swimmyfish

That was so freakin' hilarious. A great bit of observational humor, plus a nice subtle reference to Terry's (maybe excessive) concern for his baby girls.

30 Rock referenced her accent in the episode where they're making the movie about Avery's abduction - Kidnapped By Danger. Cynthia Nixon, who plays movie-Nancy, asks if she's going too big on the accent, to which Liz responds "That's what people from Boston sound like to me." I don't know if JM's was supposed to be bad on purpose, but they did at least turn into the skid.

This episode was so lovely, it just makes it all the more difficult to understand why the show was cancelled. It was so good - so good!

I think my favorite joke from this episode was the cutaway from Sgt. Major spying something in the trees and saying "I think it's time for lunch" to him at a diner. Such a simple joke, but so, so hilarious.

I LOVE the idea of AB and Joel, mostly because I love Joel and want him to stick around Bluebell, but also because I like AB and want her to be happy. Although I wonder if both of them being appropriately level-headed would make their relationship a bit of a bore?

I just want to mention that it might be a good idea to read these books in the paperback form, rather than on an e-reader. There are several different typefaces used throughout the novels, and I found they did not reliably show up on the copy of the 3rd book I read on my tablet. Of course, this could have been a specific issue to my rather old tablet; but, the fonts do contribute to the unique writing style in these novels, so it's worth making sure you can seem them as the author intended. Also, I just want to chime in that this series is a worthwhile read. Let us know what you think!

Edited : in a couple of interviews with Bryan Fuller over on The A.V. club, he states that they purposely do not state what Mason did/does to Margot - Mason is in general a sadist and a terrible person, but they probably will not go into specifics. So, my previous comment that Mason had raped her was not correct. Here's the interview, if you want to check it out : http://www.avclub.com/article/hannibals-bryan-fuller-rebooting-season-two-halfwa-203515

This was very much a moving the pieces around episode, basically getting all of the characters ready for the season finale. There were certainly a number of things about the episode I enjoyed - primarily, the return of Shelby, who I wish lived in Bluebell full-time, the way the Truitts say Joelle instead of Joel, and that extra who was walking soooooo slooooooowly into Fancy's as Brick and Shelby were exiting - but mostly it was extremely short on plot and that was kind of hard to overlook. Additionally, as much as I like Barry Watson, his character has no personality; I can't even remember what his name is supposed to be. AB deserves someone a little more spunky than that guy.

Be careful what you wish for, maybe? The recent reuniting of George and Lemon did not go the way I'd hoped, sadly. While Geoge and Lemon have an understandably complex relationship, I've found George's "I can't stand that woman!" to be kind of childish, and also basically coming out of nowhere - he's always been very civil toward Lemon, post-breakup, IMO. I think this underscores kind of a larger problem, which is that the show really has no idea what to do with George. Scott Porter is really funny, and when George has a plot with any of the male cast, he's great! But since they dropped the Zoe-George leg of the love triangle, he's basically been adrift.

After last night's episode,I really can't understand how more people are not watching this show : it was a fully-loaded, non-stop charm assault, and I was powerless to resist it. The intercut musical performances between the Belles and Owls was utterly delightful; Brick's ballroom dancing with May was dashing, and Lemon stepping in for him was exactly the kind of benevolent scheming that makes Lemon so wonderful (and also she looked OUTSTANDING in her lady tux). Even Tom & Wanda turned up to 11 was entertaining, and while I doubt they'll be as cute as that little baby goat, I'm on board with the prospect of ToWanda offspring. Overall, I think this episode encapsulated what I love the most about this show, which is that it's so likeable. That maybe doesn't sound like the strongest endorsement, but it's nice to have a show where you actually want to root for the characters you're supposed to root for. That's very difficult to pull off, and considering the large cast of regular & recurring characters in Bluebelle, HoD is a pretty impressive achievement.

As much as I love the continued plot thread that Diane is great at everything, wouldn't it make a little more sense for Scandal to do a plot about Trophy Wife than vice versa? I mean, it's not like Scandal is hurting for viewers. Plus, even though I really only know that show through recaps, I'm pretty sure everyone in the Scandal-verse could take a lesson on how to get along with an ex. Or just the basics of how to navigate complex relationships.

I really enjoyed this episode. I will miss Joel tremendously, and, while I understand he was not a popular character with most HoD fans, it was nice to see that the other residents of Bluebell did like having him around. I'm glad he won the Man of the Year contest, and I like to think that he has a subscription to Dash's blog, and so he knows he won. Joelle forever! I do like the idea of George & Lemon together, but their pre-hookup bickering was really annoying. Also, if George is now with Lemon, then who was in the suit of armor with AB at the end of the last episode? Mysterious. I will be really sad if this show gets cancelled. It's so sweet. A terrible companion to Hannibal (which I watch afterwards), but just so charming.

