Birnam Wood

Can. . . no one else work undercover? Because I'm pretty sure regular detectives don't just randomly undertake undercover assignments on the reg like these people do.

Paul Irving. And OMG yes.

I mean, he was Boy Beth March... At least he had a personality of sorts? Shirley was a complete cypher.

They sure didn't! I'm glad it was the plucky Finns. Also happy for Slovakia, but MAN, those games really are unwatchable, aren't they?

Controversial hot take: Prime Poulin > Prime Wickenheiser Also, I don't really care who wins on the men's side (Canada sure didn't deserve to be there), but I'm really annoyed that it will probably be stupid cheaty ROC or whatever they're calling themselves now.

True, but she actually hated and resented that stuff. She had to do it because it paid the bills -- she much preferred the thrillers! At any rate, what had Bhaer ever done? Don't mansplain her writing, my dude. Jo would have been so much better off sharing a garret with a like-minded lady friend...

I haaate magic realism. I don't want talking animals in my books. If I wanted fantasy (I don't, ever), I'd read fantasy. Also, on an entirely different note. the very existence of Professor Bhaer is clearly a giant F-U to the publisher. The latest film got it exactly right by minimizing him... and completely wrong by making him a frat-bro. There's NO WAY that Jo would ever marry someone who told her that her writing sucked. You suck, my dude.

Does anyone read Camilla Läckberg? I devoured all of her books featuring Patrik Hedström and Erica Falck as the main characters -- even if I did start to wonder why there were so many murders in their tiny town. But then she produced The Golden Cage, which was... not good.

I'd like a spin-off series featuring the adventures of Ruth's foul-mouthed duck.

Heather should win simply for acquiring the revelatory knowledge that it miiiight possibly be more difficult to be a black man in America than a privileged white woman.

It's official: I'm rooting for one of the current jury members to win. Given the way this season has gone, it's not beyond the realm of possibility.

Has Rupert weighed in on Papayagate yet? Has a violation of banana etiquette occurred?

Liana, in confessional: “You just have to adapt! That’s what smart players do.” Me, watching: “Well, this is awkward.” Does anyone else get the sense that Heather is probably not nice to retail workers during the holiday season? She has that vibe.

Right? I'm wondering if, at some point, she goes mad and tries to brain Probst with a machete or something because it otherwise seems like she's just not there 90% of the time. Have they even shown her voting?

I'd like to congratulate Production on their purchase of the Slo-Mo Beauty Shot 3000, which made quite the debut in this episode. Also, I have no problem with the game that anyone is playing, but there was a shot where Ricard looked exactly like Lucifer, and now I can't unsee it. This does cause me to wonder exactly what kind of church Shan is affiliated with...

Why are you like this, Evander Kane? Also, if my Leafs could just remember how to score at some point (they forgot halfway through the playoffs last year, and it clearly hasn't come back to them yet), THAT'D BE GREAT.

Sydney: "I'm a HUGE physical threat!" *promptly sits out immunity challenge*

Huzzah that there's a forum for this! I agree that this show is well done. CBC has really upped its game. The first few episodes were a little formulaic and predictable (perhaps unsurprisingly so), but the show really found its footing after that and managed to sidestep a lot of predictable tropes and cliches -- except for the obvious sassy black woman and uptight white woman, which I'm willing to forgive only because the two actresses are so good. It's a really nice blend of comedy and drama. I really wish they had kept the original Lady Dicks title, though.

I kept thinking of the Monty Python sketch in which they proclaimed that "Belgium" was the rudest word in English. The ins and outs of the Belgian legal system baffle me. How is it possible that the civil and the crown prosecution were basically pursuing two completely different cases? And the judge was okay with that? No wonder Westphael was acquitted. Also, based on the pictures, I... actually though de Cock was better-looking than Westphael. *shrugs*

In the most recent season, Jann's impromptu wrestling match with Sarah McLachlan, during which she screams "Who's in the arms of the angel now, bitch?" or words to that effect, might be the single greatest thing I've ever seen on television.

Just finished this. I didn't know much about the case other than being dimly aware that he had been acquitted. At first, I was positive that he was guilty, because Mon Dieu, does Bernard Westphael ever have Resting Smarm Face (honestly, how does he attract all of these beautiful women?). By the end, I really wasn't sure. It's clear that his wife had a lot of issues, and her death definitely could have been accidental. Awfully convenient for him, though, that he just happened to go to sleep -- I loved his one friend who said that was exactly the sort of idiotic thing he would do -- right around the time she breathed her last. And yes, "Oswald de Cock." That is a porn star name if ever I heard one. I was sailing merrily along without the subtitles (I actually didn't realize this was going to be in French, but I'm fluent, so it was a nice chance to practice) right up until the point that the young couple who heard ALL THE SEX appeared onscreen and started jabbering in what I assume was Flemish. Belgium is a weird country, man.

WHY. IS. BEN. STILL. THERE. Seriously, he’s annoying the crap out of me for the maybe 25 minutes he’s on my screen every week. I can’t imagine having to live with him. And I don’t see him as a great choice to drag to the end — he’s untrustworthy, and, as Jeremy so accurately pointed out, completely petulant when he doesn’t get his way. I have to keep reminding myself that he won his season (possibly with producer assistance; YMMV). In other news, since I praised Kim’s game last week, she, of course, had to idiotically step down this week without having one of the 7,000 in-game advantages as a backup plan. Therefore, on the off-chance that I possess the power to curse through time and space, go Ben! And go Tony. Your smarmy, hyperactive arrogance does not annoy me one bit. 😁

I’m just going to leave this here because I think it provides a timely (and hilarious) illustration of the idea that abrasiveness is not a gendered quality: http://funny115.com/v3_3/13.htm To get back on topic, it seems to me that Kim is gradually turning back into her bad-ass One World self. And if that happens, I for one am here for it.

Oh yeah, I agree that Kass as the Tony figure in her season(s) is a flawed analogy, but she's the best example I could come up with (I will admit that the later seasons tend to blend together for me). And that's the problem. Any woman who decides to play a big, loud game will be voted off lickety-split -- she likely won't even make it to the merge. I don't want to pursue this too far for fear of getting off-topic; however, women often lose to loud men at the final TC because they played an UTR game that the jury doesn't respect (and neither does the viewer; the editors are too busy showing us Tony hanging out of trees, tearing through the jungle, or giving one of his 18[!!!] confessionals).

I find Tony's antics both entertaining and exhausting (and I think he's getting a bit of the Devens edit; he won't win). However, as I was watching him, I couldn't help but think that a woman would never, ever get away with the kind of showy gameplay that he's exhibiting. It's not an exact analogue, but his "I'm going to make a move just because I can" approach reminds me a lot of "Chaos" Kass -- who also had a great sense of humour about herself -- and we all know how she's viewed in the annals of Survivor history. Kim and Denise are, IMHO, playing well (and Sophie was too, until hubris caught up with her. ALWAYS assume you could be targeted, especially if your name came up last time!). How else are they supposed to play? If Denise hadn't scuttled back into the shadows immediately after getting rid of Sandra, I suspect that she'd be trying to keep Adam from losing his shit on EoE. Also, what in the name of Jebus was that cacophony they were playing when people were voting? SETTLE DOWN, music editors.