DoctorAtomic

Jon was really firing on all cylinders. It did really capture the disarray over the week. Josh has really got great timing. Black. Black *woman*. That 'doesn't crack; at least they know' line was brilliant.

I posted right after I watched it so the details were fresh in my mind. But the timeline stood out to me for sure. Lucas was away at college but he still met up with Kira and Uncle Felix at the bar where they scored the coke. So he's not far away. Maybe he's not the type to call a lot or just drop by, but even 3+ months of no contact at all strikes me as a little ooc given they looked like a healthy family. I mean, Kira could just say to him that Eleanor is away at a conference, but it's not like he can't text with both of them. I think the show was trying to be a little too clever with Kira coming home after talking to Lucy and then Eleanor is sitting at the kitchen table. Maybe go right after that to 'one month after Lucy escaped; three months ago' or something like that. Because the flashback episode covered the time after Lucy escaped to Eleanor's death which is 2+ years, but they never really lined it up to give us some calibration. Printing the second Eleanor happened *fast*. The show has been good so far laying out the plot, so they might clear more up.

Let's not also forget that Lucas doesn't know what's going on either.

The first Lucy that was printed was based on the scan they did in the flashback episode where we learned Eleanor can't have kids. So that's the only data they had for Eleanor. What Kira was going to get out of it, I don't know. She may have thought that the Lucy would have all the Eleanor memories and they'd just pick up where they left off, but that's still a lot of explaining to do. There was a timestamp that said "one month after Lucy escaped", then we had John say they could print older Eleanor 2.0. I thought that data was based on the scan they took of her before the neuron printing experiment. My best guess, conservatively, is that Eleanor 2.0 had to be three months at least since Eleanor died. That's a tight window. You factor in that she dies, even if immediately Kira agrees to print Lucy, they still needed to design the lens. And, prior to Lucy, they printed the bird first. So three months is very ambitious. Then Lucy escapes *then* another month passes and they print the new Eleanor. That's a long time since she dies. When Eleanor-for-real first forgot the way to the pool, iirc, she said she took a leave of absence. So that means, no pay, no email, no meeting with students. If it was "only" six months, that I can actually buy, for a university environment. Maybe a postdoc or two were in her lab, so they ostensibly take over. That's entirely possible. That may not explain Kira just saying she fell down at the pool though. I mean, I'm working like regular, and I haven't had any face to face contact with anyone for about 4 weeks. I also don't think they had to rebuild the machine totally, more like retro fitting. But I thought everyone knew she died too. The show only showed Kira in bed with her and then meeting with Darros. So that really could have only been a matter of hours. If Eleanor was on the leave of absence, the university isn't expecting to hear from her. As far as Jules goes, I have no idea where they got her data. Maybe they used the Lucy scan and made some modifications that printed a younger version. It's clear she's young Eleanor, so they had to have done something like that. It seems like the mother had no idea and just wanted to adopt a girl. They weren't counting on Lucy and Jules ever meeting. Then again, you're printing a brilliant scientist so just letting her go seems like a waste. A quick search does say Eleanor 2.0 was printed a month after Lucy escaped. That seems a little fast though since Josh brought her the new data at the same time.

Kira printed a second Eleanor after Lucy escaped?! Manning, come on, literally your entire life says this isn't a good idea. And she's still alive? I'm wondering how Kira disposed of real Eleanor if Eleanor v2.0 is still getting grants and flying all over the place like nothing happened. I like how the show didn't even make it a big deal. I thought we were having another flashback. I guess Paul is going to be delaying the answers like the usual villain. The show has been going fast with the plot so I suppose someone has to slow it down. Couldn't Jules just run through the sound field? I know it's supposed to be painful, but there's not any physical barrier. Or could you go over it? Lucas isn't a Quaker anymore? Or was that the same girlfriend he brought to the blood drive? I'm guessing Jules was a test run of the new machine to see if it worked. I don't know where'd they get the scan from such a young Eleanor though. Talk about Frankenstein's monster. This was a wild ride of an episode.

There was an article waaaaaay back a long time ago that was titled something like "No, you aren't entitled to a hot chick". This was before incels were a thing and all the shootings. Guys like Vance who seethe against the cat ladies are basically what the article was about. He didn't have enough girlfriends in high school in his mind, so he's going to take it out on everyone for the rest of his life.

