What I’m Watching: Conversations with Friends

Conversations with Friends: Season 1, Episode 9 (B+)

This show hasn’t actually spent that much time on Frances’ writing career, and opening with her narrating this episode was a helpful reminder that this is what she wants to do with her life. After her card was rejected and she wasn’t able to reach her dad to find out if he knew why her account was overdrawn, she had a surprise meeting with Valerie in which she overestimated where she was in this whole process. She didn’t have too much time to process that since she heard from Nick and then passed out outside in the rain. Bobbi sprang into action to help her, reminding her that she’s seen her naked a million times before and that she was going to undress her in the least sexy manner possible. It’s fascinating to see the complexities of their relationship, with Bobbi calling Nick on her behalf to take care of her after she expressed that she tried to tell him but, as Bobbi put it, likely in a “Frances way” rather than an actual way. Thanks to Bobbi’s intervention, Nick did show up, which was exactly what Frances needed in that moment. Letting her know that he told Melissa was important, but more than that, that he loved her and that he should have told her earlier. The dialogue on this show is superb and the delivery from the actors is even better, namely Frances’ “how much earlier” question. What he didn’t detail was how Melissa responded to his confession, and it will be interesting to see if Bobbi figures into the equation in a way that can make things make sense.

What I’m Watching: A Teacher (Penultimate Episode)

A Teacher: Season 1, Episode 9 (B+)

I found the scenes where Eric and Claire were together to be very worthwhile early on in this show, and I can appreciate why we’re not really seeing those anymore and instead following them both as they deal with their issues as individuals. I’m continually impressed with the guest talent this show is able to attract, inviting Michael Angarano from “This Is Us” and Grace Gummer from “Mr. Robot” to provide some form of socializing for each of the characters in this episode. Angarano’s Tinder date initially seemed like he might be a great match for Claire, but then he made their sex all about punishing her for being a bad girl as a result of her history that he had researched. She seemed to feed into that and feel like it was a way of atoning for her actions, and meeting Matt to go over divorce paperwork didn’t make her feel any less guilty about what she had done. Eric, on the other hand, finally met people who weren’t aware of who he was, and he got set up with the relatively sweet Chloe. Her expressing difficulty getting over her past relationship and not wanted to just be set up with someone else seemed to push Eric to realize that he needed some help. Both of them eventually went to their parents for comfort, which is interesting, even if Claire wouldn’t want to admit that her father can be helpful. I’m not sure what to expect from the series finale, or even if for some reason this show might continue beyond its initial order given the strength of these characters and their possible future plotlines.

Emmy Catch-Up: Normal People

Every year, I watch the six submitted episodes of every series I don’t regularly watch that’s up for one of the Emmy series prizes. This year, I’m watching the entire season of every series nominated in the top category, as well as this one, which netted a few important nominations even if it missed the main limited series race.

Normal People: Season 1, Episode 9 (B+)

It’s been miserable watching Marianne suffer in relationships with other people than Connell over the course of the past two episodes, since there’s something that feels more secure about Connell being the one to hurt her because he might eventually do something tender to try to make up for it. Lukas wasn’t nearly as clearly toxic as Jamie, and we got clarification that she was the one who asked him to tie her up and treat her a certain way during sex, something Connell did not like being asked about at the bar. Contrasting the passionate sex between Connell and Helen to Marianne seeming bored even with that added kink showed how deeply unhappy she was, and Lukas didn’t understand at all that she was legitimately upset about him taking pictures of her while naked and tied up. I still can’t understand how Daisy Edgar-Jones hasn’t garnered exactly the same praise as Paul Mescal for this show since her performance is simply astounding. Helen did well meeting Connell’s parents but even she couldn’t help but frame the conversation around Marianne, asking how she did and then later pointing out how much she’s still a part of their relationship. The narrated e-mail conversation between Marianne and Connell was powerful, lending the snow-decorated scenery a timelessness as the two of them navigate romances that don’t initially seem problematic but ultimately place them with other people. I wasn’t sure at first why this show was twelve episodes long but now I wish there were many more installments than just three left.

