Enginerd

Ander's mother probably already suspected he was gay and was somewhat prepared mentally for the possibility. She seems like a loving, attentive parent. His dad seemed less accepting and like he was being prodded into acting supportive by the mom. And I don't think his mom was set on him playing tennis, either...that was also the dad's dream. He seemed very rigid and controlling, while she seems to want her kid to be happy. And they divorced, so clearly they were not generally on the same page. I was surprised they wouldn't allow the hijab at school. All the other students get away with uniform modifications and extensive accessorizing. Maybe the anti-Muslim sentiment is that widespread. Or maybe it was just a plot device for Nadia. The school in general seems much more progressive than that. There are lots of gay characters in Mexican telenovelas. By which I mean most of the telenovelas I've watched have a few gay characters. I don't know much about the rest of Latin America and their shows.

I like a lot of the car rental scenes, but sometimes the pranks and cliquey-ness goes too far to believe Shannon as a competent professional. I hate the way they pick on Terrence. It's not cool to torment or belittle or take advantage of someone just because he's awkward and weird.

I do not see the appeal of Gerald. He's a limp beige jellyfish of a person. I like Raj much better. Sure, the surprise engagement thing was not great, but on the other hand, he is nice eye candy. Also it seemed like he didn't really have a serious relationship with Divya, either, prior to their abrupt engagement. And we saw so little of his and Janet's relationship, I wonder if Janet just assumed they were exclusive after a few dates and/or makeout sessions, and Raj was not on that page, and as per usual, there was a major failure to communicate. Though he should never have gotten engaged so halfheartedly, and he should have called it off much sooner once he realized he wasn't committed enough. Everyone sucks here Anyway, Janet should grow up a bit and learn to communicate better and be more considerate of others and less of an entitled slob in general. She doesn't need a romantic relationship all the time. Go to Tanzania and have an adventure. Maybe Jung should get his own apartment all by himself for awhile. Let Kimchee and Gwen have some space.

I did not like the last set of episodes. Maybe all the doom and tragedy was realistic for the time, but it was not enjoyable to watch. In the first seasons, there was intrigue and danger and sadness, but it was interspersed with fun and romance and the thrill of newfound freedoms and technology. The last series was just relentless torture and trauma and one roadblock after another and death, with no relief. BLEH. Also, Carmen's turnaround was not believable at all. I didn't care about her in the first place and certainly didn't want to see so much of her up until the end. I don't care if she tried to redeem herself. Too little, too late. Also thought it was odd that when they went to Elisa for help, the concern was mainly that she didn't like Lidia, without really even acknowledging that Francisco had been married to her. I also wondered why, since they had a prison nurse mole, they didn't try to, like, put knockout drops in the tea of all the prison staff so they could all make an easy exit and be to the ship or the border by the time they woke up. I wanted a triumphant ending, not a noble sacrifice. Sigh.

Also, being with Shira doesn't seem to have done anything for his social status. She may see herself as a cool influencer type, but most of the other kids seem to be indifferent to her or dislike her. Being able to host a party was a bigger deal. My own high school experience, which was a long time ago and of course not the same as everyone's, was that most of the kids didn't necessarily want to be part of one main "popular" group or a star amongst the whole school. They wanted to be well-liked and feel like they were valued and belonged among the particular subgroup of people who shared their interests and style.

I don't get the impression that Ben craves "popularity" nearly so much as he craves attention and connection. But I certainly don't understand high school boys.

I think Ben would break up with Shira in about 0.3 seconds if he thought he could have a girlfriend who actually likes him...or at least respects him...or at least pays attention to him. It's pretty clear they don't like each other. Heck, maybe even just making out with Devi could give him a little boost of confidence to decide he doesn't need to put up with someone as horrible as Shira. Dating ANYONE leaves lots of room for drama, though, given that Nalini has forbidden Devi to date. Maybe Devi should pretend to date someone really horrible and then her mom will see anyone she actually wants to date as acceptable in comparison. I still can't believe how rude Nalini was to Paxton. Way to model maturity and good manners. I understand she was mad at Devi for going to the party, but that's no reason to tell a kid she doesn't even know that he's an idiot.

