2017

What happens when you mix Mortal Combat with “Cybertronian citizens”? You get Transformers: Forged to Fight. As a personal protégé to Optimus Prime, I take my Transformers very seriously. When I hear that another Transformers game is being released, I’m very skeptical.  Let’s start with the elephant in the room. There have been a NUMBER […]

The post Transformers: Forged to Fight- Is it worth it? appeared first on TheBlackGeeks.

Fair warning: this recap includes spoilers for The Expanse that will hijack your shipment of relief goods—don’t say we didn’t warn you ahead of time!

Before the start of “The Weeping Somnambulist”—an episode title clearly in honor of International Poetry Day—things at Tycho station had completely unraveled, Holden (Steven Strait) and the crew found their next mission in Dr. Meng (Terry Chen), and Sergeant Draper (Frankie Adams) was foisted with the task of testifying the false narrative that Mars had shot first on Ganymede. Who knows whether that could stave off war.

She got her chance, though: Draper went to earth, hand held firmly by a minder named Martens who stopped her from leaving her purple heart behind and made it clear how much was riding on her speech. Gotta keep up appearances and sell the image and all. Jacked full of medicine that will help her Martian body adjust to Earth’s atmosphere, she purposefully left her sunglasses behind. Was she trying to punish herself? Grinding against survivor’s guilt? Even after her initial and secondary testimony, she tested her fortitude against the sunshine blazing through the windows.

Of course, Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo) and Errinwright (Shawn Doyle) traded barbs before the UN/Martian summit, arguing whether Eros really met its end when it crashed into Venus. Errinwright swore that he’d share any information he got with her—presumably bursting into sinister laughter immediately after leaving the room because everyone knows what a load that was. The good news is that Avasarala has her own source of information: a cocky, philosophizing scientist on Colonel Janus’ (Conrad Pia) mission to Venus aboard the Arboghast. Their ship was heavily shadowed by the Mars contingent there, but they ultimately discovered something shocking in the Eros crater: life in an environment that melts lead. The Protomolecule truly is a game-changer.

Draper’s testimony went according to plan, setting up the crew from Mars to negotiate reparations for the destruction on Ganymede and the disruption of the farming routes, but they placed the full blame of the incident on Private Travis (Mpho Koaho) and his apparent need to prove himself as a Martian. This left Draper scrambling, livid, fuming with her lonely medal on the desert of her uniform. She was aching for another chance to speak the truth, and Avasarala obliged.

Her suspicion couldn’t be tamed. It led to two of the most Yas Queen Avasarala moments of the entire season.

1. Her scowling “Wherever I goddamn liiiiiiiiike.”
2. “Whoever the fuck you are, stand down and let her speak.”

Frozen perfection. Her owning other people who think they’re in charge has become a highlight of each episode.

She questioned Draper about Travis, flustering her to the point of telling the truth about the monster without the vac suit, but after asking what made him open fire, she reverted back to her original story about Travis (despite no one in that room believing her anymore).

Meanwhile, Holden and Amos (Wes Chatham) hijacked a cargo ship called The Somnambulist, operated by Melissa Suputayaporn (Valerie Buhagiar) and her husband Suputayaporn (Peter Williams) in order to use it as cover to get down to Ganymede.

Meng tried to send a message but was blocked, so he used his knowledge in order to get information from Amos about what they were really doing, why they were hunting down Dr. Strickland, and what the Protomolecule has to do with all of it. They gave him what he wanted, but it led to more questions than answers. What does his daughter Mei have that Strickland wants? Does it have something to do with her genetic disorder, Myers-Skelton Premature Immunosenescence? If so, what’s the connection between the disease and the Protomolecule?

Their plan was to get through to the docking station undetected while Alex (Cas Anvar) cooled his heels behind one of the nearby moons, waiting as a backup to swoop in and save them if things went sideways.

And wouldn’t you know it, things went sideways. The cargo ship (which only wanted to deliver some much-needed supplies to the poor people of Ganymede!) was boarded by more hostiles (that’s two hijackings in as many days), which led to a sloppy firefight and Suputayaporn’s death. Holden’s mission began in earnest while Melissa wailed in mourning.

