Outlander: Hello, Goodbye (7x13)

After the high of the last few weeks of so much Lord John, I was bracing myself to be a little less invested in this week's installment. But it was another really strong showing!

Cons:

I used to harp on this a lot back in the old days and then it seemed pointless to keep bringing it up, but I should mention here once again that Sophie Skelton is the weak link acting-wise on this show. There's this moment when she's all offended at the sexist police implying that she might have been having an affair with Rob Cameron, but Skelton's acting is so weird in the scene that it actually seems like Brianna is lying about that? I don't know. It's unfortunate that she's not as strong a performer, so when the dialogue isn't stellar she can't carry it off like most of the others. Also, why doesn't Brianna at least tell them that Roger wants to steal money from them? Why hide that? I understand she can't tell the cops about hidden gold and time travel, but not providing any reason for Rob to kidnap her kid just made her look guilty as hell.

I really liked the stuff with Roger and his dad, it was genuinely moving. But I do wish that the end of this episode's moment of realization had been framed a little different. Here, it's presented like the idea that Jem isn't here in this time is something Roger is just now realizing. Even though surely he would have had suspicions about this from the second he realized that his father was here in the 1730s. I wish it had been framed more as "I've been thinking it for a while now but I was in denial..." rather than it being a new idea just occurring to Roger. Especially since we the audience know that Jem is in the 20th century already, so there's no bite to it.

What We Do in the Shadows: The Finale (6x11)

It's so wild to finish watching this finale and then hop over to Tumblr to see people lamenting and grieving for this epic queer-bait on one hand, and then other people throwing a party because Nandermo is canon now, and I'm just like... what show did you all think you were watching? lol. This was a fun finale.

Cons:

This finale cemented once and for all that the Guide was pretty useless as a character, and I hate saying that because I love the actress and I wanted her to have more to do. But her final character beat is that Cravensworth's Monster is really horny for her? The alternate ending where she's a detective on the case of the vampires was really funny, and it was the first solid bit they've given Kristen Schaal all season, and that bums me out. They even get in a last mention of Nandor's feelings for the Guide, which again goes nowhere and isn't funny or clever or interesting. So that's a bummer.

Also, I want to be careful here because there's all this extra weight put on finales to be some big thing that both shatters and preserves the status quo and that's an impossible standard to live up to, but, the one thing I do wish for was a bit of a resolution or at least an escalation on the whole "the vampires have fallen down on the job of conquering the new world" plot. It's just that the season started with that, and I didn't need some gigantic world-altering payoff, but some sort of circling back in a way that felt like things ended with a bit of momentum into the nebulous future might have been nice? Not the end of the world, but whatever.

Bob's Burgers: Dog Christmas Day After Afternoon (15x09)

Christmas chaos with the Belchers! I love it.

Cons:

It's another story where Louise has to learn not to be selfish, and give something up so someone else can have a good experience - I love this story, but I have seen it a bunch of times on this show. I almost wish Gene had been the one to bond with the puppy, since it was his chocolate misadventure that started the whole thing, and then we could have a Gene-centric plot, which almost never happens

Pros:

The basic conceit of this one is that the kids really want a handheld video game console of some sort, and Bob and Linda can't afford it, leading to a crestfallen Christmas morning. I loved the bit about the kids remembering all their super obvious hints to their parents, and then the parents remembering all their super obvious hints that it wasn't going to happen - but of course, Christmas hope rings eternal, and the kids don't listen to their parents when they talk...

Outlander: Carnal Knowledge (7x12)

You ever watch an episode of TV and actively cackle at the events playing out on your screen? I have been in full-on cackle mode for this entire plot thread of this show. It's everything I could have asked for.

Cons:

So, I think sometimes this show's acting is stronger than its writing, by which I mean a stellar performance from Sam Heughan can often elevate a clunky line of exposition, or the genuine passion in Caitriona Balfe's face can elevate an otherwise cheesy moment in dialogue. That remains the case in this situation as well, but there have been a few moments in Jamie's dialogue specifically that felt kind of awkward. It happened last week when he was explaining about not being on the Euturpe, and it happened again this week when he's explaining to John about why he has soldiers chasing him. Just super clunky moments where he's having to lay out basic tenants of the plot for the audience that don't feel naturalistic.

What We Do in the Shadows: The Promotion (6x10)

Aww! This was so great!

Cons:

This show doesn't have a lot of consistency/follow-through from earlier elements, and I do find myself wishing that there would be an acknowledgment of Laszlo raising Colin Robinson from a baby. There's this whole thread with Cravensworth's Monster this season, where the two of them are basically co-parenting, and it would be funny to tie back that earlier father/son dynamic to what's happening now. But there's never any mention of it, which I just think is a missed opportunity!

