The Mosquito Coast 2.9: Dina's Story and Margot's Story

An excellent, next-to-last episode of this season of The Mosquito Coast -- 2.9 -- in which we see and learn all kinds of things about Dina and her mother Margot.

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

Dina has quite a story, after she takes off in Adolfo's car. (Significant footnote: Adolfo later tells Allie, when he's questioning Adolfo about what happened to Dina, that Adolfo loves Dina.)  But Dina manages to stay in a fancy hotel, even have a room, enjoy the pool, and have an hilarious conversation with two latter-day Valley girls from the East Coast.  What all of this shows is that, however much Dina may want to get away from them, she's very much her parents' daughter.

And Margot has quite an adventure of her own, as the story of her and Richard twists and turns at least three times.  First, we think she's betraying Allie, in order to get her and her kids back to the safety and comfort of the U. S.  Next, we find out -- happily -- that's she's actually going to betray Richard, because she's still loyal to Allie, or at least thinks that he's her and the family's best ticket to safety.  (Romantic than I am, I still think she loves Allie -- that's why she asked him if he and she are over.  And note that he doesn't answer.)  But, finally, we find that Richard was on to her.  He escapes the trap, which means the U. S. government owes Margot nothing but anger about their wasted time.  And this in turn means that Margot and Allie and the family's only path to safety is the one they make -- the one being mostly made by Allie.

All of this is a great foundation for next week's season 2 finale.  No announcement yet from Apple TV+ about a season 3, but I'll 100% be watching and reviewing it if there is one.

See also The Mosquito Coast 2.1: Thirteen Years Ago ... The Mosquito Coast 2.4: Motion Pictures on the Cave Wall ... The Mosquito Coast 2.5: Hitting the Fan ... The Mosquito Coast 2.6: Close Calls ... The Mosquito Coast 2.7: Sandpiper ... The Mosquito Coast 2.8: Hari Seldon in Mexico

And see also The Mosquito Coast 1.1-2: Edgy, Attractive, Enlightened, and Important ... The Mosquito Coast 1.3: Broadening Horizons ... The Mosquito Coast 1.4: Charlie and the Gun ... The Mosquito Coast 1.5: Charlie and the Gun, Part II ... The Mosquito Coast 1.6: What Kind of Brother? ... The Mosquito Coast season 1 finale: I'm Well Bitten

See also my essay, Foundation, Dune, and LaPlace's Demon

Echo 3 1.8: The Past

An instructive episode 1.8 of Echo 3 on Apple TV+ tonight -- wisely entitled "Family Matters" -- as our guys move in for their ultimate rescue mission.

[Spoilers follow about the history that's revealed ...]

There were two very significant pieces of the past that we saw:

1. How Banbi as a boy kills his abusive father, with Amber seeing that and wholly approving.  This, in effect, started Bambi on his career as a bad-guy killer, and it explains completely his devotion to his sister.

2. What really happened with Bambi and Prince when they were under attack by the Taliban.  We saw a lot that in an earlier episode.  What's now revealed is that Bambi had a choice in saving either Prince or the other member of their team, and chose to save Prince.  And the reason is directly connected to Amber supporting Bambi is his killing of their abusive father: Bambi had promised his sister that he would always look out for Prince.  Also news is that Bambi still feels guilt about letting the other commando die, and he resents Pince because of that.

There are still two concluding episodes yet to be seen in this series.  But episode 1.8 provides crucial background to  what we'll be seeing the first two weeks of January.  I know this series is based on an Israeli series, and I'm glad I haven't seen it.  Because, at this point, I can honestly say that I don't who will come out of this alive.  I certainly hope its Bambi, Prince, and Amber.

See also Echo 3 1.1-1.3: Bondian Flavor and Pure Adrenalin ... 1.4 Welcome to the Jungle ... 1.5: Currents ... 1.6: Fighting Back ... 1.7: Your Mother Should Know

Slow Horses 2.6: The Heralds of Humiliation

An outstanding finale to the short six-episode season two of Slow Horses on Apple TV+ tonight.

Here are some of my many favorite parts [of course, spoilers ahead ... ]:

• The double funeral for Min was sad, hilarious, perfect in every way.  I even learned something: this season of Slow Horses is taking place in 2016.  Was that known before?  Possibly, I may have dozed off for a second in a previous episode.
• River's grandfather getting the best of his would-be assassin.  As he told River when he was chided by River for opening the front door.
• Roddy (I decided to just stay with first names in this review) getting some real action (that is, combat of sorts) in the field.
• Louisa at both Min funerals. and also what Louisa did to that Russian killer.  (I lost count of how many of the Russian killers were bald.  Three?)
• Lamb explaining that his team can't be humiliated, because they've already been all humiliated.
• I know I've said this many times already, but it's worth repeating:  Mick Jagger's "Strange Games" sounds better than ever, every time I hear it.  The song and its performance are worthy successors to Johnny Rivers' (no relation) "Secret Agent Man".

