Paul Levinson's Blog: Levinson at Large, page 234

Vikings 4.13: Family

An excellent Vikings 4.13 last night, with pivotal developments in not two but three different parts of the world, bound together by Ragnar's family ties.

The competition among the three narratives was tough, but I guess my favorite, by a nose, was Ragnar and Ivar.  The conversation in which Ragnar tells Ivar he was wrong about his son, and he ultimately has something more, not less, than his brothers, was priceless and perfect.  And so was the way Ivar dispatched some of his Viking compatriots, as distasteful as that otherwise was (I would have preferred to see him spare the young shield maiden).

But speaking of brothers, a very close second to Wessex were Bjorn and Uncle Rollo in Paris.  It was great to see Rollo's three kids - especially the one who stuck his tongue out at Floki (which Floki also enjoyed) - and gratifying to see the Viking wanderlust that was still strong in his blood.  It will be great to see how this expedition fares as it makes its way towards Rome.

The third theater was back home in Scandinavia, as Lagertha moves against Aslaugh.  I'm glad to see this happen - Lagertha deserves to be in charge - but I hate seeing Vikings kill Vikings, which is why I also didn't like Ragnar and Ivar's slaughter of their compatriots in Olde England, logical as it was.

It's exhilarating indeed to see the Vikings extend their reach further south in their world, and I await the day that we see some version of Ragnar's descendants sail west - to Iceland, Greenland, and America.   In the meantime, here's to more adventures up and down and around Europe.


See also Vikings 4.1: I'll Still Take Paris ... Vikings 4.2: Sacred Texts ...Vikings 4.4: Speaking the Language ... Vikings 4.5: Knives ... Vikings 4.8: Ships Up Cliff ... Vikings 4.10: "God Bless Paris" ... Vikings 4.11: Ragnar's Sons ... Vikings 4.12: Two Expeditions


And see also Vikings 3.1. Fighting and Farming ... Vikings 3.2: Leonard Nimoy ...Vikings 3.3: We'll Always Have Paris ... Vikings 3.4: They Call Me the Wanderer ... Vikings 3.5: Massacre ... Vikings 3.6: Athelstan and Floki ...Vikings 3.7: At the Gates ... Vikings 3.8: Battle for Paris ... Vikings 3.9: The Conquered ... Vikings Season 3 Finale: Normandy

And see also Vikings 2.1-2: Upping the Ante of Conquest ... Vikings 2.4: Wise King ... Vikings 2.5: Caught in the Middle ... Vikings 2.6: The Guardians ...Vikings 2.7: Volatile Mix ... Vikings 2.8: Great Post-Apocalyptic Narrative ... Vikings Season 2 Finale: Satisfying, Surprising, Superb

And see also Vikings ... Vikings 1.2: Lindisfarne ... Vikings 1.3: The Priest ... Vikings 1.4:  Twist and Testudo ... Vikings 1.5: Freud and Family ... Vikings 1.7: Religion and Battle ... Vikings 1.8: Sacrifice
... Vikings Season 1 Finale: Below the Ash

 
historical science fiction - a little further back in time

Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music

Designated Survivor 1.10: Who Was Hit?

A great winter finale for Designated Survivor tonight - with a cliffhanger that exceeded even some of those we saw on 24.

Before that ending, we also got a nice twist: we already knew that the VP to be (or not to be) was not part of the conspiracy running the show, but was being run himself - that is, he's more a tool than a player in this treason.  But tonight we find out that his wife is his proximate player - nice, unexpected touch, literally the woman behind the man.

The episode was fast-moving, also revealing that Aaron may be a bad guy - though, for all we know, there could be another twist in this, too.

But the ending was a pressure-cooker powerhouse.  The assassin is slightly thrown off by Hannah's shot, just as he's about to shoot Kirkman, so whom does his shot hit?   And what is the result of the bullet?

Well, first, since we're in television land, and network television at that, we know it can't be that Kirkman is killed.   Kiefer Sutherland is too important an actor and Kirkman too important a character for that to happen (the first point is more crucial than the second).  So Kirkman may be wounded - which would be an interesting touch, if that allowed the VP to serve as President even for a short time.

Or, the VP could have been hit - either wounded or killed.  Or the President's wife, or the VP's wife, or even the guy who was swearing them in, though that would be so uninteresting that we can rule that out.

