Avaleigh

I didn't hate it, and I enjoyed Kate Winslet's other HBO projects so much that I'm hopeful I'll come around to enjoying this series almost as much. It's definitely flawed, but there were some bright spots here and there. There's definitely some offbeat humor. This brings me to one of the problems with the show though. There are some parts that are sort of funny, but not funny enough for me to label this a comedy, not even a dark comedy. It's not really a drama either though. I honestly couldn't tell you which genre they're going for and that in itself is problematic at least IMO. As far as tone, it's kind of all over the place. Still, I'm intrigued enough to want to know more about the Elena character. How did she turn out this way? What was her father like? What's her ultimate objective for her country? What I found interesting is how she has just enough awareness to not want the Americans to see her obsessive side. It's funny that she has no problem giving a not so great musical performance for the American politicians, but draws the line at them finding out about her humidity obsession. The show hasn't won me over yet, but I want to see more. I'll have a better sense by the next couple episodes.

I wanted to reply to this before the forums went down. Yes, it was a little hard to watch how thin the pairs field is right now. I'm guessing some of these teams didn't have much competition at sectionals because there were only 10 teams. Gone are the days when there'd be 12-15 pair teams at nationals. Honestly, the field isn't that deep internationally either. Even though I don't enjoy admitting it, I can be fair enough to acknowledge that pairs is the only discipline where I absolutely feel the absence of the Russians. Men, ladies, and dance are still incredibly deep. There are multiple top notch exciting skaters who keep the competition interesting and make it feel like it isn't set in stone who will win. I don't miss the Russians in those disciplines at all. That being said there are some notable bright spots in pairs that keep me watching. Miura and Kihara have been a delight to watch the past three years and are hopefully inspiring the next generation of pairs skaters. Conti and Macii are getting better every season and I look forward to seeing how they do in the team event at the Olympics in two years. If Italy gets the right woman they could have a real shot for the bronze in 2026. Deanna Stellato is beyond fierce and inspiring. I love how many men and women in figure skating are proving that age really is just a number.

Yeah, I'm im the minority about Adam and Ashley although I will admit to enjoying Adam's commentary over Ashley's. That's why I said in a perfect world my new line up would be Adam, Polina and Terry. It's a fair point that they talk a lot, but I think for me the content of what they have to say doesn't grate on my nerves the way Johnny's commentary does. At this past nationals he particularly annoyed me during Jason Brown's long. Hey, it wouldn't be the first time I've disagreed with people over at Golden Skate. They can be extra savage with the commentary over there. That's why I only lurk.

Agreed that Johnny and Tara are better than Scott and Sandra, but after ten years I'd like to see a new lineup. Terry can stay though. I think he's great. Thinking on old commentators, I also can't say that I miss Peter Carruthers. I still remember the way he seemed more preoccupied with certain skaters looks as opposed to their skating. Regarding Lindsay Thorngren, my biggest issue with her is that she seems miserable out there. It's entirely possible that skating is her greatest joy and I'm totally reading it incorrectly, but she reminds me of the kind of skaters who are skating because they feel they have to, not because they particularly want to. As far as her actual skating, the jumps need work and the UR issues with her are pretty constant--that being said, I do see a big improvement this season with her overall skating skills save the jumps. I think her spins are, to quote Uncle Dick, first rate and her footwork has definitely improved. Next season I'd like to see her with programs that she really enjoys and maybe that will help. Starr Andrews skating skills aren't quite as good as Lindsay's (IMO) but the joy she has for skating is obvious and it makes her programs fun to watch even when she makes mistakes. Part of the appeal to me is that she generally chooses music she connects to.

I enjoyed listening to Adam and Ashley at nationals. I'm hoping they're going to be the B team I get to listen to when the Olympics rolls around. It's funny that I very much prefered listening to Johnny and Tara back when they were the B team at Sochi. They were much better to listen to than Scott and Sandra. Now though I'd like to see them replaced. My perfect team would be Adam and Polina, but I'd settle for Adam and Ashley. With Johnny, I'm a little tired of his bias towards the Russians. It even extends to favoring Russian Americans and skaters who are coached by Russians and/or former Soviet skaters. Like he thinks no other skating school styles have anything to offer.

