The Stop Button

Doctor Who (2024) s02e04 “Lucky Day” [2025] D: Peter Hoar. S: Ncuti Gatwa, Varada Sethu, Millie Gibson. On hiatus companion Gibson returns for a feature, all about her romance with alien enthusiast podcaster Jonah Hauer-King. Gatwa and Sethu get a little (Sethu less), and if it weren’t for the many big twists, it might feel like Gibson’s pilot with Jemma Redgrave’s hi-tech alien police. It’s a great showcase for Gibson, albeit shoehorned in.

Doctor Who (2024) s02e05 “The Story & the Engine” [2025] D: Makalla McPherson. S: Ncuti Gatwa, Varada Sethu, Sienna-Robyn Mavanga-Phipps, Sule Rimi, Ariyon Bakare, Stefan Adegbola, Michelle Asante. Lush, romantic, nerdy, and as African as Disney and the BBC would let them get episode has Gatwa trapped in an interdimensional Nigerian barbershop on the back of a giant spider, weaving its way across the firmament. Excellent guest spots from Asante and Bakare; everyone’s good. Gatwa and Sethu’s colonialism-aware dynamic duo keeps getting better. Great cameo, too.

The Last of Us (2023) s02e04 “Day One” [2025] D: Kate Herron. S: Bella Ramsey, Isabela Merced, Jeffrey Wright. Jeffrey Wright joins the show as a level boss and brings some gravitas with him. Ramsey and Merced meanwhile take a break from the zombies to have some real talks, getting interrupted by zombies, of course. It’s solid, entirely because of Ramsey, then Merced, then Wright. Hopefully the show will get something going besides the acting. But probably not?

The Last of Us (2023) s02e05 “Feel Her Love” [2025] D: Stephen Williams. S: Bella Ramsey, Isabela Merced, Young Mazino, Tati Gabrielle, Alanna Ubach, Hettienne Park, Maurice Dean Wint. Until Gabrielle shows up, the episode’s barely okay. Somehow, despite Ramsey and Merced both giving fine performances, their working romance thing drags. But once the action starts–after Ramsey passes the first three checkpoints, anyway–the episode takes off. Gabrielle’s phenomenal, bringing out new stuff in Ramsey. And Alanna Ubach’s in it for a scene and a delight.

Poker Face (2023) s02e01 “The Game Is a Foot” [2025] D: Rian Johnson. S: Natasha Lyonne, Cynthia Erivo, Jin Ha, Jasmine Guy. Awesome guest performance from Erivo as an apple picker who used to be a child actor. Mom Guy took all the money and cut Erivo out of the will. Lyonne’s on the run from the mob and befriends Erivo. Truly spectacular acting from Erivo, tepid, derivative direction from Rian Johnson. Erivo makes the episode. Odd for a season premiere.

Poker Face (2023) s02e02 “Last Looks” [2025] D: Natasha Lyonne. S: Natasha Lyonne, Katie Holmes, Giancarlo Esposito, Kevin Corrigan. Lyonne cowrites and directs. Esposito’s a creepy mortician with an unhappy wife (Holmes, who’s more enthusiastic than successful). When she goes missing, Lyonne gets suspicious but “no lies detected.” Fantastic performance from Esposito, with Lyonne directing him (and the episode) Hitchcockian but not obnoxiously. Corrigan’s got a bit part and is (too briefly) delightful. Lyonne and Esposito deliver.

Poker Face (2023) s02e03 “Whack-A-Mole” [2025] D: Miguel Arteta. S: Natasha Lyonne, John Mulaney, Richard Kind, Chris Bauer, Simon Helberg, Rhea Perlman. Nothing really matters like Rhea Perlman guesting as the mob boss out to get Lyonne. But then everything else delivers, too, like erstwhile FBI agent love interest Helberg’s return, which brings with it Kind, Bauer, and Mulaney. Bauer’s the dark horse, while Mulaney’s… fine. And it sets up the season (finally). The pacing, Lyonne, and Perlman rule.