The Walking Dead: Rest in Peace (11x24)

So... this finale suffered majorly for one big reason: the spinoffs next year. Let's just dive right in, shall we?

Cons:

Think about it. If this had been a true finale, if this had been the end of the universe of this TV show, we would have gotten so much content that the fans have been waiting to see. Instead, it's all teased out for us, trying to force us to tune in next year to see more Negan and Maggie, Rick and Michonne, Daryl... it's too damn much, y'all. I won't list all the missed moments, but if these spin-offs didn't exist, we definitely would have gotten Rick and Michonne reuniting with their daughter and son, right? A thing I think we've all damn well earned seeing? And if Daryl wasn't going off on his own without Carol, maybe they could have resolved that relationship in a way that would have made the fans happy to see. This is a finale. I want to feel big emotions, I want full cheesiness turned all the way up to eleven. I cannot believe that they had Rick and Michonne show up at the end in the form of letter writing, still not reunited, and we got no catharsis on any possible Rick reunion. With Michonne, with Judith, with Daryl? That man lived in the woods for half a decade being sad about Rick's death. I wanted to see them reunite, for fuck's sake.

But even setting aside the things I really wish we could have seen that just weren't there, there were moments that should have packed a much bigger punch, but were instead glossed over. The biggest one? Judith, in a moment of delirium when she believes she might die, tells Daryl that Michonne left to go find Rick, who they believe to be alive. I had sort of forgotten that Daryl didn't know this information, but it makes sense: Judith says she never told Daryl because she didn't want him to leave too. This should have been a huge moment. Daryl's love for Rick and his family is a cornerstone of his character; the revelation that Rick is still alive should have been earth-shattering for him. And, honestly, if they're going with all these spin-offs anyway, that should have been the impetus for Daryl to leave, not some vague idea Maggie has about wanting to find out what's out there.

The Walking Dead: Family (11x23)

Yeah, so here we are! Just one more episode left to wrap everything up. Let's talk about The Walking Dead's penultimate outing!

Cons:

There's still a bit of treading water, which is frustrating to see so late in the game. The main question I have for after this show ends is, what will the state of the world be in the aftermath of the finale? Where will our characters be living, how will they be building a future for themselves? And I don't think this show is going to give me that in the end. I think there are too many spinoffs in the works, I think there's too much that's going to be left hanging.

Like all the stuff happening in the Commonwealth, trying to get Eugene out of there, it all feels real pointless when you put it up against the Commonwealth's inevitable demise at the end of the episode. In the later seasons of this show, so many of the big status-quo changing moments are frustrating because they seem to make so much of the buildup pointless in retrospect. Why have we spent so long on the Commonwealth if it wasn't bridging us to something bigger? What, in the end, makes Pamela and all her cohorts any different than any of the other mini-bosses we've had over the years? Ah, well.

Grey's Anatomy: Thunderstruck (19x06)

I'm sorry, but I'm pretty underwhelmed and exhausted all at the same time. I'm going to have to search hard to find anything nice to say about the vast, vast bulk of this episode.

Cons:

So like. Meredith is leaving the show, and this is how they want to send her off? What the hell? Everything about Meredith's departure has been treated so bizarrely and like they can't make up their mind what note they're trying to go out on. She's moving because of Zola, fine. But now her house has burned down? Why? What's the point of kicking her one more time with yet one more terrible tragedy, on her way out the door? The Grey house is an iconic setting for this show, so I suppose they wanted to mix things up and do something dramatic here, but it honestly feels so shoehorned in and unnecessary. We're also having to deal with Nick and Meredith drama, because Nick doesn't know whether to follow her to Boston, or else stay put in Seattle to take care of the students he's just starting to train. I obviously do not care about Nick at all, he's boring as sin, so the idea that we might have Nick still on the show when Meredith is gone is truly the worst of both worlds to me. Yeesh.

The author story with Tessa, a fictional Seattle children's author, was way too over the top. She's full of wisdom and knows she might die, but wants to live because she still has more stories to tell in her soul or whatever... give me a break. They were leaning so heavily on how tragic it would be for her to die, that I was pretty sure she'd be safe, and indeed she was. I didn't hate the idea of this character conceptually, I just think someone needed to turn the dial down on the "inspirational older lady" setting. I also found Lucas to be particularly frustrating this week. He chokes during a surgery and is asked to step aside so Simone can take over, and then in the aftermath of the totally successful surgery, all he can do is mope about how he failed and how he's not living up to his family legacy. The truth now being out about Amelia being his aunt, we're having to see this character do yet more angsting about legacy and living up to the family name. Yawn. Also, the Lucas/Simone kiss kind of came out of nowhere. Maybe I won't hate it someday, but for now I'm just kind of uninterested in that angle.

The Handmaid's Tale: Safe (5x10)

This season happened so fast!

