SPOILERS

Like many fans, I cried throughout the whole Avengers: Endgame movie. It was an emotional experience, to say the least. The original Avengers movie drew me to comics originally, and Avengers: Endgame felt like the end of an era. I wanted to discuss openly about the relationship between Steve & Bucky. I read a fan article which I can’t find when I need to reference it. It stated how it was rather selfish that Steve stayed in time to be with Peggy versus going to help Bucky as he was tortured to become the Winter Soldier. I wanted to address that in my post.

I don’t think it would have been a good idea for Steve to help Bucky. Hulk says “We cannot change the past, only the future.” This is also why they couldn’t kill baby Thanos because it wouldn’t change the future outcome for planet Earth. Let’s say Steve goes back in time to see Peggy and free Bucky. If the past doesn’t change the future, something awful will happen to Bucky, which could also impact Tony Stark. Stark’s parents were murdered by Bucky, what would happen to them? Bucky is one of my favorite characters in the MCU, but I don’t think his past could be changed without a negative impact.

I felt Steve’s ending was heartwarming to his run of Captain America. In an alternative timeline, he gets the dance he never had with Peggy. I knew watching Avengers: Endgame that Robert Downy Jr. and Chris Evans would be done with their respective characters. I’m happy that the Russo brothers decided to give Steve Rogers a redeeming ending instead of easily letting Thanos brutally kill him. I’m curious to see how Falcon will do as the newly promoted Captain America.

Don’t mind me watching so many shows at once. I’m watching Queer Eye season #3, Castle Rock, and The Good Place simultaneously. When I was at C2E2 with my friend, she couldn’t stop raving about Shrill and how honest it was at portraying a young woman going through her professional career. I have been a fan of Aidy Bryant for a while now, so I figured I’d add this show to my watchlist.

Shrill focuses on Annie Easton (played by Aidy Bryant) a woman working in Portland. She’s been having on/off sex with Ryan who refuses to have her meet his friends and sneaks her out the back door every time she comes over. Annie also receives off-handed remarks from her boss at work and her mom about trying to lose weight. As she has unprotected sex with Ryan, she gets pregnant when she discovers that Plan B doesn’t work as well because of her weight.

I was today years old when I discovered that Plan B doesn’t work if you’re over a certain weight. I’m shocked because I never knew weight played a role in how Plan B worked. There is even research saying some morning-after pills won’t work on women who weigh more than 150 lbs. This means Plan B may not work for me. Anyway, I can’t believe I didn’t know this earlier.

Annie decides to get an abortion which is shown to some degree on the show. I’m pro-choice which means I support someone’s right to choose what they want to do whether that be getting an abortion, adoption, or having support resources to keep their child. I’m glad we are representing this on TV.

Annie goes through many other experiences and slowly learns to not give a fuck. The episodes where Annie stands up for herself are my favorite because I was rooting for her. This show is based on Lindy West’s book Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman which is a book about fat representation and obstacles Lindy faced in her career due to her weight.

Shrill was a good show! I found myself quickly going through episodes. Shrill can be watched on Hulu.

In 2003, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy aired on Bravo. I would watch a couple episodes with my mom and the only person I actively remember was Carson Kressley. My mom liked watching the transformations and seeing them learn to love themselves. Now, Queer Eye has been rebooted on Netflix and I haven’t had time to watch it, until now. This show is more meaningful than giving a makeover, it’s giving someone their confidence back. Before I reveal which one of the Fab 5 is my soulmate (thanks to Buzzfeed), I wanted to share a little bit about the cast.

Bobby Berk

Bobby is the interior design expert on the team. Some of the apartments he has redone look incredible. One of my favorite episodes is Below Average Joe where Bobby redesigns a basement for a man who still lives with his parents. This basement doesn’t look like a basement, but more like a modern apartment once it’s finished. Bobby has impeccable taste in furniture too. Can he come to my apartment?