And here's one thing I didn't like:

• Spider survived.   Ok, I know the character plays an important role, but I just don't like him.

There'll be a Season 3, and I'll be back here with reviews.  In the meantime, Happy New Year!

See also Slow Horses 2.1-2.2: Do Horses Eat Ramen? ... 2.3: Faster Than You Think ... 2.4-2.5: Lamb Firing On All Cylinders

And see also Slow Horses 1.1-2: Fast-Moving Spy Thriller ... Slow Horses 1.3: The Fine Art of Bumbling ... Slow Horses 1.4: Fine New Song by Mick Jagger ... Slow Horses 1.5: Did You Hear the One About the ... Slow Horses 1.6: The Scorecard

  

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery: Hercule Poirot and Elon Musk

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery was even funnier and more fun than Knives Out, which was plenty funny and fun.  Plus, Glass Onion was just brimming with social relevance, extending its satire of Agatha Christie to our real world at large.  All to the good -- given what our real world is like, we could use all the satire we can get our eyes and ears on.

[Spoilers ahead ...]

COVID is the first real calamity to receive this treatment.  I certainly wouldn't want to see an entire movie lampooning anything about the pandemic -- it's no laughing matter -- but the start-up of Glass Onion with the masks and the protective blast to the throat was just right.

Elon Musk, on the other hand, deserves all the satire anyone can lob at him.  And Miles Bron, who turns out to be the villain of the story, surely has elements of Musk, hawking a scientific miracle energy breakthrough, flaunting his billionaire wealth, and all the rest.  Social media in general get a good ribbing in this movie, too,

The acting was great.  Daniel Craig (as sleuth Benoit Black) and Ed Norton (as Miles Bron) have never given anything less than a top performance, at least as far as I know.  And the supporting cast were in fine form, too.  For some reason, my favorite was Madelyn Cline as Whiskey (hey, she was excellent in Outer Banks, too).

Of course, in a satire whodunnit, the mystery plot has to be tight and well resolved.  I won't give everything away, on the slim chance that you're reading this and haven't already seen Glass Onion.  But I will say Hercule Poirot would've approved.

Oh, and the music was good, too!  "Glass Onion" is always a pleasure to hear.  And it sounded fantastic at the end of this movie.  I'm thinking the producers of the movie did to the sound what Peter Jackson did for the Beatles in Get Back -- the Beatles never sounded better!

And while we're on the subject of music in this movie, Nat King Cole's "Mona Lisa" gets that same -- let's call it Peter Jackson -- treatment. Cole's uniquely warm voice, like "chestnuts roasting on an open fire," sounds like it's in the same room with us. Mona Lisa -- the Leonardo da Vinci painting -- makes a major appearance in the movie, a symbol of Bron's boastful greed -- as does an acoustic guitar alleged to be Paul McCartney's, which Bron strums for "Blackbird" to impress his guests. 

Okay, this review is about a movie, not its music, but as long as I'm into it, the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody" sounded crystal clear beautiful, too, as did David Bowie's "Starman" (his "Star" is in Glass Onion, too, but I always liked "Starman" much more). And one last point, promise, about this music: it was fun to hear Toots and the Maytals sing "Take Me Home, Country Roads," but yeah, it made me wish I was hearing John Denver singing his song with co-writers Taffy Nivert and Bill Danoffin this supersonic mix. 

 All credit goes to Rian Johnson, who not only selected the songs, but wrote and directed this gem of a movie.

not the least bit funny ... well, maybe a little

alternate reality about The Beatles on Amazon, and  FREE on Vocal

His Dark Materials 3.7-3.8: HappySad Endings

Well, His Dark Materials certainly saved the very best for last, in the two concluding episodes of the third and final season (on HBO, at least for now) that lifted this entire three season narrative, for me, into Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter territory.

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

Episode 3.7 contained some first-class battle scenes between good and evil and its various manifestations, as well as a suitable reunion of Coulter and Asriel, even if that also spelled the end of their fleshly existence.  In fact, this next-to-last episode was so good and satisfying, I almost was hoping that it was the final episode in this all-too-short, three-season series.

I felt both more and less so after seeing episode 3.8.  As a paean to love, it was as tender and beautiful as 3.7 had been powerful.  But if you were looking for a happy ending, you were bound to be disappointed, as at least I was.  It was wonderful to see Lyra and Will on the bench at the end, sitting next to each other but unable to touch each other, because they were in different worlds.  And it was heartbreaking to see that closing scene as well, for the same reason.

