TVSquad

(S01E08) "You think we learned anything tonight?" - Jonathan

I'll tell you what I learned -- Bored to Death has a lot of potential. All season long, I've gone from loving to hating to loving this show, and with the season finale now come and gone, there's a real opportunity here for Bored to Death to become HBO's next break-out hit when it returns. All the pieces are in place and it probably could have blown up this season had there not been so many episodes where the show tried to find its footing. Is it a detective show? Or is it about three friends in the publishing world trying to make their mark? Or is it both?

We saw episodes that favored each side of the spectrum and that's when the show suffered the most. It's when those two worlds collide that Bored to Death really shines, and tonight's finale was a prime example.

Culminating with the big fight between George Christopher and Richard Antrem, the whole episode felt like nothing we had seen before on this show, and that was a good thing. Was the fight completely absurd with no real reason for it to be happening? Yes, but when the whole idea is coming from the mind of the real Jonathan Ames, a man who occasionally boxes under the name The Herring Wonder, it doesn't seem so crazy.

The biggest question after last week's cliffhanger was who Ray's opponent would be. After Richard continually laughed off the suggestion that he wanted to be just like George (same job, same wife), it was beyond comical when Ray's challenger did show up -- Francis Hamm, a dead ringer for Ray and a masochist to boot. That should have made boxing him that much easier, but we've seen Ray screw simpler tasks up and this was no exception.

A few more thoughts:

• Jonathan and George seemed to switch roles a bit here. George became the one pining after an ex-lover and Jonathan became the one indulging in one night stands. Neither woman seems ready to reciprocate (Priscilla is firmly attached to Richard despite the lack of sex and Stella left as quickly as she appeared), but it's nice to see that both men are growing.
• Speaking of past lovers, where was Suzanne? All season long, we've been hammered with these scenes with Jonathan chipping away at Suzanne's resolve (like when he gave her flowers last week) and there was nothing to wrap that up. She didn't even come to the boxing match.
• George and Richard's pre-fight interview was easily the funniest exchange of the whole season. (Wouldn't want to offend any hermaphrodites...)
• Watching George, Jonathan, and Ray warm up at the gym was a fantastic montage. Really funny.
• The effects of George taking the dive and letting Richard win should be pretty interesting to see though. What happens when the publishing world finds out why he did it?
• I imagine it was pretty satisfying for Jonathan to beat Lewis after he found out that Lewis, the man who panned Jonathan's book and claims to be a well-known critic, doesn't even bother to read book reviews in the New York Times.
• Not much detective work here, but it was wise for the writers to show Jonathan progressing in his skills. He tracked down George's blackmailer rather easily and had no problem pinning him to the floor. Jonathan has definitely become more confident with his new part-time job, and here's to hoping that he actually takes Stella's advice and writes about what he loves.

The one flaw I see? The focus of this show is supposed to be Jonathan, and other than his status with Suzanne or his unfinished novel, his story for the season is pretty much wrapped up. George's tryst with Priscilla and Ray's budding love life with Lea are the biggest questions going into season two. Will Richard find out what his wife did? Can you imagine Ray with a kid? These two are supposed to be Jonathan's partners when it comes to Edition and the Janet comic. If they're bogged down with all that stuff, there might be a lot more "detective for hire" in Jonathan's future.