aghst

Because he realized "I'm an oil billionaire, why am I living in the frozen tundra in the middle of nowhere?"

Didn't take long for Dexter to escape that truck but he was thrown out of the vehicle, which is usually not a good ending. So he bled all over the forest and made it to that cabin way ahead of the henchman, showed him that he took a knife. Guy got cocky about taking a knife to a gunfight but a rifle is not as advantageous in close quarters as a shotgun, especially in the dark. Yikes, not a good ad for iPhones with FaceID. You knew Dexter was always going to win, since he's going against a yokel who listens to hillbilly music. But it took half the episode to beat him and then very long drive to get to the secret cabin. Kurt's not the mastermind that he appeared to be. He hired a goon who got bested by a bleeding fish and game salesman and his plot was to buddy up to Harrison, ply him with liquor and venison and shoot him down with a rifle and a scope? And then having him beat up by the pitching machine, that was just filler. But why not spike the drink or the food? How sporting is it to have a scared kid try to run away from a rifle with a scope? Plenty of DNA left in his cabin too. Sure revenge for Dexter killing Matt but it has to be the same custom, shoot down a fleeing kid in the back. That just bought Dexter time to escape and come to the rescue. Meanwhile, local yokel Angela is piecing together Dexter and the Bay Harbor Butcher's MO of injecting ketamine in the neck. OK I thought he chose to use a substance which wouldn't survive autopsies? Of course he didn't expect that the Miami PD would eventually retrieve all those body parts and then autopsy them. Would they actually tell the media that his MO was to inject ketamine into the neck though? Surely Dexter knew that leaving the same mark, using the same MO would be the surest way to get noticed by law enforcement? So like Kurt, maybe Dexter's fatal flaw is strict adherence to ritual and repetitive process. Angela is going to have to die, either by Dexter or someone else killing her or her being involved in some lucky accident, unless they intend to tell the story of Dexter's demise by the end of this season. Ratings are said to be strong so I can't imagine them ending it in two more episodes. But Dexter came clean to Harrison, so he's going to be his guide in possible future seasons or is Harrison going to die somehow? Can't have future seasons in Iron Lake again can they? Once they get rid of Kurt and discover his secret hiding place with all the girls he killed, what's left in IL for Dexter (and Harrison)? Maybe that oil billionaire is also a killer. But there are only so many targets for The Code in such a small community, so maybe they migrate to a big city again.

Season 7 is really so good. The whole Reunion show plot, The Black Swan, Officer Krupke -- Jeff showing up with a neck brace at the end was hilarious.

So they must have filmed in the summer or fall. Hope not now, when there's a big winter wave.

If you stream on HBO Max app, after the credits and previews for next episode, the show runner talks about the episode. I don’t think it’s after every episode but it was definitely after episodes 4 and 5.

Well if you watch Inside the Episode, Somerville is hinting that Tyler/The Prophet isn’t the bad guy, Clark was, because of his insecurities and jealousy of Arthur and the way he saw Arthur in Tyler. He was going to cast out Elizabeth and Tyler if Tyler didn’t fake his own death and escape? But Clark calling Tyler the Destroyer even before he blew up the plane and long before he gets those kids to kill Gil was prescient. It might have been safe to leave the airport but they stayed away from that plane because they don’t know if corpses are still infectious. So they might have left to find more resources or just split away, maybe not liking the triumvirate. In episode 4 they referenced meth addicts who were possibly homicidal so would they be more secure at the airport or elsewhere? Other survivors would see the electric lights on and come to the airport. Clark did run towards the plane until it exploded so presumably he’d have gone inside trying to get the kid? So maybe he wasn’t drunk with power?

I remember seeing what was undoubtedly The Queen on a flight a long time ago. I wasn't aware that it was a highly-acclaimed movie when I saw it. Certainly knew of Mirren and Frears but wasn't familiar with the movie at the time. That is the one thing that struck me, Charles begging Elizabeth to let him use the private jet. Elizabeth was wary about ostentatious displays by the Royal Family, because she was worried about public perception for some reason. But I probably fell asleep watching The Queen so I'm going to try to watch it again. I haven't watched seasons other than Season 4 of The Crown -- still undecided if I will watch earlier seasons. Howard Stern was talking about how poorly the royals came off in season 4, remarking how Elizabeth refused to hug Diana, who is shown as desperate for the slightest affection. Elizabeth isn't overtly cold or hostile to Diana, not like the way Charles is. But she isn't exactly warm to her either, even though she is the mother of the heirs to the Crown, which Elizabeth seemed to value over everything else. I wonder about how the writers of the show and movies would be know about what must have been private conversations among the family. Are they just imagining it? How would they know for instance that Charles demanded the jet or that the members of the family were at best indifferent to Diana? At least in season 4, the members of the family do not come across as despicable, other than Charles. They are self-aware and they are shown to have a certain wit. Maybe the distinguished cast covers over the horribleness of the people they portray to a certain extent with the brilliant performances. Anne and Margaret are shown as being unhappy to an extent. so it's hard to see them as hateful, even if they were at best indifferent to Diana. Elizabeth herself didn't come across as venal. And they show the young Elizabeth striking noble notes in her speech for the Commonwealth, though that was by a different actress than Coleman.

