Kaiju Ballet

Me too! I kinda hope now the "big beautiful monster" will be recurring...that gives me hope for a fresh take on political commentary moving forward. And Steve Kornacki!!!!! Wondered when he had time to film this. And what Leslie Jones has to say about it, lol! Anyone know which writers supposedly boycotted this episode?

That's an intriguing thought. I also saw the hesitation, but I thought it was due to her stance on killing (she doesn't).

Not just the magic, I also enjoy the non-martial arts storylines/dynamics more. Or if there is going to be a fight, I think it's hysterical when it's not shown, as in the episode a few weeks ago when Nicky came across the support group of her haters. Otherwise you know she'll either win or not based on what the plot needs. That being said, I loved Zhilan's return after her redemption arc. But it's becoming a huge storytelling crutch that the right reference to some obscure piece of magic or lore can easily be found in the community center's library. And I keep wondering why Pei Ling isn't opting to go back to China--wouldn't there be resources there she could turn to? As for Henry being a compass not picking up on Bo's extracurricular activities, I think they made a huge point of his not yet being in sync with his abilities. Now that they've taken away Althea's cyberwizardry, her personal development makes for way more interesting storytelling. I loved the mini-case that she solved using her smarts and some resourceful delegating of cybersleuthing. Plus she'll be even better as a character once that restriction's lifted (although she's already pretty awesome). And now I want to see where it goes with Dennis/family. He's also become a character I like a lot because of "who he's become". That was a great scene between the two of them. I'm also into the restaurant saga --the sight of Sebastian weeping in the dark really got to me. Speaking of which, I laughed at Ryan's reference to what he had to do to get Sebastian the perfect gift in a previous episode. I'm also surprised at how invested I am in Jin's political career! Chinatown has become one of the main characters of this show, and I've really come to appreciate how much they make of the Chens being a part of the community, and why it matters. As for Bo--yep, that was telegraphed pretty early. I always thought he did seem kind of menacing and volatile. When Nicki was trying to find out who was targeting her, Bo was actually my top suspect, lol.

I really hate what the Voice has become, although I still watch as a non-singer. Aside from the blinds, It used to be getting to know contestants over a longer period, watching them thrive with mentorship, and occasionally being moved by a song through their unique cover. Part of the fun was seeing how the singers did on iTunes after their performances, and voting after listening to replays. Weirdly, I was more likely to watch live when the voting period was longer than a commercial break. Now it's turned into a pure singoff of contestants I barely remember from week to week. They even dispensed with the big name mentor this season, and having a three-way knockout is a joke. Sasha (John's steal) was incredible, but I don't remember her from before. A big surprise is how much I've come to like Camila as a coach. When she led Andrew (name?) on a silly run around the practice space, it really demonstrated how fully invested she is in helping her singers. And the way she shows her appreciation of a performance that moves her, regardless of whether the singer is on her team increases my enjoyment too. Weird that I wasn't really a Camila fan before, but now I'm hoping she stays as a coach. Other performances from last night--I'm not moved by Kim, but it seemed almost a given that she was going to take that round. Justin got a standing O, deservedly (especially with Camila's reaction), but I also would have loved to see the woman who rocked the Bonnie Raitt song go further -- Cara Brindisi. Special thanks to Kayla, all these years I never knew that "Losing My Religion" was a southern expression that didn't necessarily have to do with spirituality. But she didn't have a chance next to Cara and Justin. Brayden was a surprise, but superficially, he also looked most marketable (magazine cover/poster-ready) of the three, which I'm sure crossed Blake's mind. Devix was an ok pick, helped by the package about his sick mom. But I don't see him going far compared to the other ones moving on. Andrew apparently didn't get over his nerves, unfortunately, and Michael Bolton 2.0 seemed to be on 11. Gwen's surprise pick got points for doing a Queen cover, but I didn't think she delivered on it. I was distracted by what she was wearing and the background vocals, when I should have been blown away by the performance. It felt like a high school variety show, and Daysia didn't help change that. John's comment that some of the choices Alyssa made were "very Gwen" helped explain why she was chosen, leaving Sasha open to be swooped up by John. I'll probably look up Sasha's past performances, and maybe the Bonnie Raitt cover, but there weren't many others that I want to do a relisten from last night.

Dropping out of Lurk mode to throw some more flowers your way @ctlady. I do enjoy the show and will miss it, but it's been ten times more enjoyable with the snark I find here! (And totally agree about Bree's scrunchypunchy facial expressions.)

