LoveIsJoy

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I’m beginning to tire of this show. The so-called “spooky” desserts looked more like messy blobs of green, red, and black with amateurish decorations sloppily sculpted and plopped on top. They simply don’t have enough time to create anything worth watching. Since I can’t taste anything, I rely on the appearance to help make sense of the competition. The other problematic issue for me, is the description and pictures of each contestant’s dish. There’s always a long list of ingredients that rolls off the tongue—“I’m making an almond.flour.swiss.roll.with.a.layer.of.chopped.pineapple-bourbon-flambééd.banana.and.a.layer.of.feuilletine.and.pistachio crumble.for.crunch.covered.with.an.espresso-chocolate.mirror.glaze [breath] served.with.a.dollop.of.marscarpone.mixed.with.red-chili.ice.cream.that.needs.to.blast.chill.to.set.in.time.” (of course it won’t). Then they each explain their decorations that consist of mostly inedible blobs that vaguely resemble body parts scattered across the dessert. I can barely keep up and I really don’t know what they’re trying to make because it rarely looks like the picture they flashed for half a second. And I really doubt they are making up these desserts on the spot. It’s too convenient that they have every ingredient available, no matter how obscure. Looking forward to the holiday baking shows. At least they’re pretty to look at.

I’m watching. Mostly for Retta and her reactions. I do have to wonder why anyone would buy some of these houses. Most need a lot more work than just an Allison makeover.

IIRC, Hildie was responsible for the flowers and hay on the walls. Genevieve had the bright idea of moss on the walls and stone pavers on the bedroom floor. Trading Spaces was appointment tv for me back in the day. 😆

Minnie Driver!! That’s who she is! I had been wracking my brain trying to place the actress since she first appeared onscreen. I kept thinking, “boy, she looks familiar,” but I honestly didn’t recognize her and never bothered to look it up. That’s so funny to me. Either the makeup and acting is really good or I’m just getting old.

I was confused by the finances. First, the sale of the office fell through. That was the money they were going to use for the lake house renovation. Then they were suddenly able to rent out the office for 18 months. Did that rental down payment give them enough money for the renovation? Because at first they said the renovation would have to be put on hold, and they only could paint the exterior and surprise Steve with the electric fireplace and staged room where the chairs faced the bed instead of the lakeside views. Then a few scenes later they were redoing the whole downstairs. Also, Mina said she had to close the store because it wasn’t making or losing money. Is she selling it or renting out? And the one property they have is still a work in progress, and not generating any income yet. And whatever became of the Charlotte Hall venue? Then at the end of the episode they’re off to buy another store in the suburbs. Where’s that money coming from??? Totally confused. Oh, and I thought the reveals were boring. Not ugly, not gorgeous. Just fresh, new, and bland. Well, I thought the dining chairs looked like baseball mitts. And I didn’t understand why the Adirondack chairs were facing the house instead of the lake.

As a black woman, I find Sunny’s repeated generalizations that (paraphrasing) black voters will come out to vote for Kamala Harris, to be tiresome. Or worse, that we won’t vote if Harris is “passed over” in favor of another democrat. Sunny casts black women in the role of refusing to vote depending on Kamala’s ultimate role. Sunny should know that Black people are not a monolith, and I don’t base my politics on whether I happen to be of the same race as an official. Otherwise, I’d be all in for Tim Scott and Clarence Thomas (which I’m sooo not!) I personally am not a fan of VP Harris (for reasons that are off topic in this forum). But I would vote for whomever had the best chance of defeating Trump. If the ticket remains Biden-Harris, or changes to Harris-???, or even ???-Harris then my vote won’t change. My vote has nothing to do with the “presidency-being-decided-by-black-females-so-they-better-treat-Kamala-right-or-else.” Sunny may feel that way personally, but it often comes across to me as some sort of unspoken threat about how other black female voters will behave based on what role Harris ends up playing. Newsflash. Not all black women are fans of KH. And I actually like and respect Sunny. But I so wish she would get off that soapbox about black women voters in general. It’s annoying and a bit insulting at this point.

Thank you so much @Agalea Charis and @Roseanna for your detailed replies! Now I do remember that plot after all. And, yes, I can see why it was such a problematic episode.

I’m sorry, I have a terrible memory. But can anyone provide a synopsis of “the episode that shall not be named?” It sounds like some found it utterly unforgettable (and not in a good way) but I have personally forgotten large chunks of season 1. Thanks.

