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cesstar

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  1. So far I am thrilled with the event final podiums, what a great mix of countries and gymnasts! I'll start with Vault and how wonderful it was to see Rebecca win (and whipping out a surprise Amanar last minute, what a queen!). Her Chengs have been a thing of beauty this Olympics, ironically the one which won her gold may have been her 'worst' one but overall she was clearly the superior vaulter with her impeccable form. Not a huge Skinner fan but can respect her hard work and resilience and her vaults have improved. Yeo getting on the podium to join her dad as Olympic vault medallists, what a great story! Disappointed for Jade just because it's an awful way for your final to go, but knowing she gets redemption on floor makes me happier with the final podium. Uneven Bars was a bit of a mess, not one I'll re-watch. Suni looked very nervous being up first but glad she managed to still walk away with a bronze. Belgium getting their first gold. Iliankova tends to get overlooked a lot so what a moment for her to bring home silver for Russia. Floor was AMAZING! I loved all of the finalists and they all did such a wonderful job (well except for poor Listunova but at least she has her team gold to console herself with!). It was great to see such high-quality performances. Jade's tumbling ability is insane, even my partner who doesn't know much about gymnastics was able to see how much more difficult her tumbling is. Haha she's not exactly a natural performer though is she? Thrilled for Vanessa finally getting a medal after all those 4th place finishes. And Mai - so so happy for her and Japanese gymnastics, what a leader she has been for them. I read somewhere that everyone in the floor final will go home an Olympic medallist, I think that really helps explain the quality of this final.
  2. Wow. Well that was a very eventful team final! I think most people have covered the situation with Simone already, she made the right decision to protect her health and while there seems to be a minority of social media trolls, I'm actually impressed that her teammates, coaches, peers and (most) mainstream media have been very supportive of her choice to prioritise her mental health. We have come a long way from when Gabby Douglas was dragged through the mud in Rio and then basically abandoned to cope on her own. She spoke quite recently (when Osaka pulled out of the French) about the huge mental toll that took on her at the time and how she still struggles today. I hope that the support continues. Really happy for Russia, they were the best team across both days and their excitement and emotion at winning was very cute. This has been a long time coming for them and I hope they enjoy the moment. Listunova had a fabulous day and was able to really really channel her disappointment at missing the AA final, so pleased for her. Stunned that GB got third but I adore the Gadirova twins and it was heartwarming to see Alice do so well after seeing her sobbing after qualifications. Did not see the China disaster coming, they can be inconsistent but not normally to this level. I hope some of them can get redemption in the event finals (please beam gods!).
  3. Scores don't carry over and are reset to zero for the final so all the qualified teams will start again from scratch. I think the US are still favourites for gold, I would be very surprised to see them have the same level of mistakes again. I am curious who will go up for the US for each event - will they keep Jordan on Uneven Bars and Beam or just put her in the floor/vault line-up?
  4. Well that was an exciting qualifications! Being in the same time zone I even got to watch most of it live which never happens. Surprised that Russian qualified first but they really did have a fabulous day with their top three hitting absolutely everything. I feel bad for Listunova who was the one 2-pc out, they were all sooo close to each other's scores! It will be interesting to see if they can replicate this performance again in finals - I really hope they do because a close team final would be a lot of fun to watch. Some nerves perhaps for the US team but I can't see them making the same number of mistakes in the actual final, especially Simone who is just so experienced. And even with some of her mistakes she still made all the finals. Jade was fantastic, she really stepped up when it mattered most and I was very happy for her making two finals. Suni also did exactly what she is there for, her uneven bars are excellent and her poise and calmness on beam was just what the US needed after a nervous set from Grace and poor Jordan. Other highlights - the Gadirova twins were fabulous and I just love their charisma and sky-high tumbling. Rebecca Andrade!!! What a comeback for her, I would absolutely love her to medal in the all-round, she has been through so much. Guan ChenChen on beam, phenomenal, can she please repeat it in event finals because that routine deserves a gold medal. Relieved that Japan made the team final in their home country, so much pressure on those girls. Mai wiping away Yuna Hiraiwa's tears after UB almost broke me.
  5. cesstar

    Gymnastics

    It's interesting to see how the extra year has impacted different athletes. For someone like Morgan Hurd who looked in great form winning the American Cup in early 2020 the extra year has been a huge challenge with several elbow surgeries basically scuppering her chances. For someone like Jordan Chiles the extra year has given them the time they needed to adjust to new coaches and peak at the right time. It's a cruel game of luck in many ways! I was really surprised that they denied Morgan's petition, normally they allow athletes like her the honour of being able to complete their journey at trials even if they aren't likely to make the team. Given that she was part of the Worlds team that qualified the US to the Olympics and is their most successful gymnast of the quad behind Simone it would have been a nice gesture and acknowledgement of all her contributions. While it looks fairly likely that Simone, Jordan and Sunisa will make the team, there are a number of gymnasts with a good claim to both the fourth team spot and/or the second individual spot. It will be interesting to see who is selected and what the selectors choose to prioritise - individual event medals, built-in alternates or a buffer on the team medal.
  6. I'm a book reader who wasn't a massive fan of Roger in the books either (although I didn't dislike him) so for me it's not about the actors playing them. I think both actors do a great job with their characters. I think the Jamie character is possibly the harder one to get right given the huge amount of charisma he is supposed to project. You need to really believe why people would follow him into war, back in time etc. They hit the jackpot with Sam in my opinion. Roger is certainly a man of his time. This is an interesting contrast with the other main characters who are all, to some extent, progressive for their respective eras. Perhaps that plays into the indifference for him, particularly with younger audiences? For me, I quite enjoy Roger in his plots away from Bree, for example when he is paired with Claire or Jamie. It is when he is with Bree that I find him at his most insufferable. Some of that is due to his attitude towards her, particularly when they first got together and then after the whole Bonet debacle but I also never get the impression that he is truly in love with her as a person. He talks of her beauty and her as a mum, but never really her as an individual. I'm never sure if this is a deliberate choice by the author or not.
  7. cesstar

