Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: A Trout in the Milk (7x05)

Project Insight? Ooooh.

Cons:

Seriously, did they just like - forget to tell us Fitz wasn't going to be in the season or something? I'm getting frustrated by his lack of presence or mentions. Very briefly, Deke asked Simmons about it, Simmons said she didn't know anything, and then we moved on. I'm annoyed.

I'm not going to repeat the whole rant from last week's episode, but I'm annoyed with the way that Sousa's life has been stolen from him. I think it's clear that the MCU doesn't really respect its TV properties as part of the continuity. All of Agent Carter was disrespected enormously by the end of Avengers: Endgame. And Sousa is the character who is arguably the most screwed over, in terms of the movie canon just... ignoring his whole existence and erasing him entirely. I guess I'm still very glad to see him around in the show, and hope he sticks around for a lot longer. But... dude, it's really annoying to me that he was supposed to just... die. And now he's been pulled out of his own time? That doesn't feel remotely fair to him, and I just wanted to reiterate that.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Out of the Past (7x04)

I have some complaints, but over-all I did have a lot of fun with this one!

Cons:

Obligatory complaint about no Fitz. Seriously - this episode didn't so much as mention him! Really frustrating. I hope there are at least one or two good episodes featuring lots of Fitz before this show wraps up for good. I miss him terribly.

Also... what the Marvel overarching canon did to Daniel Sousa is kind of unforgivable. We get a throw-away line that implies that he and Peggy fell apart because of work reasons. In at least one version of events, Steve Rogers travels back into the past and fucking steals Sousa's whole future, and Peggy's too. So that's... not great. But just the idea that his legacy, his fate, is to die? Yikes. Sure, our heroes save the day... but they do so by erasing Sousa from history entirely. I just think that's such a sad fate for such a fun character.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Alien Commies from the Future! (7x03)

My boy Daniel Sousa!!

Cons:

This whimsical trek through time has a lot going in its favor, and I do appreciate that we're not totally ignoring the impact of racism and sexism on the ability of several of the agents to do their jobs. I guess I'm kind of hoping/kind of dreading the furtherance of this plot element. It's one thing to hear from May after the fact that someone called her an "oriental," or to see segregated bathrooms in a diner. Are we going to go further with the racial injustice? I hope not, and yet at the same time this mostly sanitized version of history is also not quite sitting right with me. I feel like the show is kind of trying to have it both ways, which is a little troubling.

So, it's been a while since I watched Agent Carter, but I thought Peggy and Daniel more or less ended up together? Here's the thing... I can't tell if this is part of the Endgame time-line where Steve went back in time and behaved like a selfish ass, or if this is another timeline, where Peggy had a life without Steve. In either case, what's the situation with Daniel being all weirded out at the thought of Peggy being at the station? And people calling him "Peggy's old partner"? Did they drift apart? Have some sort of falling out? I am not about that. I wanted them to have happiness together, at least for a time.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Know Your Onions (7x02)

I'm definitely more on board with this week's episode than I was last week!

Cons:

Still no Fitz... I'm getting a little nervous about how little we know of Simmons and Fitz's time together before the time travel began. Here's my off-the-cuff guess that I hope is wrong. They lived a full life together, grew old, etc. etc. and then had to part ways. Simmons is actually an LMD so that the rest of the team doesn't know for some reason; her real body is somewhere else, and elderly woman - maybe even dead? I know I'm probably nowhere close to right, but I just had to put the theory out there so I can seem super smart if it turns out to be true. The point, really, is that I'm worried Fitz is hardly going to be in this season at all, and we won't really get to see Fitzsimmons live out any of their happily ever after. That would be a huge bummer.

I'm not super interested in May's story yet. I think I probably will be soon, but thus far it's a shrug from me.

Is that the last we'll see of Enoch? Is he just... stuck in the 1930's now with Koenig? That would also be a bummer.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The New Deal (7x01)

I hate to say it, but a lot of this stuff is just not that interesting to me. There are hints of the show that I once looked forward to eagerly, but for the most part I'm feeling a little bit... tired.

