Turtle

Pregnancy and STDs would definitely be a concern with sex in the ZA, but so is everything else. These people take a lot of bigger risks than herpes every single day, and, to me, intimate physical contact is as important to survival long-term as are food and water. Or at least, to any type of mentally healthy survival. Plus, at this point, if someone has raging gonorrhea or something, they'd either be insane or dead, or it would be pretty noticeable because of the lack of treatment and proper hygiene. Finally, I would imagine a lot of hooking up would be fueled by emotion and adrenaline, and possibly not involving a lot of rational risk assessment. But I agree with the larger point, that it's something the show probably doesn't need to show too often, even though it's likely happening, if it isn't relevant to the story at hand. We don't see them pooping or dealing with periods, either, but that's got to be happening at least occasionally! The idea of living in a taller city building is interesting. To me, the biggest two issues would be finding food and water, and disposing of waste. I suppose both could be managed with occasional foraging trips, though. I wonder - do we know if the bombing of Atlanta (which I had forgotten about) killed a lot of people who may have still been in town and had supplies, thus leaving supplies behind? There might be more local scavenging possibilities than it would seem at first sight. And of course the rooftop garden suggested above!

Like others, I would very much like for Hope to just shut it. Sure, maybe feelings don't turn off immediately, but 1) this is why most of us don't marry people on impulse, especially when we're in love with other people, and 2) YOU ARE THE ONE WHO CHOSE WYATT, and so you don't get to have any problem with anything Liam is doing. If Liam had dumped her, maybe I'd have some sympathy (maybe), but this? Is ridiculous. Even if she regrets her choice, as long as she with Wyatt and not trying to get back together with Liam, she needs to keep her feelings to herself. I really do not like this character. I like Ivy. She seems fun. And while she may have stepped over the line a bit when talking to Hope, I think she was in the right with most of her comments (as evidenced above). And Liam is so much more enjoyable around her. The I Love Yous were a bit much, but I'm willing to let it go. What can I say, I'm easy. Who are Dayzee and Thomas??? Should I want them to come back? I figure it's because he knows that if he forces her hand, she'll go running back to Liam. Reminding her of her commitment and making her feel a sense of obligation are the only ways he has to keep her, and that's a lot easier if he plays doormat. And rushes Liam in to another relationship. Totally healthy on everyone's part. :-/

I'm so glad Nolan was too smart to fall for Loony Toons' mess. Very happy he saw those hilariously photoshopped pics and realized something was up. Still really hate Victoria and need for her to stop being omnipotent. It's just annoying. Somehow they've turned this character in to the absolute worst, which is a shame, because I used to really like her. But somehow, I think I like Daniel again? David is a dummy. I think he always been, and Emily just didn't realize it before because she was a child. I was screaming (in my head) during that scene for her to tell David something more than "She's so mean!" Mentioning that Victoria put her away would have been a great start. I liked this show better when I had to suspend disbelief because of how awesome Emily was, instead of because of how stupid everyone is.

I saw that as Carol being willing to hurt a human to save herself/ others (or their weapons, which are necessary to survival), but not willing to just leave a helpless person to be eaten. Even if the two happen to be the same person. Also, aiming a gun at him happened in the spur of the moment, and she reacted quickly. Noah under the bookcase gave her more time to think about it.​ Interesting thoughts about whether Daryl is a virgin. My take on him has always been that he's an intimacy virgin, but probably not a physical one. I doubt he's ever had any emotional attachments as deep as the ones he has now. ETA: Or, what poppy- said!

I wonder how this could change Daryl, if he's not able to save one or both of them. I think he's a rather emotionally complex person to begin with, and suffering even more significant losses after all he's already been through could undo a lot of the emotional growth we've seen him go through. Or even just a creek. But I maintain that none of these people are as dirty as the Sons of Anarchy.​ I have been surprised that more of these characters haven't slept together. I get that they have other things to deal with, but sex is a pretty natural reaction to high-stress and high-adrenaline situations. In reality, I think there would be a lot more comfort sex going on. That said, I get that maybe the show doesn't explore it because it could be seen as complicating the interpersonal relationships they work so hard to develop. Like, if Carol and Daryl did occasionally hook up, that's all anyone would talk about, instead of the (I think) more interesting conversations like "You don't me" "Keep telling yourself that."

