Niuxita

I agree, I don't want any of them to die, either. I was really enjoying going from 4 original main female characters in the adult timeline to 6 this season, and I thought there was still stuff left to mine from their dynamic now that they've reunited and are actually talking about things, so I'll be really disappointed if that happens. At least it will make the thousand-year wait until season 3 less excruciating, lol. (That said, if one of them does die, I agree that it makes storytelling sense for it to be Natalie. :/)

I don't know. To me, the "truly terrible" award goes to Saskia for those few episodes in which she went full-on dictator. What the teacher did to her was awful, but it does not justify shoving Teresa's severed toe into Renee's mouth as punishment (WTF!!!) I was on Zoe's side since the beginning, when everyone blamed her for not telling them about the Pocco (heh) when all she did upon setting foot at the reunion was try to tell them that there was something weird going on but no one listened because they were too busy making fun of her. That was actually hard to watch because of how frustrating it was. And the show seemed to lean into it for the lols as the episodes progressed, like "Oh, this is obviously Zoe's fault, too!" all the while Saskia was out there starving people out for not doing their hair properly. Just didn't sit well with me. The "Forgettable Laura" jokes also got old pretty fast. I'll probably watch a season 2 if there is one because I'm in love with Genevieve (she's the exact brand of neurotic, dorky character I tend to fall for), but there were a lot of frustrating things that kept me from truly enjoying this, which is a shame because I was really looking forward to it.

What was Evil Tai in the Mirror mouthing to Our Tai? I can't read lips, and there was no CC.

Interesting how everyone immediately caught on to the fact that David 1) was a pedophile and 2) was about to rape Ellie. When he said that about how the struggle was his favourite part, or something to that effect, my mind immediately went to "Oh so he was a serial killer."

Sexual orientation doesn't stop existing just because the world ended, though, just like I imagine there are still left-handed people in the TLOU world. And that's one of the great things about this show, for me. The fact that one of the two protagonists of this story, and the one on whose shoulders hinges saving the entire world, is a young gay girl. It might be irrelevant to her world-saving mission, perhaps, but it's still a part of her, just like being gay is a part of me. Growing up, I never would have imagined that I would get to see a story like this on TV, see myself in the protagonist of a TV show (especially one that isn't LGBTQ-themed like, say, The L Word), and while that has certainly gotten better in recent times, there's still a way to go, so to me Ellie being gay is incredibly important, and I appreciate the show making it clear that that's exactly what it is (just like when Tess asks her if they have to worry about a boyfriend coming for her way back in episode 2 and Ellie replies with a pointed "NOPE." At the time it seemed like nothing, but going back to it knowing what we know now makes her reply that much more deliberate, and I love that). On another note, I'm cool with the way things turned out between Ellie and Riley towards the end being left to the imagination. I have seen my fair share of one half of a f/f couple being killed off after experiencing a brief moment of bliss to last me a lifetime. Instead, I appreciated that the last image we have of Ellie and Riley together is them holding each other, resigned to their fate and absolutely terrified of what's to come, but staying together because to them there is no other option. @Danny Franks if I could like your post 457898 times, I would.

Exactly. This is why some of the comments about Grace being a doormat don't sit well with me. If it was so easy for a woman to leave her husband when he became controlling/abusive, domestic abuse wouldn't be the issue that it is. I also completely believe Eva staying quiet for 10 years about the rape. We've seen recently with real-life cases that it's not uncommon for rape victims to stay quiet for years. It's hard enough for women to disclose having been raped when it's a complete stranger or someone they personally like. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for Eva to think about telling Grace what JP had done and risk her not believing her or taking his side. If I were Eva, that would have killed me. Anyway, I just finished this show and absolutely loved it. I am a big fan of the multiple-sister show genre, though so far I have only encountered it in non-English television, so I really liked that aspect of it. Every single scene between the sisters was thoroughly enjoyable, the actresses all played off each other really well. And of course, the big denouement of JP's death was as satisfying as I was hoping it would be. Kudos to the actor for making him such a despicable human being to the point that it caused me almost physical revulsion every time he did something prick-ish. Re: the fact that he was too one-note or too villainous to be believable, I 100% believe men like him exist: extremely charming to ensure they have they people they need wrapped around their fingers but also capable of tremendous harm, with zero empathy or concern for others' feelings except their own. It's why he creates such a visceral reaction in some of us. He's not a moustache-twirling Marvel villain whose ultimate goal is to take over the world, he could literally be the person your sister marries and whom you have to be civil to at family reunions, and therein lies the true horror of fictional characters like him IMO. This show also made me realize that the sisters (and Nora) were infinitely better people than I am because I could not ever bring myself to be cordial to a man like him, even if he was married to my sister whom I love. It just goes to show how much they loved Grace that they were willing to put in that level of effort (especially Eva) to make sure she didn't feel uncomfortable every time they got the family together. I heard the news of the renewal before finishing the show, so I thought perhaps it ended in a cliffhanger that justified a second season, but nope, everything was tied up as if it was indeed planned out as a limited series, so I can't imagine what a season 2 could possibly be about, but I am 100% there. I would watch 10 episodes of the 5 sisters sitting around Eva's kitchen drinking wine, tbh.

