(no subject)

1. Legion is very trippy series. Although parts of it, I love. They do this whole bit about insanity and what a delusion is. How it starts as a bad idea, becomes contagious, then slowly grows into insanity.

Also an off-shoot, explains how what is more frightening is not fear but the "frightened", depicting how people really bad decisions when frightened. (I'd go further and say they make really bad decisions when pissed off.)

Actually, I think you should not make any decisions under the following circumstances, because if you do they will be insane and you will hurt someone including yourself:

* Enraged or Extremely Pissed Off
* Frustrated
* Irritated
* Scared or Anxious
* Depressed

Just don't do anything when you feel this way. Sit still. Meditate. And let the thoughts roll out of the brain.

In Legion? He basically found the delusion and gave it a choice, in a rather amusing sequence.
"I really don't have the time or energy to deal with you right now. So, I'm giving you an option. Just go away."

Delusion -- eh, no. I'll attack you.

Legion: Okay fine. (He seals him inside a jar.) Just remember, I did give you the opportunity to go away on your own. This is on you.

[It's not the easiest show in the world to follow. Basically makes Twin Peaks seem rather simple in comparison. But at times rather worth it and hilarious. Also it makes a few profound points about our society.]

2. Once Upon a Time Series Finale -- eh, this is a rather good example of a tv show that should have been cancelled and went on a wee bit too long, until it sort of ate its own tail.

If you saw last season's "Season Finale"? Stick with that and skip this one. It made more sense, and worked. This...well, at the end, I thought, so, uhm, Regina just turned "Storybrook" into Walt Disney World - except in Maine and without tourists? Alrighty then. Just hope you don't actually do it, because I'd rather have the national forest in Maine.

The plot? Eh, too convoluted to explain. Let's just say that in order to be redeemed, finally, Rumplestilskin has to give his heart to Hook2 or Wishverse version of Hook (who'd become his best friend and was the father of the Wishverse version of Alice in Wonderland), effectively killing himself and his alter ego. (Don't ask me how that killed both of them, no clue.) Hook2 needed a replacement heart, because someone cursed his original heart so that whenever he came into contact with his daughter, Alice, he'd start to die. Like I said? Convoluted.

Television is insane. Stories are cancelled based not on whether they've completed their arc or the writers have completed the tale at hand but on whether a randomly selected group of people choose to watch it. And the random group of people are selected by marketing folks based on illogical criteria.

I find it annoying. No wonder people call it the idiot tube or boob tube. So much of the content on television is well...

Examples of smart writers who ended their series, regardless of what the stupid network wanted:

* Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Whedon decided to end it, not UPN, actually Whedon and Gellar did.)
* Lost
* Battle Star Galatica v.2
* Game of Thrones
* Sherlock
* Cheers and Fraiser (I think were writer choices)
* Vampire Diaries was a writer choice
* Smallville -- writer choice

Many of these, basically everything after GoT on that list, went on too long and should have been ended much much sooner.

3. Station 19 -- it got renewed, which is a good thing, because it ended on a massive cliff-hanger. (I hate it when television series end on cliff-hangers. This is stupid. For one thing, by the time the series returns the audience will have forgotten most of it -- unless they are a devoted fan, most aren't. Also what if you get cancelled? Then you've irritated your audience. Dumb. Don't do this.)

It was okay. I'm sticking with it, but don't feel an overwhelming desire to rec it. It's like Grey's Anatomy, except in a Fire House. Personally, I think Tim Minear's 9-1-1 is better.

4. Grey's Anatomy -- season finale. Hmmm. I think they are writing out a lot of characters and writing in a character that I've mixed feelings about. It appears Alex and Joe are being written out -- happily, but still. While they are writing Teddy back in...which, hmmm...I like the character but she also irritates me. So on the fence.

Oh well, at least I got rid of the sanctimonious April and the whiny Arizona...both were written off with happily ever afters. Hopefully never to be seen again, and only referred to in passing.

Also, are we writing off Baily for a bit or just giving her a lesser role? She's basically doing double duty on two television series...so...

At any rate? I really liked this episode. One of the better season finales, it was funny, light-hearted and moving. Not easy to pull off, particularly for a series on its 15th season. I think it's beating Supernatural, just barely, and it's a better written series, so kudos. Not to mention higher in the ratings and with a higher production value. A diverse and female centric cast. Hee Hee Hee.

5. Former college roommate made a spreadsheet of where all the marvel flicks fall and what order to watch them in. LOL! We discussed. For the most part we're in agreement, except I don't think The Incredible Hulk film with Edward Norton should be included, and I don't think it is necessary to see Spiderman: Homecoming prior to seeing Infinity War. The end credit bit isn't that big a clue.

If you want to see Avengers Infinity War and have not seen any of the other films, here's a listing of the ones you need to see and the order to see them in. By the way, don't bother seeing Avenger's Infinity War without seeing these films or you will be hopelessly lost. While you don't need to see all fifteen Marvel flicks, you do need to see at least five - six of them.

1. Iron Man 1 (establishes who Tony Stark is)
2. Avengers 1 (establishes the team)
3. Age of Ultron - Avengers - beginning of the Rift (unfortunately, you need to see this or you won't understand who the Vision is or his relationship with Wanda, or why Tony Stark wants to put the Accords in place)
4. Captain America Civil War -- the big rift in the team and why it happens, why Cap is in Wakanda and no longer speaking to Stark. Also why Hawkeye and Ant Man are in protective custody, and Black Widow is with Cap.
5. Thor Raganorack -- where Thor and Hulk have been, also Thanos pops up at the end of it. (although this isn't absolutely necessary -- but it does help establish Thor and Hulk's motivation)
6. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 -- introduces this whole team, the villian of Infinity War, and their motivations. (I'd say you might want to catch Guardians II but not absolutely necessary, any more than Captain America - Winter Solider is absolutely necessary.)

You can pretty much skip Thor 1 and 2, Iron Man 2 and 3, actually you might be able to skip Iron Man 1 if you want to and go straight to The Avengers. I'd make a point of seeing "Black Panther" just because it's an awesome movie and the best of the bunch, also it stands on its own, but it's not necessary to understand Infinity War, and if it's the only Marvel film you saw prior to Infinity War -- you are going to despise Infinity War nor will Infinity War make much sense.

This is harder than Star Wars. I told the woman online that Avenger's Infinity War is basically like Last Jedi, if you haven't been following the other films, haven't seen them, and aren't a fan, you will be lost. It's a serial franchise with a huge fan base. It doesn't care about the casual viewers.

Although that said? You only really need to see four films to understand Last Jedi. (Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Force Awakens. You can skip the prequels completely, also you can skip over Rogue One. So that's easier.)

6. Every time I get involved with fandoms despite what the fandom is about, I invariably start playing defense attorney and arguing with the idiotic fans regarding characteers.. Fans can be weirdly morally superior and ahem hypocritical regarding their favorite and least favorite characters. I wish they'd just be honest about it. "I hate this character because they remind me of someone who irritates me in my own life and the things they did trigger me and I just can't let it go." (That makes sense to me. We're all human. Some characters just frigging piss us off, others we want to shower with love.) As opposed to, this character is unforgivable because they drugged another character twenty some years ago. (Regardless of what has happened in the intervening years to redeem them.)

Moral superiority over fictional characters tends to bring out the nasty legal bitch in me. I start hunting for ways to prove the person is a hypocritical asshole, which of course they are. It's practically impossible to be morally superior about fictional characters and stories without being a hypocritical asshole. We've all done it. Myself included. I pray not that often.