HMTL Recap and Review -Swamp Thing: S1E3 – “He Speaks”
This episode of Swamp Thing is our first real opportunity to see an average episode. Last week’s outing was good. However, it had to address the fallout of the pilot episode. It needed to resolve some of those immediate threads. That out of the way, this week was another solid outing for Swamp Thing.
The Story So Far
There is a lot to track this week; way beyond the main narrative threads of Abby, Alec, and the Sunderlands.
Abby, Alec, and Swamp Thing
Abby, having been involved with the rescue of Susie the night before is too concerned to celebrate. Susie’s implication that the creature in the swamp is Alec is alarming, unsettling, and surprisingly accepted by Abby. Her friend Liz is also surprisingly accepting of this potential fate of Alec Holland. There is little time for the pair to dwell, however. The illness that has ravaged the town is getting worse.
Abby arrives at the hospital to learn that the CDC has sent in a superior from Atlanta. She also learns that Harlan, her investigative partner, has also contracted the Marais sickness. Desperate for answers to the issue of the disease and the fate of Alec, Abby sets out for Alec’s lab. Liz asks Margeaux to keep an eye out at Skeeter Cove for any evidence of the fate of Alec Holland.
The episode opened with a scene where Alec found himself wandering a swamp. He encounters the man that Swamp Thing murdered recently in protecting Susie. The man warns him that he will be coming back for Alec. In the real world, Swamp Thing wanders away from his remains. As he leaves, swarms of insects converge and the remains and reanimate it.
Conflict at the Lab
At the lab of Alec Holland, Abby searches for notes but is interrupted by invading insects. This culminates with the insect-reanimated corpse of the man who Swamp Thing killed arriving. Swamp Thing soon arrives, warning the zombie to leave Abby alone, before settling the matter in a destructive fight. Swamp Thing, however, sees the zombie is suffering and manages to release him. She realizes that Swamp Thing is Alec, but has no way to help him.
She returns to the hospital, armed with knowledge from Swamp Thing that the illness is fighting back. This is because of the increased antibiotics. She manages to save the currently ill from a hasty death by reducing the treatment.
At the bar, later, she shares a dance with Matt Cable as Swamp Thing watches from a distance.
Sunderland Developments
The tenuous alliance between Avery and Maria Sunderland fractures further this week as financial pressures and a haunting exacerbate the current problems.
Avery finds himself trying to right the ship of his swamp research investments. He is confronted by his loan source, however. It turns out that Avery is underwater on a series of off-the-books loans from the bank. His partner in crime, Gordon Haas, is getting cold feet from Liz Tremaine’s investigation. After a tense confrontation at the Sunderland residence at dinner, Haas departs and Avery begins to spiral. During questioning by Sheriff Lucilia Cable he tries to rekindle a romance with her while Maria is in the house. Later, under the guise of wanting to help Maria deal with her pain, he tries to press her for a loan of her family’s money. She ends up cutting him off.
Cornered and angry, Avery waits for Gordon at the man’s house. The confrontation becomes violent and Avery murders Gordon in a bathtub with a golf club. During the dispassionate clean-up of the crime-scene, Liz arrives at Gordon’s house to talk to him. Avery does not answer the door, but he does notice Liz.
Maria, meanwhile, continues her downward spiral as the spirit of Shawna continues to haunt her and discusses Avery’s infidelities. Is Shawna truly a ghost? Or is this a manifestation of guilt and a sign of Maria’s awareness of Avery’s indiscretions?
Strange Voodoo and Slipping Memories
Margeaux, out at Skeeter Cove, discovers the first major clue to the fate of Alec Holland; she finds part of the boat, filled with bullet holes. This direct evidence of murder will certainly change the trajectory of the case. Early Sheriff Lucilia Cable had plans to close it.
Lucilia, introduced in the last episode, continues to illustrate the small-town conflict of interests that appear with the police as she finds herself again speaking ill of Abby to her son. her later encounter with Avery, referencing a past history of infidelity with him, also proves problematic.
