Rancide

Five minutes into this show, I was like "Wait. There's a guy named Chris on this show?" 10 minutes into the show, I was like "I guess Chris is going home." Poor editing choices this episode (season?). I literally had no idea Chris was a person until this episode.

I feel like the mental health screeners for this show must have somehow overlooked Kyle. He's a talented tattooer, and I didn't think his was the worst of the week, but I am so relieved to see him go. Dude was way, way, way too close to the edge. It was uncomfortable to watch. I hope he goes home and relaxes and keeps working on himself in a less stressful environment.

Didn't the blonde attorney say she was still just a law student when she was working on this case? I disagree with you about her trying to minimize her mistakes. Thanks to that horrible AEDPA law that Bill Clinton signed, basically the ONLY way you get someone off death row is to show their lawyers screwed up. Judges are basically just look at whether defense lawyers' decisions were strategic and reasonable (even if they didn't work out well in the end), and if decisions were strategic and reasonable--even if they were really pretty bad--the defendant is going to lose, and he's going to die. Julius's ex-lawyers are doing a standup thing by coming forward and saying "we messed up." On TV, no less. In front of a national audience who will judge them. When she says she wanted to do something but didn't do it, I don't think she's trying to minimize her incompetence or make herself look good. If she wanted to minimize her incompetence, she would just decline to be interviewed. When she says "I wanted to do this, knew it should be done, and it didn't get done," she's basically saying for the record "we messed up and there is no valid (strategic) reason for what we did," which makes it much easier for a judge to find that they did in fact screw up and that there was no valid strategic reason for what they did, which is what has to happen to save Julius's life. Admitting you KNEW something should be done but did not do it is a BIG HELP to your client. It's much better than just saying "we just didn't think of it." Whatever happened during the trial, Julius's original lawyers are very much heroes of trying to get him off death row. It takes a lot of courage, commitment, dedication, and setting aside of one's ego to go on TV and tell the world you screwed up a death penalty case, particularly in front of a national TV audience that probably isn't going to understand that your statements are necessary to save your client's life and who will probably just going to assume you're a terrible lawyer/human being.

Lupe for sure has some denial issues, but I didn't understand how Dr. Now was suggesting that she could lose 40 lbs in a month to get her hip surgery when she weighed around 240. I understand that there are some freaky weight loss totals on this show, but that does not seem realistic. At my highest life weight, which wasn't that far from 240, I could maaaaybe have lost 10 lbs in a month through really strict dieting and a lot of exercise. I'm not sure I could have lost 40 lbs in a month if I'd eaten no food at all for 30 days.

With respect to the ex-husband... I refuse to believe that people cannot change. He did not have to participate in this show. When people have suffered abuse at the hands of non-present family members, the show has typically beeped their names and been vague about their identities. Even if Abbie had specifically named her ex-husband as her abuser, her credibility is not the greatest at this particular moment. Domestic violence is often a family disease, like alcoholism. It takes guts for him to voluntarily put his face and name on television, where it will surely be seen by all his friends, family, coworkers, current and Bpotential employers, etc. and to admit what he did without trying to minimize it or make excuses. I assume he did that because a) he cares about his daughter and knows it is best for her if her mom gets help and that his presence may be necessary to making that happen, and b) it's part of his process of owning what he did and trying to make amends. I'm not excusing what he did, but it sounds like Abbie's parents are keeping pretty close watch on him and allowing him the opportunity to prove that his treatment and therapy have made a difference. It's probably better for their granddaughter to grow up with a father who she knows (or will eventually learn) was abusive when she was younger but then got help to overcome it and became a good dad than to grow up with no dad hearing only that he was a violent, abusive monster who isn't allowed around because he's too unfit for human contact. This is especially true given that it's unclear at this point that she's going to have a mother in her life either. And yes, he could probably get--and may already have--court-ordered visitation as long as he can show the court he's doing what he's supposed to do, and under those circumstances the family is probably better off trying to work with him in a controlled environment rather than setting themselves and their granddaughter up for a lifetime of destructive open warfare. It's easy to say in theory that we have zero tolerance for domestic abusers, but the reality is more complicated, especially when there are kids involved. The ex-husband has done immeasurable damage to his family. So has Abbie, at this point, as have almost all the parent-addicts we've seen on this show over the years. Banishment can't be the answer for all of them.

I love Brandon, and I adore almost everything he has done this season. I HATE those flamingos and everything they touch. Dear God.

I know many people dislike him, but I really love almost everything Brandon has done. Yeah, some of his silhouettes can be a bit repetitive. But I didn't think this one actually was. I love his use of color. I like that even if a lot of his stuff looks similar to his other stuff, it does NOT look similar to everything else I've been seeing on this show for years. I'm a fan.

