azshadowwalker

I was flipping through Max around Thanksgiving and they were pushing this show. I didn't have HBO back when it aired, and both the later seasons of True Blood and the chomo nature of American Beauty had soured me on Alan Ball, so I didn't seek it out when I had access. I regret that now. It's an amazing feat to create an ensemble of characters that I despise yet be able to keep me engrossed in the show. Brenda and Vanessa Diaz are probably the characters I have the most sympathy for, but even they have their moments when I don't care for them. I'm actually not sure whether the show wants me to like Nate or not. I suspect it does because Ball wanted us to sympathize with a sexual predator in American Beauty. I just don't, though. Alive or dead, I find him insufferable and selfish. He never changes. Just a terrible person. I think I hated every member of his family when he died. These people are the most self-indulgent assholes on the planet. I recently went through a two-year period when I lost two brothers and a very close family friend. I can't imagine acting like Claire or David. Just utterly falling apart, putting other people in danger, and being a shitty parent/person. Ruth puts herself first like she always does. DeadNate telling her she's the only one he would want to raise Maya cracked me up. She did such a bang-up job with her 3 kids. Francisco? Ugh. Terrible, terrible human being who's always looking out for No. 1 and his ego even when it comes to his own family. Keith? Perfect abusive personality to be a cop. All of them are awful. I would still check it out if they revisited the show, although I see that link above is from three years ago.

The problem with this season is that they're either going to have to get a really, really surprisingly bad tattoo to send Old Man Tex home or he's just going to win. I mean, there's no drama in a good way but there's also no drama in a bad way. It's either a foregone conclusion or they're going to have to twist themselves in knots to get a different outcome. The double elimination really screwed Lucy.

Just getting back here after seeing Vol 4 episodes, so this is very late. It's actually not surprising. I have a friend who was trainhopping. Got hit by a train in the process. Lost an arm and a leg. He wasn't laying with his arms over his head. He wasn't initially on the ground at all. The force can do this. The old Buffalo Jim story was definitely an OD. Why did he have no cash? He bought a lot of coke, maybe more than he was used to doing at that point. Why did the woman leave? The "seizure" she described is typical of coke OD and she didn't want to get arrested for either using or supplying the drugs. Murder charges aren't unheard of in some cases. She called hoping he didn't die but expecting that he probably had. Girls are lying to themselves and others. Their mom didn't leave to go live with her sister for no reason, IMO. Daddy was an off-and-on drug user who chased strippers and Mom was tired of it. As for the latest episodes, it was tough to watch the case of the rape victim who was accused of lying. I am angry at the cops, but the fact that the media ran with it without question angers me more. This is why they're not trusted by people of a lot of political persuasions.

He didn't have to tell her he was playing the idol on her. It took at least two conversations about the possibility of voting Dee out. The initial one, which he said it was a good idea but he had to think about it, and the second "how dare you make me swear on Nana" conversation. Or it was one very long one that had them changing positions and moving around their environment. Should never have taken that long. What difference does it make whether it's Dee or Julie? If Katurah wants Dee (which was always the right move for both of them, anyway) you agree right then, not leaving it open in her mind whether you're committed to that. Not like Jake had trustworthiness on his side. As for the person above going on about, "voting for who you like," whatever. Drew's an idiot just like his buddy. That’s why they didn't win. Austin played with his dick. Drew was too stupid to recognize that and put a stop to it. Instead he rewards it. Dee has a million dollars because of those two being idiots. Good for her.

Finally got around to watching the last two episodes No one, not even Jake, gets to the end without other people. Besides that, Dee--as much as I didn't like her--very much was her own player. She won immunity on her own. She stayed smart and kept her cards close while Austin played with his dick. She played the social game that made people want to be in alliances with her. Jake didn't win immunity. His social game was so bad he couldn't even get Katurah to vote for Dee when she wanted to vote for Dee because of his dumbassed "big move" obsession and inability to build a trustworthy alliance at any point. As for playing with his dick, the fact that Drew rewarded Austin for doing so finally broke my moderate support of Drew. He didn't vote for the best player. He voted for the guy who fucked up both of their games because he not only couldn't keep his mouth shut but he was also easily played by his "showmance" partner who could keep her mouth shut. Drew is an idiot. So is Austin. Both deserved to lose. The best player won. Good for her. And I hope she follows Emily's demand of spending none of her winnings on that foolish boy.

I always had sympathy for Katurah. I mean, they showed how pushy, condescending and controlling Bruce could be on a regular basis. Other people even mentioned it on occasion. It was more odd to me that some viewers didn't see it. There was never any doubt in my mind that Katurah had him pegged from the start or why she would hate to be around someone like that. Her story tells us even more about why a controlling man might be uncomfortable or even frightening for her, but no woman with a lick of sense is comfortable with that shit.

Brando was uninteresting even when they finally remembered he was there. I don’t understand Drew being so open about rejecting his offer, though, and I like Drew. I do not, however, like Bruce. Exhausting. Bossy. Annoying. Self-important. If Katurah is really the only one who noticed, the rest of them are clueless. Her dislike of the dude speaks to her ability to peg people accurately. Can't imagine having to deal with that dude 24/7.

Harder? I wonder what these people would have done in the early days when it was really hard.

Pon's tattoo was way too dark for my tastes. Definitely felt they made the right choice, especially since he got to pick his own tattoo.

I don't think blind judging is ever truly blind. As long as Anthony stays, I am happy.

I was really afraid that Katie was going home because she got so much screen time. I love her so much as both a tattooer and a person. I am always so happy when she posts pictures of her little one on social media. Please let Katie stick around! The weird thing is that I didn't recognize most of these people except for Katie. I guess it goes to show how the last few years of Peck and Nuñez had lost the glow for me. I vaguely remember Gian (sore-losing motherfucker) but that's really it.

I didn't realize Dave was still going to be around. That makes me happy. I was never a fan of any of his bands, but I liked him as a TV host going back to the Rockstar days. I am more excited about this than I reasonably should be.

So, it looks like we get new episodes on Paramount Plus beginning Sept. 7. https://twitter.com/inkmaster/status/1565036702132867078?t=C5cRMrbc-37ZIgs33foj4w&s=19

I am finding everyone and everything about this show tiresome and ridiculous. The nostalgia element isn't even holding me anymore because everyone is so damned annoying. I mean, it's been heading this direction each season for me. The first one was fun, but it's progressively weaker each season. They're officially at bad now.

I was wondering if I should even bother. I tried to watch the first episode, and the back story bullshit had me running for the remote.