Trespasser Review - One arm, no job, no lover. WTF.

Dragon Age: Inquisition has come to an end you guys. Why??? I am so sad and so depressed that I have to wait more than one year until the next Bioware adventure. So how did the Inquisition finish its run? With a bloody bang!!!

First, Trespasser was amazing because it allowed you to say "Goodbye" and have a nice reunion with all your companions. I guess they took cues from The Citadel DLC aka the best DLC ever made. This was very welcome when you know that I spent the last DLCs running around Skyhold to see if I could get a few extra words out of my LI or my favorite party members. Some conversations in Trespasser are more elaborate than others but all in all, I felt really satisfied, especially when there was talk of a wedding with Iron Bull. Alas, it wasn't meant to be.

Cue the last mission ever in DAI history and you have to fight the Qunaris (my favorites!!!sob sob sob) and go through twenty different Eluvians only to find out that the two most interesting characters in this story are, really, definitely, your enemies. When Iron Bull turned against me, I couldn't believe it. I tweeted Freddie Prince Jr, I tweeted Bioware and DAI, I was in distress! I thought it might have been a twist within a twist but no. The Bull had betrayed me and apparently my Inquisitor was the laughing stock of Thedas for being so gullible. Well, Thanks!!! At the end of the day, my Inquisition was disbanded, I had one arm and killed my (awesome) lover. This was clearly not how I wanted to end my run as the mighty Inquisitor. However, was it thrilling, eye widening, surprising and upsetting? You bet it was. I love being that shaken by a video game, it means I cared about the characters and I cared about the story. The fact that the very last scene clearly, like in your face clear, hints at a new Dragon Age taking place somewhere else (excited!!) was very welcome. I got so pumped about this and really can't wait for the next round of Dragon Age awesomeness. Getting to see Solas again and finding out more information about the overarching plot was a great treat, very much setting up the next chapter of this incredibly intricate journey.

I am not going to lie, I did replay Trespasser with my human character who romanced Cullen. The ending was a tiny bit more satisfying on the romance side!!
I have read some reviews that complain about the loot and about the final map but seriously, who cares about the loot at the very end of the game? I don't care. I care much more about getting answers, more lore, closure with my characters. Go play Diablo if you're in this for the loot.

Until Dawn Review - So many twists!

I actually do not want to review this because I feel like anything I will say will be a spoiler for people who have not played it yet. I am going to keep it short and as spoiler free as I can. My message to you: play this game. There is nothing I didn't like about this game, or should I say, experience. This is a totally new and original way of doing storytelling in a video game. Of course, this cinematic, quick time events, choice driven gameplay has been done before. Heavy Rain comes to mind as one of the most relevant comparison here. They also both have a two word name.

Anyway, let's start with the cast. More and more games try to include first class actors in their projects (Kiefer Sutherland, Peter Dinklage, Ellen Page...) but rarely have I seen that good of an ensemble cast in a video game. The precise motion capture definitely helped carry through little details like gimmicks and facial expressions. Watching Hayden Panettiere act out Sam's character in the gondola was pretty impressive. The voice over was extraordinary with Brett Dalton being totally in his element, as was Rami Malek.

To be fair, the writing was also stunning and helped make the characters believable and relatable. I usually like to play as one character but because of the intricate story and characters' development, I didn't mind switching back and forth. Mike was probably my favorite character as he can make friends with a little wolf, that was clearly my favorite part of the game. Sony has promoted this game as a "butterfly effect", choice driven game and it truly was. I loved the fact that when making a critical decision, it does tell you that what you just did affected the story. The latter is very cool, especially for a supernatural fan like me. There are twists and turns and shockers and I was never disappointed with the outcome of each little chapter. The publisher and developer did a stunning job at hiding what the story is actually about and only showed us what they wanted us to see. I was truly impressed by that. Until Dawn is obviously a horror story though and I was shitting myself playing it. It was really scary and creepy and all that you want from the genre. I spent about 7 hours on it and I can't wait to replay it and hopefully save more people, but most of all, save the wolf!

By the way, working for Redbox, I can tell you that we exclusively have the prop masks from the game and we are giving them away on Instagram at the end of October! They're super cool for anybody who loved the game:
https://instagram.com/redbox/?hl=en

Dear Fat People - and why I loathe America

First off, let me tell you that I am the most pro American person you will ever meet. I love this country and all that it represents. I love the land, the people and the culture. However, after living here for 1 year, I have noticed a couple of things that make me miss my British fellows a lot.

Americans are way too prude and politically correct. Seriously, take a chill pill. I never thought it would be possible to be offended by so many things. Why so serious? The Joker should seriously pay you a visit you guys. This is blatantly obvious when celebrities say something they think and have to apologize ten times. This is also too obvious in the workplace. I hate it. Coming from London and a very inclusive work environment, I hate the fact that I can't joke around with my coworkers and that I can't ask someone I have known for about 6 months if they are gay. To me, these things are just normal and I want to be able to have an open, honest and deep relationship with people I meet, no mater their sexual orientation, religion or what not. I do not care. I just want to be able to talk about it because if you don't, this is exactly when the problems develop and you end up living in this limbo of "should I, shouldn't I" that is way worse. Talking about my gay coworkers' boyfriend shouldn't be offensive, not to my coworker and not to other people who might be around. Having someone on the phone at work saying that "lesbian and gay kids are the problem in our society", yes, that is offensive (the guy who said that was obese by the way, and lazy and mean). Having an inquisitive conversation about someone you like as a person: not offensive.

Then there is comedy. Banter as I call it. That's also not allowed. I personally do not care. I will joke around and pick on you as much as I can. I will poke fun at your age, your religion, your height, your work. I make jokes and I am sarcastic. Are all these based on stereotypes, first impressions and generalization, of course. Something's funny not because it's abstract and a work of fiction, it's funny because there is an element of truth behind it. I am French. Our stereotype: we're lazy, eat a tone of baguettes and are libertines. All true. All not offensive. There obviously are people who are hard working (not many), some that only have 1 sexual partner in their life (unlikely but ok) and some that do not eat baguette (this is impossible). You can make as much fun of me as you want, I will never take offense, you know why? Because I know who I am and I am not threatened by anything one might say.

