DearEvette

Great episode. The final con and the reveal of Robin were perfect. John Cho was such a bastard! What happened to honor among thieves. Damn, just cold.

I have never been able to fully read a single Emily Henry novel. I DNF very early with a 'oh spare me' sigh. I have a three strikes policy with new-to-me authors. So I gave her 3 chances. I read -- I think it was Beach Read first. So many of GR friends loved it. I couldn't make it past chapter 4. Everything felt very arch and precious. And boring.

I loved Sophie's neurotic character in this. Parker looked like the quintessential noir femme fatale. Great styling. Harry and Ellot's terrible/awkward fist bumps. Harry and Sophie's friendship! I supposed Aldis guarantees first and last episode? And yeah I think they pocket it for their overhead. Can't believe this season is over already. Loved the ending where Parker explains the bad guy's consequences to him.

Oh forgot to add... another really laugh out loud moment for me... When Stephanie was googling "How to murder a boy -" it cut away I was like 'holy shit! This is getting dark.' then it cut back to her finish typing 'boy's -self esteem' 😂

This was a good episode. I loved all the scenes where they just showed the kids doing kid things... eating glue, digging for gold up their nose, coloring their faces, putting bins on their heads, crawling on the floor. I cracked up with the one girl during the spelling be got the word Leprechaun and started sobbing 'Why?' The whole gold star and being 'the best' is so reductive and harmful and frankly hones the worst traits of kids like Stephanie into something even more terrible. I find little kid sociopaths like her both terrifying and insufferable I just want to throat punch the little fuckers. This little actress was excellent because I definitely wanted to throat punch her and then she freaked me out again in the end. LOL. Poor Charlie, she got rid of Beatrix only to potentially have a future, even worse Beatrix hunting her down.

The name fits right on with the naming convention at the time. There were a LOT of girl groups that were around back then that were one hit wonders and that we never hear of anymore but adding an 'ettes' to the end of a word was sort of a thing. And not just the Marvelletes or the Ronettes who were a couple of the bigger ones. There were: The Chordettes The Velvelettes The Bobbettes The Royalettes The Mirettes The Pearlettes The Charmettes The Four Coquettes The Ikettes The Jaynettes They Raylettes So yeah, the Articulettes would not have been out of place at the time.

Lauren and Cam announced on their insta they are pregnant. Congrats to them! ETA: Something in the water because So are AD (US season 6) and Ollie (UK Season 1).

You have summed this up beautifully! Personally I can't stand Blake Lively. It has nothing to do with her gender, it is just a lot to do with her. I don't like her husband either. And nobody's PR team had to lead me there, I was there a long time ago. When the publicity machine for the movie began, I had no idea who Justin Baldoni was. But I knew Blake Lively and more importantly from my book circles, I knew the problematic nature of the book the movie was based on. So yeah, her promotion didn't sit well with me. Again... nothing at all do with him. He was a nonentity for me. But we discussed her trying to rom-com/ girl-boss this promo in my book groups and we were a bit perturbed. She just came off as tone deaf and thirsty for her moment. So when she started saying things like 'Oh he body shamed me' and then you get the context (he asked how much she weighed) it starts to feel like a quick way to garner sympathy because people were not responding well to her publicity tour. I had moved on from these two ages ago, and pretty much put them both out of my mind. I really haven't been following anything about this lawsuit. And what little I have heard about it that manage to make it through frankly just felt like a pissing contest. But if it is proven he did harass her on set, then she deserves to be heard and vindicated and he deserves the consequences. Nobody, not even someone I dislike, deserves sexual harassment.

You really are gambling against a loaded deck if you go into it with just that motive. It is a double edged sword. You never know how you are going to be portrayed or how the audience is gonna receive you. You can think you are doing good for tv only to end up having the internet hate you or clown you. Or you have real world friends who are narc'ing on you telling all your business. Like that guy from Season 6, Trevor, whose girlfriend leaked their texts. Or Season 7 Tyler and his sperm donor (or not) kids. I don't follow any of the couples any more but of the people I see pop up in non-self produced social media: Lauren & Cam (obvs) they still get written up in various places, I've come across Brett and Tiffany in style and travel mags, Raven's pilates business has really blown up, and Deepti has written a book and narrated the audiobook version of it, and People magazine seems to love Jessica Batten (from Season1 ) also Netflix engineered a redemption arc for her. I've heard that Jessica -- the one from season 5? who told Jimmy he made a big mistake in not picking her -- has a big following. And weirdly, Bartise has managed to re-brand himself as a cuddly single father. Go figure. But that is about it.

