I think I’m starting to see why Filoni and crew keep saying, “You ain’t seen nothing yet,” after the Darth Maul arc. This arc starring Ahsoka in the midst of a terrorist plot is shaping up to be one of the series’ best.

After the events of last week and the bombing of the Jedi Temple, Ahsoka is the only one the terrorist will talk to. Much like in the Hitchcock film The Man Who Knew Too Much, Ahsoka is given a vital piece of information and is witness to a murder. It takes it a step-further, though, and casts her as Cary Grant in North by Northwest, with photos of her committing the murder and everything. As part of the plot of a force-user, Ahsoka must escape to clear her name and save the Republic from this plot.

Who could the mysterious force user be?

Could it be Maul, who Sidious had “plans” for? Could it be Ventress back to play her part in the galaxy? Could it be another disgruntled Jedi (like Pong Krell) all together?

We’ll find out next week.

The visuals in this episode were nothing short of stunning. It truly felt like any epic film you can think of, but designed by Alfred Hitchcock in the style of The Clone Wars. There was so much Fritz Lang in the exteriors of the military prison, evoking images of the flag-filled courtyards of Nazi Germany with the Imperial cog standing in for the Swastika. The inside, though, was one hundred percent Star Wars. So much so, that I almost thought they’d accelerated construction of the Death Star, the interior architecture was so Star Wars.

Once Ahsoka made it out of the prison, though, things became an incredible action showcase. I could have watched her bat away stun bolts shot by Clones all day long. This portion of the episode was very much an homage to the Harrison Ford/Tommy Lee Jones film The Fugitive, from the spotlights and circling gunships, to the chase through the waterways and fateful jump off the dam.

Ahsoka takes the spotlight in this episode, sure, but not enough can be said about Anakin’s place in the episode. Matt Lanter’s performance is edging us closer and closer to Revenge of the Sith and its nuance is haunting. Casting him as the man responsible for catching Ahsoka but also having to trust her enough to let her go is a fascinating choice and one I’m glad that was made.

The other thing I loved about this episode was the reaction of the Clones to the revelation that three had been killed by a lightsaber. They don’t want to believe a Jedi could do it, but the evidence assembled against Ahsoka seems clear.

But the layers of story, lighting, weather, animation, and voice work are only most of the tapestry here. In this episode, the music took center stage as much as anything else. It provided a Star Wars flavor to a Bernard Herman like score and I felt like it was a masterful take on what things would sound like if one of the greatest film composers who has ever lived had taken on an episode of The Clone Wars.

Top marks for this episode. And we’re only moving up from here.

In tonight’s episode, everyone’s favorite AP student, Kevin Tran, deciphers a large chunk of the Demon stone and advises Sam and Dean that in order to close the gates of Hell, one of them must complete a series of trials. The first trial? Kill a Hell Hound and bathe in its blood. So, for Sam and Dean – you know – like, Saturday. So the boys travel to an oil ranch that plays host to any number of characters that may or may not have sold their souls, and as it turns out they were all sellin’ low that night. If I remember correctly, Dean Winchester’s only true fear is a Hell Hound, yet the desire to close the gates of Hell forever took over and he took to the task with great aplomb.

I will admit that Dean is usually my favorite brother (admit it, we all have one), and tonight Jensen Ackles really got to shine. Dean’s range went from little boy decorating his room, with firearms admittedly, to the accepting, sacrificing father that Sam always wanted and deserves. Tonight we got every single aspect of Dean Winchester – hilarious, patriarchal, demanding, martyr Dean – in one 42 minute episode and not a single second of it felt contrived. Genre shows never get a second glance come awards season (unless there are many British accents or Jessica Lange), and I will be the first to admit that I have not always watched Supernatural for the performances. I watch it because it’s damn fun. But tonight Jensen Ackles was a complete powerhouse.

