stormy weather

When someone is in the top two 4 times in a row, you know someone messed up with the casting. I wonder how that process goes, do they ask everyone from past seasons and choose whoever has time to go? Or is there a more conscious selection? And based on what? It was kinda obvious from the first episode, but at this point I feel there's such a huge gap between Ben DeLaCreme and Shangela and the rest of the queens, that we might as well just skip to the final between those two. It's like every episode they're eliminating the least worst contestant instead of promoting the best. I also agree that the Snatch Game was one of the worst ever and could've used some better known celebrities or at least celebrities who had more recognizable traits. And yeah, what was up with the runway? I thought they would at least comment on everyone's look and performance, but it was super short. Maybe they needed the extra time because if Shangela and Ben had picked two different queens they would have them LSFTL?

I really hope Dela wins this time around because so far she has proven herself to be the absolute best in everything, she really is an all-round artist. Shangela and Kennedy, (especially Shangela who has been a true revelation this season) are also very talented but they're not as consistent. Ben really brings it every single time, and I agree that it feels like Ru has to "let" other people win the lip-sync because otherwise it would be always Dela. And I think Dela knows it too. About that, I feel that the incentive to win the final lip-sync (the money, that is) might not be enough. In my opinion, some of the winners don't put too much effort in the lip-sync because they don't want to win and be the one who has to send another girl packing. This elimination method might be entertaining, but it's not really fair, to be honest. This week both contestants did very poorly, that's true, and it's also true that Milk dug her own grave by acting so superior towards everybody, but her style of drag is model/avantgarde designer, not performer/comedian/actress. Now, I know this is not enough to win Drag Race (which of course she shouldn't have won), but at least it's a talent she has. And okay, she was terrible during the Bitchelor challenge, but the leaves and the ruffled hair were funny. Chi Chi, on the other hand, has been in the bottom many times so far and, by her own admission, she doesn't feel ready to compete at such a high level, so in my opinion she should've been sent home. She's really sweet and truly gorgeous, and it's true that she and Shangela were given the least "comedically recognizable" characters, but I don't know, it's like there's nothing "unique" about her.

Whiny Rio: "My sister means so much to me and I should've won this challenge because she graduates today and she loves Patrick Starr soooo much! It's not fair!" and "You suck 'cause you're so beautiful and you remind me of all the girls in school who did nothing and got credit for it!" No but come on, are you for real? The level of drama is pure insanity. I understand that after her health issues and the difficult times she went through Rio feels like she's been wronged by life and has this chip on her shoulder where she's mad that other people get recognition without doing anything because she's been through so much and she deserves it better. Even so, I repeat, I understand where she's coming from, but that's not the way to go about it. Also, the way they praised Ashley Graham’s picture made me even more convinced that in this show the quality of the pictures you take and how good you look in them has got nothing to do with the judges’ final decision on who to send home. Ashley’s picture was terrible, she did worse than most of the girl that got criticized for theirs. There’s no objectivity, they’re just sending home the girls who don’t create enough drama for people to keep watching the show. The elimination of Coura is incomprehensible otherwise, because in the past few episodes she got so much praise and so many compliments I thought for sure she would be one of the finalists, and now suddenly this? It doesn’t make ANY sense.

I have that feeling too, you know? But no, come on, they made a point of showing us his body in the morgue with that half burned face that should've come with a warning too many times for the corpse to be fake and this to be all a mise-en-scène for I don't know yet what purpose. I mean, it would be "Unbelievability Level": Grey's Anatomy. But then again, years of training with that show have taught me well, and now I wouldn't put anything past Shonda. About the trial, I've seen parents that looked and acted waaaay crazier than Laurel being given full custody of their children, so the judge's decision came as quite a surprise. I mean, I understand that, for the sake of the show, they can't give her her child back just like that, at the first hearing, but this is kinda stretching it a bit too much. And Laurel is actually alarmingly calm through the whole ordeal. If they had taken my baby from me for no reason, I would've flung a chair across the courtroom. And I would probably be camping outside his NICU room with signs until they let me see him already.

