DearEvette

I am surprised by the baby reveal. Not sure how I feel about that. Just have to wait and see, I guess. I was meh about the first half of the episode. But by the time "Dr. Dre" arrived (to a Run-DMC song, alas, not a Dre song) the fun of the episode kicked in. Loved the scene of the Robitussin "tequila" shots and Junior's 'Going Wolf of Wall Street" line. I also really enjoyed Ruby and Bow's scenes and am glad they dialed back on the animosity. Ruby's obituary was a hoot and I am kinda ashamed that I immediately knew who Cyrus from the Real World was. Sigh. I also think it is clever of the show to use Jenifer Lewis' actual background with "Beth" Midler to use as Ruby's backstory because they could actually show a scene from Beaches and there would be young Ruby.

So who actually is responsible for putting on the WHCD? I know there is a WHCA and they ostensibly host the dinner, but the inclusion of the President would lead me to believe that the WHCA isn't wholly in charge and the White House has some power of veto. I mean POTUS & FLOTUS could just not attend if the WH didn't agree with something. They are under no obligation to do. Hence, I would imagine on some level Larry Wilmore's jokes were vetted by the WH? I mean, Obama didn't looked shocked or uncomfortable when the camera went to him after Larry was done. I guess what I am getting at is... maybe LW's remark was said with Obamas blessing and he understood completely what Larry meant by it? Last year Obama brought out Keegan Michael-Key in character as Luther, Obama's anger translator. The very existence of a character like Luther is a comic take on a serious underlying issue with what is means to be a black man in power and taking on a role that white men have always viewed proprietarily as their own. Folks, black folks especially, absolutely get why a character like Luther is both funny and a sharp commentary on racial politics. And of course it was black comedians who get why a character like Luther would resonate. Obama has had to tread a very fine line throughout his presidency. Even in a such a position of power he could not give into displays of anger or emotion because it would play into certain narratives. Just like Jackie Robinson was specifically chosen to be the person to integrate baseball and knew how to react to the shit that came his way, Obama had to remain even keeled all the time. Obama bringing out Luther last year felt very pointed to me. A way of Obama using it to bite right back in the only way he could. Especially in a room where some of those journalists (and even some of the politicians) have spent the last eight years selling him to the American public as an unqualified "other" stopping short of calling him the N-word. Luther is funny, and sharp and satiric. And Obama is a politician after all and Luther was a very politic way for Obama to say "Yeah, I see y'all". So to me Larry, his speech and his final remark is like a continuation of that Luther thing but with the veneer of a fictional character removed a little who got to call him that one thing, albeit affectionately, they couldn't. Just a thought...

I enjoyed this quite a bit. - I liked how everybody seemed to have a mini plot. - I liked that Iris and Cisco got to spend some quality time working together. - I loved almost every line out of Cisco's mouth. He was killing me! - I liked how Dad-like all the dads were. And also how they all seemed to be working together for each others' kids. - I loved how Iris seemed to finally come into her own. What a great episode for her. - I liked the balance between the lighter, funnier stuff with Iris, Cisco and even Joe versus the heavier stuff with Wells/Henry and then the heaviest stuff with Barry. - And finally, I adored the last scene between Barry and iris. I was never really convinced by Iris/Barry's chemistry in season 1. I actually thought Iris had better romantic chemistry with Eddie. But something happened the back half of this season that made me finally feel them. Maybe it was seeing the Earth-2 version of them or maybe it was Iris finally accepting it? Whatever the case I like them.

That Jezebel link led me to this piece written by the creator of The New Girl, Liz Meriwether, on how the whole thing came about. I love her writing style and I can totally see her reaction when she gets his phone call. I swear, I'd react the same way,. http://www.vulture.com/2016/04/new-girl-liz-meriwether-prince.html

