My Non-Spoiler Preview of The Walking Dead Episodes 10×09 and 10×10
Last fall, the mid-season finale of the tenth season of The Walking Dead ended with some of our fan favorite characters stuck in a cave as Alpha lured the group into a deadly trap. The mid-season premiere of The Walking Dead is in a matter of a few weeks away and I got a chance to watch the first two episodes of the second half. Here are my non-spoiler thoughts of The Walking Dead season 10, episode 9 titled “Squeeze” and the following episode “Stalker.”
10×09: “Squeeze”
The Daryl and Carol scenes on this episode were done really well and I am glad that the writers acknowledge that Carol is claustrophobic which was first mentioned a long time ago in the earlier seasons. Now that Carol is in a life and death situation, she had to overcome her fear of it during this episode. The scenes of everyone going through the tight spaces of the cave made me claustrophobic myself just by watching it. Daryl was the lead of the escape of the cave, but everyone played a good part of coming up with ideas on how to escape while they were trapped down there.
There were also times where two characters got into a near death experience in this episode and one of them happened at the middle of the episode. I was convinced that this person was going to be gone due to the very tight space. However, not everyone makes it out of the cave as the fate of some characters were left unknown after the escape. I wish I can say who it is, but I cannot so you will have to wait until the episode airs. Also to note, there is a head-shaking (and also tense) moment involving Carol in this episode that would make you question why would she do that in the first place. I have praised Melissa McBride in my past reviews with Carol’s mental state following how much Alpha put her through. But this time, I just hope that the payoff would be worth all the questionable decisions she has done so far this season. I know that previous characters were put in thye same situation as her and I called it out, but it is frustrating to see it happen with Carol episode after episode.
The Negan and Alpha scenes were very good and some of the dialouge were straight from the source materiel (Issues #155 and #156). There is one moment however that will be talked about through The Walking Dead community after this controversail scene will be shown to the world. In fact, I believe it will be the most memorable scene of the entire season as far as shock value it will be. I will also warn everyone to not watch this scene with your children too. I will give it a slight praise since it fits who Alpha is as a person and as the leader of The Whisperers.
Overall, “Squeeze” is a great episode and it does not waste any time to get back to where it left off. And Kudos to Beta for just being there towering over everyone.
10×10: “Stalker”
I have to get this out of the way right now, Beta in this episode is fantastic! Not only does he stalks from within like he is Michael Myers, but he also does brutal killings in this episode. Also, he is involved with two of the three fights on this episode. Also, I noted on my review of 9×13 that Beta has armor under his clothes during his fight with Daryl which is a detail that mostly everyone missed at the time, but it will be useful again in this episode too (Side note, my review of 9×13 is shorter due to me traveling that week). Gabriel will also get high praise from me on this episode too as his advice from Negan earlier this season is starting to really showcase for him especially his conversations with Gamma. Speaking of Gamma, you will all love it when Rosita does what Rick did to Aaron when he first meet him.
Daryl has a fight in this episode with Alpha and I not only loved that scene, I love how the VFX team used the blood on the cameras for Daryl’s eyesight during that fight. Alpha also has a great scene later in the episode as she is finally able to accept what she could not earlier this season. There are also spooky moments that happen at night on this episode too that I cannot give away, but the theme of paranormia returns on this episode too and Rosita will experience that on this episode. I wish I can say more of the episode, but it will be more spoilery than the last episode, but I liked this episode over “Squeeze” and it felt like the first half of the season was the buildup like a bomb fuse being light up and the beginning of the second half is the explosion.
Be sure to check out my full review of “Squeeze” on Feburary 23rd after the episode airs.
Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com
Interview: Jessie Ennis, Imani Hakim, and Danny Pudi of Apple TV’s Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet
Apple TV’s newest comedy series Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet debuted not too long ago and it follows a team of video game developers as they navigate the challenges of running a popular video game. Co-created by Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, and Megan Ganz, Mythic Quest has a strong cast and of the cast, I got the chance to interview Jessie Ennis, Imani Hakim, and Danny Pudi as they given me the details on their roles in this exclusive interview as you can check out the key highlights below.
