The Blacklist

Season 2

Main Characters

• Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader) is a criminal mastermind, making it to #4 on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, who suddenly turns himself in after 20 years of evading the FBI.

• Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone), a Special Agent of the FBI, who was specifically requested by Reddington during the process of cooperating with Assistant Director Harold Cooper.

• Donald Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff), a Special Agent of the FBI, he was the lead agent on Raymond Reddington case before Elizabeth Keen.

• Tom Keen (Ryan Eggold), Elizabeth Keen's husband; a spy who was hired to keep an eye on Elizabeth keen.

• Samar Navabi (Mozhan Marnò) is a Mossad operative who has had past interactions with Raymond Reddington. With the death of Meera Malik, she is assigned by Deputy Director Cooper to the task force as an investigative agent and Mossad liaison.

• Aram Mojtabai (Amir Arison), worked for the NSA for 14 years before being hand-selected by Harold Cooper for his diverse skill set. He is comfortable with counter-surveillance as he is with writing code or cracking databases.

• Harold Cooper (Harry Lennix), is the Assistant Director for Counter-terrorism at the FBI.

Review

In Season 1 finale we see that Berlin is after Reddington and season 2 starts off with the continuation of that but the whole season doesn't not revolve around Berlin. That's just for a small time. We see that there is a new highlight in this season other than Berlin and there are the usual events which is Reddington providing information on the blacklist and the FBI trying to solve the cases. But we also see more on Agent Keen's personal life and her relationship with Reddington and how everything is affected after the events that occurred in Season 1. Although it seems pretty obvious that Reddington is Agent Keen's father, so far they haven't showed that in the series which means there are chances he may not be.

The story is good and is consistently interesting. We've a new Agent in their Special Task Force, Agent Navabi who is a replacement for Meera Malik. This character is more convincing in her role than the character Meera Malik was. So this is a good addition to the series. Compared to season 1, this season had less action sequences. But all the action sequences throughout the series are good. James Spader as Reddington is very good and the character is awesome but Megan Boone as Elizabeth Keen needs to be more expressive.

Although Raymond Reddington is the most interesting character, after some time, his dialogues and plans seem a cliche. It feels like he's all bark cause his actions aren't as convincing as his threatening. That said, he does live up to his words and is a man of his word. The chain of events that happen in this season has taken the story into a different direction now. The series is good and I would definitely suggest this to everyone.

Rating - 4/5

The Flash

Season 1

Main Characters

• Barry Allen / Flash (Grant Gustin), a Central City assistant police forensic investigator who is struck by lightning in his laboratory after an explosion at the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator and doused by chemicals affected by the accident which gives him superhuman speed. He uses his new-found power to help the people of Central City as the masked superhero known as the Flash. 

• Iris West (Candice Patton), the daughter of Detective West and Barry Allen's best friend and longtime crush.

• Dr. Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker), a bioengineer, is the medical support for Barry's team who works for Dr. Harrison Wells at S.T.A.R. Labs.

• Cisco Ramon ( Carlos Valdes), a mechanical engineering genius who works at S.T.A.R. Labs for Dr. Harrison Wells. Cisco is the youngest member of the team of scientists at S.T.A.R. Labs.

• Dr. Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh), the mind and money behind Central City's S.T.A.R. Labs Particle Accelerator, who becomes a pariah after the lab explodes. He serves as a mentor to Barry Allen after he exhibits his powers, but Dr. Wells is keeping secrets from Barry, including his plans for the speedster.

• Eddie Thawne (Rick Cosnett), a recent transfer to the Central City Police Department. He is partner to Detective Joe West and Iris West's love interest.

• Joe West (Jesse L. Martin), a cop who acts as a surrogate father to Barry after his mother's death and father's imprisonment, and who is the father of Iris West.

Review

The flash tells the origin story of how Barry Allen was struck by lightning in his laboratory after an explosion at the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator and doused by chemicals affected by the accident which gives him superhuman speed. He uses his new-found power to help the people of Central City as the masked superhero known as the Flash with the help of Dr. Harrison Wells; who serves as a mentor to Barry Allen, Cisco Ramon, a mechanical engineering genius who works at S.T.A.R. Labs and Dr. Caitlin Snow, a bioengineer, is the medical support for Barry's team who works for Dr. Harrison Wells at S.T.A.R. Labs.

The Flash is one of the my favorite DC characters. We get to see Barry Allen/ Flash from getting his powers and learning how to use them with the help of his new friends at S.T.A.R Labs - Dr. Wells, Cisco and Caitlin who help Barry to understand and how to use his powers according to the situation. We get to see a lot of villains in this show with super powers who all got their powers after being affected by the Particle Accelerator.