This isn't really a complaint about this episode, but rather a fervent hope for the finale next week... I hope that the documentary gets a proper payoff, even in some small way. The moment where Jordan is trying to call "cut" at the end felt like it needed a punch-up, a bit more of a grand reveal about the documentary that's been in progress for such a long time. I guess we'll see if they have a good final bit about this next week!

Bob's Burgers: They Slug Horses, Don't They? (15x08)

Aww, sister episode!

Cons:

I thought the flashback about Linda and Gayle was kind of gilding the lily, this episode would probably have worked just lovely without that added context spelled out for us? I almost rather would have just had Gayle explain the story to the kids maybe with a bit of flashback happening then, rather than structuring it so that we saw it earlier, if that makes sense. A small nitpick!

Pros:

The basic premise here is just that Louise and Tina are fighting about their toys. But the real fight is about their roles in the family - Tina as the good responsible one, Louise as the mean brat. Louise resents that: she was being thoughtless with Tina's possessions, but she didn't mean to break her horse. Both of their feelings are really hurt because Tina thinks Louise thinks she's boring, and Louise thinks Tina thinks she's a screw-up. I liked that the outer surface of siblings fighting over their belongings was actually about a deeper insecurity in their relationship, that worked really well!

Outlander: A Hundredweight of Stones (7x11)

It really is the best shit in the whole series, no joke...

Cons:

The one bigger thing I was noticing in this episode was that it was lacking a sense of time passing - it was unclear to me how long it had been since news of Jamie's death reached them - how many days between then and the wedding, how many days later are they going to that dinner party, how many days later does Jamie show up? Because it kind of feels like it happens within a week, but I remember it was a bit longer in the book. This also contributed to some strangeness of pacing in that big final scene, where Jamie shows up and clumsily explains that his luggage was on the Euturpe but he himself was not. So much of that final scene was lifted from the book entirely, and it's a great scene, don't get me wrong, but it all happened kind of choppy and strange. I think we get some time in Jamie's POV in the books or something, so we have a bit more context for why he's being chased by soldiers? But maybe I'm misremembering.

What We Do in the Shadows: Come Out and Play (6x09)

I liked this one!

Cons:

So, back to the Guide/Nandor thing - I think I realized my core issue here. It feels like a potentially funny subplot that would happen in a single episode, but stretched out over the full season until it feels threadbare and irritating. Like, the bit where Nandor dramatically offers to die for the Guide, or the Guide letting him down easy and Nandor spacing out staring at her eyes, those were perfectly funny bits. But they come after multiple false starts that suggest a story and then never capitalize on it. The Guide has said her piece now, but it seems like Nandor hasn't gotten the memo, so are we just going to keep limping through jokes about them for the last few episodes of the show? It feels like they don't actually have good funny ideas with this plot thread and I am increasingly sure that the payoff won't be worth the setup, whatever it is. I wish "Nandor has a crush on the Guide" had been the plot of a single episode, basically. That could have worked.

Outlander: Brotherly Love (7x10)

Lord John! He's here! My bestest friend!

Cons:

When I was looking back over my reviews of the earlier half of this season, I saw how much flip-flopping I did about Rachel and Ian's relationship. In this episode, I did rather like the romance moment they had together. But I do need to reiterate my dissatisfaction with the Arch Bug plot thread. In the books it honestly feels kind of random and extraneous too, but in the show especially so - the fact that Rachel is held at knife-point and William shoots and kills a man in this episode feels so... random and unmotivated and out of scope for everything else the story is trying to do? Especially since, for the viewer of the show, the stuff with Ian killing Arch Bug's wife happened ten million years ago.

Not to be all "in the books" again, but... in the books, Claire takes on the role of rebel spy through her own initiative and successfully passes messages around many times before finally being suspected. It felt a little silly that she's discovered instantly her very first time out, when ostensibly there would have been no reason for everyone to abruptly suspect her at that point. Another book change is not having Fergus and his family around at this stage in the story. I've re-read John telling Claire about the Euturpe so many times that I remember vividly she's got some of her grandchildren underfoot at the time, and John's appeal to Claire is about saving Fergus and Marsali and the kids specifically, along with their other rebel friends. I don't mind the changes on principle, but I am sad because I always want to see Fergus.

What We Do in the Shadows: P.I. Undercover: New York (6x08)

This was a very funny one!

