HMTL Recap and Review -Swamp Thing: S1E8 – “Long Walk Home”
Welcome back to Haunted MTL’s extensive recap and review series for Swamp Thing on DC Universe. Everyone seems to be in a key position now for the final two episodes in what has been a rather thrilling and satisfying season of horror television.
The Story So Far
Avery’s Swamp Trek
Having nearly been murdered by the sheriff and her son, Avery finds himself wounded and alone in the swamps of Marais. Avery has been in a character who, while maybe not entirely in control throughout the season, has had the air of someone who could get out of any setbacks. “Long Walk Home,” however, finds the industrialist at his most vulnerable. Delirious, Avery’s walk is punctuated with visions that flesh out his own relationship to the swamps; chiefly the murder of his father by the swamp itself. In a flashback, Avery watches his father dragged into a campfire by a tree that Sunderland, Sr. attempted to chop down.
It’s then that Avery is found by Swamp Thing. After being cared for, Avery offers to seek out a cure for Swamp Thing and meets with Jason Woodrue. Woodrue fills Avery in on the meeting with The Conclave that was taken over by Maria. The pair discuss the scientific advancements that could result from the study from the Swamp Thing, and Avery Sunderland gives in to his baser instincts, opting to capture the former Alec Holland for research purposes.
The CDC
Abby, after her long talk with Alec last episode, returns to the CDC in Atlanta to continue her work, eager to help Alec in any way she can. Things are off, however, in that Abby is being received coldly by the powers that be and the samples she sent for analysis are being withheld from her. Abby encounters Dr. Palomar (Adrienne Barbeau) her new boss, who informs her that things will be much different from here on out. Abby is able to reconnect with her CDC-pal Harlan, but by the end of the episode, his fate is likely up in the air. Abby also gets the pleasure of being introduced to The Conclave’s Nathan Ellery who reveals how much he knows about the situation in Marais. Cornered by The Conclave, Abby flees back to Marais to warn Swamp Thing of what is coming.
“Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!”
Swamp Thing rescues and cares for a delirious Avery Sunderland and introduces himself as the former Alec Holland. Avery, as expected, does not let on to how involved he was in Alec’s death. The pair have a deep discussion on the swamp and recent incidents. Swamp Thing hints at the nature of the rot in the swamp to Avery, suggesting that his own form, as the Swamp Thing, maybe the result of the Green fighting back. Avery, thankful to his swampy savior, offers to find a cure, which Swamp Thing does not outright dismiss.
Avery Sunderland and Jason Woodrue later enter the swamp, seeking out Swamp Thing. This is a trap, however, as The Conclave has provided a team to take down the creature of the swamp. They manage, using liquid nitrogen, to contain the Swamp Thing, ready to be carted off to a lab for Woodrue to begin his research.
What Stood Out?
The cinematography of Avery’s trek through the swamp was quite well done. The shots really added to the sense of delirium and exhaustion felt by the character, and the Swamp Thing’s reveal to Sunderland is handled quite effectively.
The Final Verdict on Swamp Thing
“Long Walk Home” is a strong episode that distills the three main figures of the show to what seems to be their essential, core struggles; Avery grapples with his past and ambition, ultimately repaying the kindness of his savior with what is sure to be inevitable torture. Abby Arcane, again finding herself torn between her professional world of the CDC and the mystical high-strangeness of the swamps ultimately chooses the Swamp Thing. The Swamp Thing himself, a tortured soul, finds his efforts to reconnect to the world of man exploited because of what he is. It’s all a very strong set up to the final pair of episodes in the first and the only season of Swamp Thing.
(4 / 5)
Deep Roots
The Conclave is a deep, deep organization in the comics, and their presence in the CDC should not come as a surprise to viewers as it is meant to establish that they have a wide base of power from which to draw.
Dr. Palomar, the CDC director who Abby clashes with, should be recognizable to any fan of Swamp Thing and horror in general: Adrienne Barbeau. Barbeau’s history in horror is worthy of an article in itself, but for our purposes, we’ll highlight her role as Alice Cable in Wes Craven’s 1982 adaptation of Swamp Thing. As with any adaptation there were changes between the source material and the adaptation, but Alice Cable is very much an adaptation of the Abby Arcane character.
