Better Call Saul: Fun and Games

 "What you talk about is not justice. What you talk of is revenge. It never ends."

Thus speaks Nacho's grieving dad, and he speaks for decency. In a world where all the main characters- including Jimmy, Mike and now Kim-  are tainted by association with a morally reprehensible cartel, that destroys lives and exploits the hopeless, he speaks the truth. And a truth at the core of the show: Chuck and Howard, arrogant though they could be, were right. Because the law, despite its flaws, is everything. The alternative, as has been known ever since Aeschylus' Oresteia, is a never ending cycle of revenge.

And ironically this arises from Mike, with his code of ethics, trying to do the right thing. But there is ethics and there is ethics. This episode seems, for most of its length, to be about tidying up loose ends from last episode's momentous events. But it's so much more.

We see Gus defend himself, successfully, to Don Eladio from the accusations of Hector. It seems he's won, and is now master of all he surveys. Yet only now do we get a glimpse intoa different Gus, a wine snob, a sophisticate... and, secretly. I'm sure, from the probable bigotry of the cartel, gay. Of course he is. It never crossed my mind before, but of course he is. And it's fascinating that we see this further layer of the character now.

But we also see the consequences ogf Howard's humiliation and death. HHM is destroyed, the names of Hamlin and McGill both now discredited: Jimmy destroys all he touches. And yet, in an excruciating scene with Howard's wake, it is Kim who cruelly gaslights his widow.

But then... wow. It hits hard. Kim loves Jimmy (he thinks he loves her, I'm sure, but is he capable of feeling the real thing?), but she leaves him, as they're morally bad for each other. And she's no longer a lawyer. This is her penance, her redemptive sacrifice, her quest for atonement.

And these are things that Jimmy will never understand.

No.

Not Jimmy. Saul. All ties to Jimmy's past are now gone. We end the episede with the Saul we know from Breaking Bad. Wow. Things are moving fast. Television has seldom been better than this.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: What They Become

"I'm her father, not you!"

And they end it there?

Wow. What a half season. Trip is dead. Mack may not be. Whitehall is dead. Ward has been shot, by Skye. And that's just the start. It isn't just crammed full of incident because it's the end of the half-season, though; all episodes are like this at the moment.

Let's just say it: Cal (Skye's Dad) is Mr Hyde, and Skye ("Daisy") is Quake as well as an Inhuman. Exactly who Raina is, besides an Inhuman, is unclear, and the same is true of that mysterious bloke at the end, with another Obelisk and no eyeholes. A lot gets explained to Skye by her father, much of which we have already have worked out; it's hard to hide spoilers when there's a pre-existing Marvel mythos.

Regarding the regulars, it's clear that Slye has come on leaps and bounds as an agent, and Fitz continues to recover slowly from the brain damage. May is a genius pilot, while it seems Ward's whole agenda was to take Skye to her father and her destiny, for which she shoots him. The scenes where Skye receives much exposition from her father are the fulcrum of the episode and, indeed, the season so far. We've been waiting for this.

I'm still stunned from watching that. What will happen next? How long will we have to wait? Will any UK channel be showing Agent Carter? So many questions. Agents of SHIELD is on fire. I keep saying it because it's true.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: A Hen in the Wolf House

"I prefer you blonde!"

Right. You know how last week I gushed about how brilliant last episode was? Well, this episode knocks it into a cocked hat. Awesome stuff keeps happening. We find out stuff about Skye's father. And Mockingbird!!! And she is Hunter's much discussed ex-wife is a well-earned reveal that had me laughing out loud.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. This is a big arc episode full of bombshells. We get a closer look at Skye's dad, an unstable, self-loathing "monster" with superhuman strength and a medical degree who ends up giving the Obelisk to HYDRA at the end, which is not good news. We get an end to the secrecy between Skye and Coulson and, interestingly, we get it confirmed that out of the three who were injected with the GH formula, only Skye has not been doing the weird writing. Could she be a bit alien to start with? The alien was blue-Kree? I seem to recall from my comics reading days that it was the Kree who genetically engineered the Inhumans...

It's startling to see Raina so desperate; who is she? It seems she was pretty much raised by Skye's father. It's cool to see the previously intimidating Bobbi Morse kicking arse while rescuing Simmons, and I can't wait to see the dynamic between her and ex-husband Hunter.

