beadgirl

Here's a thought experiment, sir: do you think if you sold your car on Craig's List or to a used car lot, they would give you the exact amount you paid for it? Under any circumstances? Would you pay full price for a car you did not buy from a dealer? Hate them all.

Those insurance commercials -- Liberty Mutual I think? -- with the people who don't understand how insurance works are driving me nuts. Especially the young woman who's the "poster child for paying on time" who taps a bumper ("no big deal!" except it must have been a big deal for the other driver to make a claim) and gets upset when her insurance rates go up. "Newsflash! Nobody's perfect!" Apparently paying on time should make up for any and all car accidents you cause. Also, I think that is company that offers to replace your car with one a year newer and with 10,000 miles fewer on it. That makes me want to sign up, just to challenge them to find a 2002 version of my car with fewer than 75,000 miles on it.

I'm hoping that Diana at the very least takes out Henrik, in spectacularly grisly fashion. I actually thought Bitsie was good in this episode; there were moments where Juliette looked liked she realized she had gone way too far and was doing something unforgivable. Which makes me wonder if they are actually planning to redeem her, which worries me because I don't see how Nick (or a decent Juliette) can ever get over this. Ugh, why did they do this to her character? So Adalind really did lose all her powers? Again? After all the nonsense she went through to get them back? She really is The Worst Witch, and while she was helpful in her info about what happened to Sean, that's not enough to make up for her crimes. Teresa! A bright spot in the episode!

Holy shit. My heart is pounding. And the lesson Harold had to learn wasn't to learn to kill, or do something he thought was wrong for the right reasons, but to accept the Machine's love. The body count: I expect Elias is dead, and I knew it was coming, but when he was actually shot, I got the impression he was hit in the shoulder. Wishful thinking? So long, Dominic, you were not nearly as smart as you thought you were. As for Control, she is a Magnificent Bastard, and I fully expect her to survive somehow. I wonder just how long the writers were waiting to use that Pink Floyd song.

And that would fit with the trope I've seen in telenovelas, where if there are two good, decent men in love with the main character, one of them has to die a tragic death.

I just find Michael so much more interesting and likeable than Rafael. I'd be shocked if Jane doesn't end up with the father of her baby at the very end, but the relationship between her and Michael seems so much more real and deep, the kind that could actually lead to a long and happy life together. Rogelio's patent leather lavender shoes cracked me up.

While that would put an end to their budding romance and get her off the show, it would result in even more angst and disillusionment on Reese's part, which I at least don't need more of.

I wanted much more of the dinner party. "Are your senses heightened?" "I think I'm pregnant, not bitten by a radioactive spider."

My librarian heart wept for the books in the trailer. I told you ages ago, Nick, you should have hired me to scan and catalog them. I really don't like where the Juliette story is heading. Making her angry and shutting Nick et al. out is one thing, but the vicious, deliberate, just plain evil stuff she is doing is too much. I don't know how her character can come back from this, and I hate that, because I really appreciated no-drama Juliette who was always sensible and there for Nick. Plus, the writers are contrasting her with Adalind and making Adalind supposedly sympathetic, when she is not, at all, stolen child notwithstanding. Also, are they actually going through with Nick's child? Is he actually going to juggle being a father with his Grimm and police duties next season? How will that work with his animosity towards Adalind? I've had faith in the writers through the coma and the (first) pregnancy and the Royals, but I don't see how any of this turns out well from a storytelling perspective.

And this is why this incarnation of Sherlock is my favorite -- he actually wants friends. And speaking of friends, can someone remind me how Sherlock acquired (and named) Clyde in the first place? He's growing on me. Fisher Stevens! I knew you were trouble as soon as I saw you. Next time, pay attention to your attorney -- she knows how the system works. It's funny, I was reading up on the Voynich Manuscript earlier in the day. Didn't know about the alien theory, though.

Ugh, I don't like this at all. I've always been a fan of Juliette, and I'm willing to cut her some slack, but the writers seem determined to make her irredeemable.

That was easily the best part of the episode.

