Friday, January 18, 2013

What I’m Watching: House of Lies (Season Premiere)


House of Lies: Season 2, Episode 1 “Stochasticity” (B)

I couldn’t have been more excited for Don Cheadle when he deservedly won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a TV Series – Comedy/Musical on Sunday night. I predicted it but didn’t honesty expect it to happen, and I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one who appreciates both his performance and the show. Unfortunately, this premiere was a typical instance of trying to get back in the right mode after a while spent off the air, and there were a few kinks that need to be ironed out before it really revs up for another great season. Spending so much time obsessing over what may or may not have happened between Marty and Jeannie – what we did see was depraved enough – was unnecessary, mostly since it’s ultimately all less relevant than Jeannie’s final recollection, her confession of love to Marty, and it does a disservice to the terrific final scene from last season, which didn’t need an epilogue. Moving past that, of course, it’s intriguing to see Marty now framed entirely as the irresponsible parent, with Monica rejecting his advances and purporting to be a positive influence in her son’s life. Aside from Jeannie’s non-promotion and the introduction of a new executive at Galweather-Stern, not much happened in this episode, making its central development, the mystery caller named Pincus, feel somewhat underwhelming. It’s still interesting to see the team work, forcing him to surrender his line of business with a well-executed blitz, but I’d like to see this show kick into gear in a much more affirming way next week.

No comments: