Past Purges
The Bridge "Rakshasa"
That shootout at the end was messy and awesome. Hank is a badass, as if that should've ever been questioned. That was a pretty unceremonious end to Charlotte. She was enough of a non-character that I don't mind. I'm still looking for what it is about Eleanor that makes her so imposing. So far, all I can determine is that she has that eerie cool about her but doesn't do much of anything.
I wasn't a fan of all that with the Gringo. It gave us a few good moments with Marco and Sonya which almost makes it work it. I'm tired of professional bad-guys like the Gringo making dumb decisions like leaving Sonya alive while he digs, rather that killing her first. It makes no sense and it's not even like we see enough of him to gather that he's a special kind of deranged. That's writing something because you need to protect a lead character, not because it makes the most narrative sense.
Married "The Old Date"
I'm not sure when it happened, but this show got dark. They've been hinting at the surf shop for weeks and now we finally get some explanation. It's still there. Well, actually, it moved to a larger location and is doing quite well. Lina and Russ didn't lose the store. Lina convinced him to sell it when she got pregnant so they could move to the valley and do better for their kids. What most impressed me was that they don't make Russ a dick about that. Lina blames herself for losing the store. Russ is obviously bummed about it and carries a little resentment, but he really try to convince both of them that it was a team decision. Versus the show that was first introduced, this is about a couple that wants to do right by one another.
As I said though, it's gotten dark. Pretty much everything with Bruce (Ike Barinholtz from The Mindy Project) is uncomfortable. I was squirming in my seat when he kept going on about all the things he and his girlfriend can do since sex is not an option. Then there's AJ bringing Bernie to the wake or shivas (or whatever it's called). Not only is showing up to that for personal gain a bleak setup, it's looking like AJ may finally need to get some help. It all ends at a strip club too, and not a happy one. The jokes at this point are more to release the tension than to keep it all funny.
You're the Worst "Finish Your Milk"
DVR fucked up and I haven't been motivated to find it.
The Bridge "Eidolon"
I don't know that we ever needed the explanation of how it came about that the guy ended up dead in a moving car. It's nice to know nonetheless. In general, the episode did well to explain how Eleanor is someone to be feared, featuring her threatening the doctor (or is he a "doctor"? I'm not sure).
I missed the part about how her ledger and knowledge of the inner workings of the cartel are what make her so important to everyone. After such a bloody shootout, I'm glad this week was more about the fallout than escalation. The stories are crossing more and more as we lead to the end and that's getting exciting. I am going to be a little irritated if the gatekeepers to everything end up being these CIA agent Daniel and Adriana snooped on who show up in the third act of the season.
Married "Halloween"
Remember when I said this show is getting dark? Yeah, everything with AJ this week. I figured out that his life was sort of a mess, but I didn't think it was really rehab-bad. This removed any doubt of that. I can't tell if his explosion in the board meeting was meant to play for laughs or to show how much he's lost control. Probably both and I certainly took it more as the latter.
About every three weeks (please don't check that math), this show is full of the zingers. My two favorites this week come from Russ:
"We broke her, and now we are all paying for it."
"Give your mom a Butterfinger. She does a lot of shit for you."
You're the Worst "Constant Horror and Bone-Deep Dissatisfaction"
Of course, I miss one week, and it's a major plot point: Gretchen and Jimmy split up. That's big, but for me, this is the week that changed this from a season to a full story. Maybe it's just good writing around established story beats, but I read this as the writers having a plan for this season. Showing how everything leading up to and including the events of the pilot happened genuinely changed the perspective of the whole season. It continues to make this a poor title for the show since they aren't so bad after all, but it is one of those rare flashback episodes that actually change the show's perspective for the better.
Girl Meets World "Girl Meets Smakle"
It was only a matter of time until we got a Smakle, wasn't it? I enjoyed the Trojan horse scene at the beginning with all the fake gifts, and I'm finally getting used to the overtness of the lessons tying into the episode (That's a Michael Jacobs staple, after all). It's actually a pretty dense episode with all the Smakle tricks. She likes Farkle, gets the makeover which distracts her, only it doesn't, then does get distracted by Lucas, who joins the debate team because he doesn't want to be seen as a dumb-jock, but at the same time is being used as a prop by Farkle to distract Smakle. A lot more layers than I expected. It's a shame that they fumbled that last beat so badly. The writers wrote themselves into a corner by Smakle asking if Farkle would like Riley and Maya if they weren't beautiful, and had to return with a cop-out about him not even noticing that they were beautiful. That killed the moment for me.
This week in call-backs:
-"Huh, I wonder how many people the idea of Corey and Topanga has ruined?" -Topanga
-Topanga realizes that she married Feeny.
New Girl "The Last Wedding"
Season four begins with one major motivation: Move on from Nick and Jess. After realizing last year that those two do not work as a couple, the writers must establish the new status quo of coupling outside the group and moving back to the Nick and Jess friend relationship that once was the backbone of the show. Given that, this was a solid episode. The assorted adventures of the group format is my favorite for the show and that's exactly what we got. Jess was determined but outmatched by Jessica Biel, the ultimate competition. Schmidt and Nick navigated a fourway proposition with expected responses from each. Coach exhausted the hook-up pool by the end of wedding season. Winston didn't get much, but the little he got included that fantastic talk about salt and pepper shakers. Oh, then there's Cece. Has she ever been given much to do? Maybe next week. If the season continues like this, New Girl will easily move out of bubble consideration as a dropable show.
Best line of the night:"...And I lost my Virginity to Malcolm Gladwell."
The Mindy Project "We're a Couple Now, Haters!"
My opinion of the show for a long time has been that it needs to figure out what it is and that's the main thing holding it back from being one of the best comedies on TV. Could Mindy dating Danny be that needed foundation? Opposites attract can work very well as long as there is a reason for them to be together at the end of the day, despite their differences. Mindy and Danny have that. This hasn't been a show to lean too heavily on contrivance, so I predict they will be together for a while this time allowing the rest of the cast to breathe.
Specific to this week, he's some trends I want to see continue going forward:
-Random people attempting to narrate the beginning.
-Different music to open the show or "More than a Feeling" taking over full-time.
-Cousin Lou played by Rob McElhenney hanging around in any capacity.
-Beth Grant delivering one killer line as a throw away joke each episode.
-No more cast changes.
There's others, but that'll do for now.
Best line of the night: "Is this boring, like all the state capitals?"
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