Loki, “The Nexus Event”, Review!

 On board the train to the Ark, Loki and Sylvie are found by Hudson and Hicks who want to see their tickets.  Loki is thrown out and Sylvie jumps.  He shows Sylvie the TemPad that was broken in the fall.  It rests on the ground shattered, but Sylvie never touches it, she only see visually that it is broken.  However, they come up with a plan to get the Ark away from the destruction of Lamentis.  They start walking and Sylvie reveals that Hunter C-20 was from Earth, but the others are Variants!  The duo enters the port with the Ark, but has to fight guards who seem more interesting in fighting than surviving an apocalypse. Still, the Ark is destroyed in front of their eyes.  Sylvie walks away as Loki stares.  All hope is lost or is it?  Wind blows over a mountain and we see behind it is Asgard!  

There is a little girl, little Sylvie, playing with a dragon toy when the TVA Minutemen step through the time door to arrest her.  Ravonna arrests her as a hunter.  She is taken to the same booking as Loki in the pilot.  At the courtoom, the girl stomps Ravonna’s foot and the hunter finds that she has her time door.  A time door is opened and the girl steps in.  Really instead of blocking magic, they should disable time technology at certain places of the TVA.  Ravonna tries to breathe calmly, the gold doors of the elevator open, and she steps into the misty room of the Time-Keepers.  There is a greenish fog and Ravonna sees the dark forms of the Time-Keepers with pin points of light for their eyes.  When she leaves her meeting with the Time-Keepers, Mobius joins her, they blame her for the time line disruption.  He needs Ravonna’s permission to talk to C-20.  

Ravonna tells Mobius in their whispered conversation that C-20 is dead.  Night on Lamentis, planetary fragments begin raining down on the city.  Sylvie is sitting alone, then Loki joins her and apologizes.  She says she remembers Asgard.  Sylvie said she was born the Goddess of Mischief and tells Loki her story.  At the TVA, Mobius is checking if the duo has shown up.  They know they are at apocalypse events, teams should be going to each one.  Hunter B-15 asks about C-20, but Mobius says there is no news about her.  Fragments of the planet start to hurtle towards Lamentis.  Sylvie is worried that it the purpose of a Loki is not lose.  Loki offers her accomplishments.  B-15 notes that there is temporal lock on the Variants.  The planet fragments collide with Lumaris’ surface.  Two timedoors appear, the two Variants are taken back to the TVA, they have the collars on and Sylvie struggles with the Minutemen.   

Mobius has the guards take Loki to his office, a red timedoor opens, and Loki says he was lied to by the TVA.  He is thrown through the red door and Loki smiles at the familiar sight.  It is Asgard!  An angry Sif (Jaime Alexander) with some of her hair in her left hand.  She slaps him, then gives him a knee before a right cross.  Sif walks away while Loki groans.  He sees Sif again and the exact sequence happens again, Loki is being Groundhog Dayed!  Ravonna gets a visit by Mobius who wants Loki to unwind in the time cell.  He asks to see Sylvie, but Ravonna only wants him to interrogate Loki.  B-15 is guarding Sylvie, Mobius tries to check on her cell, and leaves saying Loki’s warning about the TVA.  In the time cell, Loki is on his knees when Sif arrives.  He admits he “craves attention” and is a narcissist.  Sif helps Loki up and affirms his fear of being alone before walking away.  Mobius meets with Loki to ask if he is “ready to talk.”  

Back at Mobius’ office, he asks Loki if he was partners with the Variant, he doesn’t answer.  Loki askes about the Variant and Mobius says she was “pruned” trying to escape.  Loki responds saying he found her on Asgard and planned hiding in the apocalypses.  It seems they have reached a stalemate, but Mobius laughs.  He says he fell for the Variant.  Loki bursts out that everyone at the TVA is a Variant stolen by the Time-Keepers!  Guards are about to throw Loki back in the Time Cell.  He says that Mobius is the biggest liar, lying to himself.  Hunter B-15 is breathing heavily, she activates her baton, and heads into the Variant’s room.  There is a question that B-15 needs answered.  B-15 opens a time door and has Sylvie follow her.  Ravonna has signed some papers closing the case with Mobius also signing the paper.  .Mobius is troubled and Ravonna admits that she was scared for him.  C-20 was unable to speak.  This is another story, maybe not true, maybe C-20 is still around.  No alarms at the TVA about C-20.  We may be finding truths of the Time-Keepers and the TVA, but not without some heavy losses with Loki!   

Three Time Twisters out of Five!  

#Loki, #TheNexusTrap, #TimeCell, #JaimeAlexander

Happy Birthday Ray Harryhausen!

