linger

Well that was some absolute crap. Daisy basically took an hour of abuse from Andy, Colin, Gary, and even freaking Glenn (who thinks somehow Daisy is responsible for controlling Gary’s behavior, or Colin’s feeling, or both of their egos, I suppose). Why does he get to broadcast his opinion anyway, Andy? And if he had to have one, it would have been awfully nice for him to say “I love all three of these people & it breaks my heart to see this happen. I hope one day they can find their way back to each other has friends. Bravo really does have a problem with misogyny, and I am just not here for it any more. I’ll stick to the forums to be entertained, since right now all I am is vaguely enraged.

Throwing around the word bullying, when it comes to Ariana, baffles me. One of her best friends, who she protected, defended, supported, and seems to have genuinely loved, was having a relationship with her boyfriend of 9 years. And doing crazy stuff like buying secret love necklaces & probing her about their sex life, etc. And Ariana had just recently been publicly blindsided. This, my friends, is where you F around & find out. It is not bullying to verbally decimate the person who so diabolically betrayed you in one of the worst possible ways. It’s a shame for Raquel that it had to happen in front of millions of viewers, but as goes the cliche, play stupid games, win stupid prizes. So now people are Team Raquel because Ariana said mean things to her? Yep, baffled. James & Lala are a different story, though most of James’ ire seemed directed at Sandoval, and at times was at least entertaining. Lala was just annoying. I don’t consider myself a violent person, but if I had been Ariana when Sandoval made the T-shirt comment, about 2 seconds later he would have been on the floor. He truly is pure scum. In my unqualified opinion, Raquel has some serious psychological and/or developmental issues. Her demeanor, lack of affect or inappropriate affect, general dimness (is that a word?) made her easy prey for Sandoval, and while what she did to Ariana as her friend was abhorrent, I hate to say it, but I agree with Lala, Sandoval is dangerous.

BDSY is my favorite reality show (not that I watch a ton). Outside of Ashley, they genuinely seem to like each other and have fun. The drunken caterpillar races, the goofy giggling fight in the boys’ cabin, Gary & Colin’s towel snapping that ended badly for poor Colin, Daisy, Gary & Colin trying to take care of Marcos, everyone pulling together (and getting a little teary eyed) for the sweet wedding. I pretty much laughed throughout this episode & most of the others this season. I would work with them in a heartbeat - sign me up Captain Glen!

Nope. Since they weren’t using sexual epithets “on” him. “Hey bitch(es)!” used amongst people who you otherwise get along with, is not meant in a derogatory way. That certainly did not appear to be either Aesha or Brittini’s original intention. And I think both were confused when he growled at them not to call him that, since it’s such a common use of the word & they weren’t meaning to be disrespectful . Probably the opposite actually. I do agree (as did Aesha) that they shouldn’t have instigated with Magda. Jamie’s option at that point was to a) have a conversation with both women (when everyone was sober) & make it clear that for whatever reason it is not a joke to him & it needed to end; or b) tattle on them, which is exactly what he did. Best I can tell he has very little sense of humor and a very fragile ego. Not a good combination in any career, but especially not on a yacht or other environments where there is a lot of working under pressure, in tight quarters, with the occasional shit talking. God forbid someone actually use an epithet intentionally & in anger. He might actually cry. And let’s not forget, that when he was complaining to one of the guys about this, he actually did call Aesha & Britini bitches, in anger (and not even ironically). I don’t think that would have gone down too well if he had done that when he went to tattle to Jason.

They didn’t “call” Jamie a bitch, at least not in an aggressive, derogatory way. It wasn’t like they were in an argument & they called him a bitch. Aesha just walked into the crew mess & said something like “Hey bitch!” She certainly didn’t mean any offense. That said, her getting Magda to say is that night was childish, which she admitted. The really weird thing was that Aesha is a fellow head of department & Brittini is under him in the chain of command. So work it out with them. Running to the Captain was ridiculous. And yes, I would say the same if Jamie was a woman. And if Jamie worked for me & came to me with that complaint, first I would ask the circumstances under which the offensive word was said, and once he explained, I would struggle not to laugh. Did they cut out the part where Jason asked for some context, or did he not, and just assumed they were aggressively calling Jamie a bitch as an insult? And wouldn’t that seem weird to Jason that both women suddenly decided to personally attack Jamie? What would be their reason?

The facts that they presented us were from a qualified doctor with regard to the head trauma, the victim’s consistently erratic & illogical behavior, and the testimony of a police captain with more than two decades of experience. From what I saw, she never gave the impression of a person plotting to murder their husband for an insurance settlement. In fact, she seemed quite happy to go to jail after the incident with the police car. She just wanted to be safe. And when she was actually in jail after the murder, she seemed content to stay there. That was quite a con she would’ve had going, and nothing prior to that throwaway line about the settlement set it up, so the idea feels a bit random.

