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Cersei VI Cersei and Taena Merryweather are taking a litter ride to the Great Sept of Baelor. Taena tells Cersei about the kind of court that Margaery has been keeping and Cersei asks Taena if she believes that Margaery is still a virgin. Taena says that she was present for the bedding of Renly and Margaery and acknowledges that Renly was aroused when she took off his robe. She doesn't know if the marriage was consummated and when Cersei asks if Margaery bled, Taena tells her that a sheet wasn't shown. Cersei starts asking about Margaery's male admirers and visitors and is looking for anything that could be interpreted as scandalous. Margaery and her cousins have lots of visitors and Taena makes sure to tell Cersei which men are favorites of the cousins. Loras is Margaery's most frequent visitor and the two siblings share everything according to Taena. The conversation turns to the new High Septon and Cersei thinks to herself that she'll choose the next High Septon when the time is right. She finds the new High Septon to be annoying and considers that she might be better off if she places a young boy in the role. She tells Taena to bring her young son to court so that Tommen can be around a boy close to his age. Cersei thinks about how Joffrey didn't have any friends and how he was basically alone a lot of the time. Taena isn't sure that her son Russell will like living at court but Cersei tells her that Russell will get used to it in time. Cersei points out that Taena would be able to see Russell every day if he came to live in King's Landing. The litter comes to a sudden halt and Cersei hears Ser Osmund shouting at people to move aside. When Cersei learns that it's the Sparrows who are keeping the litter from moving, she instructs Ser Meryn to be gentle about moving them because she doesn't want to be caught up in another riot. The conversation turns to how the High Septon hasn't agreed to bless Tommen's reign and Taena says that she's heard that the High Septon is withholding his blessing until the Crown resumes making its payments to the Faith. Cersei claims that the Faith will be given their money once the war is over. She says that the High Septon is out of his mind if he thinks that she'll ever be willing to buy Tommen's blessing from him. The litter jerks to a halt again and this time Cersei decides look for herself to see what's going on. She's shocked when she sees just how many Sparrows are in King's Landing. There are hundreds camped out in the plaza and near the Great Sept. Cersei decides that there's too much traffic and tells Osmund that she'll make the rest of the journey on foot. As she walks past the many Sparrows, Cersei remembers the day that she married Robert. She thinks about how loud the cheers were and how Robert told her that the people liked her. She remembers the brief moment of happiness she felt when Robert mentioned that every face was smiling at them. She felt happy until she looked over at Jaime, the one person who wasn't smiling that day. No one smiles as Cersei passes through the throng of Sparrows. The Sparrows look hostile and Cersei thinks about how Tywin would have ridden over them instead of walking through them the way that she's doing. When Cersei reaches the steps of the Sept, armed guards tell her that she won't be allowed to bring her guards with her to see the High Septon. Cersei is furious but refrains from asking Meryn and Osmund to respond with violence because they are so outnumbered. She agrees to walk in to see the High Septon alone. The High Septon is barefoot and scrubbing the floor when Cersei goes to greet him. She knows that she's supposed to kneel to him but doesn't want to get her dress dirty. She's surprised when she learns that the High Septon has sold all of the treasures the Faith accumulated over the years including the gold and crystal crown her father bought for the last High Septon. Cersei and the High Septon go to speak in private. First, they pray together and then Cersei tells His High Holiness that she wants the Sparrows out of King's Landing. The High Septon explains how the war is responsible for why the Sparrow movement has become a thing and says that the Crown failed in its duty to protect the people. Cersei resists the idea of using Tommen's men to protect people like the Sparrows and Silent Sisters and says that the Sparrows should be able to defend themselves. The High Septon says that the men of the Faith would defend themselves if it weren't for laws that were put in place back during Maegor's reign. Cersei points out that Maegor's laws could be undone and eventually agrees to allow the Faith Militant to be reborn. In return for allowing the Faith Militant to be restored, Cersei asks that the Crown's debt to the Faith be forgiven. The High Septon agrees that the debt will be forgiven and that Tommen may have his blessing. Cersei is proud of herself for reaching a deal with the High Septon and believes that even Tywin couldn't have done a better job. On the litter ride back to the castle, Cersei and Taena share a toast to the deal Cersei made with the High Septon. They run into the Tyrell siblings and their cousins at Aegon's High Hill and Cersei has resentful thoughts about how Margaery seems to always come between her and Tommen. She thinks that Joffrey would have seen through Margaery and let her know her place in the pecking order. Margaery tells Cersei that she could help lighten the load of running the kingdoms and says that there must be some things that she could help her do. Margaery encourages Cersei to come with them the next time they take an outing into the woods. Cersei is reminded of how Robert used to try and get her to go hunting with him, but that she'd always declined so that she could spend private time with Jaime. When Margaery mentions that her brother Loras keeps her well protected, Cersei laughs as she remembers that this is what she would always tell Robert with regard to Jaime.

