tongueincheek

Wanted to drop in and share this article one of my favorite TV reporters penned on that decision to show the entirety of Hannah's suicide. Whether one agrees or not (no one has to), it's a very strong point to consider and a well written piece. "...it made sense to give Hannah that final say over her body." http://variety.com/2017/voices/columns/netflix-13-reasons-why-1202022770/

You're the Worst has been in my top 10 TV shows for the last 3 seasons. Their portrayal of clinical depression has been one of the most honest I've ever seen on TV. Same with PTSD. Girls = in your twenties and unaware you're the worst. You're The Worst = in your thirties and taking ownership of one's narcissism. Both shows make me feel like I'm going to fare just fine in my own life.

While I'm not sure the momentum can hang on, I really want GET OUT to reach $200 million.

Also, a piece of dialogue that stood out for me: Hannah: "We were all just doing our best so-" Jessa: "Our best was awful." Hannah: "Worst best." Funny, all-encompassing of this show, and deeply sad.

Started tearing up during that Hannah/Jessa moment, then I had a full on burst of tears when that Banks song cued in for the coda. Thinking about their final meeting in the bathroom: I've been a Shosh, Marnie, Hannah, and Jessa in various friendships. Over the course of these last six seasons, it's been interesting to see myself (a woman of color, by the way - I wanted to point that out for myself as we have collectively and necessarily discussed the lack of diversity on the show) take the place of these girls in various situations and people dynamics in my own life: at once, tender, loving, sad, true, prickly, touching, and wretched. I will miss this show and its ability to get me to project so much of my own bullshit onto it. Not that this is a qualification for every tv show I watch, but this one is part of the rare handful of shows I've been able to connect to on every possible, emotional level. This felt like a finale, so I'm curious what next week will look like.

I'm going to echo this, but I will say that Angela Lansbury in "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" is my favorite performance from her. And such an underrated gem. A few performances I love from the top of my head. Some I believe are underrated: Peter Sellers in "Being There" Rosamund Pike in "Gone Girl" Allison Williams in "Get Out" Rachel McAdams in "Southpaw" (a goddamn supporting performance if I ever saw one) Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway in "Love and Other Drugs" Dudley Moore and Julie Andrews in "10" Sarah Gadon in "Indignation" LaKeith Stanfield in "Short Term 12" Shailene Woodley in "The Descendents" Scarlett Johansson in "Her" Albert Brooks in "Drive" Ryan Reynolds in "The Voices"

I've finished the series, and this is one of the things I found really gratifying about the show. Internal/external/mental/circumstantial problems in one's life does not a saint make -- hardships don't absolve people of their characteristic flaws or mistakes. All of the characters, namely the young cast, lived in this gray area that felt truly honest to the emotional experience of feeling and behaving as a teenager. I felt sympathy and empathy to every degree for nearly all of the characters. No matter how despicable I found their actions, I completely understood the motivation/s behind them.

That's kind of the brilliance of it. I read up on her character in the book, but that aside, it's so perfectly calibrated that the one woman who consistently acted in tact as chaos ensued around her would finally have a moment where that bubble burst. That moment of revelation where it all came together for Jane, Celeste, and Madeline was extraordinary to watch.

I thought this was in really poor taste, but I saw a "Get Out" prom proposal circulating on Twitter of an African-American guy asking a white girl to prom.

She is such a Hitchcock Blonde. I was knocked out by her performance in INDIGNATION, she occupied every bit of frame in her limited screen time. I hadn't seen anything from her previously, though I knew she was a Cronenberg family favorite. I actually watched "11.22.63" after INDIGNATION and was equally charmed by her presence. Credit to her dialect coach, her speech patterns that she developed for those roles were pretty incredible. Really looking forward to "Alias Grace" on Netflix. I hope it does well for her.

Celeste's reactions to Maddy throughout that entire scene were brilliant. I want gifs.

Adding to the theory about the twins and Amabella. Judging by the previews for next week where it appears that Amabella has bite marks on her, I'm going out on the limb for a reach here and say that if the bullying is coming from one or both of the twins, it's because those two little boys are more perceptive to their parents toxic and abusive relationship than either Celeste or Perry could've ever imagined. Children are so incredibly perceptive, I actually get so peeved when they're frequently not given enough credit for being observant...anyways, the twins probably think that behavior at home is normal and it's their (or just one of them) way of showing some kind of liking/affection toward Amabella (God, forgive me for likening it to that. I hate the comparison of telling young girls specifically that a little boy pushes you or pulls your hair because they like you...such bs). ETA: I don't know how to get rid of the spoiler block when you no longer need it.

Zoe Kravitz is indeed equal parts her mom and dad.

