Halt & Catch Fire’s penultimate first season episode finds the show finally coming into its own as a dramatic series. After many stumbles in the early going, the AMC program appears to have located its greatest strengths and crafted an installment that highlights these aspects. Like “Landfall,” much of what makes “Up Helly Aa” great is that it takes the characters out of their usual environment. While the introspective “Landfall” employed a storm to initiate character growth and reflection, “Up Helly Aa” uses the Vegas-set COMDEX conference as a catalyst for drama. And although certain elements leading up to this (primarily, the Joe/Cameron relationship and the rough patches in the Gordon/Donna marriage) have felt more than a little rough in their development, the ultimate result is (debatably) worth the missteps.
The episode begins with our heroes arriving in Vegas only to learn that their hotel room has been given away due to Bosworth’s recent arrest. Once it becomes clear Joe’s smooth-talk will be of no use here, Gordon swings into action. He sets his sights on a pair of programmers that he knows for a fact will be peddling a less-than-stellar product. Using a tag-team dynamic, Joe and Gordon first denigrate the duo’s presentation and leave them wanting to cut their losses and run. Joe then “graciously” offers to buy their suite from them. With their living situation taken care of, the Cardiff team then throws a rocking demonstration party in their room.
Right off the bat, the episode bellows forth with a manic enthusiasm that is often lost in its typically dour, cerebral milieu. The show’s killer soundtrack helps with that, boasting such classics as “Blister in the Sun,” “Psycho Killer” and “(Keep Feeling) Fascination” along with great underrated numbers like Flock of Seagull’s “Space Age Love Song.” Though the creative team must have blown their music budget on the tracks, it was well worth the investment. With its vibrant energy, this first part really reflects the characters’ excitement at being in Vegas. Of particular note is a montage—set to “Blister in the Sun”— wherein Cameron employs her punk-rock aesthetic (including spray cans) to advertise the team’s demonstration party. This only makes what comes next all the harder to watch.
When the group is walking the conference floor they stumble into a pitch by none other than Donna’s former boss Hunt, and Gordon and Donna’s neighbor (who has been shooting daggers at the couple ever since his firing from Cardiff in the early episodes). The two have developed their own cheap, knock-off version of The Giant, which they have dubbed “Slingshot.” While it doesn’t have nearly the level of sophistication that the team’s product has, nor its interactive software, it’s both cheaper and faster, which is enough to sink them. Donna’s visceral reaction to this leads her to confess to Gordon about the kiss. This leads to a brutal fight that finds the couple’s long-restrained feelings bursting to the surface. Besides being a great dramatic beat, this fight also illustrates how well the writers have laid the groundwork for these characters, as I can perfectly understand both perspectives.