Jaime III Cersei doesn't like Jaime's beard. She shows him that his hair is starting to turn grey and that he's a ghost of the man he used to be. Part of Jaime wants to have sex with Cersei and the other part of him remembers Tyrion's words about how Cersei has been fucking Lancel and Osmund. Jaime doesn't like the idea of being sent to Riverrun and argues to Cersei that his place is by Tommen's side. He asks Cersei why she bothered to name Daven Warden of the West if she has no confidence in him. Cersei avoids answering Jaime's question and wants to know why he's so reluctant to go to Riverrun. Jaime admits that he swore an oath to Catelyn to never again take up arms against the Starks or Tullys. Cersei dismisses the oath Jaime took and points out that he only made it because he had a sword at his neck. When Cersei says that she plans on having Osmund be in charge of the Kingsguard in Jaime's absence, Jaime informs her that he plans on leaving Loras in charge. Cersei is furious about this but Jaime argues that Loras is three times the man that Osmund is. The siblings go back and forth with their sniping, and Cersei eventually gives Jaime a slap in the face and tells him to leave. Jaime thinks about how the very sight of his sister makes him angry these days. When Jaime and his men leave King's Landing, there is zero fanfare and the smallfolk seem indifferent at seeing them leave. It's a sharp contrast to the send off that Mace Tyrell and his soldiers had when they left the city. Jaime thinks that Cersei would be wise to see how the smallfolk prefer the Tyrells to the Lannisters. Jaime and his men spend their first night at the Castle of the Hayfords. The toddler lady of the castle is a Lannister by marriage. Her husband Tyrek Lannister vanished during the riots of King's Landing. If Tyrek is still alive he'd be about fourteen. Adam Marbrand personally led a search for Tyrek but no body was ever found. Jaime wonders if Varys knows anything about Tyrek's disappearance. Later that night Jaime gets Ser Ilyn to spar with him. They "dance" for a long time until Jaime is battered and bruised. Jaime says that they'll practice every night until he's as good at fighting with his left hand as he was with his right. Ilyn laughs in response to this. The group encounters some trouble with wolves and later hear more stories of how aggressive the wolf packs have become. As they get closer to Harrenhal, Jaime finds himself wondering if Brienne traveled down this same path. When they arrive at Harrenhal Jaime talks with Shitmouth and Raff about what's been going on since Gregor left. He learns about the nature of Vargo Hoat's death including the detail that Hoat's body parts were given to prisoners to eat including to Hoat himself while he was still alive. Jaime thinks that "somehow revenge has lost its savor". Only three of Lady Whent's people are still at Harrenhal, Pia among them. When Pia sees that Jaime has returned, she cries and clings to his leg. She's completely hysterical and Jaime sees that her nose has been broken and she's missing half of her teeth. Jaime tells her that no one will hurt her now. When Jaime tells Ser Wylis Manderly that he's going to be escorted to Maidenpool so that he can be put on a ship to White Harbor, Wylis cries longer and more loudly than even Pia did. Jaime thinks to himself that Harrenhal has seen more horror in its three hundred years than Casterly Rock has in three thousand. Ser Bonifer Hasty has been named castellan of Harrenhal and Jaime acknowledges that Bonifer and his men are as well disciplined as any soldiers in the Seven Kingdoms. Jaime cautions Bonifer about the history of Harrenhal and says that everyone who holds the castle seems to meet an unfortunate end. Bonifer doesn't seem concerned and thinks that he and his men are pious enough to be protected by the Seven. Jaime sees Red Ronnet Connington in the Bear pit. Ronnet is drunk and says that he wanted to see the bear that Brienne fought with. Ronnet asks Jaime if it's true that Brienne fought naked. Ronnet jokes that the sight of a naked Brienne might have been enough to make the bear flee in fear. Ronnet tells Jaime that he was once betrothed to Brienne and Jaime asks him why they were never wed. Ronnet explains that when he went to Tarth to meet her he thought she looked like a "sow in silk". When he tells Jaime that the bear was less hairy than Brienne and refers to her as a freak, Jaime smacks Ronnet in his mouth with his golden hand. Ronnet falls to his hands and knees and spits out a glob of blood at Jaime's feet. He obediently refers to Brienne by her name.

