EarlGreyTea

They really have no idea what to do with Liam. His entire characterization and reason for existing since season one was filling Robert's shoes. All of it - the King Liam hashtag, the romance with Ophelia, the cleaning up of his party image - was a direct result of losing Robert and then Simon. For all that Ophelia was disliked by the audience, her departure marked the last time Liam was relevant. The second Robert showed up, Liam had no purpose and what's more, it was clear he resented that Robert was back. They could make Liam interact more with commoners and try to become more royal, but that niche has been filled by Eleanor and also Robert to an extent. They could make him a villain a la Cyrus but again, that niche has been filled and would ring false with what we know about Liam. So all that is really left is to give him a meaty love interest but....they haven't. Every single one of his love interests has been a dud with the possible exception of Ophelia and maybe Willow, and she was a nonstarter from day one. Helena is in the same boat to an extent. Since they defanged her and tore the crown off her head, she's had fuck all to do. AGREED about mixing up Greta and Kathryn. Legit spent a good 5 minutes trying to figure out who she was.

I nominate "Shut up, Scar" as the best line of the series. Making Joan Collins the villain a few seasons ago was such a stupid move. She was really good as a foil to Helena and as a doting grandmother to the twins. Speaking of, has she even acknowledged that Robert is alive? I hope they just kind of handwave the murder away (and it looks like they have) and keep her on. I feel bad for William Moseley. He may not be the best actor ever, but we really don't know how he would be if given scenes against stronger actresses as his love interest and a decent storyline. Eleanor has Jasper and even Robert has Willow, both of whom give their counterparts something to work with. Moseley hasn't had a decent actress to play off since Ophelia. And he's been sidelined since Robert came back. I wonder if the writers have made Brown the lead because of his superior acting chops. I liked Jasper's father more than Jasper. It's a bad sign when I like the person clearly designated to be the heel. Jasper is so whiny and woobie-ish. The dad is a prick, but an entertaining one. That scene with Robert walking back to the palace with all his people was badass. For all that we may get Queen Eleanor, and for all the scenes they give Alexandra Park empathizing with her subjects, that one scene of Robert walking gave her a run for her money. Is it any wonder that Willow threw herself into his arms?

I hope the actress playing Myrtle is retiring or will be brought back next week, because I'll miss her and I don't like seeing an older actress lose a job. But remember he was fired in last season's finale. So maybe he was rehired as a regular store employee and that's why he's back with the normal vest. I love Glenn's pink tie, presumably to make an impression on the female District Manager. Hilariously subtle.

Hilarious and an interesting read, especially this: I, too, don't know how accurate of an assessment this article was, but the fighting in the comments was a real doozy. I actually think Jill has the right temperament to be a doula like Jana apparently is. When we did see her attending births, she was calm, she was attentive, she didn't get squeamish. Those are good qualities to start with. In no way should she ever, ever be allowed to be the sole person calling the shots in any home birth, but once again I must point out how JB and Michelle have cut their children off at the knees. In another life, Jill could have studied to be a nurse and then a midwife. She could be making an actual difference and a living. And she would have gotten terrifically steady business - the celebrity fundie certified midwife. The business cards write themselves.

I don't buy that the Parkland students even have time for a nobody like Derick - a reality show star, and a former one at that. They've been courted by the likes of CNN, MSNBC, every celeb worth their salt on Twitter etc., etc., and you're telling me they're going to clear their schedules for a self-righteous twit and his wife scurrying in his wake? Naw son. I do remember a conservative Parkland student meeting with Melania and even going to the Oval Office, so Derick could meet with that kid, but even he has gotten as far as a First Lady and thus has bigger fish to fry. As a Catholic, I'd love to be a fly on the wall for Derick meeting with a priest, too. Make it a Jesuit priest, so he can really smack Derick down with facts and book larnin'.

I'm finding that I can no longer hand wave the gross way Jasper entered Eleanor's life. They still have that compelling chemistry, but I am just less tolerant of that kind of grossness in my fictional couples. And Robert is so right that Jasper holds her back, as much as he (Jasper) denies it and tries not to. Jasper's snippy comments toward Sebastian grated too. I thought it was telling that Jasper thanked Sebastian for looking out for Eleanor, and Sebastian retorted that she can take care of herself. I got a nasty kick out of Becky seeing Jasper and looking totally disappointed. Eleanor has made amazing strides since season one. I love when she interacts with normal people like that girl in the hospital. They may dress Eleanor totally unrealistically for a princess, but the actress herself just bleeds empathy for others that shows in every scene. With every scene she's in, I'm getting more and more convinced we will end up with Queen Eleanor (Robert is SO getting killed off and/or thrown in prison). Cassandra, one of Robert's wife candidates, showed more spark than any of Liam's love interests, ever. Why can't they ever cast someone that interesting for an actual role that lasts more than one episode? Willow is simply lovely. Her hairdo makes her look like an English rose straight from central casting. Based off that alone, no wonder she's number one on Robert's list. I love her and Robert. I had feared the show wouldn't invest in the coupling before blowing them up. If it's all an act on Robert's part (and it probably is, knowing this show), I'm still liking it. The noodle part was a nice touch. Robert is clearly playing the long game with Liam, and I am loving how insane he is making Liam look. I'll enjoy it while it lasts. Robert must hate Jasper as much as I do, because blacking out an entire city just to bump him off is pretty hilariously intense.

