Amy Richau reviews the season two premiere of Halt and Catch Fire…
The second season of AMC’s retro tech drama Halt and Catch Fire jumps forward 20 months and throws the main characters in different and sometimes surprising directions. However it’s not clear from the first episode where the series is actually going and if audiences will care enough to stick with it.
The series, which was initially about the chaotic rush to develop the first personal computers in the 1980’s, was filled with promise but fell flat more than it soared. Looking back at season 1 I wanted to like the series more than I actually did like it – a situation I hope does not repeat itself for season 2.
In Season 1 Halt and Catch Fire followed Joe MacMillan (Lee Pace) and Gordon Clark (Scoot McNairy) as odd couple underdogs trying to beat the big guys at delivering the first personal computer to the marketplace. But where MacMillan’s mysteriousness came off at times as empty and uninteresting, his young female protoge Cameron Howe (Mackenzie Davis) was all fire and excitement. She didn’t just want to make a computer, she wanted to make a computer with a soul.
Joe’s partner in crime Gordon was the likeable talented guy who strives for success no matter how many times he gets knocked down. It was easy to want good things to happen for Gordon, but what was more interesting was seeing his just as talented wife Donna Clark (Kerry Bishe) realize that she might be the true tech star in the family.
Season 2 of Halt and Catch Fire smartly gives Cameron and Donna more screen time and a chance for more meaningly character development. There’s still the energy and the excitement about starting a new company in season 2 which is a smart foundation for the season to build on.
In the first episode, SETI, Gordon and Joe are preparing to collect their checks after the sale of Cardiff. Meanwhile Cameron and Donna are leading a team of coders in their new gaming company Mutiny which technically has no leaders and seemingly no rules.
Gordon has gone from the underdog to the (somewhat) rich success story, but it appears he has a secret cocaine problem in addition to his exit check to worry about. Joe has been away from the tech industry and has become involved with a woman from his past who seems to be extremely accepting of his past failures. While Joe appears to be calm and collected throughout the episode I would be surprised if we don’t soon see a bit more fire from this character. Otherwise why have him there at all?
Cameron and Donna are a fine new odd couple for the show as they struggle with power outages, unethical fencers, and everyone’s desire to make something new and amazing in a house not zoned for a business. One of Cameron and Donna’s problems is that neither woman wants to deal with any kind of manager type role such as talking down the irate local power company or “be the Mom” of the group. They want to build something, not fix other people’s problems, but one of them will eventually have to step up or potentially lose control to another employee. Cameron and Donna are easy to root for and I think the success of the show will depend almost entirely on the strength of their storyline.
For Gordon and Joe it’s harder to tell from this first episode where there characters are going – and more importantly why we should care. I have a lot more faith in the Gordon storyline of a husband and father struggling to deal with the success he has always wanted than the enigmatic Joe who seems lost and boring to me right now.
There was a lot of exposition in SETI as the show had quite a reboot from last year. It will likely take a few more episodes to get a true sense of the identity of the show. The twist at the end of SETI was more than enough to get me to want to tune in for episode two.
Amy Richau is a freelance entertainment and sports writer. Follow her on Twitter.
https://youtu.be/8HTiU_hrLms?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
Originally published June 1, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
