4evaQuez

I really liked Friday's episode. Mostly, I liked all the character interactions this episode. The one exception: Xander/Rex/Gwen still had something I really liked. 1. John/Chloe. This pairing shouldn't work because neither would ever win an Emmy. That being said, I actually think these two are quite similar actors. Although, they struggle in different ways, both have lasted for decades with their original portrayer (I'm only counting John and not Roman in this) because both do an effortless job of selling their relationships with people. I truly believed that John was devastated for Brady and wanted to believe that Chloe believes in his son. Chloe also did a good job of showing care for John and wanting to protect Brady. They also did a good job of showing their history with each other although they haven't been involved in each other's lives in years. Selling relationships is paramount on a soap and regardless of my issues with their acting at times, both could do a masterclass on providing one's character with heart regardless of one's technical limitations. 2. Philip/Kate. I loved how proud of himself Philip was when explaining his plan to Kate. This was the first time since his return that Philip actually seemed like he was winning and delighting in that win. We the audience know this won't last, just because of how soaps work. Philip, the character, doesn't know that. He seemed genuinely happy that he concocted such an elaborate plan to hurt Broe, and I honestly loved it. It was nice to see a villain not cry or whine or try to convince the audience they're the hapless victim. While we know Philip is wrong, it's perfectly understandable that with the information he has; he believes Broe have been delighting in his humiliation. It was also nice - if odd - to see Kate, of all people, try to be the voice of reason. Philip really should have brought up Kate putting Sami on death row or forcing Chloe into prostitution. Faking a death and framing your nephew is small potatoes comparatively. Lastly, Philip shows that he realizes his mother is a monster, and she will ultimately have no qualms with continuing and maybe even helping with this cockamamie scheme because Kate enjoys hurting people, especially Chloe. As an aside - I didn't realize Kate was living in the Brady Pub now. 3. Belle/Brady and Belle/Rex - I don't have a lot to say about either. It's just funny to see Belle talking to the two Brady Blacks. Belle/Brady work well together, and I hope the show gives the two more to work with in the future. They used to be super close, and now they sometimes feel like people who barely know each other. Belle feels like such an isolated character sometimes. I like seeing her mixing it up with people. It's taken more than a decade, but I've finally warmed up to MM's Belle. 4. Kayla/Marlena. I'm usually underwhelmed with Marlena/Kayla scenes. I usually wish Marlena was with Hope or Kate whenever she shares a scene with Kayla. I only like Kayla in scenes with Adrienne. Kayla/Mardevil actually worked. Mardevil laughing at Kayla after the "Sweetness" kiss was hilarious. It honestly took me off guard. I also liked that I didn't have to pretend the two were such great friends. Maybe they are, but the two have never sold me on the friendship the show sells with them. I was rooting for Mardevil when she knocked Kayla out. I've never been a Kayla fan. It was also nice to see Mardevil and Jan together. Sami, Mardevil. Belle's family obviously get some sick joy from seeing Jan terrorize Belle. 5. Xander/Rex/Gwen. I was mostly checked out during these scenes. However, the extra in the back was hilarious. She's a waitress cleaning a table, and when Xander starts screaming at Rex about Sarah, she is rolling her eyes and making all types of "is this man insane?" faces. She finally kinda just shrugs her shoulders and goes back to cleaning the table when Xander and Gwen return to their conversation. I want to see this extra silently responding to Mardevil antics in the background.

Sorry, I meant to put this in the daily discussion thread.

I honestly thought he looked liked Pinocchio, and he was going to tell Kate that he's finally a real boy. I know Trask is destined to lose, and we're not supposed to take her seriously. That being said, I do like when the writer's use her as a mouthpiece for the audience. Eli and Lani were stunned into silence when she asked about Lani's friendship with Kristen and if Lani helped Kristen escape yet again. CHECK PLEASE! Those two are done. HAHAHAHA!!! I also do think it's important that someone in law enforcement isn't kissing everyone on the cast's ass. However, I do wish they would actually give Trask some wins. If Abe were a younger man, I think Trask and Abe could actually be an interesting couple. I was thinking of age appropriate men for Trask, and none seem to work, except for maybe Rafe.

I agree with you; I truly do. However, I'm always confused when the show wants to be realistic with their relationships and when they don't. Allie and Eli apparently have such a good relationship that Eli and Lani are comfortable with her keeping their twins. Allie and Maggie apparently have such a good relationship that Maggie kept Henry. We haven't seen any of these relationships be developed onscreen. When I see things like what happened with Lucas and Allie, I sometimes wonder if the writers/actors understand the varying connections characters have with each other. Then, I also see scenes like Allie/Sami where both are barely interested in Marlena being missing and possessed, and I realize it doesn't matter if they do or don't.

I find it really hard to believe that Sami would nurse anyone back to health. I believe that she paid people to nurse EJ back to health, but Sami herself I can't believe. So, I have some issues with the Sami/Alli scenes. 1. The show has not invested in the Sami/EJ/Lucas/Allie/Johnny dynamic the way I wished they had. Why hasn't there been some awkward family dinner with the 5? Why haven't we gotten more scenes with Allie/EJ? Why hasn't Allie been more involved with EJ/Nicole? It's hard to care about Allie's perspective when I don't know who Allie is to EJ and vice versa. EJ has been in Allie's life literally all her life, and considering he was "dead" for a section and then needed "healing" for a section, I would have appreciated a scene with the two discussing that dynamic. As far as I know, that never occurred. 2. I don't like Sami/Alli scenes. They aren't as terrible as Maggie/Sarah scenes to me. However, I loved the Marlena/Sami dynamic so much, and I would argue it's one of the most important relationships of Days of the past 30 years. Sami/Allie lacks that amount of depth. Similar to the EJ/Allie dynamic, a lot happened off screen, and because of AS's real life schedule, we never really got a change to dive deep into their personal history. While I think the actresses work well together, I'm not champing at the bit to see more. 3. Sami/EJ are terrible to each other. I don't see either one as a victim. 4. The last time Lucas/Sami were a couple, Lucas spent most of his time berating Sami for whatever scheme she'd concocted that time. Also, Allie has no idea what her parents romantic relationship would be like because they've never been romantically involved since Allie's birth. Yes, I know they've recently had an affair but I mean in a romantic relationship and not just sex. I thought the Allie/Lucas scene was odd. "I know your brother is missing and presumed dead, and Grandma Marlena is missing and possessed by the Devil. Anyway, forget those losers, let's talk about your romantic chances with Mom." Obviously not a quote. Lastly, I don't have much investment in this version of EJAMI or LUMI. That being said, I find it odd that people are excited about those scenes when the show seems invested in EJ/Sami and Rafe/Nicole...ugh. EJ/Nicole spent most of their post coitus time talking about Sami/Rafe and now EJ is reminded of what a good woman/wife Sami is by his own mother and Nicole and Rafe is obviously being pushed as the couple to root for...ugh...with EJ and Ava as obstacles.

