‘Supernatural’ 11×08 recap: Heroes aren’t perfect


Supernaturalseason 11, episode 8, “Just My Imagination,” aired tonight. Read our recap and discuss the episode with fellow fans.
Introducing Sully
In this episode, we meet Sully, Sam’s childhood imaginary friend. Only, Sully wasn’t so imaginary after all. He is a Zana, a supernatural creature that helps lost children who need guidance. They can only be seen by their kind as well as those who they want to see them.
When one of Sully’s friends is murdered, he turns to Sam for help. We learn that Sam and Sully parted on poor terms, as Sam chose a hunting life with Dean and John over the normal life Sully was prodding him toward since he seemed unhappy. Sully always considered that one of his greatest failures; however, his influence wasn’t completely gone, as Sam did eventually leave the family business for a time to go to Stanford.
Little did Sully know that he never could have truly kept Sam out of the life; his destiny was always to become Lucifer’s vessel and play a role in the apocalypse. A highlight in the episode, though, is Sully commending Sam on saving the world. So few people, including Sam himself, ever acknowledge the sacrifice he made, so that was lovely to hear.
Loss of innocence
The one behind the killings is a girl named Gracie; she and her twin sister, Audrey, were Sully’s first kids after Sam. He was playing tag with Audrey; she followed him into the street and was hit by a car. Traumatized, Sully left the field — but he also left Gracie behind to deal with the pain. To discover if Sully was real or not, she became obsessed with folklore and found a witch in Romania that cast a spell to help her see Zana and a blade to kill them. She killed Sully’s friends to draw him out.Gracie mirrors the Winchesters in some ways. She lost her childhood innocence in a terrible way and delved into the supernatural to find answers. Luckily for her, she’s remained near the surface of what goes bump in the night. There’s a whole lot worse out there than beings who guide children.
Sully, heartbroken, offers himself up to Gracie if killing him is what she needs, but Dean talks her down. Though Dean was initially hostile toward Sully and the Zana, that hostility stemmed from a sense of guilt and even jealousy. He didn’t realize until now how alone Sam must have felt as a kid to need a Zana in his life. And he sees how much Sully truly seems to care for Sam, though it’s been years since they parted ways. He acknowledges that Sully was there for Sam when he wasn’t, and that was a pretty big admission for Dean.
This episode and season 9’s “Bad Boys” gave younger versions of the brothers opportunities to leave their lives, but they both wouldn’t leave their brothers. Dean chose Sam and Sam chose Dean over potential normal lives.
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While on the job, Sam tells Sully about the situation he’s facing with The Darkness and The Cage, and the episode ends with Sam and Sully getting a proper farewell. Sam tells Sully that he is a hero to him — even with his mistakes since heroes aren’t perfect — while Sully gives Sam a pep talk about heroes facing what scares them. It’s a sweet moment, and it’s good for both Sam and Sully to get that closure.
Sam brings up The Cage with Dean as they drive away. Dean is still against it, but Sam doesn’t see any other options.
Watch a promo for the next episode
What did you think of ‘Supernatural’ season 11, episode 8, ‘Just My Imagination’?

