The Office (Season 3)

Season 3 is The Office at its absolute finest, and arguably one of the greatest seasons of any comedy ever. It's honestly astonishing just how consistently amazing Season 3 is, stuffed to the brim with great episodes and high points aplenty. The character work and comedy is just excellent.

Unlike Seasons 1 & 2, Season 3 of The Office is far more story-driven. There's the merger between the Scranton and Stamford offices, Jim's new relationship with Karen, Michael's shaky relationship with Jan, Phyllis's wedding, and Andy's rivalry with Dwight. All of these plotlines weave throughout the season, all being resolved in a fairly satisfying manner by the finale. The sheer amount of storylines here allows for a blisteringly fast pace, where it never feels like there's a dull moment.

Season 3 boasts a large amount of new characters, many of whom are a lot of fun to watch. The highlights are Andy and Karen, however. Karen works as a great girlfriend for Jim, and her love triangle with him and Pam is compelling to watch. Andy is also a highlight as well, as his annoying and jerkish personality leads to a lot of funny situations and a great set-up for a character arc. All of the returning characters get a lot of strong moments of character development of their own, pretty much continuing where Season 2 left off. My biggest issue with Season 3 is that it lacks the slice-of-life feel of Season 2, but that's hardly a problem when the episodes are this good.

Speaking of which, as I mentioned before, it's truly impressive how many iconic, well-crafted, and notable episodes this season has, meaning that the usual list is going to be much longer than usual:

Branch Closing/The Merger: These episodes chronicle the titular merger between the Scranton and Stamford offices, and they're a lot of fun to watch. The former episode has a sense of dread as the Scranton office is scared they'll close down, but once the merger occurs, there are a ton of funny and fittingly cringy moments as Michael struggles to impress the new arrivals.

The Conflict: Prison Mike! This episode, directed by none other than Ricky Gervais himself, goes back to the uncomfortable feeling of the first two seasons and is stuffed with cringe comedy that is so awkward you can't help but laugh hysterically.

The Return: Probably my favorite episode of the season, The Return has to like whether it's the titular return of Oscar (who left in the season premiere) or Dwight working at a Staples, but the real highlight is Andy's hysterical mental breakdown that's still one of the funniest moments in the whole show.

Business School: This has always been one of my favorites. The main plotline of the titular school gives Michael a lot of sympathy, and culminates in a very heartwarming and affecting moment as he goes to see Pam's art gallery. The subplot about the bat in the office adds most of the comedy, and is a hilarious nod to the director's origins (Buffy).

The Negotiation: This episode gets off to a big start as Roy tries to attack Jim only for Dwight to save him with the use of pepper spray. The entire rest of this episode deals with the consequences, and explores Jim's relationships with both Pam and Dwight. Thankfully, Michael's funny negotiation storyline does a great job at adding some much needed levity.

Safety Training: It's honestly glorious to see just how much Michael and Dwight get mental health wrong, and their haphazard attempts at pulling a stunt to advocate for it is a lot of fun to watch, at least until the episode gets surprisingly deep and shows just how tragic of a character Michael Scott really is.

Beach Games: This episode could have felt gimmicky and cartoonish, but the titular games are a lot of fun to watch and do a great job of setting up for the finale. Pam speaking up was an especially memorable and iconic moment.

The Job: This entire double-length finale is built on the titular job, as you're left constantly guessing who's going to end up with it. It's packed with twists, misdirects, and surprises, culminating in the long-awaited moment where Jim and Pam finally get together. It's more subtle compared to the Season 2 finale, but definitely satisfying.

Overall, Season 3 is an absolute gem of a season and The Office at the height of its power. Pretty much every single episode is top-notch, the plot is compelling, and the comedy is consistently strong.

5/5 Stars

Master Of None (Seasons 1 & 2)

Master Of None is a slice of life comedy headed by Aziz Ansari, packed with creative episode premises, charming humor, social commentary, and plenty of heart.

In the grand scheme of things, Master Of None doesn't have much of a plot. The main character Dev is a struggling actor who has his own life to lead. Each season follows Dev as he tries to secure his big break, while also dealing with his feelings for whoever is the love interest for the season. Despite the obvious focus on Dev, there's a really solid cast of characters. Dev's friends Arnold and Denise are both entertaining to watch on their own, but the real star of the show are his parents. Aziz Ansari casted his own parents in the role of his characters' parents, and they are absolutely hilarious and adorable to watch. They just exude that wholesome parent energy that makes them perfect for the role.

