Mandy Patinkin as Saul Berenson and Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison in ‘Homeland’ Season 4, Episode 12 (Photo: David Bloomer / SHOWTIME)
Miranda Otto, Sebastian Koch, Alexander Fehling, and Sarah Sokolovic have signed on as Homeland series regulars on the critically acclaimed drama’s fifth season. The four new cast members will start work on Showtime’s Homeland this month in Berlin and, according to the network, it will be the first series completely shot in Germany.
Returning Homeland cast members include Claire Danes, Rupert Friend, F. Murray Abraham, and Mandy Patinkin. Along with announcing the new regulars on the series, Showtime released brief character descriptions:
– OTTO DÜRING (Sebastian Koch), a German philanthropist and Carrie’s (Danes) boss.
– ALLISON CARR (Miranda Otto), the current Berlin Chief of Station, working directly under Saul Berenson (Patinkin).
– LAURA SUTTON (Sarah Sokolovic), an American journalist in Berlin who works for the Düring Foundation.
– JONAS HAPPICH (Alexander Fehling), legal counsel for the Düring Foundation and Carrie’s boyfriend.
The Season Five Plot:
Season five will pick up two years after Carrie Mathison’s (Danes) ill-fated tenure as Islamabad station chief. Struggling to reconcile her guilt and disillusionment with years of working on the front lines in the “war on terror,” Carrie finds herself in a self-imposed exile in Berlin, estranged from the CIA and working for a private security firm.
Warner Bros Pictures confirmed Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne will star in J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them directed by Harry Potter helmer David Yates from a script by Rowling. Rowling, Harry Potter producer David Heyman, Harry Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves, and Harry Potter executive producer Lionel Wigram are producing the film.
Commenting on the casting of Redmayne, director Yates said, “Eddie is a fearless actor, brimming with invention, wit, and humanity. I couldn’t be more excited about the prospect of working with him as we start this new adventure in J.K. Rowling’s wonderful world, and I know she feels the same way.”
“Eddie Redmayne has emerged as one of today’s most extraordinarily talented and acclaimed actors,” stated Greg Silverman, President of Creative Development and Worldwide Production, Warner Bros. Pictures. “We are thrilled to welcome him into J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, where we know he will deliver a remarkable performance as Newt Scamander, the central character in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will open in 2D, 3D and IMAX on November 18, 2016.
The Book’s Synopsis [Courtesy of Bloomsbury Publishing]:
As featured in the first year set texts reading list in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is an extensive introduction to the magical beasts that exist in the magical, non-Muggle world. Some of the animals featured in the A-Z you will have already met in the existing Harry Potter books: for example Hippogriff, Flobberworm, Kappa – others you certainly won’t: read on to find out exactly what a Chizpurfle is, or why one should always beware of the sinister Lethifold… As Albus Dumbledore says in his introduction, this set textbook by Newt Scamander has given the perfect grounding to many a Hogwarts student.
It will be helpful to all Muggles out there too… On reading the book, you will also find that Harry, Ron and (in one instance) Hermione – couldn’t resist graffiting the book and adding their own hand-written opinions.
Lionsgate’s released a new poster for the final film of The Hunger Games franchise, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, which is opening in theaters on November 20, 2015. The new poster features a statue of President Snow that’s been destroyed along with a spray painted Mockingjay symbol. The poster was accompanied by this warning:
“President Snow’s reign will soon know its end… Panem will turn its face to the warming glow of a brighter future only after we turn our weapons to the Capitol.
Take a stand. #Unite
Like the monuments to his regime’s excess, the capitol will soon crumble. And in its place the Mockingjay will stand.”
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 Plot:
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 now brings the franchise to its powerful fourth chapter in which Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) now fully realizes the stakes are no longer just for survival — they are for the future.
With the nation of Panem in a full scale war, Katniss confronts President Snow (Donald Sutherland) in the final showdown. Teamed with a group of her closest friends – including Gale (Liam Hemsworth), Finnick (Sam Claflin), and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) – Katniss goes off on a mission with the unit from District 13 as they risk their lives to stage an assassination attempt on President Snow who has become increasingly obsessed with destroying her. The mortal traps, enemies, and moral choices that await Katniss will challenge her more than any arena she faced in The Hunger Games.
Disney Channel’s set a July 31, 2015 premiere date for the original movie Descendants and the comedy series Bunk’d. Descendants, starring Dove Cameron, Cameron Boyce, Booboo Stewart, and Sofia Carson, will air at 8pm ET/PT followed immediately by Bunk’d‘s first episode.
