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.

Elementary: Gutshot (7x02)

Hmm... I'm not sure how to feel, honestly. I liked this episode, but I had some big structural problems too.

Cons:

Obviously I knew Joan and Sherlock were going to have to come back to New York at some point, and while I was a bit surprised when I realized it was going to happen so soon, I really figured this would be just a short visit. Now, it looks like Joan is going to stay, and Sherlock is turning himself in for the murder of Michael. So... they're back for good? Their time in London was summed up all in one episode? I'm trying to give the benefit of the doubt, here, and believe that we'll get to see them spend more time in London before the season is up. But I still feel like it's an odd choice to force them back to their familiar setting so quickly.

I do rather like the fact that the case of who shot Gregson was solved, insofar as we know the guy who shot him... but the circumstances surrounding the attack are still shrouded in mystery. It makes for a different kind of mystery to solve. Instead of discovering who committed a murder, we're discovering why. That's all well and good. But I have to be honest: so much about solving this crime felt even more contrived and convenient than usual. Finding the baseball field where Gregson got shot seemed way too easy. And then the security footage showing the guy's face? It all just felt a little too neat and tidy for me. Usually Elementary is better at making the investigative stuff feel real, even if the crimes themselves are over the top. This week, I feel like I noticed the silliness more than I was supposed to.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Fear and Loathing on the Planet of Kitson (6x03)

This episode was... incredibly funny. It wasn't perfect, strictly speaking, but the comedy was honestly good enough to make up for any small shortcomings, in my opinion.

Cons:

As far as those shortcomings go, I will say that tonally this episode doesn't really jive with the situation as it stands. What Jemma did, in sending herself and the others further into deep space, wasn't just a mild disobedience or mistake. This could mean death for them all. So for Jemma to be so extreme, and for Daisy and Jemma to be so much at odds, and then for that tension to completely vanish in order to serve the comedy, just didn't really work for me if you think about it too hard.

In order for the brilliant stuff in this episode to work, you need to hand-wave a lot of stupid behavior away. Davis just randomly decides to eat the brightly colored mystery food, and Jemma and Daisy are both instantly game? Seems weird. Piper leaves an extremely high Davis alone with their prisoner? Yikes.

Elementary: The Further Adventures (7x01)

We're back! Joan is blonde! Let's get talking.

Cons:

This was a stellar opening episode, but I think anything would feel a little underwhelming after last season's finale. When a show thinks it's going to end, and creates a really satisfactory ending, and then suddenly has to keep going? There's something a bit dissatisfying about the results. The idea that Joan ends last season saying that they're exactly where they need to be, but when we find her here, she's dissatisfied with London... I don't know. It doesn't gel with me. I like the idea of Joan struggling in London. That's fine. But she talks about how she misses her family and friends in New York, and that rings really hollow, since we don't really spend any time with Joan's life outside of Sherlock and her work anyway. The show has always wanted to do more with that, but never quite manages to stick the landing.

Pros:

I like the plethora of cases and mysteries this week. We get little nods to other cases going on, and then the main case has a good number of red herrings and interesting side-avenues going on. I was able to guess that the plastic surgeon had something to do with it, as soon as I realized that the victim hadn't been posting new pictures on social media. I like being able to figure out at least part of the mystery ahead of time, even if this one wasn't exactly the most complex mystery in the world.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Window of Opportunity (6x02)

Wow, I'm actually pretty excited about how this is shaping up! I do want to apologize for the late review; I've been out of town. Let's dive right in!

Cons:

I mentioned my qualms about Coulson 2.0 in last week's review, and I stick by them here. It could be really cool, but it could also end up being pointless. I really liked getting to know this gang of bad guys this week, but the fact that their leader is wearing Coulson's face isn't really adding anything to the experience for me, other than the fact that it's making May sad.

I don't feel much of a connection to Keller yet. We need to like him if he's going to be in Yo-Yo's life, but so far he's just kind of bland. We get some humanizing moments with him as he grieves for another agent who was killed, but right now he's just kind of... there. I'll try to reserve judgment on this as well.

