‘Halt and Catch Fire’ Episode 1.3 (7 out of 10) Created by Christopher Cantwell and Christopher C. Rogers; Starring Lee Pace, Scoot McNairy, Mackenzie Davis, Kerry Bishé; Sundays on AMC
Every revolutionary idea reaches the point at which someone has to actually crunch the numbers and see if reality is going to show up and take a dump all over the place. Such was the conflict of the most recent episode of AMC’s ‘Halt and Catch Fire.’ Joe faced the reality of venture capitalists with hidden agendas, Gordon faced the reality of actually creating new hardware, and Cameron faced the reality of a demanding full-time job.
Though Joe and Cameron were up to some interesting things during tonight’s episode, it belonged to Gordon. I’ve noticed that he is often found standing, lost in thought about whatever current issue is tickling his neuroses. When the episode begins, he and his daughters find a bird that has just flown into a window. His daughters react in the way one would expect from children—they’re upset about the fact that a cute animal is on the verge of death. But there’s something deep and contemplative about the way Gordon cradles the small bird in his hands that reminds us of the way his mind works. When the scene jarringly shifts to find Gordon at Cardiff Electric where he is planning on firing a large portion of employees, it’s clear that his introspective character has no idea how to cut people loose.
The reason I say that this episode is all about Gordon is because we see the cutthroat part of him grow slightly. As he and the remaining engineers struggle to create the hardware that can handle Joe’s lofty claims, he ends up firing one more person—the guy who keeps telling him to give up. While he’s evolving at work, his homelife continues to present an interesting relationship between him and Donna. Her perspective on Gordon’s design problems actually launch him in the right direction, and at the end of the episode, it’s Donna that finally puts the dying bird out of its misery. Occasionally it seems like something is going to come between them, but their personalities are so complementary that I think they’ll end up on the frontline of the show’s inevitable breakthrough.
Joe’s plotline held some interesting revelations—especially with John Bosworth (Toby Huss), a remnant of Cardiff’s upper management. While Gordon and Cameron are working around the clock to create the machine of Joe’s dreams, he and John have been meeting with venture capitalists for a bit more funding. Both meetings don’t end up so well, perhaps because both Joe and John are polar opposites when it comes to business. Where Joe is looking for a fellow dreamer with high ambitions, John is just looking for someone with a checkbook. As the episode progresses, it becomes less about who is going to finance the next phase of Cardiff’s development and more about the power struggle between Joe and John. Technically, John has more authority, but Joe has some pretty creative ways of getting what he wants—ways like sabotaging John’s potential partnership with Louise Lutherford (Jean Smart) by seducing her boy-toy.
Cameron continues to be the most fascinating character, but so far she’s been getting some limited screen time. It’s cool to see her cashing her first check and throwing an impromptu party for some hippie slackers that she meets in a back alley, but I’m struggling to see her as a well-rounded character. She seems like a caricature of Lisbeth Salander rather than a complex member of the show’s gang of misfits. She does appear to be on the verge of a major breakthrough, so perhaps she will be featured more as the series progresses.