Look, I'm a hopeless romantic and an incurable softie when it comes to fiction, whether on the screen or page.  There's more than enough pain and heartbreak in real life.  But I also wasn't convinced that Lyra and Will in separate worlds was so necessary.  (Note, again, that I haven't read Philip Pullman's novels.)  But it seems to me that with all this magic around, with the angels and witches and who knows what and who else, there could have been and should have been a way.

But, hey, that's what season fours are for, and I predict there will be one or more on HBO or elsewhere.  In the meantime, I'll try to take some solace in my daughter's daemon.

See His Dark Materials 3.6: Stories

See also His Dark Materials 2.1-3: Dust, Dark Matter, and Multiple Universes ... His Dark Materials 2.4: Chosen by the Knife ... His Dark Materials 2.5: Daughter and Mother ... His Dark Materials 2.6: The Hug and the Control ... His Dark Materials 2.7: Lots of Action, Little Time

And see also His Dark Materials 1.1: Radiation Punk ...  His Dark Materials 1.3: Coulter's Daemons ... His Dark Materials 1.4: The Bears ... His Dark Materials 1.5:  Sleepers and Questions ... His Dark Materials 1.6: His Fast Materials

Jack Ryan 3: On the Edge of Your Seat, In a World Both Better and Worse than Ours

I binged the third season of Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime Video -- and let me say how good it is to binge rather than watch a TV series on the old-fashioned weekly basis -- and also say that I thought this was the best of three new Jack Ryan screen forays.  Which is to say, I thought the action was great, the plot complex and surprising and even profound at times, and the overall narrative excellent.

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

The enemy is a Russia quite familiar to us.  Luka (a very major character, very well played by James Cosmo) laments that, in Russia, "We don't build things anymore, we build lies."  This is a tragically apt description of Putin.  And the villain (not Luka) yearns and is working for a restoration of the Soviet Union.  But though there's a fleeting, unclear reference to Ukraine, it soon becomes clear that Ryan is dealing with a very different kind of Russia than we all are dealing with off-screen.

In fact, in Jack Ryan 3, the man in charge seems more like Gorbachev, and it's the young Defense Minister who would start World War III if that would enable the return of the Soviet Union.  There are good and bad players and in between on both sides of this escalating tension, in Russia, the U.S., and central Europe, where most of the action takes place.  More than enough to keep you guessing, and they are all well played.

My favorites, in addition to Luka, are Wendell Pierce back as James Greer (who hasn't "been in Moscow many times"), Michael Kelly as Mike November (great name, and at least a dozen or more prime wisecracks), Nina Hoss as Alena Kovac (President of the Czech Republic), and Peter Guinness as Petr her father. There've been a long line of Jack Ryans on screen, going back to Alec Baldwin, and proceeding to Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, and Chris Pine.  At this point, John Krasinski is at least as good as Pine, which is high praise.

Considering the shape our world is currently in, seeing what Jack Ryan has to contend with -- no Putin in power, no COVID -- is almost a relief.  But Jack Ryan 3 manages to make the end of the world seem more harrowingly at hand.  It keeps you on the edge of your seat and the series in top form.

See also Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime: Right Up There ... Jack Ryan 2: Fascism Loses -- At Least, In This Story

2:22: Grand Central Terminal of Science Fantasy

I don't know how I could've missed it, but I just came across 2:22, a 2017 movie, on Hulu.  And seeing as how it had a least a whiff of time travel, and its locus was none other than Grand Central Terminal in New York City, I had to watch it.  (Grand Central Terminal is also a centerpiece of my story, "It's Real Life," now being made into a radioplay -- which in itself is something we associate with the 1940s.)

I'm glad I watched 2:22, and I'll try to tell you why without too many if any spoilers.

Dylan is an air traffic controller who gets slightly pulled into some other reality at a crucial time, with the result that two planes nearly crash.  On one of the those planes is Sarah, who wanted to be a dancer but instead plays a big role in an art gallery.  Art and motion and the night sky and holograms all play a big role in the ensuing story.

Dylan and Sarah fall in love, and it's a lot more and deeper than love at first sight.  Dylan and therefore we keep seeing a murder scene in Grand Central Terminal which happened almost thirty years ago.  We gradually learn that the two are somehow connected to it, as is Jonas, an artist whose exhibition will soon open at Sarah's gallery.  Also, the two used to be a couple.

And I'm not going to tell you any more about the plot, because of what I said about limiting spoilers.  What I will say is that 2:22 captures the pace and flavor of pre-COVID New York City very well, even though at least part of the production company credits are Australian.  And though the developing story and its resolution put it in more in the realm of science fantasy than science fiction, there's enough science deftly mixed in there that the movie works for me.

