Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker Review

     

     The cultural phenomenon that is the "Skywalker Saga" has come to its final close. After 42 years, we have said goodbye to our heroes and villains, and it is very bittersweet. It's sad that we won't be seeing Luke, Leia, and Han on our screens ever again, but it's sweet in that there are more stories to be told in the Star Wars universe. On Monday, I went to see the final installment of the "Skywalker Saga." I went in with very low expectations mostly because of how disappointed I was with The Last Jedi. I wish I would have been writing back then because I had a lot to say immediately after I saw that movie. I went into The Rise of Skywalker very weary because I did not want to have to live that nightmare over again, and the critics absolutely hate this movie, which is the opposite of their opinion of The Last Jedi. Thankfully though, I really enjoyed the movie. Was it perfect? Absolutely not. Far from it actually, but I think it did an overall good job of closing out the saga. I am going to go over the goods and bads of the movie as sort of a list, so this will differ from my other reviews. Here we go:

The Bads

- The pacing of this movie was out of control. Woah, do so many things happen at once it seems. The first act is very quick where characters are jumping from planet to planet in what seems like seconds. It's hard to keep up at certain times and at times extremely messy, but the pace improves in the second and third acts. 

- General Hux being the spy did not make me angry, but the execution of him revealing that "He is the spy" was so cringe. Then, he is killed right after this throwing his storyline right out the window as if it never happened. This felt very 'meh' and sort of lazy writing. I wish they would have further explained his motivations for things.

- I mentioned before that the pacing was all over the place, but there is also a lot of contextual information to take in. New information is coming in at rampant speed. In every scene, there is something to take in, which is overbearing at times. Interesting, but overbearing.

- The conflict of C-3PO not being able to translate Sith is pretty dumb. I'm not gonna lie about that. I thought that was too on the nose. I think it was just to make the plot not as simple and to make the characters struggle a bit more, which is fine, but kind of ridiculous if you ask me.

- I liked how they incorporated Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) into the film because I was so confused on why the writers/producers did not want her to even be in the film especially after she survived The Last Jedi. I am glad they did, but some of her archived dialogue felt very "mad lib-like." You could tell that they took what they had of her and just made the characters talk around it. It's very noticeable and annoying, but it is not completely overbearing.

- The lack of Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) in this film is absolutely mind-boggling. Yes, he's there, but barely. It's MARK HAMILL. Why would they not utilize him more in this movie? Hell, this whole trilogy. We got him a lot in The Last Jedi, but that was not Luke Skywalker. That was a grumpy old man who hated his life, so he made others feel miserable. I really wish he played a bigger part in this film. 

- Finally, why could we not have gotten Luke, Han, and Leia in all in one shot together? We never got a scene of all three of them together in this whole trilogy! Why? This is what so many people wanted, and the writers never took advantage of this. Such a stupid decision. This will always be baffling to me. 

The Goods

- The performances are amazing. They are probably the best they have ever been in the Star Wars universe. Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley give it their all. I really think they should both get some form of recognition during award season. Their relationship in this film plays out very well.

- The core group of characters (minus Luke, Leia, and Han) are back together again. A big problem I had with The Last Jedi is that our heroes were all separated from each other. It did not work, and the movie felt incomplete without them all together. We get plenty of our heroes together in this movie, and their dialogue with each other is so good and witty.

- Some of you may hate me, but I liked the decision to bring Emperor Palpatine back. Was it kinda out of nowhere? Yes, but I think it worked for this film because we did not have any villains left after Kylo Ren turned from the Dark Side, so we needed another one. People are saying that Darth Vader throwing Palpatine off the bridge feels cheapened now, but I disagree. It wasn't about Palpatine's death, it was about Darth Vader protecting his son. There is a difference. Also, Palpatine is absolutely terrifying in this film. He's probably the scariest he has ever been, which made me like the decision to bring him back even more.

- Leia's death scene gave me chills. It really did. She gave all of what was left of her to call out to her son to distract him, and it was amazing and very upsetting to watch, especially since this was the last time we will ever see Carrie Fisher in a movie. After this scene, Kylo officially turns back to the light side after being visited by none other than Han Solo. This scene was also very touching, and it mirrored the scene where Kylo kills Han, but with an opposite insight from Kylo.

