Jedi by Knight

Once Upon a Time wrapped up its second season this week with an dramatic season finale.  Our flashbacks gave us some glimpse into the past interactions between Hook and Bae, and in the present we got all our villains (Regina, Rumple, and Hook) to show a little goodness on the way to saving Storybrooke.  We still have plenty of questions to be answered next season: Will Bae be ok in the Enchanted Forest?  How did he get out of Neverland to begin with?  What is waiting there for the rest of the characters?  Who exactly is Peter Pan and what does he want with Henry?  I really excited to see more of the other worlds next season…plus, it seems there will be a new spin-off show, set in Wonderland!

In addition, during the finale we saw a quick promo for Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., also coming in fall.  Can’t tell too much yet, but I will totally be watching.  It will be great to have Agent Coulson back!

I’m still giving Defiance a chance to wow me.  My favorite episode so far was “The Devil in the Dark,” which focused on Irisa learning more about her visions to help Nolan solve a series of murders.  Lots of great elements: father-daughter interaction, detective work, my favorite snarky Indogene doctor, interesting fantasy elements.  Really, the future of this show lies in the strength of the characters.  There are bright spots (Cersei Lannister wishes she could be Stahma Tarr).  The mayor and her madam sister, however, are boring the crap out of me.  Without some more character depth, Defiance will end up looking like a cheap Firefly knock-off.

Speaking of Game of Thrones, I was so impressed with the alien languages spoken on Defiance that I did some digging, and discovered that they are actually fully functional languages, created by the same man who created Dothraki and Valyrian for the Game of Thrones show.

Right now, I’m watching the wonderful Avatar: The Last Airbender on Netflix; it will only be available until May 22, so you have a week to watch the best American anime ever made.  This show is just about perfect: action, laughs, a little PG romance, and a cool Asian overtone.  The animation is lovely, too.  The characters are all three-dimensional, even the villains, and there are so many great strong female characters.  It manages to impart life lessons without being obvious and preachy.  Perfect for kids, but adults will love it, too.  It reminds me a lot of my childhood favorite, the Jackie Chan Adventures (also on Netflix).

(Still crossing my fingers that Bunheads will be renewed for next year…no word yet.  It grew to be one of my favorites, and I’d be sorry not to find out what happens with the characters)