Fine directing by Paul Currie, and I liked both  Michiel Huisman (who is currently playing Prince in Echo 3, which I've been enjoying and reviewing) and Teresa Palmer in the lead roles of Dylan and Sarah.

alternate reality about Grand Central & The Beatles on Amazon, and  FREE on Vocal

Slow Horses 2.4-2.5: Lamb Firing On All Cylinders

Sorry, I didn't get a chance to review Slow Horses 2.4 last week.  I was really busy, and I didn't have the time to write about a bunch of "misfits and boozers," to quote Mick Jagger in the title song--

No, I'm only kidding.  Last week's episode was brilliant, with first class spywork by Lamb in cracking the case of how Min was really killed, and the best episode so far as well for River, literally out in the field.  He even had me hoping he'd get lucky with that daughter on the ranch.  (I don't know, that whole place had a U. S out-West vibe, didn't it?)

This week's episode 2.5 was outstanding, too.  We get a subtle return of Lamb's flatulence in silent but deadly form -- well, not really deadly, you have to be careful using such words about this kind of series -- and ...

[Spoilers ahead ...]

Spider getting just what he deserves.  Ok, I don't mean to be so callous about it, he is one of ours, and the scene with him with the blood on the floor was pretty ugly, but I can't say I hope he somehow survives on my "if you're not shot in the head, you can make it" principle, which I think always rules in television.  But he is an outstandingly obnoxious character in a series that excels in that.  (Who's the second most obnoxious -- Roddy?  Yeah.)

One thing about Slow Horses I really don't much like is that the series moves too fast.  I mean, next week is the Season 2 finale already?  Now I do really feel a little bad that I didn't review 2.4 last week, because I know that all too soon, I won't have any episodes to review at all, until another short season, #3, comes sarcastically along.

But I'll be back here next week with my thoughts on the Season 2 finale.

See also Slow Horses 2.1-2.2: Do Horses Eat Ramen? ... 2.3: Faster Than You Think

And see also Slow Horses 1.1-2: Fast-Moving Spy Thriller ... Slow Horses 1.3: The Fine Art of Bumbling ... Slow Horses 1.4: Fine New Song by Mick Jagger ... Slow Horses 1.5: Did You Hear the One About the ... Slow Horses 1.6: The Scorecard

  

Podcast Review of The Mosquito Coast 2.8: Hari Seldon in Mexico

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 346, in which I explore the connection between The Mosquito Coast 2.8 (on Apple TV+) and Hari Seldon of Isaac Asimov's Foundation series.

Further reading:

• Written blog post of this exploration
• Paul Krugman's disappointment with Apple TV+ adaptation of Foundation.
• Importance of Foundation trilogy in Paul Krugman's Nobel laureate work in economics

Further listening:

• Cora Buhlert, Joel McKinnon, and Paul Levinson discuss season 1 of Foundation series Apple TV+
• Paul Levinson reviews season 1 of The Mosquito Coast

 

 

 

Check out this episode!

The Mosquito Coast 2.8: Hari Seldon in Mexico

Those of you who have been reading this blog, even for just the past year, will know who Hari Seldon is. In case you don't, he's the protagonist in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series (I think his original trilogy is the best science fiction ever written), who is able to statistically predict the future.  He invents a method called "psychohistory," which comes from LaPlace's Demon in philosophy (though LaPlace is not mentioned): if you were able to know everything about human behavior, capture it and put it all in mathematical form, you could see what people will be doing tomorrow or even a century from now.

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

So watching today's episode 2.8 of The Mosquito Coast, you can imagine how happy I was to hear Allie explain to Charlie that psychohistory (without naming it) was how Allie's Sandpiper program worked.  (I would have been even happier had Allie -- that is, the makers of this episode -- given Asimov a shout-out, but ok.)  It was a sterling moment to see Allie point out a bird to Charlie in the Mexican jungle, and explain that if we knew every single thing the bird had done in the past -- every single scene of its behavior -- we could reliably predict what it would do in the future.  

That's far better than recent election polling, which often fails to give accurate predictions because people could lie when asked whom they will be voting for, or just change their minds -- the problem being that what people say they are going to do is vastly different from their actually doing it.

And I also think Allie's explanation was at least as good as Hari Seldon's in the Apple TV+ rendition of the Foundation series, the first season of which left a lot to be desired.  But that's a story for another day. (If you're interested, see Nobel laureate Paul Krugman's disappointment with the Foundation TV series -- Krugman has long cited Asimov's Foundation trilogy and psychohistory as inspiration for Krugman's work in economics -- and also the podcast discussion I had with two lifelong fans of Asimov's Foundation stories.)

Come to think of it, The Mosquito Coast, now nearing the end of its second season, really is a kind of science fiction, and it was firing on all cylinders, including in the beat-up pick-up truck that Dina steals from her almost boyfriend in an attempt to get away. I keep thinking that Dina is going to wake up one morning and realize she likes the partial paradise where she and her family now live, but it looks like that's not going to happen.

