SnarkEnthusiast

Aimee is gorgeous and will apparently be going after everyone! Good for her. Actually, I thought Josh was trying to tell her she wasn't his type in the hot tub, so I was surprised to see them kissing in the preview. As predicted, Shannon suddenly gets jealous the second there's competition. Trina sure got attached fast! Though I'd be the same, I'm not sure how "I don't want to do long distance again" translated to "I'd be willing to do long distance if we made it to the end" in her mind. Looks like he's going for Aimee too. Again, they seemed super boring, so I'm confused how they have the "strongest couple" narrative already. I love Cash! She's hilarious.

I also love how they act like Olivia being a whopping 4 (or less?) years older than them makes her some kind of worldly, sophisticated cougar. She's 28! Hell yeah, Cashay and Cinco!

My favorite trash reality TV show is back! How I missed the narrator. I initially judged Christian pretty hard, but he actually softened me talking to Cash about liking her shaved head. Then he had to ruin it by making out with Olivia out of nowhere right in front of her. So I hope she goes for Cinco, lol. I also found the long-haired guy to be sincere, but he’s so boring. I’m confused why he doesn’t seem interested in Trina because he picked her. Shannon and the baseball player… She’s already looking elsewhere. It’s funny how she was physically attracted to him, but immediately turned off by the fact that he’s interested in her. It seems like she’s one of those people that gets off on pursuing emotionally unavailable partners. He might be the first to go home because whenever they interact she acts like she’s babysitting and would rather be anywhere else. Kyra (?) is giving me Cely vibes. I think she’s either going to be super clingy or go totally wild because she said she hasn’t been in a relationship in five years, meaning her last relationship was when she was 18. That’s one of the things the show is known for! If I recall correctly, for the first few episodes of the first US season, they were just saying “I got a text“ in a regular monotone voice and I guess people complained or the producers clued them in because suddenly they were yelling every time, haha.

I actually felt bad for him for 5 seconds after the couch (though the clearly preferable partner, Heidi is the definition of high maintenance and I don't like how every comment and glance becomes grounds for a week-long fight, how draining), but then he immediately started grandstanding in yet another one of his trademark condescending, sexist rambles about how a woman's opinion is wrong and I remembered he's insufferable. Yes Ines would've remained smug if things had worked out with Sam, but I think we got as much self-awareness as we're going to get from someone like Ines and I was surprised we got that much, especially the Bronson apology. I didn't like that she tried to turn it into a "my abandonment issues make me vulnerable to dirtbags" pity party. Uh, Bronson was your actual partner and seemed emotionally available, but you thought you were better than him. Obviously she only entertained Sam's bullshit because she was sexually attracted to him. A lot of people won't let toxic relationships go because of attraction, but she really leaned into the victim narrative - in front of the guy she cheated on! That cracked me up! Jules (the clear intended target) is only 9 years older than Jess and 6 years older than Martha. That's hardly a generation gap. It also seemed to be directed at Heidi, Mel, and Ning for disapproving of their antics and siding with Jules. Jess and Martha were acting as if they're 19 and being bullied by 40-year-olds. You can't say "you just don't get me, a Youth" when you're 30 and pushing 30. Being combative and self-obsessed isn't a generational thing, it's an asshole thing. And "we live our lives on Instagram" isn't the brag Martha thinks it is. Overall, a very petty and juvenile jab to shame women over 35. They're the worst. Martha was the stealth douche of this season and only flew under the radar because of sweetheart Michael (whose enabling was really starting to grate by the end). I rolled my eyes when she chided him for clapping for Cyrell. How high school.

It sounds like the writers were too attached to Richard/Sutton as a couple to go through with breaking them up, which...okay, sure, but as you said, why bother giving them all the turmoil of the kid argument and impending divorce to undo everything in the last 10 minutes? It was not only a huge waste of time, but totally ruined the feel-good "epic romance" of their storyline that the writers seemed so enamored with (imo, Richard was always kind of a bland character and "board exec bones employee 15 years his junior" is hardly fairytale fodder, but whatever). There was plenty to navigate with the age/class difference that would've been interesting without destroying the relationship. And there were many ways to explore the kid issue within that - Richard wants kids much sooner than Sutton, Richard wants the kids to have a nanny, Richard doesn't want the kids growing up in the city, etc. But they just wanted to portray opposite POVs on children for the issue of the week (within a married couple...that's been dating for years...) and wound up portraying Richard as an emotionally abusive, toxic asshole in the process so it's hard to be happy or relieved they reconciled in the end. Why not give Jane the childfree plot or have that be the reason Richard broke up with his other girlfriend instead? That argument made their plots incredibly unpleasant to watch the last two blocks and imo destroyed Richard's (already questionable) likability. Poor Sutton was perpetually stressed and miserable.

