Annber03

"Last Week Tonight" actually had an interesting segment on this sort of thing a while back. May have to keep an eye out for this book, I'm guessing it'd go into a lot more detail about that kind of stuff.

I also liked that this love triangle actually ended a little differently than how many love triangles of this sort tend to end, with both choices just saying, "You know what, I'm done" and moving on instead of sitting around waiting for Darlene to make a choice. And I like that while there was a little bit of tension between the guys when they showed up to help with the tire, they didn't drag it out into some big, stupid fight between them.

Agreed. I get and can definitely sympathize with the complaints about putting holiday stuff out too early, but there can be valid reasons for why they put stuff out early, too. When I worked at the bookstore here in town, we would get holiday-themed knitting/crocheting/etc. types of magazines in starting in August, and that made sense, because if you want to make something for somebody for Christmas, you may need to start early so you can have it done in time. I imagine that's the case with some other stuff they put out early, too. If we did wait until after Halloween/Thanksgiving to put Christmas stuff out, then people would complain about how they didn't have enough time to buy and send things, too. (Granted, some customers still do that even now, and act shocked that it's, like, the week before Christmas or Christmas Eve and we might actually be out of something by that point, but still.)

Thanks, now that "Cell Block Tango" song from Chicago is going through my head :p. But yeah, agreed on your thoughts on her and Chris. Funny thing with Billy, even before the reveal with him at the end, I never liked him. At best he still would've come off like a sleazy creep.

Beautifully put :D.

Wow. Well, that all backfired on Darlene pretty spectacularly. But they were both right to break up with her (and I figured at least one of them would catch on to her seeing the other at some point. It was only inevitable). It'll be interesting to see how Darlene learns from this and how this affects things with her and both men going forward. I'm already thinking her and Ben working together will be even more awkward than they imagine. That flashback to teenage Darlene and David was a really poignant touch, though. And I cracked up at Jackie's hysterical reaction to Ben and David both showing up to help Darlene :D. Good stuff with Becky and Dan, too. On the one hand, I totally understand Dan's concerns, but on the other hand, Becky was right to point out that she's at risk to drink no matter where she goes. And unfortunately, with Lanford being what it is, she's gotta take whatever job opportunities are available, and if the bartending job would help her financially, I don't blame her for wanting to take it. Yeah. I'm with the others here, this was a really strong episode.

Agreed. Even the scene with the bike could read ambiguous-sure, we know the darker intent there, but to somebody who doesn't, they'd just see a kid not being careful enough about where they're playing*. And he's too small to be able to help pull his mom back over the banister, so there's not much he could do at that moment to help her (aside from cry out, perhaps, but even then...). *On that note, if The Omen and The Shining have taught me anything, it's that kids riding tricycles around the place always signals serious trouble. (Also, I love how, at the beginning of the movie, everyone was all, "Oh, let's just give this woman a baby and tell her it's her biological kid. She won't know the difference!" Uh, yeah, she will.)

I'm so sorry to hear about your family friend. Condolences. And thanks to you and everyone else here with your explanations regarding the others not knowing about Claire's mom. All valid reasons/possibilities. Appreciate the info on this, too. My dad was cremated, but we didn't scatter his ashes, so I've always wondered how that stuff works for those who do. It makes sense they would have some regulations in place on that stuff, depending on where people want to do that. And I certainly wouldn't want to scatter ashes somewhere where animals might ingest them or something. Yeah, I won't argue that she was being awfully pushy there. I think she intended it to be a, "Rip the band-aid off" sort of thing, 'cause she's never been the type to dwell too long on things, she just deals with stuff and moves on to the next thing. But I agree that she also needs to understand that not everyone is like her, and with something like the loss of a parent especially, it's best to let each person grieve in their own way. Still, I found their interactions this episode interesting despite that. There's a sharp contrast between them, and I like how the show lets them play off that when they interact.

I liked when she said something to the effect of, 'I'm only going to be here one season, he needs to be here forever!" They seem to genuinely get on well, it's sweet. Actually laughed out loud at this :D.

...whoa...:(.

Um, okay, so I just watched the Daniel Marsh episode of this show on the ID channel, and dear lord, that was super creepy. Like, "give me nightmares" levels of creepy. I fully agree with the analysis that he's a psychopath. When they showed that clip of him at that Ted talk (I truly can't believe they allowed him to speak at that, and allowed it to be posted online to boot), and when he was testifying on the stand, he honest to God came off to me like a cult leader. He's manipulative as hell. He had a constant smirk on his face while on the stand in that courtroom, like he thought he was being so smart and so clever. I don't get how anyone actually was fooled by his "Oh, I've changed!" attitude. Normally I tend to agree with the concerns of trying teens as adults, but in this case, I'm sorry, no, you're capable of committing a crime that heinous at that age, you know full well what you're doing. You can't use the defense of "confused/troubled youth" in that kind of situation, I don't think. And trying to use his problems with his mom and whatnot as his reason for his anger and his crimes...shut the hell up. Lots of kids go through unfortunate situations like that with their parents and yet they don't turn into violent murderers. No, there is something legit wrong with this guy that runs very deep. And to think the poor family of that couple will have to keep going back to try and ensure this guy never gets out. Like they haven't suffered enough already. That's ridiculous. Here's hoping he never, ever gets out of jail. And if he does, I hope he's under the most intense scrutiny imaginable. Just. Ugh. The whole thing made my freaking skin crawl.

Oooh, that ending. I really hope this isn't a sign of Claire following in her mom's footsteps :(. Most of that ending was really touching, though. "Amazing Grace" combined with Claire holding her mom's ashes...that really hit me on a personal level. I was briefly thinking that the people at that party might join in the song, but I like that Claire got to have her little moment to herself (though, as discussed elsewhere, I do wonder if it's even allowed to scatter ashes in a place like that). I also liked Morgan supporting her as she did. It's kinda nice to see them have these quiet little moments together like this. I'd be all for more of that, as well as Claire being able to lean on and get support from the others in various ways down the line as well. (Also, I can understand Claire not wanting to open up about her mom's death to everyone, but as my mom wondered, wouldn't the accident have been in the local news or something? Surely her colleagues would've at least heard about it at some point?) Anywho, so yeah, very interested to see what happens next for Claire here. I really hope things turn around for her eventually. On a happier note, loved how Shaun and Carly resolved the hand holding issue :). And I liked Shaun being so happy to be the one Glassman turned to for advice, and loved how he handled that annoying conspiracy theorist as well.

*Applause* Go, Chris. Well said.

I loved that, too :D. Such cute dogs! Yeah, I was sitting here wondering the same thing.

Tom: *Reminds people that they're running over time* Show: Let's take a few moments to show a clip package in which everyone states the obvious about how they don't want to go home yet. But of course, it was all moot in the end anyway, so... Anywho, Sailor, Ally, and Kate were definitely highlights tonight. And I love Kel :D. The pictures of him as a kid were really cute. Nice to see a few people getting some 9s tonight.