I'm actually not happy Ryhan was eliminated. She was beautiful and deserved to stay in the competition more than other girls who made the cut. Especially given her last statement about how bad she feels about herself. I don't think she needed this, on top of everything. But I love Coura as well, so I just think it's wrong her and Ryhan were the bottom two. In my opinion, Kyla is still the most unique and model-esque contestant, or, as Law said, the most bookable, so I think she's either going to win or be a runner up to Krystyana. Also, Liz might've been a complete nutcase, but her photo was by far the best of the bunch. And this competition is not called America's next Sweetheart, so it's not like you need to get along with everybody to stay in the competition. I'm not sure why Tyra basically told her "yeah okay, leave if you want to" when I'm sure she could've convinced her to stay if she really wanted to.

I actually kind of understand where Brendi is coming from. Her makeover was the most extreme and also the most radical of all. Everyone else got simple alterations like dyed hair, highlights, extensions or curls (except for Jeana, who got rid of her wig and looks SO much better now), which means they can still rock different styles in the next challenges, whereas Brendi is kind of stuck with the G.I. Jane look. I don't know, I feel that other girls got favored over her. Rhyan and Kyla, for example, looked absolutely gorgeous post-Tyover. I didn't like Liberty's look, it does absolutely nothing for her, I don't think she has the right face for red (more like strawberry blonde) hair and I also don't understand why she won the challenge, really. Also, when did she change her views on Trump during the show? Did I miss the epiphany?

So you can now sign an online petition to fire Scott Gimple. It appears 50,000 fans of TWD already did so. I don't know if this is unprecedented in the history of television, but it's kinda crazy how we got to the point that viewers have to tell the showrunner his show sucks once the episodes have already been shot and aired. I mean, isn't there a team of co-writers, authors, producers, directors or even cast members, who can sense some choices are bad for the show and can veto them and suggest other options? How was everyone on board with this?

I guess that, since no one seems to have seen a zombie bite Carl in the scene with Saddiq, they had to make it really clear that it was a bite and not some other regular looking gash, wound or tear of the flesh that would probably look more realistic but that could be the result of any random injury. Maybe if they had shown the "zombie attack" more properly and then left us wondering what had actually happened, the final scene with Carl revealing the wound would've been way more powerful (because it would've looked real, at least) and less "oh, look, I have a perfectly round mark that shows teeth have sunk into my skin. It sure looks like a zombie bit me, but then again, you figure it out by yourself!" This is all very sad and disrespectful of the viewers. They stretched out the plot so much that there's actually no plot anymore. It's just them perpetually driving around thanks to endless supplies of fuel, getting food, gathering weapons, making plans and sabotaging themselves from one random shocking death to the other. I think the only smart thing to do now would be to hurry things along and have a second half of the season where Carl kills Negan and then dies, Maggie gives birth, all the survivors are reunited and they MOVE ON to the next place, where they'll meet new people and have new adventures. I know, I know. But a girl can dream.

I just hope Carl's death doesn't lead to 8 episodes of either Rick wandering the woods crying, kicking the trees in outbursts of rage and yelling "why me" in hope of falling prey to a zombie and meeting the same fate as his beloved (?) child OR endless interior monologues of Rick sitting on a rocking chair staring into space waiting for Negan to come kill him. Although, actually, it could be beneficial to have him out of everyone's hair for a while so maybe people will remember they also used to have a brain (oh' Caaaaarol!) and can get shit done faster and more efficiently than Rick ever did while he's wallowing in self pity mourning the death of a son whom I strongly doubt he would even recognize at this point, since the amount of time they spent together in the past 4 seasons probably adds up to 4 hours total, and I'm not talking about screen time.

I wish I could've been in the writers' room when someone said "listen all y'all, I have a genius idea. Why don't we kill Carl?" because I honestly can't believe no one said "but why though" since, I agree, plot-wise it makes absolutely no sense. But yeah, I think the new guy (can't remember his name) Coral died for (maybe?) might take center stage next season. It seems to me like at this point the only way the writers found to keep people interested in an otherwise dull, idiotic and insanely repetitive show is to kill off one of the main characters in the (season or midseason) premiere, after making their upcoming death the cliffhanger of the previous episode. Sometimes I feel like I'm watching a zombie-themed reality show where each season someone is eliminated and we basically keep watching just to see who it will be. I've never read the comics so I have no idea whether this is explained there or not, but I still don't understand why can't they just leave Negan there, pack up and move somewhere else. Dear Gimble, I suggest this as an option because 1. I'd love to see what's going on in other places and 2. at this point, even a season of the whole gang getting on a bus and going on a road trip with Daryl and Carol singing Holiday Road would sound more appealing than this lazy excuse for a show.

