Challengers

What a mess. You know you are in trouble when in the final act of a film, particularly a sports film, you find yourself with no investment or interest in the outcome. Honestly, shouldn't I be cheering for someone? Anyone? Anyone at all? A Challenger is a tennis tournament, often with local sponsorship for small prize money, for those not quite good enough for the main tour tournaments. The film from director Luca Guadagnino and writer Justin Kuritzkes is aptly named as it too is not-yet-ready for prime time.

There are certainly interesting aspects to the film, but man does Challengers go off the rails in terms of plot, acting, directing, writing, cinematography, score, and editing. It's impressive in how a movie like this is bungled in nearly every level of filmmaking simultaneously. At any time Challengers is a soap opera drama, a sports story, a tepid love triangle (where only the two men have any chemistry for each other), a one-sided sports rivalry, and a drama about the grind of tennis on relationships.

Megacon Live Spring 2024 Cosplay Showcase (Part 1)

NCIS: Hawai'i - Into Thin Air

In a storyline that pretty heavily suggest there will be a major twist, a Marine's wife (Nikiva Dionne) is kidnapped and held for a ransom that can't possibly be paid (except for that $3 million in illegal money he and his best friend helped smuggle from Iraq). The plot attempts to first point to the husband (Brandon Fobbs) as the perpetrator, but there's really nothing to back that up given his genuine concern for his missing wife. The death of his compatriot and the missing money only makes things more murky for the investigation until Carla (Seana Kofoed) finds some sloppy evidence that points to an obvious suspect no one has been looking at.

Black Widow & Hawkeye #2

The second issue of Black Widow & Hawkeye doesn't delve any deeper into the admission Clint Barton made at the end of the last issue in that he is responsible for the assassination the whole world is blaming him for. Before further explanation can be given, Clint is poisoned by an assassin who Black Widow scares off but to save her friend she'll need the help of her symbiote (who like Natasha knows her friend is lying but doesn't understand her need to save someone refusing her help).

Alex Rider - Revenge

Spending as much time with Alex (Otto Farrant) as with The Department, "Revenge" begins to reveal secrets of the season. Having been shaken by recent events, Home Secretary Laura Kellner (Shelley Conn) wants to give in, but the government also want The Department to stall for as long as possible which makes SCORPIA's 3-day deadline before another demonstration of Invisible Sword problematic. Despite being ordered to stand down, The Department keeps investigating what exactly killed the first Invisible Sword victims. Mrs. Jones (Vicky McClure) and Smithers (Nyasha Hatendi) find traces of gold in their blood, and a dispersal device is discovered in the locker room leading to an understanding of how SCOPRIA managed their first show of force but not how to stop them from using the technology again in the future.

Wednesday with WanderlustLuca

WanderlustLuca is a cosplayer from the Netherlands. You can follow her on Instagram, Twitch, Twitter, and TikTok. You can also support her on Fansly and OnlyFans.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch - Into the Breach

The oldest Star Wars trope there is, Rebels sneaking into an Imperial base and making it out completely unscathed with exactly what they came for, comes into play in "Into the Breach" with the Batch using Vice-Admiral Edmon Rampart (Noshir Dalal) to get the coordinates of Tantiss from Imperial Station 003. One of the things I liked about Star Wars Rebels was it showed the Imperials weren't completely incompetent 100% of the time and some, like Thrawn, actually were a threat. It's hard to take the Galactic Empire seriously when they are bumbling around at every turn like the Three Stooges. Meanwhile, on Tantiss, Omega (Michelle Ang) meets the other kids and has already planned her next escape completely under the notice of constant supervision from the Imperial scientists. 

Jack Ryan Ultimate Movie Collection

All five feature-length Jack Ryan movies are collected featuring the heroic actions of Tom Clancy's thinking man's hero, a CIA analyst turned action star, saving the world. The best of the bunch remains the first. The Hunt for Red October stars Alec Baldwin as the only man who correctly guesses the true intentions of a Soviet captain (Sean Connery) stealing an untrackable nuclear submarine with plans to defect. Not only is it the best story of this collection but director John McTiernan ratches up the tension to great effect making the most of both his stars.

