Rewatch: The Tunnel: S01E08

Last week I was left wondering where the plot would go now that TT's five truths have been completed. As it turns out: personal vendetta.

SPOILERS

The Shannara Chronicles: Reaper

There's a fine line between bad and So Bad It's Good. This episode ... did not cross that line. It's just bad.

The impression I have of Terry Brooks is that he's quite an easy-going writer, which is to say I don't think he's precious about his work. He doesn't refer to his books as his children, he doesn't insist on absolute fidelity when it comes to adaptations, and he was probably more than capable of simply accepting the cheque MTV offered and leaving the project in their hands.  

But I do find myself wondering what he thinks of this episode, as it marks a definite tonal shift. Of course, there's already been more blood, gore and sex on display here than there ever was in the books, but now we've seen a marked change in the portrayal of a fairly important supporting character.

The 100: Blood Must Have Blood Part II

I had hoped to get this finished before season three started, but (unsurprisingly) that deadline wasn't met. So I'll get this review under my belt, discuss the first two episodes of season three as a single instalment, and carry on for the rest of the season one episode at a time. Got it? Got it.

In hindsight, it feels like the entirety of season two has been leading up to the moment Clarke and Bellamy put their hands on that lever. In many ways it's a parallel to the first season's finale, in which Clarke made the call to ignite the dropship fuel and destroy the attacking Grounders, only taken to a much more devastating and morally-compromised degree.

This time around the act of killing her enemies to save her people involves the death of innocent people, including children.

The Shannara Chronicles: Changeling

This show would have us believe the insides of trees are hollow and filled with roots, so I'm going to chalk that down to this one being a magical tree. Amberle gets some nectar squirted in her face from a flower that blossoms right in front of her (I'll refrain from making any Freudian jokes) and so finds herself in one of those frustratingly obtuse Secret Tests of Character.

Rewatch: The Tunnel: S01E07

This was definitely the best episode yet. Last week I felt oddly disconnected from the father/son drama, but it turns out that the only thing I needed to be roped back in was a bus-load of kidnapped school children. It certainly didn't hurt that this episode also had the most of Angel Coulby that we've seen thus far.

So TT's latest truth is to shine light on the exploitation of children in sweat-shops by kidnapping a group of kids and their bus-driver, demanding that the public riot against various stores that stock goods supplied by child labour. The public duly complies, but things take a turn for the truly dark when two children are left shackled in the barn: a white girl and a black boy. It was at this point I felt ill, for it was pretty clear where this was headed.

Arrow: Unthinkable

I made it, I finally made it! Season two of Arrow is in the bag. I started watching back in October 2014, which is much longer than I thought it would be, and certainly not at the same pace as weekly viewers.  

As a season finale, this was pretty much what I expected. All the main characters are given a moment of heroism, a bevy of guest stars brought in to assist or hinder, the overarching themes wrapped up, the villains defeated, and the hooks established for next season.

To kill or not to kill: that is the question of this episode.

The 100: Resurrection, Bodyguard, Blood Must Have Blood Part I

Watching these three episodes brought to mind this comic strip:

Remember it, as I'll be referring to it again later.

We start with the immediate aftermath of the blast: the injured, the dying, the dead, and Clarke trying to process it all. Perhaps unsurprisingly all of our main characters have emerged relatively unscathed, but the emotional fallout of Clarke's decision to keep quiet about the attack is explored across all three episodes.

We get four reactions to Clarke's decision: Abbie's horror, Octavia's anger, Kane's understanding, and Indra's grim acceptance. Between them, I think that the show ultimately condones Clarke's decision: that it was a tough one, but the right one in the context of the war they're fighting.