Cecily and A.Ron grab the mics to talk about the latest episodes of Hulu’s grim cautionary fableThe Handmaid’s Tale, Starz’s incredibly violent and erotic American Gods (00:26:18), and Cecily talks a bit about the latest season of Netflix’s Sense8 (00:52:30).
“Expenses”, the latest installment of AMC’s Better Call Saul, is a workman-like connective episode that really develops the themes of this season while delivering superior performances. We discuss Mike’s motivations to help the Cobbler / Nacho, Jimmy getting way too in to his mock scam of some dick who’s particular about his martinis, Kim’s difficulty in dealing with her help in tearing down a sick man, before delving into the depths of our Scotch ignorance in the mailbag.
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Watch us record the podcast, including all the sound checks, flubs, and riveting research breaks that you’ve always wished you could see… Hey, at least you can hear the podcast before anyone else.
Jim and A.Ron talk about the latest episode of The Leftovers, “Certified”. A very dark, powerful episode that has us rethinking how much sunshine and good feelings the finale is going to allow us to have before everything is said and done. We discuss when Laurie decided on her final course of action, Nora’s beach ball metaphor, the inability of Kevin Sr. to properly judge whether he ends up saving the world, and our thoughts and expectations for the end now that we’re only 2 episodes away. Because happy ending or sad, we’re going to be forced to say goodbye to all these characters we’ve grown to love and care for, and I for one am not ready!
Oh, man, the toughest week to call yet! The Leftovers, Better Call Saul, and Fargo all had particularly good weeks, and we still have to rank them for some inane, arbitrary reason. Who will be king/queen of the week? Also, we give an update on HBO’s Silicon Valley (00:09:36) before signing off for the week.
FX’s Fargo comes out swinging this week on “The House of Special Purpose”, delivering top notch black comedy and savage inhuman beatings with equal aplomb. Seriously, somebody should get an Emmy nom just for the phrase “fornicating with the cookware!” We try to figure out exactly how powerful Varga is, speculate on the Storage Queen’s prospects as an escape hatch for the Stussey crew, start to get suspicious of “New Chief” Dammick, and consider some of our listener feedback in a packed podcast episode.
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Jim and A.Ron have seen Alien: Covenant, and declare it to be gorgeous, ambitious, and filled to the brim lofty ideas, but that it’s also really, really stupid. Which is a shame, since that’s a flaw that mired it’s predecessor, Prometheus. Ridley Scott still knows how to shoot a film, no doubt, but has he forgotten how to put smart, sharply defined characters in peril without them being the dumbest, pettiest humans alive?
Kate is reunited with David temporarily as we do our best to right the wrongs (rights) of Bad Guy Javi’s past. The stone and bone gathers new steam, families are torn apart at our hands, and an old friend tells us we’re making all the wrong decisions. I sure hope she’s right.
Jim and A.Ron found a lot to like in the latest Better Call Saul, “Off Brand”. The sense of something new, new characters, new directions, old scotch paired with new beginnings. Just a whiff of that “new car smell” coming off the show this week. Plus, we can’t overstate how much fun it is to see Jimmy/Saul in his new role as crappy local TV commercial director guy.