Stratego

That's her "moneymaker", so of course she does!

Actually all of her looked fantastic.

I don't recall any statement from Ryan concerning how close the voting was or how many votes were cast. That makes me think the outcome wasn't close at all.

I believe she lasted this long was that the producers wanted her to stay! The praise for her started early--JLo essentially crowned her the winner at the start of the finalist's competition rounds. Perhaps because AI doesn't want to be branded as a "white-guy" competition show, which would hurt ratings enormously.

Trent: (Winner's Song)--cheesy-schitetta. He sung and performed the xxxx out of it, but that song won't sell! (Simon's Song)--he picked a song in Trent's wheel-house--and he nailed it! IYDKMBN--is not even close to the music I like but I don't think there's much room for improvement. (Judge's Pick)--A truly difficult song and a magnificent performance! Even JLo gave huge praise--and she clearly prefers La'Porsha. Dalton: Well, he had zero chance anyway. Bandzilla ensured that Dalton lack of pipes would be exposed (again). 3rd Place is better than I thought he would get. La'porsha: I don't think Beyonce` could make that winner's song a hit--it was xxxx! La'P didn't put her best into it because "if she don't 'feel' it", she don't "sing it". Simon's song--started great, and showed a different La'Porsha, then she stumbled a bit but came back and saved it! Judge's Pick--Sorry, singing Rihanna is really difficult--and tonight she wasn't up to this song--certainly not like her first performance of Diamonds. The Winner: What type of music do you like? A big contrast in genres. Techically, Trent was better tonight, but Idol is supposed to be won by all weeks of performances. The judges favored La'P a bit (a fake out designed to mute support?) I'm guessing this is close--but I think Trent wins a squeaker based on being a handsome white guy and La'Porsha a plus-sized Black, woman. Maybe not fair, but Life isn't fair--and neither is American Idol.

It's far worse for HHM if MV believes that their information was hacked rather than if there was a transcription error. If it leaks that HHM doesn't adequately secure client information, the partnership will lose trust with all present, past, and future clients. The damage could be devastating.

Iovine not only gave Home to P2 to perform for his third song in the final--he provided kick-ass drums, and back-up singers. Jessica was overwhelmed by that one performance ensuring P2 would be the next Idol. So, yes Iovine was very involved.

Daughtry was the TCO as well as the presumed front-runner. When he was eliminated in 4th place that was considered "the shock boot"--not only for season 5 but of all seasons. The expressions on the faces of the other three was priceless.

We didn't see what was the total agreement between Mesa Verde and HHM--it could have included Kim and the front/point lawyer and HHM provides "the horsepower" and all of the support services. HHM collects huge billings, yet Kim could serve as the lead attorney. It was my impression that both Howard and Chuck are very positively impressed (generally like Kim and want her to succeed) but that HHM needs to serve everybody--themselves, the client (M V), and help Kim. The end result of Jimmy's fiddling with the M V documents could de-rail everything--including Kim!

Yes, he did say that. The inference often drawn by the audience is that they are the bottom two--even if that is wrong.

Not exactly. The "gunshots" were shown to be the "splat" of newspaper delivery as the paper hit the concrete--Mike was there. Mike unilaterally made the decision that Stacey and Kaley should move to a new house. They moved to a motel, with a pool, for temporary residence until a new house was purchased. It was at the motel pool where Mike and Kaley were spotted by the Salamanca brothers.

WHAT? Are we supposed to believe that the production team (producer, director, writer, editor, etc) just produce a script and hand to the cast and say "this is your cow, 'milk' it"? That makes no sense whatsoever. productions have a "walk-through" for every scene, the director is performing "quality-control" for both the cast and the editor to ensure that what is broadcast conforms to the "vision" of the show. If a character (especially an important one like Stacy) is misunderstood--that's on the director. A podcast is to build viewer loyalty by expanding certain show details--not to correct errors.

There is a specific thread established for this comment.

"Popping a bubble"--reality shows are scripted.

