Regalbegal

Given they are moving so quickly during the season into this plot, I am thinking (hoping?) that the story regarding the mother will zig in some unexpected way by the end of the season. I liked this episode - yes, the crime of the week felt a bit perfunctory, but I find the background storyline more interesting anyway, and if it means more time for scenes between Bellamy Young and Michael Sheen I am all for it. Honestly, I wouldn't have given the ages of the characters a second thought unless it was brought up here. I buy Bellamy Young as a well-preserved real housewife type in her early to mid-50s. I have never seen the actor playing Malcom in anything before, but would have guessed his age (as Malcom) around 28-30, so in the realm of a realistic offspring of the two other characters.

If you would have told me during S1 that I would cry multiple times during an episode bc of Buck I wouldn't have believed you. Even though I knew they were not going to kill off Christopher, this plot line was heart wrenching. And all of the shipper joking aside, the supportive friendship that has grown between Eddie and Buck is really sweet. I don't know much about her background, but I can't say she impressed much this episode. Of course, I didn't think I'd warm to JLH, and she's fit nicely into the show now, so who knows.

The fact that Dani is the only one other than Gil who seems to approach Malcom from a place of empathy/compassion (both in the pilot and this episode) makes me curious about the character. We know Gil's story, but is there something in her backstory that makes her able to cut though the oddity and weirdness a bit and react at times in a more caring way to him?

Agreed - they were the strong spot of a strong episode overall. I love this show but, as someone who lives in LA, I wish they wouldn't kick off every season with a huge natural disaster set here. It stresses me out!

This was a definite improvement over the pilot, I'm in (at least until Fox cancels it or moves it or whatever dumb thing they end up doing). It is cheesy good fun with (for the most part) good actors, and I think fills the "Elementary" - shaped hole in my viewing: an oddball procedural. The case of the week was pretty good - maybe I'm dense, but I didn't see it coming that the suspect was poisoning his family while they were interviewing him. The police characters were a little more fleshed out this time; for both Gil and Dani the way they interact with/relate to Malcolm made me interested in seeing more about their backstories. BTW when did Lou Diamond Phillips become a silver fox? Not complaining! (just makes me feel a little old). At this point I would be shocked if the wife wasn't involved somehow. This made me laugh out loud too - something about the way the line was delivered, plus if you have to say you've had "plenty" of sex you have... probably not.

Agreed - it definitely had the feel of a pilot, but pulled me in enough that I plan to keep watching for now. I think procedurals get a bit of a bad rep - I enjoy a good procedural now and then, and this one has a weird energy to it (mostly brought by the two leads) that sets it apart a bit. I am not expecting it to be the next "Hannibal" (a very high bar!), but so far it is the only new show early into the fall season that I have any on-going interest in. Of course, this is Fox, so there is a good chance they will screw it up somehow....

I randomly stumbled across this show and over the last couple months binged all 5 seasons. I don't know how I missed that it exists - I have read several of the Bosch novels (my dad was a huge fan) and generally like crime type shows anyway. Although there was some ebb and flow in my interest in the seasons (I found my interest wandering several times in S2), for the most part it is very enjoyable, a high quality crime show not trying to be something more than what it is. They really managed to capture the "feel" of the books in a TV format. The lead actor is very good, but it took a while to adjust the difference between his characterization of Bosch and the Bosch I had created in my head while reading the books. I also love the LA-ness of the whole endeavor; having lived here most of my life it is great to see how they integrate local landmarks and topography into the plot (even the late, great Smog Cutter!). Glad to read here there is a S6 on the way.

It seemed like they were pushing to cram so much action into this episode so that every character was in a cliffhanger by the end of the finale, and they over-used the time-jump device to get there. If it wasn't such a dull episode (compared to the rest of the season) I'd watch it again to try to figure out what exactly happened.....

