Margaux and I wade through the darkness of last night’s Halt and Catch Fire.
Trevor: I really loved the opening to “Flipping the Switch,” with Gordon fiddling with the HAM radio that would become almost a supporting character in this episode. It was such lovely cinematography, and never has Gordon looked so sad, lonely, and lost. And his line to Donna – “Connection sucks” – might as well be Halt and Catch Fire’s slogan. Very nicely done. How did this episode work for you?
Margaux: I feel like this whole episode could’ve been called “Bad Omens”: the HAM radio, Joe’s 80s Eyes Wide Shut party that Ryan attends, Donna pity adding Gordon to the Munity daily standing meeting, Cameron having to speak to at a college, Swap Meet being not as it presented itself to be. The only bright side was Bos and Diane might bone. This isn’t to say that I disliked the episode, quite the opposite, I think it did a lot of really smart work to lay the foundation for the rest of the season. Definitely think we’re building towards a Joe vs Team Munity storyline, really curious what he and Ryan will end up creating together.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Did the main title credit sequence change? I thought I spotted a few, new visual additions to already awesome opening.
Trevor: If you caught that, you’ve got better eyes than I do. I’ll have to look out for that next time, but I’d be surprised if you’re wrong.
I loved Joe’s party. It looked like a Lou Reed fever dream, and even if some of the dialogue between him and Ryan was too obvious by half (“It’s…dark”), the party succeeded on a major scale for me because it introduced a new character: Ken, played by magnificent Matthew Lillard, who makes the second actor (after Annabeth Gish) to be salvaged from the wreckage of The Bridge and given a role on this show. Lillard is, in my opinion, vastly underrated (he really was terrific in The Bridge, and hell, even in Scooby-Doo), so I hope his character lives up to his talent.
You wanted to spend this whole review talking about a one-name character who appeared in two scenes, right?
Margaux: That’s how I like to review most shows, honestly. But yeah, I spotted Lill-dawg (Matthew Lillard) doing blow with an escort pretty early on in the party scene, but because it was so effing dark I wasn’t sure it was him until he presented Joe with his cover of Forbes and shouted, “SLC PUNK!” I wonder if he’ll come back to cockblock Joe and Ryan’s new venture, I’m almost certain he will. It was very interesting to watch Joe 3.0 in that board meeting though, I feel like he’s finally figured out how to play the game to his benefit because he was curiously without many opinions in that meeting and seemed very agreeable, whereas last season Joe would’ve had more to say than, “yes, let’s charge them $14.95.”
Trevor: I found that board meeting riveting. You could tell that Joe was just going through the motions, but every time he turned to Ryan and asked “What do you think?” I inched closer to the TV. Great subtlety there from Lee Pace as he needles Ryan, trying to get him to crack and show him who he really is. And for what it’s worth, I believe that Joe doesn’t want to charge anything for the software, but he knows how the game is played. He really has changed. He’s still mostly a prick, but he has so much more dimension. The revelation that he’s taking coding classes at SFCC was one of my favorite parts of “Flipping the Switch,” and shows how far he’s come. The old Joe wouldn’t give two shits if people thought of him as “just a salesman.”
Margaux: Do you really think he’s taking coding classes, or is he just saying that? Like I said last week, the more things change, the more they stay the same, and Joe’s still the same manipulative prick he’s always been, except he’s traded his suit for a black hoodie like every other douche in the Valley now. Once a salesman, always a salesman, and Joe will always try to sell himself to others as something/someone he usually turns out not to be. I think him staying relatively quiet is so no one ever really catches on to how much shit he’s full of. I am surprised he didn’t react more to Cameron’s accusations of poaching Ryan, he almost seemed…surprised.
Trevor: Honestly, I do think he’s taking coding classes, because we saw him doing it at home, and that seems like a lot of dedication. On the other hand, I did wonder if he went to the college just to see Cameron, so I guess time will tell. I did love their scene together, but I love any scene where Cameron puts Joe in his place. Three seasons in and she’s still his best foil.
Margaux: Right, what I’m saying any a-hole can buy a book and claim to be an “expert” – the showing up at SFCC felt way more calculated than, “oh hey, fancy seeing you here.” Joe has this Phantom of the Opera vibe to everything he does lately, he just appears out of thin air and lords over proceedings, time will tell if that’s for real or another “mask” Joe is putting on.
Trevor: I feel like a lot of HaCF’s more internally focused drama comes from Joe, whereas Gordon and Donna’s relationship problems are becoming more and more external. This was an unusually flashy episode for Scoot McNairy, who nailed every scene he was in. I felt his frustration in the meeting with Donna and Cameron, but when he stormed out saying “I only screwed her once,” my mouth dropped like Cameron’s. And I knew that secret. I know we say it every week, but: McNairy and Kerry Bishe are really good opposite each other.
Margaux: Scoot McNairy and Kerry Bishe have the best and most believable onscreen chemistry, I really enjoy watching them, they truly bring out the best in each other. But that meeting was…tough to watch, but I also secretly wish any meeting I was in would end with someone storming out and shouting, “I screwed her one time!” I definitely felt like Bos and Cameron watching the rest of the argument unfold like the Scooby gang was a reflection of the audience in that moment. Clearly, Gordon and Donna’s work/life balance is a little fucked, but obviously Gordon is taking it A. way more personal and B. as an affront to his manhood because Donna is a such a fucking pro, you’d never guess she had problems ever. It’s like what Cameron said at the beginning of the episode when she was trying to convince Ryan to come back, Donna is the nicest woman on the planet with hardly a negative thing to say about anyone or anything. For Gordon to blow up and embarrass her like that, after it was her idea to include him (which, for what it’s worth, I think is a good thing if Gordon would let it) I mean, I think the writing was so good in that scene there’s not much else to dissect. I know that’s not a deep thought, but the lines in their relationship have blurred for a long time and it’s going to be a reoccurring theme in the show – will this break them or break Munity or both?
Trevor: That’s a tough call. Gordon is so unpredictable right now. He’s unmoored and feels undervalued; it makes him snappy and irritable. Beyond that though, he has a brain tumor. Gordon is this show’s soft-spoken dorky X factor. Even Joe is more predictable, because you can usually count on him to do something manipulative and self-serving. I feel like McNairy’s performance has slowly ratcheted up since season one, and he’s set to explode here, along with potentially the rest of the cast (except maybe Bos, who takes most things in stride).
Margaux: Bos and Diane are the true North of the show right now, they’re the only ones who seemed focused and ready to get down to business, which why I hope they hook up. I loved watching them put those Swap Meet fools in their place.
Also: it was weird that neither Donna or Cameron went to deliver the offer, yeah? I mean, I get that it’s a power move, but still strange. Almost as strange as hearing Tom’s name being brought up, fuck that guy and the stupid bike he rode in on.
Trevor: Bos ripping up that check was a boss move, and I liked that Diane immediately backed him up. They’re a good team and provided the only real moments of levity in a pretty dark episode. But “dark” doesn’t mean “bad,” of course – do you want to talk stars?
Margaux: Sure. Although this felt like a laying the groundwork episode, it was executed smartly and I think the best thing HaCF has done is move the show to the West Coast because they’ve really taken advantage of the change in scenery, literally and figuratively, and upped the drama for all the characters in a way that feels organic and relevant to today’s tech boom. If every boardroom meeting goes the way Joe’s and Mutiny’s has gone so far, this show could be 90% of meetings and still be really interesting. 4.5 stars.
About Author
