taragel

Lol. I guess that shows you how memorable I found his part. Sorry, Colin. The Power Rangers fans really adore her (Amy Jo)--she's a huge draw at local comic conventions every year.

I don't think Meri will ever attempt to leave again no matter how unhappy she is (short of some guy aggressively all out pursuing her the way catfish did, and let's face it, most real guys don't want to work that hard). I don't believe she actually wants the stagnant nothingness she had with Kody before back again either though. She's the very definition of being between a rock and a hard place. She wants a man to adore her and place her first--that's never gonna happen with Kody. Sad situation.

LOVED this show. Hope you'll do a recap of the one with the Daredevil cast (Kev Smith, Ben Affleck, Jen Garner ... and randomly Colin Farrell), and it was so obvious how much Garner was salivating for Affleck though he was still with J. Lo at the time.

Man, it must be so exhausting to be in this family. Everything they even attempt to discuss is coded and steeped in so much delusion it's beyond frustrating to even listen to. He and Meri didn't divorce because they were struggling and had been for years but because of some ridiculous paranoia about adopting Robyn's kids immediately for their own protection. Meri didn't pull away because she actually yearned for a monogamous relationship, but because she was bored/empty nest syndrome/she was finding herself. Tony and Mykelti can't get married in August, not because they're too young, barely know each other, and are hopelessly immature, but because it might make Maddie upset (did anyone even think to tell Mykelti to just go talk to Maddie and see how she feels?) or wipe out Kody financially. (I fully expected that when Tony said there are ways around that, he was going to suggest they'd pay for a cheap wedding themselves. Nope. Home Equity Loan. LOL. Maybe it wasn't an intentional joke but it sure had me laughing. And if Kody was wracking his brain to figure out a way to slow them down, it never occurred to him to simply say honestly--"If you want to get married in August, you'll have to pay for it yourselves because I can't afford another wedding so soon after Maddie's. Wait till the spring (so Mykelti can have her green park), and I'll pay it for then." Problem solved. I too think the "don't have sex until..." ship has already sailed. Mykelti is the most headstrong kid of all of them, she isn't waiting one second longer than she's willing. I also think she probably calls all the shots in her relationship with Tony. So Kody appealing to Tony to not have sex, to wait till December, to whatever whatever, is literally barking up the wrong tree. Mykelti is the one who will decide. But anyway, that convo with Meri was the worst. She wanted to say so much that she felt she couldn't express. I don't think it was necessarily because of the cameras either. These people aren't used to having honest conversations. None of the wives feel they can express what they personally need and want because of Kody's baseline response that anything said or done has to be for the good of the whole family not any one person (Everyone remembers Kody and Christine's horrible stone pile-building anniversary trip with their therapist in tow, right?) Which is, of course, bullshit if he's the one person who wants something. And if it wasn't already clear, Kody's sheer terror at the idea of any kind of one-on-one intimacy with anyone (his wives, his kids, whoever) was on full display this episode. That coward was practically pleading with Meri not to make him talk about anything at all until he had buffer Nancy in the room. To be truly honest with anyone it would require him to be truly honest with himself first and I don't think he wants to do that at all. I think that's why polygamy was so appealing to him, he could surround himself with as many crowds as possible and never have to be alone with himself or delve into his own deluded brain. He amazingly insists that if he doesn't acknowledge something (anything), it doesn't exist. Okay, sure. Let's see how that works with your mountains of debt when the show is over and the bank comes to repossess your homes. You can insist it didn't happen while you huddle under your cardboard box with your 14 or 15 kids (whoever hasn't escaped by then) on the side of the road.

Haha, the friend (Chris?) telling Kody as gently as possible "Yes, but for them, it's not ABOUT YOU." and the subsequent look on his face that actually prompted her to apologize?? That might be my favorite moment of this whole series.

I actually thought Tony was reasonably intelligent (at least as much as any of the rest of these fools and possibly more so) and he had the same kind of "sure, dude" skepticism about Kody trying to throw his weight around as most of us here do. I can't believe Mykelti didn't throw their hypocrisy in their face since, if I recall, Kody's courtship of Christine was quite quick and with Robyn it was even faster.