Karamo Brown

Karamo is by far the coolest out of the five. He’s the culture expert and I take that as teaching someone how to act, network on social media, and be more confident. His connection with Cory in the episode Dega Don’t was a moving episode. Cory’s friend is a police officer who pulls the Fab 5 over as a “joke”. With all of the recent police shootings, this alarms Karamo. Cory and Karamo discuss the political nature of unarmed police shootings. I’m glad Karamo and Cory were able to have such a respectful conversation with each other.

Jonathan Van Ness

Jonathan is my favorite of the Queer Eye Fab 5. I can’t stop smiling every time Jonathan says “YAAAAASSS QUEEEN.”. If I had all the money in the world, I would hire them to be my daily beauty assistant. They are the hair, skincare, and style experts of the group. I’m a fan of their style because they push boundaries without giving a flying fuck about what anyone thinks of them. Also, they have beautiful hair and I’m jealous.

Antoni Porowski

Antoni is the one I have the biggest crush on because he’s so damn attractive. He has the best smile, and great hair and could cook me the most delicious dinner. Being the “foodie” of the group, I would argue his expertise is most important. You can look great, but if you can cook, even better.

Tan France

Tan and Jonathan are the Ying & the Yang. Jonathan is the hair and beauty product expert and Tan is the style icon. I felt the series does a great job of highlighting Tan’s personality. I would say he’s one of the more quiet guys in the group which helps to balance them out.

So who is my soulmate??? Drum roll, please…..

I’m not mad about this. I’m not going to lie, I was hoping for Antoni, but Tan is a great choice. When I read the description for Tan, this doesn’t sound like my personality. I wouldn’t label myself as direct, although I love going shopping for new clothes to wear.

I cannot recommend Queer Eye enough. The show is lighthearted, while also diving into some tough political topics. Tears have been shed in many of the episodes and I’m surprised at how addicted I became to the show in just watching one episode. I’m not on season #2 yet, but I’m excited to watch more stories unfold in the heart of the Deep South.

I spend more time than I would like to admit on Twitter. Usually, I never have anything clever to say, but I follow quite a few entertainment sites, bloggers, and creative minds. Entertainment Weekly is a magazine I used to read, but now I follow them on Twitter. They tweeted about how riveting Bodyguard is which recently dropped on Netflix. The first season is only six episodes long so I figured, what the heck, I need something new to watch.

Starring former Game of Thrones star Richard Madden as David Budd, a war veteran dealing with crippling PTSD from his experiences in Afghanistan. As a police officer, he’s assigned to a protection detail for Julia Montague (played by Keeley Hawes) who is controversial with her political opinions with a reputation for being unfriendly. Their relationship developed as they worked together and as the episodes continue, there’s an underlying conspiracy regarding why Montague is being targeted.

This show was exactly what I needed; it was captivating from the minute I started the first episode. The first twenty minutes show Budd trying to stop a suicide bomber on a train with his kids a couple carts away. I attempted to predict where the show was going, but I was pleasantly surprised by how wrong I was. I can’t give more details without revealing spoilers, so I will choose to refrain from further details.

While Bodyguard aired on BBC, it drew in 10 million views which is incredible, although season #2 hasn’t been confirmed. Richard Madden is talking with producers to be involved with another season. The earliest it would be released would be 2020 which seems far from now. This is one of the most enticing political thrillers on Netflix currently and it’s a nice break from the other shows I watch.

I told myself at the beginning of summer that I would be all caught up on The Flash and Arrow while also starting Legends of Tomorrow. Unfortunately, this goal was way too ambitious. I have been trying to watch the newest season of The Flash and it’s been rather difficult for me to get through it. It’s not that the season is bad, but I’m just not as enthralled as I was in the prior seasons. Yet, I had been trying to force myself to watch it. This also applies to Arrow as I wasn’t a fan of the whole team splitting up which made me stop watching. Why do we force ourselves to watch TV we aren’t that interested in?

One reason I force myself to watch TV is based on a friend’s recommendation. They say the show is SO GOOD, so you feel obligated to keep watching even though you barely could get past episode #2. This was my exact reaction when I started watching Making a Murderer. I felt the show was a little too slow-paced for me, but I felt I had to keep watching because everyone recommended it to me.