Descendants focuses on the teenage children of Disney villains Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Cruella de Vil, and Jafar. Kristin Chenoweth plays Maleficent, Maz Jobrani is Jafar, Kathy Najimy stars as the Evil Queen, and Wendy Raquel Robinson is Cruella de Vil. High School Musical‘s Kenny Ortega choreographed and directed the music-driven movie from a script by Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott.
The Plot: The story, set in the idyllic kingdom of Auradon, playfully presents the unexpected possibilities of what happens after the “happily ever after.” As it unfolds, Ben, the benevolent teenage son of the King and Queen (Beast and Belle from Beauty and the Beast), is poised to take the throne.
His first proclamation is to offer a chance at redemption to Mal, Evie, Carlos and Jay, the trouble-making offspring of Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Cruella de Vil and Jafar, who have all been sequestered on the forbidden Isle of the Lost for 20 years. These villainous descendants are allowed into Auradon for the first time to attend prep school alongside the teenage progeny of Fairy Godmother, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Mulan. Only time will tell if these evil teens follow in the footsteps of their wicked parents.
As these sons and daughters of evil meet the children of goodness, their story incorporates empowering themes about self-confidence, finding the beauty within, freedom of choice, personal responsibility, teamwork, justice, and empathy.
Paramount Pictures unveiled two new clips for the sci-fi action film Terminator Genisys, the fifth film of the Terminator franchise. Clip #1 finds Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) freaking out when he meets a familiar Terminator. Clip #2 involves a run-in with the T-1000 in 1984. Directed by Alan Taylor, Terminator Genisys‘ cast includes Emilia Clarke, Jason Clarke, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Terminator Genisys opens in theaters on July 1, 2015.
The Plot:
When John Connor (Jason Clarke), leader of the human resistance, sends Sgt. Kyle Reese (Courtney) back to 1984 to protect Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) and safeguard the future, an unexpected turn of events creates a fractured timeline. Now, Sgt. Reese finds himself in a new and unfamiliar version of the past, where he is faced with unlikely allies, including the Guardian (Schwarzenegger), dangerous new enemies, and an unexpected new mission: To reset the future…
Aline Elasmar, Jeffery Bowyer-Chapman, Constance Zimmer, Craig Bierko, Shiri Appleby, and Josh Kelly in ‘UnREAL’ (Photo by Joseph Viles / Copyright 2015)
The new Lifetime series UnREAL goes behind the scenes of a reality TV dating show, along the lines of The Bachelor. Constance Zimmer plays the cutthroat producer Quinn. Shiri Appleby plays Rachel, the field producer reluctantly coming back to be Quinn’s big gun to manipulate the contestants into the drama she wants.
UnREAL was created by Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, who sold the pilot based on her SXSW-winning short film Sequin Raze. Lifetime paired her up with Marti Noxon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) to take UnREAL to series. We spoke with Shapiro and Noxon after their panel for the Television Critics Association in January. UnREAL premieres June 1, 2015 and airs Mondays at 10pm ET/PT on Lifetime.
So you cast the two most beautiful women as the producers, not the contestants. Did that make it hard to then cast the contestants?
Sarah Gertrude Shapiro: [Laughs] “It’s very much a different kind of beauty, I think. You know, the show talks a lot about beauty and women’s body image and women’s image of themself. We were just talking about this. Rachel and Quinn characters both perceive themselves as workers, not as wifeys or contestants. It’s just a very different kind of beauty but I agree, they’re very beautiful.”
Did you have experience in the reality world where you knew there was this drama behind the scenes?
Sarah Gertrude Shapiro: “We know, I think, just in general, that there’s drama behind the scenes in almost every profession but especially in Hollywood. So it wasn’t reality specific, but I think we draw on a large experience in the industry in general.”
Marti Noxon: “Yeah, I’ve never worked in reality, but I know a lot of people who have and different stories that I’ve been told. So there are some things that are specific to the unscripted world, like trying to get certain things. There’s a great bit on This American Life, a woman talking about working on a show where she was supposed to make two people fall in love. That was what the producers wanted and it was her job to set up the circumstances to make that happen. And I remembered that when we were talking.
A lot of times the job in ‘unscripted’ is to make what the upper management has decided has to happen. You have to sort of make the scripted happen anyway. So that to me is fascinating, that job.”
