The Expanse: Season 1 Review (Warning: SPOILERS)

There is always adventure in the emptiness of space, slimy and thrilling in all of its glory. Season 1 of The Expanse provided exactly what any space adventure should grant their viewers: thrill, spaceships, strong characters, underlying political and global messages, and, of course, explosions. What sort of show set in space wouldn’t have explosions? I mean, come on. When I first heard about The Expanse, I was told that it was a (paraphrasing here) super sexy sci-fi thriller. I even told my fiancé that we should watch it because, well, it was a super sexy sci-fi thriller. Eventually she gave in. But what I learned over the course of the first season was that there was a lot less super sexy and a lot more sci-fi thriller. In fact, the super sexy aspect of the show could only be seen in the first ten minutes of the pilot episode, then it was all conspiracy, thrilling action, and space-crime. That wasn't a problem with me. The one show that comes to mind which is in any comparison to The Expanse is Battlestar Galactica, and yet the latter is still far superior then the former in many ways. This being the case, it does not take away from the awesomeness that is The Expanse.

The electric looking bundle of slime

The show is based off the series of books of the same name by James S. A. Corey, and is set in our solar system a few hundred years in the future. There are three factions of people that make up the universe during this season: the humans of Earth (or, as they are referred to in the show, the Earthers), the Martians (obviously from Mars and are always considered to have the most advanced technology), and the Belters (who reside primarily on the asteroid belt station, Ceres). The story begins with a Belter of importance named Josephus Aloisus Miller (Thomas Jane), who is a detective assigned an almost impossible case. The viewer sees the case unfold during the first scene of the show, with a young woman, Julie Andromeda Mao (Florence Faivre), awakening in an abandoned ship with blood smears on the wall and an almost palpable feeling of dread. We soon see that this feeling of dread is well-deserved, for the end of the scene shows Julie finding an electric looking bundle of slime hanging from the ceiling of the ship’s reactor. She screams and that is the last time we see her until much later in the season. Julie is the daughter of a wealthy family, but she decided that she wanted to live a life that her father hadn’t planned out for her--so she joined the OPA, a group of Belter resistance fighters working to ensure the well-being of their people. Joe Miller is tasked with finding out what happened to her, but ends up getting caught up with the OPA’s agent on Ceres, Anderson Dawes (Jared Harris), later on in the series. When Miller rejects Anderson's offer to join the OPA, they kidnap him and ask him to re-consider. Again, he rejects their demands to join them, and they release him after carefully searching his person for a disc he found in Julie's home. When they don't find it, they sentence Miller to die; only saved at the last minute by his ex-partner, Octavia Muss (Athena Karkanis). He brings the disc to his boss at the police station, and there we see that the disc has some sort of video clip which reveals information about a bio-weapon created on Phoebe station. Miller deduces that Julie bought this disc from a data broker, brought it to Anderson, and he sent a ship of his people out to steal the bio-weapon to gain more power. Of course, the ironic part about all of this is that Miller's boss is actually working for Dawes, so he is fired--suddenly as powerless as any of the other Belters around him. Working on his own, he is given a lead from an old friend living on Eros station that he has information which can help Miller find Julie. For the first time ever, Miller leaves Ceres in hopes that he will, for once, complete his mission. 

Thomas Jane and Jay Hernandez in The Expanse

Before his entanglement with the OPA, there is a scene where Miller and his partner, Dimitri Havelock (Jay Hernandez), are called to the Governor's housing area by what appears to be one of his assistants. The assistant points out a patch of grass that is barren and brown, compared to all the green grass surrounding it. In the belt, the resources that people count on most is air and water. This dependence is why the assistant blames the Belters, the lower class people, for stealing the air and water that make that brown patch of grass green. Havelock, with probably the only important thing he says all season, states that Belters wouldn't be stealing the air and water from the Governor if they all had the nice view. The assistant responds by giving Havelock a mini cactus in a paper cup, saying, "Now you can make your own view." The interpretation of this scene is important for understanding some of the underlying themes throughout the rest of the series, for, even though it does not directly connect with anything going on in the story, that one statement explores the dynamics of the social structure in, not only The Expanse universe, but our world as well. There is obviously a large separation of power going on between the Belters and the higher classes on Ceres station, which is maybe why Miller always wears this hat that his partner classifies as something an Earther would wear--which is ironic, since Havelock is actually an Earther who wants to be more like a Belter. This is where that scene at the Governor's comes to be important. In a literal sense, Havelock takes this as that he needs to start making his own view by doing things that will allow him to adapt to the new way of life on Ceres. Right after he is given the cactus, viewers see that he is taking language lessons from a Belter prostitute so that he be can be more like them. On the other hand, Miller is wearing his hat to hide his identity as a Belter. So when the assistant says make your own view, he means it as a sarcastic joke. Although the characters in the show take it literally, I couldn't help but to notice how much it runs parallel with the system implemented in our world. If you are a part of the lower class, then how can a small cactus help you build a flourishing garden? With no resources but that cactus, the chances of obtaining the necessary experience and abilities are made that much more difficult due to suppressing government that surrounds you. Those who already have this garden don't see how difficult a task it really is, for many were given the garden, not required to work for it. Others had the resources to gain experience and, thus, obtain the garden. But there are those who find that they are stuck. So what does one who is stuck do with this small cactus? Nothing. In fact, one gives it away (as Havelock does); in hopes that doing so will somehow bring about something much greater. 

