Tag: season 5

‘Longmire’ Season 5 Finale: The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of (Review)

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The season five finale of Longmire feels like a show in meltdown, or at the  very least, on its way out. “The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of” manages to put Walt and Henry in jeopardy, from two different agencies. Ironically, Cady – who is being adopted by the tribe – is directly responsible for putting Henry in harm’s way.

It has already been officially announced that Longmire will end after the next season and while fans may be upset at the news there are an equal number who feel the show has lost its way. Whether that is the case, or just the way the storyline is unfolding this season is not clear.

The finale manages to cram quite a lot of things into one hour.  Henry returning the plastic indian and cowboy (a sign of his and Walt’s friendship) with a note saying “Remember the asymptote.” For those who are not math oriented, asymptote is a line (basically).

So his best friend is saying, in essence, that Walt crossed the line with his attack on him.  It also means that the two are going to go through a cool-down period.  The friends will not be very close for some time. If ever again after this.

This is something that Walt has been doing a lot of this season.  He has been distancing himself from everyone. Vic, Cady, Donna (while not as obvious he is still removing himself from that possible relationship) and now Henry.

But more disturbing is Walt’s increased obsession with Jacob NIghthorse.  In Walt’s mind Nighthorse is the root of all evil and it has blinded him to the more obvious suspect Malachi. Longmire’s insistence that Jacob killed his former security chief even convinces Henry, although he asks Nighthorse if he did circle back and kill Malachi.

Walt is not just distancing himself he is being circled by the hungry wolves who want to build up the area that he owns.  The mayor, who offers to get rid of the sheriff in an earlier episode, has now taken action to have Walt removed from office.

The wrongful death suit being pursued by Tucker Baggett is a ploy intended to break Walt and force him to give up the land.The mayor is also all about “progress” so clearly their is a conspiracy afoot to have Walt taken down.

Leaving the lawsuit and all it stands for, there is the Chance Gilbert storyline.  He asks Walt to help him be transferred to death row. Longmire refuses.  The sheriff knows that losing his freedom is the worst possible punishment for Gilbert.

Vic, however, decides that a move to death row is just what she needs. She goes to see Gilbert and tells him she supports his request.  Vic wants the man dead and out of her thoughts. Chance then tells her about the murder weapon he used to kill the man in the freezer.

She goes to retrieve it and is attacked seconds after finding it.  When she returns home, Travis insists she go to the hospital. Vic agrees to go the next day and the ultrasound shows the baby is fine.

The whole Travis and Vic storyline feels forced and just a little off-kilter.  That may well be down to the Vic and Walt thing, but Travis just seems like a total mismatch.

Cady is overjoyed when Mandy’s aunt wants to adopt her into the tribe. She has a vision while in “The Sweat” showing an empty sheriff’s office and Henry hanging from a tree. Henry also takes a call from his mobile phone while swinging in the wind.

(The shot of Cady walking barefoot through a bloody floor is impressive and eye-catching. Very cinematic in nature and almost beautiful in its simplicity.)

Walt’s daughter agrees to represent Darius which results in his being released and therefore able to help Malachi in the beating and kidnapping of Henry.  At the end of the show, Standing Bear is staked to the ground on the Crow reservation.

By the end of the episode Walt learns that Tucker Baggett was Barlow Connelly’s best buddy and as such plans on destroying  Walt and getting his land. Henry is in a life or death situation and Cady is in the sweat lodge.

Vic is, apparently, thinking of being with Travis and Longmire is all alone.

After last season’s cracking finish, which was, quite frankly, always going to be difficult to top, this season opts to leave Henry in deep trouble and Walt about to lose everything he cares for.

We care, obviously, about both men but Walt seems to be on a self destructive course this year. He has shut out Cady, become obsessive about  Jacob Nighthorse, attacked his best friend and he has even managed to distance himself from Donna.

Walt is a man flailing about this season. He even goes to have a drink with Vic, only to find she has left for the day. In this season it has been suggested that Walt quit, or retire…numerous times.

This could well be the theme of season six, the final season, since the court case will still be looming over Walt’s head when the last season starts.

(One last look at the sweat lodge vision. After Jacob’s moment in the montage with his golf club, there is an owl sitting on a bare branch. The creature is clearly hooting in the daylight. In Native American culture the owl is a sign of death and in other cultures hearing an owl hoot in the daytime is also a sign of impending death.)