Well, as ridiculous as it was, I have to hand it to the show - apart from Sutton, I didn’t see any of that coming. Man, Jane really fucked Scott and especially Addison over. Why devote two episodes to her trying to convince Addison to stay and refuse another job offer just have Jane quit the next episode? After spending half the season having the writers insist we should care about Addison, we don’t even see her in the finale? And Scott quit his job for some half-assed flirting with Jane. They never even kissed! All that talk about how much they wanted each other and how they were meant to be evaporated into nothing overnight. I was surprised Scott was not only omitted from the finale (not even an open ended flirtatious scene!), but Jane fucked…the bodyguard? I should have known they wouldn’t have bothered to cast someone that hot if they weren’t going to have one of the leads bang him. I was convinced she was going to ask the bodyguard to travel with her, so at least they didn’t go that far into fanfiction. What was the point of the first four episodes? The last two totally erased everything without explanation. Was this like a reverse Richard where the actor playing Scott wasn’t available to film the last few episodes? I assumed her "I'm focused on my career now" was a delay tactic until the finale, not his character exit. Why tease Scott so hard, especially for half of the final season, only to drop him? Ugh. Giving Jane a final reunion with Pinstripe only underscored how he was her obvious endgame love interest and it annoys me that they blew up their relationship over that belabored cheating argument. Kat…what? Making her editor in chief makes even less sense than Jane somehow, especially plunking it on her with 20 minutes to go. But she didn’t even get to play boss for a week like Jane! And agree with everyone else, there’s no way the board would approve of her after she had a direct conflict with one of their founding members. I think the writers were embarrassed by the scandal with Ava so they gave Kat a fantasy porn ending to appease Twitter. She’s never even expressed an interest in writing and she lost interest in city council in about half an hour, so how is she supposed to run a magazine? Sutton’s resolution was not only the most underwhelming, but the most unresolved. I was very disappointed because she’s always been one of my favorites and I feel like the writers have really neglected her the past few seasons but especially these last two blocks. Jane gets to travel the world and turn down EIC, Kat becomes EIC, and Sutton…just gets Richard back? Does she even want him at this point? Nothing we’ve seen in the past two blocks indicates that they’d be a healthy relationship. The whole “I want to be with you more than I want kids“ about face from Richard is so obviously a lie that they both want to believe. If that were true, they wouldn’t have been at each other’s throats last season. I think Richard has convinced himself that he’s OK with not having children in this moment because he can’t bear the idea of actually going through with the divorce, but as others have said, resentment will inevitably creep back in as soon as the emotion recedes and the relationship gets routine again. If you have a definite, adamant viewpoint on whether or not you want kids, that’s just not something that’s going to change for most people and that’s fine. The idea that your partner will just flip a switch and change their entire life plan for you if they love you enough is a terrible message, especially when the debate has already fractured their marriage so badly they drew up divorce papers. So Richard is just abandoning his adoption application in the middle of the process? That’s the other thing that’s most disappointing. Why even include that? As I said upthread, I would’ve hoped that would be an interesting opportunity for them to discuss pursuing adopting an older child, so that way Sutton wouldn’t have to give up her career. But again, your life ambition means nothing if it gets in the way of romance! Also, what happened to all that stuff about Sutton possibly not wanting to work at Scarlet or be a stylist? What’s going on with her career? I guess it doesn’t matter because we know she is a wife for good now! I guess Alex not returning makes sense given the huge mid season sendoff he got, but I was still looking for him during the final party. That last shot of Jacqueline going through the empty Scarlet office made me tear up a little. This show was very goofy, often self important, and sometimes bad, but I will still miss it. Maybe not Jane, but the rest of it. Obviously Kat will delegate Don’t Turn Away to Adena because Scarlet is nothing without outlandish favoritism and conflicts of interest.

The whole "but they'll always crave penis" claim is such a stale biphobic argument leveled against men and women. Is dick really that mind-blowing (spoiler alert: no) or have we all just internalized sexism? Why are both bi men and women assumed to be secretly obsessed with men and constantly craving dick? This episode really highlighted biphobia in the gay community too. Everyone in Alex's and Caroline's life thinks they can dictate Alex's sexuality based on how he acts, to the point of arguing with him about his plans to propose (which is super fucking weird). I understand (hope) that it's producer driven to give Alex a storyline, but it's already getting tired and obnoxious. How exhausting for Alex to have his sexuality and relationship interrogated in every social setting. Who cares if you think he's gay? He's been with Caroline two years!! Leave them alone! He's an adult, it's not like he's trapped in some lingering high school closet situation. If he says/knows he's attracted to women, he is. Why is this so hard to grasp?

