Inquisitionist

It doesn't seem worthwhile to start a music thread now that the show has ended, so I'll post this comment here, given that the episode's title is related to my gripe. I do not like the Bob Dylan version of Forever Young used over the opening credits. The sped-up tempo just doesn't sound appropriate to the lyrics, IMO. The way he races through the song turns it into a parody of itself. Dylan recorded slow versions of this tune, e.g., here, so I don't understand the choice to use the version they did.

Carrie was in charge of the wedding. She allowed it to grow, and deliberately kept Big in the dark about that. All because she wanted to make a spectacle of herself in that hideous Vivienne Westwood dress. That said, Big's actions on the wedding day were inexcusable -- and I mean that from a writing standpoint. It was not consistent with his character and made no sense to me.

Alan Sepinwall captured my thoughts exactly: I feel a level of personal danger for Boyd and Ava that I've never felt before.

Which is, I expect, why Elizabeth is deliberately building bonds with Paige, to slowly attempt to convince Paige that the things she values and believes naturally align with Communism and the USSR. I see this as being a very delicate long-game.

I knew that revelation was coming, but it was a great note on which to end the episode. My husband just watched this with me. He's only seen a few episodes and doesn't really know the characters, but he was laughing almost as hard as I was. It just keeps getting better!

I've started rewatching S1 on Netflix. It feels like a very different show than it morphed into at the end. I actually have sympathy for Sarah.

Elizabeth doesn't see it as either-or, does she? I think she truly believes that Paige will come to have the same loyalty for country and be better off for it.

Lots of love for Ray Romano's acting in the Parenthood thread. I remember reading that duirng the first season of ELR, Ray worked diligently with an acting coach. He got steadily better in the role of Ray Barone, but his work in MoaCA and then Parenthood have been a revelation. Well done, Ray!

And proposed while he was climaxing, apparently... I love Matt LeBlanc's willingness to go to such unflattering places with this alter-ego character.

LOL, no we weren't!

I believe it was MS. McEwan. Her late husband's name was Hugh Cruttwell. (As someone who retained her own name after marriage, it irks me whenever someone calls me Mrs.)

Geraldine McEwan, lately known for playing Agatha Christie's Miss Marple on ITV, has passed away at age 82. According to IMDb: and interestingly: Would love to know if those two tidbits are true and if so, why. I find that kind of cool.

ETA: Alan Sepinwall has posted three deleted scenes that had to be cut from the finale here.

Ray Romano may actually have greater acting range than Lauren Graham. While shades of Lorelei GIlmore often crept into Graham's portrayal of Sarah, I never saw Romano as anything other than Hank Rizzoli, a fully-formed character who had little if anything in common with Ray Barone.

Tom Sawyer Island, according to Mad Men. ;-)

From here:

Thanks for that second link in particular, maraleia. The NYTimes obituary is respectful. I never read The Thornbirds, but did enjoy Tim.

See my post from 7:33 pm yesterday above. I think the writers wanted us to react to the changes in Elizabeth's facial expression and then learn the reason at the same time Philip did.

But he died peacefully at home and got to enjoy the last few months of life on his own terms. With surgery, he might have died anyway but connected to tubes in a hospital. I respect Zeek's decision on this one -- and I never respected much about the man.

I had forgotten as well, but refreshed my memory by reading Alan Sepinwall's review of the relevant episode, Yousaf.

While I also appreciate the extra detail, I respect the writers' and director's choice not to provide subtitles. We could tell from the change in expression that Elizabeth went from hearing something soothing and pleasant to something very upsetting. We learned the content of the latter part when she told Philip, but we weren't necessarily as surprised as he was. I, too, was more puzzled about Elizabeth's relationship with the woman from the CIA in the opening scene and how that all played out. Very sad about sweet, dumb Annelise. I'd forgotten about her relationship with Yousaf -- may have to rewatch that S2 episode!

Don't forget, this is the guy who actually thought he was walking around without kidneys for a few hours...

Best Show on Television is always debatable, but this VOX article makes some very good points, including:

Hoping I'll actually be able to watch this one tonight -- busy, busy at work. :-(

Last year's SAG Awards ceremony took place on Jan. 18, 2014; Hoffman died after that, on Feb. 2, 2014. I think they do use a calendar year convention, which makes sense with a mid-January production date.