Monday, November 20, 2017

Chicago Med Season 2




With only a day until the season premiere of Chicago Med, here's a quick recap of what happened at the end of Season 2.

Season 2 of Chicago Med was such a unique and powerful season. From what season one brought us, season two took it to another level, full of excitement and emotionally powerful, entertaining, and likable characters.

If there was one thing this season, it was character and relationship. Let me start with the couple we all hope to get together, #Manstead. The relationship between Dr. Will Halstead and Dr. Natalie Manning grows as they are in other relationships later in the season. Manning and Jake grew apart while Halstead had come clean to Nina about his relationship with Manning. At the end of season two, the two rose and danced at the end.

April and her fiance are expecting a baby, and while it all seems fine, April learns that she's got TB and is taking the proper medications. But things get very complicated, and soon, she has a miscarriage. After the miscarriage, she decides to leave it with her fiance and move on.

Soon it became a (first) season-ending shocker that after both April and Choi had some difficult times and butted heads near the end of the season, they finally showed their feelings for one another.

With a new doctor in the building, Dr. Rhodes works with the new head of cardiology, Dr. Latham. Dr. Latham is a different character who doesn't show a lot of emotions, and when things go his way, he will let you know in a super pissed-off way. That led to both Latham and Rhodes, with the help from Dr. Charles, that Latham has Asperger syndrome and tried to fix it with electroshock therapy, which it did.

Dr. Rhodes gets involved with another doctor, who happens to be Dr. Charles's daughter, Robyn. Dr. Charles tries to connect with her but isn't getting that warm, welcoming invitation. Of course, Charles disapproves of Rhodes dating her, and Rhodes and Charles butted heads sometimes. Near the end of the season, Dr. Charles puts Robyn in the psychiatric ward, for which Rhodes tries to get her out. It bites Rhodes in the ass when, after bringing Robyn home, he gets a rude awakening from a psychotic Rhodes, who happens to be outside his appointment. After obtaining her back in, it turns out from Reese's findings that Robyn has a tumor causing all of the outbursts.

The whole team has grown through a lot of difficult times this season. One of them happens to be when their co-worker takes his own life jumping off the top of the hospital. It not only shook everyone from Reese to Manning, but it butted heads between Halstead and Choi.

Choi goes through one of the most emotional episodes of the season; in "Cold Front" (which, if you haven't seen yet, you should), the whole Med team deals with a car pileup in the middle of the coldest and snowiest nights of winter. Choi keeps a burned patient alive just enough to say goodbye to his wife. Rhodes tells him to let him go and move on, but Choi isn't going to let that happen and does chest compression on the patient until the patient tells him to stop. That was one of the season's most emotional moments, but there was a lighter side as Choi gave blood to a kid who needed it with a blood shortage.

Not to mention that the Crossover Event episode that had all four shows come together was another power moment with Chicago Med as Halstead and Manning try to help Al's daughter live after an undisclosed club/apartment was arson fire.

At the end of season two, things were looking pretty good. It seemed that everything was going so well with our beloved characters until Dr.Charles goes home and is confronted by a patient that tricked him into thinking that he was dead in the season; he is pissed that he didn't get to see him and shoots his in the stomach and kills himself, leaving us with the second shocking moment and with a cliffhanger as well.

I couldn't tell you enough how much I enjoyed season two of Chicago Med: the stories, the characters, and the deep emotion they bring week in and week out. I know that the show doesn't want to hear it, but I haven't enjoyed a medical drama since ER and House ended, not to mention The Night Shift (which was just canceled in October). The performances from this cast were unbelievable.

The one cast member who stood out throughout the season is Rachel DiPillo, who played Dr. Sarah Reese. Reese started the season working at a coffee shop after deciding she wanted to work in the ER instead of pathology, which she wanted to do. Dr. Charles gave her a spot in his department. With the help of Dr. Charles and other members, she learned to connect with and diagnose patients. I think DiPillo was the season's MVP, given that everyone else deserves it, too.

Overall, Season 2 gets a 9.5/10.

Season 3 will be another heart-pounding roller coaster ride of emotion and excitement. Will Dr. Charles live or die? He might live. But with what has been going down this season in the Chicago Universe, I wouldn't count on anything. What will become of our #Manstead and even April and Choi? (If anyone has a nickname for them, please let me know! :) ). The one thing that I look forward to the most, besides the characters, are the medical stories that will come through the doors of Chicago Med. They had to tackle head-on the severe levels that are going on in the country.

 You can catch the season premiere of Chicago Med on Tuesday, Nov. 21st at 10/9c after This Is Us on NBC.