This season is the closest you can get to a perfect season of television. I truly love the third season of Charmed. The sisters are absolutely beautiful this season, their chemistry is pitch-perfect, great blend of humor and drama. Great mixture of melodrama with a more measured and resigned building of tension. Also, this season really breaks the roles the sisters were assigned. Phoebe and especially Piper are stepping out of Prue's shadow and no longer treating her like a mother figure but like a sister. Prue is also continuing on her own journey of discovering who she is and not who she has to be for her sisters. Lastly, although season 5 gets a lot of flack for moving away from the original premise of the show, you can actually see seeds of this removal in the third season. Blinded by the Whitelighter - I have always loved this episode, but it frustrates me so much. I hate when a show has an episode to acknowledge where they have failed a character or a storyline only to end with, "get over it." And this is basically what this episode does. Natalie is right. Leo is an horrendous whitelighter. He's missing important meetings to heal Piper's finger, he's overly emotional to the point that he almost got himself killed, he does very little to help the sisters train and grow their powers, he is a distraction for Piper, and this episode shows that Natalie actually would be a better whitelighter. She's disciplined, she helped craft a plan to defeat Eames, she realizes the importance of having witches, whitelighters, and yes even Elders working together. Everytime I watch this episode, I wonder if the Elders were truly usueless of Leo just never consulted with them in a way that was helpful. Case in point, the elders being correct that the "male witch" was actually a force of evil. I'm also pissed because this episode proves why Piper and Leo shouldn't be together. I love Piper - this season on - but she is whiny, childish, and is often a detriment to the Power of Three during the Prue years. She says it herself in Look Who's Barking, Prue and Phoebe are superwitches and she tags along and freezes things. The kicker in this episode is that when Natalie and Leo are discussing just how untrained, unfocused, and lucky and not skilled the sisters are, Leo retorts with the Belthazor vanquish. It is this very moment when Phoebe calls Leo down to inform him that she lied about vanquishing Belthazor. Leo is so disappointed on top of his inability to control himself after the death of a charge that's not even his, he removes himself as the Charmed ones whitelighter. THIS IS THE CORRECT DECISION!!! Leo is useless. I hate that the episode ends with Natalie's death and "breaking the rules" thus the message is Natalie is wrong. Leo is a great whitelighter. No! NO! NO! Natalie was correct. They got lucky, but it in no way addresses that Leo is not the best whitelighter he can be as long as he's dealing with Piper's petty problems about a "normal life," keeping a secret that an exceptionally dangerous demon that he partly healed is still on the roam and could potentially be killing innocents. Yay! We can get married! Why do they wanna get married? This episode also reenforces that these two know nothing about each other. I can forgive Piper not knowing about Natalie. It's a common tv show convention that lifelong best friends are never mentioned or heard of until they show up on the episode. But why doesn't Piper know that there are mandatory meetings for whitelighters? Why doesn't Piper know that whitelighters have their own language? Why doesn't Piper, the chef, know that whitelighters aren't supposed to eat on the job? My issue is that everything regarding how Leo spent about 95% of his life is brand new news to Piper. Why didn't the show just have it so Piper forgot. Or said, "Oh I remember when you told me about this..." or "I rememeber we laughed about that one thing that happened at that whitelighter meeting." It frustrates me...as I'm certain you can see. We All Scream for Ice Cream - is another episode that annoys me greatly. Mainly because of Victor Bennett. They recast the role, and the character is nothing like his previous self. It's now Gram's fault that he abandoned his kids. This I don't understand since we learn in THAT 70'S Episode that he's gone from their lives before Phoebe is even born. So Grams wouldn't let you raise your kids without magic even though you and the living Mother would have been the ones to make that decision. The show is also inconsistent on why he left Patty. At one point the show outright says Patty has an affair. Then they say that Patty/Sam happen after Victor leaves, but Sam was putting the moves on Patty before he left. Then they say that Sam stole Patty from Victor. All of this just to try to make Victor seem sympathetic when he is not. Also, what about the fact that as their father, he would have more legal rights regarding custody after Patty died. Also, the sisters' would have their powers stripped by this point so raising them without powers is the only option. Then, in Sympathy for the Demon we see a Piper who has to be about preteen age crying because Victor abandons her after a demon attack. Patty is long dead at this point. The show also makes it clear that Victor has been in San Francisco for months, but he's only talking to Phoebe over instant messenger. The sisters literally live in the same house they lived in when he was married to Patty and the last time he visited. There's no excuse for him to not drop a note off saying he's in town if they are interested in mending broken relationships. The shifting of the blame to Grams/Patty/Sam for why Victor chose to leave just is so annoying. It's obvious the show had intentions to make him a more permanent character, and I'm happy they didn't. There is also random dialogue after this season about the sisters not seeing him very much. Then when he and Phoebe are together in The Good, The Bad, and The Cursed it's because he wants her to use her premonitions for his real estate portfolio. I know people hate Grams, but at least the show never tried to paint Grams as a victim of other peoples' choices. Victor is the worst. This season also is the beginning of Phoebe just feeling less needed in the trio. Prue all of a sudden is super witch. She is the one who is studying the book. We get more references to her making spells, Piper is shown doing more potions. PreWitched even heavily implies she's the best at potion making - this is confirmed next season. Prue can also randomly do kung fu, and she can use her telekinesis powers to mimic Phoebe's levitation; however, Prue can move more freely and use her telekinesis to give her kicks and punches more power. Prue is also more crafter. Coyote Piper resolution is the type of quick and street wise thinking that Phoebe would have proposed in the earlier two seasons. Phoebe also doesn't get a particularly big moment for her premonitions like prior seasons. The Good, The Bad, and The Cursed literally has her premonition power killing her and Prue and Cole are the ones to save the day. This is the season where Phoebe has regressed in her premonitions since in the last two seasons she was doing a better job having premonitions on command, and we saw her practicing the ability. This season is also when the magic rules are less grounded like prior seasons. Grams randomly pops up in a couple episodes for conversations and guidance of the sisters. Patty is around for an entire 24 hours to have long conversations with the sisters. Phoebe crafting a spell to travel to the Underworld. The sisters going "up there." It's obviously not as bad as seasons 6-8, but it plants the seeds. Piper is actually a character. Although I called her whiney, a detriment, and childish, she actually has a perspective. In PreWitched, I was shocked to hear her express her frustration with both Prue and Phoebe to Grams. Granted she doesn't have to be the middle sister with Grams, but I had to think if we ever got a chance to hear from Piper's perspective regarding Phoebe's dismissiveness of others, and Prue's coldness like we got to hear in this episode. Piper is the one searching for Victor at the beginning of the Ice Cream episode, and Piper is the one who get the long moment with Patty. Even before Patty returns, we see Piper discusses Patty, setting a place for her at the table, wanting Leo to propose with Pattie's ring, etc. This is a far cry from the Piper who simply got poison ivy in the episode about her mother's death. We also see Piper standing up for herself and being in conflict with Phoebe and Prue this season. It was great to see the show stop wasting Piper/HMC because I'm certain she was bored with her first two seasons storylines. Lastly, watching this season made me mourn what could have been. I actually liked Paige/Rose McGowan from season 4 onward, but I couldn't help but wonder how the show would have evolved with Prue. Although the sisters were stepping out of her shadow, Prue still had the ability to call them on their crap in a way that Piper never did with Phoebe. I don't think Piper did it with Paige either; however, I do think Piper was more okay with being in conflict with Paige than Phoebe. I'll get to that when I get to those seasons. Prue was not afraid to wear her dislike of Cole on her shoulders. She was okay with telling the sisters that they were straying too far from the path as Charmed ones and as sisters. And Prue was a leader in a way that Piper not Paige ever were. I don't think Phoebe ever really stood in the leadership role, especially not for long. Prue became a one woman army, and I do wonder how Piper and Phoebe's powers would have evolved in order to keep up with her. And while I think the acting is still mostly strong after season 3, All Hell Breaks Loose really showed what SD and HMC especially could have brought to this show if given the chance. Anyway, this is already super long. Headed to Season 4 which is actually my second favorite season. Blessed Be.