Here's one thing about my behavior that I can indeed accurately predict for you -- I'll be back here next week with my review of the next episode. And I doubt that I'll ever find a science fiction saga I love more than Asimov's Foundation series. It actually started as a series of short stories in Astounding Stories in the 1940s (Astounding Stories changed its name to Analog in 1960 -- 15 of my own science fiction stories have been published in Analog). But think about it. Some eighty years ago, before statistical projections came to play such a major role in our lives, Asimov wrote some riveting narratives in which those kinds of projections were center stage. Good for The Mosquito Coast for putting this into the spotlight.

See also The Mosquito Coast 2.1: Thirteen Years Ago ... The Mosquito Coast 2.4: Motion Pictures on the Cave Wall ... The Mosquito Coast 2.5: Hitting the Fan ... The Mosquito Coast 2.6: Close Calls ... The Mosquito Coast 2.7: Sandpiper

And see also The Mosquito Coast 1.1-2: Edgy, Attractive, Enlightened, and Important ... The Mosquito Coast 1.3: Broadening Horizons ... The Mosquito Coast 1.4: Charlie and the Gun ... The Mosquito Coast 1.5: Charlie and the Gun, Part II ... The Mosquito Coast 1.6: What Kind of Brother? ... The Mosquito Coast season 1 finale: I'm Well Bitten

See also my essay, Foundation, Dune, and LaPlace's Demon

Echo 3 1.7: Your Mother Should Know

Well, episode 1.7 of Echo 3 up on Apple TV+ today had lots of exciting moments, but my favorite was ...

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

Amber's mother (therefore also Bambi's mother and Prince's brother-in-law) took out that bad guy in the bathroom where Prince and Bambi were holding the Venezuelan minister's brother (the DJ) hostage.  Everything about that scene was memorable.  Three bad guys attack the house.  The member of the team Prince and Bambi left behind to keep the DJ from being sprung takes out of two of the bad guys, but he's killed by the third (that was the mother's fault -- the good guy turned up the soccer game on television really loud to drown out the music the mother was playing -- I would have turned up the soccer game, too, and I don't even follow the sport).  But the mother amply redeems herself.  She turns on the shower.  The bad guy comes up and shoots through the curtain.  And the mother, waiting for him in the bathroom, not in the shower, blows him away with one shot from the weapon she took from Bambi and Prince's stash.

That was one righteous kill.  And there were other good scenes.  Like when the sight of the DJ about to be tortured fails to move the Minister, who boasts about what he's going to do to Amber, which almost pushes Prince to kill the DJ right there, until Bambi verbally restrains him.  The two continue to be a formidable duo.

I have to say that though I usually see where a season of a series is headed and likely to end before now, I really haven't a clue about Echo 3.  It comes with action in a complex story that make sense step by step, but plays its ultimate cards very close to the chest.

Which is something I always like to see.

See also Echo 3 1.1-1.3: Bondian Flavor and Pure Adrenalin ... 1.4 Welcome to the Jungle ... 1.5: Currents ... 1.6: Fighting Back

His Dark Materials 3.6: Stories

I was going to wait until I'd seen all eight episodes of the third and (presumably, because you never know) final season of His Dark Materials (on HBO Max) before posting a review, but episode 6 was so powerful, deeply beautiful, and just satisfyingly good, I couldn't wait.

[Spoilers ahead... And, as I said in my reviews of episodes from the prior two seasons, I haven't read the novels, so there'll be no comparisons here of screen to page.]

First and foremost, I really liked that at least one of the heroes of this story -- maybe the hero -- was the story itself, or maybe stories would be a better word.  But the harpy that Lyra named told her that all the people in purgatory -- or the talking dead -- could become free, their spirits reunited with the universe at large -- if they told their true stories.  No liars could pass, the harpy rasped.  Only tellers of true stories.

This was a brilliant touch, because, first of all, stories, many and maybe most stories, are not true, or at least not completely true.  (An Italian friend of mine liked to quote what he said was an old Italian saying, "it may not be true, but it's a good story."  But who knows if he was telling the truth.)  The cognitive anthropologist Alexander Marshack wrote in The Roots of Civilization in 1972 that the defining characteristic of human beings is that we tell stories.  Presumably those that are true, untrue, and mixtures of the two, but who knows about that exactly, either.

Meanwhile, in addition to the harpy craving the sustenance of stories, there were other really notable and heart-lifting things in episode 3.6.  Mrs. Coulter's reunion with her daemon monkey was really something, a powerful tableaux metaphor of someone finding themself and becoming whole again.  And while we're on the subject of reunions, it was also good to see Mrs. Coulter and Asriel, if not quite back together, at least on the way there.  (And, come to think of it, they never really were together in the first place.)

Other things I liked not only in the 6th episode of the 3rd season, but throughout the entire 3rd season so far (which, by the way, I think is the best of the three seasons):  I liked the aptly named despicable Father MacPhail insisting on being called "President," because it harkened to one President and one former President I really despise in our world, Putin and Trump.  And, I don't know, maybe it's only me, but does the name "Metatron" remind you of Facebook's "Metaverse"?

