The Crown: Season 5

Hi everybody!
Today we’re going to talk about the most recent season of Netflix’s The Crown. We’re now 5 seasons deep into the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, which means we’ve now made it to the 90s.

The Plot (according to Rotten Tomatoes):

Based on an award-winning play (“The Audience”) by showrunner Peter Morgan, this lavish, Netflix-original drama chronicles the life of Queen Elizabeth II from the 1940s to modern times. The series begins with an inside look at the early reign of the queen, who ascended the throne at age 25 after the death of her father, King George VI. As the decades pass, personal intrigues, romances, and political rivalries are revealed that played a big role in events that shaped the later years of the 20th century.

The Crown on RT

The Rating:

What a season. The Crown is certainly always a big spectacle and the latest installment isn’t a letdown in that regard. While the show has previously covered a lot of important events, I was especially curious to see how the whole Charles and Diana thing gets tackled as this is among the most prominent things that have happened within the royal family. I feel like that was especially the case because the media was all over it. Sure, there was reporting on the royal family before, but was there ever as much going on – especially focused on the private life of individuals within the family – as at that time? Plus, while I am too young to remember any of it, there is a large chunk of the audience who will have memories of Diana, of her marriage with Charles, and the reporting thereof. Hence, I was simply intrigued to see how that would translate to the screen.

I want to start with Elizabeth Debicki who portrayed Diana in this season. God, what a truly outstanding performance that was. She really nailed it. Not just the look but so many of the little mannerisms, the way she speaks. Just amazing. I hope Debicki wins all the awards for this, she’d deserve it. Out of the entire cast, I believe her performance was the strongest – and that says something considering that this season also featured Imelda Staunton and Jonathan Pryce.

The Handmaid’s Tale: Season 5

Hi everybody!
Today we need to talk about season 5 of The Handmaid’s Tale. The latest season dropped last year but I didn’t have any more capacity for misery in my life, so it took me a while to start watching…

The Plot (according to Rotten Tomatoes):

Based on the best-selling novel by Margaret Atwood, this series is set in Gilead, a totalitarian society in what used to be part of the United States. Gilead is ruled by a fundamentalist regime that treats women as property of the state, and is faced with environmental disasters and a plummeting birth rate. In a desperate attempt to repopulate a devastated world, the few remaining fertile women are forced into sexual servitude. One of these women, Offred, is determined to survive the terrifying world she lives in, and find the daughter that was taken from her.

The Handmaid’s Tale on RT

The Rating:

Damn, what a season.
Before I delve into all the things I liked about this season, let’s address some issues. Mainly, we need to tackle some stuff that I already brought up in my reviews for past seasons. Could we please put June in therapy or something? I fully understand that she went through a lot and doesn’t really know how to deal with how she feels now. But – this was already the case during the last season – there are moments where June seems less like an actual character but just like a ball of rage that is meant to move the plot along. Granted, they’re doing a better job with it this season than during the last one, but we’re still not quite there. To be honest, I feel like some of the mediocre writing in those scenes is saved by Elizabeth Moss. She’s such an outstanding actress, her performance can’t easily tide you over some imperfections.

Because June keeps returning to this kind of behavior the show/the season sometimes is going in circles. Yes, there are a lot of things going on, there is plot that gets moved along significantly, but June as a character feels somewhat stagnant and that’s why we’re not really getting anywhere. It doesn’t help that parts of the plot feel all over the place and somewhat disconnected. Tying everything together could just be a little bit better to make everything feel more cohesive and whole.

I was quite impressed with Yvonne Strahovski this season. I remember clearly that during the first season (and also in other stuff I had seen her in up to that point) I disliked her quite a lot because she couldn’t act or convey emotion to save her life. Well, somewhere between then and now she must have learned because she delivered some outstanding performances this season.

*If you haven’t seen the season yet, I’m gonna address some details now, so beware of spoilers!*

Riverdale: Season 5, Part 2 – A Review

Hey guys!
We’re back with Riverdale, taking a closer look at the second half of Riverdale’s season 5. I wasn’t too impressed with the first half, but maybe they manage to redeem themselves?