The surviving crew of the Canterbury 

Inside the Canterbury, a ship transporting ice back to Ceres, the crew is intercepted by a strange distress call. Executive Officer Jim Holden (Steven Strait) logs this distress call into the system, even after everybody decides to let it go. Because he does this, the crew is forced to investigate the distress call which originates from a mysterious ship, the Scopuli. He leads a team of five to check out the call. While finding nothing but a bogus transmission on board the Scopuli, the team decides it best to leave the ship after they discover it to be empty. On their way back to the Canterbury, another ship appears almost out of nowhere, destroying the Canterbury and leaving the five crew members stranded on a small ship with diminishing air supply. Running out of time, they are found by a Mars ship, the Donnager, after issuing a distress call. Originally, they thought that Mars was responsible for destroying the Canterbury, so they believe this to be their death sentence (one of them does actually die). What they don't know is that there is a space-wide conspiracy that even the technologically advanced Mars does not know about. After Mars picks them up, they are soon attacked by the same mysterious vessel that destroyed the Canterbury. With this happening, Holden and his crew realize that Mars is not responsible for the destruction of their ship and the deaths of the rest of their crew. Because the Mars crew believes Holden to be the only person who can prove that Mars is innocent in the attack on the Canterbury (he was able to broadcast a message to Ceres before they were taken, stating that Mars WAS responsible for the destruction of the Canterbury), he and his crew are first priority to escape the ship; this ensuring that a war between Mars, Earth, and the Belters would not happen. But it is obvious that somebody wanted a war. . . . The questions are: who and why?

Shohreh Aghdashloo in The Expanse

All while Miller's investigation continues and the now four members of the Canterbury struggle to survive, the politics of Earth are brought to the screen for viewers to witness. Focusing on Chrisjen Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo), an ambitious U.N. Undersecretary that works on a number of small projects, including discovering that Mars was not involved with the destruction of the Canterbury before Holden has the chance of telling everybody himself. She is also an important character for the show because she depicts the political scheming that goes on behind the scenes on Earth. The sudden emergence of a bio-organism, as revealed to viewers in the first scene of the show with Julie Mao and by the crew of the Canterbury on their voyage to the Eros station, is truly what leaves Chrisjen with the burning desire to find out what is really going on. She is told to stop investigating where the stealth ships came from (considering they were manufactured on Earth, as revealed by Fred Johnson (Chad L. Coleman) in a broadcast), and is told that the OPA was the group whom the ships were built for. I think that it will be her who discovers that the real culprit behind releasing the dangerous bio-organism is Julie Mao's father (as viewers come to find out in the second to last episode; and not the OPA, as suggested by her boss), Jules-Pierre Mao (Francois Chau), and her who will find a way to stop him. She somehow manages to get her way in every scenario, and, since her boss shut her investigation down--which is obviously not what she wanted--I think Chrisjen will become even more motivated to continue where she left off. Her persistent personality will only gain strength in the upcoming season, for she senses something is not right; especially because she is certain that Earth plays a role in the destruction of the Canterbury and the Mars ship, the Donnager. The last time we see her on screen is her shaking hands with Jules-Pierre Mao with a smug, knowing grin on her face; as if to say that she sees right through his diabolical plan. Of course, she has no idea about the bio-organism, but it looks like some part of her knows that Mao has something to do with the stealth ships, which, in turn, have to do with the bio-organism. For without the ships, without Julie Mao becoming infected on one of those ships, without Julie traveling to Eros in a desperate attempt to escape the bio-organism, and without Julie being found by her father's scientist friend dead and completely devoured by the bio-organism (the scientist is able to take samples from her body and use them for their planned experiment), there wouldn't have been any problems. But because Julie was pushed away by her father and into the OPA, this whole mess begins. I mean her father doesn't even care or respect her dead body, he only cares about the dangerous weapon he has created which is living inside of Julie. Seeing that helped me understand why Julie left in the first place, and why this whole conspiracy is able to continue; for through the callousness of a father, a terrible affliction ate away inside his daughter--both literally and metaphorically. It goes to show how an unhealthy relationship with one's parents can influence the course of not only that person's life, but of lives surrounding them.