Pairs skaters have been able to do side by side triples since the late 80s and early 90s. Yes, side by side triples are a challenging element, but many teams complete them successfully. Too many to list. Also, this isn't a male female issue. Consider when Aliona Savchenko was with Robin Szolkowy. He fell on their side by side triples at two different Olympics while she landed hers. There are other examples of women hitting their jumps while the men make mistakes. Mistakes happen, there's nothing to suggest that side by side triples are too difficult for most women to perform. I also don't like the idea of making an element easier on the grounds that the women supposedly aren't strong enough to handle it. US pairs might not be in a great place right now, but it'll eventually get better. It just takes one strong team to light a fire that inspires others.

Go Amber! I'm so happy she's finally a national champion. I gasped audibly when she doubled the lutz. Prior to that moment I honestly thought she was finally going to have that magical skate. Then when she popped I was so bummed. I thought Isabeau had it in the bag. I feel so bad for Isabeau. I was surprised by the first fall, but by the third I was absolutely stunned. I don't think I've been that surprised with the ladies long since Michelle tanked in '97. I'm so happy for Amber and Josephine but feel terrible for Isabeau. The competition was more exciting than I thought it would be.

Too bad. I was so looking forward to seeing her compete here. Hopefully she has an amazing skate at 4CC and is chosen for the world team. I too am curious why nationals is so late this year. I always look forward to nationals, but I feel like this year isn't going to be especially exciting. I don't think there are going to be any surprises as far as the winners go.

I didn't think that backflips were illegal because of any potential danger factor. I thought the decision to keep them out of competition early on was to keep the sport from becoming gymnastics on ice. I'm curious now to know though what the "official" reason is. That being said, I mostly agree with you. I think my primary concern is that I don't want a backflip to become yet another element that everyone feels they have to do in order to get more points. I worry that every program will include them even from skaters who don't do them well. Still, I don't think skaters should lose points with these tumbling style elements. I just don't want a backflip to turn into an unofficial requirement. Theoretically though if people want to have the option of including a "leap" of some kind on the choreo sequence, I'm more than okay with that. It seems to excite the audience and viewers, and skating is in a place where it really needs a shot in the arm. If it takes backflips to get more people to watch, I say why not?

Did anyone have any thoughts about Adam deciding to spontaneously do a backflip during (I think?) the choreo sequence? I think it would have worked for me more if his program had been flawless and it was a way to kind of put his excitement on display. Here it maybe came across a little show offy? As if it didn't matter to him that he'd lose points even with a shaky program because no one at this event is near his level. I didn't mind it, but it didn't seem like the right moment to have that kind of DGAF moment. Or maybe I'm juat overanalyzing it. 🤷🏽‍♀️ There's definitely been an uptick in aerials, cartwheels, arabians and the like. If another skating discipline were created, I wonder if it would allow for more acrobatic moves? There certainly seems to be an appetite for it in terms of the audience and viewers.

Kurakova is a favorite of mine so this was disappointing. I hope she comes back strong for worlds. So far the only standouts for me for the women from the earlier groups were Livia Kaiser, Sarina Joos, and Olga Mikutina. Maybe an honorable mention for Julia Sauter. Loena was great. The combo wasn't perfect but the overall program was strong. Nina!! What a great season for her if she ends up with a medal here. Her jumps aren't huge, but I definitely feel like she's a full package skater. Very polished in terms of her presentation. For the pairs, I admit, I preferred Ghilardi and Ambrosini. Then again, I'm not a big fan of Cats so that's probably why I didn't respond as much to Beccari and Guarise's program. I definitely got the impression that Johnny isn't happy the Russians aren't able to compete.

Poor Kevin. I saw his performance at French nationals and it really was the worst I've ever seen him skate. He just gave up. I was hoping he'd do better at Europeans, but unfortunately it was another disaster. It's too bad because he's the most artistic guy out there who's still competing. I've seen Adam skate better, but I'll be happy for him if he wins. My favorite skate of the day was definitely Aleksandr Selevko of Estonia. That program was everything I didn't know I needed. Fingers crossed he brings it in the long program.

I feel terrible for Laurence and for the alleged victim. I can't even imagine finding out that your on ice and off ice partner is being accused of sexual assault. I just read that Laurence and Nikolaj withdrew from Nationals. That was probably the best call. I read what the victim said and I understand why she came forward. At least parents can make an informed decision if Nikolaj goes into coaching. I don't know how this is all going to turn out, but I completely understand why the victim came forward.