Taking Baldwin's place in the next two films is Harrison Ford dealing with Irish terrorists in Patriot Games (a film I'm always confusing aspects of with The Devil's Own) and standing up against his own government who are conducting an illegal war against drugs in Colombia in Clear and Present Danger. 

Fallout - The Target

"The Target" introduces us to Dr. Siggi Wilzig (Michael Emerson), teasing his importance and knowledge, and working as the catalyst to also bring our three main characters together for the first time in Filly. Lucy (Ella Purnell) is the first to come across the scientist, first camping on the road, and later in the town which will also see the arrival of the Ghoul (Walton Goggins) and Maximus (Aaron Moten) wearing the armor of Knight Titus which he will claim as his own after choosing not to save the knight from his preventable run-in with a mutation he had planned to blame his squire for.

3 Body Problem - Only Advance / Wallfacer

The final two episodes of the opening season of 3 body Problem are as more about setting up the next season than attempting to wrap-up any existing storylines. The title "Only Advance" provides the mantra for the Earth to continue to force technological advancement forward at any cost in order to be prepared for the San-Ti arrival. We get the highs and lows of Will (Alex Sharp) choosing to join the project only to see what remains of him lost in space. Auggie (Eiza González) gets down to the practicality of using her technology to help the little people, and Saul (Jovan Adepo) finds himself in a bizarre new position with an unpresented amount of power and influence.

Cobra Commander #4

It's fun seeing the various pieces introduced and connected in this Cobra prequel series for the shared Energon Universe. In Cobra Commander #4, Cobra Commander finds a scientist who has already started unlocking the vast power of Energon. Meanwhile Nemesis Enforcer takes care of any fight the Dreadnoks have left. This then leads to the expected confrontation between the Commander and Nemesis Enforcer, although there is a twist with the soldier from Cobra-La betraying the Commander rather than other way around.

Shogun - A Stick of Time / The Abyss of Life

Things get even worse for Lord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) and his followers as his attempt to form an alliance with his estranged brother (Eita Okuno) ends in betrayal and in the death of his son (Yuki Kura). With Toranaga apparently willing to give up the fight, John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) finds himself released from his service but with nowhere to turn. His attempt to reconnect with his fellow sailors end disastrously leading him to attempt to cultivate a new partnership with Yabushige (Tadanobu Asano) who initially refuses but, given his lord's refusal to fight on, eventually accepts.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

A (quite obviously) exaggerated version of what occurred during WWII, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare gives us Henry Cavill as the rough-and-ready Major Gus March-Phillipps chosen to lead a suicide mission in neutral Spanish territory on a mission designed to relinquish Nazi U-boat control of the Atlantic Ocean. There's something quite fun about Cavill playing the man who most believe Ian Fleming modeled James Bond after even if the actor never gets a chance to play 007.

The rest of the ragtag group fits easily into basic action cliche with the standouts being Reacher's Alan Ritchson as the most talented killer of the bunch and the stunning Eiza González who puts herself in danger as the inside woman garnering the attention of the evil Nazi Commander Heinrich Luhr (Til Schweiger). The film would like to be Inglourious Basterds (which coincidentally also starred Schweiger). It's not in that league, but there's still plenty of fun to have in this over-the-top action-adventure.

Spider-Man 2

With Sony’s rerelease each of the Spider-Man movies, we turn back to the clock two decades to 2004 and the film that set the standard for a live-action Spider-Man movie which swings back into theaters this Monday. Returning all the notable stars from the first film (including both Willem Dafoe and Cliff Robertson in a pair of questionable cameos), the sequel focuses on the toll Spider-Man has caused on Peter Parker's (Tobey Maguire) life. 

