Past Purges
I actually know who Victor Zsasz is, so that was pretty cool. The majority of the show so far has been the Cobblepot story more than Gordon's. That's fine except I wonder if they are building him too quickly. His story can't arc all the way until Batman shows up, after all. As fun as Gordon and Harvey Bullock can be together, the highlight of the show has been the dueling scenery chewing of Fish, Falcone, and Moroni.
Scorpion "Father's Day"
Will Riley's father get to meet Riley? I think that's what the episode was about. There might've been a case of the week too, but I'm pretty sure it was about the father question. The flashbacks with Walter and Agent Gallo help to build that history. Happy's daddy issues give her a more interesting side than we've yet seen. I'm not sure I get much out of meeting Riley's dad though.
Selfie
Stupid elections ruined my recordings and the news that Selfie wasn't getting a season pick-up killed my desire to immediately catch up.
New Girl "Background Check"
Zooey Deschanel was on fire with all the physical comedy. Really, everything with her in the bathroom was Lucy-esque in all the best ways. The only thing that competed was Nick telling the officer all of the things he's done. That was some ace riffing.
The Mindy Project "Caramel Princess Time"
Here's the thing. I'm not totally condemning Peter's initial actions with Abby, played by Fargo's Allison Tolman (yay!). Tamra described Abby as her twin. It would be more than a little awkward to then get Allison Tolman (who is clearly not a skinny black woman). Now, obviously, he should've adjusted and ran with it, but there's a part of me that would be embarrassed enough by my confusion that I'd think about ditching.
Arrow "The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak"
It hadn't really occurred to me how little we know of Felicity's origins. This was a nice nod to that no matter how small it made the world. Then again, if I'm going to pick at coincidences then I have no business watching this show.
A to Z "F is for Fight, Fight, Fight"
Please, find a new angle for the "man feels emasculated" story.
Parenthood "These Are the Times We Live In"
Good lord, how much did they slash the budget this season? Are they saving up for some big explosions in the finale or are they flying everyone to Fiji for the last five episodes? A lot of people were missing this week. This is such a big cast that it wasn't all that noticeable until you think about it though. We finally get a good scene with Betsy Brandt on the show, which was a long time coming. This was the hardest I've ever had to work to accept Hank's Aspergers because he is so high functioning that you could very easily see it as him using it as an out from uncomfortable circumstances. That's the nature of the beast though.
Joel and Julia continue to play out their story as though they are following a completely different script from last season. I'll say it yet again. If we go through all this and they don't end up together, I'm going to be mad. Not, "I can't believe they killed off the Mother" mad, but certainly "He faked his death and became a lumberjack" mad.
Brooklyn Nine Nine "Jake and Sophia"
It's a great example of an episode using familiar tropes and it not bothering me because funny is funny. Oh, and Andre Braugher's "Hot damn" in the cold open: Perfection.
The Walking Dead "Self Help"
We finally get some fleshing out of Rosita, Eugene, and Abraham. We already kind of know Abraham but the flashbacks definitely clarified some things about him and his nature (i.e. that he has rage issues). Eugene is a fraud, which is hardly a surprise, but we know how his mind works a little more. Supposing that Abraham didn't kill him, I could be interested in knowing him better than "that guy who reminds me of Kenny Powers". Rosita is long overdue an actual character. I'm not sure what to make of it, but it's sort of a personality. I think I was too busy trying not to be weirded out by Michael Cuditz being literally more than twice Christian Serratos' age.
Mulaney "In the Name of the Mother, and the Son, and the Holy Andre"
I'm still watching this. I don't like it, but I am fascinated by it. It's almost willfully bad. The jokes are big and obvious. The characters don't interact so much as they exist around one another. It's the sort of show I'd hate if it was succeeding, yet knowing that its days are numbered, I'm transfixed by the weirdness of the overall effort.
Gotham "The Mask"
This isn't a subtle show. The characters that work the best (Cobblepot, Fish, Selina) do so because they go for broke. The ones that are more problematic (Gordon, Harvey, Bruce) are so because they try too hard to find an emotional truth. The people I wouldn't mind never seeing again (Barbara) don't even know what show they are on most of the time. I wish I knew what the end game of the series is supposed to be. Is Jim Gordon the central protagonist or is he just a cog in it all? Does he rise through the ranks to commissioner or does he fall into it because it's so bad that no one else can succeed there? So far, Cobblepot feels like the lead more than anyone. I could be interested in a show about the building of these mafia and villain empires. I'd just like to know if that's what I'm watching.
Scorpion "Risky Business"
Listening to Toby making his guesses about what artists/songs used the music generating software was one of those times when I expected to see "Youth Consultant" listed in the closing credits.
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