Rick and Morty 5.02

Mortyplicity

Rick, Morty, Summer, Beth, and Jerry go on the run to escape clones of themselves. They run and they run and they run. They get killed many times, many times. Some of the clones look human, some do not. Some clones want to kill them, others want to help them. The episode ends with the family returning from space with Beth's clone from Season 4.

Doctor Who (1963) 15.01.04

Horror of Fang Rock - Part 4

The Doctor explains to Leela that what they thought was Reuben was actually an alien disguised as Reuben. The alien kills Vince. The Doctor finds a device attached to the furnace which looks like it must power the alien's signaling device. He goes looking for the signaling device and sends Leela to find Skinsale and Adelaide.

The Doctor finds the signaling device. Leela finds Skinsale and Adelaide but then the alien finds them. It kills Adelaide. Skinsale and Leela escape up the stairs of the lighthouse. They run past the Doctor who gives them instructions. He stays behind to have a chat with the alien, which reverts to its own form. It is a Rutan, a race that is at war with the Sontarans.

The Doctor joins Leela and Skinsale in the signaling room. They use some gunpowder to scare off the Rutan. It goes scurrying back down the stairs. The Doctor, using a suggestion from Leela, comes up with a plan to destroy the Rutan mothership which is on its way to the lighthouse. The Doctor and Skinsale go to retrieve some diamonds off the body of Palmerdale while Leela prepares a mortar like weapon to use on the Rutan. The Doctor gets the diamond he needs to turn the lighthouse signal light into a laser. Skinsale gets killed by the Rutan.

Leela uses the weapon on the Rutan. The Doctor destroys the Rutan mothership with the signaling light. The Doctor and Leela leave in the TARDIS.

Third Rock from the Sun 4.07

D3: Judgement Day

Dick wants to break up with Jennifer and get back together with Mary. He runs into some complications. Mary wants to get back together with Dick but Nina coaches her to play it cool and not act desperate.

Don takes Sally bowling but her technique breaks all the rules. He tries talking to her about it but she can't take him seriously.

Thoughts

Tommy and Harry don't get a whole lot to do in this episode. 

This was a decent end to this little trilogy of episodes involving Jennifer (Laurie Metcalf). I enjoyed it but wasn't blown over by greatness.

Cartoon Wars 1.05

When Cartoons Went to War - Part 2: Propaganda and Instructional Films

The cartoons from which clips are shown in this episode focus on the importance of air power, buying war bonds, vaccinations, how to shoot a machine gun, and what life is like in Nazi Germany.

These are the cartoons that are part of this episode.

Propaganda Films

• Victory Through Air Power
• Which Way This Time
• Defense Against Invasion
• Food Will Win the War

Instructional Films

• Stop That Tank
• Hitler's Children
• Bugs Bunny Bomb Rally

Thoughts

The extensive use of cartoons in this era makes me wonder about their impact on the perceptions of the medium.

Orange Is the New Black 5.05

Sing It, White Effie

The second day of the inmate take over of Litchfield begins. The local news is reporting that Judy King is a hostage and being held by Muslim terrorists. The governor decides to send in an elite unit to take over the attempt to retake the prison. Piscatella doesn't like it but he doesn't have much of a choice.

Flaca and Maritza spend time making and posting videos on YouTube. Flaca gets angry when it becomes clear that all the people leaving comments are not interested in her, just Maritza.

Vause develops something of a following. Chapman proposes to her. Vause accepts. Things go well between them until Vause tells Chapman about how she told the others about the murder, without getting specific.

Mendoza tries to make peace with Daya but Daya is still angry at her. Gloria calls Aleida but doesn't tell Aleida about what is going on at Litchfield. Aleida eventually finds out from the TV news. She contacts one of the TV stations. The producer that's she speaks to wants to get her on TV and agrees to send a car for her. 

Judy King becomes a pawn. The White Pride sisters have her. Taystee wants Judy to speak to the press so that they can prove that she has not been mistreated. The Whites want something in return for Judy. They wind up auctioning her off to the highest bidder which winds up being Cindy.

