Sweet-n-Snarky

Yeah, thanks to the people who read what I wrote and understood what I was saying as well as what Peppermint was driving at. Peppermint also did what many have to do, which is choose her words wisely because people get so caught up about being accused of something even when you break down what Unconscious bias actually means that they'll shut down the very existence of it altogether. I know I responded twice about this, but they mysteriously disappeared. But many of you managed to respond better than I could directly anyway. The crux of this issue was that Trishelle, one single person, inititated something because she wasn't accustomed to the different interaction with Peppermint, and then wouldn't let only that instance of all the other suspicious behavior go, so even after Peppermint thought it was squashed, it became a "witch hunt" (which, ironically, is quite literally the best, most fitting terminology for that, given that's what their origins were) that led to her being on the defense all day until she slipped with her wording and got sent home. It does feel like high school. And being different will have that effect. But yeah, I think it's fascinating just how many queer and people of color had that incident resonate with them so much and clocked it. I think it's unfortunate that there isn't the space for them to acknowledge that without it getting shut down, though. But yeah, I thought Peppermint really stated it so eloquently, and in a way that people could hear her without most getting defensive about it. But it still made me sad that John shut her down a bit, and it still went over so many people's heads regardless. I would've negotiated the same deal because his wardrobe was fabulous the entire time!! I couldn't wait to see him enter a room. But that funeral outfit was by far my favorite thing ever! I think the only one I didn't care for was the bedazzled snuggie! 😆

Thanks. I appreciate you saying that. It at least makes me feel heard and understood.

I think this is one of those things where when you're very aware of microaggressions and have experienced them frequently you instinctively know when they're happening. And the thing about the MICRO part of microaggressions is that it often goes unnoticed by those who aren't conscious of them. The others can plausibly say that Peppermint's slip of the tongue is why they were more justified voting for her, but Trishelle specifically is the queen of microaggressions. In fact one of the most fascinating things about her presence here is that even viewers who weren't aware of her history (specifically viewers of color and queer ones picked up on her vibes instantly.) I loved that Maks was someone who saw through it instantly. The very thought that Trishelle freaked out because she thought Peppermint was "mad" was in itself part of the issue. There's this stereotype of Black women being angry. No matter the tone used, the body language, whatever, "angry" and "aggressive" are always projected on Black women and trans women of color as well. Nothing Peppermint did justified Trishelle reaching this conclusion. This game is a social game still too, so it operates as a microcosm of society. It was the first day, so just imagine how dangerous that level of paranoia is in the real world? Trishelle took playful banter about outfits and stuff, concluded somehow that Peppermint was angry, victimized herself and then spent the entire day rallying people against Peppermint over this sole interaction adding more and more to this interaction, exaggerating it and making it bigger than it was and distorting it. A lot of people forget that was what started all of this well before Peppermint's slip of the tongue traitor thing. For a different and more serious context, have you ever paid attention to some of the more egregious "Karen" moves? How they usually start with some random white woman inferring, assuming, or whatever something about a POC and then escalating it, like the woman who called the police on little kids with a lemonade stand, or the woman who called the cops on a man for being in his own apartment complex, or whatever. So look at it that way: in a real world instance, Trishelle had a conversation with Peppermint, misconstrued or felt threatened by what Peppermint said because of her own ignorance and then ran to the other contestants (police/authorities/managers) to weaponize them against Peppermint. Peppermint was forced to go on the defense and explain herself because the majority valued this random white woman's words, it continued to escalate, and then Peppermint got banished (arrested, kicked out, worse case scenario shot). Now, people argue "well, everyone gets paranoid, and remember they picked strange things for other people too." Yes, they did. They fixated on John's breathing and the air from Alan's sleeve shifting near Parvati. But did any of that stick? No. Did anyone spend a whole day going to everyone around and making their case for why they were undeniably Traitors because of that? No. In fact, for John at least, they were willing to test the theory before deciding if it was true. Out of those three people who were most suspicious that first day, they relentlessly went after Peppermint first and hardest. She wasn't even given the benefit of the doubt. Out of all the "suspicious" things other people did, Trishelle ONLY fixated on Peppermint and then pushed hard for hours on that, and it was over something ridiculous from their interaction. She was like a dog with a bone with this. I'll also note that Trishelle didn't push this hard and aggressively again until it was Phaedra, she was right, yes, but her reasoning was basicall "Dan said" and this notebook with no real evidence. Her adamantly going that hard was disproportionate to what she had to go on or even her approach with the others she suspected as traitors. She also had a similar energy when it came to Sheree. For many of the others, she stepped back and let Peter and the Pals lead the charge. Even without knowing about Trishelle's established history with women of color, it was definitely in the microaggressive category. Peppermint didn't name names, but it was evident to me that it was mostly directed at Trishelle because the witch hunt was initiated by her over something stupid.