The prospects are grim. Henry is out on the Crow reservation and unless he gets help will die. Vic may be pregnant through the upcoming season and Cady may be so enamored of becoming an honorary Cheyenne that she may be of no help to anyone.

There may be some hope for Walt from an unlikely source however. Jacob Nighthorse may just help Longmire out in the lawsuit. This will not be for any particularly noble reason but to show the lawman that he is not he boogeyman that Walt insists he is.

Regardless of how the new season starts out, it is going to be a long wait for Longmire fans. One thing is certain though, even with the jarring aspects of season five, Longmire is still quality television. The cowboy cop will definitely be missed when he is gone.

Cast:

Guest Starring Peter Stormare as Chance Gilbert. 

The Mindy Project: Revenge of the Nurse – Ben (Recap/Review)

The Mindy Project - Season 5

It was too good to be true. Poor Ben has sic transited his way out of Mindy’s life, or at least it looks that way.  His time as Mr. Right has come to an apparent end and The Mindy Project aka Mindy Lahiri has lost out on love again.

“Revenge of the Nurse” was, despite the somewhat downbeat ending, quite funny.  Mindy’s fascination with all things celebrity oriented was the stumbling block in this episode.  That and Ben feeling like being a nurse was not good enough for Dr. Lahiri, ended her almost perfect romance.

The episode starts with Mindy reflecting on her good fortune. Ben is a “normo” not like all the losers and weirdos she dated before.

The episode could have been called “Mindy’s Ex Boyfriends” as she and Ben bump  into a slew of them.  Mindy and Morgan see Jamie, a former boyfriend,  on the subway and he reveals that after she broke his heart, he went to Rome and became a bestselling author.

(Although he initially went there to kill himself. Instead he reinvented himself as a Dan Brown clone.)

He invites Mindy and her colleagues, as well as Ben, to his book signing party.  There are a number of celebs in the crowd. Gillian Flynn is there and Mindy tells the author she needs to read her version of “Gone Girl.”

Before the party she invites the office, including Dr. Ziev. At the book signing, Jamie reads from his novel and Mindy talks to Anna who makes it her mission to name drop and denigrate Ben.

Jamie thinks that Ben is a doctor, because of the ambiguous way Mindy introduced her newest boyfriend. Another celeb, The Today Show host Cameron Winters, needs a nurse for a segment on the show and after striking out with Tamra, Mindy volunteers Ben.

She talks Ben into doing it although  he does not want to be on TV. When he tells her that, she slaps him and asks if he is out of his mind. Ben reluctantly agrees but only if she comes along.

The segment goes very well and Cameron wants Ben to come back for another one. Mindy is overjoyed that Ben is a TV personality and that Cameron wants him to come back.  Mindy accepts for him and one again, Ben reluctantly  agrees.

While the two are on a date, an old boyfriend comes by and she introduces Ben as a TV personality. She later explains how important her former boyfriend Casey is.

The next day, Ben is a no show and Morgan stands in for Mindy’s missing boyfriend.

Morgan’s segment is hysterically funny because of his stage fright. While Ben got a meme from his appearance, Morgan has become “internet” famous.

Ben is not answering Mindy’s calls and she has been banned from The Today Show.  Ben stops by the clinic and learns about the party Morgan and Collette are throwing from Morgan.

Mindy gets drunk by drinking 23 capfuls of booze and Jamie shows up.  They share a romantic moment and kiss. Ben sees their romantic clinch and is not happy.  He leaves and Mindy follows.

She confronts him on the sidewalk and while they argue another ex boyfriend shows up.   After yet another awkward moment, Ben realizes that Mindy wanted him to be more than he is.

Angry and hurt, Ben tells Mindy that while she wondered if he was good enough for her he now realizes she is not good enough for him. Ben stalks off while Mindy stands watching.

This episode gave us another look into the mind of the reality TV obsessed Mindy.  She may be an ob/gyn but she worships television personalities.  Ben was never going to fit her dream and now he is gone.

Kudos to Rebecca Rittenhouse as Anna Ziev, she is a perfect fit in the Mindy-verse and her comic underplaying of the ice queen doctor is perfect.

The Mindy Project airs Tuesdays on Hulu.

Cast:

Guest starring Gillian Flynn as Gillian Flynn, Tommy Dewey as Josh Daniels, B.J. Novak as Jamie,Ben Begley as Cameron Winters and Anders Holm as Casey Peerson.

Longmire: Continual Soiree – Malachi Part Two (Recap/Review)

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Longmire continues with Walt’s fixation; Jacob Nighthorse. Malachi is a no-show at the proposed meeting place.  Vic and Walt head over to Strand’s house and find he is not home.

