Sentient Meat

Because of the death mentioned in his file, I assume Piscatella scalded that man to death. I knew this season couldn't have a happy ending because private prisons still are horrible... hopefully they will take it easy on them next season, but as long as things are the way they are, I'm guessing they will continue to fight the good fight. The acting was amazing, but the storyline was all over the place. For every time I was moved, there was another scene that took me completely out of the plot.

Tiffany is like a medicated Vanessa with eyebrows and no horrible green cap. If she ever wants to do a dramatic reveal... all she needs to do is put on a cap and bleach her brows. Nicole needed to try a little harder to identify the ringleaders in the newbie group... They got tunnel vision for Jozea... and may have alienated Paulie. It seemed like a marriage of convenience anyway so I'm not sure about the long term damage but they need to get Paul first if they want some breathing room. Either the editing is really biased to favor the returnees or the new group has yet to produce any winning personalities that will charm the audience away from the vets.

I think he had grown to care for Arya as a little sister while Brienne was just doing her duty.

If you ever wondered what the Seven Samurai would be like without the samurai... well that would be it. Loved the Mormont kid too... although I disagree that she was the best of the kid actors... Joffrey was excellent at being hateful and sadistic... Robin was amazing at being clumsy and creepy... and little Arya was great at being spunky and brave. This girl is just the best at being bad ass of the bunch. Speaking of Arya, there's not too much suspense speculating about whether she lives now that they resurrected the Hound. Sounds like she is on his abbreviated shit list of one.

I found more to enjoy in this one episode, than the entire latest seasons of American Idol and The Voice... well except for the AI finale, that was actually pretty good. It's not that the acts are better in quality... it's just that they find more interesting characters... and because of the variety of acts I never know from show to show exactly what's going to happen. The last episodes of the Voice were excruciating... contestant and judge kissing each other's ass for five minutes... bland interpretation of a song... more ass kissing from the judges... ten minutes of commercials... rinse/repeat for two hours. I had to make sure to start watching at least an hour after it started because I needed to fast forward through almost everything but the songs. I don't think that this show was all that great in retrospect... but it was so much better than what I've been suffering through that it really did seem good.

I liked the scenes with Emily a lot more than the scenes with Tulip. I don't know if it was the way the actress played it, or how her part was written but Tulip felt like an action hero caricature out of a Fast and Furious or Lara Croft type movie, while Emily's motives seemed more complex and interesting. I feel like I may need some sensitivity training courses, but I have no idea what the talking butthole said. It was just too distracting for me and kept wondering if the bumps nearby were meant to be some type of facial hemorrhoid.

Jeff should have an extended reunion show on a podcast... the CBS show is always ridiculously unbalanced in terms of contestant coverage... this year Tai was over emphasized and was unable to properly articulate himself under the pressure of a live broadcast. If they had a relaxed format that spent time with each of the contestants in addition to the CBS shows... the hardcore fans would appreciate it and they could really build a solid audience for their podcasts, YouTube channels... and whatever other online presence they may have.

Normally, I root for players like Aubry and Tai... but after last week I had finally had my fill of both of them. Aubry was the best/smartest player, but I don't like the way she used Joe and Tai. Nothing wrong with that from a game play perspective but even though she shed many tears when she was physically uncomfortable, she seemed mostly bothered about the change in her position when both her allies were medevaced. I certainly wouldn't have been upset had she won, but it kept me from really wanting her to win. Tai on the other hand, seemed sincere in his emotions, but his gameplay was horrible. Even at the end when he was left out of the reward challenge... he had no interest in aligning with Michelle, and was oblivious to any jury implications regarding Aubry. Who knows, maybe the rest of the tribe treated him like a complete outsider while Aubry gave him a little attention... but going by the edit it just made no sense. So of course, the week I resolve to root for Cydney she performed terribly in the challenges... Reward, Immunity and Fire challenges... For a sports fan like myself this is the equivalent of missing three consecutive free throws with the score tied and no time left on the clock. Can't feel sorry for her... as she totally choked in the end. So I'm happy with Michelle... sure she wasn't the force that Aubry was, but she wasn't a bad player, seemed like a nice person, and she did do a good job of negotiating the end. I think if her voice was a little less annoying that people might like her more.

I've concluded that at this point I'm only watching this show with the desperate hope that they fire all the writers and showrunners and start anew next half season. So many problems, I don't even have the will to make heads or tails of it all. It's like one of those straight to video dvd with a cool cover that fools you at the Redbox over and over again.