Wow, how tacky! It's one thing to get likes for some meaningless contest without prize money, but to actually work to take prize money from kids with an actual idea and work ethic, neither of which has ever been something the Dullards can boast? Tacky, tacky. Do they mean to tell us that they are in such dire straits that they desperately need the money for groceries? Because it's either that or they feel like throwing their reality TV weight around to win a contest for an amount of money that is (or should be) small to them. Neither one is a good look. Some of the other photos are really creative, which is another thing no one can accuse the Dullards of being.

I dunno. As completely frustrating as it is to see a complex character (played by a competent actor to boot) thrown over for the sake of a boring, self-righteous prick like Liam, I'm starting to think Max Brown has the better deal. He's giving Robert more layers than the character probably deserves, and he gets to play romance with Willow, devoted son with Helena, and then villain to everyone else. Liam/Moseley has been given fuck-all to do since...well, probably season one. As they always say, villains are more fun to play. Brown seems to be enjoying this hammy show and I think he's upped everyone else's game a notch. Plus, Instagram tells me his wife just had another kid recently, so he's probably liking the steady work. That getup he has to wear in his coronation portrait is cringey as hell, though.

Agreed. She's had the best arc out of all the characters on the show. As much as I do enjoy her chemistry with Jasper, it's rather telling, isn't it, that she has made the most strides when she's not with him? Her entire arc with Sebastian designing the hotels or whatever it was, and then her quitting partying for Beck's sake and also for that woman she dated (can't for the life of me remember her name). He holds her back, quite frankly. Robert is dead right about that. Unfortunately, since he's the villain, we're supposed to think otherwise.

Jasper's backstory...zzz. I'm realizing his character is simply not interesting without Eleanor and, to a lesser extent, Liam. I don't give a damn about his woobie backstory. I'm losing patience quickly with his entire storyline. I really only like him when he's angsting over Eleanor and even then it gets old. Those two are lucky they have chemistry to burn. Cyrus' "Who is Jasper?" indeed. And Christ almighty, what an idiot coming clean to the press and making life even harder for himself and Eleanor. I know I'm not supposed to root for Robert to bring down Jasper, but he is right about a lot of things and frankly, the way Jasper came into Eleanor's life was repulsive and unforgivable if this wasn't fiction. Jasper did destroy Eleanor last Christmas. It was his job to take a bullet for Robert. She did flourish without him over the summer. Their life together would be difficult. If I'm supposed to be disagreeing with Robert, he shouldn't be made to sound so reasonable. I know we were meant to be chilled at Jasper's look toward Robert at the end, but are we supposed to think Jasper is capable of taking down the chessmaster himself? Legit cannot tell Liam's current blonde from Kathryn. Why do they insist on pairing him with boring characters when he's a boring stiff himself? He needs a character with some spark. I miss Ophelia. And so much for twin solidarity, ditching Eleanor when Jasper is in the hospital. The only decent thing in this episode was Helena and Willow's royal bride hunting, and of course that was one of the minor storylines. Robert and Willow still spark. Max Brown is great. The way his face lit up listening to Willow's story, even with his back turned to her, you could sense a spark between them. And I think that was a small sign that even when he turns full-on villain, there might be some genuine feeling for Willow. He definitely has ulterior motives, but I'm going to enjoy them as long as I can.

And Dina being genuinely impressed by Sandra paying 4 different men to ditch Carol. And then being weirded out by Carol tampering with Sandra's lunch. When Dina is weirded out, you know the character is nuts.

Derick probably means that time is marked using the date of Jesus' death. As in, it's been 2,018 years since Jesus. Remember A.D. (Anno Domini, or "in the year of our Lord") and B.C. were widely used before B. C.E. ("Before Common Era") began being used more often. That's probably what he's referring to, albeit inarticulately. To stay on topic of the show...I can't believe how much I used to like Cathy's appearances. I still think Jill calling her "Mom" and being affectionate with her says a lot about Jill's acceptance of her in-laws, when she could have easily given her own family more precedence.

