Schweedie

I totally get why some would feel this way (especially if you're not familiar with the scene it's spoofing from Love, Actually), but I loved it so much - if only because it was Roy's idea, and that means Roy is a fan of Love, Actually. Which to me is perfect. I was a bit thrown by a Christmas episode in August, but I still really enjoyed it. Loved how happy Colin was about his Secret Santa scarf. He could wrap it around his booze! And Keeley and Roy's reactions to poor Phoebe's breath had me rolling. I do agree with the idea that we need a bit more conflict in the season - specifically, I want more actual football. Four wins, four losses and fourteen draws is not good, and on top of that there's the sponsor issue. We've had enough setting up the season now, there has to be more meat there. (I follow the Premier League and honestly the football angle was why I started watching the show to begin with.)

I felt like that was hinted at, too. Maybe it was just about how Patty is her only actual friend (but I have thought since the scene in the bathtub that Patty has developed feelings for Allison, and how she immediately went to talk to Tammy that was because she thought there was no chance anything could actually come from that so she might as well go all in with someone else), but her line to Sam about some people liking her the way she was without her having to be "more" was definitely a reference to how had Patty said she liked Allison now that she was 'broken'. If she's comparing how Sam feels about her to how Patty feels about her... Well, the context is romantic. I'd actually completely forgotten about the "Ultimate Hide 'n Seek" thing so was confused by the change into sitcom world when Allison entered the kitchen - I thought maybe she'd hit a breaking point and that sitcom world would occasionally suck her in. Excellent reveal.

Oh, absolutely. When Patty asked Allison about her relationship to Kevin during their 'rehearsal', she said "He was my husband", but when the cops asked her the same question, she used the word "is". Of course, Kevin could've been shot but without being killed, but I think it went completely south - either way, he's not dead.

...I totally thought they were the same person, didn't realise until just now that it wasn't. Man, those interrogation scenes were actually really uncomfortable, especially the first one. I like how they're taking bits that could absolutely happen in real sitcoms of this variety, but adding an extra layer of menace. In those shows the wife/friend would probably be unperturbed, exasperated, or even amused, but here we get to see them actually be terrified - which is honestly the accurate reaction to someone treating you that way. I genuinely thought Allison had gone through with the pills in the burger and was horrified she was practically framing Patty - I assumed it just wouldn't work, like Patty said, which would lead to more issues. Discovering she decided to use the opportunity just to get Patty back in Kevin's good graces instead was a nice twist for me.

I really liked them having the story where he put sugar in her boss' car's gas tank leading to her getting fired - I feel like that's something that could happen in one of those awful sitcoms it's referencing and we would be expected to find it funny. (Although maybe they wouldn't have gone as far as having the wife get fired for it, this show does turn things up to eleven.) Just like him setting his neighbour's lawn on fire earlier it's classic sitcom world stuff, but set in the REAL world, it's just f-ing messed up. Loved seeing Allison and Patty bond. I feel like Patty might actually be on her side now after seeing what he does to Allison first hand, and being made to confront that stuff she thought was harmless actually wasn't. I think I figured out what show it reminds me the most of - According to Jim. The set layout is similar to that, too. (And boy, did I hate it whenever I saw it.) ETA, I just looked it up and realised that show ran for eight years. How?!

It was very ironic that when she eventually decided that maybe a therapist *would* be a good idea (which it really would) and goes to visit them, it turns out the lady was actually offering an opportunity to score those drugs she wanted.

I actually think I liked this better than the previous two episodes - I wanted to see more of Patty outside of the sitcom world, and we got to! At this point I'm equally interested in her and Allison. Interesting that it seems like Patty got into this dealing thing out of genuine concern for her customers, and believing she was just helping them with pain. The woman who came by when she was out of pills was clearly an addict, which Patty didn't seem to expect or understand. Telling that woman to just take a few ibuprofens until she had re-up'd seemed very naive. I love how well they're nailing the sitcom parts. And it's not funny at all, which to me is very accurate in comparison to shows from the specific genre it's drawing from. I think it not being funny is the whole point; this isn't a comedy, with the exception of the occasional dark sprinkles of it.