I get what you are saying about the bandwagon syndrome, but honestly, I think there is some real legitimacy to the critical response the album is getting. Maybe because I am filtering it through my own response to it. I have enjoyed and rooted for Beyonce in an abstract, almost absent way. To me she has always been the type of artist whose stuff comes on the radio or who I see in videos and I hum along and sing to her songs. But never gave them any real thought. Like I said above, I respected her hustle. When I sat down to watch Lemonade, I was all ready to roll my eyes at the pretentiousness. I mean she had just come out with the Ivy Park stuff about a week before and the opening shots of Lemonade just looked like an extended Ivy Park commercial. But as it went on I became riveted. I found myself really enjoying all the textures of the music. It made sit up and pay attention to Bey in a way I never paid attention to her before. She surprised me in a really good way. I am shocked by how much I like this, like totally shocked. I actually went online after Lemonade aired to see if I was the only one who liked this, because I was sure I was missing something. And then I bought the damn thing! Even without the visual piece of it, I think what I like the most is that it is telling a cohesive story, a linear narrative in song, with the various musical styles punctuating the storytelling aspect of it. Funny enough, in my own personal circle of friends on my own social media spaces, the reaction was the same. People were surprised. And I have some incredibly cynical friends. So to hear them giving the album props was some next level validation for me. So as the days and weeks went by and to see the praise the album is getting from legit musical critics tells me there really is some There there.

From a personal viewer standpoint, I hope they are done because they are not the smallest bit exciting to watch as a couple. And I say this as a person who is not stone cold Penny hater -- although I do hate what they've so transparently done to make her such a paragon is so short a time. But from a character integrity standpoint, i hope Callie does stick with Penny. Again, not because I think they are some great couple, but because after all this she better be worth what it has cost Callie to do what she has to done be with her.

I read somewhere that being on Drag Race raises a Queen's profile immensely and does translate to better club bookings, higher turn out since people who would not normally go to a club would go because of the name/face recognition, and some embrace by mainstream celebrities. I mean Shangela didn't even get this far and started popping up on tv shows right after her stints. It helps she was an LA performer but I'll bet her appearance on the show helped cut her from the herd. Also they are part of the Logo WOW media family now and you see so many former Drag Race queens on various stuff. Bianca's tv show probably wouldn't have happened without her being on Drag Race. So I am very hopeful that these queens will see some professional success from this. I am especially hopeful on Chi Chi's behalf.

I think this really wasn't part of Arizona's calculations because as she said "they switch all the time" so to Arizona that would have been a non-issue because it was something they both did. Callie chose to selectively use it in a way that made Arizona look bad. I am really baffled by why Callie chose to go so scorched earth in this. The move and Penny aside, Arizona is still Sofia's mother and there still has to be some sort of relationship between the women throughout her life. The route Callie went assures that the relationship would be more bitter than is really necessary.

But Meredith hasn't actually done this since she got married to Derek. Maybe marriage, motherhood and widowhood has burned some of this impulse out of her. I mean, what could be suckier than your husband dying? She just grieved and took her kids on a Walkabout. But beside all of that, I agree with @GreysFan89 there is nothing inherently wrong about getting your drink on and then getting your freak on!

I don't have high hopes. Even Ryan Murphy's more serious stuff turns into camp eventually.

Some minor observations: - I loved Bailey in this episode. Like others have said, moresoe that I have in awhile. her "Objection! Speculation!" would be so me. I swear I have watched too many lawyer tv shows that if I had that opening while on the stand I would completely play a tv lawyer in my head. -I like how they are keeping with her strong feminist stance they've shown her to have before. Also enjoyed how she sat behind Callie because obviously that was the party that called her to testify but then she switched and sat behind Arizona because obviously she was offended on Arizona's behalf by the slant of the questioning. - In theory I like that drinking scene between Meredith and Callie where they were talking about Mark. I couldn't follow the dialogue, tho because of the Prince/Rosie Gaines version of 'Nothing Compares 2 U' playing behind the scene. i was trying to hard to hear that. -Loved the April/Jackson scenes. This is how you adult! -DeLuca has such a pretty profile. That boy needs to be on a Roman coin. - "You're hugging me too tight." and then "You're hugging me too long." - Kevin McKidd's directing was awfully flourishy. There was this one shot at the very beginning where Callie & Arizona's faces looked like one of those pictures people send to Awkward Family photos

