S.H.I.E.L.D., Cruel World - May 2

…Therefore, agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. have said ‘farewell’ to the ‘cruel world’ of Madame Hydra/AIDA and left it behind. Except for Mack, who would rather stay there with his daughter Hope instead. So what?

Firstly, this means that AoS has resolved, at least to some point, its’ ‘conflict’ with SkyeWard fans. Odds are, Skye/Daisy and Grant were never in the works…or perhaps discarded sometime between S1 and S2, but the impetus lingered, and the way it all got resolved didn’t help either…so now, in S4, AoS decided better late than never, and gave its’ viewers some sort of a resolution between Grant and Daisy at least: perhaps in some universe, Grant, (who is a good guy himself now), and ‘his’ Skye will be happy together, even if he and ‘the canon’ Daisy cannot be…

It is possible that Skye/Daisy was never supposed to be with Grant, but somehow, through AoS mishandling the situation, it got out of hand and in a direction that AoS did not care about. They tried ignoring it, (not unlike how George Martin tends to ignore the fans’ inquiries about his future book – ‘Winds of Winter’ or something like that), and it worked, sort of. S4 of AoS had some of the lowest ratings ever…but by S3 AoS realized that it was not doing something, so they tried to do fan service instead. The show is sending feelers out to the fans and viewers – there was the entire ‘Hot Potato Soup’ episode with the Koenigs, (Patton Oswauld) and now this. AoS has realized that if the numbers of viewers and of ratings falls low enough they will be cancelled, so they are trying to reverse the trend…

Yes, again, the reason as to why a show is cancelled is not straightforward. ‘Agent Carter’, ‘Time after time’ and ‘Powerless’ showed that clearly enough, but still, contract or no contract, Marvel or Disney, AoS clearly decided to change its’ approach to its’ relationship with fans and viewers, so – good for them. Robbie Reyes the Ghost Rider is returning at the series’ finale, and-

Right now, it can go in any way, but here are the more likely ones, (I think). Mack has remained in the framework with Hope, and as the next episode’s promo is showing, he just might die on Ivanov’s (the Superior’s), soon-to-be-sinking submarine. Thus, either he will die, (stay in the framework forever), leaving Henry Simmons free to leave the show, and so will NCB, who plays Mack’s love interest Yo-Yo/Elena Rodriguez, most likely. Thus, Gabriel Luna, who plays Robbie Reyes/the Ghost Rider, will be free to adjoin to AoS as a new main character.

Alternatively, none of the above happens. Yo-Yo will actually rescue Mack in time, he will stay, she will stay, and the Ghost Rider will remain a recurring, not a main, character. The end. Either way, this can work for AoS, in part it all comes down to its’ budget and how will the show end, on the higher or lower end of its (still low) ratings.

This is especially important, since at least two new Marvel-related shows are coming to the viewers, (Netflix and Freeform): ‘The Defenders’ and ‘Cloak & Dagger’. Between them and FX’s “Legion”, which deals with mutants rather than the Avengers, the InHumans, or anyone else, AoS might be feeling the pressure mounting to change its’ approach to…something, and that is what it does. Good luck to it!

And speaking of new arrivals that don’t have to do with Marvel, for a change – firstly, Stephen King’s ‘Dark Tower’ novel series are coming to TV as a new series, and it seems to be just as impressive as ‘The Defenders’ are, for example. Yay! Second, ‘For Honor’ is updating itself also in May 2017, apparently, with at least two new PC characters – the Centurion and the Shinobi. That…is not so yay, actually, as both sound problematic: the Shinobi is supposed to be a part of the Samurai roster, yet since its’ name means a ninja-like character, (just ask any fan of… the ‘Naruto’ anime and manga, for example, for the reason why), how will it be different from the Orochi? Not better or worse, just different? Minds want to know…

The Centurion, meanwhile, as part of the roster of the Knights, seems to have its’ own problems – it was a rank of the Roman Empire (and the earlier Republic); it is a part of the ‘ancient’ times, not the ‘medieval’ ones, as the knights were. Yes, sure, such divisions are ‘superficial’, especially for various games, (‘Battlefield 1’, for example, as a megalodon shark as an ‘Easter egg’ attack option), but ‘For Honor’ actually goes for authentic-looking characters, so a Centurion will probably just not look as the rest of its’ teammates, or else one of the game’s stronger points – the authenticity will take a hit. Either way, ‘For Honor’ loses.

