Suits: Coral Gables (8x08)

I rather enjoyed Louis' story, and Gretchen's, but could have done without some particular elements of this episode.

Cons:

Mainly, I thought Sam's plot thread was unnecessary. It wasn't bad, but it just sort of rehashed things we already know about her. Sam tries to poach a client from her old firm, gets mixed up in some old sketchy behavior, and ultimately ends up losing a client instead of gaining one. Along the way, Harvey is there to try and keep her in line. I liked Harvey interfering and making the right call, but what I was less crazy about was Sam trying to cross a line, failing to do so, and learning apparently nothing from it. She did something really sketchy in her past, and it appears that she learned absolutely nothing from it.

Pros:

Like I said, I did enjoy Harvey being the voice of reason in Sam's plot. Despite this show's many flaws, I still maintain that Harvey's character growth is one of the more nuanced and well thought-out that I've ever seen on a TV show like this, particularly with such a cliche character to start things off with. Harvey was the kind of guy who did the reckless stuff he is now cautioning Sam against. But he's not being a hypocrite - he genuinely has grown and learned over several seasons. One of his most important lessons is that it's possible for him to lose. He can't go in to every scenario ready to battle it to the ends of the earth - sometimes he has to give in. What taught him this? Mike going to prison. It's the first Mike mention we've gotten in a few episodes, so of course I had to mention it. I miss him so much.

Elementary: The Geek Interpreter (6x19)

Let's dive right in to this one.

Cons:

Something in the pacing of the main case was a little bit off. We learn late in the game that the motive for kidnapping has to do with flood zones for insurance/property value purposes. This comes out of left field and is a much less exciting reason to kidnap a mathematician than I would have expected from this show. Not that everything needs to be wacky all the time, but this was a little mundane, especially for something that was brought up so late in the episode.

I'm also a little miffed by the lack of development in any of the existing subplots. No further mention of Michael's return, no forward motion on Bell's career or Joan's quest to become a mother. Instead, we introduce another subplot that I found quite interesting. But despite my interest, I find it odd that we're only a few episodes away from the finale of the season, and we're introducing new ideas instead of further exploring the handful of subplots still left dangling.

Suits: Sour Grapes (8x07)

I think I can see how they're shaping this season, and for the most part it's working okay.

Cons:

This is a small thing, but Sheila getting a "false positive" on a pregnancy test is a little unrealistic. From what I understand, false negatives sometimes happen, but false positives are almost impossible. This might have been a good opportunity to explore the sad but accurate fact that TONS of pregnancies end in miscarriage in the early stages, especially higher risk pregnancies. They often happen before the person even knows they were pregnant. Sheila could have taken a pregnancy test, been pregnant, and then lost the pregnancy right at the super early stages. For some reason the whole "false positive" thing bothered me.

Pros:

I did like Sheila and Louis talking about some tough topics. I am pretty much on Louis' side about raising the kids Jewish, although the reasons for that are a little difficult for me to pin down. I guess I just think of Judaism as being so much more important culturally and for community building, rather than it being just a question of religion. But then again, Sheila indicates pretty clearly that her family's ties to their Catholic faith are very strong and define their own culture and traditions. Maybe I just want Louis to get his way because I know that Jewish folks often get the short end of the stick? And honestly I think it's possible to blend both. Do the things that are important to both of you. I don't know that a hard line one way or the other is actually necessary here. I like that this dilemma made me stop and think. Even though I came down on Louis' "side," I also saw the complexities of the situation. Also, Louis getting a hug from his Jewish therapist was oddly moving. I'm actually really touched by their odd relationship.

Elementary: The Visions of Norman P. Horowitz (6x18)

I'm always pretty proud of myself when I figure out a good mystery ahead of time.

Cons:

I often praise Elementary for avoiding unnecessary melodrama, and I stand by that. But this episode starts with a premise that Sherlock Holmes is going to be shot on a given day, and that idea is not explored whatsoever. I'm not saying it should have happened, or we should have had weepy worried friends refusing to leave Sherlock's side... but I wanted a bit more concern, a bit more paranoia, maybe a bit more drama.

