vesperholly

Alicia Witt! I covet her hair. And her sister is the actress who plays Piper's best friend on Orange is the New Black. The plot was so-so. Alicia couldn't have been more obviously the killer in that TV interview if she had stabbed the camera. Chemistry between Joan and Sherlock back up to crackling. Loved her black/white outfits too.

No one's watching as it airs, I guess :( I'm really enjoying how this season is going along. When does season 3 air on PBS?

We thank you very sweetly for this hilarious reference. Poor Andrew - the last thing he had to hear was Joan trying to break up with him. I thought the episode was pretty tightly written and funny - excepting for the anvilicious "what's a debt collector?" I mean ... Two shows for me to gaze upon his lovely visage!

Interesting opening to Season 3. I think I'm going to transfer my period show allegations from Downton Abbey. Isn't 1919 a bit early for jazz clubs?

Matthew Goode! The plot and dialogue couldn't be more trite but he and Michelle Dockery have actual chemistry ... finally. I really liked Edith's land agent guy and I certainly hope the bring him over to Downton for her. Now kiss! I also wish she would've told Mary about Marigold, especially since she has the full backing of both her parents. Though I see that Mary still isn't over the petty jibes ("I just don't want to be stuck here with you"). There were way too many plots thrown in and new characters introduced. I can't believe we spent more scenes on Denker's chicken soup disaster than Lord Sinderby's mistress and love child. WTF? I never got any romance vibes from Carson and Mrs. Hughes AT ALL, but I do appreciate the Elderly Romance plots. Isobel is far too accepting but I kind of see her point - if her sons-in-laws are huge jackasses, they could conceivably freeze out Lord Merton from his entire family and grandchildren. Though I'm sure a few threats of disinheritance might have gone over better than "please like my girlfriend" pleas. Still ship Moseley and Baxter. Dawww.

And that scene of her and Quinn in a darkened street, no less. I half expected her to do that twirl like in MSCL. Breathtaking. Yes! I imagined all of those and more.

Ding ding ding!!! No wonder I like Elementary. Huge X-Phile here. Really loved that scene in the kitchen and Joan's delivery of "I kind of want to hug you right now." I am also highly enjoying all the nerdy man-child Irregulars that come offering expertise and Terminator quotes. That was great! Second only to countless shows that have a character watch a surveillance tape, say "Enhance that part" and suddenly the thing zooms in so close we can see what color eyeshadow the woman is wearing in perfect HD. Classic. I wish I could remember what show I was watching not too long ago in which a character actually said, "This video is useless, the resolution is too low to see anything." Almost fell off the couch.

Wait, is Tasneem with IS or Pakistani military? I got the impression that she's an official Pakistani person and the contact for IS, but is actually working for IS. She and Khan seem to be on very different sides.

All I could think of was, Where was that technology when Saul was shown to the drone, then spirited away in one of the three Awesome Escape Trucks?!

I'm on this bandwagon as well. At first I was like, "Oooh, EPIC mindfuck!" because I truly love shows that can pull off twists like that. Then I thought about how bad of a retread it would be, and was glad in the end when it was just her hallucination.

It's actually an hour and a half's drive straight west of London. Not a terribly isolated location (but not easy to get to by public transport, as I discovered when I was in the UK this summer and wanted to see it). "Downton Abbey" the fictional place is set near York, which IS quite far north (4 hours by car), so perhaps you are thinking of that? :)

How can there be any room in the budget for friends (or even Edith's lady's maid, who did eventually get a name but never a face) when you have to hire THREE suitors for Mary? Gwen was kind of a stand-in for friends for Sybil, but I agree that the characters' outside lives have been very poorly fleshed out.

And that's total character assassination of LM, btw. I've been rewatching the series and have just finished S2. LM was outraged and furious when his son was outed as the person who spiked Tom's drink at dinner. He berated his son and ordered him to leave the table and wait in the car. Fairly effective discipline even if it unfortunately had to be applied many years too late.

I found it seriously stretching the imagination having Kitty tagging along. "Hello, I'm a police detective and with me is this NYPD consultant, his ex-but-kind-of-not partner, his current partner-in-training, a homeless man from across the street, my great aunt Peg and your neighbor's cat. We are all going to interrogate you now." Three's a crowd.

Even worse this week - who cares about a walk in the park with Gillingham et al? At least three separate scenes of plotting to cheer up Daisy? They need to show all that but not Cora learning that her daughter got pregnant out of wedlock, had a baby, was keeping said baby stashed away at a nearby farm? Show, WTF.