The reunion seemed fun overall! Matthew (virgin) replying "good to know" was Ines told him she was horny made me laugh. What kind of response is that to a simple "how are you?", let alone to someone you barely know? I'm very sick of the cattiness and teen drama factory that is Jess, Martha, and Cyrell. It's embarrassing and they ruin every party. Cyclone Cyrell is right! She did have a point though - while I don't agree with trying to emasculate someone as an insult, Michael's constant endorsement and enabling of Martha's gossip and juvenile behavior makes him look worse by association. Watching such a nice guy just blankly grin and cosign her bullshit makes me like him less. Did anyone else catch Jess and Martha both bragging about using daddy as an on-demand ATM to avoid working? They really are spoiled, unlikable people lol. Speaking of which, Lizzie was so grating and obnoxious this season, I'm baffled that she was invited back (assuming she was the only one). I don't enjoy her at all here, although it was heartening to see her and Mick take in Tamara as part of a Scorned Club, lol. Sam's strategy of just staring into space and/or not giving a fuck when Lizzie ignored/mocked him and Ines picked a fight with him cracked me up. The women need to realize that no one gives a shit about their petty grudges, but especially not the dudes who dumped them. They're wasting their time and ruining the mood for no reason other than their juvenile vendettas. I was shocked to see Ines show actual emotion, much less still be hung up on Sam. She's only trying to make amends with Lizzie out of bitterness that Sam played her. I was absolutely delighted to see Mark and Ning flirting. I'd assumed he'd be dead to her. And this episode...kind of made me attracted to Mark? His flirting was adorable and him showing up with a massive beard specifically because he knew it was a turn on for Ning was pretty hot. As much as I wish they'd work it out, I think it's all about thrill of the chase for her. I can't believe it took Cyrell this long to find out about Jess propositioning Nic! I assumed he would've told her after they left. I really like that Mick stood up for Nic's character and clarified that Nic had stayed loyal when it was obvious Cyrell was winding up to go off on him. Mick is very loyal to the guys and the male friendship on this show is a joy to watch. Next week: I am absolutely obsessed with the experts getting petty and showing footage of the Jess/Nic convo to the group when she denies it. Looks like the honeymoon afterglow will wear off when Dan realizes he's plan B. Highlight of the night was Cyrell mocking the partner swappers by drunkenly yelling "my cock is bored" while sitting on Ning's lap.

Apparently, fanfiction Joanna Coles has absolute autonomy. I've never rewatched S1 and I forgot the show began with Jane as a new Scarlet hire, which is even funnier. Since they didn't adjust the timeline for COVID (even fudging with casual age/birthday references would've been fine) in-show time has been what, three years max? So Jane went from a fresh college grad and average writer to...editor in chief in less than three years because her boss thinks she's ultra special. And even though I guess they gave her the in-between step of running The Failing Feminist, hasn't she only been doing that for maybe a year, if that? Jane is truly the Kylie Jenner of career progression. 50 Shades of Grey had more plausible promotions. I didn't know that all it took to become EIC of a gigantic fashion magazine was an overly maternal relationship with your boss.

Welp, here we are! This execution is just silly. Jane plays boss for two days and Jacqueline decides to retire because "Jane's ready now"? uh, writers, that's not how companies work. It's not like she's debating whether her 16-year-old daughter can be trusted with driving the family Sedan. Who knew Jacqueline could just...give Jane her job because she feels like it. There's not even a sham interview process for appearances? I'm sure the board is totally cool with Jacqueline handing the magazine to her woefully unqualified protege on a whim with zero notice. With a strong bladder, some pie charts, and an unearned sense of exceptionalism, you too can run Scarlet! So does bringing Kat back into Scarlet (again, would never happen since they fired her) make Jane her boss? What a terrible idea for both the characters and their relationship. If the show continued, we'd get a good half a season of Kat trying to get Jane fired for a YouTube video she posted in 2013 because they had a drunken fight or something. It would be a constant holier-than-thou contest. Also to recap, Kat went from forcibly removed from Scarlet to bartender to managing an autonomous department within Scarlet (with a budget windfall at Kat's disposal, no less) overnight. Sure. Seems incredibly late in the game to saddle Sutton with an alcoholism arc to resolve within two episodes. Having her bang Richard pissed me off. If they're getting back together, what was the point of this entire season? If they're not, why bring him back to fuck this close to the end? I'm assuming they'll get back together because they won't leave Sutton single and devastated, and also because that adoption twist seemed to be foreshadowing some sort of potential for compromise (like maybe Sutton will realize raising an older kid isn't as labor intensive as babies/toddlers are, so she could still have a career, like Oliver). Her arc is messier than it's ever been - and I usually look to Sutton for the strongest characterization and writing. So I'm guessing COVID precautions prevented kissing? Those two sex scenes were so awkward because it was just Richard/Sutton and Kat/Adena staring at each other in their underwear. They even had Sutton go towards Richard and lean into his face. So like...you're still breathing spit into his mouth...? lol. I thought Jane was going to try to seduce that ridiculously hot bodyguard to get the interview. I agree with everyone - they should've done a 5 year time jump before this season to make Kat's and especially Jane's resolutions seem even remotely plausible or earned.

