Brooklyn Nine-Nine: The Takeback (7x08)

I love Doug Judy enough that I'd forgive this episode any myriad of sins. And it's definitely not sin-less.

Cons:

I'm glad that Holt is back to being the Captain, but I will freely admit my frustration that his demotion wasn't more of a plot point this season. It didn't lead to any meaningful character growth, and because Terry just took over for him, we didn't even get the excitement of a new character to shift the group dynamics. Also, given what a big deal it's supposed to be that Holt is finally back, why was this moment relegated to a subplot, where nobody but Terry and Rosa seemed to care?

The other subplot was honestly one they could have deleted entirely from the episode and I wouldn't care. Amy is in charge of picking out a new vending machine now that a broken outlet has been fixed. Predictably, Scully and Hitchcock have lots of opinions about this, and equally predictably, Boyle tries to go for some fancy weird one that only serves fish balls. In the end, the machine Scully and Hitchcock choose is installed, but it shorts out the lights because the voltage is too high, so everything returns to normal by the end of the episode. My prevailing emotion watching all of this was just kind of a general... shrug.

Grey's Anatomy: Give a Little Bit (16x18)

I knew Andrew was gonna be right... ugh... poor thing.

Cons:

I really cannot get a read on how I'm meant to feel about Teddy right now, but I basically think she's the worst. She's hurting Tom, she cheated on Owen, she seems completely selfish in all of her motivations. She thought Owen might have gotten another woman pregnant before they were even together, and because of that she slept with another man multiple times. Like... how am I supposed to feel sympathy? This whole plot thread is attempting to paint Owen as this super sweet, super good guy who is being hurt by those around him, but let's be real. Owen has the most terminal case of Nice Guy syndrome I've ever seen in my life, and he gets away with being emotionally unfaithful by giving puppy-dog eyes to everyone. I think he's boring and I think he's scummy.

The hospital is having a pro bono surgery day, and things are chaotic and way too busy, so Meredith extends the day, and says they're going to have pro bono surgeries once a month. This is after she finds out that the billionaire dude from last week's episode gave an insane amount of funding to the hospital, and she learns about Koracick's unethical practices to get that money. I agree that the American healthcare system is bonkers, and it's nice to see the show tackle that in a more meaningful way this season. But all of this just seems wacky to me. Can Meredith really make a promise like that? Wouldn't you think that doing something so ostentatious would draw attention to the hospital and make it more likely that Koracick's crime would be discovered?

Modern Family: Baby Steps (11x15)

There are only so many different ways I can discuss how this final season has felt stagnant and uninspired... but there was actually one good plot thread here, I suppose!

Cons:

I want to talk about Alex. Rarely have I felt like a main character on a television show has been so poorly utilized. Who even is Alex? In this episode, she goes back to her old college, encounters some protesters and her old professor Arvin, who make her realize that she's working for a big unethical company. So she decides to work for Arvin's research team instead, using her smarts for good instead of evil. Okay... what a nice little plot arc for Alex. Too bad it all happens in one episode. Did I know that Alex felt ethical qualms about her job before now? Did I know this was a dilemma for her? She also talks about her "glow up," about how going back to the school triumphant and successful will be a big moment for her. Is that something I knew she needed/wanted? Is she searching for validation? Alex's colleges years on the show were so strangely framed and never really properly set up, so...

Bottom line is, this is fine. Alex taking a job that will make her less money but will be helping the world seems like a great move for anyone to make. But I don't know this person. I haven't really gotten to know her as an adult.

Schitt's Creek: Escape Room (6x11)

This was really cute and I loved every minute!

Cons:

So now they're setting up the idea of Alexis needing to leave the nest and move away from the town, which I like and makes perfect sense... but it just reminds me again of Stevie's weird trajectory as a character this season. She was worried she hadn't seen enough of the world, so she tried to spread her wings. But then she immediately flew back to doing the same thing she started with, only now making it bigger. That's fine, but it doesn't match naturally with what she said she wanted. I keep wishing we could have seen her do a bit more exploring before she came back to the motel business.