I mostly agree with this. Denise has failed multiple times at this point to present her arguments in a way that makes any sort of sense. This reminds me of a line from some show I watched: 'If you aim for the [queen], you best not miss.' Denise completely missed when she took aim at Erika and pretty much got annihilated in return. It annoys me so much that I have to be on Team Erika in the Erika vs Denise conflict this season, but Denise has made it impossible for me to be on her side on this one. Erika came to this battle armed with facts, logic, and bitchy flavored truthdrops. Denise OTOH came with incoherence, inaccurate statements, and sloppy emotion. The fact that Denise, for all her "watch the show" comments, clearly hasn't watched the show (or is choosing to ignore the truth) or she'd know that Erika already apologized to her over this BS. Furthermore, she'd know that Erika was correct when she made the point that other people, including Denise, made inappropriate comments at that particular party where the teens were present. The incredible thing about this to me is that Denise had the support of the viewers only to piss it all away over something I don't even think she really cares about that much. (IMO she just wanted to unload on somebody because of her negative experience with being on the show.) Erika wasn't always great with Denise those two seasons she was a main cast member, but she wasn't even close to being the worst one that year. (That honor goes to Rinna.) Denise keeps saying that people should watch the show and yeah, Erika was out of line when she suggested that Denise's underage daughters might have been involved in threesomes, but that still isn't enough of an excuse for Denise to use her friend status time this season going after Erika. A couple of straightforward sentences would have been enough for Denise to make her point. There was no need for her to spend all of her episodes this season on this topic. Denise blew such an easy one. Erika is one of the least liked women on this show since she revealed what an empty, heartless person she is. A lot of people were looking forward to seeing Denise lay into her and she just ended up with egg all over her face. Meanwhile Kim was one of the most rational people in this episode. What an upside-down world this feels like when I think about what my impressions were of all of these people some five years ago or so. Remember when Denise seemed like the responsible parent who even looked after Charlie's twins for a time? It's interesting how public perception can change.

I think I read a couple of months ago that they'd finally make a ruling on the Kamila situation at the end of this month. (How is it possible that this mess hasn't been settled yet?) Since Kamila was stripped of her gold medal at the nationals that put her onto the Olympic team, to me that should sway any hesitation someone might have about stripping the ROC of their gold medal in the team event. She should never have been on the team in the first place. I'm crossing my fingers that the right decision will be made, but I don't know that I'll believe it until the skaters actually get their medals. Hopefully the Americans, Japanese and Canadians finally get the medals they're owed.

Doesn't that just say it all? The arrogance and the lack of appreciation for the combo of athleticism and artistry, that was very well represented at the GPF, just shows that they really do think it's all about the ultra c elements. The Russians dominated the sport for a long time particularly the ladies event for the past ten years or so. One thing that's very apparent to me upon reflection is the difference between the Evgenia/Liza/Alina period vs the Anna/Sasha/Kamila period. With Evgenia I wasn't really a fan of the 'tano on every jump, but other than that I felt her artistry was strong. More important, she delievered with every program for three consecutive seasons including at the Olympics. When you consider the world podiums for 2015-2018 and contrast that with the podiums of 2019 and 2021, the difference in quality of skating is very apparent. The skaters might have had more technical content in 2019 and 2021 but it was at the expense of artistry and clean programs. The worlds in 2021 were a splatfest for the top three skaters. The clean programs were from the skaters who placed 4th and 5th. The podiums in 2022 and 2023 were filled with full package skaters like Kaori and Loena who value artistry, good technique and exciting programs. This is what the sport should be about. I think what really grinds my gears with the Russian skaters is that they see themselves as huge victims. They think they're victims of political persecution. They think the other skating federations are jealous and want them kept out because they're so competitive. They think the doping scandal isn't a scandal at all and somehow doesn't reflect poorly on any of the Russians involved. I agree that Russia needs to be kept out of sporting events because of the war, but I also don't want the ISU to not address the other huge reason they shouldn't be allowed to compete. These people cheat. They have been caught cheating multiple times. At what point are they going to be held accountable? Not allowing them to use the flag or use their anthem is not punishment enough. Obviously it isn't because they keep doing the same cheating BS and know they'll just get a slap on the wrist. They need a real ban. 12 years, three Olympic cycles, and maybe they'll get it through their heads that it isn't okay to lie and cheat their way through life. All this being said, I know a long-term ban isn't really going to do anything. Skaters will just end up representing other countries. Russians who were born and train in Russia are already representing Kazakhstan, Poland, Georgia, etc. I read that Samodelkina is going to represent Kazakhstan so that she can guarantee having a spot at the Olympics. I don't know that there is a real solution to any of this.

She goes back to fighting with the other ladies without feeling guilty about it? She supposedly gave up fighting with them for Lent. She hasn't exactly followed through on this one.

