Reign Review: Season 3 Episode 4: "The Price"

So far for season three of Reign, I've reviewed all of the episodes over on Youtube, but I knew that sooner or later reviews would start going here too.

This episode was kind of huge. I wasn't expecting Francis' "death" to come this early on! Actually, very little of this episode was what I expected to happen. I'd always figured there was a possibility they wouldn't actually kill Francis off because they wanted him on the show, but I didn't think we'd get a "he dies and then comes back" storyline. Funnily enough, I just read a book that did the same thing with a character, so that was actually on my mind while watching this episode.

I'm interested in seeing what they do with it. I liked the use of Delphine. I haven't really liked her much, mostly because I didn't find her very trustworthy even from the beginning, and I liked finally seeing her do something that made me turn around to her a little bit.

There's still a chance that Francis could die I suppose, but I think we've reached the point where it's clear he won't. I'm not going to lie, it would have been cool to see what they would have done with the show if Francis had died. Obviously, that would have been historically accurate, and I also think it could have brought about some really interesting things for the show. However, I have to be happy that Francis is still alive, and I still think they could do a lot of interesting things now that they've diverged from history enough that Francis has survived.

Elizabeth has quickly become one of my favorite characters. She's a lot like Catherine in a lot of ways that make Catherine my favorite character. I love so many of her lines about being a female ruler and her insistence on not marrying because a husband would force his rule onto her. I'm loving having her on the show. There's also this bit of irony hanging over all of the scenes where she talks about Mary being a threat and how she can never get the throne.

One of the most amusing parts of this episode for me was Catherine's attempts to gain the favor of the council members who need to name her regent. I really loved those bits. Actually, I'm a bit disappointed that Francis being okay means that's probably over.

Lola's starting to realize that Narcisse is still a terrible person, a fact which really shouldn't be all that much of a surprise. I'm so frustrated right now. As I've said time and time again, I hate them together, and I'm still upset that they actually wound up being married. Now I feel really sad for Lola because I really don't believe Narcisse can ever stop being terrible.

And the big finale of the episode is, of course, the death of Mary's mother. I am very interested in seeing where they go with that. What will happen in Scotland? Will we finally get to see more actually in Scotland? I've been hoping for something like that for a while. I'm really looking forward to see where the show goes.

Life Post: Sleep

My alarm for tomorrow morning is currently set for 8:30, and I am so thankful that I don't even know how to put it into words. It's been a ridiculously long time since I've gotten to sleep in that late, and after the amount of sleep I've been getting this whole week, that sounds like heaven.

Thankfully, it was a good week. A lot of awesome stuff happened. It was also just very long and busy and tiring. I'm so happy to go to sleep and actually sleep for a full eight hours. It's going to be amazing. Have I even said that yet? I'm honestly so out of it, and I have been for days. I don't even know what I'm saying anymore, and I've said so many stupid things in the past couple of days.

Now, I'm off to go get ready for bed.

I don't want to forget though: I posted a vlog on Youtube the other day. It includes the regatta we went to last weekend because my sister went and joined the rowing team this year. So there's that.

Life Post: I'm Tired

I'm actually surprised that it's been four days since I last posted. Everything's blurring together this week, so I can't remember when anything happened anymore. I taught my first lesson in a high school classroom today, and that along with a million other stuff for my classes has meant I have essentially no time for anything else. Or sleeping. I don't really have time for sleeping either, and that, of course, doesn't make everything else any better.

There's just a bit longer to go though. That's what I keep telling myself. And I should hopefully be able to sleep in this weekend. Actually, I have to sleep in this weekend because I don't think I could make it if I didn't.

I posted a review of The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson over on Youtube if you're interested.

Naruto Shippuden Review: Episodes 271-275

Exactly a month since my last review actually isn't all that bad of a wait for me. I can't believe I managed to watch five episodes during the last month considering how crazy the entire month was for me. It feels like it's been so much longer than that.