Pros:

Johnny spends the episode waiting on a phone call from his old assistant, who is now a big-time investor. There's shenanigans, of course, where Roland mishears the name and doesn't deliver a message, and Johnny has to leave his phone outside of the Escape Room so he misses a call. But in true Schitt's Creek fashion, the scenario doesn't blow itself out of all proportion. Instead, we get good news - the investor is interested, and Johnny has a meeting set up with him! I love this success story, especially as it somewhat eclipses Patrick and David's bachelor party.

Supernatural: Galaxy Brain (15x12)

Oh dang, we're back! Can you believe there will never be another Supernatural hiatus ever again? I'm already emotional!

Cons:

I guess they couldn't get the actress who plays Claire to appear? I really, really would have liked to see the Claire and Kaya reunion. This felt like a send-off to Jody's character, unless there's a big all-out guest star extravaganza at the end of the season. I liked the episode a lot, but inevitably I start to think about the things we didn't see. Alex, Patience, and Claire not appearing is kind of sad!

Pros:

This is an odd thing to compliment, but I really liked how they handled the exposition. Sam, Dean, and Cas sitting around worried about Jack, worried about what this means. It was a lot smoother than their usually disjointed efforts to catch the audience up with what's going on.

Westworld: Parce Domine (3x01)

And we're back! It's only been two freakin' years. I will fully confess that I took absolutely no time to re-watch or even read reviews of season two to try to remember anything that happened. This show can be really confusing, and the second season was especially so. But I'm not sure I care enough about it to put in the extra effort of puzzling out the various story-lines and time shenanigans. So... how does this premiere hold up?

Cons:

Well, actually quite well. I really liked it! I will say, the part that I was least interested in was the start of the Bernard story-line. His was the most confusing stuff last season too. Here, it looks like he's on his own, under cover and trying to keep a low profile. But he's being blamed for the massacre, for killing Ford, etc. So now he's trying to "go to Westworld," whatever that actually means. I don't know - I'll keep an eye on this of course, but for the time being Bernard's character just doesn't do much for me.

The Walking Dead: Walk with Us (10x12)

Ohhh boy. I have some stuff to talk about with this one. Putting the whole thing under the cut for spoilers.

Outlander: Perpetual Adoration (5x05)

Honestly, this episode felt kind of disjointed to me. Several of the pieces were good, but the picture they made in the end was less than it should have been.

Cons:

I enjoyed, in theory, the flashbacks to Claire back in the twentieth century. We see a story of her losing a patient, Graham Menzies, because of an allergic reaction to penicillin. His death shakes her bad enough that she decides to go on a trip to London with Brianna, which leads to her crossing paths with Roger, and ultimately finding her way back to Jamie. The main issue I had here was the strange way the scenes were arranged. In the "behind the scenes" section of the episode they talk about how they had filmed the scenes in order but ended up rearranging them in editing, and honestly that doesn't surprise me to hear. We see Claire attending the Perpetual Adoration and talking to the priest, before we hear Graham explain what it means to him. I'm not sure why they did this - not only is it unnecessarily complicated from a narrative standpoint, but the scene with the priest is stronger, with the overt message of people never being lost if they are not forgotten. It should have come later anyway.

Also, while I liked the flashbacks, or at least parts of them, I was annoyed at how much focus they pulled from the story proper. Sure, it's fun to see Joe Abernathy again, etc. But the scene with Joe and Kezzie having surgery, Claire and Marsali discovering the penicillin... those are moments I wanted to linger on much more, and it's a bummer they were so brief.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Ding Dong (7x07)

Oh my goodness! I'm going to miss Madeline Wuntch!

Cons:

I mostly liked the subplot about Terry and Charles competing for movie premiere tickets for their kids. Mostly. The one aspect I didn't enjoy? Well, Charles is supposed to be Jake's best friend, and Terry is a good friend also. So why were they cracking jokes about Jake not being a father? That felt really tonally strange, like the writers forgot the story they were trying to tell. They mock him for being in over his head taking their kids to the movie alone, and they yell "you don't have kids!" when Jake accuses them of overreacting. I don't know, it just felt very strange to me, given last episode's more serious look at the subject.

