- This episode was particularly exposition-tastic. It wasn't really a great stand-alone episode of television, but it dispensed a lot of information vital to the series in as elegant a manner as possible, which is all that one can really ask of an adaptation dealing with as sprawling a world as this one.
- Sansa's discussion of mothering male heirs in this episode, and the show's ongoing descriptions of houses with interrupted lines of succession due to war made an interesting contrast with the recent royal wedding business. Obviously, the newly-minted Duchess of Cambridge doesn't have to worry about those same negative implications of producing female heirs, but the suggestions of a reproductive imperative in royal marriage were still swirling all around that event.
- There are many character introductions that fill me with delight (the third episode did a great job of bringing in a lot of the series' major supporting characters without making it feel like too many pieces were coming into play) but inception of Jon and Sam's wonderful bromance made me particularly happy.
- The Skins fan in me freaked out to see Joe Dempsie playing Gendry. It's always nice to see an actor you like in a role that starts out relatively small - it speaks to the potential for world-building in the show that they've already cast the role with someone who can handle it becoming more prominent. It's probably looking too far ahead to think about how awesome he might be working with Maisie Williams in the second season, but I'm excited anyway.
The Killing
I keep thinking back and comparing this show with the first season of Veronica Mars in reflecting on why I think it's not quite working. Veronica Mars did a great job of sustaining its overall arc, especially in pacing revelations regarding the conspiracy around imprisoning the wrong man for Lilly's murder and in maintaining a cloud of suspicion around several characters until the final reveal of the real murderer. It made Lilly Kane a vivid character in her own right, showing not just that the remaining characters missed her but illuminating her unique personality and presence. And it introduced Aaron Echolls with subtlety, showing that he could be a villain without making it immediately clear that he was the villain.
Conversely, I feel like I can't say much about Rosie Larsen, besides that she liked butterflies and had some shady friends. The show has drawn great performances from Brent Sexton and Michelle Forbes in showing the Larsens' grief, but still has this distinct void around who Rosie was and what specifically they miss about her. While I could see the Richmond campaign tying back in to the murder investigation later in the season, right now it's making for a dull B-story that highlights how little is being solved week-to-week in the A-plot. I'm trying to be optimistic, and could definitely see them pulling out a great couple of episodes once they let the audience in on who the killer was and how he or she has been covering their tracks. Right now, though, it's not quite all gelling.
Gossip Girl
I love the way the show uses Desmond Harrington. It's like Stephanie Savage keeps him locked up in a closet somewhere in Silvercup and once a year just sort of drags him out, dusts off the mothballs and sticks him in front of a camera to do the Jack Bass thing. He's turned into one of the show's few recurring characters who is used exactly the right amount.
Parks and Recreation
- So back in January, Amy Poehler did this interview with Alan Sepinwall where she mentioned the drunk talking heads from "The Fight" and how awesome they were, and I kept thinking back to that wondering when they would come up and whether I was over-hyping them in my mind. The reality, somehow, was so much better.
- There's something I really love about April's pretense that the Snakehole Lounge is actually named after someone whose last name is Snakehole.
Friday Night Lights
- I love how over the years my FNL viewing keeps coming around to some point or another where I end up shaking my head sadly at the TV, sighing, and saying, "Oh, Julie." I can't even quibble with what a terrible decision-maker she is, since the vast difference between her idea of her worldliness and her actual worldliness been such a consistent part of her character nearly since the pilot. (In fact, I'm pretty sure there's a fairly direct line between that charmingly pretentious analogy she makes between the Panthers and Moby Dick and her ultimately having an affair with a TA.) I just hope the rest of the season doesn't leave her too downtrodden.
- It is positively eerie how much the kid they have playing Buddy, Jr. looks like Brad Leland.
On pickups and cancellations:
We're heading into one of my favorite times of year, when the TV year ends. The next weeks will have upfronts with pilot pickups and show renewals, and then comes Dream Emmy ballot time. (Yay!) It's been interesting to watch the news of cancellations and renewals coming down this week - it seems like most of the networks are ready to clean their slates and work on reshaping their brands. If there's been another season since the writers' strike with so much turnover, I can't recall it. Most of the cancellations were unsurprising, though some were disappointing - I felt like Detroit 1-8-7 and Off the Map had great casts with material that could've made great shows with a little tweaking and refining. And I was happy to see that Happy Endings got a renewal - there's definitely the potential for a great second season there, a la How I Met Your Mother. More commentary yet to come as the weeks progress and I reflect on which shows I may stop watching looking ahead to next season...
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