ProWrap: The Liar, the Pool, and Smurfette

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ProWrap consists of quick reviews of the television shows we don’t cover with full reviews or podcast episodes during the week.

Secrets & Lies – S2E3 – “The Liar” | Sundays at 9pm | ABC

Another week, another batch of Kate’s secrets uncovered by Eric. Her missing assistant, Liam, is actually her son, who she gave up for adoption twenty years prior. He applied for the job using false credentials, which Kate was aware of, but ignored to be close to him. This news doesn’t go over well with Eric’s father, as Kate had access to their investor’s confidential financial info. His concerns were justified: Liam opened several unlimited open lines of credit in a few investors’ names. Mr. Warner demands that Eric keep that from the police, even though it would give Cornell a new suspect. Business first.

Even without that, Cornell continues to the be the worst cop in TV history. “Hey, Kate’s assistant is missing. Maybe you should look into him and discover what I did: he’s fake.” “Nah. I think you did it so here are a ton of bullshit reasons why I won’t examine other leads.”

When Cornell (finally) seems to have backpedaled on Eric as the main suspect, he goes and gets in a little too deep in tracking down Liam. Grade: B+ ~ ProFan Nina

Timeless – S1E3 – “Atomic City” | Mondays at 10pm | NBC

This week, the team comes to terms with the fact that Anthony wasn’t kidnapped by Flynn, but that he’s actually helping him. When they travel to 1962 Las Vegas, they learn Flynn is blackmailing Kennedy’s mistress, Julia Campbell, with pictures of their affair. Kennedy isn’t his target, though. Campbell is also sleeping with other powerful men, one of which gives her access to a nuke. Rufus still believes Anthony is working with Flynn under duress, and this seems to be proven when he gives up the nuke, but they later find the case is empty. In present day, Anthony and Flynn unearth the bomb they buried in 1962.

On the personal front, Wyatt sends his wife a telegram from the past, hoping it will stop her death in 2012, but when he returns home he finds it didn’t work. Lucy moves out of the home she shares with her new fiancee. Grade: C ~ ProFan Nina 

This Is Us – S1E4 – “The Pool” | Tuesdays at 9pm | NBC

A relaxing day at the beach doesn’t quite go as planned when Kate is dumped by her friends because of her weight, Kevin feels neglected and almost drowns, and Rebecca realizes she hasn’t been giving Randall what he needs as a black child.

Leave it to this show to tackle the nuances of a blended family in ways that make you cry and laugh. A tense encounter with a black mother at the pool turns into a teachable moment for Rebecca. Once her mama bear instincts settled, she wasn’t too proud to ask for tips on what she should be doing for Randall. Young Kevin finally lashes out, feeling he’s often ignored by his parents for focusing so much on Kate and her weight and Randall being adopted. Watching how he often felt neglected adds a lot of insight into his decision to become an actor.

In the present day, Randall feels William is judging his blackness after the neighbors call security when they see William walking in the neighborhood. William was a bit of a civil rights activist in the ’80s, and was a bit taken aback when Randall chose to deal with the racial profiling with smiles and apologies, and an offer to buy William nicer clothes. Randall later explains that growing up black in a white family and predominantly white areas made it so that he learned to pick his battles, probably way more than he should have. William finally apologizes for leaving him, and assures him he’s proud of the black man Randall has become. Then someone started cutting onions in my living room. Grade: A+ ~ ProFan Nina

Scream Queens – S2E4 – “Halloween Blues” | Tuesdays at 9pm | FOX

Scream Queens featured two season one callbacks: The return of Chanel-O-Ween (a hilarious take on Taylor Swift’s random act of Christmas — complete with hashtag to tell everyone she did it), and the Ouija board is dusted off to learn Chad’s killer from the Radwell himself … and to find out who he loved more: Denise or Chanel O.

With Hester out of the asylum for 24-hours, it’s not long before she and the killer have teamed up to claim another victim: our beloved Denise. Grade: B- ~ ProFan Nina

You can read full reviews of the shows we covered last week below:

Arrow, Quarry, The Blacklist, The Exorcist, Van Helsing, The Strain, Z Nation, Westworld, Gotham, Lucifer, The Flash, Quantico, Supergirl, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Atlanta, Jane the Virgin, Luke Cage

What’s the best thing you watched on TV last week?