NEW SHOWS
Mare of Easttown – “Poor Sisyphus” (B+)
A bit overstuffed, but it’s still rich with deeply human emotion and moments of levity. Enid Graham makes a play for Supporting Actress in a Limited Series with a subplot that seemed a little too ridiculous at first but resolved in a deeply sad way.
The Handmaid’s Tale – “Chicago” (B-)
The show seems stuck in a weird pattern where former handmaids are getting picked off one by one, yet things keep going back to normal in Gilead, usually by someone blackmailing Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford). It’s making it harder to be invested in the show, though that may change since this is clearly a pivot episode.
BINGEING
Avatar: The Last Airbender – Season 2 (A-)
The show somehow got even better, and the parallels in the back half of the season to the Iraq War are unmistakable.