On the plus side, NPH acted the heck out of Barney's scene with his daughter. While all of that emotion was completely unearned, I came this close to buying it. There was one other thing about the finale that I liked, something to do with Ted, but I don't remember what it was anymore. Instead, I wonder why Robin, in all of her years of international travel and not hanging out with the gang, never met someone else that she connected with. That seems like bull. Also, while I object on principle to Ted and Robin getting back together, I object even more strongly to the specific way they got back together. Blue French Horn? Didn't we just spend the whole last episode learning that Ted's not that guy anymore? But no - apparently Ted's whole life with The Mother was just a re-spawn. Nice. While this ending was apparently planned for a while (with the bit with the kids being filmed several years ago), it really smacks of the writers wanting to have their cake and eat it, too.

Kalinda breaking down I think is what sold this as real (at least in terms of the show). Kalinda would not sob for fake death, or a coma, or any other minor little inconvenience. It was brutal. If you haven't seen it, there's a post on the King's facebook page (reprinted here courtesy of Vulture) where they talk about their decision-making process in having Will's death be so sudden. It's a very good read. On another note, was it just me or did Eli look - maybe not relieved, but somewhat calculating when he got the news that Will was dead? There was that little pause where he registered something slightly more than shock, before going over to get Alicia.

It is exciting, weirdly. As difficult as it is to .

It did! Oh my god, I was not expecting that! Stupid Will!

I don't know if that last scene would have been more or less tense if we could have seen what Beverly was seeing. Of course, once Hannibal showed up there was no more tension, only sadness. Farewell, Beverly; may you be better at b&e in your next life. Also, I don't know if this really matters, but I'm starting to think the big Hannibal/Jack fight will have something to do with Jack's wife, rather than Will. Finally, while Amanda Plummer always gives good crazy, I spent much of the episode imagining how great Grace Zabriskie would have been in that role; I feel like she can really embody solicitous malevolence. But either way, I hope that's not the least we see of the character - it seemed like the car was solved pretty quickly and why waste Amanda Plummer on a one off?

LEMON! I'm just so happy she's back.

I'm just getting caught up on this episode on my lunch break, but I had to pause to come over here and note that Captain Holt's delight in both hula-hooping and assuring Jake that no one will believe that he hula-hoops is precisely the reason I watch this show. Captain Holt forever!

I know this had been the big complaint of the season, but Ted's first date with the mother was really sweet - why couldn't we have seen more of that? These particular wedding shenanigans were particularly pointless in contrast (although I was pleased to find out what became of Sandy).

True - I should have specified that my Team George affiliation is based on liking to see that particular character on my television screen, and not at all on any romantical shenanigans he might get up to with Zoe Hart. I do like the idea of he and Lemon ultimately ending up together, but happily.

I am really enjoying the Regina-Robin Hood pairing in the flashbacks. I think they make a pretty entertaining couple; although that might just be because I like bitchy Regina best. Apart from that, I thought this was a particularly fun episode - lots of characters joking about the ridiculousness of the plot-twists. David, in particular, is very good at that - he doesn't get a lot to do otherwise, but Josh Dallas does a great job with what he's given. As for the Wicked Witch/Evil Queen family dynamic - meh. I don't know that I'm particularly interested in finding out the Wicked Witch's backstory, but I am glad that Regina once again has something to be worked up about.

Right? I don't understand that. I'm totally Team George, all the way. Are there no women in Bluebell who'd want to spend the weekend watching a marathon of Don Todd's Monster Golf Safari with a handsome, successful, charming lawyer? What the heck, women of Bluebell?

Lavon is the star of my own personal "I am not a crackpot" theory : while he is a vital part of the landscape of Bluebell, Alabama, I would really love to see him become the new head of the parks department in Pawnee, Indiana after Leslie moves on to bigger things. His qualifications for the job are as follows: Endless dapperness would impress Tom, making him a loyal part of the Hayes administration; Incredible daily spread of breakfast foods would bond him immediately to one Ron Swanson; indeed, Lavon may be the only person in the world who has too much bacon and eggs for Ron to handle; Past success on the football field, plus general all-around handsomeness, would, I think, favorably impress Donna Meagle; Years of gentle interaction with the wacky townfolk of Bluebell have prepared him to become the first person in the history of the parks department to gently deal with Jerry; in fact, he might even give Jerry his real name back. Love of animals, in the person of his pet alligator Burt Reynolds, would endear him to April; His devotion and endless support to the people of Bluebell is practically Knopian. Really, the only flaw is that Lavon was radically opposed to the Bluebell/Filmore merger (which, granted was more of a hostile takeover of Filmore's part), so he might need to come around a little bit on the whole Pawnee/Eagleton thing. BUT, apart from that, Lavon is currently the best character on tv to succeed Leslie Knope. </I am not a crackpot>

Were there things happening in this episode besides Prince? I wasn't paying attention to them. I was, however, enthralled by Prince. He has the absolute perfect balance of being incredibly creepy and completely magnetic, and somehow manages to find a hairstyle that makes him resemble a very tiny Dorothy Zbornak, but still pulls that off. And his delivery on "Not before you finish your pancake," was just great. I didn't realize before how much I wanted to eat pancakes with Prince.