Suits, 3x02 -- "I Want You To Want Me"

Alliances are everything in a place like Pearson Darby. Having a dependable, loyal partner can be the difference between victory or defeat. Harvey has Donna, who would follow him to the ends of the earth and back again with barely a second glance. Harvey needs an ally like Donna, as long as he still plans on moving forward with his coup against Jessica. But what we saw him learn this week is: he also needs Mike. While the Ava Hessington case almost painfully mirrors the struggles Harvey faces with Jessica and Mike, he comes to terms with the possibility of forgiveness. He holds Jessica entirely responsible for what's transpired. Donna convinces Harvey to let his grudge against Mike rest. Whether or not this is truly the end of it yet remains to be seen.

However, not all relationships at Pearson Darby are quite so easily mended. This week we zero in on the consequences the Harvey/Mike feud have had on everyone else at the firm, and what we see is far from pretty. The biggest casualty in this war so far is Louis. Poor Louis Litt has once again drawn the short straw. After losing all of his associates last week, Jessica grants him a silver lining: his choice of any associate in the firm to mentor as his own. Naturally, his first instinct is Mike Ross. It's no secret that Louis has always wanted Mike, and now in the midst of the Harvey/Mike feud he has his perfect chance. Louis woos Mike with steak and mud baths and proves his worth to him by winning an eminent domain case -- which is apparently near-impossible to do. In the end, Mike is poised to accept Louis as his new mentor. But when Louis leaves the office to retrieve a celebratory cake ("Welcome to Team Litt!"), Harvey swoops in and steals Mike back out from under him. The image of Louis crushed, watching on as Harvey and Mike reaffirm their partnership with a high-five, is one of the most emotionally poignant visuals I think this show has ever delivered. Louis can't seem to win, caught in the middle of all this Pearson Darby war drama with nowhere to go as every glimpse of triumph continues to be sucked away in the eleventh hour. There was a time when I'd never imagined feeling any sort of sympathy for Louis. But now all I want is for the guy to catch a break.

Donna and Rachel's friendship is also put to the test. They've both clearly landed on opposing sides of the Harvey/Mike debacle, and it's starting to affect their relationship with each other. Rachel learns that Harvey told Mike to lie to Rachel about his secret, and Donna confesses to telling Mike herself to stay away from Rachel. Obviously, this doesn't make Rachel the happiest person at Pearson Darby. She shoots back at Donna saying she was just trying to have a life, something Donna clearly wouldn't understand. Donna retorts, "I'm going to walk away now, before we can never go back." The iciness in each other's glares gave me chills. Now that Mike is back with Harvey, I wonder where this will leave the two of them.

My prediction: we can't count Louis out just yet. Mike has no idea yet of Harvey's planned power play against Jessica, and I have a hard time believing Mike will so easily go along with it after all the crap Harvey's been giving him about trust and loyalty. Louis may have a much bigger role to play in all of this than we conceive at this point. In some ways, he could very well be the deciding factor between Harvey and Jessica.

Notes:

• Louis/Harvey: “I would never force him to do anything. It has to be consensual. Just like Sally Jones at the Senior Prom.” “Did you just admit to a crime?” “No, a crime was committed upon me.”
• I’m going to have nightmares for the rest of my life of Louis Litt’s mud ass.
• Michelle Fairley was an enjoyable presence on the show. I hope this doesn’t mark the end of her stay.

My Grade: A-

Teen Wolf, 3x08 -- "Visionary"

“If you wanna know what changed Derek, you need to know what changed the color of his eyes.” Who writes this crap?

There are right and wrong ways to do a flashback episode. It’s acceptable to take a break from the running narrative of the series once in a while if the story you have to tell is interesting. In this case, the characters are all sitting around discussing High School Derek’s “epic romance” which turns out to be just as epic as you might expect. This teen love story is loosely connected to Deucalion, in the sense that one of Deucalion’s lackeys kills Derek’s girlfriend and then Derek’s eyes turn blue which is apparently a really big goddamn deal, you guys.

This thing is, these flashbacks are just so boring. The actors who play High School Derek and Paige have zero chemistry. It’s filled to the brim with exposition, and the music score is over-the-top ridiculous that it makes this episode even more eye-roll worthy than it already is. Nothing at all happens that is of any consequence to the overall story, and the only new piece of information we get from this entire episode is that Gerard blinded Deucalion. Was this really so important that it needed such build-up? Who knows, maybe it will turn out to be important. But then the episode ends with Scott and Stiles doubting the reliability of our narrators, presumably because the writers have some big surprise down the road for us. So now we can’t even be sure if what we learned here is at all true, making this episode even more of a waste of time. (Cue next eye roll.) 

