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House of the Dragon S1 Ep 2 Review

If you’ve seen Game of Thrones (or read a book on Medieval Europe), you’ll know there’s one constant. That constant being that the elites would rather have a man ruling than a woman. Not many women broke that glass ceiling in the days of old, and that number’s even fewer in Westeros. Fans remember how paranoid Daenerys became when she learned Jon Snow was a Targaryen, which helped lead to her fall. She had good reason to be paranoid, as she likely knew what her ancestor, Rhaenyra, dealt with in her time. As we see in the second episode of HOTD, that disrespect continues when King Viserys makes the biggest mistake of his life. 

Also, click here if you want to see my thoughts on the new intro.

Where’s Rhaenyra’s Respect?

So, six months have passed since the death of the Queen and Viserys decided to name Rhaenyra his heir. In a nicer world, that would be the end of matters. Since this is Westeros, though, it’s not, as the Small Council keeps pressuing King Viserys to take a new wife. They argue (as does Viserys later to his daughter) that this is so that their bloodline isn’t in danger of extinction. However, their motives couldn’t be more obvious. They still want the King to have a son who can inherit the Iron Throne in place of Rhaenyra. 

Much like most of Medieval Earth, Westeros remains stuck in this sexist mindset. They think that being a good ruler means being a man. Or, as Rhaenys tells her relative:

More than anything, the show hammers home that this mindset is a big part of the reason why things will go south for House Targaryen. Much of the Small Council ignores Rhaenyra and her sound advice. While using Dragons to intimidate the Free Cities of Essos might be a bit excessive, it’s an effective tactic, and Rhaenyra’s right to suggest it. Instead, she’s brushed off as the Small Council keeps scheming to manipulate King Viserys to take a new wife. 

Marriage in Westeros Stinks!

Since child-marriage laws don’t exist in Westeros, one candidate is Laena Velaryon. Like the Targaryen’s, the Velaryon’s are one of the few survivors from Old Valyria, so the match seems perfect. Except she’s twelve in the show. Even King Viserys isn’t comfortable with that. However, who he ends up choosing ends up sealing the fates of everyone involved in this era.

Meanwhile, Daemon’s squatting on Dragonstone and refuses to move out, despite his brother’s pleas and the Small Council’s demands. Things come to a head when he flat-out steals a dragon egg and says he’s going to take a second wife himself, purely to anger the people at King’s Landing. It works, too. Otto Hightower goes to confront him and demands he leave while giving back the egg.

Rhaenyra Has More Stones Than Most Men

How did it not occur to him that would be a bad idea, since Daemon has his own dragon, Caraxes? His stupidity almost gets him killed…until Rhaenyra pulls up and gets things done.

In one move that demonstrates that she deserves the Iron Throne, Rhaenyra makes her uncle back down by calling his bluff. He doesn’t act like it, but he does love his family; or at least his niece. Thus, he goes to vacate Dragonstone, and returns the egg.

What does Daenerys get for acting decisively? No recognition beyond a reprimand from her concerned father. While King Viserys has the right to scold her, he should also praise her for defusing the mess his Hand caused. Later, it doesn’t even appear that Otto feels grateful as he continues his schemes for power.

The Sound of Doom For All

And they work. King Viserys announces that he’s going to wed Otto’s daughter and Rhaenyra’s best friend, Alicent. It’s a move no one besides the Hightower’s are happy over. Corlys Velaryon, his master of ships and relative by marriage, walks out on the Small Council and decides to team up with Daemon to head to the Stepstones and clear out the pirates there.

So, by the end of this, King Viserys has let the Game of Thrones make him make what viewers know is a terrible mistake. By remarrying, he will have to have more children. And since one of them will be a son, that will put Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne in question. He’s undermining his own family’s power. 

The seeds are already sewn, though. The House of the Dragon’s going to go through its greatest crisis ever. And if you know the history of Westeros, then you know that it won’t end well for anyone. So, good going, King Viserys.

This is why I’m not trying to get attached to anyone in this show. 

I Give “The Rogue Prince” a 4/5

Little Demon, Series Premiere Review

Getting older is never easy, especially when we’re going from being kids to teens. Our bodies change as our hormones start going crazy, our voices start changing, and we start thinking about things that we didn’t before. Some of us handle it with grace; other’s…not so much. Of course, parents aren’t always able to help kids with their problems, especially when one of them happens to be the actual Devil! Enter FX and Hulu’s newest show, Little Demon, a show about a kid growing up learning that she’s the Antichrist.

