Jump to content

Type keyword(s) to search

freebie

Member
  • Posts

    97
  • Joined

Everything posted by freebie

  1. Well. That sure was something. Kind of felt like they turned on the information fire hose and aimed it straight at us. Pluses were the origin stories of both Amalia and (to a lesser extent) Maladie, Laura Donnelly's acting chops, and a deliciously tousled Augie giving Amalia the nod after the Drill Team reunited. I'll have some more of that, please! Minuses were the aforementioned fire hose style of story-telling, my all new list of questions (#1 being who was the woman in the Galanthi cave who touched the elevator and made it rise? - or did I imagine that?), and the really awkward "just so you know, we're in the far distant future" dialogue, as mentioned by many of you already.
  2. I thought Siobhan was cagey about the new girlfriend becaus of the age difference. At one point, Mare even said something like, "who's that adult?" So I'm guessing Siobhan knew that would be a point of contention with her mom. Otherwise, I liked this episode, although I felt a bit of deja vu when the most recent abductee encountered Katie. Reminded me of "The Family," when they flashback to the kid's experiences while kidnapped and held with another boy. After this reveal, plus Deacon Creep disposing of Erin's bike, I'm still leaning toward separate perps for Erin and these other two girls.
  3. Interesting takes on my dislike for Drunk!Zabel. YMMV, but the scene felt heavy-handed to me. I get it, they wanted to muss him up a bit, show he's got shades of gray like everyone else. But especially on this show, I liked having a straight-arrow foil to Mare. Also, the reunion setting and breakup story just didn't work for me. If they want to dig deeper into his character, I would have preferred more focus on the hints that he's actually not the wunderkind detective he's been made out to be. And for what it's worth, I have no issue with getting drunk at a reunion. I've gotten drunk at reunions just having a great time with old friends. I would have been fine if they'd left it at that. But, no, he's got love-life baggage, and clichéd love-life baggage at that. Meh. Regarding Frank, I doubt the safety of the kids, gathered around a board game with another adult present, was at the top of Mare's mind. I also don't think she actually believed Frank could be the dad. She was just pissed because he lied, and she does not think rationally when angry (as evidenced by her insane plot to frame Carrie). It's a wonder she hasn't lost her job before now.
  4. Ugh. I did not at all like the turn this episode took. Having Mare plant those drugs is very, very close to shark-jumping territory for me. And Zabel as a drunken mess was an interesting choice, since he's been portrayed up until now as sane, organized, good at his job, generally just together. But turns out he's just as dysfunctional as everybody else, and all because he's got baggage from being dumped close to his wedding day? ::sigh:: This doesn't bode well. Also, the deacon should not have the bike unless he's up to no good. I can't believe the writers would so obviously point the finger at him this early in the game. So if he's not the actual killer, how are they going to write their way out of that reveal? If it's more of the same - I thought lying to the cops about something innocuous was a good idea in a murder investigation - no thanks! I hope we don't go too many more episodes without some more details about the family's extreme animosity toward Mare. This episode, we learned that even Kevin hated her. Of course, the source for that tidbit was Carrie, so who knows? But after last week hearing Mare discuss everything they went through to try to get Kevin diagnosed, the level of anger the family directs toward Mare is inexplicable based on what we do know. Finally, Mare confronting Frank. Hated it! Why did the friend tell her at night, at her home, knowing Frank is right across the backyard? When you are a cop and someone implicates your ex-spouse in a crime, you step back and let someone else handle the questioning. You don't go barreling over there flinging accusations around. Otherwise, you compromise the investigation and end up either casting doubt on his innocence because you failed to go through proper channels or casting doubt on the integrity of the investigation. What are the chances she'll use her suspension to get get head screwed on straight?