Julie Mao (Florence Faivre) on Eros station

The mystery as to who is causing all this trouble is connected with Julie herself. She is the one who goes missing, and, thus, sparks Miller's involvement. Miller is thrust into a whole new environment when he reaches Eros. There is not much one can see on Miller's hardened surface, but a viewer can tell that he is determined to find Julie; for what reason exactly, we can only speculate. Is she his long lost daughter (no she isn't)? Or, is there something else going on, something he needs to prove to himself. It would appear that the end of the show reveals that the latter is true, and that he had to find Julie because she represented a part of himself that he could never find, a part of himself he wanted to know. He thought that finding her would, somehow, illuminate this unknown part of himself. He even says it near the end of the last episode: "I thought if I could find Julie, I would finally know something." Holden responds by saying that he did find her, the only problem being that Julie was found dead, entangled inside the mysterious, blue organism in a disgusting looking hotel room. I think that hit home hard for Miller, because, sure, he found her, but in the end all that trouble he put himself through was for nothing. Or at least that is what he is thinking. I think there is a significance to his discovery. It is revealed that at the point of her passing, Julie sees Miller enter the room with the same bird he had seen back on Ceres and Julie's necklace. What does this scene signify? What does it all mean in regards to Miller's importance? I am going to try and break it down. 

Some people consider Miller to be a creep for caring so much about Julie when he hasn't even met her. I don't think it is creepy at all (although I understand why they would think that); instead, I think there are reasons for him acting the way he did. As I quoted before, he wanted to know something. Let's analyze the damn bird that keeps flapping its wings in front of Miller's face, as if to say, "Find the girl!" I think, like Julie, Miller views the bird as a message to persevere through all of the setbacks. Regardless of what people say, he continues on his quest to bring back Julie. For her, when she sees Miller in some pre-death vision with the bird, she sees this as her calling to the other side; she has failed her mission and so it is time to move on, and to continue her quest from the afterlife (it is sort of poetic justice that her physical body is being used to cultivate the same organism that she was originally seeking out). I have a feeling that Julie will show up in more visions to Miller throughout the second season, motivating him to finish what she started. Then there is the necklace. Julie, who has never had a caring father figure in her life, sees this random man walking towards her with HER necklace in his hands, and she thinks, "Why? Why does this man care so much for me? What did I ever do to deserve it?" This is a normal response from any neglected child, but I think seeing that a man who could have been her father care so much for no reason gave her peace as she passed away. So when Holden said, "You did find her, Miller," I don't think he meant it as a sarcastic jape with the intention of harming Miller. Instead, I think he meant to comfort him, as if to say, "You did your best and you found her. Take comfort in that, and what you were searching for will find you in time." Like the bird finds him wherever he goes, Miller has to learn to move forward from the past (as Julie did), and be who he really is: a Belter who only wants to do right for those around him, even if it doesn't seem like it. Then, and only then, will what he was looking for find him. So what does he want to know? I think he wants to know how to be that caring man that he once was, since his relationship with Octavia suggests that there was history with them. Something changed in him, though, and he wants to know how to get it back. These are only speculations, so take them as you see them; for I may be wrong, yet I may be right. I haven't read the books, but I am sure someone who has can shed more light on the subject. 

Miller lookin' creepy with that necklace

At the end of the season, Holden, Miller, and the rest of the remaining Canterbury crew are able to escape the Eros station in the nick of time. This leaves room for the conspiracy to grow, as well as the mysterious bio-organism that has been spread throughout the Eros population. Man, I cannot wait for next season! What will become of that huge ship, the Nauvoo, built for the Morman church's journey through space? How will the mysterious bio-organism adapt and spread? What will the Canterbury crew and Miller do to stop it? What the heck happened to Havelock after he was almost killed? And, what sort of transformations will we see as the characters are faced with new and more threatening challenges? Season 2 will be a doozy. 

As I have described in detail throughout this review, there are a number of important messages to take away from this season of The Expanse.  The most important two, for me, are what I described in the cactus scene with Havelock and Miller, and the consequences of parental neglect. To prove my point even more with the cactus, when Holden and Miller are held up inside that weird casino on Eros, near the end of the season,  Miller says, "Belters know that this game has been rigged from the start," which runs parallel with what I explored in my description of that scene with the cactus. The Belters are the lower class citizens with almost no way of escaping the poverty that surrounds them. Sure, they can be given a cactus and be expected to grow a garden--but the game has been rigged from the start, and the chances of them being able to achieve this goal is almost impossible. It is like how our own government treats their own lower class citizens. "There are jobs out there!" they scream. Sure, they can get a job, but there is almost no chance that they will ever be able to escape from the lower class. When this new world we live in demands money to be considered wealthy (I don't think this is how people should view the world), there is only one option for those who live without it: keep playing the game until luck finds them. 

So, dang, I guess my reviews are pretty long. If you made it this far then thank you for reading this whole thing. What sort of review would this be, though, if i didn't have a little criticism? It is hard to critique a show I truly do love, but I find that there is always something that could have been done a bit better with a show (or with anything in that matter). For example, with The Expanse, the importance of some minor characters is put on hold for the other major characters--like Fred Johnson, or even Chrisjen. They both play pivotal roles in the show, but I felt that their character developments and plot-lines were a bit rushed. With only a ten episode season, it is hard to fit all those minor details one would see in the books; but I still think that there could have been some minor adjustments so that these other characters could have been developed at a more steady pace. The quick pace to the show also makes things confusing at times, and I am sure that is a problem for some viewers. Although this is the case, the writers still made up for it by providing the audience with just the right amount of details so that they can understand . . . if they pay attention. So, if you are looking for a show that you can follow without really paying attention, then The Expanse is not for you. It's complicated viewpoint on the world mixed with the perspectives of a wide variety of characters, makes it hard to follow at times--but I can say with confidence that once you are invested, then you will be given exactly what you have wanted since finishing Battlestar Galactica: a (super sexy) sci-fi thriller that has a well-concocted combination of intense special effects and sharp, inventive dialogue. I personally am a big fan, but I would love to hear from those who didn't enjoy it as much. There is much to talk about, after all. 