I also felt a little strange about the fact that Amy is already pregnant, as she reveals to Jake at the end of this episode. Maybe they should have waited juuust a bit longer, after last week they were struggling so much? Feels weird to do a reverse on that so quickly.

Grey's Anatomy: Life on Mars? (16x17)

Ugh Teddy what the actual fuck. I have a lot of things to complain about for this one, so strap on in.

Cons:

I'm a fan of Tom/Teddy obviously, but Teddy cheating on Owen, and then being all pissy about Amelia, of all things? And telling Owen that Amelia's baby might be his, and not confessing about Tom? I've been annoyed with Teddy in the past for some things, but right now she is angering me to the nth degree. Really frustrating stuff. Owen gets to be the bright-eyed innocent, ready to make his relationship work no matter what, but he's just... so annoying, you know?

I'm happy that Amelia and Link worked things out, but I'm still annoyed that that whole plot thread even happened, and Amelia absolutely should have found out the paternity right away and just told him? So yeah... I guess I can file this under "I'm glad it's over." Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

I'm not watching Station 19, which means I have a less than accurate picture of Jackson and Vic's whole situation than some. But from what I saw just in this episode? Jackson is being a dick. Vic is totally right - he's giving her mixed signals. He doesn't want to be serious with her, but he gets all pissy and jealous about her new roommate? Come on. Vic is a good enough character that she almost makes me want to watch Station 19, while Jackson has become steadily less and less the character I once loved.

Schitt's Creek: Sunrise, Sunset (6x10)

Where's my boy Patrick?

Cons:

Seriously, though, any episode without Patrick in it is missing something in my humble opinion!

And even David had less to do than one might hope for him. Basically, he's picking out food for his wedding, and he wants all of the most elaborate, expensive options. Johnny has agreed to pay, but he finds out some bad news about the new motel he's just purchased, and that makes him hesitant to put down the money.

There's nothing wrong with the subplot here, and I actually really liked the resolution of it, but it didn't spark anything in particular for me. It was there, it happened, the end.

The Walking Dead: Morning Star (10x11)

Okay so... this is about as mixed of a bag as I can imagine. There were so many good moments, but so many aggravating things, too.

Cons:

To start, I love the idea of Eugene falling in love with this voice on the other side of the radio. I had initially assumed that this lady was up to no good, but now it seems like she might be genuine. But while there's a lot to like about this plot thread, there's also a glaring problem. Rosita finds out that Eugene has been talking to some stranger on the radio, and she asks no questions. She's not even slightly worried. She tells nobody else. How is it that she isn't freaked out by this? What if this woman is trouble? What if Eugene is revealing information he shouldn't be revealing? It feels completely unrealistic to me that someone else would find out about Eugene's little radio friend, and that it wouldn't become a serious issue.

What is Negan even doing? He escaped because he couldn't stand being a prisoner any more. Fair enough. But now he wants to be a part of Alpha's gang? I don't know what happens in the comics, but this feels so uninspired. It's like they have no idea what to do with Negan, but they know he's a popular character, so they randomly have him allied with Alpha. For a shining moment, I thought Negan was trying to save Hilltop by suggesting that they surrender to Alpha. But he seemed genuinely pleased with her plan to burn it to the ground, so... I guess he doesn't care if they all die? Including Judith? It all just feels so unmotivated and pointless.

Outlander: The Company We Keep (5x04)

In many ways, this was the second episode in a row that felt like a detour from the "main plot." But also, on the other hand, what even is the "main plot" of this season? I'm kind of okay with spending time on more episodic incidences. It's what I like so much about the books.

Cons:

There were a lot of little stories/threads in this episode, and while I liked elements of all of them, the balance was something I felt was lacking. I would have much preferred to spend more time dealing with Roger's leadership, and Jamie's relationship with him. While that is certainly part of the episode, more time is spent on the forbidden romance of Alicia Brown and Isaiah Morton. I would have emphasized one story, and de-emphasized the other, just for the sake of pacing, and also because Roger is a main character whose development is important moving forward, while the forbidden love story is very much a cul de sac.

