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While it's refreshing to see a childless couple on a show, now that I'm finally catching up on the latest season, I kind of wish Frank and Claire had had an adult child when the show began. Their Chelsea Clinton, if you will. A child in their image, raised up with their ruthless values. You'd see a young adult child of theirs try to maneuver through Washington, making mistakes, maybe even lending assistance to Frank and Claire at some point. It was pretty grim in season 4 that Claire had no one but asshole Doug and the VP at her side while Frank was in the hospital. Another confidant besides Doug and everyone else whom they've backstabbed would have been fascinating. It would also make for meaty television if a child of theirs screwed up so badly that Frank and Claire had to decide whether to cut him/her loose. Maybe my imagination's gone too wild, but it's one thing I wish the show had done. On the other hand, the Underwoods having a child could quickly descend into cliche. A child of theirs around Zoe's age might have been gross when that whole affair was going on.

I do too. They're almost always used in dramas like these and loaded with heavy handed, yet obtuse symbolism. Off the top of my head, The Sopranos and Mad Men (also great shows and also rather full of themselves, in my opinion) have done similar sequences. The hook for me in the beginning was Frank and Claire's relationship. Their total and complete devotion to one another, everyone else be damned. I was pretty disillusioned last season and now this one, because it has become quite clear Claire could walk away at any time if she is not given what she wants. That's not the solid partnership we saw (or rather, I interpreted) in the earlier seasons. It's pretty disappointing and I hope to see them back on solid ground. Part of the problem is the writers' complete obscuring of what it is Claire really wants. Do they even know what she wants? Having said that, it's ballsy to have their lead female character so cold, calculating, and self-serving, so I applaud them for that. In a lesser show the roles would be reversed.

I am pissed. Poor, sweet, willing to engage in a threesome Meechum was my favorite character. I should have known the second he started getting more airtime. One of the only decent, innocent characters in the entire show - and he was shot by one of the only other innocent characters too. Lucas, we hardly knew ye. I have to wonder if the actor playing Lucas was needed elsewhere and had to leave quickly, because it seems like too abrupt of an ending to that storyline. If only Dunbar had gotten to him sooner. Dumbass Lucas probably just won Frank the sympathy vote all the way to the nom. With Meechum gone, Remy, you're the last man standing in terms of eye candy for me. Claire sitting at Frank's bedside was very grim. They've isolated themselves to the point where fucking Doug is their only shoulder to lean on. Normally you'd expect Meechum to have been hovering protectively in the background. Having him called "Eddie" was heartbreaking.

Frank is so entertaining when he's furious. Snapping the box closed and turning to the audience in anger was hilarious. I actually think the word "woman" was used to give Claire's response more oomph: "You're losing to a woman who has never held elected office." Lucas is usually useless for me, but his crying at the bottom of the stairwell in pure anguish was very well done. The actor is doing a phenomenal job. Meechum is my favorite character. His bewildered, Bambi in the headlights look was so endearing. I think he's kind of how most of us would act if we interacted with the Underwoods. How dare Seth try to implicate him!

Looks like Lucas has replaced Gavin in the "why is this even on my screen, can we get back to the Underwoods' storyline now?" department. Although I liked Jimmi Simpson a lot, so he wasn't as boring to watch. Lucas just annoys the hell out of me, even though he's one of the most decent characters on the show. I just don't care. Stamper really is the Dwight Schrute to Frank's Michael Scott. He is such a syncophant. "You're speaking to the PRESIDENT!" I think his obsequiousness is part of why he is so unwatchable. Glad Neve told him to fuck off. Claire's mother seems to have Frank's number. Her utter disdain for him is fun. Excellent casting and costuming. She looks just like what you'd expect a mother of Claire's to look like.

I can buy Michael never calling, just showing up. He was proven to be a fly by night sort of guy with little regard for others' commitments. Bea just had amazing chemistry with all of the people who played her family members. You instantly bought Michael and both Kates as her kids, and much of that was due to Bea, IMO. Dorothy and Sophia, goes without saying. Stan, Angela (just realized she had both an aunt and sister in law named Angela), Angelo, Gloria (the taller actress more so), etc. Bea just knocked it out of the park with all of them.

