What did you last watch on TV?

I decided to broaden my anime horizons today with a little show called "Lee's Detective Agency". Basically, it's a furry anime about a (non?)detective agency with really smooth animation. Excellent use of smear frames and the fight scenes just leave me wanting more. There's only three episodes right now (the third one came out like yesterday lol), but I can't wait to see more! It's on both Crunchyroll and Youtube, so availability shouldn't be an issue.
 
The new Checkered Past block on Adult Swim. Really good shows they chose for it!
 
I think it was Psych.
 
Euphoria Season 2 Episode 1
I thought it was fine, Fez is interesting here. I wish it portrayed Rue as a bit more in the wrong for saying "a female drug dealer is so cool" considering the one of the show's themes is that Rue being a recovering addict is bad, but oh well I guess it just didn't want to be moralizing constantly. I still think the carnival episode and the special where Rue is talking with Ali about her situation are my two favorite episodes by a lot.
 
Just started watching Game of Thrones again, my second time seeing it (first time was last year). It is now one of my favorite TV series.
 
Swallow said:
Just started watching Game of Thrones again, my second time seeing it (first time was last year). It is now one of my favorite TV series.
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What did you think of the ending first time you saw it?
 
Batman: The Animated Series - Episode 54 "Zatanna" (1993)

I was incredibly overjoyed to see that Batman TAS has a Zatanna episode, and experiencing it for the very first time was a truly special experience.

Interestingly this episode was written by Paul Dini, who would later go on to write some comics about Zatanna - I've heard they're well received and despite never having really read superhero comics before, I've been wanting to get those but haven't managed to yet.

I frankly think it's incredibly and perhaps bemusingly fortunate that this episode even exists, given that Zatanna is for most intents and purposes not a "Batman character" - which is very much the focus of Batman TAS, to the point that not even Superman or Wonder Woman have even been mentioned, yet Zatanna, a far more obscure heroine, gets her own episode. I'm definitely not complaining though, it's a miracle!

This is the sixth adaptation of Zatanna I've seen, after Teen Titans Go (2013-), Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham (2013), DC Super Hero Girls G2 (2019-2021), Young Justice (2010-2019), and Justice League Dark (2017). Albeit her appearances in the first two were very minor, so Batman TAS is only her fourth major adaptation I've seen.

I do like this version of Zatanna a lot. Overall, I'd say that I like her a lot more than JLD 2017 Zatanna and LB3 Zatanna, and I guess TTG Zatanna since TTG Zatanna is only ever a cameo, as adorable as her TTG design is. While DCSHG Zatanna is still the best by far, with YJ Zatanna as a runner up, I wouldn't say that Batman TAS Zatanna is too far behind the latter, and that she might even have been in second place were it not for the fact that her appearance in Batman TAS is limited to just one episode.

One very interesting characteristic of Batman TAS Zatanna is that this is (as far as I know of) the only adaptation of her that is a magician solely in the sense of being a stage magician and does not possess superpowers. But honestly? That's a perfectly valid and entertaining way to adapt her character, and it certainly prevents the writers from having to use plot convenience to incapacitate her just to stop her from easily solving any problems. (Looking at you JLD 2017) It kinda makes her feel like a more relatable and real character too. She's got plenty of charisma as a stage magician in Batman TAS, and is pretty funny and adorable in the flashbacks too. Her not having powers does mean we miss out on hearing this Zatanna casting spells by talking backwards though.

This Zatanna is voiced by Julie Brown, who I think did a wonderful job. Whilst Kari Wahlgren (Zatanna's voice actress in DCSHG, TTG, and LB3) is still my favourite, I think I like Brown better than Camilla Luddington (her voice actress in JLD 2017), and maybe more than Lacey Chabert (her voice actress in YJ).

I love Zatanna's outfit in Batman TAS too, it's probably my favourite other than some of her DCSHG outfits. This Zatanna wears her classic magician outfit, including a white shirt, purple waistcoat, black bow tie, and black long sleeve tailcoat magician jacket over her dark blue leotard and tan nylon tights. She wears black high heels, and in some scenes she wears a black and purple top hat and white gloves. Overall, it's very much her iconic and stylish magician ensemble, and you can't go wrong with that!

Her personality, character development, and story arc are also all very nice. She started off as a carefree and cute teenage girl who was learning magic with her dad, and she had a crush on Bruce Wayne, then under the fake identity of John Smith. They separated and failed to keep in touch, but reunited as adults when Batman and Zatanna teamed up to stop a criminal who had framed Zatanna. Due to Batman's mask and all, Zatanna does not initially realise that he is her old friend.

However, she later realises that Batman is "John Smith" after Batman intentionally addresses her as "Zanna" which in the flashback she mentioned that only he calls her that and she didn't like that. I find this touching.

Interestingly, I think this does mean she knows Batman is John Smith, but she doesn't know Batman is Bruce Wayne as she never learned that John Smith was a fake identity too.

Zatanna's charm, charisma, confidence, independence, determination, and playful side all shine through in this episode. She's got so many brilliant and iconic lines in this one episode. (E.g: "Who's got time for a relationship when you're pulling rabbits out of a hat 52 weeks a year?")

The only single complaint I have about this episode is
Giovanni Zatara, or simply Zatara as he is referred to in this episode, the father of Zatanna and the renowned magician and escape artist who taught Bruce/John/Batman, is mentioned to have passed away at some point between the flashback where Zatanna and Bruce/John interact as teens, and the "present" time the episode is set in. I really don't like this at all, because I like Giovanni a lot and think his relationship with Zatanna is extremely wholesome, and she doesn't deserve to lose him especially after already losing her mother at a young age.