Escape: Supergirl "Midvale"

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Ever wondered how Alex and Kara been so close to one another? Well, this episode really gives us the origins of how they became the best sibling relationship.

After a heartbreaking breakup with Maggie and a rough couple of weeks, Kara takes Alex to a trip back home to get away from it all and recharge their batteries. Kara tries to get Alex to open up about her feelings but she attacks her with how she handed losing Mon-El and the two go to bed.

We jump ten years back to when Kara and Alex were in high school and the two seemed to be not on good terms at all. Alex didn't like Kara for all the big sister reasons that you would think.

The episode depicts on the origins of how Alex and Kara became the sisters that we have seen them for the past two and a quarter seasons.  Kara's good friend, Kenny, gets killed and the two put their heads together to solve the case. Kara finds her friend's laptop and tries to decrepit the computer with Alex's skills but when they couldn't they see that Kenny gets an email from a teacher that knows that Kenny knows about him and Alex's friend are in an illegal relationship.

You would think that it would just be that til later when Kara and Alex are walking home they almost get hit by a car. Soon Alex's friend comes by and tells her that the teacher had been arrested and she was with him at the time. That gives Alex the idea that the teacher wasn't the suspect at all and goes to the local sheriff to inform him.

Kara gets word from her friend, who decrepit the rest of Kenny's laptop, that there were photos and one of them being the local sheriff dealing with drugs. Kara quickly calls Alex to inform her and quickly hears her saying she with him at the game and flies there to save her.

After the arrested of the local sheriff, Alex and Kara get a special gift from Kenny's parents ('m going to say mostly his mother) of Kenny's telescope. That apparent telescope was a symbol or a key to the beginning of their wonderful sisterhood.

As they young Kara and Alex go to bed, we come back to the present to see Alex waking up and walking towards Kara, who was looking through the telescope. Soon they open up and quickly come to realize that everything is going to be find. They leave but in the style of listening to Gwen Stefani's "Escape."

"Midvale" was a really good standalone origin episode of depicting how Kara and Alex became such great sisters. It was overly dramatic at all. It really had a good balance of humor, drama and a simpe case of the week. Izabela Vidovic and Olivia Nikkanen were amazing and played the young Kara and Alex. With everything this episode had show, the one moment that really stuck in my mind was when Kara was visited by an agent from the FBI that looked like her mother. But when she leaves after telling Kara not to use her powers, she walks to her car and changed form into Hank as it was J'onn J'onzz. That moment was so touching as how important he is to Kara and Alex. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

You can catch Supergirl Mondays at 8/7c on The CW.

Thursday, November 16, 2017

A Freight Train of Emotions: The Blacklist "Ian Garvey (No. 13)" Fall Finale




The fall finale of The Blacklist wasn't at any point a disappointment as it delivered a finale that will have everyone talking about through the hiatus.

With Tom Keen no where to be found, Liz is worried after trying to call him a lot. They soon pick up clues to where Tom has been around from the motel to the gas station. Liz thinks that Tom is trying to kind Nick's killer.

While Liz is searching for Tom, Tom, who happened to open the flood gates of trouble, is being held by Ina Garvery in the woods. Ian tries to make Tom talk about the suitcase but won't speak of it, not even when both Pete and his girlfriend's dead bodies in the wood clipper. Ian makes Tom call Red and telling where to meet, unaware that he and Dembe are a couple of minutes away but plays to their plan.

With Ian gone to meet with Red, Tom escapes along with the suitcase and runs into the woods, guns a blazing. As it looked like things were coming to an end, Tom runs into a car that has Red and Dembe and gets in even after getting shot in the back. The three rushed off.

Now with Tom being with Red, you know there's going to be some father-in-law/son-in-law bonding time happening here. As they find shelter for the moment, Tom and Red talk about not only the suitcase but the whole reason why Tom got the job to look after Liz and we see flashbacks of Tom getting the information about Liz and only interact but never to fall in love. Well, love is a powerful thing.

Soon Ian and his men get to the house that Red, Tom and Dembe are at, the three hide til when Tom's blood drips down from the vent. Red and tom get out but not without leaving a bit of a warm getaway package for Ian, burning their vehicles. As they stopped at the gas station, Tom asked again about what's in the suitcase, Red talks about how he heard about him and Liz getting married (the first time) and talked about how mad he was but know how Tom makes her happy.