If we get to make wishes for the next season (fingers crossed it can happen sooner rather than later), can we find out what's going on with Eric? That poor kid. So far he seems to be just a random side bit that makes me sad. His constant eating and asking for food, and lack of discrimination as to what he eats to the point it makes him sick, is not funny. Surely they can't be treating this person as a stupid fat joke, right? I want this show to be smarter than that. But clearly there is more to that story; this is not a happy large kid who just loves to eat. He's miserable. He looks like he's in great emotional pain and compulsively seeking food rather than enjoying it. I will say, the actor is doing a great job conveying depth and complexity in a bit part.

I don't care about Ben all that much, but I thought the scenes were funny but also sad. I'd like an episode focused on Kamala's point of view. Get a little more in depth than beautiful nerd who doesn't want to be married off. We've already seen that there's more to her, but I think a more focused look at her past and her psyche and what she really thinks about everything would be interesting. And on the same note, Nalini's earlier years, before she got married. She's so much like Devi, it's hard to believe she was quite the demure dutiful daughter she claims to have been, who did nothing but care for granny and learn to cook or whatever. What was she really like, and what led her to the life she leads now?

It was total farce. Elaborate lies and skulduggery instead of either a fraction of the truth or a small easy lie (like walk him out the front door in front of everyone and pretend he was there to fix the wifi or something). I don't know that it was necessary for Preshant to be "hot", because how much do looks really matter when choosing a life partner? But I'm glad he turned out to be a reasonable, cool person with a sense of humor and decency, who isn't looking for someone who reminds him of his mother to go to bed with. Devi's mom was incredibly rude to Paxton, and it was completely uncalled for. He's the one who's always rescuing Devi.

I think John McEnroe's extremely blunt, non-actorly narration is hilarious. Also, while I see the point about the intrusion of a white man into this Indian-American girl's story, I actually like that presence on the sidelines, because for basically forever, teen girls stories in particular have so typically been brushed off as frivolous and unimportant and only interesting for teen girls themselves. Doubly or more so for stories about minorities. Mainstream culture generally dismisses these narratives, while literature teachers and history books and politics and basically almost everything tells us that the stories and concerns of older men are Very Important and worthy of our time, no matter who we are. So although it is a point that should never actually need to be made, this older white man following Devi's story and taking her seriously and empathizing with her emphasizes that this is not a niche show just for teens and just for minorities. It's a human story, and it's for anyone, like all such stories. Although I still would dislike it if the narrator were just any old white man, but that he's a hothead like Devi (and her mom) and has that connection with her memories of her father makes it make sense.

She isn't even definitively dead, though! She's presumed dead! It would be just like Phryne, even at that age, to pop up somewhere alive and well.

I thought it looked like she didn't even stab him intentionally at all, even in the heat of their argument. Like she sort of lunged toward him but forgot she even had the broken bottle in her hand. She looked shocked when she realized he was stabbed.

That is not how quicksand works!!! That aside, I mostly enjoyed the movie. The settings were beautiful; there was high drama. I did not like how callous Phryne was to Jack during the first part. She may value adventure and righting wrongs over domestic bliss, but the Phryne we know and love tried not to hurt the ones she cares about in the process. Her nonchalant flippancy while Jack was very upset, having thought she died and then seeing her show up and treat him as an afterthought, was incredibly rude. I like it much better when Jack and Phryne are flirting than when they're fighting! At least they sorted it out before the end.

There's just no way that jagged, curved, thick champagne bottle should have gone through Polo's ribs and stabbed deeply enough to kill him. Also, a full-height glass wall like that on an upper floor with no back-up railing that's flimsy enough that you could just fall through it so easily would be a building code violation most places in the world. That aside, I liked this season but not as much as previous seasons. Too much time spent on random new characters I don't care about, and Cayetana's continued existence is irritating. I did like that Lu and Nadia became friends, and that Carla got fed up with her parents trying to pimp her out like a long-ago princess, or maybe more like the pretty village girl being sold to the trader with the most camels. Who even does that anymore? If it's a good business deal, do the business deal, whether or not anyone in the families are married or sleeping together. Nadia and Guzman should have spent more time together; it would have been a bright spot in a mostly bleak season.