A solid end to a solid season, I’ll admit up until that final few minutes I was not as thrilled about the episode as I ended up being. Maybe it has something to do with all that has been set into motion. Gordon spent this entire year on his ass and was suddenly heavily intriguing to every plot line. It was weird. He went from having multiple episodes with no contact to the other characters too literately setting up both Mutiny and Joe in a couple minutes. He was ‘blackmailed’ by his wife into coming with him so they can fix their ‘sham’ of a marriage. Right around the time that Gordon had the affair and Donna wouldn’t tell Gordon about her baby. I thought to myself wow these people hate each other. And it still kind of seems that way in many instances. Donna looks dead inside sitting on the plane, and Gordon has brain damage so who knows what’s next for that lovely couple.
Gordon being the lynchpin of this episode (and this episode only) showed us how important he can be. He now works for Mutiny –kinda– and will help them with whatever they need. But he also got Joe back on his feet because he felt sorry for him. –more on Joe in a minute.– And part of me really (REALLY) wanted Gordon to join Joe and have season three just be Gordon and Joe vs. Cameron and Donna, I’m not sure how that would’ve worked since Mutiny is a chat room, and Joe is now a Virus protector. But still it would’ve been awesome. But no Gordon is going to try to give this marriage a shot. His reaction to Joe’s new-found fortune was a bit weird, though. You gave him the program and told him to do better, and then he offered you a job. So why are you so upset that he moved on.
Cameron for the most part toke a backseat in this episode which is a bummer because now that we left her with this incredibly sour note of her pushing everyone away I feel the same way I did last year about her. She’s a bit brash and compulsive, and she had to know that Tom wasn’t getting on that plane right? I mean I never once thought he was coming, she was horrible to him. Bosworth coming back was weird. Don’t get me wrong I love Toby Huss and would watch him read the Newspaper but as if one scene would explain why he would throw his sons great job offer back in his face and then immediately move to the other side of the country felt a bit lazy. Why have him leave at all? Just wait to bring up that story when you get the chance next year. One episode was not enough time for him to marinate in his decision to leave Mutiny.
Now at this point I must stipulate that I have a clear bias among all these great and well-developed characters, Joe. This season was always meant to show Joe’s human side and what that might look like. And this year we got to see Lee Pace act the shit out of all those complexities. Early this episode we got to see really beat down Joe. He looked like garbage he got laughed out of a meeting and then almost contemplated suicide the only way TV characters know how to commit suicide. –driving really fast into traffic.– But once Gordon came to give him a heart to heart about Sarah we started to see glimpses of old Joe. Ruthless Joe. The same Joe that left IBM. But even after he had his Don Draper moment of wowing a man who laughed at him a few hours ago that heart shined through. He offered Gordon a job. And once Gordon told him about Mutiny I have a feeling all those mushy feelings are gone and Dead he has nothing but the job now. He is the tortured and forgotten guy who was left by the side of the road after doing the right thin. Oh man, that was great seeing that final shot.
While a big plus to this episode was its set up, it was still filled with little things that have plagued the show all year. I can’t wait to see what happens next but hopefully next year Gordon actually does something, Cameron continues her slow climb towards a rational person, Donna might tell her husband about their almost child, and Joe becomes the Steve Jobs of Anti-Virus.
