I’m sad to see a lot of my shows ending, but I’m still having a really grand time. Maybe I’ll finally have more time to do other stuff come November … I really shouldn’t say that though. It rarely pans out when I claim I want to post more.

FINISHED TV SHOWS/SEASONS

Vampire Academy (Season 1)

I loved this entire season of Vampire Academy! I know that changes were made to the books, but each actor took so much care in how they portrayed their respective characters, it showed and they stayed so faithful to the spirit of those characters. They were smart in incorporating storylines from later books early on, so that the build up would make sense and things wouldn’t come out of nowhere. It’s helpful that, while Rose is still the main character (as she should be – Sisi Stringer rocked it!), it’s not just told from her POV. We get to see so much more. Also, one of the best things they could have done is remove/reduce the freaky age gap between Rosa and Dimitri – Romitri was my absolute everything! (And I say that with a show that literally has like a minimum of 5 ships to root for.)

Having said all that, I think it still might be a tad confusing for people who have never seen the movie of the same title or read the books. The lore is very particular and they don’t exactly do the best of jobs in explaining everything. They rather rush through it and throw words at the viewers, which they probably have never heard before and don’t know the meaning of.

I’m not someone who trusts Julie Plec, so I was super hesitant to check out her adaptation, but it turned out really well in my humble opinion. It hasn’t been renewed yet, although I sincerely hope that they will. They have a passionate fanbase and a lot ground still left to cover. I’m definitely invested and would love nothing more than to see these people return to my screen. I was so happy and looking forward to the episodes each week.

Tell Me Lies (Season 1)

It’s very hard to justify why I watched this entire trainwreck of toxic people screwing each other over. Except for Bree, none of them should have rights, because what the heck were they thinking? They weren’t friends, they just psychologically tortured each other.

Set in the early 2000s, there’s definitely a weird sense of nostalgia involved. While you will most likely hate or at least dislike a majority of the characters, their actions don’t feel implausible and thus … you kind of can’t look away? I was so frustrated and wanted to shake some sense into so many characters, I thought I would be glad once the season was over. But, to be completely honest, I still need more. They dropped a bombshell on us in the finale and now I want to see how these problematic folks got there.

Star Trek: Lower Decks (Season 3)

While Season 3 of Lower Decks wasn’t my favorite one, it actually came together really nicely in the end. Most of it was to finally have Mariner accept her place in Starfleet and appreciate it for what it is, but all of the core four characters got their time to shine. Even though some storylines felt random, they eventually pulled together in the final episodes, which I can definitely appreciate. I’m going to continue watching it, if they give me more.

WEEKLY TV SHOWS

Walker: Independence (Season 1)

Glad Kate knows what’s up now. She’s an asset for sure.

Reginald the Vampire (Season 1)

A lot of Maurice backstory this time around, but the show still isn’t hitting as much as other vampire content.

Interview with the Vampire (Season 1)

This show is so amazingly nuanced but also blunt when it needs to be. I adore how faceted each character is, while at the back of your mind, you know some are irredeemable.

Fire Country (Season 1)

It keeps getting better, although I jinxed it with the ridiculous cases they’d have to deal with. A whole freaking building crumbled this time.

Abbott Elementary (Season 2)

Perfect Halloween episode for this show!

DC’s Stargirl (Season 3)

I’m not as invested as I used to be and I think I just have to accept that.

Call Me Kat (Season 3)

It’s incredibly heartbreaking to watch the show, knowing that Leslie Jordan passed away this week.

9-1-1 (Season 6)

We finally got the Karen and Hen backstory and I love that for us!

Station 19 (Season 6)

It’s so sad to see Jack and Maya crumble to pieces, but dang, it really got me when all Jack wanted was to see Prue. She was so excited to see him too. My heart melts for stuff like that.

Grey’s Anatomy (Season 19)

I couldn’t care less about Teddy and Owen and I’m furious that Teddy is giving bad advice to Link in regards to Joe. Ugh, why are they even still here? Also, please, someone help Schmitt. That poor man is drowning.

MOVIES

As always, don’t forget to add me on Letterboxd if you want to be up to date on all my movie experiences! 

No new movies this week. I hope to add some over the next week, as I’m 1) off work and 2) it’s Halloween!

Did you watch anything I’ve watched? Are there some movies/shows I should check out? Let’s talk about that!

