The Office (Season 2)

Season 2 of The Office is the season where the series became what it is today. The quality jump from the first season is absolutely astonishing right from the very first episode, and leads to one of the most consistently strong seasons I've ever seen from a comedic series.

This season continues where the first one left off. Michael is still trying to make his workers like him, while also having an odd on-and-off-relationship with his boss, Jan. Jim has a girlfriend, but he still has feelings for Pam, who's finally starting to go forward with her wedding, and Dwight is starting a secret relationship with his colleague Angela. There's also the threat of downsizing, but that's resolved super early on in the season. Like Season 1, most of these plot threads are in the background of most of the episodes, but there's a stronger continuity and a season finale where everything manages to tie together fairly well. Outside of this, however, the majority of the season is still focusing on silly office hijinks.

Most, if not all, of this season's storylines are pretty much entirely original from the UK version, which helps give it a much stronger sense of identity. It's much more earnest than the UK series, with Michael Scott being a more sympathetic character, in particular. His attempts at trying to be a well-liked boss make him more endearing than David Brent, and Steve Carrell plays him nearly perfectly. This season also introduces a fairly tragic aspect to his character, seen most clearly when he has to fire someone in his office. He spends the whole episode devastated about the prospect and it shows that even though he's not a great boss, you can't deny that he cares about his work. This combination of tragedy and comedy works wonders for the show's staple cringe comedy.

The other characters also get a lot more to do. Jim and Pam's will-they-won't-they relationship is more gripping than ever, and it's devastating to see Jim slowly lose faith as the wedding approaches. The minor office workers get a lot more focus and characterization as well, especially the accountants, Oscar, Angela, and Kevin. The episode quality is far more consistent as well, with my least favorite episode (The Carpet) still being really good. At its best, we get the season finale Casino Night, which is still one of my favorite episodes ever made. The camerawork is also a lot better in this season. Every shift and pan feels deliberate to make the documentary nature of the show feel more credible, and the camerawork even gets more shaky whenever the show gets dramatic. The whole production feels like the show at the peak of its craft.

Being one of the series' best seasons, there are a lot of notable episodes:

The Dundies: A strong season premiere that hits the ground running right off the bat. The whole premise of an office awards ceremony is excellent, and was hilariously executed. We also get the first Jim and Pam kiss to end the episode off on a big note.

The Client: This was the episode with Threat Level Midnight, which is just a hilarious subplot in its own right. This is also the start of Michael and Jan, easily one of the strangest romantic subplots in the series.

Christmas Party: The Office's Christmas episodes were always outstanding and this is one of the best. Michael's gift swap game is an absolute masterclass in hilarious cringe comedy, and the subplot with Jim's present for Pam did a great job added some heart to the proceedings.

Booze Cruise: Serving as the midpoint of the season, this episode could have been a season finale on its own. The hijinks on the cruise were amazing on their own, but what really made this episode was Roy re-proposing to Pam, Jim breaking up with his girlfriend, and Michael learning about Jim's feelings.

The Injury: This episode was just plain bonkers. Michael burning his foot on a George-Foreman grill is the type of thing you just don't make up, and Dwight's concussion/accidental friendship with Pam is so bizarre you can't help but love it. Even with how crazy the series gets, this was still one of its strangest episodes.

Casino Night: What an amazing finale. The titular casino night was a lot of fun, and it gave the whole ensemble something to do. Michael's love triangle was great, but the real highlight was Jim's painfully realistic and phenomenally acted confession of love to Pam, along with that excellent cliffhanger. This is still one of my favorite episodes ever made for bringing every storyline together and for balancing comedy and drama incredibly well.

Overall, Season 2 of The Office is a massive improvement over the first as the show finally starts to carve out its own identity. The writing, characterization, and production are all improved drastically to create one of the strongest seasons of the whole series.

5/5 Stars 

The Office (Season 1)

The first season of The Office is infamously different than all of the other seasons of the show, as it's far more based off of its UK counterpart. It's darker, more satirical, and the characters are far less sympathetic. Sadly, I don't think it pulls it off all that well most of the time.

