DearEvette

Yeah, but the only information we have about Jo is what Jo has told us (Alex). So conceivably the foster care thing could also be as much fiction as her name.

I think Stevens has always been openly sexist and racist. But I think the difference is that the comments after the "white children" line simply were too pointed and not delivered with the sly comedy they had been in the past. They sounded like "straight" lines, rather than funny ones. So there was no humor to mask how unpalatable the comments were. I did appreciate the nod to continuity about his murdering son, though. He has another murderous son and last season, i think it was, he talked about paying off senators to get them off of murder charges.

They need to put this Meredith, Riggs, Maggie story out of its misery. I know Maggie comes off as young acting, but really Meredith? Suggesting Riggs go out with Maggie and act like a jerk to turn her off? Real mature. I was so happy to see somebody show some compassion for poor DeLuca I think I gave Arizona the same heart-eyes that he did. I enjoyed the craziness around the The funeral family case. It was the most fun I had watching a medical case on this show in awhile. Stephanie's one-liners were fun too.

Heh. And this was the entire appeal for me. He's not another dude in tights. And I admit I like the references to black culture. I already mentioned upthread the lovely conversation about black male lit, but there was a line in a recent episode I watched where Misty snarked at her lieutenant who let Mariah go, "You just allowed your soror to skee-wee on out of here." If it passed you by it doesn't impact the story, but if you got the reference, then it filled in some interesting background information about those three women. Also the way Misty delivered the line was filled with meaning.

Not my favorite ep of the series at all. Diamondback remains a weakness to me. Mariah, otoh, is still scary. The cops remain dumb, except Misty. Really people? A guy takes the time to wear a hoodie to hide his face but then screams out his name after killing cop? The same guy who after being caught on video specifically NOT killing two other cops, in fact he protected one with his own body. Claire is cool. So bad to find out Reva saw Luke as just an experiment and was playing him.

The whole ignorance conversation was gold: Diane: Who are you voting for Ruby: Whoever the Democrat is, baby. Diane: Without even knowing where they stand on the issues? Seems ignorant. Ruby: Would it seem ignorant if I slapped the taste out of your mouth? [Diane looks shocked] Ruby: Oh sweetie, oh sweetie I am so sorry. Sometimes Grandma forgets she's been saved. Listen honey, ignorance is being unaware of the dangers of the kitten heel. [cue flashback of Ruby wearing kitten heels, stumbling into a voting booth and mistakenly voting for Pat Buchanan]

So that is Diamondback? Not impressed at all so far. This guy is supposed to be some major crime lord with a group of minions at his beck and call and he is acting like some over emotional fool. I think it would have been smarter if this actor had been cast as Cottonmouth and Mahershala Ali had been Diamondback. He seems like he would have made a better fuck up. I also hate that everything seems to come down to daddy issues. Sigh. Oh Misty, you disappointed me here. You are usually so smart and yet you did everything really dumbly this episode. The writing for her this ep gave me whiplash. She knows Claire was with him so why is she making such noises about bringing him in? The gloves are evidence but they can be argued as circumstantial. And there was no reason to take her frustration out on Clare, because that is what it surely was. At first I wondered if she was playing to her boss knowing she was watching. But then she seemed to snap out of whatever fugue she was in when her boss opened the door. And then there is Candace -- how smart is it to not allow your "eye witness" to actually give a statement? Whipping her out of there so fast actually casts suspicion on her. But the real kicker is how the heck does one just walk it off from a punch from Luke Cage? Diamondback must have some reinforced bones himself because the man manages to remain remarkably upright after being punched by Luke, falling from a balcony and bouncing off those hard ass theater chairs and then being flung hard bodily against a supporting column. He should have been out! Also this inspector is a caricature of a hard ass police. Misty's comment "You let your soror skee wee on out of here." made me chuckle. So Mariah and the Inspector are both AKAs. Heh. Misty imbued that comment with a lot of disdain a college athlete might feel against a sorority. Perfect delivery. And finally, Shades thinks he is in charge and is controlling Mariah. Fool have you met that woman? She will turn on your ass too. He may have said "That's my girl" all condescendingly and shit, but he did not catch the way she cut her eye at him when he said it. Naw, she is all about Harlem and black folks she is not going to let Shades pull her strings for long. Even with my major frustration with this episode it was a mover that's for sure. And it ended on a nice "Well, damn." moment.

Well. Huh. That was unexpected. I always felt Mariah was a seething mass under the surface and we hadn't seen it yet. But damn, this? Out of all the stuff that could have sent her over the edge, out of all the differences she had with her cousin, I love that it was her molestation at the hands of the uncle who favored him was it. I hate to see Mahershala Ali go because he was a charismatic villain but I did not mind that he had to go out at the hands of Mariah. If you count Misty taking out Lt. Perez in the last ep, then this is score-2 for the women of Luke Cage vs. dirty men. The shooter has GOT to be Diamondback, yes or one of his henchmen? Who else would have the bullets capable of hurting Luke. Will we finally get to see him? Will he stand up to the hype? I hope so, admittedly I haven't paid too much attention to the casting beyond Colter, Missick, Woodard and Ali so I don't know who they would have cast for Diamonback. But he (or she?) needs to bring at least what Ali brought to Cottonmouth to be viable, imo.

Which is why it is so depressing.

My take away is that if you can, get on a Netflix or HBO show. Cuz damn! They have deep pockets. Do Lauren Graham and Alexi Bleidel really deserve 750,000 for a reboot of a 10 year old show? I find it depressing hat Anthony Anderson makes more than Tracee. She, imo, is the best part of Blackish.

This would be the show to test the validity of Fox's stance on not using Overnights and Live + SD numbers . Back in November they said: So if they are really walking the walk, then the decision to keep Pitch isn't going to be based on the Nielsen overnights but rather how it is performing on other platforms.

Yes. The recording actually exonerates Davis from the rape. Everyone in that room heard her admit that he didn't rape her. He is guilty of being a philanderer who has a callous disregard of women, but he didn't commit a criminal act. If David wanted to he could rip those papers and that check up and told her he'll see her in court. At most he'd be exposed as a man who goes to hookers and disrespects his wife. But people would shrug that off, it would be nothing but a nine days wonder. But the real goal here was to punish Davis and Charley. As much as I hate to admit it think the Goldie stuff was the weakest sauce of the whole series to date. The actress who plays her is wooden and doesn't bring much to the table emotively.

Great episode. Lots of stuff happened. And yes, Poor Charley. She tried to be steadfast. The best that can be said is that at least Davis didn't rape Goldie. Small favors at least. But damn, his unconcern for her is just... he is trash. And omg, a three year relationship. Damn. Loved Nova's read of him. But boo! Nova took money from the farm account to what? Prove a point about Davis. I guess each sibling has to do something truly monumentally stupid per episode or they wouldn't be them. Can this please be the end of Ralph Angel's bad decision hard luck tour? Aunt Vi came through in the clutch. Holy cow. She did him a huge solid. I wanted to leap through my tv and hug her my damn self! Remy was wearing the hell out of that tee-shirt. When did Dondre Whitfield get so fine?

I loved it. Made me uncomfortable but made me laugh. Some observations were spot on. I thought there was some real sharp commentary here. Dre's over the top act was for once perfect. And of course Ruby is Donald Trump. She really, really is. And of course Johan is a Bernie Bro. Junior just keep on Junior-ing on. You do you, bro. From the elf/Klingon ears to the Hilary suit, this was a strong ep for him.

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.