Watson gets the backstory spotlight. She is in her early teens in the spotlight. She goes on a field trip with her class to a private school. She felt good about herself and worked hard before going on the field trip. She sees how much the kids at the private, White school have. She also gets to see a rehearsal of their version of Dream Girls. It is a wake up call for her. She starts to see life differently.

Stratman, one of the guards, who is locked up is going a little nuts. He cannot relieve himself with other people in the room with him. He begs to be allowed to use the bathroom. He tries singing to keep himself from exploding. This goes on for a while before Ruiz takes him to one of the porta-a-johns. She ducktapes him in.

Atlanta 3.05

Cancer Attack

Alfred's phone disappears while he in on stage in Budapest. He can't figure out what happened to it. Earn thinks that the Make-a-Wish Foundation kid, that Paper Boi met with before the show, might have taken it. He catches up to the kid but the kid doesn't have the it.

Earn, Alfred, Darius, and Socks turn their attention next to Wiley, the nephew of the man who runs the venue. They get him to come back to the venue. They go round and round with him, but he says he doesn't have it. He plays Paper Boi a song.

They give up and head out, without the phone. Earn gets a text from Van confirming that she's okay.

Rick and Morty 5.01

Mort Dinner Rick Andre

Rick has to negotiate with Mr. Nimbus, his arch-enemy, after Morty accidentally violates the treaty between Rick and Mr. Nimbus. Morty calls Jessica and she suggests they hang out and watch a movie together. Morty's attempt to watch a movie with Jessica gets derailed by Rick's demands for help while he is negotiating with Mr. Nimbus. Morty is sent to another dimension (where time passes more quickly) to get wine and he ends up becoming the great evil of that dimension. Mr. Nimbus and Rick patch things up but then one of Rick's contingency plans make things worse.

Doctor Who (1963) 15.01.03

Horror of Fang Rock - Part 3

Reuben returns but he is possessed. He barely mumbles a word. He locks himself in his room.

Lord Palmerdale bribes Vince to send a message via telegraph to his broker. Lord Palmerdale steps out on to the balcony. He hides there while Vince talks to the Doctor. Palmerdale sees something glowing, an alien. It electrocutes him. The Doctor and Leela later find his body on the ground near the base of the lighthouse.

The Doctor leaves Leela to try and break in to Reuben's room. She goes to check on Harker, who is tending to the boiler. She finds a large hammer in the boiler room. She takes it back up the stairs and starts to break down the door to Reuben's room. Reuben is just standing there, doing nothing.

The Doctor and Leela go to see Skinsale and Adelaide, who is spooked by the situation they are in. The telegraph is broken, thanks to Skinsale, and they are unable to message for help. Adelaide screams when she sees Lord Palmerdale's body. Leela slaps her which seems to shut Adelade up. She screams again when they find Harker's body in the boiler room. Skinsale takes her back upstairs. The Doctor and Leela go outside where they find Reuben's body. He's been dead for hours.

Party Down 1.08

Celebrate Ricky Sargulesh

The Party Down team works a party where some of them get recognized for their work in front of the camera. The party is thrown for Ricky Sargulesh who was recently acquitted of murder. Casey is still angry at Roman and Henry because they thought she slept with Rick Fox. Ula, Ricky's girlfriend, flirts with Henry. Kyle gets recognized for his work on a reality TV show. Constance gets recognized for her work in a few movies (Dingleberries, Wild Nuts, Scream Weaver). Henry gets recognized for his beer commercial work.

The party guests insist on talking to the actors whom they recognize. Ron ends up having to do most of the work. Roman is tasked with reading Ricky's script and starts thinking that Ricky is planning to murder Zoltan, one of the other party guests. 

The Phil Silvers Show 2.13

Mink Incorporated

Sgt Bilko convinces the men of his platoon to raise mink. He tells them about how much money they can make. They use the $300 in the platoon's fund to buy two breeding mink. They do everything they can to encourage the mink to breed but then one of the mink's seems to get sick.