There isn't much of a story to the first season of The Office. It's just an episodic series about a bunch of normal people working in a normal office. There's the boss Michael Scott (Steve Carell), the "assistant" Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson), there's Jim Halpert (John Krakinski), and the secretary Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer). Jim hates his job and spends most of his time pranking Dwight, when he's not fawning over Pam in spite of the fact that she's engaged. For most of the show, Michael Scott is the main focus as the boss, and while he's an endearing and fleshed-out character in the later seasons, in Season 1, he's just kind of annoying. They tried to make Michael Scott more like David Brent, but it doesn't really play to Steve Carrell's strengths.

There are only six episodes in this season and most of them are fairly average. The mockumentary style is well-executed, the acting is good, and the show gets laughs out of me fairly frequently, but it's rarely anything spectacular. This is probably because for most of this season, it really does feel like the show runners are trying to emulate the UK version of the show, to the point where the pilot episode is a beat-for-beat recreation of the UK pilot. The UK version of the pilot is great and all, but they copy it so blatantly to the point where it feels like an inferior version. The season finale also retreads the same "Hot Girl" storyline that the UK series had as well. It's a big shame, because this season is at its best when it's allowed to try something new, which isn't more evident outside of the second episode of the season:

Diversity Day: This is easily the strongest episode of the season, mostly because it tries to do something new. Michael Scott is way more endearing here because it's made clear that his intentions are just even if he ends up accidentally offending everyone. The jokes are sharp and the entire cast is utilized incredibly well. There's a reason this is cited as one of the show's finest moments.

Overall, Season 1 could be a great first season if they just stopped copying the UK series. Instead, it feels like a poor-man's version of the show, with not enough strong episodes to make it stand out as a good season, even with the great cast and production values.

2/5 Stars

Toradora

Toradora is probably one of the best romantic comedies I have ever seen and definitely one of the best anime I've seen to date. It has strong characters, tons of emotional moments, and it leaves you thinking by the end of it all.

The story of Toradora is simple but effective. Taiga and Ryuuji are two high school students who learn they have crushes on each other's friends, Minori and Kitamura. They spend the bulk of the series trying to help each other ask their crushes out, only to slowly develop feelings for each other. There's also a model named Ami who slowly develops a friendship with the rest of the main cast and even tries to help Taiga and Ryuuji realize their feelings for each other. I think it's a really charming story executed incredibly well, particularly because of how slow and gradually the development between Taiga and Ryuuji is. Their feelings for each other never feel rushed or forced, rather it's easily one of the most natural love stories I've ever seen. By the second episode, I was absolutely sold on the couple and was rooting for them to get together.

Probably the strongest aspect of Toradora are the characters. The whole cast is incredibly multi-faceted and go through a lot of development throughout the course of the show. Taiga and Ryuuji are particularly strong characters, and I loved seeing Taiga slowly become more emotionally mature as the show goes on. I also think their dynamic with each other is great and really sells their romance. Minori is another highlight, a character who's far more tragic than she initially lets on. There are also a lot of great side characters, helping Class 2C feel like a fully-fledged homeroom. One of my favorite characters was Ryuuji's mom Yasuko, who seems like the comic relief for most of the show until the last few episodes when you realize there's a lot more to her than it initially seems. Despite her ditzy exterior, she has a lot of regrets and is really doing her best to support Ryuugi and prevent him from making the same mistakes.

The story also does a great job of never outright telling you how the characters feel or why they do what they do, allowing for a lot of subtext. Taiga, in particular, makes a lot of impulsive decisions and looking into the reasoning why she makes them is fascinating. Add in a somewhat ambiguous ending and you get a show that people are still talking about years after it's ended. However, I also think the show goes a bit too far with this sometimes, as it took me a while to understand why the events of the finale ended up happening. The animation is also strong with striking character designs, and the background music is downright beautiful at times. My biggest gripe is the fact that some of the episodes gets a bit too melodramatic at points, particularly the one where the characters get lost in a cave. I also think the usage of a post-credits scene to resolve the story in the final episode is a bit of a jerk move for those who aren't aware of it. I feel for everyone who thought Ryuuji and Taiga didn't end up together.