Also, Chad was Jeff’s ex before Mateo. It was one of my favorite running gags, because Mateo would often mention how annoyed he was that Chad was still in Jeff’s life and compare himself to him. He was pissed when Jeff went back to him briefly after their breakup.

The pastor was a HOOT. "Tire gauge girl?" and "Jesus" to Sandra's story and his "Oh, please" reactions to Jonah and Amy's protests were priceless. Jonah and Amy were hilariously awkward. It finally all came to a head in the most awkward way possible. I like Kelly, but she is such a nonstarter in this whole triangle. Jeff and Mateo were the best payoff this episode. A kiss would have been a nice touch, but the part about returning the shirt if Mateo didn't like it was cute. I hope Jeff gets his job back, because the actor is really good at playing the corporate type. I'll miss that dynamic. Garrett broke a lot of rules when he and Dina had sex in the store. Are they really dropping that storyline for good? So they rehired the meth guy who quit during the holiday episode?

Yeah, that was weird. At first I thought Robert was making it up, but when he mentioned the "figgy pudding" information I figured he was telling the truth. I don't remember the reference, but it seemed to mean something to Helena. I was disappointed because I liked the chamberlain a lot. He was the first person to have an ounce of chemistry with Helena. Now that I read your post, though, you're probably right about the camera footage. I hope Liam's delusional, but those would be delusions of epic proportions. i just hate that it's all so predictable that Robert will turn heel and Liam will be the hero. This show isn't exactly know for nuance and subtlety, so I'm 100 percent sure they're going to ruin the best character to happen to their show in years in favor of Liam.

SO glad this show is back! It's appointment TV for me because I really love the discussion here with you fine people. I continue to be the Captain of Team Robert. A dynamic character who has shaken up the canvas and has forced every single other character to react and take notice of him. I continue to call bullshit on this retcon of Robert turning heel and ordering Simon's death. No way do I think these writers had this planned out during season one, particularly since that season was all about the halo on Robert's head and what fuck-ups the two spares were in comparison. This does explain the rather sloppy way that Ted Price was named as Simon's killer, though. And if it's true, Cyrus is kind of right: "If he actually did it, maybe he deserves to be king." Obviously horrible if this happened IRL, but on TV, I like my characters complex and chessmaster-y. Willow and Robert seem to be getting off the ground, but I shouldn't get too excited, since Robert is the villain and they rarely end up getting nice things. I loved their first scene together. I don't know if it was blocked as such, or was natural, but I liked how closely they walked together, almost touching shoulders. I'm hoping they actually go all in with the Willow/Robert romance, giving him some redeeming qualities and having him fall for her. Their last scene together when he listed all her good qualities and she returned with a snarky comment was brilliant. But I'm not getting too hopeful about the pairing. And when he inevitably starts to terrorize her, it's going to look bad because the actress seems like such a tiny doll, especially with that new haircut. Also, the age difference between them looks more noticeable than it did last season. Kathryn's "going away for a while" is totally telegraphing a pregnancy. God save us all from a Who's the Daddy storyline. Rosie is so badass. I love that she was the one to rescue Eleanor, not Jasper. And is it me, or with this new haircut, doesn't Alexandra Park look a lot like Kate Middleton? Shut up, Liam.

Agreed. In fact, for my money she is the real beauty of the family, and that includes Princess Jessa. Jinger has great skin, a great figure, hair not scraggly and often styled into anything other than banana curls, and she's finally ditched the Kate Middleton raccoon eyes she always used to sport. Toss her interest in trendy clothes, and she's really made strides. Her coat game is on point too. Jeremy really needs the beard back, I agree. Facial hair works WONDERS for a lot of men, and he is one of them.

Now that was one of the biggest jaw-dropping ending scenes on TV I've seen in a while! I didn't see it coming. It was a bit too contrived, but still. Finally things are moving forward. Mateo and Jeff are one of the best couples on the show. About damn time poor Jeff found out the truth. Really poignant scene when Mateo finally admits he's undocumented. This show is so damn topical. Also, from the looks of the injury at first, Mateo should have gotten a concussion, not just a wrist sprain. Amy/America looks great in blue.

