Milz

I like the layered bangs alot better than the very blunt Egyptian wig type bangs she had earlier.

My apologies for the foray into the OT. Anyhow, since Alice and Aafrin have zero chemistry together, and Cynthia is so stereotypically evil, that leaves Ralph to carry the drama. And it's not believable that an untitled, under-secretary/assistant./whatever Ralph is can even aspire to become Viceroy especially in this world that is "obsessed, obsessed with class".

I did not expect Camilla and Mimi teaming up. That was a complete surprise for me. Anika---you'll join Vernon when Lucious finds out your tried to kill his grandson, that is if Cookie doesn't get to you first. Or Andre. Or Rhonda. Hakeem, Hakeem, Hakeem....*shakes head*.... Hakeem! Why can't Jamal be bi? It's not unheard of. I got the feeling that being bi is more of a stigma than being straight or gay.

Figuratively or literally? So Kipling's negative imagery about America's "duties" to the Filipinos overtly supports the US occupation of the Philippines? And when Kipling writes that the US's reward in this will be "blame of those ye better, the hate of those ye guard", he's really saying "USA all the way, whip those Filipinos into shape". Historical records, like poetry, needs to be read and analyzed to be understood beyond the superficial.

White Man's Burden mocks imperialism and specifically US imperialism in the Philippines. The mockery is in the words: "send your sons to exile to serve your captive's need". Why exile your sons whom Kipling described as "the best of the breed"? What's the purpose to exile them to be servile? If these best of the breed are truly superior to these captives, they wouldn't be the served not the servers. Note the word "captive" to describe the native peoples. Kipling acknowledges they are not under the US by choice, not a very pretty way to describe the Filipinos or any people under similar circumstances. Moreover it's these best of the breed sons who "wait in heavy harness" on the Filipinos. So why is Kipling equating these sons to animals wearing harnesses. Animals wear harnesses to do work, surely not the "best of the breed". Also later in the poem Kipling states the "reward" of taking up the White Man's Burden is "The blame of those ye better. The hate of those ye guard—" How is it a "reward" to be blamed and hated, especially to be hated by the people who you serve? And in the final part of the poem, Kipling has this cynical nugget "Take up the White Man’s burden-Have done with childish days-The lightly proffered laurel. The easy, ungrudged praise comes now, to search your manhood through all the thankless years, cold-edged with dear-bought wisdom, the judgment of your peers!" I realize that White Man's Burden has been used by some as the reason why white people have a moral and ethical right to lord over or to "civilize" non-whites. But have they really read and analyzed the poem? I think not. But that's the great thing about well-written poetry: it's open to interpretation.

I view Aafrin as the first Indian member of the Club to be a racially based insult at the Nawab and the general Indian population. Aafrin is a Parsis clerk. He isn't Rajput nobility. He isn't upper caste. He's a nobody. Yet he's the guy. They might as well have pulled some random guy off the street. Insulting people is really the way to win their alliance to fight the Independent India movement. Granted this is fiction, but the writers think the viewers are idiotic enough to believe the British were that stupid. Just like the writers think the viewers are idiotic enough to believe that the British would give a rat's A about random drowned Indian woman to the point that they investigate and try it in court. It is more believable if one of the good time gals at the club was drowned and Sood framed for it. The other racist stereotyped character is Cynthia's henchman. I don't know if the writers intentionally wrote the character to be racist stereotype, but they did. He's an Uncle Tom:staunchly devoted and loyal to Cynthia. Quite frankly , Aafrin is an Uncle Tom too, and he's a protagonist!