The DeVito’s Star Together

Firstly, the Devil and his daughter, Christina or “Chrissy” are voiced by Danny DeVito and his daughter, Lucy. As someone who loved Danny Devito in Hercules, The Lorax, Matilda, and even Batman Returns, hearing him play the Devil is pretty funny. Granted, his version of the Devil is fairly laid-back and chill in nature…until you piss him off, as an old partner of his learns in the second episode. His ultimate goal is to get Chrissy to help him merge Earth with the “metaphysical realm” to create a universe run on total chaos. Or, as he puts it, an “anarchist, socialist utopia.” 

In any event, Old Scratch’s plans have a big problem, considering that he doesn’t know how to be a Dad, which is what Chrissy really wants in her life. So, clearly, he’s in over his head.

Then there’s Chrissy Mom, Laura, played by Aubrey Plaza. She’s what you’d get if, instead of hunting machines, Sarah Connor hunted demons. Laura’s spent thirteen years preparing for the day that Chrissy learns she’s the Antichrist. She’s very much someone who didn’t want to be a parent like she’s been. In the prologue to the first episode, she’s moments away from killing her unborn kid, only stopping once Chrissy’s born. Now, she’s struggling to make sure her daughter has a semblance of a normal life and keeps her morality intact. 

The Little Demon Herself

Lastly, we’ve got Chrissy herself. Despite being the Anitchrist, she’s not inherently evil. She’s very much an awkward teen girl who wants to do normal teen things, like making friends and going to school. And as much as her new, demonic powers freak her out, she can’t help but think that they’re also pretty cool. And if she put her mind to it, she could do some real good with her powers. In other words, Little Demon is essentially about her trying to decide what she wants to do with her new power in life, whether it’s good, evil, or neither. 

Little Demon Has Potential

The show’s only in its first two episodes for the moment, and while it can seem a little one-note at times, it’s also got some potential behind it. The art style’s good, the jokes are on-point when they need to be, and seeing this incredibly dysfunctional family go from being at each other’s throats to showing some semblance of affection is pretty funny. And during the span of these two episodes, that dynamic comes into play a lot, especially on Satan’s part.

Try as he might, the Devil can’t help but let slip that he seems to care for Laura and his daughter on some level. When he and Laura throw hands in the first episode, the Devil talks like he’s flirting with her (he’s very impressed with how much of a badass she is), and follows up by going to great lengths to protect Chrissy. He acts like he’s protecting his tool to conquer the universe, but he’s lying to himself. Hopefully.

Overall, Little Demon may not seem like much, but it does have potential. Danny DeVito gives his all as the Devil, Lucy does the same as Chrissy, and their are some good guest VA’s involved. Phil LaMarr will never not be awesome. It’s a show to look out for in the coming weeks.

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Harley Quinn Season 3, Episode 3 Review

You know who one of my favorite characters in Harley Quinn is? Poison Ivy. She’s stood by Harley when she needed it the most, and believed in her when no one else would. Ivy’s been Harley’s rock, but at the expense of her own development. That is, until this episode, where their roles are reversed, to my enjoyment.

Catwoman is Joker to Poison Ivy

Having killed Penguin and trapped Riddler in a hamster wheel, Harley’s next target is Mr. Freeze. He’s the one who literally put her on ice for months, so she wants payback. However, when she can’t melt her way into his fortress, she decides to steal Firefly’s plasma flamethrower from Dr. Trap. He’s this trap-based villain who’s got a museum of villain artifacts, and Harley and Poison Ivy can’t get inside. So Harley calls in a professional: Catwoman.

Personally, I don’t like this version of Catwoman very well. She has the whole femme fatale thing going for her, that’s for sure. However, I think she lacks the playfulness we expect from Catwoman. She looks down on others because she knows she’s good at what she does, especially Poison Ivy, who has a love/hate relationship with her. On the one hand, Ivy knows that Selina only cares about herself. On the other hand, she thinks that Selina’s so cool, even when she’s leaving her hanging.

From my viewpoint, Poison Ivy and Catwoman’s relationship mirrors what Harley had with Joker in the first season. Harley knew Joker was bad for her, but couldn’t help but fawn over the guy. Ivy helped her see that, so now it’s her turn to look after her friend.

Ivy Rediscovers Her Roots

In the end, Harley and Ivy’s boyfriend, Kite Man, help her realize that she shouldn’t try to emulate what Catwoman’s got going on. She’s got her own life that makes her happy, and she shouldn’t get rid of that. However, Catwoman does help the eco-terrorist realize that she’s spent so much time helping Harley that she’s neglected her own growth. As a result, she makes time to do what she loves: killing people who hurt the environment.

This leads to a moment where Harley and Poison Ivy have a heart-to-heart as the latter melts the board of directors of Ace Chemicals with their own toxic chemicals. Harley basically gives her friend the same support she offered her in season one, and Ivy admits that she’s happy with how her life’s turned out. It’s a heartwarming and morbidly hilarious scene that fits with the show’s writing, and I couldn’t help but smile at it.

