I'm about to finish my run of all the four seasons of The Legend of Korra.
I'm absolutely loving the setting, the villains and (some of) the humor, but man if this series has some glaring writing issues
I need to watch the rest. I watched Season 1 of Korra, liked it, then never got around to watching the whole series. It just didn't quite have Last Airbenders staying power. I binged Last Airbender.
As a huge Last Airbender fan, Korra was just okay. The characters were pretty good but the story was very often stupid and made no logical sense. I rewatched most of till S4 and didn't want to go no further really.
Punisher S2
I loved this season. The villains were awesome - Billy was terrifying in an unhinged way, while John was terrifying in a calm, unstoppable way to contrast that. From the trailer I thought the girl was gonna be annoying but I ended up really liking her character. Lots of great moments too, with my favorite probably being the episode at the police station near the beginning of the season. My only complaint is probably that final shot was really corny. And I know it's on brand for his character to do that, I was hoping he'd go back to the small town w/ the bartender instead. Other than that minor thing, it was a really great season and probably an OK place to end things on since it'll probably join the other Netflix Marvel shows that have all been canceled.
The Legend of Korra (all four seasons, Nicktoons/Nickelodeon, 2012-2014) - Between a 7 and a 8/10
There's a lot I'd like to say on the subject, but I'll try to be brief.
There are three thing that I unquestioningly found good about this show, which are:
1) The excellent graphical design and animation quality. Korra, along with maybe only the original Teen Titans series, uses this deeply enjoyable blend of western (overall characters and world design) and eastern animation (battle coreography and exaggerated facial expressions). It's one of my favorite animation style and I'd like to see implemented far more.
2) The setting and what the authors managed to do with it. On the surface, the premise it's pretty simple: you are in this fantasy eastern medieval world divided in four different human cultures where people can conjure either earth, fire, water or air. This series however not only pushes the limits of what benders are truly capable of, but always deploys "magic" in interesting and unexpected ways, more or less mundane. Also, the new, steampunk-ish civilization of Korra is both a welcomed change from the original series and a novelty idea with plenty of features and implications worthy of exploring.
3) As the final season itself argues, all the villains are different flavor of well-intentioned extremist antagonists, which truly are my favorite flavor of villains ever.
Now that's out of the way, unfortunately this series is literally filled with writing issues. I'm not interested in understanding how did we come to his, especially since I really loved the original series (Avatar: The Last Airbender) also for its simplicity, but that's how it is. To wit:
The pacing is scyzophrenic
Plot threads and elements are dropped and resumed seemingly at random
Plot elements which should be greatly expanded upon are ignored while useless ones recive far too much prominence
Comic relief characters are one-note and obnoxious
High-stakes season finales which leave the writers no other choices but to resolve them with ass pulls all over the damn place
Inconsistent character development
Inability of the heroes to remember their lessions
Tendency of the heroes not to act and allow the villains to have free reign in their scheme
... And then some more I can't recall at the moment
Also, it is true that the writing quality fluctues a lot between the different seasons, but I disagree with the majority about which are which. As far as I'm concerned, season two and three are the best of the show (due to the great expansion of the setting's lore and the excellent and unique villains respectively), while season one and four are the low point (due to horrible pacing plus missed opportunities and a overstimated main villain plus ineffective heroes respectively).
As a side note, regarding the whole Korra and Asami business, I have much more doubts about it than genuine praise, but the least I say about it the better
No Activity (Season 2)
I watched the first season a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it but only just started the second and it's just as good.
so travelers got cancelled.
sad to see season 3 end on a fairly huge cliffhanger and not get a resolution to it, but it's still a decent finale overall.
Finally got around to the 3rd season of this. Feel pretty similar about it. Wow though when Utred's step sister / the priests wife burned alive because she stabbed the guy and couldn't push him off the floorboards. I was not prepared for that, such a sad way to go.
Also, they have finally put the 2nd season of Legion on Hulu so I'm very excited to see that. I think I'm gonna rewatch the 1st season, both because I've forgotten a lot of it, but also it seems like the type of show that you'd notice different, slightly hidden things upon multiple viewings.
Watched the 2nd season of Counterpart. A lot of Fringe and The Americans vibes, likable characters, interesting plot connections (twists included) and an amazing cast on top of it.
JK Simmons both playing as a cold blooded violent killer AND a calm quiet and innocent loving husband? Awesome show if you're into scifi paralell universe espionage type shit.
Netflix is full of shit. They need to actually commit to their shows instead of cancelling them left and right. Travelers was one of their best shows. Wtf are they on?
I know right, Fuller House is also getting their final season!
