ToxicUnicorn

I think Mousumi might outdo Amy Vachal at being Amy Vachal-like. I agree. For me, Katie won that. I also wish Christina had picked Malik in It's A Man's Man's World. I would be much more interested in how she coaches him than his new coach, Pharrell. Bryan may have had the more precise voice, but he had far less charisma, I thought. I can't remember Paxton or Brittney's battle at all. Not a great sign.

I'm not done with the season yet, so this might change, but I definitely got that feeling about Frank. He clearly loves Claire, although I think it's mostly a match of intellectual (and ambitious) equals for him. I never get the sense that he desires her. Claire is a closed book to me. I don't understand her at all. I'm not sure she loves Frank. As you said, her decision to go back to Frank seemed based mostly in familiarity and pragmatism.

Mary Sarah finally paid off all of Blake's comments about introducing that type of country music to a new generation of listeners. That audition was perfect. The video of All of Me above is pretty great, too. The purity of her voice is fantastic. Blake must be beside himself. I loved Linda Ronstadt's torch songs back in the day, but I never liked her Blue Bayou. It was too dang slow and syrupy. So, Alisan's version was a revelation, partly just because of the tempo she chose. I think she has a lovely voice. However, I think her brilliance was in the way she polished every phrase. I don't have a musical vocabulary - I just thought that the way she sang everything was finished to perfection. Phrases flowed and made sense. Syllables took their time and were properly emphasized relative to one another. To my ears, it was a completely different approach from almost anything these days, and it was like getting wrapped in warm paraffin wax (I mean that as a good thing). It was exactly the opposite of the way "Un-con-Di-TIONA=lly" ruins that very word for me, or the way all the lines of "Wrecking Ball" have a discomfitting runaway train feel. Alisan's song was something I could savor, without feeling as though I might get slapped up the side of my head with something unfortunate at any moment. For that, I hope Alisan not only stays around all season, but is able to launch a big career.. I am crossing my fingers that Alisan and Christina bring out the best in each other. That could be a real treat.

Catching up on Season 10: I love Xtina this season. Love. It took her awhile, but she has finally nailed the playful spirit and spunk that the show needed from a female judge to balance (and mesh with) the Adam and Blake show. (in my opinion) She still slips up occasionally and talks about letting a female coach win (which I have always found completely obnoxious) but it is so much less than before. I don't know Pink, she might be good - - - the woman I've enjoyed second most on this show (however briefly) was Alicia Keys.

Love this description. So apt. Best part of the beginning of this season was Frank prowling around Claire. Truly terrifying!

I had a different take. I thought a large part of Claire's interactions with Blythe were for the purpose of manipulating him. By telling him that, she validated his feelings about his wife's death, his sense of isolation and loneliness, and his desire to seek her company by making it seem reciprocal. By distancing herself from Francis, she made it seem as though she was taking him seriously as his own person, who was acting as President and not as an adjunct of Francis. This fed his ego, both professionally and personally that an interesting, attractive woman who clearly was used to being around power but who also had an independent mind was being candid with him. Finally, and most importantly, denying her relationship with Francis made her seem like an independent agent who could become his ally. I honestly thought she was going to try to do an end run around Francis by hitching her political star to Blythe and torpedoing Francis' re-emergence somehow. Maybe that was wishful thinking, but I suspected Claire of laying the groundwork for that possibility. I think she was very deliberate about that statement. Maybe there was a grain of truth to make the line more palatable to him and to her, but I think mostly it was strategic. I don't think she had any intention of sharing an honest emotion or revealing any more of herself than was necessary. Yes, I am completely cynical.

Yes. YES. This episode went on too long. It was too jarring to see the beaming Underwoods on stage at the end. There was some voodoo magic going on with Claire's costuming. She looked like she was on stilts in that pantsuit. After suspending disbelief for everything Francis has done and said, somehow, Claire sleeping with the writer seemed completely reckless to me, like that was going over a line that they could never ignore.

I was suspicious, too. I think Claire is completely capable of trying to seduce the acting president to further her career.