Now, I am sure everybody has been debating this "Dear Fat People" video from Nicole Arbour. I have to say, this is one of the funniest thing I have ever seen. Everything she says in this video is true and people who are obese, as she clearly says, not just chubby but obese, and eating more than their body weight at every meal need to be made fun of. This is ridiculous. And before everybody comes jumping at me as they did her, don't start about fucking depression and shit. Some people are not depressed, some are just lazy asses who want to eat whatever they want, are greedy, lazy and stupid, that's just a fact. They just don't give a fuck (pretty sure they're the same people who don't recycle and obviously are not vegan). Now, why is everybody so offended by this video? I do not understand. She's right on every single point and I think that's what people cannot stomach. They know it's true but political correctness and bullshit prevent them from being smart. You should be able to make fun of anything and everyone, especially when they deserve it. People who have fun and joke about things are actually the ones that are the less prejudiced and the more open minded of them all. If I joke about gay people it's because I am that comfortable with it (my mom is a lesbian). We should all embrace that, it would make for a much more open, fun and bearable world! Below, the socially relevant, bullshit breaking, incredibly smart and hilarious Nicole Arbour:

Extant Season 2 premiere - Changes for the better?

I remembered nothing from last season. Well I had a vague idea of what the series was about but I couldn't tell you what happened in the last episode of the first season. I remember Molly has a cute alien kid and a creepy machine that looks like a kid. How long before the latter develops super human strength and goes on a rampage? I don't know. Maybe they will pit one against the other, see what's worse for humanity: alien invasion OR cyberpunk reality? Thank god for "previously on", it put me right back on track. It reminded me how much I love this show. I mean, back in the 90's, we had X-files, we had Roswell. We had The Next Generation. Aliens and space were all the rage. Nowadays, vampires and super heroes have taken center stage. They have tried to revive the genre with survival sci-fi like Falling Skies or Defiance.  They also tried Star Crossed, basically an alien version of Twilight. That didn't go so well. None were actually going back to that golden age of the unknown. They took sci-fi, aliens and the future for granted. Extant has been different. The production value of this show is just off the charts, for starter. Obviously, it stars one of the best actress out there and she makes every episode looks like a multi million dollar movie. Extant is set in the future but it is very recognizable and it could easily be our future. The technology is believable, people are still relatable and you discover the science fiction of it all along with the characters. There is mystery and intrigue. I am hoping the these qualities will remain even though the show seems to be heading in a different direction.

Anyway, I completely forgot that Ethan sacrificed himself to stop the alien kid's "friends and family" to come to Earth. But I think I recall Ethan actually uploading himself everywhere or something Skynety like that. Maybe I shouldn't have watched Terminator before Extant, it totally distorted my view of robots. We start this second season of one of last year's television standout by jumping back to a time when Molly was a star, a hero, and when Ethan was brought back as easily as  he was gone. When you see Molly using virtual reality and saying to Ethan that she misses him, you logically believe that Ethan is ancient history. But he's not. Talking about this "resting" place Molly is in, I have to say, I love the sim she uses where you basically are in a porn next to 10 other people who are probably in a porn too. That's cool.

Before they jump us in the crux of things and explain to us why Molly is in a "home", they reacquaint us with the alien kid. I seriously thought he was going to eat the baby (which would have been fair as he was well annoying) but instead, he makes some magical twinkly animals and we all go "awwwww". He's a sweet alien with awesome babysitting skills. I did find it weird to be looking at Molly in the present time, then jump 6 months back only to jump forward 4 weeks about 2 minutes later. However, I now understand the concept after seeing the whole episode.

There are a lot of things happening in this episode and the first bomb to drop is that John is a cheater. It's interesting that she suspects him of having an affair with Julie only now. She could have sensed something right after coming home but I suppose she was too involved in her own storyline to realize he was acting weird as well. Right when you feel like the conversation is going somewhere, another bomb drops. The government breaks down the door and for some reason, seizes Ethan. This has something to do with security and the army, as usual. There is a common theme exploited here, one that reminds us that a robot can be more compassionate and more humane than human beings. This is very typical of sci-fi, and in all fairness, typical of every story. Should it be robots, aliens, minorities, superheroes, animals, monsters. We love to remind ourselves that evil people will sideline anything or anyone different, even though that difference doesn't affect the subject's capacity for emotion. This is a recurring theme in every story but I thought it was hammered in pretty hard in the first half of this episode. But the latter really doesn't matter, because the third bomb drops: Julie is a bitchass traitor. I was in the middle of processing this information and the fact that her stare was really becoming psychotic when the most Game of Throne scene happened. John gets killed! by his car! It is clearly a murder plot and a cover up, but who gave the order? Has Julie's phone call anything to do with it? When John gets hit by the train and the "6 months later" appears on screen, that's when I understood the relevance of the time jumps in the beginning of the episode.

Just before John dies, he had a conversation with Julie that went like this: "Is this how they convinced you? protecting the country?". I wanted to say: "No, she's just a crazy vindictive bitch!". There was an interesting conspiracy in the 1st season but what they served us in the very first episode of this season is on a whole new level! Finally, we are caught up with the events leading to Molly's state. We find her in a mental institute, which is totally understandable. When her husband died, she got drunk, burnt down her house and, wait for it, attacked Julie with a shovel. That made me laugh a lot, I would have done the exact same thing. This episode reminded me how much I love Halle's character. She has conviction and she's smart. I also feel for her, so bad, I hate it when the viewer knows something along with the character and everybody else thinks the character is crazy, so by association, you feel crazy too. That's really frustrating. That's one of the things I hate in crime dramas or mysteries. It always makes me feel so uncomfortable. Does anybody have that feeling too?

As if there wasn't enough information and twists thrown at us during this first episode, they had to go and add bloody John Winchester to the mix. It made me forget all about the conspiracy and the murder plot and the frustration. I was in heaven, and yes I am objectifying him but damn is that man sexy. I really hope Molly gets to have sex with him, it will make things better. While we're in that dark room with Winchester, for a minute, the atmosphere made me think of Blade Runner. I liked that grittier, less polished side of Extant. I am glad Molly finally found a new ally that seems trustworthy and loyal. The enemy is definitely not clear yet but two things are for sue: Julie is out of her mind and has taken over project crazy pants let's-make-terminators, and the alien kid is now an alien man who has it easy with the ladies. In the end, the premiere of Extant was mind blowing, dropping bombs at every turn and setting the scene for what can only be a thrilling season. Hopefully, the pace will slow down a bit so we can appreciate the storyline and the mystery, and not get used to sensationalism. When a show sticks to the latter, normal episodes seem boring and I do not want that to happen to this great sci-fi piece. I read that the showrunners are dropping entire subplots and are going for a more action-driven vibe. Let's hope they do not over do it.

