So many sci-fi, fantasy, and overall geek shows and films came it this year that it was tough to catch all of them! And the great moments just keep coming, showing off coolness, humor, excitement, tragedy, and overall ingenuity.
This has been an exceedingly busy year for me, so there are many items that weren't able to make this list simply because I didn't have the time, so if I missed one of your favorite shows or movies, or just missed a particularly good one, then I apologize. You can always create your own list too, you know!
And for the record, as with all of my lists each year, and massive...
...Is in effect.
Let's start it off with...
Supernatural: Sam and Dean's Dad left Lucille behind
It only felt right to hearken back to one of the items that made the list last year. My choice from The Walking Dead in 2016 was Negan's piece about Lucille, his barbed-wire bat that knocked off the cliffhanger for that particular season. The actor playing Negan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, also played Sam and Dean's dad, John, on Supernatural. After having taken out a mess of various monsters, Dean and Sam come home, with a blood-covered Dean holding none other than Lucille, tossing it onto the table stating, "dad would've loved this." The geek world went nuts with this reference!
Lego Batman: The Butt-Mobile
Easily one of the funniest movies to come out this year, Lego Batman hit on every single Batman-related trope, going back to the Adam West TV series and going to the new DC Cinematic Universe version. In an extremely childish joke that was also one that was surprisingly never used before, the Joker takes over the Bat Cave and starts rearranging it as only he can do. And the best moment comes when he actually starts rubbing his backside all across the surface of the Batmobile, calling it the "Butt-Mobile." Why this never came to mind before, we'll never know. But it was absolutely perfect.
There was one big missed opportunity though: Robin's radio should've played Seal's "Kiss From a Rose."
Powerless: what rhymes with java?
This short-lived comedy series about an insurance company that deals with the damages from superheroes and villains may not have garnered enough ratings to earn a second season, but it certainly had its fair share of laughs. One particular moment that stands out has Ron, Teddy and waiting for Batman to show because, despite any damages, this is frakking Batman we're talking about here. Van, in particular, is excited for this meeting and has shown up in a Robin costume that blends the 60s TV show look with the awful Joel Schumacher version. As a shadow makes its way across the alley, the boys excitedly coalesce to meet their hero, when it's revealed that it's really just a thug with bad hair. Van, attempting to become the hero of the scene, tries out an 60s-era pun to take out the thug with, "what rhymes with java? Lava!" and proceeds to throw the contents of his coffee cup on the thug, which turns out to be iced coffee and doesn't burn him at all. The geeks are then relegated to emptying their pockets to this guy. This ridiculous scene was brought to us by the amazing Alan Tudyk, who doesn't appear on my lists nearly as much as he should (and that's entirely my fault!).
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: the wrath of Ophelia
Hats off to Mallory Jansen for creating four completely different versions of Aida, the android, who was also Madam Hydra in the Framework, the real world model Agnes, and Ophelia, the Inhuman whose body she created and transferred her consciousness into. As Madam Hydra, she rewired the minds of Coulson, Mace, May, Mack, and Fitz to adapt to the world she created, mostly changing Fitz into a merciless killer and her lover. Now outside of the Framework and in the real world as Ophelia, she adapts to learning what it means to be truly alive and human, saving Mack's life before her base is flooded. She fully expected Fitz to continue loving her, but hadn't considered that his heart would always below to Simmons. In another amazing action job from Ian de Caestecker (as you who have read this blog before are well aware of my total love for this dude's acting), Fitz technically "breaks up" with her, Aida flies into a rage that combines a woman's hellish fury with the intensity of a horror movie stalker and a childish tantrum as she masses her powers and breaks free of the dampening field meant to subdue Inhumans to destroy her way out of the base. Everything in this scene, from Ophelia's facial expressions, to the 360 degree camera turns, to the lighting brought a new aspect of terror to the show. This overlooked performance by Jansen makes the list for this year in leaving an effect on viewers that left them a least a little shaken at the pure evil Ophelia allows herself to become.
The Flash - Iris's message to Barry
For months, viewers of The Flash had seen the vision from the future that Barry witnessed of Savitar killing Iris. It was shocking when it first aired, but being constantly shown that scene as Barry tries to find ways to change the outcome made it less relevant, giving me personally a concern on how it would go over when the moment finally came. Give those writers credit, they managed to not only make the viewers feel when the death happened, but also managed to up the feels. At the beginning of the episode, Iris takes Barry's phone and starts recording, but the scene changes before it shows what she says. Skip to the ending where Savitar is about to stick Iris with his blade: the scene interchanges with Iris's message, which is her saying her wedding vows. They intercut as solemn music plays and Barry tries in slow-motion to get to her in time to save her life, only to watch her die for real this time. That addition of her wedding vows sealed this scene as one of the best moments of the year and cued tears from even the toughest viewers.
And for the record, it turns out it wasn't really Iris, she was switched with H.R. before Savitar could catch her.
Doctor Who - the Christmas armistice
The long-awaited Christmas special, which brought about the new Doctor, Jodie Whitaker, was also the final episode penned by Stephan Moffat and had more than enough twists to satisfy Whovians. Before the Doctor's regeneration, he and his first incarnation return a Captain from WWI to the place on the battlefield where he's supposed to die (it's also revealed that he is Brigadier General Stewart's grandfather), but the Doctor fudges the event just a little bit so that the Captain is returned right before the infamous Christmas Armistice, which helped to bring about the end to WWI, begins. As the Captain and a German officer shakily level their guns at one another, the Germans begin singing "Silent Night," which causes both men to lower their guns. After finishing the first verse, the Allied troops begin singing along in English. From there, both sides put aside their guns and begin to celebrate Christmas together, and the Captain survives instead of meeting his end there. This wildly popular, and practically unheard of, event is one in our world history that doesn't get enough credit for the way it brought about the end to fighting. Only Doctor Who would have taken that chance and brought a historical moment like this to our screens in a way that touched all our hearts and see what the impact of Christmas can have throughout time.
The clip is currently unavailable, but here's a brief special on how it was done.
The 100 - Octavia finds out who she is
A series I hadn't been able to catch up till this year, The 100 features Octavia, one of the Sky People who had never felt that she had fit in, and was constantly trying to find her place in the world, from having a past life being named "Death from Above," to dealing with a complicated relationship with her brother and having lost her lover. Choosing to live in isolation, she set up a residence outside Arkadia with her new lover, Ilian, and tried to stay out of everyone's way to live life as she chose. When Grounders come to reclaim Ilian, they try to bully Octavia into giving him up, then full on attack her despite her warnings to not provoke her. Armed with only a garden hoe, she makes the decision to embrace the fight within her midway through the attack and fights off and kills all three Grounders. When Ilian returns to see the carnage that ensued, Octavia walks right past him, stating, "this is who I am." In that instance, she stops running from her troubles and returns to Arkadia to become the leader that she is needed to be. Though the methods are certainly questionable, it was satisfying to watch Octavia finally come to terms who she is and finally taking the stand to be that person.
