Pearson has a Bobby problem, and though “The Former City Attorney” tries valiantly to face that problem head on, at the end of the day, we are left in the same place we were when we started watching the show – with Bobby dead last on our list of characters we might one day care about.
More than ever, this hour of the show recognizes the problem and wants to convince us that we should change our mind, and actually, you know, feel some things for our esteemed Mayor. It does so by providing us with some very overdue backstory on Bobby, and the decisions he made to get where he is, which includes the decisions people around him, particularly Keri, have made. It only works halfway, and if it does at all it’s because we do are about the people around him.
Of course, it doesn’t truly hit the mark, because even if we know more about him now, and we sorta marginally care, in comparison, he’s still lacking.
The list of people we care about keeps getting longer, and Mayor Bobby is still dead last.
We don’t care about characters because they’re good, because we care about Nick and we’re still not even sure what he is, and we care about Yoli and she never seems to find a balance, and we care about Jessica, who hasn’t exactly always made the right decisions. Characters aren’t appealing because they’re honorable, and we don’t always just love the hero. Sometimes we love the morally grey characters, and sometimes we love the bad guys.
It’s just Bobby we don’t love.
Because Bobby is boring. There, I said it. His story-line with his wife is boring, his affair with Keri is boring, his decisions as a Mayor are boring AF, and even his relationship with Jessica, which was supposed to be a contentious and explosive one, is just …boring. The less time Bobby spends on screen, the happier I am.
In fact, I felt more in the last few minutes of this episode, with the possibility of Jeff/Jessica/Nick, and with Jessica actually opening up, than I felt all throughout the whole of “The Former City Attorney,” and that includes every scene with Bobby’s wife and every second he spend with Keri – bed scene and everything.
Hell, a glimpse at Harvey Specter was more interesting than Bobby.
So, whatever this show wants to be in the future, it should keep in mind what it wants to be, and frankly, what it can be when it focuses on the female characters we’re already invested in. We’re not here for Bobby Novak’s story, and if this episode is any indication, we won’t ever be. Leave him as a background character.
We will all be happier that way.
Things I think I think:
- I barely care about Bobby NOW, why would I care about him 5 years ago?
- Same goes for Keri. Sure, she seems more idealistic and less jaded in the flashbacks, but …I just don’t care enough there.
- Yoli, however, I care about.
- And Derrick.
- That conflict works.
- I feel Yoli in my soul, but her way doesn’t always get things done.
- “I just find it so ironic that they’re sending US to white wash the city”
- You know what I could care about, though? Jessica and Keri. THAT I could care about.
- And Nick.
- I’m back on the we like Nick train. I can’t promise it’s not because I find him super-hot.
- HARVEY
- HARVEY IS HERE
- I don’t even care what he’s doing, because HARVEY.
- Helping Jessica!
- My Suits
- Also, let’s be honest, Gabriel Macht’s presence as Harvey is unparalleled by anyone on Pearson OTHER than Jessica.
- In fact, I wish I cared about anything as much as I care about Jessica.
- Oh, wait…
- Was that a vibe between Nick and Jessica?
- I felt a vibe.
- And woah, there’s Jeff.
- AND THAT WAS DEFINITELY A VIBE.
- What in the world is going on?
- Is this …is it a love triangle?
- Because, for the first time ever, I will not be complaining.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of “The Former City Attorney”? Share with us in the comments below!
Pearson airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on USA Network.
