Quiche

I think the major problem in Cole and Allison's marriage was his family and this is Cole's fault. The Lockhart family drained everything from that marriage. They preyed on both Cole and Allison. It was particularly dismal the way Allison was part of the family drug operations. It drained all the emotion out of her and her marriage. Therefore, it is perfectly understandable why she wanted out, and why she grabbed at the first chance she had to get out of that family by hooking up with Noah. Her motives are very clear. Cole is no innocent in this. He engaged in criminal activity. He is violent. He put his family above his marriage.

I agree. I don't want to blame Helen. Her situation is sad. In comparison, except for money, Noah's situation is pretty good.

Allison is now a fact of Noah's existence. He's pretty serious about her. Yes, he lied about it. But Helen soon learned from her daughter that Noah and Allison are now engaged and living together. That means Allison is a fixed feature in Noah's life. Allison will be the children's stepmother. It is through hostility, and hostility alone, that Helen is trying to prevent Allison from being near her children. The fact that Noah lied does not change this. I agree. It seems to be the practice in our society that the spouse comes first ahead of the children. The children will grow up and make their own lives. The marriage however is supposed to endure.

Yes, Noah was wrong to lie. However, Helen was wrong to demand that the children be kept away from Allison. Helen could've overlooked the lie and continued with the mediation. Don't the children get a choice in this matter? I thought the children, nowadays, are consulted regarding who they would prefer to live with. Regarding Max… He's a prick! A night of bad sex amounts to nothing. He and the Noah and Allison, and when he got the chance he thought he would get some of their happiness. Max was rushing Helen and not considering her needs, just what he wanted and then he could redefine it as though he was helping her. Helen is well rid of him.

I would argue that it is not Helen's place as a mother to make the situation worse for children. She did not need to go to court. The only reason why she went to court was to keep Allison away from her children. My point in bringing up the future is not that I expect characters to know it, but because we see that Allison and Noah do end up together. Which means that Allison is doing something right and not being unpractical. I do agree that Noah and his father have a strained relationship. That is usually the father's fault with men of that generation whose egos were so big that they always have to hold up how much better they are than their sons. We know that Noah avoids his father and has avoided him for a long time. There's a reason for that. I'm not sure that Noah should let his children impact his relationship with Allison. The future spouse is a partner while the children are not. Two categorically different relationships. I would not wait for a man who puts me aside like this. Noah needs to find a different way. Which brings me back to a point I made earlier that Noah is not suited for full custody. It is not fair to anyone. He is not even suited for shared custody. He doesn't have the money. He doesn't have the apartment. And children shouldn't have to move week by week to a different place to live – they should stay with Helen and not be uprooted in such a way on a constant basis. Noah can have visitation and vacations with his children. Allison doesn't have to do anything. She doesn't have to wait around for Noah and she would be a fool if she did. If he so quickly backs out of his living situation with her after months of living together, then he is not worthwhile. But I suspect since we already know the end result that Allison has far more patience than I do. It is precisely when people are fighting over everything that they lose things.

It is rather a moot point. We know that both Noah and Allison are soon divorced and that they marry each other. I was strictly speaking in terms of Noah's relationship with Helen, which is different from his relationship with his children. Allison will be Noah's wife and they will have a child together. We already know the end result. What we are watching is how Allison achieves this end result. She is fighting for her place in her fiancé's life. It is often true that the woman who fights for the man, gets the man. In practical terms, Noah no longer has any obligations toward Helen, even at this predivorce point of the story. He is not supporting her financially. They are not friends sharing their problems. Helen, in very realistic terms, is a woman alone just waiting for the final divorce decree (whether she faces up to that fact or not). Noah has already moved on with another woman. That doesn't cancel his relationship with his children. Noah does not owe his children his entire life or his future. But he has made a commitment to Allison, which is a different commitment from the commitment he made by having children. He doesn't stop being their father just because he has divorced Helen.

