annlaw78

Jamie has in many other ways been portrayed as extremely kind, gallant, and moral. He's willing to stand up to Dougal and Colum when he wants to (see, taking L's beating, the oath). That Jamie could have very easily defended his wife, told them she was nearly raped and filleted by BJR, which h believes is adequate punishment for his wife, so knock it off with the junior high mean girl stuff. Or, you know, words to that effect. Unless Jamie is as dumb as a box of hair (which, maybe?), it shouldn't take actually beating Claire to realize that its a terrible idea, and not the kind of marriage he wants -- let alone what she, his intelligent, confident, free-thinking wife, wants.

Eh, not a fan of the spanking scene, keeping in Jamie's comments re: enjoying it, and the "lighthearted jig" music. So what if Claire got a couple of kicks in herself /- ultimately she can't overpower/outrun Jamie, which is why it's gross that he's hitting her. Also, it's not like Jamie'srevelation that "hey, maybe my confident, mature, intelligent, free-thinking wife may not appreciate my disciplining her as a child" could not have come prior to hitting her. And, I think two threatened rapes within as many days is ample "punishment" for Claire, and she's "learned her lesson." That Jamie would want to heap more abuse and trauma on her than she's already been through (I think Jamie believes the deserter raped her) is not in keeping with his character as heretofore portrayed.

I agree. The lines about his enjoying it were especially tone deaf. I also query how prevalent it really was for men to corporally punish their wives like children back then. Perhaps it was more common with the lower classes. I think nearly being raped and sliced up is "punishment" enough for her "disobedience," especially given that this was the second very near rape attempt (arguably, the scene with the deserters looked like actual rape -- Jamie seemed to think it was) in as many days. That he'd think Claire hadn't "learned her lesson" and was in need of his "discipline" is, I think, uncharacteristically stupid and boorish of him. I would have expected more concern and kindness from the Jamie we have seen in prior episodes, given what his new wife had been through. The victim-blaming in Jamie's speech in the fight scene was also obnoxious, but I can acknowledge that may be a product of the times. That being said, no matter what the times, there are men who beat their wives, and men who don't. It's disappointing that Jamie is the former.

Ugh, just ugh.

"North and South." That is all. (And, no, not the one with Patrick Swayze).

Sorry for posting twice in a row, but it has been 20 days since my last post... Bryan Fuller tweeted a photo of Mikkelsen with a birthday cake last week

I loved that there exists in Hollywood someone whose entire day's work is placing one wig on one head, which we saw took all of 20 seconds. And then Mickey follows Val around all say incessantly picking it out.I appreciated how "Seth" sized up the situation and wielded his power -- huge popularity, massive success, maleness (ugh, Paulie G) -- for good. Beyond refusing to pile on/bully Val, the character also just had good instincts (better than newly minted director Paulie) about the show, the scene, and the relationship b/w Mitch and Mallory. He and Mallory's earnest professionalism may make this show a success. I thought it was just awkwardness. Her face is jammed in his crotch while he's making sex noises.

What I like about Valerie is that she wants to be famous, but he isn't a famewhore. That is, she wants to be famous for her acting, not just for being "herself." She's not into being a Housewife -- she wants to be "Valerie Cherish, America's Most Loved Actress." She's cottoned on, though, to the fact that the Housewives, and other "reality TV stars" really are just playing characters, too. Hence, her desire to get her own Bravo show, hoping probably it will lead to her back to her scripted roots. Yeah, I love how her hairstyle has not changed from her early 90s heyday. Jennifer Aniston has said she makes it a point to avoid layers to get away from "The Rachel."

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, given the truly nasty slut-shaming Kristina did to Amber after the dust-up with Amber hooking up with the guy Haddie had a crush on. And Amber was FAMILY -- a niece Kristina was supposed to love and whatnot. I was really grossed out with Kristina's reaction, given that, come on, Kristina, what are the chances Haddie is even going to remotely care about this dude after high school? Kristina should have had the wisdom and forethought, as an adult who has lived through the high school years and watched them recede in importance, for a bit more reasonable approach. Given how Kristina treated a 17-year old Amber, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that she'd treat a random girl with similar scorn and nastiness.

