghosts: This was a very different finale than the others, it's not a big final conflict that the season was building up to (Drew doesn't even appear). Rather, Ghosts is personal and character-driven, leaving a large portion of the cast in a pretty unhappy state, particularly Ava, Boyd, and Raylan. It's not all dour, though, Winona shooting one of her captors was awesome and Raylan's revenge spree is a ton of fun. However, it also brings Raylan's darker side to the forefront, as the way he has Nicky killed is borderline criminal.

Overall, Season 4 was the best Justified season yet. Even with its lack of major villains, the Drew Thompson mystery was compelling, the writing and black comedy was top-notch, and the second half was some of the best the series has ever been.

5/5 Stars

Schitt's Creek (Season 4)

By the genuinely great Season 3, Schitt's Creek has managed to improve so much since its premiere. While Season 4 isn't quite as good as its predecessor, its high points manage to be some of the highest in the whole show.

When two characters get together on a TV show, the writers seem to have a hard time making them interesting. A lot of people seem to just care about the will-they-won't-they part, with the actual dating part generally being put on the sideline. However, with David and Patrick's relationship, the main focus of Season 4, that absolutely isn't the case. Rather, their new relationship is just the beginning. Throughout the rest of the series, you get to see David and Patrick grow as people with the help and support of each other, both having to adjust to a relationship that's really new for the both of them (David's first long relationship, Patrick's first gay relationship). The highlight of the season is the stretch of episodes from Open Mic to The Olive Branch, which has David confront his rough dating life and show the same devotion to his relationship that Patrick did just a few episodes earlier. It's emotional, surprising, sometimes funny, but ultimately as heartwarming as Schitt's Creek at its best. I also quite liked the continuation of Stevie's and Alexis's storylines, with the both of them progressing their careers in some way. The former's is especially memorable as this season introduces the theme that Stevie is an unofficial member of the Rose family, which I always thought was really sweet (I'm a big fan of found families in TV).

Sadly, for the rest of the characters, their storylines aren't quite as strong. Roland is at his best when he's a bit more in the background (Seasons 2 and 3), so the decision to have him get a job at the motel gave him more screentime than I really wanted from him. Jocelyn learns she's pregnant early on in the season, and while this storyline has its cute moments, it's also just a fairly generic pregnancy plot, going through all of the typical tropes like gender reveal, baby shower, and birth at the worst possible time in the season finale. Alexis and Ted's love triangle with Heather wasn't all that amazing either (except for maybe their kiss in the finale), especially given how far more compelling and in-depth the David/Patrick stuff was. And I think that's just a big problem with this season in particular, most of the storylines feel kind of predictable and unoriginal, especially knowing how genuinely subversive and mature this series can be at its best (Open Mic, or Presidential Suite, or Happy Anniversary!). I even found the finale to be less impactful than the last two just because I felt like I could map out every plot point a few minutes in. Thankfully, the writing has improved so much that it still managed to carry even the weaker storylines, and the acting is just as strong as ever. I'll also say that Schitt's Creek won't have this problem in this final seasons, this was just a Season 4 issue.

At its best, Season 4 has some of the show's best episodes yet, especially around the middle area:

Open Mic: Easily the best episode yet, Open Mic is Schitt's Creek at its most heartwarming best. Every single plot thread here is just so cute. Johnny changing the name to Rosebud Motel for Stevie is a really kind decision to show that he's not going to just leave her in the dust. Moira accidentally learning the gender of Jocelyn's baby is genuinely really funny. And of course, this is the episode that made "The Best" by Tina Turner the song for David and Patrick (It also revealed that Noah Reid has a killer voice and made thousands of fans want a boyfriend like Patrick).

The Barbecue: There are two "gut punch" episodes in Schitt's Creek and this is the first of the two. The Barbecue catches you so off-guard because it seems so unassuming at first. Alexis makes a new friend, Patrick is helping Johnny use a grill, everything seems fine. And then we learn Alexis's new friend is Patrick's ex-fiancee, bringing all of David's anxieties, insecurities, and disastrous dating life to the surface. The fight between David and Patrick is crushing yet incredibly well-written, easily one of the show's best executed dramatic scenes.