- The new characters are great. They are not overbearing or too forced like Rose was in The Last Jedi. No shade to the actress because she's great, but her character...not so much. I think we could possibly get some spin offs with Zorii or Jannah because we learned a little about them, but not enough for their arcs to be complete. We shall see, but I have a feeling they might pop up in other installments of the franchise.

- Lando Calrissian is back and better than ever. I cannot believe that Billy Dee Williams is 82 years old. He still has it, and I am so damn happy he survived this movie. At least a non droid/alien from the original trilogy survived everything. I hope to see him in another movie before he gets too up there, but if this is the last we see of him, I can say I am satisfied with his arc.

- The light saber battles are probably the best of any other Star Wars movies, especially the final fight between Rey and Kylo on Kef Bir. The cinematography and action of these scenes had me on the edge of my seat. They were beautiful and did not seem forced in the slightest. 

- A particular scene I liked is when Rey and Kylo are using the force to communicate with each other, you can see the light and brightness behind Kylo and the darkness behind Rey, showing the juxtaposition of these two characters and showing that both respective characters have contrasting feelings/actions in them. 

- I actually really liked the twist that Rey is a Palpatine. It is a twist that actually works, and it does not seem too forced. We learn in the film that Palpatine was Rey's father's father, which gave me satisfaction on learning who Rey's parents were and not this bullshit that they were "nobodies." Ugh. Also, this twist gave Rey an internal problem, which is much more interesting to watch rather than going in the direction that her parents were "nobodies."

 

- Leia being revealed to have learned the ways of the Jedi made a lot of sense in the grand scheme of the trilogy. I got some tears in my eyes when they showed younger Luke and Leia. Yes, it was CGI, but it reminded me of when I was younger and these movies not existing yet. Plus, this just made Leia such a more bad ass character than she already was.

- Ok. The best scene in the entire movie is when Rey is down and seemingly out of the fight, and she hears the voices of the Jedi who have passed. Chills. What a damn good scene, and she definitely knows she is going to die, which makes it even more powerful. After she dies, Kylo gives his last bit of energy to heal her and return the favor of her healing him after wounding him before. This is how you close out a movie. I loved this scene so much. It is probably one of if not the best scenes of the whole franchise.

- Rey takes the last name of Skywalker and looks out on the sun of Tatooine. Credits roll. That is all. Immediate chills. Complete satisfaction.

     

     Like I said y'all. Was the movie perfect? No. Did it have flaws. Yes. Is everyone gonna like it? No, as it is evident by the critics and the score on Rotten Tomatoes. But I did, so I cannot complain. This movie will be divisive among fans for years to come, and I can see why especially if you liked The Last Jedi because a lot of what happened in that movie is thrown in the trash. The truth of the matter is that J.J. Abrams should have wrote all three movies to make the trilogy more cohesive. He did what he could with this final movie by taking Star Wars back to its roots, one last time. If I had to rate the movie, I would give it a 7.5/10, which is pretty good especially in comparison to other reviews it is getting. I cannot wait to see what the franchise has to offer next. Whether it gives us spin offs or a new trilogy, we are all probably going to go and see them right?

Thank you for reading my review of Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker. What did you think of the film? Leave a comment. Soon, I think I am going to do a ranking of all the Star Wars films, but I have to do a rewatch of all of them first! I hope you all had a Merry Christmas, and have a happy New Year!   

   

Top 10 Best TV Episodes of 2019

     Well another year is over, and a new decade is upon us. This year was an up and down with television, but with mostly ups. I have watched many shows this year with some being spectacular (Succession) and some being sub-par (Game of Thrones), but one thing is for sure: there were fantastic episodes of television this year. For this blog, I will be showcasing my top ten favorite television episodes of 2019. These episodes will not be ranked, but rather be shown in alphabetical order. Let's get to the list...


