Patrons get an ad-free experience and full access to our archives. Support the Agony Booth for as little as $1/month!

Click here for more details.

Category: TV

Text / TV / TV Recap

· by Marion Stein · May 19, 2018

The Americans: Burn baby burn

In “The Summit”, the nearly perfect eighth episode of the final season (perfection would have included Oleg), Elizabeth finally puts humanity ahead of mission. The build-up has been going on for a while. The suspense was in wondering whether the…

Text / TV / TV Recap

· by Susan Velazquez · May 12, 2018

Riverdale: Not-so-quiet riot

Poor Cheryl has had a rough year. Her twin brother was murdered by her father, her family fortune was temporarily lost when her father was outed as a drug dealer, her mother stuck her in a gay conversion program, she…

Text / TV / TV Recap

· by Marion Stein · May 11, 2018

The Americans: Moving parts

In an effort to save his marriage, if not his country, Philip joins Elizabeth’s mission to rescue an illegal who the FBI has codenamed “Harvest”. Henry confides in his “Uncle” Stan, which rhymes with Sam. And somebody needs to tell…

Text / TV / TV Recap

· by Marion Stein · May 5, 2018

The Americans: On my way

“Riffifi”, episode 6 of the final slog toward doom that is The Americans, is named for a film in which most of the protagonists die. This week Elizabeth doesn’t kill anyone, but she comes close to braining her husband…

Text / TV / TV Recap

· by Susan Velazquez · May 3, 2018

Riverdale: Innocent until proven guilty?

Last episode, Betty began to suspect that her father Hal is the Black Hood. It’s a good thing that she’s keeping this information to herself because Archie is out on his vigilante search for the Black Hood. Again. Archie doesn’t…

Text / TV / TV Recap

· by Marion Stein · May 1, 2018

Homeland: We have met the enemy and he is us

Did they purposely make Carrie unlikable all season—narcissistic, careless with the lives of others (including her kid), recklessly “running around like a crazed vigilante” according to Saul—only to give her a terrible comeuppance so we can feel bad about hating…

Text / TV / TV Recap

· by Susan Velazquez · Apr 29, 2018

Riverdale: Indecent proposals and truths

Rest in peace, Midge. We hardly knew ye. I really thought Midge was gonna come out of this alive. I mean, the Black Hood once shot her and her boyfriend at point blank range and she survived without a scratch.…

Text / TV / TV Recap

· by Marion Stein · Apr 27, 2018

The Americans: Philip acts

Elizabeth’s senseless murder spree continues, but she needs Philip’s help for one final mission. In pushing him beyond where his conscience allows, will she seal both their fates? Episode 5, “The Great Patriotic War”, opens with Stan, tailed by members…

Text / TV / TV Recap

· by Marion Stein · Apr 23, 2018

Homeland: Mission to Moscow: Wigstock Edition

Like every season’s penultimate episode of Homeland, “All In” was action-packed and showed Carrie at her most ingenious and determined. Plausibility, however, was lower than on a Saturday morning cartoon version of the A-Team. Saul, Carrie, her crew, and…

Text / TV / TV Recap

· by Marion Stein · Apr 21, 2018

The Americans: The coldest war is in the bedroom

In “Mr. and Mrs Teacup”, the fourth of the final 8 episodes of The Americans, the distance between Elizabeth and Philip continues to grow. Also growing? The weekly body count, as our death march to the inevitably tragic conclusion trudges…

Text / TV / TV Recap

· by Susan Velazquez · Apr 20, 2018

Riverdale: A Chorus Line Carrie-s on

Turn on the spotlights and raise the curtain, everybody! It’s showtime at Riverdale! If you remember from last episode, the kids are putting on a production of the musical Carrie. Not sure why they picked Carrie specifically, since…

Text / TV / TV Recap

· by Dr. Winston O'Boogie · Apr 18, 2018

Star Trek: Voyager “Favorite Son”

My return to recapping bad Star Trek: Voyager episodes continues with the third season episode “Favorite Son”, which shows Voyager encountering a planet of women who are out to lure unsuspecting men into a deadly trap. Yes, it’s another instance…

Text / TV / TV Recap

· by Marion Stein · Apr 17, 2018

Homeland: Bye-bye, Frannie-pie

In “Clarity”, the tenth episode of season 7, Carrie finally realizes what she needs to do to keep Frannie safe. But is it too late for a show that kept the kid around for way too long? With Dante’s death,…

Text / TV / TV Recap

· by Marion Stein · Apr 14, 2018

The Americans: Who does Elizabeth kill this week?

“Urban Transport Planning”, the third episode of the final season is named for the seminar Oleg Burov is in DC to attend. When Oleg explains his post-KGB duties to Stan, he could be describing the writers’ task as they wind…

Text / TV / TV Recap

· by Marion Stein · Apr 9, 2018

Homeland: Just her 19th nervous breakdown

This week on Homeland: Yvegeny goes rogue, Bill says too much, and Carrie’s seasonal hallucinatory sequence may actually give her the clarity to make a tough decision, god willing. We open with Yvegeny and “Simmy” mapping out their future…

Text / TV / TV Recap

· by Marion Stein · Apr 6, 2018

The Americans: Four wigs and no funerals

Welcome to another week of dread, close calls, and the longest long game on television. Can Elizabeth Jennings, the hardest working spy in Spytown, keep dodging bullets forever, literally? With only six remaining episodes, we’ll know soon enough. Gone…

Text / TV / TV Recap

· by Marion Stein · Apr 3, 2018

Homeland: Bonnieskaya and Clydeski

What happened after Saul’s team grabbed Dante, and left a terrified Frannie in her mother’s arms? Did Carrie decide she and Frannie might as well squat at Dante’s since he wasn’t going to be home for awhile, or did Carrie…

Text / TV / TV Recap

· by Susan Velazquez · Apr 1, 2018

Riverdale: A Blossom Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

If Hiram’s evil plan to build a prison in Riverdale happens, maybe the economic boost to the town will let the Sisters of Quiet Mercy finally get out of the 1950s time warp that they appear to be stuck in.…

Text / TV / TV Recap

· by Marion Stein · Mar 29, 2018

The Americans: Your country or your wife

“Dead Hand”, the perfectly scored final season premiere of The Americans begins with a montage that wordlessly (except for the lyrics) shows us everything we need to know about the state of the Jennings’s marriage. Philip has renovated the dingy…

Text / TV / TV Recap

· by Marion Stein · Mar 27, 2018

Homeland: Busted, or five degrees of congruence

Andante, music played at a slow tempo, is a polite name for the filler-filled seventh episode of the seventh season. Yet, a few things happen to move the story forward: Carrie gets laid. Max gets waylaid. We learn something new…