Fans of How I Met Your Mother had circled “The Slutty Pumpkin Returns” on their calendar ever since word of the episode broke over the summer. A promise of a callback to any episode let alone one of the show’s first great ones comes with the caveat of exceedingly high expectations, easily the highest since 2009’s “Slapsgiving 2: Revenge of the Slap.”
Up to this point I have kept my suspicions about the potential upcoming plot twist in the sixth season of Dexter quiet, mostly because I myself hate spoilers. I never really understood people that actively seek to ruin or at the very least diminish their viewing experience by finding out the shocking moments weeks or months before they’re set to happen, but they do exist, and in this particular case I hit the internet to confirm to myself that I wasn’t, in fact, crazy. This entire paragraph should serve as a warning to anyone that doesn’t want to even have the possibility of a spoiler coming their way – this is entirely speculation, but there is mounting evidence to suggest that my and many other people’s shared theory is true.
The Walking Dead has been
stepping up its game this season, producing episodes, that while not
flawless, have shown marked improvement over their predecessors.
That trend continued with “Save the Last One,” an episode that
was filled with just about everything that’s been missing from this
series; including a healthy dose of good ol’ fashioned zombie
killing. Interestingly enough, while this episode’s subplots shined,
it was the source of those storylines itself in which most of the
problems lay.
It may sound odd, but it’s actually
nice to see some characters fighting for their lives; especially
since Hershel’s farm is starting to seem like a magical oasis from
the undead, fully equipped with hot showers. We have seen a few
zombies bite the dust this season, but it hasn’t been since last year
that the show has given us a true, do-or-die struggle with a couple
hundred “walkers” and it was overdue.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the majority of Supernatural fans would likely agree that the show used to be better than it is right now. The seventh season, much like the sixth before it, has had extremely good episodes in combination with weaker ones (last week’s “Shut Up, Dr. Phil” being a prime example of the lower end of the quality spectrum) whereas seasons one through five, if you are a fan, were largely excellent throughout. There were downfalls, this isn’t the greatest show ever made, but relative to the present, the past was a winner. With that in mind we come to Friday’s “Slash Fiction.”
Up to now the involvement of the Leviathan in the season has been somewhat on the back-burner since their introduction in the premiere. It has been fairly obvious since then that things weren’t going to stay that way, but how the super-monsters truly featured into the Supernatural universe hadn’t come close to being defined. What we know of them so far is that they are just about the closest that something could come to being invincible, they have the ability to shape-shift, and they’re not at all bothered about getting blood on their hands if it will help them get what they want. So far they’ve immersed themselves into powerful positions in society and their endgame is unclear.
Person of Interest delivered a solid sixth episode, a fitting celebration of the show earning a full-season order from CBS. “The Fix” saw a terrific guest-starring role from Paige Turco as Zoe Morgan, a hot-shot NYC fixer who has found herself in a little trouble after doing a favor for a big pharmaceutical company.
The Office has fairly strong
history of Halloween episodes, especially when the holiday isn’t
relegated to just the opening scene. “Spooked” might not have
been the best in that long line, but it was one of the better
episodes we’ve received so far this season, and certainly didn’t mar
the show’s reputation when it comes to celebrating All Hallows’ Eve.
A long overdue resolution to Andy and Erin’s relationship provided
the main storyline, but it was outshone by the episode’s subplots.
One of the most surprising things about
this episode was how much entertainment Pam and Jim were providing
with their storyline. The pair have been long past their prime as
the charmingly cute couple, and the humor they’ve provided has often
been just as sour. However, in “Spooked” the Halperts were
bringing their A-game, with a storyline that was earning laughs as
soon as it began.
Even a week is too long to be without
Parks and Recreation, so it’s return after this briefest of
hiatuses is still much anticipated. For the most part, “Meet ‘n’
Greet” met that unwarranted expectation with a Halloween bash at
the Dwyer’s. Though Leslie’s failed attempt at schmoozing some local
businessmen didn’t earn quite as many laughs as the costumed soiree,
it wasn’t dry enough to bring down this episode, which proved to be a
strong return for the series.
While Leslie was unsuccessfully
courting the small business vote, the real fun was happening at Andy
and April’s, and an unwilling Ben’s, Halloween extravaganza. Right
from the opening, the storyline was drawing laughs for April’s
macabre list of party supplies. I don’t know what “blood orphans”
are either, Andy, and I think that’s probably for the best. Things
really started cooking once everyone donned their costumes, well
except for Ben.
How I Met Your Mother did a full-on salute to parents in Episode 7.7, one that had decidedly more to offer long-time fans of the series than those who’ve simply followed the recent exploits. As for being Nora’s namesake episode, the events that unfold suggest quite a bit about the course of the season.
“Noretta” gets its title from combining “Nora” (Nazanin Boniadi), Barney’s girlfriend, with “Loretta” (Frances Conroy), his mother. In a seemingly random, but welcome (yet entirely too brief) guest appearance from Wayne Brady as Barney’s brother James, we are told that Nora is almost exactly like the boys’ mother. This triggers similar realizations in the rest of the gang, especially Lily, who’s getting self-conscious about her barely noticeable baby bump.
Last week, I found myself slightly annoyed at Dexter due to the lack time spent with both Brother Sam and our two killers, time that was instead invested in a hunt of Dexter’s that didn’t really deliver. It would seem that somewhere out there, someone may preemptively have heard my frustrations and written this week’s “A Horse of a Different Color.” Despite last week’s showing still maintaining a general air of quality about it, it would not be at all a stretch to say that this week’s episode blew it away. Whilst the majority of the time was still devoted to the employees of Miami Metro, Travis, Professor Gellar and Brother Sam all boosted their screen time in a more than pleasing way, with further insight being given to the killers, as well as further depth added to Dexter’s relationship with God.
We picked up with that faith factor being played upon as Dexter attended Nick’s baptism, performed by Brother Sam. It may just be that I have a weakness for the discussion of topics of such great magnitude as faith, science and belief in either, but the following scene between Dexter and Sam was one of the highlights of the episode for me. It wasn’t exactly in depth or even very long, but it established a sense of what it is to believe in the two men; Sam in God and Dexter in science. It was fairly lighthearted, but to me showed signs that Dexter’s faith is less than absolute, while Sam’s is unshakable. The notion that belief in science is itself a belief in a high order of things sets a foundation for Dexter throughout the episode to where he ultimately ends up.
Momentum is a tough thing to build for a procedural thriller like Person of Interest, even a backwards one, so while the week-to-week quality of Jonathan Nolan and J.J. Abrams’ new show remains high, the over-arching story seems to have gotten a bit stagnant in this fifth episode, “Judgment.”
