In what is certainly this season’s most complete episode, “1:00 pm” of ‘The Pitt’ has our beloved Pitt dealing with compiling 4th of July chaos while certain complications come to a head. 

As we reach high noon on this season of ‘The Pitt’ and the sun is directly overhead, the light of episode 6 is shone upon the unsung heroes of the Emergency Department.

While the early-going pace of ‘The Pitt’s sophomore season seems to be building towards a storm, this episode finds a piece that reminds audiences what’s been missing.

After last week’s remarkable vignettes of human connection, ‘The Pitt’ slows down again for a relatively uneventful hour.

When compared to the universe-colliding stakes of its MCU franchise’s film counterparts, ‘Wonder Man’, as it stands, is arguably the smallest-stakes Marvel series, and is better off for it.

We’ve met the new staff, we’ve set the stage for the Fourth of July fireworks, and now in its third episode, ‘The Pitt’ and its sophomore season finds its footing. 

Marvel Studios hasn’t had much success at all on the small screen, sending out new series after new series that always seem, regardless of context, to fail in both their artistic integrity and connection to the cinematic universe. ‘Ironheart’ suffers the same ultimate fate.

One might have hoped that this season of ‘House of the Dragon’, despite any flagging or extra filler, might be amounting to something spectacular for its finale. Unfortunately, despite a few moments of payoff, this season’s final episode is an altogether anticlimactic fumble.

If anyone was doubting the slow burn approach which this second season was taking, let The Red Sowing stand as proof that the people behind ‘House of the Dragon’, despite any flaws, know exactly what they’re doing.

As controversial as ever, ‘The Boys’ only seems blunt because we are seemingly entering a post-satire world. It is increasingly difficult to invent a dystopia which is less ridiculous than reality. Moreover, the show was always a scathing criticism of the society in which it was produced; its quality has not diminished as some people are wont to claim.

Many will see this as another filler-heavy episode, albeit with a welcome return of Laenor Velaryon’s dragon Seasmoke. Book fans, however, will be able to anticipate future events which have been gleefully set in motion during this new episode.

Perhaps the only thing that those who’ve been tuning into ‘The Acolyte’ for the last two months can agree upon is… that it’s officially over. Yes, this week’s finale in the eighth episode of this debut and controversial season.

Now that we’re past the halfway point of this season of ‘House of the Dragon’, its slow pace is beginning to show signs of dragging. That said, it’s understandable that the show would take a breather after its first major character death of the season.

Next week will have the final say as the finale of ‘The Acolyte’ looms. Until then, we’ll be counting our blessings in the form of fun fight sequences and neat planet names that pop up in the bottom left corner of the screen. One. More. Week.

All in all, The Red Dragon and the Gold is an episode for ‘House of the Dragon’. For those who are in the know, the action is unfolding like a tragedy, slowly and deliberately. For those who have no idea what to expect from this series, this episode will be an emotional gut-punch, the first of many more to come before this tale is over.

At this point, ‘The Acolyte’ does enough for Star Wars fans to warrant the watch, even if just barely, at times. If you’ve made it this far in, either way, you may as well finish it, and that might be the strongest reason we can give you to continue to watch.

Rising from the ashes of Game of Thrones, it’s safe to say that House of the Dragon has firmly proved its staying power amongst critics and audiences alike. So far, this new season is shaping up to surpass the first one, and possibly Game of Thrones itself. Here’s our review and recap of Episodes 1-3.

With episode four, we’ve officially reached the halfway point of ‘The Acolyte’. Now is about the time that most folks will form the beginning of some sort of final opinion; even if the mystery is still in-tact, you can sort of see where all this is headed. 

‘The Acolyte’s third episode isn’t a needle-mover, by any means. Things slow down, retread, and in some ways even regress. But, it’s still in line with what the show has presented artistically thus far, and moving forward, it shouldn’t serve as any more than an indifferent roadblock to look back on.