[S6.E12: The Reunion]

Even though she wasn't my favorite, I do give Laura a bit more grace.  She was engaged to a man who told her he loved her.  Regardless of the venue or speed or anything, it is shitty for another woman to try to slide in on that.  And it is even shittier for him to treat her the way he did. 

Beyond anything else, he at least owed her the basic respect of the relationship they had at the time. 

By the time she and Sarah Ann had that conversation at the lake, Sarah Ann and Jeremy were already a thing.  They had already done whatever they did til 5:00 am that morning.  He had already  packed Laura's bags for her to show her the door.  Sarah Ann could afford to show grace because in her mind she knew she had already 'won.'  And Laura, again to her credit, was ok talking to Sarah Ann because like she rightfully had said over and over, her issue was with Jeramey because he was the one who made her promises, not Sarah Ann.

That is why I don't care they got all that smoke.  Every time there was a new revelation about him, it showed what a callous person he was.  And Sarah Ann went on national tv wearing body glitter which says a lot about her judgement, imo.

And I know people go on the show for fame or clout, but those people are not smart, imo.  Netflix isn't trying to make you famous, they are trying to sell a storyline and will chuck your ass under a bus to make their narrative work.  You can probably count on one hand how many people who have come on this show over the six seasons who got significant air time have been able to come out of it with positive regard and/or their dignity intact from the viewing public.  Them clowning Trevor the way they did is a signal they will do  if they think you are trying to game them.

[S03.E07: Librarian]

I really, really loved Gregory and Janine's interactions in this episode.  The various scenes of his support and his advice were so well done!

Jacob and Melissa's roomate-situationship is the comedy team up I did not know I needed.  I love that they have so much in common including the recent break ups.

I thought the portrayal of Barbara in this episode was spot on 100%.  It was frustrating to watch, but it was very real.  The system has always worked for her and she got hidebound in her thinking.  I can't tell you how many long-time tenured professors who are told something is changing act out just like Barb did. 

When the University  I worked at moved to a new student information system  there was a year and half of emails, demos, trainings, and build up.  I remember one professor storming into the Registrar's office (my office shares a suite with the University Registrar) , hot as lava mad.  Yelling about how the new system was stupid and hard to navigate etc.  And I remember this one English professor who was nice as pie all the time, but she was in near tears because she had no clue how to put in her grades and one of the Reg staff very patiently walked her through it.  She was in her early sixties and just seemed so overwhelmed with having to learn a new technology.

And yeah, I just continue to love Janine's glow up!!

I kinda wish we had gotten to hear more of Cree Summer's voice work as she was reading to the kids.  One of my absolute favorites she does is Elmyra Duff from Tiny Toon Adventures.

[S6.E12: The Reunion]

Vanessa and Nick came in hot for Jeramey and Sarah Ann.  They learned their lesson from the Jackie/Josh debacle. For once they did good.

Actually I love how everyone came in hot for Sarah Ann and Jeramey solidifying them as the season's villains. Even Netflix did with playing a never before seen convo between Laura and Sarah Ann that basically shows Jeramey throwing shade at Jimmy.

I actually came away with more liking for Laura.

I could have done without the previous season couples.  Too much time was spent on them, they already had their reunions.  I wanted a deeper dive into Jimmy and Chelsea. And poor Britanny and Kenneth didn't even get to say boo until almost an hour and twenty minutes in.

I will say I liked them having their ear to what is being said on socials and all the scandals.  Since Vanessa and Nick couldn't seem to ask their own good questions, having someone (probably some Netflix intern) summarize the bigger questions that came up across various SM was a good call.

Actually all the receipts they pulled out were great. From Sarah Ann's implying it was all just for entertainment to Them vindicating Jessica's version of events over Jimmy's to them having the text messages between Trevor and his gf.

Speaking of Trevor. Oof!  I give him credit for coming in person. But man, he just had nothing to say. He just whiffed it hard.

