HMTL Recap and Review -Swamp Thing: S1E10 – “Loose Ends”
Welcome back to Haunted MTL’s extensive recap and review series for Swamp Thing on DC Universe. Sadly, this is where it ends. Swamp Thing was canceled early on in the year, shortly after the first episode aired.
The show was a pleasure to watch and recap, but unfortunately, the shortened episode order had a real effect on the final moments of the series. Let us take one last jaunt around the swampy-town of Marais.
Where the Stories End
Abby and the Swamp Thing
It is a real, real bummer that Abby became sidelined a bit during the latter half of the season. A lot of her work in the narrative was sort of that thankless stuff that dragged her away from the action and away from Swamp Thing. Though it was Abby who led the charge to rescue Swamp Thing, the Blue Devil showed up and stole the show a bit in an intense, creepy sequence in the last episode.
Sadly, Abby doesn’t do a whole lot in the finale. She is mostly relegated to reacting to events. The underlying tragedy of her falling for the not-even-a-human Swamp Thing is tragic, and Crystal Reed sells it, but there is just not much to do for Abby beyond reacting to what is going on around Marais. Her arc for the episode begins with her trying her best to connect with Swamp Thing, saying that he is still Alec. However, he must deal with his own pain and he heads into the swamp. So, she decides to work with Liz to find out more about The Conclave.
Swamp Thing, grappling with what he is, is visited by a hallucination of Alec Holland. Their conversation is haunting and effecting, and Swamp Thing comes to realize that Alec lives on in his own rudimentary plant-brain. What is most important is that Abby does not see him as a monster. Now Swamp Thing must decide who he will be.
The pair reunite in the lab of Alec Holland. She truly feels something for Swamp Thing, and that is enough for now. He warns her of the darkness that still lurks in the wild, but she refuses to give up on him. Together they will face the growing darkness that rises in the swamp.
Villainous Machinations Made Moot
Abby’s journey around Marais during the episode ties up some lingering plotlines. She goes to Maria to find some information, but the poor woman is too far gone. Madame Xanadu is there as well and offers Maria relieve in a delusion. Maria is gone now, consumed by a hallucination that her daughter lives and is there with her.
It is a tragic, sad ending for one of the stronger antagonists in the show.
Avery attempts to get involved with a group of paramilitary enforcers for The Conclave into the swamp to find the creature. This does not go well for him, as he is pushed aside outright by Ellery. Avery, rejected by The Conclave as a wildcard, turns to drink to deal with his woes.
The Conclave’s operation, meanwhile, is a resounding failure. The Swamp Thing uses his rapidly expanding control of plant-life to isolate and hunt down the team, led by guest star Jake Busey. It’s a brutal sequence that only leaves Ellery alive. Swamp Thing tells Ellery to let The Conclave know what has happened, and that they will not return to his swamp.
Avery, bottles deep by now, learns of Matt Cable’s accident and rushes to the hospital. Lucilia is there and he makes a desperate, grasping bid to reconnect to his would-be murderers. Lucilia tells Avery that will never happen. She’ll never forgive Avery for making Matt a murderer.
Lucilia leaves and sits in her cruiser. An angry Avery springs up from the seat behind her and stabs her. She blacks out. When she returns to consciousness, it is inside the trunk of the cruiser that Avery has sent into the swamp to finish her off. He watches the car submerge beneath the water.
The Loose Ends
Three principal characters also need to be covered in this finale.
Jason Woodrue’s story was a slow burn through most of the season, with little glimpses into the obsessive personality that lied beneath the arrogant exterior. The madness that is Woodrue really came forward during the penultimate episode “The Anatomy Lesson,” but goes full bore here. Kevin Durand plays Woodrue with a menace that reminds you of why he is a genre-darling. He menaces his wife, Carolyne, who is tied to a chair. Jason tries to feed her the cooked pieces of Swamp Thing’s harvest organs, believing they are the cure to her affliction.
He, of course, tests it himself, but he collapses. Jason regains consciousness, becoming even more of a terror and he tries to fight off Abby who does her best to help Carolyne. Unfortunately for him, Abby’s 911 call went through. We see Jason being led out from the house in handcuffs, screaming, almost feral.
In a post-credit tag, we see some time has passed in Marais where a previously comatose Matt has regained consciousness. He returns to the police department and finds it overgrown. He then stumbles upon a plant-man… Jason Woodrue, now the Floronic Man.
Our last visit with Daniel, The Blue Devil, finds him hurriedly packing up to finally leave town. He leaves the shop to Liz and, still wracked by the voice of the devil, speeds away from the town to an uncertain future. A future we’ll never get to see. At least his mission from The Phantom Stranger has been fulfilled.
What Stood Out?
Swamp Thing’s rapidly-growing power being unleashed on the mercenaries was a great way to show how much more powerful he has become. It also does a lot to establish him as a real danger if left unchecked. One could imagine in the future, had the show been given further seasons, Swamp Thing potentially succumbing to more feral, dangerous characteristics in his attempt to save the Green.
Sigh.
The Final, Final Verdict on Swamp Thing
As a series finale “Loose Ends” really just doesn’t feel satisfactory. It can work for a season finale, as many of the elements presented were meant to. Yet, the whole series sort of rests on the arrival point of “Loose Ends” and it just crumbles away. “Loose Ends” is a solid episode, but the weight put upon it just sinks the whole affair. It bounces around between a lot of stories and tries to tie them up. Some of these are better handled than others.
As a whole, the show just worked. It was respectful to the lore, adapted many key elements, and as a whole delivered something for Swamp Thing fans and casual viewers. At its best, the show was a Southern Gothic drama with a badass swamp monster and magic, and I will miss that.
Swamp Thing deserved better than to be canceled the way it was.
(3.5 / 5)
Deep Roots
We’re never gonna see Swampy go toe-to-toe with the Floronic Man, and that hurts.
Rest in peace, Swamp Thing. You were beautiful while you lasted.
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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