If I could pinpoint the biggest problem overall with Elementary, I'd have to say it would be the fact that this show is on CBS, and has more than twenty episodes a season. The pacing always gets wonky. There's always a mid-season slump. There's always a lack of momentum. We've just introduced the return of a serial killer, which is all sorts of exciting, but this episode contains none of that. It also contains nothing of the season's other subplots, like Joan's quest to adopt a child, or Bell's career advancement. This episode could be dropped in at any point in the season, or even in previous seasons, and you wouldn't be able to tell. That's a shame.

Suits: Cats, Ballet, Harvey Specter (8x06)

Okay. Yeah. This was pretty good.

Cons:

For the most part, I really did enjoy Harvey talking out his feelings, and his abandonment issues. But despite the fact that he's more in tune with himself, I still felt like his yo-yo-ing emotions were a little too blunt and obvious. He's not just vaguely irritated with Louis, he's flat-out mean, yelling at his co-worker and partner for no good reason. And when given the chance to talk to a professional about it, he comes to a realization of the problem within seconds. It's not that I think it's bad for Harvey to see a therapist and realize some emotional truths about himself. I guess I'm just annoyed that it happened so quickly. Also, sometimes Harvey and Louis behave like little children in a way that makes me think their names shouldn't be on the door of a very prestigious law firm. Is that just me? They can really be immature a lot of the time.

Pros:

I like that in this particular case, Harvey was the one in the wrong. Sure, Louis can overreact sometimes, but Harvey is the one who freaks out at Louis about something that's not his fault, and then takes over one of his clients in some weird form of punishment. Louis has every right to be upset. Obviously, their little talk with Dr. Lipschitz doesn't go so well, but it opens the door for Harvey to acknowledge his own bad behavior, and his later talk with the therapist goes better. The bromance that carried this show for seven seasons is no longer around, so it makes sense that Louis and Harvey's relationship would get some more attention. I love that Harvey still maintains a sort of "alpha dog" attitude about Louis, reminding him who's boss, but that it feeds in to their genuine affection for each other at the end of the day. The moment at the end when Harvey confiscates Louis' Dictaphone was great - Harvey wants to say nice things to Louis, but he doesn't want any sort of record of it. Excellent!

Elementary: The Worms Crawl In, the Worms Crawl Out (6x17)

This was a bit of an uninspired episode, if I'm being totally honest. Not the worst, or anything, but... not much to be going on.

Cons:

I thought the main case was just a touch too silly. It involved rare worms, new scientific innovations, and a lot of twists and turns that initially dismiss the murderer, and then come back around to her by the end. There were actually two murderers, one who shot the bad guy and failed to kill him, and then another who swept in with a blunt object to finish the job. This whole thing felt odd and wholly unnecessary.

Pros:

I'm not trying to be super negative about the whole thing, but I'm honestly struggling to find positives to say about the case this week. It's not that it was so bad I was miserable watching it or anything, but I just didn't... care. I suppose it is always a little fun to see really obscure fields and types of knowledge coming through to save the day. Sherlock figures out key clues by noting the naming patterns that this scientist used when naming new species of worms, and he reminds Joan, and the audience, of the delightful time he named a type of bee after her. So... that's adorable.

Suits: Good Mudding (8x05)

I thought Louis' mudding plot thread was a little silly.

Cons:

Louis gets his sperm tested because he and Sheila are trying to have a baby, and Louis learns that while everything is fine, he'll greatly increase his chances of conceiving if he gives up mudding. Sheila is worried he won't be able to give up his relaxation, and indeed it seems that this is the case, as after a stressful day at work, he indulges. He and Sheila get into an argument, but finally Louis concedes that it's time to start making sacrifices for their future child. This plot thread felt like it was sort of going towards comedy, especially with moments like the awkward conversation between Louis and Harvey, but then it tried to also veer pretty serious, and the whole thing was a bit of a mess. What an awkward little plot thread. We end up exactly where we started, with Louis and Sheila trying to have a baby. This is a case of a character learning a lesson I really had no idea he had to learn. Kind of a waste.