Any show is going to get blowback from fans if they kill off a popular lead character. That is just facts. How the person is killed off, then, is what further characterizes the tenor that anger takes. I can't speak for everyone obviously, but a fair amount of anger at the finale wasn't just because she was killed off, but because in the end the importance of her character was diminished as nothing but a vessel used to carry Ichabod on his journey. Her death became all about him, not about her at all. Since a lot of the WOC female viewers began watching the show because Abbie was a WOC female lead her importance to the narrative was important to us on many levels. The anger isn't just about shipping that so many people seem to want to dismissively reduce it to. It has to do with representation and how disposable marginalized people are to any show they are a part of. I also think a big element of it has to do with betrayal. Since apparently the writers knew they were going to kill her off, their reassurances throughout season 3 toward the Abbie fans now seem disingenuous. A lot of the things the showrunners did with the Lexa character on The 100 mirror what the writers did with Abbie on Sleepy Hollow. And finally the writing just sucked. If you are going to kill off a character like Abbie make it fucking epic. Don't do it with the umpteenth self-sacrifice. Yawn. She's done that twice before already. You build her up for three seasons as a warrior and you kill her by making her sit down next to a box. Sure, that works.

Funny enough it was binge watching old episode of Brooklyn 99 that got me thinking about women friendships in the first place. I think a lot of my dislike for Gina the first two seasons of the show was because of the way she treated Amy. The first two seasons all Gina ever did was dis Amy every chance she got. And while I love Rosa, her whole schtick is that her character is closed off and secretive. As I am re-watching the eps back-to-back it is more obvious this time around that they aren't really friends. Their relationships with each other are in contrast with their individual relationships with Jake and even more so with the great friendship the show has established between Jake & Doyle. i do like the relationship between Rachel and Quinn on UnReal because as dysfunctional as it is, it feels like an authentic friendship. Or the closest thing resembling friendship that characters like Rachel and Quinn can have.

Off topic still: The Claire Huxtable Fear-of-God speech for me was when Denise wanted her savings account to buy a car. And she got snitty and asked "Is this America or what?" To which Claire proceeded to read her ending with "If you ever take that tone with me again, young lady, you can take whatever little money you have in that account and go Discover America." Back on topic: I have been trying to think of currently airing shows that really showcase strong female friendships. Not just lip service but shows that really display it over time. Off the top of my head the only ones I could think of was Playing House (which I think is woefully underrated) and Rebecca & Paula from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (a little dysfunctional but still works), Mistresses. I suppose Girls, but I don't watch that so I couldn't speak to it and possibly Broad City (again I don't watch it, but it feels like it should fit). I feel like there should be more.

Sigh. So sad Chi Chi went, but I am ok with it. Honestly I would have been ok with either of the Chis leaving. As much as I loved the final four, and I do, for me it was 1)Bob 2)Naomi 3) Chi Chi/Kim Chi tie. It may be blasphemous, I know, but honestly don't feel that Kim Chi is a total package. Her ability to paint is next level as to be a bona fide art, but as they went through the looks, I noticed that her paint really obscures her face so that she disappears. It is hard to see her expressiveness. It was difficult to judge her lip syncing because, again, you really couldn't see her face. I also think both Chis come off as a bit too tentative. Chi Chi needs more polish and Kim Chi needs a little more self confidence. I would have been upset if Bob went at this point. She's right, statistically she has done the best. Her look isn't glamour, but her look is her drag. And her performances have been hands down the best. Naomi has grown like crazy. I wrote her off as canon fodder early on. Or just a "look" Queen with very little substance. But her confidence grew in leaps and bounds and you could really see it. I think she and Chi Chi had the best growth arc. And she comes off as the sweetest one of the bunch. Loved Bianca showing up 9 episodes too late! LOL. Very curious to see what happens at the reunion now.

Oh man I loved that article. I am enjoying the stories everyone has of working with him more than I am enjoying all the videos that are now available on youtube. I especially love hearing about him from other musicians. It doesn't feel like lip service because someone just died, but it feels like real respect for a great performer. And it seems like he has left a great reputation as a fellow artist behind.

