Of Swords and Parasols

Lots of stuff ended,this week, either for the season, or forever.

1. My opinion of Agent Carter was pretty consistent throughout. I enjoyed it, I want more of it, but was consistently disappointed in how it chose to present 1946. If there is a second season, I hope they have Angie becoming a spy, or at least getting involved in that part of Peggy's life. (I actually thought they might start to go there, at one point.) Really I just hope they develop her more. I like her a lot, but am aware that, without carryover feelings from Nikita, I'd mostly just find her amusing.

2. Sleepy Hollow never regained the charm of the first season, though it did improve somewhat in the second half, despite problems. The finale had some very fun parts, and the end set up good possibilities if the show gets removed, however...

( spoilers )

3. This season of Parks and Rec is the only one I've followed as it aired, as opposed to binging on the whole season. I'm sure a lot of people didn't like the time jump, but it's one of the few times I think a time jump was actually a good idea, and things had really gotten a bit stale in some areas in the last couple of seasons. Aside from that one realtionship that should never be fractured being fractured at the beginning of the season, I really enjoyed the season, and mostly enjoyed the finale. really, there were only 2 things about the finale that I didn't like.

( spoilers )

4. Empire is still great. There are things in it that I have issues with, and when my coworkers find out I watch it, every single one of them says they didn't think it was the kind of show i'd like. And really, they're right? It isn't my normal kind of show, but Taraji Henson as Cookie makes everything better, though I am starting to get attached to other characters.

5. The 100 is also still great, and recent developments have certainly been interesting. Apparently, I even like Jasper again? I'm starting to get a feeling of dread about the next few episodes, though.

6. How to Get Away With Murder went from a show I appreciated but didn't think I'd get invested in to one that I felt I had to brace and prepare myself for this week. The finale was mostly amazing, but the very long, lovingly filmed choking scene was right up there with the scene that kept switching between the autopsy and the sex scene earlier in the season. SIGH. It's getting a second season, to no one's surprise, and I'm thrilled, despite my yech-ness over that part.

7. A week or so ago, I also watched the first season of Grantchester which is a mystery series set in the 50s in which a strapping young vicar (who has PTSD from the war, is a borderline alcoholic, and is in love with an upper class girl who's finally given up on waiting for him to make a move) teams up with an atheist inspector to solve crime.

The relationship between the leads went something like this:
EPISODE ONE:
VICAR: So, uhm, for reasons I cannot disclose, I believe the guy who committed suicide was actually murdered.
INSPECTOR: This is a very bad sports week for me, so you have very bad timing. Also your evidence is circumstantial and your theories aren't that logical.
VICAR: I shall run around visiting people in my concerned vicarly way, and maybe you won't notice that I'm also investigating.
INSPECTOR: I have jail cells, you know. I might introduce you too them once I finish banging my head against this pillar here.
VICAR'S HOUSEKEEPER: I very loudly disapprove of the company he's keeping this week, but you can't lock him up, because he has to write a sermon.

EPISODE TWO:
VICAR: Inspector, I know that this murder involves my sister, as well as the woman I'm pretending not to be in love with, and her friends and family, and you think my sister's boyfriend did it, but I promise not to interfere this time.
INSPECTOR: Actually, it's a funny thing. Did you know people are more willing to talk to vicars than inspectors? Especially vicars who they know? Especially when it's a bunch of young ladies having a handsome young man wanting to make everything ever better for them? Wanna come?
VICAR: YES PLEASE. I mean, uhm, I know I don't act like it, but I actually do have a full time job that's important, and NO WAIT I AM COMING.
VICAR'S HOUSEKEEPER: You will have him home by dinner, and then he will write his sermons.

EPISODE THREE:

INSPECTOR: Hey. vicar, did you know there was another murder?
VICAR: No, that is awful.
INSPECTOR: Come along, then.
VICAR: Come what now?
INSPECTOR: Funny thing, but people STILL seem to be more comfortable talking to handsome young vicars than grumpy middleaged inspectors.
VICAR: But, I mean, I really do have a job and-are you actually dragging me away?
INSPECTOR: FUNNY THING, THERE'S A MURDER INVESTIGATION, AND PEOPLE ARE MORE COMFORTABLE TALKING TO VICARS THAN THE POLICE!
VICAR: But my parishioners!
VICAR'S HOUSEKEEPER: The dead man was one of those, you know.
VICAR: Who's side are you on, anyway?
VICAR'S HOUSEKEEPER: God's.
VICAR: But my sermons!
VICAR'S HOUSEKEEPER: Funny thing, I JUST finished helping your new curate settle in to his new bedroom.

