Paul Levinson

Well, it's rare that a mystery or thriller surprises me with almost all of its twists, but the second season of You, now streaming on Netflix, did just that. And with the same wit and style that lit up the first season, maybe even more. All of which adds up to a highly, often immensely, enjoyable second season of this literate and introspective serial killer.

So here's where I am regarding the nine episodes of Star Wars: I thought the first trilogy, by George Lucas, was fabulous -- every bit as good, and maybe even better, than the other trilogy of that era, The Godfather (the third part of which, coming along almost 20 years later in 1990, not as good as the first two). And I thought, contrary to a lot of critics, that the second Star Wars trilogy, also by George Lucas, in the movie theaters at the turn of the 20th into our 21st century and a little after, was every bit as good as the first trilogy, and at times even better.

I'm not sure who the "His" is in His Dark Materials (I haven't read the books). I'm not even clear what the "Materials" are (the Dust? but I don't know yet exactly what that is, either). I do get the "Dark". And I also thought that last night's action-packed episode 1.6 moved preternaturally quickly.

Well, last night's episode 1.8 of Watchmen was my favorite so far. All the pieces came together; not easy in a time-travel story, especially when the time traveler is some kind of god, Dr. Manhattan, who, among his many impressive powers, has the ability to live and act in all times that he exists, at the same time, all of the time.

His Dark Materials 1.5 on HBO earlier tonight upped the evil of the villains, making them, well, the equivalent of Nazis.

To be blunt: I thought Emergence 1.8 was, well, a weak episode. Here's why: