Revenge? There's an app for that! (A review of Watch_Dogs)

This review of Ubisoft's Watch_Dogs was originally written and posted on NeoGAF on the 20th of September, 2015. (Original thread URL)




STORY SPOILERS AHEAD!

I'm not sure if I could say I really enjoyed the 50 or so hours I spent playing Watch_Dogs. But I'll try to describe the feeling of playing it through: Watch_Dogs is a video game that does an adequate job of being a video game. But that's all it excels at. The problem is that it never feels like the best version of what an open world game about a playable character that has nearly complete access to a city-wide surveillance apparatus is. In fact, I might go as far as to say the game is very incongruous with itself, and at the worst, it actively works against itself.

From Year Five back to Year One – In anticipation of Arrow Season 5

There’s a lot to unpack in a show that has gone on for nearly a hundred episodes, especially when that show is Arrow. If you follow the show off the air with even half intensity, there are particular themes and motifs that the audience will constantly harp on. In some ways, Arrow is a show that pioneered and succeed in its particular subgenre but now seems to have become a shadow of its former self. In other respects, Arrow, and other shows that it shares a universe with (chiefly among those, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl, along with Gotham in a different but similar orbit) are still part of a similar TV tradition that still continues today in the network TV space.

The First Of Many - The Big Five, Part 1

The First Of Many is going to be an ongoing series of posts - the quick and dirty kind - where I offer up my (usually somewhat measured) opinions of the new shows premiering  this season. There was a lot in the first set of premieres for the major US networks in the early part of September. Luckily it dies down a bit until October. I'm always excited by pilot season for many reasons. Without further ado:

• Son of Zorn – This was an early premiere for the show, which might work against it if the half-cartoon/half-live action aspect doesn’t, especially since it will be about two weeks before it debuts in its regular timeslot. The Lord/Miller backing might help it if it develops the same way The Last Man on Earth did and step into more of a character show. Personally, seeing Cheryl Hines on TV again is great and I feel like she fits into her role the strongest of the cast.

• The Good Place – Not by any stretch imaginative as I can also imagine everyone having an interesting notion of the afterlife, but regardless it is populated in a very vivid and colourful way. The notions of perfection that “the good place” offers/embodies coming to clash with Eleanor’s arrival and mistaken identity provides for interesting comedy but also of pathos and nuance. I am interested to see where the series continues, as it becomes clear in the opening episodes that not everything is as happy-go-lucky as the setting appears to be.

• Kevin Can Wait – It’s a Kevin James vehicle and although I’ve never been a fan of his output, there’s no real denying he has an audience that is willing to see him play approximately the same role as he did before. There is a good energy to the premiere that will probably continue through.

• Bull – There was a larger rant but I find it incredibly baffling this show was made at all or even allowed to air. A show about a trial consultant doesn’t seem much like a show with a protagonist you could get behind, but the show doesn’t do much to engender any sympathy for the protagonists either. The show, then again, doesn’t do much to put their central law case-of-the-week in any real logical terms or providing any real stakes to anchor either the audience or the characters to.

• This is Us – This is one of those pilots that makes me stand up and want to applaud. It is one of those rare pilots I would put into the same as something like Red Band Society’s that pulled on a lot of heartstrings but were completely earned by the end of its runtime. Coming out of it though, I’m hoping the show evokes a feeling of something like Parenthood as it moves forward.

• Lethal Weapon – Having never watched the movies, I have no reference point for this adaptation to the small screen. But knowing the genre – the buddy cop dramedy – it is easy to place it and know what beats it will try to hit. The genre did not do as well last season (entries like Rush Hour which I liked to some degree) so here’s hoping there’s more success this time around. I very much enjoyed all that the pilot had to offer, but I’m also wary about how regular production will maybe affect the ambitions of the show.

• Speechless – This is a single-camera comedy that I now recall (when upfronts were shown) that the trailer had a lot of heart, and that opinion still stands. It’s hard to say even after watching the premiere exactly how the show will proceed. I assume it will just do the same thing a typical comedy of it’s ilk will do, and try to do the best to squeeze out interesting performances for it’s cast.

