Halt and Catch Fire - Landfall - Review

As Halt and Catch Fire’s first season progresses, I’m finding myself increasingly polarized when it comes to the characters. My interest in Joe and Cameron continues to grow – with Joe evolving into somewhat of a fascinating character, and Cameron becoming more and more likeable with each week – whereas my interest in anything related to the Clark family dips.

While I may come to eat my words, because I believe the show is building toward a well-developed character story for Gordon, as of now I’ve had it with his self-pitying narcissism. Breaking the poor store-owner’s window in this week’s episode to steal a couple of Cabbage Patch dolls, to make up for his own incompetence, was the final straw.

And while I wouldn’t fault Donna for cheating on Gordon (just look at who she’s married to), as I watch Donna and her boss seem to inch a little closer each week to starting an affair, this doesn’t interest me. In fact, I was a little disturbed by how Donna so easily disclosed private information about Gordon’s computer project, as well as her assistance in aiding her employer’s competition. You know this is going to come back to bite her, and I don’t believe Donna would be so careless. Uncomfortable all around.

Joe, on the other hand, is a picture in a puzzle slowly growing more complete as each week we see a few more pieces put in place. This week we learned he has a soul.

The episode nicely profiles Joe’s issue of keeping people at a distance by not sharing who he really is. He hides behind his image and his stories. When Joe can’t seem to stop himself from lying to Cameron about how he got the scars on his chest, Cameron calls him on his BS. She tells him: “Your whole thing, it attracts people, but it won’t keep them around. Authenticity is what inspires people. If you want to lead people, you have to show them who you really are. Otherwise you’re just a thousand dollar suit with nothing inside.” We later see this to be true as the team wants Bosworth, not Joe, to be their leader – to be the one to play the ceremonial role in flipping on the “On” switch with their new computer creation. Joe’s issues remind me of another AMC character, Don Draper, the Mad Men account executive who struggles with emptiness inside himself.

Joe later finds his soul as he’s visiting the Clarks as a hurricane hits the area. Gordon is absent (out in the storm looking for Cabbage Patch dolls), and what starts as an awkward exchange between Joe, Donna, and the kids, as Joe tries to protect his Italian leather shoes from clingy kids, he finally relents, loosens up, and plays with the children. On a side note, while I’d normally be more sympathetic to the plight of Italian shoes, he loses sympathy from me for wearing them out in a hurricane. But back on point - Joe's actually very good with the kids, and realizes though their conversations a point Cameron was trying to make – and that people will love the computer if they give it a personality (or a soul).  The kids have named their flashlights.

Cameron is evolving into the visionary of the story. She is the future, we learn in a nicely paired scene between Cameron and Bosworth, as we see the young programmer through Bosworth’s experienced eyes. It was obvious from the outset of the series that Cameron didn’t fit in a cubicle, but her path could have gone several ways. Cameron so far has made some good choices. While it’s still too early in the series to know where Cameron will end in this story, I’m hoping for a heroine’s arc for her.

Other Thoughts:

- I’m interpreting the flower that Gordon dreams growing out of his motherboard to symbolize that something beautiful that the computer has the potential to be. It’s something Cameron is trying to introduce, but it frightens Gordon who is still scarred from his last failure. That dream – something original and great – remains just out of reach for Gordon as he reaches for the flower is but in unable to get to it.
- Who else remembers the Cabbage Patch Doll craze of the ‘80s? I never really understood the appeal of them myself, but they were the must-have toy at the time.
- Did anyone else think of Siri when Cameron was toying with the idea of developing a computer system that would talk to you?

What did you think of this week’s episode and the series so far? Please share your thoughts in the comments!