So the children who got lured away were convinced to become suicide bombers against maybe the only paternal figure they’d ever known? Children can become brainwashed by cults but over time. They were stolen maybe a week or two ago? These little kids were ninjas, able to catch adults by surprise and pounce at the right moment. Maybe the Prophet has more followers than they’ve shown but why steal the children to kill an old professor? He apparently likes to kill and threaten to kill. But why Gil, was it just killing him for the sake of killing him? Somehow the Prophet saw the book, quoted it to Kirsten. Yet the copy which she had hidden under Gil’s desk was still intact. Meanwhile Alex apparently has some generational resentment against the Pre Pans, because she had never gotten the chance to play lead? This is how the Prophet apparently brainwashes the youth or Post Pans, telling them the before times don’t matter. That may work with a teen like Alex but the suicide bombers both looked under 10, with the one Kirsten chased being closer to 5 than 10 — how did she not outrun him?

There’s got to be something else, Google Maps indicates over 3 hours by car and 5 hours by train. Maybe they’re letting her work at home or his income alone is enough for them. Interesting that he only mentions pubs and wanting a young adult lifestyle while she says they’re not going to be jet-setting around. If they really did plan this move before she got pregnant and they’re still doing it, they must be planning more than simply settling into family life. Because if they’re going to be nesting a lot, might as well stay in San Francisco where she wouldn’t have that ridiculous commute. But with the pandemic, maybe they’d both be working from home. He certainly would since he says he’s in technology. Do a few pub crawls but I would think anyone with a demanding job isn’t going to be spending hours each night at the pubs. Maybe he or the producers couldn’t think of better things he was supposedly interested in doing. There’s a lot more to London and Europe than pubs. She specifically said no jet setting but again, why move to London and not go to Paris or other European cities when they have time off? Well once the baby arrives she may demand more nesting but parents with toddlers will travel. So in one of the interstitials, they visit a bakery chatting about all the breads and cakes. The sales clerk is masked and they’re not. Clearest sign that HHI doesn’t want the hunters or agents to mask on camera. Since July, the Uk has removed all pandemic measures other than pushing vaccinations and tests. They were okay through the summer but then cases started climbing in the fall and now they’re hitting all time highs as Omicron is spreading there. They still don’t have restrictions though scientists are advising the politicians to re-impose them. This episode was probably filmed months ago but if that salesperson is wearing a mask, she probably would have preferred that they mask.

I guess they hadn't formed permanent pairs until after the elimination of the previous episode. Or they really had no easy way to reconfigure the pairs if just Casey left? All the drama about Brad throwing in Nehemiah and for nothing. Oh and it wasn't just POC boosting each other up by calling each other Kings. It was a in-your-face alliance, defying others to stop them. They thought they were invincible but the best team going is Jodie and Brad, unless they do something puzzle-heavy. That's interesting, you'd think these older, wiser geezers would be more into puzzles but they haven't featured much. I liked the Daily challenge but it was mostly physical.

Loved the games but leery about most video game movies. But the incongruous thing was that Nathan would wisecrack in between killing a lot of bad guys. Sure they're bad guys but he's mowing them down with an arsenal which would make the Columbine shooters envious. Oh he can just kill them by throwing them over a cliff and plunge to their deaths too. Will they show that in the movies or they won't feature the killing as much, though he has to kill often in the game to reach objectives. It wouldn't be unique in film that they try to make a hero likable but at the same time, he's spilling a lot of blood. Would be interesting if he's more of a ninja acrobat, able to scale buildings and steal artifacts without getting into a lot of conflicts Not unlike To Catch a Thief, with gorgeous South of France setting. However, would that be as appealing to today's audience, who respond to "action" which often means battles or a lot of gunplay?

Scotland. Both couples say they were into Scotland in their youth. He surprises her with a honeymoon there and they decide to move there, at least for a year because he found a job there. They're on a work visa. He's trolling about preferring old, with dirt floors. They eliminate #1 quickly because of wallpaper, lack of yard. Number 2 is a picturesque stone cottage but inside needs renovation, including a kitchen without appliances. How would that work with a rental? Are they going to spend thousands to install a new kitchen and renovate other parts of the house when they may only be there one year? The owner won't pay or give them credit? So they choose over budget #3, which has almost everything they want, including a big yard for their dogs. Maybe they had a budget constraint or maybe he found a job near that village (as opposed to relatively nearby Edinburgh). I've never been to Scotland but I hope they've seen other parts of Europe or plan to before going on like Scotland is everything. Maybe they don't mind the lack of sunlight since they were living in CT. But they went on and on about this historic village, so well preserved. You can find that everywhere in Europe, in prettier settings, better weather. OTOH there might not be English-speaking jobs.

Season 3 premiers March 24. https://apple.news/AcbLhLYrPQ-q194Q5b26nkQ Season 2 ran from March 1, 2018 to May 10. So it will be over 4 years since the previous season. Pandemic and all but can it recapture the momentum it had? Or has the cast been too preoccupied with other projects, life, etc.?