• Designated Survivor – An interesting premise surrounded by a strong cast is the first thing that comes to mind when this show is mentioned. There was a very strong energy in the premiere, and I’m hoping it can continue riding that energy moving away from the pilot. The political thriller angle is always interesting even when it is sandwiched inbetween some good drama (which for starters allows Sutherland more range than his previous role as Jack Bauer) and intrigue. The only thing that I fear is any subplots following the children in the show, as I cannot seem to see where they want to proceed with that.

• Notorious – There is a lot of frantic energy contained in the pilot as it tries to chew through all the plot it has to offer. Frankly, I was surprised where I was in the hour when I stopped myself to wonder how much I just took in. The pilot mostly builds on a lot of intrigue and character dynamics that just need build on more nuance and specificity further down the line, beyond the tease of a central character drama bomb at the end. Not sure if the show needed to establish a proper C-plot in the pilot, however, as it felt almost completely unneeded.

• Pitch – Even as someone who doesn’t follow baseball, I thought this was a strong outing for a show that wants to talk about bigger things than simply baseball. I have no real idea how the show wants to proceed in telling its stories but I am open to it. I am a bit wary about the characters though, as they seemed to not offer much beyond the main character having any nuance, instead leaving the rest of the cast to mostly act as well-worn and well-travelled stereotypes with not much else to offer.

• MacGyver – Although it started off really flashy, I’m not entirely sure what the show has to really offer. I had never watched any of the old MacGyver, so any opinions are completely fresh on the matter. I did not find the premise too interesting having seen similar takes on the matter (Burn Notice comes to mind) and any teases towards its future don’t really offer much to really be interesting. This was a pseudo-origin story and the news about the pilot’s storied problems and having to be reshot will have me give it another chance.

• The Exorcist – I am not a horror fan so I will leave it to someone else to laugh at my weak will when it comes to these things. But it did set up an interesting, foreboding mood to the whole series. The preview for the season provides an interesting setup since the show has to move beyond the mostly single setting that the movie was isolated to. Definitely interested to see how the show progresses.

I Can See Clearly Now – In anticipation of Blindspot Season 2

I can’t readily admit that much of the first season of NBC’s Blindspot ever really wowed me too often, but what I did discover was a show that happened to align with much of my tastes and formats that I’ve been scouring TV for, especially in the network space. I guess I should also be glad it was doing well in the ratings enough for early episode orders and a renewal last year.

In the same vein, I could never say Blindspot was anywhere close to my favourite shows in all of the 2015-16 TV season, but it has proven to be an interesting case study in the kind of television I enjoy, and hope to one day enjoy creating – a strong action-adventure series anchored by a central underlying mystery that’s driven by interesting characters (or at least dynamics), and has a somewhat interesting set of themes, theses or questions it wants to address; all in the meanwhile it takes advantage of the episodic format to tell its stories that tie back to its central mystery. Blindspot manages to hit most of those notes, as well as being generally entertaining (on the action-thriller level). It also has a few misses – in my opinion – but that gives it some room to improve, hopefully, as it heads into season two.

Killjoys 2x02 – “Wild, Wild Westerley” mostly moves a lot of pieces into place

There is a lot of setup in this episode that has to be walked through, causing this episode to feel a bit overstuffed, but also slightly unfulfilling by the end of it. A lot of material simply flies past during the course of the episode and there isn’t a lot of substance behind whatever movements the show wishes to make by the end of the hour. 

A lot of this season likely hinges on the team chasing around whatever Khylen and Black Root left behind on Arkyn, although we’re told that whatever was there is long gone and destroyed. The fate of Old Town is revealed, but leaves a lot in the air as it pits Pawter and Jelko (Jelqo? I can never understand how names are spelled in Killjoys) at odds which does plays to Killjoys’ strengths but mostly leaves the aftermath of the rebellion in the background, leaving it to probably be explored later, even as the team's mission brings them deeper into it by interacting with certain figures of the uprising.