Snoop is the exception.

I'm just amazed this show is still on. Make sure to pause to read the bulletin board. And the finglongerer returns! I don't know if I liked the separate plot. I would have liked them all in Mexico or all in on the heist.

Seriously, the media needs to cover 'brat'? Because that's the pressing issue of the day with Biden stepping aside. And going bonkers over *straws* underscores everything that's wrong. I can't even remember the last time I used a straw.

He's still competing at that international tournament. It wasn't like win or go home. I'll give him and Robbie credit for being reasonably adult. Robbie said 'no hard feelings' and Miguel seemed to me to be ok. The show needs a stable relationship among the kids. The plot is just screaming for Apollo Creed/Rocky. It's right there to pick up. I baffled how this is being missed. I'm disappointed by now that Johnny and Daniel aren't more stable, and at this point, grow up. Maybe because my high school experience was banal and uneventful, and I'm still friends with a lot of them, my ex gf, even. I think the show needed to resolve that better by now. I thought she was 18, but that doesn't mean she automatically gets custody of the brother, and where is he while she's in Spain? Going into MMA seems totally legitimate for her. Of course, this is a complete failure on all the adults' part. There's zero actual mentoring while they re litigate their own childhood through kids who have nothing to do with it. I like the show, and I know there's 10 more episodes, but I was expecting more out of the adults by now. Everything has been win the next tournament. There's really not any mentoring going on like Mr. Miyagi was. Also they're ridiculously short sighted on not incorporating Miyagi-do. They could be selling merchandise, social media, all that. I like the show, and I'm sure it's going to end so schmaltzy 80s, but I would like the adults to do better.

The score too.

I meant the kids.

This was handled sloppily just to get Tory to go over to Cobra Kai. Tory may need to fight, but the adults should have known what was going on. Or, Robbie calling her constantly and not getting an answer, tells Johnny or Daniel. Then you talk to her and gauge what's going on. She wasn't actually fighting either. That was just all rage, and if she got too out of control, which she did, either she or Sam could have been injured. You could have still got there with Sam beating her because she was all over the place and then she goes over to Cobra Kai. I can get she's not answering the phone, but everyone else being 'ok' when she stormed off seemed a bit much. It's not like her mother being sick is a big secret. You'd think one of them could have put 2 and 2 together.

You have to think that Cobra Kai has the odds to win. If she's going with them to win cash, then I can completely understand. I'm rooting for Daniel, Johnny, and the kids to all win, and I know the show is what it is, but there's got to be a major buy in for me if anyone is beating that Korean kid. He's bigger than both Robbie and Miguel. Not that you need to be bigger, but longer reach.

Excellent. The show is really good and I feel like no one knows about it.

Oh, I forgot. I went to a wedding at a winery. It wasn't necessarily destination because I lived in the region. The bride and groom chartered a bus so no one had to drive.

We had a lot of good discussions about the show over at the other place. Such a great lineup - Invisible Man, SG1, Farscape. And Lexx!

I went to one destination wedding because I was great friends with both. I met them separately, and, really, they were even cooler together. Talk about hijinks. But we went to a resort where the wedding was just a package and all we had to do was show up for 15 minutes. Other than that it was rum & cokes by the pool and summer reading. Also beach. We went to another resort for their 5th, but it was a couples only resort and I was single. You had to sign some form with your spouse to check in, but I was single, so when they asked me where my wife was, I started tearing up, "I... I can't... She's not here..." Oh, it's ok, no, no, it's fine, let's get you checked in. I had them in stitches later.

Daniel could have also spoken to Johnny privately too and they could have talked it over like actual adults for a change. I thought Daniel was out of line, and he knew it too. The credit goes to Johnny who didn't escalate. Again why my Apollo Creed is a better narrative choice. You're still competing in the world karate tournament. They're making it out like it's captains or nothing. Given the 50,000 espn channels that show people *playing cards* as a major primetime event, it's not like Miguel not being captain is a loss at all. You're missing the whole teamwork building aspect. Any university is eating that for lunch in spades.

Fair point there. I forgot that detail. That's always been a thing in real life. To the point though, why go early then? Also my main point was that he should have applied to Cal and this wouldn't have been an issue.

