Uncle Benzene

First I've ever seen or heard of Sara Bareilles and I was impressed, but within the first ten seconds of her first song I could not stop thinking "at some point they ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO have some kind of reveal with Melissa on another piano, with a 'mirror' between them, or something." Hell, there were times when I was wondering if it actually was Melissa. I mean, I get it that Sara Bareilles is a serious musician, and it might have undermined her performance or whatever, but holy crap would that have been funny. I was 100% convinced it was coming in the second number, but nope.

My friends and I have been watching the reload with their kids, and their daughter's mind is absolutely blown every time she sees Young Alton and Current Alton on screen together. It's hilarious, and she's still not used to it. It gets her every time.

Good lord is Rhea Seehorn freakin gorgeous. (So is Patrick Fabian, for that matter.) Total mindfuck every time I see Giancarlo being himself, as opposed to Gustavo. Ditto Michael Mando, albeit to a slightly lesser extent just because Giancarlo sets such a high bar. I want to hang out with all these people. One condition though... Jonathan Banks's presence would be mandatory.

Shut! Up! Sunny!

Me too. And I was ABSOLUTELY SURE that it was Doug Judy who had called in the bomb threat. Because it's a sitcom, and therefore Doug Judy saw Boyle's announcement in the paper (because he keeps up on Jake) and knew that Jake deserved a crazy wedding day, and that the precinct would all come together to make it far better than it otherwise would have been, and that his wacky scheme to give Jake the best wedding ever would go absolutely perfectly. I was also absolutely sure that the "wedding band" that Scully and Hitchcock found would turn out to be Doug Judy. I mean, how are Jake and Amy supposed to maximize their wedding night smoosh now? I'm just gonna go ahead and assume Judy left Jake a wedding night smoosh mixtape in his suit pocket. Or something.

Please pardon my lack of finesse here, but there's really no other way to say it: Holy shit.

Very happy about that. I had no idea who Melissa was when she first arrived last season, but I've quickly grown to love her. She's awesome. And Pete seems to have been all over the show here lately as well. Good for him. Seems his rehab has gotten him into a much better place.

When is Dave Grohl ever NOT having fun? Dude's entire adult life has been one long rock & roll fantasy camp. Everyone on earth should envy his apparently unprecedented ability to enjoy and appreciate every single minute of it and not let it turn him into a jerk.

But in introducing the challenge, Ramsay specifically stated "you'll be tasting various herbs and spices."

I have a short wishlist re: Rosa's girlfriend. (Note: I'm assuming the role has already been cast, and perhaps stuff already shot. But I don't have any spoilers, nor am I seeking any. This is what I hope will happen.) I'd like to nominate Jenny Slate. Because I love her and she's gorgeous and she could pull off any persona, but specifically one of these three, each of which would amuse the hell out of me: 1. She's basically a female Pimento. Because Rosa has a very specific "type" and it's cray-cray. I know that'll be an unpopular opinion, since Pimento wasn't very well-received, although a lot of it seemed to be with regard to Jason Mantzoukas's portrayal more than anything. (Also, for the record, I can understand why some people might find it distasteful or otherwise problematic that Rosa's girlfriend would basically be a mirror image of a former boyfriend. I get it.) Anyway, Jenny Slate plays Jason Mantzoukas's sister on Lady Dynamite, and to me, they do look like they could be brother and sister. Not that she'd be Pimento's sister on B99, but she'd be a very similar personality type, because that's just what does it for Rosa, and everybody in the precinct will immediately recognize it. Hilarity ensues. 2. She's basically a mirror image of Rosa herself. Yes, Seinfeld did the whole "OMG you're basically dating yourself!" bit, but I thought it was funny then, and I think it'd be funny again on this show. May be more of a Gina thing, being as she's the narcissist on this show. But given how little regard Rosa seems to have for most people (outside of her friends and family) it kinda seems like Rosa would be attracted to someone who is just like herself, because she just can't with most others. 3. This one might be my favorite... she's just like Holt. And Holt (and Kevin) (and Amy) immediately ADORES her. And Jake thinks it's hilarious that "OMG Rosa is dating Holt!" Maybe nobody else really sees it, or maybe Jake AND ROSA are the only ones who see it. And Rosa thinks it's awkward that her girlfriend is immediately becoming BFFs with her boss (and Kevin.) Not to mention "Really? I'm freaking dating Captain Holt and I only realized it just now. WTF?!?" Or something along those lines. I mean, don't get me wrong, I totally get why many/most people would want Rosa's girlfriend to have her own personality, and would hate for her to be just a caricature of another (especially male) character. But hey, it's a wacky sitcom. And I've got a hunch that she's gonna be a rarely-seen recurring character anyway, along the lines of Boyle's wife, or Doug Judy, and she might even end up being a one-off. So I wouldn't be surprised if they gave her some kind of sitcommy hook/twist/gimmick for the lulz. These are just a few of those that I've thought of, and I think I'd enjoy if they went that way. But in any case, Jenny Slate please!