Chloe came back first, and there was a mystery surrounding Brady's disappearance. From memory, Victor believed Chloe harmed Brady. This was supposed to be the root of Victor's animosity toward Chloe. Chloe told Victor that men kidnapped Brady from their home, and she didn't know what happened to him. This was mysterious as Chloe had been on the canvas for months at this point. Philip believed Chloe, but the show did portray Chloe as mysterious. There was a phone call Philip overhead with Chloe speaking to someone in German with suspicious music playing. This occurred when John was still believed to be dead, dead and not Salem dead. Marlena also believed Chloe harmed Brady, and Marlena had a showdown with Chloe informing Chloe that she (Marlena) was going to make sure Chloe pays for what happened with Brady. I THINK - not screaming but this happened in 2008, so my memories are fuzzy. I think this is when a writer changed happened. Victor was revealed to have had Brady kidnapped for his addiction. I don't think it was said to be alcohol back then, but I can't remember. His animosity for Chloe switched from her probably harming his grandson to her being the reason for his addiction. John also came back from the dead, so Marlena no longer cared about Brady. Chloe moved into Lucas' orbit and Philip moved into Morgan and Stephanie's orbit. Brady returned sometime around the baby switch. I remember Brady/Chloe having one conversation about the end of their marriage around this time. However, they were mostly in separate stories. Brady was mostly with Nicole at this point. Chloe and Chelsea Brady were building a friendship at this point before the show moved into the Chloe and Nicole friendship. This is the first time since then that I remember them having a conversation regarding their marriage. However, I obviously could be wrong since try as I might I don't watch every day, and this is more than a decade worth's of material at this point.

