On-Season Week 35

WEEK 35

Only a few more weeks to go for this season's roundup and there's plenty going on! Three shows air their season finales (NCIS LA, Quantico and Scorpion), while two more air their penultimate episodes (Bull and Elementary). There's also another double-header from Brooklyn Nine-Nine and will we see God appear in this week's Lucifer?

Brooklyn Nine-Nine - 4x19 & 4x20

4x19 "Your Honour"

"Holt assigns Jake to investigate the robbery of his childhood home. Amy tries to teach Gina how to change a tyre. Terry, Boyle and Rosa redecorate the break room."

Mother Holt!

Laverne and Raymond Holt

   It's been a long time coming but Holt's mother has finally appeared on the show. And while the episode hit all the best moments you could hope for between a mother-son pairing like the Holts (including Holt learning his mother Laverne was in a relationship), it didn't come with the kind of hilarious punchlines that would hurt your stomach. Neither, really, did any of the episode.
   Terry, Boyle and Rosa redecorating the break room gave rise to the Scully and Hitchcock package deal that steals the show every time, but the three decorators had nothing funny between them; likewise Amy accidentally slashing a random person's tyres instead of Gina's was good, but that was about it.

   VIEWERS: 1.70m

   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.7

VERDICT: Wasted the most perfect concept with subpar punchlines and far too much Jake. Failed to land anything in the subplots either. 6/10

4x20 "The Slaughterhouse"

"Jake and Rosa compete for a position on a taskforce led by their hero. Terry and Boyle mediate Scully and Hitchcock's falling out. Holt loses Amy's favourite pen."

After four consecutive subpar episodes, "The Slaughterhouse" revitalised Brooklyn Nine-Nine just as the season heads towards its endpoint. It introduced the recurring arc of Lieutenant Melanie Hawkins, who after allowing both Jake and Rosa onto her team is, in fact, discovered by Jake as a dirty cop.
   It produced a fabulous and characteristic B-plot for Holt and Amy which not only references both their personalities in a funny manner, but also made sense in its timing: Holt trying to teach Amy to stand up for herself more often against him was good character development four years in.
   And, as ever, Scully and Hitchcock won the night as Terry and Boyle were forced to try to use parenting techniques to get the pair to make up after Scully ditched Hitchcock in favour of spending time with Cindy. I'm not a fan of Cindy since Scully was married in season 1 and there's been no change in that, but the entire C-plot made for the most wonderful of belly laughs.

   VIEWERS: 1.42m

   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.6

VERDICT: Refreshingly good across the board after 4 straight awful episodes. 8.5/10

Bull - 1x22 "Dirty Little Secrets"

"A bomb goes off in a restaurant just blocks from TAC, who are drafted in by J.P. as part of her deal with Bull to protect a data company from having to cede to an FBI warrant to pass over their data."

We know the bad guy from the off: Harry Kemp, right-hand to Garrett Tilden, head of Heptex. He's waiting for something to happen at 10.15am, which transpires to be a bomb. I loved the bomb exploding in the background, then utter silence as Kemp sunk under the bathwater and ten seconds later absolute chaos as he reemerges. What we don't know is the extent of his involvement, nor how his involvement led to his bank balance rising from -$64m to $35m because of it.

The explosion witnessed from Heptex

   The reason was interesting: I wasn't aware of extreme gambling, where people bet large sums of money on mundane things to happen that they can't control. Kemp was so in debt due to this he was paid $100m because he could ensure (based on his knowledge due to extreme gambling) that 3 people some very people baddies wanted dead would be in the restaurant at 10.15am.
   But before we find out that reason, Bull is drafted in to defend privacy rights for a huge data company Heptex - and no one on TAC, including Bull, is pleased, since defending Heptex means the identities of those who ordered the bombing may not be discovered. And that leads to some friction, including with Cable, who refuses to help decrypt Heptex's servers in secret. I like that Cable of all people - the hacker - had doubts about how everyone's info is stored online; after all, finding that out about jurors is basically her job. But in the end she came through.
   And amid all this, J.P. continued to add an extra, interesting dimension to the team. She's continuing to diminish the rest of TAC's importance, which might grow into a problem if Eliza Dushku is added to the main cast in season 2, but for now it's charming and intriguing enough.

   VIEWERS: 10.88m

   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.2

VERDICT: J.P. raises the bar for intrigue, but the science was missing a little here. Still a good episode. 8/10

Elementary - 5x23 "Scrambled"

"Sherlock and Joan attempt to finish Shinwell's work bringing down the South Bronx Killers gang."

Even in a season you could definitely argue has been its most inconsistent (although will war for that title with season 3), Elementary has not struggled to create complex plots - and "Scrambled" may be the best of them all. How do you cut off the head of one of New York's biggest gangs when the head doesn't leave his apartment and seemingly never communicates with his gang members?

