TV REVUE – Game of Thrones: The Bear and the Maiden Fair

We could arrange to have you carried. – Tywin

Well that one was certainly jam-packed, even by normal GoT standards. But at least it departed from last week’s tell-rather-than-show episode. Daenerys’ exact objective continues to elude me, I thought she wanted the crown to rule the Seven Kingdoms? If so, why does she insist on taking all these detours to do semi-noble things like free slaves? Why risk attacking a heavily fortified city like Yunkai when you are only 200,000 strong? Take the crown back and then return when you’re basically the world police of Westeros and Essos? She just needs to get going already and right the rest of the wrong in the world later on.

TV REVUE – Game of Thrones: The Climb

Face, tits, balls– I hit ‘em right where I wanted to. – Arya

It seems as though no matter how exposition-heavy episodes of this show can be, we can still manage to learn next to nothing in the span of an hour. Take the case of Theon who is being tortured by a yet-to-be identified assailant. While it’s been riveting to watch Theon’s agonizing pain these past few weeks, the mind games his tormentor plays on him are just as maddening for the audience. But last night he did let it slip about knowing Bran and Rickon were still alive. Since this implies he is connected to Winterfell, I have an idea of how he is connected and to whom, but don’t want to speculate out of accidentally venturing into spoiler territory (keep in mind I have not read the books). Theon’s pinky meets the pointy end through piercing and what appears to be flaying, and it appears things will only get worse before they get better for him.

TV REVUE – Game of Thrones: Kissed By Fire

I like you boy, but if  you lie to me, I’ll pull your guts out through your throat. – Tormund

After a somewhat sluggish season premiere, the fifth episode of this season ‘Fire’ continues the recent streak of excellence. One thing I’ve noticed this season thus far is the use of balance. In the first two seasons, it felt as though the writers tried to cram every character into every episode.  So far throughout this season though, a handful of characters usually get left out, but get their due the following week, which is an approach I find preferable. In ‘Fire’ Arya got to witness a terrific trial-by-combat-duel between The Hound and Beric, ending with Beric’s chest cavity exposed, only to be resurrected for a sixth time courtesy of some strong faith in the Lord of Light. First Hot Pie and now Gendry too is leaving Arya’s side to run with the Brotherhood, because they “chose their leader.”  While that does suck as the story will likely no longer follow either of them if they separate from her permanently, at least their departures were of their own volition and not because they met the pointy end of a sword, unlike many other likable characters who came before.

TV REVUE – The Walking Dead: When the Dead Come Knocking

I’m starting to think Michonne was an only child, or at least one that always preferred to play by herself. Clearly she has trust issues, a point the show continues to hammer away countless times this time when she refused to utter her own name at the mercy of strangers (to her) trying to get some answers and patch up her bullet wound. Her outing with Rick’s gang definitely took a turn for the random when they stumbled upon a shack housing a survivor who’s clearly been alone for far too long. This scene was cut frustratingly too short as it would have been cool to get answers from a lone wolf survivor who clearly knew something about staying alive for so long in the ‘red zone’.

TV REVUE – The Walking Dead: Hounded

Yep, those shots you fired will attract walkers for miles, but not stir the attention of the woman barricaded in a cell 8 feet away.

Unfortunately, “Hounded” continues in the tradition of mediocrity that began last week. We still get a lot of good ol’ Merle—a stunning contrast to his good-hearted brother Daryl, but unfortunately there’s still a lot of characters doing dumb things, like Merle dispatching of Gargulio with a gunshot—sure to attract walkers to his location. Why not just use your nifty prosthetic blade?

TV REVUE – The Walking Dead: Say the Word

and now for the main event… Maximus vs. Merle!

Coming off of two rather excellent episodes, “Word” struggled a bit to find its proper footing, but thankfully managed a semi-graceful landing. Here, we were left to deal with largely the aftermath of Lori and T-Dog’s death, resulting in a somewhat predictable direction, specifically Rick going off on a zombie killin’ rampage, while the ever-helpful Daryl volunteers to retrieve supplies for the newborn. Rick doing hi s rampage thing was one thing, but finding a lone zombie where Lori once lay raises some interesting questions: was she eaten by this single zombie? Do zombies eat clothes? I can sort of buy that in Rick’s rage he was able to go medieval up against a horde of undead, though it kind of flies in the face of what we’ve seen before. Is one person really capable of such a thing, when we’ve seen the kind of structure and organization it takes a whole group to dispatch a zombie horde? Hmmm.

TV REVUE – The Walking Dead: Sick

Look I know I’m a shitty wife and I’m not winning any mother of the year awards. – Lori

Truer words have never been spoken on this show. Lori has finally evolved, shall we say as a character, becoming less hate-able by the moment. “Sick” did not quite live up to the previous episode, but nonetheless it was still a very good episode. Lori, Glenn and the rest of the women folk (along with Carl) remained in the cell block and got to care for Herschel , who remained at death’s door following his amputation. I liked that Maggie had made her peace and told her father to just let go; it was a moving moment in a show that generally doesn’t do well with that kind of stuff. The best thing about Herschel’s scenes was the CPR moment that led to an admittedly cheap jump scare, but damn if it didn’t startle me. Good work, AMC.

TV REVUE – The Walking Dead: Seed (Season 3 Premiere)

Seemingly done with all the behind the scenes Darabont/showrunner drama, the third season premiere provides viewers with a refreshingly engaging episode. No more kvetching back on the farm, instead the show delivers in spades providing more action, tighter pacing and genuine thrills. The writers have finally (wisely) pumped the brakes on Lori, and Carl is no longer a helpless pawn. It’s a few months later and under the new Ricktatorship, the group stumbles upon the prison, which has been completely overrun by zombies. Instead of foolishly unloading all their ammo (like the group of would have in the previous two seasons), they now fight together hand to hand as a single unit, saving precious ammo and preventing other walkers from being drawn to their location by the sound of gunfire. Also, everyone finally gets access to body armor, though makeshift armor would have sufficed until this point; but the show is considerably more satisfying when characters are no longer doing idiotic things.

TV REVUE: The Ultimate Fighter Fridays is TUFF

 

The Ultimate Fighter Fridays premiered without a hitch; 32 contenders vying for a six figure UFC contract and a custom Harley Davidson Motor Cycle. Heavy weight champion Shane Carwin and heavy weight contender Roy “Big Country” Nelson were selected as this seasons team coaches and compete against each other to see who will lead the winning team. These two coaches are extremely competitive and want nothing more than to win; I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that the winning coach wins a custom Harley as well.

TV REVUE – Louie: Miami

I know I’ve missed the first two episodes of the new season of Louie so far, and I’ll try to not repeat that mistake. Having just caught up this week, I can say the premiere was rather lackluster in terms of humor or substance, feeling kind of off in general from what has come before. But hey, that’s Louis C.K. just doing his thing without studio interference; maybe there will be some radical full-circle moment yet to come later. I generally trust Louis C.K. The follow-up episode however bounced back, completely exceeding even my own tolerance for cringe situations. You know the scene in question where Louie and his blind date of sorts discussed the ethics of initial sexual encounters. I couldn’t wipe the grimace off my face even if I tried, it was like recalling the smell of tequila the day after a bad hangover. Uncomfortable, yet great stuff all at the same time.