VisionQuest: Deadlock [S1:E6] – TV Review

TL;DR – There are a lot of responses you can have to an episode of television, but one you never want to hear is “oh…..”.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service used to view this series

A statue of a bird in front of Jocasta's digital house.

VisionQuest Review Introduction

We have reached the end of our penultimate episode drop of VisionQuest as calamities are colliding and the story is heating up. Well, I wish I could say that about this episode; however, one of these did not happen, and I am not quite as hyped as I once was.

So, to set the scene, at the end of Firewall, Vision (Paul Bettany) made a choice that could change everything: he lowered his firewall and let Ultron (James Spader) … and FRIDAY (Orla Brady) … escape into the internet. The last time they pursued the internet they decided to destroy all of humanity [look, fair]. What will happen this time when there is another synth, Jocosta (T’nia Miller), also out there causing trouble? Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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VisionQuest: Firewall [S1:E5] – TV Review

TL;DR – How do you visualise robots hunting each other down in cyberspace? Well, with a play, my dear.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service used to view this series.

The gang in colour in a black and white room.

VisionQuest Review Introduction

Well, we have entered that back half of this series, and so far with No Strings, Theseus, Reboot, & Malware we have gotten a lot of setup, a lot of sheer glances, and a lot of furtive statements. But we don’t have a lot of solid ground, and we are running out of time to stick that hard landing. Will today’s episode prove to be that foundation?

So, to set the scene, well, this is not good. Vision (Paul Bettany) gave Ultron (James Spader) access to his body to stop Jocasta (T’nia Miller) from killing everyone, including Thomas (Ruaridh Mollica). Still, once you give Ultron a crack, he takes a mile. In this case, by locking Vision, EDITH (Emily Hampshire), FRIDAY (Orla Brady), DUM-E (Henry Lewis), & U (Jonathan Sayer) up in the loft he was once trapped in. But sure, they may be in jail, but four AI programs with moxie can still achieve a lot. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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VisionQuest: Malware [S1:E4] – TV Review

TL;DR – The pivot point of the season, in many ways.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service used to view this series.

A TV bathed in red light showing a mirrored crow taking flight.

VisionQuest Review Introduction

In many modern shows, there can be a pivot point that yanks the narrative in a very specific direction. To use an MCU example, when we found out that Wanda is in control in WandaVision or when Wanda is in control in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Well, today is that time.

So, to set the scene, at the end of Reboot, things were starting to look up. Tommy (Ruaridh Mollica) had started to get over his phobia of water, Vision (Paul Bettany) had turned off and on again, and Paladin (Todd Stashwick) found the wrong synth. It was all going well, until FRIDAY (Orla Brady) discovers that something or someone snuck in during the reset. “The Power of Code Compels You” because it is time for a little exorcism. Also, I think you should be taking the anniversary of Sokovia with a bit more interest Vision. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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VisionQuest: Reboot [S1:E3] – TV Review

TL;DR – When you introduce a villain in the same show as Ultron, you need to do it as well as this.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service used to view this series.

Pixelated fire at the heart of Vision.

VisionQuest Review Introduction

We have now moved into the next batch of episodes with VisionQuest, and after some solid set-up, it is time to get into the meat of the episode. Is what I would be saying if this was not another set-up episode, but when you are setting up such a solid villain, well, I will allow it.

So, to set the scene, at the end of Theseus, things are looking really bad for Vision (Paul Bettany). Paladin (Todd Stashwick) just shot him full of adamantium rounds, breaking his unbreakable case and leaking vital fluids all over the place. He would be dead if not for the fact that Tommy (Ruaridh Mollica) does not like to listen to such advice. But Paladin is under a contract and is not going to stop just because his third attempt to catch Vision failed. But while everyone was watching Vision die, they should have been watching the news for all the murders going around. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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The Peripheral: Season 1 – TV Review

TL;DR – While it expertly builds tension and the world, it ends on a flat note of frustration  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Prime Video service that viewed this show.

End Credit Scene – The final episode, The Creation of a Thousand Forests, has an end credit scene.

Warning – Some scenes may cause distress.

Flynne connects to the VR Set

The Peripheral Review –

It has been a while since I have sat down to a good sci-fi mystery. One that makes you scratch your head and wonder how all the different parts connect. I think the last one that truly captured me like this was Westworld. Which is good timing because you can see those influences in the show we are looking at today.

So to set the scene, we open in London in 2099 as Wolf (Gary Carr) sits on a park bench as holographic galleons recreate a battle on the pond in front of him. As he watches a young girl Aelita (Sophia Ally), approaches the bench without shoes. She wants to save a world, not the one they are in now, that is lost, but another world, one that can still be saved. In the Blue Ridge Mountains in 2032, Flynne Fisher (Chloë Grace Moretz) is helping her sick mother, Ella (Melinda Page Hamilton), when she notices that her medicine is being cut by her no-good brother Burton (Jack Reynor). Confronting him, she instead gets dragged into helping some guys beat a level in a WW2 VR Video Game, something she is very good at. At work, she is given a package for her brother, a new VR machine that she can beta test, and get money for her family. But the immersive VR set in a future London is more real than anyone expected. Now from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.    

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Foundation: Mysteries and Martyrs – TV Review

TL;DR – All the pieces move into place, and we see where the imminent peril is arriving from.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Apple TV+ service that viewed this episode.

Foundation: Mysteries and Martyrs. Image Credit: Apple TV+.

Foundation Review –

In the early part of the season, Foundation very much held its cards close to its chest. Its use of multiple timelines and jumping characters was used to obscure the narrative, to mixed results. Well, this week, we get the opposite because as like opening the curtains on the house, we now see all.

So to set the scene, three coming disasters loom large. In space, the hijacked crew of the Beggar see the prize that Phara Keaen (Kubbra Sait) has sort. The fabled Invictus, who is not just a jump ship, but a world killer. On Maiden, Brother Day (Lee Pace) discovers that he might not be ready to play the game of politics with Zephyr Halima (T’nia Miller). Finally, On Trantor, the love between Brother Dawn (Cassian Bilton) and Azura (Amy Tyger) but it is a dangerous game. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Foundation: Death and the Maiden – TV Review

TL;DR – The show is starting to find its place.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Apple TV+ service that viewed this episode.

Foundation: Death and the Maiden. Image Credit: Apple TV+.

Foundation Review –

After Foundation’s bombastic explosion onto the scene in its first episode, The Emperor’s Peace, I had become concerned with where the show was heading. It felt like it was grasping around in the dark, possibly crushed under the weight of adapting the source material with all its quirks, while trying to bring it into the 21st century. While it still feels like it is struggling to find its place, we have now seen the bedrock it is building upon, and I am intrigued.

So to set the scene, the Anacreon’s attack on Terminus has caught everyone, including the Empire, with their pants down. Well, everyone but Salvor Hardin (Leah Harvey) who spotted Phara’s (Kubbra Sait) play but not before she could enact it. Meanwhile, back on Trantor, Brother Day’s (Lee Pace) frustration with the state of things boiled over, and he breaks with thousands of years of tradition and boots Brother Dusk (Terrence Mann) off a trip to the centre of the Luminism religion in the Moon Maiden in the Surah System. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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