The secondary plot twist in “Trial and Error” was moderately predictable. In fact, my notes literally read “if that Ellie thing doesn’t go somewhere it’s gonna be really pointless and stu… Oh. Of course.” But that was counteracted by the actual belly laugh I released when it was revealed that Crowley himself was to blame for all the sold souls. The guest stars tonight were all fun performers as well, which is not always consistent on the show, but they were funny, pathetic, lost and solid when they needed to be. If anyone can help a ‘bot out with the name of any of the guests I would be much obliged – neither IMDB or the Supernatural wiki are much help on this one, and it’s driving me crazy where I have seen the actress that played the washed up singer. And I absolutely loved the nod to “Dallas” – “Ellie” was a great pick for a name. I’m calling some heavy foreshadowing for Kevin’s character. The nosebleeds, headaches, pill popping? I fear Kevin will not be with us for much longer.

The fan given moniker for the season is well deserved, but I am a bit frustrated with the use, or lack thereof, of Castiel. I am not a fan that demands his presence, nor am I fan that wishes he would be written off. I just want consistent use. He has been absent for several episodes, but his absence was indicated with a giant cliffhanger. And since, he has barely even been mentioned. It strikes me as a touch of stumbling in an otherwise brilliant arc.

You guys. I have a confession. I have wailed and flailed with the best of ’em, I have typed in all caps “oh my feels” and “ugh the creys,” but tonight is the very first time that Supernatural has made me cry. Twice. What amazing writing tonight! Something fans have screamed at their televisions for eight years finally came to fruition, and the brothers actually told their counterparts how they feel and why they do the things they do. It was a moment that was long overdue, but looking back it wouldn’t have worked as well in any other season. It was the right time, but man. If the renewal announcement hadn’t already been made I would have bet you all $5000 that season Gr8 would be the last. I sure am glad it’s not, especially watching episodes as amazing as this one.

The second issue of Brian Wood’s big-selling Star Wars comic is out today, and GONK takes a peek. (more…)

Sabotage is the beginning of the final arc of The Clone Wars – Season 5, and proves just how malleable this show and the Star Wars universe as a whole can be as a backdrop for different kinds of stories.

After a thrilling Jedi Starfighter chase and buzz droid fight, Anakin and Ahsoka are called back to Coruscant to investigate a bombing at the Jedi temple. The episode plays out like a police procedural show as they search for the culprit.

It’s a very straightforward episode and is the exact opposite point of view of the story where the film gets its name. In Alfred Hitchcock’s film (which you can watch here and read my analysis of), a dissident passes off a bomb to his young brother-in-law, who delays the delivery of the bomb and ends up blowing up an entire bus full of people. Not much of the film has to do with the aftermath, and it’s told almost exclusively from the viewpoint of the family. This turns that around and shows us what it’s like trying to unravel a crime like that from the perspective of those trying to apprehend the bad guys. And it’s also similar in that an unsuspecting loved one is used to deliver the bomb to that target.

This episode was reasonably dry, but there was plenty to be excited about.

For one, this episode opens with that fantastic starfighter sequence over Cato Nemoidia, but we’re instantly shown an Ahsoka who is more grown up than we’ve ever seen her. Her voice is more adult, she speaks with more confidence, even the way she carries herself is more mature. She’s a young woman now, no longer a kid befitting the name “Snips.”

This is what I loved most about the episode, to be honest. Watching children grow up might be one of the most bittersweet things one can do, and Ahsoka has been forced to grow up during such a terrible time. And the impression I get is that this is just going to be the calm before the storm. Whatever Ahsoka’s eventual fate may be, my guess is that it will be unfair to her and devastating to us. To be honest, watching her struggle here in this episode caused a bout of melancholy in me.

The visuals of this episode, as all the episodes, are incredible. The Coruscant cityscapes are something that ought to be utilized more, especially since they’ve been developed so well on the show as time has gone on. And the holographic cameras that played back the actual explosion created an incredibly interesting visual location for key conversations.

As someone who doesn’t watch CSI – Miami, I don’t have much to comment on the droid patterned after David Caruso, but I could see it being a fun wink and nod to people who watch that show.

This was a solid set-up episode, but I’m ready for the meat of the story. I’d tentatively rate this 3.5 out of 5, with more points coming if the arc pans out as well as I hope it does.