I think it was the exact opposite. I think that Stephanie was way more into Kyle's condition than she was into Kyle himself. I think she likes him sure and probably given time may have even come to love him, but the thing that made her light up wasn't him, it was the possibility of trying a new technique she spent time researching and scrubbing into his surgery. Which is why I understood why she chose what she did. I think her method was shitty (and I love that Jerrika Hinton agrees that what Steph wasn't cool) but she really seemed more miserable without surgery than she was without him. If the wife knew, and I think she did, I think the tip was not meant meanly. I think his staying around so long for the surgery and hovering so concernedly, did the unthinkable, it brought to the forefront the thing they had all allowed to stay discreetly in its place. She needed to return everything back to the status quo and the only way to do that was the remind him he was a concerned employee. Thanking him alone doesn't do that. I loved the whole Vincent storyline. It was just good old fashioned storytelling. It is interesting because I think if Leo and Vincent would have been a heterosexual pairing, the story could have still worked because in the end it was about Leo making a choice and choosing loyalty and family over passion. But I think making them a same sex couple just adds an extra layer of bittersweet to the story. Given their age, they may have some thoughts about the taboo nature of the relationship which also adds to the poignancy of the story. I also think the wife, in her way, understands what her husband needed from Vincent and could accept it in a way that she may not have if Vincent had been a woman.

Not a super laugh out loud funny episode -- although Junior's Dothraki line and Dre trying to pronounce "rural" did make me laugh -- but I still liked it because it used a very light, deft touch with the theme it presented. Namely: how much pressure there is on black folk who do well to represent for all the rest of the black folk. One the one hand "we are not a monolith" but on the other we are crucially aware when one does well it feels like one more tiny rung climb up a really long ladder on behalf of everybody, but when one falters, it feels like a slip right back down to the beginning. Irrational. But there you go. Using Cosby as an example is perfect. I did love the fingers crossing scene, because I can't lie, I've mumbled out the "please don't be black" prayer once or twice while watching the news. I will say I was super pissed at Ruby. I have generally liked her abrasiveness. She is salty but she never crossed the line. But that was condoning outright thievery and I hate that it was just hand-waved away. The kids only got yelled at? Yeah I actively disliked her here.

i know. I was watching with my 10 y.o. son and when the poor villain guy explained that he aged every time he exerted himself, even my son was like "well, stop exerting yourself then!" I mean, a great reason to just chill out. I do wonder if he discovered his strength, was enjoying it until he realized the effect of it and got madder. Or how much exertion it takes to actually cause it to happen? I also wonder if one of the effects of the particle accelerator on the people who got caught by it, is that you are compelled to use the "gift" you're given. It would have been nice for the show to explain it a bit more because yeah, he just seemed like he could really manage. It was nice to see Caitlyn come face to face with Killer Frost. Although after awhile her exaggerated way of speaking with elongated enunciation said in a rather nasally tone just annoyed the crap out of me.

What was really funny? Even the production people on Untucked were doing the "purse first" thing with the purse. Loved it!

Honestly, while I think luck plays some part in any artist hitting it big, I believe that you can;t get to that level she is at without a strong work ethic. I think drive is something hard to quantify. AS fans (or not fans as the case may be) we only see the result. We don't ever actually actually see the process. But think how much work had to go into creating a piece of work like Lemonade. From concept to end product. Just thinking of all the moving pieces to get to what we saw on tv. And she absolutely controlled the message and the delivery. Sure success builds on success so an artist like Beyonce could do something like Lemonade whereas an artist like Jazzmin probably couldn't. I also don't think that giving her props for hard work is necessarily a comparison to someone else not working hard. it is simply a comment about her. Showbiz is an tricky business and there are a lot of hungry up and comers or long timers who have been working as hard as she has. They just haven't gotten over the hump. Like I said above you don't get to her level without a strong work ethic but that is just one element of it. Think of all the big name artists like Madonna, Michael, Prince, Lady Gaga etc. I think they all share that same ethic, Or as I like to call it - hustle. There is something extra thirsty about people like that so that the combo of Lucky break + hard work + hustle + charisma + staying power is what makes them successful. Also thinking about those artists is their refusal to stagnate. They try and experiment and do some innovative things. Madonna's sex book for instance or how she took on a different personality every tour, Lady Gaga's whole persona as performance, Prince and his various iterations... Michael and his. It always fascinates me when I watch a documentary of an artist after they've died (there is a recent one on Michael on Netflix I think...) and you learn so much more about their work process. The one thing that usually stays true is that they were kinda obsessive about what they did. My eyes opened about Michael a lot.

