Just caught up on the most recent two episodes of Political Animals in anticipation of tonight’s finale, and although I intend to watch that finale, I am overall disappointed with the series after a few really strong couple of episodes.
In the first episodes, the focus is primarily on Sigourney Weaver’s Elaine Barrish, but in the latest two episodes (numbers four and five) her role has degenerated into basically moralizing at everyone around her, from the current administration’s president and vice-president (the persistently douche-cast Dylan Baker) to her husband to her kids and anyone else she’s in a scene with…which almost entirely excludes the other “strong female character” on the show, reporter Susan Berg. And yes,I am excluding Ellen Burstyn’s character, who swings from mildly amusing to unredeemably obnoxious and back again.
Instead we have storylines ranging from bulimia to drug addiction to both simple and complicated ethical dilemmas in journalism. (Durrr?) The supporting characters have ceased supporting and taken over the screen, which might work if this show were going to be twice as long, but when you have about 6.5 hours total, covering subplots about the other characters is distracting enough, but some of those subplots get very cliché. Okay, all of them, really.
I don’t regret the time I’ve spent, but I really think that the show took a wrong turn around episode four and didn’t quite make it back.
