[7.3/10] I liked this one a little better than the season premiere, so that’s something!
Nevertheless, I’m frustrated with the Mo/Dawn storyline. Don Cheadle and Regina Hall have great on-screen and comedic chemistry together, so just bouncing Mo and Dawn off of one another is a recipe for success. What’s more, there’s some sitcom-esque humor to Mo constantly trying to pop the question but always having the moment ruined that got a few chuckles out of me.
But why is the show stringing out this dumb will they/won’t they business with the two of them. I know why -- because it’s the lifeblood of serialized television for some reason. Is it that hard to tell stories of people in committed relationships? Or hell, just show people trying and having relationships go wrong for organic reasons? Apparently so. Instead, we’re doing some kind of friendzone/friends with benefits thing. Spare me.
The Blair story was out there, but an amusing lark. I appreciate the subversion of the typical A Christmas Carol story, where Blair uses the power to be anywhere at anytime to have rampant fun rather than learn a lesson. Some of the camera work got a little wonky, but I appreciate the touch of his coma dreams being in fullscreen while reality is shot in widescreen. Plus it’s nice to see Roger again, and Blair falling back into selfishness (and right-wing talking points), instead of doing something persoanlyl fulfilling and good, when there’s unlimited power, sex, and money on the table, is on brand.
The weakest story was Tiff and Keith’s. There’s some solid conflict to Keith trying to keep a tight financial leash on Tiff’s company until the IPO, but the actual gags between the two of them were pretty cheap. I do appreciate the loophole Tiff finds, where she uses Blair’s campaign to get around Keith’s restrictions on her company’s finances, even if it seems doomed to failure.
Overall, this season still seems a cut below, but we’re early, so hopefully things pick up from here.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2021-08-20T03:51:01Z
[7.3/10] I liked this one a little better than the season premiere, so that’s something!
Nevertheless, I’m frustrated with the Mo/Dawn storyline. Don Cheadle and Regina Hall have great on-screen and comedic chemistry together, so just bouncing Mo and Dawn off of one another is a recipe for success. What’s more, there’s some sitcom-esque humor to Mo constantly trying to pop the question but always having the moment ruined that got a few chuckles out of me.
But why is the show stringing out this dumb will they/won’t they business with the two of them. I know why -- because it’s the lifeblood of serialized television for some reason. Is it that hard to tell stories of people in committed relationships? Or hell, just show people trying and having relationships go wrong for organic reasons? Apparently so. Instead, we’re doing some kind of friendzone/friends with benefits thing. Spare me.
The Blair story was out there, but an amusing lark. I appreciate the subversion of the typical A Christmas Carol story, where Blair uses the power to be anywhere at anytime to have rampant fun rather than learn a lesson. Some of the camera work got a little wonky, but I appreciate the touch of his coma dreams being in fullscreen while reality is shot in widescreen. Plus it’s nice to see Roger again, and Blair falling back into selfishness (and right-wing talking points), instead of doing something persoanlyl fulfilling and good, when there’s unlimited power, sex, and money on the table, is on brand.
The weakest story was Tiff and Keith’s. There’s some solid conflict to Keith trying to keep a tight financial leash on Tiff’s company until the IPO, but the actual gags between the two of them were pretty cheap. I do appreciate the loophole Tiff finds, where she uses Blair’s campaign to get around Keith’s restrictions on her company’s finances, even if it seems doomed to failure.
Overall, this season still seems a cut below, but we’re early, so hopefully things pick up from here.