I’m personally glad Ivy’s recognized that she needs time to focus on herself. She’s a great character that’s neglected a lot of development by spending time helping others. Having seen Steven Universe: Future, I know the consequences of what happens when a person helps everyone but themselves.

Dr. Psycho’s Insecurity

Meanwhile, Dr. Psycho’s going through his own issues in the B-Plot. He used to be an A-List villain until he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Now he’s working for Harley and his ego’s hurt. As a result, Riddler messes with Psycho to escape. Then he willingly goes back into captivity, having only done it to show that he could. It’s a fun little side plot that shows some cracks in the crew, but time will tell if this ends up mattering.

What’s most concerning is how so easy it was for Riddler to escape. He’s only staying there because he wants to. He’s got great exercise, good food, and front-row seats to the drama the Crew goes through. Odds are, he’ll escape when he’s bored with messing with Harley’s Crew.

Okay Filler Episode

This wasn’t my favorite episode of the show, but even a great show can have a few bad eggs, I guess. What it does do, though, is set us up for some potential plot threads as the series progresses over the spring and summer. I’d love to see it focus on Ivy as much as it does on Harley and the others. As long as the comedy keeps on coming, though, I can’t complain.

I Give “Trapped” a 3/5

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DuckTales Season 3, Episode 3 Review

Since its inception, the reboot of DuckTales has not shied away from calling on the works of past Disney cartoons. To be more precise, it’s full of references to the cartoons of the Disney Afternoon Block of the 90s. At first they started out with simple easter eggs, but now they’ve imported characters from many of the big names from that famous TV block. As of the latest episode, “Double O Duck”, I’d say DuckTales is a Disney Afternoon Universe!

A F.O.W.L. Spy Plan

In this episode, Dewey and Launchpad try to win a James Bond inspired AR game at Funso’s Funzone’s, only for Launchpad’s stupidity to make caused them to repeatedly fail. However, the pizza place also doubles as a secret for Black Heron and Darkwing Duck alumni Steelbeak. They think Scrooge’s is on to them, so they seek to eliminate the group for F.O.W.L.

I never got to meeting Steelbeak in the original Darkwing Duck. Thus, I don’t know much about his original personality. However, this version seems to be the Nappa to Black Heron’s Vegeta. He’s deadly, arrogant, but isn’t that smart. Black Heron, meanwhile, doesn’t seem to have learned from her defeat at the hands of Scrooge, Webby, and Mrs. Beakley. Her latest evil plan involves using a ray gun that can enhance or diminish someone’s intelligence to make Scrooge dumb.

That plan manages to backfire not once, but three times on Black Heron, each in a hilarious fashion. Firstly, Steelbeak turns on her after she calls him dumb one too many times, and her ray ends up sapping her intelligence. Secondly, the same ray hits Launchpad, only it makes him into a James Bonds-esque genius that kicks Steelbeak’s butt. Finally, it ends up creating another component of the Disney Afternoon Universe, the Rescue Rangers.

Rescue Rangers Shoehorned Cameo

As with many other characters from the Disney Afternoon Block, the Rescue Rangers from the titular show make their first appearance here. Thus, they get added to the Disney Afternoon Universe of DuckTales. However, this appearance feels more shoehorned in than the likes of Steelbeak or Darkwing Duck.

In this instance, Black Heron’s directly responsible for the Rescue Rangers creation, as she tested her ray out on the animals that became them. As a result, they end up helping Launchpad twice during the events of the episode. Beyond that, though, they have little to offer the plot and seem to only be there as a shout-out. Not a good way to use them, but I hope they return as the season progresses. They could be big help in the fight against F.O.W.L.

F.O.W.L. Remains a Secret

In the end, Launchpad stops Steelbeak from making the entire city dumb, but it costs him his newfound intelligence. Since he and Dewey thought the whole thing was part of the AR game, they know nothing about F.O.W.L.’s return. Well, Launchpad does, but he forgets it all. As for Scrooge, he was too distracted by his newfound obsession with skeeball. As a result, F.O.W.L remains in the shadows.

I did enjoy seeing Launchpad being a suave super-spy for a short time, and it reinforces the fact that F.O.W.L. is going to war with the Duck Family. However, I think the whole “I thought it was fake” plot wasn’t that interesting. In addition, I think the Rescue Rangers introduction to the Disney Afternoon Universe could have been given more importance. With all the characters to be introduced in this new season, hopefully they handle them better the next time around. In the meantime, I want more Darkwing Duck!

I Give “Double-O-Duck In You Only Crash Twice!” a 2.5/5

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