This sort of reality TV has been around for about 15 years now. Had you thought about doing a show like UnREAL much earlier?
Sarah Gertrude Shapiro: “It’s funny, we do get the response often, ‘Why hasn’t anyone done this before?’ I think that again, for us, really the key to that is this is a character drama. There’s something like Burning Love which is a pure satire of reality TV. And it’s relevant and it’s in the zeitgeist, but it’s just really a world for us to have a show. So I hadn’t particularly thought about it before, but I know it’s been on people’s minds.”
Marti Noxon: “I think there have been other attempts. There’s always that show that you think, ‘That should really happen. Why isn’t anyone doing a fixer show, the person who comes in and cleans up political messes?’ Well, Shonda nailed it, or House of Lies or Ray Donovan but there were those scripts going around for years. I feel like we just got lucky because the two of us really had a vision and Lifetime was really excited by Sarah’s short. It’s really helpful when you have someone like Sarah’s material because you have a benchmark to keep going back to and saying, ‘No, this is what we mean.'”
Sarah Gertrude Shapiro: “Actually, the feedback I had gotten when I was pitching was that a lot of people had pitched this before. I think it’s been pitched a lot, but that nobody had found a character to follow into the world. Marti’s saying the fact that we had an artifact and we said no, that’s the character and we’re going to follow her. She could be a lawyer or a doctor or whatever. It’s a girl in her life trying to live. This is her job. I think that was helpful too, being able to say that’s the character we’re going to follow.”
So is UnREAL really just a workplace drama?
Sarah Gertrude Shapiro: “Yeah. Absolutely. I mean, there’s comedy too.”
Marti Noxon: “I think it’s a workplace drama, but we’re also pulling back the curtain on a specific genre. I think that’s very enticing about it because I think there’s a lot of curiosity about what really goes on behind the scenes on those shows. The people who see it who aren’t reality TV watchers are still intrigued.”
Have audiences become savvier to how reality shows are actually made, that they aren’t “real?”
Sarah Gertrude Shapiro: “I would say absolutely there’s a vague notion that they’re probably not totally real.”
Marti Noxon: “It’s kind of like reading the tabloids. Every time I want to just really take a break from reality and yet feel somewhat grounded in it, I only let myself read certain tabloids when I’m on vacation, when my brain can take a rest. There’s fun in kind of toying with the idea that it’s real but some part of, especially me knowing people who are in them sometimes, going, ‘Oh, that’s not real.’ Or I’ll be like, ‘No, pretty close.’ It’s sort of fun to play the game of what’s real and what’s not.”
Sarah Gertrude Shapiro: “There’s a suspension of disbelief that goes into some of those shows too where people like to believe. It’s fun. It’s not what we hang out hat on with our show. Pulling back the curtain on a genre is cool but this is a character drama about people. It’s not just an expose.”
Will they or won’t they is a TV question that goes back way before reality dating shows. Does will they or won’t they get complicated when here’s a dozen or 20 will they or won’t theys on the show?
Sarah Gertrude Shapiro: “What gets complicated for us is that it’s not just the contestants. There are people behind the scenes too.”
Marti Noxon: “It is complicated but that’s part of the reason we love it. Playing will they or won’t they with just one couple now would feel boring, right?”
Constance Zimmer’s character is very into labeling all the women as types. Did you think about types when you wrote the characters?
Sarah Gertrude Shapiro: “Absolutely, and I think that’s something that we abhor but also totally understand that women get put into those boxes.”
Marti Noxon: “You see in the promo that the Mary character says, ‘Oh, I get it. I’m the old desperate one.’ Rachel’s like, ‘No,’ and then you of course see that yes, that’s what she was cast to be. I think there is a sophistication of people who go on these shows and people who watch them knowing, ‘Oh, she’s been cast as the villain and is that a role she’s decided to play? Is it who she really is?’ All that stuff is really fun. What if you think that someone is going to be your bad guy and they end up not conforming to that? Then you’ve got to scramble. What are you going to do? Those layers and layers are super fun to play with.”
Sarah Gertrude Shapiro: “It’s kind of fun too, it’s again a little meta, because the women behind the scenes are also trying to find what box do I fit into? Everyone’s like okay, if she’s a wifey, she’s sweet and cool and I would marry her because she’d do your laundry and she’s cool. Or am I the hot bitch? It’s sort of talking about the damage that does to us as we just put each other in these boxes.”
Did a lot go into designing the control room, down to where technicians had their coffee placed?
