RECAP: The Walking Dead, S06E03, “Thank You”

Man, this has been an amazing season so far, but this is probably going to be my shortest recap ever, because a whole lot of stuff happens but really nothing happens.  Here’s the tl;dr version:  We go back to the group that was herding the Walkers in the first episode.  Everyone from Alexandria dies, except for Heath and another new black (!!!) guy whose name I don’t recall.  And Glenn dies.  Sorta.  Maybe.  Probably?

Uh, spoiler alert.  You don’t still need spoiler alerts for these things, do you?

A couple quick bullet points and then we’ll get into the important bits:

• Basically everyone spends the episode trying to redirect the herd and get back to Alexandria.  There’s a lot of splitting up and a whole lot of people get killed.
• This episode maybe coulda had some more mercy shots, because all but one of the Alexandrians who get killed by zombies get torn to shreds.  There was one guy who Michonne really could have sworded to the head and she just let him get eaten.
• Rick injures his hand, which could be leading to something but probably nah, since we’ve already seen one survivor get cut by a knife covered in zombie blood and nothing happened.
• Amazingly, other than Rick and Abraham, Sasha, and Daryl, who don’t really have anything to do, the only people who definitively survive the episode are Michonne, Heath, and the other Alexandrian, who is also black.  He’s got a bullet in the leg but he’s alive.
• Every single time I write one of these I have to double check to see how many Rs are in Daryl.  You’d think I’d know by now.
• There’s more than a few teleporting zombies, where Alexandrians are safe one second and getting munched on by a zed nobody saw a second later.
• At the end, Rick has killed off five Wolves, including the one who stole the gun (great job there, Chekhov) and found some baby food in one’s pocket.  So, uh, there’s really only one place nearby where he might have found baby food, and Rick’s kinda frantic about it, except oops the Winnebago he’s in won’t start because Winnebagos don’t do that and also he’s completely surrounded by zombies now.
• Seriously, that’s not Dale’s Winnebago, right?  Where’s Dale’s Winnebago?

Okay.  Yeah.  On to Glenn.  This happens:

They’re cornered, standing on a dumpster, and note that there’s a barbed-wire fence behind them.  Nick’s about to shoot himself in the head.  Then he’s gonna fall off the dumpster, only because Nick really can’t ever do anything right he’s gonna take Glenn with him, and he’s gonna fall on top of Glenn.  And then this happens.  This image is a little more gruesome than what I usually post but I feel like it’s kinda necessary:

And then this happens:

My theory: Glenn is alive.  And that’s bullshit, because Glenn should be dead, but next week is a 90-minute Morgan episode and they are sure as hell trying to capitalize on tension and Glenn should be dead.

In bullet points:

• Remember, Nicholas fell on top of Glenn.  We never get a clear shot of him other than the one above, where he appears to be crying more than he appears to be in pain. 
• Also, it appears that his intestines are being pulled out of his chest, which is kinda weird.
• Glenn was not listed in the “In Memoriam” portion of The Talking Dead after the show.
• Steven Yeun was not present on The Talking Dead after the show, and they always bring major cast members on after they die.
• Glenn rather incongruously calls Rick “Dumbass” at one point over the radio.  When was the last time Glenn called Rick a dumbass?  When Rick was hiding under the tank in the first episode.
• Steven Yeun has been photographed in costume and on set since this episode was filmed.  Granted, flashbacks are possible.
• Nicholas died too, meaning that no surviving cast member saw Glenn die. Which is not how this show rolls.  They couldn’t leave Beth just missing and it led to the worst storyline in the show’s history; there’s no way they’re gonna leave Glenn’s death ambiguous, and I don’t see his reanimated body making it out of that mob to conveniently walk past a cast member.  Nobody alive even knows where he is.
• Glenn’s death in the comic books was one of the biggest deals the series has ever done, and while I’ve always felt that moment had a good chance of being given to Daryl, it’s surprising that they’d kill him off so ignominiously when they’ve been teasing us with baseball bats for two seasons.
• There is also a fan theory that the whole bit is a hallucination, because supposedly Nicholas has already fired his gun dry before shooting himself in the head.  I don’t buy this theory but I’m mentioning it for completion’s sake.

So, basically, the theory goes that he’s gonna roll under that dumpster, and that he’s already covered in blood and guts (don’t they have to be walker guts?) or maybe he’s gonna pull one under with him or something and somehow he’s gonna survive.  I mean, on the one hand, it’s Glenn.  Dude once killed a zombie while tied to a chair.  Glenn is the best survivalist on the show, hands down.  If anybody can get out of this, it’s him, and I like the character a lot, and I want him to be alive, but… yeah.

