What I’m Watching: Boss

Boss: Season 2, Episode 8 “Consequences” (B+)

There isn’t one corner of this show that hasn’t been affected by people not being able to control their sexual impulses. It’s most startling in the case of Doyle, who had previously seemed like a fairly stable and solid person, who, upon realizing that Claire slept with Ben, punishes her in a rather explicit and disturbing fashion. Ian’s actions are especially deplorable given that Emma is likely his sister, and their floor sex was less disconcerting than the sight of an angry, beaten Darius watching them from right outside the house. Ian made his power play earlier than I might have expected, and he did seem devastated to have it seem real and then snatched away from him because Tom had other priorities. Tom running to the council room was a sure sign of defeat for the otherwise stable and newly cocky king, and McGantry’s alliance with Ross suggests that Tom has a big fight ahead of him. I loved that Walsh was so honest and unfriendly with Tom, and it’s great to see the gubernatorial race heating up, as Walsh begins to resent Kitty for failing to acknowledge her advances and Zajac’s bluntness wins him the hearts of many and reignites his campaign. Zajac did a great job to standing up both to his wife and to Tom ("The puppet is cutting his strings"), no small feat. Sam is closer than ever to the truth, but I’m worried he’s going to get himself hurt in Toronto while digging so obviously into Tom’s patient history there. Either way, Tom’s empire is starting to crumble down. His problems at home, namely his daughter’s complicity in his father-in-law’s turn for the worse, are sure not to help.