Terminator Genisys - At least it was better than Jurassic World

I went into Terminator Genisys with no expectations. I have never seen a Terminator movie, I kind of shied away from them as I was a bit too young to appreciate these older movies. I never can stand the pace.

After seeing Jurassic World, I believe even Jupiter Ascending would have looked good to me. First off, the acting was definitely better than in Jurassic World and I did care for the characters I saw on screen. I might have even shed a tiny tear when Sarah had to see Pops blow up near the end.

I knew nothing of the Sarah Connor's story myself so it was a bit confusing at first. I felt like I was watching Inception all over again. I tried to make sense of it all every time they were explaining the different time travels but I gave up half way and just enjoyed the movie for what it was. I was completely missing parts of dialogue and scenes because I was in my own head trying to figure this thing out. I am not sure it completely makes sense, but I was able to put that aside to stay in the moment and take in the action. I am still a little bit frustrated about this aspect of the movie though since I love a good storyline and chronology is one of the thing I look for in a story. I am a sucker for history and I am fascinated by dates. I sometimes pause shows or movies that use flashbacks so that I can think about it, make sense of the timeline and then move forward. The fact that I couldn't make sense of the timeline in Terminator was a little bit annoying but I am now going to search the web for answers and better understand what I just saw.

Sarah Connor's story might have been confusing, but her personality was pretty straight forward. Emilia Clarke is a fabulous actress and I think she did a great job here. She was never off mark but I found that she didn't totally embody the Sarah Connor I was hoping to see. I wanted to see badass. Even though she was somewhat believable, I wanted a more kick ass Sarah Connor. Arnold was great and nailed it though, which I believe he did back in the day too. I thought the younger version of him was phenomenal. Kyle Rees was your typical testosterone jacked army wise ass but he embodied it perfectly and I don't see anything wrong with having characters that stick to a successful recipe. John Connor was not likeable in the slightest, which I am assuming, was the goal. I think I remember watching something, it must have been the trailer, and seeing that John was a machine. I thought that was a bit disappointing to know this piece of information beforehand and I would have loved to have been surprised along with the characters. In this case, they showed a little too much in their promotional material and it ruined the best twist of the movie.

At the end of the day, Terminator is an action flick and at that it completely succeeded. The chasing scenes, the robots shootings, the hiding and pouncing. Everything was well executed and I was entertained by it all. Were they moments I rolled my eyes because it was cheesy or predictable? Of course. But it wasn't as obvious or annoying as it was in Jurassic World. It was well written for an action fare and the one liners hit most of the time. Obviously, it wasn't Avengers quality but I am pretty sure fans of the first movies were pleased with what they saw. Some people in the theater did definitely enjoy it more than I did. They were older, laughing at everything and throwing "oh!" "ah!" every time someone said something on screen. It was hilarious. I guess they were the right audience for it. I found Terminator adequate for an action movie and good entertainment.

Close to the end, something made me jump off my seat though. The hologram. The blue hologram. The blue child hologram. Mass Effect anyone??? I felt like they used the same voice too.

Falling Skies Final Season premiere - Summer is truly here

Sci-fi and fantasy are my favorite genres so I have always had a soft spot for Falling Skies. It is a little bit on the low budget side, the effects are kept to a minimum but the story is compelling and the characters are as relatable as they are extraordinary. For the past 4 years I have been looking forward to the summer TV because of Falling Skies, and in another style, So You Think You Can Dance. So far, the latter has done nothing but disappoint me so the summer TV rests on Falling Skies' shoulders (and Extant).


We kick off the final season with another one of those dream sequences tailored for Tom Mason. I feel like we have been starting the past 3 seasons that way, or at least we have had so many dream/mind game sequences that it's not surprising anymore, or even intriguing. And again, the main character finds himself stranded and separated from his family and allies, trying to find his way back to them. I feel like I have seen this many times before too and I was a little bit disappointed with the first few minutes of this premiere. However, I am very glad we are starting things right after the season 4 finale as I could not handle another time jump crap like 2 years ago. Tom is obviously trying to find his way back to the camp and he hears his dead wife saying "find your warrior". I don't really get this as Tom has always been a warrior and a fighter in the past seasons. It's not like he's been lying around doing nothing. He has been brave and pretty bad ass. Anyway, in all of about 30 seconds, he gets back to the hold, just like that. Planet Earth must have shrank pretty significantly if you can fly a ship to the moon, fall off the sky, land in the water in the middle of nowhere and still be about 2 miles away from your departure point. That's some pretty mad crashing skills right there. Pope is even pointing this shit out and although his main point was that Mason won't die, it still highlighted the whole situation as unbelievable. That's a little bit too easy in my opinion too, but let's move on. A little further in the episode, they try to explain how Tom got back when he is reunited with his family. It seems that this latest vision and how Mason got back home is actually the mystery of the season.

We are reunited with Maggie and Ben, which are my favorite characters, and being a girl, I love a good, "against the odds" love story. Maggie is a great female character that kicks butts and Ben had "powers" from the beginning, plus he's cute. I always wanted these two to be together and I am glad they're continuing the love triangle story line into this fifth season. As usual, this episode features a strategy meeting and a mission, which, unsurprisingly, is a trap. I do not understand Mason's vision just yet and I am kind of pissed he killed the overlord as he perhaps had some insight to share. Obviously, some important questions remained unanswered: Who has led Tom to the high school? Anybody else thinks Lexi is still alive? and more importantly, what kind of ending was that? A bug bite? That's how you are ending an episode? I was half expecting this whole 40 minutes to be a dream when I saw the bug. I am glad that was not the case, I would have been mad.

This first episode definitely was intriguing by the end of it, even though the beginning was a little choppy and overdone. I am glad they are taking the fight to the Espheni and I am glad to see more of the Ben/Maggie/Hal intrigue. All in all, it wasn't a bad start to this finale season.

Jurassic World - A controversial view point?

I haven't read many reviews of Jurassic World but I have watched my "go to" reviewer on Youtube (aka Jeremy Jahns) and he didn't like it very much. I didn't either. I kind of hated it.


I understand that I might not be the target audience for this film but I like myself a good blockbuster with charismatic stars and plenty of action. I do, however, like good writing and good dialogue, too. I did indeed get action, at least in the last half hour. I remember when I first watched Jurassic Park, I was perhaps 6 and had dinosaur nightmares for a week after that. I obviously watched it again many times and it holds a charm that no sequel could ever attempt to match. I am pretty sure everybody agrees on that. Jurassic Park was an original, eye widening and thrilling movie with ok acting and the Blum. The comic relief was pretty exceptional and even though you could stumble upon some grotesque characters and situations, this was definitely seldom.