Also, it was good to see Lee again, and that wise bear was better than ever.

Anyway, see you back here in not too many days with my review of the final two episodes of this season. Kudos to Jack Thorne for putting this fine series together. 

And as long as I have you here, what's the opposite of kudos? Let's be courteous and say, brickbats. I'd like to send some of that criticism to whoever at HBO made the clueless decision to cancel His Dark Materials after this third season. What's gotten into HBO? They've lost their taste for science fiction? In the past year, they've prematurely cancelled, let's see, Raised by Wolves, Westworld, The Nevers (in the middle of the first season!), and His Dark Materials. (Frankly, I thought Amazon cancelled The Man in the High Castle too soon.  But that's just one.) Someone -- maybe more than one exec with no taste -- needs to be replaced by people who know a good story.

See also His Dark Materials 2.1-3: Dust, Dark Matter, and Multiple Universes ... His Dark Materials 2.4: Chosen by the Knife ... His Dark Materials 2.5: Daughter and Mother ... His Dark Materials 2.6: The Hug and the Control ... His Dark Materials 2.7: Lots of Action, Little Time

And see also His Dark Materials 1.1: Radiation Punk ...  His Dark Materials 1.3: Coulter's Daemons ... His Dark Materials 1.4: The Bears ... His Dark Materials 1.5:  Sleepers and Questions ... His Dark Materials 1.6: His Fast Materials

Podcast Review of Harry & Meghan

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 345, in which I review Harry & Meghan on Netflix.

Written blog post reviews of Harry & Meghan:  episodes 1-3, 4-6

 

Check out this episode!

On Cape Cod Bay

 In between the writing ... taken the other chilly day on Cape Cod Bay 

 photo of me by Tina Vozick

Harry & Meghan 4-6: Fame and its Consequences

I said in my review of the first three episodes of Harry & Meghan, the documentary by Liz Garbus on Netflix, that I was more interested in the media aspects of their story than the royalty, though the two are of course intertwined.  The same is true of the final three episodes -- 4-6 -- which I just saw on Thursday.

But the media play a different role in this part of their story.  In the first part, we see Meghan in control and on top of the media, able to use them to her and Harry's advantage, and good for her.  Now we see her become the victim of their incessant intrusion into their lives, to the point that she and Harry and their son and the daughter need to go into a kind of hiding. Tyler Perry, the rich American actor who gave them shelter and peace in his beautiful home in California, deserves a lot of credit and becomes a real hero in this story. And shout-out for Chris Bouzy, for providing some savvy research which shows that the avalanche of vicious tweets aimed at Meghan were the work of a small group of well-organized racists.

Both Harry and Meghan, of course, are understably focused on what happened to Harry's mother Diana, and making sure Meghan doesn't suffer the same fate.  I would say that the ultimate culprit, in both cases, is fame itself.  When you don't have it, you pursue it, often desire it above all else.  But when you attain it, especially if it's a lot of fame, it suddenly is pursuing you, and your task changes from seeking it to avoiding it. The problem is that fame unleashed becomes incompatible with basic human privacy.

And here the royals do come into play.  Whatever we may think of them, they have figured out a way of dealing with the flames of fame, including keeping it at bay when necessary.  Although their corporate-like decisions may rankle -- and certain did bother both Harry and Meghan -- the "firm's" endless decisions on what information to dole out, precisely where and when, were and are designed to give the media what they want in a way that doesn't burn or singe any member of the royal family, or the concept of royalty itself.

Ironically, the forces that drove Harry and Meghan to leave the royals -- the decision being more Harry''s, and being made to protect Meghan -- left them even more vulnerable to the media sharks.  Why the royals didn't do more to protect them, even then, after they had left the royals, remains an indictment of the royal family.  After all, Harry and Meghan are members of their family, literally.  Prince William's responses, in particular, don't show him in a very good light in this documentary, though in all fairness, this documentary doesn't show, or purport to show, his side of this complex story.

But life goes on, and now that Charles is King and William is next in line to be King, there could well be time and occasion for a rapprochement between the brothers and the family.  None of that is talked about in the documentary, because its story concludes with Elizabeth II still on the throne.  But it does lead us to believe -- or, at least, it does me -- that Harry and Meghan are good, thoughtful people, wonderful parents, and they and their children deserve a happy life.

See also Harry & Meghan 1-3: The Media

Frank LoBuono interviews Paul Levinson about Elon Musk, Twitter, and the First Amendment

 

Further reading: How Elon Musk is complicating America’s understanding of free speech

The Mosquito Coast 2.7: Sandpiper

An outstanding episode -- 2.7 -- of The Mosquito Coast up on Apple TV+ today, in all kinds of ways.