Next week, Morgan becomes a Ninja Turtle.  The week after that, zombies attack Alexandria, so I’m betting it’s at least three episodes from now before we find out what happened.

So… uh… is it November 15 yet?

Comic reviewlets: KARNAK #1 and CLEAN ROOM #1

This isn’t an installment of my semi-regular sci-fi comics series, although they’re both science fictional enough for my blood.  But two books came out last week that I feel like folks ought to take a look at, and I have the feeling both of them have the potential to be overlooked.

KARNAK #1, by Warren Ellis, Gerardo Zaffino, and Dan Brown

Karnak is billed as an ongoing, although if I know Warren Ellis he’ll likely only be helming the book for the first six to twelve issues.  I intend to mentally treat it as a miniseries until I know more about his plans.  I know next to nothing about the Inhumans, and I didn’t know Karnak was even a character until this book was announced, so I’m coming at this from a position of almost total ignorance.  That said, the first issue intrigues.

The book begins with a call from something called the Infernal Device.  One of Karnak’s monks– he has monks– comes to get him.  The Infernal Device is in here:

…and it turns out to be a phone.  Right away, you realize Warren Ellis is writing the book, which should probably tell you right away whether you’re reading this or not.  Karnak’s deal is that he can instantly see the flaw in anything: philosophies, objects, systems, people… everything.  It makes his abilities both hard to define and extremely versatile.  He splits a bullet in half with his bare hand at one point.  Also, this happens:

The plot itself is pretty thin: Karnak is hired, through S.H.I.E.L.D., to find a young man who has been exposed to the Terrigen mists and captured by an offshoot of AIM called IDIC.  The genius of this book is the atmosphere; you already have an idea of the color palette and the general tone, and the book is remarkably sparse with words– I’d say half the book has less than one dialogue bubble per page, and there are at least half a dozen with no dialogue or text at all.  It’s well worth checking out, if you’d let it slip by.

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CLEAN ROOM #1, by Gail Simone and Jon Davis-Hunt

This one’s definitely an ongoing, and since it’s a Vertigo title not called Hellblazer one assumes it will be written by Gail Simone until it gets cancelled or she decides to end it.  The book starts off in Germany, probably but not definitely in the past, where a red-headed little girl (who is never named) is run over by a truck driver who doesn’t seem entirely in control of himself while he’s doing it.  When she wakes up, she asks her mother where her daddy is, and when Mom points out that Daddy’s in the room with them, she asks why Daddy’s face is made of snakes.

So we start off lighthearted and cozy, is what I’m saying.

I’ll be honest: KARNAK is pretty straightforward, if a story told in an interesting way.  I’m not entirely sure what’s going on in CLEAN ROOM, but I know I like it.  The rest of the book is a journalist trying to track down Astrid Mueller, author of a book with no punctuation that supposedly either reveals the secrets of the universe to you or drives you insane.  And if you’re catching echoes of THE KING IN YELLOW… well, I doubt that’s a mistake.  

Her name is Chloe Pierce, and ever since her boyfriend blew his head off soon after reading the book, she’s been searching for answers.  She survives a suicide attempt at the beginning of her part of the story, and by the end of it she’s confronting Astrid Mueller, who is red-headed and has a German last name.  Hmmm…

Like I said, I have no idea where it’s going, really, but the book’s overall vibe is creepy as hell and Gail Simone is always great.  So check it out.

The Best Joker Yet!

Good day, everyone! It’s been quite awhile since you’ve heard from me, but I felt it was high time my Batman column here at Sourcerer saw another entry. Today, I want us to talk about Jerome Valeska (played by Cameron Monaghan) from the Gotham television series.

I know; the first season of Gotham was certainly a mixed bag. Personally, I enjoyed it despite recognizing its many weaknesses. I’m happy to see that the second season has started off rather strongly and is set to do greater justice to its source material while still forging ahead with its own story. I would say Gotham‘s greatest strength so far has been in its introduction of the character of Jerome Valeska, the show’s proto-Joker. Please note that from here on out, there will be spoilers for the show.

When Jerome and his bizarre circus family were first introduced last season, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Surely, the episode was visually stimulating and a murder mystery on a police procedural certainly sells, but it still seemed like there was something yet to be introduced. I was not disappointed; this episode ended on a surprise note that made my skin crawl, with Jerome transforming in an instant from a simpering child victim to a laughing psychopath that had any Batman fan worth his or her collection instantly on edge.

And the character has only grown more this season into the role set for him in that simple scene. Jerome’s appearance and demeanor are of a young man constantly on the verge of some sort of outburst, and he tends toward the morbidly dramatic. Further, Jerome cares little for even his own life, but cares a great deal about taking charge in a situation in order to insure that he gets his point across, whatever it may be.