Happy Birthday Ray Harryhausen!  He was inspired by King Kong (1933) and worked with stop motion pioneer from that film, Willis O’Brien, on Mighty Joe Young (1949). Harryhausen worked on his own technique called Dynamation which integrated live action with his stop motion work in The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953). The story was based on Ray Bradbury's "The Fog Horn" and they had a life long friendship.  Harryhausen began a long time partnership with producer Charles H. Schneer with It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955).  His next movie spun off the alien invasion films with Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956).  Harryhausen ventured into the realms of fantasy and the Land Beyond Beyond in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958).  He made creatures like the cyclops and the dragon into living, breathing animals. It stands as my favorite Harryhausen film.  A film that has the wonder of Jonathan Swift's novel was The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (1960).  Another favorite Harryhausen movie was Mysterious Island (1961) which had a group of Civil War soldiers stranded on an island filled with a giant crab and giant bees.

                                                           Ray Harryhausen at a Comic Con signing, 2000, photo by the author. 

A fan favorite of Harryhausen’s films is Jason and the Argonauts (1963).  The skeleton fight at the end is one of the best special effects sequences. First Men in the Moon (1964) based on the H.G. Wells 1901 novel which also inspired A Trip to the Moon (1902).  One Million Years B.C. (1966) is a classic for Raquel Welch’s fur bikini alone with cavemen battling dinosaurs.  Then, there was The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973) and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977).  Harryhausen’s final film was Clash of the Titans (1981).  Superior to the CG remake, it has the beauty of the Pegasus and a terrifying Medusa, I saw at a Harryhausen exhibit that the model has tiny threads of red hair which I didn’t see on film!  Ray Harryhausen appeared with the actress from his Mighty Joe Young, Terry Moore, in the 1988 remake. He received the George E. Sawyer Award at the 1992 Academy Awards. Harryhausen wrote Ray Harryhausen: An Animated Life (2010) and The Art of Ray Harryhausen (2006).  Harryhausen died in 2013, but his work continues with the Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation, his films, and museum exhibits.  There is currently Ray Harryhausen: Titan of Cinema at the National Galleries of Scotland.  Check https://www.nationalgalleries.org/exhibition/ray-harryhausen-titan-cinema.  Happy Birthday Ray Harryhausen!

#RayHarryhausen, #MightyJoeYoung, #The7thVoyageofSinbad, #JasonandtheArgonauts, #OneMillionYearsBC, #ClashoftheTitans 

Aliens are Here in Books, Movies, and TV!

Aliens are here and 60 Minutes on May 16th revealed the story that everyone already knew: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ufo-military-intelligence-60-minutes-2021-05-16/.  Of course we knew that aliens exist with the Drake equation.  An early posting had some of the 36 intelligent civilizations, this is more complete. Who will be on those UAPs, UFOs or UFP, whatever they are calling them?  So let’s dive deep into sci fi to come up with ideas.  First, “aliens” that look exactly like humans, Sebaceans in Farscape save on make-up, but c’mon!  No aliens with bumps on their heads, gotta be horns, or other colors.  Plus no mutants or people mutated into other forms.  Um, there are Star Wars aliens left out, reasons.  

One of my favorite alien first contact movies is Contact based on the Carl Sagan novel.  In terms of books, there is the H.G. Wells 1897 novel, The War of the Worlds.  Topping the list is Edgar Rice Burroughs, A Princess of Mars (1917) and Barsoom!  Alien life is explored in Ray Bradbury’s classic, The Martian Chronicles (1950).  Another favorite, Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers (1959).  The question of sentience is explored in one of the best sci fi novels, Little Fuzzy (1962) by H. Beam Piper.  The Fuzzies had several novels, but they need a movie please! A classic is Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), of course, but recommended is Rendezvous with Rama (1973), the film’s development stalled for years.  Another favorite sci fi alien novel, David Brin’s Startide Rising (1983) which should be made into a movie or series.  

The tv series with the wildest aliens?  Farscape. Animated film, check out Titan A.E. This one shows up a few times, a movie with diverse, strange aliens? Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.  Next would be Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy! There are so many, about 63, that I selected 36 aliens in bold, what are your picks? Let’s start with the Conquerors; Aliens, Predators, and the Martian from the original War of the Worlds whose face looks like a Simon Says game. The Fighters; the Tharks from Barsoom, Dracs from Enemy Mine, (kinda reminds me of the Tamarians in ST:TNG episode “Darmok”), the fierce Luxans that inhabit Farscape, think the Middle-Earth Dwarves of the sci fi world, but tall, and can paralyze enemies with their tongues!  Also there are Zabraks like Darth Maul, and from Star Trek; Klingons and Romulans would be in this category.  Peacekeepers; the Judoon, rhino-like enforcers from Doctor Who, Togruta, the same people as Ahsoka Tano and the Tectonese from Alien Nation.  