We do see a stretcher in the coming attractions - but for all we know, that could be Hannah, shot by one of the President's Secret Service.  I wouldn't put much money on that, though.  At this point, the most likely victim is someone on the stage - which, come to think of it, also could be Aaron.

I'll be thinking about this ... until March?  Yeah, we'll have to wait that long to see what happens. Hey, we'll have a lot to follow in real life American governance and world affairs.


See also Designated Survivor: Jack Bauer Back in the White House ... Designated Survivor 1.2: Unflinching and Excellent ...  Designated Survivor 1.4: "Michigan's on the Verge of Anarchy" ... Designated Survivor 1.5: The Plot Thickens ... Designated Survivor 1.6: The Governors ... Designated Survivor 1.7: Reassuring Fiction ... Designated Survivor 1.8: Kitchen Sink ... Designated Survivor 1.9: Hacked!


  terrorist squirrels and bombs in NYC

#SFWApro

Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music

Rectify Finale: "Cautiously Optimistic"

Hard to keep a dry eye at the end of Rectify's finale, in fact, throughout most of this superbly wrought (and wrote) final episode.

So many memorable scenes ... Daniel and Kerwin going for an imaginary ride in my home town, where I still spend a lot of my time, New York City.   Everyone taking their leaves of everyone ... well, not everyone, but Amantha and Jon, and Ted Jr. and Tawney still not together, and it feels like no one's together, though Janet and Ted Sr. still are, and the family's all together at the end, except Daniel, and he's with them on the phone.

And the conversation on the phone with Daniel and Ted Jr was priceless, and in many ways the most symbolic of the healing, and the moving on to better things. as they both apologize to each for what they did.  And the last exchange between Daniel and Tawney was just right, too.

And, as was clear through this final season, we don't get the pleasure of seeing Daniel 100% cleared and out of the woods and a man totally free of the law regarding Hanna's murder.   But we see him headed in that direction, with his confession no longer bound to govern his life, and the GBI re-opening the investigation.   Daniel says he's "cautiously optimistic," and maybe that's the best we can reasonably hope for and expect in life, whether we've been treated as unfairly as Daniel or not.

Maybe that's what Rectify has been trying to tell us, all along.  And there is a completion in this, just as the title in the opening credits are finally filled in, at the beginning of this very end.   The story feels complete, even if we don't know whether Daniel was envisioning going out to see Chloe and the baby as he lay in the bed, or if that last, beautiful scene in the field was really happening, a year or more or less later.   It doesn't matter, is the story of Rectify, because the way this life is, there's not as much difference as we may think between a vision and a life.

See also Rectify 4.1: Rummy  ... Rectify 4.4: Slow Motion ... Rectify 4.5: Temper ... Rectify 4.6: Shedding the Straw Man ... Rectify 4.7: Teddy, Jr.

And see also Rectify 3.1: Stroke of Luck ... Rectify 3.2: Daniel and Amantha ... Rectify 3.5: Finally!

And see also Rectify 2.1: Indelible ... Rectify 2.2: True Real Time ... Rectify 2.3: Daniel's Motives ... Rectify 2.4: Jekyll and Hyde ... Rectify 2.6: Rare Education ... Rectify 2.7: The Plot Thickens ... Rectify 2.8: The Plea Bargain and the Smart Phone ... Rectify 2.9: Dancing in the Dark ... Rectify Season 2 Finale: Talk about Cliffhangers!

And see also Rectify: Sheer and Shattering Poetry ... Rectify 1.5: Balloon Man ... Rectify Season 1 Finale: Searingly Anti-Climactic

 
another kind of capital punishment

#SFWApro


Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music

Timeless 1.10: An End in the Middle

An excellent Timeless 1.10 tonight - as befits a mid-season finale - which does a bunch of crucial things, but pitches us into another loop, to be pursued when Timeless resumes in early 2017.

[Lots of spoilers follow.]

First and foremost, David Rittenhouse, the founder of Rittenhouse, is revealed, during the American Revolution, and killed.  He's played by someone who looks like Rudy Giuliani (Armin Shimerman of Star Trek fame, made up to look like Giuliani), which means he makes an apt-looking villain.  His killing is tied up with Benedict Arnold, who's also killed, as is the British high-commander, Lord Cornwallis, who also had things to do a few decades in the future in his and our known history.  But Timeless has already established its penchant for changing some major things in history - with no big effects in the future (2016) - that is, no big effects in our known present and history, but serious changes in the personal lives of our heroes.