‘Empire’ mid-season 2 finale recap: Top 5 moments


TheEmpiremid-season 2 finale, “Et Tu, Brute?” just aired! Catch the top moments from the episode right here.
1.) ‘She fixed you’
Lucious catches Jamal and Skye flirting and calling each other babe. He asks Jamal, “Are you hitting that?” and Jamal replies with, “I’m still gay, a’ight, so don’t get all weird.” Lucious replies with, “She fixed you” as he was almost in tears, making this writer furious.
Later Skye tells Jamal that she knows he’ll never be able to look at or love a woman like he does a man. She also told him that she doesn’t want to change who he is and we can all finally take a deep breath.
2.) ASA nominees
The ASA nominations were announced and Jamal was nominated in every category he could be. Including Song of the Year… as well as Lucious with “Boom boom boom boom.”
Hakeem was snubbed in the Best Rapper category and none other than Freyda Gatz stole that spot from him. That’s probably what started Hakeem’s next move (read: Hakeem’s betrayal).
3.) Da Brat/prison performance
Since Cookie’s Cookout didn’t become possible because of Laz, it was decided to put on a performance for the women at Wallace Correctional Facility’s Family Day. Cookie brought Hakeem and Laura to perform which everyone seemed to enjoy.
Da Brat made a guest appearance as Jezzy. She was close to Cookie while she was in the joint. Unfortunately Jezzy killed her cell mate over some toothpaste so she’s now in for life, and saying goodbye to her singing career post lockup.
4.) Hakeem’s betrayal
Mimi recorded Lucious while he was on a rampage talking about firing people once the SwiftStream deal goes through. Once said deal was done and Lucious made the announcement with Mimi, she then brought her wife on stage who turned out to befreak(Naomi Campbell)!! We haven’t seen her since Lucious kicked her out in season 1. Once Lucious saw Camilla he knew he was deep in it. Mimi later played her recording of Lucious to the board. She then proposed a vote to remove Lucious as director.
Camilla visited Hakeem and told him that everything has been forhim. The fact that she married Mimi and everything else. She said that she still believes in him. Then she put her hand over his crotch and he is now her play thing again. Children are so annoying.
Since Cookie was unable to attend the board meeting she made Hakeem her proxy to vote for her. After some rallying by Andre and Thirsty (*cough* elevator *cough*) it is now voting time. When it comes to Hakeem he see’s Camilla through the glass doors and as she nods to him — and Cookie screams “no!” — Hakeem votes against his family.
5.) Rhonda!!
Anika visited Rhonda at the new house. She brought a present for the baby and the nursery. Rhonda told Anika that Lucious is calling the baby his “heir” and it looked like that got Anika thinking. She even went as far as calling Lucious “so dramatic.”
We then later see someone — with small woman-like hands — break into Andre and Rhonda’s home. When Rhonda turns off the alarm and looks downstairs, she’s pushed. She falls horribly down the stairs and lands on her stomach. Shortly after is when Andre tries to reach her with no answer. Was it Anika? The writers are definitely making it seem that way. After all, who else would do that?
What did you think of the ‘Empire’ mid-season 2 finale?

‘Agent Carter’ season 2 premiere delayed for State of the Union address

The season premiere ofAgent Carterseason 2 has been pushed further into January for the State of the Union address.
The two-hour premiere was originally scheduled for Jan. 5, but will now air two weeks later on the 19th. This new schedule allowsAgent Carterseason 2 to avoid the week break that would be unofficially required by the State of the Union address.
The move means that the ten episodes ofAgent Carter‘s sophomore season will have to air over the seven weeks between Jan. 19 and the return of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on March 8. Though fans may be understandably frustrated at the delay, it looks like we’ll have several weeks of double helpings of Peggy’s adventures to enjoy!
“Patience, young Padawans,” writer Jose Molina urges on Twitter. “[The delay] just means your fun won’t be interrupted by the Real World.”
“Dedicated to the fight against new Atomic Age threats in the wake of World War II, Peggy must now journey from New York City to Los Angeles for her most dangerous assignment yet,” ABC says ofAgent Carterseason 2.
“But even as she discovers new friends, a new home — and perhaps even a new love — she’s about to find out that the bright lights of the post-war Hollywood mask a more sinister threat to everyone she is sworn to protect.”The second season will once again star Hayley Atwell as the indomitable Peggy Carter, and James D’Arcy as the adorably put-upon Edwin Jarvis. Chad Michael Murray, Dominic Cooper, Enver Gjokaj, and Bridget Reagan will also reprise their roles from season one. Joining the cast are Reggie Austin as Jason Wilkes, Wynn Everett as Whitney Frost (a.k.a., Madam Masque) and Lotte Verbeek as the heretofore unseen Ana Jarvis