I kept waiting for the reveal (probably via flashback) that Jen had named her daughter Joey because Jo was Judy's favourite character on The Facts of Life. That would have been cute and less on-the-nose than naming her Judy.

I watched this show having only read the first book easily 15 years ago (so basically remembering nothing) precisely because I liked what I remembered of the concept and having the story told to me in TV show format was easier than reading it, and I absolutely loved the whole series. I didn't need any extra context to understand things better, and, having just finished watching this episode, this one and the previous one might be my favourites from the amount of emotion they made me feel. I was still reeling from Mrs Coulter's death like two days after watching the episode, and Lyra and Will slowly having to come to terms in this episode with the fact that they would have to be apart for the rest of their lives packed more than a punch than I thought it would for me considering that I had previously enjoyed them more as BFFs. Of course, 90% of that was the actors absolutely NAILING it, but it also rings true for me that whole thing where you "flick a switch" and suddenly you realize that someone who was just your friend is the only person you can see yourself with, so I didn't have a problem with the abruptness of the change in the nature of their relationship (also, as others have said, there were hints to that in earlier episodes). I was also super happy that Mary's great love that changed everything for Lyra and Will was a woman. I had been secretly hoping she'd be gay since we met her in season 2, so I'll take it!

Totally. I thought it was really cool trope subversion to have her decide against the typical "great opportunity you can't pass by" plot device for reasons that don't get much airtime in these situations. The writing always frames it as "your family and friends are always gonna be there but if you don't do X, you will regret it." If the character does end up staying, it's to get together with their love interest. To have the writing prioritize spending time with family over academic advancement was really lovely and relatable. It was super dusty in my room for that last scene between Nalini and Devi. 😢 Agreed. I've never been a fan of "too dumb to function for comic relief characters," especially when they're paired up romantically with characters who seem to have more depth (not that Eleanor isn't comic relief a lot of the time, but that relationship also doesn't make sense to me). Trent doesn't exasperate me as much as Jason Mendoza did on The Good Place, and he certainly has some funny/insightful one-liners every so often, but a Trent-centric episode would be a smidge too far for me.

Same. She seemed very content in that newfound friendship ("Shall we go find seats?" and her expression when Rhyah pulled out something for her to snack on, like it was the first time someone was looking out for her since Mohan). I don't understand, Kamala goes whole ass episodes without appearing and she still gets a love interest that in all likelihood will stick around. Why can't Nalini, arguably one of the show's central characters (being Devi's mom), be given the same courtesy? It just sucks because it retroactively tarnishes their entire friendship, since now we know that, apparently, Rhyah wasn't being genuine or didn't see Nalini as a real friend or whatever from the beginning. That said, I loved the final Nalini/Devi scene (and Nalini sticking up for Devi with Rhyah earlier, plus Devi's shocked expression, like that was the last thing she was expecting 🥺). Those two are the main reason why I watch this show. Their evolution since season 1 has been a joy to watch. There was something very Joey/Chandler-esque about Paxton and Trent's dynamic this episode, and it made me smile.

