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I think you meant to reply to the person I was replying to.

I like the idea of Mitch not “ending” as a character after his dismissal and self-imposed exile, but I don’t find this particular story very compelling.

I think Bradley’s personal relationships are constantly her downfall. Her issues with Cory stem from her view that they are friends above all, not employee and boss. She loves her family, but her relationships with them are wildly unstable. She seems to have fallen for Laura without realizing that Laura is almost certainly manipulating her. Bradley seems to be drawn to people who only want something from her when she should be seeking out people without agendas. I have to admit that I’m developing a soft spot for Chip. He’s not without major flaws, and he had a hand in perpetuating the toxic Mitch situation at UBA. But Chip was the fall guy at the end of last season and, because Fred and Mitch are no longer around, he’s had to take the lion’s share of the blame this season. This is despite the fact that Chip seems to be the only male character with a conscience save possibly Daniel. I want something good for Chip this season.

Did we ever find out why Aulus was killing and burying girls in the woods?

I think there’s some sort of weird requirement on this show that one sibling should carry around another sibling’s head at all times.

I absolutely loved Nina and Hartmann showing up at the end. I really hope those two are a couple. It would be perfectly bizarre and bizarrely perfect. Ditto, I really enjoyed Tina’s story in both 86 and 89. I’m a little surprised there was no cameo from her brother this season.

Amena’s story seems to have come out of nowhere this season. I understand how surviving something like that explains some of her behavior, but I’m not sure if I get why it happened. Evidently Veran knows about it. Did he (ugh) arrange for it to happen? If so...why? Was her father just a disgusting creep? I loved the whole mushroom storyline from the moment we saw the two sentries dicking around in the woods to the final scene of the heads flying. Talk about the Romans being literally their own worst enemies.

Does anyone else think Cait is (or will become) Bouadica?

I guess episode 2.4 was The Finger Episode. I think might have been the most gruesome episode yet what with said fingers, the torturer walking into the fire, and the two brothers hanging disemboweled in the forest. Did Harka need their “energy” or something? Did he just not want to send them back home? WTF? I guess Amena wasn’t terribly happy at home. She looked like she’d rather be undergoing a root canal when she showed up at the gates of her sister’s city (kingdom?). I’m very curious as to why Divis seemed so disturbed by Cait’s vision.

I watch it! I’ve lost track of how many people have been decapitated onscreen. I love the weird mentoring relationship/buddy movie that Divis and Cait have going on. I really want Divis to wear that antler/birdcage hat every episode. And now Phelan has turned into the ultimate deadbeat dad who also drags his dead sister’s head around. What’s not to like? They can call Aulus by that name all they want, but he’ll always be The Governor to me. I got a very weird kick out of he and Lucius speeding up Jesus’ crucifixion because they were hungry and bored.

Eugenics was more than creating the master race at the end of the nineteenth century. There was a big push to sterilize those considered “undesirable” in physical or mental abilities or in behavior - in this case, the mistresses would be considered loose women and thus sterilized. I’m convinced there’s more to it, though.

Bitsy said to Sara that the ward she was in (with the mistresses of high society men) was the “research” ward. That’s what makes me think the doctor is into eugenics - he’s experimenting on unwed mothers with secret babies. That would explain why so many of the women are sterilized. I do think he’s doing even more sinister things to them as well. Are Violet’s parents dead? I know Hearst is her godfather (and maybe biological father) and hosted the party, but is she his ward too? Marriage was one of the most important events in a society woman’s life back then yet there’s been no mention of her parents, unless I totally missed it.

I think Señora Liñares might very well have seen something. Libby was obviously taking charcoal at the hospital, so perhaps other drugs too. Or Señora Liñares saw Libby do something to one of the mothers or babies that no one else saw. Obviously Libby isn’t playing with a full deck.

Regarding Sara and the post-bachelor party, I know her being there was unlikely to have happened during that time, but it was one of my most favorite scenes. Each and every one of the characters there were outsiders for one reason or another. Sara, John, and Laszlo can play their parts but don’t feel comfortable with their high society peers. Laszlo is also foreign and Sara a woman, making them even more out of place. Marcus and Lucius are children of immigrants with unusual names and jobs. Joanna and Cyrus are limited in society due to their race. But in that bar, all of these people who have issues with belonging for one reason or another do belong, and they were at their most relaxed. What were the girls trying to pull out of the cake? A ring? A gold coin? I get the feeling the doctor at the maternity hospital is a firm believer in eugenics. I think that’s what the “research” that has been discussed is all about and part of the reason why so many of the woman have been sterilized. The doctor’s conversation with Byrnes solidified if for me.

