Pop Culture Round-Up 23/07–29/07
Sunday
Game Of Thrones
Episode 2 of Season 7 was another good one. And it was also a Eunuch fest. All three Eunuchs from the show had their moments in this episode.
The episode opened in a stormy night in Dragonstone with Daenerys finally dquestioning Varys loyalty. Which was fair. After all, Varys did have a part in the attempt to assassinate her. And just like that, the first Eunuch moment happened.

Eunuch No 1 — Varys: The machiavellian man then explained his motivation to help Daenerys. He said that he doesn't make legions with kings or queens but to the people. And Daenerys is actually the one who cares about people. Well done, baldy. She kinda of believed in you. Even though she said she will burn you alive if you’re lying.
After that, a surprise visitor arrived in Dragonstone. Melisandre! She obviously talked about the goddamn prophecy and also name dropped Jon Snow. And Tyrion was like “I met him once, nice guy”. So we may finally see Jon and Daenerys meeting each other in the next episode. About time if you ask me.

Still in Dragonstone, Daenerys and her council are standing around that awesome table we saw in the final scene of the first episode. It was cool to see that the council was pretty much formed by badass ladies. The only dude voicing something was Tyrion. Which by the way, came up with a really good battle strategy. But not everyone is trusting the clever dwarf. Olenna advised Daenerys to not blindly trust “clever men”. Next scene in Dragonstone was the second Eunuch moment of this episode.

Eunuch No 2 -Grey Worn: Before leaving to Casterly Rock, Grey Worn humblebraged to Missandei about being fearless. He also said that to achieve it, he had to face all his worst fears. Then he explained to her that now, she is his only fear. And she was like “oh, OK conquer me then”. Botton line here is, he is going to die in the battle.

Jon trying to convince a very skeptical group of Northerners that going to see Daenerys in Dragonstone is a good idea was a difficult task. And why Sansa keeps arguing with him in public? Seriously woman, just pull him aside and talk about this stuff privately. But hey, she seemed pretty stocked when Jon told everyone that she will be in charge while he’s away. Littlefinger couldn’t be any happier as well. He is totally planing something dirty. If anyone had any doubts that Littlefinger is a creep, that conversation he had with Jon totally showed who he really is. A fucking creep! I liked how Jon reacted to that creepiness. But the problem is, now Littlefingers will definitely try to hurt Jon somehow. So, congrats Mr Snow, you just made a new enemy.

Cersei is trying to recruit allies and to do that she came up with a bunch of fake news and racist lies to scare the 1 percent of King’s Landing. But they are still not convinced that she can beat Daenerys’ dragons. She then tells them that she has some kind of secret weapon. Which turns out to be a giant anti-dragon crossbow that looks pretty stupid IMO.

Sam trying to cure Ser Jorah’s greyscale was a very Sam thing to do. He is always trying to save everyone. That was tough to watch tough. Greyscale treatment is basically cut the infected skin without anesthesia. Ouch!

That transition from the gross greyscale skin being cut to a gross British looking pie being cut was great! Then, we see Arya eavesdropping people’s conversation and out of the blue, Hot Pie shows up. I was so happy to see him alive and happy. And it seems like he spent all the time he was off screen watching the show. Because he was able to give a pretty good recap of everything that happened in the last 2 Seasons to Arya. She then decide to head North to get reunited with her “brother” and sister. Too bad Jon won’t be there since he is off to Dragonstone.

On her way to the Winterfell Arya got herself surrounded by a pack of wolfs. But turns out the pack leader was her missing dire wolf Nymeria. She is massive now. Arya tries to convince the wolf to go back with her to Winterfell but Nymeria was like, Nah and then she bailed. I’m not sad about that because I’m pretty sure the dire wolf will come back later in the season to help Arya.

That sea battle sequence in the end of the episode was fun but very confusing. It was too dark and with very quick cuts. At some point I had no idea who had killed who. But, Euron (Hot Topic model) Grayjoy’s entrance was something epic. He is probably the best pirate who ever lived. He now has the gift (Ellaria) that he promised Cersei. I’m curious about what he’s going to do to Yara. I don’t think he killed her. That Yara scene also brought us the third Eunuch moment of this episode.

Eunuch No 3 — Theon: Oh man, he is truly fucked up. Theon was all brave and fighting his ass off. But then, he had some kind of PTSD and literally jumped off the ship. I understand him, though. Dude was badly tortured. He is traumatized and at that moment he accepted he had no other choice but run. Great acting by Alfie Allen. You could see in his face the exact moment when he turns back into the guy he used to be (Reek). But who knows, maybe he will get his shit together and redeem himself.

Great episode Slightly better than the premiere. Can’t wait until next Sunday.
Monday
Preacher
Damn! What an episode.
So, would you guys sell 15% of your soul for 150k? I think I would pass. It doesn’t feel like a good deal to me. But, that was a great way to start another great episode of Preacher.
At first I didn’t understand what a Japanese dude buying and selling souls had to do with anything going on in the show but, it came back to play a part later.

So back in Denis house Preacher and the gang were enjoying some breakfast of the champions (cooked by Tulip) when the Saint Of Killers finally caught up with them. The saint then goes on a killer spree and one thing has to be said. That was some bad CG blood.
Obviously the Preacher and friends escaped just in time. They then decided to go to the public library to gather more info about the SOK. Which brought us to a hilarious and very meta scene. Thanks to this research, the trio learned that the Saint is the only living person without a soul.