The Olive Branch: The whole episode is fun on its own, setting up the Singles Week storyline for the end of the season and having a hilarious subplot about Stevie being forced to wear makeup, but the real highlight is obviously the resolution to Patrick and David's big storyline. David lip syncing "The Best" back to Patrick perfectly toes the line between hysterical, genuine, and just plain adorable. But it's also a great piece of character development since it's one of the first times David really lets his guard down.

Singles Week: While I did find this finale to be a bit on the disappointing side, Singles Week still nailed the emotional moments incredibly well. Moira dropping everything to help Jocelyn, Ted rushing to Singles Week to kiss Alexis, David telling Patrick he loves him, this is still a very satisfying finale in spite of everything. I especially love how it demonstrates the growth Alexis has went through, managing to hold a successful Singles Week all by herself.

Overall, Season 4 of Schitt's Creek might be a bit predictable at times compared to the rest of the show, but the writing and acting continues to improve, and David and Patrick's relationship is easily one of the best-written in television.

3/5 Stars

Justified (Season 3)

Justified's second season was a pretty big improvement over the first with an ending so strong it made the entire season better in retrospect. Season 3 definitely tries to live up to that high bar, but while it's still a great season, it's hard not to end up missing the Bennetts a little bit.

This season of Justified is focused around three villains, all of whom are trying to fill up the power vacuum left by Mags' death: Robert Quarles, Ellstin Limehouse, and of course, Boyd. Quarles and Limehouse aren't quite as fleshed-out as Mags, but I found them to be incredibly charismatic and fun to watch. Limehouse was terrifying and unpredictable due to his unclear alliances, but his laid-back attitude ended up becoming comforting compared to Quarles. Neil McDonough (who also played Damien Dhark) chewed the hell out of the scenery every time he was on screen, especially as Quarles slowly devolves into insanity. At first, I couldn't take Quarles too seriously, but he just got worse and worse, reaching new lows episode after episode, it's great! However, I think this season had too many villains. Between Boyd, Quarles, Limehouse, along with Dickie, Duffy, and Dewey all getting roles, Season 3 feels quite overstuffed. It definitely feels like the show runners are trying to make it "bigger and better" to reach the high bar of Season 2, for better of for worse. While I was initially unsure about the heavy focus on the Bennetts, at least there was a focus. This season feels like it just threw a ton of ideas at the wall to see what stuck, resulting in it feeling overstuffed, spread thin, and at its worst, incredibly slow-paced as it tried to balance the whole cast. Thankfully, the second half ramps up the intensity as well as any prior season, the best episodes rank as some of the best episodes to date, and the finale brings all of the disparate threads together in a very satisfying manner. 

Season 3 feels like it contrasts its predecessor in a lot of ways. Season 2 is far more dramatic and heavy, while Season 3 is (mostly) lighter in tone and puts more of an emphasis on the show's sense of fun. Episodes like "Thick As Mud" and "Watching The Detectives" could have been deathly serious, but they ended up being far more of a blast to watch without losing their stakes. The dialogue is easily the strongest it has been, faster paced and wittier than ever before. In addition, once again unlike Season 2, while its villains are a bit thinner, the main cast gets a much stronger focus here. Tim and Dewey are the most notable instances of this, with the former getting far more appearances and the latter getting an entire (fun) episode to himself. Raylan spends far more time interacting with Boyd and Ava after Season 2 had them stay apart for a large portion of it, Duffy gets the most screentime to date as he plays the straight man to Quarles's insanity, Winona is far more intelligent compared to the previous season, and Dickie has transformed from terrifyingly unhinged to pathetically babyish (though that's not all a bad thing). Don't get me wrong, I like what Season 2 did with the characters, more and more every day, but this season does a bit of a better job at balancing the cast and developing them all in interesting ways without leaving any of them (except maybe Rachel) feeling neglected.

Once again, this season of Justified is very consistently strong, but I do have a bunch of high points worth noting:

The Gunfighter: This was an excellent season premiere, with an electric opening scene between Boyd and Raylan, a great introduction to Quarles, and one of the show's best one-off villains to date. Fletcher "The Ice Pick" Nix is a cool villain with a distinct drawl, unique gimmick, and a badass confrontation with Raylan to end off the episode.