Henry changes all the locks to the doors at the Red Pony and fires Malachi’s goon, Darius. The phone rings and he answers, “It is a beautiful day at the Red Pony and continual soiree.”

Vic learns that she has to testify at the Chance Gilbert trial in two hours time. She goes to get ready and Travis is there waiting for her. He found the pregnancy test kits and has questions.

(Their interaction is the comic highlight of the episode. Between Travis’ “Elephant in the womb” line and the flashback to the “rodeo” in his room, this was the only amusing bit  in “Continual Soiree.”)

Jacob drops by to see Cady and tells her that he has fired Malachi. He also tells her that someone from outside the Rez will be hired. Jacob suggests she hire some people from the reservation and he will pay her extra money to do it.

Nighthorse also gives her a list of potential employees who all have close relatives on the tribal council.

Longmire goes off on Henry when he learns that Nighthorse and Henry met with Malachi the night he went missing.  The fact that Strand signed  the Red Pony back to Henry makes Walt doubly suspicious.

He pretty much accuses his old friend of being complicit to Malachi’s disappearance and then tells Henry that he and Cady are siding with Jacob against him.  Clearly Walt has allowed the lawsuit, that he thinks has been circumvented by his decision to settle out of court, to affect his thought process. Either that or Longmire’s concussion has affected him adversely.

Longmire bumps into Dave Milgrom outside the courthouse where Vic is due to testify. His lawyer tells him that Tucker Baggett refused Walt’s offer. He then goes on to tell Walt that he cannot sit in on the Chance Gilbert trial.

Walt goes to see Mathias and tells the tribal law officer that he wants to film a missing person’s report on Malachi. Walt tells Mathias about Malachi’s offer to give him evidence that could incriminate Nighthorse.

Vic testifies at the trial and despite Chance acting as his own attorney she manages to stay cool. She does have flashbacks to her time in captivity and the torture she underwent at his hands.

(On a sidenote: Stormare does his usual job of chewing up great huge chunks of scenery while questioning Officer Moretti. This too is a high point in the episode).

Mathias and Walt go out to where the fake David Ridges funeral was held. Walt uses Mathias’ phone to callsMalachi’s cell phone number.  He and Mathias hear the phone ringing and Walt finds it.  Mathias finds blood on the ground and Walt finds “Hector Lives” written out with small stones.

Vic finishes her testimony and endures Gilbert’s cross examination.  Mathias confronts Henry about Malachi’s disappearance and Standing Bear explains what happened; Strand was banished but still alive.

Henry and Mathias discuss the possibility that Jacob doubled back and killed Malachi.

Walt confronts Nighthorse about the book Henry gave to the casino owner.  He asks for it and Jacob refuses because Walt is fanatical in his belief that Nighthorse is the villain in this piece. Longmire also accuses Jacob of killing Malachi Strand.

Walt also tells Jacob that he believes Nighthorse has hired Hector  to do his dirty work. Longmire then tells Jacob that he is getting close to finding the new Hector.

Vic punches Travis in the nose when he surprises her.  He offers his help whether the baby is his or not.  Walt calls Vic and asks how the trial went. Henry and Mathias follow Malachi’s lieutenant  to find out where he is.

Walt stops by to see Cady and asks about Nighthorse and Hector. Cady responds that Jacob and Henry stopped by to see how she was doing after killing JP. Longmire fails to catch the hint.

Cady tells Walt that the only time Henry asked for her help was when he wanted to foster the boy who killed himself.  Cady goes on to tells her father that he is obsessed with Nighthorse.

She suggests that her father consider retiring. As he turns to leave, Cady says,”Hey, Dad, I’m totally over shooting and killing that man, so thanks for asking.” Longmire says nothing and goes through the door.

Henry and Mathias catch Darius digging up money. Dave shows Walt the newspaper account of Chance Gilbert’s defense.  His lawyer warns Longmire that he may lose his job.

Walt orchestrates a council of war against the new Hector. He, Ferg and Vic talk attacks and drug dealing.  Walt seems to be narrowing down his list of suspects.  Mathias and Henry question Darius who then calls Dady and asks her to represent him.

Walt accuses Henry of being the new Hector. The two friends fight in the bar and as Henry slams Longmire against a wall, the end credits roll.

This episode may well sum up why so many fans of the Longmire series have thrown up their hands in disgust. No one is acting as they should. Walt attacking Henry is shocking and so too is his treatment of Cady.