I feel like the entire premise of this show is “watch people watch themselves be emotionally cheated on.” Toxic city. Again, this could all be avoided if more people accepted polyamory as a thing. But I’m assuming the women are all straight and the men are just shitty partners in general, so maybe not, lol. The guy who almost died of a blood infection… He and first wife said they met 22 years ago and she’s 40… So they started dating when she was 18 and he was 32? And now naturally his new girlfriend is 30 years younger than him and barely older than his sons. The first wife seems really nice and is beyond gorgeous. Of course he had to have a near death experience and she had to get sucked back into his Peter Pan bullshit for the kids. She’s so much more mature than he is and it’s a shame that she still hanging onto the emotional codependency and babying him. She could do so much better. Let’s see how he would react if she started dating a 25-year-old and moved him into the basement. The Jersey quartet is just sad and unhealthy, even on this show. He’s been married to his second wife for 18 years, move on! I assumed all of the new partners were going to be relatively new relationships. That’s just kind of embarrassing for the ex-wife. It sounds like she left him after he cheated. The cheating is obviously his fault, but she chose to leave and let him go. She needs to live with that. It sounds like he was very remorseful and tried to reach out to her to get back together multiple times and she ignored him, which is fair enough, but then why be an asshole to the new wife? Talk about possessive. It doesn’t sound like she was the other woman, so first wife was being passive aggressive for no reason. That letter really made me cringe because it’s obvious there’s so many unresolved emotions between them. I would not want to get in the middle of that for any amount of money because everything is an exhausting game of one upping and adolescent flirting. And regrets aside, he obviously wasn’t pining too much if he remarried within what, a year? How awful and childish of them that they are going to ruin their son's 21st birthday with a random divorce reveal that has everything to do with the mom‘s ego and need for attention. She just wants to fuck the ex-husband and he gets off on knowing that he could still have her. They are so messy and I don’t understand why either of their new partners puts up with it, but especially her fiancé. Run dude, you can still get out! I’m not excited for Alex‘s storyline because it reeks of biphobia. I am deeply uncomfortable with the implication that we are supposed to question if Alex is really into women because he “seems gay,” whatever that means. There’s a lot of unfortunate implications around masculinity happening here. You can’t dictate anyone’s sexuality based on their personality or how they express themselves. Plus, he made a move on her so I’m not sure where they are getting this sad beard narrative. Like the Jersey wife, he seems to have incredibly low self-worth and eagerly lap up any attention the ex-boyfriend gives him because his ego was obviously very damaged by the infidelity and Alex has internalized craving his validation. For what it’s worth though, he doesn’t seem very emotionally invested in either relationship, at least based on the first episode. He kind of seems like a guy that just goes with the flow and jumps in and out of relationships based on convenience. I am intrigued by the introduction of the ex-wife who decided to impregnate her new wife with her ex-husband‘s sperm. That seems like the worst idea out of the bunch. And if something inevitably goes sour, which it likely will, you’re stuck coparenting with him for 18 years at least. It’s especially bizarre to me that the new wife agreed to be the one to carry the baby created with the the ex-husband‘s sperm. Even though I’m assuming it’s artificial insemination, that’s still so weird. Surely they could just go to a sperm bank - why would you choose to carry your spouses’ ex-husband’s baby? Not to mention how much that complicates things for his second wife.

They both had moments of being absolutely terrible. Remember her berating him all night and threatening a breakup over towels? Although he will always take the jerk cake with his classic "I'm not your therapist, what's the point of this story?" response to tales of her orphan childhood. That speech was romantic as hell though.

So they have 3 episodes left and they spend one on a silly shrooms montage? So much for progressing storylines. I cannot believe they are moving forward with Jane taking over Jacqueline's job in two episodes. She only oversees two employees - one quit due to an inappropriate relationship with her and the other threatened to quit because of her incompetence. But yeah, she's totally ready to run Scarlet. She couldn't have...been promoted between seasons or progressed to assistant editor first? It's basically giving a freelance writer the keys to Cosmo. Then they'd all have to admit it. Helping someone admit they have a problem is a lot harder when you're part of the problem. They don't want their own behavior critiqued. I thought Sutton choosing white wine to help her sober up from shrooms (let alone at work) was bizarre. What's wrong with water? Tea? Coffee? The last thing that's going to clear your mind is mixing substances. I really hate the implication that the disillusionment of associating with one dirty brand is making Sutton contemplate throwing her fashion career away to have kids with Richard after all. One shroom trip and she's suddenly unhappy at Scarlet? I'll be pissed if she ends the series as a kept SAHM because that's the opposite of her entire characterization and negates everything from last season.

