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haltandcatchfiretothemax · 7 years

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Halt and Catch Fire 4x05: We're gonna have to talk about it at some point, right?

"Nowhere Man" is a frustrating hour of tv if you, like myself, are overly emotionally invested in Halt and (some) of its characters. There's nothing wrong with it on a technical level, though it might have felt a little less cohesive than the earlier episodes, which did so much work to establish everything that was happening. After four hours of very well-plotted 'table setting,' "Nowhere Man" seems to relax a little and let things start to run their proverbial course.

But it's Halt, and a lot of characters with prestige drama/wh*te angst, so that means our beloved characters acting a fool, right? I.e., realizing things about themselves, struggling to deal, and falling back into old habits, patterns, and unhealthy coping mechanisms. I'd rate "Nowhere Man" as solid, and I definitely enjoyed watching it, but I felt really aggravated by a lot of what happened in it, tbh. (Literally nothing but spoilers for Halt and Catch Fire 4x05 below.)

Things that aggravated me:

Gordon and Katie. Like, I wanna like them, but, at the same time it's like, ah, another woman who's completely out of his league! Sure, Jan Chrises

The Heterosexual Emotional Roller Coaster known as Jameron. Seriously, that fight that they have in the beginning is like, the embodiment of straight culture, and of course it meant the return of Hoe MacVillain

How did Donna NOT RECOGNIZE CAMERON'S CODE after allegedly 'staying up half the night' looking at it?!

Related: I actually enjoyed Donna trying to squeeze Bos and Cecil, but I did not enjoy worrying about how Tanya might get punished for Bos' scheme.

TOM. Really? Ugh I did not wanna have to see this motherfvcker's face ever again

Cameron's throwaway 'oh, so you are here to kill me!' joke when Tom said 'many birds, one transcontinental stone'. Do not play like this, show!

Rover Bro saying Donna's 'lost her mind'. You're on thin ice, man. Thin. ICE.

"Whoever wrote this is on another level!" Yes, we get it, Cecil is painfully average as a coder! "Go ask HIM for the damn specs!" And Cecil also assumes a man wrote the algorithm for which he's getting so much praise, so cool

"It's an old woman tied to a bed!" Again, show, do not play like this?! Also do you have to do the whole 'Tom and Cam: Cute Couple' charade? And then hit us/Cameron with the news that Tom's whatever is pregnant before his divorce is even final? Oh and then Cameron apologizes to him?!?!?!? GODDAMNIT, SHOW

Bos' utter desperation, and his fight with Cameron, which was…not the same as but was way too close to "The Threshold", if you catch my meaning. Also Cameron really believed it would never come back to her? My precious, foolish bby. Sigh.

Followed by Bos having that horrendous argument with Donna who was in full Bitch Mode (even if rightfully, considering that Bos' lie puts her at risk)? And then Bos having a cardiac event?! WHY

Donna telling Cameron to stay out of her life. OBVI. Even though part of me was all *smashes shipper goggles onto face* 'But at least they're in the same frame and talking!'

Haley feeling left out when Katie and Joanie are listening to PJ Harvey together, even though I very much like Katie and Joanie getting along (and I'm also v into Joanie's outfit, talk about A Look)

Cameron's confession. Beautifully written, masterfully acted, but it wasn't a grown up's confession. It was the confession of a person who's partly emotionally frozen at the age of 9 or 10 by her father's death and who's blurting out something bad she did so her parent/s won't get mad at her and stop loving her. None of which is bad or wrong, I just really want her to be with someone who doesn't trigger that response in her! Or who at the very least doesn't like, repeatedly enable that response (…you know who I mean, I don't have to type out her name, do I?)

Donna and Gordon's phone call felt the same way? It was nice to see them have a good conversation (where he's finally doing some emotional labor for her…) but man, I really wish Donna had someone else to talk to. And not necessarily Cameron! Just, someone who's there for her. She also deserves better!

The final montage. I didn't dislike it though, I'm more just, baffled slightly by it? It's a typically odd/distinctive Halt directing choice, I think, to juxtapose a woman, her ex-husband and their method of tracking his illness that didn't work, and her ex gf partner's game like that.

Also wait -- are they signaling issues between him and Katie already, by subtly, sort of comparing her to Donna ("Is there a pattern?") If so *Tina Belcher groannnnn*

Some things I did like:

Joanie playing Pilgrim, even if she's frustrated with it

Again: Donna. Just, Donna. Slowly but surely applying pressure to her Rover team. And bonus: the good drama that comes with viewers figuring out who knows what -- it seems like Tanya and the couple don't know that Cecil didn't write the algorithm. There's literally an entire ep of Jane the Virgin that explains and demonstrates how this is one of Alfred Hitchcock's rules of suspense: giving the viewer and some characters information that other characters don't have. Literally classic.

I'm actually not sure how I feel about Gordon and J*e's heart to heart. I don't sympathize with him, but I empathize with J*e's inability to not worry about the future and being left behind, and his habit of obsessing over his work when he can't cope with his personal life. I definitely dig the true bromance vibes! As well as Gordon's real wisdom that none of us know how things are going to work out, even if some of us seem more fortunate/emotionally stable in the present. IDK, it's a little aggravating to focus so much on J*e's angst, though?

Donna laughing evilly while Diane makes fun of a guy who cheated at golf

This will sound like a weird thing for the like column, but Diane's reaction when she saw Bos collapse. She sounded human. Also, they let us know right away that Bos survived. Man, I don't think I've ever in my life felt so relieved to hear a tv doctor say, "He's gonna be okay"

Weirdly? Cameron and Donna meeting at the hospital. Donna being very gentle with her, but then…figuring it out. She says, "So it was you." Omg does that mean she suspected it all along? She did look very pointedly at Cameron's game on the computer screen while Joanie was playing in the very first scene! Ugh I'm still mad at you for misdirecting us show

I wonder how Cameron knew to go to the hospital -- Donna didn't call her. Did Diane?

Gordon listening to calming recordings of his own voice because it's very Leslie Knope leaving reassuring voicemails for herself

Roller derby

Donna finally finding out about Bos' debt

Haley secretly listening to PJ Harvey, because Haley is a dear and I love her and I want to see her continue to enjoy her life and flourish

The final montage. I know, it's in the dislike column, and it's in this one too for Donna figuring out Cameron's game (literally) and PJ Harvey. It almost makes up for the fake out with Donna pretending to not recognize who wrote the algorithm.

I guess, in short: if they're working toward any kind of real reconciliation between Cameron and Donna (and of course we have no idea what the showrunners are up to…), they're going for that real slow burn, which is good but also hideous for those of us on board the SS CamDonna. I’m torn between dismay over already being halfway through our final season, and some kind of relief that both the awkwardness between Cameron and Donna and the episodes in general have been so enjoyable so far *KNOCKS ON WOOD*

#halt and catch fire s4 #4x05 #nowhere man #halt and catch fire to the max originals!

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