Unpopular Opinion, but I thought the Francesca story was a big snooze. I found the character to be beautiful but utterly uninteresting and forgettable. Although her new beau/husband was pleasant, I wasn’t drawn to either character and felt no connection or chemistry between them. I really wasn’t rooting for them like I was for Kate and Anthony last season. Their “story” felt like filler to me and each time they appeared onscreen I had to keep reminding myself who they were. Early on, I had hopes Francesca’s story would get interesting when the queen discovered her love for playing the piano. That maybe the queen would help her bypass the whole society ritual and focus on finding a placement for Francesca to study music. But no, the queen’s discovery of her talent went nowhere interesting. Francesca’s big drama was that she selected a nice guy over a nobleman with money and Queen Charlotte’s backing. Yawn. The story got more dull as the season went on. Of course, I haven’t read the books, so maybe the writers were just being true to the source material. I’ve no idea, but the pair just didn’t work for me.

I watched the entire season and this thread, and still have no idea who Michaela is or what scene she was in. Actually, I was pretty bored this season and found myself dozing off a few times. The Colin character was so bland to me, and he had no chemistry with Penelope IMO (although it did seem to me that the actors were really trying). Eloise was annoying and Benedict was a snooze. Even the never-ending threesome was boring. I was actually kind of rooting for Cressida because she at least grabbed my attention. Can someone clue me in to who Michaela is, and what her scene was about? Sadly, this was such an unremarkable season to me.

I didn’t like any of the kitchens but I think Taniya’s team should have won. Alison’s team was a butt ugly head scratcher for sure. Actually, the participants they chose were odd to me. They all seemed like complete novices. Taniya’s team had only previously redone their own home. Allison’s team met when she bought a house and he helped as her handyman. I don’t even recall Ty’s team’s credentials. 7 days is not nearly long enough to design and completely switch the location of a kitchen, even for seasoned pros. They were set up to fail. The fake drama is so annoying and they are terrible actors. Someone is always overwhelmed and threatens to quit (except they don’t) Will the cabinet/countertop fit through the door? Will the window/door fit in the space? (They will—with some last minute modification). This week’s crisis was “Oh noes—The chairs for the island are bar height! Whatever shall we do?” Me: as I rolled my eyes, “cut the legs to counter height.” Which is exactly what they did. I’m probably going to do a lot of fast forwarding this season.

When everyone on the episode was gushing about Leontyne Price—how she grew up in Laurel and how everyone is so proud of her—I couldn’t help but think of what Mississippi was like during that period in history. I wonder if the information provided to visitors also includes the challenges she overcame as a talented black girl coming of age in a segregated and often violent Mississippi. Actually, even though I really like Ben and Erin and enjoy the show, I very often find myself wondering who actually owned the [last name] house when they’re touring the properties. Was it the former home of a Klan member? I’m probably the only person who even thinks that way. I just know I wouldn’t make a good client for the show even though I enjoy their work and find the Napiers and their crew to be good-hearted people.

Yes, I basically binged the series. I got so tired and annoyed at all of the smug, self-satisfied trash talk (I’m a bad ass, I’m so creepy and creative, I’m here to win, blah, blah, blah) that I had a hard time rooting for anyone. And of course, the person I disliked most ended up winning, though it was probably deserved. But I will say that this group of artists have excellent skills. I’m sure a lot of the talking heads were reality show tropes and producer-driven, but it didn’t make for an enjoyable viewing experience for me. Frankly, I prefer the camaraderie, humor, and humility of shows like The Great Pottery Showdown and GBBO.

I want to like his show more than I actually do. The acting is great and there are some scenes with emotional impact. But the pacing seems soooooo sloooowww. I find myself drifting off to sleep in the middle of every episode (which I watch after dinner and the news). Then I have to rewind to see what I’ve missed. Which turns out to be not much of anything. Nazi sympathizer or not, I’m sick of Coco and her story. I’m beyond sick of her annoying friend and hope we’ve seen the last of her.

Thanks for the explanation about the rotting bird. I’m not Japanese, and I was just as confused and taking him literally. I could hardly concentrate on the rest of the episode because I couldn’t understand why he just didn’t have the bird cooked when he received it. Or why he kept shouting “you die!” if someone removed it. You could see the confusion and fear on his household member’s faces. It was just so odd. I kept thinking there was going to be some kind of strategic reveal about why he was attracting flies and making a stench. But no. It was really for a stew. When he finally realizes , “OMG, I killed the gardener,” my first thought was, “no kidding Captain Obvious.” He seems dumb and smart simultaneously. Perhaps I should have read the book first. Blackthorne’s character isn’t doing it for me. I can’t imagine why Mariko would be attracted to him. Maybe I just don’t like his acting. Maybe it’s the script. I’ll keep trying to hang in there because I like the rest of the cast very much, the cinematography, and the general story.