I found myself laughing at Jurassic World from minute one. The first piece of dialogue between the teenager (I don't even remember his name that's how strongly I didn't give a shit about him) and his girlfriend was laughably cheesy. The airport scene was even worst with very poor acting from the two brothers. I believe these two were what I hated most about this film. Their acting was well below par and their scenes were forced and lacking meaning. Their dialogue was flat and poorly delivered. Exhibit 1: the truck scene where the older brother talks about a time when the younger brother was scared. Exhibit 2: the tram scene when the younger brother talks about his parents splitting out of the blue for no reason. Exhibit 3: anytime the older brother creepily stares at young females. To be fair, the adults didn't fare much better. There was no chemistry between Pratt and Howard. Their lines bounced back and forth between each other without clear intent and even though Chris Pratt had a couple of good funny moments, they were extremely few and far between.

I laughed at these characters more than I laughed with them. I didn't understand the purpose of that French guy throwing French keywords at us either. The action was good however and as a monster movie, it delivers. They didn't give enough good material to Chris Pratt to work with but they definitely gave it their all on the dinosaurs' fights and chases. I cared more about the raptors by the end of the movie than I cared about any of the human characters. Blue was my favorite character in this film. He was a friend, a hero, he was a anti-hero, he was awesome. I believe Blue had more depth than any other characters in this mess. Was it the intent? I will be fair, this movie made me care about the animals and about the dinosaurs, as a Jurassic Park sequel should. I was sad to see some of them die and I was on their side the whole time. They did manage to make me feel something and I am happy to have been emotionally involved somehow in this movie. However, I am an animal lover and I wonder if this might have only happened because of my personality. What if I didn't give a crap about animals (dear Lord.)? Would I have found any redeeming features to this movie? Probably not. Wait. The hamster ball was pretty sick. Overall, the park's attractions were impressive and were looking awesome. But then again, it did make me feel like I was watching a live stream of Sea World and I wanted to punch everybody on screen. I experienced a whole lot of contradictory emotions watching Jurassic World. Just one additional side note, anybody else found the crowd rushing towards to Jeep backing up in a corner SO fake and weird? They could have made such a better film, this looked rushed and lazy. I do not tolerate lazy.

Jaws of Hakkon Review - Thank God for DAI

When it comes to DLC, Bioware has very rarely disappointed me. Obviously, since the extraordinarily brilliant Citadel DLC for Mass Effect 3, I have been pretty biased and have had faith in anything they are releasing. I don't think I have ever played such an emotional, well written, bad ass story. The one liners were witty, the inside jokes were flying and the clone storyline was very cool. However, I like that for DAI, this DLC was taking place after the win, since the Inquisitor had a very happy ending. I was looking forward to Jaws of Hakkon since I have beat DAI 8 times and wanted something new to play with. To be fair, there were a few releases that grabbed my attention (Bloodborne, The Witcher III, ESO) but it's been pretty boring and dry in terms of video game releases. I was sad when they announced Jaws for Xbox One only but I knew it wouldn't be too long until we get it for PS4. I tried to stay away from any sort of spoiler, playthrough videos or reviews so I could go in unbiased. I have been pacing myself and still haven't cleared the whole map just yet. I don't want to run out of DAI goodness too early.

I am impressed by this DLC release. This is my verdict. It is no Citadel DLC as there is unfortunately no big party members reunion or new dialogue with your LI but there is definitely some fun to be had. I am grateful for this new, gigantic map. It is intricate and interesting, completely different from any other map that we encountered in the main game. The landscapes are very pretty with sunsets that are actually breathtaking. The feel of this new land is specific, with indigenous species and sounds. The camps high up in the trees are original and the architecture is, as always, detailed. When you have played through every main game's maps 8 times, it is very refreshing to discover a brand new world, with new enemies and new sights.

That is one of the achievement of this DLC. However, it is fairly easy to release a new map that would be empty of meaning and just stand on its own, not blending with the rest of the main story. This, I found, was not the case in Jaws of Hakkon. I very much liked the quest and its meaning. I thought including scout Harding tied everything together nicely. I was impatient to know the end and discover all the mysteries surrounding the 1st inquisitor, and this is a sign of good storytelling right there. If I had only a few complaints about this DLC, it is that your romance choice doesn't seem to matter so much. There is obviously new banter between your characters, which is welcomed, but not once is the relationship with your LI mentioned. I wish there could have been an additional scene in Skyhold, perhaps another Wicked Grace scene or another love scene thrown in there for good measure. On the other hand, I liked the new available high stats gear and the additional Inquisitor ability which made leveling up much more relevant. All in all, Jaws of Hakkon is a delightful new addition to one of my favorite game and I definitely long for more. DAI is such a vast world, there is material for a fourth game, but in the meantime, I will happily spend more time with Iron Bull, Varric and my kick ass Inquisitor in any DLC story the Bioware team crafts masterfully. Also, thank god for this DLC, I almost killed myself after 10 minutes of The Order...

Game of Thrones is back - and it is the same

Game of Thrones is obviously one of the most popular piece of television today. I do not like it. I tend to have a controversial opinion about many things, but I love The Walking Dead and I am pretty sure millions of other people do too. I am not hating on Game of Thrones just to spark a good debate. I have reasons.

The Fifth season kicked off last night and it seems like some people loved it, others were disappointed. Compared to other episodes of this cluttered show, I found this one pretty bearable. Thinking about it now, I don't even remember where the episode started, strengthening my belief that Game of Thrones is just too overwhelming to be considered quality television. It is appealing, for sure. Who doesn't love fantasy, dragons, political intrigue, sword fights and beautiful kings and queens. It seems like it was written for me. I love this stuff. However, when a puzzle doesn't fit together to make a magnificent picture fast enough, no matter the appeal of the individual pieces, I just lose interest and clear the table Cullen style.

So the first episode of Season 5 started with who knows who and who knows where but there are several things I remember clearly: Daenerys is surprised that after leaving her sweet dragons in chain they're not grateful to see her. Jon Snow is totally going to have fire sex with the weird witch person. Some noble's kid can't fight for shit. Cersei has always been a selfish narcissistic psychopath and she is mad at both Tyrion and Jaime. Speaking of Tyrion, he's on some sort of balcony speaking with the big bold guy I never bothered to learn the name. I mean, some of it was entertaining enough but as always, these 2 minutes story lines just make me dizzy.