So: AoS is beginning to fix itself; ‘For Honor’ – not so much; and many wonderful new shows are coming to TV and the Internet. That is it for this time, tune-in next week!

S.H.I.E.L.D., Madame's Men - April 25

‘All the Madame’s Men’ was the 84^th, I believe, episode of AoS, and it marks a turning point, as the core characters are beginning to leave Madame Hydra’s/Aida’s world behind. This means, of course, a resolution of the entire ‘SkyeWard’ relationship, done in a manner to generate a lot of feels, and to leave SkyeWard fans happy…which is important for the AoS, for when Brett (Grant) returned to AoS, the show’s ratings went up. Looks like the ‘controversy’ gamble paid-off – sort of.

Of course, given the fact that we’re dealing with MCU there is still plenty of controversy, especially since in the comics, Captain America/Steve Rogers is (still) Hydra, and many people are angry about that because…reasons. With ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’, ‘Thor: Ragnarok’, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy II’ and even ‘Avengers: The Infinity War’ I and II in the wings, this sort of controversy can be an ambiguous sword – but we digress.

The point is that ‘SkyeWard’ was beautifully done, but it feels tacked on, a later addition, kind of like the mention of the departed Mr. Paxton, (John Garrett), was. As always, AoS has plenty of good ideas, new and old, but the way it is depicting them? It sucks. Unlike ‘APB’, whose main idea is meh, but the delivery is solid, or ‘Time After Time’- Oh, right, it was cancelled, never mind.

Or yes, do mind, thank you very much. First ‘Time’ got cancelled, while ‘APB’ made it to the season’s finale on one hand, and now ‘Powerless’ has also gotten cancelled, while ‘Making History’ seems still to be going. True, it has been reduced to 9 episodes from the original 13, but who knows? Maybe somebody somewhere was feeling superstitious? For otherwise, ‘History’ is much more lowbrow than ‘Powerless’ was, let alone ‘Time’, yet it hasn’t gotten cancelled – yet.

The above written awkward mini-rant is to point out that shows tend to be cancelled on an irrational basis and without rhyme or reason, and it sucks. To make it even worse, RM is in its final season, so yeah – after S9 wraps up, no more RM, period. The world of TV will be diminished…

Back to AoS? Yeah, ‘SkyeWard’ was put in to entice the fans/viewers, and it worked, (though S4 is still nowhere as badass as S1 & and S2 of AoS used to be), so I doubt that we will see Grant in S4 ever again, (though who knows? After S3, no one expected to see any of Dalton’s characters in AoS ever again either). Of course, this still leaves the issue of Trip hanging around – what kind of closure will he get, and there was still the matter of Bakshi: WTF did he come back?

…Bakshi was a Hydra member back in S2, who got killed by Simmons in the Arctic, and who had never been in contact with Radcliffe or Aida or Anton Ivanov/the Superior, not in canon or otherwise. So, how did he end up in the framework? Had Radcliffe and Aida Mk II, (this one) hacked S.H.I.E.L.D. files or something? In this case, they and their allies could have done much more damage than what we have seen in the LMD story arc. Instead, we seem to be dealing with a plot gap, (or a plot hole, whatever it is called), and also, before team Coulson, (including Ward), had stormed ‘Hydra Daily News’, cough, Bakshi had been briefly interacting with a somewhat Bobbi-like blonde, and Bobbi used to be undercover in Hydra… it would’ve been fun to see a framework Bobbi, yeah? However, that did not happen, alas…

(Speaking of Ivanov, WTF he is ‘The Superior’ now? Is his new ‘rank’ an adjective, a noun, a verb, etc.? In general, Marvel isn’t big on using ‘Superior’ as a noun, more as an adjective…and what, or who, Ivanov is superior to, or then? This is sort of like FH ‘Conqueror’ from the Knight faction – there wasn’t much active conquering going on in FH, which is part of its’ problem, but that is another story…)

So. Another good episode made by AoS S4, and ‘SkyeWard’ fans actually got the closure that they sought, so things are looking up. ‘Madame Hydra’ is moving into her endgame, as does AoS S4 in general. 