Whoa. What I anticipated was going to be a disappointingly anti-climactic finale filled with plodding court scenes smashed my expectations in the best way possible. That final theme gave me chills and I really wasn’t expecting it. (In addition to being another fantastic 90s cover, “I wanna be special, I’m a creep“ is basically Jeanette’s life motto. And unrelated, but I loved her outfit!) Olivia Holt was in an entirety different stratosphere this episode in terms of acting. That basement flashback was downright harrowing, and her gut wrenching delivery of “Are you gonna take mine?” was shattering. Her anguish was palpable and you could really feel every emotion she had been through. For a minute, you almost forgot she survived the ordeal. The Annabelle payoff was so much more intense than I could’ve ever imagined. Like some people here, I just assumed she was going to be some imaginary friend that Kate invented in the basement to cope. My one nitpick is that there’s no way the cops would just assume they shot someone they found with a gun shot wound in a house that they entered. They don’t even take responsibility for the people they do shoot on camera! But the show is so well done that I am expecting it to come back as a Chekhov’s boomerang next season, like somebody paid off the cops to say that he died in a shoot out to protect Kate. Also they would be able to tell that he had undergone rigor mortis for like eight hours but whatever, moving on. I wish that Kate and Ashley had had even one scene together after the chat log reveal, given how much the conflict was built up and the fact that they devoted an entire episode to depicting their relationship. Why get us emotionally invested in a big betrayal like that if you aren’t even going to include the actress in the last episode? Speaking of betrayal, that "Mallory saw Kate" twist came out of nowhere (to me anyway) and was resolved in about five minutes. Harley did a serviceable job with the reveal, but it really came off as amateur hour when you contrast it with Olivia in the basement. I was incredibly surprised to see them kiss after all, mostly because shows usually stick to the one queer character + love interest quota. It was nice to see all that subtext actually lead to something and it makes sense that Kate would develop romantic feelings for the person who has been the most emotionally supportive and available to her after such a severe trauma. The potential of them being a couple next season opens up so many new character dynamics that I would be excited to explore. It’s an added layer of betrayal for Mallory to not only pick Kate over Jeanette, but then start dating her on top of it. I will be very curious to see Jeanette’s reaction. I doubt it will be the World’s Best Ally routine we saw with Vince. And you know Joy will have a problem with it because of course she will. I just really want Kate to be happy and I hope she isn’t moving too fast. Mallory better treat her well. Nice of them to throw in a half assed buzzer beater attempt to redeem Jamie. “Hey bro, I know I left you with a lifelong injury and ruined your sports career, but I totally think you should get back together with your boyfriend!” See kids, the writers may be fully aware that the resident heartthrob is a girlfriend puncher and a drunk driver, but at least he’s not a homophobe, right? That would really be over the top. Basic human decency is so dreamy! It is endlessly hilarious to me that of the main cast, the two most terrible people are the only straight ones. I need a scene next season of Jeanette and Jamie going up to the lunch table with Vince/Ben and Kate/Mallory and trying to act all buddy buddy as they roll their eyes into the sun. Jeanette and Jaime deserve each other. I guess I must be really gullible and naïve, because I actually bought the reconciliation between Kate and Jeanette and I thought it was really sincere and heartfelt on both sides. Kate picked the worst possible person to confess murder to. She really can never catch a break, can she? Jeanette is such a slimy weasel. In contrast, Kate has such a good heart. The fact that she immediately apologized and made up with Jeanette as soon as she learned the truth speaks volumes about her character, especially after everything she’s gone through with Jeanette, and I admire the show’s commitment to perpetually illustrating how kind and loving she is. It’s especially jarring in contrast to Jeanette’s self absorption and manipulation. Obviously Jeanette is going to use Kate’s confession to her own advantage. Why is Martin’s house basically the town Airbnb, even post crime scene? Do his neighbors never notice or care the half the town apparently has a key to that house and has been going in and out for the past year? Lol. Although it was slow at certain points, the last two episodes in particular were stellar and I can’t wait for season two!

I'm sorry to have upset you! I removed the mention from my post. I considered it more of a life update than a show spoiler since we already knew they stayed together and the birth obviously occurred after the show narrative, but ymmv! Apologies.