Another fun episode. For me it was the little things: -Charlie's fight with the printer -Simon Rex has really pretty eyes -The new kid deciding he wanted to retire and do drugs. -Carl being the absolute worst co-conspirator in every way -The concept of Velvety Canned Cheese -Ego Nwodim eating it and soliciting medical assistance over the loud speaker describing her ever escalating symptoms. -Charlie deputizing a young fan so she can sit and heckle This is my thought as well. I think it would be kinda funny if by solving a crime tied to wherever she is working, she inadvertently manages to put her job out of business and that is the impetus for her moving on. It seems like she is still getting the most random, low paid jobs. When Beatrix was still on her trail, I get it she was getting paid under the table -- apple picker, corpse extra, looked like she was even a parking booth attendant. With her having to keep moving on, it maintains that aspect of the show that Charlie really is the only regular character and through her we get to meet all types of people in all types of places in all types of life situations. This is what, the second ep she hasn't been on the run? It sounded like she really liked the ball park and felt it was a nice to place settle for a bit. But we are left with the possibility that the ball park will end up closing. Their star pitcher is going away for murder, one of the guys will probably get some time for spiking the gum, and the rest of team will probably end up tossed out of the league for the betting scandal. So they'd have to build from scratch and probably don;t have the resources to do that right away, hence Charlie has no job. I assume she can't go back to gambling where the money stakes have a great pay out because like she said in the very first episode, gamblers gossip and she was kinda notorious in that world. So she would not be able to stake into a game even if she wanted to.

I just finished Archangel's Ascension by Nalini Singh. it is the 17th book in her Guild Hunter series. This one is a bit bittersweet because it feels like it portends the end of the series since the time period alternates between 'yesterday' (aka our present day) and 'today' (aka about 100 years into the future). Since the book ends with events caught up in time to the future timeline, a lot of the human/mortal characters from the preceding books are long dead. Thank goodness it all happened off-screen as it were. I was very fond of a lot of those characters. We got a glimpse of this in the preceding book where there was already a time jump and many of the human/mortal characters we met who had been in their prime 20s/30s in the first 15 books were in their 50s in the last book. If it is indeed an ending then it feels like there needs to be at least one more book to wrap things up in this new time. If not, then she'd mostly likely spin off with a whole new set of characters. Which isn't unheard of for this author.

This was a fun episode. II agree Sophie looked gorgeous on that date. I loved the shoes she was wearing when she got out of the car to get on the plane, we got a pan down to them. I also loved the cream colored linen suit Harry wore. It really popped on him and made him look like Southern leisure class old money. When he first appeared I thought 'that outfit looks like he had ancestors who owned a plantation' LOL. And sure enough, he wove that into his background. I really like how the show has distinguished Breanna's 'Maker' role as different from Hardison's hacker role. She still does the intel he does and some of the hacker stuff, but her added twist of, for instance, creating the bots, manipulating AI, creating tech is nice.

I Know!! I had to rewind because I was sure that is what he said but the captions were telling me differently. I agree with everyone this was a great episode. I liked the different teams working together: Amanda/Angie- we don't get to see them work together often, I think I liked their teamwork the best because it relied on smarts and stealth and strategy. Faith/Ormy (ha!)/Franklin - Also a great team up. I really enjoyed their dynamic especially when you add in the archery girls. And then Will/Will's Dad - I liked that we got the back story on how the parents met. But I did raise my eyebrows that dad so quickly resorted to force. I think he broke that guy's hand in the prison cell? If Uncle Antonio makes a re-appearance I wonder what his reaction will be to knowing not only is his nephew in law enforcement but so is his father. I love the use of humor in the show and love how over the seasons the show has incorporated humor. As much as I liked the first season, it took itself pretty seriously. I think the tumor jokes, the archery girls snarking on each other, Will and his father making dinner plans (and making sure of dietary preferences) while multi-tasking with stopping domestic terrorists helps to cut the tension. There are fraught things happening but the little quips help you to breath amidst all the dire stuff. And it gives the show a lot of re-watch potential. I often find I'll rewatch episodes I found enjoyable over those that are just one trauma after another even when the ep is dealing with serious stuff. I really hope they don't kill off either Amanda or Ormewood. I am hoping this isn't that show. The actors looked very happy and upbeat during the Disney upfronts so maybe we will get a reprieve. Also, on a shallow note, I gasped when Amanda got shot becuase 1) it was right in the chest but also because 2) all that blood on that outfit!! I loved that plaid jacket.

Yeah, this is the case where the actresses negotiations fell apart off season. And frankly, this is a case where I think it would have been more merciful to the fans to kill her off. The show was in a bit of a lose-lose situation there because Grace's character was really popular and she and Judd were a great draw as a strong ride-or-die couple with excellent chemistry. But by the time the season came around they knew the actress wasn't coming back and the fans knew it too, so it was like an abrupt death anyways.