Jessie on the limits of her character “Jo.”
Jessie: There is a lot of times where they wanted me to explode, like we see in the pilot when I say “you’re a dick.” I remember being like “Is that funny” (laughs). And then it was really surprising at the screening to hear people laugh for that cause. I mean, I just I kept thinking this is too big, but it was such a blast to get to do. But no, Rob [McElenney] was really the one turning it up to eleven when it came to how much my character can say.”
Danny on playing as a villian.
Danny: “I’ve always wanted to be a villain. Like ever since I saw The Hunchback of Notre Dame, that bishop was like my inspiration on playing a villian. It was so it was awesome. It was a great time. I get a chance to explore something different. I always dreamed I’d get to work with Murray F. Abraham. I never thought I would be in that capacity. But yeah, in terms of the show, it’s been fun to just bounce around. The cast is incredible and to play a character that there’s just tension with him and the creators. It’s a lot. It’s great for comedy and fun for me.”
You each have these super strong characters, and they are what they are. If you want to pick a celebrity to play your character, who would you pick?
Jessie: I’m not letting anyone take this for me. I’ve got my teeth sunk into it (laughs) and it’s my favorite thing to do so I would not share it.
Imani: “I would chose the mother of my character for this question. I think I would say Jada Pinkett Smith. She would be a fun Mother to Dana. I’m attached to my character Dana too.”
Danny: I would say my real life uncle. I think he’d be really fun in my role as a celebrity. And Helena Bonham Carter would be a great second choice.”
What surprises or challenges come your way when all of you started your scenes for the show?
Danny: “For me, I hadn’t worked with Rob. I’d worked with Megan on Communities so I was really excited to work with her again. I think she’s incredibly talented, but I didn’t know Rob at the time yet. It feels like friends making a show together. And I think there’s a similarity there to how we created the show. Every scene was us coming together, building something together, collaborating, improvising, adding things. Rob would suggest something and add build a new thing in the scene. So there were multiple writers and actors in the show. And so that was a different perspective for me, a chance to work with people who are in the process of creating the show in the writers room. But also on set and in the scene. And that was really unique and I think it brought a different element to the show.”
Imani: “I saw surprises. I think that as an actor, you just hope that you get to go to work and get along with your cast mates and the people that you work with. So I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this dynamic just works so very, very well. I look forward to going to work even on the days where I’m off and they’ve created such as safe space and like Danny said, is a very collaborative effort where we get to pitch in and chime in and have fun and freedom to improvise and to have to create our own voices for our characters.”
Jessie: “I’ve been lucky enough to come and visit the writers room for season two, and I’ve learned so much from Megan Ganz about breaking story and the structure of an episode. So that’s really the thing I feel is the newest to me. And it’s really inspiring to watch how our writers collaborate.”
It’s really fun to watch the clash of art and tech and business in these wonderful personalities inhabited the whole gaming culture. So I was just wondering if you could each talk about like your role in that.
Imani: “I didn’t know much about the world, but it’s really cool to play someone who portrays the one that’s very passionate about the world where she just loves nothing more than gaming. She plays all day at work. It’s literally her job. And then she goes home and she plays Mythic Quest. So it’s really cool to portray her well like that and also work with Ashley. But she was very much in the world of gaming and Ubisoft being very hands on and on set with Jason and Danielle. So I’m learning a lot. Being able to pick their brains. And if we have any questions that pop up like they actually track our eyeballs, that is a fun fact that I learned on set.”
Jessie: “I didn’t know much, but I was really lucky to work with Jason and Danielle from Ubisoft. I was curious if there was a Joe in their offices and was shocked to hear that there were people like that and unapologetically trying to get as much power as possible. Women who love having an ego and enjoy following their dreams. And I was just really thrilled to get to bring that to light.”
