It’s been a while, but my watch of 24 continues. And since I have future knowledge (as I am writing this review, I have already seen seasons five and six), I can safely say that this season was the last great one. It seems that from season five, this series relies a bit too much on… actually, let’s not focus on that, shall we? This review is about season four, so let’s delve into that.
This season starts with a bang… well, technically, a crash. A train crash. And it’s all action from several episodes onwards, but of course, that’s not the main plotline of this season. The actual threat for this season starts when Arnold Vosloo (known by most fans from The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns (2001)) shows up. His Habib Marwan made for an excellent opponent who was always a few steps ahead of everyone, Jack Bauer included. Also, his name is said about 20 times per episode, so it’s easy to remember. And I was secretly hoping the showrunners would let him survive to make him into a bigger, multi-season villain. So, a spoiler alert (but not really), he doesn’t survive. He puts up a fight, and his CGI death was funny; it was a shame we couldn’t have more of him as, to me, he was the most worthy opponent Jack has had, maybe ever.
This season was also great for our returning characters, from Michelle and Tony having their “will they won’t they” dynamic that never got boring or annoying. Mary Lynn Rajskub has also returned as Chloe, and it’s hard not to like her socially awkward dork who knows her stuff and will give it to you straight, sometimes without any prompts whatsoever. I also like the dynamic between Audrey (Kim Raver) and Jack; I thought it never went overboard, and they seemed like an actual couple.
I can’t help but feel (and this was before I had my future knowledge of the upcoming two seasons) that this could have been an epic end to this series. I won’t spoil how this season ends, but it felt like it was written as a potential ending to the entire series, and honestly… if it were the end, 24 would have the legacy as one of the best action TV shows ever that also managed to end on a high note. Pretty much all stories have naturally finished, there was no cliffhanger for the next season, and the end of season four seemed like the story of Jack Bauer reached its logical conclusion. But since that is not how TV works (or at least worked on a major TV network), we had to keep it going.
And I can actually use my future knowledge to confirm this would have been more impactful had it ended here. Most of our favourites are still alive, we haven’t brought back anybody from the grave, and no unexpected family members have appeared… what’s that I am naming? Just those annoying TV cliches you tend to recognise when you have watched one too many TV shows from the 90s/2000s, and when these cliches start to happen, you know the showrunners have run out of ideas, steam or creativity. Am I saying 24 will commit all of these sins? Well, you will just have to read my next review. 😉
Overall, the fourth season of 24 was, in my eyes, the pinnacle of 24, alongside the third season (my review here). Everything is bigger and better than the previous season, the main villain included, and when it finally concludes after 24 episodes, you wonder how and where this show will take it now. With my future knowledge, I can safely say choices have been made. Choices; I am afraid that will annoy some people (and probably many fans at the time) and make the fans slowly get off this show and not celebrate it as loudly as other shows of this era. I genuinely believe if the show stopped here, it would have been regarded as one of the best action shows of all time.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
As a person who grew up loving both The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993) (a rare combo where I believe the sequel is just as good as the original), I was cautious regarding Wednesday. Yes, all the trailers I watched looked promising, but these legacy re-imaginings don’t always go well. Nevertheless, I went in hoping for the best, expecting to be at least half amused. To my massive surprise, I was “fully” amused by most of this TV show. I didn’t expect this to be kind of Wednesday being a detective story and finally understood the hype about Jenna Ortega, who shines in this role. Her portrayal of Wednesday was so phenomenal, I don’t know whether it’s my recency bias, but she is on pair with “my Wednesday” Christina Ricci. I can’t pick who I prefer more in this role, and to me, that says everything about the quality of this show and the performance given by Jenna.
Let’s start with why Wednesday worked for me, as it was all about smart decisions. For example, we get the family, but only as side characters. They pop in, do their thing and are out of the picture, and that was brilliant because that decision allowed us to focus more on Wednesday’s character without thinking about when the rest of Addams’ family would show up. Speaking of them, I thought Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzmán did a fine job. I don’t think they could have done much more with the space they were given, and I didn’t mind either in their respective roles. I read the “backlash” against casting Luis as Gomez, as many knew him only as Raul Julia, this suave, charming beast. And I get it, Luis isn’t Raul but given they were trying to go back to the roots (in the original cartoons, that is how Gomez looked like), I admire the decision and thought Luis did a great job. He had some funny moments but had some sincere moments too, where he needed to utilize his dramatic chops, and I thought he nailed it.