Guardians of the Galaxy 2: Ego becomes The Hoff
The much anticipated sequel may not have been as good as the first, but held its own with many moments that were difficult to choose from. It would be easy just to make a list about Yondu with all his scene-stealing moments, but I opted for my personal favorite. In the film, Peter makes mention that growing up without a father on Earth, he would keep a picture of David Hasselhoff in his wallet and tell the kids he went to school with that the Hoff was his real dad. Cut to Peter facing off against his actual dad, Ego, after learning that Ego had Peter's mother killed. Peter blasts Ego with his gun, and as Ego regenerates and gets on Peter's case about the thanks he gets, he assumes the form of none other than the Hoff before taking on his original form in Kurt Russell. In my opinion, this scene and the one where Baby Groot brings the severed toe to Yondu and Rocket were two of the most overlooked scenes of the entire film.
War for the Planet of the Apes - Rocket the ape proves to be the better man
Rocket has been a part of the Planet of the Apes prequel series and hasn't had as much of an impact on this trilogy until this very moment. Minutes before this scene, Colonel McCullough was monologuing to Caesar about how he had shot his own son because he had contracted a virus that took away his speech and rendered him "less than human." Caesar is locked away in a cage afterward, and the little girl Maurice rescued, later named Nova, who has already contracted that same virus, sneaks into the compound to offer Caesar some condolence by giving him her doll, then bringing him water, as well as some food his apes filched for him. Maurice, Rocket and Bad Ape watch from a distance in horror to see that the troops are coming out and will see Nova. Caesar tells her to hide, and though she takes cover, it's clear she won't be hidden for long. Rocket then takes that moment to create a distraction by making a scene and walking into the compound. As he draws the attention to himself, the soldiers close in, but there's still some that are hanging back. One of the gorilla defectors, called Donkey, leads the soldiers toward Rocket, and he then attacks Donkey, bringing all the soldiers to him, allowing for Nova to escape unseen. It's this moment that shows how much better of a man Rocket is as an ape than the Colonel is as an actual human being. The full clip was unavailable to so I had find split scenes, and the second has Rocket's grand moment.
Logan - for once, Wolverine is truly happy
In this age of anti-heroes, few stand out more than Wolverine, and his final film of Logan follows his story of saving a group of mutants by escorting them to a safe haven in Canada. Having used a maximum dosage of the drug that returns his healing to its normal rate, and been fatally wounded after he stops the thugs and his own clone, Logan comes to terms that he is going to die this time. Laura, aka X-23, was cloned from Logan's DNA and technically his daughter. After all they've been through in the film, she understands this relationship and grasps his hand, calling him "daddy." Though Logan is slowly fading, he manages a very weak, but very genuine smile; possibly the only genuine smile he's shown in the entire X-Men franchise. Although he wasn't a part of Laura's life up until recently, his smile shows that her acceptance of calling him her father has made him truly happy. It's a brief moment that shines light on such a tragic ending.
And yes, there is the theory that this moment was prophesied added to this scene too.
Justice League - the eye contact
I personally enjoyed this movie and don't think it deserved all the flack that it did. The moment that stood out most in this film took place after Superman was brought back to life by the Justice League. Clark is freshly resurrected, but his memory is foggy ("Pet Cemetery!"), and Cyberman can't control all of his functions and accidentally shoots off a weapon that causes Clark to attack the team. As Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Cyberman all try to apprehend him at once, the Flash tries a different tactic of taking Clark by going around him and coming from behind. However, his super speed is currently matched by Superman, and he can see Barry as he moves. Clark's eye slowly moves to meet Barry's speed, and they make eye contact as Barry is still running. The camera focuses in on the Flash as one word is evident in his eyes: "NOPE." Clark then knocks off the three currently on him and swipes at the Flash, missing but still causes him to trip. That brief moment of eye contact was extremely clever, and definitely one that Whedon improved on over Snyder.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales - Jack's appointment with the guillotine
The most recent installment of the Pirates universe may have been better than the last one, but it was still not up the caliber of the first three. Still, it used a plot device that is rarely used in films and definitely made for a great sequence: the guillotine. Jack, having been caught, is sentenced to death and chooses the guillotine since he's never heard of it before. Upon seeing what he's going to experience, he realizes that escape is going to be less likely than his other adventures. As Henry and the pirate crew attack, they blow the platform, causing Jack and the guillotine to start spinning like a wheel! Using practical effects with a CGI blade, Jack goes around in circles as the blade comes dangerously and comically close to lopping off his head in one of the craziest situations he's ever been in. It was a brief moment of hearkening back to the ingenuity of the originals that wasn't too over the top or trying too hard (unlike the beginning sequence).
Supergirl - all we need is Cat Grant!
Supergirl sadly dipped in quality with the loss of Calista Flockhart at the beginning of her second season, but she returned at the end of the season, and what a return it was! Queen Rhea, played by Teri Hatcher, has come to conquer the earth for the Daxumites, and President Olivia Marsdin, played by Lynda Carter, refuses to surrender, instead threatening to fight back. As the two bicker, Cat Grant enters the scene, taking over the negotiations to push the need to talk rather than to threaten. Her speech about how they are all strong women who can overtake anything (and her jibe about Rhea's tiara), stands up to show how the human race has the ability to go above the easy path of warfare to take the chance at bringing interspecies peace first. Unfortunately, Rhea isn't as evolved as Cat and still blows Air Force One out of the sky, but Cat's unwavering stand for the human race without bloodshed is a powerful moment that shouldn't be missed. And yes, both Cat and Olivia survive!
Time After Time - Jack snacks on a burrito
This short lived TV adaptation of a movie featuring H.G. Wells chasing Jack the Ripper into modern times had potential, but couldn't keep it up before falling into silly territory. It did have a clever scene that truly depicted Jack's horrific character, starting out comedic as he's perusing the contents of a freezer and finds microwavable burritos. He takes out one and figures out to nuke it, and just as he's about to turn the TV off a man walks into the apartment. He asks who Jack is, then searches for his wife. Partially unseen to the audience, only her bloody hand is seen dangling off the side of the bed and her husband's traumatized reaction indicate that his wife was murdered by Jack. Jack has followed the husband and dispatches him with a knife in his hands, and walks away, unshaken. He puts the knife away as the microwave pings, and he takes out the burrito and eats it as if what has just happened is just another day at the office. Though the show didn't last, Jack's combination of evil, charm, and collected behavior made him out to be a terrifying villain, and this moment was the proof.