Thoughts

This was an okay episode, not great but not awful. The highlight was the scene where they get medical advice from one of the doctors on the base. Doberman has to act like the mink that is sick. It wasn't enough to convince me that this is one worth watching again but it was okay.

Threesome (1994)

starring Stephen Baldwin, Josh Charles, Lara Flynn Boyle

written and directed by 

Alex (Lara Flynn Boyle) is accidentally assigned to the same dorm suite as Eddie (Josh Charles) and Stuart (Stephen Baldwin). She tries unsuccessfully to get reassigned to another dorm room with female roommates. 

Alex gets interested in Eddie but he isn't interested in her. He says he is sexually ambivalent. Stuart gets interested in Alex but she isn't interested in him. Eddie seems to be interested in Stuart but he doesn't come out and say it. They all agree to be friends and not try to push things in a direction that will compromise their friendship.

Alex tries to bring a guy back to their place but Eddie and Stuart get in the way. Stuart tries to bring a girl back to their place but Eddie and Alex ruin it for him. Alex and Stuart try to set up Eddie with a guy but Eddie runs out before the guy can kiss him.

Cartoon Wars 1.04

When Cartoons Went to War - Part 1: America Needed a Laugh

Cartoons exposed US audiences to the reality of War in Europe and Eastern Asia before the US got into the war. Cartoons started to include mentions of war as early as 1937. Some cartoons showed characters like Daffy Duck going to war. Others showed characters like Donald Duck encouraging people to buy war bonds. Many cartoons that weren't about war included little nods to the fact that war was going on elsewhere.

Cartoons shown in this episode include 

• Superman: Eleventh Hour
• Seven Wise Dwarfs
• Donald's Decision
• Scrap Happy Daffy
• Fifth Column Mouse
• Daffy the Commando
• Blitz Wolf
• Spinach for Britain (Popeye)
• Private Snafu series (Warner Bros) - voices by Mel Blanc; made to be shown to soldiers
• Mr. Hook series (Warner Bros) - voices by Mel Blanc; made for the for the US Navy
• Superman: Japoteurs

Orange Is the New Black 5.04

Litchfield's Got Talent

The gun reappears. Mendoza had it. It drops out of her pocket. There's a scramble for it. Angie gets her hands on it. Angie and Leanne use their newfound power to hold a talent contest. The guards are forced to perform for the inmates. 

Yoga Jones, DeMarco, and the trio of White Pride sisters,  who were locked in the kitchen with Berlin, tie up Judy King. They want to know where her stash of snacks can be found. She insists that there isn't a stash at first but they don't believe her. Judy King tells them that the food is delivered by helicopter to the roof at night. They spend the rest of the episode walking through the prison looking for the landing spot.

Alison Abdullah gets the backstory spotlight. She has a husband and a 10-year-old daughter. She encouraged her husband to get another wife, so he did.

Daya is present when the gun re-emerges. She knows that Mendoza took it. She feels betrayed. She goes outside to the field where some other inmates are hanging out.

Suzanne, Kukudio, and Soso hold a séance for Poussey in the cafeteria, after they hear a noise in the ceiling. Cindy, Watson, and Taystee join them. They are all into it except Taystee who thinks it is stupid.

Red and Flores continue to look for incriminating evidence on Piscatella. They take energy pills to help them stay awake. They eventually find his records. They find a report in his records that says he once killed an inmate. 

Outlaw Star 1.15

The Seven Emerge

Lord Hazanko sends Shimi, one of the Anten Seven (a feared gang of assassins) after Gene. Hazanko wants Gene dead for stealing the XGP (Outlaw Star). Gene's friends try to help him but he ends up having to finish the job on his own.

Thoughts

It seemed like Gene was overpowered but then he won. He seems to have killed Shimi (who first introduced himself as Leilong) but then it is revealed that the assassin survived the fight. It also seemed like Shimi/Leilong killed Jim, Suzuka, and Aisha but they also survive the fight. It seems like the assassin wants Gene and the others to think he is dead. I'm not sure that's a correct interpreation of this episode or what it might mean.

