S02.E03: The Way In

[Tara Ariano]

The Clarks receive a surprising invitation as Bosworth tries to reconnect with his former life. Meanwhile, a problem from within Mutiny threatens its survival.

[Primetimer]

Everyone on Halt And Catch Fire who didn't horribly bungle things on this week's episode, take one step forward. Not so fast, Gordon!

Read the story

[Yolapukka]

Oh my, Gordon, good work. *Slow clap*

 

I am loving the episodes so far. I am also so excited for the subsequent week's installment that I have trouble discussing what I just watched because I'm too intrigued by what comes next. 

 

Joe's wheels are starting to turn, not a good a sign for anyone else.

 

I kind of enjoyed the fact that Donna didn't care for Joe's girlfriend. Personally I find her likeable, but she so far does not strike me as a character who is intended to last beyond this season. That blathering about the origins of galoot, was kind of charming in a pretentious, psuedo-intellectual who-does-that(?) sort of way.

 

Speaking of one season characters, I miss Debbie, Joe's secretary. She always amused me.

 

Poor Bos, life is not being kind to him. I keep worrying that he's going to off himself, first pulling up to that lonely motel and then giving his car away. I was hugely relieved that each scene led to something sad in a different way and that he was in next week's previews looking well and relatively serene.

 

Tom seems like a worthwhile sort, if a bit of a dick at times.... which seems par for the course around Mutiny anyway.

Edited June 15, 2015 by yuggapukka

[ketose]

Hey, if Gordon can take down Mutiny with a program, then Cameron is doing something wrong. She hired the guy who screwed up their servers last week. I'm guessing Cameron is still pissed about how Gordon saved Cardiff (for a while) by extracting her girly operating system.

 

I'm a little stumped at what Joe is doing. At first I thought he was going to bring on 3 shifts to utilize the mainframes. Now it looks like he's going to sell computer run time on the sly. Didn't he flood the IBM server room?

[Dowel Jones]

I wonder if Joe's plan has something to do with SETI, as his girlfriend is involved with that.  It almost certainly doesn't  have anything to do with what he is actually being paid to do (by James Cromwell!).

 

As much as Gordon screwed the pooch, I can't help feeling that it couldn't have happened to a more deserving bunch of people.  I know they're following their dreams and all, but wake up, kiddies.  There's a real world out there.  Cameron's snarl at Donna for secretly keeping them in the house just about sealed the deal for me. 

 

Loved the mismatch in dinner attire.  Oops. 

[thuganomics85]

I should have known that Gordon would somehow screw up Mutiny, even if he isn't actually apart of it.  Granted, there does seem to be plenty of blame going around (Donna herself, pretty much admitted that), but nice one, Gordon.

 

Still, Cameron is showing that she is not a pleasant boss, by the way she lashes out at everyone whenever things go wrong or, in To's case, he dares to question her.  And I find it kind of lame that she basically was insulating that she's more important then Donna because Donna has Gordon and a family, while like Cameron has is the job.  Yeah, blame Donna for having a family life, idiot.  Of course, she then has a panic attack, which I guess is suppose to make me feel bad for her.  Whatever, get it together, Cameron.  You do have the smarts, but your social skills suck.

 

Gordon and Donna's bafflement over Joe inviting them to dinner slayed me.  As did the entire party.  I did find it interesting that Donna really didn't seem to like Sara.  It did seem like they just have different attitude that I can see clashing, but I also wonder if part of it is that Donna thinks so little about Joe, that she automatically assumes the worst of anyone who would agree to marry him.

 

Joe seems to be off on his own show at the moment.  Not sure what to think, except that I want more James Cromwell.

[allonsyalice]

"Anyhow, super-mysterious Joe is back, if you're into that sort of thing."

I am. I know. I must be the only one

how on earth did I not call Gordon completely ruining Mutiny?

how is it possible Joe had the best time this episode? Joe is chill. Joe has a secure job, a fiancee I am not sure he loves and he's happy.

donna and cameron and munity on the other hand---yikes!!!

(also I'm seriously hoping Cameron and that new guy I will learn the name of actually fall in love. They are super cute.)

I'm really excited to see what Joe has up his sleeve, but I'm more hopeful Cameron can het

Mutiny back on track. this is her life, and I really don't want to see her fail.