Kong: Skull Island - as if I need a reason to put Tom Hiddleston on this list
Okay, I have a legitimate scene from this ridiculous movie to add to this list and no, it's not just because I have a fat crush on Tom Hiddleston. While this film lacks depth in story and character, Hiddleston as Conrad still sticks out as being one of the better parts of the film, and takes the award for most memorable moment. The party of explorers, trying to escape to the beach to contact the army, have been met with monsters and dinosaurs left and right amidst an already dismal sight of dinosaur bones, and to top it off, there's green poisonous gas all over the place too. Well, Conrad lives for moments like this and steps up to the plate when Hank tosses him his katana to defend against the horde of pterodons using the gas as cover. Conrad catches the katana and grabs a gas mask off a dead soldier, donning it before he slices every single pterodon swooping at him. Masterfully performed by Hiddleston, he smoothly dominates this brief scene that stands out from the rest of the film.
And knowing Hiddleston, there's probably a blooper out there of him wearing that mask saying, "are you my mummy?"
The Librarians - Nicole's tampering with time is what brings Flynn's success
The Librarians TV series came off of several made for TV movies, and in one of them, main Librarian Flynn's guardian, Nicole, was sent back in time, although he thought she was killed. Since Jenkins stepped up as head of the Librarians, he seemed to know when and where to meet Flynn, and sometimes there was an inkling from his character that he knew more of what was going on than he let on. In the season 4 premiere, Nicole reemerges and is imprisoned for using enchanted stones, one of which granted her immortality. As she's locked up in her cell, she confesses her love for Flynn never died, and later than when she was transported to the past, she set in motion several historical events that would bring Flynn to the place where he meets her past self, and to the situation he is in today. Because of Nicole, Flynn is the best Librarian, and has success in just about every scuffle he finds himself in. When he confronts Jenkins over this revelation, he simply explains that he couldn't tamper with history when it had already been done. Nicole's use of changing the timeline to her former lover's advantage is a twist that sent fans of this show atwitter for days.
This clip is currently unavailable, but Flynn and Nicole's reunion is available for the moment before.
Thor: Ragnarok - Thor becomes the god of Thunder to Led Zeppelin
The trailers for this movie featured Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song," which has been the perfect song for this MCU's character from the start but not utilized till now. Back to the movie, Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, was destroyed by Hela very early on, but when he was paired against Hulk in a gladiatorial match, he learned he could allow the thunder and lightning to inhabit his body, becoming godlike in physical form. The second time he allows the thunder and lightning to take over, he first lights up Odin's palace and Hela, catching her by surprise with one of the biggest blasts of lightning force ever recorded in the MCU. Then he enters the fray where he battles Hela's forces on the Rainbow Road as "Immigrant Song" begins blaring. In perfect timing with the song, Thor takes out Hela's undead minions, Valkyrie leads an attack of her own, Heimdall defends the Asgardians as they board the transport ship, Hulk takes on Hela's wolf, and even Loki is fighting along with the good guys. The action of this scene is spot on, and the use of Immigrant Song is the perfect tune to make this battle sequence one of the best of year. And there's also the shout out to Skurge as he joins the melee later with his two guns, Des and Troy.
This clip is currently unavailable but there are pieces of it in this video of the available clips and trailers.
Although I am curious, and I can't be the only one, about where Sif was in all this.
Legends of Tomorrow - Amaya communes with a T-Rex
Amaya, aka Vixen, was a welcome addition to the show's second season, and exhibited her coolness to a new level when the crew is transported back to the dinosaur age, one that Ray had been previously trapped in and gotten into bad relations with a local T-Rex when he stole one of her eggs for food (which lasted him a good few weeks). Amaya is descended from a line of African queens that have a totem necklace that allows her to assume the characteristics and traits of just about any animal she chooses, and up to this point, has only used powers of mammals. As the T-Rex draws near, Nate offers to go up against her, but Amaya pushes past and walks right up to the dino showing no fear at all, even when it roars right in her face. She then assumes the aura of a T-Rex, which calms the mama down. She then reaches up and gently places her hand on the mama's nose, and the two have a moment of bonding. When the bond is broken, the T-Rex turns and leaves, leaving Ray and Nate completely awed and dumbfounded. To quote Keanu Reeves: "whoa!"
Wonder Woman - smashing into a tower
Can we just say how awesome of a movie this was? It was tough to pick just one moment from Wonder Woman's long awaited film, but there was one particular scene that didn't seem to receive the notice that it really should have. Diana starts off the sequence of leading the Allied troops against the Germans, finally leading the men to the an occupied town. Having taken out most of the ground troops, a sniper having taken his perch up in the tower of a church, starts picking off the Allies one at a time. Steve and the boys see and opportunity to take him out after Diana orders the civilians to take cover by taking a piece of roofing to shield themselves, and also as a platform for Diana. She takes that moment to run, leaps onto the roofing, then propels herself into the air, moving her shield into place as she smashes into the tower where the sniper is, causing the entire tower to crumble. After the debris clears, Diana walks to the edge to show that she's safe. It's a quick moment, but definitely one of the best to show the fearlessness she has in protecting her allies.
The Orville - addressing the entire population
Seth McFarlane's latest project tackles the Star Trek franchise in the manner of Galaxy Quest to mixed reviews of the fans. As a ship is readying to attack a defenseless world, and the crew of the Orville realizes that they can't just stand back and do nothing. Grayson makes the obvious remark of why they have to intervene: "there's families down there!" Immediately following, Malloy pops in with another very pertinent observation that very rarely gets taken seriously in either pop culture or the real world: "there's probably a lot of single people too!" I never thought I'd say this, but thanks, Seth.
Blade Runner 2049 - Joi becomes real for Wallace
This long awaited-sequel introduced a new generation of more submissive Replicants, this time following after K Wallace. Though a Replicant, he has a strong sense of self and follows his instincts in trying to be as human as possible, complete with a holographic girlfriend, Joi. Though Joi herself is also synthetic, she also has a deep rooted sense of heart and clearly goes beyond her programming in her relationship with Wallace. To show her affection toward K in the physical sense, she hires a Replicant prostitute that she can synchronize her programming with so that K can actually feel something real when she wants to love him. She uses Mariette, a Replicant K met with earlier in the film, and Joi makes the preparations to bring her program and Mariette together as one. As they merge, K watches Joi's face as her and Mariette's faces go back and forth, sometimes even coming out as a meld of their two faces, to be one woman for him. The scene is memorable for the constant flowing of Joi and Mariette, as it is clear that Joi has taken over Mariette's body, but her program is not so strong that it's both women that are there with K. The special effects, making their constant flow between personalities is smooth and flawless, showing the two women working together to be real for the man Joi will do anything to love.
