SparklesBitch

Dan to Fred, on hiring a stripper for Fred's bachelor party: "I heard about this Shari Lewis look-a-like that does something incredible with Lamb Chop." lol!

All of this is spot on! I would have loved having Bonnie at the diner, and I completely agree about Leon. He quickly became one of my favorites for exactly those reasons. As for Fred, I really enjoyed him. I liked the easy chemistry that he had with Dan, and like you said, that Dan had another regularly appearing adult male to play off of. Fred was just as much a decent guy as Gary was. I liked Dan having the job at the garage....things just seemed nicely stable for a bit. Jackie seemed to settle down a bit once she had Andy in that she got back a bit of the confidence she had in earlier seasons. New Mom Jackie was sort of sweet. Also, I thought the scene where she and Fred decided to break up for good, sitting at the table when they realized they truly have nothing in common and shouldn't have gotten married at all was straight up brilliant. No screaming and yelling or over the top insults, just tired acknowledgment of the fact that they got married for the wrong reasons. That was perfect. But, that being said, I was attached to Fred and thought he disappeared too quickly. His and Jackie's entire relationship was weird. I thought she was well within her right to not want to see him again after the first time before she found out she was pregnant. He was a nice guy, but that didn't mean she owed him anything. She even kindly made that perfectly clear in the diner early on, but he kept pushing. I get that he wanted to be involved with the baby once she found out she was pregnant and that he at least wanted visitation, which he absolutely should have rights to. Jackie went a little overboard trying to keep him out. She was flat out mean and unreasonable at times. One calm, rational, adult conversation could have saved them both a lot of stress. And that "big reveal" conversation that Jackie and Roseanne had in the diner about Jackie continually refusing Fred's advances..."they're not all like Fisher, Jackie, they're not all like Dad." struck me as being a little odd. I mean, obviously that's her problem. She's over the top mean to Fred and dismissive because she's traumatized. It should be obvious and yet it's like that conversation sets off a lightbulb in Jackie's head that "hey, of course he's not like that and now that I realize that, we should totally be together." It seemed really rushed. Like she was totally over her trauma now because Roseanne reminded her that Fred is a nice guy. I don't think it works like that. Sort of like how when Roseanne first pushed Jackie to ask Fred out, she mentioned how it had "already" been six months since Jackie had been with anyone. Six months suffering through domestic violence, moving out of the apartment you shared with your abuser, moving in with your sister, moving out of there and in with the mother you can't stand, then buying a house and moving AGAIN....it barely seems like enough time to heal, let alone trying to force yourself into another relationship. And then Jackie and Fred were together and then married and then divorced in the space of a few episodes. I totally agree that after the divorce is when Jackie really went off the deep end.

Me too. It's no wonder that Dan didn't like Nancy. He was right, she was completely self absorbed. That whole storyline where she knows that Dan doesn't like her and whines about it for the whole episode annoyed me. People don't have to like everyone they meet. Dan was perfectly polite to her whenever they interacted. That should have been enough for everyone. I didn't like Crystal either, mostly because she was such a whiny sad sack with an annoying voice. It seemed as though all she wanted out of life was a man. Didn't matter which man, just any man would do. Ugh. As for Roseanne and Jackie's other female friends, I missed Bonnie a lot when she was gone and thought that we didn't see nearly enough of Anne Marie. I really liked the other women from both Wellman and the beauty shop also. They were fun!

Forgot about one small Jackie moment that I really like until randomly seeing it again last night. When she only asks Fred out so that Roseanne will tell Bev not to come to work at The Lunchbox anymore. It's their third day at work without Bev, and Jackie is stirring the loose meat and singing..."sometimes I feel like a motherless child.....and that's the way uh huh, uh huh, I like it." I just love that she's so happy about Bev being gone that she's singing, complete with the biggest grin ever. Also, that she and Roseanne are still on cloud nine and Nancy thinks they're being awful because she actually likes Bev.

That's one of my favorite moments! And on the subject of bewilderment, I love when Dan and Roseanne are watching DJ and Darlene set the table together in the episode where Darlene is helping DJ get away with skipping school. They're being so nice to each other and it's killing Roseanne to not know what they're up to. But man, Dan and Roseanne's expressions! Dan's especially before he says something like "I'm scared, Rosie.".....just hilarious and awesome.

Agreed. That scene is one of my absolute favorites! I've never thought about this before, but you're right, that IS odd.

