DearEvette

Yes, i loved George Benson's 'Masquerade' playing under the dinner scene. So perfect. Also that creepy kid with the white face. LOL WTF? Such a bent piece of visual imagery that also just went so well with Van's fucked up day.

Stevens introducing his son: "You might know him as the New Haven Ripper. Just a silly name the victims gave my baby boy for crimes they couldn't prove that he was aware he had committed"

This was a great episode. The opening with Van and Jayde was both wonderful and infuriating. Great piece of writing there because everything they said sounded so on point. God, I know a few Jaydes (and the actress who portrayed her was spot on) and their passive aggressive one-upmanship. . But the easy fall back into their old high school relationship also felt right as well. Also, I love the fact that this is the second show in a week where I have seen black women bonding over a blunt. Paper Boi was excellent too. "But weed is for losers..." he said mockingly. Ha! Anyway, loved he deeper look into Van and it is nice seeing that in her own way she is as rudderless as Earn.

Aw, RIP Rod Temperton. I know most people know him from Thriller, but man (and I am probably dating myself here) but I LOVED Heatwave with a passion. 'Boogie Nights' and of course the romantic ballad that was always the slow down song we got when we'd go skating for the couple skate (shut up!) 'Always and Forever".

Yes. I loved that scene. I mean, come on! Black men in a barbershop talking about writers one of whom is Donald Goins? And they speak of him alongside such mainstream popular names as Lehane & Pelecanos! And you are correct, the tone was so authentic that it was the same conversational tone they have when speaking about the pros and cons of various sports teams.

I think that was intentional. I saw complaints, but I also saw a lot of nods at the subtext. Honestly I think some of it is outright trolling. But where it isn't trolling it is simple blind privilege in action. But hey, Netflix is releasing their Gilmore Girls reboot soon. That is peak whiteness right there, maybe some of the people who think Luke Cage is too black will be appeased?

i dunno, I get what you are getting at, but the show definitely grounds itself in reality , calling out the work of Donald Goins esp. his Kenyatta series where the model was Jomo Kenyatta, using black historic figures to make points such as Crispus Attucks etc. Mainly it is because Mariah herself used the term 'Black Lives Matter' that I assumed it was merging actual reality with the usual comic book hyper-reality.

I didn't mind this episode. I think it did what it was supposed to do which is finally put Barry's demons to rest about his parents. For three great months he got to weirdly live out a childhood he felt that had been ripped away from him. It was obvious that he was content to live at home, hang out with is parents and not date. That is some serious arrested development. Did love his mother not so subtly nudging him to move out. But I think once that finally cleared he saw that this was not a sustainable fantasy. And he finally got how selfish he was being. I do think the Flashpoint stuff would have been better played out over at least two episodes. One where we see how much Barry is assimilating into his new surroundings, his happiness and wonder and getting to know the new Central City and how the relationships ar different, And then the second ep could show the slow unraveling of all of it. Even giving us a hint of why Eobard was so insistent that things had to go back. Anyway, I like the romance between Barry & Iris. And I thought Wally had finally come into his own. Glad that Caitlin got some light comedy since her storyline last season was so damned dark. I did not like this Cisco, tho. Now that he can come to terms with his parents' death, I hope the show can move forward away from that lingering issue and proceed. Very curious with the Iris/Jo stuff now and what else has changed.

See, I am the opposite I saw it as intimidation the minute she started off with 'Well, you are an intern...". Not an open bare faced threat, but I honestly got the vibe that the low level implication of one was there. Intentional or not by the writers that is how it totally felt to me. Look at this from his perspective. He is the victim of an assault, one that the State believes warrants a felony charge. He is forced to work in the same place and see his assaulter every day. The owners of the hospital are the assaulter's friends. And one of them manages to isolate him in an elevator. Yes, she didn't plan it and the conversation started out nice enough. But DeLuca had made it clear he didn't want to talk about it. And then she started the conversation up again "You are an intern and you shouldn't be spending your time in a courtroom, you should be scrubbing in surgeries. This job is hard enough without making it harder..." By itself that sounds like innocuous advice, but she had just tried to tell him he should forgive Alex and she is a chief of medicine herself, his superior. It was poor form all the way around. But I totally agree with you about Jo, though.

I binge watched all three seasons of Survivor's Remorse on STARZ and I have to say my favorite break-out character (among many strong characters) is Mary Charles, affectionately called M-Chuck. She is the lesbian sister of the main character and she is a riot. Nicely complex, she is out and proud and her family. Also within the context of the show and her family, her homesexuality is as normalized as everyone else's heterosexuality. But I just love the way the actress portrays her. She's a pisser!

