Summary: El leaves Terry's to look for her sister 008, a girl named Kali. She finds her in Illinois as a criminal getting revenge on the people who did bad things to her. Kali and El instantly bond and Kali helps El learn to use her anger as her power. El wants to help Kali but after seeing Hopper and Mike in trouble she decides to leave her group and head back to Hawkins.
The Good: This was a good episode for El. She had a nice character arc and went through a lot before making her final decision. Presumably she has more control of her powers now, which is an interesting development. Her bond with Kali was nice and I hope to see them meet again. It was good to get some continuation of the surprise season-opener with the introduction of Kali. She had a cool power and will likely play a role in the series later on. Perhaps in the season finale. The Bad: Unfortunately I really didn't like this episode. Now I'm fine if a show wants to do a bottle episode, but there are a few things that must happen for it to work. None of those things happened here. First, is the timing of the episode. For a bottle episode focused on a single storyline to work, it must come at a time where all other storylines have died down and become less interesting. Take the infamous episode "Fly" from Breaking Bad. This is an example of a great bottle episode and I will likely mention it several times. "Fly" came at a time where there wasn't a whole lot of exciting things going on in the show as it was transitioning from a huge midseason climax to the finale. Because of that there were no pressing matters and no major plotlines, thus making it the ideal time for a bottle episode. Now for this episode. El's storyline was NOT missed in the last episode as there was a load of excitement going on. The last episode ended with a wonderful cliffhanger that promised action and tension right from the get go in the next episode. What happens then? We are treated to an hour with a character we didn't miss while the important storyline gets absolutely no screen time. This episode was not at all timed well, and rather it killed any momentum the show had going off of the previous cliffhanger. This is the opposite of the masterful timing in "Fly". Breaking Bad fans will understand this comparison, but the jarring nature of this episode would be like if we got a bottle episode focusing on Hank in between "Half Measures" and "Full Measure" in season three. It simply doesn't work. The next factor is El's character arc. I know her real name is Jane, but I'm not going to start using it unless it is confirmed that it will be used in the show by all characters instead of El. Anyways, regarding E's character, it didn't go anywhere interesting that warranted an entire episode dedicated to it. Had El been forced to choose between seeing her sister and saving Mike, obviously she would go to Mike based on who she is. It's not like she changed at all in this episode, but rather the show put so much nothing into this episode to make it seem like El has changed and gone through a transformation. But she didn't. She teased sticking with her sister, but she never made up her mind about it. There was no change, just a short conflict which would have had the same impact had it been given just 5 minutes of build up. Too much time was wasted on this "character arc" that El had, which honestly should have been so much shorter. But I can already here the counter-argument saying that this episode was an episode exploring El's character. But it really isn't. What do we know about El now that we didn't know beforehand? Nothing. She behaved as we expected and did what we expected. This was just a whole lot of nothing for her. Just a single choice she made. To compare to "Fly" again, that episode showed a proper character examination that revealed things we didn't know. Walter White was too busy posing as a threatening kingpin for us to know exactly what was going on in his head, but "Fly" let us know how he is doing mentally, while also showing us where his relationship with Jesse currently stands. That episode had purpose despite being a bottle episode, whereas this one accomplished very little. This episode only accomplished one thing: establish a bunch of characters who are annoying and easily hateable. Kali was decent enough but the actress has done a terrible job and I struggle to truly care for the character. Everyone else was just annoying and didn't leave any impact. Even if these characters are used later on, I won't be glad to see them since they are really annoying. I'm displeased that the season opening scene built to this. Worse yet though, is if these characters don't return. Then the ENTIRE episode is given no purpose whatsoever and ends up becoming a total waste of space. The Unknown: While Kali's group return? What will their role be? Is Dr. Brenner still alive somehow? If he is, it better have a good explanation. Best Moment: Tough to pick since not much was enjoyable. Probably El saying that she is going home at the end of the episode. It was something of a catharsis for what was a pretty nothing plot line. Character of the Episode: El. Conclusion: The Duffer Brothers have impressed me in a lot of aspects, but bottle episodes is not one of them. This felt like a waste of time, which should have been spent elsewhere. This episode won't have a negative effect on the story overall thankfully, but it does feel like a real waste of my time and definitely hurts the narrative flow of the season. This needed to have more purpose to be justified, but since it didn't, I'm left wondering why this episode even happened. Score: 43
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Summary: Nancy and Jonathan finally get together. Dustin and Steve team up to take out Dart. Lucas gets Max to believe him and they go to help Dustin and Steve. They are confronted by Dart, but he has brought other monster friends. The group is spared when the monsters leave. Will's condition worsens but he finds a way to defeat the shadow monster. The lab people send the soldiers into the vines, but it's a trap and the small monsters kill them.
The Good: This was another strong and fun episode. I really enjoyed Dustin and Steve together. They had funny interactions and seeing them talk about girls felt pretty fun and real. I care more about their relationship through these short funny scenes, and I think that's a big success for the show. Lucas and Max were good too, though not quite on the same level. I was happy to finally get some backstory on Max and more insight on her character. Her chemistry with Lucas is nothing special, but it's fine for what it is. The four characters interacting together was fun since we haven't seen much from these 4 together at all. The actual monster attack scene was very tense and there was a real threat with Steve being out in the open with monsters closing in. The scene was shot very well and the feeling of dread was conveyed extremely well with use of atmosphere, music and setting. Hopper apologizing to El was another strong emotional scene. It's good to see him feeling regretful about what happened between them and wanting for her to stay safe. There were some major flaws with this though, which took away from what should have been a beautiful scene (see: The Bad). Nancy and Jonathan had a decent enough storyline. It was filmed well as always and Murray was excellent as a comedic shrink-esque personality that pushed them to be together. He made some good comedy and helped push the plot forward in rather organic fashion. Will's story was very tense too as we get to see his deteriorating condition. It was easy to root for the lab people to come up with a cure to stop Will from becoming lost. The ending twist was awesome and I'm glad to say that it caught me by surprise. I thought the show had just pulled a Deus Ex Machina out of nowhere and I was prepared to rant about it, but when the real story became clear, I was impressed and gripped with tension to see what happens. The arrival of the dog monsters was a fantastic cliff-hanger and really leaves me reeling for the next episode. I'm very excited to see what comes to play in the last 3 episodes. The Bad: There were a few glaring issues with the episode though. Where did the many slug monsters come from? It was awfully convenient to see so many show up without any explanation from where they came from. Will only ever coughed up one of them so why are the others? It seems like a silly plot error. I wasn't happy with Steve putting himself in danger either. he was quick to jump to conclusions that the monster was tired of beef. What kind of reason is that? It's stupid, and if Steve can think of that so quickly, why wouldn't he have taken pre-emptive measures to ensure that there were other ways to prevent the plan from going wrong? The writing was very illogical here in order to put Steve in danger. I wasn't happy with Dustin's motivation for keeping Dart either. Apparently the whole time he was doing it to impress Max. WHAT??? That doesn't fit anything we have seen from this character at all. He obviously has an attraction towards her but it was never hinted to be at this extreme level that he would endanger everyone by keeping Dart just for a girl. And she was scared by it too, so he shouldn't have motivation to keep Dart after that. It was just a whole lot of stupid. It would have been much better to keep the reasoning that Dustin found him and as such felt responsible for him. Speaking of Max, there is set-up for a love triangle now after this episode. Ugh, love triangles are rarely a good thing in TV shows and a love triangle between 3 kids seems like a recipe for disaster. I am not looking forward to seeing more of that storyline. It also doesn't help that I really don't care about Max all that much, so I can't buy 2 kids being so in love with her. Hopper's apology to El had some problems. It implied that he really cared about her, but we needed to see more kindness from Hopper to know that he really does care. Also, the apology felt meaningless since he then proceeded to forget about El for the rest of the episode and go on with his life. The character accomplished nothing by apologizing. If the writers wanted to go for a heartfelt scene like that, they needed to have Hopper decide to leave Will to go see El. But he didn't, so in my eyes this apology essentially accomplished nothing to redeem Hopper. The Unknown: What is going to happen to Will when he is lost? Will the dog monsters take over the lab? Will they spread into Hawkins too and become public knowledge? Best Moment: Take your pick of any scene between Steve and Dustin, barring Dustin's ridiculous reasoning of why he kept Dart. Character of the Episode: Steve this time for being consistently funny and likeable. Conclusion: This was another strong episode that provided a lot of climactic scenes. However the usual writing errors took away from the overall impact of the episode. Score: 64 Summary: Dustin captures Dart and puts him in the cellar. Mike goes to Will's place and joins in with the plan. Hopper gets trapped in the vines and Will sees him. He goes with Joyce, Bob and Mike to save Hopper. The lab people arrive and burn the vines, which has a very big effect on Will. Nancy and Jonathan meet with Murray with a plan to shut down Hawkins lab. El goes to meet Jane and discovers what happened to her in the past.
The Good: This had more decent story continuity. Dustin was a highlight once more as he worked to keep Dart under control. The scene when he drew out Dart was extremely tense and had a very exciting and funny ending when Dustin smashes Dart into the cellar with a hockey stick. It was a fun little scene to watch and was easy to enjoy on the surface, despite its flaws (see: The Bad). This is mostly due to Dustin's charm which kept him likeable. His team up with Steve was also a welcome surprise and I'm interested to see where it goes. Will and Mike continue to work well together. Will has been spectacular this season and his scenes with Mike have been really enjoyable to watch. I like the scenes with him trying to piece thins together while under pressure, and the Bob storyline was also a good inclusion on the basic level, though it had issues (see: The Bad). Nancy and Jonathan working with Murray was nice too. I had almost forgotten about him, but I'm glad to see him again. I am excited to see where the story goes as it is the biggest unknown for me in the show right now. Lucas and Max's story was fine for what it was. Max has been extremely bland so far which takes away from it, but Lucas was at least likeable so I was somewhat into the storyline. I won't call it bad, but it wasn't particularly good either. El meeting Terry again was nice. It was sweet to some level and it felt like a long time coming. El learning the truth about what happened to Terry was very sad and a very good reveal too. It was great to get some meaning to the words she always repeats. The flashback sequence was a brilliant little short story showing the tragic fate of a character. The Bad: This episode had a few major issues plaguing it. Hopper was completely idiotic at the start of the episode. I had assumed that he would go back out and tell somebody what he found while coming back with some protection because the vines were obviously some foreign substance. But he didn't do that and stupidly poked his face around. He deserved to get what was coming to him. Why he didn't tell Joyce about what he realized in the last episode is utterly beyond me. That storyline had other problems too. How is Will able to make a perfectly to scale map inside of his house and how can they measure the distance properly, especially with some drawings on the wall. It's pretty convenient and Bob realizing it was a map was even more convenient. Nobody is that smart. I also didn't like that Bob just dropped his serious conversation with Joyce upon making connections with the map. It was pretty stupidly written honesty. And why on earth would all of them go into the vines without protection like Hopper? They had time to get something to protect themselves at least. The Nancy and Jonathan as a couple conflict felt forced and inorganic. It did nothing for me. The Unknown: Will people believe Nancy's story? Who will it be told to? Why did the lab people conveniently show up? Did they detect Hopper or something? Or did they follow Joyce's car, which would make little sense since Hopper went there before them. Why did they burn the vines? Surely they would have tried to get the people out first. And why would Will and Mike just stand there and let them do it? What is their motive for doing this? Were they aware of the vines or did they just notice them and blast them with fire? Why did that effect Will? What is his connection to the vines exactly? So many questions, I really hope they are answered in the next episode. Best Moment: The Terry flashback was wonderful and told a brilliant story in a short amount of time. Character of the Episode: I'll pick Dustin again for being so damn charming. Conclusion: This was a weaker episode of Stranger Things. There were writing flaws, and the story wasn't as exciting as the last episode. Hopefully things pick up again next episode. Score: 57 Summary: Hopper and El have a fight when El returns home. Hopper leaves when Joyce calls him leaving El alone. El discovers the identity of her mother in some old files. Will is still in the real world but has been infected by the shadow monster. Joyce and Hopper try to find out what's wrong. Hopper discovers that vines are growing underground, spreading from Hawkins lab, which are killing the plants. Nancy tricks the lab people into revealing their mistakes on audiotape in an attempt to shut them down. Dart has begun growing into a Demogorgon.
