“Long Way Up” reunites Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman for a new motorbike adventure through South and Central America. (Photo Credit: Apple TV+)
Apple TV+’s just released an official photo from the upcoming series Long Way Up. The unscripted series stars Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, road tripping buddies who reunited to hit the road on more motorcycle adventures.
The series is set to debut to Apple TV+ subscribers on September 18, 2020. Three episodes will be released on the series’ premiere day, followed by additional episodes each week.
McGregor and Boorman also serve as executive producers. Russ Malkin and David Alexanian join the duo on their adventures as directors.
McGregor and Boorman chronicled their adventures twice before in 2004’s Long Way Round and 2007’s Long Way Down. The new series will take them through Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and up through Colombia, Central America, and Mexico as they travel around the globe.
Emmy Award nominee Ewan McGregor’s credits include FX’s Fargo, Doctor Sleep, Christopher Robin, and Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn starring Margot Robbie. He recently completed work on The Birthday Cake for director Jimmy Giannopoulos.
Long Way Up Plot Description, Courtesy of Apple TV+
Covering 13,000 miles over 100 days through 16 border crossings and 13 countries, starting from the city of Ushuaia at the tip of South America, Ewan and Charley journey through the glorious and underexposed landscapes of South and Central America in their most challenging expedition to date, using cutting-edge technology on the backs of their electric Harley-Davidson LiveWires in order to contribute to the sustainability of the planet.
Kevin Costner and Wes Bentley in ‘Yellowstone’ season 3 episode 7 (Photo Courtesy of Paramount Network)
Wranglers use dogs to herd cattle into a truck under the cover of night as Paramount Network’s Yellowstone season three episode seven begins.
It’s still dark out as (Cole Hauser) gently wakes Beth (Kelly Reilly) to say goodbye before heading out for what’s sure to be a long day. She teases him that he appears torn about leaving her and finally convinces him to briefly climb back in bed for a little morning lovemaking.
Jamie (Wes Bentley) is also an early riser, grabbing files including one with a Warrant Deed and heading off to the city. It doesn’t appear he wants anyone to realize he’s off to work.
Over at the bunkhouse, Lloyd (Forrie J. Smith) tells a sleeping Laramie (Hassie Harrison) she’s free to stay in his bed as long as she wants. Teeter (Jen Landon) teases Colby (Denim Richards) about also getting a little something as Rip arrives to find Laramie and Mia snuggled in. He’s not exactly impressed with the wranglers for allowing the bunkhouse to become Paradise Island.
Rip can’t believe Lloyd’s involved in the shenanigans and warns him to stop letting the barrel racers spend the night. Mia (Eden Brolin) claims they’re not freeloaders and offers to work alongside the wranglers.
Mia and Laramie do pitch in, with Mia working right alongside a still recovering Jimmy (Jefferson White). Rip doesn’t want her around but Mia pretty much forces him to let her tag along as they drive a horse to Hamilton. Rip says, “It’s going to be one of these f**king days, isn’t it? I should have never gotten out of bed.”
Kayce (Luke Grimes) inspects the field where the cattle were taken. The fence has been cut and the cows and calves stolen weren’t branded or tagged. Kayce assumes whoever did it will try and sell the calves right away. He instructs Ryan (Ian Bohen) and Livestock Agent Steve Hendon (James Jordan) to split up and visit ranches that could have possibly purchased the calves right away.
Jamie’s assistant informs him there hasn’t been a court document filled locally that changes the Dutton ranch’s power of attorney. Jamie then assumes Beth used Schwartz & Meyer’s attorneys and filed it in Salt Lake.
The assistant also tells Jamie he needs to go downstairs and sign for a certified copy of his birth certificate. It needs to be turned in now in order to ratify his appointment.
Jamie reluctantly heads downstairs where he hands over his driver’s license and Social Security card. The clerk heads off to find his birth certificate.
Beth finds her dad (Kevin Costner) staring into the fireplace and he admits he has a lot of decisions to make. He believes the world’s gotten too fast and they need to find a way to slow it down. He wonders if she’ll marry Rip and she agrees she might if he asks her. John assures her Rip won’t ask her because in order to do so he’d have to ask him for his daughter’s hand first. John doesn’t think Rip would ever do that; Rip wouldn’t put him in that position.
John suggests if Beth wants to marry Rip, she’ll have to ask him. Beth seems to consider that for a moment and then asks if her dad would be okay with that. She then formally asks her father if Rip can have her hand. John asks if she loves him and if he makes her happy. “Since the moment I met him,” replies Beth.
John reveals he’s only ever wanted his daughter to be happy. He supports her marrying Rip, as long as he treats her right.
Beth gets up to leave and John suddenly apologizes. She asks why, and he explains he’s sorry she didn’t think she could come to him all those years ago. He’s sincere when he says he wouldn’t have been ashamed or angry at her. “I’m the one safe person in this world that you can turn to, Beth, for anything,” says an emotional John. He’s heartbroken she wasn’t aware of that sooner.
“I know it now,” says Beth, with tears streaming down her cheeks. She adds, “And now is all that matters.”
The clerk returns after a lengthy absence and delivers a bombshell. She’s unaware Jamie never knew he was adopted and he claims he wasn’t, denying the birth certificate she presents him is actually his. She shows him the official Report of Adoption which lists his birth name as James Michael Randall. His birth parents were Phyllis Mary and Garrett Randall. His name was changed to Dutton when he was officially adopted.
