Avaleigh

I'm with you on this being the worst season of AHS to date. That being said, I actually thought this episode was better than the others. Granted, being better than the earlier 4 episodes is an extremely low bar but I guess I'll take what I can get. I thought she chose not to leave the pastries because she was upset with Siobhan? I thought Siobhan was a new PR manager for Anna. Like a recent hire. Was there dialogue prior to this episode to suggest that they're best friends who have known each other for years? I remember Anna being aware of Siobhan's fertility struggles, but I guess I didn't connect that with Anna being her BFF. They don't act like friends at all, certainly not best friends. Speaking of relationships that don't seem genuine, what's up with Siobhan and her boyfriend? She seems like she can't stand this guy. Why does she choose to spend time with him? Also, why did Siobhan need Anna to say that she wants an oscar as much as she wants a baby? If she'd said she doesn't care about winning an oscar would the girl still be alive? Seems like they're going to use Anna for their plan no matter what, so what's the point in asking her how she feels about an award? Is it just to make her feel complicit? How does this help them reach their end goal regarding this demon baby? This show is a mess.

I feel that way too and I'm mildly curious to see how this scene fits into the larger story. I was also expecting Siobhan to pop up in that scene along with the Ashleys, but I guess Kim being in on it is supposed to be a surprise even though it couldn't be more obvious. The Tudor scene and the scene with the mother in law were the only times I felt engaged with what was happening on screen. Nice to see Debra Monk. She's always playing terrible mothers, isn't she? This. I'm kind of mad at myself for continuing to watch. I guess it's hard to quit a show I used to think was awesome. I'm always hopeful they'll get their mojo back. Isn't it supposed to be a sac of spider eggs? I keep wating for the spiders to hatch out of her face. That's an old school scary story where some girl thinks she just has the worst pimple ever but it's actually a sac of spider eggs and she doesn't realize it until it bursts. ETA: I'm guessing it'll rupture once she goes into labor.

I gasped too! Somehow that was the most shocking moment in this episode for me. Just when you think there's nothing else Renna can do to strip Egwene of her identity (aside from changing her mind about letting Egwene keep her name), she goes and does that shit. She's lucky Nynaeve wasn't there to see that. Guaranteed that would have brought enough anger for Nynaeve to channel. It made me laugh but I have to admit this was a little disappointing to me. I was really hoping to see how far Rand had come with using his heron marked blade. Considering how Rand was inactive for most of this battle it would have been nice if his fight scene with Turak had been a little longer. I was expecting him to be able to handle fighting all of those guys by using a combo of the One Power and his sword fighting skills, so it was kind of an anticlimactic moment for me even if I did appreciate the Indiana Jones nod. And speaking of crossing franchises, there were multiple moments where I felt Rand had a Jedi look going on with when the hood of his cloak was up. Moghedien is wacky and weird, and I'm here for it. Love the spiderwebs and how freaked out Lanfear looked. This might have been my favorite moment in this excellent episode. I can't wait to meet the other Forsaken. The show has done an awesome job with all of the ones we've met.

Agreed. This is why I think it would have been a good idea for her character to have friends and colleagues who weren't in on whatever it is that's going on. Have those characters get fun dialogue and be a support system for Anna while she's navigating this challenging period of her life. Then you have those characters picked off one by one to add to the tension. Have those characters replaced with characters who are in on the Big Bad plot against Anna. We could have seen these people all have scenes without Anna to break up the monotony of her scenes. Keep those moments humorous and exciting to balance the rest of the story. This show is seriously lacking in humor and the humor used to be one of the more reliable parts of AHS.

I like your ideas for giving the character more personality. This season might be the worst of the bunch. Even the weaker seasons I've mostly enjoyed, but this is so damn boring I'm shocked they thought it would entertain people. At least the lesser AHS seasons were entertaining even if they did sometimes end up going off the rails. I can hand wave stuff like plot holes and character decisions that don't necessarily make sense (to a point), but I can't forgive a show for being boring and this has truly been a snoozefest. My husband fell asleep ten minutes in and when I told him what happened in the episode, his response was "So I guess I didn't miss anything." I can't believe all of the people involved didn't think that the story needed work. As far as other ideas that would have made this season more interesting to me--going with the idea of the audience first seeing Anna being funny on a movie set, maybe we see her finishing up working on a great film that's going to do well with the critics. We see that Anna is funny and likable and hear people praise the performance. We see that she has friends, we learn that she is talented in her field and get hints that this will be the performance that finally gets her an Oscar nomination. Over the phone, her publicist friend gives her the good news that she's just landed on the cover of Vanity Fair. The publicist is attacked and killed by a masked figure shortly after ending the call with Anna. The studio assigns a temporary publicist, Siobhan, who is quite obviously in on whateve villainous plot is going on. Later Anna is on set filiming her new movie, some sort of dark thriller maybe with a celebrity director making a cameo. As she's going through her IVF journey, maybe she starts to lose time on set. We see the contrast of how she was working on the earlier film and how she's slowly starting to lose it on her new one. Maybe the script feels a little too close to home and they can include a few moments where she's unsure about what's real and what isn't. Maybe she sees some weird stuff in the dailies? Also, maybe she accidentally injures a costar on set and is in danger of being recast by a (younger) actress? I think there are other ways to play with the themes they want to include this season without the story feeling so repetitive and one note.