Philosophical People; Delvians (they show up in a few categories!) like Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan from Farscape, Kaminoans, and of course Star Trek's Vulcans.  Peaceful Races; The Kelpians like Saru, The Pearls from Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, and the Ood from Doctor Who.  Merchant races could be like Jawa, Hynerians such as Rygel from Farscape, and the more interesting Pakleds from Star Trek: The Next Generation.  Entertainers; Glamopods (shapeshifters) like Bubble from Valerian, Twi'leks (we know the dancer Oola, but there is also Rebel captain and pilot, Hera Syndulla). 

Don't forget, the Max Rebo Band including the band leader, a blue elephant-like Ortolan. There is also Droopy McCool, a Kitonak, and Pa’lowick lead singer Sy Snootles, and Star Trek’s Orions. The Criminals; Doctor Who’s menace, the Slitheen, Star Wars has the Hutts, Rodians like Greedo (but they are mostly like Senator Onaconda Farr so more politicians than criminals), and we can add Duros really in the form of bounty hunter Cad Bane, and the Weequay like Hondo Ohnaka. Aquatic people; Star Wars’ Mon Calamari plus the Nautolan seen as Jedi Master Kit Fisto, Saturnyns from Doctor Who’s “The Vampires of Venice”, the Poulong Farmers from Valerian, and the Xindi Aquatics from Star Trek: Discovery.   

The Strange Races; Star Wars has the Aleen like the Podracer Ratts Tyerell, the Sullustan including pilot, Nien Nunb, Ithorians like the SW Hammerhead figure, Adipose from Doctor Who, and the Polis Massan, the doctors at the end of Revenge of the Sith.  Slipped in Doctor Aliens with the Polis Massan, add in Farscape’s Delvians, also there is the Diagnosans from that show, and Valerian had glimpses of the Azin Mö.  Furry Aliens, of course in Star Wars there are Wookies, Ewoks, nub yub!, but there has to be Teeks! 

Reptilian Aliens include the brutal Gorn from Star Trek's "Arena", but also Silurans and Sea Devils from Doctor Who, Scarrans from Farscape, Trandoshans with Star Wars’ Bossk, and the Visitors from the 1983 V mini-series. Cat People; Catkind from Doctor Who or Caitian, gotta be cat people like M’Ress from the Star Trek cartoon, but slipped into the movies. Bird Aliens; First there is the Hawkmen of Flash Gordon both the 1936 movie serial and the  campy 1980’s movie, the only alien here that can fly, the vulture-like Shansheeth of Doctor Who, Farscape’s Halosians were also like vultures, but extremely hostile, Buck Rogers had Hawk who had a cap of feathers, he was from the Tangata manu.  

Pig Aliens; a strangely common alien with the Gamorreans and Ugnaughts in Star Wars, to the Tellarites in Star Trek, and the Borays from the original Battlestar Galactica. Insectoid aliens; the Arachnids from Starship Troopers, Star Wars had the bounty hunter Zuckuss who was a Gand, the bizarre Tritovore from Doctor Who’s ‘Planet of the Dead”, the original Battlestar Galactica featured the Ovions, and the Xindi-Insectoids from Star Trek: Enterprise.  Plus, Thor: Ragnarok’s Miek, the Sakaaran warrior, and Mantis’ race from Guardians of the Galaxy.  

The Plant Based Aliens?  Of course there is Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy, Delvians are a plant species, and the Tree of Cheem from Doctor Who. Cyborgs; Borg are too incompatible like Daleks to fit in with other aliens, Cybermen from Doctor Who, how about Star Trek: The Next Generation's Bynars, and Omelites from Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, programmers. Rock Aliens; first of course is Korg from Thor: Ragnaork, called Kronans, the Excalibans from “The Savage Curtain”, telepathic, but one of my favorites is the Horta from "The Devil in the Dark", plus there are the Kastrians in the form of Eldrad in Doctor Who.  Shapeshifters, Star Trek's entries include Salt Vampire, Chameloid like Marta in Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country, and Changelings featuring Odo from DS9, Star Wars had the Clawdite bounty hunter, Zam Wassel. 

Energy aliens, The Companion from “Metamorphosis and the Argus X vampire cloud from “Obsession”, Redjac from “Wolf in the Fold”, the Gelth from Doctor Who’s “The Unquiet Dead”, and the Mary energy being in Torchwood’s “Greek Bearing Gifts.” So these are aliens with different purposes and cultures. They could be gauging our technology, you know they don’t have Proton Packs, maybe the Earth is a nexus that unlocks time travel or an interdimensional nexus point?, experimenting on our bodies with probes, or maybe just checking out the latest trends or Earth merch? Earth is outside of some jurisdiction?, a test planet for environmental concerns, a petting zoo? Who knows? We have sci fi fiction and our imaginations to explore alien life.   