1. Barry- "ronny/lily"
   

     This episode of Barry is one of the most batshit episodes of television I have ever seen. Barry is forced to murder a cop's ex-wife's current boyfriend in order for the cop to keep his secret of being a hit man. The hit does not go smoothly as planned, though as the target is a master of Taekwondo. Not only does Barry have trouble murdering the man, but his daughter is also a student of Taekwondo to where she possesses almost animal-like characteristics. I really felt like I was on an acid trip while watching the episode. I had never seen something so off the rails before that encompassed both drama and comedy (but mostly comedy). It was quite something to watch, I will tell you that.


2. Chernobyl- "The Happiness of All Mankind"


     In one of the most beautifully crafted, yet disturbing shows of all time, the fourth episode of Chernobyl was definitely the best episode of the miniseries in my opinion. Most of the episode deals with a young man named Pavel being forced to execute stray pets left from residents that lived near the Chernobyl Power Plant in order to rid the lands of radiation. The episode is heart wrenching and very hard to take in, and it shows what these people had to do in order to save their country from being destroyed. The episode also featured a scene where men have to go on the roof of the plant and almost by hand extract the radioactive rubble. It's a very tense and cringe worthy scene, but it is beautifully shot. Though Chernobyl is one of my favorite shows ever made, it is a show that I do not have to see again due to it being a very graphic and disturbingly emotional watch.


3. Evil- "Rose390"


     Evil has been one of the most surprising shows for me this year. It has been such a pleasure watching it; I am always excited to watch the next episode! In the episode I chose from the show, David, one of the main protagonist is called in to help a young boy whose family thinks he is possessed. David makes progress with the boy by telling him that he should call on God whenever he needs something. At first it goes well until David sees that the boy's infant sister is at the bottom of the pool. My mouth dropped while watching this happen, especially since the show is on CBS, a broadcast network. I knew this show was something special when I saw that. Not too many things get my mouth to drop like that...


4. Game of Thrones- "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms"


     Mostly everyone can agree on season eight of Game of Thrones to being a steaming pile of garbage. That is not secret; however, I think many forget about the first two episodes being amazing. In this episode, we had Brienne finally becoming a knight, Arya fully transitioning into womanhood, Jamie pledging his help to take down the white walkers, Jamie apologizing to Bran for paralyzing him, Jon revealing to Daenerys that he is one of her ancestors, etc. The episode had some impeccable character moments that made me really think that I was going to miss these characters once the show was over. The rest of the season should have been thrown in the trash, but "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" remains as one of Game of Throne's best episodes of the entire series.


5. The Good Place- "Tinker, Tailor, Demon, Spy"


     This episode of The Good Place was brilliant and so entertaining to watch. The show is known for not taking itself seriously which is why it is considered one of the best comedy series ever made. The twist in this episode was amazing and was thoroughly thought out by the writers. The audience speculated that Michael was replaced by an "evil" Michael, but really Janet was swapped by an "evil" Janet. Not only was that twist great, but the buildup of the audience finding out if Michael was the real Michael or not was so suspenseful. There is at least one exceptional Good Place episode a season, and I can say that this episode was season four's exceptional episode. I cannot wait to see the rest of the final season in 2020!


6. The Mandalorian- "Chapter 3: The Sin"


     The show that has inspired "Baby Yoda" memes everywhere finds one of its episodes on my list. The show has sparked somewhat of a mixed reception online especially on message boards (Reddit), but almost everyone can come together to say that this episode was everything a Star Wars fan wants. Action. Character Development. Suspense. The list goes on. This is the episode we really see Mando develop attachment to "The Child" and what he is willing to go through to save him. We see Mando take on all of the bounty hunters before being saved by his fellow Mandalorians. I think this episode will prove to be the heart of the show as it highlights what the show actually is. The relationship between the Mandalorian and "The Child."


7. Pose- "Never Knew Love Like This Before"


     This episode is definitely the most emotional and upsetting episode on the list. The episode gives us a shocking, unexpected main character death in Candy, who was built up to be unlikable by her fellow community members. Candy is murdered in a hotel room, and her corpse is shoved in a closet to where a maid finds her body. At her funeral, all of her friends and acquaintances have a conversation with her ghost to where we see almost everyone make peace and apologize for not giving her a chance. Also, she is able to make peace with her parents for not accepting who she was which is an incredibly touching moment. The end of the episode shows Candy a lip-sync performance before her soul departs. This episode is an all-around tear-jerker, and it really brings awareness to what is still happening to the LGBT community in today's world.