Joan has worn some very attractive outfits and they are very on-trend, but I can't stand the dresses that look like baggy, extra-long t-shirts. The outfit she was wearing when she and Sherlock were in the hotel room is a perfect example. Especially with bare legs, I get the feeling that a slight breeze will show us if she's got a belly button piercing. At least throw a belt on it.

I wish JF would just allow Mary to have a bit of compassion, and not just for the dog. I remember hating Mary for the first few episodes of S1, but then she had several "nicer" moments - getting William to see his dying mother, her affection for Carson - that made me think her more of a human character, with both flaws and features. Reading the wiki on Downton Abbey's episodes really puts into perspective how quickly time moves on this show. In S1, there are six months between ep 2 and 3, and 9 months between 5 and 6. Completely incredible considering how slowly the plots move.

Yeah, between Fara and "Better call Saul", there need to be some performance evaluations done in the Islamabad CIA office.

Probably, but she doesn't deserve Mary's cruelty simply for being a wet noodle. She's never going to be sassy, mouthy Mary, and that's hardly a bad thing. Let's rename her "Freedom"

In my estimation: Up • Cora, for taking Edith's baby news well and non-judgementally, coming up with a plan to include Marigold at Downton* • Dowager Countess, for laying a much needed smackdown of Mary's callous comments re: Edith at dinner • Tony Gillingham, for finally buzzing off and shacking up with MLF. • Branson, for calling Larry a bastard • Atticus, for the suggestion to look for Edith at the office (DUH) and being generally very adorable with Rose Down • Lord Grantham, for being such a dick about Edith's "ward" and generally more loving to his sick dog than Edith • Lord Merton's sons, for being snobby dicks in general • Mary, for being needlessly cruel and selfish every time Edith dares open her mouth within a mile of her and even in her absence • Anna, for the nosiness which does not suit her • Everyone involved in Daisy's stupid storyline for being a waste of time. "I don't have faith in the Labour government" ?!?!?!?! * even if Edith seemed WAY more happy in London running the magazine than in Downton, as reflected by her much-improved wardrobe. Though maybe now that Marigold is officially her ward, she can go back to London.

That is a textbook illustration of chemistry and lack thereof between actors. Mary and Gillingham have NO chemistry, Mabel Lane Fox and Gillingham had loads. Mary and Matthew had loads. I'm not sure if Dockery is regressing in her skills or simply being partnered with dreadful actors. Not to mention her character is being written without any shade or subtlety at all - I've been rewatching series 1 recently and Mary had a lot more heart/character development back then. She wasn't such a superficial bitch.

Certainly now, but probably not back in 1924. Child psychology was not much of a field then. John Bowlby was one of the people at the forefront of developmental psychology, especially in children, and in 1924 he was all of 17. Most of his work was accomplished during and after WWII. Oh, and Mary's a bitch. Edith is no Sybil, but she doesn't seem to be the instigator in any of these situations - more reactive to Mary's antagonism. Being ignored is such a cruel treatment. It's one thing to play second fiddle to your attractive, charming older sister. It's another thing entirely to have your entire family pretend you barely exist. Edith is upset? Let's ignore her until she stops being upset and gets with the program. God forbid anyone ask her WHY she's so upset. Why she fled to Europe for (suspiciously convenient) 10 months. Why she has a sudden interest in the Drewe's new orphan. Maybe once in a while, put on a sympathetic face and ask "Are you alright, darling?" But all she gets is a few superficial bursts of interest. That's why Tom's conversation with her, "Please talk to me, tell me" was really heart-rending. Someone who really cares.

Hand the Emmy over to that casting director right now. Tommy looked just like Jimmy that final scene. Wow.

A little early for Eunice Carter (she was ADA in 1935) but that fits pretty darn good. Mabel Walker Willebrandt is the inspiration for fed Esther Randolph. I love learning about kickass women of history and it's great the show is making a point to feature them.

And also Aziz, the crazy awesome terrorist leader from True Lies! To me, the ick factor had nothing to do with age and everything to do with manipulation, ethics and imbalance of power. Especially when they made sure to stick in that Ayan-leans-in-for-a-kiss part to signal the audience that yes, it is consensual ... yuck. Lastly: Authority literally means a person with power. This operation with Ayan, Ghazi et al is off the books, so she doesn't have station staff to delegate to.