Sherlock talks of his guilt during an NA meeting

   The answer to that lies in social media meme sharing, where the file names have been encoded using a World War 2 Enigma code encryption device, and four folded window slats to signify the settings to which the device must be set in order to correctly decrypt each day's message. That's one hell of a way to send secret messages, and therefore it's completely believable that police wouldn't have understood this until Sherlock discovered the Enigma device in gang leader Bonzi Folsom's apartment when Bonzi invited police in to taunt them.
   On top of that, there's a twist: Bonzi's brother Tyas, well-respected businessman and seeming enemy of SBK, may actually be running things instead. The episode leaves this question hanging, and I like that. I like Tyas's current ambiguity (although they're obviously setting him up to be the big bad); also, I can't help but see David Ramsey whenever I see the actor who plays Tyas. Hmm.
   On a side note, Sherlock's reminiscences on a past case where he may have ensured the incarceration of an innocent man who later killed himself were phenomenal, and his guilt was cleverly represented by his actually sleeping, where Sherlock usually sleeps very little.. But the final scene was a little confusing: does the NA meeting head love Sherlock, like love love? Or was it metaphorical? It seemed weirdly sinister for a character we've never met before, as did her muscling in on Sherlock's case.
   But putting that question aside, what "Scrambled" really proved is this whole gang storyline could have been attempted from a non-Shinwell angle, and might have been a lot, lot better.
   VIEWERS: 4.52m

   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.6

VERDICT: Fascinatingly complex and filled with brilliant character dynamics; it's just a shame this episode's greatness exemplifies why Shinwell was such a weak character. 8.5/10

Lucifer - 2x16 "God Johnson"

"The latest murder case takes Lucifer into an insane asylum - where he suspects one of the patients of being God."

This felt like a weaker entry in the second season of Lucifer, though a quite necessary step. The patient, calling himself "God Johnson", was never actually going to be the incarnation of God, so I was waiting simply for the penny to drop: although it did in a clever way (he found a piece of Azrael's blade and wore it as a belt buckle), I'm just not sure about the episode. God Johnson's apology to Lucifer was heartwarming, but also served the story purpose that, once he was revealed not to be God, only strengthened Lucifer's anger since he knew his real Dad would never say those things to him. And of course, the piece of Azrael's blade ("The piece is here", as we remember Uriel's cryptic deathbed message), can push Lucifer towards returning to heaven. So like I say, a necessary step, but not a strong one.

Lucifer and Dr. Martin watch "Charlotte"
and God Johnson dance

   Et tu, the murder case. Often the murders of the week take a backseat to heavenly storylines, but never so much as in "God Johnson". There were never any real suspects to speak of and I knew from the forced manner in which the doctor thanked Nurse Gibson that she was the killer. Right from that moment. Which is unusual for Lucifer.
   Overbearing Maze was one of the best things about the episode: her lack of understanding about friendship was hilarious, especially when she kept trying to set up Chloe for a threesome. I remain unsure of Dan's importance though: again, he was shafted aside by a major plot that didn't involve him; although "Charlotte" coming to him for comfort is important for her, it's less so for him and he needs a larger voice.

   VIEWERS: 3.06m

   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.8

VERDICT: The most highly anticipated episode of the final five and there was just something indescribable missing. 7.5/10

NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x24 "Unleashed"

"Sam goes rogue to get revenge for Michelle's death."

The season finale of NCIS LA was as brutal as the episode previous in which Tahir Khaled killed Michelle Hanna; in this, Sam Hanna gave Callen and then Sabatino the slip in order to not only exact his revenge, but retrieve Michelle's body, hijacked by Tahir in transit to the morgue. And Sam managed both, the former achieved when Tahir blew himself up with his suicide vest, and the latter achieved shortly afterwards. The episode was intense; Sam unleashed was unpredictable, heartbreaking and terrifying.  LL Cool J pulled off the intensity perfectly; I now no longer want to anger LL Cool J.
   Besides the excellent plot, this episode does win some other awards:

1. Longest Phone Call A Police Or Federal Agency Couldn't Trace - 102 seconds
2. Best Improvised Because-I-Didn't-Have-The-Ring-On-Me Wedding Ring - a hand grenade pin
3. Most Badass Proposal: Kensi casually borrowed a hand grenade from a cop, unpinned it, chucked the grenade in a bomb detonator thing and then got down on one knee and grabbed Deeks' hand.

Peak NCIS LA, and with Sam's sabbatical to spend time with his kids and grieve, we have a lead-in to season 9. Good stuff.

   VIEWERS: 9.36m

   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.2

VERDICT: At least one giant gaffe in the episode, but the rest was solid, intense and even funny when it could be. Good stuff. 8.5/10

Quantico - 2x22 "Resistance"

"The taskforce make one last stand to topple Roarke."

A dramatic finale didn't quite scale the heights I had expected, perhaps due to time constraints. After all, the actual Hail Mary had to be discovered inside 40 minutes, between a failed Hail Mary (of course the taskforce hadn't managed to escape the watchful eyes of the collaborators in the 100-day lead-up to the Constitutional Convention), the confrontation and all the emotional wrap-up a finale needs.
   The failed Hail Mary worked for showing how things were changing - a combined intelligence agency for whom the taskforce were forced to vet agents - and a plan the taskforce had to stop the convention: blackmail the swing votes. Of course, that would have been too easy and it failed, so the next move is for Clay to listen to Caleb's advice from episodes ago and think outside the box: if Peter Theo had dirt on everyone necessary to help the collaborators win, wouldn't he also have dirt on the collaborators?
   Will Olsen and Iris Chang (Iris of season 1 fame), return to sting Theo and access his home computer; again, this was a little too easy but again, time constraints. And once the dirt was retrieved, it was up to Alex to pass it along to the Russians to later prove at the Constitutional Convention that Roarke was working at least in part for the Russians.

