Dots And Stripes

I agree that this is a recurring theme for the show. To me it sounds like what Eleanor did in season 1 when she gave up trying to get points and decided to leave for the bad place. Her point total briefly jumped because she gave up trying to get points. The points counter may have been faked by Michael (I can't fully remember) but it was the same general idea. This also reminds me of this old interview with Mike Schur. He talks about how he would wait until the barista was looking to leave a tip so he could get "credit." I actually think his idea is a little too strict. Maybe the absolute best people wouldn't care about others seeing their good deed, but the effect is the same for the barista. It's still a good deed to put money in the tip jar. The idea that the Good Place/Bad Place system is too strict and too unforgiving is another idea that keeps popping up on the show. Maybe the cockroaches/soul squad know too much to ever truly be selfless in their good deeds, but maybe it shouldn't matter if they also do a lot of good in the world.

William Jackson Harper (Chidi) was definitely the MVP of tonight's episode. His break down was amazing and I wish I could have transcribed his speech. All I remember is him calling the students my little chili babies. I need to rewatch for that scene and to see Megan Amram as the chin-guitarist. I'm glad the cockroaches are all caught up. I've missed having them all be in on a scheme together.

I’m caught up. Overall, I’m feeling meh about the finale. Everyone kind of did their thing without any real surprises. Not the strongest group overall. I liked Kyla’s first best and it went downhill from there. The most consistent of the night for me was Spensha.

I’m still getting through the episode. I loved Kyla’s WALHFMF. I do wish she would have remembered the words and it felt like she just tried to power through it. She’s usually really good with dynamics and I feel like she must have put her attention elsewhere. I was really bored with Britton’s original. His duet also had a lot of wonky notes. Kyla’s original was also boring but I agree with Blake, as a vocalist she is clearly superior. I know the best voice doesn’t always win (or even win my vote) but Britton over Kyla would feel so wrong to me. I could see Brynn winning. I could also see her having a career, mostly because she could take a few years to figure herself as an artist and still be young enough to be a viable popstar. She’s a better vocalist that Britton, but lacks consistency.

Vanity Fair wrote (and raved) about Schur’s approach to tv romances. They also saw the similarities between the Leslie/Ben and Amy/Jake weddings. https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/05/brooklyn-nine-nine-season-finale-jake-amy-wedding-leslie-ben-parks

Has anyone gone back to find Holt's happy face to compare? Did he use any contractions? My gut says that was Holt happy, but I'm sure someone will dig up clues one way or the other. I was waiting for an "I love you and I like you" during the ceremony then I remembered I am watching a different show.

My thinking is that Holt getting the promotion fits in this shows' pattern. Otherwise, he stays at the 99 feeling defeated. I could see them possibly trying to split the difference, like giving him a promotion that is not the one he wanted, although that would feel very similar to season 3 when he was forced into the PR job.

The episode was pretty much perfect. I love what Holt said about Jake and Amy's relationship when he was officiating. I would have been so sad if this was the last episode ever. I thought Teddy was the bomber when Jake got the call. I was wrong about that but I'll give myself partial credit because he showed up.

Pryor has led everyone on iTunes before. I don't think this was his best week, but another song and another performance might have gotten more downloads, or more importantly, inspired more votes. I do think he had an uphill climb though. For all we know, he could have been in fourth after Monday. I think Spensha and Kyla being top 3 made it more difficult for Pryor. Part of me wonders if Pryor went first for the instant save to decrease the chances of all of Team Blake making the finale. Am I missing a joke here? Blake has a strong record of supporting his artists post show. It's not about making them all superstars, but he does help them with contacts and has a lot of team members open for him at various times.

Top 3 are all ladies! Three ladies beat three WGWGs. This is definitely not Idol. I am shocked by the results. I thought Spensha was in danger of being bottom 2. I never would have thought she would be top 3. Blake is good at what he does. I am also very shocked wasn't top 3. I thought he was running away with this thing. I am presently surprised. I've said it before, I think he'd make a good pop star but not a good singing competition winner. Adam should shut it. At least the vote wasn't that close so he likely didn't make the difference. Blake talking to Pryor was heart felt. He means it when he says he will stay in touch with Pryor, at least if past experience is anything to go by. I like that Kelly also mentioned she knows how Blake supports his artists after the show.

Get through to the next round? I have no doubt she will. IMO, manipulation comes in the editing, the order, the song choices. They count the votes. Kyla has been the most downloaded two weeks in a row now. I think she has the votes for top 3 and I don’t think producers would overturn that.

Pryor is not doing as well as past weeks. I’m surprised Blake picked a midtempo song for him. Blake knows this is the week to do something big. Fourth through sixth sing for the final spot, so falling anywhere in that range is all the same.

Kyla is at number 2 on iTunes! I am pleasantly surprised.

Kyla was my favorite tonight. I loved her lower register and she's becoming a more and more confident performer. I don't think Blake is right about her winning though. I also really enjoyed Kyla's duet with Spensha. That was probably the best I've heard Spensha sound. The duets really drove home that some singers do better if they don't have to carry a song alone. It's probably why some artists do well in the battles then fall apart in later rounds. Brynn is another one that can't sustain an entire song alone. I don't think I've heard any of those songs that many times on The Voice. A quick Wikipedia search says My Church was not performed last season.