This annoys me, too. It feels like that was just thrown in as a red herring to make us wonder if David is the bad guy. For a long time I thought both he AND Adele were shady. I'm also annoyed that I figured both of the big final twists as soon as the astral projection was introduced - in scenes we're seeing from "Adele"'s point of view while she's projecting there's a pale blue shimmer, but in the scene where Adele and Rob first travel together her shimmer was purple while his was blue.

I watched season one of this as it aired, then just kind of lost touch with it after the first few episodes of season two and now finally binged the last three seasons over the past week. What a finale. I actually did figure out our Elliot likely not being the 'real' Elliot a few episodes before when they the rest of them mentioned "the other one" (I was quite proud of that) - I'd thought a few times during the flashbacks how different young Elliot seemed from the current, too, which makes sense with how Darlene said in the finale that Elliot was different than who she grew up with when she came back into his life. I do wish we could've met real Elliot, but it makes sense that we didn't. Really glad that she show went out on a high, and really glad I picked it back up.

"With a wrecking ball. Wanna help me swing it?" I could both hear and see him deliver the line when I read that, heh. I feel like there has to be more to Richard than just being vaguely-unlikable-writer that Mare dates. Casting Guy Pearce just indicates more to me. Do they do red herring casting? I'm really liking the show so far, but yeah, Mare thinking that stealing evidence drugs and planting them on Carrier could even work doesn't ring true. She's a cop, a good cop from what I can see - surely she'd realise they were stamped and that it would be noticed. I could buy her getting the drugs out in the first place, but once she was trying to talk herself out of "a bad thought" I feel like she would've realised the obvious issues.

I really want to watch this, but man, as someone with a congenital hearing impairment/partial deafness I found the first fifteen minutes genuinely anxiety-inducing - especially the scene at the doctor's where the doctor is reading words aloud and Ruben keeps getting them wrong, because I've been there and done that and it was terrifying. My hearing deteriorating is one of my biggest fears. But perhaps that's why I should push through and watch the entire thing?

A shot I really, really liked was the closeup of Bucky sanding (? I know nothing about woodworking) boards using his metal arm. It was a nice small touch to see him getting to use that arm for something so mundane. This arm doesn't have the history that his Winter Soldier arm did; he doesn't have to look at it and see people he killed with it. This arm he can now look at and see having helped to fix up a boat.

Yes, this. Especially given that Sam then DID decide take up the shield, not because Steve thought he should or because Bucky thought he should, but because he himself felt it was right.

Bahaha, same. What an episode. I actually really felt for Walker right at the beginning, before he broke fully bad on Sam and Bucky - he really, really did want to be the right person to be Captain America and being forced to confront the truth that he isn't was the last straw. The scene between Sam and Isaiah... Whew. The fact that Isaiah was sent to prison for doing literally the exact same thing Steve did and was celebrated for was a gut punch. But I really liked the brief exchange between Sam and his sister about that later, showing that Sam didn't take his judgement to heart - Isaiah feeling the way he does about the idea of a black man being/wanting to be Captain America is completely justified and understandable given what he went through, but it also doesn't mean that he's objectively *right*. The way Sam's nephew touched the shield and smiled up at Sam holding it made my whole heart glow. Wakandan made Cap suit! Oh man, I cannot wait. And speaking of Wakanda, really glad Bucky lead the Dora Milaje to Zemo, putting things right there even if Ayo told him he might not want to visit there for a while. Her calling him White Wolf and agreeing to have Sam's new suit made tells me they're okay.

Yeah, I second this - John Walker may be (is) a terrible Captain America, but Wyatt Russell is a great John Walker.

I think Walker really wanted to believe and maybe try to prove to himself that he didn't actually need the serum, that he deserves being Captain America based on who he already is. He strikes me as someone who hasn't paid enough attention to news about Wakanda to realise what he was dealing with there. The humiliation when he realised he wasn't enough on his own just pushed him over the edge.