The Good: This was a very good episode of Stranger Things. Last episode may have just been a minor hiccup as the storylines felt fresh in this episode, having diverged from season 1 as I had hoped. I'm happy to see that the writers understand that the show needs to change and they are doing a decent job of telling a different story even if it does borrow some elements from season 1. The standout this episode was the Will and Joyce storyline. I loved seeing Will open up and let out his emotions. Season 2 has given us more scenes like this and I think that is the reason it has felt much more powerful than season 1. But on top of that the storyline has a lot of tension because we have no idea what is happening to Will and what is going to happen to him. Every new detail we learn has massive implications and ratchets up the excitement and tension. I'm very happy that we have gone with this approach, as it has proven to be extremely exciting and much more original than simply having Will be taken again. I thought for sure that we had seen Will's kidnapping last episode, so I was expecting him to have vanished again, but when he was found in the field, I was overjoyed and glad that the story is changing things up. The El and Hopper story was a standout. I'm glad that the emotional scene between them was a fight because their relationship has been set up as an extremely strained one. The fight was very tense and felt like a very logical place for that story to go, and because of that I liked it. This was also followed up with a fantastic scene where El gets to see her mother for the first time, which was another one of those great emotional scenes. Hopper on the other hand, joined with Joyce again which was very good and got some key details revolving his dead crop storyline. That storyline always felt like a background detail, so I'm glad that it was brought into the main plot the way it was. Nancy and Jonathan's storyline was enjoyable too. There was a lot of tension and it was great to learn more about the lab people and what they are doing, even if we can't trust their word (see: The Unknown). It was a good plot and the reveal that Nancy has played them was good and has my curiosity piqued for what happens next. For a show that is almost always predictable, that was a rare twist that has me genuinely intrigued to find out where the story goes next. The Bad: Of course Nancy's trick doesn't feel real. She relies too much on luck. I don't buy that she can figure out that the lab people have her phones wiretapped because she hasn't been established as such a clever person. Her plan also goes to hell if the lab people would search her bag, which they really should have done. If they are careful enough to listen in on her calls, surely they should be careful enough to make sure she isn't carrying anything bad. Max and Billy haven't been good. They were interesting at first, but their minimal screen time has made me lose that interest and they just seem to be taking up space and forcing conflicts for Lucas and Steve who are otherwise doing absolutely nothing. I don't like their characters either, so it feels annoying. Max's conflict with the party will obviously end with her learning the truth about Will so there is no tension there either. Are we just supposed to assume that Dustin's mom can't hear the loud screeching from Dart in his room? Or the glass breaking? That feels like very sloppy writing. The Unknown: What has happened to Will? What will happen to him in time? Will he still have episodes? What was going on with his eyes? The vines are every interesting. How are they being formed? Does it tie in with the lab's experiments? Or is it the monster? Could the monster have been created or at least summoned by the lab? Is Dr. Owens telling the truth? Is he actually a good person trying to fix things? That could mean that Nancy's actions may actually do way more damage than they do good. Or are they just bad guys trying to cover their tracks? I believe that would be much less interesting, but it is still likely. So Dart is a baby Demogorgon which is very interesting. Will he have an attachment to Dustin? Will Dustin be able to let him go? Surely he would because the thing is a monster. How will the others react to Dustin preserving Dart? How will Dustin explain it? There are so many questions regarding that cliffhanger. Best Moment: Will opening up to Joyce was great. This season has done a superb job of demonstrating PTSD in a child, and it has produced a lot of emotional scenes like this one. Character of the Episode: Will for being excellent in showing the change in the character. Conclusion: A very good episode which is my favourite thus far. There was emotion and tension with less flaws than there usually are. This was a great follow up to restore my faith in the story. Score: 67 Summary: Ross goes on his first date in 10 years but messes it up when Carol arrives and he spends more time talking to her than his actual date. Chandler goes on a double date with Joey only to find that his date is Janice. They both get drunk and have sex to Chandler's dismay and Chandler is forced to dump her again. Rachel, Phoebe and Monica have a boyfriend bonfire in an attempt to get better guys in their life, but it goes wrong and starts a fire.
The Good: I thought this was a fantastic episode of Friends. This is the kind of episode that may get forgotten in the shuffle, but it is funny, memorable, emotional and superbly written. This is comedy at its absolute best. The thing that I love is how all 3 storylines make sense and have a really great story to them. Chandler and Ross in particular go through some excellent arcs in this episode that really add on some emotion o the episode. And yet the episode is also able to be one of the show's funniest on top of these stories which is no mean feat. It made me feel something while making me laugh hard throughout the whole episode. Now to be more specific, I enjoyed Chandler's story the most. Janice's return was capitalized on much more here than in "The One with the Monkey" and led to a myriad of funny jokes while also letting Chandler get a good story arc revolving around his relationship with Janice. The best thing about this is that they had a lot of serious scenes which were also infused with comedy, making them both funny and also emotional at the same time. Ross' scenes were similarly good, though not quite as successful. His storyline was the most satisfying storywise but it wasn't as funny as the others. The girls also had a fun little background story, providing the odd laugh as they attempt to improve their love lives in ridiculous fashion. The Bad: Nothing. Best Moment: I'll pick Chandler breaking up with Janice. Janice was given a good character arc and Chandler's insecurity was highlighted brilliantly while the scene kept up with a lot of laughs all the way through. Character of the Episode: Chandler. Conclusion: A spectacular episode, which is the best the show has offered so far. This season is mostly remembered for "The One with the Blackout", but I honestly think this was better and more enjoyable. This is how you do a comedy episode. Score: 88 Summary: Dustin finds a mysterious tadpole-creature and grows attached to it. He shows it to the others and Will recognizes it as the slug he coughed up. Will gets in another episode and confronts the monster but it doesn't go well. Nancy calls Barb's parents and wants to tell them the truth but the lab people listen in to her conversation. Hopper suspects the lab people are responsible for the dead crops. El escapes and goes to school to find Mike but leaves after she sees him with Max. Joyce sees the monster in a video and goes to look for Will.
The Good: This was another solid episode, though some problems are popping up (see: The Bad). I enjoyed Dustin's pollywog storyline a lot. That is currently the biggest mystery of the show and I was surprised by it. Dustin was very fun as always and he had some very funny moments and his love for the pollywog felt very real. He's a nerdy kid who just made a big discovery by himself, so of course he doesn't want to see anything done to it. The other kids' fears were also realistic though and I'm happy that Will recognized it right away and quickly got afraid that he had produced the pollywog. This storyline had all the chances to be conveniently written with characters behaving in forced ways, but the writing was top-notch and everything felt real. This is probably my favourite storyline in the entire series thus far. I also really liked how Will's story went. It had some good writing in getting Bob to give some advice, which he thinks is the right thing to do. But of course we know better and that advice may have just done something terrible to Will. We will have to see what consequences will come to Bob in future episodes. The last scene itself was very tense and gave us a great cliff-hanger going into episode 4. These 2 storylines also provided some brilliant tension to keep me on the edge of my seat as I never knew what to expect would happen next in most cases. The use of tension is refreshing and a lot of scenes had me really clamouring to see more. This show is regarded to be extremely bingeable, and this episode helped prove that it is still a true fact despite the slower pacing of the first 2 episodes. El's flashbacks with Hopper were enjoyable too. It was good to see the story go full circle so we can understand everything about El and Hopper. If there is some kind of emotional payoff that will be attempted down the road, the seeds have been sown here for it to have at least a little bit of impact. Though I do feel we still need to get a bit more from Hopper and El's relationship. There were some other developments that I really enjoyed. I'm glad that Joyce discovered the monster was real and I'm happy to see her being continuously worried for Will as expected. Hopper suspecting the lab people was nice too. I enjoyed Nancy and Jonathan working together again and their joint decision to call Barb's parents felt like a logical decision which will undoubtedly have some major consequences. El leaving was also handled well and I enjoyed her finding her way to the school. I'm not sure what to make of her being jealous of Max, but it's something different so I won't call it bad. The character writing on this show is good so I have faith that it should go somewhere rewarding. I was happy to see more explanation as to what happened to Will. We needed to get that earlier but better late than never. The Bad: There were some small things I didn't like. Though Dustin's story was fun, there were some problems. A lot of the jokes felt familiar (especially the curiosity one) and him just stealing the library books did not feel at all real. I wasn't a fan of El clearly using her powers in front of other people as she should know better than that by now. This was my least favourite episode of the season for sure. Why? Because it undid everything the last 2 episodes did at being unpredictable. I felt confident that we would go a different route this season, but what happened in this episode? So many familiar plot lines that we have already seen before. There was the aforementioned curiosity joke being used twice but that was the least of the repetition problems. Will seems to have been kidnapped again by the monster and needs to be saved, Joyce is back to her panicked mom act, Hopper is suspicious of the lab people, Nancy and Jonathan team up after Nancy has issues with Steve, and somebody with a relationship to Joyce (in this case Bob) messes something up. This is all very familiar stuff an it is deeply unsatisfying to see the same story being told for a second time. I hope that things will diverge next episode but my hopes are dwindling. Max, Billy and the pollywog aside, this entire episode was nothing new whatsoever. And once more the series falls into problems with being clichéd and predictable. After Bob told Will his story, I knew that next time Will went to the Upside Down it would backfire on him. The lab people are obviously responsible for the dead crops, the kids will likely get into some conflict over a new member of the party (this time Max) and there will be some drama. There are many other small example of predictable storytelling and it is once more plaguing this show. The Unknown: A couple odd questions this time. What is the pollywog and how will it impact the story? What happened to Will at the end? Has he been taken again or will he still be fine, just traumatized? What is Billy and Max's relationship if they aren't siblings? Why are they together? Best Moment: Probably Dustin talking with his mom at the start of the episode. It was funny, charming, tense and unpredictable like most of the rest of the episode wasn't. Character of the Episode: Dustin again for being so damn awesome. Conclusion: Another solid episode, but this one has been plagued by some of the problems I was expecting to see in this season. It was still easy to enjoy, but by seeing so many familiar stories, it takes me out of the show a little. Hopefully we will get more of a divergence next episode. Score: 61 Summary: Dustin and Lucas finally work up the courage to talk to Max and they become friends. She is invited to join them for trick or treating. Nancy and Steve go to a party to help Nancy get over Barb. Nancy gets drunk and tells Steve she doesn't love him. Jonathan is supposed to take Will trick or treating but goes to the party instead, leaving Will with his friends. Jonathan takes Nancy back home. Will ahs another episode while trick or treating and talks to Mike about it. Hopper discovers that crops are mysteriously dying. El is upset when Hopper doesn't keep a promise and tries to contact Will. Dustin sees something in his trash can.