#HGWells, #WarOfTheWorlds, #EdgarRiceBurroughs, #RayBradbury, #MartianChronicles, #ArthurCClarke, #RendevousWithRama, #LittleFuzzy, #HBeamPiper, #RobertHeinlein, #CarlSagan, #DavidBrin, #AlienNation, #DoctorWho, #EnemyMine, #Farscape, #StarshipTroopers, #StarTrek, #StarWars, #V, #ValerianAndTheCityOfAThousandPlanets  

Wonder Woman #773 Review!

Wonder Woman #773 brings Diana to Fortress Valkyrie with some funny moments and Wonder Woman restored!  The cover by interior artist, Travis Moore, has Diana in the background with a hammer throwing lightning around her!  Can you say Mjolnir?, because I can’t do it.  The variant cover has Diana taking comfort on the shoulder of Siegfried who had previously died.  “Afterworlds, Part 4” features the creative team of writers, Michael W. Conrad and Becky Cloonan with art by Travis Moore. Last issue, Diana discovers a boatman who will take her to Fortress Valkyrie, it is Odin!  He has taken the identity of Harbard the Ferryman.  She travels with her talking squirrel companion, Ratatosk, who advises Diana about all things Asgard.  

They reach the fortress, massive shards of crystals which look like white quartz, suspended above the misty sea.  Odin wishes her luck and Diana walks up to the gate using the key that she had taken from Nidhogg in Wonder Woman #771.  The portcullis gate starts to open and Ratatosk covers his eyes!  A shouted warning and the gate is about to slam down.  Diana catches it and tries to introduce herself.  An explosion hurtles Diana back and she sees the ghostly images of the trio of valkyries.  The leader is Gundra with blue green armor complete with an eagle and headdress and double swords.   The archer, Brunhilde, has gold plated armor and hat, she almost looks like a Mongol warrior.  Lastly, there is the Titania-like Fey who has green-blue hair, robes, and a headdress that has flowers and antlers.  I love the designs of the valkyries and there is also some great character expressions by Travis Moore.  

Gundra orders Diana bound and this is done by Brunhilde with a glowing, purple rope.  Brunhilde tells Diana that the warrior souls are in the void.  Gundra says that they have tired of the endless war.  Diana knows about wars and Fey poses to her if the Amazons would be warriors without the violence of men.  They are interrupted by the angry voice of Thor!  He has brought the warriors of Asgard and the valkyries fly into battle.  In a splash page, we get the two sides starting the battle, Thor wants to force the valkyries to return.  Thor goes into battle, throughout the comic, he has funny lines.  Diana is apart from the fighting and draws to summon her memories and power.  She remembers everything and frees herself from the enchanted rope.  Thor is about to bring down his hammer onto Gundra, but Wonder Woman catches it and strikes him backwards.  

Another good line this time by Wonder Woman, “The women were talking.”  Thor calls her “Wander Woman” and she corrects him with a slap!  The comedy just keeps coming!  Thor with lightning-wreathed hammer strikes Wonder Woman.  They struggle and Diana has Thor in a chokehold.  He unleashes a full lightning blast at Wonder Woman and gets her in a chokehold.  Wonder Woman takes “Mjolnir”, she must be worthy, and slams it against Thor throwing his helmet.  She takes the hammer and crushes it like an aluminium can!  Thor is shocked and Wonder Woman explains that he got the hammer from Cizko, Dr. Psycho.  He appears in her mind, a blank canvas, Cizko tries to mind control her.  He gets a right cross instead and then a head butt that puts him to sleep.  Deadman shows up and tells Diana she is right, Dr. Psycho was projecting himself and controlling all of the cursed weapons.  He takes custody of him and tells her to return to Olympus.  

Diana revives to find herself at a conference table with the valkyries and Thor.  Now restored, Thor is back to his usual self, still full of himself.  Wonder Woman wants a drink like Thor.  The others discuss the conflict until finally Ratatosk mentions Yggdrasil.  The tree needs the blood of the fallen warriors and of course the valkyries are needed to return the warriors to fight another day.  The decision is made to give the valkyries a day off from the eternal battles.  Thor celebrates with a frosty one and calls the day “Thirsty Thorsday”!  Thursday is of course named after him.  Friday is the Day of Frige, the goddess Frigg.  The celebration continues in the halls of Valhalla, but Diana is alone until she is joined by Siegfried!  They kiss and spend the night together.  Diana puts on her armor, Ratatosk wants to go with her as a vacation, and Siegfried too.  Diana wants him to stay in Asgard and he gives her the sword Gram.  Wonder Woman sits atop the giant eagle and it shifts from Asgard, again brilliant colors by Tamra Bonvillain.  The back-up story, “Stories to Tell” by Jordie Bellaire and Paulina Ganucheau has Young Diana shown secret pages by the librarian Clio.  The truth of Themysicra is on pages given by exile, Magala.  Wonder Woman #773 brings Wonder Woman’s Asgard adventure to a close, but gets to a surprise in Olympus!   

