Halt & Catch Fire: “Limbo”

Since its premiere episode, one of the ongoing themes of Halt & Catch Fire has revolved around the pursuit of greatness. Or, more specifically, how this fickle concept of greatness can be so close, yet so far. In separating the show’s characters this season, the Halt creative team has subsequently worked to highlight how each character both bumps against, yet ultimately fall short of their dreams. Gordon, for instance, has the technical proficiency but lacks the inherent charisma to successfully sell his ideas. Joe has that charisma as well as visionary ideas but—as this episode touches upon—lacks the language to articulate it. Donna, perhaps the most well-balanced of the bunch, has both the technical know-how and the business mind, but must battle uphill against society’s sexist, ageist view of her. Finally, Cameron has both coder skills and a youthful fire but lacks the maturity and discipline of a true leader. All of them have the potential to be innovators but—whether it be circumstances, the time period or good old fashioned bad luck—each one must watch as greatness slips right out of their hands.

“Limbo” presents a beautifully crafted, if emotionally punishing manifestation of this theme. It’s an hour that starts with the characters in a state of transition, only to end with the proverbial rug being forcefully pulled out from under them, thus leaving each one—per the title—in limbo.

That’s not to say the episode’s abrupt veer into tragedy happens all at once. Indeed, the entry’s first two-thirds plays out with a definite undercurrent of unease—much like that moment in a horror movie when you know a jump scare is about to occur. This is most clearly found in the parallel storylines of Cameron and Joe. As the episode begins, both characters find themselves in relatively happy, if unstable, relationships. Per last week’s conclusion, Joe and Sara have gotten married and are securing plans to move to California. Joe’s exuberance over this news proves to be somewhat undermined when he later meets his swiftly-hired replacement, Jesse (a very smug Skylar Astin). In the end, Joe decides to let this slide and enjoys a drug-fueled night of clubbing (and multi-partner experimentation) with Sara.

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Likewise, while Cameron remains steadfast in her decision to not sell to Westgroup, she experiences no shortage of grumbling from her colleagues, especially Tom and Donna. The knife gets twisted in further during a Mutiny company picnic where she faces off with her customers and realizes that the majority of them come to the website for Community rather than the games. In the midst of all this angst, however, Cameron experiences a major respite when, during a heated exchange with Tom, she hears him slip in an inadvertent “I love you.” This healthy display of affection goes a long way towards giving her a clear head, as she even approaches Donna and admits that she was right for pivoting the company towards Community.

Naturally, the outlier in this “mixed blessings” category is Gordon, whose brief success with Clark Computers last week quickly proves to be a bust this time around. With customers returning the defective computers, Gordon’s employees are having second thoughts. Things are exacerbated by a visit from Stan, Gordon’s former Cardiff Electric colleague who has returned from an excursion to California with a spring in his step. After taking a lunch with Stan, Gordon’s two employees return to announce that they cannot continue with such a risky company. Later, upon seeing an ad for Stan’s new Dallas-based company, Gordon becomes convinced that his friend has stolen the idea, employees and the business model for Clark Computers.

In his mania, Gordon breaks into Stan’s house to find proof. Stan catches Gordon in the act and the two have a confrontation, with Stan admitting that his California trip was a bust and he now repairs computers to make ends meet. What’s worse, he lets it slip that Donna had asked Gordon’s work colleagues to keep an eye out for any strange peculiarities in her husband’s demeanor. As the police drag him off the property, Gordon becomes convinced that Donna is trying to sabotage him. In any other show, such a conclusion would come across as majorly contrived bit of conflict bait but—between Gordon’s brain damage, litany of past regrets and crippling guilt over his affair— it works perfectly here.

Gordon’s poor luck is subsequently trumped, however, by the episode’s big twist. After ending their enthralling night with a rendezvous at the Westgroup computer area, Joe inadvertently stumbles upon Jesse and his cronies launching WestNet, a Westgroup-branded website that has co-opted Mutiny’s design and user base. Back at headquarters, the Mutiny team is thrown into a frenzy. They have effectively had their company taken away from them and are helpless to do anything about it. It’s then that Joe, in one of the most ill-timed arrivals in human history, bursts into the house and attempts to explain that he had no part in this. Given that he’s still under the influence of drugs, his explanation spill out of his mouth in a halting, incoherent fashion. It doesn’t help that everyone in the entire building is simultaneously giving him their best death glares.

Talk about great dramatic irony at work. The scene is all the more heartbreaking because we as the audience know that Joe had no knowledge of this nefarious plot, yet—to anyone without our omniscient perspective—he comes across as guilty as sin. It signals the ultimate road block for Joe, who has spent a large chunk of this season trying to become a better person and prove that he can be trustworthy. With Mutiny now hijacked, his dreams of ever finding redemption look to be all but impossible.

It’s unfortunate that the amount of devastation that falls upon Mutiny goes hand-in-hand with an episode’s quality. Prior to this, one of the season (and series’) highlight episodes was “The Way In,” which ended with the company’s server being demolished by Gordon’s Sonaris program. And, indeed, here a much grander disaster results in an even more compelling hour. Between Mutiny’s dissolution and Gordon’s quickly deteriorating mental state, the show’s characters now find themselves at rock bottom. It’s telling that when Donna asks a despondent Cameron what they should do next, the episodes cuts to black before she can even formulate an answer.

With only two episodes left on the docket, Halt & Catch Fire Season Two does not looked destined for a happy ending. The character’s misery, however, is our gain.

Halt & Catch Fire: “Limbo”

(Episode 2.08)