A hot mess of a season, but damn very memorable and one of the best reunions.

Also, Vanessa... calling the couples from season 3 and 4 the 'OG's -- girl whut? You are not an OG if you come in on the 4th season of something. The only OG on the stage was Gia.

 

[S6.E12: The Reunion]

Quote

The reunion heats up as Nick and Vanessa Lachey revisit the drama from the pods to the present with this season's participants and special guests

.

[To Subscribe Or Not To Subscribe, That Is The Question: Paid Streaming Services]

On 3/11/2024 at 3:39 PM, shapeshifter said:

My son-in-law says Paramount+ is $12/mo. 
Is that what those of you who subscribe are paying?

When I subscribed it was a .99 a month deal for three months, then I got it free for like 9 months because they kept offering to for free.  When I went to see what the real price was, it s $5.99 for Paramount+ (limited ads) or 11.99 for Paramount+Showtime with ads only on live tv.

5 hours ago, donaldbathe said:

Then why isnt all of this information simply posted on wikipedia then if you dont mind me asking?

I think Wikipedia only shows the original content of the streamer, not anything they are simply re-broadcasting or prior movie releases they are just airing. 

So for instance, Wikipedia won't show Suits because that show was a USA show that Netflix is simply re-airing.  But it will  list season 4 and 5 of Arrested Development.  Seasons 1-3 were aired originally on Fox, but Netflix produced S4-5. 

[Media Talk About Abbott Elementary]

23 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

I'm looking forward to seeing Keegan Michael-Key and Tatiana Ali.

Oh man, I hope he is a sub who actually pronounces everyone's names correctly.  LOL.

[S03.E06: Willard R. Abbott]

I heard Bradley Cooper had a cameo in the cold open and rolled my eyes. But it was actually well done and quite funny. 

I liked how the theme of the show (and the cold open quip referencing Oppenheimer) and the plaque tied in well and was apropros for a show that aired immediately after the Oscars.  Janine being preoccupied with the plaque and what it represents for validation and being seen as important is exactly what a lot of the awards during award season represents for people.  Meanwhile it is the work itself and the legacy it leaves that is important.  Also caught some meta commentary in there about Abbott Elementary it's success with representation.

Nice episode.

[The 96th Academy Awards]

3 minutes ago, ShadowHunter said:

The puffs on Ariana Grande's dress are bigger then she is. Yikes.

Globules.  That is the word that comes to mind when I saw those puffs.

[The 96th Academy Awards]

As usual Colman Domingo served!  This man's entire red carpet run during award season has been flawless.

[The 96th Academy Awards]

Going back a bit... I did not know Ava Duvernay had all that body-ody-ody. The dress if fine, but the body be banging!

[The 96th Academy Awards]

1 minute ago, ShadowHunter said:

Emily Blunt looks nice. 

I like her dress, except for the silver outline on the front that looks like panties.

[The 96th Academy Awards]

Emma's dress looks poorly fitted and I don't like the color on her.

America Ferrara looks gorgeous

As does Issa Rae and Danielle Brooks.

I am not loving Anya Taylor Joy. Her dress is giving fish scales.

Hailee Steindeld looks lovely.

 

8 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

As I write this, I do really like Lupita N'yongo's gown. Are she and Joseph Quinn a couple?

Ooh, child, she is canoodling with Pacey!

[Love May Be Blind, But the Media Sees All]

Oh and now there is a trailer.

https://tvline.com/news/love-is-blind-season-6-reunion-release-date-1235172766/

[Love May Be Blind, But the Media Sees All]

They have released photos from the reunion.

AD's dress is FIRE!  I almost did not recognize Chelsea. I really don't like Amy's look.  Kenneth looks a mess, poorly fitted tux with no socks? I really like Jimmy's and Johnny's shoes.

https://www.eonline.com/photos/36922/love-is-blind-season-6-reunion-first-look-photos

[S02.E03: You Don’t Have To Understand]

1 hour ago, SnapHappy said:

You've got 4 alpha females with Angie, Faith, Betty and Amanda, who all seem to revolve around Will.  But then, the show IS called "Will Trent".