[Spoilers follow ... ]

First, it was great to see Ally roll out his Sandpiper program -- assuming he wasn't just going through the motions for Lee -- but I doubt that, he seemed really into it.  The project itself seems close to science fiction, but I'm no expert in new, top-secret apps.  What it's supposed to do is keep track of all police and police activities in a given area, so that a drug smuggler, for example, can be really efficient.  

And while on the subject of Ally -- this episode had best ending so far in this second season, with Ally looking through some old documents in Guillermo Bautista's backroom and finding a photo of the coast, entitled "La Costa de Los Mosquitos".  Well, we all know what that translates to.  And seeing it leads Ally, judging by the expression on his face,  to muse that whatever is in that photograph, or on that page, could provide a new solution to everything.

That's a pretty big order, and I can't wait to see how it all plays out.

Meanwhile, Charlie and Dina were both in top form in this episode.  Charlie loves this place, and Dina is dying to get out there, as fast as she can.  I of course can understand where both are coming from, but, for some reason, I find Charlie's trajectory a little more intriguing.  It's almost as if he's melding and melting into his surroundings, gradually becoming both less and more civilized, in a Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness way.

Come to think of it, there's always been an element of Conrad in The Mosquito Coast, and it's good to see it coming to the surface in this way.

                            photo by Tina Vozick

See also The Mosquito Coast 2.1: Thirteen Years Ago ... The Mosquito Coast 2.4: Motion Pictures on the Cave Wall ... The Mosquito Coast 2.5: Hitting the Fan ... The Mosquito Coast 2.6: Close Calls

And see also The Mosquito Coast 1.1-2: Edgy, Attractive, Enlightened, and Important ... The Mosquito Coast 1.3: Broadening Horizons ... The Mosquito Coast 1.4: Charlie and the Gun ... The Mosquito Coast 1.5: Charlie and the Gun, Part II ... The Mosquito Coast 1.6: What Kind of Brother? ... The Mosquito Coast season 1 finale: I'm Well Bitten

Echo 3 1.6: Fighting Back

It was good to see Prince, Mitch, and Bambi fight back in Echo 3 1.6 after Amber's heroic but unsuccessful attempt to escape last week.

[Spoilers ahead ...]

This time, Prince takes the lead.  He needs to get Bambi, who's been spending his days drinking, back in action.  (Tough to say whether Bambi's protestations that he's in fact working on plan to get Amber free is really happening or just in his head.)  Mitch plays the most major role we've seen for him so far, and the team of three certainly need him keeping them on track.

Their plan is a good one: kidnap the brother of a Venezuelan official who could get the Colombians to release Amber.  The meat of the hour was the actual kidnap of the brother, a dj in a stadium, and it was fun to see it succeed after at least one false start and all kinds of obstacles.

This brother now being in hand, which is the way the episode ended, may be the first time we've seen an attempt to spring Amber last more than one episode.  Good to see.  And also good to see were Prince and Bambi "kiss and make up" (Mitch's apt description), as they each confessed to each other's missteps in this whole Amber being taken prisoner business.  Also of note was Bambi's accepting Prince's confession that he cheated on Amber -- Bambi's sister -- telling Prince just to make sure he doesn't tell Amber.

Although there have been movies and TV shows with similar stories and action, there's something about Echo 3 that keeps me very eager to see the next episode.

See also Echo 3 1.1-1.3: Bondian Flavor and Pure Adrenalin ... 1.4 Welcome to the Jungle ... 1.5: Currents

Criminal Minds: Evolution 16.5: Assessment of What Could Have Happened at the End

Well, given the title of this review, you'll know that it will be filled with spoilers.  But I'll put the warning in anyway:

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

So, the episode ends with JJ and Luke being caught in an explosion, their communication cut off, and everyone else looking horrified back in Washington, DC.

The main options are 1. JJ dies, Luke survives; 2. Luke dies, J. J. survives; 3. both die; 4. both survive (in the interest keeping this review not overly long, I won't into the possibilities one or both being badly hurt, and how badly).   Let's look at each of these four main possibilities:

1. JJ dies, Luke survives:  This would have the most dramatic punch.  JJ and Penelope are the only characters to have been on Criminal Minds in each of the 16 seasons so far, and JJ was a main character in the first season, in contrast to Penelope, who was listed as "also starring".  Also, even more important, in this episode, JJ promises her husband that she'll call him from now on before she enters a life-threatening situation -- that pinky-swear promise would give her death maximum dramatic significance. (The promise also happens after he finds out he's not suffering from cancer, and we may find out in the future that he was not telling JJ the truth, which would make JJs death now even more devastating.)  But I sure hope that doesn't happen.

2. Luke dies, JJ survives: Not as significant a character as JJ, and he didn't make anyone any promises beforehand.  But his death, as would JJ's, would show viewers that Criminal Minds: Evolution isn't fooling around this season.