This episode was weak. There was no reason to show any of this. I'll write this off as a low-point and assume next week will show vast improvement.

Notes:

• “The Scorpion and the Frog” story is such an overused metaphor in television that it should be taken outside, shot dead, and buried six feet under. 
• Did anyone else hear the score of The Walking Dead at the end of every flashback? Was it just me?
• Guest Star Corner: Alicia Coppola of Jericho appeared tonight as Talia Hale.
• No Lydia = automatic point deduction.

My Grade: C-

The Bridge, 1x02 -- "Calaca"

Announcement: The Bridge, a.k.a. The Killing: El Paso, is my new favorite summer series.

Ok, as easy as it is to compare The Bridge to The Killing, it’s not a very fair assessment. There’s a lot that the former has been doing right in these initial outings that the latter did not. The Bridge has us absorbed into these characters already, something The Killing had never truly been able to pull off. But enough with that comparison. The point is, I’m fascinated with this detective duo, Sonya Cross in particular. Diane Kruger is absolutely killing it, stealing the show every time she walks on screen. She impeccably portrays every tick Sonya’s struggles to be a police detective with Asperger’s striving to be socially and professionally appropriate yet, more often than not, failing. But Sonya’s mental illness isn’t exploited in ways other shows might feel the need to do for laughs. Yes, there are several moments where Sonya’s reactions to things serve as comic relief, but while it would be so easy for this character to become almost unbearable, Kruger works her magic and makes Sonya compelling and intriguing. 

This second episode was a well-paced hour full of twists that kept the forward momentum of the pilot and even built upon it. This show grabs you and leaves you craving more at every commercial break. The plotting of this murder case so far is damn near perfect. However, that’s not to say everything in this show is working. The Charlotte (Annabeth Gish) storyline has yet to prove its relevance in this series, and it’s quickly becoming boring. Which is silly, because her late husband (who we can all agree she herself killed in the hospital, right?) turns out to be a smuggler with an underground tunnel stretching from his ranch in El Paso through to Mexico. That kind of material shouldn’t be boring, but it is. Presumably, the big connection this holds to the rest of the show -- and this seems fairly obvious to me, which means I’m going to feel really dumb when I’m proven wrong -- is that Charlotte’s late husband was helping the serial killer smuggle in women from Juárez through the tunnel. Whether or not my theory is correct, the longer the writers keep this information from us, the less interesting this storyline will be. 

The Bridge is pretty damn good so far. Let’s just hope it stays this good.

Random Notes:

• I have no idea why they chose to hold the tunnel reveal for the second episode. It was painfully obvious that the door led to a tunnel. It was a ridiculous cliffhanger last week.
• Matthew Lillard is also turning in great work on this show, as the arrogant journalist being used as a pawn in the serial killer’s games. 
• Guest Star Corner: Some of you may recognize Emily Rios, the young reporter working with Daniel Frye, from her days as Andrea on Breaking Bad. 
• This show literally has the worst theme song I’ve ever listened to. Whenever it plays, I feel like it’s sucking away all the joy and happiness from the universe through my TV to disappear forever in an endless black void of despair. Who listened to that song and decided to put us all through this weekly torment? 

My Grade: A-

Dream 2013 Emmy Nominees

Tomorrow is the long-anticipated Emmy Nomination Day, and I decided to share my Dream Emmy Nomination List. 

Note: There are several shows I haven’t gotten around to watching yet, despite some of them being Emmy favorites in recent years. (I am only one person, it’s difficult to keep up with every single one.) These include: The Good Wife, 30 Rock, House of Cards, and Downton Abbey. 

