Avaleigh

Aww, she can be the Queen of Diamonds.

At first I wasn't sure if Clifford and Marcus would be a good fit because Marcus isn't ready to be out, but I'm really rooting for these two! I feel like they bring out such a good side in each other. You can see how gentle, thoughtful and sensitive they are when they're together. I think it really cemented for me during the dinner party at grandma's house. I just hope that the situation with Keyshawn doesn't end up hurting Clifford.

I must not have been paying attention well enough because I didn't realize she had another kid at home. Wow, two kids with the same lowlife. Very sad. I hope she escapes. It seems like she'd be a good fit with the Drakeish looking bouncer. I'm really crossing my fingers that can happen.

Yes, I guess there's a little suspension of belief needed, but I don't mind. It certainly doesn't detract from the show. Also, I can understand the show choosing not to have a revolving door of dancers because we get to know them better if they keep the same faces. We're basically getting to see The Pynk function as an untraditional but loving family. Uncle Clifford can be tough on them but they're also very maternal and protective. I think I was mainly thinking of girls like Gidget and Keyshawn. Gidget in particular made a comment that indicated that she's been there at least a couple of years and seems to have no plan about "graduating" from the Pynk any time soon. She almost seems afraid to move on. Keyshawn, I think, might be close to getting there if her social media continues to climb.

I've never been to a strip club in person. I only know what I've seen on TV. The Sopranos featured strippers regularly and occasionally you'd see someone who really knew their way around the pole and would have some decent moves. Now that I've seen this show though? Every series I've seen that featured strippers was amateur hour compared to what I'm seeing here. These stunt double are so good at what they do. It's like the Cirque du Soleil of stripping. The flexibility, the upper body strength, the incredible timing and musicality. If I have a nitpick it's that I find it hard to believe that this tiny town hole in the wall strip club would have that many talented girls on its roster. Wouldn't most of them want to work in a city where they'd make more money? Fair enough that Hailey is hiding out and Mercedes wants to be near her kid, but what about the others? Seems like the Pynk should have a high turnover rate where they're always looking for new talent.

Yes! I thought of Deadwood too. The language and dialogue on this show are so well done. I read this has been described as a "neon noir" but I also get strong southern gothic vibes. On the surface this seems like a straightforward show about life at a strip club, but once I started watching it I realized how layered the story is. There's incredibly moving subtext at work here. I had so many emotions watching the jail scenes and the side characters in those scenes did great work. Like the woman who acknowledged how messed up it is to have a parent with bad credit put bills in their kid's name because she had one of her parents do it to her. Or the older woman who thought there couldn't possibly be any reason for Mercedes to treat her mom that way only to realize that, yeah, maybe she had it coming. Or the drunk woman who admitted to having an extramarital affair with her mother in law and the hilarious reactions from the other women. Also, how Patrice was able to win people over and have an impromptu worship session that seemed to genuinely inspire these women who are feeling low and are basically having the worst day ever. Interesting too that Patrice was able to win over a bunch of strangers but not her daughter who knows the real woman beneath the preacher facade.

I'm late to the party but I already love this show. A colleague rec'd it to me and I didn't think I'd be into it but it really is entertaining. How does Mercedes mom not see that she's the devil in this situation? I could see through her from the jump and knew exactly what she was going to end up doing with that money. I find it interesting how she and her daughter are the best performers in their respective fields. Clearly the mom is good at what she does, but I can't root for her because she's a hypocrite who treats her daughter like shit. At the same time, I'm kind of on her team when she's going up against these sexist, lecherous, hypocritical male pastors. I'm apprehensive about the business plan Mercedes had. It sounds like a nice idea in theory but I worry that it isn't a steady longterm business. Theoretically the girls who age out will be replaced by others but you can't necessarily count on it. I'm curious if Mercedes goes back to the Pynk, is she still going to be HBIC or has she already been supplanted by Keyshawn? It's going to be embarrassing for her to have to go back but if her mother has taken all of her money, what choices does she have? To me if she has more money stashed away, she should pay the 55 grand Clifford owes and become partners with him. I'm not sure how the structure would work exactly but maybe she could be in charge of the girls while Cliff continues to be the MC plus runs all the other side hustles they have. Also, make some improvements to that decrepit looking building. Hailey is such an enigma. I don't know what's going on with her but I'm not convinced that the daughter is dead. They're making it such a mystery that I feel like she going to pop up at some point even if it's only in the final season of the show. I can understand Hailey running from an abusive relationship but what about all of the other people from her past? No friends, or relatives she could turn to after a natural disaster? Also, what's the deal with piling all this money while she lives in squalor? She doesn't have to go nuts but she can't get a bed, table, chairs and some freaking blinds? Is she trying to punish herself for living without her daughter?

I was wondering how this woman got custody. I'm curious how old Mercedes was when she got pregnant and how old her daughter's father was. When she said she'd end up 13 and pregnant I wondered if that was the age Mercedes got pregnant with her daughter. What's interesting is that it isn't some big secret that her daughter doesn't know about. She knows that Mercedes is her biological mother and she knows that she chose to give her up so that she could have a chance for a better life. Most shows might have kept this as a surprise reveal, but I like that this show doesn't always do what's expected. I feel bad for Mercedes though that she's going to lose out on the only regular time she gets to spend with her daughter. That's heartbreaking. I'm curious to learn more about this relationship. Obviously there's longterm trust between them but I wonder what made Corbin feel he could confide in Clifford in the first place. It seems like Clifford knew the secret about Corbin's father back when they were kids. I worried that Mercedes was raped when she was that age and has wrongly blamed herself for being attacked. Maybe she blames herself and is afraid that the same thing will happen to her daughter. Obviously Mercedes needs therapy (her daughter probably does too) because her POV on everything that she said to her daughter in that scene is incredibly sad, damaging, and wrong.

I loved Nelsan Ellis on True Blood, but I think Nicco Annan is doing a great job with this character. I'm only two episodes in but I definitely think that Uncle Clifford and Mercedes are the heart of the show so far. I'm fascinated by the language and dialogue on this show. I also really liked listening to Mercedes explain how she knew which guys were broke, which guys look like they're going to splash cash, which guys were focused on business, etc. I also like the swerve that Lil Murda is more into Clifford than any of the girls. Too cute how Clifford went from fierce business person to giggling and blushing at his interest in them. Ha, you're in my head with that. Same. Nobody in my family talks that way. Since I wasn't raised to think it's okay, for me it's cringe and I'll never be on that page. At the same time, I know it's a battle I'll never win with people who feel it's empowering, harmlesss, affirmative, etc. I'm content to not judge and keep my feelings to myself whenever I hear the word used by my people in real life. That being said, it's a lot easier for me to hear it on a show like this or Power rather than IRL. Most of my friends are like minded so it's really only something I hear when I'm getting my hair done or I'm socializing with relatives of a certain friends.

I'm enjoying the show (still haven't seen the third episode yet), but I have to admit that I'm not really feeling Moiraine's storyline. I love Rosamund Pike and she's the reason I was interested in giving the books a try because I was intrigued by her performance in the first season, but I'm struggling with why the writers chose to cut her off from the source. I'm 20% in with book 6 and there isn't anything that happened in the books that explains to me why they're giving her this story line. It's like they decided to blend Moiraine's storyline with Siuan Sanche's and since Siuan is a character on the show I don't get why they're doing this? Won't it feel like a retread once Siuan and Leane are stilled? Is that not going to happen now in the show? I'm mostly happy with the other changes. I really like what they're doing with Liandrin. She's much more interesting in the show than in the books. I'm curious which Forsaken she'll end up interacting with on the show. Also, I noticed in one of the threads that said the Aes Sedai were present for that opening scene with Ishamael. I completely missed that. I just noticed Padan Fain and everyone else I thought was cloaked. Was it an Aes Sedai we've already met on the show? Glad to know they're keeping the Black Ajah. I kind of hate the Seanchan but they do look pretty badass on the show. Kudos to the costume department. They've certainly stepped it up since last season. I love the Elayne actress. I can't wait to see her friendships with the others develop.

See, I thought they were saying Egg-wayne. I never pronounce things the right way with this series.

I'm in the same boat. I'm currently on book 6 of the series and it hasn't really helped me keep track of what's going on on the show. If anything it's made it harder to remember. GoT had a lot of characters but I didn't have much difficulty keeping track of who's who aside from some characters in Dany's story. This makes me feel better. I really don't like seeing her this way. Just watching her lug around water and do boring ass chores didn't exactly make for compelling TV for me. I really like these characters. He doesn't quite sound as pirate-like as I imagined but I think the actor is good. Verin is already a favorite character. This was probably my favorite scene in the episode. You wonder why anyone would become a Darkfriend, but it's easy to see how a young person might be taken in especially if their parents have been sucked into it. I was so uneasy when he had the girl pet the Trolloc. I couldn't decide whether or not the scene was going to take a hard left. Ishamael is unsettling and I think I spotted Padan Fain in the circle of cloaks. What a group for these parents to have their kid socializing with lol.

