Nancybeth

I wasn't sure what Olajuwon wanted from Katina? To not finish college or whatever degree she's working on? To extend her timeline for kids?? To go back in time and make sure her future plans were aligned with his?? He spends a lot of time complaining about things but doesn't seem to have concrete solutions or compromises he's willing to make. I think maybe he has no intention of saying yes on decision day and is just going through the motions, stacking up reasons to support saying no. There was something off about the timeline of Lindsey's illness. She seemed okay the night before, until they played that game. And they seemingly left relatively early in the morning to go to urgent care. So she was maybe sick for...8 hours? And already she absolutely needed to seek medical treatment and demand IV fluids? I feel like usually it's seek medical care if you can't keep water down for 12 hours or more. I know she has a medical background so maybe there were other signs but it just seemed to be convenient timing.

THIS. They could have stopped at her leaving him. People can have personalities formed by all sorts of experiences other than tragic loss. It's kind of lazy writing.

That's one thing I've always noticed about this show...none of them seem to have real friendships. The few friends we've seen (Madison, Miguel, Sophie) end up being romantic partners for someone. Like, Randall and Beth don't have a group of college friends? Rebecca didn't have any girlfriends that came to her side after Jack died? Kate hasn't met any mom friends?? It's funny because on shows with friend groups I always wonder where their families are. But maybe the Pearsons are so annoying that they can't maintain friendships with healthy boundaries.

"Have you met her family yet? No, I mean the WHOLE family? Are you familiar with the Pearson monologue? Make sure you get on the group text with Miguel and Beth. Get ready for lots of cross-country trips at the drop of a hat. Good luck."

Of COURSE Phillip has a tragic backstory and OF COURSE only the love of the delightful Kate Pearson, member of the wonderful magical Pearson family, can fix him. I don't buy it. I don't buy any of this. Phillip wasn't just a grumpy coworker -- he is her BOSS. She literally just called him and asked that he consider her for a job! In what world is any of this appropriate? And frankly, given the relative speed in which she and Phillip got together (admittedly we don't know how much time passed between the karaoke scene and the first date) I don't imagine that Toby would be okay with it because he would have to at least suspect there was some infidelity at play. I would have liked to see Kate struggle a little bit as a single mom and not go easily from one relationship to another. I mean, the stress of a marriage ending and solo parenting 50% of the time, along with her mom's illness -- those are huge stressors. Maybe that could have been a way to connect her storyline with Rebecca's after Jack's death and draw parallels, versus having her be the valedictorian of divorce. It just feels like we are careening towards the finale and there is so much retconning going on to cram these storylines together and keep all the "mysteries" alive and keep viewers guessing. I've seen comments that some of this was due to COVID and having to revamp schedule and existing plans but there is so much that has to come together in the next 6 (?) episodes.

I let out a delighted "Hey It's That Guy" squeal when the character Gary Yamamoto showed up -- he was played by Ed (Peter James Smith) of "Ed and Larry" fame from "The West Wing"! I wanted more Phyllis Gardner, more Tyler and Erika, more John Carryrou and his kick-ass editor...just more of everyone other than Elizabeth and Sunny.

You know who Olajuwon would have liked being matched with? Bao from Houston. She really liked cooking and taking care of the house as a way of expressing love and being a supportive wife and Johnny didn't really care about any of it.

There's usually a point where the couples sit down together and look at budgets and finances. I'm guessing it's coming up in the next couple weeks and that's why we keep hearing about this with Noi and Steve. He needs to be able to say, "Here's the amount of money I can bring in as a consultant, here is other money I have access to, here is what I save and put towards retirement, this is my health insurance situation, etc." I think people (and I'm definitely one of them) who have always worked in a traditional predictable salaried job have a really hard time understanding how people make a living in a gig economy. I'm guessing that they cannot live in Boston on her salary alone in the manner to which they're accustomed, especially if they're planning to have kids. He has to do something to contribute. Maybe he got some big payout at one point or has a lot of stock, who knows? And if she wants to be a stay at home mom someday then she needs to say that. You can't have both people in a couple decide that someday their partner will be the primary income earner and they'll stay home! Edited to talk about Jasmina...she reminds me of a friend of mine who is also an educator. She's never been a warm, friendly, sweet kind of teacher, no matter what age she taught. She uses that same teacher tone and facial expression and has a tendency to start lecturing. It has not gone over well with her previous partners.

OMG I forgot about the plate! That made me so upset. He's lost his dad, his mom is not doing well, it's nice to keep things around that remind him of his childhood. I consider that sparking joy! Keep two of the plates and use them for special occasions. It is a very condescending tone, which I think he even said when Pastor Cal was there. He's not a mystery Lindsey, he's trying to tell you how he feels, you're just not hearing him. (Oh my god am I getting a crush on Mark??)

