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The Europeans and Canadians are ready to cut deals with Gilead because they have a couple of infants. Lawrence boasts that they cleaned up the toxic waste so birth rates are increasing again. Instead of being impressed, maybe these foreign countries should wonder if they shouldn't do the same? You know if not to improve fertility rates, to make it safer for their people in general? That way they wouldn't have to cut deals with a regime which routinely kills their own people. In any event Lawrence seems to think they can now expand NB but that other commander doesn't want to. Instead, he will play along, probably because he wants to bang Serena.

I have very dim recollections of season 5. But obviously June and Serena both felt they had to get away from Toronto, get away from the reach of Gilead. So they get on that train at the end of season 5, then they get away from the would-be lynch mob in the first episode of season 6. Serena jumps off the train with her infant and neither too worse for wear. They happen to find a nurturing community, no men, only women and children. What are the odds? Meanwhile June is with her mother and Nicole is fine. But Moira and Luke get themselves in trouble so it's Super June to the rescue? Why the hell did they flee, take a trip all the way across the continent -- well not sure where June pushed off Serena to save her from the angry mob on the train -- and now they're not only going to go back closer to Gilead, they're going to either return to Gilead or get very close, to No Man's Land where they could get captured? I know, they have to get all the principal characters back together, to finally take Gilead down! Lawrence just waltzes into the Canadian town where Serena is and convinces her to come back to New Bethlehem. Tells her the Eyes know she's there and do do the Millers.

They do skydiving often, don't they? Has to be tougher to set up logistically because they have cameramen skydiving to get shots of the racers as well as shots of the terrain below. The racers and the professional tandem skydivers all have Hero helmet cams but they're also getting shots of the racer and the pros together. So the producers are going through the expense to set up those missions, probably because they think viewers like them.

That's what I thought. So 6 legs and there have already been 7 teams eliminated. Now another double U-turn? There are suppose to be NELs this season right?

But Pops seems satisfied with the legs he got to run. He said during the episode setting aside the money for a second, they're having great experiences. He got to skydive and while he couldn't sprint as fast to the finish, he seems to treasure the experience. Very cool tasks, the tea service most seem to get on first try, though was it Jeff who accidentally wiped the frosting off the large cake and they had to do it a second time? That and just missing the previous train to the Pit Stop will probably fuel some regrets for him. I have no interest in visiting Dubai but it did look beautiful. To make an oasis in the desert probably required a lot of money and energy, just more contributions to climate change, not to mention the labor and human rights abuses it took to built that gleaming city.

So let's make guesses, Frank would totally steal all the prize money from Sam, Shane would take it from Da'Vonne and Adam would take it from Steve. Only Nicole and Melissa would share. But looks like a part of the finale is guessing what the rival would do and guessing correctly may determine the winner?

Baby Billy is dressed like maybe Elton John with the big glasses and the sparkly clothes. Or some cheesy Vegas lounge act maybe. May be fun to see once in awhile, for the novelty. But it seems they dressed like that at every sermon, which is why you wonder if people look at that every week and not roll their eyes all the time. However, they're asked to donate every week and you see these preachers arrive in cars which cost more than many of them make in a year, with jewelry and clothes which are also equally out of reach of those who are putting money on the donation plates. At some point, do most people not get tired of the grift?

England to Penom Pehn, Cambodia. A young couple moves. He's an IT guy who found a job in the city while she's some kind of coach, who will be working with her UK clients remotely. They want 2 bedrooms 2 baths with office space and an oven (why do people keep asking for ovens in SE Asia?) for $300. Yes that is their budget. They want to be near the Russian Market, a popular central district. House 1 is 1 bedroom, 1 bath in a modern high-rise with rooftop pool and gym for $700. The husband expresses skepticism about paying that much immediately so while they love the location and the amenities, it doesn't seem like a real choice for them. House 2 is 2 bedroom and 1 bath, not modern but roomy enough, for $400. Even this one just $100 more, makes him criticize. It's a loft and the bedroom upstairs has a very low ceiling and the husband isn't especially tall. The second bedroom office has a simple desk, that's it, no bed, no sofa bed. House 3 is an old Khmer type of home, 2 bedroom 2 bath in a nice residential and quiet street for $300 and it's the only one with an oven. The equipment and finishes are otherwise dated and old. They eliminate House 1 as expected, husband doesn't like the loft bedroom with the low ceilings in house 2 or the fact that the only bathroom in the place is far away from the bedroom and they settle on House 3 for the price as well as the rooms. 3 months later they're glad to have made the move. Who ever expresses regret on HHI? Oh forgot to mention, the wife thinks she was Asian in a previous life, which is one reason she pushed her husband to move, look for jobs in Asia. Sure that makes you eyeball but she and her husband doesn't necessarily elicit massive scorn.

