Change Your Image
shaww01
Reviews
Six Feet Under: The Last Time (2002)
One of the best ever
(essay warning omg) genuinely amazing, best episode i've seen since finishing monster. Ts was an assault on my emotions. Ts should not be legal. I was either tearing up or about to tear up for the entire last half. Maybe im overrating but t20 oat methinks. I literally stopped watching tv for 4 days just to get over ts.
(SPOILERS)
it's genuinely taken me a few days to decide how i should start this paragraph. Idk bro. This was just so personal and intimate, the uniting factor of major life events / changes caused this to be one of the most emotional and cathartic episodes i've ever seen. I absolutely loved how, similar to that one 3x9, the writers used nate's possible death as a way to bring the family together. This led to a mix of happy and sad scenes in the final half of this episode that would also lead to me sitting absolutely motionless, not breathing or blinking, for thirty minutes, watching every member of the family interact. Seeing david + claire smoke pot together, and nate + claire talk about relationships could have easily been in any other episode, but the context surrounding it here made it so beautiful and cathartic to watch. The way the characters avoided nate's issue, as if their not talking about it prevents it................. i don't know how to write the next sentence bro. Trying to enjoy your life during a scary time is something everyone universally understands and those few scenes absolutely exploit that, ESPECIALLY with the family aspect this show comes with. Absolutely everyone has lost a family pet, a close relative, etc and has had to have multiple conversations with their family that dodge the topic on everyone's minds. Those scenes genuinely hit so deeply on my first watch.
The other scenes that are used to unite the family are painfully depressing. Nate creates his pre-need with david. Nate confesses to ruth about his condition. Most notably, nate cries in his moms arms, sobbing about how he doesn't want to die. That scene took me out bro. My eyes were not dry from that scene forward. As much as nate has genuinely hated his life this season, the realization that he won't get to see his mom again, that he hasn't been appreciating his mom despite how much she cares for him, and that his mom thinks she hasn't loved him good enough is enough to snap him out of the dissociative lifestyle he's held since his diagnosis in the season one finale. He finally wants to live, and he's possibly about to die.
Then we get into the best scene of the show so far, an absolute beautiful full-circle for nate's arc.
In the final scene of 1x1, nate sees a vision of his dad waving at him in the same bus that killed him. It drives away. Realizing something, he stands there, in the middle of the sidewalk, watching person after person walk around him. To me, it literally refers to the fact that he's allowed everybody to pass him by, due to the way it lines up with the story and the way the scene is shot, showing nate standing still in a crowd of people, giving no reaction. It's very well known that nate was a very distant son to his parents and siblings, so the idea of him realizing that he's wasted his life, getting the realization due to his fathers death, makes complete sense.
And so, from that moment forward, he starts living, and rekindling the previously lost relationships with his family. Season one spends the next twelve episodes letting nate live: he bonds with his family, his relationship with brenda becomes serious, and he finds purpose working with david, helping those in grief. But still, due to his diagnosis, he slowly sinks back throughout season 2, back into his original autopilot mindset.
In the final scene of this episode, wearing the same sweat and clothes, nate himself stands in front of the bus, its doors beckoning him to enter, no longer being an outsider looking in on death. Now that he's truly realized from talking with ruth that he needs to live his life, that he should have been living his life, he's forced to step on the bus himself. He was already given his chance to live, and he wastes it at the end. Understanding his mistake, he sits in his hospital bed, staring at death. In the final shot, we watch from a distance, the same way nate did, as if the episode is asking what we're going to do.
EXTRA NOTES:
- nate not getting on the bus and instead only standing outside hopefully implies that he won't be taking his fathers place yet.
- the fact that nate nearly dies in the car crash with brenda in 1x13 shows that not only was nate given an opportunity to understand that he needs to live his life, but he was also given an opportunity to live PERIOD.
- this finale and my interpretation of it makes his character in season one much more interesting and layered for me, removing my biggest issue with an already great season.
