11-8-13

Warning: Contains so many spoilers!

Internet friends, rejoice! All my shows were back on the air this week, and for the most part, I was a super happy dude. Not all my favorite programs lived up to their expectations (it was kinda ¾ for me), but it’s comforting to have one’s weekly allotment of boobtube time. Things are definitely going in the right direction TV-wise, and now that we’re midseason, I can honestly say I’m excited for some raised stakes.

I’ll start with the one negative review I have. How I Met Your Mother has been pretty decent this final season, but this week was mega disappointing. Lily sent Ted to a romantic lighthouse with Cassie (who sucks), Barney and Robin had some reconciliation time with Barney’s mother (scrambled eggs?), and Clint (Ted’s hippy father-in-law) tried to tag along on Marshall and Daphne’s road trip. Actually, the Ted plotline got to end in a sweet scene between himself and the future mother, and Marshall’s rage in his final scene was damn awesome. The problem, mainly, was the oversaturation of Clint’s character. We get it, he’s a hippy dude who can’t land a job and works as the final straw in Marshall’s collapse into being angry, but beyond that he was whiny and overshadowed the nice moments of the episode.

But then oh man New Girl was awesome. Nick and Jess got in a fight over the fact they’d never had the boyfriend/girlfriend talk, and Coach (Damon Wayans, Jr.) returned to force the dudes to a strip club. So, thematically, nothing new, but the writers and actors here are original and quirky enough to have made it super fun and touching. The highlight was Jess’ reaction to a super hot black man trying to lay her, and Nick’s ability to overlook his appearance in the loft (then punching him, which was rad). Nick and Jess continue to be a strong TV couple, regardless of what the writers throw their way, and that’s quite a feat to see.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was better than it’s ever been. While investigating crazy electrical psionic attacks, the group encounter a Chitari helmet carrying a virus capable of frying one’s brain from the inside. Simmons is infected and trapped in the lab to find a cure, the brain blast capable of exploding the plane. So, mad dramatic. Fitz turns out to be even more awesome and lovingly traps himself in the lab with Simmons, but they are unable to find a cure and Simmons throws herself off the plane! Grant, being the beefy action star, parachutes to save her, but whatever because the real weight of this installment is the chemistry (wordplay!) between Fitz and Simmons, two strong characters that have only just been given an opportunity to shine. I call this episode the best of the week (and season) because screw the comic action and bring on devastating emotional character moments.

And then, finally, Elementary was as good as it always is, if not a little better. Turns out (spoilers!), Joan and Mycroft did sleep together, and Sherlock spends most of the episode making fun of them but also really uncomfortable (Jonny Lee Miller is incredible). The discomfort between Miller and Rhys Ifans’ Mycroft is palpable; these are two crazy good actors playing to their subtle best. The mystery was also better than usual, as it involved some illicit affairs, a counterfeit horse, a four-fingered sniper, and even a whole fake fingerprints scheme. Some weeks you really have to admire good television. Though, my expectations just shot up, and that is never a good thing midseason.