DearEvette

Came here just to say this. I continue to be impressed by their care in casting. The look was correct (the actress Sydney Park is Blasian like Sonja Sohn) but it was the voice that got me. She didn't have quite the low gravelly register, but it was enough with that you can assume Amanda's voice just got a littler lower as she aged. I also thought younger Evelyn was nicely cast. Her voice register is lighter and higher just like older Evelyn. Also the younger two had a height differential like the older two with Amanda being slightly taller than Evelyn. And I have to give them a shout out for younger Evelyn's hair. That was 1980s black girl hair. Also the neon earrings the prostitutes were wearing. Speaking of.. I liked the small detail of these two WOC cops with the care package for the sex workers. On a shallow note: Amanda's outfits this episode were fantastic! That first outfit --that duster jacket! And then the plaid jacket and that belt with the big buckle she wore during lunch with Greg Germann. LOVE. Over all this was a good, well written, well acted episode. I agree about the honest character work. The conflict with them not talking to each other was frustrating, but man it was believable. And I could see where Amanda was coming from, people make stupid decisions in the name of doing what they think is best for someone. I can imagine you'd think someone might not want to know their mother was a prostitute killed by as serial killer. But I also think Amanda was suffering under a massive load of guilt for not being there at the bus stop. I also loved the scene of Angie and Will at their old foster home. That conversation felt so real, like two people actually gong down memory lane. It is the small stuff like Angie who couldn't wait to try nougat, that feels more real than reminiscing about important big swing moments. I lowkey liked Faith and Ormewood working together. This exchange cracked me up. Witness: "I know how this looks. I was old enough to be her father." Faith: "Nobody was thinking that." Ormewood: "I was thinking that." Faith: "Okay, maybe I was too." And So glad to see MPG back. The first scene with Betty was perfect also him trying to figure out PeePee Percy's legal name by assuming it was PeePee... Percival. LOL Also PeePee Percy looked like a little weasel.

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one more time

Something to see here. Something at all.

nothing to see here. nothing at all. additional comment for context

The key to a good crispy tofu is to get as much of the moisture out of it as you can. You can use a tofu press. I don't have one so I just cube it, set it between two very clean cloths and set a very heavy cast iron skillet on it and let the moisture express out and get absorbed into the cloths over about 45 mins. Then you toss it with a little sesame oil, some Tamari and a little cornstarch (or nutritional yeast if you want a little more flavor). And then you can bake or fry. I usually bake it.

I actually thought that was rather sweet. It doesn't come off as stalkery if it is compiled after the fact. Also it is a great nod to continuity. In S1, Nate mentions his father is a cartographer and he always measures things in distance, for instance he would say Nate is x/fraction of miles tall, stuff like that.

But I think you hit the nail on the head upthread (And I agree with that assessment) that up until this really poorly written episode, I think the show has done a rather nice job of presenting faith as a matter-of-fact, everyday thing that mirrors how most people handle their faith. TV and news tends to skew to the sensational and dramatic. But this show has by and large shown Grace, especially, and Judd as people who we know are religious and go to church and read the bible but don't preach and make others uncomfortable by forcing their belief system on others. That is why this episode was such a needle scratch in that department. It really demonstrates that whoever wrote this episode did a disservice to their characters. It was textbook bad storytelling because it elevated a poorly conceived plot over established characterizations. This show is kinda bad on a lot of fronts, tbh, but they have been good at keeping the core of their characters consistent. My church growing up was never that progressive. But the bass guitarist, every single week, would play the opening bassline of Frankie Beverly and Maze's 'Joy and Pain' during the passing of the collection plate. I was older and out of the church by the time I appreciated the meaning of that. LOL.