Master Of None's biggest strength is probably its variety and willingness to experiment, especially in the show's second season. Aziz Ansari is willing to take risks, ranging from a double-length homage to romantic comedies, to a black-and-white Italian-esque film, to an episode that only portrays Dev's mornings with his new girlfriend, to an episode that focuses on and fleshes out an entirely new cast. Even with this heavy variety, Master Of None manages to stay consistently funny and well-written, and the writing feels thoughtful and genuine. Despite its name, Master Of None feels like a jack of all trades that actually manages to be a master of some of them.

There are a lot of noteworthy and memorable episodes, but some of my favorites include:

Mornings: This was one of the episodes I mentioned and a highlight of Season 1. This entire episode managed to chronicle Dev's relationship with his girlfriend Rachel only by showing their mornings, from when they wake up to when they head to work. It's a creative concept executed very well, packed with fun humor up until their relationship starts to show its cracks.

The Thief/Le Nozze: Season 2 starts with what feels like a two-parter about Dev's time in Italy. The first episode, The Thief, is a homage to classic, black-and-white Italian films and is a joy to watch. Le Nozze is more character-driven but feels like a funny and heartwarming love letter to everything that makes Italy so great. An heartwarming couple of episodes that demonstrate a love for the country.

First Date: This episode was just hysterical, jumping between around half-a-dozen of Dev's first dates. The similarities and differences led to a lot of funny moments throughout the episode, culminating in the hilarious sequence where Dev spends one of his first dates jamming to Scatman in the car.

Thanksgiving: Denise gets an entire episode to herself, and it manages to be one of the, if not the finest episode in the whole show. Her coming-out story is beautifully and heart-wrenching presented while still managing to keep the same humor that the show is known for. It's easily one of the most realistic representations of coming out in TV history.

Amarsi un Po: Easily the longest episode in the series by around twenty minutes, Amarsi un Po feels like its own movie. It's a romantic comedy about Dev dealing with his feelings for Francesca, packed with plenty of sweet humor, beautiful cinematography, and a memorable final scene in a helicopter where all of the emotions from the past season come to the forefront.

Overall, Master Of None was a strong slice of life comedy that may be lacking in plot, but manages to more than make up for it in creativity, humor, and heart.

4/5 for Season 1

5/5 for Season 2

4.5/5 Stars

Favorite Episode: Thanksgiving

Gravity Falls (Season 2)

Season 2 of Gravity Falls was overall a massive improvement on the first, keeping the same strong humor and characters that made it great while bumping up the mythology and serialization to turn Gravity Falls from a solid show into a truly excellent one.

Since Season 2 is pretty much divided into two halves, I'll be talking about Seasons 2A & 2B separately:

Season 2A: This half of the season was pretty much perfect. The overall storyline of Dipper trying to figure out who the author is along with Grunkle Stan's portal progresses at a solid pace throughout, all culminating in the outstanding midseason finale. There are also a lot of fun standalone episodes as well, so it never feels like this half of the season is overwhelmed with plot. Side characters like Wendy and Pacifica get more of a focus, as they get to join Dipper and Mabel on their adventures. Soos even gets a bunch of episodes for himself, which is always a fun time. It's a well-paced, enjoyable, and satisfying first half of the season.

Season 2B: This is where Season 2 gets a bit shakier. Unlike the first half, Season 2B does have plenty of issues. Characters like Wendy and Pacifica ended up getting sidelined until the finale, pretty much every episode had some plot importance, there were several frustrating character decisions, and the humor was overall not as solid. This is probably due to the arrival of Stan's brother Ford who lacked many comedic moments and was mostly there to provide exposition and forcing the plot along. Regardless, there were still some strong episodes, Bill Cypher was an amazing final villain, and the final quadrilogy was a phenomenal way to end the series. It's just a shame this half of the season couldn't be as good as the first.

Now for the most notable episodes of the season:

Into The Bunker: One of the scariest episodes of the show, packing in some truly terrifying imagery while still allowing for plenty of fun adventures. I also liked that they actually resolved the romantic subplot between Dipper and Wendy, which I just found annoying in Season 1.