Wow, this week really got away from me. I always have plans to post more and yet here we are again. I won’t even attempt to make the promise for next week. Let’s just see where we go from here and talk about what I’ve watched instead!

FINISHED TV SHOWS/SEASONS

The Rings of Power (Season 1)

I want to preface this by saying that I went into the show with a very open mind. Not just do I have zero emotional attachment to the Lord of the Rings movies or books, I also enjoyed other fantasy adaptations of Amazon Prime lately. I mean, I’m a Fantasy fan, so I was basically meant for The Rings of Power, and I don’t want to say that I didn’t enjoy myself, I just feel like I didn’t love it as much as other shows. It was told rather slowly and I hate to admit that I was just plain bored sometimes.

There were several character dynamics I was absolutely here for. The new characters in general were a great addition in my book (although I can’t say I remember all the names), but weirdly, I didn’t have a single favorite character or storyline. Usually, when I watch any sort of media, I latch onto someone in particular, but I just didn’t feel as attached here? The story arcs all made sense and as I said, I enjoyed myself overall, but I’ve definitely been more invested in other tales before.

Regardless, there was some stunning cinematography with this show. Especially the slow motion shots of people on horseback – chef’s kiss! I also loved the Sauron twist, maybe one of my favorite parts of the entire season. I’ll definitely continue to watch future seasons, but like with this one, I might go for a binge when I feel in the right mood instead of watching weekly.

WEEKLY TV SHOWS

Walker: Independence (Season 1)

Not the Sheriff messing with the Deputy now. That man went above and beyond the previous episode and you don’t want to make your number 2 your enemy.

Reginald the Vampire (Season 1)

I hate it with a passion that the most terrible thing the people on this show can think of is a fat vampire.

Interview with the Vampire (Season 1)

Oh, Claudia. Prime example of why you shouldn’t turn kids, but what a great narrator.

Vampire Academy (Season 1)

I’m so sad that there’s only one more episode left. Where am I going to get my Sisi Stringer and Kieron Moore fix from!?

Fire Country (Season 1)

They got a full season order and I’m so here for it. The personal drama is ramping up and the dangers keep coming, without feeling plucked out of thin air as with the 9-1-1 shows sometimes.

Tell Me Lies (Season 1)

This one also has one more episode and I have no idea how we will tie up all this toxic stuff. No clue why I watched this show, but literally none of my friends talked about it, so I’m all alone with my thoughts.

Abbott Elementary (Season 2)

Even at the danger of repeating myself, I LOVE this show.

Star Trek: Lower Decks (Season 3)

The last three episodes were the strongest of the season, or, in other words, it just keeps getting better.

DC’s Stargirl (Season 3)

I’m well aware that the storyline we were following this episode was set up last season, but I don’t think this season did a good enough job of keeping it in the back of our minds and including hints of it in the previous episodes. I’m really not a fan of the structuring of this season.

Call Me Kat (Season 3)

Wait a minute! Didn’t we break up with perfect Oscar because we didn’t want to have kids? Am I remembering this all wrong!?

9-1-1 (Season 6)

Sooo … we’re just not going to talk about Buck becoming a sperm donor?

Station 19 (Season 6)

Jack and Maya are so infuriating this season. They both worked so hard, not just for their jobs, but also their personal growth and they’re plain torching it this season.

Grey’s Anatomy (Season 19)

Got it. We’re at the point in the season where everyone starts hooking up. It’s episode 3, what did I expect? With this show we need to create as messy as possible romantic entanglements after all.

MOVIES

As always, don’t forget to add me on Letterboxd if you want to be up to date on all my movie experiences! 

The School for Good and Evil

I was so excited for this movie! While I never read the books for The School for Good and Evil, I was well aware of them and pleased to see them getting an adaptation. The general theme of good vs. evil in fairy tales and such is something “easy” to latch onto and can make for a great story, which The School for Good and Evil succeeded in doing. Some “twists” were to be expected, but they still weren’t badly executed. I was also glad to see it get 2.5 hours as a movie, which it needed, but ultimately felt like this might have worked better as a show.

There was a whole lot of heart in this movie (Sofia Wylie especially was amazing) and I had a great time, but I felt like we could have explored so many themes and character choices/developments in greater detail. I don’t necessarily think that we needed to tell the story itself slower, but just linger on some moments. Still, I hope we get a lot of sequels, because I’d like to see more.

