30 Helens

This has always confused me, because new Q’s are popping up all the time. And every time, there’s a recalculation of shares. How is this even possible? What if somebody sold their shares? If I were a Q, I know I’d cash out at the first opportunity, before Jason impregnated Sam again or some long lost child of Emily came to town and claimed my stock certificates.

Alison may be a huge threat; we just don’t see it. The fact that we don’t see much of her leads me to believe that her time is limited, and the editors don’t want to waste time on a narrative that’s not going anywhere. The same goes for Kara. I think if they were headed to final 3, we’d have seen them more heavily featured and they might look more proactive. (These are not spoilers, just my gut feelings.) That’s why I’m also sure that at least one of Christian, Nick or Davie is going to the end. I feel for Emily, being so heavily scrutinized and criticized on these boards (and likely others). I just hope she doesn’t read them.

I refuse to buy into the “Hell hath no fury like a Gabby scorned” scenario. The editors were working pretty hard tonight to make it look like she was motivated by jealousy, but that is a tired and insulting stereotype of women. And prior to tonight, there was no indication that Gabby had any romantic feelings toward Christian at all. Could she have been jealous? Sure. I don’t know what’s in her mind. But I find it more likely that she actually was trying to make a big move. And the fact that she didn’t pull it off doesn’t make it a bad move. (Being so vocal about it at TC, on the other hand...) Farewell Gabby, you brilliant, weepy mess. I didn’t hate you, but I can’t say I’ll miss you. I, too, found Mike’s reunion with his boyfriend weirdly chaste. I missed the announcement of who he was and at first assumed he was a brother, or maybe a cousin. Clearly they’re not into PDA. But c’mon, Mike, at least give him a peck on the cheek. Geez. I had to laugh at Angelina bragging to her mom about the Great Negotiation. That must be some competitive family, or she just really, really craves praise. She may be 80% Tracy Flick, but I think she’s also 20% overeager puppy. For those who thought Christian’s TC moves were calculated, count me in. I felt that he scrutinized everyone’s face as a way to make them feel like he had some kind of superacute mental powers— like, “You can’t fool me! I can look into your eyes and know just what you’re thinking, so don’t try it again!” He knew he was going to play the idol before he got there. As for his glances at Gabby, I think he just wanted her to know he knew. I have no idea where this is headed, but for now I’m firmly Team Davie. I really like his style, and also it would be so fitting if, at the end, Davie slew Goliath. (The only downside to that is that Jeff would love the pun way too much.)

Yeah, but these are the same people who keep accepting that dead means unequivocally dead, even though about half of PC corpses come back to life. Geniuses, they are not.

I nominate Sam. Can't it be a guy this time? BM looks like he want someone to kill him. Franco is a frontrunner. Griffin? Griffin, yes, Griffin! Or Michael! But no, that would just lead to extended scenes of Corinthos-style mourning. So Griffin it is.

Maxie? That would have been terrible, though. And while I also would hate to see him target another young woman, um, Kristina’s available. Just sayin.

Boy Scout with a bugle.

I finally got to see Thursday’s episode with Ava and Kiki’s body, and holy crap was Maura West powerful in that scene. She made me weepy, which this show NEVER does. (The last time I felt emotion like that, Felicia was falling apart over the identity of Maxie’s heart donor.) I’m just sorry Keeks couldn’t have been sleeping with someone else. Because now MC is gonna be front and center for awhile, and if anybody can drag down a scene, it’s him.

I agree that crying is a healthy release of emotion. I don’t think that crying is a sign of weakness. I think total lack of emotional control is a sign of weakness. Whether a person is constantly crying, constantly screaming or hitting something, it’s not ok. I know this is an usually stressful situation, but it’s stressful for everyone, not just Gabby, and the rest of them manage to keep their shit together. I had sympathy for her at first, but at this point it’s. Just. Too. Much. I don’t disagree, based on what we saw, but there is so much we are not privy to. For example, I don’t recall any evidence of Carl being so bossy and controlling before this week. I’m just glad I don’t have to hear them saying “The Godfather” anymore. Hmmm. Don’t think that’s gonna happen. I hear you. I had the same reaction. The only way I would give her a pass is if she really didn’t know that spade is used as a racist term. Because no matter how benign the origin of a phrase like “call a spade a spade” may be, once you recognize that using that term in any context may be hurtful to someone, you just shouldn’t. It may not make you a racist, but at minimum it makes you a jerk. That was coding, pure and simple.