I like that it was Arya's instinct was to offer hospitality to a Man of the Night's Watch. She protects him, gives him a run down of what life and people are like in Braavos, and she offers him food. I still say that there's no reason why Sam shouldn't consistently be losing weight given how frequently he's in situations where there isn't much food. It's obvious that Arya is learning a lot. She doesn't miss a thing and is about as observant as someone like Varys. Benteen, I agree with you about Dareon. It's easy to forget that he was basically railroaded into this life (assuming that his story is true) so I can understand his instinct to bail and be done with the Night's Watch for good. That being said, it was cold of him to take all of the money when he knew that Sam and the others were relying on him for food. He should have waited until Aemon died and let Sam have whatever was left of the money. Ideally he'd help them pay for passage on another ship too, even if he has to sing to get the money. One thing I wonder about with this chapter--would Aemon have lived on for years and years if he'd stayed put on the Wall. He seems to be implying that the magic of the Wall was essentially preserving his life. I wish Aemon could have met Dany.

Samwell III Sam is frustrated with the way Dareon has been behaving since they've been in Braavos. He sort of understands why Dareon prefers going to inns and brothels as opposed to hanging out with him, Gilly and Maester Aemon, but he's upset that Dareon has broken his promise to come back to bring them food and wine. He feels like Dareon has forgotten that he's a brother of the Night's Watch. Gilly and her baby are two of the reasons Dareon has been distancing himself from the group. He's annoyed with how often they cry and admits that there are times he feels like slapping Gilly. Sam thinks to himself that Dareon would cry too if he were going through what Gilly is going through. Sam blames Jon for Gilly's pain and wonders when exactly it was that Jon's heart turned to stone. Aemon tells Sam that Jon's change started when he was made Lord Commander. The baby's crying wakes up Maester Aemon and Aemon starts asking "Egg" why it's so dark. Aemon's mind has been wandering more frequently lately and there are days where he doesn't know where he is or remember what it was he was talking about. Sam reminds himself that Aemon is one hundred and two years old but notes that Aemon's mind didn't seem to wander back when they were at Castle Black. Sam spent the last of the silver they had on a healer to treat Maester Aemon. The healer gave Sam a half a flask of dreamwine and told him there was nothing more that could be done for Aemon apart from making his passing as peaceful as possible. Aemon keeps requesting to go down to the docks and Sam tells him that they'll go the next day. Sam thinks that they'll head for Oldtown when Aemon is well enough to travel. Aemon asks Sam to go down to the docks so that he can bring back a person who has seen the dragons. Sam wonders if Dareon made up the stories about dragons that he's been hearing in the alehouses and brothels, but Aemon seems convinced that there may be a kernel of truth in the stories that Dareon heard. Aemon tells Sam that he knows he's dying and that he isn't going to make it to Oldtown. Sam realizes that Aemon is afraid of death and tries to tell the maester that his illness will eventually pass. Aemon admits that he dreams about dragons and says that his brothers dreamt of them too. He again asks Sam to go down to the docks to find out all he can about the rumors of dragons. Sam agrees to go to the docks and decides that he'll also attempt to find Dareon. He leaves Gilly in charge of Aemon and leaves before Gilly starts crying again. Sam considers what a loose tongue Dareon has and wonders if the singer hasn't come back because he got himself killed. Sam goes into the best inns and brothels looking for Dareon but isn't having any luck. As he's leaving a brothel he's soon accosted by two bravos who seem determined to start trouble with him. Sam is saved from the encounter by a girl called Cat. Cat tells Sam a little of how life works in Braavos and gives him the last batch of the baked clams she's been selling. Cat tells Sam where to find Dareon and informs Sam that Dareon is soon to be married to the Sailor's Wife. Cat offers to show Sam the way but he tells her that he already knows how to get there. Sam finds Dareon at the brothel. It's clear that Dareon has been drinking and enjoying himself. Sam reminds Dareon of his vows and tells him that he can't marry. Dareon explains that he's only going to be married to the Sailor's Wife for one night. He tells Sam to leave if he isn't interested in drinking and celebrating with him. Sam urges Dareon to help him find someone who knows something about the dragons and says that it will help ease Aemon's passing. Dareon refuses and tells Sam that he's done with being a brother of the Night's Watch. Dareon tears off his cloak and throws it in Sam's face. When Dareon starts talking about how he'll be clad in furs and velvet by next year, Sam punches him in the face and stomach. After Sam and Dareon fight, Sam is eventually thrown out of the brothel and into a canal. Sam tries to swim but soon starts to panic and thinks that he's going to drown. He's saved by a Summer Islander called Xhondo. Xhondo tells Sam that he has a ship called the Cinnamon Wind and says that he knows about the dragons.

