Welcome to Ready Steady Cut

We’re almost there, folks. And based on Episode 7, “Winnow”, there probably aren’t that many surprises remaining in Cross Season 2. Sampson’s subplot seems to be rather unceremoniously wrapped up here; Rebecca’s revenge plot has only one logical place that it can really go, and Kayla seems to have deduced who Mastermind is and sent Bobby Trey to tie up the loose end.

Cross (2024)

You can’t say I didn’t tell you so. In hindsight, it was obvious that Shrinking Season 3 was going to pull the trigger on a major tragedy, and Maya was an obvious candidate. Gaby rebuffing her – entirely understandably! – was a death knell.

Shrinking (2023)

Only one episode ago, I was saying that One Piece Season 2 utilising flashbacks was something of a novelty, so Episode 7 makes me look pretty stupid, since it’s virtually all flashbacks. But who’s complaining? “Reindeer Shames” is probably the best episode of the season, a truly lovely hour of storytelling and impressive special effects that is both wrenchingly sad and powerfully hopeful.

One Piece (2023)

It occurred to me during Episode 6 of One Piece Season 2 that this is the rare show that doesn’t overindulge in flashbacks. Not that flashbacks are inherently a bad thing, obviously, especially not when something like Paradise exists. But this show’s unwillingness to rely on them is especially apparent here, since “Nami Deerest” uses them quite a lot, and it ends up feeling like a bit of a welcome novelty.

One Piece (2023)