Pike Ludwell

Haven't seen the ep. yet, but I see from the picture that Leland makes an appearance. I wonder if it is the real Leland or a doppelganger from the black lodge.

If Chuck has the goods totally on Bobby, as soon as that news and details hit, the stock will pop fast back to at least the offering price, and maybe back to the mid-20s. So the injured parties will recover nicely, and Chuck needs to get the news out there fast. Wendy, if she has any sense, should cover her short asap, but she will be included in the charges against Axelrod. She could win at court because her inside knowledge was just that Axelrod was heavily short -- not the details of why. Knowing that a hedge fund is shorting can be determined quickly as public knowledge.

I think you mean Huell.

Yes. Apparently if the roaches just stay away from these MASS implant soldiers, they could be fine and respectable citizens of the community.

Now heads need to roll in the secret service and elsewhere -- especially that A-H who'd been on her case all along and threatened: "It's against the law to decline secret service protection." I loved her comeback to that.

I'm glad they didn't postpone it like they did because of the Super Bowl. Also, the new ep. of Billions has been up.

I think the reason Wallace got elected in '68 was a backlash against the Kennedy perceived liberalism. And then Wallace started a nuclear war with Russia ... remember his running mate was that idiot General Lemay and Wallace was kneejerk pro-war. Eerily analogous to the present day situation!! I wasn't too crazy about the Franco character. He was all about long, repeated dramatic looks of consternation (It was the exact same look Cary Grant gave in N by NW in that scene with his mother in that hotel room where she says something sarcastic to him and he gives this same look). The character "John" in Bloodlines had a similar style (but different look) (long silent facial reaction scenes, repeatedly, and I didn't like it there either). And the Franco character just didn't seem too bright a lot of the time. For example, in that earlier episode when Sadie's husband had a gun and had them both at the table, there seemed plenty of opportunities to just grab the gun or the guy's arm. And he just seemed to communicate very poorly, which also caused problems.

John's character last season seemed the sharpest of the lot, but now he really is as dim a bulb as the rest. (And am I imagining or did the actor get fatter with each episode?) And I hate the way he does the accent: talks in a normal way, but every once in a while throws in an "ah've" or "ah'm" or an "ah" instead of "I" elsewhere too ... once in a while, as sort of a shortcut for a full blown accent. Every "ah'm" I hear annoys the Hell out of me. On top of that he's chosen an acting style that is basically either stoic to full blown catatonic. And he just doesn't believe in effective communication - just likes to leave everything a mystery to anyone he talks to. All in all I find John the most annoying of these characters. His wife Diana is probably my favorite. Loved how she took on Sally.

Nice little cliffhanger there. I suspect it will be resolved very quickly next season and not have a major impact. That said, why the recent downgrade of this site? This new interface is uglier, less intuitive and slower and clunkier than the old site. The old site was amazingly good. Why "fix" (ruin) what wasn't broken?

Loved Lara's line when she was explaining things to her old boyfriend and he just couldn't get over his anger. She said: "Then you're a fucking simpleton. And that is why it didn't work out between us." I was like "YES!! ... Perfect" because "simpleton" is exactly the word I had him pegged for from early on in that scene. As a stock trading hobbyist, I'm still enjoying this show, even if no one else seems to like it.

Krazy 8 could be a way to get Hank into the show. Krazy 8 was a DEA informant in BB (6 years after this BCS appearance). Maybe we'll see how he gets with the DEA, and that should involve Hank.

A lot of these directors came of age around the time of Twin Peaks and so they lust after the idea of doing dream sequences as a way of showing creativity. So they write them in to make these people happy. I find it ok as long as they are brief, but if I see a dancing midget in any of them I will scream.

So, Stephen Holder of The Killing has a new career. LOL My problem with that Swedish actor is the accents he chooses just don't quite cut it. The voice of Stephen Holder was annoying as Hell and way over the top. Now, his voice here just doesn't quite cut it either. Just sounds weird too often, like too much Swedish accent accidentally showing through. I'm liking this season so far ... definitely better than last season. Very intelligent script, overall, but not so ridiculously overcomplicated like last season where I almost felt the need to be keeping a flow chart just to keep track of what's going on.

I think the mobster's statements that songs can't succeed without illegal manipulation is ridiculous. Great songs/artists are like procreation in Jurassic Park: A way will be found. Take songs on par with those of the Beatles, Stones, etc. Radio stations would go out of business if they didn't play those. It's always PO'd me when the influence of the mob in music is exaggerated like that - it's generally a way for "squares" to diminish modern music they don't "get". Usually, junky songs won't make it far no matter how much the mob pushes them ... neither will lousy musicians/singers. There may be a few exceptions on some borderline stuff, but for the most part this is true.

