What I'm Watching: Rectify

Rectify: Season 3, Episode 1 “Hoorah” (B+)

I completely forgot that this show was returning, mainly because I didn't realize that it had been almost a year since its second season finished. This has to be one of the subtlest shows on television, and this episode was the first that was really all about plot. Daniel did have one moment in which he imagined watching his own execution and a few times in which he flashed back to his time in prison, but mostly he was in the present, being absurdly polite as usual, particularly when his mom ordered a special meal for him that was definitely Teddy's favorite meal and not his. It's hard to watch Ted Sr. express such negativity and resentment towards his stepson, and to see Daniel receive that energy in his normal matter-of-fact way, accepting it as fact rather than trying to protest against it. Teddy's visit was certainly tense, and he brought up Tawney's miscarriage very aggressively, yielding it as a weapon to use against the stepbrother he never wanted to have. Amantha, this show's angriest character by far, has happened into some unexpected fortune, on track for a management position in a career she never could have imagined, and let's hope that she looks it at as such rather than rejecting it as not something on her path. I'm glad Daniel will be staying with her – those two could use some sibling bonding time. Senator Foulkes' heart attack comes as a shock, and I'm curious to see how that changes things for Daniel and company.