Sansa and Jon's reunion was like a tantric orgasm after 5 years of foreplay. After so much pain and suffering it was nice to see any type of win for the Starks. I don't know how else the Osha scene could have gone... at least she went down fighting and not groveling. I can see the producers negotiating with EC to do one last topless scene. "How about we let you kill all the Dothraki leadership and have 100,000 people simultaneously bow down in worship to you." "All right... fine, I guess." Instead of having Tyrion pragmatically sell out her principles...I don't see why she just doesn't take that act like a Vegas revue up and down the coastline. Invite the leadership of her enemies to a meeting in an enclosed space. Light everyone on fire... have all the citizens bow down in amazement... Rinse, Repeat.

I kept wondering why I didn't really want Cydney to win... especially right after she immediately read the Tai/Aubry situation, and then it dawned on me. She's aesthetically pleasing to look at... she has great survival instincts... but she seems cold and emotionally aloof. Cydney is a cat. and I am not a cat person. But even dog people have their limits and after listening to Tai rambling incoherently about Michelle... and watching Aubry flip flop against Tai, I am happy with the cat winning this one.

So if I am to understand this correctly, the decimated post apocalypse Mexican authorities have found a way to do something the pre apocalypse American government has unsuccessfully tried for decades... secure the US-Mexican border.

Never have I seen such a boring panel of individuals... both singers and coaches... It was the television equivalent of taking a Xanax or other drug that one takes when they are trying to level off the highs and lows... and I truly believe they could have continued the show for another eight hours without falling upon something interesting to say. Now, I'm aware it's a singing competition... and all the inane platitudes and cliched responses could be forgiven if there was some good music happening... but it was like a loop of Muzak and infomercials that gradually descended into white noise for me. And this is coming from someone who loves singing competition shows. Someone needs to come up with a singing show that combines smack talking with music... you get 50% points for singing well... and 50% for some type of creative critique of your opponent. This politically correct care bear my little pony shit has got to come to an end. I've seen sermons that had more edge than this.

In order for many of the shows scenarios to work... it would be a given that Zombie guts must smell untenably foul. Otherwise everyone would be always walking around with it smeared upon them like mosquito repellent. Also, considering that when you live by a dairy or farm... you will go noseblind after a short period... so it must at least smell worse than cow shit. However, I often wondered why when they were threatened to be overrun... like Glenn and the dumpster... why he didn't just kill one... pull the dead body up on the dumpster... smear guts all over himself and then wait for the crowd to slowly dissipate. The mostly likely explanation is that the writers realize how overpowered this makes the living so they only use it when someone in the group is capable of freaking out. What they should do at least is show that the guts cause a permanent lesion or scar on the skin... that would explain more logically why they would use it so sparingly.

When I break it down... the Abigail crew's escape plan essentially consisted of Maddy talking while Salazar wiggled his wrists back and forth for a half an hour. I guess he must have got his torturer certification from one of those online universities.

There are so many redemption arcs of once horrible characters (Theon...Melisandre, Jaime... etc.) in this show that I truly wouldn't be shocked if Ramsay or the reanimated corpse of Joffrey ended up marrying Arya and ruling Westeros by the end of the show. So is Hodor (Willis) going to be like the Chief from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest? I guess the Heart tree is the GOT equivalent of a cyber cafe or the Matrix. Dana White needs to sign the Mountain and the Giant to replace MacGregor for UFC 200.

I think the main problem wasn't so much the double U-turn abuse... (which is a loophole I agree they need to close next season) but that the task immediately after was so simple. Granted it took a little courage to make the jump, but there was no suspense because unless someone had a panic attack because of their fear of heights the results were a foregone conclusion. So yeah... fix the rule and make sure the task after the U-turn is complicated enough that someone could conceivably overcome a double task disadvantage.

This is precisely the problem... In the Walking Dead... Shane and Rick were your typical Captain America/Superman type heroes... then you had Daryl the Arrow/Katniss crossbow type hero... Glenn and Michonne were more stealthy ninja types... Abraham your gung ho military type and then you had Carol who was the timid type that transformed. In Fear you only have a handyman type, a hairdressing torturer, a rich guy and a drug identifier... This group is worse than the one from that comedy movie about the motley group of super heroes called Mystery Men. I get wanting to show character growth but along with the hero types... the Walking Dead had Carol, Tara, Denise, Father Gabriel... many weak characters that grew from their experiences. I'm not saying I'd want the controlling father from the island to join the group... but that's the kind of person that could mold the weaker characters on Fear into people that can survive in this environment. Or even the doctor that they stupidly cut loose... Instead...this show so far is like someone blended Dumb and Dumber with the Hurt Locker

