KittyQ

I guess they were girls who "bloomed early" and had fake IDs to go with their "clubbing" makeovers. :-)

I was/am hoping this would be the story for Esme. Much more interesting for her to come to terms with her previously "evil" self while trying to be a better person, and most importantly, wanting to be that better person.

This makes me crazy. Almost everyone, even Lois, is under the impression that if you didn't profit from it, it isn't a crime and whoever is "the rat" is the bad person. I think maybe one person pointed this out to someone, but they were immediately ignored. And reporting a crime (regardless of your motives) ISN'T a crime - in some cases, it is a crime NOT to report something you know happened. One of the (non-existent) officers of ELQ or Aurora should have noticed and reported any irregularities. Furthermore, once Drew put himself in prison, anything that happened there is on him, not on a) the judge, b) the lawyer, or c) the whistleblower. Unfortunate that he got beaten up, but it is prison, after all (have any of these people watched The Mayor of Kingstown?).

We binged the last episodes so the details of what happened in each episode are blurred for me. Some observations: When Bill and Darby were digging up the serial killers first victim, they destroyed the steps to the basement. Did they have a plan for how to get out of the basement, even if the killer didn't arrive? Were they planning to "vandalize" a property that's for sale and not take any responsibility for it? Why not go out the basement windows that were right above the washer/dryer? Both actors seemed small enough to fit. There was a lot of hand-waving there. Since Lee and Zoomer fled, what did Darby and the rest of the guests tell the police when they finally arrived? I doubt that they would accept several deaths as "just one of those things". Since Ray was destroyed, so was all evidence that might have exonerated any of the other humans. More hand-waving. The snow outside the front door was so high?? Who builds a massive resort like that without adequate maintenance options? Maybe they still couldn't clear the snow from a crazy storm, but it seemed that there wasn't even any effort made. Plus, the snow outside the rooms didn't seem that deep (maybe the answer was snow drifts), that peeved me along with the characters' invulnerability to low temps. Ray was no HAL. That was a dangerous AI.

Several things bothered me, especially in this episode: People go outside without even zipping up their coats, and regularly skip hats and gloves. I went to Iceland at the end of winter / early spring, and it was cold. More than a few minutes outside without my jacket and gloves and I was freezing. Here, the people go in and out as if they are in Los Angeles. Darby goes to the pool area, and knowing that there's a killer around, doesn't even stay away from the pool (a potential death trap), but even goes into the water and underwater so she can't see when someone else enters. (Hasn't she ever seen The Legacy?) Dying in an indoor pool seems like one of the cruelest ways to die, with no way out. As always, the changing color of Darby's hair is confusing, because other than the obvious flashbacks, it doesn't correlate to a different time frame. Can the guests really be "locked in" their rooms if they can easily open the doors to outside? Shouldn't there be more snow on the walkway outside the rooms if there has been such bad weather?

I was surprised how terrible all the bands sounded. Since they all sounded bad, I figured it had to be at least possibly due to the sound system in the venue. I did actually hear a performance by one of the bands on a local radio show and they sounded 100% better than on TAR. Sadly, this task didn't do any of those bands any favors in getting recognition.

From last Friday: One thing that I found odd was that when the plane Tracy was an hour before landing, the flight attendant announced that there would be beverages for the First Class passengers. Really, this is about the time that they stop providing beverage service and start getting people thinking about turning in their glasses and trash before landing.

What kind of business sends someone who doesn't actually work for them to finalize a deal, especially a big one on an international scale? How would Drew have the authority to make agreements and negotiate on the behalf of ELQ? What if something goes wrong somewhere down the line? What kind of legal liability exists? On another topic, Joss's classmate - does anyone think that a person with these kind of issues shouldn't be a doctor? If he's getting so upset during pre-med classes, how much worse will it be when he takes actual med classes?

First: the episode description is funny since Darby in no way appears to be "the perfect guest". Second: other than the hike to see the robots' work, there doesn't seem to be much point to this gathering. Everything else seems to be more social than educational or business oriented. So, what result does Andy hope to have? Third: Does Darby even have a "poker face"? I can't see how successful she could be at sleuthing (or even social manipulation) when everything she thinks is apparent in her expression. Maybe she's a better online hacker than an in-person detective.

Right? I seriously doubt any retail manager would do, either. Let work get your mind off your problems.

True. It seemed that no one yesterday took their partners' feelings or opinions into account when making decisions. You'd think Molly and TJ would at least have talked about whether they wanted to pursue further surrogate opportunities at some point, even if it wasn't going to be immediately. I thought it was also odd that their conversation ended without Molly either agreeing to delay the interview or saying that she wanted to at least talk to the surrogate. Of course, that's the kind of thing that makes soap opera drama.

Was Whoopi humming during Sunny's "Legal Note"? Sheesh.

Good for Sam for at least suggesting that she and Scout look at Westwood Academy before Scout gets enrolled. Drew made this decision without doing any due diligence, like finding out whether Scout wants to leave her current school or what her custodial parent wants to do. He's way more cavalier about changing his daughter's education than TJ is about even having an interview with a possible surrogate. Each one could use a little of the other one's attitude.