I watched the scene between Francis and Claire when Claire helps Francis to his feet after surgery and Francis asks her to stay. I was trying to figure out their dynamic. I think Francis genuinely loves Claire and wants her in his life as a partner. He seems to value her intelligence, her determination, her charm, and her manipulative ability. I believed him when he said he felt lucky to be married to her and that he didn't feel sometimes that he deserved her. However, I have never felt that Francis had any sexual attraction to Claire. I think it is basically a meeting of the minds, but one that he cherishes. Claire, on the other hand, seems as though she is interested in using Francis more than Francis is in using her. She seems completely pragrmatic and deliberate - hes the one who seems more emotional and reckless. I believed her when she wouldn't reconcile unless Frank promised her something different. I'm not sure she loves Frank. If I'm correct that the affection in that relationship is more lopsided than not, that could make some interesting side by side stories to come... if Frank thinks they are completely reconciled when it is Claire who has changed her priorities so much. Also, I don't remember anyone remarking on the way Claire seemed to be seducing the VP/acting Pres. I have no problem believing she would hitch her star to that wagon, if that wagon were going anywhere.. It's odd to be feeling sorry for Frank in this senario.

I agree, Doug has serious father issues. Frank explicitly said in some long ago episode that he loved Doug like a son. I don't think we know why Doug feels it is ok to kill for Frank, though. I enjoyed Claire-Petrov and the Frank-Claire reconciliation, even though neither of them made any sense. They just have such great chemistry. Add me to those who would be glad to see the hallucination scenes end. Blech.

Claire's press conference was a thing of beauty (where she informs the public that FU needs a liver transplant and fakes being overcome with emotion). Unfortunately, that was my only real take away from this episode. Nothing else was very interesting. Doug attacking Seth = seemed sort of run of the mill, for Doug. That guy is unhnged (although I enjoy him). That's going to come back to bite him. No way does Seth let that go. I am supremely bored by Frank's hallucinations.

At a purely gut level, I loved it. It was about time Francis felt some consequences, so that was gratifying. I never had much use for Lucas, so I was glad his story finally went somewhere dramatic. The little subplot that had Doug trying to lure Le Ann away from Claire's campaign, and then Claire countering with the divorce note, was a tiny gem. That's the stuff on this show that I really like. I am sad to see Meechum go, but felt the hallway wall-marker scene was a nice send-off. Meechum ranks second only to Aaron Pierce (24) in my affections for secret service guys. I completely agree with this. Doug's character ought to be more complicated, given his history. Unlike many other posters (it seems), I like it when Doug is involved in the political plots, and I like the actor, so I'm going to blame this disconnect on the writers. I hope they give him more to do soon.

That cyber security video was adorable. It always boggles my mind when they perform Daft Punk live - to change the lyrics at this point makes them even more crazy talented than ever. I also thought the sound on the video was remarkably clear. You could hear the different voices better than usual. Scott looked so tired. Mitch has finally got a handle on his hair. Hooray! Thank you, ptxnewsandstuff. ETA: That was awesome. Loved hearing Kirstie singing lead. Such a long dance number! The dancers did a good job, and they moved so quickly that I almost wasn't bothered by seeing so much skin at Disneyland. (I wonder if that matters to anyone else anymore.)

So far, I don't like Frank's recurring dream/vision of the violent fight he has with Claire. I also didn't like the blood in the faucet. These characters' normal personalities are far enough out on a limb for me to feel plenty of unease when they're acting deliberately. I do not need to add layers of uncontrolled subconscious or actual mental instability to be interested. In fact, I find those fight scenes jarring and I think they detract from the psychological tension, rather than adding to it. Having said that, I thought this one was much better than the last episode.

I thought this episode was one of the weakest of them all. The only part I really enjoyed was Frank's State of the Union speech, for the times he looked up at Claire. There was so much subtext in his expressions, and his two timing grin was a welcome contrast to Claire's nearly impassive bearing. I was starting to get a little tired of that. I also feel as though Claire is being a bit disingenuous - how could she not have realized, all this time, that Frank had been putting his career above all? That doesn't make it right, and I have absolutely no problem watching a woman who wants power just as much as he does, but Claire's self-righteous, wounded air - well, that doesn't look good on anyone. I liked Season 3 as well. Well said. At this point, the only one I'm rooting for is LeAnn. I would love for her to turn the tables on all of them and end up pulling the strings and double crosses.

This was pretty funny. I didn't get the BJ Novak reference.

