LoveIsJoy

I was totally confused by the ending. How did Evie get the gun? I thought Pete was holding it and shot himself. But when I saw Evie’s creepy smile at Danny as she was taken into custody, I figured she had shot Pete. I just didn’t see where or how she managed to take the gun from him. Also, who the heck was that guy in the woods with the rifle? Have we seen him before? And why was the dad arrested for shooting him? Wouldn’t it be considered self defense and/or trespassing?

Oof. I spent much of the FJ think music trying to name a Dutch scientist. When van Leeuwenhoek popped into my head, I then got distracted wondering if it was “van” or “von” and if I had the spelling correct. I was certain my response was correct, only to discover that I totally forgot I was supposed to name an animal! At any rate, I doubt I would have come up with the correct response in time. 😒

Actually, we may have both been sleepy because I vaguely remember hearing that as well. I did think the final result was charming. But I wondered if there would be room for the dogs on the patio since it was stuffed full of furniture.

Thanks @GHScorpiosRule and everyone who shared all of your knowledge and insight from past seasons. I sometimes have a hard time keeping up with changing timelines, characters, etc. Story arcs often start and end abruptly; with the various accents, half of the time I can’t understand what is being said. And the amount of time that passes between seasons makes it difficult to remember what happened prior. Thank goodness I started using closed captioning this season. That helps a lot. The Mr. and I decided we need to rewatch season 2, and then make a point to watch season 7 again right before the final season begins.

Looking forward to Roy Wood, Jr. I saw his comedy special, Lonely Flowers, streaming on Hulu. I enjoyed his camaraderie with Trevor Noah on The Daily Show. He has a laid back, relatable style and his special is relaxed and enjoyable (IMO).

Thanks for your viewpoint. For some reason I was thinking that Bri was younger than 30s, and that Jemmie was only about 8. I also clocked Jane at early 20s rather than a teenager. So your scenario is definitely plausible (assuming Faith miraculously survived). I didn’t so much think it was strange that she agreed. I thought it was strange that the decision was made the night before, like it was no big deal she was leaving her beloved brother, or that they had roles in the Army already (really, you can just walk away from duty like that?), and there was no time to even think it through. Maybe that’s just how it was in those days…drop everything at the last second and keep it moving?🤷🏽‍♀️ I agree with this. It was still disappointing to me because the intensity of Jamie and John’s friendship closely matches the intensity of his romantic relationship with Claire. It was jarring to me that Outlander goes out of its way to depict this fantasy, all-consuming love story for Jamie and Claire. Contrariwise, with Jamie and John, it’s suddenly all about realism. Of course now I can see William has inherited Jamie’s petulant, stubborn streak.

This was such an odd episode to me for several reasons. The main one is that I have ZERO recollection of Claire and Jamie having a baby other than Brianna. Mr. LoveisJoy didn’t remember it either. We were both like “Whaaaa??” How many seasons ago did that happen? And were both stymied by the sudden appearance of Master Raymond. I was like, “Are we supposed to know who he is? I mean have we met this character before?” The Mr. just shrugged I also couldn’t understand how Faith could have been old enough to be Jane’s mother if she was roughly the same age as Breanna. When Claire announced to Jamie that she wanted to go home, I thought, “where is home?” Didn’t their NC property get destroyed in a fire? Plus, Ian conveniently tells Rachel the night before that he think he wants to go back to NC with Claire and Jamie. And, of course, Rachel readily agrees to be by his side first thing in the morning [insert eyeroll]. I also hated how much of a jerk Jamie still is to Lord John. He’s not angry with Claire but he can’t forgive Lord John, who BTW, saved Claire’s life? And who also rescued his son, William. Ridiculous.