Hi guys, sorry I haven't been posting lately. I recently moved out of state for a new job and the move in has taken me longer than I thought it would. I've really been looking forward to Cersei's downfall and Jaime's moment of clarity. I also want to take a close look at the final Sam chapter because there was some good stuff there. Brienne's last couple of chapters get pretty intense too. Ooh, there's also 5he last Alayne chapter. This book is the least interesting to press through but I admit that there's some good stuff here. I still can't believe that we're in the final season of the show with the sixth book nowhere in sight. I'll post a couple of chapters by Sunday if that still works for people. Sorry again for the delay.

Brienne V Hyle Hunt decides to bring the heads of the outlaws with them so that Randyll Tarly can have them for the walls. Brienne is disturbed by the heads and doesn't like being reminded that she killed these men. She tries to pretend that they aren't there but sometimes she can't help but feel their eyes on her, and once she even has a dream that the heads are whispering to each other. They return to Maidenpool and Tarly is surprised when he learns that Brienne is responsible for killing the three criminals. Tarly wants Brienne to get on a ship that will take her to Tarth but Brienne refuses and says that she still needs to find Sansa. Hyle tells Randyll about how strong and quick Brienne is but Tarly doesn't want to hear it. Brienne says that if she's able to find Sandor Clegane she might be able to find Sansa, but Tarly doesn't believe that Brienne will be able to find Sandor since Tarly's men have so far been unable to locate him. Tarly reluctantly gives Brienne his leave to find Sansa but makes it obvious that he doesn't think she'll succeed. He says she'll be lucky if she isn't gang raped by Clegane and his "pack". Brienne tries to get Tarly to allow her and Pod to stay at Maidenpool for the night but Tarly refuses and tells her that he won't suffer to have her under his roof. When Hyle points out that it's technically Lord Mooton's roof, Tarly gets angry and tells Brienne that no father deserves to have a child like her. He warns her not to return to Maidenpool as long as he rules there. They can't find an inn that has any available beds so they head for the docks to see if they can find a place to sleep for the night. Brienne considers going north to look for Sansa but decides that it's more important to try to look for the Hound first. After spending the night on the Lady of Myr they go to the Stinking Goose for breakfast. They meet Hyle when they're finished and he informs them that the Hound was last seen at the Saltpans looking for a ship. Hyle says that Sandor may be trapped there because of all of the fighting and the presence of the outlaws . He mentions one band of outlaws that's led by a woman called Stoneheart. Hyle suggests that they go with Septon Meribald to the Saltpans and informs Brienne that that Randyll Tarly is no longer his lord. Tarly told Hyle that he no longer had need of "his sword or his insolence" so Hyle is prepared to begin a new life as a hedge knight. Brienne tells Hyle that she doesn't want him coming with her because he didn't swear a vow to save Sansa the way she did. Hyle decides to come alone anyway and thinks they'll be well rewarded if they actually manage to find Sansa. Septon Meribald brings a lot of food for the journey to give to the poor and hungry people of the riverlands. He can't read, or write and hasn't worn a pair of shoes in twenty years. He's memorized a bunch of prayers and passages from The Seven Pointed Star and goes from village to village to conduct holy services, perform marriages, and forgive people for their sins. Meribald admits that he was a "wicked" man in his youth and used his position to seduce and deflower various maidens in the riverlands. Septon Meribald mentions that there's a massive wolf pack prowling around the riverlands and claims it has hundreds of wolves. Septon Meribald gives a speech about why broken men should be pitied and how fighting in a war can change a man. Brienne asks how old Meribald was when he was marched off to war and Meribald admits that he was around Pod's age. He was too young to fight in a war but admits that he went because he didn't want to be left behind when all of his brothers were going. Meribald reveals that all of his brothers died when they went off to fight and Hunt realizes that the war they fought in was the War of the Ninepenny Kings.