In conclusion, this episode was a near perfect experience - very easily my favourite Batman TAS episode, which is no low bar - and gives us a truly fabulous version of Zatanna who embodies almost all of the spellbinding characteristics that I love her for. She's got her great personality, excellent fashion sense, wonderful voice acting, and a compelling story arc. I couldn't ask for more!
 
I think the Dutch Masters Championship in the PDC Series of Darts.
 
DC Super Hero Girls (Generation 2), Season 2 Episodes 25-26 "#NightmareInGotham" (2021) (first time)

Just finished watching the last episode of DCSHG G2 and my goodness this was truly fantastic episode and a perfect finale to season 2. I think it might even surpass the season 1 finale, #TheFreshPrincessOfRenFaire, which I didn't even think was possible, but either way both are superb season finales. Speaking of which, the Falconer from the season 1 finale actually makes a cameo in the season 2 finale, which I think is a pretty neat Easter egg.

Interestingly, this epsiode is the show's first and only Halloween episode as well as the season finale which is a pretty interesting choice. I didn't really like the costumes in this episode though, because while the concept of dressing as each other is funny, some of them were pretty weird especially Supergirl's costume as Zatanna, and also Zatanna broke the trend by dressing as Wonder Woman instead of Supergirl (though I did like her Wonder Woman costume).

I liked how the girls divide into three teams of two to investigate three clues Batgirl received from Batman about the Joker, who has escaped prison. Zatanna and Green Lantern visit Victoria Craddock and accidentally free the spirit of her villainous great-grandfather, James Craddock aka The Gentleman Ghost (who appears as a villain in Teen Titans Go vs Teen Titans, so it's cool to see him in the DCSHG universe) and I especially love Zatanna's line "I'm not sure how many more sick burns from the 19th century I can take" which made me laugh out loud and definitely would've featured in my signature had I watched this episode before the start of this month. Supergirl and Bumblebee are tricked by the Joker into summoning Solomon Grundy, who overpowers them with his super strength. Finally, Wonder Woman and Batgirl team up and end up confronting The Joker and Harley Quinn, before they are tricked into turning Francine Langstrom into She-Bat. It's also revealed that those clues were not from Batman but actually planted by the Joker as part of his nefarious plot, which was a great plot twist.

This episode follows on from The Warrior and the Jester, which ended on a cliffhanger in which Wonder Woman discovers that Harleen Quinzel is Harley Quinn but is forced to promise secrecy in return for Harley helping Diana. In this episode, Diana decides to break her promise to Harley, and tells Batgirl that Harleen Quinzel is Harley Quinn. At first, Batgirl is in denial of this, but after leaving her friends for a moment and spending some time looking over the photos on her phone, she admits to herself it is true. She then rejoins her friends to stop the villains.

The stakes are higher than ever as the Joker plots to use his bomb to destroy all of Gotham, while Solomon Grundy, The Gentleman Ghost, and She-Bat are still on the loose. Wonder Woman and Batgirl battle the Joker and Harley Quinn, while Supergirl defeats Solomon Grundy in a rematch fight, Bumblebee is chased by She-Bat who tries to eat her; but Bumblebee manages to narrowly escape being eaten by making her swallow the cure from inside her mouth, transforming her back into Francine. Zatanna and Green Lantern also have a rematch fight, where the two use their powers to distract The Gentleman Ghost long enough for Victoria to re-capture him.

The two jesters subdue and incapacitate Wonder Woman and Batgirl, and The Joker leaves Harley to push the detonator to blow up Gotham. In a moment of desperation with so much at stake, Batgirl decides to reveal her identity as Barbara to Harley, begging her not to pull the detonator, as they are best friends. Harley pushes the detonator and flees. Batgirl breaks free and fires a Batarang shot to de-activate the bomb, which appears to succeed, saving Gotham. However, Batgirl later discovers that her shot actually missed, and deduces that it must have been Harley who secretly de-activated the bomb and saved Gotham, causing her to realise there is hope for her best friend to be redeemed. The episode ends with a brief scene where we see The Joker and Harley laughing while escaping, but Harley then gives a sad reflective expression and then a smile, hinting that she wants to change her ways for the better.

I find it pretty wild that Wonder Woman making the goofy mistake of sharpening her sword on Batgirl's bat ear in #TheWarriorAndTheJester ended up saving the lives of all of the main cast as well as everyone in Gotham, because if she hadn't done that then she and Harley wouldn't have gone on the adventure to look for a replacement that led Wonder Woman to discover Harley is Harleen, meaning that Batgirl wouldn't have found out either, and thus wouldn't have been able to pursuade Harley not to blow up Gotham, and since Batgirl's shot missed, the Joker's Bomb would've gone off.

Overall this episode was engaging the whole way and full of exciting twists and turns, four great new villains, plenty of great actions scenes, and is one of the most emotionally moving episodes in the show. It's a perfect way for season 2 to go out, and I am really, really, looking forward to watching the true grand finale of the show, the crossover movie with Teen Titans Go, Mayhem in the Multiverse (2022).

That's the end of my first watch through of season 2. Regrettably I haven't really been keeping this community updated throughout, and maybe later I'll post some more detailed thoughts, but for now I'll say in a nutshell that I loved this episode, the season premiere (#AmBatgirl), #CruzControl, and the Zatanna episodes #HappyBirthdayZee, #MultipliciZee, and especially #OneEnchantedEvening, but other than these episodes, I found season 2 overall a little weaker than season 1, but still great.
 
Jeopardy!
 
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