They are spending some money on the cinematography and movie-level stunts. Lot of shots of the camera tracking Matt driving his expensive vintage convertible and outdoor scenes with stunts, like them tumbling down a hill. Are they leaning too much on all the guest stars for these episode plots? Maybe, but the rest of it seems to be interactions between Matt and Sal, Rogen and Barinholtz. No Kathryn Hahn in this episode and her screen time is a fraction of Rogen and Barinholtz so far. Is that a good thing? Studio executive bros? Matt isn't a bean counter though, he spends freely, first buying Scorcese's Jonestown script without reading it for $10 million, Promising reshoots to his directors, private jets to his stars and now an expensive reshoot with film. I don't know how long they plan to do the series. Seems like expensive to produce, not only with the guest stars but the fancy, movie-level production values -- except for the noisy images. Maybe he meant to do this one season, with the inevitable Matt being fired for spending too much. Now, if these movies become big hits and/or get critical raves, maybe he gets a reprieve.

These sermons must be exaggerations of these mega churches in the South? Because the cheesy, over the top shows, something out of a Vegas lounge act, can't have much appeal any more? And those churches or prayer centers look like low-end store fronts, not places of worship. Why would they be any more successful than prayer pods? Simkins are broke but live very ostentatiously with the fancy clothes and the expensive cars. Are televangelists that blatant about their wealth? I know there's the whole prosperity gospel thing but they're asking working people to donate every week while dressing like ballers.

White never had a hit as big ad the TWL. So he's feeling himself, throwing around the clout that he finally has. There were record viewing numbers for the finale so for now, he can say fuck off. Maybe the viewers will get tired of the formula at some point but he casts good actors, shoot at beautiful locations and the writing and acting is good.

Exactly, it's never up to the captain to throw a cast member off the show. It's not firing a worker off the boat, it's throwing someone off the show and that is mostly up to the producers, not the captain, who's a cast member himself. I would say Alesia climbing up to Wihan's bed because she was drunkenly confused is fake but she was wearing skimpy clothes, either panties only or maybe shorts with nothing underneath? She said she just wanted to cuddle a bit, nothing more. And she was looking at his bed, which is opposite Wihan's bed, which is an upper bunk that she had to climb up. So her "confusion" may be fake but she was dressed like it might lead to more than cuddling, though why would it, since they wouldn't have complete privacy in there. Adair really didn't look too enthusiastic about the date, like it was something she was tasked with. So Wihan couldn't read her? She's not interested, though she's hugging him, even though apparently it's so hot and humid, she couldn't wait to take off her white shirt that the crew wears when the guests depart. The thing with the breakfast was ridiculous. They put out a lot of hot dishes, some of which takes time to prepare. The guests said 10:30 and then they change their minds. Meanwhile, a lot of stuff had been prepared and would have to be eaten or would not be as appetizing if it went cold.

Are people who took Ozempic really reinfecting fat for saggy faces? Supposedly the GLP-1 drugs have a lot of potential long-term health benefits besides reducing obesity.

Gaitok is a lowly-paid security guard. Until recently he wasn't even armed. He said himself that he wasn't going to fight the jewelry store robbers because it didn't go with his values. Even if it wasn't at conflict with his belief system why would he kill someone on behalf of his boss? He said the job wasn't important enough that he'd stay. He was willing to start from the bottom somewhere else, which made Mook cool about going out with him again -- seriously why doesn't she just get an LBH who would give her the lifestyle she apparently wants? Maybe Thai laws let business owners command their employees to kill. Or they have the money and influence to keep the resort out of trouble. But even if Sritala fixed it so the resort isn't in legal trouble, does want it known that her employees killed a guest at her behest? It would be scandalous, especially if someone captured Gaitok shooting Rick in the back. Conveniently, guests are heavily encouraged to give up their phones and other devices, maybe even dedicated cameras? There may be security cameras but they won't release that footage. However, the guests know that several people were slain during their stay, so the word of mouth would spread. TWL Thailand should be finished as a desirable destination.

What a bloodbath. Five bodies, could have been more, resort guests fleeing from the shooting, with 4 different shooters. One shooter arguably executed one of the other shooters rather than apprehend him and hand him to the authorities Unlike previous seasons, lives have changed. Rick's zen state lasted less than a day, so easily triggered. Did Hollinger have other children or he just have low opinion of Rick? He just wanted to taunt Rick? Because he had no interest in reconciling? Gaitok threw out his values when he went to pursue Rick, all at the behest of two women, Mook the Material Girl and vengeful Sritala. BTW, no legal repercussions to have a resort employee kill someone on the premises? What abut business consequences? Bad enough that people were shot and killed on the property but one of the killings was the resort security killing a client? Not to mention the earlier robbery. Unless there are no other high-end resorts on that island or the country, that has to affect business no? No Pina Colada for you Lochy! You said you could cope without having money and you like to please people so only Coke! Lochy isn't religious but when he floated towards the afterlife, it was the silhouettes of 4 monks peering down at him as he was rising to the surface of the water? The real missed opportunity here was showing Victoria when she learns that they're going to be destitute and Tim will likely face some incarceration. Though her shit-eating grin when Piper grovels about wanting to go back to the US was great too. BTW, how could she taste whether something's organic or not? Main difference is whether they used pesticides and other chemicals to grow the produce and livestock too. The monks may not have much, certainly no AC but they must have spices in Thailands? Can't imagine Thai dishes being bland. The women reconciled though they were probably not going to be any closer than they were before this adventure. That is until Rick killed Hollinger right in front of them and they had to flee when the cross gunfire started. Does that kind of trauma draw them closer together or their relationship will be the same as before? On the boat, they seem relaxed and laughing? Kind of a strange reaction given what they experience within the past 24 hours. Even the Ratliffs seemed calm, as were Belinda and Zion, though they have $5 million reasons to be happy. Belinda's stance changed as soon as Zion threw out the $5 million number. What business? What Pornchai? So much for setting a good example for Zion, first caught in the act when Zion arrives and flip-flopping immediately on her stated principles. Well principles don't pay for the bills at The White Lotus. Speaking of which, if Tim's accounts have been frozen or confiscated, how do they check out? They had some incidentals you know. All those meals and of course the Pina Colada mix, rum and the "off" coconut milk.