Watching The Detectives: Maybe I shouldn't have been too hard on Winona last season, because at least her storyline led to this amazing episode. Kickstarting the much stronger second half, this is one of the most fun "framing" episodes I've seen as Raylan has to stop Quarles and Duffy from framing him for Gary's murder, while also dealing with pressure from literally the entire government. The whole cast gets a chance to shine, the writing is sharper than ever, and the whole ordeal slowly escalates throughout the course of the episode.

Coalition: One of the biggest storylines of the season is about the fight over Mags Bennett's money, and it all comes to a head in this chaotic penultimate episode. The reveal that the money is with Loretta just felt perfect, and having Raylan's final standoff with Dickie be at Loretta's place was even better. Meanwhile, Boyd planning a heist was fun (even if it was kind of a red herring), and the big cliffhanger with one of Quarles's biggest victories in the series was an excellent set-up for the finale.

Slaughterhouse: Compared to the rest of the season, Slaughterhouse was incredibly dark and intense throughout, while also working as a really satisfying finale that tied everything together super well. Even Winona got to appear one last time! There were tons of notable scenes like the Harlan Roulette, Quarles losing his arm, and the reveal of Johnny's betrayal, but the real highlight was the horrifying twist that Arlo killed Tom because he thought he was Raylan. It's such a thought-provoking yet screwed-up way to end the season that left me in genuine shock by the end.

Overall, Season 3 is a bit overstuffed and has a painfully slow start, but it maintains the same strong writing, interesting characters, entertaining villains, and satisfying endings that make Justified such a consistently strong series.

4/5 Stars

Schitt's Creek (Season 3)

As Schitt's Creek continues its slow but steady growth, its third season ended up becoming one of my personal favorites in the series, as it fleshes out the cast, amps up the heart, and introduces one last character to make the show feel complete.

Season 3 focuses on three major storylines, all of which I really enjoy. Early on in the season, Stevie's aunt dies and she gains ownership of the hotel. After initially considering selling it, Johnny offers to help her make the motel more of a success. I love this storyline, it gives Stevie a ton of extra depth as we learn about more her insecurities, and it gives Johnny something to do after fighting Bob all last season. Meanwhile, David decides to launch a general store halfway through the season. On its own, it's some more great character development for him, but it also leads to the introduction of Patrick, who becomes his boyfriend at the end of the season. Patrick is an amazing character, but I'll discuss that more later on in the review. Finally, there's Alexis attending high school which does lead to some funny subplots, but it's easily the weakest one of the three. All three of these story threads converge really nicely in the season finale, making for an overall really well-plotted season.

Patrick is the last major addition to the series, but I think his debut is the thing that really makes the show feel complete. While he and David don't start dating until the finale, he's one of the few people who can really put up with David's BS from the very start. As the show moves on from Season 3, they end up having easily the sweetest and most supportive relationship in the series. As a whole, the romantic material is pretty much entirely lacking in drama. Even with the will-they-won't-they shenanigans between Alexis and Ted, the love triangles, cheating, and "friends with benefits" stuff is completely gone. Even Mutt has left the series pretty much for good. The quality is also far more consistently strong throughout. There was only one episode I'd call weak (General Store), but I ended up liking everything else. The final four episodes were an especially strong streak that was actually what finally won me on the series when I first watched it. However, there is still one aspect of Schitt's Creek that feels somewhat undeveloped, and that's the fact that it still saves all of its big heartwarming sequences for the season finale and only the season finale. As a result, while most of the episodes were great, none of them really left quite an impact on me like Grad Night did.

Season 3 is a far more consistently strong season, but it has its high points, especially towards the end:

New Car: Even with Moira's constant comedy and Alexis's great development, Stevie has always been my favorite character, and I think this episode solidified it. It sheds some light on Stevie's insecurities, has the big twist of her now owning the house, and made me genuinely feel bad for her. But it's not all sad, Moira and Johnny trying to act poorer than they are to get a new car is definitely one of the funniest scenes of the season, and even David awkwardly comforting Stevie is both sweet and funny.