The heart of the episode, though, is Simmons' awkward reunion with Fitz, which made my lovely wife cry a bit with the understated and very British emotion. Bring on next week. I'm loving this series. It's a proper Joss Whedon show and no mistake.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: Face My Enemy

"It didn't work out because interspecies relationships are hard. I was a human, whereas she was a demonic hell beast."

Wow. What an episode. Agents of SHIELD is on fire this season. I hope they can keep this up.

Agents Coulson and May are on an undercover mission at a posh do in order to recover this week's MacGuffin, a 16th century painting with some of that alien writing on the back. Having those particular agents on the mission accomplishes several things. Firstly, the fact that Coulson is on a mission at all emphasises SHIELD's reduced circumstances; he's supposed to be Director. Secondly, we get to see the amazing chemistry between Ming-Na Wen and Clark Gregg which suggests, perhaps more so than the dialogue, that they may have been a couple in the past. This isn't something I'd ever assumed before, but I certainly assume it as a possibility now because of the acting choices made.

Thirdly, of course, there's the fact that Coulson tries to spend the whole episode trying to get May to agree to kill him if his episodes of alien writing lead him to go full-on Garret. She's reluctant, and has a contingency plan to avoid this; beneath the hard exterior she cares for him deeply. There's a lot still to come out about their history together.

On a funnier note, though, I love the team's reaction to May's attempt at laughter. And I love how she just walks through the laser grid.

In other news, Hunter seems to be slowly bonding with the team, although Skye seems impervious to his charms (they're definitely going to get together), while Fitz proves his usefulness by, well, saving the whole damn team. He's still far from recovered, though, and still very much the outsider.

Arc-wise... well, HYDRA have suddenly become masters of disguise. Coulson's interestingly nuanced relationship with General Talbot continues. And we end with Raina in deep trouble; she has 48 hours to recover the big bad MacGuffin fircthev disturbingly sadistic Dr Whitehall or he will torture her quite horribly...

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: Making Friends and Influencing People

"How is everyone?"

"Fitz is ok. He's hanging in there."

Three episodes in and we have loads of exciting season plot threads simmering nicely; it's going so much better than this time last season. It feels like a proper Joss Whedon show.

The plot is essentially that both SHIELD and HYDRA are after Donnie Gill (Blizzard) from last season, but so much is woven around this. The first big reveal is that Simmons is working for HYDRA; the second (rather less surprising) revelation is that she's a double agent, reporting directly to Coulson. But this is rather cleverly handled, having Simmons be HYDRA's negotiator with the proud Blizzard, in competition with SHIELD. Her cover is blown with her old mates, but not her supposed new ones; in fact, she ends up promoted. She's far from safe, though. As Skye says, she's a terrible liar.

We learn more about HYDRA's brainwashing techniques- the episode is bookended with a certain Agent 33 (a character we know from the comics?) starting her brainwashing and having completed it. HYDRA are certainly terrifying, and once again it's emphasised that the stand for fascism and oppose liberty.

Fitz is making progress; he shows self-awareness, realising that Simmons is just a figment of his imagination and that things are being hidden from him. His confrontation with Ward is both cathartic and a means for him to help the team. Coulson seems to show him greater respect afterwards.

No one trusts Hunter, unsurprisingly, although he seems to show early signs of incipient bonding with Skye, who still has no time for Ward. We end with a bombshell, though; Skye's father is alive, and Ward knows where he is. 

This was brilliant, and Agents of SHIELD is on fire with a first rate script and a superb cast. Long may this continue.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: Shadows

"Do not abort. Proceed as planned!"

It's back! And what an opening episode. This confidently retools the show to be about a small, under-the-radar outfit led by Coulson gradually rebuilding, expanding and, after the end, even pootling about in their very own Quinjet. All this, and the Absorbing Man too. And I love the visual effects in play with "Crusher" Creel.

We begin with a flashback, from 1945, guest starring Hayley Atwell as Agent Carter, in scenes both reminding us of HYDRA's Nazi roots and introducing us to what seems to be a significant and ongoing MacGuffin, the first ever 0-8-4. This is also, of course, a teaser to a certain sister series we can expect later. Oh, and there's Dum Dum.

