Category Archives: Television

The Best Thing I Saw on TV This Week (6/15 – 6/22)

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This week in television began with a conclusion, as Game of Thrones wrapped up an excellent fourth season with its greatest finale yet. Monday’s episode of The Bachelorette provided plenty of drama of its own, as accusations of racism and jealousy plagued an episode that featured my favorite suitor (Josh) getting his first one-on-one date. After a slow Tuesday night, Wednesday was quite eventful: more auditions on So You Think You Can Dance, a wedding on Melissa & Joey, big moves and almost-kisses on Baby Daddy, and one of the greatest episodes for Donna and Louis in the history of Suits. The week ended with another finale, as Saturday’s episode of Orphan Black closed the book on the show’s sophomore season with enough twists to keep viewers on the edge of our collective seat until Season Three (hopefully) airs.

I’ll be writing much more about this when I grade it (hopefully tomorrow!), but nothing on TV this week—not even a very strong Game of Thrones finale—could compare to Saturday’s Orphan Black finale. Off the top of my head, I could pick about five different moments that would qualify as the best thing I saw on TV in almost any given week. However, since I want to save some opinions for my full analysis of the episode, I’m going to pick the moment that brought me the most joy and also reminded me just how brilliant everyone involved with this show is: the Clone Club dance party.

I loved the fact that—in this breathless finale, filled with twists and crazy plot revelations from start to finish—the creators were brave enough to include a scene that had nothing to do with moving the plot forward. Its purpose was simply to show the dysfunctional but beautiful little family that has formed between these sisters, Kira, and Felix over the last two seasons. Watching all of these characters let off some steam and enjoy each other’s company by dancing together was everything I never knew I always wanted.

What impressed me the most in this scene was the totally unique movements Tatiana Maslany gave to each of the clones. Each dance style reflected each clone perfectly, and it was yet another moment where I completely forgot I was watching the same actress work her magic as so many different women. But upon reflection, I find myself even more in awe of this scene because of the technical work that had to go into shooting it. This scene demanded nothing less than complete dedication from the cast and the crew, but it ended up looking so effortlessly fun. That’s the mark of a great work of art—it takes a hell of a lot of work but looks like the most natural thing in the world.

What was the best thing you saw on TV this week?

Grading the Season Finales 2014: Game of Thrones

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GOT finale S4

As another strong season of Game of Thrones draws to a close, I wanted to say thanks to all of you who participated in our discussions every week. It was a pleasure to talk about this show with all of you. Also, just as a warning, it’s hard to talk about this finale without brining up spoilers for the later books in the series. There will be spoilers, and they will be in both this review and its comments, so proceed with caution.

Title The Children

Written By David Benioff & D. B. Weiss

What Happens? In the North, Jon meets with Mance Rayder before discovering that a new force has come to the Wall to bolster the ranks of the Night’s Watch: Stannis Baratheon, who forces Mance to surrender. Bran is also introduced to new, powerful friends (after losing one when Jojen Reed dies) as he reaches the Three-Eyed Raven, who tells him that he will never be able to walk, but he will be able to fly. Daenerys, on the other hand, needs to keep her “children” grounded after her dragons prove to be responsible for the death of a child, so she puts two of them in chains while Drogon is nowhere to be found.

In King’s Landing, Cersei enlists the help of Qyburn and his unnatural means to keep the Mountain from dying of poisoning after his fight with the Red Viper. She then tells her father that she refuses to marry Loras Tyrell, revealing her relationship with Jaime to Tywin in the process. But despite Cersei’s show of affection towards Jaime, he ultimately sides with Tyrion, breaking his little brother out of his prison cell and helping him escape.

Near the Eyrie, Arya is given a reason to escape from the Hound when she crosses paths with Brienne. While their swords initially provide a moment of bonding for the two women, Oathkeeper proves to be Brienne’s downfall, as the Hound names her as a Lannister sympathizer and fights to his (near) death to keep her from Arya. Afterwards, he’s left begging for death, but Arya does not kill him. Instead, she robs him and heads out into the world on her own once again.