My rating: 8.7/10

The Expanse trailer

The Man in the High Castle: Season 1 Review (Warning: SPOILERS)

The Man in the High Castle, Season 1, brought the world of television a brand new perspective: How would the world look if the Axis powers won World War II? Based on the award winning novel of the same name by Philip K. Dick, the show brings a certain blend of sci-fi and history to the small screens. Although I have never read the book, according to the show, the United States would be split into three areas of control: the Greater Nazi Reich owning over two thirds of the map, the Japanese Pacific States owning the western coast, and a neutral zone splitting the two factions apart from each other. Separate from the Japanese and the Nazi's, there is a group of resistance fighters working in the shadows to retrieve a collection of film reels that depict what the world would look like if the Allies had won the war (ironic, right?). The resistance must fight the Nazi's and Japanese to ensure that these films make it to the mysterious man in the high castle. The films are what catapult the story's characters into a journey that changes their lives forever. I mean literally changes their lives right from the pilot episode.

The main character, Juliana Crane (Alexa Davalos), is a woman that has a past filled with injuries. After her recovery, she decided to take up the defensive martial art of Akido with a Japanese class of students. In this class, Juliana identifies with the Japanese in a way that raises eyebrows from some of the other characters in the show (like her step-father, who isn't much of a saint either). She has the misfortune of seeing (or hearing) the death of her half-sister, murdered by the Kempeitai, a brutal Japanese police force tasked with identifying traitors, maintaining the peace, and ensuring Japanese control of the west coast. Juliana's half-sister, Trudy, leaves her the first film before she is killed; and that is where the story begins to unfold. Juliana is suddenly tasked with bringing the film to the neutral zone to seek out a contact working with the resistance. Without any word to her family, her friends, or her beloved boyfriend, Juliana scurries away to fulfill Trudy's dying wish. Her boyfriend, Frank Frink (Rupert Evans), is most affected by the sudden departure of the woman he thought loved him. Questioning her love and loyalty, Frank is left to deal with the repercussions of Juliana's sudden departure.

Swipe to the east coast, where the viewer meets a young, rugged looking fella' named Joe Blake (Luke Kleintank). I believe this character to be one of the true antagonists of this season; not only because he is a double agent actually working for the Nazi's, but also because he is what causes so much trouble for Juliana and the resistance. It isn't that he necessarily wants to cause problems at times, but, because his goals are internally different than Juliana's, he is always attempting to manipulate the situation to his favor (naturally). He is sent to the neutral zone by his overseer, Obergruppenführer John Smith (Rufus Sewell), to recover the new film (the one Juliana has in her possession) that has surfaced. Juliana and him meet soon after that. I think that one of the most powerful scenes of this season was during Blake's journey to the neutral zone. He is seen by a Nazi police officer when he blows a tire, and, after an odd display of kindness from the man (he offers to fix his tire and even gives Joe his lunch), the police officer asks for his papers. Joe, of course, is undercover as a member of the resistance, so he knows (but the audience doesn't at this point) that he is in no real danger; but does not want the inconvenience of having to blow his cover in any way. All of the sudden, a flurry of ashy colored snowflakes fall from the sky. When Blake asks the man what they are, the police officer replies that it is Tuesday, the day when the hospital burns the cripples, terminally ill, etc; like it is any other day where it is routine to burn people alive. The viewer witnesses the look of angst on Joe's face at discovering that this was happening, which suggests Joe's general disagreement with his employer's methods. Not only that, but the police officer was an American soldier during the war, only joining the Nazi police force for what must be an important reason (we don't find out). It goes to show how much one can turn a blind eye to evil acts just because they are used to those acts occurring, even if their moral compass would normally be spinning out of control. He fought in a war to rid the world of such acts, but ends up acting like, "Oh, it is just Tuesday, no biggie." Who knows, maybe the police officer was disgusted when he first found out the Nazi's burned people alive still, but, over time, his attitude changed as he identified himself more and more with his former enemies. If one thinks about it, the more it makes sense. Imagine a group of people believing they are supporting a just cause because they have identified themselves with a leader they thought would bring them to a world of prosperity; and the more they see other people in their identified group accepting these terrible crimes as morally correct, the more they accept it as well. They had decided that Hitler was right in what he set out to do, and so there could be no other alternative. Still, there is no excuse that can justify the heinous crimes enacted by the Nazi party during World War II; although it is a very real phenomenon, as Philip Zimbardo discusses thoroughly in his book, The Lucifer Effect. This scene is also powerful because it brings the despicable nature of the Nazi regime to light for the very first time in the show. It allows the viewer to see Joe Blake as a man with a now justified reason to fight for the resistance, even though people watching don't know that he is actually a Nazi agent. That is why, to me, this scene is the first time he questions his loyalty to the Nazis; a seed planted for him to justify falling in love with Juliana. These films that I spoke of are a threat to the Axis powers because they show a world where their enemies have won the war, a world where there is hope; and that is a feeling they don't want their subjects experiencing. They want them to understand that there is no chance of ever bringing them down. But Blake's loyalty becomes consciously muddled once he realizes his feelings for Juliana are authentic. His new feelings towards Juliana seem to spark some sort of hopeful future where he can leave everything else behind him. But hope is an illusion that he can't seem to find the solution for. He is constantly reminded of his duty as a Nazi agent, and, in the end, it is what controls his hope, his future.