The clerk passes him another file which will explain why John and Evelyn Dutton lied to him. (It’s info he could have found on the internet if he searched for it.) The file contains the criminal court record of his real dad who was convicted of second-degree murder. Apparently, he killed Jamie’s birth mom and the clerk believes John did the right thing by not telling him about his adoption and his birth parents.
An angry Jamie stalks out of the office and returns to his desk. He doesn’t have time to consider what he’s learned as he needs to head into a meeting. However, first he hands off his birth father’s file and tells his assistant to find out if the man has been paroled. He wants all the info they have about his location, employment, etc.
He stares at his diploma from Harvard University on the wall and asks, “Who the f**k are you?”
Mia’s keeping up a steady stream of conversation from the backseat as Rip drives and Jimmy sits in the front passenger seat. Jimmy’s clearly worried Rip’s going to explode from Mia’s constant narrating of everything within her eyesight. Mia pauses for the briefest of moments before asking them about songs they would take with them to a desert island. Rip actually chuckles and agrees some music would be nice right about now.
Oh no…that chuckle wasn’t a good sign. He makes Jimmy lean in close and warns him, “When we get back to the ranch, I’m going to kill you with my bare f**king hands.”
Mia, oblivious to how annoyed she’s made Rip, sings along to what she labels her favorite song.
Beth arrives at work to find Angela Blue Thunder (Q’orianka Kilcher) waiting to discuss Market Equities. Angela explains she and Beth are on the same side of this issue, and Beth seems to relish the idea of teaming up. Angela believes Market Equities CEO Willa Hays will try to get Beth fired, but Beth isn’t worried. When asked if she can trust her brother, Beth’s answer leaves no doubt they can’t trust Jamie one iota.
Angela warns Beth they’re going to have to get dirty. That’s just fine with Beth.
Rip’s insufferably long road trip finally comes to an end. They arrive and see a man riding a bucking bronco, and Rip explains this is “business rodeo.” World champion Sid Steiner greets them and instructs Rip where to unload his horse. Mia’s super impressed they just talked to Sid, fangirling over the opportunity.
Jimmy’s also incredibly impressed with the young man who gives their horse a ride. Sid explains the horse isn’t right for the rodeo (he’s too easy to ride), but he’ll take him off Rip’s hands anyway – just because it’s Rip. Rip decides not to make the deal, not wanting to push the horse off on Sid when he can’t really use him.
Jimmy can’t believe Sid didn’t think the horse could buck hard enough. Apparently, Jimmy’s having second thoughts about his dream of being a part of the rodeo. Rip explains the boy who tried out the horse has been riding since he was four and has three world champions in his family to teach him. Rip adds, “And he could still die. I want you to think about that.”
Rip reveals this is his way of showing Jimmy why he shouldn’t want to return to the arena. But, it’s ultimately Jimmy’s choice.
Kayce heads over to a livestock auction and watches as a trailer pulls up. He asks the men standing around if they’ve ever seen this particular trailer before and they haven’t. The driver spots Kayce and decides to take off rather than empty his load, and Kayce pursues him on a horse. He draws alongside the truck and lassoes the driver around his neck, forcing him to stop.
Kayce pulls the driver from the cab and demands to know if he stole the cattle alone. The man indicates he did but Kayce doesn’t believe him. He hits him across the chest and warns him he’ll deliver a beating if he doesn’t reveal the names of his criminal cow-stealing cohorts.
Meanwhile, John shows up at a diner and is ordering up a “just whisper fire to it” steak when Wade Morrow and his son wander in. John doesn’t believe in coincidences and tells the man so. Wade’s son makes a move, but John easily takes him down and turns his attention back to Wade. He reminds Wade he gave him a job and a place to live and Wade stole “the one thing a cowboy doesn’t steal.”
Wade taunts John, telling him he’s ready to fight him whenever John chooses. As he’s leaving the diner, John warns Wade he has something of his. John’s planning on getting it back.
Rip’s rig gets a flat tire on the way back to the ranch and he’s just done with this day. Wisely, Jimmy thinks he and Mia are safer inside the truck than outside with a raging Rip.
Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly in ‘Yellowstone’ season 3 episode 7 (Photo Courtesy of Paramount Network)
They finally return to the ranch and Rip heads straight home. He doesn’t even say anything to Beth as he passes her by on the porch even though she reminds him, “Don’t blame me. I gave you a choice.”
Rip returns outside within minutes holding a six-pack of beer. Guzzling two quickly, he feels better and smiles as he asks Beth how her day went. She calls her day illuminating and asks him to sit beside her. She presents him with a ring box and Rip’s understandably confused. Inside is a man’s ring and she jokes she doesn’t think he’s a diamonds and pearls kind of girl.
He assures her he doesn’t need presents; he just needs her. She stares into his eyes and replies, “Well, that’s what it means. It means that you have me. That I’m yours.”
Beth asks that he outlive her so she doesn’t have to live another day without him. He promises to try and do that. And that’s it – she announces they are getting married! Rip says, “Married…” and she confirms she’s asking him to marry her. He’s hesitant because he thinks he needs to ask her dad, but Beth assures him it’s handled. He laughs as he says, “I mean, I’d like some diamonds actually.” They kiss as he continues to laugh.