Atlanta 3.04

The Big Payback

The rules in the United States seem to have changed. Black people are finding White people whose ancestors enslaved their ancestors and demand restitution. The main character in this episode is Marshall Johnson, a White man, who is pursued by Shaniqua Johnson, a Black woman with such a claim. Marshall panics. He doesn't know what to do. She shows up at his apartment, at his place of work, and insists that she is going to get what he owes her.

Thoughts

Earn, Alfred, Darius, and Van are not in this episode.

Cartoon Wars 1.03

Superman Inspired Anime

Two techniques used by Fleischer Studios were rotoscoping and animating over films of live actors. These techniques were first seen by lots of people in Gulliver's Travels. They also used these techniques in the Superman cartoons. 

The first Fleischer Superman cartoon was originally supposed to be a movie. It was so successful as a short that the studio was commissioned to do 8 more.

Mr. Bug Goes to Town was the 2nd full length movie for the Fleischer Studio but it was too expensive and it was released on Dec 7, 1941. Fleischer studios went out of business. Dave and Max Fleischer stopped working together.

Max went on to work for Jam Handy Studios where he worked on cartoons like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Dave struck a deal with Paramount which led to the founding of Famous Studios. Famous Studios finished up the run Superman cartoons in 1943. Some of the Superman cartoons made by Famous Sudios included racist caricatures of Africans and Japanese people.

There are clips of most of the Superman cartoons made by Fleischer and Famous Studios.

Doctor Who (1963) 15.01.02

Horror of Fang Rock - Part 2

There are four survivors of the shipwreck. Three of them are passengers (Lord Palmerdale, Colonel Skinsale, Adelaide Lessage) and the other a crewman (Harker) is the coxswain. The Doctor and Leela learn that Lord Palmerdale is the one who pushed the now dead captain of the ship to go as fast as possible despite the fog. Palmerdale was trying to get back to London, from France, in time to complete a financial transaction. Harker doesn't feel very charitable towards Palmerdale considering how many men were just lost.

Leela sees something down on the rocks. She tells the Doctor. Reuben overhears and tells them that what she saw must be the beast of Fang Rock. The Doctor doesn't accept Reuben's theory. The Doctor and Leela go outside to investigate. They find some evidence but nothing to prove exactly what she saw. The Doctor's working theory is that there is an alien outside the lighthouse somewhere.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power 5.13

Heart - Part 2

Glimmer fights with Micah, her father. He is too strong for her at first. It isn't until he mentions her mother that she finds the strength to stop him. Bow fights to complete the work that Entrapta was doing when she was beamed aboard Horde Prime's flagship. Scorpia is still chipped and fights to keep him from doing so. Bow finally completes the program and everyone who was chippped, including Scorpia, is freed.

Shadow Weaver sacrifices herself to save Catra and Adora. She puts up a force field to prevent them from interfering with what she is doing. They head to the Heart of Etheria once she is gone. Horde Prime gets angry when he sees that everyone has been freed from his control. He orders Hordak to kill Entrapta. Hordak shoots Horde Prime. It seems like the say is saved but then it become clear that Horde Prime's consciousness has taken over Hordak's body.

Horde Prime starts to destroy everything but She-Ra shows up and saves the day.

The Phil Silvers Show 2.12

Bilko's Tax Trouble

The IRS accidentally investigate Bilko's 1953 tax return. Bilko works himself, his platoon, and Colonel Hall ragged to prove that he didn't make a dime from all the raffles dances, and other extra curricular events that he ran.

Thoughts

I didn't think that much of this episode. It didn't do very much for me. It felt like filler. The jokes were tired and lacked punch.

Out of Time (2003)

starring Denzel Washington, Sanaa Lathan, Eva Mendes, Dean Cain, John Billingsley

directed by Carl Franklin

Chief Matt Whitlock (Denzel Wshington) of the Banyan Key Police Department is separated from his wife Alex (Eva Mendes) and having an affair with Ann Harrison (Sanaa Lathan). Chris (Dean Cain), Ann's husband, suspects that something is up and isn't on the best of terms with Matt. Whitlock allows his feelings for Ann to blind him and he does something stupid after she names him as the beneficiary of her $1 million life insurance policy.

