• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt22202452/
• Platform: AppleTV+

Source The show develops the story of Carol as the main character, who is this romance writer played by Rhea Seehorn and she absolutely kills it in this role, Carol hates her own books calls them mindless crap and you can tell she is just over everything in her life, she is miserable as hell and the only thing keeping her sane is her wife Helen who also happens to be her manager. I loved how they showed Carols relationship with Helen because it felt Helen had her back and put up with all Carol's angry management problems no matter what, at least for the short time they were together, you could see that Helen was the only person who truly understood Carol and cared about her happiness even when Carol was being a total ass about everything. The whole book tour sequence at the beginning was great because it showed us who Carol really is, she is successful she has money she has fans but none of that makes her happy because she is stuck writing these fantasy romance books that she doesnt give a damn about instead of the serious book she has been working on for five years called Bitter Chrysalis. That detail about the book she wants to write feels important because I bet by the end of this season or next season Carol is going to finish that book and it will mean something big for her character story or the very plan to restore humanity, or join them, this is just my imagination going wild. Helen even mentions James Joyce and how his book made people miserable but it was still worth it if it made even one person happy witch becomes a huge theme later on.

Source

Source Episode one really picks up speed when Carol and Helen are at a bar celebrating their best book tour ever and Carol is just complaining about her fans calling them dummies, then they go outside for a smoke and thats when shit hits the fan real quick. While they are out in the parking lot Carol notice planes in the sky but it looks like they dropping some spray in the air, most likely the virus and thats when a truck crashes in the parking lot, Carol goes to help the driver and then Helen just drops to the ground and starts shaking like everyone else around them, Carol runs back inside the bar and everyones shaking and convulsing witch was intense as hell to watch. Rhea Seehorn puts up sch a great performance in these scenes because you can feel Carols panic and confusion, she has no idea whats going on, why all this people are just shaking with some falling on the floor and all she wants is for someone to help her save Helen. Carol manages to get Helen into a truck and drives to the hospital but its the same thing there, everyone is infected and when Helen wakes up for a brief moment you think maybe she is okay but then she dies right there in the back of the truck. That scene where Carol is trying to do chest compressions on Helen and begging for someone to help her was heartbreaking, you could see the desperation and fear in Carols face and it made the whole situation feel so real and heavy, her acting is so so good. After Helen dies all the infected people wake up and they all start talking in unison saying they just want to help Carol witch was creepy as hell, they try to take Helens body away but Carol tells them to stop and they actually listen witch was interesting because it shows they are not trying to hurt her they are actually trying to help her.

The rest of the first episode is Carol trying to process what just happened and dealing with the fact that the entire world has been taken over by this hive mind virus thing, she drives home and the city is on fire cars are crashed everywhere its total chaos. When she gets to her house she cant get inside because she left her keys in the car so she tries to break down the door with a rock, then her neighbors kids come out and they know exactly where she hid a spare key nine years ago witch is creepy because how the hell do they know that, it shows that the hive mind has access to everyone's memory and knowledge witch makes me start thinking about how this thing actually works, but latter one "they" mention to not knowing exactly how it works, making me think if this is just part of their plan or is it that this virus is really way ahead of human brain capacity, you would think that if every single human in the world is now in sync they could come up to understand how this hole thing wokrs. Carol finally gets inside and turns on the TV and theres a guy standing at a podium in the White House waiting for her to call a number on the screen, when she calls the guy explains that its not an alien invasion but they are the result of extraterrestrial technology, never call it a virus though as a virus is often an infection. The signal the scientists picked up at the beginning was made up of four tones that are basically the building blocks of RNA, they turned it into a virus and tested it on rats and one of the rats bit a scientist and thats how it started spreading to humans. The guy calls it a psychic glue that binds everyone's minds together and he admits they dont really know how it works it just does, Carol finds out she is one of only 12 people in the world who didnt get infected and the hive mind wants to figure out why so they can fix her and make her join them, they specifically mention they are here to help her not to hurt her and that her life is he owns but what happens if she says NO and refuse to join??.

