Essays on TV and film — exploring stories, characters, and the choices behind them.
Mark Kimball wins more than an election at the end of Netflix’s 2026 thriller Animals. He gets to tell the public that he fired the shot that saved a kidnapped child. Ramon actually pulled the trigger, rescuing his son Hector and Mark. By claiming that act, the mayoral candidate gives voters a reason to admire … Read more
Emaline controls Carrie during part of the prom massacre in Prime Video’s 2026 Carrie, but two crucial moments fall outside that control. Carrie accidentally kills Tommy, her prom date, before Emaline takes over. Later, she kills Chris and Billy, the pair behind her public humiliation, while acting for herself. Blaming Emaline for the entire night … Read more
Frances Neagley offers Jack Reacher her hand at her father’s funeral because she trusts him enough to try a form of closeness she usually avoids. His arrival gives that trust a familiar basis: he has come to support her when she needs him. In the finale of Neagley, Prime Video’s Reacher spinoff, the private investigator … Read more
In Evil Dead Burn, Alice is expected to keep proving her loyalty to her dead husband, Will. At the family meal after his funeral, his father, Edgar, objects to her missing wedding ring and the clothes she wore to the service. Those complaints make her appearance into evidence against her. His family treats her distance … Read more
In Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, Charlie reunites the veteran magicians known as the Horsemen to take revenge on Veronika Vanderberg, the diamond heiress responsible for his mother’s death. He is Veronika’s half-brother, and he has concealed that connection while appearing to be one of the young magicians recruited for a heist. The … Read more
In Tyler Perry’s Doing Life, Trina has been taking money that belongs to her mother, Cathy, with help from a lawyer. Her sister Anika’s boyfriend, Carousel, uncovers the secret near the end of the film. Trina defends herself by claiming she is owed for caring for their mother and contributing to the household. She presents … Read more
In Netflix’s 2026 East of Eden, Adam Trask rejects his son Cal’s money because it comes from wartime bean trading. Adam considers the profit morally tainted. Cal had hoped to replace what his father lost in business and finally earn his approval. That difference makes the refusal so damaging: Adam judges how the money was … Read more
Murder in a Small Town is filmed mainly in Gibsons and nearby communities on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast, in Canada. Its fictional world places Gibsons in Washington state. There is another location to keep straight: L.R. Wright’s original Karl Alberg novels were set in Sechelt, a different town on the same Canadian coast. The series … Read more
In Joe R. Lansdale’s novel The Thicket, Cut Throat Bill is a man. In the film, the outlaw is played by Juliette Lewis, who built the character around a badly damaged voice. That change has consequences beyond casting: it raises the question of what people expect a woman to do with a young captive, and … Read more
LEGO One Piece retells the first two seasons of Netflix’s live-action One Piece in a two-part animated special. Usopp, the crew’s enthusiastic storyteller, gives their newest companion, Tony Tony Chopper, his version of the voyage. Netflix’s official description confirms that recap format. For viewers who want to discover the live-action story without knowing its major … Read more