Fair point. Maybe a better way to put it is they have an understanding and will use it to their advantage until it's no longer worthwhile? Regarding who will be Naeblis--I figure the Dark One is playing them all and doesn't really intend for any of them to get it. He's just knows they need some kind of carrot on a stick to keep them motivated. It's funny how annoyed Nynaeve is with the Aes Sedai who don't listen to instructions with Teleranrhiod when she so recently needed to be given a lesson about the danger of nightmares. At least Nynaeve learned her lesson. I'm not sure if the others will. I thought of the same thing. She seems like she wants to be a cruel god. She really bristled at the memory of being disciplined. Why on earth would those in charge give her the option of being severed? They shouldn't have given her any choice. She should have been permanently stopped immediately.

I probably should have finished the chapter I was on before posting because Graendal just revealed that Semirhage, Demandred and Mesaana are all working together and that Mesaana is somewhere in the White Tower. Graendal says that they're each probably secretly working against each other, but to me it makes sense that at least a few Forsaken would see the sense in forming an alliance. Interesting that Semirhage is the only one of them who knows how to heal wounds. (Graendal says that Semirhage is the only one who would be able to heal Sammael's face.) I wonder what Graendal's occupation was before she got locked away with the others? Finished the POV of Semirhage. She actually might be the worst of the Forsaken in terms of being the most evil and that's a pretty high bar. I don't have a list of their deeds in front of me, so I could always change my mind but either way she is seriously sick. She basically had a reputation for being able to save almost anyone, but the price of that in her mind was to torture them first? Any normal person would feel good about being able to save so many lives, but she can only feel good about it if she causes pain first. Then she tries to justify it in her head by saying that the people are still grateful to be alive, but she ignores the fact that she's psychologically damaged these people for life. Her arrogance is pretty astonishing.

So we're getting more of Mat's memories from other men. I wonder how the show is going to handle that because it's all in his head and so far there isn't anything the show absolutely needs to show. At the same time he basically turns into the greatest general who ever lived overnight, so I suppose they're going to have to show some memories to explain this? In a way, Mat and Rand are in similar positions as far as having the memories of another person in their head. In Rand's case it's just the vague memories of one guy and I'm still unsure how complete the memories are. It's more like he has a voice in his head and occasionally has these flashes of memory. With Mat, the memories seem much more complete and they're basically thousands of years worth and from multiple people. I did like Mat saving that kid Olver. I know Mat wouldn't exactly be the best guardian but it would be kind of cool if he could let this kid work in his service somehow. As a squire or something like that. I finally got a Sammael POV. His chapter might have been my favorite so far. Dude has a problem with his height and is *very* angry about it, lol. (If the Dark One can change people's appearance, why can't he change Sammael's height if it's such an issue for him? Or does he think a Sammael who is permanently angry about his height is a more effective ally to have?) I guess Graendal knows exactly how to get under his skin. So basically the Forsaken are fighting their own little Game of Thrones to see which one will win the position of Nae'blis? Sammael thinks that Rand is a contender and that's a callback to the first or second book when the Dark One tried to persuade Rand to play for his team. I think I initially thought that the Forsaken were mostly on the same side even if they didn't necessarily like each other, but they seem like they all really hate each other. Moghedien is in hiding a lot of the time. Graendal holds everyone in contempt. Lanfear was up to her own game and just wanted to rule the world with Lews/Rand. Sammael wants to make sure he's Nae'blis and is apparently intent on killing Lanfear if they ever cross paths again. These people are petty, backstabbers. The Dark One sure can pick 'em. I did think it was interesting when Sammael thought about how Ishmael believes that the battle between Rand and the Dark One is one battle of many and basically suggests that there were other people in the past who were in the position of Lews and Rand. It makes me wonder if Lews had the memories of the person before him. Also, has there ever been a female Dragon? It seems to me that given the way the True Source works you think it would be effective to have one man and one woman fight against the Dark One together.

I was expecting more comments. Simone is so incredible. I love how determined she is. She continues to set goals for herself and challenges herself in a way that is awe inspiring. She truly is a national treasure and I feel privileged to be able to witness her journey. My favorite moment of last night though was watching Shilese Jones on bars. Truly gorgeous.

