Keeping Calm and Watching These Shows
Homeland
Homeland's final season was great, but the finale was -- I realize this is probably an unpopular opinion -- underwhelming. You have a nail-biting story the entire season and sacrifice one of the best friends anyone could have in the entire world, then you end up running to the enemy land and sending secret messages in books like it's still 1980s.
That said, thank you for one hell of a series, Homeland. I don't regret following you for eight seasons.
Better Call Saul
I thought season 5 was the show's final, and that was disappointing because I feel like it's still not telling much. What with Mike and Nacho practically only saying a total of six lines in every episode. I get that this is the prequel to Breaking Bad, but I still want it to have a great story of its own. So, high hopes, still, for next year.
Survivor
I suppose 2020's real-life excitement has taken away the usual excitement for Survivor. I couldn't really concentrate watching Winners at War. But it was still a good season. Everyone showed up and played. There were plenty of heartfelt, silly, and funny moments, as well as good storytelling and gameplay. I have tons of Survivor podcasts to catch up right now.
The Good Fight
Following last season's cliffhanger, season 4 opens great with the alternate reality episode: while unconscious, Diane finds that Hillary won 2016 and #MeToo doesn't exist. So there is a question to ponder: would you trade exposing men like Harvey Weinstein with Trump losing 2016?
Then I feel like the Memo 618 was dragged for too long before the season kind of closes great again with Epstein -- albeit the unresolved mystery, the hilarious wild goose chase and the chaos, because, you know, this is 2020.
Ozark
Ozark was picked because I ran out of things to watch.
Marty Byrde is a financial advisor and also a money launderer for his client, a Mexican drug cartel. After an arrangement went wrong, he was forced to relocate to the Lake of the Ozarks to operate a bigger laundering scheme for the same cartel. And the Ozarks are not short of criminals and grey characters of their own.
I went one season with no characters to root for. Marty Byrde's sole task is basically digging and burying himself in one hole of a problem after another -- which he rarely sees as one -- and I have zero sympathy for him. Then you start to grow fond of Buddy, the Byrdes' 80-year-old, ex-mob, protective landlord who's dying of a terminal heart failure. And you feel for Ruth who's hustling hard to change her family's path, and you even get Boyd's loyalty. I'll never get over this, though: at how easy for some of them to move on from, let's say, a murder -- or how short some of their fuses are.
This is the great view of the Lake of the Ozarks from the Byrdes' house:
And these are the Byrdes, all smiles for the camera, keeping the buried bodies in their thoughts and prayers:
Money Heist
This pretty much sums up Money Heist:
Carrie with Yevgeny (who is totally Oleg. You know that's Oleg.)
Homeland's final season was great, but the finale was -- I realize this is probably an unpopular opinion -- underwhelming. You have a nail-biting story the entire season and sacrifice one of the best friends anyone could have in the entire world, then you end up running to the enemy land and sending secret messages in books like it's still 1980s.
That said, thank you for one hell of a series, Homeland. I don't regret following you for eight seasons.
Better Call Saul
I thought season 5 was the show's final, and that was disappointing because I feel like it's still not telling much. What with Mike and Nacho practically only saying a total of six lines in every episode. I get that this is the prequel to Breaking Bad, but I still want it to have a great story of its own. So, high hopes, still, for next year.
Survivor
I suppose 2020's real-life excitement has taken away the usual excitement for Survivor. I couldn't really concentrate watching Winners at War. But it was still a good season. Everyone showed up and played. There were plenty of heartfelt, silly, and funny moments, as well as good storytelling and gameplay. I have tons of Survivor podcasts to catch up right now.
The Good Fight
Following last season's cliffhanger, season 4 opens great with the alternate reality episode: while unconscious, Diane finds that Hillary won 2016 and #MeToo doesn't exist. So there is a question to ponder: would you trade exposing men like Harvey Weinstein with Trump losing 2016?
Then I feel like the Memo 618 was dragged for too long before the season kind of closes great again with Epstein -- albeit the unresolved mystery, the hilarious wild goose chase and the chaos, because, you know, this is 2020.
Ozark
Ozark was picked because I ran out of things to watch.
Marty Byrde is a financial advisor and also a money launderer for his client, a Mexican drug cartel. After an arrangement went wrong, he was forced to relocate to the Lake of the Ozarks to operate a bigger laundering scheme for the same cartel. And the Ozarks are not short of criminals and grey characters of their own.
I went one season with no characters to root for. Marty Byrde's sole task is basically digging and burying himself in one hole of a problem after another -- which he rarely sees as one -- and I have zero sympathy for him. Then you start to grow fond of Buddy, the Byrdes' 80-year-old, ex-mob, protective landlord who's dying of a terminal heart failure. And you feel for Ruth who's hustling hard to change her family's path, and you even get Boyd's loyalty. I'll never get over this, though: at how easy for some of them to move on from, let's say, a murder -- or how short some of their fuses are.
This is the great view of the Lake of the Ozarks from the Byrdes' house:
And these are the Byrdes, all smiles for the camera, keeping the buried bodies in their thoughts and prayers:
Money Heist
This pretty much sums up Money Heist:
The gang at La Casa de Papel is a group of constantly angry robbers in red jumpsuits, comparing themselves to Robin Hood, apparently with a genius plan to stay in the Royal Mint of Spain for 11 days to print and steal over €2b. Then, after they've successfully escaped the Mint, they trap themselves again, this time in the Bank of Spain, to demand for the release of one of them who was captured.
I can't watch the show without worrying about the logistics. I mean, how do they bring in enough food and clothing for 75 people? Do they do laundry? We are talking about moving in for almost two weeks here. I, the self-proclaimed light traveller, go back to my hometown for six days with two huge bags and still have to do laundry every other day.
And why are they not guarding the hostages enough? Why is everyone too chill socializing in the Mint like they've just checked into a Four Seasons? But why are they also fighting all the time over the stupidest things possible?
Money Heist seems like a show about details: the robbery has been planned for months, every trick and step of the heist seem to have been perfectly orchestrated and done for a reason, and every possibility has been taken into consideration. It almost like logic would be its top priority.
But this is a show about holding you hostage with theatrics, meant to keep you going to the next episode -- a show you watch to help you forget for a bit about anxiously staying at home during a pandemic.
Pics: Showtime via Forbes, Netflix
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