With Jaime’s escape route set before him (planned by Varys), Tyrion also appears ready to head out into the world on his own. However, he first stops in his father’s quarters, where he finds Shae in Tywin’s bed. The sight is too much for Tyrion, who strangles the woman who once was his lover. He then sets his sights on his father, whom he confronts in the bathroom before fatally shooting him with a crossbow.

As Tyrion is put into a crate to travel across the sea, Varys realizes that Tywin’s death means he must also escape in order to avoid the sentence of aiding in patricide. The episode concludes on another ship, where Arya finds herself embracing the possibility of a new life in Braavos.

Game-Changing Moment There were simply too many game-changing moments in this finale for me to choose just one. So I’m turning this one around on you, friends. Tell me: Which moment do you feel was the most impactful? Tywin’s death had huge implications for not just Tyrion’s story but also for Cersei and Jaime, as well as all of the characters in King’s Landing. Shae’s death was a game-changer for Tyrion’s character because it forever altered the way we look at him. (Yes, she betrayed him, but he brutally strangled a woman he once claimed to love.) Arya’s escape to Braavos physically and emotionally put her in a new place. And Stannis’s appearance will have huge ramifications for all the storylines at the Wall (and in the fight for the Seven Kingdoms) going forward. So which did you find the most important?

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The Best Thing I Saw on TV This Week (6/8 – 6/15)

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I apologize for being late with this post once again, but I needed the extra day to get caught up on Orphan Black (and I’m so glad that I waited to post this until I did). 

This week in television started off with a penultimate episode of Game of Thrones that was possibly a little too heavy on the action sequences but somehow managed to strike a good balance with plenty of strong (and especially tragic) character beats as well. Sunday also featured a Tony Awards ceremony filled with incredible performances and plenty of deserving winners. The rest of the week’s TV offerings included another round of auditions on So You Think You Can Dance and another hilariously entertaining episode of Hollywood Game Night. The sports world also offered plenty of excitement in the form of NHL and NBA Finals, World Cup soccer, and U.S. Open golf. And Saturday’s episode of Orphan Black was filled with the plot twists, character development, and phenomenal acting that has made this show one of my favorites on television.

It was easy for me to pick the best TV episode I watched this week (that title belongs to Saturday’s Orphan Black), but it was far more challenging to pick just one moment from that episode as the single greatest one. Instead, I’m going to cheat a little bit and say that the best thing I saw on TV this week was a pair of moments that reminded me exactly why Tatiana Maslany is the greatest actress on television right now.

Sometimes we all get so wrapped up in talking about Maslany’s ability to seamlessly shift between clones that we fail to mention the real reason she’s such a good actress: Even if she only played Alison or Helena or Sarah or Cosima, she would still be deserving of critical recognition. She makes us care about each character on their own. Yes, sometimes I sit back in awe of the quantity of roles she plays, but this week, I was reminded that her true gift is in the quality she brings to each role. Watching Maslany, as Sarah, sit at Kira’s bedside as her daughter’s bone marrow was taken to give to Cosima, I found myself crying harder than this show has ever made me cry before. There was such real fear, love, and self-loathing in Maslany’s performance, and it was all shown with a subtlety that only the best actors possess. In that one moment, I forgot that there were other roles she plays on this show. I was so caught up in Sarah’s genuine and grounded emotions that everything else fell away, which is a hard thing to achieve on a show with as many plots as this one.

While Sarah’s bedside vigil reminded me that Maslany has a gift for making me care about each clone independent of the others, her turn as Rachel impersonating Sarah reminded me that the thing that really sets her apart from any other actress is the way she links so many independent characters together. From the slight changes in Sarah’s accent to the tiniest differences in her posture and gait, Maslany used her gift for subtlety to reveal to those paying attention that it wasn’t Sarah going up to see her daughter. Rewatching it again after the twist was revealed, I noticed all of those quirks, but in the moment, I was left with such a delicious feeling of eerie anticipation and total surprise. No other show gets the kind of visceral reactions out of me that Orphan Black does, and so much of the credit for that has to go to Maslany.

