Pop Tart

I didn’t see this as purchasing her favor so much as Tinsley ditching Sonja, while bribing her at the same time. Two birds, one stone. Tinsley doesn’t actually have to room with Sonja, but gets the credit for inviting her. And bonus Sonja will have no room to complain. As I said on Twitter, Kadooz to Tinsley. Nicely played.

I didn’t hear the guru’s name, but I will give the mom credit for not trying to throw her ex under the bus. When Phil and the CPS guy started in on the dad too about not doing anything to help his daughter, the mom AND daughter both jumped in to defend him. That gave me a glimmer of hope for all of them, a very small glimmer, but it was clear that the daughter did care about her dad and the ex’s, as much as they completely disagreed on how to raise the daughter, still valued each other as co-parents. As much as the mother was struggling (to say the least) to realize how far she’d crossed the line in trying to be friends with her daughter, that moment of mutual respect between the three of them made me think they could figure this out. And that’s more then I can say about 99% of the families appear on here.

Looks like MM is leaving the show. https://daytimeconfidential.com/2018/06/06/mishael-morgan-departs-the-young-and-the-restless Mixed feelings on this one. I like the actress a lot and initially enjoyed the character, but lately she’s just all over the place so my interest waned. At one point I really hoped that she and Mariah would become actual friends and then a power house business couple. But since Mal couldn’t write a strong, intelligent, competent female character to save his life, it’s never going to happen. So at this point I’d be totally fine if she’s gone and they don’t recast. Especially since she’s now been sucked into the vortex of suck that is Neil and Devon.

Even though the previews make it look like Charles is confronting Liza next week, I’m worried that he won’t. Instead we’ll get a season of Charles knowing but not telling Liza he knows. I really enjoy the show, but the Liza reveal has been dragging on a bit too long. I get that the show is titled Younger, so revealing all sort of negates that, but it’s not that interesting anymore watching her scramble. The show has a real history of one tiny step forward followed by three giant steps back, over and over again.

I agree. I feel like the women on this show take a far harder beating then the guys. Sure the guys are easy-going and laid back and thus apparently less to blame in the relationship breakups. But they're also a group of aimless, gormless, dude-bros who bring nothing but their "charm" to the relationship (and yes I'm totally generalizing). Shep's almost 40 and does what exactly? Austen is going to invent a beer? Craig? Don't get me started on Craig. I'm totally with Naomie on that one. He'd drive me batty. And for all that she is sarcastic with him, I thought he was incredibly nasty to and about her last season, often intentionally slamming her in front of others. I would like it if Naomie stopped engaging with Craig as much as she is, but this is reality tv and that's what they all do, otherwise all we'd have would be a few boat rides and drinking.

That’s the one I was referencing in my post.

I don’t generally comment on weight either up or down for these reality show cast members, but I found the picture you’re referencing and wow, Ashley is looking like she’s got a serious heroin addiction going on or she’s suddenly anorexic. She does not look healthy at all. Its a little freaky. Tonight when Thomas was raging at Chelsea, I became completely convinced the accusations against him are true. He was clearly very drunk on the ferry, and the way he lost all control was illuminating. No acting there.

Yes, this is my biggest issue with her. Yes I can't stand her generally and sure she's maddening and a bully, but it's that everything she states is some aggregate of other people's thoughts, wants, desires, beliefs, etc. All the other women present their position as their point of view on any given topic. It's how they feel about it, what they think and how it relates to them. She almost never does this. And this makes her contributions to the discussions jarring - of course they're jarring because of her delivery as well, but it's in-organic and breaks the flow of convo every single time.

Agreed. Ramona was way too prepared with her talking points, not at all her usual tongue-tied arguing. I think the phone call happened in some way and wasn't filmed so then they had the re-do (which reality tv often does). That or they had the recording of Bethenny's side and then just played it for Ramona to argue with. It was just too pat of a scene.