Pros:

As I mentioned, I really liked meeting the new gang of bad guys. I'm still getting all of their names straight, but their personalities are distinct and memorable. I particularly like Pax - he's got a reasonable vibe to him, and I'm wondering if he's going to be the character that helps give some humanity to these villains. The team works well off of each other, sort of like a dark mirror of S.H.I.E.L.D., and it's undeniably compelling to see this group dynamic play out, even if it is in service of evil goals. And what are those goals? I'm surprised by how much I enjoy the mystery of the situation as well.

Grey's Anatomy: Jump into the Fog (15x25)

Oh, come on. Owen is the worst.

Cons:

I will grudgingly admit that Owen's speech to Teddy while she was in labor was very well written. But that doesn't change the fact that this whole situation is frustrating. Honestly, I could be on board with Teddy/Owen, considering that they're both selfish people and they probably deserve each other. But there are just two problems. First of all, Tom Koracick deserves better than this. He is a genuinely good person and Teddy is being incredibly inconsiderate of his feelings. And secondly, there's Amelia. Now, I will be the first to admit that I was never super enthusiastic about Owen and Amelia as a pairing, but I thought this episode was enormously disrespectful to the intensity of their feelings. Amelia shrugs off her relationship with Owen, saying that she falls in love easily and totally had a crush on Carina... okay, that's fine, I guess... but it does not track with what we've seen of their painful, angst-filled love story all these years. We're supposed to think Amelia will be fine, so that we don't have to be sad about her. But I'm not convinced.

I have a lot to say about Maggie and Jackson in this episode. But first thing's first. They're in the woods, they see that it's raining, and so they have to hike through the woods to get to their car? Where was the car parked? Because it seemed like they had all their stuff packed up, except for the tent... I just didn't understand the logistics of what was going on there. Why would they need to go on a dangerous trek through the woods because of a storm? That doesn't track at all.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Sicko/Suicide Squad (6x17/18)

Great finale! I love this show and I'm excited for what's being set up for next year. I'm just going to review the two episodes as one, even though they were really quite separate in most ways.

Cons:

I didn't like how little Rosa had to do in this finale. I was having fun getting to spend a little more time on her love life, but Jocelyn was entirely absent here. In the first episode, Terry and Rosa's plot basically revolves around Terry learning that he's going to be transferred because the Nine-Nine doesn't have the budget for his lieutenant's salary. That was a good plot thread, but I think I just wanted more for Rosa here.

Same for Amy, honestly. She felt a little shoe-horned in to the Suicide Squad plot, and didn't have a lot going on just in and of herself. Jake and Holt were really the stars of the episode here.

The Big Bang Theory: The Change Constant/The Stockholm Syndrome (12x23/24)

Ding dong, the witch is dead! (which old witch?) The wicked witch! Mwahahaha this is the last review for The Big Bang Theory I'll ever have to write!

Cons:

I'm totally willing to indulge in some sentimentality. Twelve seasons is a big accomplishment and so of course we're going to get a lot of sweet, indulgent moments throughout this finale. I can admit that some of them worked perfectly fine. But others... I'm not so sure. See, here's the thing: A plot about Sheldon being selfish and inconsiderate, the others getting upset about it, and then Sheldon apologizing and making a gesture to show how much he really cares, isn't a new idea on this show. It's something they pull off whenever they want to instill some genuine drama into the story. It's like the main conceit of Sheldon's character. I guess it's sweet that he uses his Nobel speech to express his gratitude to his friends, but I'm not entirely sure I felt that the moment was earned. Sheldon's selfishness here wasn't more egregious than usual, and the gang's reactions were only extreme because this is the finale and the narrative needed it to be extreme.

Amy's speech about women in science was sweet on its own, but rings a little awkward in a show so full of sexist behavior. Even here in the finale, Howard has to crack a joke about Bernadette and Penny taking a shower together. I didn't hate the fact that Amy got that moment to shine, but it was a little awkward.