I don't think the death of a character is a bad out for someone who unexpectedly leaves or is fired with very short lead time or between one season and the next. That makes sense. And I think people understand that. But if the actor leaves because they got a new show or their contract is up... those are not last minute things. TPTB are gonna know if someone is auditioning, or if contract negotiation is going pear shaped. It is no coincidence that so many of these deaths seem to happen at the end of the season. They know something is up. I think the way Elsbeth is handling the character of Kaya is a textbook way to do this. For whatever reason (still not sure why) the actress will no longer be a regular on the show, but the show laid the foundation for how to explain her reduced role. They gave her a promotion that doesn't fit with how she slotted into the show initially. The promotion makes a ton of sense for the character, but it is to the detriment of the formula that we've gotten used to. So in a similar vein, shows can start planting the seeds of that person possibly not being there next season... put the marriage in trouble and escalate it so the audience can see it becoming untenable. And have the spouse leave and show the remaining spouse being served. A surgery or op that killed someone and it is entirely that character's fault... they have a crisis of confidence and conscience and decide to take a break and ... or maybe just set the seeds of extreme burnout or job dissatisfaction.... or maybe show the character planning their long delayed vacation via a grand round the world trip and explain later they met someone in Tuscany and decided to live, love laugh their way through the rest of their life there...A lot of shows have characters with a lot of past trauma, have the trauma resurface and make them go away to take care of it or deal with it off screen and explain they got a job elsewhere...introduce a new character that will fulfill the job/role that person has and slowly dwindle their effectiveness and create a jealousy/resentment storyline that has the old character quit/leave in a flounce announcing they got a job elsewhere. Lots of possibility for drama without killing anyone off permanently. And leaves the door open for a return. Yup. Recast.

Wait... does Martin know what happened.? I admit, I am consuming these episodes in chunks, so I might have missed something. But I thought something suppressed the memory for him and hence the dreams/subconscious is trying to force the memories to the front?

Oooh... Kat was my MVP today. Girlfriend has some superior Spidey senses since she was suspicious of Eva and Leslie all along. But recording Leslie who just can't shut up! (LOL) was a great idea. I dunno about Martin hitting June. I think that 'what is the color of your money' line feels very deliberate in the word choice. I am wondering if he was racially profiled or in some sort of race-based altercation and he killed someone. But yeah. Martin's interactions with Eva have been the most I've liked him. Although I do wish people would stop saying Eva is part of the Dupree family because she is NOT and it is so insulting to Nicole ( .. well at least until the inevitable big reveal). Under no circumstance are Dani, Anita, Kat, Mona... etc. interactions with Eva worse that Leslie's continues to be. Objectively she is treating Eva terribly, but it is 10x worse because this woman is supposed to be her mother. She has put Eva out of her house and mind until she needs her again to weedle up to Ted. Leslie keeps saying how she has more to come... I can only imagine that her hidden bombshell is to reveal that Eva really is Nicole's. I continue to love everybody's shade on her multiple names and wigs. And yes, we need more interactions between her and Bill. They are two vipers and it is fun to see them viper-off. But more importantly, there i a lot of energy in their scenes together. Honestly, I would DIE if all that animosity turned to lust and he ended up cheating on Hayley with her. The layers such a move would have! I can only imagine there was some behind the scenes issues with the Ted actor because that fact that he got replaced and not the block of wood that is Derek feels like it wasn't about acting... Shallow note: I loved that red lipstick that Kat was wearing on yesterday's episode paired with the checkerboard white/black sweater. She looked lovely. About the second family: I agree they need a second family. Not necessarily a rival family but a complete family that is some sort of contrast to the Duprees. It would have been good for them to have introduced the family early on --say Instead of Andre being Ted's nephew they could have built out Andre, Mona and Leslie and maybe Shanice as a more blue collar family. And since the show began with Ashley and Andre already having some sort of history it makes sense that they would have possibly grown up together since Mona and Jan are good friends. But at this point, they are gonna have to build out gradually or cut some dead weight.

Oh this was my favorite of the first three.. The dialogue was quick-fire and witty. The rats vs. moles vs. weasels vs. snakes.. The episode title itself is perfect. And then we have Beatrix triumphantly stating that Clive Owen is her informant. LOL. Good casting in Richard Kind, John Mullaney, Chris Bauer and Rhea Perlman! I honestly thought the FBI agent who liked plants and bushes might have caught Clive Owen (ha!) on his phone camera in the background exchanging the bullets. This was a nice, light change of pace from the previous episode that was filled with pathos.

This was a very good episode. I agree that both Fred and Greta were sympathetic and not at the same time. I felt bad for him because Greta had no right to assume they'd sell and he'd give her half. But, dude, get a lawyer not a fireplace poker. LOL. Charlie being a corpse was pretty funny. I liked the girl lunch scene. I loved how welcoming and supportive they all were of Greta. At the end though it felt very horror-movie adjacent. 100%. It played out the same which made me giggle, down to the horrified realization, and the 'No!' as the last word with the exact same expression on his face. That house and business was clearly all he lived for and with it gone, he felt no need to try to live. Which felt very fitting to me. Imagine how much good in the world Beatrix Hasp could do if she put her powers of finding people to good. Nobody would be a missing person for long given how well she manages to find Charlie.