This is my problem with this sudden plot twist. I didn't think she was supposed to be an antagonist. I thought she had been genuinely introduced to give Nalini a female friends since we've seen all the way since season 1 how lonely she is without Mohan. I also thought it fit well within this very female-driven show to randomly establish a close female friendship for the sake of it. But nope, it's all most likely going to be a plot device. What a disappointment, honestly.

I was being facetious. I just think it would be nice for the show to have a lesbian character because I am one and like to see myself represented. Evil is actually one of the few shows I watch with no lesbian characters, which is fine, not everything I watch has to have them, but sometimes it does feel like something is missing, for me, and it would be cool if it did. That's all. As for what does that have to do with wanting be a nun, you would have to ask the poster I quoted, who was the first one to make the connection. What I reacted to was Lynn's comment about her friends only wanting to talk about boys, implying it wasn't something she wanted to do. I didn't say it was something the 4Ls should aspire to be. I said that, if that's how girls like them are at that age, then they should be allowed to be like that instead of being constantly criticized for it, the way some fans of the show and Sister Andrea do/did. Like I said, boys are 10 times worse at that age and it's always just "Boys will be boys."

Damn, KH is just fantastic at the heart-wrenching stuff. From Kristen's near-hysterical confession to David in last season's finale to her reaction to being told the fake news about Andy (from the moment she saw someone other than him appear in the video call) to her tearful joy at seeing him again, she never fails to rip my heart into shreads. I just love watching her. I never got the impression throughout the series that the show was going for a "Chosen One"-type storyline with Kristen (with Lexis, yeah, maybe). He is probably after it because it is a sibling to Lexis, the previous Chosen One, whom he has realized things aren't going to work out with. Also because it comes from RSM, which has spawned its fair share of demonic children with no input from Kristen. I thought exactly the same thing when she said that all her friends wanted to talk about was boys or something like that. 👀 I definitely would prefer this turn of events to a "Lynn suddenly feels a calling to the church" because the show could use more lesbian content (and no, Kristen and her nun girlfriend Fenna don't count 😜). Even though I'm a card-carrying member of the "going to hell for still shipping Kristen and David" club, I thought the Bouchard marriage reunion was lovely. I 100% believed Kristen when she said she loved him. It's nice that the show is not going for an awkward love triangle thing with them and is letting them be genuinely in love and happy. Though I feel bad about what is ahead for Andy before someone catches on/he suddenly remembers what happened to him. I was disappointed by Sister Andrea, a character we are supposed to side with, toeing the party line, as it were, with the whole "That is not how young ladies behave!" wrt Kristen's daughters. Fuck that! Young ladies should be allowed to be loud and obnoxious, the way boys are allowed to be and the way the show allows the 4Ls to be. Anything else is just, as Kristen would say, patriarchal bullshit. That said, the best part of that scene was Laura deadpanning "Mirabella" when Kristen was introducing them to Sister Andrea by name, and her sisters' wordless "WTF" reactions. I love those girls.

Completely agree. I was really expecting him to die, basically sacrificing himself for his daughter and grandchild, to signal the end of an era and sort of baton-passing for next season. I was so disappointed when I saw that the one who died was Karen, which meant he was almost guaranteed to survive. I was reading the post-episode interview with SVS, and I find it irritating how, whenever showrunners want to kill off a character for the "emotional impact," it's always a female character who gets sacrificed, especially in this case because, as you said, Karen was finally starting to come into her own identity separate from being Ed's (ex-)wife. I'm also probably the only one who was really disappointed they kept Pam as Ellen's endgame. I just don't understand how I am expected to root for them as a couple when we have been given nothing as to who Pam is and why exactly she is "the love of [Ellen's] life." After she walked away from Ellen in s2, I was really hoping they would give her a new love interest with whom she had a bit more spark. Their scenes together this season just fell completely flat for me. Oh well, as far as lesbian characters go, at least Ellen got a happy ending.

So, did anyone look up the lyrics? It was stuck in my head nonstop since the last episode, so I looked it up (at first using nothing but Google Translate and going by ear, LOL) and it goes something like "Skylark, gentle skylark, I will rip off your head [...] I will rip off your beak [...] I will rip off your neck," etc. And it's apparently a children's song. 😂 Very fitting for this show.