Aaaaaand Tory's mom is going to die. As I'm sure literally everyone here said when they saw the opening 5 seconds of the episode. I cannot imagine how Miguel isn't into Stanford with a bullet. Of course, had he applied to Cal he wouldn't have been deferred. Just saying. I love the ridiculousness 80s this show is. Kreese escapes jail and gets to South Korea. Ok. Then he comes back to the USA and tracks down Tory. Oookaaaay. I'm with Dimitri - you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. I don't even care - shooting the bottles was hilarious. I still don't think just fighting it out is the best way to choose the captains. Leave it up to the kids first. It is about the training from now up to the tournament. The Dream Team was good because the 'b team' ran them up and down the court. It's only the first third so maybe this works itself out. It's not like if you're not the caption you're not fighting at all anyway. With the constant Johnny/Daniel. Thank you, Amanda. She should be talking more trash to Johnny and Daniel. The boys need to shave their heads and knock it off with the floppy style too. Great fighting though. I don't get why if Tory walked that Devon didn't get a shot at captain. How does Kreese get to Spain unscathed? I think Tory going back to Cobra Kai is a poor narrative choice. It kind of reduces her character by a dimension. Anyone watching "Inside the Dojo?" The actors are just having a blast. Who pays for all them to fly and stay in Spain?

I take the dramatic point about limiting the number of kids that go to the tournament, but six seems a little limited. I think it's a good idea to bring in an outside observer. I don't know if I'd give him total authority, but it was a good idea. I still like my idea of Sam going Apollo Creed. Someone else commented in the prior episodes that Devon goes Cobra Kai. I don't see how she doesn't with Tory and Sam ahead. I didn't like her being so defeatist the whole time. Note to Hawk - you liked the fraternity party? MIT would kill that safety school with one hand tied behind their brain. I don't really know why Dimitri even cares about the tournament at this point. I don't understand this one shot application process. I applied easy to 50 places between undergrad and grad school. Keeping your options open would actually be applying to MIT and other places. Then, wherever you get in, ok, you have to make a choice. Hawk gets into UCLA and MIT, then there's drama. Not applying at all is just shortsighted. I know it's only the first third of the season, but I would have liked if some of the kids just were enjoying the training but just weren't interested in going farther. I would have rather Dimitri just concede to Hawk. Maybe he will in the second third of the season. I can't see their rift lasting too long. Why couldn't Kenny just go behind the tree? There's no strategy to the capturing the last two flags. Just wait until someone else gets one and fight them for it.

In terms of a hell, based on the discussion here. All we've seen is Jedi that become Force Ghosts. There's been nothing for 'regular people' so to speak. So, you only get an afterlife if you're m-count is high enough? They've said 'hell' maybe 7 times total. That doesn't strike me as a concept of the after life. Furthermore, Qui Gon is said to be the first that became 'one with the Force' so what did the Jedi do before that? Here, Mae says 'hell'. What did the witches consider the afterlife? I think it's a fair point to raise that they used the word here for impact and previously just offhand without forethought. Even with the Force Ghosts, nothing about it was ever discussed iirc, and then, all of a sudden, Yoda can make lightning. I never read the EU, so I don't know if it was addressed there. In Clone Wars and Rebels, it wasn't said, and when Kanan sacrificed himself, nothing was said of it afterward either.

I don't necessarily think so. We're not an informed electorate, and that's partially our fault but mostly not. With open primaries seeming to gain traction, more people could be encouraged to get involved earlier in the process. Right now, you've only got singe digits % of people choosing who is running in general elections so they're going for more extremist candidates in general. More people in the primaries means candidates have to demonstrate broader appeal. Really, just holding candidates accountable for acting in good conscious is good start. Same with expanding mail ballots and getting rid of the caucus.

I'm sure there's plenty of social science theses into these topics. I don't think throwing around 'rubes' is particularly helpful because I don't necessarily think right leading people don't know better. Rubes is kind of condescending because, like I said before, literally everything is the worst thing happening all the time at once and don't leave your house because you'll die instantly. It's exhausting. We didn't used to have this problem. I don't know how it could be best addressed, but getting back to the real nightly news when I was growing up would help. But I don't think lifelong conservatives are switching their votes. They know what's going on. They're going to hold their nose and vote anyway. Or maybe some will say they are but just write someone else in. The problem is we only hear from the 'rubes' because they're the loudest. I'm not a both sides guy, but there's some cases where it's true, and this doesn't help either because then people just don't vote.