Another week where the usual suspects came to play and nothing else. The Americans, Game of Thrones, The Good Wife and Mad Men were all very well done and had very strong moments. But, was anything good enough to knock Mad Men from it's No. 1 perch?
3. The Good Wife, Episode 21, A More Perfect Union. The Good Wife continues to flourish in its role as "The Best Show on Network Television." While that might be as lofty a title as it once was, it is still an important title and one that is barely disputed. This week's episode kept agonizingly toying with the viewers with the love triangle of Alicia Florrick, Will Gardner and Peter Florrick (Julianna Margulies, Josh Charles and Chris Noth). With Peter's proposal to Alicia being found out by her brother and her mother, she gets pressured by them to chase true love and let Peter go. But, it is not that easy for Alicia and if anything appears to have forced her closer to Peter. The season finale should be excellent as Peter's run for governor comes to an end and Alicia is sure to have conflicted feelings on her apparent choice. Alicia's mother going to Will and telling him to fight for her has stirred the pot and ought to make for excellent television. There are still great secondary stories going as well. As Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski) continues to be pursued for the state Supreme Court should Peter win, Kalinda (Archie Panjabi) and Cary (Matt Czuchry) move closer to leaving the firm ... together. With Alicia examining her love and professional future, Will could be left out in the cold on all fronts.
2. Mad Men, Episode 4, To Have and to Hold. Mad Men drops to No. 2 this week, but not because of a let down, more like a Game of Thrones step up. Until they disappoint me this season, the writers at Mad Men seem almost a virtual lock to take my No. 1 drama award. To watch Don Draper (Jon Hamm) cheat on his wife more or less because he is jealous of her success and then turn around and get upset with her for a scene on her show involving another man is what makes this show so spectacular. We all want to cheer for Don. We want him to concur his demons because he seems so ahead of the curve in so many aspects, but then we are hammered with blunt realities like this that make it so difficult to pull for him. As Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) walks in an steals a client from her former mentor Don we should be proud of her, but somehow find ourselves upset that Don and his band of misogynists, led by Pete (Vincent Kartheiser), lost out on the Heinz Ketchup empire. Add the brewing battle between Joan (Christina Hendricks) and the rest of the partners and the inclusion of Harry (Rich Sommer) in the mix at the top and you have plenty of ammo for the rest of the season.
1. Game of Thrones, And Now His Watch is Ended. I was pretty ho-hum on Game of Thrones right up until the very last scene. I guess the writers expect me to cheer for Jamie Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) now that he has lost a hand, but nope ... not going to do it. I guess they think they can just keep Peter Dinklage in the background making snarky comments and I won't realize they are not exactly sure what the hell to do with him ... but nope ... I noticed. And then ... all was forgiven because of the lovely Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) and her exceptional double-cross. Sure, all the viewers had to know that the Dragon Queen was not leaving without all of her dragons ... and sure, there were hints she knew all the things that Kraznys was saying about her while trying to get a dragon and give away as little of his army as possible. But that didn't change the effectiveness of the scene. Daenerys is coming with a unstoppable army and three maturing dragons. Does any of the other petty squabbling over the Iron Throne even matter?
Honorable Mention: The Americans, Episode 11, Covert War.
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