mjforty

I think my biggest take-away from this season is that Frankie is kind of an asshole. I guess were supposed to think she’s lovably quirky but I found her selfish and self-absorbed. I enjoyed the episode where she gets high with Martin Sheen. They don’t have those two actors play off each other enough and they should because that episode was comedy gold. But it also brings up a problem with Frankie. She ruins everything and then tries to guilt everyone into fixing an impossible situation ethically. She creates a disaster and then yells at Grace for how Grace decides to handle it. Then she sabotages Grace’s efforts to fix the disaster and then proceeds to get angry when Grace walks away from the mess Frankie created. A mess Frankie created not once but twice. Even in the alternative version you see Frankie’s selfishness, where she totally ignonores the request to keep the chickens outside. She wants the chickens inside, so inside they come. I did love how close the makeup people were able to make Grace look like one of those Real Housewives people, though. i really liked this season. I felt we saw a lot of character growth. I just got tired of Frankie’s antics.

Olive, ugh. What a little punk-ass bitch. This might just be my low tolerance for teenage angst but her character bugs the hell out of me. It’s mostly the writers fault because I just don’t understand why she acts like her dad is the enemy. She is making no effort whatsoever to reconnect with her father. If your father had disappeared for five years and suddenly reappeared, why wouldn’t you be overjoyed? As someone who has lost a parent, if my mom suddenly showed up on my doorstep, after recovering from the massive heart attack the shock gave me, I would attach myself to her like a barnacle to a ship. Yet, there’s Olive, acting like her dad’s just been profiled in Vanity Fair by Rowan Farrow. And without any real explanation as to why. And the writers attempt to portray her as a troubled teen is laughable. She sneaks out at night. She shoplifted once. Ooooohhhhh, she’s as troublesome as just about every teenager out there. And perhaps this would all work better if the portrayal was more nuanced but the actress who plays Olive is not talented enough to do anything more than give a one-note performance. Again, I say, Olive, ugh.

I don’t understand the judges’s love for Scottie Pippen’s daughter. I think she’s okay, not the worst, but they gush over her. Her dancing seems flat at times and she doesn’t connect to the music at all. But the judges are hyperbolic about her dancing.

I like a lot of your favorite authors. I was wondering if you’ve tried either Madeline Hunter, Loretta Chase or Ilona Andrews? Ilona Andrews is a husband/wife writing team but the writing is seamless. It reads as a single author. I can particularly recommend the Innkeepers series. They’re paranormal and fantasy, though so that might not be your thing. Madeline Hunter and Loretta Chase are straight up historical romantic fiction. My favorite Loretta Chase is Mr. Impossible and Madline Hunter’s Romantic Series is my favorite of hers. On a non-romantic side, I just finished reading “The Power” and “Lincoln in the Bardo.” I honestly don’t know what to think of “Lincoln in the Bardo.” For those of you unfamiliar with the book, it tells the story of one night after Willie Lincoln died. The Bardo is a term that means in-between so we spend the night with Willie Bardo and a host of other characters in the Bardo. The setup of the story made it a confusing read at first, making it hard to keep track of characters. There were some wonderfully written monologues and the author does a good job of writing about grief and loss but it is also interspersed with sections that seem to belong in a farce and parts of it are a bit vulgar. There’s a character that sports a large, erect penis through the whole story. It’s definitely not a book for everybody but if you’re looking for something different, it’s worth a try. I was disappointed in “The Power.” I felt that the author set up a situation that was not wholly believable or realistic and she also went down a path that I felt was simplistic. I think so much more could have been done with this story. There were parts I enjoyed but overall, not my favorite read. I did see that it made Barack Obama’s list of favorite books of last year so, you know, go with who’s opinion you trust.

I really liked this episode and I think this episode shows why some of the other episodes have fallen flat. Because, while there was plenty of action going on, this ep took the time out to focus on the relationships between the characters. From the sex scene between Jamie and Claire, to Fergus and Marsils’ moment where she reminds him she’s his wife, to Willoughby’s declaration of love, Lord John and Jamie’s conversation about saving each other’s lives and Jamie taking the time to hug Ian and Claire, this episode was peppered with reminders of the strong emotional connections these characters have for each other. And that’s why other eps have fallen flat. Because the writers were too focused in the action and not on the relationships or making up conflicts that weren’t in the book to add more “texture” to the story or to change things to make a character more sympathetic. And it’s the relationships that are what make this story so enduring. This episode is a perfect example of how you can weave the action and the emotional beats of the story together and nothing gets lost in the mix and you end up with a very satisfying viewing experience.