Cons:

There's a structural weirdness this season. A-plot stuff was set up early on and then nothing has come of it since. I think I'm noticing it as an issue more because this is the final season, so it feels like if we're building to something, we should make sure we have the time to fully explore it. So the stuff with their old roommate who's back from his nap and working with the Guide, it just feels odd that we spend so little time exploring that. And subplots like Lazlo's reanimated corpse seem to have stalled out as well. We'll see where it's all going, I'm just looking at the number of episodes we have left and feeling a little anxious...

Bob's Burgers: Boogie Days (15x07)

Aw, some bonding time for Bob and Louise! I love it!

Cons:

I think I could have used a final beat in the Teddy subplot to show him having turned around on the birthday party thing. Our final moment with him is him being bad at telling left from right and giving confusing instructions, but it didn't seem like he was ever reconciled to having the party thrown for him. Could have had some good comedy potential there, with either him turning around and being suddenly really enthusiastic, or him blowing up at Linda and storming out, and the others all continuing to have his party without him. Either way, something bigger might have been nice!

Outlander: Unfinished Business (7x09)

We're back, at long last! It's been a million years!

Cons:

It's not the actress's fault, but I did find the re-casting of Jenny to be distracting. The reunion vibes, and the tension between Claire and Jenny, all that stuff - it just didn't pack the same punch because it was some random woman I'd never seen before in my life, you know?

Also, I'll wait until next week to judge, but I feel like this show is always lacking in the Ian Sr. and Jamie relationship. It makes sense that a great deal of time goes to Young Ian's reunion with his dying father, but I could have used more of Jamie and Ian together as brothers, here. A more emotionally poignant moment of return, the laird back in Lallybroch and seeing the man who maintains it for him.

Grey's Anatomy: Drop It Like It's Hot (21x08)

A funny time of year to be watching an episode about a heatwave! This episode had some real old-school Grey's vibes for me, in a way I really liked.

Cons:

If Owen cheats on Teddy with that random lady he was flirting with waiting for car repair, I am going to sue ABC lol. Please, enough already! Honestly I think Dr. Open Marriage should go ahead and seduce Teddy and Owen both, drag her husband into the mix, Maybe Teddy and Owen would calm the fuck down if they were having fun extramarital sex. Or even group sex, let's do this fucking thing. Instead we have this insufferable moment where Owen sees Dr. Beckman giving Teddy a comforting and innocent touch on the arm in the elevator, and he gets all weirded out. Yeesh, I'm so tired of them.

I feel like there's a weird disconnect with Yasuda leaving in this episode. Jules is devastated and acts like it's this big final thing, but like... is she moving away forever? When your co-worker and girlfriend stops being your co-worker, that doesn't mean she's going to vanish from your life in an instant. I wonder what we'll find out about Yasuda after the hiatus. Is she just quietly moving away in the gap between episodes, or will it be a slower phase-out, like maybe we hear about her still being around for a while and then she comes back to guest for one more episode when she does finally move away or something? I don't know. I just felt like the stakes of this being a goodbye episode for the character were a little murky.

What We Do in the Shadows: March Madness (6x07)

Let's jump right in!

Cons:

So, if we're doing this Guide/Nandor thing, fine, I guess. It feels pretty unmotivated and lazy to me but okay! But then if we're going to do this, let's do this. The two characters haven't really interacted on screen, and in this episode it's just Nandor being encouraged to be brave and tell her how he feels, and then nothing comes of it? I guess I just think... if you want to use this idea as a vector for comedy, can we at least see some jokes being told about it?

With the knowledge that this show's ending is creeping up on us, I do wish I felt like this episode furthered Guillermo's plot a little more. It seems like it's just another episode reinforcing him as a loyal sycophant. The stuff with Colin was funny, but the episode ends with Guillermo happy and excited to be serving these new masters. I want him to like... foment a revolution, or quit, or something dramatic. Hopefully we'll get to see that soon.

Grey's Anatomy: If You Leave (21x07)

Oh man, this is so sad...

Cons:

I feel like going into this season knowing Yasuda would be leaving at some point, it just really made the stuff with Chloe feel strange and awkwardly placed? You introduce a whole subplot with a sister who has cancer, you make that be the reason why the Yasuda/Jules romance isn't fully lifting off, you set it up as a way for Mika to maybe leave the show to take care of her sister, then you do a big scary car accident but Mika doesn't die... and then Chloe does? I understand drama for drama's sake, that's what this show is built around! But it just felt like a lot of setup for the payoff to be so tragic and then Mika's going to leave anyway? I guess we'll see how it all plays out, but I kind of wish this was setup for a character to deal with their grief, instead of setup for a character to depart.

I guess I'm glad Owen apologized to Teddy for his big overreaction but also, just, ugh - every second spent on their relationship feels like a waste of my time as a viewer. Not to be harsh or anything.

