Modern Family: Red Alert (10x16)

This episode... annoyed me.

Cons:

This show has never gotten an A+ from me in terms of its political correctness, but for whatever reason, I was more annoyed than usual by some of these slightly off-kilter jokes. There's a lot of eye-rolling about Alex's passionate talks about women in science, there's a joke about a former CEO exposing himself in the workplace that is not funny or thoughtful enough to have made it into this script. There's the played out and gendered cliche that boys are uniformly disgusted and ignorant about women getting their periods. The fact that Mitchell and Cam didn't know the typical length of a period cycle doesn't make them seem like a couple of silly ignorant dudes - it makes them seem like crappy fathers. If the thought of menstrual cycles freaks you out, guys, then maybe you shouldn't have adopted a kid. Seriously. Grow up.

Also, this episode was just overall pretty dull. Claire and Jay fight over power dynamics at the closets company. Gee, where have I heard that one before? Haley is incompetent at something and Dylan is surprisingly good at it. That joke has been repeating itself all season. I just didn't get any real joy or insight into anything by watching this episode. Pretty much a snooze fest.

Suits: Harvey (8x16)

Wow, okay, I'm sorry... I'm not convinced. I feel bad, but that just did not work for me.

Cons:

I'm talking about Donna and Harvey. I'm sure there were plenty of people watching that episode who were overjoyed that their ship had finally set sail, but I was just completely underwhelmed. I promise you, this isn't just about me shipping Marvey, either. On its own merits, Harvey and Donna hooking up just does not work for me on a fundamental level. I'm going to break down some of the reasons why.

First of all, on a superficial level, I just didn't buy their chemistry in that final scene. It wasn't embarrassingly bad or anything, but I found Donna and Thomas much more compelling in terms of chemistry, so that's a bummer.

Then, there's the hit-you-over-the-head-with-a-hammer script. As the episode ends, Robert makes this big declaration about how going through something difficult makes you realize what's important in life - and for him, that's his wife. Then, Alex repeats the same thing, saying he needs to get home to his wife. So here's the problem with this - Harvey had just asked first Robert, and then Alex, to go grab a burger with him, and they both turned him down to go be with their wives. This doesn't read like Harvey is secretly pining for a specific woman, it reads like he's just generally lonely.

The Walking Dead: Bounty (9x11)

Oh, man, that was actually quite a good episode.

Cons:

I want to be on board for Ezekiel and Carol, but sometimes it just makes me roll my eyes. I get it - surviving isn't enough, you really have to live. That's the theme of this episode, and it's an important one for a show like this to dwell on. But risking four people's lives over a projector light so that the Kingdom can play movies at the festival? I hate to be a spoil sport, but someone could have died. Would it have been worth it for the Kingdom to lose its leader, or for Jerry's baby to lose its father? Come on.

Henry is essentially Carl 2.0 at this point, and while I don't uniformly hate every scene Henry is in anymore, I will say that Carl was at his most annoying when he was being dreamily optimistic, and Henry isn't an improvement on that. This show seems to think we need a wide-eyed innocent to remind the hardened adults what they're fighting for. I'm not so sure that character trope has ever been pulled off without being incredibly irritating.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: The Honeypot (6x07)

Oh man, this show is so freakin' hilarious.

Cons:

I really did like almost everything in this episode, but I'll admit that the subplot paled in comparison to the main story. For one thing, I was excited to see Amy tackle the organization of the office, but instead the focus was all about getting rid of personal items on people's desks. That didn't seem to be the real problem with organization, so it was odd that it got all of the focus. Also, it occurs to me that this is just the kind of subplot where Gina would have had an opportunity to shine, so her absence felt all the more acute when we spent this whole plot thread in the precinct.

Pros:

That said, this plot thread still had a ton of laughs for me. Amy's utter joy at being put in charge of organizing, Terry's attachment to his suspenders, Charles having his ancestor's shoes, one of which is tiny because he had one baby foot, Amy revealing that her organizational idol froze to death because he got rid of all of his clothes, Rosa being indignant about getting rid of a DVD of The Intern because of all the bonus content, the list goes on.