That "Deconstructed Froot Loops" scene alone should garner some kind of awards love. If all of that was on the page, Peele deserves a writing nom; if most of that came from his direction, he deserves some love there too. I want to believe Daniel Kaluuya has a chance for some leading actor love somewhere, but that's a much tougher (likely stacked) space and we're only at the end of February. A much easier space to invade, supporting love could very well be given to Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Catherine Keener, and dear god if there is one, Betty Gabriel.

Still thinking about this movie -- I've seen it twice now -- the layers here are excellent. For instance, when Rod is dog sitting at Chris's apartment, we can hear the commercials on the TV in the background: the first commercial is one for the United Negro College Fund ("A mind is a terrible thing to waste" -- this slogan was also used in the trailer), followed by a second anti-aging commercial. Genius and subliminal. And thinking back as well -- while I feel, in retrospect, that it's not all that subtle -- I can't pinpoint why this didn't connect with me right away: I should've been tipped off that Walter was Grandpa Armitage as soon as that odd evening workout scene took place. The earlier convo between Rose's dad and Chris, discussing how his dad had been beaten by Jesse Owens in sprinting was the seed. Also the symbolism of the butterfly transformation -- was that a butterfly in the video they made Chris watch when he was strapped to the chair? -- anyway, I perceived that to represent cultural appropriation. Curious what others thought of that imagery.

Echoing this, its comedy lies in the subtext and tone of dialogue. It has a few jump scares, but this is definitely suspense and more psychological than actual horror. The mounting microaggressions throughout the film kept heightening my anxiety ten fold. The film's symbolism is incredibly powerful. This is a really good movie to see with an audience...somewhat of a fascinating social experiment. Daniel Kaluuya is a star and he was very nuanced here. Because it's so psychological, the film really hinges on his reactions to others. That first hypnosis scene was stellar work. He has such expressive eyes. I love LaKeith Stanfield. He can do anything and no wrong in my eyes. Allison Williams had the more challenging role here and her casting is inspired. It was the perfect riff of her "Girls" persona, but an even better shedding of it. Speaking of her character:

I have not finished watching episode 10 yet, but I have to call out those Mackenzie scenes in episode 9. They are my favorite grace notes of the season (along with the above mentioned Miles development). They really gave a comic character her dramatic due, and it was a beautiful payoff. The scene when Mackenzie approaches Jules in the kitchen and she says something like, "I'm the safety chair..." and there's a slight inflection in her voice, the guilt. Man, I teared up there. Since the pilot, Mackenzie has had this bit of tension/animosity towards Jules - which was written with humor -- and to see how that built to this emotional beat was a really great moment for the character and the actress.

I've been thinking of some places this could go if MTV isn't smart enough to renew it. I hope the creator/producers are also shopping it to Netflix or even Hulu (whose originals slate is really starting to shape up rather nicely). And while, FX is more male skewing, the success of shows like "You're the Worst" and "Better Things" give me reason to believe it could find a decent spot to transplant itself there.

I don't think this one felt so off to me as it was obviously their oh-shit-we-only-have-3-episodes-left-we-need-to-move-the-plot-now episode. Up until this one, all of the episodes have been a completely layered unpacking of Jules' story, digging inch-by-inch into her backstory; all the why's of how she got to this place. But now we're done with that. We've seen it all. And just my perspective, but no one felt off in their character either, more so that the situation everyone was in felt off from their norm. Ophelia is navigating new relationship waters while trying to balance the vigilante stuff. Harris is now harboring his own scheming secret with Barton, also navigating a new relationship, and Jules has been bending since episode 1, I was waiting for her break. And it happened in exactly the way I expected it to happen. She has been so in control of herself since the beginning, but since letting Ophelia in and being so vulnerable with her, she can let go to a degree (that's when things get increasingly sloppy). Even after confronting Nate and finally telling Kennedy, things only got worse, and her sense completely toppled. Of course, she's going to reach a point of desperation: tracking Brady in the daytime, doing solo recon without telling Ophelia -- this is the one thing she knows how to do, and the only band-aid sticky enough to cover up her wounds. I love that Ophelia told Jules everything she needed to hear -- it's not that Jules is dealing with her trauma in a way Ophelia doesn't approve, it's that she's not dealing with it AT ALL. That's the point of Ophelia's spiel. And the longer she let's that darkness build, the more vulnerable it makes her AND Ophelia. Jules giving Ophelia that brutal verbal lashing also makes sense to me. She is her most vulnerable with Ophelia because O knows everything that has happened to her; she felt offended by Ophelia speech because she didn't want to hear the truth. So she went on the ultimate defensive: her anger is completely misguided of course and Ophelia has every right to be pissed at her, but I totally get why Ophelia was the one to catch her fire. Who else is she going to aim it at really when you consider her headspace? She tried and failed with Nate. I don't know; all of the major beats of this episode completely worked for me. And unfortunately again, I totally understand the Kennedy situation -- whether we as humans want to admit it or not, it often takes the extreme for things to truly resonate and wake us up. Kennedy was in denial; of course she knew the truth, but of course she didn't want to admit it...because she'd be THAT girl. I loved Aisha Dee's body language in her last scene with Nate. He's hugging apologetically while she just sits there frozen. Her face was so reluctant and her body so unresponsive to it because it was setting in and she was finally processing it all. It sucks that it took her almost being compromised for her to get it, but unfortunately, that's a lot of us. Me included most of the time. I always learn the hard way. The only things that didn't fit in the episode for me were the rom-com bits. But I reason it as a way to move Kennedy's arc forward. Contrived, absolutely, but it needed to happen. Barton's humor totally reminds me of the fleeting moments we have with Jules - the humor lies in their awkwardness and total aloofness. I don't know, for a show that has been completely top notch all the way through, even this sub-par episode felt solid and the major confrontations felt honest and earned. Or maybe, I'm watching through rose-colored glasses because I love the show THAT much.

