[S15.E01: Under The Skin/S15.E02: Awakenings]

37 minutes ago, Danielg342 said:

I don't really think there is much I can say about this episode except that it was your standard "get the last story arc started" episode.

You knew Everett Lynch was going to get away. You knew he'd do it in such a way that would allow him to do that. You knew that the BAU's attempt to catch him would be futile and that Lynch would find a way to outsmart everyone, essentially turning everyone else into the Keystone Kops.

That said, there were a few twists I didn't see, like Grace getting killed, and the way that they wove the first case into the larger narrative was well done (by basically having Rossi be wrong and right at the same time).

I also think Matthew Gray Gubler is a special talent and I hope his next role will be one worthy of his talents. There's an Emmy or an Oscar in there in the right circumstances, and that's no hyperbole.

That's all I can really say about this episode...the story didn't engage me at all and I just can't wait for this season to be over. Sad to feel that way given what I used to feel about Criminal Minds, but such is the rut that CM has gotten itself into, as it has no other choice but to be put out of its misery.

So I'm going to close with some comments about JJ. Maybe this will be popular. Maybe it won't.

...but I'll say it anyway.

Maybe she should have actually died. Maybe that would have been the best way to close out this stupid "love story" she has with Reid.

At the very least, it would give her declaration of love to Reid at the end of S14 some actual meaning as opposed to the way the show actually handled it by metaphorically sweeping it under the rug after some false drama.

See, the thing is, the show made JJ's declaration a big deal. It was supposed to be this monumentous, "game-changing" moment, yet, what we got was essentially a "reset" with Reid realizing he has to "move on" from JJ- even though he'd already done that before and could have still done that here without the show needing the drama of JJ's brush with death.

So, if you're going to have a game-changing moment...then change the game.

Pull the trigger (read into that what you will).

Because JJ's death wouldn't just affect Reid it'd affect everyone else as well. The entire team would be mourning, and- more importantly- we as an audience would be mourning too, because JJ's someone we actually got to know.

I mean, with all due respect to Damon Gupton, it was hard to feel the impact of Stephen Walker's death because we hardly knew him.

With JJ, you would feel that impact- and this being the last season, it would definitely be a more "acceptable" time for her (or any regular) to go than if the show had more time left.

More importantly, though, is that Everett Lynch killing JJ would actually give S15 some actual stakes and, while I wouldn't like a season where Lynch kills off other members of the BAU like a bad horror movie plot, an agent dying in the premiere- especially a long-timer like JJ- opens up more storytelling possibilities and ensures the show isn't just doing this "slow burn" in the inevitable chase for Lynch.

I mean...if JJ can go, then anyone can go. Of course, the show would have to be careful with this- meaning only doing one or two more deaths, at the very least- but it at least adds tension and intrigue to a series of episodes that badly needs them.

Don't get me wrong- I'm not defending the decision of the show to have JJ declare her love in the first place, nor do I actually like the thought of the show killing off characters.

...but, for far too long, CM has relied on cheap drama where there are plenty of "shocking" moments only for those moments to have little actual impact as the series moves on. Part of that is the realization this is an episodic TV show, but part of that is the writers being too scared to really deliver on all the false "game-changers" they've subjected us to.

So, just once, I would have liked it if they had a moment that was not just shocking but also one that left an actual impact. Not one they just undo in the next episode or the next half hour.

Because if you're going to have a dramatic moment...it needs to have actual drama with actual meaning. That's the only way they work.

Yeah, I didn’t get the Reid/JJ arc at all. I mean, in the real world, it was obviously designed to drum up viewership for tonight’s premiere. But in the world of the show, what purpose did JJ’s confession serve? Nothing is going to change. She’s not leaving Will so she and Reid can ride off into the sunset. She’s going to stay married. She and Reid will stay friends. As for the idea that this confession will help Reid because it lets him move on, move on from what? He hasn’t been sitting at home knitting and pining for JJ. He’s had dates and relationships. 

The whole thing just seems pointless to me. 

[Jessa, Ben and Their Brood: Making a (Diaper) Mountain out of a Mold House]

42 minutes ago, galaxychaser said:

That aloe water is full sugar. Ben you definitely married a grapefruit 

Aloe water is also a laxative. Maybe Ben’s had a little too much of Jessa’s beige cooking and needs a little help.

[Sweet Fellowship: Duggars and Friends (aka the Bates Family and Other Featured Families Thread)]

3 hours ago, Temperance said:

The Bates are in Colorado on ski trip. Trace and Chaney are there. They met last year on a ski trip in Colorado. 

