Ash vs Evil Dead
Episode 3.1 “Family”
Directed by Mark Beesley
Written by Mark Verheiden
Created by Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi, Tom Spezialy
Starring Bruce Campbell, Ray Santiago, Dana DeLorenzo, Lucy Lawless, Joel Tobeck, Katrina Hobbs, Lindsay Farris, Arielle Carver-O’Neill
Starz
Air date: Sunday, February 25, 2018

Warning: Ash vs Evil Dead spoilers below…

After what felt like forever to Evil Dead fans, Ash is back! It took more than a year but Sunday night marked the return of everyone’s favorite chainsaw armed, boomstick blasting lothario, Ashley J. Williams (Bruce Campbell). I got to interview the cast during NYCC back in October, and they were all very excited about the twists and turns that this season will feature. Season 3 of the hit STARZ series picks up right from where season 2 ended, with Ash and the Ghost Beaters victorious over evil, and rewriting Ash’s legacy in his hometown of Elk’s Grove, Michigan. But c’mon, this is Ash and evil never stays dead for long.

The Walking Dead
Episode 8.9 “Honor” (Mid-Season Premiere)
Directed by Greg Nicotero
Written by Matthew Negrete & Channing Powell
Starring Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Lauren Cohan, Chandler Riggs, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, Lennie James, Christian Serratos, Tom Payne, Khary Payton, Austin Amelio, Alanna Masterson, Katelyn Nacon, Steven Ogg, Pollyanna McIntosh
AMC
Air Date: Sunday, February 25, 2018

Warning – SPOILERS for AMC’s The Walking Dead…

We haven’t had a new episode of The Walking Dead since December’s mid-Season 8 finale, which ended with both hope and sadness for Rick Grimes and his group, as well as for the fans. There was just one thing on everyone’s mind going into tonight’s mid-season premiere, Episode 8.9 “Honor,” and that was, is this really the end for Carl?

Rick’s teenaged son — who we’ve watched grow up on the show from a little boy who wouldn’t stay in the house like he was told to the natural leader he’s become — was bitten by a walker in the previous episode. And the bite was not on an appendage that could be amputated to avoid death, like we’ve seen before. No, this bite is on his torso, which, in this universe, means certain death. But by the previous episode’s end, Carl was not yet dead. Could that mean that there is a way for him to cheat death?

The Lion Guard: The Rise of Scar
DVD
Written by Ford Riley
Directed by Howy Parkins
Created by Ford Riley
Starring Max Charles, Gabrielle Union, David Oyelowo, Rob Lowe, Khary Payton, Dusan Brown, Diamond White, Atticus Shaffer, Joshua Rush
Release Date: January 9th, 2018

The Lion King is regarded as one of Disney’s greatest films, the fourth mega hit in a 5-year span that combined cutting edge animation technology with an absolute classic soundtrack. The film is about a young lion Simba who is forced away from Pride Rock through the plans of his devious uncle Scar. After meeting some news friends, Simba returns to battle for his family’s honor and his own redemption. After a few direct to video sequels, Disney Junior began The Lion Guard in 2016, a spinoff involving Simba’s son Kion (Max Charles). The show is a hit among the Disney Junior target audience with enough throwback references for parents who grew up with the original. Kion and his Lion Guard are in for their fiercest challenge when evil forces in the pridelands conspire to bring about a return of Scar. The elongated near hour long episode is part of a DVD set, The Lion Guard – The Rise of Scar, available now.

Vikings
Season 5 Episode 8: “The Joke”
Directed by Jeff Woolnough
Written and created by Michael Hirst
Starring Katheryn Winnick, Alexander Ludwig, Gustaf Skarsgard, Alex Høgh, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Marco Ilsø, Jordan Patrick Smith, Josefin Asplund, John Kavanagh, Clive Standen, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Darren Cahill, Jennie Jacques, Moe Dunford, Peter Franzén, Jasper Pääkkönen
The History Channel
Air Date: Wednesday, January 10th, 2018, 8:00pm

Warning! Spoilers below for last night’s episode of Vikings!

The last episode of Vikings left Kattegat on the brink of war. With the moon comes Ivar (Alex Høgh) and King Harald (Peter Franzén) and Bishop Headmund (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), whose relationship with Ivar is completely complicated. Ivar seemed to look for another father in the Bishop, who promised no lies as that is the will of his god. Alfred (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) journeyed to find Athelstan’s past, and at the end of the episode said The Lord’s Prayer in unison with his late father. Astrid (Josefin Asplund) revealed she was pregnant. Harald was delighted, but she was sad, as the baby has a few possible fathers. Torvi (Georgia Hirst) freed Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig) from fidelity. Floki (Gustaf SkarsgÃ¥rd) and his followers found the land, but there was still dissent. Margrethe (Ida Nielsen) urged Ubbe (Jordan Patrick Smith) to take the throne.

Spoilers below.

The Shape of Water
Written by Guillermo Del Toro & Vanessa Taylor
Directed by Guillermo Del Toro
Starring Sally Hawkins, Doug Jones, Michael Shannon, Octavia Spencer, Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Jenkins
Fox Searchlight
Rated R | 123 Minutes
Release Date: December 15, 2017

You know pretty much when walking into a Guillermo del Toro movie that you’re in for a visual masterclass in filmmaking. Even the films of his I didn’t love (Hellboy 1 & 2, Crimson Peak) were beautiful to watch. But the films where he matches the visuals and production design with tour de force acting and writing become classics. Pan’s Labyrinth is one of most incredible films I have ever watched and The Shape of Water echoed it, exchanging the Spanish Civil War for The Cold War, and switching the lead protagonist from a young girl to an adult woman. It is beautiful, not just in imagery, but in characters. Like Pan’s, there’s a psychotic and powerful antagonist and an epic performance by the “Master of Disguise,” Doug Jones, this time as the “Amphibian Man.”