I have always maintained that the Margene being 16 when she married Bill was a retcon. In season 1 she explicitly stated that she was 23 in a seemingly truthful, almost confessional style conversation with Sarah. She also indicates at least twice that she graduated from high school, once during a conversation at the Mexican restaurant when she and Nicki went out to dinner. Furthermore, if the writers had genuinely always planned for this to be a thing, it really should have come up in the episode where Margene's mom Ginger visited since Ginger was the only person who knew Margene's true age (apart from Margene). As for Bill liking polygamy, I agree that he enjoyed it because he had to sacrifice the least. Some would argue that he didn't sacrifice at all and I'm inclined to agree. Where I think I disagree is the idea that he was always destined to go back. I think Barb's illness caused him to have a crisis of faith and he wondered if not living the Principle was the reason for her getting sick in the first place. (In the pilot, when Rhonda is in the same room with Barb, she tells one of Roman's underlings that Barb and Bill were divinely punished for being "regular married" and that this is why Barb can't have any more babies.) When you read about some of the people who manage to escape extreme Mormon Fundamentalism, many of them struggle with whether or not they made the right choice and initially blame or fear that difficulties they are subsequently encountering are due to abandoning the religion and it being a kind of judgement and punishment from Heavenly Father. I think Bill couldn't understand why their perfect life was suddenly falling apart and turned to religion to get through it. Roman and Nicki likely both saw an opportunity to worm their way in after Bill came to Roman for the loan for the store. (Considering how Roman treated Bill's grandparents it never made sense why Bill would go to Roman for a loan in the first place knowing the kind of person Roman is.) Nicki herself says that she brought herself into Bill's life and we know how manipulative she can be. I think it's very possible that Bill might have stayed with Barb if she hadn't become ill. That being said, I totally think that he would have gone midlife crisis on her at some point and cheated somewhere down the road. If that had happened I could see him trying to pull the polygamist card in order feel morally cleansed. In this scenario though I think that Barb would have had the strength to leave him. I agree that Bill had a massive ego and having a big family was part of that. I seem to recall Bill admitting at some point that his ideal family would have been something like 25 kids. It's like what?! If that isn't ego then I don't know what is. I agree with you about the grandiose sense of self with Bill and it was always surprising to me that he didn't see being prophet of Juniper Creek as being part of his destiny. Having thousands of people following his words and believing in the things that he believes in--it's strange to me that he didn't jump at the chance for this. You'd think it would have appealed to his ego.

I don't think that any of them really liked the polygamy thing. If I had to choose which character seemed most at peace with the arrangement it was probably Margene particularly in the later seasons. She wanted the family to stay together no matter what. She was even supportive of Bill getting an extra night off from the wives. She happily accepted the arrangement and was rarely jealous. In fact she wanted Bill to get a fourth wife and even spoke of him one day having a fifth wife and had no problems with it. I think it's entirely possible that Bill would have stayed in a monogamous marriage with Barb if Barb hadn't got sick. I think the fear of losing her and potentially being a single parent made Bill revert back to what he'd been taught as a child. I think it made him start believing again in the Principle because his interpretation of it was that the arrangement of Principle makes it so that the family is always growing. There's never really an empty nest, he can justify his desire to be with other women (and get Heavenly Father's approval for it! lol), his kids would still have maternal figures if something happened to Barb or one of the other wives, etc. It was a completely selfish move obviosly, but it didn't strike me as unrealistic given his upbringing. Still, I definitely got the impression, particularly in the first two seasons that Bill preferred life with Barb. Nicki was a cross to bear and caused the family nonstop grief. He liked Margene mainly for the sex and the idea that she somehow made him feel younger. That being said, her lack of maturity was annoying and there were definitely times where he preferred being in Barb's company and house to Margene's. Nicki HATED polygamy, she'd just been brainwashed since birth to believe that accepting polygamy was the only way she'd make it into the Celestial Kingdom. She wanted nothing more than to be the first wife and eventually progressed to wanting to be the only wife. She didn't want her daughter to be a polygamist and found herself attracted to the idea of having a monogamous relationship with Ray Henry. If we could see where these women are ten years after Bill I can't imagine that Nicki would marry another polygamist man. If Barb hadn't been LDS I think she more than likely would have dumped Bill the moment he floated the idea of marrying Nicki. It was her LDS background that made her especially vulnerable to being manipulated into believing the original word of the faith. It wasn't some thing that was completely alien to her. Her not too distant ancestors were polygamists (her mother's grandfather was a polygamist) and this is something that has happened with real life LDS women, so it wasn't hard for me to believe that Barb struggled with whether or not to believe. I thought her crisis of faith was one of the most interesting stories of the series because it struck me as very real and complicated. Reading the real life stories of women going through similar conversions only made it more fascinating to me. If ever there was a show that I wish would get a reboot or a sequel series it's this one. So many interesting stories they could tell. I agree with others that seasons 4 and 5 were weak in comparison to the first 3 but I still think Big Love was one of the best shows I've ever seen and it well earned its spot in the Golden Era of television.