I will say that the more information comes out via interviews and stuff, the more unfortunate I think the editing is. And for the most part, it's evident that this rendition of Traitors is skewed towards Gamers being potential winners with Non-Gamers only being there for entertainment purposes, which sucks. Because apparently, based on what Kate and others said is that MJ DID have a relationship with CT. And that friendship didn't make the cut like, say, Phaedra's fondness for CT. And that sucks because it gives context to why MJ chose to keep CT over Trishelle. But without that context, she comes across like an idiot, and it's also not lost that the entire back half of the season, they more so gave her the edit of being clownish. They've essentially used many of the non-gamers for meme worthy content, but little else which kinda sucks. So if Kate and I think Sandra maybe acknowledged that MJ and CT were pretty close, it puts the outcome and MJs reaction to the portrayal into perspective, but without that context, she's just "the dramatic sore loser who didn't do anything all season." Also, what MJ did contribute in the first half is suddenly erased or diminished. She DID bank some money. And out of many of the Bravos she was active during challenges whether she was great at them or not. She was one of the first ones who clocked Dan and stood by that until it got her portrayed as rogue. She was someone who strategized and she did have fairly decent reads in the first part of the season. And she got rejected and left out a lot but still managed to have a decent enough spot in the game. The Bravo lites thing is always crazy to me because the gamers lumped them together before they even had reason to and essentially forced them to stay together. Many of the Bravos were pretty flexible until they had to be a block.Mj especially was one of them. But by the end she got the clown edit as some buffoon who couldn't measure up to gamers like Trishelle and CT, and that's not to say she played well because she didn't. But there are clearly other factors here into play that add more context to how she played that got left out and now it impacts how she was depicted overall, which sucks. I would be a bit pissed about that myself. Especially her friendship with CT. And this one is really out there, but as someone who was in disbelief at how Sheree was in La La land the entire time and found it hilarious, her final episode and her reaction to getting murdered by Kate as well as her comments about being being at the bottom of the Peter Pals is starting to make me think she was more aware of the game than we were led to believe. There was also that moment during the finale when they were talking about Phaedra and how she became a favorite where Sheree looked annoyed or something, and I think it's because Phaedra and Kate are the only Bravo people who got decent edits. I'm not saying Sheree stood a chance in this game AT ALL, butI'm genuinely starting to wonder about her and others' edits based on what has come out afterward. And it makes you consider little moments we HAVE seem in a different light. The consensus they keep pushing though is that gamers are who play to win and non gamers are there for memes and clicks and entertainment. I'm wondering how next season will play out. Survivor, Challengers, now what? A Big Brother winner? I'm a huge fan of comp reality. But I love the other forms as well and like that there is a mix of both. But I do have to wonder what good is that blend if they keep heavily pushing the narrative that only gamers should, can, and stand a chance at winning because of their previous experience.

In one of Sandra's interviews she said that nobody was onto Phaedra before Dan blew up her game and that the people claiming they were now are lying and kidding themselves. I don't care for the goalpost moving that the gamers keep doing when it comes to what is and isn't appropriate for the game because they feel they're the authority on how to play them. Dan's Phaedra move was just poor sportsmanship. They can dress it however they want, but that's what that is, and I say that as a BB fan. I guarantee you if the roles were reversed and a non-gamer outed a gamer traitor, we'd hear them talking about said non-gamer being a poor sport and not having respect for the integrity of the game.

