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NEW SHOWS
Brooklyn Nine-Nine – “Bachelor/ette Party” (A)
One of the most joyous episodes of the season, with a Die Hard-themed scavenger hunt for Jake and a drunken encounter with an old one-night stand for Amy. Plus, Drunk Holt in a Kangol hat! But wait, there’s more! Reginald VelJohnson shows up as himself! And Hitchcock and Scully cosplaying as Cookie and Lucious from Empire!

Silicon Valley – “Artificial Emotional Intelligence” (B)
Lori has proven to be a notable foil, but it’s still such a bummer that we couldn’t have seen more of the guys with Christopher Evan Welch, because the writers only have one joke to go to with Lori. So her rivalry with Richard did next to nothing for me. But I loved everything in China and Dinesh vs. Guilfoyle is always a source of pleasure.

Barry – “Listen with Your Ears, React with Your Face” (A)
Another solid episode, until the action ramps up in the last 10 minutes, and then ends in the most shocking manner possible. It just proves this show has gears we don’t even realize.

Westworld – “Reunion” (A-)
A significant improvement on the premiere, with lots of time-shifting revealing more about both Delores and Bernard, and the more sinister backstories of William and Logan. The pitch meeting is one of the best things this show has ever done.

John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous at Radio City (A)
Mulaney does it yet again, with a hilarious special that mines his childhood awkwardness and overbearing father into comedy gold, while touching on the weirdness of religious rituals, CAPTCHAs and the futility of going to college.

Legion – “Chapter 13” (A-)
Another devastating episode devoted to a single character, as we explore Lenny’s tragic backstory (geez, is there anyone in this group who didn’t grow up with trauma?) and learn the disturbing fate of David’s sister Amy. (Sorry, Katie Aselton, the show’s greatest misstep is that it never quite knew what to do with you.)

The Handmaid’s Tale – “Baggage” (B+)
An intense episode that makes the most of its long running time. While its ending is intense, it feels like a step back for a season that was going in a thrilling new direction. We’ll see.

The Americans – “Rififi” (A-)
Philip’s act of defiance leads to an awkward Thanksgiving and F-bombs from him and Elizabeth. But they end the episode back together, since the FBI is onto a comrade in Chicago, and Elizabeth can’t exfiltrate him alone.

A.P. Bio – “Drenching Dallas” (A-) / season finale
A poetic ending, as Jack ends up back in Toledo, but not by choice. See, his season-long quest to bring Miles down causes his own downfall. But maybe sticking around won’t be so bad. This show’s probably not getting renewed, but I’d love to see what they do with it if they get a second season.

Atlanta – “FUBU” (B+)
This flashback episode proves a universal truth, no matter what decade it is: Kids are the absolute worst.

NEW SHOWS
Brooklyn Nine-Nine – “Gray Star Mutual” (B+)
Even if I wouldn’t mark this episode as one of the best of the season, the fact that all three subplots hum along AND advance the plot is an example of this show firing on all cylinders, and I’m going to miss that when it’s gone.

Silicon Valley – “Facial Recognition” (B+)
2018 is probably a little late for an Ex Machina parody, but Todd Louiso is bringing his A-game as a creepy A.I. programmer. Also, Zach Woods continues to be the best actor on this show.

Barry – “Do Your Job” (A)
Maybe having Barry do a Macbeth monologue is too on-the-nose, but who cares. This is the show’s best episode yet, balancing its off-kilter humor with horrifying violence. It was already confident, but now it knows for sure where it’s headed.

Westworld – “Journey into Night” (B-) / season premiere
A lot of exposition. So much exposition. Too much exposition, but damn if it didn’t look gorgeous. Depending on if the show picks up, this might be the first casualty of the busy spring season.

Legion – “Chapter 12” (B)
An episode where the visuals are more than just cool, they have meaning. It’s just too bad that this emotional journey into Syd’s past is spelled out as obviously as possible.

The Handmaid’s Tale
“June” (A) / season premiere
“Unwomen” (A)
Two startling episodes that both raise the stakes and change the game for this series. June on the run sets up the tension for Season Two, while spending an entire episode in the Colonies with Emily (Alexis Bledel) and diving into her backstory gives us another character to root for. Also, it’s early, but so far John Carroll Lynch and Marisa Tomei deserve Best Guest Actor and Guest Actress in a Drama Series.

The Americans – “The Great Patriotic War” (A)
One of the series’ best episodes, as Philip loses his shit after finding out the depth of the training Elizabeth has been imparting on Paige. That causes him to tip off Kimmy, which sets off a chain reaction for the rest of the season.

A.P. Bio – “Walleye” (B+)
Jack pushes too hard in his quest to embarrass Miles, hurting a student in the process. But he may have gotten what he wanted: out of Toledo. Props to NBC for shooting on-location, but I think we know Jack’s going to want to stay.

Atlanta – “North of the Border” (A-)
This is what this show does best when it’s not experimenting: starting out fairly traditionally, turning a corner and going wild, then having that experience change a character’s perspective. This also proves it could go anywhere next season, even if Earn and Paper Boi aren’t on speaking terms.

CURRENT SHOWS & SPECIALS
Andre the Giant (B+)
A satisfying documentary about a larger-than-life character. Also tells the story of how wrestling became a national phenomenon, which is explained elegantly for a non-fan like me, but that’s the least interesting aspect.