[SonofaBiscuit]

Aw, that was very sweet of Barry (Mike Pniewski) to store Bos' car for him.  I genuinely smiled when Bos was cruising down the road jamming to what sounded like Johnny Cash.

 

I'm starting to think that there actually is something medically wrong with Gordon.  He struggled with his hands twice this episode; once when he was trying to open the pop/soda can, and then again at the end of the episode.

 

Gordon's line to Joe, "You traded up"...ooh burn.  I mean, it's not untrue.  Cameron is a fucking disaster compared to Joe's new fiancee.  Well, Cameron is a disaster compared to most people, actually.  Why worry about grown-up responsibilities like paying your bills, right?  I'm sure these things just take care of themselves.  She'd be so screwed without Donna, seriously.  All of that being said, though, I won't mind if they pair her up with Tom (new hacker guy).  I can't imagine that he'd put up with any of her crap, so he might be a good match for her (until the show decides to return to a toxic Joe/Cameron relationship, that is).

 

Oh, and LOL at Gordon totally fucking things up with his new program.  Yeah, that sounds about right.  

Edited June 15, 2015 by SonofaBiscuit

[NutmegsDad]

Ah, Fuck-up Gordon. How I missed you. No wait. Not 'missed'. What's the word....? Ah, yeah. 'wished you died in a fire after Season 1'. That's it.

 

Sheesh, Joe, you have guests. Put on a shirt. Even your fiance put on a dress, if not combed her hair.

 

Bos' wife may be vindictive, but she at least gave him a good-bye fling. Bos deserves a better fate.

 

I wonder if Joe's plan has something to do with SETI, as his girlfriend is involved with that.  It almost certainly doesn't  have anything to do with what he is actually being paid to do (by James Cromwell!).

 

 

If S1 Fuck-Up Joe returns, we'll know that HaCF is a prequel to "Independence Day".

[dubbel zout]

Gordon and Donna's bafflement over Joe inviting them to dinner slayed me.

That and the clothing mismatch was my favorite part of the show.

 

Cameron's "my coding is special" is tiresome. I'm also tired of her refusal to accept how daily life works. I did laugh that she had the nerve to call out Donna on putting in her own money to keep the stupid company functioning. Yes, it really sucks to have electricity and working phones. 

 

I'm also tired of Joe. His superiority toward his co-workers is really annoying.

 

I might not finish this season. So far it's a rehash of last season but with different locations.

[attica]

That we got two scenes of Gordon not being able to handle/grip small fiddly things seems to me Significant. It's like the trope where nobody in a movie coughs unless they're dying.

 

Also, the letter/toast that Bos wrote his son gave me the awws. Why has Toby Huss not been cast in every thing since he started acting?!? Why are we just finding out about him now?!

[Chicago Faucet]

I'll say it now.  I don't think Gordon's "Sonaris" had anything to do with Mutiny's collapse.  I think that was just coincidental timing.  I think the true culprit is Tom.  As soon as they let him inside, he showed disdain for their games, and then the network collapses, and everything is erased.  It's his "Joe" way of getting what he wants.  Destroy everything so that they have to rebuild it in his likeness.

[Capricasix]

Also, the letter/toast that Bos wrote his son gave me the awws. Why has Toby Huss not been cast in every thing since he started acting?!? Why are we just finding out about him now?!

I recognized his name but couldn't remember what I'd seen him in, so I looked him up on IMDb after watching the ep, and he's been in a ton of shows. He did the voice of Hank's father, Cotton, on King of the Hill, which is where I recognized his voice from ("I got my shins shot off in Japan!" Or somewhere :D) He also voiced the Hills' neighbour Kahn Souphanousimphone.

Cameron continues to annoy me greatly.

Loved Donna's hair and dress.

[Yolapukka]

 

  I'll say it now.  I don't think Gordon's "Sonaris" had anything to do with Mutiny's collapse.  I think that was just coincidental timing.  I think the true culprit is Tom.  As soon as they let him inside, he showed disdain for their games, and then the network collapses, and everything is erased.  It's his "Joe" way of getting what he wants.  Destroy everything so that they have to rebuild it in his likeness.