Another reason I force myself to watch shows is the cast. Stephen Amell who stars in Arrow seems to be a down-to-earth human being. I have watched how he has raised money for cancer research by selling his collectible tank tops and t-shirts. He is one of the few celebrities who seems to not let fame get to him. He’s also nice to all of the fans he meets. With that being said, I feel bad that I’m not caught up on his show even though I’m not as big of a fan as I once was.

Sometimes it’s overwhelming to get caught up on my shows. I still haven’t watched Luke Cage Season #2 or Iron Fist Season #2 and Daredevil is already releasing its third season this month. There’s so much TV and I’m trying to catch up on it all while still maintaining my social life, getting 8 hours of sleep and 5x a week for exercise. One reason why I have been watching less TV is because I have been spending all my time playing Marvel’s Spider-Man by Insomniac Games. I shouldn’t have to feel bad for watching less TV because I want to devote my time to something else.

Also, I find myself re-watching shows I have already seen because I genuinely love them. This summer instead of watching The Flash or Arrow, I re-watched season #1 of The Punisher on Netflix and seasons #1 – #3 of Agents of Shield. It brings back memories especially watching Agents of Shield because my college roommate would talk for hours about the plot twists happening in Coulson’s helicarrier.

Eventually, I do want to get caught up on The Flash and Arrow, but it has to happen on my own time. If that means I’m not going to be able to watch this current season, that’s fine. Forcing myself to watch TV is more tiring than I want it to be. My goal is to pick what I want to watch regardless of what friends think and what new season is airing in the Fall. I’m curious if anyone else feels this way. If you do, leave a comment below.

One may argue DC’s live-action movies are a mess, but they do an excellent job with their cartoon series. One of my favorite cartoon series DC developed was Young Justice. Young Justice is remarkable in the sense that it’s aimed at kids, but it’s entertaining for adults although Young Justice was canceled after airing season #2. This left fans disappointed and because of their outcry, season #3 was announced titled Young Justice: Outsiders. There has been some footage of Outsiders I wanted to share my reaction to, but I also wanted to share a little more information about Young Justice and how if you haven’t seen it, you’re truly missing out.

Young Justice stars the apprentices of the major DC superheroes including Robin (a young Dick Greyson), Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Speedy. Speedy ultimately acts like a teenager and leaves the group in the beginning episode with appearances later on. Robin, Aqualad, and Kid Flash investigate Cadmus Labs where they discover Superman’s clone nicknamed Superboy. After this mission, Batman gives permission to create Young Justice the superhero training team to run their own missions with connection to the Justice League.

The first two seasons of Young Justice are exciting for any DC Comics fan. I found every episode to be engaging and the storylines easy to understand. There’s a special place in my heart for Dick Greyson’s Robin and we even get to see him evolve into Nightwing in the second season. I also grew fond of Aqualad as I think he serves as a great leader for the team.

Recently, IGN posted a clip from Young Justice: Outsiders to their YouTube channel.  In this clip we see Nightwing heading into a warehouse which is a front for a meta-human trafficking ring. He is able to gather evidence with the help of Oracle and analyze that evidence to see where the meta-human trafficking ring started. My first initial reaction to viewing this clip is the appearance of both Nightwing and Oracle. I love both of their characters and the relationship they hold for each other so already I’m pumped for this season. I also think the meta-human trafficking serves as a great plot device for the season.

DC’s Young Justice: Outsiders will be exclusively available on their streaming service sometime in 2019. I plan on pre-ordering their service because I also want a chance to watch some of the older Justice League / Batman Animated Series episodes. It’s a little obnoxious how major companies are creating their own streaming services. Young Justice used to be on Netflix, but DC removed it to add it to their service. Young Justice is available for $25 dollars on Amazon and that’s probably the best way you can watch it. Buy an episode and see why all the fans like myself are truly connected with the show.

