Jim and A.Ron tackle a very good and very Kim and Jimmy episode of AMC’s Better Call Saul, “Quite a Ride”. A taste of BrBa-era Saul! The origins of the Superlab! The return of grifting at the ol’ Dog House and the Wash Tub! Lots of nostalgia and lots of great character development and a very fun montage anchor this episode and make it a stand out. Plus, we talk therapy, Kim theories, thoughts on Gus’ background and much more in our feedback section!
We’re back to finish up (?) our coverage of HBO’s Sharp Objects, and discuss our thoughts on Hulu’s Castle Rock through S01E08 (00:26:04). Next week we’ll be back to start our coverage of the second season of HBO’s The Deuce.
Premium
The Instant Talk podcast is our aftershow, with our own quick thoughts about the episode followed by an interactive chat discussion with our fans, live on YouTube. The first half is released as the Instant Take podcast. The audio from the interactive section is released as a premium podcast just for our club members.
Jim and I had high hopes for the Gothic horror film, The Little Stranger, thinking it would be an ultra atmospheric mash up of The Witch with Downton Abbey. Instead, we got a commentary on upper class angst during the 1940’s as their fortunes crumbled alongside their estates masquerading as a dull, drab little ghost story. At no point does the film ever manage to generate anything but mild disquiet and malaise. Which is a shame, because all the pieces were there for genuine horror. An interesting core idea, excellent cast, excellent location, and fantastic atmosphere that were all unfortunately squandered with disinterested filmmaking.
Jim and A.Ron consider the latest episode in our summer re-watch of season three of HBO’s Game of Thrones. “Second Sons” features the second happiest wedding we’ve ever seen on Westeros (which is damning with non-existent praise), Arya swinging from utter despair to something approaching optimism in her captivity with the Hound (the sweet, summer child), as newcomer Daario Naharis steals into Dany’s camp attempts to steal Dany’s heart. We discuss all this and more!
Okay, okay, perhaps we shouldn’t have used the dreaded “b”-word when describing this episode of AMC’s Better Call Saul, “Talk”. But we’re just saying, sometimes the show’s “stately” pace dips into the realm of the “staid”, and it’s times likes this two fan boys can hope for some Cousins’ fueled mayhem. Still, the episode had its stand out moments; Mike’s intense reaction to Stacey trying to move on from the death of his son; and Kim’s soul searching by way of low stakes courtroom drama. But we’re already looking ahead to the job Gus has for Mike. We discuss all this plus tons of feedback… see you next week!
We thoroughly enjoyed the experience of watching Sharp Objects these past few months. While we could, and do, nitpick a few storytelling elements here and there, we found the finale to be of a piece with the whole. Maybe there weren’t satisfying answers to every single element or question raised by the series, but isn’t that the way life goes? We feel we got enough through Camille’s point of view to understand what motivated Adora and Amma, and liked that the show left some things ambiguous and open to interpretation. But what did everyone else think? We’ll be back next week to discuss the next few episodes of Castle Rock and bat clean up for Sharp Objects. See you then!
Premium
The Instant Talk podcast is our aftershow, with our own quick thoughts about the episode followed by an interactive chat discussion with our fans, live on YouTube. The first half is released as the Instant Take podcast. The audio from the interactive section is released as a premium podcast just for our club members.
Special thanks to our commissioner for today’s podcast, Sean Ray. You may recognize him as the man behind such classics as It Follows, and Black Rain, which if nothing else is unique. Today he selects the great A Few Good Men, where a gruff Colonel in the US Marine Corps takes issue with the USMC’s kinder, more gentler ways of discipline and organization, leading to the death of one of the men under his command. Tom Cruise and Demi Moore are effective as the counsel for the defense, and are given a lot of juicy material to work with. Written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Rob Reiner, the script is packed with Sorkinisms and shot with a steady, confident eye. The performances are phenomenal, especially Jack Nicholson’s elemental performance of Col. Jessup.
On this week’s episode of our summer Game of Thrones rewatch, “The Bear and the Maiden Fair”, Brienne picks on someone her own size, Joffery tries talking politics with his grandpa, Robb YOLOs his way through a fraught political position to buy some extra time to consort with his queen, and Sansa and Tyrion lament their respective fates. For feedback we discuss the relative intelligence of wights, debate the apparent height of the Wall, and consider people’s pet theories on what things will look like post series-finale of Thrones. See you back here next week!