auntiemel

And it must be in the more northern part of Oregon, because in the pilot they got shakes from Burgerville and that’s not a thing in southern oregon.

I mean, I feel like we’re just not going to agree on this point. She had so many chances to leave before the lady in the parking lot, and even before the computers went down. She chose not to. Will her daughter be scarred for life because the one time it was her turn to shine, to be celebrated, her mom chose not to be there? Maybe, or maybe not. We don’t know enough about her character to know. And she can TELL her daughter “you’re the most important person in the world to me” but…that’s not what her actions showed - they showed that almost every single other random person she came across that day was more important than her daughter. We can SAY what things and people are important to us until we are blue in the face, but the truth of what our priorities actually are comes out in where we put our time and attention. Again, I’m not trying to say I think she’s the worst person in the world, but I think the writing would have better served the character if they didn’t raise the stakes by creating a one-time only situation where the daughter gets to fill in as the star of the play because she was the understudy. Combined with giving her so many low-stakes opportunities to leave that she refused, before the shit hit the fan. I think that was too stark a contrast.

Except this wasn’t really about her trying to balance work and kids. The script mentioned several times that she was a control freak who thought she was the only one who could do things right. David Allen Grier’s character told her several times throughout that she needed to leave, and she agreed with him and never did. The nurse in the pink scrubs told her that they had things under control, she still didn’t leave. When she finally did ALMOST make her escape, after she knew her daughter was the lead, she didn’t leave the building - she went to the locker room and changed into street clothes first…and then of course got caught up on the way out. I feel like her daughter would have preferred her to be THERE, even in scrubs. So this wasn’t really about balancing work and kids…this was about balancing her own need to control when weighed against one of the most special night in her daughter’s life. Control won. Her daughter lost. That’s probably pretty realistic, and I don’t hate her as a character…but it doesn’t endear her to me, either.

I really liked the episode. I thought it did its job as a pilot quite well. But I couldn’t help but be heartbroken for the daughter who suddenly got to be the LEAD in her school play, and her mom couldn’t be bothered to show up. I mean, I know that’s not what the show wants you to think about the character, but I feel like that’s what the little girl’s perspective will be. it distracted me. Not enough to give up on the show, but I think it’s going to take me more than a few episodes to warm up to Allison Tohlman’s character now, and I don’t think that’s what they were trying to do!

Ugh, I was disappointed that the serial killer’s mom didn’t get killed. I wanted the daughter to kill her. I was rooting for it. Reformed my ass. You don’t come back from pimping out your own daughter. Even if the daughter got killed immediately afterward, at least her last act would have been a satisfying balancing of the scales!

Ok. I’ll admit it. I cried.

This episode had one of my least favorite tropes - cop gives a citizen their card and tells them to call, but is then annoyed and put out when they actually call. SIR??? Don’t give the upset old woman your card and specifically point out that your cell number is on it if you don’t want her calling your cell.

Yes! As much as I love Natalie Morales, I can’t STAND Beltran.

There's something that's always stuck with me, that I heard Jonathan Decker say (therapist who is part of the Cinema Therapy and Mended Light YouTube channels). He said that there is one thing that every single person who has ever take their own life has in common - they held on for as long as they possibly could. Maybe not as long as people on the outside looking in thought they should be able to. But absolutely as long as they were able to. 💔

Gwen is the one I am really worried about. She, Gabe, and Garrison were “the triplets” growing up. That’s a huge part of her core identity that has been destabilized. Also, I know from personal experience that we neurodivergent people don’t always express our grief in a way that makes sense to people, so we sometimes don’t get the kind of support we need. 💔

The Nick drama was less tedious than I expected it to be. I am seriously not ready for next week. 😢

I've been waiting for Royal Pains to start again somewhere since it disappeared from Peacock. Thanks for the heads up!

Just wanted to pop in and say that They have recently started posting on their YouTube channel again.

Catching up on the show now, and I’m watching this episode currently. During the conversation with the first victim’s dad, he was saying…I always knew she was dead. The cops insisted all this time that she was only missing, but I knew she was dead. Dude! Her body was in HER HOUSE! It has been there the entire two years she was “missing.” What kind of crack investigative team do they have heading up missing persons investigations in her neck of the woods? A simple wellness check call could have taken care of that. Also, did the dad have some phobia of planes? He was SO concerned that not once in two years did he think…hey, lemme go have a little look see myself. Lastly, if she had enough cash in her bank account for her bills to keep getting paid for two years, apparently occasional freelance travel writing pays better than you would think. Maybe she has the same agent as Carrie Bradshaw! 😁

Yeah, I’m just not going to have time to dive into them until this weekend! 😁