Another aspect is the story itself, which is “borrowing” a few things from Harry Potter. Look, possibly they weren’t, and the Nevermore school is also part of some old cartoon I have never seen. But a school for gifted students, split into four “categories”? A mystery that all the adults are ignoring, so it’s up to the students to solve it? But if it ain’t broke… and it worked for this show. This show balanced the dark humour The Addams Family (and mainly Wednesday’s character) is known for with some good storytelling and the underlying themes you might expect by now (metaphors for everything from race to LGBTQ issues but neither seem heavy-handed). This show knew what it wanted to do and say and went ahead. It also chose the best protagonist – Jenna Ortega.
I have been hearing for a while that she might be the “next big thing”, and yeah, after finishing this show, I can see why. Jenna was spectacular as Wednesday. I believe this role is much tougher than it looks because I would imagine it’s tempting to stay “one note”. Just say everything deadpan and move on to the next scene, but she always added something more on top of her lines, something that assured me that she was “present”. The best compliment I can give her is her Wednesday evolves really slowly, therefore, at the end of season one, she is a tad different but still, the same snarky, dark humour-loving intellectual we know and love. It must be so hard having to translate that from the paper onto the screen, but Jenna managed to make it look effortless. Even if you aren’t into “teenagers run around and solve crimes” shows, I would still recommend watching this show for her performance alone. Her delivery was always on point; I felt safe with her leading this show; from the moment she appeared, she made me aware that she was the boss.
What also pleasantly surprised me was that I was wrong when I guessed the big bad. Well, kind of wrong and kind of right. Without going into any spoilers, there were a few layers to this story; some I guessed correctly, and others I was pleasantly surprised with. I also didn’t expect some deaths, and that is always a plus, given most of these shows usually telegraph deaths from miles away. But not Wednesday… or maybe I was just too entertained to notice.
The only tiny negative would be the open-ending, hinting that something even larger was happening. As much as I would love at least one more season, I would prefer if it was its own thing. Unless that is, the show’s creators actually have a plan for two or three seasons, and they set up things in this season to pay off in the upcoming seasons. If not, and if they get the go-ahead for the second season (as of writing this review, nothing has been confirmed yet), I would have preferred its own, totally separate story, maybe including more of the family members…? I just hope they won’t try to replicate the first season and build up on it too much, where we have to suspend our disbelief too much, as some TV shows have done in the past where they tried to outdo the first season. But that is it; I can’t say anything negative about this show.
Overall, Wednesday surprised me on all fronts. I went in hoping for the best, and my expectations were not only met but they were also surpassed. I can’t overstate enough; how much this show relies on the massive talent of Jenna Ortega. Her portrayal of Wednesday was doomed to fail, given most people watching this show grew up with Ricci’s impeccable take on that character and she not only managed to get close to her; she might have even surpassed her. But I am comparing incomparable things, Jenna had more time, and if there is a second season, she will get even more to show us where she would take this delightfully dark character. I can recommend this show, and I hope we will get at least one more season.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
You can call this show many things, but one “label” is unfortunately correct, and that label would be “divisive”. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is, by far, the most divisive MCU show to date, with people on both sides of the spectrum screaming about this show either in support or disgust. Why disgust? I have seen many saying something like: “Oh, how far/deep has the MCU fallen.” Honestly, because it took me a minute to start this show, I was doubtful as the hate seemed to come from all directions. But I don’t tend to listen to other people, so when I finally caught up on this show, I was surprised by how much I loved it. That shows that no matter what you hear, you must make your own judgement and see it for yourself, and I am glad I did; otherwise, I would have missed the funniest MCU show to date.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is probably the most light-hearted, low-stakes MCU show we have gotten because it wants to be that. Well, at least regarding MCU. You literally have the main character (more about her soon) tell you in the first episode: “It’s true. I am a Hulk. And I’m guessing you won’t be able to focus on this fun lawyer show until you know all about that.” And at that moment, I realised what this show was. It’s a sitcom in MCU, but in the Internet age and given its ties to the MCU, people weren’t ready for this show to “just be that”. I have touched on this in my previous MCU reviews, but the MCU fanbase needs to get their shit together. During their “peak” (with just movies leading up to the Avengers: Endgame (2019)), the second biggest complaint I heard was that MCU couldn’t just make something on its own, that everything had to be linked somehow to the previous movies or setting up upcoming films. Why number two, by the way? Because the number one complaint was always about their action scenes (still something they need to work on). And all these MCU shows have tried to do just that, especially something like Moon Knight (2022, my review here); you can watch with almost no knowledge about any MCU films/shows and enjoy it. And virtually the same can be said about She-Hulk. Sure, you need to know a bit about Hulk, Avengers etc., but I can imagine even if you don’t know much, you would still be able to enjoy yourself because this show doesn’t rely on your extensive knowledge of the MCU. This show wants you to relax and have fun alongside Tatiana Maslany.
