snarktini

So I just watched this episode last week. Tonight, I am watching the Librarians episode where they meet Stone's dad...and I was SO confused! I was like, wait, we just learned Elliot's dad is Black...what did I miss? Then of course the penny dropped and I realized I was watching a different show. Christian Kane with *short* hair. But basically the same taciturn, rough and tumble (but also cultured and highly intelligent) character...I love Christian Kane but he doesn't have a ton of range! I do feel like Elliot's parentage was written more for the shock value than real storytelling. Feels designed for character reaction and it doesn't feel really right. I realize we didn't know much about him, but this feels retconned.

It worked out, but I was expecting Vi to get the wife in trouble with her persistence. Coming to her house repeatedly and pushing to come in, where her husband could have potentially seen/heard. She was super loud when she was yelling through the door -- what if he'd been home?! It was putting her at risk. Vi did and said what most of us think we should do, but everything I've heard from survivors is that that really doesn't work. They are more likely to dig in and shut down.

Not only would Susan not win custody, she sure as hell didn't have the authority to put Susie up for adoption in S2 E5! Not without a very long process of severing parental rights. (This was surely covered in the prior 118 forum pages lol.) Their mom loosely says, she's not yours, but that's it. A more real alternative would have been foster care, but maybe the writers thought the audience wouldn't approve of Susan considering that?

They wrote that into her character from the beginning -- she was described as someone with VP potential but who needed a haircut! I agree it's distracting but I also understand it's Hollywood code for "woman who is serious about serious things and DGAF about style". The CIA hair, on the other hands, looks fine to me and clearly cut/styled as a shag.

I was puzzled why Vi didn't automatically realize McCall & Co could track down the kid. Of course you can help this boy find his brother. Even with partial knowledge about what Robyn does, if she's family you should pretty much assume any problem you have can be solved.

Just watched S1, which I saw when it aired live and haven't seen since. It's good that he got there, but he should have realized it long before! I didn't have to know the plot (which I've totally forgotten) to know he was on the wrong track. Carter wanted surgery simply because it was the hardest and therefore best. There was a scene where Benton discourages Carter, saying he wasn't a surgeon. Carter responded something like, what because I'm not like you? If Benton actually had people skills and social-emotional awareness, he might have been able to articulate that Carter isn't suited for surgery not because he couldn't be a great one technically, but because he wants to stay by people's bedsides, and surgery generally does not support that. He's better suited to a more holistic role. What wasn't clear to me was why Benton came around -- I suppose that speaks to Carter's skills as a doctor. I don't know when I stopped watching the series -- probably somewhere between S6 and S9. At some point it got too soapy and revolving-door for me. (Reading up on Wikipedia confirms this.) The guest stars so far have been one of the reasons to hang in. So many great actors! And baby faces! Ving Rhames!

Watching ER for the first time since it was new in the 90s, and a very young Amy Ryan is in S1E23 as a nun-to-be :)

I didn't see this get answered -- It was a chicken/rooster, calling back to the Chicken Chug logo Mabel couldn't quite remember but remembers when she re-listens to the podcast.

Boy is that on fast forward. Between episodes she gained what looked like 2 inches of gray, which would be several months in real time for me and my hair does not grow slowly! If all it took was a few episodes to grow out my gray I might be more inclined ;)

Oh, I didn't think Paige was unreasonable at all! I just think it's a useful question. She shouldn't give up her boundaries or even redraw them. But she can consider if there is anything within herself she can make peace with because old wounds can eat you up. (And maybe there isn't, that's okay too.)

Brianna is never going to be okay with the realities of Barry being a part of his kid's life. She assumed it was a sperm donation, not an active thing, but she's seeing now what it means to him. I hope the writers break them up because it's not good for Barry and even if Brianna softened, it won't be enough. (And I say this because I'm a little like Brianna IRL -- I never wanted kids, don't enjoy kids, and will not date someone with kids. It sounds horrible but I'm being realistic and protecting them, too. Their kids have to come first, yet I want to come first.)

My mom was an amazing mother -- she loved being a mom, we felt loved, and she was always there for us. Still, Mother's Day in our house was absolutely her day to be OFF mom duty. Dad took us out so she could kick back! I look back on that as one of the best things about our family culture. Grace is really giving Frankie a run for her money in the impulsive sabotage category.

Poor Jack. Even if he would benefit from letting go of the anger, it's still a lot to spend time with the divorce lawyers who shredded him in court, and who seemingly went to unnecessary lengths in the process for profit. This divorce landed him in in-patient treatment! He's got to have a lot of trauma tied up in that. Early on in a relationship, I'd walk away from that for my mental health. Hope Frankie is worth it! I figured Bud and Jessica weren't together very long -- not long enough to warrant such deep feelings on his part, even if I believe that Coyote should not have pursued Jessica -- but six weeks?!

The string cheese scene was cute! "Which one's yours? "The 7-foot tall 80 year old man." Once again, Sheen shines so much more in the non-couple scenes.

