Looking - Looking for U$220//Hour

Looking has been constantly growing on me. The pilot was good, the following episodes better, and this last one, "Looking for U$220/hour" was great.
Looking feels very fresh for me, not only because of the subject, but in how subdued yet complex it is. The strength of this show is definitely in its characters. They are all far from stereotypes, and feel like real people, not characters.
Nothing really special happened this episode, but yet it's so rich in detail that it drew me in from the beginning. The dynamic between Patrick and his boss is great and subtle. There is a clear attraction between the two of them, and Patrick has some hopes that Kevin's relationship isn't as solid as to be a big obstacle. But then there's this great exchange, where Kevin asks if they can order fried chicken, since it's something he can't do at home. Jonathan Groff's acting skills were clear at that moment: he realizes that Kevin associates him with something forbidden, that she shouldn't do, and Patrick knows, at that exact moment, that this is all a very bad idea. Hopefully, it will be a bad idea that he executes and gets in trouble for, but that is to be seen.
Don had a somewhat forgettable story line, he's kind of interested in an older guy, but he's denying that even to himself. Older guy, who seems a bit insecure ("Yeah, sure this isn't a date" was a little heartbreaking, was it not? Speaks volumes of the character), wants to maybe increase his attractiveness by helping Don find investors for his restaurant. On that note - doesn't anyone else see how bad the idea for his restaurant is? I lived my whole life in a country colonized by Portugal, I've actually been to Portugal and never heard of Portuguese Chicken. Is it even a thing?

Augustín had a good story line too, convincing a hustler to be part of his art project and then lying to his boyfriend about how much this is all costing ($220 an hour!). But his biggest contribution to this episode was getting Patrick in that leather vest, which is something I think we can all agree that should be on the show every single week.

Shameless S04E05 - There's The Rub

        A while ago, I got my mother hooked on Shameless. I don't know what I was thinking! She constantly calls me to complain about how hardcore the show is, yet she caught up with all seasons in days and is currently watching on a week-to-week basis. I'm kind of relieved that this has happened now that the show went as dark as its ever gone - and that's saying a lot in the Gallagher world - so that she could take a break after this episode's shocking ending.
        Spoilers ahead!
        Throughout this episode, I constantly got the feeling that things were walking towards a resolve. Not a finale, but getting there. Lip is getting it somewhat together in college, only to learn that his brother has stolen his Social Security to join the Army (and steal a helicopter!). Kevin is in on the Rub-n-Tug, which is going to be a good source of income (and trouble), Fiona finally pushes Robbie away and has to walk away from the most mature relationship she ever had. Frank learns his scheme won't work exactly the way he wanted to, and resorts to some interesting Native American rituals.
         All of this happens during Fiona's birthday. Her day starts out with a visit from Robbie at her house, alongside a gram or two of cocaine. The cocaine was Chechkov's gun (the idea is that, if there's a gun, it's going to be fired later in your story), but somehow it didn't seem that way. I didn't think the cocaine was a "plant" for a later "payoff", and when it was, I was floored. So was my mother.
        Shameless has gone darker than probably any other show on air right now, and constantly. When "Get on All Fours", Girls' darkest episode, aired, it was a scandal, probably because Girls is more mainstream that Shameless. But Shameless walks that territory constantly, since season one. Either by Sheila and her, let's say unusual sexual preferences, to everything Frank does, which includes abandoning his only loyal kid to hang out with his newly discovered daughter, which tries to kiss him and gives him an erection, to, finally, a baby overdosing on cocaine and nearly dying.
     

  This was such a great narrative decision. It took Fiona, who, I feel, hadn't, up to this point, really suffered the consequences of her life choices, to the darkest hole she could ever crawl into, and there's really little hope of her getting out of this ok. What I thought this episode did beautifully, besides pulling the rug from under our feet and taking us in a whole, new, unexpected direction, was the tying between all storylines. This weaving was done, mostly, via Lip, who had his best episode of the season. He finally has things somewhat together. The poster he writes for himself, "No Distractions", was a great little piece of irony, since everything that happened after that is very much distracting:  learns that Ian has gotten both himself and Lip into trouble. There was a wonderfully done scene of Lip finding Ian working at a gay club, and high out of his mind. Debbie is too young to understand why "he's acting weird" (even though I would think that a Gallagher would notice what it was instantly) and Lip has to shelter his little sister while trying to save his lost little brother. And when he gets home, finally, to relax a little bit, the older sister that should be taking care of all this in the first place, gets arrested for being completely irresponsible. Lip always feels like he has to carry the world on his shoulder, and maybe, this time, he will actually have to.

Girls - S03E06

I continue to think that Girls is playing it a little safe this season. Not visually, or graphically, but emotionally. I've said this before about season 3, but it feels there's a safety net that wasn't there before, and while it's still a fun show to watch, I miss some of its punch.