Fired from yet another job, falling further behind in his studies, facing the wrath of Harry (James Franco) for his friendship with Spider-Man, in ever-increasing debt, and having lost Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), Peter Parker's life is floundering. The only part of his life that is working efficiently is his time as Spider-Man, but that soon starts to fall apart as well as his powers begin to malfunction and fade eventually giving Peter an excuse to close the book on Spider-Man.

Happy Birthday Chloe Bennet

Delicious in Dungeon - Good Medicine

The fallout of the battle with the Red Dragon brings back the character from "Court Cuisine/Boiled in Salt Water" and the woman Laios (Damien C. Haas) met inside the paintings who is revealed here to either be the Mage in control of the dungeon or working directly under the Mage. It appears she has some control over Falin (Lisa Reimold) who may or may not have been transformed into a dragon off-screen (I thought that was a little unclear). The episode doesn't offer much in terms of action or new delicacies and feels a little bit of a filler episode (really the first of the series) mostly interested in laying the foundation for upcoming stories, but we do get a bit of Chilchuck (Casey Mongillo) hitting a breaking point with his friends who he eventually convinces to return to the surface to restock prior to taking on the Mage or starting a new search for Falin.

X-Men '97 - Motendo / Lifedeath

Sandwiched around the more impactful "Remember It" "Motendo/Lifedeath Part 1" and "Lifedeath Part 1" wrap-up the Storm storyline, check in on the cosmic adventures of Professor X and his doomed cosmic romance, and offer the obligatory Mojo (David Errigo Jr.) appearance which apparently every X-Men cartoon needs. 

Inside Man

Part Silence of the Lambs and part rash decisions leading to unfortunate outcomes, Inside Man, the recent BBC series not to be confused with Spike Lee's 2006 heist flick nor the recent thriller starring Lucy Hale and Ashley Greene, is more notable for the performances than the plot. However, there's still some interesting pieces worth watching (especially for those seeking it out for the reunion of Steven Moffat and David Tennant). One-half of the series involves a death row inmate (Stanley Tucci) solving crimes from behind bars who agrees to an interview with a reporter (Lydia West) if she can agree to one simple rule. The other involves a series of unfortunate events and misunderstandings involving a preacher (Tennant) from locking a young woman (Dolly Wells) in his basement. 

The stories are connected through the reporter who met the missing woman and would like the convict's help. However, he'll only offer her an interview under the rules she never mention her missing friend again.

NCIS: Hawai'i - The Next Thousand

The murder of a Marine in the jungle during survival training sends Kai (Alex Tarrant), Jesse (Noah Mills), and Tennant (Vanessa Lachey) looking for the other members of the group while Whistler (Tori Anderson) teams up with Hanna (LL Cool J) to investigate the group's recent actions and their culpability in the disappearance of a local bartender. All evidence points to one member of the squad being responsible both for the jungle murder and the missing bartender, which seems even more likely when more of squad turn up dead, although Whistler believes there is a larger story that the Marines are attempting to hide.

Wonder Woman #8

After the odd interlude last month, Wonder Woman #8 returns to the Sovereign storyline with Diana a prisoner of the group's creepy leader who attempts to the reeducation of Wonder Woman through a Lasso of Lies. Diana's story is divided in to the reality with her fighting the visions and listening to the religious dribble of the villain instructing a woman on her proper place and the 50s style visions of her attempting to be the perfect wife.

Alex Rider - Recruit

Keeping an open mind, for now, and hoping to learn information about Invisible Sword, Alex (Otto Farrant) begins his training with SCORPIA. He meets the other recruits who brutally attack Alex as an attempt to soften him up and drive any weakness or mercy out of him. Gregorvich (Thomas Levin) and Nile (Jason Wong) offer similar advice and teaching, pushing Alex to remove compassion from the work that is to follow. Eventually Alex proves himself without stooping to the methods of the other soldiers, winning a contest in the maze below the compound and his first assignment for SCORPIA.

Green Lantern #10

Hal Jordan arrives on Oa and gets up to speed on what's been happening since his exile on Earth. Green Lantern features a number of Green Lantern characters including Jordan, Jo Mullein, Jessica Cruz, Simon Baz, Kyle Rayner, Teen Lantern, and even Guy Gardner, Booster Gold, and Lobo in the comic's backup story. We also get cameos and references to other Lanterns locked in the Oan sciencells.