Stop Saying Lice: Despite the name of the episode, the lice storyline was probably the least interesting one for me. I liked how "Stop Saying Lice" focused on David's friendship with Stevie, which I always found was really sweet. It lays the groundwork for him and Patrick to get together in the finale, and Stevie and Patrick's dynamic that's established in this episode ends up being a lot of fun. As for the humor, the punchline of "Moira's Rose's Garden 4856" was such a great way to end the episode.

Friends And Family: This was always one of my favorite episodes in the series, executing pretty much everything perfectly. The opening of the general store was both a satisfying victory for David and a funny storyline with his accidental "friends and family" discount. Alexis and Ted's will-they-won't-they hits one of its biggest moments as they accidentally kiss out of complete surprise. And the storyline about the giant painting is both hilarious and a heartwarming showcase of how much the main four has grown (pun intended).

Grad Night: Grad Night is an incredibly satisfying and heartwarming finale where literally anything that can go right goes right. It's not quite as shocking as Season 1's ending or as impactful as Season 2's, but between the amazing graduation sequence, David and Patrick's first kiss, and the twist of Alexis quitting her job, this was an excellent place to end the season.

Overall, Season 3 is another big improvement for the series, thanks to the strong storylines, great introduction of Patrick, and consistently strong writing.

4/5 Stars

The Sopranos (Season 6)

As influential and important as The Sopranos is, I feel like its final season had the most obvious impact on popular culture. The final season of two-halves, the divisive ambiguous ending, everyone knows about the divisive Season 6 and everyone has an opinion on it. As for me, I thought it was a great ending... at least its second half was.

Season 6A is a pretty weak first half to the season, far worse than Season 2 in many aspects. After a strong opener, its pace slows down to a crawl as it focuses on two incredibly weak and dull storylines. First, there is Tony's coma, which is cool in theory. Seeing the cast live their lives without Tony is an interesting premise, and I'm always down for more dream sequences. However, I think it went on for an episode too long. Even worse, however, is the Vito storyline, where the titular character is outed as gay and is pursued for six episodes. Given that we knew he was going to die eventually, it felt like the season was just being drawn out, especially since there weren't too many other major storylines. There was the Lupertazzi stuff, but even that was mostly set-up for Season 6B. However, Season 6A does one thing that I really liked, ending the half-season on a faux happy ending before things go to hell in 6B. It brings up the question of whether or not these characters even deserve a happy ending (of course not! they were seriously homophobic for half the season!), setting up for when they end up facing the consequences of their actions. This ends up being a trend for a lot of similar dramas like Bojack and Breaking Bad that do a similar thing for their final seasons, and I think it really works for as a dramatic structure.

Season 6B, on the other hand, is phenomenal. As a matter of fact, I'd say it even tops Season 1 as my favorite season. Right from the first episode of the half-season, you can tell there's a renewed sense of energy, as shown in the more experimental Soprano Home Movies. The pacing is brisk, the plotlines start to get resolved, and all of the show's lingering tensions start to completely explode. Even plot threads and Chekhov's Guns from previous seasons like the gun in the snow from Season 5 get paid off here, it's an incredibly satisfying and well-done final season. Chris and Tony's conflict has been building from the season premiere, culminating in the former's shockingly cruel death. The family issues come to a head in The Second Coming where AJ attempts suicide. The Lupertazzi stuff finally erupts into all-out war in The Blue Comet, easily one of the show's most violent and shocking episodes. Even Melfi has some of the most material she's had since the third season. As a whole, the final four episodes is the best stretch of episodes in the whole series, and it all culminates in one of my favorite endings in television history. Yeah, I said favorite endings.

While most of my favorite episodes of the season were in 6B, there are plenty of highlights scattered throughout the season as a whole that are worth noting:

Members Only: This season premiere feels like it sets you up for a drastically different half-season than you end up getting. It's shocking, fast-paced, and devastating. Even if you know Tony's not gonna die, seeing him get shot by Junior in the ending is still genuinely shocking. And while it's not the most crushing FBI informant storyline (Sal's and Adriana's are better), Eugene's suicide is a grim showcase of the pressure that can have on a person.