Beth wants him to confirm that’s a yes and he reminds her there’s no official record he exists. She says a marriage license is just a contract and she doesn’t need that legal document. Beth just wants him to take her in front of her family and friends – if she ever makes one – and declare there isn’t any more you or I, only us.
Rip nods yes and says he can do that.
Kayce, Ryan, and Hendon arrive at a trailer with stolen cattle penned up out front. Kayce knocks on the door and demands they open up. He hears movement inside and goes around back as Ryan watches the front. He instructs Ryan to get away from the wall and turn his chest toward the building just as shots ring out from inside. Ryan goes down as Kayce shoots back.
As Hendon’s about to burst through the glass front door, there’s another gunshot. Kayce continues to advance and kills a man who emerges holding a rifle. Kayce immediately checks on Ryan and because he listened to Kayce and turned his chest toward the house, he’s fine. The bullet hit his vest and took the brunt of the impact.
Kayce runs to check on Hendon next and he’s alive but hurt. The glass door shattered and he’s got shards sticking out from various body parts. Kayce continues to take care of him as he calls for backup and ambulances.
Kayce hears a noise from inside the house and enters to find a young girl standing by her dad’s dead body.
Night falls and John thumbs through old photo albums in front of a blazing fire. Jamie joins him and reminds his dad he always preached they were supposed to tell the truth. He wonders if John might have an alternate version of truth or live by different rules. Jamie says all he knows is lies and John had him tell a lie every day. When John asks, “What lie is that, son?” Jamie pounces on the word “son.”
John realizes Jamie has learned the truth. When Jamie refuses to listen to his dad after he instructs him to sit down, John warns him he can sit down or get out. He only has those two options.
Jamie chooses to sit.
John uses a bull analogy saying calves are not the sons of bulls, they’re just a bull’s offspring. John explains Jamie’s birth father beat his birth mom to death with a showerhead when Jamie was just three months old.
John says his wife should be called Jamie’s mom because she fed him, protected him, and loved him. John also believes he’s earned the right to call Jamie son because he protected him, taught him, and gave him love and kindness. He says Jamie can call him whatever he wants, however, he’ll continue to call him son because he’s earned the right. He adds, “Earning it has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
Jamie’s been silent during this and finally asks if John knew his birth dad. John did and reveals everyone begged the woman who gave birth to Jamie not to marry his birth dad. Unfortunately, Jamie’s birth mom thought she could save the man she loved but it didn’t work that way.
John believes Jamie’s in a unique position. He can actually choose to have different parents – a choice not many people get. John also admits he understands Jamie can use his resources to locate his birth dad, if he’s still alive.
“You can look into his black f**king heart,” says John, adding, “You can look into his eyes, Jamie, and you get to choose. You can choose who you call father.”
John’s bone tired. He confesses in his soul he still feels 16 but his heart is tired. He reveals he never expected to be tired of living while he was still strong enough to go on.
Jamie’s been staring at his dad during this without speaking. John says, “Good night, son,” and leaves him sitting in front of the fire on his own to contemplate this turn of events.
Vinnie Jones in ‘The Big Ugly’ (Photo Credit: Vertical Entertainment)
Love, loyalty, money, sex, greed, business, and bloodshed are in the mix and make up writer/director Scott Wiper’s The Big Ugly, a 2020 action film streaming on July 31st.
The film begins with a voiceover by Neelyn (Vinnie Jones), an enforcer and right-hand man to London’s biggest mobster, Harris (Malcolm McDowell). He’s thinking about the factors that cause a man to go to war as they travel on a private jet to West Virginia where Harris will invest in an oil deal as a means to launder dirty money.
They meet up with Harris’ long-time friend and oilman, Preston (Ron Perlman), to finalize the deal. Afterward, everyone goes out to celebrate at a local dive bar. Neelyn gets both drunk and high, ultimately passing out back at his hotel room.
The next morning when Harris wakes Neelyn so they can return to London, Neelyn realizes his girlfriend, Fiona (Lenora Crichlow), has disappeared. In his search to find her, Neelyn discovers she was last seen drinking with Preston’s wayward and dangerous son, Junior (Brandon Sklenar). When he finds Fiona’s dead body abandoned in the woods, Neelyn sets out to get retribution and kill Junior, putting the new deal between Harris and Preston at great risk.
Written and directed by Scott Wiper (The Condemned, A Better Way to Die), The Big Ugly is a modern-day Western with a strong cast and some breathtaking footage of the countryside. Unfortunately, it gets bogged down by too many monologues and pointless subplots.
Malcolm McDowell and Ron Perlman deliver the best performances in the film as mobsters in the twilight of their lives looking for that one last big deal which neither clearly needs at this point in their successful criminal careers. They’re men who live their lives with a certain code and ideas of honor.
Vinnie Jones is solid as Neelyn, an over-the-hill mob enforcer determined to avenge his girlfriend’s death no matter what the cost. The problem with his character is he’s basically one-dimensional, transitioning from being a loyal thug for Harris to a revenge-seeking killer. There’s almost no growth to his character except in the last act of the film and by then it feels forced.
One of the major problems with The Big Ugly is the pacing which is slow and tedious. The overly long and drawn-out scenes of Neelyn thinking back about Fiona and spending time in the dive bar to confront Junior seem to move the story along at a snail’s pace. The movie’s also crammed with unnecessary, longwinded, and stilted monologues, especially by Perlman’s character.
