mstar1125

In real life I don't think any of the original 4 would be friends, except MAYBE Carrie and Samantha. Even at that, I could see Samantha being Carrie's PR person who she sometimes also goes to parties with. Carrie would be the acquaintance that Miranda and Charlotte call on when they want to have fun - dinner, drinks, getting into an exclusive club - but would keep her at a distance otherwise. There's just not much in common between them, and Miranda in particular would be too busy to maintain the level of co-dependency that Carrie requires from a friend. I actually think some of Carrie's newer friends make more sense, in that they are as immature is she is - Jackie and Che for example. I think Seema also makes sense as a fellow "single rich older woman" friend, although now that they are both pairing off and Carrie's run out of property to sell that friendship might have run its course

Oh, absolutely. When directed at Carrie, Charlotte's "Oh, I paid for that apartment" is well justified. It's just when taken on its own, out of context, that it sounds obnoxious and entitled. But, let's be honest, the plights of these two women are nothing compared to any average person. They all acted entitled much of the time. LTW would crush maternity wear. I believe there are certain medical conditions that can - rarely - cause false positive pregnancy results, and extreme fatigue would also be a symptom in these conditions, but I hope that's not where this is going. Definitely. And will also add: Che never cared about getting a potentially underaged boy high at a funeral. Che's a textbook narcissist. I still like them BETTER without Miranda as their partner, and they and Carrie have an interesting friendship dynamic, but would I want a friend like Che? NOPE. But I wouldn't want a friend like Carrie either.

I mean, Trey agreed, yes. But did Charlotte really go through any struggle in her marriage to Trey that millions of other women haven't experienced? Or was she stuck dealing with the consequences of marrying a "good on paper" man too quickly without having a discussion about what they both wanted out of the marriage? She also admired Bunny at first, without realizing that the same qualities that she admired in Bunny would be the same qualities that would make her a terrible MIL to deal with. Anyways, I liked this episode. It felt like there was a good balance of screen time between old and new characters. Not really interested in where things are going with LTW and family though. You mean to tell me they didn't snip, snip after their 3rd child? Or did she think she was already in menopause...I vaguely remember a storyline last season about Charlotte and menopause but couldn't remember if LTW had gone through it yet. I always assumed that LTW was a little bit younger than Charlotte/Miranda/Carrie.

It's interesting to think that the writers might want us to root for her. I don't understand how anyone could see her as a hero, she's thrown her own son under the bus so many times. I'm rooting for Marty, Jonah, Charlotte and Ruth. Hell, I'm even rooting for Navarro. But I don't want to see Wendy get a happy ending.

Right? I called it as soon as it happened that Camila had ordered it. Arturo might have been skimming a little extra $$$ from the cartel, but we had no reason to think he wanted to take Navarro out. Whereas Camila had an obvious motive, made only more obvious by her telling Marty that Arturo and Javi didn't get along. In fact, that information should have made Marty realize Arturo wasn't the one who ordered the hit. If Arturo didn't like Javi, and Javi is now dead by Navarro's order (as far as he knows) and the cartel is back in Navarro's control, then we would expect greater loyalty from Arturo to Navarro, not less. Meanwhile, I wish I understood the motive for Wendy putting Camila in charge of the cartel instead of Marty. It's clearly not to "save Marty" as she suggested, but what advantage does Wendy gain? I don't think her and Camila are besties now that Wendy got her the stock options and the deal with Shaw.

Right? What was the point of bringing up that storyline now, so close to Javi's end? It's not like we needed another reason to dislike him. I guess we are supposed to think "Oh boo hoo, now Javi won't get his name on a building". Unless that's somehow going to become a major plot point for the rest of the season. Agreed. They've used rap very strategically throughout all the seasons. And I'm here for it.