Society Of The Blind Eye: The titular society was a genius way of explaining one of the biggest mysteries of the first season, and I'm genuinely surprised at how much they fleshed out Old Man McGucket, who was mostly just a comic relief in Season 1. It's also impressive how important the memory gun became throughout the rest of the season.

Northwest Mansion Mystery: Pacifica's strong character arc throughout Season 2A comes to a satisfying conclusion as she finally turns against her parents in what's probably the show's scariest episode. Some points genuinely left me wondering how Disney even let this episode aired. I also really like the ending cliffhanger which sets up the midseason finale perfectly.

Not What He Seems: Easily Gravity Falls' best half hour, Not What He Seems brings the entire show to a head as Dipper and Mabel finally learn about the basement portal. There's a strong sense of tension throughout that feels so different from the show's usual fare, and the many plot twists, stunning visuals, and mind-boggling ending made this is an absolutely standout episode of the show.

A Tale Of Two Stans: While I'm not a big fan of Ford as a character, his first appearance was executed really well. The flashback to Stan's backstory explained so much, and touched upon pretty much every previous moment in the show. It really goes to show just how planned out Gravity Falls was from the very beginning.

Weirdmaggedon: After a fairly shaky second half of the season, Gravity Falls ended on an excellent four-part finale, juggling pretty much everything that made the show great. Every side character returned, every Chekhov's Gun was shot, and the finale was packed with the twists, humor, and surreal imagery you'd come to expect from the show. The final battle with Bill Cypher was exciting and satisfying, and the final few minutes wrapped everything really well while ending on a bittersweet yet memorable note.

Overall, Season 2 was definitely in an improvement on the first by keeping what made the show great while improving on the things that didn't. The plot was far more complex, the payoffs more numerous, and the stakes much higher. While the second half of the season was a drop in quality, the first half was the best Gravity Falls had ever been, and the show manages to still end on a high note.

5/5 for Season 2A

3/5 for Season 2B

4/5 Stars

Favorite Episode: Not What He Seems

Gravity Falls (Season 1)

The first season of Gravity Falls works as a strong, humorous comedy. There is definitely a bit of an overarching story here, but the main priority of this season is the humor, so it's a good thing that they pull it off so well.

Gravity Falls has a fairly simple premise. Dipper and Mabel go to spend the summer with their uncle, Grunkle Stan. During their stay, they run into all sorts of monsters and weird paranormal events, while also dealing with the evil Lil Gideon who wants to take Grunkle Stan's store, the Mystery Shack. There's also a mystery about a mysterious book Dipper found and uses to learn about the aforementioned monsters, along with a bunch of romantic subplots that I did not find all that interesting.

The whole season has this fun kid-friendly Twin Peaks vibe. Many of the paranormal-events-of-the-week are a lot of fun, ranging from ghosts, to time travel, to pinball tables, to a body-swapping carpet. The titular Gravity Falls is a well-defined town with its own group of diverse locals, most of which having their own quirky personalities and appear frequently throughout the show. It makes the town really feel like an actual rural town with a small population that you slowly get to know throughout the season.

The plot is fairly basic, as there aren't many episodes that actually progress the overall myth arc about Gideon and the books. There's a light continuity here, but most of Gravity Falls' episodes are fairly standalone, meaning that there are plenty of weak episodes this season. However, in general, I think the humor was consistently strong and carried even the weaker moments. Bill Hirsch has this unique and witty style of comedy that feels like it's on full display throughout the show, leading to tons of hilarious episodes. The overall story also does a great job of converging in the last two episodes, which resolve most of the mysteries and even reference plenty of previously-thought standalone episodes.

The first season was most consistently solid, but there were plenty of fun and notable episodes:

The Time Traveler's Pig: A fun and creative time travel story that pits Dipper and Mabel against a lose-lose situation, and despite all the goofy hijinks and the introduction of Waddles, the ending hits some surprisingly emotional notes for this point in the show.

Boss Mabel: This episode was just plain funny from start to finish. Mabel was easily my favorite character, and she got a chance to shine throughout as Boss Mabel's focal point. In general, it just feels like the writing was sharper than usual and most of the jokes managed to land for me.

