Azaelia

I didn't get Bruce's reactions at all. Female clergy and taking a wife's last name are hardly new concepts. They're still more rare, but freaking out about it that much seemed like something from a 1980's sitcom. You could argue that some of it's Bruce's parents being old fashioned, and maybe even Bruce being a little sheltered, but he was working with celebrities in New York City and has a former client casually ask him to buy pot, and he actually assumes it won't be a problem. So I don't buy that even for an American, he's completely sheltered. I actually liked the season up until the past few episodes. I'll stick to a friend's real account of being an American in Sweden. (I think she has seen WTS and was not overly impressed.) As far as Aubrey goes, I think it would work better if A, she wasn't just playing a crazy version of herself (i.e. dialed it down a bit and made herself an actual character as opposed to a joke cameo), and B, if she were a mutual friend of Bruce's and Emma's. Because then I could kind of see them tolerating her a little more, and even why she might resent them moving back to Sweden, if they were people she actually cared about.

I wish they'd at least air the last episodes, honestly. I'd like to see how it ends, even if the show wasn't perfect. And I was actually beginning to enjoy it, too.

Yeah, I agree. I actually think this season could've easily been last season. You can't have a show about someone getting used to a foreign country, but spend the entire season wishing they weren't there. It gets annoying, and Bruce's personality was awful. I was really getting into the characters here. Oh well...

I was a little worried they were going to end Gustav's arc this episode with the poor dog being abandoned, and was glad that wasn't how it ended. However, did Gustav know the dog was dognapped? Or did he just assume it was a stray? Or am I trying too hard to find logic in a character who severely lacks it? ;)

Am I the only one who thought they changed actresses for Emma? She looks really different, at least she does to me. This isn't a criticism, she looks great either way, just different. Maybe the actress is wearing more makeup?

It also sounds like they've gone overboard with guest stars. But I wonder if that's what's keeping it alive? Which might also explain the quality, if the focus is more on the winking and nudging. I'm just surprised it's this bad with Amy Poehler. I know she's an actress and not normally a director (producer?) but still.

I'd like more positive interaction between the female characters. Parks and Recreation was so great about that, and I've missed it in this show. I'm not saying they need to all be best friends - to be honest, none of them seem like the sort to have a lot of close friends anyway, and it's completely realistic that you often aren't close with your colleagues. But I'd like them to team up more. Definitely agree that I want to meet Amy's brothers. And Kylie. I also want to know what happened to Jake's mother...

That would actually be brilliant. And maybe a more relaxed Amy would secretly find it a bit refreshing not to have to try so hard to please? Although I feel like her constant need to impress Holt was more pressing during season one... of course Amy would miss Holt, it could just be a fun contrast. I do think even if this Captain is competent, Jake will have a very "you're not my real dad" reaction towards him. (Or her, for that matter. We don't know that it's a he...)

Seriously. That aside, she was in middle school when she was kidnapped, and this is one of the (very rare) occasions where the show makes it seem she was much younger. I knew at twelve that if a stranger told me to go into his van, it was not a good idea to take him up on that offer.

Wait, Danny Pudi is really doing a show (or trying to)? Yay. :) I have to admit Community was a bit lost on me in the end, in a way I'll always see season three as where it really ended, but this was pretty good. Though I do feel bad for Allison Brie, two shows she's in ending at once! I do hope Community gets a movie though. That really would be perfect. Then maybe Shirley and Troy could come back.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who got an 80's vibe! Honestly, I think some of it might also reflect the ages of the writers and possibly Tina Fey - not sure how old she is, but she looks young enough to have have grown up during the 80's. This happens a lot with media. (I'm a writer Kimmy's age and I have to watch that with younger characters. "Okay, so she'd listen to Avril Lavi - Lady Gaga?") However, I think YMMV when it comes to technology, too. I have friends who never really grew up with computers and stuff.

I still don't think S1 was as bad as it was... different. I like it too, it's just a different kind of show. And that I'm glad of, honestly - I think while S1 was good, the show itself wouldn't have been nearly as excellent if they'd continued down that route. I also think Leslie's apparent lack of competence in S1 can be explained by the fact that the pit gave her a clear focus. Beforehand she was just as qualified, but stuck in a box where no one else was interested in doing much. Then she found an actual cause and was able to get everyone on board, if reluctantly at first, and they also started respecting her more as they realized she wasn't just babbling, she was onto some pretty important things. Also, she implies that her mother got her the job, which sounds like a contradiction - until you learn in season seven that she never knew why she got the job, because her interview with Ron went so horribly. It's possible that she assumed her mother pulled a few strings and got Leslie hired anyway. (Because Marlene does seem the type to parent like that, maintain a sort of distance while also occasionally providing little favors. Which is actually a little sad, but luckily Leslie seems well-adjusted enough.)

What I've also noticed is that the show used to cover multiple generations; now it seems they only cover one or two generations. That definitely limits a lot. But it's also possible they just didn't hit the jackpot this season they way they have in the past, although I found a lot of the stories interesting nonetheless. I DO think they've sometimes rushed them, though - there's been a times times I knew there was a story, but was utterly confused because they rushed through it.

I liked seasons 1 and 2 Britta better myself. I mean, she wasn't without her flaws and serious hypocrisies, but it wasn't as cartoonish as I feel it became later on. If anything it rang true to me, as someone who knows a handful of Britta types - they really mean well, but they also aren't necessarily as progressive as they want to be. I'm of the unpopular opinion that season one was one of the best, with season three as a tie. I liked that season one - up until halfway through - had a lot of references to things, but wasn't as much of a meta parody as it would become. After the chicken episode, it got cartoonish. So while I like that the show makes fun of a lot of things (war movies, sci fi, rom coms, what have you), I also wonder what would've happened had they maintained the first half of S1's more subtle version of that. S3 also seemed more subtle, whereas the other seasons just went way past "suspension of disbelief" for me. Ouch... yeah, there was another line too somewhere, I forget what episode but it was similar, possibly also about Robin Williams (but I don't think so).

