If you’re reading this that means you made to the end of the week and you know what? Good for you!
This week Drew interviewed Our Lady J (it’s so good!) about her work writing on Transparent, Pose, and now returning back to love performance. The Morning Show went full gay spy mode and you Christina was right on top of it. Drew donned the persona of your film bro girlfriend to catch you up on Martin Scorsese’s canon ahead of his newest release Killers of the Flower Moon and also she promises that “it really demands the big screen and your undivided attention!”
It’s Hall-o-weekend and that means we’re DEEP on our Horror Movie shit! We two separate pieces dedicated solely to Nightmare on Elm Street — Stef mediated on A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors and the horror of generational trauma, while Riese dove into how Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge ruined its gay lead’s life. By the way, we’ve also been wondering, Where Are All the Scream Kings? And Nico wrapped us up with What Three Horror Movies Capture Your Evil Essence, According to Your Sign — just in time for your weekend binge watching needs.
Have fun out there this weekend!🎃 And here’s what else you missed.
Notes from the TV Team:
+ Our Flag Means Death aired its finale this week, and while the crux of the episode centered on Stede and Blackbeard reuniting (again) and the uptight British navy, we were also treated to another Jim/Archie smooch! I’ve been a big fan of this whole season, loved the, albeit brief, additions of Mary Read and Anne Bonny, and was pleasantly surprised by how much deeper I fell in love with the ensemble cast. And even though Olu and Zheng are an ADORABLE pairing, my kingdom for Zheng to kiss a woman next season. I am who I am. — Nic
Gen V Episode 107: “Sick”
Written by Valerie Anne
I didn’t know this was the penultimate episode of the season when I started it, but I sure figured it out by the end.
We open at the Woods, where the scientist and Shetty are watching teens locked in a room with an infected supe. She wants to make the virus airborne, which makes the scientist uncomfortable but makes Shetty’s eyes sparkle.
Shetty gets a call from Cate, and Shetty tells Cate to go to her house and wait for her. Cate hangs up, wincing from the thoughts of everyone in the diner where she’s meeting her friends. Her friends who are still mad, including Jordan, who shifts into their masc form, yells at Cate, and storms off.
Marie follows Jordan, and tells them that even if they can’t fully trust Cate, they have to trust that she’s on their side. She also says Jordan has to stop shifting into masc form whenever they want to prove their point. They kiss and Jordan decides they should snoop in Shetty’s office. Marie wonders who would believe them over Vought… unless they take it to someone like Victoria Neuman. So they do and find a file about a plane crash that killed Shetty’s family. Then the scientist stumbles into Shetty’s office and conveniently mumbles Shetty’s evil plan.
Victoria Neuman speaks at the town hall, and it does… not go well. The students riot, yelling about not wanting to be controlled. One guy in a red “keep America safe” hat is on Team Homelander, which is a decidedly incorrect stance.
Marie catches Victoria as she’s being escorted to safety, and Victoria knows who Marie is and is excited to talk to her one on one. Victoria tells Marie to use her powers to assess her, and Marie realizes Victoria is a supe. Victoria has the same blood powers as Marie, and is her benefactor. Marie tells Victoria about the Woods and the virus and Victoria says she’ll handle it, that Marie should focus on becoming the first Black woman in The Seven, so she can make real change.
When Shetty gets home to talk to Cate, Cate accuses her of manipulating her, and Shetty swears she loves her and wants to keep her safe, even in the face of the truth of the virus. She takes Cate’s ungloved hands as a sign of trust, and Cate lays her head in Shetty’s lap. When Shetty gets home to talk to Cate, Cate accuses her of manipulating her, and Shetty swears she loves her and wants to keep her safe, even in the face of the truth of the virus. She takes Cate’s ungloved hands as a sign of trust, and Cate lays her head in Shetty’s lap.
Marie and her friends get a text from Cate to come to Shetty’s, and when they get there, Cate’s eyes are red from using her powers, and she makes Shetty she tell them everything, and Shetty admits that the school is a front to study supes, and that she wants to kill them all because Homelander took down the plane that killed her family.
Once she’s done confessing, Cate makes Shetty slit her own throat, then mesmers Marie into not helping, so the teens can do nothing but watch Shetty die. Cate swears this is the only way.
Victoria meets with the scientist and gets the last of the supe virus. After she confirms he’s the only one who can replicate it, she gives him the Neuman’s Own… and explodes his head.
All Rise 316: “Passionfruit”
Written by Natalie
Finally, the day Ness has waited for has finally arrived: she’s trying her first case as a lawyer. Granted, when she imagined this moment, she thought she’d be fighting the good fight — doing something substantive, fighting for real justice — but Amy and Dre remind her that everyone’s got to start somewhere. For Ness, that somewhere is with the absolute worst client ever.