Caught up with the last two episodes back to back today. I feel like the writers are trying to drum up sympathy for Callie by having everyone treat her like crap (except Jamie, who I am sure she will turn on eventually). However, I just can't feel bad for her, even the "mean girl" text group, because honestly if I had to live with someone like Callie I'd probably snark about her with my friends too. The out of order timeline structure this show keeps falling back on felt a little out of control the final episode, to the extent I am still not sure I quite pieced together what was happening, it felt both rushed and confusing. Towards that end... Yeah - I don't know if they purposely kept this opaque or it was just a product of the time jumping. My interpretation was that between his ongoing angst, low self esteem, and the realization that Davia (who he thought he could trust above anyone) had lied to him about Jeff and was still seeing Jeff at the same time he felt there was something more building between them, he just sunk back into his isolation and closed her off. But, who knows, this finale was quite the jigsaw. On a positive, I thought the scene with the two of them alone in their respective beds was both well-composed visually and sad. I think my #1 wish for S2b is that Alice find a nice partner who accepts her for her. Both of her options right now are... not optimal.

I really liked this episode, one of the reasons being that the cast was altogether at spots and also because it was nice to see them having fun (as 20-somethings often do) rather than exclusively dealing with "serious issues". It was also meta that everyone's performances were fun and/or entertaining except Callie and her sister, which was of course Callie's fault (the same could be said for the show writ large). Also quite enjoyable to see Callie called out on her shit for once, even though I am sure it is fleeting. Every cast member got a chance to shine; and is in my imagination or is Gael more interesting/fun outside of Callie's orbit? There was some "Shallow"-level eye fucking going on here for sure (and the actress who plays Davia has a lovely voice). It was also the first time in a while we've seen Dennis exhibit an emotion other than depression or ennui, e.g., him being rattled that sleeping with Davia's mother might have killed "his chance of...", the looks he shot Davia when Malika's boyfriend was reading his poem etc (btw, Malika's boyfriend is kind of awesome). I know it was a cheap laugh, but the DTF? thing with Evan was amusing.

The sudden flood of interviews smacks a lot of damage control (I think that while they expected push back, probably not at this level), and I feel like the tone missed the mark on that front, but in all fairness to RT he is sort of in a no-win situation. He is trying to defend a decision that he clearly thinks was the right one but some fans disagree with (and some fans, of course, like). There is nothing he can say that will really mitigate the decision - either people like it or they don't, no explanation for it will really "lessen the blow", so to speak. So, he would have been better off just staying off media and not trying to defend the ending, and let the creative work speak for itself (or not). The more I think of it, from a business standpoint this doesn't seem like the greatest decision - 4 or 5 seasons in a show seems unlikely to generate a huge number of new viewers, so why do something that will likely alienate a meaningful chunk of current fans? There would have been ways to lessen the focus on relationships (which seems a weird goal, but ok if that is their creative direction) that would be less drastic. The decision, the way it was executed, the early release of the season, and now all the PR just all feel very strange.

It is not atypical for shows with a big cast to switch around focus week to week, but I think the problem is made worse by the fact that characters are MIA for whole episodes (vs just not having a main SL that week) and that the one constant is Callie, whose SLs are typically annoying. On the plus side, I am really enjoying Mariana's SL, how they are dealing with issues of women working in tech, sexism, and people who might be diagnosed on the spectrum. I also enjoyed Alice this week, although I still fail to see what she sees in Joey, who is so dour and judgmental (sort of like Callie - those two should hang out).

That is exactly the term that came to mind, in that the ending appeared to 1. push back on fans for liking a pairing/character more than TPTB thought they should 2. try to prove to critics that TPTB are "tough" and "don't do fan service" (especially as that was a criticism of the movie) and 3. conflate depressing with profound. Disappointing, a real lost opportunity. Sorry to flounce, but... although I don't think anything can retroactively kill my love of the show (seasons 1-2 are near perfect), I won't be returning to S4 again nor do I have any interest now in a S5. All in all, I blame Beaver - it was actually Beaver who wrote the final episode, in a Rob Thomas suit (old timey TWOP shout-out).

