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Another week down, and with it some real heat on the TV screen. Two shows in particular—Better Call Saul and Insecure—have interesting trajectories.
Saul is at the end of its current season, while Insecure is bringing a new set of episodes in. Both are at their peaks, and both excel in their classes. Also, both shouldn't be slept-on, which I why we've included their latest episodes alongside the Briarpatch finale and the latest episode of The Plot Against America. (Kudos also go to #blackAF, Kenya Barris' new Netflix series.)
You know the routine; scroll, take notes and enjoy some fire television. You're welcome, honestly.
'The Plot Against America' - "Part 5"
Where to Watch: HBO Now
In the series penultimate episode, we see the stakes rising for the Levins as they try to resist against an authoritarian regime that is trying to displace them. The episode opens to a dreary rainy day with a solemn Herman entering the house with bad news to deliver—he hands Bess a letter from his company, Metropolitan Life, which directs him to relocate to Danville, Kentucky, a city with a population of 6,700 people. The directive is clearly coming from beyond the company, which cites the President’s Homestead 42 initiative to redirect “urban” Jewish families into rural areas of the country. It’s a program that’s involuntary for the selected families and provides no economic benefits or incentives. They also suspect that Evelyn and the Rabbi specifically recommended the Levins for relocation. The family, with the exception of Sandy, has immediate concerns of living in a rural environment with almost no Jewish presence. Philip asks about the Ku Klux Klan and whether they will attack their family if they move.
The family starts to separately fight against Homestead 42—Herman lawyers up with his other colleagues and files an injunction. Philip, on the other hand, takes the bus to downtown Newark to the OAA (Office of American Absorption) to visit his Aunt Evelyn and ask her to not have them relocate. He instead offers up Seldon and his mother to move to Kentucky instead. Evelyn misunderstands his offer, thinking that Seldon is Philip’s best friend and wants him there in Kentucky as well. What follows is a doomed chain of events in which Seldon and his mother are selected for Homestead 42 and forced to relocate. Meanwhile, Herman quits his job and works his brother Monty at the market, freeing his family of the relocation act and allowing them to stay in Newark. Philip watches Seldon drive to a completely unknown state that will likely be unwelcome to him, and he knows that this was his doing.
We see Rabbi Bengelsdorf’s beliefs unfold a bit more in this episode and how he does believe he’s trying to advocate for the Jewish people in America. During a meeting with Lindbergh’s advisory members, Bengelsdorf emphasizes that Homestead 42 is an involuntary program that doesn’t provide economic benefits to the families involved. Secretary Henry Ford, a notorious Anti-Semite, shuts him down, saying that the Jewish families can choose to turn down the jobs that require relocation, thereby making the program voluntary. The conversation ends with the members clapping for Ford. It’s another instance in which Bengelsdorf realizes that his influence can’t thrive in an Anti-Semitic Presidential Cabinet.
Herman hurries to write a letter to Winchell, hoping that Winchell can somehow bring national public attention to the Homestead 42 program and excoriate it. So many of us have felt the same way when we want an admirable public figure – a talk show host, a news anchor, Beyoncé - to speak against the wrongdoings of public leaders, wishing that they can wave their magic wand and the erase whatever crisis they’re addressing with their verbal rebukes. However, we know how futile of a hope that can be. The Rabbi, in response, writes a sermon in the paper that results in Winchell losing his job. Soon after, he shortly announces his presidential bid. Herman goes to Winchell’s rally—an initially peaceful meeting of Winchell supporters surrounded by cops. However, a group of Lindbergh supporters actively start a riot as the police watch on without lifting a finger. The news of the riot makes the circuits and claims that the Winchell supporters attacked a peaceful group of Lindbergh supporters who were simply observing the event. The heavily distorted news is a reminder that, while the media serves as the primary source of information, what hope if there if they get it wrong?