 

I've loved this show even when it's been badly flawed, but I think I would be sorely tested if they went for a twist like this one, of bringing in a new character to pull Joe-style BSC Burn-it-all down stunts. I don't know to what end it would be.  To make Joe seem less awful by some bait and switch comparison? Maybe it's less polarizing to have someone who is intended as a villain, not an anti-hero and is not important to the ensemble as a whole to set mayhem in motion, but I really don't think the way to fix the "Joe problem" some viewers have would be to bring in another version of Joe. I'd rather Tom have a point to his presence that exists on it's own merits, than watch him get the writing that would have gone to Joe last season.

 

I like the idea of Gordon's careless attitude in presuming to fix Mutiny's problems unasked nearly destroyed them because he can't see past his own arrogance. Especially because he's always disliked Cameron, always felt himself better than her and her sloppy ways. It makes him crazy that anyone takes her seriously , especially two people he cares for in entirely different ways.

Edited June 16, 2015 by yuggapukka

[hincandenza]

That we got two scenes of Gordon not being able to handle/grip small fiddly things seems to me Significant. It's like the trope where nobody in a movie coughs unless they're dying.

Also, the letter/toast that Bos wrote his son gave me the awws. Why has Toby Huss not been cast in every thing since he started acting?!? Why are we just finding out about him now?!

I agree on both points, but yeah... there's something going on with Gordon beyond cocaine (which he apparently did stop, replacing it with the drug of coding). Like yiu say, two obvious closeups of hand problems is TV code for some kind of serious illness.

And I don't totally fault him for this week's mishap. I'm still not clear on what his program was supposed to even do, but it's almost improbable he could accidentally write that effective a worm without meaning to. Certainly not to the point of infecting customer systems, since he should never have been in a position to insert a running program into their hosts nor should their hosts be able to somehow corrupt dialin users. As noted above, last week it was this creepy dude, now this week Gordon; the problem is in Mutiny and their inability to run their systems without things figuratively or literally halting and catching fire.

Mutiny is a sinking ship, and I have zero sympathy for Cameron who treats people like crap, and takes completely for granted that Donna and Joe have been quietly keeping that frat house afloat out of pocket. Maybe if she spent less time yelling at her partner- who has kept this business barely running as it is, basically by herself- and sneering at her employees and everyone else, they'd have a stabler infrastructure, data backups, and some semblance of network security. Not to mention actually building the chat room killer app she keeps scoffing at, because only Cameron is allowed to have good ideas. It runs the risk of being a less funny "Silicon Valley" if we're going into perpetual incompetent crisis mode.

All that said... for me, this is so far a big improvement over last season, largely because of the distance Joe Machiavelli and his constant plotting has from the rest of the cast. I'm worried "the way in" will mean Joe using this extra compute time to compete with Mutiny, and/or weasel back into their lives. Things don't go well when Joe hatches a scheme, and I have a suspicion James Cromwell will be even less forgiving than Nathan Cardiff.

[RustbeltWriter]

I cringed when I saw that closet full of servers in Cameron's house. How they are keeping them cool is beyond me. You should be able to roast marshmallows in that closet.

 

If anything good came out of Gordon's colossal mistake it would have to be underlining the need for better network security. The fact that Tom could hack in, Gordon could upload a program and he's proven that people are riding for free should prove to Cameron that her security isn't quite as special as her coding.

 

I don't know what Joe has planned for the mainframe downtime but I'm looking forward to it.

[dubbel zout]

Maybe if she spent less time yelling at her partner- who has kept this business barely running as it is, basically by herself- and sneering at her employees and everyone else, they'd have a stabler infrastructure, data backups, and some semblance of network security.

 

Running a company is for squares, man! Cameron is a coder! She needs to fly free! Ugh. I want her to crash and burn so badly just to knock the smug out of her. I don't mind her dislike of the nuts and bolts of running a company, but she's delusional to think a company can succeed with no structure of any sort. 

[NutmegsDad]

I cringed when I saw that closet full of servers in Cameron's house. How they are keeping them cool is beyond me. You should be able to roast marshmallows in that closet.

 

If anything good came out of Gordon's colossal mistake it would have to be underlining the need for better network security. The fact that Tom could hack in, Gordon could upload a program and he's proven that people are riding for free should prove to Cameron that her security isn't quite as special as her coding.