It was a bit odd watching it a couple weeks after watching the third series of Father Brown, which is set around the same time and features a catholic priest and his friends and sidekicks running around, solving murders and annoying the local inspector. Between the two, I do think Father Brown is better (but it's not exactly a fair comparison since I've seen 6 episodes of Grantchester and around 40 of Father Brown) but Grantchester is certainly a more fannish type of show.

1. The new anime season is...not dire, but nothing new jumps out at me? There are a couple series I'll check out later as long as friends keep liking them, but it looks like I'm mostly just sticking with Akatsuki no Yona and Shirobako, both of which are carryovers from last season, and then the new season of Kamisama Kiss (which has been very good so far).
　
2. I have watched all the available episodes of BBC's The Musketeers. When I first read the book as a kid, I was convinced that having sex with/being in love with D'Artagnan meant women died. Not convinced I was wrong about that, but I never have liked the book, though I watch most adaptations that I come across. I like the show? I have problems with some things in it, but when I compare it to the book and my problems with it (particularly the treatment of Milady and Constance) it pretty much comes out golden. I have very mixed feelings about not hating D'Artagnan and Athos, but I can deal with that. i'm also apparently very susceptible to the narrative wanting me to ship things. it goes "you should ship this" and I go "ok" without really thinking it out, and I think I'm ok with it, though I do keep getting distracted by the fact that D'Artagnan's head is almost literally twice the size of Constance's. (That "ok with it" bit might be reconsidered if they start wanting me to ship de Rochefort/Anne.)I also kind of miss the bit in the first season where Constance is the most long suffering woman in existence.
　
3. On the flipside, I haven't talked about it much here, but I've been watching Queen Seon Deok off and on since April. The first 51 episodes are great and largely consistently improve until the plotline that drove the series comes to it's natural conclusion. And then there's a timeskip, and a lot of characters get personality transplants that rob them of the bulk of their intelligence along the way, and the whole thing is like some horribly OOC fanfic that completely loses everything that gave its OTP any appeal in the first place. I actually put off watching the series for years because, even though a lot of fandom seemed to love the final arc, I could tell from the way they were talking about it that I wouldn't like it, and I was right. Anyway, great series and reaches a natural conclusion with episode 51. Skip the rest and avoid ending up like me, with the last 4 episodes waiting for you for weeks, but unable to force yourself to finish it.
　
4. Jane the Virgin and The 100 and Madam Secretary were renewed, and Gina Rodriguez rightly won the Golden Globe for Best Actress. Her acceptance speech and its implied criticism of Hollywood and its treatment of latin@s was great.
　
5. Other celebrities making boobs jokes, rape jokes, North Korea jokes and whatnot were not great.
　
6. Happyland was cancelled, which makes me very sad, even though I'm still a bit amazed that it ever got made in the first place.
　
7. State of Affairs really needs to be cancelled, because that's the only thing that will save me from watching it. I keep watching it. It's awful. I can't stop. Help.
　
8. Galavant and Empire started. Galavant is...I enjoying it, but there's also so much wrong with it, starting with "awareness that something isn't acceptable and assuming your audience knows it does NOT make doing it acceptable, thankyouverymuch" but the latest episode gives me hope that the second half will live up to my expectations. Empire is also good, but I'm watching it almost entirely for Taraji Henson, and with the assumption that the narrative realizes that the only natural conclusion is that her character wins, so I'm not really engaging with it yet in a way where I can formulate thoughts.
　
9. The 100 comes back next week. I should try to finally post on it? (I talk about it so much on other journals and on twitter that I just...keep not getting to it. It doesn't help that I have a bunch of other posts written that I keep forgetting to actually post.)
10. The Librarians has almost wrapped up its first season (For whatever reason, they're airing the last 4 episodes with 2 episode per Sunday night. I hope the reason doesn't have to do with cancelation.) which has been pretty good. The episodes aired out of order, and while that's made some character arcs inconsistent (but very consistent IN THE RIGHT ORDER) it hasn't affected the quality of the show that much overall. It's very much the Leverage people making a show for people who like things like Warehouse 13, but that's certainly not a bad thing.