3. Both die: This would not much more dramatic effect than just JJ dying, but it's unusual to have two major characters dying in the same scene (other than in Game of Thrones), and this would certainly demonstrate that Criminal Minds this season is going for broke.  Still, I would rate this outcome as the least likely.

4. Both survive: This, to some extent, could have the result of viewers not taking Criminal Minds as seriously as we should.  It would have the least dramatic impact.  But I would say it's the second most likely, after J.J dying, and, as a fan of the show, it's the outcome I'd most like to see, softy that I am.

We'll find out what happens on January 12, 2023, when the series returns, and I'll be back here shortly after that with a review.

See also Criminal Minds: Evolution 16.1-16.4: Outstanding!

===

Some reviews of episodes from earlier seasons:

Criminal Minds 8.12: Spencer's Burden

Criminal Minds 7.1: "The Is Calm and It's Doctor" ... Criminal Minds 7.3: Meets House and The Unit

Criminal Minds in Sixth Season Premiere ... Criminal Minds 6.2: The Meaning of J. J. Leaving ... Criminal Minds 6.3: Proust, Twain, Travanti ... Tyra on Criminal Minds 6.13 ...Criminal Minds 6. 17: Prentiss Farewell Part I ... Criminal Minds 6.18: Farewell Emily ... Criminal Minds 6.19: Fight Club Redux Plus ... Criminal Minds 6.20: Emily's Ghost ... Criminal Minds 6.21: The Tweeting Killer ... Criminal Minds 6.22: Psycho and a Half ... Criminal Minds 6.23: The Good Lie ... Criminal Minds Season 6 Finale

Criminal Minds 5.22 and the Dark Side of New New Media

 

Kindred: A Slice of Roots, with Time Travel

Just binged Kindred on Hulu the past two nights.  It's a time travel story unlike anything I've ever seen or read (I haven't read the Octavia Butler* novel from which it's adapted).  And it's powerful, beautiful, tender, and tough, and altogether superb.

*Back in 2000, I drove down to Philadelphia to personally give M. Night Shyamalan the Science Fiction Writers of America award for best movie for The Sixth Sense (I was President of SFWA then). I met him on the set -- a comic book store -- where he was filming his next movie, Unbreakable. Samuel L. Jackson, starring in the movie, was on the set. After I gave Shyamalan the award, Jackson asked me, "when are you going to give the Grand Master Award to Octavia Butler?" I told him the award recipient had already been selected for the following year, and my term as SFWA President was ending. But Samuel L. Jackson was surely right!

But back to Kindred the TV series [some general spoilers ahead ... ]

It's the kind of time travel story in which there are no machines or devices to cause the travel, which makes Kindred science fantasy not science fiction.  Time travel that's science fiction descends from H. G. Wells' The Time Machine; time travel that's science fantasy from Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.  A more recent example is Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife.  In these kinds of stories, the time traveler is pulled backwards or forwards in time by some mysterious, inchoate force.  Usually, often, the pulling is beyond the time traveler's control.  But if the time traveler understands what is happening and maybe why, there's a chance he or she can get the better of it, or at least to some extent control it.

In Kindred, Dana (perfectly played by Mallori Johnson) from 2016 America is pulled back to Maryland in the early 1800s, way before the Civil War.  She gradually comes to understand the rules of this involuntary sojourn.  She has to save a boy Rufus, who, she eventually learns, is one of her ancestors.  Same for Alice who creates Dana's line with Rufus.  There's one other thing:  Dana is black, Rufus is white, and Alice is black. 

Though we learn the significance of Alice at the very end of the final (8th) episode, relationships between the races are the heart and soul of this story. Kevin (also very played, by Micah Stock) in the present is white, and he and Dana bond and start to fall in love, as Kevin accompanies Dana when she's pulled back in time because he's holding her.  (An important metaphysical rule in this time travel is the time traveler takes with her anything that's she's holding -- which creates another good reason for Dana and Kevin to stay together). Thomas (good performance by Ryan Kwanten) is a slaveholder who first takes in Dana and Kevin -- thinking Dana is Kevin's slave -- and Thomas turns out to be as vicious and cruel as they come, an articulate monster.  As a story of plantation life, Kindred almost seems at times to be a slice of Roots in an alternate world in which fantastical time travel is possible, and maybe that's what Kindred in fact is.

Eight episodes are definitely not enough to contain and present this wonderful, heart-wrenching and heart-warming story, and I'll be watching the next season the day that it's up.  Hats off to Branden Jacobs-Jenkins for bringing this ever more timely story to television. 

 ***Note added January 30, 2023: The Hollywood Reporter reports that Kindred was cancelled by Hulu/FX. I very much look forward to it showing up and thriving on another streaming network.