I did feel for Christian when the models filed in past Cyndi, and he called them out for their lack of enthusiasm/icon-recognition. I appreciated Aaron geeking out over her. Agree with @sempervivum I expected/wanted her and Geoffrey to be the guest judges. The one they did have could have been great, but I noticed there were at least two designs on top or bottom where we didn't hear from her. Instead we heard from Elaine, who seems to have the least potential to impact a designer's career. I love Geoffrey Mac, and glad to see he's doing well. (He's on my dream list of designers I'd hire for custom clothing if I ever won the lottery) Cyndi's affect may have been even more noticeable because he was so nervous in the workroom visit. I think Geoffrey gave good advice to each designer that wasn't necessarily shown, but it's a shame they chose to highlight the "go with your first instinct" to Octavio. Speaking of which, that's proof that while Christian may give very specific styling and design advice, it really is on the designer whether or not to apply it. Christian very clearly advised against those pink feathered pumps, which Octavio stubbornly went with anyway. So glad it got called out by the judges. Also thought it was a very Miley Cyrus outfit--so it might work for a video or photo-shoot, but I doubt even Miley wears that to netflix and chill. And totally agree with @retired watcher. Octavio always wears the most loose-fitting, comfortable clothes himself, and chose to interpret comfort as those garters and stockings? Will miss Zayden, but at least he left "Seen" and with a near-win under his belt.

Even Mimi couldn't save that horror on the runway. I'm also grateful I won't have to keep cringing at Anna's"Daaaaaddy!!!!" flirtation. It makes sense that they aufed two designers after the Siriano save, but how did completely-miss-the-challenge-sequin-outfit stay over Zayden's puffer coat overshadowed by challenge-meeting (though ill-fitting) design? It was very cool hearing about the designer's stay at home outfits during the lockdown. Wonder if any of Bones' neighbors watch Project Runway, lol!

That was a *lot* of exposition crammed into one episode. I'm still dizzy from all the twists and turns in the Temperance storyline and frankly would love a recap that maps it all out (anyone know of any?)--a bit of a letdown after the general excellence of the rest of the season. Luckily, still some shining moments , such as Agent Park's superhero origin story: beautifully written, beautifully portrayed. That quiet reveal of "she was six years old" gave me more feels than the melodramatic laddering of miseries in Charity's story. Also flurvvved the interaction between Ace and Ryan. Ace's personal growth, how he feels about Ryan's "freeloading" situation esp vis-a-vis his own....also sensitively scripted and acted. Not to mention Ace's thoughtfulness in keeping what they're going through from Nancy, because "she's going through something". This show really excels in these quiet character development moments, in the midst of supernatural occurrences. Looking forward to Bess' reaction when she finds out not only was her historical society hookup watched, but there was a supernatural entity present and active there too! That gave me the creeps!

Totally agree with your first paragraph. I kept imagining producers prompting Xander and Heather to "redo" their answers for the camera until they gave the exact, correct wording for the edit. And the two remaining non-white folks? "Got nothing for you, head back to camp" As for Xander, I think along with his being the direct beneficiary of two new game devices, he’s also setting up an argument for adaptability over preparation by studying the game. Might not be a winning one, but it's a viable one for him. We’ve seen now at least three professed students of the game go home – JD, Evvie (with their mock puzzle), Naseer (with his backyard Survivor training, daughter as coach!)—while Xander is quietly formulating a story for FTC. Considering he’s a game or software developer, he’s done a great job of hiding his strategic chops – he’s survived being targeted over and over until he’s now not even seen as a threat. Still no clear rationale for Liana’s hate for him (even before that delicious moment at Tribal), although that’s led to one of the earlier episode titles of “Million Dollar Mistake”—which refers to her decision of keeping him in the game. I also think Erica made the right choice – if she had turned her back on an alliance that actually valued her, that would lead her back to Deshawn and Danny—who had once tried to throw a challenge just to vote her out (although we don’t know if she’s aware of that at this point in the game) They already see her as the next person to get out after Ricard -- or so she may think. This demonstrates her loyalty to Xander and Ricard, and keeps her in the majority alliance that has a much better chance of picking off Deshawn or Danny next tribal as an easy vote, or even take another shot at Ricard.

I was with you on the non-eye rolling until I realized while they finally featured Heather(!), they cut away from the other two POC still sitting at tribal council.