The doctor that testified was a psychiatrist & a radiologist, so she was a shrink. The repeated head trauma diagnosis didn’t feel like a surprise to me considering her behavior & the earlier discussions of past abuse. And I think going to this place for the charger was deliberately lame, in so much as who in their right mind would do that. She wasn’t in her right mind, which was the point.

I’m assuming this is meant to be hyperbolic, but even if we tame it down a bit that he basically said to her: 1) You need to take a hard look at what is preventing you from at least taking steps to determine if a relationship with Elliot is in the cards or not since this holding pattern is unhealthy. Seems reasonable to me. 2) You are a good person, and you are worthy of love. Also true (opinions on this board not withstanding). Olivia is the child of rape, raised by an alcoholic mother who was emotionally neglectful and abusive. It makes every bit of sense that she would have deep-seated issues as to whether she was worthy of love or happiness. It’s not unusual for people who are victims of abuse as children to go on to fight for victims in their adult lives. Basically, doing the thing for those people that nobody did for them. It’s also not unusual for them to desperately want love, but feel they are unlovable, and to crave stability but not know how to behave if they get it, since their formative years were so chaotic. And beyond all that, what exactly was he supposed to say to her? You suck as a person, no wonder nobody loves you, you are dooooomed? He is her therapist. It’s his job to support her, not kick her when she’s down.

This woman wasn’t just victimized. She was victimized and terrorized for years. It’s not like she and her husband had a fight one day and she decided to murder him. Battered woman syndrome is real. Not to mention this particular woman’s medical/psychological damage from repeated head trauma. How does putting this woman in jail accomplish anything? And beyond this specific victim, under what circumstances is a battered person allowed to defend themselves? Only if their abuser stands in front of them with a weapon in their hand threatening to kill them? That’s not exactly how it works. The point Olivia made on the stand that a person can be a threat to you whether or not they’re in front of you, or in the next room, is sad but true. And expecting the victim of trauma, in the midst of a traumatic situation, to think clearly and take into consideration all the ramifications of the law, is unrealistic at best, and very dangerous at worst.

The ultimate gaslighting of this whole show, most apparent this season, is that Logan is still some business titan. In a world almost completely devoted & dependent on tech, he has content, but a crappy platform. That glaringly obvious misstep is one of the primary reasons this merger then buy out is even happening. Waystar wouldn’t need GoJo if it had a platform. Waystar wouldn’t be “sinking like a stone”, at least in part, if that situation didn’t exist. The shareholder’s meeting: Logan can’t be trusted to take his meds & drink a damn bottle of water which results in him being piss mad, setting off frantic negotiations by people who aren’t sure what he would want. And even when they seem to pull it off, he’s a dick. The DOJ investigation: Absolutely his fault. A couple decades of deplorable behavior and the NHI come back to haunt him. He then tries to maneuver & manipulate his family & inner circle, settles on Kendall as the sacrificial lamb, which fails spectacularly, live & in color. POTUS: Desperate to get a handle on the DOJ situation he tries to twist the President’s arm through ATN. He overplays that hand & now has no access to the power of the White House & has to try to find a last minute candidate. This ties back to him being piss mad, since Roman gets stuck on the call with the President. While it’s doubtful a conversation with Logan would have changed POTUS’s mind, for sure Roman didn’t stand a chance. Best I can tell what Logan has done well in the time we have observed him is fuck up in a variety of ways, and sure, manage to come out somewhat intact (Stewy & Sandy). But if he hadn’t made these mistakes, there would have been far less to fix. This company was his empire. His legacy. Having to sell it to a tech wizard Swede because it can no longer stand on its own, a problem of his own making, doesn’t exactly look like winning.

I’m mot on Twitter, so I’m curious why they think it hit an iceberg. Because they didn’t have sex? Otherwise it was a pretty solid indication of Elliot’s feelings. I will say, the whole letter thing was weird. My guess is that the writers had no idea what the letter said when they wrote those original episodes. But this was a strange way to resolve it.

Then wouldn’t that mean there had been a camera personal in the room before Sutton came in? Or am I not remembering correctly?

Something occurred to me, though I may be misremembering. Wasn’t there already a camera in the room before Sutton went in? When they showed the footage, it was from the vantage point of watching her coming in. Do they have stationary unmanned cameras in all the bedrooms that record 24/7?

IMO Elliot not pursuing Olivia (or vice versa) is because 1) They were work partners in a job they were both passionate about - a romantic relationship would require that to end; 2) Elliot was separated, not divorced, which I expect would be an issue for him (being a “good” Catholic) and her (the very real possibility he would go back to his wife - which he did); 3) Olivia’s investment in his marriage/family - whether that’s projection because she never had a real family or because she just really cared about them all, I think it would be difficult for her to be the “other woman”; 4) TPTB had no idea how to write it. Teasing it is one thing, finding a way to successfully bring it to fruition quite another, as so many other shows (RIP Moonlighting) have proven.