Danny: “I love videogames. I would play Zelda and I want to live in that world. You know, I wish I could just sit there and live in Hyrule. But I didn’t know how much went into the creation of videogames. And for my character, I play the head of monetization. I didn’t know anything about that. I also didn’t know about the tension of micro-transactions and Lootcrates and how that brings up a visceral response. And so that was kind of new and interesting for me to learn. I actually met with the head of monetization. He was always great about letting me talk and ask questions about how that works. And especially for Brad is a fun character to play because I get to operate as the sort of silo where I’m walking around bouncing off people. But there is this tension between creative and business. But ultimately, we have to work together to build this product, you know. And now I know how important it is because my son will pick up my phone and be like, ‘can I get this new skin for $4.99 dad?’ most times now.”
How did you all react when you first seen the trailer at E3 2019 since this was the first time that a television show trailer was shown at E3?
Imani: “Well we’ve been sitting on this project for over a year now. So now we’re moving into the space where it’s being released into the world. So it’s super exciting for us because we’ve been out having to keep a secret for so long and not being able to talk about this wonderful project that we got to be a part of. So now now that we get to talk about it openly, it’s it’s it’s super thrilling.”
Danny: “it was awesome to see and we didn’t get to see a lot of it before E3 2019. And this is a new experience for me to be on a streaming service where everything comes out at once. And so all the trailers and everything, it’s been it’s been a little while. So it’s like new for us to see it. We didn’t get to see a lot of the VFX, all the stuff that Ubisoft’s doing too. So we loved that it premiered on the biggest gaming convention of the world last year and that it was viewed by the millions that were in attendance.”
Imani on the toxic side of the video game community and Dana’s obsticles
Imani: “I think we do a really great job at touching on how the obstacles that comes with being a woman and gaining territory only way. So for Dana, she’s it very much in love with gaming. And as she finally lands something that she sees herself excelling in the streaming world. And then for that to be taken away, and and people calling her out and saying that she’s big and she’s not a true gamer when that’s all she wants to do. And it’s really cool that we get to highlight that. And I think it will follow Dana because she’s in her early 20’s and she’s trying to figure out exactly where her footing is in the company. And she’s going to try new things and she’s going to fail and she’s going to try to fit this. So that’s was really fun. Like with Danning saying it’s a story about the characters that happens to be in this video gaming world.”
Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com
Power con 2020 exclusives teasers
Mezco toyz one 12th collective Thanos
New York Premiere Celebrating ABC’s New Drama ‘FOR LIFE’ EP’D by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson
The red carpet was held at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York, followed by a screening, panel discussion and a cocktail reception featuring DJ Max October. Attendees included executive producers Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, attorney Isaac Wright Jr. (“For Life” is inspired by Wright’s story), Hank Steinberg, Doug Robinson and Alison Greenspan, along with many of the series’ talented ensemble: Nicholas Pinnock, Joy Bryant, Tyla Harris, Mary Stuart Masterson, Boris McGiver, Timothy Busfield, Glenn Fleshler and Dorian Missick.
The panel discussion, moderated by CNN Anchor and #cut50 Co-Founder Van Jones, sparked a powerful conversation with the cast and executive producers around criminal justice reform and how Isaac Wright Jr.’s insurmountable story inspired the series. When asked how this project came to fruition, 50 Cent said, “Isaac was pitching a movie idea and I was like yeah, but it’s not a movie. It’s a TV show because it would only allow me two hours to tell the story and the story is too now, too current to what’s going on, so I put the team together and made it happen.”
Wright Jr. shared, “Coming up a few decades later to where I’m at today, the thing that stands out for me the most is the thing that hurt me the most and that was when I came home I knew that I was leaving thousands of people behind that did not have the divine gift that I’ve had and so now with this show, I became millions of people at the same time. And so this show is a representation of the inspiration and the hope that I had, that I now can give to billions all at once. … I think more than anything else, it epitomizes not only where I came from, but where I am, and what I would like to devote for the rest of my life to the general public and that is health, hope and inspiration.”