Trask said Philip was Shawn's uncle, and that Brady is Shawn's brother-in-law. Both are true, but Shawn and Brady are also 1st cousins. I always find it interesting how soaps - not just Days but all soaps - pick and choose which familial relationships to acknowledge when characters share multiple familial relationships. I used to be a huge EJAMI fan. JS/AS had electrifying chemistry. Even when one was shooting the other in the head or the other was sending a goon to castrate Rafe, there still seemed to be something magnifying about the relationship. I understood they couldn't stay away from each other regardless of how terrible they were to each other. The new EJ and Sami don't have that same chemistry. Adultery in the EJAMI love story is pretty mild considering their history, yet I find it impossible to root for any of these pairings. EJOLE, EJAMI, LUMI. This just is not interesting for me. I'm concerned Nicole is falling into the same trap that Carrie, Austin, Lucas, and Will fell into. Not having a purpose outside of Sami. I love Nicole, and she's one of my top three on canvas. However, the show waffles between having her meander about aimlessly when Sami isn't around and giving her this fire and purpose when Sami is. The Nicole I saw confronting Sami is not the same Nicole with Rafe, Ava, or Xander - or Eric or Daniel for that matter. want Nicole to have this same fire and purpose even when Sami isn't around. I'm shocked the show went into details of Chloe and Brady's marriage. I believe we've only ever gotten one other conversation about their failed marriage. I also believe this is the first time we were told that Chloe felt physically unsafe around Brady when he was drinking. It's odd that these two divorced more than a decade ago, have never been paired romantically since, yet the two still have a strong fanbase. I actually would love if the show explored Broe's failed marriage. I also wouldn't mind if the show introduced a villain from their time in...Sweden? Is that where they went when they were married, Brady was kidnapped, and Victor attempted to frame Chloe for Brady's disappearance? As someone upthread said, I'm also shocked Brady was relatively calm with Chloe. He usually berates the women he loves who disagree with him. Rafe eats a lot of hamburgers. That's honestly all I got from that scene.

I don't have anything major to add, but I LOVED Gabi/Nick. I think that's the last DOOL pairing I really shipped and got excited for. I'm also upset how the show wrote them. Even after the Wilson storyline, I thought Nick had a lot of storyline possibilities, and I actually would have been interested if the show actually explored a male rape victim's journey to healing. Sadly, DOOL was not as interested, so they threw him into cartoon villain territory.

I agree. Gabi used to be one of my favorite characters. Unfortunately, the show seems like they have no idea what to do with her and haven't for sometime. Part of the reason is CB's acting. She often feels like she should be on 1990's Melrose Place. As odd as this is to say, other characters feel rooted in Salem for better or worse. CB has an outlandishness about her performance and a self-righteous temperament that reminds me of 1990s primetime soaps. She doesn't seem to react to characters appropriately to the situation. She has rivalries with characters she barely interacts with - like why did Rex have the response to Gabi he had. I don't remember those two interacting much during his last tenure on the show or his visit afterward. She often feels like she is always elevated and ready for attack. I think the character needs real friends again. The show needs to root her rivalries in something other than Gabi is the villain. And as odd as this is for me to say considering this is a soap opera, I actually think Gabi should be isolated from some characters. Maybe place her in a webseries with Will, Sonny, and Ari where she reconnects with a recast J.J. This could be when she realizes just how much she's changed for the worst and she has no identity outside of anger and CEO. Personally, I think that's a lot of work for character who should just be shipped off and her brother should be packed in her luggage.

After watching yesterday's episode, I realized I want Gabi, Jake, Abby, Chad, Gwen, and Xander written out of the show. These characters are obviously pointless. I actually like Emily O'Brien as an actress. I've liked her since her time as Jana on Young and the Restless. My issue is Gwen as a character obviously has no room for growth. I actually wish they would rest O'Brien for 3 months or so and then bring her back as Sarah Horton. She's age appropriate. She's a good actress. They can make some appropriate adjustments to the Sarah character because her time on the island gives a good excuse for a personality overhaul. She also would have stronger connections to the canvas instead of just Jack (JUST JACK!) who barely seems connected himself or Abby who limits and destroys female characters in opposition to her, i.e. Gabi has not worked as a character for me since their rivalry. O'Brien has an accent, but since this show wants us to accept the literal Devil as a major character, I see no reason why we can't just handwave Sarah having a British accent. Shapeshifting, teleportation, possession, and telepathic conversations show us this show cares nothing for reality or plausible explanations. Speaking of Sarah Horton, it's so sad that a legacy character and the daughter of one of the original Days characters has been missing for literal months and no one seems to notice. Her mother doesn't even realize Sarah is missing as long as she gets the occasional text message. If they are bringing this character back, the show really needs to ask themselves how they failed so spectacularly at integrating a legacy character with ties to the Hortons, Marlena, and even the Brady family into the show. Philip's framing of Brady is actually quite wonderful and the smartest thing he's done on the show. The alcohol, text messages, bloody knife, the fact that he overheard Maggie and Victor's conversation where Victor is concerned Brady may physically hurt Philip. Several people like Chloe, Maggie, and apparently Belle knowing of the growing tensions between the two. This is the best frame job I've seen on this show in maybe years. I did guffaw at Chloe calling Victor, him asking rudely what do you want, and her taking a minute to roll her eyes. It was such a small moment, but those small moments do so much to inform us of years of history between characters. I wish the show would emphasize those moments more often.

If I remember correctly, Nicole infected Chloe's face with flesh-eating bacteria. Tricked Chloe into hiding Sydney from Rafe and the authorities when Nicole's baby switch plan was discovered, and didn't Nicole and Deimos team-up to drug Chloe, so Nicole could kidnap Holly when Chloe still had custody as the legal parent. I don't think telling a secret to Brady really puts Chloe in the bad friend category considering the friendship in question.

I really loved the Paulina/John scenes. For weeks John was talking to a prepossesed Marlena about how excited he is to meet Paulina, and I'm happy they worked so well together. Speaking of, what are the HIPPA rules for the Devil Made Me Do It? Would Marlena need to show awkwardly placed flashbacks to show that she has a history of possession? Would she need to grow the horns again, the devil voice, or the yellow eyes? Would her skin need to sizzle when it touches holy water? After the decades of being a doctor, it'll be terrible if she loses her profession because of the literal devil. Instead of investing in a boring and lackluster potential Claire/Ben/Ciara triangle, the show should have invested in a Marlena/Ben/Ciara triangle. Ben/Marlena are obviously THE supercouple of all supercouples. Roman/Marlena, John/Marlena, Luke/Laura, Bo/Hope, etc. have nothing on those two. Did anyone else hear the sounds of ecstasy Marlena was making in Ben's arms. Ciara has never looked at Claire with the amount of jealousy and responded with the amount of vitriol as she did with Marlena. Ciara realizes she is just a temporary roadblock for the one true love of the universe. At least she knows this now and can plan accordingly. I'm looking forward to Chloe/Philip/Brady. I can't remember the last time a character overheard bits and pieces of a conversation in order to make all the wrong conclusions. The Chloe/Brady scene was wonderful. They were just speaking to each other and I was completely enamored with Broe. I'm happy some action is finally happening. And while, the amount of resentment and hatred Philip has for Chloe right now is both shocking and hoping leading to further storyline potential.