Chief Whitlock's position gets extremely dangerous when Ann and Chris are killed in a house fire. Things get worse for Matt when Alex, a Miami PD homicide detective, is put in charge of the investigation. Matt does his best to stay one step or more ahead of Alex and the rest of his staff. His efforts to keep his name clean have diminishing returns and eventually Alex learns of his relationship with Ann and what he's been doing.

Cartoon Wars 1.02

Betty Boop vs Censorship

Betty Boop debuted in 1930. Her cartoons were kept in black-and-white even after most other cartoons were in color. This episode examines a number of examples of what Betty Boop was like before and after 1933 when enforcement of the Hayes code was taken more seriously.

There were more than 100 Betty Boop cartoons made. There are clips from a number of her cartoons shown in this episode including:

• Betty in Wonderland
• Betty Boop in Cinderella - unusual because it is in color
• Ha Ha Ha
• Be Human
• House Cleaning Blues
• Indoor Outing

Orange Is the New Black 5.03

Pissters!

Piscatella wants to break into the prison and clean things up but the CEO of MCC, the company that runs Litchfield, says no once he hears that Judy King is still inside. Judy's husband and her boy toy continue to hang around hoping to bring her home but they don't make any progress on that front.

Judy attempts to break out of the prison. She breaks a window and climbs outside but she is still behind the fence and gets caught by some of the White Pride sisters. 

Bayley tries to turn himself in to the police after seeing the video of Caputo and Taystee. Bayley is drunk. The cops don't understand what he is try to confess to doing.

Linda continues to hang out with Chapman and Vause, who wants to ditch her. She meets some of the other prisoners and convinces them that she is really a prisoner. Boo takes an interest in Linda. Vause and Chapman see some of the pictures on Linda's phone and realize that she is Caputo's girlfriend.

Mendoza gets the kitchen up and running while most of the inmates are running around acting crazy. Daya shows up and she puts her to work,

Cartoon Wars 1.01

When the Theater Was Entertainment

This episode starts with the earliest days of animation. It gives a brief idea of some of the ways that cartoons evolved in the early 20th century. There were color cartoons long before there were color movies. There were sound cartoons a few years before there sound films. The second half of the episode focuses mostly on the two big cartoon studios of the 1930s: Fleischer and Disney. Fleischer was the home of Betty Boop and Popeye and later the first Superman cartoons. There are lots of samples of early work by Disney, Fleischer, and some of the smaller cartoon studios.

Fleischer Studios went out of business during World War 2. Disney survived by branching out and doing more than just cartoons for movie theaters. They also created a lot of instructional movies and war propaganda for the US Government.

The host of this 12-part series is Dr. Thomas R. Reich. 

Outlaw Star 1.14

Final Countdown

Prologue: Ethics of thieves, pirates and outlaws.

Gene, Jim, and Melfina take a job towing an advertising ship. Things don't turn out as planned. The advertising ship is a trap. It is loaded with explosives placed there by the People's Liberation Front. The PLF threatens to blow up the advertising ship, causing lots of damage, if their demands are not met.

The government of Heifong has 5 hours to comply with the terrorists' demands. Gene can't stand to not do anything. His first attempt to find and deactivate the bomb ends with one of the Outlaw Star's grappler arms getting seriously mangled.

Aisha Clan-clan and Twilight Suzuka hear about what is going on and do what they can to help out. Gene compares notes with them and figures out what is going on. The terrorists are actually thieves using a bomb threat to make it easier to steal. He finds the detonator and defuses the bomb and then, with some help from Aisha and Suzuka, he stops the PLF

Atlanta 3.03

The Old Man and the Tree

Earn, Al, Darius, and Van go to a party in London. The host is a billionaire but the party is hidden in a building that looks really run down on the outside. There is a Nando's in the apartment. Earn sees Van pocketing a small sculpture. 

