Brinny

I can't even comprehend how the network could be so tone deaf about their own show. I feel like the writing goes out of its way to point out that there is no Flash without Iris. How can they ignore the person who essentially portrays the literal other half of the title character? Makes no sense. (For the record, I like that they reiterate how important Iris is to both Barry and his alter-ego, because she is important. The Barry/Iris relationship is one of the reasons I checked out the show and it's definitely one of the reasons why I marathoned it in record time. In almost any episode (weak, strong, mediocre), I feel like the Barry/Iris scenes are always such a constant. And CP is a HUGE part of that. I honestly doubt that the character of Iris would be as successful if there was another actor in that role.)

Now, see, that one I gleaned. This I did not. I totally get why Hartley Sawyer said he needed to read the script a few times before it made sense. All this Thawne business is hella confusing. Especially when he’s played by both TC and ML.

I didn't even think about the line having the double meaning of one of the possible twins not being in existence any more, I totally took it at face value that poor Barry had previously lost a Nora. Huh. Also, as much as I liked the nod to the comics with Thawne calling Nora "Dawn" and as much as I'd get a kick out of television Barry and Iris having tornado twins on the show (if for nothing else than to finally have the "We're gonna need more diapers" line uttered), I REALLY hope they don't call them Dawn and Don. It's SO stupid. Like, it kind of works in print, but you can't have that on screen. How dumb would Barry and Iris look? (Or is this a thing were Dawn and Don sound a lot different in an American accent? They don't right? It's the same name? Am I crazy?)

I won't lie, I was a sucker for all the dad/daughter bonding stuff. What can I say, I'm a HUGE sap. I also think that GG and JPK play really well off each other. And it must be a tricky thing to do, because you need to have the right kind of chemistry/tone when playing that type of relationship and being just a few years off in age. I'm with everyone else who doesn't understand how Nora didn't know how Barry's mom died. Nora knows who she's named after, she knows that her namesake is dead, why is that all she knows? Did Iris give her the same line she gave Barry in "Cause and Effect" saying that the first Nora died peacefully? Why wouldn't Joe tell her? Yikes. What is with the West-Allens and their unnecessary secret keeping? Now, that is just smart. Let's see if Barry can apply that logic. For real, how come Barry doesn't science anymore? It sounded like Morena Baccarin to me, but I didn't go and confirm. I don't watch Legends, but do they ever explain why Gideon sounds different? Has Wally heard both Gideon's or just the one? I thought it was okay for a 100th episode. I think you can tell how much Cavanaugh has both directing and playing Thawne. As much as all the different Wells annoy me (and we shall not speak of the Counsel of Wells), I do think that TC is very valuable to the show.

That could be, but I’d be with you on betting that Nora won’t be 100% wiped out of existence. Whether she’s a “different” Nora than we know or not will remain to be seen, but I think that because mostly everyone seems so impressed with JPK’s casting (from fans to GG and CP, etc) that they’ll be reluctant to have her gone completely. Like, even if Nora gets sent back at the end of this season (which I assume she will), I feel like she’ll pop back in and out akin to how they’ve been using Wally this season and last.

I think the Nora cliffhanger of her working with someone else makes sense though. We know that her powers were supressed in the future, but we don't know how she finds out about them/has the chip removed, right? And if she's a new speedster, who doesn't really know the extent of her powers yet (doesn't know how to phase, for example), how does she know how to go back in time? I don't mean the possibility of it, but the practicality. The first time Barry goes back, it's an accident, and he has to learn how to travel to a specific time. So, I feel like we'll find out that Nora IS working with someone sinister (Reverse Flash, maybe), but that she's either naïve to how dangerous that person actually is OR that she was promised it would help get her dad back in her timeline, so she just doesn't care, thinking that the end will justify the mean. Or both, I suppose. Those don't have to be mutually exclusive. Either way, I'm pretty sure there will be a happy ending for West-Allen family by the end of the season*. (Everyone is agreed that Nora changing the timeline results in her having a twin brother in the future, right? Is the "We're gonna need more diapers" the only line we've yet to hear either past or present?) *Although, come to think of it, last season REALLY ended on a downer. I'm sure there'll be a happy West-Allen moment, sometime, after all the scary person Nora is working with stuff is resolved would probably be more accurate.

