Blakeston

Palm Springs is currently represented by Ken Calvert, a very anti-LGBT Republican. It's a sprawling district, and Palm Springs is just a small, unrepresentative part of it. I hated the part where the politician changed her mind (because it seemed so unrealistic) until I realized that it happened because of blackmail. That's the only way a major politician would make such an abrupt change on a social issue, particularly when the new stance would leave them extremely vulnerable to a primary challenge. On a side note, I was disappointed to see Stephanie Koenig in this episode as the politician. She's talented, and she's good on the show English Teacher, but the controversy over the show's star (her real-life best friend Brian Jordan Alvarez) has reavealed that Alvarez is a sexual predator, and that Koenig does everything in her power to excuse his behavior and gaslight people into thinking it's not a big deal.

After Talley left Vogue, he wrote his memoir, had a radio show, and continued to work in the industry. He was never anywhere close to working as some shop assistant, and he never would.

We don't know for sure whether Belinda will open a spa or not, but I think Mike White wants us to believe that she won't. He went out of his way to compare her to Tonya in this episode, with the scene where she disappoints Pornchai being quite similar to the scene where Tonya disappoints Belinda. At the end, when Belinda and Zion were chilling on the boat while Pornchai looks on awkwardly, it seemed like the message was, "Belinda is the newest member of the careless, self-centered rich." This message wouldn't make sense if she turned around and built a spa for working-class women soon after she got back to Hawaii. I don't think she's as bad as Tonya (especially because she never made an agreement with Pornchai), but the finale cast her in that light.

I assumed that he and Frank were hitmen in this life, and that's where they got the money to live the way they do. Frank provided the gun off for Rick in a very professional way that made it seem like they were used to that kind of thing.

It's not that she made the same offer to Pornchai that Tonya made to her. It's that when she was telling Pornchai that she was no longer interested in opening a spa together, it was reminiscent of the scene where Tonya said that to her. Belinda was being awkward much in the same way that Tonya was, standing there and stammering while Pornchai pretended he was't hurt. It had to have been a deliberate parallel on Mike White's part. What makes Belinda shitty, IMO, isn't that she did anything terrible to Pornchai. It's her hypocrisy in that once she got some money, everything she said about how important the spa was to her went out the window. Her opening the spa was supposed to be the one good thing to come out of Tonya's death (and a way of honoring Tonya). And now we're left to wonder if she even cares about it at all.

A few scattered thoughts on this season: - I guess we just have to fanwank that Lochlyn didn't need medical attention, and the family was dumb enough to think, "Hmm, maybe the coconut milk was bad after all? Whatevs!", and nothing clicked even after they found out that Tim knew his life was falling apart. - The three friends storyline was probably the weakest on any of the three seasons, in my opinion. Laurie's had her friends' ugliest qualities rubbed in her face all vacation long, but she nonetheless has this realization that time and friendship are the only thing that matters? That didn't match what we've seen of her personality at all. It would have made more sense if she had that reaction after they survived a shootout together. - The extra episode this season was a bad idea. So much was dragged out unnecessarily - multiple episodes of Chelsea wanting Rick not to go on the trip, endless shots of Tim being anxious and stoned, and the friends talking shit about each other over and over. - Parker Posey was absolutely hilarious. When Piper talked about being unhappy at the meditation center, Victoria looked like she was having an orgasm. - I think it was a mistake to show Lochlyn staring at his brother's ass multiple times (in one case with an aroused look in his eyes). It would make the "he lacks an identity and he's a people pleaser" explanation for the handjob a lot easier to believe. - Jim knew Rick was his son, and decided that the way to handle the situation was to tell him that his mother was a slut? He got exactly what he deserved, and Rick getting killed served his dumb ass right, too. It's just a shame that Chelsea was collateral damage. She was pretty dumb in her own right, but she didn't deserve to die. - Why, oh why, did they make such a big deal about Fabian singing?

It's pretty hilarious that Belinda lived to become Tonya. She blew off Pornchai's business plans the same way that Tonya blew off Belinda's.

I was really worried they were going to reveal at the end that Megan was genuine, and I'm glad they didn't go there. It wouldn't have been believable at all. This was easily the most sympathetic Joyce has ever been.

I found this way too cringey to be amused by it. Also, it felt like a ripoff of the extended scene in Babylon where the shooting of the talkie is flubbed over and over again while the powers that be flip out and curse like sailors.

I don't think they ever said the counselor wasn't happening. I doubt they would have made the request for the counselor a significant plot point if nothing ever came of it.

Ava’s going to be the counselor the district is paying for, right?

Or Rick shooting at Scott Glenn's character. Rick found his peace, but maybe he'll lose it if/when he finds out that helpless old man is actually his father. I know Rick tossed the gun, but he could get access to another one.

