[7.1/10] So I started out being ready to hate a lot of this. After the events of last season and the first half of this season, just having Mo be back and up to his old tricks felt like a cheat. I’m not saying I thought he would be in Kokomo forever, but I figured the show would have him inch his way back or give him some strong motivation or epiphany that brings him to TBD for some reason. So having him just walk into the boardroom, blow the deal with Lehman, and start trouble felt too easy.
But I like where they end up with it. I’ve grown tired of mystery boxes on the whole, but for one episode, seeing him have the cash to live his own life and realizing it’s because he’s an informant for the FBI is a good twist. The fact that it’s Connie, the agent who turned him back in the day, is the icing on the cake. It’s not perfect, and it’s still a little fast, but it makes sense in a way I wasn’t expecting.
Were that the same could be said for Keith’s quick entrance and exit from prison. The whole barbershop quartet song was amusing enough, but felt like a sketch from a late night show rather than an organic part of this one. (Man, the director really loved that circling shot, huh?) I suppose if they needed Keith back in the fold that quickly, making it a joke and commentary about white collar prison sentences is a good way to do it. It still just feels fast, and teaming him up with Lehman doesn't do much for me.
Still, I enjoyed Dawn and Blair’s escapade well enough. It’s the most we’ve seen the two of them together since the season started, and I like how that nicely continues the thread of Dawn being slowly but surely fed up with her not getting credit or control of the company she helped found and take over. Her leaning into Blair’s plan but meaning to use the Pastor’s disdain for his son-in-law to quietly sabotage it is a good scheme, and the humor aboard “air prayer” was the best in the episode.
That said, this one was pretty meager in the laughs department. Between the barbershop quartet song and the “Just 4 Men” club, the show felt way more blunt and didactic in its gags and satire than it usually is, but there were still enough chuckles to get by.
I’m intrigued by where the show takes the relationship between Dawn and Mo here, though. I’m still not rooting for them to be together, but I still find their dynamic compelling. Dawn is worried about Mo screwing her over, and Mo is yearning for the life satisfaction he only felt when he was with Dawn at the blissful beginning of their relationship. That’s a good setup for character development and meaningful conflicts.
Overall, this was still a weaker episode than normal, but one that surprised me in how it justified its easy restoration of the status quo and which nicely advances the interesting dynamic between Dawn and Mo, and Dawn’s story overall.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2020-04-06T05:04:23Z
[7.1/10] So I started out being ready to hate a lot of this. After the events of last season and the first half of this season, just having Mo be back and up to his old tricks felt like a cheat. I’m not saying I thought he would be in Kokomo forever, but I figured the show would have him inch his way back or give him some strong motivation or epiphany that brings him to TBD for some reason. So having him just walk into the boardroom, blow the deal with Lehman, and start trouble felt too easy.
But I like where they end up with it. I’ve grown tired of mystery boxes on the whole, but for one episode, seeing him have the cash to live his own life and realizing it’s because he’s an informant for the FBI is a good twist. The fact that it’s Connie, the agent who turned him back in the day, is the icing on the cake. It’s not perfect, and it’s still a little fast, but it makes sense in a way I wasn’t expecting.
Were that the same could be said for Keith’s quick entrance and exit from prison. The whole barbershop quartet song was amusing enough, but felt like a sketch from a late night show rather than an organic part of this one. (Man, the director really loved that circling shot, huh?) I suppose if they needed Keith back in the fold that quickly, making it a joke and commentary about white collar prison sentences is a good way to do it. It still just feels fast, and teaming him up with Lehman doesn't do much for me.
Still, I enjoyed Dawn and Blair’s escapade well enough. It’s the most we’ve seen the two of them together since the season started, and I like how that nicely continues the thread of Dawn being slowly but surely fed up with her not getting credit or control of the company she helped found and take over. Her leaning into Blair’s plan but meaning to use the Pastor’s disdain for his son-in-law to quietly sabotage it is a good scheme, and the humor aboard “air prayer” was the best in the episode.
That said, this one was pretty meager in the laughs department. Between the barbershop quartet song and the “Just 4 Men” club, the show felt way more blunt and didactic in its gags and satire than it usually is, but there were still enough chuckles to get by.
I’m intrigued by where the show takes the relationship between Dawn and Mo here, though. I’m still not rooting for them to be together, but I still find their dynamic compelling. Dawn is worried about Mo screwing her over, and Mo is yearning for the life satisfaction he only felt when he was with Dawn at the blissful beginning of their relationship. That’s a good setup for character development and meaningful conflicts.
Overall, this was still a weaker episode than normal, but one that surprised me in how it justified its easy restoration of the status quo and which nicely advances the interesting dynamic between Dawn and Mo, and Dawn’s story overall.