While there are many things about Alex and Samantha's plot thread that I enjoyed, I must say there's something pretty clunky about the backstory that Samantha grew up poor. It feels like a case of telling instead of showing. We're supposed to infer that she's hardworking and scrappy because of her backstory, and that looks can be deceiving. She's so beautiful and well-off now, that it's supposed to make for an interesting contrast when we learn about her past. Katherine Heigl played the exact same backstory as Izzy in Grey's Anatomy, so maybe that's why it's feeling so played out to me. I don't have a problem with the concept, but I'm just not seeing anything particularly interesting or new come out of it.

Elementary: Uncanny Valley of the Dolls (6x16)

Sherlock is hilarious!

Cons:

At one point we find out that the murder victim used the physical characteristics of his ex-girlfriend to make a hyper-realistic sex robot. Not just for himself, but for mass production. This is such a gross violation, and I feel like we didn't get enough of a resolution. The woman in question is briefly a suspect, but she has an alibi and she quickly drops out of the story. That rubbed me the wrong way, because I feel like she should have gotten retribution, or some sort of affirmation that her image would not be used in this way any longer.

Pros:

The case is just the right mix of funny and serious. I love Sherlock's unabashed delight every time he's faced with some bizarre new piece of technology or the illusion of an AI, or anything like that. He banters with the sex doll in a way that the others don't, responding to offers of fooling around with good cheer. It's also funny to me that Sherlock was the one who found this case, and he found it interesting precisely for the novelty of having a sex robot as a potential witness. Also, the scene at the end was HILARIOUS. Sherlock programs the sex doll to talk to Bell directly, asking for his help in getting away with the grizzly murder. Bell is taken in for a moment, and then calls for Sherlock to come out of his hiding place. Sherlock then requests that Bell send Joan down on his way out, and Bell counters with a better offer, as he sees Gregson coming around the corner! I love the two of them having some fun together. It's always nice when we can see Sherlock have a genuinely fun time, especially when it's not at anyone else's expense, really.

Elementary: How to Get a Head (6x15)

It's always hilarious to me when a show like Elementary has a recognizable guest star playing a small role, because inevitably, they're playing the murderer!

Cons:

Well, kind of what I just said. The villain was pretty transparent from the first second, which was a bummer. And the case itself was slightly too random. The occult aspect was pretty much just a red herring, which is what Sherlock said at the beginning of the episode, so I'm not sure why I'm surprised. I guess maybe because it felt like the obvious solution, and I was waiting for some sort of surprise twist. Not a bad case of the week, but nothing too great either.

Pros:

The subplot is where all the meat is at, as always. I want to start, though, by discussing my favorite thing about the show, which is the relationship between Joan and Sherlock. I'm obsessed with the way this show details their domestic intimacy, the way they fill space in each other's lives and accommodate each other's routines. Sherlock isn't so good at it, but it's fun to watch him fail. These two often work in seamless harmony, but they also often squabble like siblings forced to share a bedroom. There's a great moment where Sherlock sees a detective leaving the brownstone in the morning, and then accosts Joan in her bedroom, accusing her of "returning to the scene of the crime." He's snippy with her, angry that she'd have sex with a guy they were considering as a replacement for Bell. Joan says she's not going to call Sherlock every time she has sex, and Sherlock replies that she shouldn't worry about inconveniencing him, it's just one phone call every three years. Ha!

Suits: Revenue Per Square Foot (8x04)

Very little Mike content this week. I'm still hunting rigorously for any little morsel I can find.

Cons:

Here's the thing about Louis getting mugged: it could have been a really interesting story, but I feel like it didn't quite... land. There was some great acting, and some genuinely impacting moments between the characters, but it still felt really contrived. I guess part of it could be that Louis has never exactly been my number one favorite character, so seeing him in distress didn't give me the angst fodder that I wanted. I also felt like it was odd that we didn't see Louis talking to Shelia or his therapist about what happened. Maybe that will come in later weeks? Also, Gretchen had criminally little to do this week. She knew what happened to Louis before anyone else, but we never saw anybody try to talk to her or see the resolution of her role in events. I want Gretchen to feel like a bigger part of the story.

