stacy benedict

Since the end of Game of Thrones, I’ve been jonesing for more sci-fi and fantasy content. Wait. I should specify, good sci-fi and fantasy TV shows that is. Afterall, there is no shortage of content out there. Nothing has come close to my beloved GoT, although Succession is pretty damn close. Here are a few shows that had a number of glaring flaws, but I enjoyed overall.

The Witcher

Why is Henry Cavill so handsome? I wouldn’t have checked out The Witcher if not for Cavill’s fine, fine… acting. As Geralt of Rivia he carried this show on his broad muscular shoulders. The story is okay. The other characters are interesting. The fight scenes are good. Yennifer and Geralt are compelling leads. Season one was a confusing mess. Season two was significantly better. Season two convinced me to like and care about Dandelion and Ciri. The sets, costumes, and CGI could be a lot better.

The Boys

Billy Butcher is this show. The Boys is violent, dark, and funny. Season one is great. Season two is slower paced and becomes a bit boring in a few episodes, but the ending makes up for it. The character of Mother’s Milk is shortchanged in the character development department. As much as I like Hughie, I’m so over his love story with Starlight (Annie).

The Mandalorian

Star Wars was dead to me after the last three movies. Nothing was luring me back into that sorry franchisee. Nothing! Nothing, I tell ya. I only checked out The Mandalorian after season 2 was released and after reading many good reviews of it. The show isn’t perfect, but it restored my love for Star Wars. It’s fun, the characters are likeable, it feels like Star Wars, and most importantly, it never bored me.

The Mandalorian – Official Trailer 2 | Disney+ | Streaming Nov. 12

The Wheel of Time

The Wheel of Time has so many flaws. I never read the Robert Jordan novels, so my complaints don’t have to do with the messy book to film adaptation. I could write a whole blog post about my gripes, but I’m too lazy for all that. In a nutshell…

The Good: the sets, Rosamund Pike, costumes, diverse characters, Rosamund Pike, the CGI magic and monsters, the pacing, Rosamund Pike.

The Bad: Rand, Egwene, Rand & Egwene’s chemistry-deficient, lame ass love story, Nynaeve’s entire personality, Egwene resurrecting Nynaeve in the last episode with never held before superpowers (I don’t care if she’s a main character in the novels, Nynaeve is awful & her death would’ve been more impactful), Rand vs. the most boring dark lord ever “fight”, the mystery of who is the dragon reborn when it was obvious that it’s Rand from the start because he is the 2nd dullest character on the show.

My “bad” list could go on & on, listing everything I disliked episode by episode, but… lazy. Overall, I still enjoyed watching the show. I’m overly harsh on The Wheel of Time, unlike how I feel about The Witcher, because it had tremendous hype and an obviously larger production budget.

Squid Game

Wow, this show is violent. As a GoT fan, that normally wouldn’t bother me, but … wow. I almost didn’t continue watching after the first episode, but like the rest of the planet Squid Game drew me in. All credit goes to the characters Seong Gi-Hun, Cho Sung-Woo, and the police officer for either keeping me on the edge of my seat or pulling on my heart strings.

Bonus:

Star Wars: The Bad Batch

I already know what you’re going to say: The Bad Batch is basically The Mandalorian with more characters. And, you’d be correct. Omega is an articulate Baby Yoda (aka Grogu) and the guys are Mando split into four. What-ev-er. The show is fun. Plus, I needed more Star Wars after watching The Mandalorian.

What are some new Sci–Fi and Fantasy programs you are liking this year?

I hope you liked this month’s blog post. The books in my urban fantasy series are available on Amazon. Please let me know your thoughts by liking, commenting, and/or subscribing. Also, you can join my mailing list by clicking here.

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