8. Succession- "This Is Not for Tears"


     I really love Succession. Plain and simple. And this episode proves why. After covering up sexual harassment claims and giving hush money, the Roy family is about to outed. They do everything they can to get these "allegations" off their backs, but to no avail. In the episode, Logan tries to gauge his family/coworkers for a scapegoat. He ends up in the end picking Kendall. He thinks Kendall will take the blame since Logan has dirt on Kendall from season one and has been his puppet the whole season. Kendall, in a twist, reveals at the press conference that his father knew about the sexual harassment claims and hid them while also revealing that his father is a horrible person to where his father watches from the TV screen and gives a slight smirk. All around brilliant. I cannot wait for season three of this crazy show!


9. Veep- "Veep"


     One of if not my favorite comedies sadly ended this year, but the series finale proved to be timeless. Selina Meyer wins the presidency in the end by manipulating and promising her rivals to drop out of the race and pledge their support to her if she passes and gives them what they want which includes giving Jonah the vice president position and outlawing gay marriage even though she has a gay daughter. We are reminded of what a despicable and ruthless political figure Selina is one last time. Not only does she do this, but she throws the one person that has been there with her the whole way to the wolves due to the scam she was attached to. Later we see that all of Selina's team has abandoned her as she sits alone in the oval office as she gives an upset look before snapping back into it. I love this finale, and will severely miss this show. Julia Louis Dreyfus is an absolute treasure.

10. The Walking Dead- "The Calm Before"


     After the clusterf**k that was season seven and eight, season nine of The Walking Dead felt like renaissance of the show. "The Calm Before" is one of those "big" Walking Dead episodes that happens every now and then. Alpha sneaks into the kingdom and lures/kidnaps people away to where she executes them and places their heads on spikes to mark her territory. The episode is very emotional, and it marks the final appearances of fan-favorite characters Enid, Tara, and Henry. I knew this episode was coming, but I was shocked to see who it was that was killed. It was also fun watching YouTube reactions the next day to see people's thoughts on the episode. This episode secured season nine as one of if not my favorite Walking Dead episodes.


Thank you for reading my list of my "Top 10 Best TV Episodes of 2019." What were some of your favorite television episodes of this year? Leave a comment!

   

Frozen 2 Review

     

I just got home from seeing Frozen 2, and I've gotta say that I was pleasantly surprised on how much I liked the movie. Was it anywhere near the quality of the first movie? Absolutely not. The first movie had so much heart, not to say this movie didn't, but the first one had so much more. Frozen 2, though, was definitely a great watch, and I would recommend for anyone that wants to see it to go see it. The music is beautiful, and the cast gives it their all once again. Let's get to the in-depth review of Frozen 2.

     The one thing this movie did better than the original was pacing the musical numbers correctly. One of the biggest complaints I have with the first movie is the lack of musical numbers in the second half of the movie, which made the second half feel rushed in a way. This movie did an amazing job with giving the audience music throughout its entirety. While I think the songs in the first movie were much more iconic, the songs in this film were still incredible; I even found myself humming to them at one point. I also liked how Kristoff got his own song about his relationship with Anna. I found the song quite catchy. The other song I really liked was when Elsa was traveling to Ahtohallan. It was similar to "Let It Go", but it was special in its own right. All in all, the music was spectacular, and I am glad the filmmakers paced it properly.

     Olaf remains the stand-out character of both films. He is always great to listen to if you want a laugh. During his "Samantha" line, my whole theater was laughing uncontrollably. His humor wasn't forced either; I thought his funny moments came at the right time especially during his musical number, although I did think the subject material of the song came at a strange point in the movie, but I was okay with it. Moving on from Olaf, Anna remains a bad-ass Disney character. Maybe I am biased because I love Kristen Bell so much, but it's the truth. I was so happy for her to become the queen at the end of the movie. Both Olaf and Anna were standouts in the film, and they made the film what it was.