I think the time he had to just wander around and look in every literal nook & cranny is why he found it, rather than any information from the clue (or his seriously confusing explanation of the clue), especially if all of Exile is really not that big. I'm the one that started the "am I dumb or did the clue make no sense?" conversation, so I can only assume this was directed to me, at least in part. So, just to clear up any confusion: I wasn't accusing any one of cheating (in this instance). I was commenting that the clue seemed, to me, to have no relation to where Jon actually found the idol. In short, the clue made no sense, given the location of the idol, and his explanation of how he found it also didn't make any sense to me. Anyway, giving overly precise or difficult clues wouldn't be cheating; it would be giving easy or difficult clues. Now, the cameraman focusing his camera directly on where the idol is hidden could be considered cheating, and I think that has happened on this show.

I agree. To me, it's much better for the villains to not be 100% mustache-twirlers. It's so much better if they seem like actual people, just bad ones. A one-dimensional character is fine for a day player, but I hate having any long-term (or even medium-term) character be single-note. I also don't like when any character is 100% good - they *all* need to be multi-dimensional to make them interesting. Ava is a good example: she has been shown as cold-blooded and willing to do whatever it takes to survive / get what she wants. But she's also been shown to care about Morgan and Kiki (who knows why) and now the baby. Being a ruthless criminal doesn't make you inhuman, and I appreciate seeing both sides. Just because she doesn't hate everyone doesn't mean she's suddenly "good."

I agree, on all points. Shut up, Sonny and Carly. Just shut up. No rational person could have any sympathy for either of your selfish asses. And we're supposed to believe and give one shit that you say you love each other? You're horrible people. Stop with your mutual pity party. Just.. shut it. Www.zipit.com. Exzipit A. Zip it good. Is this show really trying to make me have any sympathy for these asshats?? Sonny's in jail for murder, and screaming that everything would be okay if only he had murdered people earlier. Can. Not. Even. And they're trying to loop all this in to the Jason reveal??? Show, you're ruining what could be good story. And the award for Narcissist of the Year goes to... Sonny. Shocker, I know. And yet they're laying the groundwork to get him out of this. I will .. well, I won't do anything, but I will be outraged, and you'll all have to hear about it. Lucy? You can have a seat. I believe there's room next to Duke, because he is taking a lot of seats. I really like Nik and Britt together. I think they're cute and a little bit hot. Yeah, she's a horrible liar, but so is he. It works for me. But, I like Spencer, so obviously my opinion can't be trusted. CD is killing it. This is his best work, for sure. I choose to ignore anything related to Liz and Is He Jason? I'm hanging on by a thread with this show, and I can't handle any more asshattery. So it's best if I just pretend none of that exists. ETA: This post was brought to you by a box of wine.

I meant it as "the show made her do it", not trying to say she was forced by Sonny or circumstances or whatever. I just think that having sex with Sonny, even if you choose it, is about as severe a punishment as can be suffered. :-)

I cannot remember if the recording on AJ's phone implicates Ava in Connie's murder. But even if it does, there'd be even more evidentiary problems with that recording than with Franco's. Not that that will stop the show from using it, though. But if it doesn't, is there any other "proof" that Ava killed Connie? Sure, there's the "AJ", but nothing else? I think I would be okay with Ava getting away with Connie's murder. One, I never cared about Connie. Well, I cared, in that I really disliked her. Two, it's been sooooo long that I now care even less. Three, I sort of feel like Ava has been punished a fair amount recently, what with having to have crypt sex with Sonny, the forced labor, the kidnapped baby. Not saying that all that makes up for murder, but at least everything hasn't exactly been going her way. And yet I want Sonny to rot in prison forever. So, yeah, I'm a hypocrite!

I wondered if this was setting up some custody battle shenanigans.​ I had the probably irrational hope that it meant Jax was coming to take her. And Joss.