Sarah Gertrude Shapiro: “Yes. Absolutely.”
Marti Noxon: “A ton. The set design, it’s funny because it’s deceptive because it looks like you just filmed that. But you kept saying, it was really funny, that we had to keep asking people not to clean the set. People would come in just out of habit and go around and start cleaning up a hot set. You’d be like, ‘No, don’t sweep the set. Do not clean the set. That is actually all set dressing.’ The set was our set plus our set was our set. The lines got very blurry.”
Was it actually a working control room?
Sarah Gertrude Shapiro: “Actually, live feeds come in if we need them to, but it’s a set. What was really great and super fun for everyone, everyone who worked on the show got kind of electrified by the fact that we were making a show about a set. Because they are people who live their lives on set. When they actually clicked into it and they go, ‘Oh,’ and our reference is all around you. Just turn around. Our real craft service is our real craft service. It gets complicated because we have to reset and have continuity so we need things to be sort of in place, but there’s this passion for it because it was talking about a world that is their world, and their romances and their interests.
They know how it is to get four hours of sleep and be on location for two months. So the crew had so much passion for the project because it was about them. We had a funny day too where we had 50 background extras. We would have to actually call out, ‘Raise your hand if you’re background,’ because we could not tell the real crew from the background.”
Marti Noxon: “That’s right, I remember asking a non crew member a question, like, ‘Where’s the ladies room?’ She’s like, ‘I don’t know. I’m not on the crew.'”
Marti, does it trip you out that people still have the soundtrack to “Once More With Feeling” and they’re still listening to the parking ticket song today?
Marti Noxon: “No, not at all. Some day, there’ll be a Dr. Horrible 2 because I also got to be in Dr. Horrible. I’m always like, ‘Can the Parking Ticket Lady be the big bad?’ Wouldn’t that be amazing, a Buffy/Dr. Horrible crossover? But I was a singing newscaster in Dr. Horrible, so I’ll sing for Joss [Whedon] anytime.”
Author E L James announced on Instagram and on her website that a new Fifty Shades book told from troubled billionaire Christian Grey’s point of view will hit stores very soon. Grey, a new version of the story from Fifty Shades of Grey, will be released on June 18, 2015. As Fifty Shades fans might recall, June 18th is Christian’s birthday in the book series.
Commenting on the new book, James said, “This book is dedicated to those readers who asked…and asked…and asked…and asked for this.”
“Christian is a complex character and readers have always been fascinated by his desires and motivations, and his troubled past. Also, as anyone who has ever been in a relationship knows, there are two sides to every story. It’s been a great pleasure to return to my happy place – writing, being with Christian and Ana in their universe, and working with the fantastic team at Vintage,” she added.
The Fifty Shades book series has sold more than 125 million copies and James’ editor Anne Messitte said she was excited to re-open the story from a new point of view. “This book has all the compelling attributes of its predecessors,” said Messitte.
The second film of the Fifty Shades series, Fifty Shades Darker, will hit theaters on February 10, 2017. The third film, Fifty Shades Freed, will arrive on February 9, 2018.
Frances McDormand and Richard Jenkins star in ‘Olive Kitteridge’ (Photo: Jojo Whilden / HBO)
HBO picked up seven Critics’ Choice Television Awards with Olive Kitteridge earning three, Silicon Valley winning two, and Bessie and Nightingale each picking up one during the show held on May 31, 2015 in Los Angeles, CA. Cat Deeley hosted the show which featured memorable speeches by winners Jeffrey Tambor (Transparent), Jonathan Banks (Better Call Saul), and Taraji P. Henson, and one very busy person on the censor button.
Voted on by Broadcast Television Journalists Association members, this year’s Critics’ Choice Television Awards represented the best of TV airing between June 1, 2014 and May 31, 2015.
