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The plotlines in this ep were more about the journey than the destination—not as “in you face” as a run across the border. I really like that they are doing a lot of in-depth stories working on emotional resolution this season, as it’s the last season: Brianna leaving the company to find something for herself, Bud deciding whether divorce law is right for him, Grace facing her fear of losing loved ones, Robert and Sol facing Robert’s memory issues, even Frankie resolving things with Jack. And… What a gut punch the end of this episode was. Coyote has had the most growth as a person out of anyone on the show and it’s been years since he turned his life around and started working on himself. Yes, he should have told his fiancée where the honeymoon money came from, but for Frankie to invalidate him in front of everyone that way was awful.

I was curious about that really gorgeous Death card—the red-cloaked figure with the white rose. Apparently it’s the Robin Wood deck.

I was thinking they did a really good job of making Nick look rough, reflecting his emotional state. He always looks so perfectly handsome / put together, no wonder Jessica was pitying him. At least he pulled his head out of his rear and helped, in the end.

It felt like they were going back and forth to have a mix: here’s biracial family with a blind mom; here’s a church-y family; here’s a gay, married EMT; here’s a church-y family… As if they didn’t want any viewers saying the show was “too woke/anti-Christian.” But they did seem to end up heavier on the church-y side. Maybe because they really wanted the narrative for all of them to clearly be, “these good people deserved it,” and the submissions from pastors more clearly fit that narrative. In the end, the show has a cast of skilled, personable, attractive people, so it was a fine way to spend a few hours.

I think a Friday or Saturday slot. Monday is not generally a big news day, so she is often now repackaging the previous week’s events, which the weekend shows already did. Very much looking forward to these!

The only things I really liked in the s3 designs were the vintage things Shea incorporated from her client’s thrift store (she says she always likes to do this, but she never seems to do it in the other designs?) and the wine room that had woods and dark colors, just as a classical, moody contrast to her usual same-same. I hated when she put a wood and faux beam ceiling in a classic San Francisco Craftsman. Every homeowner in SF is barely preserving exteriors and gutting interiors for these sterile, ahistorical interiors. Syd is admittedly puerile. I imagine they play it up for the edit, though. He is CEO of both companies, but the show is combo design makeover + mommy blog and his day job isn’t photogenic. I actually appreciate, in a way, that he cuts through the staged, Architectural Digest fantasy with his childishness. Sure, this bedroom is fantastically gorgeous, but in 5 minutes, yeah, the kids are going to be throwing water balloons off the balcony, so don’t get too invested in the fantasy. He does seem to genuinely love his family and cooking for them. My guess is that the “babysitting” line was a deliberate provocation for the camera.

I had heard that this was the first time in history that a monarch/Prime Minister meeting would be a first time for both of them. Trust John to state it as a kindness from Queen Liz to distract from PM Liz’s abysmal performance! Guess I don’t have to worry about the fact Sean Hannity doesn’t bathe since I don’t shop at WalMart…

Damn, I missed Seth! I was crying laughing at his impression of Trump talking about Sullenberger and the geese, and the big strong goose with the tear rolling down his bill, beak, whatever. “And he looked at me and he said, ‘HONK.’”

So say we all…

Saw Wes Chatham, Steven Strait, and Chad Coleman at Dragon*Con yesterday. Here is the official writeup: https://www.dragoncon.org/dailydragon/2022/rocinante-forever/ They were even funnier, tons more stories in person.

I’m at Dragon*Con and somebody shared s3 casting news. I know this is the spoiler thread, but I’ll still put it under a spoiler cut… Then I was at an Arrow panel with Colton Haynes and David Ramsey. Both absolutely delightful, loved working on Berlanti shows, cracked each other up on the set all the time. David said he hopes he gets to do more on the “S&L” earth. Colton would love to work with Hoechlin again, but isn’t sure how Roy Harper would fit on S&L. In pure speculation, David knows Melissa would love to be involved, but isn’t sure if/how Berlanti would make it happen. In regards to the above... David was teasing that he knew who the big bad for next S&L season is, and they might be at this very con. “You’ll see next season and look back at your program and say, ‘Oh yeah, they were there.’” 😂

I was all ready to say how much I liked Klaus teasing Ben for being open, and complain that Allison notably did NOT apologize to Viktor for murdering his stepson. But, eurgh, way too traumatized!

I didn’t like Lila until last episode, but I’m okay with her now. I was perfectly happy to trade Allison for Lila and new new Ben at the wedding reception. They were at least happy for Luther and Sloane. I even like Reginald for a bit. Dammit.

