Past Purges
Archer "Archer Vice: Fillibuster"
If you need any more proof that I haven't been giving Archer its due this season, here you go: I didn't even realize Cyril ran a coup last week (In my defense, it was late when I watched it and I was distraught by developments in basketball that night). A lot of stories are coming full circle at this point. It looks like most of the Isis team is now working with the government (specifically, the CIA, featuring Slater). Lana is finally having her baby. Pam is realizing that she may have a problem with cocaine. I doubt Cheryl will ever realize how wrong she is about Outlaw Country. The only unexpected character development is that this is the most human Krieger's been in a while. All it took was many of him to realize it.
New Girl "Big News"
I'm very pleased they didn't drop Winston wanting to be a cop. They took a roundabout path to it, completely forgetting it for a while even, but at least they got there. It was a fun episode for him even though him being the last one to know about Nick and Jess still symbolizes his place in the show too well. While I appreciate that the show didn't try to drag out Nick and Jess' relationship longer than they felt the story needed, I am a little bummed that they couldn't've saved that for the season finale, because I'm not enjoying them breaking up. I don't mind them not dating, but I'm not in the mood for this breakup stuff. I don't think it's a particularly entertaining thing for either Deschanel or Johnson to play. Not sure how much of my opinion is based on The Mindy Project doing the same thing right now.
The Mindy Project "Think Like a Peter"
If I haven't said this before, I really should. This show has the deepest guest star roster of any show I can think of. It's becoming the Law & Order of sitcoms. This week, Max Greenfield pops up for the second half of the hour as well and plays the opposite of Schmidt: a douche-bag who acts like a nice guy. It all struck me as a little similar to what happened with Josh, although without Ellie Kemper which makes this one inferior. On the plus side, the Mindy/Peter pairing is quickly becoming one of my favorites on the show, especially if they keep it completely platonic (this is a must: she can't sleep with every partner in the office).
Agents of SHIELD "Providence"
I'm torn by this Ward situation. I really like him as our stealth villain. "Real Ward" is kind of a smarmy asshole and, given that they never made him that likable or interesting in the first place, it is really easy to switch to disliking him. What makes me torn is that I am all but certain that by the season's end, he'll be with the protagonists again, which would be rather boring. If he's simply a legit bad guy and Triplett is going to fill his role, great. Initially, I assumed he was a triple agent. Now, after the death toll has stacked up with him, I'm figuring it's going to be more like Tommy when he was the Green Ranger, and Ward is going to have a change of the heart in the finale or something.
-I'm sure there's few roles that Patton Oswalt has geeked out to do than this one. Knowing what I do about him, it's just fun to see him in the Marvel Universe.
-Did I pick up on some possible Fitz/Simmons 'shipping? I hope not.
The Americans "New Car"
That was about as effective as it gets. That was a sobering episode all-around. Phillip gets a much-needed reminder of what he's doing all this going from joy about his new American toy to deep frustration that American trickery on him has led to the death of dozens on comrades. Elizabeth's hand is forced as Lucia goes against orders and Elizabeth has to watch her die. Stan isn't getting any relief from all the closed doors he's running into for what we know is a solid lead. I will say, I had a little bit of trouble with Henry's crying scene and I feel bad, because we are dealing with a child actor, and he isn't going to be as refined as the rest of the case. That said, he's not the best cryer.
Community "Basic Sandwich"
"Go ahead. Cancel us. I dare you." -Dan Harmon [subtext]
As potential series finales go, this was strange. I'm not sure how I feel about the boldness of taking cancellation head on and I don't think I will until I'm given the context of this definitely being the final episode or having a sixth season. I love that Subway is game for anything and between its involvement with Community and Chuck, it really is a brand that couldn't be any higher-esteemed in my mind. The episode gave a little bit of everyone. Glad to see Duncan one more time (in fact, I've enjoyed how much he was part of the season). They didn't overdo it with Chang (small doses work best). Chris Elliot, no surprise, brought a weird energy to the whole thing. I'd really love final "swan song" season of the show so we can get a solid ending, but if this is the last we see of the study group and all the crazy characters at Greendale, I'll be more than pleased with what I got over the past five seasons.