     I also want to touch on the visual effects in the film. They were absolutely stunning. That is all I really have to say about them. The theme of nature was used in such a soothing way that I felt as if I were inside the movie, an animated film. The invisible elements all had magic contained in them and brought color to them, and it was just so soothing for my eyes. The movie should win an Academy Award in the cinematography category. It was definitely one of the most visually-pleasing movies I have ever seen. 

     Now, before seeing the movie, I had heard that there was criticism directed towards the plot of the film with many critics calling it "convoluted". I went in with an open mind, and while I understood most of it, there were parts that were a bit confusing. If I was confused, I could not imagine how difficult it was for young children to understand. I like the basic set up of Elsa being called to the Enchanted Forest that was taught to her when she was a child. I think the forest being closed and inescapable was an interesting concept, and it was almost flawlessly executed, but there were just too many aspects that felt too much, such as Elsa being the fifth spirit which I did not understand until she revealed this to Anna. I think this was supposed to be known to viewers, but even my family did not pick it up. I thought the fifth element was Anna and Elsa's mother since she was the one that saved their father. That still remains a mystery. That whole revelation I feel could have been explained more clear, but I'm not gonna complain. 

     The revelation of Anna and Elsa's grandfather betraying the Northuldra allowed me to understand the plot a little more especially when he built the dam to break down the people because of his disdain for magic. I also liked how Anna had the balls to lead the giants to break the dam to figuratively let the Northuldra people free and open the forest back. I think the convoluted plot became less strenuous to understand once all of this happened, but it was still a little foggy to interpret.

     All in all, Frozen 2 was a worthy sequel even though the first movie is leaps better than this one. I would definitely recommend anyone to see it, though because it is still a great movie. Let me know what you thought of it if you saw it. Were you confused with the plot? Did you like the music? Leave a comment! Thanks for reading!

*Updated Ranking the Seasons of American Horror Story

Spoilers ahead!!

     The 9th season of American Horror Story just ended on Wednesday, so I have decided to rank all the seasons. Where did the most recent season rank and where did I rank the remaining seasons? Let's get to it. Spoilers ahead!!!

9. American Horror Story: Freak Show

     There has to be a worst season for every show and for AHS, it is Freak Show. The season was just an absolute mess. There was not a cohesive storyline to follow. It was just sort of what ever happened in this episode happened in the episode. Neil Patrick Harris' character was absurd. There was no reason for him to be in the season, and I actually like him as an actor. Dandy was a good character that was honestly the saving grace of the season. His disturbing antics were decent to watch. Twisty was amazing, so I was confused to see him be killed off in episode four. This was also the last season to feature Jessica Lange as a main character. Not such a great season to end on even though she killed her role as Elsa Mars. All in all I was very disappointed with the season. It should have been leaps and bounds better and scarier than how it was presented to us. Sorry Freak Show, but someone has to be at the bottom.

8. American Horror Story: Cult

     I have a mixed reception with Cult. It was not complete garbage, but it was far from great. I really wanted to see an actual cult that was scary. This cult was not so scary. Kai was an amazing character and a very scary cult leader, but the rest of his cult fell flat. I expected so much more sinister acts performed by the cult, but they just never happened. I appreciated what Ryan Murphy tried to do with this season, but it did not work. Sarah Paulson's character, Aly, was actually decent I thought. She bothered me at first with all of the crying, but at the end I really liked how strong she became. Like Freak Show, I feel like the plot got convoluted at a certain point that left me scratching my head at the end of the season. I think Cult deserves to be watched, but it is not anything to die for. 

7. American Horror Story: Apocalypse

     The eighth season of the series comes in the number six slot. I did not hate this season at all; in fact, I thought this season was shaping up to be in my top three. It did not because of Evan Peters' and Billy Eichner's' ridiculous characters that pulled the story down completely. God, they were awful, ridiculous characters. I loved the crossover between Coven and Murder House. It actually made me gain a greater love for those two seasons. Also, seeing Jessica Lange come back to the show was such a pleasure to watch. I have mixed feelings with Michael Langdon's character. I found him super disturbing when he introduced, but I hated how whiny he became in the flashbacks. "Return to Murder House" is the single best episode in the entire series; it was perfect, no flaws involved. Episodes seven and eight brought this season down to the sixth spot; they were absolutely dreadful. Also, the ending where Michael, the Anti-Christ dies from a hit-and-run is so stupid. God, the ending to his story was awful. Apocalypse comes in at number six on my list. I thought it would be higher, but hey what can you do? Not a bad season in any way, but not a flawless season by far either. 