I have such mixed feelings about this show. I love the world the writers have created and the worldbuilding they did in Season 1. I think all the characters are great - with Luke and Aleesha really standing out this season - but the plot is slow and weak. It relies too heavily on Nathan and Nora's relationship and not enough on everything else - did we really need to spend 5 minutes of the show watching their first (and last) hook-up? There are so many unanswered questions and dropped storylines that I hope they get to answer in Season 3 (if there is one) but some of them could have been fleshed out this season. What happened to Jamie? Is no one really going to investigate Fran's death? What about the guy Josh who Fran was going to meet? Who is Pastor Rob, and what are the Ludds really up to? What happened to Nora's dad? Who was Kannerman going to see on Family Day? Will Dylan's parents ever be able to afford an adult body? What's going on with the detective? The guy who Nathan pummeled in the elevator? What was the point of Tinsley, except to give us the great Aleesha line "what does everyone see in this human bowl of oatmeal"? For that matter, why does Aleesha keep getting promoted? It seems obvious that she's being set up as some sort of fall guy, but to what end? I would have loved more of any of these plots and much less of Ingrid pining for a digital baby.

Nora is really unlikeable this season. Not sure what she sees in Matteo (other than a rebound). Also, athough her dad was portrayed as a luddite, it seems out of character for him to be a full-on cult member. Agent Cheeto also works for Horizen, right? If so, then why do they need Nora at all - couldn't he have hidden the ring drives around the office and released the worm into Lakeview? I can't wait for the fallout when Nathan realizes Ingrid didn't upload.

Thank you! I remember "LE" being referenced but couldn't remember the context.

I need a whole separate series about the adventures of Rabbi Jen. Other than the intrusive bathroom scene, I found her quite charming and entertaining. Speaking of that intrusive bathroom scene, I don't even know why the writers felt like Rabbi Jen needed to be there. I thought the back-and-forth between Carrie and Miranda was written better than 95% of this series (albeit a low bar and notwithstanding the absence of the reverse "you're living in a fantasy" callback I so hoped for) and didn't need a tertiary character to butt in to remind them they are (supposedly) best friends. That scene with Miranda and the grandmothers had so much potential, but in the end, she barely even interacted with them. Except to stupidly ask "What's going on?" over and over. I hardly call that "meeting the family" and I would have gained more from that scene if Miranda sat and had an actual conversation with the family rather than the "I'm Che. I do what I want" sidebar we got. I understand we were supposed to see the three of them sitting in a row and extrapolate that this is why Miranda chose to dye her hair back to red, but I would have liked to see more reaction from Miranda, maybe about feeling old sitting next to them. Instead, we got low-IQ Miranda in a daze about where she was and what she was doing. I suppose they were also going for some symmetry between the first episode when she defends her gray hair to this final episode where she's back to red. I wish they hadn't spoiled Jackie's surprise wedding in the trailer for this episode. There really was no reason to, and if they wanted to show Carrie interacting with Jackie outside of work, there were other parts of that scene that were less spoiler-y. ETA: I forgot to add - Anthony as the Sky Masterson understudy in Guys and Dolls. Love that for him.

Any idea why this episode is named "Ellie"? I don't recall a character by the name. I was thinking Ellie = LE = law enforcement? Maybe because of all the interactions they had with LE - Maya/FBI, Wendy engaging with the new sheriff about "missing" Ben, Darlene sniffing out the Byrdes' involvement with the missing sheriff?

Anyone else get a bit of a predatory vibe when Marty was on the phone with Charlotte, and Javi said something to the effect of "you should have said hello to her from me"? He must be, what, 15-20 years older than her? I got the same vibe back in the previous episode when Javi and Charlotte were seated next to each other out to dinner in Chicago. It made sense to pair them at the table, so that Marty and Wendy as a married couple could sit next to each other (and also set it up so they could both see Javi's reaction when he got the phone call about the FBI bust), but if I was the parent of teenage Charlotte I'd be keeping her as far from Javi as possible. I haven't seen the next 3 episodes yet, so I'm hoping they are not setting up a future storyline of unwanted (or wanted!) advances on Charlotte by Javi.

I haven't seen the episode yet, so I'm only going on the description of this scene from others who have posted, but if there was ever a time for a reversal of the "you're living in a fantasy" scene, this would have been it. Instead it sounds like we get more self-righteous Miranda telling Carrie how to live her life.

