The Companion

I have to agree. I know a lot of parents who can't watch shows or movies with kids dying without it affecting them now that they have kids. I had to give up Broadchurch for that reason. The shock and disparity if seeing zombie kids would make many people hesitate. Cersei's misery was amazing. She is such a dreadful narcissistic jerk. She has earned every drop of floor water. Overall, this episode was amazing. Intense battles, movement in the story, and some enjoyable pairings.

Not to defend the clearly terrible judicial system, but my understanding was that this was an inquest, and the evidence was enough for a trial. I think it is similar to a grand jury, which has a fairly low threshold. That being said, they had very tenuous evidence against Margaery. I am looking forward to what I can only hope will be an epic Cersei smack down. Lady Oleanna killed Joffrey preemptively before he did anything to her family. I can only imagine how this is going to go for Cersei, now that she has acted against two children. I did love how ridiculous Cersei looked trying to adopt her father's method of making people feel unimportant. She thought she would make Lady Oleanna feel small by continuing to write and instead she just looked like a kid playing dress up. I wish we could just time jump with Arya. I don't care about the mysterious mystery house. It's just not interesting. Meanwhile in Winterfell, Sansa looked gorgeous. We finally get a wedding where nobody gets murdered (I guess other than Robb's) and it has to be this one? I think it would have been a bit ridiculous to have Sansa saved. That being said, it was a sad chapter in what has been a really rough story. I want to see her get revenge. I don't care about Theon. Being more likeable than Ramsey isn't enough. He betrayed Robb, killed two innocent boys so he could look tough, tortured the people of Winterfell and generally acted like a complete monster. I cannot bring myself to care about his arc. I want everyone but Sansa and The North Remembers lady in Winterfell to get dragonned.

I have less than zero sympathy for Cersei. Margaery was her choice. She had Sansa who was, at the time, meek and impressionable and clearly willing to tow the line. Even a marginal bit if kindness might have brought Sansa into the fold. Cersei was the one who spoke up and encouraged her little monster to break the engagement. Perhaps Tywin would have forced the issue given the state of their finances, but at the time Cersei was the driving factor. Besides, she is at worst being sent home. Margaery doesn't appear to be planning to kill her (yet), which means she is far better than the Lannisters who seems perfectly content to kill children when it will benefit them. Didn't see an answer, though I may have missed it. The dire wolves were orphaned as puppies in the first episode. Each Stark child took one. I interpreted Jorah's comment to mean Dany. We don't know if he even knows about the reward, but he has made it clear he is desperate to get back in Dany's good graces. He could have returned to King's Landing if he had any interest. He has a pardon. I must have hallucinated because I could have sworn Tyrion said something about Stark when he declined the offer by the prostitute. Speaking of Sansa, I thought the comment about consummation was interesting. Apparently, marriage rites require the ceremony plus consummation (more like common law marriage) rather than being annullable if no consummation occurs. Perhaps that explains the gross bedding ritual. I guess that means Margaery has never legally married. I am hopeful they are going somewhere good with Sansa, but I am getting sick if seeing her dragged over the coals. I don't understand why she hasn't bothered to send her brother a raven. Perhaps he would tell her about her brothers and spare her another horrible fiance. It's not like she is hiding anymore.

I'm sorry to hear that. I have had some luck with Lysteda and surgery, but there are still months where I cannot function for hours. A few months ago I started researching recovery for a full hysterectomy because I was in unreasonable pain with painkillers and a heating pad. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

Ha! She can't even keep track of her fake issues. My endometriosis is the most painful thing I have ever been through. The cramps hurt more than the major surgery I had to treat it. Raven can shut up anytime.

http://ew.com/tv/2017/08/04/big-brother-19-julie-chen-jessica-cody/ Maybe this one?

I stand corrected. Perhaps Lady O was confident that she could still make Margaery queen once she found out that the Lannisters could not afford a royal wedding. The murder plot did seem a bit overcomplicated to me. What if Sansa a didn't wear the necklace? Why take the risk if doctoring the King's drink in front of everyone? Seems like there were easier ways to poison Joffrey.

Though Lysa is family, they are clearly not close. After all, Sansa introduced herself. The assumption that she would head towards her brother (and closer to her home) is probably a good one. I suspect that is what she would have done. I agree that Littlefinger feels smarmy but not like the mastermind he has been revealed to be. I was happy to see Dany stay where she is to learn how to rule. It would not have felt authentic for her to leave a power vacuum and have it all work out swimmingly.

Ugh. Josh? Really?? Can we get a random temptation where the HOH is rendered mute?

She is also barely a teenager. Sure, in her world she is old enough to be married off and become a mother, but she is still so very young and isolated. Her sister is arguably tougher despite being younger, but she also sought out instruction on fighting. Sansa was raised learning how to needlepoint and obey a husband. It wouldn't feel like logical character development for her to fight or manipulate at this point in her life. I was glad they mentioned this line because despite binge watching this show, I was at a loss as to why Cersei was so convinced her brother was at fault. The throw back to this line justified her belief a bit more. I am apparently in the minority but I love Daenerys. I thought those barrels were going to contain weapons to help the slaves fight but the symbolism of broken bonds was so much cooler. I am excited to see what happens when she sets her eyes towards King's Landing, but I am fine with a slow build. It is satisfying to watch her come into her own.

I am doubtful it is the Tyrells. Margaery was in no imminent danger and had shown herself to be more than capable of managing Joffrey. If they were going to kill him, they would have waited until she had a son. I see Margaery playing the long game. I hate the Greyjoy storyline. Theon killed two innocent children and betrayed those that arises him. Screw him. That being said, I can't root for his torturer either. That leaves me hating everyone in those scenes and wishing I was watching any of the other storylines. Joffrey's death was amazing. I don't think I have ever rooted for the death of a character that hard.