Best Drama Series

The Americans 

Breaking Bad

Game of Thrones

Hannibal

Homeland

Scandal

Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad 

Hugh Dancy, Hannibal 

Jon Hamm, Mad Men

Damian Lewis, Homeland

Andrew Lincoln, The Walking Dead

Matthew Rhys, The Americans

Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Claire Danes, Homeland 

Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black

Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men

Emmy Rossum, Shameless

Keri Russell, The Americans

Kerry Washington, Scandal

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Michael Cudlitz, Southland

Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones

Mads Mikkelson, Hannibal

Mandy Patinkon, Homeland

Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad

Jeff Perry, Scandal

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Morena Baccarin, Homeland 

Jennifer Carpenter, Dexter 

Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones

Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad

Hayden Panettiere, Nashville

Monica Potter, Parenthood

Best Comedy Series

The Big Bang Theory 

Enlightened 

Girls

Happy Endings 

New Girl

Parks and Recreation

Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Louis C.K., Louie 

Garrett Dillahunt, Raising Hope 

Nat Faxon, Ben and Kate

Jake Johnson, New Girl

Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Adam Scott, Parks and Recreation

Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Laura Dern, Enlightened 

Zooey Deschanel, New Girl

Lena Dunham, Girls

Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Veep

Martha Plimpton, Raising Hope

Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Adam Driver, Girls 

Max Greenfield, New Girl 

Simon Helberg, The Big Bang Theory

Nick Offerman, Parks and Recreation

Damon Wayans Jr., Happy Endings

Mike White, Enlightened

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory 

Anna Chlumsky, Veep

Elisha Cuthbert, Happy Endings 

Ana Gastayer, Suburgatory

Zosia Mamet, Girls

Lucy Punch, Ben and Kate

Suits, 3x01 -- "The Arrangement"

“There are two things in this firm that I hold very sacred: my uni-balls and my raspberry bran bars.” -- Louis Litt

Harvey Specter is preparing to make a hell of a move this season in Pearson Hardman Pearson Darby, as he begins a battle against Jessica for Managing Partner in the firm. His arrogance has never been his strongest suit -- after all, how often does he feel the need to remind everyone that he never loses? -- but now it seems he’s taking it to a whole new level. He’s always wanted more power in the firm, perceiving himself in previous seasons to be equal to Jessica in a way that he in fact never really was. Last season’s finale forewarned that a struggle between Harvey and Jessica was looming on the horizon. (Daniel Hardman, you’ll remember, predicted this very early on.) Just minutes before this bomb was dropped, we watched him tear apart Mike for forsaking his loyalty to Harvey. And now as Harvey sets the opening stages of his coup against Jessica, you can’t help but wonder why it seems his own loyalties have completely vanished.

Meanwhile, Rachel can’t seem to make up her own damn mind with Mike. One minute it’s “me or the job” and the next she’s in bed with him. “Who knew honesty would be the best policy? Oh wait, everyone,” she quips as she and Mike lay together. But is his honesty really enough in this case? And should it be? For years, Rachel has strived to become a lawyer at Pearson Hardman (now Pearson Darby, but whatever). She finally passed the LSATs and was so confident in her acceptance to Harvard that it absolutely crushed her when she received her rejection letter. When she learns Mike’s big secret, she’s initially furious -- not just at him, but at the unfairness of a world in which a liar and a fraud like Mike can rise in the firm she’s had her heart set on forever, while she has to struggle to even keep her foot in the door. She told Mike to quit and stop all the lies. Instead, he gets rewarded with a brand new office (which he soon relinquishes, but that’s beside the point). I don’t buy it for a second that she ever would have gotten over it as quickly as she did. Knowing Rachel’s character leading up to this moment, she naturally would have been angry for at least a few more weeks. For that matter, I don’t even truly believe this is anywhere near done. Now that she knows Mike’s secret, she holds all the cards. With one angry rant to the wrong person, even just a slip of the tongue to someone like Louis, could bring down Mike, Harvey, Jessica, and all of Pearson Darby with them. I predict we haven’t seen the end of this. Not in the least. 

Harvey is fighting for more power. Rachel holds more power than she may even realize. All Jessica and Mike can really do in their respective situations is to wait for the next move and retaliate accordingly. Last season, Pearson Hardman went to war and came out victorious. But who can win when Pearson Darby is at war with itself?

Random Notes:

• Louis Litt is at once the best and worst person on this show. He tends to weasel around in the background, causing chaos so he can swoop in and save the day from his own destruction. Now, it’s all finally come to bite him in the ass. Just when I start to become overly annoyed with his silly squabbles with Nesbitt, the entire thing spins around on itself. He’s lost his dear associates. I look forward to seeing where this storyline goes from here. 

• Not enough Donna. Sweet, hilarious, beautiful Donna. Every scene should have some Donna.

• It’s ironic and hilarious that two actors from Game of Thrones -- Conleth Hill and Michelle Fairley -- now find themselves as pawns in yet another power struggle, this time over at Pearson Darby instead of Westeros.

• I hate, hate, hate opening dream sequences. Just stop. That is all.

My Grade: B+