One of the things I always wondered when watching the show is what was going on in the rest of the world with regard to vampires and demons. Yes, the Hellmouth attracted them, but it stands to reason they were plaguing other parts of the world. Who was defending people outside of Sunnydale? It made sense in the first few years to keep the show insular, because high school students are generally pretty solipsistic and convinced that their problems are The Worst, but later seasons could have benefited from opening up the world more, especially once Buffy dropped out of college. Surely there were other anti-Vampire groups she could have encountered and either worked or clashed with. There was the Initiative, but that was dropped. What are all the other watchers and members of the Watcher Council doing when they are not pestering the Slayer? I bet the Catholic Church would have a secret team on this (gotta use those albino assassin monks for something); other religious traditions would, too, particularly the ones with a strong good v. evil ethos. Samurai? Ninjas? Voodoo or Santeria practitioners? Heck, if there are demons, where are the angels? If the demons are really just alien races, where are the helpful ones? That's why I actually liked the potential slayers storyline, in theory, at least. Not in execution. Re Spike's soul: for me it was a big waste of potential, because I really wanted the moral ramifications addressed on Buffy or on Angel. What does it say about their characters if good, noble Angel had to be forced into regaining his soul, but amoral cynical Spike chose reensoulment? What about Spike's good deeds before he got his soul? Heck, what about free will? Why can people and "demons" be good or evil, but for vampires it depends on whether they have a soul?

I got the impression that the PoI had given up on life, because of guilt and the loss of his family. That's why he was amenable to the pills -- he thought he "deserved" it. I really do hope Fusco got there in time. I'm not crazy about a relationship with the shrink, but I do think Reese needs to open up. He's got sort of a personal nihilism thing going on, where he wants to help other people but I think he thinks he himself, or his life, is worthless. No, he's not going to end up in a house in the suburbs with a wife and kids, but that doesn't mean he can't enjoy life. Get a hobby! Visit museums! Spend more time with Bear! That's what I think he could learn from Zoe -- she's not cut out for an "ordinary" fate either, but she enjoys life. She is much more at peace with herself than Reese is.

My husband has been putting up with "Or-eh-GA-no? The hell?" and "My cat's breath smells like cat food!" for ... crap, almost two decades! I tried to get Beadgirl2 to play Tapped Out, since he is obsessed with freemium tablet games, but there wasn't enough fighting for him. I think I'll be taking over his account, too.

If it means Adalind gets her baby back and disappears into the Wesen version of the witness protection program, never to be seen again, I'm totally ok with that.

I like it! Back when Juliette started manifesting her powers, I wondered if the writers planned for her deciding to keep them, as they could be a useful tool to help Nick and keep her safe from the murderous Wesen who keep showing up at their house. But given how mean and petulant a hexenfied Juliette has become (and the flash of human, scared Juliette that showed at the Spice Shop before she realized Nick was there highlighted that) I think now the end-game is for her to become dehexenfied. Assuming they are not planning to get rid of the character entirely, which I hope not because I like normal, human Juliette quite a bit. The writers keep not listening to me, darn it, but I'd really like to see an end to the relationship drama and have Nick and Juliette go back to a normal companionship, with Juliette doing her thing and occasionally helping the team out with veterinarian knowledge. I too wondered why they didn't make it clear whether Renard and Juliette had sex, and that makes me wonder whether it was done on purpose, to allow a later reveal where Renard makes it clear he had no interest in her, presumably to an upset/suspicious Nick. I can't think of another reason to not show that scene, unless it was cut for time. I really enjoyed seeing Monroe join the police officers in the investigation; it's been a while since we've seen him that involved with Nick's investigations, and it was a nice call-back to season one. Also, the four of them discussing what to do (before and after the mob attack) had me giggling. Even if the specifics of how the Wesen stay warm gave me a headache.

Yeah, I started Tapped Out last April, and I think I've managed to play every single day. It's surprisingly addictive, but also fairly easy to keep to just a little bit of time each day. The Superhero event was awesome. I even spent my carefully-hoarded donuts on Plopper (and was bummed I couldn't get Bartman or Fruit Bat Man).

