Frayed Branches

  The Walking Dead Season 11 Episode 16: "Acts of God" Review [WARNING: Major spoilers for  The Walking Dead   seasons 1-10, spoilers for season 11.] [Also spoilers for this episode throughout.] The Walking Dead has proven itself time and again to be a series of varying quality. As I professed in a few posts prior to this one, I do love the series, which is why it's been such a shame to watch the quality dwindle these last few years. What's more, despite having one stint of eight episodes left before the show's curtain call, the series doesn't appear to be stopping anytime soon. Not only will the next eight hours of television have to bring an end to the show's current arc and the plethora of character stories herein, but it will also have to set up the three sequel series that AMC has promised will be airing next year. Which means that, yes, even though Season 11 is the "final season" of the show, it's not really the end. Not for anyone who

Breaking Bad Season 3: A Retrospective   This entry is part of a series of retrospectives on the  Breaking Bad  universe. Click  here  for the previous entry on  Breaking Bad  Season 2. [Note: As a series retrospective, this post will contain major spoilers from  Breaking Bad,  its sequel film  El Camino,  and its prequel series  Better Call Saul] After finding its footing properly during its second season, Breaking Bad leaned into its strongest qualities during Season 3. After the plane crash above Albuquerque that leaves over 150 people dead, the budding meth business Walt and Jesse were creating comes to a standstill. Not only due to the tragedy, but also due to Skyler's suspicions resulting in Walt being kicked out of the house, and Jesse's recovery in rehab giving him a negative outlook on the business as a whole. It doesn't take long, though, for the ball to start rolling. On the drama side, Jesse begins to come to terms with seeing himself as "the bad guy,"

  The Old Man : Episode VII Review [This review contains spoilers for  The Old Man  Episode 1-6] Having watched and digested The Old Man 's windy, twisty finale, I have to say that I've come away from the series with a surprising bag of mixed thoughts. What started as a very strong espionage/on-the-run spy thriller has managed to keep my interest through much of the promise within its setup. Despite the rather slow burn pacing and a rather monotonous episode within the season, I felt like the show did a decent job establishing its premise while keeping an air of mystery about it that made me watch for more developments. The series as a whole presents itself rather well, knows what it wants to be, and doesn't cater to the expectations of an audience that may have come in thinking it would be a fast-paced action show about a government agent returning for one last call to duty. At the same time, however, what makes the series unique is also what compromises it in some regard.

  Breaking Bad Season 2: A Retrospective This entry is part of a series of retrospectives on the Breaking Bad universe. Click here for the previous entry on Breaking Bad Season 1. Click here for the next entry on Breaking Bad Season 3. [Note: As a series retrospective, this post will contain major spoilers from  Breaking Bad,  its sequel film  El Camino,  and its prequel series  Better Call Saul] The second season of Breaking Bad needs no introduction, but it does require some explanation. After the moderate success of the show's first, 7-episode season, AMC increased the episode order to a whopping 13 come Season 2. However, according to reports at the time--and I believe this was for Season 2 but may have been for Season 3 more so--the budget for each episode was cut by the network at the time. So, in order to work around some budgetary constraints, the second and third seasons of Breaking Bad had to tread carefully when it came to how they played out. Season 2 was especially i

  The Old Man : Episode VI Review [This review contains spoilers for  The Old Man  Episode 1-5] After much anticipation, the penultimate episode of The Old Man arrives with intrigue, suspense, and some good, short action sequences to prepare audiences for next week's season finale. Not only did this episode begin to set up the raised stakes set to appear during the finale, but it also bolstered the storytelling from what we already knew about Dan Chase's journey. The audience was taken more into his mind and his world with this entry in the series, a better understanding as to what he is trying to accomplish and what resources he has coming to light. For Chase's side of the episode, him and his prisoner-turned-accomplice Zoe attend a dinner party of sorts on a private island. While there, Chase is determined to enlist the help of a Russian operative whose life he saved in Afghanistan during his Hamzad business three decades prior. The events of the dinner party are not only

  The Walking Dead Season 11 Episode 15: "Trust" Review [WARNING: Major spoilers for  The Walking Dead  seasons 1-10, spoilers for season 11.] Why does this continue to happen? I feel like I don't say this enough, but I want to make it very clear now that we're 15 posts into my weird obsession with reviewing every episode of the final season of The Walking Dead . I do love this show. Not in a way where I'm blind to where it was at its peak compared to where it is today, but I do still harbor a certain soft spot for the entire series. Hence why, even after it's dropped dismally in ratings and begun to show cracks of shoddy quality, I continue to tune in each week to see where the story--and the show as a whole--are going. I like The Walking Dead, which is why I want to see it get better and retain quality from one episode to the next. But it's also why I criticize it so brazenly when I feel it warrants criticism. Because I don't want to see the series b

  Breaking Bad Season 1: A Retrospective This entry is part of a series of retrospectives on the  Breaking Bad  universe. Click  here  for the next entry on  Breaking Bad  Season 2. [Note: As a series retrospective, this post will contain major spoilers from Breaking Bad, its sequel film El Camino, and its prequel series Better Call Saul] On August 15th, 2022, the final piece of the Breaking Bad universe, Better Call Saul , will come to an end. And, with its end, the Breaking Bad universe will also come to a close--unless, of course, AMC's insistence that creator Vince Gilligan return with another show comes to fruition (perhaps a Gus prequel titled "Los Pollos Hermanos"? Just spitballing here). Given this milestone of the end of Saul's journey, I thought it would be appropriate to rewatch Breaking Bad , Better Call Saul , and El Camino in order to get a refreshed sense of the journey Gilligan and his frequent collaborator Peter Gould have taken audiences on for nearl