Sonny has a way with words: "If I'm going to arrange for Austin to be... dead, then..." The same way other people might arrange for car maintenance or house cleaning.

So true! That attitude of "educating" someone is what leads to major arguments. It is condescending and obnoxious. How would Joy like someone to take it on themselves to "educate" her about something she feels strongly about?

Interesting interaction between Liz and Anna - Liz seems to have taken Charlotte's story as utter truth, so Valentin should give her the whole story. As statsgirl pointed out, Liz's son is very into Charlotte, so Liz's family could become entwined in the mess that is sure to come. That being said, even if Liz believes Charlotte's story, it isn't her place to lecture Anna. Just getting her out of the room and telling her that the patient can't be disturbed would be the professional way to handle it. After that, maybe put a restriction on visitors and have more than one person at the nurse's station / town square.

However, most of us are not being paid to participate in these discussions. Even at work, when a conversation ventured into areas that didn't interest me, I at least refrained from rolling my eyes and acting like a bored child. Of course, I had the option to leave, but in the interest of being polite and getting along with my coworkers, I could follow the discussion to a certain extent, although I didn't have any particular input to share. The hosts should be able to offer input and suggestions prior to the show, and the viewers can also offer feedback about the topics covered. If enough people say they aren't interested, it should give the producers something to think about.

I think Whoopi must be a handful to deal with as an employee. She's told by management (and it is very apparent to the viewers) that she doesn't seem engaged enough throughout the entire (1 hour!) show, so she tells the audience that she'll be more "interested", thus undermining the effort. She's a performer and actress, for crying out loud - her job is to convey feelings that she doesn't actually feel. This shouldn't be difficult; it isn't like breaking rocks, after all. If she can't do that convincingly for 1 hour a day, she doesn't deserve that much lauded EGOT. I'll bet someone would love to fire her in favor of someone else, but there's likely a contractual/financial reason they have to stick with her. I was surprised at how little mention was made of the death of Rosalynn Carter. For a group that can talk about vapid reality show people for whole segments, they had pretty much nothing to say about Rosalynn who was an exceptional person and First Lady.

GH is continuing to contribute to the financial ignorance of viewers. I'm no business genius, but you'd think companies like ELQ and Aurora would at least have structures in place to handle situations like when the CEO has amnesia or is MIA or takes months off to handle personal matters - usually there is a person who is designated as a replacement (temporary, of course) so the company doesn't just drift in the absence of a responsible leader. Who knows what kind of shenanigans could happen if no one is steering the boat? Making it seem that Drew and Michael have had time to develop and implement actual plans for the company in Ned's (relatively brief) absence while they have both been consumed with other things requires a huge suspension of belief. Soap opera businesses routinely operate in a fantasy bubble, but this is harder to believe than most.

Drew calling Ned a "loose cannon" - isn't that the definition of the pot calling the kettle black? Drew and Michael are both loose cannons who wouldn't be in positions of responsibility in any self-respecting company IRL.

I agree that Nina should do that, but she probably won't. I think Charlotte is building a story that Anna meant to shoot her, not a threatening intruder. All part of Victor's brainwashing, I suppose. According to the letter (and whatever other triggering objects Victor supplied) Anna is dangerous to Valentin and must be destroyed (at least I think that last part is the case). So, this shooting, while unintentional, is great for selling that story.

Anna telling (off the record) about Charlotte: what do you want to bet that Valentin denies everything if questioned by Dante and Jordan? Drew and Michael decide to go back to taking over ELQ? Worked so well before, why not try it again? What will Ned do when he gets into the office?

It seems that there are more than a few characters (Charlotte, Spencer, Sasha, Joss's study-buddy, etc.) that could use a good therapist. Kevin should be recruiting assistants, because he should be very busy! Maybe TJ could put his psychology training to good use (except he probably needs it himself to deal with his kidnapping trauma).

Yesterday's episode: What a crock story Charlotte told. She found the key, went to the apartment, let herself in to return it? Who does that? Even if you decide to let yourself in, you don't turn on any lights? You don't sit down on the couch and wait for the person to return? More obviously, you don't call them to tell them you found the keys? At least Valentin doesn't believe her; he knows she's lying. Question is, will anyone else be skeptical?

Monday's show: Congrats Charlotte - you've probably achieved your objective of breaking up Valentin and Anna. TBH, I think when Anna looks back on this*, she may feel that it is for the best because dealing with someone else's troubled kid is a lot of work, especially if you are the focus of her animosity. In the meantime, of course, there will be a lot of self-recrimination. Anna, of course, and also Valentin, who really should have shared the information about Charlotte's vandalism with Anna before this. Anna shouldn't keep acting as if she could possibly know it was Charlotte or that she did it with deliberate intent to kill "a child". An intruder in your house after you've been threatened with violence (by some unknown person) is a reasonable cause for action. * Assuming Charlotte makes it, which I think she will. It should be a learning experience for other kids, though - you may put yourself in harm's way when you go places that you shouldn't.