Arrow: You Have Saved This City (7x22)

I do not feel satisfied with this episode. I don't even feel kind of okay with it. I think it was bad. And I'm bummed out about that.

Cons:

Let's start with... well, honestly I don't even really know where to start. The thing is, nothing about this season, or this particular conflict with the Ninth Circle, feels bigger or more scary than any of the other threats we've faced over the years. So the idea that this time, Felicity and Oliver are going to go live in a safe house "until the situation has resolved itself," just doesn't make any narrative sense. Dante was a weak villain all season. The Ninth Circle has no particularly compelling attributes. And Emiko?

So... she just dies? She was firmly anti-Oliver all season, and nothing Oliver did could change her mind. Then, at the last second, she is sort of redeemed. How? Well, the Ninth Circle turns on her, and she and Oliver end up fighting together against them. She dies in the fight. This is so narratively unsatisfying. It didn't feel like Emiko had actually made a choice to be a good person. It felt like her bad guy buddies had decided they were done with her, so she basically had no other option. There was so much buildup with this character, and then in the end she dies, warning Oliver as she does that the Ninth Circle will be coming after Felicity and the baby. But why? If the Ninth Circle has cut ties with Emiko, why would they continue her specific vendetta to hurt Oliver? And Rene. Rene had so much of a vested interest in Emiko, and that just went nowhere.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Missing Pieces (6x01)

We're back! It's been a minute, huh?

Cons:

Okay, I want to reserve harsh judgment on a couple of things, because this show can often surprise me. I hate to be like... a downer about this, but I mostly wish that Clark Gregg wasn't in this season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Coulson's send-off at the end of Season Five, his heroic sacrifice, was so beautifully done that bringing the actor back to play this new character feels slightly cheap. Obviously I know it'll make for great drama - you've got all the angst of our heroes seeing a man with the face of their lost friend, etc. etc... but this doesn't feel quite like the punch to the gut that I think we're supposed to feel. Like I said, I'll reserve harsh judgment until we see where this goes.

Another thing I'm reserving judgment on... Yo-Yo and Mack have broken up and Yo-Yo is starting a new romance with some random guy named Keller? Nah. I'm not about that. Maybe they can change my mind on it, but for now, I don't want Elena finding love elsewhere.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Cinco de Mayo (6x16)

When I saw that this was another heist episode, for a second I was worried that they'd run out of good ways of doing this. Happy to report, I was wrong - this was a lot of fun!

Cons:

The only thing I didn't love was the pregnancy fake-out thing, because I felt like that subject wasn't handled with all that much delicacy when it first came up a few weeks ago. To have Amy lie about that now, and to show Jake overflowing with excitement at the prospect of fatherhood, was a little bit disingenuous to the characters, in my opinion.

Pros:

This season has had a lot of episodes that paired off various characters for side quests. That's been fun, but seeing the whole gang together on this one made me remember how much I love the full ensemble cast feel of this show. We get lots of little scenes of various pairings, as Terry and Jake work together, Holt and Amy, Rosa and Charles, but secretly Rosa and Holt, but secretly Terry was playing everyone all along... there were so many moments where alliances were shifting, and I genuinely loved the comedy of errors as it was unfolding.

The Big Bang Theory: The Maternal Conclusion (12x22)

Man, they really wanted me to feel emotional about these characters, didn't they?

Cons:

The thing about The Big Bang Theory is that sometimes it tries to be incredibly emotionally sincere, and it virtually never works for them. I can get behind some Howard/Raj friendship moments on occasion, but Stuart and his girlfriend whose name I can't be bothered to remember? Leonard and his emotionally abusive mother? Why and how am I supposed to form a connection to these characters and these moments? There's no real buildup. There's no hook to make me feel feelings.

Howard calls Raj an "Indian giver" at one point which is just... racism, ladies and gentlemen. I mean, this one isn't even subtle.