Five Lassos of Truth out of Five!  

#WonderWoman773, #Afterworlds, #Gundra, #Brunhilde, #Fey

Bad Batch, “Bounty Lost”, Review!

At the end of last episode, the bounty hunter, Cad Bane confronts Hunter.  He wants Omega as his bounty!  Hunter refuses and it turns into a Western stand-off.  We shots of the classic Western, both gunmen’s hands at the side of their blaster, then sudden, quick blasts.  Todo 360’s leg is blown off.  Hunter has taken a shot at his chest armor.  Omega rushes to check on him, but he is unresponsive.  Bane walks up, apologizes, and then hits Omega with a stun blast!  Crosshair rises up, he wears breath mask and arm sling.  We can excellent POV shot of Hunter as he revives, breathing hard, gasping.  but the rest of the Bad Batch check on him.  It moves to each trooper worried about him.  Tech says that they need to take him to the shuttle.  He sees Wrecker firing and the others take him into the shuttle.  There, Hunter admits that he had lost Omega to the bounty hunter and vows to get Omega back.  

The Havoc Marauder is fired upon by Crosshair’s Nu-class attack shuttle, but they are just able to dodge his blaster cannon fire.  The chase through the heavy clouds of Bracca only has Hunter wanting to find Cad Bane’s ship, but he is gone.  The Nu-class shuttle is striking the rear deflectors which worries Wrecker.  Clone Force 99’s ship breaks orbit with Bracca.  Still, Hunter is driven to find Omega, Echo convinces him that they need to survive first.  Finally, Hunter orders the hyperspace jump.  Crosshair scowls, his head is bandaged like the bounty hunter, Dengar from Empire Strikes Back.  Bane’s ship, Justifier, like a massive cross, travels through hyperspace.  The first time we’ve seen his new ship.  On board, Omega wakes up in a cell protected by an energy shield.  Todo 360 shows her comm unit.  Coming down a ladder to the hold is Cad Bane.  Omega introduces herself and Bane doffs his hat to her.  There is something gentlemanly about him, but he is without remorse.  

Omega asks what planet is their destination with no answer from Bane.  He walks away and Todo 360 limps after him asking about repairs for his severed leg.  Cad Bane gets to his cockpit and contacts Lama Su via hologram.  He wants double payment for keeping Omega alive to be delievered at the rendevous point.  On Tipoca City,  Nala Se wants to bring the payment to the bounty hunter.  Lama Su says she is too connected to the clone and gives the assignment to Taun We.  She is to go to the “abandoned facility” on Bora Vio to make the exchange.  Bora Vio is the first time we have heard and seen that planet.  It reminds me of Isla Sorna, the abandoned InGen lab that was in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997).  Lama Su asks to take Omega’s genetic material and “terminate” her!   Nala Se can only look on, stunned.  Omega is in her cell while Todo 360 still worries about his repair.  The techno-service droid tries to repair his own leg, his tool spins away next to Omega’s cell, Omega offers to repair his leg. 

The Bad Batch has matched the profile of Cad Bane, now they know more about their target.  Tech has an update, he found that Omega is a first generation clone, she is made of “pure genetic material” of Jango Fett.  The only other such clone?  Alpha Clone, Boba Fett!  I should have known, she looks exactly like Boba Fett in the Clone Wars series!  Hunter asks Tech to contact Cid about finding Cad Bane.  Omega explains to Todo 360 that she can’t escape off ship.  He is able to shut down the field and she gets to work attaching his leg.  Then, of course shutting him down!  Omega then searches for her comm device.  Cad Bane takes his ship out of hyperspace to the planet Bora Vio.  He calls for Todo to assist him and gets no response.  Omega frantically searches for her comm device as Bane lands the ship.  Bane descends the ladder, reactivates Todo 360, and they find she has escaped!, clever girl.  Omega is running on the platform calling for anyone.  This is a suspended city like Cloud City so the Kaminoans have sea and now sky, will we have a land, underground? Kaminoan lab?  The Bad Batch has finally gotten her comm message, Omega doesn’t know her location, Tech wants her to find a power source to boost her signal.  