You can say many things about this phase (I believe we are about to end MCU’s phase 4) and how “uneven” the films, the shows, and the themes have been. But one thing the MCU still knows how to do is cast their leading roles. From Hailee Steinfeld in Hawkeye (2021, my review here) to Iman Vellani in Ms. Marvel (2022, my review here), and now Tatiana as She-Hulk. Side note, I know Hailee technically is not a lead in that series, but I consider her role to be as vital as Hawkeye himself, plus she will play an important part in the future. One stellar casting decision after another, and Tatiana is yet another jewel in this crown of casting decisions. She has the acting range to do both comedy and drama spectacularly, and she switches between those two lanes with ease. But the main reason I loved her as Jen Walters is the fun she was having as the character. Her attitude and positive thinking were infectious, and I can’t compliment her enough. Also, she breaks the fourth wall as much as Deadpool, maybe even more. And for her to do that so effortlessly, when not once it seemed off or not funny… that tells you all you need to know. She gave this character the correct amount of snark; every decision Tatiana made for her character worked. It worked so much that out of all the MCU shows, this one is the clear frontrunner for me as to “we need a second season as soon as possible”. I would also appreciate seeing more of She-Hulk in the MCU films.
If you are “on the Internets” at all, you must have heard about the now infamous scene featuring Tatiana and Megan Thee Stallion twerking. If you somehow missed this “controversy”, first of all, please teach me your ways and second, congratulations. Nevertheless, when I first became aware of that, I cringed as out of context; it looked weird and out of place. And here’s the operative phrase, “out of context”. I wasn’t watching the show by the time this episode was out, so I had no point of reference, and that scene seemed just bizarre. But after I caught up and watched that episode the moment this scene happened, I chuckled. Because that episode was funny, and this was just a funny, silly moment of a funny, silly show. It was just a post-credit scene that closed the episode where (believe it or not) Megan was in, so that scene was just “a tag”. Nothing more, nothing less. Marvel isn’t dead because Megan now exists in the MCU, and she dared to twerk with Tatiana, no. People need to take themselves less seriously and take what they get less seriously as well, especially if the show you are watching tells you this will be a silly lawyer show!
Unfortunately, as is the rule, in today’s day and age, many “fans” have review-bombed this show only after the first episode. And look, I get it, I… no, wait, I don’t actually get it. I never understood why people feel the need to rate/rank a show after the first episode. I don’t get why people (and, in this instance, some men) are so afraid of women leading shows. It was funny to me; that, in the end, the main storyline of this show was about a group of young men who hate She-Hulk and want to get her powers because they feel she doesn’t deserve them. And by funny, I mean ironic. It’s insane to me how some people will yell about these shows “being woke/political” and all that shit, and then they proceed to review-bomb a show after the very first episode, saying how “this isn’t MCU anymore”. Why? Because we don’t get to have fun? This show understands today’s culture and, unfortunately, proved it. You don’t get to complain about the show being “woke” and then proceed to do that very stuff this show is dealing with; this is just not how any of this works.
My only criticism of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is the occasional over-reliance on other MCU characters. I won’t spoil any who appear in this show, and it was nice to see them, but I was enjoying Tatiana so much I thought sometimes, these “guest appearances” distract from her, a point, by the way, even the show acknowledges. My other, more serious point – I wanted more. I could have easily watched at least six to ten more episodes of just Jen struggling to live a normal life while being a superhero lawyer. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law was the show we could easily have had more episodes without compromising the quality. Come to think of it; we could have even gone deeper; with the villain(s) and established them even more, but maybe that was on purpose, not giving them too much oxygen…? Be that as it may, I wanted more.
