Empress1

Simon hollering “Let’s go!” when “Last Resort” kicked in was hilarious. All the reactions to that song were. Yeah, I think he was attracted to her and wanted to see if there was more there. He’s gotten glimpses of her with the students, and she’s come a long way with them. He didn’t let her rudeness fly, and when she let her guard down he thought “okay, I can deal with this.” I could see that. Ava was rude enough (her lack of curiosity about him would be a deal-breaker - I hate dates with men who don’t try to get to know me) that I personally would have said “I’m glad you told me that but I still don’t think we should see each other again,” but I can see people who think differently than I taking the chance.

Someone born and raised in Kensington would have a strong Philly accent. It’s very noticeable to me that Amanda Seyfried isn’t trying it.

I was okay with the crowning, although it startled me. Everything else, I had to look away. I couldn’t watch the needle in the eye either.

I know every word. 😂 That song is catchy AF but if you listen to the lyrics, yeah, it’s depressing.

I kept thinking “stop sending people home! You need people! You can’t do it all!”

I knew a red-headed white guy who is fluent in Spanish because his dad is Mexican - they spoke Spanish at home. White mom, Mexican dad, biracial kids. He loved pulling stuff like that. (He had his dad’s features but his mom’s coloring. Genetics are fascinating. His brother looked more Mexican - darker skin and black hair.) I have a friend from Germany married to Chinese-American man and the kids’ primary language is German. Her kids are all clearly half-Asian so people do double takes when they hear them speaking German. I loved when Garcia looked at Santos with contempt and called her trouble. What was Santos trying to do? Brag? She called Garcia down to tell her and then said she couldn’t tell her? Shut up, Santos. I wondered about that too. I’m a woman so I can’t be in Robby’s position, but I think if I could be, I’d be hurt if my partner didn’t tell me. I’d wonder if I’d done something to make them feel unsafe, that they couldn’t come to me. I really was not ready for that birth. Whew! I think we all saw the Pittfest shooting coming. Robby’s “son” and the GF were so cute. McKay’s ex’s GF needed that smack down. I loved McKay’s line about the prefrontal cortex and then the Gf’s retort of “I’m almost 25” had me going “oh, McKay is totally right then!” It’s very 24-years-old of her to assume she knows more than she does, but that smug attitude has got to go.

And Barbara lost her voice for the holiday show. Let Sheryl sing! When she said Jacob was pitchy and didn’t use his diaphragm, I fell out. Her line delivery is unparalleled.

I was howling. This was a really funny episode. I liked the advice from Barbara and Melissa about not making work your life. Jacob is a creative, dedicated teacher, but what else? Go do some things, see what kind of life, not just job, you want to build, and build it. I assume we’ll see Jacob’s interest again - that’s Jaboukie Young-White. I used to think he was cute but that mustache isn’t working for me. How do you not ask follow-up questions when someone starts speaking Japanese and a)you are not in Japan and b) they are not Japanese? Ava is a bad date. It was nice to see her let her guard down a little, and also nice that O’Shon (Sean?) called her on her shit. He’s not intimidated by her. (The Subaru joke is one I would make once I knew someone well.)

Her faces during the fight between Madison and Michelle were hilarious.

Finally watched the episode. David acted like a petulant child in his conversation with Michelle and the experts, and while I don’t know how professional it was for Dr. Pia to say, I agreed that he wasn’t worthy of respect in that moment. Also if he needs his partner to hold his hand through all his emotions, he has some emotional intelligence to develop. He’s a very young 36. He was also looking really rough in that conversation. Allen’s “nah, I’m good” attitude is the right one. He looked great in that jacket in his meeting with the experts. I hate when people say they “didn’t mean to hurt you.” Usually means they didn’t mean to get caught doing the thing that hurt you. I think that’s what Allen was saying when he harped on David’s use of the word “unintentional.” Juan was a good sport throughout, but Karla isn’t his wife. It’s been clear from the get. They look good together but they’re not a match. I can see the “opposites attract” logic behind putting them together, but they’re not a fit. I think they could be friends though. (Juan is really handsome.) Camille and Tom … good for them, but I’m not sure I see the long haul for them. They give me more buddy vibes. (Camille is so pretty but she dresses so badly. Her clothes are like 40 years older than she is.)

Yeah, I wondered “are they buddies or are they dating?” Javadi accidentally volunteering to be babysitter made me wince. Poor Javadi. Yep. Santos is incredibly arrogant but doesn’t have the skills, experience, knowledge or even bedside manner to back it up. I’ve read interviews where she’s described as being the smartest one in the room, or thinking she’s the smartest one in the room, but her fuckups this shift should have knocked the wind out of her sails. It’s not just that she’s obnoxious, it’s that she’s bad at her job. I’ll take some arrogance when it’s earned, but hers really, quantifiably isn’t.

I’d cook for this ex - I’m a very good cook and he thought it was sexy to be my sous chef. I like cooking for people, generally. There are some women who don’t let a guy pay ever because they don’t want to feel like they owe him anything. I went to a first date drinks-turned-to-dinner with a guy who asked “are you OK if I get this?” when the check came, because he’d been on first dates with women who insisted on paying for this reason. Conversely, I asked a guy out and so expected to pay for both of us, but he wouldn’t allow it. I tend to be of the mindset of “the person who asks, pays”, and then things get split more as you become more involved. split equitably, not necessarily evenly, depending on the financial situations of the people involved.