I was really shocked that Josh was booted. Given the edit he's been given, and that he's been the only "story teller" of the season, I was sure that Josh was sticking around for a while. Maybe I'm dumb (totally possible), but I didn't think the location of the idol on Exile was related in any way to the clue Jon got. Jeremy, I like you, and I want to continue to like you, but you're making it pretty difficult when you say that women are too delicate to hear "men talk". Missy with the same stuff pissed me off. You're on an island with no food, no bathroom, and no shower, fighting for a million dollars - is burping or spitting really that big of an issue??? Do they get food on Exile? If so, what? Or do they have to try to find fish or plants to eat? Alec looks like he doesn't even know where he is. Reed, on the other hand, seems to be getting better looking as he gets more disheveled. But eventually those two people are going to be voting *against* you, or at least voting in favor of each other over you. When the numbers are down to 5, or even 9, 2 votes that can't be broken up could really affect the tribal council vote. Having 2 bloc votes is great early on, but I think that within a vote or two after the merge, you really want to break that up.​

The dead-eye 1000-yard stare did not look much like enjoyment to me. I thought Jax told Abel about Wendy because he thought Abel was freaking out because his "mom" was dead, and so Jax wanted to make it better by giving him a new mom. A little twisted, but I can understand what he was thinking. As for Abel, I don't think he had a master plan to hurt himself and blame Gemma for it. I think he hurt himself because he's been pretty traumatized, he hasn't received any real support in dealing with that trauma, and he overheard Gemma talking about killing his mom; he doesn't have the mental or emotional maturity to deal with any of it. Self-abuse, while rare in kids that age, is not an uncommon reaction to that sort of situation. And I think that he later blamed Gemma for hurting him because he knows Gemma did something bad, and because he had the sense that saying "I did it to myself" was going to get a bad reaction. And he senses that Gemma did, in some way, hurt him, leading to some ill-defined anger or resentment toward Gemma. Kids are pretty receptive about that sort of thing. And so concludes my pop psychology lecture. (Although, I think the show could have presented this much better.) I enjoyed the Tig/ Venus scenes, but that enjoyment was somewhat tempered by the number of times Tig said "baby". I forgot all about Half-Sack!​

One day last week, Franco admitted that it wasn't the tumor, that he really is just a total dick. A murderous dick.

Dante, Sonny does not deserve your sympathy! Even if that baby is his and it's missing. Has anyone mentioned that he was about to murder Ava when Michael walked in? Seems like that could add to his criminal charges... Sonny: "Ya gotta hear me out." Why exactly is that? Morgan holding a baby is going to be very cute. I will also forget his stupidity, at least temporarily, when we get that scene. I thought it was kind of perfect that all Michael said to Kiki and Morgan was basically "You're liars, go away, I'm done with you." Him eviscerating them would have been fun, but just dismissing them like that showed that he was just so totally over all the lies and betraaaayalll (TM Sonny), and that they weren't even worth him getting all fired up again. I know this is all a setup for Morgan and Kiki to get back together and raise the baby (well, I suspect). But I wouldn't mind Morgan and Michael making up and working together to take down Sonny. Alas, I fear Morgan is lost to Sonny. Heh. It didn't even occur to me, honestly. Bobbie was also sucking down the booze and she had much less reason to do. I mean, Ron could make him have a problem, but I have a feeling he won't. I'm sucking down the booze right now, just thinking about this show. So I don't judge. movingtargetgal, an orange jumpsuit on Sonny would basically be camouflage, so let's hope they don't do that!​

I had forgotten all about Dante and Sonny on the roof - thanks! Why couldn't we keep *that* Dante? Everything he said about Sonny loving himself more than anyone else and how Sonny has blown up all of his kids' lives was so true. I will never understand how characters who see who and what Sonny really is somehow "forget" that and become his best friends again. It's not like Sonny changes or shows true remorse or anything. I could not help but laugh at Sonny's "You let your son walk right in to danger" to Olivia. Yes, Sonny, he walked right in to the danger that was you shooting him in the chest. Classic Sonny. ETA: I had also completely forgotten that Maxie slept with old Franco!! Can you imagine Maxie with *this* Franco? There is just no way. Yet another reason why RH should have been a different character instead of Franco.