If the show hopes to explain the strapping away along these lines, I think it should have shown some sort of corporal punishment being meted out by Dougal for one of the men disobeying orders. But we've only seen Jamie's being whipped for "breaking the law" by the English, and his taking a beating on behalf of Whatshername. It hasn't been used as a necessary tool to keep discipline and order in the ranks of the MacKenzie forces. And, frankly, Claire's been openly lippy and critical of Dougal on many times before, with very little consequence. She's accused him of starving babies in front of an entire village, with no recourse. Claire didn't disobey an order from a commanding officer -- she disregarded something her husband of two-days told her to do, when she was likely still in shock from being raped/almost raped. Her being beaten is not really egalitarian -- would Jamie be strapped for disregarding something she said? That's just paternalism, that the wife has to blindly follow orders given by her husband, or be beaten by him.

It's fun to re-watch the pilot, and see how ill-fitting the suits are on Mikkelsen, and cheap-looking. I guess they didn't have tailoring in the budget! They definitely stepped up Hannibal's nattiness in subsequent eps.

Yeah, I thought mostly he wanted to tell a zany, bed-hopping "Friends"-ripoff with hot young things, but the network imposed this older has-been on him. It was a little draggy, but then I think the set up at the end of her working with Paulie G again is pretty fantastic.

I agree. I'm not an expert in this time period, but I have studied earlier periods of British history fairly extensively, and the depiction (when it suits the story) of Scotland being Rapeland just doesn't really comport with anything I know about Tudor/Stuart Britain, and I can't imagine why it would have regressed after the Enlightenment. And it's not like Scotland was some medieval hell-hole in the 1740s -- Edinburgh was a thriving educational hub, and for centuries would remain the preeminent place for medical training in Britain. I get there's a difference between the Highlands and Edinburgh, but, still. And, in line with that, I've never heard of husbands being encouraged or expected to corporally punish their wives, or public spankings of women by their husbands.

Mads Mikkelsen makes a fairly dishy, very well-dressed Hannibal Lecter...

I still think that if in the next episode -- the first one back after the break, the first one after Claire's rape/not-rape and almost-rape/torture by BJR, and the second after the wedding -- the show has the spanking scene, it's going to turn off a lot of viewers. There's just not been enough development of Jamie or his relationship with Claire at this point to weather that scene, I don't think.

Kristina needs to take some sound advice from a (marginally) worse mother than herself, and take off her wife apron and mom hat while performing her headmistress duties [/Gladys Leeman, President of the Civil Servettes]. Dylan is just a child herself, and a young woman at that. For a variety of just general, decent-human-being reasons (setting aside Kristina's "professional" role), it's hard for me to understand what blinding sort of obsessive maternal love Kristina must have to not see that scene unfolding, and, yes, have concerns for her child, but also for the child at the other end of Max's fit. Yes, Kristina, Dylan's a child, too. She's not some Jezebel or Delilah or Bathsheba temptress that Kristina can blame for this -- and, as a woman, Kristina should know better than to fall into that trap, of making Dylan out to be some tease or whore who hurt her son. Dylan's a child, and one that has been accosted, harassed, stalked, and publicly humiliated by her son -- in a place that Kristina set up to ostensibly be a safe haven for students who have been bullied, accosted, harassed, and humiliated in other school environments. This whole plot was just terrible, and I wonder if someone ever piped up during the rehearsal process to suggest re-tooling it. What happened between Dylan and Max happened to both of them. Kristina should know that, and take care of both of them.

I figured it be close to the release of 50 Shades. Boo to the long wait!

Jasmine is consistently my favorite Braverman precisely for this reason. It's like she's the only sane adult who has ever lived in the real world. Drew is also coming around. If you like to dance, or Russian Lit, or whatever, that's great, but hard to pay the bills with. It's not "selling out" to give yourself some financial security. Sure, I'd live to sit at home and write a novel, but I have to earn a living!