I am legit excited for this season. With RHONY I was cautiously optimistic but not excited. This is the first housewives trailer that I've gasped out loud while watching since LVP was on the show. There is so much to unpack. Omg somebody finally called Erika evil. Normally I wouod laugh and roll my eyes that Kyle is crying *again* but it really is kind of sad. I feel bad for their kids. What the hell though that after all these years and rumors that they're finally acknowledging the Mauricio cheating rumors. I feel like LVP is going have a viewing party at some point this season. Did I spot Kim Richards and was she drinking? Lord help us. I gasped out loud at the part where Garcelle is having that conversation with her son. That was brutal. It's one thing to get digs from the ladies but when you're getting criticism from your kid that has to be hard. Wow, I am all in on this season.

This part. I can't wait for Renna to be dealt with. That said, I will admit their scenes together are compelling. I was on the fence about the casting when she was in Selene mode, but wow has Natasha O'Keefe won me over as the season has gone on. Now that she's in full Lanfear mode she's kind of my favorite part of the show. There's a playfulness to the character that I'm really enjoying and her fashion is so fun. The showrunners really nailed this character. A perfect balance of taking inspiration from the source material while making the character totally their own. Agreed about the fashion for Leane although my favorite outfit in the episode was Lanfear's torch the city outfit. If I have one note of criticism for the fashion/styling on this show it's Loial's hair. It's a little distracting and almost Carrot Top-ish. I'd like to see him with a better wig next season. Yes, the comparison with what the Seanchan are doing to Egwene and what Siuan wanted to do to Rand was very clear and I have to say that I definitely understand Moiraine not wanting that to happen to Rand. Aside from it being obviously wrong, it's not a great plan. How effective of a weapon can Rand be if stays locked up and doesn't learn and train? Nice job in catching that. They had me totally convinced that this was a forever thing and I really wasn't happy with the idea of Moiraine being stilled for the rest of the show. I'm curious what Lanfear means when she says that having a broken Amyrlin is better than having a dead one. What part of Siaun is broken? Is she physically hurt? Could Lanfear have stilled her? Could she be under Compulsion?

That was a weird moment. The other actress says that she'll have to watch the clip on YouTube because she wasn't even born then, but Anna would've needed to watch it somewhere else too. They could have done something else to show that Anna is insecure about her age now that she's in her thirties. Isn't the Cara Delevigne character the one who is "helping" Anna? She's the one writing the messages and she's the one who got rid of the Satan baby, right? Hearing her sing Rock a Bye Baby in bed with Emma Roberts while she was stroking her hair was legit creepy. But I also suspect that she's trying to steal Anna's baby and is probably the big villain in all of this. Yeah, they couldn't have Anna wear a vintage Marilyn dress, so I guess Madonna was the next best thing. I kept thinking she'd end up with blood on the dress by the end of the evening. He didn't even seem that concerned when she started puking. He seemed more embarrassed than anything else. Any other loving husband would have immediately rushed up there. I feel like even a husband who isn't that loving would have immediately rushed to her side if for no other reason than to not let the world think he's an asshole.

Yes. I hate the Seanchan. The whitecloaks and the Seanchan are the absolute worst groups in this series along with the Forsaken. With the whitecloaks in particular there's a lot of misogyny layered into the torture that makes them extra vile to me. The Seanchan are sadistic, powerhungry assholes who have taken slavery to horrific new lows. Egwene's scenes were indeed hard to watch, but I think her story was the most compelling of the episode. If ever there is a character I'm rooting for on this show it's her. I am very okay with Renna getting a painful comeuppance. I want Egwene to give her the beating she's had coming to her for years. Clearly this isn't Renna's first time doing this to somebody. What I'm hoping for is some sort of moment where all of the collars are broken at the same time and all the girls and women who are collared turn their rage on their former "masters". That would be a real dracarys moment for me with this show. I'm only on book 6 but so far the show is blending and compressing to keep things moving as you say. There seems to be some amalgamation with certain characters too.