The meeting in Spain is where episode two really lost me because it was just way too much sitting around tables talking and debating with Carol been the only one who cares about humanity and not just been in paradise like the rest, Carol gives this big speech about how its up to them to save humanity but nobody is buying it because most of the people at the meeting have family members who got infected and they dont see it as a bad thing because there is no more crime, no more war, everyone is happy and connected, there is this guy named Diabate who is a total dick and he basically says the world is better off now so why would they want to fix it, I wonder who he was before this hole thing started. Carol tries to argue that individuality matters and freedom is important but she doesnt do a great job of selling it, been angry all the time doesnt help her neither. She even tells one of the girls that she doesnt really want to join her family witch is pretty contradictory to her whole argument about freedom and choice, the best part of the meeting was when Carol goes toe to toe with Lakshmi and points out that her son is not just her son anymore he is also her prime minister and a guy she dated in high school and her gynecologist, that shut Lakshmi up real quick but it didnt win Carol any fans. The hive mind reveals that 886 million people died during the joining witch is a huge number and way more than zero for a group that claims to do no killing, they try to justify it by saying they had to escalate because the military found out and they wanted to prevent more bloodshed. Then Lakshmi drops the bomb that Carols outburst killed 11 million people witch completely undermines everything Carol has been trying to say, after that Carol just starts pounding glasses of wine and yelling at everyone calling them traitors to the human race before passing out in the yard.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #pluribus, #vincegilligan, #rheaseehorn, #appletv, #sciencefiction, #hivemind, #virus, #pandemic, #happiness, #aliens, #signal, #RNA, #outbreak, #apocalypse, #thriller, #drama, #horror, #breakingbad, #bettercallsaul, #Carol, #Helen, #zosia, #immune, #survivors, #review

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Fuente

Una de las etapas trágicas más conocidas en España, es la que realizó el grupo terrorista ETA. Durante muchos años sembró caos que involucró muchos muertos; sin embargo, la respuesta oficial poco a poco se consolidó. Entre esas respuestas, este título trata de mostrar una de ellas. Estrenada hace poco en Netflix, siendo su director Agustín Díaz Yanes.

One of the most notorious tragic periods in Spain's history was that caused by the terrorist group ETA. For many years, it sowed chaos that resulted in many deaths; however, the official response gradually gained momentum. This title attempts to show one of those responses. Recently released on Netflix, it was directed by Agustín Díaz Yanes.

Sinopsis: Amaia es una joven guardia civil que es reclutada para infiltrarse en ETA, una organización terrorista en España. Para ello se le creará una perfil completo, con el que podrá engañar a una de las cabecillas del grupo; sin embargo, el peligro es constante, mientras intenta descubrir los secretos del grupo.

Synopsis: Amaia is a young civil guard who is recruited to infiltrate ETA, a terrorist organization in Spain. To do so, a complete profile will be created for her, with which she will be able to deceive one of the group's leaders; however, the danger is constant as she tries to uncover the group's secrets.

Fuente

Esta película enfocada en el suspenso, es desarrollada de manera lineal, viendo como la protagonista infiltrada se ve afectada por los sucesos que se dieron históricamente. Desde asesinatos a políticos, secuestros y hasta el manejo de armas y bombas.

This suspense-focused film is developed in a linear fashion, showing how the undercover protagonist is affected by historical events. From political assassinations and kidnappings to the handling of weapons and bombs.

Lo interesante es ver como ambos bandos tratan de ganar al otro. En el caso de ETA, tratar de cumplir sus objetivos y dar con su “soplón”, y el gobierno, buscando unos zulos de armas, que dañarían fuertemente al grupo.

It is interesting to see how both sides try to outdo each other. In the case of ETA, they try to achieve their objectives and find their “informant,” while the government searches for weapons caches that would severely damage the group.

Fuente

Si bien hay un poco de temas personales, el enfoque está en la misión y como cada etapa para que Amaia sea más y más aceptada en el grupo es importante.

Although there are some personal issues, the focus is on the mission and how each stage is important for Amaia to become more and more accepted into the group.

En el aspecto técnico, hay momentos donde se nota un bajo presupuesto y en otros ya hay un mayor despliegue de escenarios. La música tiene una buena elección, especialmente con la canción final, dándole un toque simbólico. La actuación es más que correcta, destacando la protagonista Amaia, siendo interpretada por Susana Abaitua.

On the technical side, there are moments where you can tell the budget was low, and others where there is a greater display of settings. The music is well chosen, especially the final song, which adds a symbolic touch. The acting is more than adequate, with Susana Abaitua standing out in the lead role of Amaia.