Ah man, we all have such big plans before kids. You should have heard me talk about how I might get bored during maternity leave and how much I was going to get done.

Very late to the party (we have watched three seasons in two weeks, so making up for it with gusto). I wondered if Cersei would reject her brother. She certainly didn't rush to greet him when he came home. I wonder if part of it is having it known, or if she is blaming their relationship for creating Joffrey. That might be enough to cool her off. She said something like that before. Then again, we have seen that she is a self absorbed narcissist, so maybe I am reading too much into it. I love Daenerys and the stark contrast between her and Joffrey. Poor woman went through hell to get where she is, but she is looking formidable now. I am hard pressed to say which of the poor Stark sisters has had a worse time of it. Arguably, Sensa had a little more to do with her situation than Arya, but she also has to temper her reactions all day every day. On the other hand, Arya is clearly struggling to find a place. She has been on the run forever and people keep trying to sell her to her family.

Of course she was never not wanted! She has two mothers who love her deeply and want her to be happy. I never quite understand the witch hunt mentality that arises in the house. Is it the boredom? The paranoia?

Ah man, that one was brutal. I remember thinking Candice's mom was a better woman than I, because if someone told my son, who is adopted, that he was unwanted I would be hard pressed not to punch that person in the face.

I would love it if they made him look horrible after his entitled demands to production.

Do they not know what dog tags are? Of course they have his social. They also have his blood type and religious affiliation. They are used to ensure proper medical care, last rites, and correct identification of bodies. I am fairly disgusted with the house at the moment.

In law school, I used to cut back on or give up my caffeine mid semester so it would be effective during exams. I would get blinding headaches and have to take naps. It was miserable. Of all of Raven's ridiculousness, the claim that her condition is anything like active duty makes me want to punch her in the face. I lived through a deployment and transition home with my husband and nothing else we have been through was as terrible. Not infertility, not law school, nothing so far. I hope I never have to find something that tops it.

She could be lying, but I will note that her state of mind could also be exacerbating her symptoms leading to a loop of feeling worse, stressing about it and making herself even sicker. As I mentioned I have severe GERD with possibly some GP (one endoscopy and emptying study supported it but a later one did not). What this meant for me as a child is that I would wake up, throw up violently and uncontrollably until I fell back asleep (usually on the floor or bathtub), then I would wake up and go to school. It took a lot to diagnose me (GERD just wasn't a common diagnosis in my age group). Once diagnosed, I could control my symptoms most of the time. However, stress or change in routine can really screw me up. I get horrible reflux often on vacation. No sleep or a big test or event (even a happy one) can make me really sick. College was tough because I didn't keep a regular schedule and that definitely made it worse. If Raven is constantly worrying about how sick she is, she may be causing her stomach to produce extra acid which may be making her sicker which only adds to her belief that she is getting worse. Whether her crazy mom is genuine or nutso, that also can't help with the stress feedback loop.

I have also given this meaningless topic some thought, and I have always wondered if part of it doesn't have to do with the fact that they have a microphone but no feedback in their ear. If they are talking to someone behind the scenes, perhaps they don't realize that they can be heard without yelling. It may also be that the producers have to speak loudly to be heard, in which case they may be modulating their voices based on the person they are speaking with, to the detriment of all of the viewers ears. I feel the same way about Cody. His flat affect didn't bother me, and I actually found it refreshing among the yelling, screaming and rending of garments we generally get in the DR. Then he lost me with his decision to try to make a big move without even a cursory attempt to bring anyone on board, and with his attitude. Now, I can't even be that mad at him insisting that there are only two alphas in the house, because everyone is following Paul like they have never had an original thought in their lives. At some point, it has to occur to someone that they are at the back of the pack, and that they will be first to be taken out. I keep hoping for even an iota of self-awareness from any of these people, but I am just not seeing it. Even if this week is a "waste" in the sense that their target remains, I think it is not a bad strategy to take the temperature of the house and play nice. They have secured at least two weeks of safety and with Paul deciding to "stir things up," they very well may find themselves with allies.

I agree. It felt unnecessary when every houseguest was ganging up on the two. I kept expecting someone to get uncomfortable about it, or at least to tell Josh to knock it off. Instead, Paul is passing messages to Josh to keep him going. It was gross.

Count me in the number with no sympathy for Josh. You spend the entire competition attacking the eventual HOH, but you can't take it when she strikes back. I don't think it was a bad idea to avoid going after Paul. Those idiots are clearly all following him off the cliff. The way he held court with the entire household, telling them how they would proceed if they won HOH had me rolling my eyes. And speaking of his royal obnoxiousness, not sure you should gloat when your competitor goes down after an hour and a half in a comp in which you lasted less than a minute. I enjoyed that everyone was having conversations where they talked about how they loved and trusted each other only to say the opposite in the DR. It made for good tv.

I don't find it odd at all. It would have been difficult for the incoming folks to answer anything and I suspect the panel of those making their last hurrah has more draw. I did find it odd that they only managed to get one question in. It was clear the audience was full of whovians, and I hope they got some bonus time after the show.

I agree that the Aneela portions didn't feel as forced this episode. They seemed to fit better this episode. I enjoyed this one, though I feel like we are due for a little more fun. It was nice to both get some backstory and see another group. I know they are doing it to get groups for the final showdown, but I have loved how the world has expanded this season. We aren't going to the same few locations. I do wish we had a little less of the overarching story. I get that we are building towards a show down, but I like the one off episodes better.

Truth! Some of the smartest people I have known were also unassuming and funny. My friend who got a perfect score on the SAT and went to Harvard Law, for example would never volunteer that information and would play it down if it came up. Frankly, if you have to tell people you have a particular quality, you probably don't. If you did, they would know without the necessity of an explanation.