Killing Rittenhouse, of course (also a real person, 1732-1796, by the way, a clock maker, Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia was named after him - I hope none of his descendants take umbrage to his character in the series), won't eliminate Rittenhouse the organization.  David says others are already part of the nefarious group, and then there's his son.   In a great scene in the woods, Flynn can't quite bring himself to kill the son, but then he turns and levels his gun, and Lucy is shielding the boy.  Flynn can't quite bring himself kill Lucy, either, and the son escapes.   The scene harkens to the chestnut of a question in many time travel stories - if you had a chance to kill Hitler when he was still a young, innocent child, would you do it? Preventing his parents from ever meeting would be a less brutal, more ethical way of preventing Hitler's rise, but that option may not be available to the time traveler.

Meanwhile, in a touching scene in the future, Denise gives Lucy a thumb drive with Denise's family history in case something Lucy and company do in the past erases Denise's family, the way that something they did erased Lucy's sister.  It's a memorable moment - which also raises the unspoken question of:  what happens if something Lucy does in the past erases not Denise's family but Denise?

The final scene is good, too, with Flynn kidnapping Lucy - he said they'd be working together.  See you back here with more reviews of the good and evil they do next year.

See also Timeless 1.1: Threading the Needle ... Timeless 1.2: Small Change, Big Payoffs ... Timeless 1.3: Judith Campbell ... Timeless 1.4: Skyfall and Weapon of Choice ... Timeless 1.5: and Quantum Leap ... Timeless 1.6: Watergate and Rittenhouse ... Timeless 1.7: Stranded! ... Timeless 1.8: Time and Space ... Timeless 1.9: The Kiss and The Key



a time-travel agency in Riverdale .... Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music

Fake News in Real Context

Just published - Fake News in Real Context

This essay explores the historical and current context of fake news - with comparisons to government propaganda, and professional and citizen journalism - as well as what impact it may have had on the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, and what can best be done about it.



Skype lecture about Fake News delivered at University of Warsaw, 9 December 2016 Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music

The Affair 3.4: The Same Endings in Montauk

In a very effective Cole and Alison episode 3.4 of The Affair, the only thing the two stories fully agreed about was Cole and Allison making love together at the ends. Whatever this may mean for the continuing story, that's a nice, narrative touch.

Otherwise, Cole of course is consistently nicer and more caring in his half hour than he is in Alison's. But Luisa, surprisingly, though no great shakes in either account, is a little less nasty in Alison's. This is likely because Cole, dreaming of sleeping with Alison at the beginning, resents Luisa in a way that goes beyond, or at least is markedly different from, the way Alison's resents Luisa for her presumptuous attitude towards Alison's daughter.

On the assault front, I don't think for a moment that Cole did anything to Noah - he was clearly as surprised about that as everyone else in Montauk.  But I said last week that I didn't think the prison guard did it either - much too obvious a villain - so where does that leave us?   With the same kind of compound mystery we had in the first two seasons, which is good.

It's interesting to see the judicial factors juggled around but still the same as in the first two seasons.   The courts continue to play a role - including now in what kinds of rights Alison can get back as a mother.  The detectives continue playing a role - though they're new, and the case is new, with Noah now victim rather than possible perpetrator (which we now know he in fact was not).

The only one who's really changed, as I mentioned in a previous review, is Oscar.  He's not only a nicer guy, but a father.   That, of course, can do that to a man.  And in many ways the fate of Cole and Alison will be determined by what being parents again will ultimately do for them.

Looking forward to more.

See also The Affair 3.1: Sneak Preview Review ... The Affair 3.2: Sneak Preview Review: Right Minds

And see also The Affair 2.1: Advances ... The Affair 2.2: Loving a Writer ... The Affair 2.3: The Half-Wolf ... The Affair 2.4: Helen at Distraction ... The Affair 2.5: Golden Cole ... The Affair 2.6: The End (of Noah's Novel) ... The Affair 2.7: Stunner ... The Affair 2.8: The Reading, the Review, the Prize ...And see also The Affair Premiere: Sneak Preview Review ... The Affair 1.2: Time Travel! ... The Affair 1.3: The Agent and the Sleepers ... The Affair 1.4: Come Together ... The Affair 1.5: Alison's Episode ... The Affair 1.6: Drugs and Vision ... The Affair 1.7: True Confessions ... The Affair 1.8: "I Love You / I Love You, Too" ... The Affair 1.9: Who Else on the Train? ... The Affair Season 1 Finale: The Arrest and the Rest

podcast review of every 2nd season episode


podcast review of every 1st season episode


the Sierra Waters time-travel trilogy

Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music

Designated Survivor 1.9: Hacked

A good Designated Survivor 1.9 this week, even though little progress was made on the most important question - who blew up the  Capitol Building? - until the very end of the episode, when we discovered what we already knew:  some kind of home-grown operation.