Why does Helen deserve her comeuppance… 1 – she's not helping her children adjust to the reality that now their father is with someone new. 2 – and she's acting out of spite. Helen is making the situation more difficult because by going to court, she has turned it into an adversarial situation wherein she is using the children against Noah. It is not for Helen to determine that Allison should not be around her children with Noah. Allison is now officially Noah's future wife. Noah's dad comes off as a creep because he does not talk in a loving or understanding way with his son, but in a hostile manner.

It seems like Allison proves more than practical – she is also successful. Because we know the divorces go through. Because we know that Noah and Allison marry. I was strictly talking about the couple relationships – Noah and Allison versus Noah and Helen – not about Noah and his children.

I am not so sure. Let's consider the position of both women. Allison: 1. She lived with Noah the past few months. They are in love. 2. Noah asked her to marry him. She said yes. He gave her an engagement ring. Helen: 1. Noah has not lived with her for several months. 2. Noah is no longer "in love" with Helen. 3. Helen is the wife that he is in the process of divorcing. She only remains his wife until the divorce is final. It is only in that strict legal sense that he is married to Helen. What does his marriage to Helen amount to? – Is he supporting his family? Is he supporting Helen? – At this moment are Noah and Helen good friends and sharing their daily lives? – Do they have any hope at reconciling? I suppose how you and I perceive this "marriage" depends much on whose side you are on and who you believe is the guilty party. I see no guilty parties, but Helen is certainly the victim of the circumstances. Who or what caused the breakup of this marriage? I think it is precisely what Noah told his younger son – that he fell in love with another woman. To that extent he is at fault, however, it happens a lot in our society. Loads of parents divorce and eventually the children adjust. I don't necessarily see Helen at fault. That would be blaming the victim. Everybody has their flaws. It is her unfortunate circumstance that she is still in love with her husband while he is no longer in love with her.

I thought the drug dealing was the enterprise of the Lockhart sons, and they were doing this to save their horse ranch. If it wasn't for that husband and his family, Allison could do very well just by being a waitress.

Martin needed to go to the bathroom. When he did, he felt better. If the pain had continued, Noah would have taken him to the hospital. Nothing Noah did compares with being high on both drugs and alcohol and driving a car with your kids in the backseat. But I don't think Noah really wants full custody. He's just reacting with shock and anger - at what happened in court that day and at Helen's situation. I don't think he can handle full custody. First, he doesn't have the money. Second, he doesn't have the living space. Third, he's beginning life with a new woman. At best he can handle visitation and a summer vacation.

True, Noah is Allison's way out. But she also chose him, and he chose her, and they have been living together. And Noah asked her to marry him, and she agreed. She's more than a paramour, quite definitely. As his fiance, she deserves more consideration.

Let's not forget the fact that Helen was indeed high as a kite when she got behind the driver's seat with her children in the car. Let's not forget that she backed up, not checking on her children, and as a result her little girl has a bruised bump on her head. How many times should that happen?

It is neither the fathers nor the sisters place to tell Noah what to do. What Noah says he's thinking of doing the same day of a nasty court hearing is not what he will necessarily do. The sister has no say. She's not an understanding person, nor a perceptive person. She is a know it all, and they are the worst kind of family members. As for the father, I say it again – he's a creep. His choice doesn't have to be his son's choice. The man does not look like a happy type of man and he doesn't come off as a good father. So in my opinion – he is not entitled to an opinion, especially when it's entirely judgmental.

I liked tonight's episode better than last week's. Poor Helen – not! Actually, she's the one making the situation more difficult for children because she's the one turning it into a custody fight. I enjoyed seeing her get her comeuppance. Her wanting to keep the children away from Allison is just pure spite and jealousy. I hated Noah's father – he's a creep. Say what you have to say and say it out clear. I hate people who play games. And what business is it of the sister-in-law? It's none of her business. I don't blame Allison for insisting on her place in Noah's life. She did give up things for him, such as Cole and her home. It's crappy of Noah to shunt her side now. And he's just doing it to win the children from Helen, but you don't win them that way. I did enjoy Helen in both halves of the story tonight. I'm glad she was dragged down a peg or two.

