Woman of the Month: Tanusha "Kayo" Kyrano

Kayo from Thunderbirds Are Go!

This month's instalment may seem a little obscure, as I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who's been watching Thunderbirds Are Go (that said, it's been renewed for a second season, so obviously it's popular somewhere) but Kayo was an unexpected highpoint.

My memories of watching the original Thunderbirds show are a little dim, though I'm under the impression that Kayo is not so much an original character as she is a reconception of a slightly dated character called Tin-Tin, who according to Wikipedia was introduced to the show to "redress the balance of the male dominated cast". Naturally, they ended up doing nothing with her.

As a quintessential Affirmative Action Girl, there was the risk that the writers of this remake would be equally inept at utilizing her properly in the narrative – but thankfully we've come a long way since the 1960s. Although the focus remains on the Tracey brothers, Kayo is given at least two episodes all to herself, in which she's portrayed as competent, intelligent, resourceful and pretty badass. The episode Fireflash in particular showcases her skills, and she's been given a dark family secret that will no doubt be brought to life in the season's second half.

Now don't get me wrong, Thunderbirds definitely makes for very light viewing, but it's worth appreciating the fact that Kayo is treated as the Sixth Ranger  of the team (her portrait hangs alongside the Tracey brothers in their main room) and – in what is my favourite touch – is a mentor to the youngest sibling Alan.

It's not perfect – after gifting her with a brand new Thunderbird at the end of the pilot episode, we never see her actually use this plane in any subsequent missions (especially annoying since Wikipedia also tells me that she's the first female Thunderbird pilot in the history of the franchise) but it's early days yet and plenty of time to see Thunderbird Shadow in action...

Penny Dreadful: And Hell Itself My Only Foe

Well, we're definitely in endgame territory now, but thank goodness there's a season three on the horizon. Only one minor subplot gets wrapped up in this episode, so there's no way John Logan will be able to bring everything that he's introduced this season to a satisfactory conclusion in just one forty-five minute finale (heck, he didn't really manage to do that last season in regards to Mina's anticlimactic death).

Thankfully, when it comes to this show the overarching plot is less important (and interesting) than each individual scene.

Outlander: Wentworth Prison and To Ransom a Man's Soul

Okay, let's do this.

Trigger for rape.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell: The Dark Tower

So for some reason I was under the impression this miniseries would be ten parts long; which meant I was a little confused to find we had arrived in Venice so quickly. In my mind, Venice occurs at the very end of the book, and there didn't seem to be enough material left to cover four more episodes. Then I looked up the show on Wikipedia and discovered there are only seven episodes, which means next week is the finale!

Whew, talk about whiplash. All of my current shows are ending within a few weeks of each other!

Penny Dreadful: Memento Mori

Well, that was certainly a packed episode! Lots of interesting parallels between various characters and their situations, a clearer understanding as to who is pulling all the strings in these games, and most surprising of all – no Vanessa or Ethan. I wonder if perhaps this episode and the last were written especially so that both could be filmed at the same time in different locations.

It's an episode of mirrors, paintings, memories and fetish dolls, all reflecting the characters in various ways, their individual arcs moving in and out of each other like a dance, each scene echoing the last in regards to what characters say and do. And although a few of these scenes are given short-shrift (after keeping us in suspense for one and a half seasons, the reveal of Dorian's portrait almost inevitably comes as an anti-climax) you can tell that the pieces are being put into place for the season finale.

Links and Updates

It's been a long time since I've done one of these, but in my defence I've been swamped with Polytech assignments. Thankfully the trimester is complete (though the next one is looming) and I've got some time to catch up on catching up.

Over the past few months two things have stuck out: one is that I can now cross "seeing Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera" off my bucket list, and the second is that I attended an event to celebrate the Sir Julius Vogel Awards, one of which I received for Best Fan Writing.

Orphan Black: History Yet To Be Written

You have to admit; these guys know how to write a finale.

Though the beginning of this season was a little fragmented, I think in its entirety it's been a stronger run of episodes than season two. We got concrete answers as to the whys and wherefores of the clones, some truly lovely character interaction between various pairings, a few fantastically unexpected twists, and some interesting new faces (namely Ferdinand and Krystal, though I suppose in the latter's case it's not exactly a "new" face). And despite fandom's grumbling over the inclusion of the boy clones, I enjoyed Castor as this season's villains much more than I did the Proletheans.

So, let's get down to this episode, which made the most of practically every available second.