But earlier in the same episode, he said, "grandparents." He later said, "grandma and Doug." Then finally with Belle he said, "Julie and Doug." It was just odd how in the span of one episode he's calling them several different things. Additionally, Ciara also calls Julie "grandma," so it seems that's the relationship the show wants Ciara and Shawn to have with their Aunt/Grandma Julie.

"Marlena has been possessed by the devil...again." "Oh...no." To be fair, I've never once been in a situation where someone I've known for decades has been possessed by the devil...twice. (I've lived a very sheltered life). But I still expect a hell of a lot more emotion than Maggie delivered in that scene. Why did Shawn call his grandparents "Julie and Doug" when speaking to Belle? I mean his parental grandparents are no longer with us, so it's not even like Belle would need the clarification of which grandparents he's with. Is it odd that I'm about to say that the possessed by the devil storyline has completely driven off the rails. I mean I understand suspending disbelief, but this storyline is just cumbersome and odd.

I'm sorry for reviving such an old thread, but I just finished watching Supergirl Season 2. I have thoughts I wanted to put out in the universe to be transported into Fort Rozz never to be heard from again, until the proper plot contrivance frees it, of course. First, I must say I really enjoyed the season overall. I thought it started strong, and I really loved Lillian Luthor and Cadmus. Watching the season finale, it really felt like the finale of a show that was at least 4 seasons into its run. The return of Cat, M'Gann, White Martians, Superman, Lillian, Cyborg Superman, etc. It felt like the culmination of some several years long arc that we were finally getting the payoff of. I also really liked the visual of all these aliens space ships over National City as it gave a great sense of foreboding of helplessness. Lastly, I liked Rhea. As Rhea herself said, her heart was not going to be changed by an inspiring speech from Supergirl. While I loved season 2 - and season 1 - it was nice to see a villain who had no qualms with killing her husband, allowing her son to believe his father killed himself as a form of emotionally manipulating her son, using all forms of kryptonite, and attempting genocide - is genocide still the correct term when we're talking about the entire human race - and I even appreciated that they showed she had no qualms killing children, sick children on top of that, and she targeted what should be "safe spaces." Obviously, in real life these things are awful, but on a show like Supergirl, it was nice to have a villain who just had no use for human life. Villains like that are needed to really show why Supergirl is needed. I also thought the threat escalated in a satisfying manner and well-paced manner in the finale to the point where the lead dispersal was the only option - even though I question the "harmless to humans" notion. Can lead in our lungs ever be "harmless" to humans? One of the biggest deterrents of the finale and the season as a whole was the budget restraints, You can easily see when the budget makes for some strong compromises that while it doesn't hinder the show for me, it does make me wish this show had the budget of Disney Plus or HBO show. I wanted to speak on James/Kara and Kara/Mon El as to why I didn't like either coupling. For me, they both were two sides of the same coin. For Kara/James, Kara seemed too young for James. In how both were styled, in Kara obviously being in the beginning of her career while James was a director (I think that was his title in Season 1) and then the CEO of a major media conglomerate. Kara having little to no dating experience while James was engaged to Lucy. And while I know Mehcad isn't significantly older than Melissa, James looked mid-40s and Kara looked mid-20s. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, but Kara's youthfulness seemed blunted when opposite James age - I actually don't know what word to use here. I thought of "mature," but I don't actually see James as mature. I also thought of "stern" but he isn't really that either. He's older, but I'm not certain what personality characteristic, in particular "blunted" Kara from being herself with him. My only thought is his underdeveloped and underexplored enviousness of Kara/Clark, but that doesn't really have much to do with his age, per se. My issue with Kara/Mon El is that Kara came off too old for him. She often seemed like a disappointed and frustrated parent with Mon El's childishness and selfishness and glibness. She was a mentor to a person who didn't want mentorship. The show would have Kara discuss the myriad of reasons the two of them could never work, and the show was correct! The show never even had anyone contradict Kara's reasons for being concerned. Even in the episode where they finally kiss for the first time which lead to lovemaking, Kara calls out Mon Els ego and propensity to never listen to her just seconds before they admit their feelings for each other. These two, similar to James/Kara, were not equals. Kara has passion and Mon El, and to a lesser extent James, had none. It's hard to see Kara with either because both numb Kara's passion in very different ways. That being said, I did enjoy their goodbye at the end of the season. If only it felt earned. The Kara/Winn and Kara/James friendships have really taken a back seat this season. I'm not saying I particularly care as I was not a fan of either, but Winn is already more James and Alex and even J'onn's friend more than Kara. James is hanging on the show by a very weak thread via Winn and the Guardian. I love Kara/Lena. I know that's a popular opinion. Even in their first episode together, the two just have this deeply spiritual connection. Both are "adopted" and desperately trying to claw themselves out of the shadows of their male relatives. The two have such an easy rapport, and Lena is both appreciative of Kara's optimism and passion while allowing Kara to indulge in it. Kara is appreciative that she has someone who sees her, i.e. Kara, as a hero without having to don her cape. Unlike Cat Grant, who she can only have a mentor/mentee relationship with and seems to love Supergirl equally to Kara, Lena loves Kara more and completely divorced from the Supergirl identity. I also really liked Lena/Lillian and Lena/Rhea. Lena mommy issues helped to really define both the good and potential evil of the character. I'm excited to see where it goes. Alex/Maggie and J'onn/M'gann are my favorite romantic relationships, thus far. J'onn/M'gann are a much better "Romeo and Juliet" than Kara/Mon El could ever hope to be. Maggie is the only time I really like Alex. Which leads me to my insanely unpopular opinion, I don't feel much for the Alex/Kara relationship this season. I don't think the Alex actress really hits the right notes for me in their scenes. I find her entirely too soft in her Kara scenes. Also, strictly looking at female relationships this season, Alex/Kara rank pretty low for me: Lena/Kara, Kara/Cat, Lena/Lillian, Lena/Rhea, Alex/Maggie and then finally Alex/Kara. And honestly I would put the Madam President/ Rhea/ Cat scenes above Alex/Kara but that doesn't really rank as a relationship. I wish when Alex was in DEO mode she would be harsher and more ruthless with Supergirl to give a better contrast to the softer Alex/Kara relationship. Alex, as is, just doesn't work for a Kara screen partner for me because I feel I learn more about Kara with Lena and I learn more about Supergirl with people like Lillian, Rhea, and God help me, even Mon El at times. That being said, Alex/Kara do still have some great scenes like placing their hands on the window when Lillian was trying to shoot Alex and the aliens out of space. Which leads me to a major gripe of the season, all the unanswered and dropped plotlines. While I liked the Daxam plot, and I'm happy the ultimate decision was down to Kara, it honestly became Rhea's storyline. I was going to say Mon El, but I feel Rhea was given more of a point of view and Mon El was just an inciting incident for that point of view. I wish we could have gotten a conclusion to Alex's dad, a definitive defeat of Cyborg Superman - I really dislike seeing the actor in that metal mask. Again how the budget stops some of the loftier goals of the show. And a better Kara is a journalist storyline. I use the word "storyline" loosely because I'm not certain there was one. Catco became useless. James was a terrible boss and often Snapper Carr seemed more authoritative than he. And once Kara was fired, James was literally the only major character who had a reason for being there. I know hindsight is 20/20, but I wish the showed had either phased Catco out entirely or they would have boosted the roles of Snapper Carr and Eve Tessmacher (sp?). James is just not a character Kara works well with and he cannot be an anchor. Lastly, I enjoyed the Saturday morning cartoon nature of the show, and I do not mean that as an insult. The episodes were easy and breezy to watch. I think, overall, it does a good job of balancing its politics with its superhero nature, although at times it can go too far especially when Cat is around. I also like how the show explores the idea of being a survivor of either personal tragedy or cataclysmic ones and how that alters people forever and that the show does allow Kara/Supergirl to be a tad judgmental, abrasive, and even combative to balance out her optimism and idealism.