I always perk up a little on Winchester Wednesday when I know it’s an Edlund episode, and Wednesday night did not let me down. Ben Edlund episodes are always so much fun, with just the right amount of terror and history mixed in. Sam and Dean discover the Men of Letters’ Batcave, and with it a new enemy: The Thule Society, a Nazi founded group that uses the occult to fight its battles. They also discover the Judah initiative, the Jewish equivalent of the scholarly Men of Letters, and must save its last surviving member and his Golem (yup, his giant made from magic clay) from extinction at the hands of some Nazi necromancers.

I’ve always said that one of my favorite aspects of this show is that when they reference the history and myths of the occult, they always get it so very right. There’s of course an element of dramatic license, but it never ever comes across as “hey, I heard about this Thule society once in a class 15 years ago, let’s make up some crap about that.”  So many other procedural crime dramas (and if we’re going to get right down to it, “Supernatural” would technically fall in that as its most basic genre category) misrepresent the occult and modern practitioners of “alternative” religions that it raises the hair on the back of my neck, and Supernatural can be a great conversation starter that doesn’t rely on decades old rumors and misquoted legends.

We all have episodes that we skip on DVD sets, and we all have episodes that we go to when we want to introduce someone new to the show; this episode falls somewhere in between. A true delight for long time fans, but maybe not the best place to start a new viewer? Everything we love about each character was in full flight, like Dean nerding out over a scimitar while Sam pours over leather-bound texts (that probably smelled amaaaazing) and ledgers. I especially loved Sam’s silent epiphany towards the end of the hour – when he realized his place in the family legacy. Here is a man who has never felt (or wanted to feel) like he belonged in this hunter’s life; he felt for a good part of his life that he was responsible for his mother’s death, he ‘s part demon, he’s not like other hunters in that he wants a quiet life of study based action, not gun or stake based. And he’s found it. Sam finally has a Winchester legacy that is for him, and it fits like a glove.

A couple minor issues did arise, although none of them with the storytelling. The camera work was great, especially during the scenes in the stacks at the library. It’s an old trick to have a villain revealed in a brief glimpse among parallel scenery, but dammit it’s always effective and fun. I loved it’s use this time, but my complaint comes with the inconsistency of the size of the Golem. In the teaser, he’s twice the size of men but the perspective wasn’t maintained through the episode, and in a couple of shots Sam was just a few inches shy of being eye level with the giant. We know he’s a moose, but he ain’t that big. John De Santis is 6’9″, just a few inches taller than Jared Padalecki. No matter, in his stand alone scenes de Santis was formidable. You might recognize him as Solomon Grundy from “Smallvile” or the Juggernaut from “13 Ghosts,” but astute “Supernatural” viewers will recognize him as the Norman Bates-y Freeman Daggett from the episode “Ghostfacers” (side bar, another Edlund episode!).

This show is so good at letting the angst creep in slowly on the viewer. The ending leaves us with Sam and Dean cozy in their Batcave, listening to a phonograph of “Sunny Side of the Street,” but upon reflection you realize that the show’s theme of two against the world remains the actual resolution. All that’s left of the Judah Initiative is a lapsed Jew and his Golem, while the Thule Society remains amassed in secret all over the world. Oh, the feels.

The massively-multiplayer blow-em-up World of Tanks is one of Wargaming.net’s strategic battle games available free-to-play online. Keep in mind I’ve only played about 135 matches, which seems like a lot, but it can require much more to master the game. Also keep in mind that for several of those matches, I had access to every tank, fully loaded.

Newest Addition – Chinese Tanks
The game is hugely successful, because there is a wide variety of tanks to choose from. In the original version, you fought in teams together: Americans, Russians, French, British and Germans. There are no country v. country battles.

The latest addition is Chinese tanks. All of them have not been rolled out yet. According to PR coordinator Jamie King, there have not been release dates set. The Chinese tree currently has 17 tanks and several are replicas from other countries.