Here are a bunch of Toradora episodes that I thought was notable:

Osashi High School Culture Festival: A strong three-parter that focused on Taiga's issues surrounding her family. The reveal that Ryuuji was wrong about her father is a serious gut punch and does a lot to make you feel more sympathetic of her. Thankfully, the ending is really sweet and memorable.

One Step Forward: I thought Sumire was an excellent and multi-faceted side character, who got a great focus in this episode, which feels like the culmination of Taiga's feelings for Kitamura. The classroom fight is devastating to watch, but it's also one of the most beautifully animated scenes in the whole show.

Christmas Eve Party: Easily the best episode in the show, Taiga's moment of realizing that she loves Ryuuji is heart-breaking and is also beautifully done. Minori's decision to reject Ryuuji so he ends up with Taiga is also incredibly memorable. Despite the sad ending, there are also a lot of really fun Christmas shenanigans to light the mood throughout the episode.

Confession: A close second to my favorite episode of the show, Ryuuji and Taiga finally getting together was an incredibly satisfying moment and it was done really well. I thought their decision to run away from home together was incredibly intriguing too. This was also the episode that made me love Yasuko's character.

Toradora!: A strong and emotional ending that took me a while to truly understand, but now I think I get it. Taiga saw how quickly Ryuuji mended things with his family and realized that she's not mature enough yet to date him, so she leaves to do the same thing. Once she returns in the post-credits scene, they're both ready to truly begin their relationship. Aside from the buttload of subtext, there are tons of emotional and memorable moments, and that final post-credits scene really is amazing.

Toradora is an excellent rom com anime with great characters, strong animation, and a lot of subtext that leaves you thinking about it long after it's done. While some plot decisions feel a bit odd at times, the whole series feels really well-thought out and purposeful.

4/5 Stars

Favorite Episode: Christmas Eve Party

The Mandalorian (Season 1)

The first season of The Mandalorian was a strong first outing for the series. It proved to people that a live-action Star Wars TV series could work, packing in creative visuals, thrilling action, and pure Star Wars cheese.

The Mandalorian has a very simplistic story, but it's also very effective. On one of his missions, the Mandalorian (who we'll just call Mando) learns he has to give a child of Yoda's species (who we'll call The Child) to the empire. Most of the season sees Mando flying around the galaxy to evade bounty hunters and empire soldiers who want the child back. It's a simple premise, but it's incredibly well-executed.

In some of my earlier reviews, I mentioned how TV shows nowadays can visually resemble movies, but The Mandalorian takes that to another level. The production values are astonishing, utilizing amazing practical and visual effects to create a world that fits in perfectly well with all of the other Star Wars movies. Given how shoddy the CGI can look in sci-fi shows, what The Mandalorian is able to pull off is genuinely impressive. There are tons of really sweet action scenes from Mando chasing down a Sandcrawler in Episode 2. to a thrilling prison escape in Episode 6. The backing score is also amazing, helping to give a tone that feels incredibly un-Star Wars.

And that's probably the strongest aspect of The Mandalorian. It does a great job at letting you look at the Star Wars universe through a different lens. Iconic Star Wars aliens like Jawas and Pit Droids return, but are utilized in a way that makes them feel fresh. There's a lot of world-building that helps the Star Wars universe feel lived in. The cast is also really strong, all of the characters are unique and have a good dynamic with each other, made even stronger when they unite in the last two episodes. Pedro Pascal is great as Mando, managing to convey lots of emotion without even taking off his helmet. 

My biggest gripe for the season is in terms of its pacing, as it doesn't really seem to know whether or not it wants to be a more serial or episodic show. The first three episodes seem to hint at some greater plot, but then the pacing slows to a crawl as we get three planet-of-the-week episodes in a row. The last two episodes return to the overall story, but it feels like they're almost overstuffed. Maybe this wouldn't be as concerning if the season wasn't eight episodes, but for a while, it felt like they weren't going to be able to get to everything by the end of the season.