    Tennis Thread

    The crowd was absolutely appalling, I'm actually shocked by the classless behaviour at the Djokovic game. Sure people can have their favourites but show some effing respect to the players. Boorish tennis fans are really turning me off this sport, it's getting worse and worse.
  8. A nice article on Caitriona in The Irish Times It also states that her and Sam have been made producers for Season 5.
  9. This was great! And Claire had a bit of side-eye going on too. Looking forward to more reactions next season! I thought she had good chemistry with Lord John (although who wouldn't!?). I quite like her as Jamie and Claire's daughter too, those scenes worked for me although it's obviously not romantic chemistry! Maybe their onscreen spark will develop as the show goes on but sometimes it just doesn't happen. It's not a show-stopper on it's own but when the writing around the relationship is weak as well it's harder to overcome.
  10. I'm very curious what you mean by that. I don't know what you felt needed to be earned or by whom. As a viewer I didn't feel invested enough in their relationship to be emotionally moved by the moment (which was clearly directed to be seen as a big climatic scene). To pull off a dramatic run to your loved one reunion without looking cliche or overly sappy I feel like you need to really believe in the relationship. For me personally, I haven't seen enough of them together to understand why they love each other. They have spent most of their relationship apart, she rejected his marriage proposal and he basically slut shamed her, then she goes back in time and he follows her, convinces her to marry him for reasons I don't feel were made particularly clear, they then fight straight away, he leaves and now she knows that after being rescued he had to think about whether to even come back for her after knowing she'd been brutally raped.... I don't see some epic love story there so the reunion, filmed as it was, didn't really work for me personally.
  11. A solid finale although not my favourite (season 2 is probably). They did a good job of wrapping things up while also laying the groundwork for next season. I feel we got a bit shortchanged on Ian this season but the scene between him and Jamie broke my heart. Really well acted and they sold the emotion. I liked Jocasta and Murtagh, although I'm not sure where they will take it now that Murtagh is a wanted man. I felt so sorry for Bree that neither her parents or Roger were around for her giving birth, and then with Roger not returning straight away... How awful for her. I didn't feel that her dramatic run towards him was earned at all, that part fell quite flat to me although I know the writers probably wanted a happy ending before the Murtagh reveal. I don't know, I find them a problematic couple in the book and the actors don't have enough chemistry for me to overlook it in the show either. Will be interesting to see how they deal with their relationship next season. I felt that the episode lacked some kind of reconciliation between Bree and Jamie at the end, particularly after their conflict drove the action for the latter part of tge season. It's a tough book to adapt, given some of the contrived storytelling and plot lines, probably the hardest of all of them all. I think they did a pretty reasonable job although I doubt I will rewatch as many episodes as previous seasons. But looking forward to next season!
  12. cesstar

    Gymnastics

    Well, another Worlds is over! I really enjoyed the bits that I was able to see, highlights included Aliya still looking fab on bars, Lui TingTing finally winning a beam medal, Morgan winning silver on floor (I just love her expression and theatricality!), Alexa Moreno winning the first ever medal for Mexico, Simone debuting her new vault (could she end up with elements named on all four events!?), Mai finally getting her AA medal, and most importantly - no injuries! The US team looks so strong, obviously with Simone they have an incredible buffer but this was a really nicely balanced team where everyone had something to contribute. Kara did so well on beam in team finals, she is exquisite on that apparatus. And Riley rebounded so well from the disappointment of not making AA finals, this will have been a great experience for her going forward. Grace was rock steady and Morgan did a fab job leading off on each event to set the tone. Will be really interesting to see which of them are still contenders for Tokyo 2020.
  13. cesstar

    Gymnastics

    Great competition so far, no injuries (I don't think?) and so many gymnasts performing to their potential. Loved Aliya casually throwing out a floor routine even though she's been focussing on beam and bars, she is such an icon. It was adorable to see Morgan Hurd in the audience fan-girling over her! For the US, it was great to see Kara Eaker perform so solidly on beam, what a tough one-event to have to deliver on. She did great. Hurd was definitely on during qualifications, thrilled for her to qualify to floor and bars as well as AA. Although I also really like Riley so it was a shame to see her nerves get the better of her. She is lacking a bit of international experience, hopefully this was a good learning experience for her and she'll come back better next time - the judges clearly liked her execution it was really mistakes that kept her down. Biles, well there are no words really are there? She could even medal in UB which would be incredible although I would definitely prefer others in that final to make the podium (and Biles will have plenty of hardware to take home!). I love the floor final line-up, what a great mix of artistry and tumblers! I can't even decide who I want to end up on the podium the most...
  14. cesstar

    Gymnastics

    Huh? I didn't know Gabby was going the acting route! I had a quick look and it seems like it's an actual role (i.e. not as herself). I don't have Hallmark but will be interested to hear how she goes! An article on Ellie Downie, looks like she will do AA at the Championships. Apart from Simone, the women's AA field is very competitive this year - Hurd/McCusker/McCullum (it's a toss of the coin who will be the second qualifier!), Murakami, Black, Melnikova, even some of the French and Belgium girls could end up on the podium. Very exciting!
  15. cesstar

    Gymnastics

    Lol. Don't hold your breath on the decently lit auditorium..... I would love Mai to retain her floor title! That was a wonderful moment when she won last year. Other (WAG) wishes: Hurd medals on floor, Mustafina wins bars, Belgium and Australia make team finals, Romania get a respectable score... oh and no injuries please!
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