That's another of the insanities of this episode where I wanted to go back and check if I had missed something they said or some part of this "box for Neil" deal they got going on, (which of course I didn't do 'cause at this point, honestly, who cares) because why in the world would you pull over one of the three Most Wanted People in Wherever-they-are-at-this-point, GA, confiscate her and everyone else's weapons, threaten to kill one of her allies if she doesn't comply, actually kill one of her friends just because, and then... trust her enough to let them all go back to Hilltop to organize, regroup and, while they're at it, kill a prisoner Savior "just so we're even" without even following them to check out Hilltop, see if they have prisoners, make sure they start plowing and harrowing asap or just, I don't know, keep an eye on them?

What an awful episode. Most of all I kept asking myself why does everything always have to happen at night, but in general this entire thing was pure chaos. I admit I might not have been paying super close attention because, you know, BOREDOM, and also I watched the episode on my laptop which really didn't help trying to define the already blurry outlines against the dark sky, but really, I could not figure out what was going on 85% of the time. I didn't know who was where, what they were doing, where they were going and couldn't even make out whether we were seeing scenes from Alexandria, Hilltop, Oceanside or the Kingdom. And then in the end, (how??? I'm still wondering), they're magically all reunited in a tunnel that appears to have around 75 different entrances all across Georgia and that I can't recall ever seeing or it being spoken of before. The absurdity of this show has now reached Lost levels, it may have even passed them. Do the writers care enough to make this at least a teeny tiny bit believable? I've been waiting for something major to happen for the past 3 seasons, but all I got was a headache trying to figure out how Judith looks like a 4 year old while Maggie has been pregnant for at least two years and doesn't even have a baby bump.

I thought we'd got rid of Pamela once and for all, and instead. Why, show, why? She is insufferable and I really don't understand why Louie puts up with her! I loved the girls' reaction when Louie told them "get up, we're going to bail my brother out of jail". I know it's a paradoxical situation, but as an 8-year-old I would have been pretty excited too for such an adventure at 8 PM (read "middle of the night" in children time zone). Oh and also Shasta's "but my parents are together" line was a great, great moment.

I didn't like seeing Jay pushing Gloria so hard to get US citizenship. Like others pointed out, it's not like she needs it to keep living with him and raising Joe, she is perfectly fine doing those things with her Colombian citizenship. I think his attitude was pretty selfish, and it still came across as "I'm so insecure in this relationship because I'm old and grumpy and rich while your ex husband is young and hot that I'm going to cut all ties you have with him and your country so that you feel more "mine" to me". I wouldn't want to renounce the citizenship of the country I was born and raised in for years just because my new husband tells me to, especially if there's no actual reason why I should. Was Manny born in the US, though?

I don't have a problem with what Pamela said about having an open relationship, it's her point of view and she can say whatever she wants. What I don't get is why Louis likes her so much. She's horrible! She won't listen to his stories, won't go watch the movie he wants to watch, she picks on him all the time and that talk (read: rant) at the restaurant was sooo long and unasked for I wanted to mute the audio. Plus she's not funny at all and I don't think she fits into the bittersweet tone of the show, she's too over the top and hyped up all the time. I don't like the episodes that revolve around her at all. The "tragedy" of the poop scene was great, though. It reminded me of Neverending Story, when Atreyu has to leave Artax in the Swamp of Sadness.

This episode was awful. The writing was even more terrible than usual. I can't believe no one ever asked the girl things like: - do you remember at least seeing one sign with a name on it on the way to the cabin or some other detail (a farm, a landmark, a water tank...) that might help us identify where you guys are at? - do you have any relatives we can contact because chances are someone in your family knew you and your mom were headed to the mountains and might know where this cabin is located? but no, instead they teach her how to intubate her mom with a straw, because that's way easier. Or maybe they did ask her and I missed it because I had already decided to classify this episode as white noise and go do the dishes in the meantime. Also, the 3-minute long scene with the dramatic music in which Owen has to figure out how to transfer a call on another phone (with thrilling close-ups of Owen and the phone) and the fact that THREE DOCTORS had the time to talk to someone on the phone for hours and do that beautiful rendition of Stayin' Alive that now I sadly can't unhear anymore is simply hilarious. I'm basically watching this show for comedy now.