At least for me, I thought the writers were strongly implying he did her in - suddenly after Blaine finds out the other kids were saved, realized Don E double-crossed him, and realized Darcy was his only cure brain (and $ source) left, she dies? But, of course, I might be mis-reading...

I am convinced the whole purpose of Darcy as a character was to bring home how rotten Blaine is (i.e., he is not a lovable scoundrel, no matter how charming David Anders is) before whatever end (hopefully painful) they have planned for him. Although he has done awful things throughout the show, having him off a character the writers spent the last few episodes building up as part of this sweet(-ish, but still a little creepy) love story with Don E, right before her wedding WHILE SHE IS WEARING HER WEDDING DRESS, really puts an exclamation point on it, so to speak. I still don't understand what the purpose of Martin was. Truly. But why oh why is Enzo still kicking around? I am cautiously optimistic about TPTB providing a good wrap up these next couple weeks.

I am with you here - the writers can play me like a fiddle. I get that in real life there are plenty of healthy platonic relationships, but from a story standpoint I think Davia and Dennis would be interesting, and any alternative couples to ship beyond Callie/Gael, Callie/Jamie, Callie/Whoever is fine with me (Callie is the worst. I never watched The Fosters but was the character just as annoying and entitled there?).

Yeah, out of the teams left at the beginning of tonight's episode Leo and Jamal were probably my least favorite, I think they annoy me so much because they seem to believe they are one of the "top teams" of the season, but have been performing pretty badly. Rachel and Elissa didn't bother me all that much (there has been far more extreme whining and shit-stiring by other teams in seasons past), but I really think it was their time to go purely from a quality of racing perspective. Even though I am liking Colin and Christie a lot this season (and "my ox is broken" will never not be funny), it made sense for them to be uturned - they are major competition, as the pull up to 3rd place this leg showed. The other teams dropped the ball though in not also uturning Tyler and Korey. These seem to be the two consistently strongest teams - however annoying they were, keeping Rachel and Elissa around would have been a good last place buffer to keep around. When this season was first announced I thought I was going to hate it given the theme, but so far it has been a return to form of sorts for the series quality-wise, I have really enjoyed it. At this point I would be ok with any team (other than Leo and Jamal) winning.

Maybe it is because I am old and weary, but I really appreciate having some happiness now and then in media I watch. Not everything has to be 100% dreary. It was sweet to see some of these characters who constantly get put through the ringer end the season with a little joy. Poor Buck, though.... During the wedding I kept thinking what a monumentally attractive middle aged (is there a less loaded term for people in there 40s?) couple these two are. Peter Kraus' evolution from young hot guy on SFU (I think they used to call him trapezoid butt on MBTV/TWOP? RIP TWOP) to "Daddy" makes me feel old, though. Nice gross-out quotient this episode, too. All in all this was a really enjoyable season, I think the last half was better than the first.

Excellent comment. I finally caught up with the series this weekend, and although I love the musical/creative parts, I think that has been my problem with some of the episodes- not really addressing the former head on and falling too easily into the "troubled genius" trope. Although we all have our demons, at heart Fosse's treatment of women was awful - the last episode was the first that really seemed to fully get that for me (and, based on "All That Jazz", I think Fosse got it on some level as well). That all said, I think Williams and Rockwell are both doing superb jobs. Side note... when I was in grade school, another student said that her sister was a dancer in the touring company of "Pippin" and dating Fosse. At the time we didn't believe her, but in hindsight I am guessing many women in the touring company of "Pippin" "dated" him.