I think what Julian excelled at in the role was twofold: charisma and chemistry. I was struck by what a total blank slate Cole was when they took him out of his DA role and then stripped his powers. And when Phoebe described him in the BoS, all she could say about him was that he was good in bed, liked steak, and liked salsa dancing. Deep. I just couldn't imagine him spending a lifetime with Phoebe even before he became the Source. He needed a backstory, too. The sex must have been otherworldly (heh) to make Phoebe so sprung on him. And indeed, it was heavily implied that it was. And yet he was intensely watchable. A textbook case (to me) of the camera loving a person. He worked for Paige for about a day, and I still think that was a missed opportunity to give the character something to do besides pine for Phoebe. And speaking of Phoebe, Cole's saving grace was Julian's chemistry with and love for Phoebe. The guy did longing well, and he did bedroom eyes well. Not much more you can ask for on a WB show. Contrast that to Leo, who was so intensely dull. Imagine someone as dynamic as JM in the Leo role. It might have made him interesting and given him a few more layers. I also thought Piper was far and away the dullest sister, and thus fast-forwarded their scenes a lot. I hated how whiny she got about not being able to live a normal life. It was understandable, but after the millionth episode of her throwing a fit about being a witch, I was totally over it.

Gotta wonder if braces are even more painful as an adult. I had them as a kid, and whenever they were tightened, they hurt so badly. I dunno, Derick didn't look too bad before all this surgery. If nothing in there was endangering his health, I'd have said screw it and live with crooked teeth. I've also never heard of braces being taken off and then put back on. Is that normal? I'd be cheesed to have to sit through the entire process again.

Good LORD, how cheap. Even Jesus fed his followers loaves and fishes when they came over! I know it's cultural, but I simply cannot get over it. Does the blog mention whether they got gifts? After kid number gazillion, and not providing most of the food - no. There's frugal and then there's being a downright tightwad. Since this is the Duggar friends thread, can someone provide an update on the State of Michael Bates' Womb? Every time there's a new post in this thread I hope it's about her.

Will never in my life understand why the Duggars, particularly Jill, Anna, and self-righteous, get-me-nails-for-my-cross-Derick aren't out there on the front lines demanding safer schools and gun safety, particularly since they bleat on so much about the sanctity of life. These people are the living embodiment of George Carlin's "If you're preborn, you're fine; if you're preschool, you're fucked!" The cognitive dissonance just blows my mind. I enjoy reading all of your Twitter replies to him, though. Keep up the good fight, all. And Derick, might I suggest you stop replying to people, since all you're doing is letting them know that they live rent-free inside your head? Much like how you live rent-free in your father in law's home. His constant defensive tweets about working are textbook "the lady doth protest too much." People actually working don't really care if other people know that or not. P.S. Derick, thanks for inspiring me to drop my senators a line tonight. I was inspired to advocate for every single thing you're spewing against today. Thanks hon!

Never have I been happier for a cast. I just love them all, and it seems like they have a great rapport.

See, I always thought there was major chemistry because of both actors. Like Julian, Alyssa just radiated sexual charisma and charm. Of all the sisters, she was a natural fit for Cole because of Alyssa's appeal and because Phoebe was also very overtly sexual. Having said that, you may be onto something about Julian's overall vibe, because I remember how much he sizzled with Shannen in that episode where they go to the Wild West. Total chemistry there, even though the characters hated each other, and usually you don't see that between couples who are together IRL. Or maybe they hadn't yet hooked up and there was unresolved sexual tension. Whatever it was, had Alyssa been the one kicked off the show, Cole/Prue might have been really interesting. They really hit a gold mine when they found Julian. Nip/Tuck was a natural fit for him because the character was all about sex, power, and arrogance. Finally, I would like to add that Cole's devotion to Phoebe after she kicked him to the curb was admirable, even though your post is starting to make me see that much of that devotion was really just obsession toward the one person who gave Cole the time of day. His whole longing for her reminded me a lot of the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice. The actor playing Darcy looked like he wanted to cry with suppressed sexual frustration and longing, and that was something Julian was always good at in regards to Phoebe.

Great post. 12-year-old me absolutely loved Cole and Phoebe, but adult me can recognize many of the flaws in how they were portrayed. I think Cole and Phoebe kind of ate up the show for a while. It reminded me of Joey and Pacey on Dawson's Creek in that you had this unexpected spark between two actors, to the point where it would be lunacy not to capitalize on that. Whatever flaws the couple had, I always thought the actors had insane chemistry, to the point where it looked like they were enjoying their love scenes just a little too much (yeah, I know Julian dated Shannen irl). The difference between Charmed and Dawson's, of course, is that the show was always meant to be about the sisters' relationship primarily. The couple was also pretty abusive from pretty much Day One, with Cole lying to Phoebe about who he was and, of course, trying to murder her. I could see how Phoebe was his "in" to the Charmed world - she was good, but always had a rebellious edge. Someone like Prue would have seen through him earlier than Phoebe did. I also never thought they had a whole lot in common besides their physical relationship. What exactly did they talk about? Cole was kind of a blank slate when they got rid of his DA career. Julian's sex appeal and charm made up for a lot.