Cad Bane finds her, “by hook or by crook” (they know English expressions in the SW galaxy), putting Omega in binders, and crushes her comm unit.  They hear a noise and move down the corridor to find a collapsed Taun We.  All of this tension has my heart in my mouth!  It is Fennec Shand!  She has her blaster pointed at Cad Bane, he says she isn’t experienced, but she has his payment in a case.  Fennec suggests a trade.  Todo 360 grabs the case, it gets into a firefight between the best bounty hunters, Fennec has to take cover.  Bane throws a thermal detonator, Fennec kicks it, so the explosion knocks away Todo and opens the case in the sky, ha ha!  She out matched Cad Bane!  Omega starts to run, Fennec follows her, blasting at Bane.  Bane sends Todo to find the kid.  The bounty hunter starts to follow them and finds an explosive that throws him into a wall knocking him out!  Omega has reached a console and activates the base’s anntenae.  Her signal reaches the Havoc Marauder and Tech has tracked her to the Lido system.  The ship heads there.  Fennec has found Omega and explains to her killing Taun We was part of her job.  Todo interrupts them and is struck by Fennec.  Omega runs to the console and starts working the controls.  She drops a massive tube with a Kaminoan clone body on Fennec!  The Bad Batch episode really features Omega, puts her in tense situations, and gives her some hard truths!  

Five Vibro Knives out of Five!  

#BadBatch, #BountyLost, #CadBane, #FennecShand, #Todo360, #BoraVio, #RenaOwen, #TaunWe,  #AlphaClone 

Loki, “Lamentis”, Review!

Last episode, the Loki and Morbius team was able to determine the location of the Variant, Haven Hills, Alabama, 2050.  Hunter B-15 debriefs the team noting that Roxxcart, a superstore, hides the Variant and also  civilans from the storm are the warehouse.  The superstore may be based on the Roxxon Energy Corporation which was introduced in Captain America #180 (1974), it was a large part of the Cloak and Dagger Freeform series. Hunter B-15 also notes that the Variant has been taking reset charges.  Once they reach the storm ravaged Roxxcart, Hunter B-15 orders Loki with her, Mobius with another Minuteman. The Variant sets a charge at the security monitors.  They find a man “shopping for plants.”  Hunter B-15 approaches him and he grabs hold off her, it’s the Variant.  The others find Hunter C-20 who keeps repeating, “It’s real.”  She revealed to the Variant the location of the Time-Keepers!  

The Variant is revealed, it is Lady Loki (Sophia Di Martino).  It appears that her first appearance was in Thor #5 (2008).  All of the reset charges that the Variant has taken are activated at the TVA!  The Variant is going to destroy the Sacred Timeline!  She opens a time door, Mobius runs toward Loki, but he steps in the time door!  The episode begins with Hayley Kiyoko’s “Demons”, the title refers to the lyrics, “Please forgive me/I’ve got demons in my head.”  Then, we get Hunter C-20 in a red soccer jersey.  Her dining companion is the Variant in a green tie dye shirt, it looks like a lake side restaurant with pine trees in the distance, she sips her tropical drink and gets brain freeze. The Variant says brain freeze causes her memory to freeze.  Hunter C-20 is game to test her theory and the Variant asks the number of Time-Keepers’ guards.  This suddenly changes to night at a restaurant and again the Variant asks about the guards of the Time-Keepers. 

C-20 becomes suspicious and we get the Variant using her fingers to enchant green energy to C-20’s temple.  Memory manipulation is similar to what Ares was attempting in Wonder Woman (2017).  The Variant asks about the elevators and C-20 replies that they are gold. She sees Loki, Mobius, and the teams on the security monitors.  The Variant walks from a time door into the TVA’s corridors. She tries to use her enchantment to take a guard’s body, but it doesn’t work so The Variant has to fight him.  The Variant strikes the guard with his TVA baton and vaporizes him.  She takes down several more guards and vaporizes the last guard with the baton.  Loki appears through the time door and then walks with his daggers.   The Variant takes down two guards at the gold elevator when Loki walks up.  They start fighting and then are stopped from striking each other when Ravonna shows up with two guards.  The Variant threatens Loki’s life with a dagger, but that doesn’t work.  Ravonna swings her TVA baton, but the duo slip down a time door!  

They appear on black sand in some construction tent and struggle for the TempPad.  The Variant sees that it is out of power.  Loki takes out his daggers and the Variant has her sword, but they are interrupted by an impact.  They are the doomed moon, Lamentis - 1, 2077!  Outside, pieces of the nearby planet strike the surface of what looks like a mining operation, but also looks like a quarry that is a mainstay of Doctor Who!  The shattered planet is blue against Lamentis’ pink sky.  There are constant impacts at the two massive craters of the mines and the Variant and Loki take shelter in a ramshackle building. Loki is breathing hard from their run and the Variant reaches out to enchant him.  He has the TemPad hidden somewhere.  They take out their weapons and Loki suggests a truce.  She is needed to recharge the TemPad and Loki has it.  They start walking for the nearest town.  The Variant says now she is Sylvie.  She has worked for years on a plan fumbled by Loki.  They reach the town and Loki points out a neon sign that might be used for power.  Sylvie asks for the TemPad, but Loki doesn’t fall for her deception.  She says that the TemPad “requires a massive power source.”  

