The Walking Dead Review: Hearts Still beating

In the opening sequence where we see Maggie getting an apple away from Gregory and then eating it was not just any scene. It holds significant meaning, hinting something far greater she was about about to achieve what she always desired, which we get to witness at the very end of the episode. Right from the very first episode of this season all she wanted was that she with the help of her people kill Negan who murdered her husband. In the climax  we see Rick and friends pay her a visit where Rick admits to Maggie that she was right the whole time and that the time has come for them to make a move on Negan.

This episode is played out in the same theme in which its predecessors were i.e 'The Fear of Negan'. In this episode we see Negan kills Spencer and surprisingly it wasn't Lucille which did his bidding but a  knife which enabled Negan to cut Spencer's gut out. The whole scene was a reminder to us the audience of how unpredictable of a character Negan is while being merciful at the same time.

Coming to one of the other aspects in the episode there was a scenario where it was established Rick and Aaron were to reach a houseboat containing guns by crossing a pond in which the walkers were floating. This situation alone convinced me that Aaron was about to die and which he almost did.

In the other segment of the episode we see Daryl escaping the compound with the help of Jesus. We did see one scene where Daryl bashed one's head to death no matter how much peace the poor guy( who happened to Negan's guy) offered. It clearly showed that Daryl is done with trusting people. 

Verdict

Well apart from the bad editing the other shortcoming from this episode was that the story was very much  predictable . It was quite obvious that if there were to happen any turn of events it was to happen this very episode, considering it was the mid season finale.  Overall it was a good episode..

Westworld- 'The Well Tampered Clavier' review

Maeve and Bernard

Warning: This review contains major spoilers

Before I get you through this review, I would want to first establish my admiration for the show. This show is one of the best things to happen in the year of 2016. I must admit that I was quite late diving into this new and immensely promising sea created by HBO while others who went through multiple episodes of the show already were enjoying swimming in it.  It was in fact the mind behind the show Mr Jonathan Nolan which caught my attention and the fact that he co-wrote many of the movies directed by his legendary brother Mr Christopher Nolan I was able to put my trust on the show and hence I decided to give its pilot episode a watch. I wasn’t disappointed. The episode convinced me enough to invest my time in whatever the show offers next.

The episode The Well Tempered Clavier comes with big reveals and answers to some major fan theories which were speculated thank to the internet. If you could recall from the last episode, both Maeve and we the audience were convinced that the she needed an army to escape the facility and into the real world where people didn’t play god. Little did we know that she was going to plant the seed of revolution in the synthetic mind of Bernard first. In the opening sequence you can see that Maeve is able to hack Bernard and is able to push him towards his path of self awareness which ultimately leads to his demise in the very climax of the episode. Yes, Bernard is dead.

Continuing her streak of delivering powerful performances, Thandie Newton who plays Maeve has again done an amazing job in portraying a charismatic character. One of the best scenes in the episode, apart from the secret unravelling ending was one which was shared between Maeve and Hectar (played by Santoro Rodrigo) where she makes him realize that his nature of reality was false and that he has always been a pawn just like others for the amusement of the real beings. Not only she managed to change his perception of the reality but also she convinced him to join forces with her in her quest for freedom from the gods who wore suits. This scene alone deserved a standing ovation considering how beautiful it was directed and how perfect the screenplay was. The suicidal lovemaking at the end of the scene was something very creative and pleasant to watch.

Coming to the big reveal of the episode. Yes, Arnold is Bernard. Bernard is actually the host version of Arnold. While the way the episode was leading us to the reveal was engaging but it wasn’t much that big of a reveal. This is because it was already popular in theory thanks to the internet. If I could highlight one big flaw in the show, then that would definitely be how predictable the show has become at this point. Two major fan theories have been proved correct till now. There is nothing wrong in placing hints but makers have given too much away for the fans to work it out.

Well even though one can sense various possibilities in the show it still manages to be engaging and entertaining. The Season finale is due next week and I still wish I haven’t had enough for one season. My rating for this episode is 9.5 out of 10. I would have given it 10 if Arnold were someone whom the fans never saw it coming.

