Tatum

Was that the woman from the Olympics? I did feel sorry for her, but she had a bit of a flounce vibe going on. At the time when she left, she didn't know there would be no chance of her getting in. She could have stuck it out a little longer. With The Island, Johnny and Co. were very successful in keeping Ev locked out, but they had the advantage of not doing dailies so there was no way for Ev to force her way in. However, right before the final, Teege announced that everyone who didn't have a key would be competing for the final spot, and whoever had their key stolen that last time would have no way to get it back. The look on Johnny's face was freaking priceless, especially since Ev was by far and away the best competitor left who did not have a key. I might have to go back and watch that scene.

But that leads to a lot of potential for backfiring, as was played out, since Laurel chickened out of her plan at the last minute, leaving CM with a star, Laurel without a star, and Leroy and Kam, two strong players, pissed at Laurel. The game isn't over yet, but if Laurel wasn't willing to see her part through, I think keeping CM out of elimination this round would have been the better choice. Of course, this could all be moot, as there may be more chances for stars and Laurel could still get one (and CM, had she not gotten one this time, could potentially still have gotten one), but I am operating under the comments that the cast members made that this was potentially the last female elimination. On The Island, cast members who did not earn keys stayed in the game but could do nothing but watch the 8 finalists sail off, knowing they had no chance to win but were still on the show.

True...but clearly Laurel wasn't confident she could beat her or she would have taken Kam's spot, so it seems keeping her out of elimination when possible was the next best thing. Cara's got a pretty strong record in eliminations and no one really seems to want to face her in them. I am not sure I like the star stealing aspect, as it doesn't really reward the people who volunteer to go in to elimination and get their stars, knowing they could easily lose them. It actually benefits those who sit around and go in to elimination at the last possible chance. I hate when contestants make the final without ever going in. I also hate when the same person is nominated for eliminations over and over. I wish there was a cap on that- like, 3 times in the elimination, and then you are ineligible after that.

Right? She always does this by taking these votes so damn personally, as though these people all conspired the best ways to screw her over instead of merely voting in a way that benefits their own game and not hers. And I am amazed at the stupidity of putting Cara in an elimination round if you're trying to block her from a final, especially this late. Laurel is pretty arrogant about another shot at a star coming and I really hope she's wrong.

The minute Kam heard she was likely going to be voted in, she should have figured there was a decent chance of Laurel backing out. Otherwise, there would be no reason to not have Cara vs Veronica. I assume no one would agree to vote in Flora because she's this year's elected layup and everyone once in awhile Veronica pulls out the upset (physically I mean, she pulls out the upset in voting politics pretty much every season). It was a punk move for Laurel to swear up and down she would replace Kam, but even if Kam had realized Laurel wasn't trustworthy, I am not sure she could have done much to stop it. Nicole was going to vote whatever way Laurel wanted, Jay was willing to vote which way Nicole wanted, and there was zero incentive for Averey to vote in either Veronica or Flora, two contestants she could most likely easily beat. Laurel lied not because she needed Kam's blessing, but because she was too chicken shit to face an earlier confrontation with Kam. Laurel can only confront people when she's got someone egging her on. During Free Agents, she picked a fight with Cara and everyone took Cara's side and Laurel went off and cried alone until she finally returned with her tail between her legs and grudgingly apologized. I think Cara is genuinely good person who happens to be extremely annoying. She is also weird, but I actually like that about her.

I think Cara is really annoying. In terms of moral compasses, I think hers points north more than most of her castmates, but that doesn't mean she's not annoying in general. She's just a convenient scapegoat when other people want to band together and don't have much common ground, so they use their shared annoyance at Cara. And while Laurel sucked for pouring her heart out to Cara then bitching and blaming Cara for trying to help (and say some truths Laurel didn't want to hear), Cara should know better at this point than try to stick her neck out for Laurel, ever. Laurel acts like her best friend when it's convenient or strategic to be and no other time, and Cara has seen this play out many times over the last nearly 15 years.

That was awesome. An editing highlight for sure. He was not only an asshole, but he was boring. I cannot figure out how he got picked. Every other candidate interviewed would have been better. From what I can tell, Aaron and Dominic have never had any association with the show once their initial filming obligations ended. Have never given an interview or responded to requests for updates even.

Rachel's one redeeming quality to me was when Puck was bullying Cory over something, and Cory was being gaslit enough to think maybe Puck was right and Cory was somehow in the wrong, and Rachel pipes up from the other room that Puck isn't being fair, and Puck actually backed down and apologized. (well, as much as he 'apologizes' anyways). I remember watching it shortly after it aired in the mid 90s and thinking if Puck was bullying Rachel the same way, no way would Cory stand up for her and risk her status with Puck. Several times Rachel and Cory would agree to confront Puck about something together, and then Cory would almost immediately back down and leave Rachel holding the bag. I know Cory was more sympathetic than Rachel (not hard) but I never liked her much.