Though this exact clip is currently unavailable, I did find an informative video with theories about Joi that does mention this scene, and in better detail.
Arrow - Oliver's speech to William
It's been a rough year for Oliver Queen, and now he finds himself taking full custody of his son, William, who is still dealing with the loss of his mother. Oliver had known about William for several years and had abided by his mother's wishes for him to not tell William that he's his father. Now that she has died, Oliver has stepped in to be the father he has wanted to be since he learned of William, but he's having a hard time with all that's happened and adjusting to this new life. But Oliver comes through; he understands that building the right relationship with William is going to be tough, and he comes to tell William so. He has a very heartfelt speech explaining that he is going to be the dad William needs, and that "[he's] going to be there for [him], whether you want me to be or not. I am never, ever, walking away from you, ever." Heroes are plenty in geek related universes, but ones who are willing to step up to fatherhood in this way are rare. It's a shining moment for Oliver that brings him to a new level of intrigue.
Spiderman Homecoming - Spiderman finds the hero within
It's a superhero movie trope that the hero needs to find themselves in a moment of weakness before discovering the power they have within, whether they knew it beforehand or not, to save themselves or others, right at the best possible moment. Spiderman Homecoming was no different in that regard, but this particular moment for Peter Parker stands out as one of the best the MCU has put out yet. Peter is at his youngest in this third incarnation, only 15 years old, and still clearly a teenager and not ahead of his time. After facing off with Vulture, he is crushed beneath the weight of a collapsed concrete ceiling and the iron supports, miraculously surviving when the debris came down. As he emerges, clearly shaken and hurt, Peter finds that he can't free himself. In a brilliant performance by Tom Holland, he begins calling for help despite knowing there's no one nearby. He is hurt, scared, and at the most vulnerable in this moment in a way that none of the previous heroes in the MCU have been able to portray. Right here in this scene, Spiderman isn't a hero, he's just Peter Parker, a real human being and teenager, only able to rely on himself to survive. Then Peter looks into a puddle and sees his reflection, and, in a typical teenaged superhero cliche, he hears the words of his mentor, Tony Stark, echo in his head, which gives him the inspiration he needs to draw upon his powers. The scene hints that he was only going to wriggle out, but instead, he rises, bringing up the rubble with him, as he uses everything within him to break out. This scene would have been corny with the reflection moment, but Holland's performance in being so vulnerable sold this moment to bring it to this year's list.
Once Upon a Time - the silly yet epic entrance
Musical episodes are almost always fun, and though this show has long outrun its course, Once Upon a Time finally put out theirs. There were some catchy tunes in this special, but the moment that sticks out for this year is from the first number: "Powerful Magic." Snow White and Prince Charming have discovered that they are under a spell that makes everyone sing. Snow White realizes this first after waking up from her sleep. Then Charming vocalizes a long, "ahhhhhh!" as he enters with a lusty flourish, followed with a beautifully sung, "what's going on?" This moment could have been ridiculous, but the writers clearly took some notes from Into The Woods to stick this moment with heart and comedy.
Game of Thrones - the wall comes down
As always, Game of Thrones provided many of the year's best sequences in both TV and geek realms. Easily one of the most shocking moments was when Viserion was felled by a one-in-a-million shot by the Night King, but that moment was overshadowed by his return in the season finale. As Tormund and Beric are just looking out over the wall meant to keep out the Wildings and wights and just so happen to see an army of wights converging on them. Then a roar fills the sky, and Viserion tears through the clouds with none other than the Night King on his back. Undead and breathing blue fire, Viserion blasts the wall with theorized hotter than orange flames to break the materials and magic that the wall was built from. With relentless fury, Viserion continues his attack until the majority of the wall comes crashing down, allowing for the hundreds of thousands of undead to come marching south. The overall shock value and execution of this scene barely eked out the confirmation that Jon Snow is the son of Rhaegar Targaryan and Lyanna Stark.
And we're all crossing our fingers that Tormund somehow survived!
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword - Uther becomes the stone
Guy Ritchie's latest endeavor certainly sounded exciting, but fell flat with its constant and unnecessary flashbacks. Still, there were plenty of fun elements to it, and one moment in particular made the list by focusing not on Arthur, but his oft-overlooked father, Uther. Trying to get his family to safety, Uther brings Igraine and Arther to the docks with the intent of sending them away by boat. The Demon Knight catches up to them and spears Igraine, forcing Uther to fight him off so Arthur can escape. An epic battle ensues, but Uther is ultimately defeated. To prevent the Demon Knight from claiming his sword, Excalibur, he flings it into the air, where it slices him through when it returns to the ground, delivering the killing blow. Then, as the Demon Knight slowly transforms back into Vortigern, Uther's body transforms as well: in his kneeling position that the sword has locked his dead body into, he begins to turn to heavy stone before Vortigern can claim the sword. His weight after the transformation increases, and the dock he is on can no longer support the weight and the stone breaks the timber, sinking to the bottom of the lake. Uther himself, by taking Excalibur as he had, has allowed himself to become the stone the infamous sword was trapped in. Not only is this a clever moment in this film, it also stands as another interesting plot point that the sword, destined for Arthur in all other myths, was meant for him and only him by his father's actions.
Stranger Things 2 - Mike sees Eleven
Stranger Things returned to Netflix with a bang and brought back just as good a season as the first, bringing back just as many chills and twists as the first. One particular moment that most fans were rooting for was the reunion of Mike and Eleven, who had had a brief relationship in the first season, and her being presumed dead in that finale. In this moment, a hounds from the Upside Down have tracked down where our heroes are through Will, as his family and friends have had to use extreme yet loving means to try to break through to him. When his concentration is broken by a ringing phone, it alerts the hounds and they swarm the house as Hopper leads who he can to take up arms against the beasties. Yet as they hear them advancing, they also hear them becoming quieter, and a dead one is flung through the window, indicating that something else is out there. Then the deadbolted door is unlocked, and Eleven slowly walks in. Her reveal is dramatic enough by itself, but it's when Mike steps forward that it becomes perfect. Their eyes meet, and in a spectacularly well-acted scene, Mike's face brightens with a smile. They having a touching moment afterward, but doggonit if that smile wasn't one of the best to hit the airwaves this entire year.
