If Andor were to end with “Rix Road” I would be satisfied, at least as far as Cassian Andor’s story goes. Everything I need to know about Cassian has been answered over the course of the series, and “Kill me…or … Continue reading Andor S1E12: Rix Road
The writing on Andor is tight enough that you can never say that an episode is “wasted” or treading water. Things advance in each one, some more coherently and compellingly than others. But I think “Daughter of Ferrix” feels like … Continue reading Andor S1E11: Daughter of Ferrix
If Andor has a thesis statement, I would argue that it’s contained within this episode (and then explicitly underscored in “Rix Road”). When you are trapped in an oppressive system, one that thrives on the false belief that compliance will … Continue reading Andor S1E10: One Way Out
I want to talk a little bit about Kino Loy, Andy Serkis’ character, who more or less dominates Andor’s prison triplet. There’s another version of Kino Loy’s character where he’s an antagonist—a power-hungry psychopath, for example, who relishes his position … Continue reading Andor S1E09: Nobody’s Listening!
“Narkina 5” kicks off the prison triplet of Andor, which all take place primarily on a heptagonal floating prison on the eponymous planet. Star Wars gains a lot of currency from how used and lived it is: ships and vehicles … Continue reading Andor S1E08: Narkina 5
It’d be easy, I think, to say that “Announcement” is a comedown after “The Eye.” Certainly, the tension is less pronounced and the narrative less focused than the fifty-odd minutes that episode spends almost entirely on the heist. But in … Continue reading Andor S1E07: Announcement
To me, the standout feature of “The Eye” is its magnificent bleakness. Don’t get me wrong: it’s a thrilling, tense episode, featuring an almost perfectly executed heist, and because Gilroy and company have given us no information at all about … Continue reading Andor S1E06 The Eye
The odd thing about “The Axe Forgets” is that it isn’t particularly memorable, and not much actually happens, but I wouldn’t say it’s weak. Much like “That Would Be Me” there isn’t so much of a throughline (though if the … Continue reading Andor S1E05: The Axe Forgets
If Andor is something of a spy show, then “Aldhani” is the first inkling that there are two organized groups: a government intelligence agency, and the insurgent cells operating against them. The episode picks up directly after the frantic raid … Continue reading Andor S1E04: Aldhani
When people complained to me about Andor being slow, I always encouraged them to stick with it until “Reckoning.” I think it’s really the pivotal episode of the series in terms of setting up the quality. The next two episodes … Continue reading Andor S1E03: Reckoning
Every time I watch “That Would Be Me” I’m caught a little offguard by the ending. This was the episode where I was really dying to know what happened next when it first aired. The episode is very much laying … Continue reading Andor S1E02: That Would Be Me
A multi-season story about the main supporting character in Rogue One, a film that ends with all its characters getting killed off one by one until finally only its leads are left holding each other as the Death Star obliterates … Continue reading Andor S1E01: Kassa
“Paterfamilias” feels like the first episode of Gods where we need to tread a little water. After the “successes” of “Missio” we need some setbacks. And of course it wasn’t going to be that easy. This was a Batiatus scheme, … Continue reading Spartacus: Gods of the Arena: Episode 03: Paterfamilias
You could be forgiven, based on the marketing, that Spartacus was a show exclusively about how badass gladiators were. And I’m sure many people did write it off as such. Which is a shame, because it means they missed episodes … Continue reading Spartacus: Gods of the Arena: Episode 02: Missio
Weirdly, even though it’s been over a year since I did the last Spartacus: Blood and Sand review, what strikes me most about watching Gods of the Arena this time through is how familiar it feels. In many ways, it … Continue reading Spartacus: Gods of the Arena: Episode 01: Past Transgressions
From 1859 to 1872, the United States and the United Kingdom were technically in a low-grade conflict sparked by a dispute over a pig. Both nations claimed the island of San Juan, in the Salish Sea, between Vancouver on one … Continue reading The History Thread Fights the Pig War
This is adapted from a lyric essay I’ve been writing on and off since 2011. At 11:30 AM on December 17, 2010, a young man approached the office of the governor of Sidi Bouzid in Tunisia. He was a fruit … Continue reading The History Thread is Setting Itself on Fire
Hullo, I’m Hobbes, stepping in for today while Agnew steps back. Today is the anniversary of the death of famed imperialist Major-General Charles George Gordon at the siege of Khartoum in the Sudan, 1885, sometimes called “Chinese Gordon” (ah, the … Continue reading The Emergency History Thread is Ever Victorious Until It’s Not
Welcome to the end of what feels like the end of a year that fit into a week, everyone. Monday was the President of the United States pressuring a state to overturn its election in his favor, Wednesday was the … Continue reading The Replacement Weekend Politics Thread Waits For What’s Next
“What would you do—to hold your wife again? To feel the warmth of her skin, the taste of her lips? How many men would you kill? A hundred? A thousand? There stands but one between you and her. ” There’s … Continue reading Spartacus: Blood and Sand: Episode 13: Kill Them All
If you think of this episode as, essentially, Part One of the finale, then I think “Revelations” works a little better. Much of this episode is set dressing for the final confrontation and the result is a little uneven, especially … Continue reading Spartacus: Blood and Sand: Episode 12: Revelations