Old Town, I would argue, is probably one of the series’ stronger places so it’s a bit of a shame to leave it relatively untouched. There’s not much time for exploration in this episode as the trio jump back and forth with leads and chasing a canister of deadly gas. The Company’s stance on the scarbacks sounds interesting when spoken but we only ever really follow Alvis as he helps the trio to their next lead more than anything. The episode seemed to imply a closer relationship between Alvis and Tarren Tighmon than I expected, but ultimately it seemed less that and more a man (Tighmon) who had become disillusioned by meeting his hero (Alvis).

Despite that I did not feel like there was enough to justify Alvis’ lapse in judgment leading to him releasing the gas in a fit of rage. In fact most of the time following the attack, it never really shows the collateral damage the Company was willing to commit to in order to kill Tighmon (besides killing him and no one else really dying on-screen) and Alvis looking distraught that he witnessed it (but it was really Dutch that was really the one who led the Company to Tighmon). It’s a weird step back from the previous week where a character like Clara existed with her history and emotional depth mostly as exposition but intersected well with the show’s strengths and worked for me. But it’s probably because that the politics of the Old Town storyline are a much larger and readily identifiable and visible part of the show that has been explored in season one, I expected more substance to it. Though again, it’s likely there will be more whenever the hunt for Khylen/Black Root/Level Sixes dies down.

But of course that doesn’t seem likely given the stinger at the end of the episode, because the season seems to also imply that many of the upcoming stories will be from Turin’s unsanctioned bag of warrants that will take the trio around the Quad as both parties search for the truth. As long as part of that search takes them back to Westerley once in a while.

 

Miscellaneous observations:

• Pree is still as fun as ever, which is mostly why I’m hoping the show returns to Old Town more often than not.
• “On what planet were you a warlord?”
• Poor Gared, getting the crap kicked out of him and nearly each of his limbs broken and stabbed. Actually nevermind, it’s pretty funny.
• Not much to add about Pawter. Sad to see Hills go though, but I think the introduction of a new company officer made his fate inevitable. Pawter basically acting as a liaison (or courtier in some way) in Spring Hill could be interesting if the power dynamics and politics of the upper class come into play in an interesting way (or intersect with whatever Dutch, John and D’avin are chasing after).

Killjoys 2x01 – “Dutch and the Real Girl” returns in a way that’s loud and clear, for the most part

I’m always particularly wary when a genre show returns for another season, mostly because I always wonder if this will be the last one and the creators don’t see it coming, but my biggest fear – when it comes to genre especially – is how escalation is going to work. Sci-fi and fantasy shows are generally guilty of this trend where each season they have to plant their flag in the ground and declare that they are going to go bigger, expand the world (universe) more, and just make everything more deadly to our heroes, because we can. And in a way, it makes sense, because the creators have grown more confident with their craft, but as a viewer and also a writer, it’s something that makes me wary. Do the stakes truly need to be upped so high every time? Because I feel like I have seen this happen and fail more often than it working out in favour. And that’s a shame if it befalls a show like Killjoys.

Maybe some of those fears are there, for me at least. But the season opens strongly in something of a dream sequence. John, D’avin, and Dutch are all back together, background exploding behind them for no good reason and they’re ready to kick some ass again, ending in a kiss that gives off sparks, which I found oddly amusing. The imagery is great though, but it quickly boots us back to the real present, with D’avin being experimented on to become a level six killjoy (but failing), and Dutch and John trying to find a way onto Arkyn.

The real meat and potatoes of the episode leads to the introduction of Clara (and Alice!), a modded-out woman that carries the one thing on her Dutch and John (and Pree) need to get onto Arkyn. It is Clara though who proves to be the most interesting aspect of the episode, as she embodies much of the series’ strengths and themes of family, trust, and purpose as strongly as the main trio do. It’s likely she’ll reappear again, hopefully more often than not as she embarks on her own journey that hopefully crosses paths with the main characters.

