I don’t know what made this week feel extra long, but it’s finally over. Maybe it was moving into a new office for work, or the back to back 60 degree days I was stuck inside said office rather than outside enjoying the weather.
Just going to leave these thoughts here so I can go enjoy my weekend.
TL,DR – WandaVision Good, Advertising Bad, Expanse Season 5 the real reason I wrote this.
WandaVision
My wife and I started WandaVision and are currently 2 episodes in. We are that couple that doesn’t binge a whole show in one night. Weird, right?
After the first episode lulled us into a false sense of security with the black and white TV show look, episode 2 threw us for a loop. And I hope that it continues to do so, I love the slow burn and steady build up, there is something sinister brewing.
Also, it is ridiculous trying to avoid spoilers for nearly anything these days. Everyone needs to be the first to show things from the last episode just for the sake of views or being first. If you do this, I hope you stub your toe this weekend.
Advertising Is Ruining Everything
I don’t usually let things like this get to me, but I need to vent. I am not a Michigan State Spartan fan, but I feel for every single one of you as you enter a five year period of darkness known as the “MSU Spartans Presented by Rocket Mortgage (you can read the article from Sports Illustrated for more.)
Ads are becoming more invasive in all parts of our lives. New TVs have them injected into their menus, every mobile game has them now with the option to buy an ad-free version, and if you haven’t been on Youtube in a while you get two ads before you can watch your video.
I understand that nothing is free, but I hope one day we can get back to naming sports arenas and venues after people who stand up for their communities or made sacrifices for a program or school. Or that maybe one day the people playing on these teams, especially at a collegiate level, begin seeing some of that revenue for themselves, but that is an entirely different conversation.
The Expanse, Season 5
I’m a huge Expanse book series fan, so the love and devotion put into the show brings me a ton of joy. The attention to detail with liquids on Luna, the perils of spaceflight and its effects on the human body, the human struggles that seem to follow us wherever we go; if you aren’t watching this you are missing out on a great streaming series, but more importantly you are missing out on a fantastic book series.
Major spoilers to follow.
SCROLL TO “END ON A HIGH NOTE” TO AVOID SPOILERS
The character of Alex Kamal, the pilot of the Rocinante, while just a supporting character, was a part of the Roci’s family. It’s what made the crew in the book who they were; they saw alien worlds togethers, saved humanity on more than one occasion, acted as the greater good when no one else would. So for the show to kill Alex off just felt like a stab at something I love.
Let me elaborate. It wasn’t that they killed Alex, or how, but the actions and interactions that came afterward. In the books, it is a known danger that high G maneuvers will kill a great many people, and in the show Bobby tells Alex that a maneuver like the one he pulled will cause them to possibly stroke out and die; Chekhov’s Gun. But following the jarring image of our pilot dead from a stroke, there is little else said or conveyed about the matter.
The crew spends little time mourning their friend before pushing the plot along; Naomi weeps briefly, Holden is stoic, which feels very out of character, and Bobby has little reaction due to her limited screentime after rescuing Naomi. Only Amos acts true to character by showing little emotion beneath his armor. Even the decision to have Bull, the stand-in pilot, sit in Alex’s chair and drink from Alex’s monogrammed coffee cup felt cheap and loaded. As if the show was less sad that Alex was dead and more interested in hurting the man that played Alex following his scandal. It felt petty and fast, and did a nasty number on the greater theme of family and the importance of a tribe in trying times throughout the season.
That said, I know that there are good reasons for why Alcon had to distance themselves from the Cas Anvar that plays Alex, and frankly the details of their investigation are none of my business. The show will go on, and it will find its stride for the last season. I just hope that the next season does something to rectify the damage they did to the overarching themes and importance of the Roci’s bonds.
End Rant.
End On A High Note
Very excited to finally begin painting our house now that we have lived in it for a year and a half! That adventure starts with primer this weekend.
Also excited to start watching The Mandalorian with our son. My wife and I finished the series when it originally aired, but now our son is eager to see what he has been missing. I’ve tried to keep things sacred until he is a little older so he can enjoy it with the same wonder as I did, but I also realize that he decides what will be sacred and special to him. Best to let him see it all now so maybe when Episode 10 comes out one day he too will be as excited as I was for new movies.
That’s all I have this week. Take care of yourself, let’s do this again soon.
Michael
mcsquared.blog 