I at least give this week's winner some points for having the sense to pick the weakest of the angels to go up against, unlike that bozo from last week. Though, as I finish typing that, I now wonder how free the choices really are. I mean, given the option, wouldn't EVERYONE just pick Gia? Or maaaaybe Nikki? Unless the producers are just counting on the contestants to really be too stupid to figure that out? Which, to be fair, given the history of who has appeared on this show, is maybe not an unreasonable assumption. I had no idea about Clint. Very sad.

No, just when people speak in another language for the specific purpose of saying nasty things about people who are standing right there without having the person talked about be able to understand. Kentaro and his model speaking Japanese? Adorable! Margarita and Michael chatting about their design plans in Spanish? Great! Margarita and Michael switching to Spanish so they can gossip about Claire, who is standing in the same room, without Claire realizing she's being talked about or being able to know what's being said? Rude, immature, and unprofessional!

Margarita must have a very high opinion of herself, since she can evidently only fail when others distract her from her innate greatness. Her video fly girl look, which she suggested, designed, bragged about, and called "totally her aesthetic," was her model's fault, and this week's tragedy, brought to us apparently by Margarita's poor decision not to buy enough fabric, was Claire's fault for distracting her by ripping Margarita off by making a shirt that looked nothing like Margarita's last design. Now that Claire has been put on somewhat involuntary mute by the absence of her screaming and running partner, I'm find with her staying at least until we get rid of the Mean Girl.

I officially hate Margarita more than Claire. "Not raised to throw people under the bus?" Unless "throwing people under the bus" means "confronting people to their faces rather than gossiping behind their backs," I don't understand what she was talking about. Because minutes 15-60 of the show I watched were largely Margarita saying nasty things, on camera, in multiple languages even, about Claire. What a nasty piece of work. The twins also suck, but at least they're just annoying and not actually evil.

Lord spare me Tone. When I was studying Spanish in Mexico, I learned that "Chingon" is basically the f-word, so literally every time he said his "name," I cringed. That was in addition to all the other cringing I was doing at his general state of being. Awful. I generally like these women, but their manner of "presenting," made me remember that television hosting is an actual skill that people have to work at and is not the same as general talking. Every time Kelly in particular but really all of them in general took the stage to speak to address the crowd, I cringed. I hope they improve with practice.

I do not hate JCPenney. It's just not what I come to a show called "Project Runway" for. I've also eaten at Olive Garden, but I expect something different from contestants on Top Chef.

During the judges' confab when they were talking about not being able to tell who did what or being able to disentangle the two of them and then said "I think we know what we have to do," I deluded myself for the three glorious minutes of the commercial break that we were going to get rid of both of them. Both. Not neither. BOOOOO. Oh, well, at least I know to tune in a few minutes late next week.

Well, as an initial matter, they seemed like they were facing out (i.e. in the direction of the cameras) rather than facing towards the back of the stage, which would have been the direction of the music and what the flag code suggests is appropriate (at least when there is no flag to face, which did not seem to be the case here, unless you count the flag graphics on the screens, which would also have been at the back of the stage). Also, 99% of the audience was standing up and shouting, cheering, and waving their hands in the air, so it didn't seem like there was some sort of an "all rise for the playing of our national anthem" kind of announcement that encouraged people to quiet down and observe the traditional anthem-like rituals. It seemed more like a rock concert kind of atmosphere, which I have to assume was intentional since 1) live studio audiences almost always have off-screen "applause" and "quiet" cues, 2) I can't see these particular producers having planned a silent, applause-free intro to this particular show. Basically, the handful folks on stage standing at attention with their hands over their hearts seem to have been literally the only folks in a room full of what looked like several hundred people to have assumed that posture, which is what made it look like a statement to me, whether they intended it that way or not. I don't particularly care if folks wanted to make a statement (again, with the exception of that idiot ES, whose statement appeared to be "fuck you"), but it's still a statement.

I can help you out. It was literally every black contestant except Picasso (who may not be black? Unclear). Standing: everyone else. It was weird. Weirdest of all was that idiot ES (whose PARTNER was black and was kneeling) jumping up and down trying to get everyone in the audience to stand up. No one has to kneel if they don't want to, but I did think the side of the room where the non-kneelers were standing quietly with their hands down by their side was more unobtrusive than the side where everyone except the kneelers had their hands aggressively over their hearts (except the moron jumping up and down in the back trying to get others to stand).

I don't give him a pass for being from Japan, but I do give him extra leeway for not being a native speaker of English and maybe not a 100% confident one. I'm thinking of time he missed the whole point of the challenge because he didn't know what the word "innovation" meant. Or the time Tim taught him the word "anal" and he ran around saying it over and over again, and it wasn't totally clear that he understood that it was a word that it was probably okay to use in the workroom but that you wouldn't want to use in a job interview. I also have sympathy. I spent a summer in Mexico in college studying Spanish and... man. The number of offensive things I said because I heard other people say them and didn't realize they were [swear words, derogatory names, etc.] was pretty high. I give him credit for realizing that it's important to be sensitive to what words you use when you start talking about cultures other than your own and checking to make sure that he wasn't accidentally being offensive without realizing it.