The Good: This was very good. Stranger Things is definitely improving this season. I liked that there were several emotional scenes this episode. Last season was fairly devoid of much emotion, but this season is giving a lot of attention to emotion. Several different story arcs for the characters culminated with emotional scenes in this episode, and it was really good. This level of storytelling is much more satisfying than what we have gotten before. I'll address each storyline individually. First of all, the Dustin/Lucas/Max plot. This was just as hilariously fun as it was last episode and the 2 idiots were hilarious as they struggled to interact with Max. It was nice to see the three become friends by the end though. Max has also become a lot more interesting after this episode (see: The Unknown). Next I'll take on Nancy's story this season, and it is a HUGE step up from the crappy teen drama stuff we got last season. The writing is vastly improved and it makes it easy to relate with both Steve and Nancy in their situation and by the end of the episode both come off as extremely likeable and it's sad to see what happened to them. Steve came off really well here and felt like a genuinely good person. Nancy on the other hand is traumatized by what happened to Barb, and rightfully so. It's emotional to see her suffering and gives her a much more gripping storyline to work with. And I think that the final break up scene worked very well because of this. Both characters' mindsets make sense and both are likeable and logical, so it's very saddening to see them finally give in to their problems and leave each other. The scene was written well and it worked on pretty much every level, showcasing the improved writing of this show. The Will storyline was excellent too. I loved the continuity when Jonathan let Will go on his own. It was simple storytelling for Jonathan to leave Will on his own since he doesn't want to treat Will like a freak. It was simple, it worked but it also set up for something to happen when Will is alone. The set up is obvious and it gave the episode some good tension to make us fear for Will. So when he finally zaps back into The Upside Down, it's expected that something will happen and the scene was very tense. But it's not the tension we close out on, rather we close out on a brilliant scene between Mike and Will where both of them get to open up to each other and talk about what happened. It didn't feel forced and surprisingly felt very real and emotional, so kudos to the writer for pulling that off. Lastly, I also enjoyed the El storyline. Her flashback at the beginning was good as it gave us some confirmation on what happened to her after she vanished. While I do have some problems with the story (see: The Bad), I enjoyed it overall. El comes off really well as somebody who is upset to be so alone all the time and her reaction to Hopper screwing up was understandable. It's also very interesting to see her trying to go back to Mike. Her seeing Mike was a pretty sweet scene to end off with too. The Ghostbusters sequence at the beginning was also great fun. Well done director. The Bad: I had some major reservations on El and Hopper's story to prevent it from reaching greatness. On Hopper's side, his story feels too similar to last season's which is a little annoying. I would hope for some change but it doesn't seem like I'll get it. From El's side, my main confusion comes from her travelling the world without the bathtub. How did she know to do that and why not just do that instead of the whole set up last season? It felt really convenient. The show also felt a bit too cliché with this storyline. It was obvious that Hopper would forget about El, so I wasn't surprised when he panicked since he forgot. I did get a laugh out of him getting candy from the kid though. I had some other problems too. I don't like the familiarity of another secret lab storyline. We have seen enough of that last season, I don't want any more. The man in charge also feels like a Dr. Brenner 2.0 on every level so I really don't care to see more of that. Joyce and Hopper reminiscing felt like a scene from season 1. We needed something like that a while back, not now. It also feels a little stupid that nobody else wore a costume on Halloween. That would never happen in real life. My biggest problem for sure though was Billy. He is obviously a villainous asshole, but I was really annoyed when he tried to MURDER INNOCENT CHILDREN. I don't care what situation he is in, how does murdering random kids help anything??? It would get him in serious trouble and felt like a completely childish and downright idiotic move. Nobody would actually do that, so it felt like a serious breach in my immersion. The Unknown: Is the lab getting power from the Upside Down? Does that have some connection with the new monster? Or the crops? Why are the crops destroyed? What caused it? What is the Monster and why does it make such a weird sound? What is its goal? Why is it in Hawkins? What did Dustin see at the end of the episode? What happened to Billy and Max? Who are they and what have they done? Why does Billy seem to blame Max for whatever happened? Why does she think he is responsible? And of course, what happened? Best Moment: I really liked Mike and will's conversation, so that takes it for me. Character of the Episode: I'll say Steve this time for being such a good dude throughout. Conclusion: The writing and storytelling has definitely improved this season, but that doesn't mean there aren't flaws. If these flaws can get ironed out, this show absolutely has the capability to reach new heights. This season is looking promising so far. Score: 64 Summary: The kids discover a mysterious girl named Max who just moved in and has taken the high score on the game Dig Dug at the arcade. Will has visions of a massive monster in a storm coming to Hawkins in the Upside Down. Joyce has a new boyfriend named Bob and he is liked by the family. Barb's parents have hired a crazy PI named Murray to help them find Barb. El has been living with Hopper to nobody's knowledge.
The Good: I thought this was a very strong premiere. I was skeptical that there wouldn't be more story to tell in this world, but the writers have introduced new characters, concepts and storylines that give me some optimism for this season. I was very glad to see that the story doesn't seem to be repeating itself again this season as I feared it might. This premiere has accomplished what a lot of shows don't think is important: change. Without change we wouldn't want to keep watching, but impressively that was understood here and this episode has brought some notable changes to the characters and storytelling. The 80s charm was introduced better here than I think it was in season 1 honestly. There were lots of references to 80s people, lots of 80s movie-esque scenes and of course the addition of the arcade also helped. But the best thing the show is doing, that it has been wildly successful with since the start, is it's doing a superb job of portraying kids. They remain so intensely likeable and foolish in a way that doesn't make them feel like stupid adults, but rather kids just goofing around. Nothing shows this better than their plan to figure out who Madmax is, and their scenes when they stalked Maxine were hilarious and yet felt very real at the same time. They were very well done. Another good thing about this episode is the follow up on what happened last season, though not everything was followed up on well (see: The Bad). Barb's death being so inconsequential was one of my biggest gripes last season so I'm glad we got to see her parents reacting to what happened and also it was nice to see Nancy struggling to get past her best friend's death. It was emotionally powerful stuff, of the kind that the show rarely touched upon last season. I also like the change in Will as he seems awkwardly quiet now and very to himself. It has created good dynamics between him and his family and I really enjoyed seeing that. His scene with Jonathan in particular was sweet and helped me warm up more to both characters. The comedy was top notch this episode too. There were a lot of funny moments throughout. Things that stood out where Dustin and his new teeth, Mike robbing Nancy and Murray accusing the Russians for everything that happened to El. The latter particularly amused me because it was a US creation, but naturally everyone just blames the Russians. The Bad: This episode still suffers from Stranger Things' biggest problem though: it's clichéd nature and predictability. However I am pleased to say that things were toned down in this episode, but still there. Of course we got a few twists but they were predictable. El and Hopper wasn't a surprise for me and I got the sense we were heading to that reveal at the end of the episode. Will being back in the Upside Down was a nice development (more on that in The Unknown), but it was obviously going to happen. At least there were few clichéd moments this time around. Bob seems to be a clichéd happy guy, but I do hope there is more to him than there seems to be. Will visiting the doctor was as clichéd of a "doctor tries to help but can't" scene as possible. I also wasn't very happy with Will talking about the Upside Down in such a clichéd way. There was some poor follow up on certain things last season. There needed to be more regarding Will returning to life in a miracle. How was that explained and why does nobody treat him any differently at school because of that? Also the zombie boy taunts just feel stupid. There also needed to be some follow up on the school killings by the monster. How were they explained and who was impacted by it? How did everyone just go back to being normal again? We needed to see that. The only worrying thing for me is that the characters' may not have anything different or new to do. Hopper's act of investigating is already starting to wear thin and the season only just started. I also hope we can see more from Joyce other than "worried mom" but it doesn't seem to be happening so far. The Unknown: Lots to put here. Who is 008? What is her history and how did she get to where she is? How will she factor into the overall story? I was very happy with the opening scene as it proved to me that there is more to this world that needs to be explored. But the question is what is it? Are there other experiments? How were they made? How did they get away? What are their individual powers? 008 clearly has different powers from El. Speaking of El, what happened to her after she vanished? How did she end up living with Hopper? Why does Will keep flashing back into the Upside Down? What is the storm he saw? Is it just another monster or something more? What is Max's story? Will she become part of the kids crew? How long have Joyce and Bob been together? What was the significance of the raven in the pumpkin field? What destroyed the pumpkins because it couldn't be Eugene. That would just be anticlimactic. What was in Dustin's trash can? Best Moment: The kids stalking Max was brilliant and felt pretty realistic for kids their age. Character of the Episode: Dustin for still being awesome. Conclusion: This was a really good premiere, despite the follow up issues it had. I had my doubts, but this season has the potential to be better than the first. If we get more quality like this than I would be happy with the decision to continue the series after season 1. Score: 65 Summary: Jimmy officially settles into Davis and Main and continues to do his job. Chuck still doesn't approve of Jimmy and there is some tension when he joins in on a Sandpiper meeting. Mike runs into Daniel and realizes the situation he got himself into. Mike makes a deal with Nacho to return the baseball cards in exchange for Daniel's Hummer and he agrees to the terms. Mike hires Jimmy to help exonerate Daniel from the police's eyes. Jimmy does this by making a fake video of Daniel performing "squat cobbler", but Kim doesn't approve of this as it's falsifying evidence.
The Good: This was another great episode of Better Call Saul which closes out one storyline and does a lot of set up for future episodes. There are a lot of conflicts and storylines to address in this episode, so I'll start with the big one that reached its conclusion in this episode: the Daniel story. In just 3 episodes of screentime, Daniel's character was clearly identified and he got a complete storyline that fit in with other major characters, offered tons of humour and set up for more storytelling down the road. It's very impressive and I'm beyond impressed that the writers pulled it off without the story ever feeling rushed or cramped for time. Every step was organic and the final scenes of this storyline closed it out very nicely and satisfyingly. I think Daniel's love for his baseball cards was hilarious and his idiocy brought loads of laughs, especially when he's dealing with somebody like Mike, who makes hilarious faces when dealing with Daniel's amateur nature. I also do like that Daniel's love for baseball cards got a little bit of backstory when he says some cards were his fathers; it's a brilliant little touch that makes the storyline feel a little more realistic. The actual conclusion as played out excellently throughout the episode. There was some tension when Mike was talking to Daniel since we don't know if Daniel will screw this up, but there was also tons of humour to ensure scenes stay lighthearted. This show isn't Breaking Bad and so far it has carefully avoided using tension so frequently to keep itself from being compared with Breaking Bad, the show which I believe has the greatest tension-based scenes of all time. Mike's plan came together nicely in his scene with Nacho too, a scene which I think was beautifully written and executed. The dialogue, situations and character behaviour felt so organic and the scene was pure joy to behold from a writing perspective. And then of course there was the amazing "squat cobbler" scene, but more on that later (see: Best Moment). I thought Daniel's final scene of giving up the Hummer was brilliant and Nacho calling it "a school bus for 60 year old pimps" had me laughing almost as much as the squat cobbler. So first I have examined a storyline that concluded, but it also brilliantly set up some other conflicts. The obvious one is a storyline of some kind between Mike and Nacho. I'm not sure when or how it will happen, but I'm positive that we can chalk in these two crossing paths again as Nacho is a series regular along with Mike. The other more interesting storyline that benefitted from this is Kim and Jimmy. We have seen how these 2 are officially a couple now, and we have a good understanding of these characters' morals. Jimmy's final conversation with Kim could potentially be hinting at how these 2 may ultimately end up tragically splitting: Jimmy will likely do something questionable and will pay the price for it, but Kim will get roped into it too, causing her to leave Jimmy. The seed has been planted in that last scene as we see the first of what will likely be many arguments between Jimmy and Kim about Jimmy's real nature. Another conflict that ties into that one is Jimmy at Davis and Main. To put it simply, Jimmy is evidently not as happy as he would like at Davis and Main. We can see him trying, because he wants Kim to be happy, but Bob Odenkirk has done a terrific job emoting Jimmy's displeasure at working there in several scenes with Kim and one great scene with Clifford Main. And we were brilliantly told that Kim vouched for Jimmy to get the job, so if he blows it like we all know he will, Kim would be in the heat too. By connecting the dots, it's possible that this will be the event that causes the break between Kim and Jimmy. And as a side note, I really enjoyed the metaphor of Jimmy not quite fitting in at Davis and Main when he can't get his lawyer mug to fit in the new office car, yet it fits in his junk yellow car (which will be sorely missed, I got quite attached to that piece of junk, much like with the RV in Breaking Bad). The final conflict that was examined was Chuck and Jimmy's. This was a bit of a surprise for me as Chuck hadn't appeared at all in the last episode, so I had assumed that he would be a background player. But after seeing that tense and brilliant meeting scene when Chuck walked in, it seems clear to me that there will be much more story to tell with the feelings shared between these 2 brothers. The opening scene was nice too as it reintroduced Chuck in a good way, showing us more of how Jimmy bothers him. The Bad: Nothing much really. Like last season, these episodes suffer from being slow and mostly set up. Though I really enjoy episodes like this, it's practically impossible to give episodes like these scores of 70 or higher since they are essentially just moving story arcs along for more memorable scenes later on. The Unknown: Could Jimmy assisting Mike by doing the squat cobbler story come back to haunt him later on? With this show, anything could return later on. Maybe we will see Daniel again too at a later point. Have we seen the starting hints of the Kim/Jimmy split in this episode. How long will it be until it happens? It seems possible that the end of this season could see the destruction of that relationship. Will Mike and Nacho cross paths again in the future? Best Moment: The squat cobbler scene. This is humour at its absolute finest as it gives us such an absurdly hilarious, yet still plausibly realistic story to explain Daniel's secret cubby. The cops reactions to Jimmy's claims was brilliant and felt realistic, which is the best part of the whole scene. Also, I loved how every detail just slowly added to the intense laughter I was giving off. A brilliantly executed comedy scene. Character of the Episode: Jimmy. Conclusion: This is another set up episode, but the comedy was on a whole other level which made his better than it should have been. This episode is proof that brilliant writing an storytelling can make any storyline in a TV show easily enjoyable. Season 2 is off to a strong start. Score: 69 Summary: Chandler accidentally sees Rachel's boobs and she plots to see him naked as revenge. Joey's dad comes to stay at Joey's place, but Joey finds out he's been cheating on his mother. Joey tells him to stop, but finds that it causes more problems than it solves. Phoebe has a new boyfriend, a psychologist named Roger but all of her friends totally hate him.