I liked this episode a lot. These last two are beginning to make me feel better about the season as a whole when I was not sure about it. I think I liked this one because it incorporated a lot of the elements I absolutely love about the show: - Ted being Ted with the team -- folksy, a little enigmatic, a little pie -eyed, funny, a lot inspiring - A ton of Team face time. The jewel in the crown of the show is the team's interaction with each other and we were fed in this one - Funny. There were so many great, funny moments. Beard's Total football presentation, Roy's quipping, the perfect deployment of the Pub crew, all the throwaway moments and sight gags - The characters are really dialed into themselves and and the use of character history. We know these people and the show remembered that we did. - But mostly: This. I also got a little verklempt. This is what I love the most about the show that kinda sums up all my previous points into one. This warm, found family aspect that they used as a coda for this episode just made it all just work for me. I am still not on board with Jack/Kelley. Even less so if that is possible. I honestly did not think that we were supposed to believe that Jane Austen "signature" on the book was supposed to really be her signature. I thought it was all part of Jack's trying to be cute to go along with the 'you go girl'. Which is another tick in the minus column for me for Jack. Who defaces a friggin' rare first edition like that. WTF? I did love that Rebecca put added expensive wines and dessert to their dinner out once she learned Jack was footing the bill. And how classy to order one for the server. Go Rebecca! Also, has Keeley always been this invested int he color pink before? I don't recall seeing her wear/surrounded by so much pink all the time. Finally, Nate. I think of all the things, this is the worst storyline for me. The whole Jade thing makes no sense to me. For a show that is usually very good about connecting the dots, this one has no connective tissue. At all. Also, they did too good of a job making Nate a terrible person. Not just a 'hurt people, hurt people' type of person, but an objectively terrible person. There were too many scenes where he was just nasty in his soul for me to forget because he is also an insecure bumbler. Look, they can "redeem' him as long as that redemption doesn't include Richmond welcoming him back into the fold with open arms. He was nasty Will and Collin, he feels good when he is humiliating other people, and he betrayed Ted on a fundamental level. Even if he were to apologize, I would never trust him not to revert the next time he felt unappreciated. And lest we not forget, even this season we saw a man that can't even greet a co-worker with a simple good morning. Right now, with his scenes with his family and his awkwardness, I feel manipulated, not like I am being led on an organic character journey.

Last night we had udon noodles in a peanut sauce with spinach and crispy tofu.

Welp, Iyanna did a live on either Instagram or TikTok where she said the fial straw that broke her and Jarette was that Jarette cheated on her. Apparently, the woman sent her a DM of her in Jarette and Iyanna's apartment. One other thing she said, kinda makes me a little sad... but she said she doesn't believe Jarette actually liked her. Out of all the seasons, the S2 cast seem like the most chaotic/toxic overall, imo. Season 3 seemed like the most depressing, imo. I did a little insta stalking a bit and at least the women of Season 2 have really bonded. They hang deep and not just for photo ops but they actually really hang.

Pretty bad episode. Not a single 911 call. Really, show? even by Lonestar standards this is bad. I actually would have found Owen's storyline with Kendra way more interesting if she had been the guilty culprit. Actually I would find the revolving door of Owen's women much more entertaining if it was a running gag that they were all some sort of criminal and it always ended with them going to jail for something and it was their involvement with Owen that finally got them caught. It was established in Season 1 when they went out on a call where an entire office got poisoned by their catered lunch. Paul figured out what happened through his mad observation skillz. But I don't think it was ever mentioned again until now. The Tommy storyline was horrible from top to bottom. First, it was clumsily set up. Why would they bring his clothes to the bible study and give them to him right there? Who does that? I assume he visits Tommy since they are dating? He could pick them up then, or hey, tell him to meet them at the car and give it to him then? Second, what the women were actually saying was garden variety gossip and speculation. The congregation will speculate if their pastor is dating and gossip about it. That is natural. Hell, we do it with co-workers. What they were saying wasn't actually malicious. A bit risque, yes, but not malicious in an of itself. Grace's interpretation of it was more problematic than what they were saying. Third, I'd tell his dumb ass to let the doorknob hit him on the way out if his first reaction is to dump me on the basis of third hand gossip that hadn't even resulted in anything happening to him. Also the assumption that his wife cheating on him would be viewed the same way as him dating a respected member of the community and a widow is dumb. It is not the same thing. One is an actual scandal that happened. The other is not. Fourth, Was that a Sunday service. Cuz, man, that was the saddest little Sunday service I ever saw in a black church. LOL. And sorry Tommy, but no one would call out a woman's church crown as a funny hat. Come on! Who writes this? She would be drummed out of church more for that than for dating the Pastor! The church hat is a force of it's own -- a status symbol, a fashion statement, bragging rights, and can cost more than the rest of the outfit! And finally, that entire walk down the middle of the (weirdly silent) church and the whole entire speech gave me second hand embarrassment.