I'm glad there's a thread for this. I LOVED it. I'm a sucker for period films in a royal setting so I knew I would see this when I saw the trailer, but I'm still surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It felt very fresh, original and funny. Some royal stories are just paint by numbers adaptations but The Favourite is a film where I feel like I can say that I haven't seen a movie quite like it. If I were to compare it to another movie, I guess The Madness of King George comes to mind. I can see a few surface similarities there but both movies have qualities that are totally their own . The humor really sold me and the language feels very modern but not in a way that feels like it's trying to pander to the lowest common denominator. The shooting scenes were fun and really gave Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone a chance to shine. Olivia Coleman was terrific. She's funny and alternates between being clueless and occasionally sharp. She has some level of self awareness, but being the monarch insulates her from have to deal with any genuine introspection. On the surface she has some things that people would enjoy having. Money, power, a palace, servants at her beck and call, a best friend she can confide in and have fun with, etc. On the other hand, it's easy to see why she's completely miserable. She's lonely, she's in constant physical pain, she has no family left, she endured 17 pregnancies but has no surviving children to show for it, and she's only in contact with people who are on her payroll or who want to use her for their own reasons. (Sometimes it's both when it comes to people like Abigail or the Marlboroughs.) I'm curious to know what people think about that ending.

Oh, I'm sure she is. She probably thinks she's somehow the HBIC now even though that title probably goes to Erika or Kyle these days. It was so strange to me how all of the women pretty much bent over backwards to be in Dorit's good graces last season. What does she bring to the table that makes them all want to be besties with her? I'm surprised that Teddi and Denise didn't go to Lisa's event. Maybe they thought it would make more waves to attend than to not attend if Lisa is done with the show. Why piss off the other women for the sake of someone they'll no longer be working with on the show? I guess certain people wanted to make sure this event wasn't filmed. Nice of the VPR cast to come considering the cameras weren't there.

I enjoyed the last episode a lot. The first and last episodes were the only ones that felt like they were worth my time so two out of eight. I was disappointed with this series overall but this last episode is definitely worth talking about. Ondine was HORRIBLE. I can't remember the last time I felt such loathing for a character. I am a nonviolent person in real life yet somehow I was hoping that she'd end up getting punched in the face. She pushed all of my buttons so good job on the actress for absolutely nailing the inner hideousness of this character. Ondine was the sort of person where her only redeeming quality is her appearance. It takes a special kind of asshole to be cruel to a child let alone a child who is suffering from the loss of a parent. Then to add in that she probably killed said parent and you realize they don't make them any lower than her. Then she actually has the audacity to suggest that if he'd really loved his mother that he would have saved her from the fire. Omg that made me see red. That would have been the nuclear button for me if I'd been in Simon's position. That was the point where I was hoping she'd get a smack in the mouth. Then she says that if her son had been in the same situation that her son would have saved her. Gah, what an awful asswipe of a human being she was. I know MW loves his horrible mother characters but this one took the cake for me. The stuff in Hong Kong could have been its own episode. I liked the use of Eternal Flame. What I find shocking about my reaction to this episode is that I was okay with Candace (presumably) getting away with it. I wouldn't feel this way in real life of course but since I know these are fictional characters, I'm totally fine with this murder going unsolved. The only thing that sucks is that Ondine won't ever realize that this was payback for the lifetime of cruelty she happily inflicted on her stepchild. I think in my headcanon I've decided that Candace will visit Ondine on her deathbed and whisper the truth to her.