There's something very performative about the nerdiness on this show sometimes (most of the time). Stuart and his girlfriend making comic-book references to talk about how much they want to move in together is supposed to be cute and nerdy. But I'm a nerd and all of my friends are nerds, and none of us talk entirely in references. It doesn't work like that.

Grey's Anatomy: Drawn to the Blood (15x24)

This was such a great penultimate episode. Grey's Anatomy sure knows how to set up its crazy finales!

Cons;

Does anyone want to venture a guess as to what I'm about to complain about? Apparently Teddy has had a revelation that Owen is the great love of her life. She rushes to tell him, but finds Amelia in Owen's apartment with Leo instead. I realized this was coming when Owen was helping the agoraphobic blood donor and Teddy had this look on her face like she was mooning for him. And then later she gives Tom this really fond look that's clearly telling us she's getting ready to say goodbye. And then Kari, the paraplegic woman with her kid Toby, remind Teddy to "seize the day" or whatever. This whole time, I've been getting more and more invested in Teddy/Tom, knowing full well that this was a good possibility. But the thing is, I think Owen and Teddy make each other worse. It's not fun or romantic to watch. Teddy may be right that Owen is the only all-consuming passionate love she'll ever experience, but that kind of love is sort of poisonous, and Teddy is being a jerk to Tom, and Owen is not worth all of this. I'm frustrated.

Modern Family: A Year of Birthdays (10x22)

This was a perfectly serviceable finale, with a few genuinely funny and heartfelt moments!

Cons:

This episode is structured in flashbacks, so we look over the past year and see how everyone's birthdays went. That means that when a joke doesn't work, it mercifully doesn't stick around for long, because we're already jumping to a new scene. But just because we don't have to drag out the dumb moments, doesn't mean they don't exist, and there were plenty of little jokes in this episode that fell seriously flat. Luke's moment where he tries to get together with a tattoo artist and wonders if he should become a woman upon finding out that she's gay? Yikes. Manny's awkward proposal to Sherry wasn't the worst scene from Manny this season, but it also wasn't particularly insightful or funny. I guess Mitchell having a birthday alone is an okay setup, but the fact that Cam messed it up was just a touch too predictable for me.

Arrow: Living Proof (7x21)

TOMMY. Tommytommytommytommytommy TOMMMMYYYYY. 

Cons:

The only thing wrong with this episode is that there's not more Tommy.

Okay, that's not quite true. There are other things I might mention. First of all, just because an episode points out that Oliver is stuck in a dangerous loop doesn't solve the problem of it being somewhat uninteresting to watch a person stuck in a loop. We've had Oliver decide to make a change before, and yet he always comes back to the same drama. Over and over again this season we've seen him wrestle with how to handle the Emiko situation. Here, he wrestles with it again, and it's still unresolved. We all know Oliver isn't going to kill Emiko in cold blood, so where's the tension supposed to be coming from here?

Next week is the finale, and yet I'm still waiting for basic questions to be answered about the flash-forward. There are still so many things that we don't know, and the tension of waiting for answers has kind of been lost for me. William resenting Felicity for abandoning him makes sense, but being really reckless and getting everybody caught? All he's doing is proving Felicity's point about keeping him out of the action. There's a moment when Alena shows up and I think it's supposed to be something of a twist that she's the reason Archer ended up taking over the world or whatever... but didn't we already know that? The flash-forward stuff isn't quite interesting enough to keep me focused, so sometimes things happen and I don't quite understand their significance, and I also don't care? So... not a great sign.

Grey's Anatomy: What I Did for Love (15x23)

I didn't watch Station 19, so I won't be commenting on any of that. Let's talk about Grey's Anatomy, though!