Pros:

There were some good moments to come out of this whole mugging thing, though. Obviously, the best one is Harvey and Louis' little friendship moment. These two have often butted heads, but it's sweet to see that when push comes to shove, Harvey will drop everything and be compassionate towards one of his oldest friends. I also like that Samantha knew something weird was going on, and instead of tattling on Louis to Robert, she went to Harvey because she understood that a compassionate solution was probably needed. Louis and Sam's scene at the end, where she is teaching him some basic self-defense, was a surprisingly delightful moment.

Elementary: Through the Fog (6x14)

Elementary doesn't often do personal peril stories, by which I mean that it actually takes a fairly realistic look at the danger level faced by detectives. The main characters aren't constantly being held at gunpoint or anything like that. This means that when we do have a story with some very personal risk attached, it feels all the more elevated.

Cons:

I actually thought some of the acting from some guest characters was a little hokey. The head of the task force, the man with the crutches, they were over performing just a tad. It wasn't bad enough to ruin the episode, but it was just a tad distracting, when you surround these guest actors with the talented and subtle performances of the core cast.

Pros:

Starting with the main story, the setup is very basic. Bell sees a suspicious package, and it turns out to be a biological attack. Due to the timing, Bell and Gregson deduce that the guilty party is likely still in the building with them, so they set to investigating, all while trying to keep calm. Joan and Sherlock put their minds to investigating so that they can figure out what kind of compound was in the device. The sooner they can do this, the sooner they can get treatment to Bell, who might be in serious danger. Of course, by the time we get to the end, we learn that the gas was harmless, and that the whole thing was a heist to steal precinct computer servers, to sell the information therein.

Suits: Promises, Promises (8x03)

Aw, Harvey. You're adorable.

Cons:

I thought it was kind of annoying that Donna had to be emotional support for Harvey again this week, and diagnose his weird behavior. I mean obviously it's sweet that Harvey is missing Mike, but also, it's a little odd that nobody else cared what happened to the poor cleaning lady. That doesn't feel realistic to me. Why didn't anybody suggest, at the very least, that they help her find a better job somewhere? I get not wanting to risk the firm, but why didn't Louis or Donna or someone want to throw this lady a lifeline?

Pros:

I thought Sam and Alex's plot thread was pretty good. Alex continues to try to close his client, against all of Sam's protests. In the end, Alex learns that this guy is a shady jerk who wants him to launder money, and Alex goes to Sam to beg for her help. He understands now that he should have listened to her, but he also asks Sam to understand why he was finding it hard to trust her. She gets it, and decides to help him. They come up with a solution that puts the jerk client in his place without exposing him, or the firm, to any of his bad behavior.

Elementary: Breathe (6x13)

Sherlock Holmes you utter sweetheart.

Cons:

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, I found the subplot to be super compelling, while the main story didn't grab my attention as much. More than just not grabbing my attention, I felt like the case this week was a little too... odd. The victim, it turns out, is a super successful hit man who has murdered tons of people over the years. But then it turns out that the victim actually killed himself and framed someone else in a ploy to help his illegitimate child get cheaper access to life-saving medication. This is just a little too bizarre for me. The setup was really intriguing, and then I feel like it went off the rails just an itty bit.

Pros:

The one thing I did like about the case was how it took shots at the pharmaceutical industry. Elementary is often surprisingly political for a show on CBS, and it often takes successful shots at Capitalist America, all through the lens of Sherlock Holmes, aloof British dude above it all. Maybe all of these "woke" political opinions are just lip-service, but they are kind of fun to hear all the same.

Suits: Pecking Order (8x02)

Okay, I enjoyed this perfectly fine. Still missing Mike, but what else is new?

Cons:

I'm... not sure what to make of parts of Louis' story this week. I didn't mind the stuff with Sheila, but then there's the ending, when Louis barges in, yells at Harvey and Robert, and gets an engraved clock as an apology/olive branch. Sometimes with Louis I can never tell what he'll think of things. Is this enough to appease him, or is this whole thing about being a third wheel going to be a continuing theme throughout the season? If the latter, I'm not sure how to feel about that. The fact is, Louis is the third wheel. The show has positioned itself that way. So every time Louis demands a seat at the table, he comes across as some idiot full of impotent rage. Not sure how to rectify this, or if it's even possible to fix at this point.

