copperfox Reviews

The Witcher: Family (2021) Season 2, Episode 8

Action over substance

[6/10 · 19 December 2021]

The whole season suffers from serious pacing issues, mostly due to massive and completely unnecessary changes to the storyline, which don't leave enough time for necessary character development. Geralt, Yennefer, Ciri, Triss, Vesemir and Cahir to mention a few are nothing but shallow one-dimensional stereotypes with very simplistic motives shoehorned in to fit the constant twists and turns in a very action packed storyline.

Unfortunately, most of the changes are not only completely unnecessary but also change the character motives so drastically, that the characters themselves become practically unrecognizable to the origin story which this series is "based on".

I give this episode (and season) 6/10 rating because it's still a fairly entertaining fantasy show with great action scenes and high production quality. It however does beg the question, why did they choose to completely re-write most of the story instead of sticking closer to the well respected source material?

Game of Thrones: Battle of the Bastards (2016) Season 6, Episode 9

The triumph of television

[10/10 · 20 June 2016]

Every once in a while you come across something that you know outright to be a masterpiece. It doesn't happen very often and usually even the greatest feats of cinema you have to watch a few times to appreciate the grandeur you have just witnessed.

Game of Thrones is known for its strong 9th episodes on almost every season. Season 6 is no different with "Battle of the Bastards". It's a one hour television episode that truly feels like a massive budget blockbuster movie.

This episode gives Game of Thrones fans almost one hour spectacle filled with action. However, the action is paced superbly with absolutely wonderfully acted and written dialogue. The episode involves many great changes, twists and turns. Episode director Miguel Sapochnik (also known for his another masterpiece episode "Hardhome") proves himself to be once and for all one of the greatest talents in the television and movie industry today.

There are dozens of shots in this episode that I can't even begin to comprehend how on earth were they filmed. The action coordination combined with the great camera angles make some of the most memorable scenes I have ever seen in television.

I don't want to go too much on details about the story itself, since this is best experienced without knowing too much about what is going to happen. All I can say is that all the story lines involved in this episode move forward just perfectly. Watching it all unfold on the screen creates an emotional roller coaster I've never seen in a Game of Thrones episode before. And that is saying a lot, considering how magnificent feats Game of Thrones has managed to pull through during its six seasons.

I can safely say that this is my favorite Game of Thrones episode so far and season 6 is on it's way to become my favorite season. Something I didn't expect myself ever saying after finishing season 4 almost two years ago.

Dexter: Argentina (2012) Season 7, Episode 8

Magnificent

[10/10 · 17 November 2015]

This is by far the best episode in all 7 seasons of Dexter I have so far watched. At some parts the show started to get sidetracked and repeat the same patterns over and over again. It started to be so bad I almost gave up watching. But this episode alone made it all worth it.

Ever since the beginning of the show I have thought that Jennifer Carpenter has been giving the most stellar performance of the cast. And oh my god, did she shine on "Argentina"! That single scene between Debra and Dexter has to be one of the most intense and emotional television experiences I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. I completely forgot I was watching a TV series and felt all the emotions and scars these people have gone through.

The episode ended with another spectacular scene between Michael C Hall and Ray Stevenson. Season 7 has so far been such an emotional roller-coaster it has to be one of the best seasons of the whole series.

I truly don't have enough words to describe what a masterpiece of TV entertainment this episode was. It goes right in my alltime top 5 TV episodes along with spectacular Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones and The Wire episodes.