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It’s been a few weeks since the last recap, but the show has marched on. I am going to continue to recap the series, but the revelation of cancellation just strips out a real sense of urgency. We have some other things in development here at Haunted MTL as well that have served to… distract. So, let me apologize about the lateness of this recap/review. We’re going to continue the project. The show is still great, which makes writing this series of posts kind of tough.

The Story So Far

This was a fairly low-key episode with a relatively undercooked bit of swamp evil and a plot of place-setting. That being said, the show is still fantastic.

Abby and Alec Working Together

The major narrative of the episode revolves around establishing the nature of Abby and Alec’s relationship given his new form. Abby is very much interested in doing everything she can to aid Alec in understanding his swampy fate. Alec, localized in the swamp, pursues the mysteries of the waters around Marais. The two essentially represent two different worlds and must work across their respective regions to solve the problems that bleed between them.

Unfortunately, this week, the threat feels a little underdeveloped.

Two men enter the swamp to cut down some trees that haven’t been picked over by local logging companies. The trees, enhanced by the pollutants, fight back, dropping a mummified corpse that was lost in the swamp on the men, scratching one of them.

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The scratch causes hallucinations of one’s deepest nightmares, driving one of the men, a dishwasher at Delroy’s to kill himself when he hallucinates his arm under attack by a snake. He ends up stabbing himself in the arm repeatedly, and then for good measure jams his arm into the garbage disposal. During the struggle, Delroy, the owner of the bar gets scratched. Thus begins a low-key infection plot culminating with Abby herself getting infected.

Later, an infected and hallucinating Abby finds herself in Alec’s arms as he draws the evil from her and puts in back in the mummy. The mummy being the remains of a person who was infected by this evil and fled to the swamp to make sure it could harm no others. It wasn’t until Alec Holland arrived in the swamp when that could finally, truly happen.

The plot was fairly predictable, but it did a great deal of work to establish the what should be the standard, working relationship of Abby and Alec; a relationship that should be effective and entertaining.

Sunderland’s Schemes

It is not surprising that Avery Sunderland has a dark and tragic past. The episode opens with him destroying the remains of poor old Gordon and remembering an incident in his past where his most-likely abusive father berated him for being unable to kill a gator. The scene doesn’t really tell us anything we couldn’t have already assumed about Avery, but it should, hopefully, lay groundwork for a more significant revelation in the future.

The major thrust of the Sunderland subplot revolves around Avery’s manipulative nature; both toward the town and Maria as well. Avery still needs the dose of funding to keep Woodrue on the case regarding the biological properties of the swamp. While inviting survivors of “the green flu” to a crawfish boil, he spies Maria’s attention toward the young Susie.

Throughout the episode we see Avery manipulate everyone around him to try to get the young Susie into a position where he can bring her into the Sunderland home, to give Maria a new child to care for. Not necessarily out of the goodness of his own heart, however. After all, “the green flu” may be gone, but who knows what after effects might pop up. If only there was funding to keep Woodrue on the job…

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Of course, he doesn’t know about the ghost of Shawna lurking around Maria… might there be a possession in the future?

Daniel and Xanadu and the Incoming Darkness

The cryptic teasing of Daniel Cassidy’s history and reason for being stuck in Marais moves at a snail’s pace this week. All we really learn is that he made a deal that forced him to stay in town. For comic fans already familiar with Cassidy, the implication is pretty clear, but for the average viewer, it is just more cryptic teasing. We do get a moment of heroism from Daniel when he helps disarm sheriff Cable that belies the nature of his potential future, however.

Meanwhile, Madame Xanadu is concerned her powers may be waning. She has hinted at the spreading darkness from the swamp, just as Alec has begun to sense if through the plant life in the area. Perhaps a trip to the source of the darkness on Xanadu’s part is what will bring these character together.

What Stood Out?

The scene with the stabbing of the arm and the garbage disposal was fantastic and keeps up that body-horror component of the show that has worked out so well so far. It’s been great that every episode has at least one incredibly gory or gross-out moment.

Also, kudos to the show for including the Swamp Thing in a daylight sequence, allowing us to see the details of the prosthetics and makeup. The work holds up incredibly well and, hopefully, means we’ll get some great, brighter lit scenes with the effects and outfit before the end of the series.

The Final Verdict on Swamp Thing

This episode is very much a place-setting episode, moving pieces around for a larger payoff. Thankfully, it was still very entertaining and keeps up the visual excellence that has been the hallmark of the show so far.

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3.5 out of 5 stars (3.5 / 5)

Deep Roots

Comic connections are initially a little sparse this week. No real new introductions to characters are made, so there is nobody new to introduce from the comics. That being said, there is an exception regarding Abby’s hallucination. We see her confronted by a faceless man who talks about her mother as he threatens and berates Abby. She’s had nightmares about this man since childhood. This man is potentially Grigori Arcane, her father, also known as the Patchwork Man. As for his being faceless? Well, we all process trauma differently… though he could also, literally have been faceless. We’ll see if we encounter Abby’s uncle Anton later.

David Davis is a writer, cartoonist, and educator in Southern California with an M.A. in literature and writing studies.

Movies n TV

The Boys, Season Four Finale

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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.

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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.

Jack Quaid in The Boys.

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.

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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.

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Erin Moriarty in The Boys.

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 out of 5 stars (5 / 5)

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The Boys, The Insider

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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.

Cameron Crovetti in The Boys.

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.

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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.

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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.

Jessie T. Usher in The Boys.

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.

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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?

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4 out of 5 stars (4 / 5)

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The Boys, Dirty Business

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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!

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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.

Claudia Doumit in The Boys.

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.

Derek Wilson in The Boys.

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.

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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.

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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.

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4 out of 5 stars (4 / 5)

By the way, if you like my writing you can get my short story, Man In The Woods, on Smashwords and Amazon.

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