Turtle

What. The. Hell. That was awful. I never FF any of this terrible show, because I am *committed*, dammit, but I just could not sit through Kiki's performance. It was cringe-inducingly terrible. I'm actually making a disgusted face as I type, just thinking about it. And the wedding? Gross. Over Luke and whatever is going on, and I thought it was stupid to have almost 1/2 the show taken up with that song & wedding BS. But whatever. Not proud of it, but I smiled a little during Milo & the Wands. Lucas? Yes, please. More. Although poor Mikey, he just cannot dance.

I understand that secrets are a soap mainstay, but this is really getting ridiculous. Let's see..what secrets are there right now? CryptSex, who killed AJ, who killed Connie, who Luke really is/ what's going on with him, Luke hitting on Kiki (until yesterday, at least), Lucy and Scott, ... surely I'm missing some. But really, most of these are NOT secrets, because half the town knows all about them! And I don't understand anyone's logic in deciding who to tell or not tell (not that logic is a big part of GH storytelling). I'm most mad about Michael not knowing about CryptSex, I think, because a) Morgan is Michael's brother, and Morgan might want his support right now, and Michael might want to give it!, b) Sonny is Michael's father, and Michael might have an interest in his destructive behavior, c) Ava is Michael's girlfriend's mother, and d) it happened at Michael's other father's funeral! If ANYONE should know about it, it's Michael. "Protecting him" from it b/c he's too fragile over AJ or whatever makes no sense. We all know he's eventually going to find out, and he'll be even more hurt because Kiki and Morgan kept it from him. Just.. makes no sense. Although I recognize that Morgan and Kiki are complete idiots, and expecting any rational thought from them is foolish on my part. It's all just a huge mess. And having so many half-secrets floating around all at once makes each one of them have so much less impact. And I can't remember who knows what, so it's really hard to get invested in the "big reveals" to come. And I do not want more Niz. Just don't want it. And I'm a person who likes both characters (well, I don't mind them, at least).

Could have been. If he had told Olivia that Sonny shot AJ, or that she needed to stop being some brainwashed moll and get away from the greasy little murderer. Alas, no. I adored Morgan saying that Jax was a great step-dad, and then Sonny tried to murder Jax and blew Morgan's life apart. It's true, and I'm glad Morgan knows it, and is being allowed to be mad about it. I just really really wish it hadn't taken CryptSex to get him to say it. Once again, I find myself hoping that maybe Sonny is finally going to get what he deserves, with all his kids turning on him. Why do I keep letting myself hope?? I did not adore whatever is going on with Morgan's hair.

Well, you're forgetting that Redemption Arc Britt is there to save the day. Obviously, the baby will be touch-n-go for a bit, giving Patrick and Sabrina a chance to sit bedside and to bond and to fall in true love forever. And then the baby will get better and everyone will be happy, and they will have Britt to thank for it all. (I say that bitterly, and I'm a person who almost likes Britt.) But still, it's all so predictable. And not even interesting. I can deal with predictable in my soaps, but it requires an investment in the characters, and I just don't have it with these fools. But it seems they're setting Britt up to be the one that caused the accident? Or did I get that confused? The look Nathan/James and Anna gave each other seemed to me like they were setting up a "Britt done it" story line. Which, well, No. Just, No.

I had a lot to say about this episode, but watching those two fools eat each others faces in the crypt pretty much wiped my memory. I've got nothing more to say. Except - Gross.

Excellent point. I'm inclined to agree. The stupid special HII is, well, stupid. This season was going so well, with people actually playing and strategizing, and blindsides, and fun tribals. Something like this ridiculous power ruins all of that. Allowing it will completely ruin at least one person's game, if not several. It may be "part of the game" that they now have to strategize around, but it is *impossible* to strategize around! The regular HIIs are annoying enough, but at least there's a way to mitigate the damage, or cause someone to waste it. With this stupid thing, Tony is now guaranteed to get to F4, if not F3, and there is nothing any of them can do to stop it. I hate it. And I do not believe for one minute that Tony found that idol without a little bit of help. That opinion may be based somewhat on my hatred of this idol, and of my disgust that it was Tony who found it. It is interesting that some of his alliance think Tony is the goat. Maybe that will change now that Spencer told them that Tony will get his vote. Won't matter though, because they can't vote Tony out! So annoying. (I'm actually a little bit embarrassed about how angry I am about this special HII.) I do think Trish is playing a really good game, albeit a quiet one. Although I do not understand why they all still trust Tony after the LJ vote, especially after he told them he kept it a secret because he couldn't trust them! "Hey, y'all, I don't trust you to tell you what I'm doing, and I worry you'll screw it up, but you can keep on trusting me." "Oh, okay, sure!"