Bottomless Pit: I'm a bit fan of vignette episodes like this, and Bottomless Pit managed to meet my lofty expectations. All of the three (four?) vignettes were entertaining, well-paced, and unique, and this episode was overall just another chance to let the comedy truly shine through.

Dreamscapers: Easily the season's best episode and it's not even close. Bill Cypher is a wonderfully entertaining antagonist, and the sheer amount of referenced plot threads, resolved mysteries, creative and surreal visuals, and fun visuals make me feel like I was watching Gravity Falls at its peak performance. Not to mention the excellent cliffhanger.

Gideon Rises: I won't lie, coming after such a visually unique episode, the more grounded Gideon Rises did feel a bit underwhelming. However, it was also a strong finale with a satisfying defeat for its titular villain, and a surprising ending that answered as many questions as it ended up raising.

Overall, Season 1 of Gravity Falls was a strong start to the series. Despite being slightly light on plot, the season was stuffed with excellent humor, likable characters, and a very well-done ending.

3/5 Stars

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of the most influential, divisive, and discussed anime ever made, and for good reason, boasting striking animation, strong action scenes, deep themes, fleshed-out characters, tons of plot twists, and a lot of emotion and drama. It's easily one of the most unique and thought-provoking series I've ever seen, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't totally enjoy it.

The main story of NGE is incredibly complicated, but to put it simply, there are these monsters called Angels that are trying to attack the Earth and cause its destruction (also known as the Third Impact). A government agency called NERV is tasked with destroying these Angels, usually using their mechs (called Evas). The pilot of the mechs have to be 14-year-old kids, meaning that Shinji, Asuka, and Rei have to deal with the pressure of saving the world along with their own teenage angst.

Right from the start, you can tell that the show is trying to deconstruct the mecha genre. The fight scenes are terrifying and can cause serious damage, characters deal with the trauma of such violence, and the emotional immaturity of these 14-year-olds end up resulting in tragedy near the end of the series. It's a compelling form of conflict that leaves you on-edge throughout the whole show. But despite that, there are still tons of moments of humor, so it's not relentlessly depressing. 

The characters are excellent, all containing their own backstory and baggage that they need to deal with. It's hard to even pick my favorite, as they're all so good. Shinji is a great audience surrogate who can be painfully relatable at times, Asuka embues the show with tons of energy, Rei is fascinating and gives some badass monologues at times, and watching Misato try to piece together the mysteries and secrets of NERV is endlessly compelling. The first half of NGE is fairly standard mecha fare, but the second half is packed with devastating twists, emotional moments, and creative imagery.

As the series nears its end, NGE leans more into psychology and character drama rather than mecha action. If you're not into this kind of stuff, then the show might end up losing you with its trippy mind screw sequences, long shots, and clip shows. But for me, this drama packs some of the highlights of the whole series. There are so many moments of introspective, symbolic imagery, and multi-faceted character moments that if I were to go in-depth on all of them, this review would be longer than my ten Friends reviews combined. My only gripe in this aspect would be that I do think Shinji gets a bit too many character studies that all seem to cover similar ground, as this technically occurs in episodes 4, 12, 19, 25, 26, and arguably 14.

The biggest controversy in NGE is probably its ending, between the more psychologically-driven original ending and the more closure-heavy movie ending. I actually prefer the TV ending, as it ends NGE on a surprisingly happy and life-affirming note as Shinji finally makes a breakthrough in regards to his mental state. Despite its low budget, there are tons of unique shots and creative imagery that I'm doubtful I'd ever forget. End Of Evangelion, the movie ending, took me a while to fully appreciate, as its nihilistic tone and plot directions (especially regarding Shinji). However, I eventually grew to admire it as well for its stunning visuals, great character development for Asuka, emotional moments, its powerful ending, and for providing the closure that the TV end couldn't.

Neon Genesis Evangelion has tons of strong episodes and standout moments, but these are some of my favorite of the bunch:

Mind, Matching, Moment: Arguably the most fun episode in the series, Asuka and Shinji get a ton of comedic moments as they grow to get along with each other, all culminating in the stunning final dance battle.

Life and Death Decisions: The final sequence where Shinji loses control of his Eva was probably the heaviest moment in the series for me. It's so intense, bloody, and relentless, and it feels like the point at which his relationship with his father, Gendo, reaches a head.