Episode two of Amazon Prime’s Fallout was equal parts funny and bloody. This almost always leads to a good time.
The story
We begin this episode with the birth of some puppies that look like they’ve had a rough start to life. Each one is weighed, with the ones who fall short being incinerated.
One pup who is just below the correct weight gets a bit of a thumb on their scale. The scientist weighing them, Wilzig, writes down the proper weight. He later takes the puppy home to raise instead of putting them into what looks like an unforgiving training program.
Eventually, we see Wilzig put some blue glowing thing into his neck. When a soldier comes for him, Dog attacks the soldier, and the two escape.
We go from there to the wilderness, where Lucy is recovering from the last episode and enjoying a campfire at night. Wilzig and Dog come out of the shadows, saving Lucy from a bug monster. Wilzig tells Lucy she should go home. And if she’s not going to go home, she needs to evolve.
The next day Lucy finds her way to a town called Filly. As a Pennsylvanian, it hurts me to spell it that way. Lucy is entranced by this town, though clearly put off by the fact that no one is very nice here.
She eventually finds her way to a shop run by a delightful woman named Ma June. Ma doesn’t seem particularly interested in helping Lucy. Or, frankly, having Lucy in her shop.
Or in her town.
Eventually, Wilzig is tracked to this same shop, being tracked by The Ghoul. This is our final primary character. Lucy defends Wilzig, being aided at the last moment by Maximus.
Maximus, by the way, has been having a terrible time. After finally becoming a squire he’s disappointed to find that his knight, Knight Titus, is a terrible person.
Fortunately, Maximus doesn’t have to put up with Titus for long. After Titus gets the bright idea to go hunting, he’s attacked by a mutated bear. Maximus freezes, unable to save him. Then, well, he decides not to save him.
It was Titus’s idea to go hunt the bear, after all.
What worked
The first thing I want to draw attention to is the shootout scene at Filly. This scene checked every box a fight scene should check. It was fun to watch, with great effects. But it also gave us insight into the characters. Lucy is a decent fighter and has a strong moral compass. The Ghoul is callus and desensitized to death. And Maximus continues to be, well, sort of bad at this whole fighting thing. But with enough moral fortitude that we have a hard time blaming him.
Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the dog. Who’s name, as far as I’ve been able to ascertain, is just Dog. Which is fine. He doesn’t need to have a name to be a very good boy. He’s sweet, loyal, and fearless.
Also, puppies. Puppies are always great.
Finally, I’d like to shine a spotlight on Lucy’s reaction to the world at large. She is both amazed and terrified by everything. And while she certainly doesn’t want to be rude, she also doesn’t want to be taken advantage of. The best example of this is when she stops to ask for directions with a bright smile and a gun.
Once again, I don’t have anything bad to say about this episode. It was funny, dark, and fun to watch. I’m very much looking forward to the rest of the season.
(4 / 5)
Launching with worldwide excitement, Fallout is based on the extremely popular game series of the same name. Fans of the series have waited with anticipation and trepidation to see if the Prime series would live up to the game.
Having now watched the first episode I can say that, so far, it’s successful.
The story
Our story begins with a children’s birthday party. A performer is there with his daughter, giving horse rides and taking pictures with the kids.
As much as the adults try to focus on the party and the kids, it’s impossible to ignore the looming threat of war that’s on everyone’s mind.
Of course, it’s during this party that war comes, and the bombs drop.
We then cut to after the war and into one of the vaults established to protect humankind and the American Way. For future reference, this is Vault 33. We meet Lucy, our first main character, who’s petitioning to be married to a man from Vault 32 to ensure DNA diversity.
On the wedding night, though, Lucy and the rest of Vault 33 are met with a horrible surprise. The group they let in is not in fact from Vault 32, but is instead a team of raiders from the surface. The raiders kill a lot of the vault dwellers and kidnap Lucy’s father.
We are then introduced to our second main character, Maximus. He is in training to become a Knight in the Brotherhood of Steel. And, well, he’s not doing great.
Things get worse when his best friend Dane becomes a squire before him. But when Dane is hurt, Maximus gets their spot.