I really liked this episode. Like everyone else, I'm still on the renewal high. This was also a really well timed episode. I saw a few pieces about how Jake and Terry subvert a lot of toxic masculinity tropes and here we have the two of them succeeding at planning a wedding. An old school sitcom move would have them mess everything up because men can't plan a party, but here we had two guys loving the chance to do it right. I'm slightly less thrilled at the idea of Holt's promotion. I was excited at the idea of him having an ally as Commissioner. Holt getting the promotion feels abrupt and it's the sort of corner this show loves to write itself into. I did enjoy Holt's back and forth with his frenemy. It's the details on this show that make me laugh the most. Tonight that my favorite moment was Rosa doing the bunny ears and Jake's line about taking each others' names.

I feel like Adam missed the point tonight. I'm sure it was a bummer for him, but tonight was much worse for the artists on his team knowing the biggest opportunity of their careers might be coming to an end. I also felt like he must have looked at twitter during the commercial break when he said he wasn't throwing anyone under the bus. He didn't sell Jackie and then sold Rayshun. He wasn't subtle about who he was placing his weight behind. Meanwhile, Team Blake is still intact.

The coaches are all prone to hyperbole and like to talk about how their team members are superstars in the making. Blake did have another black female country artist last season, but she wasn't similar to Spensha other than their genre. I give Blake credit for recognizing country music should be more diverse. I think Spensha appeals to him because she is country and has a unique sound. He has a history of liking artists who aren't necessarily big voices but have a little quirkiness to them.

Small complaint, but "This is Me" is not the title song of "The Greatest Showman." Otherwise, that was a good performance for Kyla. It's selling decently, which is kind of surprising to me because it sounded a lot like the original which isn't that old. Christiana needs to stop slowing songs down. Jackie F would be great for Rock of Ages. She makes everything sound kind of Broadway. Jackie V makes every performance sound like it will last forever. Cool that a Rae Lynn song was performed. Both Team Adam artists performed before any of Team Alicia. Not a good sign for Adam. I wanted to love Brynn's performance. She almost sold me but kind of lost it as the song grew. Britton was mostly in tune until the bridge. I don't think he should win a singing competition, but I could see it happening.

I liked Sharane better than Christiana. Sadly, I think Sharane's voice is strained from the competition. Interestingly (at least to me), Christiana went last for the save. Too bad we don't have a great sense of the percentages because of the glitch. So after 2 weeks, 3 out of 4 coaches have had an artist in the bottom two. Just more evidence to support my thesis: Blake is good at this show.

Carson made an offhand comment about how strange it is that Kyla is on Team Blake. That's what made Adam and Alicia chime in. I don't see anything wrong with Adam or Alicia pretending they wish an artist was on their team, even if it's not true. It's a harmless lie meant to flatter. I also see nothing wrong with Kyla showing a little personality there. I like when people set themselves apart. It was all in good fun. I doubt Adam or Alicia were hurting over it.

I said I loved her sass. Others may disagree. I prefer to see some individual personality. I can give her praise for whatever I please.

Pryor is in the top 10 on iTunes.

I didn't even try voting for anything. Anyone know how many choices there were per artist? I thought overall this was a strong night. Nothing flawless, but a lot of good performances. I liked a lot of tonight's song choices, which helped a lot. The order of everything below is random. I would like Brynn so much more i she were a few years older. She's very talented, but her age shows every so often. Tonight was probably her best so far. Britton felt a little like a jumbo-tron proposal. That was a lot for a relationship that's been going on for a few months and is long distance. He still feels like a pop start that could use some studio magic to smooth out the rough edges. Rayshun was good! He's still not the front runner, Adam. It would have been even better if he could have dialed down the desperation (and runs) maybe 10%. I really liked Kyla. Her voice was a little high for the song, but I love, love, love that song and it built some great energy. I also loved her sass after. The most impressive part of Pryor was that he did manage to differentiate himself from the original even though his voice is very similar. Next to Kaleb, he's downright electrifying. Kaleb had a fun song but brought nothing to it. I liked Spensha. Not my favorite, not my least favorite. The song was a nice fit for her. Verna is not my favorite and is in a competition for the least favorite. I found her performance annoying. Foster was very impressive, but kind of forgettable. That leaves Sharane and Christiana. Sharane felt like she was off tempo. She's talented but that song got away from her. Christiana needs to stop slowing down songs. I'm bored with that trick. I'm bored by her overall. Looking back at everything, she and Kaleb would be my picks for the bottom 2. I'm bored by both.

I disagree on Sharane. I didn’t hear an off note on her Shawn Mendez cover.

I feel like this was a rough night for a lot of people. I could totally see Britton as a pop star but he did not hit enough notes tonight for a singing competition. Adam seemed to pause in the middle of his Rayshun praise, as if he couldn't believe what he was saying. I feel like Adam was hoping saying it would make it true. It was also funny that he said Rayshun was the best so far. I'm sure he meant of any artist in the competition but it sounds silly after the first performance of the night. Jackie from Team Alicia sounded better in the clip package. Not her best and I wanted to love that performance. Blake called Pryor a bulldozer or something as a compliment and that would be my criticism. Not dynamic enough, although on a night where a lot of artists struggled with pitch, I'll take it. Sharane and Kyla were the best of the night for me. Sharane has a gorgeous tone. Kyla wasn't perfect but she was very good and her power was something to behold.