The episode whole is all about fear and gore

Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below

 Gore, gut-wrenching, inhuman, there is no single word alone with which you can brand the latest installment of the Waking Dead. If you are big fan of the show and have watched the latest episode then I am sure, that for days you would have to live with the horrors which you witnessed, if not speak about it. Being a big fan of ‘The Walking Dead’, I was also hyped for this season’s premiere having knew that I have to sit through some difficult scenes given the premise of last’s year season’s finale. To my utter surprise what I was actually welcomed to was 43 minutes of torture masqueraded as survival horror drama.

I see Negan played by Jeffery Dean Morgan going at great and unnecessary lengths just to prove his point i.e. he is not the person to mess with.  It was very disturbing for me to see him murder Abrham and Our beloved Glenn. What was sadder was the fact they were given no amount of dignity in their deaths.  If you ask me, walkers tearing them down would have been better to cope with than what Negan actually did with them. It’s very hard to recall those horrific moments and this was one episode of the franchise which I am definitely not seeing again

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Now let’s talk about Glenn. It was speculated in the internet that Glenn was going to die because he did so in the comics in the same scenario. But we also know that the show has not been complete loyal to the comic books and so the speculations like that can be debatable. But the makers of the show had decided already to mock anyone who were having faith in him. First it was revealed that it was actually Abraham who was at the end of Negan’s bat which provided me a short relief in midst of tense scenes as I thought Glenn was safe. But no, the makers were settled for two major blows to the fans. Moments later Glenn was killed out of nowhere.

Coming to the story, there was nothing to it. Like I mentioned before it was torture which was masqueraded as survival horror drama. The entire episode was about Negan. I think the makers invested unnecessary amount of screen time on him. Throughout the episode I see him having his way with his victims and getting enjoyment out of it. It was not long that I had enough of watching him.

Speaking about the performances I cannot deny that that Jeffery Dean Morgan was very much convincing in his role as the new bad guy who needs to die as soon as possible. Andrew Lincoln was also equally brilliant in portraying the sufferings of Rick grimes. Laurie Cohen was did good in her part playing the sick Maggie who just witnessed the death of her beloved husband.

Considering the new tone the episode has set, I don’t expect to find some favorable turn of events in the storyline anytime soon.  Overall it was a very bad episode to begin the new season considering it was such a hyped one. If you care about my ratings for the episode then I would give it four out of 10 stars.

What's more under that Hat?

If I have to say what was the best thing in the latest edition of Gotham then my answer would definitely be the Mad Hatter story line. I have to admit that I didn’t find Benedict Samuel who plays Jervis Tetch, as convincing in his role in the previous episode but after watching his performance in the last episode, I would say he definitely has well established his character in the small screen. The makers of the show have well defined dark setting around Madder Hatter and his obsessive concerns about his sister Alice. The quick rivalry between James Gordon and Mad Hatter was well crafted.

Another remarkable aspect of the episode was the relationship between Oswald and Enigma. I loved how the makers created a quick tension between the two and then turned it into a strong bond of friendship. The best part of this segment was that Enigma ask Oswald a riddle to which he ignores it at first but in the end he find the answer to it and with it he also did find how much Enigma cared for him.

Now let’s talk about Bruce’s doppelganger. His acquaintance with Selina Kyle was fast paced and was sure messy. Although David Mazouz portrayed this character quite well, even better than what he does with Bruce Wayne if I might add, I believe the character was being rushed though out the episode. I am in the opinion that the character deserved more amount of writing and more screen time with Selina.

So overall it was good episode. I am looking forward to what direction will the Mad Hatter head next. And also there is something interesting they have decided to with Captain Barnes. There is of course the clown prince of crime ‘The Joker’ who is coming to Gotham but I do not want it to be Jerome because that it would be complete stupidity.

