Amarsir

Some good laughs in this episode and I like that Dee got to be a mastermind with a triumphant ending. However, oddly enough this didn't feel like a "Dee" episode. The plot was about the guys and she was just one of the obstacles. Also it's sad (but I guess fitting that all she really wants to do is torture them. Maybe on her second day they all had experiences that were more of an experience for her.

How hilarious would it have been if the opening question was to select your race "just for demographic purposes", and then if you pick black it erases all the questions and just says you're Token? That would be a pretty South Park thing to do. I got 41% each Grampa Marsh and Clyde. Go figure. Not a particularly big deal about 300, but that's OK. Vaccines seem like an old topic but still (sadly) topical and surprisingly they never covered it before. Liane continues to be a terribly enabling mother, but you can feel for her as well. I did think the pig thing went on far too long, but they did it well. Lots of attention to detail at the rodeo

I can't remember when I've been so annoyed at a pitch. He did everything wrong. The invention was trivial. Not worthless, but c'mon. He believed the idea was worth all the value, not what you do with it. No clue how to sell. Terrible valuation. No clue how to negotiate Doesn't take advice. I hope he doesn't need money in life because that would have been the easiest $150k anyone ever made. Season 14, Episode 2 The Upseat Company - Nice product and a smart couple selling it. Sure would be easier to license but if that route didn't work they'll do well. Maternity Dream Sleepwear - The pitch was a surefire to get on the air with the great Lane demo, but he wasn't prepped with the product or the pitch. Caribou Wooden Surfaces - I felt like he got beaten up more than he deserved. It's true he was trying to "sell" instead of just answering questions directly, but he saw the error of his ways. So ironically after a fight over whether he wanted a deal, he would have taken one but didn't get it. Haystax Mortgage - Smart business, clever to see how dry the pitch was and break it up. Very early though. Brigadiero Custom Chocolates - Interesting discussion on full automation. Michelle was right, they weren't thinking (yet) about sufficient scale. The first time this season where Jim comes in with "I'll give you what you asked for." And I think the first time Arlene swoops a deal despite a much higher ask.

She doesn't remember any of them because Michael erased the "Soul Squad" from her memory.

Getting Dolph Lundgren was brilliant. I wonder if Thunder Gun can smell crime?

Oh, sure. There's a lot of "Writer's Hand" in this show. (That's when the character speaks in a way that reflects the views of the writer more than strictly how that character themself would act.) For example, there's nothing inherently evil about the Richard Marx song "Right Here Waiting". But a writer doesn't like it so it becomes a joke about being the "deeply horrible" song that Shawn listens to for inspiration. As a comedy, not only can they get away with it but it's part of the charm. John and Brent are definitely closer to that side of the show. They're bad in the same way everyone from Jacksonville or France is bad - not realistically but as a vehicle for jokes and plot movement. So I'm willing to give them some leeway with it.

Well do bear in mind that the original characters were leads. They needed to have depth that could be explored over 1 (or 4) seasons. These two are just antagonists and I wouldn't expect them to have any more depth than Kamilah or Donkey Doug.

Oh I didn't even realize this was back until I saw your post. So thanks for that. Although plot-wise both stories were pretty obvious, there were a ton of laugh-out-loud moments. My favorite was hearing a chicken in the other room and then Dee comes in.

This last episode was pretty weak and it wouldn't surprise me if that's why they left it for so late in the season. Nester Hato, the French card magician who fooled them, was solid. But Lucy Darling* did a very short one-note trick. The coin magic ended with a nice surprise but had some sloppiness along the way. And the British duo were less entertaining than the ventriloquist guest they had to make the choices. Even P&T's trick was weak, since the rope trick doesn't become new just by pausing for a mime. * "Lucy Darling" aka Carisa Hendrix does a podcast with Kayla Drescher. (Who you may remember from the torn & restored heart trick with Teller.) On it she mentioned having a one of her bags get lost by an airline with a lot of props in it so that might have happened around the time of filming. Or it's possible she thought this was her trickiest one, as she's more into unique presentation of classic trick than inventing whole cloth.

I love when South Park blends issues in an unexpected way, and this was a pretty clever mash up. However, I didn't find anything particularly laugh-out-loud funny.

I’m sure they’re no worse than season 1. To fill 13 episodes per season takes a lot of performers and there can’t really be *that* many people with new methods and the willingness to show them off. As long as a few are really working and everyone wants to give a good performance, the overall show still works.

Moxie did a good job. The tricks are all very old but bundling them together was different, and using Penn's daughter was fun. How do people feel about "Magic Meatballs"? (The cup & balls trick where Penn voices a dog.) That was a beautiful dog and the patter was fun, but how many variations on cups & balls can we really see?

