Zella

I made it about 20 seconds in and had to bail. Those voices!

He seems like a real sweetheart in any interview I've watched with him, which is funny considering how many deranged psychopaths he's played.

I was personally meh on Jeremy's facial hair when he had it. Now that I have seen the alternative, I am all for him growing it back.

I found this episode a bit uneven--I agree with everyone that it might have worked better to be able to watch it during the Christmas season. But I found Ernst deconstructing Albert's "happy Christmas memory" devastating, even though I had thought Albert's Christmas cheer was getting a bit ridiculous. (I'm kind of a Scrooge myself.) I don't know whether that specific moment ever happened in real life for them, but the scene rang so true to me. I have an older brother who is about the same age difference with me as there is between Ernst and Albert. Our parents had a very bitter divorce when we were small, and he and I remain close as adult. I have some memories of my parents being together but not really. I recall several conversations between us where because I was the youngest I didn't remember anything being wrong, but he had vivid memories of what was actually happening. It always made me sad for my brother that he had all this painful knowledge that I had been unaware of and had been sheltered from. So, watching that scene between the two brothers, I couldn't help but feel really sorry for both of them--Ernst because he couldn't enjoy this happy memory because he knows it's a lie, and Albert for having his one happy family memory wrenched from him.

I listened to that interview too and was also thinking about the Duggars! It was so fascinating that even though I only was able to listen to half of it, I made sure I hunted down the rest of it to finish, which I almost never do.

Peel has really grown on me. When he was first introduced last season, I didn't expect to like him, but I was saddened to see him exit. Like not Lord M saddened, but I will miss him. Interesting enough, her views on women and homosexuality were not new. I took a fascinating class on medieval literature and women a few years ago, and I remember reading some pretty bizarre things from that time period concerning women and sexuality. Basically, they didn't think women could have sex with each other since they were missing a certain appendage.

That's a really lovely prayer, @Arwen Evenstar! I always enjoy your insightful posts on this forum, as well as for many other shows. You're in my thoughts and prayers.

Agreed! I'm in my late 20s, so most of my friends are active social media users. I know for a fact that most of the ones who post constantly about their relationships being wonderful are absolutely miserable. I have one friend in particular who seems determined to convince everyone that her husband is not an emotionally abusive asshole. It's very Duggar-like how tone deaf her gushing posts about him are.

When I was being homeschooled (1999-2007), I remember a lot of people considering it the gold standard curriculum, and that still seems to be the case with a lot of folks. We didn't use it because my family was never terribly formal, but my cousin did at around the same time I was being homeschooled. From what I remember her saying, she thought it was pretty solid academically, though she also thought some of the social studies material was overly preachy.

Ah okay. That makes sense. Thank you!

I was just thinking about that too. I remembered that it had been awhile since they gained custody of him, but I didn't know any further detail. With their track record, I have no idea how he was placed in their care even temporarily, let alone permanently. I assume part of this process was dealing with DHS? I just don't see that going well in the wake of the molestation scandal and the resulting lawsuit. It's been awhile since I read anything about the Duggars and Tyler (I have to take periodic breaks from them.) When I had been following their activities last, I was under the impression that the child's name was not to be released and he was not supposed to be shown on the show. I assume these restrictions lifted after they were awarded permanent custody (or was I just misunderstanding something)? Has he ever been featured on the show? Did they formally adopt him?

Is Tyler the one they gained custody of some time ago?

That's great! Yes, it is definitely possible. I was able to do it through scholarships and work-study and then a teaching assistantship for grad school. Not band scholarships, though, because I'm tone deaf!

I've met a few people who attended a home church, and I think this is true. I am sure there are exceptions like there is for everything, but for me, it's become a red flag. Even if they don't have any noticeably weird doctrine, it seems to indicate they can't get along with anybody, are control freaks, or have extremely rigid views that nobody can meet, which is why they set up shop at home. (I'm not counting things like the Amish, who from what I understand rotate between members' houses for services.) I mentioned on here a few days ago that I went to a pretty conservative Christian college. There were a lot of fundamentalists there, but home churches still had a bad rap. One of my friends had a childhood that reminded me a bit of the Duggars--minus the tons of siblings. She was still pretty religious and still is, as far as I know, but she told me after her experience with home churches as a teenager that she practically runs from anyone who does that. Edited to add: I knew another family that also did a home church. They were very Duggar-like, including being a big family that homeschooled. When I first met them, they seemed really nice, but after I got to know them, they were unhinged. I felt so sorry for the kids (I was friends with the oldest sisters). I always think about them when I think about the Duggars. I lost contact with them, but from what I understand, every single one of them finally rebelled, even if they waited until about the age of 30. Not sure if any of the Duggars would actually revolt against Jim Bob like they did.