Well, that was fun. And intense. I was both surprised at how much they fit in to an hour, and surprised when the hour was over. So, well done, show. I love the Arya & The Hound Show as much as anyone, but I was glad to see a reminder of just how not-kind Sandor is. For a split second, I found myself thinking that they might really stay there and work for a bit, help protect the farm/ area. And that's ridiculous! Of course Sandor wouldn't do that. Of course he's going to not only eat all the food but also knock the guy out and steal the silver! So it was good, for me, to be reminded that he is not actually a "bad guy with a heart of gold." Still love them, mind you, but I was glad to be forced back in to remembering who he really is. Probably not a bad idea for Arya to be reminded, either. Poor Sam (and little Sam and Gilly) - no good choices there. Littlefinger creeps me out in such a fun way. That guy is shady with a capital S. But also shrewd with a capital S, I guess. And Sansa remains clueless and easily manipulated. Bless her heart.

At this point, I welcome it. Please, someone, anyone, kill 80% of these characters. I am enjoying Ghost AJ. He's fun. And I can't help it - I like spoiled, sassy, inappropriate, jerky Spencer. I know there's so much wrong with him, but I like him. That will change if he continues to give a shit about Sonny, though. There's not much else I care about right now. Oh, except for Who Killed Nina!!! (Kidding, obviously)

The game really is wide open this season, and I'm loving it. These people are actually trying to play the game (with mixed results), and it's fun to watch in a way it hasn't been in a while. I can't decide how I feel about Tony's game. On one hand, Tony seems to be manipulating people pretty well, without them realizing it (e.g., telling Sarah that Cliff wanted her out, telling Woo that LJ was gunning for him). On the other hand, Tony is playing haaarrrdd, pretty early in the game, which rarely works out long-term. So I just don't know. I'm becoming more impressed with Spencer every week. He seemed willing to take advantage of Tony's paranoia this vote, but I got the impression that he wasn't 100% trusting Tony, and didn't plan to stick with him. I think Spencer and Tash have a really strong alliance, and if they can keep up the immunity wins, and/or continue to take advantage of the other tribe eating itself (a la Sandra's "anyone but me" strategy), they may just get to the finals. Which would be brilliant.

Very interesting thought, that he might think he's the good guy, trying to restore things to normal, all while thinking that our guys are the bad guys. Jinks' facial expressions and body language when Claudia was trying to try not to try to kill them had me in stitches. A part of me wishes that the show had more time, and so could follow through on the Myka with cancer storyline, because I thought that could have been interesting. But given the short lifespan, I'm really glad they chucked it so we can get a few last fun episodes in.

Yes, Sandra was great in that regard. But it was due to her "Anyone but me" strategy. Sandra never dug her heels in on getting out one person over another, and never cared about who was seemingly in charge. She voted with the group, occasionally stirred up trouble between other people while mostly staying out of the fray herself, and kept folks from getting too pissed at her. Basically, the exact opposite of the game Kass is playing!

Woo was not "just picking up" Spencer's pants. Woo suspected Spencer had an HII clue, and had been sneakily following Spencer for a while. He saw Spencer's pants, and already thought the situation was fishy, and then shook the pants out. Lo and behold, here's a clue. All fair game, I guess, but it's not like Woo was just being a good guy and the clue fell in his lap. Woo was suspicious of Spencer, and was looking for a clue. He found it, so good on him, but he wasn't being a nice guy by picking up Spencer's pants. Why do all these fools tell the whole tribe about HII clues or the HII itself? LF and Tony (groan) did it right - you just hold the idol, and keep it quiet, until you think it will serve you well. Spencer had the right idea - no one else knows. There is no point, in my mind, of finding an HII in front of the whole group - it's a liability if everyone knows you have it. A tribe may just target a person with an HII, even if it's splitting the vote, just to get the idol out of the game. I do not understand why a person would ever share idol possession or knowledge with anyone else. Only exception would be when the numbers are getting low, and you think the vote might go against you, and you tell folks you have the idol and will play it, and that swings them around. But only when you're down to 7 or fewer people. **Sorry for the back to back posts - haven't totally figured this format out yet.

