Category Archives: Reviews

Hear our opinions on single episodes and entire seasons of the hit series we love

Better Call Saul- “Marco” Review, The Old Con

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Addictions are weird things. You work hard to rid of them and you are doing great for a period of time. And then something happens and it triggers your brain to fall back into old habits.

The trigger could be all kinds of things. Seeing an old friend, depression, a fight with a loved one, some guy cutting you off in traffic or hell, the smell of a freshly baked cookie.

The trigger doesn’t need to make sense. It’s like your brain is just finding any sort of excuse to get you back to the high of your addiction.

Jimmy isn’t addicted to drinking, smoking or drugs. He gets his high on conning people. And he is damn good at it.

Spoilers below:

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Game of Thrones: “The Wars to Come” Review

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We all must choose: man or woman, young or old, lord or peasant, our choices are the same. We choose light or we choose darkness. We choose good or we choose evil. We choose the true God, or the false.

(This will be a pretty spoiler-heavy review for episode 1 of season 5 and for Game of Thrones in general. DO NOT READ unless you are caught up or are indifferent to having shit spoiled for you. You’ve been warned.)

When Game of Thrones first premiered, Westeros was a stable country that relied on the establishment of its noble houses to keep the peace in the seven kingdoms. Maybe not every lord saw eye to eye, but no one was willing to risk disrupting that kind of tranquility over a meaningless grudge. Part of that is due in thanks to all of the experienced soldiers and commanders that were at the head of almost every faction and family: Ned Stark, Tywin Lannister, Robert Baratheon, Lord Commander Mormont and on and on it goes. Flash forward to season 5 and that’s simply just not the case.

Ever since Ilyn Payne lopped off Ned Stark’s head, we’ve been conditioned to expect anyone who doesn’t play the game of thrones as shrewdly or quickly as others will likely suffer a grisly demise. Westeros thrives on chaos, you see, and getting swept up in the madness without a contingency plan is akin to joining a game of paintball with a slingshot. By the time you realize that you’ve made a mistake and weren’t prepared, it’s too late. Your enemies will celebrate with a barrel of wine while everything you love and hold dear turns to ash around you.

Not every lord or lady truly understands how to play the game, but even those that do aren’t safe from rapidly evolving circumstances. Exhibit A: Tywin Lannister, the Bill Belichick of Westeros, who always seemed to be 10 steps ahead of everyone who tried to thwart him. The mastermind behind a massacre like the Red Wedding is certainly not the most honorable or popular person, but I’ll be damned if he doesn’t get results. And yet, despite all of the success and victories that Tywin accumulated over the years, he was undone by a member of his own family. How ironic that he withstood so many wars and battles, yet in the end it was his dwarf of a son who ended his life. As Tywin’s corpse awaited a certificate of death from all of his rivals in Westeros, Jaime and Cersei were trying to make sense of a future that is grim and hopelessly uncertain.

After all, what chance does the future have when the boys of the new generation can’t even hold their shields up and swing their swords like girls with palsy?

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The Walking Dead Season 5 Part 2 Review: Chocolate Covered Zombies

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The Walking Dead is like a box of chocolates. No this isn’t Forrest Gump reviewing The Walking Dead. This is Kevin catching your attention with a unoriginal hook.

As I was saying, The Walking Dead is like a disgusting, undead box of chocolates. Not so much because you never know what you’re gonna get. More so because if you keep eating you will eventually find something you like.

Oh yes, we Dead fans have been through a lot. We started off lucky and got a pure milk chocolate piece in season one. It was sweet and familiar. It was something we have had before but it was just plain good.

Then we moved onto season two and the farm where we pulled a caramel chocolate piece. It felt like it was never going to end even after we finished it.

Season three was like a coconut chocolate. While technically chocolate the core of the candy leaves a funny taste in your mouth. You feel a bit betrayed but you trudge on anyway.

And in season four we get a cheery creme filled chocolate. Messy and all over the place.

Finally season five comes around and we get our hands on that bitter yet sophisticated taste of pure dark chocolate. It’s more indulgent than the milk chocolate variety but is an acquired taste. It’s darker, more pure, more real and better than you could have imagined.