Cons:

I'm a little confused about Nick and Tuello. Basically, Nick agrees to turn spy for the Americans, because he knows that Gilead is trying to punish/kill June? But basically he connects with Tuello in exchange for a promise that Tuello will do everything he can to keep June safe... but like... wasn't that already a guaranteed outcome from the Americans? They weren't about to let Gilead kill June if they could help it, so what is Nick actually getting out of this? Is he planning on eventually getting the hell out of there, and joining June? I get it, that learning that June is in danger would frighten him, but it seems he's changing his mind and doing this crazy risky thing, all for a very nebulous return.

I was a little annoyed with Luke and June and Nichole fleeing and Moira not coming with them. We have so little insight into what Moira's life is these days, other than as a co-parent to Nichole, a real part of their nuclear family. So, especially since Luke was planning on turning himself in so his family could get away... why not send Moira along too? What is the point of her staying there in Canada, when she too is an American refugee that the Canadian people don't want anymore? And then there's just the unnecessary trickery and drama of Luke not communicating with his wife about staying behind. That kind of sucked.

The Walking Dead: Faith (11x22)

Y'all, we are so close to this show being over. The end is in sight. I can hardly believe it.

Cons:

I knew we were in trouble when I saw how Negan-heavy this episode was. I just don't feel invested in him and his new wife and the baby on the way. I keep saying it over and over, this is never going to be super compelling to me, unfortunately. There are little sparks of interest with Ezekiel, which surprised me, but ultimately no. This whole plot thread with the work crew standing up to some random evil minion of the Commonwealth whose name I don't even know, just feels like time wasted. There were so many turns here where at first we're supposed to think Negan is going to betray Ezekiel to save his own skin, but of course he doesn't. Then we're supposed to think Negan is going to be killed by firing squad, but of course he isn't. Our other heroes show up just in time to save the day, and I found myself yawning. Shouldn't there be more tension here?

Meanwhile in Alexandria, Maggie is reunited with Hershel but all the other children are still missing so we have to drag out this rescue operation for next week. Again, I'm sorry, I know I sound awful but - I don't care about Hershel and Maggie that much. Maggie has been gone from the show for so long, and honestly it doesn't feel like she ever quite came back, does it? I don't know her anymore. I don't feel connected to her and her emotional journey. I want Judith back, honestly.

Grey's Anatomy: When I Get to the Border (19x05)

Well then, I guess we know why Meredith won't be around much for the rest of the season!

Cons:

This episode was odd, it felt like an outlier that arrested the progress of certain key arcs. This was the first episode all season where I felt kind of "meh" about the new interns, and that's because we spent all our time focusing on Lucas Adams, and how his co-workers think he and Amelia are sleeping together. I thought that a was funny and potentially dramatic little wrench to put into the works when it first happened, the classic lie that grows out of control. But now we've got this whole thing where it's tied up in Lucas being a disappointment to his family and trying to stake out his own identity... and I'm just kind of bored with it all. What's going to happen when the others learn that he's Amelia's nephew? Well, nothing much, probably. They'll all judge and/or shun him for being a legacy kid, instead of for sleeping with an attending. Who cares.

Catherine Fox has never been a favorite of mine. When I saw that Jackson and Tom Koracick (my beloved fave) were going to be in this episode, I got really excited. But Tom's entire purpose was to talk to Catherine about her cancer, which has come back and is probably going to kill her this time around. I don't dislike Catherine to the point of wishing for her death, but god am I sick of the back and forth on this. She's had cancer for years now, we're constantly waiting to see if this is when she'll finally succumb to it. Can we not give Richard a break? He's lost every woman he's ever loved to sickness. I'm getting tired of this.

The Handmaid's Tale: Allegiance (5x09)

Oh goodness. I can't believe there's just one more episode of this season. Lots to discuss.

Cons:

I could have predicted that something was going to go wrong with the planned Hannah rescue, but I have to admit I'm a little disappointed in this less than creative outcome. Is Hannah's rescue going to be the last thing that happens in this show? Are we not going to actually see the aftermath of that, or are we going to drag out this family separation for all of season six as well? I guess I'm just getting a little frustrated. I would have at least liked something a bit more thrilling than all the Americans getting shot down and killed, essentially offscreen, while June and Luke just worry and wait.

So, the thing is, seeing June and Nick interact is just... it immediately sucks all the air out of the room. They have such good good chemistry that you just root for them to start smooching at every second. This is good, for the most part, but there are two problems. One, it just re-emphasizes how underwhelming Luke and June's connection is, by contrast. And for two... we've seen similar scenes for June and Nick so many times. So many fraught goodbyes, so many situations in which there's an unavoidable reason why they just can't be together. Every time, I don't know if I'm meant to believe a door is firmly closed, or if it's still cracked open in some way. So I'm left more flummoxed than I am moved. Nick's excuse for not being able to come to Canada feels a bit weak. Yes, Rose is pregnant, and yes, "Gilead is Rose's home", but come on, Nick. Obviously you have far more power to change your life circumstances than June does.