Let's do a tour of the characters, shall we? Coulson is calm, controlled, organised, brilliant and in his agent, but May is there to remind him that he has issues- and to do little else. Fitz is genuinely tragic, like an elderly person with dementia. His damaged brain has made him forgetful, with words forever on the tip of his tongue; as my wife says, it's as though he has a stammer inside his head. Yet he retains his intelligence, and he knows exactly what's happening to him. Worse, he's isolated; at the end we learn that, far from talking with Simmons all the time as we thought, she is all in his head. Simmons left a few months ago.

And that's the point, I suppose; months have passed since the end of the season. Trip, for example, is clearly a fully integrated member of the team by now, and pretty awesome. I hope we get to know him a little better.

Coulson has been busy recruiting and plotting. He hints at "allies" in London who, no doubt, will be revealed later in the season (dare I hope for Captain Britain and MI-13?), but right now we see him recruit ex-SHIELD mercenary, the soon-to-be-one-handed Hartley, with her two mercenary mates: Cockney wide boy Hunter and Idaho, of whom we know little for now. Wonder which state he hails from?

Ward, still held prisoner, has become bearded, philosophical and perhaps even stoical. He seems quietly determined to redeem himself, and to prove himself to a still-disgusted Skye. (And he seems to know of her father.) This seems an interesting character trajectory for what already looks to be a splendid season.

If all that isn't enough, who is the mysterious character at the end who is important enough to be played by Reed Diamond? I can't wait to find out.

Much Ado About Nothing (2013)

"When I said I would die a bachelor, I did not think I should live till I were married."

This may be one of the most low budget films I will ever review for this blog, yet it is quietly wonderful; filmed entirely in the grounds of Joss Whedon's house in classy monochrome, a cast of Whedon's usual suspects combine with the enforced creativity of filming caused by the restricted locations to create some real magic.

Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof have always been actors worthy of the greatest roles, and they both shine as Beatrice and Benedick. Clark Gregg, a natural at benevolent authority figures, is an excellent Leonato, while Sean Maher is suitably sinister as Don John. Fran Kranz (against type) and newcomer Jillian Morgese are also highlights as Claudio and Hero. The cast is rounded out by Reed Diamond as Don Pedro and, intriguingly, Nathan Fillion in a comic role as the delightfully soft man of malapropism a Dogberry.

The different rooms of the house are nicely used to separate the characters during the masked ball, but the best framed scenes are those whereby first Benedick and then Beatrice are made to "overhear" talk that the other loves them. Denisof's comic acting is superb here, but both he and Acker are also naturals at delivering the ensuing soliloquys.

This is one of Shakespeare's most enjoyable comedies, with much wise philosophising on the ways of love and relationships, although even those, such as myself, who are burdened with a "y" chromosome find it hard, looking across the centuries, not to notice the appalling gender double standards at play here. Leonato, in particular, is not a sympathetic character to modern eyes in his denunciation of Hero at her aborted wedding, but Clark Gregg deals with this as well as can be done.

I urge you to see this wonderful film. What can be better than both Joss Whedon and William Shakespeare?

Dollhouse: The Attic

"My real name's Echo!"

Wow. This is at the same time a surreal, virtual reality themed episode, redolent of Part Three of classic Doctor Who story The Deadly Assassin, and a massive, massive reveal. This looks absolutely nothing like the rest of Dollhouse. Even the opening titles are different: this is big. Very big. It's not all over yet, though. Not by a long shot.

It's hard to know where to start. Dominic is back, of course. There is surreal stuff, and Echo, Priya and Anthony face their worst nightmares in the weirdest possible way. That Japanese bloke... I shudder at the memory.

But the big revelation is that the supposed big bad, "Arcane", is in fact a British chap called Clyde, the betrayed co-founder of Rossum, who has been languishing in the Attic since 1993! Clyde, with his cyber- superpowers, can see a terrible future that must be avoided or, to be a bit more meta, he's seen Epitaph One. He's a human computer, powering everything, and has been replaced in real life with "Clyde 2.0"...!

Echo, Anthony and Priya, being heroic and, more to the point, the protagonists, naturally escape back to our reality. At this point another bombshell is dropped: Adelle was a goodie all the time, and only sent our heroes into the Attic so they would find enough information to bring Rossum down. Well, well, well. This is not entirely uninfluenced by The Matrix, but it's excellent stuff.

Oh yes, and Ballard is back. He's a doll. Imprinted with himself. Weird.

There's one person who knows the identity of Clyde's partner: Caroline. And we end with Echo declaring an intention to "meet" her...