· Best Actor in a Drama Series: Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul (AMC)
· Best Actress in a Drama Series: Taraji P. Henson, Empire (FOX)
· Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul (AMC)
· Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Lorraine Toussaint, Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)
· Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series: Sam Elliott, Justified (FX)
· Best Comedy Series: Silicon Valley (HBO)
· Best Actor in a Comedy Series: Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent (Amazon)
· Best Actress in a Comedy Series: Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer (Comedy Central)
· Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: T.J. Miller, Silicon Valley (HBO)
· Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Allison Janney, Mom (CBS)
· Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series: Bradley Whitford, Transparent (Amazon)
· Best Movie Made for Television: Bessie (HBO)
· Best Limited Series: Olive Kitteridge (HBO)
· Best Actor in a Movie or Limited Series: David Oyelowo, Nightingale (HBO)
· Best Actress in a Movie or Limited Series: Frances McDormand, Olive Kitteridge (HBO)
· Best Supporting Actor in a Movie or Limited Series: Bill Murray, Olive Kitteridge (HBO)
· Best Supporting Actress in a Movie or Limited Series: Sarah Paulson, American Horror Story: Freak Show (FX)
· Best Reality Series: Shark Tank (ABC)
· Best Reality Competition Series: Face Off (Syfy)
· Best Reality Series Host: Cat Deeley, So You Think You Can Dance (FOX)
· Best Talk Show: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central)
· Best Animated Series: Archer (FX)
· Most Binge-worthy Series: The Walking Dead (AMC)
· Critics’ Choice LOUIS XIII Genius Award: Seth MacFarlane
· Most Exciting New Series: American Crime Story (FX), Aquarius (NBC), Blindspot (NBC), Minority Report (FOX), The Muppets (ABC), Scream Queens (FOX), Supergirl (CBS) and UnREAL (Lifetime)
Kit Harington and Kristofer Hivju in ‘Game of Thrones’ (Photo: Helen Sloan / HBO)
With just three episodes to go in season 5 of Game of Thrones, there should be plenty of developments this week. We know (from the title, among other things) that Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju) are heading beyond the Wall to rescue the Wildlings trapped at Hardhome.
HBO’s synopsis: “Arya (Maisie Williams) makes progress in her training. Sansa (Sophie Turner) confronts an old friend. Cersei (Lena Headey) struggles. Jon travels.” Masters of understatement, whoever writes those lines.
We open in Meereen, inside the big pyramid as Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) and Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) look down on Jorah (Iain Glen) and Tyrion (Peter Dinklage). Of course, Tyrion’s doing most of the talking. (Especially since she won’t let Jorah talk.) Dany wants Tyrion to say something to keep her from having Jorah executed, and of course, Tyrion obliges. “Remove Ser Jorah from the city,” she says, but at least she does spare his life. It’s obvious that his betrayal still hurts her, but not nearly as much as it’s hurt him. He’s clearly miserable to be in her presence while she looks at him with such disdain, knowing at last that she’ll probably never forgive him.
In King’s Landing, Cersei is clearly not thriving in her new surroundings. She’s in prison and looks horrible, but she’s still got her sharp tongue and is still threatening everyone within earshot. Septa Unella (Hannah Waddingham) who will give her water if she’ll but confess, hits her with the ladle when Cersei mouths off. Septa Unella is my new favorite character.
In Braavos, Arya is telling Jaqen (Tom Wlaschiha) a story about a girl named Lana, a fishmonger. This is apparently “the girl’s” new persona, who will make a “good servant for the many-faced God.” Jaquen sends her to the docks to kill a “gambler” who makes his living wagering on other people’s lives. The other trainee assassin does not think Arya is ready to be carrying out covert ops yet.
Qyburn (Anton Lesser) is visiting Cersei, to give her all the news of the court that she’s missing while she’s incarcerated. First, there’s the happy news that she’ll be put on trial for fornication, incest, and the murder of King Robert Baratheon. Oh and Grand Maester Pycelle, who is de facto in charge at the moment, has brought Kevan Lannister back to King’s Landing to serve as the “Hand of the King.” Speaking of the king, Tommen is still on a hunger strike and won’t visit his mother. Qyburn urges confession. His parting words, “Goodbye my queen. The work continues.” One can only assume that means his Dr. Frankenstein-like experiments down in his laboratory. When are we going to find out what the hell he’s making and what its relevance is to Cersei Lannister? Will she live to find out?
Up at Winterfell, Sansa is demanding answers from Theon (still insisting he be called Reek and referring to Theon in the 3rd person), chiefly, why he ratted her out. He tells Sansa about the horrors he’s suffered at the hands of Ramsey and that he was saving her from a similar fate. Sansa is not moved. Reek (Alfie Allen) is full of remorse, and he FINALLY tells her that the boys he murdered back when he was still Theon and life was full of possibilities, were not her little brothers, Bran and Rickon, but two farm boys! Which is bad enough considering their gruesome fate, but Sansa at least is hopeful for her brothers and that her entire family has not, in fact, been wiped out. But we know how dangerous it is for Sansa to have hope.
