Past Purges
The Walking Dead "Still"
I continue to like what they are doing with this half of the season. One drawback of this setup though is that there are some groups with more interesting stories than others. Sadly, Daryl and Beth are in the lesser category. Beth is long overdue a focus episode. I'm still not sure what the character they are building for her is though. She pretends to be hard but not so secretly wants to be an optimist. She's rebelling against her dead dad. Oh, and she sings. Not this week, which is a missed opportunity. We know what to make of Daryl by now. I think the only "new" thing is that he's an angry drunk (did that surprise anyone though?). They are in the smallest group at this point, so it's understandable that they are also the most depressed.
Maybe it was just me but I was picking up on a weird sexual tension between those two. Part of that comes from the fact that Emily Kinney is actually in her late twenties only playing a teenager.
How I Met Your Mother "Vesuvius"
Truth be told, I missed it the first time I watched the episode. I must've not wanted to believe it so badly that I ignored Ted crying and the dodging conversation. I mean, really, there's no way that Craig Thomas and Carter Bays would do that to the audience. No way they could possibly misjudge things this much. They figured out that people wanted the Mother, after all. It took them several seasons and they responded in the minimal way possible. And, if what they hinted at this week was always the plan, then I have to assume that introducing the Mother in some capacity was always the plan as well. Otherwise, what's the point of having this twist.
So, the Mother is going to die. Unless this is a massively annoying fake-out which would make me nearly as angry, then that is what this episode implies and I am livid. There's a very limited list of decisions that HIMYM could make that would make me think they actively hate the fans as opposed to passively being fucking idiots and this is one of them.
I'm tired of ranting about this show. Let's see where it goes because I find equal little joy being jerked-around as finding out the Mother is dead and Ted has spent all this time talking about the parade of women he's banged to his children in order to take his mind off it. So, I'll stop now.
Archer "Archer Vice: Baby Shower"
Poor Archer. Always the show I watch after being blinded with frustration by HIMYM. This was funny. Smart writing as always. The focus is little less on the cocaine now which I'm OK with. I love the randomness of the Kenny Loggins cameo especially because it is such an obvious one for the show.
Agents of SHIELD "T.A.H.I.T.I."
It was an odd balance without Skye this week. After that last new episode, just about anything was going to be a let down to some degree, which I'm fine with. Doing something clever and experimental every week dilutes the impact, so this was a good shift. I still don't care about what happened to Coulson as much as I think the show wants me too. That's always going to be a problem. Fitz and Simmons were separated more. They are best when together but it is smart to let them be their own characters some. I have no idea what to make of this woman, Lorelei (Asgardian I'm guessing) at the end. Seems like a good setup for future episodes though.
New Girl "Sister III"
That was an underwhelming end to Linda Cardellini's stay. It's nice that after the writers did a lot to un-rock the boat with Abby leaving and Schmidt moving back in they add Nick and Jess living together right after they determined that was an awful idea. That apartment is never without drama. It's sad that I'm already to where I like coach better than Winston (for the 500th time though, I blame the writing, not the actors). It just reminds me how little grasp they've ever had on Winston.
Brooklyn Nine Nine "Tactical Village"
Not much to say this week, in a good way. This show keeps getting better. Kyle Bornheimer stops by to throw a wrench into what Peralta and Santiago have going and I know they are writing this well because I actually care. Diaz got to be mean to Boyle in numerous creative ways. That was fun too. The law of diminishing returns proved it doesn't apply to Andre Braugher saying "Kwazy Cupcakes". Hitchcock and Scully are separated and both used in amusing ways. And, I learned a great new way to hold a gun. So, pretty great, right?
Trophy Wife - DVR Issues
Cougar Town "Too Much Ain't Enough"
I think it's a requirement on a sitcom these days to have an episode where the writers get all their hipster jokes out of their system. Immediately, New Girl and Happy Endings come to mind, but there are more examples, I'm sure. Whatever. They made a pretty accurate sounding dub step song, so I'll allow it.
-I wonder how well Guzzle Buddies would sell if they existed or were put on the TBS online store (I assume that's a thing), complete with infomercial.
The Middle " Vacation Days"
I was all ready to sell on Sue's Yelp story until she confronted the mall cafeteria. I'm not sure what it is, but that is the type of scene The Middle does so well.
I've grown a little tired of stories about Frankie and Axl feuding, so I could've gone without that. Most of my has gone toward if I believe Frankie's car could've gotten from Indiana to Chattanooga without a refill.
That was kind of the perfect resolution to Mike and Brick's story. I've gone on a lot about how often the show shits on Brick and I was about to use Mike's explosion (certainly the angriest I've seen him on the show) as more fuel for that. Then, it turns out this is all so Brick doesn't owe Mike and actually doesn't care at all. Great understanding of both Mike and Brick and an even better of us seeing a little of Brick in Mike.
Suburgatory " About a Boy-Yoi-Yoing"
I'm torn. On one hand, Tessa was pretty insufferable this week. Like, all-around, even when she was right and/or vindicated, I still found her at her most-"hater Tessa". On the other hand, I found her way more attractive than I should've dressed up like a pirate. So, if I say that those cancel each other out, then a week with Malik in it is enough for me to call it a good episode.
Modern Family "Spring-A-Ding-Fling"
Both of you who follow this regularly (Hi Mom!) know that at this point I basically go into an episode of Modern Family looking for how I'm going to hate it. This week looked ripe for it. Claire is being bossy and trying to control the kids. Cam is in a stupid feud. There's a story hinging on Haley texting. Mitchell is caught in the middle of a serious of painfully obvious misunderstandings. I could see the blood in the water. Then, something delightful happened: they stuck the landing.
Mitchell realized his mistake and no big deal was made of it. He didn't get fired or quit or something stupid. He just got a little embarrassed. Cam didn't go too big to win against his rival. Petty? Sure. Annoyingly over the top? Not really. Claire succeeded, despite her efforts. Haley got to come through for Phil in the best way possible. I haven't even mentioned Lilly this week who continues her streak of taking "stealth MVP" awards from the Dunphy children. Overall, just a very well done episode that played on its strengths.
The Americans "Cardinal"
A lot of fall out from last week. It's obvious how much the death of their mirror-selves last week has affected Elizabeth and Phillip. He opts to come home after his close call rather than tend to his sick "wife" which would've been the better strategic move. She is planted by the window most of the day. Clearly, they never truly thought of their kids being in danger before this and it is messing with them. They still manage to do their jobs (covering for a rookie Latin-American spy and talking out of getting shot), but it's easy to see how much more complicated it is for them.
Then there's Nina, who is the opposite of opaque. She is confusing because of her transparency. We know that she is a double agent. We know that she's oscillated from one side to the other before. She's out only character with an ear on both sides and I have no idea what she plans to do with that. She has the power despite her "handlers".
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