So, P2 is still "on the outs" with the AI gang?

Maybe the law has been changed. I worked for two different employers (74-87) where tuition was paid for night school as a company benefit--thus available to all. I took advantage of it with the first employer (I think it helped me become employed with the second one). The second company changed its policy because two people went to law school (we were engineers) and shortly after graduating found employment as patent attorneys (the second one learned of the first one and duplicated his effort). The second company changed the policy (allowing the second to graduate so they weren't sued!) to require that reimbursement would only be paid if the company approved said course of study! No one (including me) had any income tax liability because the tuition reimbursement was a company benefit (and those aren't taxable).

The scene of Stacy, Mike and the new house could have occurred in any number of episodes--but it appeared in this one. The same episode where there is the scene with a young Jimmy, the grifter and Jimmy's father. The same episode where we see Kim turn on HHM, Schrader, and Jimmy. The same episode where Mike and Jimmy skewer the police. The episode where it is explained that there are wolves and sheep. Stacy sees Mike as her "sheep" and she turns "wolf" on him by selecting a house way out of her price range. Stacy is manipulating Mike!

Oh, Borchetta knew exactly what he wanted from his song selections--to heavily favor (and promote) Trent, chop La'Porsha down a peg (or two), and make Jax (er Dalton) sound "lame". He succeeded for all three. J-Lo: for what she gets paid (and the constant deference to her) she should dance in a thong center-stage if the producer directs. Eye-fuckery, Constantine, and Dalton--you stole my thoughts! Without the camera close-ups he wouldn't have made Top Ten.

I inferred that they appeared in reverse order of the voting (4th--1st) to perform the first song, then they performed in the order they [show] want them to finish: Dalto 3rd, La'Porsha 2nd, and Trent winning. The song choices (Borchetta's then judge's) were selected to: expose Dalton's weak voice; get La'Porsha out of her comfort zone, force the audience to compare her to Adele (La'P just not in Adele's class!), that state that La'P typically only signs in a limited range (comfort zone) in order to berate her; then pick "tailor-made" songs in order for Trent to excel--and praise him excessively for his performances. Yes, I believe Trent "won" the night in all three areas--song choices, the actual singing, and the praise (tongue-bath) from the judges. Dalton was crucified in all three areas--songs that were wrong for him, inferior performances, and then peed-on by the judges. Trent is third of three! La'Porsha had her crown removed by the show--and she is being set-up to finish 2nd. Therefore, Trent is the new TCO.

Probably Tuco is a convicted felon. Gun possession by a con is a very serious crime with a lengthy prison sentence.

Taking the cash from the till was showing us that Jimmy had decided he decided to be a wolf instead of a sheep--his first step in his transformation to "Saul Goodman".

Simon also said "...song choice...". Singing competition involves more than voice. Yesterday I watched a repeat of a show about Heart ("Rock Icons" or something). Ann Wilson was commenting on qualities (in singing)--especially since she was performing Staircase to Heaven in front of an audience including Altman and Page (they were receiving some high award) and how important it was "to own a song". As for "best voice"--not sure what you consider "best"--but most years I believe it was the "best" (overall) singer from the finals that won. There were exceptions (like last year where Clarke "volunteered" for 2nd place), but mostly "the best". One factor generally overlooked is fatigue. Very few contestants were prepared for the grind of rehearsals, interviews, commercials, and performances. Look close at most of today's stars--they are often very fit--performing is hard work.

...and how many times did Simon say "...it's a singing competition."

Trent received TWO tongue baths! Finally La'Porsha wasn't predicted to be the next diva (she won't be!). MacKenzie was terrible and Dalton was exposed to be as phony as Jax. The tire tracks on MacKenzie are as prominent as if he was made of fresh snow--he will be eliminated next week for sure!

If you watched tonight's show you saw the judges run the bus over MacKenzie, backup over him, then run over him again! he is next week's victim. By having a three person final (or how I interpreted things) the competition is highly skewed for La'Porsha to win.