How does Cersei expect anyone to take Tommen seriously as a king if she doesn't? She's creating division within her own family when they already have a host of other enemies and problems to deal with. The way the laughter and smiles die when Cersei enters the picture during Tommen's training session with the Tyrells tells us everything that we need to know about the dynamic between Cersei and the Tyrells. Even when they're helping her son, cheering him on, giving him valuable advice, being friendly to him, making him laugh---it means nothing to her. No matter what they do they'll never be able to win this crazy woman over so how are they supposed to handle her? The only positive bit between Cersei and Tommen here is that she recognizes that he's a kinder person than Joffrey was. The stuff with the kittens, she pushed it to the back over her mind but she never forgot. She saw proof of Joffrey's monstrous side and is at least glad that Tommen isn't going around the Red Keep looking for kittens to murder. As for Cersei not recognizing that Loras Tyrell would be a great master-at-arms for her son, here she is again blocking attempts for her son to form lifelong friendships and powerful alliances. She's dojng everything she can to isolate him. She also seems to be uncomfortable with Loras's sexuality when she has the line that she doesn't think that Loras is the kind of man that any boy should want to emulate. I think it would have made sense if Jaime and Loras would both teach Tommen. That would give a balance for both families and he'd learn from two of the best fighters in Westeros. It isn't surprising that Cersei cares nothing about what's going on in the Free Cities and Essos but I continue to find it strange that she blows off all of the rumors about dragons without at least wanting to make a few more inquiries. It isn't like there isn't proof of dragons having once existed not too long ago. It isn't as if she doesn't know that there are one or two Targaryens left. It isn't as if she isn't aware that there are huge ass dragon skulls underneath the Red Keep. This is a woman who sees dangers in every shadow of every corner. I would think that the dragon rumors would just add to her overall paranoia especially since she's heard the rumors from more than one person. I find it very hard to believe that she wouldn't at least wonder if it could be true. I do wonder what would have happened to Jaime if Cersei would have married Rhaegar. What would Tywin's plans have been for him? Would he have ended up with a Tyrell? A Hightower? Catelyn? If Cersei had given birth to three of Rhaegar's kids would he have looked at Lyanna? Would Lyanna still have turned Robert down? Cersei doesn't consider even for a moment that people don't respect her because she's done nothing to earn their respect. She hasn't shown wisdom or strength or political acuity. She hasn't made useful allainces, she hasn't shown loyalty, and she routinely insults people whether they're servants, nobles or family members. One bit that I thought was interesting was Cersei remembering her father telling her that she'd marry Rhaegar but that for the time being it would have to be their secret. Cersei specifically remembers Tywin smiling. "The secret smile that only she ever saw." This idea that Tywin never smiled seems to be an exaggeration amd he could probably be warm with his family from time to time particularly when Joanna was alive. As for the picture that Cersei drew, it's funny that she drew Rhaegar and her on a dragon even though Rhaegar wasn't a dragon rider. Also notable here is that little girl Cersei was hiding stuff from Jaime. She hid this drawing, her hope to marry Rhaegar, her visit with Maggy the Frog, and whatever happened with Melara, etc. Jaime OTOH seems to have been an open book with his sister.