RIGHT?! She was so good. This show is definitely doing relationships really well. Didn't have to sell me for a second on Donna and Dick being BFFs. (I feel like at least part of that is a testament to the casting, both in terms of just finding the right actors for the parts, but also keeping chemistry in mind. Like, even with how indifferent I am to Teagan Croft's acting, I still think she plays well off of Diop, Thwaites and Potter.) With respect to the "My dad and her mom used to work together" line, I don't know if that means that Donna is supposed to be Diana's daughter OR if she's still supposed to be her sister and the daughter is the secret identity cover story, with her being adopted like Dick was. In the flashback, Donna referred to her as Diana and not "mom", right? Hopefully Donna will make many more appearances and we can get our answer! Honestly, with how well they've done so far with adapting comic characters to the screen, it makes me extra bummed that Barbara Gordon isn't up for grabs. Especially considering they're doing the new Birds of Prey movie WITHOUT HER. Boggles the mind. Speaking of birds, I don't know how I feel about the next episode looking like it's solely about Hawk and Dove. Figure out your main cast's shit first, then go in with your backdoor pilots. I felt the same way about the Doom Patrol episode. I didn't really know them from the comics and I'm not sure why I should have to get invested in them now, before we even find out about Kory being Starfire. In that way, I still think Titans is suffering from pacing issues. I'll leave by saying that Anna Diop looked absolutely gorgeous in that bedroom scene with Kory wearing Dick's shirt. I still maintain that there's no reason to have her wearing purple flame retardant space-foil dresses, even keeping in mind the source material. Let her wear the shiny shit when she's in costume (which, yes, again, requires us to actually GET to Starfire) and that's it. Gar's not green all of the time like he is in the comics. It's okay to deviate a bit, especially with how they seem to be trying to keep the show so much more grounded in reality. (I should note, I don't think Anna Diop looked gorgeous because she wasn't wearing the space-foil, hahaha. She has a very captivating face pretty much all of the time.)

I literally cannot seriously watch Chris Klein in anything since seeing this: (Major trigger warning if you get secondhand embarrassment. It’s quite cringey.) Also, was there a reason this episode didn’t air prior to Thanksgiving?

Okay, first off: this show has the worst pacing. It's simultaneously too fast and too slow and I don't even know how that's actually possible, but somehow they've pulled it off. That being said, I did really enjoy the last 2 episodes. The fight choreography has been particularly well done (even if the editing hasn't done it the best of favours) and I don't know if Brenton Thawaites has some type of training or maybe just a really good stunt double, but either way, the Robin beatdown scenes have been really believable. And the interaction between the 2 Robins was fun too. I wonder if we'll get to see Jason's comic book fate play out on the screen. (If the writing for him is any indication, maybe they're leaning towards setting up a retro phone poll where viewers can text/call to decide if he gets crowbarred?) Also, yes, Starfire's costume doesn't translate well to TV. Or maybe it's a censorship thing? I don't know. Whatever the reason she's not decked out in essentially a bathing suit, it's totally fine, I get it. BUT WHY DOES THAT MEAN YOU HAVE TO DRESS HER IN PURPLE DISCO PANTS INSTEAD?! Seriously, it's okay that the character doesn't look exactly like she did on the page. And I was willing to forgive the intentional stripper getup because it was relevant to the storyline at least. I mean, it looked ridiculous, but whatever. But what's the excuse now? Anna Diop is so attractive and engaging and really just a delight to watch, but her costuming is just SO distracting that it almost takes me out of every scene she's in. Phew. Okay. Rant over.

I'm not crazy about them writing in Gina's pregnancy. If only because I feel like they're going to use her having a baby as another way for Gina to fluke her way through life. (Can't you just see it? Gina and Cousin Boyle's babe is having a screaming fit and Terry, going through the same thing with his little one, tries to offer some sound parenting advice. But no! Gina is adamant that the best way to soothe a child is through the magic of dance! Her and Cousin Boyle perform the flamenco for their spawn. And it works! Because it's Gina and of course it does.) I'm also not crazy about yet another cliffhanger that we know will be resolved in the first few eps of the next season, but oh well. I'm not going to really complain about a consistently funny show on network TV. A how that made me like Andy Samberg no less. No joke. THAT. BLEW. MY. FUCKING. MIND. No, seriously. The only other thing that I had seen Stephanie Beatriz in was Modern Family where she does an whole 'nother voice and I would have never guessed that she was straight up Valley Girl. She sounds like a Kardashian. And I don't mean that in a derogatory way. Because: a) I somewhat unironically love the Kardashians (or Kourtney at the very least); b) chick has some serious vocal fry going on; and c) it's completely adorable!