I do not want to spend 45 seconds with Littlefinger and Sensa when the only piece of information I get out of it is boring and irrelevant. To me, Game of Thrones still feels like there is going to be 100 seasons and the writers can take all the time in the world to "develop" 30 different characters boning in 30 different locations and going in totally opposite directions. Show me what matters. Show me who matters. A viewer's time is precious and I still do not understand how people choose to watch this chaotic and ever changing piece of content which doesn't allow for neither character nor story development.

The Vampire Diaries - now we're talking

I am pretty good at saying things are rubbish but I believe I am equally fair when something is good. I was very upset with the last few Vampire Diaries episodes I watched and I have been pretty vocal about it. Now, we have tonight's episode and I need to give credit where credit is due.

Back from a short break, I feel like The Vampire Diaries has (finally) found its footing this season. It might only be for a short while, it might only be for this episode Ian directed, but it was a thrilling 45 minutes. It was fun, it was funny, it was witty. Was it the lack of coven/twin bullshit? The more focused story? Was it the minimal Elena screen time? The lack of teen hero cheesiness? I believe it was all of the above. They re-focused the plot and wrote a brilliant arc for Caroline. To the writers' credit, they have wrote no humanity Caroline perfectly. She's witty and snappy and if Caroline was my favorite character before, she is now ranking up there with the likes of Katherine Pierce and Elijah Mickaelson. Caroline is a character I care about and I am glad we got to see more of her. Also, props to Candice Accola who is extremely believable and on point, making the cutest villain. The end was also excellent and the twist was clever. I am looking forward to seeing where this is going but looking at what they have done in the past, I fear this rocking story won't last for very long. After all, this is a vampire show, it was bloody time they acted like vampires again. Here is hoping.

The Last Man on Earth or the apocalypse on shrooms

We have just about everything on TV nowadays. Vampires, Super Heroes, Cops galore. But these past few years, we have seen an increase in survival and post apocalyptic stories: The Walking Dead, The 100, Revolution, Under The Dome, Falling Skies and I am probably missing 10 others. It was time to create a funny version of this. Not a spoof but a comedic take on what it would mean to survive some sort of apocalypse on Earth. Enters Will Forte, who cheerfully dumps this hilarious piece of television on 20th's desk and Dana and Gary wept with joy. The show is already a critical hit and I don't think I have seen or heard one bad review of The Last Man on Earth. And I can't do it either.
This show is not only funny, it is clever and it is endearing. Three things that make you come back every week to see more.


The first half of the first episode was extremely tough on me as I felt so awkward and sad and anxious looking at an empty Earth and putting myself in Phil's shoes. I liked the character's monologues and random tantrums, and I liked seeing him go about his routine but at one point, I felt depressed and I wanted it to stop, for his sake and mine! Watching him pour cheese in wine or destroy fish tanks with bowling bowls really made feel ill at ease for some reason. Well, in my book, it just means they made the show the right way. I was glad to see the introduction of, Spoiler Alert, a female character who happens to be Kristen Schaal. Dare I say that she is perfect in that role and so annoying in the right ways that it made the show ten times better. Obviously, Will Forte's character has beautifully written monologues and his performance stands on its own but the quality of the writing and the acting can only ever be complete and judged with two ore more people in a scene. It very much felt like real life if you ask me. How good can it be if you do not have people to interact with? The show put the same principle in place and, at the right moment, when Phil and the viewer have had enough, introduced the lovely Carol. From there, I was laughing at just about every line and every looks and every gesture. These two characters are extremely well written and work perfectly together. The highlight for me was definitely Phil giving Carol a tour of his house. From these first episodes, I will add the following in my vocabulary: Masturbatory Magazines and Margarita Pool.

Dragon Age Inquisition - Multiplayer thoughts

I have obviously bought DAI when it came out but I have only signed up for Playstation Plus yesterday. Any past and subsequent Dragon Age games were and will always be epic single player adventures for me. I have never been a fan of MMOs either, no story, and I have never been a fan of multiplayer add ons. The Mass Effect multiplayer was fun enough but it lost its appeal fast for me as it was too repetitive and didn't feel like a Mass Effect experience. That is why I postponed playing the DAI multiplayer. I kept seeing all these multiplayer events popping up on social media and the DA team referring to players as agents and I was intrigued. How can I possibly enjoy the DAI multiplayer I thought? Oh boy. Do I enjoy it. The first thing that appealed to me was the similarity between the single campaign and the multiplayer menus and design. The crafting, the inventory, everything is streamlined to be more concise but it is the same clear and familiar design which is great. The chests are presented to you by an Inquisition soldier and in it you can find your usual loot items but they are portrayed on cards, as the DA world is now depicted. It's so easy and pretty and consistent it's perfect.

The starting characters are good and what you expect them to be. All the races are there and as you put more hours into it you will be able to unlock the best of them ie: Reaver and Arcane Warrior in my humble opinion. The best part is that you are feeling like the matches you do actually matter and are part of the Inquisition. They have added the voices of Cullen, Leliana and Josephine to make you feel like your are truly on a mission for the Inquisitor which is so welcomed. Also, I had the chance to play with people with mics who were wondering what the dwarf legionnaire was talking about when the line about the Deep Roads came up. What?? You don't know about the Deep Roads? Let me educate you! It was amazing to share my knowledge of Thedas with someone who just got DAI and who hasn't played through the whole series. I can't wait to put hours into this, participate in the weekend events, meet fans like me and just have a fun time playing in the Inquisition world, in Thedas, forever!

Better Call Saul - "Catering for Breaking Bad fans" is AMC new tagline

I obviously watched Better Call Saul last night. I suppose every Breaking Bad fan watched the premiere of the anticipated return of Saul Goodman. They even made history with the ratings which probably means some people who were not familiar with Breaking Bad tuned in as well.

I don't think there was a better character to use for a spin off than this "colorful" lawyer. Obviously, he was an iconic member of the Breaking Bad family but he was also the funniest and most interesting character to share Walt's secret. He had everything to build a great spin off with. What's his story? And that's what we get in Better Call Saul. 