Definitely the best episode so far for me. So many thoughts. The opening scene absolutely broke my heart. The Dora fight was amazing ("Looking strong, John!"), although being beaten by women who "weren't even super soldiers" was definitely the breaking point that made Walker take the serum. I'm really looking forward to seeing the fallout from that! And I liked the contrast between Lemar (RIP, buddy, I liked you better than your partner) and Sam's answers to whether they would take the serum if they could. When Walker and Lemar talked about that I got the sense that Walker knew deep down that taking the serum wasn't a good idea for him but really, really wanted to anyway, and needed to hear from Lemar that it would be fine. I think he really does *want* to be the kind of person who can handle the serum and do actual good with what it gives him, but he's just not. Sam, on the other hand? Would be that kind of person. I really appreciated the callback to how he used to counsel traumatised soldiers - I remember thinking after the second episode that I expected Sam to have been softer with Bucky, given how familiar he is with soldiers like him, but they've done a good job of bringing that part of him back after that. Sure, he got "back in" the game when Steve needed his help and then stayed, but Sam Wilson is much more than just the Falcon. His talk with Karli was a good reminder of that. I wonder how long Zemo can hide from the Dora Milaje.

I think I said "Oh, go **** yourself" out loud at that.

For me it's his face right after he's said it and sinks back - damn it, Bucky Barnes remains so many of my favourite character tropes all rolled into one. I also really liked Sam's "You finished?" after that. They spend so much of the time snarking and being annoyed at each other, but those two words, they were said kindly. I think they're doing a pretty good job of selling the frenemy angle. Yeah, they aggravate each other constantly, but there's also the sense that they do have each other's backs. When that cop asked Bucky whether Sam was bothering him it would've been easy for him to just go "Hell yeah he is, all the time" without even realising what danger that would put Sam in. And Sam didn't have to go to the police station for Bucky, but he did, thanking the therapist for getting him out. And man, that scene in the police station with Walker... If I hadn't disliked him before, that would've done it. Smugly smiling and posing for selfies? Calling Bucky 'asset'? "Do what you gotta do with him and then send him off to me"? They've really nailed creating a character who's just what Erskine *didn't* want when they were looking for the right person.

Ever since Audrey went over to Big Alice I've thought she was playing the deep long con on Wilford, and that she'd be the one to finish him. But... I guess we're to assume now she really just went with the easy choice, to survive? That is just so disappointing.

The bolded completely sums up my feelings. It's been a long time since I laughed this much during a movie. And yeah, it was also a lot sweeter than I expected in the end. The kid who played Lucas is a friggin' gift.

There are so many little moments where Roy crack me up - his "Good lad" to Nate when he accidentally breaks the window after a loss, his comments to the kids when they're practising headers at the school (especially the annoyed "Well done" when Ted does it) and my absolute favourite, his mouthing the lyrics while Rebecca sings 'Let it Go'. This show was such a lovely little spark of light - I'm a football supporter myself so very much enjoyed that part of it, too. Can't wait for next season.

They're referring to characters in Cranston's earlier show, Breaking Bad. Michael isn't as compromised as Walter White ended up being, it could be argued. (Although I'm not so sure about that.)

So much this. I'm not sure why, but for some reason it might be the thing I've hated the most (along with the writing for both Nick and Nadine). They completely missed the point of Flagg's Vegas.

I re-read it not long ago at all - either before this series began or after the first episode, and like Superclam says above, it absolutely holds up in that Stephen King way. Some things are dated, sure, but the whole buildup where we get to know everyone and follow them through the initial chaos of Captain Trips is so good. There was one chapter that really got to me this time that I didn't remember - short snippets about random people who died during the "second wave" of the epidemic, in accidents or getting sick in regular ways when there was no help to get, and people like Rita. That chapter really brought home how society just completely broke down. The original miniseries... I rewatched that recently, too, and while it's sort of campy in many ways, it still works better a lot of the time. I can't believe this is where they went with Trashcan. What the actual heck. I did like the moment where Lloyd, Julie and -- someone else, I can't remember who, realised that Flagg was about to get very angry at Bobby Terry and just sort of drew back a few steps all at the same time. I think that was pretty much the only thing I liked.