The Big Bang Theory: The D&D Vortex (12x16)

Oh, Bill. Sigh. You know you don't have to do this, right?

Cons:

I mean, this episode wasn't any better than the average fare, just because there were famous people in it. The Big Bang Theory has always been able to pull out all the stops with its celebrity cameos, and it's kind of fun to see famous people playing themselves sometimes, but this show doesn't know how to properly utilize a cameo in a creative way. I know for a fact that Wil Wheaton and Joe Manganiello actually play D&D, because I've seen them on Critical Role. Why didn't we get to see anybody actually playing the game?

There's actually been something of a D&D revolution in recent years, spearheaded largely by women. This show would of course be entirely unaware of that. There's no indication whatsoever that they know how D&D actually works, and that it's not just something that nerdy guys play in their mother's basements. I know it would be difficult to fully appreciate the scope of the game in a sitcom format, but once again this show has chosen to go with the laziest option.

I hate it when Howard makes jokes about how he used to be a creepy stalker. It just reminds me that this show is sexist as all get out.

Grey's Anatomy: I Want a New Drug (15x14)

This was one of those "event" episodes that Grey's Anatomy does sometimes, where one centralizing catastrophe is supposed to tie most of the plot threads together. But it actually didn't end up going at all where I expected.

Cons:

So, like I said, this was an "event" episode, like with a hurricane or a ferry crash or something like that, where the hospital is flooded with patients all there because of the same catastrophe. This week, it was a mass drug overdose in a park. But the weird thing is, only Amelia and Owen's plot thread with Britney and Leo actually connected to the big hospital thing. Everybody else's subplots were pretty separate. Sure, people were interacting with the patients in the OR, but the central plot wasn't feeding the smaller stories, if that makes sense. For the most part I'm okay with that, but I thought it was odd to give so much pride of place to discussing the epidemic of drug addiction in this country, but then not give it the entire episode.

There were these two brief scenes between Link and Amelia where they comfort each other after this hard day of seeing all of these kids fight for their lives. Amelia is obviously extra upset because of Betty/Britney. I didn't hate the scenes in and of themselves. It gave some added dimension to Link's character. But it felt like they were foreshadowing some sort of romance there, and I'm just not about that. It has taken me a very long time to get on board with the idea of Amelia and Owen as a couple. If they honestly try to threaten that now, I'm going to be really frustrated.

Modern Family: SuperShowerBabyBowl (10x15)

I found the bulk of this episode to be charming and funny. Let's start with a few little complaints, though.

Cons:

Manny and Phil's dumb argument about Manny's latest attempt at film making was... uninspired. I didn't laugh at any of the jokes, I didn't think the repeating gag of Phil getting his line wrong was funny. There was only one good moment to come out of it, and that was Lily's line: "So no one's wondering why Uncle Phil's starring in a laundromat movie?"

This isn't the show's fault, but I did laugh when we see a clip of Jay and Cam watching the game and they yell out "touchdown!" in a celebratory way. The Super Bowl this year was a boring slough with only one touchdown, and that by the Patriots. You're telling me that this family, who live in California, wasn't rooting for the Rams?! Ha.

Suits: Stalking Horse (8x15)

This was a pretty great episode of Suits, but I do have a couple of things I need to discuss.

Cons:

I'm rapidly becoming super irritated with the Donna/Harvey back-and-forth. I wish they would just put a bow on that and end it, or else just let them be together if that's the direction we're going. All of the drama of this situation could have been achieved without the faint hints of unresolved romantic tension between these two characters.

Also, this wasn't just a matter of Donna choosing herself over the firm. It wasn't some personal victory she achieved by making the right call for her. She broke privilege. She used her privileged information to help her boyfriend, and not only did Harvey lose a client over it, he's also being sued by Daniel Hardman. Like, it's hard to think of a more serious consequence for Donna's actions in this case. This was a big, big screw-up and it feels like the kind of thing that should honestly get Donna fired.

I thought the flashbacks with Donna and her mom were fine, but they didn't really add anything to the story or to my understanding of the characters. The choice that Donna had to make wasn't informed by her mother's decision years ago, even though that's what the episode was trying to push.