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Jules and Cam are a tonic for the soul. Their vows were beautiful. When Cam's eyes welled up, so did mine. God, I pine for a fairytale like theirs. In my opinion, Ning gave him no other choice. She wrote leave at the final commitment ceremony with a big speech about why they weren’t compatible. At that point, Mark probably thought they were done, but then she waxed poetic about how glad she was that he was “fighting for the relationship,” making Mark hopeful again. So when they went to the cabin and he asked her if she saw a future outside of the experiment, he was basically asking her if she wanted him to commit or not, and all he got was a very flippant “I don’t know,” which he obviously interpreted as a sign that she wasn’t interested in a long-term relationship with him. I think if she had said anything even remotely affirming, he would have been open to continuing the relationship. That moment was the final nail in the coffin for him. Her rejection was a foregone conclusion. Before the week apart, it seemed pretty mutual. They didn’t even have a peck on the lips. So I don’t think it was some calculated nefarious plan to humiliate her with a final vow rejection. I think he thought he was giving her what she wanted and finally accepting her many, many admissions that she wasn’t into him and didn’t want to be with him. Yes, the “I didn’t find love with you” was delivered in a spiteful way, but I chalk that up to his hurt feelings. The rest of his speech was actually pretty complementary and not in a fake “it’s not you” way. I think he genuinely grew to like her as a person and hoped they would be friends afterwards because he enjoyed their time together, despite them clearly not working as romantic partners. With how chaotically hot and cold Ning was from week to week, how was Mark supposed to guess that she would suddenly get mushy and sentimental conveniently right when they were forbidden from contacting each other? (Cynically, I think she subconsciously decided to say yes so that she could immediately put the blame for the failure of the relationship on him, which surprise surprise, is exactly what happened.) He was obviously taken aback by her latest 180 because he sounded totally flabbergasted when he asked her “where was this last week?!” He literally all but pleaded with her to give him any indication of her feelings on their last date. He was shocked that she finally said what he wanted to hear, and I guess he could’ve just ignored the speech he had already written and improvised if he was truly moved by her words, but even so I think he still had to know deep down that potentially relocating three children, including a toddler and a teen, for an incredibly unstable and messy relationship perpetually on the brink of collapse would be incredibly selfish. I admire him for thinking about her kids. He’s really proven himself to be such a kind and patient man. The way he kissed her after her vows was so…almost melancholy, and even though the chastity of it was an obvious indicator that he was about to dump her it made me really sad for their wasted potential. They really could’ve been something special if she had loved herself more at the time. I was disappointed to see her immediately backslide into finger pointing and defensiveness. And she definitely seems like a bridge burner so I doubt they communicated at all after that. For what it’s worth, I don’t think it’s malicious on her part either, I just think she’s had a lot of emotional damage that creates toxic behavior. She likes the masochistic tension of seeing how far she can push people away before reeling them back in because she feels unworthy. Hopefully she’s been able to break that pattern in subsequent relationships. She seems like a decent person and a great friend, shitty dating antics aside. I’m sorry for the ramble, but their break up was very painful to watch and I was surprised how sad it made me. Mark is a really good guy and I wish that Ning had been able to be a healthier partner for him, if that’s genuinely what she wanted. Watching her go out of her way to push him aside and self-sabotage at every turn, only to pull a Hail Mary and fall flat on her face, was excruciating.

I think Greg and fake English accent man are very cute. I'm excited for Kaitlyn and Tayshia to host - their group dynamic is very comedic and relaxed compared to CH's patronizing dad schtick. Cat man and artist guy (?) have...just abrasively awful kissing styles. It's like they're trying to suction her mouth out.

STOP, I hate this. Lmao. I'm assuming the actor must've made amends with the writers between ep 2 and 7, as they sure retconned that off-screen alcoholism very quickly. I guess it's feasible that he recovered between 94 and 98, I say as if applying logic to Ryan Murphy projects ever works. I was grateful and surprised the finale had any Damon reference at all and I don't know why they couldn't have started with dance studio daddy, but I guess they felt like they had to give him something bad to justify his sudden departure and create a conflict to resolve in the flash forward? Mostly just felt like the writers had a grudge against the actor, though. That was very odd, but I think it was the show's clunky way of acknowledging Blanca became the most important woman in Pray's life and provider of the emotional intimacy his mom had denied him. It was a weird finale in that none of the characters were really in it? Angel and Papi in particular were reduced to glorified extras, which was weird. Yes they already got their happy sendoff, but then they spent all 2 hours of the finale loitering in the background. That moment where Papi gently wrapped his arms around Blanca before she handed out Pray's ashes made me wish they had gotten a final conversation or two. The first hour was essentially a Pray/Blanca bottle episode, which I really enjoyed, but talk about strange episode placement spending half of your series finale on a relationship between 2 characters in a show built on ensemble dynamics. Papi, Angel, Lulu, and even Elektra were barely window dressing. That luncheon was an excuse to let every non-Blanca character state their plot resolution in one scene. The clear exception was Ricky - Dyllon was the obvious MVP this episode and poured his soul into his performance. I didn't expect him to get all the focus and closure he had in the finale. I was so delighted to see him thriving in the epilogue that I was willing to handwave the fact that they just gave Ricky the end of Damon's S2 arc, lol. Apart from Pray's death, you could've switched this episode out for any other episode this season and the order wouldn't really matter. Last episode should've been the finale with the 1998 epilogue right after Angel/Papi's beach scene. I have adored this show, especially the absolute gem of S2, and the countless lovely actors it brought to my attention. I'm sad COVID and FX fucked Pose over and made the ending so sloppy and discombobulated, but I'm excited to see what everyone in the cast does next. I'd watch Angel C, Indya, and Dyllon in pretty much anything!

