Arrow Season Two Finale “Unthinkable” — TV EPISODE REVIEW

Manu Bennett and Emily Bett Rickards in Arrow

The battle has arrived. Slade Wilson versus Oliver Queen. It is the moment we have all been waiting for. This season has done an outstanding job of building up this villain and hyping this final encounter. But, did it pull a Smallville Season 8, where the entire season built up the Clark Kent vs Doomsday fight, only to have it last ten seconds? A quick answer to that would be…no. If this show has proved something time and time again, it is this simple fact: Arrow is NOT Smallville. This show is grounded in a little bit more realism, it acknowledges its’ own comic book nature, and it doesn’t shy away from big moments.

Arrow “Streets of Fire” — TV EPISODE REVIEW

John Barrowman as Malcolm Merlyn in Arrow

Arrow has just been kicking ass this season. I was hesitant when they started the season, because I knew they were going to be setting up the Oliver versus Slade showdown. I was worried because I didn’t know if they had it in them to do it right. But, I didn’t need to be hesitant because they have just killed it all season. That is mostly due to the very good performances by Stephen Amell and Manu Bennett. Tonight’s penultimate episode, “Streets of Fire,” really sets things up for an explosive finale.

Arrow “City of Blood” — TV EPISODE REVIEW

“Hey guys, check it out. I’m relevant again!” –Sebastian Blood

Coming off of last week’s shocking death, I was curious to see the tone of the newest episode of Arrow. You get the tone right away, as it starts with a funeral. With only 2 episodes to go, this episode really needed to set a tone for the final two. But did it succeed?

Arrow “Seeing Red” — TV EPISODE REVIEW

Stephen Amell, Susanna Thompson, and some random dude in Arrow

This is a review. So major spoilers will be included.

How good is Arrow? I mean, seriously, this show keeps getting better and better. This season has improved on almost every fault that season one had. Let’s see…I hated Laurel, I loved Slade, and I hated Thea. We got less Laurel, more Slade, and unfortunately not less Thea. Two out of three isn’t bad. But the acting has gotten way better, the action scenes have been better choreographed, and the story keeps you guessing. What more can you ask for? “Seeing Red” brings us in pretty much where the last episode left us; with Roy waking up from his Mirakuru coma. And casualties occurred.

Game of Thrones “The Lion and the Rose” — TV EPISODE REVIEW

Natalie Dormer and Jack Gleeson in Game of Thrones

SPOILER ALERT. That is your first warning. Game of Thrones does it again. They give us a fantastic episode that centers around a wedding. Except, not as much bloodshed this time. No bloodshed to be exact. But that ending will have fans cheering for hours. It was nice to see that George R.R. Martin wrote the episode. I like that for the big episodes, or at least the ones that he is passionate about; he gets to come on and write the scenes how he wants. So lets dig into “The Lion and the Rose.”

How I Met Your Mother “The End of the Aisle” — TV EPISODE REVIEW

This season has definitely been known for its ups and downs, but its good episodes have been really good. If How I Met Your Mother has solidified one thing in my mind, it is that they can nail the serious episodes. This episode, which is the penultimate episode leading up to the one hour season finale next week, was one that had to incorporate serious and comedic elements. And since I already stated how good this show has become at their serious moments, it isn’t hard to predict how I feel about this episode. “The End of the Aisle” definitely had a lot of work to do, as they had to tie off a couple of stories.

Arrow “The Promise’ — TV EPISODE REVIEW

Stephen Amell (left) and Manu Bennett (right) in CW’s “Arrow”

This week came off of a vicious cliffhanger that had me literally yelling at the screen. And in a good way. Kind of like “OH SHIT!”. Yeah, that ending made me excited. Last week’s episode was a solid episode that was made even better by that damn handshake. That’s right. Slade Wilson finally revealed himself to Oliver in the present timeline. And Oliver’s reaction was priceless. Credit to both actors who sold the scene 100%. Completely believed Oliver’s shock by the two-second look on his face. This week, we get the continuation of that. And we get one of the better episodes to date.

Hannibal “Sakizuki” — TV EPISODE REVIEW

“I believe you.”

Okay, so holy shit. That was kind of disgusting. That opening scene, as amazing as it was, was actually pretty gross. Watching that dude tear up his skin as he stretches his way lose from other bodies was just rough. Glad I wasn’t eating at that time. Also, his fall was brutally unsympathetic. Just…bam, bye-bye. Hannibal is at it’s highest quality right now. It doesn’t look like it is going to let up any time soon.

True Detective Episode 7 Review — “After You’ve Gone”

“My whole life is this expanding circular fuck-up and I’m about to get clipped in a home invasion. What I’m saying is, I was aware that I might have lost my mind.” I swear I could go episode-by-episode and just pull out these amazing lines, mostly said by McConaughey’s Rust Cohle. The writing is just spectacular. The dialogue blows me away week after week.