pasdetrois

As I watched I wondered if the writers were being politically correct - being careful not to portray Muslims in a bad light. The entire scenario -- very little reaction by the praying Muslims to the invaders - they didn't even turn around to see who had entered the room -- seemed unrealistic and therefore weirdly off-kilter for the show. I don't like the sex slave storyline. I understand there were slaves used for sex, but earlier scenes of her enjoying the sex with multiple brothers seemed unrealistic. Ratings grab? Helga just looked demented wandering through the mayhem, looking for the harem girl while Vikings thrashed all around her.

I think these women believe they are fetching and youthful when they drink and screech and climb up onto bar tops. They're not.

Just binged over the holidays. I appreciate that this series can be enjoyed by kids, but I was often bored. All the derivation was predictable. I needed much less of the frantic bicycling and screeching moms and more of the bad guys' back story and monster views. It's always a mixed bag when you have lots of young actors. However I felt that Millie Bobby Brown and Charlie Heaton were outstanding; the four boys were pretty realistic too. Random: El's swimming onesie took me to Kanye's "fashion collection," and Steve's voluminous bouffant reminded me of Chewbacca. Also, the bad wigs didn't promote the storyline at all, nor remind me of the 80s.

I hate how some of these women are degrading themselves to stay on TV and make a buck.

Robby was a strange mix of intelligent and infantile. The clinging to his wife like a toddler was disturbing. Janet seemed to like it and I assume the entire dysfunctional clan is back together. Which distresses me on behalf of their youngest son, who appears to be withdrawing while nobody is paying attention. Also distressing: Robby's increasing violence. My hope is that the smart motivated nieces and other extended family keep the pressure on Janet to stop enabling Robby and separate from him.

She doesn't want to work, just money. Sheree is one of the laziest, most entitled housewives. She's up there with Kim. I seem to recall in the first season most of her scenes were all about over-the-top spending. If I recall correctly, she squandered whatever it was she got from Bob and tried to hold out for more.

I knew I remembered the name but could not figure it out. Didn't the Buckwild cast lose someone to drugs? Or was it a ATV crash?

There's something going on. I wonder if she and her husband feel they must relocate to Dubai in order to scramble to make a living. Or to hide for a while. It's weird how she spends so much time in bed, or getting her makeup done. Because I think she's insufferable, I hope we find out what the real story is. It also seems as if Marissa and her husband have no income other than the show. In some scenes I feel as if he has been maneuvering them both in front of the camera, trying to market themselves.

Guess we'll see more of this new paradigm thanks to the current easy accessibility of pain pills: relatively happy people who are prescribed too many opiods for pain and whose bodies just fall into addiction. I feel lucky that my body doesn't crave those chemicals. I know this isn't really a totally new paradigm - 40 years ago a friend's mother suffered terribly from a car accident and became addicted to her pain medication - but the flood of opiods has increased the chances. The Washington Post does intermittent stories on pain clinics, unscrupulous doctors and such, and I read about the severe situation in WV. One town of 400 people received a half million pills via prescriptions. What a relief to see a relatively functional family. Sturgill is smart and personable. I think he'll make it.

My cable provider just ran all of season one and I binge-watched. Last year half the season was shown, and the show disappeared off my TV, so it was great to see all the episodes finally. As much as I enjoyed this the first time, Bill seemed a bit frantic and desperate for attention on reviewing. But if we're headed for a second season I'm still in. The older ladies are comic gold. Tammy the temp secretary and the local waitresses don't take any guff off of Bill.

The only housewives show that I ever liked is now nothing more than a transparent, craven grab for money. Their families are more involved than the other housewives shows, i.e., Joyce, Kairo, Bob, Todd, and so on - everyone's piling onto the money bandwagon and not even trying to pass it off as anything other than it is. Does Cynthia's modeling agency make money? Does she run the thing on a daily basis? I have the impression that a significant part of her income was from Russell and Leon; modeling income is very short-lived and many models spend every penny they make. I'm curious whether she's generating enough income to live off of, separate from her TV income. ETA: Or an homage to Phyllis Diller.

I'm pretty sure Jordan is a sociopath (said only slightly sarcastically). And he looks pretty damn fit and healthy for a meth addict. Guess it is years of enabling support - food, shelter, etc. He holds everyone else in utter contempt. With his relative fitness and charm, there is an army of lonely women who will support his habit in exchange for attention. Also, I think he was auditioning for a music career via Intervention. His sister's report that he threatened her sexually made my blood run cold. WTF. Is that a meth thing? Crazed, violent threats that cross sexual/familial taboos?

I'm binging this series over several nights. It brings back memories because I entered a newsroom about a decade after these women, and I filed an EEOC complaint. Quote from my news director: "No you can't make as much as your (male) colleague. He has a family to support." It's fun to see the clothes and hairdos. I think however that pantyhose were the norm by the late 60s - I remember my cousins in the rural south wearing them. I guess the writers can't resist the sexiness of garters. A mildly sour note for me is the male lead - the managing editor. I think the actor is awful.