I remember a scene from a couple of years ago where there was a social gathering and in attendance were Jordan, Curtis, Andre, Valerie, Felix, and TJ. At the time, I thought it was great that the show was finally getting more diverse because I had never seen so many black characters on GH at one time, much less in the same scene. (Not that 6 is such a big number, but this is GH, after all.) Well, apparently someone in charge thought that number was getting out of hand, because it’s now been cut in half. We gained Stella, which is not a positive, but we lost everyone else but Jordan and Curtis. TJ isn’t on enough to count. I guess its still slightly better than the Brian and Claudia days because J&C are more main characters— or as main as you can be without being named Sonny or Carly. But yeah, sad and also short-sighted, IMO.

What exactly was Angelina saving for round 2 of her negotiation? A few grains of sand? A dirty sock? That last swig of beer that Carl didn’t finish? And Gabby, love: If you don’t want people to call you emotional and hysterical, try not acting so, um, emotional and hysterical. Damn, even when she’s making good points she sounds whiny! Those final “bing!”s were no less obnoxious than when Carl did them. I just don’t think it’s a good idea to dance on the grave of a jury member you want a vote from later.

Unless he’s taking credit for other people’s work, the article @Jextella linked to certainly confirms Nick’s role as the main strategist. Even the annoying alliance nicknames had a purpose! I want Nick as my lawyer. And great point about Christian drawing all the heat. The other players think Nick is riding coattails. Little do they know he (and Davey) designed the coat and just gave it to Christian to wear.

So the con artist got another payday out of this show? Sounds about right.

It’s only cheating if they are told to do it a certain way and he ignores the instructions. I’m sure others would have been hurdling too, if they had the ability. That looked like a very long and difficult jump to make.

I enjoyed Davey’s excitement about the previous TC, and his glee over getting the jacket. I may be a little in love with him at this point. But I did not appreciate Carl’s victory celebration at this TC. I’ll give it a pass because he was probably just swept up in the moment, but rubbing it in Dan's face like that was poor sportsmanship and beneath him. I doubt she was referring to anything biblical with that statement. My guess is she meant good side vs dark side, as in rebels vs stormtroopers. Maybe it’s too much Thanksgiving grog, but I’m puzzled by the Angelina votes. As a vote split, it’s pointless. It would not have protected Christian at all. I can only guess that the Davids told them they were voting for Angelina because they didn’t trust them and therefore didn’t want to reveal the real plan. A test, maybe, but maybe just a way to distract the Goliaths and keep them off balance. So when Kara and Alec thought they were jumping onto the David train, the train had already left the station and was barreling straight towards Dan.

It was jury management. Making a joke to remind John that they are still pals. And a week later, I’m still in awe of John and how gracefully he made his exit. His expression when the votes were read, he looked more delighted than anyone. That’s a man who really appreciates good gamesmanship. I predict Alec or Mike as the next target. Alec for blabbing, Mike for general dumbassery. I wasn’t excited about this cast at first, but that has totally turned around. I can’t remember when I’ve ever so looked forward to a next episode that wasn’t a finale.

I suddenly realized that I had no idea what ELQ does, either! But then I learned they make chemicals and grow pumpkins. Good to know! That’s been my biggest problem with the character from the start. She sounds like a teenager rather than a grown woman. But I guess it makes her a good candidate to date the boy CEO. Laura was getting on my nerves yesterday with the rudeness to Sasha. She doesn’t even know Sasha; simply talking to Valentin should not make a person deserving of contempt. I really dislike it when they make Laura act superior and judgmental. What was Aiden wanting to wear at lunchtime that Liz took away from him? Blue shoelaces? Skinny tie? Hair ribbon?

I, too, was disappointed in Mike tonight. I understand why he might not want to go all the way to the end with Christian, but it seemed a little too soon to break that alliance. Having a strong group of six could get you far. Now, he has what? A group of five who don’t trust him for good reason and assorted others who either smell a rat or have no particular allegiance. When I mentioned last week that I was a fan of Mike’s work, I didn’t know about the Emoji movie. I am currently reconsidering that position. I don’t understand why Dan played that idol for Angelina, considering he really wanted her out. Too bad he had immunity, because how delicious would it have been if he had gotten the votes instead of John, and had to leave while burning an idol for someone else. I’m still not totally on board with Angelina, because of all that jacket nonsense, but I do respect that she’s playing hard and I think that if she were a guy, Jeff would love her. Hooray for Davey, even though I am a proponent of never playing an idol for anyone but yourself. And props to John, who exited with class. And finally, because it had to be said: FUCK YOU BRAD CULPEPPER!

oops, wrong thread. Post moved to episode talk.