What We Do in the Shadows: Lazlo's Father (6x06)

A pretty good episode, but probably not one of my favorites?

Cons:

The recurring gag of Nandor having a crush on the Guide still just feels really unmotivated for me. I swear this isn't a shipping thing, the whole Nandermo thing is something I enjoy thinking about but I don't have a lot of hope that the show will actually deliver on. But even setting that aside, it just feels out of nowhere and not very funny for Nandor to have this crush on the Guide, a character who hasn't been around most of the season and when she does pop up, has nothing really to do? I don't know.

Pros:

I enjoy the groupings this season, where Nandor, Nadja, and Guillermo are often connected in one of the plots together. It's a fun dynamic. Their subplot, with their misunderstanding about an AirBNB, and then the plot twist that shapeshifters actually are involved, was pretty great. Guillermo as exasperated explainer of basic human things is a joke that never gets old. And I love them accidentally stumbling into preferential treatment, as their neighbor is worried she'll get in trouble for operating an unlicensed AirBNB.

Bob's Burgers: Hope N' Mic Night (15x06)

This was a lovely episode!

Cons:

Honestly, cannot think of anything I would want to change with this one!

Pros:

This episode does what I think Bob's Burgers is best at doing, which is mirroring some really silly ideas with the warmth and comfort of familiarity. We know these people, this community, and seeing them come together to make art for one another was honestly a balm to the soul? Sometimes this show doesn't quite live up to the promises it makes, so I was slightly worried that something would happen to interrupt the open mic night and we wouldn't actually get to see many of the performances, but no - we got a ton of great stuff, and it all felt very warm and cozy and like this is a real place with a real community of people who can come together to do something nice. Just really needed to see that on this day, I think!

Grey's Anatomy: Night Moves (21x06)

Oh boy, this was a REAL roller-coaster of an episode for me, a lot I really loved and a lot that made me roll my eyes. I am obviously having an emotionally challenging week for reasons I don't even really want to write down, in the hopes that some day in the far future I can look back and read this and not know what I was even talking about... but because of that, I was liable to be really emotionally affected by what was happening on my screen. Let's talk about it.

Cons:

Owen and Teddy continue to suck in this really frustrating way where it just seems like they're willfully refusing to understand each other? They don't really come across as people who have been super close for such a long time, they come across completely disconnected and off. Like, Owen's reaction to Teddy's news about being kissed was super annoying, but also Teddy's method of telling him was WAY off. She should have approached it with a bit more seriousness given that she's the one who has a history of cheating within their relationship. She should have been like "hey, I want to tell you about what happened, it wasn't a big deal but I want to be fully honest..." instead, she just shot it off like a joke and it felt tonally very strange. She really couldn't have seen it coming that he'd react badly to that?

What We Do in the Shadows: Nandor's Army (6x05)

I really am loving all the Nandor and Guillermo stuff this season...

Cons:

Honestly, I can't really think of particular cons on this one, other than one punchline didn't quite hit in terms of the dialogue. When Nandor's real army turns up at the end, it was really funny and it totally made me smile! But then there's this immediate reaction shot from Guillermo and he has a line like "What? Nandor's army is real?" and then later an interview cut with Nandor where he says "of course the dummies were just for practice! What, did you think my army was really just a bunch of dummies?" Not exact quotes, but pretty close. And those two lines just felt like... telling instead of showing? Like it was the most uninteresting way to reinforce the obvious joke to the audience, and I found it odd that those lines didn't get a little more juice. Honestly, you didn't need dialogue from Guillermo at all, just an incredulous look. And Nandor's bit would have been funnier if he'd been talking to Lazlo and Nadja, who then would have to react in the moment and insist they hadn't thought he was crazy enough to have an army of mannequins, of course not... This is ultimately a small point, but it felt like the shell of the joke was there and they didn't fill it in well.

Bob's Burgers: Don't Stop Be-cheesin (15x05)

Another fun one!

Cons:

There were SO much shenanigans in the kid's plot that I could have used slightly more shenanigans back at the diner with Linda's training to be a better eavesdropper! It was fun, what we got, but Bob and Teddy teaming up to tell Linda she sucks at something is a fun dynamic that we don't see as much, and I could have used even more of it.

Pros:

The main plot was just full of chaos from start to finish, and I loved it. Tina doesn't want to play this crazy cheese-throwing game, but she gets roped into it when she realizes she's the odd man out and everyone else is in it to win it. At first she's just the weak link on Jimmy Jr.'s team, but when everyone else on the team gets taken out by someone who's apparently some sort of cheese throwing prodigy... she becomes their last best hope! Throughout the episode, Tina makes it surprisingly far not getting knocked out, following advice from Louise about how to be sneaky and covert.