I love that you included Betty on this list.  Damn right, she is an alpha female!

6 minutes ago, Orbert said:

Good point about Ormewood being the only other male in the main cast.  I may still be biased against him from those first couple episodes where basically everyone was being a jerk to Will.  He's done some good stuff since then, but they've also sprinkled in some not-good stuff as well, so I guess that puts him somewhere in the middle.  But mostly he just kinda rubs me the wrong way.

Ormewood definitely rubs me wrong.  He is an adulterer who actually brought the woman he slept with into his house. He does lazy police work. He abuses his position. That said, I appreciate that a cop show is showcasing a main character who isn't a poster child for Copaganda.  They let him walk in the grey area and I appreciate that nuance. I actually hope they don't reform him too much.

[S6.E12: Meet Me At The Altar]

2 hours ago, katiepotatey said:

Omg, Clay asking AD for a hug (to comfort him?!) right after he hurt her so badly! That is all he sees women as, something to provide comfort and support to him while he gives nothing back. And then to keep kissing her when she obviously was not reciprocating and wanted her space... total creep! AD really dodged a bullet when he said no, and I hope she can one day see that. 

The entire post wedding stuff from Clay was a testament of narcissism and damage control.

"Stop crying you're making me feel bad."

"Seeing you crying is hurting me."

"I've grown so much through this process"

"It is hard for me to look in the mirror and say that I am ready"

"Can I get a hug"

And of course,  he didn't want to seem "indifferent" and that was why he went to see her and dump on all his 'me' feelings on her in the first place. 

Meanwhile she is literally hoarse from crying.

No doubt he absolutely makes sense.  He should not be marrying someone.  But if , as he stated one of his reasons was "I could not see myself being married after two weeks of knowing someone" then you shouldn't have fucking proposed! 

[S6.E12: Meet Me At The Altar]

Oh, Chelsea. Yeah, keep proving to Jimmy why he was making he right decision.  I was kind of with her when he went from 'I love you, you did everything I wanted you to, You're my person." in one breath to 'I don't want to do this at all." in literally the next.

But then she kept minimizing their issues.  And then when she simply could not understand the importance of something told in confidence, I just couldn't with her.   Even the way she just kept saying it 'You fucked her' making it sound as disrespectful as she could.  Come on! He was right to tell you about his sexual history and specifically did it off screen so as to not put that woman's business on the street. And Chelsea just turned around and did them both dirty. All because she is so insecure.  That's right, Cry.  I can't believe I ended up team Jimmy out of all the guys.  Sigh.

Oh, Clay. You do not deserve.  But I think AD dodged a bullet.  I don't understand how he could stand there and smile and mug and joke with her mom knowing he was going to say no. And then to get in her space after and try to get hugs and kissing.

Oh Clay's dad.  GTFOH.

Oh, AD.  "What The fuck?' indeed.  You deserve better.  I hope she really is done.  And doesn't date him.  Please!!  On another note, she looked fantastic.  I love the unfussy, clean  look.  Her mother looked gorgeous as well.  Kinda reminds a just a little bit of Khandi Alexander.

My husband said their pastor was giving Proposition Joe (if you watch The Wire then you know...).  He also said Clay's dad looks like Merle (from the Walking Dead) only black.  LOL.

Honestly, Johnny and Amy were anti-climactic.  I am happy for them.  But they never captured my imagination.  They are a more successful Kelly and Kenny.

I am looking forward to the reunion.

[S02.E03: You Don’t Have To Understand]

Amanda scolding Will as they rose in that lift felt less boss-to-employee and sounded way more mom-to-son. 

Aw poor Wiil.  "Your Lamp is broken let me fix it."  So not fair.  We deserved nice things too.

