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Meet Ka'ahumanu. She's a character who is going to be pretty integral to Chief of War, but she's introduced in Episode 2 without a great deal of fanfare in a cold open that left me a bit confused.

I'm not given to hyperbole as a rule, so know this -- there's a long-ish sequence in Episode 7 of Smoke that I earnestly believe is one of the year's very best.

Chief of War is a very serious and passionately rendered show about real history and indigenous representation and storytelling.

You could -- and perhaps should -- quibble about where "All Rise" fits into The Buccaneers Season 2 more broadly, especially since it means the fallout from Dick's death last week ends up feeling a little shortchanged.

Seriously, how is this happening? Smoke is a truly confounding show. It started out okay, trundled along inoffensively enough, and then took a sudden, severe turn for the worse.

When Santi’s dad turned up in the penultimate episode, I think everyone knew that Stick was venturing into predictable territory just in time for its ending. And...

Blimey, James Seadown is awful, isn't he? This won't be news to long-time viewers of The Buccaneers, but now we're over halfway through Season 2, he has indisputably emerged as the real villain of the piece.

I’m not going to lie to you, I had written Smoke off. The previous episode was so deeply awful and misguided that it seemed incomprehensible the show...

I'm not one for tortured golf metaphors, but Stick really finds its swing in Episode 9.

Welcome to the Gilded Age, where a lusty attraction can morph into a passionate declaration of love in just a couple of hours.

I’ve had more problems with Murderbot than most, but you have to give credit where it’s due. I was right, at least, in my prediction that the...

Smoke has been a risky show since the beginning, especially since it waited until the final scene of its second episode to become interesting.

To give credit where it’s due, I didn’t expect The Buccaneers to rocket through Season 2’s overarching plot the way it does in Episode 4.

I knew this already, but Stick is a nice reminder that nobody plays smug better than Timothy Olyphant.

Jurnee Smollett is very good in Episode 3 of Smoke, which I think is important to point out, since I spent most of it being disappointed that more attention wasn’t being paid to Dave.

Murderbot is a weird show. I’m pretty sure I’ve said that before, but it’s worth reiterating, since even this deep into the season – Episode 9 is the penultimate outing – I’m still not sure what works best about it.

Love is a complicated thing, and The Buccaneers is struggling to keep track of it in Season 2.

Grief isn't an emotion you feel; it's a prison you live inside. Sometimes it feels like home.