Executive producers fromArrow,The FlashandLegends of Tomorrowdiscuss the consequences of the two-partArrow/Flashcrossover.
InArrowseason 4, episode 8, “Legends of Yesterday,”, the good guys tried to protect Kendra and Carter from Vandal Savage. While hiding out on a farm, the team came up with a plan for defeating Vandal. During this time, however, Oliver learned that he is a father. When he tried to hide it from Felicity, the two had a major fight, which put Oliver off his game in the fight with Vandal. With Oliver distracted and Kendra unable to access her Hawkgirl powers, Vandal defeated the heroes, killing everyone but Barry, who ran fast enough to travel back in time.
Oliver and Barry used this second chance to redo what went wrong and they eventually defeated Vandal, though Malcolm gathered up his ashes, likely to revive him. While Kendra and Carter left to do some hero-ing of their own, Oliver kept his parenthood a secret from Felicity.
Executive producers fromArrow,The FlashandLegends of Tomorrowdiscuss how everything ties together and what viewers can look forward to in the respective series.
Olicity and Oliver’s paternity
ArrowEP Wendy Mericle tells Varietythe fact that Oliver is hiding his son from Felicity in the new timeline will “come to a head in the middle of the season.” She adds, “We can’t tell you how that’s gonna happen. … [T]rue to what we’ve done on the show, if there’s a secret somewhere, it’s going to come out and it’s going to have some serious consequences.”
On a related note, Andrew Kreisberg explains that the decision not to make this paternity storyline about Connor Hawke was to “give us the leeway to still have Connor Hawke be part of the universe without [being too young].”And, it’s worth noting that an incarnation of Connor Hawke will be appearingonLegends of Tomorrowat some point.
Issues of time travel
As for the potential fallout of Barry traveling back in time to defeat Vandal Savage, Marc Guggenheim simply says, “I think you’re gonna have to watch upcoming episodes ofArrow.”
However, just because Barry and co. used time travel to avert mass death against Savage doesn’t mean time travel will replace the Lazarus Pit as a convenient way to resurrect any character who dies. Guggenheim teases, “Legendswill explain basically why time travel can’t be used in a deus ex machina kind of way, not just with respect to death, but with respect to any plot contrivance.
“It’s like, ‘Why can’t we just go back to episode X and do that episode differently?’ We’re going to answer that question very definitively. It’ll be part of the rules of time travel that are a part ofLegends.”
Kreisberg adds that consequences are essential when exploring death and potential resurrection. “When Sara was brought back, when Thea was brought back, last year when Barry changed the timeline, this year when Barry changes the timeline, any of these things that feel like the right thing to do, there’s always a price to be paid, and whether or not that price gets paid immediately … or whether that price gets paid later on in ways that you don’t foresee, it always comes back to haunt you.
“We always talk about, onLegends, Vandal is the Big Bad, but truly the Big Bad is time itself. Time wants to go in one direction, and I think that ethos… When people die, the universe wants them to stay dead. Anything you do to change that is going to have a cost. And that’s what these shows are, these characters constantly paying that price. For as much as these powers and abilities and technologies that they have, there’s always a price to be paid for using them.”
Future crossovers
Meanwhile, Greg Berlanti says, “[O]nceLegendsis born in January, there’s really no intersection [with it] on the other shows.Legendsis kind of its own wacky, crazy kind of thing that allows for some fun surprises in terms of who may visit and how because they’re flying through the timeline and you’ll start to see more of that. But not onArroworFlash.”
The Flashairs on Tuesdays andArrowairs on Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET on The CW.

