Margaux and I sing the praises of last night’s transcendent Halt and Catch Fire.
Trevor: Jesus, just when you think Halt and Catch Fire can’t top itself, it comes out swinging with an episode like “The Threshold.” Those last few minutes were excruciatingly tense. I’m getting wound up just thinking about it.
Margaux: Last night’s episode was so good, it could’ve been the finale. So much happened over the course of 60 minutes, you felt almost exhausted and emotionally drained by the end of it. I’m glad they put to bed Donna and Cameron’s feud and Ryan and Joe’s relationship, albeit temporarily; I think the new shitty directions those respective relationships take by episodes end make the more frustrating parts of getting there totally worth it.
Trevor: I’m so glad you think that, because I was really happy that Joe’s storyline is getting a better sense of direction and purpose. Last week’s episode-ending admission of theft was a good indicator that HaCF is playing for keeps with Joe, and “The Threshold” really expanded on that. And best of all, it gave us a convincing reason for him and Gordon to reunite. Lee Pace and Scoot McNairy are always fun to watch together, even more so now that Gordon isn’t as meek or put-upon as he was when he first drifted into Joe’s orbit (he even gloats!). And Gordon figuring out the NSFNET plan in just a few hours was a great way to show just how goddamn smart he is, and made it even funnier when he ribbed Ryan by telling him it was going to be huge.
Margaux: What we feared last week, that Ryan was just going to become Gordon 2.0, blessedly isn’t happening. I am much more interested in seeing Joe and Gordon as equals slash Gordon holding more power over Joe because we’ve seen their working relationship when Joe had the upper hand. Gordon is extremely smart, but he’s also a dang snitch. I understand that he and Cameron bonded over all day Super Mario, but he should leave matters between his wife and Cameron to them. He single handedly set off domino effect that essentially led to Cameron firing herself, that party wasn’t the time or the place and he should know that Cameron and Donna do not prescribe to the motto, “cooler heads prevail” in the fuckin’ slightest. It’s an all out death match to settle who’s right, every single time.
Trevor: Well, let’s talk about that ending, since you brought it up. And since it’s more or less the centerpiece of the episode, it would be hard to avoid talking about it for too long. I mean, goddamn – I’m not sure what else to say. The whole thing could be an Emmy submission for Mackenzie Davis and Kerry Bishe, and even Gordon, who didn’t have much to do in the scene, still did it very well (his exclamation of “Donna!” felt like Gordon, and McNairy, being genuinely shocked and dismayed by his wife’s cruel words about Cameron’s marriage). Director Karyn Kusama (Girlfight) did a terrific job here of upending expectations; naively, when Cameron sat everyone down and began speaking in a rarely-heard conciliatory tone of voice, I thought “Wow, she’s really going to own up to how she’s been acting.”
Margaux: Shockingly enough, I actually agreed with Cameron about the IPO, too many companies rush to market only to fail just as quickly. I kept shouting THERE’S A MIDDLE GROUND! I don’t know if Donna had just had it with Cameron’s behavior, but she was less than agreeable and Cameron was still being too precious about Mutiny. Everything Cameron said in their ill timed and ill fated meeting were all very good and valid points, but then she’d go on about the company’s “soul” and you just cannot help but roll your eyes because that is insanely childish and not how you get business minded people on your side.
Trevor: That was the great tragedy of the meeting: Cameron spent most of it being right. They should wait on the IPO, and Donna was trying to make an end run around her. But that got lost in all the sound and fury. It’s hard to hear the good points when Cameron keeps referring to Mutiny as “her” company, the end result being that the company’s name becomes very literal, which I actually liked. And how great was Toby Huss in that scene? “You’re breaking my goddamn heart,” he says, raising his hand to vote against Cameron, and Jesus, you can see every second of their history play across his face. I really can’t wait to see where the show goes from here.
Margaux: Toby Huss straight kills the character actor game as Bos, he brings so much warmth and feeling to everything Bos says and does. When he tells Cameron that it’s fine if she doesn’t think of him as her Dad, but that doesn’t stop him from viewing her as his daughter, I caught a sniffle or two. He was thoroughly hurt that Cameron never told him to his face that she got married was very real, I cannot believe this is the same man who used to make me laugh as a kid as Artie on Pete & Pete.
And I am SO FUCKING HAPPY Diane and Bos worked it all out and are kind of, sort of a thing (one that Donna awkwardly witnessed). Diane’s line to Bos, “just give me the damn flowers and don’t create drama where there isn’t any” is not only perfect, it’s also very applicable to life in general.
Trevor: Such a great little scene. When Diane revealed that she not only knew that Bos had done prison time, but knew exactly what prison it was in, it showed exactly why they’re so well suited for each other. A little light in what was otherwise a very dark episode. And their chemistry! The move to California was worth it if for no other reason than it got Annabeth Gish on this show.
Margaux: Another believable coupling by two grade-A actors. But I have to say, I am in total agreement with Donna’s harsh jab about Cameron and Tom lasting the year. I just don’t see it, even with Cameron’s new found unemployment, I think that’ll only make things worse. She doesn’t have the emotional maturity to weather this storm with a new partner.
Trevor: Literally the first note I wrote says “I don’t see this marriage lasting.” And then later: “Cameron looks like the Hamburglar in that dress.” But that’s neither here nor there. I’m not quite invested enough in the newlywed Rendons for it to have the emotional wringer the show will want to drag us through; maybe it’s because Tom is kind of milquetoast, no matter how cute he and Cameron are together (Cameron has a winning smile, and Tom brings it out more than anyone).
Margaux: What about the world’s most boring couple, Joe and Ryan? I was elated when they “broke up” and Ryan went all Angela Bassett in Waiting to Exhale and burned some computer shit AFTER he hacked McAfee anti-virus McMillian Utility and made good on the promise to provide it free to everyone till TBD, a hack so huge it’s gonna take them “2-3 years” to fix. YIKES.
Trevor: That was the most interesting thing Ryan has done since he went to five different beaches looking for Joe. The fallout from Ryan’s hack will be interesting to watch, and since Joe pocketed that key, it looks like he’s going to be on his own.
Margaux: I mean, Ryan’s a lunatic, right? He’s gonna go all Hand that Rocks the Cradle on Joe and eventually, Gordon.
Trevor: That will probably be the end of the season, and if “The Threshold” is any indication, it’s going to be terrific. Jesus, what an episode. You want to talk stars?
Pretty sure we gave away our star rating intentions at the top of the review by immediately declaring how much we loved “The Threshold.” 5 stars, uh duh.
5/5
‘Superb’
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