Take a jump, be wary of the spoilers, and I promise this metaphor will end soon.

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Better Call Saul- “Pimento” Review, Brotherly Betrayal

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Building a career is difficult. The work itself is probably pretty easy but building your name up to be trusted is hard.

Sure you can spend countless hours studying, working or volunteering. You can have the best skills, knowledge and work ethic. Generally that means absolutely nothing in the real world.

Someone out there has to give you a chance. They have to put their trust in you when you probably don’t deserve it. Call it luck or call it hard work paying off, but you can’t get anywhere without someone taking a chance on you.

For Mike, he forced someone to take a chance on him. For Jimmy, he pushed as far as he could before ultimately falling short. Again.

Spoilers Ahoy!

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Better Call Saul- “Rico” Review, A Brother’s Will

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They say it is about who you know not what you know. Networking is the driving force behind career growth. It is a lot like Survivor in fact. If people don’t like you then you don’t stand a chance.

Sometimes who you know is a curse. If who you know is so great at what they do then you are forced to live in their shadow. Being close to someone who is a big success can hinder your ability to think and act independently. If you see your brother become a successful lawyer then why wouldn’t you try to become a successful lawyer?

Jimmy McGill loves his brother and he has always fought for his respect. And because of this, Chuck is the last thing that is holding Jimmy back from becoming Saul.

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Better Call Saul- “Bingo” Review

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“I do all the talking. That’s the only way this works.” -Jimmy McGill

Last week I declared the episode “Five-O” as the reason Better Call Saul exists. Jonathan Banks was so captivating as Mike Ehrmantraut that I declared him the true star of the series. This week in the episode titled “Bingo”, Bob Odenkirk reminded me why the show is called Better Call Saul.

Spoilers after the jump.

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Better Call Saul- “Five-O” Review

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When Better Call Saul first dropped I was impressed but also skeptical. I was impressed with the depth that the writers had put into Jimmy McGill AKA Saul Goodman. I felt like the show had a real star that was both entertaining and intense. Kind of like what they had in Walter White except more charismatic.

My skepticism arose from doubting they could team Jimmy up with someone equally as entertaining as himself. My logic was that you don’t have Breaking Bad without Walter White and Jesse Pinkman. Both Walt and Jesse brought the darkness and intensity that fueled the series to success. But Jesse also brought some lightness through his innocence and his occasional humor. My thought was if Jimmy was bringing the lightness, humor and half the intensity, who will bring the darkness? Well it looks like episode six of the young series has finally answered the question.

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Better Call Saul- “Alpine Shepherd Boy”

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The first episodes of Better Call Saul worked hard to distinguish itself from the shadow of Breaking Bad. The latest episode, “Alpine Shepherd Boy”, on the other hand, felt like it could have easily fit into Walter White’s story.

Although not a ground breaking episode, the cold opening, the slow pacing and the small-detailed character development of the episode really showcased what Vince Gilligan does best.

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“I’m Nacho Hero”- Better Call Saul Review

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In my review of the first two episodes of Better Call Saul, I applauded the creators for working at a slow pace. I was also impressed with how they balanced the bottle story within the bigger overarching story. Episode three of this young show continues those trends as it digs deeper into Saul’s struggle with doing what is right.

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Better Call Saul is Better than Expected by Kevin W.

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When Vince Gilligan announced he was creating a spinoff of Breaking Bad titled Better Call Saul I will admit I rolled my eyes. I couldn’t blame the guy for trying to capitalize on his stunning show about a chemistry teacher turned drug lord. As Saul would go on to say in episode one, “Money is the point!”. Breaking Bad was revolutionary for AMC and along with The Walking Dead helped the network stand out from the crowd. I felt like Gilligan earned our respect to give his new show a shot. And so far I am loving it.

Going into the show I feared the green shadow of Breaking Bad might be too large to escape. I expected fans to only tune in hoping a glimpse of Walter White or Jesse Pinkman. Hell I half expected the show to be a ridiculous comedy following the wild antics of a TV lawyer. My fears subsided as the show’s first two episodes weaved it’s way through a truly unique story that just happens to be set in the same universe as Breaking Bad.

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