The Walking Dead: Omega (9x10)

If someone had told me the premise of this episode, I would have rolled my eyes and assumed I was in for a real snooze fest. A whole episode about Lydia, the Whisperer that is being held prisoner at Hilltop? Why should I care? But, surprisingly... I thought this episode was pretty strong!

Cons:

From a narrative standpoint, I'm glad that Lydia didn't turn on Henry when they briefly left the prison cell. It's more interesting that way. But in-universe, I was furious at Henry for being such a little idiot and letting Lydia out! I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. He's a moron. It's not that he's well-meaning or sees the best in people. It's that he's criminally naive and he could have gotten someone killed. I was so furious when he let Lydia out of the cell.

I got a little lost in the weeds with who all had gone out looking for whom. We know that Luke is with the Whisperers now, and that Tara went out looking, but then decided to turn back, but then the other new kids sneak out to find them anyway... it was all a lot of back and forth that probably could have been compressed or cut from the story. The end result was the same - the Whisperers have captives, and they've come to Hilltop looking for Lydia. The rest is just noise.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: The Crime Scene (6x06)

Jake and Rosa are great!

Cons:

Ummm... error, not found? I guess I kind of missed some of the other characters, but honestly I think the focus on Jake and Rosa was perfect.

Pros:

This episode had a difficult task in balancing its tone, and it did so wonderfully. There's been a terrible murder, and we see as Jake and Rosa try to solve the case, while also interacting with the deceased man's devastated mother. We have lots of fun jokes and lots of serious moments. We also touch again on Rosa's strained relationship with her mom because of her sexuality, while having fun with silly haircuts along the way. I like that we didn't dive too deep into any one mood, but instead got an interesting mix of humor and drama. That might seem like an obvious thing to say about a cop show that's also a comedy, but I just really noticed how well it worked this week.

On the comedy side, there were just too many funny moments to count. My favorites include Jake and Rosa's exchange about Jake's math teacher: "She sucks!" then, a pause: "Actually, she was very sweet, she believed in me"; Jake waking Amy up holding a knife over her; Rosa's constantly changing and ridiculous hairdos; Charles being the body in Jake's simulation; the CSI agent's terrible one-liners; Holt coming in and revealing that the best two detectives he ever worked with were two random people he's never mentioned before; Jake accidentally calling the victim's mom his own mom... it goes on and on. The comedy in this show is sharp, memorable, and genuinely hilarious.

Grey's Anatomy: I Walk the Line (15x13)

I totally forgot that Maggie and DeLuca were briefly a thing. Ha.

Cons:

I mostly thought this episode was fantastic. Just a few little nitpicks to discuss.

I love that Alex is doing so well as chief, and I adore that Jo is so supportive of him. But switching the pictures back so that Alex is the #1 chief on the wall felt petty, and like a rejection of Bailey in a way that made me a little upset. Can't Jo be proud of her husband while not downplaying the career of her mentor?

Billy Boyd playing the anxious father of a shooting victim was really great. There were all these men in kilts who had just come from a parade who were supporting him, and I wish we could have had more of that dynamic. I liked the community-building stuff, and felt it could have been a little stronger. I felt that way also about the older woman with her husband and best friend in the hospital with her. I wish we could have explored that dynamic in a more immediate way. I wanted it to feel more balanced, but at the end of the day it did feel like the woman was putting her life-long friend over her husband. That's not the conclusion I want Teddy to be drawing about her own priorities in life, even as she's decided that she and Owen are going to stay platonic.

Suits: Peas in a Pod (8x14)

This is one of those episodes that didn't totally fail, but just felt kind of bland.

Cons:

Scottie has always been an interesting character, but this return for her felt kind of pointless. She was a prop so that we could have some interesting interactions between Sam and Harvey, and push the Donna/Harvey question further once more. I wanted more with her. I don't think she and Harvey made for a good couple, but still. I think the character deserved better.

There were plenty of story lines and character beats in this episode that were just fine, and I'll talk about some good stuff in a minute, but a lot of this stuff felt watered down and predictable. Louis' therapist is in trouble, Louis considers crossing a line, he doesn't cross a line, and at the end of the episode we're back to status quo. Scottie potentially stirs stuff up in regards to Harvey and Donna, but then Thomas conveniently comes out of the elevator just as Harvey was maybe going to say something, and nothing progresses. Both Sam and Alex had cases where they had to make compromises, and while I think it's good to go for something in between an all-out lose and an all-out win sometimes, I'd be lying if I said it didn't occasionally make for lackluster conclusions.