Besides the Titans trailer, DC Comics has been releasing footage from their upcoming films. From reading my blog you can probably tell I lean a bit more on the DC Comics side than Marvel. I like the Marvel movies, but when it comes to the actual stories in comics, I prefer DC. Even though DC makes bad decisions regarding their film choices, I had high hopes for Aquaman. However, I was surprised to see the SHAZAM! trailer was also released. After having seen both trailers I wanted to recap my reactions to both the SHAZAM! and Aquaman movies.

SHAZAM!

Shazam is an interesting choice for a live-action movie. The predictable choice would have been a rebooted Green Lantern, Green Arrow or I was holding out for a Nightwing movie. Shazam’s origin story begins with his alter ego; a young Billy Batson bouncing from various foster homes. Billy saves another of his foster siblings from a ruthless bully which hints at Billy’s possible foreshadowed role of being a hero. Billy is chosen by a wizard who sees the good in Billy and grants him god-like powers to become the hero; Shazam. All Billy has to say is Shazam and he’s turned into this super buff, red lightning, superhero.

I’m impressed with the SHAZAM! movie trailer because with Shazam’s cheesy back story, this movie could be awful as a result. Zachary Levi was a great choice because he looks like SHAZAM! and I think he’s able to bring humor to the role. I thought the trailer had the perfect amount of humor which is good since DC’s movies are darker in tone. I also enjoyed the scene of Shazam walking around electrocuting everyone’s smartphones to charge them. I thought the scene was funny, yet relatable in today’s society with everyone being on our phones. The trailer music was fitting especially in the sequences where Shazam is testing his limits to his newly earned powers. My final positive thought with the trailer is the special effects. One sequence features Billy turning into Shazam which I felt looked realistic instead of incredibly fake. I’m hopeful SHAZAM! will be an amazing film in DC’s lineup.

Aquaman

I will never forget meeting Jason Momoa at Planet Comicon this year and telling him to his face how excited I am for Aquaman. He nodded, smiled, and said “Hell yeahhhhh.” Also, he offered me a Girl Scout cookie which I happily ate as I blushed out of his autograph line.

After watching the Aquaman trailer, my first thought was how fake Mera’s hair looked. Is it just me? Her hair looks too bright red to look normal. I would have almost preferred a slight orange/blonde hair because it would have looked more natural. With trailers, the special effects aren’t perfect so maybe when the film is released Mera’s hair will be toned down a bit.

The moments featuring Black Manta were fantastic as the costume is exactly how it appears in the comics. Black Manta is one of the biggest and baddest Aquaman villains and I’m curious how the fight sequences will play out between the two of them.

Ultimately I’m more excited about SHAZAM! then I am about Aquaman. I will forever be a DC comics/movies fan no matter what movies DC rolls out. I think there is potential in both of these films to redeem the DC movie universe. Zachary Levi and Jason Momoa are going to kick ass in these roles and I cannot wait to watch both of these films at their midnight premieres. April 2019 cannot come fast enough.

It’s officially San Diego Comic-Con season as new trailers are released on the internet. One trailer I want to dissect in its own post is the new Titans trailer. This show I believe is going to highlight DC’s new subscription service which I may subscribe to depending on how Young Justice season #3 will air. There has been a lot of uprising over the announcement of Titans along with the first images of the costumes of the Titans. Teen Titans are a special group to me because the 2003 cartoon was a part of my childhood. My friend would always pretend to be Starfire and I was Raven and we would run around the yard saving the world. With that being said, let’s talk about the trailer.

Before the trailer begins there’s a warning TV-MA for mature audiences. I always believed the Titans were similar to the Young Avengers. They were positive and aimed more at younger audiences, but this certainly isn’t what we are getting with this trailer.

In the first couple of scenes, we see hints of a circus which makes sense because of Dick Greyson’s background. Overall I think Brenton Thwaites has the look of Robin, but will he do the character justice? Raven appears to be having issues controlling her powers. This makes sense to me, as the original cartoon often had episodes featuring Raven attempting to control her half-demon form.

