TheNorwegianRocker
Joined Nov 2003
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TheNorwegianRocker's rating
In this episode, Riley starts off not wanting anything to change in her life. And then Zay, Lucas' old friend from Texas, transfers to their school. Secrets about (and new sides to) Lucas subsequently comes to light, and Riley starts to wonder whether she actually knows him at all.
In my opinion, this is one of the best Girl Meets World episodes to date. It has a great message - people change people. But the episode's largest surprise and biggest asset comes from a rather unexpected source; an incredible performance from Peyton Meyer as Lucas. He has a nice, intense scene towards the end that may actually be the best acting from any cast member so far in Girl Meets World. It totally and entirely changes our perspective on Lucas, and even Maya was left speechless (which we know says a lot). But at the end of it, we actually believe that even though Lucas was a different person back in Texas, his new friends and a new city actually has changed him, and that's a thing that could easily have gone wrong if done just a little sloppy. It was about time that we got an episode that was actually all about Lucas, and it got the best out of the actor (who until this episode has been okay at best, but that's mostly on the writers) too. Now I'm excited to see if the writers actually are going to use this new information on Lucas to let him have a bigger impact on the show and continue to develop his character, or if this was just a one-shot and he goes back to being kind of one-dimensional from now on. In that case, it would be a terrible waste of this great episode.
Also, I like that Cory lets Lucas figure out his problems on his own, even though he could have easily stopped him along the way, that Riley questions Lucas' past actions and don't just let it go despite her feelings for him (it gives the episode a nice dynamic), and that there isn't any notable (and unnecessary) subplots to ruin the episode.
Other reasons that I like the episode: Some fine one-liners (especially from Cory and Maya), a couple of hilarious Boy Meets World references entertains, and it has a good guest performance from Amir Mitchell-Townes as Zay, whom we luckily get to see more of later this season. Do not miss this episode! Season 2 has by the way started out great (so far several levels over most of season 1), and I hope it continues to impress.
In my opinion, this is one of the best Girl Meets World episodes to date. It has a great message - people change people. But the episode's largest surprise and biggest asset comes from a rather unexpected source; an incredible performance from Peyton Meyer as Lucas. He has a nice, intense scene towards the end that may actually be the best acting from any cast member so far in Girl Meets World. It totally and entirely changes our perspective on Lucas, and even Maya was left speechless (which we know says a lot). But at the end of it, we actually believe that even though Lucas was a different person back in Texas, his new friends and a new city actually has changed him, and that's a thing that could easily have gone wrong if done just a little sloppy. It was about time that we got an episode that was actually all about Lucas, and it got the best out of the actor (who until this episode has been okay at best, but that's mostly on the writers) too. Now I'm excited to see if the writers actually are going to use this new information on Lucas to let him have a bigger impact on the show and continue to develop his character, or if this was just a one-shot and he goes back to being kind of one-dimensional from now on. In that case, it would be a terrible waste of this great episode.
Also, I like that Cory lets Lucas figure out his problems on his own, even though he could have easily stopped him along the way, that Riley questions Lucas' past actions and don't just let it go despite her feelings for him (it gives the episode a nice dynamic), and that there isn't any notable (and unnecessary) subplots to ruin the episode.
Other reasons that I like the episode: Some fine one-liners (especially from Cory and Maya), a couple of hilarious Boy Meets World references entertains, and it has a good guest performance from Amir Mitchell-Townes as Zay, whom we luckily get to see more of later this season. Do not miss this episode! Season 2 has by the way started out great (so far several levels over most of season 1), and I hope it continues to impress.
I was very curious about what might come out of Twisted, which is a kind of project that can both be fantastic and awful - depending on whether or not they pull off the mystery element of the series. And thankfully, it has. I find myself excited for each episode, because the show is fascinating and suspense (and twisted), and I feel that I HAVE to follow the process from beginning to end.
The murder mystery builds up to be quite the thriller. Danny is not the only one who seems to have an agenda with everything he does: Most of the characters look like they in one way or another have something to hide. Even though it does not have any explicit violence scenes, it sometimes still manages to be quite scary. The dramatic intrigues are well thought through and never boring.
The plot admittedly drives a lot of the show, but it is also important to have interesting characters in it to make it a bearable show, which it (again, thankfully) does. It has a complicated, mysterious main character that we immediately take pity in, and who we desperately wish is innocent, at the same time we know he has something to hide.