Overall, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is a superb show with one excellent performance by Tatiana Maslany. She is having so much fun it’s almost impossible not to have a great time alongside her. The rest of the show portrays very well how it would look like; if somebody did gain superhero powers and didn’t want to be a superhero. Jen’s struggle to juggle her personal and private life, her comedy and her breaking of the fourth wall were all on point. I would strongly recommend this show if you can accept it on its terms. If you are fine with watching “just a comedy show” that also has something to say about today’s world, go ahead. Now, if you excuse me, I will be on the lookout for season two and need to watch more movies/shows with Tatiana in them.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
Sometimes, the Emmys can be good for something. For example, I knew of this miniseries for a while (mainly due to Alexandra Daddario and Sydney Sweeney‘s involvement and being on Reddit, you couldn’t escape some pictures or gifs being posted regularly), yet it wasn’t until the show won 10 (!) Emmys, I finally decided to watch it. And I am so glad I did. The White Lotus might seem like a “rich white people have issues too” type of show, but it’s so much more. That is how I would sum up this show – everything is more nuanced than it appears on the surface.
Take it from the premise – within the first minutes, it’s established somebody died in this tropical resort, but we are never told who until the last episode. Naturally, you might think this might turn into a sort of “whodunit” or who will it be, but it never does. Because once this show introduces all our main characters and starts “plotting away”, you are hooked and might even forget that at the end, somebody will die. As that death never “lingers” over this show.
What The White Lotus is interested in; is exploring characters from different social and economic backgrounds but giving them all the “benefit of the doubt”. And the show does it well. You might think you have every character figured out by the end of the first episode, but you would be mistaken as each one grows episode by episode, some for better, some for worse. Take Jake Lacy‘s character (Shane). I was convinced he was the most unpleasant person in that show based on the first episode. And he is definitely a spoiled, entitled male version of Karen. But the main conflict his character has throughout this show (against Murray Bartlett‘s character Armond) isn’t because of him being all those things I just said; it’s because of Armond’s character being cheeky and trying to get away with it. If you watched the show, you know what I am talking about.
Now, does that justify Shane’s behaviour towards his new wife, Rachel (played by Daddario)? Absolutely not. And he’s got many issues on top of that (like the fact he might be too attached to his mum), but ultimately you can kind of understand his motivation and his traits because that character is written and portrayed well. Same for Alexandra’s character Rachel where you can argue she jumped into this wedding bit too quickly, not knowing what she was doing because her character starts to see who she married on their honeymoon. But when she has a choice to leave and do something about it, does she? I won’t spoil it, but let’s just say nobody is “black or white” here. Every single character has their flaws displayed and explored. That brings me to Fred Hechinger, aka Quinn.
His character goes through the most growth; out of all characters we have been introduced to in this show. When we first meet Quinn, he is this beyond awkward teenager who is glued to his phone, not satisfied/happy with anything. He also has a wealthy/powerful mum behind him (Connie Britton), who keeps making excuses for him. Her dialogue about teenage white men having it difficult in today’s world was interesting, to say the least, so you can draw some comparisons between his character and Shane. One could even say; if certain events didn’t happen the way they did, Quinn would have ended up like Shane’s character in 20 years. Instead, I don’t think he will, as he finds something we all crave without realising – the sense of community, belonging and hopefully, purpose. Again, I don’t want to spoil it, but his journey was satisfying to watch, and towards the end, you root for him.
We can also talk about his sister (portrayed by Sydney) and her relationship with her best friend, who is tagging along with Sydney’s wealthy family (played by Brittany O’Grady). Both of them stand for good things; they stand on the right side regarding all the issues, and don’t worry, they will tell you about it. But Sydney’s character does it from the place of hypocrisy and comfort (as highlighted by her dad, played by Steve Zahn), and Brittany’s character is the personification of the proverb “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Her ultimate goal is noble, but in order to achieve that goal, her character makes some straight-up evil choices. And yet, you understand her even though you don’t have to agree with what she did.