I had gastric bypass two years ago. It does make your stomach smaller (you can fit about 3-4 oz of food at once), and it does reduce ghrelin which produces hunger. However, you still have "head hunger" and cravings, where you may want to eat even if you're not physically hungry. So after the initial adjustment period of having to be super vigilant about your food choices and rely partially on protein shakes for your nutrients (say 3-4 months), your old habits and that head hunger probably/may reassert themselves. Certain foods are very easy to digest ("slider foods") and they're the tasty ones like chips, cookies, etc. Protein is harder because it's heavy and filling. It's easy to overindulge on slider foods, or snack/graze too many times a day which allows you to take in more calories than you should. The surgery is not a magic bullet. It is still possible to gain or regain weight. It's a tool that will help you out and prevent you from overindulging IF you are making healthy choices in your dailly life anyway -- eating three small meals a day, don't snack, and drink all your water, and exercise, etc. Everyone has a different experience, obviously, but my surgery was ridiculously easy and I had no real side effects or complications. Nowadays I can eat pretty much anything. You just have to be especially careful to chew a lot, avoid dry/overcooked food, don't keep eating after your full, and eat slowly. Right now, the only foods that still sometimes make me feel sick (like the food is stuck at the opening to your pouch and you need to regurgitate it -- though most times you're just spitting up saliva and don't end up vomiting) is very dry meat or hard ("al dente"), undersauced pasta or rice. I think there's a real stigma/controversy because whenever the media reports on gastric bypass it features on the very small percentage that have serious problems or complications. Plus, it does sound very drastic to cut out a large part of an internal organ and re-route your intestines. But the number of people who have this surgery is quite large and growing more so all the time (no pun intended) and there are many very skilled doctors who have been doing the surgery for more than 20 years now (like mine was). You just need to do your research, like with any important medical procedure, and decide if it's for you. I thought the Thanksgiving episode would focus way more on Kate's decision. She didn't research it at all. She just heard the lady in the class say she's lost 30 lbs (which...the lady probably had the surgery very recently then if that's all she lost?) and decided she was on board. (The lady's dialogue about it in the class also was not a glowing endorsement). I was disappointed in that. I wish they would have shown her doing some research if they're going to really pursue this storyline.

I hear what you're saying but I don't think the show will go the lower drama route of relatively straightforward behavioral issues and no big secret trauma at the root of her overeating. Fiction just doesn't usually work that way--there has to be a big dramatic reason for everything that can be uncovered. It's one of the reasons why weight loss stories in TV/books/movies are almost always too simplistic/not realistic enough. Maybe they'll surprise us though, because they've handled most things in her story with some nuance thus far (though they do keep poking fun at the weight watchers meetings) and have also made it clear Kate was substantially heavier from a young age when she was naturally pretty trauma-free. I understand concern from family too but again I dread the way they're going to ultimately frame it. Will Kate get to make her announcement that she's contemplating surgery and express all the reasons why she believes it's a good idea for her based on all the research she has done and that will make her loved ones slightly more mollified and interested into looking into it more themselves before they summarily decide it's a terrible idea for her? Probably not. Will she end the episode rethinking or outright rejecting the idea of surgery that she was previously so certain of that she was at the point of telling her family about it? Probably.

I've read the Episode 2 is already up on showtime and hulu (probably On Demand as well).

DIsclaimer: I'm no medical expert. ;) Her metabolism (to the extent it's controlled by any kind of thyroid issue that's treatable?) may not even be a factor in her weight gain. I'm not totally sure what you mean by "really drastic" though. The surgery is the surgery. Everyone who does roux-en-Y gastric bypass comes out with the same size (3-4 oz) stomach, I believe. She could do adjustable lapband, which just puts a band around your stomach and is less restrictive, or she could do "the sleeve" which gives you a bigger pouch size--I think 6 or 7 oz maybe? It's about the size of a banana versus a lemon for roux-en-Y. But most likely a doctor would recommend RNY bypass for her if they were going to recommend weight loss surgery. I have no idea if Kate is meant to be diabetic or pre-diabetic, but bypass also has the most dramatic impact on insulin levels and blood sugar and most overall health benefits of the procedures mentioned above.