The Good: This was one of the best episodes yet. Hilarious from start to finish. The boobies storyline was great and made for consistent laughs throughout the episode as all characters were hilariously petty on trying to see each other naked. Every scene where one of the friends see the wrong person naked is hilarious with the final one with Joey's dad being the best off them all. The other storylines were very funny too. I loved Joey's story as he had to "parent the parent" in hilarious fashion. He had some great jokes with Chandler too as always and his general stupidity kept the plot funny. But more than that, it was a meaningful plot that let us learn more about Joey and feel something for him in the end. And through all that it was funny, which is perfect structure for a comedy episode. Phoebe's story was also well done and I loved seeing Roger slowly turn all of the friends against him by exposing their flaws. His interactions with everyone were very funny and felt very realistic since most people don't like looking at something true about themselves like that. The last scene was good too and helps us buy into the idea that Phoebe loves her friends since she dumps Roger as soon as he starts dumping all over them. The Bad: I suppose Roger's rage at the end was a bit unrealistic which took me out of the moment. It was still funny though, but flawed. Best Moment: Monica seeing Joey's dad naked and him just saying "hello dear" was hilarious and ended the episode on a perfect note. Character of the Episode: Joey for this one. Conclusion: A great episode that was structured very well and consisted of three very strong and funny storyline which never overshadowed each other. This is a comedy TV show at its best. Score: 81 Summary: A flashforward shows "Gene" working as a manager at Cinnabon. Jimmy initially considers working at Davis & Main but ultimately refuses and quits the law. Kim questions his decision and Jimmy introduces her to his life by having her help him with a con job. They enjoy it, but Kim has to go to work, leaving Jimmy feeling lonely. After some soul-searching, Jimmy accepts the job offer at Davis & Main. Pryce grows bold and buys a hummer prompting Mike to stop helping him. Without Mike's help, Pryce is easily ripped off by Nacho who robs his house. Pryce calls the cops for help and they immediately suspect him.
The Good: This was a very good, easy-to-enjoy premiere even if a whole lot didn't happen. I liked the decision to show a quick flashforward to Gene. It's an interesting decision that adds some intrigue (see: The Unknown), but it was fun to watch. The music and cinematography is great, like the last one, and I liked what the scene explored about Gene. Though it didn't accomplish much, we are learning more about Gene from these cold opens in the premieres. This simple conflict of Gene getting trapped lets us understand how much he has changed, as he is too afraid to take an emergency exit for fear of alerting the cops. The main Jimmy storyline was very good in this episode. Though I am a little disappointed to not have Saul right away this season (see: The Bad), I thought it was the right decision to keep Jimmy as Jimmy. Jimmy as a character has become really likeable and there is definitely a lot of story that can be taken out of him before he turns into Saul Goodman. It makes sense that Jimmy would have second thoughts and I like that his relationship with Kim is keeping him from being his eccentric self. Last season explored how Jimmy's relationship with Chuck kept him on the "right path" and it appears this season the same thing will be explored with Kim. But I'm sure there will be plenty of storyline twists to keep it interesting and not repetitive. It was nice to see hints of Saul though. The con scene for one was splendid and it was just as fun as any of the Jimmy/Marco cons we saw last season. Kim's involvement was also a welcome little tough, but more on her a little later. As for Kim in the con scene, her presence was good as it added some tension before relief when she decides to go along with it instead of giving Jimmy away. The scene was hilarious fun and I loved the decision to bring back the ever so potty-mouthed "Ken" from Breaking Bad. It was a good showcase scene for Jimmy slowly becoming Saul, along with the other club scenes and the hilarious cucumber water scene. That little bit had me laughing hard. Speaking of laughing hard, the Mike/Pryce/Nacho storyline was great in this episode. I was glad to see it get a fair amount of time and some very interesting headway was made into the plot. But first of all, it was very funny! Seeing Pryce (well Daniel actually since we learn that's his real name) pulling up in that cringey hummer was comedy gold and Mike's reaction was perfect. Daniel really stole the show with his hilarious lines and his blissful ignorance of the way the crime world works. His decision o call the cops about his precious baseball cards was hilariously stupid, but it fit with what we have seen of the character so far, so it didn't bother me in the slightest. It was nice to see Nacho ripping of Daniel, because we already know that he likes ripping off criminals due to having no recourse. It was a nice bit of continuity. Kim was splendid in the story too. It's great to see her get a more significant role after her being in the background for much of season 1. I presume we may get to learn more about her character soon, as we get to learn some more about her and her relationship with Jimmy here. From what I've seen, she seems very likeable and I definitely care about her relationship with Jimmy. It definitely adds an element of tragedy since we know that this relationship will be doomed in the end. Now I'll just hope that Kim can make her way out of this show without anything "final" happening to her. The ending scene was nice too. In just a couple minutes, the change is Jimmy's life was demonstrated and we got a good look at how Davis & Main works. The use of Jimmy's assistant Omar to help show how much better Jimmy's law career has gotten was brilliant as everything felt like an organic welcoming from him, while also serving as a way to show us the luxury that Jimmy is experiencing now. I also like the callback to the Cocobolo desk in "Bingo". The very last scene with the titular switch was very good too. Nice to see Jimmy exhibiting just a little bit of his inner Saul Goodman to let us know that he is still a different person from the Jimmy McGill we knew last season. The Bad: Not too much other than some nitpicks. It felt a little cheap to repeat the finale's last scene in a different light. It does improve the storytelling a little bit though, so I'm fine with it. It does hurt that we aren't getting Saul after it was seemingly promised with the last scene in "Marco". It feels like a cheap cop out for the writers to revert on that. The door in the Gene flashforward felt a little unrealistic and inconvenient, but I'm willing to overlook that for the storytelling we got in that scene. The Unknown: Will Better Call Saul also cover events post-Breaking Bad? The Gene scenes seem to hint at that which is very interesting. We know that Jimmy won't last at Davis & Main. What happens that causes him to branch off on his own again? How is Jimmy's relationship with Kim going to self-destruct? Best Moment: Nothing really stood out, but I thoroughly enjoyed Kim and Jimmy coning Ken. Character of the Episode: Jimmy as usual, though Daniel put up a good fight for being just so damn funny. Conclusion: This was a perfectly solid premiere that makes me want to see more. Score: 66 Summary: Paolo makes a pass at Phoebe who has to tell Rachel about it. Rachel dumps him. Ross tries to avoid learning the sex of his unborn baby, but ultimately learns that it's a boy. Joey and Chandler buy a new foosball table when their old table breaks. Monica cooks a dozen lasagnas but doesn't know what to do with them.
The Good: This was another very strong episode. There was one very strong plot development with Paolo exiting the show presumably and I think it was handled very well. It gave a nice character conflict for Phoebe who was very funny throughout the episode. Her scene with Rachel when she dropped the bomb was very well done and had laughs at all of the best times. A very well structured scene for the story. The follow up was good too as Rachel made the breakup official and the other friends saying their goodbyes to Paolo. Ross is particular had a great final moment when he closed the door on Paolo. The side stories were very good too. Ross stole the show with his storyline about his unborn child as always. His interactions with Susan and Carol are some of my favourite character interactions in the show; hilarious. Joey and Chandler were also pretty good in their story. Joey is suitably slow and Chandler gets a lot of funny lines. Competitive Monica was also a good joke in the back half of the episode. Lastly, I really enjoyed the Ross/Rachel scene. I'm glad that the show is taking their time with the story and are getting all of the possible comedy potential out of Ross being in love with Rachel and her not knowing. The Bad: Nothing really was bad. The only thing would be that this episode isn't particularly funny and there isn't a memorable "laugh until you fall" moment. Best Moment: The aforementioned Phoebe and Rachel scene was very funny and was a perfect mixture of character, story and comedy. Character of the Episode: Ross. Conclusion: Another really strong episode of Friends. While not particularly memorable, the strong writing and consistent laughs make it stand out enough to be considered great. Score: 72 Summary: Jason's body is taken for an autopsy. Betty tries to forgive Archie but finds out she can't but then she realizes she needs to so she does. She hates Veronica though. Betty starts to connect with Cheryl but when Cheryl suspects Polly for killing Jason, she turn on Cheryl again. Veronica and Cheryl begin to connect a little. Archie decides to go against Ms. Grundy's will and chooses to tell the truth about the gunshot. The autopsy reveals that Jason at least a week after July 4 and Cheryl is arrested.
