MEDIA

The Bad Batch – Season 3, Episodes 13–14

• Both E13 – Into the Breach and E14 – Flash Strike are setups for the finale in E15 this coming week. There’s been little movement in the story, with mostly action to position the characters. I’ve really enjoyed watching Omega influence others around here as the heart of the series and beyond her McGuffin plot status. To me, Omega is a subtle version of the Chosen One template for Anakin Skywalker. She helps people be better versions of themselves instead of being the one person who has to go around doing all the savior work.

Resident Alien – Season 3, Wrapup (episodes 3-8)

• I’ve watched all of S3, and it’s been enjoyable. Though the cliffhanger ending of the season felt contrived to force a renewal through a kind of late-season bait and switch, if there’s a season four, I will watch it for the characters. I’m glad that they were able to reunite Harry and Bridget, and I hope to see Bridget become more of their own person. I’m also glad that we get more recurring characters and alien abduction drama in the open with the simple and powerful heroics of a mother and her new friend. One of the sweetest moments was between the Alien Tracker (nice to see the actor return and do more since Millennium) and Liz (one of my favorite characters on the show as a hero). Liz is such a day-in and day-out hero of the town.

X-Men ’97 – Season 1, Episodes 6–7

• E6 – Lifedeath Part 2: We get to see how Storm overcomes her external and internal fears, and how Charles Xavier deals with his starcrossed love story because of his stronger love for his children. Both are great ways to show character advancement through shifts in values between others and within oneself. Catch out the transformation here of one of the greatest X-Men, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is77eF6Qq0Q
• E7 – Bright Eyes: We share a story of grief and dark revelations with a new Big Bad. And also the continued self-deception of who we are in Sunspot’s storyline. One of the best lines from Morph, “Is this who we are now?” after Rogue gives into her pain and murders an important suspect. As the X-Men keep coming up empty, it forces the hand of the enemy to enact their plan earlier than desired.

Invincible – Season 1

• After initially being turned off from watching the hyper-violent show, I’ve returned, and I’m glad. It has a lot to say about superheroes in our world. And yes, acknowledging the violence is part of that. It’s definitely closer to The Boys in tone than the typical DC or Marvel shows. It will be interesting to see where the show goes in season 2, with the principal antagonist gone from Earth.

GAMES

Bump in the Dark

• Session 1: We started play with a scenario about a horror movie being filmed in our town of Last Pine. One of the PCs is a fan of the series, so we visit and learn that there may be a curse. Hijinks ensue as the group attempts to confront the monster and save the crew and town from whatever’s going on.

The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen

• I’m making my way through the text. It’s an interesting read. I don’t know that I have the capability to do competitive big-fish storytelling, so I doubt I would play the game.

Tomb Raider [playtesting as a player]

• Session 0: We created our team (we chose the Raiders of the New Age) and characters (playbooks of Hunter, Companion, and Crafter). I appreciate that our characters are tightly knit with each other for something that may be rooted in pulp action. Given that the game is designed by Rae Nedjadi, I believe we are going to enjoy dealing with the emotional rollercoaster of decisions while adventuring and stopping baddies.

Urban Shadows

• In session 2 of an Urban Shadows series, I and another player join up as cameo players with the Tainted and the Gargoyle. We learn that the Oracle was friend-napped by the local werewolf pack, who would prefer he share visions with them instead of another. On our way to rescue the missing Oracle, we stop by where the pack normally hangs out, sneak around, and learn the Oracle’s not there. The Oracle is at a bar, and the Tainted appears to handle a deal between the werewolves and the Oracle, but it doesn’t go as planned. Meanwhile, back at the pack hangout, the wolves don’t take kindly to our visit, and a fight breaks out. It goes badly for most of us, and hopefully the Aware gets away.

NEXT STEPS

Make it through the end of the semester.

FEEDBACK

Let me know what you think. Was this helpful or insightful?