On the other hand, though D’avin’s journey is interesting in of itself, the fact that it’s tied to Khlyen’s and that there is an ever brooding, more insidious, looming threat that makes even the straight-faced Khylen shake feels a bit more cliché. Hopefully there is more to it than that but it’s probably safe to assume it’s just greater unknown organization that hides on the dark side of the moon or outside in dark space whose plans are probably going to be inscrutable to the viewer for a while. The only relief is that Fancy is back, albeit as an antagonist, but at least a familiar one. Hopefully they use him for more than end of episode teasers where he does something vaguely evil to drive the point home that his bosses are evil.

At this point I’m probably leaning more towards how the show wants to continue or resolve the Old Town storyline, as it is a bit more personal to the characters. One of the strengths of the show is that cohesion of character tied to world building. It’s still present when D’avin realizes he’s seen Dutch in his dream-vision/old memory/green goop hallucination, but there’s not much behind it yet as much as the rest of the show’s other storylines. But I’m willing to give the show the benefit of the doubt. It is only the premiere and the show still knows how to have fun, after all. Sometimes that’s all you need to do.

Miscellaneous observations:

• Pree is a fantastic addition to the team who fits in on their first mission, no questions asked. He was a former criminal, after all. He knows his way around.
• Lucy is as sassy as ever, which is also great.
• I have the feeling the show is maybe inching towards putting John and Clara together, and I guess I like this idea a lot. Lucy probably does too.
• I found it odd that amidst the sadness of the Old Town reveal to D’avin, Dutch seemed to really only care about Pawter and Aldis. I’m sure she means well but there are clearly all the other citizens that could use your help!

Person of Interest – “return 0” contemplates life and death, and brings us back to the root of the series one last time.

Much has probably been written about the finale since it aired (and I’ve read some of it too); I’m writing this almost two weeks after it has aired, mostly because real life has gotten in the way though I did find time to watch it the day the finale aired. And I must say, it was an exquisite finale, possibly one of the finest ones I’ve had the pleasure of watching.

Person of Interest ends somewhat expectedly in some fashion and unexpectedly in other aspects. Taken as a whole, “.exe” and “return 0” are very introspective episodes that make up the two-part series finale. There’s not much bombast; you can possibly blame that on what seems to be a fairly reduced budget for a fifth season show that had the rug pulled out from under it, but it does bring the series to a fantastic end. And a possible strength lies in the open-ended ending. The story you’ve watched is over, but as the last line in the show tells us, “... and maybe, this isn’t the end at all.”

Person of Interest – “.exe”. It’s a wonderful life, but Samaritan is inevitable, I’ve found.

The importance of human life has always been a theme that has permeated Person of Interest since its beginnings, and once again the show returns to that. People on an individual level matter and so do the choices they make. As Finch continues his journey to stop Samaritan, he ponders on the choices that have led him to his current circumstances. He has some doubts, if not regrets, about whether or not creating the Machine has actually made the world a better place, and whether the friends that he has met – and lost – along the way, was worth it, even at the cost of saving all those lives.

Person of Interest – “Synecdoche”, rounding off the numbers by threatening the POTUS

I guess “Synecdoche” is it. This episode is the last proper number-of-the-week the show will ever have. So it makes sense to go all out and threaten someone with the stature and gravitas of the President of the United States. Like similar episodes that find their place in the flow of a season of Person of Interest, this does quite a bit of work as the show rounds into the final two episodes that will end the show forever. It is an episode that concentrates equally outward and inward, as it unfolds more about our characters – because in the final two episodes, it is inevitable the show will be as such – and presents to us almost a consolation prize. A could have been – a spinoff show, or a look into the Person of Interest Expanded Universe™.

Person of Interest – “The Day The World Went Away”, but maybe there’s something on the other side too

“The Day The World Went Away” opens with Finch pondering and reflecting on what is the last five seasons of the show, and whether or not he is, or will be the catalyst for the death of his friends. He surmises that his intervention might be the one thing that will directly lead to all of their demises, and by the end of the hour, he is proven right, twice.

