‘Halt and Catch Fire’ season 2, episode 8 review: WestNet woes

Joe MacMillan has been known as a scoundrel to many on “Halt and Catch Fire,” and with that in mind it was very easy to attach one label to him Sunday night: Fall guy. Did you really think that Jacob Wheeler was going to be so willing to allow Joe to leave and the Mutiny deal fall apart?

What Wheeler did instead was use his resources (and some tricky) to get WestNet out there, and completely destroy Mutiny as it has become in one quick motion. This came right when the company was starting to be on an emotional high. Sure, Donna was not particularly thrilled about some of the decisions that Cameron had made, but they were inspiring people! They had exciting games on the horizon! Now, they have almost nothing, and Joe has to wrestle once again with the notion of what sort of person he wants to be known as.

Joe already had the plans in motion to run far away yet again, but this time it was for a completely different reason. He was migrating west to California, and he still has an opportunity to do just that if he chooses and does not want to handle the guilt.

Almost every major character this week is struggling in one way or another. Cameron’s new beau Tom is feeling somewhat left on a lurch, Gordon managed to get himself arrested, and despite the effort that Bosworth has put in to Mutiny, where has it gotten him?

These are people all struggling to stay afloat, and as excellent at tonight’s episode was, we certainly did not leave it all smiles. Grade: B+.