Ultimately, The Big Ugly is a revenge action B-movie with too little action and way too many speeches.
GRADE: C+
MPAA Rating: R for violence, language throughout, some sexual content and brief drug use
Fox is labeling their upcoming fall Monday night lineup #FierceFemalesFox. The network’s announced season one of Filthy Rich starring Kim Cattrall and the broadcast premiere of L.A.’s Finest – previously available to Spectrum subscribers – will premiere on Monday, September 21, 2020.
L.A.’s Finest will air at 8pm ET/PT followed by Filthy Rich at 9pm ET/PT.
Filthy Rich comes from The Help‘s writer/director/executive producer Tate Taylor and is executive produced by Brian Grazer, Francie Calfo, John Norris, and Abe Sylvia. Sylvia also serves as the season one showrunner.
In addition to Kim Cattrall (Sex and the City), the cast includes Gerald McRaney, Melia Kreiling, Aubrey Dollar, Corey Cott, and Benjamin Levy Aguilar. Mark L. Young, Olivia Macklin, Steve Harris, and Aaron Lazar also star in season one.
Jessica Alba and Gabrielle Union lead the cast of L.A.’s Finest. Alba and Union also serve as executive producers along with Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman, KristieAnne Reed, Brandon Margolis, Brandon Sonnier, Pam Veasey, Doug Belgrad, Jeff Gaspin, Jeff Morrone, and Anton Cropper.
Season one also features Zack Gilford, Duane Martin, Ryan McPartlin, Sophie Reynolds, and Ernie Hudson.
Filthy Rich Plot:
Filthy Rich is a southern Gothic family soap in which wealth, power and religion collide – with outrageously soapy results. When the patriarch (McRaney) of a mega-rich Southern family, famed for creating a wildly successful Christian television network, dies in a plane crash, his wife (Cattrall) and family are stunned to learn that he fathered three illegitimate children, all of whom are written into his will, threatening their family name and fortune.
With monumental twists and turns, Filthy Rich presents a world in which everyone has an ulterior motive – and no one is going down without a fight.
L.A.’s Finest Plot:
From the universe of the Jerry Bruckheimer Bad Boys movie franchise and Sony Pictures Television, the action-drama series L.A.’s Finest follows Syd Burnett (Union), last seen in Miami taking down a drug cartel, who has seemingly left her complicated past behind to become an LAPD detective. Paired with a new partner, Nancy McKenna (Alba), a working mom with an equally complex history, Syd is forced to confront how her unapologetic lifestyle may be masking a greater personal secret.
Taking on the most dangerous criminals in Los Angeles while skirting the rules, and speed limits, Syd and Nancy become a force to be reckoned with – on the streets, and in each other’s lives.
The CW’s The 100 will return on August 5, 2020 after taking a three-week break with season seven episode 10. Episode 10, “A Little Sacrifice,” was directed by Sherwin Shilati from a script by Nikki Goldwaser.
Season seven stars Eliza Taylor as Clarke, Bob Morley as Bellamy, Marie Avgeropoulos as Octavia, Lindsey Morgan as Raven, and Richard Harmon as Murphy. Tasya Teles is Echo, Shannon Kook plays Jordan, JR Bourne is Russell Lightbourne VII, Shelby Flannery is Hope Diyoza, Ivana Milicevic is Diyoza, Adina Porter is Indra, and Chuku Modu plays Dr. Gabriel Santiago.
“A Little Sacrifice” Plot: MOVEMENT – Sheidheda makes his move. Meanwhile, a Disciple goes rogue.
A Look Back at Season 6, Courtesy of The CW:
For five seasons our heroes did whatever it took to survive on Earth…and nothing worked. Earth was unsurvivable, lost to them forever. What was not lost: hope. After 125 years in cryosleep, traveling through the stars, our heroes woke up to a new home, a final gift from dearly-departed friends. A place where they can try again. They’re given one simple task: do better. Be the good guys.
With this credo in mind Clarke and Bellamy lead a group down to this mysterious world, hoping to start anew, to finally find peace. But old habits die hard and when they stumble across an idyllic society, it quickly becomes clear that not everything on Sanctum is as perfect as it seems. Despite their determination to do better, threats both seen and unseen will once again force our heroes to fight for their lives and the future of humanity.
Eliza Taylor as Clarke in ‘The 100’ season 7 episode 10 (Photo: Dean Buscher / 2020 The CW Network, LLC)Tasya Teles as Echo and Marie Avgeropoulos as Octavia in episode 10 (Photo: Dean Buscher / 2020 The CW Network, LLC)Jessica Harmon as Niylah and Lindsey Morgan as Raven in season 7 episode 10 (Photo: Dean Buscher / 2020 The CW Network, LLC)John Pyper-Ferguson as Bill Cadogan and Eliza Taylor as Clarke in season 7 episode 10 (Photo: Dean Buscher / 2020 The CW Network, LLC)Richard Harmon as Murphy and Luisa d’Oliveira as Emori in season 7 episode 10 (Photo: Dean Buscher / 2020 The CW Network, LLC)Adina Porter as Indra, Luisa d’Oliveira as Emori and Richard Harmon as Murphy in episode 10 (Photo: Shane Harvey / 2020 The CW Network, LLC)
George (Leah Lewis) is busy scrubbing away blood from the bucket-kicking tradition as The CW’s Nancy Drew season one episode three opens. Ace (Alex Saxon) peddles around town on a bike since his vehicle’s out of commission and stops in front of George’s place. She thinks she got punked and tells Ace that, but when he offers to help clean up she just glares at him. He takes that as his cue to leave.