Red Dwarf XII - there's no Cat here, just Rat!
Red Dwarf came back for its 12th season immediately after its 11th, which they haven't done in over a decade. In the final episode of the season, Kryten accidentally opens a time rift that allows causes decisions to have the opposite effects. He is able to fix it, and also finds a way to jump through different universes in the process. Rimmer chooses to find another universe to live in and uses a device Kryten makes to find a universe to call home. One of the universes he comes across finds a sophisticated version of Lister, as he is clean, cultured, and speaks like a gentleman. Rimmer thinks he's going to like it there when he realizes that Cat isn't there, and instead of Cat appearing, there's instead a life-sized RAT wearing fur clothing and bling (still played by Danny John-Jules, who has barely aged in the last 20 years!), bringing all kinds of attitude to the table. It turns out that in this universe, instead of saving a cat when Dave was originally put into stasis, he saved a rat instead, hence the reason why there's a human-sized, anthropomorphic rat who dines on cheese in this universe. Rimmer can't escape that universe fast enough, and quite frankly, I don't think anyone else would either! There are currently no clips of this episode available, but here is a review of the episode.
The Walking Dead - Weird Al, is that you?
The Walking Dead began its eighth season in an incredibly uncharacteristic manner. Known mostly for its dark tones and themes, this series has had its fair share of light moments, but none so nonsensical as this opening scene. The camera focuses on several items in a room, with the "Weird" Al Yankovic song, "Another One Rides the Bus" (parodying Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust, in case you were unaware), playing softly in the background. It continues playing until the camera focuses on Rick and the episode's action begins. Fans are still scratching their heads at the use of this song, particularly because no one can seem to figure if it was used just for the fun of it, or if it's foreshadowing something to come later. But using Weird Al for foreshadowing in a post-apocalyptic show about zombies? Now that would be interesting!
The Mummy - Amunet's escape
Yes, I did find a moment worth making this list from this movie. Far inferior to The Mummy reboot from 1999, this attempt at launching a monster universe by Universal Studios was really not a good start. The brief moment that makes my list this year comes from Amunet's escape after she takes control of a man who knocks out the power so that the mercury being injected into her system and renders her immobilized. Once she vomits the mercury, a guard begins shooting at her. She is able to break one of the chains binding her, then flips herself upside down and begins climbing upward on one chain the way a spider would its web. Then she reaches the hoop at the top, and with the smoothness of an aerial performer, flips over and takes out the guard. The sleek, spider-like movements of Amunet's escape are something rarely seen in fantasy, and make the list for how cool and effortless it seemed.
It's a very quick moment, so feel free to stop watching this clip once it ends.
Star Trek Continues - asking the question Trekkies have been waiting on for years
This fan-based, not-for-profit continuation series of the original Star Trek has been around for years and bringing much satisfaction to fans with their loyalty to the canon and fanbase (suck on THAT, J.J. Abrams!). Though they wrapped up the series this year, episode 9, "What Ships are For," tackled a massive plot hole that every variation of Trek has seemed to write off. This episode deals with Kirk and his crew trying to assist the Hialini, a species living on an asteroid infected with radiation that prevents their eyes from seeing color, from a disease, and another species called the Avetians that they have been at war with. Upon bringing Sekara onboard, it's discovered that she is differently colored that the rest of the population and is one of the species that the others fear. Kirk tries to talk the leader, Galisti (played immaculately by John de Lancie), into trying to make peace with the other species, who comes through with finally bringing the Prime Directive to light: the #1 rule of non-interference. Galisti completely schools Kirk on what non-interference is, finally wrapping it up with the question of, "who do you think you are?" Leave it to the fans to finally tackle this subject that the Trek series always brought up and yet still seemed to ignore. Well done, guys!
Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Vice Admiral Holdo takes out the First Order fleet
It was a quite a surprise seeing all the backlash that this latest installment in the Star Wars universe has raked in. Though The Last Jedi has been receiving mixed reviews, it had plenty of awesome moments that made it stand out from the other Star Wars films, but I believe that this particular moment is most appropriate to name as one of the top moments of the year. After Leia survives the attack on the command center, she is incapacitated and loses consciousness, and her replacement is Vice Admiral Holdo, who manages to arrange for the Rebel fleet to escape while she holds the enemy fire on the main carrier. Unfortunately, the Rebels are betrayed by DJ, the codebreaker found by Rose and Finn who had tried to hijack Snoak's systems so the Rebels could jump to light speed. As the Imperial fleet takes out the Rebel transports one by one, Holdo jumps into action. She turns the carrier and points it right at Snoak's ship. When Hux sees what she's doing, he orders all the ships to fire on her, but by then it's too late. Holdo makes the jump to light speed, and at this close range, it's a suicide jump. With Snoak's ship in her path, she splits the ship at Ludicrous Speed (sorry, couldn't resist!), and in its wake, it causes a chain reaction that destroys the rest of the Star Destroyers, which is shot in complete silence, adding to the awe of the scene. One woman with one ship running on fumes single-handedly took out a massive First Order fleet. That deserves applause!
Since film was only released weeks ago, this clip is currently unavailable, but here's a character video to her instead.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets - Valerian's shortcut
Luc Beeson's latest endeavor was highly anticipated, but fell short of the geek world's expectations (I partly blame Cara Delvelegne). After an attack that left an entire council of aliens and humans incapacitated with no fatalities but the kidnapping of his general, Valerian rushes to pursue the aliens and retrieve his commanding officer. Laureline, his partner and lover, has a schematic of the station in the control center and gives Valerian directions on how he can intercept the aliens quickest. By her chosen path, Valerian finds a wall right where he is supposed to go. When he tells her this, she indicates he needs to go through the wall. Pulling his helmet on, Valerian blasts through the wall and passes through several levels of the station, starting with what appears to be a cargo bay, with a huge bot almost stepping on him. He breaks through another wall, passing through what appears to be an arboretum of some kind, before coming out the other end, falling downward before landing on a nearly invisible pad. He shoots at the next one for it to be visible, then works his way across the pads to his next pathway, through a field of blue orbs being tended to by squid-like creatures. He breaks through yet another wall, this time finding himself in the water area where the aquatic species reside. He activates jets in his feet to propel him through the waters, commenting on how his shortcut isn't the easiest. He then breaks through the next wall, falling again, but this time crashing through a walkway tube for the inhabitants to get around in. From there, he resumes his chase. This particular scene about the shortcut, one of the best in the film, is beautifully shot and fast paced, but not so fast that the viewers can't appreciate the beauty of the different sections that Valerian passes through.