Cons:

So, there's a scale when it comes to characters coming back from the dead on TV shows. It can be done right, like in the case of Buffy, or can can be done lazily, as in the case with any character on The Vampire Diaries, or it can be done in a way that seems lazy but becomes the fabric of the show and part of the larger point, like, arguably, in Supernatural. Coulson's resurrection... I'm sorry, but I'm putting it firmly on the "lazy" side of things. His death at the end of Season Five was one of the most beautiful main character deaths I can remember seeing on a show. It was appropriate within the tone and the narrative, it had a good buildup, there was a sense of inevitability and yet up until the very end, you were watching still hoping for a miracle that would save the day after all.

And then he was back as a villain for a season, and now he's just... back. Okay, sure, he's an LMD, and I'm sure they'll do some exploring with that. But Clark Gregg just... being here, being all Coulson-ish, kind of erases the impact of that beautiful death two seasons back, doesn't it? The show isn't really getting a chance to explore a new dynamic, because the gang's all here.

Outlander: Never My Love (5x12)

I... Have... Issues.

Cons:

I don't want to blame the show-runners too much for the story-line with Claire, as it is lifted straight from the books. But do you know what occurred to me as I was watching this? The rape was actually completely unnecessary to the story. Like - seriously. Change nothing else. Show Claire being beaten and bloody and tied up, and it's awful and it's hard to watch and the performance is raw and honest and all that jazz.

But why rape? Why rape again? We've already had a story-line about Jamie being raped, and a story-line about Brianna being raped. At some point it's just torture porn. And the fact that she is sexually assaulted makes Jamie and the other men's journey feel like this really gross macho revenge fantasy. Again, I know this is all lifted straight from the books. And let me tell ya - it's one of my least favorite things in the books, too.

Westworld: Crisis Theory (3x08)

This season of Westworld was not very good. After watching this finale, I'm left with a rather empty feeling.

Cons:

So, all along, Dolores was trying to save humanity, because humans taught her the good and beautiful things about the world, not just the dark, broken ones. She wanted to give Caleb, and other humans, the gift of free will, breaking them free of the super computer or whatever. This theme of free will is so basic and so cheesy that even Supernatural does it better. I felt like rolling my eyes during Dolores and Maeve's final conversation.

I just... don't care about these characters and their relationship. There's a moment when Bernard and Stubbs are having something of a heart-to-heart, and I actually think both actors are doing a good job of imbuing the relationship with a lot of meaning and grudging affection. But the story itself has not earned this. We haven't seen them together as friends, we haven't been given a chance to really sink in to their dynamic.

Outlander: Journeycake (5x11)

I... have some problems, y'all.

Cons:

I'm not even going to sit here and talk about all the things that are different between the book and the show, because I actually think plenty of the changes were for the good, here. But one thing I will say is that Roger, Brianna, and Jemmy leaving to go back through the stones felt incredibly unmotivated. I know they talked about it earlier in the season, and agreed that they would go through if it turned out Jemmy was able. But in the book, Brianna's daughter is sick and will die without a surgery that can only be performed in the future. They all have to go. Here, the reason is a lot more nebulous, and I kept thinking - what's your actual hurry? What is your reasoning for leaving now? The war coming? Yeah, I mean I get that, but still. Bonnet is dead, there's no immediate, personal threat... it just felt like they decided to leave because the narrative needed them to decide that.

The way the story is changing, I'm starting to wonder if season six might be the final season of Outlander. They're taking some big shortcuts, changing some big elements, and it feels like they're wrapping things up instead of expanding for future developments. I'm... oddly okay with that, but it does make certain existing moments in the story feel underrepresented.

Westworld: Passed Pawn (3x07)

Hey so guess who doesn't care about Westworld? Me, apparently. I swear I watched this whole episode with my eyes glazed over.