/////////////
there are very few episodes i've seen so perfectly express that the greatest horror in life comes from realizing you have wasted it / been living meaninglessly. 4x11 of bojack horseman did it very well, and 4x10 of succession touches on it, but this absolutely does it the best. The awe i felt when this episode faded to white is something i genuinely cannot express. Best episode i've seen since monster x74, top 20 oat for me.
SERIALZD: shaww.
The Shield: Extraction (2006)
excellent start
Amazing opener, was so nervous to watch this first episode but wow this did not disappoint. The writing is so much sharper, the pacing is so much cleaner, and this show is no longer leaning into its strengths, but rather completely dedicating itself to them.
"who do you think i want?"
(SPOILERS)
i knew this was getting real when, in the "previously on the shield" prologue, we were recapped on terry's death. I honestly think that the first two episodes, as good as they are, act as somewhat bad representations of this show in its first four seasons. Like i was expecting this show to be centered around them committing more corrupt acts, with the main focus of the show being them trying to protect themselves. I would say most shows have a discernable "prime" to them: you can tell by reading a summary of breaking bad, better call saul, succession, the sopranos, etc when their primes will be. For example, breaking bad's prime would seem to be when walt is at his peak in wealth and is completely transformed from the innocent man he is at the beginning: which IS the shows prime (season 5). The shield's prime seems to be what the first episode brands the show as its focus, (dirty cops protecting themselves, killing criminals and cops, etc) and it looks like we've reached that point. When aceveda told kavanaugh about terry, it hit me that this show is keeping its promise 😭 i'm in the endgame now bro.
Kavanaugh is an amazing edition to the cast due to his dialogue and the PERFECT acting by forest whitiker, but what really excites me about him is how he can actually break our characters. This show has had a major problem in avoiding pushing characters to their limits, that although season 4 improves upon, this just ANNIHILATES it. Pushing characters to their limits, watching how they crack under pressure and betray eachother, how they panic, how they scramble to shut down situations, THAT is where drama and crime shows, and ESPECIALLY a show about crooked cops should be focusing in on. Kavanaugh is the outlet for this to happen, and the final scene really looks like it's foreshadowing more of this.
Outside of kavanaugh are the detectives and the on-the-ground cops (julien + tina i think is her name), who are now treated less as major characters and more as side-characters. This is definitely the right move because they've always been written like side-characters but given the screentime of main characters. Like the only thing i can remember about season 1 was julien. Bro did not need that much screentime. Not only is there an obvious better use of time, but the side-characters also seem to be written to have more simple and digestible arcs then they have in the past. Like tina (again i think that's her name) is already very likeable and seems like all she needs is a few minutes per episode to properly develop her arc of struggling with the job. Give her a short scene or two an episode, as they did here, and she'll work great this season. Danny is majorly improved by now having the gimmick of being pregnant, which i honestly really like. Her dynamic with julien had been going in circles for quite a while, so the decision to backseat her and replace her with tina was definitely the right one. I don't wanna see her disappear from the show though i really think she's a great actor, hopefully she can act as a mentor to tina and give her advice on being a female cop.
Amazing episode very very excited to binge this.
SERIALZD: shaww.
The Shield: Enemy of Good (2006)
amazing episode, imdb ratings are so inaccurate
You know the episode is fire when your dad says "that was a good one" once the credits roll. This season literally built itself up from scratch, not using a cliffhanger from last season to start intensely, and is already opening up with a t10 episode of the show TWO episodes in.
It's so genuinely incredible how having one amazing overall focus, being kavanaugh's dialogue with lem, adds such a concrete structure and flow to the rest of the side-plots. Everything just has such a straightforward direction, everything feels so focused like. What would have felt like filler evolves into a case i was interested in, strike team action that was enjoyable, and more development to julien and tina's dynamic that i actually wanted to see.
(SPOILERS)
kavanaugh is really allowing, probably the most interesting character of the show, lem to shine. The few character-driven scenes in the first four seasons would so often be focused on lem because his inner-moral-conflict is just so consistently strong. I have been waiting to see it get drawn out, it has just always had so much potential, so seeing it get utilized in such an upfront way was so satisfying. He's now gone from a character with complexity buried in him to a character whose whole focus is his complexity, and his actor ABSOLUTELY nails it. That last scene was such a proper and well-thought out confrontation, i left that scene feeling so rewarded and awestruck and like WOW oh my god. GREAT episode this is such a strong start.
