enchantingmonkey

It's funny that Claudia's motivation was to preserve the Origin World because that's where Regina was still living, but Regina seemed to be the only woman with a loving husband in the Looping Worlds, unlike the other adult women who were in failing relationships. For all we know Regina is in love with Woller in the Origin World and Hannah seduced him away from her. I think Hannah is great but we all know what she's capable of.

Claudia wins! While Claudia was one of my favorites, I wished that Martha would have allowed the car accident to happen and perpetuate the cycle once again, or perhaps in some new way. Martha didn't have much agency in Jonas' world but I loved that Martha/Eve worked to keep the knot alive in her own world and in Jonas' world. Obviously, Claudia knew what she was doing by going to Jonas/Adam and convincing him to go to the Origin World and prevent the accident, because he was so intent on destroying both of the looping worlds. And having young Jonas steal young Martha into the Origin World was smart, because I don't think older Martha/Eve would have agreed to preventing the accident. I don't agree that Jonas' and Martha's worlds were a mistake but I can see how Claudia would see them that way, as she was motivated by keeping Regina alive and likely had to convince herself there was a good reason to destroy J-and-M's worlds. I liked how Martha and Claudia were both driven by the love for their child, it's just that Claudia had the advantage of knowing about the Origin World and how she could use that to end Martha's perpetuation of the loops. Well played, Claudia.

Just finished Episode 4 of S3. The montage song (Asaf Avidan's The Labyrinth Song) made me chuckle with the lyrics talking about working a maze out in the head. It amuses me how the characters seem blind to how each solution to their problem leads to another problem in a vicious cycle pattern, much like we do without the thrill of time travel and travelling to alternate worlds. Hannah fascinates me because it's like she falls into a state of playing the role of a woman who believes she needs a man in her life, then goes Scorched Earth when that man doesn't live up to her expectations. I'll have to come back when I've finished S3 so I can read all of the comments...

"He cheats!" was probably in there for good reason, at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I remember Dr Rolf making derogatory comments about Vivian in the past but I could see him working with her if he thought there was something in it for him, especially if he thought it would allow him to continue with his research. Many thanks to Louise Sorel for returning to this silly Show and bringing a hint of "reality" to it. I still have a little PTSD from what Robin Strasser did with the character previously. Which past is Jake/Stefan trying to hold on to by having sexxxy times with Gwen? Enquiring minds want to know!

Most of the Show was preempted for local news, and I was going to ask if there was anything of note during the reveal of the DNA test results but it sounds like I missed "Jake's" reaction. The funny thing about Gwen's oral fixation is that it's something that could have been treated while she was at the mental hospital, and yet here she is in Salem claiming to be completely sane. Not that an oral fixation is an indication of mental illness but it makes me wonder if it's something being done to demonstrate a degree of dishonesty. If nothing else, I'd guess she has some deep-rooted anxiety issues. Gwen mock-strangling herself at Ben was hilarious, and I don't even hate Ben Weston.

Unless they cut something to make room for the number of commercials there are now as opposed to then, it was odd that we didn't see Ashley again after she matched up the signatures in the early part of the episode. I was hoping to get a better idea of where they were in the Mari Jo/Blade storyline at this point. I've never been a fan of Morrow's Nicholas, so I enjoyed anything Eddie Cibrian's Matt Clarke did to make Nick's like miserable. Wow, I totally forgot about Victoria doing the nude pics, and Heather Tom was usually Must-See TV for me. Although, I wasn't a big fan of Cole Howard, so perhaps I just blocked it out.

This could have been Josie Davis' last day as Grace Turner. Jennifer Gareis is listed as taking over at the end of February '97 but this episode is dated March 19, which is also the date listed as Camryn Grimes' first day as Cassie. Grace slowly became conniving around this time keeping Cassie a secret from Sharon, and then seducing Nick. It's funny that I remember Josie Davis as Grace but can't remember that Kurt guy to save my life, although I didn't like Shari Shattuck's incarnation of Ashley and was likely fast-forwarding through all of her scenes. Leigh McCloskey. Even recognizing the actor didn't help me remember the character.