Very true. Regarding the Indian perspective, all I can say is read the books. The books fill in the cracks that the series leaves in. Just be aware that the first book Jewel in the Crown is written by an unnamed journalist who is interviewing people about the rape 20 years later. And he is traveling to and from different cities/towns to interview these people. If you don't have that perspective, the book will seem very disorganized because Lady Chatterjee is giving her recollection in one chapter, then someone else is giving it in the next, then letters from Lady Manners is the next chapter, and so forth. I have a suspicion that the unnamed journalist knows Guy (or is Guy). Anyhow, it also gives insight on the racial and class prejudice of the era. Lady Chatterjee is a Rajput princess who's late husband was given an knighthood by King George V. Her class status is high. Yet, she isn't allowed in the White Only ward of the hospital. Hari's friend Collin, walks right past Hari without recognizing him. Barbie is a missionary and the military wives sneer at her. The military wives even sneer at Lady Manners, whose late husband was the Governor -General of Mayapore and hobknobbed with all the British and Indian elites. The racism and classism are there but it doesn't go out of its way to jump down your throat and stomp your liver like it did in Indian Summers. Regarding Sarah and Ahmed, I think they loved each other like brother and sister. I've no doubt there were attracted to each other initially, but as they got to know each other, I think they realized that a romantic relationship would be detrimental to each other (like Hari and Daphne) and they just didn't love each other like that.

I was surprised they wrote the pregnancy in. Anyhow, I noticed that Selina's clobberin'-time hairdo is the same one she had when she joined Fish's crew. Speaking of Fish, I thought I saw something with a red/black wig floating in the Body Test Tubes in the spooky laboratory. So I guess baddie's bodies are collected from the morgue and are stuffed into these Body Test Tubes for later reanimation. Coolish .I wonder if Bruce's favorite name for a boy (should he ever have a family of his own) is Manuel? Also, I caught a tiny shout out to the 60's Batman . Bruce tells the Head Monk "You poor deluded old man". Batman in the Batman is Riled 60's episode tells the girl henchman "Poor deluded child"

"Middle class morals" which included marital fidelity is often mentioned in a very derisive way in novels of that era. I think the upper class (then and now) have the fascade of conservative morality and ethos, when in reality they do not. Looking at the divorces of the upper classes from Consuelo Duchess of Marlborough to Frances Work to the whole Cimmie Curzon-Oswald Mosely-Dianna Mitford thing, the upper classes behaved in a very non-conservative way. Here's a post by Venetia Stanley-Smith, whose mother was the daughter of Lord Curzon. http://venetia-international.com/m51_blog.php?p=22231&year=2013&month=05&day=01 It sounds like some debs put out when they came out.....

I think the WI was a place where women who wanted to be the "big fish" could aspire to be it. It's no different than any type of group. Some people are happy to just be members because they like the social interaction. Some people want to be the president, vice president, secretary treasurer because they like that kind of authority.

They haven't revealed that yet. It could be Cyn is Raphie's real mommy. It could be Cyn is Miss Haversham and Ralphie is Estella. It could be Cyn is Svengali and Raphie is Trilby. It could be Cyn is Anna Madrigal and the Simla Club is 28 Barbary Lane.

I'm entitled to my opinion and I'm allowed to express it as you are entitled to and allowed to express yours. If you don't like the fact that I find some of the writing to be predictable and boring, then skip my posts and the posts that aren't in agreement with your opinion. Peace out.

It makes this predictable television. I don't expect this to be on par with something as cheese-tastic as Empire. But I do expect it to be less predictable.

He's an idiot because he didn't let Alfred in on it. At least leave a note at Stately Wayne Manor like "After school, I'll help you polish the silver. Peace out. Bruce." So Alfred gets shanked while looking for that little fart. And Bruce is all by his lonesome when Theo shows up.

It means he's gay and, if the writers stay true to form, he's the gayest gay man who makes Oscar Wilde and Noel Coward look like the straightest straight men who ever lived. And I speculate when Sarah brings him back from England, everyone will think "Dafuq's wrong with Alice that she didn't see he's gay?" The lack of chemistry between Alice and Aafrin is the primary reason why their relationship is unbelievable. Even as a booty call relationship it's unbelievable. Or like when I was in New England with my college friends for a wedding. We went to the LL Bean Outlet store in Maine. We were followed around by store security because 3 women --- 1 Asian, 1 white, 1 Puerto Rican--- in their mid-20s are simply the "wrong element".