Throughout the series, we’ve seen that Herman is very much a man of principle and patriotism. But we also see that, despite his pride, he realizes his powerlessness. He looks to Winchell, his attorney, his brother for guidance in his political resistance against Lindbergh—but no one can help him. It’s him against a fortified government, police force, and legislative system that works against him and doesn’t care about the rights he and his family are entitled to. —Andie Park
'Insecure' - "Lowkey Feelin' Myself" (Season 4, Episode 1)
Where to Watch: HBO
After more than a year a half of waiting—Insecure is finally back with its fourth season. In a time of quarantine, let Issa Rae make you feel nostalgic for summertime in Los Angeles, even if you’ve never spent a summer in L.A. The series’ third season was one of serious soul-searching and growth, sometimes at the expense of the overall narrative. The first episode of the season opens to shots of an empty L.A. at night—hypothetically the night of the block party that Issa had been prepping for in the last season. We see Issa sitting on her couch, on the phone, telling someone, “Honestly, I don’t fuck with Molly anymore.” The series is about Issa’s personal growth with herself and her relationships, but the strongest throughout has been her relationship with Molly. Saying those words within the first minute of the season does have the mic drop effect in the viewers that Issa Rae was likely hoping for—who’s fault was it? And can it ever be repaired?
The episode then flashes back to four months prior to the block party, to one of the heydays of Molly and Issa’s friendship as they have a Self-Care Sunday with yoga and a blunt. We’re even more attentive to their friends knowing that it’ll be doomed in a matter of months, tracking who’s responsible for what action. It’ll also be significantly more interesting to see who viewers side with (goodbye to the petty yesteryears of #TeamLawrence and #TeamDaniel drama). There’s more stakes between two best friends who’ve been through it all and have possibly grown apart.
Issa is busy getting the block party in action with the help of Condola (played by Christina Elmore), the accomplished, confident PR executive who she met that Tiffany’s baby shower last season. Their meetings are productive, energetic, and uplifting. Also, leave it to Tiffany to crash their meeting and accidentally drop the bomb that Condola is dating Lawrence, who she also met at the baby shower. It’s a shock to both of the women—but we see them handle it maturely and calmly as they move forward with the upcoming mixer that’s planned to get sponsors for the block party.
We see Molly and Issa making some moves in their love lives—Molly is still dating Andrew (played by Alexander Hodge) from last season and we get to see their amazing chemistry at play. Issa’s got a regular hookup going on with “TSA Bae” (played by Reggie Conquest) who doesn’t carry the drama of Issa’s exes. As long as these men aren’t similar to Dro or Nathan, we good.
At the night of the mixer, things are tense between Condola and Issa, but they do their best to nab as many sponsors as possible. We do see Molly being dismissive of Issa’s efforts from the beginning, telling Andrew that the mixer will be “homegrown, but she’s trying” before even arriving to the scene. Issa eventually does find her footing and makes an effective sales pitch to her sponsors while praising Condola for her guidance. She’s matured enough to be able to handle the tough spots and come through it even better off than before.
The final scene with Issa and Molly staying after hours to clean up is where we see the seeds of their tension start. It almost bubbles into one of the usual arguments that we’ve seen from them in past seasons—a battle of defensiveness and a projection of insecurities. Molly tells Issa that she’s ready to end things with Andrew (in her typical nonchalant voice) because he’s dating other people. In response, Issa is confused by Molly’s sudden change of mind and points out that she can tell that Molly is developing serious feelings for this new man. Molly deflects by claiming that Issa is about to get messy by working with Condola. Instead of a confrontation, Issa just leaves it be, possibly knowing it’s not worth her time.
We see the two women growing into their own paths and it's possible that they won’t need each other as much as they previously did. Season 4 will likely be the breakup season—just what we needed in quarantine. —Andie Park
'Better Call Saul' - "Bad Choice Road" (Season 5, Episode 9)
Where to Watch: AMC
The last time viewers heard the Lola Marsh cover of the Sinatra family classic “Somethin’ Stupid” was in the Season 4 episode of the same name. Used then as the spice on top of another series-great montage, the song marked the passage of time and space between Kim (Rhea Seehorn) and Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk) as the two drifted apart in their new routine. At the beginning of “Bad Choice Road,” however, it reappears as a spectral melody before taking on new life as it’s twisted and coiled like the rattlesnake Jimmy and Mike (Jonathan Banks) pass during the opening of this episode. Now, the song provides a message of unity, underscoring just how much Kim and Jimmy have oriented their lives around one another; instead of being separate together, they’re now together but separate.
That unified front ultimately proves life-saving, as we’re given another all-time episode of Better Call Saul. [Ed Note: SPOILERS from here on out.]