6. American Horror Story: 1984



     The most recent season of the show comes in number six on my list. My overall thoughts? I liked this season. Was it perfect? By no means, but I thoroughly enjoyed most of the episodes. It's weird because I loathed the premiere episode; I think it's actually the worst premiere ever, but the episodes got drastically better as they went on. I think Leslie Grossman stole the season with her unhinged character of Margaret Booth. She balanced evil with camp, and she did it well. This is probably the only season that I did not mind the campiness. It took place in the 80's and was supposed to be a slasher, and those two things do contain camp. What were the negatives of the season? I think the supporting cast (Cody Fern and Gus Kentworthy to be precise) were a complete waste. I wish they would have had more character development, and that is something I cannot stand with the show sometimes. They bring characters in and don't do anything with them. All in all the performances (particulary John Carroll Lynch as Mr. Jingles and Angelica Ross as Donna) were solid and the writing was mostly good, but I do wish Sarah Paulson was in the season. So, 1984 gets a decent score overall. "Kajagoogoo is dead!"

5. American Horror Story: Murder House

     The first season of the show is number fifth on our list. At first, I found the season a bit flat. I know that is an unpopular opinion, but it is the truth. Looking back, the season was very solid and consisted of many memorable scenes. Constance's introduction scene, Tate and Violet's "you're all I want" scene, Constance and Moira's feud, Violet's reaction to finding out she did not survive her suicide attempt. The list goes on. My flaw with the season is that it felt repetitive at times, and I felt it went on longer than it needed to. Maybe that is why I got bored at certain places. I did love; though, the concept of the ghosts murdered in the house being trapped there for eternity. It was a great narrative for the season as a whole, and I loved seeing the various stories of how the residents of the house met their demises in the past. I found the ending to be a bit lackluster, but that is explained in Apocalypse, so that explains a lot. The season was a decent introduction to the show. 

4. American Horror Story: Hotel

     This is another controversial opinion of mine. Many people I know absolutely despise this season, but I did not. It was the first season to not feature Jessica Lange and instead Lady Gaga "replaced" her. I thought Lady Gaga did a great job as "The Countess", the vampire who runs the hotel. Many people hated her acting, but I think that was how the character was supposed to be portrayed. Also, Denis O'Hare's portrayal as Liz Taylor was truly magnificent. Liz Taylor might be one of my favorite characters in the entire series. Iris was another character I loved, as well. I think the characters carried the story and well for that matter. The main plot was very boring with John trying to find the Ten Commandments killer in which the reveal was just flat out bad. I did really enjoy this season, maybe because it was my first season watching live, but it will always have a special place in my heart.

3. American Horror Story: Coven

     Like Murder House, I was not too keen when I first saw the season because I did not like the campiness of it, but as time went on, I finally concluded that this season is iconic. The coven of witches all played their part well. Jessica Lange as Fiona Goode gives me goosebumps with how despicable of a human and witch she is. Frances Conroy does an impeccable job as Myrtle Snow. I loved the battle for the next supreme including the Seven Wonders test. This was also the first season to include Kathy Bates and Angela Bassett, and they were great additions to add to the show. My only problem with the season was Evan Peter's character Kyle. Why was he on the show? He added absolutely nothing. Also, like Murder House, I found there to be a pacing problem, but I did not find it to be that bad. 