Regardless, there are still a bunch of really notable episodes:

The Child: The experimental first half of this episode is probably some of the best Star Wars ever produced, completely lacking in dialogue and stuffed to the brim with beautiful cinematography, creative cinematography, and a creative use of the Sandcrawler. If any episode warmed me up on the series, it's definitely this one. 

The Sin: Despite how much I liked The Child, I think this is the episode that warmed most people onto the series, being a character-driven outing that focuses on Mando deciding what he wants to do with The Child. I think Pedro Pascal really proves his acting chops here, as you can always tell what Mando is thinking even with his helmet on. The final chase scene at the end is also great and feels like season finale material.

The Reckoning: This was a pretty fantastic set-up for the season finale, a fun "getting the band together" sort of episode that brings together a lot of disparate plot points from previous episodes, sets up force healing in a neat tie-in to Rise Of Skywalker, and ends on a gutwrenching cliffhanger.

Redemption: I'm still stunned at how much ground this finale managed to cover without feeling too overly packed. We get tons of great character moments, some of the best action in the season, a lot of huge revelations about Mando and the rest of his clan, and an incredibly intriguing cliffhanger. Moff Gideon is a great and terrifying villain, and Taika Watiti did a great job at keeping this more intense episode light and humorous. Easily one of the best Star Wars films Disney put out to date.

Overall, The Mandalorian had a really strong start, with amazing production values and tons of great Star Wars goodness. Even if the pacing was a bit off, the story has a solid base and the finale was awesome. I think this show has a lot of room to grow into one of the best sci-fi TV series of all time.

4/5 Stars

The Queen's Gambit

The Queen's Gambit is a seven-episode-long Netflix miniseries that garnered a lot of buzz. I don't watch many miniseries, but I decided to check this one out, and it's really good.

The story of The Queen's Gambit is about Beth (Anya Taylor-Joy) who, upon being sent to an orphanage at age 9, gains a knack for chess. The series chronicles her rise from unknown to one of the best chess players in the world. Along the way, she makes friends with a lot of fellow chess players like Townes (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd), Harry (Harry Beltik), and Benny (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), all of which are super likeable side characters who play off of each other really well.

The Queen's Gambit does a great job of telling a solid story really well. There's hardly a low point in the series, with every episode being consistently well-made and fun to watch. The acting is strong across the board, especially Taylor-Joy in the lead, and the cast has a great chemistry with each other. The depiction of chess is shockingly accurate and the series does a great job of making chess fun to watch. The dialogue is strong, the set design evokes the 60s era without being cartoonishly 60s, the cinematography is well-done, and the score is very pleasing to listen to. The production values across the board are just astounding, and make The Queen's Gambit feel more like a full-on movie than a TV show.

However, that's probably my only main gripe with the miniseries, the fact that it feels more like an elongated movie. It even follows a fairly predictable third-act structure with a backstory pilot episode, the protagonist losing against the antagonist halfway through the show, the darkest hour penultimate episode, and the triumphant third act in the finale. I think the characters are likable enough to justify a seven-episode-long miniseries, but I also think it could have worked just as well as a movie.

Despite the fairly consistent quality of the show, there are a bunch of particularly strong episodes:

Exchanges: This 68-minute-long beast could have been a movie on its own. Seeing Beth adjust to her new home and slowly start to get into chess is fun to watch, and her adoptive mother has a strong character arc where she learns to accept her role as a mother. It's a heartwarming episode that was a joy to sit through.

End Game: This was a super heartwarming and satisfying finale that manages to tie up the story completely. Even if it was predictable, the way in which Beth defeated Borgov was triumphant and just plain awesome, and I loved seeing all of the cast return to be by her side when all's said and done. The return of Jolene also did a great job of bringing the series full circle to Beth's humble orphanage beginnings (or should I say openings?).

