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MrMacGuffin
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Peacemaker (2022)
Surprisingly fun
I wasn't a huge fan of James Gunn's take on The Suicide Squad. Although I do enjoy his Guardians movies. Hence, you could say I was moderately interested but not entirely excited about watching this. I saw the pilot and thought it was fun but waited for all the episodes to release.
I'm usually not into binge watching and prefer weekly episodes or at least take a few weeks to finish a new show on my own pace. But I binged the last 5 episodes of this show.
I was quite surprised that this show wasn't just funny (which you can expect from Gunn) but also had great characters and a plot so bonkers that I can't help but love it.
Vigilante was the best character and I wish we get to see more of his story in the second season.
Overall, I loved this show and I think it deserves to be in the Emmy conversation. If The Mandalorian and WandaVision can be nominated, this show should be too.
Severance (2022)
Good, not great
This show has all the ingredients I want in a show:
- A great sci-fi concept
- Wonderful actors
- Terrific score
- Well-directed sequences
But none of these things can hide the fact that the plot isn't compelling without the mystery of the premise. It doesn't go beyond ideas, which are not original to begin with, to form a story worth telling over a few seasons. We get to know nothing about the characters which makes you feel for them as people (not just trapped characters who want answers) and when we do in the finale, they are all just twists.
Cliffhangers can make anyone look forward to what's coming next but it's a cheap and easy trick. It's no substitute for meaningful storytelling. 'Weird' and 'strange' (I'm referring to that insipid waffle party) doesn't automatically make something deeper.
I'm not saying the writers don't have answers to the mystery but I'm not sure if they are worth waiting for.
This should have been a 2 hour film or a miniseries.
Yellowjackets (2021)
Chomps down on itself after the first few episodes
This show had an interesting premise but nothing after the first two episodes convinced me that this shouldn't have been a miniseries or a film instead.
I struggle with this show because some characters have meat (especially Jackie and Misty) and the actors are some of my favourites (particularly Christina Ricci, Juliette Lewis and Melanie Lynskey). There are also some engaging moments in spurts and the end credits music is a certified banger.
However, the fact is that the central premise doesn't lend itself to a story worth telling over multiple seasons. There's no reason to be interested in the present lives of the adults. The past meanders more than it should and leads nowhere new. The ending to the two biggest mysteries (Jackie in the past and Adam in the present) were cop outs.
This is a perfect case of a show relying too early on fan culture and theories to keep it going. This can't be manufactured by just witholding information, it has to be organic. It has to be FUN. I won't be surprised if the show nosedives in the second season. That being said, I do hope I'm wrong and it does make me reconsider everything I'm writing here.
But if it weren't for the positive reactions on the internet (which I wonder is because most Americans grew up on Lord of the Flies), I wouldn't have gone past the pilot just to see what the fuss was about.
Turns out, I'd rather watch Lost again instead.
Or critics and the internet folk should be watching the other show with Yellow in the title.