Arrow: Star City Slayer (7x13)

I enjoyed the potential of this episode, but felt it didn't quite hit the mark in some respects.

Cons:

For example, there's the William situation. The problem with the way this show works is that having a kid around can be restrictive for the kinds of stories they want to tell. But the fact of the matter is, William does exist, and Oliver is a pretty awful father to him most of the time. I don't need the show to be all about William, but over the past several weeks, ever since Oliver got out of prison, he should have been discussed a lot more than he was. His well-being should have come first, and William's grandparents are right to want him away from Oliver and Felicity.

We learn that Mia is Felicity's daughter. This, again, isn't a terrible idea, it's just that in the overall scope of the show, this reveal was pretty obvious. The minute this character showed up, everyone thought she was related to Oliver and/or Felicity. We also learn that Connor, ally of Mia, is actually Diggle's son JJ. We are getting these "shocking reveals" but not enough in the way of answers to make things truly satisfying. Where's John, then? Where's Oliver? Keeping us in the dark only works for so long, and I think we're well past that point now. These twists and turns pile up so much that they lose meaning.

The Walking Dead: Adaptation (9x09)

Ehhhh.... I try so hard to be enthusiastic about this show, and there are definitely pieces of this episode that I quite enjoyed, but I feel like this whole show is so bloated now, and things have been going on for so long, that I just want them to pull the trigger and put us all out of our misery.

Cons:

I thought that the acting was really good in the scenes with Judith and Negan, but I can't stand the trope of having a precocious little kid who doesn't talk like a kid. And while I found Negan and Carl's weird connection kind of fascinating, I'm just not gripped by the same thing happening again. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is doing a good job with the character, but the script just isn't gripping me when it comes to Negan's fate.

There are so many characters on this show that I just can't quite bring myself to care about. Or, maybe more accurately, I do care about them in some capacities, but the focus on certain relationships is putting me right to sleep. So, for example, I think Siddiq has potential, but discovering that Rosita is pregnant with his baby just feels stupid. Eugene can be good for a laugh, and is certainly an interesting character, but him being in love with Rosita is pointless and awkward past the point of being compelling. And Henry - that little snot-nosed kid is not interesting or funny or anything else. I don't like him, and I don't care about this potential burgeoning romance between him and Lydia, the new Whisperer prisoner.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: I Have to Get Out (4x13)

After watching this episode, I went on tumblr and discovered that there is Discourse about it. People are really heating up with the ship wars, and I'm just kinda over here with a shrug emoji about it all. That said, I am having some very complicated feelings about this episode in particular... let's get talking.

Cons:

So... there are a number of things that I didn't like about this episode, but that I acknowledge might actually not be so bad, provided that they are handled well in the coming weeks. The biggest example is this: I hated when Josh and Nathaniel both had scheming looks on their faces about the fact that Greg and Rebecca broke up. Josh and Rebecca have had such a fun dynamic this season and I don't want that to be ruined. And Nathaniel just had a whole episode devoted to his understanding that he needs to let Rebecca go. I don't want to see a repeat of the same poisonous behavior. BUT, I have to admit that this show is not just about Rebecca growing as a person. It's about the whole gang getting better and making strides to improve. Rebecca has backslides on her road to recovery, and I'm not saying that Josh and Nathaniel should be given as much care within the narrative, especially since neither of them has BPD, but it's possible that we're trying to show here that improving oneself doesn't always move in a straight line. Josh and Nathaniel might both be better people than when we first met them, but is it okay if we see them stumble and do bad things still sometimes? I don't know. I'm frustrated, but I also trust this show to handle the situation well, without condoning these men's behavior, but also without condemning them as people.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: A Tale of Two Bandits (6x05)

DOUG JUDY!