For Honor VIII, etc., rant - March 13

…Last time I ranted, I tried to talk about things ending; maybe this time I should be talking about the returning and etc.?

One of the things that has returned is ‘The Catch’, which is the grown-up version of the ‘Zootopia’ movie, save that it is done with humans (rather than anthropomorphic animals) and is shot live rather than as a cartoon/animated feature. ‘The Catch’ tries to be a mystery/crime show, but in reality, it is more of drama show, with the mystery/crime elements actually being its bigger flaw instead. That said, it is still enjoyable to watch, so, yeah, watch it?

Another new TV show, (this time new for real), is ‘Time after Time’. This is a curious one, since it deals with Jack the Ripper escaping into our time via H.G. Wells’ time machine, (yes, we are talking about the RH person here), and H.G. has followed him to stop him, (duh).

Now, what is curious is that this is ‘take III’ on the idea, so to speak. ‘Take I’ was the original…novel, which laid the groundwork both for the first two episodes of the current series and the movie, (‘take II’?) that aired in 1979, (I think). This means that the scriptwriters and co. had plenty of ideas of what kinks need to be fixed at least for the first two episodes, and probably even beyond. Spoilers alert: the appearance of Dr. Brooke might be the ‘real-life prototype’ of Wells’ Dr. Moro, and frankly, I think that one of the show’s ideas is that H.G. Wells got his inspiration for his novels in the future – his future/our present. As far as ideas go, this one is not bad; ‘Making History’, (which has also premiered in March and which also features time travel) is worse.

No, I am sorry, but ‘Making History’ sucks. It makes ‘Powerless’ look good especially since the latter has gotten over its terrible first episode and has found its’ footing, whatever it is. In part ‘Powerless’ reminds me of Crimson Fox, the main superhero of Charm City, where the show takes place. Have you seen her, on the show or in the comics? She doesn’t look anything like a fox; she looks a bit like a mushroom or a cobra with its’ hood spread out, but while the crew in Gotham, (Batman & Catwoman, cough), look sort of like their titular animals, the Crimson Fox just…doesn’t. She is still a proper superhero, no question about that, it is just there is nothing obviously corresponding with her superhero identity.

The same goes for ‘Powerless’. It is supposed to be a comedy about ordinary, common people trying to make a living in a super-powered world, but in reality, ‘Powerless’ works best when it is a comedy about a business company trying to make a living regardless of the facts that its’ CEO is an incompetent and infantile jerk, most of the staff would rather do anything else but work, and the main heroine of the show (Emily Locke) has this sort of a ‘Perky Polly’ attitude that can be hard to swallow and can be overwhelming in a bad way. Further complicating the show’s standings are some RL issues – the promo videos are coming at irregular intervals, they can actually be misleading, and they do not really reflect what will be aired in the episode per se.

…This is somewhat reminiscent of AoS, save that that AoS has many problems that ‘Powerless’ just lacks: the former plans to return Grant Ward to its’ screen (why, but this was discussed in earlier installments), plus it still has not fully recovered from the mess of Lincoln Campbell, (played by Luke Mitchell) and his (i.e. Luke’s) departure from the show.