Agreed! Will Trent is so much fun. It has great writing, nice humor, character growth, excellent acting --- believe me, there is one character you dislike in S1 who now everybody seems to really like and root for in S3 and whose growth has been so very well done -- and then there are the guest stars. A show like Poker Face (rightly) gets a lot of love for its' guest stars, but Will Trent is right up there. They aren't big names at all, bu they make so much of the material they get. There have been a couple of times the show has casted young actors to be younger versions of the current cast and the younger actors are spot on... really incredibly so. And Amanda's fashion alone is worth it! She is so fly!

This part. Feel how you want about Ted, but Nicole is the victim here. In these situations, it is the wife who becomes the object of pity, not the husband. Ultimately she was the one who bore the heavier humiliation. Ted was simply exposed. In the end they hurt Nicole way more than they hurt Ted. Well, of course she is a reminder of all that. Their reaction isn't because they are Duprees. Their reaction is a human one that anyone would have when confronted with what Ted did in the way that was set up Leslie and Eva. Even the jankiest of person living in a trailer park is gonna circle the wagons against a cheating husband's illegitimate child and his side piece. People are just not that evolved. And frankly, Leslie and Eva brought this on themselves. Like Nicole said, Leslie could have come to her any time with the proof. Instead she chose to play head games and she involved the Duprees. She went to the Duprees family home first (even before going to Ted) and kept talking about how Eva was part of their family. If this weren't a soap opera where it is a pretty good bet that Eva will be a Dupree, I think the Duprees were actually way more restrained than regular people would be. I do like Eva, but she does not get to be absolved. She helped to engineer the whole. Publicly humiliating a woman and family who did nothing to you except give you the fricking keys to her house, was gonna pay for you to go to school, and who even took your part over her own daughter is not it. The old saying 'Don't start none, won't be none' exists for a reason. Anita has every right to come out swinging for her child. Now, whatever it is they did re: Martin.... that is another story.

Mona was the MVP today. Close second was Anita. When Eva wobbled her lips saying how she'd lost everything and Mona leaned toward her, compassionately touched her hand and said 'Good' I fell the hell out! And then she went and unloaded on Leslie. I was waiting for her to connect the dots about Laura, but I guess they aren't ready to pull that trigger just yet. I like how everyone understands Leslie used Eva like a weapon but still holds her responsible for her own actions. And I don't blame Kat for still feeling some type of way. It has only been a day and they all have to be pretty raw and working on emotion. Reason will come later. So Leslie has something else up her sleeve. Hmm....

Not just any old fundraiser, but one for a food bank! I thought the Marie Antoinette of it all was being done ironically, but nooooo. That woman really thought she was a Girlboss who just wanted the people to eat well. LOL. Her entire speech was a buffet of privileged cluelessness. It was nice to see Tara again and I enjoyed the call back to the Girl's Night Out as well as the way the reveal re-wind went. The score card for their head-to-head snark offs: Sophie 2 - Alexandra Bligh - 0. I also liked that this one Sophie asked 'Do you remember who I was with when you snatched me?' was very reminiscent of their earlier spy-vs-spy conversation where she asked Bligh 'Do you remember how this all began?' To prod Bligh into understanding that she'd made a mistake in dismissing a threat. Gina Bellman's line delivery is so smooth.... I could listen to her whisper speak like that all day. Breanna's fan-girling was funny. I actually found Parker quite the revelation in this. She can be quirky, but as she was laying out the plan with Tara, her line delivery was staccato, very business like, well thought out, and a little scary. That was the first time I could believe she was the boss of a lot of splinter Leverage organizations, not just the person with a case of arrested development who just liked to steal things. I am glad she and Astrid bonded. Although, Astrid's dislike of Parker 'displacing' her makes no sense. Parker didn't come into Sophie's life until well after Parker was an adult. Archie was Parker's parental figure. Good episode and how apropos that Tara made off with the watch.

Yeah, the more you think about it the more it makes no sense. It feels like the idea of 'hey let's get this one actress to play all these parts' overrode making the internal logic coherent. Was it an fertility drug + parent trap situation where they got five (maybe six) daughters but the father and mother split and he chose one to keep? And why would a woman that ruthless and with that much money have such an inept lawyer? Yes, I know he had to spill the beans to make the murder happen, but still... Maybe in addition to being mean she was cheap and he had good rates? And finally, the police fingerprinted the dead woman and found out she was Amber. In order for the police to identify you by name with fingerprints wouldn't they need your actual prints on file to compare them against? How would they know the dead woman was Amber unless they had Amber's prints available? LOL... I am thinking about this too much. On to the next one.