The Middle "The Walk"
Simply put, that was a very well done Sue story. The arching from 0 to 5 to 0 prom dates was well done and perfectly capped with her going with Ashley. Then Axl gets to be a protective big brother. Axl defending the family is the best weapon the show's had this season.
Suburgatory "Catch and Release"
Malik's proposal was ridiculously over the top but so damn sweet that I didn't care. Suburgatory is definitely a show that I like for the moments, not the episodes. The strengths this week were any part that had singing or Dahlia as a travel agent and the weaknesses were, well, virtually anything else.
Modern Family "Las Vegas"
Stephen Merchant and Fred Armisen in the house: two guys I always want to like more than I do. Oh, and Patton Oswalt. I always like Patton Oswalt. This episode was missing something and their names are Lily, Manny, Alex, Haley, and Luke. Perhaps I'm in the minority here but I feel cheated if they aren't in an episode. The episode featured one of the most intricate final sequences the show's ever done which is saying a lot. I fully imagine graphs and a time lapsed chart were used to figure it all out. As much as I was impressed by the organization of it all, it runs into a problem that Community often does as well: the ambition trumped the laughs. I liked how much they thought everything through but none of it was to service a bigger laugh. Perhaps this is partly because I watch the show to see the strings as much as anything. In short, good episode. Not a very funny one.
The Americans "The Deal"
I saw this episode has a long run time. I assumed that meant something major was going to happen like when Stan killed Vlad in the episode that got cut off by the DVR last season. Instead, it turns out they just didn't want to edit it down. That's fine. The episode was good but I did feel a little deflated by it at the end. That scene with Anton begging in the back of the car driven by Phillip is about as good as anything you are going to find on TV. It was so painful to watch for both men and, best of all, it didn't sway Phillip at all.
Parenthood "Fraud Alert"
A lot about people getting away this week. Zeek and Crosby go on a road trip, thankfully resulting in the decision to sell the house. I'm hoping that they do address money-strapped Crosby's decision to by the motorcycle though. Adam and Max leave the drama about the school which Max is no longer part of (seriously, the worst school portrayed on TV in quite some time) for surfing. Even Joel in a more metaphoric sense attempts to cut ties with Julia. I know I've expressed my opinions on that. Still, no part of me believes they aren't getting back together, but at least this moves the story forward some. I don't know what's going on with Hank but until they make Ray Romano a regular, I have to assume this is all part of a larger Sarah arc, although it's clear how much the writers love writing for Romano.
Hannibal "Mukozuke"
This is a show of pretty deaths, not practical ones. I'm sad to see Beverly, but luckily, this is a show that gets a lot of use out of the dead. We're still seeing poor Abigail Hobbs more often than some of the regulars. I'm really curious to see what finally gets Will out of the asylum and Jack to fight Hannibal as we saw in the premiere.
Saturday Night Live "Louis C.K/Sam Smith"
This was such a strange episode. I'm not sure if this is Colin Jost's new direction as head writer or Louis C.K. was game for more. The two different sketches with Louis and a female cast member being strange ("Shhhhhhh-shut up" and the pajamas) both worked for me. Black Jeopardy managed to be fresh and nostalgic. I got a kick out of the Stephen A. Smith segment almost entirely because of the mention of Kentucky basketball. C.K. was way more comfortable this time and it benefited the show tremendously.
Side Note: You casn tell how much Louis works behind the camera by how his thanks at the end went out to the crew by name at the end. I found that interesting.
The Walking Dead "A"
Season 4 ends doing something season 3 didn't: I can't wait to see the next episode. The season as a whole didn't arc in any discernible way so it would be hard for me to say they stuck the landing. Rather, the show resisted giving into any of its bad habits any finishes this 8 episode run of episodes aimed at reestablishing itself having done all the work to let season 5 be on stable footing. Rick, Michonne, Carl, and Darryl make short work of the merry group of thugs in another very dark sequence. I'm glad they didn't stretch that out although I could've gone with a little less super-villain stalling for time which is the only reason those four are still alive. I'm trying to get a season review typed up in the next few days but I'll put it like this: On a scale of 1 to 10, I started this season at a 3, hoping to at least end the season at a 6, fell to a 1 by midseason, and now end the season on an 8. Good job Walking Dead.
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