This made me think about how both Becky and Darlene went to Jackie first to discuss whatever important issue they wanted to bring up to Roseanne....birth control for Becky and the writing program for Darlene. It amuses me that they both thought that Jackie could smooth things over with Roseanne first or at least help lessen her negative reaction, but it didn't really help, Roseanne just reacted how she was going to react anyway.

She really does and that's a great scene! I also love way back in the beginning when Jackie catches Booker at The Lobo with the other woman on the night he turned her down for a date to the auto show because he said his mother was in town. The way she marches over to the table and expertly plays the poor put-upon, rejected wife cracks me up, and I love the little touch of her wearing Roseanne's wedding ring and fiddling with it while she talks. Between the way she says: "Honey, are you ever coming home?" and "I'm sorry to interrupt, it's just that the kids have been askin' about their daddy." and this exchange: Booker: "She is just a friend!" Jackie: "Of your mother's?" It's comedy gold, especially when she chews him out and then convinces him to buy her a beer. Confident Jackie is my favorite Jackie.

Definitely! This episode does a great job at showing just how unfamiliar Dan and Roseanne are with the whole college process. The college fund is one thing that I'm firmly on Becky's side about. She's smart and she knows the family struggles to make end meet, and that leads me to believe that she was specifically told at some point that there was money set aside for her to go to college. I find it hard to believe that she would have just assumed there was a fund while knowing the financial struggle going on. And sure, she probably should have figured that if it ever came down to keeping the house or keeping the college fund untouched, her parents would have to choose to go through that money too, but she didn't. And that's where I think Becky really slams face first into reality for the first time. She knows things are tight. She's used to having a lot of responsibility around the house not only because she's the oldest, but also because she sees her parents work really hard for not much pay, getting and losing jobs, having and losing income, but for all of Roseanne's talk of "how'd they get so spoiled when we haven't given them anything?"....the kids all have what they need and occasionally what they want while Dan and Roseanne go without. There have been mentions of Becky getting designer jeans when there's a little extra money, and there was that dress from The Ultimate in the mall episode where she throws a fit. I think she was told there was a college fund, and she figures that she did her part by excelling at school and taking on extra responsibility around the house and such, so why shouldn't she expect to get what she needs/wants at the end of all of that hard work? Then suddenly she's being told that there isn't a fund left for that and she has a hard time with the realization that things aren't going to go as she planned....because, well....things usually do. Dan and Roseanne certainly don't pretend to have tons of money, but I think they shield their kids from their struggles more than they think. I remember there were small mentions of Jackie lending a financial hand every now and then too when she was able or allowed to do so. This was a lot longer than I intended it to be, whoops. My basic point was to completely agree with you that Dan and Roseanne should definitely have told her sooner that the money was gone and then maybe they could have planned together for her academic future.

It is! How both actresses managed to get through that with a straight face, I'll never know.

Some quotes I love: On walking into their neighbor Kathy Bowman's house for the first time: Roseanne: "This is like the house I could have had if I'd married someone better!" Dan: "Thanks, dear" Dan's deadpan reaction always cracks me up. And Roseanne and Jackie on the emergency room: Jackie: "This is weird. I hate going to the emergency room. It reminds me of the pussy willow. Do you remember the pussy willow, Roseanne?" Roseanne: "All I said was I wondered if it could fit up your nose. You're the one who crammed it up there." And when the power gets shut off: Roseanne: "Well, middle class was fun."

One of my favorites! And also, two from the episode where Becky and Darlene have a party while Dan and Roseanne are trying to go to Vegas. First when Becky says she would have told Jackie that Mark was outside but she couldn't find her, then Jackie says Dan and Roseanne said it was cool with them if he came over so long as Jackie was there. Becky's all "why didn't you tell me?" Jackie stomps a foot and makes a face and makes her voice all whiny and says "well, I was going to tell you, but I couldn't find you!" I love her delivery of that whole thing. She sounds just like a bratty teenager and Becky just rolls her eyes. And secondly, when the boys are fighting over Darlene: "And as for you, Darlene....excellent!" ETA: When Roseanne and Dan's power gets cut and Jackie walks in and starts making herself breakfast while talking about her night, clueless until she tries to turn the blender on. The whole scene is perfect, but there's something about the way that Jackie goes "oh" that just kills me every time. So funny. Laurie Metcalf is a genius. =)