Beavis and Butt-Head (SNL)

3 Body Problem - The Stars Our Destination

"The Stars Our Destination" is primarily a transitionary episode featuring the characters dealing with the fallout of the aliens' eye in the sky message. For most of the characters that means getting drunk and ignoring the situation. In Will's (Alex Sharp) case that means struggling with a romantic gesture. Challenged by Wade (Liam Cunningham), Jin (Jess Hong) comes up with a complicated plan which will largely take over the series in the remaining episodes, but if she has any hope of making her plan work, she'll need Auggie (Eiza González). 

Transformers #7

The Autobots and Decepticons stick to themselves in Transformers #7. The Autobots lick their wounds, struggling to keep repairing their brethren from Cyberton, and dealing with the fallout of recent events. Arcee attempts to console Carly whose hatred of Starscream and the Decepticons has only grown since Cliffjumper was unable to kill him, and we also get a story about the Autobot who taught her to be such a fearsome soldier (whose remains are found on Cybertron). And Optimus Prime has his first side-effect of Sparkplug's sacrifice.

Fallout - The End

Adapted from the post-apocalyptic video game series, the opening episode of Fallout gives us the end of the world and then what comes next. After a brief introduction to the world before nuclear annihilation, we jump to the late 23rd Century to spend most of the episode with Lucy (Ella Purnell), the daughter of Vault 33's Overseer Hank MacLean (Kyle MacLachlan), and her life within 50s-style fallout shelter. While keeping specifics to a minimum, we know that the vaults were constructed to continue humanity's survival (although we get allusions that there were more nefarious purposes as well).

Reason #18 Why I Love DS9 - In the Pale Moonlight

There are many reasons why I love Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and why it remains my favorite of the Star Trek franchise.

Reason #18: "In the Pale Moonlight"

Spider-Man

Part of Sony's plan to rerelease each of the Spider-Man movies over a series of weeks, Spider-Man returns to theaters for the first time in over two decades. The highest grossing film of 2002 was an immediate hit with both critics and audiences spawning two sequels also starring Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker and Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson. The origin story sticks close to the character's comic history with the nerdy Peter being bitten by a radioactive spider and gaining new abilities he will need to learn to use responsibly. 

Amazing Spider-Man #47

Interrupted on an unexpected date, even more unexpected in that it was going so well (before running out and stiffing Shay with the bill, that is), Spider-Man crashes into action to help Betty Brandt who has gotten in more than a little trouble searching for something that can clear Ned Leeds. After taking care of the thugs, Spidey has more trouble on his hands with the arrival of an erratic Ben Reilly, now apparently calling himself Chasm (complete with questionable costume), along with Hallows' Eve and the Queen Goblin.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch - Juggernaut

"Juggernaut" is a bit of a disappointment. The scenes of Omega (Michelle Ang) and her return to Tantiss are all filler when the final scene of her being escorted into the vault could easily have been the first. We get a reunion with Emerie Karr (Keisha Castle-Hughes) that doesn't actually provide any on-screen furthering of the story or their relationship, and if you skipped the episode you wouldn't miss a single beat of Omega's storyline. If you need to stretch out Omega's storyline to give the Batch time to find her, at least give her something to do.

Darth Vader #45

Having decided to join the Imperial Schism, a faction in favor of replacing Emperor Palpatine for the good of the Galactic Empire, Darth Vader finds himself on Tython looking raid a former Jedi Temple of precious Kyberite. The issue has two main pieces that make it an interesting read, and for those who haven't been following this Schism storyline (like me) there's still plenty to enjoy. First we get the loyal Enric Pryde and his discussions with others in the party who lack his steadfast loyalty to the Dark Lord of Sith with their own, less glorious, examples of Vader's actions.

