possibilities

That episode felt like a series finale. I realize it almost certainly isn't, but it had such a "done and done and DONE!!!" feeling to it. It's starting to feel like masochism to watch this show. The best and most interesting characters get booted off the show, and they double down on the most irritating and dysfunctional ones. I still like Claire and Lim, but Lim gets nothing to do and Claire is the show's punching bag. It's disappointing, because they DO know how to create people to like and find interesting, but it's like the show just hates them and sets them up only to throw them away.

I like that both parents are flawed. They love each other but they also have conflict. And it's real conflict, the kind of human stuff people go through, not insane manufactured bullshit which is what TV usually serves up for couples strife. And the kids, ye gods are they annoying. But they are also sweet, and confused, and silly. They're not either toted out for a moment of cuteness, or given overly adult lines for precious genius tropes.

I cried because I'll miss it so much.

If you are mortified by the idea of going to the gynecologist, you are not mature enough for sex. That's my opinion. And if you have a parent who is allowing you to have sleepovers, you damn well better appreciate that she's also trying to keep you healthy, and you should let her give you the talk because clearly you need one.

Why would you NOT tell your child they were adopted?

I don't think making them a couple ruined anything. I think crappy writing had made their relationship annoying to watch.

If I was dying, and my spouse never cried, I'd be freaked out by that. I think Mom needs to let Dad see her grieving. Also, it's bothering me how much Zoey is making it all about herself. We didn't see anyone ask Mitch how he was feeling. Where's his bell? And his computer? All of a sudden he doesn't get a voice? It's cruel. I think it's realistic that people sometimes have feelings for more than one person. Max can be disappointed, but his anger didn't seem justified to me. Simon ought to be angry, because that song and dance was way inappropriate for the workplace, or anywhere else, given the situation. Zoey is trying not to put her confusion on either of them, and without her "power" she actually was keeping it to herself. If Max doesn't like the complexity of Zoey, he's not up to being her partner. Joan's coming off incompetent and a bit stupid and unlikable at this point. Why would you eat cereal if you don't eat bread? That wasn't some low carb cereal bar. Tobin was okay this week.

I was surprised Grandma was lonely. I expected her to turn host a party while the kids were away, or just savor her privacy and take a long bath or something.

I'm not rewarding them with a click for doing that, but if anyone else read the reviews, I'm not above wanting to know whether they panned it, or if they just handwaved his bullshit and praised him because they think he's an artiste.

All Rise's main character is Black and she's married to a Black man. But hubby is rarely on screen. grown-ish has had Zoey in a long-term boomeranging triangle with two different Black guys, and there have been other all-Black couples on that show, too. They're all college students and they've actually made it a plot point that one of the other Black characters is dating a white guy, which breaks her rule of only dating Black guys. She thought he was light-skinned when she first started seeing him, and then she liked him and wanted to continue but it was a big fraught deal. Malika on Good Trouble is dating a Black guy. I just remembered that one. I wonder if it varies by network, because GT and g-ish are both on Freeform, IIRC. I'm not disputing the point, though, that there are not a lot of POC same-race couples on tv right now, especially among leads. It's a bit ridiculous. I think Dr Andrews on The Good Doctor is married to a Black woman, and they had a storyline in a previous season, but it was blink and you'd miss it, and I can't even remember her name. So that hardly even counts. Terry on Brooklyn Nine-Nine has a Black wife, but she's only really turned up a few times, and is mostly only mentioned in passing. ETA: Black Lightning! BL himself and his wife are both Black. And one of their daughters has been in love with a Black kid her age since the show began, though it's got issues because the show keeps killing him, reviving him, making him evil, etc. But it's true lurve in the starcrossed superhero universe, fwiw.

It would be interesting to see a tv show where the doctors acted like real doctors do (in a rush, etc.); I'm not really sure how the show would work, but I would like to see it done, if anyone can figure it out. Maybe it would be like those veterinarian shows, where each consult is a few quick minutes and the show keeps moving. There wouldn't be as much emotional drama, I guess. And seeing people rushed through doesn't give as many opportunities to think the cat, dog, or parakeet is cute. But if someone figured out the right approach, it could be social commentary in some way. We all know what it's like, but somehow we all accept that TV doctors are not anything like reality, not only in terms of skipping steps and making shit up, but also in how much time they spend on it. Maybe it would have to be done more like a comedy than a drama, because it's the kind of thing where you have to laugh or else you'll cry... or be bored (another strep throat! we've seen 10 of those today!)

I think the guys attracted to Zoey are attracted to her for emotional reasons. They've shared intimate, deep relationship moments, they've bonded, and that created interest because both Max and Simon are looking for a serious relationship, not a flash in the pan hook up. I think it's refreshing for a TV show to consider, since often women are portrayed to like that and men are often portrayed to just want big boobs or something. But making Simon engaged to someone else, and Max a butthead both this week and last, makes the whole endeavor kind of nauseating and a bore (for me). I don't like triangles even when the participants are basically decent. I find them truly annoying when we're being asked to invest in a situation where both "options" are behaving badly and the "focal person" is totally drained by the whole thing. Why would someone want to watch that?

The ADA passed in 1990. I agree that the abuse of the gig worker in the warehouse was not funny. I initially thought it was an interesting gag to show that low wage retail workers actually make more money than people doing those kind of contract jobs, but it undermined itself by making it not just that but also SUPER abusive and degrading, rather than giving it an ascerbic wit. I thought Cheyenne was going to turn out to be a snitch at the protest. I thought someone at corporate had recruited her to spy on the local labor protests, so they could anticipate whether it would be trouble for Cloud 9. But of course the show just wanted to show Jonah being annoying, which also undermined the potential social commentary there. Dina has gotten more likable, somehow. But they've really ruined Amy and Jonah, both separately and as a couple, and it's like the writers have no idea what made the show any good, and are just phoning in these idiot beats. I feel stupid for watching at this point. I will say it was kind of smart for Amy to think of an assignment to give Carol to do alone. But then, she also shouldn't leave Carol unmonitored. AND she should have looked up who the hell the supposed HR guy was, because that was the most obvious bullshit ever. In the past, not only was Amy competent, but so was Jonah. Now they're both more socially awkward and out of their depth than GLENN for godsake, and I always wondered how the store survived as manager because he never seemed to really know what the hell was going on in any situation involving personnell.

I love this show, and I always think I won't. But then each episode knocks me out in an unexpected way. it's the perfect mix of utter exhaustion and total love.

I loved the furry story. Really, the whole show was good.