Alfred plays poker with Fernando and a couple of his friends. It cost 20K to buy into the game. Everything goes great. They are having a good time but then Alfred wins and Fernando ghosts him, doesn't pay him.

Earn gets approached about an investment opportunity. There's a Black artist in residence at Fernando's. One of Fernando's friends wants Earn to go in with him on an artist incubator. Earn has his doubts but he later comes around.

Darius meets am Asian woman who says something about race but not in an insulting way. Darius doesn't think anything of it. A White guy overhears the exchange and blows it way out of proportion. He starts telling everyone about it. Darius tries to defuse the situation but no one will accept what he has to say. The situation gets worse and worse.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power 5.12

Heart - Part 1

Adora goes in search of the Heart of Etheria, intent on using the failsafe device to disable it before Horde Prime can get his hands on it. Glimmer and Bow go with her.

The other princesses work with Entrapta to try and free their friends. Entrapta tries to break into Horde Prime's network hoping to free everyone that is chipped. She gets whisked away by Horde Prime before she can free her friends.

Catra changes her mind about striking out on her own after she sees what Horde Prime is about to do. She catches up to Glimmer and Bow, with some help from Shadow Weaver, but She-Ra has already left them behind and forged on ahead on her quest to disable the Heart of Etheria.

Catra looks for Adora while Glimmer and Bow go to help the other princesses. Glimmer helps the princesses fight Mermista, Scorpia, and Horde Prime's clones while Bow goes looking for Entrapta.

She-Ra meets Mara, but it is just an illusion. Horde Prime shows up and makes Mara go away. 

Doctor Who (1963) 15.01.01

Horror of Fang Rock - Part 1

The TARDIS materializes on a rocky island after sunset. There is a lighthouse on the island. The Doctor and Leela walk to the lighthouse where they find three men, one of them is dead. He died very recently. The Doctor thinks that he was killed by an electrical shock but he doubts that it was the electrical generator that killed him.

They meet Vince (the junior lighthouse keeper) and then Reuben (the senior lighthouse keeper). The dead man's name was Ben. He was the engineer, responsible for making sure the lighthouse continued to function properly. Reuben suspects that the Doctor and Leela had something to do with Ben's death.

Vince saw a fireball in the sky just before Ben was killed. A fog rolled in very quickly after he saw the fireball. Reuben doubts Vince's story but the Doctor is interested. Leela exits the lighthouse to have a look around for Ben's killer. She returns empty-handed.

The episode ends with a ship crashing on the rocks.

Michael Clayton (2007)

starring George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton, Sydney Pollack

directed by Tony Gilroy

Michael Clayton (George Clooney) is a down on his luck corporate fixer. He is up to his ears in debt. He doesn't know where he is going to find the money to pay the debts. Michael is brought in to a case which seemed under control until Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson), one of the lawyers at the prestigious law firm where Michael works, seemingly lost his mind while working on the biggest case that the firm has. Clayton's employer was working for U-North, a company that sells an agricultural product that is rumored to have killed hundreds of people.

Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton), the legal counsel for the U-North, is determined to keep Arthur from making things worse that they already are. She meets with Clayton and quickly determines that he isn't taking the case seriously. She finds others who are more in agreement with her as to the proper approach to this case.

Michael has his hands full between tracking down Arthur, looking after his son, and dealing with financial debts. Arthur becomes too much of a liability for Karen. Michael doesn't know it but he has been observed by some of her people. Michael unknowingly becomes a target.

Orange Is the New Black 5.02

Fuck, Marry, Frieda

Daya wakes up. The gun is gone. She tries to pretend like she still has it but eventually she has to tell someone and eventually Ruiz figures out that it's gone.

Ruiz organizes an event in the chapel. They strip search the guards. Vause doesn't like it. Chapman tells her to keep stay put but eventually Vause can't take it anymore and leaves.

Taystee, Black Cindy, Watson, and Abdullah continue to keep an eye of Caputo and Josh. They keep an eye on the internet hoping their video will go viral but it doesn't in the way they hoped it would.