Flula Borg. He's a comedian, and he's HILARIOUS. Plenty of stuff on YouTube, if you'd like to get to know him better. Well worth your time, in my opinion.

In my opinion, hands-down the strongest episode of the season so far. By a good margin. Felt like a season 42 episode. I hope this is an indication that they're hitting their stride. I was pleasantly surprised. Partially because I've thought that season 43 overall has been kind of lukewarm so far, and also because while I don't know a whole lot about Tiffany Haddish, I did know that she's a standup, and in my opinion the writers tend to phone it in a bit when an actual standup is hosting. My hypothesis is that the writers just kind of assume that the host will make it funny regardless of the material. There are exceptions of course (Chappelle's episode last season was particularly strong, for example, as was Larry David's last season) but for the most part it seems I'm always left disappointed when an actual standup hosts. Larry David's episode last week is a good example of that. I'm always like "They could have done so much more, but they half-assed it." Not this week. The only sketch that was kind of a dud, for me anyway, was Tamika. I'm not really sure what they were going for there. Terrific concept, poorly executed. Ended up being a bit of a mess. But everything else was outstanding. Boo Boo Jeffries for the win!

Welp. I'm DEFINITELY going to the Halloween party as Snow Ball Dustin. Hope I can get the hair right.

Of people she doesn't know. And she makes it a point to tell everyone who will listen how depressing the whole thing is, and how she'd have done a much better job of organizing the service.

This is not going to end well. Current Vegas odds: 3/1 On Fleek with Tregaye Fraser 5/1 PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LEARN TO LIKE MATTHEW GRUNWALD! PLEEEEEASE! 10/1 Justin Warner's Weekly Quest to one-up the Iron Chef 50/1 The Lenny McNab Redemption Tour

And it's only a matter of time until Sinclair makes 'em sign The Progressive Liberal and put him in Bullet Club, baybay!

Oh, Bobby. You dumb bastard. EVERYBODY knows you NEVER say no to the hot-enough cougar who is thirsty as fuck for your constantly-getting-shot-down ass. Come on, man. Look, I could definitely understand "I want to, but I can't, because I'd get fired." Totally get it. But "The cougar wants the cub, but the cub doesn't want the cougar."??? Really??? You need to re-evaluate your life choices, bro. But hey, I'm sure you're having an absolute blast repeatedly crashing and burning with your Dream Girl of the Week and then moping about how victimized you've been. Good call, bro. And Wes. Oh, sweet Wizz. You were right the first time when you said "You went for the dick, don't wanna know ya." You really should have just stuck with that. But, if you truly do still want to try to flip Malia and escape the Friend Zone, the way to do that is to tell her "Nope. No longer interested. Have a nice day." and then wait about 10 seconds. Either way would be a hell of a lot better than what you've got going on right about now. Every man on this here boat really needs to subscribe to Max's newsletter. The sooner the better.