What was the best thing you saw on TV this week?

Game of Thrones Moment of the Week: “The Watchers on the Wall”

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The Moment: Ygritte dies in Jon Snow’s arms

Setting the Scene: As Ygritte and her fellow wildlings storm Castle Black, she sees Jon Snow for the first time since they went their separate ways. Their chance meeting in the middle of the fierce battle has fatal consequences for Ygritte.

Why It’s Awesome: Ygritte brought out the best in Jon Snow—she was the fire to his ice. In the show (as well as in my experience with the books), Jon came alive during his time with Ygritte; she showed him how little he really knew about the world, she challenged him, and—most importantly—she made him happy. In that small moment when he sees her again before her death, we’re given a brief reminder that the fullest and most open Jon Snow smiles have been reserved for Ygritte.

However, Game of Thrones is no fairytale. In this story, the man and woman see each other again, but moments later the woman is killed by an arrow to her heart. The tonal shift from tentative reunion to heartbreaking farewell captured the spirit of grief and shock I felt in the book so well. On a show with so many relationships based on lies and power plays, Jon and Ygritte truly loved each other, and I was so happy to see their relationship’s final moments treated with the tenderness and sense of importance they deserved.

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The Best Thing I Saw on TV This Week (6/1 – 6/8)

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Sorry about the slight delay, friends! It was recital weekend at the dance studio where I teach, so I’m finally all caught up on the TV I missed and ready to write. 

This week in television started with an episode of Game of Thrones that shocked us all with the brutal death of a fan favorite. The week continued with a two-part episode of The Bachelorette that was more emotional than usual be because of the death of a contestant after his exit from the show. Wednesday’s episode of So You Think You Can Dance featured more auditions, Saturday’s episode of Orphan Black introduced us to a new clone (as my favorite one was left dying on the floor at the end of the episode), and the whole week was sprinkled with fantastic sporting events—from NBA and Stanley Cup Finals games to the Belmont Stakes.

The week kicked off with a flourish in the form of a fantastic Game of Thrones episode, and nothing—not even another excellent hour of Orphan Black—could top it. The most memorable Game of Thrones moment of this past week (and maybe this whole season so far) was the death of Oberyn Martell, but that wasn’t my favorite moment.

That honor belongs to Sansa’s testimony about her aunt’s death, which was a true showcase for Sophie Turner’s growing talent as an actress as well as Sansa’s ever-evolving character arc. It was such a powerful moment of catharsis to hear Sansa talk about her time with the Lannisters and with her aunt. However, this scene was about more than just catharsis. It was about Sansa doing what she does best—finding a way to survive without losing her sense of self. By lying for Littlefinger, Sansa was able to reclaim some of her power over her situation. My lasting impression of this scene is that Sansa Stark is a survivor, and it’s not by accident that she survives. This scene begins an arc that I found fascinating in the books, and I have faith that it might be even better on the show in the hands of such a capable actress.

What was the best thing you saw on TV this week?

Game of Thrones Moment of the Week: “The Mountain and the Viper”

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The Moment: The Red Viper faces the Mountain in a fight to the death to determine Tyrion’s fate

Setting the Scene: Tyrion’s trial by combat leads to a long-awaited showdown between Oberyn Martell and Gregor Clegane. During the fight, Oberyn demands that “the Mountain” admit to the crimes Oberyn knows he’s guilty of: the rape and murder of his sister Elia and the deaths of her children.

Warning for those who haven’t seen the episode: These videos (especially the second one) contain EXTREMELY violent, disturbing images.

