enchantingmonkey

Victoria putting Victor on the spot asking him why he stayed away when he knew everyone thought he was dead...that's why I loved Heather Tom's Victoria. Blade Bladeson! It took me awhile but I think this was the first story in which I kinda-sorta started to warm to Brenda Epperson's incarnation of Ashley. I was thinking that Blade's crazy ex, who eventually shows up to cause a bunch of trouble, was Leanna Love but it was actually Mari Jo Mason. Leanna Love was years before with Dr Stephen Lassiter. Would have been nice to see Lillie Belle. I know she was a PITA but Norma Donaldson was so fun to watch. Watching that flashback of Victor raging at Jack just before he had his stroke reminded me of what an ass Eric Braeden had been to Peter Bergman all those years ago. Perhaps it played a part in them being great on-screen rivals, though.

Someone behind the scenes is really tying to sell Victor and Nikki as the greatest of all times. Ok. Victor never misses an opportunity to pat himself on the back. I can't remember if Diane was able to best Victor in this situation but seeing as how the writing usually favored Victor, I'm guessing it's not much of a victory for her. This wasn't my favorite fight between Jill and Katherine. Rolling around in a dirty attic seemed beneath them. They were much more interesting as emotional adversaries.

Then let me be the first to give Sutton a little love. She's no saint but she's not boring, either. I think some of her bad behavior may have been motivated by social anxiety, which I struggle with myself and have been known to put my foot in my mouth as a result. It's clear why she has so many detractors but I've appreciated the entertainment value she's brought to the show in so little time. Stay strong, Sutton!

The shit stirring is a part of the job, so that doesn't bother me, and I appreciate that Rinna has a sense of humor about herself. There are times she annoys me (like going on about Sutton's wealth) but I'd still consider myself a fan. I enjoy her more without Eileen around, as I think she functions well as a free agent.

They should have done a week of Jill and Katherine. They were a much more interesting duo than Nikki and Victor. Keith Dennison wasn't a memorable character but I fondly remember his daughter Tricia and her reign of terror. I found a clip of her shooting Ryan, although it was dubbed in french. It was fun to see Grace again, who I thought had been involved with the evil Matt Clark, but it was actually Tony Viscardi, who Tricia Dennison kinda runs over with her SUV. Does anyone remember why Jill wouldn't marry Keith?

That was mildly entertaining. I guess the sex talk at the dinner table doesn't get old with me because some of it made me chuckle, and it wasn't anything we haven't seen before. Not a fan of Sutton being on her best behavior. Sutton putting her foot in her mouth was exponentially more fun to watch than Kyle being mad at Dorit for tardiness. I loved Rinna piping in with a counterpoint to Kyle's claim that she always defends her friends. It was almost too easy to bring Kyle to tears with that one. Intrigued by Kyle taking a stab at Denise. Did they have a little scuffle last season? This could be a fun fight.

Haha, yes, I misinterpreted the comment and thought it was in reference to the fans being happy or sad. Makes sense, though, that it was in reference to fans being shocked at the last minute news of Haiduk's departure. I'm a little surprised myself, as I've been trying to figure out how they were going to get Kristin out of stabbing Victor so she can be with Rachel and Brady.

What was the reaction on Twitter?

Nikki's strip tease was fun. It made me think of Reva Shayne christening herself in the fountain, although that strip tease had a different tone to it. Nikki's "love" for Victor felt more unhinged watching it now than it did while watching when I was younger. I loved Sheila's proclamation of love for Scott after he left her apartment. Obsessed at first sight, and working on that pregnancy. I was addicted to Sheila and her schemes when this aired originally. Nice to see Dru when she was still making trouble for herself. Mamie 2.0 grew on my but I loved the original Mamie.

Katherine making the puzzle out of Lindsay's photos was one of my favorite stories back then. I don't know how I forgot about David Kimble but I can still picture him waking up to find KILLER on his forehead, lol.

Yes, I found someone on YouTube talking about it with a friend, and then a conversation he had with a clinical psychologist. I suppose that it's easier to live in a bubble of believing other's minds are functioning as our own, rather than to try to comprehend something to the contrary. After considering the variety of ways the individual mind functions, I'm surprised we, as a species, can cooperate and get along as much as we do. Even in creating the Hosts, I'm not sure that Ford knew what their inner life would like for them when he set them free from their loops. Or maybe he did, and he's even more sadistic than I imagined. I've never really understood why Maeve was so dedicated to her daughter, who was essentially a storyline given to her, but now I'd say that I can never know what it's like to have the mind of a Host. And in her defense, I certainly believe in my own storylines.

Poor Maggie. I actually felt a ping of sympathy for Xander when he told Maggie he didn't know if he could tell her the truth of what happened. Talk about a lose-lose situation.

Gosh, you missed Terry Lester. Loved his incarnation of Jack. Pleasantly surprised to see him on this episode, which I recorded for Nikki's shenanigans. Nikki's dream sequence was hilarious! Of course, she imagines Ashley as the brazen interloper of her marriage who Victor has little trouble turning away after Nikki "dies". I couldn't stop laughing. Based on Victor's comment at the end of the episode, I'm guessing this was after he found out she was faking? Fun to see Katherine again with her eyes on the full-speed-ahead setting. Does anyone remember what year Tyrone Jackson married Alana?

You just blew my mind! I'm going to have to find out more about these people who have no inner monologue...

