As I’ve mentioned in my “All My 2022 Goals“-posts, there’s going to be some slight changes to regular features on this blog. Sundays with trailers are a fixture already, but I want to switch it up for Thursdays. Basically, this series will be the replacement for my binge-watching posts! This is a space where I’ll talk about everything I’ve watched in the course of a week and where we can discuss most recent releases and even single episodes, if you like.
Today, however, will include some stuff I’ve watched during the past month or so, just to get caught up. Wouldn’t want you all to miss out on my random ramblings on all things TV and movies. Therefore, this isn’t a super accurate depiction of how lengthy and detailed future posts are going to be.
FINISHED TV SHOWS/SEASONS
The Wheel of Time (Season 1)
This show reignited my love for High Fantasy TV shows and I cannot tell you how grateful I am for that fact. The characters were so easy to get attached to and the world-building was so fascinating, I’m going to read the books soon. Because yes, I have not read the books before and I know there were a lot of changes, but I still feel like I need to know more about the lore.
Generally, I feel like they did a great job with casting; everyone is bringing something special to the table. However, you have to admit that the women were either written better or are just doing a better job, because they carried the first season. Especially towards the last episodes, things became more and more rushed and I wish they had granted the showrunner the additional episodes he had asked for. I know a lot of it is due to Barney Harris’ (the actor who played Mat) sudden departure from the show and the way they had to rewrite everything from the end of episode 6 onward. No one knows what happened there and I doubt my curiosity will be satisfied anytime soon, but it disrupted things for sure and I know I will miss Harris’ portrayal of the character. I’m sure his replacement, Dónal Finn, is a fine actor, but he has huge shoes to fill.
The world of the Wheel of Time is vast and complex in part and I don’t think they were able to portray everything in a way that made sense to both, new viewers and book fans. Still, it was a huge success for Amazon and I hope they’re going to consider lengthier seasons for the future.
A Discovery of Witches (Season 3/Final Season)
In case you didn’t know, I love this show. It can get corny and tropey at times, but there’s something about witches, vampires and demons set in modern day while still honoring history that just … works for me. Some may remember that I compared the first season and the first book (you can check that out here, if you’ve missed it) and I didn’t continue reading the series afterwards, because I enjoyed the TV portrayal more. The aesthetics and the acting were divine.
I understand why they went with a three-season-format, sticking to the plot of each book, but I could have easily seen this show expand beyond that and am a little sad it didn’t. I heard rumors of a spin-off for my favorite character, Gallowglass, which I would absolutely be here for, but I cannot tell if that announcement was a joke or not. Either way, they definitely managed to deliver a satisfying conclusion to the main plot, but I would have loved to follow the characters for a time longer. I know there’s only so much material from the books, but you can go off page. It has happened before.
As you can tell, I’m going to miss it!
Dickinson (Season 3/Final Season)
I don’t know how to put this, but I was a little underwhelmed by the final season? I liked the freedom they took with Emily’s actual history and the bits they stuck with for the most part. I always knew it was a weird show, but some aspects just didn’t work as well for me this time around. It’s a me-thing for sure, because I know for a fact that most of the audience loved the conclusion to the series.
Emily in Paris (Season 2)
Emily is just not a very good person. Stereotypes were enforced even more this season. And yet … Emily in Paris got renewed for TWO more seasons. I’m definitely part of the problem, because while I don’t like what they depict in that show, I binge it in a single day every time a new season releases. That probably says more about me than I’m comfortable facing.
Anyway, I’m neither on Emily, Gabe or Camille’s side on this one. They made a whole mess for themselves, but dang, Lucien Laviscount came into that show and really brought the charm. Emily is so gonna mess this up with him. She messed it up with Mathieu too and I really liked him.
WEEKLY TV SHOWS
The Cleaning Lady (Season 1)
I’m not a crime and thriller kind of girl, but this show has me hooked. Tropes and themes I usually don’t like, such as organized crime, infidelity, heavy sickness of a child; all make this show even more compelling. There is an urgency and sense of peril at all times. Thony just wants to survive and take care of her kid and you gotta admire a mother who goes beyond what her morality tells her to do. Also, the two male leads are nice to look at. I had to say it.
