TV Shows Watched: Severance: S2E8 (Apple Plus) with audio description, Cobra Kai: S6E14 (Netflix) with audio description, Reacher: S3E3 (Amazon) with audio description, School Spirits: S2E? (Paramount Plus) with audio description, The Eastern Gate: S1E2 (MAX) with audio description, Going Dutch: S1E7 (Hulu) no audio description, Papa’s House: S1E? (Paramount Plus) with audio description, Running Point: S1E2 (Netflix) with audio description, and Pop Culture Jeopardy: S1E9 (Amazon) with audio description.
Best Episode: Cobra Kai- I don’t care. this episode gave me everything I’ve ever wanted from the eventual series finale, and then promised me a little more in the final episode. No matter how the next episode goes, I’m leaving this show a happy fan. Let’s just be honest and say shows like this are made for the fans anyway, so pleasing them in the storytelling, is exactly what they should be doing.
Runner Up: Reacher- in a week where I would say, while Severance is never bad, it actually had strong competition, and also put up its weakest episode, it gets knocked out of this category which it has either won or been listed as the runner up. Every week. reacher had an explosive ending to the third episode, and really shows that Reacher is on track to achieve all of his goals. I’m also really enjoying Duffy as a new character, and hope she survives the season.
Best Audio Description: Cobra Kai- those fight sequences. Multiple. that training montage. And, my God, that fantastic Miguel flashback assault we got during his fight. This episode had a lot going on, and delivered across the board.
Runner Up: Reacher- I know it may be boring to see this repeated, but this had a lot of really specific visual cues, from Reacher changing his clothes, to retrieving a gun from a hiding spot, to how he blows up something. There are also some brutal fight sequences, and one character harms themselves against an object we can’t see otherwise to get attention. This hit every mark.
Best Performance: The Ensemble Of cobra Kai- What a tremendous penultimate episode, and while some supporting cast members weren’t really featured, it was a terrific way to end the series. No spoilers, but all these actors made me feel that I’m gonna miss this gang after next week.
Runner Up: Patricia Arquette (Severance)- it’s not that the episode is bad, I’ve just never asked myself what the life of Harmony would look like. So, a stand alone episode that dropped us in the middle of her life, with characters we didn’t really know but were connected to her, was just out of place in the flow of the season. However, Arquette is still very unhinged in this role, and seeing an episode around her really just gave her all the layers to show. She’s never been the star of an episode until now, and while it is my least favorite episode, it is also true that Arquette slayed it.
best Moment Of Audio Description: Miguel’s fight (Cobra Kai)- Not just the punching and kicking, but Miguel is The Karate Kid, so during Miguel’s fight, we keep cutting back through the run of Cobra Kai and highlighting all of these excellent Miguel moments that all led him to this arena. Not only was the fight choreography described in great detail, but the stream of flashbacks elevated this sequence. An achievement, to be sure.
Runner Up: The Marigold Room (School Spirits)- There’s this room they find with flowers all over the wall, and this door that leads to… with an exit sign? A lot of great audio description across the shows today, but I wanted to nod to school Spirits here for this room that becomes sort of a focus this episode, and certainly leaves us wondering what Maddie will do next.
Worst Of….- Going Dutch was the only show without audio description, and while I’m enjoying the show, it does lose the day. I actually enjoyed everything I watched to some extent. On the larger weekly rankings, Papa’s House, and probably The Eastern Gate would be below Going Dutch, but only one show lacked accessibility.