She could (maybe) but it wouldn't be as dramatic or quick as the initial 6-12 months after a surgery. And given the way TV shows film, I'm not sure how that would work out schedule wise for them. My point was I don't think of the surgery as all that "drastic" so I respectfully disagree that it's some kind of last resort step. (I mean, laser eye surgery has been around about as long as weight loss surgery, and no one refers to that as "drastic" anymore, yet it's still a laser cutting into your eye.) It's a medical procedure that can help her health-wise. But we don't know what Kate's actual health is like (a doctor hasn't diagnosed her with anything on the show and they haven't shown her having medical issues) or what her metabolic rate is. And as far as working on her issues as a person....they also haven't shown us any real personality issues from Kate. She's unhappy she's gained so much weight and that it's held her back from some dreams she had and made her self conscious in some situations, but she seems pretty well-adjusted to me. Confident and capable at her jobs. Has a good sense of humor. I know they're probably going to blame the weight loss on some emotional issue that they either haven't revealed yet or dad's death but...I don't personally believe that weight, even extreme weight gain, is always due to some deep dark trauma. [If it is, I couldn't figure out what that trauma might have been for me at any rate.] I think complacency, everyday comfort/enjoyment, laziness, poor nutritional choices, low impulse control, high instant gratification, etc. can all contribute. But... YMMV, of course.

Oh, Maddie. I had the highest hopes for you. Sigh.

As someone who's had gastric bypass (two years ago on Thanksgiving eve actually), I was kind of hoping they'd explore that storyline for Kate, but I fear they'll go the usual predictable, cliched route of kneejerk negative reactions to her announcement. I think the number of people who have complications from this surgery nowadays is pretty damn low (less than 1%?), and I found it to be a remarkably easy surgery and recovery. The work you have to do prior to getting the surgery (losing weight, tests galore, special diets) and after getting the surgery (changing your mindset about food/eating, fighting head hunger, resorting to "slider" foods, adjusting to changes) is far more difficult than the actual surgery and recovery (since it's laproscopic). I get that logically the actress would have to agree to do the surgery in real life to actually have the same/realistic effect of that weight loss on screen for the character and I understand that could be something CM has reservations about or decide isn't for her. But I hope they don't propegate the idea that the surgery is "sooo drastic and dangerous." For a lot of people, an increasing number of people in fact, it's one of the few ways to really see a dramatic difference and jumpstart weight loss, and good skilled doctors who have long track records of performing the surgery are out there and can make it a very easy and painless process. OTOH, it's also no magic bullet. I weigh a lot less than I used to, 2 years out, but I still have far to go. It would certainly give them a lot of story material if Kate (and Chrissy) has surgery, but I hope they don't settle for lazy/easy criticisms of it to simply rule it out.

I've read a bunch of his interviews but haven't seen him say anything at all negative about his soap past or Smallville or whatever. I think it's pretty fair of him to acknowledge that he feels this show is a bit deeper than those because it's really touching people emotionally (from the feedback he gets) and the stuff about it sometimes being a drag to have to take your shirt off or just be "the hot guy"--I'm sure that's how he has felt at times, but he hasn't whined about it. That I've seen--maybe I'm not seeing the same interviews. As far as why he doesn't have a better career by now/more work, I'd bet a lot of that is down to his agent/manager/behind the scenes stuff. One of my favorite actors from one of my favorite shows, Jamie Bamber from Battlestar Galactica, has had a pretty middling career since the show and he has some far less talented male costars that seem to pop up on every show ever. It's baffling to me, but maybe he's not great at auditions or his manager doesn't hustle him out there as much, or...well, who knows. A lot of big success is lucky breaks in addition to talent and hard work.

But that was a hell of a lot of blood. It was GUSHING out and the shot of him on the floor played for several extended seconds. I think he has to be pretty seriously injured at the very least...unless it's a hallucination. Honestly though I think he should be dead based on the way that blood was pumping out, but...then there'd be no need for that new professor and Sarah Ramos to be on for the rest of the season. ETA: Hmm. This interview with West has a slight spoiler on what happens next with Noah.

I also got really bored about 15 minutes in, and peeked ahead to see it was all Noah, all the time. The ending saved it though. It surprised me how pretty definite it seemed to be as well.