Pros:

Sheila and Louis are a lot of fun, though. They're just weird enough to make you slightly uncomfortable, but it never goes too far. I also like the fact that Louis is genuinely okay with not being managing partner, but he wants the respect of being treated like an equal. This makes sense to me. Harvey respects Robert and is totally comfortable with his decision, but Louis is right - Harvey and Robert didn't really think of Louis as a possibility, and that's not right. He certainly made his point with the screaming at the end!

Elementary: Meet Your Maker (6x12)

Oooh Marcus Bell subplot! Yay!

Cons:

The case this week had a few too many strange twists and turns. First it was about an online friendship, then about a "financial dominatrix," then about weird convention circuits, then about illegal gun manufacture. In some ways it was fun to have no idea where any of this was going, but in other ways it was strange how many leaps we had to take to get to the end. It wasn't bad or anything, just maybe a few too many strange paths to go down.

Pros:

I do like that this case was one that started as a private client for Joan. I feel like we're actually getting more consistent examples of her work and how she does on her own, which I greatly appreciate. Her sister actually referred this guy to Joan, and only after Joan realizes it's a kidnapping does she call in the NYPD. From there, Sherlock does lend his assistance, but it remains Joan's gig most of the way through, which I thought was a lot of fun.

Suits: Right-Hand Man (8x01)

I miss Mike so much. This is gonna be rough, guys. I'm going to be honest, here - Mike and Harvey's relationship was about 90% of why I watched this show. And if I'm being even more honest, Gina Torres was most of the other 10%. Now that I've lost that, I'm not sure what's left. But I'm not a quitter - I'll commit myself to Season Eight of Suits, at the very least. If this show gets renewed again, I might be hanging up my hat at the end of Season Eight. But my heart is open to the possibilities. Let's talk about this.

Cons:

Katherine Heigl. It's a little hard for me to evaluate her without taking into account everything I know about her as a person. The rumors are rampant - she's a diva. And this character? Well, thus far Samantha Wheeler seems... fine? Kind of generic? She's a bad-ass woman that doesn't take shit from anyone and is loyal to Robert Zane. I think about the other women in this show, though, and I just don't know what she adds. We had Rachel, who was this kind, gentle, compassionate person who didn't fall in to the cliches of the "professional" woman who has to be cold to get to the top. You have Katrina, who wants to be that cold professional woman, but has a problem with her confidence. You have Donna, the sassy assistant-turned-COO character. What is Samantha going to be? I'm not saying I dislike her, but I certainly wasn't grabbed by her in week one. She seemed pretty unoriginal to me.

I know this show is ridiculously unrealistic all of the time when it comes to how a law firm would actually operate, and usually I'd be fine with that. But it's driving me crazy that everyone is throwing around the promise of name partner as an incentive. There's no way this firm survives so many name changes in the past few years. Let things settle down with Zane Specter Litt for like a SECOND before you start talking about Alex and Samantha getting tossed up on the wall. It's just silly, and it feels like an increasingly contrived way to get the drama going.

Elementary: You've Come a Long Way, Baby (6x11)

I want Natalie Dormer!!

Cons:

Usually the cases in Elementary contain a degree of subtlety that I really admire. It's not that they're unsolvable and too clever, but they're logical and the way in which the case is solved makes good sense. This case wasn't bad, but the clue that led to the reveal of the murderer was the exact OPPOSITE of subtle. Joan takes the time to point out a secretary's screensaver on her computer, containing pictures of her bulldogs, then later finds out there's a secret contact helping with the smuggling called "the Bulldog." Wow. That was incredibly stupid.