In fairness to Janine, Gregory did say that one of his reasons for the second job is that his rent is going up, and there’s a window where an increase will squeeze you but it’s not cost-effective to move to a cheaper place since moving requires a lot of cash up front (to say nothing of the time required to find a new place and pack). Gentrification is affecting Philly’s cost of living too, so finding a cheaper place is harder than it once was. None of the dates they’ve mentioned have sounded particularly fancy and they may well not go out much, but I think it’s reasonable, if what they do is straining Gregory’s budget, for Janine to treat sometimes and for them to split most of the time at this point in their relationship. They’re more settled, out of the courting/ trying to impress phase. Even Ava was trying to be mindful of O’Sean’s budget (or what she perceives his budget to be) when she was first becoming interested in him.

Not long-term. There have been a few but they were all pretty short-lived. I could see her not paying for dates with men she doesn’t date for long, although I generally start splitting pretty early, but her supporting Tariq’s bummy self is canon. And even if she hadn’t, letting Gregory pay for everything when she knows how little he makes (because she makes the same amount) is a bad look. I would feel terrible if a man got a second job to pay for me, and conversely, if I were going broke dating someone, I would stop dating them. I have an ex who made a lot more than I did (I made good money, he made great money) and he paid for most things because he could, but I still paid for SOME things. Janine and Gregory presumably make the same amount; they should be splitting stuff.

I don’t know why Gregory would want a second job with a lot of responsibility. Teaching is hard and time-consuming, so I’d think a more menial second job would be a good counter. (I mean, rest would be better, but…) Janine, girl, do better. Take your man on dates. Also Tariq was broke so I don’t know where this “I spend less money in relationships” thing comes from. Tariq being a deadbeat was well-established. He drove her car without filling it up, he only paid 20% of the rent. I doubt he was taking her on dates. The adults paying rapt attention to the book at the end was the best part. Ava’s giddy “This is my favorite part!” and Jacob mouthing along both had me laughing.

Just watched a recent divorcée in Norman, OK. $150K cash budget. Young, no kids. She’d been living with her mother post-divorce. She was looking at very small places (the largest one she saw was a townhouse that was 1400 square feet and the others were 900 and 600). All the places she saw were kind of ugly, in my opinion. She went with the 900-square foot 2/1, which was cute once she fixed it up, although the kitchen was tiny (it had like three cabinets).

If that happens, here’s hoping he gets arrested once he’s out of the woods.

He really is cute. He has great hair and he just seems like a sweet guy. And I loved the patient looking back and forth between them, amused. Yep. He shouldn’t have dressed her down publicly, but she needed the dressing down. She’s not good at her job (I hated when Mohan said she was; she isn’t) and she’s an asshole. I laughed when Dana shaded the shit out of my hometown - “this ain’t Philly!” Hope the MAGA anti-masker gets arrested for assault and sued by the woman she punched. I had to close my eyes. When Dr. Robby was like “Um, I need you to look at me and DO NOT STOP LOOKING AT ME” and then Dr. Collins saw it and BROKE THE FUCK OUT running away, I cracked up but I’d have done the same thing. Is the festival with the OD’ed patient the same one Robby’s son went to? I gasped when Dana got punched and was shocked that the episode was over. I want justice for Dana!

“Where did you come from?” as Janine comes trotting in. This episode was so good. I think this and “The Deli” are my faves of the season so far.

My late grandmother, who would be 95 this year (and who was fly as hell until the end - she was much shorter and smaller than I, otherwise I’d have taken all her clothes), said “pocketbook” and “peppermints” and kept peppermints in her pocketbook. That made me laugh and laugh. The kids dressed up as the elderly had me rolling. I also love “100 seconds of joy” dance breaks as a concept. Jacob is a creative teacher. It was he who came up with getting the kids to recognize historical figures through roasting, and now the telenovelas. Ava and Dia as … I don’t know. Rivals? Antagonists? Is great. Dia is building her case! The little girl who said 100 years was a long time also cracked me up. She’s right!

It is. It means having unexpected romantic feelings.

Haven’t seen the episode yet but I know a couple that got together by cheating and they stayed together longer than they should have (they weren’t a match at all; the only thing they liked about each other was the taboo of cheating) to prove that they hadn’t blown up their lives and hurt good people for nothing. I could see that here.

I assume Karla doesn’t wear a bra because she really doesn’t need to, so accidental flashes are probably not uncommon when she wears low necklines.

I hope someone calls Madison on the confrontational, smug “I got your man” way she speaks to Michelle. It looks like she does it in front of the group next episode. Michelle didn’t want David but that doesn’t make Madison’s actions appropriate. She was much more contrite with Karla and Camille than she was with the woman whose husband she was messing with, which is interesting.

The little girl who drowned wrecked me, as did her sister with the bear and the card. Dr. Robby is really a pro at delivering horrible news. I knew she wasn’t going to make it but still, when Dr. Robby said it, I lost it. The bright spot was Willie. I loved listening to him. (I said “white ones” along with him when he said the city took over the program and brought in new medics.) Dr. Robby’s mentor really must have been extraordinary. I think “Shut UP, Santos” at least twice an episode. The honor walk kid’s father’s face when Dr. Robby said the staff would like to attend the funeral was great acting. There was grief and sadness and pride all mixed in. It’s really weird. The idea that she’s a sexual surrogate for her boss’s partner makes sense. There’s got to be something to the pregnancy. When her boss said they had no secrets I was like “I have nothing but secrets from my boss.” And I like my boss. I had to look away for the finger stuff. It wasn’t even that gory, but I couldn’t do it.