This is episode 5 of The Americans “Salang Pass”. Just when it seems Philip’s life could not get any harder or more complicated we get Salang Pass. He is in a fake marriage that seems to have become real, a fake marriage that still is fake, and a tense relationship with a 15 year old…
Better Call Saul Season 1, Episode 4 “Hero”. Jimmy becomes more like Saul than ever before. This episode opens and closes with him “building his brand” through scams, the latter of which is quite refined and polished. Jimmy/Saul is also developing more courage. He stands up to Nacho and presses his point that his interaction…
This is episode 4 of The Americans “Dimebag”. This episode slows way down from the action we’ve seen in earlier episodes. Paige’s birthday comes with interesting gifts and guests. Truths are told in deceptive contexts, leaving the characters and us as viewers in delicious mystery. Philip and Elizabeth remain sharply divided on Paige, even as…
Better Call Saul Season 1, Episode 3 “Nacho”. Saul/Jimmy shows us he does have a conscience as he tries to go back and right his scam with the Kettlemans. We also learn more of his Cicero backstory in a scene from the Cook County jail when Chuck appears to bail the younger Jimmy out. Jimmy…
This is episode 3 of The Americans “Open House”. Philip and Elizabeth continue to struggle with their differences but are reminded of their need for one another. Philip removes her broken tooth in an oddly intimate scene that graphically reminds us of how they care for each other. They find a way to infiltrate the…
Mike and Michelle talk about entertainment media for the beginning of the year. Connect with Mike @scathingtweets. Connect to Michelle @MichellefromTN. Read the partial script from Fargo Season 2. Orange is the New Black 2015 episode guide. NPR’s Serial podcast. Game of Thrones History Compilation Part 1. Game of Thrones History Compilation Part 2. Game of…
Better Call Saul Season 1, Episode 2 “Mijo”. The Kettleman scam gets messed up and Saul runs into Tuco and his associate Nacho. Saul and his twin cronies Cal and Lars are in trouble until Saul reveals the original plot. Saul gets his confidence back by saving the skateboarding twins. This leads to a new…
Better Call Saul, 101 “Uno”. Better Call Saul Season 1, Episode 1 “Uno”. True to the closing dialogue in Breaking Bad, Saul is living in quiet desperation in a Cinnabon in Omaha, Nebraska. But this is only a flash-forward, Saul is a struggling Jimmy McGill, cutting his public defender teeth in Albuquerque courtrooms for $700…
This is episode 2 “Baggage” of season 3 of The Americans. Philip helps Yousaf dispose of Annelise’s body. Paige questions the soundness of her parent’s marriage with Philip constantly away at night. We see Nina in her Russian jail cell, Oleg’s father visiting her, and Oleg and Stan’s confrontation about their feelings over her. In…
Recap of Breaking Bad 516, “Felina”. The police converge on the New Hampshire bar where Walt saw Eliot and Gretchen on the Charlie Rose show. Walt hides inside a snow covered Volvo and prays, “Just get me home. I’ll do the rest” as the police lights pass over him. He gets the car started and…