Cons:

So I guess Caleb was part of Serac's plans? This doesn't work as a big reveal like the episode wanted it to be, because... kind of... duh? We knew he was an important cog in the machine, we knew he was having memory lapses, we knew every human was being monitored and controlled. So we see that Caleb killed his friend, the one he has been mourning all this time, because his friend was going to kill him. We see how he was used as an assassin after the war. I don't know, it all rang kind of hollow for me. I think because I don't know Caleb as anything other than a pawn. He was a pawn when we met him, and I was vaguely interested in finding out more, but now here we are and I just can't access the visceral horror I think I'm meant to feel.

Outlander: Mercy Shall Follow Me (5x10)

I am of two minds about a lot of things in this episode, and we should probably just dive straight in.

Cons:

I am profoundly grateful for the way the Stephen Bonnet story has been streamlined in the show, as it stretches on into the sixth book in the novel versions. Bonnet is not a fun character to spend time around. He's... well, Black Jack Randall was so chillingly evil that he was interesting to watch. Bonnet never achieves that level of evil, or at least he does not do so consistently.

My biggest problem with Bonnet here is that he is shown to be unhinged, to have some sort of damage in his heart, to want more out of life. There were moments, when Brianna was teaching him how to eat properly, or when he was reacting to the ending of Moby Dick, where he took on a sort of child-like aspect. I was seriously not a fan of any of this. It was like they were trying to give him some pathos, to make us think maybe he really did care about making a family with Brianna and Jemmy. When in fact, it would have worked just as well for his motivation to be purely monetary, as he tries to get his hands on River Run.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Lights Out (7x13)

I can't believe we've reached the end of the season so soon! The weirdness of the world has really distorted my sense of time and reality, let me tell ya...

Cons:

There isn't a lot that I'd truly complain about in this episode, but there was quite a bit that just had me... shrugging. For example, Rosa helping Amy during her labor was funny, but not super funny. And Hitchcock and Scully's food obsession fell pretty flat; we've seen it all before at this point! These are not things I hated about the episode, they're just things I felt sort of neutral on.

Also, as this is the finale, I feel like now's a good time to discuss the pacing of the season overall. I gotta be honest - it felt rushed. Early on, I assumed that Holt's demotion was going to give us an opportunity to introduce some new faces to the crew, to play with different dynamics as various folks came in as temporary captains. But no. We got that once, and then it was just Terry, and then Holt was back, with very little fanfare. The same can be said of Amy and Jake becoming parents. We saw that they were having a hard time getting pregnant, then suddenly Amy was pregnant, and before I knew it, here we were, and she'd given birth to her baby. It didn't allow for a lot in the way of interesting stories to be told with regards to their impending big life change.

Westworld: Decoherence (3x06)

Parts of this episode had me saying oh damn, and other parts had me yawning.

Cons:

The yawning parts were William's therapy sessions with other versions of... himself? This felt like a less interesting, more sloppy way of examining the same ground we already covered with his character. I loved the ambiguity of where we last left him. Institutionalized, taunted by Dolores, alone but constantly haunted. And here I felt like we just got more of the same. William doesn't really... fit with the bigger story being told, and I felt his presence here like an intrusion, in a way I don't think I was meant to.

Also, I just want to point out... we're six episodes in. There are only two more episodes of the season, and I for one feel like I'm just starting to get a sense of some of the key players and their motivations. It's a lasting problem with Westworld, but one I did want to highlight here. There's just too much going on!

Outlander: Monsters and Heroes (5x09)

This episode was chalk-full of so many adorable character moments!

Cons:

The main thing that got short shrift here was the killing of the buffalo. I don't care if the details are changed - I don't really remember the exact way it went down in the book anyway. What mostly annoyed me was that I didn't get a sense of what a big deal it really was, for them to snag a buffalo kill. Other things are going on - Jamie is on the verge of death, Marsali is having her baby... but I remember in the book, it was a huge deal that they managed to kill a buffalo. It could feed so many people. I wish that moment hadn't felt so out of the blue. It was disconnected from the rest of the story in a way that felt very... episodic? And sometimes that's how the story is, but it might have been better to either keep this part out, or shift it to another moment so we could give it the full narrative weight it deserves.