No, they were not off to a good start.

SOME STRAY THOUGHTS:

• Holden let Melissa get behind him during his cargo sweep. Not great tactics there, captain.
• Can you do a mission without lasagna?
• Apparently Baltimore is under heavy construction.

What do you think will happen next week? Is war still on the table? Let us know in the comments below.

Images: NBC/SyFy

Take a breather from whatever you’re doing–it’s TV-Cap time! Today’s roundup of the latest and greatest in television news has information about a three-parter in the next series of Doctor Who, trailers for season three of Fargo, some Captain Planet fun, and more.

Going Long. The Monks appeared in the trailer for series 10 of Doctor Who, premiering on BBC America on April 15, and it turns out they’ll be in a key arc. Show writer Toby Whithouse told Digital Spy they’ll be in a three-parter in the upcoming series, episodes six through eight, to be exact. Whithouse, Steven Moffat, and Peter Harness each wrote one of the three episodes. We don’t have three-parters often in Doctor Who, and it’s interesting that different writers are working on the arc. Get more information on the history of multi-episode arcs from Kyle Anderson here at Nerdist.

Cut Off One Head… Because you can’t keep an evil organization down in a fictional setting, Hydra is coming back to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (The group is returning in Framework, so it’s a loophole.) We get to see a look at how Hydra has taken over in the context of the virtual world, and we get some rad promotional Hydra propaganda posters because of it. You can see a couple above and a whole gallery of them at Facebook. [CBR, Images: ABC]

Music and Possibilities. Speaking of Marvel, let’s jump over to Netflix and touch on a couple of Iron Fist topics. First of all, thanks to CBR for a the heads-up that the soundtrack for the Netflix series is available for purchase on iTunes. Secondly, can you imagine what Iron Fist would have been like with someone other than Finn Jones in the lead? Specifically, with an Asian American actor in the lead? I’m sure it’s crossed your mind. Lewis Tan was in the running (he played Zhou Cheng in an episode of the series instead), and Vulture has an interview with him about the audition process and more. Read it here.

Meet the Presidents. History is working on a new anthology series that will focus on seeing United States history through the eyes of its presidents. The Commanders would feature the likes of Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and more and would bring a different perspective to key events in country’s history. Learn more at Entertainment Weekly.

Introductions and a Hint. FX’s Fargo is coming back with season three on April 19. A few short (as in 15-30 seconds) teasers have been dropping in preparation for the new episodes. Separately, they’re brief glimpses into the world. But put them together and you might find some clues. The latest one, “Missed Call,” is chilling. Watch it above–it’s the first video–then jump forward to watch a cast spotlight introducing the new characters. To get your full Fargo fix, you can visit FX on YouTube to watch all the promos released so far. Let me know in the comments if you have any theories about season three. [/Film]

Digitally Yours. If you’ve been longing to have Captain Planet in your life, Cartoon Network is here to help. They’re making all seasons of Captain Planet and the Planeteers, The New Adventures of Captain Planet, and The All New Adventures of Captain Planet available for digital download, and it’s the first time that’s been an option for the animated show from the ’90s. The series will arrive to iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, and other digital retailers on April 10. [Image: Cartoon Network]

Dressing for the Occasion. What happens when Bryan Cranston stops by The Late Show dressed as the Red Ranger? The above interview. My words don’t do it justice. [Nerdist]

Writer Time. Make your ears happy today by listening to the latest episode of The Writers Panel; it features Giana Fattore, Kathleen Robertson, and Courtney Lilly.

Pulling Rank. The Flash and Supergirl met last night in a musical crossover that was nothing short of charming and delightful. They were whammied by the Music Meister and an episode with song and dance ensued. How did the songs of “Duet” do? Sydney Bucksbaum has them ranked for you right this way.

What do you think about having a longer arc in Doctor Who or in any TV series? Tell me your thoughts on the subject in the comments.

Featured Image: BBC

If you’re reading this, you’re probably at least a little interested in getting your finances in order. Maybe you’ve even tried! Maybe you’ve read a bunch of advice, but nothing seems to work for you. If that sounds familiar, the solution might not be to find more advice. Instead, focus on finding advice that speaks…

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