Kaisha: For a lot of people, Kaisha is disappointing, and I definitely see why. The Lupertazzi conflict throughout Season 6A ends on yet another anticlimactic note, and the half-finale ends an oddly happy note. But that's the point, isn't it? Kaisha seems like it has a happy ending with most of the cast at a Christmas party together, but it's super clear that it's fake. Tony can't just talk Phil Leotardo out of being pissed, Chris and Tony still have a lot of tension, and Carmela has just been lied to about Adriana. Kaisha is purposefully shallow and empty because it's not the show's real ending, rather it finishes setting up the dominoes to fall in Season 6B. I also just found it to be one of the most enjoyable episodes of 6A, even if that's not much of a competition.

Kennedy And Heidi: This was another really divisive episode for a lot of people, with some finding Tony killing Chris in a car accident to be too overly cruel. Personally, I think it's the culmination of their relationship throughout the whole show and especially in Season 6. Between Chris's addiction, Tony's jealousy towards Chris's love interests, what happened to Adriana, etc., Tony and Chris were loathing each other at this point! And it was the decision to resolve that conflict so abruptly at the start of the episode that made Chris's death so memorable, even if the rest of the episode couldn't quite reach those heights.

The Second Coming: While easily the least shocking of the final four episodes, The Second Coming is incredibly heavy, feeling like the show's darkest hour. The biggest scene here is AJ's attempted suicide, which is just so... sad, really. Not only seeing him resort to a suicide attempt, but the fact that it didn't work, leaving him floundering in the pool until Tony came and saved him. It's such a depressing scene that felt like a real rock bottom for both AJ and Tony, made even worse by the fact that Melfi is considering dropping Tony and Phil pretty much declared war against New Jersey. The whole episode has this sense of  hopelessness and dread, seriously don't watch this one if you're in a good mood.

The Blue Comet: The Blue Comet is the big bloodbath that it feels like The Sopranos had been building up to throughout its entire run. That shootout in the train station alone that kills Bobby and puts Silvio in a coma is one of the most violent scenes in the series, and the cliffhanger which has the DiMeos go into hiding is a tense cliffhanger for the finale. But that's not even it! Similarly to Long Term Parking, this episode pays off a large amount of the season's threads as Junior is sent to an institution and Melfi drops Tony for good. This episode is absolutely jam-packed with twists and feels like the Ozymandias of the series, though not quite as rewarding.

Made In America: For most of its run, Made In America is a very good series finale. Phil's death is cathartic and pathetic in equal measures, most of the remaining characters get satisfying endings, and the story ends on a fairly neat note. But then we get to that final scene which elevates this episode to classic status. I mentioned this before but I love ambiguous endings, and The Sopranos's infamous abrupt final shot is one of my favorites. The whole scene is expertly done, with the camera darting around the cafe to create a sense of paranoia and dread, and then someone enters the cafe. Was it Meadow? Or was it a death scene for Tony? Personally, I think it's the latter given the whole theme about how when you die, your story pretty much ends. "You probably don't even hear it when it happens, right?". It's abrupt, it's sudden, it's the end of Tony's story. But that's just my interpretation. The fact that it's so ambiguous is what makes it so memorable and often-discussed to this day. And that's why I don't get the controversy around ambiguous endings. Satisfying, closure-filled endings are great and all, but they don't quite stick with you the way that The Sopranos's ending does. Made In America is one of the most memorable and talked about episodes in television history, and I think it's going to stay that way for years to come.

Overall, Season 6 is a bit of a weird one for me, with an incredibly dull first half and a phenomenal second half. But despite my complaints, it did end The Sopranos on a strong and memorable note, so I'm not too angry.

Season 6A: 2/5

Season 6B: 5/5

3.5/5 Stars

My ranking of the Sopranos seasons is:

6B > 1 > 4 > 5 > 3 > 2 > 6A

My ranking of the Sopranos seasons is:

1 > 6B > 4 > 2 > 3 > 5 > 6A

Favorite Episode: Long Term Parking

The Sopranos (Season 5)

Season 5 of The Sopranos is a weird one for me. I feel like I should hate it, as it takes some of the soapiest and most contrived turns in the whole show. However, it ended up being one of the most well-crafted seasons of the bunch, building up to a phenomenal climax.

