What I’m Watching: Big Sky

Big Sky: Season 1, Episode 5 “A Good Day to Die” (B-)

If nothing else, this episode delivered a major cliffhanger ending as the show heads into a six-week hiatus. I was wondering how many times Jenny and Cassie could get close to Rick before they finally found the missing girls, and I actually thought that Cassie showing up at the bar was going to be a repeat of the earlier scene with the shipping container and like the police arrival towards the end of “The Silence of the Lambs.” Instead, Rick only managed to outsmart them once, and then Cassie was on to him just at the time that the traffickers were due to arrive. He did do a formidable job of nearly convincing her not to shoot him, and even though she hesitated at first, she shot him right in the head in a way that won’t allow him any chance of survival. I’m not sure that’s the case for the four women who are about to be met by people expecting an easy pickup, and Jenny isn’t close enough to be of any help to them. Rick has obviously managed to go unnoticed for such a long time, earning the firm support of his supervisor and a shocked reaction from his wife when Cassie suggested that he could be mixed up in something bad. Ronald’s mother is the likelier one to connect the dots since she’s asserted her suspicions on several occasions, and I think that, even if Danielle’s appeal didn’t work, Jerrie did get to him, and he’s not going to be content knowing he sent them to some miserable fate over the border. We’ll have to see when this show returns for the rest of its expanded first season at the end of January.

What I’m Watching: A Teacher

A Teacher: Season 1, Episode 8 (B+)

As I mentioned last week, I’m glad that we didn’t spend time with Claire being in prison since, jarring as I’m sure that would have been to see, I don’t think it’s so necessary because this is ultimately about how her life will continue now that she’s been released. We got enough of a sense of the way that it will continue to follow her with the uncompromising demand to have her lift up her shirt as if she would be smuggling in urine to the test. She also demonstrated that she’d be great at a retail job but then promptly got humiliated by the school mom who wanted the woman trying to give her an application to know that it wouldn’t be acceptable for her to even be considered. Fortunately, her brother was kind to her, but his wife wasn’t quite so willing to condone her activities, like drinking wine during the day and feeling less than motivated after that scarring experience at the store. I immediately recognized M.C. Gainey from “Lost” and “Justified” as her father, and moving in with him seems like a good plan if only because he won’t judge her. I was not pleased to see Eric show up at her door and her let him in, but at least she knew what to say to make it clear to him that this couldn’t continue. I don’t think he’ll simply accept that, but they do need to take some time apart if only because, as she said, seeing him was a violation of her parole.

What I’m Watching: Industry

Industry: Season 1, Episode 6 “Nutcracker” (B+)

There was something about the way in which Eric was summarily dismissed for the simple act of locking Harper in an office – not any of the very concerning and unacceptable behavior that also occurred at the same time – that felt very believable. Evidently, an inquiry was conducted and that got us to the closing scene in which Harper was told of his separation and asked to sign the NDA, but I know that it’s also common that, regardless of the history someone has, one action can end a career. Harper was clearly uncomfortable when she met Eric’s wife and heard the way that he talked to her, including the fact that he told her about the bonus he was giving Harper for which she was “allowed to thank him.” Eric was even harsher to Greg when he demeaned him for having written a script, in a scene that reminded me of when Ken was admonished for being a sci-fi writer on the side in “Mad Men.” After initially seeming like a nemesis for Harper, Daria has become her strongest ally, even stepping in to try to handle the situation with Nicole that she might not fully understand. It also appears that Kenny is actually going to keep being nice to Yasmin, but it’s precisely her willingness to forgive his previous behavior that made Maxim not want to work with her. Her mostly non-physical affair with Robert took a new step in the bathroom at the party, and even the way Harper admonished them isn’t likely to deter them from continuing. This show has been renewed for a second season, which makes me feel better about sticking with it since now I feel like I’m managed to get moderately invested in the characters.