So I just finished watching Season 2. First, I must say that Season 2 has always been a weird season to me. On the one hand, it has some of the best episodes of the series for me, i.e. Morality Bites, Pardon My Past, P3 H20, Astral Monkey, Reawakened. It also has some episodes I truly love and will immediately stop everything to be completely engrossed for an hour, i.e. Painted World, Chick Flick, Ex Libris, Murphy's Luck, with Amy Adams hee! However, it also has some episodes that I had not watched since the original airing, and I've had my Season 2 DVDs for more than a decade, i.e. That Old Black Magic, How to Make a Quilt, Animal Pragmatism. And I literally sighed and rolled my eyes when I realized Heartbreak City, the Cupid episode, was next on my rewatch. Lastly, I am not a fan of the season opener - one of those episodes I haven't watched since the original airing - and the season finale. All in all, this is still an improvement from Season 1. However, while I think Season 1 was more consistent as a season both in quality and tone. I find Season 2 had much higher highs and the lows aren't quite as low. I really, really disliked Dream Sorcerer, Feats of Clay, and When Bad Warlocks go Good. Season 2 > Season 1. That being said, Season 2 also has narrative strings that just annoy, frustrate and perturb me. Jenny, who is shockingly not even in that many episodes. She's gone by episode 7 and is not even featured in every episode. She's also just given a quick, "back with her parents" and never mentioned again. I wish the show would have done the same with Billie. Leo/Piper/Dan is just a series of increasingly frustrating decisions on all three of their parts. Dan could have been named "Tentative Perfect Boyfriend until Replaced" and that would have summed up his time on the show perfectly. Jack and Bucklands are also narrative anchors. Beside from Painted World, I can't think of anything that particular section of Charmed added to the universe. I was counting down episodes until Prue left because the stern, disapproving boss who wants Prue to sell some outrageous amount of merchandise in less than 48 hours had already been done like three times before she left. This season is also interesting - as a longtime Charmed lover - because the Charmed retcons and inconsistencies start heavily this season. Blinking becomes a warlock power. "Whitelighter dust" is introduced as something a witch gave Leo, and later Sam discusses uses some leftover "Whitelighter dust" that Patty created to wipeout the sisters' memory in P3 H20. People actually comment on the inappropriate outfits Prue wears to the office. The Charmed Ones are aghast when Leo just orbs in without prior notice or warning. In The Devil's Music, they scold Leo for giving them orders, Leo's healing powers are already inconsistent. Piper actually doesn't want to be healed in Reawakened, which is such a change from just next season when she wants Leo to heal a minor cut on her finger. Leo is actually knowledgeable about the supernatural world without having to run to the Elders immediately, etc. Oh! And this is the season where it changes that good witches are immune to good witches abilities to only good witches can't freeze. It just interesting to see the tweaks and changes the show is already making to the formula and some of which are for the better and some not so much. Lastly, the show is already inconsistent with what is a good witch, a bad witch, a warlock, and even what are the limitations of a nonmagical witch. Piper - The show really wastes HMC/Piper these first two seasons. It's not until Astral Monkey where she really gets to showcase her dramatic acting chops, and the show gives Piper a substantial perspective outside of her love life. To be fair, there's How to Make a Quilt, but she just comes off as whining in that episode as Piper hasn't really lost anything yet. Because of magic, she met Leo. As I said in my previous post, she never actually is impacted by Patty's death as much as Prue or Phoebe. In P3 H2O, Prue gets the storyline of finding their mother's body and living in her shadow. Phoebe gets the storyline of literally having to watch her death and that being one of the few "memories" she has of their mother. Piper gets the storyline of poison ivy. Piper, on rewatch, also has a much less developed relationship with both sisters. Prue and Phoebe's relationship is so strongly defined and given focus. I like Piper relationships with both sisters, but it's mostly defined as "middle sister." I can't even think of any major conflicts she has with either. Lastly, Piper is a better written seasons 5-7 Phoebe. Most of her storylines are romantic at this point. The club basically takes away her passion for cooking in season 2. And for the most part, Piper is just there. I remember during the original airing that I never had much thought on Piper until later season 3, and I'm remembering why. I'm certain HMC being in the shadow of SD and AM isn't helping. Also the fact that HMC has to carry the Piper/Leo/Dan triangle since both romantic partners are just lacking in the acting department must weigh her down, too. Phoebe and Prue - Shockingly, the two mostly get along this season. I can't think of any major ebbs or flows in the relationship and even potential hiccups are smoothed over quite quickly. Phoebe is just so enjoyable. It's sad because so many of the things that make Phoebe likable are split up between Piper and Paige in later seasons, and the complete refocus of Phoebe Carrie Bradshaw instead of allowing Phoebe to become the psychologist she was meant to be. They even could have had her working with the SFPD to make Darryl more useful. We just know so much about this Phoebe. She wants to get married and have kids and is the most maternal, but it isn't her entire identity...yet. She wants to get good at the craft and has been working on her spells, potions, and kickboxing, so she is useful in a variety of ways. She is often using her street smarts to help the sisters out of a bind. Phoebe actually gets no romantic focus in these first two seasons. She has one offs of course but nothing like Piper/Leo or Prue/Andy or even Prue/Jack. She has a natural curiosity about the world, and she's the one who learns the quickest and is constantly informing the sisters of ways to work around personal gain or the dangers of wanting to punish the guilty. There are also several hints in Season 2 about her inevitable turn to evil. Morality Bites, Pardon My Past, but even Armageddon Now has one of the 4 Horsemen commenting that there's something evil in Phoebe. Then of course Season 1's Woogy episode. I really wish Constance could have stayed on in Season 4 for while Long Live the Queen is one of my favorite episodes of the series, I would have loved to see long term fall out in season 5 regarding how that impacted the sisters relationship. Prue - Eerily gets a lot of episodes, references, and commentary about accepting life and death. Granted the show doesn't know they are firing the actress next season, but it does feel like Prue has this "doomed" aura around her, especially since she's the one who is most compared to Patty. It also seems the show didn't really know what to do with her new power. I mean it's cool, but it sometimes feel shoehorned into episodes. Anyway, Season 2 has always been my 5th favorite season, and until I rewatch the rest of the series, it is still firmly number 5. Next is my favorite season of the series: Season 3