Bree and Marsali's conversation was in some ways one of the episode's highlights for me. Or, I should say, Marsali was a highlight. But I really, really wish Brianna had taken this opportunity to tell Marsali about Bonnet, or at least to allude to a real reason behind her fear for Jemmy's safety. It would have been a chance for the two women to become closer. As it is, this conversation kind of hit a dead end, and Marsali's reassurances felt flat, because she didn't actually understand why Brianna was scared.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Trying (7x06)

I loved this episode! I had emotions about it!

Cons:

While I ultimately had a very positive reaction to this episode as a whole, I will say that when I saw it was Hitchcock-centric, I was a little worried. And those worries, to some extent, seem founded. I liked the stuff with Amy and Jake, and I was amused by the guinea pig subplot, but whenever I was asked to care about Hitchcock randomly ending up with a woman, getting her pregnant, getting married, finding out the baby wasn't his, getting divorced... I just wasn't really on board.

Pros:

The one joke I did like with that was the mirror "divorce parties" at the beginning and end, with Scully getting cakes clearly meant for gay weddings, and declaring them to be for his "bromance" with Hitchcock. Scully's speech at Hitchcock's wedding was oddly sweet, too. Their relationship isn't one I really feel invested in, but it was funny to see it treated with such sincerity, given the absurdity of the situation in general.

Grey's Anatomy: Leave A Light On (16x16)

Okay so what the hell went down between Justin Chambers and the show-runners, that this had to go down this way? Wow.

Cons:

So yeah, I'm not happy about this. Izzie? Seriously? Listen, I can appreciate that they were backed into a corner because Chambers left so abruptly. Was that even his voice in the voice-over, or just a sound-alike? I'm not entirely sure. But come on. If you'll indulge me for a moment, here's how I would have re-worked this:

After being thoroughly ghosted, Jo receives a letter or voicemail from Alex explaining that he talked to Izzie, found out he has two five-year-old kids, and flew to Kansas to meet them. He intended to come back and talk to her about it, but he got swept up. He wants her to come to Kansas, to move there so they can be closer to Alex's kids. Jo is understandably furious that Alex just up and left without talking to her, and demands to know why Izzie and the kids can't move to Seattle, then? Why should they have to disrupt their lives/careers? But Alex is insistent. Izzie and the kids have a good set-up, he doesn't want to ask them to move. Jo, hurt and confused, decides that for the sake of her marriage, she at least has to go over there to talk to Alex in person. So Jo leaves, and for the next two or three episodes, she's gone while we follow other characters' stories. Then, abruptly, Jo comes back. She shows up on Meredith's doorstep and hands her a letter. Turns out, Alex isn't coming back.

We find out, partially through Alex's letters to Meredith, Bailey, and Richard, and partially through Jo explaining things to Link over drinks, what happened. Jo went there, and saw how happy Alex was with the kids. She wanted to imagine her life there with him, but she couldn't. She kept trying to talk to him about making a joint decision for their future, but it occurred to her pretty early on that Alex wasn't willing to compromise. He had already made his choice. He chose his kids. Jo realizes something else, too. Even if they can't see it, Alex and Izzie are already acting like a couple - seamlessly co-parenting and making compromises and accommodations for each other. Heartbroken, Jo realizes that it's not just the kids that Alex has fallen in love with. She decides to go back to Seattle. She hopes Alex will come back for her, will figure out a solution, but she knows in her heart of hearts that it's over.

Schitt's Creek: Rebound (6x09)

This was a classic episode in every way... I loved it from start to finish.

Cons:

I'm struggling to think of anything to really complain about... I guess if I had to nitpick, I'd say I miss Stevie having more to do. Her arc this season kind of got dropped. I wanted more out of her desire to spread her wings and fly.

Pros:

The main plot focuses on Alexis after her breakup with Ted. She seems chipper, but the family gets concerned (especially Johnny) when they see that she's dating a much, much older man. This leads to Alexis getting dumped by her new man, after Johnny has a talk with him, and eventually Alexis allows her father to comfort her.

I really liked the random old man Alexis was dating. He was acting like he was unaware that he was the same age, or older, than Alexis' father. It was funny how much of a non-issue it seemed to be for him. Also, the show could have gone the direction of having this character be a total loser or something, but he actually just seemed like a perfectly normal dude with a successful career and a family. Sure, it's weird that he's dating someone so much younger than him... but Alexis is in her thirties. It's not actually predatory. And there wasn't any dumb plot thread about he and Johnny getting into a fight. Honestly, Johnny just told him the situation and the guy bowed out. It's another example of this show going with a more restrained, realistic scenario!