Obviously anyone who abandons their children has got issues, but in Carrie's mother's defense I'd like to point out that if we assume Carrie is 35 (Danes is 35 and seriously, if Carrie was any younger it would make it even more unbelievable than it already is that she would hold such a high position in the CIA, I mean, at 35 I would consider it a great accomplishment if I was the boss at a mall cops agency), this means her mother left when she was 20 and her sister was what, 23-25?, so they were not exactly children. But yeah, not even a Christmas card in 15 years... that's low, woman. And I agree with the recapper, they cast "baby" half-brother all wrong, that kid looked so old he could've been Carrie's next love interest, although I guess that after Ayan the "hold on a sec, he's a teenager" envelope has been pushed for good.

That's the thing that bothers me the most about this show, the fact that both Noah and Allison keep getting nothing but love from everybody after what they did. Both spouses take them back, Noah still sees the children, he moves back home, and instead of coming back with his tail between his legs, he still has the guts to get mad at Helen for calling him a sociopath ("when she was angry", she even points out) and at her mother who, insufferable as she is, has seen her daughter cheated on and then abandoned. Allison, same as above, can come back and forth from New York as she pleases, Cole still tells her he only wants her and her mother-in-law protects her and justifies her when she is rightfully insulted by Helen. I don't understand why no one works up the courage to tell these people they're just awful, instead of rewarding them for their complete lack of empathy. The "raging bitch"? I think Helen's reaction in that situation, after being dumped like that after 20 years and four kids, in the middle of a family crisis, with the words "I'm in love with someone else" was more than acceptable and very dignified. An older guy had just got her 16 year old daughter pregnant, they're not fighting about who wants what flavor of ice cream. Also, in general I feel Scottie has been too much of a marginal character in the series to make him the center of everything. I mean I would've been more affected by and more invested in the murder mystery if the dead guy had been someone closer to Noah's family or even closer to Allison. And of course we don't know yet whether it was Noah (or Allison) that killed Scottie, but in both cases it's very hard to believe, they just don't look like the type that would go to that extreme.

I think that was just sloppy work by the writers who forgot to add an "e" after "lieb". alexvillage and her husband are (obviously!) correct, written like that it doesn't mean anything (I've been living in Berlin for a few years now). I know it's a negligible mistake, but it still bothers me when people are this sketchy. It's three words, come on, it's called "copy/paste". I know this show is Gordon & Gansa's A Series of Fortuitous Happenstances, but I kept wondering what were the chances that Quinn would catch sight of Carrie (who was already standing exactly on top of the bomb, of all places) in all that mayhem and with such perfect timing. Carrie, you could've died! Like last week in that car bombing thing and on an average of once per episode for the past 4 seasons! It's getting a bit ridiculous at this point but I still love the show. As for Carrie and Quinn, at first I thought I had sensed something more than simple concern for one of your colleagues in Carrie's words "I can't lose you, Quinn, I CAN'T" and in the tears in Quinn's eyes after he decided to self-boycott his carefully planned operation. But then I thought about it some more, and I don't think they're in love. I think Carrie had just lost Aayan, another bunch of co-workers, Fara and her dad (probably in this order of importance to her), and the ever-lingering Brody, of course, so she had to hold on to the last friendly face she had left in, probably, the world (her sister resents her and she hasn't seen her daughter since the delivery, more or less). Quinn's tears were more tears of failure than tears of love. He had the chance to end this whole Haqqani mess and get his longed-for closure and then, once again, everything went awry. What I mean is It's not Carrie, he wouldn't have pushed that button even if it was Max, or Fara or his motel manager girlfriend standing on that grate and maybe he would've teared up just the same. Finally, that baby looks more like Damian Lewis than his real kids.

