Past Purges
Halt and Catch Fire "High Plains Hardware"
This is kind of a boring show. I'm not all that invested in the stakes at this point, partly because I don't understand how this is going to avoid completely rewriting modern history. So far, Joe, Gordon, and Cameron are all hot messes as people in their own way (hiding from a past, trying to escape disappointment, trying to be a rebel despite a desire to succeed). I have the free time to see how this plays out still, but something needs to happen soon.
Louie "Pamela Part 2 & 3"
So ends a very different season of Louie in almost every way. I'll get to my thoughts of the season at another time. I want to focus on the end (or beginning) of this Pamela saga. Of any of the women that Louie has dated in the show, she is somehow the most toxic and most appealing for him. She's outright mean to him, but I'm pretty sure that's a lot of what attracted him to her in the first place. You could argue that everything he's gone through since she left, and especially everything from this season, he should've moved beyond wanting to be with her. I do wonder how much of this is a slide back after Amia and a fix for his loneliness and how much is him sincerely wanting to be with her. Still, Pam Adlon and Louis C.K. have fantastic chemistry together. I'm never angry that she's going to be in an episode and the fact that Pamela may not be the best person for Louie very well could be the point. It gave the season and solid end point if not the most satisfying one.
Fargo "Morton's Fork"
How'd they do that? No, really. How did they take an incredibly praised movie with such a distinct tone and rhythm, make a TV show about it, without using any of the same characters or copying the story, and produce a show this good? It defies all expectations. In terms of finales, this was designed to hit you as a little overwhelming at first. There was no shootout with Malvo. Lester didn't get caught and sent to jail for his actions (His poor brother, still in jail). Molly, didn't do much at all. If you'd've asked me what I wanted from the finale, those are all things I'd've been looking forward to seeing. I'm glad I didn't get any of that. Nearly all of that was the right move. Molly has done her work. There's no need to put her in harm's way. If you can't be satisfied by her becoming chief and finding out she was right about everything, then I don't know what show you've been watching the past 10 weeks. Gus getting to be the one to stop Malvo for good, considering that, within the scope of the show, him letting Malvo go at the traffic stop set so much of what followed into motion. Then there's Lester, the monster he is, who I still felt a moment of pride for when he tricked Malvo into stepping on the bear trap. Don't get me wrong, Lester absolutely got the end he deserved. Remembering the pathetic mess he was in the first episode, there was a small victory in how cunning he's become. Mostly though, he sucks. The episode is filled with small moments of closure too, like Bill speech to Molly about why he doesn't want to be the chief anymore, that deliriously charming scene between Lou and Greta on the porch, and getting the answer to Agent Pepper's riddle. I hope this Limited Series gets all the Emmys. It deserves them.
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