I'm very curious to see how the show is going to tackle Lews being in Rand's head. Maybe they'll just have Lews almost like a ghost, standing next to Rand and saying stuff but Rand is the only one who sees him. I wonder about this because he's in Rand's head a lot at this point. I don't think a voiceover would work. Plus it'll help the audience get to know Lews better if we get to see him outside of Rand's head. One thing that is unclear to me--can Rand communicate with Lews or can Lews only voice his thoughts without hearing or being conscious of Rand's inner monologue? The reason I ask about this is because I wonder why the hell Rand hasn't asked Lews dozens and dozens of questions at this point. Lews is a knowledgeable guy who knows what's up with saidin possibly more than any other person. The only reason I can think that Rand wouldn't take advantage of this resource is because their connection doesn't work that way. Bashere is a good character. Definitely a nice addition to the story. Rand needs a guy like that who will keep it real with him. Not sure what to think of Mazrim Taim but I like that he's testing these guys on the farm. I wonder what Asmodean would have made of Mazrim? I have ruled out Mazrim being one of the two Forsaken that the Dark One brought back to life because it seems like the timeline doesn't support it.

Damn, I was hoping more people were watching this show. The first season was excellent and great work from the actor who plays Luis. They're all funny, but he's probably my favorite. I'm three episodes into the second season and there's never a dull moment. The episode with the rooster was amazingly funny. Julio's dialogue with all of the neighbors was hilarious. I don't think I've seen Michael Imperioli in anything besides Goodfellas and The Sopranos, so it was cool to see him in another role. His comedic instincts have always been so on point. I forgot how funny he used to be on The Sopranos and he's perfect here. Loved him going off on the billionaire couple. I hope this show gets some awards consideration.

The prologue for book 6 is truly massive. It takes up 8% of the book! Morgase is in a tough spot right now. At least she's met Rand and didn't get the impression that he was a bad guy. That being said, I can see how the rumors are making her feel uncertain about what he might be capable of these days especially now that she knows he killed Gaebril. She was thinking she'd need to build a large army to take Gaebril out, and Rand just comes in there with a few people and makes short work of it. She also has enough common sense to know that making a deal with the Lord Commander of the Children of Light would be like making a deal with the devil. Ugh, I hate misunderstandings and now Gawyn thinks Rand killed his mother. I hope this is cleared up sooner rather than later. Mesaana is an intriguing new character. (If she was mentioned at all prior to this I don't recall.) We got some good info drops. According to her she was over three hundred years old and was considered to be middle aged for an Aes Sedai. Also, she got rejected from some sort of teaching position and that's what made her turn to the dark side? Really? What is wrong with this lady? Was there no other school in this modern world she could apply to? Was it like Snape not getting the Defense Against the Dark Arts position? Lol it made me wonder if whoever rejected her died a painful death. She also confirms how little the present day Aes Sedai know in comparison to the Aes Sedai of the past. Moghedien already confirmed this, but it's interesting to hear it from the POV of a new character. She sees the current Aes Sedai as not much more than little girls. What is Elayne going to do when she finds out the third woman is Aviendha? I like how she and Nynaeve are learning cool shit from Moghedien so they don't want to turn her in just yet. It's like they're juicing a piece of fruit and getting all the good and useful stuff out of it before they throw the rest away. I'm curious if this woman who was brought back from the dead by the Dark One is Lanfear. Not sure who the guy is but that's my guess with the woman. Finally got an update on the Two Rivers. Perrin and Faile are running things but Faile is the one who has to hold court and listen to people's problems. She complains about it a lot, but I'm not sure what all she thinks she should be doing instead. Perrin has decided that he needs to team up with Rand again. I get him wanting to support Rand, I'm just curious who's going to be left in charge of the Two Rivers. They really kind of need him and it doesn't seem like there's a good stand in for him especially if Faile is going to take off too. I do like that the Two Rivers is growing and becoming more modern. Funny how characters like Cenn Buie are threatened by stuff like people wanting to use tiles for the roofs of their houses. Also met a new member of the Black Ajah. At this rate I'll be surprised to meet an Aes Sedai who isn't in the Black Ajah.

Yeah, I immediately worried about him and the spouse once they announced the news. Good on him for keeping the identity of the spouse quiet for now. I hope they're happy together and are able to celebrate this special time.