The special effects of the series is good. It's exciting watch the flash run at super speed and fight people who have super powers. We finally have comic book series where there are a lot of characters with super powers and we get to see them in action. The story is consistently interesting and apart from solving crimes there are things going on in Barry's and his friend's life too which are important to the plot.

I like this fresh take on flash. The story, the characters, the special effects, the action, everything is good in the series. Even if you're not a comic fan you'll love this series. The way the series goes, I had expected a little more exciting ending of the series but it's still good. So how's The Flash Season 1 ? It's pretty good and I suggest you watch it.

Rating - 4/5

Arrow

Season 3

Main Characters

• Oliver Queen / Arrow (Stephen Amell), a billionaire playboy turned hooded vigilante, who is based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow.

• Laurel Lance / Black Canary (Katie Cassidy), based on the DC Comics character Black Canary, an attorney turned vigilante and former girlfriend of Oliver Queen.

• John Diggle (David Ramsey), Oliver's partner, confidant, and bodyguard.

• Thea Queen (Willa Holland), Oliver's younger sister.

• Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards), the IT technician at Queen Consolidated who has become part of Oliver's vigilante team.

• Roy Harper / Arsenal (Colton Haynes), a character based on the DC Comics character of the same name.

• Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman), Tommy's father; he is based on the DC Comics character Merlyn, an archenemy of Green Arrow in the comics and he is the biological father of Thea Queen.

• Ra's al Ghul (Matt Nable), whose name translates to "The Demon's Head" in Arabic, is the centuries-old leader of the League of Assassins. He seeks to purge humanity of crime and corruption, utilizing the rejuvenating Lazarus Pits to maintain his immortality.

• Nyssa Al Ghul (Katrina Law), a member of the League of Assassins. She is also the daughter of the late Ra's al Ghul. She is the ex-lover and close friend of the late Sara Lance. She was the one who brought Sara to Nanda Parbat.

• Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh), a businessman and the CEO of Palmer Technologies. Ray is also the former fiancé of the late Anna and the ex-boyfriend/good friend of Felicity Smoak. Using a powerful exosuit, he has begun to act as a vigilante around Starling City, self-named The Atom.

Review

So, it's the season 3 of poor people's Batman or as some people call it; Arrow. By the end of season 2 we see that Thea Queen leaves town with Malcolm Merlyn (her biological father). In season 3 beginning we see that Malcolm has been training her and making her combat ready, which is good. For sometime we get to see Thea being confident and capable of taking care of herself and then by half the season she's back to damsel in distress who's worried about something or the other and asking " Why didn't you tell me this, why did you hide it from me ? "

We've some new superheroes and villains in this season which is good. Ray Palmer/A.T.O.M buys queen consolidated and works on an exosuit with the help of Felicity Smoak. We don't get to see the A.T.O.M in action a lot as in this season it's still a work in progress but he does help the Arrow. Ray Palmer/ A.T.O.M is pretty much the male version of Felicity Smoak. Laurel Lance becomes Black Canary in this as if the first one wasn't bad enough.

The series begins good with Oliver Queen/ Arrow trying to save his city and the usual catching and stopping the bad guys, which is nice to watch. But now a lot of things have changed and that's affecting their lives. We also get to see the background story on Oliver Queen when he was stranded on the Island. This time it's all about his time spent in Hong Kong and doing things for Amanda Waller. This time his story about the past isn't very interesting.

Till half of the season everything seems to going fine and nice. We get to see bad guys beaten up, brought to justice and some new DC villains too. But once Ra's Al Ghul gets involved in the story, things get really weird. In this season Oliver Queen/ Arrow is more of trying to be Batman than The Arrow. The story takes a different turn and it's unnecessary. The involvement of Ra's Al Ghul in Oliver's life kind of ruined the story. Also, the character of A.T.O.M isn't great. Everyone who's watched Arrow knows that there's always someone or other saying " I was protecting you, I care for you, It's for your safety " and things like that, which also gets annoying after sometime.

What's always been bad consistently in the whole series is the action. They always feel slow and lousy. This time there were a lot of special effects also. The special effects were fine through the series except for the character The A.T.O.M. 

Overall the season was good till Ra's Al Ghul gets involved. I hope there's a better story in the next season than The Arrow being a wannabe Batman. So, how is season 3 ? It's all right !! One can still watch and enjoy few things.

Rating - 3.4/5

Sense8

Season 1

Main Characters(Sensates)

• Capheus (Aml Ameen), a compassionate Matatu van driver in Nairobi with a strong sense of justice who is desperately trying to earn money to buy medicine for his mother, who is dying of AIDS. He enjoys Jean-Claude Van Damme's work and has even named his van, 'Van Damn' after him.