Imposter syndrome is crazy like that though. On paper, Nya would seem to be in the top 1% in terms of what people think of as achievement and success, but it doesn't feel that way when you are in academia maintaining a crazy workload of teaching, research, advising, and administrative responsibilities while getting compensated 10-20x less than the football coach and administrators. With that said, this is how I remembering interpreting Nya's reaction as well. Not intimidation, but surprise, gratitude, and maybe a bit of jealousy and BEC towards LTW.

Yes to all of this. I've been involved with several organizations, all of whom are ecstatic about those "rich white women who write checks". Because usually they aren't very helpful otherwise - see: Carrie in her high heel shoes trying to paint. I can't wait for menopause. I know it comes with its own set of issues (e.g., hot flashes) but I'm ready.

Interesting choice of words. From "friendship" in their 30s to "life" (not friendship!) in their 50s. This series has already made it clear that each woman has put down roots in a new circle of friends - Carrie with Seema, Charlotte with LTW and the school mom crew, Miranda with Che (ugh) and Nya I guess? I wonder if this is hinting that the three will go their separate ways. It would make sense if this episode is truly the end of the series - we will be left to believe they each end up drifting to new lives with new friends but it makes less sense if they are planning a season 2. As has been said on other posts, the best scenes are the ones where the three of them (+Seema, +Anthony) are chatting over drinks or a meal, so it would be a strange choice given the negative reaction to the series so far. I feel like there is so much to tie up in this last episode - whether there is a season 2 or not - and I don't think the writers are up to the task.

And he was at Che's rally. Not only does he know who they are, we are supposed to believe that he thinks of them as a celebrity. It would be interesting to see the "My mom left my dad for a celebrity" angle, so of course we won't see this. Steve came across as capable - and maybe even attractive? - this episode, in contrast to past episodes where he was portrayed as a deaf doddering octogenarian. Which confirms to me that the writers wanted us to view him through Miranda's "unfulfilled wife" lens. I think the same can be said of Brady. We were meant to see him through Miranda's "unhappy mom" lens - inappropriate with his girlfriend in public places (Lily's recital) and at their house (loud sex, Amazon lube orders), smoking weed at a funeral (was he already aware of Che's fame all the way back then, or was he truly bumming a smoke off a stranger?). This episode showed us a typical 17-year-old kid - happy and comfortable with his dad, joking with Aunt Carrie about her ensemble, and wanting to team up with his girlfriend for the day instead of his mom. Now that we are not seeing them through Miranda, we are seeing Steve and Brady as their normal selves - and at least in the case of Steve - the way we remember him and would expect him to act all these years later.

I have no idea why we even have this storyline or why we are supposed to care about these two, but I feel for Andre. I realize not all childfree couples will have a change of heart (or need to - you can have a fulfilled life as a married couple without children), but I like that the show is going there. Also flipping the Charlotte/Trey storyline to show that the man can be the one yearning for a child, which is not the typical portrayal. Although we are clearly supposed to think he is wrong to push successful career-driven Nya into a life of motherhood, I don't see him as the bad guy, I just see him as someone who has decided he wants the life experience of raising children. Nya clearly doesn't want that, so it's probably going to be a dealbreaker for them. I liked this episode except for the Miranda/Che scenes. You could lift those scenes right out and it wouldn't have affected the rest of the episode. Miranda when she wasn't talking about Che (e.g., at lunch in the first scene, with Charlotte and the "flash period") seemed a lot more like OG Miranda. Her smugness about Steve being a great guy for showing up to paint the shelter even though they were separated made me want to slap her though.

I couldn't help but wonder...is this the Carrie we could have gotten to know in the OG series if she hadn't been chasing after/fawning over/commiserating about Big for 6 seasons? It's like Big died, a veil was lifted, and she became a likeable person.

They definitely dumbed Steve down over the course of the series. Wasn't he reading Proust the first time they met? I don't think it's fair to assume Steve isn't as intelligent as Miranda (or Robert) just because he didn't go to an Ivy league or choose a career as a doctor or lawyer. As far as we know, Steve is a successful business owner - that takes some level of intelligence. Steve can also be well-read AND like to watch sports AND like to play video games AND meet Miranda at her intellectual level. My DH and I are similar to Steve and Miranda (I have a doctorate, he graduated high school and owns a business), and I have more stimulating intellectual conversations with him than any of my college-educated friends or my doctorate-level colleagues. It's possible for couples who seem mis-matched on paper to be compatible and have not-boring marriages.

