eleanorofaquitaine

I suspect the actors strike explains some of the delay. I am guessing that they want to do a strong promotional push - they couldn't do it while the actors were on strike and couldn't really plan it for December. So they pushed it to Spring.

I like Sharrod and think he's on his way to fine career in baking but he was not the best overall baker or designer, regardless of his more reserved personality, among the final five. He still has a ways to go with both his technique and his decorating skills. I thought that he was the correct choice to send home because Justine's eclairs had much better height and volume than his did. It's a shame in the sense that I wish all five competed in the end but IMO they made the correct choice there. And ultimately I think that they made the correct choice with the main heat. I wanted Justine to win (what can I say? As a fellow Massachusetts resident, I like to root for the home team and Justine's personality doesn't bother me) and of the four, liked Ashley the least. But her cake was decorated beautifully and the inside of her cake was innovative in ways that Thoa's wasn't. I think that if either Kevin or Justine had finished their decorating, one of them would have won because their cakes were similarly inventive but unfortunately they didn't. So I think the judges made the right call, ultimately.

Lifelong resident of Massachusetts here. Justine's accent is pretty standard among people who have a thick Boston accent. It is likely that there are times she's laying it on a little thick but she may not even realize she's doing it. But I don't think she's "faking" it or anything. I like Justine but that may be because I am just used to obnoxiously loud people from Massachusetts. I was sorry to see Javier go, as I think he is a talented baker, but I wasn't surprised they sent him home. It's just too late in the competition for raw dough.

I get what metaphorically they were going for. The Salem Witch Trials are always a good go-to for writers and producers when it seems like contemporary society is going to extremes. But it felt like they were trying to do too much with the metaphor. They were trying to stretch it to mean about people talking to each other and about breaking free from forced conformity AND about not judging people. Like, pick one metaphor, not three. I still really like this reboot. This episode was a miss for me but overall, I feel like most episodes have been strong.

I guess the thinking was that mirrors were scarce in early colonial Massachusetts (probably true) and the town was suffering a drought, so there wasn't even a puddle in which he could see his reflection. I know why they went with witch-burning - for the big dramatic moment at the end with the rain extinguishing the burning pyre - and they at least acknowledged that the people executed in Salem were hanged. But it still grates, since so many people inaccurately believe there were burnings. (Not that unjustly hanging innocent people is any better than unjustly burning innocent people). I didn't love this episode, I have to admit. It felt like more of an outline of an episode than an actual script with plot and characterization. And while I can't consider myself an expert on early colonial Massachusetts, there were a lot of anachronisms I was having a hard time getting past. (Also, that just didn't look like New England).

My feeling is that as leaper/hologram, Ben and Addison worked. Like they actually had a similar chemistry as Sam and Al in those roles because these are two people who care about each other and the world around them, and also they each brought important skills to their roles. But I don't think that they had great chemistry as a romantic couple, and that's where I think that shaking things up a bit is a good thing. I wouldn't be surprised if Addison does eventually end up back in the hologram role, which would be fine with me. But I think that having her act as the hologram without the romantic relationship would be best.

I am not really sure I understand the argument here? For one thing, Tom and Addison are a couple who share a workplace. So far, we've seen them act like a couple...who share a workplace. We only get brief glimpses of any of the QL staff outside of HQ and within HQ, I think that Tom and Addison have acted appropriately and professionally. I don't think they are tip-toeing around their relationship, they just aren't acting super lovey-dovey because they are at work. Secondly, I think that the audience does accept Addison and Tom as a couple? Given the fact that everyone seemed to really dislike Ben and Addison, it feels like a large majority of the audience is relieved to see Addison with Tom and Ben with a new love interest in Hannah. Personally, I think the some of the best writing for Addison was around her talking to Ben about what it was like to "lose" him and what processing that grief was like. So I feel like they have gone out of their way to not make her look bad. Now, do I think that they are going to have to find more effective ways to use the character if they aren't going to reconcile them? Sure. But it's only been a few episodes since they split them as leaper/hologram, and I am willing to give them a little more time to figure out what next to do with her.