  5. I came here to fangirl over the fact that Thomas Jane directed the third episode, but no one has mentioned it. I loved Miller so much that I guess I'm conditioned to spotting the actor's name while the titles roll. I initially thought I was mistaken, but I rewound and, sure enough! I'll have to re-watch to really be able to comment on directorial choices, but I thought the tight focus on faces in certain scenes was effective, as was shooting up toward characters that were speechifying/trying to convince others to follow them. And the last scene - before the SFX kicked in - was also well done and humanizing.
  6. 20 Instagram accounts? I only see the main one (itsabuzzworld) and then individual accounts for Adam and Danielle. There are a lot of fan-run accounts, some focused on the individual girls, which I sure wouldn't like if they were my daughters. But I don't think the family has anything to do with those accounts.
  7. When I said "late May birthday" I was referring to my birthday as occurring late in the month of May. I did not say that having a a birthday in May means that you have a "late" birthday for purposes of school cutoff dates and whatnot. I was just trying to point out the wide range of ages in any particular grade level, without even factoring in kids who skip grades. For example, the cutoff date when I entered school back in the day was October 1. With my late May birthday, I had turned 5 only a few months before kindergarten started, but there were kids in my class with birthdays in October, November and December who had missed the cutoff the prior year and were about to turn 6 as school got underway.,
  8. I'm not sure I understand the concern about Riley moving up just one grade. She's 4 and in kindergarten and will be 5 when kindergarten "graduation" rolls around in June. If she always stays one grade ahead, she'll be 17 when she graduates high school. Is that really such a big deal? I have a late May birthday, never skipped a grade, and had just barely turned 18 when I graduated high school. Also, I'm 4'11" and was always the shortest kid in the class. I somehow miraculously survived both my late birthday and my diminutive stature to achieve adulthood and a law degree. I'm sure someone as plucky as Riley will succeed, too, despite the formidable obstacles of being young and petite.
  9. Pretty sure Dr. Megan is legit. She did a fellowship at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia about 4 or 5 years ago, so she's been out of a med school for around 10 years or thereabouts. Young, but super accomplished.
  10. Four-year olds are spoiled little "bitches" now? Wow. Just wow.
  11. Best not to make assumptions. I've been in the workforce for over 30 years and a litigation attorney for the last 14 years, so I have considerable personal experience with unpredictable schedules. Before law school, I was a government consultant, and one of my projects involved traveling extensively throughout Texas for the U.S. Air Force. From that experience, I can tell you that if you live outside Houston and need to be in Dallas that day for work, you fly. Otherwise, you're spending 4 hours in the car, minimum, one way. Yes, she knew he had to head up there at some point, but throughout the episode, they consistently discussed the uncertainty of when, exactly, he would have to travel. The trip as scheduled conflicted with the kids' birthdays, so Adam convinced them to reschedule. But there was no definitive date until that morning, which is nuts, especially when there was no indication that there was some kind of emergency. This was just a reschedule of meetings that originally were supposed to occur earlier in the month. Do I think the last-minute reveal was producer-driven? It's likely, but we're also talking about the same guy who initially accepted a job offer that had implications for his family without actually talking it through with his spouse. So I wouldn't be surprised if Adam really thought agreeing to go to Dallas for a meeting that morning wasn't a problem.
  12. Maybe that was a factor, the same way that Danielle's frustration about being a stay-at-home mom is a factor, but at that moment the bigger issue seemed to be that they had just generally been talking about him having to go to Dallas sometime soon, then he waltzed into the kitchen, said he just heard from the boss, and alerted Danielle that he was headed up to Dallas that morning! I think she still would have been exasperated if he said he had to fly out in the next day or two, but a few minutes advance warning is insane! I mean, I know they get up early with the girls, so Adam's morning flight might still have been several hours away. Even so, you know Adam had to think about getting himself ready, packing and heading out the door right then, while Danielle was getting the quints organized and planning to drive Blayke to school. Having one less adult available to help throws an immediate wrench in the works. And then there's all the other stuff already in the works (nighttime potty training/puppy housebreaking) and planned (vet visit) that will fall on one parent alone. Sorry, but I wouldn't have been happy about that either and can't believe anyone with young kids (and a brand new puppy with a scheduled vet appointment!) would have been fine with it. What Danielle is asking for -- some kind of set schedule (e.g., Adam will be in Dallas Tuesday-to-Thursday once every three weeks) so they can plan things like doctor's appointments and so Adam can be present for important events -- seems completely reasonable to me.