I was gutted by the news. For years, Richard authored a blog that was visited mainly by people with multiple sclerosis. We talked about our experiences with MS. He was such a brilliant writer even as he admitted his condition was getting worse and it was increasingly more difficult to post. Every time he personally responded to one of my posts I felt a real connection to him. A few years ago his posts became fewer. I still remember reading his last post where he told us he was unable to continue because his MS symptoms had seriously deteriorated. Since then, I have periodically wondered how he, Meredith, and the family have been doing. I’m glad he was surrounded by family at the end. I’ve always loved Meredith and he always acknowledged her as a true care partner who never defined him by his illness. 🥲

@Mannahatta I had the same general reaction. I was trying to calculate in my mind how old she was, while wondering how long it took to earn 5 PhDs, and in what subjects. And wasn’t it interesting that Erin attended school with a genius. Like you, I thought they did an admirable job on the new school. I’m pleased that so many in the community are committed to the children’s education and wellbeing. I do appreciate her service and wish them all the best. But good grief, that was a damning portrait of the Laurel, Mississippi school system. I’ll still be watching though. I record a few HGTV shows and watch them in the background. The thrill is gone, but I still can’t quit them. 😄

@CrazyInAlabama thanks for the recap. My Hulu recordings always cut off the final 30 seconds of the show so I never know the full outcome. I was confused by the layout. If they have 2 primary suites with bathrooms attached to each, then which bathroom do the other 2 bedrooms use? Heather’s mom urged them to make the upstairs a full suite, because creating a 5th bedroom would mean the primary bath would have to be shared with the 5th bedroom occupant. But isn’t that the case with the primary suite downstairs sharing a bath with 2 bedrooms? Or was there a 3rd bathroom that I just don’t remember?

This show reminds me of “House Hunters.” For those not familiar, viewers were led to believe that buyers were shown 3 houses, weighed the pros and cons of each, and chose one to buy at the end. Several years in, it came out in the media that the show was pretty much fabricated. The “potential buyers” had already chosen and were under contract for their home. The other 2 homes they toured were decoys not even in consideration. Still enjoyable to watch even knowing the truth, but not exactly reality. I think that’s why I watch this show with a jaundiced eye. I don’t quite believe much of anything we see is truly as presented (exhibit A - Natasha exclaims about burned bake yet opens oven door and removes pan with bare hands). There are other questionable things I’ve noticed, but overall I still enjoy the show and figure any of the finalists are deserving of the win. I just take it all with a grain of salt (pun intended) 😆

I got the biggest unintended chuckle watching the obviously staged “mishap” with Natasha. I can’t remember which bake it was, but one of the guys yelled out that he smelled something burning. Turned out to be in Natasha’s oven. She opened the oven door, exclaimed that her bake had burned, and pulled out the pan with BARE HANDS! 🤣 No oven mitts seen anywhere. Natasha then plopped the pan on the counter, confirmed it was burned and said she’d have to remake it. I am suspicious that much of this show is staged. I’m not even convinced that the final gingerbread houses were distributed randomly. I had a strong hunch that Steven (Stephen?) was going to win based on the editing. Then when he got the easiest house to construct, I was certain of it. I didn’t have a favorite finalist so I’m okay with his win.

Thanks for the details @KeithJ. I’m curious as to how much she’s paying in holding costs while she’s waiting for the perfect offer. Even if she manages to sell at her desired price, it seems to me that the profit will be offset by the total amount she’s had to pay each month it hasn’t sold. But then I’m not a realtor or a “bad-ass” designer/flipper/renovator like Allison, so what do I know.🤷🏽‍♀️

Unless I missed it, was there any explanation or resolution about the Atlanta deal falling through at the last minute? It seems one segment she was upset with the agent on the phone call, and then it went to commercial. After the commercial, it seems that we were back watching the progress of the house. Maybe I zoned out, because I don’t remember an explanation about the Atlanta bombshell. Especially since earlier in the show she had decided to move forward with buying the million dollar condo she wants to flip. I assumed using proceeds from the Atlanta sale was practically a done deal. I did feel sorry for the problems the family encountered for their dream home. I sometimes like Allison’s designs, but the result turned out so been-there bland IMO. I suppose there really wasn’t enough money left for the design budget. And I thought the shower tile in the kids’ bathroom was strange. Looked to me like a bit of dark herringbone tile randomly placed on the shower wall amidst the white subway tile. I thought it looked odd.

I watch on Hulu, but haven’t seen it yet. Was curious if it would ever be shown. Maybe it’ll show up sometime.