Carrie Ann

I can totally see your points, and I think you have a lot of company in that department elsewhere in fandom. I think a lot of people are happy about the L/F friendship, and are satisfied with Laurel's development this season. So of course you're not wrong not to hate her! I wish I felt the same; I honestly do. I think the central problem with the way they've handled LL is all related to this point. If you removed the name, then this point falls apart, on the show that I am watching. You see what I mean? There was no IN-SHOW reason for Laurel to be the one who was always destined to be the Black Canary. There were very, very few indications that she had anything like that in her for the first two seasons. Whereas Sara had every indication. Had it been revealed that Sara's middle name was Dinah, and she could someday live as Dinah Lance, would that have changed people's perspectives about these two characters and their fitness to be the Black Canary? So, I won't belabor the point here, but when I look at THIS show, I do feel like her "journey" has been too fast and easy, and it does seem out of nowhere, to me, someone who doesn't care what her name is or what it means. But this is where the show is going, so you know. All I can really hope is that after this season, LL doesn't receive any more special focus--no more than any non-Oliver character does. And that they take note of the fact that people prefer her when she's not ordering the rest of the characters around like they're her underlings.

I read Clarke's leaving very differently. The show consistently shows us that if a number of people experience the same trauma, they will not react to it in the same way. In this instance, I don't think Clarke was being a martyr or trying to imply that she is better or worse, or experienced more or less, than anyone else. She's just finally feeling the full weight of her actions this season, and for herself, personally, she feels like she needs to be away from people, and not to be looked to as a leader or a friend or anything for awhile. I don't think that indicts or absolves anyone who was involved and doesn't act that way. I don't think she's trying to take on everyone's burden or be self-pitying. I think she's traumatized and full of guilt, and she's basically holding on by a thread. I think she's doing the only thing she can right now.

I would never have believed I'd say this, but I too am thrilled we'll have more Murphy next season. I was deeply unimpressed by RS on Continuum, and didn't feel much better about him in S1, but they have done a great job with his character this season, and RS is really dialed into Murphy. As far as JR's comments about Clarke, I think his point was that this is the Grounders' perception (and maybe some of the Ark people's too) of Clarke. From their limited perspective, they see her as the person who made these things happen, and this is how legends grow. I thought the comparison to Paul Bunyan made that pretty clear. I mean, yeah, I'm sure he's in love with Clarke a bit--she's the heroine of his show, and I'm in love with her too--but I don't think he or anyone on the show believe she did these things single-handedly. If they wanted her to, they would have written it that way.

I think most of the regulars on that show want out. I'm shocked DOB is staying, honestly.

As far as the episode description for 318 goes, I'm not at all surprised that it's Ray in the hospital. I was basically down to three options: him, minor injury to Felicity, or minor injury to Mama Smoak. I also suspect that Donna doesn't rush to her daughter's side to support her during this major crisis of her boyfriend of four weeks being in the hospital. I would bet that she was either already planning to come, and the timing worked out like this, or Felicity seems stressed on the phone and she just decides to come. (And yes, in that second option, why didn't that happen when Oliver died? I don't know, but whatev.) On the negative side, I would say that that line from whatever site about 318 making anti-Raylicity people happy was probably just because he's critically injured. If they had info beyond that, I think they would call it out more strongly. On the positive side, I remember CR tweeting heart-eyes emojis* when she said she was reading the script for the episode. Ain't no one trying to sell Raylicity as a great love story, and we are getting too far into the season for the tide to not start turning. I would say that there will probably be some moments of doubt for Felicity here, at the very least. (*Heart-eyes emojis are pretty much how I feel every time I think about Mama Smoak, so I remember this tweet fondly.) Okay on the other positive side: JB's photo of SA, DR, and EBR on set makes me feel like they will all be in a scene together in 320. Yay! I will take the victories where I can get them.

Kenji Lopez-Alt (formerly of ATK/CI) at Serious Eats actually has a similar super-thin crust pub-style pizza method that uses a tortilla too. I tried it this week. Thumbs up.

Hmmm, yeah, with Hoechlin out and some of the other teasers in the article linked in the Media thread, I think I'm out. It feels like a good time to be done with the show anyway, as they transition to a new cast about whom I DGAF.