Back in San Francisco, Frank Frink has learned to question his behavior as a stand-up citizen for the Japanese. He was a hopeful man who followed the rules, who didn't like to get involved with anything that would possibly get him in trouble with the Japanese. But, because of Juliana's disappearance, he becomes caught up with the Kempeitai--who attempt to pry information as to where her, and the film's, location is. The man in charge, Chief Inspector Kido (Joel de la Fuente), questions him, holds him captive, and eventually holds his sister and her children captive as a bargaining chip, threatening to kill them if Frank doesn't cooperate. Kido hadn't realized though that Juliana's bag was stolen by some woman on the bus, and, so when they find the bag, they release Frank. His sister and her children were only used at leverage at first, but it was too late. . . . Kido had already killed them. The transformation is instant within Frank. Once there was a loyal subject, and right away there is a man with nothing to lose. His new attitude brings about a vengeful side not yet seen in his usually submissive character. He buys a gun illegally in hopes to assassinate the Japanese Prince and Princess at a public speech. Many of the smaller plot lines, with a lot of the side characters (like Trade Minister Tagomi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) and Rudolph Wegener (Carsten Nargaard)), are at play during this speech; both trying to plant Nazi plans on a Japanese scientist. Frank, though, is unable to assassinate the Prince at the speech because someone else beats him to the punch. It is at this point where he runs away, dropping a necklace he had made for Juliana on the ground where he was standing. After the crowd clears out, Tagomi searches the streets for no apparent reason (maybe looking for clues) and stumbles upon the necklace. I think the Trade Minister found an insightful meaning in the heart shaped locket; a terrible event happens and yet he finds this glimmering reminder of a hopeful future. There is a lot of significance in this locket that the writers of the show do not tell the viewers, but instead allow them to figure it out for themselves. More on that in a bit. Frank is eventually discovered to be the sole suspect in the assassination plot, and so he forges a plan with the help of his friend, Ed McCarthy (DJ Qualls), to escape San Francisco with Juliana.

After the attempted assassination, Juliana returns from a failed trip to the neutral zone with her head hung low. The film was given to her contact in the end, but only more questions arose inside of her: Who is this "man in a high castle"? What will she do now that she has seen so much? How will she live a normal life? Well, she doesn't live a normal life after that. Everything becomes a complicated mess after she returns, including her relationship with Frank. Unable to shake the recent events, Juliana uses information from a resistance fighter to help her secure a job working for Tagomi in hopes that she can uncover more clues about what is going on. She eventually discovers that her stepfather works for the Japanese as one of the head honchos in charge of spying on the American citizens. She then finds out that it was him who had Trudy killed in hopes that his efforts would actually save her. I think this is another important part of the show because it shows how far regular American citizens would go to secure the safety of their family. They join with the enemy to ensure safety from the enemy (like the police officer who helped Joe with his truck most likely did); only to find out that this illusion of hope is everywhere they turn. After all, turning a blind eye eventually turns the whole world blind. This same illusion can be observed with Rudolph, the Nazi illegally in San Francisco to plant the plans on the Japanese scientist. His character is interesting, because he is one of the men who has had enough of the killing, enough of what the Nazi regime stands for. He, like his friend, Tagomi, searched for hope in their lost world. So he planned to betray his country, only to be discovered by Joe's boss, and his old friend, John Smith--and is arrested soon after. Instead of being executed, Rudolph is given the opportunity to kill Hitler by a German officer who wants to take over the decaying dictator's position. Rudolph sets out to Hitler's castle and finds the old dictator watching the many films that were thought to be going to the man in the high castle. Instead of killing Hitler, Rudolph kills himself. Quite poetic once the viewer remembers that he has had enough killing, and so decides to end his own life. The show doesn't specify, but is this where all the resistance's efforts end? After all, Hitler is a man in a high castle (quite literally). Only season 2 will uncover the truth, but I don't think he is. That would be too simple!