That was a very efficient way to catch up on Lucas' story. This episode was all about Robin Wright. Nice job ascting, although those high heels make me shudder every single time. Claire should ask for sole custody of Meechum if they split. I bet he'd figure out how to give her a good foot rub. Frank and Doug can have each other. I think it was very clever to divide Claire and Frank up and turn them against each other. I don't know who to root for. Claire's mom was the best new character this episode. I will take this fictional messed up political world over our current fiasco any day, and twice on Sundays.

Very true. Rodrigo himself is something of a fairy-elven-imp-spirit creature. I wasn't bothered by that story at all. Same. Season 1 Hailey was fairly charming. Season 2 Hailey seems vapid and annoying. I have no idea why so many men would like to be in a relationship with her (for anything other than superficial reasons).

This is my demographic as well. Do you remember the Christmas edition life saver books? I would love to see the kids get those on this show. I just caught up on Season 3, and the discussion about Paige's birthday present stood out for me. Trying to choose the one big present that would be best: a bicycle or a necklace. I remember asking for a 10-speed in high school (everyone was getting them) and it was a big deal. My dad asked why it would be necessary, wouldn't a 3-speed be perfectly fine? Looking back, I did not have a good answer for that. Back before the internet (and when using that one family car to go to a store was a treat), we kids spent very little time thinking about interesting consumer goods. The things I coveted pretty much extended to a new pair of pierced earrings or a record album, until the big bicycle ask.

These get me going, too. I was so excited to have plastic frames and lenses (rather than metal frames and heavy glass lenses). We got to choose colored frames! Elizabeth's huge frames with multiple colors (the pale pink swirled with the brown) were dead on. That, and I think she was sporting the lip gloss look as well. Does anyone else remember Bonne Bell?

I loved this exchange a lot. The way the show is choosing to nickname its characters is one of my favorite running gags: (Josh/White Josh; Beans - but because of beanie babies), (not Gay Josh because everybody knows and it's not a big deal). I also thought it was worth repeating the joke about mixed race babies (it was much funnier the first time, granted, but I laughed at the two women losing their minds over those cute babies). It all feels refreshingly new and as if the timing is finally right for these jokes to be received in a lighthearted way. I think I would support the show for those jokes alone, if only because it warms my heart to know that we've come this far in my lifetime. I also enjoyed the running joke about the mixed influences on the food names and recipes, and the one line in the Shakira spoof about the bastardization of culture. Those digs were funnier than all of the rest of the plot combined. Frankly, I wouldn't mind if the writers shifted a bit more weight toward skewering culture and lightened their focus on all the romance-related shenanigans. I didn't like the songs as much this week and thought the show wasn't as creative as it usually is, but it was still fun to watch. I'm glad to hear more people are finding it.

Bravo! I'm guilty of this, too. Especially for wanting to see Greg's reaction afterwards. It's not so much that he would be confused about how he would feel. It's that Greg feels so many things very distinctly, and hates all of them, that makes him so much fun to watch. He's such an intelligent, perceptive, articulate self-loather. And he sings like a dream, and dances, too. (Can you tell I really loved Settle For Me?) Truth be told, I care more about Greg getting a happy ending than Rebecca.

Didn't Jenny eventually go back to her mom? I've just binged the first three seasons. I enjoyed the Luther-Alice and Luther-Justin relationships, and I have a small bit of hope that eventually I will like DCI Erin. As usual, I'm finding the depth of talent on a BBC show very enjoyable. The glaring exception to this rule is that I pretty much hate everything about the character of DSU George Stark, and I think it is the actor. I just don't buy anything he is selling here, at all. I hope he is gone, soon.

And all of this is ok with me because the musical numbers are a lot of fun, and the acting by all is perfectly pleasant. These are good points. I do think this show feels fresh and different. It is not I Love Lucy, who certainly was her own worst enemy, and it is not every-professional-female from '80s tv, who worked but still needed permission or somehow still wasn't secure in some aspect of their femininity. Rebecca is way beyond some of those issues, in her way. She just happens to act like she's still 14 years old when it comes to Josh. I agreed with all of this. I'm watching this as a comedy. An over-the-top, musical, probably short-lived comedy. And it's amusing me greatly. I think it's a bit of a miracle that we get any of these episodes at all, and I think it's doing a great job already of putting some new material on the table. To expect it to tackle true character development and any kind of "non-crazy" relationship assessment seems to expect it to go against its very premise (imo). This show never promised that we were going to get to see Rebecca learn how to make healthy choices, no matter how many butter commercials it shows us.