Will Trent - We Are Family

While the more impactful moments in terms of ongoing storylines in "We Are Family" involve Will (Ramón Rodríguez) making a connection with his mother's brother (John Ortiz), the moment I'll most remember in the episode has to do with the murder of the week outside of a drag club and a discussion with witnesses about a "vanilla envelope" that so perfectly fits our characters. The truth beyond the killing fits the tragic nature of the series, as does Will reaction to finding his uncle's friends aren't so happy about him being a cop, but so does this hilarious little segment as well as the closing moments involving the friends coming together to support Ormewood (Jake McLaughlin) in his time of need.

Civil War

Beautifully shot while exploring complicated ideas that may make some audiences uncomfortable, Alex Garland's Civil War works on multiple levels. First, the film gives us an up-close look at war correspondent journalism following a foursome through a ravaged war-torn land. Allowing that land to be America in a recognizable not-too-distant future is the second major point of the film which offers a cautionary tale to the current polarized environment which includes many far-right nutbags actively praying and cheering across social media for such events to occur. The message of the movie is clear, be careful what you wish for.

Our protagonists are photographer Lee Smith (Kirsten Dunst) known for getting the difficult shots on the most dangerous assignments and her more carefree reporting partner on the road Joel (Wagner Moura). Joining them on this latest road trip are Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), an elderly mentor to them both, and aspiring young photographer Jessie (Cailee Spaeny).

Deadpool #1

A new volume of Deadpool begins here with murder, mayhem, and fun. I think Deadpool always works best when he has someone to play off of (other than just his banter to the reader). The new comic finds that character in Deadpool's symbiote "daughter" Princess who has her father's taste for bloodshed and murder. The first issue follows the pair around trying to kill their latest target, whose portal ability makes it a bit harder than normal, before teasing us with the introduction of the comic's first new big bad who is apparently quite interested in the hero's healing ability.

Delicious in Dungeon - Red Dragon

Everything has been leading to this point. Laios (Damien C. Haas), Marcille (Emily Rudd), Senshi (SungWon Cho), and Chilchuck (Casey Mongillo) spring their trap on the Red Dragon only to discover they have drastically underestimated their opponent and need to quickly regroup to survive. The fight with the dragon is impressive, but more important to the overall story comes after the defeat as the party carves their way through the dragon's chest only to find that Falin (Lisa Reimold) has already been completely digested.

Vengeance of the Moon Knight #4

Following the same format of the other issues in this series, Vengeance of Moon Knight #4 continues the rotating members of the Midnight Mission taking a seat on Dr. Andrea Sterman's couch. This time it's discussing the loss of Marc Spector and his anger to seeing someone parade themselves as a Fist of Khonshu. While working through his issues, we also get sequences of Tigra and Hunter's Moon tracking down the new Moon Knight leading to his unmasking.

Alex Rider - Enemy

Following the events of the last episode, Alex (Otto Farrant)  is now a guest of SCORPIA, left alone in the bowels of one of their headquarters (a decommissioned cold war listening post) where he wanders and meets Syl (Eline Powell), the first of the other recruits training at the facility. Eventually talks with the Widow Julia Rothman (Sofia Helin) who gives Alex the pitch to join them by revealing that Alex's father worked for SCORPIA following a fall from grace and a couple years spent in prison for manslaughter. He was recruited when all others turned their backs on him. Confirming her versions of events is a video of a prisoner exchange between The Department and SCORPIA. SCORPIA returns hostage for Alex's father who is shot down by a sniper, left dead on a bridge, by The Department.

SHAZAM! #10

I'll admit to being a bit confused by turn of events here. During the Captain's battle with Black Adam the family's home was destroyed. The gods have rebuilt the home. Great! However, the family was planning to relocate and move out of this house so did those plans fall apart as the story only makes sense if the family is moving into the house the gods have messed with (but if so why do they have to move in?). 