My favorite Chinese tank so far has been its elite level 10 tank, the 113, (The most expensive tank at 3.5 million), which is considerably faster than most of the other heavy tanks in its class other than the French. Of course, with speed you are sacrificing the strength of the tank’s armor.

Gameplay

Mastering the game is more about finding the tier you are best at, not which country you choose. Countries play together as one and are just split up. Even the voicework is the same for each country. You are allowed to select from a tier of tanks in each country, including light, medium, heavy, self-propelled guns (SPGs) and tank destroyers.

Within those tank trees you can select the tank with the stats most suitable to you. As a newbie, I find the tank tree a bit confusing. I’m not a numbers person, so looking at stats for individual tanks can be exhausting. The tanks often have slight variations in their equipment and stats, and it’s up to you to figure out exactly which one to start with.

Typically the light tanks are “scouts.” They immediately head to the goal, either an enemy base or a particular flagged area and spot enemy tanks. Though they don’t have a lot of advanced armor or weaponry, they are vital to highlighting the enemy’s position for their teammates.

The medium and heavy tanks have various roles. Often, the brave ones face enemies head on in one-on-one shoot-outs to take their base or to kill as many enemies as possible. Others choose to protect home base from intruders. SPG (artillery) tanks hide in a central location and use the shift key to attack from above (my personal favorite). Although you might get a little flamed for taking what is considered the “wrong” role, the path you take is entirely in your control.

Your team within the tanks can gain more experience in each game, and you can upgrade individual parts, like guns, tracks, health packs, repair kits and ammunition.

Pros

• As soon as you are done with one battle, you can immediately rev up for the next one. You can team up and strategize plans of attack with folks. Once you have a handle on the controls, it’s up to you how to attack.

• There are dozens of tanks to choose from, and even though premium capabilities are bought with real-life cash, you can also earn these items the old-fashioned way – grinding. Battle after battle. Map after map. You can earn money to purchase not only premium tanks, but also gold bullets, which are of much higher quality and can give you a real advantage in gameplay.

Cons

• As I mentioned earlier, learning the elements of each tank, in each class and in each country can be confusing. Thankfully, there’s a Wiki to guide you along. It still takes a lot of time to get to know the game and its various features, which are extremely varied.

• The biggest con for me is also a pro in some ways. This is a real-life battle. You have to face rough terrain, water and long spurts where you may never encounter a single enemy. That makes it a very realistic game. However, to add to the realism, you can only die once. Yup, no respawns. After that, you can watch other tanks on your team continue to battle or go back to the garage.

• There are also a limited number of maps in the game, so constant gameplay can be a bit tiresome. However, this is also an opportunity to learn the maps as you replay them.

• There can be an exciting feeling hiding among the bushes and waiting for just the right opportunity to blow out an enemy tank’s track or cause them to explode. It is frustrating when the rest of the team isn’t doing as well and you lose, but you still get some experience and money for participating.

What’s your take on World of Tanks? Or, would you consider playing it, particularly with the addition of the Chinese tanks? Sound off in the comments below.

In the second episode of Spartacus’ third season, “Wolves at the Gate,” Spartacus realizes that his army needs food and adequate shelter.  The rebels decide to take the city Sinuessa en Valle by force.

And by way of Marcus Crassus, we are introduced to Julius Caesar.  This is not the dark-haired Caesar with the cropped hair so often seen in film and television.  No, this Caesar must hail from the land of Californium with wavy blonde hair and blue (or green?) eyes.   He has the stereotypical looks of a surfer boy, though others may see a closer resemblance to Thor the Odinson.

He’s also brash, petulant, and eager to have the slave girl Kora.  She belongs to Crassus, though, and master and slave enjoy an intimate moment before Crassus prepares to leave with his army.  While he ordered his wife to stay at the villa during his absence, giving her no alternative but to obey, he asks Kora if she would like to go with him.   Stark contrast between the way he treats the women in his life.

While Spartacus, Gannicus and Crixus wander the streets of the city they’re preparing to take over, they see a slave tied up.  He uses Spartacus’ name as a curse against his oppressors, and he is immediately stoned. To save him more misery, Spartacus casts the final stone, literally splitting the man’s head in two. Don’t ever watch this show if you have a sensitivity to onscreen violence.