What I’m Watching: His Dark Materials

His Dark Materials: Season 2, Episode 5 “The Scholar” (B+)

It’s strange to see Mrs. Coulter in the world we know, examining a pair of jeans and not even bothering to feign interest in Lord Boreal going on about the sound quality of the speakers. He conveyed a negative attitude towards a culture of consumerism, not faith, and how not having daemons was barbaric. Mrs. Coulter, for not being familiar with the ways of this world, was well-equipped to pose as someone who knew it well, pretending to be an experimental theologian who was also Lyra’s mother so that she could get Mary to explain to her what her research was and what she had told Lyra. She was more than ready to use her daemon when Will cut in to steal the alethiometer while Lyra was distracting Lord Boreal. Being told that she was just like her mother was enough to motivate Lyra to do what she needed to make an escape, while Will withstood the emotional warfare tactic employed by Lord Boreal in threatening his mother. Mary got an unnerving and rather direct command from the angels that set her on a new path, and now it seems like she’s going to serve as a protector of sorts for our two protagonists, however that may be. Back at the Magisterium, Father MacPhail is taking active steps to combat insurgency that may have adverse effects, and there are just so many forces at play with different aims that immense conflict and loss of life seems inevitable over the course of the final two episodes.

Pilot Review: Tiny Pretty Things

Check out my one-minute take on every new pilot, which is embedded below and you can also watch by subscribing to movieswithabe on YouTube.

Round Two: Your Honor

Your Honor: Season 1, Episode 2 “Part Two” (B)

If there’s one thing that this show is doing for me, it’s eroding my confidence in judges. Judge Harris having Kofi’s jumpsuit pulled down so that he could inspect him for gang tattoos was disturbing enough, but it was also clear that Michael working so hard to create an alibi on the wrong day was something he knew to do because of his understanding of evidence. Being told by a disgruntled police officer that he had letting someone go who went on to commit a series of rapes was another indicator that Michael knows the law so well that he knows what works and what doesn’t, even if that doesn’t always get to the truth. Having the car gotten rid of would have gone a lot better had he not placed a call to his detective friend played by Amy Landecker from “Transparent,” who then made sure to locate it almost right away. Linking that to the crime meant a rush to put Kofi on trial for a more serious crime, one that he was ready to confess to because he was told he needed to do it. Lee was on to Michael also, refusing to simply accept her qualifications and Kofi’s poor chances as a reason that he would be interested in the case. Kofi’s fate is not looking good, and the guilty conscience that Adam has won’t help matters at all. I can tell the road we’re going down, and it’s a rabbit hole that’s only going to get worse for everyone as Michael expands this web of lies he’s creating.

What I’m Watching: Shameless

Shameless: Season 11, Episode 2 “Go Home Gentrifier” (B+)

It’s so strange to see Franny turning five years old since I can still remember when Debs, Carl, and especially Liam were close to that age when the show first started. Debs was the one trying hard to return to her childhood in by planning the perfect princess party for her daughter who couldn’t be any less interested. I enjoyed seeing Sandy and Tami interact since those two relatively new additions to the cast haven’t spent too much time together, even if all they were really doing was bonding over how overboard Debs was going for the party. There were a number of business developments in this hour, starting with Liam taking a stand to distribute free lunches to the kids at school labeled with “lunch debt” which feels like a very Frank move, seemingly philanthropic but surely with ulterior motivations, like the donations he was collecting or the fee he was planning on charging. Mickey wasn’t great at trying to make an honest living, instead coming up rather quickly with a plan to steal the dumpster full of expired food and sell it to the prison, a far speedier financial remedy than Ian’s carefully-calibrated hours. Kev and Veronica getting into business with Frank is clearly going to make them a lot of money, but not nearly as much as the sly and clever Frank plans on netting for himself. Lip and Tami discovering that their neighbors were the ones trashing their house so that they could keep property taxes down feels like a very appropriate thing for this show, an unfortunate realization that just counts as the way of life. Carl couldn’t have been more poorly-matched with a partner than Joshua Malina’s conflict-avoiding, eggplant parmesan-eating officer, but it appears he’s remedied that by getting him so drunk that he nearly died and probably won’t be fit for duty anytime soon. This show really is a blast.