And, more troublingly, what would have happened if Max had had this conversation with Dylan in an isolated part of the school, or someplace they were alone together? He lashed out and pushed his mother, he was getting physical with Aaron, and he was about to flip out on Dylan, but fortunately there were other students present and his mother intervened. Frankly, if I'm Dylan's parents, I would be very concerned about my daughter's safety, given Max's obsession with her and his parents' inability to moderate or control his behavior. If she'd come home and related everything to them, what would a normal parent's reaction be? Or Aaron's for that matter? Or anyone's, when they learn that the head-of-school's son has taken to stalking and sexually harassing one girl at the school, and supremely bullied/picked a fight with his rival (seriously -- how does this compare with the great Thermos Incident of 2013?!!!) -- and there are absolutely no repercussions for Max. Instead, the girl gets the stink eye from Kristina (even after the girl very maturely went to Kristina and explained herself fairly eloquently and kindly for a girl her age), and the boy gets snapped at for daring to point out that he wasn't the aggressor. Nicely handled, headmistress. I can't wait to re-enroll my kid! I guess one of my biggest pet peeves is parents who cannot empathize or think about children other than their own, cannot see the other kid's side, and always leap to defend their own kid. I mean, Dylan's just a kid, too. So is Aaron. They're just as deserving of an adult's concern and compassion -- especially the head-of-school's. Just out of curiosity, where did Max get all those copies of his Slam List of Aaron? Does he just have free rein of the office at the school? I cannot tell you how livid I would be if I learned that my tuition dollars went to buy paper and toner for the machine that the head-of-school's son used to make hundreds of nasty-grams to disseminate about my son. For what sin? Simply because he liked a girl who liked her back. Forget about Adam losing The Luncheonette -- I don't see how Chambers Academy survives the duo of suck that is Kristina and Max.

Glad you got the reference!

Ugh, Kristina's the worst! Stop glaring at the preteen girl your son is stalking! Quit calling your son/student who is beating up and sexually harassing other students "buddy" and "babe." How is stalking a girl who is clearly freaked out and frightened "courageous" and "amazing?" How is the collage NOT creepy? Don't tell the student who your son just handed out what could only be a Mean Girls-esque bullying "slam list" about that "I don't care who started it" -- you don't care b/c your AWFUL SON started it! Seriously, how would any adult see the interaction between Max and Dylan and think Max was the victim? Dylan was trying to tell him tactfully, he just wasn't hearing it. He just keep getting more and more worked up and threatening -- he wasn't listening or stopping. Crosby -- it's one thing to spark up a doobie and get laced at home with your wife, but quite another to get high and drive home. [/Cher Horowitz] And, good lord, why is it such a big deal that Jasmine has to work outside the home? That this show has had so many one-income households is so outdated. Ruby's just terrible and manipulative. Boo on Hank for immediately trying to get back into "cool parent" mode after the party, suggesting that they lie to Sandy about the poker. I'm glad Drew finally told Amber the score, and that his education's important.

April is what I've read.

Hey, the show saved paying two more extras to play lawyers! And, query whether Julia's new lawyer gig is as remunerative as her last one, where I think she was on partner track. It seems like she was well and truly black-balled b/c of the botched discovery -- hard to imagine she was able to negotiate as nice a compensation package as she had a couple of seasons ago. As far as I can tell, Joel has had one client and one job since rejoining the workforce. How they can afford between them to keep the house, and Joel's three-bedroom bachelor pad is beyond me. Of course, I always thought Julia and Joel's house was way unrealistic for a 10-year attorney in the Bay Area to have.

Yeah, and in the context of this show, in which no one really ever has significant, life-altering money issues, this is rather par for the course. In reality, "Joel" could not afford to make such a grand gesture, because the recent loss of "Julia's" income, and the added pressures of supporting two households on his construction draws would inject some pragmatism into the proceedings.

I thought it was pretty hokey that the aging, urban strip mall had "recently" replaced the rural, bucolic splendor of Zeke's salad days. That wasn't some new development -- it looked like it'd been there since the 70s. Zeke really had no idea that the area had changed in the past 40 years?