Did you watch anything I’ve watched? Are there some movies/shows I should check out? Let’s talk about that!

Oh boy, I did not mean to post this so late in the week, but here we are again. I’m incorrigible. Still, I hope you enjoy my recap on what I have watched this past week.

FINISHED TV SHOWS/SEASONS

She-Hulk (Season 1)

Overall, I think it’s no secret that I enjoyed She-Hulk a lot. I thought the humor was great, I liked the more light-hearted approach and how they had fun with a lot of established characters. There’s something to be said about them really going for something completely different for the finale, not the typical action-packed fight, but somehow … I didn’t exactly love it?

I know this is very much on par with She-Hulks comics, I love those callbacks, I loved the 4th wall breaks, I even loved the subversion of expectations by bringing K.E.V.I.N. into the mix. Jen was completely right by not wanting her finale to be exactly as so many before, but when she says what the finale should be like, we never actually get to see it. And even though it seems like she gets everything the way she discussed with the AI overlord looking after Marvel projects, most of the things that she didn’t want to happen in the fight, still happened, just even more rushed.

I definitely sound saltier than I am, because I didn’t have a bad time watching the show or the finale. I just think that Marvel really struggles with the endings to their TV shows. They all get treated as prequels for movies or future seasons that will happen in an entirely different MCU phase, so that ends up frustrating me sometimes.

I will forever cherish the fact that She-Hulk gave me back my Daredevil though. I could watch Jen and Matt smash and be domestic for hours on end. Not even exaggerating! Oh, and Pug!? What a great character. He had such a hard time pretending to be gross. Nikki was just the kind of fierce friend we all need and we shall never forget the comedic duo that was Wongers and Madisynn.

WEEKLY TV SHOWS

Walker: Independence (Season 1)

I’m quite surprised that I got sucked into this one. I watched the first season of Walker, but than kind of lost interest after a certain character died. Now … in a roundabout way, they brought them back with this one and the actor who plays Calian is also mesmerizing. The one thing I really have to criticize is that a lot of the characters just don’t look like they live in the wild west, especially Kat McNamara. This has nothing to do with her performance, but the way her hair and make-up is done mostly.

Interview with the Vampire (Season 1)

What can I say? This show has me compelled for sure. I’m really interested to see the next episode, but Lestat being jealous after being the one to suggest an open relationship – pure comedy!

Vampire Academy (Season 1)

I know how much Kieron appreciated getting to do this episode and I love that for him, but Dimitri was being an idiot. There’s no way around that.

Fire Country (Season 1)

I’m really glad I added Fire Country to my roster of firefighter shows. The drama is impeccable.

Tell Me Lies (Season 1)

When are all those lies going to blow up in their faces? Seven years later, there’s clearly a lot of tension there.

Abbott Elementary (Season 2)

As always, I just really enjoy the performances. We also got to see Melissa’s home, which was cool.

Star Trek: Lower Decks (Season 3)

I had been looking forward to this episode for a while and I’m glad it turned out to be a favorite of the season.

DC’s Stargirl (Season 3)

I feel like I was supposed to know who/what was shown on that puzzle, but I just have no idea.

Call Me Kat (Season 3)

Not entirely sure I can see Kat with a baby, even after this episode.

9-1-1 (Season 6)

How can there be two firefighter shows that both give the commitment issue guy a sperm donor plot at the same time? For crying out loud, Buck could never walk away from his own bio kid … this is ridiculous.

Station 19 (Season 6)

I like almost all the current plotlines, except for Maya’s. I’m just really frustrated with her (well, and Jack).

Grey’s Anatomy (Season 19)

The new interns are great! Could do without Owen and Teddy to be perfectly honest, but I’ll survive. I just can’t believe someone would rather have his peers think he’s hooking up with a superior rather than that they’re related. It’s gonna come out eventually.

MOVIES

As always, don’t forget to add me on Letterboxd if you want to be up to date on all my movie experiences! 

Rosaline

When I first heard about the movie Rosaline, I immediately thought of my lost love that was the TV show Still Star-Crossed. But this? It’s something very different and I was here for it too.

Rosaline, as played by Kaitlyn Dever, absolutely deserved her main character moment. I loved watching her character be snarky, make mistakes and trying to redeem them. I liked that it felt modern and like a historic piece at the same time. Much in the likes of Dickinson and similar content, they just got the balance right. Sean Teale as Dario was perfection and I was glad that some stupid plot points of the traditional “Romeo and Juliet” tale were made fun of in the process.

