About Last Night…LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME, CRIMINAL MINDS: EVOLUTION, LEVERAGE: REDEMPTION, and More

Let’s talk about Thursday night’s TV!

LOVE ISLAND USA: The pacing of the show feels off this season so far, whether that’s just my perception or the producers’ meddling. I understand a game where you’re guessing facts about the Islanders is more fun when you barely know them, but it feels like we’ve barely settled into losing an Islander and the two bombshells being added. It just feels…off.

Well, after all the talk of Jeremiah’s love bombing Huda, his reaction to her being a mom sure was something. But I’m curious if we’re going to find out today he’s fine with it and he’s just reacting that way because he thought she was going to reveal something else.

BOB’S BURGERS: I do love how ambitious the Belcher kids are, even if that chip sounds absolutely terrifying. (And, really, never try to outsmart them.)

Also, as someone whose life is on their computer…stress on the Belchers’ behalf over a dead hard drive was too damn real.

TRANSPLANT: Okay, but it’s fair June and Novak snapped at their resident, even if he did report them. It’s literal life and death!

As happy as I am for Mags about the heart and her new job, I also feel terrible for Bash—about the job—because his options are so limited.

Oh, Claire, I’m worried. 

FAMILY GUY: Given how much the family makes Meg their figurative punching bag, it was actually a pleasant surprise Lois stepped up to stop her daughter from leaving to go to Mars. (I would have guessed Meg would have messed up, somehow, and that thwarted things.)

THE GREAT NORTH: Wait, now I want to have a captain-themed group costume. But, man, I just love seeing Beef happy and joyful.

LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME: “I held him.”

Sometimes you know something is going to hurt a lot, and I went into this hour prepared for that. And I was already pretty emotionally compromised by the time we got to that line. But what the f—, Christopher Meloni?! That was maybe one of the most painful, gutting, viscerally upsetting line reads of the entire series so far.

As much as it probably drives Elliot crazy, his near-death experience at the start of the season feels like it really did fundamentally change him. (Whether he wanted it to or not.) We saw the first bits of genuine vulnerability in his car scene with Olivia. We’ve seen it pop out since then, too, as Bernie has gone through her health issues, as he’s watched Eli struggle with everything, as he and Randall have settled in a better place.

And now Elliot’s back in the absolutely awful place of losing someone he loves, while feeling responsibility for their death, and also feeling so much. When Kathy died, we watched it shift his entire axis…he was dealing with grief, guilt, responsibility (to his children and justice), and being unmoored. His PTSD and grief left him reeling and hard to reach.

Now? I genuinely don’t know what to expect. After spending all season showcasing how much he’s grown, how much he’s taken steps to not fall back on bad/old habits, it would be a shame if it all gets wiped out as he grieves Joe Jr. And we know McKenna is not a good influence/partner to have in this mission. 

Like I mentioned last week, as much as I deeply miss Bell and Reyes (and I do; I can’t wait for their return next week), some of these question marks feel like they only exist because Elliot is isolated from his team. We know Bell has been trying to reach Vargas/Elliot, and I can’t imagine how much (justified) trouble they’re going to be in when she finds out what she missed.

A few other thoughts:

• Meloni is arguably the best actor in the procedural world (I don’t think it’s even close at this point), but good God, this episode was next level. Outside of the “I held him” line read, the way Elliot tried to comfort Joe as he was dying, his (heavy) banter with Randall when Randall came to OCCB, the slight hand tremor as he tried to share what he knew as a witness to Joe’s death, and, man, those silent tears as he was driving post-Joe’s death…everything hurts.
• Speaking of the Randall and Elliot scene, it does make me fear for the finale…Randall was right on the verge of blaming this on Elliot when Joe was still MIA and God knows Elliot doesn’t need more of that now that their brother is dead. And I’m sure he’s going to blame himself for the necklace tracker since that’s what caused Emery to actually turn on Joe Jr.; he doesn’t need more of his family blaming him for things that aren’t actually his fault.
• I don’t actually want/need the Eli of it all to come back in a major way in the finale, but maybe Elliot can get some kind of peace/relief if he and Eli mend fences? We’ve seen both Eli and Joe Jr. try to follow Elliot’s path, even though Elliot desperately did not want that for them. Maybe this will be enough to rattle some sense into Eli that he should do what he wants in life?
• Joe Jr. making it clear he’s been clean for six months broke my heart. He wanted his family to know he was getting better, he was trying. Ow, ow, ow.
• (I am absolutely freaking dreading the next time we see Bernie. This woman should not have lost her son! She does not need more grief!!! Also, I’m so glad we’re getting so much Kathleen, too, but she also needs a break.)
• Did anyone else’s heart stop when Bernie said she smelled toast burning?
• Well, at least McKenna is self-aware that Bell won’t be happy he’s involved.
• I appreciated that Tanner was just sitting there quietly, showing support, versus going over the top after Joe’s death. I would guess at this point she’s known Elliot for under two weeks, but she knows him enough/read the situation to know how to handle the situation.
• An interesting (potential) wild card: I thought one of the final things Joe said was “I nailed it,” but a good friend pointed out the closed captions said, “I mailed it.” Did Joe put something into play before he died? 
• Between Elliot’s father and brother and Olivia’s father, Joe may be the most cursed name in the LAW & ORDER world. (The equivalent of William on THE X-FILES.)

CRIMINAL MINDS: EVOLUTION: Family annihilators are brutal enough, but leaving one person alive to be the scapegoat? Brutal.

I love how firmly the show is making it clear JJ is not okay, while JJ tries to insist she’s fine. Of course she’s not doing well, but it makes sense she needs this normalcy, needs to work, needs to pretend every element of her life has not spiraled out of her control. And what a fantastic idea to have JJ and Ochoa talk things out—it was a great way to learn more about Ochoa, but also interesting insight into the case, where JJ is now, and what she’s grappling with that she’ll admit out loud. Like Ochoa noted, sometimes it’s easier to talk to a stranger than to a friend. (And the reveal that Voit was there the whole time, too, was delicious.) Aimee Garcia and A.J. Cook were just so damn good in their quasi-face-off. 

I still don’t know whether to trust Voit, but I find how he’s being used this season so effective. His begging Rossi for the gun was brutal, painful. Of course Rossi was never going to do it, but I wonder what seeing Voit like this has been doing to him.

And now that Voit’s at the BAU? Oh, I’m intrigued. And worried. Definitely worried, too.

[For more on the episode, here’s what Garcia shared.]

LEVERAGE: REDEMPTION: I absolutely loved Parker and Eliot having their moment. Their friendship is so special to me, and the way they see each other is so incredible; that scene of the two of them talking, where he explains the difference in how he’s dealing with her compared to how he dealt with Nate in the past, remains one of my very favorite moments of the season.

I deeply hope the show returns again, somehow, but I am grateful if this is it everyone was in a good place. Sophie’s going on a trip with her new guy. Harry wants Sophie to meet his mom because he wants to introduce her to his best friend. (How freakin’ sweet is that?) Hardison is back and getting updated on everything he missed. I miss the team already, but I’m also happy they’re happy. 

Which shows did you watch last night?

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