 

I don't know what Joe has planned for the mainframe downtime but I'm looking forward to it.

 

 

Damn, now, you're making me like S1 Joe, if only because when he fucked around with Cameron's disks loose all over the place, it was a cautionary take to be careful with backups, and here we are, with a (albeit 80s) system with no security, where a frikking rogue computer program (Occam's Razor) can bring down the system and everyone connected.

 

Joe may have turned the corner (I hope I hope I hope) that imploding what exists is not necessarily the way to proceed. That downtime may be used for afterhours scanning or calculation, or using computer power to the max, and it doesn't mean/need a coup d'etat.

[Hanahope]

I admit that I don't know squat about coding or networks, but I'm still curious as to how Mutiny could think to operate their systems without some sort of firewall or other protection to prevent someone from accidently or purposefully uploading a virus to their system.  I have to agree with a poster above who thinks it was really Tom who infected the systems so he could come in and 'save the day' by rebuilding the system as he wants, and he just used Sonaris as a scapegoat.  Even if that is the case, doesn't let Gordo off the hook for uploading a program to Mutiny w/o permission.

 

And miss high and mighty Cameron who hires people whenever she wants but is upset because Donna tapped into her own funds to keep the company afloat.  Cameron needs to realize that she and Mutiny need Donna, but Donna sure as hell doesn't need Mutiny or Cameron.

 

I can't believe Joe didn't even excuse himself briefly to put on a shirt when Gordo and Donna arrived.  What a douche.  And I can't believe that he's just letting all that Cardiff money go,  Dude, get a lawyer and get your money.  Definitely can't wait to see what scheme is turning in Joe's brain with the computer system.

 

Jolt cola tasted awful, imo.

[dubbel zout]

I'm still curious as to how Mutiny could think to operate their systems without some sort of firewall or other protection to prevent someone from accidently or purposefully uploading a virus to their system.

 

It's yet another example of Cameron not wanting to deal with the nitty gritty that comes with running a company. 

 

And I can't believe that he's just letting all that Cardiff money go. Dude, get a lawyer and get your money.

 

He doesn't want to spend the time and energy fighting them. Joe needs instant gratification. A lawsuit is the complete opposite of that.

[apgold]

Why has Toby Huss not been cast in every thing since he started acting?!? Why are we just finding out about him now?!

I remember when he was Artie (the strongest man in the world) on The Adventures of Pete and Pete.  Of course, he's done a zillion character roles since then, but I remember him fondly.  He's the best thing about this show, IMO.

 

Cameron is annoying but I have to say that the actress did a great job with the hyperventilating scene.  

 

My favorite scene was when Gordon and Donna kept listening to Joe's voicemail (complete with rewinding noises on the answering machine), that was fun.

Edited June 16, 2015 by apgold

[orza]

And I can't believe that he's just letting all that Cardiff money go,  Dude, get a lawyer and get your money.  Definitely can't wait to see what scheme is turning in Joe's brain with the computer system.

Joe would be much worse off it he had tried to pursue the matter. The Cardiff owner was being very generous with Joe by not pressing criminal charges for torching the truck and bringing a civil suit to recover damages for the lost inventory and truck. That no doubt exceeded whatever amount Joe would have gotten from Cardiff. Joe would have been looking at jail time, bankruptcy and the prospect of never again working in the industry and perhaps any industry for that matter.

[Bort]

Cameron is annoying but I have to say that the actress did a great job with the hyperventilating scene.  

I don't always like Cameron (although I've started liking her a lot more now that she started showering regularly) but have always liked Mackenzie Davis in the role.

Joe would be much worse off it he had tried to pursue the matter. The Cardiff owner was being very generous with Joe by not pressing criminal charges for torching the truck and bringing a civil suit to recover damages for the lost inventory and truck. That no doubt exceeded whatever amount Joe would have gotten from Cardiff. Joe would have been looking at jail time, bankruptcy and the prospect of never again working in the industry and perhaps any industry for that matter.

To be honest, I don't see Joe looking at any trouble. Without any physical evidence (and if there were, Joe would already be sitting in a jail cell), it's Cardiff's word against Joe's. I really don't see a DA wanting to touch a case where the only evidence is a pointy finger and character witnesses. A civil suit is a different story but the damages Joe caused wouldn't outweigh what he's owed.