I feel bad that I find the narco characters to be infinitely more compelling than the DEA characters. I want the DEA characters to win and always want them to be safe from violence, but when it comes to the actual story I'm more interested in what's going on with the drug lords and their button men. Kiki was a great character though and I liked seeing what a strong and loving dynamic he had with his wife. It was hard to watch scenes with the two of them knowing what would happen. It was also nice to see how close the DEA families were who were stationed in Mexico. They made sure to be there for each other and be supportive. Lots of parties and laughter. They really seemed like a big family. Miguel Angel was a smart guy but he got greedy the way all of this show's top drug dealers do. I'm kind of inclined to agree with him though that if he hadn't chosen to expand into cocaine, somebody else from one of the plazas eventually would have. Still I don't know why he had to rush it. They were making ridiculously excellent money with the weed with minimal complications. Neto was right that Miguel should have been content the way that Neto and Rafa were. Miguel was always looking for the next best thing. I was surprised when Miguel broke up with his wife. I honestly didn't see that coming. Somehow I expected more from him. It was so cold the way he told her that hd didn't need her anymore. Also, the way he continually fucked over the lady who made the introductions for him. She was patient, she repeatedly helped him negotiate, she asks for a piece and he lies to her and eventually gets angry enough with her to manhandle her without ever thinking for a moment how he would feel if he were in her position. Rafa was an idiot. He was loyal to Miguel but he was ultimately a liability and he shoulders a big part of the blame for what happened with Kiki. His romance with Sofia was so crazy. Both characters need to have their heads examined. If you have to stage a kidnapping in order to be together IDK maybe consider seeing other people? Lol and how Tony Montana is his style icon? This guy has all of the maturity of a fifteen year old boy. I'm glad that he got to see with his own eyes how quickly Sofia turned on him in order to save herself. I will say that anyone who was concerned that this series somehow glamourizes drugs and drug dealers has absolutely nothing to worry about. There are basically only two endings for guys who get into this business and reach the top levels. Death or prison. Sometimes there's a period of life on the run but life on the run ends either with the runner being killed or taken off to jail. As for the drug use, this is about as appealing as the drug use in Requiem for a Dream. It's awful, awful stuff and seeing Rafa's moment of clarity was very well done. When he watches one of his guys repeatedly snorting obscene amounts of cocaine up his nose, it's finally obvious to him how sick and dangerous it is. You wonder how they don't OD. When he's trying to quit and he goes through all of this panic and pain, I was so disappointed when one of his guys decided to give him a snort so that he'd feel better. It seemed like he was so close to making it to the light at the end of the tunnel. I did find it interesting that Rafa was so anti getting into cocaine distribution when he's such a coke head. Did we ever see him smoke weed at all? It sort of reminded me how we wouldn't see Pablo doing blow. We'd just see him smoking weed. Maybe it comes back to that 'don't get high on your own supply' rule. Don Neto was my favorite character in this group of bad guys. Funny, loyal, intelligent but also recognizes his own limitations. His grief over his son--nice work by the actor. He doesn't even really try to get away when he goes to the beach house. He could have had a life on the run (or at least attempted it) but he seemed to accept that his course was run and that jail or death were the only options. He didn't panic or make a desperate last move, he just accepted it. Consider the way some of the characters in previous seasons who have been in his position have acted and it makes him seem fairly dignified in comparison. I enjoyed this season and hope that we get another one. If they're going to do bunch of sub series, this show could go all over the world and to multiple time periods.

I just wish that Alina wouldn't rush through her choreography. For example, her bauer is beautiful but she holds it for a second before she moves on to the next thing. She really needs to allow herself to show off her extension and line. As good as she is I feel like there's a lot of untapped potential with her skating. She could really flourish with the right choreographer. Still, I'm impressed with the way that Alina is maintaining her jumping ability with this obvious growth spurt. She's doing an awesome job and she goes for everything no matter what. She has determination and charm and overall I really like her skating and think she's exciting. As far as the ladies skating, Russian nationals is the competition I'm most looking forward to this year. I never thought I'd look forward to Russian nationals more than US nationals but this has been the case for me for the past three years or so. Japanese nationals should be exciting too as far as singles. Any thought from anyone on why there haven't been any top Japanese pair teams? Talk about untapped potential.

I'm a big Gracie fan so it was really hard to watch that short program. So many unkind things were said about her back when she was legitimately competitive and now that the quality of her skating has declined, some of the comments are even worse. Now that she's nowhere close to being ready to be back in the game, she's basically been permanently written off as though there's no way in hell it's possible that she could maybe, just maybe make a comeback of sorts. It's obviously not happening this season but I like to think that if she's able to focus, properly train, continue to manage her eating disorder, and remember what she loves about this sport that maybe she can at least leave the ice with a performance that makes her feel proud as opposed to a performance that makes people feel sorry for her. It bums me out though that she's likely to leave this sport without achieving a world medal especially when I think of how close she was in 2016. At least she has her Olympic team medal and national titles. Those are huge accomplishments for her to be proud of and the sport will always remember her for them. I can't help but think of the list of skaters who have dealt with body and confidence issues over the years and it makes me sad because this sport can really do a number on a person psychologically.