LoveIsJoy

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.

Did they ever get more money from insurance? It sounded like some of the problem was in the bathroom where the remediation team didn’t do a thorough job. But it also sounded like some of the issues didn’t have anything to do with the leak. Like the roof, piping and plumbing. And replacing sewer lines. Asbestos. I don’t see how insurance would be on the hook for that. Or did the mold travel to every spot in the house, so the whole place had to be rebuilt? Also, I thought it was weird that they said they moved into 30 places in the past 18 months. They must have a lot of friends with spare rooms to accommodate a couple with 3 small kids. And then the wife said something about they were currently living in a stranger’s house who they just happened to meet. What? I was confused most of this episode. What really happened with the leak (why would they not have immediately replaced a sink with no overflow drain when they first bought the house?—the husband was a contractor). I didn’t even know any company makes sinks with no overflow, makes no sense. I did figure out why all of the reveals look so similar to me. They seem to use the same products on each project. I noticed so many brand placement labels that I’ve seen in other episodes.

Years ago, Nate’s mom had the name, Nancy Golden, when I first saw her on the old HGTV show, Decorating Cents. She was one of my favorite guest designers. Coincidentally, she was the first designer I heard use the term “matchy-matchy” in a negative way. Not too long later, I was watching Nate on Oprah and heard him use the term. Hmmm? They had different last names but something about the way he said it reminded me of Nancy. Then when the tragedy happened, I saw his mom in the audience and clearly made the connection. He and his mom had completely different design styles. She loved color and whimsy. And he didn’t. But they both loved antiques.

Can anyone with sharper eyes than mine, describe what was on the billboard that Maggie surprised Gary with? All I could make out was something to the effect of “Gary lived,” but I couldn’t make out what the artwork was. They flashed it a couple of times but my brain didn’t process it for some reason. Thanks!

@CruiseDiva Now that you mention it, I can’t remember what was behind the glass partition either. I know she previously called it the dead zone (or something similar), and that it was painted a dark gray. She said the dark color wouldn’t dominate because the new sliding door would be much lighter and would take up most of the space on that wall. But now, for the life of me, I can’t recall what was on the other side. They did show it, but it must have been completely unremarkable. Maybe someone else remembers.

For some reason, I can’t recall the circumstances which caused Javier to go missing in the first place. Can someone give me a quick recap? Thanks.

I can’t seem to remember what became of Sophie’s brother. I can’t even remember his name. Isn’t he still in high school or did he go off to college? Or did he go back to France with Delilah? Now that the house has sold, won’t he need a place to live too?

I recall years ago, when my ex hired a construction guy to dig up the ground and place concrete piers according to a specific plan for a commercial building. The guy took the deposit, made a mess of the land, dug piers in the wrong locations, and didn’t rope off the area for safety. Then, he suddenly disappeared from the worksite and no communication for nearly a month. He was then fired. My ex had to hire another firm to fix the mess. Then, the fired contractor wanted to sue for breach of contract. They all ended up in arbitration where the guy was awarded $$$ mostly to avoid a long legal process. So, this scenario is not uncommon in construction sites: work is done wrong, workers miss deadlines or walk off of jobs, subcontractors are no-shows or don’t get paid, invoices are not paid on time, etc. or it all ends up in a lawsuit. What surprises me is that I initially thought HGTV had more of a hand in making sure that things ran smoothly. But that idea was shattered with the mess that was Nicole Curtis (Rehab Addict) and Allison (Windy City Live). The other thing I noticed about this episode was that it was obviously filmed in different seasons although they kept acting like the scenes were all taking place in the “OMG, 4 weeks until the wedding!” drama. During the bridal consultant walk through and the dress fitting, Mina was wearing a summer top. During the concrete and turf drama, it was obviously bitterly cold. And I had the same reaction to the speakeasy stairs— no rails? And how were the men supposed to get dressed in that little area?

Thank you!! I’d either forgotten all about that or didn’t pay it too much attention.

I’m one who is constantly confused by the similarity of characters’ names. Part of the issue for me is being unfamiliar with the actors’ accents (and they speak rapidly and mumbly sometimes), so it all begins to sound the same to my ears. While watching the show I kept “hearing” Vaemond as Daemon, and thought they both had the same name until I read some posts here. Also, do both Allicent and Rhaenyra have sons named Aegon, or did I mishear that as well? Another thing I missed— why was setting the roast pig in front of Aemond considered a horrible joke? I got the “Strong “ reference during the toast, but didn’t get the pig joke. Overall, I’m enjoying the show, but am feeling old. Like I need a hearing aid and a cheat sheet to keep up. I’m grateful for the Behind the scenes explanations after each episode. And this forum, of course. 😉

Unpopular opinion I know, but I’m glad that they’ll be switching the actor playing Rhaenyra. She seems to be an okay actress, but there’s something about her facial expressions that grates. Especially that half-opened mouth thing she does. Her eyes look vacant (to me) and she seems confused, dopey or something. I don’t know, she’s just never popped on the screen for me like the actresses who played Daenerys, Arya, Mellisandra, Margaery Tyrell, Circe, etc. I do really like the actress playing Allicent and will miss her. This version of Rhaenyra, not so much! Sorry.

Just watched the episode with the couple who give back to the community. Their bedroom and bathroom were updated. I enjoyed the show a lot. Melissa and Jenna are fun, down-to-earth hosts. Unfortunately, I thought the makeover was a disaster. I thought the bathroom floor tile and the wet room tile clashed and was entirely too busy. How could anyone take a restful bath or shower in that room? I know they were going for mid century modern but the high contrast graphic shower tile was hideous to me. And coupling it with the extra wide grout lines on the floor tile made me dizzy. I can’t imagine having to clean all of that. I hope large grout lines aren’t the beginning of a new trend. If it is, I’ll pass. The bedroom looked nice except for the macramé “art” hanging in front of the drapes. And I would need to remove or open the drapes to let some light in. The room felt a little claustrophobic. The built-in clothes storage was nice. The modified dresser was awful, in my opinion. The drawer pulls they crafted didn’t look mid-century or mod to me. Just weird and unwieldy. I did like the gallery wall. Strangely, even with my list of negatives, I still really enjoyed watching the show. Have another episode on my DVR that I’m looking forward to.