The rumors about the animosity between Billy Flynn and Kate Mansi have been around for years, even before Marci Miller took over the role. It seems like there was a tweet in which BF made a disparaging remark about Mansi's abilities but that's been so long ago that I can't remember the specifics. More recently, the only thing that comes to mind was Mansi leaving out Billy Flynn's name when she talked about which co-stars she was happy to see after she returned following Marci Miller's abrupt exit. I haven't heard anything about their most recent return, and had almost convinced myself that they had finally made amends.

The only good thing about Chad's return is making a game out of Billy Flynn's style of hate-acting. I thought it was funny during his scenes with Jack that Matthew Ashford seemed to be exhibiting genuine emotion with red, watering eyes, and Billy Flynn was actually motivated to act out his scene, which he hates, or he had to put something in his eyes to make them burn. I feel like this has happened before when he has had Missy and Matthew as scene partners, or I just have a vivid imagination.

If Jake is Stefan, I like that his attraction to Gwen demonstrates that even with his memory seemingly wiped that he's still drawn into unhealthy relationships with women. I could even theorize that his unconscious motivated him to jump in front of that bullet, as his relationship with Gabi was becoming too conventional for it to tolerate, and his death allowed the cycle to reboot itself. While I'll agree that Gwen chewing on her fingers is annoying, I'm also intrigued by how it could be some self-soothing behavior that she may not admit to or even being consciously aware of. She also holds that book closely against her chest as if it's a protective shield. I suspect her demand for an apology was a kind of foreplay, as she likely realizes that asking Jake to apologize agitates him and raises his adrenaline levels. I recall Claire saying something to the effect of being in Bayview for two years and feeling some entitlement to being released, so I appreciated her saying all the right things to Hope in that moment. That's not to say she wasn't being honest with Hope, just that she's still clever enough to know which cards to play in a certain situation. I'll have to credit the show for having me genuinely concerned for Gabi, because I hate that she could end up in prison for another crime she didn't commit and it appears as though there's nothing to save her on the horizon.

Has there been any talk of Tinsley wanting to leave before the season began but the producers asking her to stay a bit because of Bethenny's abrupt exit? I can't remember a housewife ever being allowed to leave mid-season for non-life-threatening reasons before. Sorry if this has been discussed in the episode thread. I've haven't waded into that pool, yet.

Allie is walking into a situation in which she is expecting to be judged and criticized, so I see her snark towards Eric being more of a side effect of being on the defensive than a sense of entitlement. I'd guess that she's of two minds thinking that Eric would provide a safe space (which demonstrates some sense of vulnerability) but also half expecting him to throw her out, so she's lashing out in a way she's watched her mother do a million times before. I loved that we got a hint of Lucas' indignation that Allie might be concealing her pregnancy from the baby's father, because we all know why Lucas would never support a father being denied a part in his child's life. It would be an interesting argument for father and daughter to butt heads over, although it's rare for this writing team to explore these issues with much depth. Claire showing up at Ciara's door was good fun. I'm enjoying how Claire is already starting off being deceptive about the Save-the-Date card, as I believe that even with good intentions it's very difficult to change behavior.

Wasn't it the real paternity test proving that Chad was the father of the baby rather than Stefan? I think it was part of Gabi's plan to have Stefan get attached to the baby, then be devastated when he found out Chad was actually the father. Claire and Gwen were fun. I liked Gwen being a bit of a devil's advocate in regards to Claire's motivation to being at the Super Couple's wedding.

You mean you didn't love that donut she was sporting on top of her head? Tough crowd. Seeing Claire again gave me goosebumps. I'm crossing my fingers and toes that she gets to keep her fiery personality.

Sandra's ability to make it to FTC was the one of the main reasons I stayed interested in the show post-merge. She couldn't get the Heroes to work with her to save her life, and she didn't have any real allies once Courtney was booted. I knew she was was going to win but I was still curious how she'd survive each Tribal. I think Russell had convinced himself that no one would award her the million for a second time, and didn't view her as a real threat. That jury was brutal on Russell. I'm sure I was loving it when it originally aired but I felt a little bad for him on re-watch. Russell is an ass but I didn't think his game play was that outrageous. He was so annoying trying to explain why he should have won during the Reunion show, though.