The Good: Well I was happy to see Betty initially seem to be reasonable after what happened in the last episode even though it didn't last. I guess the Jason murder story is getting interesting too. Archie's scene with his dad wasn't so bad. The Bad: This was awful though and after the beginning the Betty storyline completely fell apart afterwards anyways. Betty was terrible and having her just flip flop between liking and disliking people is annoying and doesn't make for good television. Hell it doesn't make me like her in any way, I just become annoyed with her character. Her scenes with Veronica were terrible and to see her just hate Veronica and then invite Cheryl who she also hates just to spite Veronica was an idiotic move in every way. She feels hateable and unreal to do stupid things like this. And it doesn't even fit her character since her mom is the one telling her to stay away from Veronica, Cheryl and Archie, so why would she hate on Veronica but then try to be friendly with Cheryl? Awful writing. The overall result of the Betty storyline wasn't even good. Literally everything just went back to the way it was before with no actual character change. What was the point then? If it was to make me care about these characters it failed miserably because everybody is just less likeable now. Veronica and Betty just feel like bitches, Archie is just Mr. Perfect through and through and Jughead doesn't even have a character. This was very poorly executed. Cheryl was just as bad if not worse. Apparently she's not as bad as she lets on but I don't even know if that was meant to mean anything since she just goes back to being a bitch for the rest for the episode. I don't care if she's crying at the end because I can't care for somebody so downright hateable. And to see her just stand up so cool at the end and say she's guilty felt so unreal and stupid. Just there for drama. Archie was bad too. His storyline with Ms. Grundy sucks. He seems to think that she cares about him but I'm not getting that vibe at all from their conversations. Either Archie's just delusional which makes me not like him or the actress playing Ms. Grundy is just awful. Maybe both. I can't care about their relationship because I know nothing about it. all of their conversations are EXACTLY the same about the gunshot which does not make me buy into them as a couple. And I absolutely can't buy that Archie is in love with her and not Betty. His conflict with Jughead sucks too. We don't know what their relationship is so why do we care? His fight with Reggie was awful too. Would their really be a fight over some petty and downright terrible insults like that? I also really hated the several accusations that characters threw at each other. Is everybody really so dense as to just accuse everyone and anyone for killing Jason? It doesn't feel real and doesn't make anyone likeable. It's supposed to be a "dramatic" moment when these accusations occur but they feel so fake and forced that I can't care about the drama and I can only focus on how poor the characters and writing is in this show. All characters feel insensitive because of this since there are so many accusations thrown around. All characters fall into this at some point which makes it a really troublesome flaw to say the least. The Jason murder storyline is intriguing but gets nowhere near enough time to be good. So far it's just popped in for a "shock" cliffhanger (more on that later) to make us "hyped" for the next episode. It's an intriguing plot but we are getting nothing memorable since a solid 2 minutes are dedicated to the storyline. And what do we get for the other 40 minutes? A crappy teen drama with characters I can't stand. Ugh. The cliffhanger wasn't good either. The voiceover acted like this was some HUGE shock but anybody with a brain would suspect Cheryl right away. It's really not a surprise to see her convicted. Is she the main culprit? Obviously not. And I'm not excited to watch the show to get the big reveal that "oh my god it wasn't Cheryl, whoa!". Without any credible surprise in the storyline this show loses anything that could possibly make it redeemable at this point. The fanservice was awful too. Do we need to see Archie going to Ms. Grundy's house shirtless? Why? And the cheerleading squad is awful blatant fanservice too. Yes we get it you have an attractive cast. But we are here for a good TV show not to look at beautiful people. There were a few poor scenes in particular. I hated the announcement scene. Can Cheryl really just take over like that? No school would let an important announcement like that get hijacked. And what does the school care if Cheryl is investigating? Nobody publicly announces things like that, they just do it. I hated all the scenes with Ms. Grundy refusing to tell people because Archie gave one really good idea: an anonymous call. WHY WOULD SHE NOT DO THAT? It's so frustrating and could have solved a ton of problems. Also why would Mr. Weatherbee go to Archie and assume he has something to tell him because he wouldn't make eye contact. Maybe he was nervous because he was looking at people he wasn't supposed to be looking at? Anybody would be awkward at that time and nobody would just assume he has a secret. Awful writing that's just there as an attempt to make Archie's storyline have more stakes. Finally, this show has one critical flaw that takes away any chance of it succeeding in my eyes. This flaw is its complete misunderstanding of what makes compelling television. For me, the 2 things that make a TV show great are emotion and immersion. This show completely misses in both of these regards. The constant plot holes and forced dialogue completely sucks out my immersion, while the characters are so inconsistent an unlikeable that I can't be bothered to care, effectively removing any emotion from the episode whatsoever. With these 2 aspects completely ignored, I can't be asked to invest 40 minutes of my time to watch an episode of this show. The Unknown: What happened with Jason? Why did he die later? Why did Cheryl say he drowned? What does she know that we don't? What happens when Archie tells his secret to Mr. Weatherbee? Will this show be any good later on? Best Moment: I got nothing. Every scene had problems with it, literally every single one. I had enough trouble finding something good, never mind a best moment. Character of the Episode: Kevin because I don't hate him. I just hate that he's a gay stereotype. Conclusion: Well I did not expect things to get worse after the pilot. The pilot itself felt like it would be the low point. This was so bad it caught me completely off guard. I know I said I would try to get to the end of this season but after this episode I honestly can't. Every 30 seconds something would happen that annoyed me and I don't want to watch a show where I literally get angry every minute without any redeeming quality whatsoever. And the total miss with emotion and immersion just seals the deal for me. Someday I may come back to this to watch an episode to see if it gets any better. But as of now I am done with this show. Score: 27 Summary: Jason Blossom, brother to Cheryl tragically died on July 4th in Riverdale. New student Veronica arrives and meets Archie and Betty who become her closest friends. Betty is in love with Archie but Archie doesn't feel the same way for her. At a school dance Betty asks Archie to go with him, but he ends up kissing Veronica after a game of spin the bottle. The 2 have a falling out. The stereotypical gay guy Kevin is on a date with Moose and finds Jason's dead body and concludes he was shot.
The Good: Everything was introduced well enough by the end of the episode. I have a good idea of which character is who and I can tell that this show will be a sort of murder mystery with some high school drama tinged into it. The Bad: But for the most part this episode was a critical failure as a TV pilot. The purpose of a pilot is to hook the audience. Provide us characters and a gripping story to get us into the show from the beginning. This episode didn't come close to accomplishing any of this. I don't care for the story, the characters are bland and generic and I find myself irritated by a lot of things and impressed by pretty much nothing. The success of almost every show hinges on the quality of its characters. To say the least, this episode really didn't deliver with its characters. All we get is a boring stereotype for each character and honestly nobody seems likeable so far. Each character seems to behave in just one specific way which makes them horribly dislikeable with the exceptions of Archie and Veronica. Those 2 characters are dislikeable for a whole other reason: they are introduced as Mary Sue characters (Marty Sue for Archie?) which makes them completely uninteresting and irritatingly perfect. These characters desperately need some depth and motives to make them at least somewhat likeable going forward. The dialogue and writing of the show is similarly poor. The writers have produced some generic and sometimes just poor dialogue. Often times scenes feel forced and none of the dialogue feels right. It doesn't help that the line delivery from the actors and actresses is poor for almost everybody. There are a lot of character relationships that are attempted to be fleshed out but the poor dialogue and writing make pretty much every single one of these scenes fail miserably and as a result we can't care about these relationships. Add on the fact that we don't care about the characters either and we have a pretty deadly combination that can make for some bad television. The poor dialogue has also done a good job at making these characters feel completely unreal. Everybody seems to have no real restraint in what they say. So many characters just say downright mean and aggressive things and nobody seems to be able to hold in what they feel. If this is because the show is trying to accurately portray teenagers then clearly it doesn't understand how teenagers work. Teenagers are human too not just idiotic and offensive all the time. This could very well be a long term problem in the show if it isn't rectified. It's a big part in why everybody is so unlikeable. There were a couple specific plot points that I thought were poor too. I didn't like the missing bag thing. It seems very unrealistic that this man who is apparently in prison is able to just send money like that. How did he get people to do this for him? How did nobody open the bag, see money inside and just take it? It's unrealistic. Similarly unrealistic was the discovery of Jason's body. He was dead in a river and his body must have flowed away with the water because the cops couldn't find it. But then it just turns up on the shore at the same place? What? That makes no sense. Also Betty's mom saying that Jason got what he deserved was absolutely terrible. Who would see a dead teenager and say "good riddance"? How does she get away with saying that? The show couldn't have made a worse first impression if it tried with that awful piece of dialogue. The ending was very bad in my opinion with Archie and Betty falling out. I was nowhere near caring about the characters and their relationship bored me to death. And they were so awkward around each other too The Unknown: The big question is who killed Jason? The obvious answer is Cheryl so it can't possibly be Cheryl or that would be totally unsatisfying. Could it have been Betty's mom? Doubtful because then it would have been stupid for her to say that awful line I mentioned above. Surely there is something bigger going on here. What happened to Veronica's father? What did he do? What part did Hermione (no not the one from Harry Potter) play in whatever he did? Why is she on trial for it? Best Moment: Probably Veronica talking to Betty about how she has changed. It felt unnatural like almost every other scene but at least the show got some basic character motivation done there. Character of the Episode: Veronica for the aforementioned scene. Conclusion: This was very poor and I can't say it did anything to make me interested in the show. I sure hope the season gets better so I don't have to suffer through a poorly written, acted and executed show. On the brighter side it will have to work hard to be worse than this, so hopefully that won't happen. I will stick through all of season 1, but if the show doesn't impress by the time season 1 is done, I may drop it. Here's to hoping that this is the series' low point and that everything will get better from here on. I have my doubts though. Score: 40 Summary: In a flashback Jimmy leaves his friend Marco in Cicero to go to Albuquerque. In the present, Jimmy takes a leave from his job and goes back to Cicero to do some cons with Marco once more. He eventually decides to head back after a final con with Marco, but Marco has a heart attack and dies. Kim calls him and tells him he has an opportunity to work at Davis and Main and Jimmy initially accepts. But once he's in the parking lot he remembers Marco and has second thoughts, choosing t pursue his own path instead.
