DearEvette

Yeah, this is how I feel. I love when they have wacky rescues and the tone of the show is lighter. Even Chim and Maddy's thief was on the lighter 'crime makes you stupid' side.

I agree with this. I wish, and have for ages, that they showed more of what happens in the pods. I would happily give up the bonding in the women's quarters/men's quarters or the "romantic" dates they go on during the Honeymoon phase or the group parties someone *cough* production *cough* comes up with to create drama. Or hell, stick in an extra episode. You already have all the footage. Regards Zack -- I don't judge him that harshly wrt to Irina. We know Irina was an evil hose beast, but Zack may have gotten a very different side of her. And of course the show is going to play up the bits that furthers the storyline they've crafted for that couple. But this goes back to them showing more about the what they talked about int he pods. They should have shown more quality stuff b/t Zach and Irina to really illustrate why he was so drawn to her. Same with Kwame and Micah. I mean Kwame was crying ugly tears over losing her. Both she and Irina just came off as rather vapid and mean to us, but there had to be something there for these guys to be so turnt. And in the case of Micah it was both Kwame and Paul.

Correct. He has constantly said why he doesn't want to move to Seattle. But he also keeps saying "she doesn't want to compromise." And yet, I haven't heard what compromise they are discussing to bridge him not wanting to move to Seattle and her not wanting to move to Portland.

The thing about the relocation conversations we've been privy to is that neither of them is offering a compromise. We have heard that Kwame doesn't want to move and may not even like Seattle. And we have heard that Chelsea doesn't want to relocate to Portland. Ok. But Kwame keeps positioning it as 'Chelsea doesn't want to compromise.' Which... fair. But what exactly is the compromise he is proposing then? If he wants to stay in Portland then what is his solution? The only way he gets to stay in Portland is if she moves there. Which is exactly what he is objecting to on his behalf. That, imo, is a separate issue from Chelsea being controlling and not listening. Because, yeah, that is a thing.

Brett's family!! I just want to sop them up with a biscuit. His dad was so cute. And his brother 'Do you like my hair?' "Ok I like you then" LOL. Dang. That was the saddest, loneliest little burlesque dancer. Micah should drink more, The 'like' quotient goes way down in her conversation. I think I only counted 10 during her phone convo/talking head at the bar. Put me on this train (and if her facial expressions were anything to go by so is Tiffany's friend). Jesus. And to think I liked her at first. Now I am so over her. Ugh. Meanwhile Kwame loves his jogging path. I could see him doing the scales with his hands: Chelsea or Jogging path. Chelsea or Jogging path. His brother and sister were fun. But... is Kwame not allowed to speak to his dad? Why wouldn't he have called his dad or talked to him? Weird. But Chelsea looked pretty and her bouquet was gorgeous. Kwame's suit was nice too. Love the tie and pocket square. Also He is a slick motherfucker. His vows were nice. I was think it was a no with him for awhile, but his vows seem too nice to be a no.

You know, I can get behind some young girl fantasizing about a big fluffy white wedding. But a boudoir photoshoot with her fiance? not so much. I was like, huh, whut? when Kwame said "I know you've wanted this all your life." It just looked all kinds of awkward. Also, does Chelsea travel with chocolate dipped strawberries on a black plate? Kwame, one of y'all has to move. Either you do or she does. By your logic the need to live in the same city as your spouse = sacrifice. Honestly since he works 100% remote and she doesn't it would make more sense for you to be the one to move. Because if she has to then she would have to give up the same things and he does PLUS her job. So we meet Tiff's mom but didn't get a scene of Brett meeting Tiff's mom. That sucks. Also I cracked up at Brett's very nice engagement pictures of Tiffany after that extra photo shoot of Chelsea and Kwame. Micah was almost ok this episode. If I hadn't seen her in the first four episodes, I might have thought she was fine, like Kelly from season 1 fine. Not the mean girl awful. Man, I could totally read Zach's body language and him retreating behind a wall of nervous fact during that convo with Bliss' dad who, frankly, was a bit of a dick. Such a contrast between his demeanour with her mom. He looked like he looked when he first met Irina face to face. He obviously gets really mannered and tense and still when he is not comfortable or he is sensing rejection. Fuck you Jackie. She was hugging up on Marshall, saying I love you just a day ago. And is all now 'I don't care how Marshall feels' and kissing up on Josh. Like Marshall's friend said 'That's trash.' On the one hand I respect if she doesn't feel it, she just doesn't feel it, but the way she went about it was gross. Also I loved this:

Awww... Cam posted a nice pic of him and Brett: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqvdj7Psln4/

Wait... are you kidding me right now? Jackie? GTFOH! Also, was there not another time of the day she could have met up with Josh? It had to be during the wedding dress fitting? Either that is producer shenanigans or it is a cool "fuck you" to the process and to Marshall. Brett's friends are cool. Brett is cool. And I love that Tiffany asking if Marshall was at the fitting becaue Jackie wasn't there to pick out bridesmaid stuff prompted him to talk to Marshall. Good looking out bro! I feel bad for Marshall. He's all excited and she's not even there. Chelsea is coming off a bit clingy and desperate. I really liked her but she is dropping in my estimation. I can see how Kwame is feeling smothered, she doesn't seem to hear him sometimes. Also, it was giving her cringe with her reciting his resume to her family. Felt like she had to prove his respectability. I speculated in previous ep thread that Bliss might have scared Zack off because of her comment that her family wouldn't like him and he basically validated that speculation. And it is because he was rejected for his humble beginnings. Interesting that Brett said the same thing, about being a child of 'generational poverty' and how he's battled his way out of it but women he's dated has judged his family because of it and Tiffany was accepting. Makes me wonder how Irina's family and background was so that Zach felt she'd be more a fit. I counted, Micah said "like" 21 times in her conversation with Paul.

This episode was definitely falls on the more serious side. But I liked seeing yet another aspect of their teaching life. That award was so extra. And Gregory's reaction was very much on point, imo, for Gregory's character. June Diane Raphael, who played the lady giving the award, was perfect for that part. I loved her on Grace and Frankie. Melissa got the best LOL lines this episode hands down. I loved her speech for Gregory. Also, "You are not the best teacher in Philadalphia, or this school, or this grade or even this classroom." Ha! But Barbara got the best line of all: "People have thrown dirt on my name and others have given flowers. But it’s all a garden to me." I am gonna use that. I have had a fuck ton of contentious conversations with parents and my students have been college age and these confrontations come in all forms. I recognized this one as well. There are some interactions where you know early on where you simply can not have a productive conversation with the parent. They are deaf to everything you are gonna say to the point where they won't even let you say it. That mother was was out of pocket all around and went on the offensive way too fast. At first she tells Janine that someone picked up the rest of her shift. Which would imply she was free for the day and had enough time to sit with Janine. But... and I agree with how Janine started out giving background and context about why she is only calling the mom in now, rather than earlier, because the disruptive behavior was small and she did handle it, and it was only now because it was escalating. --- the minute Janine used the term 'Disruptive' the mother suddenly had no time because she looked pointedly at her watch. And then she would never let Janine finish a sentence. She says 'So what do you want from me?' Janine goes to open her file and says 'Well, I thought -" and before she could finish the mother barked 'Thought what exactly?" That is when it went pear shaped because the mother was on the offensive from that moment on. - "Nobody is stopping you from doing that" - "He's seven you can't control a 7 year old." - "We are not a team." She completely derailed any productive conversation because she went on the attack from the moment Janine used the word 'disruptive.' And anytime Janine tried to speak the mother spoke over her. And then she went into insult mode. And When her phone buzzed, she never even looked at the phone but said it was her boss calling. It felt like the mom was fine with sitting with Janine until Janine was telling her something less than complimentary about her child. This does not mean there is any problem at home or anything, but the mom's attitude makes me think of someone who simply views teachers as day care workers who should be taking care of your child while you are at work. She wasn't seeing Janine as the person who is alerting her to something that could affect her child's education but rather as the babysitter who can't control her charges.

Oh my goodness, yes. Whoever is in charge of her hair is doing a terrible job. I hate the flat stringy look. And since Juno is looking extra sharp in the face (It really looks like she's lost some weight) that flat, stringy hair really doesn't make her look like Lady Executive but rather like an office worker. Shandy's look is better, for goodness sake.