It is interesting that this episode revolves around Finch, but also at the same time does an incredible job with sending off what are essentially two vital pillars of the show. These were two characters who were on a bad path until they intersected with Finch, and found themselves entangled in his cause. The past, present, and presumptive future all collide in the 100^th episode of the show, both as a plot device and as ways to stir character and emotional development. The show never fully relies on the parallel narratives employed in shows like Lost and Once Upon a Time fully, choosing to employ it sporadically, but treats it with much care when they do. But they also have five seasons of character development and history to fall back on and loyal viewers know every thread running underneath every interaction.

Person of Interest – “Sotto Voce”, in which imminent danger is always a good teambuilding exercise

I believe this is the last time the show might be truly happy. Not hopeful mind you, because I still hold out hope that the finale ends on an optimistic note, even if evidence and likely fact will point to the contrary as the weeks continue. The final shot of the episode harkens back to the pilot, where Reese meets Finch in the exact same spot, to start his new job and find his new purpose. And now all our heroes have returned home, ready to face the ever-present danger that awaits them in the coming future. This is it. This is their calm before the storm.

“Sotto Voce” is one of the few episodes that never touches directly on Samaritan, sitting in a shortened season building up to the final conflict. It also does the unthinkable, in bringing back “The Voice” (or as I know him, Two Phones) and tying off his previous appearance from season 3 in a way that helps propel many of the characters moving into the finale. The immediate danger he faces helps pair off Reese and Fusco, and Finch and Elias, who are seemingly at odds in some manner.

For Reese and Fusco, it’s relatively simple. The growing animosity between the two over the course of the season finally bubbled up, but when they find themselves trapped in the police precinct in some dastardly plot-ception of Two Phones to kill a former gun for hire, they end up engaging in a shootout with some gang members. Nothing like a good team building exercise than being outnumbered by violent gang members and having to shoot your way out, right? And the thing that comes out of it is Fusco being keyed into the entire ASI war playing out behind the scenes. Any more entertaining value I hope is mined now that Fusco is clearly playing the new guy to all of this insanity.

With Finch, who has to recruit the help of Elias, it becomes a different matter. Elias has warned Finch that he might be the darkest of them all, and that in order to win this war they’re fighting, he will have to make use of everyone. And here we have Finch, in different situations, wielding Elias like a tool, and by the end of it, a weapon. At first it’s to obtain information to work towards discovering Two Phones’ plan, and then finding his lair; simple information gathering with a liaison who is an expert in the field. But when it comes to the final confrontation with the perpetrator, Finch plays judge and jury, and wields Elias as the hooded executioner. The kind with a love for car bombs. It’ll be interesting to see how much further Finch seems to be heading, and what else about his humanity he might be willing to sacrifice for the greater good.

And while Root and Shaw don’t have much screen time together compared to everyone else tackling Two Phones, there is a moment of elation that couldn’t be matched when they reunited, and arguably, Shaw realizes she’s not in a simulation, because Root proves she’s the real deal, insane enough to promise a suicide pact if Shaw thinks it’s not real and a shot to the head will just be nothing more than an end to another numbered simulation. Samaritan could never quite match the real Root’s utter unhinged side.

Person of Interest – “QSO” and “Reassortment” double feature

Watching both episodes one after another brings a lot of the threads into much starker relief. It is curious to wonder what a 22-episode season would have produced, and what if any unrelated numbers-of-the-week would’ve slotted inbetween and what those episodes would have possibly dealt with. Or maybe they’d be more simple distractions, a way to turn the viewer away from the threat of Samaritan if only for a brief moment before it reared its head up again and we were met with a glimpse of its plans for humanity.

Person of Interest – “A More Perfect Union” is the calm before the storm

I could sit here and discuss at length what was structurally wrong about how the number number-of-the-week was presented in “A More Perfect Union”, but it’s clear almost from the start that such a thing is inconsequential. As someone who has sat down and deconstructed what makes a middle of the pack or even strong number-of-the-week episode of the show and was only a step from writing the teleplay of my own, I realize I need to put that aside, because this episode doesn’t really demand anything from the viewer but to enjoy its characters in sometimes completely humourous situations. This is a show going out on its own terms and it has decided to have some fun while they still can.

