bakersmileyface Reviews

Andor (2022– )

Our new hope.

[10/10 · 25 September 2022]

Episode 1-3.

Interesting characters, even the side characters are super interesting. Excellent acting, I can't fault it or at the very least nothing was distracting enough for me to notice it. Great scripts, the lines characters deliver are believable. The setting is fantastic and really really sets the mood for this gritty, civilian, oppressed population vibe. The writing is good enough that it has you questioning which direction characters are going to take in the future.

It has politics although that's not been fleshed out much as it's only been 3 episodes so far. Character's actions have consequences. Characters make believable choices. The series doesn't shy away from things like relationships and murder. And the story tells you things without expressly saying it.

There's so much tension in every part of the story. Even though the stakes are low, the tension is still there. It's really impressive.

Give it a watch! This is peak Star Wars so far. Well done Disney. You've disappointed me over the years, but this is just brilliant.

House of the Dragon (2022– )

Dumbed down Game of Thrones

[7/10 · 25 September 2022]

Very good TV for today's standards. But if you compare it to Season 1 of Game of Thrones it's very lacking.

The first couple of episodes get you pumped for what's to come, but as the show progresses you quickly realise that instead of characters developing, they're all molding into the same character.

Everyone in this series. Every single character has the same goal and same personality. All anyone wants to do in this show is to get power and get laid. And to be frank, it's kind of boring. Everyone feels the same. The few characters that actually seemed interesting only got a few minutes of screen time probably because they weren't important to the plot.

And I suppose that's the big flaw here that's causing all of my issues with this series so far. This show only focuses on is the plot. We don't get to see much of how characters interact with each other outside of the plot. We don't understand how decisions effect certain characters. We don't understand why characters make decisions that they make. All we know is "This guy wants the throne, so he's doing this" and nothing else.

There's no depth to that. As a watcher, I don't care who sits on the throne. I don't have a reason to care about any of the characters. So when they're making all of these political maneuvering and deciding succession and all of that feudal aristocratic mumbo jumbo, it doesn't matter one bit to me. And it's boring.

But as someone who's read into ASOIAF lore, I know why they're doing this. They're rushing past this bit. First season is probably just going to be the context for what happens next. Season 2 will probably be the real start of this series. It's just disappointing that's all.

Oh and episode 1's CGI over kings landing sucked.

Besides all of that, this series is still pretty good believe it or not. Nothing overwhelmingly special, but definitely worth a watch. And I expect it'll pick up next season so you'll want to watch this anyway.

The Wheel of Time (2021– )

Good story, rubbish story telling.

[5/10 · 27 November 2021]

I like the story, I like where it's going. But this series just makes me constantly question why and how.

The characters are completely illogical. The decisions they make, who they decide to trust, the timing of which they decide to throw a tantrum, all of it, why they decide not to share crucial information with people that really need to know that information. None of it makes sense.

Characters are unreasonably arrogant when when they have no power to back it up or when they're in no position to act arrogant. All of them. Every one of them.

Again this series just leaves me with a giant '?' above my head. I constantly am annoyed by the characters and everything that happens, but the story is so interesting that I want to watch to see what happens.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021–2024)

Lack of direction

[7/10 · 9 August 2021]

It's entertaining. It's good star wars. Clone Wars vibes. Fillers every other episode which sucks but it's still good quality so it's not lowering my score of it. All over it's very good.

Only thing that brings it down is that sometimes I wonder what the point of this show is. It's not going anywhere or headed towards anything. There's no goal or direction or purpose.

I feel like that they might have just been trying to show the Republic-Empire transition, but there are so many better ways to show that and this would be a wasted potential if that were the case. So it needs a purpose. Give the clones a goal and you have an excellent show.

S.W.A.T. (2017– )

Good watch.

[5/10 · 9 August 2021]

I really liked the first 3 seasons. Sure it was quite political but it showed the multiple sides of things and a realistic view on racial tensions and how the police approach it. It's really entertaining and not completely ridiculous. If I were just rating the first 3 seasons, this would be an 8 or 9/10.

4th season was a HUGE drop in quality. It stops being a SWAT show and becomes pure virtue signalling.

So by all means give this show a watch. Well worth it.