I've always written about Finch's hypocrisy (which, to reiterate, I find not obnoxious but a fascinating character trait), so my thoughts on this are coloured by my perception of him. Personally, though the show hasn't explicitly said he was wrong, I think it has been clear that his position is not one that can produce any kind of victory. We know that the Congressman's death would have prevented all this (which Root did say explicitly). We know that his insistence on sticking to his plan likely cost Khan his life (and Reese did allude to that, in a nice Reese way). He also ingested poison, basically, because he just couldn't stand it if another innocent person died, and he had a suicidal plan to stop Samaritan. So I feel that Finch is kind of grasping at straws this season. Also, in my opinion, his words to Reese in this episode, that Khan was likely on some beach, smacked of denial. So, while Finch isn't saying any of this out loud, I think the show has done a decent job of showing us that he has changed; not in his ways but in his feelings. Denial, denial, denial. And it's not like he's shown to be sanctimonious; this has gone beyond "we can't kill person A, it's wrong" (like the Congressman). Like you said, now we're at "we can't do that because we're the good guys and I will lose my shit if we hurt one more person and we're better than that and oh my God this is all my fault". (again, I may be projecting) I don't think this is entirely fair to Finch, and I think there are two different scenarios going on. If it is that Finch refuses to take a life, ever, not even in an immediate and obvious case of self-defense/defense of others, that's one thing. It's certainly a legitimate stand to take, one that many pacificists have taken, but it does mean he's in the wrong line of work. If, on the other hand, he does not want to take an innocent life, that's different, and it is a moral stance that I hold -- the ends do not justify the means. He did not kill the senator because the senator was an innocent life who was not directly harming (or about to harm) anyone -- shady dealings notwithstanding. I really appreciated Finch refusing to kill him, because it pegged him as the sole non-consequentialist on the show, and that is a very rare thing on tv today. Most characters, and most people in this country, are consequentialists (or at least claim to be), and I love that there is someone who stands firm in his disagreement of that. I don't at all want to see Finch become another Root in that sense. If all this gun stuff is foreshadowing a finale where Finch has to fire a gun or kill a person, that could make for a very good bit of character development. But it will depend in part on who the target is -- a Samaritan operative or even Greer, about to commit unspeakable evil? Or, say, the little boy who is the mouthpiece of Samaritan, or a totally innocent third party who just happens to be an unwitting lynchpiece the way the Senator or the woman he took the poison for was? It could be, too, that the writers have not put nearly as much thought as I have into what exactly Finch means when he says he won't take a life, and it could be, as you said, that he is a non-consequentialist but is becoming overly-emotional and worn out as Samaritan increases its hold. But I still think it is an important distinction to make when evaluating Finch's moral stance.

Wow, what a great, tense episode. I really wanted them to tell Khan the truth and/or have Khan stick with them (the people keeping you alive, you dummy!), so I hated that he was killed. Plus I was hoping his reputation would be vindicated; I hate injustice, especially when it's based on misinformation. As much as I loved Carter, and get why they want an episode about Reese dealing with his grief (esp. as preparatory to this romance he's apparently going to have), I'm not interested in his ManPain (heh) right now. Have I mentioned how much I am looking forward to a finale where the Machine and our group takes down Samaritan for good, using Control, the piece of hardware or whatever Root took, the briefcase, the various and sundry POIs with suitable talents, and even Harper or Parker or whatever her name is? I'd especially love it if some of them didn't even realize the larger consequences of what they were doing, or were unaware of the others involved -- kind of like a Rube Goldberg machine organized by the Machine, with Root and maybe Finch the only ones to really see the whole plan. I'm also afraid my expectations are too high. although if any show can pull it off, it's this one. I thought she looked lovely, and I appreciated that they didn't try to youngify her.

While I genuinely enjoy having her character on the show, I agree that I will not see her as hero, or a "good guy," until I see some sign that she actually repents of the horrible things she has done in the past (and, apparently, is still willing to do).

For me it's a matter of a personal taste -- I love magic realism, and that's what I was hoping for with the movies (and what I think would help the tv show). Not Charm-level magic (or melodrama or stupidity), just a little magic here and there to make things interesting and suit the pretty, sparkly, tinkly tone of the show.

I was really hoping for that, actually. Of course, how awful for the track star to lose his foot, but I hated to see his mom lose her son like this. I suppose it was so the mom and daughter would immediately go on the run (something that they probably would not have done had he been in a hospital), but still.

Wow. I loved Root and Finch's story, and how the show continues to contrast their approaches. I especially love that Finch is sticking to his moral viewpoint; I think he would have taken the same approach even if he hadn't liked whatshername -- he won't allow an innocent person to die if he can help it, even if it means sacrificing his own life. And despite Root's promise, as Finch's comment earlier about the men she killed when she kidnapped him, I don't think she will ever be "redeemed" or won over to Finch's viewpoint. She's too much of a consequentialist, has killed too many people, and is more than a little psycho. I like that, actually, that she's not all "You're right, Finch! Your way is better!" I still think that whatever the Machine/Samaritan endgame is, she will sacrifice her life, not for other people, not even Shaw, but for the Machine. Reese and the psychiatrist -- eh. At least she was professional about ending the relationship. I'm ok with a relationship if it is mostly off-screen and if there's no loved-one-in-peril nonsense later on. I really don't like Harper at all. Not only that, I'm beginning to get tired of tiny little women beating the crap out of hordes of men literally twice their size. That's why I like Zoe, actually -- she's effective without being "kick-ass," which is refreshing. The butcher fight scene was lots of fun, though. I'm hoping for an amazing finale where all these disparate people come together from all over to take down Samaritan.

More angry songs: Not Ready to Make Nice -- Dixie Chicks Angry Johnny -- Poe Jeremy -- Pearl Jam ETA: I feel like many of my song choices date me.