I love everything about that scene because you can clearly hear the desperation in Dan's voice. He wants better for his kids and I think he was thinking, at least academically speaking, that Becky had the best shot at getting out and really making something of herself. He's definitely scared that she'll look back and resent her life. I always thought that there was a bit of we had to settle, but she doesn't have to settle buried somewhere in there....like he thinks that he and Roseanne never really had a chance to get out for whatever reason, but Becky, she's smart and capable and would do well in college, and that's the ticket. There was that conversation where they tell her that there's no college fund and she (understandably, I think) blows up and he seems pretty certain that she could get an academic scholarship. I like that he has that kind of faith in her. On another note, I'm in no way blaming Dan for screwing everything up, because I think that the bike shop was an understandable decision at the time....one true shot at doing something he was going to actually enjoy for a living that could probably have made some real money if it wasn't for the recession. However, by the time of the house flipping scheme with the delightfully slimy Tim Curry....I want to reach through the TV and smack both Roseanne AND Dan upside the head and say something like "have you learned nothing???" I still feel sorry for Dan for getting taken for a ride, but at some point enough is enough. Although it does lead to that hilarious argument scene between Dan and Chuck that Roseanne breaks up ("you go home and tell your mom you can't play here no more!"), so I guess maybe I can forgive it. Yes! So well-timed and so perfectly Roseanne. Yes, well said! I completely agree. I love that it still holds up too. The hits just keep on coming for her and she's angry and emotional because all the good things she was looking forward to in her future suddenly disappear and she just blows up. It's totally authentic for the situation and her age and still is, I think. Brilliant stuff. Agreed. I missed Original Becky and her relationship with Darlene a lot....I would have rather had no Becky than replacement Becky. The dynamic was so nasty between Sarah and Sara that watching it makes me wonder if the actresses themselves don't really get along or if they were just really good at selling the badly oversimplified writing of a previously strong and somewhat complicated sisterly relationship. Boy, did she ever. Little Darlene was my second favorite character. I loved how sarcastic and spunky she was, while still having plenty of heart. I was bored with older Darlene because Sara Gilbert just seemed so wooden. She basically just stood there and spit out lines. Her expression never changed. It makes me cringe the same way the woman who plays David's mom makes me cringe. She just stood and yelled. There was no real emotion or expression or body language. It was like she thought if she just sounded angry and acted really, really hard, everything would sound genuine....and it didn't. There's no fun in watching someone try to act. Yes! Lecy's Becky felt genuine and layered and complex. Sarah's Becky contributed nothing. Sarah Chalke never really struck me as being a great actor, though. She cracked me up in Scrubs.....but everything with her is so loud and over the top and BigReactions! that there's no room for....well, quieter nuance, maybe? Yeah...these things have always confounded me too.

I'm really late to this, but this episode made me tear up AND laugh out loud. Loved the pony song...it came completely out of left field and was perfect. I really felt for Didi and all the family drama, but I think she absolutely did the right thing. Poor Dawn....I'm worried about her and really want her to be okay. I still hate Patsy, but seeing some genuine affection and chemistry between him and Dawn for a change was sweet....I thought the dancing was cute. The patient Mrs. Stein was so sweet, and Jenna's reaction to her death was touching in her own unique, odd, slightly obsessive way. Her expression right after she realized her patient was dead cracked me up though. That open mouth sort of "oops" thing. Also, Jenna talking to the patient with the eating disorder about Mrs. Stein and then making a sad face and sticking her bottom lip out into a pout when discussing the patient being unwilling to eat killed me dead. So funny! Loved that Didi had her daughter come in and talk to the patient after her conversation with her. Didi is such a gem with a huge heart. And Ms. Birdie's reaction to the bird in the beginning...."I have to take care of it?" Excellent!

I finally got the chance to sit down and start watching the third season, and this episode was the perfect treat! My favorite moments: - Dawn's little smirk while wheeling her patient down the hallway and saying that she feels sorry for anyone who isn't married while passing Patsy. - Everything about the scenes between Jenna and Mr. Doctors Without Borders. - Jenna demonstrating the anal horn. - "How many other rectums have you inadvertently penetrated?" I adore Dawn's reaction to the whole thing....her face says so much with just a look. - Didi's line about the history books all being written by men because the women were off getting the work done. - Everything about Dawn and Jenna at the computer, especially Jenna talking about how the patient's test results were so bad..."she could blow any minute!" - Jenna and Suzie Sasso sitting in each other's laps in the bathroom cracked me up. - Giggled like an idiot at Didi yelling at the dog for licking up the vomit. I'm also realizing just how good the actor who plays Patsy is, mostly because I hate Patsy with a burning passion. Him being all smug while Dawn cried made me want to slap him. Ugh. That's talent. =) The best thing about this episode for me was Jenna and Suzi teaming up to put Stickley in his place. Just awesome. Loved Jenna's little speech to him. Laurie Metcalf is absolutely brilliant....watching her play this character so beautifully is so much fun. I really like the idea that we "should be ashamed to die until we score some victory for humanity....and time's a wastin'." So true.

