Last night's episode, "Generalissimo," didn't even need Jon Hamm to be one of the best of the season. More important, it solved the mystery of Salma Hayek's continued presence on the show, which so far has kind of sucked all the fun out of Alec Baldwin. But I should have trusted that Tina Fey, in her infinite wisdom, had a plan, and the Jack/Elisa storyline was simply building up to last night's climax, when Jack's attempts to win over Elisa's grandmother lead him to meet his evil twin, an actor who plays "The Generalissimo" on Elisa's grandmother's favorite telenovela. Someday when they make a Best Of Alec Baldwin DVD extra, Jack's confrontation with the Generalissimo will be on it.
Jack confronts his evil twin in a scene featuring a callback to Liz's favorite snack food ("Now with more bull semen!") and a reference to The Patty Duke Show theme song ("You can lose your miind.") Only on 30 Rock:
Liz realizes she's let The Generalissimo's skewed world view influence her attempted seduction of Dr. Baird. Watching Don Draper look terrified is a treat:
And I want NBC to start selling the "Pediatric Restless Leg Syndrome" shirts:
(And here's the whole show, if you missed it.):