How did she ski in a long denim skirt? 

[The Lonely Js Club: Jana, Jason, James, Jackson & Johannah]

On 1/3/2020 at 9:06 AM, Future Cat Lady said:

Of course Jed hired his twin to work for him, there is no way in hell that JB would pay for a real professional. 

I think the Jer as campaign manager fiction was started so that Jed could have an excuse to have Jer around all the time. Without the pretense, Jed would have to explain the concept of an “accountability partner” to potential voters, who might (completely sensibly) ask how he intended to have meetings with female constituents and coworkers once he took office. I bet Jer is living with him too, they just aren’t broadcasting it for the same reason. 

[The Duggalos: Jinger and the Holy Goalie]

12 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

I live in New England where once it gets cold we dress for the weather. I'm pretty sure I've never seen anyone wear sleeveless or short sleeve attire to a winter wedding. Is that the norm for others?

Around here, other than in a gym, you'd be hard pressed to see a bare arm November through February.

I live in a northern climate and I wear short sleeves in the winter. I run hot and I find a lot of stores and offices here are overheated in the winter, so i’m more comfortable with short sleeves. 

Gabby’s dress... sweet lord in heaven, that is about the furthest thing from modest that a person could wear. She looks very pretty but if she makes an unplanned one inch shift in any direction her boobs would pop right out of that bodice. 

Hopefully Jeremy’s cousin’s wedding photos will put an end to the Jinger is Pregnant theory for a while. There is no bump to be seen there.

[The Duggalos: Jinger and the Holy Goalie]

6 hours ago, JoanArc said:

 Common cowboys! 

 I mean, marijuana is legal in California… 

Pretty sure that doesn’t apply to anyone under the age of 6. Well, maybe 5. It *is* California. 

[Sweet Fellowship: Duggars and Friends (aka the Bates Family and Other Featured Families Thread)]

Two bedrooms and one bath? For 14 people? What happens if you have to “go” at the same time someone else does? Do you break into the neighbor’s house or something? 

[Josh & Anna Smuggar: A Series of Unfortunate Events]

10 hours ago, galaxychaser said:

Martha or Moses for #7

I’m kind of surprised that there hasn’t been a Michelle yet. Josh and Anna are dependent on JB and Michelle for their income, it’s odd that they’ve missed three opportunities to suck up. 

[Joe & Kendra: Looking Forward To Side Hugs]

1 hour ago, Ljohnson1987 said:

The kids weren't vaccinated for chicken pox. They got it just before Josie came home from the NICU. I hope the second generation of Duggars are vaccinated, but I doubt that'll happen. 

Do we know if Anna and Josh vaccinate? I think Jill and Derrick will vaccinate, as will Jeremy and Jinger. Both Derick and Jeremy have an actual education and probably learned some science, and Derick probably remembers when Cathy was immunocompromised from her cancer treatments. Plus those two couples seem to be trending more mainstream than the rest. I’m waffling on Lauren and Si/Joy and Austin (just not enough info to tell) and JD and Abbie (nurse, but from an anti vaccine family). Kendra and Joe aren’t going to vaccinate. She’s practically still living in her parents’ pocket and probably drank the Koolaid. 

9 minutes ago, JoanArc said:

Jesus, I’m sorry. It’s also possible to get shingles more than once. I had a coworker get it twice in six months. I can’t even imagine.  She was in her mid 40s at the time. 

I had it two weeks after my daughter was born. My doctor wouldn’t give me any pain medication because I was breastfeeding. Shingles is excruciating. It sucked.

[Joe & Kendra: Looking Forward To Side Hugs]

On 12/30/2019 at 4:07 PM, wilsie said:

                            I guess they haven't made the connection that their unvaccinated child is in the hospital with respiratory and ear infections.  

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

Poor Isaiah, though. It’s not his fault that his parents are uneducated halfwits.

[The Duggalos: Jinger and the Holy Goalie]

7 hours ago, Spencer Hastings said:

Felicity and Ivy look like they’re searching for the nearest exit so that they can make a break for it. 

Agreed. Ben looks like he’s running for office. Jessa looks like she’s internally begging God not to hit her with lightening for wearing a skirt that shows her lower knee. Jinger looks like Felicity is getting heavy, and also like she can’t wait for Ben and Jessa to leave. Jeremy looks like Orville Redenbacher had a baby with a used car salesperson and abandoned it to be raised by hipsters. 

