Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Toldja (6x07)

Oh boy oh boy. Things are really starting to come together.

Cons:

If that's the end of Enoch, then I'm kind of bummed about that. His character had so much potential. I wasn't a fan when we first met him, but I warmed to him over time and I kept waiting for things to take off and grow with this character. Now, it appears our time with him is over, and it didn't really amount to very much.

Pros:

You know, I've expressed my opinion that Coulson just should have stayed dead, but in doing so I think I've neglected to mention in past reviews how amazing Clark Gregg is doing with this role. The character he is playing is so very clearly not Coulson, and it comes across very well. His villainous vibes don't go too far, because it's clear to everyone involved at this point that while "Sarge" and his people are bad news, the Shrike are the real threat. Sarge doesn't care about May, Mack, Daisy, etc... but he does care about his mission, and that doesn't necessarily put him at odds with S.H.I.E.L.D. It's been a little slow-going so far, but I am intrigued by what this character might bring us.

Elementary: Command: Delete (7x06)

Sherlock... WTF.

Cons:

I'm really enjoying all of this stuff with Reichenbach, but I am seriously miffed that Sherlock is keeping the truth from Joan. This is the second time this season that Sherlock has been controlled by someone through threats against Joan, and both times, he's decided to conceal the truth. It's a tired, predictable trope, one I thought this show had moved past. It's obviously sweet that all of Sherlock's enemies know that Joan is so important to him. But if they are supposed to be partners, equals in their work, then where does Sherlock get off, hiding this kind of information from her? Haven't they been down this road before? It feels like a lazy way to stir up some drama.

Pros:

The temporary captain character is still a bit of a mixed bag for me, but I like that he seems impatient with Bell wanting to check in with him. Is he lazy? Or is his work style effective, just different from Gregson? As much as I've complained that there doesn't seem to be a point to this character yet, I'll admit to some curiosity as to where they're going with him.

The Handmaid's Tale: Household (3x06)

This episode was... well, it was something, alright.

Cons:

I really did like it, just like I've liked every episode of this show. It was powerful and well-made. But I will admit, for the first time in this very symbolism-heavy show, I was a little put off by how much symbolism there was in D.C. Like, I get it... this was the capital of the USA, and now it's under Gilead's control. It's supposed to be this terrifying dichotomy between the former "land of the free" and what we have now. But the contrast didn't quite work because we know it's not a matter of black and white here. It's usually a lot more of a gradual slope. This was maybe an example of less being more. We have the mouth rings for the Handmaids, which is obviously chilling but also a little bit impractical... how do they eat? We have that obnoxious shot of June standing in front of a statue so it looks like she has wings. What is this, Game of Thrones? Those shots are certainly artistically cool to look at, but it's putting things on a bit thick, don't you think? Same with the shot of the Lincoln Memorial with the top of it blown off. Heavy-handed comparisons between slavery in the U.S. and slavery in Gilead are all well and good, but we have to admit that the way race is handled on this show is clumsy at best, so... not sure they want to draw such stark attention to themselves there.

I'm obviously reserving judgment about Nick, because like everything else in this show, there are complexities there. He seems to have tried to help negotiate with the Swiss, but maybe he chickened out, or they wouldn't accept his information, or he wasn't willing to go far enough... and then we get the revelation that he was part of the "holy crusade" that brought about Gilead in the first place. This is brand new information to June, and to the audience as well. The thing is... it doesn't quite track with Nick as a character thus far. If he was an opportunist who, whether he believed in the system or not, decided to keep his head down and accept his fate, then why was he involved in the resistance, even before he fell in love with June? And if he was forced into all of his actions, and has always been a rebel at heart, why is he stopping now? I don't think Nick's characterization thus far is a problem for the show, or at least not a problem that they can't easily rectify. It's just a little unclear to me right now exactly where they're going with this, and I'm starting to get nervous that I won't like the end result.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Inescapable (6x06)

This episode was a GIFT. My thirst is finally slaked. Fitzsimmons for the win!!

Cons:

Hmmm... I don't have a lot to complain about in this episode particularly, but I do question how quickly Enoch betrayed his people. I don't really want to watch Fitzsimmons create time paradoxes, so I guess I'm glad that plot thread was abandoned so quickly.... but at the same time, it was abandoned so quickly. And we didn't even really get to see these two brilliant scientists try to figure it out. I guess I was just a little bummed out that I didn't see something I was expecting to see. But only slightly.

My only other complaint is just that this episode isn't twice as long. Because it was seriously so great.

Elementary: Into the Woods (7x05)

They kept not saying that one guy's name out loud, and I had no idea who it would be... and then... Odin Reichenbach. Okay, then. Not a character from the original stories, but a pretty chilling and pretty pointed reference, all the same!

Cons:

I'm thrilled that this Reichenbach character is connected to the A-plot, but I'll admit I'm kind of frustrated about the Gregson of it all. I was touched to see Gregson and Sherlock patch things up, but annoyed that we didn't get to see Joan's conversation with him. And then now? I'll admit, it's a bit frustrating that things seem to be patched up on that front with so little effort. We haven't seen Hannah all season. The only drama to come out of Gregson's daughter murdering someone, and Gregson covering it up, is that a bad guy has some blackmail on Joan now. That seems a bit disappointing.