Not once has he offered any support after Cady’s killing of JP.  His fixation about Jacob Nighthorse has reached a fever pitch and Walt’s attacking Henry is proof that something is not right with him at the moment.

Walt’s behavior could well be down to that head injury and the lawsuit, or it could be that, as Cady suggested, it is time for Longmire to take off that sheriff’s badge and retire.

Longmire has already been approved for another, final, season.  It may well be that this is a build up to Walt stepping down.  Fans will not be overly happy if this is the last season’s storyline but then many are dismayed that he is acting out of character.

This is the penultimate episode of this season. The finale, episode 10,  is available to watch right now on Netflix.

Cast:

Guest Starring Peter Stormare as Chance Gilbert. 

The Mindy Project: Concord – Danny Talks (Recap/Review)

The Mindy Project - Season 5

The Mindy Project this week was all about Danny’s wedding and Mindy’s reaction to it. “Concord” sees Dr. Lahari suffering through her baby daddy’s marriage ceremony.Mindy opted not to attend, as she felt it would make Sarah and Danny feel awkward.

Leo is taken by his grandmother to be the ring bearer at his father’s wedding.

Mindy decides to spend her time drinking wine. Jeremy calls to see how she is doing and also updates her on the ceremony. When pictures of Danny begin talking to her, Mindy abandons ship.

She jumps into her car to avoid talking Danny. Mindy does not bother to change so she drives around in her pjs.

To keep herself distracted from Danny’s picture talking to her, Mindy sings the entire soundtrack to “Les Miserables.” (instigated by her declaration that she is “lame and miserable.”  As she sings the last song, her car bumps the curb in front of her parent’s house in Concord, Massachusetts.

When Mindy goes into the house, her mother smacks her in the head with a griddle. (This results in the best line of the episode : “I get full-on Tom and Jerry’d. Just brilliant.)

Mindy explains that she is having a hard time.  The next morning, she expects breakfast in bed. She learns that her mother cannot look after her and her father is away. Mindy does not spend the day in bed, but plays board games like Pictionary with Rishi instead.

Another brilliant moment occurs as Sonu tells Mindy she cannot look after her. Mindy gasps, “But that’s your job!”

Rishi tries to make his sister feel better and declares that she could do a “Ted Talks” if her voice were not so annoying. The siblings raid the fridge and find only leftover Indian food.

Mindy calls her mother to complain only to discover that she lied about what she was doing that day. They check Sonu’s laptop and find an email from someone named Conrad.

Sonu is meeting with Conrad at a local restaurant and her children  go there to confront her. Mindy gets  a call from Morgan, who is attending the wedding, and he tells her that Danny could possibly back out and not marry Sarah if Mindy were to show up.

She wants to go back to New York immediately but Rishi talks her out of it. Mindy and Rishi confront Sonu at the restaurant. She and Conrad are eating and talking about a stage role.

Mindy’s mother, explains that she was not there to have sex with Conrad, but to flirt and talk about a part in the play.  Later Dr. Lahiri drives over to Conrad’s apartment to apologize.

Once she gets inside his flat, he takes a herbal viagra tablet thinking he is going to have sex with Mindy. After fleeing Conrad’s apartment, she decides to head back home and stop Danny’s wedding.

As she drives back, Danny nags her about taking too long and Ben calls her. Her newest boyfriend professes that he “kind of loves” her. Danny asks if Ben knows that she is kind of crazy. Ben tells Mindy he knew  that when she erased all his female contacts on his cell phone.

Mindy goes back home and is bashed on the head with a griddle again. Her mother explains that Danny has not been talking to her, via the pictures, and that she herself was providing the voice and the skewed logic of “picture Danny.”

The show ends with Sonu reading her memoirs to her kids. Danny rings Mindy who opts not to answer. She texts back to Ben that she loves him too.

This was a brilliant episode, all the more so because Sakina Jeffery did a bang up job as Mindy’s mum, Sonu. (It was a nice change from her grim character in Timeless, Agent Denise Christopher.) It was also nice to see Utkarsh Ambudkar as Rishi again.

It will be interesting to see how long Dr. Lahari can stay with Ben. Will Danny’s marriage to Sarah allow her the freedom to start a long term relationship?

The Mindy Project airs Tuesdays on Hulu. Stop by for a giggle or two.