The Good: This was a very quiet, but still very strong finale that delivered spectacularly. The most impressive thing about this episode for me was how it made everything we have seen so far really come full circle and it gave some satisfying follow-up to the season. I like how it gave more purpose and insight into things we didn't know yet. The Kettleman storyline paying off with Jimmy's final conversation with Mike about the bag of money is a good example of one of the many satisfying storytelling beats that occurred. While this finale wasn't action packed, it was a perfect closing episode when you look at the story being told this season. I'll be more specific about this later in the review. I feel like a lot of people will be upset with the sudden ending, but I'm happy wit it. As I said before, it gave a satisfying story moment to close out on rather than a big exciting scene. I respect the decision and I think it was smart and more satisfying in the end. Jimmy finally starting to transition into Saul is a major moment for the show and it does seem like a good moment to end off the season as it seems we will get some very different storytelling with Jimmy now choosing to sacrifice his morals. I thought the final scene was very strong and effectively used symbolism to show us Jimmy's mindset. I also liked the continuation of Jimmy's habit of rehearsing the liens he's going to say. While we didn't understand it before, it's clear to me now that he does this to turn his natural con-man speech into something more genuine. The final conversation with Mike was great too and I hope they can interact more next season. The standout scene was definitely the bingo scene. It gave us a lot of insight into Jimmy and helped us understand his current state of mind in brilliant fashion. The length of the scene and the use of repetitive b's was spectacular and it made a scene that felt like nothing turn into something must-see. It felt organic to see Jimmy letting everything out to these old people playing bingo and it was brilliant to get his backstory and to find out what the Chicago Sunroof was. It was set up well back in "Nacho" and the payoff was brilliant. It was a hilarious reveal to find out what it was, but also a great character moment to reveal Jimmy's morals and the way he did things back when he was Slippin' Jimmy. There was also a nice callback to Breaking Bad with the mention of Belize. The Marco story was also very strong. The flashbacks throughout the season paid off here as this wouldn't have had an impact if we hadn't known about Marco beforehand. There was a good story being told between them and Marco was extremely likeable and played very well, making his death surprisingly sad. I did like that it occurred during the one con we were introduced to earlier. It made it easier for us to realize that something was wrong because we knew how the con was supposed to go. There was also some good foreshadowing of his heart attack too with the coughing. I like that Marco was used to represent Jimmy's past as well. It gives Jimmy a proper motivation to hold onto the life he left behind in his new life. So it should be fair to say that we will see a lot of Slippin' Jimmy in Saul Goodman going forward. The cons were very fun to watch. I'm a real sucker for things like that and I really enjoyed the one scene where the tuxedo guy was conned into buying a coin for $110. The plan was well acted and it came off that Marco and Jimmy were real pros. The montage was also very well constructed and an absolute pleasure to watch. I also liked that they include a Breaking Bad reference when Jimmy conned the girl into thinking he is Kevin Costner. The one Chuck scene was solid too. We got more characterization when seeing Chuck demand perfection from Ernesto in the kindest way ever. Had this scene happened before last episode we would like Chuck, for it but now that we have seen his true colours it has made him extremely irritating. The writers did a good job of making a character who is decent but easy to hate because of his actions. The Bad: I didn't like Marco talking about Chuck. It felt unrealistic for him to say that about Chuck and it just felt like an attempt to make the writers seem smart which is annoying because they have already done more than enough to prove they are smart. Like how does Marco know that Chuck doesn't like him? It's been several years people change too. It just felt like a no to Chuck's true motives for no reason. The Unknown: What will be the repercussion of Jimmy refusing the deal with Davis and Main? How does he plan to succeed now? How soon until he officially adopts the name of Saul Goodman? Also why does he adopt the name? That's a question I feel I should have asked earlier. I don't have any more questions to ask. That really shows how well this episode rounded out the season. Best Moment: The bingo scene was one of the greatest moments in this season. Character of the Episode: This was the all Jimmy show so I have to give it to him. Honourable mention to Marco though, who was also great. Conclusion: This was a very strong episode to clos out the season. It brought everything together and provided a very enjoyable character piece as well. The season overall was a resounding success. The writing, acting and cinematography in particular were all highlights of the season and made it very enjoyable despite the slow pacing and lack of explosive moments. This show is a perfect example of how it is good writing and storytelling that makes a show work, not action and excitement. It's hard to say there were any flaws here. The early episodes weren't scored horribly high and I had some complaints, but they were rectified later on and the slow pace was worth it because it established the story being told and made the later episodes work really well. I've also been avoiding comparing this show to Breaking Bad too much and I must say it was easy to do that. This show established itself as different right away and I'm glad to say this succeeded at paying homage to the original series while also being it's own thing that isn't overshadowed. This show found a way to be special and I think it could very well be just a good as Breaking Bad if the later seasons deliver. Score: 72 Summary: Monica and Phoebe accidentally cause a guy to be put in a coma. They fight over him. Ross gets drunk after seeing Rachel and Paolo and he kisses Chandler's mom and Joey sees. Joey gets Ross to tell Chandler the truth and Chandler is upset and confronts his mom.
The Good: This was another good episode. The Chandler's mom storyline was good and there were some good jokes about her. Ross and Joey were the clear highlights and had a lot of funny jokes between them including a fantastic racquetball act (see: Best Moment), Joey convincing Ross his mom is hot and Joey and Ross spying on Chandler. That entire storyline was very well done and even led to a good story moment with Chandler talking to his mom about what happened. It was very well constructed and funny at all of the right times. The Monica and Phoebe story had some funny moments too and told an interesting story. I enjoyed Paolo's return too and he was used in very humourous ways with Rachel. The Bad: This wasn't all good though. The jokes about Chandler's mom being weird were overused and became unfunny very quickly and it became annoying to hear Chandler constantly say "and that's my mother" or something along those lines. The Monica and Phoebe story didn't have many funny moments and there is something unbelievable about a story where 2 girls practically fall for a man in a coma. Best Moment: Ross and Joey are forced into awkward confrontations with different people and make an excuse that they were supposed to play racquetball. It was funnier each time and I laughed a lot hearing Joey try to one-up Ross in the ways that each of them screwed up. Character of the Episode: Joey, but Ross is a close second. Conclusion: A very strong episode again, but some flaws are weighing it down. Still a very funny and very enjoyable main storyline makes this great. Score: 70 Summary: Jimmy keeps fighting for the Sandpiper case, but the work proves too much for him and Chuck so they go HHM. Howard declines Jimmy a job though and only wants the case so Jimmy refuses to hand it over in anger. Kim goes to Jimmy to try to convince him to give Howard the case. Jimmy discovers that it was Chuck who doesn't want to work with him. Jimmy confronts Chuck who lets out his anger and tells Jimmy he was never proud of Jimmy for becoming a lawyer and felt cheated. Jimmy leaves, disappointed. Mike gets his new job as a bodyguard of an amateur criminal who makes a drug deal with Nacho.
The Good: This was very enjoyable for the most part, but became excellent in the final 10 minutes. This show never quite got me completely hooked into the story because I didn't feel much emotional connection. But this episode finally changed that. The ending of this episode was absolutely devastating and I can say for sure that I'm invested in the story being told. More on that in the next review when I reflect ont he season as a whole. For now, let me get into the actual episode. I'll save the ending for later and I'll start with the Mike storyline. And it was very entertaining in this episode. Mike hasn't done a whole lot in this season, and in this episode he is in a storyline completely on his own, away from Jimmy. And it works brilliantly. His little squabble with Trevor from GTA (Hell yeah Steven Ogg!) was hilarious and featured the brilliant Mike we all know and love. He takes no crap, does his usual calm and collected ass-kicking and even references Breaking Bad with his love for pimento sandwiches (from the episode "Cornered" in season 4). This was the coolest and funniest moment from the episode in my opinion, but I wouldn't say it was the best moment. Keeping on Mike though, we had a nice reintroduction to Nacho here. It's interesting to see Mike and Nacho cross paths, so I'm left to assume that they will get into a storyline together. I enjoyed seeing Nacho again, Michael Mando plays him well and he delivered with his intimidation again. I have a little more to talk about Nacho in "The Unknown". It was funny seeing Pryce attempting to be a criminal and being horribly unthreatening and hilarious. Now onto the Jimmy storyline. I liked that we got some continuity on the Sandpiper case despite it very clearly not being the focus here as there were a couple other key emotional moments that I'm glad were focused on instead. I enjoyed seeing Jimmy in the courtroom against Schweikart and his excitement at working with Chuck was brilliantly conveyed and also made the shock ending all the more tragic. The first emotional moment that was focused on that I enjoyed was Chuck returning to HHM. This would be an easy moment to gloss over but I'm very happy that the writers decided to show this. It was a moment to make the characters happy before what comes next and there was a lot of good symbolism and storytelling shown there. We get to see Jimmy caring for Chuck to contrast with Chuck's extreme selfishness that he demonstrates at the end. We also see that Kim is at Jimmy's side which is very important. It was nice to get more of an idea of what is going on with Kim who has been mostly in the background thus far. She had a logical and well-written story in this episode with confronting her boss and showing her loyalty to Jimmy. The continuation of the Jimmy vs Howard conflict was very good. We got a huge scene here that was very powerful. Bob Odenkirk did a spectacular job with this episode and this was one of his standout scenes. He portrays Jimmy's disappointment and rage outstandingly and the scene had true venom to it and I couldn't take my eyes off the screen the entire time. The rare usage of swear words really pays off here too. If somebody drops an f-bomb it will make an impact, and Jimmy calling Howard a "pig f***er" felt like a huge moment and was a great way for Jimmy o let out his frustrations. His later scene where he vented to Kim was good too, though that was played for more of a comedic effect. I thought that would be the best moment of the episode when I watched it for sure. But it would be topped just 10 minutes later with a spectacular ending scene between Jimmy and Chuck. Take everything I praised the last scene for and amplify it by 100 for this one; it was just that damn good. The acting was superb, the emotions could be felt in every line each character said and I couldn't take my eyes away for even a second. The scene was incredibly heart-wrenching and executed a brilliant plot twist which will surely be a major stop on Jimmy's road to becoming Saul. It helps that I never saw the twist coming until Jimmy started accusing Chuck himself. The episode did a good job of making me forget Chuck's mystery phone call by adding so many other good scenes. I was still reeling from the Jimmy/Howard scene and wasn't able to piece things together quick enough and so that final scene really hit at home. This whole season has developed all of these characters very slowly, but that all paid off here brilliantly as everyone had a role to play that satisfied the 8 episode build-up to this episode. The Bad: Not much to put here. I thought the big Mexican guy running away from Mike was a little bit much for that scene, though it was funny. Kim hasn't received much of a role in the story so far. She needs some more fleshing out. The Unknown: How will Chuck's betrayal effect Jimmy? What will he do now? Will we see Saul emerging by next episode? What will happen with the Sandpiper case? Will Jimmy cave and give it to HHM? Or will he stubbornly keep I to spite Chuck? We are told that Nacho's real name is Ignacio. This raises a lot of questions because the name "Ignacio" is mentioned in breaking Bad by Saul when Jesse and Walt kidnap him. So clearly Nacho will play a major role in something that happens in the future involving Jimmy. I wonder what that will be? Best Moment: That ending twist was an incredible moment. Character of the Episode: It's a tough decision. I think Jimmy edges out Chuck for this one. Bob Odenkirk was more impressive by a slight bit for me. Conclusion: A fantastic episode that delivered a lot of emotional pay-off which was wonderfully built up to throughout the season. This makes everything else better by default and has completely hooked me into the show. Bring on the season finale and season 2! Score: 78 Summary: A flashback shows Jimmy passing the bar, but Howard doesn't hire him at HHM. Jimmy visits a client at Sandpiper Crossing Retirement Home and notices that they are overcharging their residents and begins to investigate. Nobody takes him seriously at first, but Chuck ultimately comes on board and helps Jimmy turn it into a RICO case. Chuck's illness mysteriously vanishes when he gets caught up on working on the case. Mike goes to see the vet to find some work again.
The Good: This was a very good episode, almost great but not quite. This episode had more excitement and energy than any other in this season so far. Seeing Jimmy working to solve the Sandpiper case was tense and exciting and it was genuinely enjoyable to see what he would do next to try and get to the bottom of things. Every step along the way was logical and it was satisfying to see the stakes slowly increase through the episode. This is how to perfectly convey a law drama, and I was gripped from start to finish. The flashback was extremely good too and spoke a lot about this episode. Jimmy is capable of a lot of things, but he is stopped at every corner. The flashback set this up by showing us exactly why Jimmy despises Howard so much. He worked so hard and passed the bar and yet Howard denied him a job. And the worst thing is that Howard wasn't the only one who didn't believe in Jimmy but Chuck too. Chuck thinks it's a joke at first, and doesn't seem to process pride and the consideration of hiring Jimmy as a lawyer until Jimmy brings it up himself. It's surprising to see that even though Chuck seems to care about Jimmy, even he doesn't believe that Jimmy is capable of much. We get to see this storytelling pay off in the episode too. Jimmy is constantly being stopped and denied by people, be it the receptionist at Sandpiper telling him to leave, Schweikert the confident lawyer dismissing his claim, and once again Chuck constantly assuming that Jimmy used some extralegal means to accomplish what he did. But it works out in the end and Jimmy is finally able to prove himself as he has now been gifted a class-action case to work with. A reward for all of his hard work and struggles. And boy did we get to see him earn it, with keen observations, smooth talking to the elders, writing a demand letter from nothing and going dumpster diving for the sake of some evidence. It was funny to watch, but more than that it let us see the tough work Jimmy is doing to get this case. It was nice to see Jimmy and Chuck teaming up too. It was an emotional moment for Jimmy and it's easy to root for them. We get a good idea of the close bond between them too. I wonder if they are the last of their family? That would also make things between them much better by default. They have a nice contrast in character too as Chuck is very serious, logical and moral to contrast with Jimmy's eccentricities as a lawyer. The Mike scenes were decent too. Nothing special, but they were a solid continuation of his story. It should be interesting to see what kind of work he is going into and who he will be working for. Gus perhaps? The Bad: This was going very well, but the ending was too cheesy for me. There was a certain, I'll say, Looney Tunes aspect to Chuck not noticing he was outside until Jimmy called him. It is an interesting development to see his condition just vanish (see: The Unknown), but the reveal felt very unrealistic and clichéd. The Unknown: The ending is very interesting. What will it mean for the show now? Will Chuck have to return to HHM and will he take the Sandpiper case with him? That could be another step in bringing Jimmy closer to Saul if the fruit of his labour is completely taken by Howard and his own brother. What is Jimmy and Kim's relationship? Kim kissed him in the flashback so they may be more than friends to some degree. Best Moment: I really liked the flashback. It conveyed a lot in such little time and provided a beautifully constructed emotional moment at the end without the use of dialogue. Just a printing machine going off over and over. It was very well done. Character of the Episode: Jimmy again. Conclusion: This episode upped the tension and excitement by quite a bit and was very enjoyable. Another strong episode for this show. Score: 69 Summary: Mike resolves things with the Philadelphia cops. The Kettlemans fire Kim because they don't want to return the money and go to Jimmy. Jimmy decides that he will bring the Kettlemans back to Kim after he sees that Howard has punished her. With Mike's help, Jimmy is able to get all of the money and puts his share into the bag as well and sends it on behalf of the Kettlemans who end up with no choice but to go back to Kim. Kim is grateful but Jimmy has sacrificed a lot to do this.