And though Cara Delvelegne was not so well cast, Ethan Hawke certainly was in his brief role!
The Punisher - Frank Castle, sharpshooter
It barely took Frank Castle more than a few minutes into his solo series to solidify him into this year's list. He's doing what he does best, which is taking out any and all baddies he deems need to be punished. In this scene, a local guy is out partying, getting ready to having a night of lust with at least two women. Then he's viewed through a scope, and the camera angle changes to show Frank training a sniper rifle on the dude. One of the women is blocking his clear shot, but once she's out of the way, her pulls the trigger, making a brief noise, but the dude is still having a good time. It takes a few seconds for the bullet to reach him right through the head. Then music plays and the camera pans away at high speeds, showing just how far away Frank was in being able to make that target. The use of realistic physics and the distance that bullet traveled made for a good scene to add a new layer of danger to this high-risk character we're still beginning to get to know.
Transformers: The Last Knight - Cade becomes a knight
This franchise has long since run its course, but there was still a shining moment that was worth mentioning and bringing to this list. Cade, played by Mark Walberg, has been around through all the movies and is given a medallion by a Transformer at the beginning of the film, which has latched itself to his body. As Optimus Prime battles and nearly Bumblebee, Bumblebee's voice finally returns, giving Optimus the boost he needs to regain his true sense of morality in saving rather than destroying. However, there are also ancient Transformer knights nearby that see Optimus as a threat and are ready to destroy him, which he is ready to allow them to do. Cade jumps in as one of the knights is about to slice Optimus up, and in true Michael Bay fashion, a slow-mo moment ensues as the medallion on Cade begins to expand up his arm, and finally transforms itself into an impressive, two-handed sword, successfully blocking the knight and protecting Optimus. His shocked expression at what he's just done is followed by the knights then swearing allegiance to him. This moment was one of the very few that brought a sliver of quality to this silly film.
The Ghost in the Shell - Major's utilization of the pole
Although I haven't seen the anime, I would assume it was better than this movie. The android with a "ghost," or human soul, has been captured after trying to catch a rogue android that arranged for several murders. She winds up questioning the wrong men and is captured, brought into a small room with a pole set up in the middle, meant for entertainment. After being handcuffed to the pole, she is questioned and tortured, then mockingly told to dance by the head goon. With the response of "I wasn't built to dance," she grabs the pole and launches herself upward and over, taking down the two goons that had their weapons trained on her. This sequence, filmed in a very small space, showed the utilization of Major improvising her way out of a dangerous situation without doing so in the manner that the pole was meant for. Her movements do show grace, but she uses the pole for stylized defense rather than titillation, as she takes down the goons one by one. It was a well-executed scene that stood out from the rest of the film.
Life - the opening sequence
This sci-fi/horror film was set in the international space station, which has no gravity and had the actors filming with cables attached to their costumes to show that effect. That being said, the movie opens with a narration about how the crew of the station will catch a probe from Mars with samples from the planet. As the narration continues, the camera slowly makes its way up the corridor of the station, showing the detail of the set. Then one of the astronauts passes through, and the camera follows them. In this continual and uninterrupted ten minute sequence, the camera captures the space station, the crew members as they essentially fly across their home, work the controls to make sure they capture the probe as it passes, crack jokes, and even fly up the massive window to watch the catch, showing a breathtaking view of the Earth as well as the solar panels on the side of the station. The scene ends after the probe is caught and the astronauts spend some time celebrating. Continuous shots aren't uncommon for sci-fi films, but this one, with its use of the actors moving around with cables (which were digitally removed) in such precise order was incredibly impressive.
Crisis on Earth X - Jax has tell tell Martin's family
It's always sad when a beloved character dies, especially when played by such a tremendous actor like Victor Garber. This 4-episode Arrowverse crossover pulled together the casts of all 4 DC TV series on the CW as they battled a neo-Nazi regime from Earth X, a version of earth that all others avoid. With a team trapped on Earth X and pinned down by the Nazis, Martin sees an opening to activate the gate that links to their earth, and is shot twice, to the horror of Jax, his other half of their Firestorm persona. The gate is opened, but Martin is dying and the only way to sustain him is if he and Jax merge. They do so, and pass through the portal to the Wave Rider, but the moment they separate, it's revealed that the psychic link that Martin and Jax shared caused Martin's injuries to transfer to Jax, and they are both going to die. Earlier in the episode, Cisco gave them a serum that could separate their psychic connection, which Martin had Gideon perfect, and he begs Jax to give it to him so that Jax can live. In a heartbreaking moment, Jax confesses that Martin is the only father he's ever known, and Martin tells him that he considers Jax to be his son as well, which is why he needs to live. A devastated Jax hands Martin the serum, and shortly after he takes it, the bond is severed, and he dies peacefully, but Jax is overcome with grief. Cut to the scene where he has tell Martin's wife and daughter that Martin isn't coming home: when Clarissa opens the door, Jax just loses it. He doesn't need to say a word, she knows right away what he's there to tell her. She breaks down, and Jax catches her, holding her tight as she cries. Then Lily comes rushing in, already emotional because she knows something's wrong, and when she sees Jax, she knows too. She sinks into Jax's arms too, and all three of them cling to one another. It's a scene with minimal dialogue and perfect soft background music to make you cry each time you see it.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle - Ruby/Martha faces the snakes
In a second year of a sequel being released 20 years later, this one certainly did a better job that last year's abhorrent Independence Day release. Updated from board game to video game, each character has specific strengths and weaknesses, and Martha as the avatar Ruby has only one weakness: venom. At this point in the movie, everyone in the game has used up two of their three lives except Ruby, and in the climax of the film, the jaguar eye that needs to be replaced to win the game has fallen somewhere at the foot of the monument. Spencer/Bravestone rides a motorcycle to the top while Ruby retrieves the jewel, and finds it has landed amongst a bed of vipers. She carefully sidesteps over the snakes and reaches the jewel, but as she picks it up, every snake suddenly rises into striking position, being controlled by the video game boss, Van Pelt. Speaking as one who's not afraid of snakes, this moment of so many snakes rising at once is absolutely terrifying and haunting, and the added stake of Ruby being in such a vulnerable position having a weakness for venom really makes this scene one that's just disturbing on several levels. The CGI may not be perfect, but it doesn't matter; the atmosphere is perfectly unnerving.
Since this film just came out and the clip is unavailable, please enjoy the trailer.
Oh, and one other thing worth mentioning: all the times everyone kept saying "don't blink!" around Ruby was a great tribute to Karen Gillam's work on Doctor Who.