[JD and Abbie: Captured Before the Rapture]

My money is on Piper, after the Piper Cub. It’s aviation related AND a legit girls’ name that isn’t horrifically trendy. I kind of like it, actually.

[Jill, Derick & the Kids: Moving On!!]

1 hour ago, galaxychaser said:

Let’s hope he doesn’t molest boys.

Let’s hope he doesn’t molest anyone.

[The Duggalos: Jinger and the Holy Goalie]

24 minutes ago, drafan said:

LOL. You need to watch an episode of the Kardashians. Jinger's jeans are "modern nun" compared to theirs.

As for comfort, almost all current jeans have an element of stretch to them. Some are deceivingly not even cotton denim.

When the Kardashians are your control group, your study has already failed. 

I understand that jeans have stretch. But look at how this pair has ridden down on her waist leaving that funny pooch. That thing would drive me nuts. And spandex can only go so far in making a garment comfortable. Eventually she’s going to have to sit down. 

[The Duggalos: Jinger and the Holy Goalie]

3 hours ago, Lunera said:

Jinger got papped again. These are from December 16. I had to keep the some of the captions because they made me laugh. The supposed nanny is the the daughter of, Michael Mahoney, the church pastor.

Wonder if she asked God special permission to wear ripped jeans.

I think Jinger should wear whatever she wants to, but given her and Jeremy’s past statements about modesty still being important I feel it is necessary to point out that skintight ripped jeans are not modest. And they also don’t look very comfortable. 

[Jill, Derick & the Kids: Moving On!!]

10 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

I hear you. I by no means think JB and M are great parents, but most parents do the best they can with what they know and what they have available. And in the case of JB & M, with this situation, I believe they did that.

There are parents out there who do know better and do nothing.

I don't believe JB & M let things slide with no worries because eh, they're only girls, I think they fucked up by not handling better it sooner, but I think they thought they had handled it. When they realized they didn't, they finally did something. I believe Josh was never really trusted again by his parents or his siblings, and being sent away for six months was a punishment.

And IMO, the girls weren't locked in their room, they were given the power and control to lock folks out of their room. For many abuse survivors having power and control is huge.

 

And upon reviewing the police report, Josh was sent away from March to July. This would make his “punishment” 3 to 5 months depending on specific dates, not 6. And he spent that not at a treatment center or in counseling, but helping a guy JB knew renovate his house. JB probably charged the guy for Josh’s labor.

[Jill, Derick & the Kids: Moving On!!]

10 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

I hear you. I by no means think JB and M are great parents, but most parents do the best they can with what they know and what they have available. And in the case of JB & M, with this situation, I believe they did that.

There are parents out there who do know better and do nothing.

I don't believe JB & M let things slide with no worries because eh, they're only girls, I think they fucked up by not handling better it sooner, but I think they thought they had handled it. When they realized they didn't, they finally did something. I believe Josh was never really trusted again by his parents or his siblings, and being sent away for six months was a punishment.

And IMO, the girls weren't locked in their room, they were given the power and control to lock folks out of their room. For many abuse survivors having power and control is huge.

 

My recollection, which could be wrong, is that the girls were instructed to lock the door each night, not allowed to choose whether to lock it. 

[Jill, Derick & the Kids: Moving On!!]

21 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

I work with a lot of adult survivors of trauma. How JB & M handled the molestations was better than what happens in many families. Just imagine a little girl who wasn't believed and life in the family goes on as usual and compare that to the Duggar girls who were believed, their brother was sent away for 6 months and they were given a bedroom with doors that lock. And as parents, JB & M should care about Josh too, they're his parents. And it's not unusual for survivors to care about an abuser that they're related to, and they shouldn't feel shamed for doing so.

IMO, JB & M have done more harm to their girls by raising them to be dependent females who fear the non-Fundy world and think their primary role is breeding God's army.

 

Those two things aren’t mutually exclusive, though. Jim Bob and Michelle can be shitty parents in more than one way. 

Josh wasn’t sent away until after the incident with Joy. What JB and Michelle did before that was undoubtedly better than what some families do, but that doesn’t mean it was laudable or even adequate. They had the girls stand up in front of the church and forgive Josh, and then they stripped *them* of any vestiges of privacy by shoving them all in a room together and telling them to lock the door. Josh got to strut around the house like the prince Michelle seems to think he is while his victims had to lock themselves up to feel safe. How backwards is that? 

