Bulldog

Thankfully, it appears that the "Forces" storyline is over. I honestly couldn't give you a coherent summary of it if someone held a gun to my head.

I'll just echo that I did not see the twist with British guy coming. Well played, show. Well played. Since Beth doesn't want to be a lawyer and the dance studio fell through, maybe she should go to work as a seamstress. That was some fast sewing! Rebecca's not even trying to hide her favoritism any more. I was hoping that when she kept pressing Randall for details about his birth mother, he would say "well it was dark when we went skinny dipping together, so I really didn't get a good look." Maybe Kate isn't in the ultimate flash forward because armed troops storm her second wedding and take her out. For a show that airs on NBC, they sure did reference alot of ABC programs. Continue to love Uncle Nicky. But even he should know not to have something like chairs delivered to the wedding venue. He had their address.

I'm going to go against the grain and say that I found Tommy's reaction to her husband's death completely unrealistic and contrived. I will add that it is to Torres' credit that she sold it as good as she did. Otherwise, the whole storyline would have been unwatchable.

If 16 years was supposed to have passed in Grace's dream, why did some people appear to have not aged at all and Morgan appear to be about 30 years older? And why would nobody recognize Grace, whom they all knew, and whose appearance has not changed at all since she "died"?

Was I the only one who found Devon's reaction to Rose and Barrett odd? Like really, really odd? Where did that come from?

I often wonder if the citizens of Central City question why lightning bolts so often shoot out the top of Star Labs into the sky,

I loved that Kevin not only brought Uncle Nicky with him to the studio, but also let him actually sit in on the meeting with his agent. I think I would watch a series with nothing but Uncle Nicky critiquing movie scripts. I was kind of hoping we'd get a DeNiro cameo for the movie screening. I always wonder what is going thru an actor's mind when the script calls for them to basically insult themselves, like when Kevin worried he might have to go back to doing television as if that was beneath him after having a film career. (And while I know television used to be considered lesser than movies, I'd argue that now there are many television projects that are just as prestigious as film.) Susan Kelechi Watson is really one of the unsung heroes of this show. She was definitely the standout tonight. And for once, Randall took someone's advice and didn't try to swoop in and save the day. Try listening to people more often, Randall. Kate was right about the strawberry dress. And on a similar note, while I know diddly squat about fashion, even I would know better than to put someone Kate's size in a patterned dress with huge ruffles as trim. I sometimes think the costume designer must hate Chrissy Metz. This.

I know its almost a cliche to say at this point, but the difference between the episodes with Liz and the ones without is striking. The Liz-less episodes were better written, better acted, better paced . . . just better all around. Since she's returned, the show has become a chore to get through.

Two episodes in and I'm really not feeling this season so far. Too much Ava. Too much Gary (some characters are best in small doses). Way too much of the new gal. Are aliens going to be a running theme for the whole season? Who knew Amelia Earhart was basically a grown up version of Little Orphan Annie? I'm guessing McDonald's won't be signing on as a sponsor any time soon.

Poor Tommy. If the husband really is dead (not a guarantee, IMO), I think it was a realistic touch to have him pass suddenly and unexpectedly. I'd also venture to guess that the vast majority of deaths occur quietly at home instead of in some big dramatic television worthy accident. I suppose if they were intent on killing off a character, he was the most logical choice as we've never seen him do much beyond cook dinner for everyone. I liked how he suggested they go golfing, then remembered that Billy was struck by lightning the last time they tried that. I think dim is his default setting. Remember this is an adult man who was recently seen wearing Captain America pajamas.

Basically just a filler episode, but I enjoyed it. Nice light-hearted change of pace.

I'm not going to get into a political discussion, but I fail to see how the landlord was bad in any way, shape, or form. Was there a moratorium on his mortgage payments? Was there a moratorium on his property taxes? Was there a moratorium on his insurance costs? Was there a moratorium on his maintenance costs? Was there a moratorium on his utility costs (which he was apparently providing)? The tenants were claiming they couldn't pay the rent because they lost their jobs. If they had jobs prior to the pandemic, they were eligible for unemployment plus the enhanced unemployment benefits that have been in effect. Yes, I realize that in many cases that does not match one's regular salary, but stories abound of people who actually have made more under unemployment than they did before. And if the benefits are less, then you budget and prioritize. Except for food and medicine, I would think rent would be the most pressing expense for most people. And yes, if the tenants were paying their rent with money that was known to be stolen in the bank robberies, then they are just as guilty as the robbers themselves. Certainly accessories after the fact. But, yeah, the landlord is the bad one. ETA: A federal judge just struck down the eviction moratorium as being unconstitutional.

So, the super secret code that the FBI (the FBI!) couldn't crack was A=1, B=2, etc. I think I had a secret decoder ring when I was about 6 that used the same encryption.

So, in an episode that featured racists, murderers, and bank robbers, the show apparently thinks the real villain is a landlord trying to collect rent? Seriously? I'm getting close to throwing in the towel on this show.

