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Second episode was just as strong as the premiere. Julia Roberts really is must-see here, and I’m rooting for her to land an Emmy nomination despite her weak Emmy campaigning entity. The tonal shifts were jarring, going from a bumbling heist comedy of errors on one extreme to a more disturbing thread of Martha’s budding “gaslighting” through both her marriage to John and her new bodyguard who man-handled her for getting out of line on the other extreme. Hope those dealing tones are reconciled moving forward, but I doubt they will. Dan Stevens and Betty Gilpin both took a backseat to all of the break-in antics, and we instead focused on the black security guard Frank Wills at the Watergate Office Building. That’s some first day on the job lol. Patrick R. Walker was very good, and I liked getting some of the narrative from his vantage point. More of that, please! Chris Bauer was giving me some Andy Bellefleur realness tonight with McCord, and I absolutely lived!
ReplyCopy URLWhile i love most of these perfomances, Julia Roberts remains the main the attraction of this show. I really think that this is one of her best performances ever. You cannot take your eyes off her at all. The show itself is very good This is the most excited i have been for a limited series since TWL and the first two episodes of SOAM. If this had been in HBO or even just FX, then it would have been game over for everyone else. The only thing keeping Julia from winning an emmy is the STARZ of it all.
ReplyCopy URLCharacter actress Julia Roberts, I live! Fascinating episode. Can’t believe how appalling Martha Mitchell was treated by those bodyguards and her husband’s complicity in all of that. Had to check out her Wiki page since I know nothing about her. Seems like she doesn’t stay with John much longer, and then dies of cancer soon after. I wonder if that will be covered before the series ends. Still tonally all over the place, but now we’re getting the cops and Feds angle, led by Chris Messina in awesome 70s-era hair. Dan Stevens continues to impress, and I can’t wait to see how John Dean tries to handle G. Gordon Liddy now that Mitchell’s out. Shea Whigham should be on EVERY Emmy supporting actor list there is, but he’ll sadly be overlooked. Hope that Betty Gilpin gets more to do in coming episodes. That awful blonde wig aside, she has incredible chemistry with Stevens, so let’s allow this future power couple to properly emerge, plz lol. But where is his ex-wife and child? They eventually marry, but at the rate they’re going here, I don’t know if that will be covered either. There’s so much material to mine from this era, yet it already feels like too many episodes.
ReplyCopy URLIf there’s a leading female on this series, it’s Julia Roberts. I doubt she would accept the supporting demotion for the Emmys, and more material is coming her way before this all ends anyways. Best part of the episode was the parking deck scene between Mark Felt and Bob Woodward via Robert Redford knockoff in “All the President’s Men.” Woodward wasn’t exactly a Redford clone in his younger days lol. Really digging the mosaic approach to addressing the Watergate scandal. Marin Ireland was a great example of that tonight, like Patrick R. Walker was from earlier. Excellent use of archival footage as well. Sometimes that can seem really cheesy in a “Forrest Gump” sort of way if it’s not done with just the right touch. Knowing that John Dean marries Mo takes the bite out of the “will they/won’t they” dynamics going right now, but Dan Stevens and Betty Gilpin are fantastic opposite each other. Shea Whigham continues to obliterate his entire field with this G. Gordon Liddy performance. Don’t forget about him, Emmy voters!
ReplyCopy URLThis episode might have been the most screentime Sean Penn’s had to date. Now that I’ve gotten use to all of the prosthetics, it’s easier to get to the heart of the performance, and John Mitchell’s malaise over being phased out of Nixon’s inner circle and dealing with his wife’s blabbermouthing was palpable. I don’t think I considered him Emmy-worthy really until tonight. Julia Roberts continues to amaze, though I wish that at least one episode had Martha as the sole focus. Loving the scenes with Roberts and Allison Tolman, and we finally got to see Martha’s first child from a previous marriage. So many other threads of varying success, from the scenes with the cops centering in on Jon Magruder (a hilarious Hamish Linklater), Liddy with his family at the prison phone, and inexplicably, the rushed marriage of John Dean and Maureen. I was waiting to see how that would be handled, b/c last week they were still on the outs if I’m remembering correctly. This week, we see John eating Mo out, and then poof, we have a wedding ceremony and later confession about John’s role in the coverup. Fairly inelegant writing when there’s more than enough time to do better with eight episodes. Also, will we have any mention of John Dean’s (so many damn Johns!) first wife and son? He said he’s “never done this before” with committing to Mo, but history says otherwise lol.
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