snarktini

Ugh, Margaret. I kind of get her resentment and desire to break out of her box. But she's going about it in such a bratty, destructive way I just can't with her. Injecting some levity and personality is good, insults and undermining aren't! Reminds me a bit of my brother, who was intrinsically driven to push boundaries even when it was self-destructive. Quit yer bitching, Philip. He does not come off well in this series -- no idea how real it is, I don't follow royals. He's not wrong that the monarchy is out of date and sometimes plain silly. And yet, THIS IS WHAT YOU SIGNED UP FOR, part 237. He's not being a good partner in these moments. It's a hard job for her, too, and I'm sure she'd appreciate more support. I have a feeling he wouldn't find it all so silly if he were the King and not second to his wife. Was confused by the Queen Mum saying her daughters don't need anything, then following that up by telling her friends how unprepared Elizabeth is. And how they didn't give her anything to do, until they did and she bailed on it. (6 months is a long time to leave Margaret at the helm!) If the best advice she can give is "be silent" no wonder she's not more involved.

I respect Amanda for competing on TC after not being in the kitchen for two years. And going through three spinal fusions is a BFD! I had fairly minor back surgery (to the extent that any back surgery is minor) a few years back and it ate my life. It was really hard to regain my mojo after an extended period of chronic pain and limited ability. So, good on her for bouncing back and not being afraid to jump in. What a shame anyone had to go home tonight. It's hardly ever the case where every single thing is good. I'd have voted BJ off the island, just because this is his third trip to the bottom. (right?)

For real. They haven't written him shady in the least but this seems exactly like the kind of show that would pull a lame twist like that. In the beginning I was intrigued but find myself caring less and less as the episodes go by, so I deleted my season pass. I won't remember by March, so it's a good time to cut the cord.

The only way I can make sense of it it is to consider the Queen Mum's advice...the job is to stay quiet and do nothing. Apparently she means that literally. If that's how you view it, all a Queen needs to know is government. Yet, it still escapes me how they thought you could understand government if you don't understand the topics governments make decisions about (economics, science, business, etc) nor how you could understand your subjects without understanding their history and passions (culture, arts, humanities). It sounds like former kings and queens were quite well educated -- I wonder what changed? Would a male heir have received the same education, or more?

I rewound so I could hear her a second time tell Churchill to consider his answer based on her rank and office, not her age and gender. About time! Taller, indeed. My heart broke for her in the first scene with the professor. Awkward! Sad how she was so poorly educated. Even if you took the ornamental view of female monarchy, at a minimum have to converse with important people and heads of state and it only makes sense to be prepared! And poor Margaret, she got even less. Wise parenting doesn't appear to be a strong suit in those couple of generations. Ugh, she went with Michael. Just once I wanted her to stick to her guns. I'm not sure the young guy was actually ready for it, but seniority is exactly the kind of dumb procedural rule that needs to be broken. (If Tommy had said something about the importance of institutional memory to being a good advisor, I could have bought that. But the moral laxity of selecting one's advisor as a straight line to abdication sucked.)

I love Ace! Then again, that's one of my nicknames and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

That's how I felt, too. After a year of phone calls and VMs saying we want you I'd have assumed the meeting was a formality to discuss details, not an interview. It's true she should have been able to recover and at least respond to what she could write there -- esp. since that would be part of the details and Rory would have thought about how she could survive in a place she didn't want to be -- but I don't do well when I'm caught off guard either so that seems normal enough. And perhaps her inability to talk about her general topics is part of the aimlessness we were supposed to see.

Did not like the ending! Poor Estevez. Is being hunted by idiot gun-crazy guy the arc for next year? Hope not. Hopefully they wrap that up fast and get onto the next case. I just want to watch our psychic detective gang having wacky adventures. Not terribly surprising a show based on fate would give Todd the disease he faked having.

Just remembered how Biscuit lady said her family's biscuits were double the fat: "If you're going to eat a biscuit, eat a biscuit." Which sounds delicious, of course. She also said they served them at every meal growing up. Can you imagine? Biscuits must make up half their calories! And they're thin!

I guessed Hamish was Xavier's real name...but why lie and therefore not beat the polygraph? That's cheating on the list, which is out of character. I always struggle with "live like you only have 6 months". Literally having 6 months v. figuratively makes a big difference! If I literally had 6 months, I'd quit work and spend all my money visiting people I love and traveling the world. If it's figurative, then I need to go on a small adventure or two but keep working. (And I like my work, so that's ok.) But, actually, I'd have to work even more to fund the kind of travel I seek! The better concept is to get more out of your life (Evie), not live like there's no tomorrow (Xavier). It's winter, dark and rainy. I'm happy to have fluff to watch.

I re-reviewed Churchill's bio during this episode to remind myself he actually was a good leader (at least in wartime). Because he is not coming off well here!

Interesting!

The part that confused me was how the author recognized the handwriting on the inscription immediately but didn't recognize it on the threat letters.