The new captain guy has turned into an incredulous exposition machine. At one point in this episode, he literally regurgitated the plot of the case-of-the-week to Joan and Bell, like he was summarizing it for the audience. He seems more skeptical of Joan and Sherlock's methods, but he hasn't actually posed an obstacle for them yet, so he's feeling pretty pointless to me right now.

The Handmaid's Tale: Unknown Caller (3x05)

Oh, Serena... sigh.

Cons:

I have some of the same complaints that I did last week, honestly. June gets to talk to Luke on the phone, and there are all these people there, other than just the Waterfords... and yet there are no consequences for her? Doesn't this prove to everyone that she helped Nichole escape? That seemed really unrealistic to me, and is a continuing example of her plot armor.

For the first time, I want to talk about Moira this season, because thus far, she has had nothing to do. There are a lot of really complex, interesting characters in this show, but a few of them are getting short shrift this season. I hope that Moira can have some attention in the near future.

Pros:

I know I talk a lot about Serena, and how fascinating she is. I think the reason I like watching this character so much is that it's forcing me to feel the full scope of humanity in a character who is so clearly a monster. Serena might be redeemed within the show. I don't know if that's the direction it's going, but it's possible. But even if that happens, I won't forgive her. She is complicit in the rape and enslavement of countless innocent women. She created this system, and only seems to feel personal grief when it affects her as an individual. And yet, because of the amazing writing and performances on this show, I can understand that Serena is a victim of the system, while also blaming her for creating it. I can decide never to forgive her for holding June down while Fred raped her, and I can also ache for her as she says goodbye to her daughter. I can bless her for getting the tape from June to Luke, and hate her for agreeing to broadcast a message to Canada, seeking Nichole. She is all of these things and more, and I am so fascinated to watch it play out.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Other Thing (6x05)

Yeah honestly I'm torn.

Cons:

I feel bad that Yo-Yo's brief relationship was just an excuse to stir up drama between Yo-Yo and Mack. It feels kind of pointless and like it's drama for drama's sake. This episode had so many relationships in it that have been torn asunder. We see flashbacks of Coulson and May, too, and then there's the ongoing Fitzsimmons drama.

The longer this season goes on, the more I'm forced to admit to myself that once again, I'm kind of only here for the Fitzsimmons stuff. I mean, that's essentially been true from the start of the show, in a way. But as we continue to explore the mystery of this Not-Coulson dude, I'm finding myself more and more compelled towards a simple truth: Coulson should have just been dead and stayed dead. His send-off at the end of last season was so beautiful and intense, and any hint that they might be able to get him back just lessens the impact of that sacrifice. Just seeing Clark Gregg in the show makes the loss of Coulson feel less tragic.

Elementary: Red Light, Green Light (7x04)

This week, we had a case-of-the-week format, and also a continuation of the season's A-plot, with some delicious new complications added in.

Cons:

I feel like the new captain character is somewhat clumsily integrated into the story here. There's a moment where Sherlock and Joan pull a big stunt by gathering a terrorism task force together and accusing them of sabotaging traffic lights, and the captain is alarmed by their behavior, but not too alarmed, and then it all works out, and it just felt like a really obvious way of reminding us that there's this new guy here who isn't going to be happy with Sherlock and Joan's shenanigans. I would have rather done without this, or if they were going to do it, I'd want it to be more extreme.

I know I said this last week, but I still think that Sherlock getting to be back in New York is a little too easy. I know they're setting it up for consequences later, maybe more so for Joan than Sherlock, but it's still annoying that we were able to get back to the status quo right away.

The Handmaid's Tale: God Bless the Child (3x04)

Still good!

Cons:

I saw another review talking about June being protected by "plot armor," and I have to agree. I like all the stuff about June playing Fred and Serena off of one another. That's cool. The Waterfords have been through so much and broken so many rules already that it makes sense to me that June could exert some influence. But there's the moment when June, Pocahontas-style, throws herself over Janine to stop Aunt Lydia from beating her. It was a bad-ass and powerful moment, but why on earth was June not at all punished for her insolence? Surely Aunt Lydia could have been chastised for going too far in her punishment, without totally exonerating June for her actions? If she's able to defiantly shout "No!" at Aunt Lydia and suffer no negative consequences, then it starts to make me question the level to which June is actually in danger.

There's a moment when the handmaids are all talking shit about Aunt Lydia, and June's walking companion, whose name I can't remember, is disapproving. I don't like how open and rebellious so many of these girls are being. The oppression they're under is indescribably intense, and I feel like it loses some of its potency when you see the girls talking freely about their dislike for the system, right in a Commander's house. In the early days of the show, every time anyone would say anything subversive, it was a big deal. Now it's starting to become a little too familiar.

