Y tu Luna también: 3Below: Season 1, Episode 8 – “Party Crashers” (2018)

I really enjoy this episode, which plays with some easy tropes but does it in fun ways. And after a couple of episodes where Krel had less to do, he has more going on here.

Aja and Krel have differing reactions to two very different invitations. Steve, the “oaf with the golden hair,” asks Aja out on a date to a bonfire (though he frantically insists it’s a “group thing,”) while Eli urges Krel to join him on a “bros night” hunting for a local urban legend. Both their social activities take them out to the woods, and both have their work cut out for them, first trying to get the hang of the human interactions, then trying to shield the humans when a less-than-terrestrial crisis kicks off.

Steve has liked Aja since episode 3, after she kicked him in the face (as every alien character is fond of pointing out regularly,) but this episode sees him making his first move to actually going out with her. As such, he’s our character of the week. Steve Palchuk, voiced by Steven Yeun, is originally a supporting character from Trollhunters, where he began the franchise as a doltish bully but has been gradually evolving. By this point, he’s still an egotistical jock who’s quick to call somebody a “butt snack,” but he’s also (reluctantly) expressed vulnerability at different points, become genuine friends with Eli, and gotten a minor education in Arcadia Oaks’ supernatural element.

So he’s a lunkhead who still has some bullyish tendencies, but he’s come pretty far from where he was at the beginning of Trollhunters. As such, the idea of pairing him with Aja is weird but not unthinkable. Steve is easily freaked but tries to cover it with a macho persona, while Aja is alternately curious, delighted, and dismissive, often whichever one Steve least expects her to be at any given moment. On their group date, she consistently throws him for a loop and leaves him playing catchup.

The show flirts with tropey-ness between them—at one point, Steve literally says, “Whoa! You are not like other girls, are you?” But as I’ve said before, Aja mostly avoids the annoying aspects of that trope because it’s so literally true. She isn’t “not like the other girls” because she’s athletic and doesn’t care about makeup. She’s “not like the other girls” because she sniffs her date’s armpits and he has to stop her from trying to hug a bonfire. Aja is on an entirely different playing field than any of the other girls.

While Aja still leads the A-plot, Krel gets some good screentime too in this episode. He’s perplexed and a little annoyed when Eli asks him to come search for the infamous “billycraggle,” but somehow, he winds up going anyway. His disdain for the whole enterprise is delicious. “I don’t like the outdoors,” he gripes. “Everything is covered in dirt.”

It gets even more fun once Krel’s plot intertwines with Aja’s. An inevitable element of peril is injected into the proceedings, and the two of them work together to keep the humans from seeing anything unexplainable. When Aja makes a comment about having been in a tree with Steve, I love Diego Luna’s appalled delivery on, “Were you K-I-S-S-ing?” In the middle of a crisis, he still manages to find moments to complain about the woods some more and steal a guitar from the bonfire, excited to play it.

This last bit isn’t related to Luna’s performance, since it’s purely an animated sight gag, but there’s a great moment early in the episode, when Steve is first asking Aja out. She asks, “Can I bring my little brother?”, and Steve looks across the schoolyard at Krel, who’s valiantly trying to stuff a rotary phone into a blender. Ostensibly, it’s some tech thing he’s trying to MacGyver together, but I just adore the randomness of it.

Doctor Who: “The Interstellar Song Contest” – Spoilery Thoughts

*As I say, spoilers.*

Okay, finally getting back to mixing in some Sunday Who Reviews. My brain is still thoroughly latched onto Our Flag Means Death/Joel Fry, but I have a bit of space for other stuff too. So let’s revisit “The Interstellar Song Contest,” especially how it handles Kid and the Hellions.

Look, there’s some stuff here I like. Cora is a good character, and even if I could guess where things are going with her before the reveal, it’s still affecting to see what happened to her horns. I also appreciate that “good” characters like Gary and Mike aren’t immune to the propaganda about the Hellions. It’s horrific to learn that the Corporation bought a planet wholesale, exploited its precious poppies, and burned the fields so no one else could copy their product. This story reminded me a little of a ruthless capitalist take on the Ghorman story from Andor, which was airing around the same time.