Roose (Michael McElhatton) and Ramsey (Iwan Rheon) Bolton are still dithering over King Stannis’ imminent arrival. Roose wants to sit safely at Winterfell while the snow piles up around him, but Ramsey, still searching for a way to cement his position as Roose Bolton’s true son and heir (plus he’s an egomaniacal psychopath) asks for twenty “good men” to ride out to meet him. That he thinks twenty men can defeat Stannis Baratheon’s army makes me wonder what he’s really up to.
Back in Meereen, Tyrion, who finally has some wine, and Dany are discussing their horrible families and whether or not she’s worth his service and he’s worth keeping alive. Tyrion tells Dany that not only does he trust Varys (strangely absent for the past three episodes) but that Varys may be the reason Dany wasn’t killed in her crib. By the end of their discussion, Dany says she won’t kill Tyrion and she wants him to advise her. He tells her the first hard truths that anyone has in quite some time.
Jorah, meanwhile, goes back to his “owner” because he wants to fight in the “great pit” to fight in front of the queen again. Ya gotta give it up for his tenacity.
Back to jail where Cersei is bent, but not yet broken. She’s still telling her jailers that she’s going to kill them. No one is buying the act, especially not the Septa who dumps out the water Cersei so desperately wants. When the priestess leaves, we actually get to see Cersei slurping water from the filthy dungeon floor like a dog. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. But we mustn’t ever forget that wounded Cersei is even more deadly than regular Cersei.
At The Wall, Gilly (Hannah Murray) and Sam (John Bradley) are being affectionate when Ollie (Breneck O’Connor) wants to talk about Jon and his trip to try to convince the Free Folk to abandon their settlement and come to Castle Black for safety. Ollie is still very pissed at Jon for leaving to help the people who murdered his parents.
“Try not to worry, Ollie, I’ve been worrying about Jon for years. He always comes back,” Sam tells him. Good lord, if that isn’t a bad omen, I don’t know what is! IS he coming back?! People die on this show! (I’m throwing salt over my shoulder and making the sign of the evil eye before I can continue typing.)
Cue Jon, Tormund, Eddison (Ben Crompton), and company arriving at the fishing village known as Hardhome. The Wildlings greet the party at the harbor wearing the skins and bones of god knows what kind of freaky animal (or human) and are not at all happy to have visitors. Their leader immediately calls Tormund a traitor. Tormund immediately bashes the man’s head in. Addressing the Wildlings, Jon tells them he knows they don’t trust him. He says he doesn’t want to be friends, but he does want to help them and wants them to help him and the other Crows. They’re skeptical about anyone being able to kill White Walkers. Jon shows them the Dragon Glass and tells them that if they’ll help him win the war against the White Walkers, he’ll give them the land south of the wall. When one of them asks about their leader Mance Rayder, Jon tells them the truth about their leader’s death and that he was the one to shoot him in the heart with an arrow. Luckily Tormund explains that it was a kind act to put him out of his misery before they can tear Jon’s head off.
The Free Folk don’t trust Jon but do trust Tor to do right by them, until some big bald guy called Loboda (Zachary Laharov) speaks up to remind everyone AGAIN that the Crows are their enemy and they aren’t going anywhere with them. A Wildling Chieftess (Birgitte Hjort Sorensen) has some sense, however, and they get the old folks and children onto the boats. While everyone’s at the docks, the mountains start to rumble and dogs start to howl. They close the gates of Hardhome, but an army of White Walkers have arrived and the battle begins.
Instead of getting out while he can, Jon leads the Night’s Watch in a charge. They are clearly outmanned, even with the actual freaking GIANT of a Wildling stomping on the White Walkers. While Jon searches for the Dragon Glass that he somehow forgot to keep on his person at all times, he is attacked by a WW general. He’s wounded. Badly. He never gets the dragon glass but oh what’s this? His sword of Valyrian steel works the same way! A development that will undoubtedly come up again, but for right now, Hardhome is completely overrun.
Jon, Tor, and Eddison retreat to the boats while the giant battles the monsters before joining them by walking into the sea. They’re watched from the shore by The Night’s King (Richard Brake) who looks like he escaped Sauron’s Orc factory. He raises his arms and the dead Wildlings begin to arise as newly formed White Walkers. The way he was staring at Jon makes me wonder if he used to be someone Jon knew.
As the few who made it out alive sail away…we’re out.