Sherlock - the real damage sinks in
This final season of Sherlock certainly didn't disappoint, providing many exemplary scenes and moments that could have made up half this list alone. Though it was a very tough choice, my pick for this year came in the final episode, as Sherlock's long lost sister, Euros, sends him, Mycroft and Watson on a game where they have to solve several puzzles involving real people on a plane with a little girl on it will crash. After the last puzzle ends in the deaths of three men, Sherlock has to be as stoic as ever to be able to continue. The next room has a coffin that has a placard reading "I love you," which he is able to deduce is meant for Molly, the coroner who has been pining after him since the show began. Euros tells Sherlock he has 3 minutes to get Molly to say those three little words. In an excruciating sequence, Sherlock finally gets Molly to painfully admit her feelings with 2 seconds to spare. As it turns out, Molly was never in danger as Euros never set explosives in her apartment; the real damage is that Sherlock had to do everything he could to make Molly admit that she loved him, even though he doesn't love her. That realization that he's hurt Molly even further now pushes Sherlock over the edge and he destroys the coffin in the room. It's a brilliant and emotional performance that hit every Sherlock fan right in the heart, especially those who can empathize with Molly (even more so for the Sherlock/Molly shippers).
Personal Favorite: Victor Garber kept us waiting 2 years for this reference
Ever since Legends of Tomorrow premiered, geeks awaited the moment that actor Victor Garber would make a crack about the Titanic. After two long years, and just before the actor's imminent departure, he did so in one of the best ways possible. There's a time anachronism on the Titanic, which Ray suggests they take care of. Stein's response: "I wouldn't set foot on the Titanic. Whoever built that ship oughta be shot!" For those of you unaware, Victor Garber played Mr. Andrews, the builder of the Titanic, in Titanic. And to keep up with the reference, this particular episode's guest star was Titanic lead Billy Zane. Well done, team!
Dumbest Idea: the teleporting dog from Marvel's Inhumans
I gave this show a try and just couldn't do it. Lockjaw, the Inhuman princess Crystal's pet dog also has Inhuman-like powers in that he can teleport people. He's an adorably large bulldog that has been a fan favorite in the Inhumans comic strip, as well as the Marvel's Ultimate Spiderman cartoon. However, while his first teased look was certainly cool to start, the show itself apparently couldn't handle the responsibility of making this dog a good character. The show only made him look ridiculously silly with low quality CGI, and more annoying with his inadequate character balance of having superpowers and also being a large dog to boot. He could have been much better done in terms of character and in story, but this miniseries just had too many issues going in and poor Lockjaw was doomed from the start. He just wound up being annoying instead of endearing. For reasons why the show and idea flopped, please check out this video.
A summary of 2017: The Effect of Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman certainly made its effect on pop culture this year, but what was so exciting about this development wasn't that it was a film about a strong heroine. It was a story about a heroine done right. Diana may be a demigoddess, but she is also unfamiliar with the world, which adds to the charm of the film. She learns how to adapt from her humble beginnings to a world at war, and experiences both loss and victory in her story. The way this movie made an impact was that it showed a heroine on a very human level. She was a warrior, yet was still a caring person who chose to believe in the good of humanity.
Since the announcement that Wonder Woman would finally have her own movie, there has been somewhat of a revival in regards to stronger female characters. Though many are appearing, not all of them are that great, or they seem to be pushing some kind of feminist agenda. Others are like Supergirl, which has become a show that is taking the spotlight away from the title character and putting it on more soap opera type subplots on the supporting characters (and hyping up The Guardian only to barely use him at all. So not cool!). This year has been chalked full of strong female characters and they are doing amazing things not to make a point, but because their choice was the right one to make, allowing for them to grow in a direction that the audience can root for.
For example, Sansa and Arya taking out Littlefinger in Game of Thrones. Sansa and Arya were at each other's throats in the first season, and now that they were reunited, Littlefinger was certain he could maintain his slippery influence on Sansa by turning her against her own sister. Despite all his smugness, Sansa overcomes all her childish attitudes that she has struggled to manage and chooses to side with her sister, instead putting Littlefinger on the spot, bringing all his previous crimes to light, to Arya's smug delight. The best moment is when Sansa demands he explain why he meant to turn her against Arya, showing everyone in the room what this man truly is. Both she and Arya make an impact because they are able to overcome their differences and turn the tables on a man who had become so sure of his influence that he would never have guessed they could come together in this fashion.
Though Daenerys has always been a staple of strong female characters of this show, this level of growth from both Sansa and Arya is more of the image that is burgeoning into pop culture today: young women strong enough to overcome their differences and be courageous enough to bring down one of the best players in this political game they've been made pawns in. Strong choices of this kind add depth to characters and also to the show as well, making it more interesting for all.
Then there is the example of standing up for her own heritage. Felicity Smoak of Arrow is of Jewish descent and has grandparents who survived the holocaust. During Crisis on Earth X, she faces down against the Hitler-esque Earth X version of Oliver, Dark Arrow, who is trying to take Supergirl's heart to put into the Earth X version of Supergirl, his wife. Felicity and Ray have whisked Supergirl away, but Dark Arrow finds them and overpowers Ray, demanding that Felicity turn her over. Felicity stands between him and Kara, telling him, "my grandparents didn't survive the holocaust so that the world could be ruled by Nazis, so if you want Kara, you have to go through me." Felicity has always been a strong character, but this has been her best moment to date in standing up not only for her friend, but for her survivor grandparents, and for her own Jewish heritage. Few strong female characters that have surfaced over the years have used their cultural and religious backgrounds in a way such as this, bringing Felicity to to a level of self-actualization and taking pride in her heritage that is almost a superpower in and of itself.
Another who has had a steady character arc is Iris West-Allen, whose bachelorette party was interrupted by Amunet's (played by a delightful Katee Sackoff, who is clearly loving the opportunity to play a super villain) lackey. It isn't just Iris who shines in this episode, it's also her future stepmother, Cecile, who comes through in another twist: she is pregnant! During the party, who has Cecile, Caitlyn and Felicity in attendance, Caitlyn becomes Killer Frost and tries to go on the run, while the other three decide to step up and do something about Amunet. Before Killer Frost leaves, Iris gives her a speech about accepting herself as both Killer Frost and Caitlyn, and how the two can be one amazing person. Then when she and Felicity plan to take Amunet, Cecile insists on helping despite being pregnant, and winds up being the one who ultimately delivers the blow to overpower Amunet from a safe distance away. And we can't forget Killer Frost coming into her own as she does come back to deal with Amunet as well. Felicity has already had her own blurb, but Iris is the one who brings the other two into the folder, as she brought inspiration to both Killer Frost and Cecile to stand up as heroes; her words to Killer Frost in that she can be who she chooses, and her actions spurring Cecile to not back away from doing the right thing, even though she's in early stages of pregnancy (and enjoying it, too!). They may have let Amunet go in the end, but this action still proved that they were all above the easy way of dispatching the villains and allowing them a chance at redemption.