Dani's joke about his oldest friend cracked me up. A little too much, tbh. Shandy can go away any time now. Rupert is pretty awful all around. Bex is snarky. Ha! I knew glitter sneakers was gonna be Jack. I loved Beard and Roy inviting Ted to yell at them for their colossal mistep. I miss the pub crew. We are only getting little drips of them, I need some substantial time with them. NGL, Zava's slo-mo walk to 'Rebirth of Slick' was pretty cool like that. Enjoying the commentators at the game. So many sly, funny lines.

Airdate: 04/05/2023

I dunno. I am gonna reserve judgment on the Zack thing. I'll be very curious about what comes out at the Reunion episode. Admittedly, I kinda binged all the eps in two days so didn't really absorb details, but when they were still in the pods and it looked like he was Bliss' guy they seemed very supportive of her, helping her with the cake and awwing over her making it. Irina didn;t find him attractive and was the first to call him creepy. Micah was Irina's pal so I feel like she would agree with anything Irina said. Jackie was rather catty and two faced in her own way and she has a type. So that left Chelsea and Tiffany. Tiffany said nothing. CheIsea never used the 'creepy' term that seemed to float around so much but said she disliked him. But Chelsea was Bliss' friend in the pod and was the one to comfort her when Zack threw her over for Irina and disliked Irina and Micah for laughing at her. So Chelsea's dislike could be in solidarity over him throwing over Bliss. Much of what was said about him was said pre-Bliss reunion during the very tense Mexico period. Also, I just remember how all the women couldn't stand Cole just because of stuff Zanab said but nothing they ever saw themselves, so yeah, I am reserving judgement until we can hear some more of the BTS stuff.

I wonder if Bliss' comment about her family not liking him factored really big in his decision? it could be that as a child -- the child of a stripper no less -- that he was probably rejected by other kids, other kids' families. That is something that sticks with you. When she said it, he kinda paused and got quiet. And she realized it and tried to reassure and back-track but it was there. Family reactions can definitely have some impact on the relationships. In the most recent Love is Blind Brazil, there was one mother who was ... a piece of work. And we know SK claimed that Raven's family not being there was a red flag for him and a reason he said no. I even though I don't think Shayna was into Kyle at all, i got the impression her family didn't like him and was the excuse she needed to bail early.

Yeah. I liked Archer too but I hold it to a bit of a different standard. It was a comedy and animated. And a lot of what they did was hyper realistic and rather cartoony in nature to take advantage of it's mediium. So there is a remove. Yes. Not only can you tell when a writer blatantly falls in love with a character but some of this is predictable because a villain character with plot armor can be pre-loaded depending on who they cast as the villain. If it is a popular actor or one who has a cult following or a reputation of playing 'cool' or 'badass' characters, you can almost write the hand-waves yourself that are going to appear for them in the storyline. I hate this. My narrative needs are simple. A person who is a bad person and does bad things should be punished appropriately. To make a story satisfying there should be justice meted out. That is why people disappear into stories because they work out in way RL does not always.

That traffic sketch was hysterical. Just flat out funny. Kudos to Quinta and Mikey. They killed it.

I was so curious about Faith's mother and was glad we got to see her. Too bad she was a corrupt cop because she is obviously a good detective and her years of experience adds to her perceptions. With her, I think the show is once again doing a good job with portraying the nuances of police corruption. While she may not have been the worst of the lot and wantonly killing folks, she does represent the same casual corruption they displayed with Ormewood earlier. Also she was part of a system that felt it was completely ok with ignoring rights and correct procedure if it mean flexing your authority or supposedly getting your man. That she still feels that is ok is very telling, even in the current environment and especially as a black woman. It sounds like she thought she was in the clear for getting real bad cops out but never saw the level of what she participated in as bad or corrupt. That was rather an excessive way to get custody. Damn. I wonder if that chainsaw must've been electric rather than gas? What store keeps gas in a chainsaw in a store? Also that store was a mom and pop store not the size of a Lowe's or Home Depot. To get a gas chainsaw going is like getting a gas lawn mower going, you have to pull on the choke, get it it burp and get it to start. That would have been noisy and time consuming and gave away his position. And they are louder than electric chainsaws. Whereas with an electric one, you just need to find an outlet,plug it in, and click on a switch. It also has a lower hum. Will is perfect in his protector mode. What a very nice character beat and Ramón Rodríguez has that aspect of the character on lock! Not feeling Angie's storyline, tbh. But then again, I am not a fan shows that showcase damaged characters who lean into their damage.