A Man's Battle: Probably my favorite episode, A Man's Battle is a slow, brutal build up to Shinji's reluctant return to the mech, culminating in one of the strongest fights in the show. It's tense, dramatic, and ends on a stunning sequence as everyone finally sees Eva-01 for the monster that it really is.

Staying Human: This entire episode is devoted to watching Asuka's mental state decline and it's hard to watch. There are tons of uncomfortable and brutal moments like the elevator scene and the mind rape. We finally learn Asuka's backstory, and it's probably the worst out of the entire cast. A great episode to watch if you want to get depressed super quickly.

Tears: The constant plot twists that this episode packs are insane, from Rei's shocking sacrifice, to Ritsuko's breakdown, to the final reveal of what Rei really is. It's fast-paced, constantly surprising, and overall one of the best episodes of the show.

The Last Cometh: Despite only appearing in this episode, Kaworu makes a strong impression with his oddly kind personality that only leads to a heart-breaking betrayal. The final battle with Kaworu, the final Angel, is climactic and tense, all culminating in one of the show's staple leave-the-camera-running moments.

The Beast That Shouted "I" At The Heart Of The World: I already wrote about how much I loved this finale. Despite the low budget, the showrunners packed in tons of unique imagery like the scribble sequences, the breakthrough scene, the AU sequence, and the final moment of Congratulations. I think this episode resonates even more now that mental health is given more of an importance, and I feel it's truly ahead of its time given that this episode was made in the 90s. Although, in all honesty, if you're expecting plot resolution or didn't know about what these episodes entail ahead of time, you will definitely be somewhat disappointed.

Overall, I loved Neon Genesis Evangelion. It's easily one of the most thought-provoking, depressing, and unique shows I've seen. Even with its ending issues, NGE left me thinking about it for days after I had finished it.

5/5 Stars

Favorite Episode: A Man's Battle

The Owl House (Season 1)

The Owl House is a fairly new Disney Channel series that just started very recently. Despite a fairly slow first half, I think Season 1 of The Owl House managed to grow into a gutsy, funny, creative, and thoroughly entertaining animated series that has a lot of room to grow even more in the future.

The main storyline of The Owl House is fairly simple, in that an average girl named Luz gets whisked away to a magical world full of witches, monsters, etc. Despite its isekai-ish premise, The Owl House quickly differentiates itself with a unique magic system, and a world far more complex than your usual fantasy world, with tons of mythology, politics, and unique species and character interactions. The Boiling Isles feels like its own fully fleshed-out world, even if it ends up coming at the cost of the show's pacing. Season 1 of The Owl House is packed with plot threads that appear and disappear throughout the season. I think most of them do a good job of getting resolved by the end, but at the cost of characters getting written out of certain episodes just because there's too much to deal with. The first half of the season is especially shaky, as it takes a while to set up all of the character dynamics and elements of the show's world.

Despite these issues, the second half of this season was absolutely excellent, packed to the brim with tons of excellent episodes that balance comedy, drama, and heart incredibly well. This is thanks to the strong and well-written characters that even managed to carry some of the weaker earlier episodes. The best character is probably Amity Blight, who has one of my favorite iterations of the bully-becomes-friend character arc I've seen. Frankly, some of my favorite episodes are the ones focused around Amity. It's also worth noting the sheer gutsiness of having the main characters in a Disney show be LGBT, and I can't wait to see Amity and Luz's relationship evolve further in Season 2. Other highlights include Luz, who is a likable and quirky protagonist, and the consistently hilarious King, courtesy of Bill Hirsch.

The second half of Season 1 is pretty much a nonstop streak of excellent episodes, the best of which include:

Understanding Willow: A pretty big stepping-stone in Amity's character arc, as we finally learn why her relationship with Willow is so strained. Both of these characters are fleshed out a lot, and the creative dream visuals make this a visually stunning episode as well.

Enchanting Grom Fright: This episode was mostly a buildup to the third act, but what a third act it was. That dance fight was stunning, and it still wasn't even the best-animated moment in the show. The reveal that Amity has feelings for Luz is shocking and exciting, and it even ends on a mysterious twist about Luz's mom that hasn't even been resolved yet.