Why R+L = J Theory is wrong

We are closing in to the Game of thrones Season 6 finale this week and there is a very good chance that Jon Snow parentage would be revealed. Most of the fans are rooting for the most popular theory: - R+L=J to come true. According to this theory Jon Snow parents are Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyaana Stark. But sorry fans chances of this happening is highly unlikely.  Here is why:-

The book series ‘A song of Ice and Fire’, on which the show is based, is very strict when it comes to physical traits of characters belonging to their respective houses. Remember when Ned Stark in season 1, with the help of the book ‘The Lineages and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdom’ found out that Robert’s children in actual were not his own but were illegitimate and born of incest between Cersei and Jaime Lannister. In the book it was clear that the Baratheon bloodline had black hair as a dominant gene as because most of their descendants had black hair. At least one of Cersei’s children should have had black hair if they were to be conceived with Robert Baratheon. Similarly there is no physical trait which Jon snow shares with Lyaana or Rhargor. Jon Snow has dark hair while both Lyaana and Rhargor had brown and silver blonde hair respectively. So there you have, the biggest proof against the R+L=J theory. 

Having said that I am not denying any possibility  that Jon is not Ned’s son. In fact Sean Bean who played Ned Stark in the show stated in an interview that he isn’t Jon Snow’s father. This however is surprising and debatable considering what most characters did admit that John has the looks of Ned . What shocking is that Ned Stark was man of honour and sleeping with someone other than his wife was considered dishonourable. So why did Ned go against his honour? Is Jon someone else child whose real identity Ned was hiding so as to protect him from something?

If Ned isn’t is Jon’s Father then who is? If you ask me, my bets are on Benjen Stark and not only because they share the same hair colour. It’s because Benjen and Jon share a strong connection. They got along so well. Benjen was more or less the reason why Jon decided to join the Night’s Watch. The biggest question here is that what made Benjen serve the Night’s Watch? Was it because of Jon? Does Benjen has anything to do with Jon’s Birth?

There are so many questions and all we have got are theories to best answer them for now. But when Sunday arrives everything would either be crystal clear or there would be waiting for us a bigger mystery to which we would fall prey to as always .

Every One expected 'No One'

In the latest episode of the Game of Thrones most eyes were set on Arya’s storyline. There have been mixed reactions to the direction the creators have given to Arya.  There were quite of interesting speculations made on her and none of them were able to hold true. It appears that all her years in Bravos and her training to become ‘no one’ was for nothing as she chooses to be Arya Stark instead and to return back to winter fell even after passing the final test.

Now what most fans are not sold on is that her return now can mean a big impact in favour of her family. What possible help can Arya get for her half-brother Jon and her sister Sansa to win their home back? Also she is not enough for a fighter, considering every time she got her ass kicked whenever she sparred with Waif. If she had stayed back she could have become so much more. She would have acquired the required talents and gifts to help her family. Admit it, we all wanted Arya to be the Assassin as she showed great promise.  . Having that said, there is no denying the fact that she is one of the most cunning characters in the show. In fact it was mostly because of her brains she managed to survive such odds. She can bring her ideas to the table but will that be enough? 

That is what remains to be seen.

What do you think about the recent turn of events in Arya’s storyline? Was it satisfying or was it an epic let down?

Close Freinds , Strong Groupism

If you think it’s always the case that likeminded people make friends with each other then you are wrong. You might think that your friends are your friends because they have a similar mindset as yours. But it doesn’t work that way. You have a good chance as anybody, that you befriend someone who is 60 percent different from you, at least. For Example, you have a friend who would do things which are not correct according to you. No matter how many times you advice them, he would still persist doing them. You won’t like his behavior for sure but at the end of the day you will be caring for him.

Same is the case of groupies.  The members of the group don’t necessary find similarities in one another but things which interest them. It can be possible for a group to exist where each member’s mindsets are quite different from one another. Creation of groups is natural.  The first day of your college you make a friend then you both make some new friends and finally you all make a group. Now it’s not necessary that your group will remain the same till the end your end of the college days. Some differences and clashes of opinions are meant to happen. Some will leave your group and some new might join you. But it should be our best interest to sort out those differences when they arise.

We love our friends and we love our groups. Some of us have large of group of friends while some find joy in smaller ones. But no matter how many close friends we have, we will find issues in relationship. Negativity in form differences, jealousy might sweep in and we will have problems being friends. But it should be yours job to sort out those issues. It’s should be you who should be apologetic regardless who was at fault.It’s your job to keep your relationship healthy.

Friends are gifts of life so don’t let your ego to come in between you and them. After all it’s not about having close friends; it’s about keeping your friends close.