They appear on black sand in some construction tent and struggle for the TempPad.  The Variant sees that it is out of power.  Loki takes out his daggers and the Variant has her sword, but they are interrupted by an impact.  They are the doomed moon, Lamentis - 1, 2077!  Outside, pieces of the nearby planet strike the surface of what looks like a mining operation, but also looks like a quarry that is a mainstay of Doctor Who!  The shattered planet is blue against Lamentis’ pink sky.  There are constant impacts at the two massive craters of the mines and the Variant and Loki take shelter in a ramshackle building. Loki is breathing hard from their run and the Variant reaches out to enchant him.  He has the TemPad hidden somewhere.  They take out their weapons and Loki suggests a truce.  She is needed to recharge the TemPad and Loki has it.  They start walking for the nearest town.  The Variant says now she is Sylvie.  She has worked for years on a plan fumbled by Loki.  They reach the town and Loki points out a neon sign that might be used for power.  Sylvie asks for the TemPad, but Loki doesn’t fall for her deception.  She says that the TemPad “requires a massive power source.”  They reach a lone hut, Sylvie kicks the door in, and gets blasted a distance away.  Loki tries to calm the homesteader (Susan Gallagher) who is wielding an heavy rifle.  She is still suspicious and Loki looks in the window to see a photograph of the homesteader and her husband.

He takes the look of her husband, Patrice (Alex Van), and Loki also gets blasted.   The homesteader explains that everyone in town left to the Ark and people are trying to board a train to get to the Ark.  The police, blue uniforms almost like sweaters and black helmet shields, are trying to control the citizens who are being denied tickets to to the train unless they are wealthy.  Loki shifts into the police uniform and takes Sylvie to the train station.  Two guards are checking on their tickets, PVT Hudson (Ben VanderMey) and Corporal Hicks (Jon Collin Barclay), nice Aliens nod there, but their names are only in the credits.  Sylvie enchants Hudson to get them to board.  Seated next to the bar, Sylvie asks Loki about his mother, and reveals that her parents told her that she was adopted.  He forms some mini-fireworks with his hand showing Sylvie the magic he was taught by Frigga.  They discuss the homesteader’s love and turns to their own.  Sylvie mentions a postman and brings up if Loki has loved “would-be princesses or perhaps, another prince.”  Loki admits “A bit of both.”  Sylvie wakes from her sleep to see Loki, back in his TVA uniform, sing in Asgardian and a bit of English with some dancing.  Very talented.  The duo has to survive the sci-fi disaster of the alien world and get to the Ark, of course to use the TemPad.  It may look damaged in an incident, but you might forget that Loki can project illusions and the TemPad is never touched by Sylvie.  A good episode, just filled with Hiddleston’s fun take on the character, but I hope they get back to Mobius and the others!  

Four Time Twisters out of Five! 

 

#Loki, #Lamentis, #Sylvie, #SophiaDiMartino, #AlexVan 

Bad Batch, “Reunion”, Review!

 The eternal storms continue to rage outside of Tipoca City.  Inside are a number of clone troopers, Crosshair enters a meeting with Admiral Rampart and the Kaminoan Prime Minister Lama Su.  He gives the report from the Scrapper Guild on Bracca about the cruiser.  Crosshair shows them the hologram of Hunter.  Lama Su wants the recovery of the Bad Batch alive.  Rampart authorizes the kill order.  At the crashed ship, Wrecker is showing Omega a dissambled thermal explosive.  He has Omega try disarming the explosive, but she cuts wires and ends up activating it.  Omega tries to take cover, but it is just a smoke bomb.  Wrecker laughs.  They are called back to the cruiser and Echo asks about Omega’s test. She gets encouragement from Wrecker.  A scrapper watches them with electrobinoculars.  Echo and Wrecker have spotted them, Echo says there are three, they put on their helmets and start to run.  The three scrappers try to escape, two of them are hit by stun blasts, the last one tries to flee on a repulsorlift platform.  Echo has really proven he is an essential part of the squad.  They kinda remind me of Mad Max Marauders.  Wrecker catches hold of the repulsorlift platform! 

