purplemonkey

Aside from Emmett's dramaaaaaa, I think the show did use a very even hand here. Tank was a sympathetic character (he's bad at art, his dad is a jerk, and he didn't get the girl he wanted even though he showed integrity with the fraternity dilemma) who got into a bad situation. Bay was a strong-willed character who dislikes being a victim and who got into a bad situation. My real life question is, if the students understand school policy, (does UMKC explain all this when they enroll?) then should we still feel bad for Tank that he got into a situation where he could be accused of rape? This is why private teachers/ tutors have windows on their doors or leave the doors open. If there's a scenario where you can't cover your ass, you're liable whether it's fair and right or not...

When Mary Beth said Bay shouldn't have put herself in that situation, what situation did she mean? In other words, until the morning after, nobody knew that Tank chose to have sex with Bay. So yeah, I don't walk down dark alleys, because I don't know what's lurking there; but Bay was at a dorm party, with her friends. If MB thinks that Bay being super wasted and spending time with Tank is a bad idea, then doesn't it stand to logic that MB came to the realization that Tank could be capable of hurting her? If you take Emmett totally out of the equation, and it's not about Bay cheating or not, then isn't the only question left one of whether Tank wanted to have sex with Bay (he did!) plus whether Bay did not want to have sex with Tank? So MB's role was to point out the girl rules, but they skipped the part where MB found out that they had sex. It was incongruous. I'm just saying the girl rules warning isn't analogous to me, because in the happy feel good Carlton kids' world we know and love, people would assume that Bay is in good hands with Tank. Even if they were flirty with each other, the other partygoers wouldn't assume that he was going to rape her (meaning they shouldn't accuse her of being irresponsible by hanging out with him), and they probably wouldn't think she was about to chose him as a sex partner either. They would probably think it was just a fun party. And not to pick on Travis, because he's my favorite 40-year-old college kid, but is he not getting in trouble for buying the keg? What about the RULES?

Thanks, this is enlightening. Then there's the fact that everything Bay doesn't speak would have to be captioned. But, I like the silent captioned scenes we've had with Travis, Melody, Emmett, and the other Carlton kids.

When Bay and the other Kennishes sign and speak at the same time, I assume it's because they're new to ASL and it helps them to do both. Is this true? If I were trying to learn to sign I imagine I'd do the same thing.

Maybe Tank should acknowledge that he is twice Bay's size. Even if he's a gentle giant, we all know he could rape her. I think strength differential should have something to do with consent, especially when there's alcohol abuse going on. Tank is being dumb. I assume if the 2 of them had had sex while they weren't drunk, Bay would have asked him to use a condom. She asks him after the fact, and he's all, "of COURSE!" So that means she was too drunk to ask at the time. Otherwise he would have said yes, we discussed condom use last night. Can we talk about the real scandal here? Stupid professor's husband's no shoe rule! Proper etiquette would have them allow the guests to leave their shoes on, or they should have a basket of house shoes guests can use. Or, since it was for science, they could have donned breaking bad booties over their shoes. Was that whole ruse just a setup so they could get the shot of a group of shoes by the door where we realize there's 5 girls there?

Ok, NOW John can punch Tank in the face. Did Tank use a condom since Bay obvs wasn't able to insist on condom use? I don't normally watch promos, so I'm glad I happened to see this one. Too lazy to turn off the tv after the show proper ended! I still can't stop chuckling at the end of every Daphne scene. It's like no middle ground Daphne. Every scene either ends really badly or really well for her. I guess she's just an emotional character. Her pissed of faces crack me up. I just now realized that Bay taking the fall for Daphne was another sort of a "switch".

Thanks, I enjoyed that review. It's true that Fletcher could never hold a job acting like that, so that was indeed ludicrous. For me, it wasn't about the abuse, but overcoming the abuse because he wanted so badly to play at that very high level, with high level being a goal and nothing short of it.

I finally caught this in the theater, and I'm so glad I did, mostly to enjoy the music via the in-house sound system. My spouse and I are both professional musicians, and most of the topic matter was absolutely spot on. (The abuse was a little far-fetched, and in my opinion only served as a device to set up the duo's relationship, plus it illustrated the lengths people will go to for art.) I heard the NPR pop culture guys/gals complaining about how little artistic expression was involved in the music-making here. What I think is misunderstood is how technically good a player has to be in order to share said expression with an audience. Whiplash stands in contrast to a lot of movies about artists I've seen where there is all the emphasis on expression and very little on the technique. Anyway, Whiplash was difficult to watch. My spouse said "I can see why he (Andrew) kept going back, and that was the hardest part". Loved it. Highly recommend!

CleoCaeser, that twop post was a classic in my house last year. Major props, it was and still is greatness.

If you have issues with your natural looks, it's god's fault. But If you go and do something like that, it's your fault. 100% your fault Farrah! Good luck with your body issues!

Yeah, Gillingham is hot. I would totally. Then again, I'm not Mary. So, why does Rose not have suitors now, after making the most awesome debut ever? She's doing lame stuff around town like an old maid would.

That "BabyV" is an unfortunate call-back for those of us who remember the Baby M surrogacy case and the made for TV movie on the same. Unless V somehow stands for 5, which doesn't make any sense to me?

Tyler tweeted that she was born Jan. 1 at 3:15.

