Blondnotstupid

I re-watched the presentation to Dr. Marcus. The speaker said he was getting an award for his "drugs targeting Alzheimer's". Not that he cured it. I thought that the drugs Dr. Marcus developed were the ones that enabled Rebecca to live so long with Alzheimer's. To me, that made sense as a tie-in for the otherwise random family featured in this episode.

Susannah, you're right. My use of the word "poor" was incorrect. What I was getting at was the comments in this episode about Frank finally having a chance to make some money, and IIRC, not having to worry about money anymore. Not the same as being "poor" but the comments sounded to me like people thought Frank wasn't making much money when by today's standards he is doing well.

The NFL storyline bugged me because the woman who heads up security for the NFL is super impressive. https://www.espn.com/espnw/culture/feature/article/20994956/from-teen-mother-nfl-security-chief-cathy-lanier-rise-law-enforcement-ranks As soon as they said what the position was I thought, "Wait! Did Cathy Lanier leave the NFL job?" Yeah, I actually know who has that job even though I'm not a fan of pro football. I understand that the show is fiction (boy, is it ever fiction) and the actors are in jobs that are held by real people. The other thing I don't understand is why people seem to think that Frank is poor. The salary for the NY Police Commissioner is over $200,000 annually, plus he has a police pension, as does Henry (both a police pension and I would think some kind of retirement pay for his time as Commissioner). He's lived in his house long enough to own it. They've talked about his children having student loans, so he didn't pay for college for any of them. He wouldn't be poor.

The schoolyard scene didn't make any sense to me either. All I could guess is that the first cop on the scene called Anthony because (this is all I can figure out) he knew Erin was the prosecutor assigned to Mr. Farmer's drunk driving case. But that really doesn't make sense. That case wouldn't have been the lead item on the news and patrol officers probably don't know what cases are currently being tried and who is working on them. Plus, I don't think prosecutors are called to crimes-in-progress despite this show doing that frequently. As to Det. Mulaney, why didn't Frank just ask her at the start how she envisioned doing the job? If she has a plan--which I would expect a Detective to have--great. Either it sounds good or Frank suggests changes. That would be a real-world approach. But they wrote this like Frank figured out how to make it work and Det. Melaney agreed. She didn't even say "that's what I thought would work". The dinner scene was good except the writers again violated continuity. They talked about Danny dating a flight attendant and then meeting Linda. They've said many times that Danny met and dated Linda in high school. So unless a high school Danny was flying back and forth to Chicago that story falls apart. They also implied Frank met Mary after dating lots of hot chicks. But again, I think they have implied he met her in high school, too. I could be wrong about that but that was the impression I had.

Katy M, I didn't mean to call her a sexist racist at all. Thank you for letting me clear that up. Erin is portrayed as very by-the-book--think about how many times she has chewed Danny out for cutting corners. Think about how many times she has reported co-workers to the Disciplinary Board. While she will show some mercy towards defendants and decrease the severity of the charges against a defendant I don't think we've ever seen her drop multiple felony charges down far enough that probation would be the sentence. The doctor reminded me of Jack in behavior and appearance and maybe he did for Erin, too. The physical and behavioral similarities were the only things I could think of to make Erin reduce the charges like she did as it is so inconsistent with her character.

Exactly. I got myself home on the bus and stayed for a couple of hours until Mom and/or Dad got home starting at age 8 or 9. There were neighbors nearby who were home during the day if I needed help. Surely there are similar neighbors near Beth and Randall.

Katy M, my last sentence wasn't clear (Hey! I could become a writer for this show!!) I felt like Erin looked at the doctor and saw someone like her ex-, Jack. From the question from the wife, "Did you ever marry someone and find out they were someone else?" (paraphrasing there) to his appearance, to his ego. IMO, he was the medical-professional version of Jack.

Assisted suicide is illegal in NY and doing unapproved (by the FDA) medical treatments are illegal everywhere. Having Erin recommend probation is completely out of character for her. Erin usually throws the book at everyone. Also, I doubt she would have recommended probation if the doctor was female or a POC. I also had the impression that Maya (Eddie's partner) got the idea to steal money from the perp who said other cops were doing it. But then Jamie said that IAB had been looking at Maya for a while and the perp's comment just heated up the investigation. OTOH, I got a very different impression from Maya and Eddie's conversation early in the episode. The young man who wanted to go to sports camp was Maya's brother. Eddie commented that Maya has 3 siblings she cares for. Maya added that she helps her mom, too and that she (the mom) was the worst/neediest of the group. Just goes to show that the writing for this part of the episode was unclear at best. ITA. When the ME character was introduced I thought she was going to be Danny's love interest. But she was clearly flirting with Anthony this week and not flirting with Danny. I think she really is annoyed by Danny (and Erin, too) and that acting annoyed isn't just her way of flirting. #teamAnthony As to the Lenny story line, he might be able to live without his pension. When that character was introduced several seasons ago it was because he had written a book titled "Back in the Day" which glorified his and Frank's shenanigans. Frank, Lenny, and some of their buddies talked about Lenny having a chain of bars/restaurants and that he lives in Florida (cheaper than NYC). Between the bars/restaurants and the book proceeds, Lenny might not need the police pension. The writers could have cleared that up by simply having Lenny respond to Frank's comment about losing his pension with "The book sales were great and the bars are doing well. I'll be fine." If the writers wanted us to think that Lenny is being noble with this move, he could have responded, "Yes, losing the pension will hurt. But having the reporter figure out who really did these things and the loss of pension for the widow will hurt her and the kids more." But that would require some effort from the writers. Add me to the group that thinks that having 4 story lines in each episode results in too much being left out of the stories. The viewers are left confused about what happened and why.