But the danger de jour was once again remarkably appropriate this week, especially today, with the Washington Post reporting the CIA's finding that the Russians were hacking the DNC computers and giving what they found to Wikileaks with the motive of tipping the election scale in Trump's direction.  Hey, we knew that already, too, didn't we?

But it was still good to see the new President - Kirkman not Trump - playing the chess game, ending with the hacker coming to the White House and making revelations so we now know who was behind the bombing.   Why the hacker couldn't have just contacted Kirkman with this crucial information without all the rigamarole - I don't know - but that's ok, too.

Because it was gratifying to see Kirkman stand by his assistant, and beat the sleazy Senator at his own blackmailing game.

But ... we still don't know what the presumptive VP's story is, other than he is being run by the villains and is not really one of them.  And we know precious little about the American conspiracy.

I'm looking to the winter finale next week, and will eagerly await the return of Jack Bauer in the White House in 2017.


See also Designated Survivor: Jack Bauer Back in the White House ... Designated Survivor 1.2: Unflinching and Excellent ...  Designated Survivor 1.4: "Michigan's on the Verge of Anarchy" ... Designated Survivor 1.5: The Plot Thickens ... Designated Survivor 1.6: The Governors ... Designated Survivor 1.7: Reassuring Fiction ... Designated Survivor 1.8: Kitchen Sink


  terrorist squirrels and bombs in NYC

#SFWApro

Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music

Frequency 1.9: The Wife and the Fiancee

A good night for the Sullivans, father and daughter, on Frequency 1.9 on Wednesday night.

Both end up in bed with the people they love - Frank with his estranged wife (Raimy's mother), Raimy with her fiancee from the alternate reality in which Frank died, but was changed because Raimy helped save him with the knowledge she had from the future.

This wasn't an easy course of true love for either couple.   Frank's wife has been resisting him all season.  Raimy's fiancee has gone from not knowing her at all to sleeping with her in the last episode, but ushering her out of his house at the beginning of this episode because his fiancee from this reality was coming by.  Fortunately, he's come to his senses - or the feelings he had for Raimy in the other reality - and is breaking it off with the new fiancee to be with Raimy.

The love Frank and Raimy are finding are making them even more determined to stop the Nightingale.  They both were actually always very determined.   But now Frank has an additional very powerful reason for not wanting his wife to be a victim of the serial killer.  And, getting back with her fiancee is reminded Raimy more than ever that her mother was alive before Raimy started playing around with time to save her father.

Fortunately, we also now know who the Nightingale is - Deacon Joe.  We'll have to wait until January to see how Frank does in his vow to kill him - I'm looking forward.

See also Frequency 1.1: Closely Spun Gem ... Frequency 1.2: All About the Changes  ... Frequency 1.3: Chess Game Across Time ...  Frequency 1.4: Glimpsing the Serial Killer ... Frequency 1.5: Two Sets of Memories ... Frequency 1.6: Another Time Traveler? ... Frequency 1.7: Snags ... Frequency 1.8: Interferences



                       more time travel Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music

Vikings 4.12: Two Expeditions

Another excellent episode of Vikings - 4.12 - on Wednesday night, featuring the launching of two very different expeditions to the world beyond Scandinavia.

Bjorn and another one of Ragnar's grown sons are taking Floki's best ships to the Mediterranean. Ragnar and Ivar the Boneless are going to Wessex to avenge or reclaim the lost Viking settlement there.   Bjorn's expedition has the strongest men.  Ragnar was happy to get whomever he could get, in most cases Vikings well passed their prime.

As with last week's episode, the focal point of this story are Ragnar's sons.   They have subtly different, interlocking and complementary personalities, and these are played out very well by the acting.  Alex Høgh Andersen's performance as Ivar is especially memorable.

Lagertha and Queen Aslaug are also part of this tableau.  For understandable reasons, they hate each other.  They each have a son in the game - Aslaugh of course has more than one son on these voyages - but Bjorn represents the best of Lagertha and Ivar the truest soul of Aslaugh.   She does not want her son to go on this dangerous voyage, given his condition, but a part of her is happy, painful as it is, not just for Ivar as a man, but for her own stake in the future of the world.