I'm not saying that it's unrealistic for them to have the same fight multiple times or that all of Juliette's and Avery's problems should be solved after one conversation, but watching the exact same thing week in and week out with little to no progress being made, makes for VERY boring television in my opinion. Like, it was very realistic to watch Deacon and Rayna argue about the concept album that she wanted to write because of all of the not-so-nice-feelings it drudged up and everything that went along with it. And there's probably still some tension underlying there, so it would be just as realistic for them to fight about it again. But I don't think I could stomach them rehashing the same fight every week. Once? Sure. Bringing it up again a few months down the line? Yeah, okay. But every week? Zzzzzz. As it stands right now, at least 3 out of the 6 episodes that have aired so far have had Avery saying that he won't leave Juliette and her bratting back that she doesn't trust him not to. Not only that, but this is literally the same fight they've been having since they got together initially. I think it's time to give it a rest. All that being said, Juliette and Avery are still one of my favourite parts of the show and I do wish there was more of them.

Speaking of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, I'm holding out hope that since Juliette is finding Jesus, that maybe she and Hallie can switch personalities and then we can hear the band play their amazing cover of "Hit 'Em Up Style" on the show. I'd be here for that. Things I'm NOT here for: - Any and all things related to Maddie (although I do still think Clay is cute, but his character sucks, so moot point) - Avery and Juliette having the same fight every episode - Lack of Will/Gunnar/Avery scenes - Lack of Cadence in general (seriously, guys, when's the last time they even mentioned her?) - This overtired stalker storyline Things that I am IN NO WAY, NOT AT ALL here for: Scarlett validating that gross, sexist, misogynistic director's behaviour by crediting him with what? Showing her/the world who she really is by emotionally abusing and controlling her in front of a room full of people? How does the end justify the mean in this case? Ugh. I just found the whole thing insulting. Women don't need to viewed as sex objects to embrace/own their sexuality. That was a workplace environment. Scarlett felt uncomfortable. She was told to do things that she didn't want to do and was essentially threatened to do them. Plain and simple, that's harassment. And it shouldn't be justified because she happened to like the finished product. Because guess what? The actions and the behaviour of the director were still wrong. And I swear to God, if they were somehow suggesting that there is going to be something romantic between the two of them (there were some lingering looks), I will stop watching. Like I said, not here for that.

Interesting! You learn something new every day. I would have never guess that would be the case. Thanks for explaining/sharing. Hope your recovery is coming along well. :)

I feel like in the episode before this one (or maybe the premiere?), Rayna referred to Deacon as the girls' father. Which is totally nice that they're acknowledging that they're a family now and that Deacon is welcomed in that role for both Maddie and Daphne, but, yeah, kind of negated Teddy. They tossed in a throwaway line about Layla this episode and about Luke in the last. Maybe Teddy's is coming up.

OR maybe the writers are just really big Green Lantern fans. The comic. Not the movie. (I don't know why I specified. That went without saying.) As always, this show needs more of Gunnar, Will, and Avery just hanging around and shooting the shit. Consistently my favourite bits of any episode involve some combination of those three. Although, I did think it was a little strange that they conveyed Avery's longing to create more of his own music (I'm assuming that's what that little end scene in the montage was about?) by having him reminisce over photos of the Avery Barkley Band. Just an odd choice. Like, "Oh man. I so fondly remember when I was a super shitty character who sold out my bandmates and prostituted myself for a record deal. I miss that. Good times." I get that they didn't have a lot of readily available material to chose that featured "solo"-artist Avery since he's mostly been either Juliette's frontman, in a band with his ex-girlfriend and her new/old boyfriend or behind the scenes producing, but still... Other than that, I was kind of bored by the episode. It wasn't bad, just not good. I did, however, enjoy Daphne's response to Maddie asking if she was turning into a bitch. Personally, I would have answered with, "OH MY GOD. YES. SO MUCH!", but her little acknowledgement was cute. Oh, and this is super minor and maybe I'm just slow on the uptake, but when Juliette realized that some of the feeling in her legs returned, it was because she could feel that Cadence had peed on her. Which, fine, okay. But wouldn't she have to have felt Cadence on her legs as well? That kid is into toddler territory and she can't be that light. Juliette wasn't holding her above her own legs while trying to change her either, she clearly had Cadence on her lap. I don't know. It's the small things, I guess. I feel as though I should end on a positive note since I don't want to go into a rant about how much I'm not into this whole Rayna has a stalker storyline. Hayden sounded pretty at the end of the show? Maddie's new love interest seems like a nice, sweet boy? I'm reaching, I know.

I somehow missed that Khouri directed the episode. Knowing that, I am definitely convinced that the blame probably lays elsewhere. The direction combined with the writing gave the show an entirely different feel. Like, I feel as if the words, "Just have fun with it!" were tossed around behind the scenes a few times. Yes, there were soapy melodrama moments (of course), but everything just seemed...lighter. You know? Scarlett peppering Maddie's shoulder with kisses? Lighter. And Daphne just kind of easily shrugging off her sister being an insane brat when it would have turned into a sulkfest (um, a sulkfest for Daph, Maddie obviously threw herself a tiny pity party, she's Maddie) before? Lighter. Deacon LAUGHING? Lighter. I think she's always edged Lennon out a little bit in the vocal department, but, yeah, she sounded amazing in this episode. I hope they give her more material this season. I know she's at an awkward age, but I really hope they make something work for her.

