Mad Men - Episode 6.11 - "Favors"

Julie (Cameron Protzman) and Sally (Kiernan Shipka)                                            Jamie Trueblood/AMC

     Just when I thought I was out, they kinda, sorta pulled me back in.  That's how I felt by the end of Mad Men's 11th episode of the season, "Favors".  It's hard to imagine that this season is almost over when it feels like nothing has really happened, aside from Don's continued downward spiral and the merger of SCDP and CGC.  What I liked about this episode in particular, however, is that it felt like new things were happening in ways that will eventually lead to a satisfying finale.  Don has finally been caught cheating on Megan, and unfortunately the person who caught him was Sally, who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  There is even more conflict at the office with Ted, Jim Cutler, Don and Roger with the men fighting for different accounts.  We even get to learn a little bit about Ted's life at home.  But perhaps most importantly of all, there is more character development on Bob Benson!  The development involves Pete in a way that some had already guessed based on earlier episodes' clues, but it was still interesting to see.  "Favors" represents people doing things for people under the guise of "just doing a favor" while really attempting to feed their own selfish desires.

Game of Thrones - Episode 3.10 - "Mhysa"

Stannis (Stephen Dillane) and Melisandre (Carice van Houton)                                                           HBO

     Much like cable dramas past and present, Game of Thrones presents its penultimate episode of each season as the main climax and its finale as a reprieve from the all the dramatic fireworks.  After the horrific events of last week's "The Rains of Castamere", the events featured in "Mhysa" felt like small potatoes in comparison.  Fans who were expecting a big, dramatic finale were probably disappointed by the lack of major events.  A lesser show would have tried to top the madness of last week's ending with dramatic confrontations and a teasing cliffhanger, but Game of Thrones is not a typical story.  There's a reason the show spends much of its time with characters talking to each other for long periods of time.  Through these dialogues, there is complex character development that is rare of big fantasy dramas of this nature.  "Mhysa" also continues the trend of previewing what's to come for the show.  It seems that the White Walkers will become a bigger threat than the deadly game of thrones the characters have been playing since the first season.  Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, though.  There were still some intriguing developments, especially with the dysfunctional Lannisters and the Stannis/Melisandre/Davos relationship.

2013 Emmy Nomination Preview & Predictions: Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

With the Emmy nominations coming up on July 18, I am posting predictions and analysis of each of the top categories.  Each post consists of predictions and analysis for one category.

Here is my prediction and analysis of:

LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

ZOOEY DESCHANEL as Jess Day in NEW GIRL

Wrapping up her second season as Jess, the lovable quirk, Deschanel will likely get another nomination for her performance.  She was nominated last year in this category and New Girl only got better in its second season so she seems like a relatively safe bet.  Granted, most of the buzz has been on co-star Jake Johnson and her role has decreased to a more ensemble-friendly level, but she is still the most important member of the series.  Not a lock, but pretty safe.

2013 Emmy Nomination Preview & Predictions: Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

With the Emmy nominations coming up on July 18, I will be posting predictions and analysis of each of the top categories.  Each post will consist of predictions and analysis for one category.

Up first:

LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

ALEC BALDWIN as Jack Donaghy in 30 ROCK

With 30 Rock having concluded its seventh and final season in January, the Emmys will likely wish to award one of its favorite shows one last time.  Baldwin's Hollywood status coupled with six consecutive nominations (and two wins) should make him a near guarantee for one last nomination as Jack Donaghy.  Should he submit the episode "My Whole Life is Thunder", in which Jack's mother dies, he will likely pick up the trophy.

Mad Men - Episode 6.10 - "A Tale of Two Cities"

Joan (Christina Hendricks) awaits her fate                             Michael Yarish/AMC

     Through the duration of "A Tale of Two Cities", characters concern themselves with business, and the pleasure or pain that goes along with it.  It is an episode that features characters like Joan trying to jockey for more power within the company while characters like Roger continue to abuse their power through "business" trips.  Unfortunately, this is one of the only compelling parts of "A Tale of Two Cities", an episode that shows how Mad Men has begun to lean on the "look how crazy/different people were in the '60s!" crutch and expecting it to be enough of a story.  The episode begins with Don watching the Democratic National Convention on television, one of many scenes in "A Tale of Two Cities" (in addition to the entire sixth season) that involves a character watching TV with a blank expression on their face.  Don's blank expression matched exactly how I felt watching this particular episode of Mad Men.  There's only so much that can be gained from watching a show involving characters watching TV.  Additionally, the episode features an uncharacteristically stereotypical view of what the '60s were (hippies smoking pot! sexism! accusations of fascism!) that it almost feels like a modern-day high schooler's take on what they thought the '60s were, based solely on Jimi Hendrix records and a casual glance at a history book.

Game of Thrones - Episode 3.09 - "The Rains of Castamere"

Robb (Richard Madden) & Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley)                                                                      HBO

     "If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention."  Theon's torturer says this line in "The Climb" and it might as well have been said directly into the camera at the millions of viewers expecting good to ultimately conquer over evil.  Game of Thrones isn't that show.  It's brutal, it's merciless and it has no problem killing off its most beloved characters.  Sure, there are victorious moments, and honor and loyalty does win out sometimes, but not often.  Once in a while, the show goes to some of the darkest depths television has ever seen.  Such is the case for "The Rains of Castamere", the ninth episode in Game of Thrones third season.  Traditionally, Episode 9 serves as the climax of each season of Game of Thrones.  Going into "The Rains of Castamere", I assumed that such a climax would occur and actively prepared to be shocked and amazed as I read Twitter comments from book readers warning viewers about what was to come.  Luckily, I was one of the few who remained unspoiled about the episode's final moments.  Colloquially described as "The Red Wedding" by those who have read the books, the final scene is one of the most gruesome moments in television history, a bleak reminder of how ugly humanity can be to each other.

Mad Men - Episode 6.09 - "The Better Half"

Betty (January Jones)                   Michael Yarish/AMC

     Not gonna lie, this one felt like the good ole days.  Thus far into Mad Men's sixth season, many of the episodes have felt completely random and purposeless, namely last week's "The Crash" in addition to early episodes "Collaborators" and "To Have and to Hold".  Now I think we're finally back to the Mad Men we all know and love, one that simply features our favorite characters bouncing dialogue off each other while also surprising us at the same time.  "The Better Half" is an exercise in demonstrating what happens when we cling to the past for comfort and security above all else.  After all, these are rapidly changing times, especially for a group of characters that aren't used to seeing such upheaval.  In this episode, we see characters like Don, Betty, Pete and Peggy trying to find comfort in other people, to the extent that they start to take advantage of the people or things they once loved.  They largely do it to give themselves assurance that they're okay.  That version of safety may be through the reigniting of an old flame, a former co-worker promising better opportunity elsewhere or a simple friendship.