Couldn't agree more. Even in Breaking Bad, I've always seen the good in Saul. I mean, sure, he was sleazy. A "criminal lawyer" as it were. But it always seemed to me that the bulk of his practice was built on small-time accused criminals, who deserve representation too, and surely not all of whom were guilty of anything significant and who certainly weren't very lucrative, as clients go. Quite similar to his former life in elder law, actually (the Sandpiper windfall notwithstanding.) Sticking up for the easily-abused. We got glimpses of that here and there from the packed lobby of his strip-mall office, but that was about it because it was Breaking Bad and not Better Call Saul, and therefore on that show it was all about his entanglements with Walter and Jesse. But even then, while he did eventually advise Walter to send Jesse to Belize, he also tried his damnedest right at the start to convince Walt and Jesse to take their profits and get the hell out, because they weren't cut out for what they'd gotten themselves into. He was trying to do right by them. And he tried to help Jesse with his money, etc. All indications are that he treated Francesca, Huell and Kuby well. He remained "friends" with Mike, and it sure did look like he had a loyal client base among the folks in his lobby. In retrospect, the Jimmy McGill was always there just beneath the surface, even on Breaking Bad. In my opinion, anyway. I also agree wholeheartedly with the person upthread (and I apologize for not quoting) who said that Jimmy's big takeaway from Chuck's final(?) words to him will prove to not be the part about how Jimmy never really mattered all that much to him, but rather the part about "why even bother going through the motions?" Very similar to his takeaway from his final visit with Marco. The first message delivered with love, the second (but same) message delivered with loathing. For better or worse, Jimmy needs to quit faking it. You can't escape who you are. Similarly, for me it's easy to see the "good" in Gustavo Fring as well, despite everything. The way he interacts with Mike. The way he interacts with his employees at Los Pollos. Hell, the way he initially interacted with Walter (until, as always, Walter got too big for his britches and proved himself to be a powder keg.) Obviously there's nothing noble about being a meth kingpin. But while I think it's mostly about practicality, I do think there's a part of Gustavo that genuinely seeks to keep the peace and avoid violent conflict as much as possible, that there's some sense of honor there, that he truly does want to "do things the right way" to whatever extent this particular business allows him to. Same with Ehrmantraut, for that matter. And Nacho. I find it fascinating that for all the stuff back in the BB days about how Walter was supposedly a good person at heart, who just got himself in too deep trying to provide for his family, he really was a piece of shit who treated everyone around him like shit, from Gretchen all the way through to Holly. He was a monster. And Jesse wasn't much better. They both had their moments of humanity, but at the end of the day both of them were terrible people who through hubris and incompetence left everyone around them destroyed, and only every now and then genuinely gave a shit. But it seems to me we're finding out now that the real "good people leading bad lives" in the Gilliganverse are actually Jimmy, Gus, Mike and Nacho. Love it. I've said it before, and I'll stand by it. Better Call Saul is better than Breaking Bad. And that's an incredible accomplishment. This ain't no Joanie, this ain't no Chachi, this ain't no foolin' around.