Okay, maybe I was a little harsh with that assessment. It's more that I didn't feel like there were enough scenes with him once it's revealed that he's one of the Forsaken. When he's first introduced he's such peripheral character. We overhear stuff and get trickles of info from other characters, but it takes awhile before we get significant scenes like that crazy one where he's ordering Morgase around in front of those asshole nobles and sycophants who are apparently more than happy to ditch Morgase and support Lord Gaebril. I was so riveted with the Morgase story once she became a POV so maybe part of the let down for me is knowing that Morgase isn't going to be able to confront Rahvin and make him pay. For me it kind of felt like just when Jordan really cranked up the heat BAM Rahvin ceases to exist. To be fair thoigh I guess Jordan had no choice but to wrap things up considering how many of the Forsaken still need to be taken out. I wonder if he had an idea at this point of how many books he wanted the series to be. Did it start out as him wanting it to be 5 then maybe 7 and then ballooning to 10+. I understand that at some point he knew he wouldn't be able to finish the series for health reasons, but I don't know how many he finished and how many the other writer eventually completed. I haven't done a deep dive into this because I never know if I might unwittingly stumble upon major spoilers. I don't mind minor spoilers (like knowing which writer wrote which books) or which books are considered to be not so good in comparison to others. I've both heard and read that the books take a dip in quality at some point. I hope I'm not at that stage now because the sixth book has a pretty kick ass prologue. Definitely off to a good start.

Okay, new mystery. Who killed Asmodean? I don't even have a narrowed down list of suspects because all people have to do is tap into the one power to travel from point a to point b so it doesn't necessarily have to have been someone who was in Caemlyn with Rand & co at that particular moment. Right now I'm guessing that it was one of the Forsaken, but who? It sounded like someone he recognized right away so that's why I'm pretty sure it's not some random dark friend or even someone from the Black Ajah. Curious if this mystery will be solved in the next book. Damn, Jordan had me going because I really thought he killed Mat and Aviendha. I guess balefire comes in handy after all. Rahvin ended up being kind of a lame villain. His battle with Rand was good and exciting but he was such a backround player that it wasn't as much of a payoff as I'd like to think it will be on the show. I'm so glad that Morgase is alive and that she survived being controlled by one of the Forsaken. We only got a couple of chapters with her but I really liked her POV. So far books 4 and 5 are easily the best. I can't say that I've missed Perrin and Faile all that much to be honest.

I think Gideon is the only one of the younger generation who has a chance to lead the church in the right direction. I think he'll be accepting of Kelvin and with the blessing of Eli maybe he and Kelvin can bring the church in a more modern direction. Have Judy and the cousins focus on the music and entertainment part of the ministry. (Maybe they can bring Baby Billy in on the music part too.) Jesse and Amber can focus on looking for big donors and diversifying with outside projects. Let MayMay teach scripture since she more or less knows the book by heart.

This legit had my husband and me crying laughing. I love Walton in every project but Baby Billy and Lee Russell in Vice Principals are my absolute favorites. I felt so happy that Kelvin and Keefe finally sealed the deal and can be who they are to the world. I hope this doesn't cause any issues in the church or with the congregation. I'd like to think that Eli will be accepting too.

Damn, Moiraine just died a couple of chapters ago. :( I kind of had a feeling something was up because of her writing him a letter, but I was still surprised when Lan said that he couldn't feel her presence anymore. Now she's gone and bonded him to somebody else. I'm wondering if it's Nynaeve but I can't remember if she's currently west of where Rand and everyone are. That would make more sense than a new character. I wonder if this means that Nynaeve will have to join the Green Ajah when the time comes. Back to Moiraine's death for a moment. I wonder when this will happen in the show. She's the only major star on the show so it'll be hard to lose her. I feel like this was a Gandalf or Dumbledore sort of loss for the series. She taught Rand what she knew and now I guess her purpose in the story is served. It also kind of reminded me of Sirius falling behind the veil. I'm curious if Moiraine could still be around in the world of dreams. Like Birgitte was all that time. Maybe Egwene, Nynaeve or Elayne could get advice from her that way. I'm also interested in reading Siuan's reaction to the news and hope we aren't cheated out of that scene. Even more surprising than losing Moiraine was losing Lanfear. I was positive that she'd be in this for the long haul considering there are still so many books left. Maybe she'll only be around for two seasons on the show. I did get a kick out of her losing her shit when she found out about Rand and Aviendha. She really is that 'if I can't have him no one can' kind of psycho. Min and Elayne had a talk about having to share Rand (with a third woman no less!) At least Elayne has reservations about it, but what the heck with Min? She's basically just like 'I'll take what part of Rand I can get.' With Rand it is constantly raining women. Some lady is always trying to sneak her way into his bed and then ends up getting scared off by Aviendha. What's Aviendha going to do if she finds out that Min wants Rand too? She's accepted Elayne, but I get the impression that's probably her limit. I'm looking forward to Rand vs. Rahvin. I'm starting to lose track of how many of the Forsaken we've met. Speaking of the Forsaken, I'm nervous now that Moiraine warned Rand about Asmodean. Does he genuinely want to help Rand because he thinks it's his best chance for survival or is he just waiting for a way to be back in with the Big Bad?