I agree with all of this. Also, while I agree that Denise was being disingenuous about whether or not her teen daughters had heard of threesomes before (I'm sure they had), the moment where I felt Erika was out of line was when she suggested that Denise's daughters might well have participated in a threesome already. Who wants to hear a "friend" opine that their underage daughters might be having threesomes? By the most basic definition of civililty, I would call that rude. If nothing else, it definitely wasn't nice, plus it's a little icky to speculate about the sex life of your friend's teen kids. Also, yes, we all remember Erika's OTT reaction with Eileen for mentioning her kid in a very minor and inoffensive way. She absolutely needs to be called out. Denise hasn't expressed herself well, and I suspect that there are some unaddressed substance issues at play here. Her anger at Erika might be misplaced, but I can't bring myself to care all that much because Erika has more than earned someone letting her know what an asshole she can be.

I loved this episode. Some of the most humorous moments for me on this show have involved Margaret, so I've developed a bit of a soft spot for her over the years. I'm definitely glad the show made the choice to give her a farewell episode. It feels like the right decision. I've really enjoyed watching the Margaret character evolve over the seasons. Each actress left their stamp on the character and each one brought life, humor and sympathy to this flawed, but somehow still surprisingly loveable character. Lesley Manville is an incredible actress and just a treat to watch in every role I've seen her in. I remember being excited when I learned that she'd been cast as Margaret and she did not disappoint. Please give her some Emmy love, voters! As for the episode itself, the tub scene just hurt my heart. Also, seeing Elizabeth watch the rapid deterioration of her little sister, who suddenly seems more of an age with their hundred year old mother, was heartbreaking to watch. Her slurred speech and her realization that even walking again wasn't necessarily a guarantee gave me all the feels. If I have a criticism of the episode it's this. They wanted to emphasize her loneliness, but Margaret did have her children and there was more staff than was portrayed here.

I'm ride or die for The Crown but this episode was shit. Boring, uninspired and straight up ridiculous at points. Very disappointing that they went with the Carole Middleton maneuvered the situation so that her daughter would have a relationship with the future king. Also, that scene where Carole talks about Party Pieces--it didn't sound like an organic conversation between a mother and daughter, it sounded like an info dump that was for the benefit of the audience. I didn't get the line either where Harry tells William to stop being a frigid weirdo. I get that Harry was joking, but William didn't have an issue forming relationships with girls, so it didn’t make sense to me. I would have better understood Harry trying to get William to loosen up to do that pub crawl thing the other students were talking about when William was considering going to the cottage on the Balmoral estate. For me this was easily one of the weakest episodes in the series.

Thankfully Kim seems to be in a better place now, but Kim was rightly called out for her behavior over the seasons. Kim could be incredibly mean often with no rhyme or reason. She and Kyle would sometimes be mean together, sometimes they were mean to each other and sometimes they had different targets. Kyle and Kim have a lot of similarities. Kyle has rightly been called out as a mean girl and she has a trail of people she's treated like shit on this show over the seasons. The only reason Kim's trail of people she was mean to is smaller is because she wasn't on the show for as many seasons. What struck me about Kim was that she'd often go after a person's appearance. With Taylor, she insulted her lips. With Rinna she went after her weight. She told Brandi she looked like a hoebag because she was wearing white shorts. (Brandi is in my top 3 least favorite housewives, but there was nothing controversial about that particular outfit and when Kim made the comment she'd known Brandi all of 60 minutes.) She told Eileen, who had done *nothing* to her that she didn't like her hair or her face. She mocked Kyle for being concerned about Kim's dog biting her daughter's hand. Kim had zero concern or remorse for what happened to her niece during that reunion. I agree that Brandi read Kyle accurately at certain points, but I don't think that's why Brandi befriended Kim. Brandi had alienated everyone else in the cast and she understood the dynamic between the sisters could be used to her advantage. She got Kim in her corner by siding with her in the Kyle feud, and extended her story by inserting herself into the drama between the sisters. Note that Brandi was annoyed when it seemed like Kyle and Kim were getting to a better place in their relationship. She wasn't supportive of Kim's relationship with Kyle improving and that told me all I needed to know about Brandi's motivation as far as her friendship with Kim. Later of course, Brandi burned through her friendship with Kim by being indiscreet about her personal life. Kyle has been terrible, but I'm resistant to whitewashing everything that happened in the early seasons with Kim. Kim was not blameless for why people had a negative impression of her. She lied repeatedly, she was unstable, and she treated people horribly on a regular basis. This doesn't just go away because Kyle is currently acting like an ass for the upteenth time.

