sashabear21

I just binged both seasons and I really liked this show, a lot more than I thought I would. They keep the nostalgia factor from getting too overplayed and it's funnier than I remember the movies being (my husband's probably already sick of me using the line "I want meth and a burrito!" any time he asks if I want something from the store). It's really weird these days to see a show with characters in high school that look like they're actually in high school and react like typical teenagers instead of looking like they're pushing 30 and their storylines involve them running a thriving local business between homeroom and PE. The Stringray bit did go on a little long, but he's that separate dichotomy from Johnny and Daniel, Johnny's what happens when you lost your high school glory and never get over it, Daniel's what happens when you still use the past glory even though it's unnecessary to back up your current success because you're still hanging onto it, and Stringray's what happens when you never had any past glory or present success and are still caught in that loop of wanting to be the cool guy in high school even though you're long past graduation. Johnny wants the kids to see him as a mentor and way to make up for past mistakes, Daniel wants the kids to see him as right and his way as the only way, and Stringray would probably buy them rotgut alcohol and cocaine if he thought it would make him look cool. Also, good lord did William Zabka age well!

I'm watching and enjoying it although I doubt it's really going to tread any new ground on the Manson mythos. It is really doing it's best to showcase what a terrible musician Charlie was and why you never ever hear anyone say things like, "oh the things he could have done with his talent if he'd never turned to crime!".

This episode reinforced how much I hate Dany and have since season 3, and I wish Sansa would push her off the top of Winterfell like Theon did with Miranda. She has zero personality outside of "I'm the queen, I'm the queen, I have dragons!!!". It's painfully annoying. But hooray for reunions this episode! I've been waiting for Arya/Jon, and Arya/Gendry to reunite for several seasons now. I have a feeling there's a painful downfall in store for Tyrion, but I don't think for one second it'll come from the hands of Bronn. He's more likely to take Cersei's gold and then kill her than either of the Lannister guys. And ewww...Cersei, Euron? Blarf!

I"m hoping Commander Lawrence is like the Galen Erso of Gilead, he helped create it, but built it with a flaw that can be exploited and then blown up by one person like the Death Star. I love the character and would also watch Bradley Whitford read a phone book because he's just that good. Alexis Bledel was killing it for me this episode. You could feel every ounce of her trauma and terror without her having to say a thing. The whole scene in the car just felt extremely claustrophobic because there was one of two ways that car ride could have gone. The only thing that would have made her take down of Aunt Lydia better would have been if Janine had been there to get some stabs in, that girl has earned it too! Serena Joy's character has been all over the place this season where she's conflicted as in this is not the life she wanted, but could give a shit less if it's the life that other women were forced into when they didn't want it either, but she's doubled down on her bad decisions and is still all in with Gilead. Then suddenly the execution of a teenager that she barely knew and getting her finger cut off (you're not immune to the repercussions of Gilead either Serena Joy) suddenly she's okay with giving up the baby which has been so much of her character motivation for the whole show. All the Martha's and Nick risked a lot to get June out of Gilead and she doesn't get in the van? WTF? June, go to Canada, regroup, get your daughter to safety (Emily would not know Luke or Moira if she ran into them on the street FFS), get resources together and then you can storm the castle and get Hannah back. Commander Fred's "affection" will only extend so far as he's an abusive asshole, so at the end of the day, June is as expendable as the kleenex he uses to wipe himself off with after the ceremony. He's not going to go to bat for her, and now she's basically a fugitive with no plan, no resources, and an extremely short-list of allies because if I was one of the Marthas that helped out (which I wouldn't be, if Gilead ever happens I'd be sent to the colonies on the first bus) it would take a lot of convincing to get me to stick my neck out again.

I've honestly never pegged Luke for being terribly smart, this week was the first one that I liked him to be honest. I grew up in a terrible small town with a lot of small minded religious folk and my brother and I figured out at a really young age that they really only knew about 5 Bible verses that they would shout out loudly, so we learned all the other ones that contradicted their chosen versions and it pissed them off to no end. We'd debate on which passage got to get thrown out and whether or not water balloons would be involved. I kinda wish people would use these tactics against the Waterfords more. But more to the point, I think Luke did really good with what he had, and it did get Nick to go to him and while he didn't tell the whole truth, Luke knows June is alive, and her circumstances, and June knows Luke is alive and looking for her.

