TV Catch Up: Hannibal, Bates Motel, The Americans

Big catch up on TV post! I know you are all excited! (except for The Walking Dead which hopefully will get its own post eventually)

Bates Motel

I was really unsure what to expect from this show or think of it...and I'm still kind of unsure what to think of it, but it doesn't bore me even if I find some plots to be really outlandish and ridiculous. Like the whole pot field thing. And the sex trafficking thing. I want to say this show is a good time, but I feel a little guilty saying that because it's really...sort of perverse. But I like it. What is wrong with me.

Anyway, one of my favorite things about it right now is that it's impossible to know what is real, because Norman is SUCH an unreliable narrator as it is. So while at first we're thinking, oh poor Norman his mother is going to corrupt him, we start to learn that actually Norman has severe issues. And the stuff we've seen might not be real. And I like that because it keeps me on my toes.

Also, I'm oddly defensive of Norma. She's got her own set of issues, but I think the way she's trying to protect Norman makes sense. It would have made more sense in the 60s or whenever Psycho was made, but oh well. I really felt for her in that scene when she lost it at the trash site. This is a woman who has suffered and a lot. I think the acting is really good, too, like Freddie Highmore is really convincing and Vera Farmiga is outstanding. I like the addition of Dylan and the tension he adds. Also, I see some complaints about how all the girls love Norman, but of course they do! He seems like a sweet trustworthy guy. That's the way serial killers are supposed to be. They don't know he fantasizes about violence against women.

Anyway, I like the show, I like its ambiance, I like the idea that the town they are rooted in has its own set of issues, and I like the little touches like Emma's dad being a taxidermist that's a shout out to the movie. Anyone else watching?

Hannibal

Once again what is wrong with me? I like this. It's gross, yes. But like..that ending conversation between Hannibal and Will this week was so chilling. I like the relationship between Hannibal and Will--it really has a pull for me. I think Mads Mikkelsen is a great Hannibal and infuses the character with a sense of normalcy that is definitely gone from Anthony Hopkins by the later films. I don't mind that Will feels on edge--that makes him interesting to me. So yeah I'm sticking with this one. Apparently every episode will have a shout out to a horror film which is cool!

The Americans

omg this show. This showwwwwwwwww. Is so so good. I have no idea how it's going to be sustained over the long run, but I am loving it so much right now. The only thing I'd do is cut the sex scenes, I feel like they actually work against the whole of the show in so many ways, but whatever.

I love how, you know, the world's in crisis but Philip and Elizabeth's marriage is too. And it affects them and their children just as you'd expect in all the normal ways and that just adds to the stress of their lives. I love how real it all feels.

I hate Stan. I hate how condescending he is to his wife, I hate that he's all self-righteous until hey it affects him, too, I hate that he sleeps with Nina and then lies to her face about killing her friend, ugh. It's so weird, too, because he's the American FBI agent I should be rooting for, lol. But he's just so unlikeable to me.

Even so, I do think the tension of having Stan and Philip be kind of friends is genius, Philip is having his own hard day after killing Amador (which was unplanned) and Stan drops in to unload his own grief about the same thing. And then gives that completely profound and brilliant speech about how staying in every bad motel is the same thing. (part of why I love this show, there's so much smart writing just in conversation)

I like how the last two episodes have made this seem like a war, and the stakes are higher than ever and that each "side" lost someone valuable. Greogory :( His final speech to Elizabeth about finding someone who loved her for being so strong made me ache. I was relieved that they let him die the way he wanted to, though.

Anyway, I don't how it manages to be so smart and so tense and to have created so many characters I really care about and to do this so well every single week! I can't wait until Jodie watches it! Or any of you!

*Interesting post about how prestige TV dramas can be read as YA Fiction.

*This is the most disgusting werewolf transformation I have ever seen I will not be watching this show.

So what have you guys been watching recently?