It wasn’t a perfect movie and I’m not sure how long it will actually stay in my mind, but I had a great time while watching it. I think that counts the most.

Did you watch anything I’ve watched? Are there some movies/shows I should check out? Let’s talk about that!

I got 10K steps in before noon, I’m fully immersed in my firefighter and spooky season TV stuff. These are good days! So, let’s talk about the latest movies and shows I’ve watched!

FINISHED TV SHOWS/SEASONS

Derry Girls (Season 3/Final Season)

I know I’m late, but Netflix just dropped the new season, okay!?

Derry Girls has always been a fantastic show, managing to bring actual history to the screen while simultaneously being just plain hilarious. When I heard that this would be their last season, I was a bit sad, but at the same time knew that it’s better to have a great ending to something you love than to see it fizzle out into nothingness over time. And Derry Girls delivered on that final season!

We’ve had seven really great episodes about friendship, family, love, life and making hard decisions. I laughed, I cried, I felt all the feels. They could have easily taken up too much time with the potential romances, but instead they really managed to focus on what was important and hinted at just enough of what was possible to keep it sweet and engaging. I’m glad it ended on the note it did!

WEEKLY TV SHOWS

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (Season 1)

THIS. WAS. MY. FAVORITE. EPISODE. SO. FAR! Did I go in wanting Matt and Jen to hook up? Not necessarily, no. But their chemistry was so great and flirty Matt is super accurate to the comics. I love this for him.

Interview with the Vampire (Season 1)

I watched the first two episodes and I’m in love! Jacob Anderson (aka Raleigh Ritchie) and Sam Reid are acting circles around the iterations of Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. It’s a very intense show, but I’m here for al lof it.

Vampire Academy (Season 1)

Those Romitri scenes really did it for me, because domestic Romitri is the best. I mean, that boat scene? Where he envelopes her with his coat!? Perfection.

Fire Country (Season 1)

Yes, I have added yet another firefighter show, but I like the twist of this one, as it is about convicts helping fight fires in order to lessen their sentence. The drama is top notch after just one episode.

Tell Me Lies (Season 1)

I get that what Drew did was wrong and should have consequences, but if he hurts himself, because of how these people treat him, I’m about to fight someone.

Abbott Elementary (Season 2)

Not the Story Samurai! Glad Jacob embraced his corniness.

Star Trek: Lower Decks (Season 3)

Did not expect to get another megalomaniac robot episode, but boy, did I enjoy this one. *imagine me doing a bird call and gathering my flock for next week’s episode*

DC’s Stargirl (Season 3)

At this point, I’m just very confused about the whole murder mystery and somewhat annoyed if they introduce someone entirely new out of the blue.

Call Me Kat (Season 3)

Not vibing with this season as much, which is a shame.

9-1-1 (Season 6)

Athena and Bobby are amazing characters, so I’m truly not mad that they had a focus episode. I do want my Buck back though.

Station 19 (Season 6)

I was mainly interested to see how Jack was doing, but now I’m mad. So much character growth out the window.

Grey’s Anatomy (Season 19)

A while back, I swore off Grey’s, because I got so tired of it. The first seasons were just so much better, but this? This is giving me early Grey’s vibes. For now, they have me back.

MOVIES

As always, don’t forget to add me on Letterboxd if you want to be up to date on all my movie experiences! 

Werewolf by Night

Can we call it a movie? It’s 53 minutes long (with credits) and marketed as a special, but you know what? I’m going to call it a movie.

Inspired by 30s to 40s movie making, the look for Werewolf by Night is very much distinguished from the rest of the MCU. While the intro tries to make a flimsy connection to the grand scheme of things, it does feel kind of just out there and you can easily watch it without any Marvel knowledge – which, at this point, is a plus. Not everyone has the time to binge through 30ish properties just to understand one special and I say that as someone who has literally watched almost everything.

I have very little notes on this one. I loved the acting, I loved the distinct style, I loved the reverse narrative of monsters/hunters, I loved that this was the movie to kick off my spooky season. Sure, there’s much still to explore, as this was super short-lived, but I enjoyed it for what it was.

Did you watch anything I’ve watched? Are there some movies/shows I should check out? Let’s talk about that!