I’m guessing that Jerry is supposed to be around 52. Then he could be born in 1963, married at 18 in 1991, and freshly divorced (or separated) by 1994, when he spent the summer with Bunny, Arthur and George. Can Bomer pass for 52? No, definitely not. (I’m glad the writers are acknowledging that Jerry is a freak of nature when it comes to aging.) Billie Lourd was born in ‘92, though, so her age makes sense.

Arthur is clearly based on Andre Leon Talley (Anna Wintour’s #2 at Vogue, and the inspiration for Stanley Tucci’s character in The Devil Wears Prada). The idea that anyone with a career like his would be reduced to working at some random Palm Springs shop is pretty silly.

I think there are four reasons why Piper was bothered by Lochlyn’s idea, all of which played a significant role: 1. She wants to get away from her family. 2. She feels like Lochlyn is horning in on her “special thing.” 3. She can tell that he’s just doing it on a whim (which may be uncomfortable because deep down she hasn’t put enough thought into it either, and she knows it), and 4) She could sense something creepy about Lochlyn’s desire to stay with her. I don’t know if Lochlyn is outright sexually attracted to her or not, but there’s something that goes beyond pure sibling affection. I think Lochlyn is there to show us that a certain incestuousness arises from Victoria’s “everyone is beneath our family” mindset.

We already got confirmation that Valentin's friends were the robbers when Gaitok recognized them at the fight. However, Laurie being aware that they're the robbers may end up being important to the plot.

I was so happy when Zion pointed out that it would be dangerous for them both if Belinda didn't take the money. I'm glad someone on this show has a sense of self-preservation. You're not going to find it in Saxon, who chose to go to that party knowing fully well that Greg/Gary knew he screwed Chloe. You're not going to find it in Chelsea, who let Saxon into her room. And you're not going to find it in Shritala, who was happily watching those movies with Sam Rockwell's character, when she should have called in her security guards a long time ago.

It really is It really is incredible how much less likable Barbara is than she was in season one. She was by far my favorite character back then. I think the writers found it difficult over time to wring humor out of Barbara being competent and wise. So they played up her ego and her withering contempt she sometimes showed to the younger teachers. And now she almost seems like a different person. A much nastier one.

The Matt Bomer character isn't working for me at all, and I think the casting is a significant part of it. I'm guessing that there are three reasons why he's there: 1. He's one of the few out gay actors who's a "name." 2. There's an assumption that audiences won't tune in unless there's eye candy. 3. The makers of the show may have felt that a character being this naive and ditzy is more believable/palatable if they're younger. Obviously Betty White played a very ditzy, childlike character very believably in her sixties. But I think this show is really giving me a sense of just how much talent it took to pull off that balancing act, for both Betty and the Golden Girls writers.

Bruce told the patient about the risk of chronic pain, but then said, "You're young and healthy, so you'll be fine." I'm not a medical professional, but it sounds to me like a violation of medical ethics to effectively tell a patient that they won't get side effects, particularly if it's an experimental procedure. I know we're supposed to Bruce as a loveable goof whose ego is just a little too big for his own good, but I find him to be an insufferable toxic narcissist (who isn't particularly funny). And of course the writers are putting him front and center, because for some reason almost all comedies nowadays revolve around toxic narcissists.

The threat of revealing the truth to his family would have carried more weight. That wasn't guaranteed to work, but it was absolutely pathetic that Gaitok didn't even try.

The characters can definitely be cliquey (particularly Melissa and Barbara, who bring out the worst in each other), but everything they've ever said about Morton is justified. He's a hardcore misogynist (his worst fear is being on a plane flown by a woman) who's straight-up cruel to small children. The way the characters sometimes crap all over Janine and Jacob, and Ava's barbs directed toward pretty much everyone, are a lot more troubling to me.

Gaitok could have said, "I know you took it, there's video footage, and if you don't want your family to find out you stole it, and you don't want to get arrested, you'll hand the gun over right now." It might not have worked - Tim might have just run back to his room and shot himself - but it would have at least been a decent effort.

When Fabian said they couldn't contact the authorities because Greg is a guest, I wanted to scream at the TV, "No he isn't!" He and Chelsea just have a home near the hotel, right? I get that Belinda probably doesn't realize that, but I would think that Fabian would know whether this high roller was actually staying there or not.

I fully support Piper in her efforts to explore Buddhism and get away from her awful parents, but she handled that absolutely terribly. She lied about the thesis, she effectively told her parents that the whole point of staying at the monastery is to reject their values and get new ones, and she called her father's career "bullshit." I don't think she really has people skills at all.