Sir RaiderDuck OMS

Yeah, he sounds like someone who read a few relationship books and is just regurgitating the platitudes.

People already in a relationship are unlikely to go to a "relationship coach." It does seem a bit odd that there were no men there, though.

IIRC, we saw Pearl go in, then Mia wait a few minutes before going in herself. But I may be wrong, and in any case I will NOT be watching the ep again to double-check.

Izzy's not a strong enough person to make a go of it on her own. She'll be back home in a matter of weeks.

There's nobody to admire in the entire cast with the possible exception of Mirabelle's adoptive parents. I guess we can feel somewhat sorry for them (although not having a security system when they KNEW Bebe is out there was trés stupid), and for Mirabelle who now gets to grow up in a car. I assume the show was trying to draw a comparison betwixt Bebe and Mia, but there's one huge difference: Mia had her art, which (in-universe) was in-demand and could at least sustain her and Pearl at an acceptable level. What does Bebe have for an income source, especially now that there's going to be multi-state APB out on her for kidnapping? No doubt Mia had friends in the art world who could get her in touch with the people needed to get her a false ID and SSN. However, the show went to great lengths to demonstrate that Bebe literally had no friends other than Mia, and they're no longer in contact with each other. Bottom line is that we're looking at a few weeks at most before Bebe's dumpster-diving and panhandling on busy street corners. But by all means, show: go ahead and tell us how that's a better life for Mirabelle than growing up in Shaker Heights with two well-off adoptive parents who would do anything for her. Once again: I SPIT ON YOUR WRITING.

Ed is a pig, but there's no delicate way to tell someone they have bad breath. However, Rose's teeth look well-cared for and he shouldn't have jumped to assumptions about her hygiene. Assuming Rose has never had the money to have the ulcer treated, Ed's first step (after delivering a heartfelt and sincere apology for insulting her) should be to take her to a doctor. If they don't have a good doctor in that resort town, he should put her on Prilosec or another proton pump inhibitor (which is probably sold, albeit for top dollar, at the sundry stores catering to American tourists) for a week or two to see if the ulcer suddenly gets better. Once you reduce the amount of acid, which is what a PPI does, there's a decent chance the stomach can heal itself. If that doesn't work, then pay for a damn gastroenterologist to find out what's the matter. I'm sure they have them in Manila. As for Usman's mom: Like Varya's mom, she's accepting the union because she loves her child and doesn't want to put them in a "them or me" situation. Despite what Usman told BGL, acceptance =/= approval.

So, to wrap up this shitshow: Bebe kidnaps little Mirabelle and is now going to live with her out of a car until the next time she decides parenting is too much work and abandons her baby yet again. Speaking of Mirabelle's adopted parents, they're sooooo worried about her being abducted, but never take the elementary step of having a burglar alarm installed? Whatever. The three oldest Richardson children all take a hand in burning the house down? I spit on your writing. So was Pearl going to meet the Ryans, or Mia's parents? Thanks for making that totally unclear (unless we're supposed to remember the appearance of a house we saw a couple of times two full episodes ago). Not to mention, where did Izzy go? We didn't see her in the back of the car when Pearl got out. Or did Mia and Pearl slaughter her for food somewhere in Pennsylvania? And the show ends with more loving closeups of Mia's crappy art. Yay. What a waste of eight hours. At least I now know an author to avoid in the future.

Based on what we've seen of Usman's musical talent, he'd have a hard time getting out of third-rate dive nightclubs in the US. And he'd have to come up with a new gimmick, as Soulja Boy's lawyers would no doubt come after him with a vengeance.

Something else I remembered from last night: Usman was talking about convincing his mother to let him marry Lisa and said "This is my best chance to get to America" or somesuch. Nothing about his chance to be with his love or have kids or whatever else. He's doing this to come here, period.

They probably pay some model for the occasional photo shoot. Same thing with "Williams." In both cases, their photos looked really good and well-composed for supposedly being selfies or shot by friends with phone cameras.