I love that Michael's brothers were the ones to stop him from shooting Sonny. Don't get me wrong, I want Sonny dead more than anyone, but I don't want Michael to be a murderer. It's bad enough he's already killed two people out of necessity. I want this story to be about him separating himself from that whole world, shutting Sonny and Carly out completely and moving on with his life. So, thank god for Dante. But Morgan? Please take several seats. And even though I hate Sonny so so much, I thought MB did a good job in those scenes with his facial expressions. As with others, I interpreted Michael's "do your damn job" as more about Michael's frustration and anger at Sonny and the situation, rather than him actually intending to boss Dante around. I think Michael is just worn out mentally and was ready to be done with it. That said, it did catch me off guard at first too. What in the world is happening with this Lord Ashton crap? I love to see the Quartermaines, but that was all sorts of weird, I thought. My nightmare about Liz/ Jake has come true. Kill me now.

Thanks, Francie. I don't read anything about these actors other than what gets posted here, so my opinion of them is based 100% on physical appearance. :-) Interesting to read that he comes across as a jerk.

Is there something distasteful about Will deVry that I don't know? Because I would love to introduce him. To my pants. Or is it just a matter of personal taste?

Sweetened by the fact that he had just pulled a gun on a woman who had just been terrorized, forced into labor and had her newborn kidnapped.​ And not just *a woman* who had been through all of that - it was the very same woman that he claims he was protecting before! "I couldn't stand to see AJ hurt a woman. I wanted to be the one to hurt her." It's so insane that it's hilarious.

Could not care less about whatever is going on with Margot / Daniel / lady from the psych ward. I cannot even keep track of who knows what at this point. Actually, I can't keep track of what's going on in general. I really miss the days of Emily's Red Sharpie, when times were simpler. One thing I'm confused about: The pictures that Emily confronted David with. I thought I was paying attention, but I guess not. Where did they come from? Why did it lead Emily to say "You could have come for me and you didn't". Obviously, I missed something important...

I liked this episode a lot more than I thought I was going to. Even though I don't care about any of the people featured in this episode (not even Glenn and Maggie - don't hate me!), it kept my attention. I had no idea what exactly had happened to Abraham's family, but I definitely got the sense that they had been or were scared of being terrorized by the other men, and then were scared further when Abraham brutally killed those men, and that is what made them run away. At this point in the ZA / show, when I see a terrified woman and children with strangers nearby, I assume things weren't going well for woman & kids, and so it seemed clear to me that Abraham killed those guys because they were somehow a threat to his family. Having the additional information and details is good, but I didn't need it for the story arc to make sense. When Abraham found his family and walked toward them and then looked down at his bloody hands, the look on his face said so much. It was like he knew he had just horrified them, but he was also confused and scared .. I don't know how to explain it, but I thought the actor conveyed a lot with just that look. Oh, Eugene. You're just as full of shit as we all suspected you were.

Every once in a while, I really miss Passions. Don't judge.

Is that the narrative really? Sonny slept with his son's girlfriend, on the grave of his other son's father. Whom he murdered.Where in that narrative is the Sonny you described? The narrative I was referring to is the one the show has been shoving down our throats for years, despite all evidence to the contrary: that Sonny loves his kids and is a good father and is a good man. The characters on this show are constantly telling us that. It's not what we've been *shown* (and my original post continued with "not showing us" just to highlight that point), because we've all seen that Sonny is the absolute worst. I thought it was an interesting turn in that narrative to have Sonny hold a gun on his favorite son, showing that the writers no longer are trying to convince us that Sonny is awesome. And I liked it. I think you and I are on the same page here, and maybe my original comment just wasn't clear. I certainly wasn't saying that I think Sonny is a good father! Hell, I recently threatened to feed him his own intestines.​

After some more thought, I'm pretty surprised that they had Sonny holding a gun on Michael. It goes completely against the "Sonny is a wonderful father who loves his kids more than anything (even the 1,736 'loves of his life') and will do anything to protect them" narrative they've been telling us, but not showing us, for years. Mind you, I'm not surprised Sonny would do it, because that's who he is, but it seems to underscore that maybe the writers are finally admitting "Hey, this guy is an ass." Re: Michael saying "whore" - Didn't like it, obviously, but I took it as Michael mocking Sonny's constant use of the word. To me, it sounded like he kind of spat it out in a sarcastic way, and I could almost see the air quotes around it. It was like yet another insult, yet another example of Michael calling out how terrible Sonny is. HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!​ (Although, to be fair, this week has been mostly good.)