Growsonwalls

I think the issue is that I suspect the opening monologue is a snippet of a Chris Rock stand-up riff that probably starts a lot more tame and then goes into the edgier topics. But Chris Rock just did a cut/paste and started right in with the Boston Bombing and 9/11 jokes and so it was awkward. Chris Rock is like a lot of stand-up comedians hosting SNL: they don't seem to get that a stand-up show is different from a sketch show like SNL. A lot of his sketches seemed poorly rehearsed, and the reading of the cue cards was really obvious. The ISIS sketch might have been funnier had he been more consistent with the accent or didn't keep busting his lines. A lot of stand-up comedians' hosting attempts on SNL fall very flat because I think they're unwilling to work with the ensemble much for sketches. They come in with an "hey I'm already funny" attitude and just want to do their own jokes.

Did you ever get the feeling that the BE cast didn't get along very well? The number of fragmented storylines (Margaret/Nucky in particular), and plus the way the cast has avoided appearing in public together, along with the rushed storylines, sometimes made me suspect that the frosty vibe the characters had towards each other wasn't really "acting."

Here's something I'm thinking about: I think what Nucky did to Gillian was absolutely wrong and unconscionable, and considering its horrifying spiral effects, the show was right to devote so much time to the storyline. However, in 1909, would Nucky's actions have been seen by society (and thus Nucky) as THAT bad? Remember Gillian was an orphan -- I know that back in the 'good old days' abandoned children were considered to be born of sin, and the age of consent for sexuality didn't really exist in a very clearcut level. There was also this idea in Victorian times of "hypersexual" children, and considering that Gillian was rebellious, perhaps Nucky thought it would be a one-time "bad night" for Gillian but life would move on and he'd get his badge. Of course what he did was horrible, but I'm not sure he ever realized just how horrible it was. We all knew Nucky's views about women and their place were old-fashioned. We all knew that empathy didn't exist in Nucky's dictionary. The tragic thing to me about Nucky was that even when he saw Gillian dazed and desperate at the asylum, I'm not sure he ever really recognized his place in wrecking her life.

Here's the thing. I'm not sure if Nucky ever understood how much he damaged Gillian. Nucky is that type of person whose motto is "get over it." I think in his mind Gillian would have a "very bad night" and get over it. The final scene in the asylum just showed that Nucky still couldn't empathize with Gillian. Gretchen Mol played that scene perfect. Just vacant enough to tell us that she was no longer all there but with enough in her eyes to make us think that even in her reduced state she would never forgive Nucky.

The scenes with young Gillian and present day Gillian were heartbreaking. You saw young Gillian -- a stubborn, spirited girl. Rough around the edges but she had hope. Then you saw Gillian in an institution, being an "extra good girl." It's like she had been returned to the orphanage for good. Re: Michael Pitt I had heard that he was using drugs heavily on set and going on drug fueled rages.

Some people on twitter were saying they think Gillian put the hit out on Nucky. If so, that would really be poetic justice. Gretchen Mol's last scene was ambiguous ... Hard to know what she was thinking. I don't really like the way they left the Margaret storyline, but Nucky never could do right by her either.

I wonder if Tommy might have visited Gillian in the asylum? It's possible. As for Nucky I disagree that he never wanted to do the right thing. I think he's one of those people that always fancied himself as doing the right thing after he did one more wrong thing to get ahead. But there was always that one more thing.

Wow, so that was Tommy. A great ending. I loved how Nucky's lifetime lack of empathy caught up to him. It was only right, after his cold treatment of Gillian and the fact that he was still trying to pay off Tommy's problems.

I think Gillian wouldn't have been such a compelling character without Gretchen Mol's absolutely tremendous portrayal. Gillian could be a monster, but Mol always made us see the human under the monster. Whatever happens to Gillian, I hope this leads to more opportunities for Mol, who is so talented.

I kind of like them showing those scenes of young Nucky. I feel like often in the final episodes of a series the creators go soft on the protagonist. I like that they continue to show Nucky as a remarkably cold, un-empathetic man, and that he was always this way.

He'll probably go to the asylum and shove some benjamins to get her released. Because that's all Nucky ever does -- pay off problems.

I would love Narcisse to be robbed and killed by a prostitute, and dead with his pants halfway down his knees. I've never hated a TV character more. I don't love to hate him. I just hate him.

