NEW SHOWS
Watchmen – “An Almost Religious Awe” (A-)
Flashbacks. Exposition dumps. A huge twist. Plenty of shows have done this to varying levels of success, but few have done it as gracefully as Watchmen. On any other show, the big confrontation between Laurie and Jane would have ended when Jane took out a gun and shot Laurie. But here, Laurie’s sitting on top of a trapdoor that doesn’t quite work. It’s genius, as is the big reveal that Angela is hooked up to an elephant as her “natural host.” And they used a Hall and Oates song in a devastating way.
Silicon Valley – “RussFest” (A-)
One of the most stress-inducing episodes they’ve ever done, as the crew features setback after setback at Russ’ insane Burning Man knock-off. But it also felt like an episode of an older vintage, one that focuses on solving problems then delivering incredible jokes.