Red puts up Piscatella's pictures all over the prison. Piscatella shows up. He isn't embarrassed of the pictures. He can't get in because the doors are locked.

Humpries is still in the infirmary with Suzanne and Kukudio. He tells them about ways to kill people. Kukudio blows air bubbles into his IV and he has a stroke. Flaca and Maritza take him to the chapel.

Berlin gets the back story spotlight. Her father was convinced that the Russians were getting ready to invade. He prepped her for the big event. She learned her lessons. In the present she uses the skills her father her taught her to trick the two guards who have her and a few other inmates locked in the kitchen. The other inmates take the guards to the chapel. Berlin sneaks down to her secret hideout beneath the prison.

Some of Ruiz's crew talk Taystee into bringing Caputo and Josh to the chapel. The episode ends with a big group picture.

Outlaw Star 1.13

Advance Guard from Another World

Jim and Gene are short on cash. They put out ads but the offers they get are for too little money. Aisha Clan-Clan tries to get them interested in a job hunting down and killing a creature in the sewer but they kick her out when they hear what the pay will be.

Jim and Melfina end up taking a job that they hear about from Fred Luo. Gene is a little too proud to help out. Jim and Melfina go looking for an escaped inset and a plant. It doesn't take them long to figure out that the insect is the creature in the sewer that Aisha is searching for.

Gene meets up with an acquaintance, a woman. They go to get ice cream. Something weird is going on with the ice cream stand. It is extremely popular but the ice cream is not very good. There is a large cactus in the ice cream shop. Everyone (Jim, Gene, Melfina, Aisha) converges on the ice cream stand. The cactus starts to put out some strange vibes.

The cactus speaks through Jim. It claims to be superior to all humans and keeps them away but Melfina is able to approach it. She smashes the cactus, killing it. 

Atlanta 3.02

Sinterklaas Is Coming to Town

Earn has to bail Paper Boi out of jail. Van lost her luggage on the flight to Europe. She and Earn are no longer together. Darius helps Van find a new jacket. She finds a slip of paper with an address on it in the jacket.

It is Christmas time. There are people dressed in black face. It is a tradition in Amsterdam.

Van and Darius wind up at a wake for a man who hasn't died yet. Darius thinks it might be Tupac.

Alfred refuses to go on stage when he sees that everyone in the audience is dressed in blackface. He leaves Earn to deal with the manager of the venue. The manager is pissed. He threatens Earn and then chases after him. The manager beats up some random guy in black face. Earn makes it back to his hotel.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power 5.11

Failsafe

Adora, Catra, Shadow Weaver, Castaspella, Glimmer, Bow, and Melog go to Mysticor. They are looking for the failsafe and which can be found within the Crystal of Arxia. They sneak past the guards but Catra accidentally blows their cover. Adora tries to transform into She-Ra but can't. Shadow Weaver thinks it is because of Adora's feelings for Catra.

Entrapta works on a device to block Horde Prime's control chips from working. She needs to get closer to a bunch of clones in order to better understand how Horde Prime's network functions. Swift Wind helps get her there. They run into Hordak who gives her the piece of First Ones' tech that he has been carrying around. She is happy to see him. He seems unsure about how to feel about seeing her.

Adora and the others find the Crystal of Arxia. Micah and a couple of his magic-wielding assistants catch up to the heroes. Micah and his assistants are still chipped. They almost overcome the heroes. Adora enters the Crystal of Arxia and receives the failsafe code. She comes out, transforms into She-Ra, and deals with Micah and his team.

Party Down 1.07

Brandix Corporate Retreat

The Party Down team works at a corporate retreat. Rick Fox is there to give a motivational speech but he doesn't know exactly what Brandix does. Casey tries to help Rick Fox which makes Roman and Henry suspect that she is going to have sex with him. Ron "borrows" some of the team building gear and tries to run his own little team building exercises with the Party Down team. Kyle plays a trick on Roman which involves a homophobic joke and the movie 300.

Thoughts

I love how the different story bits work together in this episode. I didn't care for the homophobic joking. Kyle starts it but Henry and some of the others also laugh at Roman about it.