I'm waiting for her to tie someone to a railroad track. I'm willing to go one step further and say that Sarah come back with Alice's gay husband. And Pop Dalil will finally slap the face off Sooni's face.

If I heard it correctly at the end of last night's episode, Season 2 will take place 3 years later. My predictions....Alice left her husband because he's gay, Alice and Aafrin continue banging in the shed and have a pregnancy scare, Ralphie will find out that Aafrin is banging Alice and will try to frame him for some heinous crime, Ralphie will try to have Adam live with them especially when Maddie can't have a baby, Sooni will de-radicalize when she and McCloud start banging boots, Sarah will show up unexpectedly armed with more dirt on everyone in Simla.

It's not that the racism is excessive, it's that it is caricatured to the point of parody, imo. A government dinner is held in order to woo ethic leaders, so naturally the British racists serve religiously forbidden foods. Really? They have a big trial for the murder of an untouchable woman, with the defendant being an Indian (a successful one at that) in a powder keg political environment. Really? Rather than sweeping it under the carpet, the alternate universe Indian Summers inhabits says "F the politics and order your Fortum and Mason hampers now! Let's have a trial to further feed the flames of political unrest!" If you ever watch As Time Goes By when Lionel writes a TV movie for CBS (American) and they completely re-write it to include very caricatured stereotypes of British people and the production is so bad that you can see the Drover's Arms pub through a flap in an army tent that's supposed to be in Korea, it's reminiscent of Indian Summers

The next handle I'll use on a forum will be StrangeNunsavory. Poor Susan was bonkers that she couldn't see Ronnie for the manipulative sadist he was. As someone wrote up thread, it's unsettling what would have happened if Merrick lived and move Sue and Edward to the tribal northern area of India after Independence. I didn't notice it until the third time I rewatched it, but Guy's shirt when he visits Hari has creases on it that look like they just took it out of the package...... It's too bad they didn't get a blond James Bond until Daniel Craig because the young Charles Dance would have been smouldering HOT as 007.

I love how they don't have the sound on while watching. And I love the part where she moves the camera closer to the tv screen so we can get a close up of those eyes Seriously, he should have picked name more contemporary to his age group like Cody or Ryan.

Without a doubt. Anyone catch Idiot #2 's halterview when he admitted he was the one who peed on the flag and threw it on the truck? Which means Idiot #1 perjured himself. I wonder if they walked home to Arizona...... I think Stepford housekeeper and the bug-eyed plaintiff in this roommate case would make a cute couple (cute couple of loonies):

He probably helped his dad/uncle/cousin/guy next door who did handyman work on the side. He was the guy who fetched tools, steadied boards, help carry sacks of things, and maybe even crawled into tight spaces that dad/uncle/cousin/guy next door couldn't fit into.

Who else saw the Porch Lady and the Mouthbreather Builder case? I hate to judge by appearances only, so i waited until the defendant opened his mouth, then wondered WTF Porch Lady not only hired that mouth breather but hired him without getting a written contract. (I concluded she was as nuts as he.)

I thought she said "Claritha". Freda scared the YIKES! out of me. She looked like she wanted to jump down Hakeem's throat and stomp on his kidneys. Hakeem deserved to win just for agreeing to battle her.

I don't know where she got that idea because all the stuff I've read about missionaries (fiction like The African Queen and non-fiction like The Flame Trees of Thika) is 99% living and working with the native peoples, 1% hanging around the rich folk. She probably took out an ad in the newspapers..... This is cheesetastic, but it's less imported DOC cheese and more Cheez-Whiz. YES! The Dalil family is fascinating because as Parsis they are a religious/ethnic minority. I would have loved to see the Independence movement from their perspective because from what I've read on the Net, the Parsis actually benefited from British colonialism.