Sin duda es un título que logra mostrar de buena manera, lo que un agente infiltrado tiene que pasar para conseguir los objetivos establecidos. Por mi parte, me engancho de principio a fin. Recomendable.

Without a doubt, this is a film that successfully shows what an undercover agent has to go through to achieve their objectives. For my part, I was hooked from beginning to end. Recommended.

Calificación personal: 7.3 de 10

Personal rating: 7.3 out of 10

(NOTE: Capsule version of the review is available here.)

When J.J. Abrams stepped behind the camera for Mission: Impossible III in 2006, he inherited a franchise in dire need of resuscitation. Following the critically panned, style-over-substance Mission: Impossible II (2000), the series was teetering on the edge of irrelevance. The third instalment was positioned as a return to the television show's roots – a promise of intricate espionage, moral complexity, and team-based operations rather than the solo heroics that had characterised the previous film. While Abrams' directorial debut successfully arrested the franchise's "slide to self-destruction, Mission: Impossible III ultimately settles for being merely solid rather than spectacular, a competent thriller that fails to capitalise fully on its promising premise.

The film's greatest strength lies in its central performances, particularly the electrifying antagonism between Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt and Philip Seymour Hoffman's Owen Davian. Hoffman, in what was then an unexpected casting choice for a blockbuster villain, brings a chilling, methodical menace that elevates the entire production. His Davian isn't a cartoonish super-villain but a pragmatic, terrifyingly competent arms dealer whose motivations feel disturbingly real – a quality that lends the film its surprisingly dark tone. Hoffman's performance remains one of the series' high points, with later entries struggling to match the sheer presence he brought to the role.

Cruise, meanwhile, delivers one of his more restrained performances as Hunt, particularly in the film's first act where we see him attempting to retire from field work as an IMF trainer. This domestic interlude with his new wife Julia (Michelle Monaghan) provides a welcome emotional anchor that previous entries lacked, though the execution feels somewhat perfunctory. The relationship lacks genuine chemistry, making Julia's subsequent endangerment feel more like a plot device than an emotionally resonant crisis. This emotional disconnect extends to the rest of Hunt's team, with the introduction of Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn – while ultimately becoming a franchise staple – feeling somewhat underdeveloped here.

The film's much-touted return to complex spy craft proves somewhat overstated. While Abrams does surround Hunt with "a competent IMF team" – a welcome change from the "IMF turncoats" who served as villains in the first two films – the plot mechanics ultimately devolve into standard action fare. The much-hyped "mystery box MacGuffinry" never quite coalesces into anything particularly clever or surprising. The supposed "mole within IMF" storyline feels hastily constructed, serving primarily as a narrative convenience rather than a genuinely compelling mystery. The film's attempt to reflect US War on Terror and its moral ambiguities remains frustratingly superficial, with the thematic depth promised by its dark tone never fully realised.

Where Mission: Impossible III truly shines is in its action sequences, which represent a significant step forward for the franchise. Unlike many contemporary action films that rely excessively on CGI, Abrams grounds these sequences in tangible reality, creating a palpable sense of danger that digital effects often lack. The Vatican sequence, while borrowing heavily from Alias (Abrams' television series), demonstrates his flair for tension-building and spatial awareness in action choreography.

However, the film's pacing proves problematic. After the strong opening act establishing Hunt's domestic life, the narrative accelerates too rapidly into standard chase-and-rescue territory. The middle section becomes particularly tedious, with repetitive action sequences that lack the escalating stakes necessary to maintain tension. This pacing issue is compounded by the film's relatively short runtime (125 minutes), suggesting that tighter editing might have improved the overall flow.

The production history also casts an interesting light on the film's uneven quality. Abrams was brought in after multiple directorial changes due to "creative differences," and the production suffered significant delays due to his commitments to Alias and Lost. These disruptions likely contributed to the film's somewhat patchwork feel, with certain sequences (particularly the emotional beats) feeling underdeveloped compared to the meticulously crafted action set pieces. The cast reshuffling – with actors like Kenneth Branagh, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Scarlett Johansson departing due to scheduling conflicts – may also have impacted the film's cohesion.

Despite these shortcomings, Mission: Impossible III deserves credit for laying the groundwork for the franchise's remarkable renaissance. It represents "a marked improvement over Mission: Impossible II, and it set the foundation for the franchise's eventual reinvention. The decision to focus on Hunt's emotional vulnerability through his relationship with Julia, while imperfectly executed here, would inform the more successful character development in later entries. Similarly, the introduction of a proper supporting team (including the debut of Simon Pegg's Benji) established the ensemble dynamic that would become a series hallmark.