Wow, cloudberry, you and I had completely different experiences watching this episode. I loved it, thought it was near perfect. And I also felt like Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe were amazing. Their faces showed everything. The longing, the desire, the hope, the awkwardness, the embarrassment and eventually the joy of reuniting. I loved how the producers took their time with it, not rushing anything. Sam Heghan’s acting when he was looking at Bree’s pictures brought me to tears. I cannot believe the job he is doing this season. He better at least be nominated for an Emmy. Other than the way it ended, I could not have been happier with this episode.

Not only are they doing two unconventional materials challenges in one season but these are the exact same materials they used for the unconventional material challenge they did on Project Runway Allstars, season 4.

I also disagree with your interpretation of Claire’s actions. Claire did not take responsibility for her actions at all. The entire conversation with the designers, before Tim gets there, she keeps going on about how all she did was measure a tank top, as if the fact that the simplicity of the garment she measured was relevant. She also HAD to own up to the cheating because she knew she had just admitted it on tape a few minutes before Tim even walked in the room. The other designers are going on about how she was measuring her garment, Claire keeps going on about how it’s just a tank top that she was measuring and at some point says “at home.” That’s when Amy asks “At home?” Claire nods and Amy reminds Claire that that’s against the rules. The look on Claire’s face says it all. She realizes she’s just shot herself in the foot. Does she then take responsibility for her actions? No, she gets defensive and says some nonsense about how they can take her measuring tape away. As if she’s being generous for allowing them to take away a tool she shouldn’t have had in the first place. When Tim comes in to question her, she knows she has no choice but to own up to her actions because she’s just admitted to cheating I’m front of the cameras. And her responses to Tim’s questions are robotic and remind me of how I used to respond to my mother when I was 15 years old and she was asking me if I understood why I was grounded.

I find it ironic that the history professor rambles on about the other two riders not mentioned in Longfellow’s poem when there was actually another rider, a girl, 16 years of age named Sybil Ludington. Ms. Ludington rode twice the distance of Revere, through New York and Connecticut to warn the militia about the British Invasion. During her successful ride, she had to fight off a highwayman using only a stick. As for women being admitted to Harvard, it’s not as cut and dried as has been stated. Here’s the timeline: 1879: Radcliffe founded 1943: Radcliffe women able to attend Harvard classes 1963: Radcliffe students begin receiving Harvard diplomas signed by the presidents of both colleges 1970: Joint commencements, some joint dorms 1972: Full co-ed dorms 1977: Women completely at Harvard, diplomas still signed by both presidents 1999: No more 'Radcliffe' on diplomas So at the time the show was depicting, Brianna would have been a student at Radcliffe but her diploma would have said she graduates from Harvard so I’m not sure what the difference would be. Also, the first woman hired as a faculty member at Harvard was 1939, so it would have been possible for Frank’s mistress to be a faculty member, especially with Frank as her mentor and sponsor since it appears that Frank was a big deal in the history department.

No, they didn't. In the book, when Claire and Frank have their big fight, Frank is surprised that Claire was aware of his infidelities. It's called age of majority and it's the age the law recognizes that you are an adult. In the 1960s, the age of majority in Massachusetts was 21 years old. I don't know that a court order could have done much to stop Claire from making sure Briana stayed with her since the age of majority differed state to state and Briana could have moved to a state where the age of majority for women was 18. It was 21 in Great Britain at the time of the show. If someone had a grandmother who was living on her own, it's possible that they lived in a state where the age of majority was 18 or 21 for men and 18 for women.

Yes, but we're talking about Claire here. Claire never cared about that kind of thing. She was raised by a man who took her to obscure places on digs. She never grew up with the pressures of following the latest fashion. Claire is not the type to waste time straightening her hair simply because fashion dictates everyone have straight hair.

It's still only two years since her dad died when she finds out he's not her biological father. It's not that long a period of time.

Although to be fair to Brianna, we do come upon her at a very difficult time in her life. Her father has just died and then shortly after that she finds out that he's not her biological father and that her actual biological father is some Scot from the 18th century. That's a lot to take in for anyone and Brianna is only 18 or 19 years old.

In the books, Jamie mentions that Claire told him that the British stopped executing "traitors" after a few years, instead sending them to prison. This is one of the reasons Jamie decides to have someone turn him in for the reward money. He's confident he won't be executed. As for the wanted posters, am I wrong in remembering that Dun Bonnet was a bit of a vigilante? Didn't Jamie resort to the tricks the clans used to pull on each other and use them on the British, like setting horse's free, damaging carts, stealing food(and giving stolen food to needy families)? Like the Scottish knew that Jamie and Dun Bonnet were the same person but the redcoats did not. They wanted Dun Bonnet for entirely different reasons.