With a new film arising almost out of nowhere, Juliana sets out to discover where it could be. She uses her position as the Trade Minister's assistant to her advantage. On the other side of the map, Joe's character is strengthened with the reveal of a supposed wife (or girlfriend) and little boy. It isn't said whether or not the son is his or if that is his wife, but one can assume that they mean a good deal to him; which begs the question: Why did he fall for Juliana? Was there something new and exciting about her that a stay-at-home mom couldn't provide for him? He definitely does love his family in New York City, for they are exploited when he is caught snooping around his boss' (John Smith) house while celebrating the Nazi version of Veteran's Day. Smith uses Joe's family as leverage to force him to travel to San Francisco in search for the new film. It is here where things really take off. Juliana is still convinced that Joe is working for the resistance (he saved her life in the Neutral Zone), so she accepts his help with open arms to find the film. The night comes when she is set to leave San Francisco with Frank, but it happens to be the same night as when she and the resistance plan on obtaining the film. Of course things don't pan out, and her and Frank are forced to stick around. Juliana and Joe are captured by a Japanese man who stole the film, but only Juliana is able to be rescued by the resistance--leaving Joe in the hands of the ruthless criminal. Juliana doesn't accept that Joe is left there, so she asks Frank to give her money to buy his freedom. Not really liking that Juliana wants to help save some other man's life with the money they were going to use to leave San Francisco, Frank eventually gives into her request on the sole condition that he go to the Japanese man himself to plead for Joe's freedom. Once out of his cell, Joe sees the film sitting on the man's desk and remembers his life or death mission. He has to get that tape to save his family, to save himself. There are no other options. So he kills the man, Frank and him escape, and they eventually meet up with Juliana. Joe leaves the film with them, and draws the pursuers away. It is at this moment when Juliana and Frank decide to watch the new film that has caused so much trouble. Instead of revealing what the world would look like if the Allies had won the war, the film depicts a different kind of reality. There is a lineup of resistance fighters about to be executed, and among them is Frank. The Nazi soldier performing the executions is, none other than, Joe Blake. After the film finishes, Joe enters the auditorium where the couple was hiding out. Enraged, Juliana screams at him demanding to tell her if it were true, if he has been a Nazi agent the whole time. Joe doesn't answer her. Instead, he steals the film and leaves.

At the end of Season 1, Juliana is used as bait to lure a desperate Joe out so that one of the resistance fighters can kill him. Instead, Juliana lets Joe escape safely with the film on a boat. This scene should be confusing to viewers, because it is the film that Juliana had risked so much for, but for some reason she feels that killing Joe is not the way to obtain her objective. Maybe somewhere deep inside she loves him back; even after discovering the truth about his allegiance. Maybe she understands that he doesn't want to be a Nazi anymore, and that there is a deeper reason for him needing the film. After all, throughout the length of the series, viewers can see Joe's transformation unravel. By the end of the season, he is being forced into missions by his boss. One can assume that he will not stick around with the Nazis much longer during Season 2; and maybe Juliana somehow knew that too. After all, he did save her. I don't think Juliana can forget that act of kindness, especially since she knows he, supposedly being this evil Nazi agent, is capable of such virtue. Maybe it is hope, eh? Let US hope that it isn't an illusion in her case.

The last scene is where the sci-fi element to the story really comes into play. Viewers see Trade Minister Tagomi meditating with Juliana's locket in his hands on a bench outside. Moments later, he is in a completely different timeline--he has somehow traveled to a world where the Allies have won the war. BOOM! The cliffhanger. So what was so important about that locket that allowed him to travel to this alternate timeline? It wasn't the first time he meditated while clenching the locket in his hands, so was he trying to travel to this new world throughout the whole season? My theory is that the locket, to Tagomi, represents hope--a hope that every main character in the show discovered to be an illusion. Maybe there is something special with Tagomi, though, something that allows him to travel to this new world; and the locket is used as a sort of totem to allow him to cross over. The locket, which represents hope, is what Tagomi needed to believe that there was a better world, where there was freedom, peace, and equality. All he had to do was envision it (which is what it looks like he is doing while sitting on that bench). So I also propose that maybe Tagomi is somehow the man in the high castle, or the man in the high castle resides in this new timeline somewhere. Only time will tell.

Overall, Season 1 of The Man in the High Castle was a pretty solid beginning with a lot of potential. I really liked how the science fiction aspect of the show was underplayed to the point that, when it finally did show up, I was left wanting more answers (and obviously more science fiction!). There are some political messages being relayed throughout the different episodes. For example, one that stood out to me was the use of this alternate reality (where the Axis powers won the war) to explore how much the reality we are used to (Allies winning the war) can really be similar to theirs at times. Of course we are not burning our sick and injured, but the world we live in today is far from this perfect place that Tagomi probably thinks he has traveled to. I think that is what he will discover while staying in the new timeline (assuming he doesn't know how to get back)--that no matter the result, there will always be inequality and an unbalance of power. A pretty deep message, I think.

