EVA Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 6 episodes in, and thus far Jackie Sharp is no Peter Russo. Molly Parker seems game, but the show hasn't invested nearly the same amount of time in her. She hasn't really had any significant character building since the episode she had to throw her mentor under the bus. Which was a really good scene and got me interested in her, but ever since, "she has a secret tattoo" is what has passed for developing her as a person. And it's not even that interesting of a tattoo! Some pink flowers and shit. Given her background in the military, and specifically that she did some deep shit in the military, it would've made more sense from a character perspective if her secret tattoos were some dark, weird shit, the type of stuff soldiers actually get. It still wouldn't have passed for actual character development, but it would have been more interesting than her having the sort of tattoo that's a dime-a-dozen on spring break at Club La Vela. But that's kinda par for the course with this show, I guess. It will almost always make the least interesting choice. Unless you're Asian. Then you're into the weirdest shit imaginable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
driver Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Okay. I finished watching the last two episodes of season one and have begun watching the second season. Upon first watching the show last year I thought it was hard to watch, almost an unbearable slog to deal with. This time around it is much more enjoyable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Spanish Waiter Posted February 16, 2014 Author Share Posted February 16, 2014 6 episodes in, and thus far Jackie Sharp is no Peter Russo. Molly Parker seems game, but the show hasn't invested nearly the same amount of time in her. She hasn't really had any significant character building since the episode she had to throw her mentor under the bus. Which was a really good scene and got me interested in her, but ever since, "she has a secret tattoo" is what has passed for developing her as a person. And it's not even that interesting of a tattoo! Some pink flowers and shit. Given her background in the military, and specifically that she did some deep shit in the military, it would've made more sense from a character perspective if her secret tattoos were some dark, weird shit, the type of stuff soldiers actually get. It still wouldn't have passed for actual character development, but it would have been more interesting than her having the sort of tattoo that's a dime-a-dozen on spring break at Club La Vela. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raziel Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 I'm just posting, finally got around to watching this. One episode in and this is fucking amazing. I'll be back when I catch up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVA Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 This might be terribly reductive of me, but all through 2.7, every time Daniel Lanagin was on screen, I couldn't help thinking of a certain Native American character from a better show about the inner workings of government. "There are two things I know about white people: They like Matchbox 20, and they are terrified of curses." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Domino_Not_Deuce Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Enjoyed this second season but man, if you are at all resistant to how silly this all is, you won't get anywhere near as much out of it. You stop to think about anything for more than 6 seconds and it all falls apart but it's an oddly addictive watch. The driving narrative's believeablity is very much a HOUSE OF CARDS. Makes you think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabe Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Four episodes in for me. Am ticked that they killed off Zoe. No more naked Kate Mara? What have I done to earn your scorn, Netflix overlords? Was it binge-watching The Shield on Amazon? I swear, I canceled that membership today! In all seriousness, I will miss having her character around. Episodes two and three were just kind of "there" for me but episode four: with the killer interview from Clare, revealing a rape by a general AND an abortion on live TV? Awesome. If that happened today in America, Twitter might just DIE. So far, though, not as high on the show as season 1. Still liking it a lot, of course. And more Robin Wright is always good - been a fan of hers since the Kelly Capwell days on Santa Barbara. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 The interview with Claire was just too sensational, but I did think the reporter nagging her about not having kids was shockingly true to life. It's not just enough for someone to say "Eh, they aren't for me." These days you have to list reason after reason. Any first or second lady who doesn't have kids probably will have to deal with that, so I found that credible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVA Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Through the first 7 that I've watched, I'd say the 4th episode is easily the best of the bunch. Not necessarily because of the interview either. I said this after I watched the first season - and it doesn't seem like much has changed this season - but one of the biggest weaknesses this show has is that it's made by a bunch of people with minimal or no experience in TV. Most of the writing staff is composed of people with deep theater backgrounds, presumably Willimon's buds, but not much else. Often, this manifests as a problem on a variety of levels. I think 2.4 works well as an episode of TV because it plays to the writing staff's strengths. Once the Capitol goes into lockdown, it essentially turns into two separate plays. In one, you've got Frank and Donald Blythe (sp?) in a classic two-guys-stuck-in-one-place-talk-a-lot play scenario, and in the other, Claire's interview is basically a variation on Frost/Nixon. Unsurprisingly, the show dramatically improved when the writers were able to slip into familiar structures. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabe Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 I'm through episode 7 now but really only through episode 6. I was half asleep when watching 7 and actually fell asleep during it so don't really remember it. I'm not finding this season to be particularly compelling. The male journalist guy is a waste of space. The whole hacking side plot is a waste. Other than the shocker in season 1, Frank has been pretty muted. Clare had her shining moment with the big interview but that's about it. Where's the ruthless sleeping-with-other-people-to-get-ahead stuff we saw in season 1? Where's the overall...uh...adultness? It's like they took an R-rated show from last season and made it a very soft PG-13. And I miss the Zoe character. She was useful besides just being eye candy. . Anyway, still liking the show, of course, but this is a definite dropoff from season one, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVA Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Lucas is such a terrible character. It also doesn't help that the actor plays every scene like a puppy who's just been washed down a stormdrain. Kinda looks like one, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raziel Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 6 episodes in, and thus far Jackie Sharp is no Peter Russo. Molly Parker seems game, but the show hasn't invested nearly the same amount of time in her. She hasn't really had any significant character building since the episode she had to throw her mentor under the bus. Which was a really good scene and got me interested in her, but ever since, "she has a secret tattoo" is what has passed for developing her as a person. And it's not even that interesting of a tattoo! Some pink flowers and shit. Given her background in the military, and specifically that she did some deep shit in the military, it would've made more sense from a character perspective if her secret tattoos were some dark, weird shit, the type of stuff soldiers actually get. It still wouldn't have passed for actual character development, but it would have been more interesting than her having the sort of tattoo that's a dime-a-dozen on spring break at Club La Vela. But that's kinda par for the course with this show, I guess. It will almost always make the least interesting choice. Unless you're Asian. Then you're into the weirdest shit imaginable. You didn't get that the Tatoo is actually a form of self-punishment? Even with the "That's a lot of work for one session." line from the artist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVA Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 If that's what they were going for, I don't think it played in the scene. Does that come up at some point post-2.7? Although now that I think about it, "tattoo as form of self-punishment" does seem like the sort of reductive idea that Willimon would go for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offspring515 Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 I took the flowers in the tattoo as representing kills and she was adding another after what happened with Oldy Olson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Spanish Waiter Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 I took the flowers in the tattoo as representing kills and she was adding another after what happened with Oldy Olson. Not enough flowers I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Frank confiding into the audience about his wacky schemes always reminds me of Zach Morris on Saved By The Bell doing the same thing. Although Zach was obviously a lot more evil and nastier. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offspring515 Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 7 in. Man oh man thank God they're adding in a storyline for the fucking rib guy. That's just what the show needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVA Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 "Freddie gets a franchise" is roughly on par with "Masuka has a daughter" in terms of storylines nobody gives a fuck about. That said, this show rarely wastes time on anything that doesn't tie directly into whatever game Frank is running, so I'm sure that seemingly inane tangent will be improbably catapulted into relevance down the line. By that same token, everybody knows where the Jackie/Remy thing is going, right? Nobody's going to be in here acting shocked when the other shoe drops there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabe Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 I'm 8 episodes in. At this point, I'm very disappointed with the season. There's just nothing interesting going on. - Stamper hiding the hooker? Yawn. - the hooker getting into a lesbian relationship with the girl from the bus? Yawn. - energy crisis with Tusk and the Chinese? Yawn. - hacker nonsense with the reporter? Yawn. - Clare accusing a general of rape and having an abortion? This is at least semi-interesting but it's gone nowhere. - the rib joint becoming a story? Double yawn. There's just no tension, no excitement, no nothing. For a show this well-done, the dropoff from season one has been pretty shocking for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVA Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Yeah, I like Michael Kelly well enough, but I could not care less about Stamper's angst over Rachel. Stamper worked as the icy, whispering borderline sociopath who haunted the margins in the first season. Stamper as the guy making sad puppy dog eyes at the hooker, whom he should KNOW he has to kill in order to definitely tie up all the loose ends on Russo, is terrible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Spanish Waiter Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 Aw you guys who haven't seen every episode are cute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVA Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Hey, what do you think this is, a GAME OF THRONES thread? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Spanish Waiter Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 Should I start referencing things so that you know something important is happening before it happens, thus eliminating suspense? HOW ABOUT RUSK'S BIRDS EH? HOHOHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raziel Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 If there's anything I've learned about this show by Episode 7 of Season 2, is that it went to the GRR Martin school of using Chekov's Armory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offspring515 Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 10 in. Bidness has picked up. Feeling a lot more focused than the first half of the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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