Ugh. Such awful news. Time for me to update my bingo chart. In case you're wondering, the bingo squares are plastic surgery, criminal arrest, second pregnancy(s), and porn.

Sorry, just got caught up on Netflix. So both girls are 18, right? So it's just a matter of Daphne's probation. It just sounded weird when Daphne said to Bay "you're 18, you'll get much more than probation!" Did Bay just get homesick or something? She seemed psyched about L.A. Or did Daphne's speech about "now you're the one with the perfect boyfriend" make Bay feel shameful??

I am so eager for Ruke to break up that I really thought the Sadie ex-BF drama's sole purpose was to illustrate to Luke that like many songs are about exes, this equals Rayna thinks of Deacon 24/7. I guess I'm just not that into Sadie and her scene. And speaking of hot Deacon, did anyone else feel kind of confused and tingly when Scarlett put her head on his chest as the CMAs wore on? Just me, then? So wouldn't Jeff blackmailing Teddy work a lot better if the hooker wasn't so interested in Teddy? If it was just a one night stand, then she could be in cahoots with Jeff, but if she really likes Teddy she wouldn't want to hurt him. Unless... Is this a long con? And the reason for this blackmail is so that Jeff can sign Daphne and Maddie to his label?? I can't imagine how much dirt would have to be at stake for Rayna and Teddy (and Deacon, for that matter) to agree to the girls signing with Edgehill. Someone help me out with this one. What the heck is Jeff doing?

Thank you EB for keeping the quotes coming! I'll repeat my fave, from a season or 2 ago: Rayna asks Liam why the cowboy boots she gave him didn't work out, and he says "I clicked my heels three times, and I didn't turn into Deacon".

Is anxiety necessarily a gateway to opiates? It seems incongruous to me. I'll wait and see, of course, because that's what MTV wants me to do. Groan. We do know that Jeremy tends to freak out about shit. I'm sort of expecting whatever it is to be not as bad as we hoped.

But she did get the DUI, and that's illegal. I used to feel so sorry for her, because I feel she was clearly abused by her mother, but she turned into the brat of all time. I'm not saying porn is wrong. Just that Farrah is wrong. And so is MTV's business model for the TM franchise. They shouldn't be filming any TM.

If they divorced, wouldn't we know a la public records? Not a good sign that Jeremy changed his Twitter pic. But with these two clowns they'll probably get back together. It depends where Jeremy will draw the line.

I think Barbara and Nathan are each crazier than Jenelle. There, I said it. I have issues with Barbara's yelling, and I bet she's been that way most of her life. If Jenelle is indeed sober now (she was def unfit to be a mother when Jace was born) I could see her potentially being a decent person. Just don't rely on Nathan though, he is clearly trouble. I do think he knows Barb's on to him, and that's why he's trying to drive a wedge between Jenelle and Barbara, and taking Jace away would accomplish that.

I think IUD and condom are buzzwords that Pinsky has to work into the conversation so he can pretend he is doing a public service. Add to that the multiple websites he mentions (itsyoursexlife and bedsider, I mean how many domain names do you need?). It's a bonus that someone on the show actually has an IUD so he can work it into the conversation naturally. I think Leah really does suffer from stress and anxiety (tho she blew any sympathy she might have gotten when she showed herself to be a cheating weasel), and I wish they could all work together on division of labor without as much drama. There's always money for lawyers! Was the wheelchair the entire reason things got so tense? It seemed like that foursome was functioning decently earlier to help the twins. Adam makes it out to be all normal fun with Aubree on the dirt bike ("on private property!") but again, he has zero credibility after his DUI probz.

I don't blame Maci for the Farrah comment. I blame MTV, for putting them on the spot about a decision that MTV made. The porn is just a scapegoat and a convenient excuse to avoid working with America's worst personality. If Maci didn't witness Farrah's everyday shit behavior it'd be easier for her to say "sad choices" or whatever that implies porn. Also don't forget Maci is the one who forced Chelsea to come clean about Adam (ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww). I think Amber and Jenelle seem slow. Like, not in a druggy way, but like they're not the smartest. Jenelle doesn't bug me as much lately other than her choice in Nathan as a partner. If you made a bingo card with plastic surgery, new babies, and jail served, Chelsea's would be the only one with no squares covered. I think Maci could dress herself better, like maybe don't wear skinny jeans if you have little calf muscles.

New rule: whenever Grace asks to use the wheelchair, tie lead bags to her feet and make her walk on sand to get a sense of what her sister is dealing with. In other words use it as a teaching moment to explain to her what muscular dystrophy is. Also, I wonder if they should not be taking Grace to Ali's appointments. Have one of the adults take her to a kids' museum instead for a special day out. I know everyone wants to be there for Ali, but in the evil twin's defense, it's not really fair that she has to tag along to all these appointments and then not get her own wheelchair.

Caila has a bit of a snaggletooth. That's what gives the trailer vibe, but all things considered, it's not bad. As someone with zero dance experience I would like to know: in the cameo and squad photos it appears they don't wear any tights. Do they have to wear leg makeup or are their legs just perfectly airbrushed? Also, when they actually dance, do they wear tights that are so low-rise that they don't show at the waistline? What's the trick to keeping the tights hidden on top? Thanks!