I sort of side-eyed Mr. Trenchard's insistence that they fade from Charles' life after the Brockenhursts acknowledge him. I know protecting a woman's name and image was incredibly important back then, but...was Sophia's reputation that precious still after she'd been dead twenty-five years? Even if the Trenchards didn't want to want make Sophia's "indescretion" public, couldn't they very privately acknowledge Charles too just like the Brockenhursts? That seemed like kind of a stretch to me. I think it would be interesting to see what exactly brought Oliver and Susan together. They seem like complete strangers to each other. Oliver is a whiny little shit, but I get that he's spoiled and feels like chopped liver after all of the attention was given first to Sophia and now Charles. I didn't really like or understand the point of Susan until she was talking about her supposed infertility to Mrs. Trenchard in the carriage. Then I could see how empty, bored, and sad she is. Is it really that difficult for her to seduce her husband a few times and make her pregnancy seem like a happy fluke? I loved the final scenes in episode five seeing John's friend in the military drone on cheerfully about Edmund's and Sophia's valid marriage while John tried not to barf. Dude is just as desperate and gross as his father.

Hailie Sahar (Lulu) is in a new commercial for Descovy Prep HIV prevention medication. https://www.ispot.tv/ad/Zuz8/descovy-prep-up

I wondered the same thing about Darlene. I think she knows about the abuse and assumes Elliot is aware of it as well. She’s always seemed baffled and put off at the fact that Elliot remembered their dad with affection. She is also the one who reminded Elliot that he jumped out the window instead of being pushed, which also makes me believe she knows. I also wonder if perhaps Mr. Alderson was abusing Darlene as well. When Elliot was recounting the room incident it seems as though Darlene knew it was in her best interests to stay in the closet, that both kids were aware of what to expect if they encountered their dad. And let’s face it - even though Darlene seems somewhat better off than Elliot, she’s hardly the picture of mental health either. Sexual abuse could certainly be at the root of her self-destructive behaviors. I’m really curious to see Darlene again next week and hopefully find out what she knows.

My husband bought (and loves) the Mr. Robot jacket and hat. He felt weird about wearing it again and I pointed this out - Mr. Robot is a protector and gets things done, and we’ve seen far more of him in the series than we have Mr. Alderson. I’d still like to know what was in Mrs. Alderson’s safe deposit box, but I think it was a metaphor for her shitty parenting of her kids.

I agree it would be good if the show featured a major trans character who can't pass quite so easily. One of the mothers featured in the "Mother of the Year" contest (Kiki) would be a great addition. She's trans, but not particularly feminine looking, and seems to have her own successful house. There's also the prostitute who helped Elektra, Candy, and the bargain basement plastic surgeon deal with Elektra's dead stockbroker. We've seen less femme trans characters, they just haven't been on the front burner quite yet.

It’s possible that Chilly may just look very feminine. Caroline Cossey - who modeled under the name ‘Tula’ and mentioned by Angel during the finale - claimed she never looked masculine. It was later discovered that her genotype is XXXY rather than XY, which may explain her feminine appearance. The first American to have gender alignment surgery, Christine Jorgensen, also claimed that she had always been feminine in appearance as well, although I don’t know if her genotype had anything to do with it. Chilly might be simply be in the same position and not necessarily have had hormone therapy.

Is it weird that I want to swaddle Papi, rock him, and pinch his cheeks? That's not weird, is it?

Elektra lives in a luxury apartment, where people would complain about smells and/or feel comfortable involving the police. Dorian Corey lived in areas that were more economically deprived, where other residents had worse problems than bad smells and were less likely to call the police over anything. I get that Elektra doesn’t have many options for disposing of the body, but I think she’d have far more problems keeping around than Corey did.

I have the same impression of Blanca - she and Lulu are the most physically feminine-looking to me of all the characters. I understand Blanca’s (and last year, Candy’s) insecurities about not being curvy, but a lot of cis women aren’t curvy either. That doesn’t have much impact to me on whether or not they can pass.

I was curious about that when Blanca snapped at Electra at the very beginning regarding her swimming suit and what she could wear. Blanca said something along the lines of, “I’m not like you other girls!” which confused me. I knew Electra had had bottom surgery, but I didn’t think Angel had and I didn’t know about Lulu. I assumed all of the women had had hormone therapy, but maybe Blanca hasn’t and that’s why she said she wasn’t like them? That confused me.

Oh wow, thanks! I didn’t catch the name of the person whose grave Blanca and Pray Tell were looking for.