Remember in Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood when Julia Butters tells Leo his performance in Lancer was “the best acting I’ve ever seen in my whole life”? I think we need to repurpose that scene for the staggering performance Rhea Seehorn gives at the end of “Bad Choice Road.” The creeping influence of the show’s more Breaking Bad-aligned criminal elements was due to darken the door of the Wexler/McGill household sooner rather than later (and to be fair, they did when Mike showed up unannounced) but Lalo’s (Tony Dalton) drop-in was something else entirely.
In a clever bit of pacing from long-time Gilligan ABQEU (Albuquerque Extended Universe) stalwart Thomas Schnauz—pulling double-duty here as both director and writer—the whole Lalo, Jimmy, and Kim standoff plays as one extended sequence, uninterrupted by a commercial break; this ratchets up the tension. Dalton’s ability to turn Lalo from jokester to full-on terror has been an impressive bit of magic each and every time we see it, but not even Lalo was prepared for Kim Effin’ Wexler (to pull from Once again) and her own bit of wizardry. Not unlike Bron’s block, Kim’s quick thinking is a critical save to seal the game. While I’m happy Odenkirk, Banks, and Giancarlo Esposito have all had their share of recognition, the fact Seehorn has been 0-4 on Emmy nominations is a criminal oversight. In a just world, “Bad Choice Road'' will be the LeBron-like game-changer that gives Seehorn the recognition she’s so long deserved.
The central tension of Better Call Saul has always been oriented around the future of Kim Wexler. Last week, Jimmy proved he was willing to risk his life to save Kim’s; this week, Kim returns the favor. But for every reaction, there’s an equal and opposite reaction. Mike tells Jimmy around the halfway point that the choices people make put them “on a road.” We know where those roads lead for Mike and Jimmy, but the path forward for Kim still remains unclear. Time will tell if Kim’s decision will prove to ultimately be somethin’ stupid. —William Goodman
'Briarpatch' - “Felicity” (Season 1, Episode 10)
Where to Watch: USA Network
Early in the finale of USA’s Briarpatch, A.D. Singe (Edi Gathegi) tells Allegra Dill (Rosario Dawson), “The Dill ladies are never lacking in confidence.” The quote can just as easily apply to the entirety of Briarpatch.
Peak TV is a double-edged sword. It paved the way for a show like this to exist, but Briarpatch also debuted in an ecosystem where it’s increasingly difficult to garner attention and eyeballs. Even so, those who journeyed with Allegra Dill back to the fictional San Bonifacio were transported into a vibrant world, full of kinetic life. The confidence and swagger the show instantly exuded was the mark of a freshman showrunner (and former television critic) Andy Greenwald—a detail you’d be hard-pressed to guess given the polished and refined final product.
The finale, “Felicity,” lived up to the show’s charm and promise. Without giving the game away, the majority of the episode is structured around a series of crosses and double-crosses, climaxing in a thrilling mid-episode sequence. As the show’s main players make grand entrances and exits, the camera whirls and twirls in tandem with rapid revelations, framing the whole as a dynamic stage play. The scene moves like a freight train, but one with a steady hand at the wheel; it’s never frenzied, rather, a well-oiled machine chugging along at a fast pace. Each actor gets plenty to chew on (Dawson has been consistently electric throughout the season), but the real MVP is beloved character actor Kim Dickens, playing a role she’s clearly game to dig her heels into. It’s a welcome and surprising turn from an actress we otherwise might not have seen if it weren’t for this show.
At the end of the day, Briarpatch has always been about those eponymous “Dill ladies.” As each of our major characters takes their place on the aforementioned stage, the relationship between Allegra and Felicity haunts the proceedings. Sure, Briarpatch has the colorful characters and wild zoo animals to get by on flash alone, but the finale takes great strides to remind the audience (and Allegra) why we’ve traveled to this pressure-cooker in the first place. It often feels like our crime shows can get away from what matters. As Jake Spivey (Jay R. Ferguson) told us back in the pilot, “There’s always a dead girl.” Now, at the end, “Felicity” ensures the characters face the consequences of what that meant. Above all else, it’s a satisfying and well-earned conclusion.
We first entered into San Bonifacio with a Twin Peaks-esque sign telling us the place “sticks with you.” As the sun rises on the town at the end of “Felicity,” I’m more than keen to agree. —William Goodman