Regarding Will with the Pastor: On the one hand, I am kinda with Will.  I've known too many shady Pastors not to right where Will is with that Pastor.  But in the other hand the actor was so good I really wanted him to prove that he wasn't the con man Will thought he was.

"That man stinks of baby daddy." LOL.  Faith had the same look on her face whenever she looked at the Councilman that Will had when he looked at the pastor.

'Aufgussmeister' Huh.  A word I did not know existed til today and now I will never forget.

Joel is dumb.  He did not have to confess.  Any evidence they had on him was circumstantial at best. A good lawyer could have spun it.

[S03.E05: Breakup]

On 3/3/2024 at 10:55 AM, Cotypubby said:

I was wondering how both Melissa and Janine knew to refer to the sub as “they” after only seeing the sub teaching for a few seconds and never seeing their name or “Mx.” written anywhere until the end. 

The only sub we saw them get introduced to from the jump was Mr. Bowtie who left only seconds later.  All the other subs have already been in the classroom when we first see them, presuming some sort of introduction between Melissa and the subs happen that we are never privy to. Cassidy strikes me as a person who provides their pronouns.

If this were a different show they might have shown a scene with Ava mentioning the pronoun thing.  But this isn't that show.  This is a show that has shown itself to normalize identity.

I actually like how they seemed to confirm Cassidy's pronouns again without bringing too much attention to it in a way that serviced the 'big misunderstanding' joke that was at the center of this B-plot.  In order for Janine to hip to the fact that she spelled Cassidy's last name wrong there had to be an organic reason for her to see the spelling of it.  The  normal convention of new teachers writing their names on the board to introduce themselves to a class, was the perfect vehicle for that.  And they always include  Mr./Mrs./Ms prefix.  So including the Mx. for Cassidy was a nice way to confirm it without making it a big thing (in case the audience did miss Melissa using Cassidy's proper pronouns. )

And finally, a lot of people don't know what Mx. stands for still. And including might have prompted some to look it up and see what it means, so a nice teaching moment.

[S6.E11: Roller Coaster of Love]

4 hours ago, Alexander Pope said:

Is this not grounds for doubting Jimmy's commitment to Chelsea completely?

I've been doubting Jimmy's commitment to Chelsea since this moment here:

[S6.E11: Roller Coaster of Love]

11 hours ago, JH Lipton said:

I don’t get that at all.  She avoided Sarah Ann and has been very supportive of the other women.  She doesn’t suffer fools AT ALL, which makes her awesome, not mean, in my book.

Laura lost me with the whole 'bean dip' thing.  She told Jeremy to 'do it to AD' meaning -- smack her boob.  And then when both AD and Clay got offended she kept dismissing it as a joke, insisting that people were making something out of nothing and claiming they were being childish.

It was bad enough she told him to do it, but instead of owning that she fucked up, she refused to acknowledge that her 'joke' was offensive and then doubled down on other people being in the wrong, not her.  She was dismissive of AD and Clay's feelings. It is one thing to have some inside joke with the other women, but to tell someone to do that to another woman, especially a stranger to that woman is pretty foul. 

Even if you know he wouldn't have done it, why would you even say that?  Or suggest it? And why is she talking about AD's boobs to her fiance in the first place?

 

[S03.E05: Breakup]

1 hour ago, Empress1 said:

That was gold. “Grand rising brother, sister … ma’am.” And the first thing I thought when I saw him was that he looked like he should be selling bean pies, so I fell out when Barbara said it.

Not just that, but Barbara threw in the 'Bamboozled' as a nod to Malcolm X's speech (the movie Malcolm x).  I also cackled!!

[S02.E02: It’s The Work I Signed Up For]

I think this was a middling episode. 