Parks & Recreation "One in 8000"
It's a good thing I love the characters so much. It's hard to call any P&R bad because it is working at a much higher level than just about any show and here is a great example of what I mean by that. Super familiar stories all around this week, ones that would make me groan on, say, Modern Family. Instead, there's a lot to enjoy just by seeing the actors play them. Andy trying to keep a secret is exactly the kind of thing Chris Pratt does well and I'm glad that April was ok with him keeping it at the end. No unneeded extra conflict there. Adam Scott is a joy to watch when he plays super-Tense Ben. So, even though we've seen it before and getting stressed about the cost of having kids is taught in Sitcom Episodes 101, I still got some laughs out of it. Same goes for Leslie playing against type and being super calm. I am getting a little tired of every week having someone point out to Ron that he's changed since we first met him. I don't have an issue with the change, but I wish they'd let the audience figure it out themselves a little more. The rarely used Ron/Donna pairing is one of my favs though.
-Wait, was there any Tom this week? I can't remember him at all in the episode.
-I fully believe this show can make Craig work, but so far he is just too much for me for how big of a part he has. Tone him down or down his time.
The Crazy Ones "The Monster/The Lighthouse"
-The show is more invested in getting Sydney and Andrew together than I am.
-I love Zach and Sydney's gay boyfriend getting along. Had it just been a series of misunderstanding until the reveal, I would've been tepid about it, but finding out at the end that they are still hanging out and Zach is trying to turn him...into a friend was a nice touch.
-I am always for a good Frankenstein homage and I enjoy no one except Andrew knowing what the literary connection was.
-Seeing both of Sydney's parents now, I wonder how she ended up as close to normal as she did.
-I like the kids heckling Simon about using all the voices to read the book. The show might as well embrace that that is the majority of Robin Williams' character on the show.
Parenthood "The Pontiac"
My God, Haddie does still exist. I'm going to pretend the lack of her all season was a decision by the writers to give her the room to go through this change and since she, unlike Drew, is in her own isolated world, it wasn't worth keeping track of her as much. It's really funny that they do this story now, because maybe an hour before the episode, a friend of mine who just started watching the show asked if anyone on the show was gay. When I realized that they've largely avoided that, I was about to question this whole in the show. Then, of course, we get Haddie's girlfriend and that worry is undone.
-I so glad Sarah and Hank are together. Especially with the lack of payoff elsewhere, I needed that win. And, it means we are probably getting more Hank next year (yay!).
-After dragging out this Drew story for months, now they jump ahead to an "I love you" story. Ugh, I'm so done with him.
-Amber and Ryan get a proper farewell. That's cool. I hope Amber gets a more chill story next year. She's been through a lot.
-Camille and Zeek are finally out of the house. That's a good arc to have end at the finale.
-Kristina and Adam got to take the week off largely just being there to say "You're gay? Totes cool with me" and I'm fine with that. No mention of the charter school is a good thing.
-Joel and Julia...I won't lie. I thought the season would end with them back together. I'm still not sure how comfortable I am with how them being apart works with the DNA of the show, but if they want to end it like this for now, I'll trust them. They aren't divorced and they have the kids pushing them together so there's still hope.
-Oh yeah, Crosby and Jasmine. They didn't have much to do all year, did they? Maybe next year.
Hannibal "Su-zakana"
The Will/Hannibal chess game is one I never get tired of watching. This week moves back to a more self-contained story, which I'm find with because they still do these so well. That was some weird horse murder though. Jeremy Davies is always a welcome face. I'm just sad it's not likely to be one we'll see again.
Mad Men "A Day's Work"
I was absolutely not a fan of Peggy's flower misunderstanding. Beyond being hard to watch for Peggy, it felt like a gimmick that Mad Men doesn't do for a reason. Everything else was very good though. The glimpse of Dawn and Shirley was a nice counter-perspective in the office. Joan leaving personnel behind is a long-stewing victory. Pete being as good at his job and pig-headed as ever is welcome. The power dynamics in the SCP office are definitely building to something. Most of the episode hinges on Sally and Don. To no one's surprise, they nailed it. It's fascinating watching those two now that Don is without a trace of the moral high ground. Sally's old enough now that he CAN be honest with her and that's all that she needs. No matter how much she hates her dad sometime, he's still her dad. As for Don, I can't wait to see when he finally does have a plan to get back in.
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