And that is where the brilliance lies for me. I could pretty much go through each of our ten main characters and write about each in a good chunk of text because I understand them. And the reason I understand them is that they all feel like people, not characters on paper. They all have good and bad qualities, but most importantly, they all have flaws, some bigger than others, and the show doesn’t judge them. The White Lotus makes sure you get to know them, you understand them and then it’s all up to you to decide who is the “real villain” is. Maybe there isn’t one, as we are all the heroes of our own stories and villains in some other stories. I once heard something along the lines of: “We judge everyone based on their action, but we judge ourselves based on our intentions.” And whilst watching this show, that line kept ringing in my head.
I wonder how the second season will square against this one. From the original cast, the only one returning is Jennifer Coolidge (who deserved that Emmy, she was brilliant in her role), but we will get a new resort with new people. It will be hard to top this season, but I am hopeful because I can see the potential. And I am also down for more Jennifer in this kind of role; she ruled both comedically and dramatically.
Overall, The White Lotus is so much more complex than the show lets on the surface. From looking at the promotional posters and trailers, you might think this might be a decent show full of “white people’s problems”. To an extent, it is that, but there is much more meat on the bones to chew. And that’s all due to the brilliant script and strong performances by everyone involved. I would be happy if this show only had one season, but let’s see what season two will bring. I can’t wait and won’t be waiting to check it out this time.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
When I wrote my review for season two (if you missed it, it’s here), I did wonder whether the gimmick (events happening in real-time equals you get a lot of unnecessary things/plotlines) would prevent this show from ever having a truly 10/10 season. Well, lo and behold, it was right around the corner. And surprisingly, I couldn’t see it because we start with drugs and cartels until we move into the main threat for this season – a possible spread of a virus; that could result in a pandemic. Yeah, is that ringing any bells?
The third season of 24 really pushes your belief regarding the end justifying the means; and how we can root for somebody like Jack because we know he is the hero. And that brought me to this idea – what if we didn’t know? What if we were always a couple of steps behind what Jack knows, so we would have to take him on his words, exactly as the characters around him? Would we still be okay with him torturing people and sacrificing them for the greater good? What I liked about this season, it was not just him who had to make some tough choices/ It was most of the team, from Tony (Carlos Bernard), Michelle (Reiko Aylesworth) and even the president himself (Dennis Haysbert). It was a great decision that the third season forces multiple characters into this morally grey area as some characters deal with the pressure better, some worse. Or, I guess some cave into the demands, and some don’t. And here, to me, lies “the key” to fully understanding Jack Bauer.
I think Jack’s character is so compelling despite the fact he is quick to torture; he will cross the line to get the results; sure, we agree there. But… and, here is where the difference between him and the others lies, he is always willing to put his own life on the line. The one constant of this show (and in this season as well) was his willingness to do whatever is necessary to succeed, and if that means risking his life, he doesn’t blink or hesitate for a second. He is the perfect agent, soldier, and American. Ultimately, I believe that is why 24 was so popular for so long; it came at the right time when many Americans needed to see “good guys doing everything they can to protect them”.
This season also had (so far) the most compelling villain – Stephen Saunders (Paul Blackthorne). I loved how they incorporated his story back to the first season without it being clunky because it’s not about his ties to Jack. It was more about him knowing the protocols and being a few steps ahead of the CTU most of the time. He seemed like the type of villain I would love to see evolving and looming over the rest of the show, but that won’t happen (spoiler for a 20+-year-old show ;-)).
The third season also introduces a character that seems to be the one who stays with Jack from now until the end of the show – Chloe O’Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub). I wasn’t sure what to think of her in the first couple of episodes, but by the end of the season, it’s impossible not to root for Chloe. And Mary Lynn’s portrayal of Chloe is wonderfully unique. She is a straight-talking, no-nonsense kind of badass who occasionally just doesn’t know how to communicate with people. I can wait to explore her backstory and get to know her character better throughout the rest of this show.
