Margaux and I discuss a predictably great episode of Halt and Catch Fire.
Trevor: I feel like these reviews are getting easier to write – well, not necessarily easier, but definitely more fun. Halt and Catch Fire is so sure of itself this season that it’s a pleasure to watch, even an anxiety-inducing episode like “Limbo,” where the season’s stakes have never been clearer or more visceral.
Margaux: I wouldn’t say that “Limbo” was more anxiety-inducing than the last couple of episodes, but let’s just say I wasn’t surprised when the preview for next week stated there were only 2 episodes left. It felt like all writer(s) took full advantage of the built-in character tension they’ve been milking all season.
Trevor: That’s an excellent way of putting it. There was a clear and present theme of paranoia running throughout “Limbo,” manifesting itself most heartbreakingly in Gordon’s conviction that Donna is trying to sabotage him. I know I spend a lot of time every week praising Scoot McNairy’s performance, but he’s done such a great job with this brain damage plotline. Every week we’ve seen Gordon getting worse and worse, and it’s been heartbreaking.
Margaux: Just when you think you’ve seen the worse of Gordon’s disease, it takes an aggressively sadder downward turn. I’m not sure how Donna and Gordon are going to fix the distance in their relationship, between Gordon’s infidelity and his most recent B&E arrest, I feel the worst for Donna who cannot catch a break between Cameron being an unapologetic (and lime green jelly) dick and Gordon’s paranoia in full swing. Even though the Clark kids are in summer camp, Donna still has to Mommy everyone.
Trevor: Everyone’s having a pretty rough go of it this season. But since you brought it up, let’s talk about Cameron, because I know we’re both having problems with her. And to be clear, it has nothing to do with Mackenzie Davis’s great performance. But she just continually backslides. Whenever she makes a mature, considerate decision, she immediately follows it up with something selfish, like when she put the copy protection on the software against Tom’s wishes. Which we all knew she was going to do.
Margaux: My problem with Cameron is never understanding what her motivations are and as a result, her declarative statements usually sound like a petulant brat that’s just figured out how to string insulting words together. But Cameron’s ensuing fight with Tom about the copyright protection of their new game really shed light on her argument skills, or lack thereof. Tom says something to the effect of, “people disagree, it doesn’t mean more than voicing your opinion.” I feel like if the conversation didn’t sink into, “did you just say you love me” crap, we’d of gotten a little more of a glimpse as to why Cameron takes every disagreement to such an extreme. For loudly proclaiming to the boss last episode, she doesn’t seem to like being one very much.
Trevor: Tom blurting out “I love you” in the middle of an argument was tried-and-true TV storytelling. But you’re right, the shift to focusing on that robbed the argument of any opportunity to really explore Cameron’s psyche. So far all we’ve got is “I’m right and eveyrone else is wrong.” Cameron and Tom can be kind of cute together, though – but was anyone surprised when she not only refused to dress up, but wouldn’t say “I love you” back? Maybe the episode-ending development with Mutiny will force some maturity on her.
Margaux: You can’t make me care about Cameron and Tom’s relationship, I won’t have it. But for whatevers it’s worth, Tom does make Cameron’s character .0001 percent marginally better.
Speaking of relationships, Joe and Sarah got hitched. What’s the over/under on them getting divorced?
Trevor: Shit, I’ll take that action. Credit is due to HaCF for not making Sarah flighty or ditzy, but she’s clearly pretty fickle. She left Joe seemingly on a whim, then married him on one as well. Impulse like that rarely leads to long-term happiness. Which would just be another way for the show to kick one of its characters while they’re down. Seriously, everyone was kind of getting shit on in “Limbo.” Funny watching them take MDMA, though. And nice to see Joe kissing a man in the club! I was worried that HaCF might gloss over his bisexuality, so I’m really glad to see that that isn’t the case.
Margaux: I nearly forgot Joe was a little bi-curious, and was glad that the typically 80s dance club scene wasn’t only a gratuitous lady-lady makeout moment, but served to show how similar Joe and Sarah can be. Joe can make whimsical decisions like Sarah, stopping by Mutiny to attempt to warn Cameron of he saw at West Group, leaving a sleeping Sarah in the car because he knew it’d piss her off if he saw Cameron again. So, when I use the word whimsical, I don’t mean cutesy forest animals. I think Joe and Sarah’s marriage will blow up sooner rather than later, and most likely over a reluctance to commit to moving to California.
Trevor: Yeah, Joe mentioned the move far too often; he sounded desperate, not excited. And then when she showed up at Mutiny – or should I say WestNet? – he just looked tired. But to be fair, he probably in the middle of a comedown. I like seeing Joe unsure of himself. It gives Lee Pace more room to actually act, and the show is better served for it.
Margaux: Of all the new characters we’ve been introduced to this season, I’m most intrigued by Joe’s replacement at West Group, Joe 2.0, Jesse. The passing of the torch scene, so to speak, where Jacob introduces them to each other and rattles off Jesse’s accomplishments (he’s 25 or so to boot), you can visibility see the wind get taken out of Joe’s sails by this young buck. And it’s almost as if Joe is terrified of him, which kind of makes sense, based on Gordon’s later conversation (? if you can call it that) with a newly returned Stan. I thought it was a brilliant way to incorporate the Silicon Valley lifestyle of now into a show that’s not only a “period piece,” but takes place in Texas. It felt really natural to the story, not forced at all.
Trevor: That’s one thing I’ve always loved about Halt and Catch Fire, something the show has always used to define itself, and that’s it Texas setting. How easy would it be to set this show in Silicon Valley? But California exists on the periphery, and in doing so the show is able to insulate itself without having to shoehorn in awkward references to Steve Jobs or Larry Ellison. I like what you said about it being a period piece, too; it’s not just because it takes place in the 1980s, but because it takes place in the Silicon Prairie, which a lot of people – myself included – were ignorant of until this show debuted.
Margaux: For all my gripes about Cameron’s whininess, “Limbo” was one my favorite episodes this season, and that’s truly saying something. It really hit all the points to make it a very satisfying lead into the season finale. 4.5 stars.
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