I am sorry but that call in show at the top of the episode felt clunky as hell. I can't 'hear' a black person fulsomely praising the police -- especially not in today's BLM environment -- especially not over the an indestructible black male savior. No way. So nobody saw a blood spattered man dragging himself all over Harlem. Not to mention, how the heck did Scarfe manage to stay ambulatory with bullets in his thigh and liver? I know.... I know.... it is a comic book. I have to remind myself. It is a comic book. I can't get mad at a comic book tv show doing comic book-y things. Luke: "Is this your new VH1 special? Criminal Spinsters" Mariah: "I will wear your narrow ass out." I just loved the way Mariah looked him up and down lasciviously a she said that. Ha! Also loved the scene of Mariah spelling out all the ways Luke could possibly be killed to Cottonmouth. She is ice cold. Actually all the female characters this ep were excellent: Mariah of course, Misty and the way she played Lt. Perez and then her last scene with Scarfe as he lay dying, Claire and how competent she is, heck even the reporter and her calling out of Mariah. She's got brass ones! So Cottonmouth is arrested. He seems to be getting more and more unstable as each episode goes on. Now that he is in custody and some of his dirty cops are being uncovered, I wonder if he'll spiral even more.

Oh Marvel, never change. Luke's water-bath chamber looks like Wolverine's admantium chamber. Hehe. I wrote my comment above before I saw this! I did love the shout out to the original Luke, with the "tiara", the bright yellow shirt, the blue pants and the chain belt. "I look ridiculous!" Good origin story, nice attention to detail with the jacked up fro (no grooming products in prison to keep the hair tight). Not sure what to think of Reva. Is she on the up and up? And what was with her cryptic comment about "not always being a psychiatrist." That more than anything got my spidey senses tingling after her assurances to Luke settled them down again. Now I am not so sure about her. But apparently she's dead, so still more back story to go. But now I am wondering what he plans to do about his identity given the press attention there at the end.

Ugh. Scarfe, why? Why?? I was liking his and Misty's dynamic. But he turns out to be dirty. Of course Cornell would have cops on the payroll but why Scarfe? Dang it! The minute Chico started talking I knew, I just knew. But I wonder what he would have done if Misty had taken him up on his offer to go speak with Chico with him? He probably would have gotten to Chico before he could really talk. Now I need Misty to shank his ass. And I want her to do it, not Luke. The music on this show is just perfect so far. Each selection perfectly punctuates the mood and theme of the episode. I loved the Ain't It A Sin song. I especially loved the visuals of this old guy right out of the James Brown tradition being backed by a band that was more like the Ben Folds Five. LOL. Also the argument between Cornell and Mariah further punctuates just how blackity black, black ,blackity black this show is for real. He calls her 'Black Mariah" she calls him a "color struck motherfucka!" Neither one backing down. I actually find Mariah a little scarier than Cornell. His feral qualities are all on her surface, hers are way below and I don't think we've seen them yet. The action was the best part. Love the fight scene set to Wu-Tang! Also that last scene. Oh Man. Off to the next episode.

I liked this episode better than the pilot. The pilot felt all set up. This one felt like we were starting to get into the meat of things. I did like the scene in the barbershop when Cottonmouth came to get a shave. The tension slowly crept up and the camera work was great with the full-face close ups and the odd angles -- it made that scene feel almost claustrophobic, like something was going to break or give any minute. Also liked the Misty a lot more in this episode. She popped for me here. I couldn't help but feel a bit of cognitive dissonance because with her outfit and her hair and her general demeanor she reminded me so strongly of Abbie Mills from S3 of Sleepy Hollow when Abbie's hair went natural. But I loved the basketball scene, the trash talk that came so effortlessly "Ladies first" (Ha!) and then finding out she played bball in college and that her name was etched in the court. I could not get into Jessica Jones or Daredevil at all. But I am finding this one easy to consume.

Yeah, that is the one thing about this that so far isn't reading as 100% realistic. Realistically, Goldie would be getting dragged publicly as much as Davis especially considering she is a sex worker. Fair or not, that is a stigma when it comes to sexual violence. I love that the all female directors of Queen Sugar are trying to make a feminist statement about the validity of Goldie's claim. But no way would Davis be as in jeopardy by the team ownership as it seems. I think of Kobe who was arrested and there were hearings and there would be footage of him going from the courthouse to the game court. I mean he was playing through the whole scandal. I wonder if it seems more one-sided because we are seeing everything through Charley's perspective and everything seems much more precarious because of it.