The bachelor/bachelorette parties on this show are always lame. LOL. The best one imo, was season 2 where the guys got to hit baseballs at Wrigley Field and the women had a boat cruise. But yeah this season they were especially abysmal.

He's tap dancing harder than the Nicholas Brothers.

I liked it for all the reasons you state. Also, mainly because I am a sucker for food based,well, anything. And the food porn was great. Also the scenery was lovely. I also read Heather Hemmens is actually a trained chef. So that must have been nice for her. But yeah, I liked how the relationship played out and also how the crew all liked her and had her back. And even how the Boss wasn't unremittingly evil just ego-trippy but decent in the end.

We had Spicy lentil soup and it was excellent, very flavorful. My son is taking a nutrition class as one of his electives this semester and cooking meals is part of the class. This week it was the soup.

Prince was my favorite artist and this past weekend was the anniversary of his death so I did as I do and used it as an excuse to go a Prince binge. His discography, of course, is huge. But I love this underrated song/video. I love the color palette of the video and of course Prince looks fab!

If the last episode was a strikeout, this one was a grand slam home run. I think I watched it with the biggest, stupidest, sappiest grin on my face. I loved the different groupings and how different all of their nights went and how each one kinda, imo, represented the different things one does when one goes to on a trip to a new place. Higgins and Will's - represented a personal pilgrimage. Higgins needing to see where Chet Baker died and of course being in a jazz club listening to his favorite music. Live jazz clubs are an eco system all their own. Personally this would have been the one that if I had to pick, it was where I'd go. Colin and Trent - represented an opportunity to peel off a mask and be a bit freer in a place no one knows you. I loved their conversation with Collin explaining his state of mind. I loved learning a little more about Trent. Jamie and Roy - represented the simple pleasure of sightseeing. But because they are Jamie and Roy it becomes deeper than that. I LOVED their part the best because they hit so many great emotional beats -- funny, poignant, sentimental... Ted - represented the instinct to find something familiar amongst the strangeness. I thought that American restaurant was kinda freaky, tbh. But I liked the use of it as a vehicle for Ted having his epiphany. Rebecca - represented the cliche vacation fling. Altho, what went down between her and that really hot boat dude wasn't at all a fling. I loved the quiet intimacy of what they were able to create in that one night. This was really a great lesson in how to showcase instant chemistry that was sorely missing in the Jack/Keeley scenes from the previous episode. The Team - represents that sort of indecisiveness that brings you to a standstill when you have too many options. I have been missing these sorts of scenes with them all season. I found their night the funniest of them all. I loved it. They were so over the top, but the pillow fight in the end was just so damned wholesome. Other stuff... I loved the usage of both 'Let's Get Lost' and 'Everything's Gonna Be Alright.' Roy's shutting that report down in the beginning. Dude, you can't come for Roy Fucking Kent! Honestly, did not miss Keeley at all.

No need to cast him when Rob's credit as a producer probably is what brought him on the show as a writer despite him having no prior writing credits and considering how hard it is to get into a writer's room even for experienced writers.

I was on the struggle bus with this episode. It took me over a week to finish it. The only thing I liked about it was the cute goat, Higgins' hilariously round about convo with Rebecca about maybe, possibly they ought to start thinking about the idea of thinking about replacing their manager, Dani crying when Zava announced his retirement,and Ted's speech. But overall this ep was lackluster and dreary. The Shandy stuff was cliche and not funny. And made Keeley look even more incompetent than she's already seemed. I could see the Jack stuff coming a mile away. I would be on board if I wasn;t such a hardcore Keeley and Roy shipper or if they'd given us more time to get to know about Jack to even care. As is it I just rolled my eyes. The Rebecca/pychic storyline is obviously going to have some payoff. Problem is the road to get there isn't one of anticipation just impatience. I still don't feel sorry for Nate. And suddenly making Jade nice to him feels like a cheat and unconvincing. And finally, the bully storyline with Henry felt like a little nothing just to give Ted something to do. What was even the point? And maybe that is the entire problem. Ted has felt sidelined so much that the show feels off kilter. I hope this early part was just them clumsily setting up pins that will be spectacularly knocked down later.