I'm still rewatching, and one scene between Becky and Darlene that I always play on repeat is when they say goodbye to each other when Becky leaves with Mark after they get married: Darlene: "I'll miss you" Becky: "Will you call?" Darlene: "Promise. I love you, Becky." Becky: "I love you, Darlene." Darlene: "Did you ever know that you're my hero?" Becky: "You are the wind beneath my wings." Between Darlene's impish expression when she quotes the song to Becky's grin to Roseanne jumping in and telling them to knock it off even though she's clearly amused, the whole scene always makes me grin. It's just so real and perfect. DJ cracks me up too when he barely looks at Becky and just says "see ya!" as he runs down the stairs and under Roseanne's arm and out of the room. It's every little brother reaction ever....mine both pretty much did the same thing when I left for college a million years ago. Also, it makes me giggle when both Roseanne AND Jackie each secretly give Becky a ring from great grandma Harris. On another note, I'm not a parent and therefore can't even begin to imagine what it must feel like to have your brightest kid run off and elope with some guy you don't like at 17, but this whole arc is pretty masterfully written and acted, in my opinion.....I can clearly see where Becky, Roseanne and Dan are each coming from in this situation and why they each react like they do to everything falling apart. I feel for each of them. I love this family and this show! Edited to mention that I keep forgetting to say how much I've been always loved the dark humor on this show whenever things get tough for them. For instance, Dan complaining that without electricity he can take a bath but he can't throw the toaster in with him. Or on the day he closes the shop, him telling Jackie that it's the kind of day that starts with a hearty breakfast and ends with the radio announcer saying "....before he turned the gun on himself." and then complaining to Roseanne that if she doesn't make breakfast he won't have the strength to reload. It always makes me laugh because that's exactly the sort of thing I say when my life sucks and I got it from my family, and it's fun to see it reflected onscreen. I learned early that dark humor makes things a little bit more bearable....=)

I completely agree! She's absolute perfection in this role. I love that no matter how frustrated I get with Dr. James when she's being either totally insensitive or a complete jerk, I still feel all protective of her when she's dealt a hand of crap. You're right that the only bad thing is that there are so few episodes. It's annoying that some crappy shows can get season after season while something as brilliant as this show only gets 18 episodes. Although, I suppose that might have more to do with actor availability than anything else. I think all the leads have multiple projects going on.

That was cute!

Just popping in to mention that if anyone is interested in checking out Laurie Metcalf in something really fantastic, I recommend the HBO show Getting On. It's about the doctors and nurses in the geriatric extended care wing of a hospital. It's funny and dark and touching and incredibly smart. The whole cast is wonderful and the writing is perfect and LM just shines while playing Dr. Jenna James, who is a bit uptight and lacking in social skills, but is in truth a really good doctor. She does all sorts of research studies that she speaks about with an incredibly passionate, somewhat maniacal gleam in her eye. In my opinion, it's definitely worth a watch.

This is definitely one of the many reasons why, in my opinion anyway, Roseanne is so much better than something like Full House ever was. Yes!! Between her totally rocking out and Dan's range of amused expressions while watching her, that scene is a gem!

I was rewatching again because I needed some lighter fare after finally finishing up the fantastic Black Mirror, and once again stumbled upon one of my favorite Becky/Darlene exchanges: Becky: "Why don't you just kiss my butt?" Darlene: "Well, haul it on over here, Jumbo!" It just never gets old. =) Secondly, I forgot how much it hurts my heart when Becky and Mark take out Dan's bike without permission and she acts like it's no big deal and Dan gives her the silent treatment over it, to the point of making a milkshake from himself and Darlene right in front of her. He's so angry and hurt that she'd do it to begin with and she's hurt that he won't talk to her, and you can feel for both of the characters and it punches me in the gut every time. I love that they make up through a handshake and a quick chat that feels genuine. I also love that Dan nearly shakes Becky's arm out of it's socket while being all silly because my grandfather used to do that sort of thing and it always made us kids laugh. It also cracks me up that Dan offering Becky a spoon to eat her milkshake with and her genuinely saying "thanks, dad" was too much sap for Darlene. Her "oh, gross" kills me.