I know some band kids who have gotten some pretty great scholarships. (Not where he went but still.) I taught college comp as a TA and had a student in band who basically made money going to college. Granted, she was really talented and played multiple instruments.

Okay that makes sense. It sounds like @jennblevins is probably on the right track with them doing it because everyone else on staff is. I'm cracking up thinking about their contributions to the class discussions.

That makes sense! I am wondering now if Derick had student loans for college. I guess he could have some debt for that. We know Jill doesn't. ;)

I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around how the Dillards have any debt? In addition to having no income other than donations, I seriously doubt that either Derick's mom or Jill's parents haven't covered any expenses that could have put them into debt.

Last season, I kept wondering who was supposed to be running Belgium with Uncle Leopold spending so much time in England (and inevitably spending so much time traveling to and fro). Now I am wondering who is supposed to be running Coburg with Ernst spending so much time with his brother and sister-in-law. A couple of his visits have made sense--I can see sneaking over to Paris when they are there and why he was featured in the funeral scenes since they were at home for him--but it is starting to get silly, especially factoring in how much time he would be traveling. I thought the Irish Potato Famine scenes were powerful, but I have wondered ever since Miss Cleary was hired if Irish servants would have been even allowed in Buckingham Palace at this time. I know a lot of Irish women worked in service, but my impression was that was later in the century and probably not in Buckingham Palace. Does anyone know? I'm surprised that someone who looks that perpetually dishelved is allowed to run the Queen's house.

My brother is a constable in another county in Arkansas, and the job is about as involved as you want it to be. In my brother's case, it's pretty much nonexistent, but there are some others I know who are a little more hands-on. But even with them, I don't think any of them would put in anything remotely resembling part-time hours on it. Granted, we're in a rural county with fewer people, but there is at least a need for constables here because emergency services can be delayed due to the rural roads. (When my grandpa fell a few years ago and suffered a concussion, it took forever for an ambulance to arrive, but the local volunteer first responders were at the house within 20 minutes, which is pretty good since that's about how far my grandparents live from town.) I question how much a Washington County constable would really do, given their proximity to much larger towns and the county and city-wide law enforcement agencies. All of that's to say, if JD really is a part-time officer, I think he'd have to be doing something beyond being a constable.

I find it so frustrating too, especially when it's not an issue of cost. After I finished college, I spent nearly 2 years working multiple part-time jobs with no benefits. It was a struggle, but I still paid for crappy insurance the whole time because I did not want to be stuck footing a bill for, say, an emergency appendectomy. Fortunately, I didn't have any major health issues until after I got better insurance, but I just did not want to chance it. I can kind of see single people making up their mind and eating the fine because if it comes back on them, it is just on them. But for people with children, it just seems so irresponsible to me.

A few years ago, I was working in a public library and overheard one of our patrons, a fundamentalist Christian homeschooler with 6 children, telling one of her friends how much she and her husband paid in fines for not having insurance. It was definitely a point of pride for both of them, though I privately did wonder what they would do if they encountered a medical emergency, seeing as the husband was self-employed and was the only source of income. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the Dillards were the same way.

Oh I agree! Not sure why the quote is showing that as my words since it was something I was quoting. I think the show has actually been quite a bit more flattering to Ernst than he ordinarily would have been depicted.

For me, most of my favorite characters in any show or movie or book are not people I would like or want to be around in person, which is what is appealing about them in a fictional setting. You can enjoy them without putting up with their BS. So, I agree Ernst is not someone you'd want to be married to, but that doesn't mean he's not a lot more fun for me to watch.

The French scenes were so lovely! It was a fun trip away from the usual sets, and I highly approved of the bathing scene. My brother happened to be watching with me and caught the previous episode with all the Coburg scenes. As soon as he saw all the grim and dark interiors, he said, "That' a really German house." France was a nice contrast to that too. :) Agreed. I enjoy the show, but I feel like they do a pretty mediocre job of developing subplots, especially of the romantic variety. Drummond and Alfred just sort of came out of nowhere, and there's not enough character development for either one of them. I honestly couldn't name a distinguishing personality characteristic for either one. I really enjoy Ernst as a character, but I really don't care about his infatuation with the Duchess. I am liking some of the downstairs action slightly more this season--like reforming the administration of the palace--but I still think Skerritt and Francatelli completely lack chemistry.