There was a moment that pushed me over the edge for this season, from being great to 10/10, and it was the last couple of minutes of the final episode. Maybe some spoilers are incoming, but this is nothing related to the plot, so readers, be aware. I am talking about Jack, after 24 hours, finally getting a moment to himself to catch a breath just for a second and then breaking down in his car, crying. What a powerful image of this man, who we have seen make one tough decision after another (many times in a split second), being “just a man”. When everything he’s just been through finally catches up with him, he can just let go for a few seconds. But not too long because, sure enough, everybody wants a piece of Jack, so he has to wipe his tears and ride to his next mission.
Overall, the third season of 24 surprised me every step of the way. The moment a plotline became a boring one, it got sorted; or it became irrelevant. Every time you think: “Oh, so this is how they catch up with the bad guy.” Nope, he’s got another ace up his sleeve. And when they finally do, it’s so satisfying to watch. And also, some of our old familiar characters get their comeuppance, and those scenes were also satisfying to watch. It will be interesting to see whether any other season will top the third one in my eyes or whether this will be the peak for 24.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
Due to a variety of things (holidays, buying my first flat etc.), it took me a while to get around to this show. And since I came to this show slightly later, I have heard some things about it, mostly how average it is and about MCU continuing its downward spiral. Well, I am either too easy to please or straight-up dumb (both options highly possible ;-)), but I thought as far as character introduction goes, Ms. Marvel kicked ass. And the whole show had this unique, young-ish look we had not seen in any of the MCU’s films or shows before. But most importantly, Marvel still gets how to cast their movies/shows because they won a jackpot with Iman Vellani. On the other hand, they, yet again, created some mediocre villains that are not only meh but one of them that was just straight-up confusing to me because there was no motivation…?
Let’s start with the positives, and the two best aspects of Ms. Marvel are the not-so-generic look and Iman Vellani. I would not hesitate to call the style of this show very Edgar Wright-ish in every sense, mainly the first two episodes “pop”. Everything from the fast pace to the brilliant use of white/negative space for text messages and how they blended them into the story. Sure, by the end, the show looks more “paint-by-the-numbers”, but I like the chances MCU takes with their TV shows, showcasing new things and ideas, letting different creators have their say within the MCU’s sandbox. Speaking of “fresh and exciting new blood”, let’s talk about the main star, Iman.
You can tell from every scene she grew up and genuinely is an MCU fan. Just like her character Kamala, she lives and breathes everything Marvel, and she took that energy and managed to transport it onto the screen. I hope we get to see Iman in many, many more films to come, and I am not talking about “just” Marvel films. I also loved the cultural aspect she brought to the MCU and how we got the chance to explore her Pakistani culture without having everything overexplained.
See, many films/shows find themselves in this “precarious” situation, where they want to tell a story about a different culture. But since everything must be easy to sell to the general audience (who is predominantly white), what they do is they feel the need to stop and explain every single foreign word, holiday, celebration, custom, you name it. And what the creatives behind Ms. Marvel decided to do was… well, not that. Because it wouldn’t make sense, the characters live it every single day of their life, so they would just drop it (whatever that “it” was) mid-conversation and move on. And it’s only up to the viewer whether they want to know more about any of these customs or not; we got a story to tell, massive thumbs up for that decision.
As I have hinted, my biggest (and frankly the only) problem with Ms. Marvel were the villains. And this is where I have to go into the spoilers to talk about it more, even though, if you have seen any MCU film/show, you won’t be surprised by who those villains are…
Beware, SPOILERS are coming!
I was “fine” with Kamran being the “surprise” villain even though we get yet again the “same vs the same”, the true MCU staple we all love…(?) But honestly, he was kinda… “meh” in this show. It’s almost like they were saving his character for some future project, so they didn’t want to give him too much…? But still much better than the “evil agent lady” portrayed by Alysia Reiner. I love Alysia from Orange Is The New Black (2013 – 2019), and her performance was also not the issue; she was perfectly fine. It was the writing, or specifically, the lack of it, as her character seems to lack any motivation as to why she does what she does. We get she has a grudge against; I guess, Muslims…? See, I watched the show, and I still don’t know because we don’t spend that much time with her, and the time we do, nothing is ever even hinted at. I will be the first to say I don’t need everything spoon-fed, but every good villain should have some sort of motivation, some “hint” of what makes them tick. And from the moment she steps onto the screen till her last moments, she is evil because… she simply is?