Yes about the Rebecca vibes. Interesting idea about potentially trying to bring the first wife back to life. Yes too, that this would by no means be the craziest storyline this show has ever come up with. (For me Roanoke and Cult were by far the most batshit seasons.) Regarding the husband, I get the impression that his career is taking off due to whatever deal he's made without his wife's knowledge. The way he's all possessive of his time in the spotlight and doesn't want his famous wife present for his big moment was pretty telling. It's also pretty stupid if he's seeking extra attention. Surely his wife's presence will give his work even more exposure?

Right, I thought that was supposed to clue the audience in that the publicist isn't on the up-and-up. I'm not spoiled, my guess is that she needed her to sign the doll for some cult related reason. She might also be behind the account that's dedicated to trashing Anna. This is probably one of those situations where everybody is in on it, but I won't be surprised if Kim's character Siobhan is the primary big bad. The way they mention how her fertility journey ended up being unsuccessful, it made me think that her end game is to take Anna's baby.

I feel the same. I can understand exploring familiar territory and paying homage to films in the genre, but at the end of the day is AHS supposed to be darkly humorous? I didn't really find much humor here just a story that feels incredibly predictable. There's Rosemary's Baby and a little of films like The Mephisto Waltz and the (terrible) remake of The Omen. I guess they think they're being clever having Kim K's character talk about the downside of fame, but I haven't found any of the commentary on that topic to be particularly insightful. I'm fully prepared for this to be the weakest entry in AHS to date. It doesn't help that Kim can't move her face. At least Emma Roberts can emote for the most part.

You're right, of course. I guess I'm just trying to be optimistic about her situation because it's too depressing otherwise. Going back to Patrice for a minute--I feel like her surprise win would put her (briefly) in the national spotlight. Former sex worker turned preacher becomes mayor of a small southern town? Sounds like a story Hollywood could make something out of. At a minimum, I feel like her pole dance to the polls would trend and go viral to be picked up by people like John Oliver. It's too absurd to not get a little bit of commentary from the late night crowd.

Maybe he's tougher than the average guy and that's why the taint hasn't addled his brain yet. I forgot to add one other thing--I'm wondering if Taim's long-term goal is to eliminate female channelers. Or at least greatly subdue them. It's the way he says that he'll soon have as many channelers as they have in the White Tower. What if he wants to take over the White Tower? The only thing that doesn't work about this to me is he must know that Rand doesn't want that and that Rand is stronger than he is. Maybe he's crazy and deluded enough to think that Rand will eventually be on board with this idea since Rand has said some things that indicate he really doesn't like the Aes Sedai.

In the books I just finished the part where Taim has decided to actively start looking for men who can channel instead of waiting for guys to show up. For the second time Lews tells Rand to kill Taim and I'm starting to wonder if Taim isn't some other reincarnated dude like Rand is. He might not even be aware of it, but Lews can tell that something is up with this guy. I'm also starting to wonder if Taim *is* crazy but is just doing a good job of hiding it for now. How else is he able to avoid the curse of the taint? Maybe he's crazy but is focused crazy. Like he has some insane longterm goal and is able to keep from openly going over the edge because he's laser focused on achieving that goal. More than that I'm wondering when the show is going to start incorporating this thing where Lews is ijnRand's head. Maybe by season 3. I'm very curious to find out where Moghedien ends up in all of this. The show made a point of mentioning her and Graendal but not Semirhage. Based on the little I've seen of Semirhage, I figure she'd warrant a mention when Lanfear was dropping names on the show. I can't decide what Elayne and Nynaeve should do about Moghedien. On the one hand, I feel like they should come clean before she somehow manages to escape (or kill one of them). OTOH I worry how this fractured Aes Sedai will handle learning about one of them having a relationship with one of the Forsaken for what seems like weeks at this point. What if they overreact with their punishments?

