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fraherj
Reviews
Supernatural: Bloodlines (2014)
Not perfect, but still pretty good (Biggest complaints I've seen get addressed)
Yes, this episode was a back-door pilot for a spin-off series, and yes, it does have its share of flaws and plot holes, but all in all, it captures the charm of the SPN pilot quite well. But for some reason, most of the reviews are negative. Here's the biggest complaints that I've seen from the user reviews:
Characters are bland Writing is poor How can generations of hunters not know of Chicago being run by monster families? Winchesters break their own rules Not much of Sam and Dean
1. I really liked the characters. Ennis especially. He watches his girlfriend, whom he is seconds away from proposing to, gets killed in front of him be a hooded figure with silver claws. Not because she's a monster, but because she's in the guy's way. This brings back memories of Sam seeing his girlfriend on the ceiling before she bursts into flames way back in season 1. And this isn't the only instance of loss Ennis experiences. His dad, who was a cop, "died" in the line of duty.
As for David, he's a respectable character for a monster. I've seen other people complain about how monsters have become handsome rich guys or whatever, but from a survivalist standpoint, that makes sense. If you want to survive as a species, of course you'd pick the buffer, richer guys over homeless people. Another complaint is that they've been given human emotions, but it seems a little arrogant to think that emotions other than apathy belong to humans alone.
2. I never found a single instance of poor writing. The worst I found was one predictable line towards the end, but even then, it fit the situation, and showed some character progression for Ennis.
3. Out of all the complaints, this is the most valid. How, with Bobby, Rufus, Samuel, etc, could 5 families of monsters rule Chicago unnoticed? Especially when Ennis saw a wraith's reflection so easily? Please. I could understand it better if Ennis didn't notice that darn reflection in the first 5 minutes. Or maybe, the more experienced hunters knew about it, but knew that it was stable for the moment, and clearing them out would lead to chaos. No other episode took place in Chicago. That implies what I just said, or that there wasn't anything major going down there in the first place.
4. So Dean let a shapeshifter into the car. There wasn't much time to evaluate the situation, what with the hooded killer on the loose. Plus, Ennis saved him, so he couldn't be all bad. And as for letting the monsters live at the end, they weren't the ones killing people, or the reason Dean and Sam were there in the first place.
5. Yes, it's an episode of "Supernatural" where Sam and Dean play second fiddle, but I never found that to be a problem because a)They were there in some amount and b)If this was just a pilot for the new spin-off, not as many people would've watched it.
Overall, I enjoyed this episode, and I am super excited for the upcoming spin-off series "Supernatural: Bloodlines"
The Walking Dead: A (2014)
A good episode, but not a good finale
OK, first off, this season finale raised more questions than it answered. What is up with the Terminans? Where is Beth? Why didn't we see Carol, Tyreese, and Lil' Asskicker? What was with that creepy candle room?
So, the episode opens with a flashback (one of many) of the gap between seasons 3 and 4, where Hershel is trying to get Rick to learn to farm in order to save himself and Carl from the people they're becoming. I liked these flashbacks, because they show how much Rick has gone back to his bad ass self.
The whole episode focuses on Rick, Carl, Michonne, and Daryl, once the two groups meet, resulting in a big fight scene, my favorite of the episode, and ending in Rick biting off a piece of Joe's shoulder and brutally stabbing another man from Joe's group. After, they are unsure of Terminus, and rightly so, given the shows track record.
So, they sneak around to the back of Terminus through the woods, where Michonne tells Carl about what happened to her son, Andre, and how she ended up with her first pair of walker pets. It's nice to finally find out what happened with Michonne. The four of them sneak in the back way and find a woman speaking into a microphone, reading the "Those who arrive, survive" stuff from the episode's trailer, and about 6-8 guys doing something in a warehouse-looking room. The leader of Terminus is a man named Gareth, and he asks the group to place their weapons on the floor, which they do. They then get searched for any other weapons, and when none are found, they are taken to the courtyard we saw Glenn and the others go into last week.
Several new faces are seen, but not the ones we know and love. Rick notices one Terminan's pocket is sagging, so he reaches into it, puts a gun to the man's head, and finds Glenn's watch. Michonne, Daryl, and Carl raise their weapons, and we have another hostage situation. A sniper on the roof shoots the hostage in the back of the head, and the four run around Terminus, apparently being guided by the sniper's gunshots, as they are all aimed at their feet. During the running, we see a pile of what appears to contain a rib cage, and hear some shouts coming from a train car.
Rick and the others find then enter a room that is filled with candles and what appears to be names written on the floor. The only other door in that room is shut as they approach it, so they exit the way they entered to find a line of people with guns. Gareth tells Rick, whom he calls "Ringleader," to go to the train car, followed by Daryl ("Archer") and Michonne ("Samurai"), or Carl dies. They follow his instructions, and the four of them enter the train car, which happens to contain Glenn's group. After another flashback, Rick says "They're gonna feel pretty stupid when they find out" to which Abraham replies "Find out what?" And the season ends with Rick saying "They're screwing with the wrong people."
Really? That's how the freaking season ends?! That would've made for a fantastic MID-season finale, but so few questions were answered, and so many new questions arose. It seems like the writers are suffering from "Breaking Bad syndrome," where they're thinking of the story in the "big picture" rather than season to season. The past 3 season finales had a sense of closure to them, leaving the CDC, escaping Hershel's farm and finding each other, welcoming the Woodbury residents into the prison, but this one feels like there should be an episode following it the following week. The only closure this provided was killing off Joe's group. We still hardly know anything about Terminus. Maybe my disappointment comes from my high expectations of this episode, but it just didn't feel satisfying.