  13. I sure missed this. I was actually pleased to see Riley reaching out lovingly to her sisters on two occasions that I recall in this episode. When Parker was upset at the cake shop, Riley was very concerned and tried to interest her in talking about what cake she wanted. And when Hazel came home with the new glasses, it was Riley who declared they were "so pretty" and gave Hazel a hug and kiss. As for Riley's intelligence, I agree that we haven't seen much to corroborate Adam's statement that her abilities are "astonishing." In comparison to some of the other girls, she does seem leaps and bounds ahead, though. One of the twins declared that 4 came after 2, while Riley was shown counting in the teens. She also recognizes letters, can spell short words, is able to sound out letters, is starting to write letters (and holds her writing implement correctly), and just generally seems to express herself in longer sentences. I imagine she'll continue to build on those skills now that she's in kindergarten. I will say that the whole school thing seems weird, though. Why wait until so late in the year to move her up? Was it just a test run? If so, why not just wait until the last month or so of school? Maybe it had something to do with waiting until she was 4, but in one of Riley's talking heads, she said she was 3, and the youngest in her class, so it seems that she moved up before her birthday. Also, the way Riley reacted when Randy came into her classroom was a bit concerning. Why was she prompted to hide when she saw Randy? Otherwise, she seemed to have the appropriate skill level for the worksheet they were doing, and she held her own both when the boy tried to take her spot and when she was playing hot potato with her classmates. I guess we'll have to wait and see whether she really is a whole year ahead of the others, at least academically.
  14. I watched the episode on the TLC app, as it's already available there, and although there is some editing that makes the promo misleading in places, the parts where Adam and Danielle are sniping are not the result of editing. Suffice to say, I'm on Team Danielle here, but I would still rather watch the kids than this hot relationship mess. Thankfully, the parts with the kids are worth the watch, but this episode did not need to exceed an hour. To avoid spoilers, I won't post more specific stuff until the episode airs for real.
  15. Ugh -- hate the staged drama of Adam having to run off to Dallas for work, Adam not pulling his weight in the household, Adam up and deciding to buy a puppy. Focus on the quints! Throw in some Blayke and her cousins. Add in a bit of Mimi and Uncle Dale for occasional zaniness. This is not rocket science TLC! Meanwhile, Riley can read. Danielle and Adam are in big trouble.
  16. Look, it's the older kids! Is it just me, or has little Bronson not had teeth for months? The episodes we saw this season were filmed a while ago, right? He looked like he was missing his two front teeth in most/all of them, and in this photo, which is presumably new, the teeth still look MIA. They're all adorable, though.
  17. Apologies! The post I was reacting to was edited. I read your post as a follow-on to that post and assumed the two posts were written by the same person. Sorry for any confusion.
  18. Glad to see you edited your post. I don't have an issue with speculating or snarking, but the unusual silence on the topic of the husband/father suggests to me that it's a serious matter. Forgiving/moving on, the response you seemed to be promoting in your original post, is just one way of dealing with a rift in a family. All I was trying to say was that *not* forgiving is an equally valid response.
  19. Because we have no idea what "went down," I don't think anyone here is qualified to say how Mimi and her daughters should think or feel about their husband/dad. It could be anything from estrangement over time, to an affair, to abuse (emotional and/or physical), to who knows what. We are not entitled to this information and, IMHO, should be very cautious in making any assumptions. Unless you've walked in their shoes, there is no way to know if a "let bygones be bygones" philosophy is at all appropriate under their circumstances.
