sharifa70

Too bad about its cancellation. I enjoyed the characters and the plot twists, and especially liked that the stories weren’t dragged out. Boo!

In case you missed it. Face immediately accompanied by Most. Insincere. Applause. Ever. from Zan (one of those prayer-claps when the base of the hands stay together while only the fingers move a la Baby Shark). I don’t feel sorry for her. I am automatically agin’ anyone who insists on wearing the Indi-Girl Hat of Extreme Individuality. Thunderstorm is my favorite, but if Toneisha wins I won’t be mad even though she’s on Blake’s team.

Nothing particularly weird about that: my parents were both tow-heads before they ended up with dark brown hair by the end of elementary school. My brother and I both stayed blond(e). Only ones in the family, actually - everyone else on both sides is dark-haired. Genes are strange. But yeah, little Jack does look like he could maybe be hiding some evil tendencies. Maybe his middle name is Damien and next season is going to become a completely different show. I mean, there must be a reason we never see a pastor...

I was okay with Kitty going. During the performances I thought it would be either Kitty or Rhino, so it’s fine. Neither of them sang poorly; I just liked the others better. I have no problem with Frog still being in it, even if he isn’t singing per se. I like his rapping. He has a good tone, good rhythm, and crisp delivery.

I know I’m weird, but it was actually a relief for me to not have the villain arc go for much longer. I always get tired of them and want them resolved so we can move on to the next mustache-twirler. I was afraid we were going to get a bunch of Penniless Whitlys because Endicott managed to freeze their accounts or whatever.

I was spoiled re the ending (I did it to myself) and even with that knowledge I still caught myself shouting ‘Holy crap, Ainsley!” at the tv loudly enough to scare my dog. So, well done, show. Ainsley has been giving us clues all along, from her ruthlessness in getting the story when her cameraman bf was shot, all the way to her reply to Martin during the prison meeting when he told Malcolm he’d have to kill Endicott. Ainsley, matter-of-factly: “He’s not a killer.” She wasn’t shocked by the suggestion, she was thinking. I really enjoy this show and truly hope we get a season 2.

OK, I spent way too much time on this. Bellingham is roughly 20 miles south of the WA/BC border (which I knew, being a more-or-less PNW native). What I didn’t know was where Fictional Hope Valley is actually supposed to be. Found a wiki page that sets it near the real Alberta town of Robb, which is a mere 500 miles or so from Bellingham. So, assuming she’d even find space on a train because of the freaking war, it would be about a day’s ride (which I’m basing on a 1912 timetable of a 21-hour trip from Chicago to Boston, which is about twice as far but on the fastest train). I really need to get to sleep. This. Wet socks are the worst!

I totally agree with this. Every time I see Fiona and Carson I think about how Faith and Carson were basically talked into being together by their friends. They have no chemistry and Faith just simpers all the time. Fiona doesn’t simper. She’s smart and independent and she should totally take over as mayor. Ha! This thread is definitely more intelligent than the show (and more fun). At this point I’m so freaking annoyed with Elizabeth. Put her with Nathan, show, if all that matters is the uniform. She doesn’t deserve Lucas anyway if she can’t see that his actions scream “I care for you and will put you first” so much louder than Nathan’s glowering and scolding. He should’ve taken that promotion. Stupid Allie.

Auuuugh why? There couldn’t have been less chemistry in that hug if one of them had been one of Rosemary’s dressmaker’s dummies. They. Have. Nothing. In common. Rosemary was the star of this episode for me. “You can call me Rosemary” was fantastic in the face of Susannah’s awfulness.

I also immediately rooted against him for calling it “Hot-lanta” because even though I have no idea if that’s a thing with the locals, I hate that term.

They haven’t given us any connection between Nathan and Elizabeth. Nothing. They don’t talk about anything other than some problem with Allie. He just broods and the stupid town even acts like he has some claim on her. She and Lucas talk about their mutual interests, he shows her that he cares about her - hell, he tells her that he cares about her... JHC this is why some women think that “he’s too nice” is an actual thing that we should be thinking when a man treats us with respect. Also: it won’t be Nathan who gets shot. If it were Nathan, I don’t think Hallmark would air the episode after this past weekend’s shooting death of an RCMP officer (and many others) in Nova Scotia.