Overall, The Queen's Gambit is a strong miniseries with great performances, writing, and production values. While it can be a bit predictable at times, the great characters and engrossing depiction of chess makes it an enjoyable watch from start to finish.

4.5/5 Stars

Favorite Episode: End Game

Mr Robot (Season 4)

I'm going to be honest. I didn't really like Season 4 of Mr Robot. It's still as well-filmed and acted as the show has always been, but the pacing is really wonky and the season contains a lot of plot directions that didn't sit all that well for me. 

Frankly, the first two thirds of Season 4 were really good. I like the Christmas vibe it had going for it and the story of the final confrontation with the Dark Army was compelling. There were tons of experimental episodes that stood out with some of the best in the series, and I also really liked seeing Mr Robot as the narrator this time. Angela and Tyrell's deaths, while frustrating, were really well-executed, and the middle of the season was top-notch. I feel like having most of the season take place on the same day led to some odd pacing, but it was overall a novel idea.

It's not until the episode "410 Gone" where the cracks started to show. While it was a great episode, it felt odd having to say goodbye to the side characters when there were three episodes left. I thought Dom or Leon would return for the finale, but the finale was entirely focused on Elliot. Then I arrived at "eXit" and it introduces a "parallel universe". I didn't like this plot point because I didn't want Mr Robot to go hard sci-fi. I thought it was too grounded to do that. Still, I saw the last two episodes, and while it was revealed that there were no parallel universes, what I got was even worse.

"Hello, Elliot" was one of the most underwhelming finales I have ever seen and it felt like a low point for not just the season but Mr Robot as a whole. I like the idea of an ambiguous and psychological finale but it didn't feel like they went all the way, settling for some pretty rote "parallel universe" shenanigans. And then there's the plot twist, the reveal that Elliot was also a split personality called 'The Mastermind" and he locked his real self away in the "parallel universe utopia", so the show ends with Elliot stepping back and letting his real self take the wheel. Sure it makes sense, but it's ridiculously convoluted, and the more I think about it, the worse it ends up being.

This finale just felt like an insult to the audience. The character we've been following the whole time, a character who's one of the best depictions of mental illness out there, a character who breaks the fourth wall and talks to the viewer, isn't even real in his own universe. If that's really so, then why am I supposed to care about anything that happened in the last four seasons? On top of that, most of the other cast members are shafted, and the lingering questions still aren't answered. I understand why people would like the finale as it definitely has a degree of emotional punch, but for me, this was a massive disappointment.

Thankfully, there are still a bunch of really good episodes that helped the first two thirds of the season remain strong:

402 Payment Required: I like the low-key nature of this episode. The focus on Elliot and Darlene each dealing with their mother's death in their own ways is great. We also get the first mention of the Deus Group, along with the twist that Elliot has another split personality. 

405 Method Not Allowed: Believe it or not, I didn't realize this episode was entirely silent until almost halfway in, and it made the whole thing so much more enjoyable. The heist was a lot of fun, culminating in the show's greatest action scene; A chase through the streets of New York City that's both intense and a hell of a fun time.

407 Proxy Authentication Required: Damn it, Vera! I'm supposed to hate you but all of your episodes are so good! This episode feels more like a play than an episode of a TV show, with five acts and everything. It has a bit of a slow build, but it remains tense throughout, culminating in a genuinely devastating final third.

409 Conflict: This episode is just satisfying. Seeing the Deus Group fall apart, Price outwit Whiterose, and the Dark Army nearly being slaughtered is amazing. Price was especially brutal during this episode, definitely his best moment in the show.

Overall, there are a lot of good episodes and the production is as top-notch as usual, but the ending just completely drops the ball for me, dragging down not just this season but the entire show. Maybe if they stuck the landing, this would be one of my favorite shows of all time, but now it's just a mess.