I'm starting to mourn the loss of this sublime show. With Janet flapping around so much over the seasons, Ted has been overlooked. In the last few episodes, the writers and actor show us how lonely and marginalized he is. He got lost in the family's drama and strong personalities. I felt his pain. I love how all the actors held onto their characters this entire time. For me, a great strength and blessing of this show has been the naturalness of the acting and dialog. Weirdly, it's less about Daniel for me, and more about his family's struggles. I'm beginning to wonder if we have the dawning of another great Phyllip Seymour Hoffman in Clayne Crawford. There is an article in the Washington Post about a trauma treatment protocol that's different that the traditional PTSD treatment. It's called post-traumatic growth (PTG) and it doesn't do the trauma-immersion thing we see Daniel going through.

Moved to correct episode

Did I hear Caroline F. tell Juliet, after endlessly moaning about her father's illness and insisting that she race to Denmark, that she would not actually be visiting her father "because he was too sick?" The only time I have ever seen the other Caroline lift herself out of her jaded torpor is when she was looking at the plans for her luxurious Dubai residence. She was like a kid in a candy store over all that opulence. The old biddies in the gift shop are gonna give Julie a run for her money.

If Wesley is in recovery, did he really go out to a bar and drink to spite Tiffany? Also, if he's an addict or alcoholic, and he's been in programs/rehab, and taking care of Wesley, then he may not have any reliable job skills. With Tiffany remaining in CA, will Shelli require him to get a damn job? Shelli is one of the more mature enablers/parents, although she never should have started the child support payments - Tiffany needed to face those consequences. But I guess Shelli was letting them into her home to try to protect Noah. Something tells me Tiffany will remain in CA forever. She didn't seem attached to anyone, despite the occasional teary eyes. Maybe the postpartum depression interfered with her ability to attach to her children - it happens, especially when a mother churns out so many children so quickly. Methinks Shelli will be raising Noah.

So the writers are going to leave us next week with this season's cliffhanger - will Negan kill or torture a baby? I imagine them pondering how far to go. As a child of the 60s I can't believe I'm saying this: Carl, cut your damn hair. One of the problems with Negan's portrayal is it's so one-note. Same sardonic tone, same little bouncy hitch with the back, same slow stroll. I don't want the character to go soft, but when Negan was talking to Carl he briefly dropped the bullying sarcasm and it was a relief to have a break from that affect.

Phaedra wants to enter politics, either in the GA legislature or US Congress. Has her foundation done anything or filed a public accountability report? She should be careful. I think she has a shady history and running for public office is essentially an invitation for the world to go digging into your life. I suspect Todd is "working so hard" in order to avoid being at home. I don't see any emotional or physical connection to Kandi. In the first episode this season, when he was going to take care of Ace, he picked the baby up and immediately complained about his back. What a loser. He's gaming Kandi for money, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's somehow profiting from the construction. Nice job Sheree, putting your child's drug bust on TV. Kairo appears to barely tolerate her attention-seeking speeches and counseling. Maybe he agrees to be on TV in the hopes of an entertainment career. Why would an attractive, vital woman move all the way out to a huge house in the distant suburbs/country? Did Cynthia actually buy the property, or was it all for TV? I love her Atlanta home and think she's a fool to sell it now. Hang on to the equity for now.

The men are really immature. They remind me of little boys who won't let girls into the clubhouse. Everyone was really defensive and nasty this episode, with the exception of Emily. And I don't think Sierra has done anything to deserve such mean treatment. I suspect she's being upset and difficult because they all sniped and insulted her all during production, and the stress got to her. Kate looked like 90 miles of hard road. There's something really off about Kyle.

Somehow I've lost what little regard I once had for this show. I just can't watch a bunch of spoiled, entitled whiners complain about their lives and fight with each other endlessly. Not even beautiful England can keep me interested.

Loved this episode - very fine. There's no hell like going to a small southern town reunion when you are the bad girl. It never occurred to me that the heroin belonged to Tiffany's husband. I wildly thought that Javier had somehow put it there to manipulate Tiffany into forcing Letty out of the house and back into his arms. (I must be working too hard because that scenario is implausible.) Jacob broke my heart. There are so many Jacobs in the world.

If I heard correctly over several episodes, Kailiah's mother began stretching and manipulating her daughter's body when she was an infant, and in the latest episode she stated that their goal is "China and Cirque." So essentially her mother decided Kailiah's future for her from birth, and it involves the entertainment world. I wonder if Kailiah will suffer any orthopaedic problems later in life. Agree with Janc that she is "on" all of the time and it's annoying to watch.

This episode lost me. I can take only so much of people in a car, endlessly talking. And Letty stalking around the tow company, jabbering on her phone and no one coming out to help her, made no sense. It was night time and she's a pretty young woman who garners attention - did no one notice? And the thing with her drawing a gun on the guy who gave her a ride just annoyed me. I know we're supposed to believe in Letty's and Javier's fatal attraction to each other, as a way of keeping a storyline going, but I'm having a hard time with it. Letty's scenes with other characters, or on her own, are more compelling.

These two characters are mis-steps in this nearly perfect show. Clayne Crawford does so much with his scenes. I wonder if he will have a fantastic career; he has some kind of buddy movie coming out.