3 Body Problem - Our Lord / Judgment Day

After lots of set up and dragging its feet a little bit over the first three episodes, events finally turn at the halfway point of the series with "Our Lord" by revealing the connection between Ye Wenjie (Rosalind Chao) and Mike Evans (Jonathan Pryce) and the secret society preparing for their alien saviors from outer space. It's here we we also see the continuing attempts of Evans to explain human society to San-Ti whose question about the the fairy tale he reads to them leads to a fundamental misunderstanding between the aliens and their prophet on Earth, changing everything. 

The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries #4

When people around Gotham City start turning into gargoyles (or, more accurately grotesques as Velma points out), Mystery, Inc. helps Batman and Robin investigate. Batman is able to surmise people are turning into copies of nearby gargoyles. However, since Gotham City is full of the things that discovery alone doesn't solve the problem. However, when Oracle can't find a single reference to any of the victims online, Batman begins to suspect the truth of what is going on.

Shōgun - Ladies of the Willow World

While much of "Ladies of the Willow World" takes place in Lord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), including the title which derives from Mariko (Anna Sawai) setting up John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) with another prostitute, in terms of events moving the larger story forward we must look to Osaka. Here we see the impact of Ochiba No Kata's (Fumi Nikaidô) return in pushing Ishido (Takehiro Hira) to act bolder with the Regents beginning with replacing Toranaga's open seat with a flunky and then murdering Lord Sugiyama (Toshi Toda) after the Regent refuses to go along with his plans.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch - Point of No Return

As the show inches ever closer to the series finale, the Imperials find on Pabu leading our heroes attempting to hide and keep Omega (Michelle Ang) safe. The episode is mainly focused on the Bad Batch being overwhelmed and Omega choosing to let herself be captured rather than let any further harm come to her friends. The makeshift plan includes Crosshair (Dee Bradley Baker) getting a tracker on the ship before it leaves the planet, but in failing to do so the Bad Batch now have no ship and no way to track Omega who is heading right back to the hidden base on Tantiss where her only help may come from the potentially more sympathetic Emerie Karr (Keisha Castle-Hughes).

Obi-Wan Kenobi #6

Obi-Wan Kenobi #6 concludes the comic adaptation of the Disney+ television show giving us Obi-Wan Kenobi sacrificing himself to ensure Leia's escape, the Jedi's encounter with Darth Vader on Jabiim's moon, and the epilogue on Tatooine. The sixth issue of the six-issue mini-series doesn't add anything new to events from the series but does offer a nice moment between Kenobi and Leia (a reimagined relationship that throws all kinds of chaos into the events of the original Star Wars) and of course the lightsaber duel between master and pupil (which stole a bit too much for my tastes from the superior episode of Star Wars Rebels).

Star Wars: The Bad Batch - Identity Crisis

"Identity Crisis" takes the focus off the clones and returns it to the Empire's secret laboratory on Tantiss where Emerie Karr (Keisha Castle-Hughes) is read into the truth of Project Necromancer (confirming events which you likely surmised quite a long time ago). Other than confirming the evil manipulations of the Empire in kidnapping children and turning them into lab rats, which is hardly new ground, there's not much of note in the episode other than another fan friendly cameo from another Star Wars: The Clone Wars recurring character. Emerie gets a close look at the "subjects" in these experiments, and a better understanding of who she his working for, although that doesn't stop her from continuing to perform her duties.

Alex Rider - Lab

After his remarkable escape, the Widow (Sofia Helin) leaves a trail of breadcrumbs for Alex (Otto Farrant) to follow back to the scientist and a tanker docked at the nearby harbor. After sneaking onboard, Alex witnesses a standoff between the scientist and the henchman Nile (Jason Wong) which doesn't turn out all that well for the scientist. However, he does offer Alex the opportunity to have all his questions answered leading to an explosive cliffhanger ending.

Will Trent - Capt. Duke Wagner's Daughter

My only real complaint about "Capt. Duke Wagner's Daughter" is this feels like a longer arc that was condensed into a single episode and, as a result, feels a bit constrained. A little more time to breathe could have led to one of the show's best arcs. After seeing a couple of extremely fleeting suggestive hints that someone is coming after Wagner (Sonja Sohn) we get an episode that brings that story to the forefront, delves into troubled secrets in her past, reveals a nasty piece of work in Chuck Murray (Michael Papajohn), explains his motives, tease the end of Wagner's career, ends the threat, and wraps up everything in time for the closing credits without much fallout other than a bit of a tiff between Wanger and Faith (Iantha Richardson).