Now, I know that Naruto has had a lot of strange filler, but what was up with episode 271? I didn't expect much from that episode as soon as I realized it was about Sakura getting amnesia, but then, suddenly, it wasn't just amnesia but some alternate dimension person and just what? I still can't figure out what was going on. I can't figure out if the Sakura in the episode is the "real" Sakura in an alternate universe or if it's an "alternate" Sakura in the "real" Naruto universe. I have no idea what happened in that episode, and I watched the entire episode in a state of bewilderment.

Episode 272 and on made a lot more sense, and I enjoyed them so much more. Episode 272 really wasn't all that spectacular overall for me, but after having just watched 271, it was a welcome relief. I think it was a nice story as far as filler goes. A million times better than Sakura getting amnesia.

Episodes 273 and 274 are essentially two parts to the same story and one that I really liked. I enjoyed just about everything about those two episodes. I'll admit that I don't pay all that much attention to Choji most of the time, and these episodes made me feel really bad about it for a little bit. That one bit where he was talking about how no one would want to marry him really got to me, and the bits with the butterfly. I thought the whole thing was nicely done.

When I started episode 275, I was excited because I already had an idea of what was coming. I've been waiting and waiting for Naruto to finally realize what's going on, and now he has. I particularly liked the note that Iruka wrote for him ("Come back alive, no matter what."). That was such a nice moment.

That last episode has gotten me so excited to watch the rest. I feel like it's expected that I'll say something like that each time in these things, but it's true. Naruto finally leaving that island feels like such progress, and even though I'm not going to be surprised if there's more filler soon, I'm excited for getting more of the actual story. And I'm really just glad that the island is gone finally.

Book Review: On Wings of Air by J.L. Griffin

ASIN: B0165SOFQA
Expected publication: November 25th, 2015
Publisher: One Good Sonnet Publishing
Read from October 18th to 30th, 2015
Synopsis from Goodreads:

In a world divided by an ancient enmity involving the very gods themselves, forces move, threatening to upset the delicate balance between the people of the air and their enemies on the ground.
Skye, prince of the Skychildren, is betrayed and exiled from the sky realm. Wounded and cast down to the earth below, he is unable to escape capture by the detested Groundbreathers and is assigned to serve as the slave of one of the Groundbreather princesses. Escape, however, is paramount, as his kingdom is being threatened by a madman, and he resolves on trying to find a way back to the sky realm.
While certain that his disdain toward his heathen captors and their reprehensible god is justified, Skye finds himself thawing toward the Groundbreathers—most especially toward Princess Tierra, who is different from the rest of her people.
Complicating matters are the whispers he hears of the existence of a creature of legend, one which has the ability to destroy all life. As events spiral out of control, Skye begins to follow a path he could not have imagined, and he discovers that the secret of the Fenik is one which threatens the very existence of his people.

Review:

This book has a very interesting premise. I love the idea of Skychildren who live in the clouds and that they have ongoing conflict with the people on the ground. The idea of them having a belief in the same two gods but each group worshiping a different one and believing theirs was the superior one was also fascinating to me. So much about the world building in this novel was fantastic. It basically made the book for me.

The story itself wasn't quite as exciting to me. I found it hard to get into the possibility that Tierra and Skye would be together. (Slight spoilers following, but nothing that doesn't come relatively early in the book.) While Tierra never embraces the idea of being cruel to the Skychildren slaves like her family, I couldn't stop feeling uncomfortable with the idea of a romance between someone who had been forced to be a slave and the person who had been declared their master. I think the book did as good of a job with that storyline as a book could have, but the very idea behind it made me uncomfortable. It was hard for me to actively root for them to be together.

There were also some parts of the ending that felt rushed to me. Thinking about the entirety of the book, the beginning and middle seem to spread out events at a reasonable pace, and then there's so much packed into the end that it feels like too much in too short of a time frame. I think the ending would have benefited from having some of what happened spaced out a bit more.

That being said, I did enjoy the book. The world it takes place in is such a cool one, and the story held my attention and was enjoyable. I can imagine plenty of people really enjoying this story.

I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review.