Honestly, the superiority complex of the "gamers" is annoying, and then they turn around and talk about it being "just a game" and then invalidate the others' feelings when they aren't any better. Dan TOTALLY threw Phaedra under the bus because he was mad that "a housewife" got over on him and was coming across as the better Traitor. If it was about saving his butt, Parvati was the more logical choice to feed to everyone. If it wasn't personal and just game, he, as a gamer, wouldn't feel the need to manipulate the game when he knew his goose was cooked. He threw her under the bus well after he knew he was done, so every measly excuse he gave to explain his actions didn't even hold up. And yet, because he was butt hurt and pulled this move to be petty because he was bitter and resentful, she isn't supposed to be annoyed by it? Honestly, as a gamer, Dan's move wasn't even a respectable one. And yet the sentiment is that SHE was too sensitive. Trishelle literally rallied against Peppermint because her feelings got her over something stupid (and because of her routine showcase of implicit bias that ironically even viewers, especially POC, with no background on her picked up immediately...) even when there were about as much innocuous suspicious behavior from John and Parvati, and got Peppermint sent home. Trishelle pitched a fit and threw a tantrum because CT didn't cater and kowtoe to her multiple times. She acted like a petulant child about shields and even targeted people when she didn't get them. She whined to the camera endlessly about the dumbest stuff. But, nope, "it's just a game" when any of the non-gamers are in the feelings about stuff? She would've succeeded in getting rid of CT without even speaking to him because of the vote switch up. But she doesn't understand why MK would be upset that they screwed her over but won't even own up to it being a game move to win more money and instead keep making it seem like they just couldn't be sure about if MJ was a traitor, when they knew she was faithful. Being a gamer is also about owning your moves, and even at the reunion they were making it seem like they got rid of MJ just to be on the safe side when it's clear as day that they always planned on only taking each other to the end to split the money. Which is fine. Just own it and stop treating her like she was too stupid to grasp that's what they did. So much of the non-gamers sensitivities have been because the gamers came in from the start treating all of these other people like they were stupid and didn't deserve to be there and being condescending. And then gaslighting them for being reasonably upset about the disrespect and spouting "it's just a game" like they're somehow exempt from being just as emotional, reactive, petty etc. Ironically, many of the non gamers are also familiar with being emotional for the drama and moving on or whatever. I loved many of the gamers and enjoyed them on their shows. But it certainly was offputting to see their weird superiority complex when they were just as bad. I'm pretty sure Janelle has been trashing Tamra from kingdom come and I know it's more than a few people from Big Brother she has beef with. And part of the appeal of Parvati and Sandra being there was their longstanding beef. Bananas even attempting to agree with "its just a game" given his own track record of being emotional as heck is crazy. I didn't think it was a matter of there being "sore losers" here but more so the condescension and disrespect that was underlying in the things that happened. I don't think MJ would've been as pissed off if they didn't keep speaking to her like she was a kindergartener and lying about why they got rid of her instead of just being honest. I don't think Phaedra would have cared about Dan at all if he didn't spend the first part of the game treating her like she was too stupid to make decisions (something she took advantage of) and then ruined her game because he probably thought it would come across iconic but instead it just made him annoying and tipped the scales too much. And I know everyone gets really antsy about race and gender. But an added layer to why people like Phaedra and MJ were still in their feelings about this is because, unfortunately, the disrespect, however unintentional, is microsaggressive as hell, which IS personal and likely does contribute to why they're so irked. Phaedra wasn't pissed at Peter because even though he was annoying, she respected how he was playing the game and knew it was just a game. MJ had a few run ins with other contestants that were no biggie and therefore not worth her ire. Because she knew it was just a game. I just don't think Phaedra and MJ's feelings about Dan, Trishell, and CT given the circumstances are invalid.

I think it's just the hair. It's more voluminous now and lighter because of the highlights.