If Malcolm is sticking around past this season, then maybe his goal is or always was to become the next Ra's, but needed to have a gang of people working against Ra's to make that happen or something. I'd be semi-okay with that just because I think it's ridiculous for Oliver to fully defeat Ra's this season--who's next? Some intergalactic warlord? Also, because it'd be a nice way to keep Malcolm around in a non-regular capacity. He could show up to help or cause trouble, depending on what they need him for.

That's too bad. But it doesn't mean that there isn't more in, you know, India. Or even other parts of the US or other countries.

CH is still down in Palm Springs or somewhere, clearly not shooting for Ep 20 (aside from the first day?), so...my money's still on Roy to bite it. Would be thrilled to see him back up in Vancouver/on set though. But yeah, maybe in 319 LL does finally stand up and say you know, Sara's death is all about ME ME ME not you, so I'm gonna do whatever thing this time around.

I totally agree that this is what's happening. Cable series seasons tend to be shorter, with no breaks, and start/stop any old time they please. We can binge whole seasons, even new seasons, on Netflix or whatever. So, yeah, I think breaks might feel more off-putting now, but I don't think the networks really are any worse about scheduling than they have ever been. All of the cable nets, the streaming nets, and the rise of streaming or delayed viewing options (DVR/OnDemand), make the old Sep-May schedule and Nielsen system completely antiquated. It's really strange that the broadcast nets continue to adhere to it, or that advertisers haven't cottoned on that this system is not as effective as it once was. But I suppose that's a huge, multi-faceted beast to change, and it will be slow to do so.

I...honestly can't tell if you're joking? But I assure you that Indian food encompasses a lot more than what you've apparently experienced, many varied "cuisines" with different influences from surrounding cultures, many different kinds of bread, and countless foods beyond stews. What is available near you may be limited, or your experience may be limited, but that doesn't mean that actual Indian food is limited. Anyway, on topic, I would like to see Crane at a zoo or an aquarium because I think technology feels very alien to him, but the animals he'd see were always a part of his world, he would just never have had a chance to see many of them.

I made the White Chicken Chili recipe a few nights ago--the one that takes 3 poblanos, 3 anaheims, and 3 jalapenos, plus 3 pounds of chicken breasts. I was disappointed with the flavor. For all the peppers, and all the steps involved, I expected a deeper, more complex flavor. But in the end, it sort of tastes like chicken breast cubes in salsa verde. Which of course makes sense when you look at the recipe, but it's just not what I was hoping for.

Bringing this over from the episode thread. I wouldn't blame the EPs or the "shows" for the scheduling, as they really have no control over it. It's a network issue. The network determines the number of episodes each show will produce, and they determine when those will air. As evidenced by the fact that The CW really messed with AK/MG's plan for 118/318. (Some cable nets may be more collaborative/deferential to their showrunners, but that is not how broadcast nets work.) That said, I'm not sure when in television history shows consistently aired with only one hiatus--at least in the US. 22 episodes* stretched over 8 months (late Sep-late May, as you say) means around 3 months of off-time in that period. So unless the shows stopped immediately after November sweeps and didn't start up again until February sweeps...but even then, they would have had somewhere between 2-4 weeks to burn off before May sweeps. (*Some series, especially sitcoms, used to produce 25 or more episodes, before 22 became standard, so maybe that made their hiatuses seem shorter.) Personally, having been a pretty obsessive TV watcher since I was a kid in the 80s, I always remember TV being like this. In fact, I think things might finally be getting a little better, overall, in terms of scheduling. I do think binge-watching, the near-universality of cable subscriptions, the breakdown of the traditional schedule (Sep-May), etc., have made networks a little smarter about taking millions of breaks. Lost, for example, had a really frustrating schedule for a few seasons, and I think ABC got a lot of crap about that from fans, critics, and probably the producers of the show too. Since then--except in instances of a network bouncing a show around because it's failing and it's low priority--I can't remember seeing that kind of carelessness when it comes to breaks.

The best possible news. I think the show is very likely to be renewed, and I look forward to hearing who the replacement is. Fingers and toes crossed for a great S3.

Um, hmm. I'm happy the show is coming back. Not sure I'm happy Paul Spector is coming back.

It's pretty cute that he called her a future SIL when Robbie's not actually his brother.