I've been thinking about Mark and Lindsey. It's not just that Lindsey is "a lot," which she is -- outgoing, talkative, fun-loving but maybe a little impulsive, says what she's thinking at all time. But I think she also has this controlling/domineering energy that Mark is really struggling with. It's great that she's action-oriented and I think it comes from a good place of truly wanting to help (especially given her career). But I think it just overwhelms him. He clearly needed time to process everything with his apartment and his stuff and she was just in SUCH a hurry to toss things and make decisions and telling him they could just replace things because she didn't like them...it came off as really pushy and I think that's why Mark keeps saying he wants to pull back or withdraw. I agree with Stella Rosa, Lindsey is ride or die and she's all in and she loves big. Mark probably needs that and she could be good for him ...if she can figure out how to adapt her style for Mark, just as ne needs to adapt his style for her. It's selfish to just say, in the immortal words of Jonathan Larson's RENT, "Take me or leave me!" Like, girl...if you can dial it down to 6 or 7 and he can dial it up to meet you, that can work too.

I don't remember Luke or Zach being as specific and pointed as we are seeing Alyssa be. I may be wrong, but her saying "I don't like his teeth," or talking about his body would be the equivalent of a groom telling the producers, "Her boobs are too small" or "I hate short hair on women."

I don't interpret "Municipal Wastewater Operator" as garbage man. I work for a federal agency that manages lots and lots of infrastructure and the people who run our locks and dams and other projects would have a similar title. He likely has an engineering or technical background of some sort and helps keep a plant running.

Ooh yeah, Mindy and Zach are a good example of the guy not being physically attracted, as well as Kate and Luke. I don't think in either of those cases they were as brutally honest as Alyssa is being, it was just a vague "There's no attraction for me." But Alyssa is really in a class of her own.

Alyssa doesn't realize she's making Chris more sympathetic with each interaction, and especially when she complains to the producers or in her one-on-ones. I'm not even sure she realized she was being filmed for the one shown last night, considering the angle it was shot at. I'm trying to remember if we've ever seen a couple where the guy wasn't into the woman and shut things down right away (or at least fairly quickly)? No one is coming to mind but over the years we've seen the reverse several times -- Alyssa and Chris, Haley and Jacob, Jamie and Doug (although she stuck it out), the couple from the first season of Atlanta who's name escapes me (the guy had dark hair and a dark beard). I've probably overlooked some examples on both sides but I think if a man kept commenting on his bride's figure and teeth there would be even more of a negative response. Edited to add that this Alyssa / Chris situation dragged on for several days at this point and still not one expert has gotten on a video call with them! Why is she being allowed to behave this way towards him?

Kimballllly needs to learn a little subtlety. She literally invited him in and was like, "okay let's have sex." Woman! Have some chill. I'm the last person to criticize someone's weight but I think she could learn to dress her body better sometimes. Imagine that nightie cinched in at the bustline and then had a fuller "skirt" on the bottom. The length and skin revealed would be entirely the same and it would give her more of an hourglass figure. There's a shot of her with Usman in the opening in a really nice shirt and I think she looks good there. Gotta go, I want to look up that resort Gino and Jasmine went to in Panama. I was born there, but I don't remember it, and I've only been back once very briefly. I would love to do a few days in Panama City and then go to San Jose Island!

It seemed like Vontae's specialty is tumbling and stunts, and that because Khris is also a judge, he kind of focuses on overall presentation and choreo and cleaning things up. But I'm hoping we get a S3 with TVCC to see how it plays out! I finally had to Google last night what happened to Andy because he just totally disappeared and I really liked him and couldn't figure out why he didn't take over for Monica during her absence. It looks like he's started his own company to do cheerleading conferences or workshops? I don't think he was full-time staff during 2020-2021, although there is a photo on his Instagram that makes it look like he was there at one point in early January. If he wasn't around and they brought in Kallee, who had just been on the team a couple years prior, I can see how that would lead to a lot of conflict.

I just finished S2 last night...I enjoyed it but it was a LOT. I read an article that it's essentially three individual shows wrapped into one -- Navarro dealing with COVID and then trying to defend their title; TVCC as the underdogs making a run; and the breakout "stars" of Cheer S1 dealing with their fame and Jerry's arrest. It jumped around so much and incorporated so many different people that sometimes it took me a minute to figure out who was who. I really liked seeing more of TVCC and understanding how they were different from Navarro. Their tumblers were amazing. I really liked their coaches but I'll be interested to see the reactions to Vontae because I thought he was actually tougher on his team than Monica is on hers and yet I bet he won't get the same reaction from viewers. Khris Franklin was a bit of a mystery -- he was the head coach and then was demoted (?) or stepped back and they brought in Vontae and yet now they are co-head coaches? And his busy life of coaching and judging cheerleading means he hasn't been able to get married and have a family? I need more backstory here. I always side eye the discussions about Navarro being the top cheerleading program in the country because it seems like they're....the top program in a 50-mile radius in Texas? If all of these colleges and universities aren't competing in the same division, how do you say anyone is number one?

