Paul and Caroline Daley review TV - Handmaid's Tale | The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel | This Is US | Westworld | Stranger Things

How do you like your Devon? Pulp? Or no pulp?

Episodes like this one are fun to watch. A little heartbreaking, sure, but still fun. Alas, poor Devon. We hardly knew her. She never Landoed Will, like I was suspecting she would. She helped him out, kept on eye on his flight-risk kid, and taught him how to survive in Santa Monica. Now, she's just one bloody smear among many on the Santa Monica side of the wall. You can't get too attached to mentor-ish characters in Colony. They don't last.

Although Colony's propensity for dispensing with mentors remained consistent, we also experienced a pleasant change this past week in the form of Katie taking some responsibility for her actions. Well, kind of. She really passes the buck to Jennifer on whether or not she's actually held accountable. That is, if Jennifer can bring herself to turn in a grieving mother and maybe widow. Nice way to back into responsibility. "If you say I am, then I will be."

I for one loved to see former Proxy Snyder in action and with a little of his old swagger back. The office desk on the far side of a concrete room is classic Snyder. One way or another, he is not staying in the prison any longer than he has to.

Next week it looks like Katie and Will have a much needed come to Jesus moment - under the watchful eye of Jennifer and Homeland Security. Can't wait to see how that turns out!

Warning: I talk a bit about Game of Thrones and some major developments in that story as a comparison to Colony in this episode. If you call yourself a Game of Thrones fan and are not completely caught up (an excuse-less condition), you may want to skip ahead in the podcast when it comes up.

This week's episode marks Will Bowman's return to action hero status. I have to admit I was a little concerned when a very desperate Will got his butt kicked in the first episode. After seeing the hold Solomon had over Charlie, plus the scar tissue remnants of Solomon's "lessons", Will's edge returned. With Charlie safe from the local poncho-wearing warlord's retribution, what will Will do?

And then there's Katie. Katie. Katie, the woman who can accuse her own sister of not trying very hard to use her politically persuasive boyfriend to Bram released. Never mind that Bram broke one of the cardinal rules of the colony -or- that Maddie's had to basically sell her body to buy Nolan's affections. Katie just calls 'em like she sees 'em, and in this case she saw a real lack of hustle on Maddie's part. I loved watching Maddie verbally kick Katie's ass.

Alan Snyder's alive! It looks like his new title may be something more like "Warden Snyder" rather than proxy, but hey! It's not the factory!

What's to come next week? I bet Will has to stay in Santa Monica longer than expected to clean up the mess he surely created at Solomon's. What stupid idea will Katie have? She will probably try to enlist someone's help (Jennifer? Broussard?) to try and not only find Bram, but get him out. These are just guesses of course.

Warning: I talk a bit about Game of Thrones and some major developments in that story as a comparison to Colony in this episode. If you call yourself a Game of Thrones fan and are not completely caught up (an excuse-less condition), you may want to skip ahead in the podcast when it comes up.

This week's episode marks Will Bowman's return to action hero status. I have to admit I was a little concerned when a very desperate Will got his butt kicked in the first episode. After seeing the hold Solomon had over Charlie, plus the scar tissue remnants of Solomon's "lessons", Will's edge returned. With Charlie safe from the local poncho-wearing warlord's retribution, what will Will do?

And then there's Katie. Katie. Katie, the woman who can accuse her own sister of not trying very hard to use her politically persuasive boyfriend to Bram released. Never mind that Bram broke one of the cardinal rules of the colony -or- that Maddie's had to basically sell her body to buy Nolan's affections. Katie just calls 'em like she sees 'em, and in this case she saw a real lack of hustle on Maddie's part. I loved watching Maddie verbally kick Katie's ass.

Alan Snyder's alive! It looks like his new title may be something more like "Warden Snyder" rather than proxy, but hey! It's not the factory!

What's to come next week? I bet Will has to stay in Santa Monica longer than expected to clean up the mess he surely created at Solomon's. What stupid idea will Katie have? She will probably try to enlist someone's help (Jennifer? Broussard?) to try and not only find Bram, but get him out. These are just guesses of course.

Just 10 episodes last year was all it took. We bought in. We invested. We engaged with the Colony community. We even met Ryan Condal.

