Thursday, June 23, 2016

Battles royale on GOT and Outlander,plus giving some thought to Braindead

The much awaited "Battle of the Bastards" took place on this penultimate episode of Game of Thrones yet it wasn't the only throwdown in town.

 Upon her return to Meereen, Dany had to rally her forces along with her dragons in order to halt the invasion of the Masters. It was an excellent display of  power as all of the three dragons went forth to send fire from above on the war ships, the Dothraki went after the Sons of the Harpy and Tyrion's crew set the tone for the one remaining survivor to spread the word about what happens to those who cross the Mother of Dragons.

Another bonus of this battle was the arrival of Theon and Yara, the latter making a strong connection with Dany and a new alliance was born. Hopefully, this means that we'll see Danearys head for Westeros by next season, especially since it looks like new leadership is going to be needed sooner than they all think:



As for the main event, it was as massive as expected and yes, Rickon Stark was the first casualty as Ramsey used him for target practice there.  Jon Snow and his troops(with a late in the game assist by the Knights of the Vale) did win the day and Ramsey got his grisly just desserts but we need to talk about Sansa.

What is troubling a lot of people,myself included, is why she withheld the fact that she asked for help from the Vale via Littlefinger. Granted, she didn't tell Jon or anyone else about meeting Littlefinger in the first place(Brienne is the only one who knows but was sent out to recruit the Blackfish before the battle took place). What kind of long game is she playing here?

She was very angry and insistent that Jon should have consulted her in his war counsel but when he did ask for her opinion, Sansa went into passive-aggressive mode there. For her to have trust issues is understandable but come on, Jon has never given her a reason to doubt his word!

 If anything, he's as doggedly loyal as Ned Stark was, which didn't help him in the end. Perhaps it's that trait which Jon and Ned both share is what is causing Sansa to hold back and play her own game but she needs to be careful with that. As things wrap up, Sansa may find herself in a corner with no way out if she doesn't keep her true allies on hand for back-up:


The battle fronts are just as tricky on Outlander, as Claire,Jamie and friends find themselves in the midst of a failing rebellion. 

What's worse is that the fatal fight at Culloden that Claire wanted to stop from happening looks as if it's going to go forth as history decreed it. Time travel is never easy but being armed with limited foreknowledge like Claire and Jamie are can be more of hindrance than a help there.

Some of the small changes that have been made by Claire's presence in the past, such as the unexpected demise of the sneaky Duke of Sandringham, may make a difference in the end but there's no way to be sure of that. We do know that Claire does make it back to the twentieth century but at what cost? Well, we'll find out soon enough, I suppose:



Despite my doubts, I decided to give Braindead, the new summer CBS series, a try. The set-up is basic sci-fi satire as Laurel Healy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead)goes to work for her congressman brother in order to get enough money to finish her documentary.

Her dislike of politics and a government shutdown allow her to start noticing some strange behavior(not to mention exploding heads) that seems to be connected to a Russian meteor in American custody. That space rock turned out to be an ark for army of alien ants that are burrowing into the brains of many people, including those in high office. That under the radar invasion is only making the shutdown worse but it could be the start of something even more dangerous to humanity.

The show is only two episodes in, so I have to give it a little more time. At this point, the characters are interesting(with new ones to come) and it's creepy how all of the space bug infected folk take an instant liking to "You Might Think" by The Cars. (I wonder if those critters can be defeated by Huey Lewis and the News?). For now, Braindead has yet to prove it's worth as food for pop culture thought:


RANDOM NOTES:

CUTTHROAT KITCHEN: Alton Brown's twisted culinary competition has been having a "Time Warp Tournament" lately, with challenges being based on such long ago decades as the 1950s,60s and 70s, with the finale to take place in the 1990s. What I love about Alton Brown is that he has a wicked sense of fun and it's good to see that others enjoy playing along with him,right down to getting in costume:

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