I really liked Alex in this episode. It was so refreshing to have him be the one who is driving a story. As much as I think Meredith's methods of supporting him feel more harmful than good, it is nice to have her be the one who has to listen to his problems rather than vise versa. I am still not on his side in the beating of DeLuca but I appreciate this episode for what it means to his character. Speaking of DeLuca, I know this was Alex's episode but even so he seemed rather invisible even as a victim in all this. Everybody talked around him or to him, but he barely said two words. We don't get any inkling of what is going on with him other than he is busily glowering angrily. How awful that he doesn't even get a scene of someone actually speaking to him in concern for his physical and mental recovery. Everybody just seems to be mad at Alex. I swear the show could have easily jettisoned some of that stupid triangle stuff to show Maggie having a quiet conversation with showing that she has some compassion for him and that his breaking up with her is water under the bridge in the face of him having to see his attacker everyday. And speaking of the Bermuda Triangle, good god it is even more painful than I thought it would be. Come on! Why is Meredith doing this. Yeah, I am not thrilled with how they are making Maggie this pie-eyed creature who seems like she is mentally drawing hearts and rainbows in a journal, but at its basis it is a woman who is interested in a man and wants to get him interested in her. But Maggie's awkwardness aside, I am so puzzled as to why the writers are making Meredith act this way. It feels cruel. By telling Nathan about Maggie's feelings and then making him promise not to go out with her, it feels like they are in on a joke that Maggie isn't and it is at her expense. I find the whole thing rather distasteful.

Yup. That was my immediate thought too. I'll bet he is a regular client. She said his name with a lot of familiarity/intimacy. I'll bet Davis is one of those men who feel emasculated by a powerful wife and goes to a mistress/sex worker and spills all sorts of tea about his life (i gather you can guess I don't have a high opinion of Ol' Davis). And I'll bet that she probably felt there was some intimacy there but he stood by and watched or abetted one or more of his teammates in coercing her into non-consensual sex. At the risk of sounding un-feeling/un-PC, it doesn't help that the actress who portrayed Goldie came off as a woman who seemed like she had been betrayed by a lover, not raped by one. The "how do you get unraped" line was a powerful one, just I didn't feel it in the way she delivered it. Too bad because I think that confrontation with Charley could have hit harder and been more poignant than it was. As it is it just felt like a wife confronting a mistress, not a wife confronting the woman who is her husband's rape victim. The scene of the Bordelon women smoking pot was a delight from start to finish. First the hug between the sisters, then Nova fishing a blunt out of her bra, then Vi coming in and talking about how she gets it good from Hollywood and the size of his package, then the matter-of-fact delivery that Nova is bi -- I just loved it! They looked like they were having a ball! The auction scene was hard to watch. I knew Charley was not going to follow advice. But oh well. I am getting the impression that all the Bordelons will be knocked down only to rise up triumphant. I hope.

Thank You! Back from the Disney abyss with an episode that does what the show began to do last season real well. Which is to take a specific topic and give it both a thoughtful and irreverent spin. As is usual for me, Dre is the weak spot. His over the topness didn't work for this for me. Considering you don't see them as being particularly religious, I feel that their belief system is more of the 'well this is an accepted ritual' rather than a bone deep belief. So to have Dre go all ape-shit just didn't work for me. I thought their reaction to Junior being a Republican was much more realistic that this. But everyone else was spot on and can I say I love the casting of Daveed Diggs? His casual insertion of French pronunciation of words, his dilettante attitude. How perfect is he in the pantheon of Bow's family. Also doesn't she have a sister too? If so, I can;t wait to see what they come up with for her. I also didn't get the impression that Zoe had suddenly converted, since everyone else at the end tag was praying and she was gossiping on the phone. I just thought the 'Oh thank God' was less a reinstatement of belief and more of a reflexive statement than anything really. But yeah that scene in the Doctor'f office had me so tense. I was mumbling in my head "they're not gonna do this...they're not gonna do this:" and then the small tear fell down Bow's face. I also felt like I was in that room with them because my breath came whooshing out when I heard the heartbeat as well. Also, Charlie's enmity of Diane will never get old. Good episode.

Straight Holt is so damned awkward. And funny. Maya Rudolph's little bits with them are gold. I loved that no amount of bribery could sway Amy's devotion from Holt. And Melissa Fumero's line delivery of ' You seem a little.. Eeeehhhhhhhhhhhh..." when trying to tactfully tell the new captain he was a bit under-qualified was great. I love how she just let it drag on. Just when I was beginning to warm to Gina she annoys me all over again. It is like one step forward and 10 steps back with her for me. Happy to see the scenes with the Nine-Nine. Now I am wondering how they are going to make it to Florida?