I loved that too and that’s how Lu generally is when she’s drunk, she’s a happy drunk. Which is why the video of her arrest struck me as so wrong. She was more belligerent then we’ve seen her be when she’s under the influence. For all the theories about how she was pretending to be in love, or forcing herself to feel it, I think her feelings for Tom might have been a bit more real then even she realized.

Speaking of the marathon, I thought I heard Carole say tonight that she’d run the half marathon, but prior to this I thought she made a point of the 26 miles. Not sure where tonight she said it, think maybe as the fight was winding down. Probably misheard, but it pinged for me.

Re: the nutcracker, I think that if it were me I would have taken Bethenny’s very genuine excitement as thanks enough. It was clear she knew that D was responsible and was just too in the moment to realize she hadn’t said thank you out loud. A true gift is given w/out expectation of reward. For someone who’s so proud of her hostessing abilities and her ability to make it nice, Dorinda is very quick to throw people under the bus when they don’t respond as she’d like them to. I’m not a Bethenny fan by any stretch of the imagination but Carole and Dorinda have passed her as my least liked NY HW’s. Oh can I just suggest a change of name for this show? Not one of these women is married.

I'm with you CoffeeWineWater! Politics aside, and that's a big aside, MM's claim to having made it so Teddi got a second season made me growl (like audibly so my dog came over to investigate). All that you said about Teddi is true and for someone in her first season who was figuring things out as she went, she did an amazing job. There's many a first-season HW who doesn't make it to the second season because they can't navigate successfully. Teddi did all of that on her own. Nothing at all to do with Meghan!!! And regarding reality tv, Meghan has said she's also a fan of Vanderpump Rules and Lala in particular from that cast. Which means she's a giant hypocrite (which is no surprise to anyone, since it's kind of her trademark). Lala often very graphically talks about sexual matters and how she uses sexual means to get what she wants in life. Certainly doesn't square at all with MM's supposed own personal rectitude.

But I got the sense that the Page 6 thing that Bethenny was referencing happened before filming for the season began.

I’m really torn on the fight. I don’t like Bethenny so normally I’d be thrilled if someone shut her down, but I don’t like Carole more, so what to do, what to do? I do know that Dorinda is quickly moving up my list of dislike. I absolutely believe she was the one who went to Page 6. Bethenny made clear the only person who knew of her and Carole’s falling out at that point was Dorinda. And given how she’s made it her life’s mission to run around to everyone in the group to make sure they know what someone else has said about them, it makes total sense. She likes to set the cat amongst the pigeons then sit back and insist they work it out in front of everyone. I did love how every time the camera panned wide in the Bethenny/Carole showdown you could see Lu and Sonja just sitting there eating and soaking it all in.

I think there's some kind of theory making the rounds of right-wing social media that the royal wedding is LIBERAL in some way, shape or fashion. Not sure if it's the causes that Harry and Meghan are committed to (though one of Harry's big ones is wounded warriors), or their liberal acceptance of everyone, or that Meghan is bi-racial or that they didn't invite Trump and Melania or that... I don't know, but somehow it has the smell of LIBERAL to them and I've seen lots of knee-jerk reactions to it from right-wing folks that are all trying to find something wrong with watching it or liking it in any way. That's what Meghan M. is doing here. She has to find something to criticize about it because her "tribe" says so, she just can't figure out what that negative thing is, so she landed on patriotism?

