MoviefiedNYC’s TV recap: 10/6-10/12

Was TV worth watching this week? Major spoilers, as always.

Gotham: The most interesting thing about this week’s episode was the furthering of the subplot between Renee and Barbara. We found out that they both used to addicts (drugs and alcohol are implied), and Renee still definitely has feelings for Barbara, which is no small part of why she’s so determined to take Jim down. Jim himself continues to be an archetype without any real character behind him, and I realize that I don’t actually understand any of these characters. Most of them are, like Jim, simple archetypes, and it seems like the writers are relying too deeply on what’s already known about these characters and sacrificing making them unique to this adaptation. Baby Bruce Wayne and Alfred have their little side scenes that don’t have anything to do with the overall plot, all the cops are still laughably corrupt, and Selina Kyle is free from the clutches of Child Protective Services. I loved the pilot, but I gotta say, all subsequent episodes have been a disappointment. Worth watching? For Renee and Barbara, yes.

Sleepy Hollow: This week on Sleepy Hollow, the writers finally acknowledged gay people exist! Abbie thinks that Ichabod is horrified, but he’s really just upset that one of the gay men is wearing a hat indoors. Bless you, Ichabod Crane. This week’s episode centers around a coin that causes the holder to betray their deepest loyalties (oh, so that’s why Benedict Arnold did what he did), and eventually Jenny gets her hands on it. Now, everyone (including me) assumes that Jenny will betray Abbie, but in the most beautiful twist, she goes after Leena Reyes (can someone clarify why Sakina Jaffrey is constantly playing Latinas despite being Indian? No? Okay then.), and my heart breaks at the fact that even under possession by an evil coin, Jenny will still not betray Abbie. This is the best written sister relationship on television. We get a little more info about the Mills sisters’ mom, and Reyes continues to have dubious motives. Worth watching? Like every episode of Sleepy Hollow, yes.

Faking It: Faking It got weird this week. Displaced Brazilians from their sister school come to stay for the week, so obviously this means that everyone’s hormones will be running high. Karma is desperate to set Amy up with anyone (and apparently Amy is bisexual, which I am cool with) and Amy finally kisses another girl!!! Too bad it won’t lead to anything. Liam finally tells Shane that he slept with Amy (and I’m waiting for this to come out to Karma too, because I’m tired of actually feeling bad for her), and they really haven’t revisited Shane’s ex-boyfriend, which surprises and disappoints me, because I’d like him to have a legitimate love interest. Lauren also meets a cute boy, and I hope things go well for her, because she deserves it. Worth watching? Yes.

The Mindy Project: I find myself with little to say about TMP when I have to write about it beyond your standard recap. Mindy continues to be hilarious and oh, so inappropriate (I still think she’s the realest character on TV right now), and I did actually really enjoy the anal sex storyline (never thought I’d type those words in succession) because it dealt with issues of consent, sexual insecurity, and the fact that just because you’re in a relationship with someone does not mean that they have the right to do whatever they want sexually. Peter is interesting to me again, though Jeremy is not. Worth watching? Yup.

Thursday, 10/8

How to Get Away With Murder: For me, the cases of the week tend to be secondary, and I don’t mind that at all. Now, before I talk about what went down with Michaela this week, I’m gonna go through everything else. I am waiting to see whether Laurel sleeps with Frank or Bonnie (I mean, it’s pretty much been implied that she will eventually sleep with Frank, but I think this show is setting it up as a love triangle, and I love that. Finally: a queer love triangle with queer women! That is, if I’m not totally misreading it. I tend to find the Wes-and-Rebecca plot pretty uninteresting, though I did appreciate his rant at Annalise about defending her, and his well-deserved win of the trophy at the end of the episode. Okay, now to address the Michaela/Connor scandal. At first, it was funny. Connor slept with Michaela’s fiancee back in the day, he’s lording it over her because they’re rivals. Then it got less funny. Thanks to a really enlightening post a friend wrote, I changed a few of my initial opinions. First, Connor outs Aiden (Michaela’s fiancé) which is never okay. Then the bisexual erasure. To quote my friend: “You’ve got an intelligent, educated Ivy League woman in her mid-20s who apparently doesn’t know bisexuality exists (unlikely) or has entirely dismissed it as a valid sexuality (more likely), who completely flips out at her fiancé having had sex with a dude, like, a decade ago.” Now, I actually liked Michaela’s monologue in that I thought it gave a lot of insight into her character. She’s cultivated this whole image that reflects who she desperately wants to be rather than who she is, and she’s so insecure that knowing Connor, her rival in every way, has slept with her fiancé before her? It cracks this fragile facade that she’s trying to keep up. I don’t think she’s actually homophobic or bipobic or anything like that, but she’s desperate for control and she has a very tenuous hold on it at this point. That being said, as a bisexual woman who writes about media, it does truly bother me that the word “bisexual” was never said, or even thought of as a possibility, because bisexual erasure is so unbelievably widespread in media. So in the end I’m conflicted, but that doesn’t make this episode any less worth watching.