Oh I loved that. Finally, someone asks Allison the question we've all been asking ourselves since the beginning of this show. Hers and Cole's marriage makes absolutely no sense. She keeps doing whatever she wants and he keeps running after her. Why, Joshua, why? Yes, speaking of that scene. I don't think Cherry is as evil as some of the people here think. And I'm sorry but at this point I do believe Gabriel's death was partially Allison's fault and that was just a grieving grandmother who has been bottling up resentment for quite a few years now speaking. Your child nearly drowned and can't even walk and you take him home and not to a hospital? Your own child? Well I agree with that poster that said Allison took him home because of her pride, because she is a little miss "know-it-all/want-it-all" and always thinks she knows better. The fact that Cherry was right added to the already terrible opinion I had of Allison for barging in waving the mortgage papers and yelling she wanted her share of the money to do whatever she wanted, regardless of what Cole (her HUSBAND, I remind you) might have wanted to do with his (maybe buy a place together somewhere else? Go on a trip? Renovate the beach house?) ETA: On the thought of Allison and Noah being soulmates, have we ever seen them do ANYTHING but have sex? I mean, apart from that day trip on that other island (half of which was spent in bed, anyway), have they ever spent any time together just having any conversation that touched other topics (politics, culture, music, literature...) than "I can't leave my husband/wife", "I'll leave my husband/wife", "let's find a hotel where we can shag and that's also affordable"? How can you call someone a "soulmate" when you don't know anything about him/her? It seems to me they only meet to get it on and nothing else, and when that's done, they split.

That's exactly my point. I was saying most people here perceive Sheldon's attitude as "he's being mean to Amy" while to me it's just the regular behavior he has with everybody else.

I actually hope we will never come to that. Or even to the point where they sleep together or kiss in public or anything like that. Many people have complained that Sheldon is disrespectful towards Amy all the time and it seems like she's just following him around like a puppy dog, but this is a comedy show and those are the kind of characters they are supposed to portray. Even if there's an underlying ongoing plot in all these self-standing episodes, that doesn't mean the protagonists need to have a full-blown character arc as it happens in movies or TV dramas. Sheldon has always shown very poor social skills and a general incapacity to interact with people, that's his main characteristic, so I'm perfectly content with him staying the "jerk" that he is and I'd find it kind of unrealistic if he did a complete 180 and became a totally different person who shows love and affection for his girlfriend and hugs her and holds her etc. Also, why would Leonard and Howard be working on Christmas Eve? Did they say it and I missed it?

Hmm, I thought that was nice of Cherry, though. Allison was having a hard time answering brother #4's question because she's clearly far from coming to terms with the loss of her son. She obviously wanted to keep the chest but she didn't know how to say it, so Cherry read the situation well and helped her out by saying SHE wanted to keep it. I generally like Cherry, especially since when she decided to burn the compromising note. I don't know how many mothers-in-law would've done that.

I might be the only one here but I still think Noah and Helen's marriage is way better than most marriages I see in real life these days. They've been married for so long and still manage to have honest conversations (like when Helen talks to Whitney post-spew and then she says she's done a poor job and Noah agrees) and sex, too. If that's not a good marriage, I don't know what is. Certainly not Allison and Cole's, where she can spring out of bed and get changed when he thinks she's sleeping and still no questions are asked. I also agree with whoever said that Helen doesn't really think whatever she said in therapy about marrying Noah because he was "safe". Oh, the things you say when you want to get back at someone... we've all been there. I'm also getting very confused about the timeline and honestly still can't see the link between Scotty and either Allison or Noah, unless it has something to do with Cole (whom we haven't seen at Scotty's funeral) or with Whitney (although I can't see Noah killing someone over an unwanted pregnancy).

I would like to take a minute to thank Joshua Jackson for telling the world what DNR means. I know it's a petty complaint, but the explanation really "broke" the scene! I half-expected the "The More You Know" rainbow star would appear for a second. I was really surprised at how both spouses (especially Cole) promptly forgave their partners for cheating on them. At least Noah apologized profusely and I really believe he does still love Helen. Their marriage is not that bad at all. Allison, on the other side, has pretty much done whatever she wanted since the beginning of the show, yet everyone has been shown to be incredibly sympathetic towards her all the time. I understand she's lost a child and Cole might be a bit more supportive, but Cole has lost a child too, and I don't see her being very supportive of him either. Most of the time she looks like she's in a sort of daze and is incapable of taking any decisions, she just goes with the flow. And although I enjoy the acting and the exploration of the characters, I do wish sometimes the plot would move just a tiny bit faster and reveal more clues. Okay, good, then it wasn't my laptop. What was that about? Was it intentional?