Because the SOK captured Denis, the Preacher has to come face to face with the Saint and explains to him that God is gone and therefore can’t help him. The SOK then agrees to a deal and Jesse has to literarily go soul searching.
And that is when the Japanese dude re-enters the story.
Jesse quickly discovers that the Japanese company “Soul a Go-Go” dominates the soul market. After a few failed tries to get into the companies armored truck he finally makes into it. Only to find out the the only soul that matches with the SOK is his own. So Jesse is forced to give up 1% of his own soul.

In the end the whole thing was just a set up. As soon as the SOK takes the soul, Jesse use his powers on him. He them give up his weapons and Jesse locks him in the Japanese armored truck and throw it in a swamp. Well played, Jesse.
Quick notes:
That scene with Cassidy losing his fingers was so gloriously gross.

I also loved the scene where Tulip was coaching Jesse on how to make a bomb over the phone.
I did not see that Cassidy/Denis twist coming. I just assumed that they were old pals or something.
Anyway, good stuff. Hopefully next week will bring us another terrific episode.
Tuesday & Thursday
Ozark
The only reason I gave this show a chance was because Jason Bateman was on it. I loved him in Arrested Development and The Gift. But surprisedly it developed into something very captivating. Ozark is one of the most satisfying new shows to hit Netflix this year IMO.
The writing, cinematography and acting are excellent. And the pace is just perfect. I’m also so impressed with Jason Bateman as a director. I loved Julia Garner, the curly headed little actress who plays Ruth. She was great in The Americans and she is outstanding in Ozark.

The show has this looming sense of dread that grows as the family days living on the lake go by. And it also demonstrates how a series of small choices and coincidences can lead to something uncontrollable and fucked up.
Episode 8 ,where it showed how they ended working for the cartel, is one of my favorites of the season. It is a very confusing episode since all the scenes are out of order. But it is extremely satisfying when everything clicks. I also really liked getting more of Petty’s backstory and seeing why he’s so driven and greedy.
The show has a Breaking Bad vibe in the sense that Marty, like Walter White, outsmarts everyone. Although Ozark doesn’t reach the BB heights it stands on its own really well.

The final episode was a shocker. And that baptism scene was so fucking intense.
Ozark was ten hours well spent. Most of the Netflix shows this year has been disappointing to me. So this was a great surprise.
My only complain is: I will have to wait a year to see what happens next.
Wednesday
Snowfall
I’m thinking about giving up on Snowfall. The non-Franklin story lines are boring and I can’t keep my attention on the screen when it cuts to them.
The whole thing with the CIA/ guerrilla fighters/ cocaine has to be confusing to anyone who was born after all this took place in the early to mid 1980s. And honestly I couldn’t care less about Teddy.

The Luchador storyline is so boring. It’s obvious to me that the nervous ass coked out guy is going to ruin it for them.
Basically, the best part of the show is Franklin’s storyline and the worst part is everything else.
Franklin has room for a lot of character development. His arc kind of reminds me of Walt’s transition into a bad guy in Breaking Bad. However, the writers need to do a better job to achieve such a thing. For example: I’m still amazed that Ari let Franklin walk away from working for him without any consequences. That would never happened in real life.

I had great expectations for this show but so far, it has been a big disappointment.
Friday
Room 104
Room 104 is a Duplass brothers’ anthology series about the stories of various people who pass through one room in a motel.

I saw many articles about this show last week. So when I noticed that the first episode had been released, I decided to give it a chance. And I’m so glad I did. This is an interesting concept. It won’t be for everyone, though. But I liked it
I loved the tension and the buildup. The episode was very suspenseful, upsetting and had just the right amount of weirdness for the twist ending.
I think as the season goes on its going to get darker and weirder.
Also, I’m glad that the show is only 23 minutes long. Because an hour in the same room every week would be a little much.

Kudos to the kid who played Ralph — he did an excellent job.
There are so many mysteries about this episode, and I loved how we were left wondering about it. I will absolutely watch the rest of this season.
Saturday
Room 104

I love this movie! And Saturday I rewatched it again for the first time in over a decade. Training Day is so gritty and dark. And never has the line between right and wrong on the streets of LA have been more poetic and indulging.
The action, the one-liners and the fact that this was filmed in the real gang areas in LA really made this movie shine. Training Day is a extremely well crafted thrill ride. The writing, pacing and story arch are also impeccable. The attention to detail is also amazing. There are plot twists and turns you won’t expect. And the movie maintains a steady level of immense entertainment.
Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington) is one of the most realistic depictions of a villain ever portrayed in a film. Denzel did such a good job because, I hated Alonzo. I love most of what Denzel has done, but this has got to be one of his best performances to date.. He absolutely deserved that Oscar.
Ethan Hawke is also perfectly casted as a LAPD rookie who is looking to join a top-notch narcotics squad led by Alonzo Harris. That bathtub scene always gets my heart racing. He was so great in that scene.
Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg made appearances too and they were actually reasonably good.
Antoine Fuqua did a goo job directing the movie. But for some reason he has never been able to replicate the success that he had with this film. I honestly don’t understand why, he is so talented.
Overall, everything in this film worked perfectly. Training Day is outstanding. I’d recommend it to anyone in a heart-beat.