I watched the old movies as a kid, never had any desire to see any more but saw the reviews for this one. It’s not the special effects, it’s the survivors guilt from a war which sacrificed so many lives. Crucially the task of stopping Godzilla falls to citizens, though how did just citizens get access to warships, a prototype fighter and all that equipment? Shikishima shouldn’t feel guilty, because it made no sense to go on a kamikaze mission in the final days of the war. Nor would he have killed Godzilla at Odo island because we see that it’s virtually indestructible — because there will be more Godzilla movies.

And before woke, it was PC and CRT.

Maybe now that Craig has more money, he's doing some coke.

Craig said Paige has completely cut him off, not answering his attempts to contact her. He seems at a loss for why she broke off or what he might have done to alienate her that she isn't even interested in having a conversation with him. So he has no clue as to what he might have done. Or maybe she's just that kind of person, once she's over you, you're dead to her. Despite calling each other chicken and talking about marriage and kids, the affection didn't run too deep. Or maybe the relationship they claimed to have on the show wasn't representative at all of reality. Go figure, something on a reality show wasn't real?

Definitely people have a stereotypical view of Alaskans. It's been decades since Northern Exposure, not that that was representative. Unfortunately people's views of Alaska may be skewed more recently by the former governor there who ran for VP. It just seemed a peculiar thing that Sewing Down South, of all things, kind of caught on up there, to a certain extent.

Saw the promos for this. She’s been living in Spain. But this is a good niche, now she can do shows based in other European countries, except Italy, since Stanley Tucci already covered Italy and I believe he owns a piece of Searching for Mexico and maybe this new show as well. Speaking of which, not a word on Heart of Italy, which was announced in 2023. There were reports of him shooting the show last summer, in Le Marche. But maybe his movie roles kept him from finishing that series?

Seattle to Wellington, NZ. Family of 6, the husband is a doctor working 70 hours while the wife, a lawyer, is now full-time stay at home mom. They are moving themselves and their 4 kids, ranging in age from 5 to 14, to NZ, for the husband to have a less-demanding job for a year and for the kids and the family as a whole to experience living in a different country together. They want 5 bedrooms -- each kid gets a bedroom, even the 5 year old? -- 3 bathrooms and a big yard. They want to be walkable to school for the kids and easier commute for the father, so he can spend more time with the family. Budget is $2500. House 1 is in a suburb, about 20 minutes from father's hospital workplace. It's 4 bedrooms and 2 bath for $2500. The master bedroom is downstairs while the other 3 bedrooms are upstairs so mom worries about the 5-year old being too far from them. The other big factor, they want a big yard because they encourage their kids to be active in all kinds of sports and the parents get involved in these physical activities with them. This house 1 doesn't have a big yard. House 2 is in a different suburb, 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, with the biggest yard of the 3 places. But it's $500 over budget at $3000 and the commute for dad is 35 minutes, though it's very close to school and shops and restaurants. House 3 is yet another suburb of Wellington, 4 bedrooms and 2 baths, not much of a yard. It's under budget at $2400 and closer commute to the hospital at 25 minutes, walkable to school for the kids. They rope in the kids for the decision. The kids all say to eliminate House 1. They want their own bedrooms and they like walkability because they couldn't walk to school back in Seattle. The parents say since they're moving them al the way to NZ, they owe it to them to have their own bedrooms. BTW, that wasn't the situation back in Seattle and they still have that home, because this is definitely 1-year experience. So they choose House 2, with the longer commute for dad and the over-budget price. But that's okay, he's working fewer hours than he was back in Seattle so despite the long commute, it's better work/life balance.

Oh man, what a wasteland. Nothing personal, never been up to Alaska. There has to be more there there?

I raised the bat thing because in the early days of covid, there was a suspicion that the virus originally came from some species of bat. There are photos of these markets where all kinds of bats were on display for sale an stories about some people having bat soup. So for Westerners, the notion of consuming bat is curious, to put it one way.

Not to mention all the discussion which this show generates between episodes. Still a water cooler show, even if a lot of people now work from home. That is how HBO captured the zeitgeist, when it’s tentpole shows were discussed at the office, on radio shows and TV talk shows and now podcasts and social media as well as forums. I don’t know if binged shows stimulates nearly as much online activity. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is in the eye of the beholder.