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 – “Those Who Falsely Dream” (S1E4, Netflix)
Read our full review by Laura Merrill.
Quantum Leap – “Leap, Die, Repeat” (S1E11, NBC)
This episode’s title is a huge spoiler for those of us that read the titles before the episode starts. The entire gimmick of this episode is that Ben keeps dying and leaping back into different people in the same situation, with each leap ending in a nuclear reactor exploding. It’s a really interesting, different type of episode, but the shock of Ben’s first death is totally undercut by the title. Even if we know that the show wouldn’t kill Ben five minutes into the 11th episode of its first season, it still is a frustrating decision on the part of the show.
Aside from that, this is one of the most effective episodes of the reboot thus far. Yes, the logic of a time loop and, specifically a time loop that sort of isn’t a time loop, is a little shaky, but this episode has one of the best balances of the in leap and out of leap stories. Ben’s time in each of the five bodies are all unique and interesting, and each member of Team Quantum Leap gets a moment of revelation about their character.
This episode also begins to paint a few characters in different light. Ben starts to see the potential issues with the project; Magic makes a judgment call that Jenn can’t handle. Janice begins to integrate herself into the team. But sadly, the relatively wooden performance by Catilin Bassett as Addison still locks up the episode a bit. Her grief over Ben’s first death was not exactly a high point for the episode. Luckily, the episode was able to overcome her performance, but it remains the weakest piece of the series thus far. – Brian Salvatore
Star Wars: The Bad Batch – “Tribe” (S2E6, Disney+)
While there was always a sense that more Jedi must have escaped Order 66, it is always nice to see a fan-favorite character return, unharmed. Gunji, a Wookiee Jedi introduced The Clone Wars, is one of the more unique Jedi we’ve seen anywhere in Star Wars. While not quite ‘a planet Green Lantern’ level unexpected, because Star Wars has only shown us a few Wookiees, it was initially surprising to see a Jedi, replete with wooden-handled lightsaber, from Kashyyyk.
What is most interesting about this episode is how it allows Clone Force 99 to return to their rescuing ways, but also gives the show its most Force-heavy episode yet, despite the Force wielder not speaking a word of Basic/English the entire time. By doing this, it allows the Force to appear as mysterious as it did in the Original Trilogy, free of the shackles of midichlorians and training exercises. And by focusing some attention on the Wookiee people, there’s a little bit of Caravan of Courage vibes here. There’s a lot of mysticism in how the Wookiees commune with the trees, and the score by Kevin Kiner has lots of wood flutes and heavy percussion, adding a decidedly Eastern tone to the episode.
And so, this has a really intriguing mix of old and new Star Wars ideas. It is also one of the best episodes of the series thus far, as the stakes are commensurate with the tone, for once. – Brian Salvatore
Wednesday – “A Murder of Woes” (S1E8, Netflix)
Read our full review of the s1 finale by Alexander Manzo.
The Witcher: Blood Origin – “Of Mages, Malice & Monstrous Mayhem” (S1E4, Netflix)
Read our full review of the season 1 finale by Laura Merrill.
