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Well, here we are, at the end of an emotionally draining inaugural season of Tell Me You Love Me. In the end, the show wasn't about the sex, it wasn't about Caucasian angst, but it was about, in the words of Dr. May, "the courage to be happy."
As the penultimate episode of the inaugural season of Tell Me You Love Me, this episode had to ratchet up the tension, increase the dissension, and overall put our characters in the worst place possible in order to ensure the maximum amount of catharsis in the season finale (assuming catharsis is even possible for everyone). And from this vantage point, the show succeeded in putting its characters into their most dire emotional situations yet.
Know what? I never much cared for the film Swimfan, and after the latest installment of Tell Me You Love Me, I'm pretty sure I downright loathe that movie.
If the major broadcast networks could learn anything from HBO's approach to greenlighting programs, it would be this: there's value in giving the show's creators/writers the confidence of knowing that low ratings won't prematurely end a season of television. Sure, shows such as Carnivale never reached the end of their overarching story, but HBO never pulls the plug midseason. And while a network such as NBC might have canceled Tell Me You Love Me after two or three episodes, they would have missed out on the subtle storytelling that has reaped benefits in the second half of the season.
We've officially passed the halfway point in this inaugural season of Tell Me You Love Me, and as we enter the home stretch, we find each of our couples taking relatively drastic measures. Each of these measures came directly out of the events of last week, where locked doors, failed pregnancy tests, missing iPods, and lunch suggestions echoed into the actions of this week.
Watching Tell Me You Love Me is, I believe, an interesting yet harrowing experience, but trust me, that show takes on a whole new level of "harrow" if you watch it having just gotten married. That's the position I find myself in, week after week, watching this show with my new bride. We tend to have three reactions to the show ...
A show like Tell Me You Love Me requires patience on the part of the viewer. And that patience was paid off in grand fashion in this, the show's fourth episode. The groundwork laid in the first three episodes is finally starting to move past mere exposition and into real drama. While secrets are still being maintained, and no one on the show has fully opened up to each other, the show is finally shining a light on the wounds these characters keep so closely guarded.
This week's episode of Tell Me You Love Me felt, at times, like another HBO show. And no, I don't mean Arli$$, so you can stop freaking out already. No, I'm talking about Curb Your Enthusiasm, with its at-time riotous, awkward comic set pieces. Tell Me You Love Me didn't turn into a full-on comedy, with Benny Hill-esque sexual romps tacked on for equal measure. But they served up some comedy, black as the blackest coffee, in well-welcome doses this week.
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