Same. I was in third grade, we watched it live and knew exactly what had happened. BUT I'm not sure kindergarteners would have been watching it live, and the actors seemed slightly older than the Big 3 would have been. They were allegedly born in the late summer of 1980, which makes them almost exactly three years younger than me but I've always found a lot of little inconsistencies with how old they're supposed to be at certain moments, their clothing, pop culture experiences, etc. For example in this episode we saw they had an original Nintendo set next to their TV. According to Wikipedia the American release of NES didn't happen until September 1986 -- a full 8 months after this episode takes place!

I agree with this in theory but Heather isn't Rayna's supervisor...Eddie is. While Heather may be a higher rank than Rayna, they are technically in different departments. Rayna was right to voice her concerns to Eddie and if she felt like her supervisor wasn't taking it seriously, the next option would have been going up the chain to Captain Lee.

Mary was awfully naïve to think she could request this conversation with Janelle, confront her about what Janelle had allegedly been saying and then...Janelle wasn't going to come back at her with anything? She just shut it down immediately. Would it have been possible to put a door between Christine and Janelle's apartments in the old house? Or did they not share a wall?

Kody INFURIATES me. Take charge, my man. Isn't that the whole point of this polygamy thing? He thrives off the conflict between his wives and is awful, awful, to everyone except Robyn and Robyn's kids. I suspect the Browns are draaaaagggggging out the drama about the property to have convenient storylines for the show. I mean we've spent a season and a half just arguing over who gets which lot. Next they'll have to pick house plans and inevitably end up with four (or five, I guess, if Kody gets to build something too) that don't match. Then there will be drama on getting utilities and finding a contractor and getting funding, etc. I don't think they actually plan to end up living on the property together -- that's clear because they are mostly all living in purchased homes in Flagstaff now -- but with the kids all getting older and moving away they are trying to do something to justify their continued TV deal. At one point I thought they said Ysabel could get this surgery done somewhere near where Christine's sister lived -- does she have family in NJ? (Edited because Deidra just confirmed my memory!)

During the "Where Are They Now" special, Johnny was complaining that Bao came to the reunion and brought up all these old issues...yeah dude, it was a reality show REUNION. That's literally the point, to rehash everything that happened. But I agree, he's the one who seems obsessed! My theory is that Johnny knew from Day 1 that he didn't want to be with Bao but he was determined to try and come out of this the good guy. I do think he tried to be attracted to her but as he once said, if he had wanted to date her they would have already dated. So then he just came up with every possible reason/way to try and pin the inevitable failure of their marriage on Bao...to include saying yes on Decision Day and making her be the one who walked away.

Christian is absolutely the most successful Project Runway winner. It's tough to say where he would be without the show or if he would have found another path to success -- but I also don't know what the S1, S2 or S3 winners are doing now, other than running small fashion lines or stores. He definitely has a different energy than Tim Gunn, but I like him. I was so annoyed with people who seemed to think they were designing SKATING COSTUMES for Johnny and Tara. I remember in early seasons they used to get dossiers for celebrity clients -- someone famously (and allegedly by accident) replicated a dress that was shown in a dossier photo for Nicky Hilton in that challenge. I wonder if that's still being done? Delighted to see the Paul Wylie love...he was my favorite skater back in the day! And yes, there are still "Stars on Ice" tours. I just saw an Instagram snap from Ashley Wagner practicing for an upcoming tour.

Totally. I don't think Jose has ever said, "I don't want to travel but if you do, you should go." I assume his objection is to the cost of such trips and how much of their budget she thinks should go to travel. I actually think her proposal that they do a big overseas trip every other year is relatively reasonable -- you put it in the budget, set aside some amount every month in a separate account, plan accordingly and travel! Lots of people do it. I don't think Jose would be cool with Rachel putting significant money towards trips -- instead of his priorities -- even if it doesn't involve him going. There's always at least one couple that have this basic conflict each year -- one person wants to spend more on "experiences" (travel, dining out, sporting events, etc.) and the other person views this as extraneous or unnecessary. I'm thinking of Haley/Jacob last season, and Olivia/Brett from NOLA, among others.

For me the most annoying thing about Myrla is that she manages to be critical even when she's having a good time. She just strikes me as one of those people who "tell is like it is," and seem to think that constantly voicing their every opinion and thought is a good quality. It's also her general tone of voice and demeanor. Imagine the difference between "I liked the horseback riding but I wanted to go faster" and "I liked the horseback riding and think we should do it again some time." I'm like Gil in that having to hear a constant stream of negativity would definitely start to wear on me.