Last, but not least, there are few aspects of the show that aren't all "frickin' sharks with lazer beams attached to their heads"(in the perspective of writing and acting). First, I can admit that sometimes I was unconvinced by the actors performances. That is not to say that they are all excellent actors, but that there were moments where the writing and their acting didn't exactly match up quite right. This only happens a few times, in my opinion. Also, whatever happened to Juliana knowing that defensive form of martial arts, Akido? From what I saw in the first episode, she sure knew how to protect herself; yet she never uses these skills on anybody (i.e. the man on the bridge who was trying to kill her). Maybe it was a mishap in the writing, or maybe they meant to--I am unsure. Hopefully next season viewers will be able to witness Juliana kicking some butt again, but I guess we shall see. All in all, though, The Man in the High Castle is an entertaining and thought provoking piece of television. Although it is not perfect (most shows aren't), I am glad that Amazon has renewed it for a second season, and can safely say that anyone with a taste for something edgy and historical should at least try out the pilot. Next I will read the book; because the show has risen my curiosity to the point where I feel it is necessary to do so. After reading five A Song of Ice and Fire books, I can confidently say that watching a season of a show before reading the source material has its effect on me. Also, I love reading. I guess that is a plus in these situations.



My rating: 8.4/10

League of Legends I: The (dis)advantages of hugging tower with minimal health

I have seen this so many times when playing an unranked or ranked game on League of Legends: a fellow teammate, or enemy, hugging their tower in hopes that it will save them from eminent death. There is a science to it, don't get me wrong; but it is bothering to see teammates do this with no plan whatsoever. I am positive that one gets the opposite reaction (pure, pure joy) when their enemy is hovering under their tower for defense, unaware that they are about to get destroyed in a matter of seconds. How can this be? one may ask. Players continue to put themselves in unnecessary danger, when it would be so much safer to recall, regenerate health, and hopefully make it back before the tower is taken down. Any avid League of Legends player knows that feeding the enemy is never a good idea. Sometimes allowing them to take the tower is the safer option. This way they aren't ahead on kills, which allows the good guys the chance to push back much easier with a little help. But, as I said, there is a science to this sort of strategy that demands attention--not only for those hovering, but for those going in for, what they believe to be, an easy kill. 

Let me begin from the perspective of those players who are on the verge of death. Waiting under the tower is a false hope, for although the strategy appears to be the safest thing to do, there is always the possibility that the attacker will conjure up enough courage to rush into the tower and go for the kill shot. That sort of bravery is rare with the professionals, because if an enemy enters the tower's firing radius, then they are attacked by a damaging blast of pure power; and the pros know better than to put themselves in unnecessary danger like that. The thing is . . . not everybody playing this game is a professional. So, let me create a situation where I, the summoner with only enough health to be a nuisance to my team, is sitting under my tower for protection. I am also in the middle lane (one of the solo lanes). So what is going on through my head? Why am I still in my lane, when I could easily recall and let my health regenerate to its full capacity? Well, suppose I am playing with the teleport spell, and I have used it recently; so I can't go back and return quickly enough to protect the tower from taking considerable damage. As a result, I sit there doing an endless taunt under my tower. Me engaging in my endless taunting also depends on if the enemy is winning our lane. If my opponent has pushed me to my tower, and is forcing me to sit there idly, then it is obvious why I can't move. The question is why I would still be under there when I don't have enough health to make much of an impact, especially against a mid lane opponent (who are mainly ranged mages). I am also out of mana. It would seem stupid at this point, for a ranged opponent could easily take me out, and I have no real way of countering without mana (unless I am a champion like Yasuo, who uses flow, and he doesn't exactly run out of it / I hate Yasuo so much). That is why I should consider the safest option: retreat. It doesn't matter if my jungler is about to assist me. I NEED TO GET OUT. In a perfect example, where an opponent of mine decided it was best to cling to his or her tower in hopes that his or her presence would somehow intimidate me to back off. I was Vel'Koz. I laughed, landed my skill shot, and he or she was dead moments later. It is that easy for the same misfortune to happen to me if I am a champ that has less pushing potential than Vel'Koz (like Ezreal, for instance). In other scenarios, though, there may be a reason for me to stick around for just a bit longer.

Let me pretend I have a half bar of mana, and I am really getting pushed back to my tower. Not only that, but I am also having trouble landing any attacks on my opponent. I have 15 percent health and a jungler who is nearby. This situation is different, because I have enough mana to actually help my jungler gank my opponent. If, say, I asked for assistance in the previous scenario, then me six feet under would have been a very likely result. My jungler would have had to make a savvy escape if he wanted to avoid joining me in my fate. It would have been a mess. If not killed, at least a bit butt-hurt for blowing an opportunity to get ahead. But in this new situation I have mana. This makes a world of a difference for any champion who requires it. My jungle can now gank (hopefully with success) and I can assist. This strategy is safe ONLY when wards are placed. If my opponents jungler sees what's happening and arrives as we are attempting to finish off his teammate, then things would get, well, messy. I would likely die if I already used my flash spell, and my jungler would have to fight his way to safety. So, hugging the tower with barely any health is always risky, even if a player has a gank coming. People play this game, and people are smarter than most like to admit. There is no reason to risk allowing the other team to gain an easy advantage. That is why sometimes a proud retreat is always the safest option in both scenarios (with and without mana). Still, there is another scenario where it may be okay to hug it out. 