3/5 Stars

My ranking of Mr Robot's seasons would be:

1. Season 3: Easily the peak of the series. Meant to payoff everything Season 2 set up, Season 3 starts at 11 and continuously gets better from there. Nearly every episode is fantastic.
2. Season 1: What a great starter season. Season 1 of Mr Robot tells a great self-contained story with confident pacing and direction and a phenomenal triple-whammy at the very ending.
3. Season 2: While slow and aimless at times, Season 2 has a lot of great episodes especially around the middle, and most of it is made better by the payoffs in Season 3. 
4. Season 4: There's a lot of great episodes and moments in Season 4, but the bizarre pacing and the ending that just didn't work for me at all really dragged it down.

And my ranking of Mr Robot's finales would be:

1. shutdown -r (Season 3): I love this episode so much. It's so small-scale in premise, cramming the cast together into a farm for most of its runtime, but Shutdown manages to resolve all of the show's major storylines in dramatic and satisfying fashion.
2. eps1.9_zer0-day.avi (Season 1): While more of a denouement coming off of the last two episodes, Zero Day still manages to surprise by completely subverting everything the season was building towards.
3. eps2.9_pyth0n.p7z (Season 2): Python is a bit of a messy finale that tosses a ridiculous amount of plot twists and cliffhangers at you as possible. It's not super satisfying, but it is very surprising.
4. Hello, Elliot (Season 4): Yeah, I've ranted enough about the series finale. I didn't like it.

Favorite Episode: eps3.4_runtime-err0r.r00

Mr Robot (Season 3)

Season 3 feels like Season 2: Part 2. It starts right in the heat of the conflict and doesn't let up one bit, resolving all of the show's lingering mysteries and packing in tons of big plot twists and creative episodes.

Season 3 comes right after Season 2 as Elliot tries to fight against pretty much everyone to stop Stage 2 from going on. Angela, Tyrell, and Mr Robot have all been recruited by the Dark Army, while Darlene deals with being an FBI informant. This season introduces the Dark Army's middle man Irving, who's a hilarious addition to the show and is a joy to watch throughout.

Right from the first episode, you can tell that Season 3 is trying to simplify things. Everyone's allegiances are made much more clear, and some of the extraneous plot threads and characters are chopped off. This makes Season 3 a much more enjoyable outing than the second, allowing it to not only reach but surpass the quality of Season 1. Season 3 also manages to pack in some great plot twists, from the riot at E-Corp, to Elliot's failure to stop Stage 2, to pretty much everything that happened in the finale. Add in the show's usually great acting and cinematography, and you get a nearly perfect season. My only issue is the fact that Season 3 doesn't stand on its own like the first does, as it really does feel like a direct followup to Season 2.

As for the most notable episodes, there are once again a lot of them:

eps3.1_undo.gz: Joanna's death was a bit disappointing given how she had much more to offer, but it was still a shocking and well-executed twist. We also get a ton of other great moments like the conflict between Elliot and Darlene, along with Krista meeting Mr Robot.

eps3.4_runtime-err0r.r00: Easily my favorite episode of the whole show, this 45-minute long take that follows multiple characters up and down a building is a technical marvel. But what's even more impressive is the sheer amount of storylines that get some really big moments in a single take.

eps3.5_kill-pr0cess.inc: Coming right after the long take episode is an episode that rapidly cuts between four different storylines, and it's just as stressful. The final reveal of the true extent of Stage 2 is easily the best twist in the whole season.

eps3.6_fredrick+tanya.chk: And the show is still firing on all cylinders! This dark and emotional episode does a great job of dealing with the fallout of the last two episodes, along with its devastating goodbye to Mobley and Trenton.

shutdown -r: Easily the best finale the show ever done, Shutdown mostly comprises a tense confrontation at a barn that feels climactic. You get the vibe that anyone can die at any time. Everyone gets a moment to shine, and the episode is chock-full of big twists, shocking moments, and probably the best stinger yet.

Overall, Season 3 was a massive improvement on the season and easily the highest point of the show. The fast-pace and simpler plot make it much more palatable, and the crazy plot twists and satisfying resolutions help it stand out. Add in some of the show's best episodes and the same strengths Mr Robot always had and you get an absolute gem.

5/5 Stars