While a good concept— all businesses strain and sometimes buckle under the weight of going legitimate after living off punk rock indie roots for so long— it makes for an especially whiny Cameron in season three, a noted change for a character that formerly had full agency. Her need for control further affects the company as all major decisions get bottlenecked waiting for her input. And anyone who appreciates a good workflow process will feel the same irritation of her staff. The problem with this theme is that its hammered home too often. On top of that, it’s difficult to watch Cameron become her own worst enemy, but give the show credit for writing complex roles for its women.
Meanwhile, other threads of the show keep moving forward including: Gordon’s brain damage effecting his ability to work, MacMillan’s bisexuality and AIDS scare, and Donna’s Plymouth Rock-like ability to remain the most cool and consistent person in the room, no matter the crisis.
Three new characters join the fold in season three: Ryan Ray (Manish Dayal), a genius programmer, who is stifled by Cameron’s tunnel vision and defects Mutiny for MacMillan’s anti-virus company; Ken Diebold (Matthew Lillard), MacMillan’s douchebag right hand man; and Diane Gould (Annabeth Gish), the bullish venture capitalist who sinks funds into Mutiny in hopes the company will expand and eventually become a lucrative tech giant.
Perhaps the quiet MVP utility player of the season is Toby Huss as John Bosworth, the former Cardiff Electric hardass boss turned father figure and mentor to Cameron and Donna. “Bos” has been a gentle leader, stepping aside for Cameron and letting her take Mutiny to the next level. But as her wise consigliere, his patience becomes tested by Cameron and her inability to let those around her help her properly run her business.
Reviewing a show based on half a season is tough; it’s like reviewing a book having only read five of 10 chapters, but in summation, dissatisfaction and resentments loom heavy over season three and sometimes these feelings spill over onto the audience. If there’s a prediction to be made, it’s a mutiny for Mutiny. Donna and Cameron have already had trust issues and with the latter, younger, more hot-headed of the two inadvertently grinding the company in the ground, it’s a good bet that Donna may have to rescue Mutiny from itself.
Cameron Howe has always been the best character on the show (it helps that Davis is magnetic to watch) and Donna has been quickly ascending up the ranks past the boys (thanks to the ever watchable and charismatic Bishé), but if you’re rooting for either of these characters to simply succeed in the world of personal computers, this is not the show for you (though appreciate the egalitarian characterizations, please). “Halt And Catch Fire” is compelling and yet frustrating in season three and perhaps a shortened season might have help (five episodes to spin the same wheels is a bit disappointing). But in the past, if ‘HACF’ ever stalls, it always tends to boot up in second half. Hopefully, this is the one motif that continues because while Cameron Howe might be suffering from a huge identity crisis this season — is she an CEO or tech maverick? — “Halt And Catch Fire” has never yet lost its sense of self and purpose. [B]