Elementary: The Price of Admission (7x03)

Ooooh interesting. Not where I thought this was going.

Cons:

There's an issue with this season that is unfortunately just a legacy of the extra-diegetic realities of the show. Since they thought the show was going to be over when they wrote last season, they wrapped up the stuff with Michael very quickly, and sent Sherlock and Joan off to London. I thought this season would keep them in London for a while, but instead the show has had to bend over backwards to get them back in New York so we can return to something like the status quo of a procedural cop show. That's really a shame, because I was looking forward to the story being pushed in new directions. Sure, we've got some interesting developments what with Joan still potentially culpable for Michael's murder, but the setup is now such that we can shove this interesting plot into the background for most of the season and just pop it out again for the final few episodes. That's a return to form that I could have done without.

Sherlock coerces a confession out of the bad guy by making him think his life is in imminent danger. There's no way that confession holds up in court. I know we see Sherlock cross lines all the time to get the bad guy, but it sometimes makes me wish we could follow these cases through their criminal trials. There's simply no way this pans out well for the NYPD, given what Sherlock did.

The Handmaid's Tale: Useful (3x03)

Super intense.

Cons:

I was robbed of seeing Emily and Sylvia reunite, but maybe we'll get that in a future episode?

Pros:

Commander Lawrence... damn. Every episode, he just gets more and more twisty and interesting to me. I like the fact that nothing I've said in my previous reviews has been exactly... disproved. He's clearly not like the other Commanders, but that doesn't make him a hero or even a proper ally for June. His motivations, as stated in this episode, are truly sociopathic, but we don't know if that's the whole story or not. The very fact that he cares enough to take June to see the doomed women is proof enough that despite his protestations to the contrary, he feels something towards her. Pity? Curiosity? Anger? Who knows. But he has singled June out, whether he wants to admit it or not.

The scene where Lawrence made June fetch a book for him during a meeting was seriously so intense. I talk about it a lot in reviewing this show, but they're just so good at giving weight to moments that would feel mundane to describe. Things like clicking a pen open. Or fetching a book off a shelf. Everything about this scene is intense because of its context. Nick is in the room. June isn't allowed to know how to read, but her past as a book editor has just been brought up. She can't disobey Commander Lawrence's request to fetch a book off the shelf, but she can't get it without his "help" in figuring out which one. She can't defend herself against his painful, violent condescension. All of it was just brilliant and awful in the best way.

The Handmaid's Tale: Mary and Martha (3x02)

Yep. Still amazing.

Cons:

I really can't think of anything to complain about. I guess I oddly missed checking in with the Waterfords this week, but I'm sure we'll see them again soon enough.

Pros:

Commander Lawrence is even more fascinating than he was previously, and now Mrs. Lawrence is intriguing me as well. I knew that Lawrence wasn't going to be a 100% nice guy. I could tell that he was twisted. I did think maybe he'd be a more active resistance member, but now I see that the dynamic is even more complicated than that. He's furious with June, and with his Marthas Cora and Beth, for drawing him in to this messy situation. But at the same time, there's really no fear here from the audience that he's suddenly going to turn June and the others over. He won't help, and yet by covering for them, he's doing so much more than any other Commander would dream of.

The Handmaid's Tale: Night (3x01)

God. This show is... it's... incomparable.

Cons:

I'm reviewing this one episode at a time, instead of watching all three, so maybe this gets addressed soon, but going off just this one episode: Aunt Lydia's fate. Are we going to find that out shortly? Serena said something about Emily being a murderer... does that mean Lydia's dead? Or was that referring to the woman in the colonies?

Pros:

Everything about this episode just killed me in the best way. The first thing I want to say is that tonally, I can already sense how things are shifting this season. I think this show is about as perfect as a show can be, but I did note that in last season's finale, I was a bit perturbed that June was going to go back and continue to be a Handmaid, and the cycle would just repeat itself over and over. This show has centered the pain and misery of June, and various other female characters, from day one. But here, we're seeing a shift. The simmering anger is really coming out, and we're seeing the narrative begin to center more firmly on resistance. I think people out in the real world, watching this show, are angry and have every right to be, given what's been happening politically in this country and around the world. A show that highlights that anger, that focuses it into productive channels, might be just what we need.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Code Yellow (6x04)

Deke... my sweet summer child... what the heck.

Cons:

I suppose one complaint I have is that we didn't check in with Fitzsimmons stuff at all this week, and I miss them.

Also, on a more serious note, I find it a little irritating that Deke was so stupid about Coulson when he showed up. Yes, I see that Deke has cut contact with his S.H.I.E.L.D. friends, but are you really telling me that they wouldn't drop a note to all known associates to ask him to keep an eye out about this kind of thing? And apparently nobody bothered to tell Deke about Fitz being dead? That seems like a really big oversight, honestly.

I will always think it's gross when science fiction shows do that thing where a person uses virtual reality (the holodecks in Star Trek are a prime example) in order to play out fantasies of their crushes. Daisy did not consent to the use of her image in that simulation, Deke. It's just creepy.