stopeslite

I forgot how ancient Abel actually looked until I saw the podcast page pic (after I listened to it). Eek! I hope it's not too OT to say how much I love this podcast, because this is seriously the best podcast. Some episodes come back to me scene by scene as I'm listening, others must not have been in the common rerun lists because I don't remember a thing about them. But it's soaked through SO MUCH of my head it feels amazing to relive with others. :)

Right? That was her episode, completely. It highlighted what is the most wonderful part of her character - that even when she isn't entirely sure of the facts of what's going on, she's completely tuned in to the emotional needs of the people around her and places primary importance on that.

It wasn't necessarily always happy, since a lot of people were placed there against their will (we saw Reggie being happy about it, but not everyone was). It was definitely the best option for him at the time, but there is some pushback on them today. There's an article called "Farms for disabled people aren't a new idea" on the NOS magazine website that explores it further. I'm glad they did have Reggie take to gardening before he went there so he could really feel like he fit in. That entire storyline basically killed me start to finish.

I was pretty meh about Angelo, but my heart did not know how much it needed a Travis/Emmett reconciliation. I thought Melody did a great job of not falling entirely to Emmett's side in the whole argument. I was braced for a "yeah he's your real son so of course you'd say that" but it never happened, because she didn't push like that. Yay for all acting like adults! I still think they let Bay off the hook a bit too much though. Bay has been trampled on for the whole series, but she did go get herself too close to Emmett and knew it. Daphne, wow. I am disposed to dislike anything Daphne does, but I had to laugh at her mean girl skeptic act towards Ally. Was glad that she was the one not going off into la-la land for once. The other thing that stood out to me was Kathryn. Seriously, woman. That seemed so out of character for her. It would have made more sense if it were John being pigheaded and ignorant and Kathryn and Lilly trying to talk him down out of it. (yes, Little House and Percival made a huge impact on me as well, as I assume it would have on Kathryn). It was interesting to have Toby link Lilly's desire to have a bond to his disability, but I thought he might have also mentioned it gave them something in common and independent of the smothering all-inclusive everythingness that is living in the Kennish household. Glad that got wrapped up before the end of the episode.

I really like that Mike seems to be just as much of a jerk as Phil is. You can really see how the family dynamic/genetics/having each other for brothers made them what they are now, feeding off of each other and getting to be more and more jerk-ish. I thought Mike would be some kind of brilliant saint, but nope. He's just as petty and callous as we've ever seen Phil be.

Great news - there's been an announcement that Chummy will be back and prominent in season 6! That said, be careful out there on the internet - I keep forgetting that this entire season has already aired in the UK (season 5), so I got a massive spoiler on accident when I didn't realize that season 5 is the one we've only just started with this episode, and thought I was finding old recaps to brush up on where we were starting out. (D'oh!)

I wonder if Todd thought he was donating to impregnate Carol, thereby "hooking up" with her too. I guess not, since he didn't admit to it in his big confession. But still. He gets around.

Oh, man. As soon as Rhoda looked nauseous and took a swig from that bottle I was all "OH NO SHE IS DRINKING THALIDOMIDE NO SHOW NOOOOOO". That said, though, I hope they keep it as a thread through the season, and it wasn't a one special episode and done. If they're in 1961, it's going to take another year for everything to hash out in terms of realizing what's causing it and putting a stop to it. How cute was Sister Monica Joan? I loved everything she did tonight, including falling asleep while she was helping with the dishes. I loved the Sister Julienne save at the end. I wasn't expecting that. :) I also loved the storyline with Olive. Nice to see them having female bonding and helping and empowering moments across the age spectrum. Go away, Tom. I hope we see Fred and the new Mrs. Fred next episode.

What with all the drama on the show and the plots and all and how ridiculous they get, I sometimes wonder why I watch this show. I didn't, in fact, watch a lot this season - I kept up with recaps, but I just couldn't bear to watch it play out. I finally watched this one, not realizing it was the cliffhanger before hiatus, and I was reminded of why: it's the little acting moments. When Stef was ranting at the end, the way Lena sharply yelled her name to get her to look at Callie, then the cut to Callie rocking with tears rolling down in the dead silence, almost inaudibly keening, then back to the look on Stef's face when she realized - that sequence was a punch in the gut even more powerful than a minute later when Callie said the accusation was true. That's what keeps me coming back to this show - they don't do big plotlines well at all, but the little moments of character building and payoff are amazing compared to any other show out there. ETA: I was really disappointed, though, that they never really brought out the idea that Jude might be bisexual. It was almost all framed as "not gay any more?" or "only gay for Connor". Bisexual is the most obvious answer to me, so I'm really disappointed that wasn't the angle they pushed.

Wait, he ...drives in circles for a living? IS FERNANDO A RACECAR DRIVER? If so, this show had darned well better have Kimmy watching Downton Abbey and trying to act like Lady Mary leading Henry Talbot around by his nose, or they have missed the best cultural reference joke. I can't stand Kimmy, but I'd definitely watch her try to do a Mary Crawley impression.

About Anna - I think her pregnancy is still a secret from most of the servants. The only ones who know are the same ones who know what really happened to Thomas, so nobody would think it odd that she's bringing him his food etc.

I had been thoroughly spoiled for the episode, and was pleased to see that Bertie didn't just up and storm out of the room and LEAVE FOREVER, but that he and Edith talked it over like grownups after he'd calmed down. I was expecting Edith to say something like "I tried to tell you a dozen times" or "Didn't you notice my reluctance? That was why, and I never did directly say yes". But she didn't. At first that annoyed me, but then I realized no, she's taking full blame for the fact that she didn't tell him, no matter how much she thought about it or tried to dodge the marriage question. I really liked that. Even more than Edith and Tom yelling at Mary, I think the most cutting thing anyone said to her was Edith at the wedding, casually saying well of course you're nice now, that's because you're happy, and you'll get back to being a bitch soon. (not that she said it in quite those terms, much as I wanted her to) It really summed up Mary's personality. She likes to think she's a paragon of good manners and higher upbringing, but she just lashes out with whatever her id is up to at the moment.

I did not even notice it until Alex Hirsch tweeted it today, but the bus driver was Kyle MacLachlan. After all the comments over the years about Twin Peaks similarities, he threw us that bone at the end. :D

Cipher at the end: FADED PICTURES BLEACHED BY SUN THE TALE’S TOLD, THE SUMMER’S DONE IN MEMORIES THE PINES STILL PLAY ON A SUNNY SUMMER’S DAY

OH MY GOSH LIGHT BULB I couldn't figure out why the heck Mary cared at all how Thomas treated the children, given that she seems to repeatedly forget that she has one. That totally explains it, though. Thanks, WatchrTina.