Final Heist

Final Heist is an incredibly stupid movie about a female group of thieves who come together years after their disastrous last score that left the only male member of the team bleeding out in the street. Six years later, in order to save the life of her daughter, Willa (Camila Banus) contacts her old pals Kenzie (Shonte Akognon), Flynn (Virginia Ma), and Hailey (Jasmine Shanise) to bust into prison and get to her baby daddy (Justin Chu Cary) whose genetic material might save her daughter's life.

Complicating the matter is a corrupt warden (Tim Abell) that had the man beaten nearly to death leaving him comatose on the exact day Willa comes calling. Despite the fact that fact that agreeing to the procedure would likely kill the convict, satisfy the desperate mother, and hide all evidence of his wrongdoing, the warden chooses to deny any request forcing Willa and her friends to break into the prison and get what they need themselves through a series of increasingly less and less believable situations.

Zorro - The Three Funeral Mask Dance

The final episode of the season resolves the long-running subplot of Guadalupe Montoro (Cecilia Suárez) without much fanfare. Given the number of episodes this thread was teased, Diego (Miguel Bernardeau) simply turning over land to his fake half-brother  (Joel Bosqued) feels underwhelming as there is no real payoff, at least not this season. More impactful is Diego's public duel with Monasterio (Emiliano Zurita), fulfilling his task from the Bear Clan to kill their enemy (albeit with a bit of trickery that actually allows for the still living Monasterio and Diego to flush out all of the traitors and end their would-be coup d'etat).

Delicious in Dungeon - Giant Frogs/Aboveground

The final episode before the party reaches the Red Dragon, "Giant Frogs/Aboveground" features the party making it to the Orc Village after using the skins of Giant Frogs to bypass some tricky Tentacles. Marcille (Emily Rudd) is notably not fond of the plan despite the time it saves the group.  Senshi (SungWon Cho) also manages some pasta and cutlets out of the tentacles and frog meat. Now so close to the goal, the party discusses how to survive their next run-in with the dragon planning to lay a trap as the episode concludes on a cliffhanger heading into a multiple-episode arc of the group's attempts to best the dragon and free their friend from its stomach.

NCIS: Hawai'i - Operation Red Rabbit

Our case of the week involves a con artist (Noah Bean) pretending to be a Naval Intelligence officer while conning a slew of female entrepreneurs. After abandoning his latest mark (Brianna Brown), making her believe he is in danger allowing him to move on to another scam, his most gullible victim yet shows up in NCIS and it doesn't take much time to realize nothing about his story is true. While it never really sells the idea that our con man could actually be a spy, "Operation Red Rabbit" is nevertheless a fun episode with an equally goofy B-story involving the growing bromance between Kai (Alex Tarrant) and Hanna (LL Cool J).

Red Sonja #9

Erlik has left the underworld now walking among mortals, Kulan Garth sits atop a throne at the glee of chaos he has helped bring to a shattered world and using dark magic to kill those who would stand against him by turning them against each other, and the Wild Hunt of the dead races into the world bringing death and destruction in its wake. It's a chaotic but well told story foreshadowing more disappointment and loss for Sonja before any chance at victory.

Alex Rider - Widow

Adapting events from the fifth novel, Alex Rider returns for its Third Season. We open with Alex (Otto Farrant) in Malta, along with Tom (Brenock O'Connor) and Kyra (Marli Siu), seeking the SCORPIA operative known as the Widow (Sofia Helin) and answers about his father. We get some new faces in this episode, some like Tom's big brother Jay (Emmet Byrne), an extreme sports athlete, won't play prominent roles in the season. However, our Widow will eventually provide Alex with more answers than he's ready for.