Margaux and I continue to be impressed by Halt and Catch Fire‘s second season.
Trevor: The smartest thing that Halt and Catch Fire has done in its second season is split up its plot. Last season we saw three of the four leads all working towards the same goal, with Donna kind of pushed aside until the latter half of the season. But I’m really enjoying all these subplots, especially Joe’s. And especially Bosworth’s. I’d watch a whole show about Bosworth.
Margaux: Bosworth’s quest for redemption was a high point for his character (and “The Way In”) last night, it was so understated, I’m kind of bummed that that’s all we’ll see of Bosworth Rides Again. For now. It wasn’t until last night that I realized we never saw any of Bosworth’s family in the first season, we heard about them a whole lot, but keeping them (and us, the audience) in the dark till now made for genuinely pleasant, surprising interactions and where the core of Bosworth’s paternal nature really comes from. I thought I was going to cry when he read his son the wedding reception speech he so carefully wrote. But was equal parts pissed that Bos talks about all the important moments of his son’s life that he missed and goes on to miss his fuckin’ wedding. COME ON, MAN.
Trevor: That scene in the car was beautiful. “The Way In” was a great hour for Toby Huss. Definitely the meatiest material he’s gotten all season, but that’s pretty obvious, because it’s the most material he’s gotten all season. Lot of great shots of Bos, too, namely him framed in front of that motel. This was also a really good-looking episode.
Margaux: Gordon and Donna cleaned up really nicely for their forced-awkward, double dinner date party with Joe. That was the most striking, “good-looking” shot for me and I’m sure that wasn’t unintentional.
Trevor: Gordon’s jacket was amazing. The 80s fashion in this show is as good as the soundtrack. I liked the bit of role-reversal in that dinner party too, with Gordon cleaned up and professional and Joe in a t-shirt.
Margaux: It was a nice way to illustrate with their clothing their very different places in life. I mean, sure, Gordon might look great, but professionally, he’s manically obsessed with mapping Mutiny’s system, something I still don’t recall anyone explicitly asking Gordon to do.
Though Joe and Bosworth seem to operating on their own islands, their plot and character development happening on the fray of the main plotline – like you said earlier about this being the most screentime Bosworth has had so far, Mutiny is definitely the heart of season two.
Trevor: Oh, absolutely. I’m enjoying that a lot as well. The addition of Tom Rendon was smart, but Bosworth is definitely missed. I liked that Gordon’s program Sonaris shut down Mutiny’s network and started wiping their games. That goes a long way towards making Gordon less sympathetic, which is one HaCF’s smarter choices.
Margaux: At first, I started to question whether or not Tom was a serial killer, he just has the face of a homicidal stalker. But by the end of “The Way In,” I realized he’s basically Boy Cameron. Petulant, bratty, not great with people. I’m glad Tom ultimately was the one who talked Cameron down from her horrible panic attack by talking about Parallax, and I’m also a sucker for Wizard of Oz references that actually work.
Trevor: Another great scene. “You go back inside and you face the fourth wizard.” Halt and Catch Fire is so smart this season, I’m really impressed. And a lot of it has to do with scaling back the size of Joe’s role, and no longer trying to make him some mysterious Don Draper 2.0. That being said, I do really enjoy Joe’s story. Seeing him start from the bottom is pretty compelling.
Margaux: Yeah, there’s no way you can scale back the size of Lee Pace himself. The shot of Joe pacing in the machines room, the man is effing HULKING outta that room. He has an imposing nature about him that is only heightened by his sheer size.
Trevor: Another good juxtaposition, Pace’s sheer size in contrast to the “small” job he’s found himself doing.
Margaux: Not for long, I was disappointed we didn’t get to see old Joe come out and fire that Tito Puente loving desk jockey that runs the basement they work in. But was equally as surprised at how easily Jacob turned around and was like, “oh for sure, Joe. I’ll tell HR you’re starting a new department, I don’t need no powerpoint presentation. PEACE!”
Trevor: James Cromwell was built for roles like Jacob Wheeler. He wants Joe to succeed, but he doesn’t want to hand him anything, which is, I think, why he was so willing – eager, even – to give Joe his own department.
Margaux: I’m not saying I wanted to watch Joe go through a performance review and like, earn the job. That’s not why I watch TV. But the scene where Joe comes to Jacob, fully prepared to make his case for combining data departments, was another moment where the script didn’t bother over explaining anything and it’s one of the strongest narrative tools HaCF keeps using this season.
Trevor: I continue to be impressed by this season. Last season was good but it didn’t make me think too much; after we wrote our reviews Halt and Catch Fire didn’t stick in my mind. Not so this year. This is a smart, hugely entertaining season so far.
Margaux: The best scene of “The Way In” we’ve yet to talk about. When Gordon and Donna show up at Mutiny, after Gordon’s program has wiped their entire system (and possibly infected 300+ users). Sure Gordon’s “Nightmare on Nerd Street” line was gold, but what I liked the most was what they didn’t end up saying. Donna, Gordon, and Cameron have all been operating under various disillusion and past grudges that end up leaving Gordon and Donna’s relationship shakier than ever. But somehow, Cameron and Donna reached new levels of respect for each other….
Trevor: Best scene hands down. I loved watching Gordon blow up on Cameron. Watching her and Donna butt heads, and also become closer, has been a real treat this season. Kerry Bishe balances out Mackenzie Davis’s punk-rock performance nicely, and keeps Cameron from being too one-note. Also, Donna looked amazing in that dress.
Margaux: Her telling Gordon to “go home” was the chilliest line for a couple flirting as Superman and Lois Lane earlier in the episode. Topped off by Donna hugging her marketing research report when she finally does come home and go to bed, Gordon really has become the “asshole.”
Trevor: HaCF knows exactly what it’s doing this year. I’m digging it a lot. The Gordon-Donna stuff has been handled perfectly.
Margaux: Did you get the feeling that Joe was haunting the whole episode? When Cameron and Donna wrap up their spat indoors, and Cameron basically calls Donna a traitor for having dinner with Joe, it almost felt like he was still in the room. For a person who thinks she’s hella punk-rock, I’ve never seen someone fall to pieces so quickly over hearing an ex’s voice on the other line.
Trevor: Yeah, going back to what you said earlier about Pace’s size, Joe looms pretty large over all the proceedings. Nice, small scene of Gordon and Donna analyzing Joe’s message. But it hasn’t gotten to the point of Cameron asking Joe to come work at Mutiny or something like that, thankfully. Gah, just talking about “The Way In” – which was a really good episode – gets me excited about good storytelling.
Margaux: I don’t think Cameron would ask Joe to come work for Mutiny even if you stepped on her head while she was drowning. But I do think “The Way In” showed us where a majority of the focus will remain for the rest of the season (Mutiny) and this episode could’ve severed as the “beginning of the end,” of sorts.
Trevor: Absolutely. That shows me that HaCF has several more cards up its sleeve. I’m really looking forward to the rest of this season. You wanna talk stars?
Margaux: Usually the third episode of a lot of shows are straight up boring, not (obvi) the case with “The Way In”. For Bosworth’s heartfelt wedding speech alone, that’s 4.5 stars. How dare you get me teared up over a fictional persons nuptials, Halt and Catch Fire!
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