What I’m Watching: Counterpart

Counterpart: Season 2, Episode 9 “You to You” (B+)

I’m absolutely devastated by the news from yesterday that Starz isn’t picking this show up for a third season, just the latest casualty of an initial two-season order which couldn’t possibly deliver in the way that the network wanted it to before anyone had ever seen it. I’m not going to dwell on that right now since I’m hopeful a streaming service will pick it up and that this coming Sunday’s episode won’t be the last we’ll see of what I currently consider to be the best show on television. This episode was full of somewhat expected and equally dreaded developments that played out in much different ways than I had thought they would. When Ian brought Emily and Howard in, he got cut out in a big way as their Emily came face-to-face with ours, who apparently wields enough power even after her memory loss that she was able to pull the strings and get her Howard home. Their interaction was pretty mesmerizing, and that’s one of the best assets of this show, having two people look at each other’s lives and try to see the similarities and differences. I was thrilled with the casting of Paterson Joseph from “Babylon” and “Timeless” as Naya’s husband, who related to Clare and Peter in a very friendly way, before Clare went right in to get information from Spencer, bailing as quickly as possible after he realized she was wired. Baldwin and Howard showing up to the rescue was an exciting way for that to go, and I’m curious to see how all it plays out. Janek meeting with all of Management in person showed how far apart their worldviews have now diverged, and Mira wasn’t even willing to talk to any of them, arriving after forcing Ian’s hand to shoot them all in the head and preparing to close the crossing forever. I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for the season (and hopefully not series) finale.