Kim Chi's win was well deserved. The narrative concept through all three looks as others have mentioned... just great. And while I loved her final look, I think the middle look, the one of her mother was the best. Good for her! I was disappointed though that she decided to be part of the pile on Bob for his make-up. Yes, Kim Chi is unparalleled when it comes to make-up artistry. But she hasn't been great in acting performances, she can't dance, has the worst walk, and since she's never had to lip sync, we have no idea if she can sell a song. Bob has shown high skills in all those areas. I know as a front runner the desire to take him down is strong, i just wasn't expecting that of her out of all of them. The Derek/Naomi fight felt like all Derek tbh. My read of the situation is that the judges have been giving Derrick this critique all along but in typical Derrick fashion she is oblivious and Naomi was trying to be helpful. Naomi did not come off as shady at first, mainly reactive to Derrick who always seems like she's trying to land the first blow (and missing terribly, tbh). It wasn't til Derrick made it into such a confrontation that Naomi retaliated. But Naomi never looked really comfortable doing it. I felt like Derrick read the room and determined that Naomi was the lowest hanging fruit she needed to try to pick off. We've seen this before when he is feeling insecure he goes on the attack. Naomi was a better human than me. I would have told that bitch to kick rocks, not try to help her with her make-up. Second LSFYL in a row where the winner did a great job in connecting with the music. Bob worked the song so well! I loved his Dida-Rtiz move both on his feet and on his knees later. Also him pulling off a piece of his dress to fan himself. This is the witty, clever off the cuff stuff that Bob excels at. Poor Derrick just looked frantic. I love that Chi Chi takes notes so well. Her final look was giving me Fire-Bird/Swan Lake realness. I was here for it!

I was listening to that A-Z Prince song program as much as I could, marvelling at how many songs I own and how many I hadn't even heard of. By far my favorites of the "I haven't heard this one..." is Chelsea Rogers. I have been rocking out to for the lsat few days: Here's an awesome video of it:

I believe she knew what she was doing, but I also believe this album is very personal. As I was watching this I had this vision of Bey furiously journalling all her emotions during her marriage as well as her betrayal by her father. And then turning them into this. The structure of The movie/album feels like it is about a woman who confronts the sorry state of her marriage. And her disappointment in her father. The two get conflated in the movie a lot because I think she has to because they both cheated. At one point there is a young girl looking into the camera and the words spoken say "are you talking about your husband or your father?" It is funny to think about this in light of the Beyonce album that came before it. Because the overt sexuality of that album, the message behind Flawless and Pretty Hurt, now in retrospect sound like a woman who was desperately in denial. So the Denial part of Lemonade really makes sense in that context. And then comes the words to all the songs in the Anger portion where she makes statements about "bomb ass pussy" and how good he had it in bed with her. Also how she got her own money and doesn't need his. And she can take her child and they can live fine. There is a lot of posture and blustering. But there is also an undercurrent of humiliation too. The thing that got me the most, though, was the sheer joy on her face when she is in that yellow dress breaking windows. I get the feeling that that joy is her actually putting him on blast with this and then in the end the Freedom anthem is about not hiding it anymore. Imagine how stressful it must be to be Beyonce and project this image of the perfect marriage with Jay when the entire world suspects he's cheating? In the end, yeah they are a brand and yeah this is very much a shrewd move by her but I see it more as a personal power move. She took him back, but we got to see her put his clothes out on the lawn and burn his car down. It was no mistake, imo, that there were quite a few scenes in Lemonade that were reminiscent of that Angela Bassett scene in Waiting to Exhale with her walking away from burning car.

i think it might also just be exacerbated by the nature of social media. I would probably characterize most of her fans as people like you or me. But there is vocal group of superfans who hype her a lot. It can be annoying sometimes. But I think the combination of what is sometimes the hyper scrutiny of Bey -- I mean how many think pieces does this one woman inspire -- plus some of the criticism that feels tinged in misogyny and racism, gets them really defensive and brings out even the casual fan to defend her. And of course nothing whips up a tempest like twitter! But otoh, it just sweet to see people like Janet Mock or Serena Williams just being super fangirly. And it is official my favorite track is Daddy Lesson. Love the Zydeco flavor of it.