I just started watching this show as I saw the upcoming S2 advertised when I was watching Fargo. I really enjoyed the first five episodes but found the boat episode to be really dull and awkward and I skipped to the 7th episode only to find I am not really engaged with that either. So I might not finish. I am curious what the basis was of her falling out with Liz, who seemed like a really good friend. I like the flashbacks, and find young Beth's pain and awkwardness so reminiscent of my own adolescence that it's hard to watch. I guess I'm a sucker for the randomness, like Matt recounting a story about meeting "Pitbulls" or Amy exasperatedly saying, it's not coffee, I don't know what else you want me to say, or the rabbi's meal plan interrupting a funeral planning meeting. That kind of stuff cracks me up. I also really liked the instrumental version of "Wild Horses" playing at the carnival which absolutely was a nod to the scene in Fear that Amy referenced earlier in the episode. Very subtle, and the scene itself was really wistful and poignant.

Sometimes I like Kelly, but she has been a real asshole so far. And her bragging about how she did everything on her own so no other woman has a right to feel any kind of pride in their accomplishments because it pales in comparison to what Kelly has achieved is delusional. I loved one of the women breaking it down- oh here we go again, Kelly is jealous and lashing out.

I loved the synchronized taken aback glances of every woman at the table when Kristen said, FYI, he didn't actually cheat on me. Oh Kristen. Where there's smoke, there is fire. It would have probably ended the conversation a lot sooner if she had just said, we've worked through it and I feel like we are in a better place now, but it's still really hard for me talk about. That said, it was quite nasty of them to pull up the article and be like, 75 transactions, Kristen? Really? Sure, no one believes Josh didn't cheat, but you don't have to throw that in her face.

I've been watching RHNY for the last year, and am up to season 6. I started season 7 but got pretty bored with it. I may or may not continue watching. I miss the original Housewives, I am not sure why they got rid of Alex who was my favorite (to watch, not necessarily to root for). Ramona is consistently annoying every episode she is in, but seems to be the voice of reason on this episode, which is scary. I love that she can't remember that Kristen and Dorinda were on a season together or that she went to Kristen's party a year prior. Dorinda looks like an asshole trying to argue with Kristen over which one of them was actually fired. I'd agree with the women that Kristen should drop it if Dorinda wasn't the one who started it over insisting on a completely unnecessary (and erroneous) distinction between being fired and being put "on pause". If Dorinda wants to interrupt someone to split hairs like that, she deserves to be needled. Does LuAnn smoke? Why does her voice sound so different now?

I didn't like that either, although, as pointed out, she may not be in any real legal trouble once the dust settles. But as unlikeable as she may be, she hasn't done anything worse than anything Gator did, and she likely grew up just as abused and brainwashed as he did, yet he got something of a redemption, at least as far as Dot was concerned. That said, even if they decided not to file any charges against her, both her sources of income and power are gone, and not sure she really has any means to support herself or her kids. I think Karen was an interesting character they could have done more with than just make a jealous, one note sycophant, but I get it, it was a show with lots of characters and no way to give nuance to everyone.

I'll let someone else take 1 and 4. Season 2 was my absolute favorite. The most simple synopsis was a crime family in North Dakota was being squeezed by the KC mob, and when Kirsten Dunst's (Not Claire Danes) character hit one of the sons with her car and then covered the crime up (assuming he was dead, which he was not, right away), one of the older brothers in the family jumped at the opportunity to link it to the KC mob (knowing full well the two were not related) to convince his mom (Jean Smart) to go to war with KC. The ND crime family was well outnumbered, but still managed to hold their own, while law enforcement in both ND and MN (Ted Danson and Patrick Wilson) were investigating the crime as Peggy continued to insist nothing was amiss. Just an excellent convergence of great actors and great story telling. Season 3 involved two twin brothers (both played by Ewan McGregor) who were estranged because the poor one felt like the rich one screwed him on the division of their family inheritance. The rich one was running a company that seemed on the verge of bankruptcy when they accepted a loan from a very sinister source who wouldn't go away even after they were offered their money, plus interest, back. I can't remember now how the poor brother got mixed up in with the sinister company, but I remember the sinister company seriously underestimated the poor brother's girlfriend/partner in crime, which would come back to haunt them pretty spectacularly. The duo from S1 (one of whom is deaf) comes back during the second half of the season. Most people did not care for the season, but I really liked it, although now I can't remember much about it. May have to give it a rewatch.