Pilot Review: The Wilds

Check out my one-minute take on every new pilot, which is embedded below and you can also watch by subscribing to movieswithabe on YouTube.

Pilot Review: Adult Material

Check out my one-minute take on every new pilot, which is embedded below and you can also watch by subscribing to movieswithabe on YouTube.

What I’m Watching: The Mandalorian

The Mandalorian: Season 2, Episode 7 “Chapter 15: The Believer” (B+)

The fact that this episode is the second-to-last of this season shouldn’t be a disappointment to fans since Disney Plus just announced a horde of new Star Wars shows coming to the service in the future, including two spinoffs of this one. There are more than enough recurring characters to use, and this installment brought one of them back while setting him up for a future reappearance given that he’s now supposed to be dead. Mayfeld was a lot of fun this time around, startled to be plucked out of droid-supervised labor and even more surprised that the Mandalorian was the one who was springing him. It was interesting to see the two of them converse about things, even if Mayfeld was the one doing most of the talking. The pirates boarding their ship was reminiscent of a cross between “Mad Max: Fury Road” and the Reavers from “Serenity,” and the Mandalorian did well in hand-to-hand combat to knock them all off. It was strange for them to hear at the end of all this that their impressive efforts would bolster the Empire, shortly after TIE fighters showed up to save the day, another unusual event. Mayfeld was unexpectedly respectful to the Mandalorian, telling him that he had never seen his face and earning himself a second chance from Cara with his alleged death and freedom. The Mandalorian sending a threatening message to Moff Gideon was a bold move, and I’m excited for what I’m sure will be an action-packed finale.

What I’m Watching: Valley of Tears (Series Finale)

Valley of Tears: Season 1, Episode 10 “Valley of Tears” (B)

As expected, this series didn’t provide terrible happy endings for its characters. After the tank battle with plenty of casualties, Meni tried desperately to revive Yoni, who was injured and killed. That final post-credits scene was haunting, seeing a wounded Yoni walk through the streets and into a yeshiva where his religious father was studying, what I assume is meant to be an explanation of the impact that finding and then losing his son in this war had on Meni. Melakhi got to engage further with a war that he didn’t seem particularly interested in fighting, nominated to be on the first tank to head to Damascus by Colonel Almogi. He forgave Marco for everything in the heat of the moment because they had survived, an important development in their friendship even if it paled in comparison to everything else that happened on the battlefield. Avinoam was astute in his ability to recognize a spokesman on the radio broadcast he heard about Jerusalem and Tel Aviv having been invaded as Israel was prepared to surrender, but that didn’t stop the interrogator from bringing in Yoav and threatening to kill him if Avinoam didn’t talk. And the only parting glimpse of Dafna that we got was her walking through the desert, not found by the Syrians but also not able to locate either Yoav or Avinoam. This series has certainly been interesting, but it never quite reached the emotional impact of something like “Lebanon” or “Our Boys” to me. I’d still recommend it as an involving portrayal of war and a tribute to the many people who fought in the Yom Kippur War.

Series grade: B+
Series MVP: Shahar Taboch as Avinoam

What I’m Watching: Valley of Tears (Penultimate Episode)

Valley of Tears: Season 1, Episode 9 “The Abyss” (B+)

