It was another quiet week for television, but there were a few bright spots on the schedule. On top of a pretty great episode of The Big Bang Theory we also had the season finale of Off the Map. You can find our thoughts below. Enjoy!
Spoilers.
Off the Map – “There’s a Lot to Miss About the Jungle” (B+)
So that was the season finale. I’m really going to miss this show. Hopefully just for the summer and not for forever, which is a distinct possibility with all the talk of cancellation floating around. With any luck though, Brenner, Minard, Fuller, and the rest of the gang will be back next season, and maybe we’ll get a little closure on some of the looming storylines in this finale.
Cliffhanger #1 – Mateo getting shot, apparently more than once. Brenner had a pretty quiet episode up until that point, but I think that’s probably what made her cliffhanger so effective. Lily’s decision to race to Mateo’s side upon hearing of the police raids showed just how far this relationship has developed (I honestly didn’t think they would last this long) and really helped elevate the scene that followed. You could feel Lily’s desperation in that moment.
Of course Caroline Dhavernas deserves a ton of credit for that as well. I have to admit, I didn’t know much about her before this series began, but I’ve been quite impressed with both her and the rest of the cast on this show, especially the core group of residents. To their credit, this show doesn’t exactly break the medical drama mould (other than it’s in the jungle), and it’s really been up to them to elevate the material and keep things fresh.
Unfortunately for Mateo, I don’t see him surviving the gunshot wounds. There’s just far too much drama in his death than there is in his recovering. This relationship has always been framed in terms of its affect on Lily (she is one of the main characters), and the adversity of losing a boyfriend is just too interesting to pass up.
In cliffhanger #2 we had Tommy telling Mina that he loves her. First things first though – I really loved Mina’s storyline in this episode (I know, I know, I’m a broken record). Her past has been like a shadow looming over her the entire season, so it was incredibly satisfying to watch her exorcise some of her demons. Also, just a great decision to pair her up with a group of young girls. Her story was almost as funny as it was intense.
But back to Tommy’s “I’m in love with you” to Mina. I really want to see this relationship happen, but I highly doubt that these two will be together when (and more accurately if) this show comes back. Don’t get me wrong – they’ll end up together, but the writers are definitely going to drag it out a bit. Mina’s going to need time to process it, and then Tommy may resent her needing that time and so on and so forth. Trust me – I know how these types of things work. If they gave out doctorates in television relationships you’d be calling me Dr. Brian instead of overly invested in fake couples Brian.
On a side note, I’ve been meaning to point out for a while now one of the great signature scenes of this series. I love watching the doctors on this show gather together to see who has the most ridiculous problem that week. Sure, it can be a tad overused by the writers but on the whole I really enjoy the scenes. Brenner had a great one with Tommy this week which reminded me to mention it before it was too late.
And now, to keep up the nauseatingly jumpy nature of this review, we come to cliffhanger #3 – Ryan giving up on finding a new heart and Keeton selling his soul. This was probably the darkest end to a storyline in the episode. I mentioned last week that I figured Clark would have something go wrong with her transplant, and true to form the writers did just that, so I’m going to have to repeat this again. DO NOT kill off Ryan’s character. I don’t think they will but if they do it would be incredibly uncool.
Although probably not as uncool as what Keeton’s planning on doing. Going after a black market organ is pretty bad to begin with, but the human body only has one heart so essentially he’s talking about killing someone to keep Ryan alive. I’m surprised how dark this show is willing to go sometimes, and this was another one of those moments that caught me off guard. I’m sure the writers will try to make it somewhat justifiable by making the donor someone who’s brain dead already, but that won’t absolve Keeton’s character entirely.
I’ll keep an eye out for any news on whether this show will be coming back, and if I find anything you’ll all be the first to know.
The Big Bang Theory – “The Herb Garden Germination” (A-)
I think this was one of the best episodes in weeks. Not only are wedding bells ringing in nerdworld, but the jokes were slapping me in the face early and often in this one. Brilliant!!
The episode started with the rumour mill spinning out of control within the group. Once again, Amy cites a scientific study to determine that gossip is a socially acceptable and necessary practice. She tells Sheldon something, who spreads it to Leonard, who tells Pria, who tells Raj and then everyone knows. The gossip itself – Bernadette is planning to break it off with Howard. It’s great news for Raj who apparently has a crush on Bernadette, but not so much for Howard, who’s going to propose.
In a surprise twist though, she says yes. Maybe she was just going to break it off for lack of commitment, who knows? Whatever the reason, I can't wait for a fantastic Jewish wedding episode where they somehow manage to keep Howard's mother from being in any shots.
Also in this episode, as a scientific experiment, Amy and Sheldon decide to spread to pieces of gossip to see how fast they spread. The first is a juicy piece of gossip: Amy and Sheldon had sex. The control piece of information is that Amy started an herb garden. Clearly the sex news spreads and the herb garden fails to germinate.
There’s not much else to say other than it was a great episode. A much needed break from studying.
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