Kyrielle

Since the last time we saw Dutch was in the snow with green veins growing toward and on her, I think it’s just as likely that the person who stepped out of the green is The Lady or Dutch possessed by The Lady.

1. I’d put good money on JR being Rafael’s long-lost sister. If so, major kudos on the casting. 2. Yes! As soon as I found out this season was only 17 eps, I figured Michael would be coming back in the last ep. I’ve been fanwanking the notion he’s been in witness protection since the episode he died. LOL. I certainly hope they didn’t bring him back to be evil shoes guy. That would be a waste. Mostly because the witness protection story and emotional beats would be too juicy to pass up. On one hand, you could have the anger & betrayal of Michael leaving (“can’t be angry at a dead man” & “if you love someone, you don’t leave”) vs the untenable positions of Michael’s presence being a danger to the family & specifically Mateo (hence the reminder of the kidnapping) or going into witness protection and separating Jane from her family (and Mateo from his father). Plus the fact it’s been four years and people change. If they go down this road and are humane and fair to all the characters (and there’s no reason to think they wouldn’t be), there are so many interesting dynamics to explore that wouldn’t negate the previous wonderful work re: grief & mourning. It’s interesting - I can see a way forward with either of them as endgame. Will it probably be Rafael? Sure (*sigh*), got to payoff that “choose me first” thing. Tho whether that happens at the end of the series (well, at least I wouldn’t have to watch it since the series would be over) or mid season, setting up time for Jane & Michael to find each othe again, I dunno. But probably Rafael. Bleargh. Sidenote: Sorry, I like Rafael by himself and with other people and I like Jane by herself and with other people, but I just canNOT with those two together. It’s a genuine, visceral reaction...and I generally don’t get all caught up in ship stuff. But sincerely - those two - bleargh.

Truth. That outfit bugged so much that it rated an automatic boot. That plus the lip syncing was rough. That said, IMO, the only lipsyncs this season that have been worth watching were Peppermint's.

Cig's was a big NOPE NOPE NOPE. Beyond the obviousness, the proportion problems drive me nutty. He made an onion gnome, not a gargoyle. That said, Tyler never had a chance. The writing was on the wall last week when Nigel damned him as competent. Which is a shame because his gargoyle was my second favorite of the night. And it was Victorian - it just wasn't Queen Anne/Gingerbread. If they wanted that, they should have specifiied and not mucked it up with the pictures in the brief. I respected more than liked George's deconstructed gargoyle but Emily's was my favorite by far.

FWIW, in the movie, Jessica Rabbit wasn't bad. And she was definitely drawn that way. That said, my (totally uninformed) take on Phi Phi is that she may just be a garden-variety type A control freak, with a little napoleon complex in the mix. And in actual reality, that's not a monster. Maybe a sometimes trying friend, but not a monster. But, those personality traits have to be the drama equivalent of a O- blood donor to reality TV producers and probably make a person vulnerable to easy instigation. End of the day, Phi Phi's waterloo was thinking she had any control over the narrative. Girl, you don't have the camera or the AVID station. I'm guessing the designated winner is Alaska, tho the whiff of being above it all is irritating. I've been enjoying Alyssa, Katya, & Tatiana much more (and was hoping the fact that she got an endearing edit in the first two eps meant that she was coming back - and SHE DID!) Roxxxy's been fading for a while & Detox is hit or miss. I felt bad for Ginger - she had no real chance & was really trying to find a storyline. Tho "Ginger Minj, Katya's Bestest Friend In The Whole-Widest World" is just weeeeird branding.

They definitely implied some past relationship between Dutch & Alvis last season. I just finished a S1 rematch and there was some subtle stuff at the beginning of the season, but it was strongly implied in the season finale (Dutch gets Hills to let her see Alvis by saying "you know our history, let me at least say good bye." Whether it was romantic or casual or just good gun-runnin' buddies is unknown - but both of their smiles when he says "are you really going to deny the last request of a sexy dying man" makes me think sheets were rumpled sometime in the past.

I thought the episode was great & have several times and it keeps getting better. I dont think it was a waste of time at all. We got as much character & plot progression as we would have in a normal ep. i loved the scrubs musical ep & I loved this one. What I'm really enjoying is how the musical numbers feel very Royal Pains with the blocking and scene transitions. That's really hard and I think they did it really really well.

Shock. The guy who was saved at least twice when he should have been booted by the judges won. If only it felt like a remotely earned win. The iguana was great, the blend was excellent (tho not a particularly difficult one, but points for setting up an effective blend scenario). But there is no excusing the shitshow that is the focal point model. Ru's crocodile tears aside, this is Skin Wars, not Mural Wars, and that performance should have put Rick in third place. But this tier of show, they are going to go with the story they have already decided to tell, whether or not that ending feels earned.

I want to love this show - the talent is there & it kind of scratches the same itch as Face Off - but the hamfisted storytelling and editing make it a frenemy at best (and that might be too generous). At this point I wish they would just can the producers and story editors. Not only are the edits clumsily manufactured, they are just stupid lazy. They have two villian templates: Industry vet = disgruntled blowhard, middle-aged woman = shrew. I know that shows are cast by archetype, but in this day and age, I expect more finesse. At this point, the only person I actually would feel good about winning is Allison. Yeah. Allison. Her painting has been consistently great and I haven't seen anything that she's done that's matched the extremity of her edit. The "why did they choose you over Otto" thing with Luis was a non-event (because, seriously, why DID they choose him over Otto?) and by contesting the horns, she actually did Michael a favor. The painted arms were far and away more effective than the premade horns. I can't really fault her for calling in the producers (and really - what was the endgame there - were they going to let that slide anyway? Or wait for judging and letting the panel have a crack? Or wait til the last minute to see if one of the contestants caused drama & Allison came through. Probably any and all of the above). But, usually in these things it's the person who was inexplicably saved when they should have been booted in previous eps that is the ultimate winner. In this case, both Britany & Rick have been saved when they should have been booted. In Rick's case, twice - which would make him the odds on favorite for the win. And that is just a big NOPE NOPE NOPE for me. Maybe the so-called "flirtation" between Rick and his model is far more two-sided behind the scenes than it has been presented on TV - but what I'm seeing is a creepy stalker guy harassing his model by making repeated advances, her looking EXTREMELY uncomfortable about the whole thing, and the show playing it off as some sort of showmance. No. As presented, it's fairly textbook harassment and NOT. FUCKING. COOL. SHOW. As for Britney, I don't find her more annoying than Allison but I also don't find her less. She seems to be staking some sort of moral high ground - to which...No. *sigh* So, great job show. Next year, work out your obvious issues with a therapist and not in the edit. You're not paying me $300 a session to put up with this crap.