Jason Woodrue makes a less than charming introduction to Abby Arcane conducting an autopsy of the remains of Eddie Coyle. His arrogance and disconnect from the human element of the disease do not endear him to Dr. Arcane. Later on, though, Woodrue is revealed to have his own trauma as he discusses his findings with his wife, Caroline. In a heartbreaking moment, Caroline forgets that she had taken her medication already, a sign of the escalation of early-onset Alzheimers.
The most curious development for the surrounding characters, however, involves Nimue Xanadu and Daniel Cassidy. Daniel has apparently been stuck in Marais for years and has had the same, repeated tarot readings from Xanadu. The reading depicts “the fool,” “the hanged man,” and “the wheel.” However, something has begun to change the fate of Daniel, as his new reading is identical, only with “the wheel” reversed. Just what has kept Daniel in Marais and what has changed for him now?
What Stood Out
For an episode the was so densely packed with storylines, the developments were handled well and did not feel too crowded. The presence of increasing concern from the CDC makes a lot of sense and will certainly keep the pressure on Abby.
The insect-filled zombie of the murderer was incredibly gross and creepy and served as a great “monster of the week” that introduced a number of questions about the nature of the swamp.
Derek Mears, as the Swamp Thing, did a fantastic job in a role that, in lesser hands, is little more than a lumbering brute. Mears’ voice is fantastic and the body language of the Swamp Thing really sells the pain and struggle Alec is facing in this new form. Additionally, being able to see Andy Bean as Alec in the “green” this week served as an excellent reminder of the humanity present within the Swamp Thing when it comes to guilt and trauma.
The Final Verdict on Swamp Thing
“He Speaks” was an excellent outing for a show that is quickly becoming the best adaptation of Swamp Thing in a live-action form. With any luck, the remaining seven episodes will not be the last of this swamp-scum covered gem of a series.
That being said, the show, visually, is still incredibly dark. This likely will not change for the rest of the season, so we’ll just need to accept it for now.
(4.5 / 5)
Deep Roots
The big comic connection this week, beyond the strange meeting between Xanadu and Cassidy, is the reference to the Conclave. We’re not going to dive too deep into that, though. Let’s see how all this plays out over the next batch of episodes.
Instead, let us look at the implications of the nature of Alec’s/Swamp Thing’s existence. Just as they had a connection to Susie Coyle due to the illness, there too was some form of connection between them and Susie’s attempted murderer. The implication for comic fans, here, should be that this is “the Green” in action taking in the essence and memories of those who are absorbed by the natural world. It could be something in line with Alan Moore’s stunning retcon of the character when he took over the comics.
Secondly, the nature of the zombification through insects may be hinting at the New 52 concept of “the Rot.” We’ll see in the coming weeks about that.
Please continue to join us each week for the remaining episodes of DC Universe’s Swamp Thing.
We have come now to the finale of season four of The Boys. And while it didn’t have the literal blood fireworks I wanted, someone did get ripped in half in the air. So, that’s pretty close.
As a note, I will try to avoid spoilers as much as possible. This ending was a hell of a gut punch that should be experienced as blindly as possible. That being said, I will not be able to avoid spoilers and still give a full legitimate review. Proceed at your own risk.
The story
The main storyline for this episode is the attempted assassination of President-Elect Robert Singer. The Boys join forces with the Secret Service to protect him. But, as we learned last episode, Annie has been replaced with a shapeshifter. A shapeshifter that was welcome not just into Hughie’s anus, but into the protective bunker in which the President-Elect is hiding.
What worked
The first thing I want to discuss about this episode is the ending. But we need to do this carefully.
The important thing here is that the ending breaks your heart on so many levels. So many terrible things are happening to characters that it’s almost hard to keep track. And each moment is significant to each character.
I cannot give a specific example. But no matter who your favorite character is, you’re going to weep for them.
Unless your favorite character is Sage. And this is the next thing that made this episode so fantastic.
I don’t think I’m spoiling anything to say that Sage’s plans worked out exactly as she wanted them to. And she got exactly what she wanted.
What she wanted wasn’t power. It wasn’t money or fame or vengeance. It wasn’t to win the love of anyone. She just wanted to see if she could do it.