For me, the problem with Britta's storyline was that it didn't have any real... backing. She's implied they were pretty terrible people before, and if the point was that she's exaggerated, that needed to be developed more; if they really were weird and had her drug tested (and possibly didn't believe that she'd been molested), her friends' willingness to forgive them and her own needed to be better developed. Also, I can't believe Jeff would be down with the arrangement, given that he has his own family issues. It didn't feel true to his character. Was the Portuguese Gremlins commercial part of the episode? Or what? I really didn't get that, and it didn't help that (as others have pointed out) Yahoo ads played at some random points.

Am I the only one who doesn't want Caskett to have kids? I'm not even worried about them jumping the shark. We already got Castle as a father with Alexis...

I see Rosa as being more like April than Gina, honestly. Well - I see Rosa as being the sort of person April wants to be, except Rosa perhaps exaggerates a bit herself. They both make flippant deadpan jokes about violence, they both act colder than they really are, etc. I actually think Gina would really irritate April, but Rosa would be April's role model. Gina's more of a ditzy receptionist type, and April was never really ditzy.

Had Gina not acted like an eight year old child who didn't get a pony for her birthday, I might have actually felt some sympathy for her. Maybe. I really wonder whether the creators of the show realize how insufferable she is. It's such a great show except for Gina. And actually, I have liked some episodes with her, when they have given her almost adult feelings. Jake strikes me as being in his late twenties, maybe early thirties, and Gina's supposed to be about his age as they grew up together. (Although I've never personally understood that as I haven't ever had real "childhood friend" vibes from them. They barely interact.)

This might be better for the Jake thread, but I was watching the Thanksgiving episode, and it made me wonder... do we know what happened to Jake's mother? She's not mentioned in the Thanksgiving episode, and she's not mentioned here either (though I guess bringing up your estranged wife would be awkward). Is she deceased, or just... not around?

Was I the only one who expected the whole thing to be some elaborate scam on Jake's dad's part? As far as the Gina versus P&R's April goes, I actually find Rosa more similar to the April character - like April, she doesn't smile much and pretends not to care, but clearly does. Gina's almost like Phoebe was towards the end of Friends, has a good heart but life made her a little quirky and sometimes mean. I think both April and Rosa try acting tougher and meaner than they really are, whereas Gina doesn't necessarily intend to be nasty, but just does not have a filter. I have to admit I do wish two of the female characters seemed like friends, since we get Jake and Charles (Boyle). I just liked P&R so much for that, though apart from Leslie and Ann, I guess the female characters never really had much of a relationship until towards the end either. (And I mean, they work together, I'm not best buds with my fellow female colleagues - or male ones, for that matter).

Yeah, I was worried Boyle was going to sort of be a clueless puppy type of character, but as you pointed out they have a very genuine friendship. I also appreciated Jake being toned down a bit - having now seen The Office and P&R, I've kind of come to expect Michael Schur's MCs to be a little uneven and OTT at first anyhow, so I gave his character a chance, though I've come in a bit late (just started watching after mourning P&R and being directed to Brooklyn Nine-Nine... I didn't know it was a comedy, I thought it was another cop drama and I've already got Castle for that). I did recognize the guy who plays Jake as the park ranger in the second season of Parks and Recreation who HAS A REALLY LOUD VOICE.

Someone mentioned that Laurel seemed like she was shaping to be the innocent one at first, and whether it was all an act. I wanted to add to that and ask if maybe they changed mid-writing/filming? Because she definitely came across as a bit Pollyannish at first, especially when she answered the question for Wes and when Bonnie gave her the "I'm not a nice person' speech. OTOH, there are people who play up a "good girl/guy" persona to get what they want. This isn't to say she's been completely manipulative all along - it's possible the turn of events just brought out that side in her even further. But she clearly knows how to work people, given that she orchestrated a family feud so she could leave at Christmas. While they wouldn't murder people (I'd hope!), I do know of people who play up their nicer/quieter sides because they know they can get away with things someone else might not. So my verdict (heh) is either that they changed the direction of her character while filming, or she was never as innocent as she seemed. As far as Rebecca goes, I don't really feel sorry for her either. I actually liked her enough at first, but in a way what she did to Rudy was worse than murder. And it's not like it was even an accidental overdose of drugs she gave him for a diversion - she knew the possible consequences.

I'll admit that as a writer, that annoys me just a bit. I don't mind small things being left ambiguous, but major stuff... you wrote the characters. You must have some idea. However, since it is being left ambiguous to the audience, I definitely agree there's no "right" or "wrong" answer. I'm not sure I can see Leslie being POTUS, but I also can't see her being the First Lady either.

Are there any soundtracks out there, or have any of the songs been (officially) released? There's so much music on that show, I can't believe I can't find any of it. I thought for sure they'd have music from season six's finale! (Though I swear I heard one on the radio... I don't know the name of the song, it sounds like "red dress" but I don't think I'm hearing it right when I watch the episode. It's an elderly man on a piano.)

I wanted to reply before but couldn't find the post for some reason. Here we go. Anyway, I think it's possible they just didn't want to run against each other, either. Talk about awkward. I can see Ben being conservative, actually. (I'm not, so I don't have biases there, it's just how I see it. Though he couldn't be too conservative given that he's married to Leslie.) However, he'd probably have to choose in order to run and would very possibly run as Democrat.