After thinking about it, I agree. On a purely rational/logical level, I do see the other side. It's long over, he's married, what's the big deal? But emotionally, it's a different story. And Coyote made this choice intentionally, it's not like he and Jessica happened to be in the same social/work group and feelings grew the way that can happen when exes are entwined in your life. Coyote did what he wanted, knowing Bud would be hurt. Frankie, too, she knew to hide this from him. And I think it likely hits even harder because everyone in Bud's family has a history of doing whatever they want regardless how it affects others. This is the same old pattern.

Glad Grace got there in the end, with Frankie's help. The reason I struggle with Grace is she reminds me so much of my grandmother. (Who would have been 100 this week! She "only" made it to 97.) Critical, judgmental, perfectionistic, superior, snarky, no patience for grandkids (yay), emotionally distant, and most of all not able to acknowledge the realities and limitations of aging. I get that feeling old sucks, but fighting it really does make it worse. Easier emotionally to get a new toilet and couch than feel ancient when you can't get up a dozen times a day. Was telling my Dad about the show -- my mom recently passed so he knows what it's like to be in your 70s and have your life dumped upside down while also dealing with aging. It occurred to me how rare this show is in telling these stories.

Finished the season and...eh. I really have to stop bingeing it because everyone is such a caricature it's overwhelming. Swimming against the tide here a little, I thought Grace was just as bad as Frankie by the end of the season. She has such a savior complex! So controlling and condescending to EVERYONE. Even Nick. Fonda really sells the contempt in her eyes. The way she threw her girls under the bus was the worst. And the way she dismisses Frankie. Look, Frankie is a total loon and I would not live or work with her under any circumstances. But the sticky notes had meanings! They weren't random, they were for Bud's wedding! Grace just blew them off because she assumed they were stupid ideas. And bedazzling canes is worth considering -- maybe not that exactly, but that direction. Why does empowering old ladies have to be vibrators only? Lot of things could be made and sold with that in mind. I thought they were both wrong about handling the aftermath of Frankie's giveaway -- they literally will not be able to give away 50,000 units over many years even if Frankie found an prioritization order that makes it fair. But a nonsense corporate-speak video isn't on-brand or helpful. If I were them, I'd sell the product and cash out because working together seems impossible.

This show is finding a role for practically every 70+ actor in Hollywood! Even in small parts, it's really great to see that. Episode 5, where Grace meets Nick's mom...that was Grams from the original Charmed.

OMG, thank you for explaining this! IT MAKES SO MUCH MORE SENSE NOW. I thought it was a comically large dildo with a vibrator part, I didn't connect it was a handle and vibrator only. The shape led me to the wrong conclusion. And tbh I don't have arthritis but a multi-angle head is just a plain good idea for everyone. That's true for a lot of adaptive things -- we all benefit from easy-grip scissors, shirts that can be fastened with one arm, easy-open condoms, and vibrators that don't give you a hand cramp :D

Seems like Robert missed a middle path: Simply telling the neighbor about his story and his regrets. He didn't have to say (to either of them) that Oliver is gay, because a) it's not Robert's business, b) he doesn't actually know, and c) judging on stereotypes is uncool. But talking about how he convinced himself to marry a woman only to break her heart decades later, with no hinting, would have scratched the itch to say something without being inappropriate.

I dislike how she's written too. That said, her being not great at running a business tracks considering she only got the role by berating a vendor into a discount! That's it, that's why Grace handed it over to her and it's the only time they've shown her being effective. Later they said she had no product ideas. Competence should be the upside to her character -- bitchy but business savvy -- but they've written her to be terrible across the board. (I wouldn't hang out with a single character on this show IRL. Funny characters, insufferable humans.)

100%. Felt like we jumped a ton of steps between "find ways to bond and connect" to "welp you might need to make a radical change". Astute observation! I think Robert and Sol do have something there to figure out. Sol thinks of Frankie as his best friend, and Robert as his lover. And I get that! My last partner and I were a deep body and heart match -- we felt so safe and loved together. We just fit. But we honestly didn't have much in common, we struggled to find things we both wanted to do or even talk about sometimes. It's not what broke us up, but I did have questions about how that would work in the long run. Could friends fulfill all those other needs, or did I need a partner who could share more of my interests? I still don't know the answer.

I was surprised they wrote Sol as gay -- I assumed he was bi, the way they showed his love for Frankie & his interest in sex with her. It would really fit the character better IMO, but bi erasure is very common so I shouldn't be surprised.

Looking for something a little light I've watched 5 tonight and I'm really liking it! I often ask myself "do you want to be right, or do you want to be helpful?" so I appreciated her Dad saying "do you want to be right or do you want to be free?". Freedom, and what that means to you, is a strong theme.

I found CZJ's makeup very distracting! It made her look look like she was...decaying? melting? Hard to describe. And did it get worse as the episodes went on, starting with the more polished look you'd expect from Billie or am I imagining that?