The show starts off in Nebraska, where Saul is now working in a Cinnabon, just like he predicted at the end of Breaking Bad. Remember this line? "If I'm lucky, three months from now, best case scenario, I'm managing a Cinnabon in Omaha". And boy was he lucky! The question I am asking myself is whether this show can actually be picked up and enjoyed by non-Breaking Bad fans. Let's face it, when you see him in that cap and moustache in a Cinnabon at the beginning of the episode, it made your eyes water a little bit. Don't lie. It was so amazing to lead with that. But it obviously only had meaning if you watched Breaking Bad. There were a lot of references to it in this episode and a lot of meanings carried through for all of us but it must have been lost to everybody else. I cannot objectively judge this episode only for what it is, as a separate entity to Breaking Bad because right now, it is not. 

I don't know if I would have found this first episode appealing if I didn't know Saul before yesterday. I feel like these references will slowly disappear, they cannot keep up with so many, but still, I feel like this show is very much catered for one specific audience. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I mean, seeing Mike again was the highlight of this premiere for me. I screamed "Tucoooooo" at my TV and at my boyfriend at the end of the episode too. I loved every bit of it. As far as the quality of it goes, I thought the acting was, as usual, pretty exceptional. Bob Odenkirk is amazing and I would be happy if the show relied entirely on his genius this first season. The camera work was beautiful, especially for the first scene in Saul's condo. The writing was, and I am sure of it, always will be the highest quality possible. I already love this show but I know I do because I feel like I am watching the sequel to Breaking Bad. Unlike movie sequels however, I am pretty sure I won't be disappointed in this one.

The Walking Dead returns - with a deep message

The Walking Dead is back! TWDisback! Or however you want to say it, the most popular show on TV is returning from its mid-season break and everybody is pretty damn psyched because this season is by far the best of them all. There was death and drama and suspense and action. But everybody is super sad now. Well, Beth is gone and I was pretty surprise when it happened during the mid-season finale. Beth was sweet and didn't deserve to die. But that's also why she did. She was kind of the easiest non-secondary we-dont-give-a-shit-about-your-face character to kill off.

I loved that they showed the first 2 minutes of this episode prior to the premiere but to be fair, it was sort of a teaser trailer if you look at the way it was edited and everything. So the first few minutes of this episode served as a polished and aesthetically intriguing reminder of the horror they have been going through and the loss and the hardships of survival. The title of this episode is amazingly well suited for what you are about to watch. After the credits, you see part of the gang driving to somewhere supposedly safe and we get some character development along the way. Tyreese keeps sharing his deep voice wisdom, all through the first part of the episode. Thanks Yoda Tyreese! For the good it did him to be all wise and shit, am I right?

When they arrive close to their destination, Rick decides they will go through the woods "just in case". Rick has truly become a rock and this force of nature you can rely on. He's the closest thing to a superhero this show will ever get. He's a leader, he makes the tough decisions and he's awesome for it. Obviously, everybody is on their guard and as a viewer, you know better than to hope for some "normal" people to answer the door. So you are as wary as they are. You just know there is a nasty surprise waiting for them. And no, it is not a safe haven. You feel bad for poor Noah, but you haven't known him long enough to feel heart broken. Noah takes Tyreese and the viewer on a tour of his house and damn, it's grim! There are walkers and there are scares but they are not so scary as they are sad and uncomfortable. And ew, that Tyreese scene, talk about having death starring you right in the eyeballs. That was unpleasant. The end was very thrilling too and pretty macabre walker wise.

Unfortunately, the town's demise also means the end of the very short lived dream for Rick and the group. Nobody truly believed anyway. Not the viewer, not the group, definitely not Rick. So hope is running super thin and now that they're all back together with no DC mission the question is, "what the hell do we do?" Michonne wants to stay put or at least, she wants a plan. I would want a plan in their situation too! So Washington is back on the map baby.

I found the cinematography and editing pretty genius in this episode, it was visually stunning but the pace was slow. Of course, there needs to be a beat, the characters need to reflect on what has been going on and take a breath. That's credible and welcomed. But it didn't come close to the quality of the season premiere in my opinion. I was blown away by Carole and didn't expect it at all whereas this episode didn't have any wow factor. Tyreese bitten? I saw that coming a mile away. But what this episode lacked in wow, it made up in feels. I enjoyed Tyreese vision, the writing was incredible, "Domino Shit", that's what I am calling this monologue. "You don't want to be part of it, but being part of it, is being now", that shit is deep. Is it better to die and to be in peace rather than live in this violent hopeless world? Is it worth fighting anymore? It's not a question of survival or morality anymore, it's a question of will. And Tyrese lost it.

The Governor was back (for 1 minute) motherfuckers! I am just all sorts of excited when I see this man. They should really pull a CW and bring him back to life. This episode reminded me that I was also going to miss Beth's voice, she was awesome. Beautifully written and edited episode, if slow, it was a good come back TWD.

Supernatural "About a Boy" - should have been called "back on track"

I thought I wouldn't talk about each episode of a show and just concentrate on season/mid season premieres and finales but I felt like this episode deserved a little something.

The episode started off pretty slow and I thought that there would be too much time spent on the mark of Cain and Dean being all mopey but it turned out they decided to leave this out of the way for a while to grant us a great Supernatural episode. There is a lot they did right in "About a Boy" and most importantly, this is the no-fuss Supernatural that we all love. It didn't take itself seriously, it was funny as hell and it was very entertaining. Do we care a lot about the tie in with the coven and the witches business? not really. It's a nice add-on and it's lovely to see the story go somewhere interesting but I would have enjoyed this episode as much if it was just a sweet stand alone treat. We are used to having funny episode, especially with Dean providing the laughs in Yellow Fever, The Mystery Spot, Changing Channels or The French Mistake. I was very surprised that this episode didn't feature much of Jensen Ackles and yet, the comedic timing was perfect. I find myself remember the episode and actually seeing Jensen on screen, not Dylan Everett. This youngster was fabulous, in my humble opinion. I thought he had the same gestures, mimics, way of talking than Dean. It was great acting all around. Props to him.


Props also to the writers who managed to keep Dean alive through his dialogue lines. You know a character is iconic and has personality when you can put his lines into someone else's mouth and they still sound right. I adored the writing in this episode and all the pop culture references they included, like Bieber, One Direction and Taylor Swift. I loved seeing Sam react to those the way the viewer also did, that was very satisfying.

All in all, this was great Supernatural quality, it was funny, witty and thrilling. They added a bit more insight into the overarching plot but they stayed focused on the boys and that was welcomed. You go on for 10 more years like that lovelies, I won't have anything bad to say.