But then, of course, there’s Kid. An angry, broken young man from a ravaged planet, whose mom was killed before he could even be named. He, and all the Hellions, have staggering legitimate grievances with the Corporation over the countless deaths and environmental devastation they’ve caused, not to mention the mercenary propaganda campaign. And how does he decide to get his revenge? Staging an attack on the Interstellar Song Contest, killing literally trillions of people so that the Corporation, the contest’s main sponsor, will be ruined.

We see this in genre media a lot: the antagonist with a tragic backstory and understandable motives, who aims to commit villainy so heinous that the hero obviously has to take them down by any means necessary. The MCU is the first that comes to mind—Killmonger, the Flag Smashers—but it’s hardly the only franchise to do with. The antagonist’s legitimate points lose all credibility because they’re so over-the-top extreme in their ideology, allowing the story to say, “Look, complex villain! So nuanced!” while also giving the hero a straightforward “clean” victory with no anguish over what’s really the right decision.

What makes all this even thornier is the parallels to real life. Over the last couple years, I’ve heard about the controversy surrounding Eurovision blocking any participation from or onstage references to Palestinians, while Israel freely competes without pushback. The Hellions’ situation isn’t precisely like that of Gaza, but it’s still uncomfortably close, and the batshit handling of Kid creates a portrait of the issue that kind of both-sides it.

So here we have the show telling a story about a campy interstellar song contest that nods directly to Eurovision. They introduced an oppressed minority from a ravaged homeland, and the sponsors of the contest are directly responsible for the destruction of their planet. We meet none of the destroyers and three of the oppressed. Of those three, two of them commit a terrorist attack—with one eager to, again, kill trillions of people. It’s clumsy, and because the storyline alludes to such devastating real-world events, that gives us an episode that’s pretty troubling.

Additionally, there’s the Doctor’s reaction to Kid. In fairness, the Doctor is with Gary and Mike, and he only hears the propaganda version of the Hellions. He doesn’t know what really happened to them, and he does know that Kids wants to kill trillions of people, I will never shut up about that. I’d say here, the Doctor goes past the Oncoming Storm, past the Time Lord Victorious, in something genuinely scary. Ncuti Gatwa plays that coldness really well—ooh, his delivery on, “You have put ice in my heart, darling. You put it there”—but it’s disturbing to watch the Doctor repeatedly torture a man, even one who’s committed a horrific crime and attempted one that’s infinitely worse. And the fact that this story is the one that brings out the Doctor’s vicious side? This antagonist? And that, unnerved as she is, Belinda hugs him afterwards and they don’t fully deal with it? And that we pivot from that into a peppy resolution where the Doctor saves everyone and a poignant resolution where Cora sings a song from her broken planet? It definitely leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Joel Fry-days: Requiem: Episode 1 – “Matilda” (2018)

Before we get into the review: yes, my reemerged Our Flag Means Death special interest has spun off into a whole Joel Fry thing now. At the time that I’m posting this, I’m several weeks into my actor deep dive and am building up a nice collection of posts for the docket. So until further notice, Fridays are now Joel Fry-days!

*Premise spoilers.*

*CW: suicide.*

I was intrigued at the thought of going into this miniseries, seeing Joel Fry playing a more dramatic role in an eerie thriller. Then I realized that, while his performance as Frenchie is soooooo indelible to me, Game of Thrones must’ve been the first thing I actually saw him in. So it’s not like he’s solely a comedy guy. Still, I needed to reorient myself a little as I dove into this one.

Concert cellist Matilda Gray is haunted by nightmares she can’t remember. But when she witnesses a devastating suicide from someone close to her, pieces begin sliding into place. She’s not sure how, but she’s convinced that an old box of newspaper clippings about a missing girl holds answers to the suicide, and maybe her nightmares as well. Matilda and her friend Hal head to the missing girl’s hometown in Wales to investigate.

My usual disclaimer when it comes to horror/thrillers: I don’t watch a lot of this genre, so I don’t have a great barometer for how well this would stack up compared to other horror fare, or what fans of the genre might think of it. I can only go by my uninformed opinion, and overall, I’m liking it so far. The creepy elements feel a bit tropey, and I guessed what the ending of the episode was going to be about halfway through, but I still enjoy how the story is being rolled out. This episode is about establishing the status quo and then breaking it, taking Matilda out of her everyday life and setting her on the path of this mystery.