• Sun Bak (Bae Doona), daughter of a powerful Seoul businessman. A burgeoning star in the underground kickboxing world with a master's degree in economics.

• Nomi Marks (Jamie Clayton), a trans woman and hacktivist living in San Francisco, who has a girlfriend named Amanita.

• Kala Dandekar (Tina Desai), a university-educated pharmacist and devout Hindu in Mumbai engaged to marry a man she does not love.

• Riley Blue (Tuppence Middleton), an Icelandic DJ with a troubled past that made her run away to London.

• Wolfgang Bogdanow (Max Riemelt), a Berlin locksmith and safe-cracker of Russian descent, who has unresolved issues with his late father and participates in organized crime.

• Lito Rodriguez (Miguel Ángel Silvestre ), a closeted Spanish actor from Bilbao living in Mexico City.

• Will Gorski (Brian J. Smith), a Chicago police officer haunted by an unsolved murder from his childhood.

Review

The plot revolves around eight strangers from different parts of the world who suddenly become mentally and emotionally linked, and must find a way to survive being hunted by those who see them as a threat to the world's order. They are called the Sensates (mentioned in the Main Characters). They can access each others skills, emotions and feelings. The cinematography is really good. It touches a lot of aspects like diversity, sexuality, gender, religion. Every Sensaste is from a different country. The beauty of each place is captured very well. The visuals are good. We get to see their ethnicity and culture.

I really like the diversity of the characters and especially how Indians are portrayed. I've always felt that Indians have always been portrayed as extra brown with thick accents. But in this they seem like normal people who speak good English. We also get to see an Indian wedding which has been depicted well. 

The main problem with the series is the lack of a good story. There's a lot of expectation when people can access each others talents and skills but all we get to see is the character's background story and them trying to understand each other. None of the characters are highly skilled in anything so that we get to see some awesome sequences except for Sun Bak (Bae Doona) who is very good at kickboxing . She is the only character who is most helpful when it comes to sharing each other's skills.

Although we get to see some action here and there, until the last two episodes there's nothing significant going on. The action and acting is mediocre. Sharing the benefits of being mentally linked to each other could've been depicted better. If you're expecting a lot of action and great story then you're in for some disappointment. In one word the series can be described as mediocre.

Rating - 3/5

Daredevil

Season 1

Lawyer-by-day Matt Murdock uses his heightened senses from being blinded as a young boy to fight crime at night on the streets of New York City's Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood as Daredevil.

Main Characters

• Matt Murdock / Daredevil ( Charlie Cox), a blind lawyer who becomes the hero Daredevil.

• Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll), an enigmatic young woman whose quest for justice sends her crashing into Murdock's life.

• Franklin "Foggy" Nelson (Elden Henson), Murdock's close friend and law partner.

• Ben Urich (Vondie Curtis-Hall ), an investigative journalist for the New York Bulletin.

• Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio), a powerful businessman whose interests in the future of Hell's Kitchen will bring him into conflict with Murdock and Daredevil.

Review

Matt Murdock is a blind attorney by day and a masked vigilante by night. He is ambitious and and starts his own law firm with his best friend Foggy Nelson and a client turned friend Karen Page. Matt Murdock lost his eyesight when he was a child in an accident due to spilling of radioactive chemicals from an oncoming vehicle. While he no longer can see, the radioactive exposure heightens his remaining senses beyond normal human ability and gives him a type of sonar which acts as his vision.  He could listen to person's heartbeat and tell if they're lying or not. 

The series starts with Matt Murdock already as a masked vigilante who fights bad people and tries to do the right thing that the law can't. Matt Murdock is trying to make the the city a better place by taking out the bad guys and trying to reach the man behind all of this, Wilson Fisk aka The Kingpin who controls the whole city. Although, throughout the series he's never mentioned as Kingpin. The story is essentially about Matt Murdock trying to bring down Wilson Fisk through his series of investigation and getting to him through the network of people who work for him, taking them out one by one.

Even though it is an origin story, I like that the series starts with Matt Murdock already as Daredevil. He is skilled and trained and is combat ready. The series is dark and gritty. The action and choreography of the stunts are amazing and the cinematography is brilliant. We can see Matt Murdock as a rookie in the beginning and getting better with experience. I also like that the background story of Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk are shown in flashbacks than starting everything from the beginning. We also see Matt Murdock fighting with his sense of morality.

As long as Matt Murdock/Daredevil is onto something or if there's an action sequence is an episode; the series is interesting. But when it's not and it's just story about the characters or current situation, it gets boring. It is not interesting throughout the series and bores you at times. Apart from that everything else is good about it. But the action is really good. That cannot be denied.