One last thing about Keyshawn-- Can't the timeline prove her innocence here? She was away on tour and this can be backed up by hotel stays, club appearances, social media, etc. She got back home and immediately took her kid to the doctor. These injuries were clearly made before she was even in town. Wouldn't the medical examination be able to support these facts? (That the injuries to her son were made while she was out of town?) Also, regarding the neighbors--no doubt they've heard Derek beating her before. I'm sure there are multiple people who could testify to the fact that they heard noises indicating that Keyshawn was the one being abused and not the other way around. Plus there are all of the people who saw for themselves that she had marks all over her body. Not just people who still work at the club but her stepsisters and Gidget all know the truth. I feel like a good lawyer should be able to clear all this up without her having to get her or Diamond's hands dirty. They shouldn't have to risk life in prison or worse for somebody like Derek.

This was my favorite episode so far. I really liked the scene with Liandrin and Suroth. They're both crazy and I'm curious to see if they'll ever meet again. Did Liandrin only help Nynaeve or did she free the wrists for all three of them? Interesting that she wasn't really comfortable with doing this to them. When Suroth was talking with Ishamael, I was surpised by how bold she was. In my head I was like 'Umm, I'm not sure that's the guy you can talk to any kind of way.' Same with that other guy she had attitude with before she got her nails cut. I really like the scene with Lanfear and Ishamael. Also, Lanfear being the Freddy Kreuger of the Forsaken is pretty fun. How terrifying it must be to not even be safe in your dreams. They're worried about Rand going potentially going mad, but not being able to get any real sleep seems like a sure-fire way to do juat that. I'm looking forward to seeing more of the world of dreams. Same. I really enjoy the Aiel and even though she isn't how I pictured the character, I thought they did a great job of introducing her and I already think the actress is great in the role. Can't wait to see more of her character.

Great finale to another amazing season. Love that I found this show and am eagerly looking forward to season 3. I'm definitely Team Clifford, but I don't get as much of an interpretation of Hailey being a terrible person as others do. For one thing I do actually think she considered Clifford's feelings when she first saved the Pynk. She could have cut her out completely, but instead she made sure that she was a partner and did her best to support her and the other workers during COVID. She made improvements to the Pynk and was initially a good partner for Clifford to have. I also think she was sincere when she thought that Clifford would just use her money to open up a bigger, better version of the Pynk somewhere else in town. If they'd sold for 10 million as she thought they had a real chance to, Clifford could have found another building to buy. Probably something less run down too. Regarding Mercedes, I agree that Hailey should have been more grateful to Mercedes. Not just for saving her from that guy, but for helping her quit drinking. At the same time, when I think about how their relationship went south--the way I remember it was (I could be misremembering), Hailey and Mercedes were watching What's Love Got to Do with It, Hailey was deep into the limo scene (given her past of fleeing from an abusive situation it's especially understandable that she'd cheer on a scene like this), Mercedes was annoyed and told her she wanted her to move out. Hailey was hurt and thought that they were in a good place as far as their friendship. Mercedes later blamed Hailey for her arm and for not being able to work the pole the way she once could. At the time I remember thinking that Mercedes didn't quite have to be so cold as 'I need you out by tonight'. She really couldn't give her a day or two to find a place? Then they mock her for crashing at the Pynk? I can understand why Hailey didn't feel especially loyal to Mercedes after that. All this being said, I think Hailey's story has run its course. It was very satisfying to see her smugness wiped away once she realized Georgie wasn't going to give her any kind of $15 million. Then Clifford and Big L telling her to take her $250k and dip. $250k is a very nice severance package, she really shouldn't be acting put out. If I have a complaint, I don't really like that they made Clifford and Big L seem stupid by not locking Hailey out of their system. The show has gone out of its way to show how smart Clifford is, I can't believe that she'd make that sort of mistake. I guess it's because the showrunners prefer the idea of Clifford always having to have a sense of urgency about making money. First season they're in the red $55k, second season they've spent almost all the money Hailey brought to the table, and now for season 3 they're back to being in the red because Hailey robbed them. I'm very intrigued by what they plan on doing with Roulette dipping into the world of prostitution. I'm not sure how to feel about Clifford keeping that one girl from working so that she felt like she had no other choice but to turn to prostitution. Clifford's the one who talks about how there's no orphanage for the type of girls who work at the Pynk but then he closes the doors to somebody who was in a desperate situation. To be fair to Clifford I don't think she knew quite how bad the girl's situation was and he had every right to be upset considering the fact that his grandmother nearly died. I just wonder if there wasn't a kinder way to handle the situation? I don't have much to say abouy Keyshawn's story. Actually I have too much to say and others have already said it better than I could, so I'll just refrain. I do hope that Derek will be out of the picture permanently at some point during season 3. It's such a depressing (but well done) storyline. The actors really sell it. I feel bad for the actor who plays Derek because who want to play an asshole character like that? I hope he gets to play a good guy in his next role.