Loved it! And, to me, it makes perfect sense. I totally get why a lot of you think most of it remains ambiguous (let the mystery be) and are struggling with it for various reasons, but for some reason I feel like it was perfectly clear to me. And it was beautiful. They finally told each other the fuckin' truth. For once. The whole truth. And that was the key all along, the key they never seemed to be able to find, until they finally did. So last week Kevin, in the International Assassin universe, finally... FINALLY owned his shit, nuked that world, and came home. Like he tried to do when he sang "Homeward Bound" but it didn't really "take" that time. He was still running. But when he finally owned his shit and nuked that world, he came home for good, and he was at peace sitting there with Kevin Sr. on the roof. But soon he found out that Nora wasn't there, because she too chose to run. She ran to the "other side" where her kids were, looking for her own peace. But she didn't find it. All she found was that her pre-Departure family had moved on, and she didn't belong there. So she, like Kevin, came home. (To a certain extent, that is.) But even then, both of them were still flailing. Nora couldn't return to the States or even tell anyone but Laurie that she was back, and while Kevin spent however many years searching for Nora, apparently his "plan" was to just erase it all, pretend that all their history never happened, and start over unencumbered by all of it in some pretend world of their own making, and he actually thought Nora would go along with it. They had both climbed most of the way out of their own muck, but not quite. Because they still couldn't bring themselves to tell the whole truth. They were both still lying to each other, to everyone else, to themselves. The scene where they danced was absolutely fucking incredible. There they are, embracing each other after so much time apart, happy ending just BEGGING to happen, and yet they're both crying because they know that it can't happen, won't happen, because neither one of them can bring themselves to just tell the fuckin' truth. The WHOLE truth. They're both still pretending, and they both knew it. And so Nora walks away, presumably forever. Again. And Kevin just stands there, knowing he's incapable of doing anything about it, because he STILL hasn't truly owned it. And then, HOLY SYMBOLISM, BATMAN! The scapegoat... the literal scapegoat. Sin Beads caught in the fence. Suffering. And is it just my imagination, or was the terrain actually flat, but it was shot as if she was climbing a steep slope, because symbolically that's precisely what it was for her? And she fell all the way back down, but she persisted, finally struggling to scale that last, hardest, metaphysical slope. And when she reached the scapegoat, she removed the Sin Beads and put them on herself, finally owning her own shit. Freeing the literal scapegoat, and finally freeing herself. And what happens when she takes the goat back home? Kevin finally mans the fuck up and decides he's not gonna just let it go. He's not gonna let HER go. Not after all this. And when he finally tells the fuckin' truth, Nora invites him back in. For tea. And then she tells him her truth. All of it. Once and for all, finally. And I do believe it was the absolute truth, it all happened exactly as she said it did. She, like Kevin, was willing to die to find something better out there... somewhere. She searched for her peace, and she didn't find it. She didn't belong there. But she couldn't find her peace here either, no matter how hard she tried. Because as she told Kevin at the wedding, "it's not true." And that's what it was all about. The fuckin' truth. The Remnant couldn't tell it. John couldn't tell it. Matt couldn't tell it. Holy Wayne couldn't tell it. Kevin Sr couldn't tell it. And for so long, Kevin and Nora couldn't tell it. They couldn't own it, none of them. Until they did. At long last. That was the real peace, and they finally found it, when in the end it was the only thing they'd yet to try. The only play they had left. And I'll be damned if it didn't work. Beautiful. So where are we meeting up with our torches and pitchforks and whatnot to demand that they bring this show back on Netflix or whatever in a year or so for another 8 or 10 seasons? We're wearing all white, no? I'll bring the Marlboros!

The best part this week was Marcela's face when Sunny (to her right) was trying to talk past her to Jeff who was seated at the left side of the set/counter, and Sunny literally yelled (to Jeff) right in Sunny's ear. Marcela just kinda bristled for a second and then rolled her eyes as if to say "Of course she just did that." Hilarious. Katie's grilled shrimp/onions/peppers were nothing groundbreaking or anything (because nothing they do on this show ever is) but it was definitely the best looking thing they've done on this show in quite some time. Real food, nothing crazy or gimmicky, no shilling for any pre-packaged something-or-other, no "clever supermarket shortcuts" and it was beautiful on the plate. I'm so old, I can remember when they used to do that kind of stuff on a regular basis! Too bad Katie went to all the trouble of mixing up that spice rub, then seasoned the shrimp first, and then brushed half of it off while applying the oil.

Did the Kevins nuke the "afterlife"? "So we never have to come here again"? And Patti helped, because Kevin helped her by pushing her down the well? Is this story all about people laying down their burdens? --Matt laid down the burden of his crippling, pathological version of "faith" --Laurie laid down her burden of always trying to fix people --Kevin Sr. laid down his burden of his apocalyptic prophet/savior complex --Kevin Jr. laid down his burden of running away, and nuked his "afterlife" sanctuary --Maybe Nora lays down her burden of survivor's guilt in the finale? Hell if I know, but it makes sense to me right at the moment. All I know for sure is I'm damn sad that this show will be Departing forever next week. Somebody stick me in a machine and send me to a world where this show doesn't end.