That would be a question for the writers. I sincerely hope they do not go down the road of the “but what about black-on-black crime?” false equivalency since I find it reprehensible, but if they do, I’ll be discussing it in that episode thread.

Whatever you do, do not watch the series “Hannibal.” IMO one of the most brilliant shows ever on TV, but truly disturbing.

1) That’s not her job. 2) This feels very close to the “Sure, black men seem to be injured by white cops at an unusual rate, but what about the gang violence (ie black-on-black) crime” debate. I am really OK with the show not going down that road with Benson.

The whole Liv thing seemed really shoehorned in. Did they have to cut scenes due to COVID? Otherwise 1) Why didn’t Elliot tell her about Wheatley’s interest? She (and/or her son) could have targets on their backs & he didn’t think she might want to know? And 2) What was the point of the secret text having her come to the hospital? Was Morales supposed to take her out as well as Angela? That would make sense - effectively killing the two women left in Elliot’s life, talk about revenge. If that wasn’t the point, what was? Novichuk is terrifying, and if that had been what was used, the whole area, from the pharmacy to the hotel room would have been a haz mat scene. The Salisbury Poisonings (from the BBC & then AMC) was a great series, pretty accurately based on a true story, and scared the crap out of me. Those Russians know their nerve agents.

Victim blaming is the reason so many rape & abuse victims don’t go to the police.

To the “He was bigger, why didn’t he just leave the room” argument: 1. He testified that he was initially unconscious and came to when she was already assaulting him. And yes, anally penetrating an unconscious person is assault. It could have been left purely at that & been considered a crime, 2. But let’s say he was drunk, but had the cognitive wherewithal to leave. The man has experienced years of emotional, and with the throwing of things, hitting with beer bottles, at times physical abuse. He was clearly very afraid of this woman. It is not unusual, especially in abuse situations, for the victim to behave in this way. And also, he probably could have walked out of the room relatively unscathed. But what about later? There for sure would be retaliation. 3. in times of threat, humans do one of three things: fight, flight, or freeze. He froze. That doesn’t make him any less the victim, just because he’s a large man.

1 - I believe it is now typical that the state files charges in domestic abuse cases, because often times the person being abused would be too afraid to pursue charges. As far as a safe word, he said “No.” Does that count? 2 - I’m pretty sure the husband & son won here. Living in that home with a mother who yelled, screamed, threw things including coffee pots, hit your father with beer bottles, etc is traumatic for a child. Oh wait, she also cut herself with a knife so she could falsely accuse his father. It’s difficult to make the case that living in that home with both his parents is what is best for that child. And the same argument could be made for the husband. He certainly didn’t look sad when he told her they wouldn’t be getting back together. That woman was dangerous. Size difference? Does that go along with “Why didn’t you just get up & leave?” If so, talk about a slippery slope. 3 - I agree that in the real world, pursuing this case so aggressively is very unlikely, especially considering the other cases that would be coming down.

I’m not going to argue this, because life is too short, but best I can tell, there are a decent enough fans of a Benson/Stabler relationship to make it worth the writers & show runners to go down that road. I thought the same for Scully/Mulder, Grissom/Sara, Carter/O’Neil and probably some others & was surprised at the vehemence of those who either insisted no relationship existed, or were disgusted that it did. As far as this specific episode, Wheatley’s trying to brain fu@k both Angela & Stabler. He has no idea who Stabler’s “true love” is, but his musings sure had the desired effect to rattle Angela, way more than the possible recordings. And I’m sure Stabler’s a bit freaked as well, having to consider if Benson now has a target on her back. My point: Sure, the scene likely makes shippers happy, but at the same time it fits in with Wheatley’s all knowing, supervillain persona. And as far as I’m concerned, Wheatley was more of a hot mess than anyone in that room. His son is facing capital murder charges and will roll over in a heartbeat. He had not one, but two moles (or whatever term applies to Gina) in his midst. And his ex-wife ratted him out in a huge way, passwords and all. Pretty crap supervillain, all things considered.

Haven’t watched SVU since Stabler left. He came back so I thought I’d give it and OC a shot. I’m glad I did. I never watched L&O shows for the case of the week or the mystery, though those were fine. I mainly watched for the interactions & relationships. Otherwise for me it’s just another dead body found in the bushes/alley (seriously, these shows make you paranoid to jog or walk your dog). I enjoyed the E/O partnership & all its messiness, so am looking forward to seeing how the shows handle them working through them navigating the fallout from 10 years ago. About that - I have to disagree that Olivia needs/needed to get over it. Twelve years is a long time to spend 50-60 hours/week with someone. Much less someone you are trusting with your life & with whom you have experienced a lot of trauma. It would have seemed awfully strange to me to see him walk into her life again and for her not to be disoriented & for the elephant in the room not be addressed. Elliot was the one pushing that issue and I’m on board for them to rebuild trust, however the two shows do that.