Pike Ludwell

I'm up to the point where Stamper follows Lisa into that alley and scares her to death. He decided not to kill her then, but I hope she has enough sense to get a gun, be cautious and wary, and I hope to blazes he goes back and she kills him this time. I'm sick of people becoming victims of freaking Stamper. Seth could be the one who brings him down, but it would be more satisfying to see Rachel's friend, the meek and mild Lisa, do it!

So much filler this season it was ridiculous. The extended wedding scene in an earlier episode takes the cake for one of the most blatant, boring pieces of filler ever. Then there was the song sequence at the very beginning of the next episode. I was hoping they'd quietly, elegantly dropped the ridiculous Kimmie subplot, but they brought it back in force. The scene was even more absurd than ever. Now the 45-year-old man is not just the heartthrob of Kimmie, but apparently of any teenage girl that sees him! And now we see the Kimmie thing will be a big deal next season too. Totally ridiculous. It's like they think the worst ideas are the best.

They are both absolutely hideous people who I would never want anything to do with.

I started binge watching this show 10 days ago and am up to this episode. I am hoping like crazy that these two a-h's get punished soon. I'm surprised I am watching another show where I hate the main characters, but the story and writing is excellent, and keeps me interested. Paige ranks up there with as among the worst of main-characters'-children in any TV show. She's giving Walt, Jr. from Breaking Bad, and that daughter in the 1st couple seasons of Homeland a run for their money. The writers/director make it almost seem she is mentally challenged, but I guess writers like to emphasize kids differences from their parents for the contrast effect. I can't believe these people are able to seduce virtually anyone they want. It's amazing how easily manipulable their victims are. I'd like to see just one show some astuteness and not cave to the manipulation. But the two of them win every time. I badly want to see someone outsmart them or resist them. The whole thing is preposterous.

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.