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Hawkeye Episode 3 (Disney+): Hawkeye begins to hit its stride with this episode as some of the best action shot by Marvel Studios takes centerstage. Hailee Steinfeld continues to prove herself as a leading actress who can hold her own with the rest of Marvel’s pantheon of heroes. Clint begins to come into his own as a character and, though his motivations for staying are still a little nebulous, he is starting to feel like a character in his own right, not just the audience’s way in as a regular man among a bunch of heroes.
Wheel of Time Episode 5 (Amazon Prime): This show continues to stun visually as characters begin to arrive in the city of Tar Valon. There still are three episodes left and spending this much time in a city in a fantasy story is never a bad thing (Avatar: The Last Airbender
did truly wonderful things with this in Book 2), so the final three episodes of this show are shaping up to be something truly interesting.
Green Snake (Netflix): In a world where Disney has printed money creating animated adaptations of classic stories from folklore for the better part of a century, it stands to reason that other studios would try doing this too. As a sequel to 2019’s White Snake, it continues the story from the Ming Dynasty myth The Legend of the White Snake. It is action packed animation but also a shade clunky to Western audiences because it tells an unfamiliar story and, in all honesty, Western audiences are not the target audience. That said, the animation is beautiful and is worth the time to watch if someone wants a crash course in a classic story from 10th century Chinese folklore.
Alex Rider Season 2 (Amazon Prime/IMDb TV): Unlike Amazon Prime’s other offerings, Alex Rider is offered through a partnership with IMDb TV, meaning that the entire season is available at once for optimal binging at the expense of required ads. This is an adaptation of the beloved YA action franchise following on the success of season one’s adaptation of Point Blanc. This time, rather than adapting Skeleton Key (a fair decision), they skip right to Eagle Strike. Even if someone hasn’t seen season one, this is a great jumping on point for anyone who likes espionage drama.
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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Part 1’s First Look (Sony’s YouTube Channel): Debuting at CCXP in Brazil, Sony has shown a first look at next October’s sequel to the surprise hit and Best Animated Picture winner Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. This movie has been split into two parts and this two-and-a-half-minute teaser gives just enough of a taste as to what wild adventures Miles will be up to in a sequel. The changing animation styles for the environments of the Spider-Man 2099 world look fantastic and will reignite fan excitement for this impending sequel and also fuel speculation for the future because the multiverse Miles flies through looks suspiciously like the multiverse in a certain Disney+ show and impending major motion picture.