I think it depends on where you are in the South. I was taught that "y'all" is the singular form and "all y'all" is the plural. My mom was from western NC and I've heard it there. I live in Virginia and I hear people in the southern part of the state do it this way, and I've heard it in Texas when I have visited my brother. But it is not universal and I cringed when I heard it on this episode as it was just so cliched. It came off as forced/unnatural and I took it as mocking, too. I was impressed that the Texas dad had already figured out that Danny is a bad influence. Good instincts, there! Danny is a jerk. On that subject, this whole season has had me thinking, "Frank is really a jerk." Why didn't he just talk to the activist when she confronted him in the diner, instead of stuffing fries in his smirking mouth? Even if he didn't want to get into it with her there he could have offered to set up a meeting. So, what will Nikki do after graduation?

Rambler, the cops who were shot were guarding a witness's house. Perhaps that witness was going to testify against someone in the cartel the drug dealer works with? It would have been helpful if the writers had drawn that line for us rather than leaving us wondering whether the dealer shot those 2 cops randomly or as part of a planned hit to protect his suppliers. My local CBS affiliate (Washington, DC) has started their late news broadcast at 10:58. I no longer get previews of next week's episode. Is anyone else's affiliate doing this?

In the real world, the standard of living of Eddie's mom would indicate she was independently wealthy before she married Eddie's dad. Once Eddie's dad was convicted he would have had to forfeit everything purchased or leased using the money he stole. That's what happened to Madoff and other Ponzi scheme runners. Madoff's wife was wealthy before she married him and all she was allowed to keep after his guilty plea were the things her money paid for. Even jewelry he gave her during their marriage was seized and sold. Maybe Eddie's mom wants to make sure that no one marries Eddie for money, and that they will stick around even if things get difficult. She could do that without being such a jerk, though. The LDP/Delgado story line is reminding me of the Blue Templar and Jamie-undercover-with-the mob story lines. Taking way too long and making too many stupid plot turns. The idea that the drug cartel killed Linda is absurd. Previously they said that Danny was working overtime on a case so Linda decided to put in an extra shift to pick up money. Danny said she did it when she found out he would be working late--i.e., she made a spur-of-the moment decision. They she took the place of another co-worker on the helicopter that was, IIRC, picking up a transplant organ. The helicopter crashed. So the writers now want us to believe that the drug cartel arranged: Danny working late on a case, Linda deciding to take an extra shift, an organ becoming available for transplant, that organ going to a patient at Linda's hospital, Linda being put on the transplant team (not her usual assignment--she was shown working on regular wards in recent seasons), and them having an explosive device in place on the helicopter that night. Really? REALLY? Why doesn't the NYPD check Interpol for criminal records of arrested persons? Did they explain that? And Erin needs to stop thinking that every single thing someone says or does is a personal attack on her. The thing I liked about this episode: Jamie explaining why they always have family dinners. That was a touching story.

Winning a lottery is so much more complex than HGTV understands. I think this show is so irresponsible and sets most of these people up to be broke in less than a decade. Here's why: If you choose the lump sum payment, the amount you receive before taxes is about 60% of the stated jackpot. In the US, you then pay Federal and if applicable, state and local income taxes. I cringed watching an episode last night where the couple won a $20 million jackpot. David kept saying they had $20 million. No. They got about $12 million gross. After taxes in NY, it's about $6 million (39.6% to the IRS and about 10% to NY). They were looking to spend $1.5 million. David took them to the Hamptons. After paying for the house they would have about $4.5 million. But they would have to furnish the 20,000 square foot house (for two people and their 26-year old daughter) and pay the ongoing expenses. Property taxes and insurance would be pretty high. On top of those costs, the lifestyle in the Hamptons is very different from the neighborhood where they were living. I figured they'd be broke in fewer than 10 years and turned the show off after 20 minutes. If you select the annuity be aware that most states invest the money in extremely conservative investments. You may not even keep up with inflation. Also, estate taxes are a consideration. If you die 4 years into a 30-year payment stream the IRS calculates the value of the future payments and, if the amount is high enough, you'll owe estate taxes. But the state won't accelerate the payments. So your estate needs to find the cash to pay the taxes while the annual payments continue for 26 more years. If you buy a ticket in an adjoining state you may owe income taxes in both states--where you live and where you bought the ticket. For those of you who wrote that you play the lottery AND you'd consult a financial advisor before you did anything with the winnings: Good for you! Right idea!