What I’m Watching: The Affair

The Affair: Season 5, Episode 9 (B)

On the plane, Whitney accused Audrey of using her father to represent everything that men have done wrong to women, and it’s interesting that this show is doing the opposite, using Noah to show what men are capable of and how even he (and Helen) can’t recognize what he’s done and how he operates in the world. The story couldn’t have possibly come out any worse for Noah, who, as usual, responded with nothing but anger and denial, unable to acknowledge his own role in hurting other people, even if he believes he’s become better since that time. Whitney confronting Andrea on the plane was an intense and direct move, one which showed how well Whitney can mirror her father’s demeaning tone in how she talks to people, before Audrey turned it all on her and opened her mind to the possibility that her father might in fact be completely guilty as charged. Helen seemed more furious at Sasha than anything, and that’s understandable given how he helped the dots get connected in a completely self-serving way to discredit Noah and earn sole writing accolades for a story that was never his in the first place. Helen should be able to see Sasha for how similar to Noah he is in some respects and to appreciate that at least Noah doesn’t believe that he’s entitled to everything the way that Sasha does. With just two episodes left, it still looks like no one will get a happy ending, and I’m curious if we’ll see the fates of anyone besides Joanie and Luisa.

What I’m Watching: The Affair

The Affair: Season 4, Episode 9 (B)

I have mixed feelings about this episode, which casts things more into doubt than they’ve ever been on this show. I liked how, as far back as the first-ever episode, there were differing portrayals of the same situation, with the perception of Noah’s initial meeting with Allison always standing out in my mind. What this episode did that no other has done before is to show the same event twice from the same character’s perspective, with two remarkably different outcomes and the knowledge that this is the last we’ll ever see from Allison. I read one recap from Vox as soon as I finished the episode to try to make sense of it, and I think part of the idea is that we’re not supposed to know what really happened. Everything else we’ve seen of Ben suggests that it was the first account, since even Noah doesn’t have an idyllic perception of himself when we see things from his point of view. It’s possible that their romantic and wonderful interaction did happen, but, playing it over in her head, Allison imagined it the other way, causing her to doubt her own purpose and sanity, finding it hard to believe that she had finally met someone who could be right for her. I don’t think that Ben has become an important enough part of the show to be central in the fifth season that will proceed without Allison, and she’s likelier to be remembered and present weighing on the consciences of her ex-husbands. Her final line, “I didn’t seduce you, but even if I did, I’m allowed to change my mind,” is a haunting goodbye, one that will memorialize the way that her life hasn’t gone anywhere near the way she’s wanted it to. Ruth Wilson has been uniquely terrific on this show, and though she asked to leave the series, I think she’s been a tremendous and crucial part of it being what it’s been, and was always a cut above the material when it went through some rough points.

What I’m Watching: Mindhunter

Mindhunter: Season 1, Episode 9 (B+)

We’re getting to the point where the actual interviews encompass a small portion of the hour and it’s the analysis and, in this case, fallout that occupy much more time. Richard Speck was probably the most memorable interviewee yet, mainly due to the showy entrance that Holden and Bill had tried to avoid and the vicious language that he used. It was indeed interesting that Speck was so insistent that he wasn’t crazy like the other people they were talking to, though he didn’t do much to prove that. The most disconcerting part of the entire interview was Holden deciding to use crude language of his own to bait Speck, which worked but also ended up getting the team in hot water after that. The ousted principal’s wife tracking Holden down at home and commenting repeatedly on how young he and Debbie were to be ruining someone’s life was yet another signal that Holden, in his calm, matter-of-fact way of speaking, is going totally rogue. Having Gregg redact Holden’s controversial part of the conversation was a deliberate act, and the fact that no one in the Office of Professional Responsibility actually cared about Speck’s complaints doesn’t negate what happened. Wendy and Shepard listening to the tape indicated that they don’t trust Holden, and their joint decision to destroy the tape didn’t mean much when Gregg decided to mail it in anyway. I’m curious to see what happens in the finale and how that plants the seed for the second season that was recently announced.

What I’m Watching: The Affair

The Affair: Season 3, Episode 9 (C+)

It’s always hard to negotiate a twist that you don’t like with a show’s quality, but in this case, I’m pretty sure that we’d be better off without it. Even back in season one, I thought that the mystery of what happened with whoever it was that got run off the road late at night and both Noah and Alison being suspects was the least engaging and compelling part, and that’s triply true now in season three. I think most had probably begun to suspect that there was no way that what Noah was experiencing could be real, with his hallucinations at Helen’s house being the most telling. But to learn that he built up this relationship with a guard who barely even knew or spoke to him while he was in prison suggests that he’s had a total break with sanity. Before, Noah was a terrible person who couldn’t stay with any woman because of his selfishness and desire to do what he wanted, but now he can’t really be blamed because he’s not in control of his actions. I don’t know where we go from here, since the revelation that he was the one who attacked himself isn’t going to go over well with any of the many women in his life. We got to see a different kind of crazy on full display as Helen’s parents dragged her into their panic room to lock her up before she could go tell the world that she was driving the car – which she ended up doing, just to make sure that someone hears her and ends up turning her in. With just one episode left, I don’t know where this show can possibly go, and I think I’ll be headed into season four considerably less excited than I have been in the past after this disappointing redirection.

