Fringe and Community came back this week, which made me very happy. Terriers ended it’s first season, which made me sad. No Ordinary Family once again rose to the challenge and Boardwalk Empire brought us a little of the old style. I’d say don’t take my word for it, but if you didn’t watch any of these shows this week you will probably have to. Let’s get into it, shall we?
Terriers: S1 x 13 – Hail Mary ★★★★☆
Terriers finished up it’s season with a solid episode. It didn’t have as much of the punch of the Tim Minear episode awhile back, but it saw it’s main arc through and wrapped up all the loose threads in a satisfying manner. I was reminded to some extent of the first season of Dexter. Both shows’ first seasons could stand on their own and didn’t feel incomplete should they be canceled. Hopefully Terriers sees the same fate of Dexter and gets many more seasons.
Fringe: S3 x 08 – Entrada ★★★★☆
And we’re back again with another episode of Fringe. It seems like a year in between each break this show takes. Seriously, FOX. You guys need to cut that shit out. I don’t think I can take much more time away from Olivia and company. This week saw a dual-universe episode, bouncing back and forth between the other world and ours. Even the opening credits reflected this. It’s nice to see the showrunners’ dedication to point of view and to structure. Kudos. One point of contention: Peter HAD to know that Bolivia was not who she claimed to be. If he were genuinely surprised by this turn of events, then what was the point of that flirtatious exchange earlier on in the season.
Writers…you have some ‘asplaining to do!
The Walking Dead: S1 x 05 – Wildfire ★★★★☆
There were a lot of good character moments in this episode, and we finally got to watch someone in this world succumb to the effects of zombification. A very bleak episode, but that’s really not saying a whole lot. The bit with the CDC worker at the end was a great touch and I hope that more of those moments can litter the next season when it eventually airs. Sure, the episode wasn’t without it’s flaws (I mean, really, no backup plan should the CDC not work?!), but it was still good despite it and worth watching. I’m quite interested to see where the last episode of the season takes us.
No Ordinary Family: S1 x 09 – No Ordinary Anniversary ★★★★☆
We get another villain-of-the-week this week and he shoots FIRE! But more importantly than that, Mr. and Mrs. Powell become a super-team. It’s here that we get a glimpse of things to come as the family starts to feel their calling to be heroic. Some of the fighting between Mrs. Powell and Fire Dude was kind of awkward, but they really nailed his creepiness-factor. Kudos on that. Another interesting bit involved Daphne attempting to read Will’s mind. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t scream “DON’T DO IT GIRL!!!” at the screen.
Boardwalk Empire: S1 x 11 – Paris Green ★★★☆☆
This episode should have been titled “Agent Van Alden Goes Bonkers and Kills A Guy!” There wasn’t a whole lot here apart from the scene shown above and a spat between Margaret and Nucky and Nucky and Eli. We find out that Jimmy’s father hasn’t been feeling all that great due to poisoning and that Jimmy’s home life has crumbled way beyond repair. Onward to the finale!
Community: S2 x 10 – Mixology Certification ★★★☆☆
Community seems to bounce back and forth between laugh out loud episodes and character development episodes this season, oftentimes finding a good balance. This episode couldn’t quite decide what it wanted to be and the result was a rather uneven episode. Troy shines through as the main character in this episode, but Annie pops in throughout with her rather abrupt identity-crisis. I think the episode could have been stronger if they had picked a character and stuck with them, but at the same time I still enjoyed what I saw. Jeff? Britta? Please to be getting it on now. Thx. Pierce? You are still wonderful.
