Margaux and I talk about Nintendo. I mean, Halt and Catch Fire.
Trevor: I kinda wish Halt and Catch Fire would produce at least one shitty episode this season; I fear our reviews are getting predictable. “Gee, I wonder if Trevor and Margaux – oh, they loved it. Shocker.”
Margaux: This should make you happy, I had issues with Gordon’s plotline in “Kali,” but other than that, yeah…no, I really liked the episode. In particular, the last fifteen minutes.
Trevor: Okay, good, let’s talk about Gordon. Because I really liked his plot! Granted, it was the world’s most depressing bottle episode, and it literally went nowhere – he was just walking around a parking garage – but as a sign of his escalating breakdown, I found it heartbreaking. Watching him breakdown in the ambulance was pretty rough.
Margaux: Exactly. All of it felt warmed over one time too many. I don’t want to keep watching Gordon self destruct like this, not only because it’s sad, but also is trite feeling. The sum of what happened to Gordon in “Kali” was: they shaved off his beard and then shoved down a stairwell, it’s basically a metaphor for what happened to his character. Trapped (in stairwell).
Trevor: Okay, I’ll give you that. But I thought it was well-executed, and watching him fall down the stairs was just so fucking sad. We might have to agree to disagree, but it’s a very mild disagreement.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, we can talk about the rest of “Kali,” which Gordon had nothing to do with.
Margaux: Except for the whole, Joe picking him from jail so Donna won’t know, thing. Which, I really liked. Their ‘goodbye’ last week didn’t feel right, but wasn’t sure how/why Gordon and Joe would see each other again if Joe took off to California. It was interesting to notice that Gordon and Joe are each others only and last friend.
Trevor: I had a similar thought, but I think it’s more of a shared history. They’re friends more out of necessity. Their relationship is believably complex, and it’s not like season 2 featured the breakup of a great bromance. Joe and Gordon were never that close to begin with. It’s an interesting dynamic.
Margaux: I didn’t take Gordon calling Joe to pick him as a sign of years of deep trust and friendship; like you said, it was out of necessity. But why Joe ended up agreeing to attend Jacobs shareholder presentation before he and Sarah make west, was a little harder to see through. Were Joe’s intentions going in always pure. If so, why? Jacob’s a dick and the movers are coming at 3. Why burn the calories?
Trevor: I think Joe sees in Jacob a darker version of himself, something he could age into if he doesn’t change his manipulative, exploitative ways. His motivations going to the meeting were, yes, a little murky, but I’m glad he did. It was kind of a foregone conclusion. Or maybe Joe just didn’t want Jacob to have the last word.
Margaux: Admittedly, that meeting didn’t get interesting until Cameron’s software started to wreak havoc on West Groups knock off; I really loved the way that sequence was edited together, it added a literal feeling to the scene. Joe’s “big speech” read a little too much like an excuse for Sarah get to angry with him and finally ditch his ass for good in Dallas.
Trevor: Lot of bridge-burning going on at the end of “Kali,” from Cameron especially. One could hardbly blame her, though, especially after the world-class dickhead treatment that Donna got at the hands of Drew.
Margaux: If that dude knew anything about computers, he’d know not to fuck with coders. But that’s neither here nor there. Seems like Cameron, taking down West Group Anonymous style notwithstanding, might have some business acumen after all. With the help of Bos and Donna, and fairy Godmother Tom, they sold their FPS game to a Texan startup that wants to put them on Nintendo. I have to say that I’m really excited to see Halt and Catch Fire tease the beginning of NES.
Trevor: That scene with Funtime Games one of the best in “Kali.” It was a nice, steady escalation. First we see that the man they’re talking to is just in charge of getting coffee; then there’s a woman speaking fluent Japanese to someone in charge. Then Bos walks in like a swinging dick and Bosworth’d the shit out of his impromptu sales pitch. That was entertaining as hell to watch. Toby Huss just kills it in scenes like that.
Margaux: Whenever they give Bos something to do, he never ceases to deliver equal parts chuckles and tears. The second he entered Cameron’s office in the first few minutes of the episode in his fancy suit, I knew he was going to take the job offer his son set up for him. And I can’t say I blame him.
Trevor: No one could. “Kali” definitely felt like Halt and Catch Fire entering endgame – has a third season been confirmed? – but it still leaves some lingering questions. Which I appreciated. Life is messy. “Kali” was an episode of messes. Very well done.
Margaux: Whoops, I fell down an internet hole trying to find any Halt and Catch Fire renewal news, and nada. AMC will most likely announce after the season wraps next week, which, goddamn – that went by fast. And same could sorta be said about what’s happened to the characters, it was all very gradual, and now it’s all endgame this and endgame that. And Nintendo.
Trevor: That’s how this will all end: Bosworth invents Mario. You wanna talk stars?
Margaux: You bet your ass I do! 4.5 stars, I had some issues with Gordon and Joe’s respective storylines this week, but their bullshit doesn’t cancel out how awesome Cameron’s revenge was (appropriately set to Joy Division’s “She’s Lost Control”). After more than a season of making Cameron out to be a grossly annoying brat with flashes of brilliance, “Kali” went a long way to redeem her character and start to make me believe Bos’ assertion that she’s a “boss bitch.”
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