At the end, Mission: Impossible III succeeds primarily as a course correction rather than a triumph. It delivers not particularly memorable, but solid spy action thriller entertainment that effectively reset the franchise after the misstep of its predecessor. For all its flaws, it proved that the Mission: Impossible franchise still had life in it – a crucial realisation that would pave the way for the even more successful instalments to follow.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

Blog in Croatian https://draxblog.com Blog in English https://draxreview.wordpress.com/ Leofinance blog https://leofinance.io/@drax.leo

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The From series, which stands out for its atmosphere of dread, can be considered one of the most modern horror-themed series. I think it will appeal to anyone interested in series like The Walking Dead.

As a fan of The Walking Dead series, I can say that I see similarities in the atmosphere and the mysterious story created by the From series. However, the From series has a more oppressive and frightening atmosphere.

It has a story that questions the limits of human nature and more successfully reflects the helplessness of the characters trapped in it.

Let's briefly touch on the series' story. It revolves around people entering a remote town via dirt roads after a huge tree falls across the road and then being unable to leave. There is only one road, and no matter how far you go, you end up back where you started, entering an endless loop. Moreover, being stuck in one place isn't the only problem. Human-like creatures that appear at night hunt down everyone who happens to pass through the town, one by one.

The mystery fragments scattered throughout this story and the characters' efforts to regain their lost hope make the series even more special. This place, where ordinary people struggle to live during the day, turns into a hunting ground for deadly creatures at night.

The constant arrival of new people in a town with no exit keeps the story quite current. The unexpected death of a character you've grown accustomed to and fond of is a detail that I initially found jarring but came to appreciate as the story progressed. I think the last time I felt this way was with the Game of Thrones series, and I can say it has similar rapid transitions. Of course, don't set your expectations too high.

I'm familiar with films that spread classic monster fear. I can say that the From series is a successful and unique production that blends classic monster fear with psychological suspense. Somewhere along the way, they've managed to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. This small detail makes the series and its story special.

You can feel the fear of the forest surrounding the town while watching. The momentum of the curiosity aroused in the viewer never slows down because you are constantly on alert with small stories within the story. Hope and hopelessness in people are perfectly crafted. You get the chance to compare the characters' efforts to keep their hopes alive in order to continue living and escape the cycle they have fallen into, and their occasional succumbing to hopelessness.

In most productions, when I ask myself, “What would I do if I were there?”, I can come up with dozens of answers, but in the series From, you don't really have an answer. Every possible answer creates disappointment as the cycle constantly repeats itself, and even if you are not there, just watching those who are, you can fully experience the helplessness.

Much can be said about hope and hopelessness, which I believe is the film's underlying theme. Witnessing the hopes and despair of people crushed under both physical and emotional burdens offers a very different experience. I think even those who don't like this kind of film should watch the series just for the experience I've described.

After the first season, it seems simple and inevitable to think that the town is a simulation created by someone, but as the seasons continue, new ideas emerge, such as it being a version of hell on earth or another dimension in outer space. The series doesn't directly answer these questions, but it constantly encourages the viewer to come up with new theories. You may want to come to your own conclusions. In this sense, I can say that it offers a different experience and effectively handles the mystery. It may trigger your desire to solve puzzles.

I've been away from the hive for a while due to reasons beyond my control. I hope everyone is in good health during this time and that you are happy wherever you live. Thank you for being here and reading. Take care, and goodbye!

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PREDATOR: BADLANDS - A MISSED OPPORTUNITY

Sadly, the film is well-written and executed, but it has been compared to the previous movies from the Predator franchise. Why is it a missed opportunity? - It would’ve been the best chance for originality and authenticity to be exposed and promoted on top of the classical family and abuse theme—a new protagonist. But yeah. It is, unfortunately, how these rampant capitalists work. Riding the IP could be the main bait for the public to come out for this one. But with almost an unlimited budget for global marketing, it could’ve been used for what I stated above.