If I had to guess right now, I'd say Malcolm, and that it was his plan all along for...some reason to be revealed later (in this scenario, Malcolm removed Sara's body immediately post-burial). It means that he didn't technically make his daughter a killer, which does honestly seem like a little OOC for the Malcolm they're trying to sell us this year, and once Zombie Sara comes back, I could totally picture him being like, "See? I am a great father after all." That's the kind of Malcolm-logic I believe. ('Oliver will defeat Ra's' is not.)

Yes, SA or MG made some statement to that effect (which annoyed me because like, Slade killed Moira, no need to minimize that in order to prop up your new bad guy), but then there is also something out there (from one of the EPs?) about how it can't always be Starling itself that is the target. So it could just be more personally-focused, but I just fail to see the point of that, from Ra's perspective. If you have to force someone to take over for you, they're probably not going to be the best leader of your organization after that, right? I can understand his offer to Oliver at this stage--his rationale and actions hang together for me a little better than Malcolm's do (though I still don't see why he doesn't want Nyssa to do it, unless he honestly wants her to have a better life). You know, he thinks Oliver is full of mental and physical fortitude, willing to sacrifice his life and happiness, etc. But once you get to the stage where you're killing this guy's friends and family and putting a flamethrower to his life in order to get his compliance? Why would that person still seem like a good candidate to you? If he agrees before all of that, it shows he's the type of person you think he is. If he refuses, he's probably not, and even if you get him after you've completely broken him, he's not the same person. And also, this would cover the exact same ground already covered in 2B. Slade was targeting everyone and everything around Oliver in order to break him down (before he would kill him too), and Oliver wanted to give himself up, just to stop the destruction. I have no interest in seeing that play out again. So I'm still not convinced that Ra's is the big bad of the season, though I suppose I shouldn't see lack of logic as an argument against it anymore.

There is a shot of Scarlet Witch doing something brain-wavy to Natasha, so I'm leaning toward some mind control fakeout situation. Maybe to cause conflict within the team? Or to screw with Natasha in general in some way? I love Natasha, and I think all the Avengers have interesting dynamics, but Natasha/Bruce is WAY down on the list of pairings I'd like to see.

Ugh, guess this means this version of Kol really is gone for good* (barring a one-ep return sometime this season or something).

I'm sorry, but if you've been dating for all of two weeks, you don't have a "rough patch." You have a problem. And yeah, I don't expect it to end things between them. But I'm relieved to hear it--not actually for Olicity reasons, but for Oliver reasons. I am hoping against hope that they really will allow other people (RAY especially) to be wrong, and to screw up, and to have Oliver be right or better, preferably before the last minutes of the finale. I'm hoping that conflict between R/F may include some things about Ray not being an expert at this vigilante thing.

The concept in general is a pretty trendy thing with Paleo/Clean Eating people, though the Bulletproof-branded stuff has been pretty thoroughly debunked and rejected even by most of those people (this dude claims that only HIS coffee is free of all those pesky toxins that exist in ALL other coffees, apparently). I kinda hate it when celebs use social media to advertise products, though I totally get why they do it. EBR does it with those Quest bars, a few guys I follow have some deal with a watch company, etc. But it gives me the embarrassment squick, and it's in my top reasons to unfollow celebs.

I love this show, so much. It's the only show I watch where even if I'm trying to do something else, I can't. I just end up dropping my phone or magazine and moving closer to the TV and clenching my fists and saying "oh shit" like 100 times. So many great character moments this episode: Raven asking Wick not to leave her, Octavia refusing to leave her brother no matter what it meant for her, Clarke realizing she misread this whole situation and being unable to accept that it's over, Jasper and Maya going with Bellamy. If I have one critique, it would be that I wish some of that--particularly the Raven stuff, but also Clexa--had more than one episode to marinate. If we'd had the Raven/Wick hookup and frosty period lasting a few episodes, then the thaw would have been more effective. Ditto the Clexa thing. Had their kiss happened a couple episodes ago, or had we had a few romantic/intimate moments with them, I think it would have hit a little harder. But still, I'm not going to complain too much, because I'm so invested in all of these characters and their relationships, that even if things move fast, it still works for me. I am so sad next week is the last until fall/winter.

Filming as a dead body, a la CL in "Sara."