Axe was very loving with his kids and really very devoted to Lara too. I think the whole breakup and divorce has been pretty rushed, mostly since I think the writers figured out that Lara wasn't working as a character. But because it's been so rushed I don't think it's been very true to who we were shown these characters were in season one. Axe is about as ruthless as you can get out in the world, but his redeeming feature was how he respected his wife and family. That and his respect and affection for Wendy were what softened him a bit for the viewer. And while I believe he could be bitter about how Lara has been acting since they officially started the divorce - especially since she threatened to take the kids to California if he was convicted - I don't believe the absolute lack of interest he's shown in his sons and spending time with them. Being busy and occasionally having to miss an event with them? Okay. But the way he's been written this season is as though he barely knows they exist, and when they are put in front of them, he immediately ditches them. But then I think they've really pushed both Axe and Chuck to the extremes in this season. Chuck was an ambitious man, sure, and he had a special grudge against Axe that made him willing to skirt the boundary of what was legal. But now he's gone full on criminal himself and seems to think he's still that super-hard-charging guy who is just seeking justice that Wendy tells him he is at heart. And Wendy? That she has gone full on scheming too? Also pretty extreme. I did like that she seemed to be somewhat troubled by her behavior with whatshisname, the trader who has a heart, but she too has acted in ways that I don't see as really in character - not as how she was shown to be in season one and two anyway. My only other note is that I hate that Axe told Taylor to shut down the Quant team and that Taylor didn't use any of the 250 million that Axe gave them to keep the team up and running. My hope is that they have set them up somewhere else, either with some of the money Axe gave them, or with an investment from their tech boyfriend. I want Taylor to show Axe up by using this new method that so threatened Axe.

I think there's a lot more to Nico then his current persona of calm, homemaking, supportive kind of guy. When Eve lost it and hit and shoved him he said something along the lines of that she didn't want to dwell in those feelings, or give in to them, or become them. I can't remember the words exactly but it was him warning her that she shouldn't want to stay this person who was angry and raging and wild. When he said it I got a sense that he once had been an angry, wild person himself and that he'd had to make a change to survive and be happy. I may be reading too much into a line or two of dialogue, but his expression and the way he immediately tried to back down and give her some space made me think he was acting as someone who'd once been into those kind of feelings. Kind of like a recovering addict looking at someone who is newly addicted. All that to say, I think there's quite a bit of backstory with their marriage and their individual trajectories for us yet to learn. And some of it may explain why Nico is being more patient with Eve then she would seem to deserve.

The thing that got me was the way that Christy seemed so surprised that she was showing addictive behavior with the gambling. If you’re an addict with one compulsive type behavior, chances are you are with others. And I thought it had already been established that she was a gambling addict back when she lost their rent money and they had to run out on the back rent for their apartment. Seemed pretty clear that her behavior was that of an addict then and I even thought she and Bonnie had some discussion about it. Bonnie was immediately concerned last night when the police officer told her that the ATM he’d sent Christy to was in a casino. So that would indicate Bonnie knew gambling was a serious temptation for Christy. I think because Christy is the “heroine” of the show the writers don’t want to go the really ugly ‘fall off the wagon’ route of her drinking or drugging again, so they’ve put gambling in that place. The group certainly had a lot of reason to be upset with Christy (and I really didn’t like her much last night) but I do think Jill, of any of them, would give her the most slack given how bad off Jill was very recently and how patiently Christy stuck with her through it all.

I think this is just a way for the show to have Erica remain close to home and thus on the show - and I'm not thrilled 'cause I think it's stupid. I think it was working out fine to have her in college nearby, she was still in most episodes, but a lot of sitcoms go the route of somehow figuring out ways for the kids not to go to college in order to have them remain in the home and on the show. On Modern Family, Hailey dropped out, Alex got mono after a semester and had to be back home for the next semester and Luke wasn't doing college at all. They did it on the Cosby show with Theo, who was in college but had forgotten to turn in his dorm room application and thus had to continue to live at home. And I know I've seen the trope on other family shows as well. As soon as the kid ages into college age, suddenly, no matter how much they've wanted to go up until that point, they don't go for some contrived reason. Or if they go, they're quickly back.

I admired Bethenny in that moment (something that rarely happens for me with regard to Bethenny). She just came right out and said what is so. You could tell that Dorinda was waiting to hear some kind of softened language about what had happened and had her apologies all ready to go. And then Bethenny just said it, "you're a drunk" and Dorinda was completely thrown for a couple seconds. Of course she then did what alcoholics do, she deflected, rationalized and excused her behavior by calling on her victimhood as a widow, her deep pain, her need to use alcohol to ease the pain, etc. I believe that's all true, she's had pain in her life, certainly. But she drinks because she's a drunk, period. That's what alcoholics do.