SERIALZD: shaww.
Breaking Bad: Fly (2010)
One of the Best Tv Episodes
"3x10 - Fly" is the lowest rated Breaking Bad episode for numerous reasons. It doesn't move the plot forward, the dialogue initially seems pointless, and it is slow paced. This episode is not a plot driven episode, or a character driven episode, it's much more of a character study episode.
Walter White is extremely difficult to understand. In the family plot of the show, he is constantly lying and putting off the truth to his family, making his motivations as a person confusing as he rarely shows them here. In the cartel plot, he is usually berating Jesse for something minor or is actively fearing for his life, meaning he is often talking about the situation as it is currently happening and rarely discussing his character or giving any insight to why he is doing something. This lack of guidance to understanding Walt, and most other characters of the show, makes Breaking Bad so entertaining. You end up picking apart dialogue and actions to try and decipher minor details. "3x9," with the title "Fly" is the one instance in the entire show where we hear inside Walt's head and hear what he truly thinks, literally and told directly through figurative language. This episode is poetry using the vessel of cinema.
This is, my interpretation of the episode, although it heavily varies from person to person:
- In the episode, we watch Walt struggle with his guilt (the fly) and push the people out of his life who are there for him as a result (Jesse.)
- We see Walt learn that the only way to live with the guilt is to simply forget it and ignore it (Jesse's story about his Aunt and the Possum, how his Aunt couldn't live with the idea of the Possum until she simply forgot about it.)
- Walt continues to be stubborn and reflects on when he should have died, when was the perfect moment to pass away and leave his family properly. (He believed, when he first started to make meth and kill people, that he would carry a minimal amount of guilt before quickly dying, and leaving his family with money. But now that he has to actually carry the guilt, he wishes he had died sooner with less guilt to leave behind. I believe it's very easy to say, "I'll be dead soon, I won't have to carry any guilt after then."It's east to not view yourself as a real human with true emotions when you have nothing to lose. In this episode, Walt is essentially reminded that he miscalculated how bearing the guilt would be and how terrible the final months of his life would be.)
- Then the ladder scene. Here, Walt comes to terms with the fly, and tells Jesse to let it go. (Walt comes to terms with the fact that he didn't understand how terrible the feeling of guilt would be and should not have allowed himself to ruin the final days of his life. Knowing this, he says "screw it" and allows himself to continue to kill more and in more violent ways, which he will demonstrate in 3x12 and 3x13. This is something Jesse has not dealt with, making him prone to guilt, unlike Walt, which makes 3x13 such a disturbing episode. )
- Jesse disagrees and kills the fly (due to Jesse having healthy coping mechanisms and is able to deal with the guilt, something that will not hold up in continuous episodes.)
- At home, Walt attempts to sleep but sees the fly. He ignores it. (He commits to the idea of pushing away his guilt and succumbing to violence.)
Shingeki no Kyojin: Midnight Sun (2019)
Damn bro
I've only cried to a TV show once (well, maybe twice)
before this. Damn man. This episode is just perfect. The past 5 or 6 episodes has honestly been perfect, I really hope the show doesn't fall off after this.
Better Call Saul (2015)
Steps to Hell in Better Call Saul
In Season 5 Episode 7 (5x7) Jimmy has an outburst at Howard. Howard somewhat damaged his ego by offering a job which "isn't worth him." He yells at him, feeling unrecognized and unappreciated. It's no coincidence that in the episode directly after this, (5x8) Jimmy takes a much more demanding and dangerous job, as a way to prove to himself that he is of worth, and to sooth his ego.
Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul are very different in this way. Walter White has a very straightforward and linear path, you always know why he's becoming more corrupted and less moral. He was forced to kill someone, then he had a choice to kill someone, then he kills people for no reason. His path and why Walt does what he does are made very clear. Jimmy has a much more complex story.