[2AT]

I can't believe Joe didn't even excuse himself briefly to put on a shirt when Gordo and Donna arrived. What a douche. And I can't believe that he's just letting all that Cardiff money go, Dude, get a lawyer and get your money. Definitely can't wait to see what scheme is turning in Joe's brain with the computer system.

To me, Joe's inaction regarding the Cardiff money is a sort of penance. He knows he's entitled to it and probably knows that he would easily win a court case. However, in my experience, when you feel guilty about something you will allow yourself to be treated the way you think you deserve. I think on some level he really feels bad about Cardiff and not profiting from the sale is his way of making things right, for now...

That said, I'm so glad that Scheming Joe is back because Average Joe wasn't doing anything for me. Was I hallucinating, or did the binder he looked at in the computer room say Cardiff Electric?

To me, Joe's fashion statement at dinner was supposed to show Gordon and Donna how much he changed. He's no longer the slick suit and Italian shoe wearing puppet master of season 1. I'm not convinced it's love, but Sara does complete the whole "look" quite nicely.

I think Donna's opinion of Sara has more to do with an unspoken loyalty to Cameron than genuine dislike. And speaking of which, I am so sick of her "I believe that coders are the future - and this bird you cannot change" routine. I thought her behavior at the end of season 1 was very childish and it's gotten worse in my opinion. I am sorry that Donna is in that mess too, but the Mutiny meltdown might be just the thing to give her a huge dose of reality.

I must say that I am really enjoying Halt. I work with legal marijuana businesses and a lot of the innovation and forward-thinking depicted on the show reminds me of what I am seeing in that industry, which is also in its infancy.

Edited to add - Toby Huss RULES!!!!!

Edited June 17, 2015 by 2AT

[dubbel zout]

Was I hallucinating, or did the binder he looked at in the computer room say Cardiff Electric?

If you're hallucinating, so am I. The camera didn't linger quite long enough for me to be sure, but why else would it show the name in the first place?

[ganesh]

Hey, if Gordon can take down Mutiny with a program, then Cameron is doing something wrong. She hired the guy who screwed up their servers last week. I'm guessing Cameron is still pissed about how Gordon saved Cardiff (for a while) by extracting her girly operating system.

 

And Gordon is paying for their house/company. I'm glad the show addressed this, but Cameron has to be mad that she has unknowingly been relying on Gordon.

 

I don't have anything against the actor, but I was rolling my eyes at Cameron ranting at Gordon. No one doubts her abilities, but making that a credible company takes more than coding kung fu. I think she kind of knows that, but also doesn't want to put in the work to be the leader in this venture. It's her vision, and she can't rely on Donna or Bos to keep the boys in line. Her rant to Gordon was actually rather good writing. It was shallow and petulant and underscores where she's at right now. 

 

I mean, yeah, Gordon shouldn't have uploaded his code, but also, you've been breached 3, 4 times now? That's kind of on you. 

 

You do have the smarts, but your social skills suck.

No, I think she's fun to hang out with and play games and hack around. It's her management and logistics that is the problem. She can't be one of the guys. 

 

I'm also tired of Joe. His superiority toward his co-workers is really annoying.

 

I don't think it's that as much as he's disgusted with their lack of ambition. I was as astounded as he was that the machines only run 9 to 5. Even if you're in data entry, if you're not trying to make the job more efficient, then i think you're not doing your job. 

 

Sheesh, Joe, you have guests. Put on a shirt. Even your fiance put on a dress, if not combed her hair.

 

That was actually the style back then, cf. Miami Vice. It was a designer t shirt, and Joe would have put on a jacket over that if they went out. So, maybe he should have worn a jacket, but I don't think he was lazing around. 

 

And I can't believe that he's just letting all that Cardiff money go,  Dude, get a lawyer and get your money.

He doesn't want to spend the time and energy fighting them. Joe needs instant gratification. A lawsuit is the complete opposite of that.

Joe would be much worse off it he had tried to pursue the matter. The Cardiff owner was being very generous with Joe by not pressing criminal charges for torching the truck and bringing a civil suit to recover damages for the lost inventory and truck. That no doubt exceeded whatever amount Joe would have gotten from Cardiff.

