Quick Thoughts: GO ON, "Double Down"

Now that the Simone arc's done, Go On felt like the show I enjoyed at the start of the season.

Admittedly, giving Ryan a gambling addiction felt a little lazy because of course someone like him would be susceptible to that particular vice, but it was a good way to reestablish some of the relationships that got lost thanks to Piper Perabo. The Ryan/Anne bond was one of the pleasant surprises from the early episodes, but it suffered when the show had to spend time on him and Simone, so it was nice to see them reconnect and that final scene where they released their rings into the air via balloons was great. Also, I was happy to see her progress by dating Brittney even though it was short-lived.

Another relationship that benefited from the departure of the coyote was the one between Ryan and Lauren. I appreciate how the writers have eased off the romantic tension between the two of them and re-focused their energy into making them good friends. Plus, her being a shark was totally hot.

Everything else going on around these two pairings was decent enough but nothing special. Sure, it was refreshing to see Ryan get some quality time with Fausta, but that's never really going to bear too much fruit. And the whole Owen bit was much needed silliness but wasn't anything earth-shattering.

I get that Ryan's journey towards getting over Janie's death and living his life is a big part of the show's appeal, but I'm much more invested in his platonic relationships than his romantic ones, so I'm a little bummed that Courteney Cox's going to show up out of nowhere since she's also going to get in the way of the bonds that I care about. That said, I don't blame Go On for this bit of stunt-casting because it needs as much help as possible... and The Voice.