This makes me very sad to hear about Joan. She was a funny, caustic lady, but I also enjoyed her more serious interviews where she talked about the feud with Johnny Carson. She spoke very candidly about the dog-eat-dog world of show business, particularly comedy, and she said she was still bitter towards Johnny for his total coldness towards her after she left to do her own show. But then she acknowledged that it was this quality that made Johnny Carson such a success: "he didn't get out of Des Moines Iowa because he was a sweet boy. He had drive." I thought that one line showed more self-awareness than most celebrities. That's what I liked about Joan. She didn't just spill platitudes. She often told the cold hard ugly truth, and was damned funny about it.

I know I'm about to wade into a minefield here, but when I watch old episodes of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, it looks really dated. Johnny Carson's brand of humor seems so slick while we're used to edgier humor from late night hosts now. The episodes where he had guest hosts like Joan Rivers seem less dated because their brand of comedy is more like what we're used to seeing now. Plus some of the cheesy stunt guests he had ... and the toupee ... and Ed McMahon guffawing at everything ... I'm not saying that it wasn't a great show, but I don't actually find Johnny Carson's Tonight Show to be funny. It was more of an old-style variety show with occasional quips thrown in. Plus I'm wondering if someone as reserved and distant as Johnny could make it in the current talk show circuit. He keeps such a distance (physical and emotional) from people and that's more obvious when watching the re-runs.

There's no reason the girls can't be modest and also wear some nice clothing. Instead it's ugly horizontal stripe t-shirts, jean skirts, and flip flops. It seems unique to the Duggars, as the other Gothard families we've seen on the show have the girls dressed modestly, but also not in Walmart t-shirts and flip flops.

I hate that the girls are always in such UGLY "countenance enhancing" clothes. Baggy t-shirts, jean skirts, flip flops. If they want to live the Gothard lifestyle fine, but can't they find some nice, pretty clothes that are also modest? It kind of just adds to the impression that the Duggars just don't care much about the girls, their normal wishes to look pretty are probably ignored.

I know this is a small thing but J'chelle's helium baby voice. She's a 40 something year old woman, I don't know why she affects the voice of a 7 year old girl, complete with the blank, "innocent" smile.

The secret baby blog claims that Tessa and Scott are secretly married and are hiding a baby in the basement, and that Tessa's pregnant again. It's become one of the most famous (or infamous) skating blogs.

Tessa Virtue has finally joined twitter: https://twitter.com/tessavirtue The secret baby blog has an ensuing meltdown: http://dubemoir.blogspot.com/2014/07/new-tweets-from-tessa.html

I kind of like that they didn't give Shae time to explain herself. The idea was to emphasize Tyrion's shock and betrayal. And I like that it gave Shae's character and motives some ambiguity. Personally I think Shae did care about Sansa and Tyrion -- as long as it was okay to care about them. But if Tywin Lannister comes to her with an offer, can she refuse it? And after Joffrey's death, Shae had to pick a side. She went with where the money and power were.

How long Shae was with Tywin was a mystery in the books too, but I agree, a long time. Probably a lot of overlap between her time with Tyrion and her time with Tywin. The thing is, I can understand Tyrion's sense of betrayal but I can understand Shae's motivations too. She is a working girl, she has to look out for herself, and if Tywin came onto her, is she even in a position to say no?

I don't think there's that much of a difference between book Tyrion and show Tyrion. Yes they take away some of his edges, but Tyrion in the books is also a likable character. One of the most compelling part of the Lannister drama on GoT is that in both the show and the book, you see the dark side and the human side of each Lannister. Cersei is horrible, ruthless, but heartrending in her attempts to protect her children. Jaime threw Bran out of a window, but he also really loves his brother. Tywin is also a ruthless ruler and a horrible father to Jaime, but Kings Landing will fall to shit without his iron will and disposition. I think the show did an absolutely fantastic job in casting all of the Lannisters -- they all deserve Emmy's.

Sophie Turner did a fantastic job in tonight's episode. That scene with her building a snow castle of Winterfell broke my heart. She's come such a long way since then, but I like that Sansa alone of all the characters hasn't really become hardened and callous. That innocent, naive girl is still there, albeit buried under layers of bitterness and heartbreak. That scene between Tyrion and Oberyn was also killer. Overall, great episode. Even Dany didn't bore me.