BitterApple

Yay! Outlander is back! I thought the episode was good. I was NOT expecting the two plot twists: Roger ending up in the wrong time, and Geillis appearing at the end. I'm really curious to see how things unfold, now that we've got three timeliness. New Jenny was....okay. She didn't quite capture the feisty spirit of the original, but she wasn't so bad that it took me out of the moment. The scenes with Ian Sr. and Jr. were so emotional, especially when they said good-bye, knowing they'd never see each other again. My only eye-rolling moment was the Lord John letter. It seems unlikely his nephew would survive the months it would take for a letter to find Claire and for her to travel back to America, all while having musket balls embedded in his abdomen, but that's television for you! 😄

With regards to parenting, I think it's like others on here have said: if the cameras aren't rolling, Carlin tosses a bag of Doritos and an iPad at them and calls it a day. I don't think they encourage any learning. With Layla, it's just princess dresses and mugging for the cameras. Zade is a total afterthought. Every minute in that house revolves around making content. A good part of that is the constant road trips, which means 'school' doesn't happen for four or five days at a time. There's no way Layla is retaining anything with such a chaotic schedule. In contrast, Alyssa is probably the most unhappy mother on the planet and even her kids have a dedicated school routine. Evan and Carlin are failing miserably.

They're fellow Influencers. The relationship is one big circle jerk where they're all mutually using each other to boost their engagement and followings.

I think one thing that annoys me about the revenge plot is Matty's inability to see Ellie as anything other than a perfect angel who deserves to have the world burned to the ground in the name of justice. I understand addiction is hard, I also understand a parent's always going to protect their kid, but still. Ellie had all the financial resources to get clean and have a great life and she chose not to. She had a kid to live for and prioritize, and she chose not to. If the law firm did something illegal, then sure they should be held accountable, but Ellie should be too. It's also a tad ironic that Matty is crossing so many legal, moral and ethical lines, which is basically what she's accusing the firm of doing. I think the case in this episode showed how, even when you win, you still sometimes lose. It'll be interesting to see how she proceeds when she finds out who hid the documents, especially if it turns out to be Olympia or Julian.

I liked this episode, although I wonder if this show will be able to find it's footing without the interjection of the other YS characters. Montana's easy rapport with the old cast makes the lack of chemistry with the new cast even more obvious. I did think the duet with the brother and Dale was funny, and I wasn't surprised by Mary. The first holidays after a loved one dies are brutal.

Here's the link. The tea is in the comments. https://www.reddit.com/r/BatesSnark/comments/1gq15jd/drempt/

Katie really miscalculated when she moved back to Tennessee. Sure, she has fellow do-nothings to pal around with in Evan and Carlin, but she has no help with childcare. There's just too many sisters to share the babysitters with, and Kelly doesn't even take care of her own kids let alone the grands. I think Travis is fine stopping at 3 or 4, but we all know how Kelly operates. There will be a lot of pressure to keep the baby train rolling, especially if pregnancy is their biggest money maker. What I don't understand though is why they don't hire help? They're clearly not hurting for money. Surely someone at that big megachurch does nannying. Even if it was just a few days a week, it would give Katie a break.

Six! Two boys, four girls.

Damn. Someone on Reddit spilled a bit of tea! Their daughter is in the same ballet class as Layla, and she posted on a thread featuring a picture of Layla at the studio. Among the gems: Carlin and Evan are as absentee as you'd expect. Michael used to bring Layla to class, the few times E&C showed up, they were glued to their phones and didn't pay attention to their kid at all. The instructor can never find them when Layla needs to use the bathroom, because they sit in their car (as opposed to the lobby where the other parents wait). Layla always seems sad. OP said she was supposed to be in costume the day that photo was taken, but E&C forgot (big shocker). She inferred without being mean that Layla is not the most well behaved child (again, shocker). OP acknowledged that parents are allowed to film/take pictures one day a month to record progress, but was furious that Carlin keeps posting without editing/blurring the other children. OP spoke to the owner and her complaints fell on deaf ears (I guess the grifter with 450k Instagram followers is more important). She said she's allowing her daughter to finish the session and then moving her to a different studio. So in conclusion, the "happy family obsessed with making memories" facade they act out for social media is total bullshit. I knew it, lol.

I think Josie and Carlin have figured out collaborating is good for both their brands. Not saying they secretly hate each other, but this newfound friendship has an underlying whiff of phoniness. Also, very interesting how on that girls' trip, Katie was the third wheel. It was all Carlin and Josie, yukking it up like lifelong besties, shilling their crappy merch. And yeah, none of those kids are going to UT. Layla and Zade are both way behind developmentally. Carlin posted reels of Khloe and Layla together recently and the differences were striking. If Layla does twenty minutes of school a day, I'd be shocked.

That was pretty funny when Todd walked into the room and recognized Georgie from school. I hope they keep the trend of introducing younger characters so the entire show isn't so snippy and tense.