No. Bliss' comment about her dad not liking him was said when they were still in the pods.

It is so funny this pinged me, because I reviewed Encore in Death a few weeks ago and -- you know I love Nora and I especially love the In Death books -- but I said in that review that I think I am going to have to press pause on reading them for awhile. For me it is a case of familiarity with the her writing tics that is starting to get with me. I have to kinda agree with @SophiaD that some of my dissatisfaction stems from a lack of growth. In each book she is hitting some of the same beats over and over with some elements feelings like she is checking off familiar check boxes more than anything: We get a Mira profile, an op run by Eve, Eve wondering about why an idiomatic phrase is the way it is, a visit to Dickie and Harvo where Eve makes threats, Nadine gets a scoop, Peabody clomps, McNabb Prances etc.. When the central mystery/case is good or engrossing I don't notice it as much. But I have to admit that Encore was ... not great. I feel like we were supposed to feel shocked at the reveal and instead I was more 'well that's stupid.' And tbh, there wasn't a lot of decisive action more Eve going with her 'gut' and talking stuff to death. I feel like the series is in a holding pattern and something needs to happen -- I don;t want a major character to die or anything, but everyone is all smug and coupled up and standing still. I think we need a major paradigm shift to inject something different into the series. And, just to say, I think Nora needs to back away from HGTV. House decor/landscaping has infected every single book she's written in the past five years.

I like that this season finale kinda was a mirror reflection of last season's finale. They went on a field trip to an iconic Philly institution and Janine made another pivotal decision about a relationship where in the end she chose herself. I am actually liking the progression of Janine and Gregory's relationship in that I think it is less about how a 'tv relationship' should progress but rather how a relationship between these two particular people would progress. Janine is a people pleaser and she would care how someone would perceive her actions even if their perception isn't quite accurate. And she's also a fixer so she'd want to find a way to fix that about herself. Meanwhile Gregory isn't very assertive and is rather rigid in his thinking. Since Janine placed a boundary around that kiss, he respects it despite what he wants. So the two of them , fumbling the bag, as it were, makes sense. But they did it in a decisive way. No grand miscommunications or sit-comy like misunderstandings or mis-hearings. This was a face forward conversation and decision. Which is why I don't think the rest of the relationship is going to devolve into predictable trope beats, the writers have done a couple of unpredictable things with them and I think there might be some more. Beyond that I thought this was the second ep in a row where Jacob got the best character movement. I LOVED his reaction to learning about the kiss. And I LOVE the three giant steps forward of his and Gregory's relationship. The bro' hugs had me in my feels. That last scene of the three of them going to get food was nice. Best lines for me: "Teena Marie is white" "To you maybe." Also "You can thank me after you have your really short, broad shouldered babies. That man's built like a longhorn logo."

I think there is a nuance in how he said both things tho... He said "I struggled with envisioning Micah as a mother" and then he added "There is a nurturing aspect some people have and... I don't know... whenever I tried, I just know I was never able to see it clearly." My takeaway is that people plucked that nurturing comment (myself included, tbh) and ran with it. But he said a lot during that after wedding talking head to explain why he said no, not the least of which he said did not feel loved by her. And even then he tried to both-sides it when he said maybe it was a defense mechanism because maybe she held back because she was aftraid he wouldn't reciprocate. This is why I think her throwing the 'You answer first' bit is what crystallized his decision to say no. Her refusal to answer probably validated his feeling that she didn't quite love him. I know as a viewer, that moment read to me as very calculated and manipulative on her part. I don't feel he was cruel, in fact, I thought the reason Zack jumped in to defend him was because Paul was being too circumspect and really trying to police his words so he wouldn't come off as mean or anything. And I think it is a shame because I don't think he felt he could tell his own truth in that moment, between being hyper conscious of not appearing to be mean given that he was the one who said no at the altar, and Micah could fall back on tears any moment and finally because Vanessa was haranguing him with an agenda. You could see the tack she was taking a mile away and it was all about defending Micah's feelings at the expense of Paul's. She pulled that shit with Marshall too. 'But what about Jackie's feelings." Uh, girl what? Did you ask Jackie about Marshall's feelings?

Season Finale Airdate: 04/19/2023