  

Echo reports back to Hunter.  Then, we get Wrecker trying to hold onto the platform as it speeds away!  The scrapper tries to drop scrap on Wrecker and then knocks him off the platform.  Echo stuns the driver.  Omega checks on him.  Later, Echo tries to push for leaving Bracca, but Hunter wants to sell the munitions left in the cruiser for money.  He wants to clear the debt from Cid.  Tech says the intel on the bridge is also valuable.  Hunter sends Tech to activate the ship’s power and find the intel.  They search the artillery bay of the cruiser with glowrods.  Omega finds a box of thermal detonators.  Wrecker is impressed.  Then, they look at a caged wall of proton torpedoes, the lights suddenly turn on.  Wrecker pulls a proton torpedo and hugs it like a teddy bear.  Tech calls Omega to the bridge.  Omega enters the dark bridge, Tech is working under a console transferring the data files, he wants Omega to copy the master drive.  She asks him about fighting in the Clone Wars.  Omega notices a flashing red light, Tech says it’s a proximity sensor, they have incoming! 

Three Nu-class attack shuttles descend.  Tech contacts Hunter that the Empire has found them!  Nala Se enters to see Lama Su who says the Empire’s mission on Bracca threatens their “contingency plan.”  This plan is another mystery of the series.  They already have a bounty hunter searching for Omega, Fennec Shand, but Lama Su has contacted another!  On Brecca, Hunter spots Crosshair leading Imperial troops.  Tech says he is blocking their scanners.  Crosshair is not fooled, his former comrades are in the cruiser.  He sends a squad to find the Havoc Marauder.  The Bad Batch has their needed munitions and try to slip away from the elite squads.  The troopers have discovered the shuttle of the Bad Batch and Crosshair orders them to form a perimeter around it.  Hunter senses the elite troopers and they hide in a side corridor while they walk on.  Tech has hacked into the comms of the troopers.  Crosshair orders the troopers to force them to the hangar.  Hunter changes plans and has them go to the artillery deck.  Wrecker looks down the side of the cruiser from the cannons.  Suddenly, the troopers appear with Crosshair!  Wrecker greets his former squadmate.  Tech whispers to Echo to scomp power to the cannons.  Echo points out that the deck will collapse and notices it will fall on the troopers. 

Hunter tries to explain that Crosshair is being controlled by the inhibitor chip.  Omega says she tried to warn him on Kamino.  Crosshair orders the troopers to “aim for the kid.” Cold blooded.  Echo fires the cannon.  It is a distraction that gets the Bad Batch blasting including Omega with her energy bow.  The ceiling collapses on the troopers.  Wrecker tosses two troopers screaming out of the cruiser!  A trooper fires a flame unit, but Wecker tosses a proton torpedo at him.  Tech leads them to the cavernous ion engine chamber.  The ceiling continues to fall and Crosshair tries to recover.  He is of course no match for the entire squad.  Crosshair picks up his 773 Firepuncher rifle and gets the report that the troopers couldn’t find Clone Force 99.  He orders a shuttle to his position and then sends ES-04 to the bridge.  The Bad Batch slides down, wheee!, so they can make their way through the engine.  They emerge at the edge of the cruiser’s engine.  A sudden shot startles Tech and Crosshair mocks Hunter.  They try to double back when there is a loud thumping, the engine is powering up!  

The engine activated by ES-04 on the bridge and Tech tells Hunter they have less than two minutes!  The engines flares blue and Crosshair takes aim with his rifle.  Tech suggests putting the explosives around the engine cone and breaking it off.  The engine starts to blast and then the charges are set off.  They ripple around the engine cone dropping it.  The blast knocks back Crosshair, fooled by his own vicious plan.  Omega tries to hold on, but falls and Hunter catches her.  They start rolling down.  Crosshair orders the engine to be shut down and collapses.  The Bad Batch dodge cannonfire from the Imperial shuttles.  Crosshair recovers enough to say that they are headed to the Havoc Marauder.  An elite trooper tries to contact the trooper guarding the shuttle, but we see him on the ground.  Hunter and Omega check on them.  We see the one who finished off the troopers, Cad Bane (Corey Burton)!  The bounty hunter was introduced in the Clone Wars episode “Hostage Crisis” (2009).  He is the one bounty hunter who could take on Jedi. Bane is a Duros, blue skin, red eyes, breathing tubes, dressed like a deadly cowboy complete with hat.  I expected Cad Bane all the way back in Fennec Shand's episode, "Cornered."  Dave Filoni doesn't waste characters that's a Kathleen Kennedy thing.  Bane's companion droid is Todo 360 (Seth Green), just a lackey, who appeared in “Holocron Heist” (2009). Um, the Bad Batch has zero chance against him!  The Bad Batch episode is incredible in getting them in impossible situations with some dark consequences!   

Five Vibro Knives out of Five!  

#BadBatch, #Reunion, #CadBane, #CoreyBurton, #SethGreen