EllenB

I wasn't too thrilled that Kim had to comfort HIM. He should have been comforting HER after she did a task that scared her, instead of being the needy one. It reminded me too much of guys whose spouses are ill, but they make the situation all about how brave THEY'RE being.

There was an actor named Robert Ryan who mostly played villains in movies, and he did it so well that after awhile, I avoided any movie he was in. So I totally get how difficult it can be to separate the actor from the character(s). Wouldn't you know, I've recently found out that Mr. Ryan was one of the kindest people in Hollywood, and very involved in worthy causes like the Civil Rights movement. Now I feel compelled to watch all his movies so I can apologize!

I think I've finally figured out what AJLT reminds me of. Seeing the cringe clips made it clear. It's an almost-X-rated Afterschool Special, badly written and acted, trying to cram nearly every social issue into one short season. Diversity on a show should be including various races and ethnicities, sexual orientation and genders, and differently abled. But have them in normal situations, not forced ones! And not check-check-one-of-each all in the same scene! Maybe the problem is that few of the main characters have had normal jobs, like teaching or hospital work or large offices, where most of us pick up friendships along the way that include all types of people. And (since I'm more into reading about it than watching, so I learned a lot from the cringe clip) what the hell is up with the bad acting? Kristen and Cynthia in particular act like SNL characters doing a parody of a bad commercial, with the exaggerated facial expressions, gestures, and tone of voice. How can anyone identify with, much less like, a bunch of caricatures, especially obscenely rich ones?

I have a friend who had a Miranda situation. In Friend's case, she agonized for months over ending her marriage, and she and her husband had many tearful but loving conversations. She has been with her new partner for many years now, but she and her ex are still supportive friends and awesome co-parents to their now-adult children. The contrast between Friend and Miranda makes me loathe Miranda. On the other hand, maybe Miranda is still drinking heavily with the loud brash behavior and confusion about locations. Or she's in the first stages of early-onset dementia, which would be ironic since, until this episode, Steve was portrayed as the one who'd lost his cognitive abilities. Oh, the Schadenfreude!

If it wasn't for the charter flights, who knows what continent those two would be wandering around on.

I had just said Italy to Hubby.

OMG, eff u Akbar and your "Whatever."

She was also on a handful of episodes of Enterprise, and I was so struck by her personality that I looked her up. Sadly, she died after those episodes due to a heart condition. She was so young and so talented.

I'm too lazy to go back to snag quotes. Gabby reminds me of whichever Tilly (Meg or Jennifer) has the kind of drunk baby talk voice and sexy-without-being-super-pretty schtick. It's funny until it's annoying. Maybe they haul Becca in when it's a boring group of women so they'll all look more interesting after she's been there.

It reminded me of Ben Flubnuts and Courtney hooking up in front of the other women.

Was telling Gabby that she's quirky the same as saying she's weird?

I can't believe not one of them said "Get a room!" during tonsilfest.

I'm not a lifeguard but I played one on TV. About a hundred years ago.

Vocal fry AND like like like. Hoo boy.

I'll have to remember that trick. Take all the shrimp, then bitch when no one's grateful that you offer them one. Girl's got bigger balls than Clayton could possibly have.

And then she told the camera, "I really like, you know, like him. Like."

I thought of counting them but decided I'd lose too many brain cells.

This "date" is where fun goes to die. Can't ONE of them say, "Nah, I'm good."

13 minutes in and just one comment above mine? They should retitle this season "The Biggest Loser."

Maybe next week will show Steve and Brady and Brady's girlfriend sitting on the couch eating ice cream. And then, while the youngsters are banging their brains out, Steve will shuffle a few steps over to get to his walker, but he'll have dribble on his pants because Miranda wasn't there to strap his Depends on.

I grew up in the 50s and 60s. Back in those Neanderthal times, people frequently dated more than one person at a time. For teens, a commitment meant officially going steady and announcing it to their friends, and she'd get his class ring to wear on a neck chain or wrapped in yarn to fit her finger. For people out of high school, they could date multiple people until getting engaged to one of them. Unless a couple had gotten engaged, seeing someone else wasn't considered cheating, except by possessive nutjobs, in which case, better to learn it early. Watch some movies from the 40s and 50s and you'll see the "who'll get engaged?" thing happen a LOT with characters dating several people. I have no idea when things got so retro-puritanical that one date made them a committed couple.

I like Tayshia, so I wouldn't hate that since her season was shortened and so limited in what they could do. But I hope she quit the Bachelorette podcasts to work things out with Zac. They were one of the few couples that seemed to have a genuine connection.

Every time the show tries to sell Che as having a comedy act, I think of Chandler Bing stuck in the front row while the woman on stage rage-screams at him.

Hubby and I still use maps. I'll occasionally use a Google map if we're in a city and need detail, but we don't use the get-from-point-A-to-point-B thingy. I'm pretty sure the show puts any prospective team through physical testing to make sure they are able to participate in any of the challenges, and to find out if there are hidden health issues. There have been pudgy men on this show before, but oh my, let's not have any larger women because of course they're full of hidden health problems. 🙄 Size-shaming is so last century.

Kinda scary that two cops are so direction-challenged, both in the following directions sense, and knowing where the heck they are in going from point A to point B. Nice guys, but really bad racers.