Nancy (Kennedy McMann) and Nick (Tunji Kasim) are awakened by the sudden rain and he uncharacteristically offers to go get them coffee. When Nancy gets up to wipe down the water that’s leaked in, she spots what appears to be Nick’s second cellphone. Of course, she doesn’t know why he would need two cell phones. Picking it up she sees there’s a missed call from her and spots the text she found from Tiffany’s phone. The text reads “package in car.”
Nancy looks at her mom’s car in Nick’s garage and wonders if the package is in it.
When Nick returns with the coffee, he doesn’t see Nancy but does see his second phone is vibrating. When he answers it, it’s Nancy and she’s walking up behind him. Nancy confronts him about Tiffany’s last text and Nick tries to talk his way out of it by saying he has a record. He wonders if she knows what the cops would do to him with that information and Nancy admits she understands why he kept this from the cops. However, he also kept it a secret from her.
Nancy lays out the evidence. Not only was he the last person to speak (or text) with Tiffany, but Tiffany put him away for manslaughter for two years. There was a package in her mom’s car which he got access to and she questions if he was just using her to get to the car. He claims he wasn’t but she wants to know how she’s supposed to believe him.
Nick asks how she knew about his record and Nancy admits she read a file her dad has on him. She says, “If you ever want there to be any trust between us, show me what you took from my mom’s car.” He tells her he can’t – it’s not for her. With that, she walks out.
Nancy returns home and her dad (Scott Wolf) asks where she spent the night. She lies and says a friend’s house, and he wants to know if they can be honest with each other. Nancy replies, “Sure. What happened to the bloody dress that used to be in our attic?” He claims he threw it out, but she reveals she checked the trash cans and didn’t see it. Her dad explains the trash was collected already and then changes the subject. He brings up that she’s about to be arraigned on felony charges and she’s still sneaking around going through garbage. She reminds him she’s not a kid anymore and he reminds her she’s still his kid.
The argument temporarily ends when Ryan Hudson (Riley Smith) shows up. Nancy pauses to listen in to their conversation and hears her dad ask where Tiffany’s will is. Ryan explains they had a prenup but it should all go to him once her death is ruled as natural causes. Carson asks Ryan if he’s worried that she didn’t die of natural causes and Ryan reveals he’s not. However, he is worried about making payments.
Nancy shows up late for work, again, and George is in a bad mood. This time she’s going to dock Nancy’s pay. Nancy points out George is extra prickly and Ace informs her George kicked over her bucket and it spilled blood. Nancy reminds him neither she nor George believes in curses. Ace suggests maybe she’s worried about the nor’easter storm coming and Nancy doesn’t want to hear about that old wives tale either. Ace ignores her and tells it anyway. Apparently, the nor’easter blows restless spirits ashore.
Nancy’s saved from Ace’s stories when Detective Karen Hart (Alvina August) arrives with some good news. She confirms their lab tested all the food from The Claw and didn’t find any poison. Nancy wants to know why she’s really there and Karen confesses that based on Tiffany’s 911 call the D.A. is looking to build a case. She lets Nancy know that it doesn’t fare well for her since she broke into the morgue. However, they do have a new suspect…
Nancy picks up on what Karen’s saying and understands she’s referring to Nick. Karen informs Nancy that if she gives them something on Nick, her charges could go away.
George eavesdropped on the conversation as did Ace and Bess. They slide into a booth across from Nancy and Ace asks, “The cops think Nick killed Tiffany?” Before Nancy can answer Bess asks if he did something bad to end up in juvenile hall. George wonders if he did something violent. Nancy doesn’t respond and George continues prying, assuming Nick did something pretty violent. Ace asks if it was manslaughter and judging by Nancy’s non-response they realize that’s what it is.
George looks at the silver lining; if Nick killed Tiffany, they’re no longer suspects and she can get her customers to come back to the diner.
Their conversation gets cut short when Nancy receives a text. It’s Nick wanting to meet up in the storage room at the diner. He explains the cops went through his place with a search warrant but the burner phone was gone. Nancy produces it from her locker and explains she also deactivated it.
Nick shows Nancy a clock that was hidden in her mom’s car. Tiffany told him not to trust anyone with it and he admits he’s been staring at it for two days trying to figure out the purpose of it. Nancy suggests they figure it out together.
As they investigate, Nick drops the bombshell that her mom was his social worker. Her mom started off helping her dad with his case and after he was sentenced, she began visiting him in juvie. Nancy wonders if that’s why Nick’s with her, but he claims he’s not trying to use her.
Nick reveals when he was doing time her mother asked him to meet the witness who got him locked up. A flashback shows Nick sitting across from Tiffany Hudson in the jail’s visiting room. He explains that first visit went by without him saying a word to her. The next week Tiffany returned as though he was supposed to ease her guilt or something for getting him locked up. When Tiffany kept coming back, she started to bring him books. It was their way of communicating with each other.
A woman walks into The Claw and as George greets her the coffee pot she’s holding suddenly breaks and shatters. George and Bess are startled, but not the stranger who’s there looking for a job. When Ace offers to sweep up the glass and George heads off to get a dustpan, a decorative spear comes loose from the ceiling. Ace gets George out of the way in the nick of time. Bess and Ace think George is cursed.
