What I’m Watching: Homecoming

Homecoming: Season 2, Episode 4 “Soap” (B)

This episode was relatively engaging, but it makes me wonder why we needed to waste two full episodes on Jackie trying to figure out who she was. We didn’t see any more of Colin or Ron in this installment, and instead we just saw Audrey charging ahead fully to take control of everything that went wrong with Homecoming. Jumping in to confess fully to the ill intent of the program led to a surprising response from the military, and that introduced us to the eccentric Francine Bunda, played by the one and only Joan Cusack, whose last regular TV gig was her Emmy-winning role on “Shameless.” Demanding a tour of the grounds from Audrey and Leonard demonstrated that she knew exactly what she wanted, which explains why Leonard was so upset in his speech during the big balloon drop since he’s not at all on board. Audrey is doing a better job of embracing the success of the program, and apparently she’s fully aware that she’s addicted to the roller and of what it might be able to do for her. I was wondering what Walter’s frustrated request for his records had to do with all of this, but it becoming a problem for Audrey as she moved way up the ranks makes a lot of sense. Jackie going to prison to see Walter still doesn’t get us to the place where we started, but I suppose that’s why this season has three episodes left. I’m still not a fan of the credits starting to roll mid-scene since it minimizes the importance of whatever’s happening rather than emphasizes it.