Call Me Kat (Season 2)
I’m glad Call Me Kat is back! It’s one of those brief escapes from reality filled with cats, awkwardness and humor. It’s just nice and fun! I’m glad they resolved the love triangle cliffhanger from the last season finale fairly quickly and I’m looking forward for what the seaosn holds.
Superman and Lois (Season 2)
I feel like a lot of people aren’t giving this show a real chance, but I love it. It’s one of the best portrayals of Clark and Lois in a long time. They’ve brought original ideas to the show, especially concerning the twins and parenthood, while still honoring a lot of characters from the comic books. While the second half of Season 1 wasn’t my favorite, Season 2 opened strong and has me very excited for what they’ve got planned for us.
Nancy Drew (Season 3)
I’m not vibing with this season as much as previous ones. I don’t know if it’s the constant breaks or the slow destruction of my enjoyment of the Nace ship, but it’s something. I still like the characters a lot, but if they drag certain storylines on for much longer, I’m not sure they still have my interest.
9-1-1: Lone Star (Season 3)
Everyone’s in danger. Nothing and no one is where they’re supposed to be. They only aired two episodes and are already on break and I cannot stand it. They’re really out there playing with my heart.
MOVIES
The Four of Us
Couldn’t find an English trailer, but it might be on Netflix internationally as well? Either way, couldn’t resist mentioning a German production (again).
The movie didn’t get the best of reviews and I’m not saying it’s brilliant, but it’s also not terrible. The thing is, this is one of those movies that would have worked equally as well as a theater production. There was no discernible advantage to this being a movie, so I can understand how it’s just not for everyone. I thought it was enjoyable though and a great take on modern relationships.
Encanto
I LOVE THIS MOVIE! I’ve watched it so many times at this point and I know I keep saying that, but it keeps being true. Not a day goes by where I don’t sing “Surface Pressure” or “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” to myself, they’ve just captured my heart. I kind of wish Disney would make this into a whole series, so we could continue to see what the Madrigals are up to. I’m so curious about each of their rooms and would have loved more time with Luisa, Dolores, Camillo and Antonio. Or, you know, just EVERYONE!
Life and Other Disasters 
I haven’t watched A Discovery of Witches, but I love Teresa Palmer so if it ever comes on a service I have, I’ll give it a watch.
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She IS the lead, so definitely keep an eye out 😉
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I have only watched the first episode of The Wheel of Time and I liked it, but didn’t love it. While it change things from the book, it wasn’t anything that I felt was really important. My main issue is that the special effects when it came to the magic looked really bad to me. Still, I’ll continue with the season soon.
I finally watched Encanto and I LOVED it. the characters are lovable and the songs are great (I watched the Spanish version so I’m not sure about the English version of the songs). What I liked the most is that it actually felt Colombian and it did a good job incorporating Colombian history of armed conflict.
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I hope you’ll enjoy the rest of the season more. There’s definitely some bigger changes coming up, but as a non-reader, those didn’t bother me as much. The opinions on the finale were very … split …
YAS! Welcome to the Encanto family!! (or should I have said the Madrigal family?)
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This is a great series! I love hearing thoughts on all the media, especially in casual formats like this. I have yet to watch Encanto, I’ve heard too much about it, should just get to it. And Emily in Paris… why. I couldn’t get through even 2 episodes and it has so many seasons?! Probably all the hate-watching is showing results and hence they’re extending it haha. It is making me not like Lily Collins though which is ~sad~.
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Thanks so much, Sumedha. I really needed a new weekly feature instead of Thursday Movie Picks and this felt appropriate. I think I watch enough to fill this post every week haha
Encanto was so good. I teared up in the second act and then just sobbed through the third. It’s one of Disney’s finest.
Emily in Paris is a menace. It does make me like Lily Collins less as well and I hate that. I’ve always been such a huge fan and supporter of hers, but this character … argh … drives me nuts.
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I need to give Call Me Cat another try. I only watched the first episode and wasn’t sure I was going to love it.