I might hang in for a few more episodes, but so far I'm not impressed. Scorsese did a good job directing, but this is the only episode he directs. Richie is a self destructive jerk. I can't stand the guy or virtually any of the other a-hole characters. It centers on the goofiest aspects of the early 70s - massive cocaine use (I always thought it unbelievably stupid to snort a drug into your nose), heroin, and glam rock. In other words it centers on the direction the Stones took which I never liked. Incidentally, I think the huge emphasis on Bo Diddley is a Mick Jagger contribution - he loved the guy but I always thought him boring as hell. Many other songs are 60s soul, lots of 70s punk. I agree with other sentiment that a different musical period would be preferable. Also, make a few lead characters sort of sympathetic and not a bunch of idiots - that always helps.

I think we're talking about nearly 40% of the people. America is dumbed down. Of these 40% many spread the word around about the show to the others and it builds. There. I'm done. I stand by my post.

This was such an obvious PANDERING to certain (many) very far out real life wackos that I can't get into it. I'm out. it would just be too annoying to continue watching. But their idea here is simple ... if they get a lot those people to watch it's an easier path to good ratings, so why not go all in, whole hog on throwing candy to feed those folks' particular lunacies.

Looks interesting and I'll watch the season. The big negative for me is I'm not a big fan of Damian Lewis. I guess I disliked him right away on Homeland and grew to dislike him more. But maybe I'll get used to it. I like Paul Giamatti and he makes it worth the price of admission, but I can't get over that opening scene and now he's diminished and someone I can't relate to in the least. Still looks to be a good show. And Gale is there (from Breaking Bad). Excellent!

Quinn is not necessarily dead. The machine he was hooked up to was showing stable life signs. After that, all Carrie did was take off the pulse monitor from his finger, which would have no effect on Quinn. The doctor said that there was still a chance of normal recovery, though slight. The glimmer of light that suddenly appeared could have persuaded Carrie not to go through with the euthanasia. He COULD be back next season in full capacity.

I don't know if the cast has been announced but it would be dynamite if Jerry Lundegaard and Marge Gunderson return, and the plot centers around Lundegaard again, with some new lowlife problem. If the new season is set shortly after the time in season 1, William H Macy and Frances McDormand would look the right age (the movie was set in 1987). Guaranteed huge ratings.

I understand the instincts that go with parenthood, but it was almost comical the attachment Ray felt to this dolt who is such a completely different person from him. Especially since Ray knows he's likely not the father. Didn't seem like Ray at all. It was great to see him finally do the right thing and just give the kid up. I was actually laughing out loud at that scene with them watching "Friends" - such a hilarious dichotomy, and I think the humor was deliberate.

Because of all the hype for this show I tried it - watched all of season 1 over the past couple weeks. I wasn't happy with it and will limit myself to season 1. The Timothy Olyphant character bores the H out of me. It's not his acting - I enjoyed Justified a lot. Just the nature of the character I guess. Too one dimensional (he did smile once, but that was an exception.) And too wimpy a persona to be sheriff or to even be in such a place. The torture scene where Cy killed that boy/girl couple of con artists went on too long, was too disturbing, and there was no quick payoff in a horrible death for Cy. In fact he survives through the end of the season. No resulting quick massive suffering/death for such a hideous character angers me to death in any show. The minister was the most annoying character imaginable - at least he dies in the season (and when someone - Al - finally has the gumption to put him out of his misery - that was one of the season's highlights) , but the writers keep coming up with extremely annoying characters that I just grimace when they appear. I'm on completely different wavelengths with the writers. Also too much vomiting and urinating. Sorry ... I don't like to see that stuff. Not enough interesting storylines to keep my interest. I guess I was supposed to be revelling in the character development and the general atmosphere. Unfortunately I'm not interested in the characters and the atmosphere is depressing. Life's to short and there are too many better shows.

Just finished binge watching this whole series over a several-week period. I remember watching the very first episode when it aired in 2010, but for some reason I don't remember I stopped watching it. I don't know why because it is an amazingly good show. It sort of takes you into an interesting world filled with fascinating people. This series finale tied everything up nicely and was well written. I was glad to see Ava free at last. My only qualm is when I remember how she beat that whore mercilessly several times. There were probably some other truly bad things she did, but nothing too incredibly terrible. Robbing from thieves is something that doesn't bother me. Anyway, if any show could revive at some later point, this one seems set up now for a revival or spinoff, and I hope that happens.

Sure Chuck should have just leveled with Jimmy from the beginning. But Jimmy had been a problem for Chuck for years, and he may have been afraid how Jimmy would have taken it. Maybe he was just dealing with the Jimmy problem as best he could. Should he have put his reputation on the line and taken in the always teetering-on-the-brink Jimmy as a lawyer in the prestigious firm? Maybe. But Chuck is no saint. Not all people are so heavily into constant charity and monitoring and guiding other's behavior, especially if they have a bad history. Jimmy had been a serious problem for years and Chuck's negative attitude was justified.

If they had hired Jimmy he probably would have just been back out on the street within a few years anyway. A few setbacks and he'd be going the overly sleazy ethics route and the firm would have canned him. To answer your question: The kind of brother who doesn't want his brother to end up like we see Saul in the very opening scenes of episode 1. Though he could have his great moments -- lawyering was out of his league. However I do think he was above "mail boy". That said, I am enjoying the show, love the characters and am hooked!