My enemy has 50 percent health, I have 20 percent. He or she is very aggressive. The scent of blood is in their nostrils, and they won't give up until it has been spilled all over the rift. Here is where hugging it out may be an okay thing to do. One must remember, though, that every decision is situational and dependent on my enemy. I cannot stress this enough. If their range can pulverize me without them getting hit by the tower, then it is best to retreat. If not, I can possibly continue waiting for the right moment. Their relentless pursuit to take me down will prove to be an epic failure if I time it right. First, I call over my jungler. If they are busy, then fear not. I can still catch them trying to rush in for the kill by attacking them with my champion's combo and allowing them the opportunity to hit me at least once. This is risky, because their champ could kill me with one shot if they have enough damage output. That is why this tactic is best when I know how much damage they will do, and how much my champion will resist until dying. A player should be observant of their enemy's damage, total health, mana remaining, and the items they have obtained at that point in the match (HINT: right click enemy to see their health, mana, armor, magic resistance, ability power, attack damage, attack speed, movement speed, and any items / buffs they have. This window is only visible at the top left of your screen when your target is visible). If all pans out correctly, though, then my opponent will take damage from the tower, from me, and possibly my jungler coming in to help. This method is especially useful when a defender is using a champion with a stun ability (Annie, Ryze, Lulu, Brand, Lissandra, etc.). Even if I don't get a kill or an assist, this strategy will show my opponent that I mean business; and that they should tread carefully. 

Now onto the perspective of those expecting to rush into their dying enemy's tower and grab an easy kill. It can be tempting for a player to jump into a dangerous situation to secure a kill, but I must urge summoners to be cautious. As I explained in the previous section, an opponent could easily have a plan to counter such an attack. That is why a player must also take into account the factors mentioned above, especially the location of their opponent's jungler. The fact that the former player is passed where the river meets the lane is very dangerous. The defender's jungler can now gank easily, and he, even with low health, can assist his or her jungler with securing a kill (if there is no way to escape). Maybe this isn't the case, and the attacker knows where their opponent's jungler is (he or she sees them in another lane, in a warded area, etc.). In this case, one can breathe easy when making their move into the tower. The only factor to now worry about is whether their opponent can counter any attack handed out, stun them under the tower, or just do anything that could turn the tides against the instigator. For this, one should right click their enemy and check out their stats. For the attacker, armor is important in this situation, because, unlike health, it helps block against damage taken from a tower. If the attacker has a good amount of armor, then it is more likely that they will survive the showdown under the tower--and their enemy will perish. So armor is important to consider. The attacker could be using a long ranged opponent, like Veigar, and the tower would not be a problem. If, on the other hand, they are using a champion like Yasuo, then armor plays a pivotal role (because even with his ranged ability, there is the chance that an opponent lands a successful dodge). Again, these scenarios all depend on what sort of situation one is playing in. For example, I am playing a melee based champion, like Yasuo, and it is fairly early in the game. In this case, I can see that my opponent doesn't have his first item built, and that he or she is not very powerful. I am also not very powerful, but I have the advantage of having more health and a rune page with nine armor seals. It is always a risk to go in for the kill, but if I also have my flash spell, then it is safe to say I can at least try. Timing is everything. I wait until my opponent is in the wrong place at the wrong time . . . and then I strike. Maybe it was successful, maybe it was an epic fail--either way, practice makes perfect. In this scenario, I take a peek at my opponent's items to get a better idea of what sort of damage I need to inflict to secure the kill. This tactic is useful for not only the attacker, but also the defender. 

I have explored strategies with solo lanes, but not with the bottom lane--where there are two against two. Some of the same strategies apply (opponent's champions, spells available, the location of both team's jungler, items, health, etc.), but there are also new ways one must look at this situation. The defenders should always consider recalling, unless they have a hook support that can get an enemy under the tower, or a heal support like Sona, Soraka, Bard, etc. Having a hook or heal support doesn't lower the risk though. Recalling should be considered first but always be the last resort. There are situations where teammates can sit under the tower safely and wait for a better opportunity to get back to their base. Attackers have the advantage if they have a hook champ, as well, since the support can pull one of the defenders to them; almost guaranteeing the kill from there. Hiding in the bush and luring out the defenders works, waiting for a jungler to come around the other side of the turret, or just waiting until the defenders make a mistake are all methods attackers can use if they are confident that they can finish off their opponents. Patience is a universal virtue to have in League of Legends. Don't forget to utilize it!

There are many strategies to consider when a player is low on health and trying to protect their tower from destruction. The problem with these strategies is that they all depend on the situation the player is experiencing at that particular moment in the match. Different factors may effect the final decision made by the player, such as: the champion they are against, their mana, their jungler's location on the map, their jungler's ability to help at that moment, their spells available, items, range, abilities available, and so on. All of these variables play an important role when it comes to a strategy like hugging the tower with minimal health, but sometimes there is simply no reason to consider any of these things; sometimes the smartest option is to get back to the base so that opponents aren't being constantly fed. So, players, be wary when trying to hug the tower like a man with acrophobia hugs his seat on an airplane; for there is no worse feeling for teammates when opponent's kills are gift-wrapped and ready to be lugged into Santa's over-sized, red bag. Be that angry elf; delay Christmas for just a bit longer.