It wouldn't actually be a lawsuit. He'd call a lawyer who would call the Cardiff lawyer and they'd cut a check by the end of the business day. There's already a legal framework in place as was shown earlier in the season. When Joe went in to get the money, they said that the cost of burning the inventory was taken out of the overall payout. The lawyers already accounted for that. All he did was tear up the check. It's not like the money suddenly disappeared. The payouts/contracts were all set up ahead of time before we started the second season. So even if they go to court, Joe cops to destroying the property and says "I was prepared to sign a contract where I already agreed to pay for those damages and they wouldn't let me." It's open and shut. 

 

Joe is like Marlo on The Wire imo. Marlo was the Baltimore drug kingpin and walked away from it. He went to some random corner, killed the local, bit dealer and took over a small corner in a nondescript part of the city to start all over again. Once Joe figured out what was going on with his new job last episode, he didn't complain about it to the fiancee at all. He got all jazzed about what he could do as an entry level employee.  

 

Was I hallucinating, or did the binder he looked at in the computer room say Cardiff Electric?

 

It absolutely did. I was watching the NBA Finals at the same time and it was glaringly obvious. That's why I thought Joe had this huge proverbial light bulb over his head.

 

I have been very entertained with these three episodes. The show really kicked in, and I think we are all mostly agreed on this, in the episode, when they all went to Vegas in S1. It looks like Joe is being folded into plots with Gordon et al., next week, and I think it's a good choice. The pace is good, the character moments with the main 4 have been interesting. I don't know if it's because there's more latitude because it's a summer show or what, but I'm glad that the show got the time to breathe. 

[Bort]

I think she's fun to hang out with and play games and hack around. It's her management and logistics that is the problem. She can't be one of the guys.

I think that's the direction the storyline is going in: Cameron growing up and realizing she can't have a successful business that runs like a frat house. I'm pretty sure she'll be stepping up and taking charge soon. Those guys will be out on their ass, having to find a new place to live, although Mutiny would be better off in a real office.

That was actually the style back then, cf. Miami Vice. It was a designer t shirt, and Joe would have put on a jacket over that if they went out. So, maybe he should have worn a jacket, but I don't think he was lazing around.

Joe was also barefoot. He was lazing around.

Edited June 17, 2015 by kariyaki

[ganesh]

Yeah, I don't mind if that's where Cameron is headed this season. They showed her in the flashback playing games with Joe and having fun, so I think that's the point. 

 

She's Peggy and the big Samoan looking guy is her Stan (Mad Men). If they keep that dynamic, I'm interested. 

[dubbel zout]

[Cameron] can't rely on Donna or Bos to keep the boys in line.

 

Not exactly: Donna doesn't want to be the babysitter (and I don't blame her at all), and Bos isn't ready to come back to work. (Plus, he's a sales guy, not an admin.) I think Cameron would be happy to give someone the management responsibilities, but she also can't quite let go. She wants it both ways, and that's one reason Mutiny is something of a disaster. That's not unusual with a startup, of course, but given the problems the company has had, you'd think she'd have accepted a few hard truths by this point.

Edited June 17, 2015 by dubbel zout

[scowl]

All that said... for me, this is so far a big improvement over last season, largely because of the distance Joe Machiavelli and his constant plotting has from the rest of the cast. I'm worried "the way in" will mean Joe using this extra compute time to compete with Mutiny, and/or weasel back into their lives. 

 

This may be referring to how The Source worked. The Source (the main competition to CompuServe) started by using after-hours mainframe time to provide an information service, exciting things like up-to-the-minute news, weather, stock quotes, movie reviews and so on. It had a crummy email system which seemed incredible at the time, and I think it had classified ads and online chat. Yeah, it sounds weak in 2015, but back then people would actually spend $7 an hour for it. It was cheaper than long distance phone calls and email felt like ripping off the phone company and the postal service.

 

But by the mid-80's both The Source and CompuServe were established so that wouldn't fit the show. My bet is on the plot that he'll try to outdo Mutiny. That won't be hard to do with a wall of reliable baby blue IBM mainframes. Technically IBM 370's weren't good at real time applications (they kind of had trouble keeping up with people typing) but that probably won't be a factor. 

 

Did Joe say "mainframe room"? We always called it the computer room.