Yes, this is another area where this cult is different than others I've seen. A lot of the power for the cult leaders develops in situations where there is close proximity and regular physical contact. Competitiveness can develop among followers regarding who gets the cult leader's attention. How will Shaleia feel if/when she has to share Jeff's attention? It's one thing for him to give people attention online. But once they're all living on the compound? That's definitely going to change the group dynamic. Also, don't most of his followers have regular jobs because they don't make much money from the MLM stuff? How does the money keep rolling in if they quit their regular jobs to move on this compound?? Or is the idea that the followers who aren't on the compound would be funding the lifestyle of the ones who are? I'm on the fence about this. In a way I can see this happening but in another way I sort of feel like if multiple girlfriends/wives/partners is the end goal he could have done that a long time ago. I wouldn't be at all surprised if some of his followers are willing. I could be way off base, but I feel like he's more interested in manipulating the relationships of others rather than wanting more physical relationships for himself. Also, if I heard about any other couple using IVF to have a baby it wouldn't seem unusual in any way. With Jeff though, I get such a misogynistic and misanthropic vibe from him that it made me wonder if he and Shaleia aren't very physical with each other.

Agreed. Jeff comes across as a misanthrope. I don't know that he likes or respects any living person. He seems to think that most people are stupid and weak and in constant need of aggressive guidance. He also seems to be under the delusion that wherever he goes he's the smartest person in the room. Just an all around disgusting, slimebag of a person. I don't think I've seen a cult leader quite like these two. When I think of all the cult leaders I've seen in other documentaries, I feel like their motivations were pretty straightforward. Money, power, sex, faith, etc. All of this applies to these two as well but with Jeff and Shaleia there's any extra layer of weirdness that I can't quite put my finger on. It's not just Jeff's sadistic tendencies that are alarming. There's almost a vibe of this being an OTT prank that they've fully committed to playing on whichever humans are unfortunate enough to get involved with them. I am not convinced that they believe what they're selling. With some cult leaders I feel like they believe a lot of the garbage they spew. Even some people in MLM schemes I think they've more or less talked themselves into believing it's something else. With Jeff and Shaleia I feel like they're both conscious of the fact that their thing doesn't make any sense. They're making this shit up as they go along and are having their cult members do stuff that doesn't even serve the interests of the cult which, at the end of the day, disrupts their bottom line. To me, they're more interested in the outrageousness of what they can con people into doing as opposed to getting people to make choices that will support the growth of the cult. If you're working a con where you're having people aggressively pursue people who emphatically aren't interested in them it doesn't make any sense. To me it would have been more practical to have people continue the search for their "real" twin flame. From the MLM perspective it should have been like, 'Oh, you haven't found your match yet because you didn't buy this class. You need to buy these classes and tools in order to find a match. Keep paying and it'll happen.' They should always look outside of the group for matches 99% of the time because that's the best chance of building their numbers. To me there's much more mileage out of having a member search for the right person for them as opposed to forcing the issue with a person who clearly isn't interested in them. Sure, it can help the cult leaders reach some short term goals (like damaging a follower's self esteem) but it's definitely not a good long-term strategy. I think they were getting a kick out of having people be so aggressive in their searches that they were turning them into creepy stalkers.

I remember awhile back someone here wondering which skating fanbase is the most insane (Virtue and Moir, Sergei's widows, Fanyus, etc.) Just in case there was any doubt, it's officially the Hanyu stans. I was reading Hanyu's post on X regarding why he and his partner are divorcing and it's incredibly disturbing. It seems like they haven't been able to have a moment of peace since they married. It's very sad. I'd hoped that once he retired maybe the stans would stop with the weirdness, but it sounds like the stalking and general harassment is worse than ever. I feel terrible for Hanyu, his wife, and their families. It's not like he can just flip a switch and not be famous anymore. Short of completely going off the grid, it seems like he's going to have to put up with the stans for the foreseeable future.

What I would like to see happen is a limit for how many times a skater can put their arms over their head. My thought is limit it to no more than three times per program. One jumping pass can have both arms over the head. If you repeat the jump it has to be done the normal way. That way you show that you've mastered more than one way of doing the jump. One jumping pass can have one arm over the head 'tano style. If this jump is repeated, same deal, you have to do it the normal way. Allow one jump with an arm accent on the back half of a combination because it's typically harder to do it on the second jump. Every other jump should be done the standard way. JMO. An arm accent on a jump used to be a cool feature. Now it's just repetitive. I thought that they didn't get extra points but that it sometimes leads to a higher GOE? I thought that was why all the Russians did it for every jump.