There's a lot of weird conversations about whether or not Burzek "earned" the proposal, but I agree that it was very much earned. https://www.tvfanatic.com/2024/02/chicago-pd-burzeks-journey-to-forever-is-a-testament-to-enduring/

That was severely underwhelming and Hailey's behavior on that case was so alarming. I guess I'm grateful that they didn't behave as if she was in the right this time, at least. But it put me off that the small team still handheld her through her screw-ups rather than calling her out. I struggled to sympathize with Hailey when Cam deserved all the sympathy. Or that poor man who caught a stray bullet because of the disaster that was this case. Not focusing on Adam when that that the biggest cliffhanger was unconscionable.

This exactly. It's kind of what I was alluding to above. It felt like so much of that got lost in translation even with viewers, and that genuinely bothered me. They spent ALL their time trying to protect Callum and soften the idea of him and Sam as raised to hate. Sam shouldn't have even gotten that unprecedented immunity deal, and it sucks that the only people vocal about that was surprised surprise the only Black cop on the unit followed by Kim, the mom raising a Black child. It shouldn't ALWAYS fall on Kevin to be that person on the unit. He had to be the one to kill Beck, not even because no one else had the shot or an opportunity to make any kind of move, but because the others were still trying to negotiate the most peaceful outcome, still reasoning with this man. Still giving him time and space to spout more of his crap. Still giving him a voice. Still trying to cut this kid some kind of slack. Police rolled up on a boy Callum's age once and shot him on sight for playing with a toy, barely stopped the car to do it. We've seen them never hesitate. But in those moments it was "what about Callum." What about a little girl whose father didnt come home that night? What about her trauma? What about protecting her? And then Kevin having to shoot Richard to finally put an end to it now has this little boy they were desperate to save evil eying him. How was the message in that not boiled down to this Black Man just triggered his hatred? Like Callum could've stood a chance but "if not for Kevin..." Sam RAN Richard's entire drug operation. She didn't choose her out when they first met her. She killed someone to essentially protect her father and herself. Sam said she was raised to be racist and then stopped when Callum was born, but how? In what way do we know that when she still subjected her son to her father's ideology? Throwing out stuff he took to school in his backpack isn't actively working to unprogram your child or counteract what Richard taught him. She was involved and knew things about her father terrorizing people of color before. KILLING THEM. she did nothing. Sam was not this sad victim and yet they spent all this time trying to make her sympathetic. She got the benefit of the doubt. There's no way on earth she should've gotten a full immunity deal and Ruzek still had to beg her to take it. She knew her father was planning something and didn't care about the repercussions on anyone else. Yet we spent more time on HER as a victim of white supremacist than the actual people Richard was terrorizing and killing. It was a good episode. But I couldn't not think of those things, and it bothered me. Worse yet, it bothers me that it has seemingly went over most people's heads because I keep hearing "poor Callum needs therapy" or everyone's upset about Ruzek or them cutting Burzek scenes... that after all that, the problems with them basically humanizing Nazis just gets lost.

Throw in Torres, and I wouldn't be mad about it. To be fair, they still would have saved money. Those actors probably only got a couple of hundred bucks each, assuming they were actors. Sometimes they'll use off duty or retired cops and stuff like that, so you never know.