Taking a break from the DCU, we now turn to the MCU with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I mentioned earlier that Aida/Ophelia was the big bad in creating the Framework to trap our favorite agents, but Daisy and Jemma weren't replaced in time and had to do all the work; even after they completed their mission, Yo-Yo went back to retrieve Mack, who chose not to leave. It began with Aida trying to use all the remaining S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to round up Jemma and Daisy, claiming they are LMDs. Jemma didn't know this at first and was barely able to see that Fitz was an LMD, and she stabbed that thing to death. Daisy was able to hide among other LMD copies of her before she ran into Jemma. They are able, through hefty convincing, to determine that the other isn't an LMD in a wonderful scene of the two trying to defeat their doubts about the other, and Daisy gives an amazing speech on how she will beat the LMDs and that Jemma can be strong for herself and Fitz. Daisy was then able to gas everyone, and Jemma was able to bring a team at gunpoint to the carrier jet where Daisy was waiting so that the two could enter the Framework.
Once inside, they find that Daisy had been pre-programmed into the Framework as a human and lover of a fully alive and good guy version Grant Ward, while Jemma was programmed to have been killed and has to literally break out of a shallow grave with several other bodies. Though Aida attempts to circumvent these two at every move, their actions with everyone they interact with, from Coulson and May, to dearly departed characters that were programmed, including Ward and Trip, these two completely disrupt Aida's "perfect" world and retrieve their team. Despite the hellish virtual world that hunts Inhumans, Yo-Yo is ready to die in it when Mack can't let go of the daughter in the Framework, Hope (one of the more bittersweet additions to this show to date), who was stillborn in the real world. When Hope does disappear, Yo-Yo shares in Mack's grief as he loses his daughter a second time in life, and still stays even though she knows he may not choose to leave. Through the efforts of these three, they were able to win against Aida and her seemingly endless control over everything, including the hearts of Fitz and Mack.
One of the other developments overall with stronger female characters is that age is normally not a factor. Sansa and Arya were mentioned earlier but have had several years and seasons to grow, whereas the next example, Max from Stranger Things, was only introduced in this most recent season. Max was regularly abused by her stepbrother, Billy, triggering an immense amount of sympathy from the viewers. When Billy tries to drag her home and beats Steve mercilessly when he tries to protect her and the boys, Max decides that enough is enough and tranquilizes Billy. As the drugs take over, she stands up further by taking Steve's nail bat and telling him to leave her alone, then smashes is incredibly close to his groin when she isn't convinced he will leave them alone. From there, he gets the picture. Max made a good example of a victim who found the strength at a young age to fight for herself; showing that anyone, anytime, can find the courage to defeat those who would hurt them and/or their friends.
And shall we mention the ladies of Star Wars: The Last Jedi? I already touched down on Vice Admiral Holdo, but in reality, it was the ladies of the film that were the backbone of the story. We had Leia proving that it takes more than a little space-sucking blast to take her down, and her finally using the Force to return to the ship (call it silly if you want, but it's about time she did that!). She also was a strong enough leader to take down her best pilot, Poe Dameron, when he tried to enforce his ideals over Holdo's and staged a mini coup. Next we had Rey, who not only kept her ground in fighting for the Light Side, but was strong enough in her Force powers and moral convictions to convince Kylo Ren to kill Snoak when he was about to kill her; even fighting alongside her to take out Snoak's men in an epic fight sequence. Even Rose Tico, who has received some unfair backlash, had strong moral convictions as well, always making decisions based on what she believed was right (although the forced love story with Finn was a bit much). Her actions in stunning Finn when he tried to escape showed her gusto, and her freeing of the unfairly treated fathiers demonstrated her compassion for all livings. These four ladies weren't just on the Light Side, their actions proved that they were all on aligned for the forces of good. And I'll give a shout out to Phasma, who was still under-utilized but fun.
Finally, I'll sneak back to the Arrowverse and mention a wonderful episode that actually showed the impact a notable person from history had on today's technology: Hedy Lamarr. Unbeknownst to many, Golden Age Era of Hollywood screen legend, Hedy Lamarr, was also a technician. Without her, many communication devices we use today, including Bluetooth, wouldn't have been created. She had an incredible, and sadly, mostly unannounced impact on our present history, and Legends of Tomorrow made a point of showing how the future would have been altered if she hadn't continued her work as a technician. In this particular episode, Helen of Troy is misplaced in history during this era and takes a role from Hedy, and in the process, half the systems of Wave Rider go down. It's when the Legends remove Helen and Stein (misplaced in Jax's body) convinces her to follow her dreams. This episode also adds some depth to Helen, who is aware of the way she causes men to react and wishes only to live in a world where no one dies over her beauty. It was a wonderful ending when Zari discovers that Helen being displaced in time doesn't alter the timeline, and drops her off in Themiscrya instead of Troy.
There are plenty of other examples of ladies whose characters were made stronger, such as in The 100, and others whose characters that were meant to be. What makes this change in female characters exciting isn't that they're being all butt-kickers and having more realistic body types, it's that they are coming out as being more human, as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman was portrayed. They have their faults, they have their growth, they have their less glamorous moments. The sci-fi and fantasy realm has taken many leaps in 2017 alone to make their strong heroines more realistic, and being less afraid to give them flaws that everyone can relate to.
Hopefully, as more characters such as Wonder Woman and those I have listed, arise and expand into other genres, they are kept as human as possible, and not made unnecessarily seductive to appeal to men, or so dominant that they come off as pushing a feminist agenda. Either way, I believe that 2017 did do a good job in setting the trend of creating good, strong female characters, and has hopefully paved the way for more to come.
A Final Word
I wish I'd had more time to do more research on other sci-fi and fantasy shows and movies (I still can't believe that I didn't have time to check out Star Trek Discovery!) that came out throughout the year, but I think it's also a good thing that I wasn't able to, because that shows that the sci-fi, fantasy and geek realms are expanding to a rate that not every geek can keep up with. There will be plenty of other shows and films that will come out next year that I'm already looking forward to adding next year, and hope that the moments captured will continue to trump the ones that have come in previous years.
Happy new year, and stay tuned for more posts! My resolution for 2018 is to write more!