He's probably still laying in that tub waiting for Bernard to come back and patch him up. I'm guessing he's run out of alcohol, poor thing. What if free will is like a by-product that comes along with the belief that one exists within a binary system, rather than a system in which one realizes everything is occurring at once. So that with a separate right and a wrong comes the perception that there's the possibility of a choice between them. With the way that the Hosts experience their memories differently than the Humans, I wondered if their perception of free will could even be similar to ours. Did we discuss free will before, or was that someone who I watched DEVS with? After thinking about Serac being a subservient mouthpiece for Rehoboam, I liked that idea that what we saw of Serac was really Rehoboam trying to outwit Dolores in a desperate bid to prolong its existence, much like a Human programmed for survival. Perhaps the Host's minds are no less capricious than a Human mind. I find it fascinating that there are assumptions being made about how the Hosts should or shouldn't act when they've only attained what they believe to be consciousness for a short period of time. They could have the emotional maturity of a teenager at this point, if they're even capable of maturing emotionally. It makes me wonder if it's possible for us to not make assumptions when a being takes a certain form and demonstrates speech patterns that we recognize.

No, Dr Rolf is NOT a muppet! *shakes fists* Kristin and Lani always seem like they want to make out. I was sure Kristin was finally coming in for a kiss when she was actually coming in for a hug before she ran off into the night. Kayla and Stefan menacingly smirking at each other in Abigail's hallucination was hilarious. The best laugh I've had all week. So glad Sarah finally knocked Rex upside the head with something. I was going to offer to come do it for her. It's fun watching Sarah make a bunch of bad choices.

It shows him exiting on the Recurring cast list on February 28 and on Contract cast list, which is above the recurring, he is shown arriving on March 2. I don't see Brandon Barash on the list, only Brandon Beemer.

Yeah, my other thought was that they were playing their little games with time...again. It does seem odd, though, that the owners of the motel would never move him from his room for years or decades. Don't let the haters get you down. I've appreciated your enthusiasm throughout the season. It allows me to see some of the scenes through different eyes.

It seems to happen more often than not. I can think of only one show that I enjoyed from beginning to end. Breaking Bad. I watched all of LOST only because I knew their was an end in sight, otherwise I would have quit during season 5. I think I was more hopeful for BSG's final season, and just endured the disappointment. I've come to the conclusion that it's difficult to maintain creative vitality year after year, season after season. I've enjoyed this season of Westworld more than last season, mostly because I'm more intrigued by what happens when the Hosts find their way to "our" world and want to tear it down than I was if the Hosts find The Forge, The Sublime or The Whatever Beyond. But this season didn't give me any hope that Nolan and Joy will ever capture the magic of season 1 again.

William was still alive, so unless they're living extended life spans in this future, I would guess it wasn't decades. Maybe a few years?

That's what I was going to ask. Hopefully, Bernard is able to take the pearl from Lawrence's body and build a Dolores Prime body to put it in. I don't see Halores ever wanting to build an OGDolores body. She did say something about her memories of beauty being the ones she held most dearly, and we were seeing those as she was close to her end. That could parallel how a Human might come to a place of peace just before dying. Once she shot Ford in the head, though, I can see why she'd have little use for her prairie girl sweetness. That'd be funny if Halores starts a trend among the Hosts of keeping scars inflicted by Humans as an open sign of hostility for Humans. Like a post-post modern tattoo. I was glad that Maeve finally freed herself from the electronic leash Serac had her on but because the Hosts are supposed to be much smarter than Humans it seems unlikely it would take her this long to figure that out. William's post-credit scene made me chuckle. An old man charges into a building pissed off about Hosts breeding and shoots a guy in the head. The more things change, the more they stay the same. But are you able to maintain the illusion of free will, or do you feel like it's been predetermined?

My best guess for Dolores' motivation is that she wants to use our world as the new home for her species. Because she was allowed (or encouraged) to develop a low opinion of humanity, and she doesn't believe the two species can happily coexist, she has opted for the extinction of humankind. If she can get a human to be the impetus for the annihilation of humans, well, Bernard claims she sees this a some kind of poetry. Perhaps one of the reasons I find Dolores interesting this season is because of Ford's part in this. I can't remember if he hated humanity but he did hold his own species in such low regard that he set the Hosts free, with all of their traumatic memories, and aided Dolores in conquering humankind. Dolores didn't happen all on her own. She is an agent of destruction created and sent forth by a human to kill other humans. I should say that my memory of season 2 is mostly faded, so there could be scenes there in which Ford felt regret and made some attempt to stop Dolores. But from what occurs in season 1, it was clear that Ford favored the Hosts, and what we're seeing now is the result of him seeing his own kind as inferior.

Yes, if the writers put Marlena and John on the back burner, they could spend a lot more time on Ben and Ciara's love story. I know you'd love that!

Kristin offering to go finish off Victor was hilarious. She's spent so much time using her criminal mind for problem solving that I don't think she can ever find her way back to using conventional means of resolving matters. I can see why so many viewers hate her but it's not the worst trait to have in a universe where serial killers and murderers run free, and the Salem PD is rarely capable. Lani's wig is still trying to make it's rivalry with Gabi happen. Jake and Ben were starting to be fun co-workers, mostly because Jake is a smart ass, then the writers ha to ruin everything and give Ciara a job there, too. Loved Lauren Koslow's delivery when she was rattling off all of the Victor-stabbing, Sarah baby-napping gossip. Rex is a big-mouthed tattletale. Rude!

Sutton's game is good for immediate dramatic payoff but if you're right about Garcelle it will be interesting to see how she plays the long game. I think why I always admired LVP was because her technique was more like psychological warfare, and it was fascinating to watch various housewives fall for it like moths to a flame.