I’m guessing the sit downs were mostly so that the show could cover its ass in terms of liability. They wanted to keep Cyrell for the drama, but she did physically threaten another contestant, so they had to make a big show sitting her down and sternly lecturing her about anger management. I don’t really blame the experts as much for the Lauren/Matt fiasco. I feel like they could’ve worked if their interests had lined up more or if she had been more transparent during the interview process. Being bisexual doesn’t mean you are automatically kinky or into threesomes. By the same token, being an adult virgin doesn’t necessarily mean you’re socially awkward or kink averse. However, Lauren stated multiple times that having a dom/sub relationship was crucial for her in order to make her feel sexually satisfied and like she had a healthy sex life with her partner. That’s a different level than just “I’d be open to a third if you were.” As I’ve said before, she set herself up to fail by not emphasizing how important sexuality was to her in the interview process. And I’m guessing the experts need to ask way more in-depth questions. Say what you will about the quality of their counseling or lack thereof, but I believe that they genuinely match people that they actually believe are compatible at the start, as opposed to the US producers who seem to push the experts to cast and match for drama. I’m getting Sam/Neil vibes from them. Sam pushed him away and basically bullied him the entire experiment, only to turn on a dime and throw herself at him in the last two weeks (remember the awkward car make out attempt?). Ning essentially did the same thing to Mark. I think they both hated being vulnerable in relationships and pushed people away to maintain control, only to realize that they actually liked the person and didn’t want to be abandoned, but by then it was too late to undo the emotional damage and general fatigue their partners felt. Also if we’re being honest I still don’t think she was ever physically attracted to him and is only trying to hold the relationship together for the thrill of the pursuit and maybe emotional stability. I think she finds him comfortable and is still trying to convince herself that that means she can see a future with him as a husband, but I still don’t think all the ingredients are there.

I liked that Ning pointed out that Jess probably would've talked to Heidi first if it had actually happened. Ning already had her relationship derailed by Jess' bullshit deflections. The entire cast should know by now that Jess' go-to defense mechanism is lying and I'm flabbergasted that the women (other than Martha) still entertain anything she says, especially after learning that Jess had been sneaking around with Dan 2 weeks before she publicized their feelings. I don't buy for a second that Jess is really "in love." She's in the horny honeymoon phase and thought the declaration would lock him down, but it backfired and now he's backpedaling just like Sam. At least he has some sense. It is funny that a man who bedded and played house with two "wives" in a month is surprised at a hasty love profession. It was fascinating to watch how quickly he became exasperated from embarrassment at her picking fights with the others. Buckle up, buddy! Jules is like the mom of the group, lol. I agreed with her - Martha and Jess act like teens. It's so weird to remember Martha is 30 (!!!) and that there's only ten years between them and Jules. I thought the petty girls vs. women comment was beneath her, but I don't blame her for getting sick of Jess ruining every event. I was disappointed when Michael took on (his good friend) Jules to defend Martha. He's so nice and Martha turns him into a different person whenever there's drama involved. Mike immediately resorts to sexist comments whenever he's arguing with the women, which is super unattractive. He also has the maturity of a 12-year-old. "Let's go on a BIG BOAT because I want to! I want to climb the mast! Oh yeah, it's our final date, whatever, watch me Heidi." You shouldn't be constantly fighting and crying and breaking up two months into a relationship. Heidi's perpetual morose doom and gloom lectures would be grating too. It's toxic and codependent. Basically they can't stand each other, but refuse to give up the great sex. I feel awful for Mark. He always looks so worn out. I know he's attached to Ning, but she doesn't seem healthy for him. It's been two months of walking on eggshells for the tiniest scraps of emotional intimacy. I don't see the situation improving. I was surprised when she said she'd consider moving for him. At this point, I think she gets off on toying with his feelings (FEELS) because it gives her a sense of control.