Yes, I am definitely looking forward to evil Ray, I am confident BR will do something fun with it (and look hot while doing it). I enjoyed pretty much the whole episode except the Mona stuff. Bummer she was latched onto the Con SL, as it had a lot of promise otherwise. The possessed nipple was gross, but in a good way, and Gary's heel turn isn't completely out of left field. Nate and Zari- fine, whatever, don't really care much either way but A for effort on the "Raiders" stuff. This season has seemed to have amped up the wacky quite a bit. I am fine with that, need more wacky in my entertainment these days....

I think about 80-90% of what we see on candid reality TV is fake. However, I am 100% sure Raquel is, shall we say, the dimmest bulb on the Christmas tree. I have been to the venue the party was at, it is really quite lovely (full bar or not) the show didn't do it justice. Scheana and Adam, wow. If anyone questioned what her value is to the show this episode showed it. The adopted penguin (?!?) was just the icing on the cake of one of the most absurd arguments between a (non) couple I have ever seen. Kudos. I wish Sandoval would stop jumping to James' rescue. Yes, some of the cast are assholes to him, but he is an asshole to them too so it is a bit of a wash. The difference is that James seems to still want to hang out with the rest of the cast (to perhaps stay on the show?) and they want nothing to do with him. If you really want to hang out with people, calling them names and crying when they don't do what you want may not be the best way to go... The reunion looks awful (in a good way), looking forward to it.

Overall, I still find it pretty hard to dislike much about this show. It is such a good natured ray of sunshine, and everyone involved seems to be having such a good time making it, that I can roll with wacko plot lines (Nick and Zari? ok) or character motivations (demon amusement park? fine) that are hard to track etc. Mona is the one exception - she is the very definition of "extra", and her dialog, plot, and even voice are just grating. The FX for her change are really bad too (even by Legends standards). I just don't see a real need or reason for her to be part of the team. Otherwise, this episode was a blast. The guest star was sexy, the musical number was a hoot, Ray and Nora were adorable (you go, sexy fantasy consent-sensitive Ray), and Mick and Constantine always make a good tag team.

See, for me it is the opposite - I see a lot more chemistry between Michael/Alex and Michael/Maria seem forced (because of OG Roswell, IMO). At the same time, I really like the character of Maria and the actress who plays her, and she deserves far better than how this has been written. Either way, with the way that they have set up and written the triangle, I can't see any resolution that won't be offensive to me on some level. I don't think the writers are really up to dealing with the gender, orientation, and race contextual considerations they have kicked up with this SL.

This so much. I guess the writers feel they are being provocative or progressive here, but I just don't see an approach to resolve the sl that will not be offensive in some way. Finally caught up on several episodes, including this one, last night. All and all, other than the issue above, although the show is still pretty goofy I am enjoying it. The Noah reveal was not very surprising, but I think he makes an interesting villain. The fact that Iz basically has been in love with someone who doesn't exist for so many years, who violated her trust in so many ways, is pretty horrifying,and I think Lily Cowles is doing a pretty good job with it. I also like how the Max/Liz relationship has evolved to be more of a partnership than the original Dobler-esque tone. I am a marshmallow at heart, and lost my mother in the last year, so the Michael/Alex/Michael's mother scenes really did me in. For me, Vlamis is one of the stronger actors on the show and it came through here. Alex typically doesn't do much for me, but how he disarmed his brother was pretty hot. Looking forward to the season (series? hope not) finale next week.

Agreed, Heidi was never my cup of tea, and so far Karlie seems... fine. Unfortunately, Tim lost me after the regrettable "Under the Gunn". I am enjoying CS as the new mentor, I think he brings something fresh. And I never got over the loss of Michael Kors' unique brand of benevolent bitchery. All in all, an enjoyable episode, starting off on the right foot. Having given up on All Stars this season, which just felt very low rent, this was a breath of fresh air. Their winner and elimination choices made sense to me - although Frankie's construction was terrible, you could see the concept there - and I like the idea that a plus model doesn't need to be covered up/pulled in everywhere. Rolls are human! The losing design was - a plain black dress from 1997? She has got to get her emotions together by the next episode though.