Overview of The Watch on the Emmys and Lanterns
Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald used this episode of The Watch to react to the Emmys and then break down Lanterns Episode 5. The conversation centered on two big themes: a surprisingly warm, communal Emmy ceremony that felt good for TV, and a Lanterns episode that was packed with big swings, visual ideas, and mythology, even if it occasionally sacrificed clarity for momentum.
Emmy Awards: a warm, sentimental, and unusually satisfying show
Why the broadcast worked
- The hosts agreed that the opening number was rough, but that the rest of the ceremony was one of the better Emmy broadcasts in recent memory.
- Mariska Hargitay was praised as a smart, familiar, and convivial host who created a relaxed tone rather than trying too hard to be edgy.
- Staging the room with more intimate, Golden Globes-style tables helped the show feel less stiff and more communal.
- The presenters, especially Amy Poehler and John Mulaney, were strong enough to keep the energy high.
The biggest takeaway: a sense of community
- Ryan and Greenwald felt the show captured something the Emmys often miss: that television is a real creative community where people know, admire, and work with each other.
- Several acceptance speeches reinforced that feeling, especially:
- Noah Wyle speaking with real love for the work.
- Scott Gemmill emphasizing why TV-making matters.
- Stephen Colbert winning with joy rather than grievance.
- The ceremony felt less like a nostalgia pageant and more like a celebration of people who genuinely care about the medium.
Winners and surprises discussed
- “Widow’s Bay” dominated the comedy side and was treated as the night’s biggest success story.
- “The Pit” won drama series, with Noah Wyle a centerpiece of its run.
- Jean Smart continued her Emmy dominance for Hacks.
- Ray Seahorn winning lead actress in drama for Pluribus was a standout surprise and felt warmly embraced by the room.
- Sally Field winning in the TV movie/limited category was seen as unexpected and a little category-fraudy, but still charming.
- Tom Pelfrey was a favorite win for his work in Task.
- Allison Janney, Colbert, Traitors, and several directing and supporting awards helped spread the love across the field.
Their broader Emmy thesis
- TV used to apologize for itself at awards shows by over-celebrating movie stars; now the Emmys can stand on their own.
- They argued the ceremony should stay focused on TV and perhaps even split awards into more than one annual event to create more room for different winners and shows.
- They also noted how the TV landscape has changed: shows take longer to return, and the awards ecosystem now reflects that slower, more fragmented production cycle.
Lanterns Episode 5: big swings, strong imagery, some legibility issues
What they liked
- Both hosts thought the episode was never dull and had a lot of genuinely exciting set pieces.
- The show continues to do ambitious comic-book storytelling while trying to build emotional stakes.
- The episode’s visual language—especially the yellow-light imagery tied to fear and the Lanterns mythology—was highlighted as smart and deliberate.
- They praised moments involving:
- The diner backstory involving Zoe and Kelly MacDonald’s character.
- The Anton material and the show’s willingness to make its alien threat feel immediate.
- The episode’s structural role as a major reset in the season.
What felt confusing or overstuffed
- Greenwald felt the episode was noisy and a little flimsy beneath all the action.
- A major issue was the difficulty of tracking character motivations, especially:
- Zoe’s choices and what exactly she knows.
- John and Hal’s separate paths and where their conflict is heading.
- The aliens/Guardians/Manhunter mechanics, which sometimes felt more clever than clear.
- He also questioned whether the show is trying to do too many things at once: spectacle, mystery, myth-building, and emotional drama.
Their central concern about the series
- The show is functioning as a stress test for comic-book TV: can it balance cool visual spectacle with real emotional storytelling?
- They’re intrigued by the ambition, but they’re not fully sure the show has made all of its logic land cleanly yet.
- One recurring question was whether the series is setting up a more interesting character story than it initially appears—possibly even something like a father-issues drama disguised as superhero TV.
Looking ahead
- The hosts said they’ll return on Thursday for Slow Horses and a conversation with Chuck Klosterman about his new book.
- They also teased more TV discussion around the continuing Emmy fallout and the broader state of the medium.