And with Eden last week she seemed to be surprised that Nick wouldn't punch her straight in the face for getting into his things, like Gilead has trained women for abuse, and granted there is history to draw on where if people are given certain parameters that they thought they couldn't cross before, but will cross the hell out of them once it's suddenly okay (Fred Waterford would probably have never hit a non-Gilead Serena Joy for example), but there are also people who are horrified by the parameters and will never cross them. Let's see more of that Gilead.

I know they're trying to make the audience feel sympathy for Serena Joy and make her a complicated character in the, "she was complicit in creating this world, but she's found herself stymied in her role because of her gender and she's resentful", and the actress is selling the hell out of it, but I can't feel anything for Serena Joy. She doesn't give a shit about other women and how they've suffered under the Gilead regime, she's just pissed that she's not getting a better part in it, and even if she suddenly sees the light in how she helped this situation come about, fuck her still for her role in it. Quite frankly if I get to see Peggy Olson and Rory Gilmore murder the hell out of her before this season is out, it'll be some great television. She'd honestly have to start rescuing handmaids and getting them to Canada before she even gets so much as a "maybe she's not completely terrible". I also really really wish that instead of Luke just yelling, "Fuck You" at Waterford during their confrontation when he was preaching at Luke to remember his scriptures, that Luke would have thrown some scriptures back at him and reminded Waterford that there's maybe quite a few that he's not following or conveniently forgetting altogether. Although I completely understand that he was pissed as hell and not in the mood to have a theological debate with a gross hypocrite that is keeping his wife as hostage and performing gross ceremonial rapes. I'm really tired of watching Janine getting abused. The scenes with her baby last week were a really nice respite, but a lot of times it just seems like, "Hey, we haven't had enough violence against women this week in this show that's about violence against women, let's have someone headbutt Janine with a gun for no reason whatsoever".

Serena's, "oh hey surprise! I brought your friends over!" shows how mindnumbingly clueless she can be about this world she created. Those aren't June's friends, she never went to brunch with them before, they're just all on the same rung in this super insane world that Serena Joy helped bring about not realizing it would shackle her too. June was a living, autonomous being with friends of her own like Moira, that had common interests other than getting raped once a month for the purposes of childbearing, but to Serena who is on a higher level just has the assumption, "they're all handmaids, they must be friends!". Serena Joy just wanted to lord it over women what they should be because she thought she would have a place of power in that hierarchy, now she doesn't and she's pissed at other women about it, and now she's trying to teach poor clueless Eden how to act. Two Ofglens doing awesome shit means I want to see an episode in the Glen house because they've had two handmaids that have become operatives. Maybe the Glen household is a cell working from the inside, which would be interesting to see.

Been on the barge for a long time, but I was off work today and my cat was asleep on my Roku remote, so instead of watching Netflix, I tuned in to watch this "One Jason Morgan is not simply enough!' mess. Ugh fucking Sonny with his, "this guy's been living in Jason's house and raising Jason's children!" like it's suddenly Drew's fault that he thought he was Jason. Memo to Sonny: Jason had no relationship with Jake at all before Jake died. He was just some dude that played motorcycles with him once in the hospital when he was a toddler. Jason wasn't raising Jake because it was too dangerous what with him being a mob enforcer and all. The only reason that a relationship between Drew/Jason and Jake is because "Jason" came back as a completely non-murdery version of himself. He didn't have a relationship with Danny because he got shot and kicked in the river (best day on this show ever!) like the same day Danny came home on account of his being a mob enforcer. So I don't know how much "raising" of his children Jason would have been doing even if he had been alive and not held captive during those years. I think the only ass he's ever going to wipe is yours, Sonny. I wish they would have Drew just adopt Jake and Danny to keep them safe from Jason's life if nothing else (also seriously because for all this show plays up the "biology doesn't matter" with Michael and Emily, they seem to make it matter a whole damn lot for every other character) and he could have all the things that Jason absolutely does not deserve. However, I have bad feeling this will all go south and he'll go crazy because he can't have Jason's life, because what mere mortal could possibly go back to being normal after being St Jasus for a minute?? I wish they have Drew all, "Oh thank God I'm not Jason Morgan! My conscience has been making me crazy for the past few years thinking about all those people I killed and now it turns out I'm not a murderous psychopath after all! Damn this is a huge weight off my shoulders! Let's go home and have all the sex Sam!". But it'll never happen on this show, unless Burton pisses someone off again. Also, it takes a lot of suspension of belief to think of Burton and Miller as twins because they look like they're at least 10 years apart in age. I see Liz and Franco are still a thing. Gross. That girl that Michael "appears" to have knocked up looks exactly like a friend of mine's little boy and it's very unsettling. I see that they've recast Tamara Braun in another role and she Appears. To. Have. Secrets! Ones that are probably completely dumb and will be dropped with no explanation. "Why did you seem so secretive when you first got to town?", "Oh, I just didn't want anyone to find out that I was born with a vestigial tail". "Makes sense, let's go get BLT's at Kelly's!".

