Cherpumple

Thank you! This show was starting to make me feel stupid because I often don't "get" all the rules (although, in fairness, I'm usually multi-tasking while I watch this). It reminds me of that episode of Friends when Ross and Chandler help Joey prepare for a game show audition and the rules of the game are completely bonkers. In this case, however, I think Amy only got to pick because Rob and Aron were given an equal number of marbles and she needed to break the tie. I think part of my mental block is that when Joe describes the games, it very much sounds like the losers will be the ones to face the banker at the end. And then many of the players decide that they WANT to face the banker and intentionally set out to "lose," so I end up getting very confused about their goals and strategies. I know they keep saying that they want to take their fate in their own hands by facing the banker (a debatable strategy), but it's still counterintuitive to me (I would probably take Jordan's approach- mouth shut, ears open, coast in the middle until the end). I didn't hear that, but I've been guessing for a while that the final game will be played live (or at least live in front of a larger audience and all the eliminated contestants) back at the studio in California, perhaps even the original DoND studio.

Once again, a Conner manages to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by taking a good idea and messing it up. Dan's DIY class was clearly a hit, so why not change the execution by holding the sessions at the hardware during opening hours? No extra work hours needed, and the students are already at the store where they can buy all the tools they need for their projects. And Dan and Ben can take turns teaching too. Easy peasy! I've done this at my local Home Depot when I wanted to learn how to tile a wall and it was great.

Wow, Aron's behavior is so embarrassing. Telling Alyssa "I will avenge you" and then moping around the next day and rolling his eyes like a bratty child while Dawson was playing the suitcase round was pathetic. If I were his girlfriend (and he does claim to have one) I would be mortified watching him act this way over another woman, even if they were just platonic friends. Yikes. I don't remember anyone's name, so I guess I'm rooting for the muscly NY garbageman, but only because he annoys me the least. This is a very weird show!

I was pleased with the finale, but need to rewatch the season to get a better feel for all the contestants. This one flew by for me. I felt bad for Dan, but he kept his composure and in a way it may have been a good thing that his bakes went wrong from the start. Shortly into the showstopper he knew he wasn't going to win, so he could just do his best and relax and enjoy the experience without the stress of hoping to win. I loved Matty from early on, and enjoyed Alison's flirty chats with him. But I was distracted all season because every time I looked at him all I could see was a young Peter Falk (that's a compliment!)

I like Michelle so far, but was getting major secondhand embarrassment from her date behavior, especially when she continued to bring up sexual topics that he was clearly not responding to. I'll chalk it up to nerves for now and hope she relaxes after this. Otherwise, yikes! I also cringed when Mark kept pressing his date about whether or not she could see herself married to him. It's a first date, dude! Calm down! I like Stanika and her date (can't remember his name). Even if they don't work out long term, she can look back fondly on it as a fun fling and a good intro to the dating world.

It was interesting watching the reality of Amanda's situation hit her at the airport. After the initial greeting with Razvan, I could actually see her go into "oh shit, what am I doing?" mode as she registered that her distraction/fantasy man was now real. She looked uncomfortable and a little panicky, and it made me sad for her all over again. I hope this turns into a fun short term fling for her, and not a total train wreck (or, heaven forbid, a pregnancy).

I think I'll enjoy this one better on rewatch. It was so different, and I kept expecting something more dramatic to happen so I couldn't really focus on all the campy fun. But I did enjoy the Alice in Wonderland vibes, from the crazy Mad Hatter-esque party to the game of space croquet (cheating included). I also loved the droid bar (it was very Futurama), and was satisfied with the short Mandalorian-centered arc at the end. However, I couldn't stop laughing at the opening scene about the star-crossed lovers. It was like watching a bad school play! I'm not sure I understood Helgait's plan. I get the point of having a master switch to control all the droids at once, but what was the point of having random malfunctions of individual droids? Was it a test run of the technology or did he just want to instill fear in the people? Since he was a Dooku superfan and not an admitted supporter of the empire or republic, I'm not really sure what his goal was here. I may have missed something.

