What I’m Watching: Crisis in Six Scenes

Crisis in Six Scenes: Season 1, Episode 4 (C+)

I feel like I made it halfway through this show’s run, and so I may as well see it through to the end. Fortunately, this episode was just a tiny bit better than the third episode, with one part of its plotline headed in a positive direction. Sidney spent the opening scene whining about how Lennie ate his Fig Newtons, which has happened so many times already in less than 100 minutes that I can’t stand it anymore. It was a relief, therefore, to see some Allen-free scenes that felt very much like Allen’s more classic work starring Kay as a newly-awakened revolutionary. Trying to get her book club to talk about serious things didn’t go so well, with conversation continually returning to the likes of department stores and green tea being healthy and tasting bad. To me, that constitutes far more entertaining and biting social commentary, and Allen’s ability to create compelling material without him in a scene is remarkable. Inexplicably, Lennie’s sway continues to take hold over Alan, who is now at risk of abandoning his fiancée for someone who doesn’t even have time to read a comic book. Like Kay with her book club, Alan’s political enthusiasm came as a surprise to Ellie, and I was glad to see that she fought back at his sudden notions of self-importance. Ending with Sidney looking guilty after Lennie hung up because she realized that he had just picked up the phone was hardly the most sophisticated representation of the episode, but perhaps the show can do better in its two final installments.