This line was perfect. Damn, son! Edward/David is the worst, but so well acted. Phillip is right about democratizing royalty, but annoying about lots of other things. Entitled dudes are really getting on my nerves these days. ;)

He may not have been mad at them...when my grandfather died, the entire trust & estate went to my grandmother. Not a penny passed through to his only child (my dad) or the grandkids. (And he did like us!)

My understanding is her strategy was to get proof that the Deacon is the Nightingale, so Frank could be sure it was the right guy and kill him in the past. She doesn't care about admissible evidence, because this timeline won't exist anymore.

I felt bad for Annie. She wasn't aggressive enough to survive in a group competition this early. She got run over. It was somewhat unfair of the guest judge to say Annie shouldn't have chosen the tart considering the time & kitchen. The former is fair, they shouldn't plan dishes that take too much time. (Although 2-1/2 hours for a tomato tart? I could EASILY do that.) But she, and the rookies in general, had no idea how limited the kitchen would be. No oven racks?! No wonder Brooke's biscuits were overdone on the bottom and Annie didn't have oven space. They have to choose menus and shop before they see the cooking environment, and that sometimes does screw them.

I'm not clear why Todd is quite so mad at Dirk. Dirk is a selfish PITA, but Todd already knew that. What's new is knowing Dirk manipulated him by pretending fate led him to things that he actually told himself, and that what Todd was starting to believe in as fate may not be. Is there more beyond that I missed? Why does learning he's in a loop upset him so much? Why does he decide so quickly it's a time loop that can't be altered? Week Older Dirk told Week Younger Dirk only a few things: I solved the mystery (so he can say confidently he will); this is Todd, he's your best friend and he lives at the Ridgeley (now we know how Dirk finds him); 3 questions, 1 answer (a useless piece of info). So when Todd says: "You knew we'd end up here", I don't think Dirk did. All he knew is they'd end up in that stairwell together at some point and he'd learn those few things. AFAICT he didn't even know it was a loop. Or about the lottery ticket. Or where to dig, or anything else that still support the fate stuff. "Could you make them less complicated...and murder-y?" Ha.

Yes to both. I don't work in food service, but in my creative field we were taught always to say "we" not "I" in presentations (even when I is accurate). Usually there are others who employ, support, or collaborate with you so there is usually a we somewhere. Definitely in a restaurant. And even if there isn't a we, some feel it is still poor form to say I. Allegedly it sounds self-important or indicates you don't play well with others. It became so ingrained after a while I had a hard time saying I even when it truly was all me. On TC when they do literally everything, my guess is the habit is sticky and we is what comes out naturally.

I keep letting these pile up, but not pulling the plug on my season pass. I liked this one pretty well, though, held my attention better than any have in a while. The whole "turn left! turn left!" while the blinker ticked loudly felt like a callback to Doctor Who. I didn't think the hug seemed necessarily platonic. Overall I don't think they're doing a great job selling Fitz-Simmons as a couple, but this seemed normal to me. Love Mack!

I dislike her too, but she didn't say "stop talking", she said "enough talking". They misheard her in the stew room. To my ears it was actually one of the least rude things to come out of her mouth. More like "Okay, I really need to get back to work" than "Go away". And, frankly, I'm surprised more chefs don't find a polite way to do that when judges are in the way. BJ (heavy frame glasses + beard) killed me when he said he was making 3 dishes because that upped the odds that something would impress the judges. He must not watch the show much, or he'd have heard Tom say that multiple dishes also increases the odds of presenting something they don't like. Focus! One of newbs said it was crazy for a 1st challenge. Uh, no. Making *anything* from any part of a chicken in a full hour is not crazy. More of them should have been able to execute 2 dishes. Glad to see Sheldon back. I like him. Crazy, right? At first I thought I misheard that seemed so improbable. I didn't want to eat either of his dishes. He said he'd made the kimchi / shrimp before, but not with grits -- he was combining them to meet the challenge. Grits and kimchi sounds like an awful combo, texturally.

In one episode (or was it one of the movies?) this was called out explicitly -- the job of a Guardian is less to be a bodyguard, and more to help Librarians stay on a moral path. That much power is enticing and they can be lured towards the dark side, as the Librarian before Flynn was.

Not only do they absorb her energy/emotions, but during that process at the grocery store she gained future visions (including the multi-monitor map Dirk and Todd would encounter later), like she was plugged into the holistic stream. Don't know how those two pieces fit together, taking away and giving.

It never ceases to amaze me how mileage varies -- Martha didn't bug me, but what you felt about her is how I felt about Rose with Ten! Rose's pouty, jealous, possessive girlfriend behavior drove me bananas.

I was bummed that, in the end, she was actually writing the book. Such a circular and self-referential solution. After the blowup with Lorelai, I wanted Rory to realize she was grasping at the easy way out and then find a new passion project for herself, outside of her relationship with her mother. I also wish Lorelai had read the chapters before agreeing, so she could have been persuaded instead of caving. It is Lorelai's story, too, and the "everything's fodder for a writer" POV is crap. A closed loop like this fits GG/ASP, it's just not my preference for character growth. And I can also see it the other way, she spent 10 years trying to go her own way, then came home to what feels right and true to herself. Still, I would have preferred her solution be something new and profound, not a return to the cocoon.