I mean, tv shows evolve. Just because she's used only tangentially in one episode doesn't mean she will have no other role moving forward. Especially because she does have military training, etc. I don't think that they are necessarily "keeping her around" for a reconciliation. Instead, I think that this is an ensemble show (unlike the original, which was really just focused on Sam and Al), and they are keeping her around because she's part of the ensemble. It's possible there could be a reconciliation but right now, I see them writing carefully so that the audience accepts her relationship with Tom (and Tom himself), and for the audience to root for Ben and Hannah.

I think that it strained a little credulity that anyone working for the QL project would be unaware of Operation Paper Clip. As mentioned, it's been a major plot point in popular culture (The X-Files built several seasons around it and it has been key to a few Marvel movies). I am not even sure why Tom had to declassify files about it because I feel like the whole story about it has been out there for decades. But the point is, science types like the QL staff are certainly going to be aware of Marvel and The X-Files. Otherwise I thought this was a good episode. I don't dislike Addison like so many others but I also think that the relationship between her and Ben wasn't working. So I think they have done a good job reconfiguring the team.

What exactly is so unique about Sutton? She's a wealthy divorcee who was seemingly done wrong by her ex, who is high-strung and doesn't take criticism very well. How is she any different, really, than Ramona or Shannon, for instance? I don't think that the rest of the women "hate" her but if they did, it's not because she's this uniquely compelling superstar. It's because she came on the show and was insulting towards another cast member (Teddi) and then had weird meltdowns at the birthday party and with Crystal about the coat. Now I think that Erika treated her really badly, and I appreciate that she ultimately stood up to her and Diana. And I do like her friendship with Garcelle. So there are things that I can like about Sutton. But I also recognize where she can be annoying and I have never really bought into this narrative that she's this unfairly-targeted victim because she's just so fabulous.

Fragile Flower Sutton has returned and I am still not a fan of her. Kyle was right that Sutton has overreacted and she did again in Vegas. And there is nothing that Sutton likes less than being confronted with her own bad behavior. I don't understand why anyone was willing to defend Fragile Flower Sutton. That is why I was pleased to see Garcelle actually call out Sutton's behavior as ridiculous. All of that being said, Erika claiming that Sutton treated her so badly during the last year had me rolling my eyes. Wait to hold yourself accountable, Erika.

Did Kyle stomp out after Sutton, though? Seems to me that Kyle went on and participated in the show and only gave Sutton the attention she was looking for after all that (and because Kyle needed to use the bathroom after everything with the whipped cream). Garcelle is the one who went looking for Sutton. To be fair, I think Garcelle did so because she was genuinely concerned but she's the only one who went out specifically looking for Sutton. (I don't think Garcelle was looking to make a scene. I do think Sutton was and Garcelle unfortunately played into that).

Yeah, I just don't get that. This is a group who spent literally like years talking about whether or not Lisa Vanderpump planted stories in the blogs. Buying bots to target someone doesn't seem all that different to me than planting stories and I really don't see why Bravo would care one way or the other if Garcelle mentioned it, especially since both Rinna and Diana are gone from the show. I don't think Garcelle was at all afraid to mention the bots, I just think she didn't think it was pertinent to the group of people who were there.

Well she had just been on stage where a sweaty guy had put whipped cream all over her and said sweaty guy licked said whipped cream off of her. While I agree she didn't "just happen to be doing anything," IMO that is because it's far more likely she was going to the bathroom to wash off all that mess than she was following Sutton. Sutton is not the center of the universe, much as she occasionally wants to be.

Sutton didn't "quietly" leave the show, IMO. She may not have been yelling but she was very showy in her huffing out of the show. She knew that someone, likely Garcelle, would follow her. And she certainly was aware that the cameras were following her - that's why she was talking about being on the board of the American Ballet Theater, etc. So yep, she got the attention she wanted by leaving. But it was by no means "quiet," in my view. Also as for Kyle, she didn't follow Sutton. She said she happened to be going to the bathroom and saw Sutton and Garcelle talking. She probably should have just ignored them but then, Sutton would not have gotten all of that attention she was looking for.