Cons:

This actually wasn't a super great episode - perhaps the weakest of the season so far. I think part of the problem was that this felt like an episode that had to explain to me why I should find things funny, instead of just being funny. Sure, there were plenty of individual jokes that worked really well, but the premise wasn't as electrifying or wacky as I would expect, given that the Doug Judy episodes are usually highlights every year.

I feel like we didn't really tread new ground with this episode. Last time we saw Doug Judy, he was going legit, and we spent the whole episode wondering if he'd trick Jake, and he didn't. Same thing this time, only now Terry is there to be suspicious, and Trudy Judy is there to take on the criminal mantle. It's not bad, exactly, it just doesn't feel innovative.

Grey's Anatomy: Girlfriend in a Coma (15x12)

Aww man! I got pretty emotional...

Cons:

Maybe it's just because we haven't seen much of the story on Grey's, but I didn't feel all that invested when Ben and Bailey made amends. I mean, I'm happy for them in a vague sort of way, but I didn't feel all warm and fuzzy when Ben made Bailey a tree house.

This is a nitpick, but there was this weird moment when DeLuca asked where Meredith was at Jo and Alex's New Year's party, and he seemed annoyed that she wasn't there, but then right after that Alex said it was time to do the countdown. So... the party started right before midnight? That was just a bit clumsy and should have been an easy fix.

Meredith and DeLuca are pretty great and I'm actually all here for it, except for one thing: Meredith was pretty awful to Link. Earlier in the episode DeLuca was pissed at Meredith - rightfully so - for standing him up. We're meant to read that as poor behavior on Mer's part. And then as the episode ends, she does the exact same thing to Link! That sucked. She should have called him.

The Big Bang Theory: The Donation Oscillation (12x15)

Sometimes this show is so hard to write about because I feel like I have to give it so many brownie points for just not totally sucking.

Cons:

I don't like the way that this show frames Bernadette and Howard's relationship in this really unhealthy way. The weird competitive edge, trying to prove each other wrong... it's all very disconcerting when it's a married couple with two kids who supposedly really love each other. It just rubs me the wrong way. Of course, all the couples on this show are dysfunctional in one way or another, but there's a certain meanness to Bernie and Howard sometimes that makes me uncomfortable.

Pros:

I did like spending more time with Anu and Raj, as we see that in comparison, they actually seem like a somewhat healthy couple. I liked the idea of transforming Howard's bachelor party idea for Raj into something that the couples could do together, even if I didn't like all the squabbling with Howard and Bernie. I hope we can see Anu spend more time with the rest of the gang, because I think she brings an interesting energy.

Supernatural: Lebanon (14x13)

Hmm. So I...  Hm. I have a lot of thoughts and feelings to discuss. This is probably going to turn in to quite the review. It's one of those ones where I really don't know how I'm going to fall on the scale when I grade it at the end. I'm just going to start writing, and I'll get to my thoughts through that.

Cons:

If I were to review this episode by comparing it to the milestone 200th episode, I might look on it with some disfavor. Why? Well, this was an episode centered around the nuclear Winchester family. So, the focus was on Sam, Dean, John, and Mary. And I'm cool with there being an episode focusing on that dynamic, and it's neat that Jeffrey Dean Morgan was able to come back and all that. But the 200th episode managed to focus on the themes of the show as a whole. It focused mostly on Sam and Dean, but it referenced everything from Adam to Destiel to Chuck to the Samulet and so much more. It was an episode that managed to be about the ever-changing, twisting road that is Supernatural over the seasons. This episode, by contrast, was kind of a "taking it back to basics" sort of episode, that encapsulated the original, long past, aims and themes of the show. Not a bad idea for an episode AT ALL. Just an interesting choice for such a big milestone. Barely any Cas, no Jack, no other recurring guests or even mention of them really... it felt like this episode existed in a time capsule, a little bubble that could have landed anywhere in any season and felt just as appropriate. Is that a bad thing? I don't know.

