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I thought that Gill should have been sent home (regardless of everyone's bakes) for the decision to use canned peaches. Why in the world would she have done that, unless she couldn't afford real or better peaches to practice with. Similarly, why in the world would Christiaan use rose water? I really don't think I have EVER seen a bake on this show where that worked. I had to laugh when he said he was going to put it in his showstopper but it wouldn't be enough to taste, so why bother? I thought Dylan certainly deserved all the accolades this episode, but I don't think it is a sure thing that he will be the ultimate winner. Maybe a grump, but I did get a bit tired of the spotted dick jokes. Based on some of her choices in other seasons, I know Prue is a fan of steamed puddings, but I do feel it was included here solely for comic relief. Speaking of comic relief, I did love Dylan's insistence on how old Noel and Alison are compared to him. Much as I enjoyed Sumayah and her beautiful, imaginative bakes, I am so glad not to have to hear her again. I'm sure she will be successful in whatever she does in the future. Finally, except for Sumayah's (not a fan of coffee/lemon), I would have eaten every bite of every one of those tiramisus all by myself. Yummy.

I loved Nelly as a person, and was so sorry to see her go. But as soon as I heard "chocolate avocado," I knew. I love warm spices, so I was drooling at every single bake.

First, let me say how much I like Alphy. Not just being shallow (although he is very nice to look at) but his generally laid back approach and lack of drama. Having said that, I think he was absolutely wrong not to be honest with Mrs. C about the Bishop's decision to consolidate the parishes. She (and the other ladies, who she rightly pointed out are the ones who really keep things going) have every right to know about it, especially when Alphy could benefit from their help. I guess this ties into the episode theme of devaluing women, but she really is treated pretty cavalierly in terms of not being seen as helpful and as a partner. And yes, I am aware of her negatives, but she has proven herself to be warm and open to change. I think the show has left a lot of wriggle room with respect to Cathy - her age (menopause), her mother's mental illness etc But I also wonder if part of her extreme reaction to Esme getting is a job relates to PTSD arising from the sexual assault she suffered at work (I think? not really sure) Leonard being Leonard was great (especially in his gardening apron) but WHERE THE DICKENS WAS DICKENS?

That was amazingly boring. I don't really understand why, since there was a lot of violence and gore. Perhaps because everything was so predictable and humorless. I guess I'm only interested in Deep and his lovely girlfriend. I don't care a toss for any of the rest of them, on either side.

"Ditherers of Dragonstone" - to me, the highlight of the episode.

This episode made NO SENSE WHATSOEVER. I won't even list all the obvious headscratchers - such as the witness being shown a 6-pack of bald men when he never mentioned the shooter being bald. Or the actual shooter being of a different gender, body shape, hair etc than the defendant. I know it was to drive home the point about unreliability of witness testimony, but seriously? For that matter, they could have delved into the problem of overly helpful witnesses but no. Nor did it go into the issue about the costs/expenses associated with exoneration cases, and the ethical ramifications of that. It was so obvious that the defendant was not the shooter that I assumed the point was that he had hired a hitman.

Finally, an episode where I wasn't completely disgusted by the prosecution's incompetence. Of course, there were questionable rulings to amp up the suspense, but both lawyers actually did their jobs. And, I really like Tony Goldwin as the DA. I felt for the dad, and I hope he can do some fundraising to afford the legal fees to get custody (or establish paternity, whatever), which I assume would actually be a slam-dunk given the mother's circumstances.

That was awful. Boring, stupid, senseless. What a waste of Jody Foster, Fiona Shaw and my time. There was no detecting, true or otherwise.

I was really expecting the builds from Sam/Neera and Christopher/Robert to be amazing, and they just weren't. I agree that the plane was probably well engineered, but who really is excited by a big plane with a few random tourist attractions stuck on top? I'm a very casual (adult) Lego player, but putting together large swathes of monocolors juts doesn't appeal. Sam and Neera's tree was at least texturally interesting, and contained a number of activities. What surprised me (well, shocked to be honest) was how much I liked Paul/Nealita's build. It was colorful, and looked like it would be fun to put together. I know everyone kept saying how much they had improved, but except for the telescope, I really didn't see it. I agree it may not have been as visually impressive as the others, being less massive, but I think it would certainly appeal to people like me.

I really liked this episode, mainly because of Brickmaster Jamie's contributions. I never realized how complicated a Lego roller coaster can be, but then I'm not an engineer. I thought definitely the right team won, Christopher (who more and more seems like a genuinely nice guy) and Robert's build was both technically impressive and artistic. I do disagree with sending the pink women home, though. I thought that while Paul and Nealita's build di incorporate two loops well, that really was it. It didn't look like fun, it wasn't in any way original. I'm looking forward to the final.

I'm really having to force myself to watch this. This episode pointed out, to me, what's wrong: too much Mansell, too little Raylan, too many other characters that i just don't care about. While the acting is generally good, the writing is not. Mansell is entirely one-note (and that's without reference to his demo tape or whatever), totally predictable and boring at this point. I'm tired of everything going his way. Boyd at least was constantly changing and doing the unexpected. I guess Timothy Oliphant must be busy doing other things, because he's barely a character in this. His fondness for the attorney (Caroline?) is inexplicable to me, he has to suspect that she is tipping her client off, directly or indirectly. Lonnie could have been interesting - but he's gone already. Raylan's two colleagues are interesting (and amusing) - barely any screen time, no actual roles to play. At this point, the only thing I like is that the daughter isn't in it anymore. What a waste of time that was. I'll watch until the end, because that's how I am, but I am very disappointed. p.s. Pretty much the only thing I really like is how realistic the show is in showing how good-looking women really do get away with everything.

Didn't a previous scene show her filling out the application to be considered for an associate judgeship, but realizing that the massive tax lien (as the result of brother? failure to pay the taxes) would disqualify her? A shame, I'd think she'd make a terrific judge. If we're actually rid of Willa, thank goodness. I know there was a certain amount of buzz and feel goodness from the RL casting, but what a poorly written character. Whiny, disrespectful, self-centered (yes, I know, probably completely accurate for kiddos of that age and background) but I'm not watching this for the family drama. Otherwise, I liked it. Lots of action, and plot advancement. I can't wait for the terrible twosome to get what they deserve. I probably missed it (not paying too much attention), but why would the Albanian guy have so much money from a single hot dog location? I get that it would be in cash, but is he laundering drug money or something?

S8E2: Jeez, can this show get any grimmer? I feel like I have to keep watching (darn that OCD) since I started, but I really wish they would just burn up the rest of the episodes and do the reset (which I hope will not be affected by the writers/actors' strike). Everyone (except the always awesome Miss Scott) is just miserable.

This a thousand times! I always remember that episode, and how wonderfully Anton Lessor (along with the great writing) humanized a character that so easily could have been such a martinet.

I hate to say this, because I am a huge Matthew Rhys fan, but I'm giving up on this show. To me, the only interesting part is Perry pulling off some dazzling feat in the courtroom, which was about 1% of this episode. The rest, involving what seems to me to be a cast of thousands, isn't holding my interest at all. Maybe this would have been better binged, because I'm either not able to (or more likely, can't be bothered to) remember who is who or doing what to whom. Frankly, I just don't care about any of them. Maybe it's because the core cast (Perry, Paul, Della) are so very separate. I'm also pretty turned off by how very dark the show is, in terms of lighting. I realize it's supposed to be noir, but does that have to be literal? I am old and, frankly, it's too much effort to have to discern what is going on. I don't mean to offend anyone who likes it, I'm just old and cranky.