The Stop Button

The Bear (2022) s03e07 “Legacy” [2024] D: Joanna Calo. S: Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Lionel Boyce, Abby Elliott, Matty Matheson, Liza Colón-Zayas. It’s back to the present with Edebiri finding out she’s got a late season subplot going, while Elliot is still waiting for the baby. If only she can talk to someone about their labor story, so as to perturb her plotline a bit. It’s a decent episode, but it’s all bridging. And the callbacks to flashback episodes are weird.

The Bear (2022) s03e08 “Ice Chips” [2024] D: Christopher Storer. S: Abby Elliott, Jamie Lee Curtis. Elliot’s in a jam and the only one who can help her is mom Curtis. It turns out to be the easy best episode of the season–just lots and lots of great close-up acting. While Joanna Calo slamdunks the writing, show creator Storer takes the directorial reins, which seems a little presumptious. Calo should’ve gotten that seat.

The Bear (2022) s03e09 “Apologies” [2024] D: Christopher Storer. S: Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Lionel Boyce, Abby Elliott, Matty Matheson, Liza Colón-Zayas. The review still hasn’t come in and it’s causing further problems for White, Edebiri, and Moss-Bachrach. As far as a penultimate episode, there’s not much setup. But considering they’re doing scenes from what should’ve been covered seven episodes ago… no surprise. There’s a lot of good acting and some decent character development (just nowhere near enough).

The Bear (2022) s03e10 “Forever” [2024] D: Christopher Storer. S: Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Lionel Boyce, Abby Elliott, Matty Matheson, Liza Colón-Zayas. The season finale makes the odd choice of brining in real chefs to guest star as themselves. Maybe a quarter of them are up to snuff. The rest are awkward amateurs. The episode’s all about taking advantage of having Colman guest star and punting literally everything else to next season. The whole season has just been for texture.

Evil (2019) s04e07 “How to Bandage a Wound” [2024] D: Sam Hoffman. S: Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Emerson, Andrea Martin, Christine Lahti, Jefferson White. After a dynamite opening with Lahti and Emerson, the episode punts on the outstanding revelations. Mandvi gets the most character stuff, as he starts worrying about his mental state (even more). The ghostbuster plotline quickly ties into Herbers’s house to keep things economical. Despite Martin delightfully talking to demons… the episode feels like padding around a few big developments.

Evil (2019) s04e08 “How to Save a Life” [2024] D: Tyne Rafaeli. S: Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Emerson, Andrea Martin, Christine Lahti, Wallace Shawn. The B plot involves Lahti conspiring with Martin and Shawn to baptize the antichrist, which is a lot more compelling than the team’s A plot. Colter sees something in his remote viewing and has to intervene. It might be the first time the “magic” is proven real? Though the skeptics don’t get to respond (onscreen). Great Lahti stuff, though.

Evil (2019) s04e09 “How to Build a Chatbot” [2024] D: Fong-Yee Yap. S: Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Emerson, Andrea Martin, Christine Lahti, Wallace Shawn. It’s another terrifying technology episode, except this time it’s justified. An AI chatbot mimicking the deceased is terrorizing its customers and the team needs to see if it’s demonic. Meanwhile, Emerson and Lahti play and overplay their hands. Some really good acting throughout, with Mandvi getting a particularly affecting arc. Not having the kids around always helps.

Evil (2019) s04e10 “How to Survive a Storm” [2024] D: John Dahl. S: Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Emerson, Andrea Martin, Kurt Fuller, Christine Lahti. As a hurricane hits town–complete with iffy special effects–the shit hits the fan (sometimes literally). Emerson moves in next door to Herbers to try to get her to co-parent the antichrist, while Lahti is in the end game of her attempt to take him down. Oh, and Colter finds out Emerson’s secret origin. Way too packed.

Evil (2019) s04e11 “Fear of the Future” [2024] D: Robert King. S: Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Emerson, Kurt Fuller, Patrick Brammall, Wallace Shawn. Anna Chlumsky guest stars as a mysterious woman claiming to be from the future who just happens to know way too much about Herbers’s ground situation, so everyone starts wondering if she’s legit. Meanwhile, Emerson doesn’t trust his dipshit attorney (John Carroll Lynch). And Colter gets a one-two gut punch from the Catholic Church (just bureaucracy, thank goodness).

Evil (2019) s04e12 “Fear of the Other” [2024] D: Sam Hoffman. S: Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Emerson, Andrea Martin, Kurt Fuller, Brian Stokes Mitchell. The team investigates an acquaintance of Martin’s, played by a wasted Nate Corddry. He’s having problems since finding his doppelgänger online. Plus, Emerson’s hearing has some ups and downs, and Colter finds out the Catholic church is selling his parish to pay child rape settlements. And it’ll all coincide with the apocalypse and the show’s finale. Convenient, huh?

Evil (2019) s04e13 “Fear of the Unholy” [2024] D: John Dahl. S: Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Emerson, Andrea Martin, Anthony DeSando, Wallace Shawn. After years of being indifferent to the church where the team is stationed, the penultimate episode is all about Colter getting big sads over it closing. Lots of great, almost pointless acting from Martin and Shawn. EVIL all of a sudden wants to rag on the Catholic Church. Little late. No real hints for next episode’s finale, either.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014) s11e17 “July 21, 2024: Migrant Crime” [2024] D: Paul Pennolino. S: John Oliver. Oliver starts right in with the RNC and the “migrant crime” crisis, showing it’s all a bunch of bullshit made up by lying bigots, whether the NYPD, Fox newscasters, or Democrats. It’s data-heavy but very righteous. Then the dessert is about the “oddball” Olympics, The World Games. It works well as intended; a palate cleanser.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014) s11e18 “July 28, 2024: The West Bank Settlements” [2024] D: Paul Pennolino. S: John Oliver. Oliver does his ballsiest episode maybe ever–and not just because he asked J.D. Vance to deny his couch-f**king and Vance refused. No, Oliver does an Israel and Palestine episode. Sorry, Palestine. He very pointedly refers to the land as Palestine. It’s a history of the West Bank and the settler atrocities and apartheid. Heavy and great.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014) s11e19 “August 4, 2024: RFK Jr.” [2024] D: Paul Pennolino. S: John Oliver. Taking one for the team (Team Humanity) Oliver dedicates an episode (and however much time prepping it) to RFK Jr. Turns out he’s full of shit and lies all the time. He’s also buff and hung out with lots of famous rapists. It’s a tedious episode, which Oliver acknowledges, and shows what a chore unraveling conspiracy bullshit can be.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014) s11e20 “August 11, 2024: Hawaii” [2024] D: Paul P. S: John Oliver. Some good election coverage (the first episode since Walz got selected for Dem veep), before the main story all about Hawai’i. Oliver covers the history of the islands and people, mostly focusing on how their exploitation under the British then American gun. Then how the U.S. military, billionaires, and general creeps continued screwing them over. Excellent feature.