The elephant in the room here is that John Winchester was a demonstrably abusive father. Supernatural demonstrates that, but ever since his death back at the start of Season Two, the show has been inconsistent in how it's treated the memory of this character. It makes perfect sense, and is indeed good, that Sam and Dean themselves would have conflicting emotions. I don't mind that sometimes Dean brings up how awful John was, and other times seems to canonize him as some sort of a saint. That makes sense for his character. I don't mind that Sam has forgiven John for everything and has his own regrets about their tempestuous relationship. But here's where it gets a little more shaky for me. Think about it: from John Winchester's perspective in this episode, he's in 2003. He and Sam are not on speaking terms. He is continuing to emotionally and perhaps physically abuse and manipulate Dean, who idolizes him in an unhealthy way. Sam and Dean can remember their dad with rose colored glasses, but a more interesting, and more real, interpretation of the John Winchester that they should be meeting in this episode would be one that's so full of anger and grief that he lashes out at his two sons and can't accept Sam wanting to do anything outside of the hunting life.

Suits: The Greater Good (8x13)

You get one guess as to what my favorite part of this episode was. I'm predictable.

Cons:

There was a lot to like, hypothetically, about Samantha's story this week. I'll talk about that below. I honestly think the one thing that stopped me from really liking this plot thread was Katherine Heigl's performance. I've liked Sam fine so far, but I've never loved her or felt super invested in her. The closest I get is when she's interacting with Robert, because I like that mentor/mentee dynamic. The thing is, though, when she's playing off of her old foster mom, I just don't feel the connection there. I don't get a sense of the relationship that they had, or what they really meant to each other. It was all tell, no show. I wish I could pinpoint it a little better than that, but all I can say is that all of the pieces were there to make me like this plot thread, and it just didn't come together for me.

Pros:

But I did like the way that Sam felt betrayed, and decided to help this woman out anyway. It was a good moment of growth for her character, and I like the way that Robert helped her to come to that realization. Robert actually played a really interesting role this week, as he also helped Louis in a mentoring way. Louis gets frustrated about Sam, and about Katrina, but Robert helps him to see that as Managing Partner, he needs to be considerate of problems going on among his colleagues.

Arrow: Emerald Archer (7x12)

Yeah, that was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed that.

Cons:

I have really tried my hardest to be on board with the flash-forwards. And maybe I'm being too contrary and picky, but I feel like no matter what they choose to do, it annoys me. They don't show any flash-forward stuff for a while, and I'm annoyed at the lack of progress. Then they show it here and it's just a little clip of Maya (is that her name?) and some dude name Connor, and I honestly can't remember what I'm supposed to know or think about these characters at this point. The whole thing is beyond irritating. I wish we could either pick up the pace, or cut it short and just give all of the answers already.

I had mentioned before how weird it was that we hadn't seen William since Oliver was released from prison. On the one hand, I'm glad that we're addressing that weirdness here, that William is unhappy at being kept away. On the other hand, this makes Oliver and Felicity seem pretty terrible. You're telling me they left William alone over Christmas, without a word of real explanation?! If it wasn't safe for him to come to Starling City, why didn't they go and join him where he was? Leaving a kid alone over the holidays like that is a seriously low blow.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: I Need A Break (4x12)

It's almost exhausting, how good this show is. I worry I'm going to run out of things to say because I don't want to write whole review that's just endless gushing, but... yeah. This was another fantastic episode.

Cons:

Really nothing. If the episode had been a bit longer I would have liked to see Rebecca apologize to Nathaniel for showing up at his house like that, but I'm sure that will be something that's addressed maybe next week, and it's really a small detail. Also, I still can't help missing Santino Fontana, even though Skylar Astin is doing a fantastic job.

Pros:

I'm going to take the list approach because there are just so many elements that I want to discuss, that I'd be here all day if I wrote a full paragraph for each.

- Greg's Springsteen song was hilarious. I loved the bit about the guitar, and I loved that the song was kind of complicated in its messaging. If Rebecca had been in a better place, maybe she would have taken Greg's message in the spirit it was intended, but instead it goes to a dark place because she's in a dark place.

Grey's Anatomy: The Winner Takes It All (15x11)

So this whole episode was pretty much all about Catherine's dumb cancer plot thread. You may recall that I'm not a fan.

