Sunday, October 5, 2014

TV Recap : Gotham 1x02, How to Get Away with Murder 1x02 & Reign 2x01

Reign returns with the first episode of its second season while Gotham and How to Get Away with Murder settle down after their explosive first week. Here's what I think about them. I'll try not to make this post too lengthy (hehe). Oh, I have to warn you that this post contains spoilers.


Top : Connor, Michaela and Wes from HTGAWM 1x02
Bottom right : James, Bullock and the Mayor from Gotham 1x02
Bottom left : Queen Mary from Reign 2x01


1. GOTHAM 1x02 : SELINA KYLE

PLOT : Detectives James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) and Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) are assigned to handle an abduction case. A homeless teenage boy claims that he and his friend, Cat aka Selina (Camren Bicondova), witness how two mysterious captors sedate and kidnap their fellow homeless kids. The GCPD (Gotham City Police Department) doesn't take this case seriously, which frustrates James. But after the case is blown up to the media, thanks to Barbara (Erin Richards), the GCPD starts to take it seriously in order to save its reputation. James and his partner try their best to stop the child-snatchers. Meanwhile, James might be one step closer to figuring out who the real killer of the Waynes is as he crosses paths with Selina, who witnesses the murder.

THE GOOD : I really LOVE this episode; it's sooo much better than the pilot, I think. Here are the things that I like about the episode.

1. No more boring scenes and bad acting here.

2. Ben McKenzie's performance. We can see how hard he tries to be a good guy in the sinful city. He scolds a police officer who doesn't show up immediately for an emergency situation, pushes Bullock because he refuses to take the abduction case seriously and criticizes the Mayor of Gotham and his plan to keep the homeless children safe (which Jim interprets as an attempt to lock up the children). He kind of reminds me of Joseph Gordon-Levitt's John Blake, the rookie cop in The Dark Knight Rises. Their co-workers might think that they're hot-heads, but they actually just think very critically and fight so hard for what they believe.

3. Oswald Cobblepot aka Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor), who continues to scare me. He hijacks a car from its owner (using violence) and holds the owner as a hostage in order to get money from the man's family. It's just scary to see how he can do violence spontaneously every time someone offends him. His violent scenes are not fun to watch, but this means that Robin Lord Taylor succeeds in portraying the legendary villain.

4. The different side of Alfred. It's quite shocking for me to see Alfred in this show. I'm so used to watching Michael Caine as the kind, old Alfred in Christopher Nolan's Batman movies. And Sean Pertwee's Alfred is nothing like that. He's not kind and old; he's young and kind of stern. Maybe this Alfred is in the phase where he just got out from the military. I hope this means that we'll get to see how Alfred changes from a tough military guy to a fatherly figure. That would be interesting to watch.

THE BAD : Only one scene for Ed Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) and Barbara Kean, respectively. I want more of them!

FAVORITE QUOTE : "Men who are about to die are very honest. It pays to listen to them." - Carmine Falcone

Rating : 4/5

2. HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER 1x02 : IT'S ALL HER FAULT

PLOT : Annalise (Viola Davis) and her new team of law students face a new murder case in this episode. They defend a rich man who is accused of killing his own wife. The wife is stabbed sixteen times in her sleep, and the husband, who is a hunter, does seem to be capable of killing her. However, his knowledge about hunting and killing turns out to be the one that Annalise and the gang can use to save the man. Meanwhile, we also get more details about the two mysterious murders that were introduced last week. I won't tell the victims' identities, but we learn that Annalise's husband, Sam (Tom Verica), and Wes's gothic neighbor, Rebecca (Katie Findlay), are involved in this tangled web.

THE GOOD : My favorite characters are still the four students who now work with Annalise in her firm. They're so fun to watch. Here's the details about my favorite things in this episode.

1. More of Laurel Castillo (Karla Souza). She's not very confident about her own abilities at the beginning. But after Bonnie (Liza Weil) gives her some advice (in a harsh way), she manages to prove that she deserves to be chosen by Annalise to work in her firm. Good for her!

2. New layers in Annalise's personality. Last week, Annalise seemed like a steady and strong woman. However, we see  her showing other emotions this week. In this episode, Annalise begs Nate Leahy (Billy Brown) not to end their affair, gets angry to her dishonest husband, gets scared when she finds out that Sam might be related to a murder, and cries because of the fear that she feels. A layered character like this is always interesting to watch.

3. Everything about Connor Walsh (Jack Falahee)! He is seriously the sexiest guy on TV right now. Even when he's thinking hard to win the case and not doing his hot gay scenes, he still manages to dazzle me. I also like how his personality is not defined only by the fact that he's gay. He's smart, confident, cool, ambitious, canny, sexy and just happens to be gay.

THE BAD : The bad things about this episode are not exactly bad, I think.

1. The law terms, like last week. The case in the episode is easier to follow than last week's case, though.

2. The plot that goes back and forth. They keep jumping from past to present and vice versa. Sometimes it's a bit confusing. You need a few seconds to know when this is, when that is...

FAVORITE QUOTE :  
Me neither, Connor, me neither.

Rating :4/5

3. REIGN 2X01 : THE PLAGUE

PLOT : The plague comes to the French Court and threatens everyone's life. Queen Mary (Adelaide Kane) has to struggle in making the best decisions for France while her husband, Francis (Toby Regbo) aka the king of France, is away to find Lola (Anna Popplewell) and his newborn baby. A nobleman named Edward offers Mary to bring supplies that she needs for her people only if Mary is willing to kill his foe. So the young queen is forced to make a choice, kill an innocent person and save her people or keep her morals. Meanwhile, Francis has his own dilemma: let Lola and his child leave and go back to Mary or keep the child whom he cares about.

THE GOOD : This is a good episode for me. The horror of the plague and the chaos that it brings truly scare me. I'm so worried about my favorite characters' lives. Anyway, here are the things that I like about The Plague.

1. Mary's and Francis's struggles. Well, I've explained the problems that they must face before. I think their struggles here are more realistic, compared to the ones they faced back in the first half of the first season. In this episode, we learn how hard it is for good people like them to stay good when they rule. This is why I don't like to join people when they protest and mock the people in our government; because I don't know their stories. They might face tough choices like Mary and Francis, right?

2. Leith and Greer's relationship that gets more and more complicated. In case you don't know about their history, Leith (Jonathan Keltz) and Greer (Celina Sinden) started seeing each other secretly when he was just a servant and she was a single lady back in the first season. But then Greer was engaged to a nobleman, which forced them to end their relationship. Not long after that, Leith came back with wealth as he was rewarded with a land and money for saving Francis's life. He was wealthy enough to marry a lady by then, but Greer didn't want to hurt her fiancee, who had been very good to her. Leith was broken-hearted and started dating another woman, who happens to be the daughter of Greer's fiancee. In The Plague, it turns out that Greer's fiancee is Edward's foe. So he and his family are all killed by Edward at the end of this episode. So now Leith and Greer are single again, which means that it's possible for them to get back together now. But will they go back together again, after all that they've been through? Complicated, isn't it? I love complicated (haha).

3. Bash (Torrance Coombs) and Kenna (Caitlin Stasey) are safe! I was so scared when I saw the promotional clips. I thought they would die! So relieved to know they're not dead.

THE BAD : Hmm I don't have anything that I don't like about this episode. It's good!

FAVORITE QUOTE : "One life matters. Every life matters!" - Queen Mary

Rating : 4/5

All the episodes are good! It's been a great week for these shows! Hope the next episodes' are great too!



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