Happy Wednesday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. Since it’s Wednesday, our writers will be sharing what they’ve been watching (television or movies, or other content) over the past month. Feel free to share what you’ve been watching over this past month, too. We’re all part of the Geekly Gang. I’ll get us started with what I’ve been watching.
Kyra’s Movie
If Sinners hadn’t been released this year, Companion would be the best horror film of 2025. Despite how good Sinners is, it has limited rewatchability. Companion may be one of the most rewatchable recent horror films I’ve seen. Companion’s blend of comedy and horror helps. There are laugh-out-loud moments. Dialogue is on point. The characters are as well-developed as any you’ll find in Sinners. Sophie Thatcher’s portrayal of Iris (Companion’s main character and emotional support robot who f***s) is the reason I chose her to play Apex Legends’ Wraith in an upcoming Geekly Casting (scheduled for February 2026). Thatcher does an amazing job, growing from naive f***bot to self-aware heroine. Companion is a joy to watch over and over again. Perfect for Spooky Season.
While Sinners tackles systemic racism, Companion takes on misogyny, toxic masculinity, and male fragility. And Companion doesn’t bother with straw man arguments or spend too much time on obviously misogynistic men. Antagonist Jack Quaid is affable. He’s likable, even after he reveals himself as a complete jerk. It’s those affable misogynists who are the worst. Quaid’s Josh gaslights. He refuses to take any responsibility for his own actions. Josh is the perfect representation of peak incel, broculture. And it’s fun hating Josh and laughing at his impotence. You should give Companion a watch.
I also love Harvey Guillén. I’ll watch anything that features Guillén, especially now that What We Do in the Shadows has concluded, and I won’t get to watch any more Guillermo. And I adore the scene depicted above with Guillén’s Eli and Lukas Gage’s Patrick. It’s so good. Companion even managed to squeeze in a bizarro tender moment or two.
Kyra’s Shows
I watched Orphan Black when it first released over a decade ago and couldn’t remember when or why I stopped watching the series. Spoiler: I figured out why by season 3. But seasons 1 and 2 are some of the best television has to offer. Orphan Black was one of the shows–along with Breaking Bad and the better seasons of Game of Thrones–that made me (and a lot of others) think a decade plus ago was peak television. The series holds up. Tatiana Maslany deserves all the accolades she earned for Orphan Black. Maslany portrays over a dozen clones. With the somewhat cringy exception of Tony Sawicki (the transman Leda clone who shows up in a one-off episode in season 2), who’s little more than a male version of Sarah, most of the clones are chef’s kiss good.
Over the course of Orphan Black’s five seasons, all of the clones develop and grow. I’m going to take a moment and mention how five seasons seems to be a television show’s sweet spot. Breaking Bad lasted five seasons. Game of Thrones and Mad Men began falling apart after five seasons. Heck, What We Do in the Shadows only added a sixth season. And isn’t Stranger Things planning its fifth season as its finale? Five is the magic number.
Anyway, I won’t go into too many Orphan Black details. This show is best watched with little to no prior knowledge. Discovery is key. But I will say that season 3 is where Orphan Black originally lost me. It lost sight of its core characters by adding too many auxiliary characters, and that’s not just my opinion. Many of those extra characters were removed for season 4, and Orphan Black went back to brass tacks. Originally, I had given up on this show too soon. I’m glad I gave the later seasons a second chance, and if you’re interested in biopunk (sci-fi based in biotechnology), Orphan Black is a great place to start.
And Orphan Black pays homage to a novel that may have begun biopunk, H.G. Wells’s The Island of Dr. Moreau.
With the rumors of a Mindhunter season three or a couple of Mindhunter movies to close out the series, entering the zeitgeist, I rewatched the only two seasons of Mindhunter available on Netflix…for now. Simply put, Mindhunter is the best true crime series. Period. It chronicles the people who started the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) Behavioral Science Division. Because Mindhunter focuses on investigators, it manages to not glorify serial killers. It treats serial killers as cautionary tales and gives insight into how psychopaths think and behave.