The two POIs are inconsequential. We barely learn anything about them except how they fit into the wider context of the wedding guests who are plotting and scheming in the background. The groom’s ex kissing him on his wedding day? Nothing but a bribe from the bride’s father. The bride getting cold feet? Easily rectified by a speech that it shouldn’t matter. The photo in question? We don’t even see it because there only needs to be a simple resolution to the case; it was the sister who doped the prize racing stallion, with the family photographer being the sole witness to the crime and the true victim.

Most of the setups worked mostly to work to build towards a joke or punchline. Reese arrives after police have been called to a bachelorette party. We know how this will end, but the joke works because of Reese’s discomfort, and the bridesmaid slobbering over him. Root decides to brute force her way into the wedding, passing as a caterer with the help of Bear carrying dead vermin around the kitchen. Finch’s cover is quickly turned against him; the estranged uncle he passes for is asked to sing to everyone. Meanwhile Root and Reese fight a bunch of hired guns while Finch sings Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It”. And then Root literally saves the day by riding in on horseback and dispatching the last set of bad guys. What about everyone’s insistence that Root doesn’t like weddings, and her insistence that she does? Golden.

“Tomorrow their world crashes. But we can give them tonight.”

Having much less fun are Fusco and Shaw, who are separated from the fun of a wedding reception. Fusco is still working on those missing persons while Bruce Moran continues trying to make headway into discovering what new player is keeping the criminal element down. Fusco arguably has some more comedic scenes with Bear as everyone’s favourite dog tows the detective along. It’s not long until Fusco finds all the missing people he’s been searching for, along with Bruce and the city contractor dead in a tunnel, scheduled for demolition at a bad time. The testament to Bruce’s timely and off-screen demise says a lot about how little worth he is to Samaritan, the unknown factor in the dark that he and Fusco cannot seem to grasp.

Meanwhile Shaw is given somewhat of a reprieve from her head torture by having Greer extol the virtues of Samaritan, what it is capable of, and how immeasurably more efficient it is at protecting people. Although it is pretty clear to everyone by now that Samaritan is more than willing to kill a few hundred to save millions if necessary, framing its actions in them most favourable light. It’s certainly not going to convince Shaw or any viewers at all, but I appreciate the change in perspective allowed for us to understand what Greer’s worldview is in a more nuanced light. To him, it’s not reprehensible because of how he little he thinks humanity can go about, fumbling in the dark, doing the best it can when there is a better alternative.

Person of Interest – “ShotSeeker”, in which nearly everyone is left in the dark

As much as we learned about the state of the new world order in “ShotSeeker”, there’s even more that the show leaves in its wake to suggest we’re just at the tip of the iceberg. Lingering questions or doubts are placed in the characters’ heads and while some of them are told to count what few blessings they have and move on, others take it upon themselves to continue rocking the boat, which might be much more dangerous than they could possibly fathom. The truth, in “ShotSeeker”, is very much something you can try to discern from something that reads false – much like how the number of the week Ethan Garvin can tell a gunshot from a firecracker exploding – but digging too hard might rain all sorts of trouble down upon you.

Person of Interest - “6,741” OR, One tough firecracker

There are a couple of impressive feats on display in "6,741". I did not take to the episode initially, but I think the strength of it lies in it being watched again, when you are aware of the twist that comes at the end. For myself, there was something odd about it. The episode felt off, and when you come to the conclusion the episode sets out to make, it becomes all the more clear. It was supposed to be off. This episode of Person of Interest we were watching all along was always going to be a substandard facsimile of the real thing. Call it what you want, but the 'twist' that revealed itself in the end - that this was a computer-induced simulation, and the title refers to the simulation number we saw unfold - helped cement the fact that it took a lot of care and craft to make something seem substandard.

But of course, upon further examination, "6,741" is anything but substandard.