Season 5's main storyline is about Tony B, Tony's cousin whose attempts at leaving crime end up resulting in disaster for Tony's crime family. At first, I was kinda concerned about Tony B's inclusion. He has never been mentioned prior to this season and Tony have a cousin of the same name felt a bit contrived. However, I actually ended up really liking him. Steve Buscemi was great as Tony B, and his idiotic decision-making was pretty entertaining to watch. Meanwhile, the conflict with the Lupertazzi family from Season 4 gets bumped up a notch when Carmine (the main antagonist from last season) dies and a bunch of its members leave prison, creating a big power vacuum. I already wrote about how much I like the Lupertazzi stuff in my last review, and it's mostly just as fun to watch them near an all-out war. As for the more character-driven storylines, Tony and Carmela being separated was a fun change of pace for the series, and Adriana's issues with having an FBI informant become way more prevalent this season. All of the plotlines I just mentioned converge in the penultimate episode, which ranks as my personal favorite episode of the whole show.

Similarly to the fourth season, Season 5 feels like a long build-up, which can always lead to a satisfying ending. The general episode quality is consistent outside of a few exceptions, to the point where it gets hard to pick highlights because they all feel equally strong, but it leads to some great pacing that rivals the first season. However, I do have some issues with this season that prevent it from becoming my actual favorite. I already mentioned the inherently contrived nature of Tony B's appearance, but it's not the only soap opera-esque twist this season included. There's also a minor subplot about Tony having feelings for Adriana that surfaces in the episode Irregular Around The Margins. Look, this is a fun episode and all, but I could not suspend my disbelief that they would suddenly be attracted to each other for a single episode. In addition, while The Sopranos uses anti-climax liberally, Season 5 is the only time where it really falls flat for me. Coming after my favorite episode in the series, the finale All Due Respect was fairly lackluster with its minimal character moments, sluggish pacing, and underwhelming plot resolutions. I didn't hate the ending, it's still one of the better episodes of the season, but as a finale, it left me feeling kind of cold.

Still, there were quite a bunch of episodes that I liked this season, one of which is easily my favorite in the series:

Two Tonys: As questionable as Tony B's sudden appearance is, I think this episode at least tries to poke fun at it, especially through its name. Frankly, as a premiere, this is actually one of The Sopranos' funniest episodes. Paulie and Chris's funny dynamic from Pine Barrens returns in an extended reference to the episode, Carmela dealing with a bear in the backyard is both hilariously bizarre and pretty symbolic of Tony's role in the family, and Tony dealing with being divorced results in him finally trying to ask out his therapist (and failing, of course).

Cold Cuts: As a whole, this is mostly just another great episode of the season, progressing the Tony B and Tony/Carmela storylines at a fairly solid rate. The real highlight for me, though, was the "Soprano anger" subplot. Janice finally gets anger management, but Tony is so skeptical that it would work (or jealous of the possibility that it could) that he provokes her into snapping again in another really memorable instance of black comedy.

Long Term Parking: This episode made the season for me, Season 5 wouldn't be nearly as much of a success if all of its plot points didn't pay off in Long Term Parking. Adriana being a rat is found out, resulting in her heart-wrenching death (and Chris's equally devastating realization). Tony B's actions make the tension with Johnny Sack so bad that Tony finally sticks up to them, and Tony and Carmela get back together. Every single Chekhov's Gun, every single subplot, it all converges in this unpredictable yet inevitable climax that stands out as the high point of The Sopranos.

All Due Respect: Despite my criticisms of this finale, I still thought it was worth highlighting since it does do some things well. All Due Respect has a pretty dread-inducing atmosphere to it, paying off in the final ten minutes where Tony B is killed and Johnny Sack is arrested. I also think the circular nature of the season is worth noting even if it meant nothing really ended up changing since Season 4.

Overall, Season 5 is a really well-plotted and consistently strong season with some fun storylines and a pitch-perfect climax, even if some of its plot points didn't quite hit home with me.

4/5 Stars