MoviefiedNYC’s TV recap: 9/29-10/5

Was TV worth watching this week? Warning: spoilers, definitely.

Gotham: Gotham’s sophomore episode is kind of terrible. The editing choices continues to confuse me, as the scenes are cut together pretty awkwardly. And I think they’re trying really hard to give the characters mannerisms that they have in the comics but it’s just not translating well to TV. This episode was harder to watch for other reasons as well. The plot lines are bordering on silly (child-snatchers that seem like they’re stuck in the 1950s), and the entire police department is so laughably crooked that I feel like I’m watching some bad 70s cop show. Selina Kyle got more to do this episode, but honestly I’m not even sure that I care. Worth watching? I always think it’s important to watch at least the first 3-5 episodes of any new show, so yes, but allow for some eye rolling.

Sleepy Hollow: The second episode of everyone’s favorite Revolutionary War-meets-the-supernatural drama brought back my favorite gag of all time: Ichabod is confused by the 21st century. This time his foe is the banking system, and on any other show, with any other actor, this gag would already be old, but Tom Mison’s delivery keeps it funny and fresh every single time. This episode, Ichabod and Abbie attempt to rescue Katrina (who is getting a little boring), they hint at a love triangle (even more boring), and they create their own version of Frankenstein’s monster who is actually pretty sweet and loyal, for all that he’s a reanimated corpse. There’s a really great moment between Abbie and Ichabod where she says, “My faith in you in my greatest weakness,” and my heart sort of shrivels up in my chest. In the end, Katrina decides to remain with the Horseman of Death as a spy, Irving is back but accidentally signs something in his own blood (which cannot end well), and Jenny is back in jail. All in all, a pretty casual week for Sleepy Hollow. Worth watching? Absolutely.

Faking It: Again, the show that I weirdly look forward to every week. This episode is all about the awkwardness between Karma and Amy now that the truth is out between them about Amy being in love with her. Lauren’s secret is addressed again in a not-so-great way (Karma and Amy lord it over her during a game of truth or dare, which I think is actually pretty messed up), but then it’s more or less patched up by the end when Lauren tells two other girls, and she’s received with nothing but understanding and friendship. Actually, my favorite bits of this episode were those that dealt with Liam and Shane’s friendship, namely, Liam’s anger and betrayal at Shane for not telling him the truth about Karma and Amy. Liam is mad and and hurt and I love it, it’s good to see him this way, and I can’t wait to see how they fix it. Also, Shane weirdly breaks up with his boyfriend out of nowhere? Not sure how I feel about that, and I hope they address it again in the next episode. Worth watching? Do I still need to answer that?

The Mindy Project: Much better (and funnier) this week. Mindy and Danny pretend to break up so that her lawyer ex-boyfriend Cliff will help her with her taxes, and it ends up being absurdly sweet as Danny learns to give Mindy a more tangible place in his apartment. Jeremy doesn’t really have much to do this season yet, but Peter’s hilarious, so that’s a plus. Worth watching? Definitely.

How to Get Away With Murder: HtGAWM was even better this week, if that’s possible. Connor continues to be one of the most compelling characters on TV right now (watch for the scene where he pretends to be a murder victim, if nothing else), we learn more about the eponymous murder (Wes’ neighbor, Rebecca, is definitely involved), and we also learn that Annalise is suspicious of her husband, who was probably definitely having an affair with Lila Stangard, the dead student that was found at the end of the first episode. More intriguing points? A comment is made by Frank about him not being the only one they have to worry about when it comes to sleeping with students, which makes me hope that Bonnie (played by Gilmore Girls’ Paris Geller) is either a lesbian or bisexual, and is also interested in Lauren. Maybe it’s just me, but I think that would spice things up. So overall, worth watching? Yes, and I imagine it’ll continue on being that way.

Scandal: Just when I think I might really not care about Scandal at all anymore, it draws me right back in. Towards the end of the last season, Mellie really became a sympathetic, likable character, and that’s only continuing this season. Her and Cyrus shared the most raw, beautiful moment in which they didn’t exactly bond over their losses, but shared them. I’m just so relieved the writers haven’t forgotten James existed and are honoring his place in Cyrus’s life. The writers also finally owned up to the fact that Fitz is the most left-leaning Republican in all of existence, and I actually respected him a little bit for his moving speech at the end of the episode. Finally, Portia de Rossi is paying a sex worker to seduce Cyrus and it’s making me unbelievably sad. Why is Portia de Rossi so mean? Also- when are they going to introduce another queer character (besides Cyrus) that doesn’t just function as a love interest for him? All in all, was this episode worth watching? I can’t believe I’m saying this, but yes.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Brooklyn Nine-Nine was so much better this week! The humor, the heart—everything that was missing in the season premiere was in this episode. The bonding between Jake and Terry as Terry tries to go through with a vasectomy was great, and Kyra Sedgwick guest-starred as an ex-colleague of Captain Holt’s in what is probably the best guest-starring role that will happen on comedy all season. Worth watching? Please do, and immediately.

Revenge: Honestly, Revenge was pretty lackluster. They’re trying to make Margeaux relevant, but I don’t really care about her and her younger brother, Gideon, who is a murderer. As everyone is in this show. Charlotte now knows the truth about Emily’s identity, to which she rationally responded by knocking Emily unconscious, trapping her in The Stowaway, and then setting it on fire. As you do. Nolan is pretty much entirely irrelevant this episode, Daniel and Margeaux are sleeping with each other again, and Victoria has been kidnapped by David Clarke, who doesn’t know that Emily is actually Amanda, and now she has him believing that she’s ruined Victoria’s life so he’ll help her take revenge. Even just writing this tiny recap exhausted me. Worth watching? Honestly, no.

Stay tuned next week to find out if Scandal will disappoint me after all, if Gotham will get any better, and if I finally decide to just give up on Revenge.

-Mariana Zavala