What I’m Watching: The Affair

The Affair: Season 2, Episode 9 (B+)

This episode did something very surprising, and it did it seamlessly, which is especially impressive. This season expanded upon the double-perspective format by opening up the storyline to four points of view, and this episode abandoned all that and just presented facts as they stood with each character experiencing misery of some sort, in some cases of their own making. Helen had a rare chance at happiness with a very flirtatious doctor played by Omar Metwally who happened to have operated on Martin, yet there were important warning signals in his behavior when he didn’t even pretend to be a nice guy while interacting with other people. Cole appears to have ruined his relationship with Luisa by lashing out at her after they had unprotected sex and she revealed that she is infertile, a particularly harsh thing to do that left him feeling awful and drinking the pain away. Alison had a nightmare of a birth with no sign of Noah, ending in a peaceful morning with her new baby that helped her to shut down Noah’s eventual delayed arrival. And then there’s Noah, who is a terrible human being, not bothering to look for his cell phone because he wanted to meet George Clooney and sleep with his publicist, too good to acknowledge his admittedly inappropriate friend Max, and stupid enough to try to drive high in a hurricane even before he knew that Alison was in labor. The most intense part of the episode was when Noah inched closer to two women making out and then made the horrifying discovery that Whitney was one of them. This all can’t possibly end well, yet we know that Alison manages to be on good terms with Noah, who can’t really get any lower than he is now. I’m glad to see that this season will be more than ten episodes, so there’s still some time to sort out all that’s currently wrong in this world and catch up to the future.

What I’m Watching: Downton Abbey (Season Finale)

Downton Abbey: Season 5, Episode 9 (B+)

This year’s Christmas special includes the obligatory trip out of town for the Crawley family, though this time it was somewhat different since most of the servants didn’t come with them. What that meant back home was a lovely dinner with just Carson, Mrs. Hughes, Mrs. Patmore, Molesley, and Daisy. This mega-episode had a lot to do with the servants and their roles, particularly when it came to them overexerting their places in efforts to preserve the traditional way of things. Tom receiving the cold shoulder from Stowell was the perfect impetus for Thomas to secret some revenge on him, setting him up to be disciplined by Lord Sinderby, but then going too far by having his mistress show up with a child. Fortunately, that was the ideal opening for Rose to prove her resourcefulness and her loyalty to her new family. Back at Downton, the rivalry between Denker and Spratt came to an entertaining head over a soup battle followed by a stern scolding from Violet. I was pleased to see Matthew Goode as Atticus’ neighbor and another potential suitor for Mary, not that it suggests much hope for his chances given how well his predecessors have done wooing her. Anna didn’t have to spend nearly as long behind bars as her husband did, and the unexplained ending suggests that they may in fact live happily ever after, which seems like a stretch but it’s honestly hard to stick with this whole Green plotline anymore. The very end of the episode featured another happy ending, one that could have been predicted a while ago but seemed like it was never going to happen: the engagement of Carson and Mrs. Hughes, one of the sweetest non-couples ever to become engaged. This season has been a positive and fun ride, somewhat repetitive but ultimately just the taste of soapy British period drama that it’s always been.

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Maggie Smith

What I’m Watching: The Affair

The Affair: Season 1, Episode 9 (A-)

It’s impressive that this show has been able to deliver some of its finest episodes after the summer, recounting the aftermath of this affair and how much of a lingering impact it’s had on its perpetrators. I thought that this show had completely abandoned its format since I must have missed the title card for part one, but it’s still extremely effective for its storytelling, so I see no issue with keeping it even though interviews are, for the most part, over. We got some very important pieces of information in this hour, namely that Allison’s medical instincts may have led directly to her son’s death and that Noah’s daughter is pregnant – by Cole’s brother. That’s a incestual web that is just getting more complicated, but it almost doesn’t matter because of how suddenly and irreversibly certain things are happening. Allison learning from Cole’s mother that the ranch is worthless burst all her hopes for the future instantly, and Cole showing up as she was about to board the train for the city was bold and surprising. The fact that Noah was actually there in the frame but not seen for us until the episode’s closing moment was excellently prolonged, and it makes waiting for next week’s finale incredibly difficult. Noah’s attitude towards putting Allison in a bachelor pad that would never be big enough for two people was far too casual, but then he took a huge leap and, out of nowhere, confessed everything to Helen and told her that he wanted to start the process of separating. Helen didn’t even want to discuss it for a moment, and that means that it’s going to be very hard to come back from this moment of honesty. Where that leaves a second season of this show is a mystery to me, but I’m eager to find out.