A place for Marvel/Star Wars Disney+ shows.

The two part Agatha All Along finale was good television. Not amazing but nonetheless satisfying and possessed of a storytelling integrity notably lacking in most of the Marvel series on Disney+. I suspect this is something Drew Goddard alluded to in a tweet about the new Daredevil series, that Disney/Marvel is abandoning the "treat series like movies" policy and going back to the format that made the Marvel Netflix series so consistent. Even the weakest of those, Iron Fist, benefited from the lack of the indecisive committee mentality that I think undermined so many big budget Disney+ shows.

( Spoilers for the Agatha All Along finale and Wanda Vision behind the cut )

Agatha All Along is available on Disney+.

I got caught up on Agatha All Along and watched the newest episode last night. It's not a bad show and there are several moments I really enjoyed. It has a song, "The Ballad of the Witches' Road", written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, who also wrote the song entitled "Agatha All Along" for WandaVision and are best known for writing the music for Frozen. And it's a good song.

( Spoilers for episode 6 under the cut )

Agatha All Along is available on Disney+

Episode seven of The Acolyte aired last night, an extra long episode, clocking in at at least 34 minutes, minus credits. The credits were kind of an important part this time, though, including as they do a very not-Star Warsy sounding R&B song that dishes at length about the main characters.

( Spoilers behind the cut )

The Acolyte is available on Disney+.

I guess there were revelations and dramatic occurrences in last night's Acolyte but it felt oddly like it was just treading water for thirty minutes.

( Spoilers behind the cut )

The Acolyte is available on Disney+.

I really enjoyed last night's Acolyte, I found myself getting caught up in he story. Called "Destiny", it was directed by Kogonada, a man mainly known for making video essays and supplements for The Criterion Channel. He certainly understands pace and flow and that pays off well. Interestingly, though, I found myself reminded more of Star Trek: The Next Generation than of Star Wars. The teleplay by Jasmyne Flournoy and Eileen Shim focuses on relationships and anthropological problems and some of the sets looked like TNG or maybe '70s Doctor Who.

( Minor spoilers behind the cut )

By the way, I'm reviewing the new episodes of Doctor Who on my blog, if anyone's interested.

The Acolyte is available on Disney+.

Last night's finale of X-Men'97 ended the season as it had been from the beginning--sticking fairly close to the comics. The teleplay by Beau DeMayo and Anthony Sellitti brought famous bits from the comics with a few minor adjustments. It was a satisfying episode though perhaps not quite as astonishing as some earlier episodes from the season, particularly "Fire Made Flesh" and "Remember It".

( Spoilers behind the cut )

X-Men'97 is available on Disney+.

This is how Dave Filoni bakes a cake.

Dave stands up and walks to the kitchen. His arms swing at his sides at a slow, steady pace. His legs seem to swing below his floating torso as though they don't make contact with the ground. He takes a popular recipe book off the shelf, opens it, and smiles. "I'm going to make a cake," he says.

In a mixing bowl, he deposits a cup of flour and smiles. "I've added the flour. Oh! Now I will add some water." He proceeds to add the water. He stirs mechanically with a placid smile on his face. He pours the mixture into a mould and places it in the oven. "Time to start baking!" he says, turning the knobs though his eyes don't seem to focus on them. Twelve hours later, he opens the oven to find a charred mess. "No!" he says, leaning forward slightly, "I can't let this cake die!" The scene fades out.

Hours later, Dave is seated at a clean, nondescript table with two human friends, each with short, nondescript haircuts and wearing nondescript jumpsuits. There's an empty plate before each person with a few crumbs. "That was a delicious cake!" says one. "How did you save it?" says the other.

Dave smiles his placid smile. "With a little help from an old ally. But that's a tale for another time."

Roll credits.

So, yeah, Tales of the Empire is typical Filoni. ( Mild spoilers behind the cut )

Tales of the Empire is on Disney+. Happy Star Wars Day.

X-Men'97 delivered a solid first part of its three part finale last night, "Tolerance is Extinction". Co-written by Beau DeMayo, it capably weaves together story threads based on the comics and includes some really impressive action scenes.

( Spoilers Behind the Cut )

X-Men'97 is available on Disney+.

I guess it's kind of inevitable the new X-Men'97 would pale in comparison to last week's. It wasn't really bad though it hardly reached the levels of excitement of "Remember It". "Lifedeath Part II" was also the first one not written or co-written by Beau DeMayo. Charley Feldman receives sole credit. Could this be blamed for some lack of momentum and particularly awkward lines?

( Spoilers behind the cut )

X-Men'97 is available on Disney+.