Magic Mike XXL trailer - You're Welcome

I mean, come on! These boys are nice. I watched the first movie only once so I am not sure I consider myself a fan of either the genre or the film itself but I remember it being good entertainment and offering good visuals, if I dare say.
As it is the Hollywood habit, we get a sequel to these dancing, naked, oily dudes and apart from doubting the relevance of the story in this, I am not complaining. The trailer shows very little of what the movie is actually going to be about and I am sad that Matthew isn't going to be part of this new Magic Mike. However, what it showed concerned me slightly. Let's put the money shots of the bare chested hunks aside, I felt like I was watching a trailer for Footloose meets You Got Served. I don't know. I get that they are going to a convention and will take part in some sort of a competition but it seems all too "break dancing battle" to me. There is one particular shot that made me chuckle and that's what I like most in MM, and that's Joe Manganiello popping a soda can open from his crotch. The "You're Welcome" at the very end of the trailer is also a nice touch, that's how I know this movie won't take itself too seriously and will keep on playing on the sex more than the dance. That's what we want out of this. The poster Channing shared does just that, and it's funny and very clever. Let's hope it won't fall into the pits of the "competition" model which is unpleasant and unoriginal at best. I am hoping the same thing for Pitch Perfect 2....

Fantastic 4 Trailer - I AM PUMPED!

For a movie coming out this summer, there hasn't been much to see of the Fantastic Four. I was eagerly waiting a trailer because, let's face it, after the debacle of the last installment, we were doubtful they could make this franchise any good. I am WAY more optimistic now!

The trailer looks great. It is definitely in the 2015 vibe with your dramatic music and big voice over telling you life's truths and even though it seems a little cliche for a Marvel movie, I am glad this is what they came up with. It's a total departure from the 2005 films and it looks darker and more intriguing.  I like that what you see in that trailer is mostly sci-fi and not much of the superheroes. I adore the cast they have put together and I am hopeful this will be the start of a good franchise because let's be completely honest here, the Fantastic Four are awesome and we want them to succeed! Who isn't a fan of Kate Mara and Miles Teller? Those guys are great actors and I am glad they look credible in this trailer.

I could have done without the last scene where Miles/Mister Fantastic asks "What's coming" but overall it was a good teaser that I believe put a lot of skeptic minds to rest.

The Vampire Diaries Mid Season Return - Is there anything to salvage?

The Vampire Diaries came back to our screens two days ago with the episode I Woke Up With A Monster. Good old Vampire Diaries. I haven't wrote about this show yet so I have to get this off my chest: Changing the rules and the lore is WRONG. You can't just change things as you please to suit your needs. It's just not right, especially with a fantasy show where the lore is everything. As an adept of good lore and extraordinary worlds, Vampire Diaries fails at every turn. Even though this is a teen vampire show, from which I don't expect much quality, I was completely down for it until it all became too much to swallow. When everybody can just resurrect and come back whenever they like, there is definitely something weird going on. It just all stopped making sense and they added way too many loopholes. Let me tell you Vampire Diaries, I feel betrayed!

At least in the first few seasons, they were consistent and stuck to the lore and had people actually die when they should die. Also, Season 6 had to introduce this weird coven storyline which is extremely dull compared to previous seasons'. Is it me or are the twins very irrelevant and superfluous? I do not find their story interesting in the slightest. Anyway, now to the episode at hand.

Of course, when Elena wanted to talk to Damon, she got abducted, very easily at that. But she gets to hang out with Kai and this guy is the most exciting thing to spawn out of the producers' minds since Klaus and Elijah. He's different, he's a breath of fresh air with a great personality. I adore his sarcasm and his dark humor; the Vampire Diaries needs that type of character to give it a little "humph". The scene at the grill was again a good display of his wit and it was entertaining. But after this compelling dialogue, or dare I say monologue, we are back to that coven nonsense and I am very sorry but I don't care about the fate of any of these people. I am kind of hoping Kai kills the three of them and we'd be done with it. I liked seeing Caroline preppy and happy as we used to see her. I didn't like the whiny and desperate version of her. I thought she spent too long mopping about Stefan in the last episodes. I got back what I like about her character in this episode.

Then Elena had to come back on screen, urgh. Is it me or has her acting ability declined over the years? She is definitely not the most convincing actor when she has to play "hurt" or "suffering". Oh and come on, that glimmer of hope in her eyes when Kai tells her about his brother, like, get a fucking clue! You get from angry-as-hell and telling-him-that-he's-an-evil-bastard and that he-doesn't-care-about-anybody to, "oh maybe there is some good in you" in two seconds. Bullshit. Even Elena isn't that gullible right? But apparently she is or the people who wrote this episode thought she was as, at the end of the episode, she spits out, at the worst possible time, the worst line in the world "I've never felt more alive". No. No. No. I have written about the cheesiness and dullness of The Flash's writing. Holy cow, The Vampire Diaries trumped that with just one little line. Can you be more cliche? Nope. Also, who washes a shirt that has been completely torn apart by A. a stake and B. the hand of someone looking in your guts through your shirt! Give me a break. Everything is done to shove dialogue and scenes down the throat of the viewers, no matter if the surrounding elements make sense or not. And they don't. 

The Flash Mid Season Return - wait, what?

Revenge of the Rogues was the title of the episode that marked the return of The Flash. You can only create a shitty episode with a title like that!
So I think I watched Prison Break last night. They gave us the actors, and, at the end of the episode they gave us what was effectively a prison break, plus the twist of the century: the sister is the one breaking them out! Anyway, that was kind of weird but I thought I could roll with it. I can't. I am so sorry Wentworth but you should have your agent get you roles you actually would be credible in. He was not credible in Resident Evil. He still isn't in the Flash. My guess is that he should give up any sort of action/crime oriented material and do romantic comedies. Also, the guy can't act.




To be fair, the script didn't give him great material to work with. The one liners were soooo cheesy and predictable and dull. They should hire Joss Whedon to give them some pointers because this show is getting ridiculous. I am not sure if the script was bad or if the director did an awful job but the only enjoyable moment of this episode was probably the fight sequence at the end, at least they didn't talk.

I am always rooting for super hero and comic based television but I have to say that the Flash is getting way too cheesy and obvious. This is entirely due to the dialogue and script but I am afraid to say the acting is pretty awful too. Am I missing something about her character or has Danielle Panabaker skipped drama school?

