“Marry Me” 1×05 – Thank Me

Grade: B+

I’ve had trouble liking Marry Me. The first four episodes weren’t complete messes, but the writing definitely was.

The best thing about this show, without a doubt, is its superb cast. I think we can all agree at this point that Casey Wilson is a goddess (thank you, Happy Endings) and her role is so similar to Penny that I find myself loving this show simply because of her.

The writing is still horrendous on here, but there’s definitely some improvement this week. I found myself loving every subplot in this Thanksgiving-themed episode, but it was mainly Annie’s brawl with her mother-in-law that was so delicious to watch. I loved her interpretation of the nice things her mother-in-law was saying, and how she saw them as sneaky remarks to “win her son”. And one scene that’s just absolutely remarkable is Annie slowly and delicately putting the cheese-tray on the tiny, breakable table and moving her eyes right-to-left as she prays it won’t split into two pieces. That scene happens to be the most amusing part of this show so far.

The cheese subplot I could’ve lived without, but it was still “okay”. Nothing really groundbreaking or LOL here, but it provided for some interesting look at who Gil is and how creepily weird this guy is. I still don’t find this character particularly interesting. In fact, I think of all the supporting characters as mere attempts to add wackiness into this show when, in fact, it’s only Jake and Annie that are standing out from the group. They are incredible.

I do wish Marry Me would have better writing going forward, but I was very entertained and gladly surprised by this week’s Thank Me. Hopefully, this marks the beginning of a brand new Marry Me that’s smarter, funnier and better-written.

“Jane The Virgin” 1×06 – Chapter Six

Grade: A

Not many shows can surprise me nowadays, but Jane The Virgin has managed to make me shocked week after week, and this is only 6 episodes into its debut season.

I don’t know what to say except what a marvelous universe Jane The Virgin has created for itself. The show is ridiculous (and how can it not be? It’s about a virgin who gets accidentally inseminated), but it’s the perfect kind of ridiculous. The addicting kind. The compelling and captivating kind.

In Chapter Six, we’ve finally arrived to the moment this show has been building up to for weeks: the moment we have to ship either Team Michael or Team Rafael. And the fact that I can’t exactly choose which of the two men I want to root for means that the show has painted a vivid and truly astounding image of what it’s like to be in a love triangle.

Kudos to Gina Rodriguez for her top-notch performance as confused Jane. Her scene breaking up with Michael at the docks was truly gut-wrenching to watch. And even Brett Dier (who plays her now ex-fiancé Michael) was amazing as he refused to believe that Jane was leaving him, for good. Like I said, I’m not sure who I want Jane to be with right now (I actually kinda want her to be with the hilarious narrator because he’s awesome), but I am so curious to see her and Rafael give it a try especially when they have such a complicated relationship (I mean, being accidentally inseminated with your boss’s sperm is “complicated”, right?)

Who else is watching this amazing guilty pleasure?