It’s so funny that Sage being horny for the cancelled guy lead to both him getting his job back and Alex getting a better job offer. That plot unintentionally highlighted how men are usually able to skate away from cancel culture because people are much more sympathetic to them, especially if they’re popular/hot, whereas women are almost always tarnished forever. I hope this isn’t Alex leaving the series! It felt like him leaving developed out of nowhere and was settled by the end of the episode. I’m guessing the actor who plays Richard wasn’t available to film the season? That’s the only reasonable explanation that I can come up with for all this ridiculous teen nonsense. What a douche sending someone else to ask Sutton for a divorce. Kids or no kids, that’s not something you want in a partner and if anything validated her choice not to have kids with him. What a petty asshole. Still, I appreciate that they are going forward with the divorce because for a second I was worried they would backtrack just because the series was ending. I should’ve guessed from the fact that we hadn’t seen that clip of her tearing up her wedding dress yet, though. It made me laugh that Jane was crying about jeopardizing her expose about superior misconduct and was comforted by the subordinate she’s hoping to fuck. Giving Kat one last savior plot! But ex-felon employment is a very important issue, so I don’t mind this one and I appreciate the show for spotlighting it. I’m just thankful there isn’t enough time for them to have sex before she reunites with Adena.

I would be mortified (and likely unable to perform) knowing my in-laws were sleeping on the other side of the wall while I vigorously attempted to impregnate the woman I had emotionally abandoned their daughter for. I want to say Garrick has no shame, but even that requires a familiarity with the concept to begin with, which he clearly does not have.

Mallory is possessive and annoying, but so are a lot of teen girls. At least she seems to have significantly improved by 1995. And it’s highly possible that she and Jeanette are just a toxic friendship combination that brings out the worst in one another. That’s also very true of high school. A lot of people are friends by default simply because they met in elementary school, only to realize they are totally different people by high school. I think that Jeanette has always been a follower and the dynamic has obviously started to grate on her, which is fair - The problem isn’t that she wants more agency in her friendships, it’s that her motivation for the friction with Mallory is some far flung social climbing fantasy. She thinks Mallory is beneath her now that she thinks Kate might befriend her and she could have a shot with Jamie. I understand why both girls are upset and even though both are very irritating characters, that fight felt very much authentic in terms of petty teen drama, lol. Again, I don’t buy the fact that the flirtation between Jamie and Jeanette started in 1993, orthodontic upgrades aside. Especially all of the heavy interest coming from Jamie. Suddenly he's all bashful around a nerd girl he barely knows because her teeth are straight now? The hard partying, status-obsessed jock? Not to say kids won't ever date outside their clique, but he certainly wouldn't. That’s just a really weird detail that doesn’t ring true to the character. And man, does he suck! It is totally in character that he would drive drunk with Ben, but at least Ben didn’t die. Given that Vince is the one person Jeanette truly cares about, I can’t believe that she would date Jamie after that and also that Vince would continue to not only to speak to her, but happily volunteer to be basically her sole emotional support knowing that she jumped at the chance to date the guy who ruined his boyfriend's life. Jeanette is also terrible though, so they definitely deserve each other. So the entire lawsuit is essentially Jeanette suing Kate for claiming Jeanette knew she was being held hostage prior to the discovery? Cindy is right, it’s almost redundant to sue a kidnapping victim for character defamation. Jeanette is defaming her own character all by herself. It’s hard to come up with a more scumbag lawsuit than that, especially when it’s over the idea that you could’ve saved her earlier but didn’t. Even though it’s obvious that it will be revealed that Jeanette has no criminal liability after all and it’s all a web of misunderstanding, I still don’t like her very much. She’s a very smug, manipulative person who only cares about herself and her reputation.

I think all the Siobhan romance drama as well as Dylan's ultimately pointless criminal shenanigans were meant to be nothing more than elaborate extended misdirects to make Siobhan and Dylan seem like viable suspects by painting them as unstable and controlling. Ultimately, they just turned out to be self-absorbed. (Although honestly I wasn't bothered by Siobhan like everyone else seems to be - she's got understandable abandonment issues, whereas Dylan is utter garbage.) It's also not uncommon for shows to showcase LGBT characters solely for the added media buzz, as cynical as that sounds. Lesbians/bi women are a hungry demographic and, speaking from experience, will fawn over any representation, lol. The show's takeaway with Zabel seems to be that he was a harmless coworker with an unrequited crush after all, which....sure, but did he have to die for that? His apparent incompetence justified Mare's impulsiveness, which was ultimately vindicated for good through his death, I guess, which in turn led to her being reinstated. I'm with @tennisgurl though, killing him off was cheap misery porn fodder. It would've been way more satisfying to see them solve the case together. Some shows have special theme music for a given couple whenever they have a romantic scene. I assumed the music after Zabel kissed her would be theirs, but then it played over the Guy Pearce farewell (talk about salt in the wound!), so I guess it's just theme music for general Mare romance. The real answer is because I've replayed the Zabel kiss an assload of times because this show has ignited my Evan Peters crush. Guy Pearce is living the dream. Imagine getting a fat paycheck for basically eight scenes of flirting with Kate Winslet. Also, if he was cast as a favor for Kate, friendships between actors fascinate me. "Hey Guy, how have you been? We have a last minute opening in my new project. You'd be my love interest in a sad, dead end town. Our second scene together is fucking on a couch. I immediately thought of you."