I didn't like the episode. It was pointless and did move the stories along. I could care less about Yvonne and Robert. They are two weirdos. They needed better casting for these roles. Robert especially comes off creepy. I miss the Helen and Cole stories. They won't have their point of view next week since neither character was on this week. I think Max is a douche bag. He doesn't see that Helen is not into him. Some lousy sex amounts to nothing. The only interesting part was Whitney. Allison should've just told her that she didn't have Scotty's number. Allison is somewhat of a dimwit.

This is an excellent metaphor!

I can't believe that of Cole. I think it had to be someone who has a bad and selfish character, like Whitney or her grandmother.

But the writers have changed things since last season. It doesn't look like his book gets published now. So I take it that everything in that last episode of Season 1 has been rewritten. There is no doubt now, that he can't afford the defense attorney and Helen has to pay for him. Responding to the newer posts. I think the writers made a decision to make Noah poor, because they needed tension there in the relationship between Alison and Noah. Also it keeps Helen involved in Noah's life. It delves deeper into his dependency on Helen, which is now indubitable. If Noah had a load of money with a best selling book that is being made into a movie, then the story is over. But if he and Allison are poor and struggling, there is a wealth of conflicts to explore. As for Cole and Allison ... like I said, I think there have been things from the end of last season that have been cancelled out. Plus, we are relying on the character's POV and Allison's POV is not 100% reliable.

When we see the parts about Noah in jail and then getting charged, it is a year later than today. We know that because Noah and Allison are married and have a baby girl. So we can deduce a few things - that Noah still doesn't have money and has to depend on Helen for money. Which means he didn't get his $400,000 advance on the book. Which also means that somehow he and Allison had to support themselves and pay for having the baby. It also means that the divorces went through.

I loved Cole's segment the best and I like him the best. It seems to me the point for showing Helen and Coles point of view is to show how much they still love the spouses they lost. I really don't care who killed Scotty Lockhart, so I was not even thinking of that at the trial. Maybe I am wrong. But it seemed to me that Coles look at Allison had to do with how much he still loved her. Maybe I'm being too romantic. But my thought was that Cole realized Noah would be in jail and Allison would be separated from Noah and may be he could get her back. This trial was just a hearing to charge Noah with the crimes. Unless Helen pays his bail, Noah will probably be stuck in jail. I don't think it would be too hard for Cole to work on Allison's fears and weaknesses and win her back. What was most insightful was how Cole had wised up to his predatory family. I think the statement that Allison played victim to every man is quite true. She has let men victimize her. I'm not so sympathetic to her. I don't call what she and Noah has "love".

You can watch the show on Hulu or On-Demand or at your cable tv website, and also at abc.com I liked the episode.

Yes, Juliette is at fault for this. But Avery was also playing a part. He was holding onto that baby. He should have put the baby down in the crib and tried to comfort his wife. Avery himself was acting like a self-righteous, hysterical prima donna. And that's the way he has been acting for a couple of episodes.

My take on this season finale will be most different from the others. First, it is normal for a new mother to have PPD and feel detachment from her baby. Avery can mother the baby. He should be helping Juliette pursue what she feels she needs. Everyone is trying to force Juliette to be the little mother. But Juliette needs her work right now. Obstructing her from doing it, I think is far more harmful. I'm glad she fired Glenn. Because this isn't the first time that he held her back. As for Rayna, she's not a good record producer. As for Layla and Jeff, I think they are hot and compelling. A refreshing change from the sickeningly overly sweet Gunnar and Scarlett. G&S are totally boring, except for when they are singing.

Actually, Frank Underwood has been an utter failure of President. He did not achieve one success.