Outlander: Evidence of Things Not Seen (8x07)

HEY! What the FUCK.

Outlander: Blessed Are the Merciful (8x06)

Honestly, not my favorite episode this season... but still some good stuff in here.

Cons:

The big thing is like... a lot of what was going on here could have been a brief scene tacked on to another episode. Like, the confrontation between Ben and William, which was so juicy in how it was set up, was then just the two of them snapping at each other and saying "how could you". And the pretty powerful stuff with Roger and his battle experience became this tepid thing where he's recounting it all to Brianna and telling her God has a purpose for him... and that sex scene was just not enjoyable to watch, sorry. Even the stuff at the Ridge, it felt like treading water for a lot of it.

Specifically to get into that a bit more, I feel like Jamie banishing the tenants who tried to have him arrested and hanged... makes a lot of sense? Like, it doesn't even have to be something motivated by vengeance or anger, just in a practical sense why would he trust those people to live on his land. I felt like the episode wanted me to think he was being too harsh, because what about their poor wives and children? And yeah, definitely, but Jamie was not wrong to want to get rid of people who actively wish him dead lol. It felt like there could have been more balance to it all than that. I'm also noting that with Jamie and Claire stuck at the Ridge for a lot of the season, Claire becomes more of a passive character. She hangs around at home and then people show up and she has to heal them or help them give birth or whatever. She's not marching out into the world and making big decisions like she usually does, and that makes her a less interesting protagonist for our TV show here!

Outlander: Send for the Devil (8x05)

Denzel! Ahhhh.

Cons:

So, this has been sort of building for me over the season thus far, but I think I'm ready to lock in an opinion and say that I think the Jamie and Claire part of this story is the least interesting part. It's not that it's bad, but the stuff with the competing militias, and time in the lodge, and Mrs. Cunningham and Claire's strange night waiting together... I find myself wanting to cut back to Roger, or Bree, or see how Ian and Rachel are doing. This isn't a strong negative, more just an observation. I think maybe part of the problem is that it feels like the story is treading water somewhat - there was a big exciting action sequence in this episode, and it was good, but I knew Jamie would be fine, because we've already got the Chekhov's Gun message from Frank hanging over our heads for later.

Grey's Anatomy: Feel It Still (22x16)

I didn't realize going in that we'd have a couple weeks off from this show before just a two-part finale and then we're done with season 22! Wild, time flies.

Cons:

I won't bore you by repeating myself, but Jules and Winston is a big yuck from me. I think we're supposed to think it's so sweet, the contrast between them wanting to make out in the elevator at the start of the episode, to just Winston pulling her in for a hug at the end, just wanting to be a comforting presence... man, I wish I didn't hate the two of them together so I could hypothetically enjoy this.

It's so weird, because historically I've always noted that Grey's is bad about portraying parenthood; so many characters over the years have had kids they seem to never interact with, because all of the important story stuff is happening in the hospital. Sure, there might be some degree of drama around the having of children, but once that kid exists they become a footnote. But with Jo... man, it seems like they can't think of anything to do with her character anymore that's not about motherhood. And I think that's because they've written her into a corner where she's supposed to be all happily ever after with Link. I don't know, man, I'm just bummed out by not enjoying Jo Wilson as a character anymore, it sucks.