I understand tightening the pacing in order to create drama, but I was a little annoyed at Brianna running in at the very last possible second with her syringe, preventing Claire from amputating Jamie's leg. I never got the sense from reading the same part in the book that it was such a stark either/or situation here. Basically, if I recall correctly, Claire essentially opens up Jamie to the bone and pours penicillin mixture deep into the tissue, and then also injects it, all with the understanding that if it fails, they might still have to amputate. Here, it was presented like Brianna had come up with a miracle fix on the spot, and I didn't like the unnecessary heightened drama of that.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Ransom (7x12)

This episode was great! So much fun on every level.

Cons:

My bleeding heart wanted just a hint of Holt and Kevin being worried about Jake, though. The comedy of them both caring so deeply for their dog works really well, but there was a moment, after Cheddar has been returned to them, that I thought maybe they'd start panicking about Jake, too. When Holt beats up the bad guy, it appears to be entirely for Cheddar's sake, without even a hint that he'd been concerned for his friend and colleague being kidnapped. I could have used just a hint of feelings here, even though I understand that's not really what the episode was about.

The fumigation cold open with Hitchcock and Scully was perfectly fine, but it sort of felt like it was just there to give those two characters something to do in the episode, as it connected with nothing else going on. It felt odd and disjointed, like it could have been plopped down anywhere without consequence.

Westworld: Genre (3x05)

Hey, so Animal Crossing has consumed my life the past couple of days now that I finally have a Switch... which is my way of saying that I was definitely playing it while I watched this episode and I may or may not have any freakin' idea what actually happened.

Cons:

Just looking at the broad strokes, though, I wasn't a big fan of Serac's backstory, with his genius brother and the crazy all-seeing computer thing. The thing is... I want to care about Serac and his brother. I want to feel the tragedy inherent in Serac's monstrous decisions to run experiments on his own family member, but the whole thing is so high-concept and artsy that the humanity of it gets lost.

Caleb spends the episode high, but in my opinion it doesn't really add much to the episode? I'm not sure why the choice was made to name the episode after this aspect of it. And my god, that ending moment when Caleb thinks he's still hallucinating but it turns out people have returned to their "base natures" because Dolores has revealed how they will all die... yikes. This show purports to be deep, but that felt like some pretty hokey stuff to me. You're saying that the minute human beings get a text message announcing how they will eventually die, they'll just revert to beating each other up like it's the Purge or something? Puh-lease.

Outlander: Famous Last Words (5x08)

Ian! Oh boy oh boy. Let's dive in to this episode.

Cons:

Once again, I don't give a shit about Jocasta and Murtagh's romance, so seeing her grieving for Murtagh didn't really move me. This was an episode filled with grief and trauma from all angles, so it seemed kind of rushed, to include these little snippets of Jocasta, and not have the chance to linger on Jamie and Claire's grief instead. Since this episode covers months of time, it seems like our grief for Murtagh sort of happened off-screen. That's a bummer.

I liked Ian's return here, but I do wonder if his plot thread is going to replace (SPOILERS) the Fergus and Jamie story from the books? I hope not. That would make me a little sad.

While I'm not necessarily in to the medical grossness and disturbing visuals, I did think it was a bit of a bad choice to skip out on the immediate aftermath of Roger's near-death. That was such a viscerally intense moment in the books, and we flashed past it using the  "silent movie" method, which was... cool, I guess, but what it replaced was something I really did want to see.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Valloweaster (7x11)

Another twist on a heist! I love that they keep finding ways to make this fun.