The entire discussion in the Title IX counselor's office was absolutely infuriating because that type of gaslighting happens to victims who are supposed to be protected by Title IX all the time, attempting (and oft succeeding) to confuse/shame/scare the victim into silence. As said above, incredibly upsetting to watch at times, but my heart completely tightened watching Jules attempt to Google what happened to her. Crushing. More of a structural observation, I really loved how they used their flashbacks, moving in and out of them in a chronological order of events. Then we got the montage of their dance party in the present day juxtaposed with the weeks just after her assault. And then the flashblack of the support group that brought us full circle to the very first moment we were introduced to Jules in the pilot. Really great editing there. To echo an above praise: bravo to this entire team.

They really need each other at this point; a really beautiful reciprocity they share. I love how Jules and Ophelia were thrown together haphazardly. Again, credit to the writers because the pacing and development of characters/relationships on the show has been wonderful. With the backdrop of this superhero-type genre, all these characters and their dynamics feel organic and honest. Not much, even within the plot, feels overly contrived. And much love to Taylor Dearden and her impeccable comedic timing. I'm still so impressed that the show can swing so sharply between humor and heavy trauma without exploiting said trauma. I love that rape isn't explicitly used as a plot device -- the story is focused on the aftermath. Man, I could say a lot about this show, and we still have 4 more episodes to go, but what a run this series is having.

Unfortunately, Kennedy's reaction is all too common in these situations. Yet, reason #2,039 most victims don't report or say anything. And I can imagine, given this circumstance, Kennedy is a ball of confusion with a bit of denial. Her boyfriend, whom she trusts and loves -- and for all she knows, has treated her well thus far -- just "admitted" (lied) to "cheating" (LIE) on her with her best friend. Kennedy's already reeling when moments later, Jules tells her that it wasn't consensual, she was raped. Jules (understandably/justifiably) has been distant, secretive, and has been lying to Kennedy (and plot point: she caught her in one)...Kennedy had that unpacked on her in one fell swoop. I mean, she did say that either one of them is lying to her. The denial comes in because she is a smart girl, she's bright -- no one wants to believe they could have the wool pulled over their eyes that way, especially someone like Kennedy. It's not easy, but I'm confident, she'll come around.

Yep, poor and next-to-nothing marketing. I mean, I understand how difficult the show is to market, even more so that the premise is a bit hard to wrap the brain around, initially. It's definitely a show people are finding though, so I hope the trend will continue. It's baffling that more entertainment sites aren't covering or providing regular reviews/recaps. I know a writer who was stunned he hadn't even heard of the show until I asked him about it.

I've read a few interviews with the show's creator indicating that this second half of the season will shift from "case/rapist of the week" and delve deeper into Jules' journey. Since they don't know if they'll be getting a second season, they made sure to resolve Jules' story where Nate is concerned (even if they get a season two, Jules will still be Jules so she'll always be on her journey...). The focus for season one is Jules. If they get a second season (or more), they want to explore rape culture for those within the LGBTQ community, male victims, and race issues on campus. I really hope MTV will give the show the space to do just that. Jules just might be my new favorite TV character going into this new year. I love how she's so many different things, contradictory things, often all at once: strong/vulnerable, angry/hurt, sorority girl by day/badass-ninja-vigilante at night, crushing on a boy/completely appalled by a boy, a bit awkward and silly, but oft confused. She's real and she's whole. The writers and Eliza have done an incredible job in just six episodes building her and fleshing her out.