When you go out in a public forum, like a blog, Facebook, what have you, and say you like something, you are also saying some other stuff. What we let into our minds and souls as entertainment is one thing, but what we tell others we like is another. Coming out all public-like in support of a show in its freshman season can be fun... until its time for the Season 2 premiere. Then we're all like, "please don't suck. please don't suck."

We have good news for you. Colony Season 2 looks like it is off to a STRONG start. Where last season, we were left wondering about our characters' backstories, this season we get mostly backstory. BUT. Some of the details we learn only lead to more questions (funny how good writers can do that, huh?).

All the previous stuff I wrote I used a collective "we" to denote how Caroline and I feel about the show. This next bit is all Paul.

Alan Snyder, the once and future Proxy, is beginning to steal the show for me. Will Bowman has the action hero stuff and that's cool, but Snyder is cunning and highly adaptable. He had me at, "She stays."

Just 10 episodes last year was all it took. We bought in. We invested. We engaged with the Colony community. We even met Ryan Condal.

When you go out in a public forum, like a blog, Facebook, what have you, and say you like something, you are also saying some other stuff. What we let into our minds and souls as entertainment is one thing, but what we tell others we like is another. Coming out all public-like in support of a show in its freshman season can be fun... until its time for the Season 2 premiere. Then we're all like, "please don't suck. please don't suck."

We have good news for you. Colony Season 2 looks like it is off to a STRONG start. Where last season, we were left wondering about our characters' backstories, this season we get mostly backstory. BUT. Some of the details we learn only lead to more questions (funny how good writers can do that, huh?).

All the previous stuff I wrote I used a collective "we" to denote how Caroline and I feel about the show. This next bit is all Paul.

Alan Snyder, the once and future Proxy, is beginning to steal the show for me. Will Bowman has the action hero stuff and that's cool, but Snyder is cunning and highly adaptable. He had me at, "She stays."

Where'd we end up?

Ford: Dead. Maybe. Killed by Dolores in front of the Delos Board of Directors. Another possibility includes the Ford we saw get shot was actually a host impersonator.

Dolores: Alive and making her own choices, the first of which is to murder Ford. When we left her, she was taking potshots at board members with a large revolver.

William: Confirmation of his identity as the Man In Black. Somewhat disillusioned after discovering his pursuit of the maze was all for nothing. When last seen, he'd been shot in the left arm and had suffered a pretty catastrophic break in his right arm at Dolores' hands. But at least he was having fun.

Logan: Rode off into the sunset , naked and with only a feather to keep him company.

Hale: Had front row seats for Ford's suicide/murder, making her in prime seating to get gunned down by Dolores.

Sizemore: Alone in cold storage wondering where all the robots went.

Bernard: Now with full recall of being a host-ified version of Arnold. Also at the gala/massacre in Escalante, but probably not in any danger.

Maeve: Also made her first programming-independent choice by getting off the train to find her "daughter". This is a reunion made for disappointment.

Hector: Probably gunned down while "kicking up a row", defending Maeve's escape.

Armistice: Now just one-armed, but still causing mayhem in the mid-decks of Delos HQ.

Stubbs: Abducted by misbehaving Ghost Nation warriors and NOBODY said a thing.

Elsie: Missing and last scene being choked. No one showed the audience her body though.

Felix: Aided and abetted Maeve's escape in a big way. Probably stuck in the elevator since the lights went out in the complex.

Caroline wants to do a season wrap-up podcast, so I'll save the predictions for that write-up.

Where'd we end up?

Ford: Dead. Maybe. Killed by Dolores in front of the Delos Board of Directors. Another possibility includes the Ford we saw get shot was actually a host impersonator.

Dolores: Alive and making her own choices, the first of which is to murder Ford. When we left her, she was taking potshots at board members with a large revolver.

William: Confirmation of his identity as the Man In Black. Somewhat disillusioned after discovering his pursuit of the maze was all for nothing. When last seen, he'd been shot in the left arm and had suffered a pretty catastrophic break in his right arm at Dolores' hands. But at least he was having fun.

Logan: Rode off into the sunset , naked and with only a feather to keep him company.