I love Jackie and Remy but it was pretty rich of both of them (mostly the former) to act so betrayed when Frank double-crossed her. Wasn't she doing the exact same thing to him when she met with Dunbar before the debate? Unless there was some master plan in there that flew over my head. I must say, Molly Parker is knocking it out of the park in this role, though. She manages to make Jackie empathetic and endlessly watchable. I buy her conflicted feelings for her husband and Remy. Robin Wright does polite horror well. The look on her face was hysterical. Meechum is so indescribably hot. I love his loyalty to the Underwoods, cool demeanor and outright contempt for anyone who isn't up the Underwoods' asses. Never have I simultaneously hated and been bored by a character as much as Doug. Hate, hate, hate. He is automatically fast forward material. His behavior toward Rachel is despicable. And yet I have to admit Michael Kelly does manage to make him sympathetic at times, which speaks more of the actor's abilities than the character.

LOVED this show. my all time favorite quote went something like, "I'm afraid PMS isn't real and this is how I really am." Confused by how it's constantly put and pulled off the air. I've read Park Overall was a huge pain in the ass to work with.

I was listening to MJ the other day and Joe's impression of Chris Matthews interviewing him, while totally spot on, was kind of shitty. There's no doubt Matthews jabbers incessantly to the person he's interviewing, but Joe came off as a blowhard imitating him. He's just not the type to have it come off as friendly. It came off as mean-spirited. God, to be a fly on the wall when these anchors all get together and gossip (sans Joe, of course - he seems like such an island unto himself). I can't think of the last time Joe spoke highly of another anchor or was even invited onto one of their shows, with the exception of the time he and Mika pushed themselves onto Hardball because they happened to be in whatever town Matthews was also in. The other anchors constantly hop on each other's shows. Hell, even Barnicle and the other guy (whatever) pop up on other shows.

I have waited for YEARS for someone at MSNBC to realize what a potential gold mine they're sitting on with those TRMS mugs. I've wanted one ever since I first started watching the show. I'd pay actual money for it. EDIT: Apparently I put the idea out into the universe since they are now available on the MSNBC site. Woohoo!

Damn, that was some excellent TV. And, dare I say it, even better than series one, which is really saying something. First off, Shirley Henderson has some goddamn excellent genes. Woman looks my age (27) and she's in her fifties! I am in awe. Also amused that both she and Matthew Lewis were in this. Nice mini Harry Potter reunion. Speaking of Lewis, was he totally wasted in this series or what? He got a couple of good scenes, but I was expecting a bigger part for him. James Norton is so stunning it's hard to look at him sometimes, and I think he really worked at making hideous faces in scenes, to kind of offset the beauty and remind people Tommy Lee Royce is just not a good person. I absolutely adored Ann in all her survivor glory in series one, and wondered how they would keep her around. Loved seeing more of her and how the two families have grown close. I like that there is so much gorgeous English countryside shown in this show, and then you have all this murder and crime and unhappiness. Quite the contrast. Where is this supposed to take place again? Spoiler tagging the rest, just in case.

Nicolle often grates on me, but where the hell did Joe get off telling her not to be emotional and to "take off her Rubio badge" today? She had the perfect opening to attack that blowhard for being up Trump's ass but she didn't take it. This guy is so belligerent and lacks even more self-awareness than Trump if that's possible.

Real talk, who DOES Joe count as a friend among the MSNBC anchors? Rachel loves Lawrence, Chris Hayes, and the soon to be departing MHP, I remember Al Sharpton popping up a lot on Hardball, Jose Diaz Balart seemed well respected by the other anchors, Steve Kornacki is the main sub for all the major anchors, and even Brian Williams seems to be liked (or at the very least tolerated) by Rachel. Morning Joe is such an island onto itself.

I thought it was Opposite Day today. Could not believe my ears, Joe critiquing Trump for once. Too little too late Joe. This is what you have wrought, and now we all have to live with it. I'm not giving Joe any props for being anti-klan and condemning Trump. Meeting minimum standards of a decent human being isn't cause for praise.

We're in danger of veering too far off topic (can we make an Olsens topic?), but from what I gather, they were. Think of all the things the twins dabbled in during the 90s - TV, books, clothes, makeup, singing (ugh), the constant videos throughout their teens. Making them producers when they were kids (which was a smart move admittedly). There's no way the parents were anything but big time stage parents for them to have amassed that fortune. The twins were basically performing monkeys from the time they were nine months old and worked nonstop. Having said that, the twins have always said they were given a fairly normal upbringing, so who knows. To stay on topic, who the hell would have thought JOEY would be the first one to move out? That one strained credulity. Also, it seems Jesse had absolutely no growth over the past 20 years, making Becky lug all those suitcases around. He's still a tool.

