Pop Culture Review

TV Recap: The Brave – Of Prophetic Words and Dark Deeds …

The Brave
“Close to Home, Part 2”
January 29, 2018

And so, here we are. End of Season 1 of The Brave, arguably the best new show of this Fall Television Season, and while we are left with one, potentially soul crushing cliffhanger, most of our most pressing story lines are wrapped up. Which is a credit to show creator Dean Georgaris and his writers staff for not leaving us hanging in the wind … God forbid NBC does not grant a Season 2. But, let us not dwell on such negative thoughts for there is nothing we can do right now anyway.

No, dear The Brave family, let us instead relive the action and intensity, the highs and lows, the McG getting punched in the face and the Jaz in a leather vest, of last night’s explosive season finale, “Close To Home, Part 2.” First, Read Our Deep Dive Recap from Last Week’s Part 1 if you haven’t already … I’m going to assume in the recap below that you have!

Spoilers Ahead!! You’ve been warned. The recap … after the jump!

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What To Watch – Tuesday, January 30, 2018

The State of the Union Address will be taking up most of the oxygen in the room tonight, dominating broadcast TV from 9-11 (ET). But, we persevere! The CW is offering up fresh new episodes of its superhero block, The Flash and Black Lightning (read our deep dive recaps to stay caught up), and Comedy Central is giving us the funnies with new Drunk History. Its business as usual on basic cable tonight, SOTU be damned!

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What To Watch – Monday, January 29, 2018

All eyes are on The Brave tonight as it hits its Season 1 finale in dramatic style (read our recap from last week’s episode, here). We live tweet this show every week and its a blast, you should follow us on Twitter @AdminPopCultRev. Tonight, at 11pm (ET), we’ll be joining the folks at So Many Shows to discuss the episode along with the show’s creator Dean Georgaris and several of the show’s stars!! Join us and listen in live!

Also on, a new episode of The Alienist (read our recap of Last Week’s series premiere here).

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TV Recap: The Alienist – The Darkest Pit of Hell

The Alienist
“The Boy on the Bridge”
January 22, 2018

What a fun (and not a little weird) show The Alienist is. There is something particularly satisfying about a well done period piece TV show that enhances the “escapism” factor that so many turn to TV for; an hour of good drama to forget about your troubles and throw yourself into someone else’s plot. Add in the anachronistic time period and your feeling of being transported away is doubled, at a minimum.

The Alienist, based on the book of the same name by Caleb Carr, and starring Luke Evans (as John Moore), Dakota Fanning (as Sara Howard), and Daniel Brühl (as the eponymous “Alienist” whose real name is Dr. Laszlo Kreizler), does the time period transformation flawlessly and its very easy to feel like you are in 1896 NYC. As a general matter, TNT does drama and story telling well, with popular hits such as The Librarians, Last Ship and Major Crimes as just some of their more recent examples, and The Alienist is at home here with amazing attention to detail, engrossing story and interesting central characters that you are left wanting to know more about.

Enough preamble, prepare your best old-timey phrases, tighten up your corset and let’s hop into the way back machine. Spoilers Ahead – you’ve been warned. The recap of The Alienist pilot episode, “The Boy on the Bridge” … after the jump!

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TV Recap: Black Lightning – Gifts From God

Black Lighting
“LaWanda: The Book of Hope”
January 23, 2018

Tonight’s episode, “LaWanda: The Book of Hope”, moves us forward towards the meat of the season, Black Lightning versus Tobias. By the end of tonight, the pieces on the board are set and it’s time to start moving them around.

Which is good. Two episodes of preliminaries is enough, let’s get down to brass tacks and begin the battle of good versus evil.

Recap of “LaWanda: The Book of Hope” (spoilers warning!) … after the jump!

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TV Recap: The Magicians – Thrimble, Dimble, Pickled Plum …

The Magicians
“The Losses of Magic”
January 24, 2018

Episode 3 of this third Season continued moving the plot forward while throwing up new curves and questions. I talk about it below, but the character development we are seeing this season is fantastic and everyone is in on the action.

For sure, there were some real Feels this episode with some tough emotional beats but The Magicians delivers in making you feel everything, up and down, over the course of an hour and you can’t really ask for better TV than that.

Our recap (SPOILERS!) of “The Losses of Magic” … after the jump !

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What To Watch – Friday, January 26, 2018

When MacGyver isn’t on, I don’t know really what to do with myseld on Fridays. If I end up not going to the movies, I’ll be watching Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. LIVE and then the X Games. But maybe I’ll also be watching Hunger Games? Decisions!!!

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TV Recap: The Brave – A Record of Our Sins …

The Brave
“Close to Home, Part 1”
January 22, 2018

I can’t believe we’re nearly at the end of the season; after tonight’s episode, there is only 1 hour left of The Brave …until Season 2 (renew the show already NBC dammit)!!

Tonight’s episode introduces a new villain that we’ll definitely see next week and I suspect will be a recurring creature in seasons to come (renew the show already NBC dammit). In addition, we got our first really in depth character backstory (via flashback and fantastic wigs) for Patricia for the new villain, you see, is a close figure from her past.

The Brave continues to deliver movie-quality episodes and remain predictably unpredictable; there was no real “mission of the week” this hour but rather we were given a revolving door of mind games and the kind of delicious exposition and backstory that serialization and continuity junkies crave!

On to the recap of “Close to Home, Part 1” … after the jump!

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What To Watch – Thursday, January 25, 2018

We’re trying to get back into Supernatural after being away a few years so they get our Thursday top pick in the 8pm slot but the real Thursday draw for us is, and always be, Arrow. Its our top pick to watch tonight.

Also on our radar? X Games Aspen 2018 begins tonight, its that time of year to get into competitive Winter Sports!!

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What To Watch – Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Wednesdays don’t get any better than magic up front and history in the back. All new The Librarians leads into new The Magicians. For a different flavor, there is now Vikings followed by new Knightfall on History Channel. Coming in from left field, the series premiere of Waco, on CMT.

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