The Good: This was more solid stuff with some nice moments thrown in as well. I enjoyed seeing the Kettleman story return once more so we can get some closure on it. The ending of the story was very satisfying as the Kettlemans couldn't be convinced of anything because of their stubbornness and Jimmy had to force their hand to get them to do the smart thing and go back to Kim. This storyline works really well because the Kettleman dynamic has been established in previous episodes, so we can understand that Betsy will always be stubborn and stupid compared to Craig's willingness to listen to anyone. Since we understand this, it allows the Kettlemans stupid decisions make sense so it doesn't feel like they are just making decisions to serve the plot. I predicted that Mike would be in a more major role now and so far that seems to be the case. He got to close out his storyline from Five-O with a very well done conversation with the other officer about the state of things in Philadelphia. It was a nice scene that helped make the world feel a little bigger and real with a number of different characters with different morals. His montage later in the episode was an absolute highlight however. It went really long and was entirely wordless, yet it was masterfully crafted and it was fascinating to watch what was happening. We didn't know Mike's plan so it was exciting to watch it unfold in front of us and it made it a very satisfying moment when Mike finally found the cash without complication. I also loved how Craig and Betsy are dense enough to just take a random wad of cash without thinking of where it could be from. Jimmy's storyline was nice here too. We get new aspects of his character in every episode to deepen our understanding of him. In this episode we get to see that he still believes in doing the "right thing" as he put it and that his friendship with Kim is close enough to the point where he is willing to sacrifice everything to get her back in her position. It was a touching dilemma for Jimmy and his final scene where he could show us how he really feels about losing everything was superb. He still has a long way to go to reach Saul Goodman, and I have a sense that it will be the increasing sense that nothing works out for him that will take him to his Saul Goodman persona. It was nice to see Chuck trying to fix his condition. It's a nice bit of continuity for a short scene. The Bad: The pacing is VERY slow still. I enjoy all of the content but the pacing can make it tough to watch sometimes. I appreciate that the scenes are given time to breathe and that does make the writing and storytelling stand out, but at times the show can be almost boring when we are sitting at a conversation for an extended amount of time. I am not too bothered by it personally, but I know there will be some who just won't enjoy the show at all because of this. The emotional Kettleman scene at the end was nice, but if it was intended for us to feel something, I really didn't/ The Kettlemans are presented as villains almost so why should I care? The Unknown: Will Kim get her position back now? What will happen to Craig? How will he fare in prison? Will we see the Kettlemans again after this? Best Moment: The final minute with Jimmy reflecting on the office and future he had to give up was a very powerful moment. We got to see Jimmy looking optimistic about his future when he first showed Kim the office and to see it all go away just for the sake of doing the right thing is sad. It shows us that Jimmy is a good person at heart and will undoubtedly make his ultimate transformation into Saul Goodman a little bit tragic. Jimmy is a good man now, but we know he won't be in the future. And it's moments like this that will ultimately push him over the edge. Character of the Episode: I'll give it to the Kettlemans this time. In what may be their final major appearance they did a good job and played off of each other very well. Conclusion: This was another solid episode. A lot of episodes this season have felt similar. They have been solid and had a couple really good moments, but have been slow paced and the plot hasn't progressed much. So far I'm enjoying it but we need some payoff by the end of the season. These past 7 episodes have established the characters and the story. Now we need to see some change and conflict in the show. Score: 67 Summary: Everyone makes a pact to not have a date for New Year's but everyone slowly but surely end up breaking the pact. Ross gets a new monkey names Marcel. Phoebe meets a man named David and starts dating him but David has to make a tough decision when continuing his work means going to Minsk and leaving Phoebe behind.
The Good: There were a few good moments in this. Phoebe's story was definitely the best and her romance with David was very well done. It was very well fleshed out in just 20 minutes and I bought into the idea that they fell for each other. Their last scene was decently emotional for a sitcom too, which is well done. Phoebe's songs at the beginning were funny too. I also enjoyed the idea to have a pact which is slowly broken as it felt a little realistic. Janice's return was good for some laughs too. The Bad: This was for sure the weakest episode thus far. While Phoebe's story was really good, all the other friends had extremely forgettable storylines that hardly provided laughs. Fun Bobby was pretty boring for one. Rachel getting beaten up wasn't funny. Ross' monkey didn't feel realistic so even though it had some good laughs, I just couldn't buy it. Though I liked Janice's return, it definitely wasn't Chandler's best storyline. Joey's date received minimal time and not enough laughs as well. This episode was too packed and with only one engaging storyline, it made the episode rather disappointing. Best Moment: Joey kissing Chandler at the end was the funniest moment. Character of the Episode: Phoebe. It's her first episode where she has to carry the episode and she does an excellent job. Conclusion: This was weaker than what we have gotten so far. There were still some laughs but a lot of storylines weren't very well developed. Score: 57 Summary: Mike's son Matt was killed by 2 cops in the past and so Mike killed them. The cops go to him after Mike's daughter-in-law Stacey asks them to come over because she suspects Matt was involved with some fishy business. Mike gets Jimmy to help him deal with the cops and the cops get no evidence but Mike steals and then returns their notepad. He learns Stacey calls them and then goes to her to tell her the truth about what happened to Matt.
The Good: Now this was awesome. A fantastic backstory episode for one of the most interesting and unexplored characters from Breaking Bad. If you want to bring Mike into focus for this show, this is absolutely the right way to do it. Where to begin with this one? I'll start with the fantastic use of colour and scenery to create a completely different tone for this episode. All other episodes have been bright and colourful, but this episode was dark and dull all the way through, giving it a completely different atmosphere and letting us know that this will be a more serious episode. It's remarkably effective and makes this episode feel really special. The biggest worry about an episode like this would be if Mike can carry an entire episode on his shoulders. The answer is that he absolutely can. This episode really showed what Jonathan Banks is capable of and gave us some much-needed backstory to get us to really care about Mike. Now Mike can easily transition to being a major character in the show since we are totally invested in him. There were 2 scenes here that gave us everything we needed to know about Mike. First was the excellent trap he set on Hoffman and Fensky. It was cleverly executed and Mike did a brilliant job of playing so horribly wasted. It was a fun plan to watch and it was very satisfying to see Mike get revenge on the 2 awful people who murdered his son. It's always fun to see clever plans like these coming into fruition. The second scene that let us know what Mike is about was the superb final scene. We always got to see that Mike had a great deal of affection for Kaylee and we get a great origin for that here. We see that he was really close to his son and loved him, and when he died it left a hole in Mike. A hole which would promptly be filled by his love for Kaylee. The final scene let us see just how much Mike respected his son and how tragic it must be to crush his morals all for nothing as he would die anyways. Jonathan Banks was amazing in that scene too and there were loads of heartfelt lines throughout the entire monologue. Easily the most powerful scene of the show so far. The Jimmy and Mike team up was brilliant like last time in "Nacho". Their interactions remain hilarious and Jimmy's short role in this episode added some good lightheartedness to make this episode less bleak. His use of a bright white suit amidst the dark colour of the episode is another nice touch that lets us believe that he's a small ray of humour in an otherwise very dark episode. I enjoyed Mike's plan to swipe the notepad too and it was brilliant to watch it executed. There was also a little bit of tension in wondering if Jimmy would actually spill the coffee. The overall structure of this episode was very well done too. There was a lot of mystery introduced and we were slowly given answers as the episode went on. That makes for a very satisfying watch. The Bad: Nothing really. The Unknown: This episode raised a lot of questions and yet in answered almost all of them. I'm only left with 2. What will Stacey do with her knowledge of Mike? Obviously she won't turn him in but what will it do to their relationship? What will happen with the stolen notepad? Surely the detectives will notice it is missing and they should instantly suspect Mike. This episode was excellent but it didn't completely sell me into the show. This is because it was very different from anything else in the show. I'm bought into the Mike storyline, but no so much the Jimmy storyline, which is the main one in the show. I'm enjoying the show for sure but I still need a little more from the Jimmy storyline to consider it a very good show. Best Moment: The ending monologue by Mike was spectacular. Character of the Episode: Mike of course. There was no better way to turn him into a primary character in the show. Conclusion: A fantastic episode that really brings Mike into the fold in an engaging way. Now we just need a Jimmy-centric episode that can deliver with this kind of emotion. Score: 82 Summary: Chuck is taken by police officers and is exposed heavily to electricity and is put in the hospital. Jimmy meets new clients and finds little luck. He realizes a niche is available in elder law and so specializes in it. He is called by Howard regarding Chuck and more is revealed about his condition, most importantly that it is likely all in his head. Jimmy is given a decision to commit Chuck but refuses to. Mike is confronted by police officers from his past.
