“Well, it’s been a long time since I’ve cared what people thought about me.” – Joe MacMillan
The above quote is key to deciphering the character of Joe this season, because it’s not true. It’s just unclear whether or not Joe himself knows that or if he’s trying to convince not only everyone else but himself as well.The Joe MacMillan of this season is very different to the one of last season, but that aspect of the character remains unchanged. Why else would he confront Cameron towards the end of the episode? And it’s a credit to Lee Pace that he infused so much doubt into the delivery of the line without sounding unconvincing.
This is the episode of the season in which we start to get to know this new Joe MacMillan. Every time we saw him in last week’s two-hour premiere it was through the point of view of other characters, namely Gordon and Ryan. But this episode gives us several glimpses into the man behind “the product” (which Joe himself proclaims himself to be). He doesn’t let others see it, but it’s clear he hates the prospect of people turning on him, resulting his end-of-episode decision to not charge for his company’s new anti-virus software.
Last season saw the friendship between Joe and Gordon come to an end, and this episode finds both men trying to fill that void. Joe reaches out – in his typically elusive way – to Ryan, while Gordon finds a fried to bith about his own problems to over a homemade radio. As of this episode I don’t have much to say about the latter, but I have to say that Ryan as a character is starting to grow on me, which is important given how much screentime he has received thus far.
He still doesn’t feel like a three-dimensional character, and so much of my enjoyment of the character is due to Manish Dayal’s performance. The way in which Dayal portrays Ryan’s seemingly endless desire to impress Joe is somehow endearing. Right now Ryan is nothing but a collection of traits, and Dayal is doing a remarkable job bringing them all together to make it feel like a cohesive whole.
Last week’s double-episode season premiere indicated that despite the seemingly comfortable and happy lives the Mutiny crew are living, it wasn’t built on a particularly steady foundation. This was symbolised through the brief tremor, and physically manifested itself in the form of Joe MacMillan. But in this episode tensions rise between those characters, particularly Gordon and Donna, as the events of last season rear their ugly heads. Gordon’s infidelity went unmentioned last week, but it comes up here, mainly due to his increased frustration with his life. Much of Gordon’s arc on the show has been about the world passing him by, and so far this season he feels more adrift than ever, especially since losing Ryan as a potential friend last week. He is adrift, and is searching for a purpose in the company Donna and Cameron created.
Despite the tension between Gordon and Donna, he and Cameron are gradually getting closer. Both of them have always had a slightly antagonistic relationship, but this episode sees them share a nice scene in which Gordon apologises for bringing up Tom in the Swapmeet meeting.
I didn’t write at all about Bos in the previous review, so I’ll do my best to rectify that now. Bos has slowly but surely become one of the show’s strongest aspects, which is in large part due to Toby Huss’ work.And Bos getshis opportunity to shine this week when he and Annabeth Gish’s Diane visit the company Mutiny hopes to buy. This visit features Bos (and Huss) in all his glory, as he evaluates the true value of the company and quickly negotiates a far lower price for it. These scenes also help set up the exciting dynamic between him and Diane, which will hopefully be explored further in future weeks.
Halt and Catch Fire right now feels like two different shows: the Mutiny show and the Joe MacMillan show, and they overlap briefly in the scene between Cameron and Joe near the end of the episode. I’ve never felt that the romantic relationship between both those characters has worked, despite the best efforts of Pace and Davis, and so I think the show made a smart decision to burn that bridge last season. As a result, this scene works really well, with the best moment being Cameron calling him out for his “humble zen master” act.
But this also brings up the question of whether or not Joe is the visionary Ryan thinks he is or the type of man Cameron thinks he is, and I think the answer is both, and more. Joe has often been ahead of the curve, but he has never gotten there without the help of others. But I think this episode makes it clear Joe himself doesn’t truly see himself as a visionary either, though he certainly loves acting like one. He has always had grand ideas, but his lack of technological knowledge has hampered him. So him taking a BASIC programming course is a sign that Joe is willing to adress his own limitations, and that maybe his intentions are genuine. He may never trust people again, but he still very much cares what they think of him. And so he doesn’t want to charge for a product he had announced would be free, nor does he want to be seen as a pretender. Joe MacMillan may ultimately become the villain of this story, but since last season the show has done a great job making him an interesting one.
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