HO.LY.CRAP! That battle was brutal and intense! The snows are falling and the White Walker army has come down from the mountains. Looks to me like Winter isn’t coming, it’s already here. (But what do I know. I haven’t read the books.) Join me next week, same bat time, same bat channel, for the penultimate episode of season 5: “The Dance of Dragons.” Here’s a preview:
A few memorable lines from season 5, episode 8 (Tyrion has quite a few):
“He’s prettier than both my daughters, but he knows how to fight.” – Tormund Giantsbane (about Jon Snow)
“It may not be enough, but at least we’ll give the fuckers a fight!” – Jon Snow
“I’m not going to stop the wheel, I’m going to break the wheel.” – Daenerys Targaryen
“Here we sit, two terrible children of two terrible fathers.” – Tyrion Lannister
“Under my rule, murder will once again become entertainment.” – Dany
“Belief is so often the death of reason.” – Qyburn
“A ruler who kills those devoted to her is not a ruler who inspires devotion.” – Tyrion
“Killing and politics aren’t always the same thing.” – Tyrion
“I am the greatest Lannister killer of all time.” – Tyrion
I warn you now; this recap of Outlander‘s season one finale will be emotional on many levels. We are embarking on another Droughtlander, but in this episode torture is the theme. OR more appropriately, how to live life after you have been through something so traumatic that it shifts your entire life. Any of the readers of the books by Diana Gabaldon know what is coming, but actually seeing the words come to life takes the material to a whole new level. Those who have not read the books and are pure television season one watchers will be profoundly surprised. Case in point: the episode starts with a disclaimer for Viewer Discretion that is not present on any of the other first-season episodes. Palms wet, hands shaking, heart pounding, Rhenish ready…. Tulach Ard!!
We open with the British soldiers at Wentworth prison giving salute as the British flag is raised in the morning hours, and down below we find Jamie Frazer (Sam Heughan) and Black Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies) laying on a cot…. Oh my gosh, breath…remember to breathe. Trauma written all over Jamie’s face, both men are completely naked, and Jack rises to get dressed. Jamie mouths that Jack owes him a debt, that is to say a ‘clean death’ as promised in the last episode. Just as Jack is headed toward him with his dagger, Jack hears odd sounds from outside the cell doors. Jamie, heartbreakingly, begs “please” as Jack turns toward the door. What Jack put him through…death would be a gift.
We hear what sounds like a rumble. Jack is then crushed below one of the doors as a stampede enters. The McKenzie men run in behind the herd and get Jamie out of the cell first, then the prison completely through an open door Claire (Caitriona Balfe) fixed in the last episode, “Wentworth Prison.” They get Jamie into a cart and away they go to where Claire is waiting. She climbs into the wagon and tries to make Jamie wake up, but Jamie doesn’t see Claire. He still sees Jack’s face instead.
Here is one of the changes from the book. They go to a Scottish Abbey instead of a French one as in the book. Jamie is still lashing out at anyone who touches him. Jamie is not just damaged in his body, which is profoundly damaged to say the least, but his soul is twisted into knots as well. How do you fix a person’s soul? I would imagine many people are unfortunately faced with this question all too often in this world. Claire asks what Jack did to him, and Jamie answers “too much and not enough.” We are then pushed into Jamie’s memory. And so it begins…
I’m not going to describe the scenes between Jack and Jamie. It is gut-wrenching for me to watch, much less put down into words. Diana’s books do an amazing job, so I will leave it to the professionals. The descriptions I will provide are in the emotional wreckage that occurs because of the actions. The book is from Claire’s point of view, and the show provides more insight into Jamie’s point of view.
As you may recall some of the lengthy discussions between Jamie and Jack in the last episode, Jack wants to have Jamie’s surrender. This is not just physical surrender he is after, but his very soul. Jamie’s will is exceptionally strong; as a man I’m sure he thought nothing could ever make him give in unless he wanted to do so. The floggings were proof that it would take a substantial amount because even those two events did not break Jamie. He never gave in to Jack even during those terrible punishing floggings. This time Jamie would endure rape and other physical abuse. That is no small event to live with for anyone, man or woman. Jack does so much more though. He wants Jamie’s soul to surrender as well, so he embarks on mental tortures too. Unless you have been through an event you felt you could never endure, or would never be pushed into doing yourself, it is hard to describe how it affects your soul.
Back at the Abbey, Claire is trying to get through to Jamie and all he wants is to die. He went into the events with Jack understanding that would be the eventual end. He allowed Jack to do what he would so that Claire was safe but also knowing he would not have to live with the events for very long. I have no doubt that many in real life have been through so much that death would be a welcome release, and some do choose to take that path themselves…very sorry to say.