Where it succeeds best, I think, is in introducing the major characters. Matilda is highly accomplished in her field but floundering a little in her personal life. Ahead of a big concert, the thing she’s most nervous about is telling her doting mother Janice about a new career opportunity that will take her to the U.S. for an extended period. Meanwhile, Janice comes across as incredibly proud of Matilda, and a little overbearing but trying not to seem like it. Once Matilda gets to Wales, we’re introduced to Rose, the mother of the girl who disappeared 23 years ago, and Nick, the young man who’s just inherited an old estate that’s somehow connected to the mystery.

I’m not familiar with Lydia Wilson, who plays Matilda, but I’m liking her so far. At this point in the story, she’s overwhelmed and a little numb, but she’s still determined to get to the bottom of this whole thing. Janice is played by Joanna Scanlan, who I remember best as Terri on The Thick of It. This is definitely a different sort of role, and she does well with it. I recognize Claire Rushbrook, who plays Rose, from various British TV stuff, but particularly new Who’s “The Impossible Planet” / “The Satan Pit.” She’s effective as a woman whose life was turned upside down and struggles when Matilda comes picking at old scars. And I haven’t quite figured out who his character is yet, but Brendan Coyle, a.k.a. Mr. Bates from Downton Abbey, is on the show as well.

Fry plays Harlan Fine—better known as Hal—Matilda’s pianist and close friend. His was the second name in the opening credits, so woohoo for that! As we’re dropped into Matilda’s life, it’s clear that Hal is a big part of it. They’re well established performing together, and he’s privy to various personal stuff she has going on: her tricky relationship with her mom, her thoughts on the guys she hooks up with through the apps. After the suicide, Hal is there for Matilda in whatever way he can, from making tea while she talks with the police to just holding her while she cries. He’s not sure about her sudden fixation on the missing girl, but he’s the one who suggests they make the trip to Wales, saying, “If it helps give you peace of mind, I say we go.”

They clearly know each other intimately, as both musicians and friends. While there’s nothing romantic between them currently, I can’t tell if Hal wishes there was. To me, he comes across mostly as a supportive friend, but there’s definite friction that crops up in the second half of the episode, after they meet Nick and he offers to help Matilda in her search for answers. I’m not sure if Hal is just protective of Matilda while she’s in a vulnerable position and they don’t know this guy, or if he’s jealous that their two-person investigation has gained an extra (attractive male) participant.

I’m enjoying this performance a lot. Hal is very different from Frenchie—kind of soft-spoken, and he’s warm, but in an understated way. I wanted to highlight a few scenes of Fry’s that I really liked: 

• Before a concert, Matilda and Hal share a sweet, close moment, hands on each other’s shoulders and touching foreheads. I get the sense that it’s more for Hal than Matilda—moments earlier, we see him pacing and fidgeting in his dressing room—and it’s interesting to me that he’s more nervous than she is, since he’s very specifically the accompanist and not the star. Plus, given that he’s supporting her through much of the episode, it’s nice to see her returning the favor here. 
• When Matilda and Hal get to Wales, their first encounter with Rose does not go well, and another character winds up getting rough with Hal. Nick is there to see it, and when he asks them if they’re okay, Hal replies, “Yeah, my dignity’s a little dented, but it wasn’t in mint condition to begin with, so I’m happy to just write it off.” Love it!
• Like I said, there’s some friction between Matilda and Hal in the second half of the episode. Nick has invited them to stay at the estate while they investigate, which Hal isn’t exactly thrilled about, and you can feel the mounting frustration as he searches the old estate for the “non-mildew rooms.” I love how Fry plays this. It feels to me like Hal isn’t exactly trying to be passive aggressive. Rather, he’s trying to just get on with things, but his frustration that Matilda won’t listen to him about Nick finds an outlet someplace else.

I’m looking forward to watching more! Here are my Requiem first impressions:

Accent Watch

As I started branching out into other Joel Fry projects, I looked around for a few clips of him speaking in interviews, because I was curious whether he has the same soft West Country accent that Frenchie does—he doesn’t. Instead, his real accent is like Hal’s, which I think is what you’d call Southern British English.

Recommend?

In General – I think so. I like the characters, and I’m curious to see where they’re going with the story.

Joel Fry – I would. It’s a good-sized role, and I’m really enjoying Fry’s performance.

Warnings

Strong thematic elements (including suicide and child abduction,) violence, disturbing images, sexual references, language, and drinking/smoking.