Again: the first half of S3 did its best to depict Lincoln as Daisy’s boyfriend/other half, fine. This makes his final demise on screen at the S3 finale only more pointless and damaging to the show; I cannot help but to feel that someone else was supposed to perish instead. Coulson’s demise would’ve made the most sense – he is heroically dead, (as an Avenger should be), there is a new director, Lincoln really has to work it out with Daisy, with the new director, with the other agents, and-

Well, yes, given how the show was handling Daisy and Lincoln’s relationship, Lincoln didn’t really have any other choice…but the actor who was playing him did. These days Luke is playing Roman on ‘Blindspot’, and I do not see he has any regrets about leaving AoS for good. AoS itself might have mentioned Lincoln three times or so throughout the entirety of S4, so I am guessing that his departure was a bad one…because it did do damage to the second half of S3, for example. Lincoln just could not up and leave, so they had to kill him off.

…Okay, he could’ve just left, as Lance and Bobbi did, (sort of) – it’s equally possible that Joey, (played by Juan Pablo), was the one who was going to die at the end: it would certainly be appropriate for his character development – from an ordinary person, to a new recruit, to an agent, to a hero – and instead he left the show on a whimper with nary a mention. For a former friend of Daisy and others this was a low way to leave. However, what else could there be done? Juan Pablo signed onto AoS for just one season, and this was it. With Lincoln doing the heroic self-sacrifice now, (because if he just left Daisy and S.H.I.E.L.D. instead it’d be worse), there was no point to keep Joey, and so he left, Lincoln died, and when Radcliffe’s framework captured Coulson and most of his team, Coulson got to be the one who taught the dangers of InHumans, which didn’t suit him very well, (I don’t think that he really cared about the InHumans one way or another aside from Daisy), but it did suit Lincoln, since Simmons and he had been working on a ‘cure’ for the InHumans in S3…before that plot point got completely forgotten, apparently. Lincoln was intended for S4 (and beyond) but this never happened. The end, and AoS chose one of the worst ways to replace him with Grant, (Brett), ‘cause this just brings back all the old controversies and fights between the fans and what have you. Great move.

Let us stop the rant about AoS, again, and talk about other successes gone wrong, such as ‘For Honor’. As much as it was promoted before February 2017, now it is being torn down – and for deserved, technical issues. This is reasonable and probably ‘earned’ – ‘For Honor’ needs to fix various technical bugs and change/update some of its context: ‘Battlefield 1’ is not doing so hot either, but it is getting better…and so will ‘For Honor’, I hope. What worries me are the rumors that new classes are going to be added – the centurion and the ninja.

Well, the centurion was a ranking officer in the ancient Roman army, which means that he had more basic/less advanced weaponry than a Viking, a Samurai or a Knight did. Moreover, the Roman military was badass, especially before and during the reign of Marcus Aurelius, but-

But they were ‘team players’ fighting and working as a single unit; their armor was not very good, but their shields were broad and strong, and fighting cohesively, not one on one as their enemies (Celts, Gauls, Teutons, etc.) did, so when they could have a massive, army-on-army battle, they would win. In one on one battle, they would lose, as the S2 of DW showed clearly and honestly, by putting the abovementioned Roman Centurion against a Rajput warrior…who was not very different from a Celt, tactics-wise. As individual warriors, the Romans were worse than the Vikings, Samurais or Knights, so unless ‘For Honor’ will do some reality- and history-bending, the Romans are going to be the underdogs – and rightfully so…

(Of course, there were also the gladiators. The modern concept of gladiators is ‘shaded’ by the ‘reforms’ of the emperor Nero – yes, that Nero – but during the Roman republic they were different; at one point they were used as instructors from the Roman soldiers instead, but that is another story…)

As for the Ninja, here is the thing. DW gave it a bad deal, such weapons as black eggs, a medieval Japanese version of pepper spray, against a Spartan, who used a shield and a spear as its main weapons; the Spartan, essentially, won by points, and…let’s be fair to DW – it got rid of such unbalanced matchups in the following seasons. And anyhow, what worries me is that ‘For Honor’ already has a ninja-like character in its’ roster – the Samurais’ Orochi; his promo clearly says that this character was ‘trained by ninja clans’. So why add a duplicate?

…On this note, let me end the rant. It went in a completely different direction from where I wanted it to go, so yeah – until the next time, and hopefully, it will not be as embarrassing for me as this one was.