Hanna's story was amusing, but very straightforward to take up that much screen time. She has a new corporate gig, writing for the Advertisement Editorial of GQ. Of course, she's conflicted about it. It's a big corporation, she's a "real writer", she says obnoxiously. There are free snacks, yay! There's a potential new love interest, yay! (Although Adam is my favorite character this season so I would really suffer to see him go, but I'm getting ahead of myself). She's on her artistic high horse, only to discover that she is surrounded by "real writers", even more competent then herself. I liked the story line. I could relate to it, but the lack of subtext bothered me. There were no other layers, no other complex issue going on. After the two amazing episodes "Dead Inside" and "Only Child", that dealt with themes way beyond the literal stories presented, it felt like a bit of a disappointment. 

The other characters' stories were more interesting, but felt rushed and hushed. Shoshanna is slowly yet surely starting to break down, asking the inevitable question all college students face one moment or the other of "what does this all mean? It's so hard to have all the answers yet non at all". I can't wait until she finally melts down completely (and by the looks of the preview from next week's episode, it's about to happen). Jess successfully sells a black christening dress, which was all she did this week - the writers are clearly having a hard time knowing what to do with Jess. She's just so wacky and crazy and free flowing that it's hard to center her and have her stories matter.

Which brings us to the best thing about this week, which was... Marnie and Ray start a very awkward relationship. Marnie reminded me of a quote from Patrick in the great new HBO series Looking, in which he says: "I think we're not very good at being who we think we are.". I also feel that describes every twenty something no-longer-a-girl-not-yet-a-woman that starts questioning her choices in life. Ray, on the other hand, is showing to be the guy that everyone thought was a loser but is, in fact, the strongest one of the group (hard not to draw a parallel to Jesse Pinkman from-- I don't need to mention from which show). He has his life somewhat together, he's an amazing interior decorator, he has very clear and articulated opinions that are really hard to disagree with. Seems like we'll be meeting Hanna, Marnie and Shosh in the Hamptons next week to see Shoshanna melt down. A melt down in the hamptons! I'm tuning in.

Dallas Buyers Club

The most interesting aspect of Dallas Buyers Club is definitely the unlikely friendship between Ron Woodroof, played very well by Matthew McConaughey, and Rayon, played superbly by Jared Leto. A lot of attention was given to McConaughey's performance, in my opinion, due more to his physical transformation than to his actual acting abilities. Yes, I do believe he will be the Oscar winner this year, but not because he suddenly became a better actor than Bruce Dern.

Their chemistry, however, is clear. It's through his friendship with Rayon that Ron becomes a tolerant man, and I saw in that relationship, more than the one between Ron and Eve (played very Jennifer Garner-y by Jennifer Garner), the emotional core of this movie. That said, the end of the relationship should have been a way more tender moment than it actually was. It was glossed over like it was minor story point, and for me, it was anything but. The fact that Ron, originally a homophobe, not only becomes a friend but also a partner to a transvestite speaks wonders of this character's background. He comes from a group of friends that shuns him because he has the "gay disease". In their logic, the only way Ron got infected was if he was a homosexual as well but they also worry they're infected when Ron spits on them, showing the complete lack of reason and knowledge behind their points of view.

I was a little disappointed to learn that Ron Woodroof is not the inventor of the 'Buyers' Club' concept. He imported the concept to Dallas, and the movie shyly reveals that his club actually didn't last that long. But it's still a lovely, intriguing and oddly motivational story. Ron doesn't let the lack of reason inherent to any Government decision stand in his way. In fact, it seems like he almost has fun trying to outsmart the FDA, which is he is able to do for the bigger part of the movie.

Downton Abbey - S04E06

This episode of Downton Abbey wasn't particularly great but wasn't particularly boring. There was a overall theme of change going on, with its most visual representation in the jazz band that plays at Robert's birthday. That band was a great dramatic way of showing how each character feels about the changing times ahead. Robert resists but accepts, Cora beams, Edith stands{}

Downstairs, Anna and Bates try and get over "it" by talking about not talking about "it". Anna has been through the worst possible experience for a woman. She is hurt but not broken, and Joanne Froggatt shows how skilled she is by showing staying exactly within that narrow zone.
In a surprising-yet-not-surprising-in-a-Downton-Abbey-kind of-way, Alfred gets invited to the Ritz after all, leading to a lovely, tender scene between him and Daisy. I love Daisy. She refuses to leave her innocent, almost fairy-tale world, and she is, for the most part, comfortable with who she is.

The loveliest scene in this episode, possibly in the season, was one between Mrs. Crawley, Thomas, and Mary. All three have lost the love of their lives, and find each other remembering the one time in their life that the love they felt for each one of these spouses, all of which are deceased. "How sad", we all thought. But Mrs. Frawley, instead, says: "Aren't we the lucky ones.". That brought tears to my eyes. They are lucky, indeed. It was a beautiful way of reminding us of the old cliché: It's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.