Alex addresses the Constitutional Convention

   And then came the exit strategy: Alex's fake shooting, for which Miranda will now serve time in a white collar prison. But the rest? Roarke killed himself; Clay got married to Maxine after Shelby finally pushed him away; Raina and Nimah were released; Owen became Deputy Director of the CIA; Shelby went back to working at Quantico; and Alex fled the country - only to be joined by Ryan who, in the final scene, reenacted their first meeting, with a few emotional lines to account for the present situation.
   I was surprised at this: given the season 3 renewal, I expected a cliffhanger. But I'll take this, since it ends the season story not only very well, but also gives a clear path for a season 3 return. Other thoughts: the 100-day lead-up to the Convention took half the episode, a strong amount of time and more than I expected. If Iris had only appeared in one scene - her lambasting Alex for seemingly giving up all the ideals they shared at Quantico and uniting the intelligence agencies - I would have been happy with her cameo; but the fact she got called in to help the taskforce was even better. Clay's motivational speech "it's just us against America" reminds me of Root's speech to Finch about "it's just us vs Samaritan". And what about Roarke's speech to Clay following his defeat? They muddied the extent of his villain status with his passion for America and his belief in his actions. Smart move.

   VIEWERS: 3.00m

   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.6

VERDICT: Not as dramatic as I'd hoped for, but still a hectic, full climax. And a wonderful ending. 9/10

Scorpion - 3x25 "Scorp Family Robinson"

"After 3 weeks, Scorpion struggle to maintain morale and think of ways to escape the island."

Proper Scorpion disagreements and discord hasn't really ever been a thing beyond subplots, but after 3 weeks on a deserted island the stress of maybe they won't get home is getting to everyone. Sly's gone nuts and spent increasingly more time in the bunker talking to a lizard, Toby's resorted to wearing nought but a loincloth and his trademark hat, Happy's down to her elf costume for different clothing, Paige is getting grumpier and grumpier as the cook; Cabe, Ralph and Walter remain the most level-headed of them all.
  Thoughts turn once more to methods of escaping the island: Toby wants to build a raft while Walter wants to create a disturbance in the Earth's magnetic field to attract investigators; the core romantic relationships in #Waige and #Quintis are rocked when Happy sides with Walter and Paige with Toby; but it's Sly who holds the ultimate card by hiding the radio part both teams need - that is, until Ralph goes off alone and causes the disturbance himself.

   I didn't understand the science involved, but after he created the disturbance and investigators came, Scorpion managed to light the S in their SOS sign just in time for the planes to see it and rescue them. Cue everyone back at the garage and - following a hilarious rendition of Happy's single she released in Portugal years ago - everyone split off, leaving Walter and Paige to enjoy a proper first night alone together. And with that, we lead into season 4.
   Buckle up, nerds.

   VIEWERS: 7.74m

   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.2

VERDICT: There's only one problem with this episode, which is once you recognise the beach made up to be the deserted island is the same beach in 1x12 where Scorpion saved a young boy caught in a sinkhole, you can't unsee it. 8.5/10

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Hitchcock (to Scully): "What happened to our bro code? Badge before vag!"

BEST EPISODE THIS WEEK:

There are a few contenders: Elementary produced one of its smartest episodes of the season, the second Brooklyn Nine-Nine episode encapsulated everything good about that show; there was also Bull, NCIS LA and Scorpion pulling in high ratings. But the winner has to go to Quantico.
   The crescendo had been reached the episode prior, and although the finale had problems setting the "last-chance saloon" tone it really needed, we know as an audience this really was last-chance saloon. And using one collaborator to bring down all the others was smart.
   Not to mention the payoffs were fantastic. That final moment with Roarke and Clay was sensational, turning Roarke from the giant villain he'd been portrayed as to a fallible man, which I think was an important thing. We might not agree with Roarke's views, but he's still just a person.
   Also, we had Clay and Maxine reunited, Owen achieve his dream of returning to field work, Nimah and Raina released and Alex and Ryan even got the best happy ending they could have hoped for.
   And I think it's impressive if a show can miss a few of the beats it should have hit and yet still fly this high.
   Until season 3.

LAST WEEK'S ROUNDUP: On-Season Week 35

NEXT WEEK'S ROUNDUP: (will be posted here when complete)

Final thoughts

Some shows produced better quality episodes than I expected while others didn't quite hit the heights I expected. But regardless, the most important thing is we say goodbye this week to three fantastic shows, safe in the knowledge that all of them will be here at TVRRoundup next year.
   Next week, we say goodbye to 3 more!

Thanks for reading everyone and I'll see you next week!

Sam