Considering the woman is annoying Sarah Horton, I say leave her there.

Are they setting up a, "Who killed Chloe storyline?" They reminded us twice about Kate and Lucas' history with Chloe, plus Philip's growing jealously, and of course there was the reminder that Kristen recently returned. And of course Victor's long history of hatred for the character. Something happens to Chloe and Brady is framed. Just speculation, but I found it odd the history lesson of a storyline that happened more than a decade ago. My opinion is a little different from everyone else's here regarding D. Hall. Watching her as the Devil informs me why she hasn't been awarded a Daytime Emmy in all the decades she's played the character. I don't see her as more animated or even like Hattie. She just seems like a more annoyed Marlena. I'll give the show this; I'm am interested in how this cousin Carmine storyline will end. Not because I care about any of the people involved, but how the hell are they going to explain to Trask that a deceased person killed a guy. I actually do want to see how this resolves, which I hope will be with the murder of Rafe, Ava, Tripp, Steve, and Kayla. Somehow an undead Charlie serial killer storyline still won't be the most ludicrous and ridiculous thing happening on my screen right now. It's odd and shocking that in the Ben/Ciara relationship, Ben is the one with more and deeper connections on the current canvas. Are they living in a basement? It's odd that somehow Nicole has all these connections on canvas while simultaneously feeling completely adrift. I literally just don't see a place for her on the current canvas as she is currently written.