Honestly, the Ormewood family stuffy should have been interesting but it wasn't.  It felt very much poured on.  He said to his wife 'You're the love of my life" and I feel like the show wants us and her to believe that.  Fine, but a serial cheater simply saying he loves his wife isn't a flex and doesn;t even deserve the metaphorical cookie.  As @possibilities has said, Ormewood have not earned any sympathy from the audience at this point.  It is the 2nd episode of the season, coming off a season where he has been shown to be a lazy, somewhat corrupt cop and an adulterer. He hasn't put in the work.  So his domestic woes aren't working.

I did like the Amanda/Angie team up and their takedown of that guy.  But it was Amanda that elevated it for me.  I wish it had just been the takedown of the guy and not because it dovetails into Angie being a crusader for abandoned teens.

And finally.  Will and Faith are a dream team.  Add me to the list of people who love their partnership!  Also add me to the list of people who doesn't think the show needs Will to be visiting Ullster for his mind games and not-sage advice.  I like the COTW format for this show.  Let's not make it all convoluted. Please.

[S03.E05: Breakup]

20 hours ago, Harvey said:

I really like how they are handling Ava's character growth this season. Her changes are meaningful and believable, still in-keeping with her original characterization.

Agreed. Even though this was more ostensibly a Barbara and Jacob centric episode, Ava, imo, is the one who shone.

I really like all the growth of the characters this episode kinda teased out.

We learned that Gregory and Jacob's relationship has really grown in a full on friendship with them hanging out.

Janine's rise in confidence is also a nice thing to see.  First the amount of positive affirmation she receives from the coworkers at the district, but also her little 'You know what, Emily..?' in that 'don't test me' tone was very not S1 or S2 Janine but feels right for S3 Janine.

I liked the 'no big thing' inclusion of the non-binary Cassidy.  And how Melissa just naturally referred to Cassidy as 'them' while talking to Janine so she didn't misgender them.

Really funny moments:

The cold open with Mr. Bow-tie.

Gregory getting the hell out of dodge during the breakup.  That was funny. I wonder if the almost trip on the desk was intentional or not?

Zach's gasps at the mayhem Jacob left in the kitchen

'You have released the Kraken!" claps hands, create claws "Ca... Caw!!"

The kid who had his eyes closed and was grooving in his seat while Barbara was singing.

Every line of Ava's.  She was on fire this episode.

Fun fact: The actor who plays Zach said that Abbott is very tightly scripted so I gather they very rarely ad lib.  But his 'Oh My Godd!' as he was leaving after his argument with Jacob was and they allowed it to stay.

[S6.E11: Roller Coaster of Love]

59 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

I don’t like Laura; she gives me mean girl vibes. But she cleared Jeramey. “Go kick rocks with open-toed fucking shoes.” HA!

Agreed 100%.  She is not my favorite but I am 100% behind her in her interactions with him. She absolutely cleared!  Called him a con-artist.  Not a man.  She came through. I like how she reiterated that while she thought Sarah Ann was terrible, she blamed him because he is the one that made her the promises.

AD asked better questions and did better follow up with Sarah-Ann  than Vanessa or Nick would.  LOL.  I love how she kept pushing and wouldn't let Sarah-Ann ooze out of it.  And called her a class-ess cheat.

I am always interested in how my opinion changes from the beginning of the show to the end on a person.  Jeramy is the biggest one.  I thought he was funny and charming at the beginning.  With this ep he just comes off as a trash, trash person.   In one breath he talks about how he didn't consider them over and in the next told her her stuff was already packed.  Prince Charming, this guy!

His and Sarah Ann's conversation reassuring themselves they aren't trash people was a case of protesting too much.

I feel bad watching them at the bridal fitting because I almost feel they are all doomed, except Amy and Johnny.  Netflix, I see you, you are making all the couples look all happy and lovey-dovey just before the weddings so we can be shocked.  But I will only be really shocked if Amy and Johnny don't get married, and mildly shocked if Chelsea and Jimmy do.  AD and Clay could go either way and it would not be a surprise whichever way they go.