The subplot this week actually disappointed me, despite the focus on Moriarty. See, Morland wants Sherlock to help him kill Moriarty. Sherlock manages to get in touch with Jamie, through an intermediary, and they arrange a ceasefire which will last until Morland dies of old age. This feels like yet another way for this show to push back a meaningful confrontation with the most exciting villain in all of Holmes canon. Of course, we've still got Michael the serial killer floating around out there, so I guess this season will still have a climax... maybe we're saving the dreaded Moriarty for next season? But in that case, why get my hopes up?

The Handmaid's Tale: The Word (2x13)

Well... shit.

Cons:

I've been discussing this over the last few weeks, and unfortunately this finale did not necessarily fix the problem: June is stuck, and it's getting frustrating. I mean, I get it. She has an opportunity to escape but she doesn't, because of Hannah. I get that, but we've been in a rut all season with June being unable to escape, and while I'm happy that the baby and Emily got out, it's still frustrating that we're going in to a third season with our protagonist still repeating the same patterns.

I really wanted June to tell Emily that the baby's name was "Holly Nichole," giving respect to Serena with a middle name, but it really rubbed me the wrong way that she tells Emily to call the baby "Nichole." That's going a bit far. I know Serena did the right thing in this episode, and I know she's a victim in all of this too, but she's also a pretty terrible person, complicit in the mass rape and subjugation of her gender. I didn't want June to be so hasty in forgiving her for that.

Pros:

Let's start with Emily. There are some things here that I almost wanted to put into the "cons" section, because I do feel like Emily's story was a bit disjointed this season. As much as I complain about June's story running in circles, whenever we switch to another character, the cohesion is hard to achieve. We didn't check in with Moira and Luke in this finale, and Emily's story still feels like this weird little cul-de-sac, disconnected from June's story in such a way that when the two stories converge at the end, it's startling, and not necessarily all in a good way. But all that being said, Emily's story as a self-contained piece of this finale was really good.

The Handmaid's Tale: Postpartum (2x12)

So I do have some concerns about some things, but over-all this was yet another brilliant installment.

Cons:

My concerns all center around a worry that things are going to get a little repetitive, if they haven't already. The pattern is this: June is stuck with the Waterfords. Something crazy happens, she has a chance to escape, but she ultimately returns back to the Waterfords. Serena hates June and wants her gone, but then something happens to grant them some tentative peace. Around and around we go. I'm not bored of this cycle necessarily - it's well-acted, and the characters are interesting enough to sustain the story. But June doesn't have a lot of agency in her own path. That's intentional to a degree, but it runs the risk of getting stale at some point. I have my eyes open.

Emily was in this episode, being introduced to a new Commander and his wife. It's not that I hated the scenes, but they did feel a little out of place, like they were really only there as setup for something coming next week. The new Commander is cold and erratic, the wife is deranged and desperate, and Emily is trapped in yet another bad situation. I guess I'll wait and see where this is going.

Elementary: The Adventure of the Ersatz Sobekneferu (6x10)

It's nice to see John Noble return to the small screen as Morland Holmes this week! And also that ending makes me SO PUMPED.

Cons:

I rather liked the case of the week, even if it got a little absurd. Usually this show is good at being clear, but not too obvious, about what's going on. I noticed a weird moment towards the start of this particular episode though - Bell and Sherlock are both examining the body, and Sherlock notes that there are various instruments and honey laid out around, and that the fleeing man seen by the witnesses was performing some sort of ceremony. At this point, I think anybody older than, say, ten years old, would immediately be able to guess that the victim was being mummified, and yet Bell doesn't pick up on this detail, and Sherlock has to spell it out for him. It was an odd moment of clunky exposition in a show that usually doesn't fall into this particular pitfall.

Often when watching Elementary, I am so much more fascinated by the subplot than I am by the main story that I almost resent the time we're spending on solving a random murder when we could have been focusing on other things. That's not quite the case here - I liked this murder mystery. However, I did find myself frustrated by what we didn't see. Sherlock undertakes a mission of his own to find a man who he believes has been stalking his father. We don't see any of the steps he takes to search this man out, although we do see the final confrontation between the two men. I found myself wondering what Sherlock had done to find this guy. He calls in MI-6 for help, we know that much, but what else? A whole episode could have been taken up with following the twists and turns of this case, and instead it was a footnote.