Camilla Kahlo is a yoga instructor/actor/influencer and embodies all the worst stereotypes about all those professions. She arrives at Audubon, Quinn, and Associates with her boyfriend, Emmanuel, in tow, recording her every move. Amy tries to stop the recording — rightfully concerned about privileged communications being documented — but the couple insists. Emmanuel wants the footage for publicity and a possible documentary and Camilla just wants to reassure her followers that she cares about them more than the money.
“Okay, well, someone died because you violated a court order and continued to sell contaminated products to the public,” Amy reminds their client.
“Allegedly,” Emmanuel adds, as he zooms around the room, recording with his iPhone.
At this point, if this were a real law office, Dre would’ve taken Emmanuel’s phone and smashed it with the back of his loafer, but because this is television, they allow Camilla and Emmanuel to persist. Carmilla insists that she never even used the products she was hawking; it was all just business and, as such, she shouldn’t be held responsible for anyone’s death. When they get to court, Ness offers that as a defense, asserting that the blame falls on the maker of the poisonous goods, not Carmilla. But Judge Carmichael points to the court order Carmilla violated and dispenses with the motion… and they’re going to trial.
This is the first time we’ve seen Ness back in the Halls of Justice since her stabbing and, oddly, All Rise doesn’t grapple with any lingering trauma. Whatever nervousness Ness experiences is chalked up to first day jitters. It feels like such a missed opportunity to give the character more depth and build her relationship with Luke, another recovering victim of the courthouse insurrection.
Ultimately, Carmilla is doomed by her own missteps — she’s found guilty of distributing poisoned foods and medicine — but she avoids a murder conviction. It feels like a pyrrhic victory for Ness who nurses a drink later at an impromptu HOJ cocktail party. But her mentor, Judge Carmichael, reminds her that it’s important to celebrate what she accomplished: she planted her flag as an attorney. She assures Ness that her indefatigable fighting spirit is going to make her an excellent attorney.
Doom Patrol Episode 410: “Tomb Patrol”
Written by Valerie Anne
I hope the thing Jane has to say is that she loves her friends and also Casey.
This week at Doom Manor, Rouge answers the door to find Isabelle Feathers, but she’s not there to Immortus them all to death, she’s there to invite them to her one-woman show.
But the thing is, the Doom Patrol is in a sad state. They’re all dying without their longevity, and they’re kind of pathetically accepting their fate. Larry and Mr. 104 are planning how to go out on their own terms, Rita blobs up just to ease her arthritis pain. They’re a mess.
Upstairs, Jane is trying to do her puzzle, and starts thinking about Casey and their duet. As she thinks about her, suddenly she realizes she found pieces of her puzzle that fit together. For the first time, she starts to be able to actually make some connections and start her puzzle in earnest. But then she gets flashes of Kay and her dad and the pieces stop fitting, and she finds herself in the Underground, where it looks like the other alters got raptured. She gets more flashes of Kay and her dad but also of Casey and everything is a whirl until Cliff snaps her out of it and she realizes the parts of the puzzle she had put together have come undone.
Cliff and Jane decide to go on a road trip to Florida to see Cliff’s family, but on the way Cliff’s leg freezes and they almost crash, and then when Jane is driving, she gets more flashes of Kay and her dad and hears voices whispering, “Say it,” over and over. When they almost crash again, they decide to pack it and go home.
At the manor, Rouge calls a team meeting and says the key to getting their longevity back is in a growth on Isabelle’s neck. When no one seems interested in helping her, she decides to go to Isabelle’s show on her own.
While this is happening, Lane from Gilmore Girls Dr. Margaret Yu comes home to her boyfriend butt, Nicolas, and reads him a letter from his brother Teddy. He wants to take over the world, starting with Margaret…who Teddy turned into a WereButt.
After a failed attempt at family dinner, everyone joins Rita for a nightcap, and they reminisce about the adventures they’ve had. And as they do, upstairs, Jane’s puzzle pieces start fitting themselves back together. Suddenly they realize Rouge must have gone to Isabelle’s show, so Rita tries to rouse them for one last mission. No one seems game, so Rita is going to go on her own, until she collapses. This gives the team the motivation to do this mission for her; they’re not ready to say goodbye after all.
When they get to the theater, they see an army of WereButts, and Cliff is worried nothing has changed from the apocalyptic future they saw, but then that theory is debunked when Vic returns, more Cyborg than ever.
They run inside the theater… and Isabelle sucks them all into a portal.
Why does the gen v recap sound like it was written by a.i.?