Louis Reed (#cut50 National Organizer) also weighed in, “Isaac’s story is something that I’m all too familiar with and so, while I was absolutely guilty of what I was convicted of, however there are hundreds of thousands of people in the United States of America who have genius that is languishing in our state and federal prisons who were not guilty of the things by which they were convicted of. And I just want to say this. Yesterday, there was something poignant that happened during the State of the Union. The entire chamber stood up when Trump started talking about criminal justice reform. And in my mind, that is how America is supposed to be standing up for people like Isaac people, such as myself and people such as Kenneth Richardson. So again, big shout out the 50 Cent.”
Other notable attendees included: Mary Ann Wolf (VP of Current Programming, ABC), Lainie Gallers (VP of Network Drama, ABC), Jeff Frost (President, Sony Pictures Television), Jason Clodfelter (Co-President at Sony Pictures Television), Lauren Stein (EVP, Drama Development at Sony Pictures Television), Andrew Plotkin (SVP, Drama Development at Sony Pictures Television), CNN Anchor and #cut50 Co-Founder Van Jones, #cut50 National Organizer Louis Reed, COMPLEX editor-in-chief Damien Scott, Byron Pitts (ABC Nightline), Michael Blake (Assemblyman, Advocate for Criminal Justice Reform in NY), Kenneth Richardson (#FirstStepAct and #cut50 beneficiary) and Tom Murro (TV Personality).
About FOR LIFE
Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson executive produces this fictional serialized legal and family drama. “For Life,” inspired by the life of Isaac Wright Jr., is about prisoner Aaron Wallace (Nicholas Pinnock), who becomes a lawyer, litigating cases for other inmates while fighting to overturn his own life sentence for a crime he didn’t commit. His quest for freedom is driven by his desperate desire to get back to the family he loves – his estranged wife (Joy Bryant) and daughter (Tyla Harris) – and reclaim the life that was stolen from him. “For Life” will also, through the window of his ferocious struggle and his complicated relationship with a progressive female prison warden (Indira Varma), examine the flaws and challenges in our penal and legal systems.
The series is from Hank Steinberg, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson via G-Unit Film & Television, Doug Robinson and Alison Greenspan of Doug Robinson Productions and Isaac Wright Jr. The pilot is directed and executive produced by George Tillman Jr. (“The Hate U Give”). “For Life” is a co-production of Sony Pictures Television Inc. and ABC Studios. ABC Studios is a part of Disney Television Studios, a collection of studios comprised of 20th Century Fox Television, ABC Studios and Fox 21 Television Studios.P
About COMPLEX NETWORKS:
Complex Networks, formed from the acquisition of Complex Media Inc. through a joint venture by Verizon and Hearst, is a global lifestyle brand and media company and one of the most influential voices in popular culture today. Complex Networks’ digital channels, which include Complex, First We Feast, Pigeons & Planes, Sole Collector and more, is a Top 10 publisher in the U.S. for social engagement on channels like Facebook and YouTube. A diversified and profitable media business with premium distribution partners such as Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV, Roku, and iFlix, Complex Networks’ original content exemplifies convergence culture, exploring topics that span across popular culture from music to movies, sports to video games, fashion to food.
Complex Networks develops and distributes original programming for its channels and through output deals with premium distributors. The company cultivates content that spans across popular culture from music to movies, sports to video games, fashion to food, reaching the coveted 18-24-year-old male audience. In 2016, the company launched ComplexCon in Long Beach, California, to bring the “Internet to life.” The annual event attracts over 200 culture-shifting brands and over 60,000 digitally savvy attendees to the two-day cultural festival.
About #CUT50:
#cut50, an initiative of The Dream Corps, is a national bipartisan effort to smartly and safely reduce America’s incarcerated population by 50 percent over the next 10 years. #cut50 uniquely connects “ground up” ability to educate and mobilize people with “grasstops” media and influencer reach, filling the gap between the expertise and work of leading criminal justice reform organizations and top-tier media and influencers. By humanizing the narrative and pursuing transformative legislation, #cut50 is uniting the political machine of Washington DC, the financial reach of Wall Street, the innovation of Silicon Valley, and the cultural dominance of Hollywood to roll back the incarceration industry.