Stan mentioned after his mom took off with a bass player that that’s how they ended up in Germany in the first place—his mom had followed a bass player there (presumably from the US). The only car(s) we’ve seen the inside of until this episode are from Hotel Obsidian, right hand drive. Everyone else is driving per normal for the US, and Reginald’s Rolls is US style. So I assume it’s just another hotel eccentricity. I was skeptical of Reginald & Klaus, but they pulled it off. Reginald using his beyond-tough-love with genuine encouragement and faith is … good? Lila talking to Allison is the first I’ve liked her. Allison’s sibling relationship with Viktor has been a highlight of the past two seasons + first episode of s3. This heel turn is THE WORST. Poor Harlan. He finally got rid of his freaky powers for the first time since he was a kid, and got killed for no reason. Poor Viktor has just been screwed, too. S1, he was too untrained and tortured from being held in the basement to control his powers. S2, he was getting a hold on them, but torture again, plus accidentally transferred some powers to Harlan without realizing it. S3, that accident with Harlan screwed everything up. I wouldn’t say Viktor is a villain, but he is dangerously overpowered. So, apparently, is Christopher. It’s too bad there’s no subtitles for him. When they discussed the plan and talked about trapping the “bees nest” in a box, he said something that made me think he was relating to the situation. And, lo, the kugelblitz in a box looks just like Christopher, and Christopher broken out looks just like the kugelblitz. I wonder if Christopher was overpowered, similar to Viktor, and contained early on.

To be fair, I think Allison took off to California very quickly after they arrived in the present, before the Umbrellas found out they were never born. If she had been raised by her birth mother and had her rumors powers, she still could have whispered her way into movie stardom.

I feel like her arc in s1 was realizing how f-ed up (ab)using her power is. Her arc in s2 was being so traumatized by what she did that she refused to use her power, even when it could have really helped. Until she snapped and went overboard. And now in s3 she snapped and went overboard again, already? And not against someone she hates but someone she loves? I was loving that they were realistic with her grief over losing both Claire and Ray. And her sibling bond with Viktor continued to be a high point. Even blowing off some steam with Diego was great. But this turn… ugh.

I noticed that too. Do they film this series in the UK? They were also on the wrong side of the road. No, they were driving on the right side of the road. I think the car being right-hand drive was just an affectation of the hotel. With Callum Rennie and Julian Richings, my guess is that they filmed in Vancouver or Toronto. Perfect casting for the kind of offbeat sensibility of the show!

Lila would have needed her own time travel suitcase to meet up with Diego. And yeah, not only did the Umbrellas get dumped into 2019 with nothing but the clothes on their backs, but so did the kid.

Yeah, I knew exactly where John was going with that. There was a story on NPR Friday about airlines who are going to buy supersonic jets again. Apparently they’re not as worried about the environmental impact this time around because they’re going to make them carbon neutral by making them more fuel efficient… and make up the rest with carbon offsets. I was immediately VERY suspicious, so perfect timing from John on this topic Oh, Hannity, eeeew. That’s telling on yourself, for sure. And dragging your buddy down with you.

I think there are certain things Rachel was interested in learning about the craft of cable news. For example, asking questions engages the viewer—that is a proven rhetorical device. Tucker looks constipated and confused when he does it, while Rachel looks purposeful and focused. And Rachel follows up her questions with answers based on history / law / reporting. But “asking questions engages viewers” is good advice no matter who it comes from. It does sound disconcerting to hear Rachel talking blithely about hanging with Tuck and Rog, though.

You could just see their smiles getting ever more fixed as they tried to figure out how to break in and stop his non-stop sentences. Our public health system needs a complete overhaul from top to bottom. And, unfortunately, the CDC is not our savior. They are fantastic at studying; they are not great at doing. (Michael Lewis’s latest book Premonition contains excellent stories about how the public health infrastructure responded, or didn’t, to Covid. It’s frightening how many of the things that saved hundreds of thousands of lives came down to the sheer luck of somebody who knew somebody who knew somebody, and was persistent about needing to do something.) That we are blowing it with monkeypox this badly right after blowing it with Covid is a searing indictment.

What did I just SEE with that televangelist?!?! Unclean! Unclean! That TV host taking down ol’ Liz was beautiful. “ZERO.” “Well, er…” “ZERO.” This was the first story I thought of on the topic of lack of mental health care: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/virginia-state-senator-injured-in-home-another-person-found-dead-inside/2013/11/19/3e419ac4-512c-11e3-9fe0-fd2ca728e67c_story.html That, and Reagan closing down mental hospitals. Apt analogy, for John to say we’ve gone from institutions like prisons to actual prisons.

So glad to have Seth back! And I, for one, appreciated his Squirrel Nut Zippers joke.

I had such a flashback to Lex buying Clark a fancy new truck in the first episode of Smallville, and Pa Kent going, NOPE. It’s just sugar uncle Tal instead of sugar daddy Lex, this time. Agree with pretty much everyone that telling Chrissy did not seem necessary at this time. David Ramsey is so handsome, but the hair/facial hair here was not doing it for me. After gathering up speed, he landed a solar-powered punch right at an intersection where the cube met the sphere. And that was enough to knock them apart. I guess. My bet on Lana is that she will keep Kyle at arm’s length for a while and at the very least Tal will pursue her, knowing that they were together on Bizarro Earth.

Was it wearing a diaper?