Avan Jogia is brilliant as Danny, as he manages to show huge vulnerability and a tortured soul behind the charismatic, witty, charming and sarcastic character he plays. Danny has more layers than ten onions, and Jogia covers them all with ease. Perfect casting from the showrunners there. Although the two female leads, Madelaine Hasson and Kylie Bunbury, have somewhat less to act on than Jogia does, they both deliver fine performances, and they also do have great chemistry with Jogia.
They are supported by a mostly good supporting cast. Ashton Moio is an absolute revelation as the show's much needed comic relief, who is loyal (if a bit awkward), but also somewhat vulnerable. Moio steals almost every scene he is in with his remarkable comic timing. Sam Robards is always a safe bet. However, I do feel like Denise Richards is terribly miscast. She seems uncomfortable in every single scene she is in.
I strongly recommend to give this show a chance, as it has set a solid plot with solid performances. I give it an 8 out of 10 based on the three first episodes, but chances are it will be even better from now on.
The murder mystery builds up to be quite the thriller. Danny is not the only one who seems to have an agenda with everything he does: Most of the characters look like they in one way or another have something to hide. Even though it does not have any explicit violence scenes, it sometimes still manages to be quite scary. The dramatic intrigues are well thought through and never boring.
The plot admittedly drives a lot of the show, but it is also important to have interesting characters in it to make it a bearable show, which it (again, thankfully) does. It has a complicated, mysterious main character that we immediately take pity in, and who we desperately wish is innocent, at the same time we know he has something to hide.
Avan Jogia is brilliant as Danny, as he manages to show huge vulnerability and a tortured soul behind the charismatic, witty, charming and sarcastic character he plays. Danny has more layers than ten onions, and Jogia covers them all with ease. Perfect casting from the showrunners there. Although the two female leads, Madelaine Hasson and Kylie Bunbury, have somewhat less to act on than Jogia does, they both deliver fine performances, and they also do have great chemistry with Jogia.
They are supported by a mostly good supporting cast. Ashton Moio is an absolute revelation as the show's much needed comic relief, who is loyal (if a bit awkward), but also somewhat vulnerable. Moio steals almost every scene he is in with his remarkable comic timing. Sam Robards is always a safe bet. However, I do feel like Denise Richards is terribly miscast. She seems uncomfortable in every single scene she is in.
I strongly recommend to give this show a chance, as it has set a solid plot with solid performances. I give it an 8 out of 10 based on the three first episodes, but chances are it will be even better from now on.
This show is based on the lives of two half-brothers (at least it starts out that way). High school student Lucas Scott (Chad Michael Murray) lives a calm life among the outsiders. He is a great basketball talent, but hides it by only playing with friends on a street basket court called "the River Court". He lives with his mother Karen (Moira Kelly), who has raised Lucas all by herself. Lucas' half-brother, Nathan (James Lafferty) is on the other tip of the scale. He is the biggest basketball talent Tree Hill have seen since their common father Dan (Paul Johansson) ruled the courts, and he can pick among the popular ladies, since he is among the insiders. The two half-brothers hate each other and live different lives, mainly because Nathan's (and Lucas' biological) manipulating father has made it so.
But their fates slowly begins to enclose when Lucas becomes a part of the school's basket team, Tree Hill Ravens, at the same time he falls in love with Nathan's girlfriend, Peyton (Hilarie Burton). Nathan so tries to make Lucas quit the team, by (among other things) hitting on his life-long best friend Haley (Bethany Joy Lenz). In the background we also find Peyton's best friend, man-eater Brooke (Sophia Bush), who becomes very interested in Lucas. And so starts the complications in Tree Hill - "the place where nothing changed, until one outsider changed everything."
This series is mainly for teenagers, something that shows - there is enough high school drama to fill a hundred regular high schools. But that doesn't mean that the rest of us can't like it as well - the show is filled with charm, interesting intrigues (among both the teenagers and the adults), and loads of humor.
It's not easy to find a completely original high school story, since most of it have been tried before. And this is not brand new either (even at the time it started), but regardless you get the feeling of some kind of nuance anyway. Mark Schwahn created a good story. When you think the intrigues have reached their peaks, they are taken to a whole new level, the conversations is fantastic and intelligently written (at times anyway), and the acting is fairly good for a television show.