It never occurred to me that Jimmy probably took this job to prove to himself that he is of worth, it never occurred to me that Jimmy conning Chuck and it working in his favor led to more of a downward spiral for him, it never occurred me that Jimmy lusted for conning and dangerous work so much that he got involved with the cartel. Reasons for why he does things are difficult to find, which makes Better Call Saul a more messy, but overall more dissectible and complex story.
To fully enjoy Better Call Saul, it is heavily recommended that you attempt to find these little details which heavily effect the psyche of Jimmy, it will not be handed to you like it is in Breaking Bad. You may not understand why he will do certain things, and the story may feel directionless or occasionally slow. To avoid this: find the steps to hell.
Shinseiki Evangelion: Shi ni Itaru Yamai, Soshite (1996)
Misato and Shinji are one in the same
It's kinda felt like the show has been on autopilot for episodes 11 - 14, so I'm really glad that the show is starting to pick up the pace and get more intense. The blood curling screams from the voice actors are so intense, it really adds to the episode. The amount we learn about Shinji is incredible, it tells so much but it isn't a synopsis of his character and is open to extreme interpretation.
It's so heartwarming to see Asuka and Rei care about Shinji, and Misato crying is probably the saddest scene of the show so far. Misato is always playing the role of the nice, but demanding mother. Throughout the show, she has constantly been pointing out Shinji's traits, what makes him happy, why he's not happy, she even points out the Hedgehog Effect that she sees in him. In episode 15 she realizes she is not much different from Shinji. They are the same, and right as Misato realizes it, and right as she is finally able to form a family-like bond with him, she may lose him to the shadow of the most dangerous Angel they have ever faced.
Easily the best episode of the show so far. I really hope this isn't the shows best episode, and that it's an uphill climb from here.
10/10.
Better Call Saul: Waterworks (2022)
God. Jesus. Exclamation word.
This episode is perfect. Like in real life, there are climaxes, but unlike in shows, the climax is rarely bombastic or ends in a gunfight. What I love about Better Call Saul is how it is able to have scenes as intense as Breaking Bad, even while there is no physical threat to the characters immediately present. Saul talking with the man in prison, Jesse talking with Kim, Kim breaking down in a bus, the writing is so perfected that there doesn't need to be a gun or an explosion for there to be a climax. This episode just reaches climax after climax after climax, only by using writing.
"Is he good?" - Jesse
"When I used to know him." - Kim
She's not talking about Saul, she's talking about Jimmy.
Fantastic. What a memorable episode.
10/10.
Shinseiki Evangelion: Asuka, Rainichi (1995)
Why such a low average rating?
Honestly, I really enjoy just watching these characters exist. It feels really rewarding to see Shinji not have a major depressing conflict for the first time of the whole show. It's nice to see these characters just be happy, even if nothing particularly eventful is happening.
Asuka's character looks like a really fun addition. It's really nice to see Shinji have someone (who isn't extremely odd) who is a pilot of an evanglion as his friend. A really risky and loose-cannon Asuka paired perfectly with a more strategical, calm minded Shinji. Really hope the writers do something and create a bond between the two, because their bit in the underwater angle was really fun to watch.
Overall, this episode really bonds all the characters together, and makes me happy to watch. All the depressing episodes, specifically episode 4, "Rain, After Running Away," really make the happy and more peaceful episodes like this feel very special. Really enjoying the show so far!
Death Note: Desu nôto: Chôshô (2007)
The worst episode of Death Note
This episode is... building. Many episodes are reserved for building up plots which will eventually climax, the latest Better Call Saul episode (S6E10) did the exact same. The story being told will climax one day, and it's important that the writers make sure the audience knows this. The writers for this episode forgot.
See, on a rewatch it's clear that this episode is building up to episodes 36 and 37, but on a first watch, you have no idea. So, the episode slowly drags, from minute to minute, as you wonder what the point of it all is? Takada gives Light pieces of the Death Note? She fights with Misa? Near does whatever the hell he does? It's so boring to feel like everything you are watching is pointless, instead of feeling like the story you are watching is progressing.