The Plot:

Okay, so the timehop has happened, we are still in Riverdale. Archie is still over the place, Betty is on the hunt for a serial killer, Jughead needs to get a grip, Veronica tries to get back to being her old self, while I don’t even know what the heck is going on with Cheryl…

Riverdale on RT

The Rating:

What. A. Giant. Clusterfuck.
I don’t have words for how freaking bad this season was. There were moments that has so much potential, this could have been great but overall, I think this is the season I dislike the most so far. This review will feature a lot of spoilers because, believe me, there are *a lot* of things we need to address.

The sheer craziness of some of the plot developments is nothing short of ridiculous. Some episodes were so cringe-worthy, I actually had to stop halfway through to stop halfway through to take a deep breath and a break before finishing. Let’s talk about some of that after the *read more*.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 5

Hey guys! Another day, another Buffy review.
We’ve already made it to season 5 – let’s see if the show can keep up it’s pacing and me intrigued!

The Plot:

Lots of things have changed and are about to change in Sunnydale. Do you remember Buffy’s sister?

The Rating:

EXCUSE ME. How well written was this season?! Admittely, we were off to a rocky start and I had my reserverations a the beginning, but damn, we have some episodes in season 5 that are nothing short of brilliant. I’m still feeling a little conflicted on the season as a whole but I am willing to forgive any of the imperfections due to some of the downright amazing episodes that easily balance everything out.

Unless you have seen seasons 1 to 4 pretty much everything from here on out will be a spoiler. Even if you have seen everything up to that point, I will be talking about some season 5 plot points in detail, so consider yourself warned!

Lucifer: Season 5 – A Review

Hello detective! Ahem, readers!
I binged the fifth season of Lucifer right when it came out. Which actually means, I binged both parts when they came out. I hate that due to COVID many shows ended up with split season, I would have loved to go through the entire thing all at once. Well, it is what it is. Let’s see if it was worth all the hustle!

The Plot (as found on Rotten Tomatoes):

Bored with wasting time in the deepest pits of hell, Lucifer has abdicated and now resides here on Earth, indulging in all forms of guilty pleasures: women, wine and parties. But the most terrifying turn is yet to come when he finds himself developing the most spine-chilling human trait of them all – emotion.

Lucifer on Rotten Tomatoes

The Rating:

Before I begin, let me warn you, this review will contain spoilers galore. A lot happened in this season and I need to talk about it.
So, before I move to the spoilers, let me just say I tremendously enjoyed season 5. We got so many twists and interesting developments. Sure it wasn’t perfect, but I am more than ready to forgive all the little imperfections. As a whole the season convinced me twice over. They really went all out: the acting, the writing, the music!

Riverdale: Season 5, Part 1 – A Review

Hey guys!
For some reason I am still watching the giant trainwreck that is Riverdale. I’ve had my issues with past seasons but there’s always a spark of potential you can see shimmering through. So, here we are again, hoping that the first half of season five was decent!

The Plot:

Picking up where we left of in season 4, this one concludes the mystery encountered. Once that is neatly wrapped up, we do a little time-hop. After seven years away all our favorites return to Riverdale. And – of course – nothing is as it used to be…

Riverdale on RT

The Rating:

Okay, so what was that wrap up of season 4? To be honest, I was very confused after the final episodes of that one as it seemed they had just stopped somewhere in the middle of the season. I guess it only makes sense that the first episodes of season 5 now have to solve that mystery and make sense of what happened. But I wish they had just done that in the last season and started this one with the time hop.

While that’s just a minor, stylistic note I wasn’t a fan of, the bigger problem is the plot. No spoilers, but (why do I feel like I say this in every Riverdale review?!) I’m not sure the grand reveal made much sense. If you think about the logistic and stuff that went into creating the tapes, I just don’t believe that the person who turned out to be responsible could have orchestrated all that. But let’s just move on from that, shall we?