I agree with this part, however.... Yep, my thoughts exactly. By the time they started actually being mean to her, I think she deserved everything she got. Speaking of Bev being passive-aggressive, I remember the first time she really made me mad was when she gave Roseanne a giant guilt trip for sending them to a motel in the first Thanksgiving episode. I mean sure, Roseanne could have broken the news earlier, but Bev made me want to smack her when she shook her fists in the air and was all "I HATE motels!" and moaning about how she of course wouldn't sleep all night. Ugh. That pretty much turned me against her as a character and my opinion of her just got worse from there. I guess getting such a strong reaction out of your audience is the mark of a great actress! =)

I had a weird day, so I came home and watched the episode An Officer and a Gentleman because, well....God, I love that episode....and now I'm going to ramble all about why. Jackie has always been my favorite, so it makes me happy anytime Laurie Metcalf gets to be front and center. I love that Jackie defends herself to both Roseanne and Crystal, that yes, she really can handle three kids for a few days, thank you very much.....and then she totally knocks it out of the park. Her conversation with Crystal in the beginning always makes me smile, especially asking her where her accent came from, and then the whole "my father came from Arkansas" thing. The look on LM's face absolutely kills me. I like that Jackie gets to play housewife for a short time, sort of living out her fantasy of what it would be like to have her own husband and kids to take care of. She and Dan are both getting something they need out of this experience....she gets to be needed, and he gets to feel special. Don't get me wrong, I adore Dan and Roseanne's relationship, and it's not that I think Roseanne should be waiting on him hand and foot, but it's clear he enjoys the extra attention and extra effort put in....which Jackie enjoys doing because she doesn't have to live the everyday reality of a husband and three kids. She listens to him talk about work and fulfills his requests at dinner (applesauce, more potatoes) before he even has a chance to ask. She gets to pretend for a little while. The little details are awesome too...I love the fancily folded green napkin! It cracks me up that she knows how to get the kids to help her out too....and that Dan's impressed that she bribed them with cash. She and John Goodman are fantastic together, and I love it when we get to explore more of their relationship. The scene with them in the kitchen cleaning up near the end is one of my favorites of the whole series. Dan is truly grateful for everything she has done for them while Roseanne has been gone, genuinely compliments her, and tells her she deserves better than the kind of men she dates. I like that she's skeptical of his compliments at first because he rarely gives them....and I feel like Jackie gets crapped on a lot in general and it rings so true to me that she's so unfamiliar with being complimented that she has to warm up to the idea that it's real. Also, I like the slight undercurrent of flirtation that happens between them. It's just enough to be warm and sweet without sliding into actually dangerous territory. I like the playfulness with which they discuss the past, and it clearly means the world to Jackie that Dan remembers when they first met. Her relationships with men are transient at best, so having Dan, who she has known and admired in a sense for 15 years (didn't she tell someone at some point that she considered him a god?) remember that time and remember her is touching. When they're having a beer together at the kitchen table and Dan tells her that she's smart and fun and nice-looking and she tries to brush it off and asks if he means it in a good way and he says yes and she just gives him this wide-eyed, cautiously hopeful look? Perfectly done, all of it. LM has such big, expressive eyes and she uses them to act the crap out of that whole scene. Well, that one and also the one at the front door right before Jackie leaves when she sort of clutches her heart and thanks Dan after he tells her his memory of her. LM and JG are both such pros and I love watching them play off each other. Did I mention that I really love this episode? =) Other random things I like about this one: Darlene and her "how long do you think the big R will stay south?" never gets old. Also, Becky and Jackie and the whole "experienced woman" chat. And lastly, the happy wistfulness with which Jackie watches Roseanne's family hug her at the very end. Good stuff, show.