‘Game of Thrones’ season 6 teaser trailer released: ‘They have no idea what is going to happen’


The first, crypticGame of Thronesseason 6 teaser trailer has just been released by HBO!
The teaser is most definitely just that – a tease – as it reveals very little new information. (Unsurprisingly, the teaser puts a particular focus on Jon Snow, he of the endlessly-debated death last year.)But what these 40-odd seconds do offer is a subtle introduction to a new and vital character who will, most likely, have a massive impact onGame of Thronesseason 6. An ominous voiceover provided, we believe, by Max von Sydow, introduces Bran Stark’s Three-Eyed Raven– a man with crucial ties to the past, present, and future.
“We watch. We listen. And we remember,” the mystical figure says, as Jon Snow looks dreamily out from a landscape shrouded in gray. “The past is already written. The ink is dry.”
The Three-Eyed Raven is most likely offering Bran Stark a lesson on his new function in the story – the ability to peer through time using the ancient Weirwood trees worshipped by northerners. We last saw Bran in season 4, meeting the old man in the tree for the first time; now, he will learn to harness the vast knowledge and understanding granted byGame of Thrones‘ dense and mysterious past.“They have no idea what’s going to happen,” Bran says, darkly concluding theGame of Thronesseason 6 teaser. But perhaps he, with his newfound powers, may be able to help his siblings out of the horrific darkness into which George R.R. Martin’s story has plunged them.
Game of Thronesseason 6 premieres in April.
What are your thoughts on the first ‘Game of Thrones’ season 6 teaser trailer?

Scarlett Johansson: There’s ‘little room for romance’ in ‘Captain America: Civil War’

Wonder what’s going through Black Widow’s mind duringAvengers: Age of Ultronand the upcomingCaptain America: Civil War? Wonder no longer, cause Scarlett Johansson’s got your back.
Entertainment Weekly is featuring a lot of awesome interviews with the cast of Marvel, leading up to next year’sCaptain America: Civil War. Most recently, they sat down with Scarlett Johansson, who plays Natasha Romanoff, aka. Black Widow, aka. one of only two Avengers who does not (yet) have their own movie.As Natasha, unfortunately, has only appeared as part of larger stories, it might be hard for us to get to know her as well as we know, say, Steve and Tony.
And getting to know her hasn’t been made easier by the fact that she seems to shed her skin between every movie, partly because that’s what Natasha does, and partly because Marvel’s various directors clearly have different ideas about her personality and motivations.
So let’s allow Scarlett Johansson herself to set a few things straight.
First, let’s talk about the Natasha/Bruce romance that unnerved a lot of fans inAge of Ultron. When Natasha was left at the end of the movie (seemingly) moping about Hulk being M.I.A., Johansson says we shouldn’t interpret that as her feeling abandoned or hurt.
“She understands that Banner did what he had to do,” says Johansson. “Certainly she’s not going to be the person to chastise someone who’s not ready to open up. I don’t think she’s taking it personally.”
Black Widow has far bigger things to worry about, after all. InCaptain America: Civil War, this character is able to do something we haven’t really seen her do yet in the MCU: Decide her allegiance for herself.I don’t think she’s ever aspired to become an Avenger,” Johansson reflects, “that’s not really a choice that she made.” But inCivil War, “she’s finally capable of making a choice for herself. Which is kind of a milestone in someone’s life when they’ve not really participated in the decisions that were made for them. She’s finally at a place where she’s going, ‘Okay, I actually kind of know what I want. And I think I kind of deserve it.'”
And when we see her fighting against Captain America in the trailer, that’s still reflecting her personal allegiance to him. EW reveals that she and Tony Stark are actually trying tosaveSteve, in their own way, because if they can’t stop him, the government will stop playing nice and just take him out.
Finally, Johansson assures us that, for better or worse, “there is little room for romance inCivil War,” at least for Black Widow. “I think there is a lot going on that doesn’t really involve big heart-to-hearts. I mean it’s certainly in there and there’s references to it. But this is not the opportunity for us to explore the Widow’s deep, personal backstory.”
…Which is why we need a Black Widow solo movie, duh.
‘Captain America: Civil War’ hits theaters on May 6, 2016