Netflix and Chill with B: Scream (Season 2)

Credit: spoilertv.com

Okay...so technically I could have typed up this post last Wednesday, but I knew that I was going to be seeing Suicide Squad on Friday and was planning on writing something about that, so I wanted to space out my posts a little bit. Besides, if I'm being completely honest, a tiny part of me may or may not have been hoping for another episode to come out today. And yes, I'm fully aware that that makes little to no sense. The episode last week was clearly the finale.

Here, my notes on and observations about the second season (again, with as few spoilers as possible) as well as the series in general:

1. Things old and new - Despite the series aiming to entertain a whole new group of teenagers (not to mention that the storyline is now being layed out specifically to fit a series format, which just continues to show that series are the new movies) and me wondering whether or not I'm technically too old to watch the new Scream, some things just simply don't change. Mainly the use of actors who are technically too old to be playing teenagers, but oddly enough they strike me as younger (or maybe just more youthful looking?) than their predecessors. But hey, nowadays 50s are the new 40s, 40s the new 30s, 30s the new 20s, and 20s are the new teens. People just looked older a couple of decades ago I guess...oh wow...that's right...the first Scream movie did come out almost 20 years ago, didn't it? Dude...I'm so old!!! I'm kidding...I've always been old. Anywho...as is also to be expected, the show features some of the most flawless looking teenagers ever, which is something I usually try not to pay too much attention to. It's their job to look like that, so as long as nobody expects me to look like that (and that's including myself), everything should be fine.

2. Ode to horror - Considering that the movies were already a love song to the whole horror genre, it would be shocking, if the series didn't follow suit. However, I still had a minor geek-out (it happens, don't judge) when I saw the episode titles. Why? Because every single one is named after a horror movie (and if we're being technical, a few thrillers). Of course, there's Psycho and I Know What You Did Last Summer (very appropriate) as well as Village of the Damned and When a Stranger Calls. It really is the simple things after all...

3. Everyone's a suspect - As much as one may want to look down at the series for catering mostly to teenagers (and nostalgic 20/30-somethings) and being way too MTV (and yes, I know it airs on MTV, but one can tell by just watching it too), it does do a good job keeping the viewers on their toes. Granted, in season one I managed to figure out who the main killer was fairly quickly and easily...or at least I managed to figure out who was behind one of the masks... This time around, however, it wasn't so easy. Because at some point at least half of the characters seemed like viable choices. I thought I had finally figured it out by episode 10, which is hella late for a 12-episode season, but no, I had walked into the trap that the writers had set for me and for the rest of the audience too. Out of respect for those of you who haven't watched it and are still going to (or are at least thinking about it), I won't tell you who is behind the second mask, just that I was kind of mad at the big reveal. Well, not mad per se, but mildly irritated. Then again, this is Scream, meaning that this isn't the end (unless they decide to cancel the show without providing it with a proper ending...*cough* Hannibal *cough*), so we can expect an even bigger reveal at a later point in the series.

Overall, I enjoyed it. It wasn't only entertaining, it also managed to keep me guessing. Oh, and I also greatly appreciated the final standoff scene that was very reminiscent of the first Scream movie. Watch it and you'll know what I'm talking about.    

Netflix and Chill with B: Orphan Black (Season Four)

Credit: bbcamerica.com

Despite this having aired on TV a couple of months ago, I just got around to watching season four of Orphan Black last week on Netflix. I know, for shame Miss Bettina...for shame. (And what about Game of Thrones? - It's on my list, for crying out loud! I'll let you know when I get around to it...)
Aside from this featuring my dream role - I mean, who wouldn't want to play their own personal version of "50 Shades of..." (as in, multiple versions of oneself...Red Room of Pain optional) - Orphan Black is one of those shows that I have to be in a very particular mood for. I can't be distracted by things like washing the dishes or cooking or cleaning or working on my thesis. I also can't watch it post-workout and post-workout-shower in the evening because, come 10 p.m., I start to become increasingly drowsy and only want to watch visual fluff that essentially serves as my personal white noise.

However, with episode titles like The Scandal of Altruism and The Antisocialism of Sex, the series has already got my full attention. That is, when I'm not drifting off to sleep or have to take care of my other obligations. It's called life, people. I can't just sit around bingeing to death on Netflix shows. That would drive me crazy after a while. Or I might actually die due to neglecting my other needs...
While I would like to say that season four is when the isht really hits the fan, I think that's what half of the series is about, isn't it? You think that these clone sisters or "sestras" will finally find the solution to all of their problems and that some kind of natural order (whatever, that may be) will be restored, only to have it all go to hell in a handbasket within a matter of half an episode. And then the cycle repeats itself ad infinitum.

Of course, we have the Umbrella Corp...uhh, I mean Neolution to thank for this ginormous mess. Let's face it, and I'm sure plenty of other people have already come up with this comparison, Neolution might as well be Umbrella Corporation. Orphan Black might as well be the TV version of Resident Evil, just without the zombies and with slightly more sex. No joke, Evie Cho in the ad for the fertility clinic could have just as easily replaced that one faceless chick in the cosmetics ad for the Umbrella Corporation (was that for Apocalypse or Evolution though...?).

As much as I appreciate the similarities between the two conglomerates of evil, and of course the featuring of a May-December relationship between an older woman and a younger man, I'm not entirely sure I'm okay with the direction that the show is going in. In fact, I'm not even sure I know which direction the show is going in. However, I also think that that's intentional on the show's part. I don't think that they want the viewers to know what will happen next or what it all means. Part of the fun is to just enjoy the ride...and then get irritated and yell at your laptop because something else went horribly wrong.

Also, I still think that there might be something seriously messed up with Kira. She was just out of it for most of the season and I almost thought she was going to pull a Haley Joel Osment on me or suddenly stab someone in a few of the scenes. Then again, she is a girl who has (yet again) been pulled away from a stable home and family life, so she's bound to be fed up and borderline traumatized by the whole situation.

Favorite clone: That's a really tough decision because they all kind of have their merits, even Crystal and Helena. However, I would probably have to go with Cosima. She's just incredibly sweet and smart with her very own unique moral compass (and she has those cool dreadlocks), so yeah, I would definitely go with Cosima.

Rating: If I had to give the show, or this season in particular, any type of rating (not that it really matters in the grand scheme of things, but it's fun to think about), I would probably give it a 9 out of 10. Like I said, I'm not sure I'm okay with the direction the series is taking because it seems like it's drifting farther away from the science side of sci-fi and entering the realm of the fantastical and outright bizarre. However, the series as a whole is pretty great and probably deserves a 10.