  20. I enjoyed the general adorableness, but could have done without the grownups-only conversations. Well, except for the bros discussion. That was the right amount of serious talk and humor. Specific cuteness: - Hazel's shock-and-awe expression when she pulled her bucket away and saw the start of a sand castle - magic! - Parker snuggling with her fave, Cinderella - Riley enumerating every single hug she gave the characters and gleefully stating that she kissed Mickey on the cheek - Ava and Olivia ordering beverages like champs - they're three! - Everyone wanting to go potty at once - The kids' reactions to the turtle from Finding Nemo (what's his name?) interacting with their parents and big sister - Disney really does an amazing job catering to every age group Regarding Hazel, my heart dropped when she told Adam she couldn't see without her glasses. Adults are prone to saying things like, "I'm blind without my glasses," but that's hyperbole. Kids Hazel's age typically don't say things like that unless they mean it. I wear glasses for nearsightedness and astigmatism and can still easily see and correctly identify objects in my vicinity, even though things start to get blurry a mere foot away from my eyes. Even with her glasses, Hazel seemed to have trouble understanding what was happening on stage. Maybe it was the low lighting in the theater because she seemed fine during the opening party, when she was able to pick out the different characters. Of course, it was sunny, the characters are huge, and they were near the front. She also had trouble distinguishing between letters during the pre-school evals. And she's choosing to sit up front in class, too. Concerning, for sure.
  21. Yes, as I said upthread after someone else mentioned it, I mixed up the two scenes. I'm going to edit my original post because my error seems to be low-hanging fruit. I think I've seen 3-4 comments in this vein already! Also, I disagree that ML did a good job editing her remarks. I found her comments about Celeste's "illness" and how Celeste was complicit in what happened to her to be totally inappropriate for 7-year olds to hear. ML isn't the one that's going to have to field all of the questions those kids will have!
  22. You're right. I was mixing up the two court room scenes. I guess I was just disappointed that Celeste didn't take ML to task for the disparaging remarks she made about Celeste in front of the boys. I get that's who ML is, but maybe try to show a little restraint at a custody hearing!
  23. Yes, the boys have heard a sanitized version of why they have a brother. Anyway, I was wrong about what was discussed in front of them in the court room, so they didn't actually hear a more adult discussion of Jane's rape.
  24. Right? It was all so last-minute and clearly for dramatic effect. Another symptom of the lazy writing that plagued this season. I do wonder about the other "surprise" line of questioning, when Celeste busted out her own visual aids. Didn't we know last season that the twins had taken video of one of the beatings? My memory is hazy, but I thought something happened that made Celeste realize one of her boys was responsible for attacking Amabella. And I feel like I saw that POV of Perry's attack on Celeste before. Am I crazy? Don't answer that! This, too. I fully expected Celeste to point this out, but nope. I really think ML's second pass at testifying is what ultimately dug her grave. Who knows what the judge was going to do before that little speech? Also, did the judge say the psychological reports on the kids were a "wash"? Is each side normally allowed to hire its own psychologist, so the subjects are interviewed twice? That seemed weird to me. Anyway, it's done. I do think it's important for Bonnie to come clean, so if that's what she's actually doing, great. Cannot believe the detective was a no-show in this episode, though. I'll chalk that up to the weird editing fiasco, but wow. Would an eighth episode have helped at all, I wonder?
  25. Regarding the bankruptcy court proceeding (it's called a 341 hearing), that's sort of like what happens. Usually, the trustee calls up individual debtors, one-by-one, goes over the petition with each, and asks if there are any creditors who wish to be heard. If yes, then the creditor can come up to the table where the trustee and the debtor are sitting and ask questions. Typically, though, the room is full of debtors, with very few creditors present. The whole thing lasts about 10 minutes per debtor, tops, unless there are serious issues with the petition (e.g., fraud). I once represented a creditor at a 341, and I was the only one with questions for the debtor (who was a trip -- she had a propensity to use whatever name struck her fancy, so the alias list topped 300-ish names, but we thought she always used her correct SSN; we had to get her on the record confirming that she had never used a different SSN to open an account other than the one my client knew about).
×
×
  • Create New...