[ganesh]

I bet Joe will partner with Gordon and buy Mutiny and run it off the IBM servers. He already got the ok to fire the boss and make his own department. Cameron isn't going to like it, but I bet the offer to not be the manager and just code a make games will be too good to pass up, and it takes a ton of heat off Donna.

[magdalene]

Joe is still ambitious but he comes across as somewhat humbled and a little bit less of an asshole.

[hincandenza]

Agreed (and great history lesson, scowl!). If Joe has genuinely changed from destructive force of chaos, I'd actually accept him as competitor or even acquirer of Mutiny. My worry is that it will be written as him secretly jeopardizing Cromwell's (sorry, can't remember his character's name yet) oil company like he did Cardiff, all because of unchecked megalomania.

Basically, if he is going into a fictional Compuserve or The Source space, I'm totally cool with that as a plotline- if he gets explicit buy-in from Cromwell to make more money on a wasted resource, and it's all above board. If he's going to go all Chaotic Evil rogue again, it will be very disappointing as a plot development- especially if Gordon or others inexplicably sign on for yet another Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, after what happened last time. I dread the season ending with Gordon and Donna sucked into a Joe scheme and being left bankrupt or worse.

I guess what I'm really saying is, after how my other two Sunday shows of Game of Thrones and Silicon Valley spent their seasons, I'm getting real tired of this current TV writing trend of being sadistic to the characters as a substitute for real exploration of human depth. Let's have one season of one show where people aren't all textbook cases from the DSM-IV.

[scowl]

At this point I'm OK for the show going deeper into historical fiction and have Joe invent Compuserve or AOL. This season has come up with a couple of clever revisionist ideas already. I honestly can't think of any technical reason why simple online games couldn't have worked back then so kudos to the writers doing research instead of pulling ideas out of their butts like they did last season. 

 

I agree with hincandenza about shows torturing their characters. I found Gordon's madness last season to not only be over the top but rather pointless. I know TV shows want to present fascinating and driven characters but computer people, especially back then, were not very fascinating and wouldn't make very good television characters. I doubt viewers want to hear about Dungeons and Dragons every episode but maybe they could do something to make us like them?

[DangerousMinds]

The new girlfriend annoys me, and I'm not sure why.

[KaleyFirefly]

As much as Gordon screwed the pooch, I can't help feeling that it couldn't have happened to a more deserving bunch of people.  I know they're following their dreams and all, but wake up, kiddies.  There's a real world out there.  Cameron's snarl at Donna for secretly keeping them in the house just about sealed the deal for me. 

I totally agree. I am really hating Cameron this season, actually. I disliked her through much of season 1, but was hoping that she would be a bit more grown up and less bratty in season 2, but no. She is still an insufferable brat. And when she yelled at and threatened Donna for basically saving her ridiculously disorganized fledgling company countless times, I really wanted Donna to call her bluff and quit. It is only because of Donna that Cam's company is even still in existence, and Cam can't even manage an iota of gratitude. 

 

At this point, I like Joe more than Cameron, and that's saying something.

[KaleyFirefly]

That and the clothing mismatch was my favorite part of the show.

 

Cameron's "my coding is special" is tiresome. I'm also tired of her refusal to accept how daily life works. I did laugh that she had the nerve to call out Donna on putting in her own money to keep the stupid company functioning. Yes, it really sucks to have electricity and working phones. 

 

I'm also tired of Joe. His superiority toward his co-workers is really annoying.

 

I might not finish this season. So far it's a rehash of last season but with different locations.

I agree... If it doesn't get better I'm out. I just can't with Cameron anymore, she's awful.

[KaleyFirefly]

I cringed when I saw that closet full of servers in Cameron's house. How they are keeping them cool is beyond me. You should be able to roast marshmallows in that closet.

They keep mentioning that the building is a fire hazard...I wonder if it's leading up to the company being destroyed in a house fire?

 

When will every character on this show learn that they should always listen to Donna? Do what Donna says, people. She's the only one with any sense.

[KaleyFirefly]

I can't believe Joe didn't even excuse himself briefly to put on a shirt when Gordo and Donna arrived.  What a douche. 

 

Why does everyone remember this scene as shirtless Joe? He was wearing a shirt when he opened the door. 

[Hanahope]

He wasn't shirtless, but he only had on a plain white undershirt.