He could be the guy who, if David had showed up alone without a camera crew, says he's Lana's brother and Lana is in trouble and you need to come with me right away. As soon as he gets in the car, David gets a bag over his head and a gun to his ribcage. Then it's off to an apartment where they begin ripping David's fingernails out until he gives over all his account numbers. After that, it's just a question of dumping his body where it won't be found.

The Ukrainian Mafia is real, but dealing with them on a professional level likely wouldn't be too tough. It would be a matter of contacting, via intermediaries, the local mafia boss and forking over some $$$ in exchange for their safety, usually in the form of No-Show or No-Work jobs (i.e. they pay the Ukrainian version of the Teamsters X amount for a bunch of sound guys, security staff, etc. who either don't show up or do show up but sit around on the periphery and don't actually work). TLC no doubt considers it a cost of doing business in that town. That's what this entire trip has been about: Poor Erika bending over backwards to accommodate a hypocritical harridan who so obviously wants Erika to dump her. But Erika, who must have a heart of gold, keeps giving Stephanie chance after chance after chance. I hope Erika sends Stephanie packing then has a fling with someone (male or female) who rocks her world. She deserves it after everything she's been put through. Dr. Now wants you to know that you could easily have lost 30 pounds this month... If David admits to having spent $100K, the real total is probably closer to a quarter of a million bucks or so. It's either a toupee or a hair transplant. Notice the weird, wavy hairstyle? Transplants covering large areas usually leave your scalp with fairly thin hair (there's only so much that can be transplanted), so you grow your hair long and use tons of conditioner to thicken it up. Mrs. RaiderDuck has taken to referring to Yolanda as "A Series of Unfortunate Earrings." Meanwhile, what was the point of the Darcey interlude? She's supposedly cut Tom out of her life and has no plans to reconnect with him. She literally has no reason to still be on the show. As for BabyGirlVisa: Methinks the mom respected Lisa going into the mosque with her. Notice how she went from a flat "No" to at least explaining her No. That is a step, no matter how small. Her instincts are still correct, though: Lisa is way too old for Usman and commands him like he's her servant. Even though MommyUsman can't understand English, she can definitely hear Lisa barking one-word commands at him.

Ending the show with Season 7 is logical. Remember that a lot of long-running shows end with their seventh seasons because the standard TV show contract the creator and actors sign is a seven-year non-guaranteed deal. So if you're the network (or streaming service) and want to renew the show for the second through seventh seasons, you know what it will cost to bring back everyone. You simply have to tell them by a certain date, "We want you back for next season." However, those contracts expire after the seventh season. If you want to bring back Bosch for its eighth season, you now have to negotiate new brand-new contracts with Michael Connelly, Titus Welliver, Madison Lintz, Jamie Hector, Amy Aquino, Lance Reddick and whoever else. And since the show has been a rating and critical success, they're all going to justifiably want more $$$. This is why, when you do have shows renewed past the seven-season mark, they often come with cast changes. The network can't afford what everyone is asking, so they keep the actors they deem most valuable and go scouting for replacement actors to play new characters.

They ARE both awful, but there's only one more episode to go. Might as well stick it out at this point. Parents like Mia are the ones who wonder why their children leave for a far-away college or enlist in the Army on their 18th birthday and never return.

Why? So Bebe can abandon her for a second time when she once again decides parenting is too much work for her? Bebe made a choice a year ago. Let her live with the consequences of that choice.

I'm half-waiting for him to see "Lana" walking down the street and approach her, only for her to respond with "My name is Olga. I'm a professional model. An agency in town pays me to pose for pictures occasionally. Now go away, you silly old American with that ridiculous hairpiece."

Could that have been a mini-scam on her part: taking the money to buy expensive brisket, but then buying cheap hamburger and Ritz crackers instead, making a meatloaf that everyone will love and counting on Elena to not rock the boat by asking where the additional $$$ went? Take it from someone who was the center of a child custody dispute years ago: having sex in the same room and/or car as the child will absolutely get you declared an Unfit Parent and have your child taken away forthwith if the authorities find out (nothing like that ever happened to me, but my mother and her lawyer once explained to me exactly what an Unfit Parent was and how someone would be declared one -- having sex in front of the kids, exposing them to illegal drug use, or abusing them in any way are the big No-No's). Other thoughts: That woman in the book club was just looking to pick a fight with Elena. Elena tried making an argument, the woman took offense, Elena tried walking it back, but she just kept needling Elena on and on. Methinks it would have destroyed the friendship had Mia not intervened. Why must Mia have this constant chip on her shoulder? Elena's been very good to her, and her family has been VERY kind and welcoming towards Pearl.