Cast:

Guest starring Bruce Katzman as Conrad, Sakina Jaffrey as Sonu Lahiri and Utkarsh Ambudkar as Rishi Lahari.

Longmire Season 5: Stand Your Ground – Malachi (Review)

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Longmire follows up Cady shooting Asha’s abusive husband with the Irish Mob boss showing back up and Walt believes that he is there to have him killed. “Stand Your Ground” involved a lot of running around and Vic discovering that she is pregnant.

This may well be the most frustrating episode of the season. Walt has become so fixated on Jacob Nighthorse as being the resident boogieman that he allows himself to be misled.

While it may be down to the court case against him, Walt also lets Cady down by not being there to support her. Instead of helping her through the killing of J.P. he tells Cady that it is her fault because she works for Jacob.

Henry actually comes across more like a father than Walt does in this instance.  He also retrieves the rifle from Matthias and puts eagle feathers on the weapon. Henry presents the gun to Cady as a sign of acceptance by the Cheyenne tribe.

The tribe also accepts Cady without Henry’s gesture. They believe that since she shot and killed someone to defend a member of the Cheyenne tribe she really is on their side.

Jacob stops by to tell Walt’s daughter he is proud of her. The expression on Cady’s face reveals she has mixed feelings about this.

At the start of the episode Walt is called out to Jacob’s house. He believes the Irish mob have put a hit on him. A Celtic flag has been left on his property.  Longmire decides to have someone look after Nighthorse as a measure of protection.

Henry finds the second ledger, ironically Malachi has hidden it behind the “Little Big Man” film poster in Henry’s old office, and Jacob now has the evidence he needs to prove all of Malachi’s sins.

Walt meets with Muldoon who explains that he has decided to pull out of the casino and Absaroka County as Longmire suggested. The meeting turns dark when Muldoon pulls out a picture of a very dead Eddie Harp.

Shane tells the lawman that he took his advice and shut up his partner. He then says he wants Walt’s assurance that he will not talk. The threat is clear as Muldoon mentions everyone that Longmire holds dear.

Longmire talks to Malachi who implicates Jacob Nighthorse. The head of casino security convinces Walt that his boss has been lying.  Walt is too eager to believe this and he pulls Eamonn off the protective detail.

While he is at Jacob’s house, he begins ranting about how guilty Nighthorse is and that he has been working with the mob all along. Suddenly shots are fired and Eamonn is hit in the leg. Jacob and Walt return fire and Nighthorse pursues the shooter.

Longmire pulls Eamonn out of the swimming pool.

Cady is cleared of all charges by Jacob’s lawyer Kevin Morris. As he leaves the lawyer recommends that Cady not shoot the next one on her driveway.  He suggests that this will not be the last time he defends her for shooting someone.

Asha is the only member of the  Cheyenne tribe who has not accepted Cady. She is furious with her for killing her husband.

Towards the end of the episode Walt finally looks up from Jacob Nighthorse long enough to realize that Malachi might be the suspect he should be questioning. When questioned Malachi promises that he has evidence that will implicate Jacob and arranges to meet with Longmire later.

In the meantime, Jacob and Henry grab Malachi and take him out near the fake burial site of David Ridges. Jacob banishes Malachi and cuts his face. Henry forces Malachi to sign his club back over and the former head of security shouts at him as Henry and Nighthorse leaves.

“Stand Your Ground” was a frustrating episode to watch. Walt has become so focused on Nighthorse that he is missing obvious connections. He has, for whatever reason, practically turned his back on Cady.

Clearly the lawsuit may be partly to blame for his  lack of attention to detail but his treatment of Cady is harsh.

It seems obvious that Malachi had someone shoot at Jacob, although since Eamonn was the only one hit, there could be a third party who was aiming at the deputy.

Regardless of the frustration element, this episode was all about change. Vic discovering that she is pregnant, Walt beginning to focus on Malachi and Henry getting his club/bar back.  It was also about a  major turning point in Cady’s life. Her position as the lawyer for the Cheyenne nation is also changing.  Malachi too has had a change of fortune, so to speak.

Longmire is steaming on Netflix right now. All 10 episodes are available. Netflix and the Longmire Posse have confirmed that the show will be back for a sixth season. Sadly, however, it appears that this next season will be Walt Longmire’s last ride as sheriff of Absaroka County.

Mosey on over, if you have not already, and check out this splendid series.

Cast:

Guest starring  Dylan Walsh as Shane Muldoon,  Josh Cooke as Eamonn O’Neill and Currie Graham as Kevin Morris.

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