That is a terrific, terrifying motivation! Because all she wants is to play a massive game of chess with people as pieces. She doesn’t care about anyone. She just wants to see how many people she can manipulate. She just wants to set things on fire to see if she can.
Fantastic. A plus villain work.
The next thing I want to discuss is a cornerstone of the whole series.
The morality of The Boys shifts through the series. While it’s very much a battle to save the world from overpowered super monsters, it’s also a battle for the souls of our real heroes. And in that battle, there are two warring factors. We have Hughie, always trying to bring everyone up to a better level. And we have Butcher, who has no problem at all hitting rock bottom with a shovel in hand to do some more digging.
In this episode, we saw almost every member of The Boys challenged. Will they rise to their higher angels, or sink with their demons?
On a similar note, I am so glad that the writers kind of addressed my issues with Annie. They did this by having the shapeshifter get right into her face and accuse her of thinking that she’s better than everyone.
While that was devastating for the character, it was a little cathartic for those of us who felt like Annie was a little too good of a good guy.
What didn’t work
This is a small matter, but it is an issue that I want to address. After Annie finds out that Hughie slept with her doppelganger, she is furious at him.
In addition to this being unfair, it’s also a very cliche element to add. In almost every instance of a lookalike in fiction, there’s a moment where the love interest of the victim is fooled. Or almost fooled. And it’s always the same fight. It’s just played out and predictable. I’m just glad that it didn’t last very long.
Now that we’ve come to the end of the season, I can officially say that it was amazing. The story was deep and rich. The special effects were a stomach-turning good time. The character development was spot-on and satisfying. And, of course, it left me just about gagging to see what happens next. Unfortunately, it looks like we’ll have a bit of a wait. Because as of right now, the fifth season isn’t expected until 2026.
(5 / 5)
We’ve reached the second to last episode of The Boys, season four. And, as is appropriate for the penultimate episode of any show, things have to get a lot worse before they can get better.
Let’s discuss.
The story
Christmas is coming, and the whole world is getting ready. Ryan, despite being very clear that he didn’t want to appear on any TV shows or movies, has been strong-armed into participating in a Vought puppet Christmas special. He draws the line, though, when asked to sing about turning one’s parents in if they start talking about woke things.
Meanwhile, The Boys are trying to keep each other together. Butcher decides to take Sameer to the rest of the team. He also gets Frenchie out of prison, hoping they can make the Sup virus necessary to finally take down Homelander. Instead, this decision means disaster for one member of the team.
What worked
I first want to talk about Ryan’s speech near the end of the episode. Because it was exactly the moral of this whole story.
Ryan’s dad is a monster. His stepdad is also kind of a monster. But Ryan is a good kid. He cares about people, about family. And while he loves Homelander and Butcher, he doesn’t want to be like them.
Even better, this speech sounded like something a kid would say. Ryan didn’t open his mouth and start sounding like a college student all of a sudden. He sounds like a kid who misses his mom and wants to live up to the good standards she set for him. And I think that’s terrific.
Speaking of Homelander, he shot himself in the foot in this episode. I said earlier in the season that his hubris was going to be his downfall, and I was right. Without Sage, he just has the same weaknesses he’s always had. He’s going to fail because he just isn’t clever enough or patient enough to succeed.
Without Sage, I think a win is in the bag for The Boys. This isn’t to say that Homelander by himself isn’t dangerous. It’s just that he’s more like a wildfire than a controlled burn. He’s going to cause a lot of damage, but not get anything he wants out of it.
More’s the pity for him and everyone else who has to share his world.
Finally, I am thrilled with A-Train’s redemption story. I love that he wants to be a good person not to save himself, but to be a good person. His honest, pure and warm reaction to that little kid smiling at him in the last episode was heartwarming. It changed him in a moment, bringing to light a goodness that he’s been keeping under wraps for a long time.
This, along with Ryan’s courageous speech, proves once again what The Boys does so well. Yes, it’s gruesome. Yes, there’s blood and balls and batshit events. Yes, someone occasionally gets ripped in half. But there is a true human goodness in the story. One that we catch glimpses of. There are good people among the monsters. There is hope for redemption.
