What I’m Watching: Legion

Legion: Season 3, Episode 2 “Chapter 21” (B)

This episode had its mesmerizing moments, but as I’m increasingly aware of the limited time we have left, I’d rather things moved a bit more quickly. It’s hard to know what’s real and what’s not, and I don’t expect any more clarity on that before the show ends. At least there are some concrete developments, even if they took a while to play out, and it’s interesting to see when David chooses to use his mind control abilities. He did it several times over the course of the episode, first dismissing Lenny with a sudden hunger and then encouraging Cary to make the power-enhancing device so that he too could enter the time travel area only accessible by Switch. When he communicated with Syd in Luke Skywalker levitation fashion, he started to show her the magic of their first meeting before she shut it down and emphasized that they don’t love each other and it doesn’t matter what he can undo since he did it once already. Farouk offering to train her in how to lie after he was introduced playing “Oh Christmas Tree” on the piano in black-and-white suggests that David won’t be the only one giving in to his inner evil this season. Squirrel getting tossed out of the plane was a bold and somewhat reckless move on the part of the “good guys,” and it seems that David and Lenny set exactly the trap they wanted to get Cary, whose mirror combing scene was quite disconcerting. Whether it’s Cary talking or David feeding words into his brain, the notion that he’s going to save the world means that maybe David isn’t actually going to destroy it.

What I’m Watching: House of Cards

House of Cards: Season 2, Episode 8 “Chapter 21” (B+)

Frank was busy trying to advance himself in this episode, and it worked wonders on one front while failing miserably on another. Cutting Linda out was rude and bordering on cruel, and she managed to offer up her resignation pretty quickly after Walker made it clear that he didn’t value her opinion as much as he did Frank’s. Linda’s parting gift accomplished one big thing, which was to make Frank respect her more than ever before, and now the question will just be who her replacement is. Frank was being awfully pushy with Walker, telling him that he couldn’t know things that might incriminate him, and made the careful distinction to make himself an equal by correcting “Mr. President” to “Garrett.” Claire made great progress with Tricia, who she has fully behind her on her military rape efforts, despite Megan’s inability to perform, and getting them into counseling is another victory that will surely pay off later for the Underwood-Walker relationship. Unfortunately, Frank and Claire’s White House successes made them much more vulnerable to what appears to be front-page news about Claire leaked by Remy and Raymond. Frank tossing the $200 steak at the dog took self-control, and I love that he called up to demand ribs be served on his flight back to the East Coast. Rachel’s newfound romance with her temporary roommate is sure not to last long, and giving Doug some intel likely won’t help in the long run. Remy and Jackie’s relationship continues to be fascinating, as the line between work and play becomes increasingly harder to see.

What I’m Watching: Eastbound & Down (Series Finale)

Eastbound & Down: Season 3, Episode 8 “Chapter 21” (B+)

It was hard to imagine how this show was going to end, yet somehow this conclusion summed everything up just perfectly. The opening scene with Seth Rogen was amusing, and his getting hit by a car was just what Kenny needs to get his shot in the major leagues. Storming into Andrea’s class proclaiming that it was something much more fantastic than a school shooting was bold, as always, and telling her that this was the breakup that really counted, highlighted by some biting revelations, was harsh but essentially just Kenny’s style. I was surprised that he seemed so eager to let Stevie go, relieving him of his duties as his assistant and giving him the right to name their child after him after confirming that Maria was in fact pregnant. Bringing Toby his pet hermit crab was a bittersweet goodbye, and it looked like Kenny really was leaving it all behind. Everyone cheering for Kenny in Texas was an unusual sight, and Kenny walking off the field because he couldn’t take it, unfortunately, wasn’t. Driving off a cliff and having his car explode was rather shocking, and the montage of everyone hearing the news, starting with a distraught Dustin, was appropriately moving. Leave it to Kenny to subvert death just to dye his hair blond and come back to April to start a family, having not processed the fact that he could just have had April and Toby come down to Texas to be with him while he played. It’s the perfect ending, and I’m so glad that this is where it’s all being left. This show truly was one-of-a-kind, and though season two got lost a bit in Mexico, this show never really lost its quality, and season three was a blast. I look forward to re-watching this show at some point – it’s been an unparalleled adventure.

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Danny McBride
Series grade: B+
Series MVP: Danny McBride