Cons:

If Owen messes with one of these two women's lives, I will not be held responsible for my actions. Also, this is the worst kind of trope in love triangles. In this episode, we see scenes of Teddy and Tom being cute and happy. We see scenes of Amelia and Link being cute and happy. And then we see a scene of Owen telling his therapist that he's going to 'tell her how he feels' but we're supposed to be kept guessing as to which woman he's talking about. Owen's whole thing is that he's learning about how his past traumas have stopped him from forming healthy loving relationships. Okay, cool. But if he seriously sabotages Amelia or Teddy's happiness in order to get what he thinks he's now earned somehow... UGH. I just don't see how I could like the fall-out from this, no matter which way it goes. Up until this episode, I thought they were going the Teddy route 100%. Now it looks like Amelia is still in the running? Maybe? I guess, because I adore Tom Koracick so much, I'd rather Owen try again with Amelia, so that Teddy and Tom can remain happy and together. But either way, this is going to make me mad at Owen. There's just no getting around that.

I honestly had no objection to Maggie's very in-character freak-out over moving in with Jackson, but I do sort of hate it when the doctors unload their personal drama on their patients. I know this dude is a character from Station 19, and I get that their situations were parallels, but it still feels very awkward to me.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Return of the King (6x15)

Gina!!!! What a triumphant return!

Cons:

It was so good to see Gina, truly. I did think it was kind of odd that we didn't have a big group scene with everyone. Gina didn't get to see Holt, Rosa, Amy, Charles... it was just Terry and Jake. I liked what we got, but I wish we could have had more.

Similarly, it seems odd to me that we'd have Gina back for a full episode and there wouldn't be even one reference to the fact that she's a mother. That was one of the big reasons she decided to leave her job, so it felt like a gaping omission for the show to make here.

Pros:

The subplots this week were both really low-stakes, but a lot of fun. First, we've got Boyle and Holt. Holt mistakenly believes that Nikolaj is a genius, and goes overboard in trying to unlock his full potential. Sometimes I get a little irritated with how little this show does with Boyle's character, but I did enjoy seeing him with Holt here. It was nice to see Holt start off judging Boyle as usual, but come around by the end and appreciate how supportive Charles is as a father. Nothing super special going on here, but very sweet nonetheless.

The Big Bang Theory: The Plagiarism Schism (12x21)

This episode had a bit more meat on its bones than I'm used to, honestly. That doesn't make it a great episode or anything, but it is a nice change of pace.

Cons:

I gather that I'm supposed to think it's sweet that Howard decides he doesn't need to stalk the waitresses at the Cheesecake Factory to find out who thinks he's attractive. But it's decidedly not sweet that Howard casually mentions how he used to keep track of women and their cars and their relationship statuses. I just don't think that sexual harassment is funny. And now that Howard is supposed to have evolved beyond that, I wish they'd leave the past in the past.

Pros:

I do appreciate that the Nobel Prize story has actually been a consistent A-plot this season. Amy's outburst had lasting ramifications, and now there's an added complication - there's a way to discredit one of the rival scientists going for the same prize, but Amy and Sheldon aren't sure if, ethically, they should expose him. Leonard decides to do it for them, so they won't have done anything wrong. In the end one of the rivals turns on his partner upon figuring out that he plagiarized his thesis in college.

Modern Family: Commencement (10x21)

This show is really running on fumes, isn't it?

Cons:

This episode was about two different graduation ceremonies. One is at the high school, with none of our core characters actually graduating, and one is Alex's graduation from Cal Tech. Instead of focusing on stories about graduating and moving on to a new stage of life, the story was cluttered with a bunch of humorless little subplots that all centered around people lying to their family members and being ashamed of one another. How... fun.

Apparently Gloria bribes people in order to help her family achieve their goals. This is... not funny, for so many reasons. You've got the racist Columbian stereotypes coming out again, and you've got Manny and Joe questioning their accomplishments, which leads to absolutely no emotional catharsis or funny punchline.

Jay apparently killed owls once by accident, and some students at the graduation are protesting that. You'd think this might be just crazy enough to be interesting, but no. It doesn't really go anywhere. Cam stepping in to be the Principal was fine, but it still didn't seem to mean anything or go anywhere. Mitchell lying about learning to play the trumpet? Total waste of a joke.