Not quite sure why the fact that Chris used to be a gun enthusiast means he must have killed both of Susan’s parent. Their gun wounds suggest they were shot by the same person? Obviously that forensic evidence wasn’t enough because they tried to wear both of them down in interrogation. It looks bad that she took her parents money after they died so they kept digging. Maybe the story about them corresponding with Gerard Depardieu is meant to show that they believed they could sell any narrative they spun. Or that they got their heads in the clouds and they’re naive about the real world, or at least the legal system. But the cops never bought their story from day one and all they had to do is find ways to take it apart.

Comeback challengers! We take care of our baby! You suppose to take care of your baby /Chris Rock.

These outback mining towns look very unappealing. Maybe there was one scene, where they parked in front of some body of water, that looked nice. But the rest was ugh. Road trains to keep these towns going? Blech. He should have moved to Norway though maybe she wanted to get away from the cold.

The jumping between the timelines, I hope it’s not overdone and it becomes a thing in itself, like on Westworld. But they may have to do it if they’re going to keep telling Miranda’s and Kirsten’s stories and their plots don’t merge. The contrast is interesting, in the future, Kirsten is the star of a Shakespeare troupe, performing for survivors. Art seems as essential as anything else in that post-apocalyptic world and Kirsten wants to share the art. Miranda has this desire to create art, though she may not call herself an artist, because she wants to express these feelings based on her experiences. But she does not want to share, at least not when she’s married to Arthur. She burns her work but later, after Arthur has a child with Elizabeth, she gives him a copy of her work. Oh and Kirsten ends up with a copy of Station Eleven and remains obsessed with it 20 years later as a grown up. They seem to be doing something with some of the names? We have Miranda (The Tempest), Bodhisattva, Robespierre, Le Creuset. These all have cultural resonances but not clear how they all fit.

This last episode was apparently the highest rated of the series. Something like 8.2 million for all views. Showtime is going to want to renew it so it's a matter of the show runner and Hall wanting to keep doing it. Because someone floated the idea of Harrison taking over but that actor is unknown (I've never seen him in anything) and probably can't carry a show on his own.

Heather and Fraser wanted to get rid of her. Just inconvenient for them and the rest of the boat that she pulled the trigger before they did. Fraser so fake, hugging her. Good for Jess for getting the hell out of dodge ASAP, no fake moments with Lee and others. She did say she didn't want to disrupt their work because in a couple of hours, new guests were coming on board. But she didn't like the rest of the cast except for a couple of others. Funny thing, when Lee tried to line up someone else, they said late in the season, not many choices. If there are more than a handful of episodes left in the season, Bravo WILL scrounge up someone, some nubile lass to throw into the drunken hook-up stew they're brewing on BD/Bravo. Already, Wes and Jake were rubbing their hands at how attractive the replacement might be. That woman with the wired jaw, sounded like she wasn't sure she wanted to do the cruise but may have been convinced to do it, because they could film Rachel swearing about blending and straining food over and over again. She was asking for food as often as the other guests and before they were served. Then she went into her cabin and broke down. What did they really expect though, how is chopped up lobster going to taste in some liquid and sucked through a straw? Rachel said it's not easy to emulsify the dishes, which involves adding water or some other liquid, and still maintain the flavor of whatever she ground up. I would have just asked for light soup, nothing with big chunks of vegetables and meat which can't be sucked through a straw. Or just ask for protein shakes or Ensure. May not be good but I'm not convinced they can make savory shakes that taste particularly good. But asking for a shake version of every dish that other people were getting is just not realistic. I suspect they got what they wanted, which was the guests repeatedly asking for something for the guest and Rachel complaining about it in the kitchen. Heather walked on egg shells making these requests because she could see Rachel hated doing it.

But Nathan's coworker came all the way out there to get keys for the barber shop?

I hope they don't make a big story out of it. Hope she refuses to participate in anything like that.

But Chad is the one who told Lawrence to fight. But they made a big scene in front of everyone. They’re in their mid 30s, not early 20s. Yeah not a good place for Lawrence to take his shot but it did seem like Issa was shutting him down. Whosever house that was, huge backyard in a nice neighborhood. Must be worth at least $5 million. All the catering with serving staff too. Why are they leaving for Denver again? I thought it might be Lawrence at the end but if she’s looking for places with the dude, she’s pot committed. Otherwise she’s going to be messing him up if the week after they’ve been looking at places she’s all “I changed my mind, don’t want to be with you.”

Episode 3, Vale of Tears, makes Sepinwall's list of top episodes of 2021. https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-lists/best-tv-episodes-2021-sepinwall-1273494/the-pursuit-of-love-amazon-prime-video-episode-1-1273513/

Sepinwall names the top episodes of 2021, one of which is The Watermelon (S11E04). https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-lists/best-tv-episodes-2021-sepinwall-1273494/the-pursuit-of-love-amazon-prime-video-episode-1-1273513/

So Kamau has been busy, he's put together a 4-party documentary called "We need to talk about Cosby," described as a look at the "revolutionary career and personal descent of Bill Cosby." It airs starting on 1/30/22. https://tvline.com/2021/12/20/911-lone-star-julie-benz-amy-acker-cast-season-3/