Count me with everyone who was grossed out by Jen’s double-dipping spoons and finger-licking. She can’t possibly have learned that in a professional kitchen. Hell, I’m a fair-to-middling home cook and even *I* know better than that! I enjoyed watching Tom cook, and it’s always fun to listen to the various chefs’ kitchen communication. I also liked that he expected them to know things like how long the meat should rest given the size of the steak.

Tangent: there is a literal locust plague going on in east Africa right now. I am not at all religious but things are starting to feel a little Biblical...

When Leanne found herself in the weeds again my first thought was “here we go again” even though it wasn’t her fault, but then Stephanie sent her husband to help and other chefs stepped in, and I actually cried. I’ve always been ambivalent towards Stephanie but now I officially love her (though she won’t win). I will always root for contestants who show such class. Gregory’s mom calling him “chef” was adorable. I wanted to try Nini’s dish, Gregory’s, Eric’s, and Leanne’s. Dear Malarky: “I’m not being a d***, but...” means you’re absolutely being a d***. See also: “I’m not racist but...” and “I’m not being rude but....” GTF off my tv, you idiot. Take your stupid lists, your d-bag comments, and your dumb faces with you.

The irony of this comment is that Christina's performance in the song is so beautiful and understated, with no vocal embellishments, in a very un-Christina way.

I haven’t seen the whole episode yet (have to catch the rest tomorrow), but I thought Joei’s performance kicked the 14-yo Waylon Jennings rendition’s butt. Unfortunately, that was followed by a ridiculously over-sung “Say Something” (a song that gets its power from its simplicity), and a mechanical “Piece by Piece” which: nope. Kelly is the only person I can hear on that song. Not only that, but specifically Kelly on her AI performance of that song. Blake isn’t wrong about Spanx.

Oooooh, Lee doesn’t have to die for this to happen! Maybe he’ll be in a coma or laid up with some kind of “permanent” injury that will be miraculously healed during the next Christmas episode! Rosemary running the mill would be freaking amazing. ETA: This show is making me neurotic. I woke up today (Tuesday) thinking about something else: Is the ultimate cruise goal New York? If it is, then Chile, Rio, and the Cape are completely unnecessary at this point. The Panama Canal had opened very recently (in 1914) and surely would have still been a novel trip. But maybe in HallmarkWorld, only baseball and movie stars exist outside of the Hope Valley bubble?

Not gonna lie, I was expecting more anachronistic fun, but I found this photo (dated 1918) of a lady in a tam o’shanter: It’s not exactly what Elizabeth was wearing, but I might yield the points to the show this one time.

My eyes hurt from all the rolling they did in this episode. I ended up watching most of it on fast-forward because drahhhhhma! If (god forbid) Elizabeth and Nathan are the endgame, for the love of all that’s holy send Allie to live with grandpa. Or send all three of them away to take care of Abigail’s sick aunt! Anything to spare us from the know-it-all angsty child! And....cue Hope Valley Vigil!

I love when the Chopped judges get to cook. Oh, man, I totally agree re Irvine. I hate that guy! So loud, so cocky, so...Irvine!

The edit didn't show her correcting herself until later. She appeared to connect pork chops and Jewish holidays with a straight face *twice* before we see her finally acknowledging the mistake. It's no doubt a lot of editing, but I stand by my initial dismay.

“I love this dish. It’s got a little bit of a take on a Jewish holiday: it’s got pork chops...” Oh, Lisa.

Yeah, I hope Gregory is going to be okay. His restaurant is in a beautiful, popular spot in Portland (rooftop of a beautiful hotel right downtown), so I hope he’s able to bounce back. His food is delicious.

"You have knives" still makes me laugh.

I love Alex, but man that round was rough. Her deadpan comments made me laugh, though: "two minutes in and my ice cream is in the machine - I'm behind." This actually made me want to find her Iron Chef episodes, which I've never watched because I couldn't get into the American version of the show.