Nancy’s messing with the clock when she pulls out a piece with engraving on it. It’s numbers and Nancy believes that since Nick and Tiffany’s secret language involved books, maybe it’s an ISBN for a book.
The duo return to his shop and look through his books. He explains the clock wasn’t the first thing Tiffany gave him. He holds up The Count of Monte Cristo and he says, “It was this.” He begins to read a quote, “But my real treasure are the rays of intelligence you have elicited from my brain, the languages you have implanted in my memory.”
Nick explains after a few months he began to ask Tiffany for new books which he still has. Nancy brings Under the Lilacs to Nick because its number matches the ones engraved in the clock. They figure out a series of clues and end up on a chapter titled “A boy’s bargain.” “The bargain has two sides, it’s not a gift. You have to meet in the middle under the lilacs,” says Nick.
Tiffany liked to leave puzzles and there was a place in town with lilac in its name that she loved. Nancy suddenly remembers seeing in the police report an application for a landmark status made by Tiffany Hudson for The Lilac Inn. She knows where to go but needs help first.
Karen stakes out The Claw and watches Nick and Nancy go inside and then drive away. She follows them and pulls their car over only to discover Ace and Bess are wearing Nick and Nancy’s jackets. Meanwhile, Nancy and Nick are in her mom’s car heading to The Lilac Inn.
Ryan Hudson’s still with Carson Drew when Carson asks him what he knows about The Lilac Inn. He says not much, but it was Tiffany’s pet project that she was dumping money into. Carson asks what Ryan’s concern is about his finances because he hasn’t found any large payment due any time soon. Ryan doesn’t answer and instead insists he hears footsteps. “I thought your daughter left the house,” says Ryan. Carson’s still asking about The Lilac Inn but then notices Ryan’s gone.
Ryan walks upstairs to investigate what sounds like footsteps. He listens at a door and is convinced someone’s inside. Ryan bursts through the door into Nancy’s room. (We get a nice jump scare when Carson grabs his shoulder.) No one’s in the room.
Carson explains The Lilac Inn is being turned into a public landmark which seems to be news to Ryan. He thought Tiffany was flipping it for them to sell. Carson informs him after they wrap up the final touches, Ryan won’t have any claim to it anymore. He expects that could happen as soon as the storm clears.
Ryan is no longer paying attention because he’s still hearing footsteps upstairs – footsteps Carson doesn’t hear. Ryan reveals that before Tiffany died, she would wake up in the middle of the night because she thought someone was watching them and that someone was walking around their bedroom. He chalked it up to her anxiety medication.
As Ryan’s talking he sees a ghost hovering in the corner of the ceiling and jumps back in fright. Frantic, he tries to leave but Carson stops him and assumes he’s under the influence. Carson doesn’t want him driving so Ryan asks Carson to take him to The Lilac Inn.
Ace and Bess are driving when they spot a branch through the windshield of Bess’ van/house. Bess is visibly upset and Ace asks if she’s okay. She tries to tell him she is but he knows something’s wrong.
Nancy and Nick arrive at The Lilac Inn and begin exploring. They pull sheets from the walls and discover portraits of famous Maine authors. Nancy asks Nick if he told Tiffany about the night he was accused of killing someone, and he explains Tiffany saw how it ended but didn’t see how it started. After he told her, Tiffany wished she could take it all back.
Nancy asks how the fight started and Nick gets defensive. She reminds him she’s on his side and he claims it was self-defense.
They hear a noise as they’re talking and Nancy spots her dad pulling up with Ryan. Nick uncovers another author’s portrait: Edith Wharton, the author of The House of Mirth. This seems to mean something to him, but Nancy’s more concerned they need to hide somewhere. Nick says, “She’s telling me it’s in the kitchen,” as he smiles and heads off in that direction.
They hide in a storage room with wine as Carson and Ryan enter the building.
While they look around, Carson reveals he finds it strange there was a clause in the prenup that Ryan would get everything if she died from natural causes. Why would a perfectly healthy woman die of natural causes? Ryan explains Tiffany wasn’t healthy. She would take cocktails of mood stabilizers and sleeping pills. Plus, she was paranoid and saw things. It was her idea to put the clause in there, so says Ryan.
Ryan confesses he believes Tiffany might have been haunted. Carson finds that hard to believe but Ryan says Tiffany believed in that stuff and that’s why she tried to do good in her life.
Meanwhile, Nick’s having a panic attack in the storage room. He hates cramped spaces. Nancy tries to get him to stop freaking out and suddenly Nick spots something that grabs his attention. Nancy asks what it is and Nick replies, “Amontillado.” It’s a wine referenced in Edgar Allan Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado. He begins to take down all the wine to get to the wall behind them, explaining in the story a man is bricked up behind a wall. When Nick removes bricks, he exposes a safe.
They figure out they need to come up with a combination to the clock and when they do, it opens a secret compartment on the clock which contains a key. Nick uses the key and opens the safe. He removes the lockbox inside but accidentally knocks over a bottle of wine that shatters.
Ryan and Carson hear the noise and rush to its source. Nick and Nancy are able to put the bricks back before Ryan and Carson open the door to the storage room. Nick and Nancy are gone and a broken wine bottle’s on the floor which Ryan and Carson blame on the wind. However, after Ryan walks away, Carson notices a shoe print in the wine on the floor.