I know there are theories about her being related to someone else on the show, but I’m wondering if she’s a reporter perhaps (could still be someone’s daughter). I’m basing this on her carrying around her little notebook. I’m getting timelines mixed up I think, but in present day Charlotte meets up with the security forces and asks where they’ve been. She then tells Bernard she’s surprised he’s made it and then asks where Peter Abernathy is. But in the days past when Charlotte and Bernard were making their way through the park they come upon Peter being held by random baddies. When Peter gets taken by the soldiers Charlotte makes a run for it and Bernard is taken too. Bernard and Peter end up at the fort. When the fort is attacked by the security forces Charlotte’s team sneaks in and grabs Peter, leaving Bernard behind. Charlotte then escapes with Peter. But in present day when she sees Bernard she asks where Peter is?

Most everything covered so all I want to add...how about Ramona just leaving “her” party while half the guests were still there? Guess that’s okay since it was really a Bendel party and Ramona’s only contribution was to get people there to buy the stuff so she could get free stuff herself. Her whole scurrying around fixing the decor ahead of time to show she’s the host was all just a cover for the fact that this was solely and only being run by the Bendel folks. At a Tupperware party the host has to at least provide the food and stay until the end.

I agree I think this is where the story will go - but all of this will happen in the space of about two episodes and half of the events will probably happen off screen, so it will be a shit show. But seeing this made me think about something else I've been mulling and that's me wondering if we've ever had the kind of "Jack almost dies and everyone who was hating on him rushes to his bedside and forgives all" story like we see happen with Victor every year or so? I don't think I remember any scenes like this. Jack on his deathbed and everyone declaring how he's really so wonderful and they love him so? I'm guessing we haven't seen these scenes because Jack is not taken to such black, heinous depths like Victor is all the time? Victor kidnaps, murders, causes others to be murdered, takes advantage of the mentally ill, manipulates and controls his family, etc. etc. etc. So he's written as a villain most of the time, but because of the hold EB has on the show, has to periodically have the entire cast fawning at his feet and kissing his ring, so Victor almost dies and everyone forgives him everything.

I'm thinking the guy who picked Sonja up in the truck was just driving her TO her car which was probably somewhat distant on a large lot if this is a place that stores people's cars who don't want to drive from the city. That's my guess anyway. And regarding Sonja, as much as I think she plays extremely fast and loose with the facts on a lot of things - on most things, I also think she does have kernels of truth in the stories she's spilling. When she was talking at that brunch about Ramona and the way she's been taking up with various men and "dating" them until she's done getting what she wants from them, I believed that. Both because of the way we see Ramona use anyone who comes into her orbit (the artist and his friend suddenly moving furniture and wiring tv's - hey I wonder if they beat Rob's seven-minute feat from VPR?) and because of how defensive Ramona got when Sonja slipped that in there. Because she's generally in panicked, survivor mode, Sonja is pretty socially aware, even though she puts on the ditz front. Dorinda lost me with her rant. Yes, a dead husband is worse then one you've divorced, but that's not what Dorinda was mad at Sonja about, what she was mad at her about for days before the brunch. She was mad because Carole told her that Sonja had said she looked fat in her halloween costume. That was what she had a head of steam about. But for her to go off on Sonja because she called her fat? That loses Dorinda some points, because it's petty and stupid. If instead she waits for the moment when Sonja says something tangentially connected to the men in their lives (because when doesn't she say something about her divorce?), then she can go off on Sonja about being a widow and burying her husband. Sounds pretty calculating I know, but I think Dorinda is pretty calculating. She bides her time and often holds back when others are going all in. Except when she's drunk or high or whatever combo, then all bets are off.