Agony Of A Witch: Up until this point, The Owl House has been fairly light-hearted for the most part, but Agony Of A Witch is just intense. So many near deaths, shocking twists, and heartwrenching twists that serves as the dramatic height of the season. And that's not to mention the astonishing fight between Eda and Lilith which boasts some of the best animation I've seen all year.

Young Blood, Old Souls: While not every character gets their time to shine here (*cough* Amity *cough*), this is a strong finale that brings back the focus to the core trio. There are some pretty neat twists like Luz burning the portal and Lilith becoming good, all leading to an interesting new status quo for Season 2.

Overall, the first season of The Owl House may have had a slow start packed with tons of set-up and maybe too many plot points, but the second half does an excellent job of paying off a lot of those plot points and playing around with the show's creative location, setting up for what should be an even better Season 2.

3/5 Stars

The Mandalorian (Season 2)

Coming after the really strong Season 1 of The Mandalorian, I was expecting something great from its successor. More action, higher stakes, a faster pace, and maybe some returning characters from other entries in the Star Wars franchise. Well, we definitely got that.

The main storyline of Season 2 is that Mando (I'm still calling him that) needs to find a home for The Child (also known as Baby Yoda also known as Grogu). The season has him travel the galaxy, meeting tons of new and old characters alike while also trying to prevent Grogu from falling into the hands of Moss Gideon, who wants to use his blood for his own nefarious plans.

In terms of positives, Season 2 definitely ups the action and fanservice to insane degrees. Boba Fett, Bo Katan, Ahsoka, and Luke make appearances this season, all having amazing moments of their own while (mostly) not overshadowing the core storyline of Mando and Grogu. I especially liked Boba Fett's role, as I really felt they redeemed the character after his underwhelming portrayal in the original trilogy. The action is also top-notch, as the season packs in tons of crazy shootouts, chases, and fights. The best setpiece this season was probably the shootout during The Tragedy, which really gives Boba Fett and Fennec Shard some serious moments to shine. There are also a bunch of interesting and clever additions to the lore, with my favorite being the reveal that Mando's clan is a bit of a cult.

However, despite all of this style and fanservice, I felt like Season 2 lacked the substance that the first season had. Season 1 didn't have any returning characters at all, and despite its slow middle, it told a more nuanced story about the morally gray members of the Star Wars canon. That same nuance appears in some episodes this season, particularly The Believer, but for the most part, it seems to veer more towards the "good vs evil" perspective that we know the franchise for. I also felt the ending was a bit weaker compared to the phenomenal Redemption from Season 1, with Luke's cameo feeling fairly out of place in such an otherwise small scale story, and the final scene just ending really abruptly in general.

Despite my gripes, I can definitely say that I had a blast going through Season 2, and the show kept me guessing episode after episode what could happen next. There were also plenty of high points throughout the season:

The Heiress: I adored this episode. Bo Katan's appearance was awesome, and the fast pace was welcome after a fairly slow start to the season. There were plenty of neat plot twists like the aforementioned cult reveal and Ahsoka's namedropping, along with some fun and exciting action scattered throughout. It was a lean, tight episode that felt perfectly paced and thought-out.

The Tragedy: Boba Fett's return was everything I could have hoped it would be. He absolutely killed it in the fight scenes, and for once, I feel like I got a genuine sense of his personality. Not to mention the plot twists felt like season finale-material, and Robert Rodriguez's directorial style made this episode one of the most distinct in the series.

The Believer: I think this might have been the best episode in the series to date, despite not being one of the "big cameo" episodes. It's easily the most nuanced in the series, challenging Mando's ideals in some really interesting ways. Bill Burr's character had a lot of depth and development compared to his first appearance, Mando having to take off his helmet was a great moment, the action was fantastic throughout, and we finally got the return of one of the franchise's coolest sound effects: The Seismic Charge.

The Rescue: Despite my many gripes with this episode, I can't deny my sheer shock at actually seeing Luke again, albeit in a shoddy CGI form. The final battle between Mando and Gideon was also really great and tense, even if it was a bit short.

Overall, the fast pace, constant excitement, crazy action, and bucketloads of fanservice made Season 2 of The Mandalorian an absolute joy to watch. However, I think I still preferred Season 1, as it felt a lot more nuanced and satisfying. Still, a must-watch for fans of Star Wars.

4/5 Stars