Why was the original 1987 Predator a success? Because it was authentic. Something that today’s mainstream cinema is totally lacking. The studios back then welcomed the gamble on new things, while today’s studio relies on the 'formulas that worked' for quick return of investments. And it was not the ground-breaking special effects work either. That was just the cherry on top. It is actually what the visual effects represent. The 1987 Predator is actually about the fear of the unseen and the unknown. Which lies deep beneath all of us. That versus the peak 80s male masculinity archetype, led by Arnold Schwarzenegger, it's a formula to set the stage on fire. It was indeed, as we know it by now, worth the gamble. Not to mention the epic soundtrack. Ahh…when was the last time mainstream cinema came out with a great thematic soundtrack, eh?

I can give many examples of how the focus now is only on how things look and explode (spectacle), rather than first observing the writing. The mistake with Badlands is that they focused on the denotation (objective) of what Predator is (an entity from the species and from their planet), which connotatively (subjectively) represents a metaphor for the primeval fear of the unseen. Predator is a symbol of that. To apply the theme ‘abused family ties’ and ‘self-redemption’ arc to that symbolism is wrong. Hence, why I said it is a missed opportunity to gamble on a new protagonist and a new IP.

FRANKENSTEIN (2025)

Looking at Guillermo Del Toro's latest, a remake and adaptation of the classic Frankenstein novel, he uses and slightly adjusts the archetype to fit his own stance about a certain topic, in this case, artificial intelligence. He famously said, “He’d rather die than use generative AI in his movies.” With his version of Frankenstein, he delivers a critique of the character of Victor, who wants to play god by giving birth to something without any prior consideration of the pros and cons, which is totally unscientific, which puts Victor into the ‘mad scientists’ archetype.

An archetype that, if we look deep enough into our metamodern life, is not totally short in supply. In one of his recent lectures, Professor Yuval Noah Harari, an Israeli medievalist, military historian, public intellectual, and popular science writer, drew parallels between the manic rush in developing and adapting AI, even at the expense of the termination of the livelihood of many (probably by the same breed of rampant capitalist that purchase IPs just to miss the whole point of them totally). He said,

“If you think about it like a car, when they taught me how to drive, the first thing was to learn how to use the brakes. It is a bad idea to teach you to go faster and then, when you are too fast, only then tell you how to stop.”

He then added, “This is what we are doing with AI. You have this chorus of people in place, like Silicon Valley, saying, ‘Let’s go as fast as we can. If there is a problem down the road, we will figure out how to stop it. This is very dangerous.”

Like how back in the early 2000s, the industry and investors were quick to buy and believe whatever a guy from Silicon Valley standing on a stage was selling. Without going through the right process, academics and thinking about what the impact might be on society and the next generation of humanity, by riding the populist culture to the maximum. The best example is of social media. Like what Yuval said above, now we are only thinking of how to stop, only after the effects are already deeply affecting the current generation.

They might be modestly dressed in t-shirts and jeans, but looking deeper into their connotation, they tick all the boxes as the ‘mad scientists’ archetype. Which is what Del Toro is trying to say. The monster is not what Victor gave birth to. The monster is actually himself.

If anybody remembers the classic Disney animation where Mickey Mouse wears the wizard’s hat, and uses a spell from his Master’s magic book to ask a group of brooms to do his chores instead - that is actually another critique of a mad scientist. More in this case, the original author, Goethe, from whom that animation is inspired (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, 1797) said,

“Only a master should invoke powerful spirits.” As we see now with the birth of AI into our lives, many ‘masters’ have only now started questioning how do we stop. God save us from rampant capitalists, tech billionaires (soon, trillionaires), and FOMO fanatics.

Thus, the Del Toro's Frankenstein's tagline - Only monsters play God.

A tragedy. For Victor. As for the unnamed creature, Del Toro gave him the cinematic ending of a hero - facing the sunrise. Something that some Malaysian cinematographers (and film fest juries) do not understand.

Just rewatched Memoirs of a Geisha and wow, it hits different.

Yo what is up HIVE?

Can't forget to post before bed haha

I have a tender love for Japanese culture from anime to film and influencers, so I was happy to see that Memoirs of a Geisha was free to watch on Youtube.

On the surface, it's this stunning, epic story about a geisha's rise in 20th-century Japan.

The costumes, the atmosphere—all breathtaking. But what really got me this time was how sharp its commentary feels on the ways women navigate a world built by and for wealthy men.

You watch Sayuri learn that her entire value is a performance—her beauty, her art, her conversation are all a product to be sold.