Why It’s Awesome: I’ve been awaiting this scene with equal parts excitement and dread since I first read it in the books, and those feelings only intensified when we were first introduced to Pedro Pascal’s incredible take on Oberyn in this season’s premiere. While this showdown wasn’t as long as I would have liked (especially compared to its length in the book), it was still every bit as compelling as I’d hoped it would be.

This was Oberyn’s shining moment, and Pascal ran with it. I was captivated from the moment Tyrion saw him with Ellaria before the fight even began. There’s something so engaging in Pascal’s portrayal of Oberyn’s confidence; there’s nothing smarmy about it, which is a difficult balance to achieve. I think it helps that we finally got to see exactly how he got his reputation as the Red Viper with his spear skills. The choreography of the spear work was stunning. There was this graceful power to it that reminded me perfectly of a snake. And it was such a beautiful counterpoint to the brute force of the Mountain.

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The Best Thing I Saw on TV This Week (5/25 – 6/1)

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After a couple of weeks away from my regular television viewing schedule while I was in Disney World, I came back to a TV week that didn’t feature a whole lot of new material (in no small way because last Sunday was without a new Game of Thrones episode), but what it did feature was fabulous. Monday nights in the summer are nights I spend with The Bachelorette, and last Monday featured a sweet date between Andi and Eric, which was ultimately heartbreaking with the knowledge of his tragic death after he finished filming the show. On Wednesday, So You Think You Can Dance returned with its first series of audition episodes. (For any of you wondering, I’ll be starting my SYTYCD recaps when they pick the Top 20.) And on Saturday, Orphan Black featured one big twist after another, ending on a shocking note that I don’t think anyone saw coming.

There’s nothing like Orphan Black to shake up a relatively slow TV week. Saturday’s episode will probably be most remembered for how it ended, but that wasn’t my favorite thing about it. Instead, I was drawn to the relationship between two characters who are now intrinsically linked though they have never actually met: Cosima and Kira. Cosima’s disgust and anger at finding out that Kira’s stem cells were put into her body without her knowledge and consent powered the episode’s most emotional confrontation. To see the way this woman cares for and wants to protect this little girl she never met was incredible, and it made me love Cosima even more. And then when Kira overheard Sarah and Cal talking about Cosima’s need for another of Kira’s teeth, that brave little girl pulled out her own tooth to help her sick “aunt.” Kira is a special little girl (and one of my favorite children on television), but she’s not just special because she’s the child of a clone with special healing abilities. She’s special because she can understand things far beyond her years and can act with empathy and level-headedness that even the adults around her don’t seem to possess. More than ever, I need Kira to meet Cosima, but I just hope it’s not because Dyad gets their hands on that incredible little girl.

What was the best thing you saw on TV this week?

The Best Thing I Saw on TV This Week (5/18-5/25)

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Once again, this is Heather filling in as Katie catches up on TV after a well-earned vacation. Thanks for reading!

Wow, what a week of TV. While many shows have already finished for the season, those that remain had a particularly strong week. On Sunday, we said goodbye to The Good Wife, which left us wondering if Diane will join Florrick-Agos and if Alicia will run for State’s Attorney. We also saw Tyrion find a champion in Oberyn Martell and Lysa Arryn was pushed out the Moon Door, courtesy of Littlefinger. On Monday, Bones ended their season with a conspiracy at the FBI that left both Booth and Brennan in federal custody. On Tuesday, fish fell from the sky and Lester started embracing his darker side as Gus and Molly continue to struggle with his connection to Marvo on Fargo. Wednesday, The Americans wrapped up a fantastic second season with the reveal that the Centre wants Paige to join the KGB and only one parent is considering it. On Friday, we also said goodbye to Hannibal with a stunningly shot fight scene and the fate of 4 characters currently unknown. Finally, Saturday brought us an episode of Orphan Black in which Sarah gets answers about the past from Duncan and finds out Leekie is more involved than she previously believed.

You know it’s been a good week of television when there are so many choices for the best thing of the week. Even in one show, it can be difficult to narrow down which moment I felt was the best. After much consideration, I have finally chosen the ending scene to the season finale of The Americans.

Unfortunately, I haven’t had any luck finding a clip of the moment and my skills at search Tumblr for gifs are not nearly as good as Katie’s so I will just have to describe the scene for you.

Earlier in the episode, Philip and Elizabeth found out that the KGB wanted them to recuit their daughter to be a “second generation illegal”. They are angered by the order and made it very clear that they were not to go near Paige without their consent. However, they are torn on the merit of the idea. Philip doesn’t want his daughter anywhere near the KGB. Elizabeth, on the other hand, sees herself in Paige and wants to give her something to channel her passion into that they can bond over, rather than be driven apart.

This season has largely focused on Philip and Elizabeth as a team. They are closer than they’ve ever been as they protect their family from external threats. This issue threatens that stability. It sets up a very promising plot point for season 3 and I am sure it will bring out more fantastic acting from Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell.

What was the best thing you saw on TV this week?

Game of Thrones Moment of the Week: “Mockingbird”

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Once again, this is Heather filling in. Let me know what you all thought of the episode this week and how you think the season in general is going!

The Moment: Oberyn visits Tyrion

Setting the Scene: Oberyn goes to visit Tyrion in his cell. He tells the story of meeting Tyrion as a baby then volunteers to be his champion.

Why It’s Awesome: Tyrion’s three visits in his jail cell all highlighted various relationships in his life. First was his relationship with his brother and his shared dislike of their father’s pressures. Then came Bronn, a loyal friend but not one stupid enough to die for him. Finally came someone who is most certainly not a friend to the Lannisters, but like Jaime and Bronn, capable of seeing Tyrion as a human rather than a monster.

Pedro Pascal and Peter Dinkledge are fantastic scene partners. Throughout the season, Pascal has shown himself to be a compelling presence on-screen and Dinkledge has always been celebrated for his work on the show, so putting them together in such a simple manner really allowed them to shine.

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Small Screen Style: Who’s Your Fictional Fashion Inspiration?

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When I was 15, I bought myself a black pantsuit and a pinstripe skirt suit. No, I didn’t have ambitions of running for political office. I just wanted to dress like Sydney Bristow, the hero of ABC’s espionage thriller, Alias. Sydney wore a lot of suits and a lot of turtlenecks, so I guess it shouldn’t surprise me to look at my wardrobe from my sophomore year in high school and see it filled with blazers, black dress pants, and fitted turtlenecks. Even today, whenever I wear an off-the-shoulder sweatshirt, I feel like I’m harkening back to Sydney’s climactic last scene in the Season Two finale, “The Telling.”

What started with Sydney has grown to include fashion inspirations from all corners of the television landscape in the 10 years since I bought that first pantsuit. We all have those TV characters whose styles we envy and ultimately try to emulate, with varying degrees of success.

When we dress like our favorite characters, we channel a little bit of their personalities into our daily lives, too. Wearing a red leather jacket might make you feel like you’re giving yourself a dose of Emma Swan’s strength. Putting on a killer pair of shoes could give you the feeling of being as fashion-forward as Carrie Bradshaw. Investing in a new pair of thick-framed black glasses might allow you to believe you can be as smart as Orphan Black’s Cosima.

My closet is filled with wardrobe pieces inspired by TV characters I love, but there are four whose styles I most often imitate when I want a boost of confidence.

1. Jess Day (New Girl)

jess day dress

Jess’s style leans more towards the “cute” side of her “cute and quirky” personality. It’s defined by flirty dresses and skirts, polka dots and stripes, vintage-inspired pajamas, and plenty of pairs of flats.
My Favorite “Jess-Inspired” Look: A fit and flare dress with a cardigan and ballet flats. If the weather is too cold for dresses, substitute with jeans and a polka-dotted sweater.

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