I'll be honest I have never heard of Travellers until just now. Their marketing must have been shit.
Deadly Class is pretty fucking good. Assassin school plot, essentially.
The Knick
Season 1 and 2
7/10
I remember back when they announced it it looked really good but I didn't find time to watch it. Unfortunately they cancelled the show after 2 seasons. I would give it probably an 8 because the first season has some strong moments. Unfortunately there are a couple of filler episodes in the first season and sadly the second season lost a bit of that sharp edge.
Sets, music, acting, atmosphere... really top notch quality otherwise.
Umbrella Academy Season 1
8.5/10
The show was surprisingly good. The characters were pretty well fleshed out and the comedy was on point. Some of the music choices seemed a little forced, but oh well. Definitely worth a binge-watch. I hear that the fans of the comics aren't 100% happy, but when does that ever happen?
Yeah they barely marketed it at all but it's well worth watching
Umbrella Academy has a lot of cool ideas but they tried to do a few too many storylines for 10 episodes so a lot of them end up feeling half baked.
Worth watching the whole first episode if only for the dance scene tho
I finished watching No Activity. It was good, though the Christmas Special felt a little different.
Sex Education 9/10 - hits too close to home with me. Some characters I really don't care about. Otherwise, want to see more.
Legion S2
I guess I should have expected to be surprised by pretty much everything this show does but man that was a fantastic season. Those parts that Jon Hamm narrates, the fantastic performance by the 'real' Shadow King, the continued insanity of Aubrey Plaza, and DAVID BECOMING THE VILLAIN?! So much good stuff. Can't wait to see where season 3 goes.
The Big Fight this season was so good!
True Detective season 3
If only this is what the second season of True Detective ended up being. Don't get me wrong, I like the second well enough, but it's just a little too sloppy for its own good. Season 3 is not as good as the
first. Let's just dispel that right up front. As it's own entity, it's pretty damn good, but it can't quite shake itself from the first season's shadow, largely in part because it shares a lot of the same beats. At
times it kinda feels like it's because Nic Pizzolatto was afraid of making something that was different than the first season, as if that was the real problem behind Season 2. Ultimately, it lacks the same punch Season 1 had, but Season 3 is still a worthwhile watch. While the plot isn't quite as strong (creepy serial killer tends to trump missing kids) the real reason to watch, just like with Season 1, are the performances. Mahershala Ali is phenomenal. The supporting cast is pretty good as well, but Ali plays Det. Wayne Hays so well, especially in his older years, fraught with dementia. I'm almost convinced they just got an old man to play Old Hays and did some post production magic to put Ali's head on the body, but it's clear that he did the work to make it convincing, and the makeup team too deserves
top marks.
I'm not sure if I can say this is a return to form for True Detective, but I can say this: it's a show worth getting excited about again.
Umbrella Academy 7/10
I really liked it, but didn't love it. It kind of dragged on a bit. I didn't really strike any connections with the characters, except Ellen Page who got very little screen time. I did like Klaus too and enjoyed the mystery behind his powers. Overall tho, I think it's main fault is that many of the characters are just very unlikable. Five is obnoxious as hell and the rest are kind of just bland (and sometimes, assholes). I hope with next season they give them more personality.
Been watching True Detective S3, watched the first 4, but I'm going to wait until it's all been on and watch them all over a few evenings. I can't cope with an episode a week.
Also watching American Gods on Amazon, very good, but bizarre.
Leftovers S1 as well, only done 1st episode so far.
True Detective s3 finished last week
Almost done with The Fall. Very good show. Gillian Anderson is really good in this, and for me this is the first time seeing Jamie Dornan on screen.
Binged Marie Kondo on Netflix and fucking loved it. Instead of just being a cleaning show, the author details a personal philosophy of quasi minimalist living while also keeping things that spark joy. I just ordered the book for my family to read and now I really have the urge to do some spring cleaning.
Started watching Fleabag and ended up binging the first season. I was initially worried it was just going to be Sex Jokes: The Show, but it does end up having a really good season-long storyline with some serious stuff in it, as well as moments that made me laugh. Great characters and performances, especially from Olivia Colman's character. Def recommend it.
Good Girls Season 1 and Season 2 Episode 1
7.5/10
Not bad. It has some moments that are a little forced, but for the most part it is a nice retreading of the classic 'falling into crime' story that smacks of references or otherwise homages to things like breaking bad. It takes itself a little more lightly, but it also has a decent grasp of the dark side of things. I reccomend if what you want is a light-hearted show to watch that never-the-less deals with the criminal mentality very interestingly.
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