I only caught the last half of the show last night, so I had to go back and watch the first half this morning. Watching in this order really highlights just how nasty Margarita was. Having only seen her complaints about her model, I was expecting to see the model taking the lead in the design process. Instead (actual direct quotes): Margarita (to her model, during planning): "What about prints?" "A little halter crop top?" "Something like a cool bomber jacket?" Margarita (at Mood): "The first thing I I do is go find a print. I got this super-cool botanical, and then I'm going to offset that with white wide-leg pants because it's very much my aesthetic." So... what about that look was her model's fault again? I did not totally hate her look, though yes, it's very dated, but I'm guessing that standing at the end with the top 3 having already been picked, Margarita could tell she was in the bottom, at which point she must have realized "taste level" was most likely the issue, so she decided to pretend it was her model's taste rather than hers. I'd previously liked Margarita's personality. Now I feel sorry for whoever gets her next week on the team challenge because... man. Seems like she's prepared to straight-up lie to shift the blame if she has to to save herself. Gross.

I like Brandon, and I liked his look, but I would like to see a different silhouette from him soon. I usually like Amy's stuff, but today's look did not do it for me. Ugly color, wrinkled. I didn't think she was notably better than the non-Aaron members of the bottom 3 and could easily have been down there with them. I didn't hate Ayana's design, but those colors... YUCK. Ayana's color palette has been horrible basically every week except the week she did black, and I'm surprised no one has said anything to her yet. No more mustard, tan, curry, panty-hose colors, please! Liris needs to sit down. "This is the first time someone has designed for my body." Brandon made her a midriff-baring crop top (which ended up on the top) for the first challenge. She also wore that horrible yellow Big Bird thing with the extremely fitted top and way-short skirt that rightfully got whats-his-name sent home. I get that Brandon's was oversize and not fitted (because that's what Brandon does) and that the yellow thing was ass-ugly, but it's not like everyone's been sending her down the runway in a potato sack trying to cover her up like her body's a problem. This show isn't about her and what she likes to wear...

I second whoever says Nunez makes them hate Cleen. I'm glad he left. He's a good tatooer, but he's overexposed on this show, and Nunez's total lack of objectivity when it comes to his work drags down the show whenever he's on it. I remember the LAST time they brought him back (Revenge?), the judges overlooked several crap tattoos in a row in order to keep him around. I have not enjoyed this season very much because of the vets/favoritism angle. Please no more vets vs. newbies seasons! Just do an All-Stars version every 5 seasons or so, or bring a favorite back as a guest judge or whatever. Too much irrelevant in-drama when the old guys return and get thrown in with the unknowns. And yes, screw Doom. Aren't he and Erin also a couple? Or am I getting them confused with another team that already left? If my SO tossed me under the bus like that, there would be a serious problem.

I wish the producers would stop forecasting who was leaving with the sudden "call home" or "unexpected background clip" early on in this show. Poor Sentelle. He wasn't long for this competition, but Shawn did nothing but whine and obstruct and was clearly only kept for the drama. She didn't even make her outfit (Sentelle did). I also couldn't believe the nerve of her putting down Amanda's weaving as too unoriginal while standing around creating nothing herself. She's like the kid who flunks his mid-term and claims it was because the material didn't challenge him enough. Claire's dress was better but was basically the same as the one she made last week, just with different materials. There isn't really anyone on Team Trash Bag other than Amanda who I would have been sad to lose. I actually liked the "safe" team better than the winning team, though they were both pretty good. I really wanted to see the plastic soda top ring looks more up close. I liked the effect.

Yeah, I was pretty disappointed. I was excited about the "modest fashion" designer because I also generally prefer to wear clothes on the more modest side, but that wasn't doing it for me. I could see her model's belly button indentation! There were several designs, including Brandon's with the actual stomach showing, that I would have felt more comfortable in than what Ayana did. I also hope the hijab on the model is not going to be an every week thing. Those of us who aren't going to be covering our hair/neck want to know what the neckline looks like!

Oh, hell no, that was never going to happen. Remember a few seasons back when the judges tried to stir up the drama by letting the contestants pick who was up for elimination and the group collectively orchestrated the ouster of the odious St Marq by putting him up against two people the judges couldn't live without? And remember how apoplectic the judges were about it? That was the first and last time they ever let anyone other than themselves have any real control over anything.

My assumption was always that he had a speech impediment and stuck the toothpick in his mouth so that he could pretend like it was the toothpick and not him.

I'm also glad they let the worst tattoo go, but man... Tri-Cities needs out. I'd love to see the casting call those two responded to. They seem like they barely know each other and were surprised and confused to learn they'd be competing as a team. After a steady rise in talent over the years (anyone else remember those epically horrible convention-style from one of the earliest seasons?), this season is full of meh to me. So far, I've seen plenty of remarkably ugly tattoos and no real stunners.