And of course as it happens in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) there are quite a few references and easter eggs and they are very subtle. We also get to see an episode where "Stick" appears. He is a blind guy, like Matt Murdock, who trained him when he was a child. As always, Stan Lee has a cameo in the series and if you can find that on your own, then you have really good observational skills.

I like this fresh take on The Daredevil, it's a good show but also is boring at times. Not sure how much a person who is not a big fan of comics and superheroes would appreciate this but if you are I'm sure you will like this.

Rating - 3.8/5

Fargo

Season 1

Main Characters

• Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton), a drifter named Lorne Malvo arrives in small-town Minnesota and influences the population with his malice and violence.

• Deputy Gus Grimly (Colin Hanks), a single father who must choose between his own safety and his police duties when the investigation comes to a head.

• Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman), a life insurance salesman from Bemidji, Minnesota who is “henpecked by his wife.” His life is changed when a mysterious contract killer named Lorne Malvo comes to town.

• Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman), is deputy police officer in Bemidji, Minnesota who teams up with Duluth police officer Gus Grimly to solve a series of murders they believe may be linked to Lorne Malvo and Lester Nygaard.

Review

A drifter named Lorne Malvo arrives in small-town Minnesota and influences the population with his malice and violence, including put-upon insurance salesman Lester Nygaard. Lester Nygaard is an incompetent person, who lacks confidence and is generally bullied. He gets influenced by Lorne Malvo and ends up killing his wife in an argument and plays the victim of an intruder attack. As Lester is a nice guy, nobody suspects him of any wrong doing except Deputy Molly Solverson who investigates the case and other cases in which Lorne Malvo is involved. As the series progresses we can see Lorne Malvo involved in many crime scenes and deaths of various individuals. There is no proper explanation of who and what Lorne Malvo is except that he kills people, steals their money and is deceptive and manipulative. He is a mysterious creepy guy.

The chain of events that happen in Lester Nygaard's life changes him as a person. By the end of the series Lester is a smart guy who is more confident and successful in life. Deputy Molly Solverson is the only person who thinks Lester Nygaard and Lorne Malvo are involved in the death of Lester's wife and she proves it with her persistent police work and with the help of Deputy Gus Grimly whom she later marries.

Billy Bob Thornton and Martin Freeman's performances as Lorne Malvo and Lester Nygaard stand out. Allison Tolman is also great as deputy Molly Solverson. Others too have performed well. There's character development for Lester Nygaard in the series. As it involves crime scene and investigation, the story is consistently interesting and does not get boring. It has a steady progression of events which are generally linked to Lorne Malvo. It is a good TV series and I would suggest this to everyone.

Rating - 4/5

Better Call Saul

Season 1

Better Call Saul follows the story of small-time lawyer James Morgan "Jimmy" McGill (Bob Odenkirk), six years before his appearance on Breaking Bad as Saul Goodman; events after the original series are briefly explored. You've to watch breaking bad to know the character and his importance, even otherwise it's a good show.

Main Characters

• James "Jimmy" McGill (Bob Odenkirk) aka Saul Goodman, a small-time scam artist who becomes a lawyer, then becomes involved with the criminal world.

• Michael "Mike" Ehrmantraut(Jonathan Banks), a former police officer working independently as a private investigator and "cleaner".

• Kimberley "Kim" Wexler(Rhea Seehorn), a lawyer working at the Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill law firm who is Jimmy's close friend and love interest.

• Howard Hamlin(Patrick Fabian), the co-founder of Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill and Jimmy's nemesis.

• Charles "Chuck" McGill(Michael McKean), Jimmy's brother, who is forced to leave his job at his law firm, Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill due to the sudden onset of electromagnetic hypersensitivity.

Review

Better Call Saul is the origin story of Saul Goodman as a lawyer when he was known by the name James "Jimmy" McGill. It shows James McGill's days of struggle when he had barely any clients, money or recognition and how he turns from a small time scam artist to a lawyer. His main inspiration for becoming a lawyer is his brother Chuck McGill(Michael McKean) who worked at the law firm Hamlin, Hamlin and McGill. The relationship between James McGill and his brother is important as it is one of the reasons how James McGill goes solo and starts his own firm. We also get a background story on Mike(Jonathan Banks) and how James McGill and Mike got to know each other. Those who have watched Breaking Bad would know this character and his importance, others can still enjoy the show. There are quite a few Breaking Bad references and Easter eggs. We also get to see the story behind James McGill's ring and watch which the character always wears. This is the reason I suggest watching breaking bad first before watching this series as in to understand every detail. It is good to see Saul Goodman aka James McGill in action. He's got his charm and few good jokes which the character is known for. Each episode is consistently interesting, doesn't get boring anywhere and has a steady progression. Everybody's performance was good and I would definitely suggest this series to anyone.

Rating - 4/5