Cons:

At the very start of the episode, when Amy was wearing a pumpkin costume, it was another meta reference to hiding her real-life pregnancy when Amy the character is not supposed to be pregnant yet. But because it was the very start of the episode, I got confused because I didn't realize we were in a flashback? This was probably me looking away from the screen at the wrong time or something, but I do aim to be thorough in my reporting so I thought I'd mention it. ;)

It was nice to see Cheddar in this episode, but I missed seeing Kevin, and I was kind of hoping Gina would make a surprise reappearance at some point. This is just wishing for what I can't have, so it's probably not fair to mark it down in the "cons" section, but honestly, I miss those guys.

Grey's Anatomy: Put on a Happy Face (16x21)

Teddy is the worst!

Cons:

Okay, obviously this was not initially intended to be the finale, so I shouldn't be too harsh on some of the dropped plot threads. Things were more or less wrapped up, but this doesn't feel like the kind of episode you bow out on, you know? You would think we'd have a bit more information on what's going on with DeLuca. You'd think we'd see Amelia and Link name the baby. You'd think Richard and Catherine would have it out. You'd think Owen and Teddy would confront each other. As it stands, so many things are one step away from the climactic moment of the plot thread.

Also, I'm glad Richard is okay, but I'll admit I was surprised by how quickly this whole thing with him losing his mind got resolved. I figured that once they'd figured out what was wrong, maybe after the surgery there would be some time where they had to wait for the poison to get out of his system or something. But no, he wakes up and he's his old self again. I also feel like this kind of erases some of the compelling story beats where he was trying to get ready to say goodbye to his time as a surgeon due to his tremor. Is he just going to be back to surgery in no time?

Modern Family: Finale (11x17/18)

My eyes are totally dry, and I'm betting the show-runners wanted me to be crying. I didn't hate this finale. Hating it would require me to feel deep emotions, and I... don't.

Cons:

Gosh, I don't know, watching this hour-long finale just got me thinking about how I would have restructured this season. Turns out, Cam and Mitchell are moving to Missouri after all. Okay, cool. Why cram that in to the finale and not let it build over several episodes? Same with all three Dunphy kids suddenly moving out of the house. This finale introduced the idea that Alex had moved back in because she took a lower-paying job, then set up how chaotic the house is with so many people, and then had everyone start leaving. Why has this not been going on for multiple episodes? Why was Alex once again so underutilized all season, only to be crammed in to these final minutes like this?

Some of the characters' endings felt technically thematically appropriate, but also out of the blue at the same time. Luke got into college and is moving to Oregon. Cool? If only I could have been on the journey with him, as he submitted applications, as he made decisions about where he wanted to end up. Instead, this feels completely out of nowhere. Manny is taking a big trip to see the world. That feels appropriate for him because of how sheltered he has become, but it's also sort of a lesson we already learned with his character.

Schitt's Creek: Happy Ending (6x14)

Y'all when I tell you I cried... gosh. This was just so perfect and lovely, and it's exactly what I want to be feeling after watching a finale of a show like this. Gorgeous.

Cons:

I honestly... don't really have any? I guess maybe it felt like Roland and Jocelyn and Twyla got slightly short-changed by this finale, but that's a nitpick. The focus was where it was supposed to be.

Pros:

Where to even begin?? I love a show that can be cheesy without feeling over-wrought or unrealistic, and this finale hit that spot for me. You have all of the "I love you" moments between all of the family members. It might seem like a simple thing, but hearing Alexis tell her mother that she loves her, hearing Johnny and Moira say that to their kids, hearing Stevie say it as Johnny and Moira drive off... it's just so perfect and meaningful and sweet.

And Patrick and David's wedding... god, it means so much to have something like this, to have the finale of the whole show be centered around this wedding between these two men, to see the whole town rallying around them and supporting them. Sometimes I get annoyed that every sitcom wedding has to have some catastrophe, and when I heard that the venue was ruined because of the weather, I was prepared to roll my eyes. But this show is so absolutely amazing at taking a concept you'd think would be played out, and then adding to it, or contextualizing it, or just imbuing the characters within it with so much pathos and humanity, that I don't mind a cliche or two.