Welcome back to Boomb Tube! Here, we will be catching you up on the week in comics TV, both through micro-reviews, as well as links to our full-length TV reviews. We also tend to review series that are dropped all at once weekly so there are a few ‘older’ shows mixed in for good measure. Are we missing your favorite show? Let us know in the comments!
Dragon Age: Absolution – “The Serpent’s Coils” (S1E3, Netflix)
Read our full review by Laura Merrill.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch – “Entombed” (S2E5, Disney+)
After a few episodes that seemed to really get at the heart of a character or two, The Bad Batch puts all the clones together for an episode that felt like it was hinting at a ton of Star Wars ephemera, but did so in sloppy ways that led to a very uneven experience. Wanda Sykes’s Phee Genoa character continues to be a little predictable, though the differences between she and Cid are starting to be more apparent. I liked her burgeoning relationship with Omega, but felt that the episode couldn’t give them enough time together because it was also trying to feature the five other clones as equally.
This episode has a lot of Star Wars mythology, but none of it is laid out particularly well, and so instead of being excited at seeing an ancient force user’s temple, we get a lot of vague answers and misdirection to explain why all of the things that we see play out are playing out. This felt a bit too cute and reserved for what the episode deserved. Sure, this was an homage to classic films like the Indiana Jones saga and The Goonies, but those films made sure that you knew exactly what the artifact(s) were that were being hunted. To give this episode more mystery, there’s just a lot of presumption and rumor.
Normally, that would be a minor quibble, but this episode has so little going for it besides those mysteries. And so, because they aren’t particularly satisfying, along with the fact that the clones got almost no time for anything other than being pawns in Phee’s plans, this episode feels slight and uninspired. – Brian Salvatore
Wednesday – “If You Don’t Woe Me By Now” (S1E7, Netflix)
The penultimate episode of Wednesday gave the audience a lot to chew on to get ready for the finale. We finally see Uncle Fester, played by Fred Armisen, who becomes the much-needed soundboard for Wednesday and her theories for the mystery monster since Enid left to share a room with another classmate. While he acts more like comic relief, he gives Wednesday a solid tip on where to find Nathaniel Faulkner’s diary with notes about all monsters and creatures he encountered. As it turns out, the mystery monster around Jericho is a Hyde. It’s initially unleashed due to a traumatic event but can also be released through chemical inducement or hypnosis. If it happens to be the latter, that person is seen as the Hyde’s liberator, AKA master. Wednesday is still unsure how to beat it, but it leads her to believe that Laurel Gates is the one who unleashed Hyde to do her bidding.
Gates, believed to be dead, is seemingly hiding in plain sight, and according to Wednesday, it points to Dr. Kinbott, the school therapist. Kinbott is seen providing therapy sessions with Xavier in her car, furthering the thought that he is the Hyde. It certainly fits, considering he’s been near all of the attacks throughout the season, and his art studio is not only filled with pictures of the monster but of the attacks. Wednesday confronts Xavier after Dr. Kinbott is attacked and finds items belonging to the victims in his studio, providing evidence for the sheriff to arrest and detain him. All seems well, but the twist in the final moments is that while Wednesday is kissing Tyler, she sees him transforming from the Hyde after killing Dr. Kinbott. Now we know who the monster is, but we need to find out who controls him. – Alexander Manzo
The Witcher: Blood Origin – “Of Warriors, Wake and Wondrous Worlds” (S1E3, Netflix)
Read our full review by Laura Merrill.
