The Magicians: Escape from the Happy Place

“If I ever get out of here Q, know that when I'm braver it's because I learned it from you.”

The magicians struggle with confronting their past, their fears, and their sorrow as they somewhat unwillingly plot deicide, send pedophiles to their likely death, and try to rewrite the future. So a typical day in Magicians-land.

Glass

...or, 'The People v. M. Night Shyamalan.'

I finally managed to get out to see Glass. I'm going to do something a little different with this one, so bear with me. SPOILER ALERT: I will discuss the movie's contents openly in this review. You have been warned.

Russian Doll

"Life is like a box of timelines. You feel me?"

Yes, it's Groundhog Day. But I'm okay with that. Because Russian Doll, an eight-episode half-hour Netflix series, is much more than a Groundhog Day retread.

Supergirl: Menagerie

Kara: “I need to get out of here before I eat all your valentines.”

With his P.I. shingle newly hung outside his office, J'onn welcomes new clients. Trying to take her mind off what happened at the DEO, Kara decides to team up with J'onn on his latest assignment, which ends up tying directly into Alex's current investigation that involves the villain Menagerie. Meanwhile, Lena shares some news with James, but his reaction isn't what she expected. Nia invites Brainy to her Valentine's Day party.

True Detective: Hunters in the Dark

“We don’t stop. We take it all the way this time.”

I asked for some clarity. And I got some.

Gotham: 13 Stitches

Bullock: "Nygma, you're a son-of-a-bitch!"
Nygma: "...not now Bullock!"

Oh how Gotham loves its hiatuses. Even in the midst of its final and condensed year, Gotham wouldn't dare pass up the opportunity to go on break for two weeks, with the same gusto that FedEx delivery men seem to have when knocking my lawn gnomes over. Still, after the wobbly ending 'Pena Dura' left us with, one thing I wasn't expecting out of the follow-up '13 Stitches' was for it to be an enjoyable and very witty installment. If I could, I'd leave the review at that too - it's just some darn fine entertainment.

Manifest: Upgrade

"Faith is compromised by pessimism, Alice.  Let's be optimistic.  Put the gun down."

In the first 90 seconds or so of this episode, both Zeke and Cal have the same calling, a vivid vision of a very unfriendly black wolf.  It's a metaphor, but a metaphor for what? or who?

Star Trek Discovery: Saints of Imperfection

Pike: "Starfleet is a promise. I give my life for you, you give your life for me. And nobody gets left behind."

By nature I love brevity: This one was something of a mess. Half of it is manageable but clunky, the other half is rushed, barely comprehensible, and still clunky.

American Gods: Git Gone

"That was vulgar. I’m a vulgar woman. Anger and grief have… have really just made me vulgar."

American Gods gives us the Gospel According to Laura, and answers a few questions to boot.

The Magicians: Marry, F--k, Kill

“You know I’m not broken, right? I’m not some flower or a delicate piece of glass. I’m a person. And people heal.”

So many crazy things happened this episode—just so many things! And also, RIP Kanye West’s lizard.

The Punisher: The Whirlwind

Frank: "You know kid, sometimes you find things, and they change your life."

In the Season 2 finale, Frank, Madani, Russo, Amy, Pilgrim – it all comes to an explosive end... or so I thought, but I'll still settle for a somewhat-rushed and cobbled-together end with shining character performances scattered throughout.

DC Dives into The Trench... Dragging its Creative Prospects with it

The Hollywood Reporter announced on Friday that DC/WB would be developing a horror spinoff of Aquaman about the Trench monsters that appeared in the film. James Wan, who to be fair has some good horror experience, is supposed to produce it, and it won't feature any of the main cast. Let me preface my thoughts on this by saying I've been a lifelong fan of DC comics. I absolutely love the characters, from the big three of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman all the way down to nobodies like Arm-Fall-Off-Boy and Detective Chimp (they're real, look 'em up). The stories the comics have told, too, have fascinated me for most of my life. I am an avid believer in the potential of DC's massive span of creative property. One would think that someone like me would be happy with the slate of two dozen films (give or take, depending on who you ask) on the table at DC right now.

I'm not. It makes me sad.