I noticed that too! Poor Karen. I suppose she's outlived her usefulness to him at this point, and is pretty much interchangeable with any potential subsequent wife, should he live that long to have another one. Roy really is not smart. Even if his militia could hold off the FBI's raid, (which is a big if), he must realize another raid will just come back, this time to the much depleted militia. The FBI isn't going to shrug and say, oh well, we tried, lesson learned I guess. And if he thinks he's going to be seen as a martyr by the "patriots", most of whom he has gotten killed, he really overestimates his importance to the general population. I can easily see him trying to run off alone while using his followers as a distraction, and honestly, I hope he does, and gets away. Having to live a life in exile and shame (anyone with a moral compass will find him reprehensible and his Patriot following will be disgusted by his cowardice, especially after he called people in knowing they would be killed in the name of Patriotism while he ran away) would be a worse fate than any death the FBI or Dot could give him (Lorraine might be sadistic enough to dream up a pretty bad one, but everyone else would just put him down and be done with it). ETA: I can't say I think too highly of the father in law from a strategic point either. At this point, he'd really be doing himself a favor to quietly gather up his own men and leave. There has to be another Roy Tillman out there he can hitch his wagon to who hasn't gone out of his way to antagonize federal law enforcement and risk exposure to illegal activities by kidnapping a wealthy and connected woman. The minute Roy started with his bullshit, Dad should have left. That he is seeing this through and lectures Roy now is just ridiculous.

OT, but thank you!! You are the only person (that I know of) that agrees with me that S2 was superior to S1. And those that like S2 credit it to Ted Danson mostly, but I will die on the hill that Kirsten Dunst was the MVP of that season, with Nick Offerman, Zahn McClarnon, Jean Smart, and Jeffrey Donovan providing a whole lot of support. Just an all around stellar cast and chemistry. I mean, it's hard to even single out the ones I did above- everyone was on point. I actually also really liked S3. Took awhile to hit it's stride, but once it did, it really did, at least for me. I am finding Lorraine's "daughter" pep talk to Dot a bit of a plot contrivance-like 2 weeks earlier she was trying to pay her to leave. I understand she knows more about Dot's background now and has grudging respect for what Dot has survived (and in some cases outsmarted), but she had close to ten years to grow some kind of affection for Dot which evidently didn't take. I thought it was a body of a farm animal in the dugout. I'll have to go back and look. I thought Roy had hidden a gun along the door jamb and was grabbing it when he said 'just in case' but I will have to rewatch for that as well. ETA: I rewatched, and I did see the superimposed face, which seemed to turn into a decomposing skull. I can't believe that Roy would just leave a human body like that though- that does not seem practical at all. As far as the just in case, he definitely reaches up into the door jamb and you hear a clattering sound, but upon rewatch, I don't think he takes anything out. I think he unlocked the door and left the lock hanging off the door jamb- purposely leaving it unlocked, either to entice someone into the dugout, or potentially let someone out from the other end. Very strange. I wish we had gotten just a little more of Wayne and Scotty in general, but I suppose the storyline already had enough packed into it. I adore Wayne's go with the flow attitude towards both his wife and daughter. And I really enjoyed hearing from Dot's perspective in the previous two episodes over how much she loves Wayne. He probably agrees with Roy's mini sermon from the second episode that a man is allowed to hit his wife, in "love", to "instruct" her, but I am wondering if he maybe hasn't seen the newest "instruction" on his daughter yet . I am pretty sure she didn't have the black eye in the previous episode. Nonetheless, my expectations for Dad in law are pretty low, even if he does challenge Roy. I wish Karen had come to Dot's side, but it's probably more realistic that she did not. There really would be nowhere for her to go, someone else had her daughters, and there was no reason for her to trust Dot once Dot was off the compound. I actually feel really sorry for her- and not just because of the way Roy treats her. She has probably been told her whole life that she's dumb and weak and her only purpose is to find a strong man to obey and raise his children. I felt sorry for Gator, too, even if his situation is nearly entirely of his own making and he has done a lot of very bad things, and would continue to do them without remorse if it meant Daddy would love him.

Dot called Lorraine an Ivy League royal wannabe in the first episode- doesn't prove anything, but based on that and Lorraine's comment that she wanted a daughter in law with "papers"- makes me think Lorraine comes from a modest background and is overcompensating now that she's rich.

When Roy got on stage, there was a guy to his right, but he was not introduced. When Roy looked back at him when the three guys to his left started mimicking, the guy just shrugged, like, don't look at me. While the three guys may have been unexpected, I also thought Roy seemed pretty unprepared for the moderator's questions, and looked taken aback. There is a possibility he would have fumbled even if the other guys had not been on stage. He seemed to know the moderator, but she did not look remotely intimidated by him. If he loses his cool that easily, and has so little influence outside of his little kingdom, I find it a bit hard to believe he's made it as far and as long as he has. I did laugh when he said, I appreciate your "giddyap" there, but first answer my question...

