Photo Source: Courtesy of Tina Rowden/AMC
Entertainment site Vulture recently proclaimed that we are in an era of peak sadness television. Episodes that are meant to gut and cause maximum dehydration upon watching.
“Halt and Catch Fire” cemented itself as one of the torchbearers in this era.
With Gordon and Joe’s breakthrough on the redesign and rebranding of Comet, we viewers were pulled into a false sense of comfort. Comfort that Cam and Donna would become friends again. Comfort that Joe and Gordon would launch a successful search engine. Comfort that everything would turn out well for our protagonists.
Photo Source: Courtesy of Tina Rowden/AMC
But things don’t always work out the way we want.
With Gordon’s death, the lives of Joe, Donna, Cameron, Boz and the girls are turned upside down. Somehow the fact that Gordon was seriously ill was well-masked in this final season of HACF. Masked to the point where his death was a monumental shock to not only we the viewers but the characters within the show as well. Episode 8 entitled “Goodwill” was a masterful representation of grief and how people cope with loss.
Photo Source: Courtesy of Tina Rowden/AMC
Joe tries to be the fixer: when Haley sorts a sweater of Gordon’s into a donation bag, he goes into overdrive to get it back. Cameron becomes a semi-nurturer: acting as a buffer between Joanie and Donna, she provides advice and is a sounding board for Donna’s sadness. Donna is the organizer: wrapped up in the wrapping up of Gordon’s life and possessions, she forgets to take a breath and allow herself to lament a great love, now lost. And Boz: Boz is the bringer-together. A dining room table, his family chili recipe and a calming attitude allows him to be the kindly father figure they all need.
Photo Source: Courtesy of Tina Rowden/AMC
And here we are, the beginning of the end. The 2-hour series finale is upon us tomorrow and it’ll probably rip our hearts to shreds. Let’s watch together and boo-hoo as one.
Catch the series finale of “Halt and Catch Fire” Saturday, October 14th at 6PM on AMC.