I wonder if he is on the spectrum and had trouble with eye contact in the past and in his profession had been told he needed to work on that? Or maybe he's just socially awkward. He seems most natural and relaxed when he is talking to Paul, who is also a bit of pedant and nerd. Also, tbh, of the two I found Irina the more physically repulsive.

Same. I did a double take because I thought she was too young. But checked their ages. Also there is a picture of them in character and ... going just by the outfit alone, it might explain a lot about her. LOL.

There is an upcoming episode entitled 'Mom' and we are gonna meet Janine's Mom. And she has been cast

They were all Nike yes? (if not then Yikes!) He said in the pods he is head of a division at Nike. So I am guessing he 1) makes bank! and 2) he gets the sneakers free or at a very deep discount.

I am really conflicted on the whole Bliss and Zack thing. On the one hand I actually like them together. But.. I can understand why she feels second best and is questioning his judgement. But.. we never saw what he saw of Irina in the pods. The show clearly only showed their interactions that drummed up drama for the triangle. And.. we saw the parts of Bliss shit talking Irina to him which is never a good look. But..if Bliss was over it she could have clearly declined all contact. But...it is literally only about , what, 6 weeks from the time the pods open to the day of the weddings. So if you really did fall in love with someone in the pods it is understandable that it is hard to turn that off after just two weeks of not seeing them. And you might want to still pursue it to see where it goes. And.. I wonder in this case, it is less a case of Bliss being second best vs. Zach realizing he made a mistake and chose the wrong person. It isn't like Irina rejected his proposal and, bummed he went to settle for Bliss. This is why I find Kwame more problematic in that sense that Zach. The way Kwame was acting with Micah at the pool (and who did reject him in the pods and he was really broken by it) doesn't pass the smell test for me. Also.. we saw how manipulative and calculated Irina (and Micah) went about the process so I cut him some slack. Finally.. I just think he is getting a bad rap. Irina is an unreliable narrator. She seems to just want to foment chaos and doesn't care who she damages in the process. so..this is all to say.. I am rooting for them but don't think they should get married in however many days were left at this point.

You know what? I am happy for Bliss and Zack. But I don't want them to get married on the show's timeline. I want them to date and really see if they work because they have some residual stuff to work through. Interesting though that they are the first couple to kinda slide in mid-stream like this. She basically replaced Irina in the mix. Oooh, Marshall. I am on your side but that 'I saw you as a project' comment was massively out of pocket. But Jackie is too much. Her family seems to have her head all messed up. Yeah, no wonder Micah gravitated toward Irina. She'd slide so easily within her friends. They are all utter knuckle draggers. My husband said the blonde one looks like Marlon Wayans' in drag character from White Girls. Ha! I'd like to hang out with Chelsea. She seems like such a straight shooter. Tiffany and Brett seem like they are just delighted with each other. I am so happy for them. They better get married!! Was Jason drunk? Also it sounds like he was the Irina of the men's side. Kwame? What is you doing? Really? Why are you still asking putting doubts out there when you are talking to Micah? Man, there is just no rooting for him.

High stress work week. NO desire to cook. So had a big bowl of peanut butter Cap'n crunch cereal for dinner.

My husband said Paul's mother looks like a character on White Lotus. And then he said 'He's marrying his mother'. LOL Zack and Bliss are cute. I think he was making steak using a sous vide but either had the wrong bags or didn't close them properly. A properly prepared sous vide steak is wonderful. Honestly, I couldn't even pay attention to what Jackie was saying because Marshall's niece was so cute eating that pizza. But she is starting to raise some red flags for me. She seems like she's a lot. He is soo supportive. The most I've liked Micah was her during the tour of Paul's apartment. She seemed legit charming there. I liked Tiffany and Brett's convo about money. And her calling him Bougie Brett is fun. Predictions: Brett and Tiffany = still thinking they'll get married Irina and Zach = hell no, not married DUNZO! Micah and Paul = Still thinking they are a no, even though they feel stronger than before. Jackie and Marshall = I am moving my not sure to a no. She seems waffle-y Kwame and Chelsea = tentatively saying no. * Bliss and Zach. stay tuned....