2. American Horror Story: Roanoke

     Coming in as the runner-up of my list is Roanoke. I absolutely loved this season because it felt like a return to the form to the series. It felt scary and disturbing again, which is one of the reasons I watch the show. I enjoyed the twist the show gave to us, which sort of felt like a “true crime” feel. The Butcher was a great villain. I loved the throwback to her reign as the colony’s leader where she poisoned them all and made them haunt the grounds forever. The backstory of the farmhouse was great. It was similar to the residents of the Murder House, but I found a few of the murders to be more gruesome. The cast of characters were a bit forgettable, but I would rather have a better story than memorable characters. The ending was also very boring, but the previous episodes balanced the season out as a spectacular one. The season felt almost near perfect, so I really enjoyed it a lot.

1. American Horror Story: Asylum

     We are finally at our number one spot. Asylum. This season is American Horror Story at its best. The season is almost near flawless, and I usually rank it one of the best seasons of any T.V. show. Evil nuns. Possessions. Crazy inmates. The “Bloody Face Killer”. The Name Game musical number. It is scary, witty, and disturbing shit. Jessica Lange provides in what I think is her best role as Sister Jude, the nun in charge of the asylum. I loved the 1960’s settings; it provides an eerie tone to the series considering Murder House took place in the present. This is Sarah Paulson’s first season as a regular where she portrays Lana Winters, and like Sister Jude, I think this is far and away Sarah Paulson’s best character in the series. Her acting is simply amazing especially when she finds out her doctor is the psychopathic “Bloody Face”. The ending to the season made me so emotional, and it made me question everything about my life. No joke. Jessica Lange’s portrayal of her respective role brought a tear to my eye. It takes true talent to make someone feel this way. The only issue of the season is Kit’s subplot. Evan Peters was exceptional in his role, but the alien storyline was just…no, but I pretend that never happened. I honestly do not ever see any other AHS season beating this season as the best. That is how exceptional it is!

Thank you for reading my ranking of American Horror Story seasons. What is your favorite season of the show? What is your least favorite? Leave a comment.

The Roy Family of Succession Ranked from Least to Most Immoral

     

     Over the course of the past week, I started to watch the critically-acclaimed HBO show Succession. The show tells the story of a billionaire entertainment company and the corruption and mishaps that surround it. The family the show centers on are completely despicable human beings who have no problem doing anything to get ahead in the business world. Although they are all terrible human beings, they are endearing at the same time, which makes the show so addicting to watch. I am going to rank the seven members of the main family members from least immoral to most immoral. I want to give a shout out to TVLine for giving the idea to me. I enjoyed reading your thoughts on each of the characters! Let's get to it...


7. Greg Hirsch 

     The only person from the family that is more of a good person than bad is Cousin Greg. He suffers the torment and verbal abuse of Tom, and the rest of his family sees him as someone who is unimportant to the company. He always wants what is best for every one most of the time, so his heart is usually in the right place. Though he follows Tom's wishes of destroying evidence documenting the company's cruising scandals, he feels guilty about it, and he finds it morally wrong. He requests a transfer from the department to disassociate himself from the scandal should it leak.  He manages to save a few of the documents that he was told to shred because of his guilt, and if you watched the season two finale, he finally uses them against Logan and the company. Greg comes in as the most moral Roy family member.


6. Marcia Roy

     Though Marcia is a very complex character, it is no secret that she represents the old-school traditional woman who has to listen to her husband and obey him even though he may be wrong. She is the third wife of the company's patriarch, Logan Roy. As I mentioned previously, she almost always takes his side, and she mostly serves as the barrier between Logan and his children. Though sometimes she is kept in the dark of things, she seems to have her say in some of Logan's personal matters. She almost never speaks up if she finds what her husband is doing is unethical, but she spoke up recently about her unhappiness in the marriage, but it was because it affected her and no one else. Though she herself has never covered up anything or done unethical deeds, Marcia is a very unlikable character who shows no care for anyone but herself and her husband.

5. Kendall Roy
     Kendall has had a very bumpy ride throughout the two seasons of the show. He is a recovering alcoholic and drug addict in season one until he relapses. The thing about Kendall is that he has a conscience and knows that what his father does is wrong, but he chooses to help his father out anyways, even if it does kill him that he has to do those things. Before he relapses, Kendall tries several times to take the business out of his father's hands after his father lies to him about handing the business over to him, but to no avail. After he relapses, he kills a waiter in a car accident where he tries to walk away from the scene, but his father knows about the accident and blackmails him to quit his persecution of him. In season two, he brutally guts a company without flinching or even showing remorse because "his dad told him to." In the finale of season two, after proving to be a loyal soldier, Kendall finally exposes his father after his father told him to take the fall for the cruise department scandal. It seems Kendall could be behind Marcia if he does right in season three. We shall see.