I know shouldn't be surprised at this point, but wow, Andre is so dumb. Did he really think people wouldn't fact check his background? Maybe a (white) politician could have pulled off that sort of deception pre-internet, but not now. Such a stupid thing to lie about. He could have refrained from saying anything or just said that his father was out of the picture because he was in prison. It makes his success story even more impressive--it makes no sense for him to lie. Very puzzling choice from the writers for the character. Honestly, as evil as Patrice is I'm lowkey rooting for her to win this mayoral race. Not because I like her or because I think she isn't a horrible person or that she'd even be good at the job. I just think Andre and the racist Tarleton bro annoy me more lol. I'll admit that I don't really understand the feud between Hailey and Clifford. Hailey saved the Pynk and she let Clifford keep 30% (I think that's the number?) ownership of the club. She didn't have to do that. She could have cut her out altogether, but she wanted Clifford to be a partner. To me that's an indication that she wasn't trying to screw him over and that she was grateful for being allowed to work at the Pynk in the first place. On top of that Hailey made sure that they fixed some of the rooms, kept the girls getting money during COVID, helped the place get up to code, etc. Also, as Hailey pointed out, Clifford apparently had enough money for Birkin bags among other things. Seriously, what is so bad about trying to achieve a 10 million dollar pay out that Clifford will benefit handsomely from when all is said and done? As Hailey pointed out they can always open up the Pynk elsewhere. Businesses relocate all the time. I can understand Clifford having an emotional attachment to the building for its history and memories, but at the end of the day his mother and grandmother raised her to be a practical person. 3 million dollars profit when she was previously $56,000 in the red (back when she was the only decision maker) should be considered a win by any reasonable standard.

This is more what I was wondering about as far as viewer impressions. I'm curious if we have any southerners here are watching the show and how the accent sounds to them. Uncle Clifford's accent is probably the most exaggerated, but she's a character who is meant to be extra and OTT. Ah, that explains why her accent is so uneven. At first I thought it had to do with how she decided to play the character as being mysterious in terms of us not knowing where she's from and having a lack of emotion due to repressing what happened to her daughter, but I guess part of her being so reserved is because the accent is a struggle at times and the flat notes are probably easier to achieve. Damson Idris is a British actor who absolutely nailed his American accent in the show Snowfall. I remember being blown away when I learned that he was British. With Elarica my reaction was more like 'Oh, that's why she sounds like that!' I haven't read all of the posts in this thread yet because I haven't finished season two yet but I just wanted to touch on this a little bit. It *is* rude and I sometimes feel like some of the characters on the show think it's okay to speak to Hailey in a way that is extremely derogatory because she had the both good and bad luck to be born with that skin color. Depending on where a person is on the color spectrum there is a misconception that life is easier if a person is a certain shade and each shade comes with its own challenges, so I appreciate that the show has explored this a little bit. Obviously they're only touching on it rather than doing a deep dive because this is supposed to be entertainment at the end of the day, but I'm glad that they're at least acknowledging that this subject is very real and can be incredibly damaging and has been damaging for centuries.

Yes, it's only because of this forum that I even knew about that. I was just double checking to see if the Black Ajah had been mentioned by name because I didn't recall it ever being verbally introduced on the show. Since the show is sort of having Elayne be the Hermione of all things Aes Sedai, maybe she'll be the one to bring up the Black Ajah for the first time. Since the Black Ajah isn't supposed to be talked about I can see how the Aes Sedai would refrain from mentioning it. A novice though like Elayne who will be wondering why Liandrin is doing this to them? I can see her openly wondering if Liandrin is a member of this Ajah that she wasn't really sure existed until now. Another thing I'm wondering--is Elaida going to be a character here? Are we going to get the court of Morgase this season? In other news, I just got to the part where Rand got bonded to an Aes Sedai! Kind of wrong that people can apparently be bonded against their will. Also interesting that another poster theorized in the thread that Lanfear might have been about to bond Rand before Moiraine cut her throat. If that was Lanfear's original plan (to make Rand her warder) you think she would have done that early on once she realized who Rand is. It makes me wonder why book Lanfear didn't bond him when she had the chance.