We then go back to Lucy, who has decided to leave the vault and find her dad. Of course, the council of her vault doesn’t want her to go. So she is aided by her brother Norm and cousin Chet in a wild escape.
What worked
The first thing that deserves attention is the exceptional character work. Our three main characters are fleshed out and relatable right away. We feel sympathetic for The Ghoul before he’s even introduced as such. We love Lucy’s nativity and selflessness. And we love Maximus for his honesty and passion for his cause.
While these characters are their own people, they also exhibit the three responses we might expect to see in a post-apocalyptic world. We have the hopeful optimist who doesn’t understand how bad things are. We have the aspiring hero who wants to make the world better by force. And we have the self-serving individual who’s given up on the rest of humanity and is only focused on surviving.
Another thing I enjoyed about this episode was the balance of humor and gore. Because there was certainly enough blood and guts for even the most hardcore horror lover. We had a violent sabotage, a brawl with raiders, and even several nuclear bombs.
But there were a lot of funny moments as well. Usually from Lucy. Her overall goodwill and fearless gumption are absolutely hilarious, especially given the horrors she’s facing. It never ceases to amuse me.
Both of these aspects are done perfectly. The jokes land and the bloody scenes pull no punches. It was delightful.
All in all, this was an exciting start to a much-anticipated series. Here’s hoping they’re able to stick the landing.
For more tv shows based on video games, check out my review of Witcher.
(4 / 5)
Episode seven of American Horror Story Delicate was a classic AHS flashback episode. If you were excited to see what Preecher had to say to Anna at the end of the last episode, I’m sorry to say that you will not get that satisfaction. However, we did learn all sorts of other fascinating things about the strange coven hunting Anna. And, we learned all sorts of things we didn’t know about Dex’s first wife, Adeline.
The story
We begin our story with a woman giving birth alone in a barn. When it becomes clear that she’s not going to be able to deliver vaginally, she pulls out a knife and cuts her stomach open to pull out her children.
For whatever reason, this is when the coven of witches decides to make themselves known.
We then cut to 2013, when Dex was still married to Adeline. In true Dex fashion, he’s surprised her with a puppy.
While that sounds great in theory, dogs are something a couple should talk about, not gift each other with as a surprise. An adult would know that. A trust fund boy like Dex does not.
Adeline owns a vegan restaurant called Ave Hestia. Love that name. She seems to be living a great life. She has a career she’s passionate about, friends who love her, and a husband she seems kind of fond of.
Maybe that’s why she didn’t want a puppy. She already had one.
Of course, things aren’t as good as they appear. We soon find out that Adeline was one of those babies we saw at the start of the episode. The other baby was Sonia, the painter.
And yes, both of these characters are played by Annabelle Dexter-Jones.
Adeline has stepped away from their family, and whatever dark things they do. But the family isn’t happy with her decision. And if she isn’t going to come back willingly, they’re going to make her.
What worked
To start with, I loved the character, Adeline. She is fierce, she is fearless, and relentless. I feel like this would have been a far different story if Adeline had been our main character. It was astounding to see her interact with the same people Anna has, and get a completely different response. It’s clear now, how much everyone around Anna resents her for simply not being Adeline.
I also appreciated that there was just a shocking amount of blood in this episode. From the start when Adeline and Sonia are born, to the climactic end of Adeline, this episode is just drenched in blood.
Finally, I’m fascinated by the changes in this season from the book it’s based on. Because absolutely none of this was in the book. Compared to this, the book is heartwarming.
The book is kind of heartwarming even without the comparison.
But I love the fact that, even with just two episodes left in the season, I have no idea what’s going to happen. I do not know what Anna is carrying. I do not know if she’s going to survive this. I do not know what these people want with her.
But I can’t wait to find out.
What didn’t work
All that being said, it is a bit frustrating to have no forward momentum in this episode. This was all backstory, and it felt like there wasn’t enough backstory to fill a full forty minutes. Because of that, it dragged. There were a lot of scenes that just didn’t need to be as long as they were. It felt like they could have cut that down considerably, and had some time to check in with our main characters at either the start or the end of the episode.
There are only two episodes left in the season, and I can honestly say I have no idea what’s going to happen. But so far the story has been dark, bloody, and provocative. So I hope they can manage to end it on a high note.
(4 / 5)
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