Well, Netflix decided today was the day for us to watch some Stranger Things. Episode 8 was an hour and a half, and episode nine is roughly two and a half hours when i tackle that.
1) The Boys (Amazon)
English Audio Description Available?: Yes
in a day that put The Boys versus Stranger Things, The Boys won handily. I love both shows, but the 7th episode of The Boys, much like every other episode this season, found a new way to inject something we hadn’t previously seen. It feels like The Boys showrunners are consistently being dared to do things, or being told “you can’t do that on television”, so they do it anyway. This week’s nonsense involved an animation sequence with Black Noir. Other stand out moments included Starlight finding out just what exactly temporary V can do to its users (which might explain the black crap coming out of Butcher’s ears), Butcher’s nightmare that revealed his entire backstory, A-Train being given a second chance at life thanks to him killing BlueHawk, Kimiko making a huge choice, Milk beating the crap out of that Homelander fan, and that phone call at the end of the episode between Soldier Boy and Homelander.
Episode Grade: A
2) Hacks (HBo/HBO MAX)
English Audio Description Available?: Yes
Also outranking Stranger Things today was the 6th episode of Hacks, which saw Deborah get her groove back. After doing a routine where she was initially warned that one of her former stalkers was in the audience, only to find him casually leaving later without a care, Deborah realized that not even her most obsessed fans liked her new material. But, after hooking up with a local guy at the bar, somehow it all clicked for her, and she starts killing it on stage again. Deborah is back, and ready to conquer the world.
Episode Grade: A
3) Stranger Things (Netflix)
English Audio Description Available?: Yes
in episode 8, while I can appreciate Chess episodes, I always notice them. Stranger Things is actually pretty bad at having these episodes (two in one season), where nothing really happens, except to connect dots, move the pieces on the board into places for the final episode, and hope for the best. In 90 minutes, we touched base with everyone, as they all prepared for a final battle, but not much really happened. Eleven saw the most action, but the rest of the cast just kind of moved into place. A couple of stand out moments for me included The Walking Dead reference/callback that makes me think Steve is not long for this world. He and Nancy mimicked an almost exact replica of the Abraham/Sasha scene from TWD right before Abraham met his end at the hands of Negan. In The Walking Dead, Abraham was driving an RV, and talking about starting a family with Sasha, as they drove to a battle they felt confident they’d be winning. In Stranger Things, Steve talks about wanting to have six kids, while Nancy starts to realize that maybe Steve is the guy… while he drives an RV. If he survives the next episode, that was a nice fake out. I know I’ll never get my dream of Eleven going back to California and finding that girl and finishing what she started now that she has her powers back. But, a man can hope.
Episode Grade: A-
4) undone (Amazon)
English Audio Description Available?: Yes
This trippy series seemed to go nuts, in just the second episode of the season, as the two sisters learn more about what their powers can do, continue to worry about their mom, and refuse to listen to reason from their dad that had no idea both sisters were gifted.
Episode Grade: A-
5) Bosch Legacy (Free Vee)
English Audio Description Available?: No
My favorite parts of the episode really revolved around Baby Bosch and her continued pursuit to catch the prowler who raped that woman at the beginning of the season, so much so that she couldn’t even be happy that she captured a serial peeping Tom. Meanwhile Papa Bosch now knows that he’s being bugged, and can use that to his advantage.
Episode Grade: B+
6) Bullshit (Netflix)
English Audio Description Available?: Yes
It must have sucked to be one of those last people who didn’t get to move on to the chance to compete for money cause the season ended. Will they start off at the top of Season 2, should Netflix order more episodes?
Episode Grade: B, Season 1 Grade: B-