It’s framed as this elegant tradition, but it’s a survival strategy in a system where men hold all the financial power. Sound familiar?

It’s hard not to see the modern parallels.

Today, women are still incentivized to sell themselves—whether through social media, corporate persona, or literal side hustles—yet get labeled or demonized for participating in the service that demands it.

I don't want to make everything about the Epstein case but it's just insane to me that our world leaders are caught up in this scenario.

The movie quietly asks:

who really holds the power, the one selling an illusion or the one who profits from buying it?

A beautiful, complicated film that’s less about a lost world and more about one that’s still uncomfortably here.

Many Happy Returns (S01E07)

Airdate: November 10th 1967

Written by: Anthony Skene Directed by: Joseph Serf

Running Time: 50 minutes

The creators of The Prisoner have long been subjected to legitimate criticism – for narrative inconsistencies, opaque symbolism, or the sheer psychological abrasiveness of its core premise. Yet one accusation that could never stick is a lack of creative audacity. Fettered by the seemingly monotonous setting of the Village, the production team, spearheaded by the indomitable Patrick McGoohan, consistently defied expectations, striving to render each episode a distinct cinematic experiment. This commitment to formal innovation frequently saw them brazenly rupture the show’s ostensible boundaries, venturing far beyond the confines of that oppressive coastal enclave. Many Happy Returns stands as one of the series’ most audacious and structurally peculiar instalments, a bold gamble that simultaneously fulfils and perverts the audience’s deepest longing: escape.

The narrative commences with Number Six awakening to a profoundly unsettling void. Water and electricity are inexplicably severed; telephones lie dead. Venturing cautiously outside his apartment, he confronts a staggering reality – the Village is utterly deserted. Not merely empty, but stripped of all signs of recent habitation, as if its entire population had vanished overnight. Undeterred by the apparent apocalyptic nature of this abandonment, Six seizes the opportunity. With characteristic pragmatism, he gathers supplies, constructs a rudimentary raft, and sets sail across the seemingly impassable sea – the land route having been previously established as blocked by insurmountable mountains. His maritime odyssey, spanning several arduous days, proves perilous; he is discovered, robbed, and ultimately forced to leap into the churning waters after a desperate, failed attempt to commandeer the vessel of two German-speaking gunrunners. Exhausted, he washes ashore on what appears, with heart-stopping hope, to be English soil. Initial encounters with a band of travelling Romanys offer little clarity, but this hope crystallises when he spots a quintessential English bobby. After hiding in a lorry, Six arrives in London, a bustling metropolis that feels simultaneously familiar and alien. He visits his former home, now occupied by the enigmatic Mrs. Butterworth (Georgina Cookson), who, inexplicably sympathetic, provides him with sustenance, civilian attire, and listens as he reveals his impending birthday.

Six’s journey continues to the office of his former superior (series co-creator George Markstein), who dispatches him to two figures identified as Colonel (Donald Thorpe) and Thorpe (Patrick Cargill), purportedly old colleagues from British Intelligence. To them, Six recounts the bizarre saga of the Village. Their initial scepticism gradually yields to intrigue, and utilising his data alongside their own force of deduction, they pinpoint the location as an area west of the Mediterranean. Eager for concrete proof, Six agrees to accompany a reconnaissance mission in a Gloster Meteor, Britain’s pioneering jet fighter. Yet, as the aircraft soars towards the coordinates, betrayal strikes; the pilot, revealed as a traitor, triggers the ejection seat, hurling Six back towards the earth. He lands, inevitably, within the Village perimeter, stumbles to his old apartment, and is greeted by the chilling revelation: Mrs. Butterworth, his apparent saviour in London, now stands before him as the new Number Two.

Written by Anthony Skene (who also wrote A. B. and C.) and directed by McGoohan under his favoured pseudonym "Joseph Serf," Many Happy Returns holds a unique place in the series’ fraught production history. Aired out of sequence, it was the final episode completed before George Markstein’s acrimonious departure, stemming from profound creative differences with McGoohan. Markstein championed a more conventional spy narrative, grounded in Cold War realism, whereas McGoohan relentlessly pushed The Prisoner towards psychological surrealism and allegory. Remarkably, these behind-the-scenes tensions leave little trace on screen. Instead, the episode presents a fascinating hybrid: it delivers precisely what both factions might have desired – a genuine escape – only to savagely retract it, exposing the futility of conventional spy-thriller resolutions within The Prisoner’s unique framework.

