The Stop Button

Agatha All Along (2024) s01e04 “If I Can’t Reach You / Let My Song Teach You” D: Rachel Goldberg. S: Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Debra Jo Rupp, Patti LuPone, Aubrey Plaza. Fantastic performances make up for the “oh, another escape room” nature of the episode (and, perhaps, show?). It’s Ahn’s episode but it’s also where Plaza comes back in. Lots of charged banter between Plaza and Hahn. The enthusiasm makes up for the occasionally too obvious budget limitations. And LuPone’s just a delight, too.

Shrinking (2023) s02e02 “I Love Pain” [2024] D: Randall Keenan Winston. S: Harrison Ford, Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller, Ted McGinley. Given how the stakes from last episode’s cliffhanger evaporate in this one almost immediately… Well, it actually does work but it’s kind of annoying. This episode ends with a much better sad montage. Lots of good acting, especially Ford and Williams. Even Segel is better than usual, maybe because someone calls him on his bullshit for once.

Shrinking (2023) s02e03 “Psychological Something-ism” [2024] D: Zach Braff. S: Harrison Ford, Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller. Well, Segel getting called on his bullshit lasted all of one episode and now they’re back to his bullshit actually being okay with everyone. Not Williams, but only because they’re using it for banter. And giving affect incapable Miller an emotive arc is a miss. Maxwell and Ford easily do the best in an iffy episode.

Shrinking (2023) s02e04 “Made You Look” [2024] D: Zach Braff. S: Harrison Ford, Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller. Schmaltzy to the point sincerity doesn’t even matter anymore is certainly something to behold. They’re setting everything up for big dramatic confrontations and so on (even having Ford expound over a montage), so it’s all intentional. But it’s also lost all grip on reality so the stakes are toast. Even Maxwell falls victim to it. It’s desperately empathetic.

Shrinking (2023) s02e05 “Honesty Era” [2024] D: Jamie Babbit. S: Harrison Ford, Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller. The schmaltz continues. Even as Segel gets called out again, all his amends are schmaltz. Without any stakes–Maxwell is still keeping her secrets, which ought to be the show, but is instead ignored–it’s hard to care. Worse, things are getting tied up, seemingly prematurely. It’s disappointing and unsurprising. Ford is still a delight. Ditto Williams.

Silo (2023) s02e05 “Descent” [2024] D: Bert. S: Rebecca Ferguson, Common, Chinaza Uche, Tim Robbins, Shane McRae, Remmie Milner, Steve Zahn. It’s a chase episode (which is a good way to follow-up last week’s big mistaken swing, like hold your best performers in the light, SILO). Anyway. The framed fugitives are trying to get back to the basement, lots of surprises as Common and Robbins (who’s just getting better) pursue. Also, low bar, but Glen’s best-ever SILO performance.

Silo (2023) s02e06 “Barricades” [2024] D: Michael Dinner. S: Common, Harriet Walter, Chinaza Uche, Rick Gomez, Tim Robbins, Shane McRae, Remmie Milner. More political drama, with Robbins and Common both starting to lose their grips, possibly because they’re relying on the wrong people. Lots of it is Uche deal-making so he can do the right thing. Then all the plotting of the mechanical workers, who might be ready to start the revolution. Also they might not.

Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020) s05e08 “Upper Decks” [2024] D: Bob Suarez. S: Tawny Newsome, Jack Quaid, Dawnn Lewis, Gillian Vigman, Jerry O’Connell, Fred Tatasciore, Ben Rodgers. The bridge crew gets a spotlight episode to show off their A tier Starfleet adventures, and it’s a lot of fun. Maybe they should have done one a season or something. There’s an engineering issue, boring artsy endeavors, an invasion, and adorable space cows. Plus action, gore, and romance. It’s all over too soon.

Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020) s05e09 “Fissure Quest” [2024] D: Brandon Williams. S: Tawny Newsome, Jack Quaid, Noël Wells, Eugene Cordero, Fred Tatasciore, Gabrielle Ruiz. Fantastic start to the finale, with an alternate universe adventure featuring Quaid and Newsome trying to stop the villain creating interdimensional rifts. They play it as a straight episode focused on the new crew, who are all alternate-universe versions of familiar TREK franchise characters. Lots of delight; lots of fun; the big swing tying it all together lands.

Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020) s05e10 “The New Next Generation (2)” [2024] D: Megan Lloyd. S: Tawny Newsome, Jack Quaid, Noël Wells, Eugene Cordero, Dawnn Lewis, Jerry O’Connell, Fred Tatasciore. Unfortunately, after the banger setup and a solid first act, LOWER DECKS lurches into spacedock for its finale. No actual onscreen character development for Newsome and Quaid, Cordero’s got an obnoxious last subplot, and Wells is a bit of a punchline. There are some cute nods, and the pacing’s outstanding. No fan service cameos, either; they’d be too enthusiastic.

What We Do in the Shadows (2019) s06e10 “The Promotion” [2024] D: Kyle Newacheck. S: Kayvan Novak, Matt Berry, Natasia Demetriou, Harvey Guillén, Mark Proksch, Tim Heidecker, Andy Assaf. Some solid laughs for the penultimate SHADOWS, which wraps up the season’s two subplots. There’s some inkling of a setup, but nothing about it screams finale-building. Still, nothing about the subplot resolutions required them to run the whole season, especially not since they’re acting like the resolve does enough character development for Novak and Guillén. It does not.

What We Do in the Shadows (2019) s06e11 “The Finale” [2024] D: Yana Gorskaya. S: Kayvan Novak, Matt Berry, Natasia Demetriou, Harvey Guillén, Mark Proksch, Kristen Schaal, Andy Assaf. Just okay finish has some moments, and some good moments for the cast (though, actually, everyone but Berry who seems bored). But they introduce a bunch of things they could’ve used to better frame the season. Like, really obvious stuff. And some of the credited guest stars… don’t seem to be in the episode. One super cute gag, though.