I agree, especially since he seemed so strategic at other times, like when he deliberately chose a flavor that he knew Paul loved (can't remember which episode). He was frustrating to watch because he didn't listen. However, I do give him credit for re-doing some bakes in the final that didn't go well for him before. I respect that redemptive approach more than contestants who redo elements that they already got praised for. This seemed like the most chilled out final ever. The contestants and judges seemed relaxed and giggly, which was nice to see, especially when Syabira and Sandro were cracking up about how terrible their technicals looked. It was a nice change from other dramas in the final like Rahul's exploding glass jar, Steph's emotional meltdown, and Alice's freakout over her parents' cancelled flight. When I rewatch this season I definitely need to pay more attention to Abdul. He seems like a nice guy, but I literally forgot about him for several episodes and can't remember a single one of his bakes. It's bizarre.

I agree, but I've had a bad feeling about her daughter for a while. She was acting cartoonishly shifty during that cocktail party (last episode?) and there's definitely something up with her. I figured that she would get killed or arrested, but maybe they'll go the arranged marriage route. Either way, I don't have high hopes for her survival. I loved the prison break, especially seeing that the guard making all the announcements was the least intimidating guy ever. I love how this show fleshes things out by showing that the Empire is both more frightening and more human than we've seen before. And I guess it's the same thing with the Rebels- I like seeing "the good guys" do all sorts of questionable things in the name of their cause, and I hope we learn more about Luthen and his original motivations.

The fifth clue was the Buzz Lightyear one, with the correct response being "To infinity and beyond." I was surprised, amused, and appalled by the clue about Alex Trebek's typical breakfast of diet soda and a candy bar. It made my stomach hurt just thinking about it!

I love the callback to this when Karn's mom notices (and criticizes, of course) the change he made to his collar before his new job interview. It's such a fun and telling character quirk that someone like Karn is an amateur designer/tailor in his free time, lol.

I agree, and based on this game it would be Matt. He was worryingly off his stride tonight. I was genuinely shocked by how many answers he flubbed. I enjoyed the collective groan when Mattea said she enjoyed one of those songs when she was four, as well as Amy's response later, lol. I don't mind Mattea's hand gestures, but can't stand her constant stream of remarks throughout the game that she mumbles to herself. It's very distracting!

Thanks for this! I feel reassured! I also want to say that I don't think this plot worked for me as the first installment of a potential series. I think my main issue was that the info dump at the start, followed by a time jump that significantly changed the characters' initial introductions was not only confusing, but also made it difficult to care. For instance, after touching on Francesca and Wyn's secret relationship in the intro, I had zero investment in Francesca's relationship with her murdered fiance, and felt nothing when he died. It would have worked better for me as a second installment, after I got to know main characters. And I'm sad that we missed out on seeing a full movie about her step-mother's murder spree. She was much more fun to watch than Francesca!

Guys, I'm worried! I just listened to the Deck the Hallmark podcast for the Francesca Quinn movie, and they indicated that it was somewhat public knowledge that this one was a reworked script of what would have been the next Mystery 101 movie. As in, the movie that was supposed to address the crazy cliffhanger of the last Mystery 101 where we saw Travis and Amy estranged. Say it isn't so! I don't really follow Hallmark news, but a brief search yielded an article from June 2022 that had no update about a new Mystery 101, and noted that Kris Polaha had deleted an IG post from last year about being excited to film the next movie in 2022. I REALLY hope this is wrong, as Mystery 101 is my favorite HMM mystery series and I would hate to lose it. But if I squint, I guess I can see what they mean about the reworking of the script. After the weird intro in Francesca Quinn, the two leads were estranged (just like Travis and Amy at the end of their last movie), and I can see how the explanation for how it happened would have worked for 101. Also, instead of the evil stepmother, I can see the puppet master in the 101-verse being the Wolfman, the serial killer from Travis's past, and the victim being his ex-wife, who was brought in during the last movie. I vaguely recall that the Wolfman died off-screen in the last one, but it seemed weirdly anticlimactic and could easily be a fake out. Does anyone have more info about this? I don't want to lose Mystery 101!

I'm pretty sure that Herald is his title, as it seems that he is not yet Lord Elrond. I like this so far and am looking forward to the upcoming episodes. I love revisiting Middle Earth, but it will take some to get used to this aesthetic.