I'd be more upset about Santino leaving if I didn't know how bad the ratings were and have to realistically figure this will be the last season anyway. Which stinks, because I would really love to see their whole story arc play out. But anyway, he got a really lovely exit, and I'm glad to see the end of that triangle. Rebecca always downshifted way too fast from one "relationship" to the other anyway, and hurrah that that won't be an option going forward. Very glad to meet Heather's parents and get more of her, and her and Rebecca living together, and excited for Valencia's return. I love that Scott very casually offered up abortion as an option and I'm so glad Paula didn't martyr herself and is going to law school. I thought having the son very nonchalantly yell about getting the door because she just had an abortion was hilarious and perfect. I was a bit sad that she didn't feel she could confide in Rebecca about this at this time for whatever reason. I think one of the larger arcs of this seasons is hopefully going to be Rebecca learning to be a better friend to Paula.

The first episode of the new season is up on Youtube. It's a Noah-POV episode.

So a coming out is still possible!

I think that's Aspyn in the picture. Though at first I thought that was maybe Meri's coming out post. Wouldn't that be an interesting new chapter, TLC? A very well respected person in my professional industry just started posting that she's a LulaRoe rep on Twitter. A bit surprising. (She shouldn't need the money.)

I got that part, but I also vaguely thought there was something about him and women's shoes back in S1. Like Rebecca commenting that he knew a lot about women's shoes after he complimented hers or something... I could be thinking of some other show though.

I thought it was going to be a fakeout and the snapchat invite had been Paula telling her news and that's where she was headed. I was a bit disappointed it wasn't actually, though I'm sure it's setting up good drama with the Greg confrontation. I feel so bad for Paula. I'm sure an abortion discussion will happen, though not sure if that will be end result. It would be kind of amazing if they showed an open, honest discussion between Paula and Scott, and he actually didn't want any more kids either (have we ever seen a father Nope out on one of these storylines?). A miscarriage would be really cliched, but if it saves her law school goal, I don't mind. We need a Darryl song really soon. He was super sweet (if a bit creepy with the shoes--that was a callback to S1 right? I remember something about him and women's shoes...). I loved the Marilyn-inspired number (also made me think of Madonna's Material Girl but I've never seen the original--and Rachel is a huge Smash fan--she dressed up as Debra Messing's character for Halloween). Period sex seems to be the new thing to talk about on TV---Younger just did a whole storyline about it.

Solvable to me means permanent, and less than 1% of people are able to sustain permanent weight loss. I think it's fair enough to present that weight is always going to be a struggle/a work in progress, especially for someone Kate's size -- not something she's just suddenly deciding now she's going to "get serious about and lose that weight" as if that never occurred to her before or she hasn't tried to lose previously. I imagine after growing up under Rebecca's vigilance, when Kate went away to college she probably indulged in some freedom and put on a good amount of weight then. And the more you have to lose, the harder the prospect of losing is. As someone who's had gastric bypass (and is still struggling to lose), I'd love for them to explore that for the character and demystify the process. My surgery was easy peasy and thankfully I had no side effects (other than the ones you go through adjusting to your new stomach size, learning to chew more, eat slower, etc.). But it's also not a magic wand, and I'd like them to show that side of it too.

Reminds me of this great essay Cassie St. Onge posted earlier this year where she theorized that if Oprah, with all her smarts, business savvy, immense wealth, connections, etc. has been struggling with her weight all her life--maybe that should prove to us that weight loss isn't necessarily a solvable issue. Kate's line in the pilot to her brother ("Just tell me to lose the weight.") really kind of reduces the situation to something that seems easily solvable, but....not so much. They've been pretty sensitive overall with the way they handle the weight (even if they do prioritize it to an annoying degree sometimes--but that idea that if you just tried harder (like she probably hasn't been trying all her life) is so silly.

Seriously, I feel like we saw the reception already at the end of last season. Did she have a shower AFTER the wedding? Also, I so appreciate Mariah being honest about what went down. Of all the talking heads about that sequence of events, she's been the only one willing to call a spade a spade and be real about the fact that catfish or not, this was infidelity. Shocked that Kody is actually taking some blame for it--but I imagine that's only with Mariah and not with Meri.