TV Report: 5/2-5/6

I saw all of these within the last 48 hours or so which, even by my standards, is just a lot of TV in such a short time. So my write-ups below will feel a bit scattered and disorganized, but without further a due...

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER - Wasn't one of this show's stronger episode, but it had its moments mostly revolving Robin and Lily using alcoholic drinks to manipulate Barney and Marshall into sharing their feelings. But even that whole thing lasted just a wee bit too long. The whole Zoey/Ted thing is played out, so that's it.

CASTLE - This LA-centric episode was wonderful and not just because the case was good and personal (for Beckett, it was her mentor's murder after all), but it subtlety showed us the evolution of the Beckett/Castle relationship. For example, in the beginning when Castle tried to stop Beckett from seeing the dead body, Beckett countered him by asking him what he would've done if it was her instead lying there dead. This shows that Beckett recognizes how Castle feels about her. Then for the episode to end with her mentor pretty much pushing her towards Castle in his letter from the grave... well it's about time.

GLEE - I'll deny this in the future, but I actually found Matt Morrison quite affecting in this episode especially with his scene with Jayma Mays talking about his dreams of Broadway. Also found the Sam storyline a bit tearjerky so all in all, it was a far deeper emotional episode than I thought. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with Santana (and Karofksy) by the end of the season. Nice to see Chenoweth back again, of course.

THE GOOD WIFE - Very good episode even though all of the guest stars were a bit distracting. Martha Plimpton makes her fantastic reappearance as Patti Nyholm, but we also got Aaron Stanton (Mad Men), Christopher Shyer (V), and John Glover. The big developments in this episode was Alicia breaking it off with Peter and the beginning of the Peter/Cary alliance. Next episode (i.e. tomorrow) Alicia and Kalinda finally face off. I'm SO scared.

MODERN FAMILY - Good solid Mother's Day-themed episode. For some reason seeing Phil and then Jay wearing the onion goggles made me laugh way too hard and of course seeing Gloria deal with Manny contrasted with how Claire deals with her three children was great. Not sure how I feel about the Cam/Mitchell storyline with Cam not wanting to be the "mother" though.

COUGAR TOWN - The council was a fun running gag throughout the episode, but I like the main storyline of Travis wanting to propose to Kristen and how Jules and Grayson act in response. The moment on the beach when Jules sees Travis get rejected was a wonderful one and totally in character. Looking forward to seeing where they take this.

HAPPY ENDINGS - This show continues to provide much enjoyment. While Max is probably my favorite character (seriously he's just SO different from any other gay character on TV), I go back and forth a lot on who my second favorite character is and that speaks well for the ensemble. Though if I was being more honest, it'd probably be a tie between "Gay Husband" Penny and "Super Competitive" Jane. I know I didn't really talk about the episodes, but I thought they were both funny and the second episode that skewered hipsters and likened them to zombie? PERFECTION.

BIG BANG THEORY - Great, great episode. The girls (minus Priya) have totally been the MVP of this season and it was wonderful to get a cold open with just the girls. In fact we don't get all of the guys in one scene until the end tag, which was shocking. Bernadette and Amy provided the bulk of the story and the comedy of the episodes and I hope to God they're both back next season.

COMMUNITY - Wonderful start to the 3-part paintball season finale. Love the reveal on the origin of their card names coming from the cards they used to vote on whether or not to invite Pierce back into their group next year (red for yes and black for no). It also enabled them to air out the Pierce Problem that has plagued the entire season. There's one more hour left to this season, so let's see how exactly they resolve this. But even if they don't OMG PAINTBALL. And yes, Josh Holloway... woot!

PARKS & RECREATION - The casting of Parkey Posey as Leslie's former best friend and now rival was pitch perfect and I would so totally watch a spin-off with her. The whole Eagleton-Pawnee thing was fun to see if only to see Leslie reaffirm that her one true love is that city. Ron freaking out about Leslie's birthday plans for him provided a hilarious B-plot.

FRINGE - When I can I'll probably try to do a separate post to talk about my feelings of probably the best show of the season. Its finale was J.J. Abrams' show kind of a finale which meant it was one part epic, one part timey-wimey, and one part OMG WTF JUST HAPPENED? There were so much information thrown at the audience that I admit I felt a bit overwhelmed and a bit detached emotionally (with the exception of one or two scenes) for most of the episode. Despite that, I thought it was another strong outing for most of the actors and definitely a worthy ending to such a wonderful season.

SUPERNATURAL - It's been an uneven season to be sure, but this episode is definitely one of the best the show has offered in its history. Was it perfect? Not at all. The voiceover narration was a bit overused and the end of The Mother arc was a bit anti-climactic at least in terms of The Mother being such a meh villain. Everything else though from this being such a Castiel-heavy episode to the welcome return of Crowley to major Dean-Castiel angst was perfect. It seemed to tie the season, and even the show as a whole, together. Wished we had gotten what we learned in this episode a bit earlier or maybe throughout the season, but I'll take it. Now I'm just fearful what the repercussions will be. They can't kill Castiel off, could they?