The brilliance of the first half lies in McGoohan’s near-silent mastery. For over twenty minutes, Number Six is utterly alone. McGoohan conveys profound isolation, determination, and vulnerability through physicality alone – the meticulous preparation of the raft, the desperate struggle at sea, the raw relief of reaching land. The absence of dialogue, followed by encounters conducted in German and Romany, creates an extraordinary sense of dislocation and vulnerability. It’s a masterclass in visual storytelling, where the environment itself becomes the antagonist and the only confidante. While some action sequences, particularly the confrontation with the gunrunners, strain credulity, they are executed with such raw conviction that their narrative function – conveying Six’s relentless will – transcends strict realism.

The subsequent London sequence, however, introduces the episode’s most significant tension. Suddenly, The Prisoner adopts the trappings of the very genre Markstein advocated: the returned agent debriefing, the sceptical but ultimately helpful bureaucracy, the high-tech reconnaissance mission. It feels, for a moment, like a conventional resolution is within grasp. Mrs. Butterworth’s unexpected kindness and the ease with which Six deals with his old life are deeply comforting, yet also deeply suspicious to the seasoned viewer. The audience, conditioned by the series’ relentless subversion, instinctively knows this normalcy is unsustainable; the Village’s grip cannot be broken so cleanly.

This is where the episode’s central flaw emerges, transforming it from pure triumph into a fascinating, albeit frustrating, puzzle. Why would the Village orchestrate such an elaborate, resource-intensive charade? The explanation offered – that it was a "birthday present," a cruel psychological experiment granting Six his deepest wish only to snatch it away – feels simultaneously ingenious and profoundly unsatisfying. The logistical absurdity is immense: the construction of an entire fake London street set (implied by Six’s specific encounters), the casting of actors for Mrs. Butterworth and the officials, the deployment of a genuine Meteor jet for a mere deception. Even accepting the Village’s near-magical resources, the sheer scale and pointlessness of the ruse, beyond mere psychological torture, strains credulity to breaking point. It creates significant narrative fissures that the episode pointedly refuses to address, leaving the audience adrift in ambiguity – was it a genuine, inexplicable abandonment followed by recapture? Or solely an elaborate Village fabrication? McGoohan offers no solace, prioritising thematic resonance over plot coherence.

Nevertheless, Many Happy Returns remains a vital, compelling entry. Its direction is taut and inventive, particularly in the silent opening act. The inclusion of the Gloster Meteor, a tangible relic of Britain’s aviation pioneering, lends a gritty historical texture rarely seen in television fantasy, serving as a potent symbol of technological progress co-opted for deception. Ultimately, the episode’s enduring power lies precisely in its unresolved contradictions and its willingness to take monumental risks. It dares to grant the escape, only to reveal the cage is infinitely more complex and inescapable than mere geography. In this, Many Happy Returns transcends its plot holes, standing as a bold, unsettling, and unforgettable exploration of the impossibility of true escape from the systems – political, psychological, or societal – that seek to define and confine us. It is not a perfect episode, but its very imperfections are woven into its genius, a fitting reflection of the series’ own restless, uncompromising spirit.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)

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🇪🇸 Los diarios de la boticaria|Reseña Original de Marabuzal 

_{Translation Google}

To all of you artists out here at HIVE! If you ever are lost, please join Bokura No Digital World at our Discord chat.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19244304
• Platform: HBO MAX

Rottentomatoes Rating

Source Chris Chalk is doing amazing work as Dick Halloran and every scene with him just feels more interesting than everything else going on, when he touches that slingshot on the plane and gets pulled into Pennywises lair with all those floating bodys and his dead grandmother telling him to run that shit gets dark real fast. You can see the terror on his face and when he almost jumps out of the damn plane before Leroy grabs him it feels like actual danger for once, this is the kind of intensity the show needs more of because it reminds you just how powerful and messed up Pennywise really is even when we are not seeing the clown directly. The vision itself looks incredible too with that whole underwater sewer vibe and the dead kids just hanging there in the air, its one of those moments where the show stops messing around with teases and actually delivers something that makes your skin crawl. Dick realizing he just touched something way beyond his understanding and that this thing can reach into his head whenever it wants to, thats the kind of horror this show should be leaning into way more often instead of dancing around it with all these side plots that do not go anywhere fast enough.

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