Of course the voyages are not a game.  They are real life, at its most dangerous, where anything can happen.  In this case, our story on the screen is tempered by what we know of real history - and confirmed by the coming attractions.  So although it looks at the end as if Ragnar and Ivar may drown in the sea with their capsized ship, we'll certainly be seeing more of them next week.

See also Vikings 4.1: I'll Still Take Paris ... Vikings 4.2: Sacred Texts ...Vikings 4.4: Speaking the Language ... Vikings 4.5: Knives ... Vikings 4.8: Ships Up Cliff ... Vikings 4.10: "God Bless Paris" ... Vikings 4.11: Ragnar's Sons

And see also Vikings 3.1. Fighting and Farming ... Vikings 3.2: Leonard Nimoy ...Vikings 3.3: We'll Always Have Paris ... Vikings 3.4: They Call Me the Wanderer ... Vikings 3.5: Massacre ... Vikings 3.6: Athelstan and Floki ...Vikings 3.7: At the Gates ... Vikings 3.8: Battle for Paris ... Vikings 3.9: The Conquered ... Vikings Season 3 Finale: Normandy

And see also Vikings 2.1-2: Upping the Ante of Conquest ... Vikings 2.4: Wise King ... Vikings 2.5: Caught in the Middle ... Vikings 2.6: The Guardians ...Vikings 2.7: Volatile Mix ... Vikings 2.8: Great Post-Apocalyptic Narrative ... Vikings Season 2 Finale: Satisfying, Surprising, Superb

And see also Vikings ... Vikings 1.2: Lindisfarne ... Vikings 1.3: The Priest ... Vikings 1.4:  Twist and Testudo ... Vikings 1.5: Freud and Family ... Vikings 1.7: Religion and Battle ... Vikings 1.8: Sacrifice
... Vikings Season 1 Finale: Below the Ash

 
historical science fiction - a little further back in time

Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music

Rectify 4.7: Teddy Jr

An unusually memorable next-to-last episode of Rectify last night (4.7) - Rectify is always powerful - but this one had something else, an extraordinary scene not only with Daniel, but an equally indelible, very different scene with Teddy, Jr.

Daniel's was almost unspeakable intense, as he recounts how he was gang-raped in prison.  He partially reprises his account later in the hour, and the first time was so searing and crushing that I was glad it wasn't repeated in its entirety.  I suppose the silver lining is that Daniel was able to survive and start to make a life for himself, as Chloe keeps telling him, but it's hard to measure what he's been through.

Teddy, Jr.'s scene was also remarkable, as he tells his father Teddy that he and Tawney are divorcing.  Clayne Crawford has always been good in the role, but he was really masterful last night, projecting just the right amount of his giving into to his emotions and trying to keep them contained.

Aden Young as Daniel has been great in every scene - definitely Emmy-worthy - as he was last night, not only reliving his rape in prison but explaining to Chloe why she's better off leaving.  I'm still hoping they'll stay together.

And there may be some grounds for hope.  The reasons he gives Chloe all hinge around his continuing his half-way house existence.  But the new sheriff and DA are closing in on what really happened to Hanna, and how Daniel was railroaded into a confession, and there's time in the extended finale next week to truly set Daniel free.

Or at least, more free than he is.  Because the enduring lesson of Rectify, made vivid again last night, is that nothing can ever really set Daniel free from what the system did to him.

See also Rectify 4.1: Rummy  ... Rectify 4.4: Slow Motion ... Rectify 4.5: Temper ... Rectify 4.6: Shedding the Straw Man

And see also Rectify 3.1: Stroke of Luck ... Rectify 3.2: Daniel and Amantha ... Rectify 3.5: Finally!

And see also Rectify 2.1: Indelible ... Rectify 2.2: True Real Time ... Rectify 2.3: Daniel's Motives ... Rectify 2.4: Jekyll and Hyde ... Rectify 2.6: Rare Education ... Rectify 2.7: The Plot Thickens ... Rectify 2.8: The Plea Bargain and the Smart Phone ... Rectify 2.9: Dancing in the Dark ... Rectify Season 2 Finale: Talk about Cliffhangers!

And see also Rectify: Sheer and Shattering Poetry ... Rectify 1.5: Balloon Man ... Rectify Season 1 Finale: Searingly Anti-Climactic

 
another kind of capital punishment

#SFWApro

Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music