The end of the episode is even more difficult to watch, though.  Once Spartacus’ army enters the city, the Romans don’t stand a chance.  All are treated as the enemy—women, children, innocent merchants.  The soldiers carry off the women, their clothes ripped from them as they scream.  Children die in the streets.  Blood-smeared walls serve to heighten the carnage, and we see Spartacus and his army cast in a different light.  Thoughts form in confused mind:  who are the real bad guys now?  The lines between good and evil blur, even as Marcus Crassus, though Spartacus’ enemy, has shown himself to be a man of his word, and he treats his slaves gently.  And with Kora, lovingly.

And in a final moment of uncharacteristic behavior, Spartacus throws a spear through the head of a merchant who merely threatened to destroy his grain.  (Though one could argue that he and his men would die as a result, so he was threatening murder).  Laeta, the man’s wife, screams in horror as he crumbles to the ground, and she finds herself now a prisoner of war.  Her world is destroyed, but Spartacus and his men now have walls to house them and grain for food.

But at what cost?  Has Spartacus lost his humanity in his quest for vengeance?  And how far is he willing to go to destroy Rome?

Dark Times returns with a new story arc, focusing on K’Kruhk and the younglings in his care — now all galactic refugees in this week’s Star Wars comic. (more…)

Well, the culmination of 5 seasons of The Clone Wars so far has brought us, to an episode that simply could not  have existed a few years ago. Though they’ve been building this arc with the season five premiere and the prior two episodes, the entire series has been slowly building to this moment.

The events of this episode have illustrated perfectly that The Clone Wars has added in meaningful ways to the mythology of Star Wars and we are so fully invested in the fates of characters that were created solely for the show it’s crazy. Two important characters met their fate tonight, raising so many unanswered questions it’s not even funny. This exploration of the episode is going to delve into spoiler territory, so be warned.

First is the fate of Satine and the revelation that she and Bo Katan are sisters. What happened to them in their past that they treat each other as enemies? What will this mean going forward for Death Watch? And what questions does it raise for Obi-Wan that Satine is dead?

That moment, though, where Maul deals with Satine was horrifying in all the right ways, eliciting tears. And did anyone else notice the death of Satine shared some imagery and staging with this death of Satine in the arms of Ewan McGregor?

But the bigger reveal was Sidious’s murder of Savage Opress. Why were his wounds glowing green? Why did a green mist of Dathomiri force magic take his clothes away? Where was there a subtle change to his voice as he was dying? Mother Talzin still seems to have a very important part to play during the course of The Clone Wars, I hope we’ll be able to see it.

But since Sidious dispatched Maul’s apprentice, and refused to kill Maul himself, insisting he has other uses for him, what will this mean for Maul going forward? Will we see him once again as the Sith attack dog? Or will he be sent to some far flung corner of the galaxy to hide until such time as the Sith can be reborn… in Episode VII…? (I’m just throwing that out there because it’s funny, not because I really believe that.)

What do the events of this episode portend for Mandalore? Will it descend further into war? Will the Republic arrive to save it? Will we get any of these questions answered on the show if we don’t get a confirmation from Disney that future seasons will be appearing?

The epic scope of this episode is everything that Star Wars does right. Characters were in tough situations, there were battles with emotional payoffs, and consequences to be shared. And all of it was on the stage of Star Wars in a way that could have only made sense here.

One of the things I loved most about this episode is that everything felt like a nod to the Star Wars films themselves.  It started with Satine sending Obi-wan Kenobi (her only hope) the distress hologram. Then it moves right onto Obi-wan in the Twilight, which is shorting out and malfunctioning very much like the Millennium Falcon. Then, when he arrives on Mandalore, he pulls a Han Solo with the guards, asking them to come up the ramp to beat him up and steal his disguise.  Then, when, he arrives to rescue Satine originally, they have an “Aren’t you a little short for a stormtrooper?” moment.