Hale: Had front row seats for Ford's suicide/murder, making her in prime seating to get gunned down by Dolores.

Sizemore: Alone in cold storage wondering where all the robots went.

Bernard: Now with full recall of being a host-ified version of Arnold. Also at the gala/massacre in Escalante, but probably not in any danger.

Maeve: Also made her first programming-independent choice by getting off the train to find her "daughter". This is a reunion made for disappointment.

Hector: Probably gunned down while "kicking up a row", defending Maeve's escape.

Armistice: Now just one-armed, but still causing mayhem in the mid-decks of Delos HQ.

Stubbs: Abducted by misbehaving Ghost Nation warriors and NOBODY said a thing.

Elsie: Missing and last scene being choked. No one showed the audience her body though.

Felix: Aided and abetted Maeve's escape in a big way. Probably stuck in the elevator since the lights went out in the complex.

Caroline wants to do a season wrap-up podcast, so I'll save the predictions for that write-up.

We dive deep into last Sunday's episode and start questioning, well, EVERYTHING!!!

We dive deep into last Sunday's episode and start questioning, well, EVERYTHING!!!

First, the title: Trace Decay. It relates to another theory about how our brains work (recall bicameral mind?). This one has to do with a Nolan favorite, our memory. As the theory goes, memories begin in your mind as a trace and unless -something- happens to lock in that memory, like rehearsing the memory or some other multi-sensory association, it will decay over time. Pieces can come back, but after a memory gets hazy, it eventually goes away. The process even starts with short term memory.

Memory, the dependability of it and to what extent it should define your current reality, is very much at the heart of Westworld. Both of our female host POV characters, Delores and Maeve, are starting to fray at the edges of their sanity. Their memories, whether they lived through it or simply had them programmed, are not only coming to them as flashbacks, but are now overlaying on top of their perception. What they see and hear is now indistinguishable from memory, making it nearly impossible for them (and us) to tell the difference.

Luckily, we have sound effects and semi-consistent camera / editing tricks we can use to look back and pick apart what we've been shown. Delores, being further down the path, is living through three different realities: Where she's at, where she was 30 years ago with William, and now where she was 35 years ago in the little nameless town. Kind of reminds me of what they say in time travel stories about being in close proximity to another time period's version of yourself: don't do it; it causes drastic problems. Witness Delores' freak out at the nameless / buried / ho-down hosting town for proof.

Looks like I was wrong about Stubbs and Elsie. Having Bernie taking out Elsie might tell me something about to what extent the show is willing to screw with me though. The previous episode was edited in a way to make me think Bernie was too far away from Elsie at the point she was grabbed. The only way Bernie can be in place to take out Elsie is if the show is willing to fool me by editing things to look concurrent, but they're really not. Delores' scenes have been edited to fool me though, so it shouldn't have been a surprise. I thought the non-host timelines were safe, but as I write this, I'm realizing there -was- a host involved: Bernie. His perception of time passing is unreliable and he knew right where to go (because she told him).

Anyway, here's our roundup for the week:

35 years ago: Someone starts shooting up the town where they have dance lessons in the street. It may be Delores and she may have gone suicidal at the end of her rampage.

30 years ago: After finding a town once known for its dance lessons now empty, Delores and William are caught by Logan and his band of sore loser Conferados.

Now:

Delores find the town buried except for the black steeple and a couple of roof peaks. Memories overlay perception like crazy and she can't tell what's what anymore.

William is starting to act like a dick and looks like he's about done with his first trip to Westworld.

Logan is back with vengeance on his mind.

Maeve can now reprogram other hosts with her words, but is on the run from HQ.

Bernie has covered his tracks too well about Cullen and now Stubbs senses something wrong with him.

Teddy has taken the MIB hostage, but Wyatt's forces have them surrounded.

MIB is tied up at Teddy's camp. I kind of just said that. Keep up.

Hale has turned Sizemore into her latest data-mule since Cullen's death screwed up her previous plans. She has chosen, out of an entire sub-level full of hosts, Tom Abernathy to be the vessel to carry the data. What could go wrong?

Who's revved up for ep 9? If they follow the Game of Thrones equation, ep 9 could be the season's "BIG" episode...