The character’s showmanship coupled with Monaghan’s stage presence are a wonderful combination that plays out beautifully. Jerome isn’t a man who even pretends at a plan; rather, he is a true agent of chaos pursuing the greatest possible shock value with the highest possible body count.

On a final (and much appreciated) note, the writers of Gotham demonstrate that they are fully aware of the Joker’s irreplaceable, mythic role in the Batman mythos. This is worked in wonderfully with Jerome’s father (a blind fortune-teller played by Mark Margolis) reciting a prophecy concerning Jerome’s personal legacy of horror.

I find it a shame that Jerome had to be killed off after only four episodes. He was one of the greatest things about Gotham thus far, and that show has many, many great performances going for it, from Sean Pertwee as Alfred Pennyworth, to Robin Lord Taylor as the Penguin, and of course Erin Richards as the broken Barbara Kean. Perhaps the greatest tragedy, and appropriately enough, the greatest treat, is that Cameron Monaghan gave us the greatest live action Joker yet, and he wasn’t even playing the Joker. I raise a glass to such a performance.

Cameron Monaghan as Jerome in Gotham. Image taken from https://www.facebook.com/CameronMonaghanOfficial?pnref=lhc

That’s it for this installment, everyone. Thanks for reading and welcoming me back. I plan on doing several more guest posts as the year wraps up, most especially once Frank Miller and Brian Azzarello’s Dark Knight III: The Master Race hits shelves. As for reading recommendations, I suggest that, Batman: Europa, and Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles once all three see publication. Each should offer up a different take on the character from what is currently enjoying mainstream publication.

I hope you enjoy those reading recommendations, along with Gotham. And please do check out my other posts on the Joker here, here, and here. Heh. See you all next time! Tweet me @quaintjeremy.

Star Wars: Battlefront Beta Review

The Star Wars: Battlefront beta is over, and I want to talk about it. I was sick the weekend it came out, so rather than escaping into the fresh air and golden sunshine, I cowered in blankets with soup and juice and played the game more or less non-stop. I’ll break up the different areas of the game that I think are relevant below, and give a recommendation at the end, so if you just want to know what a stranger thinks you should or shouldn’t spend your money on:

tl;dr – It’s pretty good.

Okay, great. Here we go!

Battles

This is the fun part, right? Where it really matters whether the game delivers. Cool weapons and abilities are good, but if the battles don’t feel right – don’t feel like Star Wars – there’s no point in buying this game. Thankfully, they do a pretty good job.

The smaller battle introduces the player to how the game works. The players fight to an objective, trigger it, and then defend it until a timer runs out. The other side fights back to recover the objective. Neither side has an inherent advantage. It’s basically Battlefield, with a nice coat of Star Wars, but a few differences:

Weapons

The player only gets one weapon. Rebels and Imperials start off with slightly different blasters, but can buy the other side’s and more. The weapons cost points and can only be bought in the pre-game lobby. I preferred the heavy blaster rifle: it has less damage and range than the basic rifles, but its fast rate of fire suits my scattershot aim. I’ve also seen snipers use this gun to pick people (me) off from halfway across the map, so “Range” is more like a polite suggestion than an accurate estimation of its abilities. I even managed the longshot sometimes.

Some more disparity between the weapons would be nice, but overall I don’t have anything to complain about (except that jerk sniping me with a frakkin pistol).

The level also feels organic. A space battle rages overhead, as a Stormtrooper stations himself on a nearby hill to pick off the approaching rebels, but the Rebel infantry uses a jetpack to jump across his field of vision and deliver a thermal detonator to the face. It provides a grander backdrop for the struggle for resources. The players who claim the objectives also get powerups, which make taking the next objective easier.

The powerups

There are two types: star cards and field powerups

Field powerups are more interesting and powerful than star cards (except for the jetpack; that thing is amazing) but also only one use. Some even include a timer, such as the vehicle drops on Hoth. If you don’t use it, you lose it. Scattered in amongst them, at random, are the Hero drops that let you play as Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker.

The player buys star cards like weapons, and equips them before the battle. Cards include thermal detonators, personal shields, jetpacks, and triggered abilities. The grenades and jetpacks are multi-use, and require a cooldown before being used again. The triggered ability (in the beta, just the “Ion Shot”) alter the player’s abilities. The Ion Shot allows your blaster to fire ion instead of laser, which is more effective against vehicles – a key ability on Hoth. Speaking of…

The big battle (20 vs. 20) is Hoth, Echo Base, or “Walker Assault.” If you’re not familiar, follow this link and check out the opening battle of The Empire Strikes Back.

Yeah. Did you feel like the Rebels might be a little desperate in that fight? Well, it translates to the game as well. The game is so slated in favor of the Imperials I thought the Rebels must have to play perfectly in order to win. And they do have to play well, but in my fever dream state I think I won as many games as Rebels as I lost. I certainly lost enough as Imperials.