The next sequence features Robin attacking a group of criminals. One of them asks him where is Batman to which Robin replies with the most mocked line in the trailer: “Fuck Batman”. This is not the Dick Greyson I was picturing. Dick is the lighter side to Bruce Wayne’s Batman. He keeps Bruce in check when he even goes a little too dark. This feels more like a Jason Todd portrayal versus a Dick Greyson portrayal.

Next, we see a scene featuring Beast Boy and Star Fire. The casting of Anna Diop promoted a lot of racist chat in different forums. I think she is going to be great in the role. A lot of complaints also came from Star Fire’s costume and how it looks like a “hooker”. To be honest, I don’t see it. Star Fire has always had a skimpy costume and I like how Anna Diop’s costume is sexy, but not as revealing as the comic counterpart. I think Beast Boy doesn’t look bad at all.

There’s a hint of Dove in the trailer though I didn’t see Hawk anywhere, but maybe I missed him? There were hints of other fight scenes ending with Raven in her demon form and then the logo appears signaling the end of the trailer. The theme of the trailer is that it’s going to be dark, violent, and edgy.

I’m not sure how Titans will be. I’m mostly underwhelmed by Robin/Dick Greyson because he’s not the Robin I had been picturing. I guess it depends on the Dick Greyson run you’re comparing, but to me, Dick has always been the knight in shining armor not breaking bones and swearing at Batman. As always let me know what you think in the comments.

I have been watching Agents of Shield for a second time to catch up to the most recent season. One reason why I’m a huge fan of Agents of Shield is the chemistry between the characters which includes one of my favorite couples on TV; Fitz & Simmons. They are truly beautiful together and their love honestly is couple goals. I decided to write a list of my favorite OTPs or “One True Pairings” on TV.

Fitz & Simmons Agents of Shield 

These two are the best. My favorite season highlighting their relationship is season #3 because Fitz will do anything to bring Simmons back from Maveth. He also dedicated himself to bringing Will back even though if Will truly came back to Earth, Simmons would probably have stayed with Will and not Fitz. That’s pretty admirable to bring back your crush’s love because you care about her well-being.

Ben & Leslie Parks & Recreation 

I recently finished watching Parks & Recreation with the boyfriend and one couple that stood out to me was Ben and Leslie. Initially, their relationship seemed pretty harsh because Ben was cutting funds to the Parks Department in Indiana. Eventually, Leslie comes around and sees Ben for the adorable nerd that he is. I appreciate them as a couple because Ben has never poked fun at Leslie’s passion and has put his career on the line for her. Leslie was also willing to do the same if need be. They both want the best for each other and it’s so heartwarming to watch their relationship begin.

Karen Page & the Punisher Netflix Marvel series 

This one may seem weird to some, but I really like Karen and Frank’s friendship? reappear in the Punisher. Karen doesn’t take any bullshit and she will put herself in danger to uncover the truth. Frank is the more intense one out of the two, but Karen believes his story and wants what’s best for him. Plus after the way Matt Murdock treats Karen in Daredevil season #2, Frank can’t do much worse, right?

Chuck & Blair Gossip Girl 

Nothing makes me reminisce about middle school like watching Gossip Girl. This show was a guilty pleasure for me and my friends. I always rooted for Chuck & Blair as a couple because Chuck is this spoiled bad boy while Blair is the mean girl in school. When they become united though they become this ultimate power couple. It’s addicting watching the two of them interact with each other.

Penny & Leonard The Big Bang Theory 

Big Bang Theory is one of those shows I should dislike because it makes fun of geeks, but I still enjoy it to some degree. Leonard has always had a crush on Penny and eventually, things work out. Once Penny realizes how serious Leonard is about her they break up and it causes some tension within the friend group. Eventually, Penny is ready and they become the dynamic duo that we as fans were all waiting for. I think Penny really balances Leonard out perfectly.

What are your favorite power couples on TV? I would love to hear them in the comments.