But there’s so many more. The reveal of Bo Katan and Satine being sisters is foreshadowed (much better than Luke and Leias), the reveal had much the same weight when Luke revealed it Leia. But Obi-wan pieced it together in the same way he did when he put together Anakin being the father of Padme’s children. He even added the same, “I’m so sorry,” afterward.

And Palpatine/Sidious…  Wow. Ian Abercrombie gave one of the best performances that the character has ever had, and it had so many echoes of Return of the Jedi, from the musical cues, to the walk down the ramp of the Imperial-like shuttle, to the force lightning. His cackle just brings joy to my heart.

The thing I love most about this show is seeing films behind it. And it seems as though the show is never better when the films behind it are Star Wars.

Having said that, it’s just as good when Alfred Hitchcock films are behind the episodes, too. Which is why I’m so excited for the final arc of Season 5, every title is based on an Alfred Hitchcock movie, and it makes me more excited than anything.

Having said all of that, I truly think “The Lawless” has eclipsed “Duel of the Droids” as my favorite episode of the series to date. This episode looked gorgeous, was lit beautifully, the lightsaber duels had an emotional edge to them we haven’t had in a while, and it made me cry. Not once, but twice.

This was the best of what this show has to offer, to my mind a flawless episode, and if you’re not watching it, you’re doing it wrong.

Just about every week I think “wow, this has probably been the best episode of the season.” Every week. Supernatural Season Gr8 is on a steady incline, IMDB isn’t showing any breaks between the next five episodes, and I am confident the upward momentum will continue.

In the meantime, oh lawd the angst! The generational angst! On Wednesday’s episode, Sam and Dean met their paternal grandfather and learned the answer to a family mystery that could have changed the lives of three generations of Winchesters. They also battled a Knight of Hell in the form of an Evil Joan Holloway clone, and found what at least appears to be the supernatural equivalent of the Rosetta Stone.

The most interesting thing about this episode was the brothers’ reactions and defenses of their father. Sam, who usually scoffs at his father’s reputation, remained pensive and quiet, while Dean continued to sing John’s accolades. Sam, always so eager to write off his father’s parental skills, was defensive and sympathetic to Henry (which he could never afford his own father), while Dean was quick to fly off the handle because Henry was never there for John. It was a very interesting paradox and shed even more light on the brothers and their definitions of responsibility and loyalty. For Sam, love and respect are keys, while for Dean duty is always first on the list of responsibilities and priorities. What’s interesting this season though, is watching how those standards that have lasted for the seven and a half years we’ve shared with these men are slowly shifting their own motives and actions into the exact opposite of what we’ve come to expect – Dean showing mercy to a monster, Sam returning to the life of his own free will.

One of my favorite things about this show is how often they get the “supernatural” stuff correct. And if it’s not true to eons of legends, it’s very clearly based on just that, and the fact that it’s always so well researched and as factual as something like that can be lends credence to the writers and their evident love of what they do. “Abaddon,” the Demon Knight this week, is mostly mentioned as a location in religious texts. But in Revelations, he is a “King” of Hell (whoops, OK, they already used that title in their own mythology) or a fallen star who kept a key to a bottomless pit. Which is pretty awesome, since Sam and Dean need to throw a key into a bottomless pit. So that’s pretty fun.

I kept waiting for Cas to show up and really blow Henry Winchester’s mind, but I’m actually glad he didn’t make an appearance this episode. This was completely focused on the boys, on the family, and left a lot of room to grow in all the talk of the Winchester Legacy. This season had begun to feel like an ending to me, but with this episode I am hopeful that we will get to spend one more year with the greatest hunters that have ever lived.

So. Back to the big mystery. The box. Is it the Angel Stone? Is it just a translation key? And – most importantly – will the Winchesters throw it away for good? My guess is probably not – there are far too many potential plot expositions that can come from its existence. I’m betting that first the brothers will fight, Tolkien style, on whether to use or destroy its power, and then a race (hopefully BJ & The Bear style) will occur between Heaven, Hell, and Hunters.

Honestly, my only complaint this episode applies to far too many things on TV these days. Like, when did it become OK to throw up on TV? I am simply not down with this.