Oh yeah, forgot to mention. I love that the judges were actually scrapbooking all unconcerned while Tati and Alyssa were both deciding with the seriousness of Ruth Bader Ginsburg on who to kick out. Ha!

I thought that Kevin going off with his friends was a really good character beat. Even though the kids grew up in the same household together, it isn't til they go to school that they begin to become aware of bigger things, external influences. Kinda like you don't know you are poor until you can see what not-poor looks like. They may not have been aware that anything about them was different til they got to school. And Kevin, wanting the approval of his friends, feels like an ingrained thing that is following him into adulthood, like Kate's weight being the issue we saw taking root at that age as was Randall's need to be good and perfect. I am also curious about Kevin's need to call Randall at that point when he was feeling the most helpless. Why Randall specifically at that moment? Just from this ep you get the sense that their distance is of Kevin's making, not Randall's. And speaking of that call -- when Kevin starts the convo he says 'I know we haven't talked since everything went down' or something like that. So something happened to create another rift? Or was it a reference to Jack's passing and Jack died fairly recently and something happened between the brothers in the aftermath? If so I am liking the theory that Jack may have died after a long, lingering illness -- like Alzheimers or something. Something that would have made his actual death more recent, but he would have been 'gone' much longer and have built in enough time for Rebecca to fall in love and marry Miguel and for Randall's daughters to begin to think of Miguel as grandpa.

"Well now I feel like I bitch." Ha! And actually i did too because I was like Beth giving William the hairy side-eye. And then he went and told his story about his ugly cat. Dammit. Anyway that kitchen scene was fantastic and Beth really stepped up to the plate here. And how refreshing it is for someone on a tv show just to come out say stuff straight out. "You are over staying your---" She was totally about to lay it on the line. Love it. Actually Both Mandy Moore and Susan K-W were great in their scenes as wives protecting their husbands, Rebecca's more of a tough love and Beth's more a fierce one. Very fascinated by the relationship between the siblings, even moreso than last week. And I knew Miguel had a thing for Rebecca. You don't talk about your friend's wife in just that way if you didn't have a thing for her.

Finally saw this. Oh yeah, this was a fun episode all over the place. Tati came back, Alyssa was funny, Phi Phi got gone, Ginger Minj made an impression(Y'all I keep forgetting she was even on the show) and even Coco didn't annoy me. I especially loved the start with the reveal of the departed queens behind the two-way mirror and the shots of Phi Phi's face. Roxxxy's analogy was perfect. And then Tati's analysis of Phi Phi's game playing was perfect. I actually thought Alyssa and Tati were both great in the lip sync. I did give the slight edge to Tati because Alyssa tends to go overboard a bit with the death drops, but I thought Alyssa was more restrained than usual. And it helps that they seems to compliment each other in looks. So I am glad they both got to stay.

I like Maggie. And normally I'd be ok with her having a nice relationship with a handsome fellow like Riggs. But since his Not!Dead wife might materialize out of the woodwork, then I don't want to have to witness that. Better Meredith than her. I do wonder why they chose to so abruptly end Maggie and DeLuca? if Mer and Riggs are end game? I think if Maggie and DeLuca had still been together when Alex beat up DeLuca that would have added to the drama a lot. There would be the question of just what DeLuca was doing with Jo in a compromising position? The sisters would have a more believable and worthy rift than a stupid love triangle if Mer's best friend beat up Maggie's boyfriend. Also Maggie's investment over what happened to him would have felt more immediate. As it is, her attempts to convince Riggs that she was free during this whole thing just seemed tangential and not in keeping with the seriousness of what was happening. But that said I do get more chem between Maggie & Riggs than Mer & Riggs and I chalk it 100% up to Ellen's acting choices. Meredith doesn't even seem to want to be bothered, even beyond wanting to protect Maggie's feelings. So that distance comes across in the dynamic between the two characters as well, and not in a "oh Meredith is fighting her feelings" way but in a "they just aren't connecting" way.

I just watched the Paleyfest panel of the cast and producers and there will be more flashbacks and not just for Ginny. Also I was interested to hear about how they are approaching telling the stories going forward because the question did come up about how they are planning to sustain storytelling over the course of the series. They were pushing that it is just as much about the characters as it is about the baseball. For instance it was nice to hear that Blip isn't just Ginny's friend but has an inner life of his own and his wife is integral to that.