I'm somewhat surprised to see mostly positive reactions to Spooner. I suspect she is going to be Mona 2.0 (which, IMO, is decidedly NOT a good thing).

I thought he brought them along because he wanted to get them out of town since he knew that the authorities and/or Cassie & Co would be contacting her about the sister's disappearance/death.

It was nice that Tim convinced Billy Riggins to get treatment at the end. I don't remember, but did Tim at least try to get him help before he turned him in. I know Tim's view on drug use because of his ex, but seems a true friend would have gone the other route. Billy Riggins (I know that is not his name here, but that is who the actor will always be to me) was right. Losing your job, pension, wife, family and facing possible jail time is a very deep hole to dig out of. I did like their exchange at the end where Tim asked where he could throw a bachelorette party and Billy mentioned the same sports bar Tim had previously considered.

While I wouldn't say that it was Marjan's fault that the guy died, it did seem the type of situation where a few mere seconds could have made the difference between saving him and not. I certainly don't blame the wife for thinking that if Marjan had not been showboating for the camera, she might could have begun the rescue in time to save him. Completely agree with all those pegging Burke as the arsonist. I blame the quality of this episode on a distinct lack of Grace.

As others have said, I enjoyed Athena rolling up on Buck and Taylor. What I didn't understand was the next scene that had Buck and Taylor in interrogation rooms as if they were suspects. What was the purpose of that? They even had them separated as if they didn't want them to coordinate their stories. Did they do anything even remotely wrong or illegal? While I did enjoy the Josh origins story, I do hope that there is more to the 911 dispatcher job description than just being able to listen to people and type.

I hate to say it, but that sounds almost like the game is (or could be) fixed if staff members are allowed to "correct" people's wagers in FJ. As for the writing being legible, I can definitely recall instances of the writing being illegible (IMO, anyway) and even Alex having to pause because he couldn't make out what was written.

I wonder what would happen if one of the "forbidden" wagers was the only logical wager a player could make that would have them win the game. I'm talking about a scenario where everyone makes the most obvious wager and the forbidden number would give someone a $1 advantage. I would imagine that could be legally troubling to the show. (Although I'm sure the contestants sign all kinds of waivers agreeing to abide by whatever rules the show puts forth.) Still, I imagine if you prevented a contestant from making the wager they wanted and they lose and the other wager would have won the game, a fairly big stink could be made.

Did I miss something? Do we know Jenny died? (I didn't watch the previews for next week if that is where it was revealed). Sure, a person would be unlikely to survive that in real life, but this is TV and while they had the shock value of killing off a (perceived) main character in the first episode, I doubt that go back to that well so soon. So Steve (Steven?) was in the freezer, correct? I guess Ronald's new girlfriend and the sister Goodbye Earl'ed him. Ronald might should watch out. The new girlfriend (her name escapes me) has already shown signs of being on the crazy side. I know several people have expressed that they don't care for them, but I'm beginning to kind of be interested in the Yellowstone knockoff crew.

For an episode that was hyped as centering around a tornado, the tornado really didn't seem to have much of an impact on the hospital. Only two featured patients had injuries relating to the tornado. Seemed somewhat anti-climatic. I did enjoy the extra in the green scrubs seen straightening a crooked picture as if that would be a top priority after a tornado strikes. Then everyone goes out to a bar which apparently was untouched by the same storm. Is there any doubt in anyone's mind that Jake will end up adopting the little Asian girl?

One of the things I really like about this show in general, and the character of Grace in particular, is that it portrays Grace as a woman of devout faith (and it is treated respectfully, and not as a punchline). So, I was a little surprised that she refused help from both the man in the grocery store and the woman in the parking lot. I would have thought she would have viewed them as "angels" sent to help her when she was obviously struggling. I do think it would be easier to accept help from a stranger (especially with something low stakes like getting something off a shelf or picking up dropped keys) than it would Judd, or her parents, or the neighbor Judd mentioned whom she would fear she was "burdening" by asking for assistance. I was glad she came around at the end and asked Judd to help her get her walker.

Kind of liked Marjan's takedown of the straight-from-central-casting high school jerks. Although I wonder if the type of person who would enjoy watch videos of someone in obvious pain/distress would really care if others were laughing at her while filming it. That said, I've always had an irrational fear of getting my hand stuck in something like a garbage disposal, so the scenes at the ice cream shop were especially hard to watch for me. Mateo rooming with Strand might be the most I've ever liked his character ( a low bar, but still). So, of course they had him move out before the end of the episode. And the Captain America pajamas were perfectly on point for the character (that's not a compliment). Was I the only one thinking that the cranky neighbor may have poisoned the dog when he got sick? Glad I was wrong, although he really didn't seem to like the idea of some unexpected pups showing up. I completely get the idea of needing your independence, especially after suffering a debilitating accident. But, Grace seems like much too sensible a person to take some of the chances she took this episode.