So are we just pretending that the whole Jughead gets a foster family and transfers to Southside High storyline didn't happen? He appears to be living in the trailer and going to Riverdale High with the rest of the gang. Alice Cooper is awesome! When will Jughead learn not to trust the Snakes? Serious suspension of disbelief that charges that could put someone away for 25 years can be handwaved by the victim's family forgiveness in court. But I'm all for more FP on the show, so I'll take it. Moose and Midge was some creepy Son of Sam/Zodiac Killer stuff. Were Veronica's family dynamics this messed up all the time, or are they now just stemming from her father going to prison and she's discovered who he really is?

Hooray! Donna Martin graduates...I mean Fred Andrews lives! That scene with Veronica and her parents was straight up creepy. Uh-oh, looks like Jughead might have gotten in a little too deep with the serpents. Wonder what's in store with that storyline as that guy (I don't know the character's name, but he looks like drunk Treat Williams with a mullet) seems determined to bring Jughead into the fold. Loved Alice Cooper's comments when she thought Jughead had "defiled" Betty in a trailer. Archie, sweetie, a broken hand and a baseball bat is not going to scare anyone, don't ask me how I know this. Cheryl Blossom is batshit, and I'm here for it!

Maybe I need a rewatch of previous seasons, but I don't get the jump from Brianna being bored in a freshman level history class to "I love engineering and the way things are built and that must be my Frazier blood!". Have we ever seen Jamie build anything? We've seen him taking care of horses, making battle plans, doing political intrigue, fighting BJR, and being a Scottie McHottie, but all the sudden it's like he invented 18th century plumbing or something. It's cool if Brianna wants to maybe leave Harvard and go to MIT, but that whole thing was a little weird. I love that Claire's taking penicillin and scalpels to the 18th century like a badass! I wish she could have taken Joe with her because I love their friendship. I like Roger a lot as a character, and sucks for him to get stuck in so much of the Randall women drama.

Arya and Brienne sparring is something I just want to watch for hours! That was so awesome! And Littlefinger was damn near pooping himself all, "Yeah, I thought when Jon went away, I could control Sansa more, but now her all seeing brother is here and her sister could kill me 5 times before I even have time to open my damn mouth to say something creepy about their mom". I'm harsh on Dany, and her continuous "Bend the knee" crap to Jon is getting a little old. Hey Dany, go find some other allies, oh wait...I will not deny however, that General Dany was badass!

I'm starting to think the White Walkers are like me trying to play Battlefront after a couple of cocktails, they just keep walking into walls and keep walking even though they keep hitting walls. "Maybe this way..nope wall, I'll go... crap..corner, okay I'll try to move backwards and then.. awww...dammit another wall". It's really the only explanation for me after all this time has passed, but they're still just kind of hanging out back there.

I just wish Jon would have been smart enough to bring Lady Boss Bear Lyanna Mormont with him. She would have been all hand up, "Enough with the titles! We're not here to hear those! The King in the North has some business to discuss". They would not have been relieved of their weapons, that boat would have stayed put, and Dany would have been paying them to take away the Dragonglass before it was all said and done. Jon, always take Lyanna Mormont with you, everywhere.