Yeah, I think Danish can be excused for not thinking he would get murdered- even if he knew Roy had killed someone in cold blood before, he would probably be correct in assuming that any semi intelligent person isn't going to kill a prominent, well connected attorney whose disappearance will surely be investigated (and for all Roy knows, a lot of people knew where Danish was headed, and can verify via cellular tracking that Danish was indeed at the compound the night he disappeared). And honestly, it was a stupid thing for Roy to do, one that will surely have consequences. I think there is a good chance that if Roy was not so rattled by the events of the day, he would have just thrown Danish out, perhaps in a violent and humiliating way. But I still think Danish should have realized Roy was never going to negotiate with him, and that the meeting was ill advised and would undermine any advantage they had over Roy, vs waiting for additional backup from Lorraine. ETA: I missed something with the setup with Munch and the loser son. Did Munch know he was being tracked by Gator? If so, keeping the tracker on the car and using the loser son as a decoy seems kind of dumb. Why not just drop the tracker and dispose of the son? The elaborate set up seemed kind of wasteful. And why leave the duffel bag full of money in the car? If it was all a trap for Gator, why not sneak up on him right away when Gator started breaking into the car?

I do think he wanted to be the one bring Dot back without any prodding from Lorraine, and get his gold star from Mama, but even if his plan had worked, I don't think Lorraine would appreciate him making promises on her behalf, especially promises they really have no way to deliver. Danish sounded a bit desperate and not confident at all during his pitch to Roy. And as Roy has no respect for women, he would have even less respect for someone who was basically a subordinate of a woman (I understand he's her lawyer, not her employee, but that probably seems interchangeable to someone like Roy). I also noticed Danish hustling to get away from Witt, but I don't think he knew who he was. Maybe he just wanted to avoid any local law enforcement?

It was his favorites list on his phone: 1. Lorraine Cell, 2. Lorraine Home, 3. Lorraine Office, 4. Lorraine’s Secretary, 5. Wink. Presumably he was going to call her and ask what they should do, and decided to handle it himself. He’d also just gotten off the phone with her when the trooper pulled up. Later she did call him as he was going to Roy’s and he declined the call so I believe he only intentionally ignored her one time. Incredibly stupid though.

Wow, Danish could not have miscalculated worse and I have to echo Roy here- that was not the play of an intelligent person. His one prior meeting with Roy should have clued him in that Roy is never going to agree to a position where he has to seek help from a woman or feel beholden to her. He is also grossly arrogant in thinking he can work his way out of anything. There was no incentive for him to even consider Danish’s proposal and Roy would prob rather lose the election than admit he needed a woman to save him, especially if it cost him something he’s been trying to get for weeks. Also agree with those who say Roy was his own worst enemy at the debate. It was a juvenile prank that was mildly irritating and Roy screwed himself getting so agitated. I do have a hard time believing any candidate in current times would win after being filmed sucker punching a woman but that’s entirely on Roy. I do wonder if Gator knows his mother is dead. I think it really could go either way- he could not believe Dot because Dot is a liar, or he could not believe her because he knows for a fact Linda is dead.

Hahahaha..."Oh yeah? well...well...well, your name is stupid!" Hey Roy, to quote Joe Pesci guest starring on SNL- a fifth grader called, and she wants her witty retort back. He really is a sad sack when he's not bullying the easily cowed constituents of his area. During the first episode, I thought he was going to be like the Season 3 Big Bad (played by Professor Lupin), but he's really much more like Dodd in season 2, beating women and unarmed rivals while dispatching Hanzee to do the hard stuff, while underestimating pretty much everyone just because he's used to hiding behind his mom's henchmen. Funny how he was outsmarted by Peggy, who could have been the inspiration for Dot's carefully constructed alias.

I think he was in the first episode in the family picture. Not sure if he is professionally involved in the company though.

I thought that too at first, so I went back and watched, and Lorraine says, "I looked it up. $192,000, spread between your mortgage, car loans, student loans, medical bills, credit cards. Hell, you've got it all". Then she goes on to say, "Don't feel bad, over 90% are debtors, in the red, living beyond their means". I would imagine most of the middle class has loans totaling at least that if we are counting mortgages, and that includes people living at or below their means (of course plenty of people buy/finance more house they can afford, but that does not appear to be the case for Indira). That makes Lorraine all the more out of touch if she is considering simply needing a mortgage or a car loan to be living beyond one's means. Very few people can pay cash for a house. And a lot of the time, even those who could still choose to finance because they either need to keep some assets liquid and not tied up in real estate, or they can simply make more money using their own cash for investments than what the interest costs them. If Lorraine was simply saying people are too quick to finance things, rationalizing that as long as they can afford the minimum payment, they can afford to asset, and are one missed paycheck away from financial disaster, that it absolutely true, but that was not reflected in her lecture to Indira.