What I’m Watching: Casual (Season Premiere)

Casual: Season 3, Episode 1 “Ashes to Ashes” (B)

One of my favorite dramatic comedies is back all of a sudden, and I’m definitely not going to rush three episodes into just one sitting like Hulu keeps doing with its series, debuting them back-to-back on premiere night. I’m taking this show one episode per week, as usual with shows that I like, and so here we are with a very expository installment, one that shows us where we stand and how things aren’t really all that ordinary anymore. Alex has always been an oversharer, demanding far too much time from Val and Leon. Now, he’s moved on to his new tenant, Hans, who he managed to scare away quickly, and Jennifer, who seems to be taken with his charm despite his repeated violation of the boundaries in their therapist-client relationship. Val’s new landlord is far too laidback and crunchy, and describing how she didn’t call her handyman because she didn’t want to interrupt his soul-searching journey was evidently not okay with Val, who tried calling Leon and then Drew before finally telling her landlord off and demanding action. Val and Drew got to do some moderately-effective parenting in splitting the cost of Laura’s tattoo removal while the troublemaker teen managed to be on what for her counts as good behavior. Val was miserable enough at the memorial that her mother put on for her late father before that surprising bit of news was just casually dropped, and if I heard what I thought I did, Val is in for some serious spiraling.

What I’m Watching: Longmire (Season Finale)

Longmire: Season 3, Episode 10 “Ashes to Ashes” (B+)

This episode promised to be big, and in many ways it was. The only character who was really neglected, aside from being punched in the nose by Walt and then breaking Nighthorse’s taillight in order to get access to his phone records, was Vic. She’s had a rough season and come out swinging, and I do hope we get to see more of her personal life in season four. The monumental development in this episode was the solving of the open case involving the murder of Walt’s wife, which managed to give Walt some much-needed closure when he finally let go and scattered her ashes, and which exonerated Henry after a furious visit from the lawyer and an impatient but ultimately defeated Thales. I enjoyed Walt and Henry’s caper, chartering a helicopter to take them to Denver before digging up a body and coming up with a quick story about why there were two shovels if Henry was a fugitive robbing a grave all on his own. Nighthorse was awfully cocky for someone who had quite a role in all things related to Bridges and Walt’s wife, but it looks like he wasn’t the ultimate culprit. Branch did seem a bit eager to come work for his dad, something he surely wouldn’t want to do, and it seems that he was on to his father’s complicity the whole time. Finding out that he apparently ordered the murder of Walt’s wife is major, and it’s going to have serious repercussions going forward, which hopefully won’t rip the town apart and make the idea of Walt and Branch working together again an impossibility. This was a good season, and I look forward to next year.

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Katee Sackhoff as Vic