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It took me a bit to really immerse myself in Call Me Kat, but now I appreciate it a lot. It’s just great distraction.
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Ahh I really like this series, Kat! ❤ You know me, I don’t watch as many shows or movies as you do ahha so I’m glad to recognize some of these! I started A Discovery in Witches and maybe I need to continue watching it someday… (please don’t scream at me!). Emily in Paris, I’m just like you are about this show, a binge-watcher and yet it’s filled with these terrible, over the top stereotypes that make me want to scream, ahah. I agree that Lucien Laviscount, YES YES, he brought on the charm and I’m here for him and him only ahah the rest was just a mess.
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Thank youuuu ❤ I won’t scream at you. I wouldn’t have pegged you for someone who would fall in love with A Discovery of Witches. However, I must insist that you will support me in my love of the character Gallowglass from the show. I’m obsessed with him and will campaign for a spin-off show about him.
Glad we can also agree on Lucien Laviscount. Our man made the season!
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I’m really interested in Wheel of Time even though I haven’t read it. Do you think a viewer who hasn’t read the books would still enjoy the show?
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I think viewers who haven’t read the books can absolutely enjoy the show! I watched it with a group of friends and a lot of us were compelled to research some of the lore, but it isn’t too confusing, if you just take what the show gives you. It can definitely be enjoyed separate from the books 🙂
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Already loving this new series! 💕 I never had any interest in the Wheel of Time books or the adaptation, but I keep hearing such good things about the latter! 👀 I haven’t watched the new Emily in Paris season yet, waiting to do that with my friend 😄
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Thank you, Caro! For now, I’m looking forward to this being a weekly thing. I won’t always have that much content to talk about, but it makes me eager to watch at least one movie per week and such.
Please, do watch Wheel of Time. It was my favorite new show of 2021.
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Recently finished WOT and I did not know that the guy that played Matt left the show.
I saw up to the first episode of 2nd season of Discovery of Witches and gave up. It is corny and I didn’t think the 2 leads had much chemistry.
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Barney left mid-filming, which was why the separation in episode 6 was so awkward. They reshot it with the remaining cast. In the original plan, he would have been with them.
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The Wheel of Time series is indeed pretty amazing, the women, the worldbuilding.. it just really clicked with me. I love high fantasy tv series like GOT and the Hobbit movies, and this one was amazing. And I’ve been reading the books this month, and let me tell you, it indeed missed a lot of cool details, but I can definitely see why they made things a certain way but I still feel that watching it first is the best way to be introduced to this world.
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That’s interesting! So many of the hardcore book fans hated the adaptation. I wonder how I’ll feel once I read the books (or at least the first one. I’m so slow .. who knows how far I’ll get …)
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I might have hated it as well if I’d been a fan of the books before the show, but this way you get to see all the cool extra details of the worldbuilding, more character development and action besides the things you already liked about the show. and it’s nice to have a good cast of characters to imagine as you’re reading too
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aaah the wheel of time sounds amazing, i’ll definitely have to check it out (AM ALWAYS HERE FOR ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING HIGH FANTASY!) BUT I’LL PROBABLY READ THE BOOKS FIRST! And i’ve also been meaning to watch discovery of witches for the longest time, but still haven’t gotten to it haha. I LOVED THIS POST SO MUCH and so excited for all of your future recaps!
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The show might actually be more enjoyable without the books at first hides but it’s obviously up to you! Just as a fair warning, the Wheel of Time series consists of 14 books with 700+ pages each.
Thank you so much for stopping by!! It makes me so happy to know people like the content 🙂 ❤
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I have only watched the first season of A Discovery of Witches and I really enjoyed it! 😀 I definitely plan on watching the next two seasons. I’m even more motivate to watch them soon, since the story has wrapped up. Also, I have only read the first book as well. I really didn’t like it, but the show was a lot of fun 🙂
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I also didn’t love the book!! I enjoyed the show much more, even if they tried to pack a bit much into those final seasons, since they also included material from one of the book’s spin-off series about Marcus. It makes sense, but it’s just so many characters and not enough screen time for all of them haha still, really liked the shows overall!!
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