This episode felt like it jumped around a lot less, focusing in on its various storylines without breaking too much from them. The first few minutes were all about the tank with plenty of pressure and an intensity on the battlefield. The humorous banter between Meni and Melakhi helped produce a useful conclusion, that the Syrians were all about closing their hatches while keeping theirs open could actually provide the unit with an advantage since they would be able to see more clearly. Melakhi’s motivational speech about how the Syrians were on their way to his mother’s home in Jerusalem seemed to rally the assembled troops, and Meni fittingly relinquished command to the man who knew what he wanted and how to convince others that it was right to fight for it. Marco’s confession about trying to save his mother was an important moment that Melakhi seemed to take as best he could, and Meni and Yoni had their own version of a lukewarm father-son exchange that ended more positively than I might have expected. Avinoam and Dafna’s expedition to find Yoav ended in Avinoam’s almost immediate surrender and capture, and I thought that we were going to see him being interrogated at the end of the episode after he tried to talk too much to the other prisoners around him. Instead, we heard an argument made that it was indeed the Israelis and their Zionist imperialist ideals that started this war that began with a surprise attack, and the interrogator didn’t seem all that sincere about their shared culture when he didn’t get the answer he wanted. The finale will surely feature some closure, and I don’t imagine that all of these characters will survive what’s coming.

What I’m Watching: The Flight Attendant (Penultimate Episode)

The Flight Attendant: Season 1, Episode 7 “Hitchcock Double” (B+)

I was sad to finish this episode and then realize that this limited series has only one more episode left, which is a shame given the complexity of the characters and how much I’d be interested in continuing to explore them for many more hours to come. Maybe a second season will be possible even if it wasn’t planned? I loved how quickly things moved in this episode, with Cassie explaining to a dubious Miranda that she hadn’t done any of what she thought she had, and the two of them becoming allies rather than enemies. I enjoyed her readily admitting everything she had done, including having killed someone as recently as yesterday, when Annie fired off a few questions to make it clear just how impossible immunity would be to secure. Annie deciding to help her may not be that consequential, but it’s good to know that both she and Davey have forgiven Cassie since she can use all the friends she can get. Her response to Miranda dubbing her keeping location services on “amateur hour” was fantastic (“I am an amateur!”), though I don’t think Miranda had expected her breakdown at the AA meeting in the church, complete with her proclamation of “My name is Alessandra and I am not an alcoholic, but my dad may have been.” Miranda paid her a decent compliment by telling her that she begrudgingly respected everything she had managed to pull off so far, and she messed up by dropping the book so that their pursuer could take it. I had assumed that Buckley might have nefarious interests, though it is worth contemplating what his endgame has been since he could have killed or kidnapped Cassie on numerous occasions and chose not to. Megan didn’t do much to try to convince her husband that she wasn’t responsible for planting malware on his computer, and I’m very curious to see what comes of that and if it’s related to everything else.

What I’m Watching: The Flight Attendant

The Flight Attendant: Season 1, Episode 6 “After Dark” (B+)

Cassie hasn’t done a great job of showing other people in her life that she cares about them, and it’s beginning to have severe consequences in her greatest time of need. Annie wasn’t interested in hearing what she deemed conspiracy theory nonsense because she had already been pushed to the brink by having to give someone pills to take their own life, and finding out just then that Max had been hit by a car sent her over the edge. Her scene at the hospital with the woman who wasn’t named Jessica was superb, and I sincerely hope that Zosia Mamet gets awards recognition along with the rest of this cast. Cassie showing up drunk at her apartment with Buckley only made things much worse, and there was nothing pleasant about that parting interaction. Getting arrested for trying to steal the pony wasn’t a low point necessarily but it was an important transition to Miranda getting Cassie right where she wanted her, and the only upside is that Miranda hasn’t killed her yet. Miranda did take out the agent tailing Cassie whose identity she found comforting before defending herself against an attack in her car that she put to a swift and pointed end. It’s continually fascinating to see Cassie’s memories crumbling and unraveling before her, leading her to realize that her father wasn’t the role model she thought and that her brother deserved many apologies. While Cassie was drunk and distracted earlier in the episode, Megan managed, with her son’s help, to delete the voicemail that would have been very incriminating, but the fact that her husband got called into work is not a good sign.

Pilot Review: The Trial of Christine Keeler

Check out my one-minute take on every new pilot, which is embedded below and you can also watch by subscribing to movieswithabe on YouTube.