I have not read it, but I did read an excerpt that I found interesting in a horrifying way. Jodie was sober and acting as sponsor to a younger girl who was in college. She helped the girl move out of her dorm and they found a stash of drugs the girl had forgotten about. So they went on a weekend bender and then Jodie gave some drug-free motivational talk thing at a college a few days later, while still high. She cried through the whole thing because no one knew she had relapsed as she talked about being sober. I really, really hope she's got a good support system and solid foundation now, especially because she's re-entering the industry.

Amen. They've been very gracious about the show in interviews, gamely answering questions about it when they give TV interviews, which isn't often. I don't know what more they're supposed to do. They worked their entire childhood and teen years, and you can never get that time back. It's very telling that the second they both turned 18, they did a final movie and then pretty much quit acting altogether (with the exception of MK's random turn on Weeds and a few other projects). MK even said she would never wish her upbringing on anyone. Anyway, in terms of this episode, it's pretty fitting for Michelle not to bother coming back to help DJ. She was always the most self-involved, although I agree with previous posts that she shouldn't necessarily be expected to drop everything to help her sister who already has two other people helping her. She'd probably make the kids do chores for her.

This episode was pretty much ripped from the original series, where Jesse ditches the house for a weekend with his band and ex-girlfriend, until the girls convince him Michelle is sick and he comes running back home for the devil spawn. Anyway, it shows how much better this version of the show is, because it was executed much better here. No sappy music, no crocodile tears, no guilting, no ruses. Just Stephanie realizing on her own that she wanted to come back. And Jodie really is knocking it out of the park. I wish she had had a better career up until now, but I think she's really busting her ass here now because she's been given the opportunity. I'm rooting for her so much. Hopefully the show is insulated enough from the pressures and triggers of the acting industry. The kids continue to grate for me. I think it's the constant shouting. But Max is okay when he's with Stephanie.

Yeah, this is a big one. Kirk refuses to kiss any woman who is not his wife, so for one of his movies they had her step in at the big moment when his character kisses his wife. It's bizarre that he's chosen to keep acting as a profession when it's one of the only professions in the world where you're faced with a situation like that.

My bad, I forgot about the podiatrist thing. I think Steve just lowkey bugs me since they don't allow him to have a personality trait besides liking food. He's only one step above Kimmie's "whatever" boyfriend from the original series. If they fleshed him out a bit more I'd be onboard. But then, I always liked Viper the best. Hoping they can dig that guy out of obscurity for an episode or two.

I've seen exactly one scene of the doctor character and he already blows Steve out of the water by virtue of having a job and hair. I ship him with DJ so hard, but since this show is so hell bent on nostalgia and no one showing an ounce of character growth, Steve and DJ will probably be endgame. Still absolutely no interest in the kids' subplots.

Yeah, I have to agree. I'm pretty defensive of the Olsens (even though Michelle was the devil's spawn) and it came off as petty, but only because Jeff Franklin and John Stamos lowkey shamed them for not coming back in the media. If they didn't come off as so obviously bitter I'd have thought the fourth wall gag was funnier. The gag was Stamos' idea, too.

IMDB tells me I thought she was such a random addition. She's kind of a name - especially in this sea of has-beens - so I'm surprised she was given so little to do. Maybe she was a fan back then. The entire story about who lived where and when since the finale confused me. Danny and his wife still lived in the full house? Had Joey moved out during that time? Did DJ move back in after her husband died? Where did Jesse and Becky and the twins go?

She's almost a little too normal to be a Gibbler spawn. I imagined a Gibbler kid to be quirkier and wackier - think Luna Lovegood and her equally spacey father Xenophilius. But I guess in a sitcom you have to have separate, concrete personalities for the sake of comedy.

This is an old article, but it talks about John Stamos' tweeting "I call bullshit" when the Olsens said they weren't informed about the revival. I'm glad they cleared up that beef, but Stamos was kind of an asshole for it. They didn't have the same experience Sweetin and Cameron did - they were too young when the show went off the air to really bond and remember the experience as much as the older cast. And when I think of how completely overworked they were as teens, I don't blame them at all for taking their crazy childhood and using it to propel them to a behind the scenes career that they've found so much success in. And frankly, they don't need the reboot. They're set for life. I guess it's my Olsen loyalty from childhood seeping in, but they have good reason to be bitter about a lot of things in their childhoods. I always side-eye their parents a bit. It's pretty telling that the second they turned 18, they stopped acting completely for the most part. Finally, Michelle was an asshole and a half, looking back, and the reboot will be better without her anyway.