Ultimately that was my only real letdown with Ms. Marvel. I liked everything else, and I loved Iman’s performance/presence. For somebody so young, she can command the screen, and I can’t see what is in the store for her in the MCU and beyond. Also was pleasantly surprised when Brie Larson showed up towards the end for just a couple of seconds to set up The Marvels (2023). I am really excited about this film now, due to Iman’s presence.
Overall, Ms. Marvel was (mostly) a joy to watch. From the fresh POV of a small city to a culture most of us are not familiar with; to the perfect casting of Iman Vellani, the show had everything going for it. Too bad the villains were not up to par to match her “energy”, but given this is only the beginning of her journey, I am not even that mad. Sure MCU has done better shows, and this one objectively ranks slightly lower than most of them, but… I still had a great time. A large part of that was purely down to Iman’s sheer joy of being there. I would say Ms. Marvel is worth watching.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
After the first ground-breaking season (my review can be found here), I wondered how the show would “evolve” after one major death and another pretty big twist. I am happy to write that the second season of 24 might have been even better than the first one. I was so close to calling it one of the best seasons of any TV show of all time because it was a mostly exhilarating ride from the very first episode until the very last one, however… I had a few issues with this season. And they mostly revolve around one character and one character only – Kim.
Look, I have nothing against Elisha Cuthbert. Quite the opposite, I did like her character in season one, and she can be quite easy on the eyes, especially when the show seems to be finding reasons for her to wear revealing outfits no matter what. But, this season, her character not only annoyed me, it downright stopped the show within its tracks each time she appeared on the screen. I believe there are two reasons for this.
The first reason is apparent – her storyline has nothing to do with the second’s season main threat, the nuclear bomb. Rest assured, she gets told by Jack to avoid Los Angeles, but that’s pretty much it. Kim’s character starts this season as baby sitter who happens to babysit a girl whose father “might” be one of the most despised dads to ever appear on film or TV. So, for the first couple of episodes, every time we break away from the main storyline to check on “what is our Kim up to now”, we can mostly see her running, screaming, hiding or all of the above from this psycho “dad”. And for the rest of the season, her character is all over the place, from a random encounter with a doom prepper to facing the consequences getting bailed by the CTU.
The second reason her storyline didn’t work is that the writers didn’t know what to do with her character. The thing is, I don’t blame Elisha for any of this; she was simply doing what was on the paper. The problem was with “the paper” – you could tell the writers tried their hardest to make her problems/story make sense during this nuclear storyline. And what was supposed to take off the edge a bit, give us (the audience) a chance to breathe for a while, has turned into this messy, screamy subplot that honestly made me hate Kim’s character. And I have to repeat myself; I had no issues with her in the first season despite in spite of her character getting into precarious situations too. However, they were at least somehow connected. I am watching season three right now, and they actually incorporated Kim’s character into the show in a better way. Is what she is doing now 100% logical, and could I see her being where she is? No, but you know what? I am more than willing to overlook a few things if we stay away from Kim always having to be saved.
And that’s a shame, as otherwise, the second season was great. Everything from the nuclear bomb to it actually going off to the consequences, the whole masterplan behind it, the morality of (now) president Palmer being questioned more than ever, all of that I liked. Was the show really wild at times? Sure, but that comes with the territory, as 24, I think, is every American’s wet dream. The secret agents go solo/against the system for the most selfless reasons only. The government where no matter where people stand (politically), they all have principles and know what is right and what is wrong. And everything pretty much works out in the end, bad guys get punished, and people who (again) went against the orders (albeit with good reasons) aren’t punished; serve it with steak, hot dog and cheeseburger on the 4th of July, because that is ‘Murica, baby. At least in this show.
I am starting to question whether this show gimmick (real-time events needing to have 24 episodes per season) will ultimately lead to 24 always being “almost amazing” and never “truly amazing”. Because if you think about that gimmick for a bit longer, you will start to see why we need to have many different, often annoying side-lines (like with Kim in this season) because the showrunners had to fill in 24 episodes. And sure, the current streaming binge trend isn’t perfect by any means, but in this one instance, the shows we’ve had over the past 10+ years are much better because they don’t have to meet any quotas. They don’t have to have this gimmick that might be eye-catching, but it also makes it almost impossible to make one kick-ass season of a TV show where every storyline matters. Well, I still have six seasons ahead of me, so who knows? Maybe, there is a season of 24 where I will feel like there was nothing wrong with it. So far, nothing yet, but the second season was almost there.
Overall, the second season of 24 was intriguing, and if it wasn’t for some obvious filler episodes/storylines, it had the potential to be indeed something special. Sure, there is nothing that ground-breaking if you take it apart; it is your “typical” level of “conspiracy behind every corner” plot that gets stretched into 24 episodes. But it’s stretched effectively; the season took some turns I didn’t see coming, and I had a good time with it. It will be interesting to see what is coming next.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
Before my actual review, let me say this first. I don’t usually review TV shows season by season, but halfway through season two (and now in the first half of season three), I have realised it would make sense to do this for 24. Given its nature, it’s a different “beast” in each season, albeit with the same characters, more or less. That means you should see my reviews for all seasons of this show go up at some point.
I remember being a kid when the first season premiered in the Czech Republic, and the show was a phenomenon, even there. Especially the first season, people talked about it a lot, there was no escape from it, and it bothered me so much I could not watch it (I was 10/11 years old, so it makes sense why I couldn’t watch it). But even that tells you something about how this show came and dominated pop culture for some time. And I wondered how it would play today, more than 20 years later, after its initial run and with many more outstanding shows at our disposal. The answer is… not bad, but it’s definitely showing its age.
The first season is mostly seat-gripping stuff about Kiefer Sutherland having the worst day ever, from his family getting kidnapped to him trying to stop the assassination attempt on the presidential nominee. Of course, here is where I must mention the “gimmick” that made 24 so unique – it’s all in real time. Well, if you by real-time, you mean around 40 minutes minus the ad breaks. And as you might suspect, a lot happens during those 40 minutes.
To show my hand a bit, I am currently watching season three of this show, and I am guessing this will be a narrative throughout my reviews for each season, but this “events happen in real time” gimmick is what is stopping this show from being amazing. Because if you are displaying one day “in real time”, you will get some storylines that you don’t care for that much and plenty of “filler” that might lead somewhere or not. In the first season, there was a storyline about Jack Bauer’s (Kiefer’s character) family getting kidnapped and ok, you go along for the ride at first. But then, when it happens again, and it’s only his daughter Kim (portrayed by Elisha Cuthbert) this time, you are left wondering: “Wait, how did they know where she was?” You understand they have to be involved somehow, but often the show takes a shortcut to get from point A to point B and is almost banking on you not questioning it and “just go with it”.
I liked most of the drama surrounding the family of Dennis Haysbert (he is awesome in this show) and how the show keeps on testing his morals to see whether he “cracks” or not. I like that his character (at least from what I have seen so far) is almost the moral centre of this show, where no matter what the situation is, he is always trying to do the right thing. I don’t know; it’s nice to see politicians having some moral compass, at least in the land of fiction.
And when you think there is nothing this more than 20 years old show can surprise you with, there is a twist towards the very end of this season I will admit I didn’t see coming. Without spoiling anything (I know it’s more than 20 years old, but still), if you have seen it, you 100% know what I am talking about. 24 is definitely still a great show that ultimately does the best it can with the gimmick it chooses for itself. But I am afraid that gimmick will ultimately be this show’s downfall as you must have 24 episodes each season because of this “real-time” stuff. And you can’t have “non-eventful” episodes, so many times there will be repeating storylines or characters that might get on your nerves. Without getting too ahead of myself, season two would have been an excellent season and one of the best seasons of TV I have seen had it not been for one character. Spoiler alert, Kim, I am looking at you. Or, to be more precise, I am looking at writers that seemed to have no clue what to do with her character.
Overall, 24 still holds up after 20+ years. There was a reason it made a “dent” in pop culture at the very beginning of the new millennium, and that is because of its tempo, gimmick and casting. The show is a constant adrenaline ride that rarely slows down and keeps you hooked up for more. The only tiny problem I had with the first season was that some episodes (or storylines) felt unnecessary (repeated kidnapping), and that is where I could see the first glimpses of this “gimmick” of real-time events possibly being the biggest problem with 24. I wonder whether there will be at least one season I will 100% love; only time will tell.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