Interesting that both winning and losing designs were assigned footwear designers. I loathed what Katie sent down the runway, but felt even worse for her footwear designer. That designer not only lost out on a huge chance to showcase her abilities, but may even have suffered from having co-created the shoes for that outfit. Even Katie in voiceover said in hindsight she should have created slides or mules instead of the clown shoes that stomped down the runway.

This makes me think of the exchange between Ace and Carson, which seemed like a throwaway at the time. Carson says something about how with Ace's tech skills, he's surprised Ace isn't a tech billionaire. And Ace says "what makes you think I'm not?" Later on, a digital payment of $100 almost instantaneously appears after Nick/George says something about Ace texting that he should at least contribute towards food. I remember thinking, that's a lot for someone working as a dishwasher in his millionaire boss's establishment....which serves food. So I'm all in on the theory that there's more to Ace choosing to work at the Klaw other than lack of financial prospects. In fact, if he does come into money (by revealing his hacked millions, being an NFT kajillionaire, or choose to work in that area for reals) he would only be another in a series of the main characters to have a sudden financial reversal of fortune: starting with Nick, Bess (even though she's cut out....for the moment), Nancy (even though she gave the bulk of it away), Ryan (as a result of Nancy's decision), and possibly even George via Teddy (sign me up for Fan Fan membership!) I even think that Bess is in line to become wealthy again on her current path of studying under Temperance. And speaking of Temperance....total shallow note. I've come to like the actor's portrayal, but I am increasingly distracted by her Dorothy Hamill haircut, which seems so random. The show has been so on point IMO with everyone else's look-- what is this style supposed to say about her character? (I may be missing it completely, but it seems the rest of her style is deliberate)

Thanks! I tried to screenshot and paste the files here, but they were too big :( Instead, here's the link:https://www.bravotv.com/project-runway/viewers-verdict# and some random thoughts 1- Anna and her TV husbands? Her print really was pretty, and I was surprised her look was "safe". Like Prajje's, I didn't know if it would be "top" or "bottom" if it weren't. 2- Aaron is continually underlooked, even though I really like how he meets challenges. If I "had" to wear one of the designers, he'd be my choice this season. 3- Bone's top was typical Bones (and very cooking robe as a top) but he should have been dinged for pairing it with a solid black tube skirt. 4- Chasity's intention sounded like what Coral actually executed, my personal favorite. 5- I like Darren's personal style, but that thing he put out on the runway was seriously fug...... 6-.....but not as fug as Clown Heather Sunshine's, and I don't care for her personal style either. I was happy that one of the designers opined that it was uncool to blame that fug look on Christian, and even happier when the judges threw the responsibility for that back onto her. 7- I like Zayden, but that dress was shorter than a t-shirt.

Did Liana actually say that Tiffany was charismatic? That gives me hope that she'll misplay her advantage in a spectacular fashion. Or maybe Shan will steal that too, before getting aufed by Ricard. Rooting for Erika and Naseer now to make final tribal. Maybe it's foreshadowing that both of them can make fire?

Bolded for emphasis. I refuse to rewatch to confirm, but I believe Meg several times yelled "stop talking" at both Prajje and Kenneth, even in the midst of wokesplaining oppression to a POC. Being told to shut up or aggressively silenced is most definitely an act of privilege or power disparity in most contexts, and to me that's when I lost sympathy for her. I also noted that Meg was shown screaming "F*ck you" to Kenneth, which she didn't do to Prajje. I feel that if she had, it would have been shown because likely Prajje would have immediately and clearly responded (catnip for show editors!) But it seemed that she specifically felt ok to curse out Kenneth because she knew he wouldn't react with the same level of intensity or overt aggression, so he was "safe" to attack. And I couldn't help but think that she wouldn't curse out Kenneth if he were not small framed and Asian (as am I). I wouldn't be surprised if he had a history of being bullied and avoiding confrontation as a result, so Prajje's explanation that Meg was taking out her anger on Kenneth rang true to me. I too believe Kenneth came across as sincere. That was already ugly and awful to experience as a TV viewer, it must have been devastating to be in the thick of it, and have that vitriol directed at you/started off because of you. And to have to continue working in the aftermath. Although it didn't turn out well, I appreciated his attempt to try to transform the incident into something positive in his design. I'm also glad that Meg had the self-preservation to remove herself from the show's pressurized environment. I do feel compassion that she's obviously in a lot of pain --she's living proof of the adage "Hurt people hurt people"--and I sincerely hope that she gets the help she needs.