The robot stuff would make for a kickass Radiohead video.

So it would have been better if either A) the racist cop manages to convince the profiling victim that the cop is actually a good guy after all, or B) the victim decides to just get over it, and the racist cop gets off without penalty? Alrighty then. Perhaps they could have had Terry give him a nice cold Pepsi.

Yeah, I'm not usually very critical of this show. Especially this season, which in my opinion has been really strong overall. For 42 seasons SNL has been "hit or miss" and that's just baked in, it's part of the deal. So unless the show is consistently terrible (the Chris Kattan/Will Ferrell/Cheri Oteri era) I tend to give them a lot of rope and not get too put off when they have a weak week. Even moreso when the show in general is on a bona fide roll, which in my opinion it has been the last couple of years. I adore this whole cast, including Baldwin and McCarthy. Not a whole lot to complain about lately. That being said, I was surprised to find that this particular episode isn't being pretty much universally shit upon in this here thread. Mileage varies, as always, but I was surprised because in my opinion holy crap did this episode suck. And I was not at all expecting it to. Fallon's not my favorite by any means, but as a former cast member and a current late night live talk/variety show host, it's hard to find someone for whom doing SNL should come more naturally. And he does have an uncanny knack for doing musical impersonations, which aren't exactly "funny" per se, but do usually fall somewhere between impressive and mindblowing (for me, anyway) which is why I actually enjoyed a musical monologue for once. And Celebrity Family Feud is always good for a chuckle, Kenan as Steve Harvey never fails for me. And I'll confess to being one of the few who think Jost and Che are usually fantastic on WU. But even WU and Celebrity Family Feud were particularly weak this week, in my opinion. They never even went back to Melissa/Gwen and Pete/Blaine for a second joke, and those were the two I was most interested in hearing from (besides Kenan/Harvey, of course.) It was all about the dual Travoltas gimmick, and Harry Styles making faces. And I agree with @peeayebee that "...you don't know what cakes I've seen!" was the only think about WU that gave me a genuine chuckle. In my world, when even WU is a letdown, they're having a really bad week. Turtle Shirt, Legally Blonde The Musical, the Ex Boyfriend, and the Civil War sketches were all actively bad and made me audibly groan. I know I said before that Fallon's musical impressions are impressive to me, but that requires that I have the slightest clue who he's impersonating and/or what the hell he's trying to do. That was not the case in the Ex Boyfriend and Civil War sketches. It's one thing when he's doing Bono or Bowie or whomever, but that? Also, FOUR musical numbers? (Including the Legally Blonde stuff.) Four? Really? Four? Sheesh. On a related note, FOUR pre-taped bits? Really? Four out of eleven? For the second week in a row? (I'm counting Spicey, which may or may not have actually been "live" but it wasn't live in studio in any case, and for all I know it was in fact pre-taped.) Whatever happened to Saturday Night LIVE? I mean, I don't necessarily have a problem with pre-taped bits in general. I mean, SNL has always done 'em. But if you're gonna do 'em, they better be extra funny. And they need to account for significantly less than damn near 40% of the whole freakin' show. I'd be frustrated as hell if I were in the studio audience. But even setting that aside, "LIVE" is a big part of SNL's DNA. "LIVE" leads to hilarious fuck ups, unexpected studio reactions, improv, all kinds of fun stuff. Taped bits are fine when they're great, when they're short, and when there's only one or two of 'em. But four out of eleven? Two weeks in a row? That's just "cheating" in my opinion. Even worse in a week when you made a big deal of the show being "LIVE" across all time zones for the first time ever. Lastly, while I've been a big fan of Baldwin's Trump and McCarthy's Spicey, this week was the first week in which I started feeling like their bits are becoming repetitive and stale. Poor effort this week, SNL.

Memo to Food Network: Quit trying to make Hashtag Matthew Grunwald happen. Thanks.