So, I decided I wanted a complete rewatch of Charmed. Every single episode, and I just finished season 1. It was great and odd rewatching the show. 1st, in my mind, I thought I didn't much care for season 1. I mean in one of those I liked it when it first aired but as the show progressed season 1 seems like a first draft and not a final product. It's not bad, but it's not what it should be. Boy, was I wrong. I forgot how much emotion was in season 1. Death meant something, Leo couldn't constantly come healing nor was he a supernatural taxi, the death of Grams and the Mother looms over the entire season, Prue and Phoebe's relationship is constantly ebbing and flowing, Phoebe is dedicated to the craft, we see them adding to the Book of Shadows, Prue and Piper trying to balance professional ambitions with personal goals and witchly duties, no one complaining about a normal life before and after every commercial break, the spells are poetic and even reminiscent of Shakepearse's Macbeth with the use of devices like iambic pentameter and even small things like having to find ingredients for spells and potions made the show feel shockingly realistic considering the content. Granted, I think killing Andy off was great as by the second half of the season, you can tell the show is really struggling with finding a purpose for him - and quite frankly they continue that struggle with Darryl. It's also odd to realize how Phoebe's powers regress when she is already working and even being successful having premonitions at will. The first season also does a great job of showing why premonitions was the rarest and most coveted power. After watching that 70s Episode, I wish we could have gotten the Grams/Penny prequel series that was rumored at one point. I know a lot of people despised Grams by the end of the series, but I always thought it was interesting how exceptionally powerful the show always made her seem. She has a command of her power that we never saw any of the Charmed ones have, we know she added significantly to the book, she was powerful enough to help them in season 1 from beyond the grave, in season 5's Sympathy for the Demon she's able to create a vanquishing spell on the spot to kill a demon attacking her and Piper and as much talk as there as about Halliwell witches dying young, she lives long enough to raise her daughter and her granddaughters well into adulthood. Even Phoebe is 23 at the beginning of the series, I believe and roughly 21, I believe, in Prewitched. She dies of human causes and not witchly ones. Lastly, I wonder if the show intended for Piper to be the one closest to Grams. Even in the first season, Piper is the one who seems to mourn Grams the most, she's the only sister to embrace Grams before Patty in that 70s Episode when they are returning home, and in general, the show was pretty committed to the Piper/Grams dynamic in a way we didn't see with Prue or Phoebe. One more thing, the only episodes I'm not a big fan of are the evil Warlock Charmed ones and the one about the Egyptian spirit. Overall, it's a really strong season. This really is the end, does anyone know what happened with Rex and Hannah? The two are set up and coded as these big bads of the season, but their finale episode seems like something that was created in response to either a change of direction of the show or feedback that they weren't working as antagonists. It just seemed anticlimatic since the show was setting up what seemed to be an epic rivalry only for them to just stop doing that.

There's the table flip as MSTREE mentions, but they were mostly referencing an extremely popular - dare I say iconic - moment from RH of BH between Lisa Rinna, ED, and Kim Richards linked below: I find it funny you call him "nu-Austin" even though he's been playing the role (off and on) since the 90s. I'm pretty sure he's even played the role longer at this point. However, I do agree that PM was the better Austin. Overall, I enjoyed this series. Oddly, my favorite part was the ending with the family photos with John/Marlena/Carrie/Anna/Austin/Tony. I think that's everyone. With the exception of Austin - who at least has been in the role for decades - it was nice to see the original actors who'd been in their role for decades interact. It honestly felt like the actors' genuine affection for each other, especially John/Carrie who are by far by favorite parent/child parent of the Black/Evans/Brady bunch. I even really liked the John/Tony/Austin photo and how John still calls Austin "Kid." For me that was definitely the best part of this series. So much history in that room, and that's something you earn and is not given. The Miami crew was there. I think it would have been better if Chanel was there. Right now we have Paulina and three straight men. Even Ricky, Ethel, and Fred were allowed to get in on Lucy's wackiness, so it didn't always seem like she was performing to the cheap seats in a different stadium ten miles down the road. The show needs to inject more personality into the people Paulina mainly interacts with - except Chanel - because I think it forces the actress to go even bigger because they are giving her nothing to play with. How many times have we heard Ben confess to Ciara that he just needs to be better? These need a different story. I liked Chad, and that's the first time that's happened since 2016. I still dislike Will. Nu Sonny is okay. Leo is still an obvious decade - at the least - older than everyone in the room. I like that so much came from the 90s Day history. Days often over glamorizes it's 80s history, but the early 90s was an amazing period as well. So much talk of Lawrence and Carly but no talk of their son. Interesting. Last thing: While Rinna's Billie is definitely my favorite, I found it hard to see her as Billie. I know her Billie was 30 years ago - I'm not counting her short lived return a few years ago where she did nothing - but it still seems odd that her world weary, drug addicted, forced into porn, terrified of love, the only person she could trust is her brother, Billie would be this lighthearted, silly, and airy. She felt like Lisa Rinna reciting the history of a character she barely knows - a lot of the history they refenced for Billie was during KA's or JP's history, and I felt that showed. She seemed to have no connection to the character, and that's important since Billie was the connective tissue for the storyline. All that being said. I enjoyed it, and I hope it got great numbers for Peacock. I'm shocked how much effort NBC/Universal/Peacock/and even Sony put into marketing this series. I hope they can get a bigger budget and more in the future.

Chad was shockingly good as a drag queen. That was actually amazing. That's all!

So I watched the first two episodes. 1. I'm so happy to see Carrie Brady back on my screen. It's funny because I've convinced myself that Carrie no longer has a place on current Days, but Christie Clark is such a natural soap heroine, and they haven't even given her anything of substance to do yet. I really like her scenes with Anna, and she does small things to convey her uncertain relationship with her biological mother. She always seems so frightened that Anna is going to leave without a goodbye, and she looked absolutely devastated in yesterday's episode when Anna left. I would love if we could get a mini storyline on the main show that centered Carrie - that in no way mentioned Rafe or Sami. I just want to see Carrie stand on her own as a character the way she is doing here. 2. I've always hated CM's Will, and that's not changed here. While I can get a chuckle from Leo every now and then, I still think it's hilarious that the show wants us to believe he's around Will and Sonny's age. Chad is more tolerable here than on the show. 3. All and all, I'm liking this spinoff series. I like that all the characters actually feel connected, that there is a clear purpose, an umbrella storyline, and that there are mentions of Days history - even if it often feels awkward. I wouldn't mind if this continued in the future.

Probably another long-lost son for Vivian. More realistically, Nicholas was a few years older than Shawn, so he could have a son in his 20s going by Claire's SORAS.

Does Marlena even know Holly exists? I don't mean that literally of course. However, have we ever heard anyone from Eric's family say they consider Holly family? Was Holly ever officially adopted by Eric? With Eric seemingly off canvas again, I don't expect any scenes with Holly and Marlena/John/Roman, Sami, Belle, etc. Does Brady, the person from the Evans/Black family who has the strongest relationship with Holly beside Eric, ever refer to Holly as his niece? I know Eric considers Holly his daughter, but it doesn't seem like anyone else sees her that way.