The Good: Once more the storytelling and writing was beyond impressive. Though this show is slow (see: The Bad), it's impossible not to enjoy it a lot because everything is put together so well and it's evident that maximum effort was put into every single scene by all involved, be it the writers, showrunners, directors, cameramen, editors and actors. Everything is put together brilliantly and it is really what holds this episode together to help it overcome its flaws. I enjoyed the follow-up with Chuck. Once again the writers impressed me by making the newspaper stealing scene in "Hero", which would have been just a comedy scene in a lesser show, an important part of the plot as it allows for the show to organically get to tell us about Chuck's condition and his relationship with Jimmy. The sequence from the previous episode with Chuck going outside really paid off here as it allowed us to understand why Chuck wouldn't want to open the door and it made us feel tense during the opening scene since we knew what would happen if he police didn't cooperate with Chuck. It's really good writing that made what would usually be a throwaway scene one of the best parts of the episode. I really liked the examination of Chuck and Jimmy's relationship here. By showing Jimmy deal with Chuck in the hospital, we get to see how much he cares for Chuck and his decision not to commit Chuck is made purely because he does care for Chuck and doesn't want him to suffer. We also see that Chuck isn't unfriendly with Jimmy like he was in the flashback scene from "Nacho", letting us know that Jimmy's sins have been forgiven and that Chuck has accepted him and genuinely does want him to succeed. In the Jimmy storyline, we got some very interesting scenes. The scenes were very long (see: The Bad), but they were funny and really drove home the fact that getting good clients as a lawyer isn't a breeze. It also gave us a good reason for Jimmy to start thinking about elder law and the montage near the end with the Jello where Jimmy visited the retirement home was very well done as expected. I was also very happy to see Jimmy modelling his suit after an older TV star who I didn't recognize. The devil s always in the details and thankfully the attention to detail in this show is beyond impressive. The humour scenes were great too. The first client really teased Jimmy getting his big break but we knew it wouldn't happen; it was just a matter of waiting to find out what is going wrong. And the reveal of the money being fake was well done and the quick cut away to Jimmy leaving was good for laughs. Even funnier though was he whole sex toilet gag. The whole invention is so ridiculous and funny, and Jimmy's reactions and comments about it made the scene all the more hysterical. It's undoubtedly the best comedy scene from this show for me. I also like that the show had patience to dedicate like 1-2 minutes to showing an old person going to meet Jimmy. It was humour created in a really unique way. The Bad: Despite all that is good, this episode may test the commitment of many viewers of this show. Last episode was notably slower than the first three episodes and this one is much slower than that. Not much happens and when something does happen, it takes place in a very long scene which may have some viewers losing interest. While I do think the slow pace is good as it ensures that there will be no rushed developments, it makes the show suffer from being too boring and difficult to sit through. The long scenes in the episode really didn't help either. While I praised the comedy, it takes a long time before it reaches the punch line (with the exception of the brilliant sex toilet gag). While it is funny, it doesn't feel like it is worth the wait. This wouldn't be as much of a problem if it was just one or two comedy scenes, but in this episode it feels like almost every scene seems to linger for longer than it should. Lengthy scenes are good to slow down the pacing, but include too many and it really makes the episode drag and feel slower than it should be. The Unknown: Does Chuck know the illness is in his head? How will he react if he finds out? What is going to cause Jimmy to leave elder law behind? Because Saul Goodman most definitely did not specialize in elder law. The ending sequence with Mike is mostly a large question mark. Who was the girl he was watching? What does she have to do with him? Is she involved with the cops that showed up? Why are the cops looking for Mike? It seems they came from Philadelphia since Mike said they were a "long way from home". What do they want from Mike? I remember in Breaking Bad that Hank said Mike's police job ended "dramatically", so what went down? It seems we will be getting the backstory of that next episode. At least I hope so. Best Moment: Probably the opening sequence for how well it was set up and executed. This show remains masterful at the small things. Character of the Episode: Jimmy again probably, though it was a little tougher to choose with Chuck getting involved more. Conclusion: This was more solid stuff, but the poor pacing really hurt things. The pacing needs to be sorted out for the rest for the season, or it risks the stellar writing being wasted because the show is too slow. So long as the pace quickens again, this show will surely continue to be good fun. Score: 62 Summary: Jimmy takes money from the Kettlemans to pay for his silence as they will argue that they never stole any money. Jimmy closes the deal with Nacho and seems to be spared for now, but Nacho tells him he will pay for what he did. Jimmy rips of HHM on a billboard and gets a cease and desist. He uses it for a publicity stunt where he is viewed in the public as a hero. This gives him good business. Jimmy tries to hide the news from Chuck, but Chuck steals a newspaper to learn of Jimmy's antics.
The Good: This was another solid and enjoyable episode. I liked the follow-up to the previous episode. It was nice to see the interactions between Jimmy and the Kettlemans. It's hilarious to see Craig just going along with anything with Betsy being the one who is actively pursuing her own agenda. Jimmy attempting to get business before caving and taking the money was good as well and again hinted at Jimmy's morality compared to Saul. There was also a nice callback to Saul not taking a bribe back in Breaking Bad. The conclusion to the Nacho story was good too. Jimmy continued to provide laughs when talking to Mike and the cops and I really enjoyed his scene with Nacho. I presume things will calm down in the story for now until Nacho comes back with a vengeance. There is definitely some good set up done there and it is intimidating to see Nacho say there will be consequences. I wonder if we will se paranoid Jimmy soon, scared that Nacho will try to get him. I really enjoyed Jimmy's scheming too. Watching plans unfold always makes for fascinating television and it was great to slowly piece together Jimmy's plan throughout the episode and the conclusion with Jimmy finally getting some customers was satisfying. I'm glad to see some payoff for the voicemail scenes which have been shown a couple times in the past few episodes. But for the plan itself, it was wonderful to follow. It sucks in your curiosity the first time through, and it is fantastic to see all of the details coming together on rewatch. I enjoyed that Jimmy put himself in situations to trash Hamlin with this stunt as it continues to show that they have a poor relationship. Now we just need to know why Jimmy is so hateful towards Hamlin. I liked the flashback too. If we keep getting flashes of Jimmy's past from time to time, I will be happy because it's very intriguing to see Jimmy's past. This flashback was essential as it shows us how Jimmy is a con-man which gives some backstory on how Jimmy is able to come up with this publicity stunt and follow through with it. The humour was stronger than ever here. I really loved the film crew as they were hilarious and seeing Jimmy attempt to deal with them was pleasantly comedic. I also loved the hilarity of Jimmy fighting against Howard throughout the episode. Lastly, I really enjoyed the ending scene with Chuck. It was an impressive piece of cinematography and directing when we are shown how his disorder makes him feel when exposed to electricity. And then with a couple expertly timed shots of an old lady watching, it became one of the funniest moments of the episode. An expertly done sequence. The Bad: This show is very well put together but it's missing something. The story is hardly memorable and there isn't much emotion at all currently. While I still enjoy episodes like this, the story is lacking that forward momentum and emotional engagement to make it truly great. The Unknown: How will Chuck react to Jimmy's antics? We don't know a whole lot about Jimmy and Chuck's relationship currently but we do understand that Chuck doesn't approve of Jimmy's... ways. So will he turn on Jimmy now? Considering that it was the ending scene, I'm sure it will lead to something. I'm interested to see what that is. Kim doesn't seem to be proud of her friendship with Jimmy. Why? Is Howard that against Jimmy? Or is it something else? Best Moment: I'll say the ending sequence with Chuck. It was impressively executed. Character of the Episode: Jimmy again of course. Conclusion: This was another strong episode, though it is mostly set-up for the future and doesn't have many memorable moments. Still very good stuff though. Score: 67 Summary: Ross tries to talk to his baby when he finds out that Susan is. Monica plans to cook a Thanksgivings dinner but is overwhelmed when each of the different friends demand different things. Rachel misses her flight to spend Thanksgiving with her family. Chandler reveals his history with Thanksgiving.
The Good: This was another very strong episode. There were loads of laughs throughout and a lot of the storylines were well done. Joey's VD storyline was a highlight and the montage of the VD posters was very clever and funny. The other storylines were good too. Chandler's hate of Thanksgiving was great, Monica being overwhelmed was priceless, Rachel shooping was unique comedy and Ross continuing to be petty about Susan and the baby was hilarious. In short, all of the storylines worked and then they came together in a beautiful fashion near the end where everybody gets screwed over on their Thanksgiving. It was a little cheesy, but worked pretty well and gave us a good idea of the friendship between all of the characters. The Bad: As mentioned before, the story was pretty cheesy and typical for a sitcom. However, I think it was executed well which somewhat overcomes this. There was a little bit of a leap in realism with the Joey VD stuff but it was funny which made up for it. Best Moment: I'll pick Monica freaking out when everyone gets locked out. There were a lot of funny jokes there. Character of the Episode: I'll pick Joey for this one because the VD jokes were surprisingly good. Conclusion: Friends continues to impress with yet another great episode, even if this one felt a little more unoriginal. Score: 73 Summary: Jimmy feels guilty and calls the Kettlemans to warn them of Nacho and also calls Kim to let her know they are in danger. The next day the Kettleman house is sacked and Nacho is taken by the cops. Jimmy is taken to him and Nacho says he didn't do it and that Jimmy will be dead unless he gets out by the end of the day. Jimmy realizes the Kettlemans likely kidnapped themselves but nobody believes him except Mike. Mike gives Jimmy some advice and Jimmy goes hunting for the Kettlemans, finding them in a forest behind their house with the stolen money.
The Good: I praised the previous episode for having excellent writing and this was more of the same. The writing and structure of the episode feels so organic in a way most shows can't accomplish. Everything flows beautifully from scene to scene and the seemingly filler moments end up paying off down the line in a way that feels completely natural. An example here is Jimmy getting Mike to help him. There have been several Mike/Jimmy scenes in previous episodes which were paid for laughs and there was another one here. But shockingly, it was more than just some humour as it ended up being a crucial part in the story to get Jimmy and Mike acquainted and to help Jimmy ultimately find the Kettlemans. And best of all, the ways the characters behaved made logical sense and there were never any contrived plot points used to bring these characters to helping each other. The conflict in this episode was also really well done. I love the way the show has introduced and concluded storylines that end up playing a part later in the story. We saw it before with the skater boys and now we get it again with the Nacho storyline. Last episode we got to see the terrors and brutality of Nacho and Tuco, which makes Jimmy's situation all the more terrifying since we understand what will happen if Nacho is ultimately condemned. Without having shown us what these villains do, there wouldn't be nearly the same amount of tension in the episode. Speaking of tension, I was impressed with the ways tension was used. Particularly the use of phone sequences was great, though there were a couple of flaws with them (see: The Bad). It's impressive that I was on the edge of my seat watching a guy make phone calls and the writers deserve credit for making it possible. Another thing I liked about the phone scene is how it tied into Breaking Bad with Jimmy's character. One notable characteristic of Saul is his impatience and desperation. There is a scene in Breaking Bad where we see Jesse check his voicemail only for it to be flooded by messages from Saul. It was a good comedic scene in Breaking Bad, and yet it pays off here to be a believable characteristic for Jimmy as we see him calling Nacho over and over, adding more and more details. I was overjoyed to see more Mike/Jimmy scenes in this episode. Jonathan Banks does Mike's serious aspect so well and with Jimmy being so overly eccentric, it allows for some hilarious interactions, even when they are talking about important plot details like the Kettleman kidnapping. I also really enjoyed the flashback. it adds some more depth into Jimmy's relationship with Chuck which is slowly gaining my interest. It seems that Jimmy became a lawyer to turn his life around and to make himself and Chuck proud which I feel will be an important detail to remember. The ending also provided a nice cliff-hanger and some good moments. We got another example of the brilliant writing with the "here's Johnny!" moment, which wouldn't have worked as a joke if we didn't see Jimmy use the same phrase in the flashback earlier in the episode. I also enjoyed the way each of the Kettlemans were portrayed. Betsy is clearly the leader of the relationship while Craig just kind of does what she tells him. Lastly, I liked the reveal of the money to end the episode. It should be interesting to see where things go from here. The Bad: While I enjoyed the phone scenes, it was a bit repetitive to have two of them. It took away from the genuine excitement of both of them since they weren't one off scenes. The second phone scene also had some story problems. While the tension was good, it did leave me confused as to why the cops went after Jimmy anyways. If they were just bringing him to Nacho why arrest him? And if they didn't know who he was, why would they just drop the arrest once they learned his identity? They must have had some reason to arrest him, and we don't know what it was so it feels like the scene was just played out that way for drama. There was one other poor moment I noticed. The detectives asked Kim why she wants Jimmy to take a look around the house but we don't get an answer. It feels kind of sloppy and pointless for them to ask why if we don't get to hear why. The Unknown: There never seems to be much unknown for this show. This show is usually just a case of watching and enjoying the way the story is put together. Why was Jimmy in jail when Chuck went to save him? What did he do? What was Jimmy's life like beforehand? What will Jimmy do now that he has seen the money? Best Moment: Nothing really stood out but everything was solid. I will go with the second Jimmy and Mike interaction, as it beautifully brought Mike into the main story. Character of the Episode: Jimmy again. I get the sense it will be Jimmy more than its not throughout the show. Conclusion: Another solid episode of storytelling as I become more and more invested into the show. Score: 67 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
February 2024
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