Claire begins the job of having to fix his shattered hand. She explains that in some of the war times she dealt with worse, but this is a person she loves. Setting bones, sewing up wounds are all hard to do when a loved one is already in profound pain. The hand that was nailed to the table and had fingers all but destroyed by that hammer will take an enormous amount of time to heal, if he regains full functionality in the fingers at all. As substantial as the physical wounds are, the emotional ones are worse. After all her work is done on the hand, Claire heads off to get some rest while one of the Friars watches over Jamie for her. Claire stops in the hall to be sick…book readers we know why this is happening, don’t we?
Claire goes to the chapel in the morning and is sitting there when the elder Friar walks in and offers a chance to give confession. Claire proceeds to tell him everything that has happened in the past eight months. You might have forgotten about Claire’s inner difficulties and soul-wrenching between Frank and Jamie. Claire has thought she was adulterous and bigamist all this time since she is married to two men. They are 200 years apart though, so that is something. The Friar listened and eventually proclaimed he saw her situation as a miracle. Claire hadn’t seen it in that light, that is for sure.
Back in the room with Jamie, Murtagh (Duncan Lacroix) is speaking to him in Gaelic. Subtitles are not provided but you can get the drift well enough. Then Jamie flashes back to when Jack made him brand himself with Jack’s initials, like he was his property. At that time Jamie was flashing back and forth between Claire and Jack’s faces in his deliria. He saw Jack as Claire, and now in the Abbey he sees Jack’s face at times when he looks at Claire; a sure sign that his soul is shattered. Jack twisted the love Jamie has for Claire in order to get his way. He is the purest essence of a sadist.
Everyone now understands that Jamie wants to commit suicide. Claire was the last to know, and isn’t that the usual way for the wife? Everyone always keeps the worst from her thinking it will save her from the pain of seeing how bad things really are. Claire faints dead away all of the sudden, scared the mess out of Murtagh. Claire is not a weak woman, something more is going on there. When Claire wakes they do start talking about how and what it will take to rescue Jamie’s soul. In the book, Claire puts Jamie into a trance through a means that Geillis showed her. No one else knew of this action to save Jamie. In the show, Murtagh is the one that suggests some action has to be taken.
Claire sets about making a potion that smells like the scent she smelled when they first got Jamie back. The oil that Jack rubbed all over Jamie’s skin while saying it was Claire doing it. Jack twisted Jamie’s love for her. Jack did it as a way to force Jamie to show him affection while Jamie thought it was Claire instead. Jack perverted Jamie’s love for her so that he would give in; even forcing Jamie to believe that Jack’s long hair was Claire’s hair. Jack made Jamie make love to him as if he were Claire.
Claire tells Jamie that she will die with him if he goes. She is there forever and through anything. He has to choose to live or they both die together. Jamie does not want her to die so he has to find a way back. They start by cutting the brand from his skin. Next, they will go across the sea to France to allow Jamie the time he needs to recover. As they talk about what the future might hold they came to a decision; nothing like a project to give a man purpose again. They decide that they will try to find a way to stop the rising and the destruction of the clans.
Jamie’s eyes perk up with the thought. Claire has another bit of news to relay to Jamie. She is pregnant!!!! A new baby means new hope. Claire thought she couldn’t have children because she and Frank never conceived. For the first time Jamie is smiling and excited.
The damage done by the emotional manipulation will take Jamie a substantial amount of time to get over. Physical damage heals, but emotional wounds are much slower to heal, if they ever do. Just through personal experience, I think most everyone has some level of emotional scarring in life. It could be through trauma like Jamie experienced, or it could be childhood events such as bullies or worse. Any amount of difficulty is not to be taken lightly but does have to be dealt with eventually.
In the books the Friar tells Claire that she is not committing adultery or bigamy given that the two men are in two different time periods. In time sequence she is actually married to Jamie first. This does help Claire to deal with the difficulties within. Jamie as the fighter needs a different approach. Fighting against the rebellion is the therapy he needs. Every person has to find the element that will allow them some measure of victory over their challenges. Make that life of yours be all it can be!!! You got this!
AND…now we are back into Droughtlander. Join the fans, cast, and crew on Twitter and Facebook to pass the time. We are all in this together, and for any reason (not just Outlander withdrawls)!