I'm kind of confused about the choice to have Moiraine slit Lanfear's throat. I was under the impression that the Forsaken are quasi-immortal but can still die. Sammael said something to that effect in the most recent conversation I read between him and Graendal. If an army showed up at her doorstep, there's a chance that somebody could get lucky and kill her because at the end of the day they're still in human bodies. Now, the Dark One could always bring them back as he's apparently done with two others (mentioned in the opening of the sixth book, the book I'm still currently reading), but they might not be in the bodies they want to be in and the Dark One might choose to not bring them back if he isn't in the mood, so why take the risk? (Or I could be misunderstanding all of this.) Now though it seems like Lanfear can apparently have her throat cut and be stabbed in the heart and she's just going to recover like it's no big thing. Did the showrunners think this was the best way to demonstrate how scary and powerful the Forsaken are? One more question, I can't remember--has the show mentioned the existence of the Black Ajah? Do audiences know it's a thing to look for?

Not sure if this is the right place for this topic, but I've been reading about this show since I got turned onto it and one criticism that I noticed Katori address in the Twitterverse is the Mississippi dialect. Apparently there are some people who don't feel it's an accurate depiction of the Delta dialect and I'm curious to know what others think. For my part, the language was one of the most intriguing aspects of the series. I love listening to the various regional accents in the south, so I was surprised to learn that some residents of Mississippi weren't necessarily happy with it. I've never been to Mississippi, so I guess that they'd know much better than I do. At the same time some of the expressions at least do strike me as somewhat accurate. Two of my grandparents were from Louisiana and I definitely noticed some dialect similarities. Not the exact same of course, but comparable enough to mention. Also, I admit that I understood Katori's POV when she said that she thinks it should be okay for an actor who isn't from Mississippi to play a character who is from Mississippi. Half of the challenge and fun of acting is taking on a character who doesn't act or sound like you.

The fashion was one of my big criticisms from last season. Not only have they stepped it up this season, but they are genuinely blowing me away with their creativity and beauty, and I really hope the show is recognized for costume design because they've more than earned it. The scenes with the Seanchan and Cairhien in particular looked awesome. I'm such a Lindsay Duncan fan so it was a nice surprise to see her pop up here. I feel for Moiraine in a way, but I'm also glad little sister Damodred didn't take any of her bs. When Moiraine started ordering around her sister's staff I was like who the hell does this woman think she is? I don't care if she's family or not, you don't just waltz in after decades and act like the HBIC. It's like Moiraine thinks she shouldn't have to pay any kind of toll because her work is so important and her work *is* important--but that still doesn't give her a license to walk all over the feelings of people like Lan and her sister. Kate Fleetwood is killing it as Liandrin.

I'm hoping that this was her rationale but since she didn't say anything like "I don't want you to risk ending up in jail because of this evil mofo" it kind of feels like she mainly decided to save him because she's not done with this abusive relationship. I hope I'm wrong because I was really hoping she'd see what a diamond Diamond is but it seems like she still needs to figure out what her priorities are. Yes! My mind is blown with how good this show is considering it gets zero attention in comparison to the other big shows right now. I think people are assuming that the setting and subject matter mean that this isn't going to be quality viewing and that couldn't be further from the truth. I think the jail episode really cemented it for me that this show is well above average. Also, Loretta Devine is a gift to any production. More of her, please! The actress who plays Patrice is top tier. She is amazing and hits all of the right notes literally and figuratively. The range of emotions with that character. She's hateful, tragic, duplicitous, strong, fiery and fascinating. I'm curious if she and Mercedes will ever get to a place of forgiveness where they can just be supportive of each other and let go of all of the negativity. Easier said than done of course, and Mercedes has every right to never want to speak to her mother again, but I kind of hope they can somehow make it up and live the rest of their lives being supportive and encouraging of each other. One thing I wanted to bring up from a previous episode is the scene where Uncle Clifford had this moment of panic where he wonders if Mercedes is dead. For a moment it seemed kind of OTT to me but then I realized that Clifford is thinking that nothing short of death would have kept Mercedes away from that stage and they probably had that worry in the back of their head all night long when she never called or came back. Clifford describes Mercedes as the daughter they'll never be able to have and this attitude is really apparent throughout the season. Their fondness for Mercedes is definitely maternal. In a way they're maternal when it comes to all of the girls. Clifford is like a blend of a mother figure, a madam from a brothel, a sister who lets them borrow clothes and gives them makeup advice, and a therapist with endless words of wisdom and southern proverbs. I think Uncle Clifford is the best character on the show and I'm looking forward to seeing more of them next season. I'm so excited to start season 2. The only bummer is knowing that season 3 isn't coming out any time soon.