ctkat1

Me too!! I love that one.

John (thanks Abe!) is keeping Aneesa and her cousin around because he knows they won't be able to finish a final challenge. Same with Jenna and Brianna. In fact, the only threat left in the game is Cara Maria and Jamie- because not only can they both finish a final, Jamie is strong enough to actually help Cara Maria (this is not a dig on Cara Maria, just that historically the final challenge involves them having to carry something heavy while climbing up something difficult, and that type of task can be really hard for petite women like Cara Maria). John is going to have to carry Vince completely if he hopes to finish, because Vince has been completely worthless. Which is why I really want Cara Maria and Jamie to make it to the final; if they get eliminated, John definitely wins. [Mitch and Cory are such non-entities I'm not even considering them.]

That is a perfect summation of Effie's current situation. Part of why Jason is getting away with so much is because none of the producers are able to be Chris Moore.

So I was simultaneously re-watching this episode in preparation for the new one tonight and reading an interview with writer/director Cary Fukunaga (first season of True Detective and Beasts of No Nation). Anyway, he was asked about dropping out of a project because he didn't want to compromise his artistic vision for the budget they gave him (which is exactly Jason's situation), and Fukunaga was quick to say that you have to compromise all the time, that every aspect of his film represents some compromise, and as a director you have to develop a skill set to advocate for what you want while also making everyone else happy. It was an interesting juxtaposition, watching an episode where Jason refuses to compromise on anything and his entire production team (except for Pete) is so frustrated with him that they're barely able to do their jobs while also reading about a successful, newer director talk about how compromise is the most important part of film-making.

Oh, NY'ers. My dad is from NYC, and on a trip to visit the grandparents he got into a screaming fight with a woman in a store, then went about his shopping like nothing happened. Only happened in NY.

I think Peter Farrelly was looking for a way to disengage from this whole situation with Jason Mann, and saw an opportunity. After all, Farrelly was the one who was actually offended by Jason's pushy and non-humble response to winning, and certainly as we've seen, Jason's a total pain in the a** to work with- this fight with Effie was the perfect excuse to get away from a difficult production and mentoring a director he didn't like. Or he's a total spoiled baby who packed up his toys as soon as he was challenged! Totally agree with you that Effie's negative reaction to the first phone call completely blocked her ability to really listen to what Farrelly was saying in the second phone call- he was trying to help production by getting Jason to be onboard with film, rather than forced into it, but Effie was still mad at his earlier meddling (when he wasn't acting as a mentor for Jason, but questioning producer decisions like tax breaks and filming locations) and so took what he was doing and saying completely wrong. She was right in the first phone call, but wrong in the second.

Christian...there are no words. I guess I'm at least happy that his father (and mother, though she seemed more panicked about Maria leaving than upset at how she's being treated) recognizes that his treatment of Maria is beyond the pale and she'd be totally justified to leave. I just want to go and rescue her from that house! I suppose there are a thousand different excuses or reasons why he acts the way that he does, but none of it matters- he needs to change. I was very proud of Maria for standing her ground and saying exactly how she feels and how he treats her- she deserves more and better.

Natalie is the only one worth rooting for, although Reed is showing signs of some game play and could swing me around. Alex, Wes, Keith- nope (though Keith is playing the game, and was smart not to use his Idol) Jon and Jaclyn- haven't played the social game well, are far too comfortable in their current position Baylor and Missy- so, so, so annoying This season is so boring.

Oh Danielle. I too find her whimpering and clingy-ness and willful denial to be repulsive, but at the same time- if I knew her in real life, I would probably feel really badly for her. As one of the commenters said above, she's not one of life's winners. And she's being taken advantage of by a man who is obviously in it for the green card and will 100% leave her once he has it. Obviously I, like all of the people in her life, wish that she could see it, but I don't know that her particular combination of neediness/low intelligence is capable of really understanding it. As for Amy...girl, you can do BETTER. So much better.