Bush and Johansson have the most challenging characters, and are also the ones who stands out the most. Johansson's Dan Scott is a fantastic antagonist in the first four seasons - he really kept the show interesting. Murray is also a pleasant surprise (having seen him turn in rather weak performances in Freaky Friday and A Cinderella Story before seeing him here), as he is able to bring vulnerability and likability to main character Lucas brilliantly. Good old Barry Corbin is always a pleasure to watch as the likable and warm-hearted basketball coach Whitey Durham. And for the ones who hasn't seen it - wait for the guest appearances by Tyler Hilton, who plays Chris Keller. Hilarious.
Most of the other actors are doing their jobs well enough, although I got the feeling that Haley had much better chemistry with Lucas (especially), Brooke and Peyton than she had with Nathan. I have a hard time believing that was how it was supposed to be.
The characters are all interesting, because they develop all the time. You have Lucas Scott, who joins the basketball team and whose life therefore collides with the populars, something he has been fighting practically all his life. This changes him for both good and bad, though his good heart always remains. Then you have his half-brother Nathan, who starts as a bad ass, but gets his life on track and fights to be a "good" man, in opposition to his parents. You also have other two-sided characters, like Brooke, Haley, Peyton, and even Mouth and Skills, all of whom we follow from the beginning. They all start out as a type, but then totally changes (for good and for bad) when they include new people in their lives. But no matter what happens, you always root for all the main teen characters, because we can identify with them and they are all good deep down.
This is definitely the way to form good TV entertainment, and the screenwriters are doing a fantastic job keeping such an original setting, at the same time that there is flourishing clichés. It's a character journey from start to finish, and there are so many important messages to teenagers along the way. I give it a solid 9/10.
But their fates slowly begins to enclose when Lucas becomes a part of the school's basket team, Tree Hill Ravens, at the same time he falls in love with Nathan's girlfriend, Peyton (Hilarie Burton). Nathan so tries to make Lucas quit the team, by (among other things) hitting on his life-long best friend Haley (Bethany Joy Lenz). In the background we also find Peyton's best friend, man-eater Brooke (Sophia Bush), who becomes very interested in Lucas. And so starts the complications in Tree Hill - "the place where nothing changed, until one outsider changed everything."
This series is mainly for teenagers, something that shows - there is enough high school drama to fill a hundred regular high schools. But that doesn't mean that the rest of us can't like it as well - the show is filled with charm, interesting intrigues (among both the teenagers and the adults), and loads of humor.
It's not easy to find a completely original high school story, since most of it have been tried before. And this is not brand new either (even at the time it started), but regardless you get the feeling of some kind of nuance anyway. Mark Schwahn created a good story. When you think the intrigues have reached their peaks, they are taken to a whole new level, the conversations is fantastic and intelligently written (at times anyway), and the acting is fairly good for a television show.
Bush and Johansson have the most challenging characters, and are also the ones who stands out the most. Johansson's Dan Scott is a fantastic antagonist in the first four seasons - he really kept the show interesting. Murray is also a pleasant surprise (having seen him turn in rather weak performances in Freaky Friday and A Cinderella Story before seeing him here), as he is able to bring vulnerability and likability to main character Lucas brilliantly. Good old Barry Corbin is always a pleasure to watch as the likable and warm-hearted basketball coach Whitey Durham. And for the ones who hasn't seen it - wait for the guest appearances by Tyler Hilton, who plays Chris Keller. Hilarious.
Most of the other actors are doing their jobs well enough, although I got the feeling that Haley had much better chemistry with Lucas (especially), Brooke and Peyton than she had with Nathan. I have a hard time believing that was how it was supposed to be.
The characters are all interesting, because they develop all the time. You have Lucas Scott, who joins the basketball team and whose life therefore collides with the populars, something he has been fighting practically all his life. This changes him for both good and bad, though his good heart always remains. Then you have his half-brother Nathan, who starts as a bad ass, but gets his life on track and fights to be a "good" man, in opposition to his parents. You also have other two-sided characters, like Brooke, Haley, Peyton, and even Mouth and Skills, all of whom we follow from the beginning. They all start out as a type, but then totally changes (for good and for bad) when they include new people in their lives. But no matter what happens, you always root for all the main teen characters, because we can identify with them and they are all good deep down.
This is definitely the way to form good TV entertainment, and the screenwriters are doing a fantastic job keeping such an original setting, at the same time that there is flourishing clichés. It's a character journey from start to finish, and there are so many important messages to teenagers along the way. I give it a solid 9/10.