Cons:

The thing is, I don't much like Catherine as a character, and the whole time we're talking about this giant, improbable fancy tumor on her spine, I'm just thinking about all of the other characters on this show who have have interesting illnesses and injuries. I know it's a soap opera, but I just can't with this one. And the resolution that we have for the time being is very odd. Catherine didn't die, but her cancer was also not cured. She's going to have to live with it for the rest of her life. That just means that Catherine can go off and not be around in the story much, but can pop in for some dramatic moments whenever the show needs to insert more angst. It feels lazy.

I liked the scenes with Thatcher and Meredith, but I wish it had been built up a bit more within the season. Thatcher has been such a nonentity on this show for so long that I had forgotten that Meredith would have trauma related to him. Also, it's always pretty funny when this show decides to depict Meredith being a mother, because most of the time her kids aren't around. It's a little clumsy.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Four Movements (6x04)

Aww Gina. You goofball. This episode is tricky because I liked everything in it, but I do have some complaints about what we didn't get.

Cons:

I feel like Charles and Gina should have had a bigger moment. Gina acknowledges that she's been closer to Charles than almost anyone, and yet their "Gina Moment" felt tacked on at the end. I liked the subverted expectations of Terry's moment, but I thought it was odd that Charles didn't get more time. I also felt like the whole team didn't get to spend that much time playing off of each other. Gina had separate moments with various characters, but we didn't get to see the whole gang interacting at her party, and I wanted that group energy before Gina's departure. See what I mean by complaining about what we didn't get?

Pros:

I love that Holt and Gina played chess for their goodbye. Gina is horrible at it, but her confidence lets her rewrite the rules of the game to pull off a victory, over Holt's objections. That was adorable. I also like that Holt doesn't try to stop her from leaving, but he does question her, grill her, and try to get her to open up and admit that things aren't going to be easy for her. He's worried that she's making a hasty decision, and this is his way of making sure she's making the right move. Of all of the "Gina Moments," this one felt the most out of Gina's hands, which was appropriate for a guiding force like Holt.

The Big Bang Theory: The Meteorite Manifestation (12x14)

Another inoffensive yet still mostly unremarkable episode.

Cons:

I watched this YouTube video about the misogyny in The Big Bang Theory, and while it's not like I'm surprised, I feel like I'm noticing it more than I usually do. Little comments like a woman going through menopause just rub me the wrong way. It's inappropriate and annoying.

Penny was honestly just a background character, and I wish she had more to do. She was basically useless this week.

Pros:

I liked the goofiness of Leonard's plot thread, with his crazy dream, and Stuart's dire warnings that messing with a meteorite will lead to some science fiction apocalypse. It was just the right amount of silliness, and actually showed a spec of real creativity, which I'm not used to with this show. I think my favorite part was the cliche double-wake-up from the dream, with Leonard dreaming that he was biting Penny. And then Penny not knowing what color Leonard's eyes are: "I don't know. Brown. Green? Brown." That was great.

Supernatural: Prophet and Loss (14x12)

It's frustrating that we're wasting time on Nick, but I will admit that the pandering and the angst totally worked for me and I got all weepy. I'm easily manipulated.

Cons:

But seriously. Nick? He's such a useless character and I don't want to waste time on his story. I thought last week was a setup to get him out of the narrative for a while, but evidently I was wrong. He escapes from custody and goes back to his house where he confronts the ghost of his wife, and then we learn that he feels connected to Lucifer and wants him back. Just... yeah, like, I'm not surprised, but could we not have saved this for a later moment in the season? Or even shelved it for a while and brought it back in the recently announced Season Fifteen? Yeesh. These moments just sucked a lot of time away from what this episode should have been focusing on.

Also... Jack wasn't even in this episode. He was barely mentioned. And again we see that the bunker is empty, as Cas appears to be there alone. Can't we get some throw-away lines about where everyone is? It's annoying that they can't manage to squeeze that in.

This was a good Buckleming episode, which is a relief, since I always get a twinge of anxiety when I see their names flash across the screen. But it still had the same problems that all of their episodes tend to have, in that it was awkwardly paced in some parts. It's like every scene needed to have just thirty more seconds to breathe, to let characters react to things. Even the excellent angst scene at the end could have used just one more beat before Sam hugs Dean. It's a small thing, and it's the kind of thing that I don't tend to notice unless I notice that it's slightly off.