Another week with not a ton of new stuff on the tube, but some good stuff to keep an eye on and one let down of a season finale after an epic penultimate episode. Burn Notice also made a solid start to its final season, but not good enough to quite make the cut after a couple of lackluster seasons have taken it way down from its peak.
3. Game of Thrones, Episode 10, Mhysa. As Game of Thrones has shown it likes to do ... it uses Episode 9 for its climaxes and uses Episode 10 to try and get you licking your chops for more ... in particular more of the Mother of Dragons. For the second time in three seasons GoT gave us a Daenerys closing letting us know that she has some dragons that are coming for all you silly men in the seven kingdoms. And it works, but after such a spectacular ninth episode in both the first and third seasons, it is such a shame that the final hour of the season is just spent with more positioning of people for power plays that seem completely moot at this point. If Khaleesi doesn't end up on the Iron Throne or seriously flaming up Joffrey with one of her little pets, won't all of this emotional investment really kind of been a waste? I am very happy they showed some resolve in the Ygritee/Jon Snow situation, but it is clear she could have easily killed him, she wanted him to have a fighting chance. And in the end, this show reminded us what can happen weekly on GoT that we all take for granted. At any given point, Peter Dinklage can absolutely take over your television screen and you simply cannot turn away. He can be that unbelievably charismatic while playing a character that has evolved into one of the best on television. He could very well be setting another Emmy on his mantle this year.
2. The Killing, Episode 3, Seventeen. The Killing is always going to struggle with pacing because it tries to stay gritty and "real," but they are going to need to pick it up, because gritty is going to need a ratings boost to keep from being canceled for real. That said, I LOVED this episode. It is starting to pit our favorite duo, Linden and Holder, against each other with different partners and it is starting to form a ton of intrigue that can make things interesting every episode of the way (a problem the show has had with noticeable lulls the first two seasons). The street kids angle that I loved so much in the first two episodes is still very fresh and very intriguing and can take the story in a ton of angles. But really has everything so entertaining it Peter Sarsgaard as serial killer (we think) Ray Seward. Is he the way he is because he has been in prison all this time? Did he kill all those women, but NOT kill his wife? Did he kill any of those women? Has he killed someone else? If he is innocent of the crime he is convicted of, how comfortable are we as viewers with him walking if he maybe committed many others? It is perplexing to say the least and ... thus far ... expertly written and acted.
1. Mad Men, Episode 11, Favors. Seriously? What else could be No. 1. Somehow, even the "uneventful" boring episodes of Mad Men are so well done right now that nothing else on television is up to snuff. Barring a complete disaster of a season's ending in two weeks ... this is going to win iwify's Top Drama with relative ease ... and that is saying a ton considering the strong shows that have already come and gone this year. As Don Draper continually comes to grips with not liking who he is as a man he still balances his life with an almost eerily amount of precision. Yet, it call came crashing down as his own daughter saw him with a woman other than his wife. Don closes the door at the end of the episode completely perplexed what to do next. The wife, the other woman and his own young adult daughter all swirling around his brain as Chevy, Sunkist and Ted start to slip from it. Meanwhile, we continue to see the major struggles that Peggy is having with trying to figure out her lot in a man's world. Living alone and trying to lure help to chase off a rat was quite a memorable scene, but the scene with Pete after speaking to his mother was magical to see. It reminded us that even Pete has a light side and a few drinks has brought these two together before. Could be nothing, as the Mad Men folks love to mess with the viewers, but it certainly was nothing less than intriguing. Oh ... and Bob Benson. That guy.
Honorable Mention: Burn Notice, Episode 1, New Deal.
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