Beth and Randall were LIFE in this episode. SO GOOD. And I've always been a Justin Hartley fan, so no surprise that I enjoyed Kevin's storyline and his interaction with his/Randall's family. Those girls are really presh. As for the whole Toby and Kate stuff? Yeah, Imma just leave this here:

If I was flipping channels and this was the first episode of Nashville that I had ever seen, there is NO WAY I'd tune back in. What a colossal mess. Just start to finish. Whomever's decision it was at ABC to renew or cancel did this show a favour.

Okay, so they aren't some strange sort of American breakfast food? Good to know. (FYI, I am only a neighbour from the North, so I'm not far, but sometimes there are weird foodthings that you guys have that we don't and vice versa and Connie Britton just offered it so convincingly that I thought maybe I'd missed something. Aaaand now I feel like a dolt.)

Not too surprising with how all over the place this season has been. I definitely think this is the biggest bummer. I was really looking forward that. Oh, well.

God. Maddie is SUCH an idiot. Juliette emancipated herself because her mother was a serious drug addict and it's been heavily implied that she was neglected or worse (by her mom) and abused (by her mom's skeevey "boyfriends"). Maddie's biggest problem is that Rayna gave her a recording contract with her little sister and that her bio-dad once yanked her underage ass off stage at a bar. That girl needs to give her head a shake. She also needs to get her comeuppance and SOON. But at least this horrible storyline has given us Tandy back for a bit. Love me some Tandy! (No, seriously. I get why she's not on the show as a regular anymore, but I love when she pops back up.) Can they please let Will be involved with more of the other characters? He had like 30 seconds of screen time with with Avery and Cadence and it was legit one of the best parts of the show, yet they keep isolating him. You have Chris Carmack and he's been wonderful since day one - USE HIM! Other than that, I have no idea why Nashville isn't just about Juliette Barnes (minus whatshisface - the dancer dude). Hayden Panettiere is so engaging and yet I have to watch Alicia Dewitt smarm her way through scenes and suffer through this horrible, horrible Layla/Avery crap. I think there used to be a place for Layla on the show, but right now she's just grating. Also...what are chocolate chip eggs? Are those...are those a thing? Gross. (Maybe that's the equivalent of what Layla is. Chocolate chip eggs. I don't know where I was going with that analogy, but I still think it works.)

Why can't Juliette have nice things? Or the viewers. Why can't the viewers have nice things? Oh, and kudos to the show for finally making me like Luke Wheeler. I guess all it took was him going to bat for Will and doing a solid for Juliette (I mean, doing a solid by grinding up on her in front of an audience of people, but still). Who knew?

I can't with Layla. Like literally just can't. Her character has never been consistent (She's a starstruck ingenue! She's a conniving, back-stabbing bitch! She's a Harvard whizkid! She doesn't know how to use a can opener! She's so shallow that she can't even write a superficial pop song! She's just misunderstood and deep - wait until you hear her play an acoustic set! She loves Jeff! She hates Jeff! My sister! My daughter! My sister! My daughter! ...and so on and so forth*) and while I think that Audrey Peeples has a great voice and really seems like a sweetheart of a girl, she just cannot hold her weight in a meaty storyline with Hayden Panettierre and Jonathan Jackson. I also don't think the writers/directors have quite made up their minds about whether Layla's motivations are sincere or not, so every once and awhile they ask her to throw in the crazy eyes, which really helps no one. Omigosh - yes! As soon as those elevator doors closed, I was like, "Noooo. They wouldn't." But they did. And then they did TWO fake-outs. First with Maddie joining Daphne onstage just so we might think that she maybe she realized that emancipating yourself from your mother, whose label has you on contract and thereby very possibly legally preventing you getting a job, is actually kind of a dumb idea and then (as you mentioned) the cuts between Avery and Juliette, like he was really going to be outside her door and not Layla's. Nashville's writers apparently think we're the first TV audience ever. *I totally realize that all these things aren't necessarily mutually exclusive. I also realize that the writers just shuffle Layla into whatever personality will suit the storyline that week. And they do the exact same thing with Luke.

Wait, does Jonathan Jackson have a son named Jack Jackson or Jameson Jackson? Because both of those are horrid.

Yep. This. All of this. And also: I thought Daphne's song was adorable and (in my opinion - as a person who, you know, listens to the radio) sounded very commercial. Cute and twee songs played on a ukulele seems to work just fine for Jason Mraz.