Ah, good Tuesday, readers. I type to you today in, if anything, even more of a snit at Peter Capaldi and his inability to be two people. You see, I didn’t watch the finale of last years’ Musketeers, because then there would be no more Cardinal Capaldieu and I’d be sad. However, with the second season now starting and probably about five hundred years of Capaldi Who to look forward to, not watching started to seem a little silly.
FOOLISH ME. Do you know what the final three Richelieu scenes are? Political Shenanigans between the Cardinal and Anne of Austria, and they are beautiful, and they are clearly setting up that power struggle to only escalate in the next season and CRUEL FATE has forever deprived the world of more of their bitchy, side-glance-y politicking.
So, yes, that. Boo.
(On a bit of a tangent, cause I’m reading another iteration of someone being Wrong about actual Ye Olde Medieval European Times to justify not-actually-Realism in Fantasy, I want to point out that all the royal women featured in season one of The Musketeers ruled countries at various times: Marie de’ Medici and Anne of Austria ruled France as regents, and Christine Marie, Louis VIII’s sister, was regent of Savoy. Now, yes, this is the seventeenth century rather than the Middle Ages (where some pseudo-medieval fantasy books would have you believe women did sod all; again, noooo) but women’s political influence, whatever the century, does have the unfortunate habit of being underestimated, dismissed or forgotten. Thus, this tangent.)
There was also a slight accident yesterday evening when I watched Oculus. And now I’m vaguely terrified of everything but especially all reflective surfaces, and mirrors, and mirrors with wooden frames…there are several in the house. One looks quite old. Chuck it maybe? I can’t actually be certain it’s *not* watching me…
But, yes, Oculus, what a fab horror movie! Pitched at exactly the level of scary where – aftereffects and suspicions re mirrors notwithstanding – I’m frightened but not freaking the fuck out, which is basically my one criteria regarding horror movies. And spaceships. They do get more points if there’s a spaceship. Karen Gillan is bloody fab in it too, and had a smashing American accent (I thought, but what do I know? I don’t mind most of the ‘American’ accents in Big Finish).
Alas, I always feel faintly disappointed at the conclusion of horror movies, and, quite often, actively irritated. Oculus doesn’t magically avoid the disappointment, but neatly steers clear of irritation by neither explaining nor justifying the fucking creepy killer mirror.
And Starbuck is Amy Pond’s mum.
Lizbeth Myles 