I assume the IDs correspond to his list, which I believe is all women he killed before he “died”. Which begs a couple questions: What self-respecting serial killer makes a List of Victims? Is he 12, or just really really dumb? Who safeguarded the Box of Trophies while he was locked up? Did Kevin keep it at his house for nostalgic purposes, or was Ryan allowed to take it with him, as his Luxury Item? I guess I shouldn’t expect this to make sense. This is the same show that is confounding me with an incriminating stack of letters that are somehow in possession of the woman who wrote them, even though they are not copies and she SENT THEM TO SOMEONE ELSE.

I’m a fan of Mike White’s work, too, and was happy to see him announced as a contestant. I’m actually shocked to see that seemingly no one out there knows who he is— even if School of Rock was 15 years ago, he’s done lots of other stuff before and since!

The vote made perfect sense to me. In a hypothetical situation where all members of Former Tribe A are still loyal to one another, they would definitely want to vote out a member of the minority Former Tribe B. The B’s would not want to vote out one of their own, but without the ability to turn an A, they would go along with the vote in hopes of earning a way in, or thinking “at least it’s not me”. We’ve seen this happen many times. This time, we know that some members of Goliath are not, in fact, still loyal. But the other Goliaths don’t know that. In order for the Gang of Six (look at me, making more dreaded nicknames) to hide their alliance, they must vote in a way that does not draw suspicion. The only way to do that is to vote is to follow the paradigm, and vote out a David. The Davids in the alliance may have liked Elizabeth, but they couldn’t afford to make waves. They had to vote for a David anyway; why not her? As for the Davids and Goliaths who are not in the Six, they WERE just following the paradigm. Other notes: I am quite sure that sign at the feast that said “everything you want is right here” was a clue to an advantage. The camera just made too much of a point of zooming in on it. It looked like the paper was loosely glued to the wood— I was thinking the clue was on the back of the paper. Too bad Gabby couldn’t stop crying long enough to actually look for it. (I like Gabby, but damn, girl, pull it together.) Dan’s personal pep talk was silly, but also kind of endearing. I imagine a guy who goes through the kind of transformation he did must need a lot of self-motivation along the way. To my ears, it was just Fat Dan telling Ripped Dan he was worthy.

With his low energy level and resting sad face, I get the feeling Chad is as bored as we are. What we need is a scene between Michael and Sam. Their combined zero-energy states might create a black hole large enough to suck the two of them, and maybe a few associated loved ones, into oblivion.

Ahh, yes. I’d forgotten about the grief group. So maybe she’s grieving the “loss” of her child who didn’t actually die (as far as she knows) but she was forced to give up for Reasons. Then after she and Michael get together, they will learn her live child is actually dead and his dead child is actually alive and they can conflict/bond over that and....who cares. I’ve already fallen asleep. Now that I’ve seen the scenes of Ryan flirting (?) with Ava at the pub, the whole setup makes me think of a cat putting a dead bird on its owner’s doorstep. A simple offering, as it were.

Still trying to catch up. Not looking forward to what sounds like a big ol’ dose of Precocious Spencer, but in the meantime: I’m assuming it will still be Kiki. But Nina won’t find this out until after Ryan puts a hook in her, which will lead to lots of extra mourning and wailing about missed opportunities. Just spec. I don’t know what Willow’s here for, other than to give Michael another shot at steamy passion. Good luck with that. I’m pretty sure that’s about 40% hair extensions. I never thought of this, but I think you’re right! Laura and Valentin do seem like they would have a good, albeit perverse, chemistry. I’d like to see them try it. And I, too, like Nina and Ava together. I think it’s because they both have a way of injecting wry humor into scenes, and so they play off each other well. He knew he’d be killing somebody, and Carly could be easily framed for about half the people in PC. It’s a retcon con. I should mind, but mostly I’m just glad for the gift (so far) that is Sasha. I like her, and it doesn’t hurt that she looks like the love child of Britt and Amanda Peet, both of whom I love. Noooo! Sorry Kevin, but Ryan is much more fun to have around. And he still has a long list of people who need eliminating.