Well said. As Steve noted, this is all about Miranda and Miranda's happiness. He's right in that it has nothing to do with him, really, and never did. She's restless and unhappy, but ultimately Miranda is in charge of her own happiness. She isn't going to find it in Che or any other person. I think there's another aspect to Miranda's storyline too. Who are Miranda's friends outside of Carrie and Charlotte? Carrie had Stanny, now she has Seema. They make sense together because they are both older single ladies with similar interests. Charlotte has Anthony and LTW and the mom group at Lily and Rock's school, again friends with similar interests and going through the same stage of life. Up until Miranda met Che and Nya, she had no friend group. They needed to pair Miranda up with someone, but it's a struggle to see what she shares in common with Che (other than they both think Che is amazing with the sex) or Nya (which feels like a much more forced pairing). I feel like the only way any of the storylines they introduced for Miranda throughout these last 8 episodes (and there have been so many! Che, alcoholism, quitting her job, going back to school, Nya, divorce) will make any sense is if Miranda and Nya end up together romantically. Otherwise, why introduce Nya to the show at all? What purpose does she serve in Miranda's journey? Meanwhile, with all the time spent on Miranda's various storylines, I feel like we haven't gotten enough of Carrie or Charlotte. I actually don't even need more Charlotte - her storylines are fine, but also completely neutral and could be pulled out of each episode without changing the overall trajectory of the series. What I'd like to see is more of the Carrie, Anthony, and Seema triad, they seem to have a lot of fun together. Give us more "A divorcee, a widower, and a sexy real estate agent walk into a bar" storylines.

I love Annie Potts in this role and wish we could get a re-do of the BBT episode where MeeMaw meets Amy with her.

That episode was perfect. If that had been the series finale, I think it would have been a perfect note on which to end. I am, however, looking forward to the set up for next season where (I predict) Sheldon finally has his big scientific breakthrough. And how fitting and sweet would it be if he and Amy shared the honor of the discovery (the Cooper-Fowler theory, or something), given that their marriage was the catalyst? I just hope they don't screw up this momentum next season by getting Penny pregnant or something. Penny/Leonard and Howard/Bernadette really don't have much to do now that they are married and married with kids, respectively, but I'm fine with them being in the background. I think the focus next season (it's the last, correct?) should focus on Sheldon and Amy's breakthrough and tying up story arcs for Raj and Stuart. I'd even be on board with a Missy/Raj pairing at this point. I wonder if the first episode of next season will be the wedding reception, or will they just skip past all that. Other thoughts: This could have been a longer episode, given all the things they reportedly cut, but an hour would have been too long (we need the return of the 40-minute NBC supersize episodes, which would have been a perfect length). I'm trying to think of which scenes they could have cut or shortened to allow some of the other scenes in, but I think everything they kept needed to be there to set up for the final wedding scene and next season. I was surprised also not to see Leonard's mom at the wedding. Perhaps that was the plan but the scene was cut. I looked for her in the audience but didn't see her. I hope they find a way to honor Stephen Hawking at some point in the final season, given that he was such a big part of the show (I know there was a cut scene in this episode). Any physics experts who can weigh in on whether the idea of super asymmetry is actually a theory being tested out right now, or did the show just make it up? I like when the show bases the science in reality and the actual discoveries that are happening. ETA: I expect this episode, and a lot of the individual performances, to be up for multiple Emmys this year. Just well done all around.

Yes, yes, yes! With that said, I definitely remember a lot of the weddings where the couple made it all about themselves - but I remember them with bitterness.

Anyone else watching? I've always been a big fan of Dr. Dre's music and already knew a little about his relationship with Jimmy Iovine. What I didn't realize was how many influential artists Jimmy worked with long before Dr. Dre - John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith. There wasn't much new about Dr. Dre's early life in the first episode (that wasn't already covered in Straight Outta Compton), but I'm interested to see where the story goes next, particularly post-NWA.