Finally got to sit down and watch this one. For the most part, I really liked it. My very first thought was that I need my very own Blake. He's fantastic and is always one step ahead. Loved him handing her the fruit punch so she could hydrate. Can't say that I care too much about Matt and his issues, but anything that leads to more screen time for Nadine is a win in my book. Like others here, I was afraid they were going to hook up. I'm incredibly glad it didn't go that way. I got a kick out of her laughing at him over setting her pan on fire and her "you think I'm a cat lady?" I hated Henry automatically accusing Bess of blocking his attempts to rejoin the DIA. Seriously, Henry? You know she's not thrilled, but has agreed to support you in your idiocy, and now you can't possibly think of any other reason they might turn you down other than that your wife purposefully went behind your back, blocked your attempt to get back in, and then lied about it to your face?? That's the woman you think you married? Seriously? I was so offended on her behalf that all the other stuff about him being chosen for this elite terrorist hunting group didn't even register with me until I read this thread. I'm still annoyed at him. He should know her better than that. I'd really like to see him apologize for that before I want to look at him again. Just...ugh. I think I'm taking this harder than she did. On the whole Dr. Professor Pilot Arm Candy, Spy and Terrorist Hunter Extraordinaire thing...yeah, this is getting old quickly. For me, the strongest point of this show has always been Bess and Henry's relationship. Their amazing together and I love them, but she should be the star. We're supposed to be watching her do SoS things.....that's supposed to be the focus, and I feel like he's been slowly horning in on that for a while now. I get the whole "now they can talk to each other about work!" thing, but.....like other people said, they could do that if he was still a professor, or pilot, and became a model and decided to do the arm candy thing for pay. That issue didn't need to be fixed by giving him this super special government gig. I also get the "make the husband not a buffoon!" thing, because I hate the buffoon husband shtick with a blinding passion. But again, he can be a perfectly competent human being while having a completely different discussion safe job outside the government sphere. Geez, show. You're lucky I'm so head-over-heels in like with you. Because Bess. And sometimes other things. On that note, Bess driving the Saudi ambassador into a corner where he couldn't say no to turning over the terrorist was pretty awesome. Lastly, I'm slowly getting attached to the FBI director. Can we keep her?

Yes! Spector is incredibly fascinating and definitely commands attention the way that Stella does. From an audience perspective, I want to know more about him the same way I want to know more about her. What makes him tick? Why is he the way that he is? Why these victims? Does he really have two sides to his personality or is he just faking his entire family life? Inquiring minds! And lol yes, she may love Reed Smith. I'd be on board with that too. =) See, I'm not quite so sold on this. I agree that he's learned how to function in society by watching and mimicking, and also that his feelings for his wife and the general public are pretty shallow. However, I think he genuinely cares about his daughter. I think he actually loves her and enjoys spending time with her. If that's true, I think that's much more interesting than a straight-up psychopath who feels absolutely nothing for anyone. Regarding Spector's dichotomy, I agree for the most part. I haven't seen much that leads me to believe he actually feels much for poor Sally Ann, but I think he loves Olivia deeply. I think Stella called it correctly when she called it an addiction. It's like a steam valve that he has to open every so often to relieve the pressure before he explodes. But where does the pressure come from is the interesting question. The mirroring, contradictory personalities point is interesting. Stella obviously makes all her choices consciously, like you said, and Spector acts out of compulsion. At the same time, though, he's a planner. He takes his time, he stalks, he knows how much time he has with his victims, he cleans up. They aren't your run of the mill, spur of the moment, crimes of passion. So while he allows himself to indulge in his addiction, he also does so in a way that would allow him to continue. So maybe they're more alike than we think? I feel like he definitely has grains of good in him. Agreed! I struggle with thinking whether his reaction to finding out that his one victim was pregnant was genuine or not. I feel like his writing that letter to the father was a little much for someone who actually didn't care, because, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that how he even becomes a person of interest? I tend to think ti was real. He seems to have a real fondness for kids. Outside if his own and also his reaction upon finding out that Sarah Kay was pregnant, he entertains Rose's daughter before kidnapping her mother. He patiently listens to her and then teaches her a tongue twister. If he were truly some sort of psychopath, he could have just killed her and been done with it. Maybe he's just the sort of violent criminal who sees kids as too innocent to harm? As for Stella's lack of guilt, I'll be forever grateful they wrote that the way they did. I don't think it's her being any more honest than Spector in showing guilt for things, necessarily. I just think him killing a woman he didn't know was pregnant was literally the only thing that he did that ran up against his own personal moral code and he was trying to atone for it. Stella not expressing guilt over sleeping with a married man, i think, was spot on. She didn't know he was married at the time. He could have chosen to tell her as an explanation of why he couldn't go through with it. He could have flat out declined without explanation. Both would have worked. She would have listened. Case in point: she listened to Reed turn her down. She didn't push it and respected her decision. It's not Stella's fault that Olson cheated on his wife with her when Stella didn't even know the wife existed. I think she was well within her right not to have any guilt. She was right, that was his business. Now, I would feel totally differently if she'd known going into it that he was married. It would still have been his decision, but in that situation she would have shared some of the guilt load. So in terms of Stella vs. Spector expressing guilt, I think it's different because Spector willingly and knowingly did something awful. Stella didn't. She was just refusing to be made to feel guilty for something that she didn't have all the information about.