Later, Karen confronts Nancy and Nick and asks Nancy if she’s going to take her up on her offer. Nick is curious about the offer and Nancy’s honest with him, explaining the cops were going to drop all charges against her if she helped them make a case against him. Nick asks what she’s decided to do and Nancy tells Karen their theory has been wrong about Nick wanting revenge. Nancy shows Karen a book that Tiffany gave him and wrote, “Forgiveness is the key to redemption. Please forgive me -Tiffany.”
Nancy believes since Karen obtained Nick’s juvenile records, she should also be able to locate his visitation logs. Tiffany’s name will be in there every week.
Back at the diner, the stranger who’s name is Rita circles around George as she’s seated in a circle surrounded by salt. Rita asks if she’s afraid and although George looks terrified, she replies, “You think I don’t know about superstitions and rituals and communicating with the dead? My mother made salt circles around my highchair.”
Rita warns her it’s different during this storm. She explains restless spirits want a life and George has already been marked. Her friends have done the best they could to protect her, but the protection only works if she believes. George is now alarmed and questions who Rita really is. The woman says, “Better not leave that circle.”
Nick and Nancy arrive at the diner just as a light comes crashing down from above George. The salt circle’s broken and George looks around in a panic, asking where Rita went. Nancy has no idea who she’s talking about.
Now that the gang’s all there, Nick shows them the lockbox and explains Tiffany Hudson gave it to him. He realizes they all suspect him as the killer and that might be because he’s been hiding so much. He thought they could open the box together so maybe they can all build some trust in him. Ace says, “But you did kill someone…”
Bess asks what happened and Nick lays it all out. He got in a fight with a guy while protecting a girl and the guy who was either drunk or high kept coming after him. Nick pushed him and he fell out a window. After he finishes his story, they decide he can show them what’s in the box later – given the day they’ve all had.
Later, George moves the spear into a corner and notices a newspaper clipping hanging up on the wall. The headline reads, “Tourist Decapitated in Boating Accident,” and it’s dated July 18, 1975. The woman in the photo is Rita! (Odd how they all saw her before and when Nancy and Nick came in Nancy seemed to not know who George was talking about.)
Back at Nancy’s house, Nick expresses his surprise that Nancy chose him over a deal with the police. He opens the lockbox and finds papers that Nancy thinks are bearer bonds. She explains they don’t make them anymore and they’re untraceable. Nancy realizes the box contains almost $5 million.
Nick starts to freak out saying that kind of money brings trouble and people will definitely think he killed her to get to them. He wonders what he’s going to do with them and Nancy says he should keep them. The conversation’s interrupted by Ace texting Nancy saying he needs her help.
Nancy meets with Ace and he thanks her for coming, revealing he didn’t want to embarrass Bass as they walk up to her van. Ace walks away and lets Nancy speak with Bess. Nancy asks Bess about things not going well with her aunt since she’s living in a van, and Bess just kind of blows off the question.
Carson comes home to find a pair of shoes by the door. Picking them up he sees they’re stained with wine and tries to call Nancy. His call goes straight to voicemail. As he walks up the stairs, he suddenly gets wet. The camera pans to show the ghost above him but when he looks up, he doesn’t see anything.
Nancy thanks Bess for really helping her out and wonders if she can return the favor. Nancy asks Bess if she wants to come stay with her for a while. Bess accepts and while she’s packing a ring falls and Nancy picks it up. She quickly realizes it’s Tiffany’s ring.
Narrator Nancy ends the episode by saying, “Did I just invite a killer to a sleep-over?”
There are only two new episodes left of ABC’s Agents of SHIELD. Season seven episode 11 – the penultimate episode – arrives on Wednesday, August 5, 2020 at 10pm ET/PT. The special two-hour season/series finale follows on Wedneday, August 12th at 9pm ET/PT.
Episode 11, “Brand New Day,” was directed by Keith Potter from a script by Chris Freyer. The episode’s guest stars include Joel Stoffer, Thomas E. Sullivan, Dianne Doan, James Paxton, and Enver Gjokaj.
The season seven cast includes Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson, Ming-Na Wen as Agent Melinda May, Chloe Bennet as Daisy Johnson, and Elizabeth Henstridge as Agent Jemma Simmons. Iain De Caestecker plays Agent Leopold Fitz, Henry Simmons is Director Alphonso “Mack” MacKenzie, Natalia Cordova-Buckley is Elena “Yo-Yo” Rodriguez, and Jeff Ward plays Deke Shaw.
“Brand New Day” Plot: With the help of Kora on the inside, Sibyl and Nathanial continue their fight to shape a dark new future for S.H.I.E.L.D., managing to stay one step ahead of the agents along the way. If the team is going to turn this one around, they’ll have to get creative, and maybe even a little out of this world.
Coulson and the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are thrust backward in time and stranded in 1931 New York City. With the all-new Zephyr set to time-jump at any moment, the team must hurry to find out exactly what happened. If they fail, it would mean disaster for the past, present and future of the world.