The good: -- The action was so good! I was absolutely enamored with all of these random cops that were around to breach all of Beck's properties. -- Hailey with that elbow to that dude's face -- That opening with Ruzek set the tone..oof I felt for the man. He really had me. Especially those scenes with Makayla. -- Paddy acted his ass off yet again and I love that man. They really underused him this season. -- This was really Atwater's episode. The way he took charge at the scene. His reaction when he found out about the elementary school, that look he had with that Black officer, his annoyance over the deal, and that killshot!! He didn't hesitate! -- Trudy with Kim..I just loved that scene. I love their relationship. -- Kim, steady, all the signs of her therapy working, how she was able to healthily compartmentalize, how she helped Adam. How she didn't panic. -- Kim looked so cute in that green hoodie. What I struggled with: -- I know Torres can only be in a certain amount of episodes but after that underwhelming last episode, he shouldn't have been gone for the finale! -- It actually really bothered me the lengths they kept going to make Sam and Callum victims. Sam did not have this passive role in what her father was doing. Her racist thoughts didn't just become un hardwired when Callum was born. Throwing out things wasn't enough. And when given chances she still protected her father or didn't do the right thing. I was annoyed that they oversold the concept of white duoremacostss being victims of their white supremacy. -- I just can't NOT think about how Sam and Callumg got more chances and shown more grace than hundreds kf people of color in the criminal justice system, the foster system, all of it. -- Sam should NOT have been offered full immunity. And didn't even ask for it... it ess the offer Ruzek wanted for her as their best shot because he sympathized with her so much. -- Ruzek still wanted to protect Callum and Sam wanted to save him, but the kid was already down the dark path. It felt dangerous and even problematic to keep pushing this point that this kid could be saved because "no one is born hating" with little regard or consideration for his current actions and the dangers he posed now. In this same system a young kid like Atwater or Torres will get written off as a product of their environment and STILL spend time trying to disprove that to other people as whole adults. -- The idea that Callum still stood a chance, but now that Kevin killed his grandpa, the racism got activated. It puts too much emphasis on the act, KEVIN'S act. Like, what? -- that cliffhanger and them cutting out that Burzek bedside scene for Voight and Chapman having a drink. It was just so weird. I would think with the writer striker looming at this point of filming, they would have opted for the final scene with burgess and Ruzek so it didn't feel so open ended.

I agree about Ronen. The mid over acts. But hard disagree about Silva. I think he's one of the stronger actors on this series, but they rarely give him decent material to work with. I feel like if this wasn't Lone Star, and instead something stronger and on premium or streaming, he'd be stellar. I wasn't enthused with many aspects of the storytelling and all, but performance wise, the kid was fantastic. He, Jim Parrack, and Sierra McClain are three of the actors on this show that I genuinely wish were on something that could either match or enhance their talent. I don't find the religious thing all that unrealistic though. Austin is pretty progressive and it always seems like it because of the religious nuts, but many people are people of faith and progressive. Carlos DID have a hard time with his parents for a while and that's where many of his issues stem from in the first place. I don't think it's a coincidence that Tommy, Grace, and Judd all go to the same church. I know churches exactly theirs. And Marjan is so refreshing to me because most of the Muslim women I knew in college were similar, and I was thrilled to see that onscreen without the stereotypical hijab wearing woman who is constricted by their religion stuff entertainment usually opts for. I think Judd is a really good example of someone who didn't understand things but by his world was enriched just by getting know people he otherwise wouldn't have nor understood. I hate that things are so extreme and polarizing that what feels like the actual norm and median gets lost.

But.... the whole gotcha of Judd's behavior was them leaning into the notion that he's a stereotypical "redneck" and him not actually being that at all. That was always the point. And his behavior was always more so rooted in all these transplants coming in to replace his brothers he lost. His whole shtick was being Texas and doing Texas things. And Judd wasn't embarrassed about Wyatt? He just didn't know how to connect with him and had to figure out something they were both into since he found out Wyatt wasn't into any of the things that he was. They even acknowledged how insecure it made him that he didn't know how to connect outside of what he knew. Just like they acknowledged his insecurities here as a blue collar worker with no education watching, in his mind, his intelligent son throw that away for a blue collar job when he knew he "could be better than him" it's the same issue he had when Grace's father got in his head and he was afraid the brilliant woman he loved was giving up a promising future to be with him before he realized that she really wasn't happy with school and her career path. And, like, are we really saying that it's Judd's fault alone that the barrel racer he slept with didn't tell him he had a child for SEVENTEEN YEARS?! Like, there was no way of knowing that the moment he found that out he wouldn't have done everything to be a good dad to his child. Canon supports that he would. I wouldn't call running to join the fire academy last minute after deadline as the mature decision. On one hand, I fully believe that his parents would do what they could to assist him in finishing his degree especially because in the long run it would benefit his family. He'd make nice money as a software engineer. On the other hand, even if he intended to get a decent steady job in time to support his family, there are other options besides a firefighter? That's not a job you rush into last minute as a backup plan without much thought. Not only does him missing the deadline for it speak to his lack of unpreparedness but his belief that Judd could just "put in a good world" lowkey reeks of entitlement and some delusion. In this same vain, he could have just as easily took the courses to be a paramedic and that would have suited him better, given him the benefits to take care of his family and more. He could have took any number of federal exams for federal jobs like being a mailperson etc. All with similar results. I don't think rushing into one of the most dangerous jobs out there on a whim with a young family is the most mature choice. And his grit very much is anout the mental and emotional fortitude the job entails. Even the academy doesn't properly prepare you for that aspect. I mean. I won't change your mind on anything, so that's fine. I just think the Judd hate here is disproportionate to what we've actually seen, and I don't agree. Mateo really did become replacement TK for Owen. 🤣 Please not the car in the ditch. More parallels so they can become Judd and Grace 2.0. For some reason I feel like we're definitely getting the baby but they'll save all the drama for when Wyatt joins the 126 and has his first big near death experience that lands him in the hospital and causes Leanne to go into labor early.