And of course they should care about Josh because they’re his parents. But caring for a child doesn’t mean rescuing them from the repercussions of their actions. Jim Bob and Michelle clearly thought it did, because they decided to “care” for Josh by locking up the girls and imposing basically no consequences on Josh. IMO truly caring for him would have meant getting him some treatment. Perhaps if they had done that, they could have spared five-year-old Joy — also their child, who they had a duty to protect — from being molested while she trustingly sat in her brother’s lap to be read a story. 

But they didn’t do that. Because hey, Joy’s just a girl, right? They’re a dime a dozen, nobody really cares what happens to them. The important one here was their precious firstborn son, Josh. 🙄 

[Josh & Anna Smuggar: A Series of Unfortunate Events]

On 12/26/2019 at 12:52 PM, Namaste said:

She looks terrified in pic 1

She probably just got a good look at Josh for the first time.

[Jill, Derick & the Kids: Moving On!!]

What seals it for me is that he abused Joy when she was 5 and he was 14. That can’t be written off as “experimentation” or whatever other bullshit phrase Jim Bob and Michelle tried to use to excuse Josh’s abuse of the older girls. That’s predator behavior, period. He should have been sent to juvie or at least to some serious, legit sex offender treatment program, not to help a family friend paint his fence. And the girls should all have been sent to counseling with a licensed counselor trained to deal with sexual abuse victims. There’s just no excuse for how this was handled. If Jill is now re-examining the abuse and her parents’ complete failure to protect their children, she probably is angry, and with good reason. Derick certainly seems angry on her behalf, also with good reason. 

And I sincerely hope that everyone, including Anna, keeps a close eye on Josh around their kids. Maybe he has changed, I don’t know, but IME predators gonna prey. 

[Jill, Derick & the Kids: Moving On!!]

32 minutes ago, lascuba said:

I was a regular watcher of 19K from the beginning. I seen Jill cry plenty of times. Those were fake tears. 

Sure didn’t look that way to me.

Jessa must be one cold fish or really, really hate Jill to sit next to her when she was so upset and not even reach over and pat her shoulder. It strikes me sometimes that for a “family are the only friends you need” family, none of the adult Duggars seem very fond of each others’ company. Jill, Jessa, Jana and Joy all live within easy driving distance of one another but except for family events like births and parties there’s little evidence on their social media that they spend time together. I wonder how much the members of this family actually like each other.

I’m glad it seems like Jill is developing a new support system (she has made at least one genuine friend, who shows up frequently on social media) but I also hope she is in counseling with a licensed counselor. I think she’s just starting to wake up about how seriously fucked up her childhood was, and she’s going to need a lot of help to process that trauma. 

[The Duggalos: Jinger and the Holy Goalie]

8 hours ago, QuinnInND said:

 

Good god, they’re even rebranding the child. Is nothing sacred? 

[The Duggalos: Jinger and the Holy Goalie]

2 hours ago, Lunera said:

Sooo, they went out for fast food on her birthday. Jinger got a bunless burger. Jeremy looks goofy af in that big ass hat. 

Guess they only eat out at fancy places when someone else is footing the bill  

They went out for pizza AND burgers? At this rate Jeremy is going to have to roll back to class after the holidays.

[The Duggalos: Jinger and the Holy Goalie]

7 hours ago, Oldernowiser said:

Just think, if he’d gone to D.C. instead of Hollywood he’d have a cabinet position by now...

For some reason I read that as a “cabaret position” and was picturing Jeremy in stiletto heels and a Liza Minelli wig. 

[Jill, Derick & the Kids: Moving On!!]

15 minutes ago, farmgal4 said:

I don’t understand why she’s finding it so difficult to be a mom. She was a sister-mom most of her life, so why is raising 2 children so difficult for her?

Because this time they’re hers. Jill was raised to believe that being a mom is the only valid contribution a woman can make to society.  Even though we have seen her take baby steps away from those beliefs, she still probably feels a lot of pressure to raise the perfect kids.  You can tell she is strict with them, because she makes a four-year-old say “yes ma’am“ to his mother.  She still plans to homeschool, even though it should be abundantly clear that she is not cut out for it at all, because homeschooling is what fundie moms do.   In my experience, it’s not the parenting tasks that are overwhelming; it’s the pressure of knowing that every interaction you have with your child can shape their view of the world. When she was the leader of a buddy team, I don’t think she had that pressure because at the end of the day the kids weren’t hers. They were Michelle‘s, and she was the one  Who was ultimately responsible for them.