4. Siobhan "Shiv" Roy

     The only daughter to Logan Roy, Shiv is probably the favorite of all the children even though she definitely gets screwed by her father constantly. Shiv is manipulative, cunning, and persuasive in how she handles others. She is unfaithful to her husband, and she takes advantage of it by saying she wants an "open marriage" after her infidelity. She constantly manipulates her husband to get information out of him that involves the day to day operations of the company. When she wants to work for a Democratic presidential nominee, her father scolds her and attacks the nominee, Gil, but Shiv blackmails her father by threatening to bring up the cruising department scandal. In the penultimate episode of season two, Shiv gets the key witness in the scandal to drop her testimony saying that the trial will ruin her life with people threatening her. In the finale, Shiv manipulates her father into not firing Tom, but her brother instead. With that being said, Shiv, like Kendall, sometimes does seem to want to do right, and I think that she would be a great successor to her father. She would not be as corrupt and would do what she wants and not the dirty work of her father.


3. Roman Roy

     Roman is such an intriguing character. He is definitely the most crass and vulgar character on the show, and he demonstrates that in the pilot episode where he teases a poor Mexican family by telling them he'll give them a million dollars if the boy can hit a home run. The boy fails and Roman rips the check up right in front of the kid's face. Roman is genuinely a terrible person who has no problem tormenting and hassling someone who is in his way. He betrays his brother by not voting his unstable father out of the CEO position, making Kendall the only one to get his hands dirty. He cheated on his wife and when she divorced him, he did not flinch and instead smirked as she walked out of the door. Though he has never spearheaded any corrupt decisions, he is always in the know of what is going on and has no issues following through with orders unless it affects him in a negative way. At some points, you can see a tiny, minuscule drop of humanity in his heart, but it is never enough to redeem him.


2. Connor Roy

     Connor is probably one of the worst and most annoying characters on television right now. Every time he comes on my screen, I want to just put my hands through the screen and strangle him. He is not a character you love to hate; he is a character you hate to hate. Apart from being micro aggressive and rude to anyone that does not have the same political views as him, he is just a complete joke. He has an outburst at a company dinner party towards the cooks where he treats them terribly and fires them because some of the food is a bit cold. This really only began my hate for him. He wants to run for president and genuinely believes he can win when he is a misogynist and does not want to pay taxes. I loved on the season two finale when his father tells him that they all think he is a joke and that his presidential campaign is a joke. It was glorious. Honestly, there are no redeeming qualities about Connor, so let's just move on to our number one slot.

1. Logan Roy

     The most immoral Roy family member is none other than Logan Roy, himself. The man is just a complete slime ball and a dishonest person all around. The whole show revolves around him and the decisions he makes. He is the puppet master of all the scandals surrounding his business, and he is the one who made his children and family the way they are. He scolds his children by telling them they are worthless particularly Kendall when he says he is not a "killer" and is unfit to be the new CEO. He lies whenever he sees it to be necessary such as during the cruising department scandal where he says he had no knowledge of any wrongdoing, yet he signed off on the papers for the victims to keep quiet. He causes his son to start using, and he blackmails him that if he does not lay off, he will rat his son out for murder and as a result makes his son do his dirty work. Not only that, but when he wants to see his son's victim's family, he prays on Kendall's heartstrings by making him feel bad for his wrongdoing knowing that he is already depressed and sorry for his wrongdoing. He berates and mentally abuses the people he thinks tipped off Pierce by making them kneel on the floor and humiliate themselves. On the finale, after being manipulated by Shiv to not fire Tom, he fires his own son and tells him to take the blame for the scandal since he is the "face" of the investigation. Logan definitely rivals the other despicable TV show villains for one of if not the most ruthless and dishonorable men in TV history.