I just realized that perhaps what's wrong with this show is there isn't a competent alpha male or female among the entire group. Salazar or Strand show the most natural leadership abilities but neither of them seem to be interested in working within a team dynamic Travis is intelligent but more of a follower and Maddy is bossy but she doesn't seem to bring anything substantial to the table in terms of strategic thinking. If you had a Zombie Apocalypse fantasy draft you'd take any of The Walking Dead group (Rick, Michonne, Carol, Glenn, Maggie, Daryl, Abraham) before you'd even start looking at the Fear cast... I get that many of them haven't gone through enough to transform yet but it's a problem when the ratio of competent to incompetent people is inverse to the parent show. Maybe that's the point that they want to show how these people change but then the other problem is that they aren't likeable enough so you even care if they do. If any writers are reading these boards... add at least one clever person and the show will be a lot more tolerable. Viewers see enough incompetence during their work day... they don't want to watch more when they come home.

It made me happy and even a little hopeful to see these little groups forming... Tyrion and Varys from last year... Davos' group and presumably Jon Snow, and Brienne, Podrick, Sansa and Theon... Even had a tear in my eye from the last reunion. Looks like they are paving the way for Arya to become Westeros' version of Zatoichi or Blind Fury. Anyone powerful enough to transform themselves from that to the younger version of the Red Woman must surely be able to revive Jon Snow.

I'm not saying it didn't have it's moments but overall this episode could singlehandedly revive the Mystery Science Theater 3000 franchise were its writers so inclined.

I think because people find Jimmy such a fun loving enjoyable character that they forget how fundamentally lonely he truly is... This is more clearly portrayed in the present day scenes where he is older, living a rinse repeat life that consists of shifts at the Cinnabon counter and then going directly back home to watch movies where he feels safe from being discovered. Although his affection for Kim is currently requited... there always seems to be a desperation behind his grand gestures that go beyond simply someone trying to lock down a serious relationship and feel more like a general struggle for survival. He clings to Chuck not because he wants to but maybe because he has nowhere else to turn and that perhaps is what allows an otherwise clever man to buy into such a delusion.

I think whether one likes this show is largely dependent if they prefer a character driven drama where any action is almost incidental... like The Wire or The Sopranos or more of a pure action show like The Shield, 24, The Walking Dead. Personally, I think the show does well integrating a decent amount of action into a show that takes place in a law office setting without stretching the limits of cinematic poetic license where you wonder how can so much happen in such a short period of time. Breaking Bad did a good job of bridging this gap... but compared to Saul its characters are more broadly drawn and the focus is slightly more tilted towards the intrigue and plot twists than exploring the subtleties of the human soul. If you approach the show expecting it to be more like Mad Men or Six Feet Under instead of anticipating excitement every episode, then you will find the occasional jolt of adrenaline to be a welcome surprise rather than be constantly in a state of having action sequence blue balls waiting for something to happen. I'm guessing that Jimmy becomes Saul as a compromise with his brother who agrees not to have him disbarred if he relinquishes any claim to the family name. I'm with the rest of you who don't believe Jimmy would have fallen for his shenanigans... especially after having been betrayed before. It's time to promote this show to at least 12 or 13 episodes... Bob's not Benjamin Button after all.

This episode was at a Arrested Development/His Girl Friday level in terms of comic lines/bits per minute density. And the Mentos were woven into the storyline with the inspiration of a great Curb Your Enthusiasm. Genius.

This Freak of the Week/Love Boat style... new adventure in a different port type show isn't working for me so far... if that's actually what they are trying to do here. The long play Strand story arc feels half baked too... like the writers are stalling until they can come up with something halfway decent. So far this show in general feels like when I'd buy a dvd to watch deleted scenes from a movie that I really love... exciting in theory, but disappointing in reality. The main problem they are having is that I thought they were going to show a more detailed account of what happened between the time when Rick got shot and woke up and everything turned to shit. The story has now chronologically advanced too far up to the point where they seem to be where Walking Dead started so instead of having new insights into how things degenerated... they are merely covering the same ground with shittier characters. Because it is on a boat, it feels like they are just trying to save money and the whole show is nothing more than a money grab to sucker hardcore fans while they wait for the TWD to start. They should just let the 50 caliber gun go off on this group and reboot the show from the chubby kid's perspective back on land.