After their talk, Tom makes a getaway with the bones and DNA results. He gets to the Union Station and looks at the results with an expression that quickly makes him call Liz to tell her to meet him at home alone (having the babysitter take Agnus somewhere safe). Red gets word about Liz gone MIA and gets word that the last call came from the train station. He makes a call to Tom at the station and tells him that he doesn't have to do this, but Tom won't stop.

As Liz gets home, she's with worried and excitement but that goes away when she sees him tied up and beaten. That's where Ian and his group surround them. Liz of course, punches Ian in the face. Ian makes Tom pay for what he had done, by stabbing him in the stomach. And again when he asked Tom to call Red but wouldn't. Liz gets punched and falls to the floor where she suffers a severe head injury. There Ian lets his guys clean the place up and to kill both Tom and Liz while playing "Southern Cross" playing in the background. But Tom grabs the knife that was left from Ian and free himself and goes after the guys and then Red and Demeb get there with their guns going off blazing. And when Red gets to Tom, he doesn't kill him, but kills the other guy behind him on the floor.

With Tom and Liz severely injured, Red and Dembe rush them to the hospital with the help of Cooper and the FBI escorting them there. Just before they get to the hospital, Tom and Liz try to tell one another to stay alive and make sure that Agnus remembers her. As the rush in the ER, both in the same room, Liz is put on a tube and gets her head drilled of fear of a brain bleed while they try to get Tom's heart going and fixing up his wounds, but in the end....Tom dies.

We jump to with Red reading off a lovely verse from the bible and gets shocked when Liz wakes up. She asked how long she's been under and Red informs her that it's been 10 months and the next question was about Tom and he tells her that he'd died. And we see Tom's body in the morgue with Cooper as witness being put in the cooler in spite that he is really gone.   

This episode was a freight train of emotions and such memorable moments that it still as I'm writing this had me choking up. I had a feeling Tom was going die, he did open the flood gates to trouble, but did it for the all the right reasons, love and the truth for Liz. I thought that performance between Spader and Eggold was solid and special watching these two in their character moments of the past and present. Even Jonny Coyne's performance of Ian Garvey was thrilling as well. Boone's Liz carries a lot of the emotional scenes through part of the episode til it was between Liz and Tom at the end. The writing was so strong, the directing captured so many great moments from the character's prospective. Even the song choices were should I say memorable and yet very emotional as well.

As for what will happen in the second half of the season, I think Liz is going to probably have a tough time getting back to business. Hell, I can't wait to see how Ian is going to use the bones and DNA results against Red. I do think and I'm saying that I think that maybe those bones are those of Liz's mother.

Overall, I give this episode a 9.5/10.

You can catch The Blacklist when it returns Wednesday, January 3rd at 8/7c on NBC.

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

True Relationship: The Blacklist "The Kilganoon Corporation"


This week's episode of The Blacklist was one to remember.

"The Kilganoon Corportation" might as well be best remembered for the character growth and understanding of what the relationship between Reddington and Dembe really means.

After Liz tells Red about her and Tom getting married in the previous episode, Red lays the next line of work of a human smuggling ring that he use to be a part of, but thanks to Kaplan I guess that ship had sailed. In order to stop, they must go undercover and send in Dembe, who really shines in this episode.

Putting his life at risk, Dembe does what it takes to find where they put these people that are just dying to leave the country because of war, law or freedom. Just as things were going well, Liz and the gang goes in to take down the men that are sending refugees. But one truck leaves just as the FBI move in and Dembe has it.

Red hunts for the driver of the truck that Dembe is in.  He does what he can to find Dembe, as you can understand that Dembe is the one true person that has shown Red the light of good and evil. This episode really revealed the meaning of the two.

With the truck stuck and only a few hours of air left, Dembe does what he can to have order in the truck without people killing one another. Also he was protecting a scared little girl who was separated  from her parents. But just in time, Red gets there and drives Dembe and the girl to the hospital for the girl to get treatment.

When the FBI get there, Ressler has a change of heart when he sees the refugees and tells Cooper that once you actually see it, it really takes a whole affect on you. Red and Dembe reunited the child with her parents.

Meanwhile, Tom gets a lead of where Pete is located. The so called girlfriend/fiance looked up her credit and sees that Pete purchased a few things at a local gas station. There they met and looked around, Tom search through the security cam and spots him and takes photos. They found a clue to where he might be, which happens to be in a motel.

There, Tom goes in and demands answers until it was too late and he gets knocked out cold. Later, he wakes up with a man speaking about the brief case. He too demands of the suit case, he kills Pete and the woman and threatens Tom. Tom gives Red to him saying that Red trusts him and he can bring Red to him. The leads one of Red's henchman to call and inform that there's a situation.