You will find plenty of name-brand serial killers (or, in the case of Charles Manson, serial killer adjacent) in Mindhunters’ episodes. But the focus is always on what makes these people tick. Even the fictionalized versions of the FBI’s Behavioral Science Division’s founders explore how a push here or there may drive someone to do something unthinkable. Mindhunters is infinitely rewatchable. The show throws out so many references and breadcrumbs (for seasons that haven’t yet been released–fingers crossed), you’ll have to watch it more than once.
That’s all I have for what I’ve been watching this past month. Let’s check in with Season and Skye.
Season’s Shows
I’ve had a pretty full schedule lately, Geekly Gang. I haven’t had as much time to branch out and find new things to watch. However, I discovered Haunted Hotel on Netflix and fell in love with it. Needless to say, this show is on my most rewatched list (I’ve been falling asleep to it). The show follows a single mom with her two children as the owner of a haunted hotel that gets no business. How is it still standing? Who knows? I like to think the ghosts sell ectoplasm.
Kidding aside, Haunted Hotel is a comedy that has an overarching plot filled with family issues and the meaning of companionship. Each of the characters copes in unhealthy ways, which leads to the main plots (sometimes subplots) of the episodes. Each episode is between 21-25 minutes long, and there are only ten episodes so far. Haunted Hotel is easy to binge-watch in an afternoon.
That’s all I’ve got for this week. What have you been watching, Skye?
Skye’s Movies
Most excellent! That’s how I’d sum up Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey. I didn’t have a reason for wanting to watch the Bill & Ted movies; I just felt like it. Oddly enough, that also seems like the vibe these movies give off. “I just felt like it.” Are they dumb? Yes. Are they pointless? Absolutely. But are they bad? I can’t bring myself to say yes. Despite centering around a utopian future created by a couple of lovable half-wit teenagers, I still really enjoyed the Bill & Ted movies. While they may not be winning any high artistic awards, the original Bill & Ted movies are great for some dumb fun. Party on, dudes!
Skye’s Show
You’re welcome for the 180° tone shift. After watching Monster: The Ed Gein Story, I can confirm that I enjoyed it. Only to a point, though. For the most part, Monster: Ed Gein felt like a deep dive into the creation of an infamous killer, which is what you’d want, but they often blended reality and fantasy in ways that were hard to follow. There are several rewinds and fast-forwards, which jumble the pacing even more. Charlie Hunnam’s (portrayer of Ed Gein) UK accent in the middle of small-town Wisconsin was distracting. Also, the overemphasis on Gein’s relationship with Adeline Watkins (played by Suzanna Son) didn’t feel right.
When you look at the real story of Ed Gein, Watkins was a long-time friend of his, but much of what’s shown on Monster: Ed Gein about her is heavily dramatized. It also makes bold claims by showing Watkins beating her landlady to death in New York City. In truth, much of Gein and Watkins’ relationship is unknown. All we know is what Watkins explained to reporters after Gein’s crimes came to light: they had known each other for 20 years and were relatively close. The prospect of romance was brought up by Gein when he proposed to her, but she declined. I wouldn’t mind this so much if Monster addressed these facts, but the show goes out of its way to paint her as a major influence on Gein’s character.
If you’re going to adapt a true story to the screen, particularly one as gruesome as this, you should try to be as truthful and forthright as possible. Implying that someone loosely connected to it had this much influence and could’ve even been a criminal themselves is insulting. I don’t always engage in true crime, especially if it’s a dramatized version of the real story. These stories are harrowing to listen to because they really happened, but when showrunners try to lighten up the events or change aspects, I get upset. These were real things that happened to real people, and that’s disrespectful.
Rant over. But if you enjoy true crime stories, you’ll probably enjoy Monster: Ed Gein. I’ll also say that I don’t think you’re wrong if you like it. While Monster: Ed Gein pushed specific buttons for me, it may be a perfect fit for you. What matters most is knowing the facts from fiction. What you’re watching is based on true events; it’s not a window to the past. Stay safe out there.
Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here again. Those are the television shows and movies we’ve seen over the past month. Let us know in the comments what you’ve been watching. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
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