The Breakdown No. 11

Your TV analysis for the week of Nov. 1, 2015

The Art Of Peace

Welcome to The Breakdown. This is your weekly TV round-up of the best and the most awesome shows airing. Everything is boiled down for you below. We have The Walking Dead, The Flash, Scream Queens and more. Let us know what other shows we should break down for you, too. So with that, let’s break it down.

Addition breakdowns provided by Max Mielecki: the bark-ness and the bite. Also, SPOILER ALERT!

The Walking Dead: “Here’s Not Here”

by Montel Allen

“Here’s Not Here” is the type of episode I use as a prime example of why I love The Walking Dead and why I believe it’s on of the best dramas on TV (ONE of many). Some may have found the placement of this episode quite agitating, but like I’ve said in the past, I’m always willing to let this show tell the story it wants to tell. With that, I believe we will see what consequences of Morgan’s final action of letting the leader of the wolves live. John Carroll Lynch’s Eastman was a fine presence to behold on this week’s episode. In a show that glamorizes ruthlessness and violence being the one true path, it was refreshing to see that philosophy reflected here. Morgan was truly lost, only able to “clear.” Through patience, trust and aikido, we see Morgan transformed from a suicidal, homicidal soul to a mentally stable human being with a value for human life. From what we’ve seen since those little teases in Season 5 up until now, we know the source of “every life is precious” and why Morgan is the recovered Jedi-esque savior he is today. While I do appreciate when walkers and wolves are being killed, there’s no doubt the best episodes of The Walking Dead are in those that focus on a finite number of characters.

The Leftovers: “No Room at the Inn”

by Montel Allen

“No Room at the Inn” was another tightly-zoomed perspective of the Rev. Matt Jamison. As per usual with The Leftovers, the foreshadowing is palpable, and planted in this season’s opening episode was Matt’s testimony about Mary “waking up,” although prematurely and abruptly muzzled. Akin to the departure, we don’t actually deal with the miraculous event, but rather the subsequent events and life struggles that followed. Matt’s faith was tested greatly in this episode—Mary’s pregnancy, being let back in and kicked out of Miracle, etc.—a parallel to Job’s story from the Bible which Matt elected as his favorite book, fittingly. Matt has always been an interesting character ever since Episode 3 of last season, and his lack of screen time is a crime, but that’s surely forgiven when he has an entire hour to shine. Moving forward, we got to see what horrid absurdities live right outside of Miracle’s gates. We barely get to see how normal society functions post-departure, but from what last season’s Nora-centric venture and this episode has shown us, the world is quite dysfunctional, at least to us viewers. Finally, some of our main players in Kevin, Nora and John acted as number twos here, but their small roles elevated the intensity of Matt’s struggle to return home. The Leftovers continues to prove that it’s the best drama this fall, with outstanding directing, sharp dialogue and layered characters.

Fargo: “Fear and Trembling”

by Montel Allen

“Fear and Trembling” kicked Fargo Season 2 into the pace I’ve been anticipating all season. The four narrative camps are edging ever so close to each other. The Blomquist’s secret murder is coming to light both in the Gerhardt’s eyes and Lou’s as well. It’s a wonderful way to tie all of these events together. Mike Milligan continues to kill every scene, with the shooting outside of the hospital being quite the brief escalation. The episode ends with Floyd Gerhardt telling her boys her decision to start a war. Floyd was amazing in this episode. She has been rather reserved in her actions and emotions, so even the slightest hint at either lets everyone know that she’s not messing around. The bad guys are far more interesting, as was the case with last season and is the case with most modern storytelling. With Lou being one of a few heroes, that doesn’t seem to matter, as he doesn’t seem to be a hero that will go down easily.

The Flash: “The Darkness and the Light”

by Max Mielecki

“The Darkness and the Light” is an enjoyable episode, as Flash episodes usually are, but it does show that the series can sometimes bite off more than it can chew, with an overstuffed plot that introduces yet more supporting characters while leaving the villains sadly undercooked. It’s great to see the show broaden its horizons, but it needs to be careful it doesn’t come at the expense of the smaller details.

iZombie: “Love & Basketball”

by Montel Allen

“Love & Basketball” was a solid episode overall. iZombie is one of very few shows that takes the months-long, episodic format and bends it to feel more like a cohesive, serialized tale. The case of a murdered basketball coach did wonders for this week’s story. After Liv ate her brain of the week, she took on the traits of a basketball coach. It was a good concept that worked. It came at the right time, too, as Major was on the verge of a deep spiral with his utopium addiction. As a sidenote, iZombie could have easily made the “Liv on brains” stereotypical, but I’m glad that wasn’t the case. I enjoyed Ravi’s beef with the doctor in Tacoma and his scuffle with Blaine. Lastly, I like what the show is doing with Det. Babineaux. His pairing with Agent Dale has done a lot to help the human shine through his hardened, almost robotic exterior. It was hinted that he was maybe abused as a child when he beat down the suspect who abused his own son, so I hope his character gets a bit more development as time goes on. Overall, the story has been moving steadily, with the science behind zombies and cures progressing just fine.

Scream Queens: “Beware of Young Girls”

by Montel Allen

“Beware of Young Girls” was the best episode of Scream Queens to date. More of Dean Munsch’s past was brought to the forefront. We learned that her husband fell in love with Feather, a former student who was apart of KKT. Feather was a source of a lot of this episode’s jokes, describing a radio as “an old iPod thing that you plug in and it picks up music from the air.” After spending a short amount of time in a psych ward for the murder by disassembling of her husband, she gets out when she successfully frames Feather for the crime. If we are to believe the Dean’s narration, she isn’t the killer, but we do know Gigi is somewhat of a puppet master behind the actual killers. Continuing their work in trying to solve the case are Grace and Pete, but their relationship is quite forgettable when all of the killing and the sheer screen presence of Chanel #1 are the competition. The Chanels were fun to watch, as they contacted their former guest star Ariana Grande aka Chanel #2. I enjoyed the other, living Chanel’s plot to kill #1, and I equally enjoy the unifying of the Chanel Voltron in their goal to kill Grace and Zayday by the time the credits roll.

Whose solo episode was superior: Morgan’s or Rev. Matt Jamison’s? Tweet us @YouNerded.