CeeBeeGee

Yup. Yeah, Madame Ritz was doing her due diligence, which is entirely appropriate with such a big and complicated purchase. It was nice that eventually Fayed regarded Sydney as a friend but that look on Sydney's face when he was asked to leave--I felt such rage. She doesn't look anything like her! It's really jarring. I chuckled at that as well. "What's that mean--never mind, I can figure it out." Have absolutely no interest in either of them and I'm surprised they wasted a whole episode on them. It was a well-done episode but I don't care about the Fayeds.

I have never heard a congregation sing as well as that. As lovely as it was, it took me out of the moment a bit. This is something a lot of movies/TV do, make group sing-a-longs unrealistically on pitch. I work birthday parties--trust me, there are a loooooot of tonedeaf people out there.

I was totally fooled--bummed that Kreese was dead but then kind of in awe at his Hannibal-esque escape. But dude! You were just about to be vindicated! I LOVED the callback to the egg strategy! Having shitty Kyler, of all people, performatively reject Cobra Kai defies belief. Please don't redeem him, show. None of this had occurred to me and it should've. I count myself as a bonafide gay ally. Thanks for pointing this out to me. Yes, it's believable Johnny would've said this unknowingly but someone should've called him on it.

Stingray fears not only Silver's revenge but also serious legal implications. Lying under oath is perjury and a felony. Yes, ai also loved it that Tory didn't chime in! She's getting more interesting every episode. What a great scene. So well done--I loved his telling the tale at a distance, using the D&D figures. That is a crime! Not allowing her to leave is considered kidnapping! (As is locking the senseis into the limo.)

He was so sweet in the beginning. I'm sure he'll be redeemed in the end but he's appalling right now. Not only attacking Hawk but taunting him afterward. He's in for a bad fall. Tory made the right choice. They've given her so much depth this season, I love it.

What on earth does this guy do again?! How does he have so much free time to flit all over the Valley, machinating? Agreed, first great episode.

I'm very intrigued at Tory's journey--I can't stand cartoonish psychos and want to see more of her questioning what she's being taught. And I really like her relationship with Kreese. Cannot STAND cheesy grinning psycho with the stupid ponytail. It's going to be good to see him go down.

Does Silver's face ever hurt from that perma-smile?

Right?! That did seem strange, I didn't buy it for a second. *Nice to see Claire Foy again! It looks like the footage behind her was archival. *Cousin Norton is the grandson of the guy played by Charles Danse, Philip's uncle and Charles' mentor, the Earl of Mountbatten. So he and Charles are second cousins. *Ugh, I want to side-eye Diana for involving the boys in her Charles drama (when she thanked Harry) but Charles really started it by putting her down so publicly.** As much as I love Diana, I don't like how she drew them in--as though they were peers and not two children. **And what is the BFD about shopping? Diana's visit to a store could put that store into the black for the year. She was a huge boost for economies--that's a good thing. *Fellowes, the guy who answered the phone on the Brittania, is Robert Fellowes, at that time private secretary to the Queen. He is also married to Diana's older sister, Jane. *Comparing ER to Queen Victoria is very unfair. Victoria withdrew almost completely from the public after Albert died--the criticism was just. The phrase "Queen Victoria Syndrome" just smacks of ageism, as ER was still very active in this period, as the montage shows. *Charles: And...I hope the same can be said of me... Major: ...

Oh, I love him! Good for him!

Who did win?

I just did. Never want to see that kid again.

It's truly enraging. Nothing more than a cash grab. When is that damn suit going to be decided? They're destroying the sport.

When he was a kid, he was a shitty bully. Now he's a Kinslayer who just started a civil war. Congratulations, jackass! You've learned nothing. Did it make you feel good to menace a young boy and a young dragon with your enormous one? Feel like a man to see the terror on your nephew's face? Oh, except at the end, when you realized you'd just shit the bed? What a fucking [c-word]. I thought the exact same thing! I'm sure it was intentional. THIS. If customs and understandings are meaningless, then nothing stands for anything. Civilization stops. Oh my God, I sobbed when Viserion was murdered. And once I realized what was happening to Rhaegal, I threw up a hand to block the screen and immediately turned off the sound. Fuck Urine and the Night King. Yep. You cannot simply attack an envoy--the medieval world on which Westeros is based frowned heavily on that. There's a scene in GOT between Danaerys and the envoy from Yunkai--Drogon shrieks threateningly at him after he speaks sharply to Dany and the envoy protests "you swore me safe conduct!"--the scene is referencing a very well-known jus in bello. (Which is why I detest the scene in 300 when they push the Persian envoy into the void. No one would've treated with Sparta after such a huge violation of the customs of war. It's just a cheap bit to make the scene more "shocking.")

Ilia landed the 4A again! And beautifully! So stoked for that crazy kid!

Me to Season 2 and more Che Diaz:

I love the idea of Diana being reincarnated as a zero fucks given dragon. Burn it all down, girl.

I absolutely love Helaena. That side head was everything. I was reminded of Vera Caslavska--Czech gymnast in the '68 Games who dominated the gymnastics events (won AA plus so many event medals the judging started fudging the scores to favor the Soviet gymnasts so that Caslavska had to either share the gold or take silver--she protested the results by looking down and away as the Soviet anthem was played--total baller). I love her predictions, I love her integrity, I love that she clearly despises Aegon and isn't afraid to speak out ("he mostly ignores you"). She is awesome. I chalk it up to Season 2 Tywin's interactions with Arya at Harrenhall. That whole arc was incredibly endearing--intelligence (Tywin) recognizing, admiring and rewarding like intelligence (Arya). And it puts Tywin's statement to Cersei--"You aren't as smart as you think you are"--into an interesting context. Bet he would've been a better father to someone like Arya. (The main reason he was a shit father to Tyrion--who was also "someone like Arya"--was because Tyrion's mother died giving birth to him, and both Cersei and Tywin blamed him for it.) Yep. The C-bomb deployed like that--not between two British men, in affection but from a man toward a woman, with contempt, especially knowing their shared history--he's a POS.

She's such a treasure. We'll miss you, Mariah!

God, these are funny. The one with Viserys and Otto Hightower is fucking hilarious. I literally cackled out loud!

And one of the principals in Mean Girls was named for her :)

I really liked them together and I'm wondering of part of this season's arc isn't Ben falling in love with Addison all over again. I loved this episode! (I've loved them all but I wasn't sure if I would this one, not interested in boxing the way I am in spacewalks and historical diamonds.)

Right?! Like, climb a ladder, Alicent, and get the fuck OVER yourself. You're not a princess of the blood. The Kingsguard protects THE KING (it's in the name) and his family and is not your private assassins guild. (God, that was tacky.) For you to wield a knife against one of Rhaenyra's sons--Viserys should've had her hanged for that. I was able to enjoy a whole five minutes of "Hey, this kid seems pretty cool, he conquered his fears and rode a dragon--shit, now he's just another shitty bully like his brother."

Did they mention if the diamond was on tour or something? Because the Hope Diamond has been on permanent exhibition at the Smithsonian since the '50s. My inner Twilight fan is always happy to him as well--and in yet another Donald Bellisario project! (He's been in both NCIS and NCIS: New Orleans.) Well, I think my post speaks for itself but if you need me to explain it, I was commenting on the double meaning (connotation, really) of the word woke--how mostly it means progressive and socially aware (like the original QL) but how certain groups have tried to turn it into an insult. Hence the quotation marks. Maybe I should've used an "lol" to make it clearer? Or footnotes? Anything to help ;)

Uh...the original show was extremely "woke," whatever that's supposed to mean.