Friday, July 24, 2015

What I’m Watching: The Brink

The Brink: Season 1, Episode 5 “Swim, Shmuley, Swim” (C+)

I’m not sure why I’m expecting anything but ludicrousness from this show, but it’s definitely getting even crazier with every episode. There are some definite strong moments of humor, and though it’s highly uneven, it never misses a beat with either its more serious moments that quickly devolve into silliness or its outright comedic developments. Z-Pak and Glenn breaking free from their captors and then ending up in an entirely different form of strange captivity was one such instance, and I think that Pablo Schreiber and Eric Ladin are extremely well-suited for their roles, committed to just how far out of the regular plotline they will exist as the most worrisome representatives of American military diplomacy in action. The actual face of such things, Walter, isn’t much better, talking his way into a meeting with Israel, giving Alex a run for his money in terms of immaturity and pushiness. Getting cast aside by Pierce was a blow, especially considering how far he had come, but I’m sure he’ll swim his way back to the top. I think the most worthwhile part of Alex ending up with a trail of Pakistani schoolchildren behind him at the embassy was the image of him sitting on Fareeda’s lap in the front seat since Rafiq was not okay with the idea of Fareeda being on Alex’s lap. Worldwide war may be imminent, but good news for this show – the shenanigans will continue for plenty of time to come, as it has been renewed for a second season by HBO.

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