When the cross over between the Flash and Arrow aired, I was so excited and it turned out to be an extremely good episode. The comedy was there thanks to Felicity and Oliver and the tone was a bit more balanced too. Grant Gustin also did a better job opposite these darker and drier characters. I read that they are planning more crossovers and for Felicity to go back to Central City so I might end up just watching these episodes. Some people might say that it's not cheesier than, let's say, a Smallville. That's fair, but I watched the 1st season of Smallville when I was 13 so I guess I am now looking for a little bit more substance in my shows. Also the dude is Superman. Comparing the Flash to CW's Arrow, ABC's Agents of Shield and Agent Carter or Fox' Gotham, I feel like The Flash is losing the battle for my attention.

Thoughts about Jennifer Aniston's Cake

"Way to go Nina!" The first scene of Cake is hilarious and really hints at the tone that the entire story is going to have. If you are not hooked after the first scene, no need to go further, but I bet you will be.
You meet Claire Simmons in a Chronic Pain support group and even though the mood is morose and they are talking about one of their member committing suicide, it is a very funny scene. We all know about Jennifer Aniston's perfect comedic timing so it is no surprise to see her do so well here. However, this is definitely not the type of humor you are expecting from her. It's dark, it's sarcastic and it's, again, dark. But ever so funny. The first half of Cake is very intriguing as you are left completely in the dark and are just witnessing the pain and the struggle of Claire in the present. You don't know what happened to her and you don't know why she became the way she is: a bitch.

I loved Jennifer's character. It was so layered and complex but at the same time so raw and direct. Claire is mean but that makes for the best dialogue and come backs ever. Because the character is so interesting, you would like to delve more into her past but you are stuck with her in a present she hates. She is not looking back, as you would hope, to reflect on the events that led her here, but she is not looking forward either and you are wondering when she, and you the viewer, will leave this limbo. Obviously the movie is paced the way it is so that you can relate to the character, and you do. It is, after all, a drama. To address her Oscar snub, I would just say that she did an amazing job in this movie and she should have been recognized for that. Perhaps the Academy needs a bit more time to get used to this level of acting from Jennifer Aniston. Who knows.

I didn't know that they gathered such a great cast for this movie and I was so happy to see Anna Kendrick as well as Sam Worthington. They are both great in Cake, especially Anna, who departs from her usual roles and plays a very convincing creepy and vicious role in Claire's life. Before going into this movie, I didn't know there was such a thing as chronic pain either and I didn't know why someone would commit suicide over this. I get the disease and I get why Claire is thinking about it when she - SPOILER ALTER - lost a child, but I still don't understand why Nina did it. I wish I had a bit more insight into her character as she was such a big part of the movie. You only learn about Claire's past towards the end and it all comes in little pieces, very well embedded into clever dialogue. In one of the last scene, I enjoyed Adriana Barraza's monologue in Spanish - she plays Claire's help/maid - where she basically has had enough with her boss' behavior and outlook. "You have so much beauty in your life. You want to kill yourself? Then kill yourself" is basically what she is saying. This was exactly at about that moment in the movie where I wanted to tell Claire the exact same thing. I have no compassion whatsoever for people who give up and people who take the easy way out. Life is so precious and is such a beautiful thing, it makes me extremely angry when people throw it away.

Throughout the movie, I wanted to understand her struggle and I wanted to know why she felt the way she did. And that's what the movie is ultimately about. Stepping into the shoes of someone who suffered so much they cannot move in any direction except down. It wasn't about understanding why Nina killed herself when she had the most amazing husband, a beautiful son and a great life. These are sometimes not enough. And sometimes someone who has none of those things, like Claire, can still see the hope and the value of life. I have had to deal with a similar situation when my sister attempted suicide several times and hurt herself. She had everything. She was beautiful, she was destined for a great career, she didn't have to endure any type of loss. And still, she wanted to remain in that downward spiral and ultimately die. That very much reminded me of Nina. And I am glad to see in Cake that someone who has much more to struggle with ends up choosing to fight for what should come naturally to all of us: living.

Arrow Mid Season Return - A tiny bit dubious

I was looking forward to Arrow's return. I was wondering how they would bring Oliver back and how they would continue the fight in Starling City, the show must go on after all.

In this episode, instead of having two stories intertwine, we had three: the Starling City story, Oliver being dead in the Frostback Mountains story and the usual flash back we are used to by now. I really didn't think I would see present time/dead Oliver in this episode and I really didn't expect to see Oliver alive at the end either. I found that it was all terribly quick. They surely could have spent a bit more time on the following questions: "did he win or is he dead?" from everybody in Starling and most importantly "how the hell do I retrieve this huge body from a rock I can only access by falling off a mountain" from Maseo. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see much of that or none at all. Maseo just retrieves the body and off he goes. It all seemed very easy and anti climatic to me. 

The same was true of the events in Starling City. I thought that the beginning of the episode was quite exciting and I loved to see the gang trying to get by without their leader. It was awfully similar to the Buffy episode called "Anne" (Season 3 Episode 1) where Buffy is in Los Angeles, trying to figure out who she is, and the Scooby gang is left alone in Sunnydale to manage the vampire population on their own. Even more so when Felicity says that they got two out of the three criminals, it reminded me a lot of Xander's line: "we're losing half the vamps". So I liked the beginning of Left Behind. However, I found Diggle and Roy very quick to agree that Oliver was dead and they didn't seem too heart broken about it. When Buffy was gone, Willow and Xander were miserable and Giles was flying everywhere trying to find her. I really thought Diggle would try harder to find out where Oliver was - Malcom had the information - and find out what happened to him. 

When they get the news that yes, indeed, Oliver is dead, again, I didn't feel like their world fell apart. Except for Felicity who was slightly sad, I was very surprised by everybody else's reaction. At the end of the episode you find out that Oliver has been brought back to life and that's that. No more suspense. I can understand that it would be quite difficult to go on for several episodes without the eponymous hero of your show but looking at today's television quality, I expected to be teased longer about Oliver's fate. I knew he would come back, obviously, but I wanted to feel a little bit more of a void before being reunited with him. Of course, at the end of Anne, Buffy came back and Season 3 was on its way. When she died at the end of Season 5, she was back at the end of Season 6's first episode. But I missed her much more than I missed Oliver because I saw her friends and everybody else struggling and trying to find a way to get her back. I didn't get that in Arrow. 

I also found that the introduction of a new villain, Brick, was a bit superfluous and that the black Canary, who was said to take over the city with Arsenal and Atom while Oliver was AWOL, had a tiny and irrelevant part in this episode. As a whole, I think that they could have dealt with Oliver's death a bit better, at least giving the fans a bit more longing for the character that, we did see it tonight, makes the entire show.