The difference between this level and the smaller battle is immediately obviously. As the Imperials, you start in the mountains, close to an AT-AT “Walker”, while the other lumbers forward in the valley below. The snow stretches out in front of you, marred by the corpse of a fallen AT-AT. For a few moments everything is quiet as you and the other troopers hustle toward the objective. Then the first laser blasts hit: the Rebels are at the trenches first, and they’re using a turret to mow you down. You duck behind a pathetic ice-rock shelf and spot it: a glowing blue powerup, but this one looks like the Imperial AT-ST. You take it, call it in, and then you’re in the cockpit. Secure in your new power, you march forward, firing lasers and missiles into the Rebel trenches, clearing the way for the troopers to deactivate the Rebel uplink.

Sorry. That was my nerd moment. I’ll try to be objective going forward.

The objectives are deceptively simple: Rebels turn on uplinks to order bomber strikes and destroy the Walkers; Imperials stop the uplinks and protect the Walkers. When the bombers hit, the Rebels have a short window to damage the massive AT-ATs. If they fail to destroy both, Imperials destroy the shield generator and win. If they down both (quite a feat) the Rebels win. The work that goes into taking and holding the uplinks, and then damaging the AT-Ats, however, requires coordination and timing. Miss the chance to damage a Walker and Wisconsin is doomed (bam, topical!). Stop paying attention as an Imperial, and you’ll be picking up the shattered pieces of your metal monstrosity and trying to explain to the galaxy’s worst vice-principal what went wrong.

He’s very disappointed in your life choices

While the battle feels very Imperial sided, a well-organized Rebel force (or a poorly-run Imperial side) can turn the battle around and make it feel like the Rebels just handed the Empire a whooping. Particularly crucial are the vehicles:

Vehicles

There are two kinds of vehicles: those I can use and those that explode immediately. I’m decent with the ground vehicles. The AT-ST can change a losing fight around quick, and while the AT-AT is sluggish and barely functional, it’s a lot of fun to be in the big beast, raining fire on the scum below.

The air vehicles, however… I tried and failed to learn. I think this highlights the biggest problem with the game. It needs a tutorial or practice mode so I don’t have to learn how to fly a TIE fighter in the middle of a pitched battle. This is true for heroes as well. While I am bad at it, however, some folks can fly like they were born to it, and some of the coolest videos online feature the air vehicles.

That’s a video of the Rebels pulling a last-second win by slamming an A-Wing into the near-crippled AT-AT. There are a ton more like that, and Reddit is full of stories of amazing wins and aerial acrobatics. Using the vehicles and other powerups correctly is the way to win on Walker Assault, and the Rebels have a bit of an advantage there in controlling the skies.

As the battle progresses the Imperials push the Rebels back from their (relatively secure) bunker to an open field that instantly becomes a brutal no-man’s-land. If you buy this game and play Walker Assault, listen: STAY IN THE TRENCHES. A direct assault across the blinding white snowfields will equal a quick trip to the respawn point. And while you sprint-and-die, someone else finds the Vader token, cashes it in, and mows people down with the red lightsaber as the few remaining aircraft crash and burn in the final moments.

Heroes

In the learning curve, heroes are somewhere between ground and air vehicles. I got to use both Luke and Vader, but I found the tokens completely by accident. When I used them, I didn’t really know what to do, and I never found them again. This is part of the mystique of these characters – powerful plays that can completely turn the tide – but if some doofus (me) gets Vader and has to spend a few minutes jogging awkwardly back to the battle, he (whoever he may be) feels less like the Dark Lord of the Sith and more like an unfortunate postman. It’s another reason to allow for practice. Even a bot mode that allows you to learn the layout of the battle as well as hardcore players, would make a big difference.

As it is, too many players spend their time searching for the powerups instead of fighting, or deploying otherwise useful abilities too soon or ineffectively to make room for Vader or Luke. Bot-mode or practice could take the edge off of this craving I’ve got to choke fools with my mind (I didn’t even get to choke anyone as Vader. How’s that for fair?).

Despite these problems, I really like the game. It felt like Star Wars, like an epic science-fiction battle. When a snowspeeder tries to wrap a tow cable around a vulnerable AT-AT and gets shot down, the flaming wreckage can kill you (mostly) –

– and then stays where it landed for the rest of the battle. By the end, the pristine snow is scorched and littered with burned-out wrecks. That feeling, more than the battles themselves, makes the game great. It feels like I was briefly a part of this universe.

And if you do play the game and happen to see him, KILL Luke Skywalker. He’s killed more good Imperial troops than ten Wookies combined.