I was just figuring stuff would all wrap up in the season thread, but that's pretty quiet as well. I can't recall the last trick that baffled me. In fact the last 2 episodes (one since you posted, @Kromm) haven't had a fooler at all. That's not to say I didn't like any of the tricks. Just that I didn't feel sufficiently fooled. BTW seeing that the prior conversation was about Ivan Asmodi, this video covers that performance with the audio of Penn's podcast response. My takeaway is that the trick wasn't impressive even without the "fool" controversy because he wasn't prepared for Teller to have taken a card as well.

I think they've raised the bar for guests. The fact that both Inashe and Chris Hardwick playing singing games is very impressive. They're clearly being used as more than just audience volunteers and that means a lot more variety of games.

Matt Donnelly, Penn's friend and Alyson's writer for Fool Us, has a podcast with behind-the-scenes info about the show. Normally you have to be a Patreon supporter but they made the first one for this season free to everyone. Regarding Copperfield

Season 6 Premiere! Magicians were Jan Reinder, Ondrej Psenicka and Giancarlo Bernini, with David Copperfield helping them out on their own trick. Reinder's rat traps weren't that amazing, but big stage magic is hard to do so I don't expect to be fooled on top of it. Alyson's reactions really helped sell it. Psenicka certainly fooled me, unless he got lucky and Alyson randomly selected an Ace. (Which does happen but not usually on television.) The trick had a little too much filler time though which IMHO distracted rather than improving. Bernini fooled me although Penn's clues cleared it up. I liked the trick a lot. I'm sort of with Copperfield on the last trick, where I know most of the trick and am suspicious about the last bit but don't quite know it. It was a little awkward having that much back and forth but it does sell the idea that Copperfield wasn't there to be a patsy. Also he looks really good for 62.

Persona has some terrible password security. No properly secured system should be able to look up someone's password. Glad I don't use it. I'll echo the praise for Andrew Scott. At first I was worried I'd spend the whole episode looking at Moriarty but that character was soon forgotten. All 3 mains delivered well.

Miley Cyrus was great casting. No surprise she pulled off the singing and acting well, but having a former child star just adds a whole extra layer. They maybe went a little more comedic than was necessary but on the whole it was a good watch. I noticed that IMDB ratings so far put it as the weakest of the 3 but I don't agree.

Game programmers are often overworked already. Wait until they find out every game needs to be a sex simulator as well! To be honest, I needed more. The premise is fine, taking the "Is cybersex cheating?" question that's been around for decades now and ramping it up with tech we don't have yet. And issues of gender or sexual preference were touched on just a little. But it didn't go anywhere and certainly didn't raise any only-in-Black-Mirror questions of morality or psychology. Also it was really slow. 18 minutes until he even activated the VR and 40 more not raising any concerns that weren't immediately obvious. It's a good thing Anthony Mackie is naturally charismatic because that's really all that kept it from being boring. As some of you have mentioned, why not try some of the many other characters and see how that feels? Karl said he tried it with AI and it was just like a rubber doll. (*) (Exposition via tell, not show.) But what about other people? What about inviting their wives to play with them? I think we're left with only questions because the episode didn't go anywhere to begin exploring them. A fine premise but not a complete episode. (*) Thinking about that raises much deeper questions than anything the episode actually showed. Karl had sex with the AI. In a fighting game. How did it know not to punch him? Did he have to beat the opponent in a fight before they were able to have sex? How creepy is that?

Indeed, seeing the start of the pitch I would have been surprised if the guy hadn't been in NJ when he got the idea. Although apparently he was at TCNJ who I don't think has an equivalent of the grease trucks. (Perhaps that's why he saw a market opening, copying from what Rutgers friends introduced him to.)

Which would be a justification for attacking the Red Keep itself. But she clearly went after a city that was no threat to her and only got around to the castle on a later pass. Daenerys had the high ground. It all makes sense now! That also explains why the scorpions were suddenly aimed by stormtroopers.

Doesn't that indicate Tyrion thought she wouldn't burn them all if he could successfully arrange the bell being run? The fact that she did it anyway may indeed have had seeds since the beginning, but the show didn't build it to a climactic turn. In that moment there was no reason to expect that kind of rampage.

Dany read the patch notes. "Scorpion accuracy decreased 95%."

"Because the plot says so" has been the major justification for most things on this show though. Lucky scorpion shots, teleporting fleets, everything Petyr Baelish did in seasons 4-7... Dany being dumb bothers me no more than Ramsay being impossibly smart and dismantling an army with 20 people.

Yeah I can't understand why that went on so long. I like the idea of her realizing she has something to live for, and I can overlook the fact that she got there really late despite leaving first. (This of course being cleverly set up in seasons 3 & 4: Arya travels much slower when with The Hound.) But everything with her would have been established in 1 of the 5 scenes.