I fully expect "Lana's" next move to be a message saying "Send me a picture of yourself standing/sitting with plenty of room on one side, and I'll send it back with me Photoshopped in." If that Visa is approved, imagine the sheer number of plane tickets they can bilk this guy out of...

I doubt the attorneys and other plaintiffs would want her: she has a documented history of lying and fraud. Her presence as a plaintiff would reduce the credibility of their entire side.

She thanked Marty for helping her, then said "But I'm not your daughter." I interpreted that to mean that she was having to choose sides and was choosing Wyatt's (and by extension Darlene's) side over Marty's. She may like and respect Marty, but he's not blood. Wyatt is. In this culture, that makes a big difference. In addition, there was lingering resentment over the Frank Jr. beating. She was told she was "untouchable," then found out that wasn't actually the case. Frank's son was castrated and maimed: a high-powered shotgun blast at close range to that part of the anatomy would not only take out your reproductive equipment, but also likely turn your bladder and lower intestine to hamburger, not to mention shatter your pelvis. If Frank Jr even survives this (and he'd be lucky not to bleed out longer before he reached a hospital), he'd be using a catheter and colostomy bag the rest of his life, assuming this is portrayed realistically. Frank Sr. MUST kill Darlene in response or lose any credibility in his world.

Denis Leary wrote a book a few years ago where he talked about child actors and said there were only two child stars who became normal, well-adjusted working showbiz adults: Ron Howard and Jodie Foster. I think we can safely add Jason Bateman (and, for that matter, Justin Timberlake) to that list.

I understand two more seasons of HK were filmed back-to-back a few months ago. The sous-chefs for these next two installments are Christina Wilson and Season 7 runner-up Jason "Blue Jay" Santos. Not sure when the next one premieres.

This is my guess (and I claim no inside information): TLC and Dr. Now do some horse-trading for each season's poundticipants. Dr. Now agrees to take on some raging dumpster fires and do his best, and TLC agrees to take on some legit cases who will benefit from his help but won't make for interesting TV. This season, the mix is a little off. IMHO, the shower scenes serve one important purpose: They prevent the people from later suing and saying "I wasn't really that fat, but TLC made me wear too-small clothes or whatever." When we've seen them naked, there's no disputing how big they really are. It's not from this franchise, but I remember an episode from the Robert Irvine restaurant renovation show Restaurant: Impossible that featured someone a lot like Ashley: she was a single mom who let her preschool-aged child (conceived via an anonymous sperm donor) run roughshod throughout the restaurant, disturbing customers and staff alike. Whenever the staff would ask her to reign in her child (who seemed to be an otherwise-normal kid who was just given no boundaries), she'd respond with "You're gonna be working for him one day." Like Ashley, her entire family (including several who owned restaurants in the same town) had cut her off completely because she was so toxic, and she argued with Robert throughout the episode, including flying off the handle at neutral observations Robert made about why the restaurant was failing. Naturally, she followed none of Robert's advice and was out of business within the year. IIRC, all Lola did was suggest a disorder. She didn't tell Ashley "You have NPD," but rather "Some of the behaviors you've described are consistent with some of the listed behaviors in NPD." She was seriously parsing her words, likely to stay on the right side of the regs you linked to. My guess: The guy is a pastor or someone who believes in helping people, and the woman is his wife who's less enthusiastic than he. That would explain why he was doing the majority of the talking and why we didn't see her later: she'd had enough of the Ashley trainwreck.

In my opinion, Williams and Lana are automatically disqualified. It is literally impossible to be "the worst" at anything when you don't actually exist.

The last time we went to Cuba (Thanksgiving 2017), we drove through suburban Havana at night and saw lots of people standing out on porches using their cellphones.