The tango music is so jarring. The scenes already feel disjointed as it is, the music certainly doesn't help matters. I'm of the same mind. It's something to watch while I'm waiting for Ghosts and Matlock, but isn't must-see. If it gets canceled after a year, I won't miss it. Audrey's suggestion with the nails was the one genuinely funny moment of this episode. It reminded of something MeeMaw would come up with. For me it's the lingering ick factor of a 30 year-old woman sleeping with a (then) underage guy. Imagine if the sexes were reversed. No showrunners would dare go there, but with Mandy and Georgie it's supposed to be funny. It wasn't quite so gross in small doses on YS, but now that there's an entire sitcom dedicated to it, it isn't quite sitting right.

Oh they're most definitely desperate. Kelly looked like she was being held hostage in their fit check and pool noodle videos. Josie even had the nerve to say her curler works better than the Dyson (sure, Jan), so yeah, she's gaslighting like the rent's due. Travis is fishing for a new car, so poor, postpartum Katie had to haul her butt to NH to keep the grift going. She looked tired and miserable the whole time, but hey, at least she got a vlog out of it. If Kelly wasn't such a crap mother, I might have felt badly for her. It was so obvious the vacation had nothing to do with celebrating her or her birthday, it was just an excuse for her daughters to shill in an autumn setting.

Here's what I don't get: why are people so willing to become the Stewarts' flunkies? There is absolutely nothing extraordinary about Evan or Carlin that would make me want to sacrifice my time and energy to help them. I could understand a guy putting up Christmas lights for a single mom, a friend who is ill or disabled, elderly neighbors or anyone else who genuinely needs the help, but Evan is perfectly capable. And not for nothing, but most grown men would bristle at the thought of not being able to handle things for their family. Evan seems to embrace it.

So Carlin got a freebie for their Christmas lights? I guess it's one thing knocked off Princess Evan's to-do list (insert sarcasm).

I have no doubts Michael got stuck with Josie's kids. Evan and Travis posted reels of them taking Layla, Zade and Hailey to church and going to a trunk-or-treating event afterwards, but it's been crickets on Kelton's end. Given that Josie loves flexing her perfect life, she wouldn't have missed an opportunity to post Super Dad on his own with their brood.

My guess is they just planned it. If you look at their recent social media, it's 95% Josie, Katie and Carlin preening for the camera and promoting sponsored products, so the trip really wasn't about Kelly to begin with.

This episode reminded me of why I thought YS should've continued as The Coopers rather than center everything on Mandy's family. Aside from Missy's appearance (and Regan's incredible acting) nothing happened. There's nothing in this show to get us invested. Audrey and the brother could disappear tomorrow and none of us would care. Will Sasso is awesome but they're not giving him anything to do besides the hen-pecked husband trope. I understand we're picking up on the heels of George's death so the tone is more serious, but the constant sniping and bickering between Mandy, Georgie and Audrey is exhausting. It makes no sense why they'd be living there rather than at Mary's where they'd be a welcomed distraction.

The entire yard is such an eyesore. The ugly dirt wall, the cheap plastic slide, the turf patches with the narrow strip of surrounding grass. There's nothing natural or cohesive about it at all. It looks like the lounge area of a 2-star airport motel.

Or just tell her considering they're both currently on the trip! 😅

I have to chuckle. I was browsing Bates Instas this morning and there was a post from Whit thanking Evan and Carlin for inviting them on their annual camping trip. It's like, oh Whit, you sweet summer child. They invited you so you and Zach could buy the food, do all the cooking, hold the camera to film them 'making memories,' and have your kids keep Layla and Zade occupied. They didn't do it out of the goodness of their hearts. There's a reason Josie camps with Kelton's family only. Zach and Whit will never learn...

I didn't have high hopes for this going in, so I wasn't disappointed. I'm willing to give it a few episodes to see if it picks up steam, but I'm not optimistic. I have similar complaints as the rest of you. The canned laugh track was jarring and tango transition music feels wrong. Also, the lighting is too harsh and unnatural. The three camera shoot format creates a lot of distance between the actors and the audience, whereas YS had a more intimate feel. I know pilots have to do a lot of establishing work, but I hope the plots evolve beyond Mandy and Audrey sniping at one another and Audrey being an insufferable witch. Thus far, Georgie and the dad are the only characters that are likeable. I'm not sure we'll get enough appearances from the Coopers to balance out the show.

If I'm not mistaken, they were in the DeLand area. Not sure if it's that specific city, but that's where their church is.

I wonder if they've moved back permanently?

Yes, it's incredibly rude. Is this a temporary deal where you only have to work together for a specific amount of time? If so, focusing on the end game might make it more bearable. People who don't respect boundaries are a giant pain in the ass. Is there any way you can ditch her on campus and do your own thing? Sending hugs and a virtual case of wine your way.