What didn’t work
Of course, so few things in this life are perfect, and this episode was no exception. For instance, I was irritated by the insinuation that Butcher cheated on his wife.
That just doesn’t make any sense. We’ve seen flashbacks of Billy and Becca. They were happy. He was happy. He was head over heels for her. And I don’t think it’s realistic or necessary for the character to throw in that he cheated. It does nothing to add to the story, it’s just a weird and offputting moment.
Doesn’t Butcher have enough to hate about himself? Can’t we just give him that at least he was a good husband?
Finally, I kind of hate that we ended up with Annie being caught. It’s just cliche, which is something I don’t normally say about this show. It feels lazy unless they do something very clever with it in the last episode. Which, I suppose, they might.
Next up is the season finale. And with this season being as insane as it has been, I’m expecting nothing short of bloody fireworks. And I mean literal fireworks of blood. At this point, would it surprise anyone?
(4 / 5)
Episode six of The Boys was one of the most surprising episodes of the series so far. And that is certainly saying something. Because this season has so far been bonkers.
The story
Our episode today revolves around a party at Tek Knight’s lovely mansion. Yes, it does look just like Wayne Manor.
The Boys know that Tek Knight is working with Homelander on something, but they don’t know the details. So they decide to send Hughie in to bug the mansion.
Because that’s worked so well the other two times he’s tried to hide a bug!
It should surprise no one that this time goes no better. Hughie finds himself in Tek Knight’s basement. And by that I mean his BDSM dungeon.
Meanwhile, the party upstairs is no less disturbing. Homelander and Sage are trying to convince some well-off political donors to support a cue after the election. When pressed for details on his plan, Homelander freezes. He looks to Sage for help, but she wasn’t recently shot in the head and still in the junk food stage of her healing.
Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your point of view, Neuman jumps in and saves the day.
What works
If I’m going to say one thing about this episode, it didn’t hold back at all. I didn’t expect them to show a character masturbating, sitting their bare behind on a cake, or spraying breastmilk into someone’s face. But every time I thought they’d cut the scene and let something be left to our imagination, they did not do that.
This is a dangerous move. Whenever you show the monster, you run the risk of them not being scary enough, or gross enough. As Stephen King says in Danse Macabre, to leave this sort of thing to the imagination if the reader makes things so much worse. So when they finally experience the monster, they might say that this isn’t so bad. It could have been so much worse.
But in this case, they managed to avoid that by making the scenes, especially the ones in Tek Knight’s dungeon, so much worse than I imagined it would be.
What doesn’t work
While this was a deeply disturbing episode in many ways, there was one really innocent and sweet moment.
And yes, I did have a problem with it.
Confronted by Firecracker, Annie decides to apologize for spreading rumors about her when they were kids. She tells her that she is genuinely sorry.
And I believe her. I don’t think Firecracker did, but I did.
So why is this an issue? Because I’m starting to think that Annie is maybe too nice. She is too good.
I know that Annie is our good guy. But every one of the other good guys has flaws. Hughie let his pride get in the way and took Temp V. MM hid himself from his daughter instead of teaching her to work through her emotions. Kimiko is far too closed off and has a hard time trusting others. Frenchie numbs himself with drugs. And well, what hasn’t Butcher done?
It is unrealistic that Annie is just so kind and so flawless. We all have shadows in our personalities. We all have weaknesses, we all mess up. We all do things we wish we could take back. The fact that Annie doesn’t seem to have anything like that is not just unrealistic. It’s infantilizing.
Give her some deep dark secrets. Give her something real to regret.
This was a shocking episode, even for someone fairly jaded like me. I wasn’t expecting the sort of weird sexual depravity, though I guess maybe I should have seen it coming. It was dark, upsetting, tense, and funny as hell. And with just two episodes left in the season, I can imagine the stakes are only going to get higher.
(4 / 5)
By the way, if you like my writing you can get my short story, Man In The Woods, on Smashwords and Amazon.
