May 2022 — Television Recap

The “Moon Knight” season one finale aired at the beginning of May. If any of the Marvel-Disney+ series could have just been a feature, “Moon Knight” is that one. Falling to the bottom of my list of favorite Marvel shows thus far, the story is a bit too much for Oscar Isaac to carry. The most exciting concept brought up that will reverberate through the rest of the MCU is the idea of an afterlife and being able to come back from that. It’s also nice to see another female superhero stepping in, with Layla taking the mantle of Egyptian god Taweret. It will be interesting to see where all this fits in with the rest of the Universe.

Somewhat spoiler alert, there’s a film in theaters that might have some small connection to the X-Men. Before seeing the film, I saw an article listing required viewings before seeing the new movie. “X-Men: The Animated Series” was on that list. In middle school, “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” was my only required viewing. “X-Men: The Animated Series” was not even on my radar. I know it’s beloved by most comic book enthusiasts, but I had never seen it before and decided now it was worth a watch. The writers’ ability to make a new villain pop up in every episode is admirable. Even though the rogue’s gallery is a revolving door week after week, it never feels tired. There’s nothing mind-blowing thus far, but you get the sense that Kevin Feige will be taking many notes from this series in the future.

When I heard Josh Brolin talk about “Outer Range” during his appearance on the YouTube show “Hot Ones,” I knew I had to give it a shot. The entire series feels based on a Stephen King novel. Bordering the genres of Western and Science Fiction, “Outer Range” poses a lot of questions and slowly burns away the answers. But even by the end of the first season, you’re not entirely sure what’s going on. The whole cast is commendable, with Brolin anchoring the entire show, but Imogen Poots, Will Patton, and Tom Pelphrey were the supporting standouts.

Season four of “Ozark” felt like it both needed more seasons and needed to be shorter. Some aspects of the series flew by, and the ending left things feeling entirely unresolved. In particular, Laura Linney’s character arc was exhausting and needed to be shorter. We care about this family and the characters around them by season four, and unfortunately, the story falls off a cliff. The requirement to suspend your disbelief gets put to the test. And some of the ups and downs could cause whiplash.

However you feel about the first two episodes, one must admit it’s fun being back in this sandbox with these characters. “Obi-Wan Kenobi” picks up ten years after the events of “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.” Obi-Wan is hiding, watching over a young Luke Skywalker, whom we see in the trailer. However, a twist revealed early on involving characters not sold in the trailers left me genuinely thankful. Funny enough, those characters are the main driving force for the series thus far. One thing is for sure; six episodes will not be nearly enough to satiate us.

At the tail end of May, I was able to jump into the fourth season of “Stranger Things.” As the picture above shows, the crew is separated this season. Some of the characters are still in Hawkins, but the rest are spread out across the globe, fighting their own little battles. As great as the writing is, chock-full of tongue-in-cheek references to the horror genre, some performances don’t quite live up to the words on the page. Characters who used to be the show’s anchor are stale. Still, I look forward to where this is going. I don’t look forward to waiting so long for the next season.

I popped on the first episode of “The Flight Attendant” season 2 while on the treadmill on the last day of May. The first season was fun, and it’s nice seeing Kaley Cuoco doing something more serious. However, the first installment didn’t sell me. It feels a little too transparent about where everything is headed this season instead of remaining more of a mystery. Still, I’m bound to give it a shot.