I'm sorry to see Morgan go, and I'm really surprised that I feel that way! I thought I wouldn't like her, but she grew on me. And considering that everyone in camp seemed to dislike her, she would have been a great goat. I think Kass could have become a power player by flipping back and voting out Tony. Instead, she cemented herself in the solid last position of whatever alliance she eventually decides to be a part of. If she had voted Tony, Tash and Spencer would have taken her back in to the fold quickly, knowing that she probably won't get Sarah's or Tony's jury vote, but could be useful in eliminating other players on the way to the final 2 or 3. Instead, she is at the bottom of the non-Tony, et al. group, and will likely be gone in the next 2 votes. I find Woo so annoying. I can't articulate why, but when he was doing that side-face, eyebrow-arch to the camera during his confessional tonight, I wanted to crawl through my tv and punch him right in the throat. Oddly, it is entirely possible that I am rooting for Spencer. I don't understand it, but there it is.

I'm hoping I'll figure out who all the characters are pretty soon. Even with the exposition, I was a little confused. I know that the Redcoats had better resources during the war, but were their uniforms really that bright red and pristine? I'm no historical scholar, but it just struck me as unlikely that so many officers, while so far from home, would have uniforms in such good shape. Wigs too. Anyone have any insight?

Yawn. I feel like TPTB are trying to create interesting story lines, but they just don't know how. Getting Silas, a character I don't care about, involved even further with Nathan and his mother, two other characters I don't care about, is not exactly riveting TV. I cannot muster up any interest whatsoever in Nina or her coma or her death or her baby or anything related to any of them. I am 100% spoiler free, so this is purely my fear talking, but I am absolutely terrified that Dr. O is going to shoot Liz, and Nik will sit vigil by Liz' bedside, and that's how they'll get back together. Do. Not. Want. But I have to say, I'm not minding the attempted redemption arc for Britt so far. It could work, especially because I've started to like her. Never saw that coming!

That was really intense, but I liked it overall. Very curious to see where they go with the tension between Jaime and Joffrey. Joffrey is such a little shit, and Jaime did not look like he intended to tolerate the personal attacks much longer. I'm starting to suspect that Tywin is well aware that the kids are Jaime's, not Robert's, and that's part of his motivation to get Jaime out of there. That, and his disappointment in Jaime for getting himself kidnapped and maimed. I don't really want all the Lannisters to die. A few of them, yes. But I think there's a real story to tell with Joffrey being stripped of power and held prisoner somewhere for a while, especially if he finds out that Jaime is his dad. Then they can kill him. Arya - girl is a hot mess, and I love it. The scenes with her and Sandor started becoming some of my favorites last season, and this episode did not disappoint. It's a little odd to me that he seems so attached to/ protective of her, but "a man has to have a code"...

I agree completely. What a bonehead move by her. I really think her ego got in the way, and she just couldn't get past Sarah's gloating (which was also a totally bonehead move). I thought Tash handled it really well, but Kass reacted horribly, throwing away a pretty solid long-term alliance because her feelings were hurt. This is one of my favorite rules for life.

I am a "woman of a certain age" (well, almost), and my issue with Kass is that she acted emotionally; she was mad at Sarah and pissed that Tash seemingly sided with Sarah, and so she blew up her alliance and quite likely her chances in the game. It has nothing to do with her gender or her age - she made a dumb decision. Kass thinks she's a lot smarter than she is, and I think she'll pay for it. I listen to the Rob Has a Podcast recaps, and they've discussed the "special idol" pretty extensively. I think it's terrible and I am not looking forward to it.

I think this is a good idea for a topic - I often have little questions about episodes that don't require a spoilery answer, but that could be cleared up by someone with more info about the overall story arc, whether it comes from spoilers or the books. So I vote Yeah for a Little Questions thread. Also, team #Willowy.