"The Kilganoon Corporation" was such a memorable episode, mostly the relationship between Dembe and Reddingotn. Yeah we know that Red saved Dembe but in return Dembe saved Reddington in the process of being a better man. That scene when Dembe had to go back undercover again and Red didn't want to and when all was agree, Dembe asked Red for one thing, one being to watch Dembe's family but it mainly to have someone watch him to care for him. That got me choking up a bit. Another memorable moment came when that little girl scared, Dembe comes and shows her a bunny rabbit out of a tissue and his hands, which was so so cute.

Also let's not forget Tom and his doing in this episode that happens to be in serious trouble at the end. Could this be the end of Tom when the fall finale comes tomorrow? Everything seems to point to that, but even though Red doesn't like Tom, I still think that Red will do everything he can to keep Tom alive for Liz. I just have that feeling. But with someone being so happy, it all has to come down sooner or later and sooner is coming fast.

Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

You can catch the fall finale of The Blacklist tomorrow at 8/7c on NBC.

Chicago Med Season 3, Ep. 1 "Speak Your Truth" Preview, Clips and Promos




We're just one week away from the season premiere of television's best medical drama, Chicago Med. Here's a look into the season premiere.

"Speak Your Truth"

The doctors of Chicago Med take their opinions to the extreme as they try to bring justice to the perpetrator in the shooting of Dr. Charles. Dr. Halstead and Dr. Manning work on a heart-wreching case that forces them to examine their own matters of the heart. Though Robin's brain tumor was removed and she is discharged from rehabilitation center, Dr. Rhodes remians on edge that her problems are not quite resolved. Maggie sticks up for a patient while Dr Choi and April try to move their new working relationship in the right direction.











Here are some clips and interviews:









You can catch the season premiere of Chicago Med Tuesday, November 21 at 10/9c on NBC.

Monday, November 13, 2017

A Bond and Separate: Supergirl "Damage"

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This episode was all about damage control, both professionally and privately.

Let's get to the pulling off the band-aid part of the episode as Alex and Maggie finally talk it out again about whether they are done because Alex wants kids and Maggie doesn't. When they finally talk it out, it turns out that they have to break up.

But there's some bright side to breaking up, mainly between Alex and Maggie. As Alex was packing things up and listening to a depressing song, Maggie changed the music to a friendly and upbeat one. The two kiss and move to the bed, where they spend one more time together. Maggie packs and leaves, but not with a long, emotional goodbye kiss.

Meanwhile, Lena deals with her crisis when Edge blames her for the lead poisoning of the kids from the lead bomb in the season 2 finale. With the whole city hating Lena, she tries to calm the storm, but one of the parents tries to assist her but fails. Samantha takes Lean in until they figure out the whole problem. Kara and Samantha investigate and figure out (mostly Samantha) that all the kids who became sick were at a local pool.

The two break in (thanks to Kara) and look around with a sample of the pool water that turned out to have lead. Samantha and Kara quickly found the chlorine from a company that had information in it. Kara informed Lena about it and asked the company if she ever heard of it. She tells her no, but she knows it's Edge's company.

Lena confronts Edge and threatens him with a gun, but he gets the last laugh as one of his guys knocks her out and leaves her in an airplane carrying the same chlorine. Edge controls the plane, but with Lena's quick SOS SOS call, Kara gets there just in time and saves both Lena and the chlorine barrels. 

Kara confronts Edge about attacking Lena, and the two butted heads until Kara steps away.

Lena and James' relationship seems to be going better than it had been since Lena bought CatCo. Kara, Lena, and Samantha have a lovely sisterly evening to celebrate. Kara later confronts Alex about her break up with Maggie, and at the end of the episode, Samantha finds out that she was shot but didn't get injured.

"Damage" was an episode in which I endured intense emotions and excitement. The Alex and Maggie scenes were so good and, at times, faced with real raw emotions. With that, the Lena, Samantha, and Kara storyline was even out with thrilling and fun at times, mostly watching Samantha and Kara scenes. Katie McGarth, Oddette Annable, and Melissa Benoist show naturally good chemistry. Chyler Leigh and Floriana Lima gave an excellent performance. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

You can catch Supergirl on Mondays at 8/7c on The CW.

Here's a promo for the next episode:


Chicago Med - Next: Charles' Life Is in Jeopardy on the Season Premiere ...



Just one week away til the season premiere of Chicago Med. Here's first look clip of next week's episode:




The new season of Chicago Med begins Tuesday, Nov. 21st at 10/9c on NBC.