Doctor Who: The Timeless Children (12x10)

I have some serious qualms about this episode. I wanted to love it. I wanted to be blown away. Instead, I'm torn.

Cons:

First of all, I don't like how separate the Doctor felt from her companions here in the finale. I want more bonding between the Doc and her Fam, not two separate plot threads that only coincide briefly! That's a bummer.

It also feeds in to my bigger complaint, which is that we've just discovered a truly shocking game-changer for Doctor Who canon. Apparently, the Doctor is the very first Time Lord, and their adoptive mother was part of the indigenous Gallifreyan people, and did experiments on them in order to discover the secret to regeneration. Thus, the Doctor is the reason Time Lords exist. She is the timeless child. She is the proto-Time Lord.

I don't like this. It's not a matter of whining over changes to the canon, I really don't give a shit about that. It's more about the type of show we're being shown. I always thought that the Doctor was remarkable for not being remarkable. They were just one member of a species who, due to circumstances, managed to survive and stir up a lot of trouble all through time and space. And the companions, too - they're extraordinary because they're just so perfectly ordinary in their humanity. The Doctor is just a mad (wo)man with a box. The Doctor isn't supposed to be the mystery at the center of the universe. Moffat used to pull this shit all the time, and it always drove me bonkers. Ugh.

The Walking Dead: Stalker (10x10)

I straight-up don't understand the idea of Gabriel/Rosita. I never have and I never will.

Cons:

Yeah... that. Their romance is just completely lacking in chemistry. There's really not a lot to say about this. It's like they just skipped to this point where they're an established relationship, and we're supposed to believe in them as a couple. When they were arguing over Gabriel's behavior, it would have worked just as well if they were just friends and co-leaders of Alexandria. The fact that they're a couple has no bearing on anything and it's not fun to watch.

I wanted Alpha to die... how epic would it have been if Lydia turned up and was actually forced to kill her own mother? That would have been a game-changer, and I'm not just saying that because I'm getting a bit sick of Alpha. Even Beta isn't dead - Judith shot him, but he's still alive. Can we please shake things up? Just a little?

Outlander: Free Will (5x03)

This is a strange episode of Outlander for many reasons, but that doesn't necessarily make it a bad one!

Cons:

With the foreknowledge that comes from having read the books, I'll just say I was somewhat surprised with the decision to keep this whole incident in place as it was. Not that it's a bad story or unworthy of being told, but structurally, it feels out of place. We've got the setup of Jamie and Claire leaving, along with Roger and Fergus, to go gather a militia and potentially fight. Marsali and Bree are staying at home with the kids and keeping things going at the Ridge. And then, there's an abrupt swing to a new little side quest, when Jamie discovers Jo and Kezzie Beardsley in the woods, and they go off to try and get their indenture paperwork from Mr. Beardsley.

I liked the material of this episode just fine, but when we're talking about a book that's over a thousand pages long, and there are so many moving pieces to the plot, I really thought they might cut out this little detour, or at the very least they could have shortened it and advanced Roger's story with the other men from the Ridge at the same time. There's some stuff that has to happen in next week's episode in Brownsville before Jamie and Claire show up, and they probably could have gotten some of it out of the way here, for pacing reasons.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Debbie (7x05)

This was really fun - really invigorating. The kind of episode that's so fun that it actually makes the rest of this season seem less good by comparison. Not that I actually dislike the others, but I really, really enjoyed this!

Cons:

The subplot didn't pack much of a punch compared to the main story. I like Amy and Holt being in competition, but Terry had nothing to do except be vaguely incredulous of their behavior, and Charles was pretty sidelined as well. That's not really a big structural problem, but I did find myself less entranced whenever the subplot came around.

There could have been an opportunity for more fear from the rest of the Nine-Nine, once they realized Jake and Rosa were nowhere to be found. I wanted to see Holt, Amy, Charles, and Terry panicking a little bit!