That was a seriously entertaining episode. Seriously messed up, but also entertaining. I love watching these fools talk themselves out of the game. Sarah, meet hubris. How could she think that going around telling everyone that she was in charge wouldn't bite her in the ass? Had she just shut up for two minutes and let others realize that she had the power, she might have gone far in the game. Instead, she had to try to wield her power, and it was her undoing. I just wanted to scream "Shut UP, Sarah!!" Idiots. I just can't with Kass at this point. Her whole spiel about not trusting Sarah to stick with the alliance seems quite hypocritical now. She was sooo convinced Sarah was going to swap - project much? Had she stayed true to her tribe, Jefra would be gone and they'd have 6-4 advantage, with her probably in a power position with Tash and Spencer. Now? Spencer, Tash, Jeremiah, and Morgan will be out to get her, and she'll never get into a top 3 with Tony, Trish, Woo, LJ, and Jefra. Basically, Kass just ruined Sarah's game (obviously), but also her own game. Assuming that Tony/ Trish/ et al. group doesn't split (which I think is a good assumption at this point, especially with Sarah gone), she's top 5 at best, with only Jefra and LJ going out before her, instead of the top 3 she could have been. Just dumb. Dumb dumb dumb.

Yes! I loved Shane, because he seemed to be all about just getting the job done and taking care of the people important to him, without a lot of emotional angst or internal struggle. And I see a lot of that in Carl, too. But Carl could maybe use a little more internal struggle, methinks.

I have no idea what the hell I just watched. The flashbacks and CloneCarlys could have been fun and interesting, but instead were all about poor tragic Sonny. Not touching or emotional at all. I usually hate all the ghost-shit, but even that could have been tolerable, if only AJ had answered Monica's question! Do the Rules of the Afterlife prevent a dead person from telling who killed them? I was surprised to find myself thinking that a much younger Sonny was actually kind of attractive. Disgusted, but surprised. I am terrified of where this Who Killed AJ story is going. Terrified.

My take on that was that Carl didn't want his dad to know who *Carl* really is, and that Carl really wasn't all that bothered by what his dad did. When they got to Terminus and that guy asked if the "other guy" deserved it, Carl answered quickly and unequivocally "Yes." Carl has always been better than his dad at not getting caught up in any sense of morality or duty, I think. He knew that Rick was going to be concerned about what Carl had seen Rick do, but Carl wasn't really bothered by it. To me, Carl was really scared during the attack, understandably so, but his sense of trauma had nothing to do with what Rick had done. And Carl doesn't want Rick to know that. I haven't re-watched yet, but wasn't "A" also painted on some of the doors they ran through while being herded by the snipers? Yes. A thousand times, yes.

Terribly sad and pissed about the death of AJ. So many thoughts, though. 1) What horrific crap will we have to endure while Carly tries to decide what to do about knowing Sonny shot AJ? Is she going to blackmail him? For what?? Is she going to tell him for like the eleventy-fortieth time to stay away from her kids? Is she going to cry to Franco about it? Never mind - I already don't care. 2) Is it going to take the ghost of AJ to clear up who actually killed Connie? Or are we just going to forget about it? Way to ruin what could have been an interesting and riveting storyline, involving several of the main characters. 2a) Will the revelation that AJ was actually innocent of killing Connie combined with breaking his promise to Michael drive Sonny to madness? (I hope, oh, I hope. I hope so hard.) Who will he kill to make himself feel better? 3) If Sonny really only imports coffee, why does he have to be a gangster? Why can't he just be, I don't know, a non-gangster coffee importer? I started watching B&B last week, after only ever being an ABCD watcher, just to see what it was like, and I think I might stick with it for a while. Their doors actually shut without shaking the entire "wall".

rogueprinzess, excellent point about Rick having just gone through the Merles incident, and so had really had it with folks messing with his group. And the Governor/ prison fight was really only, what, a week ago? Is that possible? Either way, you're right that reasoning with crazy has not worked well for him in the past, and so maybe it was best for him to just try something while they still had their weapons. Didn't work out, but it likely wasn't going to end well regardless. I do wonder, though, what happened to Glen's group since they got to Terminus. What a weird plan, to let newcomers keep their weapons and make them feel welcome, and then in a day or two have them locked in a train car. I'm just curious what went on in the interim. Even more curious why, if the Termites' intentions are nefarious, they even bother with the hospitality facade.