Writers need to always make the audience feel like the time they spend watching the show is worth it. Every second they spend watching the show is either progressing the story or climaxing the story. This episode fails to do this, making it feel boring and slow on a first watch, and essentially the same on a rewatch.
Death Note: Desu nôto: Sentaku (2007)
A beautiful, subversive episode.
Although this episode is a slow burn, (unlike nearly every other good Death Note episode) it comes with such a rewarding payoff ending scene.
The last 1/3rd of Death Note was lacking in overall outsmarting moments. Moments where a character would do something insane, genius, and unexpected. Where not only would another character in the show be outsmarted, but also the audience. The only episodes in the last 1/3rd of Death Note that have these sort of moments are episodes 36 and 37. The final two episodes. No other episode from the last 1/3rd properly have dopamine inducing, outsmarting moments. Except for this episode.
The first 9 minutes of this 20 minute long episode (ignoring ending credits) is dedicated specifically to building Mikami up as a character. This goes on for a little too long, but it's alright overall. Mikami only has 3 episodes where he actually does something interesting. These are 32, 36, and 37. This makes these opening 9 minutes feel obnoxious on rewatch, when you feel that his character does very little and is shallow in the grand scheme of things.
Minutes 9 - 14 are dedicated to setting up the ending scene and building up the other detectives turning on Light. Obviously, a grand scene needs a bit of a build up, so it is excused and makes the ending climax better. The detectives-turning-on-Light plot never amounts to any climax at the end of the show, so all scenes with it feel very worthless on rewatch, and they aren't particularly interesting on a first watch either. (Minutes 14 - 17 build up the intense scene even more.)
The final 3 minutes, the ending scene, the finale of the episode. This is the beautiful outsmarting scene, where Light flexes his preparation and knowledge for a grandiose scene. The entire last 1/3rd of Death Note, characters would be built up forever but would never reach an interesting climax. So much exposition and dialogue, for nothing to come out of it. This is the complete opposite in this scene, the 17 minutes of build up pays off perfectly, making the audience go, "Damn, that was actually worth my time." What an incredible subversion of expectations.
The scene itself is incredible. It's very unique to most episodes of Death Note, where Light is playing to the perspective of three different people. Takada, the detectives, and Mikami all have different information on the situation, and they all need to be manipulated to make Light's plan work. When he says a sentence, it needs to make sense to all three, even if they have completely different perspectives on what is going on. "How is Light going to talk to Mikami without being suspicious? That's impossible!" And then he LITERALLY DOES IT. AND IT'S INSANE.
What I really wanted to talk about, my favorite aspect of this scene: is the music. Death Note has incredibly unique music to every other show out there. It's music feels grandiose, epic, and climactic. Loud choirs fill your ears, and impactful echoes of gongs make them feel so lasting in your ears. It's intense, suspenseful, and oddly beautiful. You become accustomed to this music in Death Note, as it plays in every intense scene, which Death Note clearly has a lot of. This subversion of music is insane for this scene:
Instead of the normal intense music, they play classical music. Violins, and violins only, playing beautiful but forceful notes. It completely shatters the expectations of loud and intense music you know Death Note to use for its music. Much like the scene, it is unique, classy, but still intense for thoughts who know what happens behind closed doors. What a masterful scene.
Lights plan coming together makes for a perfect climax with a beautiful outsmarting moment, which I wish the final 12 episodes of Death Note had more of. Despite the quality drop in the final 1/3rd, the writers always knew how to make a hard-hitting scene.
"You're god!"
- Mikami.
Death Note: Desu nôto: Chinmoku (2007)
Based
This episode is insane. The perfect ending for the L / Light conflict which has been present since episode 2. This episode has pacing which throws you off guard, and amplifies the shock value of the notorious scene. A beautiful episode.
Better Call Saul: Plan and Execution (2022)
10/10
THIS EPISODE IS INSANE. The cartel and lawyer plot of the show have been completely separate, never connecting for the entire show. Which is what makes this episode perfect.