Ming-Na Wen in ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ season 7 episode 11 (ABC/Mitch Haaseth)Enver Gjokaj in season 7 episode 11 (ABC/Mitch Haaseth)Enver Gjokaj in season 7 episode 11 (ABC/Mitch Haaseth)
FX has set a September 25, 2020 premiere date for the five-part docuseries A Wilderness of Error. The series is based on Oscar winner Errol Morris’ bestselling book and focuses on the Jeffrey MacDonald murder case. In August 1979, MacDonald was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his two-year-old daughter Kristen and second-degree murder in the deaths of his five-year-old daughter Kimberley and pregnant wife Colette.
Episodes one, two, and three will air back-to-back-to-back on Friday, September 25th beginning at 8pm ET/PT. Episodes four and five will air on October 2nd. Each episode will premiere on FX and then air the following day on Hulu.
Emmy Award winner Marc Smerling, Emmy Award winner Jason Blum, Michael Jackson, Rachael Horovitz, Jeremy Gold, Marci Wiseman, Mary Lisio, Dawn Olmstead, and Jessica Grimshaw executive produce. In addition, Smerling directed the docuseries. A Wilderness of Error is a Blumhouse, UCP, and Truth Media production.
Smerling and Sony Music Entertainment will be hosting “Morally (In)Defensible,” a companion podcast focusing on journalist/author Joe McGinniss and his bestseller Fatal Vision. The podcast will air prior to the docuseries.
Details on A Wilderness of Error, Courtesy of FX:
“When Army surgeon Jeffrey MacDonald is sent to prison for killing his family, a storm of swirling narratives challenges our very ability to find the truth all the while overshadowing a chilling possibility: MacDonald may be an innocent man.”
Poster for FX’s docuseries ‘A Wilderness of Error’
Cinemax’s riveting dramatic series Warrior will return for a second season in October 2020. The new 10 episode season will find the Tong Wars heating up and Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji) fighting alongside the Hop Wei, as shown in the season’s first official trailer.
The action drama is based on Bruce Lee’s writings and was created by Jonathan Tropper (Banshee). Tropper, Justin Lin (Star Trek Beyond), Andrew Schneider, Brad Kane, Richard Sharkey, and Bruce Lee Entertainment’s Shannon Lee executive produce. Kenneth Lin, Evan Endicott, and Josh Stoddard co-executive produce.
The cast of season two includes Kieran Bew as Bill O’Hara, Celine Buckens as Sophie, Olivia Cheng as Ah Toy, Dianne Doan as Mai Ling, and Dean Jagger as Dylan Leary. Langley Kirkwood plays Walter Buckley, Hoon Lee is Wang Chao, Christian McKay s Mayor Samuel Blake, Joe Taslim is Li Yong, Jason Tobin is Young Jun, Joanna Vanderham plays Penelope, Tom Weston-Jones is Richard Lee, and Perry Yung plays Father Jun.
Joining the cast as regulars for season two are Dustin Nguyen (21 Jump Street), Chen Tang (Mulan), Miranda Raison (Artemis Fowl), and recurring series regular Maria Elena Laas (Vida).
The Plot, Courtesy of Cinemax:
Warrior is a gritty, action-packed crime drama set during the brutal Tong Wars of San Francisco’s Chinatown in the late 19th century. The series follows Ah Sahm (Koji), a martial arts prodigy who emigrates from China to San Francisco under mysterious circumstances. After proving his worth as a fighter, Ah Sahm becomes a hatchet man for the Hop Wei, one of Chinatown’s most powerful Tongs (Chinese organized crime family). Season two follows rival Chinatown Tongs as they fight for dominance amidst the growing anti-Chinese fervor that threatens to destroy them all.
Jason Tobin and Andrew Koji in ‘Warrior’ (Photograph by David Bloomer / Cinemax)
Focus Features has released the official trailer for the comedy film Kajillionaire starring Evan Rachel Wood (Westworld) and featuring the song “Mr. Lonely” by Angel Olsen and Emile Mosseri. The studio’s also released a new poster along with a few new photos from the 2020 release.
Evan Rachel Wood’s fellow cast members include Golden Globe winner Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin), two-time Oscar nominee Richard Jenkins (The Shape of Water, The Visitor), and three-time Oscar nominee Debra Winger (Shadowlands, Terms of Endearment, An Officer and a Gentleman).
Miranda July (Me and You and Everyone We Know) wrote and directed Kajillionaire, with Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, and Youree Henley producing.
Focus Features has set an optimistic theatrical release date of September 18, 2020.
The Plot, Courtesy of Focus Features:
From acclaimed writer/director Miranda July comes a profoundly moving and wildly original comedy. Con-artists Theresa (Winger) and Robert (Jenkins) have spent 26 years training their only daughter, Old Dolio (Wood), to swindle, scam, and steal at every opportunity. During a desperate, hastily conceived heist, they charm a stranger (Rodriguez) into joining their next scam, only to have their entire world turned upside down.
Richard Jenkins as “Robert Dyne”, Debra Winger as “Theresa Dyne” and Evan Rachel Wood as “Old Dolio Dyne” in director Miranda July’s ‘Kajillionaire’ (Photo by Matt Kennedy / Focus Features)Gina Rodriguez stars as “Melanie” and Evan Rachel Wood stars as “Old Dolio Dyne” (Photo Credit : Matt Kennedy / Focus Features)Evan Rachel Wood as “Old Dolio Dyne”, Debra Winger as “Theresa Dyne” and Richard Jenkins as “Robert Dyne” in director Miranda July’s ‘Kajillionaire,’ a Focus Features release. (Photo Credit : Matt Kennedy / Focus Features)