I actually felt that Judd was right about why Wyatt would be a terrible firefighter and it wasn't just about toxic masculinity bullcrap even if that's how it came across. Ironically, we subconsciously associate Judd's use of "soft" with the implication that he's calling his own son a w*ss when what it read to me is that Wyatt is too sensitive of a kid to get into that specific field and doesn't have the grit for it and THAT COULD GET HIM AND OTHER PEOPLE KILLED. Judd lost his entire squad of the best firefighters prepared for this job to a fire and still has PTSD from that. Wyatt getting into it for the wrong reasons and being ill prepared and not have the specific gumption for it could be his death sentence. Wyatt would be a great dispatcher or paramedic. It really does feel more his lane... but Wyatt has been a sensitive kid who is afraid of confrontation, rarely speaks up for himself, is seemingly only getting into this to mirror Judd, and wanted his father to do the whole nepo thing because he didn't even have the confidence initially to think he could get into the academy on his own. He was unsure and uncertain and wore it all over him. Judd was saying that Wyatt doesn't have the mental fortitude for the gig. As in the opposite of "hardened" by life and experience and trauma and loss is "soft" ergo Wyatt is soft. He hasn't experienced the level of hardship or darkness. Wyatt really is a light, bright kid who doesn't feel cut out for the mental and emotional aspects of this job. And there is nothing wrong with that. And Judd isn't even saying that there's anything wrong with that. Hell, I hate that toxic masculinity bullcrap like the lot of them but I totally understood Judd's point and agreed. I think, and it would require giving this episode some credit, coupling Wyatts storyline with an episode where the most childlike, seemingly innocent, pure hearted member of the 126 also had some dark background with some trauma thrown in and a story that totally makes you understand how he got into firefighting highlighted this. Judd's words were harsh but I don't actually think he was wrong about Wyatt or why he has reservations because again, it's a job that could get Wyatt killed or others killed and I too would be very concerned about Wyatt's reaction to losing people. Judd emphasized that Wyatt isn't like him and proceeded to bash HIMSELF for what he is and express that Wyatt is better than he could be. I really didn't read any of that as Judd on some toxic masculinity bullcrap. But they definitely leaned into Judd's blue collar no education way of speaking and expressing himself only for people to just write him off as being a politically incorrect needless hardass on his son or even comparing him to Carlos' dad whose sole reason for telling Carlos that he couldn't be a cop was actually rooted in homophobia... I'm still frankly upset that we were so excited for the Ryders to finally have a child but then that got usurped by Wyatt's surprise appearance and now once every blue moon when we get some personal arc for Judd and Grace it tends to revolve around Wyatt. That's what happened most of last season. Now we're back to grace handholding Judd through raising a teenager not their toddler as Wyatt and Judd continue to navigate their relationship. And they've thrown another baby in the mix so they get to be grandparents when we barely got to enjoy them as a couple just being parents to their child. I like Wyatt. He's a sweet kid. But I also resent Wyatt. Everything about the mateo thing sucked.