DoctorAtomic

It's tragic how much of a rag EW has devolved to.

That's on point. Also he's resentful that Topa is getting the support he never had.

Don't forget, he was born female. There's a whole lot of issues going on here.

The other side of that though is that Bortus seems to be a career Union officer. Being in 'Moclan society' isn't really what's going on here. I like this classic kind of allegorical scifi. They did a good job with a social issue relevant to our time. I know the show is an homage to Trek, but the messiness is a draw for me that's more in line with Babylon 5. I said before that the best of the best doesn't interest me as much. Over here, we got the XO beating down a civilian and taking about day drinking. I can totally see Ivanova there. I don't need it every week. I would have been just as interested if the episode was about the archeological dig. I mean, they broke in and just took everything.

When the Admiral was yelling at Kelly and Ed; technically, they didn't disobey orders, no? She said Union officer. I don't know if she was keeping up with appearances because she couldn't say, 'nice; you got my message.' The Farscape in me was highly concerned Topa would take her own life at the end. I don't think the political reasoning was bad, on the tail end of the Krill election disaster and Kaylon still out there. The Admiral didn't sound like she liked the decision, and she did say they debated for nine hours. Kelly kind of called the bluff in the meeting when she said, they wouldn't be able to face the Kaylon on their own. That's been a running gag though since the show started though hence the plan. As soon as it was announced, the rsvp list was just whipping by! That's why it worked to get everyone there. This is probably up there with Kelly's religion for me, and I liked that Klyden even through that in her face. Kelly really gets some good, dry line deliveries - I want to be a Commander like you. That's a lot of day drinking.

He was great as her dad in Life & Beth too.

And I totally meant dudes. I have no idea of there were any lesbians.

That was my first thought. She instantly knew the painting was a fake.

Same, but not Midwest, though rural. I didn't know who was gay in HS until Facebook and we all reconnected. tbh, I have a decent recall of HS, and I had nooooo idea. It was like, 'oh, yeah, I can see how they were gay.' I mean, el ziltcho.

She ate Scorpius' nurse!

Oh, good, I'm glad their continuing this one. Somehow I bet Randy going Full Nuclear Karen solves the streaming problem.

I didn't even know the show was back on until yesterday morning. I was concerned that they might drag out whether Mabel actually did it or not, but I'm glad to see by the end of the episode it was clear that the trio was in fact being framed. I also liked that there's other activities going on; Mabel being invited as an artist in residence, etc. Did anyone see the Brazzos posters? They had the 'this takes the investigation into a whole other direction' tagline. At least whomever wanted to reboot the show did some research. I also liked Mabel being self-aware enough to know that all the death and her life really has been dragging her down and she wants to break out of it.

I still wanted him to take out the Foresaken, but again, I can buy throwing in one or two new people when the Foresaken were only mentioned briefly might not have worked. I thought the idea they did use worked - Rand made the decision on his own that he would be selfish in forcing Egwene into a life he wanted, and it showed and inner strength to do the right thing that the Dragon should do. It also underlies that Rand will be making a lot of decisions for the greater good that's going to isolate him. Also I think it works because Rand's power needs to be shown to be literally earth shaking, so when the Foresaken finally jump out and he beats them down, it needs to be a huge deal. There's also a nice card thrown in Moiraine threatening to slit his throat that's not going to pay off until you all know what with the doorway.

Guy hands Crichton a plate with a large black object on it. *beat* Oh, it's phone. Hello?

imo tv-wise, they're holding off on Eylane just to not dump a ton of characters all at once. I mean, I watch GOT every week, and most of the characters outside of the main like 5 I knew the names. Really, at this point, you only need to have Logain see Rand and know he's a huge deal and do the big laugh. You don't necessarily need him to be in Caemlyn to do that. I didn't like at first on the show that the women took care of the Trollocs in the Gap because in the book Rand blew them away. In hindsight, I think it is a good narrative choice. So far, Ny is the most diesel channeler they've shown on the show. Rand is way way more powerful, so when the show reveals that, I think it would have more impact. The issue with Mat was irl and not narratively.

Just to continue this rationale in the overall discussion here, both the NY gun decision and Roe were about 'states rights'; in one, the state can't regulate and in the other it can. That line seems to move where they need it to be. As it was said here, if they upheld NY and overturned Roe, ok, you see some consistency in the logic. Not necessarily agree, but it's there. Diablo Canyon can desalinate millions of gallons. They're shutting it down. I'm on a team doing legit research plans on water storage, usage, conservation in the west. Reservoirs are down below half capacity in most places. I wish John got more into the water rights issue. Yes, basically it's 'dibs' but it goes back really far. It's even more complicated when there's native American reservations because that requires treaties.

I suppose I should have said sympathetic origin for the villain. Just motivated by spite or wanting to show someone up is fine. It's ok if the reason is petty.

The episode could have been scrapped because the guest star they wanted wouldn't have been available next year for a season four too. Everyone's contract is up now as well.

Too bad they didn't just animate it like some of the 'lost' Doctor Who episodes. They got BB for the audiobook though.

Vader also froze her up with a few feet to spare and said 'You didn't think I would sense you coming.' She's no where near his level. She couldn't even get a 10 y/o to crack.

That's why I think there's some legitimacy to the election. She was campaigning largely on an isolationist agenda. The treaty is going to let the Union dictate Krill policies, etc. The Krill can handle the Kaylon on their own; they don't need help, Avis' will and so on. It seems like she's still blaming Gordon and Ed about the brother, so if she's just going through the motions and not motivated, then it falls flat. I don't agree because I think she's way underestimating what the Kaylon can do, and I don't agree with isolationism, but there's legitimacy if she actually does. Narratively, I think it was wrong to just straight up stab the chancellor and instead just play it straight - she won the election; she's not going through with the treaty because she doesn't want to deal with the Union. Even throwing in the heavy religious influence.

I still like the one with Keanu.

Again though, direct comparisons to TNG aren't apt imo. We haven't learned how Charly on the show got the commission on the Orville. It could be her last stop. She's not a good officer because she's mouthing off on the bridge. I don't think Ed can really replace her because who is gunning for a commission on the Orville? We, as viewers, know Isaac a lot longer than her. She hasn't seen him with the kids. With Claire. I don't like that she's trashing him either and I want her to get shown up. That doesn't mean the character isn't organic to the show. Acting wise, that's another discussion. Ed also pulled Gordon off the figurative scrap heap when he was commissioned for the Orville too. John was also a pilot until Kelly found out he tested high on engineering. She basically bullied him into taking the new commission. Not entirely professional either. And this episode wasn't the first time Ed and Kelly got drunk during the day. And I'm saying all this as reasons why I like the show. I liked TNG as much at anyone, but the best ever being the best all the time isn't as interesting to me as a Farscape, where you have literally nuclear terrorists the main cast, and you root for them. Also Claire - I'm way better looking than this.

I think what grates on the modern Holmes trope is that if someone is really smart then they make it like something is wrong or off with them. There's lots of just real smart people who work hard. There doesn't have to be anything other that that. It's like how now every villain has to have a tragic origin. There's plenty of people that are just bad or greedy or spiteful. There doesn't always have to be a reason.

That's an interesting question. If Isaac were sentient, like biologically, whether human or alien, would she be able to blatantly say what she's been saying? What would they do if she said any of that about Bortus?