Scandal: Remember last week when I said that Scandal had surprised me and made me care? Yeah it did not recreate that experience for me. Right now Team Olivia consists of only her, Huck, and Quinn, which happen to be three of my least favorite characters. Abbie finally makes her mark on the White House, which I’m so happy about, Fitz is hardly there, which I’m also so happy about, and Mellie seems to be losing her mind despite the fact that it seemed like she was starting to get herself together, which I am not so happy about, but it is interesting. Michael the prostitute has succeeded in seducing Cyrus, which makes me really sad. Also, is it just me or are there a lot of these “only gay character gets seduces by a man with ulterior motives” plotlines? Because it happened on the Borgias too. Jake found out that Olivia’s dad killed Fitz and Mellie’s son, so looks like there will be a power struggle there (again). Seriously, what can this show do that it hasn’t already done? Worth watching? Truly, no. Just rewatch season one instead.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Brooklyn Nine-Nine was so sweet this week! I’m loving the development of Jake’s feelings for Amy, and his genuine affection and the fact that he’s taking it seriously. He’s making an attempt to get over her, but I for one hope he doesn’t. Gina and Boyle are still doing their thing, but it’s a boring storyline in my opinion. Still, at least it means Boyle isn’t creeping all over Rosa again. Kyra Sedgewick is continuing her guest-starring streak, and I hope they make that last as long as possible. Worth watching? For the most part.

Revenge: Revenge was boring this week. Like Scandal, it has run out of, well, scandals. Victoria is holed up with David Clarke and plotting her ascension to power, Charlotte has finally been introduced to him, Victoria is trying to trick David into killing his own daughter (Emily, not Charlotte), and then he tries, but sees her face and recognizes her. The Stowaway has burned to the ground and Jack is taking this as a chance to start over. Nolan has no plot to speak of whatsoever, and instead I have to watch Margaux and Daniel have sex and attempt to gain power. All good things must come to an end, and this show isn’t even good anything, but it’s still going. Worth watching? Don’t hold your breath.

The Walking Dead: I am about to say something I never thought I’d say again: The Walking Dead was amazing this week. What a season premiere. This is exactly what the show has been missing for the last season and a half! The pacing, the content, the writing, all of it was perfection. I literally feel like I have almost nothing to say except that it was perfect, and I rarely feel that way about television. In the premiere, they dealt with Terminus in its entirety: explored the cause and effect of human nature during the apocalypse (the sanctuary that could never be, that had to mold itself into into the exact opposite of what it wanted to be to survive), and then completely dismantled it, which is a relief because I’m 100% over these stationary seasons. The camp, the prison, they were both monotonous and I’m excited to see the gang on the move again, especially because the gang is back together again! Carol single-handedly saved the day and it looks like that’s penance enough for Rick, who welcomed her back into the group (I’m sure saving his child was part of it). And what made the last two seasons of terrible television worth it? The way that Daryl unhesitatingly ran into Carol’s arms the second he saw her, cried and clutched at her after their lengthy separation. The last bit of heart this show has is in their relationship, and I’m desperately hoping they stay together this season, otherwise I really might finally give up. I have two hopeful predictions for this season: Carol replaces Rick as leader of the group, and Carol and Daryl finally, definitively get together. Romantically. Questions to still be solved: where is Beth, and what will happen now that Morgan is back? I didn’t see that one coming. Worth watching? For the first time in about two seasons, the Walking Dead is worth watching again.

Tune in next week to find out if the Walking Dead will live up to its season premiere and to see if any TV show will ever actually utter the word “bisexual.”

-Mariana Zavala